#especially because here breaking the prime directive would be an act of saving so many lives

[cityontheedgeofforever]

watching tng s1 ep21 symbiosis foaming at the mouth im so angryyyyyy.

its the episode with the two planets one has an incurable disease the other has the cure and exchanges for the other planet basically enslaving the other to send them all their resources and having no other industry other than creating the cure.

then crusher figures out that it isnt a cure, its a drug. and the planet with the "cure" knows its a drug.

and picard refuses to tell the enslaved planet, only denying them the resources and help to fix their ships so that eventually the enslaved planet will lack the ability to pay for their "medicine", so that they figure the secret out themselves.

this is why i really struggle with picard (wrote out "hate picard" first but trying to be fairrrr) because if this would have been sisko. kirk, etc they would have told them. and like picard has broken the prime directive before when it wasnt flexible enough(ie to save wesleys life on edo) why not here? to save a planet from suffering, and perhaps decades more of this illusion if the slaver planet still continues to supply the other.

and i also hate that the show robs crusher of the independence to tell them herself, even if would have only been in a roundabout way like giving them the clues to figure it out themselves. it makes the episode less compelling and less interesting. it weakens her as a character and as a person. it makes her less interesting and less complex. it makes her a bad doctor.

at the end of the episode i am just left with no respect for picard and crusher, who are no better than the slaver planet.

[the-writer-ofthe-fandoms]

Symbiote  (Lucifer Morningstar) (Ch. 10)

Pairing: Lucifer Morningstar x Symbiote! GN!Reader  Words:2.0K+ Warning(s): Talks of trauma, gore warning A/N: Heyo sorry for the l o n g wait, but life is life. heres the next installment of Symbiote~ Sorry if I miss anyone on the taglist, there are a lot of people asking and its hard to keep track. Chapters: Chapter 1, | Chapter 2 |  Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 |

------

There was a moment of brief, heavy silence before a soft spoken answer was received: "Sure thing."

-----

Lucifer watched as (Y/N) immediately melted into a deep sleep and he expected Venom followed in suit. It was a cute site, he would be lying by saying their sleeping face was not cute. The way their lips were slightly parted, the soft snores, the way you were gripping onto and holding onto the pillow...

He shook his head, taking one last look before he moved himself away from the bed. There was a strange feeling that swarmed and filled up his chest. It was a feeling he had only felt a few times before in his long past. He couldn't quite place his finger on the strange sensation but tried to shrug it off. That can be saved for his future visit with Linda.

It was an interesting twist to his life, meeting (Y/N) and Venom. He thought the only thing was Chloe making him vulnerable but it seems like his time on Earth is adding more spice to his life.

Lucifer pulled out his cellphone and sent a quick message for Mazikeen, telling her to come to the pent house in the morning. After hitting send he closed out of the app and swiped towards his camera. Him taking a picture wasn't for black mail purposes, but his impulse to have some sort of silly photo on his phone was high. Lucifer crouched down near his bed and held up his phone, taking a rather adorable selfie of him with his tongue and (Y/N) asleep.

Lucifers head snapped in the direction of his elevators and the sound of an all too familiar, angelic brothers voice.

"Luci, I need to talk to you."

"Oh no." He gulped. He was panicking internally and lightly pulled the covers over his sleeping body guard as he figured out something to tell his brother. "Stay. Here." He gritted his teeth and made his way to his brother. "What is it Amenadiel, I was in the middle of something."

"I heard you were working with the human; the strange one that we aren't entirely sure is human."

"And what about it, Amenadiel?"

"You shouldn't mess with-"

"Let me stop you there. Were you not the angel to work with a devil and to work with me?"

"Yes but-"

"Listen, I have met with them and gotten know them. They are completely harmless."

"Are you completely sure?" Amenadiel stared down Lucifer with an intense look. "Are you sure they won't harm humans."

Lucifer went to speak but had to watch himself. He knew that (Y/N) and Venom were virtually harmless to good humans, but he also knew that Venom ate humans. Granted they were criminals, so basically almost harmless.

"They won't harm bad humans." Lucifer rolled his eyes when Amenadiel gave him a look. "You allow me to do the same thing: punishing the bad." That seemed to shut his angel brother up for a moment.

"Just be careful, Lucifer. You don't fully know them or what they are capable of."

"Thats the fun of this whole experience." Lucifer devilishly smirked while Amenadiel rolled his eyes. His brother didn't say anymore and just left. The King of Hells smirk fell to a more relaxed expression before he went back to his bed to make sure that (Y/N) was still in bed. He was expecting them still there, not an empty bed.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, although he kept his voice low. He listened carefully for any sound in his penthouse. Lucifers head perked when he heard a sound coming from the bathroom; it sounds like there is water running. He stepped to the bathroom in his bedroom and leaned his head close to the door,and it definitely sounded like the shower was running.

"(Y/N) darling, are you okay?" He was hoping either Venom or (Y/N) were sober enough to what they were doing.

"Fiiiine." A long, drawn out reply came from the other side. That reply did not sound sober. "Venom is still knocked out."

"What are you doing?"

"Gonna wash me and my clothes."

"Why don't you come out before you do that and wait until tomorrow."

"No!" After that shout he heard a thump on the floor. "Ow I fell..."

"I'm coming in, (Y/N)." He didn't waste time to open the unlocked door, but hoped that they weren't fully unclothed. Usually Lucifer wouldn't mind but in these circumstances he would like to respect his employee. He saw them sprawled on the floor with what looks like a cut on their forehead.

"Hnng..." They moaned out as Lucifer rushed to them.

"Your forehead..." There was a lot of blood, although he knew the alcohol had a part in that.

"Don't worry, Venom can heal it in the morning." Lucifer watched as they pushed themselves off the ground. "I gotta- I gotta lay down."

"Just lean on me, I will walk you to the bed." He wrapped an around their waist and slowly moved them out from the bathroom and onto the bed. "I will get a towel to clean all the blood on your face alright?" He helped them sit on the edge of the bed before darting back to the bathroom for a hand towel.

"I'm not usually like this." (Y/N) said quietly, their words still slurred but they sounded much more sober than earlier. "Don't ever give us alcohol like that again."

Lucifer didn't respond, he had no idea what to say. He began dabbing the cloth on their face, trying his hardest to be gentle while wiping away the blood on their cute face. Lucifer blinked... Cute? He mentally shook away that thought and continued to swipe away the blood.

"I'm sorry." They muttered. "We don't mean to be trouble."

"No trouble at all, especially compared to me." Lucifer chuckled. "Now before you go back to bed, are you sure your cut is fine? It looks pretty bad."

"Yea, like I said: Venom can fix that. He can fix a lot, he is currently fixing me right now." The drunk (Y/N) slightly giggled.

"What does that mean?" Lucifer felt a little bad for prying, but this was a prime opportunity to learn more about the host and the alien.

"I'm a perfect match, but on scans my body basically looks like it is actively dying, like complete organ failure. Venom is preventing that from happening." They sighed and looked downwards towards their chest. "He heals physical wounds too."

Lucifer was about to interrupt them when he saw their hand tug at the collar of their shirt,but when he saw just a small portion of a jagged, dark scar he almost froze. He has seen many horrid things that do not affect him, but this affected him in a sympathetic way. He had barely met the two but he knew (Y/N) and Venom were decent people compared to a lot of humans on Earth.

"If he can heal a gaping hole through my body..." They yawned, and continued. "He can heal a cut. Anyways, I sleep now." They laid their head on the pillow and almost instantly they fell asleep.

------

Your head was pounding when you were awoken by sunlight. You were sure this was a hangover and definitely sure you were feeling Venoms too. You didn't have to look around to know you weren't in your apartment, the feel of the silk sheets against your skin was a dead give away. Letting your eyes investigate your surroundings you could conclude this was Lucifers pent house. You couldn't piece much together after you fell asleep (the first time that is) but there were strange memories that were popping up; like going to the bathroom and Lucifer helping you a second time to bed.

You swung your legs over the edge of the bed and took a moment before standing up. You took steps to the bathroom, which gave you a sense of a deja vu, to freshen up a bit. When you got to the bathroom your (e/c) eyes widened at the site in the mirror. There was a nice sized gash on your head, starting from yohr hairline to barely above your brow.

"Venom buddy, are you awake?" You spoke, although your voice definitely sounded raspy from just waking up. "I need you to heal this." No response, the alien still must be asleep. As irritating as it was because you needed him, a small break from constant chatter was nice.

You sighed, and spent time with the rest of your appearance. You definitely had bedhead hair but it wasn't too much of a struggle to neaten out. You splashed some cool water on your face and took advantage of the bottle of mouth wash that was on the counter. With a stretch you left the washroom and bedroom, hoping to find Lucifer.

Right as you entered the main room the elevator doors slid open and there was the Devil you were looking for.

"Ah good your awake." He grinned and set down a bag and coffee. Here is breakfast for you. We have another case so eat fast."

"O-okay." You yawned while talking, opening the bag and taking out the bagel he got.

"I wasn't sure how you liked your coffee, or if you liked coffee, and bagel."

"Don't worry about it, I just hope the food helps with the hangover." You begin to chow down fast, hoping the food would stir Venom. "Venom is still asleep so he hasn't healed the cut. Which I want to ask if you know how I got it."

"Oh right. You went to take a shower with your clothes on and you fell and hit your head on the counter."

"Ah... Well I hope you forgive my behavior."

"Trust me, I have seen you humans act way worse while not under the influence."

"Nibble... No more alcohol..." Venoms voice finally was heard.

"Good morning Venom. Can you heal up my forehead please?" You heard grumble from him but you could feel him start to pull your forehead wound close. You could feel his goopy self start to enclose the wound before sinking back into you.

"Less subtle than I was expecting." Lucifers face looked almost impressed. You quickly finished your bagel and grabbed the coffee.

"I can drink this on the way. Do you know anything about the case your joining?"

"Only that it pertains to our killer." Lucifer made his way back to his elevator and you quickly join him.

"The Stalker case? This is a quick escalation from the last scene."

"Well according to what Chloe briefly told me, the crime scene confirms its Gene. And that we got the reports back from his prison he was released on parole but he killed his officer."

"Well shit."

-----

You and Lucifer arrived at the crime scene in around 10 minutes after leaving his place. Thankfully Lucifer lent you his sunglasses to help with the headache. Venom thought they looked cool too which was a plus. Officers eyed you as you stuck close to Lucifers side; they eyed you more than they did last time. You rolled your eyes and continued following Lucifer into the toy store.

"Detective!" Lucifer greeted loudly as he approached his partner. You slid the sunglasses onto the top of your head since the room was fairly dim.

"Another dead body..." Venom growled.

"Lucifer, (Y/N)." She greeted Lucifer with a look of annoyance but gave you a small smile. Although you can tell she seemed to be hiding something... Call it a journalistic hunch. "I need you both to see this. Now." She brought you both to around the counter where the store clerk would usually be, but there you saw a dead man.

The words 'stay away' were carved into his arms and you noticed the same two words were written next to his body.

"I take it our killer finger painted more in a different room?" Lucifer asked humorously.

"Yes he did in the store room." Detective Decker glared at him. "But he broke his pattern; he left these." She handed you two evidence bags, both with paper in them. One was a piece of college ruled paper with what seems to be an address.

The next was a picture of you outside the last crime scene with Lucifer laughing.

"Looks like he knows your investigating him again, (Y/N)."

"Well... Shit."

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

Tag List: @cassiopeia-barrow @fandomsstolemylife00 @child-of-awesome647 @fairtaldes@ishipmybed@lazysaint101 @thetrashwriter @geek-girl9902@alexwinchester23@justanotherfanpassingby@miraculousincorrectquotes@kaatsuko@not-your-average-url @no-ninya-here @gaiatheroyalrabbit @singleandlonely @lazysaint101 @the-silentium@bladedscope@zakgba @hearts-creed @nightshade-nebula @dudeitwastotallyyou@ghostlyrose2@sexylingerielover69 @kickasskittie23 @whovianayesha @professionalunicorn15​ @migirl323@collectionofmadnes @alfoos@fangirlanotherjust @hearts-creed @kaatsuko @spirithorse100@roxytheimmortal @nightshade7117 @night-girls-world @erinkellyxxx @iheartaomine @that-idiot125@wooseokee @peachysinnermon @izzy10718 @mrcaptain-crunch-sir @gamerdot @no-regrets-just-confusion @abigailredgrave @babyxbb @socially-unaccepptable-dameron @truthdaze @villian-friend @myfallendarkness @elscones @duhitztrinidy @donteatmycookiesplease @voluptuouspelko @inumorph​ @1scarlet-ruins3​ @lonely-burger​ @tilldeathdosblog​ @bithepowerofgay​ @ xxbeckybeexx-blog @perfect-trini-choices​ @eprilin​ @justaproudslytherpuff​ @ who-da-hell-is-alphie @ bee-wrecker   @ greens-and-emoshit @ adidassneakers-andcigarettes @ iris-iiridescent @ ashthebootyholetickler  plxstic-rose @elle-r​

[a-student-out-of-time]

Rambling about V3 Again

Today I saw a really interesting quote from author Brandon Sanderson and it honestly got me thinking. He talked about what he considers the single worst thing you can do with critique in writing, and that’s if a critic “tries to make your story into one they would write, rather a better version of one you want to write.”

That got me thinking about V3.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that V3 is a very polarizing game, and I’ve seen many people talk about how they would’ve preferred to see the story play out, from character arcs to deaths to story conclusions. And while I do honestly enjoy seeing alternative perspectives and takes and AU’s, I feel like a lot about the game, what it’s trying to say and be, is skewed by those ideals.

I’m not saying that the critiques about the game are invalid, because there are a fair share of flaws with the game. What I am saying is that we end up talking so much about what we wish V3 could’ve been that what V3 was trying to be often ends up lost in that, and I want to talk about it.

It wasn’t until I really saw this quote that I was able to articulate all my likes and dislikes about the game and the reactions to it into a cohesive whole, which is what I’d like to do here.

So let’s ask this: what was V3 really trying to be?

Let’s start from the game’s theme: the relationship between truth and lies. This is best exemplified by the fact that you have the option to lie during trials, that you can use deception to find the truth. That’s a very different take from the previous games, where hope was associated with finding and confronting the truth.

Kokichi is another example, as he’s a self-admitted liar who claims to lead a criminal organization and it’s hard to tell exactly what he’s thinking or saying. Yet Kokichi actually helps bring the group to several truths: he helps find the culprit in trials, he reveals Maki’s identity as the Ultimate Assassin, tells the truth about Gonta murdering Miu and it’s thanks to his actions that the group later discovers the reality of their situation.

Throughout their journey, the group is confronted by numerous truths they don’t want to acknowledge, even refusing to do so and attacking people who continue to push them through. And with every revelation, there’s always those lingering details that don’t really make a lot of sense.

Let’s look at the game’s main narrative. At the start of the game, Kaede remembers she was kidnapped in broad daylight, thrown into a van, and brought to some abandoned school with a bunch of other people. She doesn’t act like a particularly nice person and is dressed differently, at least until the Monokubs arrive and give everyone their new clothes and memories. From that point, the narrative shifts considerably.

Kaede is suddenly an outgoing, optimistic leader and Shuichi is a sullen, withdrawn detective who serves as her deuteragonist for Chapter 1. She’s resolved to escape the Killing Game and tries to rally the group together. However, when her methods don’t prove successful and they start drifting away from her, she considers saving them by any means necessary and goes so far as to attempt murder against the mastermind. When that happens, she’s found guilty and executed, leaving Shuichi to take up her role as protagonist.

As you go through the game, using devices called flashback lights that apparently reawaken lost memories, you learn more and more about the reason that the group was brought here: the Gofer Project. When meteors began raining down on earth, all seemed lost until they established this project to send a group of survivors into space to colonize a new planet. A group of Ultimates.

They had established early on that Ultimates have even greater rights in this world: they’re the only ones allowed to vote and hold office. As the meteors came down and the news of this project got out, some people formed a cult that believed it was divine judgement and that mankind should be destroyed. That’s when they began the Ultimate Hunt, pursuing the candidates for the Gofer Project across the world. The Ultimates, with no other way out, decided to erase their memories of talent and live their last days as normal people.

To protect them, the people in charge spread a false story that the Ultimates had died, even holding a fake funeral for them and sent them into space secretly. However, while everyone was in cold sleep, one member of the cult- Kokichi- had sneaked aboard and piloted the ship back to the ruined and now inhospitable earth. They have no way back and no way to survive outside, and thanks to Kokichi’s claims to be the mastermind, they’ve been killing each for nothing. The group ultimately loses hope.

However, they’re resolved to continue on in their fight against the mastermind when they find a flashback light that reveals they weren’t just any ultimates: they were the next generation of ultimates from Hope’s Peak Academy. It wasn’t really the meteorites that got everyone, it was an alien virus that pushed mankind to the brink of extinction. That the cult that rose in the wake of this was Ultimate Despair.

That seems like a definitive way to link this game with its predecessors...until you really begin to stop and pick it apart. If this was about saving mankind, why did nobody have their memories right away? Why would you only bring 16 people? Why students who don’t make them suited to colonization? Why people like a death row inmate, a serial killer, a self-proclaimed liar and criminal, and an assassin?

Furthermore, going through many Fte’s highlights how much of the characters’ backstories seem very out there. Gonta wasn’t raised by wolves but a race of dinosaur people living in the woods, Kirumi is so hyper-competent that she became prime minister during the meteor crisis, Korekiyo’s killed almost 100 women and yet has never been caught, Maki can attend high school despite Japanese orphanages being too underfunded for kids to usually attend, Tenko’s neo-aikido breaks all the rules of traditional aikido and she's impulsive, has low pain tolerance, and disregards fair rules, none of which are very befitting of a martial artist.

And to conclude, even I thought that the reveal of their connection to Hope’s Peak felt very fanficy and out there, especially when the game had made no references or implications of it beforehand. But the reason for all of this is simple and effective:

None of this is real. It’s all staged.

Chapter 6 reveals that everything from their identities to the outside world they thought they knew was all just a fabrication. In truth, Tsumugi shows herself as the mastermind and that they’re actually in the 53rd season of an in-universe show called Danganronpa. Something alluded to even in the beginning of the game with the Team Danganronpa logo. This moment was very make or break for a lot of people, but let’s treat it fairly.

According to Tsumugi, the outside world has become a peaceful, boring place and Danganronpa is the only source of real entertainment the people have. A place where people literally come to have their identities replaced with those of Ultimates and then made to kill each other. This, as it turns out, was an outgrowth of the actual series we’d played before. A game that’s gone over 53 times.

This revelation is devastating for the characters. The lives and memories they’d known were all fabrications, which Tsumugi claims to have intentionally written. The Flashback lights were designed to implant fake memories to manipulate them, which is why that Hope’s Peak connection was set up after everyone gave up following the reveal of the outside world. A truth that could lead the world to despair, a lie that could lead the world to hope.

She even goes so far as to show everyone’s audition tapes, claiming that Kaede, Kaito, and Shuichi himself were willing to participate in the killings out of sheer misanthropy, popularity, and morbid excitement 

Kiibo is also revealed to be the audience’s means of interacting with the game, able to carry out their wishes and can even be hijacked and used as a way to fight against the characters’ decisions.

In the end, Tsumugi claims that the ongoing battle of hope vs despair needs to continue in perpetuity and that the survivors need to sacrifice someone, since only two people can survive Danganronpa. Shuichi, however, convinces Maki and Himiko not to vote for anyone and actually convinces the in-universe audience to give up on the series. Kiibo then blows the set to hell and allows Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko the chance to escape and see the world outside and what sort of influence they could have.

Now, let’s this break this down piece by piece here, because I feel like this part of the game is often conflated. Often I’ve seen people say that Chapter 6 is a giant middle finger to fans of the series, that nothing about the series really mattered, or that the flaws of the game can simply be attributed to bad writing on the creator’s part.

I honestly used to be in that camp myself, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I feel those statements don’t hold up to scrutiny. We often conflate writing and narrative decisions we don’t like with bad writing. However, if the creator deliberately wants the narrative to move in that direction and has made intentional foreshadowing, references, and motivations that match it, we can’t simply equate that with it being “badly written.”

It’s not bad simply because we would’ve preferred they do something different. There’s a lot of very acclaimed books out there that I’ll admit I don’t care for because of their narrative decisions, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re badly-written.

Furthermore, if something intentionally doesn’t make sense in-story, that is not bad writing. That is purposeful on the part of the creator, not a plot hole. The Gofer Project is not supposed to be a logical narrative, it’s meant to serve V3′s role: deconstruction of the nature of the series. It does this in many different ways:

Sequelization: 53 is a ridiculous amount of entries in a franchise and as I’m sure we’re all aware, as the number of entries goes up, the writing quality tends to go down. The Gofer Project story was purposefully meant to be nonsensical because it’s a story in an in-universe franchise that jumped the shark long ago.

A lot of people found it confusing or ridiculous that Shuichi and Kaede would have a romantic connection despite knowing each other barely a few days. That’s also the point; quick romances are a convenient narrative device to establish a means for character growth, followed by fridging her, a bad narrative trope designed to propel Shuichi toward development. Tsumugi even said as much during Chapter 6.

Similarly, Maki’s role in the story and her feelings for Kaito were reminiscent of that as well, with him helping her come out of her shell. 

When you go back, you can see Danganronpa is loaded with references to other series. Tsumugi is an obsessive otaku and went so far as to fill the entire story with deliberate references and callbacks to things she enjoys.

The Monokubs are deliberate references to executive decisions to add more marketable and merchandisable characters as the series drags on.

The fact that there are (supposedly) people willing to sign up for a killing game deconstructs the idea that some in the fandom may have had. That is, actually being in a killing game would not be fun or exciting, but horrific and traumatizing. Most of us wouldn’t be badass detectives or heroes, we’d be scared out of our minds, afraid, and want to find a way out.

Furthermore, Shuichi being repeatedly told that he’s just a fictional character and that his role is to be the protagonist, to go through hardships and come out stronger for the audience’s entertainment pisses him off so much that he wants no part of it. 

The climax is ultimately a deconstruction of what the series is famous for: the battle of hope vs. despair. In-universe, this has been reduced down to a simple narrative where the audience wants the same thing again and again: to see hope win in the end. Because hope keeps winning, the audience keeps wanting more. It’s become so formulaic that the audience doesn’t want to break out of its shell and just wants to see it over and over.

The final PTA against Kiibo is not meant to be an insult to the audience, but a representation of fighting against toxicity and entitlement in the fanbase, especially the ones that don’t want change. It’s not saying “you’re stupid for liking this series,” it’s saying “don’t be like these people.”

And how does the game? An unsatisfying ending that’s so bad that it drives the audience to give up on the show, finally allowing the killing to stop. Tsumugi decides she can’t live in a world without her favorite show and decides to die.

And that brings me to what I think is the ultimate thing that people conflate about the ending: that it’s all fiction, so nothing about it matters. That the entire franchise was fake, so it’s not worth your time.

That’s exactly the opposite of what V3 is trying to say.

First, Tsumugi is a completely unreliable narrator. The kind of person who let fiction consume her entire life, yet she believes it can’t change reality. She’s a liar and a hypocrite, and there’s no way of knowing if anything she says about the outside world is even true. It could be like she says or it might not be.

The fact that they have technology that can remove memories and add fake ones adds an entire dimension of ambiguity to everything she says, especially when you consider how the beginning of the game does not match up with what she says. We have no idea what the kids were really like before the killing game, so why should we believe anything she says?

And how can we be certain of her claims that she just wrote everything as planned? Kokichi and Kaito managed to put together a plan that completely threw her and Monokuma for a loop

Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko ultimately choosing to take the words of Kaede, Kaito, and Tenko to heart, even if they were part of a fictional narrative, is proof that they still had an influence on the trio. They choose to take something meaningful from their experiences regardless of the reality of their situation. And that’s something we all do.

The media we consume has an influence over who we are as people, and it’s part of why so many of us have such strong attachments to works we love. They were often influential in help shape who we are as people now, for good and for ill, and it’s important to take that into account.

V3′s message is that yes, that is important, and that you should read and enjoy stories and fiction, just as long as you don’t let it consume your life. They can influence you and even the world at large, and so it’s our responsibility as writers, artists, and creators to use that influence positively, to use the medium as a way to change the world for the better. That the only way for stale franchises that we’re tired of seeing over and over is to demand change, even if that means walking out on them. That the only way for things to change is for us to take action and demand change.

And by the end, we may not see immediate results, but we can at least work hard at trying to bring them about. V3 ends with Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko facing an uncertain future in a world they really know nothing about, but hopeful that their actions can and will change the world for the better. Real life doesn’t have solid, satisfying conclusions and it always doesn’t play out like a story, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on ever finding something satisfying or hopeful out there.

This, by no means, is me saying that V3 is a flawless story. I can point to numerous critiques that I still think hold water. However, Sanderson’s point is that we shouldn’t criticize a work based on what we wish it was rather than how it is and what it was trying to do.

I know there’s a lot about the story that bothers people, I know there’s a lot that wasn’t polished and a lot that feels uncomfortable and hard to swallow. Like Shuichi, coming out feeling confused, lost, unsure of what to do, but choosing to see merit and things to take to heart even in a story that turned out to be full of lies and uncomfortable truths.

If you didn’t enjoy V3, I wouldn’t force you to enjoy it. If you did love it, then you should love it. These are all just my thoughts on a story that, as time goes on, honestly feels more and more relevant to me.

[kshitij1997]

All frozen characters belong to the Walt Disney company, all I own is this retelling.

