#he's the ultimate 'looks can be deceiving' poster child

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Okay, your Warlock Wally is just the cutest, the design is so well thought out omg!! All the roles you assigned to the neighbors is so fitting too. I love how you made Frank an absolute force to be reckoned with when it comes to fighting! (Looks can be deceiving, and the guy who looks like a twig can essentially snap your leg like one HAHA-)

thank you! i Try!

this made me picture a Scene where when Eddie joins the Neighborhood and it's his first battle with them, he tries to stop Frank bc yeah, he's a glorified stick w/ no weapons. but Julie and everyone is like no no, they're fine. and then Frank proceeds to absolutely wreck their enemies w/ his bare hands & Eddie is having certain Feelings

[castielscarma]

Kidnapped

(The last part in the #SpnStayAtHome challenge. A huge thank you to @helianthus21 @pray4jensen @bend-me-shape-me for putting together this challenge. It’s been such fun! I chose to write based on a prompt I saw in a Facebook group. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The day was slowly turning into night but it was not yet pitch black, more of a deep dark gray. It suited Dean Winchester just fine. The day had been hot and he welcomed the chill air that caressed his cheek.

He could see the lanterns being lit, vibrant bright beacons that surrounded the castle of OakSpear. He always thought it was a stupid name. The last oak had been cut down centuries ago when the kingdom needed them to build ships to fight a neighboring kingdom and the now ruling family had renamed the castle Oakspear in remembrance.

Oakspear. He'd like to see someone come at him with a damn oak spear. He'd use his blade and cut the spear into toothpicks. Dean turned serious. This was just a quick in and out – an unbidden smile came to him then – and no one was supposed to get hurt. Not a lot at least. If he saw Crowley, Master of the Royal King's Guard though, he'd happily make an exception.  

Dean was up to the castle wall. Stones that were huge and smooth to the touch, seemingly impenetrable greeted him. They were silent and guarded their secrets. Luckily for Dean, he knew of living creatures, with soft flesh and hot blood who didn't keep their knowledge hidden.

Being the most revered or feared person (depending on who you asked) in the kingdom, came with certain responsibilities and Dean “The Michael Sword” Winchester was not one to disappoint.

When he came to the Oakfork –  a small mound of rocks among some bushes – he turned right and counted twenty steps, carefully. Each step was heel against toe until he stopped, facing the castle walls again. To the untrained eye, this expanse of smooth stone looked the same as any other but Dean knew that looks could be deceiving. Standing on his toes, he pressed on a point and a section of the stone wall slowly opened up.

Again he smiled to himself, memories stirring his blood to life. He needed to stop and focus on the task at hand.

Kings and their fear of being kidnapped or attacked. Stupid. Dean walked inside and pressed a point on more coarse rock. The hidden door closed.

Dean knew the way and how the underground tunnel twisted and turned by heart. His night vision was still preserved so he ran. Soon, he came to the exit.

It was nighttime and the chamber pots weren't really needed to the same extent, but Dean nonetheless pressed his ear to the door. To be careful was a wise choice. Castles never slept. He shut down the voice that insisted that what he was about to do wasn't wise.

He couldn't hear anything.

Slowly, he pushed the door open – this one so small that he had to bend himself in half –  and stepped outside.

Ahh, the castle of Oakspear. Even the chamber pots were pristine.

Dean carefully took a step over some pots laying in a stacked pile on the floor and opened that door too. The storage for the chamber pots was at the far end from where the royal rooms where.

Dean sneaked out on soft leather boots and entered a hallway. Here and there lanterns glowed, the light shining on the stone walls but no guards were there. Not that Dean had expected any. Chamber pots were not treasured by the king.

As he walked further into the heart of the castle, it slowly came to life. He could hear the soft murmurs of servants going about their business even at these hours. He clutched his side, where his knife was hidden. The Michael Sword he'd decided to leave behind, but if anyone thought that he'd be less dangerous with a knife, they were fools.

Enough with the tiptoeing. Time to spring the plan into action. Not that Dean really had a plan. He had a semblance of things he knew about Oakspear, guard routines, where most of the exits were. Where the royal jewelry was stashed. He banished all the images that suddenly flooded his mind.

Maybe he should have stopped at the second ale, but the third was blessed the saying went.

Boots on stone alerted him to a group of guards close by, and by the sound of it they were coming his way. Dean's heart sped up. It wasn't fear, just exhilaration that called his body into action. There was a door further ahead, but he wasn't sure where it would lead. If someone was behind it, they were most likely sleeping but if not, their screams would alert the guards.

Dean looked up and saw a wooden support beam. He squinted. It was possible. Sure, he had some alcohol in his blood but his reflexes were legendary. Villagers still talked about him and that cock. The bird kind.

Taking a step back, Dean ran as fast as he could and took a leg to the wall, pressing himself upwards. Be a cock. Fly! He remembered that cocks didn't really fly but his fingers gripped tightly around wood anyway. He hoisted himself up and perched from his position, looking at the guards that walked right beneath him.

The lanterns chased some of the darkness away but not often did people think to look up. Dean pressed himself to the roof and watched as the guards walked past him none the wiser. He counted to five and jumped down again.

Two turns later and barely avoiding a stray guard running – probably to take a piss – Dean was almost to the royal sleeping quarters. He turned a corner and ran straight into Crowley.

Crowley's eyes widened briefly but Dean was faster. He tightened his fist and planted it squarely on that pompous face of Crowley.  

Crowley covered his face for a split second, before looking at Dean with hatred in his eyes. “I know you! You won't escape, Dean Winchester!” Crowley swung at him.

Dean ducked with ease. “I'm surprised you do. The picture on the wanted posters doesn't look anything like me. But nothing could do this pretty face justice. But no need for the 'Winchester', I thought you and me were closer than that. Remember that night in Edmond – “

Crowley screamed and lunged at him.

Apparently Crowley didn't want to remember.

Dean grimaced as his head hit the ground, the thud reverberating through his teeth but was soon accompanied by a sickening crack.

“You'll rot in a dungeon.” Crowley throw away the candelabra and grabbed Dean by his tunic.

Blood ran down into Dean's left eye, obscuring his vision. He could feel the pointy end of a blade pressing into his back.

“If you just let me grab my sword again, we can cross them.”

“I swear by all that's holy, if you don't shut your mouth right now, I'll gut you.”

That was the thing with Kingsguards. They got fat and complacent. Much like the house cats who were content to drink milk and take whatever scraps their masters gave them, ultimately forgetting that they had claws.

Crowley pushed Dean forward, his sword at the ready.

Dean grunted, but didn't turn around to punch him as he wanted to. Instead, he walked slowly, hunched. The model prisoner. When he saw that Crowley was ushering him along to that room, he bent his head down, a smile on his lips.

Crowley knocked once, and pushed Dean inside the dark wooden doors, inlaid with marble and gems. Dean contemplated stealing the door, or at least the handle which was solid gold just to piss off the king but decided against it.

The king was sleeping but stirred in his bed. So did one of his loyal soldiers who was leaning against the wall, one that Dean knew the face of very well. Hannah.

Great.

Hannah's eyes widened momentarily before he pulled his sword and the king followed suit.

“This piece of vermin was skulking around in the castle, your Highness. Permission to take his life right now?” Crowley pushed Dean against a wall. “Where's your Michael Sword now, you scoundrel?”

Dean barely focused on Crowley; his eyes were on the Royal Highness, Castiel Angelus,  Oakspear's pride and joy, the most exalted One. He probably had more names that were too ridiculous to remember. Dean would have to ask him.

The king of course drew his sword.

Hannah looked at the king and followed suit, standing next to him.

Castiel's eyes were narrowed, shining brightly with anger. He pointed the sword under Dean's chin, forcing his eyes up.

Dean couldn't help it, he licked his lips and smiled lasciviously. “A game is it?” He winked once and saw Hannah blink in confusion.

Slowly, Dean kneeled in front of Castiel, lowering his hands to his sides. He wanted to bend his neck too, but sadly the sharp tip on his throat – that had followed him down as his knees sank to the floor – prevented such wishes. He could still blink with his left eye but the blood caused it to burn. It was just a mild discomfort though. A zit on his ass was worse.

Crowley's raspy voice was laced with confusion. “Your Highness?”

Castiel shook his head. “Stand down, Crowley. We need to gather information. If this is indeed Dean Winchester – “

“I told you that picture of me sucked, Crowle – “

Crowley kicked him in the stomach with a heavy foot.

