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polyamorouspunk · 1 year

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what do you consider 'punk' and how did you get into it?

I’m going to preface this by saying this ask is over a month old. At first I just felt like this was too big of a topic to tackle, and then when a new wave of what I’m going to call discourse in the community came up, it just felt like it was going to add fuel to the fire. I ended up making some posts about it anyway, but I guess since I just got asked this again, it’s time to really sit down and answer: what is punk to me.

Punk is a conglomeration of similar ideas, however, some people have different ideas of what is and isn’t punk. I, for example, do not support the vegan movement, but I do know people on here who have patches like “meat is murder” on their battle jackets. That would be an example of a punk ideal that not everyone shares. The basis, the foundation of punk though, as a political ideal, is anti-government and anti-capitalist. There are some things thrown under those umbrellas too. For example, I think you can label being “anti-cop” and under the umbrella of anti-government if you wanted because law enforcement is a government agency.

Punk is a fashion style. Time and time again we have pointed at large fashion brands (I’m looking at you Hot Topic and Spencer’s) and gone “I can’t believe they’re profiting off an aesthetic built on cheap DIY and making it expensive”. When I went a few days ago I found a black beanie with a safety pin and 3 d-rings that was slightly “distressed” as the fashion industry likes to call it. $16. Go get yourself a black beanie, find yourself a safety pin and some d-rings and cut it up yourself, if you’re doing it right it should NOT cost you $16. And if it looks like it’s going to cost you $16 then either you’re shopping in the wrong places or you need to find a 🖐️ discount on that shit *cough* excuse me I’m not sure where that came from. The most recent example of this (this is July 2023) is Hot Topic selling Hobbie Brown merch for the new Into The Spiderverse movie. Selling branded merch of a character who is anti-brand and anti-capitalist. This is not to say that you can’t pick up some stuff from Hot Topic. There’s nothing wrong with taking a liking to something and picking it up and adding to your style. I truly believe that. I also don’t have room to talk since I’ll be honest, dropping $100 a month on band merch is pretty much the only thing keeping me sane these days. Is that very punk of me? No, probably not. However I’m enclaved in this capitalist hellscape working for $9 an hour on pieces people pay $400 for, so if I need to indulge in buying band merch to keep me sane, so be it. It’s my money and I can do what I want with it, and I’ve also been donating money to trans organizations as well. I also like to thrift and DIY. The piece I’m working on now is a patch I got for like $7 from Hot Topic and a bag from the dollar store and I put the patch on the bag and I’m adding some details. A lot of the patches on my vest came from Hot Topic but a lot also are hand-made from me just buying fabric and going ham with fabric paint. DIY or Die should be the core idea. Thrifting should be the core idea. But it’s also not wrong to pick something up you like here or there. Even then, though, focusing on Etsy and stuff should be the preference. And I’ll shop at Hot Topic over Amazon any day. On that note, it’s okay to have other aesthetics as well. You don’t need to dress punk 24/7. You can have other fashion interests and still call yourself punk. There’s no need to limit or restrict yourself in an effort to not feel like a poser.

Punk is a music-based subculture, but punk music has so many subcategories and bleeds into many other music genres. There are people and perfectionists out there who will demand to draw lines between what is and isn’t punk music, but music is all about taking inspiration from other artists and making it your own, putting your own spin on it. You can get away with listening to any alternative music, whether it be emo music, pop punk, goth music, metal music, ska, etc. Taylor Swift is not punk, though. Neither is really any “pop” artist. Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE listening to indie pop music or whatever. I mean even just Imagine Dragons I love Imagine Dragons, but I’m not kidding myself into saying that it makes me punk to listen to Imagine Dragons. My Chemical Romance on the other hand is totally something is some weird subgenre of punk music. Listen to MCR doesn’t “make” you punk but someone doesn’t have the right to call you out for listening to MCR and calling yourself punk in conjunction to it, like Imagine Dragons, for example. Wishing you had the money to spend $2000 on Taylor Swift tickets does NOT make you punk. The MOST I will spend on concert tickets is $200 and I haven’t hit that yet. I think the most on an actual ticket-ticket I spent was $80 for my FOB concert in a few weeks. Once again: I work for my own money. I work while disabled, and whatever I’m not spending on myself goes towards charity and paying the bills. I’ve seen PTV, FIR, and CTE for $25. Local punk shows cost usually between $5-$10, maybe up to $25 depending. Lots of music is even ~free~! Go see some free music even if it isn’t “punk” music! That’s what’s really punk.

Punk is knowing when to be angry and when to be gentle. I think you do need to be angry to be punk. I started calling myself punk because I WAS angry. I was angry at a lot of things. And I needed a healthy outlet for that anger and this blog was born. I needed a place to yell about the things that bothered me, and slowly that became me reblogging posts about people yelling about the things that bothered them, and those things were not having rights, our rights being taken away, anger at murder by cops, etc. supporting that anger. Punk is NOT about a peaceful approach to everything. If you are against the idea of violence in every scenario then you are not punk. If you object to the phrase “punch Nazis” you aren’t punk. And while we’re at it let’s talk about Nazi punks. They exist. You can’t deny that. They are in fact a subculture of the punk subculture. They are punk, I think, in their own way, because they hate the government and stuff, but not for the right reasons. They want to make it worse. They hate the government like people who stormed the capital on January 6th hate the government. For the *wrong* reasons. And in that way they are posers even if they check the metaphorical boxes. Because punk is also about helping the community. It is about a peaceful and loving touch to those around you. It’s about recycling and planting wildflowers and volunteering for marginalized people. It’s about taking that anger in one hand and that want to see a peaceful and loving society in the other and balancing both. You can be angry all you want, and attend protests and yell all you want, but if you aren’t being kind to the people around you then it’s not really for anything. A better world starts with just doing something nice for someone. That’s attainable. That’s in the now. Don’t set your sights so high you’re missing the opportunity to change the world by putting a smile on someone’s face. But yes: you do need to be angry to be punk.

Punk is about individuality and not asking permission. The first way to not be punk? Going on anon and asking a punk blog if it’s okay to call yourself punk for xyz reason. That’s it, you’ve failed the basic test. Real punks do not ask. They do. Punk is about making it your own. It’s about not caring if you’re “doing it wrong” because you’re doing it YOUR way, and if you followed a set of rules on how to do it then that would automatically make it the WRONG way. The hard and fast rules are really just hate the government, hate cops, hate capitalism, hate bigotry, be angry, listen to music that wasn’t meant for family friendly public radio, dress in a way that freaks the right people out, and start doing some activism. That’s how to be punk.

How do you get into punk? You just do. Where I grew up there was a group of older teens who dressed in all black and had dyed hair and swore and lot and sat around and smoked and drank. They intimidated me. I wanted to be like that when I grow up.

I’m so much more than that though. I’m an angry transmasc, someone who rivals in horror and bloodlust as a metaphor for their own violent nature, who scares people enough they lock their doors. But I’m a girl in her 20s who loves buying lemonade at the local boba tea shop and whose favorite animal is butterflies who loves to sit in grass and make friendship bracelets.

So I find things that fit both of my selves and more. I started listening to Fall Out Boy on a suggestion, and from there I found My Chemical Romance, and all these other bands. I started shopping at Hot Topic and wearing all black with band shirts and giant rubber band bracelets. From there I slowly started experimenting by buying some spike bracelets from Hot Topic and started listening to heavier music. I found people on here who had cool battle jackets and I kept an eye out while thrifting and finally found one of my own. I took the patches it came with and started painting over them. My trans patch used to be Obama. Now it’s transgender. Transgender Obama, if you will. I started listening to people online, who told me stories of cops who killed people for no reason. But I thought cops only killed bad people? Well, it turns out that “bad people” is a pretty good metaphor for “people with darker skin”. I started listening to podcasts and I learned horror stories of the US government doing human testing on populations of black people. Can you imagine? They used to do that shit! But… do we really think they just… stopped? Or did they just get better at hiding it…

Getting into punk is about slowly morphing yourself into someone who listens and takes action. It’s okay if you’re like me and you got into punk because you wanted to dress like the scary older kids in your town or you were just really angry so you started a blog called “polyamorous punk” with the work punk in it, or you just really liked My Chemical Romance as a teen. You don’t have to get into punk because you want to fix everything that’s wrong with the world, but that’s how you end up feeling. Over time though as you mature you learn that’s unrealistic. So you do what you can and support the people who are doing what you can’t.

#punk gets mail #personal #punk culture #long post

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smokeybrandcompositions · 2 years

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Kiss the Ring

The Brooklyn Nets have suspended Kyrie Irving for posting that link to the Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America! documentary on Amazon and it’s patently absurd. Look, i get that cats feel some kind of way about what is and what isn’t anti-Semitic but if you can point to certain things in reality that support these positions, how is it bigoted to call them out?I’m not saying everything in the doc is legit but there is enough content there for you, as an individual, devoid of prejudice and bias, to look into it for your own edification. Like, saying Semitic Jews were black is not a stretch, bro. It’s not a “conspiracy” that there are Black Hebrew Israelites. Jesus was a Jew and how was he described in the Good Book? “Feet of bronze and hair like wool.” That sh*t don’t sound like a white hippie to me. More than that, where the f*ck is Israel even located? In the Middle East, right? Guess what the was part of in antiquity? F*cking Africa! I mean, you can trace the line of those descended from Shem, son of Noah, the root of the term Semitic, to Africa! and not even “Northern” Africa but what is known colloquially as “Dark Africa!” If you are white Jew, you cannot be Semitic. You are not derived from the line of Shem. These are things that are truths, quantifiable and researchable, but for some reason they’re conspiracy? But Ashkenazi are the ones screaming about antisemitism the loudest. I wonder why?

Objectively, Ashkenazi Jewish people dominate leadership roles in media. They literally control the narrative. I’m not here trying to debate this, it’s fact. A third of the worlds top one hundred and forty Billionaires are Jewish. That’s according to Forbes in 2009. That number has only grown in recent years. A third of the Owners in the NBA are Jewish. The vast majority of CEOs at the head of movie studios are Jewish. Same with Music Labels. These aren't conspiracies. It’s not hate speech. It’s fact. Saying these truths out loud shouldn’t garner this much animosity. If you get your news through mainstream media, and that media is effectively owned and guided by a certain people, then you’re only getting the messaging those people want you to have. I don’t understand how that’s a “dangerous” thing to say. It’s fact. It’s common sense. Like, I’m not going to sit here and deny that the Holocaust happened or that millions of the Ashkenazi Jews were killed during Hitlers reign. That sh*t occurred and i understand that generational trauma. I’m black as f*ck and still feel my own hurt through slavery to this day. I’m not trying to deny your pain or even speak against what you perceive to be hurtful to your heritage. What i am saying, however, is that decrying a guy for pointing out sh*t that you may not want attention drawn to, under the guise of overt bigotry, is f*cked up.

It’s like you can’t comment on what is real history or derail that narrative of victimization these Jews who control media, have crafted for themselves. If you have a platform under their media blanket, you’re not allowed to say, “Hey, that’s a f*cked up thing you’re doing to those people” or “Maybe your origins are a bit darker than you want tot admit.” without being branded some sort of hate monger. Even if those thing are true and very much obvious to anyone with an elementary school understanding of history and geography. I get sh*t on for calling the Israeli State a terrorist origination for the way they treat Palestinians, even though literally everyone agrees the way Israel is encroaching upon what’s left of Palestine, is a whole as humanitarian crisis! The cognitive disconnect is real! How the f*ck is it wrong to point out that Israel bombed a school full of brown, Muslim, kids during a ceasefire? How the f*ck can you condone that kind of behavior? It’s f*cking weird to me, man. How can i be an anti-Semite if I'm calling out sh*t that Ashkenazi Jews are doing to the resident Muslim people, people who have lived on that land four times longer than any kind of Jew, when the Jew inflicting the terror aren’t even properly Semitic? It’s nuts!

In order for Kyrie to come back to the team after his weirdly open ended suspension, he’ll have to do six things: Apologize and condemn the film he promoted, make a $500,000 donation to anti-hate causes, complete sensitivity training, complete antisemitism training, meet with the ADL and Jewish leaders, and meet with team owner Joe Tsai to demonstrate an understanding of the situation. Some of this sh*t is reasonable. Meeting with the ADL and making those donations is a solid choice. The rest? Not so much. This is a public flogging of Irving for standing by his word. You wither kiss the ring or you don’t hoop anymore. It’s unfair and wild to think that, at the end of this March of Shame, he’s have to plead his case to Joe Tsai. This is a Chinese national Billionaire who literally funds the genocide of the Uyghur Muslims in his home country! Like, what?! his man Kyrie is getting more coverage, there is more outrage over him posting a link to a controversial film, that f*cking Jefferey Epstein f*cking kids. For decades. I wonder why? Epstein sure has a rather Ashkenazi ring to it, don’t it?

Listen, I'm not here to defend Kyrie for his post. I’m not here to say what other people are allowed to feel. I’m not trying to Jew bash or whatever. All I'm saying is it’s weird that so many of a certain people, have such strong opinions and the platforms to amplify their message, are out here trying to destroy a black man for posting a link to a film that says maybe the real Jews are black people. I definitely believe that Irving could have gone about that sh*t in a much better way, feel the same way about whatever the f*ck Kanye was doing, but that doesn’t mean you assassinate the man’s character from having these views. For speaking a truth that has gone unspoken for centuries. Talk to him. Educate him as to why these thing are hurtful. Listen to his counterargument. Hear what HE has to say and why he thought there was merit to that message. Don’t just crucify the dude because he won’t immediately apologize for something that he has held as truth for some time.

I’m sure I'm going to lose followers over this and I'm sure someone is going to call me a bigot for posting this rant or someone is going to demand sources or whatever but, like, i don’t care. My source is reality. My source is the actual scriptures. My source is historic geography and an understanding of current world events. There is more truth in these “conspiracies” than most people are comfortable accepting and it’s in that crack where the disingenuous cries of bigotry live. I am not antisemitic. I am anti-Israel. I don’t hate the Jewish people but i do believe there is a distinct separation between Semitic and Ashkenazi Jews. I do believe that Semitics were, and are, black. I believe that there is a concerted effort to deny this reality because of course there is. White people hate the fact that everything is traced back to Africa and Ashkenazi Jews are white. These are quantifiable and historic facts. It’s not antisemitic to say them out loud.

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smokeybrand · 2 years

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Kiss the Ring

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repentantsky2 · 2 years

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In regards to recent video game Review Bombings (Based on my best guesses)

Well, here we are again, review bombing of games for “reasons” however those reasons aren’t so simple, and while most people will either break it down to be a black and white affair, and many others will simply not care, it is worth noting that in this case, there are reasons for at least two games getting the bombs dropped on their review scores.

The two games that are getting hit the most if you aren’t aware, are Digimon Survive, a visual novel/tactical RPG that in it’s marketing, failed to mention that visual novel aspect much, if at all, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Now, as was mentioned, the reason behind Digimon Survive being review bombed, is likely due to it not being clear that the game was a visual novel first, and tactical RPG second. It should have been made obvious from the moment it was possible to do so, that Digimon Survive is not a Cyber Sleuth type of game, nor is it in many regards, like Fire Emblem. Both of those were probably at least somewhat part of the expectations for the game, but with little gameplay shown outside of talking to Digimon themselves, and combat in the games, the marketing clearly failed. Marketing in a huge deal in game, despite how many people loudly proclaim their undying love for a new game off of it’s first announcement, and nothing else to be said, Bandai Namco did inform people properly. That is reason to be frustrated, as I would be do had I not known. I did, because I looked at the steam listing and it said as much before release, but not everyone is going to do that. Informing people what they are getting into before they make a purchase, is imperative to earn and keep their trust, that simply didn’t happen here, and I understand being upset about that.

When it comes to Xenoblade Chronicles 3, there’s also reasons to be upset. Some more logical than others, there’s a review up as of my writing this, that basically praises Pyra, and seem to hate XC3 simple because she’s not a prominent member of the new entry in the series, if indeed she shows up at all. That one is clearly nonsense, but nonsense is also something fans have clearly dealt with leading up to the release of the game as well. Trying to purchase the collector’s edition, was at least as bad as trying to buy an Xbox One or PS5 was when the consoles first released in 2020, and it shouldn’t be like that. Nintendo’s site would crash, the item would appear in someone’s cart but leave for no reason while the item was still in stock, and of course, like all limited editions, bots that we’ve been begging be regulated to some extent for years, nabbed some of the copies, leaving scalpers to try and sell the game for hundreds of dollars to rise up it’s value before release. This issue happened on more than one occasion, and in more than one country, and Nintendo did nothing, as usual. These major corporations have proven time and again that they don’t care about their consumers, they care about their money, and one thing is certain, almost no one who would fight that hard to get the collector’s edition and failed, would be dissuaded from buying the regular game, so little to no money lost on Nintendo’s part, they’re good.

This is sort of event is not uncommon, and Nintendo is by no means the only ones who it. GameStop has been known to allow people to preorder a game, only to cancel close to release with no reason given, Amazon has done it, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Toys R Us even got me like that once, and whatever stores people may have tried to order games from in the past in their part of the world, have also done this. What this all boils down to in the long run is this. Anti-consumerism is a alive and well all forms of media. Every major company that provides a service of this nature has done it’s consumers wrong. It’s a standard that we need to be willing to be more actively against, however this post isn’t solely about that, I could write about that though should anyone want to hear it.

