#finding dead rising of her own accord and showing That during game night

[thewrongexecution]

thinkin bout Haru an vidgames

dsn makes it clear that the vidsgam would kinda be outside her purview but hanging with the thieves makes her exposure thereto basically an inevitability. she might be new to the scene, but she’s observant and clever, an I think she’d pick up on even the deeper complexities in games pretty quick, even if lacking the manual dexterity or muscle memory to act on that knowledge right away.

generally speaking, I feel she’d favor

methodical games, with time to think and room to breathe,

turn-based strategy and visual novels, generally

Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick

Animal Crossing

not so much pure puzzle games, though

heavy atmosphere, deep lore, and emotionally evocative experiences,

adventure games generally

Zelda, Metroid, Yakuza, Half-Life, Myst, Katamari, Undertale, Shadow of the Colossus, Pyre, Nier: Automata, Mario Odyssey

Resident Evil, Dead Space, Silent Hill

and sharing an experience with others.

co-op preferable, but any game gets better with friends!

(side-eyes mario party)

almost any game.

this includes playing for or being in an audience, too

you know the thieves are all gonna like different genres, they gotta have a game night where they all play for each other

while avoiding

score-chasers, strict time limits, and micromanagement,

it’s escapism!! real-life stressors can literally make an appointment.

zero-sum multiplayer,

don’t plant no seeds in toxic soil

and games that otherwise don’t respect their players.

you know the type.

games from companies that don’t respect their players, too; she’d def be conscientious about that kinda thing

dead space........... silent hill..........................................

this is probably where Yusuke and Taba would launch into an argument about games and art and Games and Art, but I have enough trouble stringing together one coherent thought at a time so I’ll spare you my inferior rendition. suffice to say, though Haru avoids elitism, she’s still a bit of a connoisseur.

regardless, there are several punchlines to take away here--

(there always are, where I’m concerned)

--but here’s a fun one for Gamer’s to enjoy:

her penchant for methodical, evocative adventures, love of horror, and keen observation skills ultimately converge to make her, the computer-illiterate casual gamer, the first out of all the thieves to beat bloodborne.

[scarletarosa]

Thoth

Egyptian god of knowledge, wisdom, writing, mathematics, science, magic, truth, integrity, time, and the Moon

Thoth (Egyptian: Djehuty) played many roles in Egyptian myths and held many different roles. There are several different versions of the myth of his birth, one being that Thoth was born from the lips of Ra at the beginning of creation, another that he was born from the forehead of Set. However, as Thoth’s popularity grew, another myth arose which claimed him to be the Great Creator. This myth says that Thoth, in the form of an ibis, laid an egg from which the god Ra was born. Yet another myth claims that Thoth had been born by his own will through the power of speech. In all of these variations, the common theme is that Thoth was born asexually.

Depictions of Thoth usually show him as a man with the head of an ibis (a sacred animal of his), though other times he may be shown as a baboon. He is shown holding either a scribe’s palette and a stylus or an ankh and sceptre. The wife of Thoth is Ma’at, the goddess of truth and justice, with whom he fathered Seshat, the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, writing, calculating, and sciences, as well as the Ogdoad deities: Nu, Naunet, Hehu, Hehut, Kekui, Kekuit, Qehr, and Qehret. As the “Voice of Ra” Thoth would sometimes be shown with the “Eye of Ra” symbol and as a god of the Moon, he could at times be seen depicted with the crescent Moon on his head.  

Roles: Being one of the most complex and important of the Egyptian gods, Thoth holds many roles and abilities. He is credited with being the one who taught the Egyptians how to write after Seshat (Thoth’s daughter) invented the hieroglyphics. He is also credited with being the inventor of the calendar, and the one who controls space and time. Since he is also a god of the moon, he has celestial functions as well and replaces the sun god, Ra, in the sky at night. He is also said to be the creator of every work of knowledge and is even claimed to be the author of the spells in the Egyptian “Book of the Dead” and the “Book of Breathings” (with the latter also given credit to Isis). Legends tell of the “Book of Thoth” which Thoth had written to include all the secrets of the universe. It is believed that anyone who reads this book becomes the most powerful sorcerer in the world, but would be cursed by their great knowledge. This god was believed to have knowledge of every single thing and would use his profound wisdom in order to be a mediator during troubling events. With his gift of speech, Thoth was excellent in both persuasion and counsel.  

Weighing of the Heart: One of Thoth’s many roles was as a messenger and bookkeeper for the funerary deities, with one of these responsibilities having him be the recorder of the verdicts during the heart-weighing ceremony in Duat (the Underworld). During this ceremony in the Hall of Ma’at, Thoth would assist Anubis as a white feather of Ma’at is placed upon the golden scaled of truth along with the heart of the human spirit. If the heart was found to be heavier than Ma’at’s feather, it would show that the spirit had been evil during their life, and would then be thrown to the goddess Ammit. Once devoured by this goddess of doom, the spirit would be put through eternal suffering as punishment for their corruption. 

If the heart was simply neutral, the spirit would be put through reincarnation until they resolved their karmic debt and learnt their lessons. If the heart was balanced with the feather, then the spirit would be granted passage to the Field of Reeds- the Paradise realm. Thoth would be the one to record and report each result to Osiris and the fourty-two judges, all of whom preside under the goddess Ma’at. Once a verdict was reached, the sentence would be carried out accordingly. Thoth always provided guidance for the deities and regulated common everyday complaints and created new laws. Thoth suggested that if a problem couldn’t be solved, then a group should get together as an assembly and discuss it.  

Myths: In the myth of how Thoth lengthened the year (which was originally 360 days), it tells of how Nuit, the goddess of the sky and daughter of Atum, was prophesized to give birth to the new King of the Gods. Seeking to stop this, Atum the Creator cursed Nuit to never have children on any day of the year. The distressed goddess then went to Thoth for comfort, who promised her that he could find a way around the curse. He went to the Moon god Khonsu (in some versions it is Iabet) and challenged him to a game of dice in which Khonsu would bet his own moonlight. Thoth proved to be more lucky and won, so he gathered up the light of the Moon and used it to create five extra days of the year, allowing Nuit to have five days available for the birth of her children. In the myth of Osiris, Thoth helped protect Isis during her pregnancy with Horus, and later healed the eye of her son which had been damaged by Set during a battle.

Personal experiences: Thoth is deeply kind-hearted, patient, studious, wise, polite, curious, diligent, and balanced. He strongly values temperance in everything- remaining moderate and maintaining a healthy balance in all matters. Through his wife, Ma’at, he is balanced even further and his expansion towards knowledge is kept more steady. Thoth usually keeps to himself, but can be quite friendly in social matters and engages in dialogue whenever addressed. He provides very useful insight in a multitude of topics, seeming to have knowledge on practically everything. His mind is deeper than the ocean and is utterly unfathomable to humans.

Thoth strongly believes in the evolution of one’s self through learning, laborious efforts, and enriching one’s own experiences. These challenges are all seen as aids on the path towards spiritual rebirth and evolution. While many view Thoth as knowledge just for the sake of learning, he is vastly more complex than this as he represents the absolute understanding of the cosmos and the experiences needed for one to advance above being an ordinary person through the trials of Illumination. Thus, Thoth is the granter of all knowledges, both mundane and illuminating, making him an excellent mentor to the gates of true understanding.

Thoth is an excellent tutelary deity for all seekers of truth and knowledge. As patron of the scribes, people who struggle with writing can call upon his guidance as well. A lesser aspect of Thoth is his unique understanding of mathematical principals in language. Therefore, Thoth can create dozens of different scripts (magical or mundane) according to need, all being equally powerful due to their unique mathematical principles.  

Regarding his marriage to Ma’at, this bond between their two essences represents balance, knowledge, and science. Thoth has explained that he has united with his daughter, Seshat, as well (nonsexually, in order to create new necessary creations). This unity with Seshat represents curiosity and the search for wisdom, and with their combined energies, they created Khonsu, the god of the moon and healing (as well as representing the initiate on the path of Illumination). 

Epithets:

Author of Every Work on Every Branch of Knowledge

The Mysterious One

He Who Proclaims Laws

The One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, Stars, and the Earth

He Who Determines Time

Moon of Beautiful Risings

Creator of All Things

Excellent Scribe

Scribe of the Divine Book

Protector of the Two Lands

Governor of Books

Ra that Shines in the Night

Ender of Strife

Eloquent Judge

Counsellor of Ra

Orderer of Fate

True of Heart

The Reckoner of Time and of Seasons

The Witness

The One Who Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth 

Offerings: earl grey tea (plain), cold water, orange juice, honey, tangerines, lemons, apricots, blackberries, raisins, salmon, tuna, lamb ribs, chicken, onions, chives, garlic, basil, parsley, cashews, walnuts, orange liquor cakes, hyacinth, lily of the valley, mastic, ibis feathers, quills, fountain pens, stylus pens, scrolls, papyrus, hourglasses, scales, leather-bound books, chrysoberyl, imperial topaz, selenite, lapis lazuli, silver, poetry, ibis statuettes, and baboon statuettes.   *no alcohol or drugs (he desires to have clarity of mind at all times)

Information on Ma’at

[sukigirl17]

The Ladder of Love -SukixSokka Oneshot

Word Count: 4,379

"Can you count to six thousand?"

The question caught Sokka totally off guard one night while playing a game of Pai Sho with her. He gave Suki a puzzled look, and thought maybe this was a tactic she was using to make him lose his focus.

"What?"

"Six thousand," She repeated without looking up from the table. "Can you count that high?"

He didn't know how to respond at first. "Umm....yeah...."

All the sudden her face lit up and she smiled at him, seemingly forgetting that it was her turn. She then began talking wildly about a mountain on the other side of Kyoshi Island, where he had come to visit her for a few weeks, but that's when Sokka started to tune himself out. She started talking so fast and so excitedly that he had close to no idea what she was saying.  

All he could make out were the words stairs, old couple, six thousand, and tomorrow. He slowly started putting the words together in an effort to understand just what it was his girlfriend was talking about. According to Suki, there was an old couple who lived on top of the mountain.  

However, in order to get up the mountain, there were stairs.  

Six thousand of them.

And they were going tomorrow.

After he had finally comprehended what she had said, Suki didn't even give him a second to protest. Instead, she immediately hurried him off to bed, stating that he'll need lots of rest to climb the mountain tomorrow morning. Reluctantly, he decided to let his girlfriend do as she pleased, and he followed her instructions by going to bed earlier than he would've preferred. It's only a little hiking, he reasoned with himself as his head hit the pillow.

How hard could it be?

...

 "Want me to tell you a story while we climb?"  

"Oh no. Let my gasps for oxygen just fill your ears and appease you, my cherry blossom." Sokka rolled his eyes as he tried to catch his breath, sweat beading down his forehead. 

The sound of her laugh only made him wheeze harder. Suki had woken him up at the break of dawn and dragged him out across the entire island while he was half asleep. And just as he was finally awake, she showed him the mountain.  

When she told him that they were going to climb that mountain, he expected a hike that only lasted a few hours, and the stairs were just part of her favorite trail, but of course the universe wouldn't make his life that easy. 

There were actual stone stairs embedded into the mountainside, and they went all the way to the top. But that was the least of Sokka's problems. The fact that he had to climb them all made him want to pass out. 

And the counting drove him insane. Every step she made, she counted aloud what number of stairs that had been.  

"I'll take that as a yes." She said, satisfied, still looking to the horizon as she hiked up the steps confidently. "This is the story of a couple named Xu and Liu..."  

And yet she still counted.

Every few minutes or so, she would update him on the latest number of steps they had climbed, and it only made him want to drop dead right then and there. 337, she would say, 872, she would say again. And the cycle repeated the entire day.  

It wasn't until an hour or so in did Sokka actually begin to pay close attention to her story, and he had to admit, it wasn't horrible.

 "....And Liu was only six years old when he stood outside of the church where the wedding was being held. Legend has it that it's good luck for children who've lost their baby teeth to have a bride-to-be touch the inside of their mouth, and so he went inside and bit the bride's finger," She laughed. 

 Step Number 983

"That beautiful, sixteen year old bride was Xu. She was getting married to the richest man in the whole village. From that day on, Liu vowed that he would marry a girl like that someday. Sadly, Xu's husband died ten years later, leaving her a widow with her four children struggling to survive. They lived off mushrooms from this mountainside, and Xu made a living by making sandals and selling them in the marketplace."

She'd only allowed them to take a break twice, once for lunch and then again by a riverside. He watched as Suki plopped down into the grass, and he collapsed right next to her. She ran her hand through the water and smiled tenderly at her reflection. Sokka watched as she stood and lept onto a rock sticking out of the water and started hopping along.

"One night, Xu went to get water from a nearby river, with her youngest child riding on her back. Because it was so dark, Xu and her child had slipped and fell into the river. Liu just happened to be walking by when they fell in and he dived in to save them. He saved Xu's life, but unfortunately the child didn't make it, much to her despair."  

Suki wobbled when she mistakenly stepped on an unsteady rock, and Sokka jumped to catch her, but she eventually regained her balance and gave him a reassuring look. She hopped back over to the grass and Sokka let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. From then on, they started back up the mountain.  

Step Number 1,743

Sokka looked behind him again and his eyes lingered over the running water one more time. "That was the river," He mused aloud. "The river where they met. Wasn't it?"

Suki didn't answer him, but only smiled at him over her shoulder.

"Liu had always admired Xu from afar, and now this was his chance to get to know her. During this hard time, Liu helped the family out with everything he was able to; he helped them with all the things Xu and her kids had a hard time doing, and he and Xu grew closer. But being in a relationship with a man ten years younger than you was scandalous, and Xu became the victim of many, vicious rumors. It became too much for Xu, that she even asked to never see Liu again. That night, however, Liu snuck into her house and proposed. The next morning, Xu, her children, and Liu were gone from the village without a trace."

2,682

Sokka soon found himself being engulfed in the sound of her voice and entranced by her story. It surprised him that he was so interested and had totally forgotten about his shortness of breath and the burning feeling in his legs. He would skip up the steps a little faster than usual just so he could hear her better.

4,021

"Xu and Liu escaped to their mountain life in a small, abandoned hut made of straw. They grew their own crops, fished in the river, and built a sturdier home out of clay and mud from the mountain. They did everything by themselves, even went through childbirth without any medical assistance.

"Xu and Liu had seven children all together; four of Liu's kids and three from her previous marriage. As their children grew up, and settled down in the outside world, Xu and Liu still remained attached to their private, mountain life. And the only bridge between their secluded kingdom and the world below was a narrow, steep, dangerous path down the side of the mountain.

