#if I’m given a 50/50 shot. a yes or no

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah]

What a day. I don’t understand how it gets better and then gets so much worse again in less than a week. I don’t know what to do about that. And the worst part is, it’s genuine. I can tell my psychiatrist on Wednesday that I’m doing quite well and have that be true, but by Monday and Tuesday I am so worn down that all I can do is cry and wish I wasn’t such a fuckup. And that also feels genuine.

I really, really don’t know what to do with that. How does one overcome a constant onslaught of emotions? Is this how it’s supposed to be and others just cope in ways I can’t? I feel like the problem. Well haha, anyways, better days ahead I hope

[loveanddeepgays]

The LaDs reacting to MC's nose boops— and what happens when they suddenly stop.

The first few times, Xavier gave an affectionate eye roll to MC booping his nose. It makes perfect sense with how they’re always calling him a cute little bunny. He gets used to it quickly because he loves soaking up all of MC’s affection— so when they suddenly stop doing it, he’s confused. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” MC looks at him, clueless, so he taps his own nose. They laugh, “I’m so sorry, did you miss it that much?” “Yes.” He says it so easily that MC’s cheeks flush pink, so he scoops them up in his arms and boops their nose instead.

~*~*~*~

Rafayel pouts IMMEDIATELY the first time MC boops him on the nose, his arms crossed in indignation. It’d almost be believable if he didn’t blush so easily~ Still, he continues with his charade of hating it until one time, MC just doesn’t do it. He grabs their hand and waves it in front of their face. “Uh, hello??? Are you going senile already?? Didn’t you forget something?” MC pretends to not know what he means, biting back a grin. “How would I know if I forgot?” “Ugh, I have to do everything around here.” And then he boops himself with their own finger. Every time after it’s a 50/50 shot of if they’ll boop his nose or not, just because it’s so cute how grumpy and demanding he gets when MC conveniently “forgets”~

~*~*~*~

MC boops Zayne on the nose for the first time, catching him off guard for just a moment before he settles back into his go-to deadpan look that says “Really?”. Whenever MC does it later, they get a sigh and a head-shake, maybe a cocked brow or an eye-roll. However, he wasn’t expecting the twinge he feels when MC neglects to do it when he’s expecting them to. So he waits twice more, seeing if it’s a pattern before he finally says something. “Have you given up on your silly little gesture?” MC frowns a little, thinking. “What do you mean?” “It’s been thrice now you’ve neglected to ‘boop’ my nose, as you’ve put it. Is something wrong?” “Why would that mean anything’s wrong?” MC asks, sheepish. “I know you hate it, so I stopped.” “My apparent disdain shouldn’t dictate if you stop. It’s an expression of your love, is it not?” His only tell is the light pink his ears have turned.

[snakes-writing-corner]

Mr. Puzzles Fluff Alphabet

Requested by… Me!

Coming out of hibernation ‘cause there is not enough Mr. Puzzles x Reader content out there so I am contributing to the pile because the hyperfixation I have on this man has me in a fucking death-grip.

It is 2 in the morning when I’m posting this so yippie brain-rot!!!

Anyways alphabet under the cut :D

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Very. I mean you are kind of the only person who’s ever bothered to get close to him!

He was extremely clingy when the two of you were just friends, but now that you’re his partner? That’s increased tenfold.

He’s very unpredictable so he’s pretty much a wildcard when it comes to ways he’ll show affection.

Sometimes he’ll gently pull you along by grabbing your wrist, sometimes he’ll nuzzle into your hair or neck, maybe he’ll cup your face like you’re a glass sculpture that might shatter, and sometimes he’ll just pick you up and twirl you around. Honestly? This lovable director will show you any kind of physical affection under the sun.

I do think he particularly would like to hold your hand though. He likes the warmth of your hand in his, and how it’s so small compared to his. It’s like your hand was just made for him to hold!

Overall, any physical affection is fine by him as long as he gets to touch or hold you!

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend?)

I fear having this man as a best friend because that means chaos.

Yes being in a romantic relationship with him would be chaos, but a friendship I feel would be more chaotic somehow???

Will break your door down to get an opinion on a new show he’s been working on, and will absolutely pester you until you comply.

Would probably get you to star in said show and then poke fun at you the entire time. Lovingly of course mind you!

Lots of talk sessions where the two of you just talk shit about other people because this man lives for drama, like wants the tea on everyone.

Would break into your house at 2 in the morning to steal food like a fucking rat (I say this in a loving way).

Anyways being besties with him means say goodbye to your doors because he’s kicking them all down to get your attention.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Cuddling is definitely a must!!! Like he would love to cuddle!!!

This man has no preference to cuddling he just wants to hold you close to him! Definitely big spoon no questions asked, but he also loves having you lay on his chest.

I think his favorite way to cuddle though would be on his side with you snuggled into his chest. You would probably look very small compared to him like his body would basically envelop yours, but hey he’d be very warm at least! Mr. Puzzles would probably just lazily comb through your hair with the goofiest smile on his face, whispering little words of affirmation under his breath as he did so.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they around the house?)

Oh definitely! But, after he becomes all rich and famous! He wants the best life for you after all!

Definitely a housewife though when he’s not busy working on his shows, like this man is a workaholic. I genuinely think he enjoys cleaning and repetitive tasks in general, helps him think.

When working on his shows or stressed? Yeah no the living space can easily become a train-wreck as he gets increasingly more frustrated over whatever he’s working on.

You could probably leave the studio on any given day, and either come back to it spotless or a wreck. There’s like a 50/50 shot whenever you leave.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Nuh-uh, not happening, you are literally stuck with him now, and he is NEVER LETTING YOU GO. :)

Yeah that’s definitely not concerning! Good luck my guy because Mr. Puzzles has some attachment issues, and will not leave you no matter what you do!

But hey! You probably won’t get to leave him either! At least he won’t let you without a fight! (Get this man some therapy or something)

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Very big on commitment honestly part of him wants all of your attention to himself, but he loves you enough to not go that far.

I think he’d be kinda iffy on marriage. On one hand he could throw this big event for the two of you, letting everyone know you’re his.

On the other, he’s fine not getting married at all! As far as he’s concerned as long as you’re completely committed to him romantically there’s not really a reason to get married?

Honestly whether he gets married to you or not would depend on your preference.

Would probably still get you an engagement ring of some kind no matter what your answer is, just so others’ know you’re committed to someone.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Oh my god this man? Gentle as a feather physically. Emotionally? He tries to be as gentle as he can, but that temper gets the better of him sometimes.

He holds you like you are glass about to shatter, like he’s holding the most precious thing in the world.

Cups your face in his gloved hand and just admires you like the most beautiful art piece ever created. Might even lightly bump his screen against your head wondering how he got so lucky.

Most of the time he’s a bit aloof regarding your emotions he likes to tease you after all!

But in serious moments his tone will get noticeably softer as he listens, and tries to help you with whatever you are dealing with in anyway he can.

Now granted, Puzzles gets frustrated easily, and might lash out at you occasionally or straight up manipulate you, but he tries to make up for it.

Just be patient with him.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? What are their hugs like?)

Yes.

Hugs are a constant thing with this man he loves to hug and hold you. Though he will probably pick you up to hold you.

Most of the time he’ll come up from behind, pick you up, spin you around a bit, saying something like “There’s my little angel!”, and then hug you!

Definitely puts his screen to your head and makes a loud “mwah!” sound.

He’s a dork when it comes to hugging he wants to make you smile, that and he just likes having you close to him.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

After you get together?

All. The. Time.

Not in a bad way of course he wants you to know he absolutely adores you! Words of affirmation are part of his love language after all!

Says stuff like “I love you my precious starlight.” or “Gosh you’re just so cute! I truly do love you when you give me that look my dear!”

He is serious every time he says it though, but will not hesitate to fluster you with that phrase.

Can imagine him saying “I love you.” in a low husky voice to make you weak in the knees.

He likes to see you get all red in the face and become a stuttering mess. He’s a tease like that. :)

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Puzzles has attachment issues this man gets extremely jealous very quickly.

If he thinks anyone is getting even a little touchy with you? He’s walking over, putting his arms around you, and talking to the offender with fake enthusiasm and venom in his voice.

The person doesn’t get the hint? Lightly veiled threats start coming out.

Would resort to violence as a last resort.

If it’s a more light version of jealousy he’ll probably dramatically pout in the corner with his arms crossed until you come over and give him attention.

He’s very dramatic with jealously like a dog not getting attention when it wants it.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Uhhhh I mean he has a TV for a head he can’t exactly kiss you per se.

But Puzzles tries to make it work! Most commonly he’ll gently tap his screen to your head or hands with a little electric shock to give the illusion of an actual kiss.

Is not much for you kissing his screen though since he’ll have to clean it afterwards…

But you want to get this man to melt into you? He loves being kissed on the neck, or on the bottom of his TV, might as well send sparks through his entire body. Would definitely love neck bites as well.

Honestly would not care where you kiss him he’s just happy getting your affection.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

I think he’d be pretty good around children at least outwardly.

Probably would be trying to entertain them with cartoons or little puppet shows.

Do not think he’d actively put himself in a situation to be around children though. I don’t think he likes them very much.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Puzzles would get up without waking you, get dressed, get some coffee, and then would make the two of you breakfast.

You typically tend to wake up before he’s finished, but if you aren’t then he’ll gladly give you breakfast in bed!

Would make fun of you for being a sleepyhead though.

Mornings with Puzzles would start off quiet, but get progressively louder as you both wake up a bit.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

I feel like nights go one of two ways.

Either A. Chaotic as hell or B. Actually nice

A chaotic as hell night includes Mr. Puzzles having some sort of mental break which results in him overworking himself and refusing to go to sleep and/or him frantically at a board with a bunch of papers on it trying to come up with ideas.

While this rarely happens it can if his shows aren’t doing as well as he would like or if you’re gone for long periods of time. The best thing to do here is gently talk to him and get him away from his area of work to help him calm down. A nice cup of hot tea or hot cocoa would help as well!

A nice night is more common though since Puzzles does think sleep is important. Probably ends with the two of you winding down by either cuddling in bed or watching TV (an actual TV though not his head he likes being able to hold you) while you two have blankets and/or hot tea to sip on.

Alternatively you two will cuddle in bed and just talk about whatever comes to mind until you two fall asleep.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

He’s pretty open about his past but not so much about what he doesn’t want you to see.

He shares stories from when he was a kid a lot, mainly about his mom, (I get a huge mama’s boy vibe from him) or his struggles making friends and connections until you showed up.

Also talks about his frustrations about getting into directing shows and how no corporate big shot would give him a chance so that’s how he made his own company! Also loves talking about ideas for new shows or really anything that comes to mind this man has no filter and just says what pops in his head.

He does not talk about things he doesn’t want you to know. Mainly that he smokes but he’s also definitely done some fucked up stuff in the past to get where he is today so he keeps that under wraps.

Wouldn’t want his darling angel to worry about those little hiccups~

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

We are literally talking about the person who sang about how ‘patience is a virtue uttered by fools’ this man has close to none.

He gets very frustrated and angry when things don’t go how he planned them to. He also can get frustrated if you don’t tell him things.

While he never tries to direct his anger at you he tends to lash out when frustrated and says things he doesn’t mean. However, he would probably apologize in the end if he really hurt you with his words.

Would never think of getting physically violent with you though he would much rather cut off his own head again than do that.

It would be very odd hot to see the man who holds you so gently be able to so easily make a sizable dent in a metal object.

Definitely has punched many holes in the walls and covered it up with something.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

My guy.

My buddy.

This man will remember every little thing you have told him about anything you like. He has a little notebook dedicated to writing little details about you so he doesn’t forget.

Knows just about everything you’ve either off-handedly mentioned about yourself or straight up told him.

Has various things written down like your favorite color, food, drink, cartoon, etc. Like literally anything you can think of that you could say about yourself he probably has written down.

Also has a page just describing how much he loves your looks down to the littlest detail but that’s not as important.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

When you two officially became partners.

He was so anxious to ask on the inside but kept the outwardly performance up as he was desperately trying to figure out how to go about it.

He broke one night and frantically made a board full of ideas for what he could do, but none of them were good enough! You deserved so much more than-than this!

You just so happened to walk into this scenario but Mr. Puzzles didn’t notice you as he was too focused on his board. You heard him muttering to himself about how “this had to be perfect” and “no, no that wouldn’t-”.

You eventually got concerned and walked up to him, accidentally scaring the living daylights out of him by the way, and as he tried to stutter something out you realized just what the board was about.

You then looked at him as he was still trying to come up with an excuse and just looked at him with wide eyes as you just blurted “And here I was scrambling to figure out a way to ask you out myself.”.

Puzzles just stared at you wide eyes and shouted “Wait really!?”

Anyways that night ended with you two just watching a movie on the couch and you’ve been together ever since.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you?)

Oh very protective.

Like you get scary tall guard dog partner privileges.

Most of the time if you’re with Puzzles no one would really dare to try anything because of how tall your TV man is, but on the off chance some asshole wants to try his luck?

Well Puzzles most definitely has a kill count.

In actuality he’d probably make threats towards the person, never getting outwardly aggressive as he doesn’t like to be the one fighting, but if the aggressor tries to touch you?

All bets are fucking off.

Despite what his personality may suggest to you if it comes down to it this man can pack a punch if need be. He is deceptively strong for how he looks and could easily beat a man to death if he wanted to.

While the fight would not end with the aggressor’s death as Puzzles does not want to kill someone in front of you, there is a good chance that person might end up mysteriously dead with no evidence tracing the murder back to him later down the line.

This man is slightly unhinged when it comes to keeping you safe.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

This is Mr. Puzzles we’re talking about he’s going all out!

Would definitely have a fancy dinner or something equally extravagant. I can see him liking to slow dance with you in a ballroom if given the chance.

If you prefer more casual dates then hey he’s up for that too! He’s paying though no ifs, ands, or buts about it! He loves movie dates and stargazing as date ideas.

Anniversaries are an all out occasion he’s standing his ground on that one because it’s special date and he wants the entire day to be special to the both of you.

Tries to get you gifts he knows you’ll like instead of fancy things though.

Okay maybe one or two pretty rings and such but mainly things you’d actually enjoy or give that big smile at receiving. I think gift giving is one of his love languages after all so expect to have lots of little trinkets.

He tries his best to make you smile everyday so he tries a lot for you.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He has some… unfavorable aspects of himself he doesn’t want you knowing the true extent of.

He does not want you to know he smokes as he thinks it’s an undesirable habit and always deflects any questions about why he might smell like smoke or any cigarettes you might find.

His temper also gets the best of him at times leading to him lashing out and making dumb decisions that he tends to regret if he thinks about it too much. Though he has wrangled it in around you it can be explosive and violent when you aren’t around to witness the full extent of it.

He is also very obsessive with you and he knows it. It’s definitely toxic obsession as well because at his worst moments mentally he has debated keeping you to himself and not letting you leave. He’s also considered sabotaging all of your relationships so you only rely on him and no one else.

A dark part of him wants to keep you all to himself so no one can take you away from him ever.

Thankfully, he respects and loves you too much to act on those thoughts but god rest the poor soul that does anything bad to you because odds are…

Their life is on a very short timer.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Oh my god yes.

Yes he so is.

He wants to look his best around you 24/7 all day every day and somehow does not even have to try for it.

He needs to always look presentable because a good director should always look ready all the time!

Is dramatic as fuck if his shirt gets wrinkled or something like damsel with their hand on their head going “my poor husband” dramatic.

He’s very silly like that and you love him for it.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yes.

You are the only person who ever really tried to get to know him, who puts up with his silly shenanigans, and who he fell in love with.

