#but that itself is an endlessly amazing point of comparison

[detective-piplup]

i am SO hyped for new world of steam. not even bc Layton’s back, but because i am literally dying to actually analyse and compare the differences between LS and NWOS of Luke calling for Layton’s help. level 5 you should give me the game early so i can be So Normal

[redjademilktea]

Last night's episode of 4 Sided Dive was absolutely wonderful in terms of the amount of insight and perspective we got. Not only the Crown Keepers interlude, but also for campaign 3's themes as a whole.

Specifically what fascinated me though, was the incredible analogy Aimee drew between the Ruidian culture and colonial influence on indigenous/colonized spaces in real life (around the 1h32m mark for reference). It was amazing question to ask and I'll love Aimee endlessly for it because it touches on am interesting parallel between the discourse surrounding the Exandiran gods and what they thematically can represent to us as an audience.

Before I dive into my thoughts, I want to preface this by saying this is my specific perspective as a queer woman of color and daughter of a refugee. While my year-5-in-a-PhD-program brain may just be over analyzing this too much, what Aimee brought up just deeply resonated with me in a way that I don't really see talked about in discussions around the themes of campaign 3. Additionally, the ideas I'll be talking about borrow heavily from Christine Taitano DeLisle's Placental Politics: CHamoru Women, White Womanhood, and Indigeneity under U.S. Colonialism in Guam (2023). Its an incredible piece on indigenous knowledge production and political action that importantly looks to decenter colonial perspectives and history (and more importantly recenter indigenous histories, knowledge, and perspectives in a way that allows us to dislodge the idea that colonialism is something that is immutable and inevitable.)

To quickly summarize Aimee's point/follow up question, she pointed out that the way Ruidians have engaged with, repurposed, and were resentful towards Exandrian cultures mirrors some of the real life experiences of colonized/marginalized communities in relation to colonialism. It was such a powerful comparison to make because in a lot of ways, the struggle of the Ruidian people over the course of the campaign along with the looming question about the gods and whether or not to save them is (intentional or not) deeply resonant with the idea of colonialism and the ways it is deeply ingrained in the even mundane aspects of our life.

In a lot of ways, the Exandrian pantheon can be seen as a colonial force. One that came in and displaced a preexisting order of things and entrenched itself in the new way of being it established. Ashton and Laudna have repeatedly pointed this out throughout the campaign. There was life and existence before the gods. The gods are merely a different mode of being, not the only and inevitable mode of being. Life, society, and being can and did exist without them.

And its important to recognize that aspect of the gods, because it helps us understand their motivations that much better. Aabria in her description of what Opal saw in the Spider Queen as she tried to take Opal as her champion was poignant. Opal did not see an omniscient, unknowable entity. She saw a woman. A woman who was frustrated, angry, and most importantly frightened. They keep Predathos chained away not to protect life on Exandria nor because they feel a moral obligation to do so. They are doing so because they are afraid. Their mortality is at stake. And, as Aabria keenly pointed out, their pride is as well. Every action, every move is out of self preservation. An attempt to save themselves because Predathos demonstrate that not even the gods are a permanent thing.

You'll find (as Anne Stoler writes about frequently) that colonial systems are much the same. They are vehemently intent on self preservation. Any action they undertake and any narrative they create about themselves is solely done to preserve the way things are currently. And that includes narratives that the way things are currently is somehow inevitable. That things were always coming to this moment. Often, this is done at the expense of framing other modes of being as somehow antithetical to the way things are now. That it needs to be this way. And that this way is right and forever.

To me, its important to recognize these parallels. While Ruidians may engage with, adapt, and innovate off of Exandrian ideas, culture, and art, it is only because - as Aimee aptly phrased it - Exandrian culture as a direct result of the gods actions has "sucked all the air out" everything. What is there to engage with, if not the looming orb in the sky that has shaped every aspect of their existence?

It really brings the campaign-wide question of "should we save the gods?" into new light, at least in my opinion. Because its suddenly not about "saving the gods in a morally righteous act to preserve all life." It becomes a layered and complicated network of issues that makes the answer to that question incredibly difficult to answer. Is preserving the status quo because its how things operate now worth it at the expense of the suffering of others? What would saving the gods and the Ruidians look like? Is it even possible to save both? What changes to how things operate would be a result of that? How would those changes be handled?

I bring this up because there is a tendency in some discourse that I've seen to frame questioning the validity of saving the gods as inherently the "wrong" choice to make. When instead, when you see the cast struggling over the question, its because the answer is not straight forward. The gods are not necessary for life. They never were. They just are necessary for life the way things are now. And the question of what disrupting that means is such a fascinating one to engage with.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: INFJ girl here, this question is going to be a little long. Is there any way to be "aware" (if that's the word I'm supposed to use) that someone is heading for a grip of inferior function? Or someone notices that it is approaching and thus manages to avoid it?

I ask this because since the beginning of the year I have been actively taking care of my body and food, with the aim of improving my aesthetics and the general quality of my health (physiological, emotional, etc.). I don't exaggerate in my workouts and I don't practice severe restrictions on my diet, I allow myself to eat sweets as long as I don't overdo it during the week, I don't count calories, I always try to be aware of the physical signs of my hunger and I daily make notes of my meals in my diary to avoid emotional eating.

However, in the past during a phase of my teenage years, I've been in a pinch of Se and been obsessive and extreme about my body. I spent almost the entire day practicing physical exercises and didn't allow myself to eat anything other than what I considered healthy because I wanted to be flexible and beautiful (thin like a friend of mine who had lost weight and I felt envious of her body), which led me to many I often show off my flexibility so that others will be amazed at me and I will get the approval and attention I crave.

I got it into my head that I needed to be "productive" and "dedicated" to the maximum 100% of the time, I couldn't have rest days or relax a little on the diet, which also led me to other extreme behaviors typical of the inferior. endlessly cleaning and arranging the furniture in my room, to the point where I felt physical pain in my body. Back then, I remember thinking it was perfectly normal to do this and taking it as evidence that I was an extremely goal-oriented person, which was clearly me deluding myself and avoiding the factual reality of the situation.

I don't do that anymore nowadays, but just out of curiosity and who knows to guarantee it in the future, do you have any tips on how to be more attentive to the signs so that I can understand and change my mindset? I'm afraid that some event in life will shake me so much that I'll succumb to this state of mind and lose all the progress I've already made. I know INFJ's are prone to emotional disconnection and tend to be myopic to evidence that they are over-controlling when they abuse Ni. Thanks!

-----------------------

When INFJs realize how good they are at self-deception, it's only natural to worry about getting caught up in it again, so I understand where your question is coming from.

Let's say that you happened upon a brochure about eating disorders at the supermarket and then realized that your behaviors matched up with the symptoms of a particular disorder. The brochure taught you the rule that "xyz behavior = unhealthy". This may be enough to prompt to you stop it, because knowledge is power, after all. But does this brochure tell you anything about how the disordered behavior arose in you, where it came from, or what caused it? No.

The purpose of function development is to increase your self-awareness to the point where you not only understand that you have a problem but also understand how that problem arose. Have you reached that level of self-awareness?

For a pattern to repeat itself, the conditions that made the pattern possible in the past have to be the same or similar enough to trigger the same reaction from you today. What were the conditions that gave rise to your disordered eating and exercising (Se grip)? Generally speaking, disordered behavior is often a failed attempt to address a legitimate psychological/emotional issue. What issue was the disordered behavior meant to address? Have you really gotten to the bottom of it?

You describe the difference between Now-You and Old-You, but I don't think the comparison goes deep enough, which is why you're still unsure of yourself. You said you were driven by craving for approval and attention, as well as by envy of people you admired. This sounds like an honest enough description of your motives. However, it leaves some important questions hanging in the air:

- WHY exactly did Old-You crave approval and attention so much, to the point of self-punishment? Are there still situations that trigger this craving in you today and do you have a healthy method of handling those triggering situations?

- Why did Old-You rely on social validation to appraise personal value/worth? Do you still do this or have you adopted a different method of self-appraisal? If there's a different method, do you know whether it's a healthy method?

- Why did Old-You think in terms of "hierarchy", i.e., compulsively categorizing everyone along brutal judgments of who is "superior"/"inferior" or "better"/"worse", and how to be "perfect" at the top? Do you still think in this way today? If so, why? What do you gain from it and what is the cost?

- Why did Old-You believe that the most important thing about people and/or the most important thing people have to offer up is their physical body, to the point of devoting all time and attention to perfecting it? Do you now recognize how superficial it is to treat people merely as bodies to be used for pleasure, as well as how this attitude might interfere with the formation of fulfilling and meaningful relationships? Is this related to sexist beliefs about what women are meant for?

- Why did Old-You believe that being a cheap imitation of another person would lead to you being seen/praised as special too? Do you still fail to recognize this logical contradiction and keep trying to be like others, with the only real difference being that you don't try as hard as Old-You did? What is your identity, really, when it is just a patchwork of qualities you appropriated from others?

These questions go deeper to reveal the conditions that gave rise to the disordered behavior. If you're unable to answer most of them, it's likely you still haven't gotten to the bottom of the problem yet. If the underlying causes of the problem haven't really been addressed, then, yes, it has the potential to rise up again. You say you have better motives now, which is good. However, remember that people can be motivated by a multitude of factors at the same time. Self-awareness involves being fully honest with yourself about all of the factors.

[beauty-and-passion]

I really hope Thomas Sanders reads your posts because they are incredibly good. No matter how ridiculous or downright small at times it may sound in comparison to other topics, you still take to look at it from different angles, offering a huge amount of analysis and options for the development of things, and you do it with great interest - and this is amazing. For me, these factors are the main thing that a person is passionate about in this or that occupation, hobby, fandom or something else.

Your words mean so much, you are such a nice person ;_;

I love to talk about stuff I like and the more a certain topic offers food for thoughts, the more I want to talk about it.

Hence why I like this series so much: no matter how much I write about it, there could still be a detail or a connection I missed, that can be the starting point for a whole new idea/theory/conversation. And the connections are so interesting! References to ancient Greece and Rome? Religion? Psychology? That's my jam, I live this stuff. And it makes me want to learn more about said stuff, because I know that I can share my knowledge with you all.

And, honestly, I would be honoured if Thomas Sanders reads my posts. Those are theories and details/information I got from the show itself, so I would love to know if Thomas & co. planned all of those details or if they were subconscious choices they put in the show, without realizing it.

So, well, Mr. Sanders: if you want, I'm free for a friendly chat about your & your team's creative process! We just have to pick the right time frame, considering I'm six hours ahead of you XD

But even if Thomas doesn't read my posts, I still have you all. You, who are so interested, so clever, who keep the fandom alive and add more food for thoughts, who want to know more, who theorize or just scream endlessly. All my words would be pointless without you all <3

[adeliaharris]

My Favorite Books...

1. Harper Lee "To kill a Mockingbird"

The story of a small sleepy town in the South of America told by a little girl. The story of her brother Jim, dill's friend and her father - the honest principled lawyer Atticus Finch one of the last and best representatives of the old "southern aristocracy". The story of the trial of a black guy accused of rape a white girl. But first of all it is the story of a turning era when xenophobia, racism, intolerance and bigotry inherent in the American South are warming to the past. The "wind of change" has just begun to blow over America. What will it bring?

- This is probably one of my favorite books.The book captured from the very first pages and did not let go for a long time after reading. You can say a lot of things but better read it.

2. Khaled Hosseini "The Kite Runner"

A heartfelt story of friendship and fidelity, betrayal and redemption, penetrating to the very core. Delicate, ironic and sentimental in a good way, Khaled Hosseini's novel resembles a painting that can be looked at endlessly set in pre-war Kabul in the 1970s. In this magical city shimmering with all shades of gold and azure two weather boys Amir and Hasan live. One belonged to the local aristocracy the other to a despised minority. One's father was handsome and important the other was lame and pathetic. Master and servant, prince and beggar, handsome and crippled. But there were no people in the world closer than these two boys. Soon the Kabul idyll will be replaced by formidable storms. And the boys, like two kites, will be picked up by this storm and scattered in different directions. Each has its own destiny its own tragedy but they like in childhood are tied by the strongest bonds. You run after the kite and the wind as you run after your destiny, trying to catch it. But she will catch you.

- Psychological novel on the theme of "crime and punishment". Deeply elaborated images, convincing children's characters, a remarkably built plot - everything speaks of a great master. For me it is "heavy" literature but it has the right to be because it calls things by their proper names. And most importantly there is light in the stories of Hosseini! The light of true human feelings.

3. F. Scott Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby"

A jubilant, sparkling thirst for life, a desire for love, alluring and elusive, exciting pursuit of wealth - but now the dream breaks to the sound of jazz and the eternal holiday turns into a tragedy. "The Great Gatsby" is a novel about "how illusions are wasted which make the world so colorful that  having experienced this magic, a person becomes indifferent to the concept of true and false." F. S. Fitzgerald

- I read it and was not at all disappointed! Elegant presentation with high meaning - everything in this life is done for the sake of love. And no amount of money can replace the woman you love... And even if she is stupid, frivolous and idly living her life. I have great respect for Gatsby and contempt for Daisy. There are a lot of wonderful quotes, phrases in the book, it's worth thinking about. I didn’t expect to literally fall in love with this piece! In the future I will definitely re-read it more than once!

4. Daniel Keyes "Flowers for Algernon"

Forty years ago it was considered a fantasy. Forty years ago it read like fantasy. Exploring and expanding the boundaries of the genre eagerly absorbing all sorts of newest trends trying on a common human face bravely ignoring the Cain's stamp of the "genre ghetto". Now it is perceived as one of the most humane works of modern times as a novel of piercing psychological power, as a filigree development of the theme of love and responsibility. It is not for nothing that Keyes called his book of memoirs published in the 1990s "Algernon, Charlie and Me."

- The book is an emotion that will not make you think about something particularly difficult. All the thoughts that it generates are very simple and understandable. Without revelations, of course, but not bad either. The assessment will, rather, depend on the degree of personal sensitivity because the author often uses the concept of "naive hero-evil reality-collision-squeezing out sympathy" during the work.

5. Agatha Christie  "Murder on the Orient Express"

The great detective Hercule Poirot who was in Istanbul returns to England on the famous "Orient Express" in which it seems, representatives of all possible nationalities travel with him. One of the passengers an unpleasant American named Ratchett offers Poirot to become his bodyguard since he believes that he could be killed. The famous Belgian brushes off this absurd request. And the next day the American is found dead in his compartment with the doors closed and the window open. Poirot immediately takes up the investigation - and finds out that the compartment is full of all sorts of evidence pointing... to almost all the passengers of the Orient Express. In addition the train gets stuck in snow drifts in a deserted place. Poirot needs to find the killer before the express can continue on its way...

- I liked the book. Pretty easy to read. The plot is "confused" from the very beginning but Mr. Poirot is yet  a world-famous detective. It is better to read about all the twists and turns of the investigation on your own, "immersion" is guaranteed.

6. Stieg Larsson "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Forty years of the mystery of the disappearance of a young relative haunts the aging industrial tycoon and now he makes the last attempt in his life - entrusts his search to journalist Mikael Blomkvist. He takes on a hopeless business more in order to distract himself from his own troubles but soon realizes: the problem is even more complicated than it seems at first glance.

What is the connection between a long-standing incident on the territory with the use of mobile devices which happened in different years in different parts of Sweden? What does the quotation from the Third Book of Moses have to do with it? And who, after all, attempted on the life of Michael himself when he came too close to the solution?

- The whole trilogy left a deep impression. Such books appear very rarely. Out-of-the-box characters, amazing Sweden, dark atmosphere. I advise absolutely everyone!

7. Ray Bradbury "Fahrenheit 451"

Perhaps the best of Bradbury's writings. The story "Fahrenheit 451" depicts a dystopian society of the future but in fact - "our reality, reduced to absurdity." Bradbury invented a state where reading and keeping books is prohibited. For the sake of political correctness and general peace of mind the general level of spiritual and intellectual demands of citizens is artificially lowered. But there are rebels and fugitives.

This is one of Bradbury's rare sci-fi works. Very exciting touching and at the same time very lively and dynamic. With a relatively simple plot, it is full of allusions including biblical texts and complex symbolism.

- This is just a great book! I advise everyone to read it! Despite the fact that the author wrote it in 1953 this does not feel at all. A very interesting and poignant plot for our time.

8. Victor Hugo "Les Miserables"

All the works of the great French poet, novelist and playwright Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885) are covered with a halo of romanticism. The idea of ​​life-giving love, mercy, the triumph of good over evil - this is the core of his novel "Les Miserables". Among the "outcasts" are Jean Valjean sentenced to 20 years for stealing bread for his starving family and the little dirty Cosette who turned into a charming girl and a child of the Parisian streets of Gavroche...

- Brilliant work! So thoughtful, so overwhelming and so humane. The inimitable Hugo put all his philanthropy into this magnificent novel!

9. Stephen King "The Green Mile"

Stephen King invites readers to the eerie world of the death row where they leave in order not to return, opens the door of the last refuge of those who have transgressed not only human but also God's law. There is no more deadly place on this side of the electric chair! Nothing you've read before beats Stephen King's most audacious horror experience - a story that begins on Death Road and goes deep into the deepest secrets of the human soul...

- I have been familiar with the work of S. King for a long time and have read more than a dozen of his books. The work "The Green Mile" is a story that will not let you go for a long time. She leaves a residue in her soul - mixed feelings and indescribable impressions from the story itself, unique and ingenious.

10. Gregory David Roberts "Shantaram"

This art-refracted confession of a man who managed to get out of the abyss and survive, has sold four million copies around the world and has earned rave comparisons with the works of the best writers of the modern era from Melville to Hemingway. Like the author the hero of this novel has been hiding from the law for many years. Deprived of parental rights after a divorce from his wife, he became addicted to drugs, committed a number of robberies and was sentenced by an Australian court to nineteen years in prison. Having escaped from a maximum security prison in his second year, he reached Bombay where he was a counterfeiter and smuggler, traded arms and participated in the showdown of the Indian mafia and also found his true love, to lose it again, to find it again...

- It is very difficult to somehow categorically evaluate this novel. There are many advantages here: a fascinating story of the wanderings of the protagonist in the world of a harsh exotic country. Together with him, the reader develops, absorbs the alien culture and energy of other people, people of another world to which we are not used to. However there is something ridiculous about this.  At times it seems that we are watching real Indian cinema - the brainchild of Bollywood naive and merciless. In general I liked the novel, it is interesting, bright, impetuous. During the period of reading this great story, I have never been bored. Despite some controversial points - I advise!

[saiilorstars]

Stars Dance

Ch. 8: Death’s Song

Fandom: Doctor Who Pairing: 11th Doctor x Original Female Character

[Previous chapters] 

(Fairy Tale Memoirs, One Shot/AU Companion story)

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

Disclaimer: This chapter's plotline is from Doctor Who's comic stories. In this case the selected comic story is 'the Screams of Death'. While the dialogue is made up, it is drawn from the comic story's summaries and descriptions. The plot is NOT mine.

Chapter summary: The Doctor takes his companions to Paris 1858 to see an opera show only to come across an opera singer with an out of this world voice, quite literally. And while they investigate, Avalon and the Doctor struggle to get along without arguing over something that the Doctor can’t bring himself to speak of.

A lively city was none the wiser of a small, blue box materializing in one of their streets. With the dark, starry night above, its bright shade of blue had no chance of shining as it usually tended to. The doors were opened up and out came Lena Reynolds, donning a beautiful pink-shaded period gown. Being the mid 19th century, it was squared at the neckline and a bit puffy at the shoulders. It fit her so well.

"Very...19th century," Lena said after taking a brief look at their surroundings. It seemed calm enough which was definitely appealing in comparison to their latest trips. She knew it was never the Doctor's fault that a lot of their trips ended up taking dark turns, but it was nice knowing that this trip had a higher possibility to be a calm, serene trip. Truth be told, she was beginning to feel the effects of the nonstop 'dark turns' on her body. She had to sleep more and sometimes she slept more without even wanting it. She would catch a few bruises on her body after some of their trips and she did her best to hide them from everyone else if they were on a part of her body that they could see. She wasn't built for all the running and the yelling, health-wise and personality-wise. She wasn't some fragile girl like everyone thought she was - yes, she had limitations because of her genetic mutation but that was it. She was perfectly capable of doing things on her own. She just wasn't sure if traveling through space and time was really her thing.

In Leadworth, she never really thought about traveling. Yes, the town was pretty small but she liked it. It was nice and comfortable and it had everything she could need. Of course she would have loved to change the town's perspective of Avalon but otherwise than that, Leadworth was fine. She didn't really know what plans she had for the future, but she never really planned on traveling. Even now...she wasn't sure if this was what she wanted to keep doing. She had become truly fond of the Doctor - her big brother - and she never wanted to say goodbye to him, but Lena knew that she couldn't stay in the TARDIS forever, at least not as long as Avalon, Amy and Rory.

"Is that good or bad?" the Doctor came out of the TARDIS behind her.

Amy poked her head outside with a smirk on her face. "That's her nice way of telling you she's not impressed."

"Amy!" Lena exclaimed, scandalized with the accusation that was clearly not true. "Big brother, I would never think - Amy!"

Amy had herself a good laugh as she came out, hands on her corseted stomach. "Sometimes, it's just too easy!"

"Do not be mean to my baby sister," the Doctor pointed a warning finger at her.

Amy mocked saluted him in return and moved forwards to examine the city. Finally, the last of their friends emerged from the TARDIS, with linked arms.

"PARIS!" Avalon dramatically waved her free arm at the city. "I can't believe it!" She always wanted to go to Paris, though she never thought she would be visiting Paris in the past, but it was still Paris. She had a huge list of what she wanted to do and she had already warned everyone that she would do them no matter what.

"It's like your mothership," Rory sighed, unsurprised by her.