Facing what the river knows

Elsa hadn't felt so giddy and light-hearted in a long time. It was a moment of pure joy and ecstasy after all. How many people were fortunate enough to reach absolution in their own lifetime? Fewer were those who got to have all the questions they ever had about themselves, their origin and their world.

The rarest of all were those who got to witness the fact that all the sacrifices they had made for the good of others were worth the suffering.

And chosen were the ones who got the sign of love and affection that they had always yearned for from the people that mattered to them the most.

Elsa wept in gratitude as a huge weight had ben lifted off her shoulders. For the first time in her life she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Sure, being queen and being able to rule for the people had always brought her some satisfaction and pride, but this….this was private, this was personal. It was far better than when she had struck out in defiance to the world when she had built her monument of solitude. It was magnificent, but hollow. For what was the joy in creating if no one else could appreciate your creation? Oh, creativity was truly a marvellous thing.

The mere thought of creativity sent a huge burst of power through her. In that moment, she felt on top of world, someone who could experience past, present and future all together at the same time. Someone who could move continents if they wanted to. She let loose with the thickest blanket of snow she had ever conjured. It was an intricate, delicate dance she was executing at the moment. One moment with the poise and motion of a kind, delicate breeze, another moment the force and power of a hurricane, yet another moment with the kinetic energy of a bolt of lightning, and yet another with the gravitas and defiance of a mountain rising up from the sea against all the strength gravity could conjure to pull it down. And finally, the delicate yet laborious motion of life being created and giving rise to something unique in the universe.

In that moment, Elsa asked herself, is this what the ancient Norse giants felt when they created the universe from the cadaver of their ancestor? Joy, satisfaction, power and peace? Her mind raced back to the moment she had built her castle. She had felt rebellious and powerful sure, but she realized now that there was something missing. Something she only achieved when an act of true love saved her from a horrible death. She glad for everything that she had faced in her life so far, the pain, the heartbreak, the anger, the loathing, the suffering. She wouldn't be here now if all that didn't happen. She wouldn't be the person she was now if she had forever stood aloof against her life and the world. In that moment, she realized that all things good or bad in life, ultimately made one stronger. That was a very important life lesson for her; to embrace life with the good and the bad, as they were what made life worth living in the end. As distant as a galaxy were those moments of suicidal thoughts she had felt after her bitter spat with Anna inside her fortress, when her own creation was looking down on her for being so cold hearted, cruel and cowardly. As distant were the moments of self-hatred when Olva called her out on her behaviour during the coronation when she used terrible words to put her other sister down.

She was grateful that she had the chance to make amends.

She was broken out of her philosophy as the finished sum of her labours became clear to her. A whole bunch of statues that seemed to be sentient, however frozen in a moment of time far gone, or something otherworldly that could happen in the distant future. The future was hazy to make out, even if there were some notable achievements that could be made out; how humans might conquer the skies someday, how one day they may witness a miracle of technology, through which they could see a story being told on a contraption that resembled a curtain yet, without a wrinkle, they were able to witness something as universal as true love and family unfold in front of them. How one day, the oppressed might gain courage and throw their colonial masters to forge their own identity in the world. It was murky but encouraging, as humanity might learn to be more sensitive towards each other. Or not, as she could sense cataclysmic events taking shaping in the centuries to come. Events she didn't wish to think about lest she fell into baseless existential thoughts about everything.

In contrast, the past seemed much sharper, though it had an uncertainty of a different kind. Multiple events happening in tandem, and some events happening yet leading to multiple different outcomes. The curious soul in her was fascinated even as she saw the dome of the Hagia Sophia in purple instead of the turquoise, how she saw two Taj Mahals instead of one, one white marble and the other from black igneous rock. How the deserts once used to be green, and how there used to more freshwater lakes.

It was wonderful to see, but as she approached the past further, it became a lot more detailed, especially when her memories of her own life and the people in the life came to be. How her childhood was a lot happier than she remember it, how Olva and Anna were always by her side, through thick and thin. She almost had to turn away when she witnessed the accident from a different perspective, when Anna was struck in the head and Olva endured a head injury from the crashing towers of ice and snow she had built that night for their playtime. It was painful, but her new mantra of taking the good as well as the bad in her stride helped weather the edge of the moment. Still it was tough not to cry in that moment; it would take a lifetime, even after this moment of paradise to recover from those events in her childhood. But it had all become better in the end, she told herself, which brought her some solace. She then witnessed in full force how Anna and Olva adjusted to a life without Elsa to play with, how Anna would plead day after day for her to come out and build a snowman she would never find the courage to build, how Olva would regularly shove letters under her door so that she would know what was going on, how her parents had increasingly bitter spats and fights on how to deal with her powers. How Anna grew more childish and desperate to escape the terrible feelings of abandonment, how Olva's issues with pain, addiction and rage grew worse with time and how she lashed out viciously against those who threatened her family. Elsa felt responsible for all this and made a note to embrace both her sisters and tell them how much she loved them over and over again once she was able to calm the fury of the fifth spirit against her land.

How the family came together in happiness and in grief, reassured her that no matter how events turn out, family shall always be paramount to her. How the sisters came together after the great thaw and enjoyed a toast of hot chocolate to the found for the first time in several years. It was something she'd cherish forever.

She had to laugh when her moment of rebellion presented itself to her. Oh, to be on her own, what was she thinking? Sure, it was the first time she'd felt free and empowered, however she'd ultimately was just running away and abandoning her responsibilities. Elsa felt glad that she knew better now.

How she saw her mother rescuing her father from the ravines in the last stand of the Northurldra nearly broke her, how her parents much more than just her parents, how they were human being with their faults and fears, Elsa promised to herself never to take anyone at face value again, a promise that was tested in the very next moment when she saw Hans.

Oh, she could break his head like a walnut, but when she was able to see how he became that way, how he had tried to hold ship when Arendelle was on the verge of sinking, how in a rare moment of sincerity, told Olva how he felt about everything, how he was against a wall with he world primed to crush him. Elsa could not endorse, but she could understand. All things considered, she and Hans were rather alike, she felt embarrassed about how she'd called him irredeemable. Her crimes were far worse, even if she was able to reverse them and do penitence. Even if the deeds he did were questionable and punishable, so were hers to a degree. If she had found forgiveness, why couldn't he? She made a vow to forgive him once this was over and hope that he would find peace someday. From what Olva had told her, he had found solace by turning to the lord in his lowest moments. She would find him and ask for his forgiveness in return.

With that resolve strengthening her, she moved further, were a most remarkable thing happened. She began feeling cold for the first time in her life, an occurrence she believed was because she had begun to intrude on something that she shouldn't be able to know. But no, this was different. Somehow, it was private, yet she felt the calling much stronger in that direction.

'"What do you mean you can't lead?!" the king bellowed "I didn't raise a coward!"

"I chose not to lead, not because I can't, but because these wars are a fool's errand." The prince answered calmly.

"I didn't ask you for your opinion." "You should have. Dear uncle Napoleon is screwing himself with this conflict."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF HIM IN THIS MANNER?! HUH! I have known for over twenty-five years now, long before I ever met your mother. I am to just abandon him in his time of need?!"

"If you really cared, you would've stopped him. The Russians aren't to be fucked with." A rare poor choice of words for the crown prince.

"Where did you learn such beautiful language, huh?! From the girl you've been meeting?! Has SHE BEEN POSIONING YOUR MIND AGAINST ME?!" retorted the king after smacking Agnarr in the face for that comment.

"Who?" Asked Agnarr as he nursed his cheek. "Don't you DARE play coy with me. You thought I wouldn't find out?! Whatever childish games you play, that's your business. When the fairer gender gets involved, any fooling around that you do does become my damn business." The king answered in a voice dripping with disdain, venom and contempt.

"Her name is Iduna, and no, she has not influenced my decisions in any way whatsoever." The prince now rose from where he had fallen and continued "As for the other business you're insinuating, it's a pity I can't strike you back."

The king loomed dangerously close and growled "Try me."

For a moment it looked as if they had forgotten that they were father and son, rather two strangers who were spoiling for a brawl.'

Elsa was aghast; was this the man she called her grandfather? No, this was an acutely private discussion between two people who were long dead. She had no right to judge them; what would she do in their circumstances? However, the call became even sharper in her mind that there was more to it. Even as the cold feeling worsened, she trekked on.

'"Father, why can't we talk like the well-educated people that we are? A mosh pit between us would be shameful. Let's discuss this calmly."

The king took a moment to breathe, stepped back and said "Very well, but I can't stand back this time like I did in Spain. I will rally my army with the French, for the sole reason that I can't let the Tsar have any more influence in Europe than he already has. As for the north, it's time they bowed down to the true authority in Arendelle."

"We should have pursued the peace talks further with the Northurldra, pa. We would have reached an accord."

"I know from experience that's not true. I did offer the NORTH the gift of the reservoir, at great personal cost of the empire. How do they show their gratitude? By nearly blowing up the blessed dam! How do I reach an accord with such animals?" The king said.

"Maybe they couldn't forget the valley of death." Agnarr suggested.

"It's a bloody shame they didn't remember the valley that well either, for they should have guessed that my kindness to them is a privilege they have, not my duty or moral law towards them." Replied the king "The expedition up north will happen, if the Northern people hold their lives and livelihoods dear, they would be wise to stand down without much destruction." '

The valley of death? The ravine where she had felt heavy and suffocated when she and Anna had tried to pass through to get to Athohallan sooner? A place so unholy even the spirits wouldn't dare disturb it?

She felt the beginnings of the slightest rigidity in her movements. Was she being held accountable for this? Or it was just too powerful for her to experience?

Such questions were wiped away from her mind when she came across the battle of the valley of death. What she saw rocked her to her core.

'The Northurldra cavalry, over fifteen thousand strong, charged with all the might that they could muster, with a combination of cutlasses, spears, and clubs, and with their trusted reindeer mounts, for an all-out charge against the biggest pain of their existence.

Though massive in strength, the Northurldra made the mistake of leading themselves into a ravine, and with no way out, they were doomed. Runeard ordered an artillery barrage so horrific that it spread word of his capabilities and depths of hatred across Europe.

The Northurldra had knives, swords, spears and a few muskets at best. It was no contest.

Just a bloody massacre.

It was difficult to count how many were mowed down with bullets, how many were cut to pieces by the bayonets charging downhill, and how many were trampled in the confused stampede. But one could be said for certain; the Northurldra Cavalry never recovered from the battle.

They had risked everything on one last battle, just what Runeard had wanted, and it had cost them everything.'

The rigidity that Elsa had felt had risen further and had begun to feel constricting in wake of the horror that she had just witnessed. Nevertheless, she felt determined to get all the answers possible, even if she would be trapped there forever.

She reached a cliff where she had a moment of doubt; the battle of the valley of death was horrifying, but it didn't explain the mist, the separation and the call she had heard. It wasn't just to make her the best version of herself, surely there was something else to it? But what about Arendelle? She had left Olva alone in a precarious state to prosecute the defence of the Kingdom against all Northern Europe, surely the troops and people needed their leader the most in this moment. And what about Anna? She had once again left her to fend for herself in the wilderness, along with Olaf. She had a lot of explaining to do. Nevertheless, she made the decision to get to the root of the matter, as she felt that would answer everything, and leapt from the cliff into the ravine below.

The constrictive grasp she had been feeling had actively begun to overpower her, she felt difficulty in breathing even as she felt the warnings of her mother's lullaby echo in her head, as well as snippets of another argument.

'"FATHER!"

The king turned back violently to find the crown prince Agnarr. The mere sight of him distracted Runeard so much that for a few long agonizing minutes he forgot where he was.

"Stupid boy, what are you doing here? I told you this is no place for you."

"And I told you it's not worth the bloodshed, leave them alone. I guess an inability to follow orders or advice runs in the family."

"You want to discuss that now?! With these killers inching closer?"'

What did her grandfather mean by 'that'? Was there something else more terrifying?

Elsa got her answer in stark detail as she landed on her feet. The cold was threatening to engulf her by this point, but she chose to go further.

'The leader of Northurldra was beside himself in disbelief. Was king Runeard truly this viciously foolish as to threaten the shrine of the fifth spirit? He, in addition to being the leader of the Northurldra, was also the chief caretaker of the shrine atop the tallest mountain in the north of Arendelle, supported by his adopted special daughter who had the power to change form on a whim, believed to be blessing from the fifth spirit itself, and by hundreds of those who chose to maintain the shrine, a sacred place as well as being the only rocky construction made by the Northurldra in ancient times, compared to the simple leather tents they lived in now. The shrine also served as a fortress, to protect the Northurldra from invaders. Alas, despite their best defensive measures, the Arendellians had made the diabolical move to set fire to the forest at the bottom of the mountain. The forest fire became more intense and deadlier as it climbed the mountain with a terrific speed.

The Northurldra were running out of options as the flames leapt closer. To die engulfed in destructive flames, or to charge downhill and try in vain to take out the army and be destroyed? The Northurldra decided to go extinct facing their devil in defiance and charged downhill with their weapons and a severe vengeance, the transitioning daughter leading the charge.

What they didn't know was that Runeard, in a fiendishly cunning bit of legwork, had found the secret tunnel used by the Northurldra as an escape route in dire situations, keeping him and his personal guard safe from the fire and the battle that raged on the mountain. Runeard ascended with his guards to the summit as the battle was being fought down far below. He entered the shrine where he and his personal guard stood face to face with the leader of Northurldra, along with ten loyal defenders, armed to the teeth.

'Runeard, you backstabbing snake! How dare you desecrate the holy mountain? I relented after the dam, but now I won't!' Hissed the leader.

'It is 'Your Majesty' to you from now on, do you understand, you old fraud?' Runeard growled.

'You have a beef with me, you fight me alone, what did my poor people do to deserve it? To be forced to charge down towards a decoy resulting in near certain death?' the leader began to speak, but he was interrupted rudely by the king 'No hard feelings, your grace, but I can't let a cancerous appendix threaten the health of the state of Arendelle.'

The leader had heard enough 'You will regret this, you monster.' With that, he gave the go ahead. And so it was.

A fight to the death.

A bitter melee between scores of people, the kind of fight Runeard generally avoided, but wasn't averse to. Even so, his guards were feeling the pressure as the Northurldra were in their element and were desperate to protect their shrine. The Northurldra leader may have been out of his prime, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. Even as the last of his defenders were immobilized, he was able to cut down five of his attackers personally when he was struck in the heart with a spear from one of the few surviving kingsguard. Runeard stepped in callously and asked the fallen leader contemptuously 'Any final words from the dying culture of you northern savages?'

'Your own family will be your kingdom's downfa-' the dying leader began to speak in choked words but his head was lopped off by the king, who wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

A full minute of silence passed even as the inferno grew behind Runeard, who was taking in the spoils of his attack.

'What about the survivors, your majesty?'

'Let them die with their gods, and set fire to the shrine once done with them''

Elsa couldn't watch anymore, shutting her eyes away from the massacre, even as she could feel every death, every cut from the battle, the lives of the fallen ebbing away, and the shrine burning to utter destruction, the cries of an aged woman lamenting the fate of the Northurldra before slitting her own throat open to avoid being made a trophy of those Arendellian monsters. Elsa cried out in pain as the cold turned to ice as it began rendering her solid, in tandem with the bloodcurdling cries of the woman who saw the fate of her adopted father, her grief turning to murderous hatred as she vowed the destruction of Arendelle.

It was heart-breaking, but it still didn't explain the mist. The fifth spirit was clearly furious with Arendelle, but then it could have destroyed Arendelle without a trace left behind, why the mist, and why the call? Had she always been an unwitting pawn in this play from the beginning?

The queen summoned all the courage she had left and opened her eyes with tremendous effort towards one final scene

'It was a titanic clash in the middle of the worst avalanche the north had ever seen, between king Runeard and the self-proclaimed avenger of the fifth spirit.

'Such a magnificent fighter you are, you'd make a wonderful queen' Runeard goaded the woman, even has he narrowly missed a blow from her double handed battle axe.

'I'd feel even better with your head mounted in my lair' growled the woman in a wolfish voice.

'It's a pity that you're a monster begging to be killed.' hissed the king as he played a manoeuvre of hitting her on the shoulder, while pulling out a pistol ready to shoot the woman in the heart. She anticipated this, dropped her weapon and turned into a wolf to go for the shoulder and ducking in at the last second to break his neck with her open jaws.

A shot rang and a jaw clenched. Then the survivor yelped in a near feminine tone of voice as his life ebbed away from his throat which was torn apart. And then it happened in an instant, the fire, the earthquake, the inferno, the hurricane, the landslide and finally the mist.'

Elsa realized it all in horror, even as she was near solidly frozen, that the mist was there because the work of the fifth spirit was incomplete, it could only be done with the utter destruction of Arendelle. And she was the final move, the triggering device for said destruction. Runeard's own family would be the downfall of the kingdom of Arendelle after all.

She made a desperate decision in a split second. Anna and Olva need to know about this. As for myself, I'll offer myself up as sacrifice to the fifth spirit, so that it may be appeased, and it may relent somehow. The people of Arendelle don't deserve this horrible fate. I'll take the fall for them.

With that, she conjured two wisps of snow, one for Anna and one for Olva and stopped resisting once and for all as she froze completely in a statue of ice.

Anna found out about the whole story and put two and two together in terror as Olaf melted away; the dam must go, that was the only hope for her people, even if she had to lay down her life for the greater good. It was the next right thing after all.

Back in Arendelle, Olva was finishing the discussion with the admirals regarding the battle plans to face the naval invasion coming in the next twenty-four hours, when the giant six-foot mirror of ice in her room was shattered into a million pieces. Olva stood dumbfounded for a moment as she saw the shards of ice melting away, then lifted her face in terrible realization. Turning to Hans, she said gravely 'Elsa's dead, Anna's nowhere to be found, we're on our own.'

Whoo, for a standalone story this fits nicely into my multichapter fic, frozen the epic. If you like, you can read that as well!

Nevertheless, I hope you like this standalone. If you wish, I'll include this in the multichapter story when the time comes. Olva is the OC and Hans is there too.

As usual, constructive feedback or appreciation is always welcome!

[girlobsessed21]

The 100 6x11 discussion - burning desires of change

Hey guys, as usual, here’s my breakdown of the episode. Props to Mr. Bob Morley on his directing debut - insert applause emoji here. All in all, it was great, I enjoyed it, albeit a little weird. But it’s to be expected of a conversion episode taking us into the finale.

Like I explained in my 2nd predictions post, “Ashes to Ashes’ has Biblical connotation and it’s also a British crime drama about time traveling back to the early 80′s as well as David Bowie’s 1980 hit single about addiction.

Apart from Ash being Echo’s real name, I struggled to find the link to the title until it hit me with a wrench from behind. It’s about cycles, repetition, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results (which Einstein did not say btw). Only now, it’s breaking that rotation. Demons are overcome (apart from Madi), and it’s time to do better.

Octavia’s no longer Bellamy’s responsibility, Clarke refuses to kill innocents, the children of Gabriel learn the truth, Miller disobeyed to transcend and Echo (or Ash), well, I’ll talk about her later. To Monty! Will this also be the end of the ‘will they, won’t they’ dance for Bellamy and Clarke? See my thoughts on this.

That said, let’s fall into the recap.

A child possessed

Okay, Sheidheda was a lot creepier in this episode than the previous ones. if Madi wasn’t completely overthrown before, it seems like she is now and her driving force is pure vengeance. The bond between Madi and Clarke is harder to break than diamonds, which we saw in season 5 and here again.

For six years, all they had were each other. Since the little Natblida was only six when Clarke found her, she won’t even remember her real family all that well. To Madi, Clarke was her savior, her family, her protector, her mother and basically everything else. Having such an influence taken away from you is artery-slicing.

The demon in her head knows this, plays on it and manipulates in a way an abuser lures children in with sweets. Given her age and lack of experience, she follows blindly. I have a feeling this might continue onto season 7 but I hope Raven finds a way to eliminate him. That face freaks me out. For now, he’s gonna cause a lot more damage than we anticipate and will probably be a spoil of war for the peaceful plan.

John Murphy - court jester or hero?

Yeah, he’s been a fence-sitter the entire season, but you have to admit, Murphy provides some much needed comical relief. Granted, the writers have turned up the humor via Bellamy, Clarke, and Diyoza, yet Murphy’s sarcasm should never be taken for granted. “Houdini Miller.” He might not make it to the end of the season.

If someone threatens the life of the person you love, will you protect everyone else or only that person? Ask Bellamy, he did the exact same thing. Risked the lives of everyone else to save his girl, of course Murphy will do the same. He wants to marry Emori, he’ll face hell to ensure her safety.

Still, he warns Echo in good old Cockroach fashion. Don’t let them find out I’m on your side, there’s but one side and it’s mine - and Emori’s. As long as the primes think that, he’ll have a chance of being spared. Murphy is such a great character, sure, he has deviated from being good, but that’s what makes him interesting.

The more layers and substance a character has, the more convincing and relatable they are. All of us have flaws, Murphy’s biggest one is his selfishness, does this make him a bad person? Absolutely not. He struggles and sometimes stumbles due to it but he still cares. Only the size of his heart’s in question, not the existence and it gets them out of some serious syrupy situations.

The makes of the Blakes

So, Bellamy doesn’t care about the delusional cult followers, he merely wants to save his people, to hell with the rest. In a sense, he betrayed them to rescue his love? soulmate? person? and has to make up for it. Now, Bellamy, did Monty not teach you anything?

Being so determined, he calls his sister the queen of cannibals. Killing her own people to ensure their survival. She did what she had to do, why can’t he? I didn’t know Bellamy even knew about this, why didn’t they show his reaction to finding out? Wouldn’t it have led to him cutting her some slack? He was in the exact same situation many times before. 

Probably not. His whole life has always revolved around her, everything he did was to protect his sister to the point of borderline, unhealthy codependency. Octavia was his purpose and yet she threw him in a fighting pit to die after he once again tried to save her - from herself.

Gabriel then tells Bellamy his sister is special, she returned from the greatest mystery of Sanctum. If I remember correctly, Lincoln called her special too when she was unaffected by the biological warfare. There’s more to it though, in my opinion, I still think Diyoza will return, they were both called by the anomaly, why would only O survive? That anomaly is going to be some crazy wow-factor, I’m certain.

I believe a cult won’t be too happy to find out that its leader is the exact thing they’re rebelling against. And the children of Gabriel seemed pretty pissed, especially Xavier’s sister. That is until Bellamy gives them a plan to fulfill their cause. Unfortunately for him, it means teaming up with O to find the powerful red sun toxin. For once the cultists weren’t useless!

Poor Gabriel, all he wants is peace. I thought Jordan would be a Monty reincarnator but apparently, that’s Gabriel. Or he’s more of Lincoln II? Either way, I hope he doesn’t die. Speaking of Jordan, I miss him in his recovery bed. 

Anyway, “what do you say when sorry isn’t good enough?” Despite Bellamy’s countless efforts to keep O occupied, she won’t stop breaking down the walls around his heart. Those mushrooms were strong, Bell, we saw it. Octavia’s speech was so deep, honest and touching that Bellamy’s stray tears hardly seem enough.

The way it was resolved though, is more than satisfactory. After everything that’s happened, it wouldn’t be enough development for him to simply accept what she’s done and move on. But, he’s willing to give her a chance to prove herself while no longer being the core of his world. “You’re my sister, but you’re not my responsibility, not anymore” is probably the best metamorphosis I’ve witnessed on this show. It clips the umbilical cord for both of them to emerge as individuals.

Echoes of a cold-hearted spy

So, I assume Echo protected Ryker thinking she could bank on his morality to spare her. And of course, she keeps scraping at the flesh wound. But Ryker believes saving his family keeps the peace, killing Echo saves everyone else. One life instead of thousands - it’s for the greater good, right? Wrong. The acting here was great, I was totally convinced of Ryker’s bouncing morals.

Off-topic, I completely forgot Miller used to be a thief and I’m glad we got to see his pick-pocketing skills in action. He deserves some credit and screentime, since being a part of this show for six seasons. Oh, and the transcending moment between him and Gaia was super sweet.

For a second I thought Echo would become Simone and then I remembered that she also took ALIE’s chip and they wouldn’t rehash the neural mesh storyline. Meaning my fears were quickly soothed.

Onto the important part, what was that back story supposed to mean? All I got out of it, is that Echo’s cycle isn’t broken. That leopard hasn’t changed its spots. Don’t get me wrong, it broke my heart that she had to kill her friend and resume her identity in order to survive. But, it felt like a turning point in Echo’s character that plunged her into heartlessness. Will she become that person again?

I know Echo might not be a fan favourite, but she’s really grown on me this season. She’s smart, loyal and fierce, I like her. Not Bellamy and Echo together though, I can’t see a semblance of a connection between them. And their relationship is only hurting their characters.

Why would they build her up as a great character just to show that she cares about no-one, not even her friends? I mean I get why she killed Ryker, leaving him alive was too much of a risk - he would tell Russel about her, Miller and Gaia being at large. Though that murderous glint in her eyes tells me that was purely for revenge and completely against their newfound lifestyle. Maybe I’m wrong.

I’m curious to know what being a nightblood will mean for her now and how her character might change after being held at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, Monty’s mantra rings through Clarke 

Oy, Bellamy risked everything and everyone to save Clarke and if she can’t play the part of Josephine convincingly, that was all for nothing. And our boy’s not happy about it - at all. Only, Clarke refuses a Mount Weather do-over.

I just need to mention Bellamy’s face when Murphy come’s through the tent - priceless. Then Jade finally gets a chance to knock someone out too. Yay for her!

The moment Clarke’s safe, she goes straight to Bellamy for reassurance and goodbye. Backtracking to the start of the episode, the way he flung to her side when she woke, touched and comforted her was toothachingly soft and way too intimate to be non-romantic. 