Dean bent down slightly, air leaving his lungs. The sword grazed his throat but it was just a caress, a pleasurable, painful zing.

“Crowley, I told you to stand down!”

Coughing, Dean gazed up to look at Castiel. Wasn't this a sight? His blood stirred again but Dean fixed his gaze on those eyes. A witch must have truly cursed Castiel as a child. There was no other way for any human to gain that color.

Dean ignored the hideous nightgown Castiel was wearing. It was a silky affair with golden wings embroidered all over. Why would one want to cover one's body with that monstrosity when you could sleep in the nude? He shook his head in dismay.

“What are you doing here...thief!”

Dean licked his lips. “Love when you talk dirty to me... your Highness.” He glanced over at Crowley who was fuming; his hand still gripped the hilt tightly. “Just taking a stroll. Do you mind?” He raised his hand and touched the blade, arching a brow.

Slowly Castiel lowered his sword.

“Your Highness, I wouldn't do that if I were you. He's the kingdom's most wanted – “

Dean ducked down and rolled away from the sword. He threw himself at Crowley's feet and pulled them toward himself, and as Crowley fell, he planted a fist straight in his smug face. “This is a different kiss than you'd like from me but I'm sure you won't mind.” The crunch as Crowley's nose broke and blood squirted was very satisfying. He rapidly punched him three more times, using all his force.

Blood splattered on his face, but Dean had already been bloodied. Some more didn't really make much more difference.

Crowley raised his head feebly before dropping it to the floor, passing out.

Dean cracked his knuckles. “That was for the fucking awful drawings of me.” He looked at Castiel, as he wiped the blood away from his face. “No wonder your soldiers never catch me.”

“Dean, have you lost your cursed mind? How am I going to explain this to Crowley when he wakes up?” Castiel glanced at his Master Kingsguard. “If he wakes up.”

“He'll wake.” Dean shook his head. “You need to train your guards better, Cas. What if some crazed killer is out to catch you?” He almost spat in disgust. “It'll be child's play.”

“It's Castiel.”

Dean nodded, a smile on his face. “Of course.” He put a fist to his chest and bowed. “Your Big Headedness. I know this isn't your favored version of crossing swords. I apologize.”

Hannah's eyes bulged at the insult and he took a step forward but Castiel waved at him to stop.

Anger made Castiel's eyes glow. He grabbed Dean and hauled him up. “If they catch you, they'll kill you!”

Dean licked some of the blood from his fingers. “Are you gonna turn me in?” The ensuing fight had upset his stomach, and Dean let out a burp.

“Are you intoxicated?!”

Dean scoffed. “I've had three or so ale. Hardly intoxicated, Cas. But I'm here on a mission.” He glanced over at Hannah, who was still aiming his sword at Dean, although he looked like he was thinking of dropping it.

“What kind of mission could you be on?” Castiel wondered out loud.

“The mission to preserve my reputation.” He kept silent about the second part of his mission.

Castiel stepped away from Crowley and put away his sword before he went over to a dresser. “I think that's a lost cause, you preserving your reputation.” He draped a blue silk robe, embroidered with fish of all things over his nightgown, and tied it off with a sash.

Dean got up on two feet and walked up to Castiel. He noted that Hannah followed his every move. “Relax, Hannah.”

“Your Highness... should I alert someone?”

Castiel shook his head. “It's fine. Just proceed with protocol as usual, Hannah.”

Dean smirked. “You heard him, handsome. Proceed as usual.”

Hannah frowned but dropped his sword and finally sheathed it. He relaxed his posture but Dean could still feel his eyes on him.

He turned and walked over to Hannah. “You've done good, kid.” He patted Hannah on the back.

“I'm hardly a kid – “

“Enough!” Castiel's voice cut through the air. “It's not even – Dean. Why are you here, in the middle of the night – ?”

Dean lowered his voice. “Is that any more different than the other times I've been here? You never complained then. On the contrary, you wanted more and more and – “

Hannah cleared his throat.

Dean rolled his eyes. “For being the lookout, you don't get to play a prude now, Hannah.”

“Dean.”

Dean could hear Castiel's patience was wearing thin. He was always so... demanding. Dean liked it. “You always wanted adventure right? Bored of court politics? A way to escape from Crowley and Naomi? Well, I'm giving it to you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Hannah looked as puzzled.

Dean admired loyalty to a point. Hannah was loyal, clever, and sure, he followed orders but he had been known to question some of Cas' decisions now and then. The confidence to defy the king came not from pride or avarice but from years of friendship and camaraderie, love even. And Hannah's face was not ugly, so that was another reason for admiration.  

“Cas, Hannah is pretty, I'll give you that. But wouldn't you say a scar... would make his already pretty face more appealing?” The corners of his mouth turned into a smirk.

Dean jumped on Hannah, and hit him square in the face. Hannah hit the floor like a drunkard on midsummer's Eve.

Castiel whirled around, his robe fanning out behind him dramatically.

“Dean, what are you doing?”

Dean pulled his knife and yanked Castiel close to him, the sharp edge of the knife pointing at that vital blood vessel near the throat. “We need to take a stroll, you and me, Cas.”

Betrayal flashed over Castiel's face and he set his mouth into a grim line. “I thought we had something. That we were something.”

An ache bloomed in Dean's chest but he shoved it down. “We do, Cas, we do. All those things I said to you... they're still true. I'm just borrowing you for a while.”

“Against my will!” Castiel hissed. “That's not borrowing. That's kidnapping!”

Dean pulled Castiel's body to his and if circumstances were different it could have been exciting. “I'll give you back. We'll come back.” He waited until the guards had made their next round passing the royal chambers before urging Castiel along. “Let's go.”

The corridor was now empty and Dean pushed at Castiel, urging him to hurry. “I don't know what's with the face and narrowed eyes.  I thought you hated the pompous royal court and all the trivial matters you have to attend. Didn't you talk about adventures and going out to see the world?”

“Dean, if any of my guards find you, you'll be executed on the spot. I'd be powerless to stop you.”

“Cas, it's almost like we're more than lovers. I'm flattered.”

“Drop the charade, Dean. I've known you for a long time. I care about you. Gods, I love you. I know you haven't told me you love me back but all those evenings and nights we've spent together... I know they must have meant something to you.  Don't lie to me. Not more than you have tonight.”

Dean swallowed. Damn, Cas and his honeyed tongue. He almost relented when he remembered the very reason he was doing this. He hardened his voice. “You're a good lay. That is all.”

Castiel's face turned blank and he didn't say anything else.

The rest of the walk to the storage with the chamber pots was uneventful. Dean felt the heavy silence build with each step until it was crushing him. “Bend down so you don't hit your head, Cas.”

“We wouldn't want that now, would we? What would you do if I fought you?”

Dean sighed. “You are royalty, and while I don't doubt your strength, Cas, the Michael Sword has no reason to hold back if you start trouble. The rumors about me are all true.” He shrugged. “Well, most of them anyway, some are pure fabrication, but do you really wanna take that chance?”

“If you have troubles with a gang of thugs or ruffians, I can help. My coffins are endless.”

Dean smiled in the darkness as they walked to the edge of the castle walls. Just a few more steps and then freedom awaited. For one of them. “It's not about gold, Cas.”

“You almost sound offended.”

“I don't fuck you for money, Cas.”

Castiel scoffed. “I didn't suggest that either. But if you – if there's some debt to be paid, I could do that. I could help you.”

“We are just going to be gone a while and then I'll bring you back. I don't need your help.”

The darkness finally covered the landscape and while it would be to their advantage, Crowley and Hannah could wake at any moment. Dean pulled out his sword and hid the knife away.

Castiel sighed but didn't say anything; he just followed along as Dean guided him with a hand on his shoulder. They would soon come to a small clearing where he hid two horses and then they'd leave Oakspear.

After a few minutes of walking, Dean pulled Castiel to a stop. “Do you have to step on every fucking branch and twig from here to Lawreen?”

“I've been kidnapped. It's in my interest to be found and leave traces behind me.”

Dean smiled in the darkness. “You give Crowley and his gang of cretins too much credit. But good thinking.”

“But you'll still knock me out if I try to run.”

“Don't run, Cas. I swear, I will not hurt you and I will return you when we're done.”

Castiel was silent for a while, walking where Dean's sword led them. The silence lay heavy over them and Dean should've been grateful. He was borrowing the king of Oakspear after all and he wanted as little disturbance as possible. But the other silence was oppressive, the one that spoke of betrayal and hurt and it pressed heavily on him.

Usually, Dean wouldn't be bothered, but this was Cas.