Now comes the review bombing, a sort of way to get back at developers who wrong people, and it’s something that 99.999999999999% of the time, I fully am against. The only example I can truly think of where I understood it and thought it was earned, was Cyberpunk 2077 because boy was that game just based on lies. As for Digimon and XC3 though, that’s not really helping. If you want you’re favorite series to continue, review bombing damaged those chances, because sadly even though there are many of us who don’t really care about reviews unless the bombings happen, the investors and by extension publishers, do care, a lot. Bonuses, sequels, entire series have been ended by fan perception of what is ultimately, not the fault of the game’s themselves, and dismisses the amount of work that goes into developing said games, and it’s not really fair to attack the developers, as opposed to those who sold you lies because the board told them to. I don’t not support review bombing, and I do hope in the future, people will seriously learn that attacking a game with your words has little to no effect. Also, whatever you do, no matter how mad you are, don’t attack the developers online over this or threaten them. That makes you a garbage person. Be better.

#digimon #digimon survive #xc3 #xenoblade #xenoblade chronicles #xenoblade chronicles 3 #cyberpunk #cyberpunk 2077 #nintendo #playstation #ps5 #xbox #xbox series #visual novel #review #review bombing #rpg #jrpg #jrpg games

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cottage-punk · 4 years

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Okay, this makes me very, VERY irritated. Don’t get me wrong, I do like that cottagecore is becoming more mainstream because that means there’s more people to enjoy this aesthetic with and that’s great! BUT ironically cottagecore is quickly becoming commercialized and that’s just... what the fuck. Also it’s quickly becoming this thing for the wealthy to play with until their bored with it. I can’t go on the cottagecore tag on TikTok (although I do post in it) because the rich straights have just ruined it there. But that’s a whole other post tbh.

Anyway cottagecore came from HERE. It spawned from the mlm and wlw on tumblr posting about how they want to run away with their partner and live in the woods. That’s the origin, not TikTok. Trust me, I’ve been here from the start 5/6 years ago. The ironic thing comes in when you know cottagecore (try’s it’s best) to be ANTI capitalism. So why on earth would anyone go out and buy their uwu cottagecore aesthetic maxi dresses from fucking Amazon or H&M of all places? It just makes me angry that fast fashion and consumerism is trying to shove its stupid little nose into this little subculture and profit off of it. WITHOUT EVEN GIVING CREDIT TO THE GAYS IT CAME FROM.

Obviously this isn’t the worst offender leaching off of cottagecore, there’s still the nazis, but it’s just irritating.

Anyway I don’t mean to gatekeep but if you’re buying your uwu cottagecore fashion from fucking Amazon, I’m gonna side eye you.

#cottagecore #capitalist hell #amazon

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mendrax · 3 years

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My first review of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

Here’s my first impression under the cut...

The franchise as art.

Not just the Eva franchise but the concept of a franchise itself. Because franchises, as they exist in the world of filmmaking, are inherently a capitalist product designed for escapism. Let’s go to the movies for a brand new chapter in the ever-sprawling saga of commoditized characters conquering a new mile in the millennially trotted hero journey, yay! Isn’t that how you can describe the act of purchasing a ticket to the latest entry in your favorite franchise? And what’s so wrong with that, anyway? After all, we need our escapism when life becomes unbearable. It’s just a public service really!

And is Eva really that different? At the end of the day, no matter how avant-garde it can be, it’s still a product that we’ve come to consume, quite literally, again and again. Not only that, but it’s also a damn good profitable IP with millions of merchandise goods, box-office record numbers and, now, a distribution deal with one of the gods of capitalism: Amazon. Long gone are the days of non-profit experiencing of it. You can now legally pay to watch its whole audiovisual canon in Netflix and Prime.

Still, even after its paradoxical commodification, the text of Eva itself remains as a message of anti-escapism. No matter how many figures, blu-rays and streaming services you pay for, the message of Eva remains the same. A message that quite starkly opposes itself to this escapist consumerism. Even if, ironically, is this very message that, due to its humanity, has touched the hearts of millions who have then turned it into another comfort food. This is so sad, alexa play komm, susser tod…

Now, cynicism aside, the reason 3.0+1.0 elevates the concept of a franchise to an art form is, quite simply, because, at its best, art is a method of communication delivering a message that could only be delivered through its chosen medium. I could very easily tell you to go outside and touch some grass, talk to your parents and hug your dearest, but that’d never have the same impact as experiencing the Eva franchise from start to finish.

3.0+1.0 is a film that can’t work without experiencing all the films and TV episodes before it. I mean, it has its own beginning, middle and end but, really, its message can’t be as impactful without the other entries in its franchise. The film itself rehashes images and situations we’ve come to intimately know from its predecessors. Not only that but it converses with them, presenting nuanced and overt contrasts of key moments. Particularly in its final act, we see the reversal and echoes of a lot of moments from End of Evangelion. Asuka gets mangled, not by outside forces, but by her own doing. Misato gets shot but she survives this. Ritsuko shots Gendo, but doesn’t kill him. Shinji doesn’t punish Gendo by devouring him through Unit-01, but instead saves him by getting close to him. This last one might be one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the whole movie, which, it’s worth noting, serves as the wholesome counterpart to EoE’s bitter ending. To say nothing of the contrast 3.0+1.0 presents to EoE’s beach scene…

But these are all narrative points that, with some serious talent, could even be conveyed through literary form and film, as we know, its powerful because its an audiovisual medium. And here’s where Eva, time and again, separates itself from most, if not all, franchises in recent memory. Its images are not only narrative but discursive. I’d even argue that, come its ending, Eva uses images that don’t really advance its plot, but rather help to cement its discourse, its message. And its been doing that since eps 25-26… The last minutes of Eva will always be a Brechtian assault on the senses with images that demand to be studied and interpreted. They’re not there to finish the bedtime story with a kiss on the forehead of your overworked soul, but to shake it out of its zombie state and fill you with emotions you can’t even describe through words until much later, if at all… I believe that’s why a lot of us have come back to Eva again and again. Not necessarily for its plot, but for the rise of emotions and thoughts that bolt through your core as you experience its final moments and how they re-paint the whole journey you’ve just travelled to get there.

3.0+1.0 is filled with such images that, one day, I’d love to analyze. I’m still too shocked from having watched it almost 20 hrs ago and this is already too long, so I’ll leave this task for subsequent viewings… still my mind can’t help but replay certain images over and over, even as I write this… from Misato looking at the photo of her son and Shinji… Kaworu crying as Shinji extends his hand to him… the juxtaposition of Unit-01 lying on its side, staring at the phallic ruins of Nerv HQ, and Shinji, on the same position and equally sized, staring at the piano he played with Kaworu… baby Shinji blatantly rejecting Gendo, only to find comfort with his mom, and baby Asuka painfully looking at this from afar… to the shot of Shinji and Rei, discussing the neon genesis, on an dismantled theater, as frames from the TV anime are projected onto them and the brick wall behind them… I can’t word what these images mean yet, but I’m looking forward to doing it one day…

I suppose this has turned into a long ramble, but I’m still sure of my opening thought. 3.0+1.0 takes elements of every entry on the Evangelion franchise to express a message that could only be conveyed with such impact by having consumed the entire franchise beforehand, and it does so in a way that doesn’t perpetuate the comfortable escapism of other franchises. Its very message of anti-escapism and use of images that converse emotionally, aesthetically, and intellectually with the viewer prevent it from being purely a capitalist product designed for escapism. It’s a piece of art, worth of being discussed at the same level of any work from a grand master of any other type of art. But it’s also a franchise… hopefully this will inspire more franchises as art forms.

And now, as a post-scriptum, because no review of Eva is worth anything without some shameless personal history, I must say that my journey with Eva has been like none other piece of media… I was introduced by it at 18 years old, fresh out of high school, by the person who would become my best friend, and I remember, back then, finding it incredibly comforting and enigmatic. It helped me through a period of drastic change in my life, from changing majors halfway from English to Film, to becoming an older brother at 19 (after a life of being an only child). I was incredibly depressed and struggled with addiction for years after that. I related to Shinji and his perpetual running away from life but, now, seven years later I got to see the conclusion to that journey my best friend invited me to… I also earned my bachelor’s degree in film, have a comfortable job and have been sober for 10 months. I don’t run away as much but I’d be lying if I wasn’t still, somewhat, disconnected from most people in my life. To be honest, I related so much to Gendo’s story on this film and that scared me. It’s still hard to let people in but, still, there’s been some growth. Small victories that allowed me to accept this final film’s message as completely valid. It’s just so wholesome, isn’t it? And yet, there’s a bittersweetness to it… like in every ending, you’re glad it happened but it’s painful coming to terms that it’s over. I cried for a good thirty minutes after it was over, washing the tears away, only to stare at my reflection and turn into a sobbing mess… I’ll never get to experience anything like this for the first time and that’s just incredibly sad… still, I’m so fucking glad for it all, even the wait (as shorter as it was for me) and I do believe I’ll be able to say bye-bye, all of Evangelion… one day.

#evangelion 3.0+1.0 #neon genesis evangelion #Shinji Ikari #Kaworu Nagisa #rei ayanami #gendo ikari #Misato Katsuragi

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ifbrd · 5 years

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Since the old villains in Word Up have been reformed, mind sharing what happened to them and how they turned their lives around? Do they play any part in Word Up?

Okay, so this time I was smart and decided to type this out in a word document!

Long post warning!

Before getting into each individual villain (or most villains, there’s just so dang many of them! I’m sure I’ll forget someone!) I want to talk about them as a whole.

All of them are reformed, and Tobey was basically the start of it all. He inspired several other villains, who inspired others, and over the years they all slowly gave up villain life. The last ones to quit (either BLHG and Invisi-Bill or Rhyme and Reason or both) did so after WordGirl retired from being a hero, because “everyone else did it and it’s not going to be any fun without WordGirl!”

After a few villains went good, Tobey and Dr. Two Brains co-founded the Anti-Villain Association (AVA), which was designed to be a place where villains, or even just minor criminals, who wanted to go good could go to discuss their struggles and experiences with switching sides (it’s kinda like a villain AA meeting). I don’t have many plans for each individual villain to play a major part in the story, again because there’s so many that would have been hard, but the AVA does play a part and so, by extension, the villains do play a bit of a role. However, I think most of this will go to Two Brains since he’s the co-founder and the other co-founder will be busy with all the other plans I have for him XD.

Many of their old weapons have been discarded, but also many of them are still around. For some, it’s to use in case of emergency (like a break-in), others have found other uses for their weapons (you better believe Chuck uses his condiment ray to make sandwiches!) others just couldn’t bear to destroy them (Tobey still has some surviving robots that were designed to crush the city, they’re happily living deep deep deep in the woods because Tobey didn’t feel right about destroying them for no reason), and some weapons are more difficult to destroy (like Mr. Big’s mind control, I’ll go into that a little more when I talk about him.)

Very few of them had kids, for a couple of reasons. 1. Many were too busy trying to turn their lives around to make a family life a priority 2. Many didn’t think they’d make good parents given their criminal history 3. There’s like 30 something villains and I wasn’t about to create children for each of them that’s just so many characters I would have had to make from scratch and I already had Theo, Julie, Emma, and Daisy, not to mention the new villains I had to make and I wanted everyone to have a little bit of depth so yeah… The ones who did have kids (and I might forget someone so sorry in advance if I did) are Tobey (obviously), Victoria, the unnamed henchman of Dr. Two Brains and The Butcher

Now let's get into them individually. Many of them I don’t have the story (at least not yet, if I get time I may start brainstorming that) of why they retired as villains, but for almost all of them I have ideas on what they’re up to now because I thought that was a little more important.

Dr. Two Brains- Was the second villain to retire. He saw Tobey doing such a great job and realized he missed that life for himself and said, “well if that little shit can do it, so can I!” He knew he could ignore the mouse brain’s evil desires, as long as he could fulfill its cheese desires, so his first step was to find a legal way to get a lot of cheese. So, he and his henchman started making cheese! And because Two Brains couldn’t wait, he decided to make a cheese aging ray. Suddenly he was able to produce quite a bit of cheese in record time. And actually, could make more than he could eat. He started selling his cheese and now is the main source of cheese in the city! The company slogan is “Evilly delicious!” And I was thinking about this today at work and realized he’s probably made a lot of money from this because with the aging process completely cut, he can probably charge less, but there’s something called “perceived value” where people think if something is super cheap then there must be something wrong with it, so you want to shoot a little higher when pricing products, so Two Brains probably has to have his cheese priced higher than he needs, so he probably has a pretty decent turn over rate! Anyway! As mentioned above, his unnamed henchman had a daughter, who Two Brains considers a granddaughter. She is aware of her interesting family’s criminal history and accepts it. She loves cheese but she’s not a fan of helping in the cheese-making process.

Chuck and the Butcher- (their stories are so linked it just made more sense to talk about them together) Were the third and fourth villains to go good and did so pretty much at the same time, for similar reasons, those reasons being “this isn’t fun anymore, I’m not getting anywhere with it, and look at what a great job Tobey and Two Brains are doing!” After retiring they partnered up and started a sandwich food truck, which today is a full-blown restaurant. Chuck does most of the sandwich making, but Butcher helps and he’s the meat supplier (guess where they get their cheese from!). I mentioned that the Butcher had a child. He has one son named Kale and a grandson named Baker. His son and grandson have powers like him, with Kale’s being vegetable related and Baker’s being bread-related (bread, not pastries! Important note! However, Baker does like to bake pastries, he’s about eight BTW). Kale and Butcher’s relationship will have a bit of focus in Word Up, and Kale will be a reoccurring character. Kale is very prideful and independent and will do just about anything for Baker. Kale is aware of his dad’s criminal past, Baker probably is aware too, but IDK maybe not. Chuck being close to the Butcher is naturally close with his family. Besides that, he still spends a lot of time with his mom and Brent, who he has a bit of a healthier relationship with now.

Granny May- The fifth villain to retire, and she basically just retired. She basically said “well I’m done! This is getting old and so am I!” She’s still alive, currently having the honor of being the oldest person in the city and is living in an assisted living facility. She’s pretty “together” mentally (how I describe residents at the assisted living facility I work at who haven’t been taken over by dementia yet). She uses a scooter now but carries a cane with her. Why? To whack people who need to have some sense knocked into them of course! Other AVA members are happy to pick her up for their weekly meetings and drive her back home, despite her claims that she could still drive fine “if they would let me!” (don’t let this woman go behind the wheel anymore, don’t listen to her!)

Mr. Big and Leslie- Mr. Big was inspired by the villains before him turning their lives around and claiming to be much happier. He tried this and struggled a lot. He eventually realized his issue was greed, it was too strong for him. So, he gave everything up, he gave his company to Leslie and basically became a minimalist hippie (again, my love for irony shines through!...also I thought the idea of Big being a hippie was HILARIOUS). Leslie has run the company ethically ever since. Today it’s essentially Amazon with morals. Mr. Big and Leslie are friends and talk all the time. Their mind control tech is still around, the reason I’ve decided is that some of the later tech was so powerful that destroying it might unintentionally send out a mind control signal. I’m open to better suggestions; I just need the mind control tech to still exist and be something someone could steal…hint hint….

Ms. Question- Eventually got a job as an interrogator for the police station! She’s the best interrogator there is! She doesn’t typically use her powers on people to get them to confess, usually, they just break from the mass amount of questions she asks, but in more extreme circumstances she is willing to use her powers.

Learnerer- Like Ms. Question, Learnerer found a better gig with the police force. He’s the city’s detective, and rocks at it with all his “learninging” skills. He looks for clues and learns how criminals commit crimes and uses that information to catch criminals in the act and stop them. He often works with Ms. Question.

Amazing Rope Guy- Actually got decent at rope tricks and is an entertainer now! I won’t say he’s incredible, but he’s alright! The other AVA members often hire him for entertainment events (he’s been to several of Theo’s birthday parties and Theo has politely asked his parents to not do that anymore, so now they’re gonna hire him for Julie’s parties) more to support him than because of his skills

Whammer- is a professional demolisher. You need an old building torn down? Call the Whammer! You need to gut the kitchen of a house you’re flipping? Call the Whammer! Need to clear an area of land for a project? Call the Whammer! Need snow off the street so people can get home? Call the Whammer. He loves his job

Lady Redundant Woman- She kept moving up in her job at the copy place, and eventually had learned to do every position there. With this knowledge and skills, she opened up her own copy place where she and her copies are the sole employees. Turns out your business can make a lot of money when you can have the exact right amount of employees at all times and don’t technically have to pay them because they’re technically you!

Hal Hardbargin- Sold his villain inventions and blueprints to the police station so they could have a better understanding of how certain villain gadgets work and therefore how to stop them. Also has made a few honest weapons for some heroes

Seymore- Hosts a self-made YouTube (or YouTube-like website) show called “Can You Spot the Scam?” where he helps innocent citizens learn how to spot scams

Big Left Hand Guy and Invisi-Bill-I never could think of what they’d be up to, so I decided they are still trying to figure out what they should do next. (because my favorite thing when I have a writing problem is to take advantage of it and turn it into a plot point! …something I did with a very important plot point in Word Up that will be revealed in Return to Fair City)

Rhyme and Reason- again I don’t have too much an idea of what they’re up too, but I like to think they are a QPR because I like platonic partnerships!

I talked about Victoria and Eileen here Thanks for the question! Feel free to ask more!

#Wordgirl

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thesustainableswap · 5 years

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Why Aren’t We Taking Climate Change As Seriously As Covid-19?

