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chaand-jalne-laga · 8 months ago

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CJL LIVE BLOG SEASON 1 [EPISODE 1]

So. I know, this is wrong. Coz I put the IPK one on hold and now i am starting another, but I thought, this one is just for 82 epis(SO SHORT? WTF? CHALA HI NAHI SHOW?!?!?) So, it wont take much time to complete this and I also wanted to keep this content and ipk content separate. Hence, a separate blog. I know y'all might be hard-core Arshi fans and ipk fans, but, give this one, a chance, as well, ok? Just for entertainment's sake? Please? Baaki, it's your choice ofc :) Hope you enjoy this.

1.) Hmm. Pune. Maharashtra. A girl peeping out through the car window. Enjoying the 'jaadu' in the air. Btw, I like the BG score, here.

2.) In the flashback, we see two kids sitting on a white horse and the horse is galloping in its full galore. The girl confirms the magic in the air as her hands are flying. Lol. Typical kids.

3.) Tara di's sister is asking about her opinion on her looks. IDK but I cringed real hard when she said, "Achi lag rahi hun naa?"(Like yeah darling, you look average. Lol. JK. You look stunning but stop with that cringe acting, ok?)

4.) Tara Di opens her hair and A SECOND-LITERALLY A SECOND AGO, she was irritated but then immediately she is impressed with her di's improvisation. Whatever. Lol.

5.) Selfies. Di is excited so she starts taking selfies and her younger sister is suspicious instantly. Why? Does she not take selfies on any normal day? Maybe. *shrugs*

6.) How typical of people to instantly assume that if a girl seems excited then she might be having a 'chakkar' with some boy. Why girl? Your sister can't be happy for her own self, just like that, without any reason? *hmph* Do you make her that upset? Lol. That now her excitement seems abnormal.

7.) NGL but this Tara di's sister is a really bad actor, whoever she is. Sorry. Lol.

8.) Tara Di gets off the car and lets them drive by. Then, she quickly runs to the Bus Station to catch a bus for--?--whatever.

A Side Gyaan : But that's such a bad way to catch a bus, actually. First, you catch the attention of the bus driver coz they are at a considerable height and then they stop the vehicle ONLY THEN you cross it and get on the bus, okay? My readers? Don't be like Tara Didi, okay? Good. Now, we come back to the epi.

9.) So. Tara didi is changing her shoes. I really thought for a sec that she will change her outfit too. Lol. A kid is staring at her antiques and she notices people are staring at her. So.

What do you think will she do?

a) ignore them

b) make faces at them

c) sunaoify (rudely) them for staring at a slightly differently dressed girl

d) give them a five page ka gyaan on social etiquettes as a soon-to-be 'Starplus Bahu'

Yeah. You are neither right nor wrong, coz she will randomly pull out a jar of lollipops and distribute it to appease them. Yes. We all do that. We all step out of our homes, thinking we might happen to be in a bus and can then distribute it among the children on the said bus. Whatever.

10.) TD gets off the bus and buys chana and gur for--?--*shrugs*

11.) TD is now sitting in a-tempo?-transport vehicle. Whatever. Driver announces her destination which is- "Sehgal Estate"

12.) The driver assuming her to be a tourist, warns her, of the place having been shut down for quite a few years now and he tells her that an accident had taken place, many years ago. TD flashes back to that 'haadsa' and politely dismisses him by stating that she is a local.

13.) Ok, ladies, so all things aside, who all can climb up and cross that gate, that high, with a WHITE SAREE and that too without staining it!?!? Anyone? No? See, our Tara D (Lol. I have so many name ideas for this girl.) CAN. She is a champion at this. (Okay so i wanted to take a screenshot of that long-ass gate but Jio Cinema didn't let me. Fudge you, Ambanis'. Whatever. Lol.)

14.) She takes help from Deva's flash back advice when he had first guided her to climb that (same?) gate. Okay, so that saxophone BG score is cute, okay? Lol.

15.) Gosh. How did they manage to find a small girl who looks exactly like Kanika Mann? Wow. Casting directors take a bow. *bows down with joined hands*

16.) Okay, so the titular song has started in the BG and I am loving it. Meanwhile, TD is going about the mansion and recalling that 'haadsa'.

17.) I am actually kinda liking this kid, Deva. How sweet of him. He extends a bunch of yellow flowers (symbolizing friendship). And damn, he has one hell of a head full of soft and flowy tresses. Wow. Any hair care tips for us, girls, Deva? Lol. Whatever.

18.) She digs out the 'nishaani' of their friendship which is basically two thick stones(or rocks?) joining like a puzzle piece and 'Badshah' along with caricatures of Deva and Tara, carved on the two pieces.

19.) She becomes very emotional, holding the symbol of a once very beautiful bond she had with some boy named- Deva. And then out of the blue we hear a horse neighing and Tara instantly brightens as she recognizes Badshah.

20.) Sure enough, we see Badshah running towards Tara and Tara on reaching close to it, touches it affectionately on it's jaws. We see that Badshah is indeed angry and disappointed on Tara. He starts running away as Tara tries to pacify it(him?). Oh. So. The chana and gur was for a horse. Ok. Nice.

Fun-Fact : All things set aside, Kanika genuinely had to interact with a horse in the middle of the shoot. I wonder if there's some story to this episode which she might have, like she was hell scared of horses and yet had to learn how to interact even if it's a well trained horse, we are talking about. Okay. Enough. Now back to the epi.

21.) Basant Kaka has come to see Tara Bitiya. What's with that line?-"Main janta tha ki aaj ka din tu bhulegi naayi, zarur aayegi." Kya hai aaj ke din mein aisa? Tara's demeanor changes as she recalls the incidents that took place in today's date.

22.) She tells BK that today is the day she met HIM (Deva?) and she reveals that he was the only one who made her Tara from 'Phus Tara' (Deflated Star or according to Jio Cinema's caption-'Timid Tara'. Basically an insulting nick name.)

(Lol. See. I got another name. But. Sorry i won't use that coz it triggers her childhood trauma.)

22.) Do I see vengeance there, Tara? Okay. So, we are being taken 15 years back.

23.) Wow. What an a__hole of a brother. He is chasing Tara all over the house with a bunch of crackers (chataai?) Tara is hidden inside the cupboard but she wants to come out because she is scared of darkness and it's all dark inside the cupboard. Ronak bhaiya fools her to come out but lays the chataai bomb and lights it with a matchstick giving her a 'Sehgal Promise'. These Sehgals seem to be too stuck up of a family tho.

Not-So-Fun Fact : God, these are the worst kind of crackers not only coz of the sound but also they keep scattering everywhere, while bursting, once lit. Even I am hell scared of these and always stand at least 1 Km away from these. Lol.

24.) Not knowing better (how would she? she is just a kid of 7-8 something.) Tara trusts her wicked brother, who has already run away to the veneration, steps out of the cupboard but it's too late the crackers keep scattering everywhere and bursting in the meantime and the poor kid is hell scared she starts calling out for her father ("Baba").

25.) Baba is doing aarti of Devi Maiyya (Oh. Hello DM. How are you? How are Khushi-Arnav and their munchkins doing? Lol. Sorry. I get carried away a bit.)

26.) WAIT. WHAT!?!!?!?! Is that the same guy, who was in Sheesh Mahal, on the fashion show night and Khushi came, asked him for directions but instead got to listen to an Urdu Shayari? Wow. See. A crossover we didn't deserve but got anyway. Whatever.

27.) Baba was doing aarti when his hell scared daughter comes and merely touches his back and the veneration plate skips away from his hand. Lol. What kind of a diet Baba takes that he couldn't even handle a gentle push from a mere kid of 7? Whatever.

But the thing that surprises me more is that he is about to lash out at her in front of the whole-family?- bunch of people. This is where I thought that there's some major tiff going on, in the family, like, everyone is against a mere kid.

28.) Baba, your daughter was hell scared, that too, coz of your a__hole of a son. A lil bit of compassion would go a long way. Thank you.

29.) Wow. A__hole father, a__hole brother. Tara. Run. I said. RUN. Whatever. Poor kid. Is getting blamed for the thing that she couldn't have any control of. So. Baba's wife died at childbirth. So. Now. He has got a lifetime license of blaming and punishing his daughter for it. WoW. jUsT. wOw.

30.) Some one please call a gynecologist and enlighten him that it hardly has anything to do with the child but has everything to do with proper timely medical care. Whatever.

31.) OH. She is crying in front her mother's portrait. Asking if she would ever be loved by anyone or not. I so desperately want to go and give her a looooooong jaadu ki jhappi. Uff. I am getting goosebumps now.

32.) She hears a melody being played out from a harmonica and is instantly drawn to its source. She sees, a boy riding a horse named Badshah and carrying balloons on it's saddle. She is kind of intrigued by this boy.

33.) The boy introduces himself as Deva and in the process, mocks Ronak. Ronak is kind of irritated of this boy already and tries to take over the horse and orders BK to light a long-ass chataai (do they have nothing else in the name of crackers? Lol. 'sEhGaLs') But, Deva is frantic and warns not to burst crackers as it will make Badshah go crazy and mocks him again and Ronak pushes him and Deva falls down.

34.) BK, following his master's orders, lights the chataai and Badshah goes crazy, starts running around violently. There is chaos everywhere, somewhere in the midst, Baba also shouts. The horse Badshah is now running towards Tara and Tara is frightened to the core. She freezes at her spot and covers her face ready to face the impact. Deva pulls off a high jump stunt and lands on the horse's back and calms him down in the process.

35.) Deva tries to cheer Tara up and is successful and from there on they both spend time together and thus become hard core friends.

36.) Deva lightens up her world. She smiles more, laughs more, conquers her fears a lil bit more, every time she is with Deva. And one fine day, they both are celebrating Deva's birthday and Tara has brought a cake for him. A candle is perched on its top. Deva lights it up and blows it away to make a wish. But the candle keeps lighting up again and again automatically, this surprises Deva and Tara falls into a pit of laughter and we see grown up Tara laughing in front of BK recalling the incident. This show is really moving something inside me. It's so heart warming tbh.

37.) Ok. So now they are celebrating BK's b'day and she has a cake-cum-aate-ka-halwa. BK lights up a matchstick and the small speck of fire again ignites that trauma in Tara. Poor girl is traumatized on loosing her only best friend.

38.) Tara and BK think that Deva is dead. And, Badshah has been bought by someone in exchange of lakhon rupiye. Altho, Bhojariya ji had a deal with Tara that she would pay him to keep Badshah in the Sehgal Estate but upon getting a greater amount of money, naturally, Bhojariya Ji sells it.

39.) Tara is heart-broken that she could not keep his only belonging safe and so apologizes to Deva (who she thinks is in heaven) and we are instantly taken to a hilltop where we see a man, also in white. So. Deva. He is alive and probably a reech buzinez man, i think? And, now, the plot is quite predictable, Tara will try to take back Badshah from that 'man' and he will in turn not reveal that he is indeed Deva becoz there is some misunderstanding on both of their side. So. He will try to seek revenge from Tara for what he had to go through in the past. As it is clear from the line, "Bohot jal chuka suraj, ab chaand ko jalna hoga." Wow. What a beautiful parallel tho. (Suraj-Deva and Chaand-Tara and also the title of the story makes a lot more sense now.)

40.) Ok. So. Jalebi reminded me that I did not mention Deva's entry scene. So. Yeah. Deva's entry scene, huh? Wow. Yeah. Sirf. Wow. I had literal goosebumps already and then that drone shot from the hilltop. The teapot hanging above the fire. Lol. What a traditional way to make chai amidst nowhere. Btw where did he get chai ki patti from? And what about chini? Cup? Lol. Banda puri taiyyari ke saath aaya tha. So. Yeah. Amazing scene. Handsome Deva. Beautiful white suit. Already swooning.

Not-so-Fun Fact : Damn this reminds me that I have been chai-deprived since yesterday coz chai was finished and no one in our house(as in me and my parents) were bothered enough to bring it from the general store altho we all were very much bothered for not being able to have a cup of chai. uGh. Whatever.

41.) Wow. Wow. Wow. This show has already started to cast its spell on me, to be honest. And it's just the first episode.

P.S. : So. Yeah. Very beautiful. Very very very beautiful indeed. Cinematography wise. Script wise. Costume wise. Look wise. Everything is perfect for Chaand Jalne Laga. TBH I was underestimating this show but it indeed is beautiful. Please do give it watch. Ok. Then. Bye. God bless you.

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darcylindbergh · 5 months ago

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I’m the minor from the last ask- thank you so much for all the advice. It might be hard to do some of it since my town is really tiny (less than 15,000) but I’ll try. I was outed last year and it was really traumatic but I’ve gained a lot of independence lately and hoping to go to college soon after doing Christian homeschooling my whole life. If you don’t mind, how exactly can I look up marriage license announcements?

hello darling!!

the list of options is not meant as a to-do list!! i was just throwing ideas out. of course some of them won't be feasible for everyone!! don't feel like you have to run yourself ragged. don't feel like you should try to do some of them if you think it might endanger you in any way. remember always: your oxygen mask first, then helping others.

i'm so sorry that you got outed in a terrible fashion. the good news is that coming out is something we kinda do our whole lives, once we start - it can be kind of tiring, sure, but it can also be really joyful and celebratory. yes, i AM queer, thanks for noticing! you will be able to come out at college and meeting new friends and starting a new job and all this other stuff on your own terms, whether that's just showing up with a pride flag flyin or taking someone into your confidence or however you want. we do it endlessly to all sorts of different people. i came out to someone new this week because he came into my job wearing a pride pin and i was like oh hi you?? me!! i'm really sorry that coming out was taken from you, but you will have so many more beautiful coming outs to look forward to. i'm glad you are still here and looking toward your own independence and making plans, that's absolutely the way to go.

marriage license applications!! you can usually just google it (duckduckgo it). i typed in "[where i live] county marriage license applicant publications" and the second result said "applicant report" and they were all there. i guess i don't know if every state requires publication of the marriage licenses applicant publications but if you can find them they're good for the soul.

by the way i gotta say when i looked these up to answer this ask (i usually read them in a legal newspaper, not online) i looked at the reports from june 2015 when obergefell was passed, and the reports went from saying "bride/groom" to "applicant 1/applicant 2" and about halfway down the report there was just a slew of names that were clearly queer couples. the first queer marriage in my county was between two women, ages 61 and 53. i knew this actually because this marriage happened on the lawn of the courthouse i was working at the time, and when the decision came down they FLEW out of the courthouse with the county clerk who performed the marriage within minutes. i cried watching from my window. i couldn't remember their names but now i do! so thank you, that was a special thing for me.

you are going to do such wonderful things and love and be loved by such wonderful people. things will not always feel so dark. i promise.