He could see the shadowy outline of the horses. He'd tied them around a cluster of birch trees. The trees dotted the area, providing some shade on hot summer days, but they were no oaks.

The horses – one black, the other one a soft beige – whinnied when Dean approached them.

He stroked the black horse gently, reassuring her. “We'll be on our way soon, Tantrum. Venison will rest.”

Castiel finally spoke up, disbelief in his voice.“You named your horses Tantrum and Venison?”

Dean shrugged. “Tantrum was feisty when I got her and Venison... A poacher stole my venison so I stole his horse.”

Cas huffed in disbelief. “You don't have venison, because you don't own any forests, Dean.”

“I was in a forest. And might be that I was hunting for venison when this man came and claimed what was mine. Get up. And no sudden movements, she'll bite you.”

“So you were poaching yourself and got mad that another poacher stole “your venison”.

Dean pushed at Castiel's ass, urging him forward. His other hand gripped Tantrum's reins tightly. “Come on, stop with this molasses-slow pace. Crowley will be able to catch up.”

“I have no desire to break my neck, Dean.”

“Yeah, I have no desire for some damned butcher to hang me by the neck. See, our interests align.” Dean jumped up behind Castiel and grabbed Venison's reins. He'd tied Venison to Thunder and they were on their way.

The horses trotted along with a steady but brisk pace. Dean led them away from the main roads and into the leafy forests that grew some distance away from the castle.

He noticed that Castiel was shivering. He tried to hide it but Dean could feel the small trembles against his stomach and his arms as his body enveloped Castiel's. He realized that Castiel was still in his silk nightgown and robe. He reached back and unrolled a woolen cloak while guiding Tantrum with his knees.

Casually, he put the cloak around Castiel's shivering form.

“Thank you.”

“No bother. I was the one that dragged you out of bed. It's the least I can do.” Dean sighed quietly for himself. “Look, Cas. I'm... I'm sorry.”

“For borrowing me? Well, me too, Dean.”

Dean chuckled slightly. “Not that part.” He was sorry for other things and his mind turned to matters that were yet to come. He chastised himself. No use in thinking about tomorrow's sorrows when today was  bleak enough. “I didn't mean it, alright. You're not just a lay to me, Cas. You know that.”

“I thought I did. Does this mean that you'll explain what you're doing, Dean? You have promised my safe return, so I assume you're not out to kill me?”

Anger flashed through Dean for a brief second but then he remembered that Castiel had every right to be mad or think that his life was in danger. “I'm not going to kill you.”

Castiel seemed satisfied by that.

Dean guided the horses through the thick foliage and turned south. They were once again on a path, albeit a less traveled one.

“You're going by the roads again?”

It was a small comfort that Castiel seemed so calm, that his voice still held kindness. It made it easier for Dean to pretend he hadn't kidnapped him. “Not the main one, no. This one will lead to a farm village down south and then we're going to cross into Juna.”

“Juna? That's your plan? You're going to hide the king of Oakspear in the actual realm? Not cross the border but plant us straight into a large city? You do realize that Juna is the largest city in the kingdom, that their soldiers – “

“ – are the finest ever, their armor shines in the sun, and they shit gold. Yeah, I know. I also know that Juna provides a huge bulk of the grain supply to Oakspear, that the royal palace once stood there and that supposedly magic is in the soil there. That's what the War of Nothingness was about, whether magic was real or not.”

“You did listen.”

Dean scoffed. “Not my fault that your post-fucking talk was all history, economics, and things I'm sure even Osric would be impressed you have knowledge about. And Juna may be the largest city in the kingdom, but that's where we're going anyway.”

Tantrum whinnied and Dean patted her reassuringly. “It's gonna be a long night. I won't bore you with talk any longer. You'll be fine, Cas.”

Castiel fidgeted against Dean, so Dean wrapped his arm around Castiel's waist, keeping him still. Tantrum was well-trained and could be directed just by a slight press of the knees anyway.

“Don't you think me showing up in my very regal robe will mark me as, I don't know, royalty maybe?”

Dean nodded, despite Castiel not being able to see him. “I do. But we'll take care of that before we reach Juna. Relax, Cas.”

“Relax you say. You still haven't told me why you're doing this, Dean.”

Gritting his teeth, Dean sighed. “I know you're stubborn Cas, and you'll try, that's what honor compels you to do. But I won't talk. You know what you need to know.”

“I know nothing!”

“Exactly. Now keep your damn voice down.”

To his credit, Castiel did listen. Soon the only sounds to be heard were the night birds, evening frogs, and crickets puncturing the otherwise still night with their song. Tantrum and Venison trotted along on silent hooves and even Castiel stopped talking.

A heavy weight settled against Dean's chest and he realized that Castiel had fallen asleep. He adjusted him slightly, pulled the robe around him tighter, and continued riding.

Dean Winchester – notorious thief and Castiel Angelus – king of Oakspear rode on as the darkness kept them safe.

If you wanna leave comments or just say hi the story is here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24593170

[shealwaysreads]

Ever Fixed Mark: A Drarry Fanfic

For the lovely @shopwitch369​ - this took longer than I expected but inspiration hit hard today and here it is - I hope you enjoy it! 

drarry | 1128 words | post-war, EWE, morally grey!Harry, implied spy!Draco, revolution 

Summary: 

In which Harry decides to burn the world, and Draco watches on with adoration.

Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken

Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

                                                                         -

“Have you heard of a controlled burn?” Harry’s voice was low, and thoughtful in that heavy way he had been since he came back from the forest.

“No.”

“It’s something that Muggles have used for millennia, harnessing a natural disaster and using it to shape the land. Before humans it would have been a stray lighting bolt into dry leaves. Now it’s deliberate fires.”

“Arson, you mean?”

“No. It’s considered. It’s measured. It’s purposeful.”

“And what happens, after this burn?”

“With the dead wood gone, fresh shoots can grow. New. Untainted.”

That’s what he had said, months ago. I often think to myself that for all his talk of control, what came next looked like so much glorious chaos to me. And all it had taken was him, the stray lightning bolt. A shock from the beyond. Charged particles reaching their ultimate density and detonating, exploding into fractured, crackling power and igniting everything.

He had always had a wildness about him, even as the scrawny child I had first met in Malkin's all those years ago. Something in those wide green eyes like the feral glance of a street cat, a fox, a snake. Something of a creature trapped, restrained and snapping at the bars of his cage. It had softened at first, at Hogwarts, into a kind of contented restraint. A combination of good friends, regular meals—and the nominal safety afforded by a naive belief in a system presenting itself as right—was a soothing balm on the nagging ache of injustice that Harry had carried with him out of the cupboard.

Just because people you loved said it was right, didn’t make it so. I had learned that the hard way, just like him. I learned all about injustice at my father’s knee. House-elves scalded and beaten, my own mother quelled into terrified submission. I watched Snatchers slaughtered, my Muggleborn school teacher eaten at my dining table, my oldest friend swallowed by the voracious flames he had conjured to kill Harry.

Because he is Harry now. He’s been Harry since he first came to me in Azkaban, that wild glint sparking like flames in his eyes, as his magic melted impenetrable locks like the sun on late frost. After his testimony failed to save me from imprisonment (so much for spying for the winning side), after the Ministry introduced the death sentence (by fire, delicious irony of it all), after they doubled down on their prohibitions against Werewolves, after they displaced McGonagall as headmistress for another Ministry lackey. But he hadn’t come to me to deal with the Ministry, Granger was taking care of that. No. I was the one to track every escaped Death Eater, every sympathiser, every witch or wizard who had turned their cheek as Snatchers dragged their screaming neighbours out of their homes in the night.

I understand him now, more than I ever dreamed I might. That night in the forest, that brief sojourn into death, it changed him. Stripped away whatever veneer of piety he had managed to build for himself. He had survived the grief of every loss in his short life, but his own demise was too much. Not when he came back to school halls filled with the bodies of his year-mates. Not when the ‘right side’ exposed its dark underbelly for all to see. Not when they tried to use his name to justify it all.

We were lying in bed together, after one of his bouts of radical honesty—pretence and observation of ‘should’ was something else he had left in the loamy earth under the trees—when he first talked about the burning. I wasn’t confused. I’ve never been stupid, just decieved. Brainwashed, is what he calls it.

He has never deceived me. Not when we were eleven and he crushed my eggshell ego without even realising it. Not when he cut me from belly to throat. Not when he told me he’d make sure I was safe after I protected them in the Manor. And not when he stripped himself before me; considered, measured, purposeful.