"Because of this dangerous trail, Liu worried for his wife's safety when traveling back to the village. He began hand-carving a stairway into the mountain side for her to walk down." Sokka looked below him, and at the step his foot was currently resting on. His eyes widened a fraction, and he finally understood the reason for her telling this story to him.  

"Over the span of fifty-seven years, thirty-six broken chisels, and six thousand steps later, Liu had finally finished his stairway which we now know as the 'Ladder of Love'."

4,999....

Sokka's eyebrows furrowed when she didn't continue.

"Wait, what are you doing?" He asked her as she wandered off the path and into the grass near a tree. She started to take her pack off her shoulders and laid her sleeping bag underneath the tree. "W-we can't stop now! We have exactly one-thousand-and-one steps left, we're almost there!"

"Sokka, we've hiked all day. We have to get some rest, and it's dangerous to climb the stairs at night. You know what happened to Xu and the river."

 "Okay, yeah, maybe you're right. But we still have about 20 minutes before the sun sets. We could still-" 

"There's only rocks and dirt around the stairway from here on. This is the best spot we’ll find to camp. Let's just sleep here and then we'll get back on the road in the morning. I promise."  

He gave a worried glance towards the steps, and then back at her. Now that he thought about it, he was feeling pretty worn out. Since he wasn't ignoring it anymore, Sokka felt a rush of fatigue wash over him. He let out a sigh in surrender. "Okay...I guess we can rest for a little while..." He dejected. "But we’re finishing this thing! Right when the sun rises, bright and early!"

Suki chuckled at his newfound determination. "Deal," She told him, smiling even wider as he laid his sleeping bag down next to hers.

She smirked when he scooted closer to her.

"What?" He asked, pretending to be defensive. "It's cold up here in the mountain air. You can't just let me freeze to death."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it." She replied, nestling closer to him as he wrapped her tightly in his arms. "Good job today," She mentioned. "I honestly didn't think you had it in you. The climbing is really difficult, among other things." Sokka took a moment to ponder what she said. He heard her chuckle again beneath him. "Six thousand's a pretty high number, Sokka."

And he then realized just what she meant by that.

He had been counting the steps as well.

 ...

Now it was Suki's turn to be woken up way too early for her liking. He wasn't kidding when he said they had to get on the move when the sun rose, although he had been packing their things long before then. He woke her up with a gentle kiss on her forehead. But when that didn’t get her moving, he ripped her pillow out from under her head and started smacking her with it.

 Suki let out an annoyed grunt and turned to lay on her stomach, but that only gave him the opportunity to sit on her back. "You're abusing your privileges of pillow use," She mumbled, face down into the grass as he kept hitting her.

"Come. On." He said between hits. "We. Have. To. Go."  

 She smiled sleepily as she rolled over suddenly, causing him to fall as she sat up. "Are you really ready to go so early? Aren't you even a little bit sore?"

He shook his head vigorously. "Nope. Not me. In fact, I've been awake for hours."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"It’s funny to watch you drool in your sleep."  

She threw her pillow in his face and rolled her eyes.

Sokka let out a laugh as he helped her back onto the stairway. It made Suki happy to hear him counting this time. It was even a little difficult to keep up with him, his rushed hops up the stairs made her smile from ear to ear. "Five thousand and one, five thousand and two, five thousand and three, five thousand and four,"  

There was a point in time when Suki was so lost in watching him in the early morning sunlight, adoration spilling from her heart, that she lost track of time. Before she had time to process, they were walking up the last few steps and they were at the top.

“Is that a...house?” Sokka wondered aloud incredulously. Suki’s head perked up, and she pushed past him to see.

She inhaled at the sight and a wide grin spread across her face. “Think you’re up for checking it out?” She asked as she planted her hands on her hips.

Sokka smirked at her and then back at the house.

 “Well, we’ve made it this far.”

...

They cautiously made their way to the front door and knocked gently before taking a look around. There was a small garden growing to the right of the house, and a few chickens pecked around in a pen. Someone was clearly living here, but the question was who would want to live at the top of a mountain with the only way in or out was a six thousand step staircase?

Talk about a commute.

 Suki and Sokka heard rustling and the sound of glass breaking inside before Sokka knocked on the door again, a little harder this time, but the noise continued. The two looked at each other incredulously, they’re eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Then they heard a voice irately shout, “Go away!”

Both of their eyes widened. “Should we...” Sokka started.

“I don’t think...”

But before she could finish, Sokka knocked for the third time and they heard an outraged cry. More rustling filled their ears, the noise coming closer and closer to the door until it suddenly came to a stop.

The door opened a crack and a pair of eyes peeked out. Two bushy eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance and the pair of eyes merely glared at them for a short moment before opening the door further to reveal an elderly man with a white wild, untamed beard and hair. His frame was stout but short, his skin tan and wrinkled. He stood with his fists balled up as he sized both of them up. “Well?” He barked when neither of them said anything. “What do you want? It better be good considering you interrupted my breakfast!”

Suki and Sokka couldn’t help but stare at him for another short moment before glancing back at each other, then back at the man before them. He glared at them until huff fell from his lips and he growled, “Forget it!” as he went to slam his door.

Before he could, Sokka pushed his palm against the door to stop it from being shut. “Wait!” He exclaimed, and was relieved when the man didn’t try to slam it again. “We...just hiked this mountain using The Ladder of Love and-”

“Why do people keep calling it that!” The old man sneered, crossing his arms. “If I wanted to build a ladder, then I would’ve built a ladder! But it’s a staircase! A staircase that leads to my house, so I should get to name it myself!”

Both Suki and Sokka’s face melted into ones of shock once the realization hit them. Their mouths hung open as they watched the man before them, a man they thought didn’t exist, angrily ramble on. 

“-and I am so tired of couples from Kyoshi Village trespassing up here! I don’t care if it’s a betrothal tradition, I didn’t say my property could be a part of a tradition! People can’t make it a tradition without my permission and my permission is not granted!” 

Liu huffed heavily as he finished yelling and his outburst came to an end. After he shortly studied the kids’ clueless expressions, he sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re not...from Kyoshi Village, are you?”

Before Sokka could answer, Suki put her hand on his chest and quickly replied, “We are, but we had no idea anyone lived up here. We only hiked up here because of the myth of Liu and Xu-”

“Bah! Your village always liked to gossip! Our business could never be just our own!”

“So...the myth is true?” Sokka jumped in. “Are you actually Liu?”

His eyes narrowed into angry slits. “...If I say yes, will you go away?”

Sokka squealed with excitement. "So you really built all these stairs by hand? Without earthbending?!" He enthusiastically asked him. Liu nodded, much to Sokka’s delight. He loved meeting talented nonbenders. "That's amazing! You've created a monument single-handedly!"

 Liu only nodded again in acknowledgment. “Well...thanks, kid. No one’s ever talked about my work before, they usually just ask for my blessing on their marriage or some other mumbo jumbo.” Liu nervously scratched the back of his balding head. “At least you’ve got some taste.”

“Do you live all alone up here?” Suki gently asked him after she glanced around and saw no one else. “Where’s, um...”

“Xu?” Liu solemnly finished for her. Suki nodded, having a heavy feeling settle in her stomach. She and Sokka both had a feeling of where this was leading. Liu sighed, his eyes falling to the ground for a long moment. “My Xu became one with the spirits a few years ago. She...always loved visitors, but now I...it just...”

“It reminds you of the past, doesn’t it?” Sokka calmly interjected. Liu picked his head up to meet his gaze in surprise. His eyes were wet, but he didn’t try to hide it. 

“...Yes,” He whispered, sniffling as he used his sleeve to dry his eyes. “It does.”

“Well we’re sorry to bother you. Thank you for your time, but we’ll get out of your hair...er...” Sokka smiled nervously when he realized the man was balding and there were only small tufts of hair left on his head. “...Beard.”

 Liu narrowed his eyes at him.

“Thank you again!” Suki interrupted, taking Sokka’s arm as she started pulling him back towards the steps.

She waved back to Liu over her shoulder and smiled, and in that moment, a memory of Xu with that same smile flashed before his eyes. He shook his head, snapping himself out of it as he watched the young couple start down the stairs.

He grumbled, thinking there was a chance he’d regret this, but he hurried after them before shouting, “Wait!” He panted heavily as he came closer to them, and rested his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath.

 Liu then offered them both a small, tender smile before inviting them into his home for a cup of tea, much to Suki and Sokka’s surprise.   

They accepted, much to his surprise.

That had been the first time he smiled at them that day, but it wasn’t the last.

Liu told them the real story of his life, filled with colorful and exuberant details the young couple loved to share with the old man. They laughed together, and tears were shed, but most importantly, wounds started to heal for Liu on that day. He never thought sharing the story of him and his wife could be as mending as it was, as opposed to trying to forget their story to avoid the pain of his loss. He also never could have expected that two trespassers would grow to become some of his greatest friends.

...

They visited him often over the course of many years. Whenever they were on Kyoshi Island, Suki and Sokka would hike up the mountain to bring him food, souvenirs from other nations, or to simply catch up with Liu over a cup of tea. They’d share their stories of the other cities they’d seen, tell Liu about their friends, and he would teach them about the things he held close to his heart. He gardened with Suki, he taught Sokka how to raise livestock, and in return, they’d teach him about the world he had never seen.

Liu couldn’t have predicted he’d spend the last eight years of his life looking forward to these visits, nor could he predict he would become such a pivotal component in many of the young couple’s milestones together.

It was on his mountain when Sokka learned of the tradition in Kyoshi Village.

Women hike the mountain with the person they intended to marry. Some see it as a test, others see it as a good omen should they make it to the top. Sokka saw it as a confirmation that Suki felt the same way about him as he did her, and Liu can’t remember the last  time he laughed as hard as he did while he watched a gleeful Sokka start racing down the mountain to find her.

It was on his mountain where Sokka learned to carve into stone.

It was also on his mountain where Sokka first gave Suki the betrothal necklace that Liu only slightly took credit for. (He did teach the kid how to carve into the stone the pendant was made from, after all.)

It was on his mountain the first time Suki told Sokka they weren’t going to be able to hike the stairs for awhile because it would be hard for her to hike with a baby on the way.

(And the second time too.)

Liu watched these important moments pass for this couple, and it brought peace to his heart seeing a love as strong as the one he held of Xu grow right before his eyes. Beauty filled his life again, and he felt a warmth he hadn’t been able to remember for quite some time.

He was never a fan of goodbyes, though.

 When he knew the time had come, Liu sent a letter down to the village where it would wait for Suki and Sokka’s return to the island. 

And with the peace they had gifted him with settled deeply in his heart, Liu went home to Xu.

...

“Sokka!” Suki called from the front door into their house. Her husband had already taken the kids inside and started settling in. “We have a letter from Liu!”

“What?” He rounded the corner, a perplexed look adorning his face. He hugged her hips from behind and peeked over her shoulder. “That’s...weird. What’s it say?”

Both of their eyes glanced over his written words, but Suki tried to keep a gasp from escaping her lips by putting her hand over her mouth when she was about two lines in. Sokka’s lips fell slightly agape, and he hugged her tighter as tears pricked both of their eyes.

My friends,

Huh. I’ve said it all these years, and yet it still sounds odd. It’s odd to call you two my own friends. I hadn’t had any friends in a very long time before you two came along, and for you I am grateful.

We cannot have any more visits with each other. Not because I didn’t cherish and appreciate every moment I’ve spent learning and laughing with you kids, but because time passes too quickly for us to realize its pace. It’s time I find my way back to Xu, but I don’t leave without feeling slight sadness in knowing this means I won’t hear another one of your stories about your adventures in Republic City.

You are in the middle of rebuilding a world, one built for peace, and I am very proud to have watched you grow into the leaders you are in our community today.  

You have both given so much to me. So with a grateful heart, I will give this last thing to you before I go; in this letter is I hope you will find one last lesson and one last memory to make with your family.

Once Koda and Anaji are old enough, I hope you will bring them up to my mountain. I have come to understand and appreciate the importance of keeping mine and Xu’s story alive. You may share as much of it with them as you please, but going up my mountain will also allow you to share your story with your children as well. They will see the place where their mother and father first got engaged, be told how their parents met, and how they rebuilt Kyoshi Village together after they ended Thee 100 Year War as teenagers. They will hold these memories with them forever.

They will hike up my steps, which brings me to the last lesson I have for you. I have left my drafts and notes on how I constructed the staircase in my garden. Architecture is something I studied for many years as I made these stairs, and perhaps it will be helpful for you and your friends as you build the most peaceful city in history.

(You can finally stop pestering me for blueprints, Sokka.)

I will always be grateful to have known you. Thank you for trespassing all those many years ago. May your next victim be as lucky as I was.

-Liu

...

“Mom? Dad?” Suki and Sokka turned to see their 8 year old son staring at them with his wide, blue eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Suki wiped her eyes with her sleeve before getting down on her knees and putting her hands on her son’s shoulders. “Nothing’s wrong, sweetie.” She smiled at him tenderly. “But...” She looked back and Sokka for a moment. He turned towards her and nodded, returning her smile. “Why don’t you go get your sister?”

“I think we’re going on a hike.” 

[windstormwielding]

@icybreaths​​​​ and @praedulcis--helianthus​​​​ said via Send me an AU idea you have for my muse and I’ll give you my headcanons and/or thoughts about it (open!):

AU idea: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (unless it’s already been sent then ignore this one~)

–

AU idea: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (there's your cue 🤣🤣 I actually wanted to send "Xenoblade" already because you hinted about the song thing but I thought you were not accepting anymore lmaooooo)

{ ooc } Chicky, Chia, bless you both for indulging me!

WELP, TIME TO GUSH ABOUT AN AU BASED IN THE WORLD OF ONE OF MY TOP FAVOURITE VIDEO GAMES OF ALL TIME THAT I’LL PROBABLY NEVER ACTUALLY GET TO WRITE ABOUT OTHERWISE BUT WHO CARES LET’S GO WALL OF TEXT INCOMING-

An entire horizon of white. A sea of clouds, and at its heart, the World Tree, piercing the heavens... This... This is the world we call home...

Alrest.

Story goes that when the world was young, everyone in Alrest lived on the Tree, together with our divine father, the Architect. According to the tales, it was a bountiful land. And the people there held the power to command even the heavens themselves. They called that paradise...

“Elysium.”

But then, one day... we were cast out. Nobody knows why. Perhaps we angered our creator, or perhaps it was something else entirely... All we know is, we were forced to leave Elysium to live here in Alrest, where, it turns out, life was pretty hard. But, when it seemed like we would surely die out, the Architect took pity on us, sending his servants, the Titans, to save us.

