#and that's not why we're so adamant about using our real name

[thenameless792]

It’s also like, deadnames are literally that. Dead names. The origin is because historically (and currently), a lot of us trans people are unable to change our name legally. So when we die, they put the name assigned to us at birth on our tombstone. Our eulogy. Our death announcement. Our will. Our death certificate. Our name, our real name, the one we lovingly tried on and found fit perfectly, is ultimately erased when we die. Stamped over by a different name–our dead name. The name that the community and future historians will use because it’s on our grave. 

That is a dead name. Not just a name that is dead to us, but a name that will consume us after we die.

i don't get the whole deadname thing. like i do empirically but it never applied to me. personally my birth name's like. idk, yugoslavia? it's not accurate to call me that now and if you do you're a bit dense, but sometimes you need to speak about history with the names it had at the time, and that's all good.

[bloogers-boogers]

More Marriage au ~

Adam was dragged to a small office for more privacy. He was never the problem?, what was this bitch talking about??

Anyways he was being questioned in almost everything that happened, felt and did while freshly married to Lucifer, it got to the point where it went too deep, and thats when it hit to his first marriage.

"So in the Bible it states you were married two times, is that true?"

"No. It only states when I was married to my awesome smocking hot ex wife: Eve~ and us being created."

"So that's a lie?"

"Not entirely, they just covered up the small mistakes, glossing the story up a bit."

"Which was?"

"Lilith. That unfaithful bitch. They covered her entire existence. Everything related to Lucifer, his rebellion, they didn't even stated his real name in the bible, cause he wasn't "worthy" of being recognized as his angel self. I personally think it would've been a lot more harsher if they kept his old name instead of Lucifer but whatever I guess. Then somehow those nosy ass theorists from the afertmath of Noah's shit load started looking into it too much and found actually more dirt in the hole, that revealed more to our creation. And that's how we got many split versions of it in different scriptures."

"What's his real name?"

"We're not allowed to say it. It's an angel thing."

"Prehistoric heaven stuff huh. But you're no longer a angel, your highness.."

"Fuck you. I was originally a angel before I was murdered totally unjustified btw. How does any of this information does anything in fixing my marriage?!"

The counselor scoffed, but kept her own opinion on that matter (exterminations) to herself. She's a marriage counselor not a therapist, and she wasn't getting paid enough anyways, "you were human. Originally human. Not an angel."

Now it was Adam's turn to scoff offended, but said nothing. He hated to see that side of him after his death on earth. It only brought bad memories, linked to only negative feelings, sorrow and thoughts.

"Tell me more about your marriage with Lilith."

"Pssch what's there to say? Where do I even start? What exactly do you want to know. I can go all into detail about how shit she was as my wife."

"Go on. Tell me everything you want to share, I'm here until 8 and your paying so.."

"More like aPplE hUbBy is paying for everything but whatever, took his card and shit HAHAHAHA! HAAAA," Adam snicker for himself, wiping a tear; thinking he was being funny. But he wasn't. At least for anyone else in the room which was just Gladis (counselor's name) and the only response she did was write a note to that comment.

Note one:

'Apple hubby. A subconscious, possible meaningful name for his spouse. If it referring to events of the bible, may mean about the whole apple incident (weak spot?) or it could be related to King Morningstar's obsession with apples (concerning). Or both.'

"Firstly she cheated on me. Obviously. That's the whole tea, bitch. Secondly she didn't agreed on anything I did, suggest or thought. It's like she wanted to be against everything I believed in. Nothing I did to impress her sastified her. She made ME question my entire faith and existence!" The more Adam spoke the more his pupils shrank by the dark memories of his past.

Note two:

'First wife trauma.'

"Then Lucifer shows up and POOF! Now everything that twink ass looking angel did was 'amazing' and worth looking forward to. He only sang and dance with her, ONCE, and it was like, her whole world turned around.. facing away from me..."

"And did Lucifer have any connections with you at the time? Did he also approach you when he firstly approached Lilith? Did you two spend time together? Talk? Bond?"

"More like it was all a whole distraction for their affair to continue."

"So you two did have a relationship."

"It's complicated."

"Why was it complicated, Adam?"

Adam's face soften in sadness. The question taking him off guard. He wasn't entirely sure?

What went wrong. What did he do, to not deserve Lucifer and Lilith's loyalty? Friendship, honesty.

Why wasn't he ever worth something. Enough.

"I have no fucking idea, man. I was literally perfect, still am and yet they wanted more than what they could bite and CHOKE on it in the progress."

"You're including Lilith in this. Why's that?"

"Because those two bastards were a team. The damage was done by both, all planned out and ready for what was gonna come. Got both me AND Eve. It's plural. I wish I could say I was alone in all this but I wasn't which is why it makes things hard to forgive and forget."

Note three:

'Gayass.'

"So how did you two end up falling in love?"

"We didn't, we kinda just poofed into existence already married and stuff."

"I meant you and King Lucifer."

"Just call him Lucifer he doesn't deserve that sorts of respect, he's an ass. A snake full of cock that doomed humanity."

"How did you and Lucifer get together," she asserted much more frustrated seeing Adam was getting nowhere to the subject in hand.

Adam then realized immediately everyone actually thought they were truly an item. Well this went awkward all of a sudden. So he decided to keep up the lie.

"I died."

"And—— what else?"

"Wdym 'what else'? Bitch wanted to complete the full set y'know. First dick, father of humanity, the only one that refused to join him. I'm basically his forbidden apple."

"And you just let him?"

"Sure. Why not? What's there to lose y'know. That's my jam. I just go with the flow. If it works for me then let it be damn and fuck me hard, I'm fucking doing it."

"Adam, are you taking this session seriously?"

Adam in response digs his pinky finger inside his ear with indifference, "Look. I just want answers, babe. I don't want spiritual solutions or tips. Tell me how to fix this."

She sighed, "when was the last time you two were intimate?"

"WOW, wow. WOAH. Where going to that territory now? Little tea maker right here but whateves."

So Adam went on full detail on one of his sex escapes back in heaven, plastering Lucifer’s name on whatever freak he has fucked in the last centuries. He was not in any way gonna go on about sex with Lucifer (they did it only two times; one outta traditional terms, the second we don’t talk about the fucking second.) that shit was private and humiliating to say the least.

He blushed. Just the thought of Lucifer’s claws running down his skin and his fangs digging through his neck and wings. It sent shivers down his spine. Made his throat go all dry and his limbs all numb.

Previous >> Next

[justash02]

Womanizer~ 01

Plot; Everyone who knew who Tom Kaulitz was knew that he was girl crazy, he's very well known for having girls around him all the time.

Pairing; Tom Haulitz x Fem!Reader

Previous chapter -> Next chapter

Master list

Taglist<3

A/n; if you ever have a request you can always DM me!🖤

*^*^*

"Wow that was amazing Tom." The girl flirty said next to the boy, he didn't even know who this girl was, but as long as she could please him it's enough for him.

Tom likes to think he doesn't care about love, if he could stick his dick in a girl real quick he was happy. He didn't care about dates, cuddles, or anything really.

It was just more convenient this way, he didn't have any responsibility that comes with relationships but still got the in his opinion the best thing out of it.

He stays quiet as he starts to get dressed again, "You're not gonna clean me up?" She asked confused and slightly hurt at his way of being.

"I have practice babe." He spoke, he looked over to the blond girl and smirked. "Gotta go now." She just nodded, looking down at her thighs that were covered in the fluids of sex.

*^*^*

Y/n's POV.

"Must be love on the brain~ that's got me feeling this way. It beats me black and blue but it fucks me so good and I can't get enough~ must be love on the, brain~"

The studio went silent for a second before clapping filled the other room, my eyes shot over to my band and manager.

"That might have been our best take yet! You did great Y/n/n!" Clair said running over to me. She quickly threw her arms around my neck hugging me.

I laughed hugging the girl back, "Couldn't be done without your beautiful song writing Clair." I said rubbing her back. The blue haired girl slightly pulled away but kept her arm around my shoulder keeping me in a side hug.

A hand appeared above me petting my head, "Great job." Adam said, his black curls hung in front of his eyes as he gave me a side smile. I nodded feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Where's Ben?" I asked looking at Clair, "He went to grab some food, we're ordering Y/F/F." I smiled big before nodding. "This albums gonna be amazing!"

*^*^*

And Clair was right, our album ANTI went viral all over Germany and across the world.

Suddenly our 50 fans became thousands, it was scary at first. We got hate at first, but that soon was overshadowed by the amount of love and support we got from fans.

Everywhere where we went people seemed to know who "XO"  it was, strange, At first, being famous I mean.

We couldn't go out and eat without being asked for pics, we couldn't shop anymore without being recorded by paparazzi.

It was exhausting but also amazing! We got to see the world differently.

*^*^*

"Please welcome, XO!" The interviewer announced. Clair put her hand on my back, her black painted nails gently scratching my back to calm me down. I took a deep breath before we started walking to the couch as a group.

We all sat down, I sat next to Ben and Adam. "It's so nice to have you guys here." She began. "It's very nice to be here thank you." Adam said.

Ria, the interviewer, smiled at Adam before grabbing the cards that were next to her on the small wooden table, I looked over at Clair, her short hair suited her so good and you could really tell she was getting more confident.

Ben on the other hand was kinda of trembling under the pressure, he has told us before that if he didn't have us that he would've quit already. His dirty blond hair was long and shined in the lights from the stage we were sitting on.

Adam was the best group leader you could have, I'm glad we all decided that he should pull us through it. Without him we wouldn't have been here now. He's confident as well but in a good way, he knows what to say to us to get us to give it our fullest and I'm so incredibly grateful for that.

"So," Ria's voice ran through the mic, "Many fans want to know about you guys band name, why XO?" She asked looking at us.

Adam looked over at Clair giving her the word, "X stands for the men in the group and O for the women, it shows that being different and having different looks on things shouldn't be a bad thing." She said smiling, her dimples coming through so firmly.

Ria smiled and nodded, she flipped over to the next card and read over it quickly, "Y/n, we understand that you're the voice of XO, is there someone who you look up to that has inspired you to sing?" She asked.

I sat up a bit and nodded, a smile forming on my face, "I think that should be Tokio Hotel's Bill Kaulitz." I said, "He's my latest inspiration."

"So there's maybe room for a collab?" She said smirking.

"Well, I definitely hope so."

[nofomogirl]

Before the Beginning (part 2.4.)

Part 1.1. | Part 1.2. | Part 1.3. | Part 1.4. | Part 1.5. |

Part 2.1. | Part 2.2. | Part 2.3.

In my previous post, I looked at the Bandstand Breakup, and how it hits differently after S2, where we learned that the end of the world most likely means the end of the entire universe, not just Earth.

Today I want to look at a scene from S1E4, which takes place the very next day in the canon. The one where Crowley is at his flat and utters his famous monologue, starting with considering his options for escape and ending with chastising God. Here's the whole thing, in case you need your memory refreshed:

Where should I go? England's out. America's out. Atlantis? Didn't exist yesterday. It exists today. Still out. The moon. No atmosphere. No nightlife. Alpha Centauri. That's always nice this time of year. Beautiful nebula. Look at that. I helped build that one. I only ever asked questions. That's all it took to be demon in the old days. Great Plan? God, you listening? Show me a Great Plan. Okay, I know you're testing them. You said you were goint to be testing them. You shouldn't test them to destruction. Not to the End of the World.

It's S1, with God as an omniscient and reliable narrator. Crowley is alone and in his private space with his glasses off. Which means we're seeing his most authentic self, being dramatic but not acting or performing for anyone's benefit except his own.

In other words, we have no reason to question this scene's credibility. What we see is how things are.

And what I see is Crowley spectacularly avoiding thinking about what the End of the World really means; about the magnitude of destruction it would bring.

He plans to escape Armageddon and yet he contemplates places that are on Earth! More than that, he actually starts with England, which, okay, isn't any better or worse than anything else, considering Crowley doesn't know about Adam at that point and therefore doesn't know where Armageddon will start, but still, it could hardly be called running away. The fact that Crowley considers moving meagre several miles within a portion of a small island he calls home - even if it's only to rule it out - shows us how much he dislikes changes. I believe that the reason he looks at the globe at all - the in-universe reason that is - is because his first instinct is to change as little as possible. Only go as far as strictly necessary. His brain searches for ways to stay and has to be reasoned with. Has to be reminded that no, the planet is about to be lost.

Now, I'm sure you're all familiar with the rule of three. If not, well, the short version is that just like God likes 7s, the human brain really likes 3s.

Now please note that Crowley considers (however briefly) three locations on Earth - England, America, Atlantis - but only two beyond it - the Moon and Alpha Centauri.

A list of three elements implies a full sequence. Having it followed by a very similar list of two elements strongly suggests we're looking at an incomplete version of the same pattern.