Truthfully without you? He’d completely lose it mentally because you are his rock. The one person he knows can pull him back from the darkest corners of his mind.

Not that you’d ever know this but Mr. Puzzles does. He knows that now that he has you he would not be able to live without you and continue to pretend to be even remotely sane.

X = Xtra (Random HC)

Plays his dreams or soft static on his screen when he’s in a deep sleep.

Claps his hands when excited and fidgets with his suspenders a lot.

Also makes tons of motions with his hands while he talks.

Y = You (How would they talk about you?)

This goes one of two ways.

Either he’s all giddy and cheerful like a schoolgirl with a massive crush or sounds very concerning as he talks about you like a follower would a god.

Pick your poison because both are accurate it just depends on how he’s feeling that day.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Will. Not. Let. Go.

Like if you wake up before him you are not getting up because he has the grip of a koala and probably has his arms and legs wrapped all around you.

But sometimes if you wake up before him he ends up in the funniest positions like sprawled out in ways that should break his bones. It can be very funny and disturbing at the same time.

[dentos-wife]

Just saw Sonic 3 a second time which allowed me to put this into writing.

After sitting on what it is I like so much more about movie Shadow than the game one (who I also enjoy don’t get me wrong) and I think I hit on two things

Maria feels much less than a plot device and Shadow’s grief is much rawer.

I go over them below the cut and warning this is really long

1) Maria feels much less than a plot device.

Yes she’s no longer ill-*as far as we know* but her illness isn’t a defining trait anymore. In the game project shadow is tied to curing her illness he was created for her and thus you could argue they’ve been tied together since the day he was born which is wholesome and has platonic soulmate vibes and it’s great BUT I like choice. And this whole movies theme is choice. They hammer pretty hard it's all about making the right choices in the end. Well Maria fits that theme too.

In Sonic 3 she of her own volition choose him. We don’t know why she’s with her granddad, she could still be sick and that’s why he takes her everywhere with him we just do not know. But that is no longer important what important is she sees Shadow floating in that little tube and goes over to him, draws a little bunny face. She places her hand on the tube and decides he’ll be her friend and that is so powerful for him when everyone looks at him as some kind of alien freak. She kidnaps him from all the tests they do on him, is the only one who sees him as he is. She even mentions choices when they're looking at the stars after she sneaks them both to the top of the base to look at them. (I don’t like him no longer being a lab creation but I’ll live lol. I still think Black Doom created him, that comet he came down on is very much a Black Doom reference)

But back to Maria. She is also given a character now, she likes music, likes to roller skate, enjoys movies, gets into trouble, makes a little fort it’s very base character to go off of yes but it gives us so much more of a look at the girl she was and the influence in Shadow’s life she was. She’s no longer a protect the planet martyr we know nothing about she’s just…a girl. A young girl with a big heart who meant the world to Shadow and she’s gone. I did enjoy the interactions in Shadow Generations as well and it was about time but Maria in that still feels like she exists to die, to further Shadow's story and in the movie, I don't know how to explain it but she feels more like a real girl than a character trope.

2) Shadow’s grief is rawer and he doesn’t know how to handle it.

In the game Sonic Adventure 2 Shadow is living out a lie, we find out his memories are manipulated by Gerald and once he finally remembers he sacrifices himself to protect Maria’s true wish to live a life filled with purpose and protect the world even if she has to die (and then he was so popular they brought him back yada yada you know the drill)

Again, there’s nothing wrong with it. But so much of it hinders on Maria being this purer than life heavenly lamb that gets sacrificed who we know next to nothing about which eh isn’t a trope I’m fond of. In the movies this is changed to you are who you chose and you're my friend Shadow which I prefer, makes the relationship feel more grounded and real.

Sonic 3 Shadow has no memory manipulation at all. He sees the one person he cared about, the one friend he had die from a tube of his own chaos energy. Yes I do agree they are cowards for not letting her get shot and making GUN not as much of an antagonist, we’ll get to that; but how they had her die instead? From Shadow’s own power? That’s a great compromise. He doesn’t even have time to think about it and is automatically thrown into a liquid prison for 50 years. Who knows how many times that memory played over and over on his head? He says it's all I known for 50 years. Imagine seeing the one person you care about die over and over again it's almost like Shadow was in his own personal time loop but he had no control over anything.

So edgy mcedgestr wakes up in what’s basically a brand new world after suffering for 50 years and everyone is after him, he’s in pain doesn’t know why, is pissed off can’t trust anyone including the blue thing that looks like him; Sonic stepped out of a GUN helicopter he knows he will NEVER trust GUN but he recognizes Gerald who says they’ll get revenge so he follows him because it's familiar to him, and Gerald knew and was close to Maria too.

When Tom is on the brink on death (Which would NOT have been as powerful if we didn't see Tom and Sonic bond for two movies before this so well done) Sonic is PISSED, Shadow feels validated and he sees himself in the other hedgehog; he knows Sonic will kill him because he knows exactly how Sonic feels. He loses to Sonic who kicks the emeralds out of him and accepts defeat- allowing Sonic to take the revenge he wants. And Sonic stops. Sonic who has the exact same rage refuses to give into it. He makes the choice to not kill Shadow out of revenge. Shadow is confused he thought he figured everything out. Sonic's one choice changed his world view.

He remembers Maria’s words about the stars as he sits on the moon with Sonic learning about grief how it never leaves but you live with it and the memories he has aren't a bad thing if he chooses to keep the love in them, a light shines even though the star is gone, the new main quote, VERY different from the game but it works here very well. This time it’s about how those gone are still with you and you can always cherish those memories instead of dwelling on them and yes we all know this it’s the most basic of basic messages but Shadow needs to learn it! Maria, his star is gone but her light still shines on everyone she touched. That’s the beauty of this quote and it works so well with what they did with Shadow.

I would argue that’s why Shadow didn’t have his, “is this what you wanted Maria…” line it’s no longer about what she wants, though there is a great line where he questions what Maria would have wanted, but in the end it’s about the choice Shadow makes what Shadow himself wants, and Shadow decides to accept his feelings. Live with his guilt, live with his grief, live with his happy memories of Maria and use everything in his power to save the world from himself and Gerald’s revenge. Yes in the end he does think he’s going to die, but he’s sacrificing himself with a purpose and understanding for himself, not Maria though she’s still the catalyst. He spent the whole time alive figuring out what he wanted and, he would have died at peace instead of dying vengeful.

But he survives unlike in SA2, (remember to stay for the second scene in the end credits everyone) so we don’t have to give him some silly reason to come back to life. He’s alive and now he can live not for Maria’s wish but for himself. He’s alive and will always feel Maria’s absence, some days will be better than others and he probably needs a good cry but he made his choice for himself and he’ll continue to make more and live in the world. And I think that’s a damn good arc.

As for the rest I do think the movie would have been more powerful as a whole if Gerald wasn’t a loon and they went more into Shadow’s military purpose, showing a change in Gerald over time was he always batshit insane? I like to think he went mad with his grief of losing his granddaughter and feeling used by GUN. Or maybe at 104 he just lost what's left of his brain. But all he wanted was vengeance and he'd use anyone to get it. As he said it's not about what Maria wanted but it's about punishment. Gerald could have even had Ivo who thought the world of him but that wasn't enough he made the choice to value punishment over everything else. This parallel's Shadow in a way Shadow accepting grief and all the feelings that come with it. Gerald refuses and will kill everyone and himself first

GUN was...lol. I do like they don't confuse Shadow and Sonic anymore that was always hard to take in in SA2 but Walters had the lamest death ever if he's really dead. Rockwell they had to set up to dislike Team Sonic and I got the vibe she didn't jive with them since the beginning. So yeah this stuff was meh, Shadow was practically perfect though so I can forgive it

Anyway as a Shadow fan who always wanted more on Maria the person I love this change and I love how much it focuses on not just the choices Sonic makes (and hits you over the head with) but the choices Shadow makes which all comes down to the ultimate choice that started it all. Maria choosing Shadow.

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

Hi!! I wanted to start by saying your writing is so captivating and I’m just in love.

I’m not sure if you are still writing for him but can I request #40 Tentative kisses given in the dark or #50 A kiss, followed by more that trail down the jaw and neck for Daniel le Domas? If you don’t write for him anymore, can I ask for Art instead? Thank you!

*I'm not currently taking any more requests from this list

Nonnie when I saw the name Daniel le Domas? The gasp I gasped. The scream I scrumpt.

"Take a break."

"I'm not due for a break."

"Take one anyway."

You shot Daniel a sidelong glance before returning your focus to the drink that you were making. You couldn't count how many times you'd bartended for a shindig at the le Domas home. The catering company that you worked for was one of their frequent picks and you were where you always wound up: behind the bar.

Daniel had always been a polite and frequent visitor, but the more often you were there, the more he spoke to you. He was about the only family member that bothered to.

You'd been warned going into that evening that you were supposed to keep your head down and your mouth shut. You just weren't able to warn Daniel. You didn't have his number, and from what you could find, the guy didn't have social media.

It was strange. His life was so glamorous, but seemed so...Contained.

"Come on, go on break," He urged again.

"Daniel, I'm working."

"I can see that. Looks awful."

You glanced toward where your manager was lingering in the doorway to the kitchen, watching you closely. You smoothed your smile away, topping off your glass and passing it to the gentleman that was waiting.

"C'mon, take your break," Daniel urged. "Take a walk with me."

"Not now, Daniel," You muttered.

"I know you get twenty minutes, we'll only take ten...Five?"

You jolted at the sound of your name, straightening up as your manager came over.

"Has she served you, Mr. Le Domas?" He asked.

"Yes, she has."

"Is there an issue with your order?"

"No," Daniel's eyes darted between you and your manager.

"Excellent. I will be taking over here," Your manager stepped in pointedly beside you. "Your help is needed in the kitchen."

You nodded your acquiescence, turning away and heading to the kitchen without another word. Damnit, you were worried that this would happen.

--

"C'mere."

"Jesus!" You hissed, whirling around at the sound of Daniel's voice. When you'd finally taken your break, you'd ducked out to the service entrance to get some air, but you hadn't expected for anyone to be waiting for you.

"C'mere," He urged again, taking hold of your hand.

"You're going to get me in trouble again!" You groaned, but you didn't bother to stay put or let go. You followed him unthinkingly, glancing back toward the door nervously to ensure that no one heard or saw you before you lost sight of it.

--

"You're not planning on murdering me out here, are you?" You asked, glancing around the stables.

"No."

"Helluva place to do it, you know, if you did. Use the hay to clean up some of the blood—You probably can't put a horse on trial. Probably."

"Are you trying to give me ideas?"

"I don't think you need 'em."

"I really get you in trouble?"

"A little."

"...What're they gonna do if they find you out here with me?"

"Fire me, probably. I don't know how they'd find us, though. This place is a fucking labyrinth."

You stopped looking around as you felt the heat of Daniel's body against your back. You bit your lip, fighting to keep yourself still as he stepped around you.

"Hey, but if you are gonna murder me, could you do it quickly? I'm not really into the whole edging thing with sex so I'm definitely not gonna find it hot with, like, death—"

You went still as he cupped your face, swiping his thumb across your cheekbone. You peered up at him, taking in the sweep of his lashes as his gaze lingered on your lips. You stepped a little closer, nudging your nose lightly against his before closing the gap between you. For all of his flirting and teasing at the bar, Daniel seemed almost as nervous as you felt. You slid your hand up into his hair, drawing him closer as he teased his tongue between your lips. His hands settled on your hips, steering you back against a beam. You tipped your head back as the kiss broke, sighing as his lips trailed along your jaw.

"Daniel..."

"Mm."

"I can't be late."

"I'll take care of it."

"But—"

Daniel grasped your jaw, turning your head toward his again, pressing a tender kiss to your lips.

"I'll take care of you."

[justkeepshippingg]

50 Shades of Honor: Chapter 20

50 Shades of Honor: A Zutara Smutfic

Rated: M

Pairing: Zutara Length: 1364

AU

Author’s note: eh hem. Forgive me? It’s been a while for us. It’s been seconds for them. Here we go, again.

Twenty: When it breaks

Katara swallowed. She wanted to rip the mask from his face and remember what it felt like to kiss him. She wanted to shove him into the wall and scream at him. She wanted him to hold her, to tell her it had all been a mistake, to say that he loved her, only her. She turned her head. She closed her eyes.

“Are you sleeping with her?” Katara said. She couldn’t open her eyes.

 “No.”

 “Are you in love with her?” 

“No.” 

A moment passed in which several things occurred: the music from the street shifted, thunder rumbled, and Katara gave up and asked the one question that truly mattered to her.

 “Are you in love with me?”

“Yes, Katara,” Zuko said, stepping forward, “yes.”

A shift in the air, an aching, a burning, finally meant to be satisfied.

They came together.

The heat of him against the sharp cold of the rain was almost too much.

Almost.

And yet, it was hardly enough.

Zuko pulled – yanked, really, jerked, like maybe he would die if he didn’t touch her, like maybe if he didn’t hold on tightly enough she would fade, a ghost in the arms of a ghost, two figures of a past that they’d lost, given up on, failed – and Katara was slammed against the rain-dampened stone behind her. She could barely register the pain; if anything, she welcomed it, the way the hard stone kept her grounded. This was real. And she was soaking him in. Zuko, Zuko, Zuko.

Zuko, here.

Zuko, again.

Zuko, inky-haired and scarred and breathless in her arms.

Her hands on the black fabric that made him nearly invisible in the dark.

His body formed around hers like a barrier, masking her from passersby. Anyone who saw them would see nothing noteworthy, anyway – what was one more couple in an alley-like market? Taking advantage of the dark was the entire purpose of this strip. It was the reason for the music that never ceased. It was the reason for the strips of red fabric that hung overhead. It was the reason Zuko didn’t need to cover Katara, not really.

But he needed to cover Katara.

Zuko couldn’t process this. He processed the cold rain dripping past his mask and through the fabric at his neck, tickling the soft skin there. He processed the scrape of the wall behind Katara when he pushed her up against it. He processed the sounds of laughter in the distance, shot glasses clanking, maybe even a fight breaking out and jeers and chuckles and then glass shattering. But he couldn’t process Katara herself.

He was too busy shattering himself.

Katara, here.

In his arms.

She knew it. She dug her nails into his arms, hard, bringing herself into reality, his reality. They gripped each other, harder and harder, blue eyes meeting gold, and there it was, the flash of it: reality. Truth. This. Them, here, alone. Together, again.

He stepped forward, his ankle bumping hers. She widened her stance, allowing his thighs to press against hers. So much fabric, so much rain, but she felt it, and so did he. Their hips meeting. The building of touch from below: ankles, knees, thighs, hips. Her nails sunk into his forearms and she wanted him to bruise. Anger, rage, shame.

He shifted his palms to her hips and kneaded at them, gently first, and then truly gripping the flesh. Sorry, sorry, sorry, I'll never let you go again.

He took another step and his chest found hers, rising and falling, her breasts shockingly warm in a way that made a bolt of lightning shoot from one of his hips and to the other, a crossbow of want. Their necks angling like they’d done this a thousand times, and maybe they had.

If they hadn’t, they certainly would.

“If I’m not inside of you, right now,” Zuko breathed, his lips brushing hers, “I’m going to die.” There was no desperation to his words, only honesty. He would die. He just would.

“What do you want?” Katara whispered.

He bracketed her torso with his arms and shoved his nose into her neck, mask scraping fragile skin. He inhaled her, winter and earthy iris and sunlight on his tongue. Now, he choked. “Everything.”

