#ar 96

[deutschland-im-krieg]

Bulls tow a Focke-Wulf Fw 190S-8 training fighter past pilots of II./JG 301, Stendal, 1945. Arado Ar 96 in background. For more, see my Facebook group - Eagles of the Reich

[dontforgetukraine]

"I watched a film today at the Venice Film Festival titled "Russians at War." Since our film is in the same section as this one, I usually wouldn’t speak publicly about it. However, in this case, I cannot remain silent, because it’s not just about films and art, but about the lives of thousands of people who die in this war— a war that has instrumentalized propaganda as its weapon.

This film may mislead you into believing that it is an anti-war film, one that questions the current regime in Russia. However, what I witnessed is a prime example of pure Russian propaganda. Here’s why.

The filmmaker begins by expressing her surprise at the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In her film, she always uses the term “invasion” and never "full-scale invasion." She does not mention that Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014. These two events seem to not exist in the world of this film. The filmmaker also states that her country hasn’t participated in wars for many years and that she has only read about wars in books. Thus, the war in 2022 was a complete shock for her. It’s interesting how the filmmaker could overlook the fact that her country has been inherently involved in various wars and occupations for at least the last 30 years (1992-93 Transnistria, Abkhazian War, 1994-96 and 1999-2009 Chechen Wars, the 2008 war in Georgia, and the 2015-2022 invasion of Syria).

The filmmaker starts her narrative with a Ukrainian who now lives in Russia and fights on the Russian side. This is a very intriguing choice for the beginning of a story about Russians at war. Later, this character will claim that a CIVIL war began in Ukraine in 2014. He will also suggest that Ukrainians bombed the eastern parts of their own country (and this is why he moved to Russia). Another character will declare that Ukrainians are Nazis. We’ve heard these narratives before; they are (and apparently still are) widely and actively propagated by Russian media. One of those horns of propaganda is Russia Today channel, for which the director of "Russians at War" has previously made several documentary films.

Throughout the film, all characters express their confusion about their actions in Ukraine, stating they want the war to end and that most of them are fighting for money. In the final part of the film, the battalion is moved to Bakhmut, and most characters die in battle. We then see their comrades and relatives grieving at their graves. All of them repeat that they don’t understand why this war is happening and who needs it. In the end, the filmmaker concludes that these are poor, ordinary Russian people who are being manipulated into war by larger political games. I found this perspective amusing because the filmmaker—like putin and his regime—plays an interesting game with these people. They deny them the simple ability to possess dignity and to think and decide for themselves. To her, these people are merely powerless objects. If those engaged in a war that has lasted over 10 years were not powerless, it would imply that they, in the majority, actually support this war, wouldn’t it?

You will feel pity for the people depicted as dying in the film and for those we see crying for their loved ones. And you should—if you are a normal human being, you should feel pity, sadness, and emotion. However, it is also important to remember that these individuals joined the army that invaded an independent country, many of them willingly, as we learn from the film. You should also recall Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, and the civilians who were murdered there. Remember the thousands of children who were illegally transported from Ukraine to Russia. While I’m writing this and while you’re reading it, missiles are striking Ukrainian cities. The buttons are pushed by ordinary Russians. Are their crimes any less significant simply because they claim to be unaware of why they are involved in this war?

By the way, the director asks one of the characters if he thinks the Russian army commits any war crimes. He answers “no,” claiming he hasn’t witnessed any war crimes. Interestingly, the director echoes this in her interviews, stating she saw no signs of war crimes during her time near the front (https://www.reuters.com/.../russian-soldiers-given-their.../). We can only be happy for her that she was fortunate enough not to witness any war crimes. Unfortunately, thousands of Ukrainians have not been so lucky.

I could continue, but I believe it’s enough to understand that this film presents a very distorted picture of reality, spreading false narratives (calling the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea a civil war; suggesting that the Russian army does not commit any war crimes; presenting those who are part of the aggressors army as victims).

If you decide to watch it, I recommend following it with another documentary about Russian soldiers titled "Intercepted," directed by Oksana Karpovych. "Intercepted" also opens a door into the lives of ordinary Russians fighting in this war. You’ll be curious to explore it, as it will undoubtedly surprise you. You may also want to add "20 Days in Mariupol" to your viewing list, just to be able «to see through the fog of war," as the director of "Russians at War" so aptly put it."

—Darya Bassel, Ukrainian film producer of war documentary “Songs of Slow Burning Earth

[bright-eyes-strawberry-lies]

Top 100 PJO Characters List

I'm totally not procrastinating anything but here's a list of the top 100 most tagged PJO characters on AO3. As usual this doesn't include Magnus Chase or Kane Chronicles. I'm sorry. Today is 5/27/24.

1. Percy Jackson - 30,957

2. Nico di Angelo - 23,414

3. Annabeth Chase - 21,924

4. Will Solace - 14,767

5. Jason Grace - 14,228

6. Piper McLean - 10,759

7. Leo Valdez - 10,122

8. Hazel Levesque - 8,306

9. Frank Zhang - 6,577

10. Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano - 5,728

11. Thalia Grace - 5,676

12. Apollo - 4,840

13. Sally Jackson - 4,783

14. Luke Castellan - 4,484

15. Grover Underwood - 4,330

16. Chiron - 4,102

17. Poseidon - 3,800

18. Hades - 3,341

19. Clarisse la Rue - 2,845

20. Rachel Elizabeth Dare - 2,790

21. Zeus - 2,367

22. Bianca di Angelo - 2,324

23. Dionysus - 2,078

24. Artemis - 2,050

25. Connor Stoll - 2,022

26. Calypso - 1,796

27. Travis Stoll - 1,775

28. Paul Blofis - 1,751

29. Kayla Knowles - 1,729

30. Silena Beauregard - 1,578

31. Hermes - 1,530

32. Aphrodite - 1,502

33. Athena - 1,483

34. Lou Ellen Blackstone - 1,352

35. Hera - 1,195

36. Austin Lake - 1,154

37. Drew Tanaka - 1,152

38. Ares - 1,150

39. Charles Beckendorf - 1,026

40. Octavian - 996

41. Persephone - 987

42. Hestia - 920

43. Katie Gardner - 864

44. Estelle Blofis - 860

45. Tyson - 856

46. Cecil Markowitz - 837

74. Zoe Nightshade - 837

48. Chris Rodriguez - 762

49. Ethan Nakamura - 761

50. Kronos - 755

51. Triton - 750

52. Meg McCaffrey - 685

53. Michael Yew - 627

54. Hephaestus - 625

55. Demeter - 597

56. Malcolm Pace - 586

57. Lee Fletcher - 575

58. Amphitrite - 536

59. Gabe Ugliano - 480

60. Gleeson Hedge - 454

61. Naomi Solace - 418

62. Maria di Angelo - 410

63. Frederick Chase - 409

64. Hecate - 401

65. Mitchell - 363

66. Juniper - 342

67. Pollux - 317

68. Jake Mason - 300

69. Thanatos - 293

70. Nyssa Barrera - 287

71. Lacy - 255

72. Hylla Ramirez-Arellano - 247

73. Dakota - 245

74. Gaea - 239

75. Mrs. O’Leary - 230

76. Blackjack - 212

77. Miranda Gardiner - 212

78. Sherman Yang - 203

79. Bob/Iapetus - 202

80. Tartarus - 199

81. The Fates - 196

82. Castor - 191

83. Eros - 187

84. Nyx - 177

85. Chaos - 176

86. Shel - 174

87. Harley - 171

88. Clovis - 165

89. Tristan McLean - 164

90. Kymopoleia - 160

91. Festus - 159

92. Annabeth Chase’s Stepmother - 153

93. Gwendolyn - 153

94. Beryl Grace - 152

95. Lupa - 152

96. May Castellan - 149 

97. Ella - 129

98. Medusa - 129

99. Lityerses - 123

100. Esperanza Valdez - 120

[la-femme-au-collier-vert]

From The Library of Anne Rice (Part 1)

A list of books owned by Anne Rice including annotation information taken from auction listings at Bonham's, October 2024. Will continue in Part 2.

Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (abridged edition).New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1963. She writes on the flyleaf in June of 2012: "When I bought this book I don't know. I know I read it or a copy of it in the 1980s when writing The Vampire Lestat. It is essential to me." On the jacket spine she has added "Sacred!"

Frazer, James G. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. 1981. Marked on the cover, "Gift to Stan from Anne 1985 / Save Always, AR," and internally reads in Stan's handwriting: "A gift to me from Anne because I've never read it."

Gaskell, Elizabeth. Tales of Mystery & the Macabre. Wordsworth edition, 2007. bears Rice's ownership signature to title page ("Anne Rice / May 29, 2012 / The Desert") and is tabbed and annotated throughout. 

Gaskell, Elizabeth. North and South. Penguin Books, 2000. bears her ownership signature on the title page.

Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls. New York: Charles Scribner's Son, 1940. Original beige cloth stamped cover and spine, in facsimile dust jacket. First edition with the Scribner's "A" on the copyright page. With Post-it note to front pastedown indicating that the book was a gift "From Becket and Christina / Christmas / 2012."

King, B. B. & David Ritz. Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. King. New York: Avon Books, 1996. First edition, inscribed to "To Anne / All the best to you / B.B. King / 10-18-96." 

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. Cutchogue, NY: Buccaneer Books, 1976. Anne Rice ownership signature dated February 7, 2015, Palm Desert. Annotated on front pastedown; "It's immediately a pleasure, and making me want to write."

 Montgomery, L.M. Emily's Quest. Oxford City Press, 2009. Anne Rice ownership signature dated February 21, 2015; annotated and tabbed.

Montgomery, L.M. Emily Climbs. Sourcebooks, 2014. Anne Rice ownership signature dated February 12, 2015.