We all accepted it as a fact that Crowley simply made up his mind right then and there. He chose Alpha Centauri because it was an option he liked best and we created a great deal of meta about why. About what's so special about this specific system, what it may mean to Crowley, and how it connects to him and Aziraphale.

But what if the real reason Crowley got so fixated on Alpha Centauri wasn't any special quality of the system or its hidden personal significance, but simply the fact that this is where our demon hit pause on a train of thought he wasn't ready to see reach its destination?

Crowley names and rejects three places on Earth before he accepts the unpleasant truth he knew from the start - that there's no place on Earth where he could run from Armageddon.

The headcanon I am trying to sell you in this series of posts is that on some very deep semi-conscious level, Crowley knows that the entire universe is going to be annihilated. But he suppresses that terrifying truth with all his might. He'd rather reminisce about his time as an angel and attempt to plead with God than face the fact that there truly isn't anywhere to run.

[thecurioustale]

I Think It's Time to Drop the "Drop-Biden" Faction

Using another one of my limited political credits to infuse my art-oriented tumblr with US politics. Skip this one if you don't go for that stuff.

I've had a few weeks now to take the pulse of what's happening with regard to the whole "Should Biden drop out?" thing going on inside the Democratic Party and across the left, and here's my takeaway:

The drop-Biden faction within the Democratic establishment smells of a conspiracy that lacks the confidence of conviction. Clammy hands, mumbling public statements, a malaise of cravenness, and a clear sense among the conspirators that they know they are in the wrong but are doing it anyway so their faction (or factions within the faction) can gain power inside the establishment. That's why I'm so disappointed in Representative Adam Schiff for coming out on their side of late: I have a pretty high opinion of him, and for him to join them, let alone to do it so late, smacks—to me, at least—of incredibly poor and/or opportunistic judgment.

Vice President Harris is the ONLY acceptable alternative to President Biden at this point. And I say that as someone who is not a supporter of hers. Anyone else would be a betrayal of the choice of the public during the 2024 primary season, and would smack of party insiders overturning the will of the voters. The fact that the drop-Biden faction has not been clear-throated and unified in naming Harris as the only acceptable replacement for President Biden is very telling, because it means that there is jockeying going on right now about who it would be—and clearly the conspirators are not for Harris. That, in my view, makes them unfit as arbiters and their case untenable.

Not much is more uninspiring than a conspiracy that doesn't believe in itself. On these grounds alone I would be inclined against their cause.

But there are more grounds: I have also had a chance to listen to some of President Biden's statements over the past few weeks, including the extemporaneous remarks he gave at his recent press conference. And, to get right to the point, my mild-to-moderate concerns that flared up in the aftermath of everybody and their dog having a meltdown after Biden's debate performance (which I didn't even watch at the time, lol) has been completely alleviated: Biden is not senile. He is very clearly not senile. Yes, he's old. He is uncomfortably old. Cringeworthily old. It's a very real possibility that, if he were to win a second term, he wouldn't be able to complete it. But, from where I am, he's still got his marbles. And that's the ONLY question at issue here: Is Biden mentally competent? I think he unambiguously is.

And that's the end of the dilemma for me. Am I wrong? Is he senile and I just don't see it? Maybe. But I have made my judgment. And, given that judgment, the path forward for me is clear now: You don't go against the results of a primary election if you can possibly help it. The people voted for Joe Biden. The time to replace him was across the country in the primaries months ago, not behind the scenes in July.

The drop-Biden faction says there is another, equally relevant question: Can Joe Biden win in November? There is a cynical, almost nihilistic attitude here, the idea that principles don't matter and that whichever pathway is likeliest to lead to power is by definition the best one. But I have two problems with their thinking:

First, principles DO matter. The democratic process is spelled out and we need to respect it. We spent a long time in this country fighting to make the political parties more transparent and accountable to the people in their presidential nominations. What, we're just gonna undo a primary election now? When the winner of that election says he's staying in the race and the main criticism against his fitness to be our nominee doesn't hold up to the sunlight? No, that's completely unacceptable. That's in the same vein as the authoritarian shit the Republicans have sold their souls for.

I realize that primary elections are almost impossible for an incumbent president to lose. And, yes, I realize that perhaps it would have been wiser for Joe Biden to choose not to run for reelection. I thought that was his plan, until shortly after he took office when he launched the legal process to run for reelection. But for better or worse he chose to run again, and, given that he has had the most effective Democratic administration since LBJ, he certainly had standing to do so. And consider this: The present crisis of worry about Biden is unprecedented in recent times. If there really were such a dam of worry waiting to burst all along, I think it would have been plausible for the primaries to register it. If nothing else, a hotly contested primary could have identified a second ethically viable alternative to Biden besides Harris, if the establishment and the drop-Biden faction in particular are so damn nervous about her. (This is assuming she would not have run against him herself in those primaries.)

Second, as President Biden himself has said, as well as many of his supporters, the judgment of the drop-Biden people as to who actually is the likeliest pathway to power is questionable. What is these folks' track record in wise prognosticating of this sort? What is their evidence for their case? I find these arguments lacking.

Joe Biden has demonstrated a winning electoral coalition. He was written off in the 2020 primary season and won, and won against Trump that November. He got the votes of the people. And while I think he would not have won that year were it not for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, he nevertheless won convincingly and earned the badge of electability in the minds of everyone. Nothing says "electable" more than having already been elected president once before. Trump is a hard opponent to beat, very hard. Trump is channeling the mental virus that has overtaken the conservative movement in America. He is extremely powerful. By his charisma and his political savvy he is powerful. His enemies within the Republican Party all end up singing his praises and kissing his boots, no matter how badly he has disparaged them, or else they end up leaving the Republican Party or being booted out of it forcibly. And holding Trump to account for his many crimes is literally buckling our judicial system as we speak—a very stark indicator indeed of Trump's power. And, so, any Democratic nominee would inevitably face an unwaveringly stiff, deeply unfair and low-down campaign against them by Trump. If not Biden's age it would be Buttigieg's sexuality, or Booker's race, or Newsom's "California"-ness, or whatever. The right is always going to come up with a smear campaign. Look what they did to Hillary Clinton, a superlatively competent and well-qualified candidate. No one running against Trump this year would have an easy time of it, and that includes Vice President Harris, who is female, black, from California, from an immigrant family, and a former "cop," and who has a reputation for being hard to work with and fostering high-friction work environments (whether or not that's true, or just sexism, or some of both), all rolled into one. Joe Biden's age is literally the only personal attack against him that ever stuck: He is a white male, deeply religious, very likeable in person (so everyone says, even many Republicans, though obviously I've never met him), relatable, etc., etc. He disarms the low-level sexists and racists on the Democratic periphery and in the political middle. He makes progressivism palatable for everyone. There is a real possibility—one which I think is accurate—that Biden was the only Democrat in 2020 who could've beaten Trump. Is Biden now, really, at the very bottom of that list in 2024, because he lost his train of thought during a debate? I don't buy it.

I think there is a plausible possibility that the firestorm in the media and in party and activist politics isn't as much of an issue with the general public. The president's age may be something ordinary people disapprove of, but it isn't something ordinary people feel when they pay rent, buy groceries, or have their rights stripped away by a radical Supreme Court. Just two months ago we were talking about how profoundly unpopular Republican policies are. That's still true right now.

So, principles matter and Biden may not be as weak of a candidate as his detractors claim. Those are my criticisms of the context of the drop-Biden faction. But what about the merits of their case, such as they exist?

Well...the main argument of the drop-Biden faction in the rightness of their cause, and by far the biggest issue I haven't discussed yet, is the polls, and I am of two minds about this:

On one hand, if the polls are accurate, that probably says more about the lunacy that has overtaken America than it does about Joe Biden. Just about anyone with a pulse who isn't (ahem) a convicted felon ought to be winning against Trump in a landslide. Trump stands for the end of America as we know it and the beginning of an authoritarian regime. He stands for the reversal of generations of gains in civil rights and social welfare and the entrenchment of Christian fanatics. Not because he himself is for these things, but because his pathway to power runs through others who are. If Joe Biden is losing to that, and if the media is focused on the idea that Joe Biden is the one among these two who should drop out for the good of the country, then maybe America deserves another Trump presidency after all. Maybe we've become too corrupt and wicked and selfish and evil to keep our republic any longer. And since that collective "we" very adamantly does not include many millions of Americans who are active on the left or otherwise active in support of our constitutional system of democracy and the rule of law, maybe Biden's terrible standing in the polls is a permission slip of sorts to begin having the unthinkable conversation about dissolving the United States or else taking more radical actions to safeguard it against these domestic threats on the right—such as taking back the courts, ending gerrymandering, abolishing the filibuster, imprisoning domestic terrorists and paramilitary extremists, shutting down churches and Christian schools and propaganda outlets that radicalize people, and using the Supreme Court's newly-created office of King to eradicate the most dangerous fascists. That's assuming we ever win the presidency and Congress again, of course, which may well happen but isn't a given anymore should the fascist-run GOP decide to make good on their threats to overthrow our Constitution and lock in minority far-right rule.

On the other hand, the polls may not be accurate at all. Polls in July about an event in November are almost meaningless anyway, and, more importantly, it is very difficult in the Trump era for pollsters to weight their likely voter adjustments correctly. It is a rock-solid given that Trump's base will turn out to vote for him; they always do because they are mindless zombies who are completely predictable. The real question, which makes predictions so chaotic this year, is what the rest of the electorate will do. Since the last president election, Donald Trump has become a convicted felon, the orchestrator of a Supreme Court majority that stripped people of their constitutional abortion rights, and the instigator of one of the most shameful days in American history, January 6. Most of his former administration that aren't in prison have publicly disavowed him and are warning the public not to reelect him. These are not good people, for the most part, so imagine what that implies. Joe Biden's age doesn't change any of this. It doesn't change the current economic situation, nothing. It doesn't change the horrifically unpopular right-wing agenda. It changes nothing. If the polls say that Biden is trailing badly against Trump, then either the public is insane or the polls are wrong, and either is distinctly possible.

Maybe "insane" doesn't fully capture the spirit of it. I realize that politics as we typically define the word is largely a dog and pony show, all style and very little substance. I understand that American political discourse in the mainstream is vapid, ill-informed, superficial, and fickle. I understand that there is a possible world where Joe Biden's age really is more important to people to reject in November than the threat of the end of democracy (even while Trump's own age remains almost completely uncriticized). And if that's where we are; if we are too stupid or careless or selfish or uninvolved or, yes, even insane as a country to know any better; then it's time for America to be held accountable. It has become my refrain that we are going to deserve what we vote for in November, whatever that may be.

I remain hopeful that if the Democrats and their allies run a good ground game this season, and continue their coverage of strong ads on the airwaves and online, then there is a chance of winning in November.

I think the drop-Biden faction has had its moment. I think they came at the (now-literal) King and missed. They didn't have the goods, it shows in their behavior, and, for better or worse, Biden says he is staying in the race.

If he does reverse course in the coming weeks and drop out, I think Kamala Harris is the only acceptable alternative, regardless of my own tepid approval of her, and I will emphatically and completely support her from that moment until Election Day. But that would be Biden's choice to make, and he says he has chosen to stay in. And, by the way, I would note that Biden's core of support both during this crisis and in his original campaign for president in 2020 runs through core Democratic demographics like the black community and organized labor, and perhaps this is an opportunity for the rest of the Democratic establishment to demonstrate that they are willing to do more than pay lip service to those demographics when it comes to respecting their perspectives and positions.

And as for my personal preference, I'll say it this way, with the most primitive, self-serving angle I can muster: President Joe Biden forgave the student loans that I thought I was going to die with, and gave me thousands of dollars of much-needed support during the pandemic. No other president has ever done more for me. Now that Biden has also won the mandate of the Democratic electorate, I would be pretty damn ungrateful, and more than a little foolish, to oppose him if he decides to stay in. And he says he is staying in. So that's that.

But there is so much more behind my decision to support him than just my personal financial interest. From his startlingly (and refreshingly) liberal governing posture, to his decency and his respect for our constitutional and political norms, to his stalwart support of Ukraine and Israel against the nefarious forces arrayed against them, to his competent and capable cabinet and administration, to his excellent political negotiating skills—which have resulted in quite a bit of meaningful legislation passing through Congress despite the filibuster in the Senate and of late even despite the GOP control of the House—for all of these reasons, he is the president for me.

As I have said before, if the worst should happen and President Biden were to die or become incapacitated in a hypothetical second term, he would be ably succeeded by Vice President Harris, and the work of his administration would continue in the immediate term under the leadership of his well-qualified officers.

And, if you're wondering, part of me does wish that Joe Biden had chosen of his own accord not to run for reelection, because he really is getting old. But he didn't make that choice, and I for one respect it. And part of me would be relieved if he does drop out in the coming weeks, though another part of me would be just as nervous about any other candidate's prospects.

