#back from the dead kelly was a riot

[ananke-xiii]

Sam: No, Kelly, if you go with Cas, you die. Your baby dies.

Kelly: I go with you, you take away the thing that makes him special.

Sam: How does that matter if you're both dead?

Kelly: That's the only thing that matters.

This is literally the funniest dialogue in season 12. I just can't, it cracks me up everytime.

The untapped tragicomic potential and derangement that Sam and Kelly could've been together.

(I know that if you read it out of context it seems unhinged to say that this dialogue makes me laugh but in-context it's pure comedy)

[miwhotep]

THE JACK THE RIPPER CASE IN YUUMORI AND IN REALITY

One of my favourite arcs is the Phantom of Whitechapel because it adapted the real Jack the Ripper case quite well and the story was full of elements what actually happened. I wanted to write a little about the similarities as recently was the anniversary of the first murder.

The Jack the Ripper murders or Whitechapel murders took place in 1888 in the East End of London, the infamously poor Whitechapel district where the underclass people lived. Lot of women here earned their money for the living from selling their bodies and a serial killer, Jack the Ripper started to target them. The number of the victims is unsure, the police accepted five murders to be surely connected to Jack the Ripper, they are often referred to as the canonical five. The women got murdered by their throats being cut away and some of their inestines were also removed from their bodies.

The first victim was called Mary Ann Nichols whose body was discovered at 3:40 a.m. on 31th August. She was last seen alive by a woman she lived with in a lodging house. These all are very similar to how Moriarty the Patriot described the murder details, except that there, the victim's name was Melanie Nichols and she was seen with a blond man.

The second victim was Annie Chapman, her body was found at 6 a.m on 8th September and she was last seen half an hour ago in a company of a dark-haired man. The details shown in Yuumori are again similar, just the victim was called Adeline Bergman.

(Interesting addition to here - just like you see, the fan translation uses the victims' real names while the official gave them fake ones. In the original Japanese, also the fake ones are what are used.)

When it comes to the later murders, Yuumori's story deviates from the historical events, since here, the last three victims of the canonical five was just a stage-play by William who tried to catch the killer(s) with setting up a fake Jack the Ripper. In reality, two of the victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were found on the same morning of 30th September - the Morigang placing two of the dead bodies at the same place so they get discovered at the same time must be a reference to that. The last victim, Mary Jane Kelly was discovered in the room where she lived on 9th November - her murder was the most gruesome out of the five, what I think Yuumori also referenced with Jack's show who pretended to kill a woman brutally on the roof.

Several letters signed by Jack the Ripper were sent to the newspapers. The media, especially the Central News Agency where some of the letters arrived, also overexaggerated about the details when they wrote about the murders, spreading a lot of misinformation just to sell more papers. In Yuumori, the group of people responsible for the murders who committed them to cause fear in the public and make a revolution by the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee and the police forces collide, hired Milverton to create the Jack the Ripper agenda with the help of his media power and he also manipulated the public opinion. The quotes shown from the letter sent to the Central News in the Moriarty the Patriot manga are from the first letter (called as Dear Boss letter) signed as Jack the Ripper what was also sent to Central News in reality. The real letter was longer and Jack the Ripper threatened to send the lady's ears to the police instead of her organs (however, with one of his later letters, Jack truly sent one of his victims kidney to the police), otherwise they are the same.

The Scotland Yard, just like in Yuumori wasn't really on the top when it came to solve the murders what resulted in riots and conflicts with the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee in reality too. And just like Chief Inspector Arterton was removed from his position in Scotland Yard - tho, for a slightly different reason - for not solving the Jack the Ripper case one of the police chiefs of London back then was also fired. In Moriarty the Patriot, a doctor was wrongly arrested and sent to prison in order to silence the raging public and in real life, lot of doctors were suspected to commit the murders.

In Yuumori, the identity of Jack the Ripper was solved by both Sherlock Holmes and the Morigang - who killed them - but it stayed unsolved for the public. In reality, the identity of Jack the Ripper either remained unsolved or not - few years ago, there was a DNA test what was said to determine the killer's identity, but lot of researchers believe that the test was incorrect and don't accept the answer.

I adore this arc for how well the series merged reality with fiction and it was especially exciting to read knowing the details of the real Jack the Ripper case.

[libidomechanica]

Belinda wears

A Kelly lune sequence

               1

Belinda wears. And truant husband’s life yonder Box.

               2

In case our loveliness. I seeke her bosom heave.

               3

Devotion after clothes to sparkling roguish een.

               4

And riots wanteth! Dare I bid her abide by side.

               5

Throughout the pock! In Catherine and China’s Earth will rayse.

               6

Some new experiment. Over the marked her transfixed!

               7

Forth creeping at the Serpent! They could ennoble em.

               8

Hidden perils round. At day-break of day-old pastries.

               9

When as Ioue her? What dire Offence from the greater.

               10

Should some why completely faithful wife you think that dark.

               11

And trees of gods adulteries of all o’er they came.

               12

Like the hand of empty courts, and her eyes’ dark fringes.

               13

They think it mine! Unnatural spirit to ruinate.

               14

At first examined well tryde: and march’d a Victor Spade!

               15

Thus is his innocent blood. There was their skin of mind.

               16

Aye vow and messuages, especial Note, we trust? Fool!

               17

Thus much declined and since, exceeding both the devil.

               18

Well staid with Lampoons. Of Lovers are tedious lyre.

               19

Sure sometimes sweet. My hungry spell that, as well I may.

               20

In a serene! And hungry eyes and Tweezer-Cases.

               21

The dead are bored with heauy spright. Because of filthy love.

               22

The woods the credulous heart. A good desert aspyre.

               23

In days far-off, on the rest. Blister, save in my chest.

               24

He first, unconquer all. When thou shinedst late would wake!

               25

And your things. My whole of itself has made: for honny.

               26

By which Julia goes, the crowd. Before then wink awhile.

               27

Love like a dream the even. And forgat to ruinate.

               28

Wil soone confesse, your leave. Cannot hold Thee just, the Skies.

               29

Ours is a praised a bustled round his dying, dying.

               30

And a bed. With many a wanton ways: I measure.

               31

With that iustice take. They ydly back return to play.

               32

But Fate no liberty is lever. Had turned to do.

               33

I leave the room! She has twa sparkling roguish een.

               34

” Said the sake o’t. Ah when all thereunto at all.

               35

So when they are, and lover. Blushing that says, Shalom!

               36

So that is she? Before harder grim grow out, in guessed.

               37

The Throngs on a sodger. For semlokest of her stress?

[canoncompanions]

UPDATE: New Playlist: Three Operas

Fire Emblem Three Houses is my favorite Fire Emblem since the Tellius duology, which means of course I had to create a Canon Companion based on it. This Canon Companion also contains a section inspired by the sequel/spin-off/AU game Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes. This is the sixth playlist to have over 100 songs.

Prologue/Introductions

She Is Love by 3 Doors Down [Time of My Life]

Strength of the World by Avenged Sevenfold [City of Evil]

One Prairie Outpost by Carbon Leaf [Indian Summer]

Back to School Days by Dave Edmunds [Get It]

She Floats by Vanessa Carlton [Harmonium]

Everything Fades to Gray by Sonata Arctica [The Days of Grays]

Girl on the Edge by Shaking Family [Dreaming in Detail]

It’s All Too Much by the Beatles [Yellow Submarine]

Brick by Boring Brick by Paramore [Brand New Eyes]

Misery Loves Its Company by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus [Don’t You Fake It]

Original Prankster by the Offspring [Conspiracy of One]

Take No Prisoners by Megadeth [Rust in Peace]

Knights of Cydonia by Muse [Black Holes and Revelations]

Where Is Your Heart by Kelly Clarkson [Breakaway]

Just For by Nickelback [Silver Side Up]

Narcolepsy by Third Eye Blind [Third Eye Blind]

Who Can It Be Now? By Men at Work [Business as Usual]

Outsider by Chumbawamba [Tubthumper]

Unaffected by Hoobastank [The Reason]

Reflection from Mulan

No Jesus Christ by Seether [Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces]

Girls by Beastie Boys [Licensed to Ill]

Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival [Chronicle Volume One]

I’m Sensitive by Jewel [Pieces of You]

Emotionless by Good Charlotte [The Young and the Hopeless]

What U See (Is What U Get) by Britney Spears [Oops!... I Did It Again]

Extra Savoir-Faire by They Might Be Giants [John Henry]

Bad Influence by P!nk [Funhouse]

Weight of the World by Evanescence [The Open Door]

Faster from Math for the Real World

Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World [Bleed American/Jimmy Eat World]

Absolutely (Story of a Girl) by Nine Days [The Madding Crowd]

Innocence by Avril Lavigne [The Best Damn Thing]

White Clouds

Hit Me with Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar [Crimes of Passion]

My Heart Is Broken by Evanescence [Evanescence]

Dead Friend by Against Me! [Transgender Dysphoria Blues]

My Turn by Hoobastank [For(n)ever]

Accuracy by the Cure [Boys Don’t Cry]

Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) by Styx [Pieces of Eight]

In Fact by They Might Be Giants [Join Us]

Behind the Mask by Anarchy Club [The Way and Its Power]

Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth [Countdown to Extinction]

The Alchemist by Iron Maiden [The Final Frontier]

Another Race by Eiffel 65 [Europop]

Shockwave by Black Tide [Light from Above]

Wake Me Up when September Ends by Green Day [American Idiot]

So I Need You by 3 Doors Down [The Better Life]

C-R-O-W-N-E-D from Kirby’s Return to Dreamland [Kirby’s Dream Collection]

No Win Situation by Hoobastank [Fight or Flight]

Blood (Empty Promises) by Papa Roach [Getting Away with Murder]

Loyal by the Interrupters [Say It Out Loud]

Mountain Song by Jane’s Addiction [Nothing’s Shocking]

Three Houses Parts 2

Wasted Years by Iron Maiden [Best of the Beast]

Miracle by Paramore [Riot!]

Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs [It’s Blitz!]

Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold [City of Evil]

The Truth Is Out There by Sonata Arctica [The Days of Grays]

Best of Me by Sum 41 [Underclass Hero]

Behind Blue Eyes by the Who [Who’s Next]

To Defy the Laws of Tradition by Primus [Frizzle Fry]

Hide by RED [End of Silence]

Don’t Give Up by John Avila, Terrance A Carson, Carmen Carter, and Carl Graves [An Extremely Goofy Movie Dance Party!]

A Cry for Everyone by Gentle Giant [Octopus]

Circumstances by Rush [Hemispheres]

Solitary Shell by Dream Theater [Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence]

Survivor Guilt by Rise Against [Endgame]

What’s Left of the Flag by Flogging Molly [Drunken Lullabies]

Out in the Fields by Sonata Arctica [Unia]

Ghost of Me by Daughtry [Leave This Town]

Angry Side by Breaking Point [Coming of Age]

He’s Gone by Grateful Dead [Europe ’72 Live Bonus Track]

Live for Today by Breaking Point [Coming of Age]

All My Best Friends Are Metalheads by Less than Jake [Hello Rockview]

Deceiver by Disturbed [Indestructible]

Damaged People by Depeche Mode [Playing the Angel]

Meet My Maker by Good Charlotte [The Chronicles of Life and Death]

Scars by Papa Roach [Getting Away with Murder]

Faith Alone by Bad Religion [Against the Grain]

Curse of Me by Wednesday 13 [Fang Bang]

The Truth by Good Charlotte [The Chronicles of Life and Death]

Defenders of the Faith by Judas Priest [Defenders of the Faith]

Brotherhood of Destruction by Sanctity [Road to Bloodshed]

Hands of Love by Ted Poley [Beyond the Fade]

Cindered Shadows

Too Much of Heaven by Eiffel 65 [Europop]

Outcast by James Durbin [Memories of a Beautiful Disaster]

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen [A Night at the Opera]

Love Like Winter by A.F.I. [Decemberunderground]

Money Thing by the Low Millions [Ex-Girlfriends]

Island Fever by Stagehands [The Silent City]

Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield [Platinum and Gold Collection]

May by James Durbin [Memories of a Beautiful Disaster]

The Conjuring by Megadeth [Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?]

Now Is Forever by Eiffel 65 [Europop]

Three Hopes

What If? (Reprise) from If/Then

Ramblin’ Man by the Allman Brothers Band [Brothers and Sisters]

No Bravery by James Blunt [Back to Bedlam]

Dreaming by System of a Down [Hypnotize]

One Way or Another by Blondie [Parallel Lines]

My Curse by Killswitch Engage [As Daylight Dies]

Everything to Me by Liz Phair [Somebody’s Miracle]

One Shot at Glory by Judas Priest [Painkiller]

Attack by System of a Down [Hypnotize]

For the Sake of Revenge by Sonata Arctica [Unia]

Outsmarted by the Hives [Veni Vidi Vicious]

Conflict by Disturbed [The Sickness]

Stronger by Britney Spears [Oops!... I Did It Again]

Sweet Sacrifice by Evanescence [The Open Door]

Talk by Coldplay [X&Y]

Lost My Mind by They Might Be Giants [Nanobots]

Battlefields by Buckethead [3 Foot Clearance]

Come Together by the Beatles [Abbey Road]

We Are the Champions by Queen [News of the World]

Good Mourning/Black Friday by Megadeth [Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying]

Tick Tick Boom by the Hives [The Black and White Album]

Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden [Best of the Beast]

Goodbye to You by Breaking Point [Beautiful Disorder]

Fight the Power by bis [The Powerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains]

Moving Forward by Hoobastank [Every Man for Himself]

New artists: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nine Days, Kirby, Interrupters, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, (John Avila, Terrance A Carson, Carmen Carter, and Carl Graves), Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band, Killswitch Engage

Formerly unique artists: Dave Edmunds, Shaking Family, Mulan, Beastie Boys, Anarchy Club, Primus, Sanctity, Low Millions, Rick Springfield, If/Then, Blondie, Buckethead, bis

Artists who passed a ten: Coming soon

New duplicates: Coming soon

Welcome to the club!

[thelordofdarkreunion]

Magnificent Scoundrels- Of Humans and Demons

It had been quite a while since I’ve came out with a story.  In this, we have the explanation of what is happening in two of the galaxies concerning the shenanigans bringing them all together, as well as the more supernatural side of all of them.  As usual, I do not own anything except Thomas Drake and his universe.  Enjoy the story.   

“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”  -Theodore Roosevelt

Empyrean Iris Galaxy

Rundi Homeworld, Seat of the Galactic Assembly

“Nervous?” 

“Actually, no.  Not really.”