She softened. Her blue eyes glistened, with tears, maybe, or maybe she was just so overcome with want that she was beginning to melt out here in the cold and downpour. Everything would break her if she had to leave, everything would destroy her when she had to give him up, everything would slash her right down her center when she had to watch him return to his wife, but, right now, in this second, in the safety of the dark, she just didn’t fucking care.

“I need…” she flailed for words. Her nails drew blood. His bottom lip nudged at her throat, her collarbone, her chest.

“I know,” he whispered into her skin. They were out of balance. They were fire and ice, swirling in tense air. Would lightning strike? It felt like it could. He wanted to remind her that he was still him. He was still hers. He lifted his mask.

“Is that…” 

“Safe?” He laughed, now, the sound brusque. “Katara,” he said. “I don’t fucking care.”

A dark part in the back of her mind giggled. That makes two of us. 

Any levity was swept away when he shoved it entirely off of his face, golden eyes flashing, and wrenched her towards him. His mouth smashed down on hers, hot and wet and open, and she moaned a sound that ran its way down his spine as she matched each beat, each push of his lips was a press of hers, his tongue slipping over her bottom lip as she opened wide, feeling raw and naked in the alleyway, he their shelter in the storm. He shoved his thigh between her legs and her clit jumped. She jolted her hips against his and felt his dick twitch low against her belly.

She wanted it in her mouth, heavy flesh between her lips. She wanted it between her thighs, a violent rendering of his need.

She sank her hands into his hair and wrapped her hands through the silky strands. He twisted her hair into a bun at the base of her neck and pulled, pain shooting through her scalp and soaking her wrappings.

His lips returned to her neck, locking into the skin and sucking. She ran her hands down his back, dragging bits and pieces of his soul out of his spine until she reached his ass and dragged his hips back to hers.

She wanted to fuck him right in this alley.

She wanted to be whole again.

“I do too,” Zuko breathed.

Katara laughed out loud, now, hardly realizing the sound was exiting her mouth. Her eye darted from one corner of the market to the next, visualizing. He could fuck her behind the lettuce stand. He could fuck her on top of the tea stand. She could fuck him at the dark edge of the market itself, masked in shadows.

“But I can’t actually fuck you out here,” Zuko said, his own laugh a smile against her lips.

She whined and sucked his tongue into her mouth.

His hips bucked. “I want to, Katara,” he promised. “I would. But I need this to be right.”

“Take me,” she said. “Anywhere you want.”

Now his gaze dragged from her eyes to her mouth to the whole of her body, pupils dilating, distracted, before his good eye locked on something in the distance and widened.

“I have an idea,” he said.

“I trust you,” she said, and the words were true, even as her thoughts were marred by the needing heat that needled at her core. Just the thought of him pressing inside of her, his hands holding her thighs far and wide, his body shaking with the urge to just rail her, made her want to just do it here, passersby be damned. But he still had his wits about him.

“Come with me,” he said.

Zuko held out his palm, and there in the rain and the cold and the dark, she took it. 

[jalicefanficblog]

Hazbin oneshot request

Angel Dust and Vaggie go out partying for a night

(After much persuasion from Charlie)

Two very not motivated Party Animals on their Way to a new Club, let´s get this Paaaarty started :D

Partying against any Resistance

Vaggie tugged at her pink bow again and couldn't believe that she had really agreed to it.

"Come on, Pinky! As if you didn't have parties in heaven! This is going to be fun!" - Angel Dust had thrown an extra portion of pink glitter into his hair and grinned cheekily.

He seemed to be in a much better mood than Vaggie. Which was no wonder, because Angel had fun no matter what party he was at…it was part of his character and the nature that had accompanied the porn star since his arrival in hell.

But going out partying with Vaggie would not be one of Angel's favorite activities…despite all his motivation to really let off steam in the new club tonight. Not that he had asked to go out partying with the former angel…it had been Charlie's idea.

The princess of hell had begged both Angel and Vaggie that they could only strengthen their relationship by going out together in a club. It would definitely do them good and, building on this joint exercise, they could trust each other more and definitely become friends.

Charlie had been damn stubborn and in the end both Angel and Vaggie had given in and agreed. Just so that the Princess of Hell would stop coming up with the idea every day. But Angel thought that Vaggie was definitely a killjoy and definitely couldn't party well.

At least she had been in heaven when Cherri Bomb was with them in the club to support Charlie in the trial. Besides, the woman with the X over her eye and the big bow in her hair always seems so uptight, focused on the safety of the hotel and so on… as if someone had shoved a stick up her ass and she didn't know what having fun meant… Angel would need more than just a drink after this night of partying.

“Call me Pinky again and you'll lose a finger, Angel!”, threatened Vaggie as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at the spider demon with an annoyed look.

“This can only get bad…”, mumbled Angel and put his pink sunglasses on his nose, but still gave Vaggie a big smile.

“Let's see if you're good at partying, Niffty only recently discovered that your tits could be improved, huh?”, said Angel and received a punch on the upper arm for saying this.

“Fuck Vaggie, that hurt! CHARLIE, your girlfriend hit me for no reason!”, grumbled Angel dramatically.

“Angel talks too much bullshit, Charls!”

“Not true!”

“It's true!”

Charlie put an arm around each of her friends' shoulders and assured them again that this party evening could only help them, that they should now pull themselves together and have fun, and with these words Charlie chased the spider demons and the former angel out of the door and waved goodbye. Angel and Vaggie had no choice… they would have to visit the newly opened club and… have fun… or quietly drink a few drinks at the bar.

The club was well attended and several sinners, hellborns and demons were already on the dance floor, swinging their hips and asses and feeling the vibe of the music. The atmosphere was lively and more and more party guests were drawn to the club's premises, which was probably due to the advertising slogan. New opening - first shot free, second drink 50% off!

“Urgh Vaggie, you don’t seriously want to sit at the bar the whole time… I want to have fun on the dance floor,” Angel drained his second shot (which he got by flirting with the bartender and for free) and pointed to the dance floor with one of his two pairs of hands.

“I’m here with you and having a great time Angel… that’s all Charlie expects,” Vaggie commented, absentmindedly stirring her drink.

“Oh yes Pinky! She expects us to return to the hotel later arm in arm and like best friends and to have built up a really great relationship and friendship. So move your ass…,” Angel said almost provocatively as the song changed. It was an old song.

An old song that made some of the younger party guests step back in confusion and those sinners who had been living in hell for a long time roared loudly at the ‘oldie song’. Angel said nothing to the rhythm or the first few bars…it must have been before his time and the spider demon was already annoyed and wanted to sit back down on the bar stool.

"That's…wow and they're seriously playing the song…", Vaggie had put down her glass and seemed to struggle with herself for a moment, but when the first words were sung, she seemed to throw her doubts overboard and ran almost angelically towards the dance floor, leaving Angel with a puzzled expression on his face.

"WTF…is going on here now? Vaggie, wait, bitch!", Angel shouted and followed the former angel onto the dance floor, just to be impressed…that Vaggie obviously not only had a whole choreography down, but could also dance really well to the old song, which “inspired” her and kept her on the dance floor for a few modern songs later.

And it was apparently exactly the mood booster that Vaggie needed to give this thing a chance and challenge Angel to a dance duel, which both of course accepted, were cheered on by the crowd and which Vaggie won…..she got two shot glasses for free and generously gave one to Angel.

“WOW who would have thought that you could dance so well Vaggie,” said Angel as he clinked the shot glass with Vaggie’s and both drank the contents in one go.

Vaggie gave him one of her rare honest smiles and seemed to take the compliment seriously, which Angel meant honestly.

“Let's rock the dance floor!”, said Angel with a big grin and held out one of his four hands to Vaggie.

And this time Vaggie took the hand, laughing and let Angel pull her off the bar stool and lead her onto the dance floor to dance to different songs and show everyone…that she and Angel were really good at it and that the dance floor belonged to them.

Despite initial resistance from both sides, it was a really cool and fun party evening for Angel and Vaggie.

(Also because on the way back, slightly drunk and euphoric from the club experience, both of them came up with the brilliant idea of ​​stealing a traffic sign and giggling as they put it in the entrance hall of the Hazbin Hotel and took a selfie in front of it! So that everyone could see that they had not only been partygoers that evening, but also the gentle beginning of a developing friendship had begun!)

THE END

[ourpickwickclub]

I’ve always thought that Blake coming into the boys life was the best thing that ever happened to GR’s parenting (I know, it’s still very questionable). Yes, he still needed mediation to keep up his end the deal, but the competition he sees as all the boys idolize Blake to varying degrees, is too much for his fragile ego. He (GR) also seems to need a female around (I’m sure there’s some sort of diagnosable reason for this 😬), so there in lies a conflict and the boys seem to be the ones that would get the short stick since they are required to see him and are his kids so they won’t easily leave him. I’m not a psychologist, so this is all my amateur observations, but I don’t think GR is that complicated really. I also think GR’s dating pool has got to be small (despite his B/C grade rockstar status) because people that date him have the internet now. It’s one or two clicks and he’s exposed 😬

I actually agree with you. And I think it’s one of the reasons he despises Blake. Blake is naturally everything GR puts on an act and always pretends to be. And I will give GR this… he chose Sophia over the boys for over a year, but when forced into mediation after abandoning them then for 4 months, he did chose the kids over Sophia. I don’t think he believed he would lose her. And if she had given him an ultimatum instead of just standing him up at that Xmas wedding in London while pap pics of her making out on a beach in Australia circulated, I think GR would have chosen her over the boys. 

I also think that for a long time he truly believed he might have a shot at getting Gwen back because of the kids. He wanted Blake to dump her and to swoop in. The time he made the cryptic post about getting help as he stood in front of Cedars, I think was also him hoping Gwen would reach out since the victim stuff always worked before.

But all and all, Blake, being a standup guy has forced GR into being a more present parent or losing the kids…even if he still doesn’t have them anything close to 50% of the time, and occasionally tells him that he hates their family. And I don’t even want to think of the constant barrage of blood is thicker and I’m the victim not your mom and Gwen and Blake put downs he creatively doles out in his passive aggressive way.

- B

[dweemeister]

2024 Movie Odyssey for-fun awards

I haven't done this in six years. Though the 2024 Movie Odyssey is complete and the 2025 Movie Odyssey is underway, I am currently working through all of the categories for the 2024 Movie Odyssey Awards (which I am aiming to post on Sunday, January 12).

Given the fact I haven't done the for-fun awards in six years, I might be a bit rusty. But here goes - honors and dishonors that don't quite fit the Movie Odyssey Awards. A reminder that each of these films were movies that I saw for the first time in their entirety last calendar year!

Best conversation: Caleb Sykes (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner)’s conversation filled with veiled threats while walking up a hill, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)

No, Horizon wasn’t that great. Yes, it’s a vanity project. Yes, the 181-minute runtime while awaiting a potential three other sequels is killer. But the extended time allows you to fill in your movie with a scene where two men are ostensibly having a friendly conversation, but beneath those niceties are threats that simmer just underneath their words. Yes, Horizon is an indulgence. But there are more than a few instances of brilliant filmmaking within.

Best moment: “I Could Use a Boost”, The Wild Robot (2024)

For those of you who have seen the film, you know exactly what scene I��m talking about here. A major assist here from Kris Bowers’ spectacular score – one that I’d argue is the best for any movie released in 2024. This scene felt like an early ending for the film, didn’t it?

Best movie father: George Rose (Cary Grant), Room for One More (1952)

Grant – alongside his actual wife at the time, Betsy Drake – stars in one of the better family movies from ‘50s Hollywood. That sound you heard were a few of my tumblr followers, whose celebrity crush is Cary Grant, screaming with delight.

Best movie mother: Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o), The Wild Robot (2024)

Okay, it’s won two of the first four awards. But that’s it. Keep going!

Best on-screen friendship: Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook) and Pinky (voiced by Jacki Weaver), Memoir of a Snail (2024)

The least transactional friendship I saw on screen this year. Genuine love for the other, brought to you by Adam Elliot – whose characters find a way to persevere despite their tragic backgrounds. Bugger!

Best quote: “I'm gonna give you a break. I'm gonna fix it, so you don't hear the bullets.” – Mr. Brown (Richard Conte) speaking to Joe McClure (Brian Donlevy) in The Big Combo (1955)

This quote makes far more sense and becomes far more menacing in context. Trust me. Without spoiling too much, Conte here is granting Donlevy (who devout worshippers at the church of film noir will know is a quintessential noir character actor, but is in an unusually meeker role here) what he believes to be a mercy. This scene was also shot spectacularly.

Best theatrical experience (as an audience member): The Frida Cinema’s repertory screening of The Lord of the Rings (1972)

It had been too long since I saw Ralph Bakshi’s take on LOTR (a movie I rate higher than most, but would only conditionally recommend). And in that time, I forgot how unintentionally funny the whole damn thing was. Having a sellout crowd on hand only made things that much more enjoyable.

Best theatrical experience (in my capacity as Viet Film Fest Artistic Director): High school students’ day screenings

For those not in the know, Viet Film Fest always begins its in-person screenings every year with a handful of screenings intended for high school students in the Little Saigon area in Orange County who are taking Vietnamese language courses. It’s a field trip for them, and you feel the energy pulsing through the theater on that opening morning.

Also, I almost never sit down and watch a full film/short film set through as Artistic Director. Too many things to do.

Best title (feature): Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Thanks should go to Tennyson.

Best title (short): Mom, Dad… I Want to Be a Porn Star (2024)

I mean, come on! With compliments to director Corey Cao Nguyen and his team!

Best worldbuilding: Mars Express (2023, France)

The filmmakers knew exactly what sort of world they wanted their characters to inhabit right from the get-go. And for a ninety-minute cyberpunk movie not based on any previously published material at all, their background storytelling achievement is stunning stuff.

Biggest disappointment: Perfect Days (2023, Japan)

Wim Wenders serving up a sampling of Diet Ozu! Still rated this a 7.5/10, but the Criterion-heads, Letterboxd users, and other cinephiles who are online far too much had me believe this might have been better than sliced bread (or, at the very least, could hold its own against the post-War live-action cinema that is one of my specialties). I don’t think so.

Biggest (pleasant) surprise: The ending to The Wedding Banquet (1993)

In an era where happy endings for LGBTQ+ folks were elusive, perhaps the rather balanced, believable ending to The Wedding Banquet is what we should have expected. One of the finest Asian American movies ever made, overshadowed by The Joy Luck Club (released the same year).

Biggest (unpleasant) surprise: The out-of-nowhere stabbing attack in The After (2023 short)

Well, that was some way to start the Oscar-nominated Live Action shorts last year. The murder was horrifically staged, to make things worse. David Oyelowo, despite being the lead actor, is not the reason why this movie was as terrible as it was.

Do not watch on an empty stomach: The Taste of Things (2023, France)

As was the joke shared among VFF staff through much of this year! Seriously, though, make sure to have a snack on hand or eat beforehand.

Greatest discovery (actor… and director too!): Raj Kapoor

Some of you folks will be glad to know that I sought this classic Bollywood actor out by myself this time, without anybody directly recommending him (or 1951’s Awaara).

Greatest discovery (actress): Mikey Madison

I had seen Madison on-screen before, but she was in a bit role then. She is excellent in Anora (2024), however you feel about the title character.

In most need of an IRB review (TIE): Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) and X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

For those who don't know, an IRB review – broadly speaking – is an ethics review that is required when you are conducting a study involving humans.

Murders: Based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name, Bela Lugosi sports one of the most unconvincing unibrow I’ve seen in movies but gives a standout performance as a mad scientist trying to mix the blood of… actually, go watch this movie and read the short story. Ideal Halloween viewing. Lugosi making a frigging meal of his performance and his lines.

