#its NOT about the security guard. i am NOT affiliated with those people.

[mincedpeaches]

me going into the notes of the ekurei vs johnlock poll and forcing myself to see everyone's bad ekurei takes

[hagfishviperfish]

Weird ass dream. The kind that makes you nostalgic. I live in a small town, my high school was more closeknit than others — that is to say almost all of those kids were evil but i digress, everyone knew each other.

My dream initially was that I missed the busses after school. I called my mom and she was at work, so she could not pick me up until 6:00. Which meant I had to kill time until then. It gave me the opportunity to realize how lively my high school was after hours — kids congregating on the soccer fields, football field, track, parking lot, it was as if its own little fair. So strange to see people you know doing their little things. In my dream I saw the faces of people who I haven’t seen in a long time, nigh forgot about, people who I won’t see ever again. And the faces of people who look like the type of people to live in my town.

Most were playing sports; I discovered a law school campus that was apparently on the property of my school that I hadn’t known about; I met one of my friends and hung out with him for a bit, found a dude on Tinder that looked exactly like him and with the same name but was like visibly 22 and I was like lmaooo dude look at this.

There is an event where the high school band comes in, followed by the graduates of my class, they share what they’re majoring in in college, and a quarter of mean girls were studying graphic design and they hated it and I laughed at them. It was particularly nostalgic

There is a silly little rave party thrown a guy I knew, who was fairly popular. It’s in those net tents you see used for baseball practice. I go there and dance a little with my childhood friend who dated him in middle school.

I stumble across a boy I had little feelings for for years — from elementary school to senior year — he was standing in between chain link fences, in security guard armor but it was like football stuff, so I guessed that was his job here. He was enthusiastic to see me, which was much to my surprise since we hardly talked at all (in senior year he started interacting with me every so often, much to my surprise.)

The dream changes here. I am this sewer siren queen hunted by my high school, living several grotesque layers in the deepsea underground, and he is the one who is supposed to be hunting me the hardest. Except every action he makes is deliberately to divert my pursuers away from me in order to protect me. We are lovers in that way, the brief moments where he sees me to “kill” me, but rather it is a fond reunion where we look at each other with mischevious devotion and adoration and then he must leave, to not draw too much attention to me and our affiliation. Every hour and decision of his life is dedicated to making sure I stay alive. He stands proud over a toilet in the school bathroom with a deep, deep canal drilled into it, what the students call a “sewer portal”, knowing I used it to escape, announcing to his equals “she is not in this one; try another one.”

He climbs through my canals smiling, there are grotesque and strange strata underneath our school, pink wet stone, sandstone, marbled jade and stone, and the structure of the tunnel he recognizes as my digging, impressed that I managed to stomach such odd layers of soil

This story of a favorite siren and its best hunter is a reoccuring theme for the rest of the dream.

There are other notable moments, where my art teacher says I have an opportunity to spread my art, to become a genuine admired artist, because people have already expressed interest in my work for her class. I make sketches; one of them a pile of moldy rotten oranges, in which a rabid squirrel or fox is eating them out of wild desperation, and a healthy fox is walking in the foreground, observing its parallel

Another where I’m in walmart with a friend, at the side of another boy; saying “I’m like hahahaha I’m L from deathnote” for some reason, just to mess with him. He’s like yeah whatever, unamused, I show him a pretty collar necklace I found, knowing the implications, and he’s like perhaps, and he tightens it on my neck for me

Then I dig another hole and leave because I am a sewer siren now.

Flickers of standing in a deep sea realm, underground, occasionally visited by a certain playful divercaver… I pick what I want the fish version of my pets to look like, laugh at the way my cat looks when she floats down and turn to tell my mother only for her to yell at me because she’s stressed out and busy. Rain World shelter on our football bleachers, he swims to me to find Minecraft mods, but I am looking from his eyes this time, I notice him and pick my way over to him, and we enjoy our presence together eagerly, while he sips from the glass of this mod that implements strawberry juice in Minecraft— and it tastes wonderful.

Then he hides me in the shelter because there are centipedes — it is particularly deeper, with water, to compensate for me there, and comes along to be around me for the night

[ilovemybettafish]

16 Questions to Consider When Protesting Against Israel:

As demonstrations against Israel take place around the world, I am asking those in my Facebook world who might be attending one to please consider the following questions in advance:

1) When demonstrators chant “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea”, meaning from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, do you realize they are calling for the ethnic cleansing of 6.5 million Jews from their indigenous ancestral homeland? Is so, where do you suggest these Jews go, who will take them and how do you plan to guarantee their safety? My elderly in-laws were born and raised in Israel. What should they do? What will keep them from the fate of the Kurds?

2) If Jews are not indigenous to Israel, where are they indigenous to? From where did they come? And why does Israel host so many Jewish religious artifacts and archaeological sites featuring Hebrew inscriptions? Were those planted underground as some sort of grand ruse? Would you consider an Irish person choosing to reside in Ireland as a form of colonialism?

3) If Israel’s citizens are guilty of genocide, as the demonstrators regularly declare, why are they so bad at it? After all, the population growth in Gaza and the West Bank far outstrips that of Israel proper. And why is Israel giving advance warning to Gaza’s inhabitants so they can flee before Israel fires upon Hamas installations, such as the media tower today? 10) Is Israel that inept at genocide? And if not, how do you think it feels for a people who actually suffered genocide to have the accusation so lazily slapped upon them?

4) Have the protesters around you shown equal concern for the genocide of Uighurs in China or the Rohingya in Myanmar? Have they recently protested at either country’s embassy? 11) If not, why is the situation in Israel so unique for them? What makes the Jewish State so particularly villainous in their eyes?

5) When people such as Bernie Sanders say “Palestinian Lives Matter”, do you honestly believe that Israelis feel otherwise? I don’t know any Jews or Israelis who are not distraught over the death of civilians in Gaza, and wish desperately that a peaceful resolution could be found that would allow all of Israel’s inhabitants to live safely and securely in the land. Do you really conceive of Israel as an entire country of genocidal maniacs?

6) What will you say (not if but) when the protesters’ chants mutate from Anti-Zionism to Anti-Semitism with calls to harm Jews wherever they may be found? Late last week, one such demonstrator bloodied a Jewish man with a metal chair. Does this sit well with you? Does your protest include Anti-Semitic images of Jews as vermin or blood thirsty animals? Accusations of Jews controlling the world’s media and finance? Libels of Jews as demonic or parasitic? Do you realize this is why all synagogue preschools need to hire full time security guards?

7) If Israel is truly an apartheid state, how is there such diverse representation of various communities within private industry and government office? In America, can you openly advocate for the country’s destruction and yet serve in congress? You can in Israel! How did Israeli Arabs come to make up 9% of Israel’s Knesset members? And how did Arab Israeli George Karra get a seat on Israel’s Supreme Court? Why do the majority of Israeli Arabs regularly poll that they would rather remain citizens of Israel than one of her neighbouring states or even a newly formed Palestinian state?

8) Did you know that the majority of Israeli Jews are from the Middle East or North Africa? Or did you assume they all present as white? And if Palestine is truly “freed” from the Jews, will you tell the hundreds of thousands of Jews who fled to Israel when they were expelled from Arab countries to “go back to Europe”?

9) If you are upset about the wide discrepancy of civilian casualties between Israelis and Palestinians, would you feel better if more Israelis were killed? Should Israel be blamed for building bomb shelters and Iron Dome missile defense systems while Hamas shoots rockets from schools and hospitals? Would more dead Jews satisfy your rage?

10)If Hamas has so little money for infrastructure and services for its citizens, how do they afford 2,000+ rockets, tunnels, drones, etc? Where did those come from? Did they suddenly win the lottery?

11) Do you think that if Israel returned to its 1967 borders and offered a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, that all would be forgiven? If so, why was an offer of nearly this magnitude turned down without even a counteroffer? Why does Hamas’ charter distinctly call for the destruction of Israel and attacks upon Jews? And why did the Arab states seek to wipe Israel off the map both in 1948 and 1967 when not a single settlement existed?

12) Did you know that Gaza shares a border with Egypt, which could be opened at any time? Have you protested against Egypt for not doing so? Jordan occupied the West Bank between 1948 and 1967. Why was a Palestinian State not declared during this time? Why is Israel uniquely to blame for the Palestinians’ awful predicament?

13) Did you know that Israel allows for a free press while all pictures and stories out of Gaza must be approved by Hamas? Did you ever wonder why there aren’t more pictures of Hamas terrorists in action? And if an Israeli soldier shoots a Palestinian teenager who lunges at her with a knife, is she guilty of killing a child?

14) If Israel is a warmonger for attacking Hamas missile positions, what would be the more appropriate response as its citizens are fired upon? Sit tight and wait until the attacks end? Offer thoughts and prayers? What would the US do if Mexico launched 2,000 rockets from Tijuana into San Diego?

15) If your protest is co-organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, do you actually know any Jews who affiliate with this group? Do you realize that they serve as a cover for Anti-Zionist rhetoric and openly advocate for the destruction of the State of Israel? Do you also think that the Westboro Baptist Church speaks for all Christians? Because I would bet that the ratio is pretty similar.

16) And perhaps most importantly - where are you and your fellow protesters receiving your information? Do you think Twitter, TikTok and Instagram offer the depth of analysis that such a complex situation requires? Can the conflict really be summarized in a tidy meme? Have you spoken with anyone who has spent considerable time in Israel, the West Bank or Gaza? Does your favorite celebrity or influencer research Middle Eastern history in their free time? Would you take a Middle Eastern Studies class taught by Dua Lipa?

I fully understand your sense of empathy for the plight of civilians under fire and the awful images of maimed children and dead civilians. And I understand your desire to point towards a culprit and define a terrible situation in terms of good and evil. And I similarly understand the propensity to equate powerlessness with nobility and power with corruption. But I ask you to consider these questions and decide for yourself if these protests truly share your values.

[thetriggeredhappy]

recently rediscovered your blog and read the fic from your dad spy au where scout starts out as the "guard" and then becomes scout from there and lemme tell you that shit put me on some s-tier brainrot. like a cranial decay type beat.

i had a concept in my head that instead of being hired as a guard, he could have been hired as a right hand man to the administrator like pauling, because i think hed be awesome in that position. like imagine having a personal merc who can get in fast and out even faster. but maybe he would stay in the base like the rest of them, sort of like a secret on call intel gatherer, who also maybe sometimes has to dig a couple graves. and also like, nobody on the team expects anything from him at first because its this 20 year old newbie kid. hes dressed in his formal clothes and he talks like somebody from relatively around boston but not quite. i can just imagine one day he comes back during a team dinner with his shirt half untucked and stained with blood, hair disheveled as he asks soldier if he can borrow his shovel, or him debriefing them for a mission when miss pauling is busy. same vibe as the fic i mentioned before but scout gets to have a job as cool as miss paulings. honestly id write it myself if i didnt have the attention span of a fly

anyways your scout content gives me life thank you

scout teamfortress but 20% more competent standing next to miss pauling teamfortress while she's doing her job and doing like silly quips and otherwise contributing nothing like it's a buddy cop film is literally my fucking ideal

(warnings for some canon-typical violence)

-

“Oh, Pauling, it’s good to see you again,” greeted the chairman, smiling in an imitation of a grandfather and clasping her hands perhaps too-kindly considering she barely knew him. “Young as ever, and still so stylish, I see. And who’s the new fellow?”

“He’s just here to help with transport, Mr. Montgomery, nothing unusual,” Miss Pauling replied, returning his smile and adjusting her glasses. “Heavy cases, you know how it is.”

“Of course, I remember you almost toppling clean over last time we made a trade!” Montgomery agreed, frowning at the memory. “You’ll pull a muscle that way, better to be careful. It’s a pleasure to meet you, young man. And your name?”

“Mr. Normandy, sir,” the new kid replied easily enough despite his slight East Coast accent, giving the man a firm handshake, expression neutral and stony, the picture of professionalism. Internally, Pauling breathed a sigh of relief.

“Firm grip there, young man,” Montgomery praised, nodding approvingly. “Tennis player, perhaps? Or golf?”

“Baseball, sir,” he replied, still evenly. “First baseman.”

“Ah! Of course! Were you any good?” Montgomery joked.

“At everything but playing in front of the crowds, otherwise I’d be in the major leagues,” he replied, tilting his head just slightly to imply that he was joking, his sunglasses glinting at the movement, and Montgomery barked a laugh.

“I like this one, Miss Pauling!” Montgomery said, and Pauling just barely caught herself from physically relaxing at it.

“We do too, Mr. Montgomery,” she agreed. “I was under the impression that you’re very busy today, so we won’t keep you for too long, we just wanted to sort out the final details surrounding the manufacturing rights for the—“

“—Pacific Northwest branch, up into British Columbia and Alberta, of course,” Montgomery agreed, nodding faintly. “Of course, of course.” He turned to regard his own man in a dark suit, the one standing to the right, who appeared to be unsuccessfully trying to stare down Normandy, who was completely ignoring him. “My briefcase, please.”

The man handed over the briefcase, and Montgomery put it on his desk, opening it and pulling out a sheaf of papers. “All our requests are submitted and approved, at this point we just had a few dustbins to take care of regarding initial percentages and making sure everything is wired to the correct accounts, which names are undisclosed, things like that,” Pauling explained as he glanced through the papers.

“Right, right, everything looks good here,” the man murmured, nodding to himself, sending his long-white hair just ever-so-slightly out of place. “I’m assuming these more sensitive documents should be sent some way besides through the mail?”

“If you finish them today I can take them with me, otherwise either me or Mr. Normandy can return to pick them up at your convenience,” she replied, to which Normandy gave a singular nod.

“Oh, it would only take me a short while,” Montgomery said, waving a hand. “We have a lovely lounge just down the hall from here if you’d prefer to wait there, it should only take me ten, fifteen minutes at most. In the meantime, I do believe there’s also the manner of payment for services rendered.”

Miss Pauling tilted her head just slightly to one side, confused.

“I arranged with Helen already,” Montgomery explained, not looking up from where he was initialing a few things. “The payment, rather than being wired, she asked to be made in material investment. A venture of mine from years ago that she’s willing to sit on. Rather than gold or bonds, she agreed to take some old currency of mine that my family collected, from early 18th century New Zealand and Australia. Monetarily it’s worth around the same, and I’m quite a bit attached to it to be entirely frank, but it was at her request to buy the whole collection from me, and after years of the work we’ve been doing together, well, I’d never trust it with anyone else.”

He gestured to the other man, the one on his left, who stepped forward to hand him a manila envelope, which he passed to Pauling.

“Inside is both keys, the door alarm codes, and all other security information for the building where the collection is being stored. They’ll ask for a few codes and confirmation of identity, only because several other art collections and artifacts are being stored there by other affluent individuals such as myself.”

“Thank you, Mr. Montgomery,” Pauling said, taking the envelope gratefully.

“Think nothing of it, my dear. Helen talked me into it all her own,” he said easily enough. “Now, gentlemen, if you would let Miss Pauling and Mr. Normandy into our lounge? I should have these wrapped up before any of us can even think about lunch, eh?”

One of the suits showed the two of them through the doors and down the hallway, through two doors bracketed by similar suits who simply nodded politely at Pauling and ticked their chins at Normandy as they passed them.

Normandy posted up beside the door for all of three seconds before they shut and Pauling pulled her glasses up, rubbing at the bridge of her nose and making a vaguely distressed noise. He then promptly relaxed, instead leaning his hip against an armchair probably worth the same amount as a small car. “So, uh, we’re glad that he’s giving us a bunch of commemorative coins from when dinosaurs still walked the earth?” he asked just below normal speaking volume, eyebrows raised.

“Yes. Very glad. Because unlike about six people total on the planet, he hasn’t figured out yet how valuable those are.”

“What, is a picture of a kangaroo on some copper really gonna make up for a couple hundred thousand American dollars?” Normandy asked, sounding doubtful.

“Not copper. Something else,” she replied. “I can’t tell you much more about it other than that, but these coins are made of something priceless to us. And to the Administrator.”

“…Love? Memories? The magic of family?” he joked, cracking a smile, and she rolled her eyes, moving to open the envelope and start reading the papers inside. “Hey, uh, not to question whether my job should exist, but what the hell am I doing here, exactly? Besides carrying a briefcase. Like, chivalry isn’t dead but I really don’t think you need me carrying your bags and holding the door for you.”

“You’re helping with security, basically,” she replied, adjusting her glasses to squint at tiny handwriting about the collection. “Mr. Montgomery is trustworthy, but he mostly hires out to… well, people like us. His security detail is mostly people we’d rather have screened, freelancers, stuff like that. A lot of people we contract out to are like that. Most of them have heard about me and know better than to try and pull something, since I can hold my own pretty well, but if they haven’t, seeing a second person might persuade them to think it over again.”

“Oh, so I’m like, uh, when it says ‘tow zone’ next to the no parking signs even though nobody checks, or when they’ve got a camera in the corner of the store that isn’t even plugged into anything,” he said, and the looked up at him, confused. “Like, uh, what’s the word… I’m a casual deterrent.”

“Sure,” she said, because it sounded like he knew what he was talking about, shuffling the papers back away and closing the envelope again, making a note to ask the Administrator if she should change their current containment procedures to be closer to Mr. Montgomery’s. “Just… if there’s a fight, you deal with it, otherwise you just stand there and look like you’re paying attention.”

“That’s what the sunglasses are for,” he agreed. “I was blinking morse code at the guy across from me literally the whole time.”

“You know morse code?” Pauling asked, surprised.

“Just the alphabet, ‘S.O.S.’, and ‘ass’.”

She rolled her eyes again, and that’s when the door opened.

She expected Mr. Montgomery, not one of the men in suits. “Excuse me, both of you, if you don’t mind,”the man said, accent having the slightest English tilt to it, a Londoner if Pauling had to guess. “You’re Miss Pauling, the Mann Co. affiliate, yes?”

“That’s me,” she agreed, hesitant, and glanced at Normandy.

“I’m afraid there’s been a mistake. Mr. Montgomery have you the wrong envelope on accident,” the man said apologetically, extending a hand forward. “We apologize for this unfortunate mix-up, it’s really quite embarrassing, but those documents are sensitive and we’ll be needing to see them back now.”

Pauling looked at him, and within a moment, shifted her expression. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” she agreed, nodding. “No, right, of course. These aren’t the papers for the currency collection?”

“I’m afraid not,” the Brit agreed, head tilting just slightly, hand still extended, moving a fraction further forward.

“Well, thank goodness we figured out now and not with us halfway back,” she joked, and moved to hold the folder closer to her body. “I’ll take this right back to Mr. Montgomery, then.”

“He’s sent me to correct the error,” the man explained simply.

“Right,” she said, and saw in her periphery that Normandy had already started sneaking a hand in towards his primary, clearly having pieced together something she was only suspecting. “We can bring this to his office, then, right down the hall.”

“You misunderstand,” the man said, taking a step forward again. “I’ll be taking it to his office myself.”

“That’s funny,” Pauling said. “I didn’t realize you had clearance to be in there. Or to be carrying a semi-automatic instead of a standard handgun.”

The Brit reached for the semi-automatic, and before he could even get it out properly, Normandy hit one clean shot to the side of his head and another to his thigh, sending him crumpling to the ground.

Pauling had only as far as pulling her own handgun free, thumb on the safety, and breathed a sigh of relief, glancing over at Normandy, shifting to more comfortably hold her gun. “Quick reflexes,” she noted.

“Just noticed a lot sooner, maybe,” he shrugged, stepping forward to glance over the body, tucking his gun back away.

“What was your hint?”

“He’s here to give us the right folder, yeah? Well, why were his hands empty, then?”

She was just starting to nod and realize that as well when a second man shouldered through the door, holding a gun at the ready. Normandy scrambled to draw his own, but Pauling fired a shot into his knee, shoulder, and neck to send him dropping before he was even close. “There’s quick on the draw, and then there’s prepared,” she said pointedly. “Gotta think of if there’s more than one, new guy.”

He nodded, and drew his gun again, bending to hit the guy on the ground at the temple hard enough to knock him out if he wasn’t unconscious already. He then glanced up at the sound of a shout from the other side of the door, two men shouldering through, guns drawn but lowered. It was only the firm eye contact they made with both her and Normandy that made her pause the millisecond it took to realize these ones weren’t trying to kill them.

“Pauling, what on earth is going on here?!” Montgomery demanded, entering the room and staring with wide eyes at the bodies on the ground. “What could’ve possessed you to—“

“He was trying to run off with these documents,” she explained quickly, gesturing with the envelope. “He knew whatever was in here was valuable.”

“He drew his gun, sir,” Normandy added, tipping his head down towards the body, and Pauling glanced down as well and found herself a little surprised. He’d rearranged the man just slightly, apparently, adjusting the arm to be holding the gun a bit further outward. “Other one was aiming to kill.”

“My, my,” Montgomery tsk’d, shaking his head as he surveyed the scene. “What a mess. My apologies, Miss Pauling, Mr. Normandy.”

“It’s alright, but you need to start doing more thorough checks on your staff, Mr. Montgomery,” Pauling stressed.

“He’s only been here two weeks, sir, he was one of the men we hired in a hurry after the incident last month,” one of the bodyguards said, and Montgomery shook his head.

“Thank goodness nobody was hurt,” he sighed. “Mutiny, and besides that, they’re bleeding on my carpet. Here are those papers, Miss Pauling—what a day, eh?”