Montgomery, L.M. Emily of New Moon. Ameron House, c.2015. Anne Rice ownership signature dated February 6, 2015, inscribed: "Reading the paperback and loving it so much I had to have a hardcover." 

Montgomery, L.M. The Blue Castle. Sourcebooks, 2011. Anne Rice ownership signature dated May 12, 2015 to title page.

Puzo, Mario. The Godfather. New York: Putnam, 1969. Book club edition. On May 26 and 27, 2013, she writes, "Badly need this, Studying in detail" and on page 74 she writes, "Note how easily it flows." She has great praise for the nimbleness of the novel's p.o.v. and is often asking herself "how can I learn from this?" On p 225 she writes, "This is a most impressive piece of work and is masterly. Again I marvel at vocabulary, tone, and placement—organization of the book. I fight OCD as I write, I've come to see that, and this helps me to see what this novel accomplishes. Presenting the Don as a 'great' man, a 'genius,' without apology is a conscious approach that is so powerful."

Puzo, Mario. The Godfather. Another copy, later edition, lacking jacket. With Anne Rice's ownership signature.

Puzo, Mario. The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions. London; William Heinneman, 1972.

Puzo, Mario. The Fortunate Pilgrim. New York: Random House, 1997. Anne Rice ownership signature. 

Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1908. Anne Rice re-read this copy of Ben-Hur in 2006, a used copy she picked up somewhere, leaving detailed marginalia throughout and summing up her thoughts on the first flyleaf: "12-12-06: This is an amazing achievement: a Judeo-Christian novel. Jewish history and honor are here! And a woman tells this history to her son! How did we get away from this to The Robe ... 12-15-06: I've spent over two days reading & studying this wonderful book. It does seem unique—and it covers an amazing amt of material including a physical description of Our Lord, the crucifixion, etc. It is not anti-semitic. It presents Jews as exotic, 'oriental.' It has a primitive quality ... why is the prose so difficult? so 'dated'? Compare to Dickens." Rice's notes in the margin often compare the novel to (presumably the 1959 version of) the film, finding the novel superior in every way, and commenting more than once on its structural similarities to Dickens: "the whole spectacle and the co-incidence" (p 166).

Cleland, John. 1709-1789. Fanny Hill or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. New York: Penguin Books, 1985. Annotated and with ownership signature to the title page: "Anne Rice / January 2014 / Palm Desert." Rice underscores Cleland's descriptions of bodies and physical acts, and in particular, wonders about the novel's p.o.v.: on p 108 she writes in the margin, "Is this a man's view? A gay man? An author who is male and female?"

Clinton, Bill. Born 1946. My Life. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2004. Jacket spine with label "From the library of Anne Rice" laid down to tail. First edition, inscribed on the title page, "To Anne—After doing this book, I admire you even more—Bill Clinton." with: a note on the Office of William J. Clinton letterhead: "2/17 —Huma—For author ANNE RICE.—Thanks, Sally." When Clinton published his memoir in 2024, Rice was one of the VIPs to receive a presentation copy, in which he expresses his admiration for her work after having written a book of his own.

Bellman, Henry. 1882-1945. Kings Row. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1943. Annotated and with ownership signature to front free endpaper: "Anne Rice / June 27, 2013 / Palm Desert." Rice has carefully read and annotated this copy, complementing the writing (particularly when Bellamann writes about Father Donovan) and adds a long note on the rear pastedown: "Pages & pages of this book are about the mind—about how the mind learns, expands, grows, experiences." Sometimes her comments are in conversation with the text, as when, on p 153, she underlines the town of Auvergne and writes "Auvergne, what a coincidence! As I plan a trip there and write about Lestat!"

Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield.  New York: Penguin Classics, 2014. With ownership signature of Anne Rice dated June 11, 2018, tabbed and annotated throughout. On the preliminary leaf of Copperfield, Rice writes, "Again with my beloved David, and my beloved Dickens. I have just read Claire Tomalink 'The Invisible Woman' and her later bio of Dickens. I'm writing my new novel in my head."

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Penguin Classics, 2008. Signed and dated June 15, 2018, tabbed and annotated throughout.

Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnen. South Moon Under. New York, London: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933 (undated later facsimile edition).

Mitchell, Margaret, Gone With the Wind. New York: [Simon and Schuster], 2011. Rice reread this copy in March of 2015, tabbing dozens of pages and commenting in the margins.

Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2007. The first date on this copy of War and Peace is June 30, 2010, and Rice writes: "The Desert / Being reborn in Tolstoy, studying at his feet—Searching for the Christ who is bigger than religion." In a different ink, Rice adds at the top of the same page, "Revisiting 7-16-17—Having seen much of the new BBC series with Lily James as Natasha." Rice has tabbed the pages throughout this volume and made extensive notes on character development and theme. On the rear flyleaf, she adds, "'Life is everything...' p 10064— use for L" as well as "The guiltlessness of suffering (do we make ourselves suffer to be guiltless)?"

Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karinina. Translated by Rosamund Bartlett. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Signed and annotated February 19, 2015. Heavily tabbed, especially in the center part of the novel, and noted on the front flyleaf: "Reading chunks of the story of Levin & Kitty / So beautiful and smooth—"

[howtomuslim]

Why The Quran Asks Us To Ponder

Islam emphasises reflection, urging believers to use reason and contemplation to grasp the magnificence of creation and the purpose of life. The Quran, revealed to be a guidance for humanity, frequently calls us to use our intellect and ponder over the signs of Allah’s creation, encouraging deeper faith, gratitude, and understanding.

Below, we explore the Quran’s repeated call to contemplation, the signs in Allah’s creation, and the wisdom behind this reflection.

The Call to Ponder: A Divine Invitation

The Quran mentions the act of pondering 13 times, inviting readers to think beyond surface realities. Reflection in Islam is not just intellectual but also spiritual, helping people develop a connection with Allah by appreciating the beauty and precision of His creations. The Quran often presents questions that awaken hearts and minds:

“Do you not think?” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:44)

“Will you not then ponder?” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:219)

“Do they not reflect upon the Quran?” (Surah An-Nisa, 4:82)

“Will they not contemplate within themselves?” (Surah Ar-Rum, 30:8)

“So reflect, O people of insight.” (Surah Al-Hashr, 59:21)

“Do they not contemplate the Word?” (Surah Al-Mu’minun, 23:68)

“Do they not reflect upon the stories?” (Surah Yusuf, 12:111)

“Will you not ponder?” (Surah Al-Anaam, 6:50)

“In that are signs for those who reflect.” (Surah Ar-Rum, 30:21)

“For those who think and reflect…” (Surah Al-Zumar, 39:42)

“Do they not reflect on what Allah has created?” (Surah Al-A’raf, 7:185)

“Have they not traveled through the land to reflect?” (Surah Al-Hajj, 22:46)

“Do they not reflect on the heavens and the earth?” (Surah Ghafir, 40:57)

The Quran draws our attention to the vastness and intricacy of the universe as signs of Allah’s creative power:

“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, are signs for those of understanding.” (Surah Aal-Imran, 3:190)

From the sky to the earth, the Quran teaches that every element of nature reflects divine wisdom. The harmony in ecosystems, the precise orbit of celestial bodies, and the perfect design of living beings all bear witness to Allah’s knowledge and control.

Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: “Think about the creation of Allah, but do not think about the essence of Allah, for you will never be able to comprehend it.” (Sunan Abi Dawood, 4726)

Islam invites us to appreciate Allah’s signs but warns against delving into matters beyond human understanding, such as Allah’s essence.

Gratitude and Faith through Reflection

Contemplation naturally leads to gratitude. When we reflect upon the intricacies of creation, we recognizse our dependence on Allah’s blessings and mercy, increasing our faith and humility. The Quran says:

“If you were to count the favours of Allah, you could never enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Surah An-Nahl, 16:18)

Reflection transforms routine experiences — such as observing the sunrise or feeling the breeze — into moments of spiritual awareness. Gratitude, in Islam, is not merely verbal but is shown through worship, kindness, and responsible stewardship of the earth.

Islam’s Encouragement to Seek Knowledge

Islam’s emphasis on reflection fosters a deep love for learning and personal growth. The first revealed words of the Quran were:

“Read in the name of your Lord who created.” (Surah Al-Alaq, 96:1)

This call to read, understand, and seek knowledge underscores the importance of intellectual development in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said:

“Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.” (Ibn Majah, Hadith 224)

The act of pondering leads to acquiring knowledge, developing moral character, and fulfilling our purpose as vicegerents of Allah on earth.

Islamic Science and Innovation: A Legacy of Enlightenment Exploring the Golden Age and Pioneering Contributions in Astronomy and Medicinemedium.com

The Quran and Sunnah guide believers to reflect on both scripture and creation, allowing them to develop a profound connection with Allah. Through contemplation, one not only understands life’s purpose but also appreciates the beauty, wisdom, and mercy of God. This reflection leads believers to live mindfully, with gratitude and humility, striving to embody the teachings of Islam.

Emphasis of Good Character and Manners in Islam Islam is not just a set of rituals or beliefs; it is a comprehensive way of life that emphasises the importance of good…medium.com

Learn more about Islam here: https://www.howtomuslim.org

[zahri-melitor]

so i'm reading certain nightwing volumes from '96 - 02 for my current reading run following NML (shout out to @havendance, cannot thank you enough 🫶🏾) and while some aspects of how he's written is very compelling and interesting to chew on, for the most part it's been pretty....boring?? like i'm gonna keep reading it so i can have as much context as possible, but it feels more like a chore 😩

anyways, i read your response on that “who’d you choose to write nightwing” poll and i’d love to get your opinion on what nightwing runs/writers to read outside of those 8 volumes. i really wanna get into dick grayson’s character and personality! also, if it’s cool with you, anyone else please feel free to add to this!