The few of us who survived settled on the Titans... and we’ve lived in harmony with them ever since. But now, those Titans...

...are beginning to die out.

The Kōtarō of Alrest grew up as a dirt-poor commoner in Chilsain, a port city found on the right shoulder of the Titan Mor Ardain. Like many young Ardainians, he too wound up joining the military simply because hey, it put food on the table, and his mother would not be burdened in providing for them both. She worked as a salvager for a local trade guild, but money earned from findings beneath the Cloud Sea disappear fast in-between guild fees and having to raise a child.

As part of the militaristic arm of the Empire of Mor Ardain, Kōta showed plenty of promise as an up and coming soldier over the early years of his career. However, a growing desire for freedom and sense of wanderlust—to explore the wide world of Alrest and the other Titans that inhabit it without being part of an army, all on his own terms—had him grow wearier of remaining as part of the rank and file while time marched on.

So that the military may further boost its combat prowess, it was decreed that all soldiers would attempt to link with Core Crystals in order to discover if they would have the aptitude of a Driver. If this proves successful, the Core Crystal would give form to a Blade, special lifeforms bonded for life with their Driver, whom they endow with new powers and a unique weapon. If a bond proves unsuccessful, however, the resulting surcharge of ether in their bloodstream would incapacitate the attempted Driver for some time, and thus would put them out of the running.

It was during this process that Kōtarō was discovered to be one of the lucky few to have exactly that kind of aptitude. Now standing with a Blade at his side, and a strong one at that, a quick rise through the ranks and a career for life were all but guaranteed for him! Promotions, new responsibilities, a greater salary, more responsibilities... recognition, even more responsibilities, keeping himself tethered to the aging and exponentially warming Titan he begrudgingly calls home which will likely die off in his lifetime...

...oh dear.

Thus, he would instead defect from the army and abscond with his new partner-in-crime in the dead of night! So long, rigid and by-the-book military! Hello, freedom!

In the few years since his departure, Kōta practically lived for adventure and gained renown as a solo mercenary-for-hire. Protection, bounty hunting, monster hunting, you name it, he’s your man! While he never turns down work that pays (and is morally aboveboard), he might at times find his bleeding heart easily taken advantage of. Thankfully, he does not work alone as a Driver; having awoken a pair of wind-elemental Blades to fight by his side, Kōta and company make for fearsome fighters on the battlefield.

While he can’t return to Mor Ardain without potentially facing disciplinary action for abandoning his post, he still sends money home whenever able.

–––

For his partners, I thought to choose Rare Blades that were only attainable via the random, gacha-like Core Crystal summons (barring certain special guests from other Xeno games), and not from predetermined Core Crystals earned during Xenoblade Chronicles 2′s main story or side-quests. Without further ado-!

Boss Buster Zenobia is an Attacker-type Blade who lives for battle, and Kōtarō’s first Blade at that! She is the main reason why their little group often chases down powerful monsters, as she always seeks strong opponents to overcome. As rumours of the Aegis’s return after 500 years make waves across Alrest, she wishes to hunt down that legendary Blade and its Driver in order to test her mettle, much to her own Driver’s chagrin. Zenobia’s main weapon is a Greataxe, and her Field Skills include Wind Mastery, Superstrength, and Leaping.

It is because of the many parallels between herself and main verse Kōta’s Hai’iro Ranmaru that Zenobia became the perfect choice as his partner. Mighty wind-type spirits, Greataxe similar in function and size to Raigan’s war fan form, the Fūjin-inspired design... see what I mean?

Tiny but mighty, Albatrojan Finch is the cheerful little Tank-type Blade who keeps the team humble. While she may be cute, her memory lapses hard when it comes to names—yes, even including those of her fellow Blade Zenobia (Zebonia, Zirconia, Cloudia, so on) and her own Driver Kōtarō (Colorado, Coating, Kōbarō, so forth)—and events she literally just experienced moments ago. Still, despite her forgetful nature, this airhead is as reliable as can be in a fight. She wields a Shield Hammer, and her Field Skills include Entomology, Leaping, and Birdbrain.

Yes, the bird motif made her another obvious pick, and her penchant for riding on other people’s shoulders made her adorability impossible to overlook-

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Londerland Bloodlines -- Pre-Game Timeline!

So, I believe I've mentioned I'm replaying Bloodlines currently to determine what the timeline of the game is for my "Londerland Bloodlines" AU (now having been upgraded to an official story!). But when I started working on the opening chapter, I realized something -- I also needed to shore up the timeline for what happened before the events of the game! After all, even if I'm starting with Alice getting Embraced, knowing just how events in her and everyone else's lives happened is important -- if only because my characters are going to be telling each other their histories at some point. :p

So! Under the readmore is my current pre-game timeline for these versions of Alice, Victor, Victoria, Emily, Lizzie, and Bonejangles. I focused mainly on figuring out how Corpse Bride and American McGee's Alice/Alice: Madness Returns would go down, though I added some other notes explaining Alice's relationship to Wonderland in this world (since, obviously, she's not the Alice from the books!), and setting up how Emily, Lizzie, and Bonejangles ended up in the Giovanni Crypts. I may be tweaking things here and there as time and the story goes on, but this serves as a good first draft, anyway. Enjoy!

May 4th, 1984: Alice Pleasance Liddell is born to Arthur and Lorina Liddell – their second daughter after ten-year-old Lizzie (November 22nd, 1974).

June 9th, 1984: Victor Fitzwilliam Van Dort is born to William and Nell Van Dort, their only child. He grows up privileged but rather neglected, and becomes a rather shy young man.

November 5th, 1992: Angus Bumby, one of Arthur's psychology undergraduates at Oxford University who'd developed an obsession with Lizzie, breaks into the Liddell house, rapes and kills Lizzie, then sets the house on fire to cover his tracks. Arthur and Lorina die in the blaze, but a badly-burned Alice is able to escape through her bedroom window and is taken to hospital. She remains in the burn unit for a year, recovering – her body heals remarkably well, according to the doctors, but her mind doesn't. Unknown to anyone, a furious Lizzie's spirit refuses to go to the Underworld as a result of her horrific death, and remains at the site of the Liddell house, haunting it with vigor (namely throwing things at any male visitor).

November 11th, 1993: Alice is then taken to Rutledge Psychiatric Institute, as she's gone catatonic from survivor's guilt and won't respond to any stimuli. It's not as horrific an experience as her Victorian counterpart experienced, but Rutledge is still underfunded and contains Pris Witless and the Monroe twins, so it's not great either. During this time, Bumby manages to deflect all suspicion off himself for starting the fire by setting it up so it looks like the family cat, Dinah, knocked some still-burning kindling out of the fireplace, and sets up his Houndsditch Home for Wayward Youth – an orphanage for disadvantaged children looking for new homes and mental health.

September 7th, 2002: Alice shows her first sign of conscious life in years by drawing a picture of a rather more twisted Cheshire Cat than normal, as her subconscious gets tired of her laying around and plunges her into a mental fight for her life and sanity in a ruined Wonderland. Alice proceeds to battle her way across the various domains over the next year, and successfully wrests her sanity back from her corrupted counterpart, the Queen of Hearts.

November 1st, 2003: Having recovered enough to warrant living outside a care facility like Rutledge, Alice is released into the custody of one Angus Bumby, whose methods of memory management are applauded and derided in equal measure. Alice is only too eager to submit to his decree to forget the fire, but her subconscious doesn't make it easy – especially since she keeps thinking he looks familiar. . .

January 27th, 2004: Victor, taking a gap year between high school and college (to delay having to major in business like his father wants) is "strongly encouraged" to start dating his across-the-square neighbor, Victoria Everglot, daughter of viscounts Maudeline and Finis Everglot. Victor's parents think it'll be an excellent way to earn some more social status (they're millionaires many times over from the Van Dort canned fish empire, but their nouveau riche manners haven't earned them many actual friends among the elite), while the Everglots are only allowing this because they've been running on the ragged edge of "broke" for a while now and William is hinting some loans might be a side effect of letting their children date. Neither Victor nor Victoria is thrilled to be pushed into dating a near-stranger. . .but once they properly meet, they find their personalities mesh nicely, and they decide to keep seeing each other on their own terms.

May 28th, 2004: Victor and Victoria have been dating for a few months by this point, enjoying themselves and growing closer. The Everglots are growing less-thrilled with the arrangement by the minute and are constantly pushing potential alternate suitors onto Victoria – Victor assures her that he won't mind if she goes out with a couple just to shut them up, but Victoria is doing her best not to give in just so they won't believe they can run her life. On the Van Dort side, though, Nell's grown impatient with the two just dating, and manages to get Pastor Galswells to crash their date at the local coffee shop to (very reluctantly) extol the virtues of marriage. Victor is mortified and bolts – Victoria follows him, and assures him that she's willing to wait for a commitment. They manage to recover the date, even getting a prize from a little arcade game outside the laundromat – a cheap plastic ring. Victor goes on a walk afterwards in the local woods to clear his head, and ponders if he's ready to get more serious with Victoria or not. In the process, he ends up doing a mock proposal to what he thinks is a bunch of hand-like roots by an old oak, reciting the town's founder's vows and slipping the ring onto a finger.

Turns out it's actually a root-like skeletal hand, which promptly seizes Victor's wrist and tries to pull him into the dirt. Victor fights free, only for a half-rotted corpse bride to rise from the earth. He flees for the bridge – she follows and catches up before he can make it back to town. Victor faints as she goes to kiss him, and wakes in a strange and colorful world that he is informed is the Land of the Dead. Apparently everyone thinks he and the corpse – Emily – are married thanks to him speaking the vows. Victor blurts out that it was a joke – then, seeing Emily well up, clarifies he had no idea she was even there. He asks who she is and how she even came to rise – her friend Bonejangles steps in, explaining through song that she's a murdered bride, killed by the man who promised to elope with her, who vowed to wait under that tree for her true love to set her free. Victor feels awful for giving her false hope, and asks if they can talk more privately. Emily leads him to one of her favorite lookout spots, where they run into Victor's old dog Scraps (now just a skeleton). Victor apologizes for the misunderstanding, and Emily apologizes for frightening him – she was just so excited about finally being married. They talk a bit about Upstairs versus Downstairs, and Emily admits that she misses the living world and would love to see it again. Victor decides that maybe this is the least he can do for her and asks if he can take her up on a pseudo-date (after clearing it with Victoria first). Emily is all for this, and they head over to Elder Gutknecht's, the local magician, who provides them with a spell to return to the Land of the Living after sunset and stay there all night – once dawn breaks, Victor will remain, and Emily return Downstairs. They spend the time until nightfall touring the Land of the Dead – Victor finds he quite likes it and Emily, and tells her that, even if the circumstances aren't the best, he's glad he met her. She is too.

Finally, night comes, and the two return to the Living world. Emily pulls Victor into an impromptu dance in the moonlight, then Victor asks her to wait in the woods while he gets Victoria and brings her around to explain. He heads over to the Everglots. . .only to find the police there, and the Lord and Lady in a tizzy. Turns out, while he was in the woods, the elder Everglots finally talked Victoria into meeting one of their chosen men – one Lord Barkis Bittern, a newcomer to town who's been sweet-talking them. Victoria went to meet him at the coffee shop – and now they've gotten a note from Barkis saying that they'll never see her alive again unless they pony up fifty thousand pounds – a sum of money they just don't have. A horrified Victor checks in with his parents to let them know he's all right (there was some worry that he'd gotten kidnapped too), then sprints back to Emily to give her the news. Emily is equally horrified – and a little concerned, as the man who murdered her was named Edward Barkis. Victor gives her the description he got from the Everglots, in case he spotted the guy – yup, that's the bastard who killed her! Emily's certain that, even if Barkis does get the money, he'll probably kill Victoria anyway, so time is of the essence in finding her. They use the "emergency escape clause" in the spell to head back Downstairs, and explain things to Gutknecht, who agrees to help. Victor gives Gutknecht a flower Victoria gave him earlier in the day to help him track down her location, while Emily rounds up a bunch of her dead friends to storm the place and rescue her. Gutknecht finds Victoria in, of all places, the church – the gang descends on it, and finds both Galswells and Victoria tied up, with Barkis standing guard. He's – naturally a little shocked to see a bunch of walking corpses demanding he free his captives, but manages to regain his wits in time to steal General Bonesaparte's sword and duel Victor (who gets a barbecue fork from Ms. Plum that he uses rather well). Emily saves Victor from a fatal stabbing after Barkis disarms him, and a sneaky call to the police from Bonejangles summons them to save Victoria and Galswells. Barkis is brought in, Victor and Victoria are reunited, and the dead prepare to head back down Below. Victor introduces Victoria to Emily, and they thank her for her part in saving her. Emily thanks them in return, saying she was happy to spare Victoria a variation on her own fate and that she's thrilled to see her murderer finally brought to justice. She says that she'll probably be moving on for real to whatever's next soon, now that that's no longer hanging over her head, but that she'll keep them close in her heart. They say a heartfelt goodbye, and Victor and Victoria head home.

May 29th, 2004: The next day, Victoria apologies to Victor, but says the whole experience has badly rattled her and she'd like to take a break from dating while she processes it all. (In fact, she plans to take a break from the whole village, having talked her parents into reopening an abandoned summer home that they were never able to sell for a couple of months.) Victor understands – his parents do not, and he ends up on their shit list for supposedly letting her slip through his fingers. Even worse, Galswells immediately starts accusing Victor of dark sorcery because of the walking dead (never mind that they helped save his life). Few people take Galswells seriously, but even those who don't blame Victor for apparently driving the man out of his mind, and he becomes a figure of mockery and derision in the village.

July 4th, 2004: Alice, having endured about half a year of only semi-effective therapy from Bumby in the Houndsditch Home, suffers another psychotic break while visiting Pris Witless (who took to blackmailing her about a comment she made while not really with it that suggests she might have some responsibility for her family's death) and tumbles back into a freshly-corrupted Wonderland. This time, the source of her troubles isn't the Queen, but some sort of terrible Infernal Train built in the factories of Hatter's Domain, which flies across the landscape spewing a horrible black goo called Ruin everywhere. Alice battles her away across various domains trying to track down who commissioned the Train and how to stop the Ruin, while in reality she wanders in a hallucinatory daze across London over the course of about two months. During her travels, she almost drowns in the Thames after falling in; narrowly escapes a fire at her old nanny's bar (and secret brothel), set by said nanny's ex-pimp; runs afoul of the police by causing a scene at her old family lawyer's house looking for her beloved toy rabbit; and ends up briefly back at Rutledge when the local cops decide she's too much of a danger to herself to roam unsupervised. She goes catatonic again for a bit as she braves the last of her domains, and awakens with the terrible knowledge that Bumby killed her family – and worse, his activities at Houndsditch are a front for child prostitution. He isn't removing the painful memories of the children under his care – he's wiping their minds entirely and selling them to unsavory sorts! She tries to convince the staff of Rutledge of this, but none except Dr. Wilson and Nurse Darling are willing to listen to her – and even they can't do anything without proof. Superintendent Monroe forces her to return with Bumby when he comes to pick her up. . .