He’s doing this for himself. For the fathomless rage and hurt that swirls with every beat of his heart. He’s doing it for his parents, lost to a war that was decided as soon as his mother birthed him. He’s doing it for Granger, who still gazes at a family photo missing her face in moments of quietude. He’s doing it for Weasley, a brother-shaped hole in his heart. He’s even doing it for me; he says the Muggles would call me a child soldier, says they have laws about punishing those who are coerced. All of that’s personal though. And he knows it, admits it.

But really, he’s doing it for us all—every drop of magic in the country; from pixie to witch and everything in between. Granger wanted to do it officially, spent a year researching, petitioning, posting bills to the Wizengamot, protesting, organising. Until finally she came back to Grimmauld Place, sat at the dining table, and quiet, but firm, told Harry she was ready to do it his way.

They’ve brought back the old posters. Undesirable No. 1. He laughed when he saw them. I raged. At the futility of it all, at the transparency of their hypocrisy, at their craven mistreatment of him. I could have rotted in Azkaban until I was a shell; I probably deserve it. But him? He died for us, and worse still he came back to live and fight for us. And this is how they repay him?

He calls me transactional. Says it’s a flaw of my upbringing, my house. That nobody owes him anything in particular. That he did what he did because it was the right thing to do, no more. But Weasley agrees with me. Funny that love of Harry would be the thing that brought the two of us together, united as a common front against anyone who would target him, anyone who took for granted the debt we all owe.

I would repay him in flesh, in blood, in magic. I would let his strong hands fell me, let him use these limbs as kindling for the fire. He just wants my love. And it’s easy. Dumbledore would roll in his grave to know the smile in his eyes as he dismantles everything the old man propped up in that long and complicated life. Merlin himself would hear the thunder of his magic, his resolve. How could I not adore him?

I kiss him, linger, step back and watch. Wild green eyes—the boy under the stairs, the boy in the maze, the boy in the forest—the man who will burn the world to save it, to transform it.

Read it on Ao3 

Big thanks to @tackytigerfic​ @lastontheboat​ and @primavera-cerezos​ for being brilliant betas ❤️❤️❤️

[loudlytransparenttrash]

Goodbye 2019: A review of the lies that shaped the year

January

One Twitter user posted this thread, describing how there were “50-70 white men” wearing MAGA apparel who “surrounded us” and “sought to intimidate, mock and scare us” by “chanting ‘build the wall’ and “other trumpisms.” “The group was clearly looking for ANY opportunity to get violent,” they were “bumping into us and daring us to get physical.” Video was then clipped and shared on social media, the mainstream media spread the edited footage and within hours the story about “racist white MAGA hat wearing teens cornered an innocent Native elder while chanting build the wall” consumed the country.

Slate wrote an article comparing the student’s “cruelty” to Jim Crow mobs and neo-Nazis. BuzzFeed’s Anne Petersen tweeted how the students and Brett Kavanaugh are the epitome of “white patriarchy.” Kathy Griffin called for doxing the kids and Stormy Daniels in a now-deleted tweet fantasized about putting these children behind electrocuted walls. New York Times author Kurt Eichenwald wished that these kids should be doxed and denied work for the rest of their lives. Headlines included, “White students in MAGA hats taunt Native American elders,” “Covington Catholic High Student's White Privilege Didn't Win,” “White America, come get your children,” “White victimology, white privilege and the Covington Catholic rules of race,” “Boys Will Be Boys. Covington's Showed Yet Again Why Only White Boys Can Smirk Through That.”

The students and their families were doxed, harassed and threatened for weeks after. Covington Catholic High School was forced to close over security concerns. Then the original video was released that provided context: A group of Covington Catholic High School students went to the March for Life during a field trip to Washington, DC. While there, the students were confronted by the radical black supremacy group, Black Hebrew Israelites, where they were verbally harassed and racially abused, calling them crackers, fa*gots and told them to go find a school to shoot up. A black student was berated as a race-traitor and told his white classmates were going to harvest his organs. A Native activist later approached the kids and started continually banging a drum inches from their face. One student, Nick Sandmann, stood calmly in typical teenage bemusement. That’s it. That’s the story. Once it was realized not a single accusation made by the original poster or the media who spread it was true, everyone went silent, and despite many retractions, no apologies.

February

Empire actor Jussie Smollett was approached by two white men wearing Trump’s Make America Great Again caps and yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him before attacking him, dousing him with bleach and tying a noose around his neck, all while chanting, “This MAGA country!” Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Al Sharpton were among those calling it a modern-day lynching and evidence of the fear and hate black people live with. Harris and Booker even wrote an “anti-lynching bill.” Everybody gobbled this story up and quickly used it to push their idea that it said something more important about the state of race in the United States. Essentially they argued that Trump and his supporters are agitating for this kind of violence and, well, here it is.

Afterwards, Smollett proudly bragged how he had fought off his attackers to the loud cheers of a crowd, a true badass. He then appeared in an ABC interview where his eyes welled with tears as he recounted his traumatic experience and how defiant and inspirational he’s gotta be now. When asked why he thinks he was targeted, Smollett blamed Trump and his evil supporters.

But then some red flags started. 1. He held onto his sandwich during the attack and waited 45 minutes to call police. 2. When police arrived to take a report, Smollett asked that the officers turn off their body cameras. 3. He was still wearing the noose around his neck and wore it “like a tie” throughout their entire 40-minute interview. 4. He said he was on the phone with his manager when the attack happened but he refused to show his phone log to police. 5. He supposedly received a threatening letter a week prior to the “attack” which had child-like writing and drawings on it of his name and the word MAGA, and cliche magazine cutouts of letters pieced together to spell out “black fag.” In summary, we were supposed to believe white Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats were roaming around Chicago, carrying a noose, they saw Smollett, knew who he was, knew his show, his sexuality and singled him out for a lynching. 

As the police connected the dots, they found the whole thing was a giant hoax plotted by Smollett himself. When the “black fag” serial killer letter stunt failed to receive national attention, Smollett orchestrated the attack by paying two Nigerian brothers he worked with $3,500 to stage the attack on him while getting Subway. Chicago police spent days and worked overtime poring over security footage and devoting resources that could have been put toward real victims. On February 20, Smollett was charged with a class 4 felony for filing a false police report and was later indicted on 16 felony counts of false reporting. Smollett joined a long list of hate crime hoaxes since Trump took office. I can only assume because reality isn’t at all matching their delusion of the gloomy Nazi “MAGA country” they keep going on about, they’re forced to create these endless hate crime hoaxes to validate the delusion.  

March

After spending two years perpetuating allegations that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election from Hillary and wet dreams of Trump being removed from office and even imprisoned, the entire left, every Democrat and the mainstream media were visibly shaken by Mueller’s investigation ending with zilch. When the news broke that there would be no indictments against Trump nor anyone associated with his campaign, and Attorney General William Barr had exonerated him, those who were so certain of victory and so locked into their conspiracy, were once again forced into utter meltdown mode. Mueller spent tens of millions of dollars, employed 19 prosecutors, more than three dozen FBI agents and an analyst and issued 2,800 subpoenas, 500 search warrants, 280 demands for phone and email records and interviewed 500 witnesses throughout the course of the investigation. No evidence was found.

There was however a major abuse of the rule of law by Obama administration officials and Department of Justice and FBI employees, a shameful politicization of the Russia investigation by Democrats and an end of journalistic integrity by many members of the media who all did their best to delegitimize and undermine the election. The DOJ and FBI used unverified research to obtain a court order to surveil the Trump campaign, and thereby obtain access to past campaign communications. In applying for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) order, the DOJ and FBI did not disclose to the secret surveillance court that the debunked Christopher Steele dossier (Trump/pissing prostitutes) was funded by the DNC and Clinton, the whole basis for the probe. The FISA application also did not inform the court of Steele’s bias and his desperation to keep Trump out of the White House. It was all a setup.

Since Election Day 2016, the Trump-hating political and media establishment have been in a cute relationship to achieve their desired end of destroying Trump. Their shared hatred of the man is indisputable. But the idea of them colluding in this information operation to maximum political and legal effect is altogether more disturbing. Russiagate put Trump’s presidency under a cloud of suspicion for more than half of his days in office, delaying his agenda through forcing the administration to expend valuable time and resources defending itself from the constant hounding. The Five F’s seems to be the Democrat’s only tactic, all they can do is deceive, degrade, deny, disrupt and hope that it all will eventually wear Trump down enough to ultimately destroy him.

