#joshua & mali ;
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
location :Â Â day 29 / kitchen / morning
featuring :Â Â @inquixoticâ
â GOOD MORNING. howâd you sleep ? â  josh has been working on making a smoothie this morning, but itâs purely coincidental that as soon as sheâs close enough, heâs pressing the button of the blender, making it loudly go off. if she tries to talk to him, he doesnât hear it. Â
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
HOW OIL'S RIGGED AGAINST AFRICA
Nigeria is Africaâs biggest oil producer, but unlike other oil-rich countries, it remains relatively poor. One of the biggest reasons is its lack of processing facilities. As a result, it has to sell its unrefined oil to other nations who refine it and then sell it back at several times the price. Obviously a stupid system, but one perpetuated by Nigerian politicians.
In this clip, Zimbabwean entrepreneur and author Joshua Maponga runs through how foreign firms have been allowed to exploit Nigeriaâs oil for decades at the expense of local interests. According to him, thereâs only one solution. Governments need to wake up and take back control of their countryâs resources. And if you want an example of what can be done, we should look at Burkina Faso and Mali, or even China.
Western nations have long blamed Nigeriaâs oil problems on its fuel subsidies, which were recently scrapped. However, the result was an instant 175 per cent increase in pump prices for its citizens. Hardly a way of lifting its population out of poverty, 40 per cent of whom live on less than US$2 a day.
Maponga seems to be talking sense. Just run the oil industry as a proper business, which means refining the black gold yourself! Too simplistic? Give us your thoughts.
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
Red-billed Hornbill - Memphis Zoo, Prentiss Place, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Joshua J. Cotten
Common Name: Red-billed hornbill
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Bucerotiformes
Family: Bucerotidae
Genus Species: Tockus erythrorhynchus
These birds can be found in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabw
The red-bill lives in open savanna, woodland and thorn scrub in sub-Saharan Africa. It is an omnivore, eating fruit, insects and small animals. Hornbills are named because the shape of their bill reminded early people of cattle horns.
#Memphis Zoo#Prentiss Place#Memphis#Tennessee#USA#US#TNWildlife#Wildlife#Birds#Bird#United States#United States of America#North America#Red Billed Hornbill#Red-billed Hornbill#Zoo#Animalia#Chordata#Aves#Bucerotiformes#Bucerotidae#Tockus erythrorhynchus
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ne Cede Malis - REDUX - A Twist of Fate
Something I've been sitting on and then reworked it some more as the writing monster tries to bite me. Bite harder dang it.
Took the old version, but applied Find Your Light to it, including Asaru and Bradford being bonded, but keeping Jynn in a Proto-Chosen state. So consider this the new canon of this AU.
Now 13.9k.
Warnings for language, violence, references to alcoholism, and references to self-harm.
Can't say when I'll have the new versions posted on Ao3 and FF.net. May just append/add as a chapter to the old ones with the appropriate author notes.
-------
âHoâhow much longer⊠until we reach the outpost, Bradford?â Manson asked in-between gasps of air and grunts.
âNot much longer. Should see it when we reach the top of this hill.â Bradford replied.
âAnd then how far from there?â He sounded so exhausted.
âOh, ease up.â Laney rolled her eyes. âFresh ainât killing you.â
âThe humidity is.â
âShould install a fan into your Gremlin then. Just try to not get thrown out of Shenâs workshop.â She playfully teased, only to get a few curses slung at her. Yuri let out a boisterous laugh.
âYouâre just asking for him to get thrown out of Shenâs workshop. Again.â Jody snickered.Â
âI didnât know that was her workshop.â Manson said through gritted teeth.
âGo easy on the new guy.â Joshua shook his head. He grabbed Mansonâs pack off his back and slung it onto his. Manson gave a quick thank you.
Bradford was leading a squad of about five, him included, through the backwoods of North Georgia. Partially into the Appalachian Mountains. Though it was a cool, spring day, a recent rain had saturated the air as Manson was not dealing with the humidity well.
There were some sound rumors there was a reputable Black Market dealer that made their home deep within the moments. In fact, they had turned an abandoned ADVENT outpost into their base of operations. A bold and dangerous play on their hand, but seemed like ADVENT didnât care about this region. Barely any patrols ran through the mountain. Maybe the occasional dropship flew by, but not much happened. Hopefully, the trip was worth it. Heard the dealer may have been in possession of some sensitive equipment procured from an ADVENT facility. And they were always interested in getting their hands on sensitive equipment. No telling where it could lead them.
As they crested the hill, there it was. The outpost was off in the distance, just a few miles away. A white, grim covered building with several vines growing over it. The sun's rays glistened off one of those gaudy, golden statues of the Elders. A surprising sight. Those things were usually defaced or torn down when abandoned.
âThis is a beautiful sight.â Asaru partially emerged from Bradford and peered around at the vast wilderness. Just so much greenery, bright greenery and colorful flowers blossoming all around. At least some of the Earth was untouched by what the Elders had done.Â
âIt is.â Bradford nodded. One of the positives of running field missions. Getting away from the constant swarming hub of the Avenger and those metal interiors was always refreshing. Thinking of metal interiors, they needed to do some redesigning and decorating to make the place more lively. Maybe some black market contacts knew some carpenters? Could use some more wood paneling that wasnât just the bar and crewâs quarters.
âI need⊠to catch my⊠breath.â Manson sat down as soon as they reached the top of the hill. He wiped the sweat from his brow before taking a swing of water from his canteen.
âMake it short.â Bradford glanced back at him and then at his watch. They still had a good amount of time before evening would hit. He wanted them to at least get halfway back to the Avenger before nightfall to set up camp. He rolled his eyes when Asaru chided him; yes he was being harsh, but they had a schedule to keep.âYouâve gotta toughen up, man.â Laney was still playfully picking on him. She found a log to step on to do some stretches to loosen up her legs. âCanât have you on missions if youâre getting this tuckered out.
Manson furrowed his brows at her. âNot used to the humidity.â He was more used to drier climates. âStill getting used to carrying so much gear. Iâm more of an engineer than a soldier.â
Manson was a new recruit to XCOM. A former ADVENT engineer fed up with the life and lies. He lived through the invasion as a teenager, and things never sat well with him. Of course, all the things the Elders did were wondrous, but it was all a lie. And then education They brought made his engineering interests flourish, but once he was older and found a job, he felt used. Eventually, catching wind of this XCOM made him want a way out of this false âgoldenâ life. And there were a few others like him. It took some work, but they orchestrated a rescue from XCOM and delivered some equipment and valuable information into their hands. A few left to help with some havens, but most, including him, stuck with XCOM.
He flinched several times as Yuri patted his back.Â
âYouâll adapt in no time, kiddo.â He gave a reassuring smile in his slightly thick Russian accent. A jagged scar ran up the left side of his face, from lip to ear. His left eye was glassy, but there was a hint of life to it. âIf you donât, youâll suffer Corvoâs wrath.â He wiggled his fingers and made an ominous âooOooOooâ sound.
âDonât remind me of him.â Manson huffed. He wished he never volunteered to join the more military part of XCOM. It was interesting, but he should have just stuck with the engineering crew, but there were hurting to have more people on the field. Corvo was a slave master when it came to training. He wondered how a man like him was married to Shay, who also helped with the training. She was miss peppy to mister cold⊠who had his own quirks. Annoying Bradford was one of them.Â
âOur blue friend sensing anything off?â Laney asked, as she went over to Bradford after stretching. She noticed their resident alien had partially emerged.Â
âNo, just admiring the sights.â Asaru answered with a chuckle. âEarthâs natural beauty untouched by the Elders.â
âAh, gotcha.â She nodded and smiled. âThe Appalachian Mountains have always been -ahem- purdy.â She playfully jabbed Bradfordâs arm.
He flinched, eyes twitching for a moment, before rolling them. âLaneyâŠâ A slight tinge of red appeared in his cheeks. Asaru laughed.
âSorry, just remembering what slipped out during the briefing with Corvo and Shay. Channeling some of Commander Reeves and her brother.â She tried her best to stifle a snicker, but a snort slipped out. âGot stuck in that accent for a few minutes and Asaru didnât help.â
âYeah⊠yeah⊠yeah.â There was a slight dejection in his voice. He had Asaru to blame for random accent slips due to influences from previous hosts. But there was just something about Jynn, his old friend, their old Commander that came out strong. He never really had a strong accent, whether it be âsouthernâ or âmidwesternâ, but because of Asaru, one was slipping into them at random
Hearing the dejection, Laney put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a good squeeze. âHey, weâll find her. Found her blue friend.â
âWe will find her.â Asaru agreed.
âRight, thanks. Trying to stay positive⊠just miss her a lot.â
âI know. And she was a pretty cool boss when not in work mode. Heck,â she snorted, âkinda miss how she would go off on the idiots. Dress them down. Especially the pranksters. Remember the Chryssalid puppet?â
âOh, do NOT remind me of that day!â He never realized how mean of a hook the Commander had and then she nearly bit him when he had to restrain her from attacking the culprits.
A few minutes passed by as they all caught a break, discussed some things, and made quick checks on the local frequencies. No ADVENT activity for miles.
âLetâs get going.â Bradford was ready to go and Asaru had re-merged with him. He was already moving.
In about half an hour or so, they arrived at their destination. The outpost. It was quiet. Dead quiet. Just the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.
âHm.â
Bradford approached the door. He signaled for three of them to check the windows. The security lasers were down. Boards and tarps had replaced them, as there was no more power to keep them going. He gave another sign for Manson and Laney to have their Gremlins do some scanning. Better safe than sorry. Last thing they needed was them stumbling into a trap. Or a nest of Chryssalids. As they did that, he knocked on the door a few times in a pattern given to them by their sources.
âI have burned my tomorrows and my shadows.â And said the code phrase.
A few minutes passed⊠and no response.
âHm.â He glanced over at Joshua and then Yuri.
âLights out and the place looks empty on this side.â Joshua said.
âThis side is dark too.â Yuri said.
âBacks empty.â Jody said, coming back from checking the rear.
âHmâŠâ He didnât like that. He then looked back at their Specialists. Laneyâs Gremlin had returned to her side.
âReading no life signs but us.â Manson said. He was letting his Gremlin do more extensive scans. âJust cold on the inside. Weâre the only hot spots.â
âSame here.â
âHm.â Odd.
He looked at the door handle and gave it a tug. The door slide right open, with a bit of help. It stuck a few times and let out a grinding screech at one point. He winced. Somebody probably heard that.
Once fully opened⊠there was still no response. The place was empty. The lobby was set up like any other black market they had gone to. Several display cases containing various weapons, equipment, and resources. Dried meats handing off to one side. There were probably more items to be purchased in the side rooms.
âHm.â He didnât like this. His eyes glowed blue for a second. âHm.â Still nothing. No other life signs. âAsaru?â
His eyes glowed again, this time lasting for over a minute.
âNothing. No one else but us.â Asaru answered. âBut something feels off.â
âHm.â Always something. âStay alert.â Cautiously, he entered. The others followed. He took in several whiffs and sneezed. Dusty. âSea⊠salt?â But he was picking up a faint smell that was like the ocean in the room. Strange. Didnât look like there were any candles burning.
His eyes glowed blue for a moment as he looked around. Still, they sensed nothing.
âSomething is offâŠâ Asaru repeated. âI can feel it.â Something was hanging loosely in the air, but he couldnât put a tentacle on it.
âPicking that up too?â Yuri asked, nose wrinkling. Bradford nodded. âThe air feels off.â
âThink itâs psionic activity?â He asked both Asaru and Yuri. Yuri was oddly sensitive to that. The doctors had done some tests. Said he had potential, and they were working on unlocking it with the help of their Templar Navla and then Asaru. Things were looking promising.
âMaybe.â He shrugged. âCould be coming from an artifact lying around. Still, we should be careful.â
âI think so. But itâs strange⊠and familiar.â Asaru said.Â
âFamiliar?â Bradford thought back, just in case anyone was around that could be listening in.
âI canât put my finger on it. Iâll study it some more.â
âOkay.â He then nodded at Yuri. âAgreed. Careful, everyone.âÂ
They all slowly spread out, weapons at the ready for anything, as they searched the outpost for any signs of life. But Bradford stayed in the main room. He just couldnât shake the feeling that something was off. No black market dealer would leave their place unsecured like this. They usually had bodyguards besides booby traps.Â
âDonât touch anything.â He noticed Joshua was about to touch one case by the left wall. The man quickly apologized and backed away. Bradford didnât take another step further into the room. Something still didnât feel right. âThe dealer could have some nasty security set up.â
âWay ahead of you. Daedalus, do your thing.â Manson has his Gremlin carefully scanning the room to pick up any traps. That blue grid touched every inch of the room. âClear. Next room, pal.âÂ
As the team continued to investigate, Bradford finally moved. He went over to the counter to see what was on sale. Some elerium, elerium cores, alien alloys, and torn down magnetic weapons caught his eye. Especially that elerium. âHmâŠâ They rarely had such a thing on display, especially the cores. You usually had to ask for those.
âHey! WHAT THâAAHâ MM! MM!â
âWho was that?â He asked loudly. The muffled yells of one of his squadmates caught his attention. His finger hovered over the trigger to his shotgun. Eyes glowed again as he looked around. He saw the life signs of everyone. Almost everyone. Someone was missing. âSound off! Everyone!â He ordered. âSense anything Asaru?â He sent to him.Â
âI heard that! Still here!â Yuri said.
âNothing odd on the scanners!â Manson said.
âInvestigating!â Jody said.
âJoining her!â Joshua added.
No response from Laney. Of course.
âLaney is gone⊠Her life sign just suddenly disappeared.â Asaru said. âSomeone or something is here! Thereâs an odd disruption in the air.â
âBe careful.â Bradford was leery and what Asaru said didnât help the feeling. Things were looking like a setup.
As Jody and Joshua entered the room, they last saw Laney head to, no one was there. Minus her Gremlin that was frantically flying around a hole in the ceiling. Dust and debris trickled from it and a broken light fixture swayed back and forth just a little too fast.Â
âLaneyâs gone, but her Gremlinâs still here.â Joshua said, turning on his comms. âLight fixture is swinging. Think something pulled her through the ceiling.â He cautiously moved over to that hole, turning on his flashlight at the end of his shotgun to see what was up there.
Then something fell from that opening and made several metallic tinks on the ground.
âSHIT!â Jodyâs eyes went wide.
âGRENADE!â Joshua yelled. âWE GOT TROUBLE!â He swiftly turned and headed back to the door. A second later, the grenade went off, letting off a loud bang and tossing up a lot of dust and debris. It was a flashbang.
A second later, there was a scuffle, several yells, and gunfire.
âDammitâŠâ Bradford cursed under his breath. He heard several wooden boards snapping from the left and right sides. Manson let out a blood-curdling yell and then Yuri spitting out several curses and gunfire before he was silenced. They were getting picked off quickly.
âThere are psionics at use!â Asaru finally figured it out. âWhoever this is, they are actively hiding themselves with psionics and snuffing out our allies with it.â
âGreat.â Bradford mumbled under his breath. He wondered who it was. ADVENT with some Sectoids or some raiders who had a psion? With the former, he wondered if the Sectoids had learned a new trick. âGet readââ
Before he could move to find his teammates, he noticed a black and white blur swinging down from the ceiling. Then something hard hit his chest.Â
âAGH!â The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground with a solid thud. His shotgun clattered from his hands.
The world spun as he quickly tried to get his bearings. There was something else in that kick. It hit like a truck and was fogging his mind. Felt like psionics. A jolt arced across his body and mind. Definitely psionics. Asaru was quick at work, clearing it away. As his vision cleared, he saw what kicked him, dropping from the ceiling and heading over to him.Â
Shit. ADVENT.Â
They had a helmet that reminded him of one of those Stun Lancers. He pulled himself over to his shotgun and quickly grabbed it. Before he could turn it on his attacker, they were on him, kicking the gun out of his hands and planting a knee on his chest. The next second, they had on his hand on his face and in an instant the world blurred again.Â
He felt that familiar electricity arc across his brain as his ears roared and drums went at work on his skull. He noticed a blue glow growing around them and streams of energy traveling from him and up their arm.
 Fuck, theyâre the psionic! He recognized the unpleasant feeling over taking his mind, but this was different. He felt like he was growing weak. As if his life was being drained from him with each passing second. Hell, he felt like his skin was wrinkling, drying out as the seconds passed. A feeling he was all too familiar with when he and Asaru accidentally over did it one day. Luckily, the squad got them back to Avenger in time for treatment. Recovery was rough.
âAsaru!â He yelled in his mind.
âWorking on it.â Asaru replied with a pained voice. âTheyâre quite strong⊠Draining us like a vampire.â
Need to get them off! Need to cut this connection! Desperately, he tried pulling their hand from his face, but they had one hell of a death grip. He frantically reached for his knife, but they were blocking it. He could feel the both of them growing weaker by the second. This was not how he wanted to go out.
âGet⊠off⊠meâŠâ He spat as his eyes began to glow. A quick burst of energy should do the trick and knock them off.
âHmâŠâ They muttered as they brought their face closer to his, cocking it to the side. That was interesting.Â
â>BOSS! STOP!<â He heard the flanging voice of one Hybrid somewhere in the back. So the one pinning him down was the head of this group. â>These people are XCOM!<âÂ
Bradford understood what they said and wondered if he was hearing things. Why the hell were they telling them to stop? But he noticed something⊠The draining⊠the draining suddenly stopped.
â>XCOM?<â The one on top of him asked, turning their head.
â>Yes! XCOM!<â
âXCOM.â This time they uttered in English. That surprised Bradford. And they sounded female.Â
She carefully shifted to the side, making sure she still had him pinned as she checked his shoulder. That familiar blue, polygonal patch was there. âHmâŠâ She brought her hand back to his face, undeterred by the death glare and snarl he had going on. He winced when he felt a connection again, but this time, it felt like probing. A quick search through his mind. A gasp left her mouth.
âDammit.â She then cursed under her breath. â>EVERYONE! STAND DOWN! THEYâRE FRIENDLIES!<â She switched back to the alien tongue.
âYou seeing⊠hearing this, Asaru?â He sent a thought to him.
âYes⊠this is a turn of events.â Asaru was just as surprised as him. âThereâs something⊠interesting about them. Familiar too.â
Familiar. That again. He wondered what that was about.
Who the hell are these people? Bradford wondered just who this was. Were they Skirmishers? Had to be with their flanging voices and calling him and his people friendlies. He was curious what clan had gotten the jump on them.
He still struggled under his attacker, wishing to be free, but barely had the strength to lift his hand. Oh, great. He noticed her bringing her hand back to his face. He closed his eyes expecting the worse, but⊠but he felt his strength returning. A sharp gasp escaped from his lips. His life was coming back.
âThis is⊠interesting.â Asaru noted, feeling the life returned to the both of them. âAlso sensing the others again and more. Looks like this one was hiding everyone. Theyâre a strong psion.â
A minute or two passed before she took her hand off his face and got up. And he felt like himself again, minus the soreness to his chest and back.
âSorry⊠sorry about that.â An out of breath apology came from her. And she was speaking in English again. But there was no more of the flanging in their voice like the others. Like she turned it off like a switch. Sounded completely human. And oddly familiar. He couldnât put his finger on it. There was also a strain to her voice and a slight echo. She was slightly hunched over. Did that life transfer reserve take the life out of her? The skin on the lower part of her face⊠her brownish-red skin looked unnaturally pale and wrinkled. And then, from what he could tell, her neck was black. Like it was burned.
âYou stumbled into our trap. We thought you were some of the local raiders that have been plaguing the locals.â She extended a hand to him.
âGeezâŠâ He quietly muttered to himself.Â
He eyed her, especially that hand, finally having a chance to study her. She was about a head and a half taller than him, for starters. Never had seen a Hybrid so tall. She wore ADVENT armor; repurposed and repainted black and white. And that helmet was different. At a quick glance, it looked like a Stun Lancers helmet, but it was very different. It didnât have that red âglass-likeâ visor, instead an onyx curved piece took its place. Then he noticed this Hybrid had hair. White and brown hair. Hybrids didnât have hair. This one had to be special as they also had psionics. Blue psionics. He thought he and Asaru were the only ones with that color. What were the Elders up to?
He finally noticed the symbol on the right side of her chest. Those wings and a star. Skirmishers. Ambushed by Skirmishers. His hunch was right. What were the chances? At least to was better than ADVENT.
âYou guys set up one hell of an ambush.â He said gruffly. Just how troublesome were the local raiders for them to set this up? He finally took her hand and got up.
Just as he got up, the other Skirmishers were entering the main room, ushering in his people. They were all battered, highly confused, and ticked off. Manson was cursing out one Skirmisher in Persian. He had a dislocated right shoulder, and the Skirmisher was holding a very banged up Daedalus in their hands. Poor robot was letting out several pitiful beeps. No amount of âsorrysâ was going to make the engineer calm down.
â>Sorry, boss,<â One Skirmisher in black armor came over to them, â>I missed their patches. I should have waited to give the signal.<â
â>Itâs okay.<â She raised her hand to silence them. â>We already planned on taking any who entered alive for questioning. Thankfully, none were killed.<â
With that conversation over, she looked at each XCOM member. They were all pretty banged up. Cuts, bruises, and dislocated joints. At least none are dead. She then looked at Bradford.Â
âCome back to our camp. Our medics can patch up any damage.â She offered. âAnd we have some supplies and intel we can share. Information on vulnerabilities to several outposts and some facilities nearby.â
âI think we should accept.â Asaru eagerly sent to Bradford.Â
Bradford crossed his arms. An apology, of sorts. He wondered if he should accept it. They came out here for supplies and anything dealing with ADVENT. He would rather not leave empty-handed. And it would be best to keep the peace. Last thing Betos probably wanted to hear was some of her people attacking him. Hearing another curse from Manson as Yuri, with the help of one Skirmisher, popped his arm back into place had him leaning towards accepting it. A quick patch up would be a good idea. Probably would spend the night with them, depending on how long it took. And he and Asaru probably needed a rest after that draining to be on the safe side. They had their life back, but who knew what the lasting effects could be?
âEveryone needs to recover. We need to recover. And we have questions for this one. I feel like I know that.â
That familiarity Asaru was picking up, and Bradford felt like he was feeling it too. It would be best to investigate that. Hopefully, their Skirmisher host would be more than willing to chat. Â
âWe accept.â
ââââââââââââ
âWhatâs your clan?â Bradford asked.Â
As they were following the Skirmishers back to their camp, and were nearly there, he had been studying their armor, looking for identifying markers for one of the clans local from the area. So far, he was finding nothing.
âI know a few in this region that Betos has informed me of, but not seeing anything on you guysâ armor that says who you are.â
âWe donât exactly have a âclanâ.â Bastion answered. He had come to know her as âbossâ or Bastion. She was still wearing her helmet even though her subordinates had removed theirs as a sign of friendship. Must have been secretive. He was half tempted to read her mind, but decided against it. Asaru also chided him, saying it would be a poor idea as this Hybrid was powerful. âWeâre more nomadic.â
âSheâs being truthful. I can sense that.â Asaru said in his mind.
âHuh.â That was interesting and odd. Even the more nomadic clans had a name. At least Asaru could pick up there were no lies.