September 7th, 2004: So Alice confronts Bumby herself about his wrongdoings shortly afterward, cornering him in the Moorgate Underground during a quiet moment. Bumby smugly admits that she's right, claiming he's giving the children under his care a "new purpose" – and that Lizzie deserved what she got. Alice realizes that the key he uses to hypnotize people is in fact her sister's room key, and reclaims it, furiously telling him she'll go to the police with it. Bumby tells her no one will ever believe her – Alice points out the security camera, but Bumby tells her it hasn't worked for months (he made sure of that, since he uses this station to drop off kids sometimes) and that the key isn't enough to reopen her case. She can either storm off in a huff and return to the asylum, or submit to his care as the "tasty bit" he'd hoped to make her.

Alice takes a third option and pushes him in front of an oncoming train.

Fortunately, she's able to spin the incident as an accident (Bumby falling in front of the train) and – after a search of Houndsditch reveals his private journal, with the ledger for his less-savory activities – no one's much inclined to look too much into his death. Alice still thinks that it might be a good idea to get out of the country, though, just in case. Besides, after all that's happened, she craves a fresh start in a new world. She gets the help of Dr. Wilson (now the director of Houndsditch) to track down her rabbit, and prepares to go as far from London as possible – Los Angeles, California.

September 10th, 2004: Around the same time, Victor finally snaps when he receives a letter from Victoria, telling him her parents have decided not to move back to Burtonsville as they don't want to confront the memory of Barkis – or the Van Dorts. Without the hope that they'll be reunited and possibly resume their relationship, Victor decides to leave Burtonsville himself, concocting a story for his parents about wanting to go to college overseas. He too eventually decides that Los Angeles, California is the perfect place to go and starts making plans.

October 1st, 2004: Emily, having finished up what she wanted in the Underworld and said goodbye to all her friends, prepares to move on to whatever comes next. With Elder Gutknecht's help, she moves Upstairs for one final look at the moonlight before releasing her soul. . .

Only to have said soul snagged and bottled by a mysterious stranger. Trapped and only vaguely aware of what's happening to her, Emily is taken back to the Giovanni mansion, where she becomes part of a strange ritual. To her shock, the ritual restores to her a – well, semi-alive body; she's basically a very well put-together and sentient zombie. The resident Giovanni are impressed with her construction, but displeased she won't follow orders (they were expecting a servant), and lock her in the basement of their mansion for further experiments.

October 7th, 2004: Emily gains a cellmate – Lizzie Liddell! Turns out her soul was snagged by another Giovanni around the same time Emily's was, and she too was subject to the same ritual – with the same result. The two girls quickly bond over their shared backstory of "a rotten man plundered and murdered me" (if in two different ways), and their worries about their living friends (Victor and Victoria) and family (Alice).

October 10th, 2004: Getting frustrated with the failure of their latest necromantic ritual, the Giovanni try just yanking a soul straight out of the Underworld at random. By sheer chance (or perhaps the table still being contaminated with a bit of Emily's hair), they get Bonejangles, who is very surprised at going from a skeleton the Ball & Socket pub to sort-of-living man on a cold slab in a mansion in L.A. He's thrown in the basement too when he won't play ball – Emily is equal parts shocked, thrilled, and horrified to see him. Lizzie takes a little time to warm up to him, but his extremely different demeanor from Bumby and the other Oxford toadies wins her over, and soon the three are planning escape attempts and wondering just what the world outside is like. . .

October 14th, 2004: Alice arrives in Los Angeles, having reclaimed her bunny and said her goodbyes to her family's graves. She manages to snag a room at a rather crappy motel at the edges of the city, and starts looking for work and a better place to live. Unfortunately, her presence is noted by one Fish, a 7th Generation Malkavian, who sees her madness and decides that she must be brought into the clan. And what better way to lure her in than putting an ad in the paper, claiming he has an apartment for rent. . .

October 20th, 2004: Victor arrives in Los Angeles – or, more specifically, Santa Monica. He snags a rather nicer hotel room and starts trying to figure out what exactly he wants to do with himself while he's here.

Three days later, the question is answered when a drunk driver plows into him, and he ends up in the local clinic. . .

[180abroad]

Day 125: Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish Borders

When we first started planning this trip, one of the big sites I'd wanted to see was Hadrian's wall. But it's so far from anywhere else we wanted to go in England that I had resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't get to go. Luckily, Rabbie's offers a tour of the wall from Edinburgh. Not only would we get to see Hadrian's Wall, we'd get to approach it from the north like an old Celtic barbarian.

It was a long tour, so we had to get up and into town early.

There must have been quite the party going the night before. Even the statues woke up with traffic cones on their heads.

Our guide and driver for the day was Nik, a middle-aged, born-and-bred Edinburgh man with the accent and stories to prove it.

As we drove south, we passed through the beautiful rolling hill country that makes up the Scottish Borders. The Highlands are seem to get all the glory when it comes to romanticizing Scottish countryside, but the Lowlands definitely have their own idyllic charm.

Nik told us some interesting stories about the medieval residents of the Borders and their complex relationship between England and Scotland. They were ethnically Scottish, but the Borderers resented both countries because their wars inevitably brought the razing and pillaging of border towns by both sides.

The Borderers were excellent horse riders and highly valued as mercenary cavalrymen throughout Europe. Whenever the English and Scottish armies fought in the Borders, the Borderers would hire themselves out to both sides, then sit on the sidelines of each battle until the winner was clear. They made special coats with English colors on one side and Scottish colors on the other, so they could flip their coats inside-out to match whichever side they decided to be "fighting for" at the moment. Hence the term "turncoats."

When they weren’t fighting as mercenaries, the Borderers spent a lot of time fighting themselves. One town would gather a raiding party and invade the next town over. That town would then gather a counter-raid to get their stuff back. Eventually, the raids became so bad that towns hundreds of miles away–well outside the Borders--were being raided by these crazy hill people. Neither country wanted to take responsibility for them, but when King James VI and I united Scotland and England under one crown, he was able to raise a police force to move in and establish order.

We also saw a lot of sheep on our drive. According to Nik, there are three sheep in Scotland for every man, woman, and child. Which is the perfect number, he said–one for meat, one for wool, and one for snuggling.

Our first stop was the abbey town of Jedburgh, just ten miles north of the border with England. Streamers hung up all over the town indicated that a festival was going on, but it was dead quite on this Thursday morning.

The abbey, like most abbeys in Britain, is only a picturesque ruin now. But this time it wasn't Henry VIII's fault--the Scottish destroyed their own abbeys during their own Presbyterian Reformation.

Before its destruction, the abbey was inhabited by Augustinians, who were known as cannons rather than monks. Whereas monks live and work in their abbey, cannons are priests who choose to live communally in an abbey but still teach and perform services in their local community.

We got about an hour to explore the small museum and wander through the peaceful ruins.

Next we headed down to the crossing between England and Scotland, where we pulled over for a quick photo op. There's no security or anything, just a pair of engraved standing stones.

The view was fantastic, though.

Our timing was good, too. Just as our group finished taking pictures, a kilt-clad busker showed up to serenade us with his bagpipes. More oddly, a man driving through the parking lot stopped and called one of our group mates over so that he could give her some sort of "helpful" pamplet. According to Nik, this guy is a regular feature at the crossing who stages this sort of thing all the time, making it seem like he's just a friendly local who randomly decided to pull over and give the handout to a passing tourist.

After a few very pleasant hours of driving (some of which my dad and I might have spent dozing), we arrived at Hadrian’s wall. Specifically, we arrived at Steel Rigg, a dramatic line of glacial crags that the wall runs along the top of.

It was a steep climb up to the top of the outcrop, but the view was well worth it. Even if the wall was never really used as a defensive installation, it was easy to imagine hordes of painted Celtic barbarians massing to the north.

And seeing the way crags rise up like a wall themselves, I can very easily understand how George R.R. Martin was inspired by this place to create his fictional wall of ice in A Game of Thrones.

Next, we went to the nearby Vindolanda excavation and museum. Vindolanda was a Roman walled settlement inhabited by the soldiers who manned Hadrian's wall, as well as their families and the various merchants and artisans who supplied them. The site has been meticulously unearthed, and the included museum is filled with fascinating artifacts from the Roman inhabitants’ everyday lives.

There was pottery, flatware, tweezers, and lots and lots of leather shoes. The Romans wore very intricate leather shoes, but apparently very few examples are still around. Vindolanda is a treasure trove of leather and wooden goods because the land it's on is basically a bog--pretty much the same story as with the Celtic artifacts we saw at the Irish National Museum of Archeology in Dublin.

Despite being such innocuous pieces, one of the collections that struck me the most was the wooden barrel staves on display. We could see the ancient branded markings in old Latin clear as day, and one stave still bore a round stain from when some Roman set something dirty on it. The world's oldest coffee ring, perhaps?

There was a fascinating collection of Roman locks and keys that were much more intricate than what I would have assumed they had at the time.

Other interesting finds in the museum included a piece of intricately painted glass that had been imported from Roman Germany, some surprisingly shiny Roman coins a bug-resistant wig made from local moss, and a small metal hand used for religious ceremonies.

But the pride of the museum's collections was a barely distinguishable pair of leather boxing gloves. Boxing was a favorite pastime in the Roman Empire, and there are countless artistic depictions of soldiers and gladiators wearing an ancient form of boxing gloves. But these gloves found at Vindolanda are the only known surviving pair in the entire world.

Normally, there is an afternoon guided tour of the ruins, but today's tour was replaced with a performance by a group of local Roman Legion reenactors.

They described their arms, armor, and troop composition. We learned that up until the mid-20th century, historians didn’t actually know for sure how the iconic Roman segmented plate armor worked. It wasn’t until an old wooden chest under someone's house was discovered to contain two intact sets that people were able to accurately recreate them. And by recreating them, historians and reenactors can learn firsthand how they work and would likely have been used.

And you know you're in for a treat when your tour guide is excitedly taking pictures along with the rest of the group.

We learned how most of the soldiers manning Hadrian’s wall would not have actually been Legionnaires, but rather auxiliaries. Auxiliaries were non-citizen soldiers who fought for the Roman army in exchange for citizenship after 25 years of honorable service. In the meantime, they got less money, worse equipment, and more dangerous postings.

The reenactors also described how the invincibility of the Roman army was not just due to the superiority of their arms and armor. At the time, the Romans basically reinvented the idea of a professional, standing army. The Celts of Scotland had a proud and fierce warrior culture, but they didn’t really have armies. When one clan went to war against another, they would just gather all the able-bodied men together and head out. They were strong and fierce, but they just didn’t have the skills and tactics that full-time soldiers are able to develop through years of constant, structured practice.

We got to see the reenactors charge, duel, throw spears, and even fire a ballista (basically a giant crossbow, for anyone who's never played Age of Empires).

Leaving Vindolanda, we headed back up to Edinburgh through the western Lowlands. Again, the rolling hillsides were spectacular. I was especially enthralled by the area around the River Tweed, the home of a famous British textile. We could easily see how the raiding parties Nik described could hide out in a fog-cloaked ravine and become virtually unfindable. Nik also pointed out the particular hillsides where the wild haggis love to run free--in circles, of course, because of their naturally lopsided legs.

We also passed by the narrowest hotel in Britain.

Back in Edinburgh, we finally got my dad his first taste of Nando's before heading back home. It was in a shopping mall at the edge of Old Town, and it was about an hour's wait between when we first put our names down on the waiting list and when we actually got our food. It was well worth it, though--especially considering that it would be our last Nando's of the trip.

Back home, we rested up and prepared ourselves for our last two days in Edinburgh. We would be staying in the city, and we had almost all of it left to see.

Next Post: Edinburgh, Part 2 (History, Hiking, and Beer)

Last Post: Glasgow

[kmp78]

FINLAND 1 - 0 - 0 🇫🇮

A QUICK COMPILATION OF ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW - AND WISH YOU NEVER DID.

1. You may call us Finland and Finns, but we call ourselves Suomi and suomalaiset.

2. Altho if you don´t mind, we would rather you did not call us anything ever. Actually if we could both pretend each other doesn´t even exist, that would be just great!

3. Yes we are a notoriously shy and reserved nation with a gigantic inferiority complex - especially when compared to our neighbor Sweden.

4. Who incidentally we loooooove beating in hockey.

5. Saimaannorppa aka Saimaa ringed seal can only be found in Finland and is highly endangered.

According to a count done in 2015, there are only about 320 individuals left, and therefore quite understandably whenever one is found dead in a fisherman´s net or by the hands of a poacher etc., it causes headlines and outrages.

6. 70% of Finland is made up of forests - that´s roughly the size of the entire area of the United Kingdom.

7. Finland was awarded the Summer Olympics for 1940, but then things got all sorts of fucked up thanks to Adolf & co., so those plans were scrapped even tho we had a brand-spanking new Olympic stadium and everything! Dammit!

Oh well, we were compensated in 1952 when we finally got the honor of hosting our only (so far) Olympic games.

8. Those 1952 Olympics were the first time Coca Cola was introduced to Finns.

9. No, we do not have polar bears.

10. We also don´t have KFC, Wendy´s or Dunkin´ Donuts.

11. Yes I am very upset about all those things mentioned above but especially about KFC.

12. Finland was the first country in Europe which gave women the right to vote (1906).

13. The Finnish language does not separate words such as “she” or “he”. We just use a gender-neutral “hän”, which means “that person”.

14. The national bird of Finland is the whooper swan.

15. Helsinki has the world´s most Northern metro system.

16. Savonlinna hosts their annual Opera Festival in a Medieval castle.

17. We are vindictive and petty as HELL. Just ask Silvio Berlusconi.

http://kmp78.tumblr.com/post/155861218049/finland-chronicles-part-14

18. A Finnish person will drink approximately 129 litres of milk a year.

19. Some years ago, the word for mother (”äiti”) was voted the most beautiful word in the Finnish language.

20. Moomins are, as some of you MAY REMEMBER FROM A SPECIFIC DEBACLE FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR, from Finland and were created by OUR Miss Tove Jansson.