Bellamy gets this shy, ‘aw it’s nothing’ expression when Clarke thanks him for saving her life. Because to him, it really is nothing, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her. And while he’s making heart-eyes at his friend, his girlfriend is being prepped for a blood transplant and murder. I cannot see how there won’t be any followthrough on this. 

If there’s not, it’s altogether bad writing, showcasing and wasted potential. Right now, there’s too much going on for a decent conversation that’s years overdue and I’m hopeful they’ll get it. In the synopsis of the finale, there’s a hint at romance and I truly believe it’s theirs.

Well done Eliza! For playing Clarke and Josephine, Clarke as Josephine and vice versa. She’s an amazing actress and has come a long way from, “Stop, the air could be toxic!.” 

The woman must have been devastated when she walked in on Madi strapped to a chair, being drained for her blood. Yet, in the scheme of greater good, she acts oblivious. She plays the part of a nonchalant sociopath so well, while sparing Madi via a sedative and shifting the focus to her mind drive. 

Those newlyweds sure know how to act and direct!! Like always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, did I read the Echo backstory correctly? Till next week, bye!

[buckybabybaby]

Mr Hollywood (Chapter 10)

Summary: Bucky Barnes, an underpaid teaching assistant in a small English village, dreams of a movie career back in his home country of America. He finally gets the break he's always wanted, and if it wasn't for you, his best friend, he wouldn't have been able to take it.

But is that fact enough to save your friendship when it's tested by the pressures of Hollywood?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader (Gender Neutral)

Word count: 1929

Chapter summary: chapter 10 - double figures! And Bucky finally explains himself.

Warnings: One swear word. Some angst.

A/N: this is 6 days late and I'm so sorry :( Hopefully a few people still remember what’s happened nearly two weeks later...!

Previous: Chapter 9

Mr Hollywood Masterlist | Main Masterlist

*****

“Do I need to remind you of the no alcohol on school premises rule? Even fancy Hollywood types like you aren't exempt.”

You announce your presence a couple of meters away from Bucky's shadowy form, not wanting to get too close in case his flight or fight response results in a fist to your face. He still jumps, understandably, it is three in the morning inside a locked playground after all. The chains of the swing clank together as he twists in his seat to face you, and you maintain eye contact, acting braver than you're feeling, aware that there's no running away.

He's gaping at you in an almost comical way. You feel bad for giving him such a fright, but a minuscule part of you is pleased, wanting to hurt him like he hurt you.

“What are you doing here?” His voice is strained.

“I could ask you the same.” You gesture at the bottle he's clasping. “What's that? Didn't think you liked wine much.”

“Oh, no.” He offers it towards you, dropping his arm when you scrunch your nose up, baffled. “It's the apple juice we made last year.”

A hundred bitter-sweet memories flash through your head as he says that, of golden leaves, laden branches hanging low over the lawn, and you and Bucky splashing each other with the hosepipe meant to rinse the fruit. It also reminds you that you never gave him this years efforts, not having the time at Christmas with his flying visit. The glass has long since been forgotten to collect dust.

You move to take the swing next to his, and for a long moment you sit silently together, listening to the branches creek in the wind.

Eventually he turns to you. “Can I talk to you now?”

Arching an eyebrow in permission, you wait for him to continue. As he gathers his thoughts, his gaze flits across your face, over your hair, down to your shoes, raising half a smile at the mud covered wellington's.

You can't have him laughing at you. “Don't even think about being disrespectful about my choice of footwear. I was not dealing with laces at three in the morning.”

He snorts. “Fuck, I've missed you.”  

That was unexpected. “I thought I was pathetically clingy?”

His smile drops. “Probably help if I apologised.”

“Probably.”

“Definitely.” He fidgets before continuing. “There's so much I need to say, I don't know where to start. You deserve a proper explanation, a proper apology, but my heads still so over the place.”

“Don't worry about any of that. I just want to know why you hate me so much.”

“I don't hate you at all!”

“Sure got a funny way of showing that.”

His grip on the chains tightens, trying to catch your eye. “Y/N, please. I didn't mean any of what I said.”

“Then why?”

He doesn't answer immediately, pushing his feet into the soft rubber flooring as he swallows, emitting a small noise not unlike a whimper.

“I suppose it's okay to tell you, it'll be in the news soon enough.”

You're intrigued, confused and worried all at once. “What will?”

Taking a deep breath, he glances away as he begins to speak.

“I thought I was going to live my dream when I got this job. And I was, for the first weeks and months. It was going so well, how could it not? Especially when I was working alongside people like Sam Wilson, you know how much I admire him.”

You fight off a smirk. He's making it easy to fall back into the familiar playful ways, but you need to hear him out before you start showing any cracks in your armour.

“Coming back at Christmas was when it started to go wrong. That was when I realised that maybe I had everything I wanted when I was still here. It was hard to be reminded of my old life and everything I missed when I was severely sleep deprived and nearly losing hair to the stress my directer was putting me through.”

“We wrapped in early spring, then it was just voice-over work. I didn't have to be on set every day and I came back here straight away, needing a break from it all. Then I all but knocked you over outside the shop and just snapped.”

“I wasn't coping and all I could think about is how I wouldn't have even been in this position had it not been for you. As stupid as it sounds, I blamed you for the shit I'd found myself in, for pushing me to go.”

“That doesn't exactly explain-”

“I know. I'm getting there.” You keep quiet and let him talk. “Once it was confirmed the show would get a prime time slot, it all got real. Suddenly all the 'unknowns' like me had dollar signs hanging over our heads. Representatives knew we'd be bringing in money now, and fresh faces attract sponsorships if you work it right. My agent was not the sort to know that though, or anything useful really. Other managers would do a much better job, I wouldn't have chosen him if I had a choice, he was just assigned to me at the start and I hadn't had the chance to do anything about it until then. I hadn't signed any extension contracts yet and he wasn't pleased. So he tried to keep me in his collection.”

“Collection? Eww.”

“Yep. He didn't want to lose me, and so he started with the threats.”

“What do you mean by threats?”

“Dayton's got his own security, even now, and couldn't be touched, so he threatened you. Said he had people close by who could get to you if I didn't do as I was told.”

“What the hell?” You hiss. Your brain can't keep up. “I never...” Thinking back over the last few months, you can't recall ever feeling unsafe or watched in any way.

“No, you wouldn't have. He probably wouldn't have ever done anything but I couldn't take that chance, not when he hinted at links to the Mafia. I just wanted you safe, and the only way I could see that happening was if I made it so you never wanted to see me again. If you weren't even my friend that dick couldn't hold anything over you. That way we'd both be happy. Happy-ish.”

His eyes are glassy as he looks over at you. You're finding it hard to take it all in, trying to find the correct response.

You start with a question. “You said you could tell me 'cos it'll be in the news. Why is that?”

He blows out a breath. “Dayton. Soon as he realised something was wrong he was straight on a plane to force it out of me. He must have got a private detective or something on the case because a few days later my agent was arrested. Turns out he wasn't just awful at his job, he was also involved with manipulating young girls into seedy parties. You don't want to know,” His haunted look proves his statement. “All that matters is he's in custody now. Definitely a prison sentence, a long one hopefully.”

“Day got me a good lawyer too. My names not going to be involved in any way. I didn't know any of that stuff was going on, you have to know that. And there's more than enough evidence without me taking the stand as a witness anyway.”

He seems to have come to the end and you sit wordlessly together again. It's too early in the morning for you to process what he's said, leading to you blurting out the first thing that comes to mind.

“You do realise this sounds like you made it up, right? I'm having trouble believing such an improbable seeming story.”

“I wish I was making it up. I'm not surprised you don't think I'm telling the truth, what with the way I've acted, but when you see it on the news you'll know.” He laughs humourlessly. “Not exactly how I wanted to start my career.”

You bet. “You still didn't have to be so mean to me that night.”

“I know.”

“The Bucky I knew wouldn't have talked to me like that.”

“I know. I wasn't myself at all and I can only apologise. It hasn't been a fun couple of months but it's over now. I promise no matter what happens I won't let it involve you again.” He sighs. “It's not worth it if I lose you along the way.”

“You haven't lost me Bucky,” You whisper, meaning it.

You share a tearful look which says more than words ever could. However strong you told yourself to be, he's always been your weakness, and time hasn't changed that. As you stare at each other, you can see he's telling the truth, and now you've got to work out how you move forward together.

The moment is brought to an end as you shiver, a particularly strong gust lifting the ends of your hair.

“I should walk you home before you freeze to death in your pyjamas,” He teases.

“Hey! My pyjamas are cute.”

“Never said they weren't.”

He smiles softly, standing up and offering you a hand. You take it, the warm skin against yours so familiar you pull away as soon as you're stood, too many emotions flowing through you at the slightest touch.

Following his lead back across the playground and into the lane, a comfortable silence surrounds you, almost like all those times you'd make your way home together when he lived just a few streets down from you. Almost.

Bucky opens your gate for you, and comes to a stop outside your front door, hesitating before patting you gently on the shoulder. Turning around, he walks slowly back up the front path, and you can't just let him leave. Not again.

The hurt is still there but tonight’s revelations have changed everything and the chance of having him back in your life is all you can think of.

“Bucky!”

He whips back round. “Yeah?”

“It's half-term next week. It you're still around, maybe we could do something?

“Really?” You nod. “Yes. Definitely! We have to wait and see if we're recommissioned, so I was just going to hang around for a while. You can text me when you're free.” He fishes for his phone in his jeans. “I've got a new number, let me give it to you.”

“Mines upstairs, wait a minute.”

You rush up to your bedroom, shaking your head at Bucky's incredulous, “Seriously, who goes anywhere without a mobile these days?” Floating up after you.

Coming back down, you open up your contacts so he can add himself. “Not everyone has Sam Wilson on speed dial like you,” You counter, causing Bucky to blush. “Oh my gosh, you do! Which number is he? One?”

“All right, that's enough.”

You grin at him, a real smile, and his face is similarly bright as he hands back your phone and steps away.

“I'm glad we ran into each other Y/N. Even at such an unsocial hour.”

“So am I. Hey, have you got somewhere to stay tonight? Or do you want to-”

“I'm good, don't worry.” He pauses at the end of the garden. “See you soon, hopefully.”

This time you let him leave, and as you climb up to bed again, it feels as though a great weight has been lifted and a peaceful nights sleep is within reach once more.

*****

Chapter 11

[apveng]

To Earth 0, With Love (A Supergirl Fan Fiction)

Hey folks, I know this is probably not what many of you had in mind when thinking of SG fanfiction for Covid-19 and quarantine. I know, @venus-kareng, you were thinking of something else. But, I hope all of you will still like it.

I wrote it because I couldn’t bear to look at what is happening around the world, especially the losses in Italy and Iran (and of course what happened in China) and just sit back and hope for the best.

I know, this is nothing. That it will reach just a couple of people. That it is just fanfiction. But, I do hope that it still helps.

I am sure that if Kara of Earth Prime knew, she would have found a way to help. And together with Alex and her Superfriends, would have connected us across the quarantine to give love and friendship to each other.

Fair disclosure: The fic is Danvers Sisters centric and from Alex POV since I find it easier to write Alex. There is Densen, William-Kara (though just group stuff not romance), and mention of Lena (not sure positive but Kara isn’t negative).

To Earth 0, with Love

It was a beautiful evening on Earth Prime. Or, was it Universe Prime given that there are multi-verses? Eh, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Alex had just mastered her Martian weapon, the day was looking beautiful, Leviathan and Lex haven’t done anything terrible yet, and there was time on her hands.

Time to look in on Kara and see if she would be willing to give Alex a workout. And, hanging out would be nice irrespective of that. May be, they could catch up on a show together.

At the loft, Alex found Kara staring at her laptop screen. Her face was pale. Her hands that held the laptop trembled. And her eyes, focused on the screen, was close to spilling over.

What the hell happened?

Alex froze at the doorway, heart clenching at the sight. It was the sight that she hated most in the world. After a moment, she shook herself. She would be damned if she didn’t make whoever it was that caused her Kara pain answer for that pain.

Well, as long as Kara herself didn’t get in the way of that.

Alex went over to her and knelt in front of her. Reaching out, she took one of Kara’s hands in hers, squeezed and then spoke. “Hey! What is the matter? Is it Lena? Or Lex? Has something happened to Nia or Will?”

When Kara didn’t respond, Alex kept rubbing the hand she held until her sister looked up. “Kara, what is the matter? Tell me please. Let me help you.”

“Alex, is it Earth 0.” Kara announced, looking for all the world as if the term should mean something to Alex.

Alex leaned back, still holding onto Kara’s hand. “Umm… I have no idea what you mean by that. Where is Earth 0?”

“Oh! You don’t know.” Kara looked thrown for a moment.

“Kar…”

“Right! Right. Sorry.” Kara set down her laptop, and then stood up, dragging Alex up with her. She dropped Alex’s hand and then stepped back so as to give herself space to pace. Alex sighed and sat down. This would take a while, and her best place to watch and listen was the coach.

“So, Earth 0 is an Earth in another universe.” Kara started.

“I gathered.” Alex noted dryly.

Kara stopped and offered her a small smile. In the next instant though, she sobered up. Alex would so love to find out what had brought that expression onto her sister’s face. She would probably punch it until it left.

“They don’t have any visible superheroes of our kind. You know, the aliens, rich vigilantes, metahumans…like we have in Earth Prime and others? There are everyday superheroes, and first responders etc… but not…”

“Not, Supergirl.” Alex interjected a tad impatiently.

“Right! Cisco had set up a device for all of us, Barry, me and everyone, so that we can keep track of the multi-verse goings on. So, that another crisis won’t take us unawares.”

“So, you think another crisis is coming now?” Alex asked her brows drawing together. That was not good news.

“Alex! Will you let me speak?” Kara pouted.

Alex raised her hands in surrender. “Right. Go on.”

“There is a pandemic spreading on Earth 0 now. Thousands are dying Alex. Across the whole planet. Wait. You need to see this and then, you will understand.” Kara came over to Alex, tilted her laptop so that Alex can see it and then showed her a few images.

It took some time for the visuals to sink in and then, Alex was no longer surprised at the tears in Kara’s eyes.

A dashboard showed thousands of deaths from Earth 0 China, though thankfully, Alex noted, the graph seemed to have plateaued. But, not so the case with Iran and Italy. She saw images of military vehicles that were taking the dead away. People in Iran who couldn’t say the last prayers over their loved one as their dead bodies were cleared.

And, many other countries weren’t spared either.

Grandparents not able to touch or even be in the vicinity of their new-born grandchildren. Disabled, people, poor people, left without adequate resources. Left jobless. Chinese and Asian people coming under racist attacks in other places. Native Americans going without resources in the bare number of hospitals they had. Refugees, migrants in detention centres, and prisoners under threat of infection and death. Poor nations across the global South struggling with inadequate healthcare infrastructure. Nurses and doctors tiring themselves to death across the planet trying to make do with a fraction of the equipment they needed. Scientists rushing to create vaccines, their heart in their throats and the knowledge that even the fastest process wouldn’t get them vaccines fast enough to save the many that would die between now and then.

It was a tale a devastation written across the surface of the planet, and it was heart breaking to watch.

But, what could they do?

She looked up to see Kara looking at her, an intense expression in her blue eyes.

Normally, that expression meant trouble for someone. In this case, Alex didn’t know what to make of it.

“What do you want to do Kara?”

“I want to help Alex.”

“I know, Kar. But, this isn’t our Earth. You said that they don’t even have Superheroes. How can we help? You know we cannot do anything that changes their reality drastically. That could have disastrous consequences.”

Kara started pacing as she considered the problem. Alex sat down to watch her eyes turned firmly away from the visuals on the laptop. The rules they played by meant that unless it was a problem that affected the multi-verse, they would not interfere in each other’s activities. They have seen what that kind of interference can bring. It was best for Earth 0 to find their way out of this crisis themselves.

“What is it that you want when you fall sick, Alex?” Kara asked after a while.

Alex raised her eyebrows at the question. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“Just answer.” The blue eyes fixed intently on Alex. “Please Alex.”

Alex sighed and then, against her will answered, mainly because she knew Kara knew the answer anyways. “Comfort food. Preferably the rhubarb pie you bake. Lots of science journals to read if weapons training is out of the question… and…” Alex hesitated here. These words didn’t come easily to her.

“Go on.” Kara encouraged.

“If you could come by, you know… Just for a little while…” Alex shrugged. “I mean, it is no big deal, of course. And besides,” Alex paused and then said as nonchalantly as possible. “I am sure Kelly can come over anyways… In fact, I’d want her to… and…” Kelly was her girlfriend. And, it was alright to want that comfort, right? But, Kara. Kara would have better, world-saving things to do. As would her mother for that matter. Besides, she was a grown woman. Needing familial comfort sounded not very independent.

She couldn’t continue because she was bounced over by Kara who took her in a tight embrace. “of course, I’d come over, silly. In fact, I’d stay right by you until you have recovered. And, I’d be best because I am Kryptonian and no human disease can hurt me.”

“Exactly! That is what I meant of course. You can come over and make rhubarb and chocolate pecan pie for me.”

Kara laughed at the deflection and sat back. “So, what do you think the people of Earth 0 would want?”

“Something that you could give without causing any terrible disruption?” Alex asked finally catching on.

“Right. I can cook for them. And, get people to cook as well.” Kara stood up, her demeanour business like. “So, that is what I am going to do.”

“How can I help? You cannot take care of a whole planet by yourself.”

“I cannot cook by the way.” Alex added hastily in case Kara got the wrong idea.

Kara snorted. “I know that. You can help by getting all the gang together and asking them to pitch in. And then directing everything.”

And, just like that, they had a mission and a means to help.

*****************************************************************************************

Soon, they had the Superfriends gathered in Kara’s loft ready to help. Alex had made sure to include not just Kelly, William, Nia and J’onn but Brainy as well. He may be acting weird these days, but he would still want to help. She was sure of that.

Once they had explained the situation, Nia spoke up. “Do you think we could ask Lena to help? May be she could work on a vaccine or something.”

“Right! It’d really help the God and Saviour complex she has.” Alex murmured.

“Alex!” Kara admonished. She shook her head at Nia. “We can’t. Even if Lena trusted me enough to help, and I don’t know that she will, we cannot do anything that’d play with the future of Earth 0 unnaturally. Brainy, I am right, am I not?”

“Yes!” Brainy, waved at the tablet he held. “If we do any massive interventions in a world that hasn’t been exposed to powers like us, we have no idea what that might bring. There is a 98% chance that it’d cause massive pain and suffering before things stabilised.”

“But, it is a whole planet, Kara. How will we few people help a whole planet?” Kelly asked. Alex’s girlfriend knew that Kara was Supergirl. But as she frequently said, there are limitations even to Supergirl’s superpowers.

“I am not entirely sure.” Kara admitted. “Any ideas?”

“How about we let the people of Earth 0 help each other?” J’onn asked. “We could just be the messengers, the bringer and taker of gifts and help. If we keep everything underground, nobody needs to know that it is us that is helping.”

“That is a wonderful idea, J’onn.” Alex looked with some admiration at her mentor, ex boss and friend. He always had the soundest advice. “Kara. We could still go with the food thing. But, we could get a message across to the people of the least affected regions, especially migrants in those places, to cook stuff that they know their people back home would like.”

“And I can Super express the food to them. That is wonderful, Alex.” Kara beamed at Alex. Alex grinned at the enthusiasm in her sister’s eyes.

“Yes. And, just knowing that people are there wishing them the best; that they are not alone, would be a huge morale booster for people.” Kelly nodded.

“Remember” Brainy warned. “We need to have everything hidden. Nobody should know it is us doing it.”

“And, if the governments and corporations of Earth 0 are lagging behind, as of course they’d be, may be, we can see what we can do to get the message across to everybody.” William said. Trust Will to look at it from a journalistic angle. He looked across at everybody. “You know, get the message of those neglected and most vulnerable to the broader public.”

“I can help you with that Will.” Nia offered.

Kara clapped her hands. “Right, we have a plan. So, get going everybody. We have a planet to save. Or, at least, love so that they can keep hope alive.”

*****************************************************************************************

The next few hours were gone in planning and getting everything ready. Kara got Cisco, Barry and Sara to help her get across to Earth 0 with her friends. Once they knew the details, Barry and Sara and co wanted to help too, so that their group had swelled when they reached their destination.

On Earth 0, they first set up a networking page and then went about gathering support from people all over the world who are willing and able to help. Their message, simple.

Hi! We are friends of Supergirl the comic book hero. We know that you are scared and feeling helpless right now. We want to help, especially the people of China, Iran and Italy who are reeling from terrible loss. And the other nations of the world, no matter the continent, who are fighting to protect themselves.

Do you have a message to take to any of these countries?

A favourite food that you know a friend in Iran would love?

A message of love that’d make an Italian find solace for a moment?

Dumplings and applause for friends and relatives in China that have just gone through one of the worst quarantines in history and come out better on the other side?

Notes of calm for people across the world who are scared?

Messages to the governments and rich people?

Let us know and we will get your messages across to them.

For hours nothing happened. It was a good thing that the motion of time in this universe didn’t affect Earth Prime, or they’d have been wasting hours.

“Brainy, could you somehow boost the message?” Kara asked finally.

Brainy tapped out a few commands onto his tablet and then looked up. “Done!”

Soon the messages started trickling in.

“I don’t know if this is real or not, but if you could, could you take some Baozi to my daughter in China? Are you sure it won’t get spoiled? May be a paper message would be better, but I can always chat online.”

“We can take your food. Don’t worry.” Nia typed out.

“It was Nowruz in Iran just a couple of days back. I’d like to have you take some sweets to people there. Anyone, since I don’t have any relatives there. I just want them to know that we are here and thinking of them. Could you do that?” Another asked.

“I feel so sad for my friends in Italy, right now. If only I could hug them…” Someone else send in.

“Could someone tell the United States Congress that the sovereign native nations are lacking in medical equipment and important healthcare infrastructure to beat Corona? We are looking at a disaster if somebody doesn’t help.”

Soon they had an ocean of messages that they needed to work through. Alex felt overwhelmed at the amount they had to get through. How would they?

“Kara” She called. “Umm. Remember what Kelly said? About us being not very many? How will we get through this whole list? Even with you and Barry and Sara and Waverider, we cannot get to everyone. Besides, even with these many messages, so many people in the affected countries are going to feel left out. We can’t do anything that make them question their reality.”

“We will not fail them.” Kara said firmly. “Alex, you are director Danvers. Together, we should be able to do this.”

Alex straightened at the firm belief in Kara’s voice and eyes.

“Okay, okay. Hold on a minute.” She paused and thought. “Alright! The messages and calling governments to task are the easy bit. Will, write articles on the Native American bit and the Iran sanctions and Brainy can boost it. Nia will help. We need US congress to react now. And, send them to Billionaires as well. All that money should help with something. And, once that is done, turn your eyes to Kashmir and the lockdown there… and keep looking for similar neglect all over the world.”

“The incarcerated people. They’d be vulnerable. So many there for non-violent crimes. May be not even right ones.” Nia spoke up.

“Refugee camps.” J’onn said. “And, poor and vulnerable around the world. Many may not be even able to practice social distancing in crowded cities.”

Will nodded and got to work with Nia sorting out the messages.

“The food and gifts and messages for everyone…” Alex started and then stopped. Kara could of course Super express them to everyone but how to ensure that they have enough; and that people know it is safe.

“Our own Earth’s people.” Nia piped up. “That is right.” Kelly said. “They know about the Supers’ superpowers. And, there’d be Italians, Iranians, Chinese, and all the countries of Earth 0 represented. We can get them to help.”

“In the middle of Leviathan?” Brainy asked doubtfully.

“They will not know. People need the gestures of love and friendship, Querl. Let anybody willing to help, help. We will get our love across to them.” Kara explained.

While Alex directed the Earth 0 efforts, Kara went to Earth Prime and wheedled, cajoled and at times, pleaded with people to help her send gifts of love across the multi-verse. Most of them were ready to help their beloved Supergirl and Flash.

Once Kara, Barry and Sara got back, they got to work delivering the gifts.

And, thus it was that people across the planet on Earth 0 suddenly found themselves receiving paper mails, food and gifts from loved ones and fellow humans across the world. These gifts had to be checked over of course. But, they were delivered all the same. And, notes were left with them with messages from their fellow humans so that nobody got scared about the origins of the messages. With all of them, to their surprise, the people also found an additional note from a Kara Zor El and a Barry Allen, with Super-Flash-Legends friends in the margin.

“Hello friend.

You know those superhero comic books and shows some of you watch. They may not be real. We are not saying that the characters brought to life so wonderfully by Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh and Caity Lotz and Grant Gustin and all the CW peeps are true to life. But, the ideals they work towards, the love, friendship and fellowship, they are real. And, this is our way of showing it to you. Even if you don’t watch any of the CW shows, we hope that you would still be cheered by what we bring.

May your, I mean, our entire planet recover soon and come out stronger on the other side.

May Rao grant it so.

-Kara, Barry, Sara and teams.”

To Alex’s surprise and gratification, most people understood their gifts as coming from loved ones across the world. And were heartened by them. Governments and billionaires did consider the messages that came to them and at least, some of them vowed to help. She and Sara made sure that reporters and activists knew of the promises so that they can use that when they pressure their governments. They ensured that people knew who to thank and who was holding the governments and the rich to account. The activists and people who first raised these issues.

There were some mishaps where people, suspicious of the packages coming out of nowhere, alerted the authorities and got them destroyed. Some conspiracy theories surfaced in the inter-webs. Others stirred up trouble. Brainy suppressed all of them. It was not quite right but given that the Earth 0 intervention itself was slightly questionable, Alex ignored it.