#darcy answers

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lady-rose-moon · 1 year ago

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Growing Up || TS!Loki & Haven fic ||

A/N; it has been over a year since Haven Lokdottir was introduced into my writing. Since that time, I've grown and improved. What better way to show that than to show Haven's growth? I hope you enjoy ❤️ this is more of a WIP that I know I won't finish so I'm posting this <3

↣ MASTERLIST

Cabin in the Mountains || TS!Loki x Reader ||

It took a while to accept that time was moving quickly for you and Loki. Your small bungalow cabin in the mountains had been remodelled and now had a second floor to accommodate for Kore now in your lives. After Haven's jealousy and self-doubt had passed through family therapy, Kore suggested that she take the room upstairs so that Haven could have her old room back just for herself.

It had taken Haven another hundred years through therapy to accept that she wasn't being abandoned by her parents just because they had a new addition. It was purely the opposite, they had Kore to strengthen their family but young Haven hadn't seen it that way. Now, through therapy, Haven felt accepted in her family again.

However, it wasn't long after that, just three hundred years, that Haven announced that she was leaving. The kitchen was silent in the wake of her statement and the eldest child of Loki saw her father cry for a whole new reason.

"Papa," Haven whispered solemnly, walking toward her father and holding his cheek lovingly, showing him her best smile as she fought her own tears, "I am of age, I want to live on my own now, go to University perhaps! Rule the world if I could! I want to... live. Not that I haven't lived here - of course I have! It's just..."

Loki chuckled and pulled his daughter into his arms, running his hand down her back as he tried to stop his tears. "I know, petal," he whispered comfortingly, feeling her body shudder with unshed tears, "I grew up in a home so different to the life you wish to leave but if it is what you wish, I wish you well, my dear daughter."

The Goddess of Dreams pulled away to look at her father and finally shed her tears as she nodded her gratitude. "I promise to write to you," she whispered, looking between her mother and father with emotions that she used to hide, "and Kore too. Mayhap I shall come home soon enough, bored of the world."

Loki barked a laugh at that, shaking his head with soft emotion, "if you are anything like your mother, sweet goddess, you will never tire of the world."

It was two months later that Haven dropped her bags into her New York apartment. Loki's exile from America did not apply to his children as the US Government had no reason to judge them when their mother was considered an Avenger even if they were only legends now. However, his exile ended the moment Captain Rogers passed away a hundred years ago.

Already there was so much different from the peace of Haven's secluded life in the mountains of Norway. The cars on the streets were loud and the people were always in a hurry and Haven sometimes felt like she was suffocating when she was visiting.

Loki walked in with a few boxes floating behind him moments later and looked around the compact apartment with a soft breath. "A Princess of Asgard deserves better than a small block to live in," he grumbled, watching as his daughter brushed over the countertops of the kitchen and he sighed, "but will you be happy here?"

"I'm just starting out," Haven smiled at her father before walking into the equally tiny bedroom and biting her nail as she looked around, "it's just until I get more money to afford a better apartment or even a house!"

The God of Mischief frowned at his daughter, knowing that she had all the money she could ever want but chose to start out by herself. Instead of stating what he wanted to say, Loki took her into his arms and kissed her forehead with a gentle whisper, "you're so grown up, my princess."

Haven smiled up at her father and hugged him tight. "I'm going to miss you, dad, but I have to do this," she whispered before pulling away with a grin, turning back to her room and clicking her fingers making her furniture move into how she wanted it to be. With a delighted sigh, the girl jumped on her bed and laughed.

Loki wanted to follow her into her bedroom to assist but you gently laid your hand on his chest and whispered, "Thomas, let her decide, this is not our house. She's our girl."

The God of Mischief sighed and nodded, wrapping an arm around your waist before guiding you into the kitchen to begin unpacking the pans and glasses. "I'm... Not ready," Loki admitted, his hands fumbling with polishing a wine glass with Haven's name written beautifully on it, "I thought I would be but I'm not."

You softened and smiled, holding the nape of his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips, "you're ready, come on you're the great God of Mischief and the great inventor Thomas Sharpe! You are ready."

Loki smiled and shook his head, pressing a kiss to your forehead delicately, swaying side to side with you to an invisible tune as he processed the situation and took a deep breath. You were right, he was ready, he just didn't want to let her go.

@lokisgoodgirl @lokisninerealms @slpnbty2001 @jennyggggrrr @hahaha12123445 @ozymdias @holdmytesseract @itsybitchylittlewitchy @lovingchoices14 @xorpsbane @huntress-artemiss @muddyorbs @nerdy-fangirl-65 @lonadane @silverfire475 @chantsdemarins @iamsherlocked1479 @kittiowolf210 @just-someone11 @stupidthoughtsinwriting @loki-laufeyson-1054 @fictive-sl0th @coldnique @anukulee @eleniblue @asgards-princess-of-mischief

#loki x reader #loki #loki laufeyson #haven and loki #daddy loki #haven lokidottir #papa!loki #twhiddleston #tom hiddleston #loki x you #loki fluff #hot loki #loki (marvel)#imagines

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cefonteyn · 2 years ago

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European History and Sensibilities in 1899 season 1

Please forgive the length of this post -- I know I'm rambling, but I am so taken by the depth and brilliance of this show. For context, I'm an Indian immigrant to the United States, who studied American and European history and literature in the U.S. As you might imagine, I have many, many thoughts about 19th century European history and ideologies evident in 1899.

One of the really fascinating things to me about 1899 is how European it is -- obviously in terms of the nationalities of the actors and the characters, but also in terms of one of the show's leitmotifs: you cannot run from your station in life.

There were populist revolutions across Europe in 1848. They broadly failed, and the monarchs won. So in 1899, Europe was still a land of kaisers and czars (both words that come from Caesar, immediately locating 19th century Europe within a two-thousand year history of inherited status).

This is in direct opposition to the American myth, right? The idea that you can come from nothing and become the king of the world. That's a story Americans love to tell and hear, and when we Americans talk about European immigration in the 19th century, that's the way we tell the story. "All men are created equal," we say. This is where you're supposed to come if you're the "poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free." New York, specifically, is where Lady Liberty holds her lamp beside the golden door. (Lady Liberty is European, of course -- but she is French. France had a successful republican revolution in 1791, relapsed with a series of emperors, but by 1899 was a republic again.)

That's why the Kerberos is bound for New York, and not Buenos Aires or Sydney or Bombay. The American myth calls to all our friends on the Kerberos. The show begins with an American poet's words. Olek repeatedly looks at an image of the Statue of Liberty. Virginia explicitly says, "Everyone is running from something." They all hope to escape their pasts and begin anew in America, specifically, because of America's foundational mythos. Maura hopes to become a woman doctor. Tove hopes to lead a normal life with her baby and siblings. Iben hopes to establish a church rather than toiling in the fields.

But they never make it to New York. They've tried "dozens of times," Daniel tells Maura, but the ship never reaches its destination. Because New York isn't real. These European have no hope, ever, of successfully becoming the masks they wear. Angel says exactly this to Ramiro: "You cannot change the nature of things." Later on, it seems that he has had a change of heart, but his realization comes too late, and he's never able to act on his epiphany and become a better person.

Consider the stories of Ling Yi, Lucien, and Franz.

In the British colony of Hong Kong, Ling Yi tries to steal her way into a better life. The results are disastrous: she loses her best friend. Later, she loses her mother. Even though she acknowledges to her mother that she's not entitled to have dreams, she begins a dreamy relationship with Olek -- and then loses the boy she loves. By the end, she's lost everyone she cares about. There is nothing left of the better life she tried to steal from Mei Mei. The ship isn't real. The ocean isn't real. Even her beautiful stolen kimono is gone. The only familiar presence left in her life, the only person with whom she can communicate, is her pimp.

Like Ling Yi, Lucien tried to steal an identity. He returned to Paris from French Algeria trying to live out a dead man's life, and learned that the universe would not allow it. He accepts his death as soon as Eyk announces that he's heading for the Prometheus, and later tells Clemence, "I didn't get what I wanted. I got what I deserved." He understands his fate as almost a karmic balance. He stole a dead man's life, and now he has to die, too.

And then there's Franz. He's the "American" on board, in the sense that he does what a prototypical American would appreciate. He's clearly of a lower-class background and builds solidarity with the working class. He attempts to democratize the ship by empowering the underclass -- giving them arms. And when he feels that the ship's leader is not doing a good job, he seizes power to redirect the ship to its original course. It could almost be in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, which starts by justifying the American Revolution. His actions are so very American that he could almost be heroic.

Of course, the name Franz is related to France. France gave critical support to America in its revolution. Then, as I said above, it had its own bloody revolution and deposed its king. By 1899, France was a republic. So maybe it's more accurate to say that Franz is the French revolutionary, not the American.

But either way, in 1899, he's not a hero. His coup fails. Nobody shows him any respect at all, from haughty first mate Sebastian, to dignified first-class passenger Maura, right down to humble stoker Olek. The crew that was initially on his side turns against him (before he's deactivated, Wilhelm admits that Eyk had been right all along). Even the third-class passengers Franz empowered lose respect for him by the end, when he can't explain the mysterious Calling.

So, in the second half of the show, Franz returns to his proper place: under Eyk's command. (Just like France returned to imperial rule under Napoleon, even after its revolution.) Eyk is above deck, seeking philosophical enlightenment, exploring the nature of the mystery with Maura. And Franz is lower than ever, in the lowest part of the ship, performing manual labor: shoveling coal. When the storm hits, he doesn't even know until someone comes down to tell him.

In contrast, consider Olek. He never, ever subverts his station in life. Even when he's frustrated by Eyk, he does everything the captain requests. He treats everyone with deference, not even meeting their eyes, because he understands that he's lowest ranked. Even the relationships he forges -- the friendship with stowaway Jerome and relationship with prostitute Ling Yi -- are with people in his own class/rank.

Notably, Olek is Polish. In 1899, Poland hadn't existed for over 100 years; it had been divided between the Russian Empire, the Austro-Hungarians, and Prussia (later the German Empire). Olek is literally nobody, from no land.

And for knowing his place in life, he is rewarded by the universe: he ends up acting in stead of the captain, steering the ship. (Brilliantly, Olek's name comes from Alexander, as in Alexander the Great. It may not be immediately apparent to people who dismiss him as a "Polack," but Olek has rich history and leadership in his name.)

And finally, there's Eyk himself. His old-fashioned name also means "ruler," from the word for oak trees under which village heads issued their rulings. And he is the definite ruler of the ship. He is imperious and stern to start, and Maura immediately recognizes from the way that he carries himself that he is the ship's captain. He knows Morse code, and how to read naval maps, and the depth of the sea. He also knows how to read his crew and order them around.

Eyk exhibits a magnetic charisma, which works on everyone. Jerome and Ramiro, who would rather have kept their heads down and stayed out of the spotlight, end up risking their lives for him. Sebastian apologizes to him before deactivating him. Even Daniel -- for whom Eyk is a romantic rival -- helps Eyk, agrees with him publicly, and eventually just moves him elsewhere rather than deactivating him.

But as events get stranger, Eyk's behavior becomes erratic. He drinks heavily on the job. He treats officers, crew, and passengers poorly. He makes an imperious decision against the wishes of every single person on board. George III lost America for the same thing. Julius Caesar died for that, and so did Louis XVI.

But the mutiny against Eyk fails. Tove, who points a rifle at Eyk and informs him that they're turning the ship around, is also the first person to defect from the mutineers. She says to him, "Du bist der Kapitan." After the Calling, everyone again acknowledges Eyk as the captain. When the crisis of the storm begins, it's Eyk they seek first, before turning to Sebastian and Franz.

The show presents this as the correct order of things. Eyk is sympathetic, intelligent, and noble, in every sense of the word. We, the audience, love him for it. Even when we sympathize with Franz, we never agree with him and turn against Eyk.

So, the first season reifies the 1899 European idea that one ought to act in accordance with one's class status. Escaping one's station in life is impossible, and attempting to do so always leads to disaster.

(Here I would be remiss not to mention the relationship to Hinduism and Buddhism. The idea that everyone's life circumstances are a reflection of their actions in their past lives, and therefore should not be avoided or changed? That's Hinduism. The idea that the universe is an illusion? It's called maya, and it's in Hinduism and Buddhism. The idea that attachment to the illusory things of maya necessarily brings suffering, that suffering distracts you from your true self as part of atman and your goal of achieving moksha -- of being blown out of existence like a candle (nirvana) -- of achieving liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth: all of this is in Hinduism and Buddhism. It's exactly what Daniel tries to tell Maura.

Europeans in the 19th century were familiar with these concepts. Knowledge of Hinduism and Buddhism was quite fashionable not only in Britain, but across the continent, and it remained so into the 20th century. See, e.g., Hermann Hesse's 1927 German novel Siddhartha about the Buddha, or this Polish translation of the Sanskrit Ramayana from 1937.)

Of course, European history didn't end in 1899. Major shifts were on the horizon; a century of war was about to begin, reshaping Europe's map several times. European nations bit into one another, sometimes spitting each other out, sometimes swallowing each other whole.

The British empire continued to lose its global power. World War I ended Eyk's German Empire and established the Weimar Republic, setting the stage for the Third Reich. The 1917 Revolution ended Imperial Russia and established the Soviet Union. The Treaty of Paris reestablished Olek's Poland. Civil war raged in Angel's Spain. World War II began in 1937 on the Sino-Japanese front, and Ling Yi's Hong Kong was occupied by Japan. Olek's Poland was occupied by Germany, as was Clemence, Lucien, and Jerome's France.

And then the Cold War raged. Europe was split in two. America became a superpower and spread its sensibilities across war-ravaged Western Europe, while the Soviet Union did the same in the East. Eyk's Germany was itself split.

Until, finally, came the mostly peaceful Revolutions of 1989 (the same numerals as 1899!), fulfilling the populist promise of the 1848 revolutions. Round Table Talks -- beginning in Olek's Poland -- spread capitalist democracy across Eastern Europe. The Berlin Wall came down later the same year in Eyk's Germany.

(Jantje and Bo are German, too, of course. Their age and vantage point in Central Europe means they have a wonderful perspective on late 20th century European history.)

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, leaving America as the sole world power. Obviously, Europe is not America. To this day, America is a very libertarian country, ruled by a worship of individualism and the belief that riches and success are only a reinvention away. European countries are not ruled by this same fundamental ideology.