-dominomasc

Hey, dominomasc. Unknowingly you've just raised one of the fundamental incongruities of how comics work.

Comics are about layers of stories providing depth to a character and about dozens of different interpretations more than they are about a single amazing run. (Some characters have That Run! But on average, most don't). Dick Grayson, a character that has existed for 84 years, has some very fun stories from all sorts of writers. His title, Nightwing, is also an excellent example of how a lot of long running titles often don't really have a stand out section that's head and shoulders above the rest.

I promise, you are never going to run out of stories to read about Dick Grayson (Comicsvine has him at 9,593 appearances as I write this). So yes, this is going to be about two things: advice on finding stories about Dick that vibe for you; and advice on understanding Dick alongside other storylines.

Taking into account what's listed above and the fact I'm moderately obsessive, I have compiled a discussion of most of the major writers who have written Nightwing runs, or who have written major titles that Dick also prominently appears in.

I am at heart a 'Dick belongs to the Bat Office' person and my expertise in most characters starts with COIE. On that basis I'm not going to dip into pre-Crisis here.

Marv Wolfman & George Pérez: New Teen Titans (1980-1993ish). I am not going to explain all the title names here; you're going to have to go get more detail from someone who treats NTT period as their special interest. Wolfman and Pérez are the architects of Nightwing as a character, separate to Robin, that Dick grew into. Read this period if you're interested in Dick as a young adult among the other Titans going through the transition into adulthood and independence, and his relationship with Kory. Basically it's a superhero young adult soap opera. It can be quite uneven in places, particularly towards the back end, and there are approximately a thousand discussions over which storylines are good and which should be fired into the sun. I am not a subject expert for this period.

Because of the state of the Titans titles in the early 1990s, the Bat office demanded Dick Grayson back under their control. Exactly when they got him back is slightly debated, but it would be fair to say Batman #500 (October 1993) marks his transition back to being a Bat character (around the start of Knightquest); by KnightsEnd and Prodigal (July 1994-January 1995) Dick is once again firmly a member of the Batman set of characters, and has remained so to date.

Prodigal, by Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Doug Moench: (Batman #512 to Robin #13). Use a reading list here as the stories are spread across multiple titles. Prodigal is 12 issues about Dick's first time being Batman, with Tim as his Robin, and his feelings about returning home to Gotham as an adult. Robin #13 in particular is possibly the most important issue of the story, as it's the foundation of a reset in Bruce and Dick's relationship with each other and how it is going to be characterised for the next decade or so.

Chuck Dixon: (Nightwing #1-70 1996, Nightwing: Alfred's Return, and a bunch of other one shots) So Dixon is probably DC's most prolific writer of all time, and is the architect of what's been treated as 'default Nightwing'. In this run, Dixon creates Bludhaven and the situation of Dick being its protector, out of a desire to be his own man apart from Bruce. He sets up an extensive Rogue's Gallery for Dick, the most famous of which is making Blockbuster one of Dick's main enemies. He has Dick working at a cop bar and then decide to enter the Bludhaven Police Department in an attempt to investigate it from the inside due to the levels of corruption. This is also the run where Dick and Babs get together as adults. Basically, everything about 'default' Dick that you probably know comes from this run. Dixon's great for character interaction, for world building, and and particularly at making various titles tie together - because he was writing at least 1/3 of DC's entire line for a while there he's the king of crossovers, giving a lot of depth to friendships because characters just pop between titles he's writing. His actual plots however vary between middling to occasional flashes of greatness. I'd consider The Hunt for Oracle (#45-46 and BOP#20-21) and the Shrike story (#55-58) to be the standout storylines in his Nightwing run; for individual issues I'd also point to #6 and #25 for his relationship with Tim, #16 for Dick building his car, and then his crossover issues in events tend to be quality.

Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty: (Robin: Year One 2000, Batgirl: Year One 2003, Nightwing: Year One - Nightwing #101-106 1996) I am separating these three out from the rest of Dixon's work as they're quite important as retcons over Dick's backstory. Robin and Batgirl are well regarded rewrites of events; Nightwing is less so, partly because it's a solid example of the Jason personality retcon, and partly I think because a lot of people reading this were still well across the two 1980s versions of Dick's transition from Robin to Nightwing. I highly recommend Robin Year One, particularly with the Shrike storyline of Nightwing, as they are interlinked.

Devin Grayson: (Nightwing #71-100 & #107-117 1996, Nightwing/Huntress 1998, Gotham Knights #1-11 & #14-32, The Titans #1-20 1999) Oh, Devin. Devin Grayson is a Dick Grayson superfan (she uses Grayson as her surname because of Dick). She is really good at character introspection - Gotham Knights #1-11 contains some amazing character work. She's also not shy about establishing her own headcanons on characters and retconning their backstories. Devin's biggest contributions to the Dick Grayson lore are in establishing him as Romani and actually writing Bruce adopting Dick. Her run on Nightwing is best understood as a whump, break-the-cutie run, where Blockbuster sets out to destroy Dick's life, and in the process gets Dick fired, breaks up Dick and Babs, burns down Haly's Circus (for the first time), blows up his entire supporting cast, chases Dick out of Bludhaven and leads to Dick going under cover in the mob essentially to punish himself (also not the only time). Dick's also sexually assaulted in Nightwing #93 but I really beg people to read this in context of the rest of the run; this should be looked at as PART of the whole flow of whump, rather than as a separate situation. Grayson also had the title taken off her before she got to the 'comfort' part of the extended hurt/comfort storyline she was writing. It reads a lot better if you think of this in a more transformative fandom, ficcish manner of story rather than as a more standard run. If her Nightwing run is too grim for you, I highly recommend Gotham Knights and her Titans run; Devin Grayson is honestly best when she's writing a constellation of characters around Dick more than when she's writing Dick himself. She adores his friends and family. Standout issues to get a sense of Devin include: Nightwing #100, a self-reflective issue on Dick's history; Nightwing #81, where Dick's in hospital and Cass goes after Slade for him; Titans #15 1999, where the Fab 5 go on a camping trip together to get back to their roots and deal with a lot of tensions in the group; and Gotham Knights #8-11, Transference, where Dick and Tim team up to rescue Bruce, who's been brainwashed by Hugo Strange.

Jay Faerber: (The Titans #21-41 1999) Honestly Faerber's run on The Titans is not that Dick Grayson focused. It's entertaining if you want to read some solid Titans dynamics, but the standout characters you read this run for are Roy and Donna. Seriously, if you're into Roy, Cheshire and Lian drama I highly recommend Faerber's work; otherwise it's not an essential run for Dick.

Judd Winick: (Outsiders #1-25, 34-49 2003, Batman & Robin #23-25 2011) Winick tends to write an angrier and darker edged Dick Grayson, and he has a bunch of really common tropes you see pop out in his writing. These are no different, and thus include an awful lot of violence and characters having sex (so much sex). He can be quite funny as a writer, but honestly his Outsiders run does not have much of that humour. The Batman & Robin story is basically Winick finding some space to tie up his Jason Todd plot before Flashpoint obliterated it, more than an actual story about Dick. If you want a good encapsulating issue to get the vibe of Winick about Dick, take a look at Outsiders #21, which has a good chunk of Dick and Roy AND Dick and Bruce in it, though it's helpful to remember that this issue is set very shortly after War Games and so Dick is in a massive guilt spiral.

Bruce Jones: (Nightwing #118-124 1999) It's One Year Later! Bruce Jones moves Dick back to New York City (as Bludhaven went boom due to Chemo in the lead up to Infinite Crisis) and theoretically sets up Dick's status quo out to Reborn. So. The story Jones is most famous for is the first 4 issues of the run, which are generally referred to by fans as the TentaTodd story. Jason Todd turns up to run around annoying Dick by ALSO dressing up as Nightwing and committing crimes. He also turns into a tentacle monster for a bit. It is certainly a story that exists, but it actually is pretty in line with Jason and Dick's relationship up to Flashpoint: Jason turns up to be a brat who wants attention, does violent things, and Dick exhaustedly kicks the shit out of him and gets him locked up while despairingly going 'why is this my life'. Because of Jason running around killing people as Nightwing, the NYPD get mad at Nightwing and start trying to hunt him down. Jones is for the completionist.

Marv Wolfman: (Nightwing #125-137 1999) Lacking any better ideas, Wolfman gets a run on Nightwing. It's not Wolfman's finest work, to put it bluntly, and it's very obvious that Marv hasn't actually read any of Dixon or Grayson's runs. Marv does set Dick up working as a gymnastics and trapeze coach, which is always a decent job for him. If I had to pick one story from Wolfman, read Nightwing #127, where Dick gets buried alive and digs his way out of the grave.

Peter J. Tomasi: (Nightwing #140-157 1999, Batman & Robin #20-22 2011) Tomasi loves Dick Grayson, and particularly loves Dick's connection to his friends and family. Let me put it this way; in the lead up to Final Crisis and Blackest Night every title got an Origins and Omens short story on the back of an issue. Most books used it to write creepy or introspective reflections on awful stuff especially deaths that have happened to the characters. Tomasi used his to have Dick take Barbara skydiving for her birthday, and echo a bunch of themes from his first issue. I think this is one of the most mature and grown up looks at Dick prior to Flashpoint; Tomasi treats Dick as a grown adult with an adult relationship with Bruce. I love Freefall. Read Freefall to see some really interesting meta on Dick's relationship to the concept of falling and to the concept of catching falling people, a theme that's frequently present in his stories.

Grant Morrison: (Batman & Robin #1-16 2011) Astonishingly given how much of Reborn was designed by Morrison, they don't actually seem to care that much about Dick as a character more than as a prop to set Damian against. Dick's extremely focused on Damian in this title but also does not actually appear to like Damian very much. If I were going to recommend one story out of it I'd probably point to Batman & Robin #7-9, because Dick gets to be a giant hypocrite in them and tries to resurrect Bruce. It goes badly, for all involved.

