#how did he manage to be so... influential in such a short time?

[youraveragecatastrophe]

JAMES DEAN DIED AT 24???

[mysticstarlightduck]

Villain Crimes Tag!

I had this idea for a tag game a while ago and I think its time I finally put it to practice!!! Plus I think its really cool and you guys will probably enjoy it!

Rules: What crimes would your villains be convicted of if they faced trial in the real world? In short, list what crimes your villains have commited, in modern terms.

TW. Mention of some pretty gnarly crimes - but NOT in detail - because these are Villains after all.

Supernova Initiative

The Director/Dr. Darius Merrik

Multiple counts of First & Second Degree Murder + Manslaughter (The Director, behind the scenes, is a very brutal and vicious man - the antithesis of whom he pretends to be to the population. Darius has ordered the execution of/personally killed multiple people who were accused of stirring up "illegal insurrection and rebel efforts" against the Junction, as well as has killed any and all who discover his secret experiments without his explicit permission. His methods of experimentation are also so brutal and extreme that his subjects/victims often, really often, die as a result of it, whether that was the intent or not. Darius doesn't care at all, being at most disappointed at needing to find another test subject and starting from scratch.)

Human Experimentation/Torture/Illegal Laboratories (As mentioned before; Darius is a mad scientist who conducts highly illegal experiments on people, especially those who stand against him. He believes what he is doing will supposedly "bring even more progress" too the galaxies and change the tides of the civil war, and doesn't care how many innocent people he brutalizes in the process. Countless people have already gone through his secret labs - without the population of the Junction even knowing there was a secret lab - and most of his test subjects have died as a result of the experiments, and those who did not were changed in horrifying ways)

Blackmail/Extortion (Darius often counts in severe forms of blackmail and extortion to keep his rivals in line and to make people obey him. Part of how he became so powerful and influential in the Junction was by blackmailing and extorting powerful people and eliminating any possible chance of people looking into his schemes. Another example of this is that the Director only manages to get Jack Tithus to comply to becoming his test subject by threatening to hurt the young man's sister. To protect her, Jack accepted to be experimented on.)

Funding terrorist groups & War Factions/Accesory to Colonization (The Director holds a strong position of power in the Junction, often tampering directly with the civil war by funding extremist organizations and raiding war factions in order to "facilitate" the Junction's advance into enemy territory. Because of him, factions like the Skull-Reapers - space pirates/raiders - were able to raze whole planets - like Acaeth - and allow the installment of Junction settlements there. He also vehemently supports the Junction's official military advances onto other independent planets, and often provides the government's Sentries with new weaponry and armor.)

Ecological Destruction (The Director also funds many mining and deforestation efforts in non-Junction planets, often to get the raw materials he needs for his inventions and experiments, but also to profit from the trade of those spoils. The sheer rate of these "efforts" have already caused considerable devastation and damage to those planets' ecosystems.)

Embezzlement/Money Laundering (Darius is one of the richest men in the Junction, being also one of the most influential. But where does he get that money? From his experiments, inventions and trades? Yes, but that is only a small fraction of it. Most of his vast fortune comes from money laundering and corruption schemes, especially targeting politicians who somehow pose a threat to his plans, a self-fueling cycle that maintains his sheer fortune no matter how much money he spends)

Eldora Thalax

Multiple counts of First Degree Murder, Multiple War Crimes & Genocide (she literally is a warlord hellbent on conquering as much territory as she can both in her planet and others. Eldora is a skilled warrior and assassin, and has killed people before - many of them innocent citizens of places that refused to bow to her tyranny. She also sent hitmen after her husband when he and their son ran away from her, leading to his assassination)

High Treason (Eldora has essentially betrayed her people's high council, known as the Hearth, after her mother and the actually honorable Matriachs denounced her disgustingly ways and exiled her. She also betayed many political deals to have more advantage. Eldora wrongly believes that if she gets as many conquests as she can, that the Matriarchs will forgive her and accept her back, giving her a seat at the Hearth, when she's actually proving them right about her - kinda like Lord Shen did in Kung Fu Panda 2)

Sexual Coercion (her relationship/marriage to Damen was arranged and thus she specifically didn't... really care about his consent or not. Full 'Game of Thrones' arranged marriage to make heirs kind of situation but make it futuristic - he technically said 'yes' to the marriage but did he have a choice? No.)

Kidnapping, Torture & Human Experimentation (She is known to torture prisoners of war, especially those who once held positions of power - at times just for fun, at other times for information, for compliance or to extract information. When Deimos Soll discovered how corrupt she is and tried to desert her ranks, she captured him and had him tortured AND experimented on in an attempt to brainwash him into some kind of supersoldier)

Domestic Abuse/Psychological Torment (Eldora was very abusive to both her husband, Damen, and their son, Kye. Though most - but not all - of her outbursts of physical abuse were directed at her husband, the former prince of the region she'd conquered, Eldora was extremely emotionally abusive to Kye as well, especially because she had a tendency to threaten to hurt his father further to get their boy to obey her)

Dictatorship (Eldora has conquered multiple regions of her home planet and has long since started "brainching out" her influence to other nearby planets, almost conquering an entire solar system. She is known for being a cruel, corrupt, violent and often ruthless ruler who controls the places she conquers with an iron fist.)

Illegal Arms Trade + Slave Trade (Eldora prides herself in having the most top-of-the-line weaponry in the galaxies, being an ardent client of many infamous arms dealers and intercepts some of those goods to sell to her allies. She also is known for proffiting from enslaving portions of the civilizations she conquers, especially if they try to rebel or are accused of trying to betray her, or simoly are her prisoners of war, and selling them as slaves in the underworld market to the highest bidder, though she keeps many to strenghten her armies.)

Arachnys & Red Adder

Racketeering/Fraud/Loan Sharking (They are mobsters. The most dangerous mobsters in the galaxies. The Crime King and Queen. Protection schemes, false business/racketeering, major fraud are just another tuesday to them, and a huge part of what they do on a daily basis.)

Illegal Drug Trade (Any and all addictive substances in EITHER GALAXIES is sold and manufactured by people working under the behest of Arachnys and Red Adder, especially some high-ranking crime families. They're known for making some of the most dangerous and addictive/destructive drugs in any planetary system, and keep their control over their planets underworlds by using those chemicals to keep the population obedient/dependent on their supply)

Being Leaders of a Criminal Organization/Mob (Self-explanatory. Arcahnys and Red Adder are the heads of the most dangerous and powerful crime family/mob in the Khosmonian galaxies, and now in the Junction as well.)

Illegal Casinos/Houses of Gambling (And man do they profit off of it, because those places are popular in both galaxies!)

Human Trafficking, Slave Trade, Organ Trade (They are known for being involved in the most nefarious side of the interplanetary black market, and that includes, unfortunately, the trade of people - be it in full, by selling/buying slaves to/from warlords like Eldora Thalax, with whom they have a longstanding business relationship with, or in... parts, because they also sell organs and cybernectic parts, which they harvest from humanoids and cyborgs that fall into their hands.)

Illegal Prostitution Schemes/Forced Prostitution/Dehumanization (The MAIN "business" of the Saphir crime family is the "pleasure business". They pride themselves on having the finest brothels and strip-clubs in their planets, with most of the entertainers being either slaves they've captured/bought OR... sentient robots. Not cyborgs, but actual, sentient robots, their newest and most popular invention - sentient robots, unlike cyborgs, are fully artificial despite looking like regular humanoids, and their adaptable appearance makes them very popular in the Saphir's business. Meridian Shardd, the story's most innocent character, was one of those sentient robots - having gained conscience/broken free of their programming shortly after being manufactured, Meridian ran away from the factory thankfully before being put to work by the mob, and is terrified of being found.)

Tagging (gently): @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin,

@oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab, @winterandwords, @eccaiia,

@the-letterbox-archives, @illarian-rambling @agirlandherquill, @anoelleart,

@ray-writes-n-shit @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @topazadine

@forthesanityofstorytellers, @finickyfelix

@cauliflowermaterial @thepeculiarbird,

@clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, and OPEN TAG

Taglist for Supernova Initiative below the cut! 🌠

Supernova Initiative Taglist (-/+): @ray-writes-n-shit, @sarandipitywrites, @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks,

@diabolical-blue @oh-no-another-idea

@cakeinthevoid, @clairelsonao3,

@thepeculiarbird

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri,

@lyutenw @finickyfelix

@elshells, @thecomfywriter

[arrowstothehearts]

From the beginning of its existence, Alaska knew it could do significant things.

James Baudelaire, who in his early twenties was part of an influential family of founders of British high society in Birmingham, UK. The man in his youth was determined to explore the beauty of the world, where he was first captivated by North America, as soon as he set his eyes on the majestic glaciers of Alaska, US. His adventures and spirit attracted Elizabeth Brown, an aspiring actress who was known for her beauty and almost unearthly resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor. She was the next promise of Broadway as soon as she managed to go to New York City, but with her angelic face, it didn't take long for James to notice the woman in her various shows.

It didn't take long for her to be conceived from such love, a girl with almost celestial blue eyes, golden hair and rosy cheeks. James knew the very moment he saw his daughter, he remembered the first time he was swept away. Alaska Baudelaire. Born on April 16th.

Elizabeth, in fact, did not have such devotion to her daughter, the replica of Marilyn Monroe that grew around her reminded her of the life she had left behind, and even though she knew it was unfair and self-centered, she blamed the girl for the end of her career, but after all, she chose that. So, Elizabeth Brown transformed herself into Elizabeth Baudelaire, erased her glorious past and swore to herself that her career would be her family, she would raise a prodigy daughter. James put aside his adventures around the world, despite remaining true to his spirit, he followed the family business, which led to him becoming an important judge.

During her childhood, Alaska's every step was scripted to make her stand out, from ballet, painting and piano classes. The girl was dedicated and even with her mother's demand for perfection, in the name of her unconditional love, Alaska wanted to be a source of pride for her mother and did everything she could to impress her.

At the beginning of her pre-adolescence, “unconditional love” sent her away from her family, friends, everything she knew and loved, where Alaska spent long years at a boarding school in Germany, where luckily for the girl, she had the chance of making friends who helped her discover her real personality, dreaming her own dreams and inheriting from her father the same passion and desire to see the world as it really was.

She always had a camera in her hand, capturing moments around her. The girl captured every feeling, curiosity that surrounded her, from colleagues, landscapes, everything became beautiful in her lenses. In addition to using her beauty naturally given by her parents to venture as a photographic model, as she loved how each photograph could capture fragments of her identity, she felt as if they were pieces of her soul that were spread through each capture.

At the end of her stay in Germany, the girl, now almost a woman, felt that her heart was calling her to see the world, so with the help of her beloved father, she went to the United States, leaving behind the cloudy weather of Birmingham and being welcomed by the warm Miami sun.

The city was exotic and new, everything she needed to follow her new steps, the woman managed to find her peace in the midst of American chaos. Her greatest find in the city, Andrew Rockefeller, a man who reminded her of her father, was successful, restrained, a true German with his strong and imposing accent, had his air of mystery and that intrigued her from the first day.

Over the course of a short time, they developed a connection that transcended all rules of time, it was instant like a meeting of souls that led to the most genuine and purest friendship Alaska had ever experienced. The man was of great influence in her maturation and growth to become who she’s today. Luckily for both of them, after four years of living, loving each other as a family and overcoming the most diverse obstacles, they both found love in each other. For many it was simply destiny, Alaska deep down always knew that all the paths she took would lead her there.

Their new lives called for new air, and her mother's old passion for New York City returned to her memory, as if that concrete jungle now called Alaska too.

Upon arriving in the new city with her lover and dogs and cat, she instantly fell in love with the energy. The streets pulsed with life, skyscrapers touched the sky and cultural diversity fascinated. Every corner presented a new scene, a new story to be told. The soft night light reflecting off the buildings, the people running, every expression captured by the lens became a masterpiece. New York developed to explore its creativity, experiment with different techniques and understand the beauty of urban imperfections. The city, with its parks, street art and variety of cultures, has become her personal museum.

For her, each photo was a window into the soul of the city, and photography became a way to bring her passion for photography to life. Now feeling truly at home.

[tryskomys]

Wet Sand

Stone Gossard x OC

Chapter 1 - River

Summary: He was a punk, she did...punk. Can I make it any more obvious?

masterlist

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

Notes: but tryskomys, I hear you say, you have two unfinished fanfictions and you’re just going to pull a non-existent sixth member of one of the most influential bands of all time out of your ass? and my answer is yes. i am about to do that. i hope that this can be read even if you're not aware/a fan of this type of music. maybe i can convert you, though? give it a try, it might win your heart over. i'd be honoured if it was through my story. (more notes at the end)

tw: swear words, flirting skills of a 9 year-old. cheesy meet-cute. like, rom-com style stinky cheese. hope you'll like it!

songs:

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

1987, December

It’s late.

Probably already dark outside, the basement didn’t have any windows so there was no way to tell. Not that it mattered anyway, winter seemed to feast on seasonal depression so it made the sun go down even before it could properly rise above the horizon of the Seattle skyline.

She was grasping at straws though, looking for any excuse to bail. Excuse for herself, that is. 

This was your idea, idiot. Sit and observe the local wildlife, you said. Serves you right.

She winced at her internal self-scolding as she looked around the room, scratching her forehead uncomfortably. It should be illegal to have this many people in one place. It just doesn’t seem right.

The human species has evolved from herd behaviour, but it seems like bars are a lingering relic of those times. Like a pocket universe where anything goes. A window to the past. Especially the mating calls. 

She allowed herself to break the edgy facade she cemented on her freckled face and grinned, hiding the smug expression by taking a swig of the stale beer that she’d been sipping for the last hour.

A couple of teenagers, definitely not old enough to be in a bar, just walked - stumbled by. Their tongues were so far up each other’s throats that they probably reached into their eye sockets, too. 

She managed to lift the lukewarm bottle of Budweiser just as they crashed into her table, minimalizing the spillage to a tiny puddle. They didn’t even seem to notice the collision, instead awkwardly taking a beeline to the restrooms. 

Bless their hearts.

She snorted and wiped the liquid with the hem of her blue sweatshirt before cuffing the sleeves. There were many more odd couples similarly lost in their little worlds, some of them more one-sided than others. Her eyes scanned the line of people standing in front of the counter, either waiting for their drinks or simply chatting. 

A surfer dude with a barely visible 5 o'clock shadow trying to woo a short brunette who seemed to be too drunk to realize he’s clumsily trying to slip a pill into her drink. Thankfully she seemed to be quite infatuated with his greasy blonde hair and wouldn’t look away no matter how hard he tried to bait her. In the end, her friend came up and dragged her away, leaving the guy to sit there like a lost kid.

All is fair in love and war my ass. Good riddance, prick.

The girl rubbed her eye and softly cursed when it stung. She forgot she had eyeliner on but it was already smudged, mixing with the purple circles under her eyes.

The bar was definitely going overboard with the heating, trying to make up for the coldness emanating from the brick walls, abused by the snowy breeze outside. The herd factor didn’t contribute to making the place more breathable either. 

She took another gulp of her beer, pulling a disgusted grimace as the stale liquid moved down her throat. Her gaze moved to another group of people at the bar.

Two girls, one very tall and the other trying to make up for her average height with big heels, talking to a fairly good-looking guy who just seemed to enjoy the attention.

There was no way she could hear them from this distance, but the body language was a clear giveaway that they were trying to one-up each other, one outfit more colourful than the other, showing all the peacock feathers that matter to a guy like that - pompous, in a tight shirt and permed hair teased as far as they could go. She even felt like she could smell his nauseating pine cologne.

Oh, a little bandana too. Cute. Crawled right out of a Mötley video.

She snorted again, wiping a drop of beer that ran down her chin as she moved to the next couple. One of the lone strings of artificial light was pointing there, making it seem a lot more dramatic than it needed to be. Like a Renaissance painting.

She was just about to study the scene but her eyes flickered next to them at the sound of a shot glass breaking against the floor. She rested her back against the hard wall, welcoming the stingy sensation of the cold stone. 

Ha, stone, what a grounding word.

Stone, stone.

My kingdom for a stone…

She sang a little melody in her head before frowning.

“What the fuck?” she whispered to scold herself again, wondering if there are any brain cells left in her brain, considering they seemed to be rapidly dying due to the lack of oxygen in the room. 

She realized she truly might not have much to work with at this point because she was starting to see colours that definitely weren’t there. 

Is that a fluffy pink scrunchie?

The pair consisted of what seemed to be another mating ritual, but this time, she couldn’t get a read on the situation. At all. She just couldn’t concentrate, all her senses were fixated on that one scrunchie wrapped around a high ponytail. 

She studied the flowing hair that cascaded around it. Long, a little wavy. Soft, considering they had an unnatural red tint near the ends, probably courtesy of a bad dye job. 

Too soft. Unfairly soft.

She blinked a few times and squinted, unable to make out the face they belonged to as he was facing the bar, his shoulders shaking with a laugh. Broad shoulders. Angular. 

She realized he was towering over most of the bar and wondered if he was really that tall or if it was just the phosphorescent scrunchie standing out like a black eye. She caught a glimpse of his hand as he moved his lanky arm to pat the blond girl next to him on the back, almost condescendingly. An unusual gesture for a mating ritual. 

The blondie, courtesy of peroxide, was pretty tall as well, but his huge hand seemed to take up a bizarre amount of length of her torso.

The sagacious watcher darted her eyes from knuckle to knuckle, trying to count them as if she were making sure he didn’t have any extras. No, they were just very long. And elegant. 

When she reached his fourth finger, graced with a simple silver ring, the hand disappeared into his back pocket, awkwardly sticking out as it didn’t really fit. She chewed on her lip to contain another smug grin. 

Good riddance. That’s what you get for wearing tight jeans, you beanpole. Might as well wear stockings next time.

She quickly turned her attention the room again when she realized she held her gaze on his ass for way too long to pass it as simply observing the locals. Her breath seemed to hitch in her throat, so she sipped a bit of her beer to ground herself in the murky depths of socialization. 

Hm. Grounding. My kingdom for a stone…

This time she visibly shook her head and a blush crept up her jawline, perplexed by the way her brain ridiculed her. And the image of the guy’s fingers burned behind her eyelids like a cruel brand. 

They would look great wrapped around the neck. Of a Les Paul. The neck of a Les Paul. Not a Strat, that one is not thick enough for them. Fuck.

She looked again, this time he was facing the tall blondie next to him so she get a little peek at his face. She didn’t want to, though. The hand was enough. Somehow her head screamed at her to look away, to find a different object of attention, just not this stupid beanpole. She couldn’t help it. The overly dramatic lighting hit the angles of his face just too perfectly not to look.

His forehead was quite prominent. His nose too, true aquiline shape. And a sharp jawline, clenching from time to time when he chuckled at something the blondie said. 

Like a Roman statue.

She chewed on her lip again, this time a bit more harshly to silence her stained thoughts. She wasn’t sure about the rest of his face as the lighting only illuminated the most noticeable parts, but she could tell he had a very unusual kind of attraction.

Look anywhere else but his face. Or hair, or ass. Come on, there must be somewhere else.

She hyped herself up to leave his Roman nose alone and her eyes were already involuntarily falling back down his body, but this time she stopped at his torso. She sucked her teeth, trying to hide an amused smirk.

A white t-shirt, sleeves rolled up a bit. And a vest. Not just any vest. It was this grotesque mix of velvet, crochet and patchwork fabric, all sorts of different colours.

Really? With that scrunchie? Decadent.

She would’ve thought it was some sort of a bizarre Seattle trend if he wasn’t the only one wearing that. Somehow, it looked perfect on him, though. It hung from his slender shoulders like he was born with it, beaming under the sliver of light like one of those colourful kaleidoscopes kids buy in scammy souvenir shops. It must’ve been the way he was carrying himself.

He had this smug confidence around him, that was all she could make out. Otherwise, he was unreadable. Unlike the other guys around the bar, cool and unbothered. 

Like a stone wall.

This time, her brain didn’t sing a stupid tune. She was too fixated on the way his nose scrunched whenever he broke into a smirk, raising his eyebrows as the blondie tried to articulate something. She was clearly trying to play it cool but ended up being flustered instead. He seemed to bask in it, though. 

Figures that a beanpole with a scrunchie would be amused by some poor girl’s advances.

He does seem like he’s kinda into it, though. The way he bites his lip from time to time gives it away. And he’s definitely standing way too close to her.

She was so caught up in her crass analysis that she didn’t notice that the guy turned to face the room, leaned his palm against the wooden bar and scanned the crowd with a dissociated gaze. She thought she started seeing strange colours again when her vision blurred in a green haze. It took her a split second before she realized he was looking right at her. 

The green was his eyes. Huge, protruding eyes lined with the slightest hint of eyeliner. 

Shit.

Her head snapped to the restroom door, trying to avert her attention to anything else but the fact that she had been caught gawking at a stranger across a bar. The sudden motion made her neck cramp, so she reached up and poked it as nonchalantly as possible.

Very subtle.

Her eyes started wandering away from the restroom sign and she tried to not repeat her mistake. But he just stuck out of the crowd, with that stupid scrunchie and that stupid nose. It was like waving a diamond ring in front of a magpie. 

Her hopeless gaze just ended up on him again. She was taken aback when she found that the glowing green didn’t move. 

This time, he was the one to dart away when their eyes met, rapidly turning his attention to the blondie. He did it a lot more gracefully than her, but she couldn’t help but grin when he clumsily rubbed his neck. 

She caught a glimpse of the tiniest crack in his composed facade before he brushed a stray hair away from his face and tucked it behind his ear. He leaned his elbow on the bar, coolness wrapping him around once again.

Strike one.

She could still see in her peripheral that he was looking around the room and she subconsciously followed his suit, like yawning when someone else does.

It didn’t take too long before their line of sight crossed again, this time they both knew better than to lock themselves in an unescapable staring contest and looked away before anyone could classify it as anything else but a coincidence. 

Strike two.

She catastrophically failed at containing the smile that appeared on her face, quickly taking a sip of her beer to hide it in case he happened to look at her again. 

The beer was getting warmer and warmer and that made the bitterness overwhelming, so the grin was exchanged for the typical nose scrunch grimace you do when you drink something that used to have bubbles in it. 

The momentary lapse in attention caused her to involuntarily shoot him another look, but he was already studying her face with a lopsided smirk dancing on his lips. His eyes stayed the same, but somehow she felt the smile changed his demeanour.

Strike three.

He seemed to soundlessly tut and slowly shook his head as if he was deeply disappointed that she was making faces while drinking alcohol like a child. 

Before she could stop herself, she mockingly repeated his grin and then stuck out her tongue at him. 

Like a child. 5th grade flirting, very mature.

He closed his eyes for a second to compose himself and then turned back to the blondie next to him, unsuccessfully trying to hide a toothy smile with a gulp of beer, just like she did minutes ago. 

If she could deck herself in the face, she would do it in a heartbeat. She would deck him as well for the tasteless taunt. She rolled her eyes at her own immaturity, but it was simply a knee-jerk reaction to his mischievous expression. 

Pavlov’s beanpole.

She didn’t see that grin on his face when he was talking to the blondie. She couldn’t decide if that was a particularly good thing. The suave factor was exchanged for playful sarcasm and she was wondering if it was insulting or not. 

Is he insinuating that I’m not worthy of his coolness like Miss Fast Times over there?

She automatically tried to smooth her messy hair down, putting a stray curl behind her ear. 

Pavlov’s beanpole.

The curl just bounced back, joining the unruly sea that lined her face. Not that his lack of interest would be a big surprise to her, considering the out-of-place look that she was sporting.

The mousy fawn colour of the mop of curls was contaminated by a similar grown-out red as his, the sectoral heterochromia tinted one of her otherwise brown eyes with a streak of blue.

The satanic-panic-defying t-shirt with a red dragon didn’t help much, either. How could she compete with a girl-next-door-all-American sweetheart when she’d look like a stray raccoon from The Shire next to her and Mr. Beanpole who’s a whole foot taller than her? 

Thank god no one’s heard me speak, they would stone me for foreign espionage or some shit. That’s it. One last peek and go home.

Oh.

The scrunchie disappeared from her sight and so did the peroxide blond perm, leaving a gaping nothingness in the stream of warm light. 

Good for you, sweetheart. It’s not like you had to try or anything.

The watcher rolled her eyes at her bitterness and emptied the rest of the bottle in her throat, downing it like it was a shot. Another twitch of the nose, now accompanied by a stifled cough. 

See, that didn’t even hurt. The elders of Hackney would’ve been proud. Fucking lightweight.

That seemed to be enough for that night, so she rubbed her eyes again and tried to mentally prepare for squeezing through all those cheerful people. The bony fingers were still lurking behind her eyelids, now joined by a pair of cheeky olive eyes. 

When the vigorous rubbing stopped, she blinked a few times to make sure she did open her eyes, because the hands were still there. Right in front of her, leaning against the table, each fully wrapped around a dewy beer bottle. She looked up. The eyes were there, too, exactly as sly as before. Only even bigger up close.

Jesus Christ.

"Figured you’d want something you wouldn’t choke on. Seems like I came exactly at the right moment.”

His voice was a lot deeper than she would’ve expected, nasal and smug. The smug part was, on the other hand, just as she’d imagined. It was irresistibly annoying. 

Don’t be rude, don’t be rude, don’t…

“Did that line ever work out for you?” 

Oh well.

His smirk grew even wider, scrunching his nose just as she’d noticed before. Very irresistible. A chuckle rumbled somewhere deep inside his chest. It sent a jolt through her whole body, she was taken aback by the way her limbs jerked at his command.

Pavlov’s beanpole.

“I don’t know, that’s what I’m trying to find out,” he chirped, raising his eyebrows when she didn’t chuckle. Irresistibly punchable face. She felt like she was under a microscope, those saucer eyes inspecting her every move. 

His face was properly illuminated now that he leaned a bit closer, making all those angles even more prominent.

The nose looked softer somehow, almost elven, the scrunchie twinkled in all shades of pink. She noticed that he had two almost symmetrical freckles on each of his cheeks, as well as on both sides of his chin. A Roman statue sculpted with a protractor. He raised his eyebrows even higher, challenging her to respond. 

“Earth to Baby? Who put you in a corner?” he mused, waving his obscenely long fingers in front of her eyes. Measuring her entire face.

Pavlov’s…fingers? Quick, say something witty. 

“Budweiser tastes like piss.” 

Nailed it.

His laugh rang in her ears. She caught a glimpse of his teeth, observing the sharp tips of his canines. Even his teeth would cause a papercut.

“Different strokes, different folks,” he retorted, shrugging. She mirrored his movement.

“I’m not into golden showers, sorry,” she shook her head, putting on a pitiful pout. He let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head.

“In that case, I’ll be on my way, milady.”

He bowed and dramatically spun around as if he were leaving. She chuckled, a sound that made him spin back and lean against the table again, this time even closer, with another irresistibly annoying smirk. 

Jesus. Do you know the term 'personal space', mate?

She tried to convince herself that she minded by leaning back against the stone wall. It was like he could hear the wheels turning in her head, raising his eyebrows on cue with her inevitable train of thought. 

My kingdom for a…

“Stone.” 

Her eyes popped open. 

What the fuck is this fever dream? Can he hear me?

“Pardon?” she choked out. He narrowed his eyes at her.

“That’s my name.” 

Huh?

“Oh. I wish I could help you with that,” she blurted out, regretting it immediately when his eyes lost all cheerfulness.

If there was an encyclopaedia of human expressions, that would be the picture next to the definition of 'puppy eyes'.

Before she could say anything, he raised his eyebrows again and broke into a wide grin, the suave coolness back in its tracks.

“Oh my god, your face. Don’t cry, Baby, not for me.” 

Fucking beanpole.

She rolled her eyes so hard she might’ve pulled a muscle, letting out a heavy huff when he giggled. His hair bounced off his shoulders as they shook, waving a strawberry shampoo scent in her direction. That was enough to make a wave of blood rush into her cheeks. 

Cool down, fast.

“What a gentleman. Can’t resist a beer from such sophisticated hands,” she shrugged, hiding the way her throat knotted with a soft cough. He just nodded, handing her the bottle.

His fingers seemed to be everywhere, and when they brushed against hers, she could swear her eyes went fuzzy for a split second. He seemed to notice the contact too, quickly offering his bottle for a clink.

“Cheers, Baby.”

“Chin-chin, beanpole.” 

He snorted at the nickname, taking a swig. She followed, welcoming the harsh bubbling sensation only a cold beverage can bring. He tapped his finger on the wooden table.

“Can I sit?” 

“It’s the Land of the Free, mate. Be my guest,” she nodded, raising her eyebrows when he cursed under his breath with a chuckle. 

“Don’t spoil me, I’ll blush,” he reached for an empty chair in the cubicle next to them and sat down opposite her.

He folded his arms, trying not to take up all space at the table. She didn’t feel any less overwhelmed though, as his eyes were still darting around her pale face, very occasionally blinking in a slow, deliberate pattern. 

“Thanks for the drink. Hope your lady doesn’t mind,” she narrowed her eyes, trying to look anywhere but his face. He raised his eyebrows for a second as if he didn’t know what she was talking about and then nodded.

“Oh! Oh yeah, I was waiting for my lady to sober up a bit but she got spooked when she didn’t see my face four times anymore,” he shrugged, not showing a single sign of defeat or self-pity. She knitted her eyebrows as she took a drink, tutting.

“I think it was the scrunchie, Stone,” she put extra weight on his name and he gave her the best pout he could conjure. 

“Baby doesn’t like my scrunchie?”

“I think it’s cute, goes with the granny vest. But you know how it goes, different strokes…” she nodded sympathetically, her heart skipping a beat when his lips parted in a big “O” and he opened his eyes even wider. 

How is that possible?

“You think I’m cute?”

Abort.

“I said your scrunchie was cute. Big difference, Stone,” she emphasized his name again, making him shake his head in disappointment.

“That’s getting kind of old. You’re running out of ammo. That’s like waving a big red blanket in front of me, so watch out,” he threatened with his index finger. She raised her palms in defence. 

He scanned her arms, wondering how something so innocently small could make his cheeks inflame so harshly. He just started to imagine wrapping her hands in his when her voice tore him out of his thoughts. It was low and silent, velvety like a siren call. It undermined the whole 'innocent' thing.

“I surrender. I’ve just never met a person named Stone before. Might be a common name here, what the hell do I know.”

He managed to compose himself quite quickly, shooing dirty thoughts out of his head like unwanted pest.

“Let’s hear your name then, see how it stands the test of time. Kate? Audie? Marge?” he mused in a terrible English accent as he counted the names on his fingers. She mocked a laugh, shaking her head.

“Har har. Okay, Dick van Dyke, you struck me as a witty person. I’m disappointed.” 

“Maggie?”

“No.” 

“Agnes?”

“…no?”

“Aha! Adelaide! Maeve!”

“Do I look like your grandma? You’re the one who borrowed her vest!” she pointed at him, her voice changing pitch as she waved her arms around.

He smiled like the Cheshire cat, now being the one to raise his arms in surrender. She shook her head with a scoff.

“It’s Keeva.”

“See, told you.”

She reached up as if she was going to slap him, with a big grin plastered on her face. He flinched and raised his arms even higher, trying to contain the laughter that was rumbling in his throat.

“Your name is Kiwi and you’re…”

“Keeva!”

“…and you’re laughing about Stone? Baby, we’re in the same boat here,” he raised an eyebrow, clueless to the fact his Patrick Swayze routine impacted her more and more with every use.

Stop it, beanpole.

“No one calls me Keeva, though. It’s usually Kiki, as in the sound people make when they try to pronounce it. Easily disguised, unlike Stone, which sounds like a name from a Cheech and Chong movie, by the way,” she retorted, grinning in expectation as she noticed the single twitch in his eye that appeared before every snappy remark.

“Oh, ok. Kiki, as in the Kikimora, right? Kinda suits you, not gonna lie,” he smirked and she shook her head in disbelief at his blatant taunting. 

“Lies, lies. Don’t try to deflect, Stoner, you’re the one with the weird name here.” 

“It’s not just your name, though, I’ve heard things about you that you wouldn’t believe,” he shrugged, nonchalantly looking around the bar as she froze on the spot. 

What the hell…

He looked at her again and leaned forward, motioning her to come closer to him, too. His saucer eyes scanned her with intense sincerity. She frowned but inched closer. He nudged her head with his cheek so he’d be closer to her ear. His hair tickled her carmine face, his warm breath like gasoline on her already flaming ears. 

“I’m in your walls,” he breathed out, breaking into a wide pompous smirk when her eyes widened at his audacity. His aquiline nose brushed against her cheekbone as he sat back in his chair, clearly satisfied when she jerked her foot forward, kicking his shin with the tip of her worn-out Docs. 

Pavlov’s Stone.

“Ow! I just can’t get enough of that thing you do with your mouth when you’re pissed off, sorry,” he snorted, reaching under the table to rub the spot she’d just hit. As if the blush could get any worse.

“I’m fucking with you. It’s a small world out here. A friend of mine has a band who was told by another band that a band that practices in the Potatohead hired some hot-shot English munchkin as a session musician for their EP. And that she’s wreaking havoc and corrupting the youth of Seattle with good ol’ evil rock and roll,” he shrugged. “And the friend told my band and I told another band…you know how rumours spread like wildfire around starving artists.”

Oh. So the fingers do wrap around a Les Paul. Figures.

“You trying to tell me that I get jobs because of you? My knight in shining armour, pleasure to finally meet the man who puts crusty toasts with a smear of butter on my table each night,” she did a quick dramatic bow and couldn’t help but smile at the way his eyes twinkled when he realized that he didn’t mistake her for someone else.

He’d hoped it was her. He’d be disappointed if it wasn’t. 

“Anytime, Baby. If you behave, I might tell another band and you’ll get a slice of cheese on top.” 

Is the 'baby' still a part of the routine?

“Charitable. Well, there’s a surprisingly big market for session musicians here. It’s not the most fabulous thing in the world, but I get to play and get paid for it, that’s all I could ever ask for, really.” 

He looked so different when he was serious. Older. Stoic. Breathtaking. He nodded and Keeva knew Stone completely understood what she was talking about. It was in those damned eyes. 

“Is it fulfilling?”

“What job is? I mean, on top of it, I work in a café six days a week. When I get to go to the studio, sometimes they give me sheet music, sometimes they tell me to just do whatever, I do my part and go home. Hardly fulfilling for a musician, but you know…”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Stone nodded, focusing his distant gaze on the table.

He reached up to his hair and pulled off the scrunchie, letting the red waves fall in his eyes before carefully tucking them behind his slightly pointy ears.

Her nose was hit with his scent again and she was glad his stare was fixated on the pink fabric he was trying to play Cat's cradle with under the table. He always got to the first loop and let it go again, the scrunchie was way too small for his hands. 

“Are you in a band?” he asked, and for the first time that evening, he seemed to be a bit awkward, vulnerable even. It was endearing, another irresistible notch on his belt.

“Do I look like I have any friends?” she chuckled, relieved when he mirrored her smile. The sudden seriousness was overwhelming. 

Can this guy do anything in moderation?

“Different strokes...but I’ve heard that you’re fucking great,” he let the compliment hang in the air for a few moments before striking her with another look.

Scrutinizing her. Pinning her to her seat again. She shook her head, hoping the short curls curtain at least a part of her red face. 

“Not really. If I was, I would be in a band. I mean, I’ve been here for about a month now, so that’s a pretty short time to find anyone, but still…” she sighed. “I’ve had no time to go and see any gigs yet. I wanted to check out Soundgarden tonight, I’ve heard they’re playing Off Ramp, but…” 

His eyes lit up so bright they swallowed her senses and made her lips part in surprise. She thought they couldn’t get any more mesmerizing. 

There’s that misbehaving beanpole again.

“No way, are you stalking me? I’m going there, too.”

“Did you get lost on the way? We’ve both been here for hours,” she chuckled and took a drink of the beer that was once again indigestible. She pulled another face and that earned a deep, breathy laugh from him. 

“I know a shortcut, Baby. We’ll get you a fresh bottle there, I can’t stand seeing your baby face in pain. Come on, chop-chop or we'll miss it! Jesus, when Chris sees you there, he’s gonna implode!”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

i've never been too comfortable writing about real, actual people so if this is awkward, i'm really sorry, i'm working on it ♡ i try to take this as more of an 'inspired by real events' story, so we'll see what comes of it.

sincerest apologies to fellow Pearl Marmelade fans, my brain works in bizzare patterns. Please, don’t stone me. hehe. heh. get it? love you all!

[serafiel-jacobs]

Flashback (Fanfic)

New chapter from my main series 🩷

Geppetto thought it would be a good idea to give the house a deep cleaning as it had been too long since he did that, he and his son cleaned the living room together, right now Pinocchio was cleaning his room and Geppetto was cleaning his workshop, although there isn't much he can throw away here, he keeps most of his important documents here, the most vital ones inside a safe but he is throwing away a few blueprints and notes from old projects.

He still… has the box that held Carlo after he died, he never opens it but it has things that belonged to his son, things that used to be in his room since it is now Pinocchio's room. Sometimes he leaves flowers on top of the box or lights candles.

Geppetto kept cleaning, he opened a storage closet that held many things, and he began to throw away the unnecessary ones, shoved inside the closet is the arm of god he really needs to find another place to keep it safe.

While cleaning he found a folder that contained the plans of the project when he first began to work on the puppets and Geppetto began to reminisce about the past.

—--

Geppetto had recently graduated and become an engineer, shortly after he met his wife and they both got married. After some more years of working Geppetto began to work on a special project, the development of the first-ever puppets, this project was financially backed up by the influential Venigni family. He was the one with the idea and managed to convince a few people to join him, it was a hard task since most believed it simply wasn't possible.

The puppets were a success and more started being built, Gepetto still remembers those days when everything was so different in Krat, the city back then was known for its fishing, and the most influential thing about Krat was its education system, Krat's schools were recognized as some of the best on the country, specially their university. Building the puppets was like building Krat again, the city had never been better, and their mechanical advancements quickly gained their fame, Krat was no longer the place it used to be and it all happened in such a short amount of time, Geppetto still can't believe how fast everything went, how he started being recognized, it was too much for him at first, being a public figure, but as the years passed he got over that overwhelming feeling, his wife always told him that he deserved that fame, that Krat was in a much better state because of him, it always made him blush, it was embarrassing but he liked when she praised him like that.

Years passed and they both had Carlo, it was a pleasant surprise, they had been married for many years and still hadn't had a child, it was because the doctors told his wife that she most likely would never be able to get pregnant, so Carlo was their little miracle, they were in their late 30s when Carlo was born. Geppetto thought that maybe because he was older he would be a wiser father.

He was so wrong about that.

When Carlo was 8 years old, his wife passed away, she had many health complications during her pregnancy, and shortly after Carlo was born, but she had gotten better, she was back to her former self. But one day she went to sleep and never woke up, the doctors said that she was never meant to be able to give birth in the first place, that her body couldn't handle everything anymore.

He was devastated, he lost the love of his life but he had to keep going for Carlo's sake. At that time Carlo was studying at Monad but he didn't stay inside the boarding school, he returned home each day, Geppetto did thought about making him stay full time but he decided against it, he didn't want to make Carlo feel as if he had abandoned him for his work.

Yet he ended up neglecting his son for his work anyway.

Carlo would come home by himself when school was done, Geppetto doesn't know what he was thinking back then, leaving such a young child by himself, Carlo could stay home alone without any issues and Geppetto had praised him for being self-reliable at such a young age, but Carlo was self-reliable because as his father he was never around for him.

His son's behavior did change, he began to act out, getting in trouble at school, Carlo had trouble making friends, his only friend was Sophia but her parents didn't allow Sophia to go out much, they were very overprotective of her, so Carlo didn't have anyone to hang out with.

Geppetto knew how much his son was struggling to make friends, how much his son was struggling having to be at home by himself all day, they would only see each other at night when he came back from work, having so little time to see each other and Geppetto still hasn't forgiven himself for starting to work also on the weekends by that time, he wants to say that it was all the pressure that had, that he had a big responsibility, he was and still is the leader of the Workshop Union, a public figure and back then people saw him as a savior of Krat from making this “nowhere city” an important place and maybe it truly was because of that his obsession with working grew but he would be lying to himself because another reason for it was that after his wife died, he wanted something to distract himself from the pain, it was easy to be consumed by his work, he loved and still loves his work, but he used it as an excuse to not be there for his son.

So Geppetto built Romeo, he built a friend for his son and it was surprising but Romeo awoke his Ego the same day was made, just after spending a few minutes with Carlo.

Carlo was so happy to finally have a friend and he was no longer alone, they were thick as thieves, and when he saw them play together, he saw that Carlo was truly happy. Romeo was special, in a way just like Pinocchio, he had what would be a prototype of the P organ just without the ability to absorb Ergo, so when Carlo grew, Geppetto built Romeo a new body and simply transferred the heart to that body. People called Romeo The King of Puppets even more so when Romeo began to have a passion for plays and Operas.

Romeo attended school with Carlo, Geppetto asked the school for permission to do so and they let him, plus Valentinus was a good friend and understood the situation.

Lots of people asked questions about how he built him of course, but just as Geppetto refuses to answer any questions about Pinocchio he refused to answer any that had anything to with Romeo, he made him just for Carlo but in the end, all those moments spent together… Geppetto looks back and sees how they were all a family, he wishes he could have told Romeo that he also saw him as a son, he deeply regrets not doing it.

When Venigni graduated and became an engineer, Geppetto was excited to work with him after all he had worked with his parents, although he had never seen Vengini while was growing up, specially after his parents died and speaking of their deaths, Vengni pulled him aside to talk about the matter, revealing the truth, that a puppet had been responsible all along, Geppetto was shocked and asked why he lied about it being a house robbery gone wrong, and Venigni confessed how he was afraid that they would take Pulcinella away from him, so he lied about it. It all made sense, he had no other relatives, yet he wasn't sent to the foster system so he was basically raised by Pulcinella, who has acted as his butler for many years but at this point they are family, and even if he wanted to tell the truth, the alchemists forced him not to reveal it, all in the name of continuing with their schemes.

Venigni begged him to make The Grand Covenant, a way for this to never happen again and so he did, once it was done it even gave the people of Krat more security about the puppets; Geppetto knows that Venigni tried to get the case of his parents murder re-opened but that his efforts were unsuccessful, Pinocchio did tell him that he killed that puppet and that he felt about it, he told his son to not feel bad about it but Pinocchio is too pure, he feels bad about most of the things he did to save Krat.

Geppetto made the 3 laws and he added Law 0 just in case, in case something went wrong and someone tried to take control over the puppets so that he could stop them from doing any harm, how ironic that the opposite of that happened.

He remembers when the first cases of the petrification disease started, how scary it all was, how fast it attacked the body, and how death was certain, how couldn't he remember? He was reading the newspaper late at night having just come from work it had been a very long day, he was exhausted from all that working when Carlo opened the door of the house, he was crying and he was angry, Romeo was standing just behind him and he was trying to avoid looking at him. At that moment it clicked, his graduation, he didn't attend his son's graduation.

“You don't care about me, you never have, you only care about your goddamn job!”

Carlo was 18 and after that, his son barely spoke to him, Romeo also barely spoke to him and like the idiot he was Geppetto buried himself even more in his work.

Two years later was when the epidemic started, the petrification disease was in full force, so many getting infected and the alchemists were trying to help everyone, although now Geppetto and everyone knows that all just all lie, that they were the ones behind it and Simon was using it for his plans. Not only did they use it for experiments but the Ergo of those who died was sent to them, as a way to “find a cure” It was all just to make Simon stronger.

Then Carlo got sick…and died.

As his father he stood next to him in that hospital, everyone had told him to stay from a distance, that he could get sick as well, that the sickness was a death sentence, but he didn’t care, he stood by Carlo’s side and back then he didn’t care if he die, he just wanted to be next to him. He always found it odd that he didn’t get sick, at the time people said that he just got lucky, but Geppetto never felt lucky, it should have been him and not Carlo.

“Father I’m sorry” Carlo was apologizing, he apologized because he felt like he wasn’t a good son when it was the opposite, he was a great son. Geppetto knows that he was just a bad father. He told Carlo to not apologize, that it was all his fault that their relationship wasn’t the best but that he has always loved him and will always love him.

As Carlo’s condition grew worse Geppetto felt as if he was in a living nightmare, he was powerless to do anything, he just watched as his son slowly died in front of him. How he lost his mobility, and how his son lost his sight, Carlo also lost his voice, a symptom that wasn’t common but it happened to him. He always held his son’s hand, and during those moments Carlo had always tears on his face, Geppetto would talk to his son, anything to try and make him feel better, to make Carlo forget even for just a moment the torture he was going through.

Eventually, Carlo became unconscious and the very next day his son died, he held him in his last moments, they had to remove him from his body but even then he would let go. At the morgue of the hospital, Geppetto paid off the staff and gave them even more money so they wouldn’t ask questions, in the end, he was allowed to leave with his son’s body.

He wasn't going to allow anyone to take his son's Ergo or take anyone his son away from him, he lost his mind, he would do anything to bring Carlo back, he tried to bring Carlo back but it wasn't enough Ergo, he needed more, he started to build Pinocchio, he made the P organ, he just needed a way to collect all that Ergo.

So he started the frenzy.

The first few “errors” and “glitches” began, and then the puppets began their attack, but almost as soon as they began to attack, they stopped, well they stopped obeying him, they still attacked others, although Geppetto knows now that they were attacking alchemist and their creations, but obviously all those puppets attacking like that caused chaos, people ran away and hid to find safety. The puppets didn't even last a day under his control.

That was all Romeo's doing, he was stopping him.

He still can't believe he wanted to blame Romeo for his own selfish actions.

“This isn't what he would have wanted” Romeo's words stung just as poison, he confronted him directly when Geppetto went outside the Hotel for that small moment, and he was right, he should have listened to him. Romeo wanted Carlo back as well, because their friendship developed into something more, they were more than just friends and who wouldn't want the one they loved the most to be brought back? But Romeo was stronger than him, he was strong because he didn't try to bring Carlo back like him, he had faced reality and he was trying to stop all of this.

“You don't have to do this” Romeo was looking directly at him, he had come out of the giant puppet he had been using as a shield, “Please… listen to me I… I always…”

Romeo always saw him as family, but Geppetto was too consumed by his own grief to listen to him, he just walked away from him, his mind was completely consumed with the idea of bringing Carlo back no matter what, he wanted, he needed to see him again. His mind would play over and over again when Carlo was sick when he passed away in his arms.

Geppetto looks at the piles of papers, one has a journal, but he can barely understand the notes he took, they are too messy, and his handwriting is different he could tell that he was shaking when he wrote this, and the notes are all over the place, incomprehensible at some points.

He barely remembers trying to bring him back, he remembers who Carlo had attacked him, but it was just because he was confused, Carlo wasn't in control of himself, he was in pain as he was not fully complete yet. But Carlo wanted to be at peace, he knew it and he only saw it when it was almost too late, the most painful thing he had ever done was crush that heart, but for that brief moment when Carlo's Ergo was in his hands, he could feel his emotions, he could feel that his son was finally at peace, that it was what he truly wanted.

Geppeto looks again at those notes, his notes about building Pinocchio, he also has gaps in his memory about building him, although his mind was somewhat clearer in that state, if you can even call it clear, Geppetto can see how delusional he was while reading his writings. Sometimes he still feels like he is insane, its a bad thing but he doesn't talk about the dark thoughts that consumed his mind at that time, he knows its not good to keep it all in yet he still does it, he also has nightmares about it, somedays he wakes up in the middle of the night completely filled with panic and dread.

But he keeps it all in because he doesn’t want to worry Pinocchio, he has to be strong for his son. Maybe he needs to write down his feelings just like his son does, Geppetto knows that he can't allow himself to be consumed by his dark thoughts again.

Shortly after Romeo confronted him, Geppetto ran into that alchemist with the Donkey Mask and then…

A loud crashing sound interrupted Geppetto's thoughts.

He ran out of the room to see what happened, while cleaning his bookshelf Pinocchio had lost his balance, he grabbed the bookshelf for support but it ended up falling on top of him.

“Son are you alright?!” He helped his son get back up, it was a big bookshelf so Geppetto was really worried.

“I'm fine,” his son said, clearly holding back tears.

Geppetto hugged him at first only gently but then he held his son tightly not wanting to let go.

“Father…?”

“It's nothing son I just…” Geppetto was the one holding back tears now, “I was just remembering a few things that's all”

Pinocchio knows that his father gets sentimental when looking back at the past and even if he can speak better about it sometimes he tends to remember the bad times. So he hugs his father back and they share that moment together, it should be a nice memory, something good for his father to remember.

It was getting late so they stopped their cleaning and both got ready for bed, but Pinocchio couldn't sleep well, he was worried about his father, so he stood up from his bed.

“Going to sleep with him tonight?” Gemini asked, although he already knew the answer, “You are a good boy Pinocchio, caring for your father like that”

Pinocchio smiled.

“Can I sleep in your bed while you are gone?”

“Sure, make yourself feel like a king,” Pinocchio said as he let out a small laugh, he wished Gemini goodnight and left his room.

He carefully entered his father's room without making noise, his father was already asleep and looked like he was too tired, Pinocchio slid himself into bed next to him, hopefully, his father would have a nice surprise in the morning.

—----

“Sir, these are the remaining documents you asked for”

“Good,” said the man to one of his subordinates, “You may leave now”

As the door was shut, some information was easy to get, some weren't, but all were essential to his plan, he needed to look back at the history of Krat or rather when the puppets first began to appear, he looked at all the data he has collected and begins to read through it, making himself an idea of everything that happened over the years.

After finishing, the alchemist began to wonder how the frenzy started, none of the other alchemists ever found out it was strange but it could be that it truly was someone within their group who didn't want to admit it, the frenzy didn't go in their favor, for some reason those puppets were stopping their plans but after some time they stopped their uncoordinated attacks and it made them easier for them continue their activities. He never really liked Simon, although to be fair no one liked Simon but his plans gave everyone so much data about the nature of Ergo and what you can do to push its limits.

The alchemist set the papers and quickly re-arranged them, putting them neatly in a folder, he hates disorder and he looked at his study, he just cleaned it yesterday but it was already filthy in his eyes, everything must always be set in place but unfortunately he will have to wait a few hours before cleaning again, he must continue this research no matter what and he has the perfect distraction, he just needs to use that puppet to cause a little chaos and the minds of everyone will completely forget about the alchemist's activities.

[zackastor]

ZACK ASTOR

Name: Zack Astor

Age: 50

Town Occupation: Council member; Head Hunter

Previous Occupation: Military/Brigadier General

Reside in: Run-down bungalow near the lake

Faceclaim: Jensen Ackles

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Male; He/Him

Orientation: He/Him

Family: Parents - deceased Jason Astor (older brother) - deceased Hunter Astor (older brother) - deceased Vivienne Lai Astor (ex-wife) - alive (@vivienneastor)

Relationship Status: Married (informally) to @fleetsummers

Residence: Cabin at the lake

How long have they been in Redwood?: Joined March 2042

Headcanons:

He owns a German Shepherd named Rex. Rex was part of a K9 unit working with the military to limit the outbreaks. Rex escaped the massacre that took out Zack’s unit and the two have traveled together ever since. Rex was almost killed by the enemy raiding group that took down the Wolves, but Zack managed to convince them that a former K9 could be useful, so they let him live. 

He enjoys swimming, which was one of the reasons he settled down near Becket Lake. If you go there early in the morning you can usually find him swimming a few rounds. 

Zack tried to reconnect with his family on several occasions, though their relationship never substantially improved. At some point in his military career, Zack seemed to give up on trying to prove himself to them. When the outbreak happened, he didn’t even reach out to them. They didn’t try to check up on him either. 

Zack has plenty of scars from his tours and can tell the story about how he got every single one of them. 

During his time in Redwood, Zack hoped to get a chance to destroy the Daybreakers. While he did with the Ranch, he knows the General is still out there, and Zack hopes to get a chance to kill him eventually.

Biography: (CW homophobia)

Zack’s life should’ve been an easy one. Born as the youngest of three to one of the wealthiest families in the US, his entire life seemed to have been planned out in advance. While the title of heir to the conglomerate of Astor-owned companies went to his oldest brother, it was assumed that Zack would be put into a similarly influential position. Except that things often aren’t quite as they seem. 

Zack grew up like his brothers, surrounded by wealth and everything he could ever ask for, as well as training and learning to live up to the expectations placed on every member of the Astor family. It quickly became apparent that Zack did not have the same aptitude for business as his siblings. Where his older brothers were talented, Zack found himself struggling. While he tried his best, his parents became more and more disappointed in the lackluster results, beginning to slowly give up on their youngest child. It only made Zack fight harder for their approval.

While Zack was being treated with a laissez-faire attitude by his family, he was still not free of the conventions coming from being part of a traditional old-money family. Zack was not sure when he realized that he was gay, but he knew that his family could never find out. They did, eventually, catching Zack with his then-boyfriend. The only thing that saved Zack from being disowned was the shame of his parents, who didn’t want to admit to their son’s sexuality. Instead of being thrown out, Zack was sent off to a conversion camp, and after his return, quickly and quietly signed up for the military in order to set him straight. 

Zack’s time in the military is a blur at times, but he quickly seemed to settle into his new lifestyle. Taking to training and fighting much more than business, Zack joined up with the Marines and was quickly deployed overseas. What he saw during his tours stayed with him, leaving him, in many ways, changed. But while the issues he dealt with due to his service were numerous, Zack was determined to make his way up the military ladder, continuing to reenlist whenever his contract was up. 

Zack’s life became a mix of deployments, returning home for short periods to parents who still couldn’t quite look at him the same, only to return to service as soon as he could. When the outbreak happened, he was a high-ranking official within the military. As the outbreak worsened and the military began being overwhelmed, Zack was quickly tasked with keeping some of the outbreaks under control. While he, and many others, tried to somehow upkeep order, soon enough the military seemed to break down as well. 

While Zack tried to maintain order until the very end, he realized that the world as he knew it was gone when his unit was overrun by walkers, killing almost every single member. Zack barely escaped with his life. After the massacre of his unit, Zack quickly began forming his own survivor group he called The Wolves. The Wolves were a somewhat nomadic group, usually settling down for a few months at a time, depleting resources before moving on again. 

As with many stories like this, The Wolves quickly fell victim to a hostile and violent raider group who called themselves Daybreakers. Led by the General, the Daybreakers laid waste to the Wolves, who consisted of capable fighters but were overwhelmed by the number and ability of their attackers. Most of the wolves were killed, the remaining few were taken as prisoners, tortured by the Daybreakers for entertainment.

After seven months, Zack managed to escape, bloodied and beaten, and made his way to the gates of Redwood where he was taken in. Though weren't easy-going from there. His time in Redwood involved some conflicts with the other residents, as well as spearheading the successful defense against the Daybreakers on the ranch. But since then, things have seemed to slowly settled down. Zack became a member of the Redwood council and settled down with Fleet at his cabin.

Though, things might not stay that way. Zack knows better than everyone that your 'normal' can be gone in just a few moments. He's gonna do his damndest to prevent that though. Whatever it takes.

[rodentgoth]

.X| “Answer Phone” - Ch.5 |X.

◄ Prev Chapter \Fic Playlist\Ship Playlist\ Next Chapter ►

thank you to my girlie @candy12110 for co-writing/editing with me for the rest of the story!

Long chapter is long, I also would like to thank my girlie Addi-Mation for proofreading, and being our inspiration for how we write Chixie!

Rating:: 13+ // Teen

Fandom:: Homestuck

Themes/Kinks:: None

The day had been great. Hanging out with Joey and Xefros was everything Chixie had wanted it to be. They tried a variety of snacks and treats from vendors, witnessed many terrible, albeit very short, mini-performances, and they even joined her during rehearsals. She was having a good time for once, that was until her palmhusk began to beep and vibrate. She got excited, hoping it was Red, and that they were okay, but of course, it was the indingdong.

She checked the message:

THECODAKKEFFECT:: Hello my bronzie-boo! Cridea’s still having them set up your room, but you’re more than welcome to stay with me til it’s ready! 

A shiver ran up her spine, this could not be happening. She stood there staring blankly at the text til Xefros put his hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, are you feeling sick again?” He said pulling out the snacks they had accumulated at various vendors.

“We have more snacks if you’re still hungry!” He put on his cheeriest smile trying to get her to relax. His friendly demeanor was enough to get her to snap out of it and even grin a bit.

“It’s just…They haven’t set up my room yet, and my “manager” is offering to let me stay in his room,” Chixie responded, setting her palmhusk on vibrate so she could pretend she never saw the message.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“You don’t know Zebruh-”

“Zebruh?! Your manager is Zebruh? Ugh, that’s gr- ahem I mean that’s gotta be tough,” Joey started but Xefros elbowed her. She corrected herself but Chixie could tell where that sentence was going and she agreed with it.

“He’s not really my manager but he’s too pushy and influential to say no to," 

"You know if you don’t wanna stay with him you can hang with us for the night?” She offered with the sweetest smile plastered on her face.

 “Oh- Y-you don’t have to-,” Chixie began but was swiftly interrupted by Joey.

“If you’re uncomfortable staying with him, you shouldn’t force yourself to,” She said, with a glint of concern in her eyes.

“Well…If it ain’t too much trouble for you. I’d appreciate it,” Chixie answered with a shy smile.

“No trouble at all,” Joey said and Xefros nodded in agreement. Joey hooked arms with of them, pulling them behind her down the street. 

They were passing a palmhusk repair station when she caught a flash of purple out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look and just barely caught sight of Marvus being handed back a palmhusk. Once again the tingling in the back of her thinkpan started up again. She still hasn’t heard from Red, and the “coincidental” ringing on the platform wasn’t helping, but that was impossible. What would a purpleblood need to impersonate a burgundyblood for? It was a waste of time to think about. She might as well focus on her new friends, rather than being paranoid and delusional that an extremely famous purpleblood is stalking her.

They continued walking till they came across an area outside the event. A lot of lowbloods couldn’t get hivetel rooms, so there were small campsites set up all over the event. Joey and Xefros led Chixie to a tent.

“This is where we’re staying. Do you have anything you need to get?”

“No. It can wait,” Chixie shook her head.

They decided to retire for the night, Chixie did have to meet with Cridea to discuss the changes in the schedule, due to them arriving so early. 

For the first time in a while, she went to bed happy instead of sad, scared, angry, or some combination of the three. She was surrounded by friends, in a safe space, and nothing loud or annoying in a 100-foot radius. Life was great.

**

“And that should be everything!” The chipper sea dweller said with a smile on her face.

Chixie was currently in a meeting with Cridea, doing her best to hide her nervousness. They had just discussed the schedule for her performance.

“N-not quite. I know we’re here a whole week earlier than we were supposed to be but when do you think we’ll have accommodations available?” Chixie asked as clearly and politely as she could.

“Oh! That totally needs to be addressed. Well…Because of the changes to the schedule, we’ll need at least another day to find the space to accommodate everyone. By tomorrow night rooms will be available for everyone!” Cridea explained. Chixie felt angry, but also kind of relieved. Sure she still didn’t have a room, which sucked, but at least she still had friends she could stay with in the meantime.

"O-okay. Thank you.”

They ended the meeting, leaving Chixie with a mountain of papers that was the revised schedule. She headed back to the campsite, doing her best to keep all the papers in order.

“Hey, guys! My room will be ready tomorrow and I’ll be free from Zebruh!” She cheered as she met up with Joey and Xefros. She’d agreed to meet them back at the tent with news of how everything went.

The three of them cheered and giggled. To celebrate, she decided to bring them to her dressing room to get an actual opinion on things.

They went through all her outfits, trying to decide which would be the best one to wear, and checking all her equipment. During the fun, she noticed the worry painted on Joey’s face.

“Are you sure you wanna go through with all this?” Xefros and Chixie looked back in confusion.

“What do you me-”

“Your protest, are you sure you wanna go through with it?” A heavy silence filled the room, before being broken by the bronzeblood.

“I have to go through with it…If I don’t I’ll be stuck with Zebruh forever. Even if I get culled, at least I’ll go out with a bang.” she gave a nervous chuckle, that did nothing to hide the fear in her voice. Joey walked over to her and grabbed both her hands.

“We won’t stop you if you think it’s the right thing to do…but please be careful.”

Chixie felt weird, someone showing concern for her was an alien experience. She wasn’t opposed to it. If the protest went well, she hoped it would make people show concern not just for her, but for all lowbloods.

She decided to go on stage to practice her dancing and footing, and Joey decided to join her. The two had fun, just going with the flow. It was all good until Chixie bumped into a troll standing behind her. She looked up to see the face of a very tall, and very displeased, indigo blood.

She immediately backed away and apologized. The indigo didn’t respond; he simply turned around and took the hand of another troll, helping them on the stage. It was a female clown, that Chixie could only assume was a purpleblood.

“We reserved this stage for Miss Dviyr’s rehearsal. So beat it!” He shoved both of them off the stage landing on the hard concrete of the venue. Xefros rushed from behind the curtain to help them.

“Are you guys okay!?” He asked as he gently helped them both up.

“I’m fine,” Joey responded by rubbing her arm to soothe it.

He looked over at Chixie, only to see her walking away, tears streaming down the corners of her face. Joey was tempted to go after and comfort her, but the burgundyblood stopped her.

“Give her some time…”

“But…”

He shook his head at her before speaking, “Trolls don’t like showing their emotions to people not in their quadrants, Joey. You could end up making it worse. Give her a chance to calm down.”

Joey sighed and just watched her wander off.

Chixie found herself back in her dressing room, still crying. She looked at herself in the mirror and began to wonder if any of this would be worth it. What was the point of doing something this grand, if it wouldn’t change anything? Her thoughts turned more and more nihilistic. 

Maybe coming here was a bad idea. 

Eventually, she calmed down a bit. She didn’t want to leave Xefros and Joey waiting on her. She left her dressing room, walking down the narrow hallway to the exit. The dressing rooms, like the train, and everything else on Alternia, were split by caste, Highblood rooms were closer to the entrance and stage. While lowblood rooms were further back. Chixie always got nervous walking through the highblood section. Lowbloods were allowed to walk through these sections, for the sake of making getting on and off stage easier. But, she still got a sick feeling in her gut when passed through them. She tried to keep her mind clear but was interrupted by the sound of voices. Looking over, she saw that one of the room doors was slightly open. She read the name, on the door plate. It was Marvus’s. She started to quicken her pace trying to get out of there without being noticed. But she heard something that made her stop in her tracks.

“When are you gonna quit playin’ with this bronzie?”

Her whole body froze the minute the words hit her, and her mind started to wander. Who were they talking about? What were they planning? The most daunting question on her mind was, Was she the bronzie in question? 

She carefully peaked in to see Marvus and a few other purebloods. A tall one with hair as messy as his, her pants and shoes were covered in blood, a dazed young troll with a mask on, and one troll, who appeared to be a runt. She did her best to remain undetected.

“Can you stay out of my conversations? You don’t see me quizzing you on the little indigoblood you’re sweet on, Chahut,” He said, sounding uncharacteristically agitated. 

“No, She’s clearly not that into you. She runs from you every time she sees you!”

“We vibe. Mind your own damn business. Look, she was clearly blowing up my line yesterday.” He held up his palmhusk to prove a point. Chixie’s eyes moved from Chahut to Marvu’s phone, she could vividly make out what looked like her and Red’s profile pictures.

Her fear was further validated when Marvus turned back to his palmhusk. He was clearly focused on coming up with a response. She took out her own and watched as the typing bubbles came up, proving it was indeed him she had been talking to.

“No, she was talking to the rusty you were pretendin’ to be. At least Amisia actually likes me! She doesn’t give a damn about you-” Chahut responded, rolling her eyes at his smugness.

“My relationship with her is none of your business.”

“Stop pretendin’ there’s some relationship there. It’s creepy. I’m starting to feel bad for the bronzie, with a stalker like you sticking to her.”

“I’m not a stalker. I’m gonna come clean eventually. Just not now. Maybe when I can get her a little more comfortable with the idea-”

“Of what? Getting pailed by a highblood? With that fame chaser clinging to her, I’m sure that’s all that she’s used to,” Chahut snickered and the other purplebloods laughed with her. Though the tiniest one made more of a confused honk sound rather than laughed.

“Fuck off. I’m not just interested in pailing her. I like her music too.” Marvus sneered at her. The other clowns roared in laughter again while Chahut gave him a disgusted look.

By the time he finished his sentence, she was already back in her dressing room panicking. Only seconds later her palmhusk went off and she received a series of messages from ‘Red’.

R3dSplatter:: Hey, sorry. I’m fine. My palmhusk got wrecked on the train. I only just got it fixed. R3dSplatter:: Were you worried? Sorry if you were. I’ve been with my matesprit waiting for it to get fixed.  R3dSplatter:: Is everything okay with you? I hope you didn’t get hurt or anything. R3dSplatter:: Seems like you’re busy. Message me when you’re free. I can’t wait to hear about how jeevik week has been for you so far.

She had to steel her nerves as she got out her palmhusk and read the messages. Her hands shook as she then messaged Joey and Xefros.

Chixie:: Guys…I think I’m gonna leave.  Dammarchy:: What’s wrong? Is it about what happened before? I’m sorry those jerks cut into your rehearsal but that’s no reason to just leave. Chixie:: No, it’s not that. I just found something out and it’s really messing me up. Dammarchy:: Chixie calm down! Where are you? We’ll come to you. Chixie:: it’s fine I don’t need you guys to deal with this. Just have fun, okay? Dammarchy:: We are coming to help. We’re your friends, we wanna help you. Just tell us where you are. Chixie:: I’m in my dressing room. I’m in the middle of packing up.

A knock on her door spooked her a bit. She went to open it, she felt her frown grow more and more. Zebruh in all his annoyingness was standing in front of her. 

“Hello darling,” He barged in past her, seemingly oblivious to how upset she was.

“How’s my favorite superstar feeling?” 

“I’m leaving.” She responded bluntly going back to putting her costumes in her bag. 

“What do you mean leaving? You can’t leave! Do you know the strings I had to pull just to get you in here?!”

“I know and I’m so sorry, I’m grateful but I can’t do this. I have to leave. If I don’t I’m going to end up doing something we’ll both regret and ruining both of our careers.”

“No, hey, listen to me, babygirl. Just talk to me. What could possibly be so bad that you need to leave and potentially ruin any cred I have with violetbloods? Why don’t you just tell me what happened and I’ll handle whatever asshole made you feel the need to run?”

"Oh really? So you’re gonna fight an indigoblood for me? What about a purpleblood? I just got booted out of my practice session by one of each. So you’re gonna handle that for me?” she responded, far more agitated than she was trying to come across.

“Well I-”

“Oh you can’t? Then sorry I gotta go,” she crankily waved him away. He grabbed her arms and turned her around to face him. She could clearly tell he was getting frustrated as well by the tight grip on her arm and the stiffness in his jaw. The vibrant blue in his outfit is what knocked some sense into her. She almost forgot who she was dealing with. She should never have let her real feelings show in front of him.

“Do we wanna try that again?” The 'while I’m still being nice’ was left unsaid but clearly resonated in her mind.

“I’m sorry. I’m just stressed and I’m panicking. I didn’t mean to take it out on-” She was interrupted mid-apology by the sound of Xefros and Joey opening her dressing room door. They both froze for a moment at the sight in front of them, and Xefros immediately grabbed Joey and covered her mouth. The girl was ready to lunge at the Indigoblood for grabbing her friend like that.

“Do you mind explaining what’s going on here?” Xefros asked.

“It’s nothing,” Zebruh’s grip loosened a bit but he was still holding onto her.

“Chixie just has a bit of stage fright and needed a little pep talk to help her perform,” Zebruh explained with a fake smile.

Joey lunged out of Xefros arm’s, forcing herself out of his grip.

“Really? Cause to me it looks like she’s trying to leave and you’re trying to force her to stay!” She screeched out.

“Excuse me?! Chixie can speak for herself” He all but dragged her in front of him, waiting for her to defend and excuse his behavior. She briefly looked back at him and huffed. 

"I’m fine guys. Just give me a bit and I’ll let you know when you can come in.”

Joey was about to go off when Xefros stopped her and dragged her into the hallway, Zebruh closing the door behind them.

“There’s no way he’s giving her a pep talk in there! He’s just being the same skeevy creep he was before!” Joey ranted, taking no notice of the clown leaving his dressing room far down the hall.

“I know but what can we do if Chixie doesn’t want our help, and what could we do even if she did?” Xefros responded. The figure that was ambling through the stretch of doors stopped at the mention of Bronzeblood’s name. He was just far enough that neither of them noticed his presence and yet he could still hear every word.

“Zebruh is such a creep! And a jerk! I don’t like this! I don’t like leaving her alone with him.”

“We’re not leaving her alone with him. We’re right here. If he tries anything we can hear it all and get back in to help her.”

“I know, but it doesn’t feel good. We should’ve followed her. At least if we did she wouldn’t have been alone, he wouldn’t be able to corner her, and she probably wouldn’t want to leave.”

“But who’s to say that even if we were there she wouldn’t want to leave? She said she just found out something and that’s what’s messing with her. She would’ve left regardless of whether we were there or not. Plus it might’ve made things much worse if she felt embarrassed in front of us. We are not in her quadrants Joey.”

“But maybe if we were there we could’ve said or done something to make it better. I don’t know. She’s just so sweet and talented. I don’t want to see her being taken advantage of like this.”

“I’m sorry Joey but that’s the reality of being a lowblood. No way around it. She was 'lucky’ enough to have someone to protect her. Most of us don’t.”

The door opened behind them and the clown eavesdropping on their conversation made his exit. Zebruh came out of the room, clearly still upset but also calm. He walked out, not saying a word or even acknowledging them. They both immediately rushed back in to see Chixie frantically packing her things.

“Are you okay?!” Joey asked, her face filled with equal parts concern and rage.

“Yeah…” She packed the last of her things, the frown on her face still very much present.

“Chixie, please tell us what’s going on,” Joey begged, careful not to touch her and remind her of Zebruh.

She silently pulled out her palmhusk and explained.

“Marvus, That big clown guy, made a fake burgundy account to talk to me.”

She scrolled through the DMs.

“He was trying to warm up to me for…some reason, I didn’t stick around to find out.”

Joey looked at her shocked,

“That…That doesn’t sound like Marvus. Are you sure it was him?”

“I heard him and some other clowns talking about it. Plus I saw my dms to the burgundy account on his palmhusk! They do shit like this all the time,” Chixie sounded as defeated as ever, as she put the device away.

“B-but but, He was so nice to us-” Xefros sent her a look to stop talking but Chixie cut her off first.

“Look,” She began staring directly into Joey’s eyes.

“I know you have this naive trust in him, I used to be like that too. I used to think that maybe if I acted right the trolls above me would approve of me. But that’s not how things work here.” 

Her voice was starting to crack slightly as tears formed in the corners of her viewglobes.

“All of us are fools in their game, their prey…” She said wiping the tears from her face.

“Joey, maybe Marvus isn’t who you think he is. This is absolutely something a clown would do.” 

"But he-”

“Joey! Remember that little murder game on the train and the trial? He’s caused us and others trouble more than once! Just because he was nice once doesn’t erase what he made us do.”

“I know. You’re right he’s probably not who I thought he was. But why does that mean she has to go? Why can’t she just block him and move on?”

“It’s not a good thing being on a clown’s radar. Her blocking him could make him as unbearable as Zebruh. Who knows what he’d do if she ever crossed him in person.”

“Well…if you think this is the right thing to do, we’ll help you. Xefros you get her bags I’ll block her if Zebruh comes. Meet us at the train station so if he sees either of us separate he won’t realize anything. Let’s go Chixie, we’ll leave first.”

The burgundy grabbed the bag, while Joey took Chixie’s hand.

“Do you want to tell Cridea or just leave?”

“Just leave,” she replied without hesitation.

“If we tell Cridea, she’ll tell him…I’ll text her when I get on the train. ”

“If that’s what you want, let’s go then.”

They put their plan into action. Chixie and Joey took the back exit, while Xefros took the front. Avoiding a creepy indingdong was surprisingly easy. Apparently, Marvus coincidentally decided to do an early meet and greet near the hivetel. Every troll from Burgundies to Pinks were crowding near the building, leaving the streets open and weirdly quiet. Knowing what she knows now she’s sure everything has been on purpose. Marvus watching her on the platform, him being outside her dressing room, probably checking to see if she was still alive after the train sped up, and now he was 'coincidentally’ doing an event that’d keep Zebruh away from her. She was so done with stalkerish highbloods. She just wanted to be left alone.

Joey still kept an eye out at all times just to make sure they didn’t run into any unwanted pests. It wasn’t long before Chixie arrived at the station with Joey and finally got her bags from Xefros. In comparison to before the station was noticeably emptier. No one else was leaving before Jeevik week even started. Luckily the train was still running, and the last one for the day was about to show up.

The two each gave Chixie a hug upset to lose the new friend they made. Chixie was devastated as well. She had been looking forward to spending the next two weeks hanging out with them and getting to know them.

“Be safe okay?” Xefros said.

“I will. I’ll send you guys a message when I reach my hive." 

"Text us if you need anything we’ll keep an eye out on Marvus for you,” Joey pouted, stopping herself from trying to change her mind. She was enjoying her time with Chixie and was sad this could be the last time she’d see her once she found her way home. But at the same time, she was happy that she helped her friend escape her crappy situation. 

She hopped on the train waving goodbye. When her friends were out of view she sat down. 

She pulled out her palmhusk, glancing at the messages she got. Even if this was all fake, she was happy to have had a real fan for a while. She blocked the account but still kept the messages. Just in case she needed a confidence boost. 

[jazzandotherthings2]

I. Welcome To Chicago

You’re slow, Kathrine says, though she’s not really saying it, switching between the snare, the ride cymbal, and the toms faster than anyone else I’ve ever played with. I reply by speeding up, running down chromatic runs, landing on the flat seven, then the fifth, then the tonic as the form draws to its end. It’s like the adrenaline in my veins finally reaches my head as I find a resolution with the last measure. Damn, I love soloing. 

When I glance over my shoulder, Kathrine offers me a smile from behind the drums. Sam, the bassist, tilts their head to the side for a moment. It means go again. I don’t really have time to prepare, but Alex, the pianist, covers me. He’s a great musician, but I can’t talk with him through music like Kathrine can. We go back and forth through the form again, responding to each other’s thoughts. It’s a conversation that transcends words. When we reach the top of the head, I am hearing Sam, pushing us along, ready to pick up a different song.

As Alex closes the song, Sam whispers to the stage, “Yardbird?” 

I nod, ready to play it. ‘Yardbird Suite’ is one of my favorites. Charlie Parker, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time wrote it. His nickname, Yardbird, or just  Bird if you’re short on time, comes up again and again. Parker wrote a lot of my favorite bebop tunes. His songs are good for using chromatic lines over the changes. Coming in with the band is probably one of the most powerful feelings in the world.

Performing is probably one of the best things in the world. This is how I was meant to spend my life. It’s funny. While I usually have at least a vague idea for something before I start soloing, I can never remember what I did after. It’s probably the adrenaline. 

When we’re on our mid-set break, about halfway through the night, Alex asks, “So what were you doing with that one on the last song?”

“What?” I ask. My eyes catch on Kathrine. “Hey-” She takes a swig of her drink before looking at me. “You changed your hair.”

She smirks. “Yeah.” It’s in cornrows, dyed blue at the end. “What else is new?”

Uhh, no clue. I look her up and down. Wait, she’s wearing heels. I will never understand how one works footpedals in heels. Well, it’s probably a learned skill, but, damn. Has she ever done this before? “You’re wearing heels?”

“Two for two,” she says. “Yet somehow you’re still single.”

“You’re, like, twelve, your insults mean nothing to me.” She’s twenty four, but same difference.

Kathrine laughs and finishes her drink. “I’ll still throw you for a loop tonight.” It’s a game we play. We try to find ways to get each other tripped up, just because it’s funny to try and recover.

The rest of the set goes well. Kathrine does not manage to trip me up.

After the set, Alex elbows me. “What are you doing after this?” He asks.

“I’m heading to Charlie’s,” I reply. “You?”

“I was going to go home and sleep,” he says, wrinkling his nose. “Like a normal person.”

I shrug. “Gotta pay rent.”

“When’s your next day off?”

“Wednesday, I think.”

“Do you want to meet up?”

“Sure,” I say, undoing the top button of my shirt. “Sam, is everything loaded?” They nod and flash a thumbs up.

“What, like you were going to help,” Kathrine scoffs. 

“How’d that feel for you?” Sam asks, leaning against the passenger-side door of the car. 

It’s pretty normal for our Monday night gig. We got there, we played, and then we left. 

Wait, shit, it’s Tuesday. That means I’m teaching lessons this afternoon. Well, next afternoon. Tomorrow. Time is weird when you work nights. 

Guitar and amp in hand, I catch the subway to Charlie’s Luthier Shop. It’s technically called Charlie’s Guitar Repair and Shop, but the stickers in the door just say Guitars. I walk right past that glass door, down the narrow alley beside it, and into the even narrower walkway to the workshop. The key clicks into the lock, and the familiar scent of wood and epoxy fills my nose. My guitar and amp go on the bench by the door, and I change out of nice clothes before clocking in. The first thing I do is sweep. I spend the full night doing odd tasks around the shop. That’s one good thing about working nights: I get to be left alone.

When I’m measuring wood for guitars, that’s the only thing in my mind. Time becomes a liquid, falling on the roof outside and catching in the gutters, pooling in puddles around my mind. When I’m too tired to use cutting tools, I switch to cleaning the shop. For a moment, I’m not an adult working late at night, I’m fourteen, mopping the shop floor over and over and over again.

“Evan?” Charlie’s deep voice comes from the door, and I jump, dropping the mop. “You’re here early. Or, well, late for you.” 

Shit, what time is it? I check my phone: 6:30. Damn. 

“What time did you get in last night?”

The restaurant we gigged at last night closed at 10:30, right? “Eleven I think.”

“And you’re teaching lessons today, yeah?” I nod. “Go get some sleep. I’ll see you later.”

“Thank you, sir.” I put away the cleaning supplies. 

My phone buzzes at seven, as I walk the too-bright streets to the train station.

Good Morning, Alona Peshlakai says, and I’m already smiling. Are you awake?

One handed, guitar over my shoulder and amp in my other hand, I reply: Yeah.

Early Morning or late night?

Late night

Do you want coffee? 

Yes. Always yes. When do I not want coffee? When do I not want her attention? It takes a moment to type a reply.

In case you’re wondering: the gig economy is absolutely fucked over. Working as a luthier and a lessons teacher is a little bit more stable, and, when I need to, I can always find work as a video editor online. That’s actually how I met Alona. She hired me to edit a video for her work.

Alona Peshlakai is probably the most fascinating person I’ve ever met. She has two PhDs and a master’s degree, she’s the best whittler I know, and she prefers candies to chocolate. (Her favorite is Sour Gummy Worms.) 

I sit at a table by the window as I wait for her. By my position, I see her before she sees me. She’s wearing jeans and sneakers that squeak when she moves from the still-wet sidewalk to the concrete floor of the coffee shop. 

“Hey,” she says, smiling and putting her backpack by the table.

“Hi!” The grin on my face is impossible to hide. “How are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good. I’m gonna order and then come right back.” She does, and I like the dimples that form in her cheeks as she smiles at me. 

“What’s your day supposed to look like?”

“Well, I’m heading into the lab today, where I need to check in on some experiments, and help some PhD kids set up theirs. I have a meeting with the lab board after lunch, and then a few more meetings with some of the students I’m advising, but mostly after lunch.”

“You advise students?”

“Well, I’m going to start today.” She sips her coffee. “How long have you been up for?”

My phone reads 7:17. “Well, I woke up at about eleven yesterday, I had a gig at an office opening party, and then I went to the restaurant we gig at on Mondays, and then I went to the luthier shop and did work there until I came here to see you.”

“So it’s a twenty hour day for you?”

I hadn’t done that math. Another sip of warm coffee. “I’m fine. It’s a good day for this, too.”

“Did you hear much of the rain?” I nod. “Yeah, it turns out I left my window open last night.”

“So how long are you in town for?”

“Maybe a week? I don’t know. My sister wants me to get home soon. She’s having another baby and she wants me in town for it.” Alona lives in Arizona most of the time, with her family, about one thousand five hundred miles away, and a four hour flight to Phoenix followed by a four hour drive to the no-name town she lives in. “When do you need to get home?”

I shrug. “I have all the time in the world.”

Alona smiles. “So what’s in store for you today?”

“Well, I’m going to go home, sleep, and then teach lessons later, and then I’ve got a gig at a jazz club tonight, and then I’ve got the day off tomorrow, so-” I shrug again, trailing off.

“Nice.” Her smile is almost aggressively pleasant. “I hope it’s a good day, then.”

“Maybe I’ll see you.”

“I hope so.”

That night, during my gig, I’m playing with people who love jazz. The people I play with are complete strangers who don’t even know my name. Everyone in the room is eager for the next note, all the players anticipating me as I solo, me anticipating theirs. It’s loud here, but the music is meant to be heard here, too.

When I get home, I collapse into bed. As I lay there, pretending to sleep, I scroll through my phone. Tomorrow is my day off, and I was planning to meet up with Alex. And Alona. And I need to clean my stove. And I haven’t posted a video in months, I should do that. So much for a day off. When I breathe in, and my lungs expand, it makes my head feel better. At least I don’t need to set an alarm tomorrow.

[crabcrabcrabmeat]

ten films i love, tagged by @javert

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (1988) Utterly obvious to die girlies auf tumblr but don’t worry, it’s the only franchise gatekeepy one. God tier animation, OST that gives me heart palpitations, plot symbolically rich in a way that draws me back. Absurdly ambitious and largely pulls it off. Insane. Phantom of the Paradise (1974) I’m a sucker for leitmotifs being re-contextualized and this movie is exactly that. I think a lotta people are put off by musicals because they expect Glee shit, so a horror rock opera that plays w genres is a style that slaps. In fact, it’s style over substance to the point that while the character Beef was made with homophobic intent(?), he makes for killer camp. So influential it buried its own grave deeper, but when my drag career continues proper I WILL have it step out of RHPS’s shadow. Magnetic Rose (1995) This one’s arguably cheating, it’s a short film within a theatrical omnibus and the only one of the trio I rewatch, lol. Better experienced than described, but iirc it’s the first screenplay credit of Satoshi Kon and his style benefits the conceit greatly. The space physics are top tier too. Bound (1996) Genre fiction that fucks. Akira (1988) After watching this for the first time, I wore a rip of it on a USB necklace for like a good month, lol. If you’ve seen so many homages and #aesthetic gifs that its memetically weakened, the manga will be a better vehicle for experiencing the actual plot and themes. (Kaneda isn’t a cool protag! He’s not even in it for a full volume!) But I fortunately got to go into it w next to no preconceptions. Tampopo (1985) One of those art-house pics that’s fun to general audiences. I wouldn’t watch it with young kids or new friends tho given the prawn scene, lmao. The Terminal (2004) Not a masterpiece by anyone’s standards, but it was my fav for years as a child and I’ve been told “thats so you” or “that explains so much” lmao. I still do love seeing how peoples values and coping mechanisms materially shape their world, so, fair! As an adult, i think Tucci’s character holds up the best, his tone is comedically sound while being realistically mundane for an american authoritarian, lol. Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) A breath of fresh air in style and substance. It’s like a vaccine against MCU sludge. God I need to watch more new wave. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) Again, former obsessions here, not necessarily top quality. The first vignette is the only one that sticks with me, but boy does it! Gold standard for any fanfiction or diagetic media criticism. Mikey and Nicky (1976) Ough. Love me a good tragedy. This one manages to hit so hard it even overcomes Peter Falk being styled (‘styled’) like Columbo—italian accent and all— while playing a jewish gangster lol.) You know that post about how the more serious and well made a story is, the more likely its fandom makes unhinged memes? That’s me every time I make a “full of milk” joke abt this movie or realize it’s fundamentally changed my experience of taking antacids.

Anyways please note that i’ve structured this list so that the first and last entries form a niche parallel. That is to say, a personal fav scene in both Mikey & Nicky and CCA is where the lead guys fistfight and tumble onto the ground in a blur of violence-as-latent-homoeroticism. (George lucas voice): it’s like poetry, it rhymes.

I'm too shy to tag others but mutuals I Am Pressuring U lovingly. U don’t have to write as much as i did tho lol.

[sa7abnews]

Five Takeaways From Haniyeh’s Killing

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/07/31/five-takeaways-from-haniyehs-killing/

Five Takeaways From Haniyeh’s Killing

Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a predawn airstrike in Tehran last night. The 62-year-old was not just another senior member of Hamas. He was the head of its political wing since 2017, a key member who initiated and orchestrated most of its strategic moves, and its worldwide representative. If Hamas’ leadership were a deck of cards, Haniyeh was the ace of spades. Iran and Hamas have blamed Tel Aviv and the U.S. for the killing, despite silence from the former and denial from the latter. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

There are a number of implications that can already be gleaned from Haniyeh’s death. Here are the top five.

1. This is a message to the Iranian leadership. The targeted killing of Haniyeh serves as a demonstration of capabilities and power in the heart of Tehran as a new President began his tenure there. The message is clear: continuing to fund, sponsor, and support proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, or Yemen’s Houthis could lead to a direct response to the head of the octopus itself. If Haniyeh was eliminated in Tehran, anybody could be eliminated in Tehran.

2. A full-scale war with Lebanon is less likely, not more. Haniyeh’s death occurred only hours after Israel carried out a strike in the Dahieh quarter in Beirut and killed Fuad Shukr, who was directly responsible for the death of 12 Druze children on Saturday in Majdal Shams. Their death did not happen in a vacuum. Since joining the war in October, Hezbollah has fired at Israel thousands of times, and Israel has returned fire. The deaths of Haniyeh and Shukr, in the span of a few hours, send a sharp message to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that enough is enough. While no one can fully predict how Nasrallah may respond—he promptly declared that Haniyeh’s death would “increase the resistance”—Nasrallah is known for being highly calculated. This new equation may not ultimately prevent a full-scale war, but it could make Nasrallah more cautious about Hezbollah’s military posture.

Read More: The Coming Israel-Hezbollah War

More from TIME

3. This is part of the Israeli healing process. The Israeli sentiment regards Hamas’ leadership just like it did with the Black September militants who carried out the Munich massacre in the 1972 Olympic games. Back then, killing Ali Hassan Salameh—the organization’s operations chief, known as the “Red Prince”—was essential for retaliatory purposes. Even more so, it was necessary for social healing. Similarly, here, Haniyeh is one of the symbols behind the biggest tragedy for Jews since the Holocaust. His death is a message for the victims and fallen soldiers’ families that the killing of innocent Jews, like in the 1930s and 1940s Europe, won’t go without punishment.

4. Yahya Sinwar is isolated. It’s been barely three weeks, and the world has forgotten the attempt on the airstrike targeting Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing, in Khan Yunis. In the event Deif did not survive, Sinwar, the architect of Oct. 7, would be the only senior Hamas leader standing (alongside Khaled Mashal). On the one hand, this means more power and responsibilities to the man who is already Hamas’ most influential person. Conversely, one man can handle only so much alone, especially while hiding underground. The direct implication here is that Hamas’ “management” will be harmed, both inside (militarily) and outside (politically) the Gaza Strip.

5. More uncertainty over a hostage deal. If there’s one topic Sinwar’s isolation could affect the most, it’s this. And it’s not just another topic. The 115 remaining hostages represent a national trauma in Israel. Their release isn’t vital just for their own sake but for the continuation of the Israeli ethos, according to which no one is left behind. In the short run, Sinwar will likely refuse to engage in any deal to avoid “rewarding” Israel following Haniyeh’s death. Such a decision will also grant him a time window for a potential response from Iran or its proxies, which aligns with Sinwar’s aspiration for a full-scale regional war. In the longer run, however, this may increase the likelihood of a hostage deal, as Sinwar might seek to avoid a fate similar to Haniyeh’s. The problem is the hostages don’t have time. Conditions in captivity are horrendous and former hostages have recounted physical and sexual abuse. Finding the right formula to engage in a deal without altogether forfeiting its military interests will be an Israeli challenge.

Like every significant targeted killing in the Middle East, the implications go far beyond the specific target. Haniyeh’s case provides a profound example. This doesn’t mean the war ended—far from it. But it means new conditions have been set that will impact us all.

[oscarupsets]

1963 is known in my research as one of the few years with a weak nominee pool. Therefore, it makes sense why an obscure, sex-filled satire comedy like Tom Jones would somehow emerge as the Best Picture.

The remaining nominees were three bloated epics - America America, How the West Was Won, and Cleopatra - and Sidney Poitier's Lillies of the Field.

None of my critics could agree on an Upset. However, the vast majority of the (non-critic) internet seemed to favor 8 1/2, the Italian, Foreign Film Oscar winner. I figured I'd give it a shot.

Current reviews are still mixed on Tom Jones, with some finding it hilarious while others finding it crass. I will admit, I did enjoy it. I still remember it vividly, even though it was several years ago. Especially the overly long scene of Tom and a woman eating seductively!

But overall, the plot is pretty thin. Tom Jones is the illegitimate son of his adoptive father's maid, and he gets into trouble. He's a quirky dude. The filming style is equally as weird, with lots of interesting shots, narration, and staring into the camera.

8 1/2 was equally as weird, but at least I was prepared for it. An avant-garde, surrealist film boasted as one of the "greatest and most influential of all time", 8 1/2 was definitely interesting.

First and foremost, the dialogue shocked me. Apparently (I'm just reading the Wikipedia) it was common for Italian films of this time to completely dub in the dialogue during post-production. So not only am I reading the English subtitles, but the Italian is not even matching the mouths of the actors. It is really jarring and difficult to watch.

The film is interesting because it is described as (Wiki again) "a film about making a film, and the film that is being made is the film that the audience is viewing". This is entirely true, and makes for an intriguing watch. Struggles that Guido is having with his film and its characters directly parallel with his own life, all which are supposed to be parallel to Fellini himself.

At the 36th Academy Awards, Tom Jones had a record-tying 5 acting losses, but still managed 4 wins from 10 nominations. 8 1/2 joins a short list of foreign language films to earn Oscars outside of foreign/international film. Writer/Director Federico Fellini also holds a (tied) record for most International Film wins, with 4.

Tom Jones won top awards from most of the major organizations, while 8 1/2 mainly succeeded at the Italian Nastro d'Argento awards.

Tom Jones was recognized as the Best Film of 1963, which amazes me. 8 1/2 was recognized by OFTA in 2004. Other than that, these two films are not heavily decorated.

The National Film Registry does include several of the nominees from 1963, including America America, Lillies of the Field, and Hud (another fan-favorite). Hud is also included on the OFTA list. No films from 1963 appear on the AFI list at all.

Unofficial Review: Both films are fine? I wouldn't call either groundbreaking. I'm kind of disappointed by 1963. Down the line, I should probably watch Hud.

[dzthenerd490]

GoI: Neo Umbrella

Description: Neo Umbrella is a powerful crime syndicate that rose to power in 2012 but is believed to be slightly older. Though the Foundation actually knew of its existence back in 2000 thanks to the incident involving SCP-AAZ. Though regardless nothing could have prepared the Foundation for how dangerous and powerful the organization is. 

Neo Umbrella is comprised of Neo-Sarkites, Proto-Sarkites, Deserter Mekhanites, Rouge Scientists, Bio Terrorists, International Terrorists, Mercenaries, old employees of TRICELL and old employees of the Umbrella Corporation. They are a crime organization that continues the secret goals of the original Umbrella and TRICELL, that being making and selling Weaponized Viral Anomalies or WVA's for short. However, unlike the previous organizations they don't hide behind pharmaceutical companies. Though they are mostly within the veil of the anomalous world, they are upfront with their goals of using WVA's as weapons and product. 

Organization: Neo Umbrella seems to still function like a company despite not legally being one. The structure is not well known though the Foundation is aware of a top brass within the organization known as "The Board". The board seems to be act as a Counter to the Foundation's O5 Council and consists of an unknown number of members. Other than the Board there are the common researchers that work to create the WVA's, the anomalies and Mercenaries that act as soldiers for Neo Umbrella, and the sellers who have built a vast web of connections.

The Foundation is only able to confirm a few members to exist within Neo Umbrella though Foundation staff reading this should be aware that most are dead and those that are not can't be officially confirmed. 

The Red Queen - An Artificial Intelligence confirmed to have been active during Umbrella's time as a company and has been referenced by SCP-AAZ-2: 2000. One of two A.I. to exist within Umbrella the other being the White Queen which has yet to be found by the Foundation. 

Albert Wesker - Was supposed to be the founder of Neo Umbrella after he planned to betray TRICELL. Thankfully GOC agent Chris Redfield took him down by making sure he drowned within the lava of a volcano. He was born thanks to a project made by Umbrella's founder Oswald Spencer to create genetically altered kids that would be talented on all aspects. He also wanted these kids adopted by highly influential people so Umbrella would have inside influence. Instead, they were mostly adopted by families within the GOC and raised as researchers and soldiers within the organization. 

The projected failed with the GOC later killing most of them due to some developing insanity and others revealing their manipulative nature too quickly. Albert Wesker was one of the key survivors and got back with Umbrella to become a member of S.T.A.R.S. at Raccoon City, the location of umbrella's headquarters. He however betrayed them in the end and wanted to steal Oswald's idea of becoming the leader of a new world full of superhumans. He never got close, when he was killed but he did inspire his followers to create Neo Umbrella. As such he's more of a spiritual Founder.

George Francis Margarog - Neo Sarkite who was a high investor with Umbrella as well as a powerful customer of TRICELL. He was an ally and investor in Albert Wesker's plans and ended up becoming the true founder of Neo Umbrella. He and the clan he rules over, manages Neo Umbrella. This has naturally made him a member of the "The Board" meaning he is one of the members who has final say over everything. Only confirmed living and real member of Neo Umbrella's Board, high priority that must be caught and/or killed at all costs. 

Alex Wesker - A small time researcher and a fellow surviving child of Spencer's project. Tried to take over Neo Umbrella in the name of her brother by experimenting with SCP-AAY to create a newer and deadly strain that could buy the loyalty of all members. She failed and was killed on the island she worked. The Foundation only knew of its existence after her death, so nothing is concrete. 

Carla Radames - Board Member of Neo Umbrella though she joined only because of Derek C. Simmons. The two of them helped develop SCP-AFG and with that she gained a lot of influence within Neo Umbrella. However, when Derek C. Simmons rejected her even after altering herself to become Person of Interest: Ada Wong she went insane and decide to destroy the perfect world he wanted to create. She died due to over mutation with SCP-AFG infection and by the hand of the real Ada Wong. 

Derek C. Simmons - Political leader of Neo Umbrella as such he handled lawful management over the organization as a member of "The Board". He tried to use Neo Umbrella to increase his power and the power of his fraternity known as "The Family". He was infected with SCP-AFG by Carla Radames soldiers and thus became a WVA. Because of his loss of humanity, he was abandoned by "The Family" and therefore lost his position within Neo Umbrella. He was later killed by Person of Interest: Leon Kenedy. 

Lucas Baker - Originally a victim of SCP-AFZ having been turned into an SCP-AFZ-2 instance and having his unique ability being increased intelligence. He joined with the front organization "The Connections" that was used to shake off spies and hostile forces to Neo Umbrella form finding any leads to the original organization. He only made contact with the organization through a single agent that met him in the mines bellow the baker's house. 

He was given a vaccine that frees him of his mind control but allows him to keep his fast healing and vast intelligence. He was working with them to modify the mold and weaponize it for them but when he made his own SCP-AFZ-1 variants he cut ties with them all. He was later executed by Person of Interest: Chris Redfield. 

Brandon Bailey - High ranking member within Neo Umbrella and helped create the front identity known as "The Connections" to throw off the GOC. Was originally with Umbrella but left during its financial fall. Not much else is known about him or his status within Neo Umbrella. 

Mia Winters - Employee of false organization "The Connections". She was involved in the project that experimented with the mold eventually leading to SCP-AFZ's creation. She acted as a caretaker for SCP-AFZ which unfortunately led to SCP-AFZ seeing her as a mother and wanting to turn her into an SCP-AFZ-2 instance. She was only able to barely resist and most of the time had to harm herself in order to do so. Was eventually cured by Person of Interest: Ethan Winters and left the organization entirely. Is still regularly monitored by the Foundation regardless. 

Any other members recorded by the Foundation are usually just mercenaries or soldiers of their own private army. Though it's not uncommon for Neo Umbrella to kidnap civilians and use torture as well as utilizing WVA infection to turn them into soldiers of the organization. 

Purpose and Goals: Neo Umbrella is determined to rule the world form the shadows and when the time is right, unleash a WVA so powerful it will wipe out all of their enemies and only strengthen themselves as well as their allies. Their goal is quite similar to ordinary Neo Sarkite Clans apart from the fact that Neo Umbrella consists of multiple clans and also has other anomalous individuals as well. 

In order to ensure their goals are a success their temporary goal is to start a new arms race of WVA's. They'll create pathogens, mutants, and all sorts of abominations to sell to the highest bidder and then sell another variant to their enemies. Doing this will ensure the world is in so much chaos they won't be able to stop or even realize Neo Umbrella's goals until it's too late. Thankfully the Foundation and its allies within the ACPA have been successful in stopping this goal and therefore stopping their primary goal by default. 

Affiliation with the Foundation: The Foundation has always had hostile run in's with Sarkites and has led to the extinction of quite a few clans. Furthermore, the Foundation along with the Global Occult Coalition has brought down both its predecessors Umbrella and TRICELL. As such Neo Umbrella is naturally weary and extremely hostile to both organizations. The same goes for the rest of the Anomalous Correction and Protection Alliance member organizations. 

Recent recruitment has been reported within Alexylva University and Deer College. Neo Umbrella also uses Goldbaker-Reinz Ltd. as an insurance provider. This for obvious reasons, has let to even more conflict with the GOC. Marshall, Carter, and Dark Ltd and Neo Umbrella are actually really good business partners and certain MCD members are considered VIP customers for Neo Umbrella and vice versa. Shockingly Neo Umbrella is one of the organizations that regularly stole form Fazbear Entertainment when an establishment closed down and SCP-ADF were left on the loose. 

Gamers Against Weed greatly despise Neo Umbrella thinking of them as modern fascists and commonly make art that both make a point and act as living weapons against the organization. The Chicago Spectre, The Reliquary, Lobos del Inferno, The White Bloods, and shockingly even The Dark Dragons are uncommon by high paying customers of WVA's, and weapons created by Neo Umbrella. IJAMEA, Obskura Korps, The Fascist Council of the Occult are unfortunately considered VIP customers of Neo Umbrella. There are rumors that PENTAGRAM has bought some WVA's out of desperation, but nothing has been confirmed. 

Cobweb International is a regular customer of Neo Umbrella and its thanks to Neo Umbrella that they can now stand toe to toe against the Valravn Corporation. Shockingly the Children of the Scarlet King consider Neo Umbrella allies mainly due to the chaos that can be brought forward when Neo Umbrella unleashes its arsenal of WVA's on the world. There are celebrity and rich members of The Fifth Church and The New Church of the Fractured God who have WVA mutants as security or even pets. The Scriptures of Rotten Flesh and Cybernetic Bones has recently been revealed to be one of their top customers.

 There are some Sarkites that see hope of reviving the Deathless Empire through Neo Umbrella, but others keep their distance thinking it's another empty promise. Parawatch has become a massive nuisance as its constantly trying to expose WVA's created by Neo Umbrella and its customers. The Foundation believes that Person of Interest: Claire Redfield is responsible for this but as she is under the GOC's protection there is no way to confirm or stop her from doing this. 

In the few times Neo Umbrella soldiers have infiltrated the Wanderer's Library they have taken members of Creed of Ealaqat Jayiea hostage to use in WVA experiments. It's because of their travels within the Wanderer's Library they have The Black Queen’s Insurgency, DER Föderation, and NSB-8 as interdimensional customers. The Seprent's Hand have tried to get rid of Neo Umbrella but have been overpowered by them almost every time. Because of the anomalous augmentations of some WVA's it is believed Neo Umbrella has some kind of connection with The Factory, but nothing has been confirmed. 

.

Involved with:

SCP-AAZ

SCP-AFG

SCP-AFZ

SCP-AGE

.

SCP: HMF - Groups of Interest Hub

[starrwulfe]

Last Week Today! S2024E7

🤦‍♂️ OK, I skipped out on hella posts for this category. I know, I know… I’ll backfill them later, but I really hadn’t done much of anything noteworthy I guess so there wasn’t the motivation to post one of these… Which is not the point of course, so I’ll just shut up and get on with this installment. Just watch out for the backfills if you’re keeping up with this on the socials or RSS or email or whatever.

🩺 I had my yearly physical exam, and it went well except for the one note under intensive fasting glucose being 101mg/dL which to make a long story short, prompted my doctor to admonish me about getting enough exercise or else worry about diabetes being a thing. Other than that, I’m just as healthy as ever.

🏋️ It’s no secret that since returning Stateside from Japan, I haven’t really been getting enough exercise, walks, runs, all that jazz and have low-key been stressed and a bit depressed. I have zero motivation to go to a gym; I don’t like doing routines so much to begin with, but I really don’t like being in a room with total strangers trying to figure out how to make my body do stuff to burn fat. It literally makes me even more stressed out than just jogging/riding a bike by myself. SuperWife and I had been going to the gym together at first, but her job changed, and our schedules fell out of alignment for that; I lost my motivation about a year later and here we are. I tried going to the little gym in my area, but my job no longer subsidizes gym membership, and probably more influential, the guy that runs it keeps asking me to join a “boot camp” class. I don’t want to join shit, I don’t want to be around people, leave me the fsck alone, I’m already anxious as hell just being there. So I stopped going.

🚲️ Excuses aside, I’m just gonna go and buy myself a bike and do what I used to do overseas that kept me fit in the first place. I used to cycle all over the place. I can’t walk or take trains like I did there but I’m going to try to at least bike around here and get out more. Did you know I once went almost a whole week without leaving my house a few months ago? (Working from home has its downsides too!) I miss Japan for my social life and urban living more than anything; it kept me on the “life gym” plan where my mind and body constantly got a workout every day without effort. Just living my daily JapanLife kept me fit. Now I actually have to actively work on it. I appreciate any tips on keeping motivated and healthy from y’all out there reading this please.

🚸 Moving on, the kids are doing well. I just realized we’ll have 0 mini-mes that will be in elementary school after this school year. Little Monkey will be a middle schooler. When dafuq did my cute little simian who learned to climb up my back like a ladder and sit on my shoulders get to be on the precipice of teenagedom?

🚗 At the other end of the scale, The Big One just passed her written Drivers Exam and is now permitted. I really wasn’t ready for this one. It’s not like she’s chomping at the bit to drive (kinda opposite actually – she frequently takes our fledgling bus system around here) but it’s always good to have another driver in the family in case something happens. I wish I had the cheddar to get a hoopty for her and Boy-Type (he’ll be at a permittable age this time next year 😨) to drive… But even if I did, we can’t afford the insurance on a 16 year old right now I’m sure.

🎨 Speaking of Boy-Type, his drawing skills are getting very good. Fingers crossed for him to be the next Akira Toriyama or Hayao Miyazaki. I’ll settle for him just being that guy that paints to cool murals in trendy shopping plazas and shops like his uncle does back in Tokyo. Getting paid to do what you like to do is the shit. One of the classes at the arts high school he’ll need to pay attention in is Creative Business Management. I hope he soaks it all up when the time comes.

🦸‍♀️ SuperWife is out here doing her thing and will attend a intensive technical training bootcamp style class this summer since she’ll have more time for that while the school district is on summer break. I think she’d make a great tech support technician or level 1 project lead; her time management is better than mine and that’s always been half the job for me. I can’t wait to have crazy “vim vs emacs” type discussions with her. LOL

🏁 Lastly, I’m looking forward to spring, warmer temps, and getting back out in the RV. We’re set to head down to Jacksonville, Florida for a few days during the first week of April and I can’t wait. I love being on the road with the tribe and I feel we’re at our best together out in the world exploring like this. We’ve hit daylight savings already and 25ºC/80ºF was hit for the first time last week too. Just gotta hang on a bit longer to shake these winter doldrums!

[lieutenant-teach]

What if Loki falls into the Void in the end of ‘Thor’ 2011, but lands on Tatooine and, subsequently, in the hands of Boba Fett, the Daimyo?

He lands in the Dune Sea, exhausted and tattered to the core (as tie-in comics say, his atoms should’ve been scattered across the universe during the fall), where he’s picked up by the Jawas. They scavenge his armour and daggers, but at some moment Loki wakes up for a short time and tries to use magic to defend himself. Doesn’t manage to do much, but the Jawas, seeing his Force-sensitivity (because what else should it be in the GFFA?), bring him to Boba’s palace and dump him on his porch, where he’s found and brought to the bacta tank to recover.

Here about the state of the GFFA: timeline is after the events of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’, but – DinLuke and no Sequels. Boba rules Tatooine and the former Jabba’s territories, slowly but surely getting more of the Hutt Space. Din tries to figure out what to do with the Darksaber (introduce Sabine Wren from the Rebels, no connection to the Ahsoka series), Luke trains children in his Jedi Academy, accompanied by Ezra (yes, Ezra returned back somehow), Ahsoka (not the variant from the series), possibly Cal Kestis. Also Din is like a sworn brother to Boba, they’re quite close, just as Boba and Fennec, who’s as his sister and best friend. Which means Boba now has ties with the most influential family of the New Republic, and, most importantly for this story, with the Jedi.

First Loki doesn’t show his magic, not wanting to give all his cards out. He also doesn’t say that he’s a prince or where he’s from – not to get enemies in a new and unknown place. He didn’t expect to survive, but as he did, now he decides to go with the flow and find a new life, away from everything he knew. At this point of his life he doesn’t consider Asgard as his home anymore, doesn’t see Odin as his father. He also understands that he’ll never be able to become ‘worthy’ in his father’s eyes, he feels he was betrayed by everyone he loved, so he decides not to please anyone anymore and just be as he is.

While recovering, Loki once helps Boba to negotiate smth (as he’s getting as much information about this galaxy as he can) in a way to thank for saving (and also, possibly, just becoming tired of idleness), and Boba gets a liking of him, starts asking for his advice. Of course, Loki’s very cautious about all of this, because he doesn’t want to be used again. But he realizes that his opinions are actually valid. Moreover, he talks to people of Mos Espa and learns how Boba freed them from the bandits, stopped slavery and minimized water taxes.

When Loki is fine, Boba gives him two options – to take a small spaceship and fly anywhere he wants, or stay at his palace and work for him, getting salary et al. Loki decides to stay, telling himself that it’s only for some time – get some money to move later, why not? He tries not to think that he likes when he’s actually respected, and he likes Boba. So he helps with negotiating and translating, maybe hunts down some assassins hired to kill Boba, but he also feels free to be whoever he wants to be. Also he bonds with Boba on the basis of their kind of similar background (being seen by some people as ‘not real humans’, wish to live up to their father). But Boba chose his own way, came in terms with his father’s dubious parenting, and he’s not ashamed of who he is now. He tells Loki a Mandalorian proverb ‘It doesn’t matter who your father is, it matters what father you will be’, and Loki takes this close to heart, thinking about both Laufey and Odin, that being a son to them doesn’t define him as a person. And also he says that he can help Loki to find ‘his own kind’ – he means Jedi\Force-sensitives.

Here comes the explanation: after learning that Din has a Force-sensitive child and fell in love with a Jedi, Boba decides that he can give a chance to Luke. He’s not very happy to learn who this Din’s Jedi is, but after ‘family meeting’ (Din is really surprised to learn they two know each other) he calls Luke ‘decent for a Jedi’, admitting that the Fall in a way helped him to find a better way in life. Of course, he doesn’t hold any love for those who killed his father, but decides ‘bygones be bygones’. So now he contacts Din to contact Luke after Loki agrees to meet a fellow sorcerer.

Here comes Luke, Master Skywalker. When he enters, he spreads the aura of mystery and serenity, but then he smiles – hope and faith embodied. Loki goes to Tython to the Academy, has lots of meditations and talks with Luke about his feelings. Of course, it doesn’t come easily, he’s quite close to the Dark Side. He starts liking Luke, as for once his magical abilities are not looked down upon, and he’s not mocked for his ‘bookishness’ and love for studying. So they two become friends. As repaying and also out of professional curiosity, Loki travels to find some ancient Jedi texts, gets to Ilum and finds two kyber crystals calling to him – green, of course, as green kyber means growth. Loki creates two kyber-daggers. And Loki’s magic is smth similar to Nightsisters’ magic – another usage of the Force. 

Fennec jokes that Boba has become a father, which he waves off, calling Loki his ‘apprentice’, though when asked what he means by that, he cannot formulate what kind of an apprentice Loki is – Boba never intended to teach him anything in the first place, just sharing some life experience, some Tusken and Mandalorian wisdoms. Loki himself is shocked when he realizes that Boba’s become like a father-figure to him. Of course, he’s quite cautious about any feeling he feels towards all these new people, but with time he warms up to that, seeing other family\friendship dynamics, not like he had in Asgard, feeling accepted as he is. He also becomes close with Luke and with other Jedi, bantering with Ezra all the time, friendly with the Bikers and Fennec. Once he accidentally reveals his Jotun powers and finds that Jedi younglings are delighted by frost abilities – it comes as a huge shock for him, as no one cares that he’s a Jotun. He uses his frost powers to create ice, melt it and use as water (very handy on the desert world).

Here also comes the Mandalorian plot, Din’s struggle to unite people, who won’t listen much to him, especially ‘Kryze bitch’, as dubbed by Boba. Loki helps the Mandos to restore the planet (as Din is Boba’s ‘brother’, and Loki is canonically very willing to help those he cares about), so they forge a beskar helmet for him as a reward. Don’t know if Din is the Mand’Alor or not, it’s irrelevant to the story.

As a result of all this time, Loki decides that a) he won’t act as if he still wants to please Odin b) he won’t let his anger, however rightful, influence his decisions – it only harms him and those he loves c) he isn’t defined by his fathers’ actions or by his race (he starts feeling bad for Jotuns, but doesn’t know what to do for them).

Then we merge the timeline with the events of ‘The Avengers’. After some time however glad Loki is to be on Tatooine, he feels like he wants to get to Asgard – he misses Frigga and Thor. He gets home (logistics are irrelevant), helps the Avengers to save the Earth from the Black Order with his magic, blaster (Boba’s gift) and kyber-daggers. After that he tries to connect with his family, he meets Frigga, and we have a similar situation as in ‘Thor: The Dark World’. She forces him to accept them both as his parents or none. Loki is unwilling to accept Odin, having had a better example, so he refuses and calls himself Loki Fett. Hating to be forced into his previous mold in Asgard and seeing lack of even attempts to understand, he goes back to Tatooine where he’s found his own place.

[charliekillenmusic2023]

How Joy Division Led Manchester to the Forefront of British Music Culture

As London was rolling away from the psychedelic and swinging times of the 1960s, one city felt left behind. From being the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution to a bleak factory, churning out bodies cursed to work until their deaths. Manchester was frustrated. In this essay, I will be focusing on how Joy Division led Manchester from an industrial city to a haven of British music culture.

1- Manchester 1970s

This picture, taken by Nick Hedges in Salford in 1969 as part of a collection to showcase the desperate housing crisis across England at that time shows the poverty that the people of Manchester were living in. Areas such as Salford and Moss Side were particularly affected and as such the people in the area needed catharsis. Punk was starting to explode in London and the band The Sex Pistols arranged their first gig in Manchester. 

2- Lesser Free Trade Hall gig

The Sex Pistols played at the Lesser Free Trade Hall for 50p a ticket in June 1976. Less than 50 people came to that gig but, from the short list of attendees there were many influential people who all played a part in the Mancunian post-punk movement. Honourable mentions for people here are Morrisey, lead singer of The Smiths and The Buzzcocks, who would support the Pistols at their next Manchester gig. Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner from Salford watched this gig and formed their band that night. After some personnel rearrangement, they found Ian Curtis, recruited him as lead singer and put an advert in a music shop window for a drummer. Stephen Morris responded, and Joy Division was formed. 

3- Pips Electric Circus

Joy Division did not start as Joy Division but under the name Warsaw, inspired by a David Bowie song. They played some small-level gigs but after seeing a London-based band called Warsaw Pakt release an album before them they decided to change the name. Joy Division was chosen from a book called ‘House of Dolls’ about Jewish concentration camps, the Joy Division was a brothel used by off-duty Nazi soldiers and the band found this seemingly happy-sounding name used for something so dark similar to their music and the name stuck. 

Their first event as Joy Division was 25th January 1978 where they were initially billed as Warsaw. The night was eventful after their support act threw glass into the audience and Ian Curtis was thrown out of the venue for kicking the broken pieces around. They had a delayed start, but he managed to get back in and pushed through patrons to the stage. The night then ended abruptly with a fight between the band and the audience. 

They then released their first EP ‘An Ideal for Living’ and used cover art following the Nazi theme which led to speculation on their own political views which would follow them for their entire career.

4- Tony Wilson

Also in attendance during the Sex Pistols gig was a man called Tony Wilson. An eccentric journalist with a passion for sub-culture and music. Wilson grew up in Salford but studied English at Cambridge University, he then went on to become a successful TV presenter on a regional channel called Grenada TV. He was well known for giving a platform to music that was not as mainstream as Top of the Pops on his show So It Goes, and was a large factor in the success of new wave and post-punk music. 

5- Stiff Test / Chiswick Challenge

By April 1978 Joy Division were struggling to get gigs and saw a travelling battle of the bands held by Stiff Records. After not being initially billed they managed to get on the stage at 2 am to mediocre reception after Ian Curtis confronted Tony Wilson about not having them on his show. One person fell in love with their sound, Rob Gretton who would become their manager and solidify them a place on Wilson’s show. They played their song Shadowplay and Gretton received a letter from Wilson afterwards calling Joy Division ‘the best thing [he has] heard out of Manchester in 6 months’.

6- Factory Records

As he was so involved in the Manchester music scene Wilson saw an opportunity to represent the bands he worked with and establish a record label alongside his friend Alan Erasmus. Producer Martin Hannett and Joy Division manager Rob Gretton joined them in the venture and the band became one of the first bands to sign with them. This started with Factory nights at the Russel Club and would grow into something much bigger.

7- Unknown Pleasures

Unknown Pleasures was the first LP released by Factory Records. A sign of the belief that Tony Wilson and co. had for Joy Division. It sold well and generated £50,000 in profit to be shared equally between Factory and Joy Division but it mainly ended up being spent on future Factory endeavours. The success of the album prompted many European gigs, giving, what many British people described as the sound of Manchester, a place on the international scene.

8- Ian is diagnosed with epilepsy

Alongside the success of Joy Division’s first album, Ian Curtis struggled to cope with continuous performances and would start having seizures on and off stage. He was later diagnosed with epilepsy and would have such severe fits that he could not drive or hold his child. This affected him and listening to his lyrics today we can see how troubled he was while the men that surrounded him pushed him to continue. 

After the tour, Joy Division started the production of their final album Closer. This album's name evolved into a double meaning between to move closer to something as Joy Division was moving closer to success, and their final appearance, their closer.

9- Ian commits suicide

On 18th May 1980, Ian Curtis hung himself. 

It is hard to explain how much of an impact the death of Ian Curtis had on popular culture in the 1980s. As Ian’s story ended so did Joy Division. Closer was released exactly 2 months after Ian’s death and reached number 6 on the UK charts. The reception was clear, people loved Joy Division and they loved Ian Curtis. 

10- Manchester 1980s

Joy Division thrust Manchester into the spotlight of British culture. From the poverty and struggle of the 1970s to drug-fuelled parties and musical escapes of the 1980s newly reformed band New Order from the remaining members of Joy Division opened the Hacienda nightclub alongside Factory Records. After initially struggling to get crowds into the venue it became a cathedral for party lovers and established an underground rave culture.

Overall, it is clear to see how Joy Division was at the forefront of the renaissance of Manchester. 

[redwoodwv-hq]

Name: Zack Astor Age: 50 Town Occupation: Hunter Previous Occupation: Marine Redwood Resident Length: 6 months Faceclaim: Jensen Ackles

Bullet Points:

Lives in a run-down bungalow near the lake.

He has a German Shepherd named Rex. Rex was part of a K9 unit working with the military to limit the outbreaks. Rex escaped the massacre that took out Zack’s unit and the two have traveled together ever since. Rex was almost killed by the enemy raiding group that took down the Wolves, but Zack managed to convince them that a former K9 could be useful, so they let him live. 

He enjoys swimming, which was one of the reasons he settled down near Becket Lake. If you go there early in the morning you can usually find him swimming a few rounds. 

Zack tried to reconnect with his family on several occasions, though their relationship never substantially improved. At some point in his military career, Zack seemed to give up on trying to prove himself to them. When the outbreak happened, he didn’t even reach out to them. They didn’t try to check up on him either. 

Zack has plenty of scars from his tours and can tell the story about how he got every single one of them. 

Zack is still hoping to find the raiders that killed his group and take his revenge on them. It’s something he’s never given up and likely never will.

In an effort to appease his family, Zack married a woman at some point during his military career. Their marriage was not a love-filled one, even if they tried to make it work somehow, and while he was back from his tours he spent as little time as possible with her. They were functionally divorced by the time the apocalypse happened. She was one of the few people Zack reached tried to reach out to, but he eventually lost contact with her.

Biography:

Zack’s life should’ve been an easy one. Born as the youngest of three to one of the wealthiest families in the US, his entire life seemed to have been planned out in advance. While the title of heir to the conglomerate of Astor-owned companies went to his oldest brother, it was assumed that Zack would be put into a similarly influential position. Except that things often aren’t quite as they seem. 

Zack grew up like his brothers, surrounded by wealth and everything he could ever ask for, as well as training and learning to live up to the expectations placed on every member of the Astor family. It quickly became apparent that Zack did not have the same aptitude for business as his siblings. Where his older brothers were talented, Zack found himself struggling. While he tried his best, his parents became more and more disappointed in the lackluster results, beginning to slowly give up on their youngest child. It only made Zack fight harder for their approval.

While Zack was being treated with a laissez-faire attitude by his family, he was still not free of the conventions coming from being part of a traditional old-money family. Zack was not sure when he realized that he was gay, but he knew that his family could never find out. They did, eventually, catching Zack with his then-boyfriend. The only thing that saved Zack from being disowned was the shame of his parents, who didn’t want to admit to their son’s sexuality. Instead of being thrown out, Zack was sent off to a conversion camp, and after his return, quickly and quietly signed up for the military in order to set him straight. 

Zack’s time in the military is a blur at times, but he quickly seemed to settle into his new lifestyle. Taking to training and fighting much more than business, Zack joined up with the Marines and was quickly deployed overseas. What he saw during his tours stayed with him, leaving him, in many ways, changed. But while the issues he dealt with due to his service were numerous, Zack was determined to make his way up the military ladder, continuing to reenlist whenever his contract was up. 

Zack’s life became a mix of deployments, returning home for short periods to parents who still couldn’t quite look at him the same, only to return to service as soon as he could. When the outbreak happened, he was a high-ranking official within the military. As the outbreak worsened and the military began being overwhelmed, Zack was quickly tasked with keeping some of the outbreaks under control. While he, and many others, tried to somehow upkeep order, soon enough the military seemed to break down as well. 

While Zack tried to maintain order until the very end, he realized that the world as he knew it was gone when his unit was overrun by walkers, killing almost every single member. Zack barely escaped with his life. After the massacre of his unit, Zack quickly began forming his own survivor group he called The Wolves. The Wolves were a somewhat nomadic group, usually settling down for a few months at a time, depleting resources before moving on again. 

As with many stories like this, The Wolves quickly fell victim to a raiding group. While plenty of The Wolves were capable fighters, they were overwhelmed by the size of the attacking group, and many of the Wolves were killed, and the rest taken as prisoners, Zack among them. Zack managed to escape eventually, bloodied and beaten but alive. Soon after, he stumbled across Redwood and was taken in by them.