I’ve been debating on whether to write this blog post, mainly because I don’t want to seem insensitive to those currently diagnosed with Coronavirus and those who have unfortunately lost their lives, but I also feel I can’t stay silent on what I feel is a huge issue being ignored and swept under the rug.

It frustrates me that, in our glass houses, we only open our eyes to immediate threats. Climate change has been building for many years, and we are ever closer to not reaching our goal of staying under 1.5 degrees of warming, though governments turn away. Companies continue with business as normal. Banks fund fossil fuels. Industries exploit those from poor, underdeveloped areas who are suffering the most, but contributing the least to climate change.

Today, websites state that around 93,000 - 100,000 people have been diagnosed with Coronavirus, with 3,100 - 3,500 deaths (information found from Science Alert & CNBC). That’s a huge number of people, but let’s consider on the flip side how many people are dying due to the climate crisis. There’s several articles on this, though this article is from 2009:

“Researchers believe that global warming is already responsible for some 150,000 deaths each year around the world, and fear that the number may well double by 2030 even if we start getting serious about emissions reductions today.” - Scientific American, ‘The Impact of Global Warming on Human Fatality Rates.’

150,000 deaths per year. That’s a huge increase from the 3,500 deaths estimated due to Covid-19 currently (though we have a quote coming in a few paragraphs time that puts the number of casualties per year from global warming much higher.) So why aren’t we taking climate change seriously? I think when look towards the companies in power and to our governments, we see our answer. Even now, airlines and travel companies are dropping prices due to Covid-19, and are capitalising on this situation, encouraging people to travel in such a high risk situation. Businesses don’t care about epidemics, they just look for a new way to profit from it. Look at the branding of fossil fuel companies like Shell and Exxon Mobile, who use their social media accounts to shout about how sustainable they are, while still digging for fossil fuels (don’t forget about that list of the main 100 companies responsible for 71% of the worlds carbon emissions. Shell and Exxon are on there. So... someone is lying somewhere.)

Cities are over polluted, respiratory issues are on the up, we’re having extreme heat in the summers, there has been mass flooding in the UK and India while California, the Amazon Rainforest and Australia have seen deathly fires. Climate change also contributes to and helps the spread of illness - possibly helping Covid-19 as it continues to reach communities world wide. People are up in arms, buying face masks, anti bacterial gel, and toilet roll in mass. Everyone is sharing 20 second songs that are good to sing while washing your hands, but would any of these things help you if you came into contact with someone with the virus? Maybe, maybe not. But the fear is there, I’ve heard from many friends who are worried. My family are waiting for the situation to blow over until they next come to visit me in France. Again, why is Covid-19 seen as more serious than climate change?

I feel the media have a huge part in this. Covid-19 is all over the news. What it is. Where it came from. What you can do to protect yourself from it. How many deaths have there been today? What about today? And today? It’s constant. There have already been documentary style programmes covering it. People are obsessed. Here in Paris, so many shops have completely sold out of masks, anti-bacterial gel and ingredients to make your own home-made anti-bac. In the UK, people are stealing hand sanitizers from hospitals. But the reality is, if we don’t act, climate change will kill more globally, and cause more deadly epidemics.

“With a global death toll of over 3,000, COVID-19 still appears far less deadly than fossil fuels, which, according to a recent study that Myllyvirta co-authored for Greenpeace, are responsible for 4.5 million air pollution-related deaths each year, aside from climate impacts. But scientists warn that warmer, wetter conditions are increasing the probability of such outbreaks. No one knows how deadly the next one might be.” - DW, ‘Coronavirus and Climate Change.’

4.5 million deaths each year. That’s the higher number I was talking about earlier. Another big leap from the 3,500 estimated dead due to Covid-19. So again. Why aren’t we taking this seriously?

We need to move to a regenerative culture. We need to move to a circular economy. We need a global health system that helps and supports everyone. We need to move away from capitalism, which exploits peoples and habitats worldwide, and come together globally to rally for green energy (that’s water, wind and sun by the way, not nuclear enegy.) We need to cut down on air pollution, which has fallen since Covid-19. PLEASE NOTE I’m not saying Coronavirus is good, far from it. No one needs to die for the Earth to ‘restore’ itself. Consider this, China has been aiming to hit their carbon emissions target in 2030, which means they’re planning on increasing the emissions they put out until then, not cutting it. Coronavirus has put a bit of a dent in that, which you can see from this image taken by NASA:

That shows a huge decrease in Nitrious Oxide emissions into the air which comes from, yes you guessed it! Fossil fuel emissions. Despite airlines dropping their prices, Coronavirus has been making people think twice about traveling. It’s been stopping ‘business as normal’ in the areas most affected, which in turn has given us greener, cleaner air. All these things that people won’t do for the climate crisis, they’re doing for Covid-19. Again, note, it’s important that I stress that I do not think it is good that Coronavirus has caused this. I do not believe in eco-fascism. I just hope, going forward, people consider the lives lost to climate change, and take as seriously.

Because imagine - if we took climate change more seriously... If we implemented changes that would continue to keep us on track of staying under 1.5 degrees on warming, that would lower air pollution. Maybe we could create something like a, I don’t know, green new deal? Maybe that’s too crazy, because the western world isn’t being affected badly enough yet. I do hope, that Covid-19 opens up people’s eyes to the underlying threat of climate change, which should be considered a serious epidemic. That we should be taking seriously. Seriously enough that we are making lifestyle changes AND rallying our governments to implement stronger policies.

I’m still anxious about posting this, purely because I hope I haven’t said the wrong thing. I sometimes worry that I do not have enough knowledge to be speaking on this, but I really enjoy writing my blog, raising my voice and taking action in this way. Please, if you do have information that I do not have, reach out and share it with me. Also, check out all the articles I’ve linked throughout this blog, because they are incredible and a great source of information.

Until next time,

The Sustainable Swap.

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anti-tony-god · 5 years

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First part is just a couple of dos and don’ts that you can get into anytime since you’re probably all tuckered out from my long ass post before this. Bottom has the list of Asian characters.

First order of business: https://acapelladitty.tumblr.com/post/186500766628 be prepared to do some extreme blocking if you go into the batfam tag or follow their blogs. DC is retconned a lot, it’s almost not worth it to find out what the heck is going on. No matter what people say, don’t read RHATO (Jason has the *goes to mystical Asian place and is the chosen one* trope in *both* versions). Superman is boring (and loves the military) and so is Batman except Batman sucks too and is a bitch and an asshole and a creep and a bitch, Justice league is only not boring when Dr. Light and Vixen are there, at least to me. Dc Bombshells is legit how I found out I was bisexual, if you do it skip annual (bombshells is my favorite comic out of all of dc)

No one buys diversity, so diversity is not made. You’ll have to go to the 90s for that most of the time, at least if you want a main PoC character. Avoid new 52 (“is it that bad?” Go into the anti new 52 tag. Hard mode: find a character that isn’t being complained about.) Avoid Heroes in Crisis, even if your new fave is in it. I also think rebirth (current reboot) is bad but that’s up for debate I only read old shit and the rare good modern ones

YJ is cute! So is Teen Titans (older). I love Renee Montoya as The Question, you should check her out. There’s a Shazam comic, since you liked the movie. theres also Legion of Super-Heroes, wonder twins, and Batman beyond. I’m just listing them for options, if there’s any I say “go for first” it’s Blue Beetle 2011(Jaime is baby), or Birds of Prey 1999 (Oracle, Black Canary, and more)

Robin: Son of Batman is great, and so is Agent 37. A lot of people love Dick Grayson! He’s fun but remember: he’s Romani just white passing like Wanda & Pietro don’t let anyone tell you different. Vixen (sexi animal wife), black lightning, hellblazer (magic man), midnighter (gay Batman), poison ivy (plant babe), firestorm (jock & nerd), supergirl, green lanterns (Jessica & Simon are the dream team), and nightwing are great. If any of these pique your interest just ask about them and I’ll give you info n send a rec list.

I started out making a list of just Asians since there were no ethnicities listed in the thing I found, then I found a list of Asian superheroes by ethnicity on wiki & decided I’m not going to erase Grace Choi, Sin Lance, or Kimiyo Hoshi because that would be a sin, so I hope you don’t mind ://

Chinese: Batman, Superman, Flash, and wonderwoman (etc) of China, (I love Flash! Her name is Avery Ho), Grace Choi (asian amazon, big bicep bisexual, cute character), Dragonmage, Claw, Gloss, Great Ten (group), Jade Yifei, Jong Li, Kai-Ro, Cass Cain (my precious child Ms. Asskicker), Lady Shiva (LADY Asskicker literally all she wants to do is kick ass), Thunderlord, Wing, Sin Lance (MY BABY!!!!!)

Hong Kong: Ryan Choi (genius baby boi), Grunge, Striker Z,

Japanese: Blitzen, Bushido, Eiko Hasigawa (catwoman!!!!), Fuji, Kimiyo Hoshi (my wife Dr. Sassmaster), Katanna (sword lady!), Kayo, Kunoichi, Naiad (water lady), Ram, Rising Sun, Sunburst, Tsunami (and therefore her daughter, deep blue), Shado (woman Connor kissed), Emiko (Shado’s daughter & Connor’s AUNT), Sonia Sato (might check her out), Jiro Osamu (Japanese Batman)

Indian: Aruna, Jinx, Maya (!!!), Rama, Solstice (also baby!!)

Cambodian: Kevin Kho, Lilian Worth (and therefore her daughter, Rose Wilson)

Vietnamese. Artemis Crock, Cheshire (and therefore her daughter, Lian Harper who is A BABY!!!!!!)

Middle East: Nightrunner (French batman), Simon Baz (baby!!), Damian Wayne (bratty baby), Talia al-Ghul (did nothing wrong), Ra’s al-Ghul (did everything wrong), Taleb Beni Khalid, Super-Shayk, Seraph, Sandstorm, Osiris, III and I, Naïf al-Sheikh, Isis, Mohammed Ibn Bornu, Iron Butterfly, Ibis the invincible, archer of Arabia (Arab green arrow), Gim Alloy, Black Adam, Khalid Ben-Hassin and Khalid Nassour, and… Nightwing? Says he’s Iranian but he’s Romani???????? Idk they switch things around sometimes.

And last but not least Korean: :)

Connor Hawke (aaa!!! Babe!!!) Ahn Kwang-Jo Linda Park (and therefore her children, Jai and Irey West, I love them!!) Mystek Element Woman/Emily Sung Lucien Gates Xombi Ballistic

Some of these are super old or are only in like 1 thing I tried to avoid the racist ones but I don’t know all of them :/

Not sure: Eugene Choi, I looked it up and Choi is a Korean surname. I don’t read Shazam so I don’t know but the older actor is Chinese-Malaysian and the younger one is Taiwanese Gehenna Traci 13, never stated (she looks cool I’m gonna check her out too)

Anyway read DC Bombshells except skip annual (the only complaint I found was someone going “uhhhh lesbians didn’t exist then uhhhh not enough straighties” so I’m gong to hate-reread ITS SO GREAT)

–

Thank you sm!!! I’ll save this for later!

#dc #save #submission #long post

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theoldestsoultrilogy · 5 years

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First and foremost, it saddens and sickens me to hear that yet another Hollywood child star has died. The world woke up to the shocking news this morning that, according to about 20 billion articles online which all contain a freakishly consistent uniformity,

“Cameron Boyce, best known for his roles in a number of Disney Channel films and television shows, has tragically passed away at the age of 20. According to Boyce’s family, the young actor, dancer and singer passed in his sleep after suffering a seizure, the result of an ongoing medical condition.”

This young, absolutely adorable, freckle-faced boy at the beginning of his life is now gone. For good. How are we to make sense of this utterly tragic news? But, what if I told you, like with most if not all child star deaths, all is not what it seems.

What if you knew there was more to the story? A lot more.

It took me less than 20 minutes of digging to connect Cameron Boyce to shady charities involved in child slavery, pedophiles and predators, and dicey elites like Richard Branson. All while the evil overlords at Google seem to have begun dramatically ratcheting up their control of the flow of information. These draconian measures seem to have increased in the past week, which was not a good one for squeaky clean, allegedly family friendly Disney.

https://twitter.com/Tiff_FitzHenry/status/1145017021794529281

Disney megastar Bella Thorne revealed that she was being molested from the time she was 6-14, AND EVERYONE AROUND HER KNEW, AND NO ONE DID ANYTHING.

I want you to think about that for a moment. Let it sink in. Who could or would allow the sexual abuse of a 6 year old to go on? Why might they do this?

Once you begin to allow yourself to mull these horrific questions, and mull them we must, you’ll start to find the timing of Cameron Boyce’s sudden death particularly odd. Are other Disney child stars, with stories like Bella’s to tell, becoming emboldened? Had Cameron experienced similar things? Did those closest to him turn a blind eye? How plausible is it that a person who’s been famous for 11 years dies suddenly of a supposed health condition that’s serious enough to take the life of a perfectly healthy-seeming 20 year old and yet this mystery condition has never been mentioned before? Not anywhere that I can find at least.

Today I just want to present you with 10 relevant facts you likely may not know about Cameron Boyce his career and the people who surrounded him, but as always I want you to draw your own conclusions, think for yourself, and feel free to share your thoughts with me on Twitter.

Start here: Cameron’s IMDB. It is extensive and includes not only a long list of Disney shows and films such as Jessie, Shake It Up, Good Luck Charlie, and the recent Descendants, but also Grown-Ups and Grown-Ups 2, a new TV series called Paradise City (a spin-off of the very obscure and not successful 2017 film American Satan) cause, obviously.

As well as films such as Mirror and Eagle Eye which Cameron starred in alongside fellow former Disney kid Shia LeBeouf

and Cory Booker’s reluctant “girlfriend” Rosario Dawson, whom an inside source has shared with me has no say in the situation whatsoever. A virtual slave.

https://twitter.com/Tiff_FitzHenry/status/1144082428551712768

Alright, here we go.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA DEATH HOAX IN 2017

When you start to understand more deeply that the information that reaches you is being shaped and molded in order to shape and mold YOU, and that celebrity influence is owned and controlled for the very same reason, you’ll begin to look at things like “leaked nudes” and even “death hoax’s and rumors” a little differently. You’ll start to consider that perhaps these are tools used to influence the influencers, to modify behavior when they’re off message, or stray from their instructed course. Here Cameron Boyce and his Descendants co-star Dove Cameron joking about the ‘death hoax.’

But can you imagine anything more traumatizing than seeing headlines tearing across the internet announcing your own death to the world? Consider the possibility that things like fear, humiliation, and loss of control are used to keep celebrities in line. Consider the possibility that this was a veiled threat.

Case in point, the front page headline on Snapchat the very next day after the recent bombshell Bella Thorne interview [posted above] went viral.

The humiliating ‘story’ was snagged from a random Instagram post back in 2016, but it just happened to be front page news the day that articles in major outlets were carrying the story of the revelations from her recent interview.

For the record, Bella herself retweeted the video of her interview from my original tweet. Kinda makes you think, right?

2. MEET KENNY ORTEGA

Friends, if you haven’t heard the name Kenny Ortega, I guarantee that you soon will. He is an A-list Hollywood Choreographer and Director whose #MeToo moment is rumored to be decades overdue. He is the Director of Cameron Boyce’s most recent Disney project, the Descendants (parts 1, 2 and 3) where he played the fictional son of Cruella De Vil.

With a long list of impressive credits including everything from Disney’s Newsies, and the mega-hit High School Musical franchise to Dirty Dancing, and Pretty in Pink, as well as a distinguished run directing iconic music videos and live tours for the likes of Gloria Estefan and Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega is the Hollywood equivalent of a mafia ‘made man.’ As if to prove it, which the cult loves to publicly do, Netflix (cough cough the C.I.A.) just entered into a very lucrative multi-year overall deal with Ortega, announced April 9th 2019.

So, how does one become a ‘made-man’ in Hollywood?

There are several ways, all of which involve selling your soul.

One way is to appear as the key witness in the $40 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit brought by Michael Jackson’s mother and three children, and lobby on behalf of concert promoter AEG.

‘He wasn’t being very responsible!’ This Is It producer Kenny Ortega testifies Michael Jackson and Conrad Murray were to blame for untimely death

What’s the big deal anyway? Ortega’s longtime ‘friend’ and admitted ‘greatest inspiration’ is already dead, Dr. Murray is in prison and everyone who profited the most off MJ rode off into the proverbial sunset. Zero accountability. Suffice it to say, Kenny Ortega is on Paris Jackson’s very telling shit list, right next to Oprah and David Geffen.

3. CRAZY DAYS AND NIGHTS

Another way to get on the inside of the Hollywood Prison Pyramid is to be a compromised and or compromise-able person (depending on what level you’re at.)

You see, Hollywood might look like it’s about movies and TV shows and acting and stuff, but it’s really just about something called “controlled influence.” It’s about owning and controlling all those who are ‘given’ the platform to influence YOU. In order to get that platform you have to be ‘willing to do anything.’ Even as a screenwriter with several hot projects, I was instructed to say these very words. Words which I was told, in no uncertain terms by my high powered agent, that the head executives at places like ABC (Disney) were waiting to hear me say. Yeah, let that sink in.