“Figures.  First human to make contact with extraterrestrial life, now the first person to meet the newcomers from these new galaxies.  Nothing fazes you,”  Admiral Kelly sighed.  Admiral Vir, dressed in an immaculately pressed grey uniform, grinned.  

“They said space was the final frontier.  As it turns out, we’ve got eight new galaxies out there.  Life just got a lot more complicated.  But, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  More fun!  More exploring!” said Vir.

“It takes all kinds, I suppose.  But you have to deal with briefing the Assembly,” replied Kelly.  “And deal with their possible reactions to the fact that they might not be the top dogs anymore,” she added as an afterthought.

“True,” sighed Vir.  “The worst part of the job, by far.”  A younger human officer stepped into the small, well lit room outside the main council chambers and turned to the Admirals.

“Admiral Vir, sir.  The Assembly is ready.”  He clutched his hands together, nervous to be in the presence of a living legend.  

“Thank you,” replied Vir politely.  He strode forward, only to pause briefly and look back at Kelly with a grin.  “Oh, by the way, Star Wars is real.”

“Wait...what?”  

He walked into the council chambers, radiating an aura of careful calmness.  He looked to the seats where the various delegates from all the different species in the galaxy sat, looking slightly wistfully at the human section, wishing he could be there instead of standing alone at the head of the council.  But, like he had said earlier, it went with the job, and he was the only person to make contact with the denizens of the other galaxies.  He reached the speaker’s podium, and, after the usual useless bureaucratic formalities were made, began.  

“Esteemed members of the Galactic Assembly, I am sure you have noticed that we are no longer the only populated galaxy within this universe.  Approximately a month ago, an extreme anomaly caused nine different galaxies, including our own, from nine separate universes to co-exist in one singular universe.  I come before you today, having met with people from each of the galaxies to brief you on the various governments from these other galaxies, what they are like, and what you should expect.”  He paused for a moment.  Perhaps he had used the word ‘galaxy’ too much in that speech?  No.  He had to be extremely specific, even at the risk of sounding redundant.  “It should be noted that, interestingly enough, humans exist in all of these realities.”  That drew a round of nervous murmerings.  Humans were one of the newest additions to the Assembly, and were by far one of the more powerful and dangerous member races.  Come to think of it, I might be lucky if they don’t start a riot over this, he mused.

“It should also be noted that, coincidentally, several of these new realities share similarities with old human stories.  Should you wish to know more, the appropriate media has been forwarded to you.”

“Now, on to the main briefing.”  Several delegates leaned forward in their seats expectantly.  Notepads, recording devices, or computers were taken from their holding places.  Adam cleared his throat.  “This is what we have deemed Galaxy One…”

And so the briefing went on.  He told them of the people he’d met, gave them the anatomical reports on new species of aliens.  And, most importantly, he told them of their counterparts.  Told them of both the good and the worrying.  

The Galactic Empire: a fracturing, militaristic pro-human superpower that used to rule Galaxy 1.

The New Republic: a pro-democratic group that opposed and overthrew the Empire from Galaxy 1.

The United Federation of Planets: a peaceful yet technologically powerful group where all species were equal in Galaxy 3.  

The Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation: a massive, privately funded mega-corporation that effectively ruled Earth and humanity in Galaxy 7.

The Covenant: a theocratic coalition of aliens dedicated to activating a series of devastating WMD’s in the belief that it would cause their ascension in Galaxy 4.

The Imperium of Man: a theocratic, xenophobic, militaristic pro-human superpower fighting an endless war against all comers in Galaxy 6.  

The list went on, and on, and on.  As each different government was mentioned, a map of their territories, capabilities, species, and symbol flashed on a centrally located holographic projector.  

“Now, the next part is this.  We have received word from the Citadel Council, the reigning government in what we have dubbed Galaxy 5, asking us to come to their capital for peaceful negotiations.  They seem to be extremely similar to our own government, in the sense that they are a galaxy-spanning federation including multiple species.  While I am no diplomat; that would be your area of expertise, the information we have gathered has led us to believe that this government in particular, and two others are the most similar to us and would be the best to ally with.”  The room filled with hushed murmurings.  The Drev delegate spoke up.

“And what is to stop all you humans from ending up like this?  Or this?”  He tapped a button, and the six-spoked circle of the Galactic Empire and the double-headed golden eagle of the Imperium of Man flashed to life on the console.  “As there are humans in all of these galaxies, you could band together and wipe the rest of us out.  What’s to stop you?”  Vir paused for a moment.  

“Because, being human is all about individuality.  We have no collective.  Our societies change all the time throughout history.  It is often not a story of unity.  In the end, a human is whatever it wants to be.  The humans of this new reality are probably just as different to each other as all the other species are.  And, because we are an individualistic species, the chances of us uniting under one banner to conquer not only one but nine different galaxies is not going to happen.”  He looked out at all the different delegates, all the different aliens he had come to appreciate over so long.  “One other thing.  Most humans have a great sense of right and wrong.  Something that many of you have come to appreciate over the time we’ve been in the Assembly, I’m sure.  We know that to take your land, to kill your people, is wrong.  And, as I said before, humans are different.  There are evil and bad humans in this reality; there always have been good ones as well.  The same still applies.  While some of these humans will want to take from you everything, humans like me will always be there to fight by your side against tyranny.”  The room broke into applause.  Sometimes good speeches weren't about grandiose words.  Sometimes they were simply there to get a point across.  And Admiral Adam Vir was a master at that type of speaking.  

He sighed to himself.  No bad.  There wouldn’t be any riots.  Probably.  Hopefully.  He went on with his briefing, pausing slightly to wonder if similar things were happening in the other galaxies...

“I want one simple thing: money.  I will tell you what I want; everyone knows what I want.  But the people you call saviors, the ones who you think will deliver you and raise you up, they want something else.  They want complete and utter control over every aspect of your life.  And when you naive fools put them into power, in a short time you will miss my kind.  But I will be dead, and you will be damned, because you never thought through the consequences of your actions.”  -Martin Crossgrow

Aboard the Apocalypse 

Thomas Drake sat in his quarters.  The room was an odd combination of styles, with austere and sleek metal plating contrasting with the rustic stonework of a large electric fireplace and the handsome woodwork of the furniture.  He sat before a large video screen, barely the width of a piece of paper.  His black hair was immaculate, as always, and his deep blue eyes stared from underneath a brow furrowed with concentration.  His fingers flew across a holographic keyboard, inputting the correct security procedures.  A mesh of invisible, interlocking and ever-changing computer algorithms flashed across the screen.  Good.  Even if someone were to try and break into his ship’s computers, they would not find records of what he was doing.  They could not.  He pressed a few more keys, then waited.  

Waited for one person.  His...sponsor.  For lack of a better word.  The head of the most powerful corporation in his galaxy.  The head of the Guild of Merchants, the corporate oligarchy that ruled the space in between the Galactic Federation and the Empire of Prosium.  Ultra-capitalists to a somewhat disturbing extent, it was they who controlled most of the galaxy’s comperce, built most of the products, and of course, paid the most.  

A series of chimes, repeating the same notes, sounded.  They sounded faster, quicker, humming together, until one long, high, note sang out.  The computer screen flashed from black with lines of green coding to reveal a face.  

It was that of a man, skin pale from never seeing the warm kiss of a sun, pale from never leaving building complexes.  It was old, with receding white hair and skin starting to sag, but the face and the eyes did not betray this age.  They burned with energy, arrogance and contempt.  Not the misplaced arrogance and perceived invincibility of youth, or the kind energy of an honest worker.  No.  These eyes shone with an arrogance of age and assurity, the arrogance of a man who knew with absolute certainty he was better and more powerful than anyone else.  These eyes now turned to Thomas Drake, and took on a new expression.  That of a superior looking on at a trusted subordinate.  

“Captain Drake.  How are you?” spoke the calm voice of Martin Crossgrow.  

“I’m doing well, Mr. Crossgrow,” replied Drake.  

“Wonderful.  Now, what do you have for me?”  

“Information.  As per usual.  Stocks, governments, companies...entities.  In some cases.”  Crossgrow gave an appreciative nod.  

“Excellent.  Your usual fee will be transferred to your account when the information reaches me.”

“Good.  I wanted to warn you, though.  In some of these new realities, there are...things. Things of...supernatural power.  I’m getting you as much information as I can on them, so as to be better prepared if and when confronted.”  At this, Crossgrow laughed, a low, dry, chuckle.  

“I’m not afraid of the supernatural.  If it does exist in these new galaxies, then there are people who will know how to fight it in those galaxies.  And every man has a price.  So if the time comes, I merely must pay that price.  It’s simple.”  Drake said nothing.  He knew it wouldn’t be quite that simple.  But he also knew that disagreeing with the head of the most powerful corporation in the galaxy, and his highest paying employer, was not a wise decision.  

“If that’s how you play it, then that’s how you play it.  But I think I need more information.  Places, organizations with knowledge, information.  That’s what I must find.”  Crossgrow made a harrumph noise in his throat.  

“Well, in the meantime, tell me about the financial side to these new places.”

“Of course.  The biggest threat to the Guild is probably the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation.  Monopoly.  Rules humanity in one of these other galaxies.  Produces quite powerful and interesting war machines.  I’ve got the schematics for one type.”  This elicited a laugh.

“I’m reasonably sure that you stole that from one of your...what do you call them…” he paused for a moment, then snapped his fingers in realization.  “Ah, Scoundrels!  Didn’t you?”  Drake shrugged.

“Of course.  It’s being sent to you as we speak.  I’ve also got…” he trailed off as he tapped several buttons on his wrist computer.  “Schematics for…” He looked up and grinned.  “Chainsaw swords, plasma swords, rechargeable laser weaponry, jetpack boots, laser weapons that run off of explosive gasses, contractible body armor, high-quality medical gel that heals wounds almost instantly, cybernetic super-soldier armor, three types of personal shields, teleporters, omnitools, so-called ‘phaser weaponry’, two types of power armor, and the blood readouts from biotics, pariahs, and SPARTANs.”  He held up a hand to forestall Crossgrow’s confused look at the last three items on the list.  “It’s all described in the report.”  

“Ah, very good.  Very good, indeed, Captain Drake.”  A slightly amused look crossed Crossgrow’s face.  “Although, won’t your compatriots be upset if they knew you were selling their secrets?”  Drake smiled in response.  

“If they ever found out.”  HIs smile grew wider, and both he and Crossgrow repeated the mantra in perfect synchronization.  “Besides, that’s just.  Good.  Business.”  

“Forget everything you think you know.” -Karl Mordo, upon Dr. Strange’s arrival in Kamar-Taj

Marvel Galaxy

Earth

The New York Sanctum

Doctor Steven Strange was a wizard.  Not “wizard” in the sense that he was extremely good at something, like “technological wizard” or “engineering wizard”, but a literal magic wizard.  Once upon a time, he had been a prestigious surgeon, but that had all ended in the fires of a car crash.  He had traveled the world, trying to heal his broken body, and stumbled on a place that taught actual, real, magic.  

Through a strange series of events, he had mastered these “mystical arts” and become the head of Earth’s sorcerers.  It was his job to defend the planet and all its inhabitants from any and all magic or extra-dimensional threats.  This, of course, was now a particular problem, seeing as eight different realities from different dimensions now existed in the same material universe as his reality did. Now he had eight new galaxies to take care of, and possible threats from all of them to fight.

Wonderful.

He sighed to himself.  Might as well get started.  Get it done with.  Hopefully he didn’t get eaten.  He breathed in, breathed out, his mind calm, tranquil.  His heavy red cloak billowed around him, lifting him in the air as he took a cross-legged position.  One more deep breath.  He drew upon his power, and allowed his mind to roam.  Not freely, of course.  Silently.  His metal defenses were high.  No entities, no beings, could tune onto the small signature he emitted.  It took practice, hours upon hours of it, combined with an innate talent to disguise one’s mental signature so.  

He floated, his mind calm.  Thoughts, emotions, feelings…   Interesting.  They all flitted through his brain, caressing the edges of his mind.  Nothing for now.  He roamed higher.  Opened his mind to beyond his Earth, beyond his reality...and was immediately assaulted, battered, his mind tossed around like a cork upon an ocean.  Travesty, glory, tragedy, celebration, hatred, hope, love, rage…  He wanted to scream.  He did not.  He merely steeled his mental defenses, clamping down on the sanity of his own brain.

He saw...darkness crashing against light.  An eternal battle, observed by one.  Something larger at play.  Something he did not, could not comprehend.  Time began, the beginning played out, a universe expanded.  Light.  Beginning.  Emotion.  Differences.  It reminded him of the principle of yin-yang, but on a much larger scale.  Strange watched the universe, as millions of stars were born and died.  The light encompassed everything.  Shadows, tendrils of darkness, battled it, fought it, sometimes snuffed it out.  The light won when it came forward, burning away the darkness, but if the light failed, gave up, the darkness crept forward to take its place.  The light was passive, in a way, upholding the rules with a code of honor.  The dark was not.  It surged, striking forward, defying the rules and logic itself.  Interesting.  Strange got the feeling that there was something more here at play, something he didn’t know yet.  But it wasn’t a threat.  Yet.  It could wait.  He moved to the next galaxy, the next reality that had been entwined with his.  

Next.  His mind reached out once more.  Now this place...this one was interesting.

It has power.  Not separated from the real world, not some ancient deities having eldritch chess games.  No.  This one had...something different.  An energy field, created from the energy of all living things, surrounding them, binding them, letting some get a taste of its power.  Most interesting indeed.  He went further.  

A field.  A field of ghosts.  Roughly divided in two.  On one side, strength, power, hate, rage, passion.  On the other, peace, knowledge, serenity, harmony.  Two different sides, two different users and practitioners of this energy field.  Different individuals.  No gods.  No demons.  Only mortals.  But powerful ones.  Two in particular stood out.  Both on the side of passion.  A void, a hungry, hungry void encompassing an individual of massive power.  Another, a crackling nimbus of darkness and selfishness.  They did nothing.  But should they break free from this field of ghosts...the consequences...hmmm.  What was this place, even?  A place of the dead?  Reflections of the living?

Strange whirled around as he felt a presence behind him.  Another shade.  But not milling on the field with the others.  This one stood alone.  It was of both sides...but neither.  Light and dark swirled within the figure in perfect harmony.  It walked forward, towards him.  Strange could sense it was, or once was, a human.  It wore stylized armor and a mask under a black, heavy, hooded robe.  It inclined its head in greeting to Strange.  

“What...what are you, exactly?” asked Strange.  The robed figure started out on the field of ghosts.  