Scott Snyder: (Detective Comics #871-881, Gates of Gotham, and like every Bat event during n52) The Black Mirror is probably my favourite piece of Dick!Batman storytelling set during Reborn. It's just elegant in terms of how hard Snyder pushes Dick and how his reactions are very much not those that Bruce would have. This is helpfully extremely obvious in that The Black Mirror and Gates of Gotham are actually part of a trilogy, the third act of which is Court of the Owls and due to Flashpoint Snyder had to rewrite CotO quite extensively including swapping Dick out of being Batman and having Bruce as the lead. Read The Black Mirror for Dick having a minor breakdown while solving a complex case with links to James Gordon and Babs. Read Gates of Gotham for incredible Dick & Tim & Cass & Damian fourway storytelling that shows the dynamics of every pairing out of the four.

Fabian Nicieza: (Nightwing #138-139 1999, Batman #703 & #713, parts of Battle for the Cowl, Nightwing #51-56 2016) The thing about FabNic is when he's on, he's very much on, and when he's not it can be painful. I actually almost would have skipped him on this list, but he very much deserves recognition for writing the Nightwing issues of Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul, which alongside the Robin issues portray exactly how far Dick will go for Tim; and for Batman #703, which is the only issue prior to Bruce's resurrection that actually puts Dick, Tim and Damian on page together as heroes. He also got saddled with writing the start of the Ric Grayson saga under the script of Scott Lobdell, which, well, is definitely at the 'not well regarded' end of his oeuvre. FabNic is again a writer that is really good at character interaction, and I tend to find whenever I'm reading events where there's heaps of writers involved and he's there, the issues I really enjoy are the ones he's had a hand in.

Tony S. Daniel: (Battle for the Cowl, Batman #692-699 & #704-707 & #710-712) Oh, Tony Daniel. Why. Daniel's stories are probably the most classic-Batman of the Dick!Batman stories. His stories revolve a lot around drama at Arkham Asylum, with Harvey and Gilda Dent, and with the Falcones. On balance I think you could probably actually trade Dick out for Bruce in half these stories and it wouldn't make a huge amount of difference. If I were going to suggest one to try, maybe go with #710-712? It's Harvey focused and it has Kitrina Falcone and doesn't actually depend on the whole Jeremiah Arkham thing.

Kyle Higgins: (Nightwing #1-12, 0, & 15-29 2011) For a reboot of Dick Grayson down to his fundamentals, and working within the requirements of the 5 year time line, I like Higgins' work on Nightwing. Sure, I could have done without him burning down Haly's circus, again, and all the Court of the Owls revelations, but some of that was clearly dictated to him, and they way he gave Dick time as a teenager with relationships with other characters at Haly's before his parents died worked quite well. If I were going to cite a favourite part of this run it's probably the last section, #18-29 when Dick moves to Chicago and tries the 'strike out as my own hero with my own city, screw you dad' thing for the first time in the new timeline. Higgins put in quite a bit of cast building work and it's a shame none of it ever got used again between Forever Evil and then Rebirth just ignoring everything during this period.

Tom King and Tim Seeley: (Nightwing #30 2011, Grayson #1-20) I'm going to treat these two together here as I can't actually easily subdivide the run between them. This is the longest period Dick goes undercover working as a spy because his life has just gone to shit. He is both spying on Spyral (for Bruce) but also his job within Spyral is as a spy and special agent. Think James Bond, except Dick also gets to be the focus of the objectification camera. Some people enjoy it as a change of pace, some people can't stand it because it's just a very weird story for Dick and Dick's generally personally unhappy when he's stuck undercover, and it definitely is a highlight in the 'did you know Tom King worked for an intelligence agency? Tom King is working out his feelings about working for an intelligence agency again' oeuvre. If you want to try an issue, I recommend Grayson #5 as probably the best character and storytelling piece in the entire run.

Tim Seeley: (Nightwing #1-34) Good stuff I can say about Seeley's run includes that he used Rebirth as a impetus to rebuild Dick's status quo. He did quite a lot of world building for a new version of Bludhaven, he got Dick back into Nightwing and back into a blue V costume for the first time in 7 years, he's interested in looking at the Grayson family and not so much in terms of the Court of the Owls stuff. He likes Dick and Damian's time as Batman & Robin. Seeley's also a fan of a lot of character beats in terms of Dick's characterisation that were pioneered by Devin Grayson - particularly in terms of Dick being easily attracted to women, being impetuous and hot headed at times, and in the Romani retcon. I don't necessarily see eye to eye with Seeley on all of his characterisation and story choices, but he does a lot of repair work on getting Dick back to being Nightwing, including things like repeating beats from the Dixon and Grayson runs so that Dick has that backstory again, and what that means for his character. I might suggest Nightwing #8 2016, because it revolves around Bruce and Dick and the concept of falling (I'm a sucker for a good falling metaphor) or #9, which is literally a discussion of the changes between n52 and Rebirth with both of the Clark Kents, and in which Clark points Dick to return to Bludhaven (in a sort of re-encapsulation of Clark originally giving Dick the inspiration for the name Nightwing, but this time pointing him to what people treat as his default 'home'). If you like the shape of Dick as Bludhaven's hero from fic, you probably will find Seeley's run has stuff to enjoy.

Sam Humphries: (Nightwing #35-41 2016) So Humphries' storyline is another good example of what a lot of the current run of Nightwing contains since 2016 - reinterpretations and new versions of old stories. In this case, it's an adaption of the Hanging Judge storyline to have taken place in Bludhaven in Bruce and Dick's past. I don't mind it as a story, but it's definitely there to remind you of old story beats.

I haven't yet read Benjamin Percy's run, or any of Ric Grayson yet (which is a combination of Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and Dan Jurgens), or Tom Taylor's run, so I don't want to give you too explicit opinions on these.

In general terms from experience on other titles and what other people have said: I really loved Benjamin Percy's Detective Comics #35-36 story in n52 and I suspect his Nightwing writing is a perfectly acceptable fill; nobody particularly likes the plot surrounding Ric Grayson, and the fact Scott Lobdell had a hand in plotting it seems to me to explain a bunch of the aspects of the scenario premise that upset a lot of people; Dan Jurgens is a DC workhorse who can turn his hand to anything; and Tom Taylor's run has been described as many as 'rewrite the arc of Devin Grayson's run but make it light and fluffy and free of consequences'. I honestly think if you haven't read much Nightwing yet, Taylor's run may be a good transition run to try to see if he's your vibe; I keep getting the impression he probably makes a good intro for new readers.

If you have any other writers you would like my impression of, please ask specifically; as I've said, Dick's been written by a LOT of people over the years.

[abstracteddistractions]

Brice Marden, "Blue Painting" (2022–23),

Oil on linen, 72 x 96 inches,

© 2023 Estate of Brice Marden / Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York,

Photos Rob McKeever,

Courtesy Gagosian

[oldschoolfrp]

"Why is this Mutant Smiling? New body parts in Gamma World gaming" -- Jeff Butler art for John M Maxstadt's article in the Ares section of Dragon 96, April 1985. After TSR bought out SPI and its assets, including Ares magazine, Dragon included an Ares section with its own separate credits distinct from the main Dragon credits. Somehow Butler's name was missing from both in this issue.

[arshipweek]

AR Ship Week - Fandom in 2024

Another year, another shipweek, and another State of the AR Shipping Fandom post. This is the first weekly post leading up to the Alex Rider Ship Week. Just under 4 weeks to go!

This post focuses on pre-S3 fandom, since the data was scraped before the season was released, but we might do an update for post-S3 fics. For methodology, it can be found both on the graphic analysis pages and in the notes at the bottom of this post. For those only curious about the popular pairings this year (1), feel free to read right on.

This year, we have analysed a few specific shipping stats to get a look at us as a fandom.

We have also created an interactive dashboard of all the graphs for you to explore. This is where the following data was taken from, as well as some bonus visuals!

A Timeline of AO3

For a blast from the past, we took a look at the shipping timeline - the count of fics and authors per year for the top ten most popular AR ships - and found immediate proof that as a shipping fandom, we're still small enough that a few, determined people can make a difference. AR fandom's use of AO3 as its primary fandom purveyor is fairly recent, as most of its history can be found on FFnet, but with a total of just under 3k fics as of April 20th, we're gaining on FFnet's 4.5k of AR fics at a very respectable pace.

Some particular developments were:

The number of Yalex authors was about the same in 2021 - 2023 (just around 40) but the number of Yalex fics in 2022 was almost double that of 2021 and 2023. This was not due to a sudden, imported backlog that we could see but a handful of popular events/challenges and potentially the release of S2 in December of 2021.

Tom/Alex and Yassen/Ian both had a peak of fics in 2021, most likely because of the release of S1 that gave Tom a much larger part and offered an intriguing look at Yassen and Ian's potential past.

Fiona/Sabina had a huge spike in fics in 2023 due to a Femmeslash February event (2) that sent it firmly up the ranks of popular ships.

The State of the OTP

For the top ten AR ships, we also took a look at how many of the writers that had written other AR ships (and which ones) to look for interesting patterns and to see if there was any real difference to spot. As it turns out, the answer was a resounding yes:

At one extreme, we have Alexmis (Alex Rider/Artemis Fowl) which is a fandom unto itself. Only 20 percent of the writers of the pairing have written for other pairings in AR fandom fics, and Alexmis fics as a whole tend to lean more towards adding Alex to the Artemis Fowl world rather than vice versa (3).

In the middle range, we have Yalex and Alex/Wolf - two pairings about as old as the fandom itself, and which both have an OTP percentage around 55 - as well as (mostly) newcomers Tom/Alex and Kyra/Alex, both with an OTP percentage in the 40-50 range.