X: Dr. James Xavier’s (Ray Milland) research in this movie has bigger implications for humanity in this movie. Sure, he does all of the things you would imagine you would do if you suddenly had X-ray vision – I don’t have to spell this out to you – but good lord man where is your sense of ethics? Obligatory thank you to the now-late producer/director Roger Corman – who gave so many directors and actors their start in the ‘60s and ‘70s through his films at American International Pictures (AIP).

Honorable mention: The too-reckless dentistry on King Kong in Godzilla x Kong and whatever the hell else was going on in that movie

Kick-ass moment: Bruce Lee destroys the “No dogs or Chinese allowed” sign in Fist of Fury (1972, Hong Kong)

Apologies for the hilariously bad brownface and the bad English dub (I can’t find the original online)!

Least deserving of its praise: The Zone of Interest (2023, United Kingdom)

Jonathan Glazer’s film (which I wrote about here) utterly failed on one of the two things he set out to accomplish. First was to immerse us in the psychologies of the Auschwitz commandant, his wife, and other Nazis. Check, I think. Second was to take out as much cinematic artifice as possible in his film. That cinematography? That “score”? On this latter point, I thought Glazer utterly failed. Most folks didn’t see it that way.

Least likely to deserve my negative rating 10 years from now: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

I didn’t write on this film, but I gave it a 6/10 – which, on the blog, is right on the boundary between “fresh” and “rotten” (to use Rotten Tomatoes parlance). It was a more negative 6/10 from me. I’ve mentally checked out of the MCU years ago, and I personally don’t have much use for constant mean-spirited humor. But I don’t think the MCU has scraped the bottom of the barrel yet.

Least likely to deserve my positive rating 10 years from now: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)

Though it debuted in America as TV movie, it was originally released at a film festival. So it counts. William Friedkin’s final movie is filled with fantastic performances. But the staging itself… just a tad too simple, isn’t it?

Moment in which I most wanted to look away from the screen: The crash scene, Society of the Snow (2023, Spain)

La sociedad de la nieve is about the disaster and recovery of the survivors who were on Uruguay Air Force Flight 571 (1972) – the flight was chartered by a Uruguayan rugby team. This scene, which has been cited by experts as among the most realistic airplane crash scenes ever put to film, is harrowing to watch. A technically outstanding movie, but more importantly honors the humanity of those who went through the ordeal.

Most beautiful use of nature: Sequoia National Park at the end of The Big Trail (1930)

For my non-Californian friends, just know that California is far more than deserts and beaches. The state has so much more, naturally, to offer. The ending of The Big Trail – not recommended for Western novices – takes place as the settlers end up in a valley, but the scene is set among enormous Sequoia trees I’ve had the privilege of seeing a few times in my life. The Big Trail was a rare ‘30s movie shot in widescreen (in 70mm, no less!), and the black-and-white photography of the groves of Sequoias is magnificent to behold. The light peeking through the canopies? Breathtaking.

Most inspirational water sports movie: Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

Technically, there were two films eligible here: The Boys in the Boat (2023; about the University of Washington rowing team that represented Team USA for Berlin 1936) and Young Woman and the Sea (about Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle – 1x gold, 2x bronze at Paris 1924, but the film concentrates on her becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel).

Having neglected to watch one of the official Olympic documentaries before last year’s 2024 Summer Olympics (oops), these two movies did okay to fill that void.

Most memorable delivery of a line: “That’s politicssssssss.” – Denzel Washington, Gladiator II (2024)

There was absolutely no need to hold onto that “s” for so long. But Denzel Washington, in a movie in which all of the principal actors seem to be acting in different movies each, decides to go for the overdramatic Shakespeare route. And as villain, it’s a fantastic choice.

Most memorable quote: “And you think that one year of medical school entitles you to plow through the riches of my Emersonian mind?” – Adam Driver, Megalopolis (2024)

First things first… I didn’t say “best quote”, you know! Second, I’m of the opinion that Megalopolis defies any judgment of “good” or “bad”. I appreciated this movie for its bold artistic swings that violate so many rules and the film was one of the best experiences I had in a theater all year.

Oh yeah, this comes from the same nutty scene where we get “go back to the cluuuub”. Folks, if someone says a line like this to you unironically, run away. Run far away.

Most overrated: Poor Things (2023)

This is a movie I never connected at all to. I thought Lanthimos’ film was very male gaze-y and its depiction of sex work extremely sanitized. Oh? One of the lessons is that Victorian times were extremely sexually repressed? What a revelation! Welcome to the twenty-first century! I gave Poor Things a 6/10.

Pixar’s Elemental (2023), which I gave a 5.5/10, was the other movie I considered for this because of how audiences (as opposed to critics) have reacted to this.

Most shocking moment: The coffee scene, The Big Heat (1953)

If you have never seen this movie, please DO NOT look this up. I audibly gasped in the theater when this happened (this was a repertory screening at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, CA), and I wasn’t the only one.

Most underrated: On Borrowed Time (1939)

I’ve got some bad news for the high fantasy lovers out there. Classic Hollywood largely didn’t bother with high fantasy. On Borrowed Time is a low fantasy based on a play of the same name. This is a fable regarding the inevitability of death. I found this film better-acted and better-written than your average classic film fan. Lionel Barrymore’s performance goes a long, long way here for me.

Most underseen: Ferdinand the Bull (1938 short)

I could list a litany of Viet Film Fest movies here. But to make things simpler, I won’t. Ferdinand the Bull is one of the most charming Disney animated shorts of its era and, at a time where the studio hadn’t animated too many humans yet, this is one of those shorts that sets an in-house style that lasts for a long, long time.

Never learns: Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) in Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary (1941), Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941), and The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942)

I’ve only seen 5/16 Andy Hardy movies (1937-1958). I’m not the biggest fan, but the movies are a fascinating time capsule into what an idealized America was imagined to be and what teenaged behavior was sort of like during the ‘30s and ‘40s. But…

Andy Andy Andy. Always spurting out some variant of “I’m a big man now, pop. I’ve seen a lot of things, and I have the wisdom to do better,” and then turning around and doing stupid shit. His over-extroversion, chasing girls, getting into trouble, getting into trouble that involves chasing girls? Oh my goodness. If the Andy Hardy series is any indication of what America is really like, it’s that America is run like a high school ASB. Appropriate, as Andy is his senior class president!

Go to college! Or actually stay together with Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) for crying out loud! With apologies to those who are #teampollybenedict (Ann Rutherford).

No femme, all fatale: Vera (Ann Savage) in Detour (1945)

I’m not saying anything about the plot to this film noir that is NOT recommended for anyone who is a noir novice. But Ann Savage – with that incredibly appropriate surname – might have played the meanest leading lady in a film noir. And she plays the part shockingly well.

Resulted in me losing my mind in a theater (in a good way): The long uncut shot in Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023, Vietnam)

In a film filled with extremely long, uncut shots, that 20+-minute uncut shot of our main character having a few conversations, hopping on a motorbike to get to the other side of town, and the camera coming in through the window during the final conversation left me astounded. I could scarcely believe what I was seeing.

This actor should have done more movies like this: Tom Hanks, News of the World (2020)

For an actor who has long been compared to Jimmy Stewart for much of his career, it was half-surprising to me that Tom Hanks had never starred in an American Western like his predecessor before. News of the World neither fully embraces the classical Western nor the revisionist Western, and an older Hanks is very well-suited to the role here. Okay, perhaps a youthful Hanks (‘80s-‘90s) would have been unsuitable for Westerns. But he’s damn well suitable now.

Way too much body hair: Chuck Norris, The Way of the Dragon (1972, Hong Kong)

What just happened?: Megalopolis

The whole thing. The audience member speaking live to Adam Driver’s character two-thirds of the way through wasn’t even in my top five weirdest things about this movie. The IMAX theater didn’t have much folks there, but the experience was amazing!

Worst moment: THAT needle drop in War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (2023 short)

Yet another Beatles or Beatles-adjacent song ruined for me! I was simultaneously embarrassed for the filmmakers (who won a fucking Oscar for this anyways, largely due to heavy lobbying from Peter Jackson, Sean Ono Lennon, and many other big names) and furious. If you had a camera capturing my reaction in-theater, you would have seen my brain melt in real time.

Worst use of music: Oh, come on. You know what it is! See above!

Worst title: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

It’s not a good movie, but I admit to liking it. I know Warners would like to tell you that you pronounce this “Godzilla Kong”, but that sounds like two first names lumped together (thanks, Rachel). Should it be “Godzilla times Kong”? “Godzilla ex Kong” as if us kaiju fans are shipping them? To this day, that frigging “x” bothers me, alongside that generic-as-hell subtitle!

[turboacek-blog]

Fans don’t know what they want: Star Wars edition

Don’t know if I’ll make this a recurring type of post but just something I always think of when watching series that’s been on for a long time from Marvel to Pokémon to Dragon Ball etc

So I finished the live-action Ahsoka show and overall I thought it was pretty solid, the thing was I have the benefit of watching most of Rebels and the Clone Wars so my connection to these characters is different from someone who’s never watched them or not a lot as this series was very much a follow-up of Rebels with the Ahsoka clone wars connection as the connecting aspect

Not going to talk too much about the show as it’s still new as I’m posting this

But one thing I kept seeing online and even since the sequel movies was that the lightsaber fights have been slow and boring etc…

And while I agree in a certain sense that they don’t look as fast as animation or the prequels

The problem is that one of the big complaints of the prequel movies was how they were using lightsabers back then

Like people hated how flashy and speedy they were swinging their lightsabers

And I think that has shaped how they have done Star Wars since episode 7/the sequels aired

The basis of the action standard has been the original trilogy and the closest real-world equivalent in sword fights

Where sword fights aren’t about the flash and the blades are mostly heavy let alone how sharp and deadly they are so when there’s a sword fight it’s not about the clashing etc It’s about if you get one hit it’s over

So ever since I’ve noticed that they treated the lightsabers more like heavier swords vs these lighter laser blades

But now whether it’s from the prequel kids and enjoyers are now more of the vocal majority or the choreography hasn’t been the best but now people are calling out that the modern lightsaber fights have been slow and boring

So fans went from don’t make the fights like the prequels to make the fights more like the prequels hence fans don't know what they want

Even if it's more than preferences and audience changes over time

For myself, I’m mixed

Like I think there’s definitely a balance, as you can say that some moments in the prequels they were spinning that deadly blade super casually, and those extra moves showed some openings making people act like oh there was the kill shot, but also light sabers aren’t swords, like lightsabers have the inherent benefit of having the clashing and being able to swing more casually given their size, cut metal and other things, and let alone using the force as an excuse for the movements

I understand the want or need for realism in products such as Star Wars it helps keep things grounded and believable but there’s also the fantasy aspect that I do think needs to be embraced more as yes the choreography of the lightsabers needs to be seen as swords so we have a concept for what’s going on but you also have to be creative with it in a way that shows a lightsaber isn’t just a glow stick sword

I think in some cases it’s a choreography thing as without spoiling too much Ahsoka herself isn’t as fast in her series compared to her in animation, part of the reason is that she’s older and they even comment on that as she’s like 50 in the show and was like 16 in the clone wars a pretty big difference but it’s also they aren’t choosing to make Ahsoka acrobatic or fast since they want Rosario Dawson to actually be the character they even have a moment showing that Ahsoka was faster when younger, and they have moments that give that sense of speed and such but mostly lightsaber fights are just sword fights now

I think there’s definitely some work around like the light trail effect of the light sabers is practically gone now and I think that added will give a better sense of speed and effect

And if you’re going to choreograph essentially a sword fight then get stunt doubles or whoever to help make it feel faster and more fluid, and have fun with camera direction to get more excitement from the critics that think it's boring

Overall it’s funny to me that people used to hate (some still do) the prequels but in terms of things like action people now would prefer that to what we have now

And I do think the rise in things like anime has raised standards for how to perceive action as there has now been some anime influence in even things like Creed 3

Not my most formatted post but oh well

[eretzyisrael]

by Jack Engelhard

So this time it’s not 1,000 for one. Well, that’s an improvement. This time it’s 150 Arab terrorists in exchange for 50 Israeli hostages.

To some, that’s considered a win. Hey, look, we didn’t cave completely, only partly.

Did you get back all the hostages in this deal? That would have been something. But you didn’t. Abraham was also a lousy bargainer. Maybe that’s where this starts.

Frankly, I had intended to write something upbeat, especially when my IDF brothers in arms are fighting like lions inside the belly of the beast. (My guys were the Navy.)

But like you, dear reader, I am so damn depressed. Literally, where’s the light at the end of the tunnel?

I hardly hear any talk of victory any more. Mostly, the talk I’m hearing is about those “innocent Gaza civilians” and how Israel’s NUMBER ONE priority is to keep them safe.(Not Netanyahu and the government, thank G-d - they promise to go on to the end of Hamas and called its leaders "dead men walking" just last night.)

That’s the ballgame?

Secretary of State Antony Blinken thinks hardly about anything else, which is why he keeps traveling to Israel…to press the point.

There he is again this week…also to put the squeeze on Israel for “the day after,” which is a column for later.

He’s getting ready…with Biden, and the State Department…to swamp Israel ought of existence through another two-state solution, only this time with MORE land for the Arabs.

You heard that right. More land and THIS TIME they will be happy campers. Blinken is betting on this, with Israel’s money.

Which Israeli government will push back and resist? Or will it always be back to square one?

I am not confident. History tells us that leftist elements in Israel are always ready to concede for the “sake of peace in our time.” Per Neville Chamberlain.

Will it constantly be the same merry-go-round?

Nor can I forget the peaceniks who gave us Oslo, and the man, Ariel Sharon, who brought us to this pass when he gave this good Jewish land over to the Arabs. Hence, Hamas.

In earlier columns we proved that there are no innocent Gazans. They are all the same. One part does the killing, the other part does the cheering.

Dear Israel…how often will you let them play you like a fiddle? The enemy seems always a step ahead of you. Certainly the case Oct 7. Thereafter, as well.

We’re supposed to be so smart. They never produced an Einstein, and we have won 214 Nobel Prizes to their ZERO…all for what, when it comes to our survival.

Yet so often they outsmart us. We’re told that the 150 terrorists being released are really good terrorists. Quite harmless. Yet among them, we are learning, there exists car rammers, knife stabbers, suicide bombers, and outright murderers. BUT…they have been koshered by the government because they are only 99.9 percent like Hamas, not 100 percent. They did not succeed in their plans to murder Jews.

So, as of this writing, the deal is on…that is, for this group of 50…200 more to go.

Why art thou downcast O my soul? (David)

Because I know what’s coming. Hamas is going to drag this along for two years…one gift at a time…five, 10, maybe 20 hostages incrementally.

I so terribly hope I am wrong.

They can play this game down to one hostage left to taunt us with a Shalit all over again.

Meantime, the IDF will be stymied, the leadership, stalemated.

Let it not be so.

Hamas has this all figured out. Do the Israelis? How is it that Hamas gets to call the shots? Yes, Israel should have insisted on the release of all the hostages at once.

Or else, fire and brimstone of Biblical proportions. It’s what Churchill would have done…and did. Victory at all costs.

After all that, there is this: my niece Miriam, whose children live in Beer-Sheva…anyway, Miriam sends me the talks given by the Rebbe.

I listen to them every day…and they do uplift, give strength, and optimism. There shall be no despair. Israel…the Jewish People…will prevail.

Heck, I’m trying to be upbeat. Work with me.

[all-the-things-2020]

Finding His Way - Chapter Four

Summary: A little comedy, a little mutual attraction, and some father/son bonding.