And, at this point, I think the drop-Biden faction is doing more harm to our prospects in November than good. I think it's time for them to stop. I have a very hard time seeing a future where anybody besides Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or Donald Trump is the president on noon of January 20 next year. And because of the selfishness and fear of the drop-Biden faction, what I previously thought was a solid 50:50 election prospect is now one that I think strongly favors the Republicans no matter what we do or who we put on the ticket. I consider this a self-inflicted wound, first by Biden in choosing to have a debate with a failed coup instigator and convicted felon at all, and second and more importantly by the drop-Biden faction by losing their party discipline following his bad debate performance without a strong case for breaking ranks.

Putting all of that aside, and looking at the grand tapestry of America: Maybe the winds really have shifted and Joe Biden no longer has the appeal to beat Donald Trump. But if that is true—if America really has fallen so low—then let us learn it through the honest work of campaigning to reelect Joe Biden and failing, rather than having that decision foisted on us by cowards and opportunists consulting their crystal balls behind closed doors.

And that is what I think about all of that.

[sydsaint]

The reader has a hard time convincing her bosses that LA Knight is worth the push. She finds it especially hard when Pearce is up her ass about backing Knight. But it's all worth it to see Knight's grateful side.

It's a usual Friday night for the Smackdown roster, and you are hard at work backstage with Adam Pearce. Hunter and Shawn also happen to be backstage tonight, so the whole roster is buzzing with questions.

"So we've got our first four men for the United States Invitational," Hunter explains from his seat at the head of the table.

"And we're going to let you two pick the other four." Shawn chimes in. "You each get two picks. So think about it for a minute and let us know." He adds.

You nod and tap your pen on the table in thought. You wonder who Pearce will pick given that he doesn't seem to have any personal connections with anyone on the roster. Not like you do at least.

"Well?" Hunter prompts the two of you after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm going to go with Sheamus and Rey Mysterio." Pearce gives his two names.

Hunter nods and jots the names down. "What about you, Y/N?" He asks you.

"Im going to go with Cameron Grimes as my first." You answer which earns you a smile from Shawn. "And LA Knight for the other one."

"Pfft, big surprise there." Pearce scoffs at your second choice.

You turn in your chair and glare at Pearce from across the table. "Problem, Adam?" You challenge him.

"Nope. Not a thing." Adam scoffs again. "I just said I wasn't surprised by your choices. They're both NXT guys. And we all know that you and Shawn are close." He shrugs.

"Right." You roll your eyes. "I'm sure that's all it is. That's why you look like you're ready to explode."

Pearce huffs and uncrosses his arms. "Fine! Do you want me to say it, Y/N?" He asks you.

"Go ahead Pearce, say it!" You snap back at him.

Unable to keep his thoughts to himself, Pearce gets to his feet and points an accusing finger at you. "Hunter, Shawn, Y/N is clearly playing favorites here!"

"And there it is." You scoff.

"She pushed for Knight to be in the MITB match even though no one else wanted him in the match. And now she's trying to push him again! You two aren't here every week You don't see what I see. And if you did then you'd know what I was talking about." Pearce says his piece.

You roll your eyes again as Pearce snitches on you to Hunter and Shawn. "Y/N?" Shawn gives you a chance to defend yourself.

"He's a good wrestler." You reply in a calm and collected tone. "He's good on the mic. He's one of our biggest merch sellers. The crowds love him. Not to mention that even when he's not booked on the show, he still manages to be our biggest draw on social media. Even over The Bloodline. So you tell me, why wouldn't I want to push him?" You ask the room calmly.

Hunter and Shawn share a look and you know that you're winning. That is until Pearce speaks up again.

"Hunter, Shawn, may I speak with the two of you in private for a minute?" He asks the pair. "Regarding, Y/N?"

"Whatever." You scoff and head for the door before Shawn and Hunter can even agree.

You step out into the hall and lean against the wall while Pearce sits in the other room and gossips about you. The walls in the arena are pretty thin, so you can just make out what Pearce is saying if you listen real close.

"With all due respect, Hunter, Shawn. I like, Y/N, I do." Pearce plays it off as him being nice. "But truthfully, I think that she's sleeping with him. And I know that seems outlandish, but like I said earlier. The two of you aren't here every week. You don't see her with him every week. Talking to him, flirting with him. I've overheard some of their conversations. And they are more than friendly towards one another." He explains.

You scoff and lean back against the wall again. "Fucking snitch." You mumble to yourself while you wait.

A few minutes later, Hunter calls you back into the room. You come back in and sit down in your chair. Pearce wears a satisfied smile on his face and you mentally gag.

"Well?" You sit down and turn to Shawn. "What's the damage? Am I suspended? Demoted? Fired?" You ask them.

"Don't be dramatic, Y/N." Shawn shakes his head. "We're accepting LA Knight as your second pick for the match." He informs you.

You nod and fold your hands in front of you. "Good. It's a wise booking decision." You assure them. "Is there anything else?"

"No. The meeting will pick back up after the show. Where we'll decide who's winning both matches." Hunter informs everyone. "Shawn and I have some things to discuss. But you two can go get back to work." He dismisses you and Pearce.

"Right. Thank you, Hunter." You nod and get to your feet. "See you later tonight, Shawn." You add before you leave.

You and Pearce exit the conference room at the same time and head back to your offices at the same time. When you reach your shared office, Pearce can't help but speak up.

"I'm just doing what's best for the show, Y/N." He tries and reason with you.

"Sure." You nod plainly. "Whatever you say, Pearce." You shrug and pick up your walkie-talkie. "This is, Y/N. Can I get Cameron Grimes and LA Knight to my office asap, please?" You ask.

The room falls silent again until Cameron arrives at your request. He walks over to your desk and greets you with a smile. "Hey, boss." Cameron grins at you.

"Hey, Cameron. Thanks for coming down so quickly." You thank him and gesture to the empty seat by your desk. "I've got some exciting news for you." You inform him.

"Really now?" Cameron replies. "Sounds like fun. What's up?" He asks you.

You neaten a few papers on your desk to create some dramatic effect. "I'm adding you to the US champ invitational match next week." You inform Cameron. "It's a four-way with LA Knight, Rey Mysterio, and Sheamus as well."

"Yeah? That's great!" Cameron takes the news well. "Thanks for thinking of me, Y/N. I won't let you down." He assures you.

"I'm sure you won't, Cameron." You chuckle.

Cameron heads off to find something to do for the rest of the show. Pearce eventually walks off to go find Rey and Sheamus which leaves you alone in the office for a while. That is until LA Knight finally shows up.

"Y/N! Crew told me that you were looking for me?" Knight saunters into the room with his usual swagger. "What can I do for my favorite Smackdown GM?" He asks you.

"I'm putting you in the US champ invitational with Rey, Sheamus, and Cameron." You inform him.

Knight leans against the side of your desk with a cocky grin and chuckles. "Thank you!" He winks at you. "I can always count on you to make good decisions, sweetheart."

"Mhm." You roll your eyes playfully. "You know, Pearce thinks that we're sleeping together?" You add casually. "And he's snitching on us to Hunter and Shawn."

"Is that so?" Knight chuckles. "Was that an option this whole time? Because that sounds like a phenomenal improvement to what we've got going on right now." He teases you.

You laugh and shake your head. "God, why do I put up with you?" You ask yourself.

"Because I'm just that charismatic, sweetheart." Knight winks at you again. "You gonna work that sweet ass of yours off tonight so they'll let me win?" He asks you.

"Depends." You shrug. "What's in it for me?" You ask in a suggestive tone.

Knight licks his lips and looks you up and down. "Oh, I'll make it worth your wild, honey." He assures you.

"I'm sure you will." You giggle and push Knight by the chest when he starts leaning your way. "I'll let you know by the end of the night."

Knight nods and heads out before you get caught by Pearce not having sex. As Knight goes through the door, Pearce walks in with Shawn and Hunter.

"Y/N." Shawn narrows his eyes at you.

"Boss." You smile back at him. "Pearce."

[arlecchno]

mission accomplished [ scaramouche x reader ]

twenty-six | mission... accomplished?

prev masterlist next

the truth.

warnings: lots of physical fighting and swearing, injuries, blood, use of childe's real name, kidnapping, holding people hostage, guns, lots of shouting and yelling, death mentions, threats, use of pocket knife, all the violent stuff

a/n: and the explanation chapter where everything unfolds is finally here! can't believe we only have around 2 chapters left before ma ends. this is 6k+ words so it's like 90% proofread but i'm already sleep-deprived so i'll edit out any mistakes when i wake up

grammatical errors may occur so please let me know if i've made any mistakes!

the second you hung up the call, scaramouche let out a string of curses, every vulgar word imaginable spilling out of his mouth.

he quickly clicked on your name once again to call you, but it went straight to voicemail, leaving scaramouche to rake a hand through his hair as he yet again cursed out another set of words.

archons, why is it so hard for you to just wait?

scaramouche wondered why you were so adamant on wanting to save yun jin immediately. sure, saving people from danger is one of the main responsibilities of a police officer, but you're, for one, unarmed.

anything could happen to you in the blink of an eye, and you could end up getting hurt.

worst thing of all, archons forbid, you could wind up dead.

who knows what lies behind that cabin? what secrets may unfold? what would happen to you?

scaramouche groaned, hand gripping on the phone tight as he called signora.

the wait went on for a few seconds, before it was finally answered. the call was silent for a few seconds, only the sound of rummaging filling up her line.

“...hello there, scaramouche. what made you call?” signora started, putting away for what scaramouche assumed were case files. “i'm kind of in the middle of packing up my things, our shift just ended.”

the ravenette threw his phone on the passenger seat after he pressed the speaker button, already driving out of the parking lot of his dorm building.

“head for the cabin, now. y/n's in danger.”

the background noise in signora's line stopped, as the woman slowly registered his words. “what… what cabin?” she asked, still in disbelief. “and what do you mean y/n's in danger? did viktor do something to her?” she continued.

signora shouted in the background, telling everyone about the current situation.

“just– just track my car! i don't have time to talk, i need to get there as soon as possible.” scaramouche had just exited campus, the car slowly speeding up its acceleration.

“balladeer, you're unarmed. i know you want to get there quick, but at least wait for the others here. we're getting our gear.”

scaramouche groaned as he was stopped at a traffic light, the heater of his car making him sweat instead of warming him up from the cold. he had just about the right mind to cut the traffic light and speed up to the cabin, even if it meant getting a speed ticket.

signora was still ordering around on her line of the call, the busy precint turning into chaos. the woman came back to her phone, panting due to running around. “i'll get your gear too. don't do stupid shit until i get there.” she demanded, voice cold.

scaramouche paid no mind to her words as he continued driving after the light turned green, building up the speed once again.

like hell he'd wait for her and the others.

“viktor?”

you stood there in shock, not believing the sight you're seeing right now.

why is he the one tied up to the chair?

where's yun jin?

the brunette looked up at you, mouth covered with a cloth. he made noises, quickly trying to get out of the restraints, but to no avail.

you didn't untie him.

“no, wait. i don't understand.” you stepped back, further away from viktor. “why are you tied up? where the hell is yun jin!?”

viktor tried talking, but was muffled by the cloth that was tightly wrapped around his mouth, refraining him from making any loud noise.

you were still skeptical on untying him, so you only helped getting the cloth off of his mouth so that he'd start talking. walking over back to him, you pried off the cloth until it was hanging loose around his neck.

viktor panted the second you removed the cloth, catching his breath. you, however, swiftly grabbed his jaw to make him look up to you, eyes staring daggers.

“tell me where yun jin is. now.”

the man beneath you stared at you with wide eyes, quivering. he seemed... scared, as if there's someone else who's way above him.

you were about to question why he was trembling when the sound of claps resonated around the room.

“my, i thought the ever almighty detective l/n would have figured everything out by now. it seemed like i was awfully wrong.”

you let go of viktor's face, snapping your head to the familiar voice.

the sight of yun jin standing in the corner of the room left you in shock.

eyes wide, you glanced at her up and down, still in incredulity. “yu…yun jin?” you trailed off as yun jin stepped forward from the dark, the single light bulb in the cabin illuminating her figure once she's merely a few steps away from you.

“hm? you really haven't pieced the puzzles together?” she asked, expression confused, as though she was having a normal conversation with you.

you furrowed your brows, pondering on her words. what did she mean by piecing the puzzles together…? isn't viktor the serial killer?

you were certain, no, you were dead positive that viktor was behind all of this, so why would he be the one tied up, and yun jin the one to walk around freely…

as the cogs in your brain started working, you finally widened your eyes once again at the realisation, clenching your fists.

“you're not saying you're…”

yun jin cackled, making you purse your lips. it continued on for the next couple of seconds, until her laugh slowly came to a stop as she exhaled heavily.

she stepped closer towards you, causing you to instinctively step a couple of steps back. yun jin halted in her tracks, crossing her arms. “took you long enough, no?” she questioned, raising a brow. “you know, y/n, i really thought you'd suspect me the second i appeared, but you still had eyes on viktor. it makes me sad you'd only see him as the target.” she said, sighing.