But in the 20th century, we Americans exported (read: forced) some of ourselves across the world, including in Europe, very often in evil ways. A lot of it was horrible and self-interested. We ruined lives. We ruined generations. We ruined entire nations.

But not all of it was bad. (Black Americans invented jazz and rock and roll, after all, and it's the latter genre that plays at the end of every episode.) And one of the things we exported was our foundational myth -- our belief -- now widely accepted in many parts of the world, including modern Europe: that it is inherently right and correct that people should chart their own destinies rather than being forced into roles determined at birth.

(Not to suggest that self-determination is uniquely American. Other cultures have this belief indigenously, of course! I only mean that we exported our own version.)

At the end of the first season, we see the same people that we've gotten to know, but in a new historical context. They no longer believe that they are in 1899; now it seems they're in 2099. They're not exactly in America, but they are in the territory that America claimed to have won spiritually in 1969, in its space race with the Soviet Union. (Of course, we now acknowledge space as a place for all humans, not for any race or nationality. That kind of unity is reflected in post-WWII organizations like the United Nations...and the European Union.)

And so I wonder if the same leitmotif will play in the next step of these characters' journey, or if the next season will reflect Europe's 20th century: changing social roles. Democratization. Mass murder and genocide. Waning empires and anti-immigration sentiments. Homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and gender equality and increased LGBTQ+ rights. Socialism and austerity.

I really hope the next season embraces the next chapter in Europe's history. If so, it promises to be a very interesting season, marked with sharp internal and external conflicts and contradictions. Because, to borrow a phrase from the American poet Walt Whitman, Europe is large, it contains multitudes.

#1899 meta #1899 theories #1899 spoilers #1899 analysis #1899 netflix #1899 #sorry again about the absurd length of this post

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smolwritingchick · 6 months ago

Text

Forced To Believe Chapter 61- Catching Up With Old Friends

Summary: Melanie visits TNA and live tweets for Raw. Melanie goes with CM Punk to a tattoo shop.

Words: 4,000+

Back in Philly, Melanie arrived back home, walking inside her parents' place.

"I'm home!" she shouted.

She immediately heard her Parson Russell Terrier happily barking and running towards her.

"Ellie! Hey girl. Did you miss me?" She happily petted her and gave her belly rubs.

She laughed as she began licking her. After playing with her dog, she placed her bags in her room and got settled in. A while later, she heard the doorbell ring and looked into the peephole as a smile crept on her face.

"Who is it~?" Melanie grinned.

"Bitch! Open the door! You know it's me, grapes!" Leah chuckled.

"What's the password?"

"Melanie is awesome."

She opened the door. "Good enough."

Once Leah saw her, she engulfed her in a big hug and spun her around after heading inside.

"I missed you!" Leah beamed and released her.

"I missed you, too! You've lifted a lot more weights. Jeesh."

They shared a laugh while Melanie shut the door.

"I saw what happened last night, oh my gosh you do not know how mad I am because of what Rosa and Evolution did."

"Haha. A lot of fans are angry."

"How's the neck?"

"Sore but it'll go away in a couple of days. I just got a call not too long ago that they've made changes to the storyline. They want me back sooner rather than later. And I'm like wow, all this last minute and sudden changes,"

"That's WWE for you. Last minute storyline changes. Your acting was wild. You had me crying when you were in that ambulance!"

"Glad I made it believable!"

"My parents should be coming home soon. They're out shopping. And...it's almost time for Raw, good,"

"You gotta tweet during the WWE shows?" Leah sat next to her on the couch after they grabbed some snacks.

"Yep. Knowing me always being on Twitter, they didn't even have to ask me."

Once the show was on, Leah shouted, "Are you serious!?" when it was announced that Dean Ambrose would be in a battle royal for his US title.

Melanie tweets 'Seriously? I wish I was there to support you but good luck baby! #BelieveInAmbrose'

As they watched Raw, Diego, and Jane finally returned with their shopping bags.

"Melanie!" Jane placed her bags down and rushed over to her.

"Hey, mom!" Melanie stood up to hug her tightly.

"I missed you, sweetie!" She began giving her several kisses all over her face.

"Mom!" she complained.

Leah giggled and greeted her and Diego before helping with the bags. Jane and Melanie followed them and she hugged her dad.

"Melanie, how's the neck?" he asked.

"Sore, but it'll heal in a couple of days."

After everyone got situated, they went to the living room to continue watching the preshow of Raw.

Dean stands in the middle of Roman and Seth.

"I didn't get into this business...because it was easy..." Dean said with seriousness. "And you don't hold on to the United States champion for a year because you can't handle pressure. And you see 20 to one odds. I just see a tough night at the office because when you represent The Shield, when you represent this. The new symbol of excellence, you hold yourself to a higher standard. I'm sure Triple H, Rosa, and The Authority think this is pretty funny."

"They look so serious. Their facial reactions are amazing." Jane said.

"I know right! How did you do it?" Leah wondered.

"Do what?" Melanie asked.

"Deal with them glaring at you when you were feuding with them?"

"I had to get used to it. Especially with Joe. I remember we had a segment when he was yelling and screaming at me. Those tears I shed were real, not fake. I was scared. But that was when I first started because it's been a long time since we all worked together and when his character got a little bit renewed, it took a few weeks to get used to. He's a big teddy bear though,"

"But I'm not complaining. Because I gotta get up in the morning no matter what happens and I gotta answer to me," Ambrose continued. "So what I'm gonna do...is throw punches until my arm falls off! Because I am the dirtiest, meanest, nastiest, most rotten son of a gun to walk on this planet and I'll tell you this, I wouldn't want to be any of those 19 other guys trying to steal from me and take what's mine."

"That's right," Seth said. "You got this...you got this, but I'm telling you guys, something still doesn't feel right about the situation. If anything happens out there and if this turns into anything more than it's supposed to be..."

"We got your back. Believe that. And believe in The Shield." Roman reassured.

------

"Welcome to Monday night Raw! We are kicking things off with a unique United States championship match." Cole said as The Shield walked through the crowd. "Dean Ambrose will defend his United States championship by the orders of The Authority in a 20 man over the top rope battle royal."

"Oh my gosh..." King said with worry.

Melanie tweets 'Which is a load of crap...'

"And perhaps this is punishment from last night," Cole went on.

"Speaking of last night, as you can see Morgan isn't here,"

"Yes and we have just gotten word that Morgan will be out of action for her neck injury. Rosa defeated Morgan with the help of Evolution after they ambushed The Shield backstage, last night."

"And after the match, they sickeningly assaulted her. It was hard to watch."

"On a positive note, she's tweeting live, right now! At least she'll be tweeting while watching Raw." JBL added.

Melanie tweets 'I have a bad feeling...'

During the match, Dean managed to survive throughout the match. It was the final five. Him, Jack, Ryback, Axel and Sheamus. Ryback and Axel began to take on Ambrose and gang up on him.

"I am just surprised at that man, the current champion, Dean Ambrose is still in this match!" Cole exclaimed.

Melanie tweets 'It's going to be okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. #NailBiting'

Ryback and Axel try to eliminate Dean but he hangs on and lands on the apron. He manages to eliminate Axel as the crowd cheers. Ryback gets tossed over the apron and starts punching Dean back and forth. Ryback runs towards him but Dean dropkicks him on the knees, making him fall off the apron.

Melanie tweets 'That's what I'm talking about, baby! Yes!'

"And we're down to three!" Cole said as Jack tried to pick up Dean.

Dean manages to get back down on his feet and pick up Jack to throw him out of the ring.

Melanie tweets 'Just one more! One more! You got this!'

The crowd goes wild until Rosa runs down the ramp.

"What the what is she doing here!?" Cole exclaimed.

She gets on the apron and starts yelling at Ambrose. The crowd starts to boo while Seth and Roman look alert at the situation.

"Aren't you missing a certain Outspoken Diva?" Rosa got under his skin and smirked.

Dean glares at her and his emotions start to get out of control.

"What are you going to do Dean? What? Are you mad that your precious Morgan had her career ended by the hands of me? Poor darling." she went on.

"Rosa and her mind games," JBL looked on as Seth and Roman started to argue with her.

Roman tries to grab her but Rosa evades his attempt and runs around the ring, making him and Seth chase her. Dean turns around to receive a Brogue Kick from Sheamus.

"Oh my gosh!" King exclaimed.

"Oh!" Jane and Leah shouted.

"This isn't good," Diego mumbled.

"Come on Dean!" Jane shouted at the TV, making Melanie chuckle.

Melanie tweets 'Son of a...'

"Sheamus just blindsided Ambrose!" Cole exclaimed.

"And all thanks to Rosa. That kick took his head off!" King shouted.

Sheamus picks Dean up and throws him out the ring.

"Ambrose eliminated! Sheamus is the new United States champion!" Cole shouted as Sheamus celebrated.

Roman and Seth stop chasing Rosa and look annoyed. She starts jogging up the ramp and grins in satisfaction.

"Damn it!" Leah pouted. "Really Rosa? Really!?"

"Hahaha!" Rosa laughed at The Shield.

Melanie tweets 'I wish I could wipe that smirk off her face...it's okay guys. Stay strong.'

Roman and Seth help Dean up while Sheamus gets out of the ring and celebrates with the title. The Shield get back in the ring. Dean slams his fist on the mat, looking upset.

"What are you supposed to do y'know? You were this close man; you were this close." Seth spoke up.

Triple H walks out, meeting up with Rosa on the stage. He pats her back and smirks at The Shield.

"Last night Evolution engaged in an unforgettable war. And at the end of it, you three were extremely lucky. But...one member wasn't. Looks like Morgan failed to adapt. And I can guarantee she's not going to be seen here any time soon." He said as The Shield shot him dirty looks.

Ambrose leans on the ropes and starts gritting his teeth.

"Ambrose is crazy." Diego chuckled.

"You just noticed that? I love him!" Jane grinned.

Melanie tweets 'Guess I'm a taboo subject here.'

"Now...since Ambrose just lost his US championship, it looks like your luck is changing. And considering the fact that at the end of the night tonight, the three of you are gonna be in six man competition... against the Wyatt Family." Triple H announced, earning loud cheers. "I'd be willing to say, your luck has run out."

"What a main event!" Cole said.

"Is there no end to the vindictiveness of Triple H?" King asked.

"I think it's good for business. What a great main event for Monday Night Raw!" JBL added.

-----------

The Shield and The Wyatt family get into it in a back and forth match. The match begins to pick up when Roman gets tagged in and takes the Wyatts down with superman punches, apron clotheslines and a top rope flying clothesline. He sets up for the superman punch until Erick goes after him.

All members of each team get in the ring and start to get into it while Dean and Seth hit Erick and Luke with a suicide dive out of the ring. Roman hits Bray with the superman punch and stalks him with his teammates. All of a sudden Evolution's theme comes on.

"Oh my God, here they come!" Cole shouted as Evolution and Rosa walked out.

Melanie tweets 'Frustrations...building...'

The Shield face off against Evolution as they walk down the ramp. Seth and Dean take out Evolution, Erick, and Luke with another suicide dive but then Bray blasts Reigns and quickly hits him with the Sister Abigail for his team's win.

Melanie tweets 'Should have known...'

Evolution starts attacking The Shield while Rosa watches. Batista throws Ambrose into the steel steps while Orton hits Rollins with a DDT off the top rope. Batista hits Ambrose with a spinebuster on top of the steel steps while Roman escapes Triple H's pedigree. Orton waits until Roman turns around to receive an RKO. Triple H gets angry and hits Roman with a pedigree.

"Triple H is livid," Cole said as Evolution stood tall.

Melanie tweets 'I just wish I could help...'

"Pick him up here! Come on!" Batista shouted as Orton and Triple H picked him up so they could hit him with the triple powerbomb.

Rosa gets on the top rope and strikes Roman with a diving clothesline while Evolution slams Roman down.

"Triple powerbomb with a clothesline. It took six men to leave the three members of The Shield laying tonight." Cole looked on as Rosa and Evolution put their fists out.

"No way!" Jane shouted. "They just did you see that?"

"Wow..." Leah shook her head.

"Haha! This is insane!" Melanie laughed.

Melanie tweets 'This bitch...really? First of all, you didn't do the move right.'

"Evolution is not through with The Shield," Cole said.

Melanie tweets 'Don't worry, you only just motivated my boys. They're going to kick your asses. #JustYouWatch'

-----

Since Melanie was going to be off the road for a while, she finally had the opportunity to visit Phil and April in Chicago. She has talked to Phil about getting a tattoo for the past year now and he finally talked her into coming to Chicago to get one. She was nervous but excited about the new ink.

Melanie tweets 'Okay...I think I'm ready. Ready to get that tattoo CMPunk #TattooBuddies'

Phil replies 'Sweet. I'll be waiting for you. Don't chicken out on me WWEMorgan101'

Melanie replies back 'CMPunk hardy har har. I won't. Promise! #TryingNewThings #Inked'

Her twitter was already getting blown up with the idea of her getting a tattoo and hanging out with CM Punk, the man who walked out on WWE. But she'd always remain friends with him. After meeting up with him, the two headed over to the shop and she checked out all the different designs.

"Nervous?" Phil asked with a smile.

"A little," she admitted.

"Come on, you said you wanted one and you wanted your best guy friend there."

"You're one of my best guy friends."

"What? I'm hurt. I thought I was number one." He playfully replied in a saddened voice.

"You'll live, man," She patted him on the back.

"So what are you getting and where?" He asked as they checked out all the different designs.

"Well..."

After a few hours of tattooing, her tattoos were finally done and she showed them off.

"Gosh, how do you do it, dude? How do you stand the pain?!" Melanie asked.

"It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say. Anyway, here's the first one." She put her hair up and revealed her name in Chinese writing. The tattoo was small and ran down from her upper back to down on her spine to stop before the middle of her back.

"That's sick!" Phil nodded in approval. "And the other one?"

She let her hair down and showed him her right wrist. It had the name Mox and each letter was attached to each other, having an easily seen cursive font to it.

"You went for a wrist tat? I'm proud of you."

"I'm flattered."

"So, what's the story behind that?"

"Working with Jon as Jon Moxley was my favorite part of the indies. He's someone I'll cherish forever because if I didn't have that feud with him, I wouldn't have been my Morgan character. I'd probably be a girly character today in WWE, honestly. Plus, I wouldn't be wrestling guys and stuff if it wasn't for him."

"Nice. I wonder how Jane is going to react,"

"I think she'll be okay,"

"She's going to freak out."

"No, I really think she'll be okay."

---------

"Are you crazy!?" Jane shouted, making Leah wince and hold her ear. "You—you got a tattoo!?"

"Two, actually," Melanie revealed, making her exhale and sit on the couch.