âYou can call us Twilight Drifters.â Attis, the one in the black armor, butted in. Looked like she was Bastionâs right-hand woman. âBoss is a bit hesitant about a clan name, but we all felt like having some sort of name was better than nothing!â She let out a hearty laugh as she smacked Bastionâs back several times. Bastion grunted with each hit. She turned her head. The corners of her lips were twitching as they slowly turned into a frown. That just got another laugh out of Attis and there others joined in.
âHere we are.â Bastion said as she moved some brush out of the way. The camp was active. It was a series of cabins deep in the woods they had taken over to be their base of operations for the time being. A mix of Hybrids, some humans, and aliens were moving about and working.
âAttis. Turel. Get them to the medics.â Bastion instructed. âAnd Holâtul and Ermes get the intel from Varkner and his crew. And get some food scrounged up and sleeping quarters prepped for our guests, just in case. â
âYes, boss.â They nodded and went about their duties. Attis and Turel were already barking out orders to the others to alert the medics as they led Bradfordâs crew away.
âYou,â she pointed at Bradford, âfollow me.â She started heading over to one cabin off to the right.
He raised a brow, but shrugged. Probably had something to tell him. His ears only.Â
âKeep tabs on the others and be prepared for anything.â He sent to Asaru.
âBeing cautious?â Asaru replied with a slightly teasing tone. Bradford rolled his eyes.
âHave too. That familiarity comment from earlier has me both curious and worried. Kinda feeling it too, but concerned.â
âYes⊠right. I still canât shake the feeling I know them.âÂ
He soon followed Bastion.
ââââââââââââ
After they entered the cabin, Bastion locked the door. Didnât need their conversation being disturbed.
âHm.â Bradford looked around. Looked to be her quarters and the situation room all in one. A bed shoved into a corner and then several maps plastered on the walls, along with photographs and various weapon crates, spread about. Reminded him of rougher times before he found the surviving remnants of XCOM. He didnât miss them.
âAgain, Iâm sorry for the injuries my people caused to your people.â She as said as she headed over to a table. She placed her rifle on the table and started taking off her armor. The gauntlets were the first things to come off.
âItâs fine.â Bradford said. Well, it was to a point. But he could ignore it. They were still alive. âJust one hell of an ambush. How the hell did you hide from our sensors?â He was curious about that.
âPsionics.â She raised her hand, forming that very energy into an orb. âI can deaden our life signatures. Makes us untraceable to most sensors. Usually takes a strong psionic to pick up something is wrong.â With that, she let the orb disappear. âThough, somehow, you and one of your men noticed.â
âStrong psion indeed.â Asaru noted.
âHuh.â He wondered if Sectoids could do that. That could be a potential headache. Something to note for the future. Especially if ADVENT started fielding Hybrids with psionics. âWe just smelled salt. Sea salt. Like there was an ocean nearby.â He still found that strange. âAndâŠâ He paused for a moment to raise his hand. Should I?
âYou sure about that?â Asaru was hesitant.
âWant to stay in her good graces and gauge her reaction.â He sent back. A second later, he formed a few orbs in his hand, shifting them between his fingers. Just as blue as hers. âIâm a bit of a psion myself, and my man, Yuri, is a budding one.â
Bastion gazed at him as he displayed his powers. Studying him with great intent. âHm.â
How he wished he could see the face behind the mask. She was good at hiding her emotions.
Just as she pulled off her last bit of armor, she felt woozy. Body wobbling for a moment before her legs gave out. She barely caught herself with the table, hands slamming down to stabilize herself.
âDammit.â She grumbled under her breath.
Bradford raised a brow. He dashed over to her and helped her back up. âYou alright?â
âItâs⊠complicated.â She grunted. She was out of of breath. âThanks.â
âYou need a medic?â He noticed she still looked pale. She shook her head.
âThey canât really help me.â Another grunt slipped out as she leaned on the table. She looked around until her eyes fell on something. âCan you bring that capsule over to me, please?â She pointed at a cylindrical device.
He fetched the capsule and handed it to her. She thanked him again as fiddled with it. The thing lit up in hexagonal panels that suddenly spun out. A white mist poured out of it. And something glimmered inside of it. She pulled out what looked to be a black crystal about the size of his thumb and sealed the capsule. The crystal had a blue shimmer when the light passed through it.
She gripped the crystal tightly in her hand and channeled her psionics. There was the sound of cracking until a loud snap was heard. Black, blue, and red liquid seeped from her hand. She opened her hand. The crystal was shattered, revealing the liquid came from with in it and a few shards had pierced her skin. Before a single drop could fall, the liquid retreated into those cuts; discoloring her hand to a pitch black. She took in a sharp breath as her body shuddered as the discoloration traveled up her arm. Just as quick as it came, the discoloration disappeared back to a brownish-red. But she looked better. Her skin looked more lively, especially around her face. That paleness was fading.
âOkayâŠâ Bradford wasnât sure what he had just witnessed. More weird alien stuff. This Hybrid is special.Â
âHm. Somethingâs wrong with her.â Asaru said.Â
âYou think?â Bradford felt like that was obvious.
âYesâŠâ He responded in an annoyed tone. He knew it was obvious. âReminds me of me and my damage. Just a familiarity I sense deep within her.â He continued. âAnd the energy from that crystal seems familiar⊠familiar from one of our dreams.âÂ
That made Bradford curious and concerned. He didnât want to think of the unpleasant ones the both of them had been having as of late. A bunch of irritating and cryptic bullshit.
âJust who are you? What type of Hybrid are you?â He asked, pointedly. The question had been nagging at him for some time, and he wanted to cut to the chase.
âHmâŠâ She grimaced, turning away from him. Looked to be a sensitive subject.Â
âLook, I donât mean toââ
âNo, itâs not that.â She interrupted him. âI donât know how to put thisâŠâ She glanced over her shoulder. Looking at him for a few seconds before turning her head away. âI think I know you⊠and you know me.â As she said that, she began to remove her helmet.
âWhat?â That made no sense to him. Heâd never met her or her group before. Nor did her name ring a bell from some operatives Betos had shared with them. And it was a long list. Just who were they?
âI wasnât expecting this.â Asaru noted, growing more curious by the second. âPerhaps someone from our past, an operative turned Hybrid, but recovered their memories?â
âThat is⊠possible.â That never even crossed his mind. He knew some Hybrids werenât clone born, but most could never recall their past; just fragmented dreams. That was for the best.
They watched like a hawk, curious to see what she looked like underneath as that helmet came off. A Hybrid having hair was still a surprise to him. As she removed the helmet, he noticed a few oddities. She had ears. Hybrids didnât have ears. Then there were no ports from what he could see or those surgical scar lines from them. And there should have been ports, as those helmets connected into them.
She set her helmet down on the table, took in a deep breath, and let out a sigh. Almost like she was hesitant to turn her face fully to him. But she finally turned.
âLong time no see, John.â There was a warmness to her voice as she said that. âCanât believe youâre alive.â
John? He never told her his first name. Maybe from the probing earlier? âHow the hellââ But as she turned, he paused. Those features, she looked more human than the average Hybrid, but some genetic modification was evident. Eyes spaced further apart and a bit larger, a flared nose, and an odd gauntness to her face. Reminded him of one of the Chosen, but with a more human looking skin tone. But there was something about those features that looked too familiar to him. The freckles⊠Why was her voice familiar to him?Â
âImpossibleâŠâ Asaru gasped in his mind. âItâs herâŠâ
âWhat the⊠noâŠâ Looked like the gears were turning in Bradfordâs mind at the same time. He gasped. He knew her. They knew her. âCommander Reeves? Jynn?â
âIn the flesh.â She gestured to herself, then outward.
âNo. You canât beâŠâ No. That was impossible. Had to be. No way she could be the Commander they were searching for. No way this person was his missing best friend. In those dreamsâŠ. No. Nightmares. In those nightmares, he saw what she looked like. She was in terrible shape, a walking corpse. And here she was, not in that terrible state, but still equally concerning.Â
âYou canât be her.â He shook his head. But he was moving closer to her.Â
âIt is her⊠I believe⊠I can sense it.â Asaru said. He was just as shocked at he was. But he was hesitant in his analyses, carefully scanning her being. Hidden tentacles reaching out. âSheâs so⊠changed and⊠damaged. She doesnât seem to be a clone⊠but that can be hidden, and Iâm hesitant to do a deeper scan.â
âI am Jynn Gresham Reeves, Central Officer John Bradford.â There was a slight annoyance in her voice as she looked at him with hooded eyes. Saying his title and full name just a certain way seemed to make him snap too. It was her. But a sigh slipped from her lips. She could understand his disbelief. âThough⊠changed.â
He reached out to her, raising a hand towards her face, but he stopped. He quickly retracted his hand and turned away, covering his mouth. He tried his best to stifle his disbelief, his weeping. This canât be her. But all those nightmares of her damaged and partially transformed appearance were playing in his mind.
She let out another sigh and shook her head. âJohn.â She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away. He couldnât acknowledge her. He was barely acknowledging Asaru, who was trying to ease his emotions.
It was a minute or two before he turned to face her again. His eyes were bloodshot. Tears stained his cheeks.
âWhat the hell did They do to you?â
Jynn sighed. Them. She crossed her arms and looked away.Â
âA lot of things.â She didnât know where to start. âThey nearly killed me several times with Their experiments as well as being the brains behind ADVENT. Tactical advisor running 24/7 nearly nonstop for several years. Really should be brain dead from all of that.â
âSo that theoryâŠâ Asaru paused and sighed.
âSo that theory is trueâŠâ Bradford voiced what Asaru said in his mind. He was thinking it too. He had been always a bit hesitant about that theory, but all the data they had been gathering, mind probing he and Asaru had been doing on captured Captains, and just how ADVENT worked leaned towards it being true. And he hated the idea of it being true, even if it meant she was still alive.Â
 âWonât be surprised if they have a clone of me running the system or some brain scan backup, but I see there has been some breakdown thatâs been happening since I escaped.â She then tapped at her chin and looked off to the side. âThough Maker said that probably wouldnât work due to several reasons.â Shaking her head, a dark chuckle slipped out. She could see the Elders frantically working to make the perfect replica of her, but falling terribly. But she soon sighed.Â
âA clone? Hm⊠that may explain those discrepancies weâve been picking up in the network off and on over the years.â Asaru noted.
âGreat. Something else to investigate and deal with.â Bradford mentally grumbled.
âRaalâMakerâŠâ There was a warmness to her voice as she uttered that name. âI have him to thank that Iâm even alive. A rather benevolent Elder.â She still couldnât believe there was a benevolent one in that Collective, and supposedly his mentor had the same mindset as him. Perhaps there were more levelheaded ones under his mentor. âHe tried fixing the damage several times before they ripped me away from him again. Really, my health is still terrible.â
âBenevolent?â Bradford wanted to scoff. He recognized the name, but strongly believed none of those things were benevolent with what they did to the Earth.
âTrust me, heâs a good one out of Their mad Collective. Pretty much the only one who was truly concerned about my damn health.â
Health⊠Does she know about her split from Asaru? He rubbed his chin, nails picking at the prickly hairs, as he eyed her changed form. That paleness to her face was nearly gone. But her features. Her face looked to gaunt. âWhat about your health?â He almost didnât want to ask, but he had to.Â
âI canât put this lightlyâŠ.â She looked away from him. âIâm dying, John.â
âWhat?â He knew she was going to say that, but part of him was still in disbelief about the whole thing. She repeated herself, which made him look away. So that was happening, just like Asaru.
âThink she knows itâs because you two split?â He asked Asaru.
âShe may⊠but you should ask. Pry a bit more.â He responded. He wanted to reach out to her, but was hesitant.Was she truly the Commander Reeves they were searching for?Â
âRightâŠâ He mentally sighed. Needing more gauging. He looked back at her. âDo you know why?â
âWhat the Elders have done to meâŠâ She touched her face, pushing at her sharp cheekbones and the strange plating-like growths that lined them. âTheyâre careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Makerâs warnings.â
âWhat.â Now that⊠He wasnât expecting to hear that. A Chosen. To imagine her as one of those abominations was impossible. But thatâs why she looked the way she did. She had some of those familiar features akin to those deathless pests.
âThose fools.â Asaru hissed. Angered welled inside of him.
âA funny thing, almost a twisted irony of sorts. Iâm more like Them. Parasites feeding on âlesserâ creatures to survive.â She shook her head and laughed. âMaker was right. Something like this would have happened.â She looked back at him. A pang of guilt entered her heart as she bit her lip. She fed on him. Could have gone too far and nearly killed him. But something about his energy was so good. âSorry about draining you earlier. I try to incapacitate the head of the group first and was just a bit hungry.â
Bradford was about to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. He didnât know what to say. There was a lot to process.
âAt least that draining wasnât instantaneous.â He cracked a joke. Mainly trying to cheer himself up. She chuckled at that, but soon sighed. âAnd thereâs something else.â What else? He didnât want to hear it.
Jynn raised her hand and let her psionics flow freely from her hand. It took on the shape of a thin, four armed humanoid creature. Looked kind of like the Elders.Â
âIâm missing a part of me. Something happened that day they captured me at the base. I was connected to some being that was helping us. Guiding me.â She tried to explain. âWhen that Muton grabbed me⊠I disconnected to that being and havenât been the same since.â She closed her hand and let the figure dissipate. âEven the Elders knew of whatever was connected to me. Called it the âAscended Oneâ or something like that. Disappointed it was no longer connected with me when They started Their experiments and got me hooked up to their war machine. But They were still looking for it.â
âShe knows.â Both he and Asaru thought at once. It was her.
He looked at the figure she made one last time before she let it disappear. Looked exactly like Asaru.
âI take itâŠâ He paused, trying to find his words. Should Asaru reveal himself now? Both were conflicted about how they should do it. âI take it youâre looking for this thing?â
She nodded. âBeen at it for a few years now. Why my group moves around a lot.â
He let out an exasperated sigh as he moved over to an open spot on the table and leaned onto it. He rocked back and forth. This canât be happening. But it was. Somehow, all of this was happening.
âSo, what have you been up to?â Jynn switched topics, hoping that would soothe his mood. She didnât want to dwell on the subject for any longer. Hated thinking about her poor state of health. âI see XCOMâs still alive in some capacity.â
âWeâve been fighting back.â He nodded. âAnd weâve been looking for you.â
âJust like every other fact on this plââ Her ears and eyes perked up. âYouâre been⊠youâve been looking for me?â
âI didnât believe you were dead for a second.â He looked at her. He still couldnât believe it. âThey captured you for a reason that day. And the information we found reinforced that⊠and then some dreams⊠visions I had.â
âHuh. Really?â She was surprised to hear that. Even more surprised when he said yes. She was touched. He still believed she was alive in this mad world and probably a few others. But the dreams comment was⊠strange. âHow many thought you were crazy? Wasting resources looking for a ghost from the past?â She knew there had to be a good amount of doubters irritated with him and whoever else was insistent that she was still alive.
âA good handful.â He chuckled, shaking his head.
She laughed at that. She could only imagine his irritation at all of those who probably called him and the others crazy.
âAlsoâŠâ She slowly stifled her laugh, clearing her throat for a moment. She looked at him from head to toe, eyes flashing blue for a second. âHow long have you been a psionic?â
âHuh?â A question he wasnât quite expecting, even though he had showed that off earlier. He was just about to ask her a question. Looked like that had to wait.
âHow long have your been a psionic?â She repeated. âYou showed me a little earlier and then when I pounced on you, I picked up on it, too. You even resisted me. Donât recall any tests back in the day from Vahlen showed anything, but then again, we were all busy and I wanted all tests to be allocated to the soldiers.â Couldnât waste resources on testing just any personnel. Her eyes fell, narrowing into a glare as she thought of the doctorâs eagerness. âAnd she really wanted to test me⊠makes me wonder what things would have been like if she did.â She grumbled under her breath.
âThis may be the way to tell her.â Asaru said. âMaybe she sensed me and is hesitant to ask?â
âWeâll see.â Bradford replied.
Bradford cleared his throat. Where to start? How to start?
âItâs something⊠I acquired a few years ago.â He said. âThe whole affair was a surprise, really.â Surprise was an understatement. That day was a massive headache, but a great boon to the Resistance.
âA semi-stress or trauma based awakening?â She asked. She knew those could be a nasty way of learning one had psionics.
âNot exactly.â He shook his head. The day was stressful. âIâm actually bonded to⊠a being. Thatâs how I have psionic abilities.â
She raised a brow. Did she hear that right? âRepeat that?â
âItâs best if we showed you.â He took a step back. âAsaru.â
As he stepped back, Asaru emerged from him. That tall, slender Ethereal floated towards her. His bulbed tendrils drew close to her, but hovered just a few inches from her body. She gasped at the sight, backing away slightly.
âHello, Commander Reeves.â He said to her.
âYou.â Just the very being she had shown Bradford minutes earlier. She reached out to him, touching his chest. Soft, slightly gelatinous like a jellyfish and almost like he wasnât there. Like it was just air there with a hint of mass. In turn, he gently touched her arm. He was there, really there. She wasnât seeing things. She could feel him and that energy felt so familiar.
Trembling eyes jumped between Bradford and Asaru. âWhat? How?âÂ
âItâs a long story, Jynn.â Bradford sighed. âShort story is my crew, I, and the Templars found him and the people that were protecting him a few years ago. I was the only viable host for him because of his damage. Weâve been bonded ever since.â
âDamage?â She had so many questions, but hearing that caught her attention.
âOur sudden separation damaged me.â Asaru said. âDamaged us both. Our bond ran deep.â
Jynn opened her mouth, ready to ask more questions, but closed it. She didnât know what to ask first. Really, what could she ask first? She shook her head. The separation. She knew she was the reason behind for sudden separation that day. Those memories had become more clear overtime with her freedom. She recalled that she was growing more aware of Asaru as the War raged on. And the Ethereal didnât stop that. No longer wanting to be a silent guide once the Elders were stepping up Their attacks. And then they captured one of Them.Â
Just so much happened those happened weeks, if not days, before the base fell. The Elder they had captured and what they said. Many cryptic warnings, threats, and expositions. Somehow They had also sensed Asaru inside of her and were adamant that she turn herself over to the rest of the Collective immediately. She thought nothing of it at first until the same Elder and the others started plaguing her mind with unsettling nightmares. If she only knew what would come next after that interrogation killed that Elder.
She shook her head again, sniffling. Tears already forming.
âGoshâŠâ Some of her old Cajun accent began to slip out. That made Bradford raise his brows. He hadnât heard that in a long time. âGosh darn, Iâm⊠Iâm so sorry.â She shook her head. âI did this to the both of us.â
âItâs okay.â Asaru reassured her. Touching her face with one of his tendrils, followed by a hand. âYou did not know that would happen. I did not know.â
âI⊠IâŠâ
âYour quick thinking gave this world more time.â He hushed her. âIf They had the both of us⊠things would be so much worse for this world and so many others. They would have Their own Mosaic.â
âMosaic.â She growled at the mention of that word. What a horrible machine. So many, if not all, Zudjari enslaved by one of their own. Feeling an anger well up inside of her, she took a step away from him. âTheyâre still actively working on trying to replicate and âimproveâ upon it. Mildly thankful that the Fragmenta theyâve tasked with replicating and restoring the Zudjari technology theyâve found have been purposefully dragging their feet.â
âReally?â Asaru wasnât surprised by what the Elders were doing, but to hear the aliens there were working with were purposefully stalling the development of that infernal machine was interesting.
âFragmen- what?â Bradford asked. An alien name he was unfamiliar with.
âHard to describe them. Sapient pieces of metal, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, and who knows what else.â She answered. âThey have an extremely thin truce with the Elders, but make their displeasure towards the known with every meeting. Feels like they want to kill the Elders.â She wondered how that truce still existed. Perhaps they were waiting for the right moment to break it and strike against the Elders.
âThatâs⊠interesting.â He rubbed his chin. Aliens that hated the Elders, and these sounded fairly powerful if they had a âtruceâ going on with the Elders. He wondered how their war went with the Elders⊠if they even had one. âCan we consider them friendlies⊠to a point?â
âIâd consider them allies. The only Elder they seem to like working with is RaalâMaker.â She shook her head, but chuckled. It always came back to him. âAlso his mentor and those under his mentor. Oh! And one more pleasant Elder, a part of the Earth occupation. Her name is AâVaâpur. Probably another reason why the Earthâs environment isnât totally screwed over.â
âAnother âbenevolentâ Elder?â He questioned.
ââBenevolentâ Elders?â Asaru added. Bradford still didnât believe that was possible.
âTrust me. Despite everything the current sept occupying Earth has done, the ones I spoke of are quite nice.âÂ
âThat is interested.â Asaru tapped at his âchinâ. âShe speaks the truth. I sense it and so can you.â Asaru picked up no lie from her. Bradford sighed.
âIf you say so.â He had to see it to truly believe it, though he could feel the same thing as Asaru.
âSo what was that crystal?â Asaru asked. He hovered over to that canister that contained that strange crystal she used earlier. A tendril touched it.
She looked over at him. âSomething RaalâMaker supplies me with.â
âYouâre still in contact with that, Elder?â Bradford asked, surprised to hear that. She nodded.
âRaalâMaker and I have distant contact.â She said âHe provides me that,â she pointed at the canister, âwhen he can. And some other gear. Lots of dead drops. His brethren as watching him like a hawk. They believe he may have a hand in my escape. He didnât.â
âExactly what is it?â Asaru was curious. It had a strange energy to it. Almost as it had a form of sentience to it. Benevolant⊠and malevolent.Â
âThe crystalized blood of the Weavers is what he told me.â She said. âSomething about it can sustain me for a while.â
âAnother group of aliens?â Bradford asked. She nodded.
âA nickname given to them by other species theyâve interacted with. A benevolent bunch that helps others. Kind of like you and your species, Asaru.â She tapped her lip. âI think I remember Maker mentioning your kind and them have met before on good terms.â
âReally?â That was interesting. He longed to meet more of his kind. Now, he really wanted to meet this Maker. âButâŠâ He looked back at the canister and then her. A few tendrils reached out to her. âI sense a⊠malevolence in this blood. That very malevolence courses through your veins.â
Her mouth pulled back into a grimace. She looked away. âThatâŠâ
Bradford raised a brow. He moved closer to the both of them.âWhat is it?âÂ
âLet me show the both of you.â
She reached up to her collar of her under armor and pulled it down. From the chin down, her skin was black. An unnatural black. Like something had charred it black. And there was something else. Eyes. Sharp blue eyes that looked like tattoos were near the center of her neck. Four in total. But there were some others on her neck where more eyes could be, except they were closed.
âGoodnessâŠâ Asaru hesitantly reached out to her.
âWhat the hellâŠâ Bradford moved closer to get a better look at it.
âA gift from my âbenefactorâ. A Weaver of questionable morality and methods.â She questioned if she could even call it that. âSomething the Elders fear and it equally hates Them for some transgression They committed against it⊠him⊠I donât know. And then several other species Theyâve screwed with his âfriendsâ with.â She shook her head. âFeels pity for me for what Theyâve and has helped stabilize my form to a point⊠against my permission.â
This Weaver hated the Elders? At first, Bradford thought they may have had another ally until she continued to describe this being. Sounded like she didnât like it. Trusted them even less.Â
âHow does this connect with the crystalized blood?â Asaru asked. A pair of his tendrils were touching the marks on her neck.Â
âSomehow, his blood is mixed in with the other Weavers. The Weavers as a whole are deeply connected to one another. RaalâMaker does his best to filter it out, but he canât get rid of it all.â
âSo this âbenefactorâ⊠this âbenefactorâ helped you?â Bradford asked next.
She nodded. âHe helped stabilize my health and reverse a good amount of damage that was done⊠with what he had to work it⊠And heâs made more offers to heal the damage, but I donât trust him. Iâve refused them.â She really didnât trust it, though its words were sweet and soothing. âThe Elders fear it for a reason, though Theyâre not innocent from Their crimes.â
He picked at his lip as he listened. This being had the ability to heal her, but only so much. And was making offers to heal her, but with a catch with what she said. âI take it this being is still making offers?â She sadly nodded.
âHeâs patient⊠Scarily patient⊠The offers havenât stopped.â She shook her head again; arms tightly wrapping around herself. âSometimes⊠Some days⊠Iâm tempted to accept them just to be me again. Human once more.â It was such a dangerous temptation, and she had a feeling if she accepted, something terrible would befall her.
âDamn, JynnâŠâ
How long had she been suffering? Living such a tortured existence? A cosmic plaything from the sound of it. This is so much worse than his fears of finding her in some lab dissected like some animal and⊠hopefully dead.Â
He reached a hand out to her. Out to her neck to get a better look at himself, but retracted his hand. Instead, he stepped forward and hugged her. Hugged her tightly. He felt like it was the better idea. Felt like she needed a good hug. Jynn froze, arms open and drawn back. She was hesitant to touch him. She had been waiting for this, but not so suddenly. A sigh came out as she wrapped her arms around him. Nestling her chin against his head as tears streamed down her face.
Asaru drifted away from the two, wanting to give them some space. He could sense their shaky emotions. And a deep turmoil and conflicting within Bradford. That love he had for her. It would be interesting to see if he ever brought it up. He wondered how they would tackle that. For the time being, he looked around the room. Especially towards the map and intel she had pinned on the wall.
During the time, she looked at his features. How the years and stress had aged him. She wondered if the scar on his cheek came from the day the base was attacked. Probably wasnât his only scar from that day and over the years. She ran his fingers through his hair a few times. Seemed like he didnât mind. In fact, seemed like he welcomed it with the happy âhmâ that slipped out. It surprised her to see him let his hair grow a bit, but he had an odd haircut going on. Partially shaved, starting just above his ears.
âAbout the hairâŠâ She said, breaking the silence. Fingers toying with the little âtuftâ of hair. âInteresting cut.â
âFelt like letting it grow out.â
âBut the partial shave?â She asked next, fingers feeling the border between the shaved and non-shaved side. He just shrugged. He didnât really have an answer.
âHuh.â She just chuckled. âThe little tuft is cute.â She flicked it.
âI have to askâŠâ Bradford said, pulling his face back to look at her. There was a question nagging at the back of his mind. Why hadnât she reached out to XCOM? âSounds like youâve been free of the Elders for some time and been running with the Skirmishers for a whileâŠâ His voice trailed off, wondering how he should touch the subject. He shook his head. No scratch that. The answer is obvious. âScratch that questionâŠâ
âWhatâs the question?â
âNo, no, noâŠâ He shook his head again. âThe answer is obvious why you never contacted us. Never contacted XCOM. Whatâs happened to you. How you look.â He could barely imagine how that would have gone, especially if they didnât have Asaru. Probably a hefty amount of disbelief. Part of him was still in that territory.Â
She sighed hearing that. He was perceptive. âThatâs exactly why⊠and then I didnât know if it was being run by survivors or just a bunch of bandits stealing the name. Iâve run into quite a few of the latter.â
âUgh⊠tell me about it.â He hated those bandits the most. They already had to deal with the doubters who thought XCOM was a part of the Council and Earthâs leaders that sold out the Earth to the aliens when they were betrayed by them. That was a headache with the Reapersâ for the longest until Volk finally straightened things out. âHaving to clear XCOMâs name in some regions is a pain in the ass.â
âI can only imagine the trouble.â She chuckled.Â
The two continued to stay in each otherâs arms. Bradford eventually brought his hands went up to her face to examine her features. This new form twisted by the Elders. Like the Chosen, but a proto-form of sorts. But there were so many familiar features. Those freckles. It was her, but⊠she was so changed. And dying. He ran his fingers down her jawline, expecting to feel any remnants of pulled ports under the skin, something some Skirmishers did once they were freed. But there was nothing. It was smooth, besides that wrinkled skin that reminded him too much of Dhay-Volâs, the Warlock, face. Why did she have to look like them?
 She seemed unfazed by him doing that. Almost expecting him to do that. She welcomed it. The touch of an old friend. His hands felt nice. A bit rough from calluses, but nice.
âAt least they let me keep my freckles.â A little joke to lighten the mood. He chuckled for a moment before the sadness returned.
âHmph.â He let out a snort, shaking his head. At least she could make a joke out of such a terrible thing. âHow kind of Them.â
A question nagged at the back of his mind. Something she said earlier. Theyâre careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Makerâs warnings. Just why did the Elders risk doing such a thing?
âWhy did the Elders do this?â He asked. She let out an annoyed snort.
âThey wanted an asset and weapon in more ways than one.â She explained. âXCOM was coming back. What better way than to have the leader of said group be the one to crush it?â The Elders enjoyed doing that. The Hunter was a fine example of that. A Reaper turned against his own kind. âKon-RisâŠâ She shook her head. There was sadness in her voice. She pitied him. âThey donât care if they have to break you to remake you. Even when one of their brightest advises against it.â
ââŠWhy.â
Hearing that just hurt him deeply. To imagine, if she was still in Their clutches, she would be one of those Chosen. Having to fight an old friend for Earthâs freedom. How would have that gone? What would they have done if they had learned of her identity? What would he have done?
As he continued studied her features, he felt another pang in his heart. The woman he loved had been tormented by those Elders. And despite seeing her like this, he still loved her. He dropped his hands down to her shoulders. Head lowering, gaze fixed on the ground, as he dug his fingers into her shoulders. She sigh and patted his back. She hadnât let go.
âI never got to tell youâŠâ He paused, hesitant to continue speaking.Â
Should he tell her? This could be my only chance. She is dying. How long will she live if this canât be fixed?
Asaru turned his attention towards him, sensing what was about to do. âCareful now. Steady yourself.â
âTell me what? John?â She noticed something glisten, falling to the floor. Tears again. They must have been flowing.Â
He tightened his grip again as he took in several shaky breaths. He raised his head. Those tears were flowing, just streaming down his face.Â
âThat I love you.â He finally said it. Fighting off any hesitation that wanted to come through. Felt like an enormous weight was taken off his chest.
She blinked once. Then twice. Eyes darted around, landing on Asaru, who quickly turned away, before focusing back on him. He looked serious. Did she hear that correctly?
âW-w-what?â
âI love you, Jynn.â He repeated himself. More confidence in his voice. âIâve had these feelings since we were teenagers.â Sometimes he wondered how she never noticed it back then, but she was rather oblivious to guys flirting at her kin high school. âJust kept it under wraps when we met again because of the Invasion. Couldnât have them getting in the way. Kept it strictly business.âÂ
âUhâŠâ Her mouth hung open. She wasnât sure how to respond to that. This was a revelation to her. Her lack of response did not surprise him. Probably not the best time to tell her, but he needed to get it off his chest.
âI am such an idiotâŠâ She let out an exasperated sigh.
âHuh?â Not the response he was expecting.
She shook her head and smacked her forehead with her palm. âMy mother was always the one to point out guys that had a crush on me and Iâd just ignore her. She did the same with you!â
âReally?â He asked, holding back a snort in-between sniffles. She nodded.
âHell!â She smacked herself again. âExplains why my dad was fine with me hanging out with you so much and inviting you on trips.â
âReally?â Another surprising detail. He and Mr. Reeves had a friendly relationship, but he found her father to be a rather intimidating person when he was younger. âHe did scare me.âÂ
âSeriously?â She held back a snort.
âTo a teenager, a military man like him was very intimidating.â
She thought for a moment. A snort slipped out. âYouâve got a point there.â
Eventually, after the declaration, Bradford pulled away from her. Almost having to pry himself from her grasp. He didnât want to move away, but he needed to breathe. Just so many thoughts and emotions were going through his head. He paced around the cabin as he rubbed his face.Â
At least she didnât negatively react to me sharing my feelings. He was happy that didnât sour the mood.
As he paced, he looked around the room. Eyes falling onto the maps, photos, and blueprints that Asaru was looking at. One photo had a big red circle around it and a quick note scribbled next to it that said âSEND TO BETOSâ.
Betos.
âSo how long have you been with the Skirmishers.â He asked. He had stopped in front of the photo that had the note. He noticed another photo circled and an arrow pointing to a location. And another note saying, âSCOPE OUT MORE. HIGH SECURITY. HIGH PRIEST IS HEAD OF SECURITY. MAY BE THE PLACE. WILL NEED BACKUP. KEEP IT STEALTHY.â
âAbout five years or so.â She said. âStill not fully one of them, to be honest.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
âWell, how Iâm more nomadic for staters and Iâve never told Betos my identity.â She explained. âShe never pressed me again once I told her it was for my safety and hers if she never knew it. Last thing I need is the Chosen knowing who Iâm with. Especially Jax-Rai.âÂ
She and her group had far too many close calls with the Assassin. She was thankful Jax-Rai never used her psionics like Dhay-Vol. Would have figured out who she was ages ago, but thankfully her identity was still hidden from them. But she piqued their collective interest. A psionically capable âhybridâ was running around with the Skirmishers. That caused a new set of problems for her.
âThose things.â He grimaced. He had received some intel from the other factions that those three were hunting something for the Elders, but they didnât know what. The information was always classified on another Network they had no clue of how to reach. Now he knew it was her.
âItâs amazing youâve managed to avoid them for so long.â Asaru said.
âTheyâve been annoying.â Which was an understatement. âI avoid Dhay-Vol the best I can. Trying to hide my psionic signature when heâs on his hunt is nerve-wracking.â She hated him the most. Had to fry his brain on a few occasions just to escape. Somehow, he was still oblivious to her identity. Should have picked up her psionic signature from her attacks. But maybe her benefactor, that Voice, was hiding it? That thought crossed her mind many times. He could have altered her signature ever so slightly to aid her.
 âJax-Rai is a pain and I think Iâve pissed her off with how much my people and I have escaped. And weâve bested her a few times⊠.â She shook her head, but chuckled. âThough I think she enjoys the chase. Exhilarating is how sheâs described it.â Such an odd comment to receive after besting her. âKind of like her brother, Kon-Ris. Though not as madâŠâ She bit her lip. âHunter⊠I feel like heâs figured out who I am⊠but is keeping it secret for some reason.â
Bradford couldnât imagine the amount of stress she was under, having to hide from those three. But her comment about the Hunter interested him. The wildcard of the siblings.âHeâs figured you out?â
âThink so. Said a few things he shouldnât know about me. Enjoys calling me Gresham and brings up XCOM a lot.â
âThatâs interestingâŠâ Asaru noted.Â
âAnd he hasnât told the others or the Elders?â
âHates his siblings and hates the Elders even more⊠Probably some part of his brain blocks the info from the Elders.â She was curious how They hadnât picked that detail up yet. âHeâs always been a wildcard for the Elders after an incident with the Reapers happened that made him more flippant. Why he hunts ADVENT and aliens too.â
âWeâve noticed that a few times.â Asaru said. âHe is an interesting one. Almost as if he has a split personality.â
âI believe he does, literally.â Jynn said. âIâve heard several voices in his head. Mostly the Elders, but thereâs this small voice. Crying for help. Trying to remember who he was. I believe that may be the old him.â
âHuh.â Both Asaru and Bradford responded. Something to look into later. Questions from Volk.
âSo whatâs this? Noticed Asaru staring at this intently.â Bradford pointed at the photo with the note of wanting to scope out some facility with high security. And the photo showed that. There were standard Troopers and MECS all over the place.
âThe possible clone.â Asaru said as he shifted his attention back to the photo and intel.â
âHm?â She went over to see what he was pointing at. âOh that. Yes, I have a feeling thatâs where they may have my clone or âbackup brainâ running. Want to take it out. Disrupt their tactical information Network again.â
âAh.â Bradford simply nodded. He would have to ask about that in greater detail another time. Still couldnât believe that theory was true. Explained how ADVENT worked like a well-oiled machine since they were founded.
âSo, whenâs the raid happening?â He asked.
âStill in the works. Have to scope it out more and request backup from the local Skirmisher clans.â She shook her head. âThough I want to keep it stealthy as possible. Donât want them teleporting the asset and any other backups out of the place before we get to it.â
âHm.â Smart. He knew he had some facilities he had people scouting. Get as more information as you can before striking. But there was always a risk. He thought for a moment as he rubbed his chin. âWell, you could⊠join us. Join XCOM.â He suggested. âWeâd be glad to back you up. Glad to have you back.â
Asaru looked at him when he said that. He was thinking of them making the offer, but was unsure, sensing a deep unease within Jynn about her current form.
She blinked a few times as her eyes went wide. Both brows raised high. He has to be kidding. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.Â
âXCOM is your home.â
âJohnâŠâ She wasnât sure of that anymore.
âOur medical team may be able to help you.â He almost sounded desperate as he said that. âHell, the Templars may be able to help you! You and Asaru need to re-bond!â
It was a tempting offer, and the latter was true. She could sense they both needed that, but she wasnât so sure.
âWhat will your people think of me?â She asked. âIs there anyone there besides you that knows me?â
âCorvo Samaras.â He quickly responded. As if he was prepared for that question. âHe was one of the training officers that moved between the bases fairly frequently. Got nicknamed the âslave master monkâ by most of the recruits.âÂ
After naming him, he started naming more. Soldiers, doctors, engineers, and other staff that had survived the downfall of all the bases. She covered her mouth as she listened to him. But from her trembling eyes betrayed her. She recognized several of the names.
âSo many of you⊠so many of you guys survived.â
âAnd weâre still finding more as the years pass by.â He smiled. âMost havenât given up the fight. Theyâve been eager to join up with us.â He chuckled. âAnd youâll be surprised with whoâs running the Templars.â Mentioning that made his smile grow into a grin. That was still a surprise that day. He still wanted to get Geist for being cryptic for all those years.
âYes, that was quite the surprise. He hasnât changed much.â Asaru agreed.
She looked away, bitting her lip. Join them? It was such a tempting offer. XCOM was her home. But so much had change. She had changed. âBut what will they think of me?â That was something he didnât want to think about, but knew it would be a problem.
âI know some back on the ship will be hesitant. Some wonât agreeâŠâ He knew several were still quite anti-alien; including Hybrids. And some still questioned his bond with Asaru. They were barely tolerant of the Skirmishers and any aliens that had defected. Given the opportunity, they would kill them. It was rough keeping that from happening with some meetings and joint missions.
Sensing his mind drift off to the darker parts, Asaru placed a hand on his shoulder. Bradford glanced at him and nodded. He needed that. Needed to stay positive.Â
âBut youâŠâ He gestured to her. âYouâre alive.â He felt like that was the only thing that mattered. âI donât think I can let this chance meeting be a secret⊠Canât just suddenly drop the search for you. Some will question that.â
He had a point there.
âI donât know.â But she was unsure. She turned away, taking a few steps away from the both of them. âI have to think about it.â
He reached out to her, but stopped himself. âJust think about it.â
âBut I must ask⊠which part of you is asking this?â She glanced over her shoulder. âThat military side of you? Or the part that loves me?â That declaration was still on her mind.
He looked away, closing his eyes. He placed on his chest and clutched it. âBoth.â He couldnât lie. He didnât want to lose her again.
âHm.â She looked at Asaru, who only nodded, confirming what he said. Thatâs⊠concerning. But made sense. It just made her leery. And something else bothered her. More personal.
She paced around the room as she mulled over his offer. It was so tempting, but she had her worries. But she also knew she and Asaru needed to re-bond at some point. She could sense he was doing fine with Bradford, hovering in some sort of stable condition, but there was still that lingering damage to him. It made her heart hurt.
 And then what would her people think? She couldnât just leave them behind. She shook her head. Like they would let that happen. They would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no matter what. They told her that on several occasions. Swearing their loyalty to her despite her protests. They were beyond grateful that they were free of the Eldersâ enslavement.
She looked back over at them. Both had busied themselves with looking at the intel and discussed some things.
âMaybeâŠâ She muttered as she went back over to him. âMaybe I can join⊠rejoin XCOM. My people and I can join you all.â
âHm?â Both glanced over their shoulders. Looked like they were deep in thought. It took both a moment to process what she said. âWould they be fine with that?â
She nodded. âMy people are flexible. Practically have sworn their loyalty to me. They listen to me first before listening to Betos.â That was a headache, but somehow they worked around it.
âThat is interesting, but XCOM can always use more people.â Asaru chuckled.
âHuh.â Bradford nodded. Looked like she never lost her commanding skills. That made him smile. âHave to figure out the logistics, but we can always use more people. Though integrating more Hybrids is going to be interesting.â
âAnd thereâs always thatâŠâ Asaru shook his head. That was a constant headache, no matter what.
âGuess weâll just have to see what happens when you introduce us to everyone.â
âRight.â He said, then sighed. âThink I need to send a warning first so a few of the levelheaded staff can help me. Got a radio I can borrow?â
âThat sounds smart. And yes, we do.â
 Bradford looked at his watch, then over to the window. Through the slits of the curtain, he could see the sun disappearing behind the trees as the sky darkened. He let out a yawn before rubbing his temples. Looks like the effects from the ambush were finally kicking in.
âThink we may be staying for the night.â Was probably for the best. Never fun trekking through a forest in the night. Anything could happen.
âIt would be wise to do so. We need to recover.â Asaru said.
âSleeping quarters should be prepared for you all by now.â Jynn said. âAnd we should have plenty of food to go around.â
âThanks for the generosity.â And he meant it.
âItâs what we do.â She smiled.
âBack to joining⊠rejoining XCOM⊠I would like to snuff out the local raiders before leaving. A bunch of psychopaths.â She said. A hiss slipped out as she wrinkled her nose. The world was already hard to live in with ADVENT running things, and some people just had to make it worse. No ounce of empathy. No sense of remorse. Everyone was fair game as they pillaged any camp, haven, or âauthorizeâ settlement they came across. Especially the weak. âAlso, Iâm waiting for some of my people to return from supply runs. Should only be a few more days.â
âI think we can help with that and we wonât be leaving this region for a while, so we can wait on those supply runs.â
âSounds likes a plan.â
She then gently patted his back a few times before heading to the door.
âAnd Asaru.â She turned to him. In a way, she couldnât believe he was there. She was so happy she no longer had to search for him.
âYes?â
âI know we need to re-bond, but I donât think we can do that anytime soon.â She sighed. âI feel like weâll only hurt each other further. A downward spiral of draining will occur.â
âI also sense that.â He nodded. âI believe weâll need a medium to facilitate the bond⊠but also your body needs to be healed.â A few tendrils touched her body. âYour conversion, barely at the halfway mark⊠I question if this can be undone or should it be allowed to finishâŠâ And he didnât like the idea of it being finished. A new form forced onto her by the Elders.
âMaker believes he may be able to reverse thisâŠâ And she prayed he could. âIf not,â she tried to hold back a sigh, but one slipped out, âhe has selected a few species that would best suit me to complete this transformation and purge the Elder DNA from my system. Right now, heâs trying his best to get the heat off of him so we can properly meet.â She wondered how long that would take. âThough he has his worries about how the process may go.â
Bradford closed his eyes tightly, hearing what she said. The chance of her condition being unreversible tore at him and hoped it could be done. âIs he worried about lasting damage affecting the process?â Bradford asked.
âThatâs one thing, and then one of the methods heâll be using.â
âWhat would that be?â Asaru asked, curious.
âHeâs been cagey about it, but I think it deals with the blood of the Weavers and their DNA. And I understand why⊠But Iâm willing to take the risk.â
âReally?â Bradford questioned, with a hint of worry in his voice. âAre you sure?â
âI just want to be me again. Not some abomination of a weapon of the Elders.â She shook her head. âHell⊠hell⊠Iâll take another Hybrid form that doesnât have Their touch and broken DNA.â
âHmâŠâ He was worried, but it would be a discussion for another day.
âNow,â she clasped her hands tightly and forced a smile, really wanting to change the subject, âletâs get your current crew updated on who I am and whatâs going on.â She then unlocked the door. âAnd then go from there.â
He nodded and followed. Asaru merged back with him. âItâs going to be interesting telling them. Laney may remember you. Sheâs another soldier that spent most of her time in the main HQ.â
âLaney?â The name didnât ring a bell.
âLaney Stavros. She was a medic. Still is a medic.âÂ
âStill doesnât ring a bell.â
âMaybe seeing her face should jog some memories.â
âMaybe.â Hopefully it would do the trick. There was a glimmer in her eye. She was somewhat excited to meet a survivor from the old base.
âAlsoâŠâ She paused as she opened the door. âWeâre going to have to talk about this⊠love⊠thing.â He was waiting for that.
He nodded, a small sigh slipped out. âI know.â
âIt could become quite troublesome when I rejoin and thââ
âI know.â He cut her off. He knew the risks. âIâll try to push it to the side, butâŠâ He paused, sighing as he looked away for a second. He turned back and looked her in the eyes. âI donât want to lose you again. Okay?â
Her brows scrunched together, part of her lips turned into a grimace. âHm.â Her eyes flashed blue for a second. She was picking up a lot of strong emotions from him. And a lot of conflicting ones. âYes⊠And you still feel this way, especially after seeing how I am now?â
âYes.â There was no hesitation in his voice.
She closed her eyes and huffed. What to say? She didnât know what to say. Now she was feeling conflicted. She felt something deep inside of her. Almost as if she felt the same way towards him, but wasnât so sure. That part of her was a mess already. And then her current state of health wasnât helping. She couldnât reciprocate those feelings⊠for several reasons.Â
She sighed deeply, closing her eyes tightly. âI want to drink, but canât.â Damn Hybrid makeup.
âJynn, no.â He put a hand on her back. âI know the feeling, and that leads nowhere good. Trust me.â That was a hard habit to break, and he still needed to be careful. âAnd then your Hybrid make up. Alcohol oxidizing into formic acid. Go blind and die. Give or take some steps.â He shook his head, remembering that being explained to them. Just how much of it was a side effect of how the Elders built the Hybrids or did They do it on purpose as a control method. He was leaning towards the latter. âThoooooughâ, he extended that for as long as he could as he leaned closer, âsome of our resident chemistry majors may have figured out something Hybrids can imbibe in. It has become a rather lucrative bargaining item.â What some would do in their spare time⊠and for love.A snort slipped out from her. âWell⊠weâll discuss this later. All of it.â Her voice trailed off as she continued out the door.
âUnderstood.â He nodded and followed. âIâll hold you to it.â
âDonât make me regret it. All of this.â Though she didnât feel like she was going to. This all felt like a new start, that light shining, burning through the depths of an ensuring darkness.
He chuckled. âI canât promise anything. Just don't count your chickens before they hatch.â A yelp slipped out. Eyes flashing a quick blue, she gave him a slight shock of energy.
âJerk.â She was grinning.
âMissed you.â
âMissed you too.â
#writings#Xcom#Xcom 2#Xcom wotc#Fic: Ne Cede Malis#Proto-Chosen Commander#Ship: Breaking Protocol#Ship: Surface Tension#John Central Bradford#XCOM Bradford#XCOM Asaru#Asaru#*Jynn Gresham Reeves#OC: Jynn Gresham Reeves
5 notes
·
View notes
Photo
National Library Lovers Month: Nonfiction
The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree
Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children's drawings--the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In The Library, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of literary tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare manuscripts. In doing so, they reveal that while collections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruin within a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilient as each generation makes - and remakes - the institution anew. Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Library is essential reading for booklovers, collectors, and anyone who has ever gotten blissfully lost in the stacks.
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer
In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the incredible story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the worldâs greatest and most brazen smugglers.
In 2012, thousands of Al Qaeda militants from northwest Africa seized control of most of Mali, including Timbuktu. They imposed Sharia law, chopped off the hands of accused thieves, stoned to death unmarried couples, and threatened to destroy the great manuscripts. As the militants tightened their control over Timbuktu, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali.
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, âOnce that first stack got going, it was âGoodbye, Charlie.ââ The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library - and if so, who?
Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles
Through the ages, libraries have not only accumulated and preserved but also shaped, inspired, and obliterated knowledge. Now they are in crisis. Former rare books librarian and Harvard metaLAB visionary Matthew Battles takes us from Boston to Baghdad, from classical scriptoria to medieval monasteries and on to the Information Age, to explore how libraries are built and how they are destroyed: from the scroll burnings in ancient China to the burning of libraries in Europe and Bosnia to the latest revolutionary upheavals of the digital age. A new afterword elucidates how knowledge is preserved amid the creative destruction of twenty-first-century technology.
#national library lovers month#libraries#books & libraries#nonfiction#nonfiction reads#nonfiction books#book recommendations#reading recommendations#book recs#reading recs#TBR pile#tbr#to read#booklr#book tumblr#library blog#book blog
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
my group of friends sa pwc <33
super happy na nakilala namin sila, actually 4 na kasi kaming magtropa si jenti, queenie, at mia kami yung magkakasama sa condo so parang paunti unti nadadagdagan kami tapos ayun na 10 na kami tapos solid pa hehe
ang una naming nakaclose dyan sila nico at rein kasi nung nasa tower 1 palang kami nasa harap ko na pala si glenn tapos nabanggit nya may friend daw syang nagtetake ng cma so sabi ko sino tapos si nico daw tapos one time nakasabay namin sa pantry nakita na namin sya tas kwentuhan unti ganon edi bagong kakilala na namin hahaha pero dipa namin sila nyan close. tapos nung nalipat na kami ng tower sa tower 2 na kami ng rockwell dun na parang mas unti unti na kaming nagiging close kasi yung set up ng office pwede na makalakad lakad hahahaha dun sa tower 1 kasi parang room talaga tapos yung pwede mong maging kaclose is yung karow mo lang pero actually karow ko nga si joshua na tropa namin pero unting usap lang kami hahaha ngayon lang kami naging close at kakulitan nung nasa same group of friends na kami. Tapos ayun pa si khalil ang unang interaction nga namin kasi inask nya ako sabi nya sakin âcams bakit mali spelling ng name moâ tawang tawa pa ako hahahaha kasi oo mali talaga pero sya ata unang nagsabi sa buong buhay ko na wrong spelling amp.
ayun nung time na din na yan friday ata, grabe kasi first friday namin sa pasig sobrang hassle wala kami masakyan tapos nung time na yan wala din kami mabook na grab e sila khalil pala palagi silang naglalakad edi ayun sumabay kami ng lakad sa kanila papuntang megamall para dun sumakay pacondo ang hassle diba, at first grabe nalalayuan ako tas nkakapagod palagi pero now grabe parang ang lapit nalang saka masaya magwalktrip pag may kakwentuhan din kasi. tapos ayan na feel ko dyan na din nabuo yung friendship namin hahaha sa paglalakad char pero isa na din yung reason tapos lagi na din kami magkakasama sa office.
ang first impression ko kay nico ay masipag kasi nagccma nga sya tapos yung the way ng pakikipagusap nya ang ganda, pero now na naging close ko sya masipag pa din naman pero minsan tamad hahahah forda skip din kasi sya sa elearns tapos next naman ay kay reinielle hmmm medyo ano snobber na medyo mabait kasi wala lang parang di kasi sya nangiti eh, unang nakausap nya sa tropa namin si mia kaya pag may ask ako dati sa kanya papadaan ko pa kay mia kasi nga parang di sya approachable pero now grabe naman nung naging close kami kabaliktaran napaka kulit!! tapos lagi pang nangtitrip hahaha as in tapos sb boy kasi mayaman sya naalala ko tuloy kasi may exchange kaming tropa tapos ako nabunot nya tapos before kasi ibigay yung gift may explanation why mo binili yun tapos papahulaan kung sino tapos ayun sabi nya sakin lahat daw ng sinasabi ko nakakatawa hahaha odba dogshow pero mabait si rein hahaha sobrang lakas ng trip palagi, next naman si khalil first impression ko sakanya ay snobber talaga saka masipag actually nasa harap namin sila nung induction days palang tapos umalis na kasi yung katabi ko si aicel kasi tax sya tapos si jenti na naging katabi ko nun tapos naalala ko sabi ni jenti sakin pogi daw nung nasa harap tapos sabi ni jenti ask ko daw name tas inask ko sabi ko âkuya ano daw po name moâ tapos di nya kami sinagot baka nahiya hahaha pero di ko alam na yung tinanong ko sya na pala si khalil kaya nung naging tropa namin sya sabi jenti sya daw yung nasa unahan parang now ko lang narealize pero kasi yung mga nasa unahan namin di talaga nalingon hahaha kaya sabi ko lah ang snob naman ng nasa unahan di nakikipagfriends hahahahaha pero now mas naging close namin sya kakalakad pamegamall kasi yung group of friends nya is yung mga karow nya mas nkkasama nga lang sya namin now kasi mostly mas madaming boys sa circle namin, pero now na tropa ko na sya snobber padin talaga sya hahaha pero estetik tapos oo nga pala sya yung tour guide namin kung saan man kami mapunta mapa megamall or bgc hahaha local na local sya sa manila. sa bgc nga kabisado nya yung bawat cr hahaha grabe pati sa laki ng megamall kahit sa podium kaya mas nasasanay din kami dito dahil sa kanya, saka masipag sya parang sa tropa namin si glenn at sya yung sobrang nagseseryoso sa elearns tapos pala mapaggawa ng kwento nung una naniwala na kami na may anak sya sa sobrang galing nya gumawa kwento tapos buti inamin nya na wala talaga hahahahaha napakalakas ng trip amp di na tuloy malaman kung ano totoo pag nagkwekwento sya tapos sa buong tropahan namin feel ko si khalil din pinakamatipid as in na sana maadopt ko hehe đ€Ł kasi yun yung new years resolution ko for 2023, ay anyway US din sya kaya baka mapahiwalay na sya samin next year mawawalan na naman ng isang makulit sa rbc hahahaha ang sad nga pero unang napahiwalay samin pala si nico eh kasi risk assurance sya nasa ayala na sya agad. Okay next naman ay si glenn si glenn naman nasa harap ko na sya first day ko palang kaya nakakausap ko na sya pero di close sakto lang kasi ang ingay nya tas masipag mag hi,hello, goodmorning kaya nakakatuwa kasi ang approachable up until now ganun padin sya. tapos sya yung ang chill palagi pero nakaksunod naman tapos the way sya magsalita sobrang casual lang tapos napakasipag yun nga lang wala sya laging dalang utensils pag kakain na kami ng lunch kaya minsan pinagdadala pa namin ng disposable spoon and fork hahaha tapos si joshua sya kasi yung analyst sa tropa namin kaya medyo ahead sya samin ng ilang years pero mabait naman sya unang impression ko sa kanya ay jolly talaga kasi first day may groupings agad tapos isusulat name school at fave ulam tapos nagulat ako sabi ko hala bat sinusulat mo name mo sa notebook e sya yun HAHAHAHAHA tawang tawa ako pero nung induction kami minimal usap lang kami, pero now na tropa na kami matured sya tapos batas sya lagi kasi yan late pumapasok hahaha pero kahit ganun alam din nya ginagawa nya tamad nga lang, lagi tuloy kami pinakahuling grupo nagtatimeout kasi lagi namin sya winewait hahahaha tapos malakas din yan magtrip pare parehas sila hahaha
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
one movie from every country
the challenge is to watch at least one movie from all 195 countries in the world. not sure if that's possible cause getting a copy of movies from countries with very "visible" cinema is already hard enough. but we will try. (this is also just to keep myself from jumping off a cliff.)
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia â Amerikatsi (2022, Michael A. Goorjian)
Australia â Nitram (2021, Justin Kurzel)
Austria â Des Teufels Bad (2024, Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz)
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium â Close (2022, Lukas Dhont)
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil â Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (2014, Daniel Ribeiro)
British Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada â J'ai tuĂ© ma mĂšre (2009, Xavier Dolan)
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile â Una mujer fantĂĄstica (2017, SebastiĂĄn Lelio)
China Mainland â ć°ćčŽçäœ (2019, Derek Tsing)
China â Limbo (2021, Soi Cheang)
Christmas Island
Cocos Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Congo-Brazzaville
Congo-Kinshasa
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote dâIvoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark â Jagten (2012, Thomas Vinterberg)
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji
Finland â A Moment in the Reeds (2017, Mikko MĂ€kelĂ€)
France â Anatomie d'une chute (2023, Justine Triet)
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany â Die Mitte der Welt (2016, Jakob M. Erwa)
Ghana
Greece â Miss Violence (2013, Alexandros Avranas)
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary â Hat hĂ©t (2022, NoĂ©mi Veronika Szakonyi)
Iceland â HvĂtur, HvĂtur Dagur (2019, Hlynur PĂĄlmason)
India â Taare Zameen Par (2007, Aamir Khan)
Indonesia â Jagal (2012, Joshua Oppenheimer)
Iran â Ű·ŰčÙ
ÚŻÛÙۧ۳ (1997, Abbas Kiarostami)
Iraq
Ireland â The Banshees of Inisherin (2022, Martin McDonagh)
Israel
Italy â La vita Ăš bella (1997, Roberto Benigni)
Ivory Coast
Jamaica
Japan â èȘ°ăç„ăăȘă (2004, Kore-eda Hirokazu)
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya â Rafiki (2018, Wanuri Kahiu)
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico â Roma (2018, Alfonso CuarĂłn)
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands â Noordzee, Texas (2011, Bavo Defurne)
New Caledonia
New Zealand â Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016, Taika Waititi)
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria â
Niue â
Norfolk Island â
North Korea â
North Macedonia â
Norway â Verdens verste menneske (2021, Joachim Trier)
Oman â
Pakistan â
Palau â
Palestine â
Panama â
Papua New Guinea â
Paraguay â
Peru â
Philippines â Patay na si Hesus (2016, Victor Villanueva)
Poland â Sala SamobĂłjcĂłw (2011, Jan Komasa)
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of the Sudan
Romania
Russia â ĐĐŸĐ·ĐČŃĐ°ŃĐ”ĐœĐžĐ” (2003, Andrey Zvyagintse)
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Samoa
San Marino
SĂŁo TomĂ© and PrĂncipe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa â Tsotsi (2005, Gavin Hood)
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Korea â ëê°ë (2011, Hwang Donghyuk)
South Sudan
Spain â 20.000 especies de abejas (2023, Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren)
Sri Lanka
Sudan
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Swaziland
Sweden â Höstsonaten (1978, Ingmar Bergman)
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan â èȘ°ć
æäžä»ç (2018, Mag Hsu, Hsu Chih-yen)
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand âÂ àž«àž„àžČàžàžĄàčàžČ (2024, Pat Boonnitipat)
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey â Okul Tirasi (2021, Ferit Karahan)
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom â All of Us Strangers (2023, Andrew Haigh)
United States â Blue Jasmine (2013, Woody Allen)
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
there are countries i've seen more than one movie from. as for my reasoning behind which film i choose to list, i don't have any. i just write down whatever comes to mind first.
i'm literally more than a hundred films away from completing this. i'll probably die without succeeding.
0 notes
Text
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: J.D. Vance: Gabriel Basso Beverly âBevâ Vance: Amy Adams Bonnie âMamawâ Vance: Glenn Close Lindsay Vance: Haley Bennett Usha Chilukuri: Freida Pinto Papaw: Bo Hopkins Young J.D. Vance: Owen Asztalos Matt: Jesse C. Boyd Phillip Roseman: Stephen Kunken Ken: Keong Sim Travis: Morgan Gao Chris: Ethan Suess Kevin: Jono Mitchell Uncle Pat: Bill Kelly Uncle Arch: David Dwyer Lori: Sarah Hudson Jimmy (Bevâs Brother): Ted Huckabee Bill (Nurse): Nathan Hesse Cousin Nate: Max Barrow Bonnie (Mamaw, 30âs): Sunny Mabrey Jim (Papaw, 30âs): Brett Lorenzini Young Bev (6 years): Tierney Smith Cheryl: Helen LeRoy Emma: Kinsley Isla Dillon Adult Frank McFee: Ryan Homchick Chip: Joshua Stenvick Brooks Houghton: Bill Winkler Brett: Chase Anderson Pamela: Amy Parrish Rich: Ed Amatrudo Hiram Walcott: David de Vries Cocktailer #1: Holly Morris Cocktailer #2: Brandon Hirsch Server: David Alexander Obsequious Server: Alexander Baxter Waiter: Steven Reddington Wiry Law Partner: Angelo Reyes Stodgy Partner: John Rymer Young Bonnie (Mamaw 13 Years): Abigail Rose Cornell Adult Louis Zablocki: Lowrey Brown Young J.D. (4 years): Hunter James Evers Dane: Riley McNerney Pool Woman: Zele Avradopoulos Mr. Selby: David Jensen Holler Aunt: Skylar Denney Young Louis: John Whitley Doug: Zac Pullam Young Frank: Shane Donovan Lewis Officer #1: Mike Senior Officer #2: William Mark McCullough Kameron: Dylan Gage Katrina: Hannah Pniewski Doctor: David Marshall Silverman Dr. Newton: Jason Davis Davis: Joshua Brady Nasty Cashier: Cory Chapman Nurse: Tatom Pender Patient: Cathy Hope Ray: David Atkinson Salesperson: Adam Murray Scared Woman: Dianna Craig Meghan: Emery Mae Edgeman Young Jim (Papaw 16 Years): Rohan Myers Meals On Wheels Delivery Man: Matthew Alan Brady Young Lori (6 years): Lucy Capri Sally Coates: DĂ©jĂĄ Dee Kyle: Daniel R. Hill Arguing Girlfriend: Jordan Trovillion Secretary at Club: Yossie Mulyadi ICU Nurse #1: Alisa Harris ICU Nurse #2: Tiger Dawn Rehab Mother: Darla Robinson Rehab Recepcionist: Belinda Keller Old Mamaw Blanton: Jessie Faye Shirley Nurse Vivian: Cheryl Howard Law Candidate Tim: Tim Abou-Nasr Curt: Leland Thomas Griffin Officer Connor: Drew Emerson Jones EMT #1: Justin P. Turner EMT #2: Joshua T. Schneider Marine Barber: Tony Ward Dining Hall Manager: Mara Hall Jill at Financial Aid Office: Tess Malis Kincaid Gas Station Attendant: Chris Charm Intake Receptionist: Mary Kraft Shoe Store Manager: Suehyla El-Attar Study Hall Friend #1: Matthew Withers Study Hall Friend #2: Jessica Miesel Study Hall Friend #3: Benjamin Rapsas Peter (uncredited): Ethan Levy Middletown Resident (uncredited): Bret Aaron Knower Film Crew: Original Music Composer: Hans Zimmer Producer: Brian Grazer Producer: Ron Howard Post Producer: William M. Connor Executive Producer: Diana Pokorny Production Design: Molly Hughes Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Robert Hein Director of Photography: Maryse Alberti Casting: Carmen Cuba Producer: Karen Lunder Stunt Coordinator: Monique Ganderton Writer: Vanessa Taylor Compositing Artist: Daniel L. Smith Camera Operator: Thomas Lappin Compositing Artist: Michael A. Martinez Supervising Art Director: Gregory A. Weimerskirch Costume Designer: Virginia B. Johnson Set Costumer: Bob Moore Jr. Makeup Department Head: Eryn Krueger Mekash Foley Artist: Heikki Kossi Art Direction: Shawn D. Bronson Rigging Grip: Gary Blair Makeup Artist: Erica Stewart Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Josh Berger Compositing Artist: Steve Dinozzi VFX Artist: Bryan Haines Visual Effects Producer: Chris LeDoux Original Music Composer: David Fleming Set Dresser: Aaron Robert Hall Assistant Art Director: Chris Yoo Costume Supervisor: Dana Pacheco Sound Designer: Grant Elder Makeup Artist: Jodi Byrne Set Costumer: Robin Fields Compositing Artist: Brad Lucas Set Dresser: Sam Carter Makeup Artist: Andrea Vieth Set Dresser: Maxfield Ladish Set Dresser: Natalie LeCompte Rigging ...
#1990s#american dream#appalachian#appalachian mountains#based on memoir or autobiography#based on novel or book#child abuse#childhood memory#drug addiction#drug rehabilitation#grandmother#heroin#hillbilly#kentucky#law student#mother son estrangement#mother son relationship#ohio#overdose#single mother#small town life#teenage boy#Top Rated Movies#traditional family#yale university
0 notes
Text
JOSH & MARCUS â DAY TWENTY-EIGHT
location :Â Â evening / post-challenge / pool
featuring : Â Â @bluemmings @blondcs @inquixotic
context because iâm not posting it all :  they all jumped in the pool naked ( except josh bc heâs lame ) after frankie and milesâ bet about who could hold their breath longest, resulting in most of them having to streak. theyâre talking about where frankie ran off to, assuming miles, and then discussing miles and frankie together & separately.
JOSH
"he's into you too," he tells marcus, with a nod. "i told him you weren't really interested in guys though, sorry." that's not exactly what he said, but maybe he's trying to push some buttons, see how badly marcus wants it.
MARCUS
marcus can't blame miles for being into him, he's a catch. but josh's statement has him frowning. " just cause i'm not into you doesn't mean i'm not into guys, josh. " he snorts, shaking his head.
JOSH
"sorry, i had no idea. i haven't seen you with any of the ones here, so..." it doesn't bother him, because he finds this all pretty funny.
MARCUS
" i mean, i was with romi from day one so... " not so much a flex anymore but, his point still stands. " i don't think miles thinks i'm straight though, so, it's all good. " god forbid anyone think he's straight.
JOSH
"and obsessed with naomi the rest of the time," he shrugs, filling in the blanks that aren't there. deanna's choosing violence today apparently. "but yeah, you'll be fine."
MALI
she resurfaces for air, brushing her hair off her face, catching joshâs snide remark. âwoah there,â she laughs, blinking at the two of them before glancing over at val.
MARCUS
okay... not where he expected this to go at all. " don't know what you mean by that but okay ... " he pulls a face, brows knitting together.
JOSH
"i don't mean anything," he shrugs. Â "you were with romi from day one, but you kissed naomi a few days ago, so clearly you've had a thing for her for a while there. and then you only mentioned girls yesterday when we were talking about grafting, so."
VALERIE
âwell you were all over naomi the other day too, werenât you?â
MARCUS
marcus didn't actually know that josh knew about his ' kiss ' with naomi, so he does suddenly feel a flush at his cheeks, an uncomfortableness in his stomach. " naomi and i are friends. " he clarifies, this sudden shift making the water feel cold against his skin. " and that's 'cause i'm not into any of the guys... miles is a new guy, that's different. " his brows raise, interested to know what val means by her statement.
JOSH
"yeah," he says, voice growing a little cold, "you two are friends. got it." as if that couldn't be any clearer. josh glances over at val, rolling his eyes a little. as if she didn't have her chance to talk about this earlier, but... "we weren't all over each other," he says, "but we had a moment, yeah." he wants to say more to marcus, but this isn't exactly the crowd for it.
MALI
she sighs, a little annoyed she didnât catch that herself when she glanced at valerie, smiling lazily at marcus. âhe did say he likes trouble.â
MARCUS
" so... what, you ditch naomi for jenny, and now naomi's got dylan you suddenly want her back ? yeah, sounds like trouble to me. "
JOSH
"i never ditched naomi," josh scoffs, lifting himself up to sit at the edge of the pool. he needs to be the one on higher ground. "i basically begged for her back after lying to her about jenny, but she ditched me for dylan. it's not like how you randomly dumped romi after her prick of an ex made you feel bad."
VALERIE
she floats toward marcus, hands resting against his shoulders, massaging them a bit.
MALI
oh. drama. âmaybe this is a conversation better had on dry land?â she suggests, more to josh than to marcus â what had he done wrong?
MARCUS
" well, i can't blame naomi for wanting out. " he says simply, 'cause josh shouldn't have done anything with jenny but oh well. he gives josh a look like really? once he brings up the romi stuff, rolling his eyes. he is grateful for valerie, if only to feel like someone's in his corner. Â " i dumped romi 'cause they fucked maddox without a second thought about me. " he scoffs. " you know full well before that how much i was into her so don't act like i'm the one out of line here. "
JOSH
"alright, well fuck you too, man." josh rolls his eyes. so much for marcus being his friend, but this only basically confirms what he already knew. "you took a break with her because the dejan stuff got too hard. as if she hadn't spent the night crying outside because of that prick. she needed you, and you left her to immediately kiss naomi. i don't even like maddox, and nobody can blame her for doing that. you should be embarrassed by that, dude. i'm embarrassed by what i did to naomi, but i tried to make that right. i'm still trying," he adds. "but romi rather kiss me than naomi wants to kiss you, so... maybe i'm doing something right after all."
MARCUS
" we took a break 'cause neither of us signed up for dejan's shit. she decided to fuck maddox, and i kissed naomiïżœïżœïżœ that was after. " and he doesn't think he'd ever even try it with naomi had romi not fucked maddox in front of him. he is embarrassed by that whole party, from maddox to naomi and everything in between, but he barely has time to linger on it before a scoff escapes him, eyes fixed on josh in disbelief. " romi kissed you ? " he'd like to not be surprised by it. after all, he expected it to happen ages ago, but he can't quite wrap his head around it all of a sudden now it's presented as a fact.
JOSH
âno, because you didn't sign up for it," he argues. "what, you decide you had too much of dejan, so you asked for a break? you think romi could just take a break from her shitty ex being here? you were just looking out for yourself," he fires back, getting heated now. he doesn't realize how much of this he was holding onto. "she kissed me because i punched that guy, which yeah, i shouldn't have done maybe, but it's far more than you ever did. you're supposed to fight for the people you care about. but it doesn't really seem like you cared that much to begin with. you certainly don't give a shit about our friendship, so, y'know. i just hope trying to shoot your shot with naomi was worth it."
MALI
now she does swim over to josh, touching his arm gently. âthis is all really emotionally healthy to get out,â she says softly, âbut i think you should take a breather, love. clear your head.â itâs clear heâs upset.
MARCUS
maybe he's getting so pressed because he knows in a way josh is right. he didn't really step up for romi like he should have, and he knows that as soon as he had doubts he was looking for a way out. it's just fucking impossible to do that on this stupid ass show without breaking things off. Â he's not losing his cool with josh in a stupid fucking pool while butt naked, and really... he doesn't even know what he can say in response. he's lost and hurt and frankly tired of it all. " you know what ? fuck you, man. i'm done. " he shakes his head. " sorry, " marcus' voice turns soft for valerie, his hands reaching to find hers and gently moving them from his shoulders so he can jump out of the pool. he doesn't care that his dick is out or his arse, he just heads inside the villa to go anywhere away from josh.
JOSH
mali tries to gently get him to leave, but josh is pleased to see that marcus does it first, butt naked and angry. maybe he should feel bad, and a part of him kind of does... but the rest of him is a little smug, unable to wipe a small smirk off his lips. good. let marcus feel shitty for once. it's about fucking time. only when his bare naked is out of his view does he look at mali, finally feeling something different than that smugness. "sorry," he smiles sheepishly, not really sure what to say. "that was... a long time coming. i shouldn't have done it here, though." he takes a deep breath. "want me to grab you a towel?" he offers. save her some modesty.
#tagging it josh & marcus bc thats the main plot#but the others are obvs here too#joshua ;#joshua & marcus ;#joshua & mali ;#joshua &Â valerie ;#joshua & marcus 012#i needed the fight on my page thanks
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 13 months in prison ~ #AFP:
activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 13 months in prison ~Â #AFP:
HONG KONG â
Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kongâs best-known protest figures, and two other famous activists were sentenced to jail on Wednesday for their role in last yearâs protests.
Mr. Wong, 24, was sentenced to 13 and a half months in prison. His comrades Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were sentenced to ten and seven months respectively for demonstrating in front of the Hong Kong police headquarters.
View On WordPress
#activist#AFP#Africa#Burkina Faso#burundi#Central African Republic#DRC#FLY#Gabon#Joshua#mali#Months#prison#Rwanda#Sentenced#VOA Africa#voaafrique#Voice of america#Wong
0 notes
Text
thanks to @bangchanies for tagging me in this game it was fun! i did multiple playlists but settled on my playlist that has the things iâm currently listening to the most.Â
rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. put your favorite playlist on shuffle and list the first ten songs- (Iâll do my liked songs list on Spotify because I said so) then tag ten people! no skipping!
_WORLD : SEVENTEEN
BADăąăŒă : Hikaru Utada
ćă«ć€ąäž : Hikaru Utada
Styx Helix : cover by Lofi Lia
Guerrilla : ATEEZ
The Ring : ATEEZ
Sector 1 : ATEEZ
Malie City : cover by GlitchxCity
If The World Was Ending : JP Saxe ft. Julia Michaels
Canât stop dreaminâ : PURPLE KISS
no kidding i have more in this playlist but i got three ateez songs from the new album back-to-back-to-back LOL itâs exposing how much iâm obsessed with this album HAHA also glad my hikaru utada bias is showing (the one i loop most off their album is PINK BLOOD tho)
i think iâll tag @dreamescapeswriting @straykats @lixesque @petrichor-han @crispy-chan @noramoons @chanstopher @chogiwow @joshuas @mosviqu
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ne Cede Malis - A Twist of Fate
An idea that struck me during a dream. Just a quick AU and playing with some ideas. Also mild stress relief writing. Itâs not going to become a series. Canât really say much without spoiling what itâs about.
Think I only need to warn for is mild language. And about 9.5K. One of these days Iâll keep myself from writing an overly long one and done fic.
-----
âHoâhow much longer⊠until we reach the outpost, Bradford?â Manson asked in-between gasps of air and grunts.
âNot much longer. Should see it when we reach the top of this hill.â Bradford replied.
âAnd then how far from there?â He sounded so exhausted.
âOh, ease up.â Laney rolled her eyes. âFresh ainât killing you.â
âThe humidity is.â
âShould install a fan into your Gremlin then. Just try to not get thrown out of Shenâs workshop.â She playfully teased, only to get a few curses slung at her. Yuri let out a boisterous laugh.
âYouâre just asking for him to get thrown out of Shenâs workshop. Again.â Jody snickered.Â
âI didnât know that was her workshop.â Manson said through gritted teeth.
âGo easy on the new guy.â Joshua shook his head. He grabbed Mansonâs pack off his back and slung it onto his. Manson gave a quick thank you.
Bradford was leading a squad of about five, him included, through the backwoods of North Georgia. Partially into the Appalachian Mountains. Though it was a cool, spring day, a recent rain had saturated the air as Manson was not dealing with the humidity well.
There were some sound rumors there was a reputable Black Market dealer that made their home deep within the moments. In fact, they had turned an abandoned ADVENT outpost into their base of operations. A bold and dangerous play on their hand, but seemed like ADVENT didnât care about this region. Barely any patrols ran through the mountain. Maybe the occasional dropship flew by, but not much happened. Hopefully, the trip was worth it. Heard the dealer may have been in possession of some sensitive equipment procured from an ADVENT facility. And they were always interested in getting their hands on sensitive equipment. No telling where it could lead them.
As they crested the hill, there it was. The outpost off in the distance, just a few miles away. A white, grim covered building with several vines growing over it. The sun's rays glistened off one of those gaudy, golden statues of the Elders. A surprising sight. Those things were usually defaced or torn down when abandoned.
âI need⊠to catch my⊠breath.â Manson sat down as soon as they reached the top of the hill. He wiped the sweat from his brow before taking a swing of water from his canteen.
âMake it short.â Bradford glanced back at him and then to his watch. They still had a good amount of time before evening would hit. He wanted them to at least get halfway back to the Avenger before nightfall to set up camp.
âYouâve gotta toughen up, man.â Laney was still playfully picking on him. She found a log to step on to do some stretches to loosen up her legs. âCanât have you on missions if youâre getting this tuckered out.
Manson furrowed his brows at her. âNot used to the humidity.â He was more used to drier climates. âStill getting used to carrying so much gear. Iâm more of an engineer than a soldier.â
Manson was a new recruit to XCOM. A former ADVENT engineer fed up with the life and lies. He lived through the invasion as a teenager, and things never sat well with him. Of course, all the things the Elders did were wondrous, but it was all a lie. And then education They brought made his engineering interests flourish, but once he was older and found a job, he felt used. Eventually, catching wind of this XCOM made him want a way out of this false âgoldenâ life. And there were a few others like him. It took some work, but they orchestrated a rescue from XCOM and delivered some equipment and valuable information into their hands. A few left to help with some havens, but most, including him, stuck with XCOM.
He flinched several times as Yuri patted his back.Â
âYouâll adapt in no time, kiddo.â He gave a reassuring smile in his slightly thick Russian accent. A jagged scar ran up the left side of his face, from lip to ear. His left eye was glassy, but there was a hint of life to it. âIf you donât, youâll suffer Corvoâs wrath.â He wiggled his fingers and made an ominous âooOooOooâ sound.
âDonât remind me of him.â Manson huffed. He wished he never volunteered to join the more military part of XCOM. It was interesting, but he should have just stuck with the engineering crew, but there were hurting to have more people on the field. Corvo was a slave master when it came to training. He wondered how a man like him was married to Shay, who also helped with the training. She was miss peppy to mister cold⊠who had his own quirks. Annoying Bradford was one of them.Â
A few minutes passed by as they all caught a break.
âLetâs get going.â Bradford was ready to go. He was already moving.
In about half an hour or so, they arrived at their destination. The outpost. It was quiet. Dead quiet. Just the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.
âHm.â
Bradford approached the door. He signaled for three of them to check the windows. The security lasers were down. Boards and tarps had replaced them, as there was no more power to keep them going. He gave another sign for Manson and Laney to have their Gremlins do some scanning. Better safe than sorry. Last thing they needed was them stumbling into a trap. Or a nest of Chryssalids. As they did that, he knocked on the door a few times in a pattern given to them by their sources.
âI have burned my tomorrows and my shadows.â And said the code phrase.
A few minutes passed⊠and no response.
âHm.â He glanced over at Joshua and then Yuri.
âLights out and the place looks empty on this side.â Joshua said.
âThis side is dark too.â Yuri said.
âBacks empty.â Jody said, coming back from checking the rear.
âHmâŠâ He didnât like that. He then looked back at their Specialists. Laneyâs Gremlin had returned to her side.
âReading no life signs but us.â Manson said. He was letting his Gremlin do more extensive scans. âJust cold on the inside. Weâre the only hot spots.â
âSame here.â
âHm.â Odd.
He looked at the door handle and gave it a tug. The door slide right open, with a bit of help. It stuck a few times and let out a grinding screech at one point. He winced. Somebody probably heard that.
Once fully opened⊠there was still no response. The place was empty, but it was set up like any other black market they had gone to. Several display cases containing various weapons, equipment, and resources. Dried meats handing off to one side. There were probably more items to be purchased in the side rooms.
âHm.â He didnât like this. âStay alert.â Cautiously, he entered. The others followed. He took in several whiffs and sneezed. Dusty. âSea⊠salt?â But he was picking up a faint smell that was like the ocean in the room. Strange. Didnât look like there were any candles burning.
âPicking that up too?â Yuri asked, nose wrinkling. Bradford nodded. âThe air feels off.â
âThink itâs psionic activity?â Yuri was oddly sensitive to that. The doctors had done some tests. Said he had potential, but currently they didnât have the tech to trigger that fully for him.
âMaybe.â He shrugged. âCould be coming from an artifact lying around. Still, we should be careful.â
He nodded. âAgreed. Careful everyone.âÂ
They all slowly spread out, weapons at the ready for anything, as they searched the outpost for any signs of life. But Bradford stayed in the main room. He just couldnât shake the feeling that something was off. No black market dealer would leave their place unsecured like this. They usually had bodyguards besides booby traps.Â
âDonât touch anything.â He noticed Joshua about to touch one case by the left wall. The man quickly apologized and backed away. Bradford didnât take another step further into the room. Something still didnât feel right. âThe dealer could have some nasty security set up.â
âWay ahead of you. Daedalus, do your thing.â Manson has his Gremlin carefully scanning the room to pick up any traps. That blue grid touched every inch of the room. âClear. Next room, pal.âÂ
As the team continued to investigate, Bradford finally moved. He went over to the counter to see what was on sale. Some elerium, elerium cores, alien alloys, and torn down magnetic weapons caught his eye. Especially that elerium. âHmâŠâ They rarely had such a thing on display, especially the cores. You usually had to ask for those.
âHey! WHAT THâAAHâ MM! MM!â
âWho was that?â He asked loudly. The muffled yells of one of his squadmates caught his attention. His finger hovered over the trigger to his shotgun. âSound off! Everyone!â
âI heard that! Still here!â Yuri said.
âNothing odd on the scanners!â Manson said.
âInvestigating!â Jody said.
âJoining her!â Joshua added.
No response from Laney. She was missing.
âBe careful.â Bradford was weary. Looked like it was a setup.
As Jody and Joshua entered the room they last saw Laney head, no one was there. Minus her Gremlin that was frantically flying around a hole in the ceiling. Dust and debris fell from it and a broken light fixture swayed back and forth.
âLaneyâs gone, but her Gremlinâs still here.â Joshua said, turning on his comms. He cautiously moved over to that hole, turning on his flashlight at the end of his shotgun to see what was up there.
And then something fell from that opening and made several metallic tinks on the ground.
âSHIT!â Jodyâs eyes went wide.
âGRENADE!â Joshua yelled. âWE GOT TROUBLE!â He swiftly turned and headed back to the door. A second later, the grenade went off, letting off a loud bang and tossing up a lot of dust and debris. It was a flashbang.
A second later, there was a scuffle, several yells, and gunfire.
âDammitâŠâ Bradford cursed under his breath. He heard several wooden boards snapping from the left and right sides. Manson let out a blood-curdling yell and then Yuri spitting out several curses and gunfire before he was silenced. They were getting picked off quickly.
Before he could move to join them, he noticed a black and white blur swinging down from the ceiling. And then something solid hitting his chest.Â
âAGH!â The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground with a solid thud. His shotgun clattered from his hands.
The world spun as he quickly tried to get his bearings. There was something else in that kick. It hit like a truck and was fogging his mind. Reminding him of a Sectoids psionics. As his vision cleared, he saw what kicked him dropping from the ceiling and heading over to him.Â
Shit. ADVENT.Â
They had a helmet that reminded him of one of those Stun Lancers. He pulled himself over to his shotgun and quickly grabbed it. Before he could turn it on his attacker, they were on him, kicking the gun out of his hands and planting a knee on his chest. The next second, they had on his hand on his face and in an instant the world blurred again.Â
He felt his head spin and a headache grow. He noticed a blue glow growing around them and streams of energy traveling from him and up their arm.
 Fuck, theyâre a psionic! He recognized the unpleasant feeling, but this was different. He felt like he was growing weak. As if his life was being drained from him with each passing second. Hell, he felt like his skin was wrinkling, drying out as the seconds passed.Â
Need to get them off! Need to cut this connection! Desperately, he tried pulling their hand from his face, but they had one hell of a death grip. He frantically reached for his knife, but they were blocking it. He could feel himself growing weaker by the second. This was not how he wanted to go out.
âHmâŠâ They muttered as they brought their face closer to his, cocking it to the side.
â>BOSS! STOP!<â He heard the flanging voice of one Hybrid somewhere in the back. He wondered if they were gloating over taking them out. â>These people are XCOM!<âÂ
He recognized at least one word in there. XCOM. Still needed to learn the language the Elders forced onto humanity, but it was looking like he wouldnât get that chance. But the draining⊠the draining suddenly stopped.
â>XCOM?<â The one on top of him asked, turning their head.
â>Yes! XCOM!<â
âXCOM.â This time they uttered in English. That surprised Bradford. And they sounded female.Â
She carefully shifted to the side, making sure she still had him pinned as she checked his shoulder. That familiar blue, polygonal patch was there. âHmâŠâ She brought her hand back to his face. He winced when he felt a connection again, but this time, it felt like probing. A quick search through his mind. A gasp left her mouth.
âDammit.â She cursed under her breath. â>EVERYONE! STAND DOWN! THEYâRE FRIENDLIES!<â She switched back to the alien tongue.
What the hell is going on? Bradford wasnât sure why this Hybrid had stopped draining him and stopped to check his shoulder. He still struggled, but barely had the strength to lift his hand. Here we go. He noticed her bringing her hand back to his face. He closed his eyes expecting the worse, but⊠but he felt his strength returning. A sharp gasp escaped from his lips. His life was coming back.
A minute or two passed before she took her hand off his face and got up. And he felt like himself again, minus the soreness to his chest and back.
âSorry⊠sorry about that.â An out of breath apology came from her. And she was speaking in English again. But there was no more of the flanging in their voice like the others. Like she turned it off like a switch. Sounded completely human. And oddly familiar. He couldnât put his finger on it. There was also a strain to her voice and a slight echo. She was slightly hunched over. Did that life transfer reserve take the life out of her? The skin on the lower part of her face⊠her brownish-red skin looked unnaturally pale and wrinkled. And then, from what he could tell, her neck was black. Like it was burned.
âYou stumbled into our trap. We thought you were some of the local raiders that have been plaguing the locals.â She extended a hand to him.
âWhat the hell?â He quietly muttered to himself.Â
He eyed her, especially that hand, finally having a chance to study her. She was about a head taller than him, for starters. Never had seen a Hybrid so tall. She wore ADVENT armor; repurposed and repainted black and white. And that helmet was different. At a quick glance, it looked like a Stun Lancers helmet, but it was very different. It didnât have that red âglass-likeâ visor, instead an onyx curved piece took its place. Then he noticed this Hybrid had hair. White and brown hair. Hybrids didnât have hair. This one had to be special as they also had psionics. Blue psionics. What were the Elders up to?
He finally noticed the symbol on the right side of her chest. Those wings and a star. Skirmishers. Ambushed by Skirmishers. What were the chances? Better than ADVENT.
âYou guys set up one hell of an ambush.â He said gruffly. Just how troublesome were the local raiders for them to set this up? He finally took her hand and got up.
Just as he got up, the other Skirmishers were entering the main room, ushering in his people. They were all battered, highly confused, and ticked off. Manson was cursing out one Skirmisher in Persian. He had a dislocated right shoulder, and the Skirmisher was holding a very banged up Daedalus in their hands. Poor robot was letting out several pitiful beeps. No amount of âsorrysâ was going to make the engineer calm down.
â>Sorry, boss,<â One Skirmisher in black armor came over to them, â>I missed their patches. I should have waited to give the signal.<â
â>Itâs okay.<â She raised her hand to silence them. â>We already planned on taking any who entered alive for questioning. Thankfully, none were killed.<â
With that conversation over, she looked at each XCOM member. They were all pretty banged up. Cuts, bruises, and dislocated joints. At least none are dead. She then looked at Bradford.Â
âCome back to our camp. Our medics can patch up any damage.â She offered. âAnd we have some supplies and intel we can share. Information on vulnerabilities to several outposts and some facilities nearby.â
Bradford crossed his arms. An apology, of sorts. He wondered if he should accept it. They came out here for supplies and anything dealing with ADVENT. He would rather not leave empty-handed. And it would be best to keep the peace. Last thing Betos probably wanted to hear was some of her people attacking him. Hearing another curse from Manson as Yuri, with the help of one Skirmisher, popped his arm back into place had him leaning towards accepting it. A quick patch up would be a good idea. Probably would spend the night with them, depending on how long it took.
âWe accept.â
ââââââââââââ
âWhatâs your clan?â Bradford asked.Â
As they were following the Skirmishers back to their camp, and were nearly there, he had been studying their armor, looking for identifying markers for one of the clans local from the area. So far, he was finding nothing.
âI know a few in this region that Betos has informed me of, but not seeing anything on you guysâ armor that says who you are.â
âWe donât exactly have a âclanâ.â Bastion answered. He had come to know her as âbossâ or Bastion. She still had her helmet on as the others had removed theirs as a sign of friendship. Must have been secretive. âWeâre more nomadic.â
âHuh.â That was interesting and odd. Even the more nomadic clans had a name.
âYou can call us Twilight Drifters.â Attis, the one in the black armor, butted in. Looked like she was Bastionâs right-hand woman. âBoss is a bit hesitant about a clan name, but we all felt like having some sort of name was better than nothing!â She let out a hearty laugh as she smacked Bastionâs back several times. Bastion grunted with each hit. She turned her head. The corners of her lips were twitching as they slowly turned into a frown. That just got another laugh out of Attis and there others joined in.
âHere we are.â Bastion said as she moved some brush out of the way. The camp was active. It was a series of cabins deep in the woods they had taken over to be their base of operations for the time being. A mix of Hybrids and some humans were moving about and working.
âAttis. Turel. Get them to the medics.â Bastion instructed. âAnd Holâtul and Ermes get the intel from Varkner and his crew. And get some food and sleeping quarters prepped for our guests, just in case. â
âYes, boss.â They nodded and went about their duties. Attis and Turel were already barking out orders to the others to alert the medics as they lead Bradfordâs crew away.
âYou,â she pointed at Bradford, âfollow me.â She started heading over to one cabin of to the right.
He raised a brow, but shrugged. Probably had something to tell him. His ears only. He followed.
ââââââââââââ
After they entered the cabin, Bastion locked the door. Didnât need their conversation being disturbed.
âHm.â Bradford looked around. Looked to be her quarters and the situation room all in one. A bed shoved into a corner and then several maps plastered on the walls, along with photographs and various weapon crates, spread about. Reminded him of rougher times before he found the surviving remnants of XCOM. He didnât miss them.
âAgain, Iâm sorry for the injuries my people caused to your people.â She as said as she headed over to a table. She placed her rifle on the table and started taking off her armor. The gauntlets were the first things to come off.
âItâs fine.â Bradford said. Well, it was to a point. But he could ignore it. They were still alive. âJust one hell of an ambush. How the hell did you hide from our sensors?â He was curious about that.
âPsionics.â She raised her hand, forming that very energy into an orb. âI can deaden our life signatures. Makes us untraceable to most sensors. Usually takes a strong psionic to pick up something is wrong.â With that, she let the orb disappear. âThough, somehow you and one of your men noticed.â
âHuh.â He wondered if Sectoids could do that. That could be a potential headache. Something to note for the future. Especially if ADVENT started fielding Hybrids with psionics. âWe just smelled salt. Sea salt. Like there was an ocean nearby.â He still found that strange.
âHm.â
Just as she pulled off her last bit of armor, she felt woozy. Body wobbling for a moment before her legs gave out. She barely caught herself with the table, hands slamming down to stabilize herself.
âDammit.â She grumbled under her breath.
Bradford raised a brow. He dashed over to her and helped her back up. âYou alright?â
âItâs⊠complicated.â She grunted. She was out of of breath. âThanks.â
âYou need a medic?â He noticed she still looked pale. She shook her head.
âThey canât really help me.â Another grunt slipped out as she leaned on the table. She looked around until her eyes fell on something. âCan you bring that capsule over to me, please?â She pointed at a cylindrical device.
He fetched the capsule and handed it to her. She thanked him again as fiddled with it. The thing lit up in hexagonal panels that suddenly spun out. A white mist poured out of it. And something glimmered inside of it. She pulled out what looked to be a black crystal about the size of his thumb and sealed the capsule. The crystal had a blue shimmer when the light passed through it.
She gripped the crystal tightly in her hand and channeled her psionics. There was the sound of cracking until a loud snap was heard. Black, blue, and red liquid seeped from her hand. She opened her hand. The crystal was shattered, revealing the liquid came from with in it and a few shards had pierced her skin. Before a single drop could fall, the liquid retreated into those cuts; discoloring her hand to a pitch black. She took in a sharp breath as her body shuddered as the discoloration traveled up her arm. Just as quick as it came, the discoloration disappeared back to a brownish-red. But she looked better. Her skin looked more lively, especially around her face. That paleness was fading.
âOkayâŠâ Bradford wasnât sure what he had just witnessed. More weird alien stuff. This Hybrid is special. âJust who are you? What type of Hybrid are you?â
âHmâŠâ She grimaced, turning away from him. Looked to be a sensitive subject.Â
âLook, I donât mean toââ
âNo, itâs not that.â She interrupted him. âI donât know how to put thisâŠâ She glanced over her shoulder. Looking at him for a few seconds before turning her head away. âI think I know you⊠and you know me.â As she said that, she started to take off her helmet.
âWhat?â That made no sense to him. Heâd never met her or her group before. Nor did her name ring a bell from some operatives Betos had shared with them. And it was a long list.
He watched her remove her helmet. Curious to see what she looked like underneath. A Hybrid having hair was still a surprise to him. As she removed the helmet, he noticed a few oddities. She had ears. Hybrids didnât have ears. Then there were no ports from what he could see or those surgical scar lines from them. And there should have been ports, as those ADVENT helmets connected into them.
She set her helmet down on the table, took in a deep breath, and let out a sigh. Almost like she was hesitant to turn her face fully to him. But she finally turned.
âLong time no see, John.â There was a warmness to her voice as she said that. âCanât believe youâre alive.â
John? He never told her his first name. âHow the hellââ But as she turned, he paused. Those features, she looked more human than the average Hybrid, but some genetic modification was evident. Eyes spaced further apart, a flared nose, and an odd gauntness to her face. Reminded him of one of the Chosen, but with a more human looking skin tone. But there was something about those features that looked to familiar too him. The freckles⊠Why was her voice familiar to him?Â
âWhat the⊠noâŠâ The gears in his mind were turning. He gasped. He knew her. âCommander Reeves? Jynn?â
âIn the flesh.â
âYou canât beâŠâ No. That was impossible. Had to be. No way she could be the Commander they were searching for. No way this person was his missing best friend. In those dreamsâŠ. No. Nightmares. In those nightmares, he saw what she looked like. She was in terrible shape, a walking corpse. And here she was, not in that terrible state, but still equally concerning. âYou canât be her.â He shook his head. But he was moving closer to her.Â
âI am Jynn Gresham Reeves, Central Officer John Bradford.â There was a slight annoyance in her voice as she looked at him with hooded eyes. Saying his title and full name seemed to make him snap too. It was her. But a sigh slipped from her lips. She could understand his disbelief. âThough⊠changed.â
He reached out to her, raising a hand towards her face, but he stopped. He quickly retracted his hand and turned away, covering his mouth. He tried his best to stifle his disbelief, his weeping. This canât be her.
She let out another sigh and shook her head. âJohn.â She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away.
It was a minute or two before he turned to face her again. His eyes were bloodshot. Tears stained his cheeks.
âWhat the hell did They do to you?â
She sighed. Them. She crossed her arms and looked away.Â
âA lot of things.â She didnât know where to start. âThey nearly killed me several times with Their experiments as well as being the brains behind ADVENT. Tactical advisor running 24/7 nearly nonstop for several years. Really should be brain dead from that.â
âSo that theory is trueâŠâ Bradford was always a bit hesitant about that theory, but all the data they had been gathering and just how ADVENT worked leaned towards it being true. And he hated the idea of it being true, even if it meant she was still alive.
 âWonât be surprised if they have a clone of me running the system or some brain scan backup, but I see thereâs some breakdown thatâs been happening since I escaped. Maker said that probably wouldnât work due to several reasons.â She darkly chuckled. She could see the Elders frantically working to make the perfect replica of her, but falling terribly. But she soon sighed.Â
âRaalâMaker⊠I have him to thank that Iâm even alive. A rather benevolent Elder.â She still couldnât believe there was a benevolent one in that Collective and supposedly his mentor had the same mindset as him. Perhaps there were more levelheaded ones under his mentor. âHe tried fixing the damage several times before they ripped me away from him again. Really, my health is still terrible.â
âBenevolent?â Bradford wanted to scoff. None of those things were benevolent with what they did to the Earth.
âTrust me, heâs a good one out of Their mad Collective. Pretty much the only one who was truly concerned about my damn health.â
Health⊠âWhat about your health?â He almost didnât want to ask. But he noticed there was still a strain lingering in her voice, even after whatever she did with that crystal. Â
âI canât put this lightlyâŠ.â She looked away from him. âIâm dying, John.â
âWhat?â Did he hear that correctly? She repeated herself, which only left his mouth hanging. âWhatâŠ? How? Why?â
âWhat the Elders have done to meâŠâ She touched her face, pushing at her sharp cheekbones and the strange platting-like growths that lined them. âTheyâre careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Makerâs warnings.â
âWhat.â To imagine her as one of those abominations was impossible. But thatâs why she looked the way she did. She had some of those familiar features akin to those deathless pests.
âA funny thing, almost a twisted irony of sorts. Iâm more like Them. Parasites feeding on âlesserâ creatures to survive.â She shook her head and laughed. âMaker was right. Something like this would happen.â She looked back at him. A pang of guilt entered her heart. She fed on him. Could have gone too far and nearly killed him. âSorry about draining you earlier. I try to incapacitate the head of the group first and was just a bit hungry.â
Bradford was about to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. He didnât know what to say. He was still trying to process everything.
âAt least that draining wasnât instantaneous.â He cracked a joke. Mainly trying to cheer himself up. She chuckled at that, but soon sighed. âAnd thereâs something else.â What else? He didnât want to hear it.
Jynn raised her hand and let her psionics flow freely from her hand. It took on the shape of a thin, four armed humanoid creature. Looked kind of like the Elders.Â
âIâm missing a part of me. Something happened that day they captured me at the base. I was connected to some being that was helping us. Guiding me.â She tried to explain. âWhen that Muton grabbed me⊠I disconnected to that being and havenât been the same since.â She closed her hand and let the figure dissipate. âEven the Elders knew of whatever was connected to me. Called it the âAscended Oneâ or something like that. Disappointed it was no longer connected with me when They started Their experiments and got me hooked up to their war machine. But They were still looking for it.â
He looked at the figure she made one last time before she let it disappear. Looked exactly like the one that would be behind her in his dreamsâŠ. No. Nightmares. He rubbed his face before dropping the hand to his chin. So much more to process. Nothing made sense. He didnât recall them having an alien on their side back in the day. But then, again some of his memories were shot. He had trauma and alcohol to thank for that. And then so much was going on back then.
âI take itâŠâ He paused, trying to find his words. âI take it youâre looking for this thing?â
She nodded. âBeen at it for a few years now. Why my group moves around a lot.â
He let out an exasperated sigh as he moved over to an open spot on the table and leaned onto it. This canât be happening. But it was. Somehow, all of this was happening.
âSo, what have you been up to?â Jynn switched topics, hoping that would help his mood. She didnât want to dwell on the subject for any longer. Hated thinking about her poor state of health. âI see XCOMâs still alive in some capacity.â
âWeâve been fighting back.â He nodded. âAnd weâve been looking for you.â
âLooking for me?â Her ears perked up.
âI didnât believe you were dead for a second.â He looked at her. He still couldnât believe it. âThey captured you for a reason that day. And the information we found reinforced that⊠and then some dreams⊠visions I had.â
âHuh. Really?â She was surprised to hear that. Even more surprised when he said yes. She was touched. He still believed she was alive in this mad world. But the dreams comment was⊠strange. âHow many thought you were crazy? Wasting resources looking for a ghost from the past?â She knew there had to a good amount of doubters irritated with him, and whoever else, being insistent that she was alive.
âA good handful.â He chuckled, shaking his head.
 But something still bothered him. âSounds like youâve been free from the Eldersâ grasp for a few years.â And if she was, and was with the Skirmishers, she had to know XCOM had come back for quite some time. âI have to ask,â he looked at her, âwhy did you never contact us?â
Her eyes flashed with anger. âDo you see what I look like?â She snarled, eyes glowing for a second. She gasped, catching her outburst and seeing him quickly move away. âSorry⊠sorryâŠâ She backed away for his safety. âThere was no way⊠Iâd have no idea who survived our downfall that would remember more and even be accepting of the new me.â
âRightâŠâ That made sense. Hell, his reaction could have been so much worse when she revealed her identity. How would the others back on the ship react? There were several in the group that were extremely anti-alien. Made working with the Skirmishers tense at times. He was somewhere in the middle. But there were certain aliens he hated more than the others.Â
âNow, you said something about dreams?â She asked. She wanted to make sure she heard that right. âOr did you say visions?â
âBoth. From what the Templars told me.â He said, looking away as he thought about them. He hated them. âReally, they were damn nightmares.â
âExplain.â She was curious.
He did his best to explain the nightmares. They were sporadic. Never really having a set pattern when they would occur and he hated that. But when they would occur, they were horrible. He would see her, just like she was before the base was invaded. But over a short period, her appearance would degrade with a flash. Several times. It was gut wrenching watching her degrade into what he could best describe as a walking corpse, barely hanging onto life. And the worst part for him was he could never reach her. There was always a distance between them. An invisible force keeping them from ever meeting.
Her mouth was agape as she listened. Sounded like he saw her through her stages of experimentation. She partially remembered some of them. Barely lucid and screaming her head off as she fought to escape her fate. Just the details he gave⊠did they have a psionic connection?
âWhy⊠why were they like that?â She didnât want to bring up the psionic connection as a suggestion just yet.
âI really donât knowâŠâ He shook his head. Then he remembered something. âA Templar told me it may be a psionic connection of sorts. A âpsionic bondâ.â He still didnât believe that. He didnât want to. Just the very thought they were visions and what he saw was happening to her always bothered him. âI donât remember you being a psionic back in the day.â
âPsionic connectionâŠâ She muttered under her breath. That just made her curious. Did she do that back then without thinking? âWell, my psionic potential was latent back then.â Something she learned when she was in the Eldersâ clutches. Though she faintly remembered Vahlen wanting to run some tests after a routine health check showed something, but she was far too busy to entertain her. A part of her wanted to bring up the possibility of the bond, but decided against it.
âHuh.â He wondered what Vahlen would have done if she learned about that. Probably would have somehow convinced her to enter one of those sarcophagi for testing, despite everything going on. He chuckled to himself, cracking a smile. But it disappeared as he looked at her face. Just so much was wrong.
 He looked away, retreating back to his thoughts. This was her. It really was her. His mind didnât want to reconcile such a fact. This has to be a dream. A bad dream. Part of him wanted it to be that, but he knew the truth. Felt the truth. His body was still sore after the ambush and he could still feel the lingering tingle from those psionics. This is really her.Â
He turned back to her, this time moving towards her. He looked at her from head to toe. Studying her. This new form twisted by the Elders. Like the Chosen, but a proto-form of sorts. But there were so many familiar features. It was her but⊠she was so changed. And dying. Just why?
The next moment, he hugged her. Tightly wrapping his arms around her, and just cried.
Jynn froze, arms open and drawn back. She was hesitant to touch him. She had been waiting for this, but not so suddenly. A sigh came out as she wrapped her arms around him. Nestling her chin against his head as tears streamed down her face.
Bradford eventually pulled away, but his hands went up to her face, pausing mere inches away. Hesitant to touch her, but he eventually did. He ran his fingers down her jawline, expecting to feel any remnants of pulled ports under the skin, something some Skirmishers did once they were freed. But there was nothing. It was smooth, besides the wrinkled skin. Why did she have to look like them?
 She seemed unfazed by him doing that. Almost expecting him to do that. She welcomed it. The touch of an old friend. His hands felt nice. A bit rough from calluses, but nice.
âAt least they let me keep my freckles.â A little joke to lighten the mood. He chuckled for a moment before the sadness returned.
âAll of this⊠why?â Part of him desperately wanted to know.
That. She let out a huff. She wouldnât keep the truth from him.
âThey wanted an asset and weapon in more ways than one.â She explained. âXCOM was coming back. What better way than to have the leader of said group be the one to crush it?â The Elders enjoyed doing that. The Hunter was a fine example of that. A Reaper turned against his own kind. âAnd They donât care if they have to break you to remake you. Even when one of their brightest advises against it.â
ââŠWhy.â
Hearing that just hurt him deeply. To imagine, if she was still in Their clutches, she would be one of those Chosen. Having to fight an old friend for Earthâs freedom. How would have that gone? What would they have done if they had learned of her identity? What would he have done?
âAnd youâre dying?â Part of him just didnât want to believe that. Just hoped that wasnât true.
âYep.â Sad eyes told all. âI feel it every day. Always feels like Iâm teetering on the edge. Iâve had several extensive medical scans and aâŠ. benefactor⊠not MakerâŠ.â Really⊠she questioned if she could call that Voice such a thing. âTheyâve confirmed it too.â
âBenefactor?â
âThatâs hard to explain⊠makes me feel insane most days.â She sighed.Â
She reached up to her collar of her under armor and pulled it down. From the chin down, her skin was black. An unnatural black. Like something had charred it black. And there was something else. Eyes. Sharp blue eyes that looked like tattoos were near the center of her neck. Four in total. But there were some others on her neck where more eyes could be, except they were closed.
âWhat the hellâŠâ
âA gift from my âbenefactorâ.â She questioned if she could even call it that. âSomething the Elders fear and it equally hates Them for some transgression They committed against it⊠him⊠I donât know. And then several other species Theyâve screwed with heâs âfriendsâ with.â She shook her head. âFeels pity for me for what Theyâve and has helped stabilize my form to a point⊠against my permission.â
Some alien that hates the Elders? At first he thought they may have had an ally until she continued to describe this being. Sounded like she didnât like it. Trusted them even less. âThis benefactor helped you?â
She nodded. âHe wants to help me more. More offers to heal the damage. But I donât trust him. Iâve refused them.â She really didnât trust it, though its words were sweet and soothing. âThe Elders fear it for a reason, though Theyâre not innocent from Their crimes.â
âI take it this being is still making offers?â He asked. She nodded.
âHeâs patient⊠Scarily patient⊠The offers havenât stopped.â She shook her head again. This time she hugged herself. âSometimes⊠Somedays⊠Iâm tempted to accept them just to be me again. Human once more.â It was such a dangerous temptation and she had a feeling if she accepted, something terrible would befall her.
âDamn, JynnâŠâ
How long had she been suffering? Living such a tortured existence? A cosmic plaything from the sound of it. This is so much worse than his fears of finding her in some lab dissected like some animal and⊠hopefully dead.Â
He dropped his hands to her shoulders. Head lowering, gaze fixed on the ground, as he dug his fingers into her shoulders. She sigh and patted his back. She hadnât let go.
âI never got to tell youâŠâ
Should he tell her? This could be my only chance. She is dying. How long will she live if this canât be fixed?
âTell me what? John?â She noticed something glisten, falling to the floor. Tears again. They must have been flowing.Â
He tightened his grip again as he took in several shaky breaths. He raised his head. Those tears were flowing, just streaming down his face.Â
âThat I love you.â He finally said it. Fighting off any hesitation that wanted to come through. Felt like an enormous weight was taken off his chest.
She blinked once. Then twice. Eyes darted around before focusing back on him. He looked serious. Did she hear that correctly?
âW-w-what?â
âI love you, Jynn.â He repeated himself. More confidence in his voice. âIâve had these feelings since we were teenagers.â Sometimes he wondered how she never noticed it back then, but she was rather oblivious to guys flirting at her kin high school. âJust kept it under wraps when we met again because of the Invasion. Couldnât have them getting in the way. Keep it strictly business.âÂ
âUhâŠâ Her mouth hung open. She wasnât sure how to respond to that. This was a revelation to her. Her lack of response did not surprise him. Probably not the best time to tell her, but he needed to get it off his chest.
âI am such an idiotâŠâ She let out an exasperated sigh.
âHuh?â Not the response he was expecting.
She shook her head and smacked her forehead with her palm. âMy mother was always the one to point out guys that had a crush on me and Iâd just ignore her. She did the same with you!â
âReally?â He asked, holding back a snort in-between sniffles. She nodded.
âHell!â She smacked her head again. âExplains why my dad was fine with me hanging out with you so much.â
âReally?â Another surprising detail. He and Mr. Reeves had a friendly relationship, but he found her father to be a rather intimidating person when he was younger. âHe did scare me.âÂ
âSeriously?â She held back a snort.
âTo a teenager, a military man like him was very intimidating.â
She thought for a moment. A snort slipped out. âYouâve got a point there.â
The two hugged again. Just holding onto each other. Neither really wanted to let go. It had been so long and it felt right.
During the time, she looked at his features. How the years and stress had aged him. She wondered if the scar on his cheek came from the day the base was attacked. Probably wasnât his only scar from that day and over the years. She ran his fingers through his hair a few times. Seemed like he didnât mind. In fact, seemed like he welcomed it with the happy âhmâ that slipped out. It surprised her to see him let his hair grow a bit, but he had an odd haircut going on. Partially shaved, starting just above his ears.
âAbout the hairâŠâ She said, breaking the silence. Fingers toying with the little âtuftâ of hair. âInteresting cut.â
âFelt like letting it grow out.â
âBut the partial shave?â She asked next, fingers feeling the border between the shaved and non-shaved side. He just shrugged. He didnât really have an answer.
âHuh.â She just chuckled. âThe little tuft is cute.â She flicked it.
Eventually, Bradford pulled away from her. Almost having to pry himself from her grasp. He didnât want to move away, but he needed to breathe. Just so many thoughts and emotions were going through his head. He paced around the cabin as he rubbed his face.Â
At least she didnât negatively react to me sharing my feelings. He was happy that didnât sour the mood.
As he paced, he looked around the room. Eyes falling onto the maps, photos, and blueprints. One photo had a big red circle around it and a quick note scribbled next to it that said âSEND TO BETOSâ.
Betos.
âSo how long have you been with the Skirmishers?â He asked. He had stopped in front of the photo that had the note. He noticed another photo circled and an arrow pointing to a location. And another note saying, âSCOPE OUT MORE. HIGH SECURITY. HIGH PRIEST IS HEAD OF SECURITY. MAY BE THE PLACE. WILL NEED BACKUP. KEEP IT STEALTHY.â
âAbout five years or so.â She said. âStill not fully one of them, to be honest.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
âWell, how Iâm more nomadic for staters and Iâve never told Betos my identity.â She explained. âShe never pressed me again once I told her it was for my safety and hers if she never knew it. Last thing I need is the Chosen knowing who Iâm with. Especially Jax-Rai, the Assassin.âÂ
She and her group had far too many close calls with her. She was thankful Jax-Rai never used her psionics like Dhay-Vol, the Warlock. Would have figured out who she was ages ago, but thankfully her identity was still hidden from them. But she piqued their collective interest. A psionically capable âhybridâ was running around with the Skirmishers. That caused a new set of problems for her.
âThose things.â He grimaced. He had received some intel from the other factions that those three were hunting something for the Elders, but they didnât know what. Information was always classified, on another network they had no clue of how to reach. Now he knew it was her.
âTheyâve been annoying.â Which was an understatement. âI avoid Dhay-Vol the best I can. Trying to hide my psionic signature when heâs on his hunt is nerve-wracking.â She hated him the most. Had to fry his brain on a few occasions just to escape. Somehow, he was still oblivious to her identity. Should have picked up her psionic signature from her attacks. But maybe her benefactor, that Voice, was hiding it? That thought crossed her mind many times. He could have altered her signature ever so slightly to aid her.
 âJax-Rai is a pain and I think Iâve pissed her off with how much my people and I have escaped. And weâve bested her a few times.â She shook her head, but chuckled. âThough I think she enjoys the chase. Kind of like her brother, the Hunter. Though not as madâŠâ She bit her lip. âKon-Ris⊠I feel like heâs figured out who I am⊠but is keeping it secret for some reason.â
He couldnât imagine the amount of stress she was under having to hide from those three. But her comment about the Hunter interested him. The wildcard of the siblings. âHeâs figured you out?â
âThink so. Said a few things he shouldnât know about me. Enjoys calling me Gresham and brings up XCOM a lot.â
âAnd he hasnât told the others or the Elders?â
âHates his siblings and hates the Elders even more⊠Probably some part of his brain blocks the info from the Elders.â She was curious how They hadnât picked that detail up yet. âHeâs always been a wildcard for the Elders after an incident with the Reapers happened that made him more flippant. Why he hunts ADVENT and aliens too.â
âHuh.â That was interesting.
âSo whatâs this?â He pointed at the photo with the note of wanting to scope out some facility with high security. And the photo showed that. There were standard Troopers and MECS all over the place.
âHm?â She went over to see what he was pointing at. âOh that. I have a feeling thatâs where they may have my âbackup brainâ running. Want to take it out. Disrupt their tactical information network again.â
âAh.â He simply nodded. He would have to ask about that in greater detail another time. Still couldnât believe that theory was true. Explained how ADVENT worked like a well-oiled machine since they were founded.
âSo, whenâs the raid happening?â He asked.
âStill in the works. Have to scope it out more and request backup from the local Skirmisher clans.â She shook her head. âThough I want to keep it stealthy as possible. Donât want them teleporting the asset and any other backups out of the place before we get to it.â
âHm.â Smart. He knew he had some facilities he had people scouting. Get as more information as you can before striking. But there was always a risk. He thought for a moment as he rubbed his chin. âWell, you could⊠join us. Join XCOM.â He suggested. âWeâd be glad to back you up. Glad to have you back.â
She blinked a few times as her eyes went wide. Both brows raised high. He has to be kidding. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.Â
âXCOM is your home.â
âJohnâŠâ She wasnât sure of that anymore.
âOur medical team may be able to help you.â He almost sounded desperate as he said that. âHell, the Templars may be able to help you!â
It was a tempting offer, but she wasnât so sure.
âWhat will your people think of me?â She asked. âIs there anyone there besides you that knows me?â
âCorvo Samaras.â He quickly responded. As if he was prepared for that question. âHe was one of the training officers that moved between the bases fairly frequently. Got nicknamed the âslave master monkâ by most of the recruits.âÂ
After naming him, he started naming more. Soldiers, doctors, engineers, and other staff that had survived the downfall of all the bases. She covered her mouth as she listened to him. But from her trembling eyes betrayed her. She recognized several of the names.
âSo many of you⊠so many of you guys survived.â
âAnd weâre still finding more as the years pass by.â He smiled. âMost havenât given up the fight. Theyâve been eager to join up with us.âÂ
She looked away, bitting her lip. Join them. It was such a tempting offer. XCOM was her home. But so much had change. She had changed. âBut what will they think of me?â That was something he didnât want to think about, but knew it would be a problem.
âI know some back on the ship will be hesitant. Some wonât agreeâŠâ He knew several were very anti-alien; including Hybrids. They were barely tolerant of the Skirmishers and any aliens that had defected. Given the opportunity, they would kill them. It was rough keeping that from happening with some meetings and joint missions.
âBut youâŠâ He gestured to her. âYouâre alive.â He felt like that was the only thing that mattered. âI donât think I can let this chance meeting be a secret⊠Canât just suddenly drop the search for you. Some will question that.â
He had a point there.
âI donât know.â But she was unsure. She turned away, taking a few steps away from him. âI have to think about it.â
He reached out to her, but stopped himself. âJust think about it.â
âBut I must ask⊠which part of you is asking this?â She glanced over her shoulder. âThat military side of you? Or the part that loves me?â That declaration was still on her mind.
He looked away, closing his eyes. âBoth.â He couldnât lie. He didnât want to lose her again.
âHm.â Thatâs⊠concerning. But made sense. It just made her leery.
She paced around the room as she mulled over his offer. It was so tempting, but she had her worries. And then what would her people think? She couldnât just leave them behind. She shook her head. Like they would let that happen. They would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no matter what. They told her that on several occasions. Swearing their loyalty to her despite her protests. They were beyond grateful that they were free of the Eldersâ enslavement.
She looked back over at him. He had busied himself with looking at the intel.
âMaybeâŠâ She muttered as she went back over to him. âMaybe I can join⊠rejoin XCOM. My people and I can join you all.â
âHm?â He glanced over his shoulder. Looked like he was deep in his thoughts. It took him a moment to process what she said. âWould they be fine with that?â
She nodded. âMy people are flexible. Practically have sworn their loyalty to me. They listen to me first before listening to Betos.â That was a headache, but somehow they worked around it.
âHuh.â Looked like she never lost her commanding skills. That made him smile. âHave to figure out the logistics, but we can always use more people. Though integrating Hybrids is going to be interesting.â
âGuess weâll just have to see what happens when you introduce us to everyone.â
âRight.â He said, then sighed. âThink I need to send a warning first so a few of the levelheaded staff can help me. Got a radio I can borrow?â
âThat sounds smart. And yes, we do.â
Bradford looked at his watch, then over to the window. Through the slits of the curtain, he could see the sun disappearing behind the trees as the sky darkened.
âThink we may be staying for the night.â Was probably for the best. Never fun trekking through a forest in the night. Anything could happen.
âSleeping quarters should be prepared for you all by now.â She said. âAnd we should have enough food to go around.â
âThanks for the generosity.â And he meant it.
âItâs what we do.â She smiled.
âBack to joining⊠rejoining XCOM⊠I would like to snuff out the local raiders before leaving. A bunch of psychopaths.â She said. A hiss slipped out as she wrinkled her nose. The world was already hard to live in with ADVENT running things, and some people just had to make it worse. No ounce of empathy. No sense of remorse. Everyone was fair game as they pillaged any camp, haven, or âauthorizeâ settlement they came across. Especially the weak.
âI think we can help with that. Wonât be leaving this region for a while.â
âSounds likes a plan.â
She then gently patted his back a few times before heading to the door.
âNow, letâs get your current crew updated on who I am and whatâs going on.â She said as she unlocked it. âAnd then go from there.â
He nodded and followed. âItâs going to be interesting telling them. Laney may remember you. Sheâs another soldier that spent most of her time in the main HQ.â
âLaney?â The name didnât ring a bell.
âLaney Stavros. She was a medic. Still is a medic.âÂ
âStill doesnât ring a bell.â
âMaybe seeing her face should jog some memories.â
âMaybe.â Hopefully it would do the trick. There was a glimmer in her eye. She was somewhat excited to meet a survivor from the old base.
âAlsoâŠâ She paused as she opened the door. âWeâre going to have to talk about this⊠love⊠thing.â He was waiting for that.
He nodded, a small sigh slipped out. âI know.â
âIt could become quite troublesome when I rejoââ
âI know.â He cut her off. He knew the risks. âIâll try to push it to the side, butâŠâ He paused, sighing as he looked away for a second. He turned back and looked her in the eyes. âI donât want to lose you again.â
Her brows scrunched together, part of her lips turned into a grimace. âHm.â Her eyes flashed blue for a second. She was picking up a lot of strong emotions from him. And a lot of conflicting ones. âAnd you still feel this way, especially after seeing how I am now?â
âYes.â There was no hesitation in his voice.
She closed her eyes and huffed. What to say? She didnât know what to say. Now she was feeling conflicted. She felt something deep inside of her. Almost as if she felt the same way towards him, but wasnât so sure. And then her current state of health wasnât helping. She couldnât reciprocate those feelings. She needed to dwell on them. Dwell on them for a long while.Â
âWeâll⊠weâll discuss this later.â She continued out the door.
âUnderstood.â He nodded and followed. âIâll hold you to it.â
âDonât make me regret it.â
Where would the future take them?
#Fic: Ne Cede Malis#Xcom#Xcom 2#XCOM 2 Au#writings#xcom commander#central officer bradford#john central bradford#xcom john bradford#commander Reeves#XCOM 2 WOTC#OC: Jynn Gresham Reeves#*Jynn Gresham Reeves#Proto-Chosen Commander#Ship: Breaking Protocol#Ship: Surface Tension
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
R&B/Pop/Alternative Albums 2021
1.Mac Ayers â Magic 8Ball
2.Jazmine Sullivan â Heaux Tales
3.VanJess â HomeGrown
4.Jake&Papa â Blackberry Winter
5.Shelley FKA DRAM â Shelley FKA DRAM
6.Jaz Elise â The Golden Hour
7.H.E.R. â Back of My Mind
8.Kenyon Dixon â Expectations
9.Sinead Harnett â Ready is Always Too Late
10.Tiara Imani â Cycles â EP
11.Otis Kane â Purple BLUE
12.Tone Stith â FWM
13.Snoh Aalegra â Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies
14.Emotional Oranges â The Juicebox
15.Elhae â Aura III
16.JMSN â Heal Me
17.Dixson â Darling
18.Vedo â 1320
19.Charlotte Day Wilson â Alpha (Deluxe)
20.Sevyn Streeter â Drunken Wordz Sober Thoughtz
21.Kyle Dion â Sassy
22.Leon Bridges â Gold-Diggers Sound (Deluxe)
23.Sammy Johnson â Cool & Easy
24.Jael â Half As Much
25.Gallant â Neptune
26.Jordan Hawkins â Heart Wonât Stop
27.Willow â lately I feel EVERYTHING
28.JoJo â Trying Not to Think About It
29.Jael â Half As Much
30.Otis Kane â Growing Pains â EP
31.Prince â Welcome 2 America
32.James Blake â Friends That Break Your Heart
33.Eric Bellinger & Hit Maka â 1-800-Hit-Eazy
34.Raheem DeVaughn & Apollo Brown â Lovesick
35.Nao â And Then Life Was Beautiful
36.NBDY â Tunnel Vision
37.Bren Joy â Twenties (Deluxe)
38.DVSN & Ty Dolla $ign â Cheers to the Best Memories
39.Kevin Ross â Drive 2
40.Cleo Sol â Mother
41.Robin Thicke â On Earth, and in Heaven
42.Destin Conrad â Colorway
43.John Mayer â Sob Rock
44.Anthony Hamilton â Love Is The New Black
45.Aaron Childs â Peach â EP
46.Tems â If Orange Was a Place â EP
47.Kaytranada â Intimidated â EP
48.Otis Kane â November Love Notes
49.Brandy Haze â Silhouette â EP
50.Teflon â Years A Pain
51.Bathe â Bicoastal
52.King Sis â Ascension
53.Malia â Unpolished
54.Trevor Jackson â The Love Language
55.Summer Walker â Still Over It
56.Dayglow â Harmony House
57.Pink Sweat$ â Pink Planet
58.Arlo Parks â Collapsed In Sunbeams (Deluxe)
59.Jesse Royal â Royal
60.Majid Jordan â Wildest Dreams
61.Tone Stith â Still FWM
62.Silk Sonic â An Evening With Silk Sonic
63.Mariah the Scientist â Ry Ry World
64.Grace Webber â A Beautiful Space (Deluxe)
65.Zacari â SOL - EP
66.Joyce Wrice â Overgrown
67.Kelly Rowland â K â EP
68.Lucky Daye â Table For Two
69.Thando â Alive Again
70.Adele â 30
71.Joy Crookes â Skin
72.Kara Marni â State of Mind
73.Sky â Good Grief: 3am (slowed + reverb)
74.Michael Montano â The Wedding Album
75.Stokley â Sankofa
76.Doja Cat â Planet Her (Deluxe)
77.BJ the Chicago Kid â 4 AM â EP
78.Eric Bellinger â New Light
79.Donnell Jones â 100% Free
80.Roe â My Way
81.Puma Blue â In Praise of Shadows
82.UMI â Introspection Reimagined
83.Alina Baraz â Sunbeam â EP
84.India Shawn â Before We Go
85.Alicia Keys â Keys
86.Various Artists â My Way Riddim
87.Vandelux â Dream State
88.Emanuel â ALT Therapy
89.Joshua Henry â Grow
90.Thuy â I hope you see this
91.Sky â Good Grief
92.UB40 â Bigga Baggariddim
93.Black Coffee â Subconsciously
94.Weezer â Van Weezer
95.Rotimi â All or Nothing
96.Maria Isabel â I hope youâre very unhappy without me
97.Jvck James â Joyride â EP
98.Alina Baraz â Moongate â EP
99.Tiwa Savage â Water & Garri â EP
100.Hiatus Kaiyote â Mood Valiant
101.Jaas â Unavailable
102.Justine Skye â Space and Time
103.Maroon 5 â Jordi (Deluxe)
104.Jorja Smith â Be Right Back
105.Njomza â Limbo
106.Marc E. Bassy â Little Men
107.Brandy Haze â Thatâs Unfortunate â EP
108.Romero Mosley â Roâs Colored Glasses
109.James Vickery â Songs that Made Me Feel
110.Phabo â Soulquarius
111.Jake&Papa â Octobuary
112.Hayley Williams â Flowers for Vases/decansos
113.Celeste â Not Your Muse (Deluxe)
114.Amaal â Milly
115.Candice Pillay â The Rise â EP
116.Sy Ari Da Kid â Itâs Not You, Itâs Me
117.Andra Day â The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music From The Motion Picture)
118.The Black Keys â Delta Kream
119.Ed Sheeran â =
120.Lion Babe â Rainbow Child
121.Jenevieve â Division
122.Yebba â Dawn
123.Alex Mali â Iconic
124.Skylar Stecker â Earth Signs
125.Weezer â OK Human
126.Abby Jasmine â I Hate You 2 â EP
127.Moonga K â Candid â EP
128.Flozigg â Beige â EP
129.Brandy Haze â Silhouette â EP
130.Arya Starr â 19 & Dangerous
131.Tinashe â 333
132.Maeta â Habits
133.Charlie Heat â Valentineâs Son
134.H-Town â Date Night
135.Madison Beer â Life Support
136.Popcaan â Gyalentineâs
137.Miguel â Art Dealer Chic 4 â EP
138.Ebhoni â X â EP
139.Jessy Rose â Are You Home â EP
140.Blackbear â misery lake â EP
141.Sy Ari Da Kid â Alone But Not Lonely
142.Filah Lah Lah â Weâre Gonna Be Just Fine
143.Halsey â If I Canât Have Love, I Want Power
144.Norelle â A Story About Love
145.Lyfe Jennings & Amina Buddafly â The Six Pack EP, Vol. 1
146.Everything Is Recorded, Clipz & Jumpinâ Jack Frost â Saturday Specials: The CLIPZ Remixes
147.Vampire Weekend â 40:42
148.Lorde â Solar Power (Deluxe)
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
shuffle it up baby!
rules: weâre snooping in your playlist! put your entire music library on shuffle and list the first 10 songs and then choose 10 victims.
I was tagged by @ladybugsimblr @tiallussims @boolproppin
1. Remain by Royal Tailor
2. Righteous Rising by Joshua Dufrene
3. Jesus Saves by Myron Butler & Levi
4. Hills & Valleys by Tauren Wells
5. Feel Again by DJ Maj feat. Beckah Shae
6. One by Mali Music
7. That Ainât Nothing by Fred Hammond
8. Nothing Else by Gatton, sxxnt
9. Sweeter by Deitrick Haddon
10. Cabinet Battle #2 - Instrumental by Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton
I havenât been paying attention to whoâs been tagged, so apologies if you have already. @bbdoll @therichantsim @wifemomsimmer @mysimsloveaffair @geeky-simz @hazelminesims @helloavocadooo @lazysunjade @maladi777Â
24 notes
·
View notes
Text
GRAMMYs Awards 2021
GENERAL FIELD
Record Of The Year: âEVERYTHING I WANTEDâ â Billie Eilish Finneas OâConnell, producer; Rob Kinelski & Finneas OâConnell, engineers/mixers; John Greenham, mastering engineer
Album Of The Year: âFOLKLOREâ â Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Jonathan Low & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Song Of The Year: âI CANâT BREATHEâ â Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.)
Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion
POP
Best Pop Solo Performance: âWATERMELON SUGARâ â Harry Styles
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: âRAIN ON MEâ â Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: âAMERICAN STANDARDâ â James Taylor
Best Pop Vocal Album: âFUTURE NOSTALGIAâ â Dua Lipa
DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC
Best Dance Recording: â10%â â Kaytranada Featuring Kali Uchis Kaytranada, producer; Neal H. Pogue, mixer
Best Dance/Electronic Album: âBUBBAâ â Kaytranada
CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: âLIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALLâ â Snarky Puppy
ROCK
Best Rock Performance: âSHAMEIKAâ â Fiona Apple
Best Metal Performance: âBUM-RUSHâ â Body Count
Best Rock Song: âSTAY HIGHâ â Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
Best Rock Album: âTHE NEW ABNORMALâ â The Strokes
ALTERNATIVE
Best Alternative Music Album: âFETCH THE BOLT CUTTERSâ â Fiona Apple
R&B
Best R&B Performance: âBLACK PARADEâ â BeyoncĂ©
Best Traditional R&B Performance: âANYTHING FOR YOUâ â Ledisi
Best R&B Song: âBETTER THAN I IMAGINEDâ â Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson, songwriters (Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R. & Meshell Ndegeocello)
Best Progressive R&B Album: âIT IS WHAT IT ISâ â Thundercat
Best R&B Album: âBIGGER LOVEâ â John Legend
RAP
Best Rap Performance: âSAVAGE ââ Megan Thee Stallion Featuring BeyoncĂ©
Best Melodic Rap Performance: âLOCKDOWNâ â Anderson .Paak
Best Rap Song: âSAVAGEâ â BeyoncĂ©, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe & Anthony White, songwriters (Megan Thee Stallion Featuring BeyoncĂ©)
Best Rap Album: âKINGâS DISEASEâ â Nas
COUNTRY
Best Country Solo Performance: âWHEN MY AMY PRAYSâ â Vince Gill
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: â10,000 HOURSâ â Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
Best Country Song: âCROWDED TABLEâ â Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna, songwriters (The Highwomen)
Best Country Album: âWILDCARDâ â Miranda Lambert
NEW AGE
Best New Age Album: âMORE GUITAR STORIESâ â Jim âKimoâ West
JAZZ
Best Improvised Jazz Solo: âALL BLUESâ â Chick Corea, soloist Track from: Trilogy 2 (Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade)
Best Jazz Vocal Album: âSECRETS ARE THE BEST STORIESâ â Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo PĂ©rez
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: âTRILOGY 2â â Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: âDATA LORDSâ â Maria Schneider Orchestra
Best Latin Jazz Album: âFOUR QUESTIONSâ â Arturo OâFarrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC
Best Gospel Performance/Song: âMOVINâ ONâ â Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music; Darryl L. Howell, Jonathan Caleb McReynolds, Kortney Jamaal Pollard & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: âTHERE WAS JESUSâ â Zach Williams & Dolly Parton; Casey Beathard, Jonathan Smith & Zach Williams, songwriters
Best Gospel Album: âGOSPEL ACCORDING TO PJâ â PJ Morton
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: âJESUS IS KINGâ â Kanye West
Best Roots Gospel Album: âCELEBRATING FISK! (THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY ALBUM)â â Fisk Jubilee Singers
LATIN
Best Latin Pop or Urban Album: âYHLQMDLGâ â Bad Bunny
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: âLA CONQUISTA DEL ESPACIOâ âFito Paez
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano): âUN CANTO POR MĂXICO, VOL. 1â â Natalia Lafourcade
Best Tropical Latin Album: â40â â Grupo Niche
AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC
Best American Roots Performance: âI REMEMBER EVERYTHINGâ â John Prine
Best American Roots Song: âI REMEMBER EVERYTHINGâ â Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)
Best Americana Album: âWORLD ON THE GROUNDâ â Sarah Jarosz
Best Bluegrass Album: âHOMEâ â Billy Strings
Best Traditional Blues Album: âRAWER THAN RAWâ â Bobby Rush
Best Contemporary Blues Album: âHAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET?â âFantastic Negrito
Best Folk Album: âALL THE GOOD TIMESâ â Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Best Regional Roots Music Album: âATMOSPHEREâ â New Orleans Nightcrawlers
REGGAE
Best Reggae Album: âGOT TO BE TOUGHâ â Toots & The Maytals
GLOBAL MUSIC
Best Global Music Album: âTWICE AS TALLâ â Burna Boy
CHILDRENâS
Best Childrenâs Music Album: âALL THE LADIESâ â Joanie Leeds
SPOKEN WORD
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): âBLOWOUT: CORRUPTED DEMOCRACY, ROGUE STATE RUSSIA, AND THE RICHEST, MOST DESTRUCTIVE INDUSTRY ON EARTHâ â Rachel Maddow
COMEDY
Best Comedy Album: âBLACK MITZVAHâ â Tiffany Haddish
MUSICAL THEATER
Best Musical Theater Album: âJAGGED LITTLE PILLâ â Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten & Elizabeth Stanley, principal soloists; Neal Avron, Pete Ganbarg, Tom Kitt, Michael Parker, Craig Rosen & Vivek J. Tiwary, producers (Glen Ballard, composer; Alanis Morissette, composer & lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast)
MUSIC FOR VISUAL MEDIA
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media: âJOJO RABBITâ â (Various Artists) Taika Waititi, compilation producer
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: âJOKERâ â Hildur GuĂ°nadĂłttir, composer
Best Song Written For Visual Media: âNO TIME TO DIE [FROM NO TIME TO DIE]â â Billie Eilish OâConnell & Finneas Baird OâConnell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
COMPOSING/ARRANGING
Best Instrumental Composition: âSPUTNIKâ â Maria Schneider, composer (Maria Schneider)
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella: âDONNA LEEâ â John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley)
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals: âHE WONâT HOLD YOUâ âJacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier Featuring Rapsody)
PACKAGE
Best Recording Package: âVOLS. 11 & 12â â Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, art directors (Desert Sessions)
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package: âODE TO JOYâ â Lawrence Azerrad & Jeff Tweedy, art directors (Wilco)
NOTES
Best Album Notes: âDEAD MANâS POPâ â Bob Mehr, album notes writer (The Replacements)
HISTORICAL
Best Historical Album: âITâS SUCH A GOOD FEELING: THE BEST OF MISTER ROGERSâ â Lee Lodyga & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Mister Rogers)
PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: âHYPERSPACEâ â Drew Brown, Julian Burg, Andrew Coleman, Paul Epworth, Shawn Everett, Serban Ghenea, David Greenbaum, John Hanes, Beck Hansen, Jaycen Joshua, Greg Kurstin, Mike Larson, Cole M.G.N., Alex Pasco & Matt Wiggins, engineers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer (Beck)
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical: ANDREW WATT
âą Break My Heart (Dua Lipa) (T) âą Me And My Guitar (A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie) (T) âą Midnight Sky (Miley Cyrus) (S) âą Old Me (5 Seconds Of Summer) (T) âą Ordinary Man (Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Elton John) (T) âą Take What You Want (Post Malone Featuring Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott) (T) âą Under The Graveyard (Ozzy Osbourne) (T)
Best Remixed Recording: âROSES (IMANBEK REMIX)â â Imanbek Zeikenov, remixer (SAINt JHN)
PRODUCTION, IMMERSIVE AUDIO
Best Immersive Audio Album: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Best Immersive Audio Album Craft Committee was unable to meet. The judging of the entries in this category has been postponed until such time that we are able to meet in a way that is appropriate to judge the many formats and configurations of the entries and is safe for the committee members. The nominations for the 63rd GRAMMYs will be announced next year in addition to (and separately from) the 64th GRAMMY nominations in the category
PRODUCTION, CLASSICAL
Best Engineered Album, Classical: âSHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY NO. 13, âBABI YARâ â David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Producer Of The Year, Classical: DAVID FROST
 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9 (Jonathan Biss) âą Gershwin: Porgy And Bess (David Robertson, Frederick Ballentine, Angel Blue, Denyce Graves, Latonia Moore, Eric Owens, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus) âą Gluck: OrphĂ©e & Eurydice (Harry Bicket, Dmitry Korchak, Andriana Chuchman, Lauren Snouffer, Lyric Opera Of Chicago Orchestra & Chorus) âą Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony) âą Muhly: Marnie (Robert Spano, Isabel Leonard, Christopher Maltman, Denyce Graves, Iestyn Davies, Janis Kelly, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus) âą Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D. 845, D. 894, D. 958, D. 960 (Shai Wosner) âą Shostakovich: Symphony â13, âBabi Yarâ (Riccardo Muti, Alexey Tikhomirov, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
CLASSICAL
Best Orchestral Performance: âIVES: COMPLETE SYMPHONIESâ â Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Best Opera Recording: âGERSHWIN: PORGY AND BESSâ â David Robertson, conductor; Frederick Ballentine, Angel Blue, Denyce Graves, Latonia Moore & Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Best Choral Performance: âDANIELPOUR: THE PASSION OF YESHUAHâ â JoAnn Falletta, conductor; James K. Bass & Adam Luebke, chorus masters (James K. Bass, JâNai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann & Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus & UCLA Chamber Singers)
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: âCONTEMPORARY VOICESâ â Pacifica Quartet
Best Classical Instrumental Solo: âTHEOFANIDIS: CONCERTO FOR VIOLA AND CHAMBER ORCHESTRAâ â Richard OâNeill; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album: âSMYTH: THE PRISONâ â Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)
Best Classical Compendium: âTHOMAS, M.T.: FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK & MEDITATIONS ON RILKEââ Isabel Leonard; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer
Best Contemporary Classical Composition: âROUSE: SYMPHONY NO. 5â â Christopher Rouse, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
MUSIC VIDEO/FILM
Best Music Video: âBROWN SKIN GIRLâ â BeyoncĂ©, Blue Ivy & WizKid , BeyoncĂ© Knowles-Carter & Jenn Nkiru, video directors; Astrid Edwards, Aya Kaida, Jean Mougin, Nathan Scherrer & Erinn Williams, video producers
Best Music Film: âLINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICEâ â Linda Ronstadt, Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, video directors; Michele Farinola & James Keach, video producers
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
2021 Grammy Awards: The List.
New age
Best New Age Album
More Guitar Stories â Jim "Kimo" West
Songs from the Bardo â Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal & Jesse Paris Smith
Periphery â Priya Darshini
Form//Less â Superposition
Meditations â Cory Wong & Jon Batiste
Jazz
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
"All Blues" â Chick Corea, soloist
"Guinnevere" â Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, soloist
"Pachamama" â Regina Carter, soloist
"Tomorrow is the Question" â Julian Lage, soloist
"Celia" â Gerald Clayton, soloist
"Moe Honk" â Joshua Redman, soloist
Best Jazz Vocal Album
Secrets are the Best Stories â Kurt Elling featuring Danilo PĂ©rez
ONA â Thana Alexa
Modern Ancestors â Carmen Lundy
Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper â Somi With Frankfurt Radio Big Band
What's the Hurry â Kenny Washington
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Trilogy 2 â Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade
on the tender spot of every calloused moment â Ambrose Akinmusire
Waiting Game â Terri Lyne Carrington and Social Science
Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard â Gerald Clayton
RoundAgain â Redman Mehldau McBride Blade
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Data Lords â Maria Schneider Orchestra
Dialogues on Race â Gregg August
Monk'estra Plays John Beasley â John Beasley
The Intangible Between â Orrin Evans and The Captain Black Big Band
Songs You Like a Lot â John Hollenbeck with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, Gary Versace and The Frankfurt Radio Big Band
Best Latin Jazz Album
Four Questions â Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Tradiciones â Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra
City of Dreams â Chico Pinheiro
Viento y Tiempo - Live at Blue Note Tokyo â Gonzalo Rubalcaba & AymĂ©e Nuviola
Trane's Delight â Poncho Sanchez
Gospel/contemporary Christian music
Best Gospel Performance/Song
"Movin' On"
Darryl L. Howell, Jonathan Caleb McReynolds, Kortney Jamaal Pollard & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters (Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music)
"Wonderful is Your Name"
Melvin Crispell III, songwriter (Melvin Crispell III)
"Release (Live)"
David Frazier, songwriter (Ricky Dillard featuring Tiff Joy)
"Come Together"
Lashawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Lecrae Moore & Jazz Nixon, songwriters (Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Presents: The Good News)
"Won't Let Go"
Travis Greene, songwriter (Travis Greene)
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
"There Was Jesus"
Casey Beathard, Jonathan Smith & Zach Williams, songwriters (Zach Williams & Dolly Parton)
"The Blessing (Live)"
Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe Carnes & Steven Furtick, songwriters (Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes & Elevation Worship)
"Sunday Morning"
Denisia Andrews, Jones Terrence Antonio, Saint Bodhi, Brittany Coney, Kirk Franklin, Lasanna Harris, Shama Joseph, Stuart Lowery, Lecrae Moore & Nathanael Saint-Fleur, songwriters (Lecrae featuring Kirk Franklin)
"Holy Water"
Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash, Franni Cash, Martin Cash & Scott Cash, songwriters (We the Kingdom)
"Famous For (I Believe)"
Chuck Butler, Krissy Nordhoff, Jordan Sapp, Alexis Slifer & Tauren Wells, songwriters (Tauren Wells featuring Jenn Johnson)
Best Gospel Album
Gospel According to PJ â PJ Morton
2econd Wind: ReadY â Anthony Brown & group therAPy
My Tribute â Myron Butler
Choirmaster â Ricky Dillard
Kierra â Kierra Sheard
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Jesus Is King â Kanye West
Run to The Father â Cody Carnes
All of My Best Friends â Hillsong Young & Free
Holy Water â We the Kingdom
Citizen of Heaven â Tauren Wells
Best Roots Gospel Album
Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album) â Fisk Jubilee Singers
Beautiful Day â Mark Bishop
20/20 â The Crabb Family
What Christmas Really Means â The Erwins
Something Beautiful â Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Latin
Best Latin Pop Album or Urban Album
YHLQMDLG â Bad Bunny
Por Primera Vez â Camilo
Mesa Para Dos â Kany GarcĂa
Pausa â Ricky Martin
3:33 â Debi Nova
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
La Conquista del Espacio â Fito PĂĄez
Aura â Bajofondo
MONSTRUO â Cami
Sobrevolando â Cultura ProfĂ©tica
Miss Colombia â Lido Pimienta
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Un Canto por MĂ©xico, Vol. 1 â Natalia Lafourcade
Hecho en MĂ©xico â Alejandro FernĂĄndez
La Serenata â Lupita Infante
Bailando Sones y Huampangos con Mariachi Sol De Mexico De Jose Hernandez â Mariachi Sol De Mexico De Jose Hernandez
Ayayay! â Christian Nodal
Best Tropical Latin Album
40 â Grupo Niche
Mi Tumbao â JosĂ© Alberto "El Ruiseñor"
Infinito â Edwin Bonilla
Sigo Cantando al Amor (Deluxe) â Jorge Celedon & Sergio Luis
Memorias de Navidad â VĂctor Manuelle
American roots
Best American Roots Performance
"I Remember Everything" â John Prine
"Colors" â Black Pumas
"Deep in Love" â Bonny Light Horseman
"Short and Sweet" â Brittany Howard
"I'll Be Gone" â Norah Jones & Mavis Staples
Best American Roots Song
"I Remember Everything"
Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)
"Cabin"
Laura Rogers & Lydia Rogers, songwriters (The Secret Sisters)
"Ceiling to the Floor"
Sierra Hull & Kai Welch, songwriters (Sierra Hull)
"Hometown"
Sarah Jarosz, songwriter (Sarah Jarosz)
"Man Without a Soul"
Tom Overby & Lucinda Williams, songwriters (Lucinda Williams)
Best Americana Album
World on the Ground â Sarah Jarosz
Old Flowers â Courtney Marie Andrews
Terms of Surrender â Hiss Golden Messenger
El Dorado â Marcus King
Good Souls Better Angels â Lucinda Williams
Best Bluegrass Album
Home â Billy Strings
Man on Fire â Danny Barnes
To Live in Two Worlds, Vol. 1 â Thomm Jutz
North Carolina Songbook â Steep Canyon Rangers
The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 1 â Various Artists
Best Traditional Blues Album
Rawer than Raw â Bobby Rush
All My Dues are Paid â Frank Bey
You Make Me Feel â Don Bryant
That's What I Heard â Robert Cray Band
Cypress Grove â Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
Best Contemporary Blues Album
Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? â Fantastic Negrito
Live at the Paramount â Ruthie Foster Big Band
The Juice â G. Love
Blackbirds â Bettye LaVette
Up and Rolling â North Mississippi Allstars
Best Folk Album
All the Good Times â Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
Bonny Light Horseman â Bonny Light Horseman
Thanks for the Dance â Leonard Cohen
Song for Our Daughter â Laura Marling
Saturn Return â The Secret Sisters
Best Regional Roots Music Album
Atmosphere â New Orleans Nightcrawlers
My Relatives 'nikso' Kowaiks â Black Lodge Singers
Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours â Cameron Dupuy And The Cajun Troubadours
Lovely Sunrise â NÄ Wai ÊœEhÄ
A Tribute to Al Berard â Sweet Cecilia
Reggae
Best Reggae Album
Got to Be Tough â Toots and the Maytals
Upside Down 2020 â Buju Banton
Higher Place â Skip Marley
It All Comes Black to Love â Maxi Priest
One World â The Wailers
Global music
Best Global Music Album
Twice as Tall â Burna Boy
Fu Chronicles â Antibalas
Agora â Bebel Gilberto
Love Letters â Anoushka Shankar
Amadjar â Tinariwen
Children's
Best Children's Album
All the Ladies â Joanie Leeds
Be a Pain: An Album for Young (and Old) Leaders â Alastair Moock And Friends
I'm an Optimist â Dog On Fleas
Songs for Singin' â The Okee Dokee Brothers
Wild Life â Justin Roberts
Spoken word
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)
Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth â Rachel Maddow
Acid for the Children â A Memoir â Flea
Alex Trebek â The Answer Is... â Ken Jennings
Catch and Kill â Ronan Farrow
Charlotte's Web (E.B. White) â Meryl Streep and Full Cast
Comedy
Best Comedy Album
Black Mitzvah â Tiffany Haddish
I Love Everything â Patton Oswalt
The Pale Tourist â Jim Gaffigan
Paper Tiger â Bill Burr
23 Hours to Kill â Jerry Seinfeld
Musical theater
Best Musical Theater Album
Jagged Little Pill â Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten & Elizabeth Stanley, principal soloists; Neal Avron, Pete Ganbarg, Tom Kitt, Michael Parker, Craig Rosen & Vivek J. Tiwary, producers (Glen Ballard & Alanis Morissette, lyricists) (Original Broadway Cast)
AmĂ©lie â Audrey Brisson, Chris Jared, Caolan McCarthy & Jez Unwin, principal soloists; Michael Fentiman, Sean Patrick Flahaven, Barnaby Race & Nathan Tysen, producers; Nathan Tysen, lyricist; Daniel Messe, composer & lyricist (Original London Cast)
American Utopia on Broadway â David Byrne, principal soloist; David Byrne, producer (David Byrne, composer & lyricist) (Original Cast)
Little Shop of Horrors â Tammy Blanchard, Jonathan Groff & Tom Alan Robbins, principal soloists; Will Van Dyke, Michael Mayer, Alan Menken & Frank Wolf, producers (Alan Menken, composer; Howard Ashman, lyricist) (The New Off-Broadway Cast)
The Prince of Egypt â Christine Allado, Luke Brady, Alexia Khadime & Liam Tamne, principal soloists; Dominick Amendum & Stephen Schwartz, producers; Stephen Schwartz, composer & lyricist (Original Cast)
Soft Power â Francis Jue, Austin Ku, Alyse Alan Louis & Conrad Ricamora, principal soloists; Matt Stine, producer; David Henry Hwang, lyricist; Jeanine Tesori, composer & lyricist (Original Cast)
Music for visual media
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Jojo Rabbit â Various artists
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood â Various artists
Bill & Ted Face the Music â Various artists
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga â Various artists
Frozen II â Various artists
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Joker â Hildur GuĂ°nadĂłttir, composer
Ad Astra â Max Richter, composer
Becoming â Kamasi Washington, composer
1917 â Thomas Newman, composer
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker â John Williams, composer
Best Song Written for Visual Media
"No Time to Die" (from No Time to Die)
Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas O'Connell (Billie Eilish)
"Beautiful Ghosts" (from Cats)
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift)
"Carried Me with You" (from Onward)
Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth (Brandi Carlile)
"Into the Unknown" (from Frozen II)
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Idina Menzel featuring AURORA)
"Stand Up" (from Harriet)
Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo (Cynthia Erivo)
Composing/Arranging
Best Instrumental Composition
"Sputnik"
Maria Schneider, composer (Maria Schneider)
"Baby Jack"
Arturo O'Farrill, composer (Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra)
"Be Water II"
Christian Sands, composer (Christian Sands)
"Plumfield"
Alexandre Desplat, composer (Alexandre Desplat)
"Strata"
Remy Le Boeuf, composer (Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly Of Shadows featuring Anna Webber & Eric Miller)
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
"Donna Lee"
John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley)
"Bathroom Dance"
Hildur GuĂ°nadĂłttir, arranger (Hildur GuĂ°nadĂłttir)
"Honeymooners"
Remy Le Boeuf, arranger (Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly Of Shadows)
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Alvin Chea & Jarrett Johnson, arrangers (Jarrett Johnson Featuring Alvin Chea)
"Uranus: The Magician"
Jeremy Levy, arranger (Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra)
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
"He Won't Hold You"
Jacob Collier, arranger (Jacob Collier featuring Rapsody)
"Asas Fechadas"
John Beasley & Maria Mendes, arrangers (Maria Mendes Featuring John Beasley & Orkest Metropole)
"Desert Song"
Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (SĂ€je)
"From This Place"
Alan Broadbent & Pat Metheny, arrangers (Pat Metheny featuring Meshell Ndegeocello)
"Slow Burn"
Talia Billig, Nic Hard & Becca Stevens, arrangers (Becca Stevens featuring Jacob Collier, Mark Lettieri, Justin Stanton, Jordan Perlson, Nic Hard, Keita Ogawa, Marcelo Woloski & Nate Werth)
Package
Best Recording Package
Vols. 11 & 12
Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, art directors (Desert Sessions)
Everyday Life
Pilar Zeta, art director (Coldplay)
Funeral
Kyle Goen, art director (Lil Wayne)
Healer
Julian Gross & Hannah Hooper, art directors (Grouplove)
On Circles
Jordan Butcher, art director (Caspian)
Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
Ode to Joy
Lawrence Azerrad & Jeff Tweedy, art directors (Wilco)
Flaming Pie (Collector's Edition)
Linn Wie Andersen, Simon Earith, Paul McCartney & James Musgrave, art directors (Paul McCartney)
Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991
Lisa Glines & Doran Tyson, art directors (Grateful Dead)
Mode
Jeff Schulz, art director (Depeche Mode)
The Story of Ghostly International
Michael Cina & Molly Smith, art directors (Various Artists)
Notes
Best Album Notes
Dead Man's Pop
Bob Mehr, album notes writer (The Replacements)
At The Minstrel Show: Minstrel Routines From The Studio, 1894-1926
Tim Brooks, album notes writer (Various Artists)
The Bakersfield Sound: Country Music Capital Of The West, 1940-1974
Scott B. Bomar, album notes writer (Various Artists)
The Missing Link: How Gus Haenschen Got Us From Joplin To Jazz And Shaped The Music Business
Colin Hancock, album notes writer (Various Artists)
Out Of A Clear Blue Sky
David Sager, album notes writer (Nat Brusiloff)
Historical
Best Historical Album
It's Such a Good Feeling: The Best of Mister Rogers
Lee Lodyga & Cheryl Pawelski, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Mister Rogers)
Celebrated, 1895â1896
Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer (Unique Quartette)
Hittin' the Ramp: The Early Years (1936â1943)
Zev Feldman, Will Friedwald & George Klabin, compilation producers; Matthew Lutthans, mastering engineer (Nat King Cole)
1999 Super Deluxe Edition
Michael Howe, compilation producer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer (Prince)
Souvenir
Carolyn Agger, compilation producer; Miles Showell, mastering engineer (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark)
Throw Down Your Heart: The Complete Africa Sessions
BĂ©la Fleck, compilation producer; Richard Dodd, mastering engineer (BĂ©la Fleck)
Production, non-classical
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Hyperspace
Drew Brown, Andrew Coleman, Shawn Everett, Serban Ghenea, David Greenbaum, Jaycen Joshua, Beck Hansen & Mike Larson, engineers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer (Beck)
Black Hole Rainbow
Shawn Everett & Ivan Wayman, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Devon Gilfillian)
Expectations
Gary Paczosa & Mike Robinson, engineers; Paul Blakemore, mastering engineer (Katie Pruitt)
Jaime
Shawn Everett, engineer; Shawn Everett, mastering engineer (Brittany Howard)
25 Trips
Shani Gandhi & Gary Paczosa, engineers; Adam Grover, mastering engineer (Sierra Hull)
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Andrew Watt
"Break My Heart" (Dua Lipa)
"Me and My Guitar" (A Boogie wit da Hoodie)
"Midnight Sky" (Miley Cyrus)
"Old Me" (5 Seconds of Summer)
"Ordinary Man" (Ozzy Osbourne featuring Elton John)
"Take What You Want" (Post Malone featuring Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott)
"Under The Graveyard" (Ozzy Osbourne)
Jack Antonoff
"August" (Taylor Swift)
Gaslighter (The Chicks)
"Holy Terrain" (FKA Twigs featuring Future)
"Mirrorball" (Taylor Swift)
"This Is Me Trying" (Taylor Swift)
"Together" (Sia)
Dan Auerbach
Cypress Grove (Jimmy "Duck" Holmes)
El Dorado (Marcus King)
Is Thomas Callaway (CeeLo Green)
Singing for My Supper (Early James)
Solid Gold Sounds (Kendell Marvel)
Years (John Anderson)
Dave Cobb
"Backbone" (Kaleo)
The Balladeer (Lori McKenna)
Boneshaker (Airbourne)
Down Home Christmas (Oak Ridge Boys)
The Highwomen (The Highwomen)
"I Remember Everything" (John Prine)
Reunions (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)
"The Spark" (William Prince)
"You're Still the One" (Teddy Swims)
Flying Lotus
It Is What It Is (Thundercat)
Best Remixed Recording
"Roses (Imanbek Remix)"
Imanbek Zeikenov, remixer (SAINt JHN)
"Do You Ever (RAC Mix)"
RAC, remixer (Phil Good)
"Imaginary Friends (Morgan Page Remix)"
Morgan Page, remixer (Deadmau5)
"Praying for You (Louie Vega Main Remix)"
Louie Vega, remixer (Jasper Street Co.)
"Young & Alive (Bazzi vs. Haywyre Remix)"
Haywyre, remixer (Bazzi)
Production, immersive audio
Best Immersive Audio Album
The judging for this category was postponed.
Production, classical
Best Engineered Album, Classical
"Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, 'Babi Yar'"
David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
"Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua"
Bernd Gottinger, engineer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)
"Gershwin: Porgy and Bess"
David Frost & John Kerswell, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
"Hynes: Fields"
Kyle Pyke, engineer; Jesse Lewis & Kyle Pyke, mastering engineers (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)
"Ives: Complete Symphonies"
Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Producer of the Year, Classical
David Frost
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9 (Jonathan Biss)
Gershwin: Porgy And Bess (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
Gluck: Orphée & Eurydice (Harry Bicket, Dmitry Korchak, Andriana Chuchman, Lauren Snouffer, Lyric Opera Of Chicago Orchestra & Chorus)
Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
Muhly: Marnie (Robert Spano, Isabel Leonard, Christopher Maltman, Denyce Graves, Iestyn Davies, Janis Kelly, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D. 845, D. 894, D. 958, D. 960 (Shai Wosner)
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, 'Babi Yar' (Riccardo Muti, Alexey Tikhomirov, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
Blanton Alspaugh
Aspects Of America - Pulitzer Edition (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
Blessed Art Thou Among Women (Peter Jermihov, Katya Lukianov & PaTRAM Institute Singers)
DvoĆĂĄk: Symphony No. 9; Copland: Billy The Kid (Gianandrea Noseda & National Symphony Orchestra)
Glass: The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Joseph Li, Nicholas Nestorak, Madison Leonard, Jonas Hacker, Ben Edquist, Matthew Adam Fleisher & Wolf Trap Opera)
Kahane: Emergency Shelter Intake Form (Alicia Hall Moran, Gabriel Kahane, Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
Kastalsky: Requiem (Leonard Slatkin, Steven Fox, Benedict Sheehan, Charles Bruffy, Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, The Saint Tikhon Choir, Kansas City Chorale & Orchestra Of St. Luke's)
Massenet: ThaĂŻs (Andrew Davis, Joshua Hopkins, Andrew Staples, Erin Wall, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
Smyth: The Prison (Sarah Brailey, Dashon Burton, James Blachly & Experiential Orchestra)
Woolf, L.P.: Fire And Flood (Julian Wachner, Matt Haimovitz & Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)
Jesse Lewis
Gunn: The Ascendant (Roomful Of Teeth)
Harrison, M.: Just Constellations (Roomful Of Teeth)
Her Own Wings (Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival)
Hynes: Fields (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)
Lang, D.: Love Fail (Beth Willer & Lorelei Ensemble)
Mazzoli: Proving Up (Christopher Rountree, Opera Omaha & International Contemporary Ensemble)
Sharlat: Spare The Rod! (NOW Ensemble)
Soul House (Hub New Music)
Wherein Lies The Good (The Westerlies)
Dmitry Lipay
Adams, J.: Must The Devil Have All The Good Tunes? (Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Cipullo: The Parting (Alastair Willis, Laura Strickling, Catherine Cook, Michael Mayes & Music Of Remembrance)
Ives: Complete Symphonies (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
LA Phil 100 - The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Langgaard: Prelude To Antichrist; Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Thomas Dausgaard & Seattle Symphony Orchestra)
Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 & Symphony No. 2, 'The Four Temperaments' (Thomas Dausgaard & Seattle Symphony)
Elaine Martone
Bound For The Promised Land (Robert M. Franklin, Steven Darsey, Jessye Norman & Taylor Branch)
Dawn (Shachar Israel)
Gandolfi, Prior & Oliverio: Orchestral Works (Robert Spano & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra)
Singing In The Dead Of Night (Eighth Blackbird)
Whitacre: The Sacred Veil (Eric Whitacre, Grant Gershon & Los Angeles Master Chorale)
Classical
Best Orchestral Performance
"Ives: Complete Symphonies"
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
"Aspects of America - Pulitzer Edition"
Carlos Kalmar, conductor (Oregon Symphony)
"Concurrence"
DanĂel Bjarnason, conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra)
"Copland: Symphony No. 3"
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
"LutosĆawski: Symphonies No. 2 & 3"
Hannu Lintu, conductor (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)
Best Opera Recording
"Gershwin: Porgy and Bess"
David Robertson, conductor; Angel Blue & Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
"Dello Joio: The Trial at Rouen"
Gil Rose, conductor; Heather Buck & Stephen Powell; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Odyssey Opera Chorus)
"Floyd, C: Prince of Players"
William Boggs, conductor; Keith Phares & Kate Royal; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus)
"Handel: Agrippina"
Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor; Joyce DiDonato; Daniel Zalay, producer (Il Pomo D'Oro)
"Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg"
Donald Runnicles, conductor; David Butt Philip & Elena Tsallagova; Peter Ghirardini & Erwin StĂŒrzer, producers (Orchestra Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin; Chorus Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin)
Best Choral Performance
"Danielpour: The Passion of Yessuah"
JoAnn Falletta, conductor; James K. Bass & Adam Luebke, chorus masters (James K. Bass, J'Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann & Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus & UCLA Chamber Singers)
"Carthage"
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
"Kastalski: Requiem"
Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Charles Bruffy, Steven Fox & Benedict Sheehan, chorus masters (Joseph Charles Beutel & Anna Dennis; Orchestra Of St. Luke's; Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, Kansas City Chorale & The Saint Tikhon Choir)
"Moravec: Sanctuary Road"
Kent Tritle, conductor (Joshua Blue, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Dashon Burton, Malcolm J. Merriweather & Laquita Mitchell; Oratorio Society Of New York Orchestra; Oratorio Society Of New York Chorus)
"Once Upon a Time"
Matthew Guard, conductor (Sarah Walker; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
"Contemporary Voices" â Pacifica Quartet
"Healing Modes" â Brooklyn Rider
"Hearne, T,: Place" â Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods & Place Orchestra
"Hynes: Fields" â DevontĂ© Hynes & Third Coast Percussion
"The Schumann Quartets" â Dover Quartet
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
"Theofanidis: Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra"
Richard O'Neill; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
"Adés: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra"
Kirill Gerstein; Thomas AdĂšs, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
"Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas"
Igor Levit
"Bohemian Tales"
Augustin Hadelich; Jakub HrĆŻĆĄa, conductor (Charles Owen; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
"Destination Rachmaninov - Arrival"
Daniil Trifonov; Yannick NĂ©zet-SĂ©guin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
"Smyth: The Prison"
Sarah Brailey & Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)
"American Composers at Play - William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto"
Stephen Powell (Attacca Quartet, William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto, Charles Neidich & Jason Vieaux)
"ClairiĂšres - Songs by Lili & Nadia Boulanger"
Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist
"Farinelli"
Cecilia Bartoli; Giovanni Antonini, conductor (Il Giardino Armonico)
"A Lad's Love"
Brian Giebler; Steven McGhee, accompanist (Katie Hyun, Michael Katz, Jessica Meyer, Reginald Mobley & Ben Russell)
Best Classical Compendium
"Thomas, M.T.: From the Diary of Anne Frank & Meditations on Rilke"
Isabel Leonard; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer
"AdĂšs Conducts AdĂšs"
Mark Stone & Christianne Stotijn; Thomas AdĂšs, conductor; Nick Squire, producer
"Saariaho: Graal Théùtre; Circle Map, Neiges, Vers Toi Qui Es Si Loin"
Clément Mao-Takacs, conductor; Hans Kipfer, producer
"Serebrier: Symphonic Bach Variations; Laments and Hallelujahs; Flute Concerto"
José Serebrier, conductor; Jens Braun, producer
"Woolf, L.P.: Fire and Blood"
Matt Haimovitz; Julian Wachner, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
"Rouse: Symphony No. 5"
Christopher Rouse, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
"AdĂšs: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra"
Thomas AdĂšs, composer (Kirill Gerstein, Thomas AdĂšs & Boston Symphony Orchestra)
"Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshua"
Richard Danielpour, composer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)
"Floyd, C.: Prince of Players"
Carlisle Floyd, composer (William Boggs, Kate Royal, Keith Phares, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)
"Hearne, T.: Place"
Ted Hearne, composer (Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods & Place Orchestra)
Music video/film
Best Music Video
"Brown Skin Girl" â BeyoncĂ©, Saint Jhn & Wizkid Featuring Blue Ivy Carter
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter & Jenn Nkiru, video directors; Lauren Baker, Astrid Edwards, Nathan Scherrer & Erinn Williams, video producers
"Life Is Good" â Future Featuring Drake
Julien Christian Lutz, video director; Harv Glazer, video producer
"Lockdown" â Anderson .Paak
Dave Meyers, video director; Nathan Scherrer, video producer
"Adore You" â Harry Styles
Dave Meyers, video director; Nathan Scherrer, video producer
"Goliath" â Woodkid
Yoann Lemoine, video director; Horace de Gunzbourg, video producer
Best Music Film
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice â Linda Ronstadt
Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, video directors; Michele Farinola & James Keach, video producers
Beastie Boys Story â Beastie Boys
Spike Jonze, video director; Amanda Adelson, Jason Baum & Spike Jonze, video producers
Black Is King â BeyoncĂ©
Emmanuel Adjei, Blitz Bazawule, Beyoncé Knowles Carter & Kwasi Fordjour, video directors; Lauren Baker, Akin Omotoso, Nathan Scherrer, Jeremy Sullivan & Erinn Williams, video producers
We Are Freestyle Love Supreme â Freestyle Love Supreme
Andrew Fried, video director; Andrew Fried, Jill Furman, Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sarina Roma, Jenny Steingart & Jon Steingart, video producers
That Little Ol' Band From Texas â ZZ Top
Sam Dunn, video director; Scot McFadyen, video producer
8 notes
·
View notes