Rating: PG

Mariana looked up and stifled a laugh. “You want to what?”

“Teach you how to shoot a blaster,” Din repeated. She rolled her eyes.

“Um, you have met me, right? How many times have I hurt myself just since you’ve known me? And you want to put an actual weapon in my hand?”

“Yes. The next time we go planetside, I’d feel better if you had some way to defend yourself … and the kid. And I’m sure the inhabitants of that planet would feel better if you actually knew what you were doing.” Din had been thinking about their encounter with the muggers on Helicon. It had seemed like a safe enough place, which is why he’d let her and the kid accompany him on the supply run, and they’d still run into trouble. Most of the planets he visited were much worse, and he really would feel better knowing he wasn’t the only one who was armed.

“It’s your funeral,” Mariana said. She turned off her data pad and stood up.

Din walked across the cargo area and released the lock on his arsenal. As the doors whooshed open to reveal the array of weapons, he heard Mariana take in a sharp breath. It is pretty impressive, he admitted, his eyes roaming fondly over the collection he’d accumulated over the years. He opened a drawer and pulled out a Glie-44. He’d been up half the night cleaning and modifying it for her. He held it up.

“This is a Glie-44 blaster,” he said. “Pretty basic, not too much kick to it, so I don’t think you should have too much trouble with it. I’ve set it up for VR training, and it’s loaded with blanks right now, so even if you do manage to shoot it for real, you can’t do any real damage.”

She snorted. “I wouldn’t bet on that.” Still, she held out her hand and took the blaster from him. It looked a lot bigger in her hand, but it was still the lightest gun he had.

The kid dropped his froggy as soon as he saw that Mariana had an even more interesting toy. He didn’t try to touch it, though. He listened almost as intently as she did while Din explained the various parts of the blaster. It made Din wish the kid wasn’t so small and fragile; how wonderful would it be to train his foundling to be a proper Mandalorian warrior? Of course, given that the child was already 50 years old, by the time he was old enough to be trusted with a weapon, Din might be too old. Or dead, he mused soberly. All the more reason to find the kid’s people.

Once he was sure Mariana knew which end of the blaster to point at the target, Din set up the holoprojector in the cargo bay and initiated a basic target practice program. A large bright green target hung in the air near the far wall.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Try a shot and see how it feels.” Once he saw how she handled the gun, he’d know what she needed to be corrected on.

**************

Mariana’s hands were sweaty and her mouth was dry. The blaster felt enormous as she lifted it, not really sure how to aim it. She pointed it in the general direction of the target, closed her eyes, and squeezed the trigger. The blaster fired a virtual charge and her hand flew up and back with the recoil.

.

“How was that?”

Din was silent for a moment, while he exchanged a look with the kid. “That. Was. The most spectacularly bad shot I have ever seen in my life,” he said. He was shaking with laughter by the end.

Mariana tried to look indignant, but she knew it really had been a terrible shot. “Well, I’ve never done this before,” she said.

“Obviously,” Din said drily.

“I’m glad I amuse you.”

The kid watched their exchange, his little head swiveling back and forth as if he was at a flingball match. Sometimes Mariana was sure he understood everything they said, even though he was still pre-verbal himself.

Din cleared his throat, stifling another laugh. “Well, at least I know what I’m working with.” He paused for a beat. “Which isn’t much.”

Mariana stuck her tongue out at him, which delighted the kid. They were clearly more entertaining than frog vids.

“Seriously, though,” Din said, “let’s start with how to hold the blaster properly.” He took the gun from her and demonstrated. “Until you’re better, hold it with two hands. You’ll be steadier and the recoil won’t be as bad.” He handed it back to her and she tried to hold it the way he had.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Put your dominant hand on top. You’ll have better control.” He stepped behind her and reached around to adjust her hands. “There. Now lift it just a bit more …” She felt him crouch down a little so he was looking right over her shoulder. If he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, she’d have been able to feel his breath on the back of her neck. It made it extremely hard to concentrate on what he was telling her.

*****************

Din was finding it hard to concentrate on what he was doing. Partly it was because Mariana was incredibly inept with a blaster and teaching her was proving to be difficult, but mostly it was because in order to show her how to handle the gun, he had to constantly adjust her hands, her stance, her head (how in the world did she expect to hit the target if she wouldn’t look at it?). He wasn’t used to touching anyone except the kid and it was … distracting. Especially once her hair started coming loose from its braid and he had to fight the urge to tuck the loose strands back into place.

Finally, after she’d managed to wing the edge of the target, he ended the lesson. “That’s enough for today. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Sorry I’m so bad at this,” she said, her face flushed with what he assumed was embarrassment.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, taking the blaster back. “Nobody’s a perfect shot on their first try.”

She laughed. “You’re just being kind. I know I’m a complete disaster.”

It was true, but Din didn’t want her to feel bad. “You make up for it in other ways.” She blushed again, but this time Din felt his own face grow hot. He hadn’t realized how it would sound; he really was not good at this.

After an awkward silence, she cleared her throat and said, “Speaking of which, my credentials with the Galactic Archive were fully restored this morning. Apparently, when you don’t use them for a decade, they have to make sure you’re still alive before they’ll give you access. I put in some queries and should start getting some hits soon.” She scooped up the kid. “Hopefully, we’ll get some clues to where you come from, little guy.”

“That’s good,” said Din, although he felt his heart sink a little at the thought of finding the kid’s people. It was what was best for him, of course, but Din knew he’d miss the womp rat terribly. He watched Mariana carry the kid back to the galley, where she’d left her data pad on the table. Once they found the kid’s people, she’d be out of a job, and although he would never admit it, he’d miss her, too.

********************

Mariana’s eyes were glazing over. Her query for documents containing the word “Jedi” had produced an avalanche of results. Most of them were dry government records of reports from the Jedi High Council to the Senate, but she had to scan through them all in case there was any mention of the child’s species. This was the part of research she liked the least: combing through endless documents for hours on end. Fortunately, she had a solution for the frustration.

She exited the results list and entered a new query: “Mandalorian AND creed AND helmet.” This produced a much shorter, but still substantial list of documents, most of which were narrative texts, which were much more entertaining reading than government reports. Din was up in the cockpit with the kid, so she took the data pad into her bunk and curled up to read more comfortably, kicking off her boots and tucking her feet under the blanket.

Three hours later, she turned off the data pad, her mind swirling with the kernel of an idea. She wasn’t sure how Din would react to it, but it was worth a shot.

********************

Blaster practice was slightly more productive the next morning. Mariana was more comfortable handling the weapon and Din was able to step back a bit and be less hands on, which seemed to help. It could be unsettling to have someone watching right over one’s shoulder, so he tried to give her more space. It helped him concentrate better, too.

After practice, he played with the kid for a while while she continued her research. How she could sit so still for hours on end was beyond him, but he could almost hear the gears in her mind working as she scanned and scrolled and tapped out notes.

She fixed lunch for herself and the kid, and Din went up to the cockpit to check on things. Until they had a definite destination in mind, he had the ship set on a random course, trending in the general direction of a cluster of planets that would be suitable for a resupply run, and could possibly provide a few paying jobs.

After lunch, the kid took a nap, and Din assumed Mariana went back to her research. He ran some diagnostics on the ship’s systems, did some routine maintenance on a few weapons … the usual busy work that filled his days when he was in transit from one job to another. When the kid woke from his nap, Mariana played with him, showing him how to build a tower with the building blocks. Din smiled to himself when the kid showed more interest in knocking down the tower than in building it; he had vague memories of doing much the same when he was small, before … the smile faded as he shoved the memory back into the compartment he kept it in.

He continued working as Mariana fixed dinner and fed the kid, only stopping when she passed him on her way to her bunk, saying only, “I fixed a plate for you.” As the bunk door whooshed shut, it occurred to him that she’d been rather quiet and subdued all day. Maybe it was her difficulties with the blaster, or maybe her research wasn’t going well … or maybe it was going too well. Could she have already discovered something about the kid’s people?

He ate quickly, washed up and knocked on her bunk door.

“Can I talk to you?” she said hesitantly.

“Of course.” He was right; something was wrong.

They sat at the table in the galley. She had her data pad in her hand and set it down on the table between them. “You found something,” he said.

“Yes,” she said, “but not what you think.” She tapped a few keys, pulling up a document. “The Jedi research is slow going, and I haven’t found anything of any use so far. But … when I hit a dead end, I like to switch gears and work on a different project for a while. And that’s how I found this.”

“It’s a book by a linguist who specializes in the relationship between language and belief. In this chapter, he looks at the Mandalorian creed … and in this particular section, which I’ve highlighted, he talks about the helmet rule.”

Din was confused. “I don’t understand. Why were you researching that?”

She looked sheepish. “When I encounter something I’m not familiar with, I like to learn as much as possible about it. You’re the first Mandalorian I’ve ever met, so naturally I’m curious about your culture. Anyway … what Glenor is saying here is that some — well, he calls them ‘sects’ but you might have another name for them — some sects use the word ‘another’ in this part of the creed, while others use the term ‘others.’ Basically, his point is that for some groups of Mandalorians, the rule is ‘the helmet will not be removed in the presence of another,’ meaning it stays on all the time, unless the wearer is alone. This seems to be the interpretation you were raised with.”

Din nodded, “Yes, this is the Way.”

“But for some other sects, the rule is ‘the helmet will not be removed in the presence of Others,’ which can be interpreted in one of two ways. To some groups, Others refers to anyone who is not Mandalorian; to other groups, it refers to anyone who is not part of the wearer’s family or clan.” She looked up at him. “You’re more of an expert on this than I am, but the way I’m reading it, this means that technically, you can take your helmet off in front of the kid, since he’s a member of your clan. I’m … I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but I had a professor once who taught us that even if there is an objective Truth out there (which is debatable in its own right), there is definitely more than one path to that Truth. Every religion, every creed, every belief system … they are all equally valid as long as they bring their followers closer to the Truth. So .. it’s completely up to you, and only you know how to interpret the Way and the creed, but for what it’s worth … I think a son deserves to see his father’s face.”

She handed him the data pad and returned to her bunk, where the kid was quietly playing with his froggy. Din stared at the data pad for several minutes before he picked it up. It had never occurred to him that there could be more than one way to understand the Way. He had been told the rules to follow and he had done so, with no reason to question them.

He went up to the cockpit and started reading.

**************

The next morning, Mariana got up and prepared breakfast as she usually did. As she was dishing up porridge for the kid, Din appeared at the bottom of the ladder that led to the cockpit. “I’ll feed him,” he said, handing her data pad back to her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he said. She fought back a grin.

“Hear that, kiddo, Daddy’s going to eat breakfast with you today,” she said. “I’ll just take mine back to the bunk, and I’ll see you later.” She tweaked the kid’s nose and winked at Din before filling her own bowl and taking it and the data pad back into her room.

She found it hard to swallow her porridge, though. She was absolutely thrilled that Din had decided to take this step, but at the same time, it was hard not to feel left out. She’d spent a great deal of her life being the odd one out, the weird kid who would rather read than play sports, the girl who went to the party without a date. She’d finally found a place where she thought she might fit in, and now here she was, alone again. She shouldn’t be jealous of a father and son spending quality time together; after all, that was the whole point of bringing Glenor’s text to Din’s attention. But it still brought a lump to her throat.

*****************

Din took a deep breath, pressed the latches to either side of his neck and removed his helmet. He carefully set it down on the table and turned to face his son.

“Da!” the kid cried, making grabby hands and bouncing up and down on his feet. Din bent down and picked him up.

“Yeah, ad’ika, it’s me,” he said, trying to keep his voice from quavering. The kid pressed his small green hands against Din’s cheeks, giggling madly. “I did a lot of thinking last night, and I decided that maybe the Way is less a single path and more of … a braid of trails. They’re all slightly different, but they get you to the same place in the end. From now on, I take my helmet off when I’m with my clan. And that’s you, kiddo.”

“Da,” the kid said again, more softly this time.

Din nodded. “Let’s eat.”

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog(907): Thu 12th Sep 2024

The plan was to take £50 out from an ATM to put in Lacey’s birthday card then take it over to Lauren’s so she could drop it off at Lacey’s house. However the ATM wouldn’t let me take the god damn money out and told me to contact my bank. I had to borrow some money from my sister to put in the card and told her I’d pay her back once I’d sorted this fucking card issue out. I drove over to the town afraid that some cunt may have backed into my bank and stolen my money but it turned out the chip was just damaged and I needed a new card sending out. I’m sure this is the second time this has happened this year, why the fuck don’t they make the God Damn chips stronger? Hell the one inside the Terminator can only be destroyed by chucking it in a pool of molten titanium, why not make chips out of whatever the Terminator chips are made out of you lazy cunts? 

I came home and watched Dean Malenko on the latest episode Hey EW and man this guy is fucking funny. People say that the guy was severely lacking in charisma during his in ring career but I don’t think it’s necessarily that I think maybe he was just shy in front of other people. I certainly get that, I can make Dexter and Kingy laugh their arses off when it’s just us but the second one of their friends joins us I just clam up and get all self conscious. I don’t think it’s due to a lack of charisma it’s just because people aren’t aware of your persona and your characteristics. After Malenko retired WWE should have given him a shot at being a writer if just to supply the wrestlers with funny dialogue and one liners. I Malenko told a story about a time he was in the ring with Ric Flair who mistakenly called him the “Man of 1000 Positions” and afterwards Malenko had to call his wife and tell her Flair was just kidding. I especially loved the bit where he was asked about being named #1 in PWI’s Top 500 wrestlers and upon thanking Bill Apter, the owner of PWI was told “Yes it’s been a pretty bad year for wrestling hasn’t it?”

[wolfprincesszola]

Echoes of 50 Chapter 12

As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. This chapter broke me while writing. I hope it breaks you while reading. Enjoy <3. ——————– Now Playing: In Cold Light by Vanbur

<Masterlist>

<Previous Chapter> <Next Chapter> ——————–

Logan should’ve known something was off when everyone showed up for the heist with power suppressors on, though Logan was given them last and was surprised to note that his did not take away his telepathic ability.

“Are you sure this works?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, Sanders. It does.” Janus rolled his eyes, “I specifically bought you the ones that work similar to Patton’s power where it resists others’ powers against yours, but it does not have an effect on yours. Thought yours might be useful to help predict when people are entering the building and where they all are.”

“I’m impressed.” Logan nodded.

Logan should’ve known something was more off when everyone began to whisper around Patton in hushed tones and pull everyone into a group hug for final goodbyes. He really should’ve known something was off when Patton said that he would go off with Remus just as they had arrived above the room with the DS device, still in the vents. He seemed anxious to say the least to find Phobus.

“You should stay here. At least until we can drop down.” Logan shook his head, “We need Remus to use his powers.”

Remus nodded as everyone awkwardly shuffled around to let Remus see above the vent.

“Ouch! Get your ass out of my face, Wright!” Virgil scowled quietly.

“That’s not very nice of you to say, Virgil!” Patton scolded.

“Ooo, didn’t know you were into that, babe~” Remus sang.

“Do you think I have much of a choice? I’d rather Remus be there right now, but we can’t all be winners!” Janus shot back at Virgil.

“Ew! That’s so gross. Don’t talk about my brother like that!” Roman gagged.

“Can you all shut up for one second?” Logan scowled, “Mind you, they could still hear us.”

“Sorry, Logan.” All five of those talking murmured as they focused on getting out of the vent.

Once he was above the vent, Logan watched as Remus’ eyes began to flicker green until it was glowing a steady color. He listened below to the workers and their thoughts to see that they were going insane. That they had thought someone had called them from outside. Once they were out, everyone dropped down and Roman was quick to help lock the door. Logan turned to Patton who was down with them.