The Doctor glanced their way to agree with Rory but was momentarily taken away by Avalon's appearance. Unlike Lena who sported the soft pastel colors, and Amy who went TARDIS blue, Avalon went with what made her stand out: emerald green. Her fiery ginger locks perfectly contrasted against the short, dark green sleeves of her gown. There were lighter shades of green going around the skirt with bits of silver flowers adorning it. With a lazy u-shaped neckline, she gave view of her matching green and silver looping necklace. Around her hair was a resembling headband that was tied into a bow at her lower left to keep the hair out from her face.

"I thought we agreed on the yellow dress," Lena's voice pulled the Doctor from his momentary stupor (something for which he silently questioned himself about). She thought she found a beautiful dress for her sister to wear but once again Avalon went off doing her own thing. Lena shouldn't even be surprised anymore.

Avalon smirked at her sister. "I found one I liked even more." Actually, that wasn't quite true. She had Lena's dress lying on her bed but then after a series of hums from the TARDIS, Avalon found an emerald green laying on her bed. Avalon fell in love with the dress! She couldn't let it go!

The TARDIS seemed to like Avalon enough to pull stunts like these. Avalon had lost count how many times the box had switched her things for something better. Just last week, Avalon found what she considered a gorgeous pair of golden metallic stiletto heels in the massive wardobe room only for the TARDIS to then switch them for an even better pair. They were golden as well but they glitter heels! Even the straps were glitter! Avalon was enthralled with the pair and she took them to her bedroom, vowing to take them home as well. Before that, the TARDIS gave her a glamorous headband made out of pure rose gold stones. And it didn't stop with clothes and accessories. The TARDIS offered Avalon other things like the string flower lights for her room. At home, they were stars but the TARDIS offered her such beautiful flowers to hang that Avalon couldn't turn them away.

Avalon didn't know why the TARDIS would go through such trouble for her, but it was nice. She really appreciated everything the box did for her - it was like she was truly in a fairy tale. Except instead of having a fairy godmother, she had a fairy tale box. Well, things couldn't be normal. Avalon thought that would be boring.

"Hey!" Amy suddenly called, bringing Avalon back to the present. She had clapped her hands loudly for Avalon to look her way. "Hands off my fiancee, please!"

Avalon playfully rolled her eyes as she let go of Rory's arm, the man unable to keep his smug smile off his face. "Fine." She reached back and closed the TARDIS doors, then letting the box lock itself up.

"Where are we going?" Lena asked curiously.

"I thought you might like to see Orphée in one of its best performances," the Doctor replied, but only two understood him so far.

"You're taking us to an opera?" Rory's disappointment was evident as he crinkled his nose. "I didn't take you to be an opera guy."

"Why not?" the Doctor's eyes narrowed a bit.

"You can't sit still for five minutes."

Amy and Avalon snickered.

The Doctor, completely unamused, straightened his jacket and sternly refuted Rory's accusation. "You don't know anything about me, Rory Williams."

"Damn right," came Avalon's bitter agreement, something that stopped the Doctor for a minute. He dared to look her way and was met with accusing eyes. It was clear that she was still endeavoring to learn more about him since he rarely spoke about himself.

"Big brother - the opera?" Lena made her own endeavor to keep the tense to a minimum low. "When's it starting?"

"Well, any moment, actually. Shall we go?" the Doctor asked from the rest, hoping Avalon would become enthralled with the opera idea again and leave things alone with him. Fortunately, she was.

"Don't think this is getting you out of following my list," she warned him. "But I do expect good seats."

"What else is psychic paper for?" he smirked.

"Lead the way, fairy-tale man."

The Doctor held his arm for her to take. Avalon linked her arm with his, and after getting Lena on his other side, he led the way to the famous opera waiting for them.

~ 0 ~

The opera stadium was full of guests, almost all from a higher class status. With the Doctor's psychic paper, the group had managed to snag one of the boxes above with a perfect view.

"Are you really going to manage sitting still?" Rory was still curious of whether or not the Doctor would be able to make it through a show without making so much of a peep. It would definitely be a sight to see.

The Doctor shushed Rory and pointed down to the stage where the curtains were opening up. The main star of the show, a caramel-skinned woman with short, curly black hair showed incredible talent...at least that's what everyone except the Doctor thought. While the woman sang beautifully, and his companions were enthralled, the Doctor noticed how particularly slow the woman was blinking. Naturally, no one else would identify that as a trance state except anyone non-human. When the woman's angelic voice stopped, the entire audience clapped in her honor.

"She is just amazing!" Lena was one of those who clapped endlessly for the star.

"I wish she could teach me," Avalon laughed, also clapping.

"Be careful what you wish for," the Doctor muttered, earning a small look from the ginger.

"What are you talking about?"

The Doctor decided not to waste time and suggested that they go backstage to meet the phenomenal opera singer. Of course the group obliged and hurried after him. With the psychic paper in hand, the Doctor showed it to one of the guards but at the same time, Rory spoke up.

"Uh, Doctor, isn't that her over there?' he was pointing to the opera singer indeed who was being ushered through the fans by an older man.

"Don't let her get away!" the Doctor broke into a run after them, leaving the group to wonder what was going on.

"I didn't think he liked her that much," Lena blinked curiously.

"Is he really going to leave us behind?" Amy crossed her arms.

"Not if we don't let him!" Avalon hitched the side of her dress and made a run in the direction the Doctor went off in. She had a feeling this was something more than just a simple fan meeting a singer.

The Doctor had spotted the opera singer being pushed towards a waiting a carriage but before he could go over, a younger man - probably the opera singer's brother or boyfriend, ran up first. "Cosette! Cosette!" he called desperately for the opera singer who, unfortunately, was unable to pay him any attention. "Cosette! It's Louis! Please! We have to talk!"

"Get away from my star," the man that had pushed Cosette into the carriage sent a warning finger at Louis. "Do not bother her again."

"You can't keep her away from me!" Louis warned right back.

The man, in return, smirked. "I think I can." He then climbed into the carriage and promptly closed its door.

"Now what was all this?" Avalon startled the Doctor into looking away from the leaving carriage and Louis.

"We need to find that singer," he said straight away.

"Why? You want her autograph or something?"

The Doctor tilted his head, unamused with her jokes at the moment. "It's important, alright? I saw something…"

Avalon did indeed take it seriously and asked more about it. "What did you see? Something bad? Alien?"

"Just...just something," the Doctor preferred to leave things as they were until he got conclusive evidence. This, however, only irritated Avalon.

"What do you mean 'something'?" she held air quotation marks. "What does that mean? What's-"

"Hey!" Rory reached them next, and behind came Amy and Lena who were out of breath. "What's going on?"

"I don't know because someone refuses to tell," Avalon spat at the Time Lord who took it all with a long sigh.

"Look, we just need to find that man - Louis," the Doctor turned to where the carriage had been but was surprised to find that Louis had gone as well. "No! No! No!" he frantically searched their immediate area for the man but it was like he'd disappeared into thin air. "Where'd he go!?"

"Who, big brother?" Lena asked worriedly.

"Avalon! You made me lose him!"

Avalon's eyes widened, clearly offended the blame of whatever problem was happening was now on her. "Me? Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, you!" the Doctor turned on her, meeting her angry face. "You-" he flapped his hands at her, only infuriating her more, "-with your questions! You made me lose track of the carriage and Louis!"

"Who the hell is Louis!?" Avalon shouted, attracting some of the onlookers' glances. "I've no idea what you're talking about!"

"The singer's boyfriend or brother - I don't know! But you-"

"Don't you point at me fairytale man!" Avalon shoved his fingers away from her.

"OKAY!" Rory put himself between the two, arms extended to both sides. "Let's just calm down and-"

"No!" Avalon refused to let it go. This wasn't the first time she'd been put in the same predicament with the Doctor. All of a sudden he would just go off on these little trips and when she asked questions about it he would get all antagonizing with her. "It's his fault! He never says anything and because I ask questions, it makes me the bad guy?" she pointed at herself. "On what planet is that fair?"

The Doctor could see, despite his own feelings, that she was being perfectly reasonable. He knew that he did tend to go off on things that he would then avoid explaining to them, but that's just the way he was. He always spotted the problems first and because he thought it was pointless explaining it to his companions, he would only be brief about it and then go find the solution himself. It's how he worked! Clearly, that wasn't working anymore. Avalon wasn't somebody he could just tell to go wait.

With another sigh, the Doctor motioned that he was acknowledging his loss. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Avalon snapped, apparently not at all swayed by his acknowledgement.

"Avalon," Lena gave her a significant look. Her sister did not desist.

"What? I'm supposed to forget simply because for once he chose to agree that he's wrong?"

"Okay, before I lose interest, someone want to explain what you're even arguing about?" Amy scratched her head. "Preferably the part that includes running off?"

"There's something wrong with the opera singer," the Doctor explained while taking another look at their surroundings in case Louis popped back into view. "I have a theory she may be in some sort of trance but...I'd have to meet that Louis fellow."

"Who's Louis?" asked Rory.

"He was trying to get the singer, Cosette, to stop and talk with him but her boss didn't allow it."

"So you want us to find this man, then?" Amy followed.

The Doctor nodded. "He can't have gotten far."

"Splitting up helps," Amy resolved, hands on her hips. "So let's do that and get a move on. If we find him, just text."

"You brought your phone?" the Doctor gave her an incredulous glance. "Where?"

Amy smirked and reached into her dress, making everyone go 'stop' except Avalon who laughed. "Well, these dresses don't have pockets, do they!?" went Amy.

"Great minds think alike," Avalon did a thumb's up motion.

"Ava! You too?" Rory crinkled his nose.

"Someone's got to add pockets."

"Incredible," the Doctor rubbed his temples. "You're both incredible. Now please, can we get back to the situation?"

"We need to split up," Amy reiterated her suggestion. "And since Avalon and I are the only ones who have phones, we should split up into two groups, someone with me and the others with Avalon."

"Lena's with me of course," Avalon automatically said, much to Lena's disappointment. So far, Lena's endeavor to wean Avalon off wasn't making much progress. Avalon was blind to all attempts.

"Rory's with me," Amy latched onto her fiance's arm. "That just leaves the Doctor to pick a side. Fair warning, Avalon still looks like she might kill you."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I will take my chances with the killer Reynolds."

"I don't need you," Avalon made sure to leave clear for everyone.

"No, but your sister does. What if she enters some sort of state? This is the 19th century, after all, and you don't have pockets." Avalon shifted, her eyes once again narrowing as she realized she'd lost this round. The Doctor straightened his jacket, smirking widely. "Shall we go, then?"

Avalon growled and stalked off.

With an innocent grin at the others, the Doctor said, "I guess we're going in that direction."

Lena playfully rolled her eyes. "C'mon, big brother." She linked arms with him and started after Avalon.

~ 0 ~

Finding Louis turned out to be a rather difficult mission. An hour had passed and so far the man had not come up.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to start asking?" Lena sighed after coming out a coffee shop.

"Please," Avalon scoffed. "Men never want to ask for directions. Remember Dad when we went camping for the first time?"

Lena hummed. "Oh, Dad."

"We just have to keep trying," the Doctor started up ahead. "If we start asking for the man then we might get suspicious. We definitely don't want to attract attention to ourselves."

"And exactly what are we trying to avoid, then?" Avalon crossed her arms, her face once again taking on a challenging expression. The Doctor stopped walking, shoulders slumped knowing they were about to enter another round of arguments. "Or, should I say, who are we meant to be laying low for?"

"Avalon…" Lena nervously glanced at her sister.

"Lena, my feet are tired and this man-" Avalon gestured to the Doctor who'd turned around, "-doesn't want to tell us anything as usual. Contrary to the popular belief, Doctor, I only ask things that I think I have a right to know about. I'm not asking about your home, nor your interests, nor anything about you. You made it pretty clear that you don't feel like sharing anything with us."

Lena wanted to defend the Doctor, she really did, but this time Avalon had struck a point that the sisters, along with Amy and Rory, had talked about one night on their own.

Avalon prided herself on knowing the most about the Doctor, but when it came to the truth of things...even she knew that those stories she heard were nothing about the real Doctor. They told the stories of his adventures, but not of who he was. Everyone else agreed.

They all knew that there were plenty of people that had come before them in the TARDIS, but there was no trace of them in the box. At least none that they were able to find. It was clear that the TARDIS - and probably the Doctor - didn't want them to stumble upon any of the previous companions' belongings.

"It must hurt to talk about them," Rory offered a reasonable excuse on why the Doctor wouldn't talk about his past. "I mean, what if they died?"

"My big brother's just lived for so long," Lena then added, "It's hard to share his experiences. Plus, we've only known him for a few months. We can't ask for his entire life story - lives in his case."

Avalon argued that she wasn't asking for the Doctor to share his entire backstory with them. She had no right to ask something like that and she wasn't. All she wanted was a few truths here and there. Amy thought it was a fair ask as well, which was no surprise to neither Lena and Rory.

Avalon made a scoffing noise and shook her head. "I give up on you," she said rather coldly to the Doctor. She wouldn't continue wasting her time on the same thing. "You can find me at a local bar when you're done with whatever mission it is you decided to carry off."

"A-Avalon!" the Doctor wearily called after her but the ginger walked off without looking back. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Lena. "Your sister's quite a number."

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "But maybe right now we should let her cool off. We should continue searching in the meanwhile."

The Doctor thought it for the best that Avalon remain alone for a while. He'd learned rather quick that when she was crossed, it was better to clear the way than be in her way.

~ 0 ~

Avalon had discovered that being a woman prevented her from entering such local pubs. "And that goes double for your mother you prick!" she threw her bonnet into the bar then skidded away. Sh swore under her breath as she stalked down the street. She took back everything good she'd said about the era and now wished nothing more than to find the TARDIS and go to her room. She'd much rather visit Paris in the present time anyways! She made a turn and bumped into someone, a someone who'd seemingly been in quite a rush as well.

"Sorry, ma'am! Excuse me!"

"There he is! Get him! That's Louis!" Avalon heard an older man call from a distance.

"Wait a minute!" Avalon turned right around and started after the man she'd bumped into. "You're Louis!? Do you know the singer Cosette!?"

The name seemed to freeze the man for a split second. "You're one of them, aren't you? Part of his singers?"

Avalon's eyebrows knitted together. "I like to sing but I'm not opera material, believe me. I am bad at opera."

"So was Cosette and now here we are - I'm running for my life now, sweetheart. Scuse me."

But before the man could continue running, Avalon grasped his arm and yanked him into a small alley. She pressed herself against the wall and indicated for Louis to do the same. They soon saw the group of men Avalon heard running past them, none of them noticing they were there.

"Much better," Avalon leaned away from the wall and straightened herself up before turning to Louis. "So then, what exactly were you running from?"

Louis looked her up and down for a second before giving an answer. "You're not from around, aren't you? You're not French."

"I'm visiting. And I happened to have caught your girlfriend's show earlier."

Louis' face darkened. "Cosette is no longer anything of mine, thanks to that Valdemar."

"Could I interest you in some coffee for the nerves?" Avalon asked, deciding she was not going to let the man escape her clutches. And, for the time being, she wouldn't call any of her friends. Let's see how the Doctor liked secrets on him.

~ 0 ~

In a local cafe shop, Louis and Avalon sat at a small table and ordered their respective drinks.

"Cosette and I were engaged, you see-" Louis was explaining to Avalon as the two waited for their drinks to arrive, the ones Louis ended up paying for, "-and I daresay we were both equally happy."

"But my friend and I, we saw when you were trying to get Cosette's attention when she was getting into her carriage...she didn't even look like she knew you," Avalon said.

"That's the interesting part, isn't it?" Louis sighed. "I know it has something to do with Valdemar."

"The man ushering her into the carriage?"

Louis nodded. "He's her boss. He has many opera singers under his management. He truly has one of the most wonderful women singers."

"Including Cosette," Avalon added.

"But that's the thing, Cosette wasn't always a fabulous singer. In fact, she was barely a singer before she started meeting with Valdemar."

Avalon tilted her head. "How do you mean?"

"See, Cosette - while I do love her mostly - was a terrible singer. She always dreamed of becoming a singer, nonetheless."

"Nice profession," Avalon smiled to herself and graciously helped the waiter who'd stopped by to leave their drinks. "Unfortunately, it's not as easy to achieve without the proper education."

"You sing as well?" Louis carefully put his warm cup of coffee on the table.

"I dabble," Avalon shrugged. "But my skills don't reach to that of an opera singer."

"Well, without hearing your voice, I'm sure you would have been better than Cosette," Louis sighed. "She too went to receive this 'education'-" he did air quotation marks, "-from Valdemar. Or rather, she tried to each day. She would visit him and plead for him to help her. One day, she just never came home."

"She just stayed with Valdemar, then?" Avalon thought that rather odd for the era they were in. Women had less freedom right now. What would possess Cosette to leave everything behind like that?

"Valdemar took her under her wing and suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Cosette had this beautiful, ethereal voice."

"Hm, that she did," Avalon smirked as she remembered the opera.

"It's been months since I've talked to Cosette and today, after her show, I tried to get a word with her but...she didn't even look like she knew me."

"Yes, I've seen something similar to that," Avalon thought back to Guido of Venice and his daughter. This has alien written all over it and that Doctor didn't even tell us! Avalon raged inwardly. See, things like that she deserved to know, especially when her sister was around!

"Are you alright, miss?" Louis' voice broke her from her thoughts. Avalon follow his gaze to her almost white knuckles that were gripping her cup's handle. Avalon cleared her throat and put her cup back down. "You're upset," Louis noted. "But I doubt it was about Cosette."

"No, believe me, I am very worried about your fiancee's state," Avalon clarified. "I just seem to be having problems of my own."

"Problems of the heart, as well?"

Avalon made a comical face but it reddening didn't help her case. "No, no, nothing like that! Just friend troubles. But listen, about Cosette, I'll help you."

"You? I don't even know your name. How could I trust you?"

"Well-" Avalon picked up her cup, bringing it to her lips, "-I listened to you, didn't I? I'm betting that's as far as you've gotten since Cosette left."

Louis' face fell, confirming Avalon's suspicions. "It's not like I can go to the police about it. Valdemar's rich. Everyone loves his opera shows. Who would believe a man with no name like me?"

"Avalon Reynolds believes him," Avalon declared with a wide smirk. "And trust me when I tell you that what I want I always get. Tonight I feel like getting the truth out of that Valdemar."

Louis barely had a moment to smile when the entire cafe building was silenced by a shrill scream outside. Without thinking about it, Avalon jumped her chair. "Avalon, where are you going?" Louis went after her as the ginger hurried towards the doors.

The scream had belonged to a man in tattered clothes - probably a homeless man - lying on the ground. There was already a small group of people crowding around him, but no one was actually helping.

"Move out of my way!" Avalon pushed her way through the crowd, ignoring the disapproving looks. She gasped at the sight of the man. His ears were pouring blood out. She fell to her knees and shakily put her hands over his ears. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

"Avalon! What are you doing!?" Louis had caught up and was horrified to see the woman, in such fancy clothing, kneeling and touching the homeless man.

"C'mon, c'mon," Avalon impatiently waited for her hands to do their usual glowing.

"Police! Move out of the way!"

"Avalon, we have to go!" Louis pulled Avalon away from the man, missing their golden hue.

"I can heal him!" Avalon struggled but Louis dragged her away from the crowd. "I can heal diseases, just let me go!"

"Are you mad!? Would you like to be cast off as crazy?"

Avalon stopped fighting when she realized he was right. Besides, the police had already reached the homeless man.

"What were you talking about back there? Curing diseases?" Louis was now trailing after Avalon who was in the middle of setting her thoughts right. "I didn't take you for the nurse type."

"I'm not a nurse!"

"Then what are you? Really?" Louis grabbed her arm and forced her around. "You're not from here and that's an understatement, isn't it? Who are you?"

Avalon pushed his hand off her arm and gave him a serious stare. "You want to find out what happened to Cosette? I'm your girl."

"I doubt that-" Louis began to trail her over when Avalon cut him and sharply.

"Don't you dare look me over again like I'm some piece of meat. I'm Avalon, nice to meet you," she stuck a hand between them. "No, I'm not from here, but I can help. I've got friends who, in reality, dedicate themselves to these sorts of cases. Do you want us to help you?"

Louis looked between her and her hand for a couple of minutes before shaking the hand. "I do. I really do."

"Great," Avalon smiled. "So now you're going to start by telling me where this Valdemar lives."

~ 0 ~

Valdemar's house was like any other rich styled building. It was flanked by eloquent gardens and a golden gate. There were guards on the first level, but being time travelers had their ways.

"Avalon, there you are!" Lena encased her twin in a big hug. Behind her came the Doctor, Amy and Rory. "I was worried sick!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Avalon pulled away with a smile. "Whaddya think I was going to do?" but the looks on her friends' faces quickly made her say, "Never mind, don't answer." She brought Louis closer to them in order to give introductions. "I found him, and I did the questioning and whatever is wrong is going on in that house," she nodded to Valdemar's house.

"Louis," the man shook hands with Rory and the Doctor while acknowledging Amy and Lena. "Avalon said you could help me find out what happened to Cosette."

"She was his fiancee before meeting Valdemar," Avalon said briefly.

"So it was something to do with that creepy guy!" Amy exclaimed suddenly, though her happy outburst was soon replaced by guilt. "Sorry. Rory and I were talking about it during our search."

"Well, I got the deets," Avalon said proudly, giving the Doctor a quick smirk. "How about that?"

"So how about that breaking in then, Doctor?" Amy purposely asked loudly before they could start arguing.

"Right, yes!" the Doctor stepped closer to the gates of Valdemar's home. "Well, there's guards, and I doubt using the psychic paper will grant us entry into his secret rooms."

"Secret rooms?" Rory repeated.

"Oh, big house like that and you think there's no secret rooms?" the Doctor shot him a smirk.

"So how can we get in, big brother?" Lena stepped up beside him.

"We could try the roof," Louis offered, making everyone's head whip in his direction. "I may have already thought about sneaking in…" he added bashfully.