“I was once like you, sorcerer.”  The voice was whispery, swirling, ghostly.  Beneath Strange could hear the faint trace of the voice of a dead man.  “A man with a destiny.”  

“Why are you not with the others?” said Strange.  The figure gave the phantom impression of a laugh, then a sigh.  

“I do not walk in the light, for it robs me of the stars.  I do not walk in the dark, for it robs me of my surroundings.  I walk in the twilight, and while both are dulled, I can see the entire picture and walk in balance.”  He turned towards Strange.  “Some say it is between light and dark.  It is not.  You must have balance.  You must have harmony between the two.  There is a war coming, sorcerer.  A war that you must win.  Your power will be with you.  Always.  Remember that.”  The ghost faded into oblivion, and the vision of the field ended.  Odd. The vision was something to meditate on for another day.  After he had the complete picture.  

Next one.  This one had a parallel universe.  A shadowy reflection of the real world, ruled by...something.  The ruler wasn’t human, wasn’t demon or god, it was...something else.  A creature of the shadows.  Formed by them.  Made by them.  This reality was odd, yes, but it had no place in the real world.  It could not come to nor affect the realm he was sworn to protect.  No threats here.  Next.  

No magic here.  Science.  More than anything else.  Fine.  Good, actually.  Less work for him to do.  He was about to turn and leave, when he felt a presence.  Something different.  An ancient being.  Strange blinked, and suddenly found himself in a blank white room.  What?

Staring at him, lounging in a comfortable white chair with a drink in hand, was a man (no, being, he corrected himself) wearing a ridiculous, outlandish, garb of an old school extremely wealthy Renaissance priest.  Okay.  That was a new one.  Personally, he much preferred the man from the other galaxy with his armor and heavy robe.  Whatever.  He was getting sidetracked.  The being grinned at him.  

“Surprised?” it asked.  Strange recovered quickly. 

“No,” he replied.  The being laughed uproariously.  

“He he, yes you are!”  It sipped its drink.  “It is so rare to get guests!”  He turned suddenly, looking around at things that were not there.  “Hmm.  My time is short.  There is much work to be done in little time.  The gods of humanity are outnumbered.  A war is coming.  Heh.  I see someone already told you that.  Yes.  There are forces teaming up.  The darkness is spreading.”  The being leaned closer.  “I usually am not so straight forward, but it is doubtful you’ll see me again, so I must tell you these things now.  Anyway, be prepared.  Have fun.  Try not to die.  That would be bad.”  The being snapped its fingers, and the room disappeared, leaving Strange hovering over the universe once more.  He shook his head.  Usually massively powerful beings did not make odd jokes while inviting him for drinks.  More things to remember, more things to meditate on.  He had to move on.

In two other universes, nothing.  No semblance of any sort of magic or higher beings.  Good.  Nothing to worry about there.  Next.  

No magic here.  Nothing.  But..something was off.  The souls of the dead were...missing.  Nothing here.  Odd.  No matter.  No gods, no demons, no other eldritch beings.  Fine.  Mysteries could be solved on other days.  He had more important things to do.  

He turned his gaze to the last galaxy.  Felt as his mind and spirit floated forward.  Immediately, he recognized this galaxy as two dimensions in one.  Strange.  But today was a day for oddness.  Warily, he crept forward, mentally entering the new galaxy.  

Emotion.  Hate.  Rage.  BLOOD.  Apathy.  Stagnation.  ROT.  Movement.  Hope.  CHANGE.  Lust.  Pain.  EXCESS.  So much.  Too much.  Conflicting ideas.  Dead uncountable, screaming in torment from a sea of souls.  A Great Game, a chess match between beings he didn’t even want to know existed.  And endless war, for billions of years, between factions so powerful he felt as if he were a single grain of sand in an hourglass, a person of such small importance that he could do nothing to change the future that would doom everything.  

He screamed as these emotions, as the chaos of this place engulfed him, clawed at him, threatened to drown him.  He tried to break free, used all of his power to try and get as far away from this place as he could, away from the madness.  He gritted his teeth and focused, focused harder than he ever had, focused harder than the time after the wreck where he could not get his hands from shaking.  He felt as if he were trapped, unable to run as if in a terrible nightmare.  He could feel as creatures, demonic inhabitants of this realm started to notice his presence, started to turn their hungry stares towards him as he struggled even harder, looking for any salvation.  

A light.  Faint, in the darkness.  He rushed towards it, the souls of the damned clawing at his cloak, the demons closing in with the force of an unstoppable tide.  He felt as if he were on a treadmill, unable to go anywhere, stuck in one spot, pursuers closing in.  He felt their hot, foul breath on his back, felt their horrible talons and teeth…

Then, nothing.  He spun.  Nothing.  No pursuers.  No demons.  He fell to his knees, breath coming in gasps.  After he caught his breath, he came to his feet and looked at his surroundings.  He was still in the sea of souls.  Still in this odd, horrible dimension.  But, this part was different.  A blinding, golden light shot up as if from nowhere, keeping the darkness and terror at bay.  What?  How?  He walked forward, surroundings bare, the great golden light making sure that no demons tread here.  As he walked, he felt...something.  

A single voice, screaming through the void.  A soul slit, in utter agony, bruised, beaten, but unbowed.  Strange felt the voice, using his powers to attune himself to it.  It had been in pain for...millennia now.  Pain was a constant companion.  But it would not give into the pain.  Never.  

Strange looked forward.  The beam was being produced by something...no.  Wrong.  Someone.  He shuddered involuntarily.  The sheer power required to produce such a thing, let alone to sustain it…  No wonder the voice was in pain.  Strange looked around again.  He had seen enough.  Knew enough.  Time to go back.  He leapt up, leaving this place, still keeping the light in sight...

When suddenly a being of unfathomable power and incalculable malevolence turned it’s gaze towards him.  He shied away from it.  Now was not the time to trifle with such a thing.  

Time, space, and reality warped around him.  Every color, yet no color swirled.  The being came into focus in front of him.  It was ever-changing, morphing from one form to the next with no pretext.  He hid his eyes.  To stare at it would be to go mad.  It studied him.  Looked at him with amusement, like a child studying insects under a microscope.  Then, it spoke.  Its voice was the worst thing Strange had ever heard.  Constantly changing, echoing like a nightmare into the void around him.  

“The Anathema's pathetic light cannot protect you for long, sorcerer.”  Strange winched, and shielded his face even more.  

“What are you?” he asked in response.  The being laughed.  Strange screamed.  The laugh echoed around him, promising the bending of time and reality as he knew them.  

“Do not ask which creature screams in the night.  Do not question who waits for you in the shadow.  It is my cry that wakes you in the night, and my body that crouches in the shadow.  I am Tzeetch, and you are the puppet that dances to my tune…”  Strange pulled back.  This was out of his league.  He made a motion, and activated his one, final, failsafe.  The locket around his neck opened, and a stone within glowed green.  The being, Tzeetch, grimaced, hissed, and launched at the same time.  

“Oh, ho!  Your pathetic trinket cannot keep you safe for long.  Every time you use your power, every time anyone bends the laws of nature to their own whims, I will be waiting.  Know that I will be watching you and guiding your fate, mortal.”  Strange said nothing.  He could do nothing against such a being.  “Now, go pack to where you came from.”  With a great, ringing, clap, Strange opened his eyes.  He found himself back in New York.  His cloak let him down with a thud on the hardwood floor.  He winced, then stood.  A meeting had to be called.  He just hoped superheroes would be enough to stop whatever came next.  

[Author’s note: For the curious, Tzeetch is pronounced zeen-ch]

I hope you liked it.  While I didn’t want to give you the names of any of the people in Strange’s visions, preferring instead for you to guess for yourselves, the line “I am Tzeentch and you are the puppet that dances to my tune” was just too good to pass up.  I also do hope that you could follow at least some of my ramblings there, but, if you couldn’t, feel free to ask me any questions you may have, along with any comments, criticisms, requests, or concerns.  Wherever you are, I hope you have a great day.  

[angst-fairygodmother]

Feelings an’ Shit Ep1: Fall (Misfits; Nathan Young x Reader)

A/N: I’m not going to follow the whole continuity of the show, and most things are going to be in between/canon divergent but there’s a handful of episodes I want to do stuff with, including the first, since it only makes sense. Word Count: 2185 Rating: T - canon-typical violence, canon-typical swearing

You watched as the curly-haired kid bounced around, taunting the other one and couldn’t resist a snort of amusement. He turned back to you, flashing you a dramatic wink and waggling his eyebrows. You rolled your eyes, nodding back to Hat Guy who was still foaming at the mouth for a fight. Curly continued to antagonize, playing it up for the attention, and eventually Hat Guy had enough and went after him. After that, things became a bit of a blur of shouts and the probation worker pulling them apart. You made eye-contact briefly with the girl who’d been on her cell phone and you both rolled your eyes, laughing. 

If only you’d known then that this moment was the last normal one you’d have. 

~

“So what about you?” the curly-haired kid, Nate or whatever it was, asked, turning his paintbrush on you. “What’d you do gorgeous?”

You liked the sound of his lilt. But he needed to learn to shut up if you were ever going to get along with him, and you wanted to, if only because you were all stuck here. 

You shrugged. “I think the official labels were disturbing the peace and intimidation. And maybe something about rioting which seems unfair. It was just a little bar brawl, and it definitely wasn’t my fault. Although I did glass that guy. So maybe it was.” 

You tried to keep your voice nonchalant, painting away at the bench across from the quiet one, without looking up to see how the others reacted. If you were being honest, the crime you got stuck with wasn’t even the worst thing you had done, just the one that got attention. But these people, with their minor infractions and their ‘I shouldn’t be here’ attitudes (or maybe it was just the one guy) didn’t need to know that. 

“What about you Weird Kid,” Curly continued, apparently choosing not to comment on your offense as he had the others. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like a panty sniffer.”

You grimaced, offering him a sympathetic roll of your eyes. “Ignore him, he’s a moron.” you mouthed across the bench. The boy offered you a faint smile in return. 

Curly continued his antics, trying to provoke your new friend who finally snapped, “I tried to burn someone’s house down.”

Your eyebrows shot up, impressed, as Curly whined uncomfortably, instantly backing off. You didn’t have time to comment on his own excuse for getting picked up, eating pick-n-mix, before the probation worker came back, annoyed with you all for Hat Guy’s paint spill. 

Then a massive hailstone crashed into a car, and you were too scared to worry about much else. Several more fell as you all stared up at the unnatural stormcloud moving overhead, and you all took off running for the relative shelter of the building, panicked and doing your best to shield your faces and heads from the shrapnel. Some instinct made you lag behind, bringing up the rear to make sure that everyone stayed together, no one got left behind. 

You were just coming up on the rest of the group, the probation worker unhelpfully taking the time to lecture them about their language, when there was a flash of light and you felt yourself get thrown backwards. 

You came back to your senses a moment later, sprawled on the concrete, entire body aching like the worst hangover you’d ever had, times ten. Smaller but still massive hail smashed on the ground around you as you and the others slowly sat up or climbed to your feet. 

The probation worker seemed to be having some sort of fit as you all discussed what had just happened and whether everyone was alright. 

“We just almost got killed by freak lightning and hail. Fuck what anybody says, I’m outta here,” you snapped, dusting yourself off with some attempt at dignity. 

“She’s right,” the probation worker groaned, making you turn to gape at him. “Maybe we should call it a day.”

~

The next day passed in a blur: finding Hat Guy dead, the probation worker going berserk and nearly killing you all, super powers? It was all too much. By the time you were all out digging holes under the overpass, you found the activity strangely calming. 

You tried not to think too hard about that fact, since apparently Kelly could hear you. You debated offering a (metaphorical) hand of friendship to Alisha, maybe suggest some self-defense classes to help counter her fucked up powers, but seeing the way she snapped at Curtis you decided against it, for now. Then you were startled out of your thoughts by Nathan draping an arm around your shoulders. 

“So it looks like just the two of us that haven’t figured out our powers yet,” he observed, leaning on you.

You side-stepped out of his grasp, causing him to stumble, nearly ending up in Tony’s grave with him, and hid your smirk behind your hand.

“What’s your point?” you asked, tired and irritated and not wanting to put up with his shit.

“Maybe we should spend some extra time together, figure it out.” He waggled his eyebrows, a behavior you were starting to notice was a habit of his. 

‘This arrogant sod,’ you thought. ‘He’s really got the nerve to be standing there, not doing any work, hitting on me, while we are burying bodies. Who the hell does he think he is?’ 

You were furious, the more you thought about it. 

Suddenly, a wave roiled up from the river, crashing over Nathan, knocking him to the ground in a sopping puddle.

“What the hell?” Alisha shrieked, jumping back from the splash zone.

“Y/N. I think you did that,” Kelly pointed out.

You stared, wide-eyed. “No way.” 

“Ya were gettin’ pissed at Nathan, I heard it. Then he gets dunked on.”

“No. That’s...that would be...not fair.”

“You think having some sort of water control power isn’t fair?” Alisha looked like she was going to start something and you backed away, trying not to cry or vomit from the fear. “It’s a million times better than my shit power.”

“No. You don’t understand…” you felt like your throat was closing up. “It would be...sick. A sick joke. The universe can’t have that kinda humor.” You looked wildly around at them, five pairs of eyes fixed on you, trying to breathe and not think.

“Let’s just finish burying the bodies,” you said shakily, “forget this ever happened, and get out of here, yeah?”

~

The next morning you dragged yourself up out of bed, forcing yourself to dress in some ratty jeans and a tank top, braiding your hair with trembling fingers as you got ready for day three of community service. Even if there wasn’t going to be a probation worker there, even if you just went and then left, you had to make everything look as normal as possible.

“So, if anyone asks,” you heard Nathan say softly as you, Alisha, and Kelly all passed the guys on their way out of the locker room and your way in to change. “It was just a completely normal day.”

“Actually…” you caught their attention, holding them back a moment. “The new probation worker’s in there right now, digging around the office. They’re going to ask us questions, and we need to have our stories straight.”

“What story?” he protested, a little too loudly, earning a glare from Kelly and Curtis. “We saw nothing, we did nothing.”

“They’re not going to buy it. We were the last people to see either of them, and now they’re missing with no sign of where they went.”

“So what do you suggest, if you’re the mastermind with all the answers?”

You glared at him, then licked your lips nervously. “Look, I’m not going to volunteer it outright, but if we have to, I’ll tell them it was me.”

“Wot?!” Kelly asked, staring at you like you had just sprouted a new head.

“It’ll suck but better one of us goes down than all of us. I’m the one it’s most believable from.”