And, think about it, isn’t it easier to own people who routinely do things that could put them in jail if anyone ever found out? This is why sick degenerate behavior is rampant amongst the influential. They’re not only enabled to get away with it (see Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Louis C.K., James Gunn, Brett Ratner, Les Moonves, etc.,) criminal behavior is encouraged! Yes, Hollywood and Washington are a cesspool by design! Neat, right? 🙄

It’s my opinion that the death is referring to Cameron, the ‘director’ is Kenny Ortega, and the franchise is High School Musical or the Descendants, where underage actors and actresses were and are being ‘turned out’ — all as a part of this cesspool system. When it comes to the children, it’s the parents who sell their soul on their behalf.

There’s a long list of Creepy Kenny Ortega stuff to dig up, the latest clip wigging people out is his handsy way with Cameron Boyce’s Descendants co-star Dove Cameron.

youtube

Moving on.

4. THE KENNY ORTEGA JEFF BEZOS CONNECTION

As if you needed one more reason to claw and hiss at Kenny Ortega should you ever encounter him, he’s been involved with C.I.A. Amazon Jeff Bezo’s now ex-wife’s ‘anti-bullying’ organization, Bystander Revolution, which she founded in 2014 for whatever dumbass reason.

No seriously I bet this foundation is really changing the world you guys (she said SUPER sarcastically)

5. ORTEGA, EISNER, SANDLER OH MY!

You can learn a lot by who says what, and when. The very first ‘public figures to address Boyce’s death on social media this morning was Kenny Ortega, followed by Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and quickly thereafter by Adam Sandler. Sandler wrote, starred in and produced Grown-Ups and Grown-Ups 2; Cameron Boyce appears in both.

To the keen observer, this little tweet parade felt extremely coordinated, intentional and quite frankly pre-planned.

View this post on Instagram

My Love, Light and Prayers go out to Cameron and his Family. Cameron brought Love, Laughter and Compassion with him everyday I was in his presence. His talent, immeasurable. His kindness and generosity, overflowing. It has been an indescribable honor and pleasure to know and work with him. I will see you again in all things loving and beautiful my friend. I will search the stars for your light. Rest In Peace Cam. You will always be My Forever Boy! 💔

A post shared by Kenny Ortega (@kennyortegablog) on Jul 6, 2019 at 7:42pm PDT

“My forever boy.” Yeah, that’s not creepy at all. Ortega later clarified that this was a Peter Pan reference, which makes it even worse if you understand the pedophile troupes in Peter Pan.

https://twitter.com/RobertIger/status/1147858501021995008

https://twitter.com/AdamSandler/status/1147859788794961921

Nice picture Adam, real subtle. Don’t worry, you’re ‘signal’ has been sent and received.

Adam is being such a good cabal puppet these days ya’ll.

Here you see he’s being rewarded:

Netflix reveals 30M accounts viewed Adam Sandler-led ‘Murder Mystery’

At a time when box office is limping along like the terminally wounded wildebeest it is, allegedly this film would have CRUSHED opening weekend, had it been released at the box office of course, which it wasn’t. I guess we’ll just have to take Netflix’s word for it since they (somehow) get to keep all their data to themselves for whatever as yet explained or justified reason! 👍

Now that I think about it, there’s someone else who does that too. They’re really powerful and super secretive, who is that again? Oh that’s right, it’s the C.I.A.! (Netflix is the C.I.A.)

I’m sure the fact that Murder Mystery was filmed at cabal kingpin George Clooney’s favorite lake in Italy where weird high brow art/child trafficking things go down, and written by an actual fucking Vanderbilt has nothing to do with anything.

I’m sure all that’s random. It’s not like there’s this handful of psychopathic elite bloodline families feasting on the blood of children who’ve held humanity hostage for generations or whatever.

Alright, onward internet friends. As you may have noticed, there are thousands of images of Cameron Boyce online. You have to really search to find this one where he’s got two fingers framing his left eye and covering his mouth, as if he’s been silenced by some group (hint: see above paragraph).

Well done, Adam. Good thinking choosing this picture to post alongside your tribute. This might even get you an Emmy nomination. You see, Adam isn’t bloodline, so he has to do stuff like this to keep his cult membership in good standings.

Note another very recent sudden celebrity death. This is Mac Miller’s final Instagram photo, which posted just hours before his death by ‘accidental overdose.’

Well would you look at that, 2 fingers framing his left eye, and his mouth covered. Almost as if it’s a sign to others not to speak out or they’ll whack you

Here’s the final Instagram picture Cameron “allegedly” posted of himself, also just hours before his death. There’s that left eyes again. Hmmmm.

6. CREEPY JOE BIDEN

Cameron introduced former Vice President Joe Biden at his Biden Courage Awards back in March. Today, Biden tweeted his condolences.

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1147991178689810437

I think we can all agree that children and Joe Biden don’t mix.

youtube

6. HE RECENTLY FIRED HIS AGENT OVER SEX ASSAULT CHARGES

After Stranger Things child star Finn Wolfhard fired APA agent Tyler Grasham over sexual abuse allegations which came to light, Cameron, who was also represented by Grasham, fired him the same week.

However, in predictable Pedowood fashion, the LA prosecutor won’t prosecute the felony rape charges from multiple accusers. Now it looks like he’s escaped criminal charges altogether, and Hollywood is even looking at rehiring him in a talent agent capacity.

At this point, there’s no disputing that Hollywood protects pedophiles. The question you should be asking yourself is, why?

7. RECENTLY DISCUSSED THE DARK DAYS

“For about a year of my life, if I didn’t have to leave my house, I wouldn’t,” he said in a recent interview of his darkest period. “It was a bad way of dealing with fame, but it’s a scary feeling to know that everybody is looking at you all the time.” Cameron has learned to cope with it, though, and is adamant that he’ll use his platform of over 7 million Instagram followers for good. He’s started working with a charity called The Thirst Project, and is spreading the word about the group’s push to bring clean water to millions around the world who desperately need it.”

8. THE THIRST PROJECT / WE CHARITY

It appears that Cameron Boyce was involved with two separate but equally suspicious charities (side note: charities are just slush funds for rich people).

The Thirst Project’s list of partners includes the notoriously dicey Clinton Charities among multiple Hollywood studios. By its own admission they appear to be all about water but in reality focus most heavily on tailoring curriculum to influence political activism in school children in the United States (which is what the very powerful are most focused on right now).

Similarly, WE Charity, formerly known as Free The Children, is “an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger. The organization implements development programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America, focusing on education, water, health, food and economic opportunity. It also runs domestic programming for young people in Canada, the U.S. and U.K., promoting service learning and active citizenship.”

So, the same thing.

This link is a must read eye-opening article about the 2 brothers who started We Charities – The Cult of Kielburger

We Charity – connected to child slavery

We Charity is connected to Unilever, Microsoft

We Charity – connected to Richard Branson. The brothers co-authored a book with Holly Branson, daughter of Richard Branson. Richard and Holly also produced the docu-series Shameless Idealist with the We Charity founders.

I am certain there is much more to be unearthed down the rabbit hole of these two charitable foundations/elite slush funds. For Cameron’s part there’s a good chance he was either unaware of the corruption or if he was aware, involvement was not his choice but a decision that was made for him.

Side note, Necker Island (Branson’s) is about thirty five miles from Epstein’s island.

You know Jeffrey Epstein who was arrested Saturday and being arraigned as we speak for running an international child sex trafficking operation to entice, entrap and ensnare elites particularly in Hollywood, DC and the UK, in order for even more powerful people to control their influence. His indictment was unsealed at 9am this morning.

Is it all connected?

9. HOLLYWOOD GAY MAFIA

Michael Ovitz, once President of Disney and founder of Hollywood mega agency CAA, who was run out of town, famously said that Hollywood is run by a cabal led by Dreamworks co-founder David Geffen which Ovitz described as the “gay mafia.”

Here’s a little deep dive on Geffen/Oprah

In addition to Geffen, the list he rattled off of this “gay mafia” included The New York Times Hollywood correspondent Bernie Weinraub, Disney Chairman (and former employer) Michael Eisner; Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane, and Richard Lovett, partners at CAA, Universal Studios president Ronald Meyer (Ovitz’s former partner at CAA); and Barry Diller.

In regard to Cameron, I can’t help but think twice about the very first episode of Disney show Jessie, his break out role. For a good portion of the episode, he’s in his underwear.

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It is no secret that young boys are systemically abused in Hollywood, but how deep does all this really go?

10. DEBBY RYAN

Cameron’s Jessie co-star Debby Ryan started her career on Barney and Friends

Alongside future Disney starlets Selina Gomez

And Demi Lovato

If you remember, the actor who played Barney was arrested for selling child pornography of children as young as 10.

After that, Debby Ryan had a stint on the Disney show Suite Life on Deck for which Disney hired Brian Peck to work as dialogue coach with the kids, after he’d been to jail for child molestation and was a registered sex offender.

Yes, you heard that right.

Disney hired a convicted child sex predator and registered sex offender to work on their children’s show. Did I mention he was hired specifically to work with children?

Brian Peck remains a registered sex offender to this day and was still being employed by Hollywood as recently as 2016.

Ryan was also featured on The Jonas Brother’s, Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana before getting her big break and a starring role in her own Disney Channel show, Jessie.

We’ve all watched the personal issues Gomez, Lovato and Debby Ryan have had over the years. It’s time we understand what we’re looking at, a system I call The Prison Pyramid.

Conclusion

I hope you’ll dig further into all these data points and start to connect all the dots that need connecting. Cameron Boyce’s death strikes at the heart of why I’m building a new Hollywood.

Love and Light to all.

In Unconditional Love,

Tiffany

Cameron Boyce, Pedowood, and The Disney Death Machine First and foremost, it saddens and sickens me to hear that yet another Hollywood child star has died.

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incarnateirony · 6 years

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Tumblr chaos, post rescue; Castiel, ratings, etc etc.

So tumblr decided to go bonky but in a way I could save an old post, that won’t turn up by direct link anymore, or open the Keep Reading. Keep in mind this was made mid-season-13, and I haven’t been arsed to update it since then, but this is just me like... rescuing a post. HOPEFULLY THIS ONE WORKS.

So we’ve all heard the divisive wank. First, it was that “Cas ratings are the lowest rated” and, some that STARTED clue-ing in backpedaled to “well he has no POSITIVE effect on the ratings.” - whatever it took to try to make it seem like Misha had no personal positive impact to the show.

This is a topic I covered in an old video of mine, but I decided to do it modernly again, complete with automated spreadsheet. Episodes have been listed by number, demo, raw viewers, and then Cas Y/N. For the sake of argument, at another point I’ll also do breakouts based on “Cas promotion” to show how the shift is incredibly more drastic there, but Northern Sparrow did that back in Season 10 with expectable results. So for now, let’s cover this. And I’ve literally tried to postulate as many of the anti-arguments to discredit pro-Cas things as possible.

The following episodes are based on “Did Cas appear in any capacity in these episodes in this season,”

Arguments have been made such as removing the Premier as an alternate total for Castiel, under the extremely generous assumption that fans and GA do not generally expect Cas in the Premier at this point, and that none of the numbers are in any way related.

This is a buffer provided in the interest of anti-arguments, rather than from the angle of Pro-Cas. Finales do not have the same effect, as they generally drift from the premier demo, as quite literally witnessed in all the charts below. The charts are then sorted by N/Y on Cas, but you can doublecheck the numbers as you wish.

All numbers have been rounded to hundredths (0.xx) for demo and x.xxx for million viewers. If it is missing another unit, that means it was a 0, and Excel ate the 0.

( Numbers are sourced from the highly popular https://tvseriesfinale.com/ )

SEASON 11

Possible anti argument: Cas was only in voice in Baby. Even still I urge you to do the math and realize it does NOT bring Cas down to the season average or No Cas thresholds as is. Minus the premiere, Cas still pulls 0.044 above episodes that do not have him. Minus baby it drops to the 0.03 range-ish. Go on. You have a calculator.

SEASON 12

This is the closest one to date, if only because various negative impact of 12x19′s airdate is NOT being removed, again, in the interest of giving anti-Cas people every benefit of the doubt (and it wasn’t the size of the one I’m about to talk about soon), and every angle, without removal or exemption for special rules that would give him any positive edge. Even with this hit, 0.016 demo still cements Cas above episodes without him, even with the premier removed.

HERE’S WHERE IT GETS FUN THOUGH.

SEASON 13

You’re probably wondering what the hell all of that at the bottom is. That’s me literally giving haters every possible argument in the book I could think of in their interest to drag Cas down.

Cas Minus Premier you’ve figured out by now.

Cas Minus Premier Minus Thanksgiving seems like we’re giving Castiel an extra “but but but!” argument.

But you will also see that “No Cas” has been given an exception on the mass pre-emption of 13x17, with an option removing that from the tally, despite not doing so for season 12 in his favor (which you will notice very similar number shift on 12x19).

Both Thanksgiving and the NYC blackout of airing were exceptional events, and each “side” reasonably has one, so while giving the NYC exemption, and knowing the network has said they’re aware of Thanksgiving and writing it off as a “special” due to the holiday, both are receiving options of Exemption from the totals.

In the interest of comparing the excess effects of Scoobynatural, a bracket has been made for “Total without Scooby,” “Cas value without Scooby,” and “Thanksgiving without Scooby.” Obviously we can not include “No Cas NYC without Scooby” as that is already self-exempted as an episode that contained Cas.

The results are as to be seen. The only way, whatsoever, that ratings operate at-or-better than the average result of episodes with Castiel included are if you: Include Thanksgiving’s crash to Cas, while giving non-Cas eps an exemption on NYC, and remove Scoobynatural’s bonus. That’s right. If you give them a free pass on their reasonable crashout episode, but make Cas take the equally reasonable crashout episode as a penalty, and remove a good episode of his entirely as a special, the episodes would almost match.

To clarify:

Castiel, Thanksgiving Included, No Scooby: 0.59, and removing the premiere ticks it to about 0.58.

Non-Cas eps, NYC exempt, letting them get the benefit OF Scooby’s ratings without including it to Cas... even though... Cas was in the ep? You’ll get 0.585.

That is literally the only way to break it even. If you remove Scooby from their season average since... Cas was... in Scooby... and not getting the benefit... they still drop under the line.

Obviously the most reasonable comparison would be to remove Scooby from both for the “special” argument (which really only strips bonus from Cas), and give either neither, or both, their respective exemption. (Thanksgiving, NYC)

Cas, minus premiere, minus scoob, minus thanks: 0.607

Non-Cas, minus NYC crash: 0.577

Cas, Minus Premier, scoob, including Thanks: 0.59

Non-Cas, including NYC crash: 0.557

[drums fingers on desk] So what I’m reading out of this is, if I penalize every possible Cas route and give every possible benefit to non-Castiel episodes, they break even. If we do equal penalty or lack thereof, we get 0.030 difference and 0.033 both in Castiel’s favor, kinda like I said he runs us roughly 0.03 difference depending on the night, modernly?

And we had an identical effect in S11? And... S12, it appears to be half, when allowing Castiel to still take every penalized episode, but it’s still above the same base line?

And then there’s also the fact that raw viewership on all S11-13 totals are also higher on average, if people want to spin that angle, even if it’s technically demo that matters.

I wonder what this MEANS.

WHAT COULD IT MEAN?

That’s at least three years. I could probably go further back, as I imagine this divide started gradually inclining from S9 for misc reasons, but it’s here, and we’re here, and we’re now. Digging back into archives of season 6 (if there’s even a true net negative going on there, which I doubt, just saying “ancient history”) doesn’t matter when we are in TODAY. This is three consecutive years. With EVERY REASONABLE ANTI ARGUMENT AVAILABLE AND SPECCED OUT FOR THEM. I am literally arguing a case FOR THEIR END and the only way to do it is to WILLINGLY twist it into the most ridiculous penalty/reward imbalance to even make it even.

And while this prepares to reblog and no doubt get skewed, I’m going to provide a useful attachment in advance for the inevitable, pre-telegraphed, “But ratings are down compared to before and that’s cuz Bro Only fans left and they’re the TRUE MAJORITY” (as if we never had a Cas/Destiel fan exodus in S9 and 10 too or anything from other drama) so have a link on why that simply isn’t true. As well as addresses a bunch of other dumb-as-rocks talking points people who don’t understand what they’re looking at tend to use to bag on people/the show.

There’s a reason S12 crept into the top 20 shows for digital calls in the world for the first time last year, including resources like Hulu and Amazon that, while they do not report to Nielsen for demo numbers, report to the network for digital sales. S13 is doing even better. I can’t wait to get the numbers on that when season is done.

And before anyone challenges my “link on why that simply isn’t true” I’m going to issue a simple challenge: Find me a show aside from the Superbowl that gets, today, the 10.0s that were fairly common high-ish end TV back in 2005. I’m not gonna make it ridiculous and ask for the 20.0′s that ER was getting at the time. Find me a 10. Because ratings everywhere have declined.

I keep issuing this challenge for people to find me even one 10.0 current nightly show this year, but it’s like... it’s like nobody can find it. I wonder why!

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It’s fine if you don’t like Cas. Nobody says you have to like Cas. Acting like he has no net positive impact is ridiculous. Spreading misinformation because someone with a myopic episode-to-episode, strictly-fandom-bubble, argument-of-the-hour-for-only-their-preferred-perspective, is absolute insanity.