At the other extreme, we have Yassen/John with an OTP percentage of just 4. Fiona/Sabina does it one better with an OTP rate of 0 (!) but the sample size here is so small it makes no meaning to compare it.

So what other pairings do these writers enjoy indulging in, then?

Yalex writers really like their Yassen pairings. Out of the combined number of non-Yalex fics the Yalex authors have written, 24 percent of them are Yassen/Ian and 22 percent are Yassen/John. This means that almost half of their non-Yalex pairings feature Yassen in some way.

70 percent of John/Helen shippers have written other pairings, too - probably because of the pairing's nature as a background part of Alex's story and not necessarily the focus of a shipfic they're in. 30 percent of the fics written by John/Helen writers outside of the ship are Yalex (and 6 percent are Yassen/John).

The case is even more extreme for Yassen/John, which is firmly entwined with the Yalex pairing. 96 percent of the writers have written other AR ships, with three quarters of those fics being Yalex.

Text Analysis

Interactive dashboard with graphs and visuals

We also ran a text analysis on the shipfics to look for patterns and recurring details in the writing - first in general, then for specific ships. The amount of detail for each ship depends a lot on the sample size, which results in a detailed, varied word cloud for Yalex and somewhat less so for several of the smaller ships.

For that analysis, we recommend clicking around to explore the word clouds and get a feel for the different ships, but for the ambitious types, we have a word hunt ready as well (4):

Word Hunt, Significant Phrases edition:

Tools of the Trade:

Duct tape

Frying pan

Krav Maga

Sniper rifle

Zip ties

I Know That Reference:

Fer de Lance

Air Force

Albert Bridge

Point Blanc

Brecon Beacons

Getting Kinky:

Boxer briefs

Dimly lit

Lower lip

Pressed a kiss

Yes sir

Feel free to comment with any particularly entertaining/intriguing/otherwise just plain fun word cloud combinations you've spotted, and we will see you again next week!

______ 

Note on methodology:

The two Alex Rider sections (main + TV) were scraped over the course of two days in early March 2024, except for fics that were locked to AO3 users only (5). For the author specific statistics, we excluded orphan_account and anonymous authors. Median measures were chosen over average the majority of the time to account for outliers, especially in the case of the rarer pairings (6).

For ship-analysis, a fic counts under every pairing it has. This means that someone who writes Yassen/Alex, Yassen/John and Yassen/Ian in the same fic (7) will count as an author for all three pairings and under the Yalex OTP analysis, they will have an additional fic marked under both Yassen/John and Yassen/Ian.

(1) Yalex. It's Yalex. Look, we're not even going to bother posting the stats for that. It's still Yalex, trust us. Though we can talk again next year, considering how well Kyralex is currently doing post-S3. (2) Proving that a few, determined writers can make or break the non-Yalex ship rankings. Please use this power for good; if someone manages to get Sayle/Nadia Vole or something into the top three next year, I'm outsourcing that part of the stat post to a particularly enthusiastic raccoon with a keyboard. (3) Canonically, the wholesale kidnapping of Alex is pretty on-brand for Alex Rider supervillains so really, Artemis is in excellent company. (4) Technically two, but there is unsurprisingly a lot of overlap between the general wordcloud and the Yalex one. For those curious, here's the Word Hunt, Yalex edition:

Adam's apple

Bottle of lube

Cock

Index finger

Nerve endings

Pale skin

Scar tissue

(5) As of April 20th, 225 out of 2961 fics were locked to AO3 users. (6) Meaning anything non-Yalex, let's all be honest here. (7) Because sometimes, like a particularly persistent Pokémon player, Yassen also needs to catch them all. Traumas or Riders is dealer's choice.

[deutschland-im-krieg]

An Arado Ar 96 (not this one) was the last plane flown out of Berlin in WW2. The great Hanna Reitsch was the pilot and her passenger was Robert Ritter von Greim. Greim was ordered to Berlin and Hanna flew him in through Russian fire in a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (Stork) on 26.4.45.

The plane was hit and damaged but she landed it safely. Hitler then promoted von Greim to Generalfeldmarshal and new chief of the by now non existent Luftwaffe. This situation was masterminded by Martin Bormann, who convinced Hitler that Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring was a traitor and had him arrested and dismissed.

Reitsch pleaded with Hitler to allow her to fly him out of Berlin but the Führer refused. Reitsch wanted to stay with Hitler in the Führerbunker. However, Hitler ordered her to leave on 29.4.45. As the Fi 156 Storch she flew in was too damaged to fly out, the Arado Ar 96 was the last flyable plane available in Berlin to fly out. For more, see my Facebook group - Eagles Of The Reich

[nirikeehan]

wip wednesday??

okay I haven't done this in a thousand years but @theluckywizard tagged me... and I recently went insane after playing the game Road 96 and decided I needed to write a 12k long deep dive on the character Jarod.

...If you know, you know.

Anyway, it's called A Small Victorious War and the first chapter is already on AO3. Here is a bit from chapter 2, where he's looking for his missing teenage daughter, Lola, after she ran away to join a terrorist group.

Tagging: @ar-lath-ma-cully | @oxygenforthewicked | @rowanisawriter | @carnalapples | @exalted-dawn-drabbles | @monocytogenes | whoever wants to do it!!

---

He made a few calls and knocked on a few doors. He learned Mr. Winters had also left town, which set the familiar fury simmering in his gut. A group of these Brigade members were headed deep into the south, in Petria’s vast desert region. Aside from the oil fields, the area was mostly undeveloped, which meant they would be difficult to track.

And then there was the note. Please don’t look for me. He’d pursued people who didn’t want to be found before, and the rocks one had to overturn were usually unpleasant for everyone involved. He’d walked away from some of those with regrets. 

“This is our daughter, Jarod,” Maria said over the phone. “It’s different. How could you not want her home safe?” 

He didn’t say they should respect her wishes, exactly. He was less articulate, angrier, perhaps a bit accusatory about why Lola might choose to run away from her mother’s residence, where she spent most of her time. 

“Don’t you dare try to blame me for this,” his ex-wife said. “She’s sixteen years old. She’s too young to know what’s in her own best interest. You were always too easy on her. You let her do whatever she wanted, and look what’s happened.” 

Jarod hung up on her then, because otherwise he would start screaming. No, he never would have encouraged Lola to join a terrorist group. But he had, looking back on it, encouraged her to think for herself, which was maybe just as bad.

He imagined finding whatever compound the Brigades had taken her to, and dragging her out by the arm, kicking up dust as they went, the hatred bright in her eyes. I’ll never forgive you, she spat, and wrenched away from him when he got her into the cab, his fingerprints on her skin already beginning to bruise. It was this image he couldn’t shake, no matter how hard he tried. And he remembered how passionate she was about the idea that conditions in Petria could improve. She truly seemed to think it possible. 

So he stopped looking. 

His apartment was quiet that summer, and so was he, saying little more than the rote script required of him in his daily life. So where we headed today with Happy Taxi? And when Maria called he would tell her he’d let her know if he made any progress and she would ask him if he was drunk, and he would hang up again, angry, because his speech wasn’t that slurred. 

Then, as summer melted into September, he received mail from Lola. 

He called Maria immediately, the words blurring on the page, his mind racing too fast to properly absorb them. “I got the letter,” he said when she picked up, to which Maria said, “What letter?” and Jarod became very quiet. 

Lola had, apparently, only written to him. 

He had assumed that Lola would, as a matter of course, write to both parents. As he stood there, at the side table by the door of his apartment, reading the letter by the light of the streetlamp outside, he tried to ascertain why it was him she chose. He gripped the phone tighter in his hand and breathed slowly. 

“She’s all right,” he said, because at least that much seemed accurate.

“Where is she?” Maria demanded. “Is she coming home?” 

“Doesn’t say,” he said. The letter was dated the fifth of September, postmarked the sixth. Today was the eighth, meaning it must have been mailed somewhere within a hundred miles, to be delivered with such swiftness. So she was likely back in the north. The return address was a P.O. Box, but listed a town he didn’t recognize and suspected to be fabricated.

“Jarod, what does it say?” Maria asked. 

A few other things, including something “big” that would “change everything” in four days. Given the date on the letter, that meant tomorrow. This was, he suspected, why she wrote to him and not her mother. The promise of results. That her actions weren’t only frivolity. That she’d been right that day in his living room, grasping his arm, full of fervent hope. 

And she’d also signed it, in her signature way, All my love, except it was encased in a word bubble and spoken by a cartoon dinosaur that she had drawn, which made him think perhaps she had forgiven him for the plastic dinosaur incident. He wanted desperately to write her back and tell her it wasn’t too late, that she could still walk away from this, still go to university and study paleontology, he would help her, he would do anything. 

“She says she loves us,” Jarod lied, “and that she’ll be in touch again soon.” 

[bright-eyes-strawberry-lies]

Top 100 PJO Ships

Decided to check out the fic numbers again this year. These are only for romantic pairings, not platonic, and only counts numbers from AO3. To see last year's Top PJO Ships, click this link.