21. Unlike many other countries which after gaining independence tore down all statues and other remnants of their history under foreign rule, in Finland we chose to keep ours up as reminders of our past.

For example, on our main square aka the Senate Square you will find Czar Alexander II standing proudly.

22. And speaking of statues, one of the landmarks of Helsinki is Havis Amanda.

It depicts a mermaid who decides to leave the sea and walk on... well, not water.

Each year on April 30th, she is “crowned” with a cap, to represent all those who have graduated from secondary school and earned their caps.

23. As of 2010, internet access has been a legal right in Finland.

24. Do you have one of those cupboard things over your kitchen sink, the kind where you place your dishes to dry?

That was invented by a Finnish woman called Maiju Gebhard in 1945.

25. The longest word in the Finnish language is “epäjärjestelmällistyttämä­ttömyydelläänsäkäänköhän”, which loosely translates to “not even by her lack of organization, do you suppose”.

26. Angry Birds are from here.

27. Finland is also the birth place of the most successful ski jump champions of all time, Matti Nykänen.

28. After his sports career came to an end, Matti has been a permanent fixture in the tabloids with his... issues... involving alcohol abuse, domestic abuse (he even served time in prison for attempting to kill one of his many ex-wives) and an assortment of careers including stripping and now singing. 

He is also responsible for one of our most beloved and useful quotes of all time: back in the 80s when he was still jumping from towers and competing in Canada, he got into some “situations” and was sent back home as punishment. When he arrived at the airport, a journo asked him “Matti, did you drink alcohol?”, to which Matti replied “Maybe I did drink, maybe I didn´t drink”.

All bases covered then!

The man is a fucking genius.

29. There are absolutely ZERO public payphones anywhere in Finland.

30. For a very short period of time back in, Finland had a female president AND a  female Prime Minister. 

Sadly that arrangement came to an abrupt end when the Prime Minister was forced to resign over a scandal involving some sort of Iraq documents which I´m still, a decade later, completely baffled by.

31. As those who come on this blog surely know by now, Yours Truly is a passionate berry picker - and being a berry nut in Finland is easy indeed since a) we have one of the cleanest natures in the world and b) all living things you find in nature, you can keep - within reason, of course.

Usually a good principle is to keep about 100 meters distance from the nearest house. Other than that, you´re good to go!

32. People in in Northern Finland aka Lapland area have a very specific unit of measurement called the “poronkusema” which could be loosely translated to “Reindeer´s piss”. Roughly it means the distance a reindeer can walk before needing to urinate. It´s quite a long distance...

33. Our current President Sauli Niinistö is a survivor of the tragic tsunami which took place in South-East Asia on Dec 26, 2004. Over 200 000 people (including almost 200 Finnish tourists) died in one of the worst natural disasters of our time - Mr. Niinistö and his sons saved their own lives by climbing up a telephone pole and staying there for several hours.

34. In Finland October 13th is National Failure Day which aims to encourage people to share their failures and learn from them rather than hide their heads in shame and pretend all is well.

35. The REAL Santa Claus lives up in Rovaniemi and you can visit his village all year long.

36. Sheldon gave us a good laugh and an ego boost.

37. We like eating Rudolf with lingonberries and mash.

38. On some years we get A LOT of snow, but on others we get practically none. Back in 1997, in Lapland the snow reached up to 190 cm.

Incidentally I am 155 cm.

39. In the Finnish language there is an alphabet called Å which isn´t actually a part of a single Finnish word in the entire Finnish language - it is simply a remnant from our many centuries spent under Swedish rule.

40. Unesco has reported that Finland´s tap water is the cleanest in the world.

41. A handy Finnish saying: “Early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese”.

42. For some God forsaken reason, Finland and Estonia have the same national anthem.

43. Sadly accurate these days.

44. Sadly accurate these days.

45. Rosina Heikel (1842 - 1929) was Finland´s and in fact the Nordic countries 1st female doctor.

46. When something is a failure/a dud, the common term in the English language is “a lemon”. Over here, it´s “susi”. Susi also means wolf.

47. And susi should not be confused with sisu! 

48. In Lapland you can spend your vacation in an igloo.

49. Fines for speeding are determined by the offender´s income. Basically if you earn more, you have to pay more. The highest fines have been over 100 000 €. Stay poor, kids!

50. Pamela Anderson´s grandparents were from Finland.

51. Yes we like getting our drinks on, and most of us go abroad to Tallinn to get our drinks on for a lot less €s.

52. In Lapland, the Sun never rises from November to January.

53. In reverse, the Sun never sets from June to July. We call it “The Nightless night”.

54. Finland has exactly 1 Eurovision victory under its belt.

55. In 2018 Saara Aalto will be repping us.

Please vote for us. Please?

56. Nokia became famous for their mobile phones, but originally they manufactured rubber boots.

57. We don´t dub movies or TV shows.

58. We do however sometimes give them ridiculous and extremely SPOILER ALERT-y names. For example, “The Shawshank Redemption” was translated to “Rita Hayworth - Key to escape”.

I mean... C´MOOOOON!

59. Sometimes that´s all you can do.

60. Simo Häyhä aka “White Death” was one of the deadliest snipers of all time. During a 3 month stretch of the Winter War, he shot roughly 200 Russian soldiers before getting shot in the face himself. He survived and lived to be 96.

61. We don´t use the 1 and 2 cent coins. You CAN try paying with them as they of course are legal currency, but there are no guarantees you´ll get very far.

62. Feb 14th may be a day for lovers for the rest of the world, but we know it as “Friend´s Day”.

63. Tipping is not (thankfully) a part of the Finnish culture.

64. The guy longing for Sven in Titanic (the coat dude) was portrayed as a Swede, but was actually a Finn called Jari Kinnunen.

65. Karelian pies with egg butter are the best thing ever.

66. Märket island which is situated between Finland and Sweden had to have the border lines twisted a bit because the Finns who built that lighthouse, accidentally built it on the wrong side...

67. While often named as one of the 5 Scandinavian countries, Finland isn´t technically even a part of Scandinavia: we ARE however a part of the Nordic countries.

68. If you are invited to a Finnish sauna, you are expected to go nude.

69. Finnish armed forces are mandatory for men but voluntary for women.

70. Moomin mugs are peculiarly popular especially among Asian tourists. They can sometimes pay even thousands for rare ones.

71. We never had vikings, but there is one viking tale about a princess called Skjalv, daughter of the Finnish King Froste (those aren´t even Finnish names...), who was stolen as war loot to Sweden but ended up strangling her captor with a gold chain. 

72. Our 4th president was Kyösti Kallio, who was forced to resign from office after the Winter War on December 19th 1940. On that same day he was about to step onto a train to take him back home for retirement, when during his final official ceremony at Helsinki Railway Station, in front of his soldiers and while the orchestra played, he suffered a fatal heart attack and died right there in front of everyone. Legend says he collapsed into the arms of our greatest war hero and later president himself, Marshall C.G.E. Mannerheim (seen in the white hat next to President Kallio).

73. Marshall Mannerheim is the only person in Finnish history who has been rewarded that particular military honor. In fact, he is and forever will remain the only person who has the title “Finland´s Marshall”, an honor bestowed upon him for his services to his home country during Finland´s tumultuous early years of independence.

A few years ago he was voted by the Finns themselves as the most important Finnish person of all time.

74. In June 1942, Adolf Hitler came to Finland to pay his respects to Marshall Mannerheim on his 75th birthday. As a little “souvenir” for future generations, the sneaky Finns recorded a snippet of his and Mannerheim´s private conversation.

It is the only known recording of Hitler speaking with a calm, normal voice, as he was very particular about only being filmed while screaming and ranting his ideologies.

75. Roughly 3 million tourists visit Finland each year and I think at least 2 500 000 of them are always going exactly where I´m going too.

76. We like to make things hard for foreigners.

77. We don´t have any mountains.

78. But we have lakes. We have a shit ton of lakes. 187 888 lakes to be precise.

79. FYI

80. All our days end with -tai (Monday = maanantai, Tuesday = tiistai etc.), except for Wednesday. Wednesday is called keskiviikko.

81. We have a lot of free time.

82. J. R. R. Tolkien used the Finnish national epoch the Kalevala as inspiration for the languages in the Lord of the Rings saga.

83. The St. Louis Arch was designed by a Finn called Eero Saarinen.

84. Every summer we arrange what is called Kaljakellunta aka “Beer float” which pretty much just consists of taking a floatie and a case of beer and... well, that´s about it.

85. If you want to enhance your sauna experience, you can use a birch whisk.

86. The bubble chair was designed by a Finnish man called Eero Aarnio.

87. Thursdays are the “official” pea soup and pancakes day all over Finland.

88. Finns love queuing.

89. Life expectancy for men is 78 years and for women 84 years.

90. In Tornio you can play golf in two countries:

http://kmp78.tumblr.com/post/155901150914/finland-chronicles-part-15

91. Finns invented the so-called Molotov´s cocktail.

92. All people in Finland must pay a TV tax even if they do not they own a TV.

93.  We celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December.

94. Finns love salmiakki aka salty licorice.

I don´t, btw.

95. Finland is one of the few countries in Europe which has not banned sex with animals - and some actually take advantage of that loophole...

http://kmp78.tumblr.com/post/156161829244/finland-chronicles-part-21

http://kmp78.tumblr.com/post/156257574544/finland-chronicles-part-23

96. Armi Kuusela won the 1st ever Miss Universe pageant in 1952.

97. In 2006, Conan O´Brian did a sketch about looking like our then-president Tarja Halonen and it ballooned into a huge movement.

98. Weeeeell...

99. On every Independence day, the current president hosts a party at his residence for about 2 000 dignitaries, celebs, politicians etc. We riff raffers sit at home in our sweatpants and watch it on TV with some nachos and snarky comments.

100. MONTY PYTHON KNOWS. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUOMI, AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. 

Despite you reeeeally getting on my nerves SO MUCH and SO OFTEN, I still love you. 💙 💙 💙

[newstfionline]

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Rent and debt problems (WSJ) A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that outstanding rent debt in the United States will hit $7.2 billion by the end of 2020, and without additional stimulus spending Moody’s estimates that it could hit $70 billion. They estimate that 12.8 million people will owe an average $5,400 from missed payments, which is significantly higher than the 3.8 million homeowners foreclosed on from 2007 to 2010. Across the U.S., 30 million to 40 million people face possible eviction once moratoriums expire.

A Divided Nation Agrees on One Thing: Many People Want a Gun (NYT) In America, spikes in gun purchases are often driven by fear. But in past years that anxiety has centered on concerns that politicians will pass stricter gun controls. Mass shootings often prompt more gun sales for that reason, as do elections of liberal Democrats. Many gun buyers now are saying they are motivated by a new destabilizing sense that is pushing even people who had considered themselves anti-gun to buy weapons for the first time—and people who already have them to buy more. The nation is on track in 2020 to stockpile at record rates, according to groups that track background checks from FBI data. Across the country, Americans bought 15.1 million guns in the seven months this year from March through September, a 91 percent leap from the same period in 2019, according to seasonally adjusted firearms sales estimates from The Trace, a nonprofit news organization that focuses on gun issues. The FBI has also processed more background checks for gun purchases in just the first nine months of 2020 than it has for any previous full year, FBI data show. “The year 2020 has been just one long advertisement for why someone may want to have a firearm to defend themselves,” said Douglas Jefferson, the vice president for the National African American Gun Association, which has seen the biggest increase in membership this year since the group was formed in 2015.

The ‘Right to Repair’ Movement Gains Ground (NYT) If you buy a product—a car, a smartphone, or even a tractor—and it breaks, should it be easier for you to fix it yourself? Manufacturers of a wide range of products have made it increasingly difficult over the years to repair things, for instance by limiting availability of parts or by putting prohibitions on who gets to tinker with them. It affects not only game consoles or farm equipment, but cellphones, military gear, refrigerators, automobiles and even hospital ventilators, the lifesaving devices that have proven crucial this year in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, a movement known as “right to repair” is starting to make progress in pushing for laws that prohibit restrictions like these. The goal of right-to-repair rules, advocates say, is to require companies to make their parts, tools and information available to consumers and repair shops in order to keep devices from ending up in the scrap heap. They argue that the rules restrict people’s use of devices that they own and encourage a throwaway culture by making repairs too difficult. They also argue that it’s part of a culture of planned obsolescence—the idea that products are designed to be short-lived in order to encourage people to buy more stuff. That contributes to wasted natural resources and energy use at a time when climate change requires movement in the opposite direction.

Peru’s Machu Picchu reopening Sunday after pandemic closure (AP) Except workers repairing roads and signs, Peru’s majestic Incan citadel of Machu Picchu is eerily empty ahead of its reopening Sunday after seven months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The long closure of Peru’s No. 1 tourist draw, which has hammered the local economy, marks the second time it has been shut down since it opened its doors to tourism in 1948. The stone complex built in the 15th century will receive 675 visitors a day starting Sunday, the director of Machu Picchu archaeological park, José Bastante, told The Associated Press. The site is accustomed to receiving 3,000 tourists a day, though it recently passed regulations limiting visitors to 2,244 visitors a day to protect the ruins. Still a large number given experts belief that in the 15th century a maximum of 410 people lived in the citadel on the limits of the Andes mountains and the Amazon.

Evo’s return (Foreign Policy) Evo Morales will return to Bolivia on Nov. 9, the day after President-elect Luis Arce is sworn in. Morales’s return will come just over a year after he was forced out of the country. An outstanding arrest warrant for sedition and terrorism issued for Morales was annulled on Tuesday, paving the way for his return. Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters of the right-wing opposition marched on a military barracks on Tuesday asking for “military help” to stop the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party from regaining power.

New protests loom as Europeans tire of virus restrictions (AP) Protesters set trash bins afire and police responded with hydrant sprays in downtown Rome Tuesday night, part of a day of public outpouring of anger against virus-fighting measures like evening shutdowns for restaurants and bars and the closures of gyms and theaters—a sign of growing discontent across Europe with renewed coronavirus restrictions. It was a fifth straight night of violent protest in Italy, following recent local overnight curfews in metropolises including Naples and Rome. All of Europe is grappling with how to halt a fall resurgence of the virus before its hospitals become overwhelmed again. Nightly curfews have been implemented in French cities. Schools must close at 6 p.m. Schools have been closed in Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic. German officials have ordered de-facto lockdowns in some areas near the Austrian border and new mask-wearing requirements are popping up weekly across the continent, including a nationwide requirement in Russia. Yet in this new round of restrictions, governments are finding a less compliant public. Over the weekend, police used pepper spray against protesters angry over new virus restrictions in Poland. Spanish doctors staged their first national walkout in 25 years on Tuesday to protest poor working conditions. In Britain, anger and frustration at the government’s uneven handling of the pandemic has erupted into a political crisis over the issue of hungry children.