And before anyone does the OTHER telegraphed argument of “WELL... THAT’S... JUST... 0.03ISH!” you first need to recognize that’s a 5%~ loyalty viewership impact over the season, but those are strictly STANS THAT ONLY TUNE IN WHEN HE IS THERE. That is NOTHING to say of the ramifications that would happen if he would leave entirely, permanently. And considering the myopic “no positive impact” is direly wrong, you MIGHT want to consider how much of the GA outside of the hatred-bubble has drawn an affinity to him as their primary interest. All existing demographic information says about 33%. Some have said over 40% would quit if he didn’t come back at one point. This was a 10,000 head census, IP-checked-for-individuality polling with over 60 individualized questions. Dean still got 50% of preferred character interest. Sam’s made me cringe with how low it was but it unfortunately matches all other global trends on other platforms, and that sucks. But even if it was “low” respectively, they’re both important. Between the two it meant J2 - as two separate individuals - pulled about 67% of the show popularity, with Misha pulling the other third. And considering the regained S7-8 demographic, thataboutmakessense.

Like I said, at some point I’ll do one on the effect of Cas promos, but at one point, Northern Sparrow did this in S10, so I mean

Have that to pacify you for now to see that this was already an ongoing this even back then.

Hopefully I armed people with some good information the next time someone spews this age-old horse shit at them.

#supernatural #ratings #castiel #the cas effect #tumblr is wild

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years

Text

#5yrsago The Borribles [Book Excerpt]

Yesterday, we published

reminiscences from Aimée and Rose de Larabeitti

, the daughters of author Michael de Larabeitti. The stories their father told them stories would go on to publish as the anarchic, anti-authoritarian, and completely wonderful Borribles Trilogy of young adult books. Republished this month by Tor UK (here's

Cory's review!

) we're delighted to present the first chapter of

The Borribles

for your enjoyment. — Eds.

The swirling rain-clouds rushed on revealing the bright moon, and the two Borribles dodged behind the bushes and kept as quiet as they could. There was danger in the air and they could feel it. It would pay to be cautious.

‘Strewth,’ said Knocker, the chief lookout of the Battersea tribe, ‘what a bloody cheek, coming down here without so much as a by-your-leave.’

New ebook edition from Amazon (UK) • Current US edition

Lightfinger, Knocker’s companion, agreed. ‘Diabolical liberty I call it . . . nasty bit of work, covered in fur like nylon hearthrugs . . . snouts like traffic cones . . . like rats, aren’t they?’

‘There’s a big one, just getting into the motor, he’s shouting at the others, he’s the boss all right. Tough-looking, do you see?’

‘Yeah,’ answered Lightfinger, ‘they do what they’re told, don’t they? Look at them move.’

Presently the two Borribles saw the large car drive away in the moonlight, passing along the shining tarmac which led between the trees to the limits of Battersea Park. The car stopped for an instant at the gates and then turned left into Albert Bridge Road and disappeared on its way southwards into the quiet streets of the outer London suburbs.

The two Borribles stood up and looked around. They weren’t too happy in parks, being much more at ease in crowded streets and broken-down houses. It was only occasionally that the Borrible lookouts checked on the green spaces, just to see they were still there and that everything was as it should be.

When Knocker was sure they were alone he said, ‘We’d better see what they were up to over there. Something’s going on and I don’t like it.’

All at once the patch of ground at his feet began to tremble and clumps of grass began to pop up and away from their roots. There was a noise too, a scraping and a scrabbling, and a muffled voice swore and mumbled to itself. The carpet of grass rose and fell violently until a squat protruberance established itself between turf and top soil. The bump hesitated, as if it didn’t know whether to continue upwards or retreat downwards. It grunted, swore again and, as if undecided, took off on a horizontal course, forcing the turf up as it wriggled along.

At the first sign of trouble Knocker and Lightfinger had taken refuge behind a bush but as the bump moved away they came from cover and followed it.

‘It’s got to be . . .’ said Knocker. ‘It can’t be anything else, and down here in Battersea, it’s bad, double bad.’

The mound stopped and shook and struggled and became bigger, and as it grew more clods of grass fell from it. ‘Watch yourself,’ whispered Knocker. ‘It’s coming out. Get ready to jump it.’

Lightfinger and Knocker crouched, their minds racing. The turf rose higher and higher till it was as tall as the Borribles themselves, then it burst and the grass fell away like a discarded overcoat and revealed a dark and sinister shape of about their own size.

It looked like a giant rat, a huge mole or a deformed rabbit, but it was none of these for it stood on its hind legs and had a long snout and beady red eyes, like the things that had gone away in the car.

Knocker gave a shrill whistle and at the signal both he and Lightfinger leapt forward. Knocker got an armlock round the thing’s head and pulled it to the ground while Lightfinger fell onto the hairy legs and bent one over the other in a special hold that could dislocate a knee. The thing shouted so loudly that it would have woken the neighbourhood if there’d been one in Battersea Park. Knocker squeezed it round the neck and whispered, ‘Shuddup, you great fool, else I’ll smother yer.’ The creature shuddupped.

Knocker levered the prisoner into a sitting position and got behind it so he could tie its arms back with a length of rope he took from his waist. Lightfinger moved so that he was sitting on the thing’s legs, looking into the eyes, which were like marbles rolling around at the wide end of the snout.

‘All right,’ said Knocker when he was ready, ‘give it a duffing.’

Lightfinger grabbed the beast by the scruff of its fur and pulled its snout forward. ‘Name?’ he asked gruffly.

The snout moved a little and they heard a voice say in a distinguished tone, ‘Timbucktoo.’

‘Tim who?’ asked Lightfinger again, shaking the snout good and hard.

‘Timbucktoo.’

‘And where are you from, you moth-eaten overcoat?’ asked Knocker, in spite of the fact that he knew the answer.

Timbucktoo shook himself free of the two Borribles and, though his hands were bound, he got to his feet and glared haughtily down his snout, his red eyes blazing.

‘Why, I’m fwom Wumbledom of course, you dirty little tykes. You’d better welease me before you get into sewious twouble.’

‘I knew it,’ said Knocker turning to Lightfinger with excitement. ‘A Rumble from Rumbledom. Ain’t it strange as how they can’t pronounce their rs?’

‘So that’s a Rumble,’ said Lightfinger with interest. ‘I’ve often wondered what they looked like – bloody ugly.’

‘It’s the first time I’ve been this close to one,’ said Knocker, ‘but you can’t mistake them – nasty.’

‘You wevolting little stweet-awabs,’ the Rumble had lost his temper, ‘how dare you tweat me in this fashion?’

‘ ’Cos you’re on our manor, that’s how, you twat,’ said Knocker angrily. ‘I suppose you didn’t even know.’

‘I only know what you are,’ said Timbucktoo, ‘and what I am and that I’ll go where I like and do what I like without having to ask the permission of gwubby little ignawamuses like you. Untie me, Bowwible, and I’ll forget about this incident.’

‘He’s a real pain,’ said Lightfinger. ‘Let’s throw him in the river.’

The moon was clear of clouds again and glinted on the nearby Thames. In spite of himself the Rumble shivered. ‘That will do you no good. I can swim, you know, like an otter.’

‘So you should,’ said Knocker, ‘you look like one.’ And he cuffed the Rumble once more and told him to hold his tongue.

Knocker thought deeply, then he said, ‘I s’pose the river’s the best idea for getting him off our manor, but maybe we ought to take him back and find out more about him, what his mob are up to. I don’t like the look of it; suspicious this is, Rumbles down here in Battersea, it’s wrong. We ought to give Spiff a chance to give this thing the once over.’

‘You’re right,’ said Lightfinger, and they hauled the Rumble to its feet and pushed it towards the park gates.

When they reached the sleeping streets they kept to the dark shadows between the lamp posts and marched rapidly in the direction of Battersea High Street.

Borribles are generally skinny and have pointed ears which give them a slightly satanic appearance. They are pretty tough-looking and always scruffy, with their arses hanging out of their trousers. Apart from that they look just like normal children, although legions of them have been Borribles for more than a lifetime – as long as a Borrible remains at liberty he or she will never age.

Most of them have sharp faces with eyes that are burning-bright, noticing everything and missing nothing. They are proud of their quickness of wit. In fact it is impossible to be dull and a Borrible because a Borrible is bright by definition. Not that they know lots of useless facts; it’s just that their minds work well and they tend to dislike anyone who is a bit slow.

The only people likely to get close to Borribles are ordinary children, because Borribles mix with them to escape detection by ‘the authorities’ who are always trying to catch them. Any child may have sat next to a Borrible or even talked to one and never noticed the ears for the simple reason that Borribles wear hats, woollen ones, pulled down over their heads, and they sometimes grow their hair long, hanging to their shoulders.

Normal kids are turned into Borribles very slowly, almost without being aware of it; but one day they wake up and there it is. It doesn’t matter where they come from as long as they’ve had what is called a bad start. A child disappears and the word goes round that he was ‘unmanageable’; the chances are he’s off managing by himself. Sometimes it’s given out that a kid down the street has been put into care: the truth is that he’s been Borribled and is caring for himself someplace. One day a shout might be heard in a supermarket and a kid with the goods on him is hoisted out by a store detective. If that kid gets away he’ll become a Borrible and make sure he isn’t caught again. Being caught is the end of the free life for a Borrible: once in custody his ears are clipped by the police surgeon and he begins to grow into a malevolent and adventureless adulthood, like any ordinary child.

So Borribles are outcasts, but unlike most outcasts they enjoy themselves and wouldn’t be anything else. They delight in feeling independent and it is this feeling that is most important to them. Consequently they have no real leaders, though someone may rise into prominence from time to time, but on the whole they manage without authority and they get on well enough together, though like everybody, they quarrel.

They don’t get on with adults at all, or anyone who isn’t Borrible, and they see no reason why they should. Nobody has ever tried to get on with them, quite the contrary. They are ignored and that suits them down to the ground because that way they can do what they want to do in their own quiet and crafty way.

Knocker and Lightfinger had been on night patrol in Battersea Park when they’d stumbled across the Rumbles and the discovery had made them uneasy. Borribles like to make sure that no other Borrible tribe is encroaching on their territory, that’s bad enough. They live in fear of being driven away from their markets and houses, of seeing their independence destroyed; that is why scouting round the frontiers of their borough is a regular duty.

Unearthing a Rumble was a calamity. They are the real enemies of the Borribles and the Borribles hate them for their riches, their power, their haughtiness and their possessions. If the Rumbles were coming all the way down from Rumbledom to colonize the Park, what price Battersea High Street?

Knocker and Lightfinger harried Timbucktoo along in front of them. They went through Battersea Church Road, by St Mary’s down by the river, and then into the High Street. They saw no one and no one saw them, it being well into the early hours of the morning. They were making for an empty house standing opposite the end of Trott Street. It was tall and wide and the bottom windows were boarded up and a sheet of corrugated iron covered the main doorway. The facade of the building was painted over in grey, and in black letters was written, ‘Bunham’s Patent Locks Ltd. Locksmiths to the trade.’

It was a typical Borrible hideaway, derelict and decaying, and Knocker and Lightfinger lived there. Borribles live where they can in the streets of the big cities, but they like these abandoned houses best of all.

The two Borribles halted on the pavement and glanced up and down the street. Nobody. They opened a gate in the railings and Knocker pushed Timbucktoo down some stone steps that led to a basement. The two lookouts followed, opened a door and dragged the Rumble into the house by the neck. Once the door was closed Knocker switched on the light.

The Borribles had entered a large room furnished with orange boxes for use as chairs and tables. Two doors opened from it; one into an underground larder, which served as a storeroom, the other to some stairs which led to the rest of the house. The bay window was covered with scraps of old blanket to prevent light shining into the street and alerting the police that someone was squatting in a dwelling that was supposed to be empty.

‘What we gonna do with him, now we’ve got him here?’ wondered Lightfinger, and he pushed Timbucktoo down into a seat.

‘Yes,’ said the Rumble, looking up, his eyes glinting crimson, ‘you won’t get away with this you know, it’s iwwesponsible. You Bowwibles must be insane. I’ll see you get your ears clipped.’

‘Clip me ears, will yer?’ said Knocker tight-lipped, and he went into the store cupboard. A second later he was out again, carrying a roll of sticky tape. He went over to the Rumble, grasped its head and wound the tape round and round the animal’s snout so that it could no longer speak.

He stood back to admire his work. Lightfinger sat and cupped his face in his hands and rested his elbows on his knees.

‘There,’ said Knocker, ‘that’s the way to deal with a talking mattress.’

‘I’m glad all animals can’t speak,’ said Lightfinger. ‘We’d have meningitis within the week, or run out of sticky tape.’

‘I’ll go and get Spiff,’ said Knocker. He ran up to the ground floor of the house and tapped on the door of a large room that overlooked the back garden, a back garden that Knocker knew was a wilderness of weeds; a dangerous dump of rusting oil drums and broken bicycles.

The door opened a crack and another Borrible appeared. He was perhaps an inch taller than Knocker and his ears were very pointed. He was dressed in a bright orange dressing gown made from new warm towelling. His carpet slippers were comfortable.

‘Who are you? Ah, Knocker, what do you want then?’

‘Sorry to wake you, Spiff,’ said Knocker, ‘but me and Lightfinger found something in the park and think you ought to have a look at it. It’s down in the basement.’

‘Oh Lor’,’ groaned Spiff, ‘can’t it wait till morning? You haven’t got the law on your trail, have you?’

‘No,’ said Knocker, ‘it’s nothing like that. What we’ve got is worse. It’s a Rumble! There was a whole lot of them in a posh car and we caught this one tunnelling. Cheek, ain’t it, coming down here without a by-yer-leave and digging?’

Spiff had become more and more intent on what Knocker had been saying until finally he seemed quite beside himself.

‘A bloody Rumble, in the park? You get back downstairs, me lad, and I’ll come right away. I’ll put me hat on.’

He closed the door and Knocker darted back down the uncarpeted stairs. He understood Spiff’s caution; no Borrible ever left his room without putting on a woollen hat to cover the tops of his ears. It wasn’t that they were ashamed of them, quite the contrary, but they liked to be prepared for an emergency. Any unforeseen circumstance could force them into the streets and it wouldn’t do to be spotted as a Borrible.

‘He’s coming,’ said Knocker as soon as he re-entered the room. ‘He’s a good bloke, you know . . . short-tempered sometimes, but they don’t come any craftier than Spiff.’

‘You can’t get anything past him and that’s a fact,’ said Lightfinger. ‘They say he’s pulled more strokes than the Oxford and Cambridge boat race put together. And they say that he won dozens of names in fights with the Rumbles, and we’re only s’posed to have one. Nobody knows how many names, nobody . . . He’s a mystery, but one thing’s for sure, he hates Rumbles.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ said Knocker. ‘There’s millions of stories about his names and some of them not very Borrible either, but I’d rather have him for me than against me.’ He sat down and looked at Timbucktoo and thought about names and the gaining of them, something that occupied his every waking hour.

A Borrible name has to be earned because that is the only way a Borrible can get one. He has to have an adventure of some sort, and the name comes out of that adventure – stealing, burglary, a journey or a trick played on someone. That was the rule and Knocker was against it; it made it difficult, if not impossible, for a Borrible to join an adventure once he was in possession of a name. The first chance was always given to those who were nameless and this infuriated Knocker for he had a secret ambition to collect more names and have more adventures than any other Borrible alive.

A noise on the stairs disturbed Knocker’s reflections. He stood up and at the same moment Spiff flung open the door and strode theatrically into the room. His head was adorned with a magnificent hat of scarlet wool and he clutched the orange dressing gown tightly to his chest. Spiff had the clear face of a twelve-year-old child but his eyes were dark with wisdom: the wisdom, so it was rumoured, of a hundred years of existence. His nose was prominent; the kind of nose that smelt out trickery with ease.

He stopped short as soon as he saw the Rumble and he pushed his breath out over his teeth and made a whisper of a whistle.

‘At last,’ he said, like he was praying, ‘at last. It’s been a long while since I had my hands on one of these stinking rodents.’ He turned and beamed at Knocker and Lightfinger. ‘You lads have done marvellous, you’ve captured one alive and well, though he won’t be for long, the little basket. Found him in the park, eh? With hundreds of others, digging holes! That’s how it starts. Down here on our manor, taking it all for granted, think they’re the lords of creation, don’t they? Go anywhere, do what they like, we don’t count.’ He prodded and screwed the Rumble with a rigid index finger as he spoke. He turned to Knocker. ‘You know what this is?’

‘A Rumble.’

‘Yeah, a Rumble.’ Spiff was bitter. ‘No better than you or me for all their la-di-da manners. Years of them I’ve seen, sneerin’ at us down their hoity-toity snouts . . . lords of creation, moving in on our space whenever they think they will.’

Knocker and Lightfinger looked at each other. They had never seen Spiff so angry.

‘Oh, come on, Spiff,’ said Lightfinger, ‘it can’t be that bad; the Rumbles have never done me any harm.’

Spiff jumped a foot from the floor. ‘You don’t know you’re born. You know nothing about the struggles and fights we had to win free. It weren’t easy to stay alive even.’

‘Oh, I know about it all right but that was your time, not mine.’ And Lightfinger leaned against the wall, crossed his ankles and shoved his hands into his pockets.

‘Don’t care was made to care,’ said Spiff sententiously, ‘and history repeats itself; in fact it don’t repeat itself, it just goes on being the same.’

‘Well anyway, what are we going to do with this rabbit?’ asked Knocker.

‘Shove it in the cupboard,’ said Spiff, rubbing his chin. ‘I’ll call a meeting tomorrow. You two can run down the street with the message right now, before you go to bed. I know Borribles don’t like meetings but this is an emergency, and we will have to act and think together for once!’