"Love's a bitch, ain't it?" Avalon laughed to herself while the man went red in the face.

~ 0 ~

While it wasn't easy getting to the roof of Valdemar's home, the group managed to do it while only slightly tearing dresses here and there. They'd went in through the back and climbed up using the ladder left by a construction workers. The guards were distracted by a couple of children who'd been slipped some coins by Rory so the group had just enough time to get up.

"Are we going to break it?" Louis watched the Doctor examine the skylight giving access to an attic.

"Not quite," the Doctor smirked and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He aimed it at the corners to get the skylight opened.

"What is that?" Louis was dazzled by the sonic.

"You can't have it!" the Doctor warned him.

One by one, they dropped into the room which turned out to be nothing more than a dirty attic. They crept out into the hallway and watched for anyone coming their way.

"Where are these 'secret' rooms?" Lena whispered.

"We just try random doors, don't we?" Avalon stopped by one door and flung it open.

"Ava!" Rory nearly had a heart attack but Avalon snickered and closed the door.

"Nothing but clothes in here, Rory. Jesus, calm down."

"Don't go opening doors like that!"

"Oh, then how come he can do it?" Avalon pointed at the Doctor who'd stopped by another door and slowly opened it up.

"Oh yes, because he should be your role model," Rory rubbed his forehead and dragged Avalon after the others.

Lena and Amy had gasped horribly at whatever was inside the room. Louis just seemed horrified, but the Doctor was cryptic. Rory and Avalon came up to an eerie green glowing room full of young women inside chambers. Each of the women wore a gas mask with tubes running down and connecting behind the chambers up to the ceiling. There was some sort of green gas (or smoke) billowing around the room, but so far nontoxic.

"Woah…" Avalon stepped inside right after the Doctor. Her eyes trailed up to where a high-tech machine hung from the ceiling. There were rings surrounding its top and lower parts with flashing buttons all around it.

"What on Earth is all this?" Louis felt the air leave his lungs at such a horrific sight.

"Doctor, this can't be from the 18th century," Amy's eyes flickered from one chamber to the next. None of the women inside seemed to be conscious.

"Judging by that-" Rory pointed over to what looked to be like the central control panel residing at the side, just by the doors, "-it has to be from the future."

The Doctor quickly left his studies of the chambers to go poke at the control panel with his sonic.

"Definitely not 51st century," Lena made her own calculations. While it was definitely from the future, none of the machinery remotely looked like what the hospitals had in the 51st century.

"What is being pumped into them?" Louis stopped exactly in front of Cosette's chamber, and suddenly his question seemed useless. "Cosette! Cosette! Can you hear me!?"

Rory rushed over to stop the man from calling Cosette's name. "We'll be caught!"

Louis shook Rory off him and pointed at Cosette's unconscious form. "But she's right there! And she's being...poisoned!"

"Not poisoned, no," Amy walked over, far calmer than Louis. "It can't be poison or else we'd all be poisoned from the smoke."

"It's not," the Doctor was reading off his sonic. "This thing-" he nodded to the control panel, "-is a DNA sequencer."

"And for those of us who don't speak alien geek?" Avalon raised an eyebrow.

"It's a machine for decoding genetic inheritance, meaning-"

"No, I need to check on the girls!" they suddenly heard Valdemar himself in the hallway.

"Big brother!" Lena panicked as the man neared the room.

"Hide!" Amy ordered and she, Rory and Louis hurried behind the chambers, sticking themselves as far back as possible.

The Doctor took Lena and Avalon with him to the back of the control panel and all three ducked just as Valdemar entered the room. He went directly for the chambers and began to take off the masks from the women, all except for Cosette. From their hiding spots, the group could see that when each singer opened their eyes they were flashing a dangerous green. Their mouths also released the same green smoke that was in the room.

"What the hell kind of demons are those?" Avalon made the question and received a prompt hand on the mouth from the Doctor. This time, she knew she deserved it.

"Each of you has a task to perform," Valdemar spoke his army. "I've programmed into your chambers victims' names that I'd like you to go after tonight. Bring me back their genetic samples before you kill them with your beautiful singing. Understood?"

Each of the women nodded their heads silently. Then, like birds, they each flew out from the windows to do their respective assignments.

There was a long silence in the room where Valdemar remained, until��

"You may come out now."

The group remained frozen for a bit despite knowing they'd been somehow caught.

Lena whimpered in fear and Avalon grabbed her hand. The Doctor pulled himself up, rather calmly and leaned over the control panel. "Nice room you got, don't really care for the gas, though."

"Are you kidding?" Avalon popped in beside him, and with her Lena. "I'm more against the creepy demon girls."

Valdemar smirked at them, and glanced over his shoulder when Amy, Rory and Louis emerged from their own hiding spots. He, of course, recognized Louis. "Well, well, look who got himself some new friends."

"What have you done to Cosette?" Louis wasted no time in demanding. "What did you do to her?"

"She wanted to become a singer, and that's what I gave her."

"Uh, where does the creepy green eyes and smoke come in?" Amy raised a finger.

"I'd personally love to know how you've gotten the levitation to work," the Doctor grabbed Valdemar's attention. "Tricky but doable...just not in this particular era."

"You wouldn't understand," Valdemar promised him.

"Try me," the Doctor instructed, or rather ordered, darkly.

"This is beyond your knowledge, sir," Valdemar spat the last word. He walked over to Cosette's chamber and flicked a switch to activate its release process. "But even then, you've all seen too much and I simply cannot allow that."

"Doctor…" Avalon stiffened when Valdemar took the gas mask off Cosette's face. "Demon girl...being released…"

"Yes, I'm seeing…" the Doctor watched with a bit of fascination as Cosette was released from her chamber.

"Dear one, sing them all to sleep," Valdemar gave the order.

Cosette then began to sing under a trance, and despite once having a wonderful voice, what came out of her mouth was nothing but putrid screams. The group was forced to cover their ears but each fell to their knees. One by one, they fell unconscious.

~ 0 ~

The next time the group of time travelers and Louis woke up, they found themselves in the dusty attic, chained to the wall in a perfect line.

"What the - hey!" Avalon growled and pulled on the chains binding her wrist. "Is it possible to kill a demon? Because I think I might give it a go!"

"Oh, I like her," Valdemar emerged from the darkness with Cosette at his side. He definitely seemed please with the woman's reactions and attempts to get free. No one else seemed like her.

"You're not my type," Avalon snapped.

"Avalon, shush time," Lena whispered beside her, her frail voice shaky with fear.

"We're already chained, what more can they do?" Avalon pointed out their terrible situation. "Besides kill us."

"Actually, before we're killed, I'd like to know why," the Doctor began his usual, innocent questioning. "Really, Valdemar, what's the point?"

"Well, since you're all about to die anyways…" Valdemar smirked. "I was supposed to be executed, you see, but in a year that none of you would ever live to see."

"So you're from the future," Rory concluded his suspicions. "That's why the room was so high-tech."

"But if he's supposed to be executed, does that mean you ran away?" Amy tilted her head. "And, what's more, you ran to the 18th century?"

"It wasn't by my choice," Valdemar corrected. "2098 executions are not the easiest to get by - I wouldn't even have been nearly executed if I hadn't been betrayed by supposed friends. I pulled every last coin in my savings to escape.

"And, again, you chose to come to the 18th century," Lena was waiting, and hoping, he would explain his precise choice.

"You said...DNA sequencing..." Avalon glanced at the Doctor, "Explain that bit again."

"Ancestors," the Doctor realized at the reminder of the chambers. "You came back to get revenge on those who betrayed you."

"Ooh, that is good," Avalon couldn't help but be awed. When she noticed all the looks she was getting from her friends and sister she cleared her throat and added, "I like books. There's this good one where the guy wants to get rid of his enemy so he goes back in time to erase the ancestors. What was the title again? Um…"

"Avalon, please be quiet," Amy pleaded when she saw Valdemar's raging face.

"Four of my comrades betrayed me to buy their freedoms!" the man roared. "And now that I escaped I will erase them from existence! Cosette," Valdemar snapped his fingers and the woman stepped forwards, still under his control. "You know what to do with them. I need genetic samples from each of them." With that, Valdemar left the room .

Cosette moved forwards and started with Louis who pulled on his chains and pleaded with Cosette to remember him. Cosette grabbed him by the face and kissed him, and hard.

"I'm confused...are we being killed or snogged?" Avalon raised an eyebrow.

"Genetic samples," the Doctor reminded and started yanking his chains again.

"You mean she's going to kiss us!?" Lena frantically began pulling on her own chains.

"What - Rory!" Amy yelled, scandalized as her fiancee was promptly kissed by Cosette.

"It's not like it's his fault, Amy!" the Doctor reminded, wanting to leave that perfectly clear for when this was all over, Rory wouldn't get into big trouble with her.

"It's not her fault either!" Louis then chimed in. He wasn't exactly liking this idea but he understood enough to know that Cosette was not acting out of her own will.

"Oh, and you're so willing to sacrifice yourself, huh!?" Avalon shot a look at the Doctor.

"What? I'm last if you haven't noticed! I just need to get the sonic!"

"You can't reach for it and I certainly can't!"

"Amy!" Lena gasped when Cosette move onto the first ginger.

"Doctor, you need to get a better plan! She's moving onto my sister!" Avalon fiercely fought with her chains but even her strength wasn't enough to snap one of them. Helplessly, she watched Cosette kiss her sister as well for the genetic sample.

"She tastes like gas," Amy crinkled her nose. "Am I going to he poisoned now!?'

"No, I shouldn't think so. He's testing for genetic sampling-" the Doctor began when Avalon kicked his leg.

"Not the time for explaining! Find a way to free us - oh listen lady," her eyes practically flared at Cosette, "If you come near me I'll-" Cosette took no notice of her words and kissed her next.

"Oh, hi there," the Doctor nervously greeted Cosette when it came to be his turn. "Any chance we could not do the kiss-"

"Sorry, did he think asking nicely would stop her?" Amy incredulously looked at Rory.

"He seems to be enjoying himself," Avalon felt a tingle of anger she knew was well misplaced.

As if nothing happened, Cosette turned to leave the room.

"What's she need our 'genetic samples' for anyways?" Lena asked.

"What are they meant for?" Louis added on.

"Well, I imagine they're going to see if any of us are part of Valdemar's enemies' ancestors," the Doctor began to explain while he jiggled to the side between him and Avalon. It was done awkwardly since his head kept hitting her side no matter how many times he tried not to. "As well as to see if we're part of his ancestors."

"But that's ridiculous. We're not from here," Avalon frowned, watching him with a rather annoyed look. "You, Lena and I aren't even part of this stupid planet."

"Yes, I remember that. Valdemar doesn't know that."

"And neither did I!" Louis was horrified. "Are you saying you're...you're...you know...extraterrestrials?"

"It doesn't stop there, we're from the future," Rory said, pitying the man's horror.

"Oh that's just…" Louis didn't even have the words to express his feelings at the moment.

"Doctor, what the hell are you doing!?" Avalon yelped when his head hit her arm. He'd managed to tilt his whole body to the side.

"The sonic!" he grunted as he pushed himself more to the side. "It's in my jacket's pocket! If I can get it to fall out then we can get out of here!"

"You're mad," Avalon declared. "Smart. But mad."

The Doctor ignored her and focused on his purpose. He shook his shoulders and leaned towards Avalon's side. A couple things did manage to fall out from his pocket, including yarn, gum, a super ball, and finally...the sonic screwdriver.

"It worked!" Lena laughed.

The Doctor picked up the sonic with his mouth then aimed it at the only angle he could, which turned out to be Avalon's left-handed chain. With a quick zap, her chain broke free.

"Yes!" Avalon snatched the sonic from his mouth but shivered. "Eugh! It's got your saliva!"

"Are we really being picky right?" the Doctor incredulously demanded.

"Avalon just use the bloody thing!" Amy shouted.

"Just flick the switch there," the Doctor instructed.

Avalon growled and aimed the sonic at her other chain. "If I get some sort of illness I swear to God regeneration won't be enough to save you."

The Doctor mocked her in silence. Avalon soon freed herself and, of course, went on to free her sister next.

"What are we meant to do now?" Amy asked.

"Capture that man!" Louis said obviously. "Can we reverse what happened to them? Cosette?"

"It's possible, but we need to get to the gas chamber first," the Doctor said, patiently waiting as Avalon made her way down past Amy to Rory.

"But how?" Louis demanded to know the full answer.

"I will figure it out as we go!"

"That's reassurance," Avalon freed Louis.

"Would you quit your sarcasm and come free me?" the Doctor exclaimed, but Avalon smirked. She slowly made her way to the Doctor, on purpose, which irritated him even more. "Want to go slower, Avalon?"

Avalon bent down beside him, twirling his sonic between her fingers. "Want to shut up before I actually decide to leave you here?"

"You wouldn't," the Doctor scowled.

Avalon smirked again and leaned closer. "I've done that to a guy before, so you probably should be scared."

"You know, I don't quite believe half your stories sometimes," he matched her smirk with his own.

"Are you saying you want to find out if this story is true?"

"Oh my god you are not going to flirt right now," Amy clapped her hands, effectively ending the moment.

"Sorry - Avalon free me already!" the Doctor hurriedly moved things along after realizing what he'd done basically. He really didn't know why he got carried away with Avalon sometimes. He was a natural flirt - half the time he didn't even realize he did it - and with Avalon, it seemed to happen a bit more. She was a flirt too, and a good one, and when she started he needed to finish it. It just brought a tingly feeling that he liked, but Amy was right. It wasn't the moment and quite frankly, he shouldn't be having any moment with Avalon. That couldn't be.

Avalon aimed the sonic at the chains holding the Doctor and had him set free in two seconds flat. The Doctor quickly got up to his feet and reached to take the sonic but Avalon whirled away. "Off we go!" she declared and ran forwards.

The Doctor groaned and went after her with the rest of the group behind. They crept towards the gas chambers where Valdemar was busy decoding their genetic samples. In no time the man had concluded that Amy and Rory were not of his own ancestors. Naturally, he was stumped to find Lena, Avalon and the Doctor's genetic codes to be far more different than any human possible.

"Cosette, you may dispose of our lovely non-French intruders who seem to have a knack for getting caught."

Amy smacked a hand over her forehead. It was really happening again.

"Give me that!" the Doctor snatched his sonic from Avalon's hand.

"Oh please, like that's going to save us from a demon girl!" Avalon snapped, gesturing to said demon girl.

"You are not from this world, are you?" Valdemar turned from his women to face the group. He was looking directly at the Doctor, a bit awed. "In fact, I would say you are a very long way from home. As are you…" he gestured to Avalon and Lena.

"Don't point at my sister," Avalon ordered.

"You three, along with your friends here-" Valdemar made a motion to Amy and Rory, "-are useless gits in my plans. Cosette, do what you do best."

A flash of realization crossed Louis' eyes. He looked around the room and saw shattered pieces of glass probably from Cosette's singing earlier. Without much pondering, he snatched up a piece from the ground. "STOP!"

He held the share right to his neck and slowly slipped in front of the group. "You take one step and I'll do it."

"Wh-what are you doing!?" Rory shouted at the man frantically.

"I've figured it out, that's what," Louis determinedly stated at Valdemar. "I-I'm your ancestor, aren't I? That's why you didn't order for my death. Isn't it?"

"Doctor, is that true?" Lena whispered to the Time Lord.

"Of course it's true!" Louis answered, quite sure of himself judging by Valdemar's cold look. "I die and you cease to exist. I will do it."

Valdemar upheld the state until he had to give in. "Stop," he gave the order to Cosette who stopped immediately. "No matter, I will have my revenge tonight. My daughters of the night: it's time to go."

The women surrounded him and flew him out the window like stock of birds. Louis threw away the shard of glass and lunged on Cosette to stop her from going. Cosette thrashed against Louis but the man kept her on the ground.

"Doctor! Can you reverse what has been done to her!?" Louis called frantically. Rory rushed over to help keep Cosette down.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and fiddled with some of its features. "A good sound reverberating should be enough to pull her out from her trance."

"Ah, so you weren't going to just 'go along with it'," Amy said, a bit impressed.

The Doctor hurried over and aimed the sonic over Cosette's head. "Just keep her still."

Rory grabbed Cosette's head while Louis managed to keep her body still enough for the Doctor to reverse the trance. Cosette's thrashing instantly, and for a second it seemed she'd fallen unconscious.

"What did you do!?" Louis demanded, assuming the worst.

Cosette suddenly gasped awake, her eyes no longer flashing green. "Wh-what happened?" she coughed.

"Cosette, is it you again?" Louis helped her sit up right. Rory got up and moved back with the Doctor. "A-are you…"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the dark-haired woman raised an eyebrow him. It appeared she didn't have a recollection of anything. Her eyes flickered to the group of travelers behind Louis. "Who are they?"

"Friends, absolutely the best of friends," Louis sent a truly grateful look at the Doctor before hugging Cosette.

"Doctor, what about the others women?" Rory asked the Time Lord. "And Valdemar? We're not letting him go, right?"

"Never," the Doctor muttered and stepped forwards. "Cosette?" the woman in question pulled away from Louis and questionably looked at him. "I'm the Doctor, and...I could really use your help catching Valdemar."

"That man?" Cosette's nose crinkled. "I don't remember much but I'm sure he's responsible for whatever happened to me. Isn't it?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded. "The trance Valdemar put you under is gone but I can still use the echoe of existence in you to trace it back to Valdemar."

"I...have no idea what that means...but okay," Cosette nervously glanced at Louis. He encouraged her with a nod which did relax her a little.

~ 0 ~

Using Cosette and the sonic, the Doctor was able to trace Valdemar's trance signal all the way to the roof of Notre Dame.

"Never thought I'd be meeting Notre Dame in these circumstances," Avalon sighed sadly. That was on her list. "But it's not surprising."

"I don't understand, why is Valdemar here?" Louis asked. He kept a hold on Cosette like she'd fall under the man's trance again.

"He's ready to decimate his enemies' ancestors, clearly," the Doctor started for the doors. "Now you all need to stay here. I don't want anyone to run after me trying to play hero and just getting hurt. Is that clear?"

Lena was, of course, the first to nod her head. Reluctantly, Amy and Rory followed. Louis had no intention of following and much less let Cosette do the same.

"Avalon, is that clear?" the Doctor waited to hear her confirmation. "Avalon?" he glanced at the woman when she didn't answer. Avalon was staring up at the big bell on the roof. "Avalon! Did you listen?"

"That big bell…" she pointed, clearly ignoring his words. "If you were to use it…"

"Avalon, I am talking to you!"

"Yeah, yeah, shush for a moment, please," Avalon waved him off with hand. "I'm saying about that bell-"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and looked to Rory. "Don't let her follow, please."

"Got it," Rory promised and the Doctor started on his way.

"OI!" Avalon called after him but remained in her spot. "You're not going to listen to me?"

"I - I'm busy!" the Doctor pointed upwards to remind her of the situation.

"And I am trying to help you! Come here," Avalon motioned for him to return. "Now."

Grumbling, the Doctor walked back to her. She grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face the building, pointing up to the roof. "See the bells there?"

"I think we all see them, Avalon," Amy flatly said.

"I was thinking, if all you need is a stronger sound to cancel out the trance Valdemar has on the women...couldn't you use the bell to do it all at once?"

"Well that's-" the Doctor stopped when it hit him. He turned to Avalon with a grin on his face. "You are good!"

Avalon smirked. "Well, took you long enough to realize that."

"I can use the sonic-"

"Yeah, I was thinking about that-"

"-and hopefully get the women back in time-"

"-yeah that was the point I was trying to-"

The Doctor laughed and kissed her forehead. "Thank you!" he ran towards the building.

There was a strange smile spreading across Avalon's face, one that left questions in the air from her friends.

~ 0 ~

Valdemar had his 'daughters of the night' lined up in a horizontal line when the Doctor came forwards. Once again, Valdemar knew of the Time Lord's presence and turned to face him.

"You don't give up," Valdemar noted, and the Doctor gave a curt nod. "I admire it but it is getting rather tedious."

"Valdemar, I am giving you a chance to stop all of this," the Doctor began, truly meaning his words. Valdemar laughed, but it didn't stop the Doctor from continuing. "You can't change your past and much less anyone else's past. Believe me, I've tried to do the same before and it does not work out."

"Really?" Valdemar mused. "Have you tried to do what I have?"

"Try to eradicate my enemies by erasing their ancestors? No," the Doctor replied. "But believe me when I tell you that you can't undo your choices. You have to face what you've done."

"Facing what I've done means execution, Doctor. I was charged with treason, murder, mental domination and so many more crimes that I was sent directly to execution."

"You chose to do all those things and you cannot evade it-"

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" Valdemar roared but the Doctor remained unfazed. "All my comrades betrayed me! While they get to walk free I have to die?" he laughed. "I don't think so."

"Valdemar you're not going to get away with this," the Doctor repeated. "This is your chance to stop."

Valdemar frowned. "I have a better idea. How about instead of just erasing my enemies from existence, I expand my idea to include your little friends."

The Doctor's jaw clenched at the threat and stepped forwards. "You will not touch my friends."

"Watch me," Valdemar glanced over his shoulders to the women under his control.

"Valdemar-" the Doctor's edgy voice called.

"Go find me-"

"DON'T!" the Doctor aimed the sonic at the bell hanging at the center and set it into tumultuous clangs. He covered his ears as quick as possible and stumbled with the force of the bell.

Valdemar did the same but the women behind him were seemingly struggling to do so. They growled and their eyes flashed green - they were clearly being affected by the noise.

"Get him! Sing to him!" Valdemar roared between the noises, pointing at the Doctor. However, the women ignored him and started reaching for Valdemar instead. "Wh-what are you doing!? Get off me!" Valdemar fought against the women as best he could but even he saw that it was of no use. They were coming out of his trance. He glanced around for a possible escape and only saw the roof edge.

