#i keep abandoning german for my usual targets

[lostandbackagain]

[badstargateimagines]

Heyo! I was just scrolling through your posts again and regarding a beach episode, I gotta know how you headcanon what they would wear in this episode! Ik Daniel ends up getting pretty ripped by the end of the series but in the beginning he’s kinda squishy (my mom used that word to describe him in regards to his general vibes in fights LOL) and I feel like he could look very smol and soft in a beach episode 🥺 or maybe I’m a simp lol

Hope your day off went well and no pressure to do this request! :)

- geekygumiho

Ahhh yes the beach episode post I remember it like it was made in a drunken haze at a frat house! But yes I usually refer to my blog as season 3.5 of Stargate so Daniel would still be in is squishy era kind of.

As we all know, beach episodes, historically speaking, are gratuitous, toe-curling, tooth-rotting fan service. My dream beach episode is kind of like that but like I gotta be realistic here: most of them would rather be on base. Here r the fits I think they’d be wearing for @geekygumiho

Jack: A middle aged man in the 90s? He’s wearing the Steven Page Special: cargo shorts, Birkenstocks with socks and an open Hawaiian shirt. He also is definitely sporting Oakley sunglasses and an Air Force ball cap. I think he’s mostly there because he was promised he could fish but is enjoying the vibes anyway. Very much chilling with a corona on the beach watching Sam everyone having fun

Teal’c: okayokayokay so this is tricky because he has a gaping hole in his torso with a little worm in it and as much as I want this to be fan service I can’t fully abandon canon and potentially have just random ass tourists see The Worm Pouch. Instead he will be wearing a tight-fitting black tank top, Star Wars swim trunks from Walmart, and a cowboy hat. He also wears Birkenstocks but with no socks because it was ✨the 90s✨ and we all know that the ugliest, sturdiest, and most comfortable piece of German footwear engineering took America by storm at that time.

Sam: I feel like Sam in probably a two-piece girly but spends most her time on the beach in a Stevie Nicks style cover-up. If Edge of 17 comes on the radio BACK UP because she needs twirling room. The beach is 100% where she lets loose and will not stop ogling Jack as subtlety as she can. She’s also learning how to surf from Janet and Janet was the one who convinced her to wear a bikini.

Daniel: this man did not want to go to the beach. He did not own beach clothes. He’s there because everyone was calling him a killjoy. He had to go to Target last minute to pick up his beach clothes. He wears the only pair of board shorts he could find in his size that just happen to have a Hawaiian shirt print on them and he also wears his floppy hat so he doesn’t get sunburned. Adding to that, whenever he’s on the beach he is re-applying sunblock and occasionally will keep his plaid shirt on but unbuttoned so his arms don’t get burned.

Janet: she’s the reason they all went and she is surfing or absolutely crushing her competition in beach volleyball. She’s also mad into sun protection but still wears a bikini. If she feels so inclined she’ll use a silk kimono as a cover up but mostly she’s there because she knows she’s the absolute hottest thing under the sun.

[ciaossu-imagines]

Regarding your questions:

Yeah Lorenzo does call him that when he is agitated, just to piss Ava off, which is never a fun time for anybody, but nobody said the Varia have good coping strategies. All Lorenzo knoes is that if he has steam built up he usually provokes ava so they can argue and he can just let out his frustration. In later years that even goes into sexual directions (all consensual).

Ser is close to aaalmost all his sisters. His father turns out went around "experimenting" and trying to impregnate as many women as possible to find out how flame inheritance works and if it is possible to sucessfully try for a child with either multiple flame types or directly a sky flame. Turns out thats not how that works AT ALL and the women p quickly realized he is a piece of shit, which is why Sergeys mother actually directly sought out the other women to support each other. To what Ser knows there could be siblings he doesnt even know of, bc his mother never found them or they didnt want to be in the support group. The kids were raised almost all together at least the first 5 or so (Oldest to youngest: Maria, Chloe, Jingyi, Sergey, Emilia), but even as more children joined them, Ser seems to be the only guy for a good while until 2 of the kids transition in their teens. The whole household is extremely supportive of everybody even tho the women for the most part still primarily cared and raised their own. So Sergey wasn't completely abandoned when his mother died. It was just the incident that happened to Leo that kind of broke him into apathy. His family tried to help but he wouldnt LET them help. Maria and especially Chloe tried the most to snap him out and where the first he contacted when Asuna died (he could NOT catch a god damn break). So he and Chloe are super close and now that he is an adult he wants to support Maria how she supported all of them as the oldest of the kids. Jingyi moves to China after becoming an adult but she visits for chirstmas and keeps letter correspondence with Sergey, which helps him better his mandarin.

Leo knows the most languages as he knows many spoken languages (he can hear fine after all), but also learned several different sign languages. And yes it HAS been beneficial especially before everyone kinda learned some sign language because of him. For example during a mission where they have to get some goods from a dealer, the dealer is deaf and mute so he comminicates exclusively in portugese sign language and hired an interpreter. HOWEVER, this guy he hired is a fucking scam artist and sells highly overprized (which is why they were sent to investigate in the first place) and it turns out that its not the dealer causing trouble but his interpreter. Which Leo picks up on, since they didnt tell anyone Leo CAN hear and call him out on his bullshit. So Leo just frowns and taps Sergeys shoulder, signing that the guy is lying in german, to which Ser loudly proclaims "You're a fucking liar, aren't you?" and trust me, nobody liked hearing that. Leo signs the guy that he shouldnt expect mute people to be easy targets [you son of a bitch], and Lorenzo gets a bit more THREATENING in his approach.

Ser: you rarely get that angry.

Leo: [I don't like people taking advantage of others that are impaired]

Ser: yeah, I get that.

Lorenzo: in any way we're done here, lets leave. Hey Ser, how do I sign [thank you]?

Ser: pft, Lorenzo we just established that Leo can hear just fine.

Lor: I know, dumbass i wanted to broaden my fucking horizon.

And Sergey shows him the signing for thank you in the german and italian sign language (it has slight differences). Lorenzo signs Leo a thank you in italian and Leo just beams happy and gives a thumbs up.

Additional interesting thing i thought about. Probably half if not almost all of the Vatia members are italian. And italians are known to also use their hands and gestures a lot when speaking, so every time I imagine anyone having a verbal fight its probably a LOT of different handgestures in rapid succession, which is DEFINITELY something to get used to (i also believe Hayato is prone to that especially after he returns to italy bc its just so very ingrained in him, having been raised and lived in italy for many years. Which is also fun if you imagine the fucking same with Biancchi and Shamal)

YAY! More Varia boys! Also, thank you so much for answering my questions! Lorenzo and Ava together amuse me and I support that later ship, and you are right – the Varia most certainly wouldn’t be full of people with great coping strategies. Poor Ser though. His father is a jackass of supreme measures…he reminds me of Endeavor from BNHA so his father automatically pisses me off though Sergey’s mother? Awesome woman there and go her! The communal household seems really interesting as a concept and I’m glad it was such a supportive and kind atmosphere. Really, I’m glad that before all the shit rained down on him, that there was some happiness and I’m glad he’s got those close family members, even though I doubt that even later on he really lets them help him too much. I love Leo knowing that many languages and really showing how useful he is in that situation, which is a really great one.

Oh, I like the hand-talking! I do figure Hayato is a hand-talker, just because I’ve always headcanoned him as someone who’s very expressive in his body language, even when he can’t be verbally. Bianchi gets the hand-talking really bad when she gets angry, in my opinion, haha! Interesting bit of knowledge about my country/province, but French Canadians also are huge hand-talkers and where that’s a large portion of my home province, it’s a learned trait for a lot of even the English speaking people haha!

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Return to me; John Deacon x Veronica Deacon

*Author’s note*

Now I know this doesn’t fit with today’s theme but I couldn’t wait 2 more days to finally release this beauty to the public, I literally CRIED writing this and I hope that you @eileen-crys​ think this is worthy of being in your special little give-a-way. After watching League of their own, the Pacific and reading another ww2 au John deacon fic this little baby was born. So I hope to all those who usually love my reader inserts will give this fic a chance :)

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural​

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@ixchel-9275​

@georgesgentlyweepingguitar​

@eileen-crys​

@queendeakyy​

@kairosfreddie​

@geek-and-proud​

@simonedk​

________________________________________________________

*1943*

I don’t know how long it was going to continue.  Every day I look forward to the letters I would receive overseas from the warfront.  And it’s not like you can escape from it, all over the radio you can just hear it on the radio.  Like now the radio was talking about the bombings continue to target at the heart of London.  Thankfully John has taught me how to listen for the alarms and quickly get into the bomb shelter he had built for us.

I also wait anxiously for the mail to arrive because that means I know that my darling John is still alive and anxiously waiting to come home.

‘And the Germans continue to advance on the front lines, more fatalities continue to skyrocket on the Allied sides…..’ the radio suddenly turned off and that’s when I saw my mum holding my 3 year old son Robert.

“Do you think hearing all that is a good idea?”

“It’s not like I can escape it mum. Every day that’s all you hear is about the war.”

“I know love, I just—I just worry about you. Both of you.”

“I know you mean well mother, but I’m doing fine. Robert is still healthy and…..”

“And you’re barely sleeping because you’re up all night worrying about John. Believe me love I know how hard it was, I dealt with the same thing with your father in the first war. I don’t want to see you go down a dark road like I once did.”

“I’ll be fine mother, now it’s time for me to feed Robert his dinner and I think dad will need you home for supper.”

“If that is what you wish.” She said as she handed me my son back before walking out without saying another word.  As I looked down at my son who had every ounce of his father in his face and hair, I held him close and kissed the top of his head as he cooed at me.

I was sitting in the living room watching Robert eat his sandwich when I heard a knock at the door.  All of a sudden I felt my heart drop, was it them? Oh please god above please pray let it not be them. The officers who always deliver the death sentences to families, just last week my dearest friend Susan had received word that her twin brother had been killed in action.

I stood up from the couch and walked slowly towards the door.  I unlocked it before opening it to reveal our mailman Jacob.

“Oh Jacob, it’s only you.”

“Relieved Mrs. Deacon?”

“You have no idea. Anything important today?”

“Just some letters from your school, some family members and—something from a certain Marine officer of yours.” I quickly took the mail from Jacob and looked through it till I found the letter I’ve been anxiously waiting for.

“Thank you Jacob.” I thanked him before closing the door.  At that point I could hear Robert really starting to get fussy. I quickly raced back towards him and handed him his bottle while I quickly ripped up the note from my beloved John.  

“Is it daddy?”

“I think so Robert dear, come sit by me and we can read it together.” He abandoned the remaining half of his sandwich and sat down close to me.  Once I unfolded the letter I could see the stained dirt from it and the smudged ink from his messy handwriting, but to me it was clear as day.

My dearest, Veronica,

Words cannot describe how much I miss you and our son.  He surely has gotten bigger since the last photograph you’ve sent me of him the day he was born.  Every day it gets harder and harder to go on, ambushes and several other attacks go by non-stop.

I’ll spare you the gruesome details because you don’t deserve to know the horror’s I’ve been through.  I only hope and pray to God that this war ends soon so that I can come home and help you raise our son.  Is he healthy? Happy? Does he even know who I am? I hope you’re not telling him the embarrassing stories of when we first got together, wouldn’t want his father to be painted as a timid mouse now right?

I couldn’t help but smile at that comment.

I miss you both with all my heart, and I long for the day for us to finally be reunited once more.  Take care and always know how much I love you both.

With all my love,

Corp. John Deacon

“Is daddy gonna come home soon?” Robert asked me.  I looked down at him and tried to figure out how to answer him.

“Oh sweetie, he’s trying his best. He and a few of his friends are off fighting against some really bad people.”

“But I thought you always said violence was never the answer?”

“It shouldn’t but—sometimes people just do things their own way. But it takes brave men like your father to stand up for what’s right to try and make those bad guys see that what they believe isn’t right.”

“I wish I got to meet him.” I stroked through his auburn hair and said.

“I know honey, I do too. But just know your daddy loves you soo much and that he’s gonna try to find a way to come back home to us.”

“Okay. Can I see the picture of him again?” I smiled lovingly at him and said.

“Of course, I’ll show you all the pictures you want.” I went up to the bookshelf and grabbed the family photo album and I showed Robert all the pictures John and I took from every date, every picnic, and even the wedding pictures.  Going through each picture made my heart ache and sink down to my stomach, as well as form a lump in my throat.  But seeing Robert be fully invested in seeing his father, even through photograph, filled me with some warmth.

Later that evening, I tucked Robert into bed and I kissed him goodnight before finally going downstairs to write my letter to John to be delivered in the morning. I poured my heart and soul into the letter, even allowed a few tears to fall onto the paper.  I squirted a bit of my perfume onto the paper so that John could remember something from home, even being a thousand miles away.

After completing the letter, I placed it into the envelope, sealed it and stamped it before writing the address to where my beloved was stationed.  I kept it on the desk so that I could grab it first thing in the morning.  I turned the desk light off before heading back upstairs and once again slept in the empty bed.  I hugged John’s pillow and held it close to me.

Even though his scent was long gone, I still could remember it by heart.  I allowed a few tears to slip down my face as I whispered John’s name over and over before I finally fell asleep.

*John’s POV*

This place was a literal hell.  Intense humidity, bug literally biting you day and night, and nothing but the stench of gunpowder and death staining the air.  I was cleaning out my rifle when the messenger came by.

“Alright ladies, letters from home! Come and get your mail here!” he passed by each Marine one by one before finally getting to me. “Here you are Corporal.”

“Thank you.” I took the letters from him and I skimmed through them till I found the familiar elegant writing that was my Veronica.  I opened the envelope and the first thing I was hit with was the scent of her perfume.  Oh my Ronnie, always knowing just how to bring me back to sanity.

My beloved John,

It seems like an eternity and the days get much harder the longer you’re away.  Your letters are the only thing that give me hope that you’re still alive, but the fear of one day hearing your death breaks my heart.

Oh Ronnie.

I was told just last week that Susan lost her twin brother out in Germany, with more news coming to people that I know losing their family member or husband, I fear one day it’ll happen to me.  I must sound dramatic or hysterical but…..

I noticed a drop of water on the letter.

“Oh Veronica, my sweet, dear Veronica.”

“A letter from the missus?” I looked up to see my three good friends from my unity, Private 1st class Freddie Mercury, Corporal Roger Taylor and Lance Corporal Brian May.

“You gonna swipe the letter away this time Taylor?”

“Nope, not this time.” Roger spoke as he sat himself down beside me.

“How’s she been?” asked Brian.

“Seems much harder than last time. Been getting news all around her from people she knows about their losses. Just last week her old sorority sister Susan lost her twin brother to the Germans.”

“Fucking Nazis.” Hissed Freddie.

“I think I’d take a Nazi over a Jap any day, these guys keep coming up like roaches.” Roger said as he lit up his smoke.  I went back down to read her letter.

I just miss you so much my beloved.  And don’t you dare say you miss me more because that’s highly impossible, at least you know my life is the same routine.

I couldn’t help but grin.

Robert talks about you a lot, he’s really asking all the questions now a days. Like today, he wanted to see pictures of you and began asking questions of how we met, how I knew you were the one for me, and about the day you asked me to marry you. He’s like you in so many ways John, not just through your looks but your personality too.  Heck he even has the same interest in cars as you do.

Please come back to us my love, I long for the day for you to finally meet your son. And I wish to hold you once more before it’s nothing but a faint memory.

All my love my beloved and strong Marine,

Veronica Deacon

God it warmed my heart to see her sign off with my last name.  Sometimes she still uses her maiden name for some things, but each letter she writes, she always uses my name.

“What’s got you all smiling? She promise to give you an epic shag when you return?”

“Shut up Roger!” Brian spoke for me.

“Children please, we can all murder each other but then who’d be left to fight this war?”

“They’ve got plenty of soldiers to spare. To them, we’re disposable.” Roger sneered.

“Why the hell would you say something like that?” Roger shrugged.

“For once I kinda agree with Roger.” I spoke.  They turned towards me and I continued, “Thousands of us die each day, and tomorrow could be our last. Yet we keep pushing and pushing but the enemy keeps pushing back. An endless tug of war between one another till all on the opposing side is dead.”

“You sure you graduated with an electrical engineering degree Deacon?” mocked Taylor. I turned towards him and his grin disappeared before I sighed heavily.

“I already had to miss out on the birth of my son. I missed his first steps, his first words. The only time I get to see him is through a photograph. He’s gonna be four pretty soon in the next few months, and already he’s asking questions.”

“Be thankful that he is Deacy. Some of these motherfuckers don’t even know if they have kids yet, or their kids don’t know about them.” Freddie said.

“I just wish to be back home. Teaching my son how to play catch, how to ride a bike, even how to fix a car. But instead I’m stuck here fearing that today maybe my last day. And what if one day he starts asking Veronica why I left him?”

“That’ll never happen. Now you listen here Deacy dear. Veronica loves you too much to allow that to happen. You boy’s finally interested in you, you’ve got a clever girl for a wife who will gladly tell your son everything he needs to know. And if he does ask that, then she knows to tell him that his daddy is being a superhero right now fighting off the bad guys. And don’t you fucking dare say that today’s gonna be your last day! Cause if it’s yours, then it’s ours too.” Freddie said as he forced me to look at him.

“He’s right. We all made a pact once we started to get to know each other, that we’re all in this together. And you proved that John when you came in and stopped a Jap sniper from ending my life as I was leading a patrol team through the Jap barracks.” Brian said.

“Or when I threw the grenade into a hidden bunker as you ran to Brian’s aid.” Roger added as he exhaled his smoke like a chimney.

“And of course my darling you can’t forget when I saved all your arses back in Okinawa with the midnight ambush. Without my missiles none of you would be alive.” Freddie bragged.  The corner of my mouth slowly went up in a half-grin and I said.

“You’re right guys, sorry I went off on that rant there.”

“We get it John. Because we all have families back home, not just our parents but wives, girlfriends or fiancés back home who need us alive.” Brian said as he clamped his hand on my shoulder.