"Come on sweetheart, she's not destroying her body. Like she said they have stories behind it." Diego said, trying to save her from the situation.

"I think they look awesome!" Leah grinned.

Jane exhaled. "All right. They do look really interesting."

"Does Jon or anyone know?" Leah wondered.

"Yep, they just didn't see it though," Melanie replied.

"Man, I want to see Colby's reaction. He's going to be elated when he sees that you two have almost similar matching tattoos."

"Can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out, that I actually went along with his idea. He thought I was going to chicken out on getting tattoos."

------

The next day, Jane, Leah, Diego, and Melanie head over to Jane's new bakery.

"I can't believe this is happening," Jane looked around in excitement.

She saw her bakery sign called 'Jane's' and saw some employees already in the shop to prepare the free samples.

Melanie tweets 'Wanna meet Jane and I? Come down to Philly for the grand opening of Jane's bakery! Check out the free samples!'

Seconds later WWE's Twitter retweets it and so does the roster until the fans start retweeting it, gaining more traction.

"Word travels fast, huh?" Diego chuckled. "The power of technology."

"Let's not wait any longer!" Jane rushed inside and looked around. "This is amazing!"

After Jane worked with the employees to get everything good and ready for the day, she shared some of the free samples with Melanie, Leah, and Diego as they raved over the deliciousness. The cookies they tried were soft and just the right amount of sugar.

When it was time for the grand opening there was a big crowd, making Jane's day even more better. The fans got photos of her and Melanie and asked Melanie about her neck. Melanie told them she was doing great and couldn't wait to get back in the ring.

-------

With permission from WWE, Melanie decided to visit her old TNA friends. After talking with Dixie and catching up with the guys, she walked inside the Knockout's locker room, she caught up with Madison Rayne, Velvet, Gail, and Angelina Love. It was great to see them still thriving in the company.

Later when it was time for the show and the little segment she had planned, Melanie sat by ringside.

Angel on my shoulder comes on as the Beautiful People walk out in black evening gowns. They were about to compete in an elimination evening gown match against Brittany and Madison Rayne.

"The following Knockout contest is an evening gown match. Introducing first, the Beautiful People!" Christy Hemme announced.

As soon as Angelina and Velvet walk to ringside, they spot Melanie.

"Oh my gosh!" Velvet grinned and rushed over to her with Angelina.

"Melanie! You're here!" Angelina beamed while Melanie stood up and hugged them with a big smile on her face.

"And look who we have at ringside! Melanie!" Taz announced.

"Melanie visiting TNA, I wonder what's going to happen when she sees Madison again." Mike Tenay wondered, recapping their past feud years ago.

"And their opponents, introducing first from Orlando, Florida, Brittany!" Christy announced as she strutted down the ring, tagging some hands.

'She's a Killa Queen'

"And her tag team partner, from Seattle, Washington, Madison Rayne!"

Madison grinned and twirled around before doing her princess wave.

"This is all Madison's fault. She could have been back with the beautiful people but she turned it down." Taz said as Madison stopped at the end of the ramp and turned her attention to Melanie.

"Uh oh." Mike looked on as she walked over to Melanie.

The Outspoken Diva slowly stood up, facing off against her as the crowd cheered in anticipation.

"I thought these two were done! They still have beef?"

"Don't worry, Melanie! We got her! We got her for ya!" Angelina reassured while Madison got in the ring.

Brittany was impressive, hitting Velvet with a moonsault. She is about to take Velvet's gown off but Madison hits her out of the ring as the ref orders her to get back on the apron. Melanie chuckles at the Beautiful People's dirty work while Angelina holds Brittany's foot so Velvet can eliminate her.

"Brittany has been eliminated," Christy announced.

"Madison is now out numbered," Mike looked on.

"Three on one. Who knows what Melanie is going to do? I can still feel the tension between those two." Taz stated.

Madison holds her own until she gets thrown into the ropes by Velvet. Angelina makes her fall flat on her face by pulling on her legs.

"That was nice, wasn't it?" Angelina grinned and high fived Melanie before getting back on the apron.

"Come on, queen." Velvet choked her on the middle ropes.

Madison fights back and spears Velvet before stripping Velvet.

"And now it's gonna be a one on one match." Mike looked on.

Angelina attacks Madison from behind and chokes her with Velvet's gown.

"How do you like that!?" Angelina shouted before releasing her. "I got her, I got her."

Madison starts fighting back and starts choking her with Velvet's gown before throwing her across the ring a couple of times. All of a sudden, Velvet walks down to the ring again with a towel, distracting her and the ref.

"What are you doing!?" Madison exclaimed before Velvet showed her body to the ref. "You're disgusting, Velvet! Really!? Really!? Really!?"

"Wow," Melanie mumbled while Angelina sprayed Madison with hairspray and stripped her to win the match.

"Your winners! The beautiful people!" Christy announced while Madison covered her eyes.

Velvet meets up with Angelina in the ring and celebrates with her. Melanie jumps off the barricade and walks up the steps.

"And now Melanie is going to celebrate with them," Taz said while Velvet and Angelina hugged her.

The three of them grab a mic while Madison continues to hold her eyes in the ring, still looking embarrassed. She recovers and goes to spear Angelina until Velvet beats her down and holds her down into a headlock.

"How dare you!? How dare you, disrespect us!? You were a nobody! A nobody! Before you were in the beautiful people!" Angelina screamed.

"Don't forget that!" Velvet screamed.

"The only reason we hired your ugly butt was to make us look better! But that's all gonna change. Right...now." Angelina grabbed a brown paper bag with her face on it and put it on Madison's head as the crowd booed.

"This is total humiliation," Mike murmured.

Melanie starts to look uncomfortable. This wasn't right at all.

Angelina and Velvet laugh and high five each other.

"Come on Melanie, hit her!" Velvet shouted.

As she continues to watch, she starts to look upset. In the ring she saw two different women. Madison Rayne and the Madison Rayne years ago. The difference? Madison suffered a lot because of the beautiful people and has been humiliated by them so many times. And maybe that was why she did what she did. She tried to be Melanie's friend but instead took her anger out on her.

Madison has changed a lot these past few years and she wasn't the same heartless, wicked woman anymore. She had a baby and changed her ways. Started to do what was right. And maybe Melanie should do the same.

"Is...is Melanie going to hit her?" Taz questioned.

Suddenly she walked up to Madison and took the paper bag off of her, ripping it into pieces as the crowd cheered.

"What are you doing?" Velvet exclaimed.

"The hell are you doing!?" Angelina shouted.

"Madison...you've made my life a living hell back when I was in TNA but I fought back against you. You've changed a lot over the years and you're trying to do what's right. Now Angelina, Velvet, are you seriously doing this childish crap again?" Melanie asked.

"Are you kidding me!?" Velvet shouted.

"First of all, you two aren't beautiful. You're ugly. Ugly personalities. I'm not a beautiful person and I never will be. I'm a Killa Queen just like Madison." she dropped the mic while Madison speared Velvet, making her roll out the ring.

"Look at this! They're working together?" Taz exclaimed as Angelina's jaw dropped.

Angelina walks over to see Velvet down and out at ringside. As soon as she turns around, she gets hit with a double clothesline by Madison and Melanie. The crowd begins to cheer when she helps Madison take off Angelina's gown and throw her out of the ring.

"Are you kidding me!?" Velvet screamed as she helped Angelina and tried to cover her up.

Melanie chuckled. "Sorry."

She shrugged while Madison's theme came back on. She turns around and grins at her before hugging her.

"Whoa, look at this! They did make up!" Taz looked on. "Two enemies helping each other out."

"Two former enemies." Mike corrected while Melanie raised Madison's hand.

"This isn't over!" Angelina shouted while Madison gave them the princess wave.

---------

Smackdown was underway with each member of The Shield in singles competition for the night. Unfortunately, Ambrose failed to recapture the US championship from Sheamus and was upset as he banged on the mat, mumbling, "Damn it!"

Then, Roman defeated Mark Henry after giving him a Samoan drop over the top rope, showing off his power, and then a spear. And finally, Rollins took on Batista but lost by count out after Batista evaded Seth's dive, hitting his head on the announce table.

Even though the match was over, Batista decided to throw Seth back in the ring and began beating him up.

"Batista just wants to punish Rollins now," Cole said after Batista hit him with a Batista bomb. "That was completely uncalled for and unnecessary."

Melanie tweets 'Ooh...I just wanna...I'm going to do something that's going to hurt Evolution and Rosa...mentally.'

Later that evening, Rosa was in action against Naomi, having a back and forth match.

"Rosa is really holding her own here tonight," JBL looked on, impressed, as Rosa threw Naomi into the steel post outside the ring.

"This is a scary change in Rosa's character. She's very vindictive." Cole added as Rosa threw Naomi back in the ring.

Rosa tries to take control but Naomi starts fighting back with the crowd behind her. She goes for the rearview but Rosa kicks her butt, making Naomi fall.

"And Rosa counters." Cole watched as she grabbed her for the Gory Bomb, making a sick impact on the mat.

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"And Rosa continues to dominate," Cole announced as she got her hand raised.

Naomi rolls out of the ring while Rosa grabs a mic. A 'Rosa Sucks' chant surrounds the arena, making her glare at the crowd.

Moments later, she laughed. "Oh Morgan, how does it feel to see your friends get beaten up by me? I am the best diva—"

'I've had enough I'm taking you down'

"What!?" Cole exclaimed.

"Morgan's back!" JBL shouted as Rosa's eyes widened and started to look nervous.

The crowd goes wild as they patiently wait for Morgan to come out but then her theme fades out.

"Wait a minute..." Cole said suspiciously.

Melanie tweets 'Corny bluff...Laugh while you can...'

Rosa starts laughing again, making the crowd even more angry with her.

"Haha, you fell for it! You all fell for it! I mean come on, did you really think Morgan is going to come back to the WWE? I ended her career. She's gone. She's done. Morgan doesn't have what it takes to be a top diva. I do. I'm even better than Paige! And I know you and her are buddies, but I'm going to show you that I can beat the Diva's champion. So believe that and believe in Rosa Mendes." She blew a kiss and exited the ring.

"Rosa is continuing her dominance. Will anyone stop her?" Cole wondered.

"I don't know but Paige better watch out. She may have a new challenger for her championship." JBL stated.

#the shield #the shield fanfiction #the shield 4th member #dean ambrose x oc

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multimagical · 1 year ago

Text

The Ghosts of Melbrew

Book 1 of 12 in the Multimagical Series by Lillian R.S.

Masterlist

Chapter 1 - "Welcome to Melbrew"

6,025 words

My wattpad / main: @lillianrs

Friendly criticism is welcome for future reference!

Continue reading below the cut, and enjoy! <3

●●●

It's a dark evening as I begin writing this book. A night where the trees creak outside my windows, with harsh, howling winds in the forlorn wilderness. I'm not sure what finally possessed me to tell this story after all this time, but one thing I've learnt is that you should always trust your gut. So, I'm going where the keys take me, as I trace through my memories.

It began back when I was only sixteen. So young, so unprepared, so naive, almost innocent. Nothing could've possibly warned me for the journey that lie ahead, for the things I've seen and the places I'd been. For then, in only my teens, my life changed in more ways than I could've ever imagined. I wasn't prepared to have my reality turned on its head, I wasn't prepared to see the truth, and I most certainly wasn't prepared to see the things that were not meant to be.

I've stayed in this town my whole life. I've seen faces come and go, and am good friends with the ones who've stayed. This place is different than it once was, but it still has some traces of its cursed past, though now faded from time. Somedays it feels strong, like I can feel it through the roots in the Earth. Yet other times it feels distant, and unwilling to show.

I've experienced a lot in my life, yet nothing has ever compared to the things that I had seen at the young age of seventeen. No one ever believed me, believed us. We never maintained solid proof, all of our camera evidence was destroyed during the ritual, but us seven know the truth... well, us seven, and the others silently involved who now refuse to acknowledge it. But those are all faces who have gone, to where, I'm not sure.

So, I suppose I'm here now, the next Robert J. Wright, the next Lord Lutho, the next Jane Howell who will become a mere conspiracy in the darkest corners of a library, waiting to be discovered, and inspire the next generation of those who seek the truth. I work at the school now as the librarian, and I take responsibility in preserving the stories here. Though I feel that now in my present, the whispering warnings we've heard long ago are to soon reign true... I just hope that the message can reach others, before it's too late. There's only so much we can do.

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My parents and I had to move across the country when I was sixteen years old. They are both photographers, and had gotten a job offer from a studio in Metalwood City. This studio in particular wanted them to focus on photographing both rural and urban life for usage in magazines and websites. Though we couldn't do this where we had previously lived, as the job specifically required the photos to come from the state of Washington. It had a much better pay than their previous job, and my parents were up for a change of pace, so they took them up on the offer.

Metalwood was a short 40 minute drive from a small rural town called Melbrew. Living there was extremely cheap, and my parents figured that they could run between the town and city for their pictures. Unfortunately, they were unaware that cheap living often comes with a different type of price to pay.

This town was founded by two brothers with the last name Melbrew, of course. It lay near the west coast of Washington state, with only a fifteen minute drive to the Pacific ocean. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lakes and forest on all sides. That was the extent of my knowledge at the time of moving. I wondered if it would even be worth it to live there, but that decision wasn't mine to make. I never got to have a say in much.

My parents had sprung the moving announcement on me out of nowhere, leaving me with only a few weeks left before the move, the process started immediately. I was mad and upset, but I knew that there was nothing I could do to prevent it. I had to suck it up and go along with it, however sad it may have been. It was hard.

I enjoyed the last few weeks with my friends the best I could, however good it would be to say a final goodbye to people you would probably never see again. We all promised to stay in touch, but does anyone really? I'll move on and make new friends, and they'll soon forget about me, only to be brought up occasionally with a "Hey, remember Emmy?". It's not sad, it's just realistic. But sticking to the positives, they weren't really the best of friends anyways.

My last day was depressing, but also quite terrifying, considering I would be moving all the way from western Pennsylvania to the state of Washington. That was on the complete other side of the country!

My nerves those final few days were dreadful, I remember them all vividly. The rapid heartbeat, the feeling of leaving everything I've ever known behind... It felt like a clock was ticking down to my death and rebirth. In a way I felt I was dying, as overly dramatic as that sounds. I would be leaving everything and starting again, but as scary as the thought was, it also excited me. The death was the hard part, the afterlife is the easy one.

It took us a about a week to get there, as we had to drive the whole way, but I'm not going to get into the whole moving process as it isn't important. Lots and lots of feilds out in the rural parts of America. Day after day, hotel after hotel. It was almost surreal and creepy, especially at night. A part of me almost wished we had stayed in some sketchy motel that's the only thing on a stretch of road. Now that's where the fun is!