"Valdemar, you don't have to!" the Doctor shouted once he saw where he was going.

"You forced me to," Valdemar blamed him. He climbed onto the edge and with another look at the women and the Doctor, he jumped off.

Below, there was screams of horror when Valdemar's body landed with an excruciating crack on the ground.

~ 0 ~

"A-and you're sure I'm no longer...under that...trance thing?" Cosette asked the Doctor for the fifth time despite him already explain that Valdemar's trance on all the opera singers had vanished with the Notre Dame bells.

The Doctor, however, was happy to once again reassure her doubts. "You are free from any trance whatsoever."

"But...with that, does it mean I can no longer sing?" Cosette nervously glanced at Louis beside her. "I liked to sing."

There, the Doctor felt awkward having to tell her that while as lovely as she was she did not possess the right ability to sing. He now sincerely wished the rest of his friends would come out of that sweet shop so that they could finally leave the place.

Louis hugged Cosette dearly and chuckled. "Perhaps it is time to start looking for another profession, Cosette."

"This is your kindest way to tell me I have no talent, isn't it?" Cosette asked but nonetheless laughed.

"I do love you," Louis said instead, hoping it was enough to keep that laugh going.

"There you are!" the Doctor exclaimed to his friends who'd finally emerged from the sweet shop. "I was beginning to think I'd have to go in and fish all of you out."

"Blame Amy," Lena pointed a finger at the ginger in question who was munching on a sweet biscuit. "She wanted to take the whole shop."

"Not true," Amy grumbled and continued to chew on her sweet.

"No, of course not, just ask the bag overflowing with candy," Rory smirked and earned himself a glare from Amy.

"Rory! You're supposed to defend me!"

"Yes, well, we should get going," the Doctor moved them along before they got in an argument.

"It was nice meeting you," Amy said to Louis and Cosette before she was forced to walk for the TARDIS.

"I'm glad you're better now," Lena cheerily said to Cosette.

"Thank you," Cosette said truthfully.

"You hold onto this one," Avalon came up beside Louis. "He's a good fiancee. I might steal him."

"Don't you dare," the Doctor pointed at her, fearing her jokes would cause a ripple between Cosette and Louis.

"C'mon big brother," Lena linked arms with him. "I want to get some sleep. It's been a long night."

"Thank you Doctor," Cosette waved goodbye to him.

"And thank you Avalon," Louis kindly said to the ginger as the Doctor and Lena got a head start for the TARDIS. "Without you, I would have never gotten my Cosette back."

"Well, technically, the Doctor's the one that did all the saving," Avalon shrugged and dropped a gumdrop in her mouth.

"But you're the one who started it all, so thank you," Louis took Avalon's free hand and politely kissed the back of it.

Avalon laughed. "Oh, I definitely like you. Cosette, don't you ever let him go!"

"I promise," Cosette softly said.

Avalon popped in another sweet into her mouth. "I should get going. Doctor's one to probably leave me behind for a bit just to get his point across."

"It was him, wasn't it?" Louis stopped her just as she turned to leave. She turned back questionably, still chewing on her candy. "When we first met, you said you were having troubles with someone too."

"The Doctor, yes," Avalon smiled. "You probably saw we have a very, uh, tetchy relationship."

"Why did you lie?"

Avalon blinked, and crossed looks with Cosette who was just as lost as she was. "I-I'm sorry? Lied about what?"

"You said your troubles were not of the heart but...they are," Louis said and instantly saw Avalon stiffen.

"I-I don't...they aren't," Avalon left it clear. "I barely know him! In fact, that's the problem. He refuses to tell me anything about himself. How can I have troubles with the 'heart' if I barely know the man?"

"You can't usually command the heart, sweetheart," Cosette said kindly.

Avalon was completely red in the face. "You two are funny! So funny, I almost forgot to laugh. I'll go laugh at home."

"Good luck," Louis honestly said, causing further nervousness in Avalon.

"F-funny," Avalon continued to mumble as she walked away.

~ 0 ~

In the library of the TARDIS, Avalon laid comfortably on the couch with a thin book in her hands. Once more, she'd tried to sleep but found it was impossible despite how tired she felt. By now, she was used to it. At least now she had even bigger collection of fairy tales to read and pass the time by. Lena had been with her for as long as she could until she nearly fell off her couch chair half asleep. It wasn't until Avalon verbally told Lena she was free to go to sleep that Lena finally went off. Later on, someone else came into the library.

"Look what I have for you," the Doctor waved a small vial in his hand and approached the couch.

Avalon raised her gaze briefly but soon returned to her book. She turned to the next page. "Whatever that is, I am not drinking it."

"Lena told me you were having trouble sleeping so I went ahead and made you a little sleep drought," the Doctor sat down beside her and held the vial out. "One of these is guaranteed to make you sleep for eight hours just like you need to."

"How kind of you, but I am not drinking that," Avalon pushed his hand with the vial away. "My book is quite good."

The Doctor sighed and lowered the vial. She continued to read Save me the Waltz like he wasn't around. "Is this because you're still upset with me?"

"Hmm..."

The Doctor rolled his head and put the vial down on the table in front of them. "You would really rather not sleep because you're angry with me?"

"I'm a proud woman. There-" Avalon sarcastically began, "-is something you now know about me." And just as quickly as the sarcasm came, it dropped from her face to be replaced with a big frown. "Too bad it's a one way street with you."

"I thought you weren't going to ask me anymore…"

"And have I asked?"

"Avalon-"

"I consider you my friend, you know," Avalon reached for her bookmark on the table and stuck it in her book before closing it. She put it on the table and shifted on the couch. "You are truly the most interesting friend I have ever made. And I am trying my best not to care but...you told me that here I wouldn't have to hide my feelings. So I'm not."

"That is fair," the Doctor solemnly agreed.

"Can I just ask one thing and get an honest answer?" she scooted closer to him, letting their knees touch. "One thing and then I will never ever bring up the topic again." She was no longer wearing those angry eyes of hers, which brought a bit of relief to the Doctor. He didn't like it when she was so angry with him.

"Go for it," he finally said to her.

"What happened that made you so scared to share your past?"

The question froze the Doctor in his spot. There was an indescribable expression on his face, but there was also a clear solace flashing across his eyes. Whatever anger, annoyance, that Avalon felt washed away once she understood there was truly something that happened preventing him from talking freely. She wouldn't keep making his life harder than what it already was, but she did have a few final words to say on the matter. "Whatever hurt you, whoever hurt you, should not have this power over you. It's an infinite TARDIS but there's no need to be alone in it." She reached for her book on the table and held it in one hand. "We're here. I'm here." She leaned closer and surprised him by kissing him on the cheek. She pulled back with a blush on her face. "Goodnight, fairy tale man."

Once more she left the Doctor quite startled, with his own blush, and with a funny feeling inside.

[kuuxkat]

[EN]VOICE BRODY Magazine - Interview with Aida Rikako

Original CN TL and Pictures: here

CN TL： Toraiba食堂 (逢田文明博物馆)

Disclaimer: This is a Chinese to EN TL, there would be things that would be lost in translation between the languages.

I’m not posting the image of the TL, sorry about that. Stealing images aren’t cool.

Please refer to my policies for more details and do not use the translations for commercial use.

Since there’s no QC - pardon my bad engrish.

The contents are under the cut.

With regards to the point of not giving up,

It has a very strong resonance (with me).

Q: We can see that in a recently published magazine about Aida-san, you really do like curry?

Rikako: Yes, I love curry the most. Although I’m not that picky about it, but what I really like is a certain franchise’s limited curry soup. And also I can cook some by myself too.

Q: …. Do you really make them?

Rikako: I REALLY DO MAKE THEM!!!

Q: Did you make the sauce yourself too?

Rikako: I used pre-made stuff (laughs)

Q: Not bad (laughs). But today’s interview and shoot is after the 2nd season of the TV anime has ended, in what frame of mind were you in when watching episode 13?

Rikako: I watched it together with the fans and everyone during the screening at the end of the year (2017), and it feels different from what we saw at home. To be able to see each other’s joy first hand, there’s a feeling of security to it. And as expected, as I love everyone in the TV anime, I would still feel lonely although there’s still a movie version. But, thinking that it is a “happy end”, then there aren’t any regrets. Although at the end the school has to close down and they would have to combine with another, but everyone in Aqours did do their best. This can be said to the style of Aqours. So I do not doubt the ending for a single moment.

Q: Speaking about the unique points of Aqours, as the stage isn’t at Tokyo, they are still able to get a different resonance as compared to μ’s.

Rikako: That is the case. For (Sakurauchi) Riko-chan, it’s the same too. As I was born in Tokyo too, it did broaden my vision. But there would be a girl somewhere in this world who is living in a place like that, with similar thoughts right? Thinking in that way would have lots of it’s own rewards as well, for children like that, we could say that they are mentally strong right?

Q: Having performing on stage since 16 years old, what are the parts where Aida-san, who had went through rigorous training, empathize with?

Rikako: Indeed there’s parts like this huh? For myself, the degree of the thoughts of: “I can’t give up at this level”, could perhaps be a little stronger than the others. So, for children who worked hard to progress, and the feelings of not ever giving up, I do have a strong resonance to that. And, for school idols themselves, isn't that something that they can only do when they are in high school? So as they legitimately do have that limitation, it’s exactly because of that that when it is nearing the time to end, they could give off that dazzling shine in that very instant. I could deeply and sincerely feel that particular point.

Q: For Aida-san yourself, as a member of Aqours, when you step on an actual stage for an event, would you consciously leave behind flashbacks or moments behind you?

Rikako: Holding 1st Live, 2nd Live Tour and Live&Fan meeting all during last year (2017), it does feel that time flew by quickly. So there would be feelings of anxiety and a little loneliness. Events are being completed one after another, and 3rd Live is in the midst of preparations too, of course there’s a far way of before it ends… but I do feel that time has flew by in a blink of an eye. And wondering whether the days of being part of events with Aqours would gradually decrease, there would be feelings of loneliness. At the very moment where I start feeling that at any single moment I would be able attend an event like this. It would mean that every single precious feeling would also start flowing into the depths of my memory instead. I can’t let it end up like this.

Q: What was asked previously: “What was the shine that everyone found?” what Aida-san wrote was: “To not regret” That answer and this topic are connected to together, right?

Rikako: I feel that to shine is something very difficult to do, but to be able to do it to your full extent and not leave behind any regrets, wouldn’t you say that your life is already shining? Until now, I’ve always lived a life without missing anything. So right now, it does seem to be the shiniest time of my life (laughs)? Of course all this is due to everyone in Aqours, I’ve never once imagined to be able to stand on such a big stage to conduct events.

Q: Should we say that it’s a sparkling and shining world then?

Rikako: I originally just wish to be a voice actress, so I didn’t crave to be on stage and perform. Of course the work that I have right now is very fun. It’s because of that, that I wish to put in my all to properly finish my work here. As it’s something that was achieved with much difficulty, so I wish to unreservedly put in my all into it, not carrying with me any doubts of whether I can do it, and instead put my all in and do it.

Q: Going back to Aida-san’s replies from before, we can see Aida-san’s thoughts on the process of moving forward. You did say before that: “You wish to chase the backs of μ‘s”. Moving on one  year later, it changed to the thoughts of: “The time where we only looked up to is already over”.

Rikako: I did indeed say something like that (laughs). It’s probably when I was replying to last year’s interview, and I felt that if we continue this way, it won’t do. If we just look up, nothing would ever change. I now feel very happy being part of the members of Aqours in my work, so thoughts like to surpass members of μ‘s or to be shoulder-to-shoulder with them, it changed to how I wouldn’t even consider these. I guess, it’s at this point that changed.

Q: You won’t confuse yourself with μ’s right?

Rikako: That’s the case. Although we are both projects of “LoveLive!”, but if we are able to separate the two, we would instead be happier. It’s how I think so recently. As we hope to work hard as part of Aqours.

Q: To chase and search for “the light belonging to oneself”, you’ll be able to properly find that light, right?

Rikako: We aren’t engaging in a comparison, I feel that the songs by Aqours have their own uniqueness to them too. There’s a kind of power that came from somewhere unknown. It’s the same for (Takami) Chika too. It’s exactly because Chika doesn’t stop trying to express these to us, can the members work hard together as a team.

Q: But  it's because she (Chika) felt that because she was ordinary, that this story could begin.

Rikako: I feel that being ordinary is itself a very amazing thing, there’s limitless potential, it’s exactly because Chika is that ordinary, that is the reason why everyone could resonate with Chika, and isn’t that even more attractive? Especially for me who doesn’t have a single specialty, very ordinary, and I did think that way when seeing everyone at the recordings. Everyone have such distinct personalities, everyone of these children are a little odd (laughs).

Q: You did think that huh (laughs). As for the positives and style of songs by Aqours, “WATER BLUE NEW WORLD” really did sang out the past and future of Aqours, right?

Rikako: When I first heard the sample tape, I felt: “This is an amazing song”. This song can be said to a culmination of many things to be something great. It wasn’t the right time to sing this song at the 1st season, and it’s a song that can only be sung now. The lyrics themselves are also trying to showcase this. I’m confident that this song can move many people, although it wasn’t made by me (laughs). But when I was singing this song, it really encompasses lots of feelings inside.

Q: Are you able to foresee the “light that will come” then?

Rikako: The days where I'm part of Aqours, I wish would never end any time soon, I believe that there are lots and lots of very amazing things waiting for us. We can still continue walking forward. I feel that we haven’t gone all out yet. I believe that there would even more people who would know about us. This allows us to continue working hard, and to be even more united. I guess I would forever never be satisfied with the current situation? No matter where we end up, there would always be another step forward, as I do wish to keep in my heart the feeling of always improving. It won’t do without that intent, but when I am dancing together with everyone, that instant, I really am very happy. When I dance, I carry with me the feelings of, if I can convey this feeling more to everyone, it’ll be great.

Q: For last year’s 2nd Live tour, I was blessed to participate in Numazu and Fukouka’s Live&Fan meeting. At that venue, the atmosphere could be said that: “we’ve already sent the message” right? Especially at the venue itself, it’ll have a totally different feel to it.

Rikako: I really felt it’s simply amazing! We can say it’s passionate, that it’s sincere, but it felt amazing. In “Landing action yeah!!”, the part where Suzuki Ainya-san would sing “Tsugi no basho wa doko darou?/I wonder what place will be next?” solo , was very fitting to how it felt then, I especially like that part.

Q: At that time, your tear ducts were easily hit right (laughs)?

Rikako: I carried with me feelings of wanting to continue on endlessly, and wishing to go to where everyone was and share in everyone’s feelings of having met them. At the same time I felt the loneliness of it all coming to an end hitting me, so it’s really a very very amazing song.

Q: Did you think about what you want to do in the days from the TV anime ended till the movie version where you would meet with Riko once again?

Rikako: I’m trying my best to leave my hair long (laughs). And it’s also because everyone has worked so hard in the TV anime, so for it to end like this is impossible. From this point on, the actors everyone, would have to continue working hard too. Riko too would always be by my side accompanying me.

Q: If you were to say something to Riko now, what would you wish to say?

Rikako: For Riko, she’ll be able to endlessly continue on, and she’ll be able to emit even a more dazzling shine than before. But for now… what are you doing now? If I think of it this way, I’ll feel a little lonely. But as expected if it’s them, they’ll be in another world living on fine, right?

Q: I look forward to that the day where the two of you would meet. Lastly, Aida-san, if you were to look at “LoveLive!” again, what would it’s charm points be?

Rikako: As expected it’s cohesiveness, everyone’s feelings have become one. Even the staff too. The actors and fans, everyone’s feelings have become one. I feel that everyone is inseparable now.

Q: And this particular “feeling” is?​​​​

Rikako: What will happen this year, and what would happen next year, what will happen on the road to the final destination is something no one can foresee, but is something everyone are eagerly anticipating… that is the feeling I meant. Mm, the road to the future.

[copperbadge]

Heist movies! This reminded me that somehow, the serious, nuanced meditation on intolerance I'm plotting has morphed into an 8th century paper caper (like literally stealing paper from the Chinese) and I am wholly ignorant on where heist/caper tropes end and their clichés begin. Other than Leverage, can you or your readership recommend good motion pictures examples of the genre?

A PAPER CAPER. What a great idea! 

Hmm, heist films. Well, there are a couple of subgenres. And some examples of the genre are really good examples of the genre while not necessarily being very good movies. But let me see if I can break it down a bit.

(NOW UPDATED with Crowd Recommendations!)

Movies I Have Seen: To Catch A Thief - focused around crime and theft but the classic caper is actually carried out by someone else; I think it’s a great movie but it is quite long and not everyone agrees with me. How To Steal A Million - the heist sequence itself is a bit clunky, but the movie is charming and well-written for the most part. It’s somewhat of an outlier in terms of using heist/caper tropes but fun to watch. Ocean’s 11 (classic) - this is a Greek tragedy written as a heist. But it does have great music and it’s a fun Rat Pack film.Ocean’s 11 (modern) - a great example of heist genre tropes and inversions of same (pickpockets, hackers, a laser grid, a bait and switch, etc)Ocean’s 12 I felt betrayed its viewers somewhat; I don’t think it’s a very good heist film. I haven’t seen Ocean’s 13, but @sailorsol says it goes back to a more traditional heist feel. I am SUPER EXCITED about Ocean’s 8 because it looks like it’s a return to what made Ocean’s 11 so good. Entrapment is a heist film and I remember when I saw it in 1995 I loved it, but I don’t know how well it has aged. Inception is considered by some to be a heist film. I don’t care for it, but it does use several heist-related tropes (a ragtag group of experts, an elaborate plot, a lot of thinking on one’s feet) so I think it’s worth a watch if you’ve worn out your other movies. :D The Sting is based on supposedly real-life events. It is an EXCEPTIONAL film and a good introduction to many con-man and heist tropes. Its central conceit, the telegram fraud, is riffed on in an episode of White Collar. The Thomas Crown Affair (classic) - contains several heists, but I would consider it more of a psychological thriller. An enjoyable film in general. The Thomas Crown Affair (modern) - An adequate remake with a great heist at the end; on its own it’s a decent film, though it pales in comparison to the original. Now You See Me - Considered by some a heist film, I’m not entirely sure I’d agree; they do pull off several heists but it’s more focused on illusionism. I didn’t care as much for Now You See Me 2, but it does have a very The Sting-like denouement that is useful if you’re analyzing heists. Dog Day Afternoon has been riffed on endlessly as a bank robbery film; I’m not sure I’d classify it as heist/caper, but there’s no denying it has had a huge impact on anything to do with media and bank robbery. The Saint: suggested by Anon and also by @drivemetogeek, I had forgotten about this movie and I love it a lot, though again it’s more spy-thriller-with-heist-tropes than a heist. The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan: Anon suggested Great Muppet Caper, which reminded me that there’s a great send-up of high-tension heists in Muppets Take Manhattan. Both are absolute classics. @sailorsol pointed out “If you want to get pedantic, Star Trek IV: The Journey Home is a heist film too" and a) totally true and b) it’s my favorite Star Trek movie, so highly recommend. @jmathieson-fic recoomended Catch Me If You Can, which I had forgotten about and agree is a really fun and also quite touching film, based on real events. 

Movies I Haven’t Seen:Logan Lucky JUST came out and I haven’t seen it yet but it has Sebastian Stan in it so I will. :D Similarly I’ve head Baby Driver is great, but I haven’t seen it. @radiozilla says “Baby Driver is indeed fantastic, but I don’t really consider it a heist movie. It focuses on a group of heisters, but the heists themselves aren’t shown in detail. During them the focus is more on the driver parked outside, then the car chase.”And I’ve just had Going In Style recommended to me by @enduring-reality, who says “Its a 2017 film about grandpas getting screwed over and stealing from their bank! funny and entertaining. starring morgan freeman and michael caine. 10/10 would recommend!“The Usual Suspects is a movie I haven’t seen but is generally thought to belong to the heist/crime genre and to be a good example of it. The Italian Job (classic and modern) – the modern one considered an excellent heist film and a comedy. I know nothing about the classic. Likewise The Taking of Pelham 123 (classic and modern) I know very little about, but they’re both considered heist films. @jmathieson-fic recommends the original as “Classic and awesome.”Snatch - I honestly know nothing about it but it shows up on a lot of lists. @miss-kitty-fantastico recommends it. The Great Train Robbery - I’ve been meaning to see this one for ages but don’t know a ton about it. The Fast And Furious films - most of these are considered a form of heist film. I’ve seen several of them but they all kind of blur together. They are very good viewing, action-film wise. A Fish Called Wanda - supposedly quite funny; I don’t know much about it. @delphia2000 says “one of my very favorite films..worth borrowing from your library” and @prince-atom adds “A Fish Called Wanda is hilarious, for the most part. I would caution that it comes with a major content warning for animal death, however.”Heat and Inside Man both came to my attention from a 99% Invisible episode, and while I’ve never seen either one, Inside Man sounds amazing. Anon says “Sneakers is a classic, and I think Hackers counts as one too. And The Real McCoy.” @miss-kitty-fantastico says “Also consider Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Another Guy Ritchie film and although the Heist part is sort of told oddly, it is done really well.”@rsfcommonplace suggests “Sam Whiskey, a 1969 film which is both a Western and a heist film in reverse. (They have to put the gold back. Once they retrieve it from the depths of the Platte River.)”@jmathieson-fic suggested  “The Hot Rock (based on Donald E. Westlake's excellent novel)” and @geekerypeekery seconds it. @geekerypeekery also suggests “the often-overlooked Quick Change, a Bill Murray heist film from 1990. Hilarious and also quite meta on the heist tropes.” @onceuponacupoftea suggests “David Mamet’s Heist and also House of Games, which is a con film. The Spanish Prisoner is “neonoir suspense”, according to wikipedia, but also involves espionage and cons.” (I feel like I’ve seen The Spanish Prisoner and compared it semi-favorably to The Sting but I don’t recall if it’s the actual movie I’m thinking of.)@brownhairandeyesonline says “Out With A Bang is good fun (though I haven’t seen the original)”@annechen-melo recommends “The Ladykillers, and though I enjoyed the classic more than the remake, the modern film has its moments.”@laughingacademy says “This list needs some Jules Dassin: Rififi, a noirish “one last job” story in which a break-in and safecracking plays out for half an hour with no dialogue, and Topkapi, a comedic caper film and the origin of what’s now known as the Mission: Impossible Cable Drop.”