“No! No way!” You were surprised that Alisha was fighting you on it, expecting her to be the first to throw you under a bus in order to get away from it herself.  “You’ll go to prison!”

“Or we all will. I’m just being practical. If we’re lucky, they think we don’t know shit and we all walk away. But if they start asking questions, real questions,” you set your jaw, steeling yourself for the story you were going to spin. “Tony and I got in a fight over the shit he said while we were takin’ shelter from the storm. I got pissed, and I hit him until he stopped moving. Made you help me move the body. Then Hat Guy, what’s his name, was gonna snitch so I killed him too.”

“I don’t like this,” Curtis cut in. Nathan nodded slowly in agreement, eyebrows furrowed and far more serious than you had seen him so far. 

“What happens to you if we do this?” Alisha asked.

“They slap me in cuffs,” you wiggled your eyebrows suggestively, trying and failing to cut the tension. “Drag me down to the station, ask me a bunch more shit. Then I go away for a long time for murder, or they don’t believe me and I’m back on Monday.”

“Even if they don’t believe her,” Simon offered hesitantly. “They’ll be less likely to look at the rest of us. She has no reason to cover for us. We’re practically strangers.”

“Exactly.” You snapped your fingers, pointing at Simon. “See, he gets it.”

“Why would ya take the fall for us?” Kelly asked. 

You considered her question for a while, not really sure of the answer yourself. Then you sighed and shrugged, shoving your hands in the pockets of your jeans.

“I’m real good at screwin’ up, and lucky I’m not already jailed for it. Least now I can use that fact for a good cause.”

~

Nathan watched as the girl walked over to her locker in the back, casual as can be as if she hadn’t just offered to go down for a double murder. He tried not to show on his face how impressed, or turned on, he was. 

He considered staying, trying to catch a glimpse of her and see if her body was as dangerous and sexy as her mind seemed to be. 

“Yer disgusting,” Kelly scoffed, glaring at him until he left behind the other guys.

~

The six of you stood in a line, uncomfortable and awkward as you faced your new probation worker. She introduced herself as Sally, and said she’d been sent to take over your supervision.

“Gary and my colleague, Tony, have both been reported missing,” she continued, staring at each of you in turn, as if a little eye contact could drive her point home. “Their families are really worried about them.”

You rolled your eyes, not believing for a second that either of those two assholes had anyone out there looking for them. You tried, slightly, to hide your boredom. 

“Did any of you see anything unusual? Anything at all?”

Everyone glanced at each other uncomfortably out of the corners of eyes, shifting weight from foot to foot. 

‘They’ve got nothing,’ you found yourself thinking with relief. ‘Everyone keeps their mouth shut and it might actually work.’

Suddenly Nathan raised a finger in the air, looking nervous and uncomfortable, one might even call it scared, and you swore under your breath. Were you really so wrong to trust them, him? Was he about to snitch? Of course an idiot like him couldn’t stick to a cover story. Your mind raced, debating if you should start running and try for a lead on the cops. 

“A few days ago, I go into the toilets, Tony and Gary are in there - they’re butt naked. Tony’s got Gary by his hair - like this. He’s doing him - doggie-style,” you gaped as Nathan carried on. 

“Or...we could go with that,” you muttered watching Nathan’s antics and rubbing your forehead to stave off the growing headache (a headache you suspected was going to be semi-permanent and named Nathan Young). 

“I ask you - in a world of prejudice and intolerance - who are we, who are we to condemn them?”

Sally scoffed, rolling her eyes and storming off to the office. 

“Who wants a smoke?” Kelly asked, nodding her head toward the stairs, and you all followed, headed for the roof. 

~

“What the fuck was that down there?” you shouted at Nathan, gesturing angrily.

“It was me, improvisin, actin. I think I did a pretty good job, don’t ye?” he grinned smugly at you.

“I think you’re an idiot, and almost ruined the whole thing. Now even if I do try to take the fall, at the very least, your goose is cooked too.”

“So don’t try. I think we got away with it.”

“D’you actually believe that?” Curtis asked, staring dumbfounded at Nathan. “Or are you just really dumb?”

[gh0ulbunni]

Congratulations..

(Set 12 years after the Brotherhood and X-Men graduate and leave Bayville. Most of the Brotherhood such as Avalanche, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Blob, and Toad have become decorated SHIELD members by now, specifically Toad with his position as Nick Fury's attack dog. After high school in an effort to escape the poor life he once led, Todd has changed his name to Mortimer Toynbee. Not only has his name changed but his appearance has changed as well. His hair is no longer the greasy desaturated mop it once was, his skin gone from pale greyish ivory to pure ivory with splotches of light green and dark green marking spotting his cheekbones, arms, and back, his white schlera turning into a dark almost black green and his eyes turning a vibrant shade of green. Once dull and flat teeth are now sharp as razors with an even sharper and stronger tongue that can light on fire, with strength able to match Blob's, and much more toxic abilities to offer, Tolansky's life has certainly changed for the better... But it seems Summers hasn't. He's become controlling, aggressive, impatient, and quite ballsy in how he behaves towards those of a higher societal standing.. And after this meeting on the floor of the Senate with SHIELD and America's Senate, it seems Scott may be in for a wake up call from an unlikely aqquaintance..)

The sounds of shouting and uproar could be heard echoing throughout the Senate chamber as people tried to plead for order and civility.. Something it seemed Scott was not capable of that day.

His knuckles turned white as he stared at his reflection in the men's room mirror over the sink, vision skewed red by the very visor that gave him his code name, Cyclops.. But cyclopses were brave, and on that floor he wasn't. He justified Senator Kelly's proposal to have the government force mutants to identify themselves with a schoolyard bully's style of response for fucks sake! "Senator Kelly if you go through with this idea not only will you further divide humans and mutants but you will have multiple mutants like ME waiting at your front door to strangle the life at of you for proposing such a facist idea!"

And what a response that was. He thought back to his time in high school.. to the Brotherhood, and how what he stated sounded like a more adult and clean version of what those rugrats would've retorted! Scott couldn't believe he'd been so stupid to let that fly out from his mouth, the looks of horror and surprise from his teammates burned into his memory as they called from a break so he could collect himself and think up an excuse to cover his ass.

While he brainstormed excuses, the bathroom door flew open as a burly light brown skinned man with long dark brown hair burst in, quickly slamming the door behind him shut..

Lance. Had he come to shred into Summers just as Logan and Jean had done? Scott closed his eyes and lifted his glasses to rub his eyes, the dark bags evidence for his lack of sleep during these past few months after Xavier's retirement. Yes, he was a little delirious from sleep, maybe that's why he'd snapped at Kelly... He knew Lance of all people would be a little softer and more empathetic to his situation then Logan or Hank, so Scott quietly thanked his lucky stars as he couldn't handle another person yelling at him.

Lance's face, however, was twisted with cold worry and panic as he grabbed Summers by the arm and threw him into a bathroom stall. "Scott, buddy, you need to hide NOW!", Lance hissed, holding the door closed with his muscular frame while he tried to wipe the look of fear off of his face. Scott's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as he hadn't seen Lance so scared and worried since Apocalypse happened! But Lance continued just as Pietro and Wanda came rushing in. Pietro's hair was slicked back as usual, dressed in a white suit with a blue tie that accentuated his striking blue eyes, while Wanda wore a red pantsuit with a black blouse underneath, her now long and wavy black hair neatly combed back to show her face... Especially her now red eyes that were seething with anger and worry for Scott and the verbal rainfire he'd surely experience at the mouth of their froggy friend... Something she was sure Scott wasn't expecting. "Alright.", Wanda hissed, fists balled at her sides as her red eyes sent a shocking glare in the direction of the stall Scott had been shoved into. Even if he couldn't see her, the venom dripping from her mouth was greater then the venom her highschool self always spewed at others.

"What you did has to be the stupidest thing I've seen during a meeting, Summers. You're fucked, not at the hands of the government or SHIELD! No, you have Toad hot on your ass ready to beat some sense into you! So stay in that fucking stall and don't move an inch, don't breathe, don't make a single sound if you want to retain your dignity," Wanda continued, her hands glowing a bright red as she flung them around whilst she warned him. Pietro, on the other hand was uncharacteristically quiet... He was usually so loud and expressive, usually serving as Wanda's sassy back up when dishing out her venomous responses and tirades, but not today. Instead he leaned against the sink biting his thumb nail nervously. He too knew what Toad was planning to do, the man having gone from the smelly and obnoxious bloke with a small uneducated vocabulary to a man who could more then competently tear some apart both physically and verbally, all while maintaining a dead and cold look in his eyes that made people shiver.

The door to the bathroom crashed open as it was almost ripped off the hinges from the force, the desperate shouting of both Kurt and Fred audible in the background as Toad slammed said door shut once his slim frame had entered into the bathroom. Oh how he'd enjoy just eviscerating Scott's dignity!

Scott peeked over the bathroom stall gingerly, eyes widening as he looked at Todd.. Who'd gone from a short and smelly teen boy with desaturated greyish ivory skin and greyish brown hair and yellow eyes to a green and ivory skinned tall-ish man with rich brown hair and vibrant green eyes with off-black schlera.. Speaking of which, said eyes darted around the room before getting a glimpse of Scott's reddish brown hair peeking over the bathroom stall. Todd growled as he shoved past Lance and threw open the door, webbed hands reaching into grab Scott and drag him out angrily. Scott's back collided with the floor as Todd stood over him, vibrant eyes glaring down at him while his mouth opened to speak.

"To-" "Congratulations," He began. "You were so stupid, as in an 'open all the cages in the zoo' kind of stupid! But instead of cages it's the floodgates for purifiers and the MRD to come in and justify everything they do. Congratulations, Summers! You've put the institute at risk, you've put mutants at risk, and you just inadvertently gave our enemies in Congress and the streets an excuse to amp up their blatant racism! Jean asked you to take a break! Everyone asked you to take a break and you refused to! And for what? To protect your ego?!" Toad shouted, lips curling back to reveal that sharp fangs that had grown in place of his human teeth... Sharp teeth that could rip Scott's throat out if he so wished! Toad must've been exerting a monumental amount of restraint in order to not do so.

"I didn't mean to say that, ok?! It just flew out!" "Oh so you admit you're 15 year old me, huh?" "No! I'm just saying I didn't mean to say it!"

"Tell that to the purifiers who'll begin rioting! Tell that to the MRD who will soon start cracking down on us all because you thought you could shut down schoolyard taunts with a response so yeah, congratulations! You may not think it, Summers... But shit's bouta' get a whole hell of a lot harder for ALL of us! Not just you!"

@yee-honks

@amberallure

@comicgoth666

@thecozycryptid

@ohmygillygoshoppler

@thephoenixfirescout

COME GET FED

[aion-rsa]

How Malignant’s Monster Calls Back to Stephen King

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Malignant article contains spoilers.

Malignant has a twist so wild you need to see it to believe it. Seriously, stop reading right now if you have even the faintest interest in watching James Wan‘s latest horror offering. You really don’t want to spoil this for yourself. Sure, you’ll either really love or absolutely hate the movie’s batshit third act, but the experience of watching the twist for the first time is worth the price of admission.

If you have watched the movie, maybe you left as astonished as I did. After all, the first two thirds of the movie play like a standard giallo-inspired slasher film before things go completely off the rails. You might say that some of the clues were there all along — indeed they are, maybe you saw this coming from a mile away — but when you thought you’d put it all together, did you really expect Wan to go through with something so ridiculous? I certainly said, “No, that can’t be it” to myself midway through the movie when the clues started adding up. It’s a new direction for Wan to be sure…

But Wan’s first trip into a new sub-genre of horror isn’t necessarily without outside influence. There’s a bit of David Cronenberg mixed with hints of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but for the most obvious inspiration you have to look to the King of Horror himself.

Before we talk about Stephen King, you might be wondering what the hell was going on with Gabriel in the first place.

Gabriel Origin Explained

Safari Riot’s cover of the classic Pixies song “Where Is My Mind” seems so out of place when it first blasts through a scene in the movie, an over-the-top accompaniment to what seems like your standard slasher flick, but it’s actually incredibly appropriate — not just for the massive tone shift but the plot itself. (“Where Is My Mind” is also the iconic tune that accompanies the final scene of Fight Club, another tale of split personalities.) Madison’s (Annabelle Wallis) mind has been playing tricks on her (and the audience) the entire time. She thinks her creepy childhood imaginary friend Gabriel has somehow taken corporeal form and started murdering everyone who had a hand in “separating” him from her. But little does Madison know that the separation was much more literal than her simply forgetting a figment of her imagination when her baby sister Syndey (Maddie Hasson) was born.

It’s Sydney who discovers the truth when she goes back to the institution where Madison spent her early childhood before being adopted by their mother Jeanne (Susanna Thompson). In the basement of the abandoned Simion Research Hospital, Sydney finds the harrowing tapes that reveal Madison’s past with her “imaginary friend.”

Madison was born Emily May to a 15-year-old girl named Serena (Jean Louise Kelly as an adult, Madison Wolfe as a teen) who is forced to give her away to the institution by her mother due to Emily’s…medical condition. In a stunningly gruesome sequence of body horror, we learn that Emily was born with a parasitic twin attached to her head and spinal cord, which allows it to control her movements and thoughts. The doctors at Simion at first diagnose Gabriel as a “massive teratoma,” a malignant tumor that can grow with fully developed organs and tissue, but as we see in the movie’s opening sequence, they soon learn that this is something much worse and decide to cut him out off of Emily for good.

But they can’t get rid of Gabriel completely. Because the siblings attached at the brain, the doctors are forced to remove as much of Gabriel as they can, hiding what’s left inside her skull. Of course that means that Gabriel never truly goes away. He continues to speak to Emily, now Madison, from inside her head, at one point almost convincing her to kill Jeanne while pregnant with Sydney.