I sighed a breath of relief when I was finally told that we were almost there. Slowly the wheat feilds turned to forests and trees, that's all there was, just trees. After a few minutes a giant wooden sign appeared, reading, "Welcome to Melbrew". The letters were faded and it was hard to read, but still ledgebale nonetheless.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned off my music as curiosity took its hold on me. Rolling down my window, I stuck my head outside and let the wind and rain hit my face. The smell of water and pine was strong in the air, and the town was rather grey. The clouds in the sky paired with the looming trees blocked quite a bit of sunlight, it was rather gloomy.

The forest was now less dense as houses stood next to each other, all with their own areas, lawns, and garages, decently spaced apart from each other. Before I knew it, we were pulling into a driveway. With the car now in park and silent, raindrops could be heard pounding against the roof. Of course now is when it begins to pick up and pour!

It rained for a full two days after we got there, which made moving in much harder than it already was going to be. We didn't have very much stuff though, as taking too much across the country wouldn't be easy. Nevertheless, I was in love with the scenery. All the trees, the rain, the near darkness in midday. It was very cozy, to me, at least.

My cat was definitely not happy with the car ride, so I'm sure the old senior boy was glad to be out of his carrying cage. His name was Sir. Bennington the Fifth... there were no other Benningtons. Child me just thought it was funny. Nowadays I call him Benny.

The house that I would now have to call home was of a decent size and stood on a corner street. Its outer panels were beginning to peel, and vegetation coated the lawn with various plants and grasses. When the rain died down afternoon had turned to evening, and the sound of birds, owls, and crickets filled the misty darkened air.

There was a humble little farm across the road from us, and a few other houses nearby. Other than that, it was pretty vacant, lying near the northern outskirts of the town by wooded area, though the whole town was surrounded by woods, so it's not that special a detail. It felt very secluded.

I wished we could've moved before the school year started, but I guess I'm also glad it was early on in the year instead of later. I tried to look on the positive side, instead of being pessimistic once I got there and had to confront this new life. There was no point in being sad about something I couldn't change, as much as I wanted to be. I got my sadness out the weeks before, now it was time to move on. Is it toxic positivity? Maybe. I'll get over it.

That first night felt so... different. I'm not sure how to describe it. The sound of the rain falling on the roof, the wind outside, the eerie quietness of everything else. My practically empty room with nothing but a bed and a box of clothes. The yellow lighting and old-fashioned floral wallpaper, paired with the old, dusty wooden floors that would creak beneath your feet. That smell of dirt, and the ticking of an ancient clock that was left behind. It all made me feel stuck in time.

It was very difficult for me to fall asleep. New environments paired with the fear of going to a different school kept me tossing and turning all night. I feel that Benny could sense my discomfort, as he nudged my door open to come sit on my chest. It was only then that my mind felt enough at ease to drift off to the realm of dreams.

My parents walked me to school on my first day to make sure that I didn't get lost and knew the way. The town is very small and half of it seemed to be abandoned, so I didn't see a need for it, but hey, whatever makes them happy. Once the school was in sight, though, they backed off and waved me goodbye.

The school was on the other side of the town from me to the south, so it was quite a long walk, about half an hour. The elementary and middle school were separate, but kept in the same general area. They were all brick buildings under the cloudy, grey morning sky that only just then began to brighten. The American flag waved in the wind, the eerie quietness absorbing me once more.

It wasn't all that grand, in fact, it was quite the opposite. It looked rather decrepit and run down, but not to the point where it looked horrid and grossly unsanitary. Well, I mean, there were a few broken windows boarded up, and vines and grass growing up the sides, but it wasn't, like, dirty.

Really, I doubt anyone around here even notices the appearance, but my fresh new eyes did. Though despite the vintage look that the town carried, I could still tell that it used to be rather well-kept, even though some areas even looked abandoned nowadays. There was a history to this place, I could just feel it. It was in the air, and on the scars the buildings carried. The stories they could tell...

I pushed on the double glass doors of the highschool, which were smudged and slightly stained with dirt. They closed behind me in an echoed click, seemingly sealing the outside world away as the sound of wind was left behind me. The main entrance wasn't very spacious, unlike my last school. It made me feel a little confined and claustrophobic, but I was sure I'd get used to it. I was sure I'd get used to everything, though maybe that was still my want to be positive talking.

The door to my left had a sign reading, "Main Office'', and the door to my right had a sign that read, "Guidance Office", which were both carved into golden plates that now looked brown. Okay, good to know. That was all that was in the entrance hallway.

I wiped my feet on the entrance mat and made my way to the hallway, though my shoes still squeaked against the tiles. On the wall was a little red sign with directions, which I followed to my homeroom, which would be to my right. The voices of fellow students began to fill my ears, and for some reason unbeknownst to me, I began to feel anxious.

"Hello, Emeline!" My teacher said as he saw me enter the classroom. I walked over to him and we shook hands. "Welcome to Melbrew High School! I'm Mr. Brown, and I'll be both your homeroom and algebra teacher. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me or one of the other staff members."

I thanked him and he told me where to sit, so I took my seat, and sat quite awkwardly. My bookbag sat next to me on the floor, my phone gripped tightly in my hands. People continuously glanced over to me, I tried my best to ignore them. The whole place felt off.

Not just off, though, it was straight up oldschool. The whole town was. There were no smart boards, nor overhead projectors. Just an old, green chalkboard. The lighting was also pretty dim and more... yellow? Yellow seems to be a favorable lighting choice here, I suppose. I obviously assumed that the budget was pretty low, as I haven't seen just a chalkboard in the class since I was in the third grade.

As I waited in my seat, I looked around the room to the other students, who thankfully stopped starting at me. Two came up to greet me for a few seconds, but the rest either paid me no mind or just looked over to me. Some gave off weird, creepy vibes with their stares. I felt really out of place, it was kinda giving me impostor syndrome, to be honest. I felt like I shouldn't be there. Just the feeling of being the new kid, I guess.

I began to get lost in my thoughts, staring into the abyss. That is until I jumped out of them due the unnecessarily loud overhead speakers. We all stood to say the pledge, then the announcements began, spoken by an upbeat girl, which seemed almost humorous to me given the boring scenery... well, either humorous or creepy, but you can be the judge of that.

"Good morning, Melbrew students! Today is Monday, September 26th, 2016! For lunch today, the cafeteria will be serving spaghetti, tomorrow will be taco Tuesday! The breakfast for tomorrow will be pancakes! If you are going on Ms. Hogg's field trip this spring, your permission slips are due before Christmas break! There are still a few spots open for the book and biology clubs, so hurry and claim your spot fast before it's too late! Speaking of clubs, sign ups for the brand-new history club will be on Thursday, and they will meet every other week! Have a great day, Melbrew!"

The announcements cut off and students resumed chatting with one another as we waited for the bell to dismiss us to first period. When it finally did, I stayed seated for geometry, while everyone else left. I didn't like the looks people gave me as people walked in for first period. Definitely felt like an invader. God, I was so out of place.

Once geometry was over, I had to head to my second class, which was a study hall. I wasn't exactly sure where it was, though. It's easy to get lost in a place where every hallway looks the exact same. Everyone fled out of the classroom, except for me and one other student who was taking his time to leave. I guess I'll just go ask him.

I approached the student, "Hello! I'm new to this school. Would you mind directing me to the library?" I asked as politely as I could.

He paused what he was doing for a few seconds and looked up at me, before shaking his head and continuing on with what he was doing. He zipped up his backpack, stood up, and answered, "I'm going there. Just follow me."

He spoke in a monotone, nonchalant voice. He said nothing else, and threw his bag over his shoulder as he walked out of the classroom, not even waiting for me. I hurried to follow him, feeling a bit awkward at his lack of acknowledgement.

He was Asian with dark hair and lighter skin, though his face looked tired as bags sat under his eyes. He wore an old, grey baseball team hoodie that was now stained with mud, and had a hole on the sleeve. His backpack looked like it was being held together by ductape alone.

I attempted to make conversation, "Um. My name is Emeline Orman, do you mind me asking yours?"

He didn't say or do anything at first, as he seemingly ignored me. Thankfully for my own self-assurance he eventually shrugged slightly and said, quietly, in the same toneless voice, "Kai."

I observed the hallways a bit as we walked, which all had the same beige colored tiles lining the walls. This school's color palette definitely wasn't the prettiest sight for sore eyes, but then again it could always be worse. Gotta remember that optimism, look on the brightside. The brightside being that I felt like I was in a mystery novel, so I'll take it! The buzzing lights and lack of people definitely added a whole layer to the ambiance.

When we got to the library, he walked off and sat down at a table in one of the more hidden sections of the place, tucked behind some bookshelves near a corner. He immediately pulled out an extremely old looking book from his bag.

"What are you reading?" I asked curiously, but he just looked up at me, said nothing, and looked back down. I waited to see if he would say anything, but he didn't. "...Am I bothering you?"

"Yes." he said, matter-of-factly, without taking his eyes off the book. He rested his head lazily against his hand.

"Sorry, I'll leave you to it." I said, and walked away. I decided to go and look around, I really didn't want to upset people on my first day, that's a good way to make enemies and I was not looking for that, especially in a place that looks like a good setting for a horror movie. Next thing you know you'll be choked to death by a vampire, or something weird like that.

It wasn't a really big library, but it did have a whole lot of stuff in it. Lots of bookshelves, tables, and doors leading to I don't know where. There were even a few computers, and that's saying something! Usually libraries have all sorts of them, but here there's only four, as it seemed. In a place that doesn't have smartboards, I consider it impressive. They were all already in use, three doing work, while another pulled up games.

I spotted a little hallway near the back between some bookcases, and decided to check it out. It led to another room, with more tables, and a door with a sign saying STAFF ONLY. Standing against a wall was a large, moveable whiteboard on wheels. There were all kinds of papers on it, held down by magnets. Written in blue marker was a list of clubs, and what days they will meet. I read down the list, and then jumped a little when a teacher approached me unexpectedly.

"Hello dear, I don't believe I've seen you before, are you that new girl? The Ormans?" The teacher asked as she entered the room. She looked like your classic, stereotypical librarian lady. She had glasses, her hair was in a bun, but she didn't look to be too old.

"Oh, uh, yeah, that's me. I'm Emeline Orman." I said, and held out my hand to shake hers.

"Well, Emily, I'm the school's librarian, Mrs. Robinson." She said, and looked to the club sheet I was just checking out, "Are you interested in any clubs? We hold most of the meetings here in this room. It's a good way to meet some new friends!"

"I might be." I said, shrugging. "What do the different clubs do?"

"Well, most of them are already full, but we're offering sign-ups for a new club, as you probably heard on the announcements, if you paid attention, that is." She said and chuckled, "Most kids don't. The history club is brand new and just starting out, but there are also a few spots still open for the book club. It's what you would imagine, we give you a book, and you read it, and talk about it with your peers. There's also the biology club, I believe there's quite a few spots still open for that one, if you're interested. Ms. Hogg runs that one. She does lots of expeditions in the woods to look for little critters."

"Hm. Do you know what they'll be doing in the history club?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure just yet. This year is the first it'll be up. If I had to guess though, probably various activities involving history, I think specifically on the town. I manage the book club, but if you're interested in town history I would ask Mr. Marshall about it when you can. He's room 105."

"Alright, will do. Thank you, Mrs. Robinson."

"Anytime, love. If you ever have any questions, you can always find me here."

I walked back out into the main part of the library and decided to look around a bit to get familiar with the layout of the place, and maybe look at a book or two. After getting bored of it, I went back to the little room with the whiteboard and sat at one of the white plastic tables that were lined against the walls. There was no one back there, so it made me feel more comfortable.

The time dragged on since I had nothing to do, and I was actually happy when the bell rang for third period. It was time to go to English, which I had to find on my own. Luckily the English hallway was near the library, and all someone had to do was point down the hall. I stepped inside and greeted my teacher, Mrs. Palmer, and she showed me to my seat. Once English was over, I headed to my fourth period class, which was History. I went in and greeted Mr. Marshall. Once the period ended and the bell rang, I decided to ask him about the club.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Marshall? May I ask you about the history club?" I asked. "I heard about it on the announcements this morning, and I think that I might be interested in it."

He looked a bit surprised, and turned to a kid walking out the door, "Dominik," he said, "Where are you heading?"

"Computer, sir." He answered.

"Tell Emeline here a bit about the history club. I think you'll be better at it."

"Sure thing!" He said, and nodded his head out the door for me to follow.

"Why couldn't he just tell me about it himself?" I asked once we were out of the class.

"Well, you asked him at the end of the period, and it would take a while to explain. Plus, you're obviously new and I think that he thinks that this is the perfect way for you to make friends," he stopped in the middle of the empty hallway, and stuck out his hand, "My name's Dominik, but you already knew that, because he kinda said my name, but whatever. If you'd like new information on the name though it's Dominik with a K."

I shook his hand, "Emeline, but you already knew that, too."

We continued walking, "Did all your teachers introduce you today? I wouldn't doubt if people start calling you Emily, if they haven't already, I've never heard of Emeline. That's like Emily but with extra steps... no offense."

"None taken. My parents just wanted to be different, but if it helps, you can just call me Emmy. Or Emma, or Em, or even Emily, really. They're all the same thing. Though usually I go by Emmy. Cute childhood nickname that just kinda stuck."

"Well then, Emmy, allow me to give you a run down." He said, "First of all, NEVER drink from the water fountains after Douglass Bailey has touched them. Just- trust me on that. Secondly, there's a crap ton of weird stuff around here so don't freak out over something strange, it's probably normal. Oh, and third of all, you should DEFINITELY stay away from the northwest side of town. The abandoned part with the park, and the mountains, and the cemetery, and all that. That's practically begging for trouble."

"Well, that's good to know, I guess. Why is the northwest bad?"

"Oh, you'll see. Or more so hear. It's impossible not to. We are definitely going to be late for class, but that's okay. Not to brag or anything, but most of the teachers love me. How about my friend and I tell you a little bit about the club at lunch? The history in this place is... well, interesting, to say the least to a new comer." He said as we approached the class.

"Dominik, you're late!" The teacher said as he walked in the class, but he didn't sound angry at all.

"I was helping out the new girl Emeline, Mr. Adams. Sorry about that."

"No problem, take your seats, and Emily, find a free one."

Dominik whispered towards me, "told you." I smiled a bit.

A kid with bright green hair started excitedly slapping an empty seat next to them, and Dominik gestured to it with his hand. I sat in it.