“Will you be alright with that freak?” Logan raised an eyebrow to Patton.

“Yeah. I’ve got to go. If we want the best chance at getting this done, we need to find Phobus as quickly as possible.” Patton murmured, dashing his eyes around the room warily.

“Alright.” Logan nodded as he rubbed his thumb against Patton’s cheek, “Stay safe, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.” Patton giggled as he was helped back up the vents by Remus.

Logan smiled before he turned towards the device.

“I love you.” Virgil’s voice came in, smugly mocking Logan’s relationship, “God, you two are insufferable.”

“Why don’t you just shut your mouth, Virge, and start unscrewing that panel for me?” Logan scowled as he threw a screwdriver in his pocket towards the man. He turned his attention towards the computer hooked up to the device and began to do his work. Logan was a chemical engineer who managed to mainly do software. He should know how to do everything.

“I knew assigning you to do software was a good idea.” Janus grinned.

Logan raised an eyebrow at Janus as he began to decode the password on the computer. He turned his focus back onto his decoding, but still spoke up, “I will file a complaint with you at work about that, especially since I’m supposed to be employed as the head chemical engineer. Must I remind you of that?”

“On the bright side, we are paying you the salary of both the software engineer and chemical engineer salary.” Janus offered as he watched Logan doing his work. He turned to grab a screwdriver to help Virgil with the device disarmament. Logan had briefed him early on so that the three of them could multitask.

“Satisfactory enough.” Logan remarked as he managed to get into the computer.

There was pounding on the door.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Roman remarked as he pulled out a taser gun. Logan couldn’t necessarily focus on what was going on, but from the chaotic thoughts of all the workers and of the noise Roman was making, Logan could only assume there were a lot of injuries being sustained from anyone that was not Roman. Roman was always someone who knew how to fight, even if he didn’t show it too much.

“Roman, I do hope that you stay intact throughout all of this.” Logan remarked as he began to erase the entire software and the drive that the device could access. “I am about halfway done.”

“Doing just peachy, thank you so much.” Roman let sarcasm drip out of his mouth as Logan could hear the workers.

“Oh shit, he has one of our guns!”

“Fuck, I don’t know how to disarm him. I don’t want to get my power taken away.”

“Well, shit, we’re screwed.”

“Keep it up, Ro!” Virgil yelled out as Logan managed to scramble to erase the entire device before shutting it off and checking in on Virgil and Janus.

“Duck!” Roman yelled. Logan, Virgil, and Janus all ducked, right as a flying object came into view.

“Shoot at the Medeis, Roman!” Logan yelled out, “We believe in you.”

“Jeez, you cannot do anything on your own, can you?” Janus huffed as he stood up, “Logan, take over what I’m doing. I’ll help Roman.”

Logan began to take over what Janus was doing, beginning to cut wires and rip out boards whenever he could in hopes that he could damage the device as much as possible. Considering it was such a big device, there was only so much he could do.

It was quiet, at least in the outside world. There was no more fighting. Logan turned to see Roman and Janus heaving. Janus was carrying one of the ray guns the workers were carrying as Roman had out his taser gun. There was no doubt that Janus worked to disarm each worker while Roman went to tase each one until they were all unconscious.

“Well, that was easier than expected.” Virgil blinked, “Is that it?”

“We should get up to the viewing point.” Janus nodded.

“Yeah, we can meet Patton up there. There’s no doubt he must’ve found Phobus already.”

Janus, Roman, and Virgil shared a look.

“What?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing. You’re right.” Virgil stifled a smile as he pointed to the vents, “Let’s go back up now, right? Better to get to Patton faster than slower.”

“No.” Logan stopped Virgil as the man began to walk back towards the vent, “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Virgil raised an eyebrow.

“I know you, Grey.” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Being your best friend for this long has allowed me to know your behaviors and mannerisms. You just twitched your ear.”

“What are you talking about?” Virgil scoffed, darting his eyes over to Roman.

“You scoffed and turned your head away from me! You only do that when you’re hiding something.”

“He’s not going to break.” Janus’ voice came in.

Logan turned towards Janus, raising an eyebrow, “What the hell did you do, Wright?”

“It wasn’t my choice.” Janus shook his head, “You should be asking that to someone else.”

Logan’s heart dropped. Now, it made sense. The guns that everyone seemed to be aware of except for Logan. Logan only found out their purpose because of the workers’ thoughts and from context clues. The glances everyone would share with each other. The goodbye hug they shared before the mission. The way Patton kept telling Logan to live without Patton. The way Patton kept telling Logan he loved him. The reason Patton and Remus wanted to leave to do something else. The reason everyone was acting weirdly. The reason everyone was acting power suppressors. Patton had something up his sleeve and no one wanted to let Logan into it because he would automatically decline the offer. No one wanted to tell Logan what was going on.

“This isn’t the only copy of the software, is it?” Logan let his stare harden as he turned around to the DS device.

“We did a lot of damage to DS Enterprise.” Virgil offered first.

“Where’s the software room?” Logan replied coldly as he pulled on the rope they had used to get into the room, “I’m going back up.” “Come on, Logan. Don’t ruin the plan-”

“The plan?” Logan raised an eyebrow, turning to Roman, boiling fury catching the back of his throat. “Are you really concerned about the plan?”

“I-” Roman began before Logan shook his head, efficiently cutting Roman off.

“The plan was to disable the DS device and to get help from Thomas’ team. What the hell is this?” Logan spat, “When were you going to tell me Patton went after Phobus himself and went to delete the entire software of DS Enterprise by himself? That he was going to disarm every single goddamn ray gun until he was caught? Why didn’t any of you stop him? This is reckless and stupid!”

Everyone stayed in silence, each one unable to meet Logan’s eyes in shame.

“I’m going to stop him.” Logan scoffed as he tugged on the rope to make sure it was steady enough to go back through the vents.

“Remus is there.”

“Sorry?” Logan raised an eyebrow, turning his head back to Virgil who spoke up. “You have something to say?”

“Remus was there.” Virgil cleared his throat. He brought his eyes up until they had met Logan’s. His eyes wavered with shame and apologies, though none of those emotions came out as prevalent in his voice. Instead, Virgil gave a response, “Remus is strong and has the power to create hallucinations. He was our best bet at keeping Patton alive.”

“And that makes it any better?” Logan let his words drip like a poison dart an assassin would use for a slow-killing death.

“Logan, it was for your own good. Patton didn’t want you to know for a reason.” Roman pleaded with the man.

Logan huffed. As much as he hated to admit it, they were right. Patton always was smarter than he let on. Patton knew how to delete the entire drive, probably faster than Logan could. Logan could dodge attacks from the others pretty well, but Patton was better. Patton had to grow up dodging them.

“I know you don’t like admitting we’re right, L.” Virgil shook his head as he grabbed the rope from Logan, “But Patton’s not a weak duckling in need of help. If anything, we’d be in his way.”

“It doesn’t mean that I won’t stop fighting to try and keep him alive.” Logan grumbled as he began to climb back up into the vents.

“Of course not. What would we expect from the best loving couple in all of the Mystic Oaks?” Janus mocked as he began to climb back up behind Logan. The other two were behind them.

“Stop grumbling, Janus. Let’s just get to Patton before anyone else comes.” Roman rolled his eyes as he climbed in as the last person.

The four of them began to crawl through the vents before Logan began to hear the thoughts once more. A perk of being in the vents meant that it gave a clearer view as to where the thoughts were coming from and where exactly they were coming from. Logan heard Talyn’s thoughts before it happened.

“Patton must’ve escaped through the vents last time. Maybe I should throw a bomb in there.”

“We need to get down now.” Logan urged as he dropped through the vents upon reaching a grate.

“What? Logan, why?” Janus raised an eyebrow. “Did you even check for-”

“No time. Get out, Wright!” Virgil yelled as he pushed Janus through. Janus fell through, Virgil and Roman getting out after.

“What the hell?” Janus yelled out, glaring at Virgil as he went to compose himself.

Not a moment later, there was a blast and the four looked up to see that the vents had completely exploded.

“That was why.” Logan huffed as he began to take a look at his surroundings. “Though I’m not sure if our current situation is better…”

The four were surrounded in a circle with workers of DS Enterprise all pointing the ray guns at them. In the very front was Phobus grinning at him, wearing a golden ring that he didn’t have before. Logan realized the gold ring must’ve been a power suppressor, as Logan couldn’t hear any of Phobus’ thoughts. Dammit.

“Hello, Logan. It’s nice to see you again.” Phobus grinned. “Mind telling me what the rest of your friends’ names are?”

“Oh sure! It’s ‘go’, ‘fuck’, ‘yourself’!” Virgil replied happily as he flipped Phobus off, “Why are you even here?”

“Oh, you didn’t think you were the only one planning for this visit, were you?” Phobus grinned. “I’ve been waiting for you, Logan. You know that I have.”

Logan stayed quiet, trying to observe Phobus’ habits. It was a little odd. He didn’t remember Phobus shifting to the right when he smiled. He didn’t remember Phobus having such a playful expression on his face.

“Hm, playing hard to get? Why, that won’t do. Let’s play a game, shall we?”

“And why would we do that?” Roman replied in horror, “You’re clearly going to rig it!”

“Now, now, hot shot, I play fair. I always do. Let’s make a deal, shall we?”

Logan raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Phobus never played any games. Even in his thoughts, he was serious. To play along to someone’s games was out-of-character.

“What’s the deal?”

“Logan, you can’t possibly-” Both Roman and Virgil spoke up to yell at Logan. Janus glared at them to shut up, knowing that they could do more damage by talking than by just listening. It seemed to be what Phobus wanted to do anyway.

“A simple game of chess. You win, I give you the exact location of your precious…Patton. I win? You turn yourselves into me and subject yourself to the same fate as your dear boyfriend.”

“Rigged deal.” Logan scowled, “I don’t want the location of Patton. I know where he is.”

Phobus raised an eyebrow, “Do you now? Because last time I remembered, Patton had exited the vents from here to get to the archive room. I intercepted him on the way here.” Him. Not them. Phobus hadn’t caught Patton at all, if he didn’t know that Remus was with Patton.

“Then I guess I do not care as much as I thought for that man. I don’t want his precise location. I want to know where the archive room is.”

“Archive room?” Phobus laughed, “Why? Are you planning to finish the job that Patton couldn’t?”

No. Logan planned to help Patton finish the job that he could do on his own. He planned to protect Patton from Phobus. Maybe stalling him was the best course of business.

“I just want to know what goes on in DS Enterprise.” Logan grit through his teeth, holding his hand out, “Deal?”

“Deal.” Phobus grinned as he shook hands with Logan. A chess board on a table was brought out.

“L, can we have a word before your chess game?” Virgil raised an eyebrow at Logan.

“Oh sure! It’s not like the fate of your entire lives is on the line.” Phobus winked, grinning as he turned away.

“Are you crazy?” Virgil hissed, glaring at Logan. “This could cost us everything. A chess game? With Phobus? Do you know how crazy smart that man is?”

“What’s a little fun in this place?” Logan mustered up a faux smile.

“Oh come on, Logan. I don’t believe you believe that.” Roman scowled, “What’s going on? This is only going to make things harder to find Patton!”

“I agree with Logan.”

Roman and Virgil darted their heads to glare at Janus. “What?”

“If Phobus is here, he can’t be near Patton at all. Patton’s probably still alive, so no doubt, he’s going to try and get the information out of us. Let’s give them a show and stall them, okay?” Janus winked.

The problem to Logan was that Phobus didn’t feel like Phobus. There wasn’t the same energies, the same command, the same anger that bubbled inside of Phobus. Instead, Phobus felt just like a normal man. Just as Logan had known the other workers of DS Enterprise were supposed to be. Most likely someone else posed as Phobus, though it wouldn’t make sense why it looked so accurate.

White pawn to D4. Black pawn to F5. White bishop to G5. Black pawn to H6. White bishop to H4. Black pawn to G5. White pawn to E4. Black pawn eating the white bishop at H4.

Logan stared blankly at the chessboard. There was no way that Phobus was being serious. If Phobus was really playing Logan against a chess match, it made no reason for him to fall for something as simple as the Dutch Defense.

“Scared you’re going to lose?” Phobus grinned as he rested his head on his hands, staring at Logan. Maybe Phobus thought that would bring some pressure onto Logan.

“The opposite, in fact.” Logan replied calmly as he moved his queen up to H5. “Checkmate.”

Phobus gaped at the game.

“Really, I do not know why you thought you could beat me at chess.” Logan tsked as he stood up, brushing off the dust from his clothes, “Now, the location of the archive room now?”

Phobus scoffed as he stood up too, “You’re not getting that.”

“I think I am, in fact.” Logan remarked as he stepped back for Virgil, Roman, and Janus to surround him, each of them holding out a ray gun as well as their taser gun. It wasn’t long before Logan heard zapping around him. Though he couldn’t see much from the way the others were covering him, it was only when they had managed to take down every worker except for Phobus that they let Logan out.

Logan sighed as he grabbed a gun from one of the unconscious workers, “I really am sorry for this, Joan.”

With that, Logan pointed the ray gun towards Joan and zapped them to get rid of their shape shifting power. In an instant, they were back to Joan. Janus was quick to tase Joan until they, too, fell unconscious.

“How’d you know, Logan?”

“Simply, it’s elementary.” Logan shrugged, “Now, onwards. I think I have the map of the entire place memorized, though I didn’t think we’d be going through the building this way.”

They rushed through areas, hiding behind walls and doors whenever any workers came by. They were trying to get through the area without having to tase yet another worker that did nothing to them.

Once they reached the archive room, Logan hesitated.

“What? Why are you hesitating?” Janus raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t hear anyone’s thoughts.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, of course you can’t. Two of them are wearing a power suppressor and the other one is a living power suppressor. We just need to make sure that Phobus knows he’s cornered.” Janus scowled.

“There you are! I was wondering when you’d get here!”

Logan huffed as he turned to see Phobus grinning at him. The real Phobus. He seemed preoccupied as he was in front of two magic bubbles, made from throwing potions that contained Remus and Patton in each one.

“Remus!” Janus yelled out, beginning to run towards the man. Looks like the snake did have a heart, even if he tried to pretend he didn’t most of the time. Especially when it came to his husband.

“Feisty one, I can see. Married, are you? I was wondering what the ring was for.” Phobus grinned as he pushed Janus down. “I’m afraid they’re unreachable. Why don’t you sit down there?”

Phobus kicked Janus until Janus slid back to where Virgil, Roman, and Logan were.

“Janus, are you okay?” Roman raised an eyebrow as he held a hand out. Janus took it as he huffed in embarrassment at what had just happened.

“What are you doing with those two?” Logan spoke up, staring at the magic bubble that was beginning to move towards the computers.

“Well, I saw them trying to hack and decode all that I’ve worked upon for the last 10 years and I just couldn’t have that.” Phobus tsked, “I’m keeping that green one. His power is useful and will make a good power for my second-in-command. Patient 50 on the other hand? I don’t know what I’ll do with him. Especially since you destroyed the only purpose he was made for. It’ll take me forever to rebuild that back up, Logan.”

Logan scowled, “What do you want, Phobus?”

“Wow, Logan. I didn’t know we were on a first-name basis.” Phobus gasped. “Might not want to tell your boyfriend that.”

Logan rolled his eyes as he looked over to Patton. Patton seemed to be wrapped up in cords and connected to some device, though Logan wasn’t sure what. The wires were too long for Logan to tell what it was. “Patton!”

“Just stall. Ten minutes.”