Spiff took one last look at the Rumble, then he pulled his Borrible hat further on to his head, spun on his heels and left the room. Knocker got the prisoner to his feet and locked him in the store cupboard, then he and Lightfinger left by the basement door and spent the next few hours informing all High Street Borribles what was afoot. Finally the two exhausted lookouts got to their own room at the top of Spiff’s house and climbed into a bundle of old blankets and sacks that formed their bed.

‘Argaah,’ yawned Knocker, ‘what a day.’

‘Goo’ night,’ said Lightfinger, and was immediately asleep.

A Borrible’s main business is to stay alive. This is an occupation that takes up most of his time; getting food from wherever he can discover it, finding things before they are lost, stealing his provisions from barrows and out of superstore warehouses: stealing because the fundamental Borrible rule, the rule that is primordial to the way they live, the mainspring and motivation of their very being – rule number one – is that they must never have dealings in money. They have been brought up without it, and they must never touch it. If they do, bad luck and loss of freedom will follow as sure as night the day. That is why Borribles steal, and why they prefer to live near shopping centres and street markets like Brixton and Petticoat Lane, where food is easy to come by.

So important is that aspect of their life that they have many sayings that deal with it and they are all gathered together in the Borrible Book of Proverbs. Some of these maxims are very ancient, like, ‘that which falls off a lorry belongs to him who follows the lorry,’ and ‘That which is found has never been lost.’ One of their favourites is, ‘It is impossible to lose that which does not belong to you,’ and Borribles use that one a lot to people who complain about their thieving.

By eight o’clock on the morning following the capture of Timbucktoo Rumble, Battersea High Street market was in full swing. There were barrows and stalls along each side of the road and so little space was left for traffic that not a car dared venture down there. The barrows had been shoved very close together and it was easy for a Borrible to crawl underneath them from one end of the street to the other, picking up fruit on the way. It was a good way to get breakfast.

The costermongers shouted at each other and at prospective customers, urging them to buy. There were barrows selling fruit, ironmongery, fish and large crabs; the shops had their doors wide open and people were drinking tea in Notarianni’s cafe, talking loudly, making wild gestures with their hands. Brown’s, the pie and eel shop, was doing a brisk business and the inhabitants of the buildings – Archer House, Eaton House and White House – were loafing on street corners and thinking about passing bets in Ernie Swash’s, the bookmaker’s. The noise was so great that it rose right up the side of the house where Knocker and Lightfinger were sleeping and woke them from a deep slumber.

Knocker rolled over and woke his companion. ‘Come on, breakfast.’

He stretched his arms above his head; he hadn’t slept enough. The two Borribles had been out so late the night before that the coster-mongers had been loading their barrows as they came home; finding breakfast had been no problem and it was there beside them: one grapefruit, an orange and two large doughnuts dripping with jam.

Lightfinger rubbed his eyes and the old sacks and blankets dropped from him. He reached for the orange, bit it open and sucked hard, making a lot of noise. The orange was wonderful, fresh-tasting, chilled to ice crystals by the lorry journeys to and from Covent Garden.

‘Ooaagh,’ he groaned with pleasure, ‘that’s lovely.’

‘We’d better hurry up,’ said Knocker, ‘or we’ll miss the meeting.’

Halfway down the High Street was a disused brick-built hall. It had last been occupied by a firm of photographers called Scots of London, but they had departed long since and now the shop fell within the province of the Borribles. It was here that Spiff had asked the members of the Battersea tribe to gather; decisions had to be made and everyone was allowed a say.

Inside the hall, on a kind of podium, stood Spiff in conversation with a score of his cronies. Other Borribles, ragged, dirty and inquisitive, slipped in through broken doorways, and, talking furiously, waited in groups to see what might happen.

The moment he thought enough people were present Spiff stepped to the front of the stage and held up both arms like a politician. He shouted several times and gradually the hubbub of voices became less and less until eventually a kind of excited silence hung on the air, then Spiff began to speak, relishing the occasion, for he took a delight in speechifying.

‘Brother and sister Borribles, I am pleased to see so many of you here, for today is a day of decision. Our way of life is in jeopardy and we must either act together or perish.’

The hall became quieter and the tension rose.

‘Not to beat about the bush, I’ll give you the facts, then anyone who wants a say can have a say. Right, the facts. Last night, our chief lookout and his assistant . . .’

All heads turned to Knocker and Lightfinger.

‘. . . while on a routine inspection of the Battersea area, discovered that we had been invaded by the Rumbles.’

The crowd drew in a deep breath and then let it out again in a long explosion and Spiff looked round for effect and more silence.

‘It seems that a large force came down here, all the way from Rumbledom, and occupied the park for several hours. They were digging! Now, in my opinion, this can only be a preparation for a takeover of Battersea, an attack on our freedom, a new and subtle kind of slavery and a clipping of ears. Things have been bearable as long as the Rumbles have stayed in Rumbledom, where they belong, but this is something else.’

Murmurs of assent came from the assembly but Spiff held up his hand and went on.

‘In my opinion there is only one answer, my friends, pre-emptive defence. We must attack before we are attacked. We must destroy the Rumbles at the heart of their organization. However—’

Spiff broke off for a second and admonished the ceiling with a grubby finger.

‘—to carry out this plan we shall need to search carefully among the ranks of the nameless. From those who have not yet had their first adventure we must select the bravest, the slyest, the craftiest and the most resourceful. It is not only the enemy we have to fear, but the enormous distance between us and him, dangerous terrain. The Rumble is confident in his stronghold, blinded by his own conceit, safe, so he thinks, in the security of his own riches and comfort, but that is where we shall strike, with a handful of chosen Borribles. We shall need dedicated volunteers, but remember, those who go may never return. Blood will be spilt.’

At this there was a terrific hush in the hall and the Borribles looked at each other with trepidation. An adventure was one thing, death another.

‘We feel,’ went on Spiff, ‘that Battersea should not bear this brunt alone. All London Borribles are threatened. To this end messages will be sent out over the city and certain tribes will be asked to send their likeliest un-named champions to us for training and instruction. Likewise, from among the ranks of the Battersea nameless, we shall choose one who shows the greatest promise. We intend to approach the following groups: the Totters of Tooting, the Wendles of Wandsworth, the Stumpers of Stepney, the Whitechapel Wallopers, the Peckham Punch-uppers, the Neasden Nudgers and the Hoxton Humpers. Details of the raid will be worked out when all the candidates have arrived.’

Spiff stopped for breath and the hall became alive and words buzzed like bees. Who, people wondered, would be chosen as the Battersea representative on the expedition? An honour, yes, but a danger too.

Knocker swore to himself. ‘Why do I have my name already? What an adventure it’s going to be.’

Spiff called for quiet again. Now he prepared for his moment of high drama. He made a sign to the side of the stage and the prisoner was brought on for all to see. There was silence. The Rumble was still taped round the snout but its beady eyes glowed a fearful red and it stood upright and unmoved.

‘This,’ shouted Spiff, ‘is the enemy, no braver than us, no more dangerous; but they are difficult of access, living underground as they do, well-protected in their burrows. They are rich and they are powerful, and think themselves superior to all Borribles by divine right. This is the enemy who wants to take Battersea into its grasp. Even now they may be digging under the streets to emerge in your very backyard, even now they may be undermining your way of life, silently; dirty and evil, moles of the underground.’

Spiff took a deep breath and shook his arms in front of his body as if he was emptying a sack of cement; the crowd stirred with emotion. Spiff raised his voice a further notch.

‘This is the enemy, and we all know that they must be stopped at all costs. Yes, but more than that, they must be eliminated, and who are the Borribles to do it? Why we are!’

An enormous cheer rose from the audience. ‘Throw it in the river,’ came a voice from the back of the hall, ‘with a bicycle round its neck.’

This suggestion was so popular that it was taken up on all sides.

‘Yeah,’ came the shout, ‘in the river, steal a bike someone.’

Spiff smiled indulgently. ‘I understand your feelings,’ he looked at the Rumble, ‘but I have a better plan. Let me explain. The one thing that these objects fear above all others,’ he touched the Rumble lightly with a disdainful finger, ‘is disclosure! They would hate to be unmasked and shown for what they really are. In their mythology the greatest possible disaster is what they call the Great Rumble Hunt – an attack on their citadel of power – and we, the Borribles of Battersea, will start that Rumble hunt. But,’ Spiff had to shout across the cheering, ‘this is also to be a war of nerves; we want them to know that something really nasty is on the way – us! And that is where this little rodent comes in. We propose to stick a notice on to the fur of this carpet bag, and send it back to Rumbledom, living proof that we mean business. The message will say, “The Great Rumble Hunt is on. Beware the Borribles!” All those in favour say “Aye”.’

Another enormous cheer rose from the assembly; Spiff’s oratory had done its work, that was what he wanted. Borribles clasped each other, jumped up and down and shouted, ‘We’ll show ’em, we’ll teach them rabbits to come down here.’

As the cheering died away Spiff and his cronies left the building with the prisoner, and the hall gradually emptied as the Borribles went back to their squats, eager to discuss the morning meeting and to wonder who would be chosen as the Battersea ‘no-name’ for the Great Rumble Hunt. Those who were not known for their bravery kept very quiet and decided not to call attention to themselves, for a few Borribles manage to pass through life without ever earning themselves a name. But most are of a different stamp, and they ran to the market without delay, stole paper and wrote directly to Spiff, begging for the position.

But Knocker was disconsolate. He returned home alone, thwarted. He knew there was no chance of him being considered for the expedition to Rumbledom. He went into the basement of the deserted house and made his way upstairs. As he passed Spiff’s door it was thrown open and the cunning face of the most cunning of Borribles appeared, beaming.

‘Right, lad,’ he said, ‘in here. Just the bloke I want, look lively . . . Want a word with you.’

Knocker stepped inside the room, and removed his woollen cap; he had good pointed ears, a sign of high intelligence and alertness. Spiff smiled and settled into an armchair that must have fallen from a very expensive furniture lorry.

‘Sit down, lad,’ he said. ‘I wanted to thank you for your good work last night, champion that was, champion . . . but now I want to ask your advice. As you know, there are eight Rumbles in the Rumble High Command. I’m sure that if we can eliminate them, the rest of the Rumble set-up will fall to pieces, they’ll be too busy even to think of us any more. So that’s why I thought of sending eight Borribles only, one for each High Rumble. There will be one from Tooting, Hoxton, Wandsworth . . . You heard all that already. But, Knocker, who are we going to send from Battersea? The point is, you are out and about a lot, you see a lot of Borribles in action, who do you think would be a good choice?’

Knocker thought for a while. ‘It’s tricky,’ he said at length. ‘There’s quite a few who are good. There’s a bunch of bright lads down by the river, some others under the railway arches at Battersea Park station, but I think the brightest of the lot, out of the whole borough, is one who lives up on Lavender Hill, bright as a button and smart as paint.’

‘Whereabouts does he hang out?’ asked Spiff.

‘Underneath the nick,’ said Knocker.

‘Underneath the nick!’ cried Spiff. ‘He must be mad.’

Knocker laughed. ‘Oh, no. Bright. There’s a stack of rooms up there that are left empty every night. It’s centrally heated, blankets galore, constant electricity. You name it, he’s got it. In fact he’s very friendly with some of the coppers – the Woollies.’

‘Hmm,’ said Spiff, ‘and he’s a no-name?’

‘Yes.’

‘Right,’ Spiff went on, ‘that’s settled then. Send a runner up to Lavender Hill and get that wazzisname down here. As soon as the other seven come in from across London we shall have to begin a training session. As well as that, I want you to get some volunteers to do some spare-time thieving. We’re going to need lots of things for this expedition: grub, weatherproof clothing, high-quality catapults, watches, compasses, anything that might be useful . . . so get that organized. I know you’ve got your own thieving to do, and so have the others, but do what you can . . . We can’t afford to fail.’

Knocker nodded. His heart was bursting with pride, he was being involved in the Great Rumble Hunt, which was more than he had dared to hope.

‘Is there a chance of anything else, Spiff?’

‘What do you mean? You can’t go on the expedition, you know, that’s a rule.’

‘I know that. It’s, well, you said they would have to be trained. I’m a good Borrible lookout, well, I could train them . . . couldn’t I?’

Spiff gave Knocker a long look, a look that went right through him and saw everything. ‘Hmm,’ he said, smiling a secret smile, ‘you are keen, aren’t you? How many names have you got?’

‘Just the one,’ answered Knocker feeling uncomfortable.

Spiff chuckled. ‘You know what Knocker, you reminds me of me. You didn’t have to ask, I’d already thought of you . . . yes, you can train the team.’

Knocker got up to go, feeling proud of himself.

‘Here, take this envelope,’ said Spiff, ‘it’s instructions about the Rumble; he’s downstairs in the cupboard. Send him packing. Try not to let anyone see him, they might still chuck him in the river.’

Knocker ran downstairs and opened the cupboard. Sure enough the Rumble was there, his paws tied behind him and a notice glued on to his fur. Two other lookouts came into the room and leant against the wall to watch as Knocker read his instructions. When he had finished he removed the tape from the animal’s snout and sat it on a grape barrel.

‘You are being sent home, Rumble, alive. Take that message to your leaders and tell them what you have seen and heard.’

Knocker turned to the lookouts. ‘You two can escort him on the first stage of the journey. This envelope has instructions from Spiff. Take him to Clapham Junction and hand him over to the next Borrible tribe. Then he can be taken to the Honeywell Borribles, and they can take him up to the Wendles beyond Wandsworth Common; from there the Wendles will take him to Merton Road. This letter goes with him and explains what should be done at each stage. Finally, he should be released as near Rumbledom High Street as possible and allowed to find his way home. Any questions?’

The two lookouts shook their heads.

‘Right,’ said Knocker, ‘as soon as you’ve got rid of him report back to me. It is very important that he gets home in one piece, though it doesn’t matter what he looks like; the rougher the better. We’ve got to frighten the fur off every Rumble in existence.’

Timbucktoo jumped to his feet at this. ‘You don’t fwighten me, Bowwible, nor your fwiends. You don’t know what you’re taking on. We’ll be keeping a watch out for you; you’ll be skewered on our Wumble-sticks before you get a sight of Wumbledom Hill. You may be safe down here in your gwimy stweets and stinking back-alleys, but Wumbledom is a wilderness with twackless paths that only we can follow. This means war.’

Knocker swiped the Rumble round the ear, almost affectionately. ‘Go on,’ he said, ‘you old doormat, before I knock that snout of yours through the back of your bonce.’

At a sign from Knocker his two assistants hauled the Rumble from the room on the first stage of his long and perilous journey, a journey on which he would be passed from hand to hand like a registered packet in the London post.

The Borribles is being re-released by Tor UK with an introduction by China Mieville

New ebook from Amazon (UK) • Current US edition

https://boingboing.net/2014/01/18/the-borribles-book-excerpt.html

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sassyfitblog · 6 years

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What to Pack in Your Race Bag for the NYC Marathon

The world’s largest race is upon us! 50,000+ runners will be running 26.2 glorious miles on Sunday through the amazing streets of New York City. But before they undertake this arduous task, they’ve gotta make it to the starting village in Staten Island. This is will be your home base for at least a couple hours before you start your race.

I’ve ran the New York City Marathon 5 times and have experienced everything from beautiful and somewhat warm weather to cold, rainy and ridiculously windy conditions (hello 2014). It is essential that you pack a race bag that can help you make it through before, during and after the race.

So here’s a list based on my experience of What to Pack in Your Race Bag for the NYC Marathon:

Pre-race meal & snacks - As I mentioned earlier, you’ll be in the starting village for at least a couple hours before your wave starts even if you are in wave 1. It’s important that you ensure that you fuel your body properly in advance. There are a couple of vendors like Dunkin Donuts that provide things like coffee, hot chocolate, tea, energy bars and some savory breakfast foods like bagels, muffins etc but I wouldn’t rely on it. It’s done on a first come first serve basis and if it’s not something you’re used to eating/drinking, I wouldn’t risk having digestive issues on race morning.

Warm Clothes - The average temperature for the NYC Marathon is 54 degrees F (based on 10 years) which may be perfect for racing but when you’re standing or sitting still, not so much. You’ll need to wear clothes to keep you warm before and after the race.

Throw-away Clothing or Material - This is temporary clothing or material used to keep you warm before the race but you plan to toss it before the race or maybe a couple miles into the race after your body has warmed up. Many people swear by old sweatpants, hooded sweatshirts and bathrobes as their throw-away clothing. And those are all great options that you can get for free or dirt cheap at a thrift store like the Salvation Army. However they are pretty damn bulky and often time, require a lot of layers which can be a pain to undress. This is why I swear by a Tyvek Suit. I’ve said and posted as much about it on my Instagram. As I mentioned before, I’ve done this race 5x and 2014 was by far the coldest and most windy race I’ve ever experienced. I wore my Tyvek suit with my race clothes under it and I still stayed warm. I ditched the suit when I was on the bridge right before the start. I did wear a warm hat courtesy of Dunkin Donut and cheap gloves with hand warmers for a few miles and then tossed them when my body felt warm enough. The suit cost me $10.00 because I got it online but you can find it in a hardware store or at the TCS NYC Marathon Race Expo for about $20.00. They usually offer the full suit or separate pieces like the top and pants so you choose what’s best for you.

Hand and Toe Warmers - Your hands and feet tend to be the coldest because they are furthest from your heart and blood doesn’t circulate easily. So it’s important to keep them warm by any means necessary. My go to product are HotHands hand and and toe warmers. I buy a big box of them from Amazon so they last me through the winter. But you can grab also them from a pharmacy like Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade or the TCS NYC Marathon Race Expo.