April

On Easter Day, churches across Sri Lanka were targeted by radical Islamist suicide bombers. The Muslim terrorists walked into several crowded churches and murdered masses of people. They also targeted international hotels popular with Western travelers. The bombings marked the country’s deadliest violence in a decade, leaving 290 dead and over 500 injured. After the quick condemnation of white supremacy and Islamophobia after the Christchurch shootings a few weeks prior, the media and Democrats avoided at all costs condemning Islamic terrorism and recognizing the victims as Christians. A host of politicians such as Obama, Hillary Clinton and Julian Castro all refused to condemn Islamic terrorism and none called the victims Christians, while others such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Portland mayor Ted Wheeler stayed silent altogether. Christians being killed at the hands of Islamists goes against the entire left-wing doctrine, despite it happening all over the world. 

It’s not the only time we’ve seen the media and politicians cover for Islamic extremism. Under Obama, officials were so afraid of the phrase “Islamic terrorism” that they redacted the very mention of Islam and even Islamic State from the Orlando gay nightclub massacre transcripts, despite 49 people being killed and 50 others injured by a Muslim terrorist who had pledged allegiance to ISIS. In the UK, police and child protection workers were so afraid of the phrase “Islamophobia” that they ignored and refused to investigate Muslim human trafficking and child rape rings, allowing 1,400 young British girls to be raped with knives, bottles and their tongues nailed to tables. In Sweden, the police and media were so scared of “anti-immigration sentiment,” they covered up dozens of sexual assaults against teenage girls. Not wanting to make their new waves of Muslim refugees look bad, German media and the government also covered up mass sexual abuse across the country where 1,200 women were sexually assaulted and raped in just one night. Who exactly are we protecting by refusing to tell the truth and call something what it is?

May

Alyssa Milano, an actress who has been a valiant fighter for progressive causes, demanded for American women to undertake a “sex strike.” The idea is that women should not risk pregnancy until they have an insurance policy. Uh, so like exactly what Christian conservatives already believe in. There’s something funny about Milano embracing the banner of Christian conservatives in order to own Christian conservatives. Just like when Janelle Monáe advocated for women to go on a sex strike, saying that “people need to start respecting the vagina.” Once again, that’s what conservatives have already been screaming, respecting your vagina, respecting yourself, respecting sex and the good and bad product of sex. 

In championing this “revolutionary” concept of women withholding sex in order to attain bodily autonomy, Milano and her blue-check buddies unwittingly preached the same message you often hear during Sunday sermons, especially in youth groups. The Christian perspective posits that the way for women to attain bodily autonomy is to have self-control over your body and choices, to not give away your body so carelessly and to be aware of the consequences of sexual activity outside of committed relationships. Most Christians embrace Milano’s message, not just because the only women who’d participate and use sex as a political bargaining chip in the first place are those who probably need to reevaluate their sex lives anyway, but it also places greater meaning on sex and the power and responsibility of it, which again is another Christian view.

Milano, like many others, also referred to abortion as “reproductive rights,” which is a pretty new term that replaces abortion and is also much catchier on picket signs when used alongside “human rights.” The problem is the term isn’t even close to being accurate. Abortion has nothing to do with reproductive rights. By the time abortion is even a possibility, post-fertilization has already created a tiny human and the mother has discovered that she is pregnant. In other words, reproduction is already complete. That “right” to reproduction was already exercised when you gave it up, literally and figuratively.  

June

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried her best to compare Trump to Hitler by comparing illegal migrant detention centers to actual concentration camps: “This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying,” she tweeted. Ocasio-Cortez continued this claim during an Instagram Live video, where she said, “The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border. That is what they are. The fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing.” 

Of course, the claim that conditions at U.S. border facilities are anything like Nazi concentration camps or Japanese American internment camps is absurd. Detainees are not subjected to forced labor, malnutrition or executions. They also chose to enter these facilities by willingly coming to the United States and either illegally crossing or turning themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol, while obviously concentration camp inmates were forced to be there. Let’s not forget the little detail that any of the migrants may opt for voluntary departure at any time. I don’t remember concentration camps ever having that policy. Concentration camps detained and persecuted their own citizens because of who they were, not temporarily detained people who chose to illegally break into a different country. I don’t think there were many Jewish people trying to sneak into Nazi Germany. Even the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum released a statement rejecting such ridiculous comparisons.

But it’s not just AOC driving this rhetoric. MSNBC anchor Joe Scarborough showed photos of border officers escorting kids to showers and compared it to Nazi officers marching Jews into gas chambers. Former CIA chief Michael Hayden posted photos of the Auschwitz death camp, also comparing it to the temporary housing policy at the border. The New York Times published an article that called for U.S. Border Patrol agents to be doxed so they can be “publicly shamed" and “held accountable.” Almost the entire Democrat Party and mainstream media have made similar comparisons. Yet the CBP detention centers are not operating any differently today than they were during the Obama administration. The famous photos of caged kids are from Obama’s time in office. Even when the most anti-Trump news network CNN went to investigate, the kids had full bellies, they were watching soccer, playing video games on big flat-screen TVs, sleeping in comfy beds and participating in tai chi classes, rather than ya know, being caged, gassed and worked to death.

July

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal held a hearing on complaints from Jessica Yaniv, a man formerly called Jonathan who now identifies as a woman, after multiple small business beauticians refused to wax Yaniv’s penis and testicles. The defendant in the case was a young mother who operates in her family home, but there were also 12 other female beauticians Yaniv filed human rights complaints against which put some of them out of business while others paid settlements to save further legal action. Up until July 17, Yaniv’s name was fiercely protected by the Canadian government, as well as technology platforms like Twitter, which banned numerous women and some men who’d tried to warn others about his predations. But once the ban was lifted, it was revealed Yaniv had used “connections” to a band to help solicit advice from both women and teenagers on how to approach young girls and talk to them about tampons and menstruation in female washrooms. You can read the whole thing here.

Yaniv also recently tweeted shock to be turned away from a gynecologist. “So a gynaecologist office that I got referred to literally told me today that ‘we don’t serve transgender patients. And me, being me, I’m shocked... and confused… and hurt. Are they allowed to do that, legally?" I’m sure Yaniv will be taking gynecologists to human rights courts next for refusing to inspect anuses. We have to be careful to not misgender Yaniv as several journalists have been banned from Twitter for this crime against Yaniv. Any concerns about women being forced to touch male genitalia or biological men being allowed into women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, rape crisis shelters and prisons, you’re done for. This whole story resembles a new trend forming, such as the Christian cake shop owner who was sued for not wanting to bake a cake for a same-sex marriage: An individual from a politically designated victim class seeks out a service, intentionally from a small business owner who they know they can exploit, and the moment the businessperson declines - voila! A movement is born with a slew of lawsuits, powerful interest groups and media backing. 

August

Dave Chappelle’s newest Netflix special was only uploaded for a few hours before the PC grievance mob went to work trying to sink it. Buzzfeed lectured Chappelle for his “truly vile” jokes and instructed him “to be more thoughtful.”  Salon spoke out against “the cruelty” and Slate compared him to that "uncle who doesn’t know, or doesn’t care, how much he’s disappointing you.” While “Uncle Dave” was once cool, they say, his jokes in 2019 make you “wince.” Vice went a step further and gave a total trigger warning to its audience, writing "you can definitely skip” it altogether. As of today, “Sticks & Stones” shows a 38 percent score from media critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while 39,881 of viewers have given it a 99 percent audience score, reflecting the massive disconnect between the media and the general public and proving the only ones who are “out of touch” are themselves. This same pattern can be seen with “woke” movies too. Media critics sing their praises and hail their progressive activist messaging and pandering, yet in reality, these movies completely bomb.

Hollywood wants to water down comedy as not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but in doing so quickly turns into telling people what’s funny and what’s not and who can laugh and who can’t. Even the most devoted left-wing activist surely can see the problem. But a comedian like Dave Chappelle makes fun of everyone and doesn’t believe in a protected class during a stand up routine, as it should be. He also made fun of things that the right cares about, yet they still applauded the special as a celebration of comedy. But no, because Chappelle didn’t obey by their rules, because he didn’t stand on stage and call Trump a Cheeto (the pinnacle of left-wing comedy), he too must be one of those Nazis we keep hearing about. Chappelle isn’t running for public office. He’s a comic, and we’re not meant to seek the ultimate answers from him. It’s his job to talk about and then joke about current events, trends, what’s going on in the world, his only sin was talking about them a little too honestly. 