(as of 02/05/2023)

1. Annabeth/Percy (10,983)

2. Nico/Will (9,859)

3. Jason/Piper (3,157)

4. Nico/Percy (3,144)

5. Hazel/Frank (2,631)

6. Jason/Percy (1,530)

7. Calypso/Leo (1,360)

8. Nico/Jason (1,263)

9. Apollo/Percy (872)

10. Magnus/Alex (801)

11. Annabeth/Piper (759)

12. Nico/Leo (692)

13. Jason/Leo (691)

14. Luke/Percy (566)

15. Thalia/Reyna (561)

16. Paul/Sally (560)

17. Jason/Reyna (346)

18. Clarisse/Chris (336)

19. Silena/Charles (320)

20. Katie/Travis (292) 

21. Juniper/Grover (279) 

22. Annabeth/Reyna (268)

23. Luke/Thalia (256)

24. Hades/Persephone (252)

25. Sally/Poseidon (249)

26. Rachel/Percy (234)

27. Piper/Reyna (229)

28. Hazel/Frank/Leo (223) 

29. Nico/Jason/Percy (208)

30. Artemis/Percy (168)

31. Piper/Leo (163)

32. Luke/Annabeth (162)

33. Leo/Frank (144)

34. Piper/Shel (139)

35. Annabeth/Nico/Percy (132)

36. Silena/Clarisse (132)

37. Percy/Will (125)

38. Amphitrite/Poseidon (122)

39. Mitchell/Connor (110)

40. Percy/Leo (110)

41. Thalia/Percy (109)

42. Percy/Poseidon (105)

43. Hera/Zeus (103)

44. Percy/Piper (100)

45. Hermes/Percy (96)

46. Percy/Zeus (89)

47. Maria/Hades (85)

48. Percy/Reyna (85)

49. Calypso/Percy (85)

50. Percy/Zoe (84)

51. Artemis/Zoe (80)

52. Rachel/Reyna (78)

53. Luke/Ethan (76)

54. Percy/Octavian (70)

55. Annabeth/Jason (70)

56. Ares/Percy (68)

57. Bianca/Thalia (67)

58. Jason/Piper/Leo (65)

59. Percy/Triton (64)

60. Apollo/Hyacinthus (63)

61. Hades/Percy (60)

62. Reyna/Leo (59)

63. Annabeth/Thalia (57)

64. Annabeth/Rachel (53)

65. Annabeth/Piper/Reyna (52)

66. Athena/Percy (50)

67. Dionysus/Percy (49)

68. Hazel/Piper (49)

69. Luke/Octavian (49)

70. Percy/Kronos (46)

71. Aphrodite/Percy (46)

72. Percy/Ethan (45)

73. Rachel/Octavian (42)

74. Percy/Grover (40)

75. Sally/Gabe (40)

76. Nico/Thalia (39)

77. Annabeth/Nico (39)

78. Calypso/Piper (38)

79. Bianca/Percy (38)

80. Hestia/Percy (36)

81. Reyna/Drew (35)

82. Connor/Travis (35)

83. Luke/Nico (34)

84. Annabeth/Connor (34)

85. Annabeth/Clarisse (34)

86. Leo/Will (34)

87. Jason/Octavian (33)

88. Percy/Clarisse (33)

89. Bianca/Zoe (32)

90. May/Hermes (31)

91. Calypso/Reyna (29)

92. Annabeth/Jason/Percy (29)

93. Hephaestus/Percy (29)

94. Rachel/Nico (27)

95. Apollo/Lityerses (26)

96. Octavian/Nico (25)

97. Bianca/Nico (24)

98. Percy/Drew (24)

99. Annabeth/Leo (24)

100. Percy/Connor/Travis (23)

[todaysdocument]

Treaty Between the United States and the Quapaw Indians Signed at St. Louis, August 24, 1818.

Record Group 11: General Records of the United States Government

Series: Indian Treaties

File Unit: Ratified Indian Treaty 96: Quapaw - St. Louis, August 24, 1818

Image description: Detailed map of the area of Arkansas River and Mississippi River, with boundaries of red and blue;  with an eagle on top left carrying olive branch in its beak; a Native American with a peace pipe on the left, presumably of the Quapaw tribe, pointing to the inscription:

Map of the Territorial Limits of the Quapaw cession

Compiled & Laid down by Rene Paul

August. 1818

Transcription:

[image: Detailed map of the area of Arkansas River and Mississippi River, with boundaries of red and blue;  with an eagle on top left carrying olive branch in its beak; a Native American with a peace pipe on the left, presumably of the Quapaw tribe, pointing to the inscription:

Map of the Territorial Limits of the Quapaw cession

Compiled & Laid down by Rene Paul

August. 1818]

A treaty of Friendship, Cession and Limits made and entered into this twenty fourth day of August Eighteen hundred & Eighteen, by and be-

tween  [between] William Clark and Auguste Chouteau, Commissioners on the part and behalf of the United States of the one part, and the Undersigned Chiefs,

and Warriors of the Quawpaw Tribe or Nation, on the part and behalf of this said Tribe or Nation of the other part. -

 Art: I: The Undersigned Chiefs and Warriors for themselves and their s'd [said] Tribe or Nation do hereby acknowledge themselves to be under the protection of the United States, and

of no other State, Power, or Sovereignty whatsoever.

 Art: II: The Undersigned chiefs and Warriors, for themselves and their said Tribe or Nation do hereby, for an in consideration of the promises and stipulations herein after named, Cede

and relinquish to the United States forever, all the Lands within the following boundaries, viz: Beginning at the mouth of the Arkansas River, thence extending up the Arkan-

saw  [Arkansaw] to the Canadian fork and up the Canadian fork [to its source, thence south to Big Red river and down] that river to the Big raft, Thence a direct line so as

to strike the Mississippi River, thirty Leagues in a straight line below the mouth of Arkansaw, together with all their claims to land East of the Mississippi, and north of the Ar-

kansaw river, included within the couloured lines, 1, 2, and 3 on the above map: - with the exception and reservation following: that is to say, the tract of country bounded as follows;

Beginning at a point on the Arkansaw river opposite the present post of Arkansaw, and running thence a due South West course to the Washita river, thence up that river to the

[in pencil, faint] mouth of the Saline [/] Saline fork, and up the Saline fork to a point from whence a due North East course would strike the Arkansaw river [insert] at the little rock [/] and thence down the right bank of the Arkan-

[in margin, circled] 2-9 [/] saw to the place of beginning, which S'd [said] tract of land, last above designated and reserved, shall be surveyed and marked off, at the Expense of the United States, as

any State or Nation, without the approbation of the United States, first had and obtained.

 Art III; It is agreed between the United States, and the said Tribe, or Nation, that the individuals of the S'd [said]Tribe or Nation shall be at liberty to hunt within the Territory by them

ceded to the United States, without hindrance or molestation so long as they demean themselves peacefully and offer no injury or annoyance to any of the citizens of the United

States, and until the S'd [said] United States may think proper to assign the Same, or any same or any portion thereof, as hunting grounds to other friendly indians.

 Art IV; No Citizen of the United States, or any other person shall be permitted to settle on any of the lands hereby allotted to and reserved for the S'd [said] Quawpaw Tribe, or Nation, to live and

hunt on; Yet, it is expressly understood and agreed on by and between the parties aforesaid, that at all times the citizens of the United States, shall have the right to travel

and pass freely without toll or exaction through the Quawpaw reservation, by such roads or routes as now are, or hereafter may be, established.

 Art V; In consideration of the cession and stipulations aforesaid the United States do hereby promise, and bind themselves to pay and deliver to the s'd [said] Quawpaw Tribe, or Nation, immediately

upon the execution of this Treaty, Goods and Merchandise to the value of Four Thousand Dollars, and to deliver, or cause to be delivered to them yearly, and every year, Goods and Mer-

chandise [merchandise] to the value of One Thousand Dollars to be estimated in the city, or place in the United States, where the same are procured, or purchased.

 Art VI; Least the friendship which now exists between the United States, and the Said Tribe, or Nation should be interrupted by the misconduct of individuals, it is hereby agreed, that

for injuries done by individuals, no private  revenge, or retaliation shall take place, but instead thereof, complaints shall be made by the party injured to the other. - By the Tribe, or

nation aforesaid, to the Governor, Superintendant of Indian Affairs, or some other person, authorized or appointed for that purpose, and by the Governor, Superintendent, or other person authorized

to the [crossed out] said [/] Chiefs of the S'd [said] Tribe, or Nation. And it shall be the duty of the Said Tribe or Nation, upon complaint being made as aforesaid, to deliver up the person or persons against whom the complaint is made, to the end that he or they may be punished agreeably to the Laws of the State or Territory where thee offence may have been committed; And in like manner, if any robbery,

violence, or murder, shall be committed on any indian, or Indians belonging to the Said Tribe, or Nation, the person, or persons so offending shall be tried, and if found guilty,

punished in like manner as if the injury had been done to a white man._ And it is further agreed that the chiefs of the said Tribe or Nation shall to the utmost of their power

exert themselves to recover horses or other property which may be Stolen from any citizen or citizens of the United States, by any individual or individuals of the Said Tribe, or

Nation, and the property  so recovered shall be forthwith delivered to the Governor, Superintendent, or other person authorized to receive the same, that it may be restored

to the proper owner. And in cases where the exertions of the Chiefs shall be ineffectual in recovering the property stolen, as aforesaid, if sufficient proof can be obtain-

ed [obtained], that such property was actually stolen by an indian, or indians belonging to the Said Tribe, or Nation, a sum equal to the value of the property which has been stolen, may

be deducted by the United States from the Annuity of S'd [said] Tribe or Nation. And the United States hereby guarantee to the individuals of the Said Tribe, or Nation

a full indemnification for any horse, or horses, or other property which may be taken from [insert] them [/] by any of their citizens; Provided, the property so stolen cannot be recovered, and

that sufficient proof is produced that it may actually stolen by a citizen or citizens of the United States.

 Art VII; This Treaty shall take effect and be obligatory on the contracting parties, as soon as the same shall have been ratified by the President of the United States,

by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

[left column]

Done at St Louis in the presence of

[signed] R. Wash   Secretary to the Commission

[signed] R. Paul  Col. M. M.

    C. I.

[signed] Jn Ruland  Sub Agent & c

[signed] R Graham Ind Agt

[signed] M  Lewis Clark

[signed] J. T. Honore   Ind Intpr

[signed] Joseph Bonne   Interpreter

[signed] Julius Pescay

[signed] Stephen Julian, U.S. indn interpt.