Are They?Often spy thrillers are classed as heist films because they usually involve an elaborate multi-stage plan to steal something. So you’ve got your Mission Impossible films, your Man From UNCLE, and I would consider Rogue One this very serious, very dramatic form of heist film. I don’t know if I’d consider Kiss Kiss Bang Bang a heist film exactly, but it plays on a lot of the tropes. I don’t like it, as a film, but it does have Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in it and that’s not nothin’. In theory, you could consider Captain America 2: Winter Soldier to be a sort of heist film. It’s more of a spy thriller and I wouldn’t classify their attack on SHIELD as infiltration or a multi-stage elaborate plan, but there’s some elements there. Apparently Ant Man is also considered a heist film but I haven’t seen it. 

TV Shows and Etc:Leverage as you already know is a great primer for heist tropes because many episodes involve a heist that is structured after a movie trope.White Collar is even more explicit about lifting its heists from cinema, so it’s also excellent (at least in the first few seasons) for learning the standards. I can’t really recommend viewing after 3rd season, but YMMV. I have never seen the original Man From UNCLE tv show, but I hear it’s pretty compelling. @spadesandaces says “Idk if the man from uncle tv show counts as heist centric...don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it’s not like leverage or ocean’s” while @peoriarhetoriapeoria says “the show has many episodes that may not be exactly heists but hew close enough to the tropes they might as well.” Same for the classic The Saint series -- I haven’t seen it but I hear it’s good. @drivemetogeek seconds the recommendation for the Saint tv series. @glymr says “It’s not exactly a heist show (at least, not mostly), but if you want to see the Grifter to end all Grifters, watch the Rockford Files.  It’s a show about a P.I. played by James Garner, and he is a Master of social engineering." @drivemetogeek says “seconding Rockford.... the Leverage writers referenced it constantly.” though you guys, I have to admit I’ve watched a few episodes and I found them less than engaging. 99% Invisible did a FANTASTIC podcast about heist films. There is a GREAT book about early 20th century con men (it’s the first place I encountered the characters from The Sting) called The Professional Thief. I don’t know that a lot of people who write heist genre have read it, but the stories inside it have obviously trickled out into our crime media. It’s a really enjoyable read as a sociological study of individual-level crime in the early 20th century. Also gonna throw in a quick recommendation for the Stainless Steel Rat books by Harry Harrison (particularly A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born) and the Raffles short stories by EW Hornung, who wrote a gentleman burglar in response to his famous in-law, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writing Sherlock Holmes. :)

Wikipedia also has an extensive list of heist films and a decent definition of what they generally entail. 

One last note – don’t necessarily think that just because the heist genre is rife with tropes, you can’t use tropes and cliches. Most heist films of the modern day really lean into them; they’re fun to play with and there’s a reason they became tropes in the first place. Don’t be afraid to write a “standard” heist – as long as you enjoy writing it and the readers enjoy reading it, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the most original idea in the world. Think of it as a rube goldberg machine, where the formula is essentially the same but the components vary and provide the fascination. Heist films are fun in part because there’s a formula, and that formula is comforting when followed and fascinating when defied. 

Good luck! There’s tons of media out there and a lot of it is just fun. Enjoy yourself!

(Did you find this useful or educational? Prevent me from robbing a bank and drop some change in my Ko-Fi or at my Paypal!)

[packratblog-blog1]

Hong Kong 🇭🇰

Hong Kong is a unique beast. It’s two sets of sharp teeth stretching high into a vast and often humid sky, skyscrapers and high-rises compete with each other for height, space and architectural magnificence, glaring at and taunting each other across Victoria Harbour. Beast is a term that gestates two major connotations; majestic and wild. It’s not a term that I choose to use lightly, but the images and ideas it fosters in the mind are completely relevant. This is a place that is a living, breathing contradiction…in the best possible sense. Hong Kong is Western yet firmly taking its place in the East, has one of the highest per person per capita densities on the planet, and yet has an insane amount of park and green space (surprisingly only 25% of its land has been built on!), these being just two basic examples. The beast is fascinating. Situated on (and off) the southern coast of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong is made up of islands, in fact there are at least 200 of them, with Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island being the largest and most territorially significant. As well as this Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories also make up the areas connected to the Chinese mainland, all in all constituting what we today call Hong Kong. You may be left asking a common question by this; “Is Hong Kong Chinese then?" …My answer is a frustrating one; it’s a yes and a no, and it’s giving an answer on this that the history nerd in me is really my best ally. Hong Kong’s full and long-winded name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. So by that definition, yes, it’s Chinese. However, the Special Administrative Region aspect is really important. This means that Hong Kong is given autonomy from Beijing and up to a point, governs itself. More questions. The next logical one is why then is it separate from the rest of China and why does it have this special status? As is the answer to many historical, geopolitical lines of questioning, the short answer is, “the British.” Britain colonised Hong Kong at a considerably late point in the grand scheme of its colonial history and governed the territory consistently between the end of the Second World War and 1997. It is this aspect of Hong Kong’s past that makes it the unique beast that we know and love today. From the 1970s onwards Hong Kong’s unique status and decreasing need for British rule gradually paved the way for what is widely known as ‘The Handover’, and on July 1st 1997, sovereignty of the city was given back to the Chinese. Hong Kong’s considerable cultural, financial and political differences to China are all aspects of Beijing’s decision to give autonomous leeway when negotiating the Handover with Britain and establishing the city-state afresh for the future. In the wake of The Handover, today Hong Kong stands as an economic powerhouse, a bridge between East and West, and in terms of further human standards, as a beacon of the future; it boasts the planet’s longest life expectancy for its residents. So yes, Hong Kong is a beast. However, it's entirely possible to love a beast, beasts are fascinating. Mike Tyson had his tiger, Slash keeps a few hundred snakes apparently and numerous Bond villains have had sharks and stuff. Beasts, while not docile, comfortable pets like rabbits or kittens are unique and wild, they’re lovable because they’re as interesting and as unpredictable as hell. It’s for that reason that this post is a love letter. I love Hong Kong. Hong Kong just works, it’s an unbelievable place that’s a testament to human efficiency and co-existence. When Hong Kong’s population (approximately just under7.5 million people as of last year) is compared with its land mass (of around just under 3000 square kilometres), the number crunching tells you one specific, standout fact; that’s an insane amount of people for an insanely small place in comparison). It’s despite this population density, the planet’s fourth largest (more on that in future posts), that Hong Kong really does just somehow work. Traffic is an issue but not in the same way as it is in other major global conurbations, the people follow rules such as walking on the right side of the pavement/sidewalk to alleviate congestion and they follow jaywalking laws to a tee. The city’s fantastic metro system (the Hong Kong MTR) is clean, efficient and consistently modernised, it can get you to any corner of Hong Kong and it even runs on time! (I’m from England…google ‘Train reliability in Britain’ if you want to find out more about why I’m amazed at trains running on time). And while I’m singing the praises of Hong Kong running like highly modernised, mechanised clockwork there is still that amazing unpredictability that sets my teeth on edge. You can walk along one street with gleaming, modern skyscrapers, your nostrils filled with the scent of Char Sui buns from local street vendors, then turn a corner and be surrounded by quaint Chinese streets filled with Buddhist temples and the smell of incense hanging in the air. It’s unique: It’s modern, it’s steeped in history, and it truly is like nowhere else I’ve ever been. We’ve both been endlessly excited to get back here and it still holds a tonne of new experiences and insights for both of us that we just can’t wait to get our teeth into. Can you tell I’m hungry? Yep, the food’s unbelievable too. With all of that in mind, let's get started on some of my favourite things about Hong Kong... AREAS/PLACES TO VISIT: - Victoria Harbour: The harbour can be seen from either side and whichever way you choose it's always impressive. Arguably though, if you had to choose one or don't have time for both, visit the harbour on the Kowloon side around evening time. If you're lucky (and depending on the time of year) you'll get to see the skyline in the daylight and after a slight wait of an hour or so you'll get to see it lit up for the evening (at 8PM there's a light and sound show each evening which is mega impressive!) I love Victoria Harbour, I believe that if I saw it every day it still wouldn't become something that doesn't blow my mind. - Garden of Stars: Get the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui and two minutes away is Garden of Stars. This place is very cool, it's Hong Kong's equivalent of LA's walk of fame. Rather than the stars in the pavement/sidewalk, Garden of Stars features handprints and monuments from some of HK cinema's biggest names. The coolest part though? They have this amazingly detailed Bruce Lee statue that really, if you're a martial arts fan, you've kind of GOT to make the voyage to see! - Victoria Peak: Yeah, it's a tourist thing to do but even if you're the kind of person that hates that you should still 100% make the trip up. I'm a skyline and building nerd, and to be honest, besides from the Kowloon side of the harbour, nowhere else in the city gives you a better view (with so many different angles) of HK's unreal skyline. Again, you never get accustomed to that view, it melts my mind. Ocean Park: You won't often find me visiting many theme parks (not out of dislike, I just don't tend to!) However, Ocean Park is very cool. It's equal parts theme park (with rollercoasters and other rides), stunning island-to-sea views, an extensive aquarium and a pretty big outdoor zoo. The best part...they have pandas, and it's unbelievable to see them up close, it's worth a trip just for that. Since I last visited HK last October, Ocean Park now has it's own line on the MTR, which is much easier than the previous bus that was required to make the journey. - Big Buddha Monument: Definitely the largest Buddhist monument I've ever seen, it's situated at the top of a mountain and it's amazing. There's a great cable car trip up there which provides some great photo and video opportunities up over the bay. - Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery: The name sums this one up, it's a hike to get up to the main area of the monastery but the whole way is lined with SO many different Buddhist statues. There are even more at the top where you're also rewarded with great views and some really cool temple buildings. - Kowloon Walled City Park: I get these weird things that I become fascinated by and I end up doing endless research on them...Kowloon Walled City is one of them. The Walled City was a former shanty town which occupied a full city block on Kowloon Island up until as recently as 1994 when it was demolished. It may sound boring, but I saw a documentary on it years ago and became amazed at it's ramshackle, improvised stacked-up architecture. Google it to learn more (as I could go on for ages about this)...it truly is fascinating to consider how the place became a city entirely of it's own. Since demolition in the mid-90s, the city block it once occupied has been transformed into a lush, tranquil park which acts as a great relief from the hectic pace of HK for the locals. To visit was very cool, and it was unbelievable to stand in the centre and imagine the place going back 30+ years. FOOD: Before I start this, I want to state that Hong Kong's food is magnificent. I'd argue that the city is worth visiting just for the food alone (it's that good!) While this isn't an exhaustive list because I could go on forever, this is a list that I've tried to include some different options and price ranges... - Cafe de Coral: It sounds French, it isn't. Cafe de Coral is a large chain in HK. They provide phenomenal Cantonese food with the efficiency of McDonalds. While it's great at any time of the day, what I love about Cafe de Coral is that it's always busy, it's always full of locals which speaks volumes for the food. It's also a good cheap option which makes it great for backpackers and other budget travellers. - Maxim's MX: MX is much like Cafe de Coral and have sprung up all over the city over the last year. It's extremely similar to Cafe de Coral in both the food served and the mode of service as well as price. It's worth visiting both at some point though, as they both have delicious signature dishes of their own! - Tim Ho Wan: There are a few of these phenomenal restaurants dotted around the city. We recently visited the North Point location (a few times, I have to admit), and it's hands down the finest Dim Sum at a reasonable price in Hong Kong, I can't recommend it highly enough. Hong Kong gets more and more interesting and exciting each and every time I visit, we'll be back to visit in a few weeks time. Before that though we cross the border into a place I've always been fascinated by: mainland China. Hong Kong, we'll see you again soon...Shenzhen, we'll see you even sooner!

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of April 17th, 2019

Best of this Week: Nightwing #59 - Dan Jurgens, Chris Mooneyham, Nick Filardi and Andworld Design

Talk about great character development.

When The Nightwings were first introduced, issues like this were what I was anticipating the most. From the frustrated, but determined leader of the Nightwings Al Sapienza, to the hardass Colleen Edwards and her reluctant brother Zak and finally the fearless and lighthearted Malcolm Hutch, there’s so much room for these characters to grow and single issues that open them up are always welcome. This particular issue focuses on Malcolm, the youngest Deputy Fire Chief in Bludhaven’s history and his motivation behind continuing to work with Sapienza as a Nightwing and his own demons that inspire him to become a hero.

The book begins with Deputy Hutch in a morning training session with Ric Grayson, hoping to get the “new kid” up to snuff so that he doesn’t end up like Zak, who had gotten injured in a previous issue. Ric proves to be an even better fighter than Hutch anticipated and he concedes victory to Ric before Ric asks why he left the police academy. He answer with a dejected, “I decided it was better to save lives than end them.” implying a terrible incident happened and leaves to go meet someone.

Mooneyham and Jurgens work hand in hand to tell us everything that we need to know about Hutch in so few lines and simple gestures. Mooneyham has a style that is EXCELLENT for action sequences as the sparring with Nightwing proved. Hutch fights with measured intensity and makes use of his larger size, but when the fight is over and he remembers what the day is, Mooneyham conveys great amounts of sadness and emotion with Hutch’s body language and excellent use of inks to shadow part of his face.

We get a great internal monologue from him as he races across the rooftops to Bludhaven’s Mercy General Hospital where he explains that his choice cost a good officer everything and he could never wear a police badge again because of it. We are then introduced to a comatose police Sergeant, Warren Stapleton and his daughter Melissa who blames the police department, specifically Hutch, for her fathers condition and also learn that Hutch is never allowed to see him of course.

In one issue, I totally care about Hutch and want to now even more of a story around him, I want his relationship with the Bludhaven PD to be expanded, I want there to be some closure between him and Melissa. I want to see even similar stories about the other Nightwings with Ric Grayson as the reoccuring side character and have them really take over the series for a while. Jurgens has never really struck me for character work, but he does such a great job here that I really need to give him praise. Mooneyham’s art never really caught my eye, but his design of Hutch and the almost Milestone Comics aesthetic this issue takes was spectacular.

Definitely a high recommend!

---------------------------------------------------

In our beginning there was Perpetua, but what came before her? That’s the question that springs to mind when this book reaches its rising action and eventual climax that results in her initial imprisonment behind the Source Wall.

Runner Up: Legion of Doom #22 - James Tynion IV, Francis Manapul and Tom Napolitano

Perpetua created the Multiverse as we know it. She also needed other sentient beings that would further her work and create more, destroy more and just experiment with the stuff of life. To this end, she created Alpheus, the World Forger to create life for both Light and Dark Multiverses. She created Mar Novu, who we know as The Monitor, to keep a watchful eye on life and prevent it from destroying itself in various Crises. Finally, she created Mobius, the Anti-Monitor to destroy anything outside of the purview of creation.

For five billion years, they toiled until The Monitor began to suspect things were not as they seemed and confronted his mother about the purpose of life and the beings on one planet in particular: Earth Prime. He surmises that once Perpetua had created the Multiverse, her function in life was fulfilled and that her creation of these beings that could fight endlessly and develop power beyond imagination could be seen as an army against something else, something bigger than even Perpetua.

Fearing what’s to come, he asks his brothers to help call the “Greater Judges of the Source” and alert them of what Perpetua has done. Perpetua, sensing the betrayal, launches an attack, but is swiftly overtaken by the appearance of what we can only perceive as a hawk or some other great bird that seals her behind the Source Wall, separating her from creation and the her Children from the greater Omniverse, causing a new rebirth. The World Forger returns to the Forge and the Anti-Monitor swears revenge against The Monitor for effectively making him useless, leading us to the history we knew before this point.

What makes this issue so great is that it offers a reasonable explanation for this Be-All-End-All powerful being in Perpetua without making the other cosmic beings we know of look weak. What makes her different is that she actually seems to have some amount of care for her creations, especially humanity and only seeks to do what’s best for them, even if that means ultimately the Doom of the Multiverse.

Francis Manapul’s art is as strong as it’s ever been here. While most cosmic stories rely on bright and trippy colors to convey how beyond the scope they are from most Earthly or magical stories, Manapul colors things in a way that feels primordial, dark and grimy while still maintaining an ethereal cosmic aesthetic. Colors are washed out but still have this amazing, almost overpowering brightness to them, shots often feel immensely grand in scope to match the size and power of these beings. The best example of this is one of the shots while Mar Novu is conversing with Pertua and they’re looking down on Earth as the creatures fight each other with the two figures looming in the background.

It’s a disturbing and breathtaking image as the Gods look down on high, watching with either worry or excitement at the possibilities. There’s also something to be said for the designs of everyone involved as well. The World Forger is lithe by comparison to his brothers, but his muscles feel more than up to the task of making worlds and he has nothing but intensity on his face. The Monitor is more reserved, but still looks cooler than his previous appearances without the awful colors of his costume. The Anti-Monitor as well looks even better than his last few appearances, not the hulking version from Darkseid War, but still an imposing being unto himself.

Perpetua… I have read many a sci-fi comic, but something about her design just strikes me greatly. She is far larger than her children and wears a string of planets around her neck. Her eyes beam with ambition and crackle with cosmic energy. The way her long fingers and sharp nails curl around a newborn multiverse makes me afraid of her power. Her shadows are the stars and she is absolutely terrifying beyond belief. Many villains speak with confidence, but with Perpetua, I believe every word she says and hand on to each one.

Justice League has been a smash hit since Scott Snyder took over and with James Tynion taking the reins with some of the story to flesh out awesome characters like Perpetua and her children, this is turning out to be nothing short of amazing. High recommend!

[mbtizone]

Martin Stein (DC's Legends of Tomorrow): INTP

Dominant Introverted Thinking [Ti]: As an accomplished physicist, Martin is deeply interested in scientific theories, particularly those of Albert Einstein. He has a curious mind and enjoys asking questions. He thinks outside of the box and looks beyond the facts of a situation. Martin enjoys research and wants to understand the world around him. He’s very good at figuring out how something could work better, and once he does, he is adept at improving the system or piece of technology he’s working on. Martin has a keen, analytical mind and is skilled when it comes to thinking critically about whatever situation the team finds themselves in. Martin is very good at noticing logical inconsistencies and frequently points it out when somebody contradicts themselves. He can often be quite detached about things. When he realizes that the conversation he had with his past self has resulted in the birth of a daughter he wasn’t supposed to have, he refers to her as an aberration. He initially refuses to form a connection with her and views her as a problem that needs to be corrected. Martin is able to make rational, non-emotional calls and often admonishes people for making emotional decisions.

Auxiliary Extroverted Intuition [Ne]: Possibilities are endlessly exciting to Martin. He enjoys a good theoretical discussion and likes to ponder what might be or what could be. When he joins the Legends, he is amazed by all of the wonders of the world and is eager to explore every place and time of the universe he can. He is especially fond of taking trips into the future and seeing all of the changes in the world. Martin understands the big picture in most situations and remains focused on that. Because he is so enthralled with the novel and the extraordinary, he can sometimes get so caught up in his fascination with it that he ignores the dangers of the situation. When a particular course of action is suggested, Martin is very good at coming up with all of the possible outcomes, both positive and negative. He is skilled at seeing connections and patterns and using that to generate theories.

Tertiary Introverted Sensing [Si]: When mistakes are made, Martin simply learns from them and reworks his approach. He remembers a large quantity of facts and details, whether it’s something he read, or a statement someone has made, allowing him to easily reference data, theories, and anything else he’s seen or heard in conversation. His ability to recall people’s previous assertions (Si) is what allows him to continually point out other people’s contradictions (Ti). Martin sometimes enjoys reminiscing about the past and is reminded of it by what is happening in his present. He fondly remembers his desire to travel through space as a child and is thrilled to have his dream finally come true.

Inferior Extroverted Feeling [Fe]: Because Martin has such a scientific mind, he can sometimes be callous and bad at relating to people. He is so excited by testing theories that he can sometimes disregard the feelings of the people around him. Martin sometimes sees people as subjects instead of as human beings. However, once he has time to get comfortable in a group, whether that’s with Team Flash or the Legends, he grows to care very much about the group and makes sacrifices on their behalf, sometimes at his own expense (such as making the decision to send Jefferson back to the present time in a pod when his life was in danger). At times, Martin is good at empathizing with his teammates and making them feel good about themselves, as Legends and as people.

Enneagram: 5w6 Sp/Sx (Likely 513 tritype)

Quotes:

Dr. Martin Stein: We just have to track them. Fortunately, Alpha Particles are highly trackable. Ray Palmer: Yet unheard of in the 1970s. It’s like we’re trapped in the Stone Age. Dr. Martin Stein: I’ll have you know that I was researching Alpha Particles when you were eating crayons.

Rip Hunter:Oy! Where do you think you’re going? Dr. Martin Stein: To break into my old lab and bring us back the particle tracker. Rip Hunter:Fine, but perhaps, you should take Jefferson and Sara to as your intermediaries. Look, interacting with yourself in the past can have catastrophic effects upon the future. Dr. Martin Stein: Fascinating. [to Jefferson and Sara] Dr. Martin Stein: Let’s go.

Dr. Martin Stein: According to Well’s calculations, Barry super-speeds inside the accelerator ring. Once Barry reaches optimum speed, we then launch a hydrogen proton into the accelerator. Once the collision happens, a wormhole forms, opening a gateway into time itself. It’s at that moment I plan on shouting something along the lines of “Eureka” or possibly “Excelsior.” I’m uncommitted.