"Who she?" The green-haired kid asked.

"A new girl who is interested in the history club," Dominik answered.

"Oh! That's fun, a newbie. I've always wanted to teach a newbie!" They said, and turned to me. "Hi, I'm Cameron! And despite what people may tell you, I am in fact a boy. Actually, I'm just straight up feral. I'm a menace to society. A man in the shadows. An enigma. Cameron Payne Johnson, certified local cryptid freak and proud!"

"Oh, well, it's... nice to meet you? I think?"

I looked between the both of them, and I wondered how they could look like they have completely different interests, yet be friends who apparently have common ground.

Dominik looked like your typical smart person. He was decently tall, and had dark, curly hair that was pulled up into a little bun. A few short curls were falling down into his face, which he pushed back with his hand, then adjusted his glasses. He was black, but more on the lighter side. He was well-dressed, and wore a long beige lab coat over a dark red turtleneck sweater. He looked like the type of kid who would remind the teacher we had homework.

Cameron on the other hand was short, and had naturally brown hair. Half of his head was shaved, and the part that wasn't shaved was dyed an obnoxiously bright neon green that felt like an assault to the eyes. He wore a black hoodie tied around his waist, and had ripped, black, skinny jeans. His shoes were dirty, old-looking converse. He worse a black T-shirt with a skull on the front, the black clothes contrasted his pale skin. He looked like a mix of punk and emo, and his nails were painted both black and green.

Mr. Adams began teaching. Towards the end of the period, everyone began to chat again, "Did all of this school's budget go into this room, or what?" I asked.

"Dude I don't know, man." Cameron responded, "I always see vids from other people and they've got like fancy tech boards and shit. Meanwhile I'm out here like what the fuck is a smartboard? And apparently libraries are supposed to have like, 30 computers in them? Fucking foreign, dude. These are like, our only computers. I have a theory that the principle is hording money."

"It is way too early to start on your conspiracies, Cam." Dominik said.

When the bell rang, class ended, and the three of us headed to the cafeteria together, as we three all had lunch 6th period. They took their packed lunches and sat down at a table, and I went up in line. Once I had my food, I took my tray and went to sit by the pair I just met.

"Yo, I really wouldn't eat that," Cameron said, "That shit's prolly poisoned or sumthin." Dominik lightly smacked the back of his head.

"Don't scare her, Cam!" He turned to me, "The food is just a little weird, and he's also like actually insane, so don't listen to him."

"Oh, please. I'm not insane, I'm just eager for unexplainable shit to be real... and also the food is just one of the minor conspiracies about this place, and the poison is also just one version!"

"Just let her eat in peace for her first day, she just got here! You can start on your rants tomorrow." He turned to me and whispered, "Though I definitely would advise to pack your lunch for the rest of your time here."

"Um, okay," I said, laughing nervously. I then changed the subject, "So, about the history club..."

"Oh, the history club," Cameron said, leaning back a little bit, his hands resting behind his head, and his legs intertwined with the poles under the table so he doesn't fall backwards, "whaddya wanna know 'bout it?"

"Well, what will you be doing in it?"

"Well, the question is," he said dramatically, leaning forward. He then slapped his hands on the table, "can we trust you?"

"What? Why?"

"It isn't just a history club, Mr. Marshall is just as interested in the weird stuff going on around here as we are. So, can we trust you with the secret of keeping the clubs activities classified?"

"Of course, my life's boring, this sounds interesting." I said. Cameron narrowed his eyes at me.

Dominik looked at Cameron, and signaled him to go on. "Keep it to a minimum, Cam, we don't wanna spill too much. Though chill out on the drama, man, it's just town history."

"Oh, it's more than town history, Dominik!" Cameron exclaimed, "Okay, so, Mr. Marshall told us that he convinced the school that it'll be a club about, well, history, but, actually, we're gonna be divin' into the conspiracy theories of this place. He's a relatively young teacher, about in his 20s or some shit. He said he got an interest in all this because his grandfather knew the Humphrey family, you'll learn about them... If you join."

"...Sooo, the school thinks it's just going to be about the town's history, but it's for town-centered theories?" I asked.

"Yup! But there's evidence, oh believe me, there's evidence! It's just not widespread enough. Most people don't even know about the murders. Not to freak you out or anything. It was a long time ago."

We went on to eat our lunch, having casual conversation... as casual as a conversation can get when someone like Cameron is leading it. Afterwards I was headed to my 7th period class, which was my language class. Soon before the bell rang to start class, a short, bored-looking asian girl walked in. She had to have been about the ages of twelve to thirteen, but visually appeared to be younger. She had bangs and two ponytails on the sides of her head, tied with blue bows.

She slammed her books down on my desk, "Get out of my seat or I'll throw hands, freckle face."

"Kimora!" The teacher said, coming into the class, "We will not be 'throwing hands' and calling names in this class. Emeline, could you please pick a different desk? Kimi came in late today, and she's very picky about her seat."

"Oh, of course," I said, and she greeted me. Her name was Madame Martian. I went and took a different seat, and went on with the class. Kimi was apparently a smart middle schooler who got to come to the high school for language class.

Finally it was time for my last classes of the day. My 8th period class was gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had another period of my science class, which was my 9th and last class of the day.

Since today was Monday, I had gym. We played badminton, which was fun. That fun didn't last for long though, as nothing could've ever prepared me for my biology class. Not the eeriness, nor the rumors or weird conspiracies. It was the final slice of my introductory cake of what I was about to be subjected to for the rest of the year.

It was a classroom near the back of the school, and the walk there felt kind of... off. But it was a different kind of off than the off everything else was. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it seemed as if all the other rooms in that hallway were unused. To the left, there was one final hall of doors, and it led to a dead end. At the end of the main hallway I was walking down, there was a pair of doors leading to an outside parking lot. Towards the end of the hall, I headed into the room on the right.

There I was faced with an odd looking classroom, older than the others. As if the other rooms had touch ups done over the years but this one didn't. I noticed immediately that this was the class that had that one boarded-up window I spotted that morning.

Unlike my other teachers, Ms. Hogg didn't come and greet me, and didn't really look too inviting on me greeting her, so I kept to myself. I sat down in a free seat, feeling very uncomfortable, even more so than before. The worst it had been all day. God, I could've puked. It was so off that it became physical, sickening.

Ms. Hogg had a vibe to her, and not a good one. She looked both old and young at the same time, and gave me the impression that's she's killed someone before, but I have no idea why. It felt very strange, I was deeply unsettled by that teacher, she gave me a bad feeling in my gut, right down to her voice and physique.

During class she talked about the anatomy of different animals, and briefly mentioned a project that we'll be starting tomorrow. This was a very biological focused biology class. I thought we were going to be learning about DNA or whatever, but okay, sure.

I left the class feeling uneasy, and totally ready to leave that damn building and go back to my house. I was caught off guard and startled when I was suddenly pushed to the cold ground.

"Move out of the way!" A tall blonde girl from my class yelled in a mean tone, "You should pick up the pace next time, I don't like to be slowed down!" She stomped away, laughing with two friends as her heeled shoes clicked against the ground, echoing throughout the confined halls.

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soggykookiesandcream · 1 year ago

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𝐵𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝐹𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 - 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒳𝒳𝒱

"So, you're telling me," Namjoon rests his face on his hands, "that he gave you his old memories?"

"Yes," I reply, "and he also marked me."

I pull the top off my shoulder to show Namjoon.

"I-," Namjoon gets frustrated, "I'm sorry. Let's ask Dr Maria to do something and fix it?"

"Yeah, um, sure," It got pretty awkward around us so I move closer to him and hug him. He hugs me back and I smile.

"I love you, Namjoon," I say, "Please don't leave me."

"I won't," he kisses my head.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

A few days later, we were all set to go put him back in his pyramid. This time, Jimin said it's better we take the coffin in a truck rather than a jeep squished with all of us.

"We're here," the driver informs.

"Are you sure that we can come here? What if we get arrested?" Jin asks.

"No one's around. Let's just do it fast," Namjoon says.

Jimin's men lift the coffin up and walk towards the entrance of the pyramid.

"Will it fall?" Jimin asks.

"I lived there for a day. I'm not sure though," I reply.

Jimin nods. They walk in and fortunately, it doesn't fall. They place him on the pedestal at the centre of the room.

"Finally," Namjoon sighs, "let's seal the gate."

Jimin's men seal the gate and get back into the truck. We got into the jeep with Jimin.

"I hope he doesn't come back from death again," Jin sighs.

"If he does?" Yoongi asks.

"If he does then advanced RIP for all our asses," I answer, "he will kill us all."

"Not you," Namjoon states, "he won't kill you. He loves you."

"I'll kill myself if he touches any of you," I state.

"Hah!" Yoongi laughs, "He will probably resurrect you or something."

"Or wait until you reincarnate again," Jin jokes.

"I don't think he can," I say, "We didn't bury him with a spell or something. He's dead, he's gone forever. We should move on. I need therapy but I don't know who will believe me."

"Really? Yuna, you're sitting among us who all know about this. Talk to us. We'll help. I'm pretty sure Namjoon will be of extra help," Jin winks.

"Oh, shut up," Namjoon blushes.

"We've got all your luggage at the airport. Shall we head off or do you want to stop at my camp?" Jimin asks.

"I think we'll just head off," Yoongi says.

"Alright," Jimin nods and looks at me, "Yuna? You good?"

"Yeah," I reply with a smile.

"You look a little pale," Jimin says.

"Oh, maybe because I'm tired," I chuckle.

"Can't blame you," Jimin smiles, "you'll be fine. You have your brother, friends and a boyfriend."

"Yeah," I look at Namjoon who was fast asleep on my shoulder and smile.

"I have some news for you Jimin," I say.

"What news?" He asks.

"I'll tell you when we get there," I say.

"We're here," the driver announces.

"Oh," I laugh, "Looks like you don't have to wait."

I hop out of the jeep and Jimin follows me, "What is the news?"

"Impatient much?" I laugh.

"Tell!" Jimin whines.

"Okay, I am not sure. But I think Dr Maria really likes you. She told me to stay away from you when I was alone," I spill the tea.

"Oh," Jimin scratches his hair, "I actually kinda told her that you're cute so."

"What?" I laugh, "You told her that I'm cute? Go tell her that she's cute."

"I won't," he replies, "I don't like her that way. She's not my type. I like younger girls."

"Oh," my laughter dies, "I-I think I'll go then. Bye. See you soon."

"Yeah, keep in touch," Jimin smiles and looks away.

"Let's go, Yuna," Yoongi yells.

"Coming," I run over to my brother and cling onto his arms.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

We were all gathered up on the couch with drinks and snacks. I was snuggling with Namjoon under a blanket. My brother was sprawled across a couch taking all the space with a coke bottle. Jin was actively eating and watching k-drama.

"You tired, Yuna?" Namjoon asks.

I squint my eyes and nod stretching my arms.

"Want to go lie down?" He runs his hands through my hair.

"Mmm," I lean into his chest, "Yes if this doesn't stop."

"Haha, no. It won't stop," He smiles and picks me up. He places me slowly onto the bed and lies beside me run his hands through my hair. I slowly drift into sleep.

"Dear," Taehyung says, "you've betrayed me. I won't let this slip so easily."

"T-Taehyung- I-I can explain," I moved back, "Please."

"You've run out of chances," Taehyung smiles wickedly

"W-what are you going to do?" I ask.

"I'm going to make you mine no matter what. I am gonna wipe out the entire human race, leave no one except us behind. Then you will have no one but me, my dear," he smiles.

"Please," I kneel, "Don't do this."

"Oh, I will. You had your chances. Hell, you even betrayed me and led me on by acting nice to me. Do you know how it felt? How it felt to have high hopes from a person and the same person crushing them all?" Taehyung comes closer and pats my head.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

"No worries, my dear. There's only one question - do you love me or not?" He asks.

"No. I don't love you," I reply softly.

He clenches his jaw, "Then everyone's going to suffer."

"You're dead," I reply.

"You think?" He smirks,

"Yuna?"

"Yuna?" Namjoon shakes me, "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" I ask, "Yeah, I am."

"You're sweating a lot. Did you see a nightmare?" He asks.

"Kind of," I reply while trying to control my breathing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Namjoon asks.

"No, I am kinda hungry," I smile softly.

"C'mon let's feed you something," Namjoon pulls me up to stand and I lean onto him sliding my arms around his waist. He laughs and pulls me along with him.

"Oh, Yuna," Yoongi calls me, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I smile.

"Good," Jin claps his hands, "We're resuming work soon. You've been gone for too long."

"I just have a question," I mention, "What are we telling Hoseok?"

"I don't know. Let's just tell him you wanted to spend time with your brother and boyfriend," Jin winks, "and I wanted to take a vacation for few days."

"Okay, I guess that'll work," Namjoon says.

1092 words

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uniquejellyfishqueen · 12 days ago

Text

The song Mine has approximately 32 lines.

The last line is “I can see it”

In All Too Well she says

“Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place

And I can picture it after all these days”

The only key is mine

TOKIM

TO KIM

thanK you aIMee

KIM

*MIK (mounting is key) rack system is a revolutionary key installed rack system that locks your bag to your bike rack.

K 11

I 9

M 13

9/11/01 was a terrorist attack on US soil

9/13/01 civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the US

*9/13/99 The Denver Broncos retired John Elway’s #7 jersey.

-the orange and blue could be a Denver reference.

-the Denver Broncos mascot is a white bronco- like a white horse.

9/13/2017 is when the International Olympic Committee announced that Paris will host the Olympic games in 2024 and LA in 2028. (Don’t forget they want to go car free… maybe Tesla should make LA into a Tomorrowland ish type place, it would be better on the environment and save time in travel!)

Is her key a bar key?

Getaway Car

“I left you in a motel bar put the money in a bag and I stole the Keys”

The Black Dog Inn

A family-run bed and breakfast in Monticello, Indiana. The inn has six rooms, an outdoor pool, and a black lab named Bo. It's located within walking distance of Indiana Beach and Lake Shafer Boat Rentals

*Monticello day is April 11th. Thomas Jefferson's former home and plantation, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that symbolizes how Jefferson's Enlightenment ideals of liberty, human equality, and self-government helped create the United States. Jefferson enslaved over 600 people, with 400 living at Monticello. Monticello was the center of Jefferson's 5,000-acre plantation. His father, Peter Jefferson, originally purchased the land in 1735.

*Monticello to Fort Wayne is 1 hr 57 minutes (13) (98.3 miles) via US 24

***** THE STORY OF US like the U.S Numbered Highway System? Btw did you know you cannot find a map anywhere you normally would think you could find a map. I had to go to the bookstore for one.