Cake Lady helps wounded soldiers heal, one treat at a time LONDON (AP)—David Wiseman heard Kath Ryan before he met her. He was at the far end of Ward S-4 at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham when shouts of “Cake Lady’s here! Cake Lady’s here!” began rolling through the room full of wounded soldiers, bed by bed. Who was this Cake Lady, he wondered, until he saw a middle-aged woman in a “strange dress” pushing a trolley and handing out cake. “When all you’ve seen is doctors and nurses and the odd relative, it was just a bit of an assault on the senses,” Wiseman remembered. “And she was doling out hugs and, you know, cakes. … She just brought joy into that place.” Since 2009, retired nurse Ryan, 59, has made some 1,260 visits to British hospitals, bonding with the patients as she fed them an estimated 1 million slices of cake. But Ryan brought more than treats. She brought herself—bubbly, irreverent, and fearless. As she could see that most of the injured were in a terrible state, she never asked, “How are you?” “I would go in with the trolley and apron and stand at the end of the bed, and say, ‘Can I lead you into temptation this evening?’” Ryan recalled. “Straight away, they would scream laughing.” One soldier got into the spirit and asked, “What’s on offer, love?” “Anything you want,” Ryan replied. “As long as it’s legal, moral, and on the cake trolley.”

With eye on China, India and U.S. sign accord to deepen military ties (NYT) India and the United States signed a pact Tuesday to share geospatial intelligence, paving the way for deeper military cooperation between the two countries as they confront an increasingly assertive China. The agreement will give India’s armed forces access to a wealth of data from U.S. military satellites to aid in targeting and navigation. The two countries signed the accord in New Delhi during a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper a week before the U.S. presidential election. The agreement is the latest example of how India and the United States—the world’s two largest democracies—are drawing closer together to respond to the challenge of China’s rise. For India, that challenge is no longer theoretical. In June, India and China engaged in their deadliest clash in more than 50 years high in the mountains near the unofficial border between the two countries. Twenty Indian soldiers died, while the number of Chinese casualties remains unknown. India and China are still locked in a dangerous standoff, with tens of thousands of troops preparing to wait out the harsh Himalayan winter.

Typhoon, landslides leave 35 dead, 59 missing in Vietnam (AP) Typhoon Molave set off landslides that killed at least 19 people and left 45 missing in central Vietnam, where ferocious wind and rain blew away roofs and knocked out power in a region of 1.7 million residents, state media said Thursday. The casualties from the landslides bring the over-all death toll from the storm to at least 35, including 12 fishermen whose boats sank Wednesday as the typhoon approached with winds of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour. Vietnamese officials say it’s the worst typhoon to hit the country in 20 years. At least 59 people remain missing in the landslides and at sea. The toll may rise with many regions still unable to report details of the devastation amid the stormy weather.

Scale of Qatar Airways scandal revealed (Foreign Policy) Female passengers on “10 aircraft in total” were forced into invasive physical examinations at Doha airport on Oct. 2, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Wednesday, as the Qatari government apologized publicly and began an investigation into the incident. The women were removed from flights after a newborn baby was found abandoned in one of the airport bathrooms. The Transport Workers’ Union of New South Wales, whose members service Qatar Airways planes in Sydney, condemned “the brutal attack on the human rights of Australian female airline passengers” and is considering industrial action in response. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged a “further response” after reviewing the results of an investigation. He told reporters, “As a father of daughters, I could only shudder at the thought that any woman, Australian or otherwise, would be subjected to that.”

Australia’s second-largest city ends 111-day virus lockdown MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—Coffee business owner Darren Silverman pulled his van over and wept when he heard on the radio that Melbourne’s pandemic lockdown would be largely lifted on Wednesday after 111 days. Silverman was making a home delivery Monday when the announcement was made that restrictions in Australia’s second-largest city would be relaxed. He was overwhelmed with emotions and a sense of relief. According to the Victoria state government the lockdown changes will allow 6,200 retail stores, 5,800 cafés and restaurants, 1,000 beauty salons and 800 pubs to reopen, impacting 180,000 jobs.

Nigeria considers social media regulation in wake of deadly shooting (Reuters) Nigeria’s information minister said “some form of regulation” could be imposed on social media just a week after protesters spread images and videos of a deadly shooting using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Images, video and an Instagram live feed from a popular DJ spread news of shootings in Lagos on Oct. 20, when witnesses and rights groups said the military fired on peaceful protesters. The protesters had been demonstrating for nearly two weeks to demand an end to police brutality. The army denied its soldiers were there. Social media helped spread word of the shootings worldwide, and international celebrities from Beyonce and Lewis Hamilton to Pope Francis since called on the country to resolve the conflict peacefully. Information Minister Lai Mohammed told a panel at the National Assembly on Tuesday that “fake news” is one of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria. A spokesman for the minister confirmed the comments, and said “the use of the social media to spread fake news and disinformation means there is the need to do something about it.”

[ohmayabird]

Read the rest previous chapters here!

ღღღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღღღ

Disclaimers: Sadly I don't own Fairy Tail. The awesome Hiro Mashima does! STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLIED!

ღღღஐ｡◕‿‿◕｡ღღღஐ

It’s the day before the school festival and I find myself waking up in bed with my beloved blonde haired angel. Yes, Lucy Heartfilia is in my bed. Asleep and vulnerable to the whole world. But she’s alone with me, Natsu Dragneel. Her one and only secret stalker and one true love. No one will question me on that and ruin my beautiful day or else I’ll have you dead.

Anyway, last night seemed like a blur. All I can remember was how Grandeen and Wendy pestered Lucy into staying with us. I kept quiet because I might voice out my inner desires and I wouldn’t want anyone to know about it. Igneel, dad, when he came home he hugged Lucy like his own daughter. I felt my blood boil.

Ridiculous at how it sounds but it did happen. It’s not my problem that my subconscious is blatantly marking Lucy on its own. Although even if my dad did try and annoy me with him hugging Lucy, he still paid me back with suggesting Lucy to sleep in my bed. While mom tried to protest against it Lucy herself agreed that it was a good idea. Maybe she thought that I was too dumb to try anything on her.

So yeah we’re back here to my lovely morning where I’m watching Lucy sleep. She’s really gorgeous. I want her to be officially mine already. But what’s stopping me you ask? Well, myself. Don’t get me wrong, I need and want to tell the whole world that Lucy is mine but I need to have the right mood to do that.

Like the ones that are seen in movies or other shows when the girl is in a dire situation and ends up getting traumatized and practically relies on a person she really trusts. I want Lucy to be vulnerable enough to fully succumb to me. And no I’m not sick at all. Borderline morbid, maybe?

Sshh~ this is just between us, okay?

ღஐღ

As the sun continued to rise high in the sky, Natsu ventured in and out of sleep. The pink haired teen had a hard time deciding whether he was going to stay awake and watch Lucy or he goes back to sleep and continue to cuddle with the blonde. Either way, it was a win-win situation for him. Plus, he did notice that Lucy was a cuddler, just like him. He was thrilled at the finding.

The moment he tried to get up one time, Lucy groaned. He quickly did his business in the bathroom and came back to her. Instantly the scowl that marred her face disappeared. It seems like the blonde's body naturally seeks for the boy's presence. And with this simple experiment he did just prove that they were meant to be (well at least in Natsu's head).

In the end, Natsu blacked out and went back to sleep. Cuddling Lucy like his most prized possession.

Grandeen didn't have the heart to disturb their sleep earlier when she came to check up on them for breakfast. But, when she found them wrapped up and deep in sleep, she left them be. Of course not before she took a couple of photos of them.

Lucy, as much as her friends knew her was that she was an early bird. She was usually awake at around 7 or 8 in the morning. But, whenever she was at a sleepover with friends she was susceptible to wake up late. Since she was with Natsu, whose body heat was higher than normal. She was too comfortable to wake up, but her bladder was practically begging her.

Sneakily and quickly as possible she entangled her limbs around the sleeping teen and then rushed inside the bathroom. Her chocolate orbs found her birds of a hairs' nest in the mirror. Annoyed at how often she had ugly morning hair when she doesn't air it out hours before going to bed. Blow drying it didn't help her either, worst scenario was that her hair would get tangled in knots.

Last night, even if Natsu did offer to dry her hair for her, which was why she didn't remember falling asleep, and then ended up with a rat's nest. It wasn't the pink haired boy's fault. It was all on her because her hair sometimes had a mind of its own. It was very annoying. Typical girl problem.

As soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, her eyes looked around for her phone. A soft smile appeared on her lips when she noticed it was on top of Natsu's bedside table, along with his own phone. Tapping it open, she read the time 9:43 A.M, a little late from her usual.

She sighed and stretched, awakening her sleeping muscles. Natsu's snores had her giggling. This was the first time she saw him sleeping since she was often in a sleepover with Levy and the rest of the girls in their circle of friends. Although whenever she was forced to sleep at the Dragneel's, she ended up sleeping with Wendy and Grandeen. Wendy because she always wanted to have an older sister and as for Grandeen she wanted to dot over the young girl that lacked parental affection, according to Natsu's stories.

Seeing a sleeping Natsu did wonders to her innocent mind. She'd always see him as a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, a bit on the wild side too for always getting into trouble. He was athletic and looked gorgeous whenever he played soccer. And yes Lucy did watch him play sometimes because he pleaded her to come watch his games. But, seeing him asleep and defenseless made her want to know more about him.

She wanted to know what secrets he was hiding from the people around him. Would he tell her if she asked? Or would she find out for herself? Would she be frightened or would she embrace it? Something about her pink haired friend pulled her attention to him. It was like she was spellbound.

"Are you trying to melt me or something?" A deep and rough voice that was still laced with sleep asked. "You can touch, Luce~ I won't bite."

Oh, he was definitely awake now. Lucy felt the blood rush to her cheeks, "P-pervert!" She accused, as she tried hitting him with a pillow.

Natsu chuckled as he avoided her hits, "What? You were staring too much that I woke up!"

"I wasn't staring!"

"Oh? So you were what?" He shot her a smirk, "Were you checking me out?"

"I wasn't doing that either!" She whined. Chucking the pillow in his face as she angrily sat on his bed. Her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk stuffed with acorns. "Meanie."

"I wonder what's inside that pretty little head of yours," He sighed. Deciding to act like a cat and seek some attention as he proceeded to rub his head against her back. "I want to look inside it one of these days."

"You won't get too silly~" Lucy giggled, turning around to face him. "Maybe you should freshen up and we head downstairs for breakfast?"

"...Okay."

Lucy found herself captivated by his eyes. With the sun's rays shining behind him, it looked darker, deep, and yet had this spark she couldn't name. "I'll wait for you okay, Natsu?"

Natsu nodded, still smiling at her and then hopped off of the bed and inside his bathroom. Lately, Lucy noticed that whenever Natsu smiled she would feel a weird thumping inside of her. She's been meaning to have a checkup done but would always chicken out when she neared the establishment. She wanted to know if she recently caught a disease or something. She didn't want to spread it to anyone else if it was contagious.

"His room didn't change at all..." The blonde murmured to herself. Her eyes taking in Natsu's familiar room. The smell of fresh campfire soothed her. The feel of his blanket under her, the way-

"You're not trying to go back to sleep are you?" The boy asked as he stood by the bathroom door. A towel in his hand as he dried his hair wearing nothing but his pajama pants, his shirt nowhere in sight. The water sliding down his chest, his sculptured abs and then disappeared beneath his clothes. Why does Natsu look so...

"I told you that you can touch me Lucy~" A smirk directed at her dazed form. He stalked towards her like a predator locked on his prey. "I won't mind."

"I-uhm...Brea- Happy?"  Head tilting to the side, her eyes looked past her best friend to his blue furred cat that was padding his way to her. The cat's meowing stopped the advancing male from moving further.

"Since when were you outside buddy?" Natsu asked, watching the feline jump on the blonde's lap. Purring away once she started petting the feline. "I remember him sleeping with us last night."

"Maybe someone came inside while we were asleep?" Lucy suggested. Her lips tugging into a smile when Happy continued to purr like a lawnmower. "Should we get some breakfast?"

I was about to have you. "Yeah, come on Luce." He grinned as he grabbed her hand. They headed out of his room, Happy contented in Lucy's arms. While Natsu felt the prickling jealousy starting to bubble up inside him. He wanted to be in those arms too. To be hugged and enveloped in her warmth and smell her sweet, light fragrance.

"Well look who's finally up- had fun?" A boisterous voice asked. The teasing tone could clearly be heard by the pinked haired teen.

"Shut up old man!"

"Oh~ Someones grouchy!" Igneel continued to tease his son, pleased that he could still get under his skin. "I wonder why~"

"Stop teasing your son during breakfast dear."

"But it's so fun to see his face contort!" The older male whined at his wife. "Stop ruining my fun sweetheart."

Grandeen rolled her eyes at his childishness. Her dark orbs caught the young blonde's eyes. "How was your sleep Lucy dear? And what would like for breakfast?"

"Oh, I couldn't. I think I should head home now-"

"Nonsense! No one goes out of my house without eating breakfast first." Grandeen smiled at the blonde. "I hope Natsu didn't do anything to you to make you think of leaving first thing in the morning."

This time the blonde giggled, taking a seat beside her pink haired best friend that tugged her beside him. "He didn't do anything to me Grandeen, I just don't want to be an extra baggage for you guys."

The blue haired woman smiled at the blonde. Her heart melting for her. "You're never an extra baggage for us Lucy. We adore you and very much see you as part of our family."

"Yeah." Igneel squeezed in his own opinion. "You're always welcome here. In fact, we want you to live here with us!"

Eyes widening, cheeks turning pink, "I couldn't! I- uhh- maybe?" Lucy uttered, feeling the pressuring looks the three of them gave her.

"Great! I'll get you something to eat!" Grandeen declared as she proceeded to cook another batch of breakfast Lucy and her son.

Staring off into space, Lucy found the warm feeling bubbling up inside her. She wanted to know if her father would act like this. Was he even missing her?

"I told you they wanted you to live here," Natsu said, grinning at her. "Don't cry, Luce."

"I-I'm not..."

"Okay weirdo. What do you want to do after?"

"I want to take a bath-" Lucy started and then looked down at her clothes. "Go home and change and then maybe go to that bookshop Levy-chan was talking about."