September

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the United Nations through teary eyes and gritted teeth, claiming that the world is about to end and how unfair it is that she has to save it. Throughout the melodramatic speech warning of “mass extinction” and attacking capitalism, Thunberg repeatedly declared “how dare you!” and “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood!” Sadly, she’s right. How dare a child from one of the most healthiest, progressive, wealthiest, safest and most peaceful countries known to man be indoctrinated to believe adults have failed her and the weight of the world is on her shoulders to save mankind from apocalypse. It’s not her fault.

It’s the fault of the schools who pile on the panic-stricken talk of environmental disaster starting from kindergarten. It’s the fault of the ideologues who obsess over every weather event as if it were Armageddon, whether it’s hot or cold, rain, sun or snow, it’s all evidence of the end looming. And it’s the fault of the politicians, too cowardly and desperate for votes to tell people that utopian visions of a world run on windmills is a pipe dream. And why the hell isn’t China being lectured by the Swedish teenager? Their emissions from aviation and maritime trade alone are twice that of the United States, and more than the entire emissions of most nations in the world, but we’re the ones being told to ban straws, stop eating meat, roller skate to work and stop having kids? Really? Then again, it’s easier to go after countries which roll out the red carpet, gives her a platform and awards her with prizes in return for her criticisms. The real pollution culprits aren’t nearly as accommodating.

Climate activists could learn something from Thunberg’s honesty, though. She argues that “money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth” have to come to an end. Thunberg’s dream for the future means technocratic regimes will have to displace capitalistic societies. We can see this future in the radical environmentalist plans of AOC’s Green New Deal, one supported by leading Democratic Party candidates. It’s authoritarianism. There is no other way to describe a regulatory regime that dictates exactly what Americans can consume, sell, drive, eat and do in their personal lives. As Hawaii Democrat senator and climate change enthusiast encouraged fellow activists to think of climate change as a religion rather than a science, we can only hope that most Americans will continue to reject these regressive ideas. One reason we should is so that Greta Thunberg’s generation, including her army of schoolchildren, can continue not having to suffer needlessly.

October 

Media outlets responded to Trump’s announcement of the U.S. military’s successful mission against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was not met with much praise and excitement that the world’s most wanted terrorist leader had been stopped, but with anger and snark. Many media outlets, the Washington Post for one example, worked hard to spin the killing of Baghdadi into, somehow, a negative story for Trump, beginning with a look at Baghdadi as not as a brutal terrorist and murderer, but as an “austere religious scholar.” 

The Washington Post followed it up with a chain of negative stories: “Three ways the Baghdadi raid undermines Trump’s chaotic policy,” “Despite the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, some analysts question U.S. ability to prevent ISIS resurgence,” “The U.S. kills an ISIS leader. But Trump is giving the group a new lease on life.” They even complained how long Trump talked for and how using words such as “dog” and “coward” weren’t as presidential as Obama. Oh, and a Washington Post and CNN journalist tweeted how wrong it was for Trump to call al-Baghdadi a coward because it takes guts to blow yourself up rather than allow yourself to be captured...

If only it ended there. The Washington Post joined other media outlets including the New York Times in debunking the “doctored” and “faked” photo Trump tweeted of himself giving a Medal of Honor to the dog that chased down al-Baghdadi. White House reporter Steve Herman also debunked the meme by breaking news on Twitter, "I've requested details on this photo! There was no such a canine event on today's schedule!" He later confirmed in a tweet after speaking to a White House official that the meme was indeed Photoshopped. Jim Acosta of CNN also made sure everyone was aware, "The dog is not at the White House." The Huffington Post wrote, “A photo tweeted by Donald Trump is getting dogged by accusations that the pic is the very definition of fake news. The photo didn’t really happen,” then proceeded to show side-by-side photos to prove it was photoshopped. Everywhere the meme was called “fake news.”

Once the media confirmed that the very clearly photoshopped dog was not at the White House after all, and the meme was just a meme, they moved onto asserting the meme was insulting and disrespectful to the original recipient of the Medal of Honor, James McCloughan, which the photo was taken from. Yet when the meme was shown to McCloughan, he laughed and said he wasn’t offended and he liked it. Now that another outrage had fizzled out, the only thing that was left for them to complain about was... Trump hates dogs because he used the term negatively to describe the ISIS leader. Yep. 

November

Nine American Mexican family members were slaughtered in broad daylight in an ambush by a drug cartel in Northern Mexico, less than a hundred miles from the Arizona border. The family were traveling to visit family when they were attacked by the cartel which left three women and six children dead, including a pair of infant twins. As Trump voiced outrage over the attacks, condemning the violence and offering the Mexican government help to come down harder on the cartels, not a single one of the seventeen Democrats in the race issued a statement on the attacks. 

That’s probably because they’ve already established it’s racist and bigoted to point out that some Mexicans can do bad things and there’s gonna be some bad eggs illegally crossing the southern border, despite leading Democrats including Clinton and Obama holding the same view just a few years ago. Let’s forget those behind most illegal border crossings are actually rapists or in just one city, over just a few weeks, seven illegal immigrants were convicted of rape. For the record, Trump never called all Mexicans rapists. He said there are rapists among those being sent over, along with drugs and MS-13 members, all true. He also said in the very next breath that there’s also good people crossing. Now, it’s also racist to call MS-13 gang members “animals” despite them being known for beheadings, dismemberments and cutting out hearts. And now we know we’re not even allowed to talk about the epidemic of terrorism and violence along the border, even when nine American women and children are massacred as it runs counter to the new, insane Democrat narrative mocking the need for stronger border security or the need for borders at all. 

This is the latest incident that has shined a spotlight on Mexico’s growing crime problem as drug cartels have launched an insurgency in the failing country.  A month earlier, hundreds of gunmen stormed the city of Culiacan after Mexican National Guards arrested one of the sons drug kingpin “El Chapo.” In a stunning display, the Mexican president told his National Guards to surrender to the cartel and release El Chapo’s son. The day after the family massacre, more murders and bus burnings were unleashed on the city of Juarez. The mayor of Juarez said the chaos was the cartel’s response to police arresting suspects involved in an ongoing drug turf war. We’ll have to wait and see if the new Mexican president’s policy of “hugs not bullets” will end the endless territory being controlled by different armed groups, similar to the Middle East and Africa. Maybe love and giving into cartel demands will bring law and order back.

December

Democrats finally did what they’ve been promising to do since Trump won the election, they impeached their mortal enemy. The obsession with impeachment has little to do with anything Trump did, and everything to do with who he is. Democrats never expected to lose the 2016 election, especially not to Donald Trump, which humiliated them even more. And ever since, they have been trying every trick in the book to prove what a horrible mistake voters have made. Democrats have floated the idea of impeachment over fake Russian collusion conspiracy theories, drivel about porn stars and even the president’s criticism of his critics. All of them bombed. With time running out before the 2020 presidential race gets into full swing, they seized on the only thing they had left: bogus “concerns” with a phone call to the newly elected Ukrainian president.

The evidence Democrats have rallied on makes for the weakest impeachment ever launched in American history, highlighting gross abuse of congressional power and serving as a national embarrassment. The impeachment inquiry was kicked off by an unknown person during a phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. An unredacted transcript of the phone call was quickly released to the public, putting the conversation between the two leaders in plain sight for all to see in an unprecedented move. There was nothing to hide. Democrats and media outlets took slices from the transcript and came up with a story about Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s family in exchange for nearly $400 million in military aid. Yet when Trump mentioned “do us a favor,” in the very next sentence, he referred to Ukraine looking into the 2016 election meddling after Mueller did such a poor job, it had nothing to do with Biden. Zelensky himself said there was no pressure and he didn’t even know about the military aid being delayed. 

But House Democrats still held four weeks of impeachment hearings and not a single piece of incriminating evidence to impeach the president of any kind of crime was found, whether it be a “quid pro quo,” “bribery,” or “extortion. In fact, to the contrary, witnesses called by Democrats actually exonerated the president of any wrongdoing. Ousted former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich blatantly admitted that Trump committed no crime. “Do you have any information regarding any criminal activity that the president of the United States has been involved with at all?” “No,” Yovanovitch said. Former State Department Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker was asked, “In no way, shape or form did you receive any indication whatsoever, or anything that resembled a quid pro quo, is that correct?” “That’s correct,” Volker said.