“ALRIGHT LADIES! We’re moving out 20 miles East! Pack your bags and move out!” the commanding officer proclaimed.

“Alright my dears, let’s get a move on.” Freddie said as he grabbed his pack and walked on ahead.  I placed the letter into my journal before stuffing it into my uniform inner-breast pocket.  I grabbed my bag and tried to think about what to write back to Veronica once we got to our next station.

*1st POV*

Five months later and the school year was just about to end.  All my friends and co-workers were gathered in the teacher’s lounge for one last big shebang before the summer holidays came into play.

“So what have you got planned today Stacy?” asked Emily, the Year 3 instructor asked.

“Well the last letter I received from Billy said that his enlistment is almost expired so once it does, he’ll be free to return home. The first thing I’m gonna do when that man pulls in from the train station is hug and kiss that man like there’s no tomorrow.” Replied Stacy, who taught the same year I did. In fact we were right across the room from each other so we talked pretty much every morning as the kids all came into the classroom.

“What about you Emily?” I asked.

“Well with the boys away at their grandfather’s out into the country, the nest is completely empty. So I might go over there and visit them for a while.”

“It’ll be nice to get out of the city from all the chaos that’s been happening.” Said Stacy.

“And what about you Veronica? Any big summer plans?”

“No idea. John was…..” I trailed off sadly as I looked down.  Stacy placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “He was always the better planner than I was. That man even planned out our entire wedding.”

“Man I wish my Henry was like your Johnny D.”

“I only just hope Robert gets the chance to have a father.” I said solemnly.

“Hey have any of you talked to Susan?” asked Emily.

“I’ve been trying to reach out to her but she’s ignored my calls. Thankfully her husband has been there to help her out.” I said.

“Yeah, thank god for Tony. God her and Peter were as thick as thieves, even when we were kids.” Emily said.  Suddenly there was a knock at the door.  The principal opened the door and that’s when a man dressed in military uniform came in and he said.

“Afternoon, I come with an urgent telegram for one of these ladies from the War department.” At that point all of us went quiet.

“Oh god not another one.” I muttered as I slowly sat down and held my hand to my mouth.

“Now I’m sure I had the name here somewhere—I personally wanted to deliver this in person, tell you that your husband’s dead.” The messenger continued to speak as he tried to find the name of one of us. “Damnit all, I guess I must’ve misplaced it, I’ll need to go back and track the name down again.”

“That won’t be necessary son, give it to me.” Mr. Lee, our principal spoke for all of us.

“I’m sorry sir but this is official business, I can’t just give someone out of this telegram the message.”

“Just give me the damn telegram son and be on your way!” Mr. Lee snapped.  When the officer refused to give it up, Mr. Lee took it by force before finally shoving the officer out of the lounge and slamming the door shut.  Stacy and I took hold of each other’s hands as Mr. Lee opened the letter and read through it.

He spoke not a word as he looked at us all sadly and walked by each of us one by one. At first he would stop in front of a teacher and we’d think it was for them before he moved on.  Soon he came up to Stacy and I.  His old eyes brimmed with tears as he finally said as he held out the telegram.

“I’m sorry Stacy.”

“NOO! BILLY!!” she screamed as she collapsed to her knees clutching the telegram. I knelt down beside her along with Emily, Mikaela and Donna as we all tried to comfort her.  She sobbed out Billy’s name.  I rubbed her shoulders and rested her head against my shoulder.

Mr. Lee, who was like a father to all of us, helped Stacy up onto her feet and embraced her tightly.

“It’s okay, it’s gonna be okay Stacy.” He comforted her with soothing rubs onto her back and allowing her to sob into his shoulder.  It was then Mrs. Kowalski who ran the front desk in the office came up and the two of them guided Stacy out.  Her sobs of Billy’s name echoed throughout the halls.

Ohh poor Stacy, she’ll never be over this.  To think she almost had the chance of having her fiancée soon become her husband, and the two of them could finally be wedded in holy matrimony.  But now she has to plan on being a widow, like so many other women have to be now, and the sad thing is she barely got the chance to call Billy her husband,

I fear that after this she may never want to get married again cause she’ll relive this event over and over again.

After that whole situation, we were all allowed to be let out early, teachers and students included all got to go home and start the summer holiday early. While I was cleaning up the house before I would have to go pick Robert up from my mum’s place, I couldn’t help but think back to Stacy.  God just—why did something like that have to happen to her? She didn’t deserve this, we all didn’t deserve this. Why did one man have to go ruining it for all of us? So many deaths and for what?

Just what is this war really about? Please someone tell me that!

As I put the plates and glasses back into the cabinet, I wiped away a tear before closing the cabinet.  That’s when I saw it.  The reflection of someone standing behind me, but the face was no stranger.  I quickly turned around and I swear if I did have a plate or glass, I would’ve dropped it right there on the spot.

For right there standing before me with a bandaged leg and leaning against a crutch, in full Marine uniform was my husband, John Richard Deacon.

He smiled softly at me and I just took in his appearance.  His once long flowing hair was now cut so short that you could only see it from the sides and behind him.  He even appeared taller and much more fit than when I last saw him.  But the battered leg made my heart sink in fear.

Slowly I walked right up to him thinking this was just a dream.  When I finally stood before him, I slowly lifted my hand up towards his cheek but was too afraid to touch him, fearing that this was just my mind playing tricks on me.  That if I should touch him, he’d just fade away like the cherry blossom petals in the spring.

It was then John took my hand in his, his hands now calloused and rough but still had that gentleness to them, and he placed it onto his cheek.  He smiled at me and I immediately hugged him as I began sobbing hysterically.

“Shhhh, shh. I’m here Ronnie. I’ve come back, just like I promised.” I pulled away to finally give him all the kisses I had been longing for.  The deep, passionate, long-awaited type kisses. The kisses that almost make you want to devour the person not out of passionate hunger, but passionate longing.

“You’re back…..y—you really came back, Oh John you’re here, you’re really, truly back!” I sobbed through my kisses.  But through our reunion kiss, I heard him groan in pain. “Oh god John here, sit down.” I guided him towards the living room and set him down on the couch and tried to make him feel as comfy as possible. “What happened to you John?”

“Ambush. The Japs planted several trip-wires through the perimeters of their base, one of the boys in my platoon triggered it and I was lucky to escape with this. They tried to fix my leg but it was beyond what they could do, so they discharged me and got me better care for it than what I would’ve had out in the Pacific.”

“Oh John I—I can’t believe it. I’m so, so sorry this happened to you.”

“Better my leg than my life. I did promise the most beautiful girl in London that I’d come back to her.” He said as he stroked under my chin.  I laughed through my tears and leaned down to kiss him again. His hands went through my hair as our kiss deepened, before I went back to hugging him.

“Promise me you’ll never leave me again John Richard Deacon.”

“I promise Veronica, I’m here to stay for good. I’ve never been more happy than being right here at home.” The tears continued to fall down my eyes as I buried my face into his neck. “Shhh, I’m here love. I’m gonna be okay. Cause now I’ve got the best nurse to look after me.” I laughed and separated from him.

“I would assume so, but I do expect payment from you soldier.”

“Oh yeah? And what payment would you like to receive?” I didn’t reply as I leaned down and softly captured his lips with mine.  I softly hummed as his hand softly and gingerly stroked through up my cheek before tucking my hair behind my ear.

“I think we can arrange that.” He hummed out.

And that’s how it was.  I called my mother to bring Robert home herself because I had a special surprise for him that couldn’t be left alone at the moment.  So within 15 minutes, my mother arrived with Robert and I thanked her for watching him for the day and that I would be over there for supper in a few days.  After Robert said goodbye to ‘mums’ I brought him inside.

“Now Robert, love. There’s—someone very special in the living room that I would like you to meet.”

“Who is it mummy?” he asked.

“You’ll see love. Now he’ll look a little different and you’ll have to be very gentle with him because he got injured very, very badly. Are you ready to meet him?” he nodded and that’s when I picked him up and took him to the living room. When John finally laid eyes on Robert, it was like his whole world had changed.  His eyes that were tired and almost soulless now suddenly lit up.

I set Robert down and he shyly hid behind my dress when I said to him.

“It’s okay Robert, no need to be afraid. Robert love, this is your father John Richard Deacon. John, this is your son Robert.” Robert peeked out from behind my dress while John slowly rose up against the couch and tried to sit up. Robert slowly came out from behind me and he walked up to John and just looked at him.

“You’re hair’s not long.” Was the first thing that came out of his mouth which made both John and I laugh softly.

“Afraid so bud, they force you to cut your hair so that way you don’t get caught on things. Hope you don’t mind it though.” Robert walked closer to him before raising his arms up wanting to be picked up, which John happily obliged and placed our son on top of his uninjured leg.  Robert touched his father’s cheek before saying.

“I like it short.” John smiled happily and said.

“Then I’ll keep it short for you pal.” Robert smiled before finally embracing his dad for the first time ever.  John was stunned at feeling this tiny person hug him but almost immediately he wrapped his arms around his son and held him close as well as burying his nose into his son’s hair, breathing in his scent.

I couldn’t help but tear up at this beautiful sight.  My two boys meeting each other at last.

“Shall we let mummy in the group hug?” I heard John say to Robert softly.

“Mm-hmm! Yeah mummy join us!” Robert exclaimed with an enthusiastic nod.  I smiled and said.

“Well if that’s what my boys want.” I then sat by the couch next to John and the two of us cuddled close to each other but I was cautious of his injuries.  Soon it was a cuddle party between the three of us as we held Robert in between us, and I buried myself into John’s body trying to reclaim the warmth and love that I had lost while he was away.

[daddysfangirls-marvel]

A thousand years of Happiness

Warning: fluff, language, and more fluff, just pure fluff

Summary: Five years later everything is better and everyone is happy. Steve goes over a few memories and congratulates Bucky on doing what he said he was going to do for 70 years straight. They are happy.

70 years of grief

70 years of pain

70 years alone

70 years to happiness

A Thousand Years of Happiness

They went to therapy as they said they would together and apart they talked about their issues. (Y/n) talked about her abandonment and anger issues as well as her resentment towards others and their happiness. Steve talked about his commitment issues, attachment issues, and how he believes everyone wanted him to act a certain way and this way caused him trouble with important people in his life.

 (Y/n) learned she didn’t need to forgive Steve she just needed to understand where he was in those moments and not surround herself by hate any longer. She couldn’t let that control her life any longer. Steve learned that he could not and should not expect (y/n) to forgive him what he did to her was wrong and she was at a very low point in her life when all this occurred. Also, he should not keep everything bottled up he tends to release it in irresponsible and reckless behavior.

Together and apart they were making progress with themselves. A year later they were becoming Happy. 

“Are you ready?” Steve said as he smoothed out his suit for the third time. His emotions were all over the place right now but on the surface, he was okay and good to go he was totally okay and ready for this mission. He looked determined.

“Yeah, let’s do this” (Y/n) said picking up her decorated secret weapon of choice and taking Steve’s arm. As the doors opened music began to play as they walked down the path all eyes were on them as they walked down the path. Bucky was at the end of this path looking like he was very determined but also holding on to his emotions barely. When they reached the end the music stopped. Steve took his place behind Bucky and (y/n) handed decorated secret weapon to Tony who was standing behind her. 

“Welcome friends and family. “ and cue the waterworks. As soon as Thor said those words Both Steve and Bucky burst into tears. Reaching over the bride Tony passed two handkerchiefs to Bucky and Steve. (Y/n) giggled a bit as she helped her groom wipe his tears trying to hold back her own. Sam got Steve to pull himself together enough and they left Thor to continue.

“We have gathered here today under the sight of..well me, and those that are loved and cared for, To witness and celebrate these two beautiful people come together starting a new chapter in life as Husband and Wife.” And more tears. (Y/n) waited until after the kiss to burst into tears

-

“She an assassin. He’s an assassin. She has knives. He has guns. These two are like the deadliest match made in heaven. Seriously I met them both behind glass windows for my safety and I didn’t feel safe. And Now as her best friend and his third greatest rival, second being Sam Wilson and First being Metal detectors, Standing her today I .....still don’t feel safe. He has a Glock on his ankle. She has knives in her bouquet. I’m not kidding.” Everyone laughed and to support his claim she pulled out three knives from her Bouquet. Some people stopped laughing others laughed harder. “Seriously when he dips under that dress he’s going to come back with a garter and 9 millimeter Smith & Wesson. But even as dangerous and unstable both of you are you deserved Happiness and You’ve finally found it. To you and your future super soldier babies, I say cheers.”

Everyone clapped as and took sips of their glass as Tony stepped down bowing dramatically and giving Steve a high five on the way.

“ Hello, Hello. I’m Steve. but you guys probably knew that already. Today my brother and sister got married, that sounds weird. Um... today two people I love and care for deeply have found love in each other and have promised themselves to each other forever. Four times, Bucky told be Four times he was going to marry my sister. The first time-

Bucky and Steve had met a few days prior. Bucky had Saved Steve from a beating and the two had become fast friends. “Come on let's go. I want to show you something” Bucky said as he dragged Steve along. He had stolen Steve from his home in the early morning with the promise of showing him something cool and pretty. Suddenly Bucky ducks down behind a car and pulls Steve with him. as he looks around the corner he waves Steve over. “ Look, see that girl in the blue dress,” he says nodding his head towards two girls one in a pink dress and another in a blue dress that was very familiar to Steve.

“What about her?” he was curious to hear what he had to say about the blue dress girl.

“isn’t she the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen. She’s gorgeous. I’m going to marry that girl”

“ That’s my sister”

“Yeah in the first week we met at the age of 8 he confessed to being in love with my little sister. Way To start a relationship. And me being the smart ass-osicate that I am” Steve sends a wink to Clint And Lauren who brought their children “I introduce him and his sentence to her was “ I’m JUcky” he couldn’t pick between James and Bucky. She called him Jucky for two weeks before his mother corrected her. The next time he told me that he was going to marry her was at Prom-

Steve was sitting on the curve in the parking lot holding a towel up to his bleeding nose. He had just got kicked out of his senior Prom for fighting. The guys were talking mess about his sister he told them to stop and knock it off they didn’t and a fight began. The guys who beat him up were still inside dancing the night away while he was bleeding outside. 

“Sorry I ruined your night. I know you were trying to make it special for her.”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” Bucky said as he rubbed Steve’s back.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get your dance.”

“It doesn’t matter Steve. Because I’m going to marry that girl and after we’ll have a million dances”

As if on cue (y/n) came out screaming at the top of her lunges cursing everybody. 

“Are you sure?”

“he said he was sure. I mean She was screaming at the top of her lunges like a banshie but he looked at her like an angel fallen from heaven. She looked like something that crawled up from hell in a dress” Everyone began to laugh while (y/n) dunked her head embarrassed  Bucky kissed her hairline and brought her back up. “ The third time he said it we were camped out in Germany as soldiers. And he didn’t just tell me he told everyone who would hear. And showed them all a picture of his future wife.”

The soldiers were sharing stories and photos of their families and loved ones. Bucky was eager to tell his story when it was his turn. Steve just rolled his eyes as he watched his friend bounce in his seat.

“Alright Barnes, you’re practically vibrating over there. Tell us about yours.”

“ (Y/n), (y/n) Rogers,” Bucky said as he passed around a picture of her.

“My sister” Steve as he passed around a different picture of her.

“Isn’t she beautiful? she’s at home waiting for us. She’s.. the one who keeps pushing me. If it wasn’t for her I would have kicked the bucket already.”

“What am I a bug?” Steve said throwing up his arm very offended but Bucky ignores him.

“She’s the love of my life. I can’t imagine living life without her and I don’t want to. And When we get back I’m going to marry her.”

“Are you asking me or tell me?”

“So yeah everyone knew who Bucky’s future wife was before she herself knew. Like even the German Prisoners we caught he showed them pictures of her too. I think that was Torture for them listening to him go on and on about her for hours and days. They were annoyed so much they became allies to get away from him.” Now it was Bucky’s turn to be embarrassed and Sam was eating it up as Bucky dipped his head into his wife’s neck hiding. 

“And the last time he said he was going to marry her I was done for nearly 70 years he’s been talking about this girl and how he was going to marry and make his wife yet he hadn’t even asked. I was kind of over it at that time.”

“ Reaper, Reaper, That's what people call me. Why? 'Cause they all die. When I sing, I end their lives. You act as though payback makes you a nobleman. Is that a fact? Well, you're a goddamn philistine! “

(Y/n) was sing and skipping through the compound looking for her target. Even though it was really creepy and scary the singing was doing good as it was making the agents run away from her and towards the others who would rather be knocked out and captured by them then killed brutally by her.

“(y/n), honey, but that song is extremely creepy can you turn off your mic.

“Don’t you dare darling. You sing your heart about baby girl.” Bucky said scoffing at Tony

“Requiem aeternum, reaper has come, sinner.

Thigh-high socks are my absolute territory, Go on and drool, the Otaku can not resist. You think the fire in your eyes makes you a tiger in disguise? Dream on, you goddamn pussy! “ she began to sing louder

“Friday Please mute (Y/n)”

“Reaper, reaper, That's what people call me. -”

“Thank you.”

“For shame on you Tony for shame.”

“Shut up Barnes. You can make her sing when we get back to the compound” Tony teased the others laughed as Steve then turned off his own mic as he did not want to hear them talking about his sister like that. Bucky, who was standing next to him, followed suit turning his off as well.

“I like her singing”

“It is creepy, Bucky.”

“She sings other things as well. She has a very beautiful voice”

“I know. You forget she uses to sing me to sleep when I was sick. Sunshine was my favorite song.” Steve smiled at the memory. 

“Sunshine?” Sam question as he stepped out of a lab and started to walk next to them.

“You are my sunshine. My only sunshine You make me happy-you know that song.”

“I don’t know why but I can’t imagine her sing that song.” As if on cue (y/n) came skipping down the hall she was in her usual gear a black bulletproof dress that stopped at her knees. A small amount of blood was splashed on her face and her shoes left an imprint of blood in her steps. In one hand she had her dagger and the other her danger. She smiled and waved with her dagger as she skipped along still singing.

“Requiem eternal, Bullets right through the sternum, Lullaby to hell bane, Reaper's got your name. 

Margaret is Greek you geek, It means a pearl, I'm a pure girl. Boys cannot crack this oyster shell, So go on, whip around that sword like you're the best, It's such a bore, Another hero? Oh please”

They all waited until her singing faded away before speaking again. It was Bucky who spoke first and his words shocked Sam but made Steve roll his eyes.

“I’m going to marry that girl”

“Are you sure?” Sams asked looking concerned but also amused “ That seems a bit dangerous”.

“I don’t care I’m going to marry her. I’m going to make her my wife.”

“JUST DO IT ALREADY” Steve shouts startling both Bucky and Sam “ You’ve been talking about this for nearly 70 years just do it already. I’m tired of hearing about it but never see it. Don’t get my hopes up pop the fucking question.” Steve walked away mumbling about how slow Bucky was and he probably has to wait another 50 years. Sam and Bucky just looked at each other.

“After that, he came home and finally asked her. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’ve watched you guys love each other for a hundred years. I’ve watched Bucky promise himself to you and only you for a hundred years. The years have not been kind to any of you. You’ve both changed dramatically, you both grew, you lived through time. But the thing that stayed constant with you two was your love for each other. You two have loved each other for a hundred years. And now I asked everyone to raise their glasses for another hundred years of pure love for these two”

“AND THEIR BABIES” Tony shouted everyone laughed Steve smiled

“And their future children.”

Everyone cheered as their glasses clinked and they drank. (Y/n) and Bucky smiles sharing a gentle kiss. He was right the only constant in her life so far was her love for Bucky. And Bucky always had her name at the back of his mind and his love for her on the tip of his tongue even when he couldn’t remember her. In their hundred years, happiness had not been a constant, with the way they were living it was a privilege they were not allowed to have. But now the darkness was fading away and bringing forth the light they were ready for it and they were going to protect it. 

No more hate, No more pain, no more grief, no more abandonment, Just pure happiness and nothing more. This is what she always wanted and she finally got it. 

It wasn’t perfect but it was hers.

The End

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@acupofhotlatte

[atamascolily]

Continuing with The Vein of Gold exercise, more films, more themes. I’m so predictable, y’all.

(Aka what Captain America has in common with Matilda)

9. Matilda

Nobody does montages like this film. There are at least three, and they’re all amazing.

10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (live action I, II, and III)

(I didn’t hallucinate these films, okay??)

11. The Shadow

12. Jurassic Park

13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This particular gif looks like it ought to be Renaissance painting or something.

14. Night at the Museum

15. Hanna

Apparently, freeway fight scenes are a thing for me? They’re a staple of CA:TWS, along with Terminator and the Matrix films. Not to mention a lot of the Inception set pieces. Basically, if a film is set in modern times and has any action scenes whatsoever, I want one on a freeway, kthanx. Maybe because I hate being stuck in traffic? Or maybe just because it looks cool?

Identity issues: boy does CA:TWS have them in spades. From Bucky’s brainwashing--”Who’s Bucky?”--to Natasha’s “Who do you want me to be?” questions abound. Natasha is constantly changing her identities--literally in the climax--and her hacking saves the day. Her final scene is very reminiscent of Sarah Connor’s in Terminator, too. For the first time, Steve faces an opponent who’s literally his equal and opposite, so the doubling/duality motif is reminiscent. And the Winter Soldier is also a slightly-more-human version of the Terminator! He even has a metal arm and programming!

Also, the film as a whole is super-suspicious of technology, and there’s the ‘80s references of the old computers in the bunker and “Shall We Play A Game?” Not to mention HYDRA’s surveillance thing is kinda like Skynet, plus they intend to target people for what they might do in the future, and not stuff they’d already done...

(NB: Both Terminator and CA:TWS are thematically reminiscent of Three Days of the Condor--which I have not seen, but have read the novelization. I fucking hate Condor, because it is such an obvious Male Fantasy, with an obvious Male Gaze, Cardboard Cutout Female Characters and a Doormat Obligatory Love Interest. Maybe the movie is better?? God, I hope so. But aside from its initial premise, Condor  is thoroughly grounded in “the real world,” lacking super-soldiers or robots to make it engaging for me.)

What can I say about the three live-action TMNT films? Um, so they tap into the “underground” theme I have going, and also “nifty puppets/sfx”, “so much the ‘80s/early ‘90s,” and martial arts mastery. April and Casey are weird foils to Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, and the Shredder and Darth Vader have a lot in common, as do Splinter and Yoda. April is inducted into the weird alterworld of mutant turtles and yakuza gangs, and the turtles get mistaken for entertainers/performers at several key points across the three films. The first two films are set in New York, with a focus on sewers and urban squalor, but also a pastoral retreat to April’s family farm during the training montage/rest and recovery sequence. Leonardo--always my favorite--communicates telepathically with Master Splinter, and the turtles stage a rescue like Luke tries in ESB and succeeds (on several occasions) in ROTJ. There’s a constant tension between maintaining the masquerade and uncovering the truth. There’s even a time-travel plot to take them back to medieval Japan, thus melding all of the themes/motifs together!

Not to mention the radioactive ooze that creates the turtles in the first place as a comment on questionable tech--it also creates some of the antagonists in The Secret of the Ooze AND GIANT MUTANT DANDELIONS.And there’s a sequence where they break into a lab full of early ‘90s computers that could be straight out of Jurassic Park. So, um, yeah, about that....

Jurassic Park:  amazing sfx and puppetry. Human interactions with the other--usually but not always negatively. Badass botanist (wish Ellie were the main character instead of Grant but still!). Ominous jungle setting. Tension between science/tech and biology. Mutations as a plot point. “Life, uh, finds a way.” A corporate museum getting trashed by a T-rex in the climax--contrast with Night at the Museum, for a more docile take on the same motif! Tension between the truth and maintaining the masquerade. The perils of corporate power--see Ian Malcolm’s speech on the importance of moral responsibility and power. (Yes, he is an asshole and the author mouthpiece, but he’s also Jeff Goldblum, so he gets away with it.) Contrast this with Cyberdyne System in Terminator, and HYDRA’s surveillance system in CA:TWS. Also, shirtless Jeff Goldblum - contrast with the male nudity in Terminator, and Captain America’s and Luke Skywalker in tank tops and short sleeves. Also, “Dinosaur eats man / Woman inherits the earth” exchange. And GIANT REPTILES just like TMNT!

The Shadow: huge Asian/martial arts influence on the hero. Rigorous training with mystics in the wilderness. Psychic powers. Secret identity, keeping up appearances, and maintaining the masquerade. Self/shadow--it’s the hero’s superhero NAME; IT’S NOT SUBTLE. “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? THE SHADOW KNOWS! *ominous cackling* Fabulous fashion. Plot points involving a sarcophagus and busting into a museum (paging Night at the Museum). Amazing scenery, especially all of the hotel sequences. As always, I’m more interested in the female side character--in this case, Margo Lane--than anything else. Also, a scientist character played by Ian McKellen with questionable tech!

(I will never claim this film is good, and it has a TON of problematic elements, but even so, it made an impression on me, especially since I had been listening to a lot of vintage “The Shadow” radio dramas before I saw this, so I was familiar with The Shadow’s basic schtick. Also, even though it sounds like a cliche, The Shadow pretty much invented all the superhero tropes, so technically Batman and Dr. Strange owe him a debt and not the other way around... )

Hanna is very similar to Terminator, CA:TWS, and Matrix in that it features a protagonist being relentlessly hunted--in this case, by government agents very similar to those in the latter two films, only played by Cate Blanchett. Amazing underground lair/chase sequence, plus a fight in a German subway station; not to mention great desert sequences (hi, Star Wars!) and an abandoned theme park.

Matilda: the power of reading, a young girl saving the day because Adults Are Useless, classics references, newts, telekinesis. Like Steve Rogers, refuses to be cowed or lie, even when it would be in her own best interest to give in to tyranny. Interesting foil with Hanna, in that both are named after their super-powered protagonist, only Hanna’s powers are all based in incredible violence. Hanna is also wrestling with the question of who she is and what her purpose is in life, and she’s a survivor, just like Sarah Connor in Terminator. Also, a question of heritage and origins, as in Star Wars.

Night at the Museum: I usually don’t like Ben Stiller, and I think this movie would be stronger with a different lead actor, but Robin Williams is great as Teddy Roosevelt (mentor figure!) and it’s a natural history museum coming to life after hours with a giant T-Rex skeleton. Also, the miniatures are hysterical, and Akmenrah is great (contrast with The Shadow for their museum MacGuffin, too). Great sfx, too. Contrast with Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump in Return to Oz, too. See also Steve stealing his uniform out of the Smithsonian in CA:TWS. It’s also a Found Family (or Family Reclaiming, depending on your point of view) along with The Secret Garden, and Matilda, and Star Wars and...

Anyway, I’m pretty sure a bot armed with this information could be used to generate stories tailor-made for me, which is both hilarious and frightening to think about.

Stories: I have a type.

[djinmer4]

Olympia (Noir AU)

Takes place in the future.  Sometime after they moved in together.

“So what’s the new book going to be about?”  Kurt wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and buried his face in her hair.  At home, with Kitty focused on her typewriter, the surgeon had taken off his perpetual mask.  “Another murder mystery?

“Nah, the next one’s going to be about searching for a lost temple.  ‘Florida Smith and the Ruby-Eyed God’ is the working title.  But this isn’t part of that series.”

“Oh?  Your editor’s not going to be happy about that.  Shouldn’t you be working on the Florida Smith series?”

“As long as I continue to turn in my manuscripts on time, Abe Berenstein has no claim on what I do for fun.  Besides, I’m actually ahead on the next one, I just stopped because I needed a break to get over some writer’s block.  I’m hoping that trying something new will breath new life into the novel.”

“Fair enough.  I’ve never been much of a creative writer so I’ll take your word on it.  So what’s this new novel about?”

“A bit of mystery mixed with horror.  I’ve got the idea of a type of golem, one shaped like a beautiful woman who acts as a mechanical nightingale for her owner.  Except she sings so beautifully, that it compels people to murder her owner to possess her.  With each death, she grows more and more beautiful.”

Wagner hummed as he molded himself against the back of her chair.  “Sounds creepy.  You should name the golem Olimpia.”

“Olimpia?  Why that name?”

“Your story reminds me of Hoffman and his Sandman.  Olimpia, the mechanical daughter of Spalanzani who seduces the student with her beauty.”

Kitty thought about it, then wrote down a name ‘Olympia’.  “Like that?  I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this story before.”

Kurt reached over and corrected her spelling.  “Like that.  I’ll see if I can find a copy for you.  We can read it together.”  The young woman coughed politely.  “Or I can read and translate it for you.”

“That would probably work out better.”

“I think I’m stuck.”  Kitty sighed and erased the last passage she’d written.

“What’s wrong?”  Kurt asked, his voice slightly muffled by the shower.

“The deaths.  So, the first guy kills the original owner.  But how?  And then he dies . . . by what?  Does guy number two just drop dead?  What would produce that condition?  And how does guy number three know about what happened to the two guys before him?”

Kurt came out of the bathroom and brushed a kiss over her temple.  "I’ll see if I think of anything that will help tonight.  As for connections, why not dreams?”  Kitty looked up, just in time for Kurt to cover his face with his surgical mask again.  “Each madman dreams of the life of the one before him.  So the murderer dreams of the old man and the parties he threw to show off his creation.  Then the young man dreams about the life of the murderer, waiting and waiting for the golem to sing.”

Kurt woke when his lover moved on their bed.  When he heard the click of the lamp, he opened his eyes to see Kitty sitting up, holding her palimpsest and busy scribbling.  The older man moved away from the light and caught her attention.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Not at all.  I just had the most inspiring dream and needed to write it down before I forgot it in the morning.  I’ll go out to the living room and you can go back to sleep.”

Kurt shifted to shade his eyes and face with his hand and scooted closer, to hide his face in her hip.  “It’s fine.  Just let me see what you wrote tomorrow.”

“Well . . . “

“You don’t like it.”

“I expected something more like a knife stabbing!  Or assault and battery with a fire poker!  The murderer just bashed the old guy’s head on the fireplace mantle?  What a letdown.”

“That’s the point.  The murderer didn’t mean to kill the old man.  He panicked because the first owner was about to start shouting.  In the heat of the struggle . . .”

“I suppose not everyone can be cold-blooded killers.”  Kurt sighed.  “Look, if you’re that bound and determined to keep this scene, you have to make some changes.  First, bodies don’t cool that rapidly.  1.5 degrees for every hour.  Second, there would be much more blood from a head wound.  Next . . . “

“Sometimes I feel you forget about me when you’re writing.”

Brown eyes looked up, surprised.  “I’m sorry!  Were we supposed to do something today?  Did I miss one of your days off?”

“Not at all.  Although you should probably eat this before it gets cold.”  The prematurely grey man passed her a plate of take-out.  “But when you’re in the zone, I could juggle a half-dozen knives and you wouldn’t even notice.  Makes me wonder what it would take to get your attention.”

Kitty eagerly dug in.  “It’s not like I don’t try to write every day.  But sometimes you’ve got to strike while the inspiration is hot.”

“I’ve never had a writer for a lover before.  It’s an interesting situation.  You’re almost always around when I come home and yet sometimes it feels you’re a hundred miles away when we’re in the same room together.  The challenges are quite unique.”

“But do you mind?”

“If I hated it, I would have left a long time ago.”  Kurt carefully turned away to take another bite.  “By the way, I’m working a double shift tomorrow.  So I won’t get back until very late.  Try to eat something without being prompted.  And be careful if anyone comes by in the evening.  There have been a lot of robberies in the neighborhood.”

“Detective Logan?”

“Kurt, you’d better sit down.”  The shorter man grabbed the surgeon’s arm and pulled him away from where the gurney was being wheeled into the operating room.

“Sit down?  But I’m on call, I should-”

“Sit down!”  The detective applied enough pressure that the other man was forced to take one of the emergency ward chairs.  “The nurse has already called Dr. Conners to work on this patient.”

Kurt stilled.  “Logan?  Who just got wheeled in?”  His voice was almost unnaturally calm but the Canadian detective wasn’t fooled.

“Kurt, I’m sorry to tell you, but your girlfriend got shot by the local robber.  He apparently broke in through the window and surprised her at her desk.  She managed to scare him away and call for help.”

The German crumpled in his chair.  “Do you know how bad she is?”

“I ain’t a doctor, bub.  But I was one of the first arrivals.”  Logan stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels.  “There was a lot of blood.  It don’t look good.”

Kurt nodded.  A seconds pause, and then he sprung up again, pacing back and forth rapidly.  “Ich, ich, I have to leave.  I can’t stay here and do nothing.”

One of the nurses overheard.  “But Dr. Wagner-”

“-is trading shifts with me.”  The three people in the waiting room looked up.

With his mask on, the expression on the junior surgeon’s face couldn’t be seen (not that anyone there would have recognized it) but his eyes clearly conveyed his relief.  “Thank you, Dr. Richards.”

The other man punched his shoulder.  “You’ll be taking my double later this month.  Hopefully, by then, your Kitty should be ready to go home.  Dr. Conners is really an excellent surgeon so you have nothing to worry about.”

“What a ridiculous statement.  Like knowing that would stop me from worrying.”

“She’ll be fine, Wagner.  Just go and work off that tension somewhere else.  You’re making everyone here even more anxious.”

He nodded.  “Maybe a walk will settle my nerves.  Logan, stay here.  If anything occurs, I want you to tell me when I get back.”  The older man nodded and Kurt ran out of the emergency ward.

“Hey, is that the Demon?”

Indeed, walking into the Black Cat speakeasy, was the Demon, blue mask and all.  He headed straight to the bar and held out a folded bill to Felicia Hardy.  She took the cash, then rung up a ‘No Sale’ in her register.  “So what will it be tonight?”

“A line on the burglar casing Eastern Manhattan.  I’ve got a rush job to do and I’d like some pointers on his technique.”  Rather than bother to inform him of the robber’s location, the blonde simply pointed to one of the tables in the shadowy corners of the speakeasy.  A nod from the Demon and a few quick words to the man’s tablemates and the two criminals had left the building, to walk in the deserted alleys of New York.  “Busy night, nicht war?”

“Huh?  Oh, yeah.”  The goon reached up where the sticking plaster was on his face.  “Tonight’s job didn’t go so good.  The doc was out but turns out his moll was still there.  She got me good with her nails but put a bullet in her belly, so there’s that.  But she managed to call the fuzz down on me before I could finish her off.  I hope my face doesn’t scar.  If she makes it and tells the police, that’ll be the end of it for me.  The Brotherhood don’t like freelancers on their territory.  If they catch me, it’ll be curtains.”

“Aha.”

“Hey, is that why you wear that mask all the time?  So the witnesses can’t pass your description to the fuzz?”

“That’s one of the reasons.  There are a couple of others.”  With one smooth turn, the assassin drew his gun and fired.  The thug, coincidentally, had stooped down to tie his shoe, causing the older man to miss.  He backed away, terror filling his eyes.

“What the fuck!?!  What’s this all about?”

“I usually don’t care about what you other lowlifes care to do with your time.  But it’s quite a different story when my girlfriend ends up on the wrong side of the bullet.  Blame your bad choice in targets this evening.”

“Wait, wait, that was your apartment I broke into?  Fuck, you bastard, let me go or I’ll tell every reporter in the city your real identity!”  The robber ripped a slat of an abandoned pallet and swung it at the Demon’s head.  The man dodged, but the ragged edge caught on the strings holding his mask up and ripped it away.  The thug looked at his face and screamed.  “You monster!”

The man didn’t bother picking the mask up again.  “No one sees my face and lives anyway, but I guess you’re just dead two times over now.”  He smiled, the rotted skin of his face pulling into a death rictus.

“So now the main character’s wife gets shot at the end?”

Kitty nodded absently as he helped her up the stairs.  “Yeah.  I thought I might as well put my experience to good use.”

“I suppose.  You don’t mind if I refuse to buy this one when it comes out?”

“Nah, I understand that it brings up bad memories for you.  But this time I can promise that the near-death experience will sound completely authentic!  And the wife lives!”

“Still . . . “  He opened the door to his (their) apartment.  “I made a few changes while you were recovering.”

She noticed the bars on the window.  “Uhh, is that safe?  What if there’s a fire?”

“Quick release on the floor.”  He demonstrated.  

“Oh, bee’s knees then, I guess.  But Kurt, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Kitty, I almost lost you that day.  I couldn’t bear it if something like that happened again.”   He grasped her hands in his.  “Those hours, waiting for you to come out of surgery made me realize something.  I don’t want to be parted from you again.  Katzchen,” he used his special nickname for her.  “Will you marry me?”

The ring was beautiful, an emerald cut diamond on a platinum band.  But Kitty didn’t even look at it, staring instead into her boyfriend’s blue eyes.  She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek through his mask.  “Yes!”

[hcneymilkks]

24K Jinhong | The Purge

REPOSTED FROM WATTPAD! 

next

[ALL P.O.V's THAT HAVE NO NAME ON TOP BEFORE THE SENTENCE STARTS IS Y/N's WORDS AND THOUGHTS.]

[ALSO, SOME OF THE DESCRIPTION IS FROM 24K's MV "STILL 24K" AND "BINGO". THE SAME MEMBERS IN THOSE MV's WILL BE USED HERE. CREDITS TO THE TRAILER OF "THE PURGE" AS INSPIRATION FOR THIS IMAGINE.]

[STARS (***) WILL REPRESENT NEW P.O.V's WHILE DASHES (---) WILL REPRESENT CONTINUING P.O.V.'s]

[Y/N means your name and Y/F/N means your friend's name.]

The poster flapped vigorously in the wind, one corner already peeling off. In bright red letters painted to look like streaks of blood, it said 'On October 13th, 2018, all crime will be legal for twelve hours, starting at midnight. Be prepared, for you don't know what's coming for you.'

News stations around the city were announcing this very important yet dangerous day, encouraging us fellow citizens to lock our doors and hide. As if it would help. People in this century know how to pick locks, or even easier, blow up the whole front door.

Once the twelve hours end, all citizens are to resume their daily lives like normal, only some may have lost valuables, doors, and even people. No one can report the crime, for the criminals are safe under the law, The Purge Law.

"The Purge Law states that any crime, whether small or extreme is legal. Any persons killed are given a regular funeral, no compensation may be given. All weapons used are granted permission by the government to be registered yet the files will be destroyed after twenty-four hours. No one is protected, everyone is vulnerable on this day." The newscaster read, making me chuckle.

History has shown that The Purge has been going on for one hundred years, starting in 1918 when the Ku Klux Klan in the United States had reformed. Their goal was to use violence against Blacks, Roman Catholics, Immigrants, and anyone who supported giving minority groups equality rights. Their vision was to have a White Christian supremacy, just like how Hitler in World War Two wanted Germans to be the Master Race.

But now, people have used it just to reduce the population, or to get revenge on a family member or friend, or anyone who just doesn't fit in society.

Coming from Japan, where little to no crime happens, I wanted to see it in action. Yes, I wanted to leave myself as vulnerable as I can, even if it means I'm asking for a death wish.

***

[JinHong]

October 10th, 2018

11:09 PM

JeongUk's garage was filled to the brim with boxes on each side, a couch in the middle, and a table with weapons.

Hui was using a cloth to wipe down a simple handgun, one of his favorites.

"So," Cory, the appointed leader started. "Does anyone have a specific person in mind to target?"

"Just anyone who gets in my way," Kisu says, twirling a dagger around his fingers with careful yet fast movements.

JeongUk nods in agreement.

"Changsun, Hongseob?"

"I mean, I want to steal rather than kill because you can sell the valuable items in exchange for money and maybe invent something new," Changsun says shyly.

"That's a good idea," Hongseob says and uses the computer. "According to Google Maps, there are many jewelry places in Portland so it's either we can split up or go altogether."

Cory puts a hand under his chin. That signifies he is thinking of a plan. "I believe it's best to go in all together. That way if anyone tries to attack, we all protect one another."

"But doesn't the law state that all of us are vulnerable no matter what? It's like saying not to trust in one another and only focus on ourselves." Changsun explains.

"What? Do you think we are going to just abandon one another? Or are you the one who's going to abandon us?" Kisu says angrily and Changsun gulps in fear, probably regretting speaking up.

"Easy now Kisu, I need you to save that energy for tomorrow," Cory says. He turns to Changsun. "Changsun, there's no need to worry, we are all in this together okay? We will protect one another."

"Let's go till the end." Changsun mumbles.

Cory turns to me. "JinHong, usually you're the most talkative. What? Cat's got your tongue?"

I playfully smirk. "Nope. I just wanted everyone to have a chance to speak what they want to."

"Now they have. So, what specific person do you want to target?

"Well, remember when I joined this gang group for one reason only?" I ask.

Cory nodded. "You said your parents died in The Purge when you were only nine."

"I found the people responsible for my parent's death."

"But the law states that-" Changsun started but I interrupted him.

"I know. The law states that you can't press charges or throw them in jail or something like that. But that's not it. I saw in old records that in 2008 they moved to Japan and stayed there until they died."

"So...if they died, who are you targeting?" Kisu asks, clearly annoyed.

I smirk. "They were husband and wife, and from reading many books, couples want to have children. The wife gave birth to a daughter, who they both kept their secret from her. But, she's here, and I want her. I want her to know the truth of what her parents have done. I want her to know how it feels to have your heart ripped out and your breath stuck in your throat. I want her to die a slow and painful death."

---

"Hey baby," Chun-Li kisses me on the lips. I feel Kisu shooting glares at me but I ignore it.

"What's up? Anything new with the girl?" I ask her. Along with Hongseob, Chun-Li is an expert of hacking and tracking down people.

"Not much. All I know is her name, how old she is, what city she lives in, and her hobbies."

"Spill," I said.

"Her name is Ji Y/N. She's nineteen years old, she currently resides in Portland, Oregon and loves to read and write."

I smirk and kiss Chun-Li on the lips happily. "Get ready baby, for the 13th will be the best day of your life!" I pick her up and bring her inside one of JeongUk's many rooms, with her laughing.

***

October 12th, 2018

3:34 PM

I walked along the streets of Portland, letting the cool air surround my skin. It was like giving me an extra layer of protection from the harsh rays of the sun and from the scorching heat. Many people smiled and laughed as they walked, but it was a shame to see that all of this would be gone in less than twenty-four hours.

The bookstore was calling me so I entered roamed around. Fairy tales, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Murder, Romance and many more genres swarmed around my eyes. Oh, how I wanted to have all of them. I smirked. Stealing books was the one thing I have been dying to do since I've heard about The Purge.

At the corner of my eye, I saw a speck of black. Craning my neck to where it came from, my eyes immediately land on a blank black cover. No title, no author. I pick it up and flip to a random page. Nothing. I look at the back to see if there is a price tag. Nothing.

I put the book down and go back to looking around but my feet indistinctively went back to the same place where the book was.

Although The Purge started tomorrow, I couldn't help myself and tucked the book into my bag, walking away and praying that no alarms will go off. Once I pushed the door and walked out, I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

---

6:50 PM

Unlocking the door, I walk in but step on my own foot causing me to lose my balance and almost faceplant into the hardwood floor.

"Woah girl did you drink? Why are you walking all tipsy?" My friend Y/F/N asks.

"No. You know how clumsy I am. I legit just stepped on my own foot. You know how saddening if would have been if I dropped my bubble tea? I paid six dollars and thirty cents for it."

She starts to laugh. "This is why you should stay in the house during The Purge. It's either you are going to run away from the person and fall in the middle of it, or you are gonna talk so much that the person can't be bothered with you. So it's a fifty-fifty chance you make it out alive."

"Are you dissing me or offending me?"

She smiles evilly. "Whatever you think it is."

"I hate you."

"You know you love me."

---

That night, we watched a lot of action and defense movies "in order to protect ourselves if we get in that kind of situation" as how Y/F/N described it.

We moved to the basement and sat on the floor cross-legged, each of us having a knife and a handgun.

It's now eleven fifty-seven pm and at any given moment, our phones are supposed to go off. At least that's what they said.

"Y/N?" Y/F/N asked.

"Hmmm?" I responded.

"You won't betray me, right? We will survive this together right?"

I nodded. "After my parents died I had no one. You took me in because we looked like twins. Over the past few months, we did a lot together. I wanna continue it. I can't lose you."

She started crying and I saw her phone screen light up. One minute. I hugged her back.

"I love you, my twin."

12:00 AM

Beeps came from our phone, signaling a text alert.

'ATTENTION! THE PURGE HAS NOW STARTED. THE BILL OF RIGHTS HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY TAKEN DOWN AND BEEN REPLACED BY THE PURGE LAW. YOU HAVE TWELVE HOURS TO COMMIT A CRIME IF CHOSEN TO. OTHERWISE, BRACE YOURSELVES, FOR YOU WON'T COME OUT THE SAME WHEN YOU FIRST CAME IN.'

Muffled sobs came from Y/F/N's mouth and I whispered soothing words into her ear, trying to keep her voice down.

It was quiet, too quiet.

"Why does the government have this Purge thing going on every year?" I whisper.

She opened her mouth to say something until a crash was heard upstairs. She buried her face in my shoulder and I rubbed circles on her back.

Loud steps, not one, not two, more like eight people were walking. I heard fabric being ripped, glass shattering. I pictured the whole living room a mess.

"Stay here," I whispered. "Go hide in the hidden closet. I will come back once everything is fine upstairs."

I was about to leave until Y/F/N grabbed my wrist.

"You said you wouldn't leave me. Please stay."

I pried her hand off my wrist and tears were in her eyes. "I can't, if we both want to live, one of us has to go up there. Just trust me. If I'm not back here in thirty minutes, stay hidden and don't make a sound." She nodded and I trudged up the stairs, using my phone as a small flashlight to guide me.

When I turned at the stairs I immediately closed my phone, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the dark as quickly as they can.

"There's no one here." One person says.

"Do you think she left?"

"That's not possible, there's still a bowl of fresh popcorn on the coffee table." Another one says.

Wait, how can they see that? It's pitch black outside and they didn't even open any of the lights.

I quietly went up the stairs and took out my knife. If I can get close to one of them then I can-"OUCH!" I covered up my mouth.

"Who's there!" One took out their flashlight and I tried to run away but I bumped into something, wait no scratch that. I bumped into someone.

The person took out their phone and shone their light on me, revealing a boy who looks my age with silver hair wearing a black bandana as a mask.

"HONGSEOB, CHUN-LI! IS THIS HER?" The boy yells and another one comes and puts a device to my face.

"JinHong, it is." the boy says and the silver-haired boy who I presume is JinHong pulls down his mask and smirks.

"Ji Y/N, you're coming with me." and I felt something heavy hit the back of my head, the last thing on my mind was if Y/F/N was going to be okay.

MASTERLIST

[matrixaffiliate]

Glimpsing Happiness

Co-written with @hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon​

FFN and AO3

Chapter 15

It had been quiet at home since the evacuating. David had been injured in the evacuation, both legs broken and shrapnel in his back. Marlene could still hear Mary's scream as he was carried into the hospital on a stretcher that first day. She now slept sitting in a chair next to David's cot, though the Sister over the night shift of the Orthopedic Ward told Marlene she usually ended up half in the chair and half on David's cot. Starting that first day Marlene brought Mary everything she needed to more or less live next to David's cot. Marlene showed up a half hour before her shift every day. She'd bring a clean uniform for Mary. She prepacked breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She'd sit outside the patient showers to make sure Mary had her privacy. She stayed after her shift for as long as Mary needed her to be there to talk and reassure her that it was going to be ok. Then she'd go home, do the laundry, do the dishes from the day before, make Mary's meals for the next day, eat the easiest and fastest thing she could before falling into bed and passing out cold. It had become mechanical because if she took a moment to really think it through, everything she was doing, Marlene was pretty sure she would break down. So she went on autopilot.

She even forgot to read her parents' letter that arrived a few days after the casualties stopped coming in.   When she woke up Marlene decided that reading it while Mary showered was the best option. And so she found herself leaning up against the wall trying to breathe as her Mother's script told her the Germans were flying bombers over her corner of London. They were bombing military targets nearby, but they made a point of flying over London. Her mother doubted it was more than just a scare tactic, but Marlene shuddered thinking about it. She wouldn't put it past the Nazis to bomb civilians. They'd already done it once Mary walked out looking exhausted and smiled tiredly at Marlene as she folded her uniform from the day before. "You're always the sunshine, love." Marlene nodded and hugged her, "We'll be alright." Mary took a deep breath, "David is being given an honorable discharge, Marls. He won't be able to walk right after this. Once he can travel were going back to his family home in Scotland. We're moving my family up there too, the bombers flying over London are giving Mum panic attacks." Marlene felt her throat close up and her stomach drop. "Right, I'm glad you'll be safe." Autopilot. Mary looked like she'd cry, "It's not goodbye, Marly. Our door will always be open, and I'll write you! I'll write to you every week!" Marlene pulled Mary close, "You're pure gold, Mary." "I'll see you this evening?" Mary pulled back to look at her. Marlene nodded and watched Mary walk back to the room David was in. She pulled her mother's letter out of her pocket and looked down at it for a moment before placing it back and slowly walking up to her Ward. Sunshine. There was no sunshine anymore. Marlene had none left. Her best friend was going to be leaving as soon as her husband could be moved. Her parents and sister were now in the flight path German bombers, which as far as she was concerned was just as much a danger as her brother was in - with British ships being targeted almost daily - and as her mother put it, "If the King is not abandoning London, neither shall we." It was a terrifying thought, having her family wiped out. Breathe, Mar. She pushed open the door to Sirius' room and looked over as his face lit up. He always seemed to know it was her. But seeing Sirius and knowing that she would most certainly lose him combined with the news that she could lose her family as well, that her best friend was leaving, and her exhaustion from days of running herself ragged, she felt her world start to collapse. "Good morning, Marlene," Sirius' voice seemed to pull her in. Her feet moved out of habit her body sitting on the bed, her hand grabbing his. But her mind was screaming, her chest was collapsing, she was sure that the world was closing in on her, and finally, the weight was too much and she fell into him. She must have been crying because she felt tears on her face, but she couldn't focus on anything other than how she couldn't breathe. Was the room spinning? She was pretty sure the room was spinning. She felt dizzy and nauseated and lightheaded and she was positive she was going to pass out. But then, something was pulling her back from the brink, a voice. A voice that kept saying her name and so much more but she could only focus on the sound of her name. And so Marlene fought, she fought to breathe, she fought to regain control, she fought to return. It was exhausting, excruciating, but at last, after what felt like an eternity, her breathing eased, her sight was no longer blurred, and she turned to see Sirius' face full of concern. "Hi," she panted ready to simply fall asleep in his arms. "Fucking hell, Marlene!" He pulled her closer. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What happened to you?" "Sunshine," she rested her head against his chest. "Sunshine?" Sirius ran his hand up and down her arm and Marlene briefly wondered what that would feel like without her light gray wool dress uniform on. I've gone round the bend, she chastised herself. "It's a thing Mary and I have. I'm the sunshine," she took in a shuddering breath and fought off the second wave of debilitating panic. "But it's gone now. Mary and David are leaving as soon as David can be moved up to Scotland. My mother wrote to tell me that the German bombers are flying over London, within a half mile of our home. My brother is on a ship patrolling the Channel while Germans are sinking British ships by the bushel. And," she drifted off, not sure she could finish the sentence, not sure she could say how much it was going to kill her when he left too. But for the first time, Marlene chose to believe that maybe he'd at least miss her too. She needed to believe that he cared enough to miss her, just for now, because she was dying thinking anything else. She needed to have something right now, something to keep her sane, and if believing he would miss her, miss the opportunities they could have had, was the lie she told herself to keep sane then so be it. "And I've been trying to make sure Mary has everything she needs to live next to her husband's cot." Marlene continued, realizing Sirius seemed to be holding his breath for her to say something. "I'm making her meals every night for the next day. I'm almost out of ration coupons which depending on when Mary leaves won't be a big deal because I can just eat bread and water. Our shifts are still extended, I'm working through lunch trying to keep up on changing bandages and rehabilitation exercises for all my patients. I haven't had a chance to write my family and I'm sure they all think I'm dead and the telegram hasn't come yet. I'm exhausted Sirius, there's no end in sight. And I just," she took a deep breath, "there's no more sunshine." "Sunshine, huh?" Sirius mused. "It makes sense really. You are kind of like sunshine." Marlene shook her head, "Not anymore, Sirius. I can't face being left alone in this war and still be the sunshine." "You are never going to be alone, Marlene." He pulled her close and Marlene wondered if she imagined the fierceness in his voice. They were sweet words, but words nonetheless. He couldn't promise that her brother's ship wouldn't be the next ship sunk. He couldn't promise that Mary leaving wasn't the start of their friendship falling away. He couldn't promise that the bombs falling on London weren't going to take her parents and sister away. And he couldn't promise that he'd be there because he'd be sent back as soon as his vision returned. And it was slowly returning. They were words, but words were all he had to offer her at this point and honestly, she'd cling to anything he'd offer. Because she knew that one day it would be all she had left. One day, these words would be all she had of him, and so she clung to his words like they were holy water. And because she couldn't handle only words to remember him by and because her shift didn't start for another ten minutes, she kissed him. She knew that the French soldiers were most certainly watching them. She knew that if the Matron chanced walked by she'd be reassigned and heaven knew what else. She knew that this was inappropriate on so many levels. But she also knew she was dying on the inside. She also knew that she loved this man, though it killed her to admit it when he'd be ripped away. And she also knew that she would need more than just words when she was left alone. She knew she'd need something to look back on and smile. She knew she needed this, and the consequences would come or they wouldn't but Marlene didn't care. His hands were running up her arms and then her neck to cradle her face. And then a hand moved to run along her veil until he found her hair hanging loose within it. Her breath caught when his fingers began playing in her loose curls, and Sirius took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Marlene bit back the moan that threatened to escape her as Sirius ran his tongue along her lips and his hand gripped her hair. The light stubble he had at the beginning had become more of a short beard and the hairs scratched against her skin. She wondered what it would have been like to kiss him when he was in proper military dress. His hair not so long. His face clean shaven. His dark green uniform pressed crisp. He moved his lips to her neck and Marlene seemed to regain clarity. Slowly, with an effort almost as great as pulling herself out of her panic attack earlier, Marlene pulled back. Sirius sighed and hung his head, regaining control as well she assumed. "Sunshine," he looked up and smiled at her. "It suits you." Marlene bit her lip, "Thank you. Thank you for everything." "Anything for you, Sunshine." He pulled her back into him and Marlene tried to memorize every detail of how it felt to have him hold her. How he wrapped his arms around her waist, clasping his hands at her hip. How he rested his head on top of her head. How his breathing slowed. How her heart fluttered. How her body stilled in his embrace. She wanted to remember how this felt because she knew she'd never feel it again once he was gone. She wanted these moments tattooed on her mind, constant reminders of the man that she would have given everything for if there hadn't been a war waging around them. She sighed and pulled back. "I'll be back after lunch." She promised him. "Try to eat lunch today, yeah?" He chuckled. "I make no promises but I'll try to fit a sandwich in at some point." She laughed before squeezing his hand and standing. There still was no sunshine, but at least with Sirius, there was a break in the clouds.

[ayellowbirds]

Keshet Rewatches All of Scooby-Doo, Pt. 13: "Which Witch Is Which?"

("Scooby-Doo, Where Are You", Season 1 Episode 13)

AKA "That Voodoo You Don’t Do"

In a misty marsh, a strange, hunch-backed figure pushes a punt boat through the water, pausing to look behind him so the camera can see his face. 

What a looker.

Not far away or long after, the gang are taking a shortcut on their fishing trip. They've gotten lost due to Fred’s terrible route-planning (seriously, I may need to start keeping track from here, i feel like the gang getting lost while on the road becomes a trope later on), and catch sight of a figure by the road, holding a lantern but apparently not visible enough to register as anything strange. While Scooby “fishes” in the back of the van by dipping a line tied to his tail into a bucket full of water, the Mystery Machine pulls to a stop so Shaggy can ask for directions.

Fleeing in terror from the “zombie”, the gang arrive in a community evidently named “Swamp’s End”, if the sign on the General Store is any indication, still quite badly lost. 

While Scooby raids an open tin of beans (wouldn’t they be dry? I can’t imagine wet beans being left out for sale in a non-refrigerated environment), the gang speak to the store owner, a thickly-bearded fella by the name of Zeke. He tells them that the zombie was created by an old witch with “voodoo magic”. Zeke and his buddy Zeb Perkins first caught sight of her six months back, having gone into the swamp for some frog gigging. 

Seen above: the landscaping concept for my fallback retirement plans. The witch chants above her fire, “Smoke of darkness, demon of evil, take the form of the living, and come forth from the flame!” and the logs and fire fade away, replaced by the zombie. He’s even already got his lantern!

While Zeke relates that the town is abandoned except for the two of them and that Zeb has been scared so bad he won’t go outdoors, Scooby’s inattentive eating wind up giving him a mouthful of jumping beans, leading to him bouncing around and hiccuping.

This was a popular bit in older cartoons, especially Hanna-Barbera ones, but it seems like nowadays, “jumping beans” aren’t really part of popular culture. It’s probably because the reason they “jump” is that they’re parasitized by a caterpillar, and novelty items powered by insect larvae are not as popular as @bogleech​ might hope.

While Fred, Velma, and Daphne clean up Zeke’s shop after Scooby’s bug-induced hopping fit, Scooby and Shaggy are tasked with checking on Zeb. They arrive to find his cabin showing sings of having been inhabited, but dusty and full of cobwebs—there’s no sign of Perkins himself.

Well, except for one.

Shaggy assumes that Zeb’s been shrunk, but Velma explains that it’s a “voodoo doll” made in his likeness. “Voodoo” is tossed around a lot in this episode, and that could be blamed on it being the mistaken assumptions of white people and pop culture about any folk magic practices, but pretty much everything observable about the swamp witch except her zombie servant is actually rooted in European and especially English and Germanic folk magic and superstitions. 

Her “Halloween witch” looks draw on the typical mishegoss of stereotypes of feminine villainy that include a vaguely antisemitic hooked nose, and a hat style that i’ve ranted about before (and others have noted is linked to the beer-brewing traditions in Europe, along with things like the broom, solitary old women, and having cats around); the “voodoo doll” is in fact an English-style poppet and most of the connection to voodoo/vodou is based in racist propaganda. Even her hut looks more like something illustrated by Arthur Rackham or Ivan Bilibin.

The gang take a boat out into the swamp and catch sight of their targets, but lose them among the reeds and waters. Continuing further on, they find signs warning them to BEWARE and GO BACK, but press onward, and find the witch’s "shack”—complete with pin-pricked poppets in the likeness of Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy propped up against a mirror! .

Velma thinks it’s “phony baloney”, but  Scooby can’t resist testing it out.

Ah, the loyalty of Man’s Best Friend. “Coincidentally”, Shaggy backs into a fork just as Scooby literally stabs his likeness in the back, and the witch appears in a puff of smoke. “So, you dared entered the swamp in spite of my warning signs!”

Daphne’s response?

Everyone else is stunned by her sick burn, but i notice in this moment that there’s a portrait of the witch up on the wall. What an oddly extra touch on the part of the villains! How long do you figure it took them to make it, or did they acquire it somewhere and tailor the witch disguise to match it?

Enraged, the witch casts a spell on Daphne, bidding the “smoke of evil, make her vanish!” and causing the redhead to disappear in a puff of smoke, leaving only her footprints behind on the rug where she was standing.

The bright pink rug that was not visible in any prior shots, in spite of Daphne’s full body and shoes on the bare wood floor being on-screen. 

But Velma and Fred realize that the way Daphne’s footprints seem to slide backwards mean that there’s a trap door, and find it when investigating below the house. Following footprints further into the swamp in hopes of finding their friend, they catch sight of a derelict river boat and the zombie’s punt... which has an odd little extra.

The end of the punting pole is embellished with a metal tip that has clearly had more intent and care put into its design than the episode’s villains themselves (not to mention such things as bright pink rugs), with extra little indentations and rivets that are far from necessary to convey its role in the scheme.

The gang go to investigate the riverboat, unknowingly watched by the cackling witch and her undead minion, who begin to terrorize the foursome as they split up and search the boat. 

While Shaggy and Scooby flee the zombie, Fred and Velma hear a muffled voice behind a wall with no clear entry, and try to find a secret entrance. Velma tries tugging on a lantern because “it’s always done that way in the movies”, but instead pulls it clean off the wall and tumbles backwards, knocking over an old bucket and sending a bar of soap flying at an emergency axe mounted on the wall—which was the actual trigger for the secret door.

Why is there always a secret door? It’s never just that the door is somewhere else and they happened to take a wrong turn, there’s never just a dead end.

Finding a grunting sheet-clad shape inside the secret room, Velma initially mistakes it for a ghost, but pulling away the sheet quickly reveals it’s Daphne... and a search of the room finds a very modern electrical winch, cutting torch, and set of power tools.

An aside for observation on characterization: i’ve joked a lot about Velma being not as skeptical as she makes herself seem, but i think the “credulity to skeptic” scale of the gang goes something like this:

Shaggy

Daphne

Scooby

Velma

Fred

I rated Scooby in the middle, though it varies in later series, because he actually seems to wind up noticing something isn’t supernatural faster than the others, either due to circumstance or canine senses. When he doesn’t, he usually reacts to a threat because the others are reacting to it, taking cues on what to fear based mostly on Shaggy. Much of the time, he seems innocent to what something could be except “big and angry”, and only really reacts with terror when one of his human friends says something.

Speaking of fear: the witch and zombie take advantage of being a team to terrorize both divisions of the gang at the same time, including the witch seeming to fly after them. But the discovery of a modern fan-powered airboat tucked into a passage in the riverboat also leads to the discovery that the flying witch is nothing more than a painted sheet thrown over a balloon, a cheaper trick than most Halloween decorations.

The airboat’s throttle gets stuck, and Scooby tosses down an improbably large anchor. The jarring stop brings up a lot of swampwater... and an entire armored bank car. Soon, the gang have improvised a rope-and-pulley system with some sturdy trees, and pull the truck to shore, finding sacks full of money with big old dollar signs drawn on, in case you were confused about what the enormous bags secured inside an armored bank car could possibly be.

Fred’s trap this time around is to leave some of those bags out in the open, where the witch and zombie—who the gang rightfully conclude have been hunting for this, using the metal-tipped pole to sound out the swamp floor for the metal roof of the car—can find them. Without breaking character, the gruesome twosome run up to the bags, cackling and mumbling with glee.

Of course, the bags are mostly filled with Scooby and Shaggy.

Kasem’s delivery on this line is magnificent, by the way. Leading the costumed crooks into a trap, the plan almost goes off without a hitch, but as usual, Scooby gets knocked along with the villains into a waiting wagon that rolls downhill towards the open back of the armored car. It’s only Shaggy demonstrating improbable line-casting skill that keeps Scooby from being trapped with the villains, as he uses a fishing pole to snag the bag Scooby is still wearing and pull him back uphill.

Jinkies, but Shaggy is strong. Why is this boy scared of anything? He could probably lift most of the villains of the week with one hand. I feel like there’s a lot to be said about the fact that Shaggy is a jock who doesn’t realize he is one, especially when we get into the episodes and movies where he actually competes in sports.

The gang meet up with a sheriff outside of the General Store, and it’s unsurprisingly revealed that the witch is Zeke, while the zombie is Zeb, explained as having hijacked the armored car in the first place, sinking it to find it later after the heat died down. The Scooby wiki notes that this episode seems to feature a rare example of a character from outside of the gang being reused: the Sheriff originates in the very first episode, as seen in this model sheet from a now-defunct Cartoon Network page, though the episode number doesn’t match up.

The episode ends with the gang musing on this having begun as a fishing trip, and Scooby is still dipping his tail-strung line into a bucket in the back of the Mystery Machine. “Give up,” says Fred, but less than a second later, Scooby pulls a hooked fish out of the water!

As Scooby defies the laws of physics and common sense once more, the gang share a laugh, and... fade to credits.

(like what i’m doing here? It’s not what pays the bills, so i’d really appreciate it if you could send me a bit at my paypal.me or via my ko-fi. Click here to see more entries in this series of posts, or here to go in chronological order) 

[nyanzaya]

OC asks: All even for Zuo, All odds for Iza please.

OC asksZuo: EvensIza: Odds

1. Iza’s favorite color is blue! It’s one of the few colors he can see without assistance.2. Zuo collects small charms. From the simplest looking heart-shaped charm to a complex multi-scale charm.3. I don’t believe Iza is allergic to anything other than stupidity.

4. Zuo wears the simple things, such a boring grey clothing to dark shades of red and light blues. Normally he sports a rather nice suit, of course it’s mainly so Iza can spot him quite easily and leave before Zuo gets aggressive towards him.5. His first memory is that of his first master! Mainly the good parts before things had gone south. Those memories, Iza willingly blocks out still having a bubble-gum picture of his first master, thinking that he could do no harm to him, when really his first master had set Iza up to become an obedient pleasure pet when he was young (perhaps around the age of 7 to 14).6. Zuo’s favorite animal is rabbits. He finds them to be cute, and he wouldn’t harm them at all. I believe he wants a pet rabbit! The animal he likes the least is fish. He doesn’t like anything that is slimy and gross.7. I believe Iza would be air! He can be quite flighty and finicky depending on the situation his secondary element would be water. Underneath his rather aloof or even cold-hearted facade is quite an emotional guy. (He cries a lot I can’t lie.)8. This is a tough one! I haven’t exactly found any songs for Zuo but I think Leo - Xan Griffin (feat. NÉONHÈART) fits him well! 9. Iza and an alt of Izaya Orihara, specifically his neko!version that I haven’t exactly seen anyone use? I remember seeing a few. His voice claim…ah…i don’t have one honestly he doesn’t sound like Izaya, his voice is more… kind of a higher pitch but he doesn’t sound feminine.It’ hard to explain without a voiceclaim, I think I’ll find one for him one day lol10. I suppose he would be wrath. Sometimes he does lose his temper a little too quickly, especially if he saw something immoral. He’s quite hot-headed sometimes for sure but he calms down quickly.11. Oh god. Iza and his hobbies. He has quite a few. A few of his hobbies is ‘scouting out’ potential targets. Even though he doesn’t commit the murder himself he has this tendency in getting to know the person before offing them. Another hobby of his observing people in order to study body language. He is quite good at reading body language already but he loves to learn more. Then..his darker hobbies. They consist of well, torture hahaha. He keeps that hobby hidden!12. Zuo tries very hard to be patient, like very hard. Sometimes he simply can not handle the day and lashes out, letting it be known that he should be left alone. Although, he is usually outside, finding the outdoors to be much better than being inside. He enjoys being outside because he can let off steam if he got angry, usually resorting to punching an inanimate object, like walls or poor trees. Zuo has his good days and bad days, on a good day he is very calm and doesn’t resort to fighting, of course, on a bad day there is a lot of fighting for the road warrior.13. Iza is a male, he is homosexual, his race is Japanese/German(I was actually thinking about his dad and I concluded his dad is probably German lmao), He is a neko (Nekomimi?) His cat breed is Burmese! His occupation is an infobroker, with a side business dealing with hitmen/women and/or assassins14. Zuo loves savory things and things with sauce. If you can make that steak with a sauce or make it taste great he would love it. The food he likes the least is anything sweet, since he can not taste sweet things :( Whenever he gets a sweet he attempts to eat it at some point but often he finds it to be bland and tasteless, resulting in the food to be thrown away. I think he can still have ice cream but only certain flavors!15. Knowing Iza, he would probably want an exotic animal. Nothing small either because he may end up eating it. I think he would want a wolf-dog or a Savanna cat! 16. Zuo smells weird in my opinion? He has catnip cigarettes so I’m not sure if he would smell like smoke or mint, but I like to think he smells like mint, with a few hints of grass and iron, maybe something akin to being sweet? But I don’t think he can smell the sweetness.17. The way Iza makes a living is quite simple, he sells information to people who are willing to pay for it. He makes additional money with his side business. The job he wouldn’t want is something where he has to work hard, like a laborer. His dream job is to be an artist or a chef! Current he is quite content with his information selling job.18. Zuo’s greatest fear is to be scorned and abandoned, especially by his mother. His mother is his source of praise and confidence. If he didn’t have his mother I think he would be more reclusive and to himself. He is very afraid of losing his lover or hurting them on accident even. Zuo doesn’t think of himself as a monster, even if he has a lot of strength (though not as much as Shizuo) but his mother had put it in him since he has been young that his strength should be used to help people and to protect people, and of course, being the mommy’s boy, Zuo listened to his mother taking it to an extreme that everything much be in a particular order and that he should be praised for helping. This extreme gone so far as to have Zuo bring his morals into it, knowing that “This is right” and “This is wrong.” and should he ever find out that someone was even the littlest bit of evil he would want to correct it, to get rid of the evil, of course putting Iza in this equation does not help at all as Iza is neutral evil or the purest form of evil (even if his alignment can change in the moment, Iza is at the core neutral evil.) a clear weakness as I explained his morals is well, his stubbornness and self-righteousness. A strength of his is being a natural protector, coming to the aid of most people!19. Iza’s music genera is quite large, from pop to rock to anime openings to dubstep, all of it. There are even some country songs he likes. Though, most songs he tends to fall in love with, are indeed love songs. His favorite song changes all the time but he always come back to this song: Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (lyrics) and The Vincent Black Shadow - El Monstruo20. Zuo is already in our world. I don’t think this one can be used D: Ahhh…but I mean if he was in the real world he would probably be angry all the time if he watched the news lol21. Iza has a ton of personal issues! Perhaps too many to even say, but at the base of it all, this poor cat needs therapy and probably medication for his PTSD and hallucinations. He has lived through so much I honestly don’t know how he is alive. I believe he is undiagonsed for anxiety, depression and ptsd. There might even be a bit of split personality as well? But it’s very hard for me to say since I don’t know much about split personalities ^^; A few of his pet peeves are being touched without knowing, he gets scared when someone wants to touch his ears without warning since a few people had been too rough with his ears. Don’t try to touch his tail, because he will probably stab you without hesitation. He is hypocritical and finds it to be annoying when someone is being rude to him when he was rude to them lol. He is quite petty over the little things.22. Zuo was that kind of student who didn’t want to work hard but liked to do sports, so of course he had to do well in his classes or else he wouldn’t be able to play in the games, because of that condition he ended up working hard than he needed too. If I were to stereotype Zuo in high school he would probably be that jock that defended the other kids from bullies because he couldn’t tolerate them.23. Unlike Zuo, Iza can taste sweet things! He doesn’t indulge in anything sweet besides strawberry milk! (Zuo and Iza can’t have chocolate unless they want to get sick/poisoned. They can have a tiny amount but that’s about it.)24. Zuo’s outlook on life is quite black and white. He thinks everything can fit into a certain box. If it doesn’t fit he puts it in to a “Well, I guess that’s alright depending.” Box? He is very optimistic about life and thinks for the best. His philosophy is: “If it fits. It sits.” What a very cat-like philosophy honestly, but for him it’s to justify if it’s worth it? Like that one quote “If the shoe fits, it’s yours” or something like that LOL. Zuo thinks life is interesting, probably fun for him since he loves to be outside to experience everything!25. OH MAN. So. Honestly, Iza was created on a whim! It was a stroke of quick inspiration from falling in love with Neko!Izaya. The way I first had Iza was he was a stray cat that caused trouble for seemingly no reason? He had no motive or particular reason why he would cause trouble other than to…cause trouble. I don’t think Iza is a fancharacter? Well he might be considered as such actually. His personality is very complex. At first, he started out as a mix of both Roppi and Izaya? But after a few tweaks he turned out to be quite different from how he originally was. Iza is very intelligent and thinks before he speaks, of course he has moments of impulse where he does or says something without thinking. He is quite charming and often when first interacting with people he plays very friendly, more so to come off as non-threatening to underhandedly get things he wants. For example, if he wanted to get petted, he would intentionally act more cat-like, such a purr and meow to get people to pet him. When he meows, his meows mean different things. The more he meows the more he is trying to come off as “I’m not a smart person, I can meow and say a few words, please take care of me.” the less he meows the more he is “I’m far more superior to you or anyone else in this room. If you think you are better than me you better prove it.” It’s very complex honestly. Sometimes he mixes the two just right. He can be very compromising and very selfish. Iza is honestly a ball of contradictions because he is always at a constant stand off with himself mentally and emotionally. I could explain so much more but I think his Bio explains it pretty good!26. Zuo’s mother, Aiko, of course! She is literally all Zuo has left of what could be called his family. He doesn’t know his father. Honestly, I think Iza is the least important person to Zuo? Of course, Iza is still a great influence of Zuo, since who else is suppose to stop Iza’s evil plans of taking over the world? 27. As a child, Iza was taken care of very well? Despite the fact that he was sold for profit he was placed in good hands that was his first master who let Iza act as a cat for practically all of his childhood. His first master did take very good care of Iza, until his company was bought out and he was losing everything. He didn’t want to get rid of Iza, since Iza was basically all he had when his wife divorced him, but the person who bought the company, Iza’s soon to be second master blackmailed Iza’s first master and was basically forced to give Iza up after he had completed what Iza’s second master had demanded: Turn Iza into a sex pet. Of course, Iza’s first master didn’t want to do this at all, but left with no choice and being black mailed, he did just that. Once Iza was 13-14 he handed Iza over, which basically had broken Iza’s fragile heart and was then chained to a bed until he had gotten free of his 2nd masters old. Truthfully, I don’t know how Iza got away, but I suspect that his second master’s home had gotten raided and the people took Iza with them only to sell him off again, since for what Iza is, he is an expensive cat being that he is pure black with red eyes.28. Zuo is quite confident, I don’t believe he has any nervous habits? Nor does he stim, but for addictions, he is very addicted to his catnip cigarettes as they help calm him down when he is going to explode from rage.29. So, I actually had to think about this. He could have a few eiptaphs. One could be “He died doing what he loved: Testing gravity to the limits.” because honestly that can imply that he died because he threw himself off a building to see if gravity would work and forgot to save himself lmao but that’s dark or the opposite where he was just known to knocking things off tables to test if gravity was working. One phrase he might have is “"I’ll be there when you don’t know what you should do. If you heart breaks I’ll be there to fit it too.“” because he is terrible and something about saying he would be there to fix it too even when he is gone would probably leave this weird complicated feeling. Another one would have to be “"Sometimes you have to accept the fact that there are things that will never go back to how they used to be.““ He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t want anyone to be sad if he is gone? Because even he doesn’t want to be in this world anymore sometimes lol.30. Truthfully, I believe Zuo would definitely want to get married but his issues is he would lose himself in other people? Especially when he puts too much trust and himself in other people. I think Zuo wants kids as well lol, if I wanted to stay with the whole ‘Zuo and Iza are equal and opposite reactions to each other.’ Zuo wouldn’t want kids, but I mean honestly, he would probably want his legacy to live on. He doesn't have any kids.31. Iza’s most traumatic memory is when his second master had caught him, dragged him to the basement and chained him chest forward against the wall and gave him a few lashes with a whip. He has nightmares of the exact moment and sometimes he even hallucinates that he is back there again, feeling an intense pain on his back. Though, on the contrary, his most beloved memory is in high school, when he met Sinzuo! Of course, Sinzuo didn’t like Iza at all? And they would fight but that memory is very important to Iza because it’s probably the first time he ever got to control his actions in making someone angry with him or happy with him. That memory helped shaped Iza to be how he is today!32. The one thing Zuo wants in the world is for peace as well as all evil to be gone? He doesn’t like the idea of evil or immoral things, but well, he has to learn one day that he can’t eradicate all evil and I think he will learn that lesson soon.33. You are talking about Iza here. He kills for a living LOL, but would he do it personally? Of course he would. There are many reasons why he would do it personally: To show that he has the capability to catch and kill someone(this would happen because of his feline instincts, and he does hunt small critters but sometimes he gets bold and goes big or goes home), For his own self-worth (I know that he wants to kill Izaya? Because he hates to be compared or even mistaken for Izaya), Then, out of sheer pettiness. He is quite spiteful and vengeful but it isn’t a common occurrence, it happens usually when the person becomes an inconvenience and Iza doesn’t need them anymore and they ruined a project of his (Project as in a job).34. It’s tough to say for Zuo, since he doesn’t exactly fit into a group? I suppose one group he would fit in is with other vigilantes? Zuo likes to play the role of leader. It depends, but I think his actual role would be that of a leader, though if there already is a leader his secondary role would be that of a sub-leader? Kind of like a manager, I guess. 35. Iza is very imaginative! It depends on if he interacted with people, but if he didn’t he can be lost in day dreams, thinking of things that are probably unspeakable. If he triggers himself he will suffer from anxiety and hallucinate. Sometimes he gets nostalgic and starts to remember pleasant memories, something that’s all he thinks about if he isn’t doing anything to keep himself occupied. Though, if he is alone for too long he will start to revert back into his “cat-mind set” where he is just a cat.36. I think the thing Zuo wants the most in the world is someone he can call his own. A lover or a soulmate. He has a strong need to be with someone he loves because he needs to be praised and loved. Zuo would do just about anything to have someone of his own. Probably sink as low as to kill for it if he really had too. 37. Hmm… I think there is a lot of things Iza does that most people don’t normally do? Just, I don’t know what is normal for people to do? I mean, I guess something Iza does that normal people don’t do is dance on a stripper pole to increase his dexterity and leg strength? Of course, there is also the fact that he meows and purrs a lot that normal people don’t do either lol38. I don’t think Zuo would know what to do with a million dollars other than go out and indulge on his favorite things to do such as: buy his mother an expensive gift, go and buy things for himself, like a new computer, clothes, maybe go to the bar and buy a few drinks and maybe even go to a club. 39. Currently in Iza’s fridge: Strawberry milk, eggs, fruits, bottled water, tea (that isn’t catnip tea the kind that you can buy at the store lol), left over sushi from last night, a few snacks(ham slices, turkey slices, imitation crab and lobster). On his bedroom floor: Cat toys, shoes. On his nightstand: bottled water, his cup that he uses for his catnip tea, an unopened condom because he doesn’t care if anyone sees it, his phone charger. In his trash can: Old fruit, old sushi, broken cups and plates. 40. For a night out, Zuo would be going out if he was asked or if he smelled Iza in the area. Depending on what it is, if he was asked to go out he would wear nice casual clothing, perhaps border-line business casual. If it’s because Iza is out he would wear his normal clothes when he goes to fight Iza. 41. When Iza is angry, he get’s hissy or even passive-aggressive. He would hiss or growl at people, though if he was provoked to the point of no return, he would physically hurt someone, whether by scratching or stabbing. It’s not often that Iza gets angry but he would get hissy/growl because he is giving a warning. When he gets passive-aggressive it’s because he knows he can’t fight the person. The reason he would scratch or stab someone depends, but you shouldn’t drag his close friends into a situation. He’s rather protective of his friends.42. Zuo has a scar on the left side of his chest. He got it from Iza when he had Iza cornered and well Iza felt trapped and lashed out, a normal reaction from him honestly. Some of his scars came from something dumb he did, like he jumped in without thinking. Such as the scar on his ear, he got slashed by a robber who stolen a woman’s purse and he had to get it back for her. Another scar on his leg. He got shot when he was trying to stop a criminal who was running away from him after they had tried to rob him.43. Okay, so, there is a lot of offensive things Iza has said? I know there was a time he called men “dogs” because all they wanted was sex, but now here he is always wanting sex lol, then he called women something horrible? I think he said to a woman that she is perhaps the most disgusting human being on the face of he earth and that was him being generous.44. Depending on how he is criticized Zuo takes it pretty well, of course if it’s harsh he would get upset, but if it’s constructive he would take it in stride and consideration for next time. If he got upset, he probably would feel discouraged from attempting it again if it’s harsh criticism. 45. Iza likes fruit so he would eat it? But if it’s someone he doesn’t like well, they die then and there LOL. The way he would eat it is to eat the pineapples first and then the pizza itself? I mean, he basically would of made it a cheese pizza, but the thing is I don’t think he even likes pizza all that much because the cheese would make him nauseous So, I guess it depends on if he is in the mood to save someone from certain death. 46. Zuo wouldn’t believe it if it was an actual voodoo doll, and would probably keep it because well, someone gave him a gift so he would think that is was probably a lot of hard work for them to make such a thing, but he would definitely test it out by seeing if he can give himself a back rub lol47. Iza sure can draw! He loves to draw, and I think he draws a lot of metaphorical things? Example would be like, drawing the symbol of being alone? Or what happiness is to him or something like that. He doodles a lot of cats lol48. I explained it in an earlier question but Zuo doesn’t know his father. His mother plays an important role in his life giving Zuo confidence and and self-esteem to accomplish his goals. Without her Zuo would definitely be more towards himself, perhaps expressive in love but he wouldn’t be that way in public or towards anyone else that isn’t his lover. Most times he already appears aloof or eccentric, but that would become even more true if he didn’t have the positive influence of his mother.49. Iza doesn’t get sugar rushes, if anything he doesn’t exactly like sweets all that much but he will eat it and chime in happiness about how good the sweets are because someone probably bought it for him and he likes getting free stuff.50. If Zuo was presented with an unavoidable death, I think he would give his things away and make his days count for sure. He wouldn’t be too terribly surprised if his unavoidable death was shown to him because he knows that eventually every body dies and he isn’t exempt from that. If anything, I think he would turn to buddism for his last few days to become enlightened and hope to be reincarnated again since he does believe in that.

[westletter]

Summer 2018

Dear Friends,  It saddens me deeply to report that The West Letter has lost its canine correspondent and assistant editor, Maximilian West, aka Max. The picture above was taken at the corner of Ave. Melville and Blvd. de Maisonneuve in Montreal, bordering Westmount Park, last June 2nd. He had been visiting friends and clients with his master.  A day later he was back in Kingston. It was a lazy Saturday. Max began this last day as he always had, going for the morning walk -- albeit at a very sedate pace, befitting his 15 years -- and accompanying his master on the usual errands about town in the back of the Maxmobile. It was warm and sunny and he spent most of the afternoon snoozing contently in the yard. That evening he struggled getting up the porch steps. But he still tucked into his supper gamely and lay at his master’s feet for the duration of a postprandial movie.  When It came time to call it a day, for the first and only time in his adult life, Maximilian West was unable to mount the stairs to the second floor.  His master picked him up and carried him like a baby, setting him down by the bed on his favourite sheepskin rug.  And that is where he was the next morning, in perfect repose.  Alas, too perfect.   

WHO?

Who came into this world in the winter of 2003 and was abandoned as a defenceless puppy along with his beautiful mama and brothers and sisters in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts?

Who, as a teddy-bear-sized ball of fluff, caught his master-to-be’s eye at the shelter on the banks of Riviere du Nord, and soon won his heart? Who was dismissed by the Napoleonic obedience school director as “damaged goods; untrainable; you should ask for your money back”? Who graduated summa cum laude at that same school? Who, nonetheless, for the first years of his life had a chip on his shoulder, and needlessly terrorized more than one lovely hostess, up to and including physically blocking her from entering her own home? Who, with German Shepherd and Border Collie bloodlines, was fiercely loyal to, and protective of, his family, no stranger at the door avoiding the big bowwow treatment?  And herded the children and other dogs like sheep? Who teased the boys -- Allen, Harry and Pablo -- endlessly, loving nothing more than a game of piggy in the middle or hey-I-have-your-mitten-now-try-to-catch-me?   Who had an astonishingly extensive mastery of English and Spanish commands, and even a smattering of French? Who was equally adept at interpreting his master’s hand signals and body gestures … even the wink of an eye or a nod?   And who had his own repertoire of canine language commands and gestures – a flick of the leash, a rattling of a dish, a cold nose protruding into an early morning bed? Who could leap tall fences in a single bound? Who wandered off into a farmer’s field and upon encountering cows for the first time, calmly proceeded to herd them back to his startled master … And decided there was no better way to celebrate his new-found talent than to dive ecstatically into a fresh green cow pie? Who had a morbid fear of water and apart from the cow pie incident, never had a bath in his life?   Who famously said to his Piscean master: “If I had been meant to swim, I’d have been born with webbed toes, n’est-ce-pas?” Who, despite his fear of water, was quite at home on many a sailing or canoe voyage, always with the proviso that his master was at the helm? Who slept at the side or the foot of his master’s bed every night of his life, no different than the dogs of English knights memorialized in brass? Who, as a puppy, devoured half the furniture in the apartment, including Great Grandmother’s sumptuous Victorian settee (it being retrieved with an extravagant reupholstery job)? Who could sniff a treat-bearing lady at a hundred paces, and invariably seduce her of her bounty with a sly charm? And as a corollary, who was far too well-mannered to beg, unless you count infinitely patient, beseeching eyes? Who was the dog world’s pickiest eater, a true gourmet, not a gourmand, perfectly content to walk away from a partially eaten bowl of the tenderest vitals? Who was so well trained, he didn’t need a leash and would never waste his time or effort chasing a squirrel across the road or a seagull along the shore? Who greeted a parade of innocent mailmen over the years with a reception worthy of Attila the Hun? Who, ever the jealous lover, begrudgingly accompanied his master in and out of bachelorhood, often in the beginning barely tolerating female competition in his domain? And as an instance of same, who, with a chaperone’s reproach, would busily park himself between a romantic candidate and his master, and if that tactic failed, would go into a high dudgeon for days, sulking under the table? And yet, who came to adore his mistress of the past six years, and shower her with loyalty and devotion? Who accompanied his master in the Maxmobile on nearly all his road trips … to Montreal, Chicago, Brantford, Toronto, New York, Prince Edward County and Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, not to mention daily errands, always supremely comfortable and happy at his command post in the back of the wagon? Who never got up on the plush living room furniture, except for those few thousand times that his master wasn’t looking? Who, for the past 13 summers was the adoptive mascot of a group of swimmers known as the Mermaids, and attended to their immersion into, and emergence from, Lake Ontario nearly every day of each of those summers? And who, in particular, was befriended by and doted on and spoiled by Mermaid Peggy, and even enticed by her siren wiles and treats to enter the water up to his withers?!! Who, from youngest days, had Latin rhythm and loved to dance (bailar!), up on his hind legs to cumbia, salsa, merengue, son cubano y mucho más, until in old age those legs began to give out? Who was a contributing editor to an investment newsletter (The West Letter) and cultivated a following that rivaled his master’s?   Who was also surprisingly well-read and the creator of Canada’s Canine Lit List, top picks including Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time? Who was the face that launched a new pet food company in Montreal, and complained that celebrity wasn’t all it was cracked up to be? “My master negotiated what seemed like an OK contract at the time.  I was paid in the new product, of course, not royalties. So … sigh … retiring to the stud farm is still looking like a distant proposition.” Who, once he knocked that chip off his shoulder, was his master’s superb four-legged ambassador …  not only on walks, but when receiving visitors, hosting parties and as a grateful houseguest, making friends wherever he went? Who took demented cousin Bob at the Helen Henderson Care Centre under his wing on Saturday morning visits, quickly learning to heel to Bob’s erratic wheelchair progress up and down the hallways?   And along the way became the unofficial therapy dog of the residence, sitting patiently at their sides as affection-starved souls petted and stroked and asked if they could give the doggie a treat? Who wagged his spectacular blond tail from side to side like a regal fan? And left a hole in his master’s heart? Who is Maximilian West.  

                                           §

YEAR-END REPORT CARD Class of 2018: No Surprises, Steady Performance  “Neat but not gaudy” is the Headmaster’s summation of the Class of 2018′s  year over year (July 1 ‘17 to June 30 ‘18) average gain of 6.6%. Over the same period, the TSX and S&P 500 were up 7.2% and 12.1% respectively.  

The Headmaster says there is no reason for class members to take umbrage and commends them for their cautious, no-drama progress in choppy seas.  The worst performer in the class, Enbridge, was only down 9%.  To add perspective: over the past five years, the class annual return has averaged 10.3% versus 6.1% for the TSX and 11.1% for the S&P 500.  If some class members are temporarily out of favour with the market, it is not a concern of the Headmaster.  “Value will always out.”         As for the sizzle this year ... Information Technology stocks once again went to the head of the class, with outstanding performances from Apple, Open Text and Visa.  For all the sector by sector details, please read on.   Financials - B  TD Bank, Royal Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia produced an average return of 3.6%.  With double digit earnings growth and handsome dividend increases, averaging 9%, you’d think they might have received more market recognition.  Ah well, all the more reason to keep them in the class for the return of that swinging pendulum. Promoted. Resources - B plus  Class veterans Vermilion Energy and Nutrien (the former Agrium, merged with Potash Corp) more than made up for Enbridge’s travails. The threesome posted an average 9.8% gain, fueled by rising commodity markets in energy and agriculture, and excellent execution of their business plans. Nutrien, in particular, is to be commended for being well ahead of schedule in wringing massive savings out of its operations as a result of the merger. They go right to the bottom line.  Enbridge is at last emerging from the cloud it has been under since its purchase of the US pipeline company Spectra. Worries of unsustainable debt and potential dividend cuts have been put to rest with a string of non-core asset sales that have delivered balance sheet and investor relief. The stock has been on a tear since it bottomed in April. The Headmaster expects more of the same to come.  All promoted. 

   Infrastructure - C plus Brookfield Instructure Partners Limited took an expected pause this year, having disposed of some Brazilian assets, the temporary lack of which, have put the brakes on cash flow growth. Happily however, the excess capital is being redeployed and CEO Sam Pollock sees no reason to stray from Brookfield’s stated long term target of 12 to 15% returns on invested capital, not to mention a generous distribution increasing at about 8% per annum.  The company’s Class of 2018 performance was -4.9%. The Headmaster is far from perturbed and has full confidence in the medium and long term prospects for Brookfield. Promoted.  Retail - B minus Class bench-mates Alimentation Couche Tard and Metro are perfect examples of how sometimes the markets can be out of synch with reality on the ground.  To wit: this pair had earnings per share growth of 17.5% and 4.8% respectively and boosted their dividends by 10 and 11%. Their track records and prospects are exemplary.  Yet their average stock performance over the past year was -3.4%.  Once again the Headmaster notes: “The pendulum will swing back to value.”  All promoted.  Industrials - B plus  Class seniors CNR, John Deere and global packaging player CCL, each produced admirable, double-digit earnings and dividend growth over the school year, despite various headwinds in their respective businesses.  The trio’s average stock gain, 4.5%, would have been more in line with earnings growth, but for CCL taking one of its familiar breathing spells, pending the next transformative acquisition.  The Headmaster is sanguine and sees much promise ahead.  All promoted.  Healthcare - A The Headmaster’s continued faith in his unloved healthcare class members was borne out in spades. Amgen, Johnson and Johnson and Express Scripts racked up earnings gains in stellar fashion, and were rewarded commensurately by the market with an average stock advance of 19.8%.  Bravo and promoted!   Telecom - C minus There is no room for sentiment in managing a class of stocks.  The Headmaster can no longer justify the anemic returns of that friend of widows and orphans,  BCE. True, as long as its generous dividends are sustainable, there will be a place for BCE in many portfolios.  But the Headmaster wants more than dividends. The evidence for same just isn’t there.  BCE, by the kinds of industry measures that count -- e.g., customer “churn” (turnover rate), average annual revenue and lifetime revenue per customer, and resultant cash flow growth -- is falling consistently short of its rival, Telus. The market recognized this disparity last year, awarding Telus with a 4.3% gain, and punishing BCE with an 8.8% loss.  While acknowledging yeoman’s service in years gone by, the Headmaster has asked BCE to leave the class, based on current and projected performance.  Conversely, Telus is promoted.      Information Technology - A plus Apple, Visa and their Canadian desk mate Open Text knocked the ball out of the park last year with average earnings per share and stock price gains of 27%.  Add to that heroic stock buybacks at Apple and Visa, and significant dividend hikes for all three, and you have a recipe for rare Headmaster contentment. All three promoted. To replace BCE, the Headmaster has ushered Microsoft into the Class of 2019.  There are a number of reasons to like Microsoft: the dependable cash flows spun off by its legacy Office and related software products; the successful move it has made into cloud-computing (second only to Amazon); but what really catches the Headmaster’s eye is CEO Satya Nadella’s determination to make Microsoft a major player in artificial intelligence (AI).  Nadella calls AI “the defining technology of our times” and wants to make sure that Microsoft is in line for more than a fair share of what prognosticators estimate will be a $4 trillion market by 2022. Microsoft currently has 8,000  scientists and engineers working in this strategic sector, and has already begun to incorporate the fruits of their labours into each of the company’s lines of business. “Smart move,” says the Headmaster, who values intelligence, artificial or otherwise.   Entertainment - B minus Disney over the past year continued to do exactly what one would expect of a one-of-a-kind leader in media and entertainment. It delivered the goods; i.e., growth in all the right places. Well, okay ... just about in all the right places. To Disney and the Headmaster’s frustration, there is still a knock against this class member for failure to make the transition from cable delivery of content to “streaming” fast enough. The stock languished with a return of -1.3%.   “Pshaw!” says the Headmaster. “I have full confidence in Bob Iger and the Disney management team. The pending takeover of the television and movie assets of 20th Century Fox only reinforces my view!”  He may have a point. The stock is up 9% since the end of the school year.  If you would like further information on any of the investing ideas raised in this issue, or a complimentary consultation, please call or email. CW                                                                                                 § AQUATIC UPDATE 

Photo credit: Kingston Whig-Standard On July 28th, a certain Merman and Max’s favourite Mermaid, Peggy, dove and jumped off the newly christened Gord Edgar Downie Pier to celebrate spectacular improvements to Kingston’s waterfront along the shore of Breakwater Park, including a sandy beach. Overheard at the proceedings: “This is my new best, favourite place in the world!”  Hear, hear!  Happy days to all and may your summer be endless!

[autodidact-adventures]

World War I (Part 19): To the Marne

The famous First Battle of the Marne is known as the fight that saved Paris, but the result was really from one side's decision not to fight.  It wasn't just a single large battle – more a series of manouevres over several weeks, with millions of troops stretched over vast areas of territory.  Its starting date is usually given as September 5th; however, the events leading up to it began during the end of August, while the Germans were thrashing the Russian Second Army in East Prussia.

As August ended, the French & German armies were arranged in the same line-up they'd had at the start of the war, although of course in different places.  Kluck's First Army was the right flank of the Schlieffen wheel, and now he was well south of Belgium as the German line swung down towards Paris.

On the German left, south of Verdun and along the French-German border, they were also advancing on Paris.  However, they were moving much more slowly.

On their left, Lanzerac's Fifth Army and the BEF continued to retreat, pursued by the Germans.  Very little actual fighting was happening.  They were all moving towards Paris, which was by now fortified with a nearly 100km-wide perimeter of defensive walls, and artillery.

When Bülow's Second Army got there, it was supposed to besiege the city, while Kluck's First Army swung around it.  It wasn't certain if Bülow would be able to get there; or if he could actually take the city when he arrived.  During the Franco-Prussian War, Germany had besieged Paris but hadn't managed to get inside.

Schlieffen had predicted that a great battle would happen on (or about) the 40th day of mobilization.  The troops, as they got closer to the city, were increasingly exhausted.  It seemed as though a climax of some kind had to happen soon.

The German supreme headquarters had moved westward from Berlin to Koblenz, and then to Luxembourg, as their armies advanced.  Kluck & Bülow's progress was cause for celebration for many, but not for Moltke.  His contact with the forces was getting worse (radio was still new and very unreliable), and he knew that he had little idea of what was really going on at the front.  So he became unwilling to issue orders, knowing that without enough information he really couldn't direct the campaign properly.  Everything was confusing and uncertain.  Kluck's army was run-down and outrunning its lines of supply – would they be able to circle around Paris and still be capable of attacking the French?  Perhaps the best chances were actually in Alsace and Lorraine, where the French defenses were reported to be vulnerable; perhaps they should focus on that area.

Despite the Grand Retreat, Joffre was actually achieving important things.  His left had little chance of winning a battle at the moment, and he was preventing the Germans from closing in on it.  And the retreat was being carried out in excellent order – armies were fully under control; they remained in formation; routes and timetables were being followed; headquarters were carefully planning and co-ordinating every move.  The conditions the troops were under could easily have led to chaos, but it was going well.

They couldn't keep retreating forever, of course.  They would have to stop and make a stand at some point, unless they were going to march past Paris and abandon it.  It was unclear whether this would be possible, though; it was also unclear where & when it would happen if it was possible.  Joffre was sharing his plans with no-one (if he had any).

Lanzerac was becoming increasingly pessimistic.  JF thought it was likely that France had already lost the war, and was talking about saving the BEF by pulling it out of the line, or even sending it home.

Kluck's army was moving forward aggressively, but this was having a negative effect on his troops.  They were moving 32km a day (on average), each man with his 5kg rifle, and about 30kg of gear.  The summer was hot and dry, and the men were short on food.  Often at the end of the day, they hade to spread out and forage for meat and vegetables (which, fortunately for them, were being harvested at this point).  They moved 100km past the furthest points their railroad support could reach, and then over 120km.  The horses began to collapse, and the supply problems threatened to become unmanageable.

The German cavalry were finding it very hard-going because of the terrain – rivers and canals, woods, and other landscape features were slowing them down and making movement complicated.  And when the cavalry fought French troops, they were no match for machine-guns and magazine-fed rifles. Artillery was a problem, too – moving it was incredibly labour-intensive, and the thousands of shells had to be moved too.

The British & French faced these sort of problems, too.  But the closer they got to Paris, the closer they were to supplies and reinforcements.  They could make more & more use of the railroad network that was centred on the city.  Unlike the Germans, things were getting easier, the further they moved.

In Paris, people were terrified.  Politicians asked if Joffre was intending to retreat further, got no answer, and called for him to be dismissed.

The BEF (on Lanzerac's left) were retreating so fast that the infantry were given only 4hrs of rest a day (and the cavalry even less than that).  The consequence of this was that the Germans no longer knew where they were, or if they were still a major force to be reckoned with.  Also, the British were leaving Lanzerac's left flank exposed.

The Germans, too, were having trouble keeping their armies aligned.  Kluck was ahead of Bülow, and beginning to realize that Lanzerac's exposed left flank was ahead of him: a perfect target.  But on August 27th, he'd received instructions from Moltke, repeating that his mission was still the same as it always had been – to encircle Paris and then move east.

However, by this time, Moltke was receiving shaky reports of a buildup of French forces near Paris.  This was the beginnings of the French Sixth Army, which Joffre was letting Gallieni have for the city's defense. Moltke realized that this new army was a threat to his right wing.

So on the 28th, he sent new orders.  Kluck was to stay just behind Bülow, rather than in line with him (the military term is “in echelon”).  But he didn't tell Kluck anything about new threat of the Sixth Army, and so Kluck didn't see how these new instructions made any sense.  If he was to put himself in echelon with Bülow, he'd have to stop his advance for a day ore more, and maybe even have to turn around.  This would throw away an opportunity to attack Lanzerac, which could maybe begin to unravel the French left & thus win the war.

Kluck figured out a compromise.  His army would keep moving forward, but shift towards the south-east, so that they were closer to Bülow's Second Army. They would keep pursuing Lanzerac's exposed army.  If they destroyed it, or at the very least pushed it eastwards out of Bülow's path and away from Paris, that would surely fulfil the spirit of the instructions, if not the letter.

On September 3rd, the First Army crossed the River Marne and pushed on.  Kluck felt free to do this because a) he didn't know about the new Sixth Army being formed to the west, and b) he incorrectly believed that the disappearance of the BEF meant they were no longer an effective fighting force.

Joffre needed to get the BEF back into the war.  But JF had decided that the French were unreliable and doomed.  So Joffre ordered Lanzerac to attack Bülow's Second Army near the towns of St. Quentin and Guise.  This might block the German advance, and hopefully regain JF's confidence in him.  Lanzerac was unwilling to do this, so Joffre went to the Fifth Army headquarters to confront him in person.  Lanzerac continued to refuse, and Joffre threatened to dismiss him.  He was reported to say, “If you refuse to carry out my orders, I'll have you shot!”

Next, Joffre went to the BEF headquarters at Compiègne, where a grand château had been turned into a base of operations for their staff.  He asked (almost begged) JF to turn the BEF around, promising him that he'd be protected on his left by the new Sixth Army, and on his right by the Fifth.  But JF refused, saying that his army was in too bad shape for that.  He had to take it south of Paris for 10 days of refitting & recuperation.

Meanwhile, Lanzerac's Fifth Army had begun the offensive as they'd been ordered, and it was not going well.  On their left, they were being overwhelmed by Bülow's Second Army, as Lanzerac had warned.  But it wasn't quite as bad on their right, at Guise, where the battle was going back and forth in terms of who was prevailing, and the French were able to hold.

General Louis Franchet d'Esperey was a flamboyant character, greatly admired by the BEF (who called him Desperate Frankie).  At a critical point in the battle, he led a counterattack on horseback, sword held overhead, with regimental banners and a band playing La Marseillaise.

The Germans had their moment of glory as well, when the Prussian First Food Guards (one of the most elite army units) was thrown back and seemed in danger of falling apart.  Prince Eitel Friedrich was the kaiser's second-eldest son, and he took command.  He rallied the troops, beating on a drum, and led a successful counterattack.

The prince survived the counter-offensive, but the guard corps commander's son was killed.  Most of the French & German generals were in their 50's or 60's, and many of them had sons in the army.  As the fighting went on, losses among the junior officers responsible for leading attacks & organizing defenses continued to be heavy.  It became commonplace news that another general's son had been killed.

But even though it was going better than over at St. Quentin, Lanzerac's Guise flanks were so exposed that he had to withdraw.  Bülow declared to Moltke that they were victorious, but his forces had suffered heavy casualties, and he decided to halt for a day.  He asked Kluck to move closer eastwards to support him, and Kluck agreed.  Joffre had no choice but to accept the retreat – they didn't have enough manpower to make a stand, because they didn't have the BEF.

JF was doing what Kitchener had told him – keeping his army independent, and being careful to look after it.  But the situation wasn't really as terrible as he seemed to be thinking.  Yes, Smith-Dorrien's corps was no longer fully functional, as it had done most of the fighting at Mons and then at Le Cateau.  But Haig's corps had seen little hard fighting, so it was doing very well.  In fact, Haig had agreed to move his forces north and join the fighting at Guise, but JF had forbidden him to do so.  This made Lanzerac feel more betrayed.

JF's reports to London had gone on a lot about his lack of confidence in the French, but said little about his own movements and plans.  The cabinet had to learn from other sources that he'd denied Joffre's urgent request for help, about his decision to withdraw south of Paris, and the fact that he was considering withdrawing to the coast.  Kitchener telegraphed him, asking him to explain.  JF confirmed that he was considering withdrawing south of the River Seine.  He said that “my confidence in the ability of the leaders of the French Army to carry this campaign to a successful conclusion is fast waning.”

Kitchener informed him that he was expected to “as far as possible conform to the plans of General Joffre for the conduct of the campaign.”  JF replied with more disdain for the French, and emphasized how unready his troops were for more combat.  He said (rather haughtily), “I think you had better trust me to watch the situation and act according to circumstances.”  That night, Kitchener put on his field marshal's uniform and crossed the Channel on a destroyer.

The next afternoon, there was a meeting between Kitchener, JF and Joffre at the British embassy in Paris.  Joffre said that he had heaps of troops coming in from the east, which were being used to form the Sixth Army at Paris, and also an Eighth Army, which would probably be placed immediately east of the Fifth Army.  The Germans would probably not know of these new armies, and almost certainly wouldn't know there was a new army on their right.  It might now be possible to turn things around, if the BEF would come forward.

JF argued against this.  He was insulted that Kitchener had come wearing his field marshal uniform, believing that it was a deliberate tactic to undermine him, as Kitchener should be there as a government representative.  Kitchener took JF into another room to talk to him. It's not known what was said there – JF said later that he put Kitchener in his place, but this is unlikely.  After their conversation, JF was prepared to bring the BEF forward, as Joffre asked.

Joffre went to the Fifth Army headquarters and took Lanzerac off for a walk in a nearby schoolyard, where he relieved him of command.  Lanzerac and JF hated each other, and Joffre wanted relations with the British to go well. He claimed that Lanzerac was too worn down to be able to act decisively.  He replaced him with Franchet d'Esperey.

On the French-German border, the German 3rd to 7th Armies were attacking the French 1st to 4th Armies.  They were repulsed and thrown back, and the French counter-attacked in their turn.

Joffre was firing generals all over the place.  By September 6th, he would have replaced the commanders of two armies, seven corps, 20 infantry divisions, and 4 cavalry divisions.  Ferdinand Foch had performed well as a corps commander in Lorraine at the start of the war, and been heroic during the retreat that followed.  Joffre promoted him to command the new Ninth Army (which seems to be the same as the promised Eighth Army).  Henri Philippe Pétain's brigade had done very well under Lanzerac's command when fighting in Belgium, and he was given a division to command.

The French government left Paris and moved to Bordeaux, on the coast.  People were panicking, but Joffre remained calm.  He made sure his routine was never disturbed – he went to bed at 9pm and was back at work at 5am, took a nap after lunch, and always had a good lunch and dinner. Apart from that, he was always on the move.  He travelled in a big touring car, driven by a Grand Prix racing champion, and made constant visits to his generals, especially those on the left.  In this way, he was able to inform himself of what was going on, and observe his subordinates in action.  However, he said very little during these visits.  Some of the men decided he was quite useless, and that his only use was for keeping people calm.

Joffre has also been described as “viciously political” and self-serving.  He has been accused of firing subordinates because they proved him wrong (as Lanzerac did), or for becoming potential rivals.

But despite all this, Joffre was certainly a very capable commander.  He made the decision to take troops from his right wing and send them west by train, thus increasing their numbers on the left by a lot.  Every 24hrs, another 32 trains arrived at Paris with troops and guns from the east.  On August 23rd, they had 17.5 divisions against the German right; by September 6th, it was 41 divisions. This was during & after Moltke had removed troops from his right, to send them to his left and to East Prussia.  Also, he sent reinforcements to his left, which was in no danger, instead of to the right wing, where they were greatly needed.  Apparently, this decision was because of the Belgians' destruction of important railways.

But even so, Joffre couldn't see any way of stopping the Grand Retreat yet.  On September 3rd, he wrote to the Minister of War, “A natural reluctance to abandon even provisionally more of our national territory must not make us engage too early in a general battle that might be launched in unpropititious circumstances.”

And now, Moltke made a new move, one that basically ended the Schlieffen Plan.  He ordered Kluck and Bülow to stop, stand in place, and face west against whatever forces the French were gathering against them. Meanwhile, all the other German armies were to return to the attack. The Third Army was to fight its way to the River Seine.  The Fourth & Fifth Armies were to advance west of Verdun.  The Sixth & Seventh Armies were to cross the Moselle River.

The two pairs of armies (excluding the Third) were to break through on their fronts, link up, and then encircle the French right wing in the region around Verdun.  This would be a massive encirclement, even greater than at Tannenberg – in fact, there had never been one on this scale.  And it wasn't certain that it would even be possible.  The German left wing would need to fight past the massive fortifications that the Schlieffen Plan was supposed to avoid.

Moltke's change of plan may have been because he expected this new strategy to work, or because he believed the Schlieffen Plan wouldn't work. Certainly, he didn't believe the reports of victory that were coming into headquarters.  He told a member of the government, “We must not deceive ourselves.  We have had successes, but we have not had victory.  Victory means annihilation of the enemy's power of resistance.  When armies of millions of men are opposed, the victor has prisoners.  Where are ours?...The relatively small numbers of captured guns shows me that the French have withdrawn in good order and according to plan.  The hardest work is still to be done.”

[mercenarypark]

medic hcs

Em made a big hc post for heavy a few days ago [here] and ive been meaning 2 finally do the same w/ medic bcause im gay

note: while i try to be brief about the details, this post is about a gay jewish man in Germany during wwii. to set aside any initial worries, no, he is never kept in the camps- as a jewish person myself it sickens me deep in my stomach to even think of that possibility. but there’s still mentions of n/zism and antisemitism, as one would expect.

also, a fair amount of the details of my medic hcs for his childhood are based on the german side of my family, primarily my grandfather and his father. while i still only know a little about my family history[tm], details like medic’s last name, how his family were able to lay low, etc, are based on the little bits and pieces ive heard from my grandmother #antisemitism #nazism #homophobia #transphobia #satanism #long post #text heavy #tf2 #gore text #medical abuse #malpractice #experimentation mention 

-Medic was born roughly around 1925- he’s in his early 40s around when the game takes place- to the name [redacted] Reichstein. the Reichsteins were reviled in their little town as mad doctors, which was at least somewhat true- they certainly weren’t shy to experimentation on body parts and [willing] subjects. but a good part of the hatred for them stemmed from Good Old Antisemitism, focusing their hate on the fact that they were an openly jewish family and saying that that must be influencing their occasionally morally dubious behavior

-for the longest time, though, people tolerated them- they were the only doctors around, after all. but as time went on, the disgusted glances turned to hate speech, turned to violent threats, and eventually, to violent actions.

-medic’s father, who had long since been debating on moving, finally packed the family up[against his wife’s wishes], and within a night, their home and lab were deserted.

-his father could tell that something terrible was coming. he brought down an ultimatum- they would have to abandon everything jewish about themselves in order to survive. medic was young, still, and didn’t fully understand the severity of why his father seemed so adamant that they never mention holidays they once celebrated, why their old family photos were torn and burned, why his mother was constantly reprimanded when her Yiddish roots showed through her accent

-medic’s father pulled a few favors, and before they moved into a new city, the family name was changed to Reich- a more acceptable, more German name. Reichstein could raise eyebrows, lead to questioning about jewish roots, but there have always been many Reichs in Germany.

-that’s also when Medic got his birthname changed to Ludwig, and he and his mother had to fight like hell for that. his father argued that the last thing they needed was another target on their back- if anyone found out that his son “wasn’t really a boy”, then that would bring the entire family under scrutiny and into danger.

-ludwig refused to take no for an answer. ludwig had always been someone who would rather die than pretend that he’s something he’s not, and this was one of the first signs of that. while he didnt fully understand his connection to judaism, yet, and thus didnt fight to keep it at the time; he DID understand that he wasn’t a girl, and by God did he refuse to pretend otherwise.

-eventually his father relented, though he never once forgot and throughout medic’s childhood, he would bring up how risky it was, how medic was potentially endangering them all.

-to clarify: his father DID technically accept his son being transgender, but he wanted him to repress it, ignore it, force it down and never bring it up, much like their jewish heritage. ludwig refused, and his father never liked that. [when ludwig grew older and became both openly gay AND became a practicing jew again, his father nearly had a fucking heart attack]

-ludwig was heavily isolated for most of his childhood after they moved, partially due to the war’s beginning, partially because his father was afraid of his son giving something away. he was homeschooled by his mother, and rarely left the house, instead spending most of his time playing with the family’s cockatoo, or in his father’s operating room, learning human anatomy

-this isolation[alongside his autism, and veritable cocktail of mental illnesses] helped contribute to medic’s general inability to understand how to interact with people- he is oblivious at the best of times, has no concept of personal space, rarely catches social cues, and has Awful attachment issues. he is overly affectionate with anyone he is even vaguely friendly with, he tends to ramble and talk about uncomfortably personal things without realizing its a bad thing, etc, etc, he is a mess and a half

-he does understand bits and pieces- for example, if he’s physically affectionate with someone, they tend to tense up, and try to get away from him, which means he’s doing something wrong. the problem is that he doesnt understand WHAT he’s doing wrong, or why it’s wrong[answer: he’s covered in blood and bird shit and holding at least one[1] human liver]

-speaking of physical affection, the first time engineer affectionately puts a hand on medic’s shoulder medic fucking freaks out because aside from his parents, NO ONE. no one has ever initiated Friendly Physical Contact with him. usually because theyre freaked out by him in some way. he has no idea how to cope with the fact that someone might actually think of him in a friendly manner to the point of expressing that physically [aside from sexually, which is a whole other story and a half]

-but im getting ahead of myself. the first time ludwig killed a man was when he was 17. a nazi soldier paid an unexpected visit to the Reichs. ludwig, scared for his family’s sake and overwhelmed with a boiling hatred for nazis that had simmered for all of his childhood, killed the man

-his father reacted violently, ranting that now they were doomed, but his mother helped ludwig destroy the body and evidence. by the grace of God, no other nazi followed up that visit- the soldier hadn’t told anyone where he was going, and there had been no witnesses to his visit. and germany was so chaotic at the time, that eventually the man's death was attributed to a previously unnoticed casualty in battle

-that was the first man ludwig killed, and also the first of many, many nazis. he spent a good stretch of his adult life hunting down nazis who had gone under the radar, trying to hide their past ties while still keeping the same disgusting views.

-as ive mentioned, in medical school, ludwig not only became openly gay, but returned to his jewish roots. no longer under his father's roof, and now that the war was over, medic saw no reason to hide aspects of himself any longer. and God help everyone who felt otherwise. especially once the most violently hateful dissenters, began to mysteriously disappear.

-throughout his adult life medic has had Multiple short term, non-serious relationships [including more than his fair share of one night stands], and maybe two serious relationships prior to heavy. neither of those ended well, citing ludwigs mental Fuckery as a big issue. speaking of, his mental fuckery has helped him get into at least a couple abusive relationships, which i wont detail beyond "he survived and healed".

-while he is Jewish, he is the kind of jew who criticizes god every step of the way. at least part of this is due to having to survive during the Shoah.

-the Shoah definitely fucked his mind up. the constant fear for his parents and himself, and the burning hatred for the nazis and everyone who agreed with them or stood back and let them take over, and just overall a horrible sense of helplessness, definitely contributed to a lot of his future mental fuckery, and to his feelings about God. as an adult, and as a doctor, he took the feeling of helplessness he had as a teenager, and flipped it around dramatically- if god didnt help him then, he’d have to become better than god. he would bring retribution where others didnt, and bring power and life to those god would not help.

-he sold his soul to satan sometime around his mid-30s. [this is a sentence that sounds really fucking weird if u dont know much about tf2.] there are a few reasons behind that, but im only gonna talk about one:

-as i've said, medic spent a lot of time murdering nazis who had tried to go into hiding. that's difficult when theyre trying very, very hard to cover up their past. medic struck a deal with satan- in exchange for the names, aliases, and locations of ex-nazis in hiding, he would kill them and send them straight to hell. his soul was just to sweeten the deal.

-ludwig does a Lot of experiments on captured and dead nazis, especially the painful ones. the ol' "removing a patient's skeleton" story was of a nazi officer medic had caught, and medical licence or not, ludwig would do it again in an instant

-medic's flock of homing pigeons, stolen from a wedding van, are like family to him. the original, stolen generation had more pretentious names, as named by their previous owner- mostly well known scientists and philosophers[Archimedes, Newton, Nietzsche, etc]. most of the pigeons he named himself have biblical, jewish names [Mordecai, Elijah, Rebecca, etc]

-ludwig is absolutely never prim, proper, or orderly. if he is wearing a coat that DOESNT have blood and bird shit on it, wait 5 minutes and check again

-he has a tendency to hyperfocus on something and forget things like "humans need food and water to live". heavy usually helps him remember

-medic snores. loudly. and it sounds fucking awful. heavy is, sadly, a very light sleeper. it takes a loooong time for him to finally be able to sleep through medic's snoring, and it winds up being one of the only things he actually CAN sleep through. god help you if you step on a creaky board halfway down the hall, though, because heavy will wake up in an Instant

-if tf2 were in modern times, ludwig's music taste would include a Lot of kesha, klezmer music, black metal, and so on. its varied, is what im saying

-medic, pyro, and soldier all get along surprisingly well together, because they all have a case of "same brain? same brain!", all of them have issues dealing with other people and have problems with processing/understanding things, have trouble w/ psychotic episodes and the like, overall their minds are all wired oddly but somehow they can understand /each other/

-scout accidentally becomes medic's unofficial adopted daughter and thats a whole post and a half on its own. suffice to say medic would do anything for her

-engie, demo, and medic are all Science Gays

-medic also does his best to help demo with his Absolutely Massive Amounts of Trauma and Self Loathing, by at least being a supportive shoulder to lean on when demo tries to drink himself unconscious to forget it all. hes absolutely terrible most of the time at actually saying anything to help, but he can be a good presence, and he has birds. birds help anything

-he has a very casual fling going with spy, since early on in their time at the base. its usually in a state of "on-again off-again", with the latter usually having something to do with how spy acts with scout.

-obviously theres a lot i could say about heavy and medic's relationship, but to put it briefly- theres a loooong time where both of them are "i dont understand social interaction" gays.

-medic is the "i literally dont understand how to act around people im attracted to or that me being extremely overaffectionate around you is due to the fact that im falling in love with you, i dont catch your vague hints towards the fact that you feel the same about me because you literally need to hit me over the head with something in order to get me to catch onto it" gay

-heavy is the "i have spent so many years repressing so much of myself and keeping quiet and not drawing attention to myself, that i physically cannot bring myself to be up front about the fact that im attracted to you. im also afraid of misintepreting signals and i am instead going to assume your over-affectionate attitude is platonic and i am misreading things" gay

-eventually they figure things out and its good and soft and gay

ok its 3 AM and ive been writing on this for at least an hour and a half and i told Em i would go to bed by now dhgfkhhj 

[spookierswamp]

@questforsims tagged me in this questionnaire thing bc he knows they’re my favorite lmao, answers under the read more....

DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED? I'm literally terrified of people who can sleep with closet doors open like... do you fear nothing...?

DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS? nah I usually end up using them all lmao

DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT? untucked

HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE? not a street sign I guess but one time when I was 15 I was recovering from a party at a friends house in the middle of like, the Scottish nowherseville countryside and like 6am that morning we went out to take a walk and smoke and we ended up taking one of those roadworks signs back to her house for some reason... it was dumb lmao

DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES? heck yeah there's a wall in my room that's just post-it notes lmao it calms me

DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM? we don't rly have coupon culture as much here but I probably would if I lived in America...

WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES? they don't allow you to have bees in here

DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES? no and thank goodness bc if I had freckles I'd be... too cute.... too powerful

DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES? like... in group photos sure but if it's a selfie I almost never smile lmao

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? loud/messy eaters tbh

DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK? yeah I used to go on long hikes/walks in the forest and I'd be out for hours and like I'd take one of those pedometers w/ me and I'd feel so fuckin validated when I saw it get to 10,000 lmao...

HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS? y'all foolin if you been out in the woods and you said you haven't tbh

HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS? ok this is gross nevermind

DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERE’S NO MUSIC PLAYING? nah but if you put a bop on i'll immediately start dancing

DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS? part of me is like 'nah that's p gross' but yeah i probably do

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK? just one lmao

WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED? like... it can fit me + another fully grown man so it's pretty big i guess

WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK? So Emotional by Whitney Houston

IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK? I literally wear pink every day of my life you stupid bitch

DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS? yeah but not like... with the intensity some of y'all do... i really liked Gravity Falls especially 

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE? most disney movies tbh... I'll never get the appeal of them as a genre lmao... special shoutout to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective for being absolute fucking garbage though

WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME? I probably wouldn't even have time to hide it cause I'd immediately lose it somewhere lmao

WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER? honestly it depends on what dinner is? mostly I'll drink soda or wine

WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN? mustard, ketchup, bbq sauce, ranch

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? takoyaki! i also love any and all mexican food

WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE? there's literally... so many... lmao... Fire Walk With Me, The Birdcage, Scream, Wet Hot American Summer, Blair Witch Project, Donnie Darko, The Craft (like.. semi-ironically but I do love it lmao)

LAST PERSON YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU? a boy but he's lame so he won't be named here lmao

WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT? nah I always thought boy scouts were dumb but as an adult I kinda wish I'd been a part of something like that

WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE? what kinda magazine....

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER? me and my ex-boyfriend used to write letters to each other all the time! so probably like, last year

CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR? nah, I've legit never even driven more than once lmao....

EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET? ... the one time I drove around it was in an abandoned parking lot and my then-boyfriend was sitting next to me with one hand on the steering wheel it was fun...

EVER RAN OUT OF GAS? .... i almost hit another car that was doing the same thing but i didn't and i was so proud of myself lmao

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH? meatball sub... or like.... steak & cheese

BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST? pancakes, coffee, hashbrowns and/or a breakfast taco, at least two kolaches

WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME? midnight or whenever i pass out after work

ARE YOU LAZY? yea

WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN? aw heck so many things! Vampires have always been a big thing for me tho and I was both Spike and Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer multiple times lmao

WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN? I can never remember which one but either dog or pig

HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK? I can barely speak my first language lmao but I can bluff my way thru German and I've made half-assed attempts at learning Russian, Japanese and Icelandic before...

DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS? nah

WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS? legos you dumb bitch

ARE YOU STUBBORN? sure

WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN? whoms't?

EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS? British soaps are genuinely class but I never rly keep up w/ them, also telenovelas are amazing and important...

ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? nah I love heights! I was afraid of them as a kid but ask any of my friends/boyfriends and they'll tell you I'm always trying to get people to go to the top of stuff lmao

DO YOU SING IN THE CAR? only during inebriated night-time road adventures

DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER? pretty much constantly lmao

DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR? like... how?

EVER USED A GUN? honestly I've never even touched a gun lmao

LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER? uuh high school I reckon

DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY? yeah of course who doesn’t

IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL? very

EVER EAT A PIEROGI? no but it feels like my kind of shit

FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE? (dale cooper voice) cherry pie

OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID? painter or director, something artistic or whatever, maybe something with computers I always figured I’d be good at

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? yeah I love ghosts they're all my good pals

EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING? yeah and I'll do things multiple times in a row just out of not paying attention lmao

DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY? yeah I take an A-Z multivit and cod liver oil usually

DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS? nah they make my feet too damn warm boy

DO YOU WEAR A BATHROBE? nah but when I'm a guest in a hotel w/ somebody I'm always claiming dibs on the complementary bathrobe lmao

WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED? if it's cold I'll wear like a t-shirt or something

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT? I went to a bunch of festivals and free concerts and stuff as a tiny lil' baby ten year old but the first one I went to without parents was probably like... Fall Out Boy? or another band from my 2007 - 2009 emo phase lmao

WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART? the only thing I learned when I was in America was that Walmart is both haunted and cursed, Target is The Promised Land and Kmart is a sensory hallucination

NIKE OR ADIDAS? Adidas.... also I like the new adidas NHL kits sue me....

CHEETOS OR FRITOS? the first time I had Fritos it was with a bean dip and I almost barfed so definitely Cheetos lmao

PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS? both are gross whatever

EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN? no but they sound very good

EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS? nah

IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING? handsome genius/hockey player

CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? heck yeah

EVER WON A SPELLING BEE? I legit don't think we have those here but I definately would have if I competed because I was the best damn speller in my class

HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY? I laugh-cry more than anything tbh

OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS? nah I used to have a record player and I've bought a bunch of records as gifts for people but like I download all my music anyway so I'm 2 lazy 2 cheap lmao

OWN A RECORD PLAYER? ^

DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE? nah but I love candles

EVER BEEN IN LOVE? yeah but honestly once was enough lmao

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT? literally one of my only goals in life is to see Bjork live before she quits music or I die lmao... also Math the Band (again), Anamanaguchi, Mac Demarco, The Mountain Goats...

WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW? not like a concert I guess but I went to see Kim Chi perform in February and it was lit

HOT TEA OR COLD TEA? like... Iced Tea? the way this is worded is disgusting lmao I'll go with hot tea

TEA OR COFFEE? I literally make coffee every single fucking day of my life @ work and like... not only do I now hate it I hate anyone who drinks it lmao

SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES? what the fuck does this mean

CAN YOU SWIM WELL? yeah!

CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE? yeah!

ARE YOU PATIENT? yeah!

DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING? I'm not the kind of person to have friends who are in bands and not ask them to play at my wedding lmao also wedding DJ's are always weird old men

EVER WON A CONTEST? yeah I've won like.. talent shows and stupid semi-academic shit like that but nothing super cool

HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY? nah but no question i'd absolutely get it

WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES? green

CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET? nah but i can kind of sew

BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE? every room but only if you live in a log cabin or some shit

DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED? yeah but like, not for the sake of being married? 

IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED? ^

WHO WAS YOUR HIGHSCHOOL CRUSH? aw man I threw a lot of time and energy into dating boys in high school but like... my biggest crushes were always unattainable and short-lived lmao so no-one notable...

DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY? god honestly any single one of my friends/previous boyfriends will tell you I throw tantrums over literally anything lmao... I usually act pretty stable and emotionally mature but when I'm comfortable with people I'll fuck shit up for no reason lmao

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? nah

DO YOU WANT KIDS? I'm way too self-centered and emotionally unavailable for any of that shit right now lmao but in like 10 years I'd be open to it for sure

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? forest green, goth purples, black, pink, also what can only be described as like, Nickelodeon slime green

DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW? uhhhh pass

WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS TAG NEXT? nobody! it's like, 100 questions long and I don't feel comfortable that tagging any of you won't be annoying lmao but if you wanna do this msg me and I'll tag you in it! ! ! ! 

[paynewoodward33-blog]

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