“then this went on for the next few months, which i honestly grew tired of. which finally led to today, where i decided to just face you off myself.”

you narrowed your eyes. “yun jin… you're the serial killer all along?” you slowly glanced at viktor, who was still shaking. “what… what about him?”

“oh?” yun jin inquired. “well, he's just viktor stepanov, the normal kind, but i'll let you on a little secret i have. i was also viktor stepanov too.” she explained, causing you to freeze up.

you shook your head, still trying to wrap the information around your head. what did she mean by that?

did she use him as a pawn?

did she only use him as a cover up in case anything happens?

“so… you're saying that you're— the viktor stepanov i've always known?”

yun jin smiled mischievously, clapping once again. “splendid! you answered correctly!” she chirped, eyes closed. she opened them once again, and the same cynical expression is back. “knew you were an excellent detective.” she muttered, and you slightly shivered from the tone of her voice.

“during the nights where i kill off my victims, i am viktor stepanov.” she announced, and you gritted your teeth.

at first, you were damn sure it was all viktor's doing, but now, it seemed like a whole new different story.

yun jin shrugged, tapping her foot on the wooden floor. “i disguise myself as my dear boyfriend, and continue on with my hobby.” you scoffed when she had called killing people her hobby.

what a monstrous human being.

“though, i wouldn't say he's that innocent either.” yun jin pointed out to viktor, causing him to jump in his seat. “isn't that right, sweetheart?”

“y– yes, yes!” he stammered, eyes as wide as saucers. yun jin grinned, looking back at you. “wanna know what he did?” she asked you.

gulping, you slowly nod, unable to form the words yourself. if anything, yun jin has you in a chokehold right now.

yun jin stepped a little closer to you, and you were unable to step back, given how you were quite frozen up from the missile of information you were currently receiving.

“he did you a favor and killed off that guy you were so traumatized about.”

you furrowed your brows. “...what… guy?”

if you could recall, there's no other people that'd fit the criteria, other than…

eyes wide, you opened your mouth to speak, but was stopped when yun jin jabbed a finger to your shoulder, right at the spot that took the biggest toll on your life.

“you know, the guy that gave you this?” she poked at the spot multiple times, as if to further prove her statement. on instinct, you slapped yun jin's hand away, harshly. “don't touch me, you dipshit.” yun jin raised a brow once again as you mumbled out those words, rubbing the hand that you had just slapped away.

her expression turned cold, and next thing you knew, your head was swiftly turned sideways, the stinging sensation still tingling on your cheek as yun jin had just slapped you.

fuck, you thought to yourself, it stings.

she huffed, rubbing her hand to soothe it once again. “you really ought to watch your language, detective.” yun jin pouted. “saying such vulgar words towards a normal citizen for no reason, you'd get a punishment from the department, no?”

“you're not a normal citizen, you're a fucking psychopath.”

yun jin glared at you, and you stood your ground, ignoring how your cheek was stinging really bad. “how did you even figure out i was an undercover cop?” you looked up to her.

“frankly speaking, you're quite the popular one, y/n. your face was all over the news the day after you were shot.” she said, turning on her heel to walk away from you. “i'm surprised everyone here in campus forgot about it, well, except for me of course.” yun jin stopped in front of viktor.

the brunette jolted, looking sideways to avoid her piercing gaze. “i actually do have accomplices other than my dearest, and they just so happened to be acquainted with you.”

you froze. “what do you mean by that?”

“your co-workers that go by the codename of the knave and childe, i'm sure you're pretty familiar with those two, right?” she asked, staring down at viktor as he trembled beneath her.

snapping your head to yun jin, you spoke. “what?”

ajax and arlecchino?

“well, i really wouldn't say they were my accomplice per se.” yun jin explained, hands making gestures. “just gave them a small threat if they wouldn't oblige is all.”

“what... what the hell did you do to them?”

she smiled down at viktor, before glancing up to you. “i told them during their fill-in when you were at your trial that if word got out, that i'm the one you were supposed to look for all along, their loved ones would be my next victims.” she sighed, crossing her arms. “especially that… childe guy. he was practically begging on his knees to not lay a finger on his family.” she continued, and you clenched your jaw upon hearing her words.

she dared threaten his family's life, his siblings' life over… over some measly cover?

if that's not the worst thing a human could possibly ever do to someone, then you don't know what is.

“but of course they'd still continue on with their lives normally, just the exception that i have eyes on their every movement.” she stepped back, heading back to the corner she had just appeared from a moment ago. “funny thing is, they're actually here right now.” she stopped, holding two huge empty sacks in her hands before pulling them off to reveal your colleagues, childe and arlecchino.

you widened your eyes as you tore your gaze away from yun jin's figure to look at your friends, who were both tied up and had their mouths covered. childe tried wiggling out from the huge rope that tied his legs and hands, and arlecchino helplessly tried shouting through the gag in her mouth.

you hurriedly walked over to their direction to help them, but stopped in your tracks when yun jin spoke her next words.

“one step closer, and these dear friends of yours won't ever see daylight again.”

“what the hell do you mean arlecchino and childe are not there? did they take their leave early?” scaramouche gripped the steering wheel of his car tightly, cursing out as he was stopped, once again, by a red light.

damn these stupid traffic lights.

signora sighed on the other line. “i'm… i don't know how to explain this.” she said as she got in her police van, all armored up. starting the engine, she waited for the others to step in her vehicle. “they didn't show up to work today. i'm guessing they took the day off.”

“how are you not sure? can't you ask the captain about that? you're a sergeant, for archon's sake! what's even the use of your damn title!?”

“you do know i'm here, don't you, balladeer?”

scaramouche stopped for a moment as he heard the tsaritsa's voice. “what… what the hell are you doing inside signora's van? don't you have pierro to drive you around!?” he asked, and the tsaritsa scoffed on the other line.

“pierro's dealing with his other detectives, i wouldn't bother prying.” she explained from the passenger seat. scaramouche heard the sound of signora's van door opening, he assumed a squad of police workers were entering from the back of the van.

signora talked with them in the background, in which scaramouche ignored as he continued speeding after the traffic light turned green, stepping on the gas pedal a little too hard.

“balladeer, slow down with the driving, will you?” the tsaritsa spoke, causing scaramouche to scoff as he ignored her comment.

he made a turn to the left. “why should i listen to you? y/n is in danger, i have to get to her as soon as possible.”

“and what do you plan on doing when you do get there?”

scaramouche froze, the acceleration of his car slowing down. the tsaritsa's question left him baffled for a moment.

what am i going to do when i get there? he repeated the question to himself.

“i…” he trailed off, unable to form the right words. “i– i don't know! but i'm not gonna let y/n deal whatever is going on there by herself!” he exclaimed, continuing on focusing on the road.

“why? isn't y/n capable of taking down criminals by herself? why is it so important for you to get there quickly?”

scaramouche bit his lip as the tsaritsa never stopped with her never ending questions. the ravenette felt like he was a criminal being interrogated in the interrogation room.

“she's a pretty good detective, so she's really independent–”

“because i love her, damn it!” scaramouche blurted before he could even stop himself, as he was once again stopped at a traffic light. he wasn't sure he was cursing due to being stuck at a red light once again, or the thought of possibly losing you was filling up in his head.

scaramouche raked a hand through his hair in frustration. “i can't afford to lose her, definitely not again.”

the tsaritsa smiled on the other line, which went unperceived by scaramouche. someone coughed in the background, making scaramouche tilt his head to look at his phone on the passenger seat of his car.

“what?”

“you know.” a familiar voice said, which made scaramouche widened his eyes. “most of your colleagues are here.”

scaramouche picked up his phone. “pantalone. why the fuck are you with signora? you're supposed to be with pierro!” he screamed through the phone.

“well, there's kinda been a change of plans. signora's subordinates are with pierro…” another voice said, belonging to sandrone.

the ravenette hovered his finger over the red button on his phone screen. “if this gets out, i will kill each and every one of you in that fucking van.”

scaramouche ended the call.

he couldn't decide which was worst, the fact that he had quite literally professed his love for you in front of his co-workers, or the fact that he had just spit out that said four letter word from his mouth.

gritting your teeth, you clenched your fists in frustration, staring at her back. yun jin turned around, ignoring the whines and whimpers of the two people tied up together on the floor.

“why do you do this, yun jin? what do you even gain from all of this?”

yun jin chuckled, walking back to you. “i just enjoy the thrill of messing with people's lives.” she shrugged. “also, the faces and expressions they make, they're all amusing to look at.”

the filthy words she said made you gag, and you just had the urge to jump at her and end this, once and for all. but interrogating her can stall you some time, and you could gather more evidence, in case things gets twisted around.

this conversation will be of great use later, as the phone in your pocket was recording everything.

yun jin may be smart, but she could never deceive a genius detective like you.

“what about choosing criminology? and your dream of becoming a police officer?”

she was laughing now, hands over her stomach. “you– you're so funny! you really think that i wanted to choose that stupid course solely because i wanted to become a cop?” she continued on laughing as you stared at her. “i simply chose criminology to understand better on how to become the perfect criminal. by learning this field, i could improve on things, and avoid making such mistakes like these other lousy criminals did.” she explained, causing you to furrow your brows.

right, you have to calm down. don't let her words get to you.

you inhaled deeply before speaking. “but why waste your skills by dragging everyone here? you do know that i could arrest you any time now.”

“ah, did i not tell you?” she asked, to which no one in the cabin answered. yun jin walked closer to you until her face was mere inches away from yours. “no one here is coming out alive.”

you faked a smile, crossing your arms. “you wouldn't even dare to point a knife at me.” you muttered, breath fanning hers. yun jin grinned, pulling herself away from you. “i know! that's why i'm gonna assign this job to someone else.” she beamed, walking over to viktor.

snapping your head to her figure, you took a moment to read the situation.

is she really going to make viktor kill you?

sure, viktor isn't exactly innocent, given how he had killed james, the guy who tried to end your life over a year ago. but is she seriously going to make him stain his hands again with someone else's blood?

yun jin really is a psychopath.

“viktor, viktor.” she sighed, crouching down, just enough to look to his eye level. “would you do your beloved girlfriend a favor?”

the brunette hesitated on answering, making yun jin kick his shins harshly. viktor jumped in his seat, hands making movements from behind the chair from the action. “y–yes! i'll do anything for you, love.” his words made the young woman smile softly, reaching her hand to the back of her pocket to pull out something.

yun jin crouched down fully, cutting off the rope that was restraining his legs and hands with the pocket knife she had just pulled out.

she handed the pocket knife to him as he was freed. “have fun with y/n.” she mumbled.

you can't be serious, you thought to yourself as you stepped back, scanning your eyes to your surroundings to see if there was anything you could use to defend yourself, but it served no use as the cabin was almost empty.

huffing, you braced yourself as you focused on the current situation instead. “you're making a wrong mistake here, viktor.” the tall man slowly walked closer to you, hand gripping onto the pocket knife tightly. “you can't get away with this once you lay your hands on me.”

“s–sorry, luna—” viktor shrieked when yun jin kicked his legs from behind. “i–i mean– y/n! i've got to do this!”

you frowned, clenching your hands into a fist before releasing. “i can help you, viktor. don't do this, i can get you out of this if you trust me.” you stopped backing away once you've hit a wall.

“i–i can't.” he stammered as he got closer. yun jin smiled mischievously from behind, arms crossed as she witnessed the scene in front of her.

though, when you stared right at viktor, he mouthed something, taking this opportunity as he had his back to yun jin.

help me, please.

you widened your eyes as you read the silent words from his mouth.

get me out of here.

lightly nodding, you hoped yun jin didn't see your signal.

and you hoped viktor would forgive you for what you were about to do.

you suddenly charged at him, bringing him down to the floor. to say that yun jin was shocked would be an understatement.

snatching the pocket knife from him, you quickly stabbed it on the wooden floor, just right beside his head. you looked up to yun jin. “i told you, you wouldn't dare to lay a finger on me.”

yun jin merely scoffed. arlecchino and childe silently sat in the corner as they watched you in awe, as if their lives weren't quite literally hanging on by a thread.

you brushed off the imaginary dust on your shoulder, standing up whilst viktor was still beneath you, lying helplessly on the floor.

“so.” you changed the subject, hoping that she'd entertain you with more details. “what were your reasons behind each victim?”

yun jin glared at you. “what, you're interrogating me or something?”

“just needed to know some things before, well, you know, i die by the hands of you. i'm not gonna lay peacefully in my grave if this case remains unsolved.”

yun jin perked her head up in interest the moment you said you'd die.

if anything, it boosted her ego even more.