Anti-Chafe Lubricant - My go to is Ruby’s Lube but Vaseline, Aquaphor, Body glide etc are also great options. Choose the ones that worked best during your training.

Energy Gels - Be sure to carry enough energy gels or whatever fuel source you’ve been training with. The race organizer does provide energy gels at mile 18 (I think) but it may not be something that you’re used to.

K-tape - Kinesiology tape can work magic on your body. Use it if your injured, need pain relief or want to help reduce inflammation.

Bandaids - This can help treat or prevent blisters before and after the race. It’s also helpful for guys to reduce friction on their nipples.

Arm Band - I run with my phone and like to run handsfree so I run with an armband. I have one with pockets that can accommodate some of my energy gels, money, credit card, metrocard and ID.

Headphones or Earbuds - If you run with music or podcast, you’ve gotta remember to charge(If they’re wireless) and pack them. I like to carry an extra pair of wired headphones just in case.

Money, ID & Metrocard - A lot can go wrong during a race. Ensure that you have your ID, money, credit card and a metrocard in case of an emergency. If you have a Road ID bracelet, take it with you as well.

Garbage Bags - Carry a couple of large garbage bags with you. You can use to sit on in the starting village and another to help protect yourself or your things from the elements. Many runners use garbage bags as a wind and rain shield.

Ziploc Bags - I like to use small ziploc bags to help organize small items in my bag like toiletries, ID, cash, cards, ear buds etc. You can also use large ziploc bags in the event that you lost your gear check bag. Once you get to Staten Island, you will be provided with a proper gear check bag.

Sharpie or Permanent Marker - Very useful if you need to label your gear check bag or want to write your name on your racing gear.

Tissue - This is a must in case the porta potties run out, which happens a lot.

Body Wipes - Great to clean yourself up after the race. The salt stains are real! I like to use Shower Pill because they are large, thick, absorbent and come in an individually wrapped packet. But if I don’t have those on hand, I’ll pack some of my daughter’s Huggies wipes in a ziploc bag.

Foam Rolling Stick - You can use this to roll out fascia before the race. Also great to use after the race if muscles are tight.

Pain Killers and/Medication - If you’re on medication or have asthma and need an inhaler, be sure to take it. Medical professionals don’t recommend taking painkillers before a race so keep them handy for after the finish line.

Post-Race Snacks and Beverages - Although the race does a great job of providing a snack, energy bar, water and electrolyte drink in your post-race goodie bag, I would still advise you to pack your own. The options provided may not be something you’re used to or like. I like to pack a small bottle of coconut water, chocolate milk & larabar. I’ve also seen friends recommend packing easy to digest foods like baby food and soup.

Portable Phone Chargers - As a blogger that likes to document races with photos and videos, it is super important that I pack portable chargers to help keep my phone going. However even if you don’t use your phone a lot, I still recommend doing this because you will be without an electrical outlet for several hours. My go to portable chargers are the anker phone case charger ( I also have a mophie but I find it to be too big and bulky) and an anker stick.

Small packet of salt - We sweat out a lot of salt running for hours during a race and sometimes the gatorade provided on the course isn’t enough to replace it. Carrying a tiny packet of salt like ones provided in takeout utensil packets can be helpful during the race.

Post-race clothing - It’s best to stick to loose clothing like a sweatshirt and sweat pants because it’s comfortable and easy to throw on. Also carry a coat and/or rain poncho depending on the weather.

Compression Sleeves or Socks - compression gear is great for helping with blood circulation and recovery. Although I try to wear compression tights during the marathon, I always pack a pair of compression calf sleeves for after the race. I don’t do socks post race because I need my feet to breathe but everyone is different.

Long Loose Skirt or Towel - This is great if you need to change in the park or on the street after the race. I’ve had to change in the park every single time after the race and a long skirt offers good privacy.

Deodorant and other toiletries - Many runners don’t have access to a shower for a while after the race so in addition to body wipes, I like to pack deodorant, face wash, moisturizer & mouth wash, to freshen up before heading to my celebration dinner.

Plastic Bag for Wet Clothes - separate your wet race clothes from your other belongings by putting them in a separate bag.

Extra Socks - Running for a marathon usually leaves your socks and shoes either super sweaty or super wet. Putting on a pair of fresh socks even if you’re wearing the same racing shoes, can feel great.

Comfy shoes or Slippers - when you’re feet have been constricted in racing shoes for 26.2 miles, slipping into comfy shoes, slippers or slides can feel like heaven! My go to choices are either crocs or foam flip flops depending on the weather.

So there you have it. My complete list of What to Pack in Your Race Bag for the NYC Marathon. Even if you’ve selected the NO Bag Check option, you can and should still pack a bag with items that you can use in the starting village. You just have to toss it before you enter your corral.

If you’re reading this post late and realize that you need to get some of these items, try visiting a 24hr store or pharmacy like CVS, Riteaid, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Target and Walmart.

Good luck on your race!

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#what to pack in your race bag #what to pack in your race bag for the nyc marathon #what to pack in your race bag for a marathon #NYC marathon #tcsnycmarathon #fitblog #runblog #runner #marathon runner

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elfnerdherder · 6 years

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Ill Intentions: Chapter 18

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Chapter 18: Dialogue

“Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me!” the girl gushed. She was pretty, in that I-can’t-remember-quite-what-my-natural-hair-color-is sort of way. Large eyes, thick eyeliner. She ran a blog online and had Will Graham’s face all over it. He wasn’t quite sure when it popped up, but readers assured her that they’d still follow her work *if* the Will Graham fad faded.

“Of course,” Will replied. “I didn’t realize that people were following this so closely. When I saw everyone’s insightful comments, as well as your support as I tried to keep journalistic integrity, I thought that you had some interesting ideas. Your theories.”

“My theory that you already know who it is? Yeah, I know. Not many people believe me. I wrote to you, but you didn’t respond.”

They were seated outside of a coffee shop that didn’t make coffee, and whose only idea of something closely resembling coffee was an espresso. Anything else on the menu had syrup or energy drinks in it. Will settled for a pumpkin spice latte because it felt right at that time of year, and he added another coffee to his watch. He needed to drink water soon.

“Sorry.”

“No, I get it. You’re busy.”

“I have been lately, yeah,” Will agreed.

“So you meeting me means that I’m right, right? You know who it is?”

Will laughed. “I was more interested in you talking about your publisher that would love a writer that could engage like I did. I was going to ask if you could see about presenting a manuscript for me anonymously.”

He didn’t like talking himself up like that. The brag felt forced, pushy, but Nicole didn’t seem to mind. She squinted, much the same way she had when she first walked up to the table, and she adjusted her cat-eye glasses. From writer to writer, she seemed to be able to see bull shit a mile away.

“You have a manuscript?”

“Something I’ve been kicking around for a bit. I think that just about now is the most convenient time to present it.”

“Not meaning to sound rude, since I like you Mr. Graham, but what am I getting out of this?”

Will smiled, and he reached into his pocket, tugging out the handkerchief with care. He set it on the table between them, catching Nicole’s eye.

“That handkerchief,” he said, maintaining eye contact, “belongs to the Chesapeake Ripper. I took it from him.”

Nicole looked from him to the handkerchief, and she snatched it up with hardly a breath, her grip tight enough to tell Will that he now had her undivided attention.

“When you look over that manuscript and send it in for me, I’ll let you post about whatever you like. With this as evidence when that time comes.”

Nicole looked from the handkerchief to Will; her grip didn’t slacken. “Why do you care so much about who this publisher is?” she asked. “She’s amazing, don’t get me wrong, but why her? Why me?”

He finished his drink before he answered. Just around them, there was the gentle murmur and discussions of holidays between friends, the plans just ahead and what lay on the horizon. Normal, calming things. His watch beeped to remind him to drink water.

“I heard that she is willing to publish anyone with a good story. Someone that can see when something’s real and make the most out of it.”

“Yeah?” Nicole pocketed the handkerchief, her silent agreement.

Will stood up and threw his cup away. “I’ve got something she’s going to like. That’s all.”

Jack picked Will up on the steps of Tattler News before the news vans and avid fans could quite get to him. It was the day before Will’s appointment with Dr. Lecter. Will didn’t quite like to admit it, but there was something exciting about Jack stopping him; he wondered if the agent had figured out that something wasn’t adding up.

“Find something?”

“A body. The Maestro.”

He didn’t quite deflate at the mention of the bastard’s name, but something close to it. Will was getting just about tired of the Maestro and his nosiness. His need to be seen. Will Graham & Co.

They rode to the scene in silence. It was an hour or so of countryside dusted in a powder of snow, and Will Graham tracked rolling hills that gave way to branches stripped of their green. The FBI sprung for electric heaters in the leather seats, and Will indulged a little.

The body was found in an open amphitheater in the middle of Wolf Trap National Forest that would normally showcase theater or performances for campers. He stood at the top for longer than was necessary; this he only found out after Jack shouldered past him, headed down with the steps of a man that was maybe getting just a little too tired of this shit. Will wondered about his absent wedding band. Maybe he should have asked in the car.

Snow had fallen in the time between the body being placed and the body being found. Will huddled into his peacoat and tried to breathe through his nose, the air just bitter enough to make his throat uncomfortable. Forensics was busy dusting away at the snow that’d given a fine layer to Mr. Peters’ final form. It was like unearthing a rare and grotesque artifact; each sweep of the soft-bristled brush showed more and more of the mystery beneath.

It sounded an awful lot like Lacrimosa was on the wind. Will could remember it from listening to the old lady next door, the window open to her music room where children did their best to recreate works of art on introductory, factory-glued pieces of garbage. They’d get better with time, she would reassure parents. Maybe invest in a nicer violin, and it wouldn’t sound so squeaky? Maybe some steel strings? Cat gut strings? Maybe don’t buy from Amazon Prime next time?

The notes that hummed when he laid eyes on Mr. Peters came from the belly of a rich and aged cello, something whose notes mellowed and curved around the sound of his death. Despite the build-up of music that’d grown with each death, with each frustrating note as Will willfully ignored the Maestro, this felt somehow anti-climactic in comparison, something soothing and yearning. Will rubbed his ear agitatedly. He wondered of the Ripper had seen the body, too.

“This guy isn’t in any orchestra that I know of,” Jack said when Will made it down the final few steps. “Thirty-eight, single, rents a house somewhere out here.”

Will stared at the mop of unruly brown hair, and he could hazard a guess.

“He also left this,” Jack continued, passing the note over. Rather than look at Will, he continued to stare at Mr. Peters, brow set. His avoiding Will’s face was more telling than the note would be.

“How’s your wife, Jack?” Will couldn’t help but ask. He took the note and held it tight in his left hand, stalling although he couldn’t say why.

Jack side-eyed him, lip curling. “Excuse me?”

“You’re not wearing a wedding band.”

He could tell that Jack didn’t want to answer. Despite the murmur and hum of the forensics team moving about the seats, gleaning everything over for clues, it felt as though there was nothing more than the music, Will, and Jack. His fingers tapped lightly along the paper.

There was no way in hell Jack was going to give him a copy of it. His corkboard would have to miss out on a note.

“Died,” Jack said. There was nary a flicker of emotion as he said it. “She died.”

Will wasn’t sorry for the death –at least there was one death that he didn’t feel some form of culpability for. He looked down to the letter, a weird tightness in his throat.

“My condolences,” he said, and that was as far as he’d go without feeling like an ass about it. He didn’t ask why Jack wasn’t wearing a ring if it was a death that’d taken her and not someone else.

Will Graham & Co.,

The next stanza, I’ll admit, is a stepping stone to the final act. When the Conductor is trying to reach out to the many musicians of their ensemble, more often than not there are one or two persons that refuse to do as they’re asked. The rest of the musicians may reach out, the conductor may also attempt private tutoring or various angles to attempt to make them see reason –

In the end, there are some that do not comply. They must be removed from the symphony so that the performance may continue unhindered.

Does Jack Crawford feel close to finding the Chesapeake Ripper? Does he feel close to finding me? As the conductor, I feel a certain responsibility in helping. Perhaps I will catch your killer for the both of you.

-Another Avid Fan

Will stared at the letter, then at the body in front of him. In that moment, he’d have liked to have felt fear in realizing that he was one of the ones that Maestro felt the need to remove because he wasn’t complying with ‘the plan’. In truth, there was nothing more than a flicker of annoyance, a feeling that out of all of the places he needed to be, this wasn’t one of them. Beside him, Jack held still and waited for him to speak, a certain energy about his silence.

“You ever see something like this?” Will asked.

“Serial killers competing for the attention?”

Will snorted. “I wouldn’t call it competing. You’ve got one going off on their own, killing, and the other’s just trying to catch up.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a favorite, Will.”

Will opened his mouth to reply with something particularly snarky, but he snapped it shut and circled the body instead. Jack’s wife was dead, and she’d died recently. Given everything he’d done –and arguably what he was going to do –he owed it to Jack to be a little nicer.

There was nothing special about the body. It was dressed much the same as the others, the only giveaway about the intentions behind it being the curled brown hair. Will supposed that that was something to consider about himself, that the open and exposed throat didn’t rattle him as it had the first time. Hearing the music had made him nervous, made him wonder at himself.

Just what was he becoming that now, all that he could feel was a vague flicker of annoyance at the timing? The presumption?

His watch beeped: Get ready for lunch.

“We can assume he’s coming after me,” Will said when he finished his lap.

“Or the Ripper.”

“Does he know who the Ripper is?” Will wondered. “If so, maybe we just need to follow the blood trail. This is personal to him.”

“Looks like you’re personal to him,” Jack corrected.

“Maybe. Maybe he knows me, maybe he’s just getting really mad I’m not addressing him in the column. Maybe I keep ignoring him, and it draws him out for you to bring him in.”

“Will,” Jack said, and something in his voice made Will look up from the way snow had gotten inside of the man’s throat, clung to the bleached vocal cords. The wind stirred, dancing small swirls of powder off of the stage. “I got a call from my boss. As of right now, they’re wanting to bring you in and keep you until we can get this under control. The more you’re out in the public eye, the more in danger you are. The more in danger the public is.”

Will didn’t hesitate to let the words sink in. “No.”

“It’s not a request.”

“You can’t –I don’t want –”

“Honestly, I got my ass chewed for how long I left you out here, but that’s neither here nor there. Where the Maestro is specifically targeting you, we’re moving you to a special safe house. I thought maybe showing you just how much danger you were in would help you come to that conclusion on your own, but…”

Jack didn’t finish his thought, and he didn’t have to. Will looked from him to the body, a strangled laugh trying to gurgle out.

Are serial killers your muse?

“Either way, this has gone on long enough,” Jack carried on when Will didn’t speak. His tone brooked no argument. “We’re going to get you taken care of, but first and foremost we’re going to keep you safe. With, or without your consent.”

It wasn’t until they were on their way back from the crime scene that Will found the right words.

“You’re not stupid, Jack,” he said.

Jack glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

“You know protocol. You know rules, regulations, and the right steps to take,” Will continued, staring out of the passenger window. “You’ve been doing this a long time.”

“I have.”

“So you’d know that protocol said the moment the Ripper sent, oh, I don’t know, the third letter, I should have been pulled. But I wasn’t.”

“That was a mistake that –”

“Don’t bullshit me, Jack,” Will interrupted, and he looked back to Jack with a mildly unsettling smile. “You let me keep my freedom because you hoped it’d bring the Ripper to your front door. I was bait, only you didn’t want me to think I was.”

“You weren’t complaining about it,” Jack pointed out.

“I wasn’t,” Will agreed.

“If you’d asked to be taken to a safe house, I’d have had you there in a heartbeat.”

“Yeah, I know.” Will looked back to the window and tracked the gently rolling hills of snow. The wind often picked up just enough of it to create small, hollowed mounds that rolled and carried across the ground, gaining more snow and momentum as they went. One poor step, and your foot would just keep going until you found yourself hip-deep in the mess of it. Chilled to the bone.

“I’d have never compromised your safety.” Jack sounded as though he were trying to convince himself just as much as he was Will.

“You did, Jack,” Will replied. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad about it. Just trying to let you know that blowing smoke up my ass to tell me you should have pulled me sooner is a shit excuse, and you know it. You haven’t lied to me yet. Don’t make a habit of it now.”

Silence, save for the humming of the heater and the faint catches of music in the background. Jack Crawford played smooth jazz on the radio.

“She’s fought cancer for a year now,” Jack finally said. His voice was raw with the kind of emotions Will didn’t want to share in. “My wife. I’d hoped to catch the Ripper before she died. She’d heard enough about him over the years. It feels…wrong to wear her band until I’ve got him. I think I’ll be able to put it back on once I do.”

He found himself taking on some of it anyway –mostly the grief, the loss. Will curled his bottom lip into his mouth, bit down hard. It seemed that no matter what Jack did, he was destined to lose. No matter how hard he fought, it would never be good enough. Will couldn’t be mad about Jack using him as bait, not when he had such a need at stake. People that always lost became desperate. People that always lost either continued to lose, or they found a way to change the game so that they could win.

“I’ve got a therapy appointment tomorrow with Dr. Lecter, Jack,” Will said when they started to hit traffic going back into DC. “I understand that you’re pulling me, but can I just have a couple of days to get my shit in order?”

Jack didn’t respond to that until they were pulling up alongside Tattler News, where Will’s ‘avid fans’ were waiting with signs and baskets of treats. He put the car in park, looked over, and gave Will a long, searching stare. It was reminiscent of the first time Will had ever spoken with him, seated just across from one another at the coffee shop. Things had spiraled since that moment, left Will hitting the ground running with no time to look back.