At the end of the day though, it seemed like they, and more importantly, the people from Earth 0 and their friends who they had wanted to help, as well as their dopplegangers from Earth Prime, had managed to tip the balance in hope’s favour.

As J’onn said, that was all they could have hoped for anyways. That given opportunity, people would want to help each other Superheroes or no. And, they had wanted to.

As they always will.

By the end of it, Kara was looking bright and hopeful. As were their friends.

With hearts heavy and full, the Superfriends returned to Earth Prime.

*****************************************************************************************

Once all their friends, including Kelly who had some work at Obsidian and William who had a deadline to meet, had left, Kara turned to Alex.

“That didn’t turn out so badly, did it? See, what hope can do?”

“Hmm…” Alex waved a paper at her sister and best friend. “There is one problem though.”

“What?” Kara tried to snatch the paper away from Alex, but Alex danced away.

“Ha, no. Not that easily Supergirl.” After a bit of chasing around the loft, finally Kara gave up and pouted. With a laugh, Alex gave in.

“You have said ‘your planet’ in the message. And, signed your names as Kara, Barry, Sara and teams instead of friends of the CW Superheroes.”

Kara read the paper and then frowned. “Oh! I had been very careful.” She pointed at the words. “See, I corrected it to ‘our planet’ too.”

“But left in the ‘your’ there.” Alex returned mercilessly. “And, there is an invocation of Rao there too.”

“Damn!” Kara looked so thoroughly disheartened that Alex relented.

With a laugh, she slung an arm around Kara’s shoulder and pulled her in. “Never mind. They’d just think it is a prank from one of the fans of Melissa Benoist or Chyler Leigh.”

“Oh yes. Those actors that play Kara and Alex in the Earth 0 show, Supergirl.” Kara’s face brightened.

“Yep! An entire show in your name Kara, who would have thought.”

Kara grinned. “I wish I could have watched an episode.”

“Why an episode. Why not the whole series?” Alex waved a USB in front Kara’s face.

“You got the whole series!” Kara exclaimed jubilantly. “Alex!”

“Yes, and we are going to watch it. Before we get back into the Lex and Leviathan stuff.”

Within minutes they were on the couch watching the Earth 0 Supergirl show. The Lex and Leviathan could wait. Just for a little bit.

Supergirl and Alex had a show to catch up with.

[someone-elses-star]

The 100 6x10: Matryoshka Personal Narrative

Here we go again! I hope this week went by as quick for you as it did for me! I’m super excited to see this episode--but nervous because I heard that there might be a major character death? I mean....we just lost Kane next week? Why would they do that to us again?! Any speculations? I’ve been hearing that it might be Raven (though that seems off-plot from this season) and I’ve also been hearing Octavia (but she’s in the next episode so maybe later this season, but definitely not tonight). Also, BOB DIRECTS NEXT EPISODE!!! I’m so jazzed for that! 

Love you Eliza! They can’t kill you off if you’re the only one who introduces the upcoming episodes! Lmao

Haha the reminders showing us yesterday about Bellamy being super in love with Clarke and her return. Like we need that reminder. We have been replaying that scene all week!

Love Clarke on the motorcycle.

Uh oh! Who’s on the other motorcycles?

Our head? Our head? 

You tell her Clarke! 

Damn Josephine knows her away around no matter how many years she’s been gone.

Anybody reminded of the bunker on Earth from season 1 to this one? You know the one where we all started shipping Bellarke? Lol

Ohhh....bringing up the Josephine/Gabriel relationship.

Wow. Josephine actually seems human when talking about him.

Damn.....Clarke is seizing. Damn, she is sorta worried about Clarke, but....still mostly worried about saving her own ass. Not surprised.

Ope! Here is where Raven and Abby find out Clarke is “dead.”

Russell is out for their heads. His own doing, really. 

Yeah, Raven. Look guilty and mournful for Clarke!

So Simone said that to hurt them for hurting her?

Yes, Russell, you’re fault. But not for letting them in. For trying to kill Clarke.

Awwww....calling Madi Clarke’s daughter always gets to me!

Wow. Simone is out for BLOOD!

Just like them? You are worse than them! 

Oh god?! Who are they going to kill?!?!

Oh. Telling people the truth! Good for him!

Do I hear the sounds of rebellion?

Gaia and Echo teamwork! We are getting almost all the spoiler scenes in the first ten minutes, are we? Damn.

REBELLION! REBELLION! 

Rebellion is never really peaceful, though, is it?

You tell him Echo! Haha

Wow. Make them choose who dies? Extra cruel. 

Plan B. Always have a Plan B.

I love Echo. I do. I may not like her and Bellamy together romantically, but I really, really LOVE her!

Wow Gaia. Put on the pressure. 

That’s easy....Murphy. Yup.

You tell him Madi!

Ohh....The truth is coming out!

Abby is going to kill him!

Eventually.....lol. Emori.

Abby totally giving him the slap.

You tell him, Abby!

Commercial Break #1 Thoughts: Honestly, I haven’t liked Abby this season, or most seasons, but it’s nice to see her acting like a real mother again. And also, I love Murphy, but he gets off wayyyyy too easy most time. Do I want him dead? NO! Do I agree that he would be the one to choose....don’t hate me!....but probably so. He did betray them and all. He did the right thing in the end. Sure. But mostly through a lot of outside pressure, and he probably would have gone through with it if Josephine didn’t stab him in the leg and shit. He’s very into saving his own ass. 

Is Josephine really singing....that song? Lol

Ohhh....back in the mind stuff! And it is MESSY and falling apart!

Ohhh their memories are mixing now! That is definitely not good! Way to really push the point that Clarke’s brain is deteriorating. 

Not much. Yes, I would definitely concur.

Ohhh. Her second body really didn’t want to be taken!

Josephine is actually scared. Good.

I love Clarke with a plan!

Hmmm....I hope those memories aren’t important....

Our brain, now Clarke? This is scaring me that she keeps saying “our.”

Leave it to Raven to put Clarke through hell and then give Murphy an easy talk.

So did Gaia purposely get taken?

Madi is ANGRY! 

The only person dying tonight is Russell. How come I don’t agree?

Wow. Very tense lunchtime. 

Is Ty good....or bad? 

Ohhhhh is Ty going to get himself killed because he can’t wait for the rebellion?

OH....is Simone going to die? Good riddance? I suppose....? Yup. Dead. 

No wonder Russell is going to be out for blood this episode. His poor choices are leading to his whole family’s demise. 

Commercial Break #2 Thoughts: Is anyone actually feeling bad for the Primes? I mean, I’m not, but I want to know if there is anyone out there still thinking they are good when their whole brainwashing shit is coming out. Bring on the rebellion! And seriously, already halfway through the episode? I feel, like usual, that we’ve got a lot, but still not enough. I really hope the last few episodes are not rushed because of this. That would suck. I know we’ll get a cliffhanger-ish thing like we usually do, but I hope it is after some real plot growth. Also, so we are probs not going to see Bellamy this episode? Is that what’s happening? Because next to episodes descriptions are all Bellamy/Octavia descriptions which makes me worry also about Clarke’s health. I see Eliza’s name in the cast section of both, but....still worried.

Ope. Josephine and Gabriel memories in different bodies!

Aww.....that’s so cute. I still hate her. And this is so the start of Gabriel’s hate for the Prime system.

Clarke is so sympathizing. She needs to stop being so nice.

Wow. They’re bonding. Damn. Fuck. Fine. Save them both, but give Clarke back her body. And let her live, of course. 

And here is Josephine with an ax. That’s not good. Definitely can’t not trust the psychopath.

And....there goes Josephine. But...Clarke is still inside? How? Is Josephine gone completely now? Or is she awake in Clarke’s body?

And uh oh! Killer vines!

Commercial Break #3 Thoughts: Don’t have many thoughts because that was not a lot before the next set of commercials. But I think we’re somehow seeing Josephine awake somehow? Like, why was it her who regained control when her memories were wiped? And what does this mean for Clarke’s survival? Especially when I’m convinced Josephine was going to use that ax against Clarke? Meaning she can STILL definitely NOT be trusted to keep any sort of deal in keeping them both alive. Josephine is definitely the female Murphy--a little more psycho, yes, but still valid.

At least those commercials didn’t last.

And here is the body being choked! And Gabriel and Octavia to the rescue! 

Nope....Josephine. Not Clarke.

Oh. He does still love her.  That’s not good.

Yeah, Octavia. Ask about Clarke! Save Clarke!

Wow. This is such a mess!

Damn. You guys didn’t honestly think that she was to be trusted. 

You go Bellamy!

“Because of course it is!” What sass!

Blake reunion!

You tell her Bellamy! Protect Clarke, Octavia, and your people. In that order if you don’t mind!

Gaia and Madi confrontation!

Wow Madi is really going bad! Save her!

Yes! Abby is talking sense!

That’s what you get for letting a child become Heda! 

Damn. Shedheda was horrible!

Wow Abby is really going full on mother hen now!

Raven asking the right questions! Good girl!

And this is where we are going to get Madi’s exorcism scene next week!

Ohh....the child is spared, but all the others are burned?

Very witch trials.

Commercial Break #4 Thoughts: Madi is fully gone now. Gotta get that exorcism done. Which is totally next week in Bob’s directorial debut episode next week! SO EXCITED! Which from the behind the scenes pics seems to have Jackson in it, so if he survives the burning at the stake thing, I’m thinking everyone else will, too. Just a theory, but Echo has got to come through in some aspect. And also, with some help from the rebellious people who have already been told the truth? Well. here comes the last fifteen minutes. The last five minutes of all this season’s episodes have been intense, so I wonder what the last five will bring this episode. I’m nervous. And excited. But mostly nervous as always. This show is totally going to make me go prematurely grey! 

Russell giving his dictatorship speech. Gotta have it. 

Echo is totally ready. 

You tell them Emori! 

Very witch trials. 

Damn it, Riker! What the hell?!? Can’t trust any of these bastards.

The chick on the motorcycle is going to save them last moment. Calling it.

Or.....Murphy will save them?

Hmmmm....he’s considering it.

And....now they’re safe? Again?

Ohhh....and Raven is going to use the computer to erase Madi’s bad side.

But they are still going to burn the guy who killed Simone. Typical.

I could see that coming a mile away. Gotta keep everyone in fear of the Primes.

Commercial Break #5 Thoughts: Fear is what keeps the people under control. Biggest sign of a dictatorship. And further proof that the Primes are the real bad guys here. Even Russell in his best moments has always been a brainwashing dictator playing himself off as a god. Also, last five minutes are coming up! Always the most intense! Does anyone else believe this is when we will find if Clarke is going to live or die. I really would stop watching if she died. She’s the show for me.

SAVE CLARKE Gabriel! 

Stop with the heart eyes! Only Bellamy and Clarke can have heart eyes!

She was right to depend on you. 

Gabriel making hard decisions. 

He better still save Clarke!

Either that, or the Blake’s will probably kill him.

Bellamy is seriously pissed. Save his Clarke!

Damn right, Gabriel! The only one who can be trusted I think. Maybe.

Death is life. Very poetic.

And Clarke is now seeing her mind breaking apart. 

Okay. Save her! Save her now! I’m scared! Restart her heart! 

Why is she still here!?

WHAT?!?!?!?! 

IS she really killing Clarke?

Oh God. 

Heart and the head. Hear and the head!

Save her Bellamy! This is love! 

Is that the only kiss we are only ever going to see?

Damn....are we really losing Clarke?

Oh my god. My heart seriously was stopping and racing!

The head and the heart! This is so a love confession!

THAT WAS A LOVE CONFESSION!!!!!

My hands are still shaking from thinking that they were really killing off Clarke!

[douxreviews]

Star Trek: Discovery - ‘The Sound of Thunder’ Review

Saru: "Perhaps in being less like you were, you are becoming more like you are meant to be."

By nature I love brevity: Now that's what I call... a serviceable action story with a few plot holes and a few decent character moments. Some promise, and a twist I didn't see coming.

A while back, in my review for the Short Trek 'The Brightest Star,' I complained that the writers clearly had a lot that they wanted to do with Kaminar, the Kelpiens, and the Ba'ul, and that they'd tried to shove more into the episode than would really fit. As 'The Sound of Thunder' began, I steeled myself for a repeat of that; I wasn't sure that the writers would be able to rein in their excitement at the species and character that they had created enough to write a story that was manageable. It turns out I needn't have worried about that. The hour runtime was plenty to tell the story they wanted to tell and communicate the things they wanted to communicate.

The thing is, this episode made it abundantly clear to me just how little we needed 'The Brightest Star,' and just how unuseful the developments in it were. 'Thunder' contains a good deal of shots that were directly taken from 'Star,' and all of the major reveals about Saru and his people, as well as all of the plot developments, were reiterated here. Of course this is for the benefit of the people who haven't seen the Short Treks, but it rendered even the scant things that 'The Brighest Star' accomplished entirely moot.

'Thunder' is a fairly by-the-numbers action story. Its plot contains a few rather basic twists and reveals, and the suspense is built well. I like that the reigning - and most obvious - theory, that the Ba'ul are the evolved Kelpiens, turned out not to be the case at all. DIS has a pretty bad track record as far as keeping its plot developments secret goes, so a good surprise when the audience expects something else is nice to see.

The Ba'ul were a decently effective enemy; their appearance was pretty scary and their fear of the Kelpiens made for a believable motivation. They reminded me and the viewers I watched this with of Armus from TNG's 'Skin of Evil,'  The major problem was that the Ba'ul voices, especially over subspace on the bridge, were nearly impossible to understand. I'm all for creepy atmosphere, but maybe run their voices through a lighter modulator next time.

I was rather pleased with Saru in this episode. I liked that he became emotionally unable to handle the situation, especially after the loss of his ganglia back in 'An Obol for Charon.' That sort of a change, especially when his ganglia have been shown to have a profound effect on his emotions in the past, would definitely alter his ability to control himself. I liked his interactions with his sister, which were of course well acted by Doug Jones and Hannah Spear. Saru and Siranna had a much deeper and more interesting relationship in this episode than it was in 'Star,' due to the added layer of Saru's departure. That's not a stock relationship, and the fact that Siranna took over for her father in the hopes that it might lead her back to him makes it emotionally deep.

There was a really great scene early on in the episode, with the newly rejuvenated Culber, Saru, and Stamets in sickbay. We got an insight, albeit a small one, into what it's like for Hugh to return after his consciousness spent so much time trapped in the mycelial network. He doesn't feel like the same man that he was when he died. His new body, identical to his old one but still completely different, reflects how he feels inside. Hugh can't reconcile his new self with the old, even though very little is actually different. Though Stamets truly wants to help and to support his partner, he can't do so tangibly because he has no clear idea what Hugh is going through. Saru, on the other hand, has in a way also been recently reborn. This gives them a connection that I didn't expect to see but was glad I did. This scene proves to me that the show is definitely going to explore Culber's return in a way that's meaningful to his character. I'm really happy about that because in the first season his character was only really used in ways that serviced Stamets'. If they give him his own arc here, I'll be very, very pleased. And of course, both he and Stamets are miles ahead of characters on other shows who are 'the gay guy' and nothing more.

I'm not so pleased with the resolution, specifically the use of the Red Angel in this episode. It was quite the deus ex machina - is it angelus ex machina here? - to have the Angel step in at the very end to stop the Ba'ul's plan and save the Kelpiens. Except it isn't even angelus ex machina, since the Angel is nothing even close to a supernatural being. After all this discussion and exploration of faith, the main symbol in this show of something people put their faith in is nothing more than a guy in a suit with some advanced technology? That's about as disappointing as this show has gotten. Despite my misgivings about how this show has handled faith and belief, I really have appreciated the fact that it did so. Besides, the way that it's handled these topics has been better than many shows, and the individual episodes have said some things worth saying even if the show as a whole has yet to settle on a particular approach. But this is a big let-down.

Strange New Worlds:

We've already been to Kaminar, in 'The Brightest Star,' but DIS in its main form hasn't visited it yet.

New Life and New Civilizations:

The Ba'ul are new to this show. I've already talked about most of my thoughts regarding them.

Pensees:

-Okay, enough with the tricky camera movements without purpose already. To direct well, you don't just have to know how to make flashy shots, you also have to understand when to do it and what it does to the scene when you do.

-They mentioned the Prime Directive, but it really didn't factor in as much as might have been appropriate. This show should start being a little more careful with the way it sidesteps the PD to tell its stories.

-Those Ba'ul ships were pretty dang intimidating, like something you'd see from the Borg.

-How did Saru transport himself to the planet when the ship was at Red Alert and the shields were up?

-Okay, so SuperSaru! was kind of cool. But he's quite lucky that the Ba'ul stronghold contained only about eight drones.

-I like Burnham's white t-shirt in this episode. How much you want to bet that shows up for sale on startrek.com within the week?

-Pike's slight peace offering to Tyler in Saru's report didn't feel earned. I haven't been invested in their conflict yet.

-The answer to fear is hope in this episode. I like that.

-Next week: SPOOOOOCK!

Quotes:

Saru: "We all come from somewhere. We bring that place with us wherever we go. That never leaves our hearts. Not entirely."

Pike: "We can stretch General Order One, but let's not break it in the process." Too late.

Saru: "For 18 years, I dreamt of returning to my village. It has not changed at all, but I see it quite differently now."

Siranna: "Return to the stars, Saru. There is no place for you here."

Siranna: "Your face is beautiful to me. Part of me hoped I would never see it again, because it might mean you were free."

Competent but not exceptional. 4 out of 6 heavily modulated voices.

Star Trek fandom runs very deep in CoramDeo's family.

[waltdisneyconfessions]

ASK A DISNEY MANAGER: QUESTIONS ANSWERED!

This is a repost because of accidental deletion. Awhile back you guys sent in questions for a Disney Manager, below are his responses! Thank you!

1. What is the worst experience/mistake you've ever made with a guest? What is the best experience you've had with a guest?  I think my worst experience or moment was during my college program. I remember arriving at merge area at Peter Pan's Flight where Fastpass and standby guests merge into one line, and the Fastpass line was extremely long. I stepped in and tried my best to get the Fastpass line under control and I remember a few families in the standby line yelling obscenities at me. Once I began to let a few standby guests in, all I remember was five or six adults standing around me in a circle, screaming at me. I was so stressed that I tried to grab the attention of the person working to load guests onto the attraction, to ask if she would switch with me briefly because I thought I was going to break down and begin crying. Instead, I walked away from the merge area with no Cast Member there for a minute or two. I walked over to the person working in the load position, and said, "I'm really sorry, but I can't work in that position right now." We swapped positions until one of my managers could pull me aside to talk. I honestly thought I was going to get into trouble for walking away, but my manager was understanding and spent a few minutes with me to make sure I was okay. 

2. As someone who was a Disney manager, would you openly recommend it as a job to anyone who would want to work at Disney?

Personally, I would recommended working for Disney!

As with any job, I would also encourage those interested in working at Disney to evaluate and make decisions about their own career path before immediately making the jump to work for the company. Do your homework! Determine exactly what you would like your career path to be, study and read up on the company culture, and be prepared to work hard.

Also remember that Disney is massive Fortune 500 company, operating domestically and internationally. If working for a large corporation isn’t your thing, I wouldn’t recommend Disney. Most often, moving up within the organization can take time because it is competitive.

3. how do they handle workers who don't speak English? at some point that must have happened right?

In many Guest facing roles, you are required to have a basic understanding of the English language, or be able to speak English to communicate with Guests. However, bilingual skills a great qualification that the company looks for in job candidates. If a Cast Member doesn’t possess strong verbal communication skills or basic English, he or she may work in a backstage role where guest contact is limited.

4. For the former manager: did you ever have a heart warming experience while working at Disney? Or was it all work and no spark? Many thanks for taking your time to answer questions ️

Actually, I have a few really heartwarming moments from my time at Disney, but one of my favorites moments involved me assisting with surprising a young guest with a tour the Cinderella Castle Suite whose favorite character was Cinderella. The highlight of the tour was seeing the expression on the guest’s face when she knocked on the door to the Suite and Cinderella opened it. I, along with her parents and a few other Cast Members involved, were on the verge of tears.  

5. What's the snottiest, most entitled guest you've ever dealt with? And any recs for getting into the Disney College Program? Is there a chance to move up in the company into, say, the writing division in animation? Thank you so much <3

This is tough one for me because I can’t think of a specific story. That’s probably because the person acted so entitled that I wanted to completely erase them from my memory once they were gone. lol.

I will say that I’ve dealt with several Guests who have tried to essentially “pull rank” or highlight their social status by mentioning they were either lawyers or doctors when things weren’t going their way or they weren’t satisfied. I’ve also dealt with people who have tried to belittle me (and even other Cast) by assuming most of us didn’t graduate high school or attend college because we worked in a theme park. I’ll be honest, I often take words to heart, so there were moments at the end of the day when I questioned who I was and what I was doing with my life. I can’t describe the feeling I would get when I felt defeated because someone decided to belittle me…but… the good always outweighs the bad…seriously!

Even though Disney can be a competitive environment, yes, there are opportunities of moving up. I think using the College Program as your stepping stone is a great start! As for getting into the program, I would recommend opening yourself to as many roles as possible when you’re applying. I often hear that you chances are better if you don’t limit yourself to only one or two roles. These positions aren’t always going to be glamorous, but it’s what you make of it. If you are hoping to build a career at Disney, remind yourself that it has to start somewhere…and that somewhere may not be in the role you envisioned yourself. I recommend reading up on the roles available to DCP participants just to get an idea.  Apply early! During the interview process think about how you respond to situational questions using your past experience. Be prepared to discuss your strengths and weaknesses, and have a few follow-up questions for after the interview. I could go on and on!! If you need more advice with the process, let me know and I would be glad to give you even more preparation tips.

Finally, as for landing a career within animation, I would recommend the path of doing a college program, to familiarize yourself with the Disney culture (be a strong and consistent performer during your DCP experience),and  looking for an internship after that… Here’s a good link to check out: https://www.disneyanimation.com/careers/interns-apprentices#life-at-disney

6. can I just ask if there's something like special training on supporting Autistic Adults? Or just facilities in general? I'm saving to go to Florida next year for DisneyWorld but I'm very scared on how I may be treated if I start reacting badly to overstimulation :/

Cast Members complete training for assisting guests with specific needs, including autism, and how to assist guests requiring special assistance as part of the training process. When I worked in Guest Relations, I had to familiarize myself with the location of “break areas” throughout the parks which are helpful for individuals becoming over-stimulated. However, I think more Cast Members working in the park need to become more familiar with these locations.

Overall though I wouldn’t fear making the trip to WDW. I would recommend planning out your trip and studying up before taking your trip. Disney has some good planning resources including information for services for Guests with cognitive disabilities available on their website, and they also have a Guest with Disabilities department that can contact by phone or email before your visit.

7. how often did guests have asinine requests? like stupid things: "can you make the rain stop?"

Or… can we see Walt’s frozen corpse at the castle? lol. I’ve heard that one a couple of times. I also remember being asked by a father whose child wasn’t tall enough to ride an attraction, “what if I stuff my child’s shoes and come back later? Will you let him ride then?”

8. what are the best secrets that guests can access at the parks but few do? Also is the paintbrush on tom Sawyer island actually a thing? One last thing, what is the pay like? (Answer if you want, I know it’s not necessarily my place) I’ve always wanted to work there but I live in Ohio so I’m deciding whether it’s worth it to move. Thank you and you’re an amazing human being <3

I think some of the best secrets aren’t found within attractions or shows, but in some of the smallest details that Guests tend to overlook. For me, I enjoy the fact that the parks are full of small Easter eggs. For example, there is a telephone in the back of the Chapeau (the hat shop on Main Street) at Magic Kingdom. It looks like a simple prop hanging on the wall, but when you pick it up you can hear a funny “party line” conversation between two people. Or, if you’re ever in the lower level of the Main Street train station, you’ll hear a telegraph tapping out the Walt Disney’s opening day speech for Disneyland in Morse code.

I wouldn’t think of this as much of a secret, but one of my favorite Disney treats is a peanut butter & jelly milkshake from 50’s Prime Time Café. Many people think you have to dine there to order one, but if you stop by the Tune-In Lounge next door, you can order one to-go! If you’ve never had one though, you must!

Paintbrushes at Tom Sawyer Island did exist for quite some time, and it was a great scavenger hunt, especially for younger guests, but the Magical Moment was removed several years ago.

To answer your question about pay, I think it depends on your role. I think most people forget there are a wide variety of roles at Walt Disney World alone. I don’t know the exact current starting pay rates for guest-facing hourly positions, but the range is anywhere between $8 to just over $12 depending on the type of role.

And if that "you're an amazing human being comment was directed at me"... Thanks so much! I appreciate that! :)

9. I always loved Disney Quest, and we made one final trip when we heard it was closing. We had a blast, but the main attractions did look run down and out of date, and we constantly joked about the ps2 style graphics. It seemed like Disney sunk a lot of money into DQ for opening day and did little else to update it since. Do you have any info on why this was, or on what led to Disney Quest closing down? I feel like there was still a lot of potential there, especially with Disney's new properties

I think people have created their own theories behind the demise of DisneyQuest.  DQ was a pretty ambitious project by a division of the company known at the time as Disney Regional Entertainment. The long term goal was to open DisneyQuest locations in several major cities throughout the country. DisneyQuest Chicago opened in 1998 and closed two years later. Groundbreaking for another location in Philadelphia started and was halted after the DisneyQuest concept didn’t sustain itself in Chicago, and there were a number of reasons thrown out for its failure…from the theme park admission price structure to enter, to the lack of return visits, and Disney simply misunderstanding the market which led to low attendance.  