Logan definitely heard that. He stared at Patton. Patton seemed somewhat conscious, but not enough to move or even open his eyes fully. Patton’s glasses were nowhere to be found, probably broken off to the side during a fight with Phobus. Enough to let Logan hear some of Patton’s thoughts. Stall for what? Ten minutes for what? For Patton to regain energy? For everything to be fully deleted? For reinforcements to come in? For karma to kick in? Logan didn’t know.

“What do you have him hooked up to?”

“Ah, you always love getting me into villain monologues, don’t you, Logan?” Phobus grinned, “Unfortunately, I will not be indulging you in them, as it’s clear it didn’t hold you back from defeating Joan. Jeez, you can never get that good of help around here, can you?”

Logan stared at Phobus as he began to take out the ray gun he had.

“Those don’t work on me, remember?” Phobus tsked, shaking his head, “Last time I checked, I was an Impoten. There is nothing of me to take away.”

“Your IQ maybe.” Virgil shrugged as he pulled out the taser gun. Phobus easily dodged the bolts before raising an eyebrow at Virgil.

“Did you really think that would work, emo?”

“Emo! Ha!” Roman burst out laughing before cursing at himself, “Dammit, you’re funny, you wicked villain!”

“It was worth a goddamn try.” Virgil pouted.

“Well, it was a bad one.” Phobus remarked as he sighed, “Well, it’s time to say goodbye to all of you. I am sorry that I never got to learn your names, Logan’s friends. I do wish you well, but there are some things I need to take care of.”

With that, Phobus whistled, allowing for several police officers to come into the room and approach all four of them.

“This has to be my worst nightmare.” Virgil grumbled, “Logan, go save Patton.”

“What?” Logan stared at Virgil with bewilderment. “Have you seen what’s around us?”

“Yes, I know about the enclosing circle of police officers. But you’re faster and for some odd reason, you become crazy scary when something is happening to Patton. So go! Save him or whatever that cheesy stuff is.” Virgil glared at Logan as he pushed the man. Logan took a deep breath as he grabbed the dagger that he still had sheathed inside of his boot. He really had to thank Janus for thinking of everything when he had made the plan. Logan rushed over the police officers, jumping over and under them, with the help of Virgil’s help tasing the others he couldn’t outrun or outfight. With that, he began to follow Phobus, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike. Almost immediately though, his plan was foiled as Phobus had snapped his fingers and a bubble that had Patton trapped in originally popped. Patton fell to the ground with wires still attached to him, while the bubble went to keep Logan in the bubble.

“Get up.” Phobus commanded, slapping Patton in the face. Patton jumped, slowly standing up. It seemed as if his physical activity was hard to control.

“Patton!” Logan screamed towards the man.

“It’s okay. I’m okay, Logan.” Patton smiled weakly, his words slurring together. From the way that Patton had to stumble around to even keep balance, it was clear that the wires that were hooked up to him were making him delusional.

“I’m okay, Lo. Don’t worry. I’m just not able to stand.”

Logan tried to walk closer to Patton and ended up bumping into the wall of the bubble. Logan continued to pound on the wall, trying to find a way out.

“We’re finishing this, no matter if you like it or not. I did not put more than 40 years of my life, just for you to throw it away out of the reasons that you were being hurt. People got hurt all the time. You need to just accept that fate. Get in the machine. It’s time for the Medeis to fall.” Phobus pointed to Patton.

Patton stared blankly at Phobus.

“One more minute.”

Until what? Whatever Patton was planning better have hurried up because Logan knew that Patton didn’t have much longer. He had seen the anger that had burned in Phobus’ eyes. It was the fury of a dragon, one that would burn down an entire kingdom to get even one more gold coin for the greed of itself. Phobus was the dragon, selfish and arrogant in every way imaginable.

“Why aren’t you getting in?” Phobus raised an eyebrow, “You don’t want to disappoint me, do you?”

“I’m not getting in.” Patton remarked, his words still slurring in the slightest. It was better though. Patton had successfully removed half the wires that had been attached to his body and was currently removing more as he continued to speak to Phobus. “You know, I used to be really scared of you, Phobus. I really did. You always knew the right words to push and pull someone in and for the longest time, I always thought that when you threatened me, that you meant it. That you would kill me. That you would kill everyone else. I guess at the time, it didn’t occur to me how much I matter to your experiments.”

“Get in.” Phobus grabbed a nearby knife. Logan’s knife that had dropped when Logan had become trapped in the bubble. “Or I’ll kill you.”

Patton began to step towards the machine, “I pity you, you know? I was wondering how hurt someone would have to be in order to treat someone–let alone a child–like this. I didn’t deserve it, Phobus, but you also didn’t deserve all the grief you had. I’m sorry that you couldn’t grow from your grief enough to not be a shitty person.”

Patton began to step inside the machine. Unfortunately for Patton Morris, he was too kind of a person to even refuse his abuser. But Phobus was angry. Too angry.

Logan widened his eyes as he watched Phobus begin to approach Patton with the knife, intending to kill.

“Patton, watch out!” Logan yelled out.

Patton turned too late.

There was a scream. There was red. Blood everywhere.

“If we go down, then we go down together.” Patton remarked, winking at Phobus.

Logan blinked to see that Patton had successfully managed to dodge the knife that was aiming to pierce straight through his heart. Phobus, however, had a deep cut that ran along his right side that was closest to Patton.

“Freeze, Special Force!” A voice yelled out near the room.

“Fuck!” Phobus spat out as he began to rush out of the room quickly. Phobus might’ve cared for his company, but he cared for his well-being more and Logan knew the man wouldn’t last a day in prison. Phobus was gone.

Logan turned towards Virgil, Janus, and Roman. They were no longer fighting the police officers, as the police officers had run as soon as they heard that the Special Force was there. Instead, they began to tiredly make their way over to Patton, Logan, and Remus. Patton struggled to find the button to let Logan and Remus out of their bubbles, but managed to find it soon enough. Logan and Remus both braced as they dropped to the ground, groaning as they sat up.

“That was not fun.” Logan grumbled as he turned to Patton. The love of his life. The man who was more clever than he put out to be. The man who seemed to defy all the forces of the universe. The man who was missing his glasses from a fight he had just had. The man who saved him.

The man who was bleeding out the side.

“Patton!” Logan screamed as Patton collapsed onto the ground from the loss of blood.

“Hey, Lo.” Patton smiled softly. “I’m sorry.”

“What? What are you sorry for?” Logan asked as he began to take off his shirt to tie a tourniquet around Patton’s side, “We’re going to get you to the hospital. The Special Force is here.”

“I’m not going to make it.” Patton shook his head, “I never was.”

“What-what do you mean?”

“Every child of DS Enterprise born for testing was bound to die at one point to the hands of Phobus Graves.” Patton echoed his words when he had first told Logan about Phobus.

“Patton, no. That’s not true. You can be the only one to survive-”

“No, Logan. I am the last one to die. When I first encountered Phobus again, I knew. I wasn’t supposed to live at all. At least not this long.” Patton shook his head.

“What?”

“I was a freak of nature. I wasn’t supposed to be half-Medeis, half-Impoten. I was supposed to be dead. Just like the other Patients. But for some odd reason, I was saved. By my parents. By the other patients. By Remy and Emilie. I was meant to find you, Logan. That’s what the universe has always wanted from me. I was supposed to be the last child to die because I was supposed to meet you and help you stop Graves from hurting anyone more than they hurt me.”

“No, no. This can’t be. Patton, we can still save you-” Logan’s voice broke. He couldn’t bear to part with Patton. Not when he had just figured out Patton was the love of his life. Not when he had just had a plan for the rest of his life. Not when he could barely breathe when Patton was not near because all he wanted to exist for was to love Patton.

“Stop that.” Patton hummed. His voice was barely a whisper now; he was struggling to even get words out. “I can see you spiraling, Lo.”

“Patton-” Logan cleared his throat, trying to brush hair out of Patton’s face, “Just keep fighting. It’s almost time.”

“Look up.” Patton whispered.

Logan did as Patton requested, staring at the open sky. The part of the building they were at had no upper floor, so when the vents above had blown up, it had blown a hole to see the stars.

“Aren’t the stars beautiful?” Patton pointed to a star, “Sirius A, right?”

“Yeah. You remembered.” Logan swallowed the lump in his throat. No. He couldn’t feel emotional. Patton needed him to stay strong. They would find a way to heal Patton in time.

“Promise me that you’ll make an observatory. Next to the aquarium with jellies. That would be nice.” Patton whispered, “Become an astronomer.”

“Patton, you’ll be okay. You’re going to get out of this safely, okay? Just trust me-”

“Just promise me, Logan. I don’t need you to go into a stellar rant.”

God. Of course even now, Patton was still making puns.

“Funny one, my love.” Logan swallowed the heartache that was trying to force itself out of his system. “I promise, Patton. But I can promise with you in my life-”

“Shhh.” Patton gave a small smile, the coffee eyes that Logan had fell in love with all that time ago glazed over.  “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Logan tried to keep a calm face. It was all that he could do at that moment.

“Listen.” Patton requested Logan, smiling. God, Logan loved that smile. Would that be the last time Logan ever looked at that smile? If it was, Logan would spend every last moment trying to memorize Patton’s smile. To keep it in his memory forever. “Let me tell you a secret.”

“Okay.” Logan nodded, sniffling as he pretended as if he wasn’t gasping for air. As if it wasn’t impossible to breathe knowing that Patton may not be next to him in the morning.

“Thank you, love.” Patton smiled as he pulled Logan’s face closer to him. Patton cupped Logan’s face as he placed their foreheads together. And almost immediately, thoughts flooded Logan’s mind. “I love you.”

Thoughts of the past. Of the present. Of the future.

All of Patton’s memories from the very beginning of his memory until the moment he stood with Logan. From his abuse to his realization that things could get better. From his first memories of his parents to his last. From his first impressions of everyone to the reflections of what brought him here.

“Mom said not to disturb her while working.”

“I wonder if I’ll always feel this way.”

“I want my mom and dad.”

“I hate Mr. Graves.”

“Why can’t I go out like the subjects?”

“That hurts.”

“I want to tear my skin until I am nothing left but a puddle of blood. Maybe then, I’d be useful to the DS workers.”

“How could they lie to me?”

“I don’t think I’m that important to lie about. Why would Emilie and Remy sacrifice themselves for me?”

“He’s really kind. Is it bad to trust him?”

“Thomas said I should also keep an open heart. It’s the best thing I can do.”

“I like him. I really hope I can be friends with him.”

“Is Roman offering me a job? I can’t accept it.”

“I want to be a daycare worker. I like working with kids.”

“I hope this Virgil is sweet to Roman.”

“I think Roman is my best friend.”

“I don’t want to mess up on my first day.”

“Why is studying so hard?” “I need to push through.”

“Oh my god, he’s really hot. And I just spilled coffee on him.”

“I know I’m bad with names, but Logan. Logan. Logan. Logan. I really want to remember.”

“Find a way to repay Logan back.”

“I really like him. Does he feel the same?”

“Is Logan asking me on a date? Oh my god.”

“I wonder what I should wear.”

“Logan looks really enthusiastic talking about this. I like seeing him this way.”

“I will never get tired of this.”

“Please, universe, just let me stay with him.”

“What if Logan learns about Phobus?”

“What if I’m going to hurt him in the end?” “What if Phobus finds me?”

“Maybe I should end things with him because he deserves better.”

“I deserve to be better for him.”

“I know Janus and Remus from Roman.”

“I think Janus scares me.”

“I can’t believe my life changed because of him a year ago.”

“I should make him a present.”

“What if he thinks it’s stupid?”

“I hope Logan likes roses.”

“Oh shit, I’m in love with Logan Sanders. Fuck.”

“I wish I could tell him more.”

“Why did I have to chase him away?”

“I really hope this plan works.”

“I need to protect Logan.”

“I’m not afraid of Phobus Graves anymore.”

“I think I’m dying.”

“I wish I could’ve spent all of eternity with Logan.”

“The stars are so pretty in the night sky.”

“I need him to hear my thoughts and know who I am.”

“I love you, Logan Sanders, more than anyone in my entire damn life. I love you more than the sun loves the stars. More than the sun craves to be them. More than each planet craves to be near the sun that they will orbit endlessly in hopes of one day reaching the sun. And it’s stupid for me to say when I have not experienced love other than you, especially since I have never been outside of the world. But I met you and I just couldn’t help but fall apart in your arms. I never knew what true love was until I saw it run directly into me. It was of spilled coffee and shared smiles and tickle fights and onesie pyjamas and reading books and arguing about the stupid little things that never really mattered. My favorite animal is the jellyfish, not just because I thought they were pretty, but also because I wanted to share a little part of you in me. I wanted to always be there to see you rant about them to me. Maybe I will never find the courage to tell you any of this, but the truth is that I will love you until my dying breath and even after that. No matter what awaits us after death, I will be waiting for you. It’s just terrifying to think that we could never have a finished story awaiting us at the end of life. If I could do life again, I’d do it with you. I love you and I hope that maybe in another lifetime, in another universe, that we got the time to be ourselves and that I got to love you until we were both old and grey.”

Logan blinked as he separated from Patton. The echoes from Patient 50. From the last child haunted by Graves. From the love of his life. From Patton Morris.

Logan knew Patton was no longer breathing from the fact that Logan’s glasses didn’t fog up anymore from being close to his lips. From the speed of which Patton bled out, Logan knew that Patton must’ve been bleeding for a long time. That he just wanted to stay alive to see Logan once more and tell him all that had been unsaid. That he wanted to stay alive to see the justice of all the children haunted by Graves. Logan stayed with Patton for a long time. Even when the Special Force team had come around. They didn’t bother Logan and Patton. Only the others in the group.

Logan laid in the rubble, staring at the intimate face of the man he loved. Memorizing every feature and inch of his face, in hopes that when he found Patton once more in another lifetime, in another universe, in the afterlife, that he would be able to recognize the man right away. He was sure he would. After all, he could feel it in his soul that they had been soulmates.

The ambulance came after an hour of Logan sitting with Patton’s body. They came with a body bag to carry Patton in. Patton was right. The ambulance would’ve never come fast enough for Patton to survive. He had been fated to die since the moment he was born within the haunted halls of the corporation headquarters. Logan let the emergency techs carry Patton away as he stood up. He couldn’t move. His legs and arms were numb. His heart ached of something lost that he would never find again.

“Logan-” Virgil tried to begin. It was the first time his name was called. Or to be more correct, it was the first time he processed his name being called. He knew the group had been calling him since the moment Patton had died, but Logan hadn’t processed it.

Logan blinked as he stood up, his voice hoarse, “Right. It’s time to go home, isn’t it?”

“Logan…” Roman opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his mouth. Just as Logan had loved Patton, the other five had too, in their own platonic way. It must’ve been hitting them just as hard.

“This is hitting Logan really hard.”

“I wish I could help him.”

“Is Patton really dead?”

“Logan looks broken.”

“Patton was the only one who could make him feel better.”

Logan tried to move his foot. To take a step. To do anything to move forward. To go home. Maybe it’d make him feel better. Maybe the ache in his heart would cease. Maybe he’d forget about Patton there.

But he couldn’t even drag his foot anywhere.

There was something cold on his cheek. Something wet. It ran down his cheek until it dropped onto the rubble below him. Logan had never felt it before, so he looked up. Maybe it was raining. But it was a clear night sky. What could it be then? A water pipe leak? It was possible.

“He’s crying. I’ve never seen him cry before.”

Logan brought his hand to his cheek. As Virgil had commented, they were in fact tears.

“Oh, look at that.” Logan sniffled, giving a small laugh, “Looks as if emotionless robots can cry.”