Despite clearly having no case against the president, Democrats still voted to deliver their promise, it was now or never. Unlike other impeachment cases, it wasn’t at all bipartisan, the House’s impeachment inquiry passed without a single Republican vote. In fact two Democrats joined GOP lawmakers in voting against the resolution, ironically making opposition to impeachment the more bipartisan vote. One Democrat even switched parties after he was pressured by his Democrat colleagues to vote against his will. Now, Pelosi is refusing to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial. She knows Trump will be swiftly exonerated and claim another monumental victory, so let’s savor in the impeachment juices that nobody cares about for as long as we can. At least until the next “existential threat” or “constitutional crisis” they can whip up. 

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Parasite (2019) - Plot Summary

The Kims - mother and father Chung-sook and Ki-taek, and their young grown-up posterity, child Ki-charm and girl Ki-jung - are a helpless family living in a decrepit and squeezed half storm cellar loft in a bustling lower average business region of Seoul. Without knowing it, they, particularly Mr. also, Mrs. Kim, in a real sense smell of destitution. Frequently as an aggregate, they execute minor tricks to get by, and in any event, when they have occupations, they accomplish the base work required. Ki-charm is the person who fantasizes escaping destitution by one day going to college. Notwithstanding not having that college degree, Ki-charm is picked by his college understudy companion Min, who is leaving to go to class, to assume control over his coaching position to Park Da-hye, who Min intends to date once he re-visitations of Seoul and she, when all is said and done, is in college. The Parks are an affluent family who for a very long time have lived in their futuristic house planned by and the previous habitation of renowned designer Namgoong. While Mr. furthermore, Mrs. Park are about status, Mrs. Park has an unpredictable, stupid mindset and personality, which Min advises Ki-charm to feel great in deceiving her about his schooling to land the position. In landing the position, Ki-charm further discovers that Mrs. Park is searching for a craftsmanship specialist for the Parks' young adult child, Da-tune, Ki-charm rapidly suggesting his expert workmanship advisor companion "Jessica", truly Ki-jung who he knows can pull off the trick in being the most effortless liar of the four Kims. In Ki-charm likewise succumbing to Da-hye, he starts to imagine himself in that house, and in this way the Kims as an aggregate beginning an arrangement for all the Kims, similar to Ki-jung utilizing expected names, to supplant existing workers in the Parks' utilize in coordinating explanations behind them to be terminated. The most hard to dispose of might be Moon-gwang, the Parks' maid who in a real sense accompanied the house - she Namgoong's servant when he lived there - and in this way knows all the little alcoves and crevices of it better than the Parks themselves. The inquiry at that point turns out to be the way far the Kims can take this trick in their mission to turn into their rendition of the Parks.  Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

Ki-charm Kim (Choi Woo-Shik) is a youngster living in neediness in the ghettos of an anonymous South Korean city with his family - father Ki-taek Kim (Song Kang-ho), mother Chung-sook Kim (Jang Hye-jin), and sister Ki-jung (Park So-dam). The family lives in a nursery unit where they battle finding a Wi-Fi sign to sneak into to gain admittance to the Internet to sit in front of the TV, get treated on, and need to watch men peeing in the rear entryway outside their home. They make a decent living by doing humble undertakings, for example, collapsing pizza boxes - and, after its all said and done, get reprimanded by the pizza representatives for wrecking the cases. Ki-charm's affluent companion Min-hyuk visits the family, giving them a blessing - a stone that should bring the individuals who have it abundance and flourishing. He at that point tells Ki-charm that he has been mentoring the high school little girl of an affluent family. He is leaving to concentrate abroad however is infatuated with the little girl, and realizes that any of the other college young men would take her away. He needs Ki-charm to be her coach, realizing he will look after her with the goal that Min-hyuk can propose to her once she graduates secondary school. Ki-charm realizes he isn't qualified since he isn't in school, however Min-hyuk vows to vouch for him, thus he concurs and has Ki-jung manufacture qualifications for him to take to his meeting. Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

Ki-charm interviews at the well off Park family where he meets Mr. Park (Lee Sun-kyun), his empty-headed spouse Mrs. Park (Choi Yeo-jeong), and their kids, high school little girl Da-hye and youthful child Da-tune. Ki-charm acknowledges he needs to play with Da-hye to land the position, and he does - Mrs. Park pays him an extreme measure of cash and notices they need a workmanship coach for Da-tune. Da-tune had an awful occurrence where he saw a "phantom" in the house and had a seizure and has been requiring help with his specialty. Ki-charm acquaints them with Ki-jung, who manufactures records for herself and passes by "Jessica," and she also starts bringing in cash hand over clench hand. At the point when the Park's limo driver takes her home, Ki-jung leaves her clothing in the vehicle to get him terminated: she at that point proposes her "Uncle" as the new driver - who is truly Ki-taek. The last position is that of the servant, Moon-kwang (Lee Jeung-eun). She has worked for the home since before the Park family lived there - she worked for the past proprietor, an offbeat designer. To get her terminated, the Kims misuse her hypersensitivity to peaches, making her have unfavorably susceptible responses: they at that point persuade Mrs. Park that she is truly infectiously sick and can't be around their child. She leaves, crushed, and Mrs. Kim is given the work, tricking the Park family into recruiting the whole Kim family.

The Kim family makes the most of their monstrous increment of pay, and when the Park family chooses to leave to go outdoors for Da-melody's birthday end of the week, they accept the open door to remain in the colossal Park house for the end of the week. They go through the night drinking and eating and ruining the spot when the doorbell rings: it's Moon-kwang. She asserts she was terminated so rapidly she left without having the option to get something and simply needs it back. Mrs. Kim hesitantly gives her access, and Moon-kwang runs into the storm cellar and starts shouting, opening a mystery entry behind some racks. She goes to her significant other, Geun-sae (Park Myung-hoon), who has covertly been living in the fortification since the time the past proprietor moved out to avoid advance sharks. She gives him food while Mrs. Kim glances on with sickening apprehension - she advises Moon-kwang she needs to leave, and as Moon-kwang implores her to allow them to remain, the remainder of the Kim family (who had been listening in) tumbles off the steps and into see - and they call each other "father," and so forth, which Moon-kwang films on her telephone, understanding the con the family has pulled. She takes steps to send it to the Park family and utilizations that so she and her better half can compel the Kim family to do their offering.

The Kim family figures out how to get the high ground on them, getting them into the mystery shelter, however the Park family calls: they've dropped their outdoors trip because of downpour and will be home quickly. The Kims scramble, attempting to tidy up as much wreck as possible, keeping the other two in the cellar. They figure out how to do an adequate employment that the remainder of the family can cover up while Mrs. Kim gives the Parks their supper - when Moon-kwang breaks out and runs higher up, Mrs. Kim pushes her down the steps, where she hits her head and is seriously injured. Moon-kwang and Geun-sae are secured in the shelter. Mr. furthermore, Mrs. Park wind up resting in the lounge room to watch out for Da-tune who is enjoying nature out in the patio, constraining the Kims to remain under the table, solidified the entire night, even as the Parks grumble about Mr. Kim's smell - and afterward, have intercourse. Ultimately, in the dead of night, they can escape. They get back to discover their condo totally overflowed with downpour and sewage. Ki-charm takes the stone, and the family dozes in a sanctuary for the evening.

The following day, Mrs. Park chooses to set up an improvised gathering for Da-melody. The Kim family, in their parts as help, are welcomed and need to imagine that they don't realize that there are two individuals secured a fortification under the house. Ki-charm brings the stone down into the shelter, where Moon-kwang has passed on and is trapped by Geun-sae, who clubs him in the head with the stone. He at that point enters the gathering, where he wounds Ki-jung in the chest. The gathering detonates into loathsomeness, and Da-tune has a seizure - Geun-sae was the "phantom" he had found in the house earlier. Mr. Park shouts at his driver, Mr. Kim - who is attempting to stop Ki-jung's dying - for the vehicle keys to take his child to the medical clinic, and he tosses them to him. They land under Geun-sae, who is battling with Mrs. Kim. She figures out how to execute him by wounding him with a meat stick. Mr. Park gets the keys however communicates nauseates at Geun-sae's smell - this triggers Mr. Kim, who snaps and wounds Mr. Park, executing him. Mrs. Park swoons as Mr. Kim escapes.  Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

Ki-charm awakens in the clinic, where he had been in a trance like state for quite a long time. He discovers that Ki-jung has kicked the bucket, and he and Mrs. Kim are condemned to probation. There has been no indication of Mr. Kim, despite the fact that the police have been looking for him for Mr. Park's homicide all over. Ki-charm leaves the stone in a waterway and notices the previous Park house where he sees the lights glimmering - Ki-charm deciphers the gleaming from Morse code, and learns Mr. Kim is controlling them from inside the shelter, where he is currently living, sneaking higher up for food from the new proprietors. Ki-charm composes his dad a letter back, settling that some time or another he will become well off enough that he can purchase the house and their family can be brought together.  Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

[amateurfan227]

Trailer Talk Review - IT and Justice League

Hey guys, I’m back with another review on 2 separate movies this time, The reboot (or remake in this case) of Stephen King’s miniseries based on the novel, IT as well as DC’s recent trailer for the upcoming Justice League which does look promising though it has some flaws.