[signed] James Loper

[signed] William P Clark

[middle column]

[signed] Wm Clark

[signed] Aug. Chouteau [seal]

Kra-ka-ton, or  }

the dry man  }  his + mark [seal]

Hra-da-paa, or   }

the Eagles Bill }  his + mark [seal]

Ma-hra-ka,          }

or Buck Wheat   }  his + mark [seal]

Hon-ka-daq-ni   his + mark [seal]

Wa-gon-ka-datton   his + mark [seal]

Hra-das-ka-mon-mini, }

or the Pipe Bird              }  his + mark [seal]

Pa  tonq  di, or the         }

approaching Summer  }  his + mark [seal]

Te hon ka, or the   }

 Tame Buffaloe   }  his + mark [seal]

[right column]

Ha-mon-mini              }

or the night walker   }  his + mark [seal]

Washing-tete-ton       }

or mocking bird bill  }  his + mark [seal]

Hon-te-ka-ni   his + mark [seal]

Ta-ta-on-sa  or          }

the whistling wind  }  his + mark [seal]

Mozate te   }  his + mark [seal]

[asma-al-husna]

Allah calls Himself Al-Kareem— The Generous, The Honourable, The Beneficent— on two occasions in the Quran. He is Al-Kareem in both His essence, being the source of all virtue, good and honor. He is Al-Kareem in His dealings with His creation; He forgives, He follows through and His continually giving forth of the most precious bounties exceeds all expectations!

The Most Generous, Most Esteemed and Beneficent

Kareem,  Akram, and Ikraam come from the root kaaf-raa-meem, which points out to two main meanings. The first meaning is to be generous, giving, and beneficent. The second main meaning of this root is to be highly esteemed, honoured and valued. 
 This root appears 47 times in the Quran in eight derived forms. Examples of these forms are al-akram (“the Most Generous”), kareemun (“noble”), kiraaman (“dignified ones”), al-mukrameen (“the honoured ones”)  and al-ikraam (“and Honor ”).

In the Arabic language ‘kareem’ does not just mean generous but the term embraces many meanings. ‘Kareem’ includes being forbearing, kind, gentle, patient, noble, pure and beneficial. In other words each and every laudable thing is being described as ‘kareem’.
Examples are a precious ‘kareem’ stone, a beneficial ‘kareem’ letter and a noble, good-looking, a ‘kareem’ person.
Al-Kareem Himself says: O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, Al-Kareem (the Generous), Who created you, fashioned you perfectly and gave you due proportion? In whatever shape He willed, He put you together. [Quran 82: 5-8] and… Read! And your Lord is Al-Akram.[Quran 96: 3]

Al-Kareem Related to other Names

The name Al-Kareem implies all that is honourable, good, and virtuous and therefore is strongly related to various other Asmaa was-Sifaa (names and attributes) of Allah ‘azza wajal.

Al-Kareem is related to Al-Wahhaab (The Giver) and Ar-Razzaaq (The Provider) in the sense that He initiates favors to His slaves, beyond what we deserve. Al-Kareembrought you into existence even though He was not obliged to do so. Al-Kareem gives us the whole world, as He tells us: It is He Who created for you all that is in the earth. [Quran, 2: 29] Our book, the Quran, is not only an instruction but also a cure. Our prayers are not only rituals, but also treasure chests of multiple rewards. Our food is not just one kind, but an amazing variety of tastes, structures and flavours; this is the giving of Al-Kareem!

Al-Kareem is related to Al-‘Afuw (The Pardoner) because even when you sin and forget about it, Allah deals with you generously and makes you live comfortably. It is He who covers your sins and when you turn to Him out of His amazing generosity He doesn’t just forgive but completely erases your bad deeds and on top of this turns them into good deeds. He is At-Tawwaab. What a generous Lord!

Related to Ash-Shakoor (The Appreciative), Al-Kareem rewards you generously when you only present to Him little sincere acts of worship. The ultimate example is Jannah: everlasting pleasure for a couple of years of worship in this life!

Al-Kareem is also related to Al-Haleem (the Forebearing), whenever He gives He gives most generously and when Al-Kareem is disobeyed, He forgives most forbearingly, subhanAllah. He has the most generous and gracious way of forgiving.

Al-Kareem is related in meaning to Al-Wadood (The Loving); us being worthy of His divine love is truly a generosity we should recognize! Al-Kareem says: Verily, those who believe and work deeds of righteousness: the Most Gracious shall bestow love upon them. [Quran, 19: 96]

His Attribute of karam truly is beyond our imagination!

How Can You Live By This Name?

1. Be generous to be close to Al-Kareem.
Allah’s names and attributes are of two types: those that are attributed only to Him ( e.g. Al-Khaaliq, The Creator) and those that can and should be strived for to be attributed to ourselves, one of them is Al-Kareem. Be generous with your belongings, time, and even your words.  The prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: The generous one is close to Allah, close to people, far from the fire; a stingy person is far from Allah, far from people, far from Paradise; and the generous ignorant person is more beloved to Allah than a stingy worshipper. [At-Tirmidhi]

2. Develop a relationship with the Quran al-Kareem.
Allah’s book, the Quran, is kareem because it is full of benefits and guidance, good things and blessings, it includes not a single error or contradiction. Open Al-Quran al-Kareem at least every single day; even if you read one ayah a day, understand it and let it transform your character, mind and heart and see how it will make you more kareem, insha’Allah!

3. Spread the message of Islam.
Al-Kareem honoured (karram-na) us as human beings and specifically honours us as Muslims. Recognize the worth Al-Kareem gave you in being a human being with intellect and use it to benefit the Ummah. Share the ayaat of the Quran with others, teach someone else, even if it is one hadith and spread the message of Islam by showing beautiful, honorable manners to non-Muslims.

4. Don’t forget the fire.
Indulging in all the blessings Al-Kareem gave you, don’t forget about hellfire. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, The people will be thrown into Hell ( Fire) and it will keep on saying, ‘Is there any more?’ till the Lord of the worlds puts His Foot over it, whereupon its different sides will come close to each other, and it will say, ‘Qad! Qad! (enough! enough!) By Your ‘Izzat (Honor and Power) and Your Karram (Generosity)!’ Paradise will remain spacious enough to accommodate more people until Allah will create some more people and let them dwell in the superfluous space of Paradise. [Saheeh al-Bukharee]

5. Study about Al-Kareem.
Al-Kareem says: O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, Al-Kareem (the Generous). Study about Allah, learning about His names and attributes and what they mean to you. Do not be deceived by this world and by the Shaytan. Know that Al-Kareem will never let down those who spend their lives obeying Him, even though others might say practicing your deen is not “cool.” Don’t ever think those who have much in this life but are denying Him, will have any share in the Hereafter. You are here because of Him and for Him; use the intellect and skills Al-Kareem gave You to work towards His pleasure and His ultimate generosity: Paradise!

Wallahu ta’alaa ‘alem.

O Allah, Al-Kareem, we know that You are the Most Generous and Most Esteemed in Your being and dealings. Guide us to be generous to others, aid us to develop honouroble and noble manners, adorn us with understanding and practicing of Your book.  Guide us in spreading the noble message of Islam and return the honour to the Ummah. Make us reflect Your attribute of karama by always being thankful for Your favors which are beyond our basic needs and only turning to You when we ask and enter us into Your greatest generosity, Jannatul ‘Alaa without reckoning, ameen!

[momo-de-avis]

Malta que cresceu nos 90s, ajudem me a desvendar um mistério.

Quando tinha 5-6 anos, portanto aí em 1995-96 (mas estendo a possibilidade até 97), o meu colégio levou nos a um programa de televisão que eu até hoje não sei qual é e tenho muito má memória dele.

A melhor maneira que consigo descrever é que era estilo jogos sem fronteiras pra putos. Tenho ideia daquilo ser ao ar livre e quando digo tipo jogos sem fronteiras é mesmo o estilo de desafio. Epa tenho vaga ideia de uma espécie de labirinto ou que era feito daquele material, estão a ver aquela espuma dura que depois era coberta de plástico colorido (semelhante aos colchões ranhosos dos ginásios na altura)? Era dessa merda.

Eu tenho vaga ideia que quando fomos pra lá houve um problema qualquer e ou nos atrasamos ou que foi, e chegámos só a meio, portanto nem sei se alguma vez chegámos a participar, porque tudo o que me lembro é de nos darem carta branca pra sermos autenticamente feral no cenário

Quando eu era chavala a malta tinha a mania de me arrastar pra estas merdas e eu não fazia ideia do que era. Foi assim que estive no Arca de Noé e até hoje não sei o que se passou. Foi assim que fiquei em primeiro lugar num concurso da Tulicreme e até hoje não sei o que é que fiz.

Pa mas este tem me comido os miolos ao longo dos anos. Começo a pensar que alucinei esta merda. A minha memória já é muito vaga porque era muito chavaleca, mas estou farta de pesquisar e não encontro nada que me faça dizer "ya, era isto" pls ajudem me

[nikethestatue]

The Paperman

Elriel Month 2023

I don't even know what the prompt is, but I wrote this. Thanks to @gracie-rosee for suggesting Paperman.

It's short and has language.

For A. 

Always the man of my dreams

When you know, you know, right?

And I knew. 

I knew that the girl with the big brown cow eyes–maybe doe eyes would be more appropriate–would be irreversibly tied to me. In some strange, cosmic way, in that sugary sweet Nicholas Sparks loopy, wordy nonsense, I just felt it. In my gut. My dick. My brain. Don’t want to say heart, but I have to admit, in my heart too. 

Brown-eyed girl was the girl. 