Unfortunately, I don’t have the exact “why” behind the closing of DQ at WDW. I think many will say that a lack of investment was the primary cause. I will agree there wasn’t much invested into DQ after the property transferred hands from Disney Regional Entertainment to WDW park operations. I think one of the biggest challenges for Disney was keeping up with the rapidly evolving technology trends to ensure that DisneyQuest stayed relevant, and the possibility of having update attractions within the building frequently to keep up. In the end, I think executives within Disney figured it would be wiser to invest its money into its largest attendance draw, its theme parks.

10. What was your best day and what was your worst day working? My worst day? Hmm...working in Guest Relations when it started raining during the last two hours of a Halloween Party. I remember the line for Guest Relations stretching across Town Square on Main Street...and there were lots of angry people. I wouldn't say it was the worst day, but it was definitely stressful. It's difficult to narrow it down to just one because I've quite a few memorable days. I think one of the best days involved the Cinderella Suite magical moment I was part of (mentioned in a previous question).  11. What was the weirdest complaint someone brought to Guest Relations?

A guest who was upset because he ended up getting wet while riding Splash Mountain. He tried his hardest to convince me there was nothing convincing him that he or his family would get wet on the ride, and that the rest of his day was ruined because his shirt was wet. Try listening to that with a straight face and concerned face…

12. if you had been high enough on the food chain to make larger changes to the park, what would be the most important thing you'd want to accomplish?

Hmm, interesting question. The first...BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION attraction, with some slight updates.

Although it’s practically unrealistic, if there was one thing could change about WDW would be its size, and try removing some of the growing pains that have come as a result of the WDW sprawl. I often think that Walt Disney World expanded at a pretty rapid pace, and maybe much too quickly at times.  After my first visit to Disneyland almost 15 years ago, I fell in love with the place. I felt like Guests had a personal connection to Disneyland, and that wasn’t something I had ever really noticed in Florida. As corny as it sounds, there is a certain charm about Disneyland and I think a lot of that not only has to do the fact that it was the only Disney park that Walt was involved in operationally, but it also has something to with the size and walkability of the resort.

13. How do you feel about the union negotiations? (From a current and scared part timer in the parks)

What has you scared?  My feelings are rather mixed about the current negotiations. I’ll be honest and say that I do think pay increases are needed, and that Cast Members are generally held to a standard higher than any other individual working within similar positions in the industry. I’m just not completely certain if $15/hour is going to be the solution. I don’t think I’m best person to ask regarding facts and figures because I’m not an economist.

As an outsider looking in, I do think that the negotiations has had an impact on service levels within Disney’s parks and resorts. I think the union will continue leverage the belief that if the organization expects such high performance standards, then Cast Members need to be paid appropriately to reflect those expectations.

On the other side of the debate, I think it’s possible to see a future where Disney will eventually begin to heavily focus on marketing its attractions and experiences to continue to entice people to visit, remove those high expectations often place on hourly guest-facing roles, and treat the role of Cast Member as simply a “ride attendant” or “sales associate” rather than placing emphasis on the role of a Cast Member as something unique (hopefully, that makes sense and it doesn’t appear that I’m rambling).  

One thing I will stand by is this… I recommend that Cast Members take time to develop their skill and not allow themselves to become complacent. Personally, I’ve witnessed a lot of that during my time with the company. I had moments when I felt that way about myself as well.  I know that each person has a different story, and a different set of circumstances, but I would love to see more hourly Cast Members try to advantage of Disney’s education funding/reimbursement program. I’m not certain if the new higher education program benefits announced earlier this year are available to WDW hourly employees, but if so, I would encourage people to take advantage of it! Even if a person thinks they are not cut out for college, the new program covers vocational training which provides individuals with a better opportunity to develop their skills.

14. What was your favorite magical moment you gave and received? [see Cinderella Castle Suite response] 15. Do you know what kind if engineers Disney hires the most? I'm looking at electrical engineering for college but I'm not sure if that's a good approach if I want to work at Disneyworld or Disneyland.

I think electrical engineering is a good choice and you’ll definitely find a number of positions seeking individuals with backgrounds in that specialization. It’s tough to say which types of engineers the company hires the most of, but I think some of the most common consist of mechanical, electrical, systems engineering, and even audio/visual engineering.

As you make your decision, I would definitely pay a visit to disneycareers.com and do a job search for engineering. I think you’ll learn that there is a pretty diverse offering of engineering roles not only in Parks and Resorts, but companywide as well.

Mod Jen: I’m going to butt in here: I was close with many of the maintenance team at Disney and I know straight from them that electrical is much more lucrative than mechanical, because you’re at greater risk. You also get paid more. 

16. If I want to become an imagineer at the parks, is there anything I can do to improve my chances of being hired as one?

Definitely ensure that you have a degree specialized in a field of engineering, art, or another creative field. If you are into design, it will be important that you start building a professional portfolio as well.

If you’re currently in college or a recent graduate, I would highly recommend looking into Professional Internships with Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI). I think the professional internship is a great way to “get your foot in the door” and understand the culture of Imagineering. I know a few people who have taken the internship route, worked hard, and were offered opportunities to continue their career with Imagineering after graduation. If you’ve been out of school for a while, I recommend looking for entry level positions within WDI, or take on a job with a design or engineering firm elsewhere so that you can develop some career experience. I know some Imagineers weren’t always Disney “fanatics” or knew much about the history of Disney prior to joining, but they’re experience and portfolio stood out as something Disney saw as creative or unique.

For designers, WDI hosts an annual design competition for college students and recent grads called “Imaginations” which gives winners the opportunity to be considered for internships.

17. Hi! I was wondering is there an age limit for DCP? I'd love to apply before I move out to CA for grad school. I'm 30. I also have multiple disabilities, mainly Cerebral Palsy. What jobs can be done from a power wheelchair? How accessible is Disneyland?

There is no age limit on the DCP. At one of my locations, I worked with someone who was 45 years old when she did her first program. As long as you’re enrolled full-time or part-time at a university, or a recent graduate. Utilizing a power wheelchair isn’t an issue at all, and there are a variety of positions you would be able to work within Disney’s parks and resorts. There will probably be some limits working in some roles though (such as some attractions) since those may require the ability to travel up or down stairs to access areas of the attraction when it’s needed.

Overall, I think Disney does an excellent job when it comes to accessibility within its parks. If you were to compare accessibility between the two parks in Anaheim, Disney’s California Adventure would probably win since it was built more recently with ADA accessibility in mind. Disneyland still does a great job with accessibility though, it’s just that many of the attractions may not have queues that are wheelchair accessible, so instead they use alternate entrances.

18. What are your guys' favourite Disney rides? Have you guys went to some of the other parks outside of the US?

My all-time favorite is The Haunted Mansion. I’ve always been obsessed about the early history and the development of the attraction. Laugh if you want, but It’s a Small World is another one of my favorites (I worked there during my college program). Spaceship Earth is another. I have yet to visit any of the Disney parks outside of the US. Tokyo Disneyland is on my list of must-sees!

19. How did you work up the ladder to manager? What position did you start in, how did you get that position, and what other positions did you have between then and manager?

I began my Disney career as a part-time attractions host at Space Mountain which lasted about two months before I transferred to a full-time attractions host role at DisneyQuest. It was during my time at DisneyQuest that I decided I wanted to become a Disney leader. Before stepping into an actual leadership position with Disney, you often have to take on the challenge of informal leadership positions, such as a trainer or coordinator. Six months after starting at DQ, I interviewed for an attractions trainer position and that became my first step to gaining some leadership experience.

During my time as a trainer, I began to communicate regularly with another manager who became my mentor, and he helped guide me through me through the process of strengthening my resume and interview skills. After spending a year at DisneyQuest, my mentor and the operations manager suggested that I transfer from DisneyQuest to an attraction at a park as a way of gaining more experience working at an attraction with a high guest capacity. I took their advice and transferred to Mission:Space at Epcot and became a trainer within six months of working there.

During this period, I was also given an amazing opportunity to join the Disney Traditions team as a Traditions Assistant facilitator. For those unfamiliar with Disney, Traditions is the new hire orientation that all company employees go through. This was a year-long, “once-in-your-Disney-career,” experience that I think helped open doors for me at WDW as well.

Almost two years after starting with Disney, I went through a process known at the time as Leadership Casting Call. This was the process WDW used to identify and develop a pool of talent to become Guest Service Managers for each line of business at Disney’s parks and resorts. After lots of networking, mock interview preparations, and finally, the actual interviews, I was selected to be part of the talent pool. My first temporary position as a manager took me back to DisneyQuest. This would also be the place where I would end up becoming a full-time manager about 8 months later.

20.  Is Splash Mountain an awkward subject to discuss? Have people asked about what that ride is based off of, & if they do, were you allowed to tell them about Song of the South, or did you have to lie & say it's an original attraction just like Haunted Mansion or Jungle Cruise?

Honestly, I’ve never had to have an awkward conversation about Splash Mountain. I think majority of the population may not connect the attraction with the movie Song of the South.

21. What has been one or more of the craziest experiences/incidents you ever had working for Disney?

     Splash Mountain probably led to some of my craziest and most interesting challenges ever. One of the craziest moments though was witnessing a ride vehicle at Splash Mountain nearly on the verge of sinking with Guests onboard because the log was taking on too much water.  Everyone was okay, but they pretty much drenched from the waist down. The family was pretty understanding in the end and actually ended up being some of the nicest people I’d ever interacted with while working at Disney.

[jaywrites101]

JayReviews: Shazam!

What makes a person pure of heart? Today at JayWrites101 we're looking into the recent "controversy" surrounding Captain Marvel and her DC competitor Shazam!. Some are saying this movie is everything Captian Marvel should have been, others are saying this movie is the hack. Which is true? Let's find out together.

The purpose of this review is to break down The Good, The Bad, and The Strange to find out what makes these stories so unique.

Spoilers ahead.

Medium: Movie. Genre: Superhero, Comedy Premise: A young boy is given the ultimate power of Shazam, and must use this power to recapture the Seven Deadly Sins. Plot: A young boy named Thaddeus is teleported to a magic temple and given a test to see if his heart is pure enough to wield the power of Shazam. He fails the test and spends the rest of his life devoted to finding his way back to that temple.

Enter Billy Batson, a young delinquent living in Philadelphia who lost his mother when he was a very young child. Billy regularly runs away from his foster homes and pulls pranks on cops so he can track down every Batson in Philadelphia. Finally, at the last woman on the list, Billy is crushed to discover that she wasn't his mother either, and he's left without any option but to return to foster care.

Thaddeus, now an older man, finally cracks the code to magic and breaks into the temple. Shazam, being near the end of his power and life tries to stop him, but Thaddeus steals the Eye of Sin, which does exactly what it says on the tin and becomes his eye.

Also, it frees the Seven Deadly Sins from their captivity. Thaddeus can sort of control them, but in reality, they're just using him, and since he's already doing what they want... it works.

Anywho, Shazam, now left dying is forced to give his powers to Billy and pray that the kid won't abuse them as previous heroes did in the past. Smaaaaaaart.

The rest of the story is Billy trying to figure out the limits of his powers with his best friend and foster brother Freddy. Being Shazam makes him grow into an adult. Wacky hijinks ensue!

Billy eventually attracts the attention of Thaddeus who forces Billy to fight by kidnapping his family, and Billy discovers a way to allow them to become superheroes like himself. Together they beat Thaddeus, return the Eye of Sin to its cage, and bind the Sins back into their original prisons.

The Good: This movie is hilarious! This is one of the best modern examples of physical comedy I've seen in years! Between Shazam! and Into the Spiderverse, I'm hopeful that this style of comedy will make a full recovery. 

Aside from the laughs -- which were plentiful -- I have to say the acting was on point for everyone involved. The kids were excellent, the adults were excellent, line readings, facial expressions, all of it was top notch here.

But we're going to give this Good with an asterisk. You see, this film is a comedy, it's fun and light-hearted. This lends itself well to more expressive emotions and any slip-ups made only serve to add to its charm. It's still a really big Good. But it a bar that's a lot easier to clear in a comedy with serious moments than in a serious movie with comedic moments.

The next Good I want to point out is the cinematography. The camera guy had fun with this. And by fun I probably mean hell. The long takes, the swivels, the crane shots! There was action with this camera, and you could feel that each take was shot with dedication and care. It's refreshing to see in a movie like this especially when so many films of late show flat, static shots with the occasional shot-reverse shot thrown in.

The last point I want to bring up is the dramatic stakes.

People died in this movie.

Yeah, okay. I can hear you already tying away like "no duh," but usually in these superheroic, high-action flicks people are getting offed by stray bullets or "Raaar! Monster smashes building!" And you never really see the death toll. Like, you're sure someone died, but you're not really sure who, why, or how. Unless they're a mentor character. But those folks come with an expiration date to begin with, soooooo...

It's usually easy to ignore the damage done in films like this.

Thaddeus locks about twenty people in a skyscraper room, throws his older brother out the window, and proceeds to murder the remainder of the people saving his father for last.

That's frekin hard to ignore!!

Likewise, the scene where Bily reunites with his birth mother just to find out she left him there with the police intentionally... I... I just can't... I can't even...

The Bad: I don't believe in perfection. I believe everything can be improved. The prime example here would be how exaggerated everything it.

Don't get me wrong. In comedy, exaggeration is played off for laughs and it's beautiful, buuuuut. When you use exaggeration in your drama... It comes off as forced.

To the film's credit, the exaggeration mostly comes from the fact that they're all kids. But it's still grating to older audiences at times.

I was left in eternal confusion about how old Billy was before he gained an adult super-form. This is one area where even the internet failed me. Canonically, Billy is 12... Considering he has a crush on his foster sister who is about to leave for college... <.< I'm going to say he's supposed to be older in this film. 

I mean... They try to imply he's still in grade school, but he looks like he's already in high school. He also acts like he's already in high school.

Aside from that, most of everything else I have to go here are nitpicks. Things like "how do no one notice the lightning bolts being blasted into the rooftops?" You know. Nitpicks. They're there in every film, series or story. Nitpicks can add up and snowball fast, but in this film, they're barely noticeable.

The Strange: This section of the review is devoted to the things that probably wasn't thought out as well as you might have expected.

The other foster kids.

Out of the six kids we have: Billy the protagonist, Freddy the cripple, a little black girl, the college girl/ love interest, the fat kid, and the Asian stereotype.

There is nothing done in the movie to address these characters except that in the end, they all do actually get superpowers.

To be clear: I'm not complaining about the diversity. I'm complaining that these characters are little more than their stereotypes, and the film indirectly implies that these kids are living half a life unless they're flawless, swole, and sexy.

I know, I'm a white boy who's never lived in a foster home before. I don't think I have any kind of right to be offended... But I think there's someone out there who should be.

There are plans for a sequel in the pipelines. I hope they address this. Because half-assed inclusion can be more damaging than outright bad inclusion.

I still think this was a good step in the right direction. But they still need to take a few more.

Strongest Scene: The villain in the office scene. To me, that was the most gut-punching part of the movie. They said, "Hey, I'm going to have this bad guy do bad things in what would otherwise be a kids movie," and somehow the studio was like, "eh, whatever we don't care."

And we received gold. 

The suspension was locked on high, the terror was real, and I actually believed Thaddeus was a wicked monster. Not to mention this was our first glimpse of the Sins outside of the statues. There was so much intensity packed into one small scene that I'm absolutely sure better reviewers than I will continue to pick over it for years to come. So it absolutely receives my subjective vote.

Weakest Scene: This one always pains me to write. I'm going to have to give it to Billy meeting his birth mother. Now, this scene did have some powerful moments in it, like Billy giving back the compass and the mother just looking at it blankly like she couldn't see the implications of it. Powerful stuff.

But the execution of it was... off. For one thing, this was a tight scene and it didn't have a lot of time to build up to the big moments. So some things felt rushed.

For another, Billy's mother seemed almost irritated that Billy had found her after all these years. Like, she glossed right over surprised, ignored curiosity altogether, and went straight on into "yeah, kid what do you want?" and that was... maybe intentional? I don't know.

It's hard to express exactly what I disliked about this, but this woman didn't feel like a mom and... I think that was supposed to be the point, but it really undercuts the emotion this scene should've had. And the only thing that connects to the rest of the movie is that Billy has to accept that his foster family is his real family now.

This is still an excellent scene, in any other movie it would've been fine. But Shazam! hit a high bar and this is easily the one scene that doesn't hold up.

Conclusion: This film was genuinely amazing! If you haven't watched it, you probably should. There's a lot to take out of it, and it stands alone on its own two feet so you don't have to worry if you've literally never watched any other DC movie.

How does Captain Marvel and Shazam! compare to each other?

Check back here tomorrow for my detailed thoughts on this and a few other "controversies" floating around on the internet.

[head-and-heart]

The 100 Highlights - “Exit Wounds” (5x06) ... 2.0

Hi guys. So some of you may be reading this title in mild confusion right now because “didn’t she already do a highlight post for 5x06?” 

And you would be right! I did, indeed, create a highlights post for this episode that you can view here. And I would be lying if I said it didn’t bring me some level of satisfaction in posting it, but - alas - it does not really fit the purpose of this series in the first place ... which was to spur positivity within the fandom for whenever we experience another inevitable meltdown.

My initial purpose of starting this series was, ironically enough, exactly for episodes like 5x06 - the episodes that fandom despises. I did a highlight post for 4x04 last year, another episode many people did not enjoy, in an attempt to put a more positive spin on it and lift the moods of people in fandom. My motivation for creating this series was mostly in the attempt to preserve the sanity of myself and the fandom as a whole.

So, forgive my petty crackpost. While I had my fun with it, it was always my intention to do another, more serious list of highlights for the episode when I gathered up the energy to do a rewatch.

So here it is. The new and improved (????) list of my favourite parts of 5x06:

People of Wonkru, hello and welcome to the 100th annual Hunger Games. I have to say, I did appreciate my wife, Charmaine Diyoza’s homage to THG. She grew up in the early 2000′s, she knows what’s up. Dropping a bunch of parachutes from the sky full of rations? Now that’s a power move. A woman after my heart.

“Two missiles and this war would be over.” “And then what? How many of our people are farmers? How many are engineers?”

Seriously CHARMAINE IS SO SMART. She’s not rash, she’s calculating. And she doesn’t fight needless battles. She isn’t here to kill, she’s here to take the valley. But she’s also willing to negotiate peace in order to reach her goals - she isn’t irrational, and she isn’t cruel. Never have I ever rooted for an “antagonist” on this show more. Every episode she just gets more likable and more relatable. She says everything I’m thinking, I swear.

“In war the greatest victory is the one that requires no battle.” I don’t think there has been a person in power on this show who has ever verbalized such a thing. It’s no wonder Kane is siding with Diyoza. Even if Octavia wasn’t such a tyrant, how could he resist teaming up with the one person who actually practices what he’s been preaching for all these years?

“We’re the only thing that can defeat us.” Why does this line feel like foreshadowing? 

Okay, I have to take a moment to scream (again) about how aggressively into Gaia’s look I am. Damn girl. No idea how you bleached your hair down there but good on you. Good. On. You.

“Gina at Mount Weather. Ilian in the conclave. Me, on that damn cliff.”

Listen. I fucking cheered at that line. I cheered. And I don’t think I have ever cheered for Octavia in anything she has ever done, or said, since maybe Season 2. I am not an Octavia fan. I’ve been pretty vocal about that, but this is one of the few moments during the series in which I could actually understand and empathize with her, because in this episode she voiced everything that the audience has been thinking AND. IT. WAS. SO. VINDICATING.

First of all, shout out to my girl, Gina Martin. You were the realest, and you deserved better. RIP. I don’t think it is actually possible that I could ever dislike any line that acknowledges her.

Second of all, Marie SLAYED the delivery of this line. Her voice actually breaks when she references Echo almost killing her in 4x04. I was trying to place what it was about Octavia in this scene that I liked and I realized: she may be swinging a sword, but that is not Blodreina talking. Underneath that armour is Octavia. And, judging by the way she clutches her stomach, she can still feel the wounds inflicted on that day on the cliff. Now, however, it isn’t Echo who is holding the sword: it’s Bellamy. This isn’t Blodreina holding up a facade to maintain her power; this is Octavia expressing real pain. And I may not agree with how she treats her brother, but this is perhaps the one case in which her argument is completely, and totally valid. 

I don’t know if Marie clutching her stomach like that, right where the scar would be, was an acting choice or a directing choice but I really liked that small detail.

“Why are we even doing this? So your sister can go to war? What happened to us being the good guys?” Thank you, my precious Monty, for being the light this world needs. Now go ditch Wonkru and join up with my wife Charmaine. 

Listen, I cannot describe how initially soothed I was when I heard Niylah’s accent. Finally, someone seeking out my girl Clarke! It felt like old times (and this is coming from someone who never used to give two shits about Niylarke, if I’m honest). *sigh* 

“I’m sorry. It’s just, everything’s so different.” God, my heart BROKE for Clarke so many times during this episode. I feel so much for her and it’s just SO easy to connect with her this season. She’s definitely my favourite character after the time jump, thus far, and I’m loving every second that we get of her. 

I already said that I never really cared much for Niylarke but giving her that black panther was CUTE. Sue Me.

“You saved our lives, again. Thank you by the way.” “That wasn’t me; that was Bellamy.” First of all, my girl is getting the acknowledgement she deserves. Second of all, I will take my crumbs - thank you very much.

I’m not going to lie: The 100 can disappoint in many ways, but the soundtrack never does. Tree Adam’s score was slaying the game in this episode, especially in the scene with Niylah and Clarke. That track was beautiful. It had the perfect amount of softness and nostalgia and melancholy and I loved it.

“How do you explain the sun to someone who’s never seen it?” This line was so eery and creepy HOLY shit. But I loved it, even as much as it broke my heart to realize that the one person who sought Clarke out in this episode was only using her for information. 

“I can still tell when you’re lying.” dark!Niylah - I never knew I would be so intrigued.

“Gaia, what are you doing?” “Protecting the last true natblida, as my order has always done.” BA DUM TISS

That plot twist ... I have to admit that I honestly did NOT see that coming. I was sure that Gaia was shoved straight up Octavia’s asshole. I cannot express how much gratification it brings me to know that Gaia was playing her the entire time. As Murphy would say, “that’s a survivor’s move.”

“I’m not the one you should be afraid of.” Seriously, the story potential this twist opens up for Clarke, Gaia, Octavia, and Madi is just OFF the charts. I cannot wait to see where this goes.

The entire interaction between Gaia, Niylah, and Clarke was simply fascinating. Three woman who I didn’t know I needed to interact this much.

“I don’t enjoy seeing you suffer, John.” “Then why’d you leave me.” I’ve never been a diehard Memori stan (just casually enjoyed it) but goddamn this episode was prime angst material for them. I have such a weakness for angst, my friends.

“You didn’t need me anymore. You were always off doing your own thing with Raven.” “SO WHAT?” YOU TELL HIM EMORI

“When we were on the ring, I was part of something bigger than myself. I didn’t know I needed that, but I did. And you punished me for it.” This is my favourite version of Emori, guys. Remember when we all thought that Emori died off-screen before S5 aired because there was no BTS of Luisa? I’m so glad we were wrong. Her story this season has been absolute fire. A prime example of natural character development following a time jump ... *ahem*

“A spy and a murderer ... with a conscience. You’re right Bellamy, she has changed.” I SCREAMED at Marie’s delivery of this line. It was just ... so on point you guys.

That shift transition from ***** *** (I can’t type it out - this is supposed to be a HIGHLIGHT post) to Clarke packing ... with the same music playing. aasqkqisnsksks I ain’t gonna say a word

“Six years is a long time. Octavia is not the girl from the stories I told you.” Madi’s hero worship is mildly cute but indulging it can’t possibly lead to anything good. I really appreciated this line. And I don’t blame Clarke one bit for feeling like she needs to leave.

“If anything happens to me ...” Give me a moment to recover. I’m Triggered.

But seriously that Madi x Clarke scene was just so beautiful and emotional and heartbreaking. Eliza is slaying the game. and why does lola’s face remind me so much of bellamy in THAT scene y’all know the one. the resemblance is real i said what i said

Clarke looking over to ***** ******* like a wounded puppy ... for the second episode in a row. I AIN’T GONNA SAY A WORD

“W h a t?” THE PAIN IN HIS VOICE i’ll take my crumbs

“No, YOU don’t understand.” GO OFF CLARKE !!! Also, WHO’S READY FOR HAKELDAMA 2.0 

BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW HE STILL HELPS HER FIND MADI WITHOUT EITHER OF THEM NEEDING TO SAY A WORD EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE IN THE MIDST OF A FIGHT BECAUSE EVEN WHEN THEY ARE ANGRY THEY ARE STILL EACH OTHER’S PERSON AND GOD HELP ME SIX YEARS CANNOT CHANGE THAT AND I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE 

^^^ THIS SCREENCAP RIGHT HERE OFFICER

“On me.” *sigh* it almost feels like old times

Bellarke kicking down a door = hawt

I stan one (1) power couple

Is anyone gonna talk about the Kara Cooper/Echo parallels? Cause, like, they’re Real fam

I cannot express how much I loved that they showed Madi reacting to having her hand slit open realistically. Like that girl is trying so hard not to show pain but she FEELS it, and she was whimpering. Like, damn, I felt that. Lola did such a good job showing how a child would realistically react to that happening. 

Not to be That Person. But. Bellamy’s hair game marginally improved in his scenes with Clarke. I only know Truth.