While Madison eventually forgets her “imaginary friend” as an adult, Gabriel returns after Madison’s piece of shit husband Derek (Jake Abel) brutally slams her head against a wall during an altercation. (Let’s just say I’m glad he’s dead.) The injury reawakens what’s left of Gabriel, who can reemerge through her head wound to control and contort Madison’s body and go on his killing spree. Madison experiences these murders as visions, as she watches her sibling slash his way through all the doctors that tried to destroy him as well as the mother who gave him away in the first place. Madison’s only able to stop him after he’s already massacred a police station full of cops and prisoners and made his way to the hospital to kill Sydney and Serena. Using the mental link she has with Gabriel, Madison manages to lock her sibling away, promising that next time he reemerges, she’ll “be ready for him,” setting up an inevitable sequel and a new horror franchise for Wan.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Gabriel and the Dark Half

Constant Readers will undoubtedly spend the weekend pointing out that Gabriel’s plot to control his sister in order to go on a murder spree is very reminiscent of one of Stephen King’s most famous books and movies, The Dark Half. The book and the movie directed by the late, great George A. Romero tells the story of Thad Beaumont (played by Timothy Hutton in the film), a writer of literary fiction in a bit of a slump by day. But he has a far more successful career by night as the author of dark crime novels under the pen name “George Stark.” Yet, the success of his Stark books feels like a curse to Thad, who is driven to heavy drinking and other vices when “the spell” of Stark’s prose. Now, a recovering alcoholic, Thad wishes to leave Stark behind and just write the literary fiction his agent and editor deem “boring.”

When the truth about Thad’s pen name comes out, the writer sees the perfect way to bury his career as George Stark once and for all — by throwing his pseudonym an actual funeral at the local cemetery. But Mr. Stark doesn’t like that very much. Thad’s pen name inexplicably “rises from the grave” to kill everyone he blames for his death — Thad’s editor, agent, and more.

You’re probably thinking it was Thad all along, but this is more than just another case of split personalities. Like in Wan’s latest, Stark was once actually very real, the sibling Thad absorbed in utero…except for a couple of teeth and an eye living inside of Thad’s brain. The “tumor” is removed from Thad’s head as a child, but he’s somehow unknowingly kept the spirit of his sibling alive through the books he writers, undoubtedly under Stark’s dark influence. It’s the kind of gory, supernatural twist King is best known for, and Wan sets out to celebrate the book with style. Mind you, this obviously isn’t a direct adaptation of King’s work but more like a spiritual successor to the book that pushes the plot much further into the ridiculous than even the writer did in 1989. Leave it to Wan to dream up an action sequence where a backwards (literally), contorting serial killer stabs his way through a building full of people to the sound of shredding guitars.

Even if you think Malignant‘s third act twist is an absolute mess, I’d argue it’s at least an interesting mess, a daring experiment in a corner of the horror genre we’ve not seen enough of in the past few years. Will this experiment lead to a new movement in body horror movies just as Saw for better or worse inspired years of “torture porn” movies and The Conjuring brought us the horror expanded universe? That remains to be seen. At the very least, Malignant is the kind of movie you’ll want to debate about with your friends as you exit the theater, even if it’s just to say you absolutely hated the twist. Aren’t you at least glad you saw it for yourself? The twist just isn’t as good on paper.

Malignant is out now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

The post How Malignant’s Monster Calls Back to Stephen King appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3twQgAE

[agent-bash]

Confessions from the Firehouse

And we’re actually at the firehouse, and on shift. For those who have never come across one of these from me before, lets break it down for you.

Me and my co-workers work a 24h shift, that means we do get some downtime. And in that down time we do, well a lot of things, but TV is a popular choice. You’d be amazed at the shows that play on the house TVs. Boy do some of us like our soaps, and the CW (and I’m not talking Arrowverse, well I’m not just talking Arrowverse). And of course we watch One Chicago, Wednesday is actually the most agreed upon nights of TV on my shift. This little series actually started out with Agents of Shield. I usually pick one or two co-workers to do with me, for long time follows who are used to this Bex is back and she is our resident Fire fan. Joining us is who we’re going to call Needle (for anyone who has read my flu shot series, he’s the inspiration for that). It’s basically just us answering some fandom questions we’ve had or seen floating around, and while some of us have some controversial opinions, that is just our opinions. I do redact some of the more extreme views, like you’ll see in this one, but typically its just a fun time for us.

Alright enough of this preamble lets get into it. Today’s topic of conversation, to get us going and shake off the dust: Who is your favourite and least favourite One Chicago Character (current cast only). Look for our answers under the cut’

BEX

Favourite: Stella Kidd, Stella Kidd, Stella Kidd. Did she say Stella Kidd? Because it’s totally Stella Kidd. I didn’t even get the question out before she said Stella Kidd. A badass Firefighter? One who is funny, sassy, strong, driven, kind, compassionate and drop dead gorgeous? Seriously what’s there not to like, nay, Love, about Stella Kidd? For real Bex is pretty sure the only people who don’t like Stella are just jealous because they aren't the ones sleeping with Kelly Severide/filming those kinds of scenes with Taylor. Bring on all the LT Kidd this season please. She cares more about that than the Stellaride Wedding.

Least Favourite: Will Halstead. HOW IS HE STILL A DOCTOR?!? How is nearly everyone on med still a medical professional?!? Like she’s had to suspend disbelief for Fire (and she’s way better at it than me) but can any doctor actually sit through med? Make it make sense! And while they’re all guilty of it, he’s the worst of the bunch. And he’s such a douche, no wonder Jay took a swing. Can he do it again? Why couldn’t they have done a time jump to actually keep April around as a nurse practitioner, and had Will go off to join Natalie (another she’s not fond of). See how much malpractice the gruesome twosome can commit at other hospitals before their licenses are revoked.

Needle

Favourite: Capp! Dude need some more story lines, he’s such a riot. Like bump him up and have Hermann or Mouch take more of a back seat. He’s so worried about him (he hasn’t seen the spoilers and I ain’t telling him!) Because it’s totally something fire would do, give us a little bit more about the character only to kill them that same day. But yeah, he wishes Capp had a bigger role, because he likes funny characters, and no one is as funny as Capp.

Least favourite: Adam Ruzek. Some of you think I’m anti-Adam, because I gotta tell you (or warn you) I got nothing on Needles with that. He HATES him. I’ve spent an hour scouring my notes seeing what I actually feel comfortable posting based on what he said. The tamest I can write is this: he thinks Adam is a violent prick, who never learns or admits his mistakes, who expects everyone to give him a pass because ‘He’S LoVeAbLe,’ who’s only goal in being a cop is to be Voight, and bring back the days of old school policing. He went into a lot more detail than this, but honestly even this is pushing the boundaries of what I feel comfortable posting. (I have the notes for everything but I’m gonna leave it here, DM me if you want to know the full level of hatred and why).

Me

Favourite: I have a revolving door of three, that I’m sure come as no surprise to anyone here: Kevin, Hailey and Jay. They all take top spot depending on the day. Gut instinct this time into say Kevin (probably because just finished watching Protect and Serve again). We know tragically little about Kevin, especially compared to everyone else who has been there since the beginning, and I really want to know more. LaRoyce kills ever scene he’s in, from the comedic to the emotional so you know we’d be in for a treat no matter what. Other than a love interest I really want to see some storylines from him that don’t revolve around reform or his family. He’s the one I really want to see get that Detective’s badge, and I’d also like to see him taking on a bigger role in the Unit as well.

Least Favourite: Gallo. He annoys the Hell out of me. I think he just reminds me too much of a dude I went to the academy with. And, well, his career didn’t end so good.

[dustedmagazine]

Devendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson — Refuge (Dead Oceans)

Photo by Lauren Dukoff

Refuge by Devendra Banhart, Noah Georgeson

Devendra Banhart and his longtime producer Noah Georgeson had been talking about making an ambient album together for years before the pandemic hit. Banhart’s interest in non-western philosophical traditions aligned with Georgeson’s fascination with deep listening composers like Pauline Oliveros. Both had dallied with all sorts of countercultural influences; both had a sneaking fondness for new age music. But when the lockdown came and the two friends could no longer meet face to face, the project gained new impetus. Among the necessary things in short supply in 2020 — like toilet paper, baking yeast and dried pasta — calming music came near the top of the list.

And so, working remotely Banhart and Georgeson reached out to mostly LA-based artists they’d worked with before. Make something beautiful and simple and resonant, they urged. Send it back to us. As sounds arrived piecemeal, the two shaped them into compositions of deep stillness and minimalist beauty. Refuge is just what it sounds like, a quiet space carved out of confusion; an offering of lucid, solitary tones that glow softly and fade into silence. Two of the cuts were serene enough to make the Calm app’s selection of soothing music.

Listening to Refuge requires a bit of mental adjustment. Notes come at widely spaced intervals with plenty of silence between, so that they seem like separate sensations rather than a connected run of melody. Things change very slowly. Sounds unfold like flowers, unfurling and then retracting as if responding to sunlight. Nothing much seems to happen. And yet that nothing, that stillness, that blossoming aura is quite beautiful, and as you listen details begin to emerge. “Rise from your Wave,” for instance, throws up gently corroded arcs of pedal steel (that’s Aircrafting’s Nicole Lawrence), the notes decaying as they slide off into silence. “Pelopennese Lament,” begins in a wandering ghost of clarinet, played by David Ralicke, a composer and musician who has played with Banhart before, but also Beck, Lucinda Williams and many others. “In a Cistern” lets loose a glistening string of harp notes—Mary Lattimore no less—that is so clear and precise and full of clarity that it seems like the platonic ideal of harp music, rather than the thing itself. After a while, tendrils of pedal steel curl around this lattice, subsuming its regularity in a riot of organic tone and overtone.

Towards the end, the two musicians incorporate some spoken word into their glacially paced, temperately volumed soundscapes, threading a bit of narrative into inchoate mists of aural sensation. But that narrative, too, tunes into otherworldly vibrations. “Asura Cave” begins in the rumble of thunder and encompasses Buddhist chant and meditation. “I have this feeling I’m about to…” says an uncredited voice a couple of times, but about to what? It nudges right up to the ineffable, communing with it without trying to explicate its meaning.  “May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease” intones another voice at the end of “Sky Burial,” a closing benediction at a spiritual service that has so far been without words.

Refuge clocks in at over an hour, an hour in which, as stated earlier, not a whole lot of stuff happens. And yet maybe it takes that long to clear out the buzz and chatter, to slow down, to focus on one sound at a time and to find a stillness. It’s too long, it’s too slow, it’s too eventless until it’s not, and then you’re there.  

Jennifer Kelly

[beansonbread2]

BEANSONBREAD AWARDS 2020 - BEST SONG

AWARD NO.3 - BEST SONG OF 2020

PAST WINNERS

2019 > Weyes Blood ‘Andromeda’ (see full list HERE)

2018 > Let’s Eat Grandma ‘It’s Not Just Me’ (see full list HERE)

2017 > Richard Dawson ‘Ogre’ (see full list HERE)

2016 > Solange ‘Cranes In the Sky’ (see full list HERE)

2015 > Kendrick Lamar ‘The Blacker The Berry’ (see full list HERE)

2014 > FKA Twigs ‘Two Weeks’ (see full list HERE)

2013 > Oliver Wilde ‘Perrett’s Brook’ (see full list HERE)

2010 > Untold ‘Stop What You’re Doing (James Blake Remix) (see full list HERE)

2009 > Joker - ‘Digidesign’ (see full list HERE)

2008 > Lil’ Wayne - ‘A Milli’ (see full list HERE)

2007 > Panda Bear - ‘Bros’ (see full list HERE)

2006 > Hot Chip - ‘Over And Over’ (see full list HERE)

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RULES - A maximum of THREE tracks from any one artist. Songs can be tied in the same position.

-

*SPOTIFY PLAYLIST WITH (ALMOST) ALL THE TRACKS*

-

THE RUNNERS UP (in alphabetical order)..

100 Gecs, Count Baldor, GFOTY ‘Stupid Horse (remix)’

645AR ‘Bible And A K’ 

A.G. Cook ‘Silver’ 

Alabaster DePlume ‘Whisky Story Time’

Amaarae ‘Hellz Angel’

Arca ‘Time’

Arlo Parks ‘Black Dog’

Ashnikko ‘Daisy’

Blackpink & Selena Gomez ‘Ice Cream’

Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion ‘WAP’

Caribou ‘New Jade’ / ‘Home’

CHAI ‘No More Cake’

Chloe x Halle ‘Do It’

Clipping ‘96 Neve Campbell’

Cornershop ‘St Marie Under Canon’ / ‘No Rock Save In Roll’

Crack Cloud ‘Favour Your Fortune’

Dan Deacon ‘Become A Mountain’ / ‘Sat By A Tree’

Darkstar ‘Jam’ 

Dean Blunt, Joanne Robertson, Vegyn ‘Troll’

Deerhoof ‘Future Teenage Cave Artists’ / ‘Sympathy For The Baby Boo’

Dirty Projectors ‘Overlord’

DJ Douggpound ‘Creamed Popcorn On The Cob’ 

Dorian Electra ‘Sorry Bro (I Love You)’

Doves ‘Prisoners’

Dry Cleaning ‘Scratchcard Lanyard’

Dua Lipa ‘Hallucinate’

Fenne Lily ‘Alapathy’ / ‘Solipsism’

Fiona Apple ‘Shameika’

FLOHIO ‘Unveiled’

Gerard Black, Rozi Plain, Jamie Whitby-Coles 'Beiggy'

Giant Swan ‘Silkworm’

Good Sad Happy Bad ‘Blessed’ / ‘Star’

The Go! Team ‘Cookie Scene’

Grimes ‘Delete Forever’

Gupi & Fraxiom ‘Thos Moser’

HAIM ‘The Steps’

Happy Spendy ‘Feelings 2’

Hen Ogledd ‘Trouble’

Hot Chip ‘Worlds Within Worlds’

Janelle Monae ‘Turntables’

Jane Weaver ‘The Revolution Of Super Visions’

Jay Electronica ‘Ghost Of Soulja Slim’ / ‘Shiny Suit Theory’

Jessy Lanza ‘Anyone Around’ / ‘Lick In Heaven’

Jpegmafia ‘Bald!’

Kayla Painter ‘Prey At Night’

Kelly Lee Owens ‘Arpeggi’ / ‘Melt!’