“...fine. i'll tell you.” she sighed, bringing up her hand in the air. “they were all my friends. i have a guess you went into my room at some point while i was gone, so you'd probably know who those people are by now.”

you raised a brow, confused. “what?” you asked.

did she mean the pictures of people on her corkboard?

“you heard me right.” yun jin shrugged, tapping her foot to the wooden floor once again. “i befriend my victims before i kill them all off one by one. i need to remember each and every one of them, so i put up all of their pictures on my corkboard. kind of like a memoir, you know?”

you paused. now that's why you were familiar with those faces.

they were the victims.

wait, but anastasia wasn't there, if you could recall.

“what about the chancellor of the university? i don't think i saw her there.”

yun jin chuckled. “if you looked close enough, her picture is there. it just so happens that the picture was too small, so i had to slip it in the corner.” she said, amused. you however, were not, not even in the slightest. “anywho, yes, i did kill her myself. but not because i was her friend, no.” yun jin continued.

“i only killed her because she happened to be one of the victim's mother, and she had suspicions of me. we were out one night, had lots of fun, but after that, she tried filing a lawsuit against me.”

“so i did what i had to do— kill her off.” she explained.

“isn't that gonna backfire on you?”

she grinned even more at your question. “indeed, this thing would backfire immediately, very terribly even. but i wouldn't be the one to be blamed, if you still remember, i am viktor stepanov when i'm in action. so technically i won't be charged for murder, as much as the higher ups hate to admit.”

“you're a horrible person.”

“i know.”

“what do you even plan on doing after all of this?” you asked.

yun jin hummed. “i'll graduate, and move back to my hometown. continue on the legacy of my yun-han opera maybe, and probably design clothes as a side income. those are all a part of my plan.” she said as she approached you. viktor was abruptly ignored on the floor.

“i think that's enough explaining on my part. i'm sure you get the gist of it, no?”

“what about this cabin?” you questioned further, ignoring the way yun jin clicked her tongue as you continued throwing out questions. “why make the move to buy it under your name at the last minute?”

yun jin raised a brow. “i just thought it'd give you some clues since this has been going far too slow for my liking, but it seemed like you still hadn't suspected me as your prime suspect at all, at least not until now. i thought i'd give you the benefit of the doubt since you were a great detective, but i suppose i was wrong after all.”

“i am a great detective, i just never expected you, out of everyone, to betray me like this.”

she chuckled. “betray you? oh how naive you are, y/n. no wonder ivan, no, scaramouche, hated you.” she concluded, stepping closer. you flinched when she sputtered those words. “oh? does he still hate you?” she continued, amusement lacing her voice.

“that's none of your business.”

“i'll take that as a yes.”

yun jin stopped just right in front of you. she leaned her face closer to yours, just like she did a few minutes ago. “you know, y/n. from the moment i approached you, the moment we started being friends–”

“we are not friends–”

“can't you shut up for just one second?”

you glared at her, mouth closed. “as i was saying.” yun jin continued. “i knew you were the perfect nemesis for me. but i won't deny that i enjoy every single moment we spent together, especially during times when you were the most vulnerable. i do feel kind of bad for letting that spotlight take a hit on you though.”

“huh? what do you mean?”

yun jin slightly widened her eyes, before going back to her normal expression. “oh, i haven't told you, have i?” she asked, more to herself, you figured. “i was the one behind the grad ball incident. you know, loose screws on the spotlight, power went out, all of that stuff.” she pulled herself back from your face, facing you normally.

what the actual fuck, you thought to yourself. she was the one behind that?

not only that, if it weren't for that incident, you would still have a blossoming relationship with scaramouche.

if it weren't for that incident, you wouldn't have the worst fight with scaramouche.

and if it weren't for that incident, you wouldn't have ruined everything you had with scaramouche.

she was the main reason for your destroyed relationship.

she was the one who ruined everything between you and scaramouche.

she was responsible for everything.

in the heat of the moment, you suddenly strode forward, causing yun jin to stumble back a bit. cracking your knuckles, you went to do the one thing you always wanted to do ever since you found out about the truth.

you punched her, hard.

yun jin fell down to the floor from the impact, right next to viktor, who was too afraid to even move from your last act on him. you towered over yun jin, staring down on her with the most terrifying face known to mankind.

at this point, yun jin's nose was bleeding from the punch, her hand covering her nostrils as she winced in pain, blood trickling down.

childe and arlecchino couldn't help but look at you in awe from the corner, momentarily forgetting that they were all tied and gagged up.

hell, even viktor was astonished by the scene he was witnessing right now.

“i could really care less if you're gonna badmouth whoever the fuck you want. i could care less if you are gonna kill me tonight. i could care even less if you're gonna stand here and insult my detective skills.” you hissed, crouching down to her.

you grabbed onto her collar, making her look up to you. “but fucking up my perfectly healthy relationship with the person i care for the most just because you were petty? that's where i draw the fucking line.”

“do you actually think he cares for you?” her sudden question made you stop, your grip on her collar loosening. “you should really stop caring for people who don't care about you, y/n. if he does care about you, you wouldn't be here all alone. he would've been busting down that door, but he's not, right?” her words got you tongue-tied, unable to reply.

“he– he does care about me. he said– he told me he would be here.”

yun jin laughed. “hah! you're still trying to convince yourself he doesn't hate you. y/n, you two have been enemies for the last five years. do you really think it'd only take a four month ongoing case for him to even stand your presence?”

at this, you completely loosened your grip on her.

no… it can't be true.

after all this time, after everything that's happened between you two, there was no way they were all fake.

the trial. there was no way he'd ever defend you if he hated you.

that one night you spent with him. there was no way he didn't enjoy staying up with you and looking through all the pictures and memories you've had over the last couple of years.

the home-cooked meals he always made. there was no way he'd ever cook you food if he hated your guts.

taking care of you while you were sick.

revealing everything about himself to only you.

comforting you when you needed it the most.

showing the most subtle affections towards you.

there was no way he'd ever do any of that stuff if he couldn't stand you.

no, that'd be impossible.

as you were too busy trying to wrap your head around the fact that scaramouche might still hate you, yun jin took the opportunity to charge at you, knocking you down to the floor.

both of your positions have changed now, and you were trying your best to sit up, if it weren't for yun jin holding you down by wrapping a hand around your throat, restricting you from breathing.

you grabbed her hand, attempting to pry it off your neck. yun jin merely scoffed as she looked down to you, as you helplessly tried to survive from the chokehold she had on you (literally).

“you're always so distracted just by the mention of his name, it really reminds me how madly in love you are with him.”

“i–i'm not—”

yun jin arched a brow. “despite being at your possible last breath, you're still trying to deny your feelings, huh?” her words were ignored as you struggled wriggling your way out of this.

you really couldn't fucking breathe.

“i intended on saving you for last because i thought i'd have some little more fun with you.” yun jin sighed, hand tightening around your neck. “but it looks like you'll have to go first, poor you.” she mocked pity, eyeing the pocket knife that was stabbed to the wooden floor beside viktor's head before quickly grabbing ahold of it, pulling it out from the floor.

she pointed the sharp knife towards you. “say goodbye, dear.” she said, bringing the knife upwards before aiming for your chest, her hand moving as quick as lightning.

but your movements were far quicker than hers.

you kicked her stomach using your foot, the action causing yun jin to fall down on her back, lurching in pain. catching your breath, you panted as you hurriedly scrambled to get the pocket knife from her.

yun jin quickly regained composure just before you got to snatch the knife away, pointing it towards you more firmly.

“get closer, and i am stabbing you until you're battered to death.”

scaramouche was getting closer now, just around five minutes and he'd be there, saving you from whatever the hell was going on in that cabin.

the ravenette was already anxious and scared for your safety, and the fact that you haven't picked up your phone to answer his call made everything worse.

he knew that using his phone while driving is something he should not do, but he could really care less at the moment.

after his third attempt, however, you still didn't answer.

“stop fucking with me, y/n. he mumbled out, hitting on the gas pedal as he continued speeding to his destination.

“just tell me you're safe, or whatever, just anything, please.” his voice was cracking now, his foot on the gas pedal never stopping. after calling you for the fourth time, it still remained the same.

scaramouche gritted his teeth as he threw his phone back on the passenger seat in frustration.

it's okay, he thought to himself. calm down, y/n's capable of dealing with the situation by herself.

but what if she couldn't?

what if the same thing from a year ago happens again?

what if he actually loses you this time?

no, he can't even bear the thought of you not being by his side anymore.

he can't afford to lose you.

definitely not right now.

scaramouche continued speeding, not caring if it'd get him a speeding ticket.

what's important is that he'd get to you as soon as possible.

before it's too late.

your ministrations of battling with yun jin went on for the past few minutes, and before you knew it, both you and yun jin were injured, cuts and bruises forming on both of your skins.

for the most part, you were the one that was mostly injured, compared to yun jin, who only had a couple of scratches.

you had no doubt you'd end up with more injuries, considering that she had a weapon to attack you with, and all you could do is defend yourself with the defensive stunts you had learned back in the academy.

at one point though, you managed to snatch the pocket knife away from her. out of instinct, instead of attacking her with the weapon, you instead turned the knife back to its original condition and shoved it across the floor until it reached viktor.

“viktor— use that to get them out of those restraints!” you referred to childe and arlecchino, who were tied up in the corner, and viktor slowly scrambled to his feet at your command. “after that— get out of this cabin and get to safety, now!” viktor profusely nodded, slightly trembling as he stumbled his way to childe and arlecchino, but stopped when yun jin spoke next.

“dearest, you really wouldn't betray your sweet girl, won't you?” yun jin's words made you curse under your breath, kicking her down so that she won't get in viktor's way.

you snapped your head back to the brunette. “i'll–i'll try to lift off your charges! and you won't have to deal with this stupid woman anymore!”

viktor was flickering his eyes between you and yun jin, as if contemplating whether he should be siding with you, or the woman beneath you.

shaking his head, he turned back to saunter over to childe and arlecchino, freeing them using the pocket knife you've given him.

yun jin grumbled, forcefully kicking you in the legs, causing you to fall down to the floor. at this opportunity, yun jin tried standing up and charge at viktor, before you stopped her by the wrist, pulling her down harshly.

“stop–stop telling my boyfriend what to do!” she yelped, slapping you across your face with her free hand.

you held in the pain as you continued on holding her down, not letting her get her hands on viktor, nor your friends.

“s–stop! he's– he's the only one i have left! don't make him leave!” yun jin pleaded, causing you to freeze.

is she really begging for him to come back right now?

even after everything she's caused?

viktor quickly cut off the rope that were bound to their hands and legs, and removed the cloth that was gagging their mouths. childe and arlecchino breathed heavily, regaining composure. the tall brunette helped them up, and they hesitantly accepted his hand.

as soon as they had stood up, childe shouted from the corner. “i–i'm coming for you, y/n!” arlecchino nodded a couple of times, agreeing with the man beside her. “y–yeah! we're gonna kick her ass!”

you clicked your tongue. “get out of here! it's not safe for you!” you replied, which made childe and arlecchino glare at you.

“there's no way we're leaving you here!” childe and arlecchino tried stomping their way towards you, but stopped abruptly when you spoke.

“get the fuck out of here, right. now.” you snapped, making both of your friends flinch from the tone of your voice.

they reluctantly obliged, running to the door with viktor as yun jin continued begging for him to come back.

you hurriedly stood up, and so did yun jin.

“i'm going to kill you for what you've done!” yun jin spat, heading over to the kitchen.

you were about to question her as to why she was walking towards the kitchen, before she stopped in front of a counter and pulled out something from the kitchen drawer.

yun jin turned back to look at you, an expression way different from what she usually looked like. her eyes were wide, smiling until the corners of her mouth reached to her cheeks, exactly like what a psychopath would look like.

and it was no better that she was holding a gun in her hand.

scaramouche was only a minute away from the cabin, he could practically see it in the distance by now.

and scaramouche slowly came to a stop, parking a few meters away from the cabin so as to not startle anyone from inside it.

he quickly leaned over to the passenger seat to open up his glove compartment. he rummaged through the pile of stuff in there before finally grabbing the one thing he needed at the moment.

scaramouche checked his spare gun properly, making sure it's loaded and wasn't empty. he wasn't exactly supposed to bring a gun for undercover cases, but he figured that it wouldn't hurt to save an extra, in case a situation like this would happen.

he slammed his glove compartment shut, and when he shot his eyes back to the cabin, the sight of childe, arlecchino and viktor getting out greeted him.

scaramouche hurriedly turned off his car lights and engine, getting out from his car. the chilly wind of snezhnaya nipped at his skin, and he slightly shivered from the cold.

he was so worried of you that he had forgotten to bring his own jacket, leaving it hanging at your shared dorm.

his indigo eyes narrowed at the three people in the distance, holding his gun as he slowly approached them.

childe perked his head up at the sound of branches breaking from scaramouche's direction, and he smiled, heading towards the shorter male.