Logan had never cried before. He had gotten close many times. But never once had he cried. For a long time, he thought it was his curse. The emotionless man. Never to shed a tear. But now here he was. Crying. Over a man, of all things. Ironic, he knew, considering that he thought he would never fall in love.

Now, here he was. Logan Sanders, the man deemed to never have emotions, crying over the love of his life, Patton Morris.

“Logan-”

“Let’s go home, Virgil.” Logan shook his head as he began to take each step forward. With every step, he found it harder and harder to breathe. The grief took up space in his lungs so much so that Logan felt himself shrinking with every moment the grief overwhelmed him.

“No. Logan, look.” Virgil called out.

“It’s Thomas.”

Logan blinked as he looked up to see a man standing a few yards away from him. A man that looked so different from the moment he left their childhood house. A man who Logan only recognized from his eyes and hair color and that stupid smile that he inherited from their mother.

“Thomas.” Logan uttered out.

There was so much to say to him. So much to catch him up on. So much to ask him about. So much to do anything. But all Logan could do was utter out Thomas’ name and run to Thomas.

And all Thomas did was envelop Logan into a big bear hug, squeezing him tightly to no return. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve complained Thomas was holding him too tight. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve forced himself out of the hug within a few seconds. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve demanded to know why Thomas wanted to hug Logan.

But this wasn’t any regular basis.

Logan had just lost the love of his life.

And he really needed his older brother. ——————– And roll credits! Jk, there's still an epilogue for you, but seriously, this chapter was heartbreaking. I really hope you enjoyed it, and genuinely, I hope you caught the title. Echoes of Patient 50, and if you count, there are 50 echoes that are highlighted (something I thought was super clever).

[hejscandinavia]

Hey everyone! Classes for session two finished so now I’m going to recap the past two weeks! Get ready for a post dump haha. For my study tour, I’m going to have a post per day because there was so much to see!

Well I’ll start with Sunday arrival in Svalbard! It was so cool to walk out of the airport! Mountains were everywhere surrounding this giant lake. The lake is a crystal clear electric blue with hints of green as it gets closer to shore. The tops of the mountains have several patches of snow. Most of the time it was between 30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We first walked out to the main sign outside. It is a pole giving directions to different big cities around the globe. Right beneath, a polar bear watch sign. These things are everywhere AND I LOVE IT. I got so much merch with it on. 

After loading up the bus, we drove to the Seed Vault. Yes, THE seed vault, where most crop seeds are stored in cause of a natural disaster! We aren’t able to go inside, but we got to walk near it. It looked a lot smaller outside. My favorite part about the building is the top part reflects the northern lights due to its glass shard design! 

After taking so many photos, we went to unpack at the Coal Miners Hotel. It’s called this because the coal miners on Svalbard used to live there. Who could have guessed. I stayed with Ava on the second floor. Its was pretty good. It had two doors, with soft robes, a sink, a closet, and our beds. Our beds were SO soft. 

We then had 2 hours to just roam around. The main thing was head to the “city” center to go shopping. It’s a 20 minute walk on one road. You can’t get lost. The most annoying part was it would seem so much shorter because there are no trees, but it does take 20 minutes. 

Already on the walk we started to see wildlife such as barnacle geese and REINDEER! You are guaranteed to see them, at least one a day. They are so much shorter than what I imaged. They are the size of medium sized dogs. There were shedding their winter coat so they were a mix of light grey/cream and light brown. They had felt on their antlers and dark circles around their eyes. 

So began souvenir shopping. So many things to buy! I ended up purchasing stuff more so for my feet. I’ve been getting really bad blisters on my feet when I wear my hiking shoes. I didn’t know what to get and we didn’t know if we were going to be shopping before the flight. So I purchased some leather/wool gloves, a patch, a sticker, a head band, and a key chain. We also went to Husky Cafe. It was super cute with, yes huskies!!! I had a poppy seed cake with tea.

After shopping, we took the bus to Camp Barentz. It is a recreated cabin of William Barentz’s crew, the first known people to arrive in Svalbard and survive a winter without previous training. We had two speakers, a French man and a German women in their late twenties. The French man was the main speaker who talked about William Barentz’s crew. During the late 1500s, the King of the Netherlands wanted to find a quicker route to Asia. He sent a group of men to go do that but had to bring back gifts from Asia. Even though the men had roughed several months in the polar night and found a new land with many minerals, the King put them in jail because they didn’t meet the requirements. 

We then learned about polar bears and how to protect yourself in Svalbard. The main thing is to avoid being with a polar bear in the first place such as going out in high visibility and making loud noises to scare them off.

We learn all this over a lovely meal! We had drinks including a shot of liquor traditionally given to new comers to the island. I also got a glass of white wine. Over the fire, the German women made reindeer soup. It was really good! It’s supposed to be based off a dish created by the Sami. With it we had the best bread and butter. After that, we had polar brownies. Which means double sugar, double butter, double everything to increase the fat for winter. It was very dense but very good. Lastly, we could have either a berry drink or Svalbard coffee. They put hot coffee over the fire and dunk a BURNING LOG into it. Well it was smoky haha.

We left at 10:00 pm and it still looked like 12:00 pm. Finally, we crashed out of our rooms for the next day of hiking.

[foodandfolklore]

The Purple Jar

Okay, I did more digging on jar folktales and this one came up a lot. The Purple Jar by Maria Edgeworth was first Published in 1801. So for this reason I find it very interesting. You see, for most of history, purple dye was only made by extracting it from a specific snail. A very expensive process that made it so only royals and the church could afford it. It was not until 1856 when the first synthetic purple dye was created by accident. More than 50 years after this story was written. The reason I find this interesting is because the colour of the purple was from a chemist shop; implying purple colour could be artificially created. It's like communicators in Star Trek and then a few decades later, everyone has cellphones. Predicting the future, or influencing it?

As for the past, it's an interesting snap shot of what was appropriate parenting 200 years ago. While no beatings are given out, like we often see in fairytales, I do see something interesting. Consequences of choices. The character made a choice between new shoes or a pretty purple jar, and needs to live with that choice for a month. Her mother will not get her both. But to deprive a child of shoes in our time is seen as a form of abuse, along with bed without supper. But back then; completely reasonable lesson. I think the lesson can (and is) still be commonly taught these days, but with different methods. For example, while in the cereal isle in the store, a child can choose a box they want that fits within budget. If they want the bright, pretty boxes, they get a smaller box and thus less cereal. If they get the boring box, they get a bigger box and more cereal cause it's cheaper.

Rosamond, a little girl of about seven years old, was walking with her mother in the streets of London. As she passed along, she looked in at the windows of several shops, and she saw a great variety of different sorts of things, of which she did not know the use, or even the names. She wished to stop to look at them; but there was a great number of people in the streets, and a great many carts and carriages and wheelbarrows, and she was afraid to let go her mother’s hand.

“Oh! mother, how happy I should be,” said she, as she passed a toy-shop, “if I had all these pretty things!”

“What, all! Do you wish for them all, Rosamond?”

“Yes, mamma, all.”

As she spoke, they came to a milliner’s shop; the windows were hung with ribbons, and lace, and festoons of artificial flowers.

“Oh! mamma, what beautiful roses! Won’t you buy some of them?”

“No, my dear.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want them, my dear.”

They went a little farther, and they came to another shop, which caught Rosamond’s eye. It was a jeweler’s shop; and there were a great many pretty baubles, ranged in drawers behind glass.

“Mamma, you’ll buy some of these?”

“Which of them, Rosamond?”

“Which? I don’t know which; but any of them, for they are all pretty.”

“Yes, they are all pretty; but of what use would they be to me?”

“Use! Oh, I’m sure you could find some use or other, if you would only buy them first.”

“But I would rather find out the use first.”

Rosamond was very sorry that her mother wanted nothing. Presently, however, they came to a shop, which appeared to her far more beautiful than the rest. It was a chemist’s shop; but she did not know that.

“Oh, mother! oh!” cried she, pulling her mother’s hand. “Look! Look! Blue, green, red, yellow, and purple! Oh, mamma, what beautiful things! Won’t you buy some of these?”

Still her mother answered as before, “What use would they be to me, Rosamond?”

“You might put flowers in them, mamma, and they would look so pretty on the chimney-piece. I wish I had one of them.”

“You have a flower-vase,” said her mother; “and that is not for flowers.”

“But I could use it for a flower-vase, mamma, you know.”

“Perhaps if you were to see it nearer, if you were to examine it, you might be disappointed.”

“No, indeed; I’m sure I should not. I should like it exceedingly.”

Rosamond kept her head turned to look at the purple vase till she could see it no longer.

“Then, mother,” said she, after a pause, “perhaps you have no money.”

“Yes, I have.”

“Dear me! if I had money, I would buy roses, and boxes, and purple flower-pots, and everything.” Rosamond was obliged to pause in the midst of her speech.

“Oh, mamma, would you stop a minute for me? I have got a stone in my shoe; it hurts me very much.”

“How comes there to be a stone in your shoe?”

“Because of this great hole, mamma—it comes in there: my shoes are quite worn out; I wish you’d be so very good as to give me another pair.”

“Nay, Rosamond, but I have not money enough to buy shoes, and flower-pots, and boxes, and everything.”

Rosamond thought that was a great pity. But now her foot, which had been hurt by the stone, began to give her so much pain that she was obliged to hop every other step, and she could think of nothing else. They came to a shoemaker’s shop soon afterwards.

“There! there! mamma, there are shoes—there are little shoes that would just fit me; and you know shoes would be really of use to me.”

“Yes, so they would, Rosamond. Come in.”

She followed her mother into the shop.

Mr. Sole, the shoemaker, had a great many customers, and his shop was full, so they were obliged to wait.

“Well, Rosamond,” said her mother, “you don’t think this shop so pretty as the rest?”

“No, not nearly; it’s black and dark, and there are nothing but shoes all round; and besides, there’s a very disagreeable smell.”

“That smell is the smell of new leather.”

“Is it? Oh!” said Rosamond, looking round, “there is a pair of little shoes; they’ll just fit me, I’m sure.”

“Perhaps they might, but you cannot be sure till you have tried them on, any more than you can be quite sure that you should like the purple vase exceedingly , till you have examined it more attentively.”

“Why, I don’t know about the shoes, certainly, till I’ve tried; but, mamma, I’m quite sure I should like the flower-pot.”

“Well, which would you rather have, that jar, or a pair of shoes? I will buy either for you.”

“Dear mamma, thank you—but if you could buy both?”

“No, not both.”

“Then the jar, if you please.”

“But I should tell you that I shall not give you another pair of shoes this month.”

“This month! That’s a very long time indeed. You can’t think how these hurt me. I believe I’d better have the new shoes—but yet, that purple flower-pot—Oh, indeed, mamma, these shoes are not so very, very bad; I think I might wear them a little longer; and the month will soon be over: I can make them last to the end of the month, can’t I? Don’t you think so, mamma?”

“Nay, my dear, I want you to think for yourself: you will have time enough to consider about it whilst I speak to Mr. Sole about my boots.”

Mr. Sole was by this time at leisure; and whilst her mother was speaking to him, Rosamond stood in profound meditation, with one shoe on, and the other in her hand.

“Well, my dear, have you decided?”

“Mamma!—Yes—I believe. If you please—I should like the flower-pot; that is, if you won’t think me very silly, mamma.”

“Why, as to that, I can’t promise you, Rosamond; but when you are to judge for yourself, you should choose what will make you the happiest; and then it would not signify who thought you silly.”

“Then, mamma, if that’s all, I’m sure the flower-pot would make me the happiest,” said she, putting on her old shoe again; “so I choose the flower-pot.”

“Very well, you shall have it: clasp your shoe and come home.”

Rosamond clasped her shoe, and ran after her mother: it was not long before the shoe came down at the heel, and many times was she obliged to stop, to take the stones out of her shoe, and often was she obliged to hop with pain; but still the thoughts of the purple flower-pot prevailed, and she persisted in her choice.

When they came to the shop with the large window, Rosamond felt her joy redouble, upon hearing her mother desire the servant, who was with them, to buy the purple jar, and bring it home. He had other commissions, so he did not return with them. Rosamond, as soon as she got in, ran to gather all her own flowers, which she had in a corner of her mother’s garden.

“I’m afraid they’ll be dead before the flower-pot comes, Rosamond,” said her mother to her, when she was coming in with the flowers in her lap.

“No, indeed, mamma, it will come home very soon, I dare say; and shan’t I be very happy putting them into the purple flower-pot?”

“I hope so, my dear.”

The servant was much longer returning home than Rosamond had expected; but at length he came, and brought with him the long-wished-for jar. The moment it was set down upon the table, Rosamond ran up with an exclamation of joy.

“I may have it now, mamma?”

“Yes, my dear, it is yours.”

Rosamond poured the flowers from her lap upon the carpet, and seized the purple flower-pot. “Oh, dear mother!” cried she, as soon as she had taken off the top, “but there’s something dark in it —it smells very disagreeable: what is in it? I didn’t want this black stuff.”

“Nor I neither, my dear.”

“But what shall I do with it, mamma?”

“That I cannot tell.”

“But it will be of no use to me, mamma.”

“That I can’t help.”

“But I must pour it out, and fill the flower-pot with water.”

“That’s as you please, my dear.”

“Will you lend me a bowl to pour it into, mamma?”

“That was more than I promised you, my dear; but I will lend you a bowl.”

The bowl was produced, and Rosamond proceeded to empty the purple vase. But what was her surprise and disappointment, when it was entirely empty, to find that it was no longer a purple vase! It was a plain white glass jar, which had appeared to have that beautiful color merely from the liquor with which it had been filled.

Little Rosamond burst into tears.

“Why should you cry, my dear?” said her mother; “it will be of as much use to you now as ever for a flower-vase.”

“But it won’t look so pretty on the chimney-piece. I am sure, if I had known that it was not really purple, I should not have wished to have it so much.”

“But didn’t I tell you that you had not examined it, and that perhaps you would be disappointed?”

“And so I am disappointed indeed. I wish I had believed you beforehand. Now I had much rather have the shoes, for I shall not be able to walk all this month: even walking home that little way hurt me exceedingly. Mamma, I’ll give you the flower-pot back again, and that purple stuff and all, if you’ll only give me the shoes.”

“No, Rosamond, you must abide by your own choice; and now the best thing you can possibly do is to bear your disappointment with good-humor.”

“I will bear it as well as I can,” said Rosamond, wiping her eyes, and she began slowly and sorrowfully to fill the vase with flowers.

But Rosamond’s disappointment did not end here: many were the difficulties and distresses into which her imprudent choice brought her before the end of the month. Every day her shoes grew worse and worse, till at last she could neither run, dance, jump, nor walk in them. Whenever Rosamond was called to see anything, she was pulling up her shoes at the heels, and was sure to be too late. Whenever her mother was going out to walk, she could not take Rosamond with her, for Rosamond had no soles to her shoes; and at length, on the very last day of the month, it happened that her father proposed to take her and her brother to a glass-house which she had long wished to see. She was very happy; but, when she was quite ready, had her hat and gloves on, and was making haste downstairs to her brother and father, who were waiting at the hall door for her, the shoe dropped off; she put it on again in a great hurry; but, as she was going across the hall, her father turned round.

“Why are you walking slipshod? no one must walk slipshod with me. Why, Rosamond,” said he, looking at her shoes with disgust, “I thought that you were always neat. Go, I cannot take you with me.”

Rosamond colored and retired. “Oh, mamma,” said she, as she took off her hat, “how I wish that I had chosen the shoes! they would have been of so much more use to me than that jar: however, I am sure—no, not quite sure—but I hope I shall be wiser another time.”