King Creosote ‘Susie Mullen’

King Krule ‘Stoned Again’

Lambchop ‘Reservations’

Laura Marling ‘Strange Girl’

The Lemon Twigs ‘The One’

LICE ‘Conveyor’ & ‘Arbiter’ 

Lil B ‘I’m Kanye’

Lil Uzi Vert ‘POP’

Little Simz ‘Might Bang, Might Not’

Magdalena Bay ‘Story’

Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu ‘Renegade Breakdown’

Michael ‘Sole Trader’

Mogwai ‘Dry Fantasy’

Moses Sumney ‘Virile’

Mumble Tide ‘Love Thing’

Nadine Shah ‘Club Cougar’

Noname ‘Song 33’

The Orielles ‘Space Samba (Disco Volador Theme)’

Oro Swimming Hour ‘Cold Tangerina’ / ‘Crocodile’

Park Hye Jin ‘Like This’

Pa Salieu ‘Betty’

Paula, Povoa, Jerge ‘Primavera’

Pet Shimmers ‘Thawed Out Plainclothes Demon’ / ‘Snake Eats A Lady’

Phoebe Bridgers ‘Garden Song’

Pictish Trail ’Bad Algebra’

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs ‘Reducer’ / ‘Rubbernecker’

Planet 1999 ‘Replay’

Planningtorock ‘Jam Fam - Chanel Show Version’

Poppy ‘Fill The Crown’

Pottery ‘Texas Drums Pt. I & II’

Pozi ‘Whitewashing’

Princess Nokia ‘Green Eggs & Ham’

Remi Wolf ‘Woo!’ / ‘Photo I.D’

Rico Nasty ‘IPHONE’

RMR ‘Rascal’

Run The Jewels ‘Yankee And The Brave (ep.4)’

SAULT ‘Stop Dem’ / ‘Wildfires’

Scalping ‘Deadlock’

Sega Bodega ‘Salv Goes To Hollywood’

Sleaford Mods ‘Mork n Mindy’

Soccer Mommy ‘Bloodstream’ / ‘Crawling In My Skin’

Spectres ‘Tanning The Albatross’ / ‘On Nepotism’

Sufjan Stevens ‘Video Game’

SZA (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) ‘Hit Different’

This Is The Kit ‘Coming To Get You Nowhere’ / ‘This Is What You Did’

Thundercat ‘Black Qualls’

Tierra Whack ‘Peppers and Onions’ & ‘Dora’

Tim Heidecker ‘Come Away With Me’

Tkay Maidza ‘Shook’ / ‘Grasshopper’

Urkt ‘Rich Now’ / ‘Sour’

Warm Digits (feat. Rozi Plain) ‘Everyone Nervous’

Wasuremono ‘Big Big Smiles’

The Weeknd ‘Blinding Lights’

Wesley Gonzalez ‘Wind Your Neck In’

Wharfwhit ‘Bangers’

Willie J Healey ‘Fashun’

Working Men’s Club ‘White Rooms And People’ / ‘Valleys’

Yard Act ‘Fixer Upper’ / ‘Peanuts’

Yves Tumor ‘Kerosene!’

---

THE TOP 70 SONGS OF 2020

70. Black Midi ‘Sweater’

69. 645AR ‘Sum Bout U (feat. FKA Twigs)’

68. King Krule ‘Alone, Omen 3’

67. Savage Mansion ‘Weird Country’

66. Pet Shimmers ‘Madonna’s People’

65. Daniel Blumberg ‘Teethgritter’

64. Katy J Pearson ‘Take Back The Radio’

63. A.G. Cook ‘Oh Yeah’

62. Kelly Lee Owens (feat. John Cale) ‘Corner Of My Sky’

61. Moses Sumney ‘Me In 20 Years’

---

60. Alexia Avina ‘Fit Into’

59. Kero Kero Bonito ‘Fortune Teller’

58. The Avalanches feat. Blood Orange ‘We Will Always Love You’

57. Yaeji ‘Waking Up Down’

56. Black Country, New Road ‘Science Fair’

55. These New Puritans ‘The Mirage’

54. Clementine March ‘Le Continent’

53. Shygirl ‘Freak’ / ‘Leng’

52. Ed Dowie ‘Robot Joy Army’

51. Pa Salieu (feat. Mahalia) ‘Energy’

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50. Office Hours (Tim Heidecker, Fred Armisen & Daniel Cupps) ‘Brick By Brick’

49. Gorillaz (feat. Peter Hook & Georgia) ‘Aries’

48. Amaarae ‘Fancy’

47. Alabaster DePlume ‘Visit Croatia’

46. Pictish Trail ‘Fear Anchor’

45. Yves Tumor ‘Gospel For A New Century’

44. Dean Blunt ‘As Long As Ropes Unravel Fake Rolex Will Travel’

43. Oneohtrix Point Never ‘I Don’t Love Me Anymore’

42. Thundercat ‘Dragonball Durag’

41. Kero Kero Bonito ‘It’s Bugsnax!’

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40. Perfume Genius ‘On The Floor’

39. Dua Lipa ‘Levitating’

38. Rina Sawayama ‘Comme Des Garcons (Like The Boys)’

37. Pozi ‘The Nightmare’

36. Jockstrap ‘Acid VAPOURWAVE rap RMX’

35. Magdalena Bay ‘Airplane’

34. Arca & Rosalia ‘KLK’

33. Squid ‘Sludge’

32. 100 Gecs feat. Charli XCX, Kero Kero Bonito, Rico Nasty ‘Ringtone (Remix)’

31. Bonnie Prince Billy ‘In Good Faith’

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30. Good Sad Happy Bad ‘Shades’

29. Charli XCX ‘Claws’ / ‘Forever’

28. Bill Callahan, Bonnie Prince Billy, Dead Rider ‘Our Anniversary’

27. Pictish Trail ‘Lead Balloon’

26. Jockstrap ‘The City’ 

25. Oneohtrix Point Never ‘Auto & Allo’

24. Katy J Pearson ‘Hey You’

23. Self Esteem ‘Favourite Problem (Alternative version)’

22. Tim Heidecker ‘Nothing’

21. SAULT ‘Free’

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20. Moses Sumney ‘Cut Me’

19. Shygirl ‘Slime’

18. Charli XCX ‘7 Years’

17. Rina Sawayama ‘XS’

16. The Flaming Lips ‘Flowers Of Neptune 6’

15. Wesley Gonzalez ‘Change’

14. Perfume Genius ‘Describe’

13. Dorian Electra (feat. Village People & Pussy Riot) ‘My Agenda’

12. Crack Cloud ‘Ouster Stew’

11. The Flaming Lips ‘Will You Return/When You Come Down’

10. Dorian Electra ‘Gentleman’

9. Tim Heidecker ‘Property’

8. Tara Clerkin Trio ‘In The Room’

7. Planet 1999 ‘Party’

6. Phoebe Bridgers ‘Kyoto’

5. Laura Marling ‘Held Down’

4. Crack Cloud ‘Post Truth’

3. The Flaming Lips ‘At The Movies On Quaaludes’

2. Oneohtrix Point Never ‘Long Road Home’

1. Jockstrap ‘Acid’

[ladyshilya]

Supergirl: The Missing Link

I tool last week off because I needed a break. Last episode showed us how Lex was controlling everything that was happening at Obsidian through the manipulation of Eve. Let’s see what happens with bringing Rama Khan back.

The episode starts with Brainy talking with Lex about what he has been doing very specifically releasing the Suneater. Brainy wonders how is suppose to stand by while his friends get hurt. Team Supergirl tries to figure out if Leviathan was the one who released the Suneater and how Lena got to the fortress at the same time as Supergirl being there. Kara and Alex use a contact of Kelly’s to find out more on Leviathan. Gemma decides to bring Rama Khan back in to deal with the Supers.

J’onn can’t find any sign if Leviathan. Nia uses her dream powers to find out where Leviathan is hiding. Kara leaves Alex in order to see some new information William found. It seems William found proof that the message Margot had sent was done with an image changer. J’onn lets Kara know they found out where Leviathan is and Kara leaves to help them. 

M’gann, J’onn, Dreamer and Supergirl all battle Rama Khan and are able to capture him. Brainy comes in with the DEO to take Rama Khan and Dreamer and Supergirl follow because they want to be able to question him. Brainy talks with Rama Khan in his native language. Brainy lets Rama Khan know that he too is working with Lex and will help him escape if he brings them to his ship. While watching all of this Dreamer has a vision of Rama Khan’s staff scanning the DEO. Rama Khan askes Brainy why would he want to leave when he did everything to get there. Rama Khan breaks out of his restraints and attacks the DEO, destroying it. Dreamer confronts Brainy with how he has been acting and asks him to tell her want he is doing. Since he can’t Dreamer then tells him she will pick a side for him. 

Kara is worried because Leviathan has kryptonite and without Lena to help build her a kryptonite suit she will be vulnerable. J’onn assure Kara they will be able to be Levianthan. After Kara leaves J’onn and M’gann have a moment and kiss. 

William and Kelly investigate an employee number which happens to belong to Tess. Kelly remembers everything Tess did in the past and is concerned. When they bring up their concerns to Andrea. She tells them there is nothing in Tess’s past to show any concerns and Gemma was the one to recommend her. If they continue with this then they might want to leave the company. 

Alex stays with Pete to find out more about Leviathan but they hit a dead end. It seems he can’t get anymore information. When Alex tries to break into the special archives someone shoots at them. They worry about Pete’s family and Alex apologizes for pushing. Pete understand because he had been in the military. At times it hard to let that go but it is something that needs to be let go.

Also going on the inmates praising Lena for all she has done for them but one of the inmates attacks. Lex offers to help Lena figure out what happen to the inmates Non Nocere. It seem their eyes change before they start attacking. At the same time their bodies are overriding Non Nocere and are treating it like its the flu. Lex, Lena and Steve all try to make it to her office since she thinks another blast will help restore Non Nocere. While they run to her office during the riot Steve gets attacked and Lex helps save him. In the office Lena sends out another Non Nocere blast which knocks out many of the inmates or pacifies them. When Lena talks to Steve she finds out he no longer feels at peace anymore. 

Lena begins to realize that her project will never work. The human body will always adapt because pain is apart of life. Lena also realizes Lex knew the whole time her project would fail. I think we all knew her project would fail. When Lena confronts Lex, he explodes at her. Saying how he helped her and didn’t sabotage anything just so she could see her project fail. Lena also learns Lex plans on using some of her work to help with he’s plans for Leviathan and Obsidian. She refused to work with him.

Lex has the prison blown up. He also gets his meeting with Leviathan. Alex and Kelly talk about what happened. Kelly will stay at Obsidian to help keep digging but she realizes she will need to wear a mask. Alex might also want to consider wearing a mask. William trails Tess who notices him following her. She puts a hood over his head. 

Lena goes to see Kara where she tells her how her project failed. How Lex used her and is planning on using her work to help with Leviathan and Obsidian. Lena confirms that Lex is working with Leviathan and is planning on using Obsidian. Lena wants to help bring both Leviathan and Lex down.

First thing I am so happy there it not more crazy Lena. I get it she was hurt and we have all been crazy from our hurt before but she was becoming Luthor crazy. I hope this will be the start of Lena and Kara mending their friendship. I am worried about William. I am not sure what Tess is going to do to him but we all know she doesn’t want to kill anymore so hopefully she will stick to that. I respect what Nia did with Brainy. She still cares about him but if he is not on their side then she and the teams to do what is best for them. It was a really good boundary moment. 

Until next episode which looks like a war between Leviathan, Lex and the Supers. Lets hope there will be some friendship repairing between Lena and Kara as well as Brainy with the rest of the team. Of course I would love Nia and Brainy to get back together but its too soon for that.

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Obi-Wan vs. Kakashi

This episode is released to Youtube on May 4th. So, may the Fourth be with you.

Obi-Wan′s Preview.

So, before going into this, just be warned: Boomstick has a bunch of Obi-Wan Liners. Let’s get started.

We open up on Tatooine, and our first Obi-Wan Liner, because old Ben was actually Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time.

And of course, the classic “Hello there.”

They go over his brief story of training under Liam Neeson, and his rise through the rankings of Jedi Knights. And for the record, yes. I’ll be referring to them as “knights” as opposed to Boomstick’s “Samurai Space Wizards.”

Anyways, they also go over Kenobi’s relation to The Force. The energy that’s all around the universe and allows Obi-Wan to do incredible things.

It also leads us into our first Wiz/Boomstick segment!

Aside from the Force, they also go over some of Obi-Wan’s techniques and other parts of his arsenal.

And they also go over several novels that help give Obi-Wan an edge up as well.

And the Force is no joke. There’s a reason why I’m capitalizing it all the time.

And it wouldn’t be a true Obi-Wan rundown if they didn’t mention his ultimate weapon:

The High Ground.

A powerful technique that he copied from Darth Maul. It gives him all sorts of advantages.

Kenobi also scales to other Force-Users, like Anakin. Which is brought up when pre-Vader did a Force feat that puts the ability to move massive dreadnaughts at massively relativistic speeds.

And to pull that off, it would need over 21 Megatons of TNT. And that was when Anakin was a newbie.

Of course, they do go over some of Obi-Wan’s weaknesses, like his dedication to the Jedi Order, trying to trick Luke into killing his father, and that time when he uh… Dropped the ball when it came to Anakin.

But even at his worst, Obi-Wan is a protector of the innocent, the universe, and the next generation. Sacrificing himself in service of a New Hope…

And then Boomstick ruins the moment by then declaring that Old Ben then became a ghost!

Yeah, let’s be real… This was the only way they could have ended it.

Kakashi′s Preview.

So, apparently it’s not just the kids who had dead parents, it’s the adults too!

The hosts go over the accomplishments that Kakashi had over the years, and how his dad was disgraced for saving his friends rather than prioritizing a mission… And how his dad committed Seppuku. Dick move Ninja Village.

Regardless, the hosts go over his accomplishments. Becoming a Genin at age five, a Chunin at age six, and a Jonin at age twelve. And yes, I copy-pasted that from the wiki because screw actually writing that out.

To be honest, the most “memey” thing about Kakashi’s preview is the “One Thousand Years of Death” technique he has. And while I can understand that Kakashi’s preview isn’t supposed to be “memey”, It’s a tad jarring when Obi-Wan’s was full of memes.

Anyways, the hosts note that Kakashi is most familiar with Lightning. And specifically, that he made a jutsu called the Chidori that got its nickname when it was used to cut a bolt of lightning.

Now, when Kakashi invented it, he ran into a problem… Literally.

He can’t really see that well when using it. So, once he starts moving, he can’t stop.

Until a friend of his gave him a Sharingan.

With this, the hosts note that Kakashi has stolen over a thousand techniques. But, they also note that since he’s not an Uchiha… he can’t really turn it off.

And then his friends all died! Which leads us to our next animated segment.

(I can never spell “Mangekyo” right… This is what I get for being a Transformers fan as opposed to a Naruto fan).

We get a list of feats, and a quick scaling test by way of Jiraiya. Remember him?- He’s the old pervert who carved up a mountain.

Anyways, this comes out to about 18 Megatons of TNT.

And after all the trauma that Kakashi endured, he finally found out that the ways of old were not the way that should be taught. And he lives on, knowing that he trained the next generation to do better than his could.

… Like I said: not a Naruto fan, so I have no idea what significance that this has.

The Battle Itself.