“stay where you are.” scaramouche commanded, causing childe to frown, arlecchino and viktor standing at either side of him. he wanted to ask why his two other colleagues were here at the cabin, but it was probably best to save it for later.

“but we–”

“why the fuck is viktor with you two?” scaramouche cut him off, gun already pointing at viktor.

viktor yelped at his actions, hiding behind childe to shield himself.

childe furrowed his brows, confusion plastered on his face. “he's innocent! yun jin's the one behind all of this!”

at his words, scaramouche slowly lowered his gun as he looked at childe, trying to see if he was lying. after a few seconds, he sighed.

scaramouche had an inkling it was her ever since he found out about the cabin, yet it didn't serve much of an evidence that could circulate to her as the prime suspect, unlike viktor, who had every single lead pointed back at him.

“y/n's in there!” arlecchino broke the awkward silence, causing scaramouche to snap his head back up. “she's– she's with yun jin! we tried helping her– but she cussed us off. you're probably the only one who could help her!” she continued.

scaramouche cursed under his breath, speed-walking towards their direction. they stumbled back at his sudden movement, but scaramouche's next words got them scrambling back to his car.

“get inside my car, or i'll end the three of you here right this second.”

you raised your hands up in defense, stepping backwards.

“yun jin.” you started, looking at her.

in a state like this, it was best for you to stay calm, avoiding yourself from triggering her, and also the gun in her hand.

you've learned that being cocky won't help you from getting out of a situation like this, turning it into a lesson for the mistakes you did when you went through the same thing over a year ago.

yun jin giggled, much like a crazy drunkard you always see in the streets of snezhnaya. “heh, what? this thing scares you?” she inquired, waving off the gun in the air, causing you to slightly duck as you continued on backing away.

“i carry that ‘thing’ on a daily basis, i wouldn't be afraid of such a lousy gun.” you partially lied.

it was true that you're not scared of guns, especially when you have one yourself by your duty belt every day at your job, but it didn't mean that it doesn't scare you when it's in the hands of someone else.

the incident from last year played back in your mind, and you shut your eyes to let go of those negative thoughts.

no, calm down, y/n. this is nothing, you're gonna live.

you repeated the same thing in your head multiple times, yet it was no use.

you had a feeling that the opposite would happen instead.

as you opened your eyes, yun jin was suddenly right in front of you, gun pointing towards your figure.

“y/n.” she called out to you, eyes wide. “what have you done...? you– you've ruined everything for me. you ruined my– you ruined my plan, you even– you drove my boyfriend away from me! how could you?” you chose to not reply to her, when the answer was already obvious enough.

“you're such a– you're a bitch! you should've just died last year so that i wouldn't have to deal with you! all you do is cause trouble for me!” her words caused a pang in your chest, but you decided to ignore it. now's not the time.

“do you have anything to say for yourself before you die?”

you saw a subtle of light from the only window in the cabin, for what you assumed were a car pulling up. it's either him or the squad, you thought to yourself.

either way, they won't be quick enough.

averting your attention back to yun jin, you put up a small smile at the sudden realisation that had dawned on you.

yun jin tilted her head slightly, confused at your expression right now. “what are you smiling about?” she asked, skeptical.

“nothing.” you were still smiling. “i just had deja vu, is all.”

she was still confused, but cocked the gun nonetheless.

“well, i guess this is goodbye.” she shrugged, pointing the gun to your head.

“enjoy your life.”

“i certainly will after i kill you.”

the door to the cabin suddenly slammed open, causing yun jin to jump in shock.

she fired the gun in her hand in panic.

you were sure you heard two gunshots.

guys i'm sorry for making yun jin the bad guy i know she's like, the greenest of flags in the game but i just had to do it for the sake of the plot okay </3

taglist; @beriiov @hopesandlegacy @cloudsandrenoswife @salamiwrites @thenightsflower @bleedingwhiteroses222 @lisiastak021 @yuuki4646 @lez-zuha @ryhie @sleepy-waffle @yoursockstinks @shizunxie @kunikame @kunikuzushiit @anonwhocried @vqqrii @luminesuprrmacy @calxb-do @sixscara @xooya @mobiussdarling @mafukissu @antri13 @ireallylikehamsters @hejtorii @moatsnow @sinnersbyfear @cloudxemoji @yashimeto @kaoyamamegami @brokensmileandtears @chuuyaswifeeee @oasis888 @periwinklesbaby @justranella @percyval-archives @scaraslutt @talledale @tynan404

want to be added to the taglist?

[moeitsu]

This shit-post is dedicated to my weird ass friends and the most out of pocket things they've said that I've written in the quote book I've kept in my notes since 2019. Enjoy:

The mayonnaise did wonders for my hair. -P

The Holy Spirit does not want to suck your balls. -E

That's the scariest thing about Halloween...young women. -N

You can put long pasta in there! -E You mean spaghetti? -M

I don't know what blood type I am, is there an app for that? -G

You already said you wouldn't eat my ass -E

What's your major? -K Oh, I'm American. -G

I'm gonna shit in that trash can. -G

Are we about to exchange insurance cards? -J

I'm pretty sure I don't wanna warm my pussy by the fire. -M

Ugh, I don't wanna be a femboy! -M

If you're so worried about the angles then just stick your fingers in the hole. -M

I wish I could be off the grid. -M Like homeless people? -E

Who needs bleach when you have discharge. -J

Why are there panties in your hat? -G

I think I'm mentally disabled. -M No, you're just mentally ill. -E

It could be a deer with down syndrome. -D

I remember when the only app they had was angry birds. -J

Now that's the kind of guy who should be reproducing. -J

Cute rhymes with stupid. -N

No arms, no legs, not even living. But watches porn. -R

Sweaty balls doesn't sound very appetizing. -T

You're starting to look like a real girl again. -N

I always poop in other people's houses. It's how I establish dominance. -T

No sir, I am from Boston. All I know is drink coffee and cuss. -M

The gas station bathroom was treacherous. Pretty sure I saw blood on the walls. -C

If it doesn't cure you, it'll kill you! -Z

Bone dry dunes? That's where you go when you run out of cum. -E

I live by the thee S's: serve, slay, survive. -G

I will not participate in the ass licking. -E

You white people always have cool ancestors. My ancestors were slaves. -S My ancestors were responsible for that. -G

That gives me a free pass to call you a bitch. I'll take it. -N

Would anyone wanna buy my wick-less candles? Shameless plug I know. -K

C'mere, come into my womb. -G

I like your dads meat. -E

Our family funds the entire therapy on the north shore. -B

You can't be this smart w/o massive mental health problems. -B

She doesn't like gay people? -M Nope, she's up in the air about black people too. -P

We're back to our regularly scheduled racism. -R

That's abortion money, not pedicure money. -K

I'm gonna give you a disability if you don't stop. -M

I can always fuck up chicken. Especially the breast. -N

Nice parking job Alabama. Was your sister giving you head while you were driving? -N

I don't think calories are real. I've never seen one. -M

Do you even know what man boobs are? -E It's literally in the name. -M

Can't men flick their nipples off? -E

Well, 5 out of 6 of us were born with a full spine. -E

What's the point of having a gf if you can't objectify her? -N

Mother fucker we don't own straws. We broke as shit. -N

You're like a lollipop triple dipped in psycho flavor. -P

What are you just not gonna feed your kid so you can afford to go to Disney? -A

Do you think she's trans? Like she was a dude and now she's a guy? -N You mean she was a dude and now she's a girl? -M

The boogeyman wants to suck you're toes. -M He would never, he's asexual. -P

We need a new toilet. -P This is American made! This is a quality toilet! -A

There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama. -N

She called me autistic! -P Well, it couldn't hurt to get tested. -A

The shirt says 'wicked strong' -M It should say 'wicked annoying' -N

What bitch is blowing up your phone? -M Literally your Dad. -N

I'm a white girl, of course I love cheese. -S

Why do bad things keep happening to me? Don't they know who I am! -N

It's because I feel safe here. -M Well, maybe you shouldn't. -N

The real magic happens when you embrace the delusion. -K

Oh look, the Trump tower! What if it just blows up? -R

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't finish the Bible. It's on my DNF shelf. Adam and Eve? I need enemies to lovers. -B

A woman bit me, I'm gonna become a prostitute. No! -S

Technically, I'm bisexual. -M You're too old for labels. -G

[yourmybluebanisters]

i’m really tired of people using the edited audio clip, recorded by Johnny of Amber saying "I didn't punch you. I was hitting you, it was not punching you". People use this clip as a way to claim that amber was the abuser which is completely false.

Over years of abuse victims usually change the way they react when trying to survive abuse. Depp would always profusely apologize to Amber after he assaulted her. Johnny writes: "Once again I find myself in a place of shame and regret. Of course, I am sorry. I really don't know why, or what happened. But I will never do it again ...... My illness somehow crept up and grabbed me. I must get better. And I will. For us both. Starting today. I love you. Again, I am so sorry. So sorry." Amber explained that she tried many ways to diffuse the arguments, but the cycle of outbursts then apologies then more outbursts continued no matter what she did. "In these fights, I would try to stand up for myself. By December 2014, I was pushing back, I'd push him off me, I tried to hit his hands away. I tried to always get back up, which would almost always made it worse, always seemed to provoke him. But I tried. I would yell at him, scream at him. I'd call him ugly names. So ashamed of the names we'd call each other. It was awful. And we both got into that pattern. I felt so angry that this was happening to me, and it just felt so unfair. Nothing I did made him stop hitting me. Nothing. I tried for over a year, maybe two, of just not responding physically, not responding verbally, just staring at him. I tried to freeze, I tried going to a different place. I would try then lashing out verbally. I would try to threaten that if he hit me again that I would call the police. I tried to do everything. I even threatened to leave him - tried to leave him. Nothing was working. And I think by this point in our relationship, we're both saying awful things to each other, screaming at each other and, unfortunately, when Johnny would start hitting me, he'd just win." This struggle Amber had with dealing with his violence matches with what their marriage counselor, Dr. Lauren Anderson, said. Anderson testified that Amber told her "she felt she had to hit him back if he hit her so she always did.". Amber was fighting back in that relationship. Do you really believe that 22-year-old amber an unknown actress at the time had any control over 44-year-old Depp with a long well-established career and greater influence/wealth/fame/ fanbase? It is impossible for her to be the one in control in a relationship with someone clearly so much more powerful. It is also notable that in these recordings in which she admits to hitting him, she owns up to her acts and apologizes to him, while he continues to call her names and gaslights her. Her admitting to resorting to violence in self-defense, about having screaming fights and saying horrible things, shows her honesty and makes her sound more credible and trustworthy. In contrast, Johnny claims to be a perfect person who never ever hit any woman, not once, not even in self-defense. This is actually one of the characteristics of DARVO, namely" denying abuse completely". Someone who uses DARVO often also goes on to say that their victim was the "real abuser" and they were the "real victim". The acts of self-defense by their victims are used by abusers to make the abused look like the abuser. Johnny released these edited audio tapes through his minion Adam Waldman to the media and used a bot network to create the narrative that Amber is the abuser. Experts have expressed concerns that this trial is offering abusers a way to exert their power over victims. Amber was the victim. And if you can not admit to that there is something wrong with you.

[l-1-z-a]

Welcome to The Sims 2! Part 42

Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 23:00

Greetings, Sims Fans!

Where, but in The Sims 2, will you find a Social Bunny or an invisible Shrink when the going gets tough? The Sims 2 is, without a doubt, the funniest, quirkiest and most eccentric game that your gaming dollar can buy – a fact we're all extremely proud of. So when it came time to set the game to music, we looked for talent that shared our particularly skewed outlook on life, simulated or otherwise. An unspoken guideline during this process was, if we could find someone with a history of donning flowerpot headgear, our search was over.

Enter Mark Mothersbaugh...

Mark's music career spans more than thirty years, way back to 1972 when he first formed the electro-pop ironist oddity, Devo. The fact that a band as immediately unique and strange as Devo met with some real serious commercial success in the 1980's with hits like "Whip It" draws some obvious parallels to The Sims, which came from out of nowhere and went on to reap a whirlwind of critical and financial accolades, much like the boys of Devo. Of course, when you continually craft gorgeous pop gems, it hardly matters if you dress your band members up as potatoes, which they did for 1982's Oh No! It's Devo! album.

What most people don't know about Mark is that he has been largely eschewing the limelight for the last decade or so to focus instead on a prestigious and lucrative career as a film and television composer. You can hear his handiwork all over the place, popping up in kid-friendly shows like Pee-Wee's Playhouse, or the Nickelodeon hit, The Rugrats. Mark has also crafted some amazing adult-themed scores for indie-film auteur Wes Anderson's films Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, provided the audio accompaniment for Adam Sandler's ode to goofiness, Happy Gilmore, among others.