Only problem is, I didn’t know who the girl with the cow eyes was. Or how to find her.

It was a blustery day, so common in April, in Chicago. The weather playing mind games with the occupants of the city, taunting them with warmth and sunshine in the morning, only to plunge the temperatures to near freezing by the afternoon. Ha. Ha. Ha. Suckers!

I was standing on the CTA platform that morning, opting not to take the car to work, and now berating myself for that. ‘It’s a nice spring day’ they said. ‘A little windy’ they lied. It wasn’t nice and it wasn’t a ‘little windy’. Like a dumbass, I decided to walk to work, and not 3 blocks in, I was fucking freezing. Now, I am a big guy. I am 6”6 (like I said, I am a big guy), and you’d think that big guys, with 4% body fat and a couple of stints in Afghanistan back in the 2000s would be okay with the wind and the cold that was coming off the lake. I don’t know what it was about me–maybe it was that back then, I was in my early 20s, running hot all the time, or maybe it was my huge ass beard, or all the velcro gear that I had to schlep around on my body–but now that I was 34, I sure couldn’t tolerate the cold quite as well as I did back then.

Hence, me standing on the open platform, waiting for the train. Freezing my nuts off.

And then, Miss Thing saunters in. And to me, she is the best thing since…forever. Forget sliced bread. All I hear in my head is ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC. Or AccaDacca as my Aussie friends call it. 

So I stand there, in the howling wind, under the shade of the old timey skyscrapers, shivering like a wet poodle in only my suit…and…

I am falling in love.

Like, legit falling in love. 

Tumbling.

Because cow-eyes is perfection. 

I find myself thinking that she is everything that I’d ever wanted.

I am not a white picket fence kind of a guy, but if there was a girl that i’d trade my loft for, and end up in the suburbs with, mowing the lawn every Sunday and going to Costco to pick up 96 rolls of toilet paper–this is the girl I’d do it for. 

I am hoping she is not one for the Costco trips: because if she is perfect, if she is mine, if she is carved out of my own damn rib, if she was placed here, on this platform because she belongs to me, then Miss Cow Eyes isn’t a Costco girl.

But I don’t even care. 

I stare like a creeper, because if I close my eyes, I fear that she’d just disappear and I’d have to be committed, due to some intense nervous breakdown, because I let MY GIRL go and didn’t approach her.

Now, here’s where being 6”6 sucks. 

Yeah, I got a nice Italian bespoke suit on, and my watch costs more than a house, but I also got neck tattoos, hand tattoos, Freddy Kreuger-level scarred hands, and I am 6”6 and I scare the ladies even on a good day. Yeah, I fucked a lot, still do–though now that I am in love with Cow-Eyes, I am going to be faithful forever–but the girls I fuck(ed) were still cautious, and only found their courage after the help of some alcoholic liquids. They are never disappointed when they say ‘yes’ and take a walk on the wild side with yours truly, but Cow-Eyes doesn’t seem like that kind of a girl.

She is like…pure. 

Not sure. 

Maybe she is not pure, but she is a good girl. 

She’s got a cute pink and gray checkered coat on, she’s got cute white Adidas skater shoes on, cute jeans, and a cute pink beanie, on her extremely cute head. Waves of golden brown hair whip around her perfect face, smacking around the red-painted lips that I am absolutely sure I will kiss one day. And do some other very objectionable, but very hot things with. The sight of her makes me think depraved thoughts, even though she is just standing there, being all cute, clutching a leather folder to her chest. The chest–I also want to do unmentionable things with.

Here I am, suffocating with love and lust, and Cow-Eyes has no idea and the wind is just brutal. 

A gust hits us so hard, it almost knocks her off her feet. She takes an awkward Bambi step, trying to hold on to all her crap, and I, being a gentleman and a dick, let her fall right into me. Into my ever-loving arms she stumbles, clutches my biceps with her little hands that have short, imperfect nails, and her sweet Altoids-y breath washes over me, as I hold her up. She smiles at me, all cute and flustered, and I smile like a shark, because I smell the delicious scent of fresh meat. My meat. This will all be mine, very soon.

The rumble of the upcoming train sends me into a sudden panic. 

Are we sharing the same train?

Is she hopping on one and I am on the other?

Are we destined to miss each other like two ships in the night? Nope. Not if I have anything to do with it.

Cow-Eyes is blushing like a virgin, touched for the very first time, and I don’t want to let her go, but I also don’t want it to be weird.

It’s already weird, because I am in love with her, and she doesn’t know it. She doesn’t know that she will be in love with me too. Like this is how weird this is–here I am, staring at the future mother of my children (I am hoping for twins, boy and girl, but I am flexible), and the love of my life is trembling in my arms, not knowing that I will be attempting to impregnate her pretty soon (with consent, don’t worry).

The crowds swell and she separates from me, while another gust of wind almost fells us all down. In this instance, all it does is it makes her lose hold on her folder, and out flies a piece of paper that smacks her right in her perfect face. 

I am losing her. She is fleeing my arms and I am feeling hollow and fucking empty, like she just tore a piece of my soul and took it with her. Dismayed, I watch her shoulder her way inside the train car, and she gives me a look…And I fucking freeze. Because the look is raw and full of understanding. Like she’d known me all of my life. Like she understands every strand of my being and every fucked up thought in my head. Cow Eyes blink at me, and the doors close and I watch her go. Away. Without me. 

I am so discombobulated, I feel as if a limb was severed and her phantom presence is still with me, the scent of perfume and Altoids marks my skin, my shirt, but she is not here.

Dazed. I am dazed and confused, and I watch the train snake forward, feeling like a new bride watching her lover go off to war never to see him again. 

Fuck.

How do I find a girl in the city of 5 million?

My girl.

My Cow Eyes. 

My beautiful girl who is cute head to toe and who’ll have me as a husband, and will never lose me in the crowd, because she can always spot a 6”6 monstrosity with neck tats. 

Now, who is dry humping my leg?

I look down, and there is a piece of paper wrapped around my pant, stuck there and held up by the wind. Thanks buddy! Never loved the wind as much as I love it right now. There is a rowdy looking pigeon that’s eyeing my paper like a bastard, or maybe it’s the remnants of the burrito that someone graciously tossed right on the platform, because throwing it out in a garbage bin is too much work apparently. Anyway, I don’t care, because I beat the pigeon to it and sweep the paper up in my hand, before he flies into my leg like a bull attacking a matador. I nudge the burrito towards him–buon appetito, pal–and look at the paper.

First thing–there is a perfect imprint of my girl’s lovely lips right on the paper. It’s smeared a bit, as she’s been sucki-

Okay, focus. Time for that later. The pouty outline of her lips is pure deliciousness, but I am not after spank bank material right now. Priorities and all.

It’s an invoice of some kind. To a tattoo shop.

What?

My girl looks like she’d faint at the sight of needles, but maybe I am totally misreading her? What if babygirl has a sleeve going? I mean, even I am doubting that this is the case, but why the heck would she have an invoice for some dude named Martin Scalia for $350 from Jade Eyes Tattoo and Piercing Parlour, LTD. Props to the British spelling of ‘parlor’--a classy move–but Jade Eyes??? They literally have some kind of unfathomable connection to Cow-Eyed Girl and they call it ‘Jade Eyes’? Dumb.

-

I am pensive and kind of an asshole for the rest of the day.

I have Martin Scalia’s invoice sitting on my desk in my office, and I am staring at the slightly smeared lipstick imprint like I am deranged. 

I am deranged.

I have an 800 million deal that I am working on, but all I can think of is my girl. I look out at the vast expanse of the city, its skyline dotted with an endless number of skyscrapers, all looking like overly erect dicks, the dickest of which is of course the Trump Tower. And somewhere, in this Forest of Dicks, is my girl. Who is currently not with me, and that’s just throwing me. She should be resting her sweet ass on my lap right now, looking at me adoringly, calling me ‘my love’ or ‘master’ and eagerly thinking of what I would do with her once we get home. Instead, she is gallivanting somewhere unknown to me and it’s irritating as fuck. 

My buddy Cass sticks his big head in the door of my office and asks me if I am in love, because I am, apparently, mooney-eyed. He snags a look at Martin’s invoice and the lipstick smear, then grins like an asshole and leaves me be, while whistling ‘Strangers in the Night’. I love him as much as I hate him. But mostly love. I only love two people–Cow-Eyes and Cass.

I am sprinting out of the office and onto the street like a young buck. I am a young buck. Or maybe, a middle-aged buck, but I have a plan and it’s giving me wings. I get into an Uber and we drive all the way to UIC, which, in my opinion, is still a neighbourhood that’s shady as fuck. I hope that my girl is safe walking around here. 

The car drops me off at the infamous Jade Eyes Tattoo shop.

I am gonna be honest here, I didn’t give this too much thought.

My brain is so full of my Cow-Eyed girl, that there is absolutely no space left for anything else. Like planning. Like not being a creeper and just barging in. Or considering that she might not even be there. Why would she be? Maybe she is an accountant and this is her client? I guess I can beat the shit out of the tattoo guys and demand to know the whereabouts of their sexy, gorgeous, perfect, incredible, stunning accountant who will be my wife, though I prefer not to go that route. I try to be peaceful. Usually. 

Also, she cannot be an accountant.

She is definitely a writer. Yes. She writes dark romances. I can feel it.

So….I actually don’t have a plan.

But I walk in anyway and figure I’d play it by ear. 

And there she is. The beanie is off and her golden hair is gilded by the light, gleaming light the sun at dawn.

Those large brown eyes flicker and blink, and she recongises me. The moment is right there. Seared into my memory forever. She blinks. And she knows me. She knows me through time and space, like I know her. She is my girl. It’s inevitable.

When you know, you know. Right?

“Go on a date with me,” I order.

“Okay,” she says.