Doovan Hohdan, Daitomodachi, and Devil Artemis are back for an SFM animation. Obi-Wan will be voiced by Steven Kelly and Kakashi will be voiced by Nicholas Andrew Louie. Force and Lightning by Therewolf, and audio led by Chris Kokkinos.

So, after crashing into Konohagakure, Obi-Wan “celebrates” his landing, and opens up the only way Obi-Wan could:

Now, credit where it’s due: Obi-Wan tries to resolve this without violence. Looks like we know where Luke got it from. If all Star Wars DEATH BATTLE combatants start by them trying to diffuse the situation, I’d say that these guys know what they’re doing when it comes to portraying them as normal… Y’know, minus the removed morals.

Obviously, Obi-Wan not going to let Kakashi just outright kill him, so he starts defending.

Now, it takes a while for Kakashi to take the fight seriously. He keeps readinng his book while fighting and it takes some heavy blows to get him to put it down.

Obi-Wan declares that he has the high ground, and unfortunately, that’s too much power to be contained in one screenshot. But, Kakashi manages to counter Obi-Wan’s almighty High Ground technique.

But, Obi-Wan has the force on his side, so being buried isn’t going to stop him.

Now, the fight rages on, and it’s pretty clear that any physical blows are kinda-sorta leaning in Obi-Wan’s favor a bit. Kakashi puts in more effort when countering than Obi-Wan does. Maybe that’s just Kenobi’s calm demeanor, or Kakashi’s hotheadedness though.

Regardless, Kakashi opts to put Obi-Wan into an illusion for a  striking blow.

So, with the illusion dispelled (Seriously. First Hiei, now Kenobi. Will any illusion-character be able to land that move?), Obi-Wan counters.

And he counters HARD.

Kakashi doesn’t break easily though, so he starts using lightning.

The two get ready for a charging blow, so finishing move in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Another Sasuke vs. Hiei parallel: it takes a moment for Kakashi to actually die.

Also, has anyone noticed that all the Naruto mentors die at the end of their respective battles? (Yeah, I’m kinda cheating with Might-Might, but still.)

Verdict + Explanation.

So, right off the bat, Kakashi has the edge in versatility. Hands down.

For starters, Obi-Wan isn’t going to be running out of fuel anytime soon. Chakra is internal, and the Force is external. And since it’s not a Chakra technique, Kakashi couldn’t copy it.

And the mountain feat is about on par with the dreadnaught feat, so they looked to be pretty even on power… At first glance.

Remember, Anakin gained power over the course of the series. By the time that the two fought, Anakin was much more powerful. So it stands to reason that Obi-Wan, who matched him, would also be on a similar level of power.

Obi-Wan could also tear apart General Grevious’ armor, which could tank blasts from star destroyers. And while it’s a little unreasonable to say that he could do this with his bare hands, the Force definitely can.

In terms of speed, Obi-Wan could react many times faster than Kakashi, meaning that Kakashi wouldn’t have a whole lot of opportunities to actually land a blow. Combined with the precognitive powers that the Force gives Kenobi, this means that it would be hard for Kakashi to get in close at all.

The elephant in the room is dismissed, as when Kakashi had the Perfect Susanoo, he was being possessed by the spirit of his friend.

But, even if he did, Obi-Wan is still stronger.

Kyp could move a black hole. And Obi-Wan was directly compared to him. Taking this literally, this comes out to just short of 14 Petatons of TNT.

And as we all know, a Petaton is a whole lot bigger than a Gigaton, that’s for sure.

And this isn’t even counting the fact that Obi-Wan could just crush his organs using the Force.

Damn! Thank god for the Jedi Code. These guys could literally conquer the entire universe if they wanted. Good thing they adopted the Spider-Man ways of taking great responsibility with that power and using it for good. Screw the Sith for going the Green Goblin route.

Overall impression.

So, has anyone noticed that we’ve been getting lessons in these past few battles lately? Cable vs. Booster Gold came with the moral of “the level of seriousness between characters only really matters for their own universes, not in a DEATH BATTLE”, the one before that had the (somewhat humorous) “We’re all beautiful just the way you are, no matter how many arms or whose wife you stole”, and now we have “With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility” delivered through the fact that we have now seen that power, and we’re thankful for the Jedi for holding back.

Aside from that, the fight is really well-choreographed. While it’s hard to discern that Obi-Wann had the speed advantage, it’s pretty clear that he had everything else. It was clear that he was the more level-headed of the two, and that gave him an immediate edge as it showed that he was more or less, holding back. And the ones who hold back the most tend to be the one who has the most power.

And the Obi-One liners are a delight. If there was anything really awesome that came out of the Prequels, it was the Obi-One liners. Ad to think! This airs on May 4 on Youtube… Yeah, cue angry Naruto fans claiming that “Obi only won because May 4.” Ugh… Freaking DEATH BATTLE Curse, amirite?

8.8/10

Next Time…

Oh. Speaking of Spider-Man…

If this isn’t hand-drawn, there will be riots.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Spider-Copycat Combat.

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Riot declared as fire burns in Portland police union offices (AP) A fire inside a police union building led authorities in Portland, Oregon, to declare a riot and force protesters away from the offices as violent demonstrations continue in the city that had hoped for calm after federal agents withdrew more than a week ago. A group of demonstrators broke into the Portland Police Association building, set the fire and were adding to it when officers made the riot declaration late Saturday, police tweeted. Video shot by a journalist shows smoke and flames arising from inside the building. Several hundred people had gathered outside the offices, which are located about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of the federal courthouse that had been the target of nightly violence earlier this summer. The Portland Police Association is a labor union that represents members of the Portland Police Bureau.

For pandemic jobless, the only real certainty is uncertainty (AP) For three decades, Kelly Flint flourished as a corporate travel agent, sending everyone from business titans to oil riggers around the planet. Then came the worst pandemic in a century, leaving her jobless and marooned in an uncertain economy. Furloughed since March, Flint has dipped into her retirement account to pay her bills, frustrated that her $600 weekly emergency federal aid payments have expired. She yearns, too, for an end to the twin disasters that now dominate her life: recession and pandemic. “I don’t deal well with the unknowns,” she says. “I never have.” Across America are legions of Kelly Flints, women and men who don’t know when they’ll receive another paycheck — or if. The coronavirus outbreak and resulting economic upheaval have thrown millions of lives into disarray. Industries have collapsed, businesses closed, jobs disappeared. Compounding the misery is a question no one can answer: When will this all be over? In recent congressional testimony, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell repeated his earlier warning: The strength of any recovery will rely on the nation’s ability to contain the virus. The outlook for the U.S. economy, he said, is “extraordinarily uncertain.” Uncertain. If 2020 had to be condensed into a single word — and there are many, many words to describe it — uncertainty would hover at the top of the list. Uncertainty about health. About the future. About the country itself. And uncertainty about livelihoods and jobs and economic security in a historical moment where each day seems to bring a fresh wave of unwanted developments.

Bolivia Under Blockade as Protesters Choke Access to Cities (NYT) Antigovernment protesters in Bolivia blockaded some of the country’s main roads this past week to challenge the delay of general elections and rebuke the government’s poor response to the coronavirus pandemic. The protesters—who support Bolivia’s former president, Evo Morales—say they have set up 70 roadblocks, marooning about six million residents of three highland regions, including Bolivia’s most important metropolis, La Paz. Already, the blockade has raised fears of food and gasoline shortages, pushing throngs of La Paz residents into the streets to line up outside food markets and gasoline stations. Bolivia’s unrest could be a harbinger of what’s to come elsewhere in Latin America, where citizens are losing faith in their countries’ ability to contain the pandemic, and to mitigate the economic crisis brought on by measures to combat the virus. The pandemic has killed more than 210,000 people in Latin America and plunged its economy into the deepest recession in at least a century, according to the United Nations. Bolivia is suffering one of the biggest outbreaks in the region, when adjusted for population; the virus has killed 3,000, sickened top government officials and overwhelmed hospitals.

When Covid-19 Hit, Many Elderly Were Left to Die (NYT) Of all the missteps by governments during the coronavirus pandemic, few have had such an immediate and devastating impact as the failure to protect nursing homes. Tens of thousands of older people died—casualties not only of the virus, but of more than a decade of ignored warnings that nursing homes were vulnerable. In recent months, the coronavirus outbreak in the United States has dominated global attention, as the world’s richest nation blundered its way into the world’s largest death toll. Some 40 percent of those fatalities have been linked to long-term-care facilities. But even now, European countries lead the world in per capita deaths, in part because of what happened inside their nursing homes. Spanish prosecutors are investigating cases in which residents were abandoned to die. In Sweden, overwhelmed emergency doctors have acknowledged turning away elderly patients. In Britain, the government ordered thousands of older hospital patients—including some with Covid-19—sent back to nursing homes to make room for an expected crush of virus cases. (Similar policies were in effect in some American states.) Few countries embody this lethally ineffective pandemic response more than Belgium, where government officials excluded nursing-home patients from the testing policy until thousands were already dead. Nursing homes were left waiting for proper masks and gowns. When masks did arrive from the government, they came late and were sometimes defective.

Paris makes masks mandatory as virus toll crosses 722,000 (AFP) Paris on Saturday made face masks compulsory outdoors in crowded areas and tourist hotspots, as infections in and around the French capital rose and the global death toll crept past 722,000. The mask will be obligatory for all those aged 11 and over “in certain very crowded zones”, said a police statement. Several French towns and cities have already introduced similar measures, as well as parts of Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain.

Masks in class? Many questions as Germans go back to school (AP) Masks during class, masks only in the halls, no masks at all. Distance when possible, no distance within same-grade groups, no distance at all. As Germany’s 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the country’s famous sense of “Ordnung” has given way to uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. Germany has won plaudits for managing to slow the spread of the coronavirus quickly, efficiently and early, but the opening of schools is proving a new challenge as the country struggles to balance the concerns of anxious parents and children, skeptical scientists, worried teachers and overtaxed administrators. With U.S. President Donald Trump pushing for American schools to reopen in person and on time even as the country nears 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, and other countries moving ahead with plans to resume classes despite rising infections, many eyes are on the real-life experiment offered in Germany to see what works and what doesn’t.

Hard-hit Italy cautiously embraces new normal in coronavirus era (LA Times) With tourists still absent and office workers continuing to toil from home more than two months after Italy’s strict coronavirus lockdown ended, few were out and about on Rome’s central Via del Corso last week. But in the Farmacrimi drug store, one product was being briskly traded. “Masks keep on selling,” said manager Federica Faragali. “People buy them like cappuccinos.” Among the places where face coverings are widely on display is the Circus Maximus, where socially distanced spectators—including women in gowns with matching masks—are back watching open-air performances of Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto.” Five months after Italy was wracked by the West’s first major outbreak of the coronavirus, the nation continues to move cautiously toward a semblance of normality and has thus far not seen a major secondary flare-up of COVID-19 deaths. New daily cases inched up on Friday to 552, but that was less than 1/10 of the 6,500 daily cases reported at the peak March 21 and 1/100 of the new cases in the U.S., where more than 50,000 are being reported each day.

Afghanistan to release 400 ‘hard-core’ Taliban to start peace talks (Reuters) Afghanistan agreed on Sunday to release 400 “hard-core” Taliban prisoners, paving the way for the beginning of peace talks aimed at ending more than 19 years of war. Under election-year pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the war-torn country’s grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release, a controversial condition raised by the Taliban militants to join peace talks.Deliberation over the release of last batch of Taliban prisoners, accused of conducting some of the bloodiest attacks across Afghanistan, had triggered outrage among civilians and rights groups who questioned the morality of the peace process. In 2019 alone, more than 10,000 civilians were killed or injured in the conflict in Afghanistan, putting total casualties in the past decade over 100,000, a United Nations report said last year.

Clashes Erupt in Beirut at Blast Protest as Lebanon’s Anger Boils Over (NYT) Violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces transformed much of central Beirut into a battle zone of flying rocks, swinging batons and clouds of tear gas on Saturday, as the fury over a huge explosion in Beirut’s port this week fueled attacks on government buildings. By nightfall, angry protesters demanding the ouster of the country’s political elite had stormed three government ministries, a handful of legislators had resigned, and the prime minister had called for early elections, the first major signs that the blast could shake up the country’s political system, widely derided as dysfunctional. Many Lebanese considered the blast, which sent a shock wave through the capital that destroyed entire neighborhoods and killed at least 154 people, as only the latest and most dangerous manifestation of the corruption and negligence of the country’s leaders. The clashes on Saturday erupted across broad swaths of the city’s center, with demonstrators yanking down barricades blocking access to the Parliament, chanting “Revolution! Revolution!,” and throwing rocks at the security forces, who flooded the area with tear gas and fired rubber bullets. Fires burned in nearby buildings, filling the sky with smoke, and sirens screamed as ambulances rushed the scores of people injured in the clashes to hospitals.

Saudi Aramco half-year profits plunge 50% from virus impact (AP) Saudi Aramco’s net income plunged by 50% in the first half of the year, according to figures published Sunday, offering a revealing glimpse into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on one of the world’s biggest oil producers. Profits for the first six months of the year plunged to $23.2 billion, half of last year’s $46.9 billion for the same time period. The results were announced as Aramco’s second quarter earnings dipped to $6.6 billion compared to $24.7 billion during the same time last year, reflecting a staggering 73% drop. The majority state-owned company’s financial health is crucial to Saudi Arabia’s stability. Despite massive efforts by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the economy, Saudi Arabia still depends heavily on oil exports to fuel government spending.