I’ll start with IT first as I will dive into Justice League more openly, So Pennywise is back with a new movie, I saw the trailer and I have to admit, it does look creepy like the book’s feelings but it doesn’t have the same scares as the book or the miniseries contain; for making a movie based on a book which is over 1000 pages long is going to be quite difficult, I mean Peter Jackson did make a trilogy of Lord of the Rings which is technically six books.

I think it’s both a good and a bad idea, I’ll go with the negatives first, the book is more focused on Fear which is what the creature IT resembles, as well as the child protagonists returning back in the future when they are more older and more wiser to fight the creature off for good. The novel also seems to fit into some horrific imagery as well such as Homosexuality is frequently mentioned as well as Derry’s background history is mentioned towards Pennywise.

However seeing that all the things mentioned above are frequently mentioned in the book, I wonder on how this will be mentioned in the film, another note to add on the trailer is that in the book, there was a bully who tormented the children who went to the same school as them, who also encountered Pennywise who would become a secondary antagonist for the heroes.

I would also like to add on how in the book, it mainly revolved around the adults who were suffering from major flashbacks which would explain why they were afraid of it, mainly towards Billy as he feels more responsible on getting his brother killed, this too is mentioned in the book as he’s a lot more aggressive against Pennywise.

I dislike the fact that they refuse to show Pennywise as he was more of a fearful essence rather than a standard figure in the miniseries as well as the book; that would include the balloons as they would resemble his abilities aside from his appearance. Though the saying, ‘less means more’ is a huge negative when it comes to the trailer.

Another thing that brought to my attention is that in the first few chapters, Mike (apologies for racial stereotyping, the black kid) now grown up is researching a series of child deaths which closely resemble It’s return which is a huge motivation to call the older kids back to finish it off, however in the trailer this is never mentioned, only missing persons posters.

The main concern is making it into one movie as it should be panned out better into 2 movies like the miniseries which got it completely right, though the miniseries had some flaws; I think that the movie however would suffer the most consequences when it comes to adapting it straight from the novel.

The positive notes however is that the appearance on Pennywise looks more deceiving than Tim Curry’s performance as the killer clown, mainly because he sticks more to the shadows than Curry did when he was out more in the open, this would raise a bunch of questions though when it comes to displaying Pennywise’s abilities of fear manipulation mainly shape-shifting into other people as he did in the miniseries.

Though the movie does look interesting, I’m going to have to watch another trailer to give my final thought, now for the next trailer which is Justice League which is going to trigger a few people off who hate Man of Steel as well as Batman Vs Superman.

I’m going to put the elephant in the room first by stating that I love Man of Steel, it’s possible one of the closest adaptations to the Superman mythos especially when it comes to an origin story, though the movie is heavily flawed, it’s easier to see the movies logic to get past them.

A lot of people are stating that Superman is officially dead after watching this movie because he breaks his rule by stating ‘Superman killed Zod’ ‘What’s with Jonathon Kent giving him different advice’ ‘Why is Louis Lane so important in this film’ ‘Why was Superman so important to Zod’.

I can see the negatives in those questions but I see more positives that were answered by the movie’s logic, to answer the first question on him killing Zod, which are a few statements I like to mention first.

There was a reason why this movie was called Man of Steel, meaning that Kal-El is not Superman yet, he’s still learning his abilities as well as his heritage which leads up to the name Man of Steel; The reason why he killed off Zod is that Kal-El destroyed the remaining Kryptonian technology as well as the people who were the last survivors of the planet which gave Zod a motive in stating that he will either kill everyone on the Planet.

Leading Kal-El to kill him to save the rest of humanity, another thing that got my attention is that everyone hated him for killing of the last Kryptonian; may I just remind you that he killed Zod in a noble fashion rather than in the second movie in 1980 where he removed all of Zod’s abilities rendering him mortal leading him to break his hand only to throw him into an eternal pit, only to smirk off after it.

The other question is relating to Jonathon Kent on giving Clark different advice, I only managed to trace a few answers to this occurrence including his fatal death, I believe that he was testing his son at the very beginning shortly after suggesting to let a bunch of kids die such as he wasn’t meant for this world.

It also includes later on which lead to them both having an argument on how Clark should act when he’s older which lead to the ultimate test, letting Jonathon die into leading Kal-El’s persona as Clark as an average person to avoid attention, which is pretty hard-hitting. Though the answers I made are misleading but put your-self in his shoes.

The Louis Lane one for me is pretty misleading though it does show something that we’ve not seen in any Superman Movie, Louis Lane doing actual research when it comes to investigating journalism, this is possibly one of the best things I’ve seen her do aside from casting smug remarks and just being there as a damsel in distress.

Though why Zod requests her to be brought in is another thing as well as her being the one that Clark/Kal-El eventually fell for is entirely beyond me.

And now for the final question on why does Zod want Superman, seeing that he’s the most common villain towards Superman, a lot of people miss the fact that in the beginning of the movie Jor-El placed the remaining Codec into Kal-El’s body when he was young infant whom is the last natural birth on Krypton.

The Codec however was important to the Kryptonian army as it contains billions of years of Kryptonian DNA, which would grant Zod the ability to create a new army of Kryptonian hybrids of modified DNA. Which I believe most of the people viewing the film would mistake as the only reason why Zod wanted the Codec as it was the only secondary thing that was natural to Kryptonian history.

The trailer for Justice League... this is something I’m pretty confused by as well as invested, let’s get some of the negatives out of the way first, the ideas of making the heroes act more like teenagers was a bit of a bad situation which made it more deceitful to the material, mainly the new 52 which the franchise would be based on.

But I’m going to have put credit where it’s due by stating that it is an interesting looking trailer for a team superhero film rather than an independent hero movie, unlike the Avengers (who pretty much killed people through their independent movies), let’s get through some of the characters first, the first attention would go to Victor Stone himself aka Cyborg and boy Mr Snyder, you’ve made a pretty good choice on this one.

I hate to say it but this is pretty much from the comic, a random teenager who was badly injured leading his father to place him in a biological metallic suit which was created by one of the signature mother boxes that Darkseid was using, though I’ve not seen Ray Fisher in his broadway appearances, I’m pretty sure that he’ll do a good impression on Victor Stone.

Aquaman on the other hand was more of a running joke which I despised mostly because his powers were more closer to godlike level rather than just a man who can control water and fish, but now seeing Jason Momoa is playing the character which is given a huge bonus as he looked absolutely incredible in the trailer.

Don’t get me wrong, Momoa is seen as a bad-ass actor in different shows like Stargate but most notably in Game of Thrones where he relies on brute strength when it comes to his character but seeing him in this would be the definition of both strength in physical form as well as diplomatic form depending on which route they go with his character.

The Flash on the other hand is way different from the novel as he’s more of a science fan rather than a colleague with the CCPD (Central City) but seeing that the actor Ezra Miller who starred in We Need To Talk About Kevin, is an interesting choice but I’m not 100% sure that he will be the iconic scarlet speedster that most people will fall for.

Wonder Woman however is something that I’m expecting will possibly be the greatest out of the film as she was more independent in the New 52 as she would be more active towards her own missions which would allow the league to join her, such as going after Cheetah (whom was a former friend when she arrived in the U.S.A from Themyscira.

As well as Batman for example who I believe would show the same aggression towards the oncoming threats that would scour our world but though the trailer as he searches for the other heroes, it appears that he’s more able to find the truth on others aside from seeking Clark’s/Kal-El’s forgiveness for attacking him in the first place.

Though the trailer does look interesting in some parts such as the introduction of James Gordon as well as the landscapes that Bruce Wayne goes to find Aquaman as well as the visual effects of what’s to come towards the movie, though the main problem is the fact that it’s more based on being kid friendly which is something I do admire but at least make it less childish or less immature towards the future trailers.

There is another trailer talk review in development which will come shortly after this will be posted.

I would also like to post my sincere apologies that I’ve placed less reviews this year which is going to change very quickly.