THE SLOW-MO OF CLARKE RUNNING TOWARDS MADI AS OCTAVIA’S VOICE ECHOES IN TRIGADESLENG. Y’ALL ARE COMING FOR MY LIFE THAT WAS SO CREEPY AND COOL

“I understand why you lied Clarke. You were just trying to protect her. But Madi no longer needs your protection - she has mine.” I LOVE antagonist Octavia. Seriously. I’m so happy they decided to go the villain origin story route for her, it just makes her so much more interesting. AND SHE’S SO DAMN CREEPY

“I executed traitors. And I made it look like a real defection.” Okay, okay, okay, so was shooting the defectors cold-blooded as shit? Yes. But was it smart? YES. I think Octavia is a bad person but damn girl. Dammmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnn.

Don’t come for my life but I HONEST TO GOD ENJOYED OCTAVIA IN THIS EPISODE. And not because I like her as a person but because she made sense to me with pretty much every move she made. And I’m not used to that feeling with her.

Echo hiding the piece in Karina’s wound. F u c k i n g hell mate. AND WHAT WAS THAT LOOK AT THE END. I dunno but I’m intrigued. 

Sooooooo in case y’all were wondering. I do think 5x06 holds up better on rewatch (as most episodes do). Not all of the episode was bad, as my initial highlight crackpost made it out to be - there were still some good moments. I thought the last ten minutes of the episode were particularly strong, and to be honest all the stuff with Clarke and Memori was A+++. So, definitely not bad all around. And it has a good set-up for the episodes to follow which I am genuinely looking forward to.

Hope you enjoyed this newly revised highlight post! I’ll see ya in a week for 5x07. 

[detainedengineers]

Best 12 Patriotic Bollywood movies, you must watch

India Best Bollywood Patriotic Movies:

Independence day is near and we all are looking for patriotic Bollywood movies to watch and reinvigorate the feeling of patriotism. We grew up watching Bollywood emotional and romantic movies but my friend I must tell you that when it comes to patriotic movies Bollywood offers ice on the cake.

Bollywood has made some of the greatest patriotic movies of all time. These are movies that never fail to instill into us the feeling of nationalism and patriotism. So my dear movie lovers, here I am going to recommend to you the top twenty Bollywood patriotic movies which are based on real incidents and some are also fictional that too promote patriotism and excites us with goosebumps.

So here are some of the best Patriotic Bollywood movies:

Uri: The Surgical Strike

How is Josh?

High Sir! 

This is the dialogue that has touched every lip and has entered into every Indian heart. But if you are still oblivious to it then as a true patriot I would say put your all work on hold and watch this movie first. This is not just a movie but a magical memory. And also one of the best patriotic bollywood movies Under the direction of Aditya Dhar this movie tells the story of Major Vihaan Singh Shergill of the Indian Army who spearheads a camouflage operation against barbaric militants who attacked a base in Uri, Kashmir, in 2016 and killed many innocent soldiers. Another important noticeable point is the flow of the story both from the perspective of carrying the theme of Patriotism and believable action sequences. It’s a full-packed movie that in no way holds any water to disappoint you. It excites you, it incites you, it invites you, it strikes you!

Border

This is the first evergreen all-time favorite Patriotic Bollywood movie. This movie has a class. Based on the real-life incident of the longewala battle in 1971 between India and Pakistan, it depicts almost all aspects of a soldier’s life. It beautifully shows the life of a soldier as a brother, as a son, as a father, and of course, as a lover who chose to live as well as die for his beloved nation leaving behind all his personal aspirations. The J.P. Dutta directorial touches the core of a soldier’s life with a group of captivating casts which includes Sunny Deol, Sunil Shetty, Akshay Khanna, Jacky Shroff among others. The Songs of movies like Sandese aate hai( message comes) and others are still among the top patriotic songs. Watch it if you want to understand and experience the life of a soldier as a whole.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh

Everyone’s childhood hero Bhagat Singh rules over the hearts of Indian youngsters. He was the first Indian freedom fighter who totally revolutionized the freedom struggle. This biopic chronicles the courageous and valorous acts of Bhagat Singh. The movie gracefully shows how he fought and died for the nation without giving a second thought just to make India a free Nation. And also the best patriotic bollywood movies done by Ajay Devgan.

Mangal Pandey: The Rising

The freedom struggle of 1857 is the first such struggle that affected the whole nation and the main hero Mangal Pandey is considered as the first freedom fighter who inspired the whole of India to fight the Britishers. The movie with Amir khan in the lead paints a picture of a normal soldier who ends up fighting and inspiring many forthcoming freedom fighters and also a patriotic bollywood movie.

Raazi

Raazi is among those rare patriotic bollywood movies where the protagonist is not a man but a woman. Yes! A young Indian woman(played by Alia) enters the enemy nation(Pakistan) as a spy and successfully executes her duty. She is inexperienced yet adamant, she is new in the world of proxy war yet so mature in her decision and action. She, in full swing, breaks the stereotypical belief about girls and shows that even a girl can do wonders on the battlefield if given a chance and training. She is a great example of women’s empowerment and their role in the fight for the nation. 

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero

This is one more biographical war epic. The story deals with the last years of Subhas Chandra Bose’s life. However, in flashback, it also tells the story of his early life and struggle. He is credited with the fact that he had created the first organized Indian Army. His way of fighting was totally different from those of so-called mainstream freedom fighters like Nehru and Gandhi. The movie also tries to unfold the story behind his mystical death. Acting and direction are fine, the storyline keeps up with the pace. It deserves a one-time watch. And also the great freedom fighter and good patriotic bollywood movies.

Swades

This movie starring Shahrukh Khan is a bit different from other patriotic bollywood movies because here the hero’s fight is not against any outside enemies but against our own backwardness, poverty, and stereotypes. After working for years in NASA the hero came back to India with a dream of bringing change and prosperity to his birthplace. But guess what, this is not going to be easy even for a scientist. He too will have to fight and deal with a new problem at each stage of his struggle of improving education and bringing water to his village. This movie is promising for those who have ever dreamt of doing something for their nation, no matter small or big. 

RAW: Romeo Akbar Walter 

RAW is a full-packed action thriller based on the true story of an Indian spy and also one of the best movie of John Abraham, which is the best Patriotic bollywood movies. The background is the time before the Indo-Pak war of 1971. The main character is a banker who, for his capability and judicious nature, got recruited by Indian Intelligence for espionage in Pakistan.

Gradually he finds himself in a complex situation but his ability to leverage whatever is available helps him to come out after each conflict as a winner. Watching this movie is like riding a roller coaster. Each sequence is filled with curiosity and excitement. So hold your breath and get ready to ride the boat of patriotism.

Madras Cafe

On 15th May 1991, the youngest Indian Prime Minister was assassinated during a rally which left the whole country awestruck. Soon questions like by whom, how and why he was killed spread like clouds over the nation. But one more question that strike most was about the security system of India. It puts the whole defense system in question.

This movie also tries to gather all the possible events which lead to the killing of our PM and endeavors to understand why we failed in saving his life. The movie depicts the intricate relation between the Indian army, the Srilankan army, and the Tamil Tiger(LTTF). The movie direction is brilliantly executed and the simplicity of characters, especially John Abraham and Nargis Fakhri left an unforgettable mark on our memory of patriotic bollywood movies. This movie is not about winning and defeating enemies but going deep into the reasons why we failed as a nation and as a system.

Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran

One more John Abraham starar movie fills us with pride and happiness for our nation. This kind of movie does not celebrate winning over any enemy but our own achievement in science and that is also when the whole world, especially nations like America stands against us. This is the story of making India a Nuclear power. The lead character is assigned to test the nuclear weapons without getting into the eye of the USA. The flow is maintained throughout the movie and the direction is all good and also one of the best patriotic bollywood movies Some scenes are certain to give you goosebumps.

Rang De Basanti

The concept behind this movie is totally new but very promising.  This covers the story of six Indian students and one British filmmaker who arrives in India to document the story of five Indian freedom fighters. As the story proceeds these students start to live like real fighters and till the climax they find a real problem to fight for the betterment of the nation.

The movie also creates a bridge between our forgotten freedom fighters and new-age young people and their thoughts, this movies show the patriotism of the actors and also the best patriotic bollywood movies. It shows that maybe nowadays young people are not in the business of making a nation but when they get to know the bad politician’s actions they will turn into rebels in no time. And this is the must watch bollywood movies.

1971

Till now we have seen the story of fighting a war but have you ever thought about what happens to soldiers after the war. And what happens to them when they get imprisoned by enemies? This movie is your answer. This is a detailed account of the life of prisoners of war. Their attempt to escape and reach their home is not going to be easy. Some may lose their life, some may get caught, maybe a few or just one, or no one will make it home.

However whether one succeeds or fails is not the subject of this movie, this movie covers the thread of events that slowly unfold when they attempt to escape. The cast features all big package actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Piyush Mishra, and many others. One last disclaimer: if you are human, be ready to cry while watching. For your information, this movie also won the 55th National Film Award for best Hindi feature film. So you got one more reason to watch. And this is also one of the best patriotic Bollywood movies. 

[ambereyedcetra]

Eden the Umber (Tsviet AU)

Note: This information is subject to change, will notify when updates are made. All information can be found under the “keep reading” link below. 

Also, if you need to see her main verse’s information for reference, it can be found here

So, starting off with her color choice.

Why Eden the umber?

Umber is a yellow-ish or reddish-brown pigment found naturally in the earth. This color easily connects to Eden’s Cetra heritage as they are said to be connected to the Planet. The color’s name comes from the word umbra which means “shadow” in Latin. Shadows have become a symbol for Eden. The shadows have provided her shelter, comfort in being unseen by those she deems a threat. However, shadows of her past and the LifeStream’s souls haunt her at a near consistent rate. Could argue that she feels as though she is stuck in Aerith’s shadow, as Aerith proves to be the strongest Cetra.   Also the color at its darkest shade, burnt umber, can be seen in her appearance, just as other Tsviets have their colors visible (examples being Rosso’s red hair and eyes or Nero’s black hair). Eden’s hair would be a very dark, burnt umber, so it works.

Why did she become a Tsviet?

It’s been stated that those who become Tsviets show some sort of unique ability. The fact that she can hear the LifeStream is what saved her from being executed. Though Eden despises this ability, she is quick to speak of it to preserve her life. I feel with DeepGround’s goal to awaken Omega (she finds herself in DeepGround during the events of Dirge of Cerberus), they may find use in her connection to the LifeStream and decide to keep her alive if it made bringing forth Omega easier.

Abilities?

Aside from her hearing and feeling the Planet, stealth, cunning, and hunting instincts are her prime abilities. She lacks the immense strength that many Tsviets possess, however she is able to use manipulation and her learned skills as a hunter to pull her through. Survival is key in DeepGround, and what better way to learn to survive a hostile place than know how to read the potential threats/targets, mask insecurities, and when to attack? I imagine that a great many in DeepGround rely on basic instincts rather than try to reason with much of the dangers. Eden is no exception, however, she also doesn’t just blindly run that innate, primitive nature. She watches, taking note of every word, detail, and action, anything to provide her vital clues to bring about her oppressors’ downfall. She often plays to their narcissism, appealing to them just enough to earn trust. Because she’s aware that with that trust comes rewarded freedom, and with that freedom she’ll bring about her vengeance.

Savage Eden

This is connected to her abilities. Each Tsviet seems to have their own “form” and Eden would be no exception. I feel that because her Cetran abilities, the Tsviets would rush to give her an advantage of some sort to stay alive, and thus stay useful in DeepGround. This would have been done by subjecting her to the Metamorphose experiment, as it seems to be the fastest way to give her the much needed strength. This experiment’s information, such as the protocols, were likely stored in the computer Patricia. And if Shelke can find a virus and hack what once was an impenetrable computer system, I’m sure this information wouldn’t be hard for her to locate. Due to restrained time and resources, however, they could not do it in the same scale as Azul’s. She would not shapeshift into a behemoth, but rather into a Nibel wolf. This is what is called her Savage form.

Since Azul’s behemoth is obviously unique in appearance (in comparison to the natural behemoths seen in the game), I decided to take artistic liberties in Eden’s Nibel wolf form. I imagine that nibel wolves are meant to look like large dire wolves. She would look similar, however her muzzle would be broader and shorter, more similar to that of a bone-crushing hyena’s. Paws would also be large and appear more like bear paws, as she is unable to shift completely to a wolf. Her fur would be mottled with shades of brown, burnt umber, and tan, almost similar to the appearance of a merle Australian Shepherd’s fur or even an African wild dog’s fur. The deep scars on her left side, chest, and right wrist remain visible from the fur and glow a pale blue from the mako in her blood. The mane is heavy and layered, however the long, silken hair of her humanoid form seems to be maintained beneath the shaggy mane, as well as her thin braids. Though she has lost her lip and ear piercings, the remaining holes leave damage. Her ears have notches from the stretching and tearing of the former piercings. Her lips also develop two tears from where lip rings used to be and from the tension of the transformation.

In humanoid form, she looks fairly similar to how she did before the experiment, however her ears are pointed and slanted (almost elf-like in appearance). Her teeth are sharper and jaw is heavier, giving her head a slight downward tilt from the weight. The teeth in the far back left corner are missing due to her enduring jaw-breaking blow on her first day in DeepGround. Her scars and amber eyes maintain the eerie glow.

Weapons:

After losing her hunting knife, Eden is given twin shotels, both of which are strapped onto her hips unless a battle were to erupt. The curved, sickle-like blades are swirled with copper and silver, giving an appearance similar to mokume gane. The handles are gold with dark brown leather wrapped around the length of them, leaving the pommels bare.

Plot:

So far, there are actually two possible ways how Eden got into DeepGround. These are dependent on their respective alternate universes.

In one, Eden dares to look through ShinRa’s abandoned Headquarters in hopes to find answers of her Cetra lineage and what it really means to hear the LifeStream. Dirge of Cerberus states that many workers, soldiers, and civilians went missing as they searched through ShinRa HQ’s remains. Eden would be one of the many to dig through the ruins. Eventually, the floor gives way, and she falls to into the abyss. She wakes up and tries to find her way out, only to be found by a Tsviet.

In another, she hears the wailing of a thousand souls coming from the direction of Midgar. In a panic, Eden tries to run from where the cries are coming from, thinking the distance would stop them. This leads her into a skirmish with a Deepground troop and a small village. With the guidance of the LifeStream, she manages to avoid the major carnage (although not without enduring injuries). She manages to collide with a fight with one of the lower ranking soldiers and kills him. This gets the attention of the other Deepground fighters and she is captured like the other survivors and brought underneath Mako Reactor 0.

These are only two that have been tried out for threads. I’m open to all possibilities!

In both of these beginnings, Eden uses her identity as a Cetra and ability to hear the Planet, claiming she could make awakening and controlling Omega an easier feat. Though she still struggles with accepting her heritage and connection to the LifeStream at this point, she’s not above speaking about them in great lengths if it prevents death. She eventually reaches the Tsviets and they agree she could be useful to their plans.

Though she managed to save her life for the time being, her treatment as a prisoner doesn’t improve. Eden endures both mental and physical torture, manipulation of all types, and brutal training regimens. It wears on her already damaged psyche, but holds onto the hope of being able to learn Deepground’s system, its weaknesses, and eventual escape. With the hunt on the world going on, and time running out, she is ordered to go through a variant of the metamorphose experiment to make her abler to survive and maintain usefulness.

Her resentment towards Deepground grows after they rip away the remnants of her humanity and she vows revenge. She trains even more at that point, planning to get to the Tsviet’s level, earn their trust, and use it against them.

Over time, however (depending on who takes part on the thread and the characters’ relationship), she becomes attached to the other and begins to enjoy her newfound rank and the respect it demands from others. This only lasts a short while, however, as she watches innocent civilians get captured and realize what becomes of them in Deepground. The Planet urges her to act, to save itself and the people depending on it. She then must make a choice: Does she forget her hatred towards Deepground to embrace her power, or does she risk her own life and safety to save those who have either been her enemy for most of her life (the Planet) or unfamiliar to her?

She takes on what could be described as a suicide mission. She takes part in missions to gather civilians, however, she sabotages them in various ways. Some of these methods include allowing the targets to escape before the troop could reach them; killing off soldiers or troop officials with lies that the soldiers tried to challenge her rank, that they were the ones trying to free captives, or simply they were killed in battle or by tragic accident. These plans work for a while, but only for a while. The other Tsviets grow suspicious of the mission failures. Eden then realizes she needs to act now at that point or she would be found out and killed for treason.

Using a distraction (be it releasing the Beast soldiers and let them cause havoc in Deepground or another way), Eden makes her escape. Her fight to get to the surface is bloody and nearly kills her (especially if the one fighting her was also the one she grew closer to during her stay), but she manages to barely hang onto life long enough to drag herself to the World Regenesis Organization. There she gives them all the information she has about Deepground’s plan and the Tsviets. Though she hopes they would not only give her vengeance she fiercely desires and save the Planet and its people, she also endures the torn feelings towards the one she once put her affection in (whether it be friendship, trust, or even love) and the consequences they bring about.

This is only a rough, possible idea in how the over-arching plot can go, it can be changed to however my RP partner sees fit!

[miu-paras]

Lvl. 5 ⋮ Red // Chapter 4

September 20th, 2019. 2:00 AM. ♪ - Bourgeoisie / Crimson Throne

TW: blood, violence, body horror

Rael always smiled the hardest around Iannis kar Ulmervis.

Iannis… The inventor’s child.

They weren’t nearly as socially inept as their ima was. They moved and spoke and acted with all the elegance of a noble despite not coming from such a background. Their touch was as comforting as gentle ocean winds caressing the skin, and their voice as intoxicating as the sweet nectar of Maladian pine fruits. They were as sharp as their own ima, capable and full of wit. Always kept the Minister’s young successor on their toes. Rael never grew tired of them, never parted from them for too long, swore endlessly their devotion to them. Always at their beck and call.

“How disappointing.” Kalar voiced their disapproval aloud, but only to an audience of one. The Grand Minister had since retired to their quarters with Umvis after a less than enjoyable meeting with their advisory. Eshta, in a surprise to no one, was absent, with Iannis acting as a representative in their stead. Perhaps this delighted Rael, but Kalar had grown more than tired of the young future partisan’s unnecessary acerbity, especially when Kalar rightfully questioned their judgement. It was as if they enjoyed the sour glares that the Minister gave them, the broiling looks of disapproval.

The resentment that practically rolled off their skin.

Umvis observed Kalar’s frustration, and rather than offering sympathy, they merely chuckled. Kalar’s head quickly veered in their direction, hoping their piercing glare with silence their laughter. It didn’t, of course, and Umvis merely stared up at them with a kind smile.

“My dear… I’m starting to think you are merely looking for reasons to dislike the child simply because you are jealous.”

“I do not get jealous.” Kalar sneered, rolling their eyes to such an accusation. They turned their gaze away from Umvis, arms crossed and resting in their lap. Kalar would deny it for as long as they could, but if Umvis could see it, then they were far from hiding it well. Kalar had grown envious of Iannis’ connection with their child. However, it was not formed from some internalized parental instinct to protect and shield their children from the pain that existed in the world, from disappointment or heartbreak. No… Kalar simply disliked the idea of being replaced as the most important figure in Rael’s life. A loss of control… that was something they couldn’t tolerate. Because as far as Kalar was concerned, no one was good enough to fill their shoes. Especially Eshta’s little harlot.

Umvis sensed their tension, and rather than running away from it like most would, they simply placed their hand over the folded one in Kalar’s lap. Kalar blinked, staring down at the gesture in surprise. The tension suddenly rolled off them in waves, warmth entering their expression. It was a rare sight, Kalar’s softer side. Very few were lucky enough to see it. But Umvis had always been good at breaking through Kalar’s resolutely built barriers. They have been the Minister’s longest friend, their greatest ally, the only one fully entrusted with their heart. Kalar may have thought themselves incapable of the emotion, but what they felt for Umvis truly was love. And even now, through all their pettiness, Umvis did not judge or berate them. Instead, they offered comfort and understanding.

Kalar wasted no more time on words. Instead, they repaid Umvis’ affection with their own. Kalar often wished they were born a Gris. They wanted to feel that powe, that fervent heat culminating in their chest, spreading across every inch of their skin in ripples of light and fire, at all times. But for now, this would suffice. To only feel such electricity in their quieter moments with Umvis… that was something they could live with.

It was later into the night now. Six moons hung in the sky, and Umvis had been worked into a deep slumber. Kalar was still awake, however. Kept up by something. Some voice, echoing in the back of their mind. It was not my voice, as I’d grown accustomed to falling silent at such an hour. It was another. One unfamiliar to me, and yet I recognized its essence somehow. And perhaps Kalar did too, because they sat and stared intently at something from across the room.

They stand and grab their robes, wrapping it around themselves as they traversed across the room, slowly and quietly as not to disturb their sleeping lover. As they moved closer to a tapestry closest to the door, the voice grew louder. It was more incumbering than before. As if willing Kalar forward. As if pushing them. Commanding them.

Kalar paused before the tapestry, hesitating to pull it aside until the voice was booming. Kalar winced, as if the noise only present to them was palpable to all, loud and unbearable. It’s then that they were quick to lift the tapestry, revealing a small cubby, hidden away from sight. It was kept there, among old books and trinkets. Among the few remnants of their late ima Salas Kalar had managed to save.

It was the small, steel box that carried the inventor’s discovery. It was the sh—[MEMORY REDACTED].

How did it get here… Eshta was meant to be studying the artifact—

[MEMORY REDACTED]

Kalar lifted the lid, pulling the [MEMORY REDACTED] from its containment. It was only then that the voices became quieter, more soothing. A small, yet melodic rumble against the eardrum. The Minister fell to their knees, holding the artifact close to their chest, eyes fixated on its pulsating glow.

Suddenly, the voices amplified itself again, and Kalar gasped, holding the [MEMORY REDACTED] out before them, staring deeply into its center. The words come more clearly to them this time. Words that could be understood. Directions that could be followed.

[MEMORY REDACTED]

It does not speak to me. Only to my tsanagar. A riddle in three parts. A destiny with three steps. A cycle, with a beginning, an end, a renewal.

Kalar whispers the first out loud.

“The Transgressor perishes…”

[MEMORY REDACTED]

[MEMORY REDACTED]

Many hours have passed, but the night was still young. And something ominous hung in the air.

Kalar was no longer in their quarters. They stood in another’s bedroom. The chambers of ima Malvas, who was just abruptly awakened from their sleep by their child’s surprise visit.

“Y-you—” Malvas coughed violently, the fit continuing as they sat more upright, old bones trembling as they attempted to do so. “We are in the middle of civil war… of social unrest… And yet, you c-come in here… speaking your nonsense again… you’re as… senseless as your f-fucking ima…”

Kalar, who stared out into the night sky, simply turned to face the old ruler, a gentle smile painted on their face. “Oh, ima…” They approached the bed, arms crossed behind their back as their expression remained as is. Malvas seemed more nervous, more thrown off by this. Kalar’s face appeared gentle, but their stance was menacing as they glowered down at their parent, who looked small and frail by comparison. Something Kalar had never seen in their childhood. It was a sight they could get used to.

“I have never been senseless. You never raised me that way,” their smile grew wider now. “In fact, I feel more enlightened than ever.”

“Then you truly are a fool,” Malvas spat back. “If you’ve come to spout your usual insults, then—” Another loud wheeze, “—then be out with it and be on your way. I tire… and you should too.”

“Is it hard to believe that I came here because I miss you?” Kalar eyed them with a quirked brow.

“You have never held such affections for me in your heart before, Grand Minister,” they responded, uttering the title with such contempt in their voice, to which Kalar only sighs and glances back to the open window.

“I have grown tired of hate,” they state plainly, eyes turning back to their ima, “Now, I only feel what is necessary… something you will never understand. Because that’s all you are. Hate. There’s nothing else to you. Nothing else inside you. Not love… not joy… not even avarice or pride...” Kalar’s features darkened, taking two steps forward so they were practically hovering above Malvas.

“…You are nothing but the worst parts of me.”

Kalar reached forward to carefully place a hand on their ima’s chest, only to force them on to their back once more. Malvas gasped, attempting to fight against the iron grip. But they are weak. Centuries old while Kalar is in their prime. Stronger, cleverer, more powerful than they had ever been.

“You look tired, Ima…” Kalar’s grip tightened around the fabric of their nightclothes, nails digging into the skin as Malvas fought harder, gasping and frantically clawing at their arm. Too frail to pull it away. Too lost for breath to scream.

“Let me give you rest.”

It felt as though the room was shaking. As if the earth quaked and rumbled beneath us, ready to swallow us whole. There is terror in Malvas’ eyes, and a joy so unsettling residing in Kalar’s.

They held it in their hand. The [MEMORY REDACTED]

[MEMORY REDACTED]

Blood puckers from Kalar’s fingers and around the edges where she held it, violet liquid streaking across its crystalline form. The power hurts them. Scars them. They bleed heavily, no matter how much I heal the wounds.

[MEMORY REDACTED]

Malvas shakes, convulses. Limbs contort. The voices speak louder and louder, echoing off the chamber walls

THE TRANGRESSOR PERISHES… THE TRANSGRESSOR PERISHES…

[MEMORY REDACTED]

[MEMORY REDACTED]

[MEMORY REDACTED]

 There is a balance to everything…

[MEMORY REDACTED]

[MEMORY REDACTED]

[MEMORY REDACTED]

Malvas’ body was found the next morning, encased in a massive cocoon of hardened crystal. Their body twisted and pulled apart in a way too grotesque for any to look upon.

But Kalar was not found by their ima’s bed.

Instead they were by Umvis, who was found with their limbs stretched, coiled, and wrapped around their body. Their face unrecognizable. Their mangled body entrapped in that same crystalline coffin.