"I'll come with," Natsu said as he stared hungrily at the food placed in front of him. "You can take a bath here and-"

"But I don't have other clothes with me!"

Natsu raised an eyebrow at her. "You can wear some of my clothes. After that, we can go to your apartment and then head over to that bookshop you said."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. Don't worry I'll take care of you." The pink haired teen said, smiling sweetly at her.

The blonde could feel a weird feeling bubble up inside of her. She wondered if this feeling was because she still hasn't gone for a check-up or due to something else.

"You do know that we're still here in the room right?" Igneel butted in when he saw the conflicted look cross over the blonde's face. His son looked completely pleased looking at the blonde but glared at him when he ruined their little bubble. Igneel knew that his son was utterly in love with the blonde since it was the same look he had years ago when he fell in love with his wife.

"All right, enough of the teasing game." Grandeen placed another bundle of breakfast for the family to eat. "It's time to eat."

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"Ne, Natsu?" The blonde pulled on his top, halting his steps. "Can I borrow some clothes?"

The boy in question stared at the girl in front of him. He watched the emotions swirling in her huge doe eyes he loved so much. "I'll look for some."

"Thank you!" She beamed up at the teen and then sauntered inside the bathroom inside his room.

When he was sure that she was taking a bath, he let out a sigh of frustration. "You're making it hard for me to control myself, Lucy."

The idea of her naked a few feet away from him was doing wonders to his mind and body. He knew what she looked like without clothes on. No, it wasn't because of him. It was their circle of friends that had the tendency to use her as their barbie doll. He liked it, but the idea of her completely rid of clothes was another thing. He could feel another set of his self-restraint on the verge of breaking. He wanted her.

The innocence he saw in her eyes earlier fueled his inner beast to conquer her. Natsu knew that Lucy didn't know about relationships or physical affections with the opposite sex. Therefore, she didn't know that she was in a dangerous position to casually take a bath with him in the vicinity. And she'll be wearing my clothes again.

“Right clothes.” He muttered as he heard the water running. It was convenient that he had a bathroom in his room. But, a naked Lucy + bathroom = Natsu cracking. She was in close quarters. Close enough that he wanted to go inside that bathroom, lock the door and ram her against the tiled wall while the shower drowned her cries.

“Natsu-nii! Is Lucy-san done?” Wendy asked, peeking her head inside his room. The pink haired teen was glad that he was kneeling in front of his drawers or else he’ll be dead for showing her what a boner looked like. Well, a clothed one at that.

“She just went in a few minutes ago,” He rummaged through his drawers finding a clean black shirt that was long enough to cover his blonde friend. “I think she’ll be out half an hour or so.”

“Okay! I have some of her undergarments and was wondering if you could give it to her?” Wendy blushed as she stopped and stared at her brother, stammering in all her innocent mind. “B-But! You can’t look!”

Natsu chuckled at his little sister’s flustered face, “Okay I won’t, but how come you have them Wends?”

“Oh! Lucy-san asked me to keep them in case of emergencies when she slept over two months ago.” The blue haired girl explained, “And I think this is an emergency.”

“Okay, leave them by the bed, I’m still looking for clothes she could wear anyway.” He sauntered back to his drawers and continued to rummage his clothes.

Wendy complied and proceeded to leave the said undergarments, which was inside a simple paper bag, and then left her brother’s room. Unbeknown to the little girl, her older brother was listening to her as she left his room. Waiting for her footsteps to disappear completely. When Natsu deemed that her sister was gone and no one else was on the second floor, he stood up and plunged his hand inside the paper bag. His hands grasped the undergarments as he stared at them. Red and black frills, the image of them on Lucy was vivid. He could feel himself get harder at the thought. Goodness he wanted to see her parade them in front of him and then take them off of her and have his way with her. He was contemplating whether she was really innocent or playing innocent.

Hearing the shower stop, he snapped out of his lust filled mind. “Luce, you done?”

“Yes I am!” She hollered back, “Do you have clothes I can wear?” She asked, poking her head out of the bathroom door.

Her pale skin came into view. It glistened like it was glowing, the water droplets that had yet to evaporate slowly made its way down her shoulder. He gulped as he followed the said water.

“Here, Wendy brought in something for you too.” His hands thrusting her the paper bag and his shirt on top. “Hurry up, I want to take a bath too.”

Cutely her head cocked, “Since when did you like taking a bath? You always whined when I tell you to take one. And didn’t you take one when you woke up?”

I need to take one and relieve myself before I actually let my thoughts have its way with you. “Eh, you know change of pace. I feel itchy.”

“Okay! I’ll just take a few minutes.” Her beaming smile did wonders to his dirty mind. “Wait right here.”

Supple, soft looking flesh. Stop trying to tempt me Luce~ or else I’ll bite and mark you mine~

Natsu stood and tried to hide his raging hard on before Lucy caught him red handed fantasizing about her. He heard shuffling from behind the bathroom door and wondered if she needed his help putting her clothes on. The dirty grin on his face spoke volumes.

“All yours Natsu~”

Oh, you will be.

“I’ll be quick.” He grinned as he saw her sit on his bed. Her hands fluffing away at her hair to dry her hair. Real quick.

ღஐღ

“I still don’t get why you need to change your clothes,” Natsu whined at the blonde walking beside him. “You look fine in my clothes anyway.”

“I do feel comfy in them.” The blonde admitted. She pulled on the front of her (Natsu’s) shirt and inhaled the scent. The smell of wood, campfire and pine invaded her nose. She liked it.

“So what’s the deal changing?” The pinkette pestered. Thrilled that she liked being in his clothes.

Lucy pouted at him, her bottom lip looked too inviting in his eyes. “Okay I won’t change out of them, but I do need to get some money and leave my things you know.”

It’s still broad daylight, stop trying to pounce on her. “You could’ve left it in my room.” He suggested, his eyes watching her apartment come into view. “Maybe you can sleep over tonight, again?”

A pretty blush coated her cheeks, “That’s sweet Natsu, but I don’t want to intrude. And yes I remember what Igneel suggested.” She giggled as she saw him close his mouth to protest her inner turmoil.

“Fine.” He muttered as he walked past her. Pulling out a key from his pocket, he opened her door and stopped. Onyx eyes caught sight of an envelope. He could hear her footsteps getting closer. Quickly he snatched the envelope and hid in inside his pocket. “Since it’s almost lunch time we should hurry and avoid the heat. I don’t want you whining about it again.”

“You’re so mean to me Natsu!” Lucy whined. Her going on autopilot to her room. “You can get something to drink for while I get my things Natsu!”

“Okay!” He shouted back.

He walked towards her kitchen and decided to look at the contents of the envelope. There was no address or anything of sorts that told who the sender was. He sniffed it just in case. There wasn’t any scent either. Strange.

With the help of his hearing, Natsu noted that the blonde was still busy. Good.

He pulled out the contents and slowly he felt his jaw tense. His hands flipping through every photo that he was now looking at. All of them showed Lucy. It showed her taking off her shirt. Her in a towel. Her pretty smile as she headed for their school’s library. Her going home. Her walking towards the bus station. A picture of her grocery shopping. A picture of her fresh out of the shower. The most recent one was her, Natsu and Wendy going home.

The male teen could his blood boil. Someone was watching his Luce. And he didn’t have a clue as to who it was. The last one he found, ended up bloody in some alley. Yet, he made sure that the guy wouldn’t dare to get close to his precious blonde again.

Hearing Lucy’s footsteps, he quickly hid them back inside his pocket. As the blonde rounded the corner, he grinned at her.

“Hey, Luce! I just decided to sleepover here tonight!”

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Maya's shout out corner!

memo1: Giving a heads up to everybody that I’m still alive and kicking and well… writing stories? I have completely lost all my writing mojo! My life sucks I know. I guess it all went away when I got too conscious of my grammar. I don’t know. But, I’m slowly trying to get it back. Hopefully this chapter isn’t as crappy as I read through it.

memo2: As everyone can see, you’ve just had a glimpse of what Lucy thinks about Natsu. And a bit of Natsu’s speculation on Lucy’s real self. As well as Natsu’s inner battle with himself.. Is she innocent or a vixen? Tune in for the next chapter!

ღღღஐ｡◕‿‿◕｡ღღღஐ

Please Support my other story 'Temptress Heartfilia”

｡◕‿◕｡Leave a review below｡◕‿◕｡

[cmacavoy]

The Truth About The Moon

When his fourth grade teacher said the name in passing while the class was being taught about the southwest region of the United States, Jack thought nothing of it. When the time came to pick their states at random for their project, Jack was disappointed he didn’t get a well known state like California, a state full of history like Massachusetts, a state most people had been to like Florida. Instead, he got a state that didn’t even have an original name. New Mexico, capital Santa Fe, bordering states Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Oklahoma, as well as the country of Mexico. Fifth largest state in the country, with abbreviation NM. Unoriginal, unimportant, quickly forgotten.

He thought nothing of the state during most of his research until it came time to research the capital. It was the day his classroom got to use the computer lab. He immediately typed in the words “Santa Fe” and hoped he could find enough information quickly so he could go play on the drawing game installed just a few days prior to all the computers. Jack pulled up the pictures tab of google and couldn’t look away. He sat for five minutes, scrolling through pictures of clay and brick buildings, the red such a shock to the boy who spent his life surrounded by towering silver buildings. Though those buildings existed in a few of those pictures, they were secluded in its own part. Green was more vibrant, unlike New York, even though it tried. Beyond the city was even more colorful, a shock for Jack since he lived in the heart of his own city.

“How’s your project going Jack?” Miss Lewis asked, snapping Jack out of his own head.

“Very good,” Jack replied quietly, opening his notebook and clicking on the first website that popped up for information.

Jack saved his lunch money and every cent he could find for two weeks in order to buy a new copy of The Order Of The Phoenix for himself the day it came out, not wanting to wait until it was available at the school library. Only two short months after his New Mexico project, he had fallen in love with reading after his hunger to learn more about Santa Fe. His days that once used to be filled with playing basketball and football with the kids in his apartment building were instead consumed with reading everything he could. After overhearing at lunch someone talking about a book series about an eleven year old British wizard, he rushed to the library when the school bell rang, desperate to find it. He sped through the first four books, just in time for the fifth to be released.

After buying the book at the closest Barnes and Noble to school, he rushed over to Union Square Park to start reading. As the sun began to set and the moon began to rise, Jack was one hundred seventy nine pages in and introduced to a new character: Luna Lovegood. Immediately he felt a personal connection to the character, stronger than any bond to a character before. Here was someone who had also lost their mother, was a bit of a loner, an outcast. Someone like himself.  Jack didn’t realize how late it was until Michael, a quiet kid his age who lived next door came and found him for his dad. He raced home and rapidly ate dinner so he could go back to his room and continue reading and learn more about Luna.

Throughout the night his were eyes unable to leave the page despite how heavy his eyelids became. He finished just as the moon started to disappear in the sky, morning rays preparing to wake New York for another Sunday.  Though there was a sad nature to the book, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy at the fact that Luna had found her place at Hogwarts. Jack hoped one day he would find his own place in life like Luna. As he stared out into the lightening sky, he dreamed once again of Santa Fe, where the moon was still high in the sky, knowing his place was there.

Middle school hadn’t even started when his father died. Unlike his mother’s death, this death Jack would remember. It had been a normal Wednesday night for them. Jack was at home reading his newest library find when his dad came home for five minutes before leaving again, hollering that Jack could make his own dinner and slamming the door behind him. This wasn’t normal for most people by any means, but Jack was used to it.

Jack had been cleaning his dishes from dinner, hoping to get it done before his dad came home, which could have been any second or hours later. When a knock rang through the apartment, Jack dropped the dish back into the sink. It was probably his dad, who lost his keys and would’ve been more upset being left waiting outside than if there was still a plate left in the sink. He went over to the door and was surprised by two police officers towering over him.

“Are you Jack Kelly?” the first one asked. Jack nodded slowly. “We have something to tell you son, can we come in?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jack said, voice cracking. “I swear I didn’t.”

“We know that Jack, this isn’t about you,” the second man assured. “It’s about your father. Is your mother home?”

“She’s dead,” he answered. Suddenly the taller police officer eyes filled with sorrow. “Did something happen to Dad?”

“I’m sorry kid, your dad was killed in a car crash. According to some witnesses, it appears he was under the influence of alcohol,” the other officer explained. “We looked at his records and yours and there seems to be no family member alive that you can go to. You’re going to have to go into the foster system.”

At the news, Jack expected to be hit with a wave of sadness, but it never came. “What does that mean?”

“It means you can’t live here in this apartment anymore, and since you have no family to go to, we have to bring you to a home where the owners house and raise orphans. You’ll be with other kids like you, so you’ll have someone to talk with. Your new foster mom is also happens to be a therapist, so you’ll have her as well.”

“We can give you thirty minutes to pack your stuff,” the first officer added. “You’ll have another half hour later in the week to get anything else you forgot, but for now, just bring the most important things, okay?”

Jack nodded once again, feeling like someone else was controlling him as he moved to his room and began packing his stuff into any bag he could find. It wasn’t him moving.

Before leaving, he looked out his bedroom window like he had countless times. The sky was dark, not a star in sight. The only light was coming from the full moon, looking so small and alone in the emptiness of the sky.

By ninth grade, Jack had gone through four different foster homes, none of them fit for him. Each time, he moved farther and farther away from the streets he grew up on and closer to Brooklyn. He had switched schools each time, and each time he was even more of a loner than he was in elementary school. His passion for reading disappeared shortly after his first foster mom diagnosed him with depression. He didn’t think he had depression; to him nothing had changed. But according to every guidance counselor at each new school, he did, based off the fact that he was close to failing most of his classes. It wasn’t that he was dumb, he just never found the energy to do his work. Instead, he found himself drawing. It started off as something to do in class when he didn’t feel like paying attention. He thought nothing of it as he did it, it was just a way to make the day go by quicker. It wasn’t until a teacher commented on how much she liked it randomly one day did Jack notice he wasn’t that bad.

Right after Christmas of his freshmen year, he was moved to his fifth foster home after his previous foster parents retired to Florida. They were nice people, had been fostering kids for forty years, and their retirement was well deserved, especially seeing how Jack was the only kid left. He completely understood, but that didn’t mean he was excited about it at all. Another move, another school, another adjustment he was sick of making.

According to the file given to him about his new foster house, he only would have a foster mom, who worked at Pace High School as a theatre teacher. She fostered three other boys who had all been there for more than a year, which was promising.

When he arrived at the apartment building, carrying a duffel bag on each shoulder, he was greeted a boy that looked his age. “Hey you must be here for Medda.”