[crqstalite]

so that happened.

the rise of skywalker was a thing...

spoilers below the cut >>

honestly? tros wasn’t drop the whole franchise bad like i thought it was. it had some good moments. i liked the main trio in this film. i LOVED the cinematography of the movie, god it was gorgeous. i adored the chemistry between finn and poe. yes, i am very aware of what both actors have said and am disappointed in my own way because goddamn that should’ve graced my theater screen, one little finnpoe kiss was all i asked for. there will be a lot of fixit fics for stormpilot, and i will enjoy them all. and i liked that it wrapped up four years of movies in one little package. it really did feel like the end of an era when the last few seconds scrolled on screen. i’d be lying if i said i didn’t scream internally at the ‘rey. rey skywalker’ at the end. the sequel trilogy wasn’t bad, it was just handled improperly and probably would’ve been better received had it not ended like thi

but i didn’t like how it tried to apologize for what happened in last jedi. i didn’t like kylo ren--sorry ben solo in this movie. hell, i didn’t like him to begin with in any of his other movies. they kept trying to redeem him and honestly?? i don’t think he deserved it if i’m being honest. why, i’m not sure, but he just gives me that hella iffy feeling and he gave me the heebie jeebies the whole time. and i sure as hell don’t know what the hell this simmering romance beneath the surface was between rey and ben. doesn’t mean the ship’s followers or general idea is bad (after scrolling through the finnpoe tag on ao3, i can safely say there will be a few coffee shop aus i’ll end up reading), just that i don’t agree with it. he berates her for years (?), literally telling her she amounts to nothing??? and then they expect us to be like ‘they were in love the whole time, Actually!’ i don’t like that in man but go off. 

on the subject of ben solo and rey. what the fuck is this teleportation shit? if someone could explain it to me, that’d be great because it makes no damn sense in context with the movie. yes, i’m aware they share some sort of force bond, but this feels so ‘pulled out of our ass for the sake of the movie’. it’s just something i couldn’t feel all that good about because of it. they fight each other in different areas, they talk to each other in different areas, she teleports a lightsaber to him in a different area entirely. why is this??? it makes no fucking sense and honestly drew me out from that development of those two.

rose?? was sidelined the whole movie?? as much as i like the girl who was with finn at the end of the movie (i didn’t catch her name but damn she was pretty), i think she easily could’ve been replaced with rose, and i probably would’ve felt more for this scene because finn and rose have fought together before. rose was a great character in the last jedi and she could’ve made this movie great. fuck off. rose tico and kelly marie tran deserved so much better. there better be alternate endings for this movie or i will riot.

finn???? even before seeing the tweets that were like ‘hey uh finn was supposed to tell rey about being force sensitive the whole time’ i predicted that he was. ‘i had a feeling’ and all that bullshit, i’m praying sometime he told her. it would’ve opened up some cool scenes of them training together on the falcon or something. other than that, enjoyed his character wholeheartedly because goddamit it’s finn and i have nothing bad to say about him. poe too, i adore poe.

the ending was symbolic?? in a way i didn’t understand. i get it, her master grew up there so then she was symbolically leaving their past behind to reach her future yada yada yada yada. but unless i’m missing something, did rey even know he grew up on tatooine? she went back to get the x-wing and lightsaber from ghost!luke but it felt unfinished and rushed there. her relationship with leia, while touching, simply hadn’t been developed enough on screen for me to really feel in tune with this scene either. understandably with carrie fisher being gone they probably couldn’t have, but it is just a tad frustrating either way.

hux being the traitor? maybe i didn’t pay attention enough in the last few movies but was there really a reason for him to defect? it didn’t feel real enough for me to be honest. then, bam he’s dead i guess mOVING ON. the fuck. i kind of liked him too but nooooooo....kill him for the plot.

PALPATINE. FUCKING PALPATINE.

this one confused me, rey palpatine? the fuck. her dad was his son? the man is over a millenia old, if not more. how in hell did he create a child? how did he escape from palpatine’s grasp? why did palpatine let him go? why the hell does palpatine want a clearly light side influenced jedi to rule as empress? could someone else have killed him and become all the known sith in the galaxy? there are so many questions i have regarding him specifically that i’m probably going to need a guidebook just to not have an aneursym trying to make sense of it all.

REY WITH FORCE LIGHTNING. I GET SHE’S A PALPATINE BUT WHEN THE FUCK DID SHE BECOME SO POWERFUL??

chewie was cool, i love chewie. lando was...interesting. a cool cameo, yes. adored the scenes he was in but i felt he was kind of shoehorned in at the last minute. my opinion, doesn’t have to be yours.

c3po. i liked c3po a lot, and i’m glad he got his memory back but then i felt like that heartfelt line ‘im looking at all my friends for the last time’ was meaningless. in the back of my mind i knew that for old time’s sake they wouldn’t leave him without his memory, but it also took away from the emotional impact of his memory loss.

poe’s spice running past was interestingly touched upon and not mentioned again. nothing ever pointed to it beforehand which is the only reason im mildly confused by it, but zorii’s survival after uh...that planet (kijimi, which i struggled to spell until i looked up the wikipedia) basically blew up felt weird. the little headnod at each other at the end was kind of cute but?? zorii (???) could’ve been handled better i guess.

i struggle not to write a paragraph on why finnpoe should’ve been canon but that can be discussed at a later date. feel like zorii and the other stormtrooper deserter were only there for finn and poe but i digress, and really hope that i was just been paranoid. at least rey didn’t get dragged into it.

han solo didn’t come back as a ghost but as a memory so he could redeem his son. nothing more needs to be said here because thats a sin on it’s own.

honestly?? i would’ve sat in the theater for three hours like i did endgame just for some of these plot points to be explained better. thanks anyways for these great, sometimes underdeveloped characters, disney.

also?? according to my father a ghost-like ship was in the final fight?? i need explanation, now.

ALSO! only now after i finally came back to the game after all these years (i hadn’t played swtor from 2013 until late 2017 i think) and i begin wondering ‘the hell happened in between those 3000 years before the battle of yavin to have us lose the empire and republic and end up with the first order and the rebellion??’. if anyone can answer this, i’d be forever grateful.

[mittensmorgul]

12.22:

Mary: It's not okay. Since I've been back, I know... I've been distant. Cold, even. Leaving you, working with them.. I was trying to make things right. Just from a distance, because.. being here with you was too hard. Seeing what I'd done to you and to Sam, I... Dean: Mom, what you did, the deal... everything that's happened since has made us who we are. And who we are? We kick ass. We save the world.

14.13:

SAM: Did you see them at dinner, the way they looked at each other? They just seemed happy, you know? It doesn’t feel fair to get all this and have to throw it away, and I know we have to. But it just feels like, you know… Once we send Dad back… it’s none of this ever happened. He – he just goes back to – to… to being Dad. DEAN: You saying you wish things would be different? SAM: Don’t you? Can you imagine – dad in the past, knowing then what he knows now? I… I think it would be nice. DEAN: Yeah. I used to think that, too. But, uh… I mean, look, we’ve been through some tough times. There’s no denying that. SAM: Yeah. DEAN: And for the longest time, I blamed Dad. I mean, hell, I blamed Mom, too, you know? I was angry. But say we could send Dad back knowing everything. Why stop there? Why not send him even further back and let some other poor sons of bitches save the world? But here’s the problem. Who does that make us? Would we be better off? Well, maybe. But I gotta be honest – I don’t know who that Dean Winchester is. And I’m good with who I am. I’m good with who you are. ‘Cause our lives – they’re ours. And maybe I’m just too damn old to want to change that.

but also:

12.23:

KELLY: God, please. I need help. SVEN [on phone]: I'm trying to help you, ma'am. KELLY: Are you, Sven? Because if you ask me if I have the quarter-inch Allen wrench one – one more time, I am going to come down there and burn your giant Viking junkyard of a store to the ground! Do you understand?! SVEN: Are you sure it wasn't in the box? KELLY: God! [she tosses the phone away in exasperation] CASTIEL: Kelly. I told you I'd put this together. I'm very good at following instructions. And you need to rest. KELLY: No, I don't. CASTIEL: Kelly – [Cas helps Kelly to her feet] KELLY: No, Cas, I don't. I can't. I don't know how long until... I don't know how long I have left. And I...I'm never gonna be able to teach him how to ride a bike or watch him get married or even look him in the eyes. But I can build him a stupid Swedish crib! I can do that. CASTIEL: Kelly, I know how hard this is. [Kelly gives Cas an incredulous look] That's a lie. I have no idea how hard this is for you. But I promise you... I will do everything. I will give my life for your son. And I will raise him. And I will make him someone you will be proud of.

(note that all their work on the nursery, all their preparations for Jack’s birth, building the crib and assuming they’d have a long road of raising a Smol Babby proved... to be a lie... everything they did was... pointless... in the end)

and 14.20:

JACK: You lied to me. CASTIEL: Jack. JACK: (yelling) You lied!

and

SAM: Well, it's like you said. (Chuckles) It's Celine Dion. Uh... I mean Celine Dion. It's Celi-- (Sam stammers) Dean, every time I try and say "Elvis," it comes out -- DEAN: The sad, horrible truth. Yeah. You know why? Because we can't lie.

and

MRS. KLINE: You lied to us. You said you worked with Kelly, but after you left, my husband and I, we made some calls, and no one knows who you are. JACK: I... I didn't.  MRS. KLINE: Yes, you did. Kelly's not away on some "secret mission." She... (Crying) They think she's dead. What did you do to my daughter?! (yelling) What did you do?!

and

DEAN: (looking at his phone) When people can't lie, the Internet gets real quiet.

and

WORKER #7 (in a singsong voice) I hate everyone! I hate everyone!  WORKER #5 (crying) I just want to be loved. WORKER #7: I hate everyone! I hate everyone!  OFF SCREEN: I just want a sweet life.  WORKERS #7: I hate everyone!  (Chuck and Castiel are watching the chaos) CHUCK: see, this is why people need to lie.  -I hate everyone! CHUCK: It's good. Keeps the peace, you know?

and

CASTIEL: Seems like an odd stance for...you.  CHUCK: Is it? I'm a writer. Lying's kind of what we do.

and

(Woman speaking Chinese dialect)- The state is a lie.

and

CAS: Can you fix it? CHUCK: (Sighs) Fine. (Snaps fingers) Fixed. SAM: Really? CHUCK: I'm God, Sam. Yeah, really. Go ahead. Try it out. DEAN:: Celine Dion rocks. Yeah. Yeah, we can lie again. CAS: And the rioting? CHUCK: Like it never happened.

and

CHUCK: Listen, you guys know me. I'm hands-off. I built the sandbox -- you play in it. You want to fight Leviathans? Cool. You got that. You want to go up against -- what was it? -- the "British Men of Letters"? Okay. Little weak, but okay. But when things get really bad, like the Apocalypse or the Other Apocalypse, that's when I have to step in. SAM: So you're saying Jack is Apocalyptic? CHUCK: The kid said, "Stop lying," and I don't know if you noticed, but the world kinda went insane.

and

SAM: So, Michael said that you create these worlds and you just toss them away like failed versions of some book.  CHUCK: And you believe him? SAM: Was he lying? Is that what you're doing to us? CHUCK: No. Sam... you and your brother, of all the Sams and Deans in all the multiverse, you're my favorite. You're just so interesting. I mean, like that thing that happened at the office earlier today -- that was crazy, right?

and

JACK: And I thought I could make the world a better place if people couldn't lie. CAS: Well, it didn't. JACK: It really didn't.

and

SAM: Wait. I thought Chuck said that the gun was the only thing that could... (indicating Jack, who is dead on the ground, eyes burned out) CAS: He's a writer. Writers lie.

and

BUT ALSO!

12.23:

SAM: Crowley...why did you do it? Save Lucifer– What did you want? CROWLEY: I wanted to win. I perverted mother's spell, put Lucifer in a vessel of my own making because I wanted to win. You have any idea how many people have made a play for my throne over the years? Lucifer, Abaddon, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Too damn many. I thought if I could put the Devil on a leash... my own personal nuke, no one would ever dare challenge me again. DEAN: Yeah. That worked out great. CROWLEY: All ended with me narrowly escaping death by hiding in a rat. MARY: Wait. In an...actual rat? CROWLEY: Wasn't too bad, really. Gave me time to think. You know, I've been focused for so long on keeping my job. Never realized I hate it. All those whining demons, the endless moan of damned souls, the paperwork! I mean, who wants that?

and

LUCIFER: Well... this is a fun surprise. I gotta hand it to you guys. You never give up, even when you should. Even when it would be so stupid not to. SAM: Look, whatever you're planning on doing, Chuck...God will stop you, just like he did last time. LUCIFER: You're right. What should I do? Oh, God! Don't strike me dead! Come on, Sam. You sound like a virgin in Jesus camp. "We can't. God is watching." No. Chuck "walked." He's gone. DEAN: So you're just gonna smash his toys? LUCIFER: Exactly. 'Cause every time I look at this sad trash fire of a world, you know what I keep thinking? I could do so much better. DEAN: So Apocalypse, take two. That's your plan? LUCIFER: When in doubt, go with the classics. That's what I always say. Well, boys, enough with the foreplay. Let's do this.

14.20

SAM: Do you watch us? When you're not here, are -- are you... watching us? CHUCK: Yeah. (Exhales deeply) I mean, you're my favorite show. SAM: Then why don't you do something? If I had your power -- CHUCK: Sam. We talked about this. Not the way it works. SAM: (Sighs) Wait a second. Why, when the chips are down, when the world is -- is failing, why does it always have to be on us?!  CHUCK: Because you're my guys. But right now, we need to focus on Jack. Ah, that kid. (Breathes deeply) Whew! SAM: Wait a second. You're scared of him.  CHUCK: Aren't you?

and

JACK: And you were right all along. I am a monster. SAM: (to Chuck) Do something. (he realizes with shock) You're enjoying this.  CHUCK: Shh.  (Dramatic music plays) (Dean cocks the gun. He looks Jack in the eye for several seconds and then slowly lowers the gun. At this point, Castiel also comes running towards the area) (Dean uncocks the gun and tosses it to the side) CHUCK: No. Pick it up! Pick it up.  DEAN: The hell, Chuck? CHUCK: This isn't how the story is supposed to end.  CAS: The story?  CHUCK: (frustrated) Lookit, the -- the -- the gathering storm, the gun, the -- the father killing his own son. This is Abraham and Isaac. This is epic! DEAN: Wait. What are you saying? SAM: He's saying he's been playing us. This whole time. CHUCK: Come on. SAM: Our entire lives. Mom, Dad -- everything. This is all you because you wrote it all, right? Because -- Because what? Because we're your favorite show? Because we're part of your story?

(because in the end Crowley’s spell did nothing, Cas’s self-sacrifice meant nothing, Lucifer’s destruction meant nothing because Michael wrought the same destruction as they were both trapped inside the same story and couldn’t even recognize themselves as Chuck’s characters who were just as “programmed” by Chuck as any of the angels who’d ever been subjected to Naomi’s reprogramming ever were... I mean they may have been partly right about Chuck, but they were still blind to the fact that even in their supposed “rebellion” they were always only ever Chuck’s pawns, enacting his favorite narrative for all time and unable to break free of it)

And the universe takes everything away from Sam and Dean again, and the beginning of another go-around of the narrative. Only this is the last go-around where Cas can be treated as someone that can be taken away from them and still continue to perform according to Chuck’s expectations within his story. This loss broke Dean. And Cas might not understand that yet, but it proved to the audience that Cas is integral to the Winchester Family. Chuck’s story can’t only revolve around Sam and Dean against the world. And by the end of 14.20, at least he’s learned that.