And Kalar does nothing but cry. Cry and wail from a pain that not even I could heal.

The voice comes again, still speaking its next commands.

[MEMORY REDACTED]

[MEMORY REDACTED]

There is a balance to everything. A push and pull. An ebb and flow.

One and two, becomes three. The third holds the power in the end.

The third… the third...

[ It’s time to wake up. ]

The drug is called mhiconnia. Colloquially, it’s referred to as Storm’s Tears.

It’s a hallucinogen originally manufactured in Llarnis, and eventually made its way over to Nuva, no doubt through underground trading. Its silver, glittering appearance hides its true nature as a mind-altering intoxicant, one that triggers a state of instant euphoria. The high eventually fades, however, and leaves you in a state of numbness, mindlessness, and low energy that can last for several hours, days, or even months depending on how much one is exposed to. It’s meant to leave the user with nothing but a numbed mind and happy memories, leaving them ignorant and vulnerable the world around them as they dance and sway in a state of utter bliss. That’s what makes it so incredibly dangerous: the perfect ingredient for an empty-headed minion, one that can’t fight back and never says no.

I’m sure this is what Pixul intended for me. To keep me as ignorant and agreeable as possible, for as long as possible, until she needed to “sedate” me again. To make me forget the ways in which she manipulated me, to have me produce whatever it was she and her connections needed while I simply nodded and worked away as if nothing was wrong.

However, a hole existed in her plan: I was of two minds. One of which was not affected by her special little drug at all.

She didn’t count on Red.

They were the reason I remembered what happened that night, and the only reason I knew anything about Storm’s Tears. All because Red went on long tirades about my carelessness nearly every day since our return.

Granted, I’d be pretty mad at me too.

{ How many times do I have to say it before you believe me? I’m sorry. } I sighed again, firing another arrow at the practice target, adjusting the shooting glove on my hand before pulling another arrow from the quiver at my side. Archery seemed to be the best release of my frustration these days. That, and violent video games. Though I found myself coming to the shooting range more often than usual. It appears shooting things in real life was just as good at relieving my tension.

[ I’ll believe your apology once you’ve handled the problem. ]

{ The problem is handled. I had a fuck ton of that Storm’s Tears shit in my system. She probably still thinks I’m high right now. And when she gets here? We’ll take her by surprise and beat her ass. }

[ Uh huh… the same way you beat Xhen’s ass? ]

{ No, the same way I was able to escape the fucking Process. What the hell, I thought you believed in me... }

[ I’m starting to question whether I was in my right mind when I said that. ]

Grumbling, I nocked another arrow and roughly fired at the target. The arrow hits closer to the center than before, but still a ways off, causing me to sigh heavily again.

[ You hate to hear it, but it is true. Pixul is the type of person that always thinks ahead, while you merely think on a whim, which you clearly showcased that night. You were naïve, inattentive, and too quick to trust. You followed Pixul onto that dancefloor without considering the potential repercussions. ]

{ The repercussions of dancing? }

[ Of dropping your guard with a stranger, of which we now know is heavily involved in black market trading and gang wars, and made it easy for them to take advantage of you. If you’d taken the time to read their behavior, to think through your actions, we would not be in this position. ]

I raised my bow and took aim, but the way Red’s words hit me caused hesitation. My hands trembled, biting my lip as I struggled to maintain a steady grasp. Every part of me was shaking with anger. Not at Red despite how they ripped through me, but at myself. Angry at how stupid I’d acted. Sure, I could blame it on the fact that it was nearly 2AM and half my brain seemed to cease all matter of function when sleep deprived, but that was an even weaker excuse. I was to blame. My own carelessness did this. My own shortsightedness. My lack of understanding—true understanding—of the type of person Pixul was.

And now I’m lucky enough to have a chance at correcting those mistakes. The chance to catch Pixul off her guard. The chance to beat her fucking face in…

And I can’t. Because now there is exist something—someone—that complicates everything.

Iannis. Yet another Camerian lucky enough to survive the Process’ massacre.

They were Eshta’s child, meaning they had close ties with Kalar, considering they were an important figure in their courts. More importantly, they had even closer ties with my mother. Romantic ties. The very image of them together, happy and at peace, swam through my head ever since the memory surfaced. Their life together was destroyed, dead along with the rest of Camer. And even though they were still alive… they were worlds apart from one another.

I couldn’t just leave them there.

The trembling spread throughout my whole body now, making aiming an even more trying task. Defeated, I dropped my arms, tossing the arrow back into the quiver as I let out a frustrated sigh. I went and sat on the benches along the border of the training room, head resting against the wall as I breathed out heavily, blowing a stray hair away from my face. I never liked feeling stupid, or being bested either. And it didn’t help my self-esteem to be reminded that both the things I dreaded so much happened to me a month ago. All of which I still had to deal with now.

The urge to just sigh and give up on all of this, to run away from it, to hide from it, was felt so strongly within me. But hiding wouldn’t end things. It wouldn’t stop Pixul from coming for me. It wouldn’t stop Iannis from existing. It certainly wouldn’t make Red think of me as anything other than a coward.

No… I had to own up to my mistakes. Face them head-on. Running wasn’t the Miu way. And it never will be.

I stood up and treaded across the room to grab another arrow from the quiver, twirling it in my hand as I stared down the bullseye across from me. { I have a plan… }

[ Do you? ]

{ Yes... one that will get us back to Iannis and revenge on Pixul. But it will require us to be more… covert. }

I nocked the arrow and raised my bow as I aimed it towards the target. Without hesitation this time, I sent the arrow flying. A spark of hope shot through me seeing the arrow land centimeters away from the center. It wasn’t exact, but it was close enough to revel in the wave of pride that washed over me.

[ Getting better. ]

I shrugged, smiling at the compliment.

[ Your plan… what does it involve exactly? And how do we know Pixul won’t be prepared for it? ]

{ Because it involves giving Pixul exactly what she wants… }

I nocked another arrow, eyeing the bullseye with intent, with a burgeoning desire for success. I let my arrow fly, grinning as the tip pierced the small, black center.

{ Someone ready and willing. }

I was quite the fan of glitter. It was easy to tell from the amount of makeup I owned that all glittered, shimmered, or dazzled in some way. Sparkling eyeshadow, lip gloss, and blush were all applied messily and heavily to my face. I kept my hair as disheveled as possible, clothes ragged and loose. I wanted the appearance that Pixul most expected. The one of a mindless zombie. One who’d been waiting around for weeks without the motivation to so much as leave their bed. The empty-headed minion she wanted.

Hours of waiting followed. I sat cross-legged on my couch in that time, aimlessly staring at the TV and idly petting my dogs as they came and went. I even practiced my mannerisms. I slouched heavily, dragged my feet as I walked, tilted my head back and forth and side-to-side as if I were struggling to keep it in place. Anything that made my feigned Tears-induced stupor seem more believable.

At some point I figured Pixul must be waiting until it was late like last time, an assumption that was confirmed once the darkness of night rolled in. It was maybe 11:30 PM now. Some melodramatic show was playing on the TV at a low volume, and my dogs had all but passed out now. It was then that I heard loud whizzing noise that the transporter produced, followed by a thud as their heavy feet hit the roof and another as they jumped down.

I prepared myself, slouching, staring at the screen with the deadest look in my eyes. Even Red, despite not needing to be, was silent.

They fiddled with the knob for some time. I could hear the tools twisting and prodding in the keyhole until the lock was undone. The door swung open slowly, and I stilled myself in response. The ghostly sounds of midnight air swirling from outside were accompanied by heavy footsteps, making their way slowly into my home. Closer and closer they came, walking around the living room to find nothing but pillows, blankets, and clothing thrown around. Mess from candy wrappers, snack crumbs, and a half-eaten slice of cake left on a saucer. Then there was me, sitting silently among the chaos, a dazed look in my eyes, eyes that slowly rolled to meet Pixul’s striking gaze and amused smirk.

“Told you she’d still be here.” Her eyes flickered towards the second figure standing adjacent to her, of whom I assumed had to be her companion from her last visit.

“Still. She should have been monitored.” Taz stated plainly, confirming their presence.

Pixul rolled her eyes as she leaned down towards me. Grabbing my face in her hands, she inspected me over. I hardly reacted, allowing her to turn my head and regard my expression until they were satisfied. With a hum, she released me, glancing over at Taz with a raised brow.

“See? Still under the spell. She’s not even moving…” Pixul began snapping her fingers close to my ear. The sound almost makes me jump, but luckily I maintained my unresponsive state. Pixul shrugged and gave up with an even wider smile. Even Taz is satisfied, letting out a small humph before leaning forward to lift me roughly by my hoodie.

I let out a sharp gasp as I’m yanked away from my spot on the couch, stumbling as I try to regain my footing. Pixul snorted at my efforts, while Taz simply held me in place, their face as unchanging as mine.

Pixul’s hands find my chin again, turning my face to look at her. In her free hand, she carried a small vial of glittering dust, shimmering and glowing as she shook it.

Storm’s Tears.

“If you’re good, I’ll give you some more, okay?” Her grin was stretched across her face now. “Unless you want some now… that’ll put you in a good mood, yeah?”

I tensed. I wanted to run. To kick, to fight, to do anything other than be sedated by that stuff again. But that would blow my cover, and possibly push me further away from Iannis. A fight isn’t what we needed right now. I’d have to stay put… no matter what happened.

Pixul could sense my tension. I could tell from the way her brow quirked at the sudden tightening of my jaw under her grasp. And perhaps she interpreted it as an eagerness to snatch the vial away from her rather than fear, because rather than blowing it in my face, she simply laughed at me and shoved it back in her pocket.

“I knew that’d excite you! Now let’s get out of this… dump,” she stated, giving the room one last look of disgust before draping an arm loosely over my shoulder and pulling out her transporter. I quickly glance over at the transporter’s screen to read the blinking icon in the corner. There were two charges left. One to get us there.

And another to get Iannis and I back.

Pixul’s thumb pressed down on the button, and suddenly we’re surged forward by that powerful force, pulling us rapidly through space in time until our feet hit the ground half a second later. I looked around to take in the familiar neon lights that flooded the busy streets of Gan’em, then turned around to face the towering structure that spelled out the name of Pixul’s club in bright Talurian lettering.

I gulped, and without warning I was being pushed from behind by Taz, the both of us following Pixul inside. She waved off the security as we made our entrance, greeted yet again by the sight of raving clubbers under a shower of Tears, booming music and flashing lights, a crowded bar, levels upon levels of people dancing, drinking, and lounging around with expensive potions and shots as they watched the chaos unfold around them.

I’m pulled away from all of it. Instead, I’m dragged onto an elevator, standing quietly between my two captors as we’re rapidly transported to the top floor. I’m led down another hallway walls after, then another, until we reached a room with two heavy doors at the end. The guards waiting on each side push them open once they saw Pixul approaching. It was like another VIP room, much larger than the one from last time. It was a stark contrast to the brightly lit, crimson red corridors from before. The room was dim, safe for the neon lights that trimming the ceiling, floors, and furniture. Couches were stretched across every wall, with other comfortable seating circled across several tables found in various spaces in the room.

“Fuck… Vex isn’t here yet.” Pixul sighed, placing her hand on her hips as she glanced down at me. “Put her over there,” she nodded in another direction, “There’s a few things we can still go over before the meeting.”

Taz nodded once, then dragged me over to one of the couches in the corner of the room, tossing me down without an ounce of care before making their way over to Pixul. They mumbled quietly to each other. I tried hard to listen in, but to no avail. They were too far away, and I was too distracted by the gaudiness of this room to focus on anything else.

Instead, I closed my eyes and focused on the things around me. The very energy in this room. The lights, the bar, the electricity that ran through the walls. I extended my focus past the room, my connection going as far as the entire level, then the many other levels below us. Every mechanical whirl and hiss and hum, every electrical volt, every piece of living, working technology I could feel heavily within me. Most were familiar things: the neon lights, the booming speakers from downstairs, the technicolored dancefloor. But there was something… peculiar coming from the outside. Something attached to the side of the building, giving off pulsating signals that were alien to me. I investigated further, reaching along the sides of the tower and tracing every inch for anything giving off a similar feel.

I counted twelve of them.

{ Red… do you know what that is? Something outside… transmitting some kind of signal. }

[ Mm… the sensation is familiar to me. If I had to guess, my first assumption would be deadzoners. ]

I tilted my head slightly { I think Pixul mentioned something about… ‘deadzone tech’? What is it used for… }

[ The Nuvassi government has an… interesting way of tracking criminal activity. Upon release from detention, felons are forcefully implanted with a chip at the base of their skulls. This allows for investigators to monitor all manner of brain activity. Whatever the recipient sees, thinks, feels, even tastes… officials take record of it. Any sign of suspicious activity will trigger the attention of the Vaanen, Nuva’s police force. ]

{ So… I’m guessing the deadzoners block transmissions from the chips? }

[ Not just block. The transmission is altered completely. Rather than create a blindspot for the government, deadzoners send back false information that do not arouse suspicion. In this case, it makes it seem as though only engaging in docile activities that are within the confines of the law. ]

{ Which would essentially make Pixul’s club a safe zone for Nuva’s underground? }

[ Precisely. ]

I was sitting up now, the information being more than intriguing. I looked over to see if I’d caught the attention of anyone, but no one seemed to be concerned with me. Pixul and Taz continued to talk, clearly about something serious. The bartender merely tended to the sleek counter of the bar. No one so much as glanced in this direction.

Realizing there wasn’t any amount of attention on me, I pulled my legs close to my chest and rested my head against my knees. My eyes fluttered close once more, and I began searching for that signal again. Searching through the millions and millions of electrical impulses spread throughout the building until I found that same device, in all 12 spots. I focused harder, straining and pulling at that energy as I attempted to control it. The circuits came to me one by one, impulse by impulse. The transmission slowly began to form clearly in my mind. And once it did… I shut it off. One by one, I took out each deadzoner, forcing my authority over it until it was no more. Until that transmission ceased in its function.

Pixul’s safe haven wasn’t so safe anymore.

I lifted my head to find Pixul and Taz, their serious conversation now seemingly more flirtatious.

“I need to use the restroom,” I said out loud, perhaps the first words I’d spoken all day.

Pixul paused, and at first she looked annoyed. But suddenly her face contorted into something else.  Less annoyed, more… apprehensive.

She left Taz at the bar and made her way towards me. She stopped an inch short of me, looking down with a pensive stare. I was beginning to think that maybe she was seeing through my act now.

She crouched down, sighing as she reached into her pocket again to retrieve the vial of Storm’s Tears. I went tense again and she took note of it, probably knowing this time that it was indeed fear.

Her eyes flickered up to me as the corner of her lips curled into a small smirk, “You wanna go look for your friend?”

I went still, unable to utter a single rebuttal, the iciness of her words creeping over my skin in a slow-building sheet of frost. I desperately kept thinking of what to say, of what to do. I couldn’t keep my act up when was so clearly starting to see through it.

Pixul harshly grabbed my face again and snatched me forward, popping off the top of the vial with her thumb as she held it up to my face. “Maybe you need a little more, yeah?” Her smirk stretched into a grin. I strained against her grasp, but it was hardly of any use. Pixul was strong, carrying the same Talurian strength I’d seen in Xhen. No amount of struggle would help.

“Just… breath in,” she uttered softly.

This was it. I was going to have to fight my way out of here. To find Iannis as fast as I could and go. I could feel the spark in my chest, the building electricity crawling its way through my veins. I was ready. I was—

“Pixul!”

The sudden exclamation came from the worker bursting through the door, clearly out of breath with a look of urgency written all over their face. Pixul released me in response, head whirling around to meet the source of the sound. The annoyed look was back again, and I felt the power that quelled within me suddenly dissipate as a result of the distraction.

“What is it now?” She shouted back.

“Vex! He’s here…”

The annoyed expression was replaced with the same urgency as the other, as Pixul immediately lifted me from my seat and pulled me to the center of the room. Taz met us there, pulling a heavy metal chair closely behind them. Pixul shoved me in it, and Taz began restraining my wrists and hands completely in heavy metal cuffs attached to each side.

“To keep you from flying off, love.” Pixul simpered, looking pleased with herself as she turned her attention back to the open doors.

I couldn’t see who was coming down the hallway from where I was sitting, but I could hear the cacophony of footsteps, getting louder and louder and they approached the room, the chiming of dangling chains, the heavy grunts, the squeaking of leather garments and shoes. It wasn’t until they’d finally entered, Pixul greeting them warmly and with a wide smile, all while ordering one of the staff to light up the room more, that I got a better look at Vex and his cohorts.

Three of the men were tall and burly, metal lining their muscular arms and down their torso. They appeared Talurian, judging from the ornate, purple marking along their face. Most of their bodies were made up of cybernetics, which I could tell from the strong electrical fields they emitted.

Another was far more ostentatiously dressed than any of the others. His clothes were covered in spikes and stickers, so much that you couldn’t see the actual fabric of the clothing. His face was covered with bandages, ears pierced heavily and decorated with dangling gems and metals. A thick, heavy shackle was fitted around his neck, laced with a golden chain. His hair was electric blue, much like the ends of Pixul’s, shaven down at the sides and kept in two loose braids that rested on either side of him. From the hair to his clothes to his piercing white eyes, it’d be hard to miss him in the biggest crowd.

Then there was Vex, whose appearance was far more simplistic than any of the people accompanying him. He wore simple black pants with a matching robe, crisp and fitted, that reached his knees. His skin and hair were a pale, almost ash gray color, and his eyes were a piercing, vibrant blue. He had this striking, yet regal air to him. Carrying himself with as much confidence as I’d seen Kalar have in my dreams.

[ Hm, a Vanossi. Interesting. ]

{ A Vano..ssi…? }

[ They’re a race from the north. The Camerians thought them frail and cowardly. Which most of them are. But perhaps the Vanossi in Nuva are different. They’d have to be, considering the trial it is to escape their country. ]

{ …Escape?! }

[ It is a cursed land… the skies infested with Stormers. This Vex figure must be quite brave to make the trip. And survive, no less... ]

{ Uh huh… I guess we’ll see. }

Vex entered last, and following him was a figure completely unlike the rest. Nothing like anyone I’d encountered in my time on this planet. A tall, lumbering figure, almost as wide as the double-door entrance, and so tall they needed to duck to get inside. Their form was fully cloaked in a rugged, black clothes and thick, heavy gloves. Ghostly, incorporeal shadows weaved around their limbs, torso, and head. A threatening figure, surrounded by a cloud of darkness that moved with them as they followed Vex inside, standing ominously still while a single vermillion-colored eye peered back at me from the empty void of their hooded visage.

[ Oh… ] Red practically whispered the word, which made me even more nervous.

{ What kind of Ulterian is that…? }

[ That is not an Ulterian. And we should be quiet. ]

As if I wasn’t already scared…

Vex sat across from me in the center of one of the couches, the rest of his party gathered around him. All except for the gaudier henchman, of whom I’d silently decided to nickname Spike, who stood in a corner, leaning against the wall with crossed legs and arms.

Vex sat cross legged as well, perfectly still as they eyed me up and down. His gaze flickered back and forth between me and Pixul, but for the most part his attention was on me. I’d be lying if I said his examination, couple with the unsettling glances of his cohorts, were anything less than unnerving.

“So… is this the Camerian you spoke of?” Vex finally spoke up, eyes settled on Pixul. She looked almost as uncomfortable as I did. Perhaps due to the shadowy figure’s presence, or because of how less than impressed Vex seemed to be.

“Uh… yes. She’s the one that assembled the hildar. The one Xhen told me about?”

“Hm…” Vex groaned heavily, standing now as he approached me slowly but still keeping a healthy distance. His eyes roamed every inch of me from head to toe, which didn’t help at all in lowering the absolute creep-factor of this whole situation.

“It doesn’t look like a Camerian…”

…It?

“I think she’s half-Terran,” Pixul added, eyes blinking back and forth between me and the taller Vanossi. She looked visibly nervous now, and it wasn’t hard to read why.

“A mixed breed…” Vex’s face contorted into a look of disgust. He turned back to me now, waving me off with dismissal. As if rejecting some unwanted gift. A worthless… thing.

The more he talked, the angrier I felt myself getting.

“It is as useless to me in my endeavors as you Nuvassi folk. I thought you meant a purebred… perhaps if we can find the parent—”

“I built that bomb from scratch. I wasn’t so useless to you then. When I helped Xhen after they failed you.”

My sudden outburst caused the Vanossi leader to stop in the tracks, their head veering in my direction as their intense gaze pierced straight through me. He moved closer, his tall, lanky form leaning down so his eyes were at level with mine.

“If my intel is correct, Terran… Xhen failed in their mission because of you. Your… infernal curiosity led to the delay in my shipment. And now, what? You think yourself special? Important? No… you are here to correct a wrong. To pay the toll for your mistakes. And you will do so under my mandate.”

I met his eyes with just as much intensity, refusing to let myself seem weak and naïve again. Refusing to be taken advantage of.

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told your friend…” I leaned forward, sitting up as much as my shackles would allow, “I don’t work for anybody. You want my shit? You earn it. And you’re an even bigger idiot if you think I, or my ima for that matter, would work for a feeble Vanossi runaway like you.”

[ Oh my… ]

I watched as the glint of anger sparked in his eyes, his gaze hardened and narrowing as he pulled away, looming down at me with absolute disdain. “What is your name, Camerian?”

Pixul, now racked with anxiety after seeing the situation escalate to such a point, finally spoke up, “She goes by Mi—”

“I am Cira nu Aedonnoe,” I interrupted. There was no need to elaborate further on my heritage, judging from the utter shock that immediately flooded his features. My family name was one that clearly spoke for itself. Even many years after Urrali, the Aedonnoe legacy was still one of reverence and infamy. A legacy I had no problem using to intimidate my enemies.

But the intimidation didn’t last as long as I’d hoped, as the shock soon vanished form Vex’s face, replaced with the anger that was there once before.

“Well, I’d say… Pixul, while I find your use of the intoxicant quite novel, it is clearly temporary in its effects.” Vex folded his arms behind him, walking back to join sit amongst his cohorts. “I have something far more effective. Something more… permanent.”

He gestured to the massive entity shrouded in a cloud of blackness behind him. The figure moves forward, heavy feet stomping loudly against the cold floor as it inched closer and closer. I felt Red rumble violently against my chest in response, as if to signal the gravity of the situation. The danger I was in.

I tried to move my tsanista, shape them into some form of protection, or some way of escaping this but no matter how much I strained and pushed my powers, nothing happened. There was something blocking my influence. Some immense power building in pressure as the figure approached. It rang out heavily in my mind, and the louder it got, the more and more I felt my powers dissipating. I was losing control. I was losing my mind.

In one motion, the figure grabbed me harshly by my hoodie and ripped me away from the chair, hard enough that the shackles came with me. I could feel the cold metal bruise and scar my wrists, purple blood dripping down my forearm as I clawed helplessly at the black, muscled arm that grappled me. Within seconds, I was slammed against the table between me and Vex’s men with enough force to knock the air out of my lungs, to make me cry out as my body became racked with pain. The shadowed figure held me down in place, glaring at me with that single, unhidden vermillion eye. I could see the many spirals that circled its pupil. They twisted and spun as the figure continued forcing their way into my mind. The pressure became more immense, and I winced and cried even more in response. My thoughts, feelings, free will… all were being controlled. Suppressed. Erased.  

“I am not easily intimidated, Terran… especially with friends like mine.” He grinned, taking delight in watching me be consumed by the mind-bending shadows. “I’ll always consider an experienced Makalden hunter to be a far bigger threat than an Aedonnoe with an attitude.”

I grew weaker the harder I fought. I could feel my clawing cease, my arms going limp, my mind going numb. More numb than the Storm’s Tears left me. I felt… cold. Like nothing. Like no one.

The coolness lasted longer… until a warmth entered me. Not the warmth on my cheeks from the tears that fell. No… this was different. A warmth I remember feeling, not too long ago. It’s focused in one area, wrapped around my forearm, glowing and getting hotter, brighter, etching itself onto me like a bandaid. Like a tattoo.

Then Red’s voice entered my head.

[ Hello there. ]

Like a heavy door being shut, the Makalden is forced out, their dominion pushed away from my mind. I felt the pressure leave me, replaced with a different one. One less overbearing, less damaging, less scary. It was a barrier against that darkness, a shield against any form of intrusion.

It was Red saving my life all over again.