“It’s really alright, we handled it,” Pauling assured him, giving her bravest smile, a little exasperated now.

“Right, right, you and the first baseman,” he agreed, and Normandy fought back an actual smile.

“If you’d like, we can take care of those for you,” Pauling said, gesturing at the bodies. “To pay you back for the carpet and the scare.”

“Sounds fair to me,” Montgomery agreed, clearly relieved.

-

“My dad’s gonna be pissed, by the way,” Normandy was so helpful as to say on the way back up the path to the base. “And you’re fielding that.”

“About the suit, or the fight?” she asked, glancing at his clothes where he was somewhat covered in a fine dusting of mud and grime from the gravedigging, shovel still in his free hand.

“Both. Mostly the fight. Your fault for saying it’d be an easy one to start with,” he said.

“If it was going to be that much of a problem, you wouldn’t have gotten this job. I’d just have made you go do dishes all day or something,” Pauling replied.

“Point taken,” he said, walking ahead to get the door, holding it open for her. “Wait, we’re allowed to mention what we do, right? Just not names?”

“Or locations, even with travel distance. Round up to the hour if it comes up,” she replied.

“Sure, sure,” he agreed, trailing a step behind her as she led the way through the base.

In the common area, there was a bit of a ruckus happening. Soldier, Heavy, and Demo appeared to be having some kind of arm wrestling competition on a rapidly-toppling table, the Engineer was on a stepstool trying to fix the ceiling fan, and Sniper appeared to be half-watching the beginnings of an argument between Pyro and the Spy regarding use of the oven as Medic patched up a burn on his arm.

“Hullo,” Sniper greeted the two of them, sounding a little bored, Medic giving them a brief, polite nod. Normandy’s eyebrows were raised pretty far as he surveyed the room.

“Hi, Sniper,” she greeted in return, then cleared her throat, raised her voice. “Team meeting in five minutes! New mission for next week!”

Groans from the room at large, the eight mercenaries starting to finish up what they were doing and filing out. Spy moved over, glancing over Normandy and starting to talk to him in rapid-fire French, picking smaller bits of gravel off of his suit as they walked.

“Alright,” she addressed the room, Normandy peeling off from getting mother hen’d by Spy to stand next to the blackboard with her. “Monday, you’re all going on a transport mission. Getting the truck from point A to point B with everything in the boxes intact. Already we’ve had to put up with some people trying to get ahold of these things, so bring your guns.”

“Oh, our guns, you said? Lads, this is a serious one, keep your heads on a feckin' swivel, she’s sayin’ we might even need guns, can you believe it?” Demo faux-gasped, and chuckled when Spy bopped him on the arm, rolling his eyes at the Scot's theatrics.

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved off, flipping through the papers a bit. “So Engie, I’ll need the keys to the truck, me and Normandy are going to be loading those tomorrow, all of you need to be at this drop point bright and early.”

“How early?” Heavy rumbled.

“Six. Hour and a half of drive from here.”

Some complaints from the room that she sighed at.

“Hey, hey, calm the hell down,” Normandy cut in, and she glanced over at him where he had his arms crossed and a stern look on his face. “You chuckleheads get to have all eight of you to unload the damn thing, me and Miss P gotta do all the rest of this on our own and probably kill twenty guys on the way there and back. She had to be up at 6 AM, workin’ since 7 AM, lunch break at noon and nothin’ else, and we just got back now at, what, fuckin’, 10, 11 PM? Any of you work her shift and then see if you even got the energy to complain about wakin’ up early, how about that?”

The room went utterly devoid of complaint or backsass. “Thank you, Normandy,” she said politely, and he just nodded once, glancing off to the side. “Anyways, anything new on this end? Spy, how are you adjusting?”

“Very well,” he said simply. “I have nothing pressing to say. Once I’ve been updated from the stock weaponry provided here to my requested preferred weaponry, I believe I should do just fine.”

“I see you already have Herr Normandy digging graves,” Medic chimed in. “Straight into the hard labor, ja?”

“Eh, hey, y’know, it’s why they keep us young people around,” he shrugged, grinning, and there was a brief uproar to drown out Medic’s entirely offended scoffing and Spy’s snort-laughing.

“Get ‘im, lad!” Demo cheered, and Normandy indeed looked fairly proud of himself.

“Monday, transport mission,” Pauling noted over the noise, writing it up on the chalkboard to hide her own smile from the room. “Normandy, you and me are doing the boxes tomorrow. Everyone on the same page? Good. Dismissed. Oh, and Pyro—stop taking the fire alarms down when they beep. They’re beeping because you light things on fire in the base. Do that outside.”

“Oh, hey, uh, helmet guy, All-American Beef,” Normandy called, and Soldier straightened up. “Here’s your shovel back. Gettin’ my own tomorrow.”


Soldier walked directly over to him, clasping a hand on his shoulder. “That’s a high honor, Cadet,” he said, tone grave. “Do not take this responsibility lightly.”

“I, uh, I won’t?” he said hesitantly, and blinked a few times as the shovel was carefully taken from him before it was promptly marched from the room in double-time. Only then did Normandy look over at her. “So he’s always like that?”

“You’ll get used to it,” she assured, dusting chalk from her hands. “You should get to sleep soon, we have to be up early.”

“Sure thing, Miss P.”

[mobscene-london]

LONDON AWARDS 2021 AFTER PARTY:

Location: The Empire Hotel, Westminster. Hosts: Cassandra Acton & Alexis Larsson. Date: Thursday 1st April, 2021. (roleplaying will start when awards complete.) Dress Code: Formal. Cocktail/short dresses are fine, though.

EVENT SUMMARY:

After all the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony itself, it’s finally time for the winners (and the irrelevant losers who cares about them am I right) to let their hair down and send out the night in luxurious style that could only be Rutherford.

The Empire Hotel will provide the perfect stage for one of the year’s most anticipated social events. For those looking to party a little harder than the rest, Saints & Sinners will live up to its usual best, giving everybody an excuse to slam shots until they can’t remember what their name is and dance until they pass out. Don’t forget to wipe the coke off your nose when you leave the bathroom, though, you never know who’s watching. The opulent ballroom will provide perhaps the calmest setting available, but with one of the city’s best bars and even more impressive company in attendance, it is expected to be a favourite of those looking to network with London’s elite. Empire’s Michelin star restaurant will put on a spread of delectable hors d’oeuvres for the entirety of the night, if only to line your damn stomachs so you don’t puke all over your Egyptian cotton sheets later. The casino will play host to a private, winners/nominees-only private party in which all guests lucky enough to make it past security will get a taste of true royal treatment. 

And if all of that isn’t enough? Anyone who isn’t a chicken shit is more than welcome to stop by the pool party, hosted by some awesome DJ that the admin hasn’t picked yet, and strip down as soon as they’ve had enough alcohol to forget what common decency is. Yeah, that’s right. This is a rager. Welcome to London, we know how to have a good fucking time here. The life guards will be wearing little bow ties, you drunk assholes. No trying to drown the person who beat you out for hottest bitch.

ATTENDANCE & IMPORTANT NOTES:

Everyone can attend this event, regardless of their affiliation or whether they attended the ceremony itself. Take note that there will canonically be a lot of important members of London’s social scene present, also, so the party will be pretty jam-packed with the city’s self-proclaimed finest and most famous. This will be considered a monumental social event this year, so people will be looking to go wild and make the most of it.

TWI will be paying attention. It is not a private event.

There will be no mob drama. Can people fight and have verbal spats? Absolutely. Encouraged. Given that everyone from all of the mobs should be in attendance, this will probably be inevitable. I don’t mind a bit of physical fighting if you want to go that way, but be aware it will result in your characters being ejected from the party, so maybe save it until the end if you’re looking to enjoy the event for a bit. There will be nothing large scale, though, or anything to derail the party as a whole/damage the reputation of the hotel. No stabbing, shooting, casual murder. Sorry guys, save it for the next one.

PERKS FOR THE AWARD WINNERS:

For all of those who walked away from the ceremony with an award in their hands, your fortunes do not end with a golden statue. You will be entitled to some complementary treats as an added bonus, courtesy of Damon Rutherford. He flexin’. These cannot be exchanged, nor gifted to non-winners, though winners are permitted to invite guests to their suites.

All winners and nominees will enjoy free drinks for the entirety of the evening. This will include bottle service, so the peasants can feel special.

All winners will be offered access to a hotel suite for the entirety of the weekend. Winners for best couple and should-be couple will get presidential suites.

The hotel’s casino will serve as an exclusive VIP section for the night’s winners and nominees. The bar here will be stocked with cocktails created specifically for the night, champagne not available in the rest of the party, as well as offering gift bags for all those who enter. Winners/nominees are permitted to take one guest inside.

Winner of both Man of the Year and Woman of the Year will win an all expenses paid trip, transfers included, to one of The Empire’s sister hotels in either Porto Velho or the Seychelles. A private jet will take them and a guest of their choosing whenever they wish to redeem the prize.

Winner of Best Dressed Man and Best Dressed Woman (awards that will be announced at the after party, rather than the ceremony itself) will both win £5k of credit to spend at the hotel’s branch of Harrods.

Winners of the Best Dates award (also announced at the after party) will win an all inclusive spa day at the hotel, at a time of their choosing.

[perspective-series]

Kingdom Perspective (21) (Final)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, panic, kidnapping, keeping/treating people like pets, threats, and unwanted touching/grabbing

First Chapter || Previous Chapter

—————————————————————————————————-

Just as the trio had fallen asleep, there came an insistent knocking at the door.

 Roman groaned, eyes opening slightly as he glanced over at the door. Who on earth was knocking at this time at night? He got up, being extra careful not to jostle the two humans and went to open his door, cracking it open just a tad. “Hello?”

“Ah, Prince Roman.” The royal sorcerer gave a low bow. “I hate to disturb you at such a late hour.”

 Roman tensed, going from surprise to a strong glare in under a second. “What do you want?” Roman growled out.

“There was a mistake in my spellcasting.” Dee explained, attempting to use his silver tongue. “A catastrophe in my lab, quite a mess as you can imagine. And those poor humans were caught in the thick of it- mainly hallucinogens, you understand- and when they came to the wretch-er, charming little vermin were spouting off lies about me left and right.”

 Roman continued to glare at him. “...I see. Well, we must inform Logan of this immediately.” He closed moved out into the hall without opening the door much more than it already was and closed it behind him. He gave Dee a tight smile. “Shall we?”

“I’ve already informed Logan.” Dee assured him. “After all, my loyalty lies first with the throne. King Logan sent me here to clear their tiny heads.”

 Roman narrowed his eyes. “Right, well, I hope you don’t mind but I want to speak with Logan first before I do anything. Just to make sure.” He motioned again for Dee to walk in that direction. There was no way he was letting Dee have his humans.

“Prince Roman, while this is an urgent matter, the King has asked not to be disturbed.” Dee took a step forward. “Stand aside so I can complete my orders.”

 Roman only stood up straighter, moving so he was blocking the door even more. “No.”

 “Roman.” Dee put a single gloved hand on Roman’s shoulder, giving him a sickeningly sweet smile. “You really don’t want to do this.”

 Roman pushed Dee’s hand off of him. “I’m not letting you get your slimy hands on them again.” 

Dee paused, taking in Roman’s demeanor. It seemed the giant was going nowhere anytime soon.

“Very well.” Dee straightened up, taking a step back. “Have it your way.”

Without warning Roman was suddenly thrown to the side, pushed by an invisible force as Dee directed the shadows in the hall to overthrow the prince’s balance.

 “Gah!” Roman cried as he was thrown to the ground. He hit it with a large thud. “Help! Guards! Logan!” He started shouting.

Dee pushed his limbs forward, and a large gust of wind blew open the heavy double doors.

Virgil jolted awake, shocked by the sound of the doors slamming open. He paled, recognizing the intruder as he strode in like he owned the place.

 Thomas too, jolted awake at both the sound of the door and at Virgil moving. He stared into the darkness, realizing with dread that the giant coming into the room was Dee. And, looking around, Roman was nowhere in sight.

 Roman stood up and-knowing he had no chance to stop Dee as long as he had his magic-ran quickly towards Logan’s room, passing several guards on his way, who he pointed in the right direction.

Dee paused, for a moment too shocked to continue forwards. “...Thomas?”

“You stay away from my brother!” Virgil shouted, getting in front of Thomas.

Dee’s expression fell back into its signature smirk. “If you two are so close, I can certainly oblige keeping you together.” He lunged forwards, taking the two into a tight grip of his fist.

 “Ah!” Thomas cried out in pain as he was shoved against Virgil and Dee’s fingers. He did not miss the feeling of being confined in the slightest. “Let-Let us go!”

“No!” Dee squeezed tighter, feeling the human’s forms crush together in his grasp. “I am never letting you go, never again, you hear me? You are mine. I decide your fate, I am in control, and I. will NOT. be SILENCED!” 

With this last phrase Dee’s voice had escalated to a roar, pounding through the human’s ears. The room became darker, the shadows swirling around under his command and with it came a howling wind. The sorcerer cackled, reveling in his victory. At long last, he finally had his human back.

 Thomas grit his teeth hard, Dee’s grip making him unable to cover his ears. The giant screaming made them screech with pain and he had to shut his eyes in order to take it. Even so, he wouldn’t be surprised if his ears were now bleeding.

 “Dee…” Thomas tried after a moment. “Please, take me but at least-at least let Virgil go.”

“I’m not giving up leverage so easily.” Dee sneered, his voice tainted with a dark echo as his true form continued to be revealed. “Your little brother here will be just another pawn to keep you in line, suffering the consequences for your transgressions should you try to escape me twice.”

“You’re insane!” Virgil screeched, trying to bite Dee’s fingers but lacking a good angle.

 “No! Don’t hurt him!” Thomas shouted, practically begging. “Please, he doesn’t deserve this!”

“ENOUGH!” All three heads turned to see a furious Logan standing in the doorway, surrounded by many members of the castle staff as well as his brother.

“Ah, your royal highness, I-” Dee frantically tried to disguise himself, reeling back the dramatics and tucking the humans behind his back.

“Chancelor Dee, royal sorcerer, chair of all magical proceedings at the regal council,” Logan listed off the various titles held by the slimy snake of a man as he strode forwards, “by the power vested in me through the royal blood of the Sanders line, I hereby denounce you of your position and revoke your magical privileges.”

“NO!” Dee screeched, the shadows and wind dissipating rapidly and leaving only the shell of a man who fell to his knees, begging at the king’s feet. “Please, your highness, have mercy. This is not how it appears-”

“Spare me the theatrics.” Logan rolled his eyes, waving a pair of guards over. He got enough dramatics from his brother. Holding his hands outstretched, Logan caught the humans when the guards forced Dee’s hands open, painfully yanking them behind the former sorcerer's back.

 As Thomas found himself in Logan’s hands he let out a long sigh of relief and clung to his brother, still shaking from the entire affair.

 Patton looked at the scene worryingly from Roman’s hands. And Roman wasted no time when everything was done to be at Logan’s side. He leaned in close to the humans. “Are you okay?” He whispered.

Virgil found himself low on breaths but he managed a nod. Hopefully just some bruising.

 Thomas also nodded and Roman let out a sigh of relief. He looked to Logan. “You gonna banish this snake yet or what?” He asked, eyeing Dee.

Logan nodded, turning to the prisoner with an ice cold gaze. “For your crimes against the throne and its affiliates, you are no longer welcome within our borders. You shall be escorted to the northern mountains where you to live out the rest of your days in solitude and never to disturb another person, human or giant, as long as you live.”

 “And if you do,” Roman added, getting in real close. “I’ll personally make you regret it.” He threatened.

“oooOOooh, the spoiled brat’s mad I touched his toys.” Dee sneered, having no use for his charm anymore. 

Virgil grit his teeth, feeling the urge to punch him as his fists clenched at his side.

 Roman, feeling much the same, handed Patton to Logan and then reeled back his fist, punching Dee straight in the face.

 “Whoa!” Patton yelled, not having expected that.

Dee looked just as shocked, his nose already bent to the side and beginning to bleed.

“...ow!” Dee said incredulously. 

“Roman, I thought we agreed violence was unecessary.” Logan murmured, keeping his voice down while there were whispers from the crowd behind. “That being said, I support your decision.”

“HIT HIM AGAIN!” Virgil yelled, the notion causing Dee to flinch back in preparation.

 Roman rolled up his sleeve. “With pleasure.” 

 “Roman, I think that’s enough.” Patton said, despite the fact he liked seeing Dee get punched the first time.

“Stop!” Picani seemed to agree, hastily rushing forwards. “Stop this at once, your highness. You have a reputation to uphold.”

 Roman huffed but put his arm down, crossing his arms. Sometimes he really hated being the prince. He looked to the guards. “Fine, then. Just get him out of here!”

The guards did as requested, hastily dragging the injured Dee away from the scene of the crime.

“In the morning we will release the call for a new royal sorcerer, or sorcerous I suppose.” Picani explained. “But in the meantime… off with you!” Picani waved at the crowd that had gathered, dispersing them. 

 “That...was stressful.” Thomas admitted and Patton went over to check on them. 

 “You can say that again.” Roman huffed. He turned to Logan. “At least that’s over with now though. He won’t be able to hurt them anymore.”

“Indeed, and with him taken care of I know I shall rest easier.” Logan gave a yawn. 

“I know it has been an eventful evening, but perhaps it is best you all head off to bed.” Picani suggested gently, leaving the decision up to the king.

“I agree.” Logan nodded. “Some rest will do us some good.”

 “Yes, I believe it will.” Roman said, he turned to the humans. “Come on you two.” He motioned for Virgil and Thomas to climb on but they hesitated.

 “Roman.” Patton got his attention. “Can we stick together? For tonight, at least?” Patton asked and Roman blinked.

 “Oh! Uh...Logan?” Roman asked, looking at his brother.

“Where, Patton?” Logan looked to the humans in his hands. “Would the three of you like to accompany myself, or Roman?”

 Patton looked up the giants. “...Both of you?” He asked.

 “Both? Uh...I mean, I’m down for a sleepover.” Roman turned to Logan.

“It seems a bit juvenile, but I think it’s appropriate.” Logan agreed. The bed was certainly large enough.

“I’ll increase security outside this door and make sure you’re not disturbed.” Picani said, giving a bow. Logan gave him a nod of thanks.

 Roman waited until Picani was gone to speak. “So...how do we do this? Do we all share the bed? Sleep on the floor?” Roman suggested. 

“Share the bed.” Virgil voted. “That thing’s like an ocean, there’s plenty of room.”

 “You have a point, Virge. Even with all of us on it, there will still be plenty of room.” Roman looked to his bed to make sure and nodded. “What do you say you Royal Bookworm?” Roman nudged Logan.

Logan rolled his eyes good-naturedly, walking over to the four poster. “I’ll take the right side. The three of you can have the middle pillow.”

 “Sounds good.” Thomas spoke, while Patton squealed.

 “Yay! Sleepover!” He exclaimed. Roman chuckled and made his way over to the bed, smoothing it out slightly and then motioning for Logan to get in.

Logan set the humans down, settling in himself. “Everyone comfortable?”

 “Yeah.” Thomas said with a smile, snuggling into Virgil. Patton, on the other hand, was already in the middle of climbing up to Logan’s chest. He settled down with a smile.

 “Now I am.”

Logan’s heart leapt up his throat, looking down at Patton fondly as he placed his palm gently over the tiny human.

“You coming, princey?” Virgil teased.

 Roman smiled and rolled his eyes fondly as he got into bed as well. He settled down and laid on his side to see the others better. “Everyone all settled in?” Roman asked.

 Thomas nodded and Patton hummed happily into Logan’s chest.

“Yup.” Virgil confirmed, nestling closer to his brother.

“Goodnight then.” Logan spoke aloud into the darkness, earning a chorus of ‘goodnight’s in return.

Yes, the evening had been filled with frights, as had most of the human’s separate lives through the giant world. But all three had experienced joys here as well. No matter what the morning brought, be it a new foe, a way home, or perhaps even the news this would become their permanent residence, the group was unafraid, because they were ready to face any challenges that arose together.

[go-redgirl]

Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace

When Ellen DeGeneres returned from a summer hiatus to open the 18th season of her daytime talk show in September, she came armed with an apology. “I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” she said. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.” Those remarks came in the wake of reports of workplace misconduct at “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Viewers tuned in for the apology: This year’s season opener had the highest ratings for an “Ellen” premiere in four years. And then they tuned out. “Ellen” has lost more than a million viewers since September, according to the research firm Nielsen, averaging 1.5 million viewers over the last six months, down from 2.6 million in the same period last year.

The decline has come at a time when workplace behavior, in Hollywood and elsewhere, has come under intense scrutiny against a backdrop of protest and social change. It is a startling setback for one of daytime television’s most successful franchises and for Ms. DeGeneres, who was at the forefront of an earlier cultural shift when, as the star of a prime-time network sitcom in the 1990s, she announced that she is gay.

The show’s loss of more than a million viewers translates to a 43 percent decline, representing a steeper drop than any of its competitors. This TV season, “Ellen,” the winner of dozens of Emmys since its start in 2003, is no longer in the same league as traditional rivals like “Dr. Phil” (3.1 million) and “Live: With Kelly and Ryan” (2.7 million). Now it finds itself uncomfortably close to shows hosted by Maury Povich (1.4 million), Kelly Clarkson (1.3 million), Rachael Ray (1.2 million), Tamron Hall (1.1 million) and Jerry Springer’s former security guard Steve Wilkos (1.1 million).

The loss of viewers includes a 38 percent decline in her core audience, adult women under 54, according to Nielsen. And it appears to have put a dent in the show’s ad revenue. From September to January of the 2019-20 season, “Ellen” brought in $131 million from advertisers, according to the research firm Kantar. That has fallen to $105 million for the same period in 2020-21, a drop of about 20 percent.

Ms. DeGeneres, 63, has publicly mused on the possibility of leaving the show in recent years, and the spotlight on her workplace troubles has added to the questions about her future. Her talk-show contract runs through next year. Warner Bros., the division of AT&T’s WarnerMedia that produces “Ellen,” confirmed that the show would return for a 19th season in September, after her usual summer hiatus. A spokeswoman for Ms. DeGeneres declined to comment when asked if the 2021-22 television season would be her last.

“‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ remains one of the top three highest-rated syndicated talk shows this season,” David McGuire, an executive vice president of programming at Telepictures, a Warner Bros. subsidiary, said in a statement. He suggested other reasons for the decline, like changing viewing habits during the pandemic.

“While broadcast is down across the board and Covid has been challenging for production, we are looking forward to bringing back our live audiences and a 19th season filled with all of the hilarious and heartwarming moments that have made ‘Ellen’ one of the longest running and most successful talk shows in history,” he added.

Whether or not the next season of “Ellen” is its last, WarnerMedia and Ms. DeGeneres are together for the long haul. In 2019, the company made a deal with her to produce four programs for its HBO Max streaming platform, including a home-design challenge series; a dating show; an animated show, “Little Ellen”; and a documentary series on inventors made in conjunction with the Albert Einstein estate. (In another deal, she recently signed a multiyear pact with Discovery to produce natural history documentaries and series.)

Public perception of Ms. DeGeneres started to change in July when BuzzFeed reported that several of the show’s former and current staff members said they had confronted “racism, fear and intimidation” on the set. Several staff members also said producers had sexually harassed them. Warner Bros. investigated the workplace and found “deficiencies.” Three high-level producers were fired, including Ed Glavin, an executive producer; Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer; and Kevin Leman, the head writer. Ms. DeGeneres apologized to her staff before addressing her viewers in September.

Some observers believe the accusations may have weakened Ms. DeGeneres’s relationship with her audience. The host built her show as an oasis from the outside world, a place of goofy dancing, light jokes, cash giveaways to surprised audience members and high-wattage celebrity guests. Several years ago, she adopted “be kind” as her motto, in response to the suicide of Tyler Clementi, a gay college student who took his own life after being bullied.

“Her brand is not just being fairly nice — it is ‘Be Kind,’” said Stephen Galloway, the dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of film and media arts. “She’s chosen two words to stamp herself. You cannot have hypocrisy better defined than when you’ve chosen those two words to define yourself and everyone is seeing the opposite is true inside your show.

“The reason the incident with the producers was such a difficult and perilous moment is it’s the first time where something surfaced to indicate that a family — Ellen’s own professional family — was dysfunctional,” he continued.

Ms. DeGeneres referred to her motto in her on-air apology. “Being known as the Be Kind Lady is a tricky position to be in,” she said. “So let me give you some advice. If anyone is thinking of changing their title or giving yourself a nickname, do not go with the Be Kind Lady.” She added that she was indeed the cheerful person she appeared to be on television, but was also someone who experienced moments of sadness, anxiety and impatience.

In addition to her daytime show, Ms. DeGeneres is also a prime-time star for NBC — and her show for that network, “Ellen’s Game of Games,” also a Warner production, has lost 32 percent of its viewers this season, as well as 35 percent in the adult demographic important to advertisers.

Even with the complications affecting all talk shows during the pandemic, “Ellen,” with its loss of 43 percent of its audience, has suffered a steeper decline than its rivals. “Dr. Phil” is down 22 percent, and “The Kelly Clarkson” show has lost 26 percent of its viewers. Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest’s show has just lost 3 percent, and “Tamron Hall” is down 9 percent.

Ms. DeGeneres beat the odds to make her show a success. There is a television graveyard filled with the comics, actors, anchors and reality stars who have taken a crack at syndicated talk shows only to be yanked off the air because of low ratings. And when “Ellen” premiered, she also had to overcome the hesitancy of affiliate managers who thought an openly gay person could not connect with the women who make up most of the daytime audience. Her quick wit and approachable manner earned her millions of fans and ultimately a plum late-afternoon slot in most markets. As recently as a few years ago, the show was drawing roughly three million viewers an episode.

As Ms. DeGeneres fights through a loss in popularity, she has turned to celebrity friends to help her make the case that there is not much difference between the on-camera Ellen and the real Ellen. When Michelle Obama was a virtual guest last week, she spoke warmly about the time she went to Ms. DeGeneres’s house and they played a piano duet together. A video clip of the pair at the piano was shown.

Another recent guest, Jennifer Garner, also appearing remotely, raced to her hotel room balcony at the host’s request to tell passers-by how much she adored Ms. DeGeneres. “I love her!” Ms. Garner shouted. “She’s kind! She’s a humanitarian! She loves animals!”

By John Koblin

The post Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace appeared first on New York Times.

[grim-faux]

21 - Hall of Rorschachs

The lift gave a harsh clatter against the steel rails, as the cables jerked the empty container back to the ground floor.  I twisted around and lunged at the underside in some pitiful attempt to latch on and ride up, or drag it back down if I must.  Even if there was doubt I had the strength to hold on, I was desperate.  But it was not to be, I was far from grasping the cart as it faded into the dark gullet of the chute.  The clatter of the carriage grew distant as I stood in the shadows gazing up, hand outstretched.  Begging.  My thoughts pleading.  No one was listening.  I returned my focus to the short corridor with the lamps that buzzed and dim whenever a surge slid through.  I was so set on getting out.  Ready to say my goodbyes.  I let my fucking guard down.  How typical.  How fucking typical.

I tried the call button beside the chutes entrance, but it required a magnet key.  I recalled the Asylum, and the numerous trials I endured to locate those damn cards.  I didn’t believe I would stumble upon one down here, since it was ‘Father’ Martin that had planted them for me.  God, even in death he’s still giving me shitty fetch quests.

New Objective:  Find another way out. I didn’t know what awaited down here, lurking.  Didn’t feel prepared to continue.  It couldn’t be worse than the twins or Trager, could it? I crossed to the set of doors and pushed one open, and was nearly blinded by the sterile light blazing over the pristine walls and floor.  Bright glaring lights, that reminded me of His cell.  I blinked the dryness away as I stepped into the hall, I could detect an immediate change in pressure.  Aside from the air having a dry and clinical property, I couldn’t explain the sensation, but I didn’t like it.  Bravo for intuition. The floor was polished and as bright and white as the cylindrical walls curved around the hall.  I wasn’t a geologist so my knowledge was limited, but if I had to guess I would say it was all chiseled from natural stone, from the mountain itself ”…something that had been waiting for them in the mountain.”  What the hell was this place? Now that I thought back on it, a colleague of mine had tried to relate a scientific matter to me concerning specific ores, and how it attributed to supernatural occurrences.  Truth of the matter I had been a piss poor student, and constantly teased her as she tried to educate me.  But I had listened enough. The paranormal was a genre she was interested in, and she was thrilled to tell me about a place she visited in Colorado (not Mount Massive).  Some ritzy Hotel, the Overlook I think was the name, its location built upon a cash of natural limestone.  Scientific observations were utilized to support theories, that paranormal occurrences could be attributed to high concentrations of limestone in the mountain.  Something in the mineral conducted electricity. It sounded a little too fantastic to me, but here and now, I was beginning to wonder if Murkoff had premeditated these findings.  Someone believed them.  In that case, the Asylum wasn’t target exclusively for the history or the seclusion.  It was elected due to the qualities of the region itself. Or maybe I was just tired.  I looked up at the symbol printed above the next set of doors.  I’d seen it before.  No, not the lockers in prison block.  The video the Priest had forced me to watch.  That symbol was on the floor when the MHS tacticals were throttled like chickens.  The atomic, molecular design?  Or could there be further religious affiliation? I pushed the doors open and stepped into a fresh scene of horror.  I knew this room, and my anxiety increased tenfold.  Blood streaked the floor, splattered on the white stone walls.  Bullet marks decorated steel and glass in random areas, the pieces of a gun had been scattered over the floor with black splatters.  Muscles and entrails glistened under the light as I moved from the doors.  Red had dried to the large crescent desk fixed at the rooms center, two large screens sat behind it, bright and cheery in contrast to the stew soaking into the stone.  One read Murkoff Corporation, the other sported the trinity Molecular design along with WALRIDER PROJECT in bold.  And the symbol on the floor streaked with blood.  That symbol was everywhere. With a sigh, I took out my camera and filmed everything.  It was giving me low battery warnings, but I had at least a half hour left if I didn’t run out of power for the night vision.  Unfortunately, there seemed to be plenty of light in this place. “Fuck.  Fuck, fuck, fuck.   Whoever finds my corpse – trust no one and tell everyone.  I am not crazy.  I know, I know, only crazy people say that.  But I am as sane as this world allows, with a camera full of evidence.  Don’t call it a gospel.  Call it a mockery of reason, let the world know it is Murkoff’s fault.  Bury these bastards with my mutilated dead body.” It took a few minutes for me to write.  My hands seemed steady at first, but when I put pen to paper, well….  Aside from the difficulty of holding my pen against my middle finger, it was almost unbearable to apply pressure to my index finger.  I dated the note and leaned back to view murder and rot surrounding me while I wrote.  I needed to get my priorities straight. A few plants dotted the room, but I knew they were fake without a glance.  Polished gray pillars encircled the lobby, they didn’t resemble any specific mineral.  Just general grade cement to support the dark blue ceiling.  The far side was comprised of a glassed portion of the wall, with thick pipes behind.  Water, gas, electricity, I didn’t care.  Beside the wall sat a short desk, out of place among the red streaks.  Two chairs had been set facing one another, and two mugs of coffee still sat on the brown wood. I averted my gaze to the opposite wall, where a purge chamber stood open to the room, black blood washed down its sides and soaking the floor.  The images came back clearly as I had seen them, despite the drugs swimming through my brain at the time.  I could envision the panicked militants shrieking as their bodies were ripped through the tiny crevices in the doors, and holes of the glassed in wall.  One man’s legs still lay a few feet from the pile of meat, a string of organs dried to the stone.   I stumbled back into the large desk and sat down on its surface.  My hand touched a folder beside me, and I looked down to flip through the pages.  It was nothing remarkable, nothing relevant I decided. From the personal records of Dr. Wernicke.  The Modern Prometheus Document: The Pride of Wisdom Schrodinger Wolfram “FRANKENSTEIN, or The Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley, published anonymously in 1818. Chapter 23, excerpt –  “Man,” I cried, “how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom! Cease; you know not what it is you say."  I broke from the house angry and disturbed, and retired to meditate on some other mode of action. Well, it appeared they created man’s monster.  And it hath a wraith unlike no other being in our world.  I closed the folder and pinched the bridge of my nose.  It was apparent I had dug in too deep, I didn’t know if I could claw out of the grave I had lain in.  I suppose I had one choice.  Keep digging.  I didn’t know exactly where I was, but I had a strong estimate.  I was in the Basement of the Asylum. I looked to the security operative slumped in his chair, near where I perched.  Briefly, I wondered what would become of the remains of all these people?  Even if Murkoff wasn’t the shady bastards that they were, it was impossible to gather up the pieces to return them to their families.  The investigation? I slid off the desk and approached the blood splattered door of the cold purge chamber.  My breath hitched as I tried to inhale gently, but the pain in my rib couldn’t be negotiated with.  I didn’t know if I could do this all over.  I might need to find someplace to rest and if fate allowed, I would awaken before I died. The door panel sparkled embers from the torn wires, probably motion sensors detecting my approach.  The doors held silent, an eerie howl raised from the dark depths.  I raised the NV and reassured myself there was nothing, I was alone except for the dead.  The hair bristled along my brow.  God, why did I put that image in my head?   I shuffled forward into the cradle of the dark.  Above wires and cables ran the length of the tunnel, the walls were as they were in the entrance, chiseled and polished stone with occasional gaps that had been glassed off where additional paneling and vital equipment or systems were nestled.  The camera flashed a familiar image, I tensed as static buzzed through and waited until it cleared.  Nothing but shredded bodies, nothing but the secrets these people died with.  I listened to the silence.  For so long I was accustomed to the distant shrieks and mutter of people, behind doors I hoped to never open.  Now, I was buried deep in solid rock, with only the pulse in my bones to alleviate the sterile peace. Murkoff personnel were everywhere, lined against the walls, bodies torn inside out by a force I could never have a want to comprehend.  I doubt any two were slain in the same fashion, or the method of death so violent it was impossible to replicate.  As always, never footprints.  But what ghost had feet? Guts and lungs splattered up walls, I was unsettled by how fresh it appeared to be, but attributed it to the NV.  Thin lines marked the floor, I knew these prints that made long red through copious puddles.  I’d seen the same when I was pushed off an elevator by a lunatic.  They turned when the tunnel curved, ahead light swept into the shadows.  I clicked off the nightvision but hesitated to emerge.  I refused to trust the helpful presence of light, but for now it was welcomed while my camera demanded a fresh battery.  I dropped the old one and set the new one in.  The distant clatter that echoed was a solitary thing throughout the corridor. The wall along my right had the natural mineral trimmed away into flat walls, reinforced with cement, and steel in some areas.  The metal portions were fitted with slates, or shields, that same symbol from the lobby was printed besides the shields.  I stared down, the marks.  Those lines went through these panels, curving around the edge.  I debated the meaning as I took a deep breath and squinted my eyes. They looked like portals or panels that could be moved.  There was a set of powerful looking hydraulic hinges, but otherwise no handles or switches that could gain access.  Probably wouldn’t do me any good anyway.  I fit my fingers along the edge testing for a draft, but judged they were airtight.  Pressure sealed.  This facility was dedicated to science and clinical procedures, despite the butcher of the upper floors.  If there was a way out, hopefully I didn’t need to access it within there.  I could come back, once the rest of the Block was explored. As I resumed on my way, something came to my thoughts, it was a bit random.  In the report it was stated Billy had spoken to the Dr. Wernicke in a white room.  I spun around checking the walls and surrounding surfaces.  This place was pretty white.  But…that wasn’t possible. I looked up and watched a camera connected to the cables in the ceiling revolved slowly, catching all the action as it happened.  I glanced back at the doorway before I continued down the hall. A Block.  The large plate on the wall identified this as A Block, or the whole hall was?  There wasn’t much to it.  I was reminded of the Cell Block’s of the Asylum above – C Block, D Block.  Clearly this was as a part of the Asylum as the condemned sections of the Female Ward.  This didn’t surprise me.  But it could have been coincidence as well.  I’d go with that, since I was done with the conspiracy theories.   The next set of doors had pop marks across the glass and metal, bent out in small boils where bullets had lodged.  The bullets were fully visible in the glass, surrounded by the star shaped impressions that commemorate the battle.  I felt the shadows around me as I huddled in the garden, the branches cracking as something swept through.  That inhuman shrill.  In my ear screaming as the thunder laughs, and my vision fills with white.  Then I’m curled up in the room, the dry wood and cold plaster on either shoulder as I tremble and listen to the ringing in my ears.  The sensation that crawls through me, I can’t explain it.  I’ve lost something, yet, nothing is amiss.  I don’t feel right. I barely glimpsed the panel at my left.  Morphogenic Engine.  I stopped with my hand on the door and bent my head around studying the hall I had moved through.  You know what?  Fuck that.  I can’t conceive what it would look like, what exactly it’s supposed to do.  I don’t care.  I’ll come back!  I promise.  I’ll come back if I have too. That was probably a hollow promise, but my obligations had faded since I stepped off that damn elevator.  I had no luck with elevators. A series of large canisters greeted me on the other side of the doors, pressed to the wall on my left and out of the way.  The label read ‘saline’ substitute.  That sounded kind of weird, wasn’t saline a substitute?  I took in details of the hall, my camera held in no specific position as I walked.  The ceiling retained its natural rock, but the walls on either side resembled the interior of medical labs.  This all looked like existing cave before Murkoff came along and filled it with their nightmare science.  The idea brought me back to the theory of the mountains as the target rather the Asylum, and I wondered about the files I had found dating back before Mount Massive was shut down.  If not for the limestone, then the isolated region was more than worth the resources to insure the quality of their uninterrupted studies. I touched the wall on my left as I neared the doorframe.  The material was metal and possibly reinforced.  I don’t think it was meant for militaristic operations, though they clearly took precautions for their work.  For an invasion or ‘terrorist’ attack, a lot of good it did them. A thin red streak slipped between the open doors I peered through, blood was spread from ceiling to floor.  I blinked, staring.  The air was thick with copper and rot.  I was so tired of that smell, but I just couldn’t get away from it.  It was soaked into my clothing as it was soaking into the walls around me.  I stepped inside, careful of the pieces beside the counter that had once been one or two people.  Maybe three.  All of them spattered over the floor, organs hung in ribbons on counters, pieces of bone scattered over metal cabinets.   I scanned the labels visible through the glassed in shelves.  Most were filled with vials of fluids, many of which sported long, four syllable words with –ine or –phen on the end.  Files were scattered over the sinks and floors, reminders for injections and progress with patients identified by numbers.  I stood beside the rolling chairs and scanned over the room, debating if it was possible that materials remained that I could patch my hands with.  Something actually medical, rather the spare shirt that would be waiting for me in the jeep.   Pipes twisted around the edge of the ceiling.  I followed the sections around the room trying to recall something about pipes.  They were pumping the recycled air throughout the facility, they had to.  Couldn’t risk foreign contamination.  It sounded ridiculous in my head, but I preferred it that way. Revisiting the hall, I turned left.  The black stains of yet more Researchers coated the gray metal of Nitroglycerin tanks, scattered beside the wall.  He was probably in the midst of transporting them when it all happened.  A few tanks managed to stay on the wrecked cart against the wall.  I poked into the next room, the remains of staff had all but painted the walls.  I stumbled as I leaned on the door, just… everywhere I looked, the broken pieces of tissue and body parts was all over.  I have to emphasize the ALL OVER aspect.  I thought the Asylum itself was gruesome, but this was something else entirely. I looked from the doors of the room, shot up by bullets, to the large tank of unmarked gas or fluid.  At the other corner was a medical waste bin piled high with black bags, stuffed with unknown rubbish.  It was a clear violation of sanitation, but for whatever reason Murkoff began to lack in strict policies during its final days.  I was curious to what could be crammed in those bags but they sagged and were covered in unknown gunk, and the smell of residual chemicals did not encourage me.  It was subtle evidence of distress, though at the time this room from a glance gave the delusion of order and regiment.     I stared up as I leaned on the autopsy table bolted to the floors center.  Above, an arm hung from one of the pipes that lapped around the ceiling, dried muscle had peeled back to reveal white bone.  Threads of intestines stuck to files stuffed into the shelves, the jaw of someone was lodged into the space between a drawer and the countertops edge.  It looked like the fleshy tissue of the throat had remained attached. I shut my eyes and rested my weight to my free arm, when I opened my eyes, I noted the pages that had scattered from a folder stained with blood.  Under the harsh lamps the fluids looked fresh, almost new.  The battery in the camera itself was holding strong, I used it to snap the pictures as I skimmed through.  PROJECT WALRIDER  POSTMORTEM PRIMATORY REPORT MM1300921  (form note: all material herein to be transcribed and revised to fit legally binding requirements of Murkoff Corp. records. See form 4083)  AUTHOR: Jennifer Roland  NOTES: My fourteenth autopsy of a Walrider patient, showing no more signs of accepting the therapy than any of the others. There have been slight gains in cell migration and morphogenesis (including effects similar to Human Growth Hormone), but nothing to suggest the stable creation of a sentient, independent swarm. So tired. Doubting my judgment. Will submit another request for leave. The psychological cost of using such far gone and further provoked patients is more than I feel I can handle.  May suggest hanging less hope on the far-flung theories of a senile Nazi and move towards using a simpler mechanical engine based on major sperm protein.  Will definitely suggest harsher chemical restraints. Murkoff Security killed patient 923 after he overcame enough tranquilizers to put down a hockey team. I’m afraid the Hormone Therapy is interacting with our chemical restraints in a counterproductive manner. This file.  This file was very important.  It gave insight that had not been present in past documents.  The use of words in her text made it sound like…. Dr. Wernicke was still alive. I stared at the phrase she included which made the doctors status current, if it was not a mistake of word use.  But that would make him ninety years old, at the least.  I set the file down and looked upon the carnage, the violence, the death.  I corrected myself.  Wernicke had been alive.  I couldn’t imagine him surviving this.  I tossed the file aside and ventured through the door, turning to the corridors end.  Expulsion of gooey innards spread high on the wall, long red lines slid down before the liquid dried. More death, more bodies that had at one time been living people.  I pressed my hand to the wall as I took the right corner, avoiding the skin stretched across polished white floor.  I don’t know why I was self-conscious now, after I had traipsed through mounds of bodies in the Asylums halls.  I couldn’t even come up with a cheap theory.  Every corner, I saw red and wet entrails, black skin and orange puss.  The air was filled with its rancid vapor, from the methane released as the meat soured.  What would they do with all these bodies?  Where could you put them all? I didn’t reach the doors in my path.  I had to stop and lean on the wall, gazing at them.  Doors and more doors.  What would be behind them?  My liberation at last?  I didn’t care, I had to lie down, rest.  The ache in my skull was unbearable, if I took one more step I would fall.  I couldn’t go on like this.  I just kept seeing bodies and faces, images I couldn’t explain.  What was I seeing?  I wasn’t even hiding in the shadows.  The shapes were no longer trapped in my camera. The room spun, I kept myself from stumbling with my hand on the wall as I lowered down.  There was a shallow slant beside the floor, I propped my good side on this to keep the pressure off my ribs.  I kept the camera in my right hand and set it beside me.  I wasn’t planning on sleeping, just needed to give myself a chance to cut the ache.  The floor was cold but it felt so good to lay my head against it.  It didn’t even matter how bright the bulbs were above, I could turn my face into the collar of my coat and shut my eyes. Almost at once I felt my mind descending into a thick blanket of sleep.  I tried to stir from the tempting lull, but I couldn’t resist.  I was surrounded by the corpses of dozens of unnamed scientists but I didn’t give a damn, it was too hard to stay conscious.  I escaped the pain, I escaped the world, and I escaped the cold halls churning in my mind. As I felt my body slip into the illusion of safety, a painful spasm shot up my spine.  I was paralyzed.  The sensation was horrible, my muscles locked up and I couldn’t will them to relax.  It was as if the concept of mobility was ripped from my brain.  I was a prisoner in my body, fully capable of detecting the environment around me but unable to react to it.  I felt the camera in my hand as I slowly regained consciousness, but… I remained unable to rip free of the powerful vice that had seized my chest.  It was too painful to do anything less pathetic than cringe.  I whined as my ribs shifted in my side and gagged.  I was suffocating!  My eyes open drunkenly, dots whirling in my vision as my brain craved oxygen.  I saw something.  A dark shape leaning over me, staring into my face. I barked out a terrified sound and swung my arms out, clipping the wall with my left hand as I thrashed.  I scrambled over the floor struggling to escape thin air, until I was pressed back into the doors.  I stared wild eyed, disturbed and gasping for air, despite the odd tickle in my chest.  There was… Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  The lights blazed down as fierce as when I had dropped, my head pulsed the same as before.  No change.  There was no demon here. The sharp sting returned to my finger as I recalled, I’d just smacked a stone wall with it.  I clutched the shaking hand to my chest, and curled my other arm around it and barred myself in with my knees.  I sat for moment fighting to forget the pain, while my filthy pants soaked up red drops.   “Nothing is here,” I whispered.  “Just a nightmare.”  My voice rattled against the walls, impossibly loud, overpowering briefly the dull buzz that hung over me.  I uncoiled and trusted weight on the bleeding hand to push me upright.  My body was uncooperative but my mental brawn won over. I shut the door behind me and scanned the long corridor ahead.  To my eyes it just went on forever.  Probably wasn’t too far off.  A thick pipe extended overhead, I saw no other visible wires and took this might have been the main electrical.  Beside it metal cabinets jutted from the walls, though the natural stone work remained in this tunnel, along with various protrusions.  Additions, such as flues were burrowed into the rock on either side, and another thick gray pipe extended along the ceiling. Electricity was in the air, I could feel it like the hum from a television when you first turn it on.  But it’s forceful, charged in the empty space but not in the walls themselves.  Maybe it was the lamps overhead.  I set my hand on the gray pipe testing the vibrations but felt none.  I ignored the marks of blood I left behind, as I walked and swayed around the huge tanks.  Many stood my height but none held clear labels, just a serial label printed on the metal top.   The sides of the floor were marked with caution strips, and other more descript warning lines marked the floor every few feet.  I skimmed over the large pipes bent and twisted along the corridor walls, of what they transported I couldn’t say.  Looked like aqueducts, but I doubted this.  Pallets stacked high with bags and covered with a blue tarp, had been abandoned in the hall. I tried to peel back the plastic cover and record what was beneath but the material was thick.  I also lacked the patience.  I slipped over the top rather crawl around. Judging by the layout of this tunnel, I could deduce this was not a main wing but dedicated to temporary storage hall.  Plans in the schedule might have included park the pellets in a more particle space, but that was before the shit storm hit.  Or this was another example of a lapse in protocol.  I winced when another thought hit.  Files existed that made note on the cutback in staff costs.  The man I had seen playing the piano.  Had he been a patient? I jumped when the camera sputtered, the noise echoed from the chiseled walls.  Damn it!  That scared the shit out of me!  I held it away as the visor cleared, and continued walking.  The files would be corrupt, I decided.  But I could still salvage them, I had equipment for that.  My shoulders shook on the thought of reviewing what I had recorded.  The sounds I made when I ran from Trager.  It didn’t even sound like me.  Was that really me? I said that allowed, and paused to glance around wondering if it was I that had spoken.  I barely began walking when I noticed to my left, a window.  I skid to a stop and backed up.  A window!  Transparent hand prints of red stained the surface, but beyond that sunlight.  Sunlight!  From the outside!  It was all clear golden sky, rolling hills.  No more storms filled with monsters shrieking with the thunder!  The outside world was still out there.  It was waiting just for me.   I was staring into a militaristic hangar, a few vehicles parked under the steel structure ceiling, the walls stretched around appeared reinforced.  Most important of all, there was no sign of life, no movement.  Just equipment, materials, large barrels of god knows what.  And that beautiful sunlight washed across the military jeep wedged in the doorway.  If I was viewing it from the correct angle, no one was going to close that door unless they packed some powerful explosives.  Or, had the key to the jeep.  I held the camera up and filmed what I was seeing, while trying not to get too close to the Plexiglas.  There had to be— Ah. Over there!  Far right wall, lit up like Christmas.  A purge gate.  From the distance and discoloration of the window, I couldn’t validate if it functioned or not.  But it didn’t matter, it was the first entrance/exit I had come across.  There didn’t seem to be any difficulty in dismantling those purge gates though.  How did I get over there? I tracked the hall that continued before me, with my eyes.  If I had a map, no doubt it’d have an arrow indicating this way led to the exit.  Large blue barrels sat in my path, I could view traces of blood on the walls just beyond them. Directly behind me, another set of doors clear and featureless.  Above the frame a green bulb, indicating they were unlocked?  I stared into the white hall within, while my mind hunted for escape.  I had visions of myself entering that small hall and an alarm going off, a steel shutter lowering like in some James Bond film and me stuck inside forever because I just couldn’t let go. Or maybe I was afraid to?  Could that be it? The doors parted automatically upon detecting my movement, the plastic panels issued a soft hiss as frigid air swept out.  I paused in the entrance, not doubting my fears, whichever ones I had.  I debated turning away and just leaving, working on that gate and my inevitable freedom.  But I really couldn’t have too much evidence. I said that once before.  But maybe I was right.  I was afraid. The short hall was cold, the air crisp, fresh.  One of the two doors was left open, which explained the drop in temperature.  It was a small room filled with freezers, all below zero temperatures.  I stepped around the right side trying a few of the doors, but they required access codes through key panels.  At the left side of the room a door had been smashed, the locking mechanism no longer active allowed numerous clear vials to spill across the floor.  Whatever the contents, they had dried and converted white limestone into varying shades of iridescent.  I kicked a few away with my foot and listened as the glass crinkled as I turned.  Along the back wall of the room sat lesser refrigerated cabinets, the contents exposed through foggy glass.   Beside them, a dry erase board.  I stood before it, my camera giving its usual complaint as I waited patiently for it to quiet.  It was some form of chemical engineering algorithm, exponents and a formula function I did not recognize.  All in blue marker, except for the title at the top, which was a simple label written in black.  

Morphogenic Engine

[solartranslations]

Vascello Fantasma Prologue: Arcana Famiglia

Start Up Messages

(If you have a save from the first game to import, the "Memories" and "Roulette" section of each character you've completed there will unlock.)

Do you want to change the name of the heroine? The current name is Felicita.

>Change >Keep

Do you want to change the nickname of the heroine? The current name is Fel. As the game proceeds, the nickname is sometimes used.

>Change >Keep

Configure the playback setting of the heroine’s system voice. This can be changed at any time in the game options.

>Yes voice >No voice

Do you want to change the name of the owl? The current name is Fukurota.

>Change >Keep

Configure the setting of Fukurota’s system voice type. This can be changed at any time in the game options.

>Type A >Type B >None

Is everything ok?

>Yes >Corrections Needed

We recognize that you are a member of Arcana Famiglia

Operation Hints ○ Button can be used to advance through messages. Long pressing will advance through dialogue at a fast speed. × Button can be used to clear messages. L Button can be used to open the menu.

Useful Functions You can see this description anytime in the “Descriptions” section of the menu by pressing the L button.

Prologue: Arcana Famiglia

The vigilante organization that protects the island of Regalo…that is Arcana Famiglia

Narrator: “Arcana Famiglia”

Narrator: They are the vigilante organization that protects the small trade island of Regalo

Narrator: Under “Papa” who leads the organization,

Narrator: They protect the people of the island from the dangers beyond the sea and possess the power to divide the rights and lords

Narrator: Only those who have contracted with the “Tarocco” and vow to comply with the law are allowed to enter the organization

Narrator: They abandon their family name, and work to the best of their ability for the organization

Narrator: The power gained from contracting with the “Tarocco” — Arcana powers

Narrator: And those powers that are beyond human understanding demanded compensation

Narrator: What supported them all was “The World”. What saved them was “The Wheel of Fortune”

Narrator: The growth of “The Lovers” heart changed fate, and fulfilled its role in sustaining The Wheel

Narrator: This is the story of those with Arcana powers, and their curious fates…

~*Opening Movie*~

“The Lovers” whispers to her of a new encounter…

~*Scene: Felicita's Room*~

Felicita: Zzz…

Gli Amanti: Hello, Ojou-san

Gli Amanti: I am Gli Amanti. The one who dwells in “The Lovers” card of the Tarocco…

Gli Amanti: Each of us in the Tarocco have our own will, dwell within our contractors, and fulfill each of our roles

Gli Amanti: And my contractor…is you, Felicita

Gli Amanti: We of the Tarocco were made with a purpose. But only the one who made us knows that true purpose

Gli Amanti: The Tarocco is life…and was made for the living

Gli Amanti: And…death…what was made for those who have accepted its slumber is…

~*Scene: Dining Room*~

Liberta: Huh?

Liberta: You don’t know about the Vascello Fantasma!?

Member of Intelligence: Liberta, holder of “The Fool” Major Arcana

Pace: What’s that? A new kind of dish?

Executive of the Clubs: Pace, holder of the “Strength” Major Arcana

Dante: Vascello Fantasma is known of as a ghost ship

Chief Executive: Dante, holder of “The Emperor” Major Arcana

Dante: You’re the Deputy Chief Executive, so you should at least have some interest in this

(*stomach growl)

Liberta: It’s a huge shadow ship that wanders the sea surrounded in a deep fog. Getting as far away as possible once you see it is common practice for sailors!

Nova: Hey Liberta…I know you’re familiar with it, but aren’t you boasting too much?

Executive of the Chalices: Nova, holder of the “Death” Major Arcana

Luca: Ahem. I don’t know if it is that ship, but I’ve received information that it was sighted near the Regalo coast recently

Attendant: Luca, holder of the “Temperance” Major Arcana

Debito: Ghosts? I’d welcome the ghost of a beautiful woman though

Executive of the Coins: Debito, holder of “The Hermit” Major Arcana

Luca: It might just resemble it, but a ship without a known nationality or affiliation shouldn’t have any ties with Regalo

Dante: There was also that incident of an unknown attack on the Regalo harbor just the other day… We should be careful

Jolly: Yes we should…

Advisor: Jolly, holder of “The Moon” Major Arcana

Jolly: So, the Chalices and Coins Serie will patrol the town, while the Swords and Clubs Serie will take turns providing security for the mansion

Jolly: Understood, Ojou-sama?

(*serious) Felicita: …

~*Scene: Hallway*~

Luca: …Well, we’ve been ordered to guard the mansion for a whole week now. Nothing has happened

(*smile) Luca: Nothing is a good thing. The weather is nice today too

Felicita: Yeah

Luca: Oh, it’s about time to chance shifts with Pace and the Clubs. Shall we go for lunch when we’re done, Ojou-sama?

>I want to eat something delicious

>We can’t let our guard down

Luca: *laugh*, then let’s go to the ristorante

Luca: Of course, we can order the dolce you like, Ojou-sama

Luca: You’re right, Ojou-sama

Luca: But those words…are proof of how you’ve grown as an executive. I’m happy

Luca: We can’t be careless since the problem of the unknown ship hasn’t been resolved yet

Luca: Well, shall we go through the patrol route one more time?

Luca: …!? What was that sound just now!?

Felicita: *running*

(*running) Luca: Ojou-sama! Please wait!!

~*Scene: Basement*~

Felicita: !?

Patrick: Guh…ah…

Luca: H-hold on! What happened here!?

(*shaky) Patrick: Ugh…I’m sorry…I was heading to the room we were supposed to guard…and a man…

(*collapse)

Luca: That means there’s an intruder… And, that room is…

Felicita: …!

Luca: Ojou-sama! I’m going to call for back up from Pace and the Clubs Serie, so don’t make a move for now!

Felicita: *runs*

Luca: Ojou-sama!? Don’t go! Ojou-sama!!

~*Scene: Mondo’s Office*~

(*bite) Ash: …Found it. This emerald design…it’s just like in the logbook, there’s no doubt

Ash: If I bring this back, everything will be back to how it was

(*bam!)

Ash: Another one. Guess they won’t hand it over so easily…

Felicita: …

Ash: Okay, bring it on. You want this back, right?

Felicita: *dash*

Operation Hints: In the Duello, press the buttons within the time limit

(*whish) Felicita: Hya!

Attack!

>Hit

>Miss

(Skip this box)

(*dodge) Ash: Hah, missed me!

Ash: Come on, weren’t you going to defeat me!?

(Try again)

(*whack) Ash: Guh!

Ash: Looks like she’s a bit better than the guards from earlier…

Ash: Now it’s my turn, try dodging this!!

(*grip) Felicita: !

Dodge!

>Hit

>Miss

(Skip this box)

(*whack) Felicita: !

Ash: What, is that all you’ve got?

Ash: There’s more where that came from!! Haa!

(Try again)

Felicita: *dodge*

(*slide) (*clink)

(*whish) Felicita: Ya!

Attack!

>Hit

>Miss

(Skip this box)

(*whish) Ash: Where’re you aiming? I’m over here!

Ash: Now this is how you attack!!

(Go back to the dodge box)

(*dodge) Ash: Like that’ll hit me…!

(*grip) Ash: Interesting. You use knives and I use a sword

(*whish) Ash: Let’s go!! Haa!

(*dodge) Felicita: !

(*whack) Felicita: !

Ash: Hmph…you’re pretty weak…

Luca: Ojou-sama!!

Pace: Ojou!! Are you okay!?

Ash: Okay, you guys better not take another step. If you do, the girl gets it

Luca: ! How cowardly!

Felicita: …!

Ash: It’s no use resisting

Pace: What’re you going to do to Ojou!

Ash: Her? I guess she’ll be a hostage until I get out of this mansion

Felicita: …!

Ash: Settle down, Strawberry Head

(*grab) Ash: Okay…

Luca: That box…, we won’t let you have it!

Ash: Huh…it didn’t look like the guards knew, but you do

Ash: You know what’s inside

>Don’t worry about me!

>Luca, don’t worry

Pace: Don’t say that…you’re the one in danger, Ojou

Ash: Well? If you take one step, I really will do it

Luca: Ojou-sama…

Ash: Heh, well at least she’s got resolve

(*yell!)

Ash: Enough wasting time. The weaklings are coming…

Ash: !

(*whish)

(*whack) Felicita: !

(*collapse)

Luca: Ojou-sama!!

(*glare) Ash: Didn’t I say not to move? Until I bring this box back, I’ll be taking Strawberry Head here

(*grab)

Ash: Okay, she’s actually pretty light

Pace: What are you after!?

Ash: Huh? I’m taking this box back

Luca: Do you know what is inside that box?

(*bam) Ash: Of course I know…it’s the Tarocco, right?

(*smirk) Ash: The Tarocco used to be mine…I’m taking it back

Pace: Huh!? What!?

(*reach) Luca: ……

Ash: I saw that! You think you’re clever, alchemist!

(*glare) Ash: Hah!!

(*whack) Luca: Uwah!!

Ash: Too slow, hat guy! I’ll shoot another one!

(*crackle) Luca: Guh!!

Pace: Watch out! Luca!!

Ash: See you!!

(*crash!)

Pace: Damn it! Ojou!

Pace: Luca, that guy jumped and landed over there

Luca: But this is the third floor!? …We can’t let him escape

Luca: Pace! Order your subordinates to block all the mansion gates!

Pace: And you, Luca?

(*glare) Luca: I…I’ll go after Ojou-sama!

~*Scene: Hallway*~

Ash: …What a big mansion. Where is this?

(*click) Debito: Found you, intruder

Ash: A pursuer? What a pain

(*glare) Ash: Take this!!

(*dodge)

(*jump) Debito: You’re nowhere near worthy of holding Bambina!

(*click) Pace: Debito! Don’t shoot! You’ll hit Ojou!

(*run)

Debito: I wouldn’t hit her! Tch! What a pain. Then Pace, go around and cut him off!

Pace: Got it!

~*Scene: Training Grounds*~

~*Scene: Rose Garden*~

~*Scene: Fountain*~

~*Scene: Courtyard*~

Ash: *panting*…. I didn’t want to use this power but…I guess I have to…

Ash: Can’t get results without some sacrifice

Ash: Doesn’t matter as long as I can make it back to the ship

(*grab)

(*growl)

Luca: A tiger!?

(*running)

(*whish) Luca: Ha!

Luca: Ojou-sama!

Debito: Luca!

Pace: Luca, where’s Ojou!?

Luca: A white tiger…jumped over the mansion walls…

Luca: With Ojou-sama in its mouth…

The mysterious intruder has brought about unrest and chaos to the Family…

~*Scene: Conference Room*~

Mondo: Make your report

Papa: Mondo, holder of “The World” Major Arcana

Dante: Yes. A summary of the situation is that the intruder entered the mansion and made off with the box containing the Tarocco and Ojou-san

Dante: The intruder was a man who seemed to be an alchemist

Dante: But Luca reported that a white tiger jumped over the mansion walls and that the man was nowhere to be seen

Liberta: He said that the tiger was holding Ojou in its mouth

Jolly: He’s an incompetent student, but it seems that he did succeed in attaching “Ariadne’s String” to Ojou-sama

Dante: “Ariadne’s String”…is that the string used to find one’s way out of a labyrinth?

Jolly: In this situation, I suppose you could call it our method of tracking down Ojou-sama

Jolly: By reeling in the string, it can lead us to Ojou-sama. But I don’t know if the Tarocco will be there

Jolly: It’s possible that he would leave her behind while escaping

Liberta: Ojou…

Dante: Intelligence has confirmed that an unknown ship is currently anchored in the limestone bay to the north of Regalo

Jolly: “Ariadne’s String” is moving in that direction. We can assume that they are headed to that bay

Liberta: But, the fog has been thick in that area lately so we can’t get close by ship

Liberta: There was never thick fog there until now though…

Jolly: Luca, Debito, and Pace are currently pursuing them ahead of us

Dante: You can follow the three of them, right Jolly?

Jolly: Yes

Mondo: …Got it. Then we’ll move immediately

Mondo: Listen. My daughter’s life, and all of yours, are the top priority

Mondo: After that, is the recovery of the stolen Tarocco. If you deem that to be impossible, then sink it into the sea

Mondo: There will be misfortune if it leaves Regalo

Sumire: An alchemist who stole the Tarocco and claimed it to be his own before disappearing…

Mama: Sumire, holder of the “Judgment” Major Arcana

Mondo: Mhm, this man is our enemy…but, capture him if possible

(*glare) Mondo: …The enemy has the ability to match you Major Arcana. Sending any lesser reinforcements likely won’t be effective

Mondo: Jolly, Dante, I’m counting on you

Dante: Yes. Intelligence will launch a ship…

Jolly: And we Major Arcana will head there personally…It’s a good plan

Mondo: Yes. I’ll leave it to you

Sumire: You all should be careful too…okay?

Liberta: Got it

Nova: We’ll be sure to save her

~*Scene: Forest*~

Luca: Ojou-sama, Ojou-sama!!

Debito: Shut up and run quietly, Luca!

(*shaky) Pace: *panting*…Debito, can we rest a bit…I’m hungry

Debito: Just eat the dirt or something

Luca: Ojou-sama was taken as a human shield…I’m ashamed at being so useless…

Debito: Quit grumbling. You were in charge of the mansion’s security with the Swords and the Clubs. Being able to track her is better than nothing

Luca: I’m sorry…

Debito: Found it…what a weird ship

Pace: This is the unknown ship in the northern bay…?

Luca: That ship looks like…, no, it can’t be…

~*Scene: Vascello Fantasma Deck*~

(*drops)

Ash: Hmph…I managed to get back

Ash: So we’ve come all this way and the Strawberry Head’s still out cold

Ash: She…seems pretty weak, so I guess I can just leave her here

Ash: I’ll set sail before they can catch up

~*Scene: Vascello Fantasma Captain’s Cabin*~

Ash: I’m back, Joshua. And I got the Tarocco

Joshua: Welcome back, Ash. You took quite some time

Ash: Yeah, a lot happened. There’s nothing else here. It’ll be a pain if they catch up with us, so I’ve set sail

Ash: Anyway Joshua, this is the right box, right? It looks like it’s locked though

Joshua: …It’s definitely this box. Now Ash, burn the box

Ash: Burn it? Alright but…oh, the cards inside won’t burn from alchemy right?

Joshua: Exactly

Ash: Now the Tarocco is back where it belongs. On this ship that my family has continued to protect

Joshua: Yes. Oh, Ash. Why don’t you take this chance to try performing the Tarocco’s contracting ceremony?

Ash: I should…contract the Tarocco?

Joshua: The Tarocco chooses its contractors. Those who are qualified are selected by the Major Arcana themselves

Joshua: *laugh*…You can call it a test of your luck

Ash: Is it dangerous? You’ll need an equivalent exchange, right?

Joshua: The Tarocco’s powers are unknown. Even I’m not aware of all the risks…but, those who succeed in a contract receive a power beyond human understanding

Ash: So that’s part of testing my luck…I guess

Ash: Joshua, that mark on your left wrist is the sign that you’ve succeeded in contracting the Tarocco…a stigmata, right?

Joshua: Yes. It’s the “Justice” Tarocco…“La Giustizia”

Ash: “La Giustizia”, huh…

Ash: …I guess it’s the nature of being an alchemist. If you say it like that, I just have to try it

Joshua: *laugh*

Ash: I’m interested too…I’ll do it. I know how to perform the contracting ceremony

Ash: The Tarocco originally belonged to my family after all…

(*bite)

Ash: There’s no way I can’t contract it…!

Ash: Uwah!!

Ash: Ahhhhhh!!

Ash: Ahhhhhgh…agh…

(*scatter)

Ash: …Ugh…Joshua…I didn’t know it would hurt so much…

Ash: And it burns…my neck…it feels like my throat is on fire

Joshua: That mark is…a stigmata!

Ash: What!? That means…the contract succeeded, right?

Ash: So…*panting*…which Tarocco was I chosen by?

Joshua: This is… “The Magician” Tarocco, “Il Bagatto”

Ash: “The Magician”, huh. Not a bad match…

(*reach) Ash: So…, what other Tarocco are there, Joshua?

Ash: Hm? Joshua?

Joshua: …This is…

(*whirring)

Joshua: Graaaaa!

Ash: Wha!? Joshua!

Joshua?: Ah…Ash…, the power of the Tarocco…

Ash: Wh, what happened? …Joshua…, why are you a skeleton…

Joshua?: …My name is “La Giustizia”…

Ash: Hey, Joshua! Do you know what I’m saying! Hey!

(*crash)

Ash: Hey, what’s happening…

Ash: This never happened before…why are there skeletons all over the deck…

Ash: Oh…damn it…I left that girl out there…!

Ash: Is this…is this because I contracted the Tarocco?

Ash: …Damn it! Hold on Joshua! I promise I’ll change you back!!

Joshua?: So I do….need “La Ruota della Fortuna”, “The Wheel of Fortune”…

~*Scene: Vascello Fantasma Deck*~

(*slide)

(*grab) Ash: Hn…!!

(*drops)

Ash: Hey, wake up Strawberry Head!

(*whack)

Ash: I said wake up!!

Felicita: !?

Ash: You’re finally awake, Strawberry Head

Description: The Lovers Arcana power allows you to look into another’s heart. The number at the bottom left of the screen, is the strength of your Arcana power

Operation Hints: You can look into a heart by pressing the analog button

Operation Hints: When more than one heart is visible, you can switch your target with the left and right arrow keys

Operation Hints: For a big heart, you can look deeply into someone’s heart by pressing the ○ button

❤≪Ash≫ Seems confused

Pain: What happened!?

Person: To turn Joshua back…

Person: This girl should know something

>Who are you!?

>Where am I?

Ash: Huh? Me? Who cares about that

Ash: Can’t you tell by looking? What’s it look like?

Ash: You’re sure relaxed for someone’s who’s been out for a while

❤≪Ash≫ Seems confused ❤≪Ash≫ Seems confused

Pain: What happened to Joshua…?

Place: Well who’re you

Person: This girl should know something

Pain: What happened to Joshua…?

Place: She’s confused

Person: This girl should know something

Description: The Arcana power is reduced when you look into a heart but it will recover when the scenario ends

Description: By knowing the heart of your partner, the distance between the two hearts will reduce and Amore will increase

Operation Hints: The Amore of each partner can be confirmed by pressing the Start button

Ash: Listen. I need to ask you something about the Tarocco

❤≪Ash≫ Seems irritated

Person: This girl should know about the Tarocco

Pain: Even though I took back the Tarocco

Person: What happened to Joshua…

Felicita: …

Ash: This ship’s already moving. You can’t go anywhere now. As long as you listen to me anyway!

>…First, give back the Tarocco

>I have nothing to say

Ash: I told you, it’s mine

Ash: Tch, I want to ask about the Tarocco though

Felicita: …

Ash: What…stupid Strawberry Head, are you defying me?

Felicita: …

❤≪Ash≫ Tarocco ❤≪Ash≫ Seems confused

Person: And I thought she’d talk…

Person: I want to turn Joshua back…

Pain: Even though I took back the Tarocco…

Pain: What happened to Joshua…?

Place: She’s confused

Person: This girl should know something

Ash: That face means…you’re not going to listen to me, are you

❤≪Ash≫ Seems to be plotting

Person: I don’t like those eyes

Arcana: The Tarocco brings misfortune

Place: If she doesn’t know, then the others in the mansion might

Ash: Fine then. You’ll listen to me if I use force

Ash: …Sorry, but I’ll be knocking you out again

Ash: It’s seriously a pain if you struggle

Felicita: Wha

Ash: I’ll unleash the power of the great Vir Ingeniosus

Ash: Miracolo di Nascita (TN: Miracle of birth)

Felicita: !

(*ignite)

(*skid)

Liberta: Ojou! Nova: Are you hurt? Dante: Are you okay!? Luca: Ojou-sama!! Pace: Ojou!! Debito: Bambina!

Felicita: !

Jolly: You’re so helpless…but that side of yours is lovely too, Ojou-sama

Ash: Tch, how’d you get here

Felicita: *glare*

Liberta: This is one creepy ship! There’s skeletons standing around everywhere. I really thought they were attacking…

Nova: This is an emergency and that’s what you’re worried about!!

Pace: Well, whatever happens I’ll be a shield that protects Ojou!

Luca: Pace, that’s my job!

Debito: Yeah. Don’t show off all on your own

Ash: Sorry, but I’ve got no use for you guys

Ash: …Oh, actually maybe I do. Hey you, old baldy

Dante: Who are you calling old! And this isn’t from balding…

Ash: Whatever. That’s a stigmata on your head, right? Which Tarocco is it?

Dante: Hm…this is “L'Imperatore”, “The Emperor”

Dante: Boy…where did you hear about the stigmata?

Ash: So it is a stigmata. Okay, I’ll answer one question for every one I ask

Jolly: Who did you hear about them from?

Ash: Which one am I supposed to answer?

Jolly: Obviously, my question

Ash: Hah…I heard about them on this boat—

Ash: And…hm

(*mad) Jolly: What…?

Ash: The one who answered my question was the old baldy, so I’m answering his question. Right?

(*smirk) Ash: It’s equivalent exchange, right old man alchemist?

Debito: Hahaha…. Maybe he’s actually a good guy? That was a good one he said to the old man

Jolly: Debito, shut up…

Jolly: Answer my question. Who did you hear about the stigmata from?

Ash: Hah? Like I care about your question

Ash: Now answer my question. Among all of you, who is the weakest…, and most important?

Liberta: *glance*

Felicita: !

Everyone: …!

Felicita: !

Ash: Heh…so it was Strawberry Head. I should have restrained her while she was unconscious

Ash: But, I’ve finished what I came here to do. I’ll make a plan and come again. Thanks, Chick Head

Liberta: Hey! Wait!

Nova: Liberta, don’t chase him! Besides that, the skeletons weren’t moving before but now they’re crowding together…

Liberta: Hey, Nova. Just put everyone on the ship to sleep!!

Nova: …Alright. I’ll use my powers. You…

Liberta: Hehe, got it! While you do that, I’ll slice them…huh, what!?

Felicita: !

Pace: Huh? Where is everyone? Debito, you didn’t use your powers, did you!?

Debito: Don’t be stupid, Pace. I wouldn’t use them…what is this…

Luca: This is…

Jolly: …Secure Ojou-sama

Dante: Something’s coming!

Liberta: What!?

??? (Joshua?): Welcome, my brethren…I hope you enjoy yourselves

~*End of Scene*~

Choose a person to act with

(Go to the section for your chosen route: Liberta, Nova, Debito, Pace, Luca, Dante, Jolly, Ash

(Back to Directory)

[onehellofababysitter]

Hearts of the Divine~Ghoulie OC

((A/N: Chapter 2 everyone!! Hopefully you’re still sticking with me. Apologies for taking so long between updates, but I got super swamped with IRL stuff :) As usual, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment <3 ))

((Tag list: @theheavycrown, @sweetpea-cc, @srainebuggie, @mrfangsfogarty, ))

Chapter 1 here

Carrie pulled her helmet off, running her fingers through her hair to work out the snarls that had worked their way in during the ride here. She’d almost put her hair up in a ponytail before she left, but she’d wanted to curl it and leave it down. She sighed heavily, pulling one earbud out and shifting her backpack to one shoulder before pulling her phone out and typing a quick text to Mal, who had insisted that she tell him when she got there.

Carrie: Since you insisted I tell you, I made it to school. And for the record, I feel like a little kid texting their parent to say they made it safe and I hate you for that.

Malachi: Smartass. Keep your chin up and show those Northsiders who you are. And for the love of god please don’t pick a fight. I don’t want to have to deal with Northsiders today.

Carrie: And you think I do? I won’t pick a fight, I’m not that stupid.

Malachi: Says the one who almost ate cereal with a fork this morning because she was half asleep.

Carrie: Shut the fuck up, it’s not my fault I was up until 2 in the morning because someone decided to go get in a fight with Serpents and I had to take care of his ass.

Malachi: Get to class.

Carrie: See, you know I’m right.

Malachi: Sure, sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.

She slipped her phone back in her pocket, tugging her jacket tighter around her shoulders. She’d gone with the slightly less studded leather jacket this morning, and had stolen Mal’s wrist guards to make up for it. She slid off her bike and headed towards the front doors of Riverdale High, taking note of the eyes that were drawn to her and flitted away just as quickly. She couldn’t help the slight smirk that she could feel on her face, and she wore it like armor as she pulled the door open, officially sealing her fate. The first thing that struck her was the fact that there weren’t any metal detectors. She was so used to the sight of them at Southside that it threw her off for a moment.

There was sunlight streaming through the intact windows, shining warm and soft  over the walls and floors. The lockers was actually securely bolted to the walls, and everything was oddly clean. Carrie walked straight past the crowd of Northsiders who had gathered in the foyer to watch her come in, making a beeline for the front office, which she found due to the numerous signs pointing her that way. Her eyes took in her surroundings, from the door to the bathrooms to the cheerful billboards covered in bright flyers.

A pit of resentment settled in her chest at the thought of the difference between Riverdale High, with its shining, clean halls and Southside High, with its boarded over windows and lockers that looked like they were about to falls off the walls at any moment. The privilege of the Northsiders hadn’t officially sunk in until she was standing here, staring in disgust and awe at the trophy case right outside the office. With a sigh, she yanked open the office door and slipped inside, catching the eye of the kid standing in front of the desk. She was waiting for his eyes to flicker down to her jacket, and sure enough, they did. He still walked up to her, holding out his hand for her to shake.

“You must be Carrie Weylyn. I’m Kevin Keller, your peer escort.” She shook his hand, releasing him quickly due to the bandage still wrapped around her knuckles, which had split open again while she slept, but he barely seemed to react.

“Keller?” Immediately, she could see the flash of irritation in his eyes, so she didn’t finish her question. “Right. So you’re supposed to show me around this glorious building that screams privilege from every corner?” She was surprised when he laughed at her comment.

“Yep. Normally Betty Cooper does it, but she’s busy with the newspaper today, so I volunteered to escort the big bad Southsider around.” He was surprisingly blunt, something she couldn’t help but appreciate. She almost laughed, shaking her head.

“Ms. Weylyn. If I could speak with you for just a moment before Mr. Keller escorts you around.” Carrie turned to face the man who’d spoken. Everything from his clothes to his posture screamed ‘preppy high school principal’ so she nodded and stepped into his office at his bidding.

“You must be the principal, Mr. Weatherbee.” She observed him closely, watching his eyes, but he surprised her and held her gaze, his eyes not dropping to her jacket as she’d expected.

“I am. The administration down at Southside High spoke very highly of you, Ms. Weylyn. It’s my pleasure to welcome you to Riverdale High.” His mouth pursed for a moment, and he finally delivered what she’d been waiting for, his eyes lowering to her jacket. “They did tell me about the… unsavory influences down at Southside, however. One of which you associate with. They assured me you were nothing but a model student, but I am required to inform you that we will not stand for any sort of gang violence in these halls. As of now, I see no reason not to allow you to continue wearing your jacket, but if I hear of any issues, I will be forced to make you remove it. Understood?”

“Of course, sir. I have no reason to cause problems with the North- I mean, the students here at Riverdale.” He smiled warmly at her for the first time, reaching a hand forward for her to shake. She gripped his hand and shook it, giving him a polite smile back.

“Welcome to Riverdale High, Ms. Weylyn. Congratulations.” He motioned with a hand towards the door and she took her cue, slipping back out into the main office, where Kevin was still waiting.

“So, he’s still letting you wear the intimidating jacket? That’ll definitely keep people off your back.”

“That was the plan when I wore it. And this is actually tamer than the one I wore down at Southside, I figured I should tone it down. Don’t want to give you sensitive Northsiders a heart attack.” Kevin opened the door to the hallway, waving her forward. She followed behind him, moving next to him as soon as she was out the door.

“You could give some of the people here heart attacks just by looking at them. You look like you can murder someone 500 different ways with your bare hands alone, and the jacket just adds to it.” She surprised herself by laughing out loud, quickly closing her mouth so it died in her throat.

“You’re blunt, aren’t you Keller?”

“Call me Kevin. And yes, I’ve been told. I am both the token gay best friend and the token blunt best friend. Double sided coin.” She nodded, laughing quietly to herself again.

“I think I like you, Kevin.”

“My one great goal in life has been achieved, I can die happy now.” His voice rang with sarcasm, but he smiled, looking pleased. He took her around the school, showing her everything that Riverdale High had that Southside lacked. Working toilets, computer lab, a library (which she was excited about), lockers that actually worked, and walls clean of the spray paint that was all over Southside. Suspicious eyes were drawn to her left and right as they walked through the halls, and at one point, she caught sight of someone backing away from her like she’d threatened them.

“So. Who around here isn’t going to hate me just on principal?”

“Well… Betty for sure, and since her and Jughead Jones are dating, probably him too. Archie Andrews will because he’s a simple soul and if Betty tells him someone is ok, he listens. And that’s about it. Well… Me too.”

“Jones?” She recognized that last name from her work with the Ghoulies. Being as high up as she was, Mal let her in on a lot of the important meetings, and she’d heard the last name of the Serpent King multiple times. Granted, it was a common last name, but it seemed like too big of a coincidence.

“Yeah. He works with Betty on the school newspaper, the Blue and Gold.”

“Is it like a rule around here that school newspapers have to be named after colors?” Kevin laughed and Carrie couldn’t help but smile in response.

“Why, what was Southside’s newspaper called?”

“The Red and Black. And no, before you ask, I didn’t work on the paper. Not my scene.”

“I didn’t peg you as a newspaper type, don’t worry. Oh, crap… Watch out, here comes Cheryl Blossom, she’s bound to try to cause some trouble.” Carrie turned her head in the direction Kevin was looking, and her first reaction was anger clawing its way up her throat as she looked at this girl who was very obviously the definition of a Northsider. Clothes that were very obviously designer label, jewelry that Carrie could have sold and gotten a stupid amount of money for, perfectly styled red hair a few shades lighter than Carrie’s, and the signature sneer she was accustomed to seeing on the faces of Northsiders the few times she’d been unlucky enough to run into some of them. The Blossom girl walked with a gait that spoke of years of privilege and training, and when she stopped in front of Carrie, her smile was sickly sweet, and her voice was the same way, dripping sugar and poison.

“Before you get any ideas about using your status as a Southsider to gain you favor, let me warn you. Only one redhead can rule this school, and that position is filled. Even if it wasn’t, no way in hell it would go to a Southside trash, gang affiliated slut like you, clear?” Carrie almost laughed at the girl’s attempt at bravado, used to dealing with even more from Serpents, especially newer ones fresh through initiation who thought they could start shit with her and walk away unscathed. She didn’t rise to the girl’s bait, simply smiling at her.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, Northsider.” Cheryl’s mouth opened, but she couldn’t seem to come up with a reply, so she turned on a heel and stalked off, her posse following close behind. Carrie smiled in victory and turned to Kevin, who was staring at her with his mouth open in shock. “What?”

“You are the singular person I have ever seen shut down Cheryl Blossom that fast. My respect to you, Carrie Weylyn.”

“Why thank you, Kevin Keller. My one goal in life was to achieve the respect of a Northsider.” She almost worried for a moment that she’d offended him with her sardonic humor, but he laughed out loud. “Anyway, is she always like that?”

“Sort of, but she’s been a lot worse lately. Her twin brother, Jason Blossom, died a few weeks ago, just before school started. They never found his body.” Guilt instantly shot through Carrie, rapidly followed by the mix of anger and grief that rose up in her throat every time she thought of Kace. Her older brother by three years, he’d been a serious pain in her ass, but they’d taken care of each other. He had gotten into the Ghoulies when he was 14, joining with Malachi, who had been his best friend. A few years later, Carrie had followed suit, joining the gang at the same age as her brother and his best friend. It had been a normal night for them the night he died, wreaking havoc on the streets of the Southside when they’d run into a group of Serpents who had wanted blood. She hadn’t been there, she’d been busy with homework, but she would never forget the moment when Mal had come home, alone and covered in blood, bearing the worst news of her life. Pity flooded through her at the thought of Cheryl going through that, and in a moment of impulse, she turned to Kevin.

“Do you know where she’d be right now?” His expression was pure confusion, but he thought for a moment before walking off, nodding for her to follow him.

“Probably in the lounge with her ‘handmaidens’. This way.” He took her over to a small room off the main hall, filled with couches and vending machines. She shook off the slight jealousy and scanned the room for Cheryl, spotting her alone on one of the couches.

“Thanks, Kevin. I’ll see you later?” He gave her another confused look before nodding and turning to leave, promising to see her at lunch at the latest. Cheryl looked up with an expression of disgust as Carrie walked up to her, eyes assessing every item of clothing Carrie wore.

“What do you want, Southsider?” Carrie tipped her head to the side and observed the other redhead carefully. She could almost feel the pain in her eyes, and she quietly spoke.

“Kevin told me about your brother.”

“What, and you wanted to come to gloat?” The Blossom girl’s voice was as sharp as broken glass, but Carrie saw tears well up in her eyes and sat across from her, leaning forward with her forearms on her thighs.

“No. I wanted to tell you I know what it’s like to lose a brother, to lose the one person that you felt like was your anchor to this shit world. Like you were caught in a current, but your anchor was holding you in place, so you were ok. And then all of a sudden, it’s ripped away from you and there’s water all around you, tearing you in this direction and that direction until you don’t even know what way is up anymore.”

Carrie paused for a moment, clearing her throat and raising her eyes to the ceiling in an attempt to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. “And you fight until you can finally see the light, the surface that you know can save you. But when you swim up, fighting to breathe the whole time, your palms hit solid and you realize you’re still trapped under the ice. You can see the sunlight and the sky, but you’re screaming to be let out and no one can hear you. No matter how hard you hit, the ice never breaks. You’re just… trapped there, forever able to see the light, but never able to reach it.”

We’re opposites, that’s extremely obvious. You’re a Northsider who lives in a gorgeous mansion, and you have everything you ever wanted. I’m a Southsider who lives in a trailer with my dead brother’s best friend, and I get in fights with members from a rival gang because it’s really the only thing I can do. But in this? In losing someone close? In this, we’re the same. If you ever need anything, you can ask me and I’ll help you. For Kace and for Jason. OK?” Carrie had to admit, she expected Cheryl to laugh in her face, but she was surprised when the girl nodded, tears falling from her eyes. Cheryl quickly swept them away, careful not to mess up the makeup that had evidently taken a while to apply.

The first warning bell rand sharply, breaking the tension. Carrie stood, looking around for Kevin as Cheryl waved a quick goodbye and walked off, heels clicking against the ground. He waved from the doorway, jerking his chin in the direction of the hallway, “That was the first person I’ve ever seen be able to get through to Cheryl at all, let alone right after they met her.”

“Well, maybe things around here are starting to change,” Carrie’s lips curved into a half smile as she hoped to whatever Gods there were that things would really start to change.

Chapter 3 here

[maizeofloverp]

Full name: Livinia “Liv” Moreau (aka Chastity Mathews)

Age: 27

Birth date: April 14, 1991

Gender & pronouns: Female, she/her

Affiliation: Civilian

Occupation: Porn actress primarily, though she has a friend in the event-running business that allows her to waitress when money’s tight

Faceclaim: Nathalie Emmanuel

B i o g r a p h y »

“One goes into the waters of baptism and another emerges, born again. But who is the one who lies submerged? Perhaps the swimmer is both sinner and saint before being revealed unto the eyes of man.”

Livinia’s parents strived to teach her early the importance of being virtuous - of being charitable but not too charitable, confident but not too confident. At a very young age, they had nurtured her into the poster child for religious families in town. Even her name, a Spanish form of the Biblical figure ‘Lavenia’, was a symbol of her ‘bright future’. Church services and bible groups were monuments of her early life and, being the sociable person she always was, Liv found it easy to make friends. This lifestyle was all that Livinia knew, all that she’d ever been taught. Her parents had always been caught in the social web of the small town, and so their obsession with their image was pushed on to their only child. Always aware of their watchful eyes, a young Livinia (who’d been raised in fear of losing their love and support) tried to be a child they were proud of, revelling in their praise.

However, like most young people raised in conservative religious households, there came a time in Livinia’s life where she began to question the life that’d been handed to her. The future that her ‘doting’ parents had already painted for her was becoming less and less appealing by the day, until it all came to head when she entered high school.

No longer under the watchful eyes of her parents, Livinia’s natural charm and friendly nature had people gravitating towards her that she’d never have interacted with in the conservative circles she’d grown up with. Completely enchanted by the free spirits all around her, Liv slowly cut ties with her faith, skipping bible study regularly and eventually finding excuses for why she couldn’t make it to church services. Much to her own surprise, she’d never felt so free! It didn’t take long for her parents to figure out what was going on, but it seemed the more they tried to reprimand her, the worse her behaviour grew. Of course, that was from their point of view. Livinia was overwhelmed by the realisation that life could be more than following in her parents’ footsteps - that she and all of her friends had a genuine chance to really make something of themselves. Small towns have a habit of making everything outside of their contained world feel so far away, so out of reach.

By graduation Livinia and her best friend, Madison, had shaped their dreams of stardom into real goals. Each of them had made corny scrapbooks filled to the brim with magazine cutouts, shallow advice from the few who’d made it, drawings of the city, playlists. The two girls were identical in every way but two - the first in appearance, the second in familial support. Madison seemed to have it all - she was skinny, blonde, funny but not in an intimidating way and, more than anything, her parents believed in her. After graduation, Madison waved goodbye to Muddy Waters, to all of Illinois for that matter, and left Liv behind with dreams equally vivid but far from reach. It wasn’t that her family was broke - in fact both parents had equally sustainable jobs - but she knew they’d never support a career so far from what they believed to be “virtuous”.

Still, Liv wasn’t a quitter when it came to what she loved, what she truly thought was her destiny. Wholeheartedly believing her future was in showbiz, she worked hard with what she had. Her early twenties were a mish-mash of small modelling events for local clothing brands and television advertisements. At 24 years old, her big break came to her in the form of a porn director attending one of the low-rent, low-key fashion shows. The director’s name was Fiona Mcgregor, who saw a potential in Livinia that she’d always seen in herself. Though Fiona had offered promises of stardom, of success and money, Liv was hesitant at first - after all, she was adamant about her future but she wasn’t so naive as to think that the porn industry wasn’t full of shady people. Understanding this, Fiona left Liv her number and offered her a chance to observe a day of filming from the sidelines. It was an enlightening day, to say the least. There was something empowering about an occupation that was so blatantly the opposite of what her parents believed was right, but most of all an occupation that revolved around self-acceptance and confidence.

Though this was hardly the lifestyle she thought she’d be involved in at the age of 27, there was no embarrassment attached to her job, despite her broken relationship with her parents and the general mockery of the town. Her years in the adult film industry secured in Livinia a sense of self she’d never been more attached to. Performing under the name ‘Chastity Mathews’ (a clear jab at her religious upbringing suggested by one of her closest friends in the business), Liv found power in being entirely herself. She is now a strong activist for women’s rights and uses her platform to inspire women to be unashamed of who they are, her main topic being self love.

Life may have pulled her in an entirely different direction than what her younger self was expecting, but she is above all things happy. Living comfortably in her own apartment, Liv looks forward to what’s in store for her in the future, knowing that, for all of its faults, Muddy Waters certainly didn’t lack for entertainment.

P e r s o n a l i t y »

“I’ll show them all how goddamn happy I am.” - Waitress.

Drenched in self love and self acceptance, Livinia is a strong believer in treating others how she wants to be treated, even though many residents of Muddy Waters may ridicule her. Liv’s friends can approach her knowing their thoughts and feelings won’t be met with judgement or mockery, but with the kind of humble understanding that only comes from someone who has faced discrimination their entire life. She’s a big supporter of those she considers friends, always the first to pick up on their shifting moods and changes to their lifestyle - Liv’s the friend that picks up on a new haircut or outfit right away. You can always count on her to help you out with any sort of problem that comes your way, because she’s pretty much faced them all in her life.

With that said, the way her parents have treated her and the general nature of her job have taught her the importance of self-preservation and protection. Being very socially perceptive has allowed her to pick up on a person’s intentions rather quickly unless they’re very good at hiding it. If normal creepy people aren’t enough of a reason for the pepper spray she keeps on her at all times, the delusional fans of her work are.

Overall, Livinia strives to be a positive force in the world, knowing how easy it is to lose track of the good things in life. It’s a kind of “if I look back, I’m lost” mentality that she’s adopted, but it’s one that’s worked for her so far. If another job was to come up that offered more money, she’d definitely consider it but, for now, she’s happy where she is and is grateful she has a platform to speak to girls whose upbringing mirror her own. People definitely shouldn’t mistake her kindness for weakness, however, because she’s not afraid to defend herself in an argument - most of the time, though, she recognises that it’s simply not worth it to get into an argument about her lifestyle with someone who’s been brainwashed to hate women their entire life.

So to sum her up, she’s warm, open-minded, confident, and humble but also cautious, distrusting, and guarded.

Played by Gen

[silavut-the-wizard]

Silavut the Wizard, Chapter 33

They decide to try the library again. This time with a different approach. Though Lady Anielle isn’t happy with them. No matter, they still get what they came for.

The Symbol

Back at the library, they were granted general access to the public levels. Of course, they were still denied archive access. No surprise there. They asked the clerk where they could find information about symbols and were directed to that location.

They carefully browsed the books on the shelves to see if anything might catch their attention based on Nara’s marking. Unfortunately nothing really caught their eyes.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to go through them one by one,” Silavut whispered.

“That’ll take ages!” complained Nara.

Sehlan was pensive for a minute, looked at the drawing, then back at the books. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Let me try something.” She went back to the clerk and asked about birth marks and symbols. To her mild surprise, there was a birth marks and symbols section.

“Huh…well look at that, it really does exist,” Silavut marveled.

“OK, let’s see if we can find anything here.”

Once again, they carefully perused the spines of the books, but still nothing stood out.

There were plenty of books on symbols in general, birth marks, and birth symbols, just nothing seemed to jump out at them regarding Nara’s in particular.

“Ugh! This is hopeless!” Nara threw her hands up and plopped down in one of the reading chairs.

“There’s got to be something,” Silavut said thoughtfully as he continued to carefully examine the books. He was slightly hunched over, closely examining the spines on the closest shelf, and hmm’ing to himself.

Sehlan stood akimbo, just glancing around randomly at the books at this point. “If I were a birth mark symbol book, where would I hide?”

Nara was sitting in the chair lightly sulking and watching her two new friends trying to find a seemingly impossible book to identify the birth mark on her back. She couldn’t really tell them anything except that many people had commented on ‘the mark’. She had asked around what it meant. No one could tell her, except only that someone with ‘the mark’ was supposed to be special. She was that someone.

It frustrated her to no end not knowing what it meant. Now that there was a possibility of finding out, it was even more frustrating not being able to find a shred of information. At this point, it was almost better to have not known it could really mean something. Though if Lord Silavut and Lady Sehlan believed it had a meaning, then she supposed it must.

“There’s got to be something,” Silavut said again, a bit louder but still hushed and with growing frustration. He then had a sudden epiphany, stood up straight and whirled around to the other two. Whispering, he said, “Sehlan and I aren’t allowed in the archives, but they never said anything about anyone else.”

Sehlan’s eyes went wide in both sudden realization and shock. “You want to send Nara to the archives? Alone?”

“It’s our best shot. There must be something there we could use. Maybe this symbol would be there, too!”

Nara looked back and forth between them, mouth agape. “Whoa whoa whoa…hold on. I don’t think—”

Silavut interrupted her. “Nara, it’s really our only other option. Otherwise we may not get another chance here. I can just feel it in my core. There’s something in those archives we need. You did say you would help us however you could. This is a perfect opportunity.”

Sehlan looked defeated. “He’s right, unfortunately. If you can gain access to the archives, you can search for the details we need and give us the info you find.”

They were all silent for a moment, then Nara spoke. “All right. I’ll do it. Just tell me what you need to know.”

They told her what they were looking for, including the symbol. Nara headed down to the main desk and asked if she could be granted access to the archives. The clerk leaned over the desk to peer down at her.

“Weren’t you with that odd couple just a bit ago?”

Nara wasn’t sure how to respond. When the clerk cocked an eyebrow, indicating an answer was required, she asked, “Why should that matter? I’m a citizen of Trefal. As a citizen, am I not able to exercise my right to request archive access?”

The clerk groaned as they knew she was right, despite her affiliations, and granted her access.

From above, Silavut and Sehlan watched with smug satisfaction.

Nara entered the archives and began her search. What would she find?

As Nara searched the archives, the other two quietly discussed their next action. They figured once they got back to their room, they could contact Lothiren and see what the dragon found. Then depending on that, they would figure out the next step.

They suddenly heard commotion from the main level and looked down to see what was happening. Lady Anielle had come to the library. There was a hushed but heated exchange. Then they caught their names and the clerk pointed towards their section. Lady Anielle turned to look and they quickly shrank back, too late. She had seen them.

She and her guards stormed up to their level. There was no escape, unless they jumped, which wasn’t really an option due to the height. It was either confront the seneschal or be gravely injured. They’d had enough of being injured, so they decided to stay and see what the fuss was all about.

Lady Anielle was now in their section and marched straight up to them. “Well, here you are. I heard you were trying to gain access to the archives. As you know, archive access is forbidden. I’ve also told you there’s nothing here of concern. I’ve also heard you’ve got a new ward, that crazy orphan girl… Deltrena… Detleran… Deltan… Oh yes, Deltenara, that’s it. What’s your interest with her?”

Silavut and Sehlan looked at each other then back at the seneschal.

“Yes, we were informed of our restricted access. We did not pursue the matter further. You did say there was nothing here, that anyone knew of. However, we wanted to see for ourselves. Maybe a fresh set of eyes or two could tease out something everyone else missed.” Sehlan stood straight and defiant as she spoke. “As for Deltenara, she is our business and no concern of yours.”

“Excuse me! She is of my concern. She and that crazy gang of hers has wreaked havoc amongst the city. I’ve been looking for her for ages.”

“Then maybe you need better trackers. She’s been under your nose this whole time. What has she, and her ‘gang’, done anyway?” Silavut stood by Sehlan with the same defiant posture.

“Well! I never!”

“Obviously,” Silavut mocked.

“She has ruined the reputation of many fine, outstanding folk in this city. She has besmirched my name. They have run amok with blackmail. There’s nothing they haven’t done to ruin lives.”

“Then maybe the people shouldn’t be doing things that gets them into trouble,” Sehlan said.

Silavut asked, “How has she ruined you? You seem to be in a fine state, considering your claim.”

“That’s because I have been appointed seneschal which cannot be removed save by reappointment or death. She and those cronies of hers have accused me of crimes against the city and its people which have never been proven, despite their best efforts. Several have tried getting me removed, but nothing they’ve done has worked.”

They had their thoughts on why, but neither voiced them. Instead, they attempted to defuse the situation.

Sehlan looked the seneschal straight in the eyes. “Well, despite all that, Nara is in our care now. Which means she’s no longer an orphan, and you have no authority over her. You will have to deal with the reputation-ruining lot yourself. We cannot help you there.”

Silavut added, “Nara is no longer in the information exchange business. She cannot stop them from doing what they do.” Though she probably could, they just wanted to see her sweat.

“This is outrageous!” Lady Anielle was seething with anger but knew she could do nothing as Sehlan said. She wanted to tell the guards to remove them and put them in a cell, but knew that would do nothing for her and further ruin her standing with the citizens if they found out she had imprisoned the saviours of the universe. She threw her hands up and stormed off, the guards sheepishly following behind.

“Well, that went well, don’t you think?” Sehlan said with a nervous chuckle.

“Could’ve gone better. Think she’ll make trouble or kick us out?”

Sehlan shook her head. “Nah. I don’t think she’d risk her oh-so-glorious position.”

Silavut smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. Wonder if Nara’s found anything yet.”

Just then, they heard Nara call up to them. Looking down, they saw she was waving a piece of paper in her hand and grinning from ear to ear.

“Speak of a devil—”

“—and it shall appear.” Sehlan finished.

They hurried down to the main floor to see what Nara discovered.

“I didn’t find much, but it’s all I could get.” She showed them the paper and their eyes went wide.

“Let’s go, we need to discuss this in private,” Sehlan whispered.

They went back to their room. Once there, they made sure it was completely secure and private.

Silavut examined the paper repeatedly and still almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “I knew it. She did lie to us. They were hiding something. See, I told you!”

Sehlan rolled her eyes. “OK, yes, you were right. Now let’s figure out what to do next.”

Before they could move on, Siluavt asked, “How did you even find this?”

“Once I told them I was working with you two, the archivists were most helpful. They had no clue you were denied access, nor what that crazy lady said about records being destroyed.” Nara shrugged.

“That’s great! Now, can we please continue?” Sehlan was getting a bit impatient.

“Right, sorry. This is just…wow.” Silavut shook his head in disbelief.

Nara had found the mark’s meaning as well as details about the sorceress. She had the archivists copy the information for her. They were more than happy to help save the universe.

It turned out the symbol on her back was a mark of ancient lineage that only appeared when the universe was threatened. It had only ever happened twice in the history of the universe. The legend has it that several millennia ago, a pact was made between five powerful beings who swore to protect the universe as it was being threatened by a corrupt power. Each being put a mark out to aid those who would be future protectors. The marks were symbols of power, each one having a different effect. It now Nara’s turn, and it turned out her symbol was that of fire, which properties include vitality, strength, endurance, and destruction.

“That would certainly explain why you seemed to never run out of energy,” Sehlan said.

“Plus, how you were able to destroy the wraith,” Silavut added. He then pondered if it was possible to create another vessel using her powers. No, that would be wrong, he then thought. He didn’t want to jeopardize their lives like that.

As for the sorceress, she actually did have a name once. Sehlan shudders to think about it, for having seen the name, she almost couldn’t bear it.

[orbemnews]

How folks of shade can deal with Capitol riot hypocrisy On the protest, attendees chanted and held indicators. They have been standing on the sidewalks, not antagonizing the police, when tons of of protesters have been pepper-sprayed, pushed down, shoved into cop vehicles or shot with rubber bullets, he mentioned. A fellow activist known as an Uber for Horn, who “remained blind for the remainder of the day” and went to mattress as a result of he could not see something. “You hear tales and have household which have run-ins with legislation enforcement, but it surely’s one other factor when you’ve got private expertise,” Horn mentioned. “Even when that cop’s gone, you are all the time going to keep in mind that.” Their struggle was the “naked minimal Black Lives Matter,” Horn mentioned. “And the truth that that will get challenged, that we get overwhelmed … after which seeing folks … get grace, get escorts, get selfies and do not get the again finish of a police stick for a protest or for a masks mandate exhibits that there are two completely different Americas.” “I am simply asking for police to provide us grace,” he added, “the identical method they do with Trump supporters.” If witnessing the rebel took a toll in your psychological well being, there are methods you may attempt to handle alone and with others. Why the rebel was triggering for some folks of shade What may additionally be disturbing and demanding for folks of shade to listen to are statements that equate the Capitol rebel to protests for racial justice. The basic variations lie inside the motivations of the actions. “Black Lives Matter protesters are protesting for justice and equality,” mentioned scientific psychologist Monnica Williams, a Canada analysis chair in psychological well being disparities and affiliate professor on the College of Ottawa. “In case your candidate does not win in a society the place you do have a capability to say your self … OK, sorry. You attempt once more subsequent time. That is very completely different from protesting a scenario the place your voice does not matter.” One motion “is to guard our rights and to push for democracy,” mentioned Helen Neville, a professor of instructional psychology and African American research on the College of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “The opposite is to dismantle democracy.” The boldness of those that stormed the Capitol with weapons and lived possible would have been a “loss of life sentence” for Black and brown folks, Williams mentioned, and which will have occurred on the entrance steps, not contained in the constructing. “It actually reinforces what we as a Black neighborhood have identified all alongside, that fairly than being revered and valued members of our society, we’re largely hated and feared.” The potential affect of witnessing the imagery of the noose and gallows, Accomplice flags and anti-Semitic garb on the psychological well being of individuals of shade will not be but measurable, Williams mentioned. She and her colleagues, nonetheless, have seen how shaken, emotional and depressed a lot of their purchasers are from observing these historic symbols of hate and violence. “The photographs are painful as a result of they’re supposed to be painful. They’re symbols of hate,” Neville mentioned. “They will have a visceral impact on folks, whether or not it makes them really feel bodily unwell as they take a look at it” or whether or not that provides to their trauma. Many People who care in regards to the perform, race relations and leaders of this nation have been affected by what occurred that day, however “a number of White folks appear to be shocked and shocked,” Williams mentioned. “Lots of people of shade aren’t so shocked as a lot as dissatisfied and possibly feeling slightly extra defeated than they did earlier than.” Some folks cope by ignoring occasions or numbing their feelings whereas others grow to be fearful. As Inauguration Day and threats of riots draw nearer, Williams worries for her kids’s security. “A variety of us really feel nervous like, what if this does not cool down?” she mentioned. “You hear rumors about different protests which are deliberate (and) being organized regionally. Does this imply that legislation enforcement goes to take such a lax method when folks like this act out? It is scary.” What each ignites these fears and doubtlessly had underlain the insufficient police response on the Capitol was “a mixture of White-skin privilege and ideological coherence,” that means that some police shared the beliefs of the insurgents, mentioned Sundiata Cha-Jua, an affiliate professor within the division of historical past and in African American research on the College of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Now they’re unleashed,” mentioned Luis Zayas, the dean of the Steve Hicks Faculty of Social Work at The College of Texas at Austin. “If they might do this to a fortified place just like the Capitol, what it might be for a small neighborhood. You could possibly be topic to being attacked by a a lot bigger group that is unruly and even the police couldn’t management them.” The right way to cope One of the crucial essential methods of dealing with prejudice-based trauma is social assist, these specialists mentioned. That features from folks with whom you may share your emotions and fears, and obtain validation, Williams mentioned. “There’s a number of actually unusual issues which have been occurring these final 4 years which have grow to be regular, however they should not be regular,” she added. “It is nearly like noise within the background,” however acknowledging these abnormalities is a part of not dismissing fears. “A cultural method of coping might be to speak to an older neighborhood member … to listen to tales about how they’ve handled racial oppression and discrimination,” Neville mentioned. “Folks have lived by Jim Crow within the South. Listening to these tales about resilience and about resistance may also be useful.” Keep knowledgeable as you might want to however restrict your information publicity if it turns into an excessive amount of to deal with, Williams mentioned. When you find yourself checking in, learn clear analyses from credible sources, Neville mentioned, in order that “we’re not shopping for in to analyses that blame us.” Additionally attempt to put aside time to have interaction in non secular consolation or enjoyable actions as short-term distractions, which could be wholesome if balanced with social consciousness. Horn, the neighborhood activist, places his cellphone on don’t disturb whereas he workouts for at the least an hour each day. When he is feeling exhausted or defeated, he talks along with his household and is sincere about his struggles. As you distance your self from information, attempt to not log into social media feeds inundated with the identical content material. Social media could be a supply of assist, Williams mentioned, or a black gap of rivalry, negativity and hate. Restrict the time you spend in on-line battle zones until you’ve got the capability for constructive debate, and restrict your viewing of visuals depicting police violence, which could be traumatizing. Educating your self in your heritage and the trailblazers in your historical past might help you heal from any internalized White supremacy you might be coping with, Neville mentioned. Additionally, create protected areas with others. “What we have seen up to now is that communities like it will create their very own technique of communication, the place the protected locations are, the place to stroll, the place to not stroll,” Zayas mentioned. That might be through cellphone, textual content or Fb group. Emblems of hope When President-elect Joe Biden was projected the winner of the 2020 US presidential election, some folks of shade celebrated, discovering hope within the reality that there’s a new, extra various administration coming on the finish of one other difficult few years for racial justice. On the identical time, there are caveats. “Realistically, our nation has been managed by White males since its inception,” Williams mentioned. “So, though sure, Trump’s reign has been traumatic, Joe Biden’s not a savior. And I believe that we are going to be setting ourselves up for disappointment if we predict that he will repair every part that is damaged, as a result of our nation has been damaged for possibly 300 years. “Sure, we rejoice the tip of the Trump trauma, however bear in mind we nonetheless have a number of work to do.” That work might be spurred by radical hope, which is the assumption that our collective future shall be higher than it’s now, Neville mentioned. It requires reimagining what a “multiracial democracy” seems to be like. “The methods during which democracy is working will not be working for Black, Indigenous and folks of shade,” Neville added. “This radical hope incorporates our important understanding of our previous oppression and our resistance to that oppression. … We, as BIPOC of us, are going to have to hold on the traditions of our ancestors (and) work extremely arduous in order that we will depart this nation higher.” “Then folks can really feel like they’re taking the dangerous issues which have occurred and are utilizing that vitality for good,” Williams mentioned. “That is actually essential that folks could make that means from their ache.” CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis contributed to this story. Supply hyperlink #Capitol #Color #cope #Health #HowpeopleofcolorcancopewithCapitolriothypocrisy-CNN #hypocrisy #People #riot

[backstorywithdanalewis]

Iran and The Bomb Back Story with Dana Lewis podcast.   Link :  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/6653866

Netanyahu: (00:00) Covert and over key part of the plan was to form new organizations to continue the work. This is how dr. Musen  is a day and a project about put it, remember that name [inaudible] the general lame is to announce the closure of project amount, but then he adds special activities. You know what that is? Special activities will be carried out under the title of scientific know-how development. Dana Lewis - Host: (00:32) Hi everyone. I'm Dana Lewis and welcome to another edition of backstory that was Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018. Talking about the Uranian senior nuclear scientist, who on November the 27th was assassinated by a remotely operated series of weapons in Iran, Wilson,  resided. It was a Brigadier general in the Islamic revolutionary guards, an academic physicist, and he headed up the nuclear program of Iran. Netanyahu has always been a proponent of military action against Iran and likely ordered the killing. It's ironic that just a few days before the heat on [inaudible] [inaudible] newspaper in Israel ran an analysis piece saying Netanyahu warns Biden. As if he's Iran strategy hadn't failed miserably with Obama and Trump in terms of actually influencing the nuclear deal. It said the prime minister never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. The essence of that article was in warning incoming us president Biden, not to go back on the 2015 nuclear agreement. Dana Lewis - Host: (01:40) Mr. Iran, as Netanyahu was often dubbed in Israel could have taken an active role in the original nuclear talks with Tehran and made the deal to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb air tight, but Netanyahu preferred to sulk on the sidelines and then heavily criticized the agreement, poisoning his relations with the Obama presidency. And now probably he's doing the same with the Biden administration on this backstory analysis from the Soufan center think tank on what he run may do now, but first, a rare opportunity to hear from a man who was on the European team, negotiating the Iranian nuclear deal. He was a former national security advisor here in Britain, incredibly well briefed with firsthand knowledge on Iran and its attempts to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Dana Lewis - Host: (02:39) All right, in London where I am now, I want to introduce you to sir, Mark Lyle grant, who previously worked for the foreign and Commonwealth office as high commissioner in Pakistan. And he served the UK is a ambassador to the UN for six years, and he was national security advisor to two prime ministers, David Cameron and Theresa May until 17. Hi Mark. Thanks for joining us. Thanks Dana. Pleasure to be here, mr. Ambassador can I say, I mean, you, you were in Iran, you went there as part of the negotiations. Um, how many times? Mark Lyall Grant: (03:14) Well, just once, um, I was the UK, um, Iranian nuclear negotiator for basically a two and a half year period when I was the political director in the foreign office in London and together with the France Germany, United States, China and Russia, we negotiated successfully whilst I was there, but eventually leading to the joint comprehensive plan of action, uh, which was a great infinity 15. And as part of that process, uh, we went to Tehran in, uh, 2008, um, present, uh, an agreed plan by the foreign ministers of those six countries. And then we met Iran twice more, uh, in Geneva, um, as follow up meetings to that first one. So we had just the one visit to Taylor. Dana Lewis - Host: (04:02) And what was that like? What was the atmosphere like in Tehran? Mark Lyall Grant: (04:06) Well, I mean, Tehran is a, I hadn't been there before. It's a very interesting, uh, city. I mean, you've got the mountains in the background. I wouldn't say it's a beautiful city, but the setting is, is very pleasant. Um, and there's a lot of people who, if you meet them privately can speak perfectly openly. One of the paradoxes about Iran and, and particularly the rupture between Iran and United States since 1979 is that Iran is probably has a population that is more pro Western than any of the Arab nations in the region. It has great internet titration than any of the neighbors near the, in the Arab countries. And therefore it is a quite a sophisticated population. And when you meet in private, as I met with various, uh, uh, NGOs and think tankers after the official tools, and you can have some very interesting discussions, Dana Lewis - Host: (05:00) Let's fast forward to where we are now. I mean, a lot has happened. So, right. So now you have, uh, people who are calling, uh, in Europe, diplomats that are saying France, Germany, the UK must move quickly to set out a roadmap for Iran so that the, the incoming Biden administration, uh, we'll get the U S to come back to the table, get Iran to come back to the table, especially now given the escalating tensions. Do you think that's happening in the background and it's got to happen? Mark Lyall Grant: (05:30) Yeah, I'm sure it is happening and it, it should happen. Um, because there is an opportunity with Joe Biden coming in in January to see whether there is a possibility of reengaging Iran on this, uh, nuclear deal. But cause personally, and I think I I'm speaking, uh, certainly for the three European governments, uh, it was a mistake for president Trump to pull out of the deal completely in 2018, the deal perfect. Let's be a hundred percent clear about that. And we can talk about that and weaknesses in the deal, but it was certainly a lot better than the potential alternatives at the time. It was therefore mistake to just pull out of the deal rather than see whether it would be improved in some way. So I think Dubai, Dana Lewis - Host: (06:16) If I can jump in there, I mean, John Bolton, the former national security advisor of Trump and a lot of different Republicans have poured so much water on this deal saying that it's unverifiable, it's the, you know, Trump himself is saying, it's the worst deal ever. Why did they say that? If you say, essentially, Mark Lyall Grant: (06:33) Let me, let me, let me address some of those criticisms because essentially there are three criticisms that you can make legitimate criticisms you can make of the deal that was struck. Uh, the first is that it covered only the nuclear weapons program. It did not cover a ballistic missile technology program, which of course is important. Secondly, it did not cover Iran's malign regional role it's support for terrorist organizations for them. Fears is below et cetera, in the region and its attempts to destabilize some of its names. And thirdly, the deal was time limited. There was a sort of sunset clause in the deal. So it would last only a maximum of 15 years. Now those are all legitimate criticisms, but you have to put that against the alternatives at, because if I just could delve into the history a little bit, there was a time when I was, uh, in the negotiating where the intelligence was clear that Iran had the capability to acquire a nuclear weapon, a bomb, and you feel a bomb within a less than one year period. Mark Lyall Grant: (07:48) Now this deal, it prevent, uh, Avon, former nuclear weapons for at least 15 years. Of course it had some very important characteristics in it. It had in it, um, the need to eliminate entirely the stockpile of medium enrich uranium. It had to get rid of the, reduce the stock pile of low in which germanium, um, 80, 98% of that. And he only allowed very limited amounts of low enriched uranium for the next 15 years. It also reduce the number of centrifuges by two-thirds. And most importantly, and this is a based some of the commentary that you've mentioned. It was entirely verifiable. There was a whole regime of inspections by the energy, by the international atomic energy agency, which is a thought off, uh, affiliated to the UN if you like, where they could go with, uh, inspections whenever they wanted in all the facilities that were covered. Mark Lyall Grant: (08:55) So it was, uh, I think a good deal. And what it meant was two things. One that it prevented everyone acquiring a nuclear weapon for first 15 years and 15 years is a long time in politics. So in that 15 years, you could have regime change into Iran. You could have, uh, new abilities to attack the program, perhaps offensive, cyber weapons, et cetera, that could be used against the program. So buying 15 years, when it looked as though they would have that capability within one year was very important. And he did this famous musical, um, the fork in the work that as you approach the period where you had a fall, where you had to decide, are you all gonna bond me around and try and take out militarily? All its nuclear facilities, incidentally would not be easy because they are deep, deep, underground. Uh, many of them or the other folk is that you accept, like we have for India and Pakistan so that they have acquired nuclear weapons despite the nonproliferation treaty. Mark Lyall Grant: (10:03) And you contain them in some other political diplomatic way. That is the fork in the road that the JCP airway avoided or pushed back at least the 15, 15 years, what we're faced with now, having president Trump, having pulled out of the deal and essentially the team falling apart, although the Europeans have never sort of formally advocated isn't normal in fact is Iran completely, but it has started reaching the deal is that you're going to just bring that fork in the road to get closer. So there is an opportunity now to try and reverse that bad decision that I think president Trump made. Why did he do it? Dana Lewis - Host: (10:45) You say, you know, people like Bolton and Trump say it wasn't verifiable, but I mean, clearly it's just not your, just not your opinion, but I mean, the UA, the UN the IAEA clearly is showing us pictures and life camera feeds. And they said it was absolutely verifiable. And that's why Europeans were willing to stick with the deal. Why did the Americans want to pull out of it just for political a headline? You know, how was it understandable? Mark Lyall Grant: (11:15) I think there's a lot of politics in it. I mean, you're right to, to quote the fact that president Trump had said it was the worst deal ever. And he said that before he was elected, I mean, this was during his sort of campaign rhetoric. And at the fundamentally it wasn't a bomber deal. You know, the deal was done by president Barack Obama and everything that president Obama did, president Trump didn't like whether there was a pharma care in generally or, or lots of the foreign policy issues. So given the, a bomber considered the nuclear deal to be a sort of shiny example of his achievements in foreign policy. And to be honest, he didn't have a huge number to point to, but, Dana Lewis - Host: (11:54) And you're not the first one to say that. Yep. Mark Lyall Grant: (11:56) Well, listen, it was an opportunity to, to attack it. I think it was probably more that than anything else. I think then you fold in Israel probably a bit played a role in it because don't forget that, you know, president Trump had two years in office before he pulled out after the deal, and it's not complete coincidence that he did so shortly after John Bolton was appointed as national security, Dana Lewis - Host: (12:18) Right? Bolton was never a favor of dealing with Iran, negotiating with Iran, uh, and was always a proponent of military action against Iran, but without really ever laying out how that would be successful, otherwise Israel probably would have done it on its own, but you roll in Israel too, though. I mean, there is another interloper and a state, which didn't think it's a real deal and didn't think that it was verifiable and thought all along that Iran was slowly making the bomb anyway. Mark Lyall Grant: (12:46) Yes, he made that case publicly that the United nations over call with a big sort of cartoon picture of a bomb and, uh, an hour threatening that was, and I attended talks between, um, present upon it as an engine yard who, and Theresa May in Downing street when we argued back and forth about the merits of the, of the nuclear deal. Um, I think, uh, and I post me argued the case with, um, with Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon, uh, and Trump's team when, um, when they came into office. So, you know, we knew the arguments that the Israelis were going to make, and we knew the arguments that president Trump's team were going to make, but we simply didn't agree with them. And I think they had a, perhaps a lack of understanding, not being raised, but the Trump team and a slight lack of understanding of the history that had gone into this on the sort of 15 years of negotiations that had led up to up to the deal. I think there's in yarns point of view, of course he wanted, uh, Trump to, uh, advocate the deal who, because he wanted a free hand to try and actually force the fork in the road. I think Israel fought came. He could persuade the Americans to do the bombing. I mean, Israel could do some itself, but it could wipe out Iran's nuclear facilities on the turf. Dana Lewis - Host: (14:04) And now you have Israel that has carried on this allegedly this assassination of most in fact Rosati. And of course, Netanyahu hasn't commented. And I think the head of his intelligence services has said they don't know who carried out the deal, but certainly Iran thinks it was Israel. And maybe some of the Iranian opposition that is based in Europe, they have accused them as well. Does it achieve anything? Does it roll back a nuclear program by killing the head scientist? And who do you think did it? Mark Lyall Grant: (14:35) I, I don't, I mean, I, I don't know who did it, but I don't think it's unreasonable to conclude that it was probably the Israelis. Um, and I don't think it's reasonable to conclude that the timing is linked to the fact that president Trump has two more months in the office, but I think, whereas you could argue, and I think by probably would argue that the killing of general Soleimani in January, this year by like eight have quite a, uh, substantive impact on the ability of the COOs force to, uh, carry out terrorist operations overseas, but the was ahead. And he was a very powerful figure. I'm not so sure about factories. Are there, I mean, he's certainly an important scientist with other scientists and Iran already has the nuclear know-how, it's not as though it needs a research. It's more about the development of the program rather than actually, uh, initiate things, such semi to get the technology. Mark Lyall Grant: (15:37) Right. So, so I, I'm less convinced I'm not, I don't know, back resigned his background and his pitch size wrong. Um, I don't think it will have a particularly substantial impact on the, um, program itself. And I think there is a risk that it could be counterproductive, but do reasons one, it will reinforce, uh, Iranian, um, incentive and determination to plus, and with the program. And also, let's not forget that there are presidential elections in Iran coming in 2021. And president Rouhani may not look like a sort of moderate Democrat, and certainly isn't a moderate Democrat, but as we know from Ahmadinejad and others who have proceeded him, there are people who are much more radical and much more hard-line than him, uh, who will leave on notes of, uh, attacks. And it will certainly improve their chances on election. Dana Lewis - Host: (16:34) If whoever carried out this attack was interested in carrying up the pavement for a Biden administration, to re-engage with Iran and hoping that Iran will fiercely respond and make the gap between dialogue with a new American administration, even larger. Do you think that Iran will disappoint them? Are they, are they smart enough to hold back and wait for that moment where they can move to dialogue rather than move to some kind of response, whether wherever it be. Mark Lyall Grant: (17:14) I think it's difficult to judge that because one called, think about Iran as a political entity. Yeah. You can say in Saudi Arabia that all the decisions are taken by one, maybe two people, you can't say that in Iran, you know, it's not a democracy, but there is a plurality of politics in Iran that is completely absent from the Arab States, for instance. So there is a precedent, he has a role, Ronnie, but there is the Supreme leader. There's the IGC, there's the bizarre is there's the Magister shooter. Now all of these bodies have an influence in the eventual decision at night be taken in. So I think if you look at president Mahoney or the foreign ministers a week, they will certainly want to not close off the possibility of engagement with Joe Biden, but equally Israelis probably absolutely. For the reasons you say, have an interest in making it much more difficult that we engagement to take place. And president Trump in his last couple of months may help to facilitate that. So I think there is a risk that Iran will be, will be pushed into a retaliation, which would make engagement more difficult. Certainly Dana Lewis - Host: (18:28) Last question to you, you know, you said you got to that fork in the road where, you know, you, you, you either had to choose them getting a bomb or you had to choose dialogue. Um, and then the drawbacks in the deal with the fact that you didn't take into it, it didn't, uh, put a new surround their rocket program, or it didn't bridal malign activities. I mean, it's, it's almost naive to think that a, a, a new agreement, even with the best intentions, uh, is suddenly going to deal with all of that. I mean, it's, it's almost a lot of people would say, you have to start somewhere, go back into, uh, a nuclear non-proliferation agreement with Iran. And then while you have whatever the period is going to be this time, whether it's going to be another 15 years or up to that 15 years, then you start dealing with some of these other issues. Or do you think it should be a more encompassing in retrospect, a more encompassing deal? Mark Lyall Grant: (19:27) Well, I think you can try and make it a more encompassing deal. I mean, let's not forget that the original deal, yes, it was restricted to the nuclear program, but that didn't prevent other action taking place at the same time on the ballistic, besides, and particularly on the regional, well, it didn't rule out anything either then, or indeed on the nuclear program at the end of the 15, 15 year period, know, John Bolton is a good example of someone who says often let's make the problem bigger. So we made the problem bigger. We bring in these other two issues and then let's sit down and negotiate. And I think there may well be, uh, an effort to try and do that, but whether it will be successful or not, we'll see, um, it wasn't successful in the sort of 15 year negotiations in which I was involved. Um, but it's, there is no doubt that what is constraining, the Arabians is the sanctions. They do have economic sanctions. The UN security council is United against the nuclear program. So the opportunity for tougher sanctions, so they are suffering and that may make them more amenable to some of these wider discussions, Dana Lewis - Host: (20:38) Ambassador, Mark Lyall grant. Great to have your perspective, somebody who's been in the room and we're part of the negotiations as a former national security advisor to two prime ministers here in Britain. Great to talk to you, sir. Thank you. All right. Let's go to Pittsburgh now. And Colin Clark is a senior research fellow with the Soufan center. Hi, Colin, how are you doing Dana timing? You know, talk to me about the assassination of the, the senior nuclear scientist. What, why now? And who do you think that? Colin Clarke - Soufan: (21:18) Well, I think there's considerable concern. Um, at least by the Israelis that, uh, Biden administration is not going to be, um, as open-minded to, uh, you know, Israel's kind of point of view as the Trump administration was. And I, and I think that's probably correct. Um, there are concerns that the Biden administration will re-engage with the Iranians and attempt to reinsure, uh, the multi-lateral, uh, nuclear deal. And that's something that, um, the Israelis are very adamant against Dana Lewis - Host: (21:48) Why isn't it than Yahoo, so adamantly against it. And then I also talked to John Bolton, Trump's national security advisor and former ambassador to the, to the, to the UN before. And he said, it just wasn't verifiable. I mean, they, they really, um, you know, they really put holes in the agreement. And yet you talk to other people, Europeans here who some of them I've talked to who helped negotiate this agreement and they say it was verifiable and it was a good agreement. And it stopped Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Colin Clarke - Soufan: (22:19) Yeah, well, clearly Netanyahu disagrees. I think, you know, many hardliners within Israel are uncomfortable, uh, where there comes to an element of trust with the Iranian regime. And I think that's born over decades of, uh, mistrust and, and, and so, uh, in some ways I do see the perspective of Netanyahu, however, um, you know, it's my belief that the only really viable way forward is engaging with the Iranians diplomatically. And even if we are able to kind of, uh, you know, renegotiate a deal, I'm not one for blind trust. I'm, I'm more of a guy that believes in, you know, trust in God, but lock your car Dana Lewis - Host: (22:59) Trust, but verify as the Russians or as, um, as president Reagan said to glory, you know, trust, but verify. And in fact, in this case, they had, uh, UN inspectors in there verifying, and the UN the IAEA seemed like they were pretty happy with the outcome. Look, do you believe, and I've just read your report that you wrote for the Soufan center. Um, do you believe that, uh, the Saudis were approached in this meeting by, by Netanyahu to lay the groundwork for a military strike against Iran by the Trump administration? Colin Clarke - Soufan: (23:36) I don't know. I hope not. Um, I do believe it's feasible that the Saudis were approached. Um, but you know, if you are the Saudis, the MRR or, or, you know, another country in the region, and you think that, um, you know, you've got leverage or you've got some chips to play, I don't know why you'd cash them in now with the Trump administration. You're more likely to wait, uh, and, and engage with divided administration because you're, otherwise you're dealing with a lame duck. Uh, I know that Trump's approach has been one of scorched earth. He's trying to break everything on his way out, uh, which is really, you know, in my opinion, that's detrimental to us policy, uh, you know, it's really a policy of vengeance, uh, and you know, so it's, it's going to be something we're going to have to spend a lot of time repairing. Um, so, so, yeah. Is it feasible that the Saudis were approached about this? Probably. Um, but I don't think it's wise to, uh, begin a conflict, uh, right. You know, full stop, much less, um, you know, with less than 70 days left in the administration, uh, and really no mandate, right? I mean, this is someone that's, um, spending most of this time trying to discredit free and fair elections in his own country. Dana Lewis - Host: (24:51) Well, he's always worried about his record and wiping out, uh, president Obama's record. And this deal by the way was part of the Obama administration's deal that he wanted to get rid of in the campaign. But you mentioned the word vengeance. Talk to me about Iranian inventions. I mean, what are they capable of doing? And do you think that they'll pull the trigger on retaliation at this point, Colin Clarke - Soufan: (25:15) Could be, uh, if you go back to September, 2019, you see exactly what the Iranians are capable of doing operating through the region, putting the Houthi rebels, operating from a Rocky soil, uh, you know, in areas kind of nominally controlled by Iraqi Shia militia. Uh, if you look at, uh, again, going back to the who these, their capabilities, you're talking about a violent non-state actor with the capabilities of a nation state, I mean, really fairly sophisticated, um, you know, ability to use drones, um, ability to use, um, some, some pretty high-speed weaponry, including vessels. Dana Lewis - Host: (25:54) You can go after who Colin Clarke - Soufan: (25:57) And attack the Saudis attack, Saudi infrastructure, uh, primarily. And I think, you know, when you go back to September, 2019, I remember, I think I was on Bloomberg, uh, television a couple of days after the attack. And the interviewer said, well, so what's the United States going to do? And I said, what do you mean we weren't attacked Saudis were, and he was kind of taken aback that, um, you know, I would even suggest that the Saudi should defend themselves. I made a Quip, which, you know, I think, um, you know, drew, uh, drew a lot of flack from it, but I said, we sell them the weapons. Do we have to pull the trigger for them as well? Um, so, you know, I'm certainly not concerned, Dana Lewis - Host: (26:34) Uranian missile assault on a oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, but then there have been many other, what, what else could Iran do? I mean, what, what are the targets terms of Israeli, uh, targets, uh, American targets abroad? What do they have? What are they capable of? Colin Clarke - Soufan: (26:51) People have a lot look through Lebanese has Bola. They have global reach. We've seen, has Bola, uh, Stripe, you know, all over the world in Latin America and elsewhere. Um, there's been plots that have been disrupted, uh, in Georgia and India and Thailand. We've seen the bus bottling in Bulgaria. So I have no, um, no doubt that the Iranians are capable of responding. The question becomes how wise is it? Uh, you know, the Israelis are more than capable of taking care of themselves. Uh, and I just don't think getting into a kind of tit for tat conflict with Israel right now, um, you know, the Israelis have, have shown what they're capable of doing. Um, and, and, you know, they don't really feel compelled to hold back. So it would be unwise on the part of Iran, um, to, um, to respond in full force. But what I will say is Iran is kind of the master of walking right up to the line without crossing it, these kinds of nibbling attacks, you know, around the edges. And for that they they'd likely use proxies whether, you know, Shia militia in Iraq, um, or Lebanese Hezbollah or another kind of Iranian prophecy. Dana Lewis - Host: (27:56) And I guess the big question for the Biden administration now is can they easily reenter this agreement with Iran? Um, because a lot of things have happened on the ground. And in fact, the Iranian, the program has moved, the nuclear program has moved forward. So what is the challenge for a newly elected president Biden to, to try to bring not Iran to heal, but to have some kind of agreement on transparency within their nuclear program and, and to try to get them to step back. Colin Clarke - Soufan: (28:30) It's, it's a real challenge. I mean, it's certainly no fait accompli, as you know, some analysts have described and commentary and various hop takes that. I've read that just because there's a Biden administration means we're going to have an Iran nuclear deal. I think far from it, the region looks quite different than it did even four years ago. Um, you know, some of the alliances, uh, have shifted. So I wouldn't say that it's a certainty, uh, that the us will reenter the deal. And I think, you know, there's a lot that Iran still needs to do, um, including curving its behavior through the proxies that we just talked about, uh, before, you know, we should, you know, just blindly reenter a deal, um, and reward the Iranians. Uh, I just don't think it's smart. Dana Lewis - Host: (29:15) Do you really think that the discussion should be that broad, that, that not only do you talk about their nuclear program, but you start talking about malign activities, you start talking about their missile programs. A lot of people think that that's just becomes unwieldy and impossible in a, in a discussion to come to an agreement that you need to start somewhere and you at least start building blocks on that agreement and the sanctions around it and their nuclear program. Colin Clarke - Soufan: (29:42) I do think it's worth discussing because one, you need to raise the issue that it's unacceptable now, what your expectations are in terms of what you're going to get out of that is totally different. But yeah, I do think it needs to, uh, uh, to be broached. Uh, and I, and I think, you know, it all depends on how you view your own leverage, right? Um, with economic sanctions, that's one of the problems I've had with the Trump administration over the last four years. I've never really gotten a sense of how effective the Trump administration itself believes this maximum pressure campaign has been, uh, because it's been, and I've written about this with, uh, with my colleague Aryan Tabatabaie, we've called it a tautology of sorts because no matter what Iran seems to do, the administration trumpets, uh, you know, the success of the maximum pressure campaign, but then also paints Iran, um, as this, uh, actor that can't be stopped and that's, you know, dominating the middle East. Colin Clarke - Soufan: (30:38) Well, if that's the case, then maximum pressure hasn't worked, right. Uh, if Iran acts out and increases attacks, you know, the administration has said, look, maximum pressure is working. And if the attacks decrease, they say, look, maximum pressure is working. So, uh, you know, I don't know what the administration really believes. I don't know if they do well, it's up to the next administration. Now. It looks like that this contemplation of any kind of military action in Iran, um, th that shadow seems to have passed. Although I wouldn't put anything past a desperate, uh, president Trump right now, but, uh, we'll see what president Biden does in the future then, and whether they can bring them back into some kind of a negotiated settlement. Yeah. I mean, I'll just say, you know, lastly, I think it speaks to the incoherence of, of Trump's strategy in the middle East. Colin Clarke - Soufan: (31:25) If the goal, as you stated before us and endless Wars, he's going to start one right before he leaves office. I think we haven't had a coherent approach to the region. It's been one of transactionalism. Um, and, and so I'm looking forward to a more cogent, uh, you know, pragmatic relationship or, you know, uh, strategy formulation with a Biden administration, with someone like a Jake Sullivan that knows the region. Well, that knows the players that actually works across the aisle and consults with, you know, so-called hardliners within the United States. And so, um, I'm hopeful that, uh, we're, you know, we're able to make progress on that front. Thank you, Colin. Thank you. Dana Lewis - Host: (32:10) And that's our backstory on Iran and the bomb in case you didn't know, as we speak, there is a trial underway in Belgium of an Iranian diplomat and several others believe to be from Iran intelligence network for smuggling explosives into Europe, and then plotting to carry out a bombing of an Iranian opposition group in France. The bomb was handed over at a pizza hut in Luxenberg. The intent prosecutors say was to blow up a rally in France of a prominent opposition group to the Uranian government. Hundreds would have been killed the Uranian diplomat Asadullah Assadi allegedly carried the bomb a little more than a pound of tea, TP, explosives, and a detonator to Vienna from Iran in his luggage on an Austrian airlines flight. He then drove it to Luxembourg in a rented car and handed it over to an Iranian Belgium couple on June 30th, 2018. And it was the Israeli Mossad who tipped off French and Belgium authorities. Iran has denied the plot and said the charges were designed to embarrass Tehran just before president Hassan Rouhani traveled to Europe to rally support for the 2015 nuclear deal. Thanks for listening to backstory, share this link, subscribe to our podcasts, wherever you listen. We're on most major platforms like Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon music, Pandora, Deezer, and many more. If you would like to sponsor this podcast, let us know. I'm Dana Lewis and I'll talk to you again. 

[amisbro]

The Road Trip

Fandoms:  K Priject Rating:  G Note:  This fic is the return back to a fandom I hadn’t been back to in a good while and with the “7 Stories” Movies coming up what better way to go back but to get started with the trip back home LET’S GO TO SHIZUME CITY!

Shizume City It was a very quiet day in the city and by quiet JUNGLE/Cathedral weren’t causing nearly the chaos they should have been and the HOMRA bar was getting lively with customers but nowhere near where they could be and Izumo Kusanagi ,The Bartender of HOMRA, knew that well.  He knew there was a spark that was missing and he silently hoped it would come back cos he knew himself that business ,while not down, wasn’t where he would have liked it. At Scepter 4 things were almost in that same vein While the strains were minding their business and not causing havoc the “Youngbloods” were trying to keep themselves occupied with their studies and the Captain and King in Reisi Munakata ,while messing around with his puzzle that he had sitting on his desk, was having a hard time focusing.  Even messing with Fushimi (which could be a fun pastime if done right) wasn’t one of those things that held its appeal when he knew that there was something ELSE that was missing and he needed to see it come back into the city...he and everyone at Scepter 4 knew EXACTLY what they were missing! And THEN there was that gentleman that roamed the city Yukari Mishakuji The former swordsman of JUNGLE ,after turning on them a good while ago, was now employed at a very successful flower shop in the city and for the most part didn’t have to deal with a lot of problems with JUNGLE.  Even after the events of years past now he was pretty much clear of their problems but there was a part of him that wishes he could get back to just erasing those people one by one by one. There was ANOTHER issue with him He missed HIM One common thread that Scepter 4 ,HOMRA and Yukari all had in common was their interactions with a young man that changed all of their lives and it would be a lie if any of them said they DIDN’T miss him because oh did they! The Youngbloods of Scepter 4 missed their mentor HOMRA missed their “secret weapon” on Fridays for the “Kids Day” they started holding when he was there And Yukari...well he missed his man and EVERYONE knew it!  Heck there were times when he would go bug Kuroh at Isana’s place because he missed his man that bad!  This of course annoyed Kuroh so bad that he just told him to leave him alone and “If Joshua loves you like we all know he’ll be back...give him time I hear he’s very busy with his other work as is” and Kuroh was right cos every time he turned on the TV Joshua was working with one of the idol groups he was affiliated with in Tokyo or he was working on his own concerts...but it didn’t mean he would never come back...right? This answer would come soon enough Tokyo in the QN Compound “So you see friends” Joshua started “We have an interesting schedule between now and around May.  We got appearances for HEAVENS coming up and I know QN has at least one concert so there’s that...anything else I’m forgetting?” Joshua asked and Camus was the one to speak up on everyone’s behalf “Curtis-San...when is the last time you went home?” Camus asked and this caught Joshua off guard and had to try to figure out how to answer the question “I-I am home boss.  I was just going over part of our schedule between now and May.” Joshua explained but Camus wasn’t going to give up on the question so he tried another way “Alright...when is the last time you were in the ‘City’?  Surely you miss those people don’t you?” Camus asked and this time Joshua was really caught off guard but he didn’t get angry and just answered as honestly as he could “First off I am going to assume by ‘City’ you mean ‘Shizume’ correct boss?” Joshua asked and Camus nodded before he continued “Very well...I want to say...its been a while.  Do I miss it a little?  Yeah I do but I also am happy to be here with you guys and help you all out you know?” Joshua asked and everyone in the room (the members of QN and HEAVENS collectively) all nodded in agreement.  Camus however knew what had to be done “You know its rare that I TELL you to go do something anymore.  You are pretty much programmed into my routine that I don’t have to tell you anything.  This time however Joshua I am GOING TO TELL YOU that I want you to take an extended vacation.  We have Nanami as a backup so we aren’t going to skip a beat here but I have a strange feeling that there are people back in Shizume that want you to go home to see them.  I also have a feeling one of them is a very talented swordsman that even I won’t mess with!” Camus explained and when Joshua heard this he looked at everyone in the room and decided to ask the question that needed to be asked “Is this how you all feel?” Joshua asked and when everyone nodded he knew what he had to do. “Very well...tomorrow I will go on a bit of a vacation into the City.  Might help with some boredom issues cos I admit wholeheartedly I had dealt with those so I will go cure them and return in time for the concert in May.  Is that a deal?” Joshua asked and everyone nodded but Camus wanted to make something clear so he had to step in. “I know you won’t miss that concert in May and we all look forward to it.  Just don’t go neglecting your friends over there after that.  We appreciate your loyalty here but you are also needed THERE!” Camus exclaimed with extra emphasis on “there” and Joshua knew what that meant.  He was OFF TO THE CITY! The Next Day To say that Joshua had a rough night sleeping after packing was an understatement but it was one of the worst nights he had in a while because he was going back to see a lot of good people and those people kind of felt needed him but he could never outright say it cos he didn’t want his friends there to feel like crap either you know?  As it was when he got up he went and got changed into something a little less formal...even if one of the places he was going to go visit WAS Scepter 4 he didn’t have to get into Uniform for today so he got on a t-shirt and some blue jeans and sneakers and after a breakfast that Kira prepared for him he was out the door to his car to head off to that famous bridge that he has crossed before and he was very happy to start the journey...even if it was a good 3 hours from the QN’s place! When Joshua walked out the door Eiji ran up to him to make sure he had his ID to get into the city and also to get into Scepter 4 when he stopped over.  He knew what security check was like so he made sure he had everything and Joshua showed him just like always that he was prepared for the big trip.  After that Eiji nodded and gave him a big hug before saying his goodbyes and Joshua got in the car and headed off Was the trip a quiet one?  Nah you know Joshua had to have tunes going in the car all the way over and as he was taking the familiar route to the City that he traveled times before his first thought went to Scepter 4 and the boys he helped mentor ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Youngbloods Joshua still remembers the day the boys created those special armbands for their group.  At first Joshua thought it was a little silly but when Akiyama and Enomoto explained how important he was becoming as a teacher to them and they wanted to really become his students he couldn’t help but smile and take them on because of how important an impact he was becoming and he wanted to keep that bond with them.  Even with his absence Domyouji told him in messages that they were keeping with their studies and they were looking forward to if he were to ever come back to the group...boy were they going to be in for a shock! ------------------------------------------------------------- HOMRA After Mikoto’s death and Anna taking over the role of “King” in the Red Clan things started changing and she came up with ideas along with Kusanagi about how to make a bar that ,to be fair was more of a clubhouse, more accessible for the public and they started to redo their image after that.  It wasn’t until Joshua came in though that things really started changing for the better and the energetic gent started to help get a younger crowd to come in and he always enjoyed hanging out with the young ones.  While he always gave Anna the credit for the idea she always looked at Joshua as one that really could carry the idea out.  According to Anna it was JOSH that should have become the new King but Joshua always joked that “I don’t have that kind of power...you are far better than I could ever be” and she always left it alone after that. And THEN there is HIM --------------------------------------------------------- Yukari Mishakuji The incomparable swordsman formerly of JUNGLE.  The man that ,Joshua credited for saving his life and changing his outlook on a lot of things.  If it wasn’t for Yuari there was a chance that Joshua could have physically been fine but mentally been so screwed up that he couldn’t be repaired!  If it wasn’t for encountering each other there are those that think that they wouldn’t be the men they were now and for that they are both grateful and have said as much to people when they asked. --------------------------------------------------------- As Joshua closed in on the bridge he pulled over to the curb and got out of the car to walk up to the entrance of the bridge and after running his hand up and down one of the sides for a few minutes a noticeable smile appeared on his face and as walked back to the car and got in to start the engine he couldn’t help but blast some good jams as he crossed the bridge and made off to his first stop HOMRA When Joshua took the familiar streets and saw familiar faces walking up and down the sidewalks he smiled and waved at each of them before pulling into the alleyway that he always would use for his parking lot! Best part...no one saw him “I FRIGGIN’ TOLD YOU I CAN HIT A KICKFLIP OFF THIS CURB AND I’LL DO IT DANG IT!” Yata yelled at Rikio who just faceplamed “Bruh every time you do that you end up crying for 20 minutes cos you skinned your knee and then Anna has to go get the first aid spray” Rikio explained and Yata just pouted “He’s right you know” When Yata heard this he assumed that it was Kusanagi that was making the statement but he was just diddling on his phone so he looked at the other members who just shrugged and then the voice made another comment “You know...if Saru heard you say the thing about hitting a kickflip he’d thing it was ALL you were gonna hit...but that’s just my opinion” “WHY YOU I SHOULD BASH YOUR SKULL IN WITH THIS BASEBALL BAT!” Yata Screamed before rushing at the person but when the person calmly deflected the bat from him he smirked and turned to Yata whom looked like he had seen a ghost when he realized who it was “CURTIS-SAN...WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” Misaki asked puzzled and Joshua just smiled before responding “Oh...Let’s just say I was given a vacation from an employer in Tokyo and he ordered me to ‘Return Home’.  Let’s just say I have a lot of those here so I figured this would be the first one I stop at cos I missed you guys and gals!” Joshua excitedly told Yata and Kusanagi was even more surprised when he heard this “Does this mean you will be coming back to help out on the ‘Kids Night’ that we do?  We could really use the help again.” Izumo explained and Joshua happily nodded “Of course my friend and its well known also that YOU my friend have a birthday coming up...we need to properly celebrate that so we shall in due course I promise!  Now listen I don’t like to cut these visits short but I need to go stop at two other places before heading home for the night.  Good to see you all again and we are back in business I promise you that!” Joshua excitedly proclaimed and with that he took his leave but not before nearly getting dogpiled by everyone...until Izumo told them to chill cos if they hurt him they wouldn’t have his help for the upcoming weekend jobs. Next stop:  Scepter 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This one was a bit more of a pain in the butt because he needed to make sure he had his Scepter 4 creds but that wasn’t a problem cos of Eiji reminding him to bring his other wallet and he did so he went up to the scanner and and they let his car into the parking lot which was ALWAYS a pain to get into...no seriously getting into the alley he used to park for HOMRA was always blasted easier! ANWAYS Joshua got into the parking lot and put his other wallet away and so that he didn’t get the creds he needed confused and when he walked into the building and saw the famous stairway he was to walk up if you ever wanted to know what a real GIDDY Joshua looked like imagine the Nintendo 64 kid on steroids 10x alright? As Joshua made his way up the stairs and hung that familiar right to the hallway where the HQ was he could hear the most comical argument ever “Come on Andy...we know that God’s S.T.A.R. is legitimately the more superior song of the 3 Triple S songs...the actual sales proved that!” Goto yelled and Andy had to cover his ears his friend was so loud “Okay that might be but there was something about Immortal Inferno that was just A MILLION TIMES BETTER and everyone with a sense of music knows thi!” Andy hollered back “We adding debate to the curriculum...I’m down” Andy and Ren snapped their heads in the direction of the voice they heard and the smile that came on their faces were INSTANT!  THEIR SENPAI WAS HOME! “CURTIS-SENPAI!” They both exclaimed and hugged their teacher and Awashima happened to peak her head out of the Captain’s office to see what all the racket was about and when she saw even she was uncharacteristically happy!  Like she could be happy but it was moments like seeing her “Son” return that made her quite happy “Its a pleasure to see you again Joshua.  I trust that your trip was an enjoyable one?” Awashima asked and Joshua nodded before replying “It was...even if getting into the parking lot is still as convoluted as ever.  I legit get into the HOMRA alleyway easier but I understand why also.” Joshua explained and Seri chuckled because she was remembering here issues with the parking in the area. “Oh its bad...I had to curse security one time cos of the issues with the scanner.  Do you have time to see the Captain or will you be leaving us today?” Seri asked and Joshua had to think for a second before he made his response “Since I am back for the foreseeable future I will come back in a day or two.  For now I have to go see one more party and then head to my home here.  Tell Our esteemed King I’ll be back in a few days or so alright?” Joshua asked and Seri nodded before heading back into the office and Joshua did as he said and made sure to say his goodbyes to his boys before he made his final stop ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yukari’s Flower Shop This place was one that Joshua had stopped at many times before and every time he goes in its always a more exotic place. Alright there is ONE correction we need to make The Flower Shop isn’t REALLY Yukari’s but because he is the one that grows a lot of the different flowers they sell there the owner practically calls the shop his and it helps to keep his mind off of what he had missing in his life.  The one person that could POSSIBLY make him whole! But he didn’t have much longer to wait As the car pulled in front of the shop near the outskirts of the city and Joshua got out all he had to do was stare straight to the back of the store and he saw the gent that saved his life from being mentally crippled! As Joshua walked in he made his way straight to the back and when the swordsman realized who it was the “Oh my God” look on his face appeared and then he ran up to Joshua and just gave him the biggest hug possible!  To say that he missed him bad would be foolishly understated and the sound of muffled sobs that came from Yukari were all that Joshua needed to know how bad he was missed by his boyfriend.  He knew he shouldn’t leave him for these long periods and but at the same time Yukari has been way more than understanding about his other job but he was glad to get to see him again and that was a fact! “C-Curtis-Chan?  Y-You’re back...YOU’RE BACK?!” Yukari yelled and Joshua smiled and nodded before speaking “Yes my dear Yukari.  I’m back and I don’t think I am leaving again for a good while.  I’m here for you and to go work with my boys in Scepter 4 and such.  I missed them and most importantly I definitely missed you and I would be lying if I said that I worried about you while I was gone.  I’ve just been so busy with work that...well you know I’m sure.” Joshua explained and Yukari nodded as he continued to wipe the tears from his eyes but he was so happy he couldn’t stop crying.  Joshua took him to the back to get him cleaned up and then after that the owner let Yukari off early because of “Special Circumstances”.  Yeah this was definitely one and Mishakuji was definitely very happy to hear the news! As Joshua and Yukari walked out of the shop arm and arm together there was one thing Joshua wanted to do: He got out his PDA and issued the following command in it “Road Trip Status:  COMPLETED!” For Joshua this “Road Trip” and the reunion with his friends and loved ones...was the greatest thing he ever pulled off and now he knew one thing Joshua was in fact...HOME!

[allenmendezsr]

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Sam England here and I wanted to let you guys in on a little secret weapon that I have in my back pockets – a weapon that shaves hours of work off each week.

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A big mistake I see is everyone trying to do everything themselves in their business. Everything from the mundane link building, blog commenting to graphic design, video creation and article writing.

Are you doing this? Are you trying to do everything yourself in your business?

If so, you are making a huge mistake. It’s okay though, it’s a mistake a lot of people make. Maybe you think that you need to do it to be successful, and maybe that’s true. Maybe it does need to get done in order to have a successful online business.

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I get a lot of things done in my business, all while I sit back and relax! ! You see, I have teams of people, right now on fiverr, who are doing these things for me…

Creating Kindle eCovers…(Doing it myself – about an hour)

Having a video made…(Doing it myself – 3 hours)

Creating site graphics, complete with matching facebook banner, youtube background and twitter background (Doing it myself – 8 hours)

Having an article written (Doing it myself – about 30 minutes)

Backlinking and social bookmarking video (Doing it myself – about an hour)

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It’s extremely hard to sort through all of the gigs and users on Fiverr to get quick reliable results.

What I’ve done is taken a quick video on how GIG Prospector works and how you can effortlessly find top notch gigs fast!

As you can see from the video, it was super easy to find high quality gigs.

There are numerous problems with fiverr’s website.

Fiverr’s poor system of organizing search terms means you get tons of irrelevant results.

Fiverr’s inability to show you rating ratio on the search page means you have to click each individual gig to see it.

Fiverr’s inability to show you queue and delivery time on the search page means you have to click the gig to see it.

The site can sometimes be slow to load, and since you have to load all the CSS as well as images, it can make it take longer.

These overall things results in an average 10 to 15 minutes of searching (or sometimes more) per outsourcing need!

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