B 2

A 1

R 18

=12

T 20

B 2

D 4

12/8 is the final show of the ET.

Getaway Car= GC = gonorrhea -> Lil Wayne ft Drake Track 1 on I Am Not a Human Being

Getaway car “the ties were black the lies were white shades of gray in the candle light” - she released a $50 8oz candle with an oud and amber scent. (8+5=13)

*”Amber” 311 released on 2/11/2002.

*”You loved the amber skies so much” Marjorie

*amber is a synonym for yellow YELL-OW. Old habits die screaming. Yelling ow from the pain.

Begin Again- on a Wednesday. W is the 23rd letter of the alphabet. 4/23/25 is the next Wednesday that is also the 23rd.

*on 4/23/23 show #13 she played:

Red (16) Begin Again

Taylor Swift (5) Cold As You

-first letter from each title is BC mirrored CB.. 3….2..

-On 11/12/2021 during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon she teased “how soon can I tease something in advance? Can I tease something 3 years in advance.”

*catch 22 is a paradoxical situation from which someone can’t escape because of contradictory rules or limitations.

*bang bang (I hit you like bang “end game”) could be considered 22 since b is the 2nd letter. But the 22nd letter of the alphabet is v. V as in victory, or V as in the peace sign?

25-3 is 22…

“It feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight..” like she was doing in the Anti-hero video?

“To fall in love with strangers” -forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met. (I haven’t met you yet?)

2025-3 is 2022 -which is when she released Midnights and Midnights Mayhem With Me.

* Episode 1, September 21 - Track 13: "Mastermind"

* Episode 2, September 23 - Track 8: "Vigilante Shit"

* Episode 3, September 26 - Track 7: "Question...?"

* Episode 4, September 28 - Track 6: "Midnight Rain'

* Episode 5, September 30 - Track 2: "Maroon"

* Episode 6, October 3 - Track 3: "Anti-Hero"

* Episode 7, October 5 - Track 9: "Bejeweled"

* Episode 8, October 6 - Track 11: "Karma"

* Episode 9, October 7 at 12:00 AM - Track 1: "Lavender Haze"

* Episode 10, October 7 at 1:00 AM - Track 5: "You're On Your Own, Kid"

* Episode 11, October 7 at 2:00 AM - Track 10: "Labyrinth"

* Episode 12, October 7 at 3:00 AM - Track 12: "Sweet Nothing"

* Episode 13, October 7 at 4:00 AM - Track 4: "Snow On the Beach" (featuring Lana Del Rey)

1 21 13 (8). 1 21 13

2 23 8 (15)

3 26 7 (18)

4 28 6 (20)

5 30 2 (10)

6 3 3 (12)

7 5 9 (21)

8 6 11 (16)

9 7 12 1 (20)

10 7 1 5 (14)

11 7 2 10 (12)

12 7 3 12 (16)

13 7 4 4 (19). 13 7+4= 11 4

11/21 is bookended from night 1 and night 13 of MMWM.

ET #113 N1/2 Zurich, Switzerland 7/9/24

Evermore (16) Right Where You Left Me

1989 (5). All You Had To Do Was Stay

Speak Now (13) Last Kiss

Red (12) Sad Beautiful Tragic

*piano song track #s are her birthday.

*interesting that the track pulled at 12 am Midnight was track 1, like the 1 is also track 1 on Folklore.

*episode 1 is 2 words in 1. Episode 13 is 4 words.

214 again mentioned.

*episode 7 and 8 (87 mirrored) track titles make BK. Burger King was Insta-Burger King originally when it was founded in 1953. Then it became Burger King in 1954. And BK became the police temporary HQ in NY during 9/11, as of 10 months ago per Reddit it is still a Burger King at 106 Liberty Street.

*BK was owned by the dough boy?

*Also BK had “Cini-minis” in the 90’s….taylor is this the 90s trend you are going to bring back? (Can they be GF?)

On November 19, 2019, a lawsuit was filed by a vegan from Atlanta, Georgia against Burger King for allegedly failing to clearly disclose that Impossible Whopper burgers were heated on the same grill as their beef burgers.[150] The lawsuit was dismissed.

There are so many eggs pointing to the OC:

Travis carrying TS across the stage - Ryan carrying Marissa

Shawn Mendes releasing a cover of Hallelujah - the song playing as Ryan carried Marissa

Taylor wearing so much orange. - Orange County

The man wall has Karma written on the top in orange.

K-11

O-16

Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often known by its initials O.C.) is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California

Incorporated: 8/1/1889. (89..)

Named for the orange so the county would sound semi-tropical

**Orange County fire history:

* Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889: This fire burned more than 300,000 acres in Orange County, Riverside County, and San Diego County.

* 1993 Firestorm: A series of major fires burned out of control in Orange County and other Southern California counties from October 26 to November 4, 1993.

* Santiago Fire of 2007: This fire burned 28,445 acres and threatened 750 homes in canyons near Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon.

* Laguna Fire of 2016: This fire burned 47 acres.

* Holy Fire of 2016: This fire burned 150 acres.

* Canyon Fire of 2017: This fire burned 2,662 acres.

* Canyon 2 Fire of 2017: This fire burned 9,217 acres

The county is a tourist center, with attractions like Disneyland Resort, Knott's Berry Farm, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Huntington Beach Pier, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Modjeska House, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Yost Theater, Bowers Museum, Balboa Island, Angel Stadium, Downtown Santa Ana, Crystal Cove Historic District, the Honda Center, the Old Orange County Courthouse, the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks, Newport Beach; Mission San Juan Capistrano; Laguna Beach; and Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland

Anaheim is a city in northern Orange County and is also Orange County’s second largest city in terms of land area. Anaheim is known for being the home of the Disneyland Resort, the Anaheim Convention Center, and two professional sports teams: the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It also served as the home of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1980 through 1994.

*The Honda Center——like Pittsburgh had the Civic Center? (8/3 3/3)

Anaheim was founded by fifty German families in 1857 and incorporated as the second city in Los Angeles County on March 18, 1876;[1] Orange County was split off from Los Angeles County in 1889. Anaheim remained largely an agricultural community until Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955

11/14/24: 2 weeks (a fortnight) till Thanksgiving she played false god mashed with tis the damn season on the piano.

“I won't ask you to wait if you don't ask me to stay

So I'll go back to L.A. and the so-called friends

Who'll write books about me, if I ever make it”

This is silly considering 13 days after she sang this line her Eras Tour book is being released.

Also it was 2 days after Rob Sheffield (leading music journalist from Rolling Stone) released Heartbreak Is the National Anthem which was released on 11/12/24.

******OMG “what if I roll the stone away, they are going to crucify me anyways” is she literally talking about rolling stone. It’s first issue was 11/9/1967 (6+7=13)

*In Stephen King’s “Fire starter” has the protagonists telling their story to rolling stone. This book was released to the world on 9/29/1980

The Vienna shows were 8, 9, 10 of that month.

The 8, 9, 10th shows were in Tampa FL

The surprise songs for the 3 nights added up = 19 and 34. 19 days before her 34 birthday is 11/25, a Monday. 11/25/1915 was the KKK rebirth and revival at Stone Mountain.

**Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, 15 miles (24 km) east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Georgia. The park is owned by the state of Georgia. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet (514 m) above sea level and 825 feet (251 m) above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain is well known for not only its geology, but also the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief artwork in the world. The carving, completed in 1972, depicts three Confederate leaders, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson.

Stone Mountain Park officially opened on April 14, 1965 – 100 years to the day after Lincoln's assassination, although the park had already been in use for a few years

K is the 11th letter

K is Potassium (11/16)

The 11th album was (according to Forbes) Red T.V. (TTPD would be 15th to Forbes, 11th to swifties)

-I Knew You Were Trouble

-I Bet You Think About Me

2 songs off Red T.V have K in the title….

Speak Now

-Sparks Fly (track 2)

-Speak Now (track 4)

-Last Kiss (track 13)

1989

-Welcome to New York (track 1)

-Blank Space (track 2)

-Shake it Off (track 6)

-I Know Places (track 12)

Rep

-Look What You Made Me Do (track 6)

-King of My Heart (track 10)

Lover

-I Think He Knows (track 6)

-Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince (track 7)

Midnights 3AM/TTD

-You’re On Your Own, Kid (track 5)

-Karma (track 11)

-Bigger Than The Whole Sky (track 15)

-Karma (track 23 *TTD)

TTPD

-My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys (track 3)

-I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) (track 11)

-I Can Do It With A Broken Heart (track 13)

-The Black Dog (track 17)

-imgonnagetyouback (track 18)

-thanK you aIMee (track 24)

-I Look In Peoples Windows (track 25)

****22 songs have K in their title. 22 is track 6 on Red (album 4 & 11)

22nd letter is V. VK is a Russian Social Media app created on 10/10/2006 in St. Petersburg, Russia (Peter is track 28 on TTPD The Anthology.

*** In 2009, the Russian Versace fan club was founded. There are 1,500 members (July 2012). The fan club is known for its lectures, excursions and actions dedicated to Gianni Versace. The staff of the club is situated in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The photos between TS and SC and then TS and GA make the shape of K.

I feel like it does go back to Ed Sheeran “The Shape of You” - “your love was handmade for me” - hand made with 20 stitches in the hospital room? Or handmade with the sewing machine in her fortnight video “Every day discovering something brand new”- “he loves me like I’m brand new”

K STANDS FOR:

* Thousand: The abbreviation "K" comes from the Greek word kilo, which means "a thousand".

Speak Now “If This Was A Movie” “I was playing back a thousand memories, baby. Thinking about everything we’ve been through.” - like she is watching the movie play in the attic of the lover house

Lover “Death By A Thousand Cuts” “flashbacks waking me up” like Deja vu (4 23)

Midnights “Glitch” “Its been two-thousand one-hundred and ninety days of our love blackout

TTPD “thanK you aIMee” “I wrote a thousand songs that you find uncool”

* Kilogram: The abbreviation "K" can also refer to a kilogram, which is equal to 1,000 grams.

* International System of Units (SI) prefix: The abbreviation "k" is the SI prefix for "kilo", which means "one thousand". For example, "km" is an abbreviation for "kilometer", which means "one thousand meters".

* Computer units: "K" is an informal abbreviation for kilobyte, which is equal to 1,000 bytes. "KiB" or "KB" is another abbreviation for kibibyte, which is equal to 1,024 bytes.

* Kelvin: "K" is the SI unit for thermodynamic temperature.  The kelvin (abbreviation K), less commonly called the degree Kelvin (symbol, o K), is the Standard International ( SI ) unit of thermodynamic temperature. One kelvin is formally defined as 1/273.16 (3.6609 x 10 -3 ) of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of pure water (H 2 O).

* Chess: "K" is an abbreviation for "king".

* Music: "K" is an abbreviation for "Köchel listing".

* Real estate: "K" is an abbreviation for "kitchen"

Can’t take the heat then get out of the Kitchen.

Didn’t GA and TS have a fire in her kitchen?

Right where you left me talks about the restaurant

All Too Well mentions dancing around the refrigerator light

* A U-Key is an implementation of the MIFARE RFID chip, encased in a plastic key style housing. It is used as a prepayment system on vending machines and for some self-service diving air compressors in Switzerland, and they will be most likely made by Selecta (company).

The recent Taylor nation post about the red era used a picture of Taylor sat outside at a table near the trees/cedar trees perhaps? (a table in the weeds) that is used for Right Where You Left Me on Spotify.

“My lost fearless leader In closets like cedars” Peter, but this lyric also mentions her 2nd album. -> “Whether I’m gonna flip you off or pull you into the closet, I haven’t decided yet” imgonnagetyouback. The flip you off we visibly saw her do during “I Bet You Think About Me” when she is teaching the kids how to twist their hand like a jack in the box and have their finger pop up. But if the closet is made of cedar does this mean that when Sadie and Dylan (SAD omg….”my sadness is contagious” Hits Different.) are kissing in the woods they are actually hidden in the cedar closet where everything is okay when it is just the two of them away from the rest of the world.

Matty Healy enters the chat-

he was at the Eras Tour for 6 shows in a row (2 cities)

Nashville, TN

#17 5/5/23 announcement of Speak Now T.V.

#18 5/6/23

#19 5/7/23 special guest Aaron Dessner, 1st time Mine is played as a surprise song

*Secret gardens in my mind, the only key is mine.

SG mirrored GS.. Guilty _ Sin. The A is missing, but it is the 1st letter of the alphabet. Like “The 1” from folklore. And she also said that her Scarlett letter (A for adultery) is better-> like… “Better Now”from Post Malone. TS and The Chicks “Soon You’ll Get Better”

Philadelphia, PA

#20 5/12/23

#21 5/13/23

#22 5/14/23

11/18/24 he shares Downtown Lights by Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox birthday is 12/25- 11/18/24 TS also dropped 4 new Christmas merch items with the caption being lyrics from The Tortured Poets Department which is track 2 on the 11th album.

*12/25 is 17 days after tour ends

-downtown lights is from Guilty As Sin, GAS… like BP?

*** The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an environmental disaster which began on 20 April 2010, off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 MMbbl (210,000,000 US gal; 780,000 m3). After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. 11 people died and 17 were injured.

— Deepwater Horizon was released at the TIFF on 9/13/2016. And to the US on 9/30/2016. The director was Peter Berg (peter again..) and Dylan O’Brien was also a star in this movie. The production company was Summit Entertainment. Really cool fact is that they built a 70 ft Deepwater Horizon rig in an abandoned Six Flags parking lot in New Orleans for filming. (A cedar problem perhaps..)

-4/20 is the day after the release of TTPD.

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button-man-herald · 5 months ago

Text

Dev Diary #2: Post-XP Gaming, Am I Recovered?

A little over a week since XP Gaming wrapped up, and I still have a cough! Remember friends, if you're gonna shake hands with hundreds of strangers in a tight space, maybe bring some hand sanitizer.

But it was a great time! Ron doubled his roles while we were gone, acting as both my boss and my guide around Toronto, as I had never been there before. A nice city overall, and really clean (despite what all these Canadians keep saying to me. I mean, the presence of trash does not in of itself qualify a city as "dirty"). My goodness, the municipal confidence of having subway seats made out of velvet?? When I was finally brave enough to sit, I was amazed to find they were not, in fact, laden with piss.

Streetcars were neat, parks were plentiful, and despite how mean-mugged a lot of the cyclists were, the cycling infrastructure was far better than I expected in a North American city. On my first day I took a bike share ride around the city for a few hours, saw a lot of pleasant neighborhoods full of pride. I also rode by St. Anne's Church in the aftermath of its destruction. As a proper tourist, I had no knowledge of the church and felt like I was intruding as a handful of locals gathered around the remains. I snapped a picture and rode off.

Ron fed me too much while I was there. I had grand ambitions of cooking meals for myself and running calorie-light, which were dashed upon the delicious rocks of internationally rated ramen, beef tendon, soup dumplings, BLTs, A&W, croissants, and chinese barbecue.

Ron also showed me the Eaton center, which is a big ass mall underground; Queen's Park, which we sat in for a few hours in the long wait to our hotel's availability; City Hall, which looks like either an Avengers HQ or a spaceship (or both), and he even showed me the spot where he met his lovely wife. Hey Ron, thanks for the tour man. You really took care of me, and found time for us to see the city and not only work.

But as for XP itself? MAN, did they pack a lot into that. Nearly 100 speakers across two days, giving talks about the most pertinent issues facing the industry today. There was a lot of discussion about leveraging your IP correctly; ensuring that you aren't leaving opportunities on the table in the form of multimedia such as comics, micro-games, novels etc. Players really enjoy getting immersed and living in your IP, so make sure they have the different forms of media to fulfill that!

There were talks about Gen-AI, the good and the bad, thankfully. I won't get into my opinions on it here, but I was happy that the conversation was more robust, thoughtful, and progressive than any we've been subjected to online. We got to see a bunch of games which are soon-to-be-announced, and I even got the chance to play a few alpha games that really blew me away. We are looking at a very exciting few years in the indie space, for sure.

Ron and I spoke with studio leads, designers, writers, and development coordinators, all of whom left the event with a copy of our comic. The enthusiasm for Button Man was invigorating for us, as we had some of those same folks finding us the second day in order ask us for more copies of the comic! After a handful of meetings and talks, we felt the event had really been worth it for a number of networking and exposure reasons, and hopefully soon we'll be able to share a little more of those specifics.

An unanticipated but welcome aspect of all this however, was the attitude. If you have even a passing interest in video games as an industry, you are aware of the layoffs. In many ways, the industry is in its worst state its been in years. While at the event, studio after studio announced its closure, unleashing another several hundred professionals into the job market. Despite dire nature of it all, the drying well of publisher funding, and the job insecurity in the industry, the many designers, writers, developers, and project managers who flooded those halls were filled with support, enthusiasm, and mutual aid.

For every grim announcement of another closure, there was a call-to-action for reemploying those who lost their jobs; workers helping workers find a place for themselves often before the ruins of their former studio had even finished collapsing. I was genuinely heartened and shed some of my natural cynicism in the face of so many people refusing to give up creatively, professionally, or as a collective. XP Gaming left us with a lot of hope. Games are going to be okay. Our games are going to be okay. Its going to be okay

#toronto #indie games #game dev blog #game development #ontario #canada

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ehe-ttenandayo · 8 months ago

Text

“Why would an eremite pray to an adeptus?”

A jolt in the back. The only person inside the darkened temple stood up and turned his black eyes towards the entrance, the only source of light. His clothes, browned by sand and mud, and a red scarf tied to his left arm, revealed him as an eremite to the person who asked, a liyuean man in clean red robes lined by strings of black and gold, standing at the door.

“Fear not, it is nothing but curiosity” The man continued, walking inside the temple towards the altar behind the Eremite. His steps did not make a sound on the planks beneath them. “An Eremite, alone, inside a temple of Liyue? This is not a common occurrence.”

The liyuean spoke slowly, savoring each word and smiling complacently. He was just stating the obvious, as the eremites, from Sumeru, were people that always moved in groups, specially outside of their own region; but each word was stinging somewhere inside the Eremite who clenched his fists. The light of the entrance couldn’t reach his face, but his body showed he was ready to fight.

The man sighed.

“I see, I understand. Apologies, I might have acted rashly. Please, do not move.”

Carefully, the man stepped into the shadows beside him, where the sound of wood and a creak announced the opening of a window, and another, and another. The shadows slowly faded into the brown of the small wooden temple, no carpets, no curtains, but a table covered by a pale red cloth with a few incense sticks and a candle on it. Behind, a hole in the wall held a small stone statue that had seen better years.

As soon as he noticed the figure, the Eremite’s body relaxed and turned to face it, it was a coarse stone that took the shape of a four-legged animal standing on a rock, a pair of feathered wings grew from its back, and a neck severed by erosion told him its head was lost a long time ago.

His first encounter with a god of Liyue was not what he expected, as all the opulence that he heard of was nowhere to be found inside of that ruined temple. However, that placed had something making him stay.

The sweet aroma of incense began to fill the air, and the liyuean man stood by the eremite’s side who, once again, jolted. But the man just joined his palms and closed his eyes in an action the other recognized as an invitation to do what he came for. The eremite joined in the prayers telling to himself that, even if the rituals were different, the inner workings were the same: relax your body, close your eyes, look inwards, into your dark.

A plead of freedom echoed inside of him, but the answer he got was the pain of the last months, showing itself as a beating mass that cracked and burned in orange and yellow. His body tensed, he wanted to run away once more, but his legs did not answer as the mass grew closer, bigger, and the cracks showed him the memories he tried to avoid.

The flames, the slashes… The spear across his mother’s chest…

The incense tingled in his nose and he found himself back to the present. For how long was he praying? Did nothing bad happen to him? Did the man notice? He looked up, and found the liyuean facing the altar, checking the few belongings of the temple.

It took the man a moment to notice that the eremite finished praying and, by the time he turned, he found the same defensive stance from before.

He sighed a second time.

“Your prayer did not give you the answer you wanted; I suspect.” He spoke. “I am sorry, for this god is fickle, and sometimes it takes more than coming here to get the help we want. However, I propose an alternative, as I am sure that it helps when you talk to someone, let me ask one more time, why is there an eremite inside of the temple of an adeptus?”

The question did not surprise the eremite this time, but no explanation would make him answer, no matter how many times he was asked, not after what he lived. The incense tingled again and a memory flashed in his mind, a pyramid standing over a valley of sand, rumored to ward a god, the same god that abandoned him when he needed him the most.

And sorrow stung in his chest, just for enough time to make an opening.

A voice withered by months of solitude came from the eremite’s mouth. “My god abandoned me. I lost everything.”

By the time he took his hand to cover his mouth it was already too late. His cheeks turned red and his heartbeat deafened him. Now the man knew everything and would use it against him sooner or later.

But in front of him stood a man with a smile that looked exactly as his father’s when he messed up. A smile with lips together that made him feel that everything would be alright. And if that smile found him here, maybe it was a good time to speak, he would ask and he would get answers, and the wish he had would finally come true.

After all, temples are for change, now those months of solitude and running away would end.

Was the incense ever so suffocating?

The liyuean man’s lips parted revealing a row of sharp teeth. He extended his right arm to let it grow and change into one as big as his whole body, covered in red fur with black stripes. His hand, now a paw with five black claws coming out of it, turned to point at the eremite.

“That is all I needed to hear.” He spoke. “Everything will be better now.”

And swung his tiger arm at the eremite.

Next->

#slapping oc's in the genshin universe because I need practice

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ajoytobeheld · 1 year ago

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North American fall tour

August 24th, 2010

It is our great pleasure to announce that this coming October we will be returning to the United States for a run of shows along the East Coast and down a bit. They are as follows…

10/08/10 – Toronto, ON @ Wrongbar (All Ages) 10/09/10 – Laval, PQ @ Maison des Arts de Laval (All Ages) 10/10/10 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground (All Ages) 10/12/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s (21+) 10/13/10 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place (All Ages) 10/15/10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (16+) 10/16/10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (16+) 10/17/10 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live (All Ages) 10/18/10 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (All Ages) 10/19/10 – Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre (16+) 10/20/10 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse (All Ages) 10/22/10 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre (14+) 10/23/10 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa (All Ages) 10/24/10 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live (All Ages) 10/25/10 – New Orleans, LA @ Republic (18+) 10/26/10 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird (All Ages) 10/27/10 – Iowa City, IA @ The Blue Moose (All Ages)

I will update with news of age restrictions as soon as I am made aware of them all. As ever, we will endeavour to make as many shows All Ages as possible.

Apologies if we’re not playing somewhere that you want us to be playing.

Support to be announced soon.

PLUS as an initial offer, if you buy a ticket for any of the tour dates from GalleryAC.com you will receive a digital copy of our recent ‘All’s Well That Ends’ EP, FREE.

Here’s a video Ellen made of our last US tour. MAGIC:

#2010 #gareth!blog #lc!blog

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alienorstyx · 1 year ago

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A bouquet of roses

Precedent chapter: 3

Act 2: What happened in United Kingdom

14 July 1949, London

There was a rumour among the population, that the war would finally end, after almost ten years of continuous war, due to the fact that the United Kingdom alone couldn't defeat the Axis.Everything will finally stop. The press was rushing these rumours away, making more and more money about those fake news.Some even said that the United States had turned away from the English friendship and had instead chosen to sell itself to the Third Reich. Approving, this fantasy of an Aryan race, who which justified their segregation policy.

While other newspapers made the headlines on: "THE LIES OF ENGLAND: CONCENTRATION CAMPS DO NOT EXIST" or "The Benefits of Hitler Youth on youngsters", highlighting the decline of delinquency among young people from this doctrine.

All these rags were not worthy of being read and the United Kingdom prefered to just throw them in his chimney, that's where their real place were. He watched them burn in the flames. All these traitors, which should have been executed had it not been for the weakness of the present government and the English royalty, who were happy to find agreements with this crazy little mustache man. All this to avoid losing their wealth and their trinkets, while they dress like peacocks during their festivities.

Not seeing the infernal machine breaking through Europe and the danger of Stalin in the East, who was waiting for a good opportunity to attack his former ally, passing through Poland. And then, he will promulgate these revolting ideas and his madness on a weakened Europe. True incompetent inbreds those nobles, he sometimes wondered if he shouldn't just get rid of these leeches, once and for all. Since these pests stop him from saving the one he loved.

Ah! His dear France, his dear wife. Every thought he had of her only stirred up a violent hatred towards the man who took her away. This dreadful Third Reich, who was now holding her as a prisoner. He had to do everything possible to free her. She and the french people that she loved so much. No matter the price he will have to pay.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his servant, Beatrice, who came to announce the arrival of an important man. Waiting in the living room.

The United Kingdom hurried to join him. He was not surprised that this man, who was waiting, was the Prime Minister. He gave him a brief greeting.

- The news are serious, isn't it, Mr the Prime Minister? Asked the country, looking carefully at the politician he had in front of him, who lie down on his armchair, his gaze running away. His hands handled a soft little hat, which showed the nervous state of the politician.

- I . .err... I have come to bring you some confidential news. The Parliament has voted, th.. that .. The Prime Minister could not help but stammer his words. He was crushing with his chubby little hands his felt hat.

- What is it? Talk, Sir. Answered expressly the United Kingdom.

-The war is over. We surrender.

-WHAT! cried the Englishman. The cup he was holding in his hand crashed against the wall just at the right of the Prime Minister's head. The tea contained inside splashed his shoulder.

- There is nothing you can do about it, the signing of the armistice has already taken place. We have not yet announced the news to the people, we will do so in the afternoon. Please understand, this war is untenable. It's better to move on. And then maybe we can....

- Poor schmuck ... Whispered United Kingdom.

-What ? I know the news are shocking to you, but contained your language. I am your superior.

-No, you're just a poor bastard who can't see that he just gave Stalin the place of victory in europe!

- Nonsense. Let's accept our defeat. I'll keep the exchange we had, a private matter. Because you seem to be having trouble containing your emotions. With that, I have to leave you. It will soon be tea time. As soon as these words were spoken, the man rose from the chair and hurried towards the door, leaving the old country to his reflections.

15 July 1949, surbub of London

The dawn had just risen in the sky, and the United Kingdom, which had not slept all night, continued tirelessly to walk in these deserted alleys. The good people were still dozing in their cozy beds, probably dreaming of a better world and peace, no matter what was the price. The war had wearied all these families, who did not wish to see their son, their husbands, or their brothers go to a no man's land. Because they knew that only a few of them would return if that were the case. So selfishly, they preferred to ask for a "lasting peace", but one should not be fooled, such a peace could not exist because inevitably it would only be use by their enemies to better prepare their army to invade them.

However, if he continued the war, how long could he continue without the support of the United States to provide them with weapons and some raw materials. And all of these rumours about a weapon of mass destruction that is being carried out by German scientific research laboratories. All these thoughts mingled in his head, he had no choice but to think of another solution, and that is to find a way to convince the United States to engage in this war .

While he was thinking, his steps led him near buildings in ruins.We could see in the ruin heap the panel of an elementary school, some desks broken into several pieces, some blackboards covered with dust, and on top of all that rubble was a little girl holding a rag doll in her chubby little hands.The rays of the sun illuminated her frail figure.United Kingdom, called her, ordering her to come down, that it was dangerous to stay there. But the little girl remained marble to his complaints. He became tired of screaming so much, but he hesitated to just leave and let that little girl come down on her own, it could be dangerous. With every step he took, little by little the distance between them become vast, he felt like a certain shame in his heart to leave her in such a dangerous place .

He returned to the ruined school, and began to climb over a large concrete block that had once been a wall. Walking on some school supplies . He felt his feet repeatedly slide over a piece of wood. Yet, he continued his ascent. The sun blinded him, so when he finally reached the summit, what was his surprise to see that the child he thought he saw was no longer here. He tried to see if she had come down by herself but he still saw no one down or around the block. United Kingdom decided to sit at the top of this mountain of ruin, and began to laugh. Until he couldn't stop. Thinking that his eyes were so tired from his long walk, that they played tricks on him, and that he must have confused the little girl with a shadow . Yes, that must have been the reason.

It was now supposed to be 7:30 in the morning, the neighborhood was slowly beginning to wake up. United Kingdom decided to do the same, the descent was going to be a bit more complicated than the ascent. However, as he was about to descend, his eyes looked on a particular small object, a rag doll covered with ashes, dark stains and torn in some places. She was missing an arm, her dress was torn, her braided hair was completely messy, some strands seemed to have been burned. Despite all the damage she suffered, the doll still had her smile, waiting patiently at the top of her tower of debris, for her owner to come and take her.

United Kingdom come down the rubble of the old school, he had put in the pocket of his jacket the little rag doll. He was going to find a way to fix it, just as he would find a way to save his country and deliver the woman he loves. Yes, he had to leave urgently to the United States, there was not a minute to lose.

#countryhumans #fanfic #countryhumans united kingdom #A bouquet of roses

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