“Who?” Jack asked.

“Foster mom,” the boy corrected, reaching to grab one of the bags from Jack’s shoulders. “Come in, meet the boys. Medda’s running late at rehearsals but Spot and Specs are here.”

“Spots and Specs? What kind of names are those?” Jack questioned.

“Nicknames. We’ve all got one, so does everyone we hang out with,” he explained, motioning Jack to come in. “Mine’s Mush because of the failed time I tried making dinner my third night here. Hey Spot, Specs! New guy’s here.”

“Yeah ‘cause we couldn’t tell that by the knock at the door,” a boy snickered.

“We’re still in the living room,” a different voice called.

“Trust me, they’re nicer than they seem,” Mush joked, leading Jack into the living room where two guys sat on opposite ends of the couch, both with what appeared to be schoolwork out. “Specs is the one with glasses, Spot’s the sarcastic asshole you heard.”

“Wow not even trying to make a good first impression on the new guy,” Specs commented.

“It wouldn’t’ve lasted long,” Spot added.

“I’m Jack,” he said quietly.

“Wait Jack Kelly?” Mush asked.

“How’d you know that?” Jack asked, confused.

“I thought it was you but wasn’t sure, it’s been three years,” Mush said. “I used to live next door to you, back in Union Square.”

“Oh, Michael, right?”

Mush nodded. “Anyways, you’re the unlucky fellow who gets to share a room with Spot and since I doubt he’s getting up anytime soon, I’ll show you the way.”

“I would insult you, but you aren’t wrong,” Spot shrugged.

“Sorry ‘bout your dad by the way,” Mush mentioned. “You had to leave so quickly never got to say it.”

“Thanks man, I appreciate it,” Jack muttered. “What happened with your folks? They seemed nice.”

“My mom got sick and my asshole of a dad left,” he explained, opening one of the bedroom doors. “My godparents weren’t stable enough to raise me, but they knew Medda so I came here about four months after you left. Haven’t left since.”

“That sucks, I’m sorry,” Jack apologized, walking into the room.

Mush tossed Jack’s bag lightly onto the empty bed, Jack followed. “We’ve all got our sob stories. Might sound like bullshit, especially since this isn’t your first foster home, but it really did get better here. Sounds weird, but I’m glad it happened.”

“Gives me a bit of hope then,” Jack sighed. “In the five homes I’ve gone to, this by far is the best welcome I’ve gotten.”

Mush opened his mouth to answer but closed it when a woman’s voice called, “Boys, is Jack here yet?”

“He’s in his room,” Mush yelled back. “I’ll see you at dinner Jack.”

“See you then,” Jack replied as he left, sitting on the bed and looking down at the ground, trying to process everything that had happened in the last five minutes. He was left alone with his thoughts for only a few moments before he heard the door close lightly. “Jack?”

He looked up to see who he assumed to be Medda standing there. “You alright Jack?”

“Yeah I’m fine, just thinking,” Jack assured.

“The boys didn’t give you a hard time when you got here, did they?” Medda asked.

“No, not at all,” Jack replied.

“Okay good,” she smiled, sitting down on the opposite bed. “So as you probably know I’m Medda. I’m the theatre teacher and director for Pace High School, where you’ll be going to school with Michael, Sean, and Matt go to. Since I direct the shows, I’m there late sometimes, but you I trust you boys to not trash the apartment. As for rules here, I don’t have many. If you’re having a friend over just let me know, especially if they’re staying for dinner so I can make enough for everyone. As long as you’re trying in school, I don’t care much about your grades. Only way to get out of chores around the house is to help with tech at the theater, which isn’t really much of a chore. All of the boys’ friends are involved in some way, so you’ll never be alone. Most of the other rules are pretty common sense, like don’t do anything illegal. Any questions?”

Jack shook his head. “No ma’am.”

“Oh no need to call me ma’am sweetheart,” Medda added. “Medda’s more than fine, that’s what everyone at school calls me. Now, about you. I know your files say nothing under allergies, but I just wanted to check in case there was something they missed something. Any allergies?”

“They made me check over the forms before I got here ma’am - I mean Medda - everything is a hundred percent correct,” Jack explained.

“Perfect!” she grinned. “Now the only thing I have a question on is your depression. It says you were diagnosed shortly after your father’s death by your first foster mom who was a therapist. Have you seen anyone else about it since?”

Jack shook his head again.

“Okay well I’d like you to see my friend for a few weeks. If you find you don’t like therapy, I won’t make you continue, but she’s been a big help with the other boys, Sean specifically.”

“Which one is Sean?” Jack asked quietly. “I only know their nicknames.”

“Oh of course they didn’t tell you their real names,” Medda tsked. “Sean is Spot. Those silly nicknames get all the teachers confused at school, especially since all their friends have those names as well. Speaking of school, you start Tuesday when everyone goes back from the holiday  break. I have your schedule and in the morning it’s the same as Michael’s, while after lunch it’s the same as Sean’s, which worked out great. You also have the same lunch as both of them, and that’s the lunch that majority of their friends are in, except for the two who take AP World History during that period. You’ll meet them all quickly, many of them help in the theater, and a few actually perform. There’s usually one or two here after school as well.”

Jack nodded slowly, leg starting to bounce up and down involuntarily.

“I know it’s a lot to process right now, sweetheart,” Medda sighed, leaning over to rest her hand on Jack’s knee, stopping it from bouncing. “It’ll take some time to adjust, I know that, but I really hope you’re happy here. Now, take some time and unpack while I get dinner started. Should be ready within the next forty five minutes.”

“Thank you Medda,” Jack responded.

“Anytime Jack,” Medda said as she stood up and left the room.

Jack sat there for a few moments, his mind racing with everything he had just been told in that short period of time. In most of the homes he stayed, he was expected to just quickly adapt without anything ever being explained to him, but this place was different.

He stood up and walked over to the window, staring out into the sky to find only stars. After a quick glance at the calender hung up next to Spot’s bed, he noticed it was a new moon. A new beginning.

read the rest on archive of our own

[israel-jewish-news]

Investigators Want to Talk to Vegas Killer's Friend

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2017/10/03/investigators-want-talk-vegas-killers-friend/

Investigators Want to Talk to Vegas Killer's Friend

The home of Stephen Paddock, in Mesquite, Nevada, Tuesday. (Reuters/Chris Wattie)

Investigators trying to figure out why Stephen Paddock gunned down 59 people from his high-rise hotel suite are analyzing his computer and cellphone, looking at casino surveillance footage and seeking to interview his friend.

Nearly two days after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, what set off the 64-year-old high-rolling gambler and retired accountant remained a big question mark Tuesday, though the Las Vegas sheriff said he is confident investigators will find a motive.

Paddock’s friend, Marilou Danley, is considered a “person of interest” and has been speaking with police from the Philippines, where she is traveling, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said.

People close to the investigation said that in the weeks before the attack, Paddock transferred a large amount of money – something close to $100,000 – to someone in the Philippines, possibly his friend.

“We anticipate some information from her shortly,” he said.

While the probe into Paddock’s background included searches of two houses he owned in Nevada, some investigators turned their focus from the shooter’s perch to the festival grounds outside the Mandalay Bay hotel casino where his victims fell.

A dozen investigators, most in FBI jackets and all wearing blue booties to avoid contaminating the scene, documented evidence at the site where gunfire rained down Sunday night and country music gave way to screams of pain and terror.

“Shoes, baby strollers, chairs, sunglasses, purses. The whole field was just littered with things,” said Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who told The Associated Press it was like a “war zone.” ”There were bloodstains everywhere.”

Paddock killed himself before a SWAT team blew off the door of his room on the 32nd floor.

Investigators found video cameras set up inside his room and on a service cart outside it to spy anyone coming his way, Lombardo said.

A hotel security guard who approached the room during the rampage was shot through the door and wounded in the leg.

Paddock had 23 guns with him at the hotel, along with devices that can enable a rifle to fire continuously, like an automatic weapon, authorities said. Nineteen more guns were found at his Mesquite home and seven at his Reno house.

More than 500 people were injured in the rampage, some by gunfire, some during the chaotic escape. At least 45 patients at two hospitals remained in critical condition.

All but three of the dead had been identified by Tuesday afternoon, Lombardo said.

Retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente speculated that there was “some sort of major trigger in his life — a great loss, a breakup, or maybe he just found out he has a terminal disease.”

Clemente said a “psychological autopsy” may be necessary to try to establish the motive for the attack. If the suicide didn’t destroy Paddock’s brain, experts may even find a neurological disorder or malformation, he said.

He said there could even be a genetic component to the slaughter: Paddock’s father was a bank robber who was on the FBI’s most-wanted list in the 1960s and was diagnosed a psychopath.

“The genetics load the gun, personality and psychology aim it, and experiences pull the trigger, typically,” Clemente said.

Paddock had a business degree from Cal State Northridge. In the 1970s and ’80s, he worked as a mail carrier and an IRS agent and held down an auditing job in the Defense Department, according to the government. He later worked for a defense contractor.

He had no known criminal record, and public records showed no signs of financial troubles, though he was said to be a big gambler.

“No affiliation, no religion, no politics. He never cared about any of that stuff,” his brother, Eric Paddock, said outside his Florida home. He said he was at a loss to explain the massacre.

Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said it will pass along records compiled on Paddock and Danley to investigators. Danley is expected to speak with detectives when she returns to the U.S. from out of the country.

The FBI discounted the possibility of international terrorism early on, even after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

[geekade]

Game of Spoilers 707: The Dragon and the Wolf

That was a hell of an end to season 7. In almost every storyline, artifice was dropped. Many metaphorical walls - and one literal one - came down. The truth was not often pretty, but at least cards are finally on the table. Everyone knows the truth, and everyone’s true character is open.

Sansa finally cuts herself free of Littlefinger’s hold over her. I was beginning to worry that he would survive, but I’m glad he didn’t. My one criticism of the episode, though, is Littlefinger’s really weak and not-at-all-convincing begging to be let go. He could have just gone stoically, even a little proud that Sansa had grown so much. Or he could have just been stunned into disbelief until the knife was at his throat. Or, he could have really fallen apart into a blubbering mess of tears. Any of these would have been preferable and more in keeping with his character than a sort of perfunctory kneeling and begging with no real tears. But, at least he’s gone, and his true villainy is known.

One side note: many people read a lot into Arya’s conversations with Sansa last week that I still don’t think was there. Arya didn’t play Littlefinger and bring her sister along. Sansa applied Littlefinger’s own logic back on him and found that the worst possible motives explained his actions perfectly. That storyline isn’t about Arya being a badass, super-stealthy assassin that out-thinks Littlefinger, but about Sansa finding her own wisdom and power. Maybe now they can get back to writing Arya’s character properly.

Alas, it looks like Tormund will never get to scale his Everest, Brienne. No half-Wildling monster babies in our future. I would love to assume that both Tormund and Beric are dead, but we never actually saw the bodies hit the floor. Another consideration: would they be too mangled to be useful if raised by the Night King? That would be kind of a bitch for Beric, to get raised again, but this time as an undead warrior. Either way, he will now suffer a true and permanent death. Also, Gendry appears to have disappeared again. Is that the end of this mildly important but inexplicably fan-favorite character? Who knows.

Cersei found a way to reveal an even greater level of depravity than she had previously shown. We should have known something was up when she refused to kill Tyrion. She played him like a Stradivarius and got Dany’s armies and dragons to head north to deplete themselves in the fight against the Night King. She even made him think he figured out that she was pregnant. She lead him to that conclusion by the nose and he didn’t see her manipulation at work. She accepted the truth of the danger they face once she came almost face to face with a wight, but she seeks to turn the situation to her political advantage.

Jaime also realized that she only uses him as a tool, not a partner. Not only is she evil, but she’s cold and loveless. Her twin is just another pawn she can use. Because of this realization, Jaime finally turns on his sister/baby mama. That was kind of unexpected, and it more or less kills my theory that he would kill her as he did the Mad King. What it does prove, I think, is that Jaime is actually among the most honorable characters on the show. And the genius of Mr. Martin’s universe is that, after casting him as the bad guy and Jon Snow as the good guy, you now have Jon Snow about to be confronted with his own incestuous desires. Will he decide differently that Jaime? Or will these two honorable men share a similar flaw? I’m excited to find out.

Now both of Tyrion’s siblings have outmaneuvered him. Either he is not as smart as he pretends, or he severely underestimates his enemies. Either way, he is not proving to be an effective Hand. Will he get his groove back? Lord, I hope so.

Like Sansa, Theon finds a little bit of his true power as well. He used to be a bold, decisive warrior, until Ramsay broke him. But, after an open and honest conversation with Jon, he overcomes his timidity to rally a crew to rescue his sister. His fight against the other Ironborn captain proves that you can apparently find your metaphorical balls by being repeatedly kneed in your non-existent balls. After beating his opponent to death, he washes his face with sea water. This marine baptism is in keeping with the religion of the Iron Islands. Cleansing in sea water is supposed to kill your weakness, and you rise up stronger. After that battle, he has washed Reek away, and Theon remains.

During his conversation with Theon, Jon discusses Theon’s position as a child in the Stark household, and Jon tells him, “You don’t have to choose,” to be Stark or Greyjoy. According to Jon, Theon is both, meaning a powerful, bold sailor and military leader, AND honorable and honest. That lesson applies to Jon, too. He is both Targaryen AND Stark, as Bran and Sam figure out together and describe in detail for any audience member who might not have put two and two together. He is both ruthless and honorable. And also,capable of incest.

As we saw Jon fuck, I mean make love with his own aunt (while Tyrion creepily leers in the hallway), I was reminded of another literary king who had a loving, sexual relationship with his relative before he knew his true lineage: King Arthur. King Arthur has a consensual romantic relationship with Morgause, the wife of one of his vassal kings, before his ancestry is fully revealed. Morgause turns out to be his half-sister. The resulting son, Modred, ends up delivering the mortal blow to Arthur after Arthur runs him through with a spear. Not that this means anything for the show, except that unwittingly banging your mystery relative has a precedent.

And yet, the main lie that is destroyed is the illusion of safety provided by the Wall. The maesters will be forced to face their hubris. All of humanity will face the same threat. While the kingdoms of men argue and manipulate and kill over borders and loyalties, this global threat went unnoticed. And, even now, as the danger is literally arriving on humanity’s doorstep, some still seek to turn the situation to their advantage. Will humanity’s short-sightedness be its downfall, or will clear-eyed honesty finally overcome and beat back death. I suspect some of each, but we have a while to wait before we find out.