Mark, thanks for lending us your particular brand of unhinged genius for The Sims 2! We couldn't be happier with the music!

So in anticipation of the impending release of The Sims 2 we'd like you to get yourself in the mood by listening to this track that Mark wrote for the credits of the game over and over and over again, while you daydream about all the endless hours of fun you'll have once The Sims 2 hits store shelves. I like this track as it really captures the quirky, fun feeling of playing The Sims 2.

This track is particularly important for The Sims 2 team, since it's such a happy, bouncy track. It's impossible to hear this piece of music and not be filled with joy, especially when you listen to it playing over the credits. Watching all those names scroll by, it really hits home that the game is complete and that a team of well over 100 extremely talented people worked their tails off ceaselessly to bring it to the screen of your PC. Mark's music really drives home the sense of accomplishment we all feel – not to mention the party atmosphere that has now descended on the office!

Ahh, jeez...I gotta go. I'm getting all misty.

Whip It Good!

Lucy Bradshaw

The Sims 2 Executive Producer

P.S. How many of you have been tracking The Urbz, our upcoming Sims console game? Well, if you haven't seen it yet, head to The Urbz Website ( http://www.theurbz.com ) to get a brief rundown on what happens when the Sims hit the city....and why am I bringing this up, you ask...well since we are on music-related news, I thought it would be cool to note that the hip-hop megastars the Black Eyed Peas are going to be providing music and more to The Urbz: Sims in the City. The Peas are dropping a new album, Monkey Business, in November, which is coincidentally when The Urbz will be hitting stores as well. As part of the deal, new versions of nine of the songs on Monkey Business will be re-recorded in Simlish for the game, and the Peas themselves will appear as characters in the game! How cool is that!!?

The Urbz website:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040920234009/http://urbzsims.ea.com/index_noflash.php

[mlobsters]

supernatural s6e8 all dogs go to heaven (w. adam glass)

(is this the episode that spawned those sentient bestiality fics i've seen with dean as a dog? or is that a different one... dog day afternoon? cue being distracted for ten minutes while i reread the plot summary & real life story for the 1975 movie by that name)

CROWLEY You like pain, Sam? You like Hell? You need to stop thinking of this as some kind of deal. This is a hostage situation, you arrogant little thug. I own your brother! Do you understand me?

CROWLEY Come on, Dean, smile. It's not that bad. Here's incentive – you bag me a live alpha, and I'll give you little Sammy's soul back, with a cherry on top.

easy as pie! no moral conflicts ahead i'm sure

so hey here's the underpinning of irritation or hurt or something that i expected at the least, of sam's year of absence-while-here

SAM He's right. Samuel and I ganked one about six months back on the half-moon. Things have been out of whack for a while now, I guess.

DEAN Yeah, I guess.

dean semi-scowls and makes a you know what i mean face. sam proceeds to look slightly clueless

DETECTIVE What are the Feds doing here?

SAM Oh, we're specialists. They call us in to answer the questions of mouth-breathing dick monkeys.

excuse me what

DEAN You didn't sleep. 'Cause you don't... sleep.

SAM Right.

DEAN Yeah. That's not creepy at all.

SAM Not like I can help it. So, you gonna just lay there staring at me...

--

SAM No love lost between the two of you, huh?

CAL Look, we had our differences, I guess. You love your brother, of course, but... Ron had a lot of problems. He was, uh, volatile.

this show. LOOK HOW THESE RANDO CHARACTERS PARALLEL SAM AND DEAN'S CURRENT ISSUES *cut to dean's face journey for the parallel* heavy handed, as i have come to expect :P

sam not needing to sleep must be handy on their little stakeouts. if dean could trust him alone, that is 🥴

this will come as a shock i'm sure but there's some cute teen wolf fic with stiles picking up derek and taking him home when he's stuck in wolf form for one reason or another (one from my bookmarks). less murdery, of course

nice to see little mundane everyday moments, they don't do many outside of them eating together

getting teen wolf skinwalkers confused with the spn variety. thought they already had done them but i guess not? must be thinking tw. anyway, these skinwalkers are more like teen wolf variety werewolves. so i can be extra confused about it.

okay i know set decoration and all but like, dishes in the drying rack of the kitchenette of this little motel room? okay

SAM Well, I got to tell you, Lucky, you got us stumped. I mean, why shack up with the family? Is it a kinky thing? Do you like to play with your food? Roll over, Lucky. Speak.

😒ok yes he's the bad guy but be an asshole in a different way, sam :p

DEAN You say you're "just folks," yeah? That – that you like baseball and apple pie or whatever. But truth is, I don't know what you are 'cause you're not Sam.

SAM Dean, come on.

DEAN I mean, it's your gigantor body and – and maybe your brain, but it's not you. So just... stop pretending. Do us both a favor.

thank you

interesting music (score) choice and they don't usually do these kind of hero-looking-badass shots. ahh i guess it's like, going with the action movie vibes. what with dean apparently being a sniper too

SAM I'd double-cross us. I mean, he's got to realize that's his best bet, if he wants to keep breathing.

DEAN Nah, he'll go through with it.

SAM You mean 'cause he loves that family?

DEAN Yeah.

SAM I'd double-cross us.

DEAN Thanks, Dexter. That's reassuring.

SAM Just making conversation.

made me laugh. but also like, see, this was the fun potential of soulless!sam when dean knows what's up. whhyyyy did we have to wait so long

✨ action bros ✨

(steadfastly ignoring the slightly fucky coloring on poor jackles, the biggest tell is his lips will look kind of purple when things are off)

SAM You wanted the real me. This is it. I don't care about them. I don't even really care about you. Except that... I need your help. And you're clearly not gonna stick around for much longer unless I give it to you straight, so... I've done a lot worse than you know. I've killed innocent people in the line of duty. But I'm pretty sure it's not something the old me could've done. And maybe I should feel guilty. But I don't.

DEAN Sam, get to the punch line.

SAM I don't know if how I am is better or worse. It's different. You get the job done, and nothing really hurts. That's not the worst thing. But I've been thinking. And it was... it was kinda harder. But there are also things about it I remember that I... Let's just say I think I should probably go back to being him.

DEAN That's very interesting. It's a step.

SAM So?

DEAN We do what we got to do. And we get my brother back.

jackles did a good job with this, sam telling him to his face he doesn't care. and that moment that sam says he remembers (unspecified good things/caring/loving his brother perhaps!!) and dean's got that look above. good emotion face moment

[the-firebird69]

That is a few more things are trained and that we should make a note of.

-it's a huge number of people who are trying to get out to harass people here we noticed it this morning there's just an enormous number of people bothering people and it is it's close and match more like and they're bothering the pseudo empire and they're born bothering them for electronics they simply don't know how to make them. It's a lot of noise and a lot of hassle and really distracts people and the angers them and is a heads up and they are going to go after them it is a technique that has never been proven to work and that's what they've chosen to do and even with a robotic army you still need to have ships and it's looked at us some kind of a foolish thing to do but that's what it is and it's going on now a lot of it

-we have calls from all over the world recently in this morning and then many more have to post for them for us to produce their beer and some of them are viable we have just a lot of calls and we can read them out by the phone number but we have about 20 that are serious and they're real brand beer. Molson is one of them and no. But one of them is straws and low in brows one and they want to make the beer and they were making it before. A certain company and undercut the price and we're wondering if it's viable but really they're making the stuff they're making a lot of it it's kind of hard to do that. A few ones that are notable was slits that's another it's Schlitz and several other brands we've been talking about Colt 45 is one of them half in a rougher half in refer and they're trying to get that going but they can't seem to do it and they want us to grow it and they'll have a small facility and we can help them figure out how to prove exactly we did say that to them we would rearrange their facility and get the Brew process working to have the exact same recipe and brew and they like it because they think they can take it all over but they can't usually they don't have the ability so we're picking up these what you would call probably remote beers and we're getting ready to make them one of them that came up this morning is an interesting beer it didn't go too far but it is a world famous Brew and it is not Sam Adams but it's similar it's our son used the word once recently but not for quite a while this beer Meister and you remember things like that different type of memory this beer is pretty good and some colored Meister Brown and there's not a different version it's beer Meister and it's a German Brew and so when you find in most of the beer halls and people know that and try to sell it in regular cans and didn't work they haven't can it's shaped like a keg in Germany and they tried selling it in that and it didn't work but if you combine the two it works and they notice them but you can't sell that much cuz it cost more yeah cost more to sell severe in a funny kid and you don't really want to do that but he says you can't really sell that type of beer in a regular can at least it shouldn't be at first and he is right they sell it in a larger can not as big as fosters but pretty big and it's a special groove in a forecast and people will notice it in a lot of people will buy it because of the packaging but it's really the beer. My son had some wasn't supposed to to try it and it said boy that is good and you didn't want to drink because he's in a foreign country but it was really nice. They had a Belgian beer named na and we might produce the Belgian beer with alcohol at first and without later on and that would be us and we do know why.

These things are happening right now too huge orders are requested from some of them and some of them have actually a program and have started to try and Brew and they just can't get the Brew right the waters not good and they need help with it and we can do that and they would set up their brewery consult and would send people who are theirs from our plant to restructure to clean the equipment to put in the proper valves and pressures and cooking machines and timers and sensors and it really needs all of that to be redone and we have a lot of it so he says we probably go up and start a pilot version of it and part of the plant and see if they can actually do it and that's not a bad idea and it would be like incognito and they would test the beer locally and we like that idea. Because you're probably do that but it's really a smart thing to do. I'm getting going on a lot of ideas but the parting out idea has started this morning there's a huge call for it it's a giant number of people is about 10 factories that are going to open from now until next week and they're big and they plan to park cars out fiber in San Francisco five of them and he's trying to get ahead of it now more shortly

Thor Freya

Olympus

[scumshae]

rambling in the middle of the night to get my thoughts in order

this is my first time actually dating more than one person at a time. ive known im non-monogamous for like 3 years at this point but ive never been able to really act on it, so this feeling is... really new to me. i never really understood how it would feel. there was a part of me that thought it would feel like partitioning my heart per person but i really should have known im way too fucking adhd and momentary and bokononist to be that organized. it's more like my whole ass heart is beating however it wants to on a per person basis.

im having to reevaluate the wording of a lot of my feelings despite not a single one changing. take my life partner for example: xey are my partner, the person i trust more than anyone, the person i work with, who i want to live with, and who i feel most compatible with. but the question comes up like, do i specifically love xem more than other people? ...maybe? maybe not? i guess the real, more honest, and probably healthiest answer is: "who fucking cares?" love is not a promise, it's not a debt, it's a feeling. i love my life partner, i feel completely comfortable being entirely myself with xem, my heart beats out of my goddamn chest for xem, and holy shit does the sex rule. why should literally anyone else factor into that? they don't have to. and they shouldn't. my love for xem is it's own thing, i love xem for xem, i always have--no one and nothing else is part of it.

i think really i was still a little adherent to cishet monogamous relationship standards. that The Relationship has to be entirely above everything else, and honestly FUCK that. we are our own people. im not [partner's name]'s girlfriend, im shae. what i do for xem, i do because i want to, not because our relationship is inherently more important or something. that philosophy is part of what's helped us be so healthy for each other. we're not responsible for each other, we don't need each other. we're here because we want to be. and we can always change our mind. we can say no, we can ask for things, make our wants clear, set boundaries, whatever. we're our own people. and that's the raddest part. i get to love xem for xem and nothing else.

i think that adherence is responsible for another anxiety: that i can't date other people because i don't know if i can be consistent with them, give them enough attention. funny thing is, that's an anxiety i also had as soon as my life partner came to live with me, and... it wasn't a problem. we figured it out, we give attention when we want to; and if we want or need it, we ask for it. we're not responsible for each other and if we need or want something, we can ask. and we can also always say no. assuming was a thing we killed pretty early on in our relationship. so what attention is being given here that couldn't also be figured out in another relationship? im adamant about being as close to as healthy as i am with my life partner with anyone im romantic with, so what's the risk in attention? there really isn't one.

so, the situation: im dating two people at the same time and going, "well shit, my heart's beating just as hard ain't it?" and that's cool, it's rad, it can be just as healthy and i get to learn a new person and figure out what works for us. it doesn't have to mean anything bad and things are okay. i trust myself, and i know ill figure out whatever i need to. i think i am realizing there's probably less of a relationship hierarchy for me as i once thought but who cares? it honestly doesn't change a thing about how i feel. and that's cool.

[artsyongallifrey]

Yeah, I've heard about that. And it's uhh... oh boy.

So from my understanding, in Judaism, most of Genesis is considered to be largely not a literal historical account. Lots of Evangelicals, particularly Southern Baptists, take it extremely literally. The universe is six thousand years old and was created in a week. Adam and Eve were real people. Noah did have to build an ark with two of every creature because the entire planet was flooded. The tower of Babel is why we have language. Dinosaurs and people lived at the same time (or were invented by Satan to lead us away from the Lord or something). All of it is literally exactly what historically happened.