[ ⋖◈⋗] Now Processing… Second Band Received Firewall I Function Activated

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 6/20/2019

Good MORNING  #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday 20th June 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT), Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

ALL HANDS IN FIRE FIGHT –The fire that engulfed the Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre (SBRC) on Tuesday is no longer a national threat, but it is a major concern for Government and a nuisance to residents. An inter-ministry approach has been undertaken to bring operations back to normal at the Vaucluse, St Thomas recycling plant. Yesterday, Minister of Environment and National Beautification Trevor Prescod met with Minister of Home Affairs Edmund Hinkson, Acting Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams, representatives from the Disaster Emergency Management, Environmental Protection Department, Ministry of Health, Sanitation Service Authority (SSA), Waste Haulers Association, SBRC and Chief Fire Officer Errol Maynard to address the situation. “Although the responsibility is SBRC’s, the only way we could resolve the issue is through concomitant representation,” Prescod told the NATION after meeting with officials at the nearby Central Country Club ground pavilion in Vaucluse. (DN)

SHORT-LIVED SCHOOL MEALS ACTION – Staffers at the School Meals Department at Lancaster, St James, were off the job again yesterday. However, this time it was not from the heat in the kitchen. Some employees began wildcat industrial action, but were back at their stations less than an hour later, after a visit by their representative, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW). Assistant general secretary of the NUPW, Wayne Walrond, told the NATION the decision to strike was based on what they thought was a supervisor being passed over for promotion. “The workers were back on the job quickly. There was a miscommunication which led to them thinking a supervisor had been bypassed for promotion, but that was quickly clarified and they returned to work. (DN)

RETRENCHED PUBLIC WORKER AMONG PRIZE-WINNING UWI ENTREPRENEURS –A business idea from a former public sector worker who was retrenched last year is among winners of a University of the West Indies contest to find viable startups by UWI students. Five ideas made the final cut in the Student Entrepreneurial Empowerment Development (SEED) competition, who were presented with seed money in a ceremony attended by the Minister for Entrepreneurship Dwight Sutherland at the 3Ws Oval at the UWI’s Cave Hill campus. And even as the student-entrepreneurs were being toasted by the university, Sutherland called on the UWI to play a greater role in developing entrepreneurship in Barbados and the region. Winners of the competition were Mikhail Eversley and Kemar Codrington of Oasis Laboratory and Franz Harewood-Hamblin from Grow Smart Youth Farm. Over 60 businesses have been created out of the SEED programme over the years with the contribution of over $180,000 from the CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank. Sutherland said it was about time higher education institutions make every effort to “resist any temptation to be stymied by intellectual loyalty” and instead “reinvent” so that they could help individuals turn their ideas into viable businesses. He said it was important that regional universities foster entrepreneurial development by focusing on courses that place emphasis on creating new enterprises, provide positive role models in teaching and intensify experiential learning and real-world experiences. The Minister said: “You must see yourselves as an integral source of talent and ideas as you serve as economic magnets for investments, entrepreneurs and talent in the region. “Further, your role in economic development must continue to be increasingly magnified, given the fact that there is considerable leverage that can accrue through your agenda of core education, research and development, and other critical spillovers. “Your remit must, therefore, be to create the type of entrepreneurship education that causes those who graduate in the past to also become interested in up-to-date and transferable entrepreneurship programmes.” Sutherland said he saw the university playing a critical role in helping to develop the blue economy in the Caribbean as Barbados and the rest of the region continue to grapple with economic development issues. (BT)

ALL LOCAL ONIONS ON THE MARKET – Barbados is set to save US$1.5 million in foreign exchange this year from not importing onions. Board Member of the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC), Peter Chase told members of the media today that BADMC would not be importing onions any time soon, since local farmers have been able to produce a phenomenal onion crop of close to 300 000 pounds, that would last an estimated six months. “It is a major crop and a major savings for Barbadians. The crop was fantastic. We still have farmers coming in and for the last three months we have not imported any onions,” he said. Chase said farmers started reaping the five-month crop in April, a process, which he said, should be completed by July. Chase noted that currently, all onions being sold in supermarkets were locally grown. (BT)

HEALTH SECTOR TO GET BOOST FROM CUBA – For the second time in a matter of days, the health sector is set to benefit from a bilateral arrangement. This time the help is to come in the form of access to medical training and technology from Cuba. The revelation came from Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Dr Jerome Walcott, following recent talks with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez Parilla. Senator Walcott said that Barbados and Cuba have had a long history of collaboration and the visit from the Cuban foreign Minister allowed for further discussions on how this collaboration can be built upon in the current era. The move comes just days after Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced plans to augment chronic nursing shortages, with 400 nurses from Ghana, following the visit of President Nana Akufo-Addo. Said Senator Walcott of the bilateral talks with Cuba: “We spoke of the need to go into different areas in terms of specialist nursing, in terms of nurses being trained in oncology. We also dealt with the issue of pharmaceuticals.”  Speaking at a press conference at Accra Beach Hotel, Senator Walcott, himself a medical doctor, noted that he was especially excited about gaining access to Cuba’s technology on treating leg ulcers on persons with diabetes. “Cuba has some revolutionary techniques as it relates to diabetes in terms of the management of leg ulcers which is a scourge of diabetes in Barbados. They [Cuba] have done some very good work and we are looking at trying to get access to some of the drugs and methods. “We want our professionals to be trained in treating leg ulcers and the diabetic foot and we have had discussions on how this can become available to us.” The Foreign Minister noted that Cuba has done extensive work in the area of microbiology and vaccines, which are of significant interest to Barbados. “Many of you might not know that the vaccines for yellow fever was in fact discovered in Cuba. More recently they have discovered vaccines for certain types of cancers such as those that affect the head, neck, lungs and liver. These are areas that we can certainly work collaboratively.” But he noted that the health sector was not the only beneficiary of the exchanges with Cuba, as education, culture and sports, will also receive a boost as a result of the closer ties. “As it relates to education, we spoke about the need to widen this system of foreign languages. Cubans will be exposed in terms of training in English and we benefit in terms of Spanish training. “There is a MOU which is being reviewed by the Ministry of Education and we hope that this will roll out in the not too distant future.” (BT)

NURSES, MINISTRY SET FOR FRESH CLINIC TALKS –Despite Government’s insistence that 24-hour polyclinics will open in a matter of weeks, it is unclear if the middle ground could be reached over the issue of the nurses’ refusal to work the shift system. A meeting is set for Friday between the Ministry of the Civil Service and the nurses who will staff the clinics in another effort to break the deadlock.    Nurses from the two polyclinics earmarked as the pilots of the programme, the Winston Scott and David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex, met this afternoon with the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) to strategise for the meeting. The Ministry of Health is also expected to outline Cabinet’s decision on the matter. Earlier this week, Minister of Health Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic told Barbados TODAY that last Thursday, ministers greenlighted the round-the-clock care plan and that it was just a matter of informing the unions of what is to come. Lieutenant Colonel Bostic said: “As a result of a decision taken at Cabinet on Thursday, I can tell you that we will commence the service within the coming weeks. “I don’t want to go into the specifics at this stage because I want to first share that information with the unions and with the staff before going public. “We had called a meeting with the unions on Saturday, but they were unavailable, so we have scheduled a second meeting to articulate what we are going to be doing going forward.” But following today’s two-hour meeting, which began at 3 p.m. at the Sir Winston Scott Polyclinic, NUPW acting General Secretary Delcia Burke, insisted that the matter was not going to be solved by ministerial directive. She told Barbados TODAY that although Government has not yet indicated what the new position is, union members were prepared to respond to most eventualities. “The nurses communicated their position to us and we would prefer to say it to the meeting first on Friday. “The Minister of Health did say that the 24-hour polyclinics will commence but he did not say when. It might move along but not with the nurses because there certainly aren’t enough nurses for the project. “It really now depends on what Government’s position is because the nurses have opted not to work the 24-hour clinics and nobody can’t make them change that if they don’t want to. So we will really have to see now what they are telling us.” The trade unionist also told Barbados TODAY that members had no problems with Goverment’s plan to bring nurses from Ghana, suggesting that the recruits could man the round-the clock facility, providing they met certain conditions. The NUPW acting general secretary said: “I believe that the nurses from Ghana will sort out this issue with the polyclinics but first we have to be sure that they can speak in a way that the average Barbadian can understand. “We have to also be sure that they are properly trained, and they would have to do the regional exams that our nurses are required to do. As long as they can meet those three criteria then we have no problem at all.” Earlier this week, the Health Minister said that he has looked into all of the nurses’ concerns and he is satisfied that the majority of them have been resolved. “Contrary to what has been said in the press by some people, the 24-hour polyclinics is not a proposal, it is documented Government policy. “For the last several months, the unions and staff have raised several issues and one by one we have solved those issues. “From transportation to security as well as appointment of nurses, we have dealt with all of those issues,” Bostic said. He declared that he was taken aback by the nurses’ security concerns, as this was a matter which, he said, he used his military expertise to address. “We have certainly done everything possible and that ranges from electronic security to human resources as well as protocols and procedures with the Royal Barbados Police Force. So, I am satisfied that we have done everything that was asked of us and we are ready to commence the service.” The Minister insisted that the start of the round-the-clock clinics was vital to Government’s plans to improve the health service and therefore nothing was going to derail it. “This is a service that is vitally important not only because it eases the situation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Accident and Emergency [Department], but more importantly it gives this country greater capacity in terms of responding to national emergencies, so that we don’t have everything centralised within Bridgetown.” (BT)

TOUGH TALK – The Prime Minister yesterday used a global labour forum to denounce a “racist and xenophobic” world order, in which large and powerful nations contribute to the downfall of “dispensable”, small ones. Before the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, the PM pleaded with world leaders to guard against a “multipolar” system, in which power and influence are confined to the hands of a few. Referencing the current wave of migration confronting rich nations, she accused unnamed world leaders of practising hypocrisy. “The world has made a pact that it is not prepared to protect those that are most vulnerable among the global community of nations. “It is unfortunate because it reminds us of a world that was not prepared to see the most vulnerable of human beings a hundred years ago, namely the workers. “It is also the global insecurity, the continued willingness to believe it is okay to move capital, but it’s not okay for people to move and hence mass migration of labour is unacceptable to a world whether for xenophobic, racial or other reasons,” she said. Aiming at the threat posed by climate change, Mottley predicted that if the world failed to take note, developed countries could be further bombarded with “climate refugees”. She declared: “Within our own region, we have seen more than two-thirds of the population of Montserrat leave because of a volcano. “Two years ago we saw the whole island of Barbuda evacuated because of a hurricane. We have seen the country of Dominica lose 226 per cent of its GDP and significant dislocation of its population due to two hurricanes two years ago. “We speak from event to event and from institution to institution and even though politics is the art of repetition, it appears that neither politics nor morality is having any meaningful impact on those whose actions and voices can make that significant difference to the climate difficulties that we did today.” Mottley said she could not support a world, which is only prepared to protect the most powerful countries. She contended that core values of equity and justice were being eroded. She said: “In spite of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in spite of all who have died and all that we have fought for, that we should continue to think that it is okay to view a group of nations as dispensable or worse still, not to view them at all against the very threat that is perhaps the greatest threat since mankind has ever inhabited this earth.  It is perhaps the greatest, most unfortunate aspect of our global affairs today.” (BT)

TAKE UP HYATT CAUSE! –Social activist and Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong is willing to fight any new application for a differently designed Hyatt on a bigger piece of land at Bay Street, The City. But he would like some other activist or any other institution to take up the mantle for such environmental matters. “The people of Barbados have to take an interest in environmental matters of this nature. This should not be seen as David Comissiong’s issue,” he said yesterday. “I am sending out a message to this society, to all of the relevant institutions – do your duty.” Comissiong singled out the Barbados National Trust, which he said “apparently dropped the ball” when it came to last week’s demolition of the home of National Hero Samuel Jackman Prescod. (DN)

BUSINESSES HELP REOPEN POLICE POST – The Police’s community outreach in The City has received a boost from corporate Barbados. Acting Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams today unveiled a reactivated police outpost at Lakes Folly which was refurbished by members of the business community. In praising the initiative, Abrahams said: “Time and time again it has been said that the Government cannot do it all. So, we are therefore heartened by this initiative and the continued commitment by corporate Barbados to assist law enforcement.” The Minister urged others within the private sector to follow this example, suggesting that the outpost at St Lawrence Gap could benefit greatly from such a private-public partnership. Abrahams said: “Other persons in the private sector should be saying to themselves that they too want to make a difference in their community. “There is one outpost here and there is another at St Lawrence Gap that could use this type of assistance. “However, there is no good reason why we should not have police outpost, not just in the areas that already desperately need them, but in areas where we can. This would prevent those areas from becoming areas that desperately need police presence.” The acting attorney general pointed out that community policing has always played an integral role in tackling crime and said the time had come for the return of this type of interactive policing. He declared: “When I was a child, we knew all of the police officers at these outposts by name. These officers were not fear figures, but they became extended members of the family. “We had incidents where parents turned up at the school with a collins (cutlass) for the teacher and the police were always able to respond quickly because they were always in the area. So, the presence of community police officers significantly aids the police in their rapid response.”  (BT)

DISMISS THE CASE! – The fact that five young men have been languishing in jail for the past four years without a file being presented cannot be justice, charged attorney Angela Mitchell-Gittens. And despite an impassioned submission by her for the matter to be dismissed in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today, magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant denied the request. The five young men are among a group of eight charged with the August 6, 2015, murder of primary school teacher Dwight Holder. Rasheed Jabar Gittens, 20 and Akeem Adrian Gittens,19, both of Belleview Gap, Station Hill; Ayo Prince Bascombe, 24, of Headleys Land, Bank Hall; Adrian Antonio Watts, 41, of Windsor Road, Bank Hall; Brandon Damon Joseph, 22, of Beckwith Street, the City; Kemal Mario Straker, 20, of #15 Clapham Park, Nicholas Ricardo Clarke, 19, of 2nd Avenue Godding or Gooding? Road, Station Hill; and Rio Richian Jelani Benn, 23, of Upper Dukes Alley, Vine Street, The City, all in St Michael, have been charged with Holder’s murder. Rasheed Gittens, Benn and Bascombe have all been granted bail. When the men appeared in court today, prosecutor acting Assistant Superintendent Trevor Blackman said a voluntary bill of indictment was scheduled to go before Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. But an irate Mitchell-Gittens – who is representing Straker, Joseph and Rasheed Gittens – did not take kindly to the news, saying it was unacceptable that four years after her clients had been charged a file was yet to be presented. Furthermore, she contended that the prosecution had repeatedly offered up the voluntary bill as an excuse. “I would be comforted by those words except for the fact that I have heard them said many times before. “August 6, 2015 Dwight Holder lost his life. We are now in June of 2019. Apart from putting charge sheets in the hands of eight young men, nothing else has been done in this matter. His family must be wondering what is the state of justice in this matter,” Mitchell-Gittens pointed out. “And people want to know how people get bail for murder? This is how because we can’t charge people, send them to prison, forget about them and do nothing four years later.” The prominent lawyer said the long delay was not fair to either the deceased man’s family or the accused. “Your order on the last occasion was for the file to be brought here. You didn’t ask for a message, you asked for the file to be brought here. There is no file …no disclosure, but you charge eight young men with murder. Some of them are still in prison because we know how onerous High Court bail conditions are. They have spent four years in prison and not even the courtesy of an album, not even the most non-contentious statement has been served in this matter. That is the state of justice in Barbados,” Mitchell-Gittens said. “There is no justice for anybody to be had here, not for Dwight Holder’s family and not for these still in prison. I am inviting you to dismiss this case for want of prosecution. After four years, enough is enough, whatever the charge is…There is no justice in this matter for the deceased or his family. There is no justice for these eight young men, several of them have been incarcerated for the last four years and can’t get back any part of their lives that they spend in prison. “This is disrespectful behaviour, this cannot be the state of justice in the country. Where is the file, why have no documents been served?” she further questioned. Mitchell-Gittens reminded the court this was the fourth occasion she had asked for the matter to be dismissed. She maintained that while the charge was a serious one, it was unfair to expect accused persons to sit in jail until whenever the prosecution deemed it fit to present a file. “I am inviting you to dismiss this matter, let the public see what happens in Barbados. Let us see what happens to eight young men, black people children in this country, put a charge sheet in their hands and four years later, nothing. But the charge is murder so we must lock them up forever and when they come out, they come out. Nobody don’t care because once the police charge you that is the end of that,” Mitchell-Gittens proclaimed. “The time has come for you to dismiss it for want of prosecution and let the DPP, the police and whoever else do their jobs. When you charge people prepare the file, serve pre-trial disclosure in a timely manner.” After listening to her seven-minute submission, the magistrate ruled in favour of the prosecution and adjourned the matter until July 2.  (BT)

PRISONERS’ WISH – Six murder accused went before the High Court today wanting to plead guilty to manslaughter. Included were three charged with two separate murders who now want to plead guilty to the lesser count. Murder accused Applon Ishmael Ithamar Parris, 27, of Taitt’s Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael who is charged with the March 26, 2018 stabbing death of Police Constable Shayne Welch told the court he was among those ready to admit to manslaughter. Brothers Chris Amal Lorde, 31, of No. 31 Newton Terrace, Christ Church and Eddisa Deon Mitchell, 23, of 2nd Avenue, Thomas Gap, President Kennedy Drive, St Michael, accused of the death of businessman Colin Forde, 50, who was gunned down on May 10, 2016 on the steps of his business at Baxter’s Road, The City also want to go a similar route. The three made their intentions known in the No. 2 Supreme Court this morning as the status hearings for inmates on remand at Dodds continued before Justice Randall Worrell for the second straight day. The men were among 20 who appeared at the Whitepark Road, St Michael court complex today. In Lorde and Mitchell’s case, Senior Crown Counsel Olivia Davis informed the judge that the brothers were scheduled to be arraigned to plead before the No. 5 Supreme Court on June 28 and she was preparing to indict their case. The men, who have Safiya Moore as their legal counsel, stated that they wanted to plead guilty to manslaughter. Applon meanwhile, told Justice Worrell his file was at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions but he wanted to plead guilty to manslaughter. He also questioned whether he could plead to a serious bodily harm charge, which was committed to the High Court from the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court last year. In that case he is accused of causing serious bodily harm to Antonio Coco Todd on February 15, 2017 with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him or to cause some serious bodily harm to him. He will get another status hearing on July 31. Three other murder-accused also signalled intentions to plead guilty to manslaughter. Seventy-five-year Sylvester Nelson, who previously resided at a senior citizens home in Vauxhall, Christ Church told the High Court judge: “I am guilty for what I have done and I would like you to sentence me today.” However, he was informed that his matter needed to follow procedure in the form of an indictment. Attorney-at-law Angella Mitchell-Gittens, who is representing the accused as a friend of the court, informed Worrell that there was no file in Nelson’s matter and he would need to get legal aide. Meanwhile, there is an indictment in the capital case against Emmerson Hurdle, 46, of Gall Hill Land, St John, who says he has been on remand for the past seven years. “I would like to plead guilty to get it over it,” Hurdle stated but the judge made it clear “this was not a get over with it court”. Murder accused Floyd Leacock, 47, of Clifton Hill, St James was only charged in February this year and wished to plead guilty to manslaughter. However, his attorney Marlon Gordon informed the judge that his client’s case was still before the magistrates’ court at the sufficiency hearing stage. Gordon said now that he knows of Leacock’s intentions: “I will make every effort to have that facilitated”. Thirty-three-year-old Shane Ifill, of 4th Avenue New Orleans, St Michael who says he has been on remand for almost six years declared “I come here to plead guilty now sir”. He is on firearm and violent disorder charges. Three non-nationals were also among today’s group of 20. Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas was the second prosecutor at the sitting. However, 33-year-old Jamaican Bassonia McDermoth, who is charged for having counterfeit money, has already pleaded guilty and was just waiting on getting a pre-sentencing report done. Thirty-year-old Guyanese Andrew Mullins, who is facing cannabis charges, is in the same situation as McDermoth while Dave Peters, a 27-year-old from Arima, Trinidad who has been on remand for the past two years says he wants to plead guilty to drug charges. So far Justice Worrell has gotten information from 37 inmates and is getting ready to hear the status of the cases against 17 more tomorrow. (BT)

CONVICT PUT ON PAYMENT PLAN – A 19-year-old has been given eight months to pay back a woman for the damage he caused to the bonnet of her car. Not only that, Bridgetown Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant has allowed for Kevon Odane Forde, of Upper Collymore Rock, St Michael to pay Clydette Jordan in instalments, the $1,635 in damages he caused. The unemployed teen must return to the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court every month to pay $137 until the payment is completed. He is to reappear before the magistrate on July 19 to honour the first payment. Forde has been warned that he will spend 12 months in prison if he fails to pay the money for damaging the car on May 28. (BT)

GUILTY PLEA – A St Michael man owned up to a robbery charge in the High Court today after maintaining his innocence for the past four years. London Bourne Towers, Bay Street resident, Demareco Rico Murray had been adamant that he did not “rob nobody” even after the complainant had recognised him and picked him out of a police line-up. However, when he appeared before Justice Randall Worrell today he admitted to robbing Sherene Mussenden of a chain, a cellular phone and a handbag totaling $1,120 on June 2, 2015. Mussenden was walking home in the company of a male friend around 1a.m. along Beckles Road, the City when she looked back and saw three men running towards her, one holding a gun and wearing a mask, while the other two were crouching. They pounced causing her and the friend to run. One of the men grabbed her from the back, while the masked gunman put the weapon to her stomach and robbed her of her belongings. Mussenden contacted police after escaping into a neighbour’s house, Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas told the judge in outlining the facts. The prosecutor also revealed that Murray turned himself to police and was told about the robbery. “I ain’t know about nothing, I ain’t do nothing . . . I ain’t rob nobody,” he told police when questioned four years ago. He also declined to give a written statement to police. Thomas said none of the property was recovered. Attorney-at-law Angella Mitchell-Gittens, who represented Murray as a friend of the court, requested that his time on remand be read in and a probation report be compiled in preparation for sentencing. The judge agreed and made the order and Murray, who is not known to the court, was told to return before the No. 2 Supreme Court on September 20 when the sentencing phase of his case will commence. (BT)

WORRELL PLACED ON BOND – A general worker who pleaded guilty to criminal damage has been ordered to be on his best behaviour for the next 18 months. The bond was imposed on Junior Ricardo Worrell, of Odessa McClean Drive, My Lord’s Hill, St Michael today in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. If he breaches the order he will spend 12 months in prison. The 50-year-old admitted before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant to damaging a camera and window belonging to Sunshine Early Stimulation Centre on May 26. Prosecutor Kenmore Phillips told the court workmen were on the job at Perry Gap, St Michael when they noticed that the camera and window were damaged. A check was made of the CCTV footage and Worrell was seen hitting the property with a stick. The matter was reported and he was arrested. Asked if he had anything to say in his defence, the convicted man replied that he had already spoken to the owner who agreed to accept compensation. Worrell must pay the money by next Thursday.  (BT)

SIR VIV BLASTS WINDIES – Iconic former captain Sir Vivian Richards has criticised West Indies’ “one dimensional” approach to their World Cup campaign and has slammed the lack of intensity shown in their defeat to Bangladesh last Monday. West Indies went down by seven wickets to Bangladesh in Taunton to suffer their third defeat in five matches, and remain on three points in seventh spot in the 10-team table. Their lone win came against Pakistan in their opener three weeks ago. The Caribbean side copped criticism for their persistence with the tactic of short-pitched bowling, which worked well against Pakistan and Australia but backfired against the Tigers, who completed their highest-ever run chase of 322 to win with 51 balls remaining. “There didn’t seem to be any planning where if this particular plan isn’t going to work then what about the plan B, plan C or whatever the case is. We are too one dimensional,” Sir Viv, who never lost a Test series as captain, told the Observer here.  (DN)

NEW ZEALAND DEFEAT SOUTH AFRICA BY FOUR WICKETS – New Zealand captain Kane Williamson played one of the great World Cup innings to steer his side to a tense four-wicket victory over South Africa. Needing eight to win from the final over, Williamson swept the second ball for six to complete a majestic century. And he sliced the next away for four to see the Black Caps past their target of 242 with three balls to spare. He was aided by Colin de Grandhomme's superb 60 off 47 balls after the Kiwis had slipped to 137-5. South Africa squandered chances to remove both during an absorbing finale, including failing to ask for a review before replays showed Williamson had nicked Imran Tahir behind to Quinton de Kock on 76. De Grandhomme was caught at long-off trying to hit the first ball of the penultimate over for six but the unflappable Williamson took his side home, ending unbeaten on 106. With the match reduced to 49 overs per side because of a wet outfield that delayed the start of play by 90 minutes, South Africa posted 241-5 following Rassie van der Dussen's 67 not out and Hashim Amla's scratchy 55. Their circumspect approach on a tricky two-paced pitch was not quite enough though, with a fourth defeat in six matches effectively eliminating South Africa from semi-final contention. New Zealand remain unbeaten, with four wins and a no result in their five games so far, and move back to the top of the table. (DN)

PRIMARY STARS – The girls of Wesley Hall Primary and the boys of Ifill School jumped for joy as they celebrated as first-time winners of the second annual National Primary Schools Volleyball Competition played this afternoon at the Wildey Gymnasium. Wesley Hall Primary won the two best of three final 15-12 and 15-12 against Deacons Primary who fought well but were unable to stop the King Street, St Michael school led by most valuable player Theanny Herbert-Mayers. He will be attending Christ Church Foundation in September and is certain to add to that school’s sports programme. Rajae McCollin of Ifill School was adjudged most outstanding male volleyballer as he piloted his team to a 15-9 and 15-10 victory in the best of three sets showdown. (BT)

BASHMENT SOCA FINALISTS ANNOUNCED –There is no Stiffy and no Scrilla but there are eight new artistes, three females (Mara Rose, Sita and SugahRhe) and Guyana, St Lucia and St Vincent are represented. The Yello International Bashment Soca Monarch Competition had 25 semi-finalists who received 98 000 online votes. “These votes, added to the judges scores shows we are in for the biggest Bashment Soca competition ever”, said 4D Entertainment, producers of the event which takes place on July 6 at Pirates Cove. The voting took place over five days. In the finals are Blaze Anthonio (Guyana); Sita The Lyrical Diva (St Vincent); Subance & Mighty (St Lucia) and from Barbados are – Jagwa The Champ, King Bubba FM, Mara Rose, Marz Ville, Mole,  SK, SugahRhe, UndaDawg and Walkes. The 2019 monarch will receive $60 000, which is $20 000 less than last year’s cash prize of $80 000. However, for the first time, there will be second and third place prizes in the competition, now in its fourth year. The second-placed artiste will receive $15 000, while the third will take home $5 000. The winners will all receive additional prizes and everyone who enters the competition will receive a performance fee. (DN)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 195 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles