#i know i have a draft outstanding for this time period of her life but

[resonette]

i'm just kind of rambling at this point because i want to really drive home the fact that there are two distinct versions of seren that begin to bleed together when josephine is killed (and she believes caleb is dead too but this ain't about him rn). i think that seren is terrible with grief because of the physical pain it gives her. i think that she is literally dying of heartbreak when she goes into the n109 zone and that's why she doesn't care whether or not she makes it out alive. i think she is so... broken by the time the current storyline for 2.0 comes out that she is willing to do whatever it takes to get her answers if only so she can stop hurting.

i make multiple references to this metaphorical garden that she has the walls up for but i think after the house fire, after she loses hearing in her right ear and gains her implant, she does not have the strength to keep the garden walls up and continue to search for information. every time she turns around there is something that makes everything hurt worse - finding out her childhood friend has the last memory of her grandmother; finding out that her work partner has a bounty in the n109 zone; finding out that her new friend (and the person that she technically has the responsibility of ensuring the safety of) has dealings and targets on his head... every piece of information she runs into hurts her more and more and she's in so much pain that she's seeking an escape.

psychologically, we see this behavior with people who are su*cidal, this sort of inability to measure levels of danger or inability to maintain their self-preservation instincts, and i think seren shows that 100%. she's so bitter and angry and mean that any semblance of that kind-hearted girl she was is gone, and will remain gone until she can get some kind of answers that are more than just another aether core.

tbh i liken her behavior here to the end of j.j.k.'s hidden invento.ry arc where in his solitude, ge.to begins to partake into risktaking behaviors until he's reached a point of no return. i absolutely think that from chapter 8 onwards, seren loses any ability to differentiate her emotions or regulate them at all -- ergo, becoming a "hunted" commodity for the auction is easy to do, because she has no self-preservation instinct. she's so fucking tired that it hurts, and still she has yet to find any resolution.

[burningarsenic]

Super nostalgic lately so here's a ramble about growing up in Ukraine and the start of the war. It's very long but if someone is interested enough to read it, it's a big weight off my shoulders hasdhah

I didn't live in one of the occupied territories, but my grandma is from there. I remember spending summers over at her small apartment filled with those old soviet rugs and light switches that were placed way too high for me to reach. I remember the old TV that was in her living room that i used to watch nonstop because there was barely anything else to do. The couch was uncomfortable and creaky, but it was a fun time nonetheless. I remember that whenever she baked she would set the dough out overnight and it tasted so good i kept stealing it.

My father worked in russia for a while. I remember going to saint petersburg for the summer and mingling with the kids on the playground. Ukrainians have an accent when speaking russian, even if we grew up in russian-speaking territories. Their parents would always look at me weird or make comments about me. I remember one couple asking me where i was from and i was afraid to answer "Ukraine" because even before the war i knew what they thought about us. Not saying where i was from is still one of my biggest regrets

Most of my life has been threatened by war, ever since Euromaidan in 2013 when i was about 8. My family was supporting the protesters as best we could, not living in Kyiv. I remember when the bloodshed started and my parents ranting about the store owners who wouldn't let the protesters in. The war started not long ago and my dad was drafted. He was in a communications division, being an outstanding programmer. I remember me and my mom going to visit him sometimes, hearing distant gunshots but being there nonetheless. My grandma had to evacuate and live with us. At school we had a new classmate from the attacked territories. His life was ruined by the war. He never recovered, in all the years i knew him. I remember seeing the PSAs on TV about bombs disguised as money and toys. Most of it was fearmongering, that i understand now, but to my child self it was a real threat and i would scan the streets as i walked for any suspicious items

The worst part, ironically, were a lot of the Ukrainians themselves. It's a weird feeling, being so proud of your country for standing up, but at the same time so ashamed of the people who still believed the war is nothing but a fabrication. The world didn't believe us either. I still have the childhood drawings of me beating russia in the war. My dad almost got into a fight with a man at a restaurant who insisted the war didn't exist and russia would come and save us. I wish my mom didn't hold him back, because with the amount of rage i felt i was about to punch the man myself

My childhood was filled with anti-russian slogans and protests. I know it's not the experience of every Ukrainian, but it was mine. I remember my mom teaching me to check everything in the store for it's manufacturing place. We wouldn't buy any russian products to avoid supporting the aggressor even marginally. Of course, not all of my childhood was related to the war, but a staggering amount of it was. Or at least, it's most of what i remember

On February 24, 2022 i wasn't sleeping since early morning. I used to wake up at 3am a lot before the hustle of the day starts. It was a period of a huge depressive episode for me, and those hours of early morning peace were the only thing keeping me sane. The story of the first bombs falling is funny to me. I thought someone was either taking out the trash really loudly or setting off petards. It was common to hear delinquents set those off. Then my friend from school messaged me, asking me if i was okay. For weeks before that we would joke about the war starting and daring pussyn to do so. I asked what was going on and she just told me "The war started". I didn't believe her, asking if it was a joke. It wasn't. Honestly these messages are still funny to me

All things considered, it's funny how calm we were. Our chat is filled with threats and boastfulness, daring pussyn to come try and how all of this would be over in a week

It wasn't. My parents woke up in a panic, telling me to pack my bags because we were going to Lviv. The next few days were painful. The traffic was stretching out for kilometers as everyone tried to flee west. It took us two days to get to Lviv. We had to sleep over at the house of a friend of a friend's parents. Air raid sirens would ring out every so often. The cities would enter blackout every night to avoid being spotted from above. Military men filled the streets and regular passport checks were mandated all over. Just the day before i was going to school, joking with my friends and my biggest problem were the upcoming exams.

At one point i needed to go to the toilet, so we stopped in the middle of nowhere. I was afraid the field nearby had mines in it, my dad had to go check to prove to me there's nothing there

When we arrived in Lviv, we stayed over at another friend's barely renovated apartment. I remember the sirens, the messages on the phone informing citizens to keep the blinds closed and to go to bunkers whenever a siren would ring out. Most people disregarded the warnings. You can't keep running back and forth forever. I still had an experience with a basement, though. It was full of grandmas who were chatting amongst themselves. One of them had a dog, i remember petting it until the siren was over.

Even as we headed for the Polish border, i remember thinking i would come back. That it would all be over in a few days and i would be back home, in my own bed, in my own room with colorful walls and the constant mess i kept in it. The bus across the border took us 8 hours. A cramped, uncomfortable space with too many people where i had to stand in a weird position to even fit.

Even as the kind Polish families took us in, i believed it would all be over soon. It wasn't. I had to find a new school. I had to get used to living in a new city. And it's funny, because ultimately my life has gotten better than it ever was. I have medication, i have a supportive group of friends, i have a school i adore. Silver linings, even as i wake up every day knowing that my father is actively helping the army, putting himself in danger while i sit here, safe and sound

I try to do everything to help, and my story is probably the happiest possible outcome out of all of this. I feel guilty a lot of the time. For the people in Kharkiv, who have to see the carnage firsthand. Who cannot live peacefully in their own homes, if their homes are even standing at all

I guess the ending of this ramble is very anticlimactic because i don't know what to say ahdhsa. Thanks for reading, i just wanted to get all this off my chest

Koniec i bomba a kto czytał ten trąba

[thecandywrites]

Zorroku and Peaches Part 9

Where there is more than just Zorroku after Bella.

Zorroku and Peaches Part 9

Meanwhile Zorroku had left your tent wanting to give you space to get dressed as he went to the herds and went through all the horses he had. He noted how Shuzug and Nar were trying to milk a mare who was not happy about it.

Then he picked out four of his best horses along with his wife's two favorite horses. They were his gifts to her when she found she was finally halfway through a pregnancy, when she was halfway through Ori’s pregnancy specifically. Then he realized that one of them was actually a very fitting horse for you. Jasper. He was a black horse with a white mane and tail. And considering you were from the Black Wolf White Rock clan, he couldn't help but smile at the correlation.

He brought them over to your tent, just as you were leaving it to go about your day and wearing an outfit that finally looked perfectly befitting on you. He loved the way it had been altered to fit you and now had trim that was very Mountain Blizzard and while he could still remember how it had looked on Medowne, he adored the way this was now all yours and with the new trims and accessories, looked completely new and all your own.

"Hey Bella," Zorroku called out, which got you to turn around and then blink in surprise when he was carrying six lead ropes with six huge draft horses behind him.

"You know you almost make me nervous when you use my name like that." You tried to point out to him in a slightly teasing tone but smiled nonetheless.

"Well, you didn't ask to be called Peaches. You just went along with it because you didn't think you had a choice in the matter. And I want to make sure you know you have choices and that you shouldn't go along with things just because you think you should, or you feel you have to. You should have a say in everything. Especially about your own life, it’s yours to dictate and no one else’s. You need to make sure that your voice and your opinion is heard and understood and accepted just as much as mine is. So since you've chosen to adopt my daughter, and that she is now just as much yours as she is mine, you deserve the reward that comes with that. Now you don't have to accept any of these, but if you want them, they're yours. In particular this one, because you are from the Black Wolf White Rock Clan, I thought a black horse with a white mane would be fitting." Zorroku explained, having rehearsed that in his head so many times and muttered it to himself to make sure he emphasized the right words the right way as he gestured to that particular horse. 

You had to cover your quivering lips with your hand even as they spread into the widest smile as your eyes glazed with tears because of how moved you were by not just his gesture but especially his words before you closed the distance between you until you were looking up at him with so much adoration it bordered on love and you just wanted to kiss him.

"Ok, I'll be honest. I like the way you say 'Peaches' when you talk to me. I like the way you talk to me, period. And this horse is absolutely perfect, and it's a perfect fit. I can only hope he's as nice, gentle and tame as he is beautiful. And the rest of them are outstanding. I want all of them. But I don't want to take them if you feel you have to give them to me because I'm now the mother of our daughter. But I don't want to disrespect a tradition if that's what you're following when you give them to me either." You explained.

"Then consider them string free gifts, because I want them to be yours. They're the best that I have and I'll always want to give you my best, no matter what. Even if you don't end up choosing me because being Ori's mother means just that much to me." Zorroku returned and you just wanted to reassure him that when it came to options to marry, he was the only one in your heart and mind. The urge to kiss him was overwhelming because a part of you wanted them to have strings. And you wanted to tie those strings so that you were tied to him both literally and figuratively.

"Then I will happily accept all of them and I wouldn't say no to a few strings at least." You grinned mischievously as his heart soared with hope and joy. 

"Could I walk with you back to the herd?" You asked before he nodded and you walked side by side with all the horses following you.

"Can I ask you a question and could you please answer it as honestly as you could and not give me the kind of answer you think I want to hear?" You asked bravely.

"Anything." He invited.

“Why did you give me all of Medowne’s old clothes?” You asked him. 

“Because they were already made and resizing them- to your smaller size would be much easier than making new clothes from straight fabric.” He answered. 

“So when you look at me, do you just see me as a second Medowne?” You asked him. 

“No, I’m so sorry if I’m making you feel that way. When I look at the outfit you’re wearing, I just see you and that it’s your outfit, not anyone else's. And when I look at you period, I just see you, no one else.” He immediately apologized and reassured you. 

“Thank you.” You thanked him graciously as you did feel reassured by his clearly genuine profession. 

"So, how many wives do you want in total?" You asked and he nearly choked on his spit because you just went right for it.

"One." He answered once he recovered. 

"Why only one?" You furthered.

"Because Yotul and my mother fought all the time and were constantly in competition with each other for my dad's favor and attention. And they were constantly trying to one up each other. And when he favored one it embittered the other. And only after my own mother died after birthing the twins and Yotul became Clan Chieftess, and my dad didn't take on any more wives- did he finally know peace in his own house.” Zorroku began. 

“But I want a wife who likes me for me, not because I can make her a Warchieftess or any other station in the clan. I just want a wife who will look at me and just see me too. Not as a means to get what she really wants. Which if she’s anything like my step mother, is a place of prominence, wealth and power. My mother loved my father and saw him for him and he did the same for her. But once his eldest brother died and made him Clan Chief only a few months before my grandfather died, Yotul immediately switched her advances from my uncle to my father. In fact I don’t even know if Silug is even my half brother.” Zorroku muttered. 

“Do you think that I’m like that?” You asked him. 

“No, you’re the farthest thing from that. You found out about my Grandmother’s peering of your probability and you immediately rejected it. Or at least, that’s what Glasha and Arob told me. Which is honestly a huge relief for me, because it meant that you adopted Ori because you saw her and immediately grew affection for her. Not because she was my daughter, but because she was a baby that needed a mother. And it’s why I’ve rejected every advance from every other woman I’ve met when they found out I’m my father’s first born. Medowne didn’t even know I was my father’s first born until she came here to visit, after we were engaged. She honestly thought Silug was the first born and Winug was the second and I must have been the third by the way Silug and Winug acted when we were hunting together.” Zorroku admitted. 

“They are incredibly arrogant and very entitled.” You muttered in agreement which made Zorroku laugh. 

“Yeah they are.” He readily agreed. 

“I just want peace in my life and in my home and I have yet to meet a Warchief, or even a Clan Chief who has that. It's like our lives are destined to be plagued with war and we can't escape it, ever. There's always conflict wherever we go and I'm hoping that with the right woman, that's possible." Zorroku explained.

"Medowne, had a very, very hard time becoming pregnant. And she lost four babes before she could even get a third of the way through her pregnancies. The only reason why she tried so hard was to give me an heir because of who I was and to see Silug and Winug already have more sons than they know what to do with, she was scared they were going to usurp me. And for her sake, I would have let them just so that she could rest and wouldn’t feel she owed me a child just because she was my wife.” Zorroku began. 

“I never blamed her for any of it, instead I got after all of my sisters in law and Yotul for putting the idea that she needed to give me an heir in her head to begin with. And that was because I was terrified I was going to lose her with every miscarraige. I loved her so much, I didn’t want to lose her. It wasn't her fault that her body was like that. Even though she blamed herself for it, no matter how much I tried to convince her otherwise. She pushed me to get another wife or even two or three more. Ones that would give me more sons than I had fingers. But I didn't want that, I never wanted that. I never have and I never will and I staunchly refused and I will always refuse that in the future for the same reasons. I only ever wanted her and I just wanted her to be happy and healthy.” He recounted. 

“So if we were to get closer, that’s what I would want again. But only if you really liked me and really wanted me. Just because you’re Ori’s mother doesn’t mean you have to be my wife, if you don’t want to be. And just because I’m first born doesn’t mean I want to be more than I already am. In fact I never even wanted to be a Warchief. My father made me one without asking me about it. Because Silug was chomping at the bit so to speak about it. But I was still focused on Medowne and didn’t want her to fall into a deeper depression or for her to fear that when we would go on a raid, that she would have to be afraid that I wouldn’t come back to her." Zorroku revealed and your heart completely melted and you felt it wanting to leap out of your chest to go to him.

“I completely agree and understand where you’re coming from. Thank you for not thinking I’m being a coward for not wanting that life. Four days ago all I wanted was to live a quiet life and just be a man’s only beloved wife. I have never had delusions of grandeur or ambitions for wealth and power. I’m content with the basics, good, filling food for the belly, comfortable and sturdy clothes to work in and a roof over my head. That’s it. Because while money can buy you comfort and a lot of things, it doesn’t always necessarily buy you happiness or peace. Especially if you have a lot of it. There will always be someone who wants to take it from you more.” You explained. 

“That’s true.” Zorroku nodded in agreement. 

“So even though Khagra only has Bula, the business of running the clan and keeping everything together and running smoothly is a weight that he has had to carry and has worn him down quite a bit. Myles’ and Bullard’s wives have stayed and stayed close because they still have Myles and Bullard’s kids. And Khagra and Bula have always treated them with kindness and respect. And they care for their needs and wants and they are Bronshas, which is the same as Marfu for the Black Wolf White Rock Clan. And once Khagra lost Myles and Bullard, he felt like his bones became dust. He didn’t have a heart or stomach for raiding or war at the risk of losing any more sons. And he feels he has to wait out Myles’ sons to grow up to inherit the clan because none of his other sons were not only as highly educated, but have a willingness or the head or sense for it." You recounted.

"Which is why he pleaded with Mountain Blizzard for trading contacts because Mountain Blizzard has always traded pink salt for anything and everything else they have. Well, according to my adopted uncle Justineh and his wife Fusha and their kids. They’ve always traded salt for fruit and vegetables that don’t or can’t grow in the mountains. And I think Bula hasn’t traded us for our ransom is because I think Bula is scared that if we go, the Mountain Blizzard Clan won’t come back to do business with them.” You retold. 

“I still can’t believe that with the price of your weight a hundred times over, that that still wasn’t enough.” Zorroku recalled. 

“Fear can overwhelm sense. Hopefully when she comes later today, she’ll be induced to be reasonable and agree.” You hoped. 

"So if I chose you, how many kids would you want?" You asked next as you tried to keep your grin from becoming too scheming. Because you sensed he was really telling you the truth, and you realized that what he was offering you, was what you really always wanted and this was literally a dream come true.

"Well we already have one, I'm good and happy and perfectly content with just Ori. Besides, you may be strong but I know everyone has limits and I also feel that children are gifts from the gods themselves. But if your body can't handle carrying that gift, that's fine. Like you said, 'no gift is worth your life' and I would never ask you or want you to give up yours just to give me a gift you think I want, especially one I don’t need." Zorroku explained and you never thought in a million years that he would have used your own sentiment like that and part of you wanted to pin him down to grass itself and fuck him hard and fast yet slow and savoring and give him so many sons, he would run out of fingers and toes trying to count them all.

“Ok.” You smiled. 

You were about to kiss him before you heard Shuzug get kicked by a horse which got both of you to recoil and turn to see Shuzug on his back, trying to get the air back in his lungs.

"Hold her, I gotta make sure he doesn't die before his parents get the chance to kill him themselves." You sighed tiredly as you handed Ori to Zorroku and walked over to Shuzug before turning him over to his side to help him breathe again.

"And what did you learn?" You asked him as you crouched down next to him as he gasped and recovered as Zorroku and Nar both snickered a laugh.

"Not to milk that one?" Shuzug winced.

"Ok first of all, did you just pick a random mare and try to milk her or did you look for one with a nursing foal?" You asked before Shuzug and Nar gave each other a look that told you the answer to that was 'no' and it just made you groan again.

"Now you boys should know that only when a mother has a nursing child will she produce milk. Because otherwise, the milk dries up and she won't produce it anymore because her body doesn't have to. Or did you forget that detail?" You asked before they both looked away guiltily.

"Really? Ok, I'm going to have to just do this myself." You huffed before you marched back to the garden and got a bunch of apples in your tunic before you marched back to the herd and snatched the bucket from Shuzug and found a mare who was nursing her foal.

"Come on, you're gonna help, take the apples, you two are gonna feed the mare the apples as I milk her." You said as you gave Shuzug and Nar the apples from your tunic before the five of you went over to the mare. You greeted the mare first, cooing and petting her and making sure she felt at ease with at least your presence. Then you had Shuzug and Nar both kept feeding the mare apples. You gently stroked her sides as you made your way back to where the foal was still nursing. Then you started milking from the other teat as you prayed to all the gods you knew of to help you and once the foal was done the mare side stepped away from you and you didn't try to milk her anymore, instead you pet your side and back up her body while praising her and thanking her for her help.

"There, I think I got enough milk for either one kitten or one pup. Now you two know the process. Shuzug I know you know how to milk livestock, repeat the process until you have enough milk and then we’ll try to find a bottle." You ordered them before you handed the bucket back to Shuzug and took Ori back before you and Zorroku left the field together after he had untied his offering of horses but kept them in the same pen.

"You're amazing, you know that right?" Zorroku praised you as you passed his brothers that were carrying their saddles out to their horses in the fields.

"Aw, thank you, Zushku." You beamed happily.

"Where are you guys going?" Zorroku asked as his brothers approached the other horses in the pen.

"To get Peaches some livestock." Yalak beamed and your stomach dropped because they were dressed for raiding, they were going out to steal some livestock and that's not what you wanted as ou just shook your head.

"What's wrong? Why are you making that face?" Zorroku asked you, expecting you to be happy about that as were his brothers.

"I prefer bought or fairly traded livestock. And if you really wanted to please me, you see that idiot with Nar? That's Shuzug, your mother’s sister’s youngest son, he’s only ten but he’s your cousin. Ask him why he's trying to milk mares right now. And when he's done telling you that, he'll tell you where to go to get the best livestock on the continent that's even relatively close by. He knows who I’m talking about and I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to get there." You said as you pointed Shuzug out to his other cousins.

"Besides, people do better business and have better and long lasting relationships with clans who do that. And you won't lose your lives in the process. Because no gift to me is worth your lives. Your lives are worth more to me than livestock or anything else you can imagine giving me. So go talk to Shuzug, then take off your raiding armor because you won't need it. And then get proper funds from your treasury. You guys want to be known as The Great Thunder Herd Clan? That's how you earn The Great part of it by those around you. If you trust Mama Arob's words about me making this clan greater than it's ever been, then heed my words now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have breakfast to make. And you all should eat breakfast before you go. You can't do business on an empty stomach." You excused yourself as you marched through them with your head held high as they stared after you in awe as Ori looked back at her dad over your shoulder as she cooed to you and jabbered happily. Zorroku was proud that you were still using Arob’s probability peering to use it for the clan’s advantage. 

"Anyone else have any lingering doubts she won't make the best Warchieftess this clan has ever seen?" Zorroku asked with a beaming proud smile once you were out of earshot as his brothers nodded no.

"Ok let me get my saddle and I'll join you, we'll take Shuzug and Nar after they do what they gotta do and see what else we can learn about her from him." Zorroku ordered like the natural born leader he was. The other brothers went and put their saddles on their horses before they greeted Shuzug and got to talking with him before they walked back to their tents to take off their armor but still kept their battle axes and their swords just in case.

Shuzug knew exactly who you were talking about as he pulled out his maps and showed them Cattle Barron Zonk’s lands. He also helped advise them on how much money to take. But of course only after they met with Yotul and Crowthu and Mama Arob as everyone gathered around the table to have breakfast again. Shuzug was so happy they were being as welcoming and friendly as they were as Yotul especially was happy to meet him and ask him more questions about his mother and her family and what they liked and what they preferred so that when they would come, everything would be perfect for them.

After breakfast, the boys got ready to go again as Arob said she would help you get the cubs and pups situated in your tent with you so that you could keep and sustain your new gifts and the many more you were about to receive. 

"Can Shuzug ride one of my horses please? His poor horse has been through enough for one day already." You requested of Zorroku. 

“Absolutely, I can put him on Brusen.” Zorroku nodded. 

“And Shuzug can use my spare saddle since we’re the same size.” Nar volunteered. 

“Aww, thank you so much Nar.” You thanked Nar appreciatively, who beamed happily and got his spare saddle for Shuzug to ride the horse in question as Shuzug spent several moments getting to know Brusen and for Brusen to get to know Shuzug and become familiar with him. 

“Wow is this a comfortable saddle.” Shuzug marvelled when Nar came back with the saddle and helped Shuzug put it on Brusen since every saddle was made to fit draft horses and each saddle could fit just about any horse as the boys began to saddle up and get ready. 

Then you heard a Mammoth call out and you turned to see the Mountain Blizzard Clan Mammoths come into the field with huge carts behind them. 

“Peacock!” Kakazi bellowed as he pushed his bull mammoth, Brahma, to walk quickly over to you since mammoths, like elephants, couldn't run. 

“Kakazi?!” You asked when you recognized his voice and tried to recognize his body on his mammoth. 

"Peacock?" Zorroku and his brothers frowned as Shuzug hid his grimace.

“Yeah!” Kakazi boomed back happily. 

“What’s he doing here so fast?” Yalak scowled. 

“To come and say hi, I’m assuming.” You shrugged as you left them to go over to Kakazi. 

“Oh no.” Shuzug groaned when he saw Kakazi and his family and what he assumed was the other members of his family when you already out of earshot.

“What do you mean ‘oh no’?” Nar asked worriedly. 

“Kakazi, all of his brothers, cousins and other clan members have been after Bella and her sister Lilly for the last three years. But my mom has always refused their proposals for her. They call Bella "Peacock" because those are her favorite colors and they call Lilly "Emerald" because she loves all and every shade of green. I hope your dad was adamant about one of you marrying her because now, she’s about to have every guy in Mountain Blizzard try to propose now that she’s a Marfu.” Shuzug admitted as Zorroku and his brothers looked at each other worriedly before the hurriedly got their horses to follow you and go over to Kakazi. 

“Hey!” You greeted Kakazi as the two of you met in the middle. You kept your hand over Ori’s ear so she wouldn’t be woken up by the noise as his parents were on thier mammoths behind Kakazi, and in a short distance. 

“Hello Brahma, how are you?” You greeted his bull who lifted his trunk to inspect Ori and you and wrapped his trunk around your arm as you scratched the trunk. 

“Who do you have there?” Kakazi asked curiously when he saw a sleeping baby in your mother's sling. 

“Oh this is Zorroku’s daughter Orianna. He let me adopt her since she’s been having a hard time thriving under Grat’s care.” You answered as you turned so he could see her face. 

“Wow, she’s looking much better than when I saw her last.” He praised. 

“Come on up.” He invited.

“Are you sure?” You asked. 

“Yeah, come on. Brahma, help Bella up, gently though, very gently.” He urged before Brahma bent down and helped you get up into Kakazi’s saddle with him as Zorroku frowned and felt his possessiveness soar over you as he wanted to try to pull you down but to see you pet Brahma and climb so gracefully, he decided against voicing his contentions. 

“Thank you for not scaring me trying to say hi to me again. I could have hurt you with her on me.” You thanked him as you got up in the saddle behind him. 

“Never. I told you last time that that was the last time I was going to do that. Besides, I would never dream of disturbing Ori. Zorroku is already overprotective enough as it is. I’d have to have a death wish to try to cause her harm, even just a little scare.” He answered. 

“Well, since I came, Mama Arob blessed me to be able to nurse Ori and care for her as if she was my own. And I think that included instinctually protecting her and myself. And had you tried to scare me by grabbing me again, I could have hurt you really badly trying to defend us. And I know you’ve always done it as a joke. But I don’t think that will fly here.” You gently warned him. 

“Yeah, I know it. Especially with you being Crowthu’s Marfu? I knew it wouldn’t go well if I tried.” He chuckled. 

“So how much did it take for Bastard Rock to finally free you?” He asked as he walked his mammoth back over to the others so you could see everyone, ignoring Zorroku and his brothers who were riding over to him. 

“Thirty two slaves and their weight in salt and the unspoken threat of war, and a marraige proposal. And that says that by the end of the month, I have to marry one of Crowthu’s sons. Khagra almost didn’t budge. But it was the gods bringing me here for Ori’s sake that he finally caved. The poor thing has a very bad allergy to onions and garlic.” You answered. 

“Oof, and those are Grat’s favorite foods. It would make sense. Medowne, who was Ori’s mother, didn't like onions or garlic either. She was much more partial to mint and lemon balm.” He recalled. 

“So you knew Medowne?” You asked him hopefully. 

“Yeah, her and Zorroku made a cute couple. She was rather shy and introverted though. He had to pursue her, despite most of the women in his own clan pursing him. She was always really weak and tired all the time because the Yellow River Clan was small but women rarely left the settlement. So she wasn’t used to all the physical exercise they have here in Thunder Herd and had low stamina.” He answered. 

“Well Zorroku also gave me all of Medowne’s old clothes. Granted they all got altered so I would have more than the two and a half dresses I brought with me to wear. Before all the fabrics I was given could be made into clothes for me. And Zorroku insists that he doesn’t see me as a second Medowne, but it’s hard to not feel a little like I’m stepping into her shoes. Especially now that I have Ori. But it’s still better than why all his brothers want me.” You muttered lowly. 

“And why’s that?” He asked curiously. 

“You know that Arob is a sorceress right?” You asked him. 

“Yeah, let me guess, she saw you and thought you were their path to glory?” He guessed as you pressed your head to his back, between his shoulder blades. 

“Yes.” You confirmed with a tired sigh as he reached back and pat your thigh as he used his own legs to steer his mammoth. 

“According to her, I have a very high probability that any son I choose will be not just a Warchief, but the next Clan Chief. If I’m their Clan Chieftess.” You revealed as Kakazi’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he did his best to recover quickly and be nonchalant about such extraordinary news. 

“Now I don’t know if that’s because Zorroku doesn’t want that for himself or what. But it’s why all his brothers are trying to bend over backwards to court me. My tent is stuffed with gifts that I have yet to even go through myself. It’s only my third day here, and they were ready to raid just to get me livestock to try to please me, because all they have here are draft horses. And it’s overwhelming. So overwhelming.” You lamented as you just let your head rest on his back as your shoulders sagged. 

“You poor thing.” Kakazi offered as he reached back and pat your thigh again.  

“Please don’t repeat this, but I’ve spent my whole life being used as a babysitter and then a cook for Khagra and his family. And while Crowthu and Yotul- have been nothing but amazing to me, and welcoming me, and perfectly and completely genuine. I feel like all their sons, except for Zorroku, all want me just for that probable outcome of being a Clan Chief. Even when they already have wives they should be perfectly happy and content with to fill that position, and especially children from those unions and I have no desire to get between a husband and his wife. I never have. I don't want that complication and strife in my life. All I've ever wanted was to be a man's one and only beloved wife. That's it. No power or riches or glory or anything like that. I've only wanted pleasant simplicity.” You quietly complained.  

“Oh for sure. So what do you think of them?” Kakazi asked, hoping you had already decided against most of them. 

“Well, I can tell Yalak and Murnag especially are trying to pursue me just as a means to that particular end. Nar and Grushnug, I’m still trying to get a feel for. Silug and Winug, I feel like would rape me the second their father’s back is turned and thankfully the rest have kept me safe so far. But Silug and Winug only have human bed slaves and will not marry either of them and I think it’s the whole ‘humans are best as orc cock sleeves’ phenomenon. And it’s Crowthu who has recognized their bedroom slaves as daughters in law and thier children as his grandchildren that they’re as close to the family as they are. And I know Crowthu doesn’t approve but with them being Yotul’s oldest sons, I don’t think Crowthu has much of a choice about it.” You explained as Kakazi snickered a laugh at you using ‘cock sleeves’ idiom. 

“Because Silug and Winug are selfish honorless pigs.” Kakazi murmured to you over his shoulder. 

“Don’t I know it. Not unlike Yar.” You muttered back which made him snort another laugh. 

“I take it Yar’s even worse than the last time you talked about him?” Katazi urged you. 

“You have no idea. You’ll see tonight. Khagra’s whole family is coming because Yotul is Bula’s sister. Like Typhoon Breaker kind of sister. 

“Oh, wow. What a small world.” Katazi hummed in surprise. 

“Speaking of small worlds. Why am I holding my mother’s name sake? Why is Zorroku’s full name Zorroushku, after my maternal blood grandfather? And Glashnarrah is my mother’s blood mother’s name. Marnausta, Grushnagah, Murnagah? They’re my mother’s blood siblings. And yet Sharn named her own children after them but hid where my mother settled from my mother and me and the rest of my family? That doesn’t make any sense.” You pressed. 

“Sharnarrah never wanted her children to meet you and your siblings as servants. She wanted you to meet as free persons and equals. But because Bula has been unreasonable for 20 years, that wasn’t possible while Sharnarrah lived. And once she died 13 years ago, Mama Jaseeneh has upheld Sharnarrah’s wishes. And it wasn’t until Arob shared her vision with Mama Jaseeneh that Jaseeneh finally broke down and told them where to find you. But Mama Jaseeneh wouldn’t even give them your name or nickname or that you are her Visla. She only gave them a general description that you were cook, that Khagra wore like a gem in a crown of lies to lord over others in his clan.” He revealed. 

“Well, that’s true.” You sighed. 

“Thank you for coming though. I really appreciate the support. I’m gonna need your mom and your sister’s help to help me choose which son to marry. Maybe they'll be able to differentiate more than I have. Because it sounds like you have a lifetime of experience to know exactly what kind of people they all are.” You proposed. 

“What if you are free from the marriage alliance? What if we can somehow convince Crowthu to really treat you like a Marfu and not a bought servant and you’re free to choose who you want just like his own daughters are?” Kakazi offered. 

“I doubt you would succeed. Shuzug almost married me on the spot three days ago to keep me from going at all. Because they didn’t know anything about Thunder Herd and your clan, at least to my knowledge, never gave Khagra contact information to do business with them in the past or let on that you did business with them at all. And we all were scared that they were similar to Iron Mammoth.” You ventured. 

“Oh gods no!” Katazi reassured you as he reached back and patted your leg again, but this time a bit further up than you were used to as you stared at his back in suspicion as you worried now that he’d be like the rest of Crowthu’s sons and began to regret ever telling him about what Mama Arob saw in you. You thought he would still be the lighthearted fool he always seemed to be. 

“No. I would have come and gotten you and taken you and your family if that was the case.” He offered. 

“Well there are already too many in Black Wolf White Rock who are like that. And it’s only to keep Iron Mammoth or any other like them from getting stronger than they already are- that Khagra tolerates the ones without proper honor in his clan in the first place.” You fretted. 

“And I don’t know this clan that well. Are there any here who are like that? Does Crowthu follow the same thing? Especially when Silug and Winug are like that and according to Arob, their warbands are like them too.” You pressed anxiously.  

“Those are good points and you’re absolutely right about that. I know Zorroku is above such things and his warband only has the most honorable in his clan in it. But the others? I don’t know. My brother Kunn would know better, he’s Zorroku’s age. He’s right over there. I’ll let him know about your concerns. And I think he’d be impartial in his assessments.” Katazi offered. 

“And you’re not?” You asked. 

“Nope, you know me. I’m never impartial. In fact I’m extremely partial.” He admitted. 

“Yeah, I guess. So have you shaken off your foolish rogue reputation enough that you’ve found a serious girl to take you seriously?” You asked hopefully but kept a slightly teasing tone. 

“Nope. And honestly, I’m grateful for it. Which, while I have you all to myself. If I or anyone else can convince Crowthu to let you be a full Marfu, would you marry me?” He asked as your jaw dropped. 

“You, you’re kidding…” You tried to argue. 

“Nope. I’m completely serious. You’re the only one who has ever seen through the stupid fool facade anyway. And you know I’m not really like that. It’s not like every single one of Crowthyu’s sons doesn’t have an overabundance of options for marriage. And if all they want you for is to use you to advance their career in their clan. I can have Brahma squish ‘em.” He offered as you snorted a laugh at the thought of Brahma squishing Silug and Winug at least.

“Kakazi. I highly doubt Crowthu risked his life and his sons’ life to get me only to give me away again. Because the whole Bastard Rock clan threatened to kill them at the village gate for trying to take me with them. And with me, the whole ripe peach crop off the trees. Which is why they all call me ‘Peaches’. Which took a little to get used to. Honestly it'll be easier to know who is calling me. Peaches, Thunder Herd. Peacock, Mountain Blizzard. Bella, White Rock.” You admitted. 

“But you’re a Visla. You’re Jaseeneh’s Visla, And you’ve been that since birth, even when Bula wouldn’t let you enjoy it. You deserve to at least have the option to choose for yourself.” Kakazi insisted. 

“Well Zorroku did tell me the same thing. That he’d be content to just be friends, but still share Ori. And that just because I’m Ori’s mother, I don’t have to be his wife.” You offered even though you wanted to be Zorroku’s wife. Because he wanted you for the right reasons. And you wanted to be with him, for what you thought were the right reasons too. Or maybe those dreams were being over influential. They were just dreams. Not reality. On the other hand, if Zorroku would know that you’d choose him over even Kakazi or all of Crowthu’s children or the others in Mountain Blizzard, it would really impress upon him how much you would really genuinely want him and only him. 

“Good, so is that a yes?” Kakazi asked. 

“It’s a maybe and a perhaps but with a really big “I doubt it”. But only because of how the present circumstances look. I don’t have to decide anything now. Thankfully. Don’t go doing the same thing and overwhelm me too. The last thing I need is another overactive or imposing or pushy suitor. I mean Shuzug’s here and he brought with him three wild wolf pups and two mountain lion cubs. I don’t know how people won’t see that and see him as a suitor for me too even though we are only friends and will only ever be friends. But again, you’d have to convince Crowthu and Yotul and Mama Arob and Zorroku because of Ori’s account.” You specified. 

“That’s fair.” He nodded as he used his touch on your leg and squeezed your knee before he came up to his parents. 

“Look who I found!” He prompted his family who all came to be around you, making a circle around you, leaving Zorroku and his brothers to try to find a way in but the other mammoths had formed a barrier around you as you kept turning and waiving hi and greeting everyone by name as the other mammoths reached up their trunks to sniff and feel you and Ori as you took their trunks and kissed them affectionately before Ori woke up started to look around before you turned her over so she was facing out in the sling.

“Hi Aunt Fusha, Hi Uncle Justineh. How are you guys?” You asked. 

“Who do you have in a mother sling?” Fusha asked curiously. 

“Oriannaregina, Zorroku’s daughter. She’s…” You began as you explained why and how you were now her mother. 

“Aww, bless your heart and soul for taking care of her. She looks much better now than when we saw her last.” Fusha cooed. 

“How long ago was that?” You asked.

“A week ago.” They all answered. 

“How?” You asked. 

“Because Crowthu’s sister Cilanthe is my brother Drashaneh’s wife and Clan Chieftess. And ever since she married into the clan, she was able to get the whole Thunder Herd Clan to winter in the old Mountain Blizzard city after we built our new one. It’s in the mountains and their horses stay in one of the old mammoth caves that they light and keep all their hay in and because of special opals we’ve found- and put into the ceiling, it mimics sunlight so it makes the inside of the caves feel like the outside and we’re able to grow fresh grass in there for them and the mammoths. So they stay in the old city and we get horse meat in the winter in exchange.” Kakazi answered. 

“And you didn’t think to tell me when you saw me only a month ago?” You asked them. 

“Again, that was Mama Jaseeneh’s doing.” Kakazi excused. 

“You should have still told me about the Thunder Herd Clan and at least warned me that they were coming for me to liberate me, at least a little. More liberties than I enjoyed in White Rock anyway.” You murmured under your breath at Kakazi. 

“Well from now on, I promise, I’ll tell you everything.” Kakazi offered as he turned in his saddle to face you a little easier and smile at Ori who was not pleased he was so closed as she used her legs and kicked out at him to keep him as far away as her little legs could manage before you took the hint and scooted back away from Kakazi so Ori wouldn't hurt her still little and weak legs.  

“I hope so. Would you do me a favor?” You asked once you settled in again. 

“Anything.” He answered. 

“Go with Zorroku and his brothers and make sure they actually buy all these cattle that they’re after. I know Zorroku will buy them because I asked him to. But I don’t think his brothers can be trusted for such a simple thing and they have no idea how expensive cattle can really be. And I’m sending them to Cattle Baron Gronk in Black Angus.” You urged him. 

“Of course. Just let us set up camp and give you your gifts and you can go through them while we’re gone.” He offered. 

“Like Jaseeneh Visla gifts or courting gifts?” You asked a little suspiciously. 

“Jaseeneh Visla gifts. She’s coming later. She has to be in a special carriage by two mammoths. Because she’s pretty infirm now. And everyone else is going with her. But she gave us permission to come ahead early, and give you the first half of your gifts. Which include a proper Mountain Blizzard yurt. So you have a choice to either sleep in that or whatever tent they put you in here.” Katazi answered. 

“Aww, thank you. I’m excited to finally meet her. And everyone else.” You smiled happily. 

“Actually, Yotul has a space already cleared for you and your Clan that is closest to my tent.” You revealed. 

“Perfect, point the way.” He urged as you turned around and pointed to the tent.

“That’s Medowne’s old tent.” Katazi informed you with a frown when he recognized it. 

“Really?” You asked, kind of disheartened. Now that you were not just Medowne’s clothes. But her jewelry and her tent. How could Zorroku look at you and not see Medowne now?

“He had it specifically made for her the same way Crowthu had one made for Sharnarrah. But when she died giving birth to the twins, Zoku inherited it from her. And he was in the middle of refurbishing it and repairing it because it was in storage since her funeral and it got a bit of wear and tear both in use and in storage. But Medowne died before he could complete it.” Kakazi revealed as he got down and then helped you get down off of Brahma as Ori fussed every time he was too close as he tried to give you a hug and hand to settle for a side hug before Ori was grunting and growling at him and trying to push him away again.

“Was she always like this? She’ll smile at me and others in her family and clan but anyone else she won’t smile at at all. And she's never acted like this with anyone else since I've gotten her.” You asked him as you held her and swayed in place with her and put her on your opposite shoulder.

“Well, she usually screamed and cried at anyone who wasn’t Zoku.” Kakazi informed you.

"Why do you call him Zoku and not Zushku? Isn't Zushku the shortened form of Zorroushku in Ragesh?" You asked Kakazi.

"Yotul started to call him that when she adopted him and all of his brothers call him that so we call him that too." Kakazi shrugged as you frowned.

“But the fact that Ori isn't screaming and crying right now is a great improvement.” He praised as he tried to reach up to play with her but she just curled herself in on you to keep herself from being touched by anyone but you as she gave a you pleading look to not let anyone touch her which you seemed to instictively understand.

“She does look so much better. We worried she wouldn’t be alive to see us in the fall.” He recounted. 

“But now that she has you. I don’t think anyone will be worried about her. I know you’ll go full mama ice bear to protect her.” Kakazi reassured you. 

“Aww, thanks.” You beamed happily before you showed him and his family into your tent so they could see it for themselves before they picked up the part of the tent that was Ori’s Nursery wall and began putting up your Mountain Blizzard Visla yurt in conjunction with your tent as Zorroku and his brothers dismounted and at least helped set it up with Kakazi and his family. 

And suddenly they all realized why Kakazi and everyone called you Peacock because your yurt was in a peacock's colors and engraved with peacocks on the beams.

"Favorite animal?" Zorrku asked you.

"Yeah. I got to see a peacock feather once and when they showed me what a whole bird would look like in a book, I instantly loved it, The tip of a feather is one of the things I brought with me from White Rock. Although with the history Mountain Blizzard has with White Rock, they all call it Bastard Rock behind their backs." You smiled as Zorroku snickerd a laugh.

"Bastard Rock, that's a very fitting name." He grinned at you as you both appreciated all the intricate engraving and the fact that everything was either peacock green, turqoise, blue, purple and gold before you got several bouquets worth of peacock feathers just for decorating which made you squeal in delight Although with having three wolf pups and two mountain lion cubs in your care, you doubted you could keep peacocks now.

"Hey, so is Ori very picky about who she lets touch her or near her? Because she hates Kakazi something awful." You asked him.

"Yeah, sorry about that, yes she is very picky. Which is why her instantly liking you and loving you and being happy with you is a really big deal. There were others in the clan who tried to nurse her but she didn't like any of them and only tolerated Grat." Zorroku apologized.

"Oh. Well being picky can be a good thing. Besides kids have a sixth sense about people sometimes. I'll keep an eye out for who she doesn't like then." You assured him as Ori was happy that it was just you and her dad together as she seemed to want to be held by both of you at the same time before Zorroku excused himself to help set up the rest of your yurt with everyone else.

It was a very large, two story yurt frame made out of mountain cedar pine that smelled so amazing and fragrant. Each piece was intricately stained and painted beautifully. And then the multiple layers of ceiling and walls on top of and inside the frame. Then as the floor was installed, you got to pick from a whole pile of special silk rugs to serve as your floor and "walls" on the inside of the yurt as you picked all that appealed to you and knew exactly which ones each of your siblings would like when you were informed that their yurts were brought too.

In what felt like practically moments, a fully formed home was built. It even had a real wooden floor that came in special pieces that locked together. Then special woolen mats were unloaded and rolled out inside. The mats were made out of the Woolen Mammoth fur which was cultivated the same way sheep's wool was, was put down. It helped insulate the floors to help keep heat in and it provided extra cushioning under the rugs too. They were the perfect size to fit over the floors in both the bottom and top levels inside the house. Then once it was tucked and tied in place so it wouldn't move, then the rugs were put down. And once those were down and in place. Then the furnature could be moved in.

It got to be just as full of gifts for you- as your tent already was. But it came with clothes and jewelry that was made just for you- to fit your smaller human form. You could tell that some of the clothes were made to suit you when you were a few years younger and to what your size was as of a month ago. So it obviously was prepared to be given to you at least a few years ago, if not much sooner in general. It was a perfectly furnished home, if not quite full of even more wonderful things. That made you feel even more home now than you had before.

And the finishing touch was Zorroku putting Orianna's name that had already been carved in a plaque, right under your name at the door and you wanted to see Zorroku's full name in Ragesh right along side it. You could almost see the names of any and all future children engraved in plaques for the door before Kakazi handed you the key that was for the lock on the door. You had held gold and silver in your hands before. But this little iron key, might as well have been carved out of a diamond or a pearl, it was so precoius to you as you couldn't stop happily crying and thanking everyone for their work in setting it up before they turned to setting up the others to leave you to explore your new home with Ori who seemed just as enchanted with her new home as you were.

“Wow.” You whispered when you saw the huge armoire that was one huge jewelry box. It was stuffed to the brim with jewelry that was organized, granted a bit crowded, but organized. And perfectly beautiful. But you only slipped on a bracelet and earrings that matched the necklace and belt that you were already wearing. 

“So do you like it? Is there anything you're unhappy with?” Kakazi asked you as you were marveling at everything but had left your door open along with your windows and the skylights to let in as much light and air as possible.

"It's perfect. There is nothing that I don't love about it. I've never had a home of my own. It's been an honor having Medowne's old tent, it's been wonderful and everyone has tried so hard to make me feel welcome here. But I can feel all the love and care for me in everything in here. I can feel that everything was made just for me. And I can't believe that such an exquisite home is mine." You marveled.

Zorroku was leaning on the open door just outside and felt bad that you were in Medowne's old tent. But honestly it was the nicest tent available at the time. But often, tents were passed down, traded, taken apart, put back together because they were so versitile. And he hadn't thought about how you would feel knowing you were in Medowne's old tent, wearing her old clothes. You did deserve something completely yours and unique and one of a kind. And while he had wanted you to feel at home and at ease in your tent. He hoped you would feel at home and at ease, at least, on this land.

"Just wait till you see your home in Mountain Blizzard." Kakazi cooed.

"What are you talking about? This is my home from Mountain Blizzard." You frowned.

"This is one of your homes. As a Visla of the Mountain Blizzard Clan, you have two homes. This one is to dwell in when you're not at your home that's been carved out in the mountain city. Think of this as your summer home. Your winter home will put this one to shame it's in the heart of the Mountain Blizzard Clan City because you're Jaseeneh's Visla after all." Kakazi crooned as Zorroku dropped his head in defeat as he suddenly felt like there was nothing he could ever offer you that would ever be enough or stack up against this. So he left to try to help erect the other Yurts, including his maternal Grandmother's.

You were delightfully overwhelmed to see your parents’ yurt, and your brother’s yurts, and even your little sisters had their own yurts too. They were smaller because they were still little and attached to your parent’s yurts so that the yurts were still a home but their smaller yurts were like their own rooms. Their names, along with their titles of Visla were engraved in Ragesh special wood over the door frames as your name was on a wooden sign over the door to your yurt and you couldn’t wait to have your parents finally receive what was always owed to them. And Jaseeneh's yurt was extraordinary. It was the largest and nicest one out of them all and felt almost like a temple. And to see that the tents set up for Khagra and Bula on the other side of Crowthu’s family’s tents were just as nice. Making your parents Bula and Khagra’s equals but Jaseeneh, elevated above everyone. 

Once things were set up, Kakazi and the other boys and men from the Mountain Blizzard Clan helped Yotul prepare to host Black Wolf White Rock while also telling Yotul about her sister and the rest of her family as Yotul had the largest feasting tent erected just for this occasion. 

But when Yotul found out from the rest of the clansmen from Mountain Blizzard that your claim that Jaseeneh had been trying to buy your freedom and freedom of your family for the last 20 years, with your combined weight in salt a hundred times over, was in fact true. Yotul knew that Bula was not going to keep her hold over the rest of your family probably by the end of the night and felt bad for both wanting to see her sister and her nieces and nephews while also preparing her as far as personalities of her guests were. 

Meanwhile Arob had taken you to her tent to help you find a way to satisfy the hunger of your new pets. 

“Here, just take a breast and squeeze your milk into this cup and it will help anchor these little ones to you and help them think of you as their mother too. And it will help tame and domesticate them too.” Arob urged you as you did as she asked and squeezed a fair bit of milk out into the cup that she divided into the bottles for them and put the bottles inside a barrel they usually saved for nursing foals with more holes for them to nurse from as they all lined up and began to nurse from the bottles they had at your feet as you held Ori and helped her nurse her second breakfast. 

“I made a mistake.” You murmured to Arob. 

“Oh?” She asked. 

“I told Kakazi about what you saw in me and the Clan Chief, Clan Chieftess thing, hoping to get some sympathy because he’s usually very sympathetic person. And while he did show sympathy, he shocked me, he proposed on the spot.” You murmured sorrowfully. 

“Usually he’s this very playful, stupid but fun loving, lighthearted kind of guy. And he immediately turned so serious on me, the shock nearly threw me off Brahma.” You recalled. 

“Me and my big mouth are gonna get me into so much trouble. And who knows who he told about it. And what they’ll be doing. I really wish you hadn’t seen that about me. Because now it feels like any and every ambitious orc will try to court me just for that.” You sighed tiredly as you held Ori closely to you as she rested on the special nursing pillow around your waist to help hold nursing babies on. 

“And I keep having all these dreams about Zorroku and I don’t know if it’s just my overactive imagination. But it’s all overwhelming me so much.” You confessed. 

“The dreams are premonitions. Based on your current mindset, heart condition and choice in course. Give yourself a chance to wonder what your life could and would be like depending on who you choose and see what the premonitions show you about your options.” Arob revealed. 

“Really?” You asked her. 

“Do you want to see what your life would be like depending on who you choose?” She offered. 

“Yes. How much would…” You began. 

“Free, Honey. Don’t worry about it. I only want you to make the best decision for yourself and for Ori. It’s still all up to you. You are a Marfu. You have the same exact freedoms that Glasha has. Your future is yours to do with as you please. You have status and wealth to suit you for whichever course you take. Here, lay down on this bed here. And I’ll show you.” She offered before you got up and laid down as Ori was finally asleep herself and laid on your chest as Arob put you into a trance like sleep and showed you your various potential futures with every prospect both in the Thunder Herd Clan and Mountain Blizzard and far beyond.

It felt like you were living entire lifetimes and could see everything both as it happened and yet instantaneously before you seemed to have the same ending. After all these guys, except for Zorroku got what they wanted, they would abandon you only for Zorroku to come and pick you back up. No matter where you went, or who you chose, he would follow you, even if it meant leaving his family and his clan behind. He would use Ori as his excuse. But he would always stay with you, as close or as far as you were comfortable with. He was a loyal friend through and through and yet when you chose him from the very beginning, you were the happiest then. He would still only have you as his one and only wife and live up to all the vows he had already made towards you and then some. He could either choose to be his clan’s chief or not. Completely depending on your thoughts and feelings about it. He was always happy and content with just you and your family. Everything else didn’t matter to him. Only you and Ori and any other child you would give him. 

You openned your eyes with a sharp inhale and blinked away your happy and grateful tears. 

“How long was I out?” You asked. 

“Not even half an hour.” Arob answered you. 

“Oh good. So I have a really big favor to ask of you. My heart has chosen Zorroku already and after that, now it’s dead set on him. So I wanted to see if I could trade or purchase a special blessing from you." You began. 

"What kind of blessing?" Arob asked as she beamed with so much happiness at your decision.

"Is there a blessing that will allow me to have good, healthy pregnancies, good, non complicated births and for my body to be able to take in all of Zorroku's manhood comfortably? And if there is, I want you to go through my home and take whatever you want for it. Even before all this, I talked with Zorroku this morning about Medowne. And considering how she died, if I'm going to be with him, I don't want him to have to worry about me. At least physically and through childbearing. Because I've seen blended families and sometimes the human women can handle it and some can not and I want my body to be able to handle it and handle it very well." You proposed and Arob was so touched by your thoughtfulness and your noble heart and intentions and even your own sense of honor that she was near tears. You were such a treasure because of it.

"Of course, now I'm sensing you have some "medicine" that is in reality peach whiskey, give me one of the jugs of that and I'll make you a blessing that no other witch or sorcerer or sorceress will be able to top." Arob proposed.

You immediately left Ori there, asleep on that cot and bundled in her blanket and got the best one that had been aged longer than you had been alive. It was the best one you had and came back and eagerly gave it to her. Arob was touched even further that you'd gladly give up the best of what you had for Zorroku's sake, that was a very good sign.

"Ok, now, lay down again." Arob said as she put in what she needed into her other cauldron. Then she ran her fingers through your hair to catch the loose ones to throw those into it.

"Come and see." She invited you before you got up and turned over saw a vision of Zorroku granting you your freedom from the oath sworn by his father and yours and Khagra. And yet that would only make you more dead set on him. 

Then it showed yourself laying with Zorroku and how your womanhood would take his cock to the hilt and how you would always reach your satisfaction every time you laid together. How he would always be gentle and reverent when you wanted but give you the bone rattling, world shattering slightly rough sex you could crave without ever hurting you. How you would and could bear him child after child with ease and even a few sets of twins easily. How great of a mother you'd be and how he'd make the best father. He would never strike you or mistreat you in any way shape or form. 

Even your own parents and siblings would be there with you or in Mountain Blizzard and how they were taken into Crowthu’s family and into Jaseeneh’s family. And recognized as equal members of it as Marfu's and Vislas. 

You cried when you saw how Zorroku would never stray from you. How you'd always have all of him, his whole mind, heart and soul, his loyalty and fidelity, love and devotion. How happy you would be. How your children would be the most beautiful and handsome of their generation. How you would make the Thunder Herd Clan known as The Great Thunder Herd Clan. How you would be flocked to and your clan village would become a great city, and your garden would be famed. How your lands would prosper, and your village would become so advanced- because you embraced the new. It would become so fortified that it wouldn't be possible to be laid siege to. How you would make sure all its citizens were in good health and educated and happy and prosperous and peoples of all kids would stop calling you Warchieftess or Clan Chieftess but rather, The Queen in your old age. How you would help Zorroku retire from being Clan Chief at forty. His eldest sons would take over and you could get him to 78 years old, the oldest male orc in memory. He and you would both die together, holding each other tightly in your sleep, satisfied and happy. That neither his death or yours would hurt. And how all of your children and their spouses would share the same fate. Happy and satisfied with their lives. 

"Sold." You giggled through your happy tears before you rewind-ed it to the point where he gave you your freedom and you paused it and noticed a blue dot in the corner.

"What does that blue dot mean?" You asked as you pointed it out.

"It means you have an idea about it, press it and see your idea play out." Arob invited you so you did. You saw yourself telling Crowthu and Khagra and Jaseeneh and Dashaneh your idea that was just now springing into life in your head once Zorroku asked for your freedom and your family’s freedom that very night. 

Then you saw what would happen if they said yes. You and Arob gasped as you saw what would happen. You looked at each other excitedly as you saw just how the Thunder Herd Clan would have the means to become a very great fortified, advanced city and civilization. 

"OK, can we show this vision to everyone again when they all get here?" You asked hopefully.

"Oh yes. But I'll blur out Zorroku so that they still think all their sons have a shot and I'll say it's blurry because you haven't made up your mind and that it's open still." Arob grinned mischievously.

"Perfect." You mirrored her grin before you hugged her as tight as you could from where you were. 

Once you let go of each other you turned to Ori cooed to her sleeping form and promised her that you would be the best mother to her that you could be and that you would always love her forever. You both also noticed she really did start filling out nicely already as was starting to get some rolls on her limbs.

“Now lay down and close your eyes. It won’t take long.” Arob coached you. 

You awoke only what felt like a few moments later. And when you awoke, a very strong, lasting happiness came to you and refused to leave you. You had a smile you could not shake off the rest of the day. You just wanted to kiss Zorroku until your lips would fall off, it's because of him and his love for you and his support that you'd be able to do so much in the future. You'd do all you could to please him that very night if you could get away with it.  

“These premonitions that I’m getting about Zorroku, can you share them with him?” You asked hopefully.

“Yes.” Arob smiled and nodded before she handed you a huge bag of round balls of incense. 

“Everytime you find a suitor who is particularly forward, you give them one. And say that they’re premonition beads. And to use them, throw them in the fire tonight before bed. And they will see how while they get what they want, how devastated you usually are with them and how once you are devastated, the blessings reverse and they too become devastated. And that should be enough to deter most. But you will find one bead in there that is white on end and blue on the other. It is in its own little pocket. That one is for Zorroku. All the others are white and rather indistinguishable from each other. But once they are in the hands of yourself and then the other suitors themselves, they will take on the ambition of the host who holds them and change color. Your end still white- like a blank canvas. And the color will be indicative.” Arob instructed you as she handed it to you and you put it on your belt and then gave you a small piece of paper that had all the colors and their meanings that you quickly studied and then put it in the little bag on the belt with it. 

“Thank you.” You thanked her as you hugged her before you got Ori up off the mat and put her in your sling again before the two of you left and rejoined the others. You quickly went to where a horse was newly slaughtered and took the cocks and balls off the horses killed for the noon meal and the feast at dinner and started to prepare a special soup with them just for Yar, for when he would get there at dinner time because you knew he'd appreciate it. You told the others in the kitchen about the food tastes of their cousins and family as you made a special cake to celebrate this momentous occasion as you used your other peach whiskeys to pour over the cake and flavor the special honey glaze you put over it.

Then you were pulled back into the main feasting tent to make sure there was enough space and tables for everyone and everything as Fusha introduced you to the women who had come ahead early. As you recognized Kakazi’s sisters who then introduced you to their sisters in law as you worked who was related to who and how. All of them were really happy and excited to finally meet ‘Jaseeneh’s Visla Regina’s Bella’ that you spoke Ragesh so well and Arob had never had to repeat so many times over that yes, what she saw when she did her peering was true. But that it had scared you off to the idea and if they so much as hinted that it was that that your potential suitor was really after, you would immediately reject them because you didn’t want that for yourself and would automatically be put into a suspicious, weary and defensive attitude. Which seemed to be a good enough answer. 

“You sure that was a good idea?” Yotul asked Arob after she overheard the last set of mothers and sisters ask Arob about you since Kakazi had told his parent what you had told him as others overheard it and began asking and soon word seemed to spread behind your back so to speak but yet you could practically see the news travel among them. And suddenly you could see little disks above their heads to see what they were envisioning as you looked to them to Arob. 

“Why am I seeing the little pictures above everyone’s heads?” You asked her. 

“To show you who has ideas about you and what they’re thinking and their ambitions and intentions. It’s to help you decide who is genuine and who isn’t.” Arob answered before Lazuli came back to get you. 

“Yes?” 

“Your celebration dresses from the trunk have been finished. Where do you want them?” She asked as she had them wrapped in plain white cotton to keep them clean and private for you. 

“Oh, here, let me help.” You offered before you took two of the four bundles of clothes in her hands. 

“Dress in something sexy tonight Peaches! Make the boys’ jaws drop!” All the girls playfully incited you with rounds of laughter which made you smile but blush hard. Glasha and Brielan, Fusha’s daughter and her young kids left to join you to help you get dressed as Glasha took one from you and Brielan took the second from Lazuli as the four of you and Brielan’s kids followed you out of the main feasting tent and towards your home to help you get ready as the others ready left to do the same since the space was finally finished in time for everyone to get ready for dinner by the time the boys would get home. 

“Oh wow. Medowne never wore this, at least publicly.” Glasha noted as she looked over the different outfits that had been finished and she and Brielan and Lazuli immediately giggled licentiously so you threw caution to the wind and put it on and felt so sexy in this as your confidence was boosted almost immeasurably as they made sure your jewelry was perfect before you put on a piece of sheer but gorgeously embroidered shall over it since you were a bit self conscious about being so “exposed” since the outfit came with a midriff. 

Then you felt all of the mammoths began to make the deepest noise that you felt through your bones. 

“Mama Jaseeneh is here!” Brielan squealed before you exited your tent just as Zorroku and the rest of them had come back bringing in the livestock and were hot and sweaty and needed a bath but when he was about to come down the lane where his tents and his family’s tents were, you came out in one of the sexiest outfits Medowne owned and had was something she had commissioned in her skin tone to make it look like she was naked. 

“Medowne!” Zorroku blurted, half in alarm and half in surprise which made Glasha, Lazuli, Brielan and yourself and everyone around him freeze as Zorroku slapped his hand over his mouth in horror as you looked above Zorroku’s head to see Medowne wearing this and seducing him which cut you to the bone as your eyes dropped to the ground as your cheeks flushed with embarrassment. 

“I should change.” You immediately turned around and went back into the tent. 

“No! No! No, you looked fine! You don’t need to change!” Zorroku tried to call after you, as Glasha, Brilan and Lazuli frowned deeply at him. 

“What the fuck Zoku?” His brothers and cousins got after him. 

"I told you giving her Medowne's tent and her clothes was a bad idea, Just one of them is one thing but both is too much. I told you that she would only feel like you're trying to make her into Medowne." Nar reminded his eldest brother with a shake of his head as he was disappointed and heartbroken for you for Zorroku to outright call you by Medowne's name when he saw you in her clothes.

“I’m so sorry Belladonna!” Zorroku called into the tent as the other women came after you as he outright ignored his brothers and cousins and friends.

“You don’t have time to change, Jaseeneh is here. You need to go to her.” Brielan tried to stop you from ripping the outfit off of yourself as you tried to silently wrack a sob as even Ori was starting to cry because you were upset and crying too.

“Zorroushku, just get cleaned up and ready for dinner. I’ll see you later. I have to go meet my grandmother now. Everyone should go please.” You dismissed him and the others as you wiped the tears from your eyes. Then you left your tent through the yurt behind them as quietly as you and Brielan could as Glasha whispered that she would take care of Brielan’s kids as Brilan took your hand and ran with you as fast as you both could run carrying your babies as Glasha came back out of your tent with Brielan’s little ones and repeated that her brothers needed to get cleaned up and made sure they all passed your tent before she tied an extra big and extra hard knot in all the doors and tent flaps before she took Brielan’s kids back to the main feasting tent with Lazuli.

[berena-cpr]

Unfinished Masterpieces - Fic Rec List

Remember the WIP on ao3 you can’t let go? The one that resonated with you? The one that you’d give anything to know how it ends?

While the Berena Creative Project Resuscitation event is all about starting to work again on projects sitting in our draft folders, life can get in the way of finishing a project for a hundred reasons.

These works, posted, but still a few chapters short of ending, are loved though and with this list we’d like to share the love for the unfinished masterpieces one can find in the Berena tag on ao3.

Given the high response we had when we asked to tell us about your favourite WIPs, you’ll find the list under the cut:

Anything Else to Declare? - LittleMissO

“I've personally had sleeping issues since I read LittleMissO's Anything Else to Declare because yeah, I'm still there, breath held and heart pounding like crazy after the most delicious slow burn, and pining, and that outrageously flirtatious conversation over a whiskey.”

that line between your heart and mine - ktlsyrtis

“it is just plain hot but also I love the idea of them writing letters to each other and I also love the exploration of what their relationship might be like with Bernie still being in the RAMC.”

you disappear like your cigarette smoke (now the taste of your kiss is all that remains) - bonnissance

“A wonderful, emotional angst filled fic, looking at how Bernie’s life might still have progressed after Serena left. I loved how it showed her testing her own boundaries to see if it was possible to find another relationship with someone else and when she found that wasn’t something she could do, she accepted it and found other ways to be happy without Serena. I reread it fairly often because although unfinished it doesn’t ever seem incomplete. But the last word “Serena” always leaves me full of a hope that I would dearly love to have fulfilled.”

Secrets in the Dark - Wonko

“I’d love to see this continued!”

For a Good Time Call - Regency

“Young Serena using that pure sex voice of hers to make a little extra as a phone sex operative, and young nervous Bernie taking the first tentative steps in exploring her sexuality. Who better than Serena to help her figure things out? The premise of the fic is ingenious, the writing amazing, the dialogue just outstanding. Hot, sexy, soft and full of compassion and feels. I would sell a kidney to read the next chapter to this – Bernie and Serena meeting years later and recognising each other’s voices.”

you're the only one I never looked for - gutsandglitter

“Never expected I'd enjoy a Baby Boom AU, but I love this fic. Serena hanging out in the country feeling extremely overwhelmed and constantly running into this weird tall, awkward woman named Bernie is a mood. I will forever hold out hope for an update so that I can someday read about them having lots of sex (after an appropriate amount of angst, miscommunication, and unexpected grocery store encounters, of course).”

Things Kayryn doesn't write - Kayryn

“So they’re not exactly unfinished, because they are complete, beautifully crafted, amazingly inventive, head canons, but they’re not completed fic’s so I’m counting them. I actually think that’s one of the lovely things about them, there’s a full story in there but enough space in them to bring your own imagination to the details. The fact that every head canon is spot on and you can completely image it happening is the icing on the cake, and the perfect characterisation is the cherry on top. Canon could have taken lessons from from Kayryn”

I Want to be Your Fantasy (Maybe You Could Be Mine) - Regency

“I just love the concept and the first chapter just pulled me in and I so very much want to know what happens next.”

Notting Hill - Bat_and_Breakfast

“All the “Rom Com idiots in love but they don’t know it miscommunication capers” re-envisaged for Berena you say? Sign me up! I love the way the plot of Notting Hill is absolutely recognisable, but never at the expense of Bernie and Serena’s characters. Everything they do, their responses, the dialogue, is so them. And the cleverly cast Holby regulars as supporting stars - genius. It’s an absolute triumph of transformative work. It’s wonderfully and engagingly written. If you’ve ever got sucked into watching “just a bit” of rom com and found you’ve just lost a couple of hours of your life - this fic does the same thing.”

Follow Me There - troiing

“Full disclosure: I’ve never watched Sanctuary and I know nothing about the characters. But this crossover fic is so good, that it doesn’t even matter.”

hold me closer (tiny dancer) - serenacampbell

“I don’t know why I’m so attached to that fic, but I am. I love the premise of a slow burn fic where the characters still get to do sexy things during the awkward slow burn oblivious period. It’s like the best of both worlds.”

Machu Pechinku - Jrnsaxa

“Forget France and Nepal, what if Serena spent her sabbatical in Peru? The setting in this is beautifully vivid, as is the the delicate ways in which Serena and Bernie start to reconnect after Elinor.”

Hello, Major - lesbianquill

“This is a near perfect Serena being fixated on Bernie in fatigues fic. The first chapter is very insightful, helping us to understand why Bernie might not be happy to accede to Serena’s small kink/obsession. That of course doesn’t last for too long because Bernie loves Serena and she loves having sex with Serena. It was offered as a smutty one shot, but then they rewarded us with an even smuttier second chapter and teased us with the news that a third chapter would be forthcoming. It never happened. Main reason for wishing it could be continued? I enjoy well-written smut.”

In the Spirit of Three Stars - alwayssomethingelse

“Bernie and Serena as Federation officers on Deep Space Nine. Oh, the potential!”

Anatomically Correct - phantomunmasked

“Bernie severely overcompensating for any possible awkwardness in their first time by ordering a mountain of sex toys is a premise that will always delight me. Every time I go back to this one, I ponder what their weekend away would bring with a big grin.”

The Clinic - RexWolfe

“Maybe it’s all the Bramwell we’ve been watching, but this one’s been on my mind lately. Can’t go wrong with a Victorian AU.”

a life in pictures - Regency

"I soooo want to see Serena maybe modelling for Bernie (or at least just how the date goes)”

working up a storm inside my head - sevtacular

“While this isn’t actually an unfinished fic in the sense of chapters missing, the prompt fic collection of Sev can always be added to as far as I’m concerned. Love what has been written so far, hope there will be new chapters with time.”

Body and Soul - ChalkHillBlue

“Possibly the weirdest AU idea ever, this body swap AU makes my brain go crazy with the possibilities every time I read it.”

When We Need One Another The Most - Whispersmummy

“I know this isn’t strictly Berena but it wouldn’t have been written if not for the Berena fandom who love most every conceivable way these two dorks might get together. Very well written (imo) and cleverly constructed fic. Lots and lots of angst and who doesn’t love angst? Only thing missing is a small amount of smut. (Yes I’m back there).”

Ring In The New - fiveroundsrapid

“Fics where Bernie comes to Holby before/during Adrienne’s illness are my kryptonite, and this one is so good!”

Holby One: A Star Wars AAU Story - elitryalittle

“Holby One is my favorite unfinished fic. It’s not just because I came to Berena via Star Wars (a bit of an unusual way, but here I am), but also because I can totally see Serena as a healer and Bernie as a Jedi knight. Kudos for their excellent knowledge of the SWU and this great idea of a crossover fic. I’d give them a limited edition “Looking for Leia” patch and a sticker if they’d finish it.”

to gaze at you, from afar (I sigh, I sigh, I sigh) - bonnissance

“The photographer/model AU you never knew you needed in your life, but you really, really do.”

Heroic Endeavor - Nicolaruth27

“I never would’ve thought I’d be down for a Greek god AU, but this fic has permanent residence in a corner of my brain. Bernie as Athena in mortal form is inspired, and the way the fic is interwoven with canon is a delight.”

what a lovely way to burn - ktlsyrtis

“I just love anything that's weaved into canon but with them being happy and dating and communicating."

Love, Unexpected - Igerna

“Bernie is still married to Marcus when she meets Serena during a conference. They immediately bond and keep in contact, sharing both professional advice and thoughts on their private lives. Love, for them, happens rather unexpectedly. I do love conference fics and slow burns - and this is a good one.”

a little less war torn - kitnkabootle

“The setup for this - in which Serena is the one who goes to help when Bernie is brought to Holby, instead of Raf - is one of my favorite ‘what ifs’ to ponder, and the writing is outstanding.”

[moon-u]

Levi ackerman x reader pt3.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 : the beginnig of an end

��𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : levi x reader

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : four years passed, and levi was going to meet y / n. a promising new recruit

Four years later, a new generation of soldiers had been programmed. Many survivors of the massacres which had taken place in their village had applied to join the various army corps.

Most of them came for the sole purpose of joining the special brigades. In order to live a peaceful and calm life inside these walls, in order to have a boring and repetitive daily life. But not you.

You wanted to defend, discover and fight to embody hope.

So you stood there in this big area full of dirt. Among so many people lined up, all turned in the same direction. All in uniform.

An instructor circled the troops, spitting words as sharp as a blade in their faces to destabilize them. Some trembled, some burst into tears. Surprisingly, a few times he didn't stop. He walked past some recruits without giving them a single glance. He had passed in front of you without paying attention to you, on the contrary, he went and shouted in the face of the boy who was next to you.

Levi and Erwin were also present, placed in a high place, giving an overview of the situation. They were amazed to see so many new recruits this year, yet none of them had exposed their skill to the light of day. So their potential was still a mystery to them. They might be over a hundred, if a soldier's abilities weren't there, he had no reason to be there in front of them.

This year, Erwin had decided to put Levi in ​​command of a possible future squad. Indeed, the best of them will be called upon to fight alongside the strongest of humanity. However, even knowing that Levi was someone of exceptional experience and skill, he knew it was all going to be tough. Levi was really very selective both with his teammates. Experience, knowledge, confidence and the ability to fight in teams as well as solo, such were his criteria. However, his high standards would have to apply to cadets, new recruits who knew nothing. At least, nothing that Levi had experienced for over six years.

But erwin was sure that right here stood these six people who will join this squad. Leading to good many missions that he will entrust to them. Forming an outstanding team.

Its outstanding team

To his astonishment, levi had accepted very quickly. Maybe after a whole week, but it was really fast for him. After being harassed for an entire week, he finally agreed, winning free tea, paid for at the expense of the desperate Major.

||

The incessant reproaches of the fierce instructor had finally ceased after a few hours. And the recruits were finally free to go and join their dormitory. Or at least, what would serve as a home for them during this long period of training. Before leaving the cadets, the various instructors introduced themselves. So far hanzi was by far the best, at least from your point of view.

Apparently not everyone shared your opinion, given that your "roommates" were leaning over, their faces pressed against the glass, so that they could see even a tiny part of the corporal.

Indeed, the corporal had made the heart beat of more than one within the ranks. Obviously, a handful of people had already forgotten their goals, setting new ones that were much more complex. We hadn't been there long, and yet some former recruits had already warned us about how to behave with the corporal. They had also warned us about the incessant obsession with the corporal's cleaning. We weren't here to be household fairies .. that's a bit of a stretch.

___

Night had now fallen, and my dear roommates kept moaning in their sleep. Even while sleeping they were quite noisy. My sleep was already not the best that on top of that I was going to have to live with ogres.

I got up from my bed, not paying attention to the noise I might make as they were already sleeping soundly. I opened the door and she made a long squeak. damn rusty door

The corridors were still dimly lit by candles placed by and around the stone walls. It was terribly cold and a slight draft gave me goosebumps.

I continued my way through the long hallway, and to my amazement, only one light was still on. Everyone was asleep. Am I the only one with goddamn sleeping problems and roommates snoring like gnomes?

This room was quiet, it was obviously not a dormitory. Maybe an office? I had stopped in front of the dark door. Looking at her for a moment.

||

In this dimly lit office, stood an insomniac levi. He had just woken up from one of those twenty minute naps, falling asleep on the cold leather seat, his shirt half-unbuttoned, keeping his harness on him, his hair was still so thin and straight, giving him still and always the same cut, even when he's barely awake.

He looked towards the door, and frowned as he saw two small shadows pass through the small space between his door and the floor. Feet ?

He stood up slowly, heading for his door.

He opened it brutally, which surprised the young woman on the other side. She jumped slightly, looking at him with big round eyes. Of all these people, she must to have really meet the corporal ..?

He for his part couldn't believe his eyes, he stared at the young woman in shock. Is it possible? Is she really there, outside his door? How?

"p-petra?" He emitted in a trembling voice.

For her part, the young woman looked at him strangely, frowning. And what the superiors got drunk at night?

[missstormcaller]

BLEACH JET Artbook Talk Vol 2 - Translation (Q16-30)

ABOUT CREATION

Its distinct characters, selection of poetic dialogue and countless array of illustrations are all a grand attraction of "BLEACH". We reveal how they came to be born and close in on the secrets behind the creation process.

Q.16: How do you come up with the Kidō and Zanpakutō incantations?

Kubo: I just do somehow.

—— J: That you're able to just do it somehow, is nothing short of amazing. When it comes to the visual impact and sound, which angle do you prefer to tackle it from? Kubo: I guess both the sound and visual impact at the same time? Speaking of which, I haven't composed a Kidō incantation in a long time. —— J: They exist in a variety of categories, such as the explosive types, the binding types and so on. Where does your vision of their respective techniques come from? Kubo: I'm not at all sure. I wonder where the conception of my ideas originate from. There were certain things which took inspiration from song lyrics for example. —— J: They rhyme pretty good don't they? Kubo: I think I'm seeking to make people start wanting to repeat the words themselves. Or rather, I want people to feel a somewhat good vibe when they say it, like the seven-and-five syllable metre. That, I would say, is the case for given names or the names of  techniques, pretty much everything. Furthermore, I have a feeling there were also things that took inspiration from the likes of mythology, "The Devil's Dictionary" and phraseology that appeared in books of that kind, but I honestly don't remember at all (laughs). —— J: Isn't Hirako supposed to release his Bankai in Narita's novel too? Kubo: Narita put forward a request, asking "may I get Hirako and Hisagi to release their Bankai?" and he followed up with "if it's okay with you, please tell me their names" to which I replied "I will think about it", I finally finished thinking about it just the other day. Though, as a matter of fact, I haven't relayed that information to him yet. —— J: I'm looking forward to it (laughs). Do you associate ideas from the impression of the character? Kubo: I draw out a great number of words by way of considering the abilities of the technique, the original Zanpakutō name and the character's image. After consulting with Narita about the establishment of Hisagi's Bankai, I said "perhaps this will do" and the direction I took became something like "bodies that are tethered together",  consequently I began writing a list of all the words relating to "binding", "rope", "chains" and "prisoner". By establishing a successful link among all of that, it becomes a matter of combining the words and such…. —— J: So then, your process begins with the task of expanding a list of vocabulary first and foremost. Kubo: That's right. —— J: Which character's Bankai name caused you the most struggle to devise? Kubo: This time, Hirako and Hisagi are probably up there in first place (laughs). Hisagi might have taken the most time. —— J: Apart from that, did you contrive ideas from the image of characters like Ichigo and Byakuya? Kubo: I had no troubles at all when it came to that case. Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu is taken from part of a name of a monster I was thinking about drawing in another manga. —— J: Oh! When did that one-shot happen? Kubo: It's "Rune Master Urara" my debut one-shot for Jump magazine. For a period of time, I was having fun coming up with monsters that could appear in that work, it was a time where I had devised a many number of them, the name of this super strong monster-like enemy with the whole length of its body pitch black was "Tensa Jūzen", that's where I took the "Tensa" part from. —— J: The roots of Tensa originate from there huh. However, Tensa did not appear in "Rune Master Urara" right? Kubo: Yes. Well, it was the configuration of a character that I would draw in the event that the work got serialised beyond this point. The visuals for Dondochakka is also something I had devised around that time. In order to get serialised in jump, I went to around three meetings and, well, failed on all attempts, but in those course of events I produced up to three chapters worth of work and showed it to Asada san who was my editor in those days. I presented Dondochakka's character visuals in several patterns of the second or third chapter which I had submitted, but Asada told me "don't make such a scary-looking guy the ally"…. I thought "you're kidding me, isn't he adorable?" but it was hopeless. Though, since I liked him so much I thought I'd try to use him for "BLEACH" (laughs). —— J: Are there other characters with this kind of case as well? Kubo: I only recalled that through our chat just now. Since I was not able to use the character in the other work, I'd say that's probably just about the only case. Also, with regard to Orihime, she puts her Shun Shun Rikka into operation by way of her hairpins doesn't she? Although this is also a matter from before "BLEACH" was serialised, Orihime's powers were at one point completely different to what they are now, there was one version in which she would sprout horns and a tail. Personally I thought this was cute as well, but I was told by Asada "the heroine can't look like this monster!" (Laughs) I'm relieved it was Shun Shun Rikka in the end though (laughs). —— J: Were any of the monster-like individuals of Hueco Mundo, like the Arrancar and Fracción, also based on rough drafts from around that time? Kubo: In that instance, I believe I just drew them more on the spur of the moment. —— J: Were there any complicated characters that made you feel something like "this character was not all that strong in the past, but since they're getting stronger, I have to start thinking about their Shikai or Bankai!" Kubo: I guess that would probably be Hisagi. I didn't think he would get that strong (laughs). —— J: Characters such as Byakuya give the impression that they were super strong from the very onset after all. Moreover, when you achieve Bankai, the fact is it remains imprinted in the history of Soul Society. Kubo: correct. It goes down in the records. —— J: I'd never have guessed that Hisagi would possess that much strength! Kubo: Hisagi doesn't really seem to be the calibre of some hotshot does he (laughs)? Although, that ill-suited impression about him is Hisagi's likeable side anyway. —— J: That pitiful aspect is the good thing about Hisagi isn't it? I mean, it's like you you just end up poking fun at him. Kubo: That's what I said even when Tōsen left, normally it would be just fine to promote the lieutenant to captain with the change in circumstances, but I thought "Hisagi and Izuru can't possibly be captains could they?", the pair really give the impression that they don't have what it takes. These two shine more as vice captains. That's why I created the forced post of "acting captain" and settled the matter there. Depending on one's viewpoint, Hisagi is kind of a hero-like character who has come to gradually develop as a result of all the various hardships that have befallen him. —— J: He is a hard worker isn't he? Though, even Hisagi would have been outstanding befitting of his talent when he first enlisted. Kubo: It's also neat how that is like the peak of his life. But on account of acquiring Bankai, I can say he has talent!

Q.17: I would love to know Sensei's process when he's thinking up characters! Although it might differ depending on the character, I wonder if 'the face suddenly springs to mind', or 'the outfit floats into your head', or if the 'name appears before you' etc….

Kubo: Since I just manage to draw my characters somehow or the other, it's not so much procedural…. —— J: Does "somehow or the other" mean that maybe you think to yourself "let's draw some guy who appears to give a certain air of strength", or "let's draw some guy who seems the type to deceive others?" Kubo: The idea is already in my head. Rather than thinking about it through the flow of the story, when I envision it, it's as if a substance like milk or mud begins to accumulate, something resembling a humanoid form floats around aimlessly within it, after I pluck it out, its image is gradually made clear, I think that's how it feels? —— J: That's pretty abstract! Kubo: By that point I would have more or less settled on things appearance-wise, with that frame of mind I then either compose it on paper as a rough draft or leave it floating in my head…. Aside from that, if any names come to mind I make a note of it, from among these rough drafts and notes I combine a set of ideas that makes me say "ah, this person will be the one to enter the stage this time", and finally I specify the role. —— J: So then, you compose the names and designs separately? Kubo: Yes, I think I quite often do things separately. —— J: So it's practically like how Ichigo was was searching around for his Zanpakutō through Ōetsu Nimaiya's training? Kubo: If I had to make a comparison using "BLEACH", then I think that analogy is the closest you can get. Generally, when I think to reveal a new character, I already have just the right person in mind. The story as well the characters is something that comes from me, so there is an outline from the very beginning. —— J: A number of unpublished materials have appeared for the first time in this artbook, but basically a large quantity are rough sketches. You would very often draw it and then put it aside for the time being. Does this mean there are hundreds of blueprints for characters dimly occupying a space in the back of your head?

Kubo: That's true, they have been there for some time now. When I put forward new characters, it's almost like taking that vision out of my head and making a clean copy. However, sometimes I don't have time and can't make the appropriate adjustments, so their faces start changing gradually in the manga (laughs). In that sort of sense, I have never been troubled by things such as the storytelling, or scenes that establish new characters. —— J: Are there any characters who, for instance, you had actually planned to put out on the Shinigami side, but ended up being revealed on the Arrancar side instead? Kubo: There is no character whose blueprint has changed to that degree. —— J: On the same subject, which character would you say came to be revealed in the most underdeveloped state and changed at a later stage? Kubo: I think the character who underwent the most change in terms of appearance, is Ulquiorra. When Ulquiorra made his first appearance, he had quite a different face. The personal image of him which existed in my head didn't change during the the creative process, but later when I looked back on my work I thought "his face looks a lot different huh?" —— J: I see. Kubo: In some cases, when an idea for a character appears in my head, their looks, personalities and sometimes even as far their colouring are all decided then and there, as for other characters those things are gradually decided upon. —— J: Do you feel the volume of these characters increased day after day? Kubo: It's not that they were created on a continuous basis, but rather in waves. Sometimes I produce five or six characters in the space of an hour or so, and sometimes it seems I produce none at all for days or even months. Therefore, the characters multiply either when I'm in the zone or when it's absolutely necessary to create them. —— J: From the considerable number of characters that appear in "BLEACH", I'd say the state of 'being in the zone' can't last forever, even if you can yield five characters in an hour. Kubo: And this is after a great number of cuts have been made too. These were unreleased characters that I felt, did not suit the universe of "BLEACH". Then there's the unreleased characters that have the right aura which I am able to present in "BLEACH", but I am not sure which part of the story I should apply them to. —— J: Are they characters which were not even suitable as Shinigami, Arrancar or Quincy? Kubo: I make a rough decision on the location and scene before I start designing them as either Shinigami, Arrancar or Quincy, but then there are some individuals that make me think something like "There's no panels to spare to introduce this guy to story. What role would he have played?" So, perhaps by some chance they will make an appearance if the timing is right when I draw something? —— J: That is certainly a treasure-trove you've been sitting on. Kubo: There's also the characters that make think something like "I wonder why this dude came to mind?" (Laughs) Q.18: The unique names which belong to the characters of "BLEACH" are impressive, but how do you come up with these names? Kubo: Even when I think about character names, I consider the sense of sound. The example I often cite is Hitsugaya Tōshirō, because it needed to give a cool impression, I thought a name that begins with letters either in the "sa column" or "ha column" would be perfect. I feel those sounds come across most smoothly. That reminds me, I believe Hitsugaya had a completely different name belonging to the "sa column" right up until the last minute. —— J: I'm curious about the name which got rejected. Kubo: The fact that I had forgotten about it, likely means it wasn't a good name to begin with. In addition, I consciously try to avoid names from the "ma column" because it doesn't sound cool. —— J: I get the impression that you take a great deal of care in the way you use consonants. Bambietta Basterbine for instance is all B-B-B. Kubo: That's right (laughs). —— J: The types that rhyme are nice as well, like Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Kubo: I'm often told that with regard to Grimmjow. —— J: It sounds cool, so it's a name that makes you start wanting to say it out loud.

Q.19: Regarding the characters' theme songs, I wonder how you visualise your characters to determine their songs through a piece of musical composition?

Kubo: When I'm planning and designing a character, a song that's familiar to me could start playing in my head and I think "that works a treat", in some instances when I'm drawing the scene in which the character first appears, a song that's playing in my head could naturally become their theme song.

Q.20: Are there any characters that received new theme songs around the time of the last chapter?

Kubo: Well, I've got nothing off the top my head. —— J: So the vision you decided on at the beginning, remains as unchanged as before? Kubo: Yes, that's true. Even if I had tried to listen around for a theme song once more, the one I chose in the beginning will always be the best suited.

Q.21: Each character has their own theme song, but do they also have their own fragrances to suit their image? I imagine it would be interesting if sensei did a collaboration with a perfume brand….

Kubo: I'm not all that familiar with perfumes, so please feel free to ask a perfume manufacturer instead (laughs).

Q.22: I'm curious to know if there are any characters who who radically transitioned away from your initial conception and setup, both during and before the series.

Kubo: Grimmjow is the one who underwent the biggest transformation. I get the feeling I've mentioned this elsewhere, but Grimmjow was initially set up to die before long, it was my plan to make him exit the stage as the story progressed, however when it came to the crunch I began drawing, and by the time I had finished drawing that week, I had already felt it was a waste to kill him off. I thought "this guy is too good", so when I informed my editor at the time that "I changed my mind, I'm going to abandon the idea to kill him off", he told me "to be honest, I also thought it would be a waste to let him die", this is a conversation I remember quite well. —— J: It certainly seems as if the side to him which is wilfully arrogant and confrontational would mark him out as an easily defeated character, however out of that, components like revenge and fate were affiliated with him and thus he became a great character.

Q.23: I would like for sensei to tell us if he is particular about anything when he's drawing female characters!

Kubo: I, don't think I'm good at drawing females. —— J: There's no way that's true…(laughs)! Kubo: For that reason, I'm not very particular about it. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say "I hope they look soft" and that's about it. When the series first commenced my lines were rigid, and I should say I was fairly annoyed by that….That's why I want to draw my lines softer for females. —— J: Noel's thighs in "BURN THE WITCH" when she was riding her broom, as well as the straps of her holster biting into her skin, that appeared to be most supreme level of soft (laughs). Kubo: Well, I'm glad to hear that (laughs). As a matter of fact, I even came to like big boobs because I was attempting to draw bodies with a softer look. —— J: So you came to like them while challenging yourself to draw a soft look. Kubo: Originally, around the time I was still a student, I liked small boobs better since they were easier to draw. —— J: That would apply to Rukia too. Kubo: But then I thought to myself "man I really suck at drawing a big bust", so when I was drawing "ZOMBIEPOWDER" I firmly decided that "I want to get good at drawing a big bust", once I had observed a sufficient number of big boobs in the hopes of drawing lots of them, I gradually came to like it. —— J: (laughs) Kubo: I won't be able to draw them better unless I like them after all. Since I grew to like them, I think it became possible to draw voluptuous figures with a more racy look. —— J: That is glorious (laughs). I remember quite clearly, some time ago, it was said that Kawashita​ Mizuki sensei is an artist Kubo sensei considers skilled at drawing. Kubo: That's true, it goes without saying that she is skilled, I am fascinated by those who can draw things which in my opinion I wouldn't be able to draw for myself. I can't do line art like Kawashita sensei.

Q.24: When Kubo sensei paints in his colours, does he use Copic markers? Or a graphics tablet?

Kubo: Copic markers. —— J: What about digital painting? Kubo: I can't do digital at all. In the past, there was a period between "ZOMBIEPOWDER" and the serialisation of "BLEACH", I used to challenge myself when I had the time, however I found that I couldn't draw at all like that. I thought "this is hopeless." —— J: You had tentatively challenged yourself right? But these days there are drawing programs like "Jump PAINT". Kubo: It's an app isn't it? These tools are becoming a lot more user-friendly huh. After all, back in those days there was nothing but the likes of "Photoshop" and "Painter". —— J: Nowadays, fellow manga artists will meet up and draw illustrations with their iPads on the spot. Kubo: They meet up and exchange drawings? —— J: They all jointly contribute by setting themes for each other, then start drawing something with their Apple Pencils, apparently these gatherings are really exciting. Kubo: I recently purchased an Apple Pencil. I tried using it, only to find that I was totally incapable of drawing on it . When Jigoku No Misawa and his wife (Matsubara Makoto) last came to visit, Makoto san tinkered around with the Apple Pencil for a little while even though she couldn't draw, she was telling me "if you play around with this thing here then this will happen, you follow?"…. Then it got to the point where I was able to draw on it (laughs). It appears that I'm just useless with devices. I think it would probably be a lot fun if it reached a point where it's more accessible for me though. —— J: When you're drawing on an iPad, you're drawing on glass, so the sensation of drawing on paper isn't the sensation being transmitted to your hand. Although, it appears that recently they started selling screen protectors which make you feel like you're drawing on paper. Kubo: I would be able to draw with something that feels like an actual pencil, that's insane don't you think!? Well, I'm slowly running out of reasons not to work digitally (laughs). But, the biggest reason is that my eyes tire. That's why I wear glasses that cut off blue light when I play video games. I would have to wear those glasses the whole time when it comes to drawing digitally right? Given that it would end up altering my perception of colours, on second thought, I feel it would be too difficult to work with digital as my main art medium.

Q.25: Please tell us the approximate duration of time it takes to go from rough draft to one page of a manuscript. I also draw manga and illustrations so I'm very interesting to know. I'm looking forward to your response!

Kubo: In my case, my storyboards become my rough drafts as it stands, so it's a question of how I should go about calculating time. If we're speaking with regard to the time it takes for the drawing process, it depends on what's on the page itself after all. And considering the fact that I was getting through fifteen pages a day during the series…. —— J: Is the duration of that time used for inking your sketches? Kubo: Yes. At my slowest I spent 8 hours for fifteen pages. Therefore, it would be roughly 30 minutes for one page. —— J: That's insanely fast (laughs). Kubo: However, midway through the series, I felt it was a detriment to my health, so I asked if I could have the number of my pages decreased. That made things much easier. From there I worked through thirteen pages a day. I would spend a day and a half inking my sketches, but I would always reserve just four pages for the other 'half'. Somehow I manage, or to be more precise it may be down to the fact that I am forced to finish with great momentum if there are four pages remaining. —— J: Do you prefer to compose your pages in a sequential order? Kubo: Yes, I feel more excited about it that way. I too want to get charged up along with the climax of the story in my manga (laughs). If I first start drawing a scene that takes place after the end of the climax, I don't get excited for some reason. As a result, when the distribution of my pages is poor, I'll end up continuing with the scene thinking "this is wearing me out", but then my thoughts become something like "if I can overcome this, I'll be able to draw some great faces!" I did my page distribution chronologically in order enjoy the drawing process. —— J: It's an intuitive method but makes sense nonetheless.

Q.26: What do you do when you're at an impasse with regard to material for the story? In addition, please tell us what you place the greatest importance on when drawing manga.

Kubo: Whilst drawing I'm already thinking about the next chapter, so I don't really find myself at an impasse much when it comes to material. During the series, I would construct my storyboards in accordance with the course of events, then I would start inking and at the same time would have devised the following chapter. —— J: Some illustrations are for coloured title pages, some are almost a kind of continuation of the story, and others are poster illustrations that have no relation to the story at all. How do you decide which one of these to do when you're drawing your storyboards? Kubo: On the occasions I get to create coloured title pages, I bear it in mind when I think "this is the sort of painting style I want to do next", and by the time I get around to making a coloured illustration I feel like I can compose any one of those things. Whenever I didn't have the luxury of time, I would search for painting techniques in a short span of time (laughs). —— J: This Gremmy illustration (JET volume 1, p.277) exudes quite a malevolent atmosphere, but is this the painting style you were attempting to go for? Kubo: I think I wanted to go for a creepy feel, I painted it using a brush and my fingers. —— J: So you start by having some idea of a painting style. Kubo: Well, I think that applies to pretty much everyone (laughs). —— J: By the way, roughly how long does it take for you to think about the composition of each arc in "BLEACH"? Kubo: It's more or less determined at the introduction of the arc. Around halfway through the Arrancar arc, I participated in a stage event at Jump Festa, there I was asked "how much longer will 'BLEACH' continue?" I said "I will draw two more arcs and then it's complete." So, setting aside the length of the story, at that point in time, I would have been deciding the endings five chapters into the arcs. —— J: I see…. So then, I wonder what you place great importance on in terms of drawing manga? Kubo: What comes to mind when asked about an area I place great importance on, or rather, an area I'm 'particular' about, is how to lay down the foreshadowing. I compose the foreshadowing element by dividing it into stages, but since this element in itself is explained in the novelisations through text, I won't talk about the 'stages' here. Nevertheless, I believe the things you discover on the first reading are not foreshadowing to begin with but rather an ice breaker, or to be more precise something like a freebie I give away to readers that says "please anticipate things to come from these depictions in the near future!" After the big reveal you go back to read it again at which point you're able to say "so this was foreshadowed!?" Now that in my opinion, is foreshadowing. There are two reasons for this, one, I like thriller movies, though do you sometimes have predictions that you've made midway through those thrillers, I mean ones that completely hit the mark by the conclusion? —— J: It happens every once in a while. Kubo: I hate that, I think to myself "if it's supposed to be foreshadowing, then keep the reveal hidden properly!" and "surprise me with the reveal why don't you!" (laughs), second, I think a great amusement of the manga or rather the storytelling, is that after enjoying the main story you get to debate with friends that it's "neither this way, nor that." —— J: Indeed it is exciting to exchange differences in interpretation with friends. Kubo: If those debates are the most exciting part, then I hope when people discover new bits of foreshadowing after looking back on works they've grown to love, that they get to experience an indescribable feeling in the moment they made that discovery. I think "BLEACH" could also be one of these much loved works, so I wanted to set it up in a way where each time one would reread the story there would be a new discovery, and then a sense of joy which can only be savoured by those who have reread the story many times over.

Q.27: On the inside cover of volume 27, sensei talked about packaging [of an iPod] and book jackets, but in truth the paperback volumes of "BLEACH" already had a reputation for its exceedingly cool look. Is there an aspect you are particular about in your design and style choices even now? I would like for sensei to comment on attaining strong aesthetic preferences.

Kubo: I like design in itself, so although It's not the case that I'm particularly conscious of it, I'm always picky about it nonetheless. After creating the original format for "BLEACH" paperbacks, I was thinking to use the same one until the very end, therefore you will only find minor changes throughout. So when it came time to publish volume 1, I thought "I want to give it an aesthetic that's different from other comics." This means things like all the front page poems, and drawing the huge volume titles on the front cover. Even though I would buy Jump Comics all the time, I never realised there was volume titles, when I was asked "what would you like to do for the volume title?" by Jump Comics editorial staff, I thought "why doesn't anyone use volume titles in their design?", as a result I decided to use volume titles in my own. —— J: you have a point, it usually only appears in small lettering above the title of the work. Kubo: Exactly. I always think "what a terrible waste." If you don't make use of it design-wise, then contrary to expectations, the presence of the volume title will end up interfering with the cover art won't it? —— J: Even the designers among these questions have reputed "BLEACH" to have an aesthetic that's different from other comics.

Q.28: Within the story of "BLEACH", I believe there was a many number of instances where you depicted members of the cast in a heroic last stand or momentarily on the verge of death, but what are you conscious of within yourself when expressing a character's 'death'? Is there anything you pay extra attention to?

Kubo: It's the timing. It's either something like "this is still not the right place to kill him off" or "it's ideal for this character to be killed off here." It's not a question of luck as far as the characters are concerned, but rather a question of whether or not it goes along with their characteristics. The side that survives is certain to have good fortune after all. I reckon the scene where Ulquiorra fades away also matches his nature. —— J: Is there any character who ended up dead even though you hadn't originally planned to do so? Kubo: Not off the top of my head, I think not. It's the same for the reverse too. Grimmjow is pretty much the only exception. Grimmjow originally lived as long as he did because I didn't come up with his death scene, but I think he would be dead if I had decided as far ahead as that death scene. I would probably be thinking "this way of dying is the coolest!" and because of that, I think I would have killed him off since I want there to be a cool aspect in my depictions. Although my depictions can give the impression that 'this person looks to be on the point of death here', my thinking is "I still want to make this character do so-and-so after this" and I don't let them die. —— J: Izuru was still alive with pipes attached to the hole in his chest after all. Kubo: About that, after thinking "there are gaps in the hole on Izuru's chest, if the moon could be seen through there, that would be super cool!" I really wanted to draw that. When he was revived in a zombie-like state, the staging of the scene where the moon was visible, is to make it appear as if the moon was actually in Izuru's possession. For that alone I put him on the verge of death for a time and then let him survive. —— J: So from a choreography viewpoint, there are times you like to think outside the box for characters that are made to survive. Kubo: Given that I'm fairly passionate about choreography, there's something about it that makes me go like "I want to draw this scene, let's do it!" —— J: By the way on the topic of Izuru, 10 years later is he still alive? Kubo:  I suppose he's ‘alive’. Which reminds me, I didn't draw Izuru 10 years later…. He would be too pitiful if he was dead, so I consider him alive (laughs).

Q.29: Compared to when the series first began 15 years ago, what is the thing that underwent the biggest change?

Kubo: The biggest change in terms of the work, is my art style!

Q.30: I was surprised by the fact that two characters appeared on the final volume cover only. On LINELive, voice actor Morita san said "it is a truly fitting illustration for the last volume", I also thought indeed that is true. That the two individuals from the beginning of the story would bring it to a close, is very typical of "BLEACH" I think. What sort of thoughts did Kubo sensei have after drawing Ichigo and Rukia for the final volume cover?

Kubo: The story originally began with these two, so I thought I should try to end it with these two as well. Since I already knew how many volumes the final stages of the series would end with, I began assigning "this character to appear on the cover with this volume…", I could draw characters who were not able to appear on the front cover for a while, such as Uryū and Renji, but I wondered if I could put Ichigo and Rukia together on the final one. Given that it's been a single person per cover the whole time, I then grew to wonder if it would also exude a special feeling if I put the two individuals on the last cover alone. Those two are the faces that represent "BLEACH" after all. "BLEACH" didn't start with just Ichigo, neither did it start with just Rukia.

Translator’s notes:

“The Devil’s Dictionary” by  Ambrose Bierce

The "ha" and “sa” columns refer to part of the Japanese syllabary table

Quote from BLEACH volume 27 “I bought an iPod the other day. [...] The best part was the packaging, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away the acrylic case my iPod came in even though i have no use for it. I hope someday I could create a bokk jacket so good that no one can throw it away.” Tite Kubo.

[freelancesumandas]

Uncontested divorce in Texas: Sixty days between you and the rest of your life

Houston Family Law Attorney: How can you speed up the divorce process a great deal in Texas? The best answer to this question to work with your spouse prior to filing for divorce in order to settle any outstanding issues that you will need to sort through. Everybody wants a quick and easy divorce. That’s what I hear most frequently during the free of charge consultations that the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC offers. Who can blame them? Divorce is not fun and divorces can be expensive. Why waste time and resources on them if you do not have to?

Not all divorces can be quick and easy but many can be relatively quick and easy. In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC we will discuss the factors that can lead to your divorce getting wrapped up sooner rather than later. While the vast majority of issues that you may face in your divorce cannot be gone over in detail here, I would like to touch on those circumstances and factors that could lead you towards a resolution in short order for your divorce case.

Time is relative in the world of divorce

Different people think of “quick” in different terms. Some people think of quick like a microwave- if it’s not ready in five minutes then it’s not quick. Other people think of quick like a sundial- everything takes a little bit of time, after all. In Texas, the fastest most people can get divorced is sixty days. That means within sixty days of filing your petition for divorce you would be able to present a Final Decree of Divorce to your judge that is signed by you and your spouse.

Beginning your divorce by filing a Petition for Divorce

The very first document that would be filed in your divorce case is called a Petition for Divorce. This document states some very basic information to your court: who you are, who your spouse is, if you have any children and the basis on which your divorce is founded. If you are asserting that your divorce is being filed due to abandonment, abuse or infidelity then go ahead and say so but just know that these type of divorces are not going to the “quick and easy” ones that I described in the opening to this blog post.

Ultimately that is ok. You don’t need a quick and easy divorce. You need a divorce that will tie up any loose ends in the marriage, divide community property fairly and will leave you and your children in good positions to move on with the rest of your lives. If it can be done quickly, that’s great. If not then that’s ok too.

Back to the topic of the Divorce Petition. You will file the petition in the county that you and/or your spouse reside. For most folks this is the same county, but the longer I do this job the more I find out that spouses don’t always live in the same county- not to mention the same home. You have the option of filing the petition in whatever county you live in or the county that your spouse lives in. Most folks will decide to file in their home county so that they can have “home field advantages” like less travel time and things of that nature.

Waiting is the hardest part (of divorce)

Houston Family Lawyers: If you have filed for divorce then get ready to…wait. Your divorce petition will either have to be picked up by a process server or constable and physically served upon your spouse or your spouse will agree to sign a waiver of service. This waiver of service does just that- waives their right to be served formally with the divorce paperwork. Note that if you believe that your divorce is uncontested- i.e. that there are no outstanding issues to negotiate upon- that this is the better/faster option to choose.

Once your spouse is served or signs the service waiver you and your spouse will likely have to wait sixty days to go to the judge with your signed and completed final decree of divorce. The reason for this is because the state of Texas (through the Texas Family Code) mandates that you wait at least sixty days in order to make sure that a divorce is actually something that you want to do. If not, you have some time to cool off and make other plans. I have had clients on occasion tell me out of the blue that he or she has reconciled with their spouse. This is always great news to hear as nobody wants another person to get a divorce. But, I can tell you that this does not happen frequently.

Keep in mind that if your spouse has been convicted of a crime related to family violence against you or a member of your home this sixty day waiting period can be waived by the judge. However, you must file a motion to waive the sixty day waiting period and then have a hearing on the subject after providing your spouse at least three days of notice prior to the hearing date. I can honestly say that I have never had a divorce case that has wrapped up in less than sixty days.

61 days is a best case scenario

Another thing to keep in mind is that sixty one days is a best case scenario for most people awaiting a divorce. Not every case will be completed in this time. In fact, the vast majority of cases will take longer than sixty one days. It doesn’t have to be a long, long time after that but to get everything done that needs to get done in just two months is harder than it looks. Consider the fact that you and your spouse must have agreed upon every single issues in your divorce prior to an attorney drafting your final orders that encompasses all those agreements.

I mentioned earlier that if you and your spouse are on speaking terms and in agreement on the issues related to your divorce that a waiver of service may be signed by him or and returned to you. If this is the case you should file that waiver of service so that when you come to court later on the judge can see that this step has been completed. If not, your divorce will not be finalized on the day you attend court.

Not all spouses are ok with signing a waiver of service. On some level, other than saving time, you should wonder what is in it for your spouse? Unless he or she absolutely wants to get the divorce over with- at the neglect of any issue related to divorce- he or she should consider their options before signing the waiver. If you are in a position where your spouse has emailed or mailed a waiver of service to you then do not sign it unless you have spoken to an attorney first.

Requirements of the final decree of divorce

Houston Divorce: If you have children then orders regarding custody and child support will need to be included and accounted for in your final decree of divorce. Rights and duties (otherwise known as conservatorship) will need to be divided up between you and your spouse.

The other main issue of a divorce case deals with property. Any community property (property acquired during your marriage, for the most part) will need to be divided between you and your spouse as well.

Once you have an order that contains provisions for all these subjects you or your spouse will need to attend a short, uncontested hearing with your judge. If you have hired an attorney, he or she will go with you and ask you a series of yes/no questions that tell the judge that you have reviewed the document you are asking him or her to sign and that it includes orders regarding the children/property issues we just discussed.

Overall, it is possible to get a quick divorce but it is always advisable to have legal representation in doing so. Hiring an attorney will not slow your process down, but may actually help you avoid problems and allow your case to proceed without undue delay.

To learn more about the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC please contact us today. We offer free of charge consultations with a licensed family law attorney six days a week ... Continue Reading

[bryanfaganlaw]

Uncontested divorce in Texas: Sixty days between you and the rest of your life

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Uncontested divorce in Texas: Sixty days between you and the rest of your life with the great process!

Divorce Lawyer Houston: How can you speed up the divorce process a great deal in Texas? The best answer to this question to work with your spouse prior to filing for divorce in order to settle any outstanding issues that you will need to sort through. Everybody wants a quick and easy divorce. That’s what I hear most frequently during the free of charge consultations that the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC offers. Who can blame them? Divorce is not fun and divorces can be expensive. Why waste time and resources on them if you do not have to?

Not all divorces can be quick and easy but many can be relatively quick and easy. In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC we will discuss the factors that can lead to your divorce getting wrapped up sooner rather than later. While the vast majority of issues that you may face in your divorce cannot be gone over in detail here, I would like to touch on those circumstances and factors that could lead you towards a resolution in short order for your divorce case.

Time is relative in the world of divorce

Different people think of “quick” in different terms. Some people think of quick like a microwave- if it’s not ready in five minutes then it’s not quick. Other people think of quick like a sundial- everything takes a little bit of time, after all. In Texas, the fastest most people can get divorced is sixty days. That means within sixty days of filing your petition for divorce you would be able to present a Final Decree of Divorce to your judge that is signed by you and your spouse.

Beginning your divorce by filing a Petition for Divorce

The very first document that would be filed in your divorce case is called a Petition for Divorce. This document states some very basic information to your court: who you are, who your spouse is, if you have any children and the basis on which your divorce is founded. If you are asserting that your divorce is being filed due to abandonment, abuse or infidelity then go ahead and say so but just know that these type of divorces are not going to the “quick and easy” ones that I described in the opening to this blog post.

Ultimately that is ok. You don’t need a quick and easy divorce. You need a divorce that will tie up any loose ends in the marriage, divide community property fairly and will leave you and your children in good positions to move on with the rest of your lives. If it can be done quickly, that’s great. If not then that’s ok too.

Back to the topic of the Divorce Petition. You will file the petition in the county that you and/or your spouse reside. For most folks this is the same county, but the longer I do this job the more I find out that spouses don’t always live in the same county- not to mention the same home. You have the option of filing the petition in whatever county you live in or the county that your spouse lives in. Most folks will decide to file in their home county so that they can have “home field advantages” like less travel time and things of that nature.

Waiting is the hardest part (of divorce)

Houston Divorce: If you have filed for divorce then get ready to…wait. Your divorce petition will either have to be picked up by a process server or constable and physically served upon your spouse or your spouse will agree to sign a waiver of service. This waiver of service does just that- waives their right to be served formally with the divorce paperwork. Note that if you believe that your divorce is uncontested- i.e. that there are no outstanding issues to negotiate upon- that this is the better/faster option to choose.

Once your spouse is served or signs the service waiver you and your spouse will likely have to wait sixty days to go to the judge with your signed and completed final decree of divorce. The reason for this is because the state of Texas (through the Texas Family Code) mandates that you wait at least sixty days in order to make sure that a divorce is actually something that you want to do. If not, you have some time to cool off and make other plans. I have had clients on occasion tell me out of the blue that he or she has reconciled with their spouse. This is always great news to hear as nobody wants another person to get a divorce. But, I can tell you that this does not happen frequently.

Keep in mind that if your spouse has been convicted of a crime related to family violence against you or a member of your home this sixty day waiting period can be waived by the judge. However, you must file a motion to waive the sixty day waiting period and then have a hearing on the subject after providing your spouse at least three days of notice prior to the hearing date. I can honestly say that I have never had a divorce case that has wrapped up in less than sixty days.

61 days is a best case scenario

Another thing to keep in mind is that sixty one days is a best case scenario for most people awaiting a divorce. Not every case will be completed in this time. In fact, the vast majority of cases will take longer than sixty one days. It doesn’t have to be a long, long time after that but to get everything done that needs to get done in just two months is harder than it looks. Consider the fact that you and your spouse must have agreed upon every single issues in your divorce prior to an attorney drafting your final orders that encompasses all those agreements.

I mentioned earlier that if you and your spouse are on speaking terms and in agreement on the issues related to your divorce that a waiver of service may be signed by him or and returned to you. If this is the case you should file that waiver of service so that when you come to court later on the judge can see that this step has been completed. If not, your divorce will not be finalized on the day you attend court.

Not all spouses are ok with signing a waiver of service. On some level, other than saving time, you should wonder what is in it for your spouse? Unless he or she absolutely wants to get the divorce over with- at the neglect of any issue related to divorce- he or she should consider their options before signing the waiver. If you are in a position where your spouse has emailed or mailed a waiver of service to you then do not sign it unless you have spoken to an attorney first.

Requirements of the final decree of divorce

Houston Family Lawyers: If you have children then orders regarding custody and child support will need to be included and accounted for in your final decree of divorce. Rights and duties (otherwise known as conservatorship) will need to be divided up between you and your spouse.

The other main issue of a divorce case deals with property. Any community property (property acquired during your marriage, for the most part) will need to be divided between you and your spouse as well.

Once you have an order that contains provisions for all these subjects you or your spouse will need to attend a short, uncontested hearing with your judge. If you have hired an attorney, he or she will go with you and ask you a series of yes/no questions that tell the judge that you have reviewed the document you are asking him or her to sign and that it includes orders regarding the children/property issues we just discussed.

Overall, it is possible to get a quick divorce but it is always advisable to have legal representation in doing so. Hiring an attorney will not slow your process down, but may actually help you avoid problems and allow your case to proceed without undue delay.

To learn more about the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC please contact us today. We offer free of charge consultations with a licensed family law attorney six days a week ... Continue Reading

[oliverphisher]

Donna Maree Hanson

Donna Maree Hanson is a traditionally and independently published author of fantasy, science fiction and horror. She also writes paranormal romance under the pseudonym of Dani Kristoff. Her dark fantasy series (which some reviewers have called ‘grim dark’), Dragon Wine, was published by Momentum Books (Pan Macmillan digital imprint).  Book  1: Shatterwing and Book 2: Skywatcher are out now in digital and print on demand. In April 2015, she was awarded the A. Bertram Chandler Award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Australian Science Fiction’ for her work in running science fiction conventions, publishing and broader SF community contribution. Donna also writes young adult science fiction, with Rayessa and the Space Pirates and Rae and Essa’s Space Adventures were published by Escape Publishing.

Ruby Heart: Cry Havoc Book 1 By Donna Maree Hanson Buy on Amazon

In 2016, Donna  commenced her PhD candidature researching Feminism in Popular Romance at the University of Canberra. Her first Indie published book, Argenterra, was published in late April 2016. Argenterra is the first in an epic fantasy series (the Silverlands) suitable for adult and young adult readers. This series is now complete. In 2018, Donna published Ruby Heart, the first book in the Cry Havoc series, which is steampunk fantasy, with Gothic horror and romance. Donna lives in Canberra with her partner and fellow writer Matthew Farrer.

What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life? 

The Last Dark (Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) By Stephen R. Donaldson

Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant books were my first real foray into fantasy. I hadn’t read Tolkein at the time so that was it. I was transported and I find that and the Mordant’s Need duology are a great influence on me.

The Ancient Future: The Dark Age (Ancient Future Trilogy Book 1) By Traci Harding

Later, I discovered Sara Douglass and Traci Harding and realized that Australians could write fantasy too and since then I’ve been writing. I was older of course.

Caliban's War (The Expanse Book 2) By James S. A. Corey

More recently the books of the Expanse series by James S A Corey have blown me away and created a new love of science fiction. They are so beautifully written.

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?

We have had lots of bushfire smoke in Canberra where I live. I bought this foam stuff for sealing the doors. It had been on my ‘meaning to list’ for years and in the end it was cheap and easy. Under $11 for the two doors. Now we don’t have as much smoke leaking inside or wind for that matter.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? 

For over thirteen years I was trying to get traditionally published. I kept persevering even with rejections. Eventually, I did get published and it was a great feeling. But that’s only a first step and success isn’t guaranteed. I think those early years helped me now and I really understood that I loved writing and that was why I was doing it. Now I mostly indie publish and I understand that a book can be good and not be a best seller and I can be proud of what I write even if I’m not raking in lots of money.

Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?

I made one up for myself in my early years. When life kicks you down, you get up and kick it right back.

I’ve lived by that as much as possible. It’s kept me going through tough times.

What is one of the best investment in a writing resource you’ve ever made? 

This had to be Vellum for formatting ebook and print books. It had saved me so much time and RSI aches. It’s so easy to do. Life changing.

What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love? 

I like watching reruns of Star Trek. Previous boyfriends thought that strange. My partner totally gets it that’s one of the reasons we get on so well.

In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life? 

I think it is the understanding about the publishing industry. Rejection from an agent or publisher does not mean your work sucks. It might do when you are starting out, but after ten years writing, it shouldn’t. I’ve had books get to acquisitions and not get published because there are decisions about market and so on that don’t reflect on your work. I figured if they were good enough to go to acquisitions then they were good enough to publish. So this belief made my life so much more livable. With Indie publishing, I don’t have that end of year dismals of ‘you failed to publish a book’ again.

What advice would you give to a smart, driven aspiring author? What advice should they ignore? 

Keep going. Persevere. Don’t give up. Research your market and write and write.

Also, don’t let people tell you, you aren’t a writer because you don’t write everyday. Don’t let others define you at all.

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession often? 

I’ve not heard too much bad advice. Don’t get conned. Be smart with your money. If you are going to get traditionally published the money comes to you. If someone wants to publish you and asks for money that’s a con. You can do it yourself and have all the profits and all the control.

In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc.)? 

No. Not all all. When I first started writing, I was so keen it was like finding religion. I lost a relationship and my family were angry. I’ve tried to balance life more. I used to do a lot of writing related stuff, you know, running SF conventions etc but then I realised I needed to keep time for writing and make writing my focus.

I find committing to projects the best way for me to focus. Like a month on a schedule with goals rather than just a blanket you must write everyday. I have more periods of where I don’t want to write and I make deals with myself. Just half an hour I say but once I’m there at my desk, I keep writing. I think you need space so you can create.

I think you have to work out a routine that works. Writing everyday was great. Now I write when I can and I really commit to projects. This month is writing this book. I set goals and I have also had coaches who check up on me. I get breaks to do other things, like craft or be with family or travel.

What marketing tactics should authors avoid?

Advertising to your author friends. They aren’t your audience so friending them on Facebook and then asking them to like your author page is annoying. Don’t be annoying.

Also being a dick on Twitter. Don’t be a dick. Think about your brand.

What new realizations and/or approaches have helped you achieve your goals? 

I’ve being undertaking a PhD in creative writing. One big lesson, research can help fuel your writing. Also, you get better the more your write and the more fiction and non-fiction you expose yourself to. I think I am writing better now but we will have to see when I finish this damn PhD.

When you feel overwhelmed or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do? 

Read, walk, binge watch something on Netflix. And if that doesn’t work I talk to my partner who is also a writer and that generally helps no end.

If I am having trouble focussing and that’s usually because I have another idea in my head, I’ll jot down notes for the new idea and then keep going with my project.

Any other tips?

Work out when it is the best time for you to write. Are you a morning person or a night person? What do you like most about writing and what do you like least? Concentrate on liking the bits you like least. Me, it’s revision. First draft a fun. Revision is work.

Get feedback on your work, it can give you better ideas and make a better story.

________

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[thefabulousfulcrum]

Who Goes Nazi? Dorothy Thompson American Journalist.

From the August 1941 issue of Harpers Magazine.

It is an interesting and somewhat macabre parlor game to play at a large gathering of one’s acquaintances: to speculate who in a showdown would go Nazi. By now, I think I know. I have gone through the experience many times—in Germany, in Austria, and in France. I have come to know the types: the born Nazis, the Nazis whom democracy itself has created, the certain-to-be fellow-travelers. And I also know those who never, under any conceivable circumstances, would become Nazis.

It is preposterous to think that they are divided by any racial characteristics. Germans may be more susceptible to Nazism than most people, but I doubt it. Jews are barred out, but it is an arbitrary ruling. I know lots of Jews who are born Nazis and many others who would heil Hitler tomorrow morning if given a chance. There are Jews who have repudiated their own ancestors in order to become “Honorary Aryans and Nazis”; there are full-blooded Jews who have enthusiastically entered Hitler’s secret service. Nazism has nothing to do with race and nationality. It appeals to a certain type of mind.

It is also, to an immense extent, the disease of a generation—the generation which was either young or unborn at the end of the last war. This is as true of Englishmen, Frenchmen, and Americans as of Germans. It is the disease of the so-called “lost generation.”

Sometimes I think there are direct biological factors at work—a type of education, feeding, and physical training which has produced a new kind of human being with an imbalance in his nature. He has been fed vitamins and filled with energies that are beyond the capacity of his intellect to discipline. He has been treated to forms of education which have released him from inhibitions. His body is vigorous. His mind is childish. His soul has been almost completely neglected.

At any rate, let us look round the room.

The gentleman standing beside the fireplace with an almost untouched glass of whiskey beside him on the mantelpiece is Mr. A, a descendant of one of the great American families. There has never been an American Blue Book without several persons of his surname in it. He is poor and earns his living as an editor. He has had a classical education, has a sound and cultivated taste in literature, painting, and music; has not a touch of snobbery in him; is full of humor, courtesy, and wit. He was a lieutenant in the World War, is a Republican in politics, but voted twice for Roosevelt, last time for Willkie. He is modest, not particularly brilliant, a staunch friend, and a man who greatly enjoys the company of pretty and witty women. His wife, whom he adored, is dead, and he will never remarry.

He has never attracted any attention because of outstanding bravery. But I will put my hand in the fire that nothing on earth could ever make him a Nazi. He would greatly dislike fighting them, but they could never convert him. . . . Why not?

Beside him stands Mr. B, a man of his own class, graduate of the same preparatory school and university, rich, a sportsman, owner of a famous racing stable, vice-president of a bank, married to a well-known society belle. He is a good fellow and extremely popular. But if America were going Nazi he would certainly join up, and early. Why? . . . Why the one and not the other?

Mr. A has a life that is established according to a certain form of personal behavior. Although he has no money, his unostentatious distinction and education have always assured him a position. He has never been engaged in sharp competition. He is a free man. I doubt whether ever in his life he has done anything he did not want to do or anything that was against his code. Nazism wouldn’t fit in with his standards and he has never become accustomed to making concessions.

Mr. B has risen beyond his real abilities by virtue of health, good looks, and being a good mixer. He married for money and he has done lots of other things for money. His code is not his own; it is that of his class—no worse, no better, He fits easily into whatever pattern is successful. That is his sole measure of value—success. Nazism as a minority movement would not attract him. As a movement likely to attain power, it would.

The saturnine man over there talking with a lovely French emigree is already a Nazi. Mr. C is a brilliant and embittered intellectual. He was a poor white-trash Southern boy, a scholarship student at two universities where he took all the scholastic honors but was never invited to join a fraternity. His brilliant gifts won for him successively government positions, partnership in a prominent law firm, and eventually a highly paid job as a Wall Street adviser. He has always moved among important people and always been socially on the periphery. His colleagues have admired his brains and exploited them, but they have seldom invited him—or his wife—to dinner.

He is a snob, loathing his own snobbery. He despises the men about him—he despises, for instance, Mr. B—because he knows that what he has had to achieve by relentless work men like B have won by knowing the right people. But his contempt is inextricably mingled with envy. Even more than he hates the class into which he has insecurely risen, does he hate the people from whom he came. He hates his mother and his father for being his parents. He loathes everything that reminds him of his origins and his humiliations. He is bitterly anti-Semitic because the social insecurity of the Jews reminds him of his own psychological insecurity.

Pity he has utterly erased from his nature, and joy he has never known. He has an ambition, bitter and burning. It is to rise to such an eminence that no one can ever again humiliate him. Not to rule but to be the secret ruler, pulling the strings of puppets created by his brains. Already some of them are talking his language—though they have never met him.

There he sits: he talks awkwardly rather than glibly; he is courteous. He commands a distant and cold respect. But he is a very dangerous man. Were he primitive and brutal he would be a criminal—a murderer. But he is subtle and cruel. He would rise high in a Nazi regime. It would need men just like him—intellectual and ruthless. But Mr. C is not a born Nazi. He is the product of a democracy hypocritically preaching social equality and practicing a carelessly brutal snobbery. He is a sensitive, gifted man who has been humiliated into nihilism. He would laugh to see heads roll.

I think young D over there is the only born Nazi in the room. Young D is the spoiled only son of a doting mother. He has never been crossed in his life. He spends his time at the game of seeing what he can get away with. He is constantly arrested for speeding and his mother pays the fines. He has been ruthless toward two wives and his mother pays the alimony. His life is spent in sensation-seeking and theatricality. He is utterly inconsiderate of everybody. He is very good-looking, in a vacuous, cavalier way, and inordinately vain. He would certainly fancy himself in a uniform that gave him a chance to swagger and lord it over others.

Mrs. E would go Nazi as sure as you are born. That statement surprises you? Mrs. E seems so sweet, so clinging, so cowed. She is. She is a masochist. She is married to a man who never ceases to humiliate her, to lord it over her, to treat her with less consideration than he does his dogs. He is a prominent scientist, and Mrs. E, who married him very young, has persuaded herself that he is a genius, and that there is something of superior womanliness in her utter lack of pride, in her doglike devotion. She speaks disapprovingly of other “masculine” or insufficiently devoted wives. Her husband, however, is bored to death with her. He neglects her completely and she is looking for someone else before whom to pour her ecstatic self-abasement. She will titillate with pleased excitement to the first popular hero who proclaims the basic subordination of women.

On the other hand, Mrs. F would never go Nazi. She is the most popular woman in the room, handsome, gay, witty, and full of the warmest emotion. She was a popular actress ten years ago; married very happily; promptly had four children in a row; has a charming house, is not rich but has no money cares, has never cut herself off from her own happy-go-lucky profession, and is full of sound health and sound common sense. All men try to make love to her; she laughs at them all, and her husband is amused. She has stood on her own feet since she was a child, she has enormously helped her husband’s career (he is a lawyer), she would ornament any drawing-room in any capital, and she is as American as ice cream and cake.                                                                                                      

How about the butler who is passing the drinks? I look at James with amused eyes. James is safe. James has been butler to the ‘ighest aristocracy, considers all Nazis parvenus and communists, and has a very good sense for “people of quality.” He serves the quiet editor with that friendly air of equality which good servants always show toward those they consider good enough to serve, and he serves the horsy gent stiffly and coldly.

Bill, the grandson of the chauffeur, is helping serve to-night. He is a product of a Bronx public school and high school, and works at night like this to help himself through City College, where he is studying engineering. He is a “proletarian,�� though you’d never guess it if you saw him without that white coat. He plays a crack game of tennis—has been a tennis tutor in summer resorts—swims superbly, gets straight A’s in his classes, and thinks America is okay and don’t let anybody say it isn’t. He had a brief period of Youth Congress communism, but it was like the measles. He was not taken in the draft because his eyes are not good enough, but he wants to design airplanes, “like Sikorsky.” He thinks Lindbergh is “just another pilot with a build-up and a rich wife” and that he is “always talking down America, like how we couldn’t lick Hitler if we wanted to.” At this point Bill snorts.

Mr. G is a very intellectual young man who was an infant prodigy. He has been concerned with general ideas since the age of ten and has one of those minds that can scintillatingly rationalize everything. I have known him for ten years and in that time have heard him enthusiastically explain Marx, social credit, technocracy, Keynesian economics, Chestertonian distributism, and everything else one can imagine. Mr. G will never be a Nazi, because he will never be anything. His brain operates quite apart from the rest of his apparatus. He will certainly be able, however, fully to explain and apologize for Nazism if it ever comes along. But Mr. G is always a “deviationist.” When he played with communism he was a Trotskyist; when he talked of Keynes it was to suggest improvement; Chesterton’s economic ideas were all right but he was too bound to Catholic philosophy. So we may be sure that Mr. G would be a Nazi with purse-lipped qualifications. He would certainly be purged.

H is an historian and biographer. He is American of Dutch ancestry born and reared in the Middle West. He has been in love with America all his life. He can recite whole chapters of Thoreau and volumes of American poetry, from Emerson to Steve Benet. He knows Jefferson’s letters, Hamilton’s papers, Lincoln’s speeches. He is a collector of early American furniture, lives in New England, runs a farm for a hobby and doesn’t lose much money on it, and loathes parties like this one. He has a ribald and manly sense of humor, is unconventional and lost a college professorship because of a love affair. Afterward he married the lady and has lived happily ever afterward as the wages of sin.

H has never doubted his own authentic Americanism for one instant. This is his country, and he knows it from Acadia to Zenith. His ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War and in all the wars since. He is certainly an intellectual, but an intellectual smelling slightly of cow barns and damp tweeds. He is the most good-natured and genial man alive, but if anyone ever tries to make this country over into an imitation of Hitler’s, Mussolini’s, or Petain’s systems H will grab a gun and fight. Though H’s liberalism will not permit him to say it, it is his secret conviction that nobody whose ancestors have not been in this country since before the Civil War really understands America or would really fight for it against Nazism or any other foreign ism in a showdown.

But H is wrong. There is one other person in the room who would fight alongside H and he is not even an American citizen. He is a young German emigre, whom I brought along to the party. The people in the room look at him rather askance because he is so Germanic, so very blond-haired, so very blue-eyed, so tanned that somehow you expect him to be wearing shorts. He looks like the model of a Nazi. His English is flawed—he learned it only five years ago. He comes from an old East Prussian family; he was a member of the post-war Youth Movement and afterward of the Republican “Reichsbanner.” All his German friends went Nazi—without exception. He hiked to Switzerland penniless, there pursued his studies in New Testament Greek, sat under the great Protestant theologian, Karl Barth, came to America through the assistance of an American friend whom he had met in a university, got a job teaching the classics in a fashionable private school; quit, and is working now in an airplane factory—working on the night shift to make planes to send to Britain to defeat Germany. He has devoured volumes of American history, knows Whitman by heart, wonders why so few Americans have ever really read the Federalist papers, believes in the United States of Europe, the Union of the English-speaking world, and the coming democratic revolution all over the earth. He believes that America is the country of Creative Evolution once it shakes off its middle-class complacency, its bureaucratized industry, its tentacle-like and spreading government, and sets itself innerly free.

The people in the room think he is not an American, but he is more American than almost any of them. He has discovered America and his spirit is the spirit of the pioneers. He is furious with America because it does not realize its strength and beauty and power. He talks about the workmen in the factory where he is employed. . . . He took the job “in order to understand the real America.” He thinks the men are wonderful. “Why don’t you American in- tellectuals ever get to them; talk to them?”

I grin bitterly to myself, thinking that if we ever got into war with the Nazis he would probably be interned, while Mr. B and Mr. G and Mrs. E would be spreading defeatism at all such parties as this one. “Of course I don’t like Hitler but . . .”

Mr. J over there is a Jew. Mr. J is a very important man. He is immensely rich—he has made a fortune through a dozen directorates in various companies, through a fabulous marriage, through a speculative flair, and through a native gift for money and a native love of power. He is intelligent and arrogant. He seldom associates with Jews. He deplores any mention of the “Jewish question.” He believes that Hitler “should not be judged from the standpoint of anti-Semitism.” He thinks that “the Jews should be reserved on all political questions.” He considers Roosevelt “an enemy of business.” He thinks “It was a serious blow to the Jews that Frankfurter should have been appointed to the Supreme Court.”

The saturnine Mr. C—the real Nazi in the room—engages him in a flatteringly attentive conversation. Mr. J agrees with Mr. C wholly. Mr. J is definitely attracted by Mr. C. He goes out of his way to ask his name—they have never met before. “A very intelligent man.”

Mr. K contemplates the scene with a sad humor in his expressive eyes. Mr. K is also a Jew. Mr. K is a Jew from the South. He speaks with a Southern drawl. He tells inimitable stories. Ten years ago he owned a very successful business that he had built up from scratch. He sold it for a handsome price, settled his indigent relatives in business, and now enjoys an income for himself of about fifty dollars a week. At forty he began to write articles about odd and out-of-the-way places in American life. A bachelor, and a sad man who makes everybody laugh, he travels continually, knows America from a thousand different facets, and loves it in a quiet, deep, unostentatious way. He is a great friend of H, the biographer. Like H, his ancestors have been in this country since long before the Civil War. He is attracted to the young German. By and by they are together in the drawing-room. The impeccable gentleman of New England, the country-man—intellectual of the Middle West, the happy woman whom the gods love, the young German, the quiet, poised Jew from the South. And over on the other side are the others.

Mr. L has just come in. Mr. L is a lion these days. My hostess was all of a dither when she told me on the telephone, “ . . . and L is coming. You know it’s dreadfully hard to get him.” L is a very powerful labor leader. “My dear, he is a man of the people, but really fascinating.“ L is a man of the people and just exactly as fascinating as my horsy, bank vice-president, on-the-make acquaintance over there, and for the same reasons and in the same way. L makes speeches about the “third of the nation,” and L has made a darned good thing for himself out of championing the oppressed. He has the best car of anyone in this room; salary means nothing to him because he lives on an expense account. He agrees with the very largest and most powerful industrialists in the country that it is the business of the strong to boss the weak, and he has made collective bargaining into a legal compulsion to appoint him or his henchmen as “labor’s” agents, with the power to tax pay envelopes and do what they please with the money. L is the strongest natural-born Nazi in this room. Mr. B regards him with contempt tempered by hatred. Mr. B will use him. L is already parroting B’s speeches. He has the brains of Neanderthal man, but he has an infallible instinct for power. In private conversation he denounces the Jews as “parasites.” No one has ever asked him what are the creative functions of a highly paid agent, who takes a percentage off the labor of millions of men, and distributes it where and as it may add to his own political power.   

It’s fun—a macabre sort of fun—this parlor game of “Who Goes Nazi?” And it simplifies things—asking the question in regard to specific personalities.

Kind, good, happy, gentlemanly, secure people never go Nazi. They may be the gentle philosopher whose name is in the Blue Book, or Bill from City College to whom democracy gave a chance to design airplanes—you’ll never make Nazis out of them. But the frustrated and humiliated intellectual, the rich and scared speculator, the spoiled son, the labor tyrant, the fellow who has achieved success by smelling out the wind of success—they would all go Nazi in a crisis.

Believe me, nice people don’t go Nazi. Their race, color, creed, or social condition is not the criterion. It is something in them.

Those who haven’t anything in them to tell them what they like and what they don’t-whether it is breeding, or happiness, or wisdom, or a code, however old-fashioned or however modern, go Nazi. It’s an amusing game. Try it at the next big party you go to.

[showbizprofiling]

20 Best Korean War Movies of All Time

While most of us choose tarnished war movies that distort real-life events slightly and invoke a spirit of nationalism in us, others are more likely to see the battlefield more accurately depicted. Whatever one's choice may be, it cannot be ignored that some of the popular films in cinema's history have been offered to us by the war movie genre. We are all very much aware of all the standard English war movies which have been released for over the years, but we do not know that several high-quality films presenting the Korean War have been made even by the South Korean film industry. This means that Korean war movies about such conflicts still exist. So are you interested in Korean War movies or movies about Korean war? You are lucky! We cover all these categories, which have a wide overlap, with this list of the Best Korean War Movies. So here's our list of all the Korean movies that are going to give you an insight into the Korean War.

Best Korean War Movies Ever Made

20- Northern Limit Line

Korean title:       연평해전 (Battle of Yeonpyeong) Directed by:        Kim Hak-soon Produced by:      Jung Moon-goo Cast:                   Jin Goo, Kim Mu-yeol, Lee Hyun-woo Release date:     June 24, 2015 Running time:    130 minutes Box office:          US$38.9 million With a Budget of  US$6 million Ratings:             IMDb (6.6), Rotten Tomatoes (71%) Why: I thoroughly fell in love with the characters and how they interacted with one another. The film was a little slow-moving initially as we get to know the names, but it was all right. The climactic battle scene was hard-hitting and quite emotional. A maritime Korean war movie, well done!

Plot: PKM 357 perceives the trawlers and their crew, allowing the spies to become acquainted with the superstructure of the ship. Because of the government's Sunshine Strategy, the North Koreans are finally released upon orders from the South Korean higher command. North Korea's Navy will regularly reach South Korean waters over the next month to identify and survey the patrolling strategies and protective steps of the ROK Navy. The South Korean Ministries of Defense is informed of this but the Blue House is again told not to engage first. The Second Battle of Yeonpyeong began with a surprise assault by a North Korean patrol vessel on PKM 357. Until reinforcements from the South arrive, the coming war badly cripples all ships and forces the North's patrol ship to withdraw. Nineteen wounded and four deaths from uncontrollable fires are reported before PKM 357 sinks. In the Republic of Korea Navy, whose bravery and comradeship the film brings front and center, you'll also develop a new appreciation for sailors.

19- White Badge

Directed by:        Chung Ji-young Produced by:      Chong Nam-gook Cast:                   Lee Geung-young, Ahn Sung-ki, Shim Hye-jin Release date:      1992 Running time:     124 minutes Box office:           Unknown Ratings:              IMDb (6.7), Letterboxd (3.3/5) Why: The film gives hints of how the war in Korea was depicted (a lot of gov't censorship), the grievances of the "poor" Koreans competing for the "rich" Americans as proxies, and the reality that several of these Koreans turned to their own country where there is a constant presence of US troops. Even, I suppose it's worth your time watching this Korean war movie to get an insight into the experience of Vietnam that you may not be able to get anywhere else.

Plot: WHITE BADGE, based on a book, deals more with the consequences of human massacres in battle than with war itself. This gives a seldom-seen view of the Vietnam War from the participation of Korean soldiers in that unjustifiable proxy war; it juxtaposes the misery of the Vietnamese with the exploitative relationship between South Korea and America. At one point, the main hero, who is a novelist, recalls the involvement of the American army during his childhood in the Korean War. Otherwise, the top Korean war movies mostly switches between two periods of time, the horrific scenes in the late 1960s Vietnam War and the turbulent present with the uprising against martial law in late 1979 and early 1980. He had PTSD, an attempt at writing a serialized Vietnam War novel. Han receives several calls from his old friends during the war, despondent and living in isolation. The film gradually exposes their experience of war and shows the degree to which these two men are affected. In the first half, the film has some pacing problems, and the message is open and often artificial, but clear and evident. Even for watching this under-seen south Korean war movies , the cathartic end alone is worthwhile.

18- Ode to My Father

Korean title:       국제시장 (Gukjesijang) Directed by:       Yoon Je-kyoon Produced by:      Park Ji-seong Cast:                   Yunjin Kim, Hwang Jung-min Release date:     17 December 2014 Running time:    130 minutes Box office:          US$125 million With a Budget of  US$30 million Ratings:             IMDb (7.8), Rotten Tomatoes (71%) Why: Realistic portrayal of a common man who thrived for all miseries to keep the promise he gave to his father. This Korean war movie walks you through the history, life, love, and sacrifices of forgotten people in this present. The actors, the cinematography, story all give us a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I encourage others to watch this movie when you feel life is hard and you are lost. If you watch this with your heart open, you will get to know many lessons.

Plot: During the Korean War of 1950, when a lot of refugees were brought to the south by the U.S. A boy lost his sister, and his father keeps behind to look for her, advising his son to take his two younger siblings with his mother to the port town of Busan, where his aunt operates an imported goods shop. The father vows him to be the caretaker of his place before leaving the family. He becomes his family's breadwinner from an early age, doing all sorts of odd jobs to support the family. In 1960, he traveled to Europe with his best friend, where they find dangerous work in German coal mines to pay for his brother's University Fee. He falls in love with a fellow, survives a mining accident, and leaves Germany after his visa expires. They have a modest wedding, begin a life together, and eventually have two sons. Find the remaining story after watching these Korean war films.

17- My Way

Korean title:      마이 웨이 (Mai Wei) Directed by:      Kang Je-gyu Produced by:     James Cho Cast:                  Joe Odagiri, Jang Dong-gun Release date:     December 21, 2011 Running time:    119 minutes Box office:          US$16.5 million Ratings:              IMDb (7.7) Why: I found this in Korean war movies list as entertaining for a Korean audience and focused on the Korean people's pain and suffering. If that was its primary target, it was successful, but An international audience also enjoyed the movie. There were plenty of characters that could have been grown more through the film and had their direction. It is really the best war movie to be enjoyed.

Plot: Young Kim (main Character), along with his father and sister, worked on the Hasegawa family farm in Japanese-occupied Korea in 1928. Both brothers are skilled in running and become strong competitors by the age they are teens. In a bomb attack, a Korean war criminal kills his grandfather, and a Korean runner then wins a full marathon against Japanese competitors. He later began working as a rickshaw driver, and Koreans were barred from engaging in sports at that time. Even though he has been admitted by a medical college in Berlin, Tatsuo chooses to stay in Korea to run a marathon in an All Japan Trials. As punishment, they were drafted into the Japanese army. With 100 other Koreans, they fought in the battle on the Mongolian border, where a Chinese sniper—this film itself a war mystery and a must watch movies about the Korean war.

16- The Bridges at Toko-Ri

Directed by:       Mark Robson Produced by:     William Perlberg Cast:                  Mickey Rooney, William Holden Release date:     December 1954 (U.S.) Running time:   102 minutes Box office:         $4.7 million With Unknown Budget Ratings:             IMDb (6.7), Rotten Tomatoes (80%) Why: This Korean war movie is about fear and the potential loss of life, liberty, and family. Fact is often stranger than fiction, and characters similar to some shown here exist; the bowler hat is no stranger to war zones. This film shows carrier ops in some detail, which adds to the realism, and the flying sequences are good. I am surprised by the storyline in some areas; that's why it makes up for an outstanding war movie.

Plot: The Bridges of Toko-Ri is a weighty drama that unveils the grotesque underbelly of war. "Forney" had also been in trouble brawling and wearing a green top hat and scarf that was non-regulatory when flying his helicopter as an aid to downed water pilots. The Carrier commander took an interest in him, back on board his ship as he remembers a Navy pilot murdered in World War II. The Savo Island heads to Japan's port, where Brubaker and his family are granted three-day shore leave in Tokyo. Whenever anyone comes to him looking for his assistance in bailing Forney out of the brig after a brawl, the reunion is disrupted. When his wife hears that he had to drop his jet at sea, Nancy gets angry and threatens her when we return to Korea. The Bridges at Toko-Ri are brilliantly filmed, and the once-taboo subjects of fear and tension in battle are confidently discussed.

15- Sayonara (1957)

Directed by:       Joshua Logan Produced by:     William Goetz Cast:                  Patricia Owens, Marlon Brando Release date:     December 5, 1957 Running time:   147 minutes Box office:         $26.3 million With Unknown Budget Ratings:             IMDb (7.1), Rotten Tomatoes (93%) Why: I enjoyed Korean war movies as I thought the main character did an excellent job and showed a kinder, softer side of his acting ability. The Japanese actresses performed well, and the costumes, choreography, and scenery as breathtaking. I watch this movie a lot and enjoy it every time as the plot seemed contrived. This movie portrayed the contrast clearly between the Japanese and American cultures and compellingly. To me, the film Sayonara meant "sad" rather than "goodbye."

Plot: The main character, "Ace," is a U.S. Air Force Fighter, the son of a U.S. Army General who is stationed at Itami Air Force Base, near Kobe, Japan, and has been rehired from combat assignments in Korea. Despite the opposition of the United States military establishment, another soldier, the enlisted crew chief of Ace, is about to marry a Japanese woman, who would not accept interracial marriage because it is usually illegal under American law. The Air Force is against the marriage, so Both Air fighters argue, but later Ace apologizes and becomes his best man at the wedding. Ace falls in love with a Japanese entertainer who works in a theater company. She suspects that Ace is in trouble and heads towards him to warn, but when she learns that Joe's house has been under Army surveillance, where she discovers that he has been seeing a local woman. These types of movies about Korean war story is exceptional, and hard to find any unrealistic scene.

14- Men in War (1957)

Directed by:       Anthony Mann Produced by:     Sidney Harmon Cast:                  Aldo Ray , Robert Ryan Release date:     January 26, 1957 Running time:   102 minutes Box office:         $1.5 million With Unknown Budget Ratings:             IMDb (7.2), Rotten Tomatoes (89%) Why: It is one of the Best directed or the imaginary best Korean war movies; it seemed as though you were in the scene yourself watching from a tree. The movie is relaxed, quite soulful, so even though you might argue that the soldiers were stereotypical, they were so credible, and that they behaved so well, they also seemed to be part of that world. The actors are superb, totally reasonable, and the scenes are heart-breaking. I recommend this film to anyone; it's merely the best largely unknown war film ever.

Plot: Because of losing radio communication, an isolated and tired platoon is cut off and harassed by unidentified North Korean snipers who secretly kill the American soldiers and take their weapons. There are just unclear directions for the platoon leader to hit a specific hill to meet up with American forces. The patrol stops a jeep with shell-shocked passenger "the Colonel," who cannot speak and is tied to his seat. The squad is on its way to the mountain. Montana shoots a surrendering North Korean sniper, who points out to have a hidden weapon inside his cap. Montana turns the platoon back into a combat unit and proceeds successfully through sniper assault, artillery fire, and minefields, during which Sergeant Lewis is killed. As all the deaths are depicted as essentially meaningless, it is a classic example of the meaningless cruelty of war. Another well-made feature of the south Korean war movies is the scenery, whose dullness and peace contrast with the anticipation and suspense that war brings.

13- Wolmido

Known as:          Wolmi Island Directed by:       Gyong-sun Cho Written by:        Lee Jin-woo Cast:                  Gyong-sun Cho, Hyun Chang-Gyeol Release date:     1982 Running time:    92 minutes Box office:         Unknown Ratings:             IMDb (5.4) Why: Naturally, it is an exciting film as it gives the impression of the Korean War from the side of the North Koreans for a change. This is a comparatively small-scale movie in which the plot focuses on the efforts of North Korean soldiers to protect their island territories from the colonial villains' overwhelming power, the USA. I went into this not knowing what to expect, except maybe some funny cheesiness. Well, I got what I expected from top Korean war movies but also a lot more.

Plot: To spice up this list, we've added Wolmido—one of North Korea's most popular war movies. This North Korean vividly represents the tragic fate of the coastal battery unit that fought to the last man protecting the Wolmi Island in September 1950. The North Korean commander and his team men tested the UN landing activity for three days by showing remarkable courage and a more fantastic standard of self-sacrificing faith, countering 50,000 soldiers and over 500 warships. This film also portrays the role of women in participating alongside men on the front line and to the rear in the Korean War.

 12- Fixed Bayonets! (1951)

Directed by:       Samuel Fuller Produced by:     Jules Buck Cast:                  Gene Evans, Richard Basehart Release date:    1951 Running time:    92 minutes Box office:          $1.45 million With Unknown Budget Ratings:             IMDb (6.9), Rotten Tomatoes (100%) Why: This is an exciting Korean war movie to watch on themes of responsibility and its inevitability. The role is to be the leader of a guerilla war in this film to prevent the North Koreans from shutting down in on a battalion to withdraw. The chain goes from the regimental officer, who we see as the film begins, a sort of one of the guys" with a wad of chewing tobacco, grouped in a tent with other men, to a younger lieutenant who is the group appointed to replace the guerilla war.

Plot: The Korean War was fought in one of the world's most unforgiving conditions. The story is set during the Red Chinese Invasion during the first winters of the Korean War. The tale follows the fate of a lone 48-man platoon left to protect a choke point as a rearguard, to cover the retreat of their division over an exposed bridge. The plotline alone shows what a crazy film this is, going where no film had gone before. Fixed Bayonets! is as thrilling as it is depressing, as most war movies tend to be; it's a grim reminder of what war does to men.

11- Operation Chromite

Korean title:       인천상륙작전 Directed by:       John H. Lee Jae-han Produced by:      Lee Kyu-chang Cast:                   Lee Beom-soo, Lee Jung-jae Release date:     27 July 2016 Running time:    111 minutes Box office:          US$50.9 million With a Budget of  US$50.9 million Ratings:              IMDb (6.2) Why: Patchy and half baked, but worth a onetime watch. These movies about Korean war does tell an important story that would otherwise fade away. The Korean War isn't something considered particularly pivotal in a global context. Read the full article

[chaseguild]

The calming reflections I get to enjoy on my river cycling commute each morning and evening help me to set aside the less beautiful things of my daily work.

This week, I had a few big successes and a few big set backs. Here’s what the two look like in my work:

The Successes: 

- #1 - Since May, I’ve been working on a Resettlement Abroad application for a man, Chris, who was imprisoned in England but whose wife and 4 children remain in Ireland. The application required a great deal of researching the ins-and-outs of his case as well as liaising with Children Services, Police and Probation in Ireland. I wrote a report detailing why his case was exceptional, as normally an offender On License in the community would not be permitted to travel, let alone move outside of the UK during their probationary period. I explained the case to my supervisor, who added her approval and signature before passing it on to her manager, who did the same before passing it on to the Head of Service in the National Probation Service. Once I had his signature, it was just another week of phone calls and emails before I had the “Prison Governor’s” signature on the official transfer form. 5 month’s of weekly phone calls, meetings and emails later, I was able to call this man and give him the good news. He booked a ferry the next day and will be returning to his family on Monday to serve the rest of his probation period in Ireland.

- #2  - I got a guy, Fareed, a 2-hour extension on his curfew so that he could get to work on time every morning. The process is quite a bit simpler than #1 - getting employment evidence from his boss, commuting time evidence from the National Rail website, writing a request to the prison, calling them each day to ensure they take it seriously - but it still takes some time and gets a very grateful response from the guy when I give him the call saying he won’t be late for work anymore.

- #3 - I had my first meeting with a guy, Lee, who just came out of 28 days in-house rehab following several months in prison. He has been in and out of prison his whole life for offenses ultimately linked to his severe alcohol addiction. He went into prison incredibly frail, aggressive, and with a bad case of jaundice. He came to me looking healthy and talking about everything he has learned from the 12-step program and from his counseling discussions. His friends and family pulled together the money for rehab and for the apartment he moved into for the first time after a year of homelessness. On Tuesday, he has a final outstanding shoplifting court hearing, for which I will write a recommendation to the court for a community sentence or fine. If he is sent back into custody following his detox, he risks losing his new home as well as the motivation and drive he has gained over the last month of rehab. If there’s some rain this weekend, I’ll likely spend some time drafting my letter to submit on Monday.

- #4 - Asif just got a room in a shared flat after 6 months of sofa surfing and street homelessness. He didn’t show up for his appointment this week, but I’m letting this one go.

The Challenges:

#1 - My 34-year old male Service User, Peter, has just proposed to his 18-year old girlfriend after 4 back to back months of 4 Common Assault charges against her, including one in which he can be seen on CCTV throttling her throat after pushing her down stairs in a train station. This case is my highest risk case due to his unstable mental health and housing situation. It has required monthly multi-agency professionals meetings with agencies and police who have been involved with either partner. And it’s also been my only case that has brought me to tears during my monthly 1:1 supervision meeting...believe me, I never expected the tears to flow, and I hated that they did, but this case has gotten under my skin. I think I’m on the other side now, but it’s been one of those cases that I worry about when I go home. As much as I know that his action’s aren’t my responsibility or my fault, I still worry how I will feel if he kills himself after I recommend a prison sentence.. after he tells me he’ll kill himself if he is sentenced to prison again. Things like that. They get to me, and I’m still trying to figure out how to care about the people I work with without taking home their burdens and suffering.

#2 - My 58-year old man, Gerard, relapsed into alcohol use after 12 weeks of sobriety. We’d been meeting every week for 30-40 minute sessions. I’d been chatting with his father on the phone nearly every week, even though I could hardly understand his strong Irish accent. I’d even seen Gerard at a bus stop one time just days before his relapse and congratulated him on all the great progress he has made. In his sober state, he was one of my favorite people to work with. Gentle, humble, a shy humor, engaged... And then he slipped. Something switched and he didn’t come back to his dad’s house that night. And he was picked up for shoplifting the next day. And then picked up and imprisoned 2 days later for sexual assault and 3x spitting at police. 

Fortunately, the successes (however big or small) usually come more often than the challenges. If it were the other way around, I don’t know that I would be strong enough to keep at it every day. But I am still thankful for my job and for the people I work with. And for the privilege, as someone recently put it, to be working everyday with Jesus’ favorite people. 

[redsoapbox]

MY ALBUMS OF 2019

Redsoapbox is five years old this weekend, during which time I have blogged over 150 reviews/interviews/opinion pieces. Many of these, together with my work for Wales Arts Review, New Sound Wales, Buzz magazine and From the Margins, make up the bulk of my debut collection Pop Hack. A revised and updated version, for the first time in print form, will be available by Christmas ( Watch out for updates on the blog). One of the annual features that I’ve most enjoyed compiling is my choice of Album of the Year and it’s that time of year once again folks. Before revealing this year’s shortlist (as has become the custom, the winner will be announced as the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve!) here are the previous recipients of the award.

2015  -  Trouble In Mind: Jodie Marie

2016  -  You Can’t Go Back if There’s Nothing To Go Back To - Richmond   Fontaine

2017 -    Zero Moon - David Corley

2018 -    Asking For Trouble - Dan Bettridge 

So, it’s delicately poised at  Wales 2 the Rest of the World 2. Here’s my 2019 shortlist -

Fontaines DC:  Dogrel

‘Dublin in the rain is mine / a pregnant city with a catholic mind’. And so begins Dogrel, the irresistible debut from young tyros Fontaines DC. Frontman Grian Chatten, his rebel yell influenced by the cities rich literary tradition and the dramatic song staging of Shane MacGowan, throw’s a flurry of big punches early on in a successful attempt at shock and awe. “Big”, “Sha Sha Sha” and “Too Real” are all thundering tunes that rattle your cage. The first time you play this record, it’s possible to believe that you’re listening to an all-time great album unfold in real-time. Ultimately, though, Dogrel burns itself out before the close, but there’s no doubting it remains a powerful debut and a certain contender for album of the year.

The Delines:  The Imperial

Hot on the heels of their critically acclaimed debut Colfax (2014), Willy Valutin and his country-soul combo issued a limited-edition bonus album Scenic Sessions (2015), the unexpected result of a summer recording session initially booked with the sole intention of cutting the group’s next single. The band had already set aside a dozen or so songs for their second album proper, which was scheduled for release in 2016, when fate took a hand. The band was halfway through recording their new album when singer Amy Boone was knocked down outside a convenience store in Austin and seriously injured. It suddenly looked as if Scenic Sessions, once intended as little more than a superior stop-gap, would become the final chapter in the Delines story.

One thing was sure, there was never any possibility of Vlautin drafting in a new singer. The Richmond Fontaine frontman had only formed The Delines in the first place as a vehicle for working with Boone, delighting in the qualities she brought to her interpretations of his downhearted ballads. With his alt-country outfit Richmond Fontaine officially disbanded, Vlautin concentrated on re-working his latest novel, counting down the days until his friend was ready to return to the studio. Thankfully, after nine surgeries, Boone was able to re-join the band and work re-started on The Imperial. It was, of course, well worth the wait - The Imperial is an impeccable collection of heart-breaking character studies, Boone’s well-worn, country-soul whisper vividly bringing to life the despondent tales of Vlautin’s three-time losers. “Cheer up, Charley”, “Holly the Hustle” and “Eddie & Polly” are stand-out vignettes, but there is no filler here. The Imperial is a solid gold comeback.

Armstrong - Under Blue Skies

I reviewed this sublime re-issue on TBM/Country Mile (with no less than 8 extra tracks!) for New Sound Wales. You can read it here - www.newsoundwales.com/cd-reviews/armstrong-under-blue-skies/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ochnWdLJN3Q

Night Flight: Night Flight*

Night Flight’s debut album, notwithstanding a terrific review in PopMatters, seems to have gone somewhat under the radar, which is a deep disappointment given that it’s an outstanding piece of work. The band wisely used their two excellent pop/rock EPs Wanderlust (2017) and Carousel (2018) as a departure point for an elegant and emotional debut that is best heard with the lights turned down low and a whiskey chaser near to hand. Although sometimes compared to Elbow, Night Flight are more akin to a seventies soft-rock band. Their beautiful new single “Mexico” makes you believe that AOR can be king again in the 2020s.

* the loophole I’m using to include the album is that although it was available to stream in December 2018 it wasn’t released on CD until this January. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuOk2Wgr_KM

Swimming Tapes: Morningside

I’m sorely tempted to just write see Night Flight above and save on the man-hours! In fact, London’s Swimming Tapes’ beautifully manicured dream-pop, particularly on tracks like “Passing Ships” and current single “Mirador”, positions the band somewhere between The Beach Boys and Real Estate in the great scheme of things. There are, however, comparisons to be made with Night Flight – the classic songwriting, rooted in pop’s pre-punk past, for one, the fine-grained musicianship, another. I saw them play a wonderful set at Swn in October (as I did Night Flight the year before) before a smallish crowd. The times will change, though, and the race is on to see which of these bands plays a stadium tour first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFSTJdkZMtw

Purple Mountains: Purple Mountains

Back in 2009, David Berman singer/songwriter with cult Americana outfit Silver Jews pulled the plug on his critically acclaimed band after twenty long years and six assured albums. Nothing very strange in that, you may think: Bands run their course, musical differences set in and people fall out. Except in Berman’s case, there was an altogether more unusual motivation for his walking away from the music business. Posting on the group’s message board, Berman “confessed” to the fact that he was the son of the union-busting lobbyist Rick Berman, a man dubbed by CBS’ 60 Minutes programme as “Dr. Evil”, due to a career spent representing the likes of big tobacco. The singer described his father as a ‘despicable man, a human molester and a scoundrel’, declaring that he’d previously thought that the band could provide ‘a refuge away from his world’. He jokingly promised to turn his hand to ‘screenwriting or muckraking’.

Except it was anything but a laughing matter though, as the opening track “That’s Just The Way That I Feel”, from Purple Mountains memoiristic debut makes painfully clear – ‘Course I’ve been humbled by the void / Much of my faith has been destroyed / I’ve been forced to watch my foes enjoy / Ceaseless feasts of schadenfreude’. Berman had long been battling depression and the album’s lead single “All My Happiness Is Gone” painted an even bleaker picture of Berman’s state of mind – ‘Lately, I make strangers wherever I go / Some of them were people I was once happy to know… I confess I’m barely hanging on’.

Tragically, David Berman was unable to hang on to life. He was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment this summer, three days before Purple Mountains were due to embark on a scheduled tour of North America. The medical examiner’s verdict: suicide.

Does it matter in the end that Berman’s last work and testimony represents a career-high, or that his music as a whole will survive until the time comes when our species is swept back into the sea? It’s worth calling attention, however, to Berman’s thoughts on his last communication with us - ‘Mine is not a cry for help, but an offer to provide a kind of it’.  

Silent Forum  - Everything Solved At Once

The long-awaited debut album from blog favourites Silent Forum is an absolute stormer. A full review can be read at https://www.walesartsreview.org/ 

You can also read my brand new interview with the band at

www.newsoundwales.com/interviews/silent-forum/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U92eAaNr04

Peter Bruntnell: King of Madrid

Peter Bruntnell has been around a long time with, depending on how you figure it, somewhere between 10 and 14 albums to his name. I can’t claim, though, to have ever heard a Bruntnell record (although there is a possibility of having chanced upon a track on an Uncut freebie down the years) until this year’s sublime “King of Madrid”. And even that was a fluke! As a Juror for the Welsh Music Prize (WMP), I get to listen to any albums released through the qualifying period by Welsh artists, and Bruntnell’s album appeared, along with eighty or so others, on the 2019 longlist. It didn’t take me more than a track or two to realise that I was listening to an album that might be the AOTY, never mind Welsh AOTY. The opening track, the soaring, six and a half-minute sweetener, “Broken Wing”, is a master class in songwriting and the album as a whole reveals a true craftsman working at his absolute peak.  

You might be wondering, given the glowing recommendation above, why there was no sign of King of Madrid on the recently announced WMP shortlist. It turned out that Uncut magazine’s claim that Bruntnell was born in Wales, made when nominating his Nos Da Comrade (2016) as their Americana AOTM, was, sadly, incorrect. Bruntnell, as you might have guessed from that album’s title, had spent much of his life in Wales, but having been born in New Zealand and residing now in Devon, he was not eligible for the honour this time around. The silver lining for me, of course, was that an artist that I’d missed out on for many years was finally on my radar. Make sure he’s on yours!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUi1oxhlr6U&list=RD_AXJlX0zPZs&index=2

The Murder Capital: When I Have Fears

The Guardian may describe Dublin’s finest as purveyors of art-punk (and there is certainly no denying the force of nature that is “More is Less” or Feeling Fades”) but for me, The Murder Capital’s atmospheric debut is a cast-iron case of Indie-Noir. When I Have Fears is hugely impacted by the suicide of a close friend (an official band statement confirms that every lyric on the album relates in one way or another to that terrible event) and singer/songwriter James McGovern should be saluted for somehow navigating his way through unbearable pain to deliver a singularly devastating record. What also impresses about When I Have Fears, is that it’s in no hurry to get from A to B – some tracks weigh in at nearly seven, slow-paced minutes. This doesn’t always work, but I applaud the grand ambition at play here. The album finishes big, too, with both “How The Streets Adore Me Now” and, particularly, “Love, Love, Love”, which wouldn’t be out of place on Joy Division’s Closer, being colossal tracks which signpost the band’s extraordinary potential. 

Oblong: Hollalluog

Llanelli’s bilingual post-punk trio Oblong may well be the most underrated band in the U.K. Their debut album Brilliant…Gwd (2016) was fast and furious from start to finish, with one melodic masterpiece following another. Incredibly, they repeated the trick on Hollalluog (which translates as almighty) with storming tunes like “Giro Day” and “Light Sleeper”, both contenders for track of the year. And yet they still failed to secure themselves a slot on the shortlist for the 2019 Welsh Music Prize. If you do nothing else after reading this AOTY list, give this band a fair hearing, you won’t be disappointed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsLW0ZAgVVQ&t=114s

Amy Speace - Me And The Ghost Of Charlemagne

When you’re described by Folk Radio as ‘one of the great contemporary Americana singer-songwriters’ and when the much-admired Mary Gaulthier claims that your work has reached ‘a level of absolute mastery’ then you can’t just put out an album once a year for the sake of it -  you have a certain reputation, a standard of excellence to maintain. Just as well then that Speace’s latest album more than lives up to the hype. Produced by Neilson Hubbard, featuring regular collaborators Kris Donegan and Will Kimbrough on guitars and Eamon McLoughlin on violin, Me And The Ghost Of Charlemagne is a beautifully crafted, tenderly sung record that, thanks to Speaces’ lyrical dexterity, always hits home. Stylistically, Speace has much in common with the legendary Mary Chapin Carpenter, especially in terms of song texture/structure and vocal tone, as can be heard on the wistful title track below. It’s an album rich with new material, but the cover of Ben Glover’s “Kindness”, rightly held back to the close, will not soon be forgotten.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTECsSBawGM

Liz Brasher -  Painted Image 

North Carolina’s Liz Brasher is a marketing department's dream - a star in the making from the moment you see her. More important than how many units you can shift (someone fetch the smelling salts for the a&r reps) is, of course, the quality of the music itself. Brasher’s 2018 Outcast EP left no-one in doubt as to her potential, but the guitar-toting chanteuse has really delivered the goods on her debut album. Gospel, soul, country, pop and blues are all combined to memorable effect on Painted Image. A stellar career awaits. 

[transcriptroopers]

Extraordinary Female Soldiers

Hello recruits! It's International Women's Day, so I thought I'd introduce you all to a few outstanding soldiers in army history.  While I once explained this in a previous post, here’s a quick reminder: the military refers to its soldiers with “male” and “female” exclusively and when necessary. We’re discouraged from using either “men” or “women” to refer to each other. While in a civilian setting this would be seen as rude, especially in the case of “female,” in this case it’s actually more disrespectful to refer to female soldiers as “women.” Not only is it othering in a military setting, but to amplify a soldier’s womanhood is to separate her from her fellow soldiers, and often not in a positive way. Consider that we prefer to say “police officer” now instead of “policeman” and “policewoman.” As I’ve heard my female comrades say more than once: “I’m not a woman; I’m a soldier.”  While I’d never assume that all females who’ve enlisted feel this way, it’s been my experience overwhelmingly that female soldiers not only prefer this, but sternly enforce it. Given this, I will most frequently be using the word “female” to refer to the soldiers we’re talking about today. I hope everyone understands that by using this terminology I’m actually conferring respect rather than the opposite. I hope everyone understands that I’ll be focusing on the U.S. Army, since that’s my lane and I’d like to stick in it.

Deborah Sampson

“I am indeed willing to acknowledge what I have done, an error and presumption. I will call it an error and presumption because I swerved from the accustomed flowery path of female delicacy, to walk upon the heroic precipice of feminine perdition!”

We’ve all heard of the tale of Hua Mulan, but have you heard of America’s own Deborah Sampson? She’s widely considered to be the first enlisted female soldier in the U.S., and she served honorably in during the American Revolution as light infantry.  The oldest of seven children, Deborah grew up both in poverty and without her father until she was eventually hired out as a servant to a very conservative family. They ignited the flame of patriotism in her, and when she left the family at 18 it took only two years before she chose to join the army.  Of course, this was 1781, (or 1782; her biography lists conflicting records) and women weren’t allowed to enlist. So Deborah sewed her own waistcoat and britches and enlisted as Robert Shirtliffe (or Shurtliffe or Shurtleff; again, it’s conflicting) in a light infantry unit in Massachusetts.  For two years and through two wounds, one of which she removed the bullet herself, Deborah Sampson served in this unit honorably. In her biography, the Female Review, or the Memoirs of an American Young Lady, her biographer details the horrors of war she faced.  “She says she underwent more with fatigue and heat of the day, than by fear of being killed; although her left-hand man was shot dead at the second fire, and her ears and eyes were continually tormented with the expiring agonies and horrid scenes of many others struggling in their blood. She recollects but three on her side who were killed, John Bebby, James Battles and Noble Stern. She escaped with two shots through her coat, and one through her cap…She now says no pen can describe her feelings experienced in the commencement of an engagement, the sole object of which is to open the sluices of human blood. The unfeigned tears of humanity has more than once started into her eyes in the rehearsal of such as scene as I have just described.”

I dunno about you, but that last sentence especially gets to me.  Deborah came down with a terrible fever in 1783 and her secret was discovered while in the hospital. She was allowed to recover before being revealed, and she was spared from punishment, instead receiving an honorable discharge and being returned home with as little inconvenience as possible.  Nonetheless, it was years before Deborah would receive a pension for her service. She spent the last years of her life publicly speaking about her service, dressing in her old waistcoat to reenact her moments of glory on the battlefield.

Sources: History of Massachusetts.org, Encyclopedia Britannica, National Women’s History Museum

Harriet Tubman

Yes, THAT Harriet Tubman. “God’s time is always near. He set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; He meant I should be free.”  Everyone knows Harriet Tubman, one of the mightiest heroines in American History, but few people know that Harriet actually served in the army during the Civil War, and at the urging of the federal government no less.  Born a slave in 1822 and escaped to freedom in 1849, Harriet spent eleven years returning to slave states and personally shepherding dozens of slaves to freedom in the north. She was not only brave but clever, devising numerous tricks and deceptions that fooled slave catchers again and again. Devoutly religious, she believed wholly in God’s deliverance, and she even earned the nickname “Moses” for her part in guiding the exodus of slaves.  During the Civil War, Harriet Tubman continued to dazzle with her many talents. A nurse, a scout, a spy, and a foot soldier, Harriet served dutifully in South Carolina for eight years. Her patients were very often primarily black and poor white soldiers, and she treated then with medicinal herbs and roots when medicine was scarce. She was efficient and kind, and some say protected by God himself, for she never caught any of the many, many diseases she treated while enlisted.

Harriet Tubman is credited with being not only the first black female soldier, but the first female soldier period to lead a military expedition. This was not a small expedition, either; hundreds of soldiers were involved in what’s now known as the Combahee River Raid. Its purpose was to harass plantation owners while rescuing their slaves, and as the boats sailed up the Combahee River, its riders shifted: the soldiers jumped onto the shore to assault the Confederates while slaves climbed aboard to safety. Faced with too many slaves to rescue and dissension growing amidst the crowd, Harriet Tubman sang to the escaping slaves to calm and encourage them, and those slaves would recall how they rejoiced and praised her and God. Approximately 750 slaves were rescued in this mission and the Confederacy was dealt a massive blow while the Union soldiers suffered no casualties.  Despite her honorable services, Harriet Tubman was denied a pension. Brigadier General Rufus Saxton’s report of the raid included the following statement: “This is the only military command in American history wherein a woman, black or white, led the raid, and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted.” Sources: NY Times, Liberty Letters, Harriet Tubman.com

Oveta Culp Hobby

“Women who stepped up were measured as citizens of the nation, not as women…this was a people’s war and everyone was in it.”

Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby never intended to become so involved in the army. As a young woman, her trade was publishing: newspapers, editing, editorials. She and her husband ran newspapers and radio stations, and when her husband became Governor she dabbled in politics, eventually writing “Mr. Chairman,” then and now a textbook on legislature and parliamentary law. She served on committees, planned and organized, and especially advised others on how women could contribute to society.

In 1941, in the wake of the drafts, she was persuaded by the federal government to write up a plan clearly lining out how women could participate in the war, something hitherto unpublished. She did this by studying the participation of women in Britain and France and personally investigating the jobs at which women could assist the war effort without having to undragono specialized training, which at the time was often refused even to women who desired it. Though she at first denied the limelight, as she so often had in her life, she eventually became the director of the Women’s Army Auxilary Corps. A corps entirely of females, she and her unit were shunned by sexist military officials who  refused to allow mingling between the WAAC and the regular army and even refused to issue pay. Because the women were not technically enlisted, (although Oveta later took the Oath of Office herself in 1943 to become a colonel) they reasoned that they shouldn’t have to treat the women the same because the women of the WAAC were still civilians. They partly reasoned this because so few jobs in the army were actually open to female soldiers, a point which Oveta Culp Hobby sought to remedy. By the time she was done, over 200 jobs in the U.S. army became accessible to female soldiers, over four times the “generous” proposal outlined by Congress. Her plans, policies, and training methods would later be nationally acknowledged and implemented. Even after leaving service, she continued to argue for fully equality in the army, not limited to only females but race as well. In 1945, she became the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and a very distinguished legacy she leaves behind indeed.  Source: Texas State Historical Association, Rice Fondren Library

Lori Ann Piestewa

Our final extraordinary female soldier is Lori Ann Piestewa, a Hopi native from 11th ADA Brigade (my old brigade, as it happens) who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"I’m not trying to be a hero. I just want to get through this crap and go home." Lori, born in 1979, was the youngest of four. She played softball and was active in her high school’s ROTC program, showing in both a strong aptitude for challenging herself. She came from a family of soldiers who raised her to have confidence in herself and her abilities, and it came as no surprise to her family when she enlisted in the army, eventually settling with the 507th Maintenance Company. Numerous accounts of her peers recount Lori as being a dependable and enthusiastic comrade for the two years she was enlisted. Lori’s MOS was 92A, Automated Logistical Specialist, a non-combat MOS. She kept records on equipment and accounted for much of her unit’s inventory. In 2003, Lori Ann Piestewa was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. A mere PFC at the time and a mere three days into the U.S. invasion of Iraq, she and her company’s convoy were traveling through the harsh desert. They intended to pass by Nasiriyah, an enormous Iraqi city under enemy control during the early stages of the Iraq war. Unfortunately, a navigational error brought them to Nasiriyah’s front doorstep, and a firefight ensued, one of the first of the Iraq war.  All but three of their vehicles were destroyed and eleven soldiers were killed in combat, with six being captured. Lori was taken prisoner along with other famous POWs Jessica Lynch and Shoshana Johnson, but unfortunately, Lori had been wounded in the head during the attack, and there was no suitable medical equipment or personnel available to treat her.  Lori Ann Piestewa was posthumously promoted to specialist following her death, and she also received the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal. Jessica Lynch has maintained ever since the ambush that Lori performed admirably during the attack that took almost a third of the soldiers present and that she was a heroine for her efforts, and her death has resonated with people of all races across the country. The Hopi and Navajo people prayed for her despite their long-time feud, and the Arizona Sports council has immortalized her in their annual Lori Piestewa National American Games. After her death, efforts across the country began to rename the various national landmarks named with the offensive “squaw” term, one of which includes Piestewa Peak, a location where many now come to hike, bike, and pay their respects to Lori.

Lori was not only the first Native American female killed in combat, but the first female to be killed in the Iraq War, and this fact, along with her dedication, has cemented her place in history as an extraordinary female soldier. 

Sources: Rolling Stone, Indian Country Media Network, Piestewa Native Web.org

I hope you enjoyed this post accounting the stupendous bravery of American women in the military! There’s so many more amazing women in history and I couldn’t possibly account all of the lives and achievements of female soldiers, but I hope that on this International Women’s Day you’ll join me in saluting the memory of these four pioneers of freedom. 

-Kingsley

Was this post informative? Entertaining? Eye-opening? Then consider supporting SPC Kingsley on Patreon!

[aretia]

Forgery Legal Defense in Utah

Forgery is the intent to defraud by signing the name of another person or of a fictitious person, or the intent to: • defraud, • falsely make, • alter, • forge, • counterfeit, • utter, • publish, • pass or attempt or offer to pass any check, bond, bank bill, note, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, money order or any driver’s license or identification card issued by a governmental agency.

When it comes to forgery, most people immediately think of printing fake money, but the technical definition of forgery is much broader than that. Intentionally passing bum checks and making a fake ID are also both examples of forgery under Utah state law. Depending on the details of the case, in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah, a forgery charge can be as serious as a third degree felony. That means that the penalties for a forgery conviction can include severe fines and up to five years of jail time. Don’t make the mistake of facing forgery charges alone. If you’ve been charged with forgery, make sure to get the criminal defense attorney that will give you the best chance with the Utah justice system. A lawyer can help protect your rights and your good name.

Writing a Bad Check: Forgery also includes writing a bad check, which means making, drawing, uttering, or delivering any check or draft upon any bank or depository for the payment of money, knowing that there are insufficient funds.

Forgery Punishment

The maximum penalty for a forgery conviction is 5 years and a $5,000 fine plus a surcharge. With forgery, a prison sentence is not mandatory, so a judge may suspend a prison term and place the defendant on probation. That isn’t what makes a forgery conviction severe, though. The catch with forgery is that a prosecutor can typically add extra charges to it, such as attempted theft or theft by deception, and that he can do that for each person or business that was involved in the forgery charge. Each of those extra charges will then also become part of your trial. That of course can greatly increase the amount of punishment that you face as well as complicating any attempt to expunge your criminal record.

Forgery Defense Attorney Utah

Forgery is a type of fraud, which means that the level of punishment depends on what was stolen and how much it cost. It also means that, unlike more serious crimes, there is no minimum jail sentence and even the maximum is rather low.

However, forgery charges are only the tip of the iceberg. Like fraud, being charged for forgery also allows the accused to be charged with a variety of other crimes, all of which quickly add up in terms of both potential jail time and fines. If you’ve been accused of forgery, you need the help of our experienced, caring attorneys. We not only are experts at quickly resolving cases, but we also pride ourselves on our ability to protect your quality of life.

Utah’s forgery statute can be found in the Utah Criminal Code, Utah Code Ann. 76-5-601 (2017). The felony forgery statute is written very broadly to criminals not just the classical for going of another’s signature, but creating and using false identifications or false property deeds. A person is guilty of forgery if, with purpose to defraud anyone, or with knowledge that the person is facilitating a fraud to be perpetrated by anyone, the person:

(a) Alters an Original Writing Without Authority. Alters any writing of another without his authority or utters the altered writing; or (b) False Document Creation. Makes, completes, executes, authenticates, issues, transfers, publishes, or utters any writing so that the writing or the making, completion, execution, authentication, issuance, transference, publication, or utterance: (I) purports to be the act of another, whether the person is existent or nonexistent; (ii) Purports to be an act on behalf of another party with the authority of that other party; or (Iii) purports to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case, or to be a copy of an original when an original did not exist.

The above elements of forgery are the classical forgery where the forger either alters an original document that was once authentic, but changes and alters the document in efforts and purposes to defraud people. An example of a forger altering an original document could be a check that was originally written for $100.00 dollars, but altered to state the check is in the amount of $1,000.00.

This “Altering” type of forgery is a 3rd Degree Felony in Utah. The second type of forgery is where the forger complete creates a false document from nothing. An example could be a warranty deed purporting to convey a property interest to the forger. The warranty deed was completely made up and falsified. Another would be a falsely created Will purporting to convey an inheritance to the forger or a co-conspirator.

Most Common Forgery Cases

In Utah, one of the most common forgery crimes is check forgery. A conviction for check forgery requires the prosecution to show fraudulent intent or knowledge; therefore, lack of knowledge could be a sufficient defense against these charges. In addition, signature forgery on official documents and court documents are also common types of forgery.

Defenses against Forgery Charges

One of the required elements that the prosecution must prove to convict you is that you knowingly or fraudulently committed the acts in question. Presenting a successful defense against fraud charges may come down to showing that the accused genuinely believed that the document was authentic, or that the person committed the fraudulent act unknowingly and no fraudulent intent.

Forgery cases soaring in Utah

Police say forgery has become a major problem along the Wasatch Front because it’s easy to do and the penalties are light. Forgery rings that are run in a businesslike fashion are becoming common. Fueling the forgery problem is the fact that store clerks rarely ask for identification. The experience of one Salt Lake couple highlights the growing problem. The couple had just returned from a three-day trip unaware that in the short time they were gone their names were being forged all over the valley. A new box of checks sent by their bank had been stolen from their mailbox. The afternoon “Angela,” who asked that her real name not be used, arrived home; she received a call from a gas station attendant who suspected she had just been given a forged check. Angela confirmed that she had not written any checks that day. Later, Angela received a call from a restaurant cashier who said a woman claiming to be Angela was attempting to buy food with another of her checks. When the employee realized the woman was passing a bad check, he called police and then delayed her order until officers arrived. When West Valley police searched the woman’s purse, they found a credit card in the name of a man, two checks from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Missouri driver’s license and a Social Security card for another woman and a fake check made out to Allco Leasing for more than $7,300, according to a police report. On the back of the fake check were bank numbers and codes that could be used for making forged checks. Officers also found drug paraphernalia the woman claimed was hers, the report stated. The woman was arrested on several counts of forgery, possession of stolen property and drug paraphernalia. She also had two outstanding warrants for forgery and retail theft.

The woman said a man gave her five of Angela’s checks. She was able to pass four of the forged checks at Checker Auto, Kmart, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Sally Beauty Supply, the police report stated. Later in the week, Angela and her husband learned their stolen checks were passed from Murray to Orem. As of Thursday, 53 of Angela’s checks had been forged and accepted by various stores. Police say Angela’s ordeal has become all too common. In the past five years the number of forgery cases has tripled, said West Valley Police Detective Brooke Plot nick.

A typical forgery ring will include a person who steals checks. The check thief then either exchanges the checks for drugs or passes them out to several people. Those people, known as “mules,” will then try to spend the checks as fast as they can, sometimes buying things they don’t need. Those items can either be exchanged for drugs by the person who stole the checks or returned to other stores for cash.

The typical forgery ring will try to distribute checks in several police jurisdictions. South Salt Lake police officer Darin Sweeten said the idea is to slow down investigators.

The jurisdictional issue became a problem for Angela and her husband, who said they were often the ones who informed investigators that police in other jurisdictions were looking for the same person. “In a 12-hour period, (forgers) can wreak more havoc than a team of detectives can investigate in 12 hours,” Day said. There are two reasons forgery is so prevalent in the Utah, Day said. It’s easy to do and those who are caught typically don’t spend a lot of time in jail, he said. The typical forger is caught within 30 days after passing the first bad check, Day said. “These people are extremely sloppy,” he said. “They leave a trail that a blind man could follow.” Unfortunately, forgers can do a lot of damage in those 30 days. “I feel sorry for (people who have checks stolen) because as soon as their stuff is stolen, their life is going to turn into a living hell in no time flat,” he said. “(The thieves) own you.” A lot of the problem is perpetuated by cashiers who don’t bother to check I.D. In Angela’s case, an employee at Checker Auto said he “was very busy at the time and accepted the (forged) check” without I.D., a police report stated. A cashier at Albertson’s in Sandy accepted a forged check even though it was rejected when run through a “telecheck” machine. The store manager later became suspicious when she noticed the writing on the check looked “fishy” and the signature looked “juvenile,” according to a police report. Nevertheless, the cashier accepted two checks, one for $326 and the other for $259. At a pizza parlor next door, Angela said another one of her checks was accepted without anyone asking for I.D. When she called the restaurant later to ask them why they hadn’t, the restaurant told her it was not their policy, Angela said. The liability for forged checks falls on the victim, the bank or the store where the check was passed, depending on the bank or credit union’s policy, said Sweeten. Some banks will cover any loss suffered through forged checks and then try to collect it back from the merchants, he said. Some will only cover up to a certain amount while others will only cover checks after they are reported steal. So if a person doesn’t catch the forgery right away, the money is lost, Sweeten said. Because there is no blanket policy for who is liable for forged checks, Sweeten suggested people check with their banks to find out their policies before they become victims. Plot nick said he knows of one store that lost $500,000 in less than a year because of forged checks. A forger could even sign a check with the name of his favorite Disney character and someone would accept it, Day said. It’s easy for the average cashier to let his guard down, Day said. Many clerks are young people making minimum wage who look at hundreds of checks each day. “Businesses are not taking the time to get proper identification,” said Utah Division of Consumer Protection director Francine Giani. “That, frankly, is a travesty.” Giani said she has been in a store several times when the cashier said I.D. wasn’t necessary, even when Giani said she could show some

Consult with an Experienced Utah Defense Attorney

The criminal defense attorneys of Utah assist with all aspects of defending Utah forgery and related charges, from negotiating with the local prosecutor to representing you at trial or arguing for the best possible sentencing conditions.

Forgery Lawyer Free Consultation

When you need legal help to defend against forgery charges in Utah, please call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

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Source: https://www.ascentlawfirm.com/forgery-legal-defense-in-utah/