Dr. Martin Stein: We’re dealing with a lot of big scientific ideas today, but you, Mr. Thawne, might be the most interesting thing here at S.T.A.R. Labs. Eddie Thawne: Me? Dr. Martin Stein: What are the odds that Dr. Wells would travel back in time and get stuck in the exact same city as his great-great-great-great grandfather, working in the same profession, the-the same building, and that part of his plan to get home would mean that he’d have to preserve and protect your life. That makes you this rare thing that-that-that no scientist can plan for. Eddie Thawne: Which is? Dr. Martin Stein: Coincidence. There is no science to coincidence. You, sir, are an anomaly, a-a wild card, as it were. You are the only person in this whole story who gets to choose his own future. At least, that’s my opinion.

Barry Allen: Sometimes the world needs a team. Dr. Martin Stein: You call this a team? A girl with wings in a past lives complex. A deceased assassin. A pair of criminals. And a billionaire with more tech than he clearly knows what to do with it. Ray Palmer: I know exactly what to do with it. Most of the time.

Rip Hunter:I know it’s difficult for you to fathom, but where – when I’m from, the year 2166, you and everyone on this roof aren’t just considered heroes… You’re legends. Ray Palmer: Legends? Dr. Martin Stein: I, um, I hate to nitpick, but doesn’t a legend have to be dead? Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: Yeah, see, uh, that’s a deal breaker for me, so I’m gonna pass.

Mick Rory: You don’t seem happy, Professor. Dr. Martin Stein: The intercept might be a success, but… the Waverider is on reserve power. Not to mention the difficulty to re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Mick Rory: What are you saying? Dr. Martin Stein: I’m saying that our crew has an infinitesimal chance ever returning home. By “infinitesimal”, I mean… Mick Rory: A snowball’s chance in hell. Dr. Martin Stein: That would look rosey in comparison.

Dr. Martin Stein: I believe I’ve determined a way to more efficiently track the fragments still inside Ms. Saunders’ body. Next time, you’ll be better prepared. Ray Palmer: There won’t be a next time. Dr. Martin Stein: Can’t you fix the suit? Ray Palmer: It’s not the suit. Dr. Martin Stein: Raymond, you… you musn’t be discouraged. We’re scientists. We learn from failure and we keep going. Ray Palmer: Kendra isn’t a lab experiment. She’s a person.

Dr. Martin Stein: I know how it feels. Ray Palmer: What? Dr. Martin Stein: To have a crisis of confidence. As unlikely as it might seem, I know. It was 2002. I was teaching quantum mechanics, and I had one particularly gifted student. He was able to solve the Ehrenfest theorem in less than an hour. He was, quite frankly, the only student in all my years of teaching who ever made me feel inferior. That student was you. You were exceptional. Ray Palmer: And suddenly, just like that, you remember having me in your class. Dr. Martin Stein: I always remembered. I just enjoyed taking you down a peg or two.

Rip Hunter:Gideon. Gideon: Yes, Captain. Rip Hunter:Plot a course for Saint-Lô, France, 1944. Dr. Martin Stein: Why then? Rip Hunter:Because that’s where Kendra is. Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: How is that possible? Ray Palmer: She sent us a message through time. Go ahead, say it. Dr. Martin Stein: Astonishing.

Dr. Martin Stein: I figured out how Savage plans to erase time. I believe he intends to detonate each of these meteors in a different time period. Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: How can you destroy the world three times in three different times? Rip Hunter: You can’t, it would create a temporal paradox. Dr. Martin Stein: Which would result in a timequake that would return the Earth to the point of the first chronomatic reaction, Ancient Egypt. Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: Okay, it’s official. This is the craziest bad guy plan in the history of bad guy plans.

Dr. Martin Stein: Thank you for joining me, my dear. Caitlin Snow: Of course. I wasn’t being much help back there, anyway. Dr. Martin Stein: Well, having powers isn’t exactly a death sentence, no matter who your doppleganger is. Caitlin Snow: I attacked my friends, my best friends. And said horrible, horrible things to them. Dr. Martin Stein: But that wasn’t you. And… and believe me, as a person who sometimes shares a body with another human being, I know the difference, and so do your friends. Caitlin Snow: I’m just so scared. What if she comes back and I can’t keep her out? Then what? Dr. Martin Stein: We’ll all be there for you.

Sara Lance: Lily’s algorithm located a piece of the Spear of Destiny. Ray Palmer: When? I I mean, I know just now, but where are we headed? Gideon: Detroit. The year 3000 AD. Dr. Martin Stein: A journey into the distant future. How exciting. Nate Heywood: Speak for yourself. Jefferson Jackson: Come on, man. Who doesn’t like the future? Nate Heywood: I like history. Yeah, I know it’s filled with terror and violence, but the future just… Dr. Martin Stein: It’s uncertain. Nate Heywood: Yeah. And it freaks me out a little.

Kendra Saunders: So how long will it take to determine a new location for Savage? Rip Hunter:Longer than we have. Fortunately, there is one place in time that we know Savage to be. Mick Rory: You said he conquered the world in 2166. Dr. Martin Stein: You also said it was too dangerous to strike at Savage while he was at the height of his powers. Rip Hunter:That it is. But with your younger selves removed from history, we have quite literally run out of time.

Dr. Martin Stein: Are you homesick? Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: You checking up on me Gray? Dr. Martin Stein: Given what you’ve witnessed, what you’ve endured, would that really be so bad? You know you just witnessed the very worst of humanity. We share a psychic connection, yet I still can’t even begin to fathom what you must be feeling. Must be like your heart is broken. Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: Yeah, it is. But I saw something in those people’s eyes I didn’t expect to see. I saw hope, I saw dignity. Those men and women? They were treated worse than animals, but they never let anybody stop them from being people, ya know? Dr. Martin Stein: I suppose there will always be those who will seek to dehumanize us, but I believe there are more that cling to hope, despite the darkness. Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: Yeah, that is exactly how they were. Dr. Martin Stein: I was actually thinking of you Jefferson.

Dr. Martin Stein: Unfortunately, this is all my fault. You see, a month ago, I interacted with my younger self back in 1987, and unwittingly motivated him – me – to sire a child. So it’s because of my carelessness that this time aberration exists. Caitlin Snow: She is not an aberration. She is brilliant and funny and a lot like you. Just a little less uptight. Dr. Martin Stein: Please stop talking about her like this. She is not a real person. Caitlin Snow: She is a real person. She’s your daughter. Wait. When we finish fighting the Dominators, you’re gonna go back in time and erase her? Dr. Martin Stein: No. I am going to restore the timeline. Unlike your friend Barry, I have the luxury of fixing my mistakes.

Oliver Queen: We have to keep the Dominators at bay. Dr. Martin Stein: This might help. I’ve mass-produced a small devide that, when placed on individual Dominators, will cause indescribable agony. Not the nicest invention, but this is war. Barry Allen: Nice going. Dr. Martin Stein: The caveat, of course, is that if we activate the weapons before all the devices are placed on the Dominators, they’ll know what we’re up to.

Dr. Martin Stein: This is our Earth. Let’s call it Earth One. And this second Earth, let’s call it Earth Two. This is where Jay claims to be from. And these other Earths – three, four, five, to infinity, all of them – are nearly identical to ours and they all exist at the same time, giving us endless alternatives to what we have here. For example, uh, the Joe West on Earth Two, your doppelgänger, he might not be a detective. He could be a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. And you, the Barry Allen here is The Flash, but over there he could be an electrician.

Dr. Martin Stein: I did not determine that it would be my mind that would dominate our existence, but thank God it was. I could feel your fear and panic, emotions that likely could have gotten us killed in that state. Ronnie Raymond:You kept me buried down. You kept me from her. Dr. Martin Stein: Which is likely why she’s still alive. Now I believe you and I have spent quite enough time together.

Jefferson Jackson: What if when you interacted with your younger self in 1987, you… Dr. Martin Stein: Inadvertently changed my past so-so that my memories from my new life are supplanting the memories from my old life, that’s creating temporal dissonance. Jefferson Jackson: Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Dr. Martin Stein: Oh, it’s a brilliant theory, which I happen to share with you, but it doesn’t explain… Jefferson Jackson: Who the mystery lady is. Dr. Martin Stein: Or… that I’m fairly certain that I love her. Jefferson Jackson: Man, Clarissa is gonna kill you when you get home. Dr. Martin Stein: Assuming that there is a Clarissa to go home to.

Dr. Martin Stein: I’m having the strangest sensation. It’s like I’m ten years old again. Mick Rory: You do a lot of space travel as a kid, Professor? Dr. Martin Stein: Only in my dreams, after I read my first issue of “Rick Starr: Space Ranger.” Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: Space Ranger Stein? Yeah, I don’t see it. Dr. Martin Stein: I wanted to travel through space, surviving only by my wits and laser guns. I even built a rocket out of cardboard boxes. Rip Hunter:What stopped you? Dr. Martin Stein: NASA has rather strict guidelines regarding nearsightedness. Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: And smoking weed.

Dr. Martin Stein: [Vostov is about to explode after Jax rescues Stein from her] I tried to warn her. Without the splicer and myself, her nuclear powers are dangerously unstable. It appears Dr. Vostov is having a bit of a meltdown. It’s, it’s fascinating. Sara Lance: I think what he means to say is run!

Dr. Martin Stein: The calculations. There is a… a danger. Barry Allen: I know. I’m ready to take the risk. Dr. Martin Stein: No, not just to you, but to everyone. Wells didn’t tell us everything. Barry, even if you do reach the right speed, colliding with the hydrogen particle, there is a chance that explosion could create a singularity. Caitlin Snow: What’s a singularity? Cisco Ramon: It’s a black hole. Barry Allen: We could destroy Central City. Dr. Martin Stein: For starters. If we create a singularity here and then cannot control it, we could be looking at a global catastrophe. Cisco Ramon: So long and thanks for all the fish.

Dr. Martin Stein: Keep an eye on the door, and when I get back, stop flirting with me. Sara Lance: You were the one flirting with me. Jefferson ‘Jax’ Jackson: Look, what’s the big deal? I mean, younger you isn’t married yet, so technically it’s not cheating. Dr. Martin Stein: October 1975. This is right when I meet my future wife, Clarissa. So obviously, we wouldn’t want my former self tempted by a sexy assassin from the future. Sara Lance: Aw, you think I’m sex… Dr. Martin Stein: Do not finish that sentence.

Martin Stein (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow): INTP was originally published on MBTI Zone

[therisingtempest]

{drabble} An End

alternate ending to this drabble by @airanddarkness​ for the evilverse; the italics in the beginning are taken directly from her drabble; I MADE IT WORSE :D

“I forgive you.”

At first, the words didn’t register but when they did, muscles that hadn’t been used in far too long came to work and Airn smiled and he felt tears burning on his cheeks as they rolled from his eyes. He clutched her hand tighter, but a bout of coughing made him withdraw from the unmoving queen again, only to latch onto her hand once the coughing was over.

“End it,” he begged her hoarsely, “Finish it. If you believe me, finish it.”

She didn’t move at all until his pleas became a low hum, then she leaned in and caught his mouth in a kiss.

No matter how many times she had taken him to her bed after he had been imprisoned, she had never kissed him, and this one was warm and soft, just like the ones she always had for him before. When it finished, her forehead touched his and they both opened their eyes at the same moment, darkness on sea green –and fuckin’ tides, if that wasn’t completely reversed– and he could see now that Mab was weeping silently.

“You must go,” she said instead, whispered it against his lips.

His heart surged and then plummeted. Go? Where was he supposed to go? The fleet sat at the bottom of every sea, his ship was debris, his queen and crew were dead. Even Mag Mell was a ruin. The island itself had died, her heart poisoned. There was no one. Nothing. Freedom meant nothing anymore. Because that was precisely what he had.

Freedom. And nothing. Except her.

“Mab,” he croaked.

But her breath on his lips in the form of command was the last contact she gave him, withdrawing, standing from the bed. Some fiery ancient temper made an attempt at surging through his blood, but he was just too numb for it. Too dead inside. There was no point even in this. Passion and freedom—what were they but dead things? Like that boy he'd carried up from the surf where his mother had flung him to the rocks to spare him Mab's Plague. Just dead things.

“There is a ship of pure white that the Fomoire once gifted me. Take her and leave.”

She would not look at him, gazing instead at the door to his cell, which swung open at her words. And she looked through it as if he'd ceased to exist. Was this it? He'd endured long enough and satisfied her wrath and this was his reward? This was so much worse than any death she could grant him, even the slowest.

“Mab—”

“Leave.”

And then she was gone.

Gone.

Airn sat blinking in the empty room, trying to decide if she'd been there at all. Was this a dream? Or another illusion meant to make the next level of torture worse? He wasn't sure it would work. Funny, she'd broken him early on and he didn't think she'd realized. 

The plague had been enough. Watching Zafi draw his rattling last breaths had been enough. Forced into witnessing the destruction of his Tempest had been enough. 

He'd been a husk when she'd found him on that beach. The Last Fomoire. And the last vestiges of his soul had withered at the little illusory shows of ships dying, displayed for him between her visits. Nothing she did to him could top what she'd already done. Could erase the images and sounds, the memories of death and fire that branded his mind. 

So he could only assume it'd been for her entertainment alone. This cycle of pleasure and pain. The contrast of soft and hard, warm and cold, endlessly, over and over. It had been easy to endure, after everything. Torture was an annoyance at best. It was the lingering unanswered question that had truly driven him mad.

Did this make her feel better?

Hah. Even after all of this, he still wondered at her feelings. Perhaps because his own were too intense to handle. He felt if he remembered too much he'd disintegrate. Dissolve into sea salt and blow off in the wind. That would've been a good end. Maybe it was time to give in. Except it hurt too much to remember.

Renner withering. Zafi forgetting his name. Genevieve drooling on her dress.

Airn grit his teeth, hunching over slightly, eyes squeezed shut. He only had to wait. The illusion would pass, taking with it the memories. The ice would return and he'd be numb again. He opened his eyes. Lifted his head. He studied the open door, but it still did not close. It took him several minutes to stand. His body hadn't walked under its own power in... How long had it been since she last came for him? Long enough for his hair to grow out again. A year? Centuries?

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

The halls were quiet. Empty. Open. Airn's feet would not budge from the threshold. He could hear Fearghal as though his captain stood behind him, murmuring in his ear. A captain must never be unsure. Well, he wasn't a captain anymore. What would Fearghal think of that? Of what he'd become? Imagining the grief and horror in clear grey-blue eyes, twisting handsome features, Airn let out an audible gasp, sagging to his knees.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, captain. I'm sorry I destroyed everything.

His eyes blurred with tears, the first he'd shed since watching the Tempest die. He gripped the doorway until it creaked. Eventually, he dragged himself back up. Put one foot forward and then another. The floor was frigid. Everything was frigid. He'd never be warm again. It'd sunk into his bones. Even those moments she'd pulled the ice back and allowed him warm water and soft touch, it hadn't eradicated the chill from his heart. Everything felt lukewarm in comparison. 

Before he could take another step, the world warped around him. This was it, he thought. The part where the illusion ended and he woke encased in ice for the umpteenth time. But instead, he found himself outside, still standing, now with the familiar dip and sway of a ship's deck beneath him. He nearly moaned at the sensation that lit through atrophied muscles at the realization. He looked down and saw pure white wood, untouched. Unused.

He also caught sight of his skin. Or perhaps focused on it at last in the light of day—even light so grey and dull as that in Winter. The scarring word Traitor repeated over every inch of his body, branding, mangling all the ink he'd once had, twisting meaning and passions and remembrances into blurred nothingness. Swirls of black ink on sickly pallor. 

Nothing, nothing, nothing. 

He was hollow. Cold. A frozen shell. Everything had been wiped clean, down to his very essence. He was a shambling corpse of mutilated skin and raped soul.

The ship was deserted—likely her mistress's doing—but she jolted under his bare feet. She recognized the blood of those who'd made her. He wondered how often her guardians had sailed her. If they did at all. Or if she'd sat here in dock as a symbol of alliance and then later as a symbol of betrayal.

Had they hurt her, too, for his failure?

He reached out, almost reverent, and stroked the rail, ignoring the shake in skeletal fingers. Still smooth as the day they'd handed her over to the unseelie. Queen Mab's Revenge the cold ones had named her. Even back then, when everything had been peaceful, he'd thought it a strange choice. Especially for a gift to strengthen an alliance. He should've known then. He should've known.

This is what you get for dealing with sidhe.

After a brief check, everything about the ship appeared pristine. No obvious graffiti or damage. Definitely none of the woodrot that had sunk into the fleet’s skin from Mab’s Plague. Moving like a sleeper, sluggish with unpracticed motions that had once been his entire life, Airn cast off. 

He had to lie down after, amazed at how weak he'd become, how active muscle had shriveled and degraded to sinewy gristle. His mind told him to move and his body protested that it could not, being thin and frail as paper.

This ship was smaller than the Tempest, but she still needed a full crew to sail her properly. At the very least, one strong Fomoiri at the top of his game. Airn was neither. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes, refusing to look at the clouded grey sky of Winter. He could feel it weigh down on him like this whole fucking land was trying to smother him. What exactly was he doing this for? What purpose was there in fighting?

“...just like Tam Lin.”

His eyes opened. Voices. Near. On the docks? He rolled, crawling—and that was an optimistic word for it—dragging his decrepit body by his forearms to the rail, peering between the slats. Two guards stood close on the boardwalk, voices soft, clearly thinking themselves alone.

“Your harem boy's mad. The Fomoire are dead. Her Majesty would not keep one for... No.”

“She is.” The first insisted. “He wouldn't tell me where in Boreas, but he's washed the man's wounds himself. Cleaned him for Her Majesty to touch. Then back to the cell. Too young to remember Tam Lin, but when he described it, I knew. You remember.”

“Of course I remember,” the second snapped, stepping to the side, clearly wishing the conversation over. “But that was an example. Would she not make an example of the Fomoiri who betrayed her as well? Airn Rhymer is dead.”

Airn did not hear the rest. He looked out across the snow-white ship deck, lost in thought. Mab repeated torture strategies? Unbelievably, he felt insulted. She couldn't even bother being creative with him? Find some way to destroy him at his essence? No wonder the torture had felt strange and off-the-mark. It hadn't been meant for him in the first place. His teeth grit and he felt that foreign fire in his chest again. It wasn't passion. It wasn't lust. Something new. Something he'd never felt before.

Hatred.

Airn Rhymer is dead.

“Wasn't the Iron Bastards' ship here?”

He turned his head again. Did they not see the ship? They stood practically in her shadow, if the Winter sun had been strong enough to make a shadow. He hadn't dropped sail yet and they couldn't have drifted out of sight if he could still hear them. Airn reached up and gripped the rail, hauling himself to his knees, leaning heavily, staring straight at the two soldiers as they cast their gazes about, past and through him. The other shrugged.

“Vhox must've taken it out.”

She's not an it, sidhe trash.

And suddenly he had purpose. It locked a cold hand around the new surging flame in his chest. Rescue. This would be two prisoners of war escaping together. To what end? It didn't matter. Dying together on some deserted beach would be better than wallowing here. Here with the people who'd destroyed everything. Who could do nothing but destroy.

Even the churning waves against the young ship's hull did not alert the two on the docks. They went back to their talks and Airn stopped remembering they existed. The flight from the port was laughable. No one glanced at them. No one stopped them. Maybe he really was already dead. Maybe this was his last voyage before he met Balor and Tethra and Rionach.

He closed his eyes. He gripped the helm and rested his forehead there.

Heading, captain. Where we off to?

“Doesn't matter, Zafi,” he mumbled, eyes still closed, head still bent.

The horizon, then?

He nearly choked on the lump in his throat. “Aye. The horizon.”

Home, he wanted to say. Take me home. But then he remembered the burning buildings. Ancient warships made into taverns and drinking halls, all afire. The Great Hall. The arguments. The fights. Little ones chasing each other across lords’ paths because they were the best of them but they were still just adults. Rionach's wry smile. The impatient twitch of Zafi's wings. Renner's laugh. Niamh's hair flashing in the sun. Ceana's lips...

They made land at the Old Home. Éire. This was not what he wanted, Airn tried to tell his first mate, but Zafi was not there. The deck lay empty. The ship creaked as if nervous. Airn stroked the helm and disembarked. He walked for a time, realizing only miles inland that the sea air had given him some life back in his lungs, in his legs. He stood in the middle of a field for half a day and imagined ruins. Tried to remember landmarks from the Histories. Places where their cities would have stood.

He waited a long time. As if some nubile Fomoiri girl would rise from the flowers to help him rebuild the race. As if there was some purpose here. He waited until his legs shook and he had to sit in the dirt and then he waited a bit longer. No one was left. No one was coming. He had his freedom, but it was all but ash without the home he loved, the people he'd lost.

He hadn't really escaped Winter, he realized. It was all around him. Empty, grey, cold. It had swallowed the world.

He climbed back on the ship. He let the sails drop full. He stroked the unfamiliar wood of an orphan ship and thought, You and I are all that remains. They sailed across maelstroms the size of continents, through storms that lasted months. The ship fought them through. She was young yet. Strong and determined. She could carry them both. Airn still pulled line and manned the helm when he could manage, but mostly he spent his time soaking the wood of the ship in words and tears.

He told her stories of Mag Mell, the home she'd been too young to remember, all through day and night. Until his voice became a croak again and he flashed back to nights of bitter cold and ice crawling down his throat. He told her of the eternal sea and the stars they could join and sail forever with Malach and Balor and Rionach. He cried again. He told her of his ship. His love. His Tempest. The way her sails shimmered in the sun. The pride in her figure.

He told her his legends. Those about his own fame. He laughed, mad and unhinged, at the fruitlessness of it all. He'd spent his whole life ensuring the immortality of his name in the legends and now there was no one left to repeat them. Not even his final cataclysmic mistake. He never should’ve suggested leaving Mab alive. Never should’ve let softness into his heart where sidhe were concerned. If they’d only killed her, perhaps in secret, saved their subtleties for dealing with the fresh young ruler to follow her. But he’d petitioned for sleep on the basis of a fancy and lost everything he’d ever truly loved.

Airn Rhymer is dead.

He shivered at night, in the dark, even on the balmiest of seas. He slept on the floor of the cabin. The bed was too soft. It hurt. The orphan ship warmed against his skin. Held him when he cried with her sounds and swells. He had nightmares of empty beaches, filled with millions of chairs. All of them empty but for him. No matter how long he shouted or wandered through the seats, there was no one else. And the sea always rose and washed the beach clean as if nothing had ever been there.

He always drowned in the end.

Years could have passed. One day he walked out of the cabin and saw only stars. He could feel the urgency beneath bare feet. Boldness laced with fear of the unknown. She should've had a proper captain, he thought. She should've had a crew to love her, to cradle her body. Dozens of palms pressed everywhere on her inner hull when the seas went rough. More than family. Something deeper. She should've learned what it meant to be Fomoire. She'd deserved so much more than life as an offering to those who hadn’t cared anyway.

Airn found the mainmast and stroked pale white wood. Where had she taken them? He could feel it, the edges of it. Finality. Closure to everything he'd been wondering. An end without turning back. The child had listened to his stories.

“I always wanted to be a legend, you know,” he murmured, leaning against the mast, aligning his body with her spine. “It drove me through so many storms. So much pain. I told myself I could survive anything so long as, in the end, I was famed.”

The ship surged a bit. Stardust sprayed up against the prow. Airn chuckled.

“There's only you and I now. If we stay here, no one will know our story. No one will look up and tell the tale of the last Fomoire. No one will know.”

She sailed on, quiet but steady, star stuff hissing against her skin.

“Aye,” Airn whispered, voice cracking. “We'll know.”

He looked back at the cabin, past it, to the field of stars behind them. Nothing behind, nothing ahead. No fame. No Tempest. Ag ardú anfa was dead, the legend of him erased from existence. That man had witnessed the end of the Fomoire and gone to the Depths with his love. It was only his body that had trudged on a little while longer. 

It would've made a grand story, he decided, if anyone had known to tell it. Grand and sad. 

If anyone had known, if anyone had looked up and seen the new stars in the sky, pointed up and asked their elders what that one was, they might've told the story of the orphan boy and the orphan ship. The man who came from nothing, dared everything for love, and lost. A walking storm who'd charmed a blizzard, but whose heart, in the end, would always belong to the sea.

They might've told of his passion, his indolence broken by sudden bouts of fierce loyalty. They might've detailed his swordsmanship, his mastercrafted vessel, his adoring crew. They might've even told how he was the very last of the proudest race. The oldest surviving race at the the time of their genocide. And how he'd sailed away, in the end, quiet and empty. The last Fomoiri on the last Fomorian ship.

But no one knew.

[eienias20]

Dates Don’t End In Tears

The sequel to “Confidence Is A State Of Mind” this story was also an RP. This time between myself (as Jaynix) and @kentucky-the-fried (as Pongo).

At the end of “Confidence” Pongo asked Jaynix out on a date. So how exactly does that go?

This RP is still my favorite one.

Dates Don’t End In Tears

Another day on Mira was coming to a close. The moon, high in the sky looked down on humanity’s sole bastion: New LA.

This night found Pongo leaning against the outside wall of the Repenta Diner. While the establishment was usually full and very rowdy, tonight it was oddly quiet. Pongo found this comforting for what was to come next.

“I still cannot quite believe it. I secured a date…I mean…it is not a legit on but it is a date…”

He scratched the back of his head thinking about how in the throes of confidence he asked Jaynix out on a date following the confidence training he underwent with her and Draco. It was definitely a spur of the moment thing and standing here he realized he didn’t really know what it was that people did on dates.

He looked down at himself, he was never one who could dress himself so instead of trying he went with his usual purple vest and black jeans. He figured it worked and given how nervous he was this was definitely not the type of situation he should be trying new things in.

Beyond his outfit, he carried a single, bright orange hibiscus. He wanted to give something to the hot tempered BLADE once she arrived and this was the best he could come up with.

Realizing there wasn’t much else he could do but wait, he mumbled some last reassurances to himself.

“Okay Pongo, you can do this…”

Not too far from Repenta Diner was Jaynix, she decided to take her time strolling through New LA. As always she was striving to understand and appreciate the city, far more now than ever before.

Looking ahead, she thought about the impending date with Pongo.

“It doesn’t really matter what this means…Pongo still has confidence issues and if I can do anything to help him along, I will.”

She thought again to when she and Draco helped Pongo not too long ago, the ‘lesson’ didn’t last that long but the results proved that Pongo could indeed become more confident, above all else he had to believe and accept it.

Jaynix glanced at windows of Repenta, seeing herself, she smirked. She was wearing a black jacket over her white tank top and white pants. Smiling she winked at herself.

“I look good. What’s new?”

Chuckling she looked ahead to see Pongo standing in one place and talking to himself.

“Last second pep talk eh?”

Clearing her throat she called out and waved.

“Hey there Pongo! Repenta eh? This is where this whole thing began I’d say.”

Eyes widening, Pongo jumped and let out a squeak, turning to see Jaynix as she walked up to him.

“J-Jaynix! Glad to see you again!”

He took a deep breath and smiled “Yeah…Repenta. I had no idea where else to do…this. Dates are supposed to involve food, right? And there is food here. At the Diner…food…”

Pongo swallowed and chuckled nervously.

“Wow. That was awkward.”

Jaynix’s only response to this was to giggle.

“Dates do indeed involve food more often than not, Pongo. I’m also a regular at Repenta so I appreciate it. I really do.”

At that moment he recalled the hibiscus he carried and held it out to her, a gentle smile on his face.

“This is for you by the way. A beautiful flower for an even more beautiful lady!”

“Oh geez…”

He felt his cheeks flush, not as much as always but he had no doubt it was obvious.

Jaynix meanwhile, stared at the hibiscus, shocked. She looked from the flower to Pongo. The look on his face and the way he presented the gift to her. In that moment she recalled her first date with Alexa. The Outfitter was a nervous wreck, unsure when they should hold hands, if they should flirt. It was endlessly charming and adorable.

With a warm smile, Jaynix took the flower from Pongo.

“Thank you. I love it.”

Carefully, she placed it into her hair.

“How do I look?”

Pongo opens his mouth to respond but finds it incredibly difficult.

“What can I say? What are the right words? Is there anything that I can say to accurately state just how beautiful she looks?”

Shaking his head, he comes to the conclusion that he’d never be able to accurately convey what it is he wants to say but he has to say something.

“You look beautiful.”

Despite Jaynix thanking him for the compliment and laughing, Pongo couldn’t help but think.

“Wow. Was that really all I could think to say? Ah well. I can make up for it on the date itself…”

Thinking of that he recalls and gestures to the Diner.

“I got us a table. Ready to head in?”

Big smile, Jaynix nodded.

“I’m always ready! Let’s do this.”

She gestures for Pongo to lead her in, which he does. The pair sits at a table next to window, their table being a booth with two sides.

“Maybe I should have asked for a regular table. Isn’t it romantic if you pull the chair out for the other person? I suppose a booth works too…”

Sitting down, Pongo looks to Jaynix as she sits as well. Brushing the hair out of his face he smiles.

“Okay. Small talk.”

“So! Wonderful night we are having!”

“Really? REALLY?”

Jaynix couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It really is a lovely night. Truth be told, I didn’t start paying much attention to the planet until recently. Really recently…it’s amazing what you realizing is right in front of you when you aren’t blinding yourself…”

Pongo felt his back straighten out, his eyes widened.

“If only she knew how…accurate she was being…blind to the obvious…”

Jaynix read his odd behavior as something else.

“Not happy with your conversation starter? Small talk is small talk, Pongo. I’d say anything goes no matter how simple.”

He smiled.

“Heh, sorry…I never have anything interesting to say…”

Deciding to take her advice he continues on with the topic of the planet.

“Either way, you do have a point. This planet really is amazing.”

Jaynix crossed her arms, tilting her head.

“Not just that but Mira is such a statistical oddity. There are times where I can’t help but think that out of all the possible planets in the Cosmos, THIS one specific one could sustain us. What are the odds?”

Pongo nodded before speaking.

“It is odd. Amazing and odd but whenever I think about Mira I can’t help but wonder about Earth. What was it like in comparison? See I am…I do not remember Earth. At all.”

Pongo almost struck himself in the face.

“Was I really just about to tell Jaynix that there is a sarcastic sentient planet inside me that wants to kill humanity? That would not be a good conversation starter at all.”

Jaynix leaned in closer.

“You don’t remember Earth? You’re just like my brother. He reads about Earth a lot, when he isn’t on mission I see him with books and texts and he’s always so excited when Archive units from the White Whale are reclaimed. He says that he’s given up wanting to regain his memories but…I can never be too sure. I still remember everything about Earth and…”

Trailing off, Jaynix looked past Pongo. To anyone else it looked like she was staring at nothing but to her, specters of the past were always close by.

Pongo could tell Jaynix seemed bothered by something and grew concerned. He’s only seen her act like this once before, during the confidence training with her and Draco. He could pick up a faint sadness in her eyes and decided that he had to change the subject somehow.

“Dates don’t end in tears. I have to find some way to put that beautiful smile back on her face…and quick. That confidence training has to help now…I just have to do what they said and try. Try to be confident.”

Closing his eyes, he placed himself into what he believed was a more confident mindset. Leaning back he opened his eyes, it was clear that this persona he was adapting was incredibly unlike him. His gentle, warm smile changed to an almost seductive smirk. He looked like he was ready for whatever it was the world could throw at him.

Quietly, he speaks.

“You know.”

Those words snapped Jaynix out of her daze. She looks at Pongo and picks up that he was trying…something. Was he being seductive? What was he doing? She prepared to ask him only for him to cut her off.

“I bet Earth was great but Mira? Mira is beautiful too. You should try and cherish the memories you made here rather than lingering in the past. Trust me, it helps.”

Jaynix’s eyes widened.

“Forget about the past.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Ancient history.”

“Who cares?”

“Get over it.”

She clenched her fists, one of her eyes twitching. There was a dull burn in her eyes that she tried to hold down.

“Pongo is not at fault here…he’s not…calm down…”

Taking a deep breath, she gave him an unconvincing smile.

“I’ll…try…um…thank you, Pongo…”

Unaware of the rage trying to build within Jaynix, Pongo smiled.

“Okay! Awesome! She is looking better! I am improving her mood! This confidence thing is working! Alright. Alright. Keep it up.”

Adjusting the color of his vest with a flick of his hand, Pongo leaned back.

“Good to hear! It does no good to linger on old memories. Besides…”

Pongo gave her a wide smile, showcasing a set of perfect white teeth.

“With someone as beautiful as you by my side, I have no need to dwell in the past. Making memories with you is more than I could ever ask for.”

Pongo’s words felt like a punch to the stomach, a slap in the face. She felt the pain all over her body.

She forced her eyes shut and focusing on reigning in the burning fire she felt inside. It wanted to rage and explode out of her but she refused to let it.

As hard as she tried it seeped out and in a very quiet voice, she hissed.

“Don’t say that to me.”

Fists clenching even harder, she felt her nails dig into her palms. Any other words Pongo might’ve said were lost in the explosive memories trying to force themselves to the surface of her mind.

She can tell he’s trying, she knows that’s all this is. There is no malice. As much as she repeats this she can still feel a part of her growing unhappy.

Pongo did not miss all these signs and began to panic.

“Oh gods. Oh gods. No. I screwed up! Oh gods, what do I do? Shit!”

He looked away from Jaynix and tried to compose himself.

“What did I say? What did I do? No. That does not matter. I have to make this right. Dates are not supposed to end in tears!”

Looking back at Jaynix he begins frantically apologizing.

“Sorry! Sorry! I just…I am…I am really, really sorry.”

Pongo thinks about the persona he tried to put on, it had to be that. That was why Jaynix’s emotional state seemed off.

Jaynix takes note of Pongo’s apologies, not only do they calm down the raging fire within but in the absence of anger and rage she realized what it was she was doing. The anger and the myriad of terrible, horrible things she was moments away from screaming at Pongo.

She could only imagine the effect she’d have on him if she’d been unable to contain it. No. Containing it was unacceptable, it never should’ve gotten his far.

In the absence of the negative feelings, all that was left was shame, embarrassment and sadness.

“Don’t apologize, Pongo…it’s not…I…”

She falls silent, Pongo seeing her grow sad takes a deep breath and tries to find something else to lighten the mood. Grabbing a menu he smiles.

“Forget I said anything…maybe…maybe we should order? Yes. We should order. Order Food. Food makes everything better, right?”

She looks up at him as he flips through the menu. A small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. He had a point, food does make everything better. However, given the internal struggle she went through, she realized something else.

"I'm really sorry Pongo...my appetite...it's kinda...gone..."

Hearing this, Pongo’s smile diminishes and he can only think one thing.

“SHIT!”

Putting the menu down, Pongo sat there, contemplating what to do in order to turn this date around. Jaynix could see how much thought he was putting into his next words and his next plan. She felt terrible for putting him through all this effort, worse when she realized it was all due to her reactions.

Pongo closed his eyes “No persona. No act. Be yourself. Be yourself. OF COURSE!”

Opening his eyes, he snapped his fingers in light of his revelation.

“No worries Jaynix! I have just the thing to bring an even bigger smile to your face!”

Jaynix tilted her head in response. She had to admit, she was a bit skeptical. Not to say anything about him, he’s clearly a very nice and fun person, awkward sure but above all it was charming. No. She doubted he could make her smile because she felt like absolute trash.

Standing from his booth he moved over next to Jaynix, brushing the hair from his face he held a hand out towards her.

“Care for a dance?”

Jaynix’s eyes widened.

“Did I hear that right?”

“Dance?”

She looked at Pongo as he nodded, confirming that she did not imagine it.

Taking ahold of his hand, a bright smile did indeed light up her face.

“I would love to dance.”

Clasping his hand around Jaynix’s and helping her up, Pongo couldn’t stop himself from smiling like a little kid at an amusement park. Jaynix smiled upon witness more of Pongo’s expressions, so childlike in their wonder.

There was a bit of a bounce in his step, no doubt from the joy he was feeling as he led Jaynix to the open space just past the bar. There was a stage with a few stereos littered around and a song was playing that Pongo recognized.

He spent a lot of his free time listening to Earth songs on repeat and through glorious chance the song was by his favorite band: Coldplay.

Reaching the open space he turned to Jaynix who was immensely curious in regards to Pongo’s dancing ability. Instead of asking she decides to just wait and see.

Pongo can only smile as he finds himself humming along to the song lyrics. Placing his hands on Jaynix they began to move, Pongo losing himself within the soft beat of the music.

His feet moved along the floor with a grace he rarely displays during battle. Closing his eyes he allowed himself to become one with the music.

Jaynix can see appreciation and serenity in Pongo’s expression as they sway across the dance floor. She observes the movement of his feet for a few seconds, matching up her movements and timing with little difficulty.

Jaynix thought of all her experience in dancing, she learned from incredible dancers back on Earth and it is one of her go to hobbies. Thinking of all the dancers she’s seen she glanced at Pongo’s feet again, he was moving with the greatest of ease. The grace he carried them with as they danced was something she never expected from Pongo.

Unable to fight it in light of their dance, a childish giggle escaped Jaynix’s lips. She was I such high spirits that any thoughts that were plaguing her mind in relation to anything they discussed at the table melted away and were forgotten.

The song and the gentle movements envelop Pongo, a smile forming and growing wider on his face. Whatever the purpose of this was he no longer cares. All that matters is that he feels Jaynix’s hand in his, he feels their fingers intertwined as he spins her around and with the song reaching its climax he determines that nothing can go wrong. Not now. He’s made Jaynix happy and that feeling is the best he’s ever known.

Jaynix herself found their dance to represent everything in life she actively avoids. Finding calm moments, time to smile or laugh…or just time to enjoy life was hard for Jaynix especially after spending months on end seeking death. Living was a strange change. Even so, this moment. The serene dance that the Interceptors were sharing was immensely calming and would surely be a great memory to think back on.

The song then came to an end, pulling the Interceptors out of their thoughts. Pongo found himself opening his eyes, smile still on his face he felt incredibly relaxed and complete. However, in absence of the music and serenity, reality sets in and as with many other situations before he finds himself attempting to take a single step only for his ankles to catch on each other and before he can contemplate anything else he’s falling.

Jaynix being directly in his life of fire, nothing stops them as he falls onto her, the pair collapsing to the floor. Pongo can only stare down at her in shock. The one silver lining is that he didn’t face plant into her chest this time.

Pongo expected this. Of course he did. Not in the moment it was happening but from the second he asked Jaynix out on a date he knew that something was going to happen, he would screw up something somewhere.

Jaynix looks up at Pongo, mildly surprised over this outcome, recalling when the same thing happened out in Primordia. What was more surprising was Pongo’s face. She expected him to be sad, disappointed but instead there was a gentle smile on his face as he looked at her.

Jaynix could see confidence in his face as he opened his mouth and spoke.

“Heh. Funny how I get lost in the music. Sorry again but…I cannot help but fall for you…”

Taken off guard, Jaynix was surprised again by the pun. She couldn’t help but crack a smile and next thing she knew, she was laughing. The dead air around them was no filled with Jaynix’s musical laughter.

Part of her was telling her to reign it in but given what just happened she decided to throw caution to the wind and allow herself to just thrive in the moment.

“She’s laughing. No way. No. Way. How is her laugh so beautiful?”

Pongo found himself staring at her, she was shining brighter than ever before. It was wonderful.

“It must be because she’s beautiful. A beautiful laugh for a beautiful woman. Gods why is my heart beating so fast?”

An endless swarm of thoughts filled his head as his heart hammered in his chest. There were a million things he could say, a million things he could do and his brain was trying to consider all of them.

Should he apologize and help her up? Should he compliment her laugh? Should he laugh with her? Or should he just find some way to be embarrassed about all of this?

Then.

It comes to him.

A terrible, horrible thought.

He tries his best to repress it.

“No. I cannot happen. I will not let it happen. It would ruin everything that we have done tonight! Besides. She has someone else, right?”

He nods, his brain continuing to fight with itself.

“Yes. Alexa. Ga Buidhe. She has people she loves but…”

The idea. The thought refuses to leave his mind. It’s so persistent and no matter what he tries he can’t shake it out. It’s a terrible horrible thought and yet…wouldn’t it be nice?

“No. No. No. No…”

“Yes.”

Despite the conflict and trying to convince himself not to, he found himself leaning downwards.

Deep down he knows what he’ll get.

He knows she won’t let him.

But it’s clear that he never learns and never will, the only thing that matters now is the moment that she pushes him away.

Laugh settling down, Jaynix opened her eyes to see Pongo. He was incredibly close to her and was only coming closer with every passing second.

She had to admit, she was very lightheaded from the laughter so she couldn’t find the right words. Hell, she needed to give Pongo a very detailed and incredibly long speech in just a few seconds to convince him to stop but the seconds were ticking away in the slowest possible timeframe.

If Jaynix didn’t want something to happen, she’d stop it but all of her immediate actions were far too harmful for Pongo.

“He’s a good kid. He doesn’t deserve a burning slap across the face or a knee in the groin or a knee in the gut…he doesn’t deserve me yelling at him. I’m not going to cause a scene…I can’t do any of this to him, it’s too harsh. Too intense.”

Time was up, she felt the lightest, smallest possible contact. Lips barely brushing before she put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him away.

Speaking very quietly so only he could hear her.

“Pongo. No.”

That word.

No.

That one word was enough to make him stop in his tracks. That one word brought him back to his senses. His eyes widen a little and finally he moves away, standing up.

Jaynix stands up after him, watching his face expecting him to flush up only for his face to pale. Clenching his fists Pongo’s thoughts finally clear and one sentence repeats itself in his mind, over and over again.

“Why do you do this to yourself?”

Pongo could feel himself tearing up. He also felt embarrassed, ashamed, horrified and petrified beyond relief.

“She hates me. Of course Jaynix hates me, why wouldn’t she? Dates don’t end in tears. Dates don’t end in tears…”

He tries to hold back the waterfall of emotions that is the essence of his being but a single drop cascades down his cheek.

“No. I cannot let Jaynix see it.”

Looking down he lets his long hair act as a curtain to hide his expression.

Finally he speaks, his voice cracking.

“Sorry, Jaynix…I just thought…and then…I…”

Bringing a hand to his face he wipes his cheek.

“I must be the biggest damn fool in the world, huh?”

Jaynix could see all this, Pongo falling to despair. She can see he’s trying to hide his face and hold back his emotions but she knows all too well what to expect should he look up.

“You got caught up in the moment. It happens. Believe me.”

She waited as Pongo berated himself in whispers. He didn’t accept this. He wouldn’t.

Carefully she brought a hand to his chin and gently moved his head up so that he faced her. Seeing his tear stained face she felt her heart clutch.

With a gentle smile she spoke softly.

“You are far from the biggest fool on this planet, Pongo. Nowhere near it I’d say. We both know that Draco would say the same…and my brother being the big softie he is would agree without meeting you…and there is no doubt in my mind in regards to your boyfriend. He’d agree with the rest of us. You aren’t a fool, Pongo.”

Bringing her other hand up, she wiped Pongo’s cheek.

“You are important to me Pongo. I can see the kind of person you are and who you can become. You aren’t a fool. You aren’t a failure and you sure as shit aren’t a mistake. Unlucky streak, sure…but despite it all. You’re my friend and I don’t want to see you like this so please. Put it out of your mind and smile for me.”

Pongo could only stare at her.

“No. No, that is not possible. She does not hate me? Even after…”

Slowly but surely, his smile returns to his face, his tears now falling freely though now they’re tears of joy. There’s something about that smile she’s giving, her tone and her hand on his cheek…

“No. You cannot do this. You will not do this.”

For once, he listens to that little voice in his head. Even so he knows exactly what it is that he can do in this moment.

Rushing forward, he embraces Jaynix in a tight hug, letting his face press into her shoulder. Quietly and full of innocence he tells her.

"Thank you...thank you so much..."

Dates don’t end in tears.

But this isn’t a date. Not anymore.

This is two friends being themselves and loving each other with all of their hearts. He can’t ask for anything more.

Despite not really being a hugger, Jaynix immediately placed her arms around Pongo. Running a hand along his back she let out a long, comfortable sigh.

This “date” was not at all what she expected but she’s glad for what it’s become. Nothing else needed to be said.

After a few moments she slowly turned from Pongo to the other patrons in the Diner who no doubt watched the whole thing go down and probably heard most of what was said as well.

Furrowing her brows, her eyes began to burn, yellow and red, a raging inferno. The patrons all took note of this glare and looked away, returning to their own business. The last thing any of them wanted to do was piss off the Fiery Corporal.

Smug smile she looked away from them and returned her attention to Pongo.

“Hey. What say we get out of here? Maybe some sightseeing. Casual Walk. Talk. I’ve got some great stories I can share.”

Pongo steps back, satisfied with the hug and gives her a firm nod.

“Yeah…that would be nice. Really nice, actually. Though I doubt I have any interesting stories but I would love to hear yours!”

Jaynix smiled at that before turning around.

Together the pair walked out of the diner. All the thoughts still in Pongo’s head faded away, leaving him with a sense of happiness. Having someone like Jaynix in his life was a blessing and he was immensely grateful for it.

Seems like despite everything, in the end, this was a good night.

Smiling, Pongo was content with this ending to their story.

Though he still had to restrain himself from holding Jaynix’s hand as they walk through the NLA streets bathed in moonlight, together.

[hermanwatts]

SUPERVERSIVE: “Brand New Animal” is the first great show of the year!

So the winter anime season was all right.

I liked a few shows, some I even liked quite a bit, but none of them were GREAT. None of them lived up to the best shows of winter 2019, “Kaguya-Sama: Love is War” and especially “The Promised Neverland”.

True, I didn’t see “Dorohedro” yet. But even so – its reputation is good, not great.

The spring season, however, is a different story. FINALLY, we have a great show: Trigger’s (Who else?) “Brand New Animal” is an absolute blast to watch!

“Brand New Animal” is the story of Micheru, a teenage girl who one day randomly transforms into a Tanuki-person (a raccoon-dog with a long history in Japanese folklore).  In this world, beastpeople are a separate species who have the ability to change between human and beast forms (humanoid animals) at will.

Since the beastmen have publicly revealed themselves they’ve faced persecution from humanity, so in response they formed Animacity, a city founded by beastmen and meant for beastmen. With nowhere else to go and unsure what’s going on, Micheru decides that making for Animacity is better than staying locked in her home, and thus our story starts.

Let’s start off with the biggest issue of BNA: It makes no sense. When the series starts off, Micheru is stuck in her beast form, so that’s fine. It gives her a good reason to need to escape to Animacity. But the regular beastmen? Who even cares? They can turn into humans at any time. They’re basically just regular humans with superpowers. Why would their ability to transform cause people to persecute them? Worst comes to worst, don’t transform with people around. It’s the X-Men problem.

The strangest part is how easy it is to correct this issue. Just don’t give the beastmen human forms. There, problem solved. But their worldbuilding is immediately janked from the word go thanks to this silly aesthetic choice.

Annnnnnd that out of way let’s talk about everything this series does right.

Plus, A+ facial expressions

First off: It’s a Trigger show, and if any of you know Trigger shows you won’t be surprised to hear that it looks incredible. The animation is smooth and fluid, and right there in episode 1 we get to watch an absolutely sick action scene. The soundtrack is also excellent.

Of course, those are aesthetic elements, and while those matter, there are more important things. As you’d expect, the typical Trigger style can’t help but be fun: Loud, over the top, and always trying to top itself with the sheer insanity of its visuals. BNA is also very, very funny, with a lot of great sight gags and fun physical comedy as everybody rolls with the sheer insanity of what happens onscreen. Episode 5, where Micheru is roped into joining a baseball team, is the most Kill La Kill-ish episode of the show and absolutely hilarious.

Huge hole in the premise aside, the world BNA creates is endlessly intriguing. From episode 1 we’re hit with shadowy conspiracies, terrorist attacks, evil corporations, and beastmen mafia that engages in beastmen trafficking. We even get a nifty twist where the poor put upon women manipulated by the evil men turn out to not be quite so innocent after all.

Micheru in front, human form Shirou behind. Can I just say I absolutely LOVE Micheru’s character design?

Which is a good segue into the characters. Micheru is one of the best and more realistic teenagers I’ve seen in fiction in a good while. She has a good heart but she’s sort-sighted and self-centered, but not in a malicious way. She acts like a typical teenager, in other words: She makes dumb mistakes and doesn’t think through all of the consequences of her actions but she also wants to help and is likable enough. Micheru is an easy character to root for, with enough going on plot-wise to make her compelling.

Shirou, our deuteragonist, a fairly standard noir detective, but he gets some killer action scenes and there’s a mystery surrounding his apparent invulnerability that makes him a little more interesting than the stock version of that character. And the many minor characters rounding out the cast are colorful and fun.

Finally, it is probably necessary to address the elephant in the room: “Beastars”.

Yes, “Beastars” has a lot of similarities to BNA. They are both noir, both feature mysteries as major plot points, and obviously both take place in worlds featuring humanoid beastmen. They also share a lot of the same themes, specifically unjust prejudice against outgroups and the difficulties of coexistence.

“Beastars” handles its themes much better. Its worldbuilding is much more robustly constructed, and its conflicts follow from the way its society is structured, a stark contrast to the unfortunate hole in the premise of BNA.

“Beastars” also has a better soundtrack. BNA’s is great, but “Beastars” is much more original and memorable as a result.

On the flipside, while “Beastars'” CGI style does look extremely cool it is hard to look at its somewhat jerky animation and say it looks better than BNA, which looks consistently amazing. “Beastars'” few action scenes are exciting enough but pale in comparison to BNA’s.

“Beastars'” writing may be a lot tighter but this is partially because BNA is much more ambitious, with various conflicts swirling around many different characters and Micheru’s struggles only being a small part of this story. “Beastars” certainly covers a lot of territory but Trigger’s bread and butter is BIG, and BNA is absolutely no exception to this. Make no mistake, that is a positive, because there’s always something to pay attention to and think about.

BNA is also much, much funnier than “Beastars”.

So which of the two shows is better? I think you have to say “Beastars”, if only because it doesn’t bungle its premise so dramatically, but the shows are different in a lot of ways to the point that no matter what you think of “Beastars” it’s still worth watching BNA anyway. The experience is very different.

The word I keep coming back to with BNA is FUN. The show is really, really fun. It looks great, it’s interesting, it’s exciting, and it’s endlessly addictive. BNA is the first show of 2020 that ranks up there with the best of 2019.

Highly recommended.

SUPERVERSIVE: “Brand New Animal” is the first great show of the year! published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[sarahburness]

How I Escaped the Negative Thought Loop That Kept Me Down and Stuck

“You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.” ~Philip Arnold

Do you ever doubt yourself?

As if no matter how hard you try, it’s never enough. Do you always tell yourself that you could do more? Or that somebody else is doing more, so why aren’t you on their level?

I’m not good enough.

Do you keep your thoughts to yourself because you feel as though your opinion doesn’t matter?

I’m not smart enough.

Or how about when you’re casually scrolling through social media? You see beautiful people taking such awesome photos and they look so happy.

I’m not attractive enough.

These rapid-fire negative thoughts incessantly remind us of our faults and flaws. These negative thought loops are like water to fish. We’re swimming through them. Every day. All the time.

This year I was practically drowning in negative thought loops. My grandmother died. Shortly after, I navigated my parents through a draining divorce process. Post-divorce, my fiancé and I moved back in with my mom to support her. Money was scarce.

I downward-spiraled into negative thought loops, constantly blaming myself for being a disappointing grandson, son, and partner, and an overall disappointment.

I didn’t like myself, and you needed more than a powerful microscope to find an inkling of self-esteem within me.

Negative thoughts that loop on replay are dangerous because when you say something over and over again, you believe it.

And if you’re like me, these beliefs can be paralyzing.

The Comparison Trap

In today’s age of technology and social media, scrolling is second nature to us.

Is it really surprising?

After all, you get to see all the awesome things that other people are doing. Incredible photos and videos taken by beautiful people doing amazing things.

I wish that were me.

That awe instantly transforms into envy, and suddenly you feel like your life is lacking.

But we keep doing it. Every day, we scroll, seeking out our next hit of dopamine and envy—which social media offers in abundance.

I did this every single day, multiple times a day, and mostly as an escape.

I immersed myself in somebody else’s carefully curated life to distract myself from mourning my grandmother or quenching the fires of my parents’ divorce.

From waking up in the morning to going to bed at night, I would scroll endlessly, comparing my life to the lives of others.

I had fallen into the comparison trap. Like a moth to fire, I was hopelessly addicted and in awe of the lives that other people lead.

Why can’t I be happy like that person?

It’s a terrible thought loop to replay in your mind. To believe that your life is lacking simply because your life is different from somebody else’s life—it’s an awful way to live.

Struggling to See the Positive

What’s difficult about negative thought loops is that sometimes you don’t feel like you’re deserving of your victories.

This year I graduated college, but I didn’t attend my walking ceremony because I didn’t feel proud of myself.

I don’t deserve this.

Also, I started working for a law firm, the first of many steps in building my career, but I never celebrated when I got the job because I didn’t feel worthy of it.

I’m not good enough.

It is just so sad that I was unable to celebrate my blessings simply because my mind was flooded with sorrow and disillusionment from tending to my family.

Instead, I sunk into a miserable slump.

I think the best way to describe this feeling is like walking through life in haze. Everywhere you look is foggy and distorted. I was unable to realize my victories or be grateful for my blessings because a veil of negativity was draped over my eyes.

It wasn’t until a conversation with an old friend that the haze cleared and I could see life with clarity.

Learned Helplessness

We met for lunch and she shared with me something she’d learned in class.

Psychologist Carol Dweck performed an experiment in which a fifth-grade classroom was split into two groups to solve a given problem.

The twist was that one group of students were given a set of unsolvable problems. No matter how hard these students tried, they were unable to succeed at the task.

In the next round, when they were given a set of easy problems, many students either took longer than the average or gave up entirely.

What happened?

The earlier round with unsolvable problems caused the students to equate trying with failing. Helplessness became a learned behavior.

I think a lot of times we do this to ourselves with our thoughts.

I would tell myself repeatedly I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. And when it was my turn to bat, I’d run away and quit because I knew that I’d strike out anyway.

I was entrapped in a fixed mindset.

I convinced myself that no matter what I did, I would always be destined for failure. That my life would never amount to anything meaningful and I would never be happy.

It wasn’t long before my frustrations with myself transformed into anger over the unfairness of it all.

My job performance declined. My relationships suffered. I was at a loss. My moods swung back and forth between flatlined indifference and anxiety-wracked mania.

I needed to shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset—to understand that the past doesn’t have to repeat itself, and that I have a say in what happens if I choose to learn and grow. But I didn’t know that then.

At this point I realized it was time to seek therapy. This was one of the best choices I made this year because it opened a gateway to the wonders of mindfulness and gratitude.

Finding Gratitude

Who knew something as small as practicing gratitude could transform my thought process entirely?

Too often we allow our negative thought loops to overwhelm and consume us. And it’s because we allow ourselves to be our thoughts.

However, we are not our thoughts. They’re just thoughts!

Practicing gratitude helps you escape the negative thought loop because it encourages you to seek out what is good and right and beautiful in your life.

With each day I counted my blessings, I was slowly releasing myself from the negativity that had shackled me for several months.

Life will always be riddled with hardships. It’s inevitable. But to still summon the resilience to tell yourself that everything is okay, things will get better, I have people who love me, I know that I’m strong; and most importantly, to truly believe that you have the courage and ability to create a positive shift in your life because you can still practice gratitude despite your struggles… it’s beyond empowering.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

“You cannot change the people around you, but you can change the people you choose to be around.” ~Unknown

I recently discovered this quote while listening to a podcast, and it resonated with me.

You really can’t change the people around you.

If you try, you’ll end up disappointed. How other people behave, how they feel, what they think—these things are all beyond your control.

But you can control who you surround yourself with.

It has been said that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

If you’re mostly around people who complain a lot then, chances are, that you will complain a lot.

I was exactly this type of person. And these were the type of people I surrounded myself with.

I would always be moody. I was a true pessimist. I would combat every silver lining with criticism and some statement about how unfair life is.

And to tell you the truth, being negative sucks. It’s exhausting.

After hearing this quote, I tried something outside my comfort zone: I met new people.

Being highly introverted and shy, this was difficult for me. But I did it. I joined clubs at school. I met positive and ambitious people with dreams and goals.

I am convinced that positivity is contagious. The warm aura gained by practicing gratitude and welcoming abundance in your life touches the people around you. And this gratitude and abundance mindset slowly replaces those negative thought loops.

I didn’t want to be in a slump anymore. I wanted to be driven, motivated, and well… happy. I learned that the key to achieving this is to seek out other people who want the same things you do.

A Better Headspace

It is reaching the end of the year and I am faring far better than I did at the beginning. If I had to name one thing that I think you and everybody should do more of, it’s this:

Be kind to yourself.

There’s a lot of truth to whoever said that we are our own worst critics.

That is why I advocate that we also be our own best fans.

Every time you criticize yourself, remember to also praise yourself. Practice gratitude and remember the countless blessings in your life. And realize the past doesn’t have to repeat itself. You can learn, you can grow, and you can do more than you think.

Reflecting on this year, I now see that I am beyond blessed. I have a college degree. I’m soon to be married to the love of my life. I’m steadily working on my career.

There are so many things in my life that are going so beautifully right.

The same is likely true for you. You just need to remember them.

About Dan Recio

Dan Recio loves sharing actionable tips on achieving your goals at Motivationalist so that you can build the life you want.  Set yourself up for a productive week with his free guide: 7 Sunday Habits to Conquer the Week.

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The post How I Escaped the Negative Thought Loop That Kept Me Down and Stuck appeared first on Tiny Buddha.

from Tiny Buddha https://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-i-escaped-the-negative-thought-loop-that-kept-me-down-and-stuck/

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30 Hilarious Notes Left For Badly Parked Car

Problems Created By Car parkers Terrible drivers are hard to deal with as is, but terrible car parkers are worse. They are on another level of existence where they think that the whole parking lot is their playground and they can park as they see fit. So something must be done to put these painfully horrendous car parkers to put them back in their place. And nothing spells out passive-aggression better than a note left on the windshield!

What A Superstar

A note written in all caps means serious business. And this particular offender has clearly crossed the line of tolerance to be the target of a letter in all caps! Although this might cost the writer the luxury of feeling like a movie star, a well-worded note will help the offender do a better parking job next time.

A Pinch Of Spite

Sarcasm is probably the language of the irked and offended all over the world. This particular offender actually took the time to move out their neighbor's trash cans to do their awful parking job. With the level of irritation dripping from that single note, we hope the offender never actually gets to meet the writer, for their own sake!

Grammar On Point

Imagine coming across a parking job so appalling, that you start to lose your grasp on grammar due to the amazing bouts of anger you feel. That was the case with this particular writer, who was equally mad at the bad parking, as well as the time wasted writing their note. Don't make people doubt their grammar!

Nobody Likes You

This particular writer must be at the height of their anger to actually go out of their way to print out the note! Can you imagine how many times the offender must have done it to take such special measures this time around? We hope they shape up, to benefit from the society, as well as not be attacked by mountain lions. Just saying.

Grumpy Cat Doesn’t Like You

Seems like the famous Grumpy cat himself came down to tut-tut at the disappointing parking job. He's also very possessive of his parking spot. Although he was generous enough to not call the towing services this time around, the offender might not be as lucky the next time around!

The Hellen Keller

Sometimes, a parking job is so ghastly that not even a note would suffice for the opportunity. Notes would fall on deaf ears, so something more concrete needs to be done to drive the message home. This particularly aggravated writer had to bust out their spray paint can to make their point.

Personalized Spot

This car parker felt that no parking space available was good for their car. So they had the ingenious idea to park it on the division of spaces itself. Of course, such originality seldom goes unnoticed, so someone had to outline this special parking spot in chalk. Way to go for ingenuity!

What A Jag Off

When one doesn't have access to paper on hand, what does one use? A pad of course! When one has this much overflowing anger at the improper parking job, that it has to be conveyed one way or another. In this instance, it is a pad. You have to give them points for their very original use of a pad.

Rich In Parking Spots

As rich as you can become, it does not guarantee you get common sense accompanying it. This was the case for the owner of this particular blue BMW, who just had to take up two parking spots. But this inflamed writer wasn't simply going to let it go, not if it was going to inconvenience their grandma!

Come On Dogg

Props to this next guy, who just wanted to get back his parking spot in the most amicable manner. Unlike a sarcastic or a passive-aggressive note, he put his simple request in a straightforward manner. On the windshield. With paint. He was good enough to even put a 'thanks' at the end!

Sincerely It Is

This agitated driver had had enough of the offender's horrendous parking skills. With a straight-up threat, the writer was giving no more chances to this repeat offender. We suggest the offender keep this threat in mind the next time they're about to do a half-baked parking job and leave other car locked in.

A Meme-tactic Parking Job

Have you ever seen a parking of car job so bad, that you had to unearth a dead meme from the 2000s? This enraged writer had to go out of his way to print out the famous 'Y U NO' meme to get his point across. A perfect mix of nostalgia and sarcasm!

PB & Jelly

Towing costs are quite expensive, not to forget, inconvenient. This writer was considerate enough to spare the offender the charge of towing but still had enough spite to not let go of the chance to make their point. Smearing peanut butter and using it as a canvas to write their qualms is equally innovative and inconvenience at the same time.

It’s That Simple

While the previous one used smeared peanut butter as their canvas, this writer used the gift of mother nature to articulate their thoughts. With the plentiful snow come winter, this writer used the built-up snow on the car to write. Props to them for not wasting paper!

Season's Greetings!

Shoveling the snow from your parking spot in winters is a hassle as is, but more infuriating when someone takes advantage of your hard work! This good Samaritan had just cleared out out the snow from his parking spot, but some rude driver decided to take advantage of it and park there. The writer wasn't going to let it slide so easily, and wrote a not-so-kindly worded letter.

No Mixed Messages

There's something fundamentally wrong with your parking skills if they inconvenience even the pedestrians. This skilled driver went out of his way and parked in such a way that it blocked the pavement. But this calm pedestrian wrote a straightforward and concise letter pointing out the offender's fault. If only everyone in the world was concise...

Mr. T-Rex

This is perhaps one of the most politely worded note on this list. When a hapless driver's alarm system was going off without their knowledge, a Mr. Tyranasauras rex took it upon themselves to bring it to their knowledge. With a top hat and a wine glass in hand, Mr. T-Rex is the epitome of a gentleman.

Justified

A classic passive-aggressive note with some threats to boot. This writer had had enough of this offender's terrible parking job and decided to dole out out some appropriate parking wisdom. Can't help but agree with their point though, it is quite lousy to park in front o someone's driveway!

Park Well Maybe

This grieved writer used the words of Carly Rae Jepson's 'Call Me Maybe' to make his point. With a parking as bad as his, it elicits pop songs!

Oh So Gentle

This writer was annoyed to the highest degree for him to spout so many swear words. He was fed up beyond belief with the obnoxious parking skills the offender displayed that he could not stop dropping f-bombs! Offenders beware!

Stop Ruining My Life

Fed up with getting so many parking tickets already, this poor driver had to actually plead the ticket man to not give him any more tickets! We sympathize with him, we'd be distraught too if we got three tickets too!

Poor Stevie

A snarky and short note is the way to go when dealing with parking offenders. This person's parking was so bad, that it triggered someone to draw a comparison between the music legend, Stevie Wonder's eyesight, and the offender's. And if you've been living under a rock, Stevie Wonder is a critically acclaimed musician who is blind.

What A Jerk

It is aggravating as is when people take two whole spots while parking, but it is immensely inconsiderate when they take up parking spots reserved for handicapped people. To what lengths does your inconsideration extend to? However, one vigilante took it upon themselves to write an illustrious note to the offender.

Resort To Public Transport

When one encounters so many parking offenders regularly, these cards are the perfect way to go! NOopoint in wasting your time writing a note, but rather just stick this card and be on your way!

Who Even Are You?

Channeling their inner Liam Neeson from the 'Taken' franchise, this disgruntled driver had to borrow the words of the actor himself and outline it to them in explicit terms about the level of their annoyance and the consequences of it.

Honorary Member

Annoyed with the skills (or the lack of) of this Beetle owner, he was immediately made an honorary member of a club for people who park awfully! At least we know his parking skills will be appreciated there!

Worst Neighbor Award Goes To…

Broken security alarms in a car are a pain to deal with, especially when they endlessly play through the entirety of the night. But failure to get it fixed and subsequently ruining everyone's goodnight sleep afforded this offender the title of 'Worst Neighbor of the Year.'

Office Joe

Sometimes, a simple stick figure conveying your feelings is enough to get the point across. This writer seemed more inconvenienced than angry, so a simple note sufficed. At least, for this time.

It Was For The Fam

Who wants to shovel snow for hours on end only to return and see that someone else has parked in that shoveled space? Not only is it bad manners, but it is also highly inconsiderate. Shame on you, the person who parked that car!

Sincerely, Everybody

Sometimes, a bad parking job can baffle many a person. This note perfectly summed up the feeling of the general public in just a few words. It is almost an art, to convey so much, with so little words! Read the full article