Ken Ham, as you said, is a creationist. But he's not just any creationist- he's the head honcho Creationist. He's the guy that has popularized modern day creationism. He founded Answers in Genesis, the company responsible for the church curriculum by the same name, and the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter- a supposed exact replica of Noah's arc. He also famously debated Bill Nye.

He's also made a metric fuckton of money off of Answers in Genesis. He may very well be a con artist. Or not.

Either way, I cannot speak enough to the harm he's done to the education and minds of Christians. As you said earlier, no, we aren't taught Hebrew. And we sure as hell aren't taught to figure out what a translation of the Bible means for ourselves. We're taught to blindly take everything a pastor says at face value and not look too deeply into it on our own, because we weren't ordained by our God to read and teach scripture. That's what pastors are for. This culture surrounding Evangelicals put them in an intellectually vulnerable place. And along came Ken Ham (who is, quite ironically, not ordained), touting the importance of literal interpretations of Genesis. That if the Word of God is true, then that means Genesis is a literal historical account. You can't trust the scientists who say that the universe is billions of years old! That's a lie devised by Satan to lead us astray.

(And that mistrust of science is how you get so many Christians who were anti-masking, anti-vaccine, and just anti-science in general.)

*exasperated sigh*

(I really did originally intend to provide a light-hearted response, but... this is what came out. Sorry. I have no idea how much you know or don't know, so I over-explained.)

If Ken Ham is to be believed, that Genesis is to be taken literally, then I cannot wait to see what new language the good Lord smites him with for this (hey, there was a joke to be made after all!).

Okay so, after being (deservedly) roasted for my admitting to getting Elijah and Elisha mixed up, you will be very entertained by the knowledge that this is an issue amongst many Christians (namely the Southern Baptists I grew up with), so much so that I've participated in multiple Bible trivia contests at church featuring an "Elijah or Elisha" segment.

😂

i find this particular facet of american (southern) xtian culture to be strange bc like, none of these ppl are learning hebrew despite it being the language of all their texts. they're just going off of translations, which they do study the differences between, but they don't learn to read the original to cross reference.

in other southern protestant news, creationist ken ham is currently attempting to build the tower of babel as his next museum. i'm not sure whether myself and xtians read the same book of genesis, but i was under the impression that the tower of babel story is a metaphor for how human innovation and ambitious projects can be bad sometimes. i might be an idiot but i think that the main takeaway is that you shouldn't build the tower of babel.

(@whitehairedanimeboyfriend talked about this last bit on stream, so credit where credit is due. his streams are great, check him out if you'd like.)

[fancyshooting]

OCELOT'S CODENAME

like the other members of foxhound, revolver ocelot's codename is derived from his weapon of choice and an animal. why an ocelot?

here's an excerpt from this 1998 interview with hideo kojima:

How did you came up with Ocelot’s name?

Well, originally he was going to be named Lynx, which is a wildcat [山猫/yamaneko in Japanese, literally a mountain cat]. However, to a Japanese person that name doesn’t quite convey that image. I thought making him a wildcat would be cool, wouldn’t it? So I really wanted him to be a wildcat.

So there’s a story written by author Yoichi Funato about a certain wildcat and it’s an ocelot, so that’s when I thought “alright, this is the one.” [Kojima is likely referring to the novel Yamaneko no Natsu/山猫の夏, otherwise known as The Summer of the Ocelot.]

Are ocelot wildcats?

That’s right! I decided on Revolver Ocelot since it sounded cool and was the easiest to understand in terms of image. Like an “old man wildcat” who happens to be sly. 

the book is set in brazil and tells the story of a feud between two families. this "ocelot" is hired by one of the families and violence ensues. it's only in japanese so idk much about it other than what google translate shows... but the wiki page lists four things about the character: he's in his 40s, he is good at shooting, he is a skilled martial artist and he likes the caipirinha cocktail. some of these traits are of course shared by our ocie. whether that includes enjoying a refreshing caipirinha I do not know

and from the "summer of the wildcat" synopsis:

"Wherever the wildcat moves, blood splatters immediately. When will the terrifying identity of the mysterious wildcat be revealed?"

reading this, you can see why kojima thought "ocelot" suited his character - the lone, mysterious, middle-aged killer

in mgs3, as pointed out by para-medic, the name "ocelot" is a hint to his split allegiance ("why would a soviet officer be using the name of an american wildcat?"). it also appears that ocelot identifies with these proud creatures somewhat. why's that? here's what I think:

for this to stand, you need to believe that ocelot's NSA backstory is true. the ADAM and EVA defection is based on the irl martin and mitchell defection and they followed the typical defector route of US -> cuba -> USSR. ADAM almost definitely travelled through south america. which animal can be found here? THE OCELOT!!

they're elusive but maybe he caught a rare sighting of one. he was only sixteen years old at the time and maybe he was feeling a bit apprehensive about this extremely important/complicated/risky mission that he had no say in partaking in. maybe a comparison was drawn between ADAM and the ocelot by whoever he was travelling with (EVA? the real one obv -_-). the ocelot is solitary and hunts under cover of darkness, much in the same way ADAM is expected to operate. stay hidden, be independent, never forget your objective. the mission will take years but don't let your prey escape. no matter how much you think you trust someone, remember: you hunt alone. "ocelot" was a sort of a last-minute codename to prepare him for his mission

"You're not a snake and I'm not an ocelot. we're men, with names."

this is ocelot acknowledging that "ocelot" is as much of a persona as "shalashaska". snake seems to be the first person to recognise the humanity in ocelot, which is the primary reason ocelot is drawn to him imo. I wrote about this before blah blah blah, back to the point: raised as a tool of the philosophers, ocelot's true personality was constantly suppressed so that he could adapt to any given situation. if mgsv really is a closer depiction of his true personality, then clearly he is a lot more benevolent and sympathetic than is ideal for a soldier-spy-terrorist-interrogator. he is only "ocelot" for most of his life because the characteristics he has attributed to that persona are those that are most suited to his all-consuming work

also ocelots stand slightly bow-legged and it reminds me of the classic cartoon cowboy stance:

^^^ all cowboys ^^^

what really happened is whoever gave him his codename saw an ocelot standing like this and said adam that's u lol

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1062 - Initial Thoughts

And we're back

Once again Oda dropped a bomb and dipped for an extra week but now we're back to await answers

This is the second time I've had to write this XD My PC froze so I had to restart it

but still, let's get this Vegapunk arc going!

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the official release also

Oh we know whose technique that is, seems that Blackbeard's crew were indeed in Whole Cake Island, ara ara

Picking up right where we left off, Franky and Usopp are still fanning out on Vegapunk, while Sanji and Brook are in the 'pretty lady' mindset

Robin however does point out that Vegapunk has been referred to a dude for much of the story

As fans theorised, 02 is simply not Vegapunk's main body, this is Vegapunk Lilith

Interesting to choose biblical since Lilith is sometimes deemed the second human to be created; after Adam but before Eve

Lilith however reminds the crew this isn't a rescue and demands they hand over their loot, which of course Nami takes offense to

Lilith though claims that the crew is surrounded, with her squad of cyborg sea monsters

Franky's still fanning out while Usopp is between panic and fanning, Zoro however remains unimpressed

Lilith though is contacted by 'Shaka' who reprimands her for looting - even if its for getting more funds

Seems both are aware that this is the Straw Hats, but Lilith believes that our idiots actually have money XD like her cute devious face though

Shaka though notes that Zoro and Robin are calm in the situation, meaning they know they can take her

But I wouldn't call the others idiots, they may end up surprising you

Zoro's willing to play it cool with Lilith though, since he wants something from them. Likely a means to help Luffy's group reunite but you never know

Shaka has interesting stock in the Straw Hats too, asking Lilith to bring them over

Shaka is Punk-01 'Logic', fitting for the name

Over to Luffy's squad and Bonney's in a sharing mood, seems she was here a long time ago when it was just a minor lab

Bonney is indeed after answers from Vegapunk about Kuma...who is her Father!

I mean, it explains a lot and yet so little, no wonder she and Akainu are acquainted and she hates him

But still, Bonney princess of the Sorbet Kingdom, I guess this puts the age question out of the Void Century, unless she used her ability on Kuma too, guess that would be a way to 'commit every crime' per his title

Also we can't dodge the fact that Kuma fucks. Hope he put a ring on it given how he carries that bible around

Jinbe is of course angered by this (not sure if he knows it's Kuma she's talking about but he may've had a dynamic with him as fellow warlords)

It is at least enough for Luffy to try and remember Bonney's name better

Bonney meanwhile realises she forgot to tell Luffy about Sabo - meaning she must know about their brotherhood - but expects she'll have a chance later

They reach the ground floor and it looks like a city from the Jetsons, with a Mecha/Kaiju battle overhead and a lot of Vega branding, plus SSG at the top

Naturally, with all the Steve Irwin energy he can muster, Luffy decides he's gonna ride this gigantic beast...but ends up firing into its mouth

or, not? He goes straight through. The group then see a parfait and go for it (despite Jinbe's warnings it could be a trap) and go through that too

Bonney surmises that these must be holograms, and not Luffy's suggestion that they died and are now ghosts XD food not being real though triggers a Sanji-esque flaming reaction from Luffy

Jinbe suggests that the mech is also a hologram, stating that nobody could make something that big (of course unaware of the mecha that saved the Sunny) but also wonders why the climate is different from the Winter Island climate

This prompts a new Punk to arrive, stating that they made a climate air con. This Punk looks a bit like Uta too, except gigantic and like a sheep-girl-thing, also Jetpacks and rocket boots

Luffy thinks this is another hologram and goes to hit it to test, but when he makes contact he's surprised that the Punk hits back

Fortunately, he's hit into a machine that makes food, and the three gluttons go wild for it

Do you think Vega Cola would make Franky more or less Super?

Seems this Punk is also aggrieved by lack of funding, as well as engineers being unable to follow their blueprints. They're so angry that they punch a hologram too

Seems this Punk made special gloves that can touch holograms, which does feel a little like they're making Kizaru deterrents...

Seems the Punk feels that their Holograms are 'real' in a sense, but like Luffy often does tells others to figure out how they feel, before introducing themselves as Vegapunk too

Bonney doesn't buy it, but this is Punk 06: Atlas rather than the main guy, 'Wrath' is also its sign which is why it's shown to be frustrated and aggressive

Dunno what animal tail that's supposed to be either

Luffy meanwhile remembers the name Vegapunk...not by Bonney who told him last chapter but from Coby back at Water Seven XD

Meanwhile in the New World, CP0 are back in play

This time it's Lucci, Kaku and Stussy, all with their masks on the table, as Kaku tries to explain to Lucci the Vegapunk situation

Vegapunk has took a trick from Nagato and split themselves into Six 'satellites' so they can multitask

In numeric order we have Shaka, Lilith, Edison, Pythagoras, Atlas (even though their dress and name plate said 06) and Yoke (or is it York? Maybe relative to Captain Yorki Brook's old captain??)

Their sign is Logic, Evil (probably a nod to Lilith being mother of demons), Flair (kinda hope he's just a plagiarist), Wisdom, Wrath and Desire

There's also a Seraphim Kuma on the ship, deemed a 'problem child' that they're taking back to Egghead

but this is only a front for their actual mission: Kill all the Vegapunks

Lucci does wonder if this is tied into Lulusia, but Stussy does slyly note that it's not their job to ask questions

Unlike Lucci though, questions is all we have to ask!

The Vegapunk stuff isn't surprising, but I still like it. Seven different Vegapunks are running around with different personalities, skills and agendas, which can blend well with the different personality types of the crew and Bonney.

Speaking off, Bonney has perfectly blended into the group, not that I had much doubt, but she has the seriousness Zoro, Jinbe and Robin issue but the silliness that Luffy, Usopp and Chopper exude. Revealing her to be Kuma's daughter is a surprise, but it does add to her and Kuma's mystery.

And Oda is slowly putting all manner of threats in the way; CP0 and a defective Kuma Seraphim on their way to kill all the Vegapunks, which will likely bring all of the plots post-Reverie to light when it comes to the Straw Hats. It'll be interesting how Lucci and Kaku rate against Luffy and Zoro now, part of me wants them to be weaker just so we can get Kaku vs Usopp but another part of me feels like Lucci and Luffy should be on similar levels. With CP0 unraveling in Wano too, I wonder if this leads to a bigger fallout, but really I'd be happy if they simply don't squash Tashigi and Smoker if he's here, give Smoker and Tashigi a big win instead.

We still have Shaka to physically meet and 3 more Punks to entirely meet in this arc, but I'm liking what we're seeing

Plus since there's multi Vegapunks I'm going all in on calling it the 'Vegapunk Arc' rather than Egghead Island, let's manifest it!