“We’re taking you to the safehouse on Saturday,” Jack finally replied. “Whether you’re ready or not.”

“Got it.” Will opened the door and climbed out, sliding his messenger bag over his shoulder. When he went to close the door, he paused, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to find the right words. This wasn’t a piece of paper. This wasn’t a word doc. That he could tinker with until perfect. This was a person. “Thanks, Jack. For…understanding.”

Jack grunted an affirmative. “Saturday, Will.”

“Yeah, Saturday,” Will agreed, and he shut the door, hurrying past the crowd that tried to rush him with cries of adoration and questions about the Chesapeake Ripper.

Hannibal Lecter’s office was a private practice with a fenced in courtyard and an elegantly painted door sign. Will was five minutes early, and after signing in and filling out the appropriate paperwork, he idled in the waiting room with a sense of unease coupled with excitement wrestling in his guts. The couches were upholstered, nary a magazine out of place on the freshly dusted coffee table; the receptionist didn’t sneak glances at him as though she were questioning what he was there for.

His watch beeped to tell him that he’d better be at Lecter’s office. He swiped the notification away, as well as a reminder that Beverly had texted, and Molly had called twice. He thought to pace, to release the emotions that curled and licked along his short breaths, but reason overcame him. He had to play it calm. He glanced down, allowed his glasses to tilt and adjust crookedly. He had to lie, and he had to be very, very careful while doing it.

Thankfully, among many of his other talents, lying was indeed one of them. As of late, he’d come to know that fact intimately.

He stood when the door opened, and he stared for quite some time when he met the gaze of the man that stood across from him. He had to fight the self-satisfied smirk that threatened to crawl onto his face.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter was handsome in an unconventional way. Poised in the doorway of his office, he wore a blue suit with thin white pinstripes, shoes a polished brown that matched the pocket square in his suitcoat. He was broad-shouldered, but it tapered to narrower hips. His cheekbones were high, his eyes deep-set. Thin lips were set in a placid, emotionless line, and his jaw was illegal in twelve states. Hair was combed, face was clean-shaven; in truth, he was the antitheses to Will Graham’s own mildly abused suit and scruffy beard.

“Will Graham, come in,” he said, and Will’s heart lurched.

He followed him into an office, hardly aware of the feeling of feet pressing into carpet, moving him forward. He could only repeat those four words in his mind, in that voice, his pulse in his throat, his skin becoming somewhat clammy. The FBI had been a surprise; this time, they were on an even playing field.

Will could hardly wait.

The office was just as tastefully decorated as the waiting room, rich mahogany wood and oil paintings of lovely scenery. To the far side was a fireplace and a desk, and in the center of the room sat two comfy looking leather chairs that faced one another.

“A pleasure to see you so soon,” Dr. Lecter –the Ripper –said, extending his hand. “I think we’d both agree that it is on much better terms than an arrest.”

It took Will a moment longer than necessary to shake his hand, but he did, awkwardly studying the two leather chairs. They looked arranged more for a stand-off than an actual conversation.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” he said, looking back to Lecter. “Whatever you said did the job.”

“I assure you that all that I did was tell the truth,” he replied, a quick smile flitting over his lips. It slipped past the professional veneer that he held, made it just a little easier to see the Ripper beneath. A secret for the two of them. The truth, but only just.

“Please, have a seat,” Lecter continued, motioning to the chairs. Will nodded, made his way to the one where his back wasn’t to the door, and he sat down in it, easing into the supple leather with only the mildest of stiffness. “Have you done this before?”

“Therapy?” Will asked, looking around. The loft above housed nothing but books upon books upon books, and he studied them with interest before he looked back to Lecter now seated across from him. “Oh, yes. Several times.”

“How did it work out for you?” he asked. He sat much the way Will thought he might, one leg crossed elegantly over the other, hands clasped in his lap. His expression was still blank, still shuttered to whatever thoughts had to be rushing though his mind. Was he surprised to see Will? Angry? Afraid? Impressed?

God, Will kind of hoped he was impressed. Afraid as well would be a bonus.

“Not too well. One of them told me I kept anticipating her questions, so I knew how to avoid them,” he admitted. He rubbed his ear, stopped when he realized the motion. Lecter’s eyes tracked it the way a bird of prey tracked a mouse in a field.

“Why now, then?”

Will smiled. “Because I finally found something interesting to talk about.”

Dr. Lecter didn’t speak for a while, and Will finally looked away from the corner of his glasses, startled to see an intent, probing expression. It was not so obvious as others, but there was a sensation like he could see into the back of his mind, peel the layers of the skin and find the truth beneath. Will made sure to hold very, very still.

“I’d like to help you, if I’m at all able,” Lecter said. He shifted and rested his hands on the arm rests. “I tend to recommend appointments at least once a week, increasing to two should the need arise but no more. My rate is two hundred per hourly session, although if you are of a lower income I do have a sliding rate.”

“I can pay,” Will assured him.

“If I may, can I ask how you were referred to me?”

“You come highly recommended off of google,” Will replied. That seemed to amuse the Ripper; at least, his eyes lit up and the edge of his lip turned. Will tracked its movement, then looked back to the edge of his glasses.

“How many therapists have you been to before you found your way to me?”

“…Growing up, my dad made me see one, once. Then there was one in high school, one my graduating year, one in the second year of college, and one right around graduating there.” He ticked them off on his fingers, wriggling them with some small bit of irony. “I guess the difference is that I’m seeking one out this time rather than someone shoving them at me.”

They met eyes again, and something taut was pressed to Will’s ribs, testing. There was a set to Lecter’s shoulders, like he was prepared to lash out at any moment. Will didn’t jump up to accuse, though –that would spoil the fun.

“What sort of thoughts intrude in the spaces of your mind?” Hannibal asked. “What most would you like to talk about?”

“Killing, Dr. Lecter,” he said, and he rubbed his mouth like he could soften the harsh sound of the consonant. “I think a lot about death.”

Hannibal nodded like he’d been expecting this, like he’d been waiting for this. “Do you fantasize about how you’d take someone’s life?”

“It’s more like…I recreate how someone else did it.” Will shifted, crossed a leg in order to match the Ripper’s. “Is this a session today, Dr. Lecter? Or is this some kind of consultation?”

“I have the time; consider this your first session, free of charge.” He shifted in his chair, crossed his legs the other way to get comfortable. “At the very least, you can ascertain whether or not the two of us would be a good fit.”

“I’m not worried so much about that,” Will replied. He tamped down the urge to show just how smug he felt. “…When I was twelve, I was put into special education classes because my social skills were sub-par. I was tested and found to be on the autistic spectrum, but high-functioning enough that I was allowed back into regular classes after I saw a few therapists and doctors. Things were…fine. Normal.

“In high school though, we were in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina happened, and there was…a lot of death. There was a lot of looting, desperation, murders…fear. There was a lot of fear.”

“Is that when they discovered that you have hyper-empathy disorder?” Lecter asked.

“Is it that obvious?”

“When one knows what to look for, yes. Tell me, do those glasses have a prescription?”

“No.”

“You avoid eyes.”

“Eyes are distracting,” Will explained. “When you’re trying to see something more than a physical appearance, eyes get in the way of everything else.”

“And I’m sure with your lack of love for many things, why look for something you don’t care to see?”

Will nodded at that, glanced down and pressed his palms together, lining up the fingers with careful precision. It reminded him of his last stint in therapy, a feeling of a cheese grater on his eyes, although he had to remind himself that he’d chosen to be here. He’d chosen to sit down in this room.

Because this was the lair of the Chesapeake Ripper.

“I have a confession,” he said, and he didn’t look up. He could imagine the look on the Ripper’s face at a statement like that. “While you may have gotten me out of an arrest, Dr. Lecter, it looks like Agent Crawford’s ability to keep me out on the streets is coming to an end.”

“An end?”

“Apparently I’m drawing too much attention to myself. I’m being taken to a safe house.”

“A safe house,” he mused, and Will glanced up in time to see the Ripper’s careful mask slip, a flicker of annoyance in the set of his jaw as he cupped his chin in hand and stared across the room contemplatively.

“I thought to tell you,” Will said. “If you thought we were a good fit, I was going to request a last-minute appointment for tomorrow. Just to get my affairs in order before I’m sent away somewhere that you can’t reach.”

There was silence once more in the spacious office. Will kept time with his heartbeats as the Chesapeake Ripper deliberately rose up and went to his desk, taking the time to grab a pen and casually open a small, leather bound book. He glanced across the way at Will, then down to the paper, and he jotted a couple of things down, shoulders squared.

“I can make time for tomorrow at seven-thirty sharp,” he said. “Does that suit you?”

“Do you trust me to be on time?” Will asked.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter looked up from his paper once more, and the smile he gave was something borderline feral. The shadows filled the hollowed spaces of his cheekbones, and Will wondered if that was how he looked when he first observed Will drive a knife into someone’s gut.

When no one was watching, did he always appear so hungry?

“Only time will tell,” he said calmly, and he nodded towards Will’s watch when it beeped. “Perhaps if you program it into your watch, you won’t be late.”

And Will couldn’t help but laugh, completely calm and somehow at ease, even as the doctor saw him out of his office with a hand pressed to the small of his back.

#LiaS scribbles #Ill Intentions #hannigram #slowburn hannigram #journalist!Will #Dark!Will #Grey!Will #hannibal #hannibal fanfic #hannibal au

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thecoroutfitters · 6 years

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Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: A guest contribution from David Hoes to The Prepper Journal. I love this. Goes well as a supplement to the recent post on Prime Locations for Post Disaster Salvage. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share then enter the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

Okay, I admit it. I am a scrounger. I don’t do it out of necessity; I do it because I enjoy getting a bargain and building my prepping stockpiles. Now, I need to clarify that I do not steal things. I do not take towels from hotels or silverware from restaurants. I do not find and keep items such as wallets, credit cards, or electronic devices that can be traced to an owner. I do not keep anything that someone is likely to try to reclaim. Such items I will turn in somewhere. If I see someone drop something, I will tell them.

I’m also not going to discuss using coupons or discounts. These are both good ideas, but have already been covered.

That said, I do take items that are unlikely to ever get back to their original owner, and things that I am allowed to take or that are come with something I have purchased. If in doubt – I ask. Here are some ideas:

Personal protective equipment: Most hospitals and some doctor’s offices now offer free respirators to visitors. I’ve picked-up several of these. Protective gloves are often available in the ER or in patient rooms, and some give-out small bottles of hand sanitizer. I have a little psoriasis on my hands, and they are happy to give them out. In the quantities a hospital purchases them, they are almost free.

Wipes and anti-bacterial solution: Doctor’s offices and medical facilities often have solutions or wipes available for free. They bill your insurance $150 for a few minutes with a doctor. They don’t sweat the little stuff. Heck, ask your doctor for appropriate medical samples while you are at it. You never know what you may get.

Gauze, wipes, Band-Aids, and surgical tape: I have asked if I could take a few gauze pads, alcohol wipes, and mostly used rolls of tape when I have gone to labs and imaging facilities. They are normally okay with it.

Salt, pepper, sugar, condiment packets, and straws: These all have survival and medical uses. Grab a few each time you go to a fast-food place. During the depression in the 1930’s, those down on their luck would go to a diner and order a cup of hot water for a few cents. They would then add ketchup and other condiments to make a sort-of tomato soup. There is actually enough vitamin C in a few packs of ketchup to prevent scurvy. Is this stealing? If taken in reasonable quantities, I do not believe so. If I order a cup of coffee, part of the price I pay goes to cream and sugar. My ex used to take her coffee with 4 creams and 4 sugars. I do not use either, so I do not think taking one or two of each is stealing. Now, taking a handful? Yes. That is stealing. Asking for salt and condiments at a drive through? Nope. What they put in the bag is yours.

Soaps and shampoos: Yes, in a motel I take what they put in my room. I do not consider it stealing; I believe that I have paid for it and can take it. When I or a loved one is in the hospital, I take whatever they give as well. Hospital staff has told me on numerous occasions that insurance paid for it and if I don’t take it they will throw it out. Also, many hotels provide courtesy tooth brushes, tooth paste, and combs upon request. If they give it to you, it isn’t stealing, even if you don’t really need it. But no, I don’t take towels or rolls of toilet paper.

Candles at church: Many churches toss-out candles after one or two uses, and may give-away the used ones for free if you ask. Although some now use propane or natural gas simulated candles, those that still use candles tend to use ones of very high quality. Small stubs can be melted down and used to create larger candles. My church had a Christmas Eve service where everyone was given a candle to hold. They were lit for about 10 minutes and not reused. Hundreds of good candles were thrown out.

Community events: Where I live, they have several free community disaster planning, home and garden, and wellness events each year. They give-out items such as samples of seeds, dental floss and toothbrushes, band aids, energy bars, bottled water, samples of vitamins, water bottles, and other swag. At one event, the first 50 people through the door got a bag with some very nice stuff.

Food banks: I have been fortunate enough to have survived without going to one. However, if you are looking to build a small emergency stockpile, why not go and pick-up a few cans of food? They will probably mostly have items near or past the expiration date, but canned food is generally safe to eat long after the expiration date. I have eaten MRE’s and canned foods that were 10 years past their expiration dates and suffered no ill effects. The exceptions are if the can is damaged, in poor condition, or if the can contains acidic products such as tomatoes. Is it wrong to take food from a food bank if you are not immediately facing hunger? I think the answer is, it depends. If you are sufficiently wealthy to purchase your food and have plenty of money to stock-up on prepping supplies, I would say that it is wrong. However, if you can buy all you now need but are unable to afford to purchase a enough for a 72 hour emergency supply of food to see you through a disaster, I would say not. I donate money to food banks, and I give so that people do not go hungry. As a donor, I am not bothered by those who use the food bank to prepare for future hard times.

Wooden Pallets: I live near a business that sells pools and hot tubs, and another that sells paving stones. They dispose of dozens of wooden pallets each week. I have used them to create raised garden beds, for firewood, and for woodworking projects including building a bed frame for a futon.

Road Debris: When I drive, I keep an eye on the shoulder and medians. I frequently find bandannas, bungee cords, tools and knives, Bic Lighters (still good), coolers, storage totes, thermoses, 5-gallon plastic buckets, gas cans, and a variety of other items. Bandanas are my favorite find; I have found 30 or more. Bikers lose bandannas like crazy. Wash and reuse them. They have lots of survival uses. One of my favorite finds took place a few weeks ago. I found a Camillus Titanium folding knife lying in the road. It was a bit scuffed-up and not very sharp, but I cleaned it up, sharpened it, and it has become my EDC knife.

Post-disaster giveaways: Here in Florida, following Hurricane Irma, the County and many different organizations gave-out a lot of food and water to anyone who came by. No questions were asked. A friend of mine got dozens of bags of cookies, boxes of Pringles chips, ten cases of Civilian MRE’s and ten cases of bottled water. It is unfortunate, but the ones who give and the ones who distribute often have very different goals. Churches, civic groups and charities may raise money for 1,000 meals. They want to see 1,000 different people get food. Those who distribute the aid may not care. If one person arrives with a truck that can carry 1,000 meals, they may let them have it all. They don’t want to carry it back at the end of the day. They will report back that the food was distributed and everyone will be happy. Don’t be a pig, but if you can put it to good use, do so.

Free bicycles: I am only speaking about Florida, but I think this is true for other areas. Law Enforcement departments recover a huge number of bicycles that have been abandoned, discarded or stolen and that are not claimed by owners. In some places jail inmates repair them as part of a work program. It is not widely advertised, but there may be periodic giveaways where serviceable bikes are distributed on first come basis. I once had two bikes stolen in a particular county. One of the two was recovered, but I had already replaced it, so I donated it to this program.

Why am I mentioning bicycles? Well, because I believe that in a TEOTWAWKI situation, they may become the most important method of transportation.

Complaining about lousy stuff: I wrote a negative review about a pair of gloves I bought on Amazon. I included a photo clearly showing the defect. They sent me a new pair without making me return the old pair. The old pair went into my preps box.

I have complained about the quality of canned or packaged foods. They sent me coupons for free products. I DO NOT invent complaints to get free stuff. In some cases, the original product was so nasty I did not want coupons for two free ones. That was the case where I bought a can of collard greens that contained a large cockroach. Still, if you pay for a product and you really get something nasty, complain. Then add it to your preps. If SHTF and you have nothing else, you may be willing to risk eating a cucaracha. Even sending a suggestion may earn you a coupon for a free product. I told a company that sells crackers and tuna snacks that the crackers crumbled too easily. They send me a coupon for a free package. I did not lie and I did not steal.

Garbage day: I’m not going to go into the finer points of dumpster diving, but the finds possible on garbage day are incredible. I have changed residences 18 times since leaving High School. Many were interstate moves. When your car and U-Haul are packed to the max and there is still more stuff, you put it on the curb. I once had a Saturn so overloaded it could barely make 50 mph on an Interstate. I left a lot of valuable stuff behind that could have really helped some prepper. If you see a big pile of stuff waiting for the garbage truck, most of it probably still works.

I realize that my suggestions may be distasteful to some. It is much more fun to purchase prepper items from Amazon or WalMart. In America, second-hand, discarded and used are bad words. Nevertheless, if SHTF, scrounging skills will become more valuable than shopping on-line with a credit card skills. And if you have some more ideas, I would appreciate hearing them.

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