#maybe………….. maybe we should kill more CEOs that take an active part in the deaths of thousands or millions

[rotteneldritchhorror]

Who knew that we just needed to kill a CEO to get the working class to reunite in their hatred for this shitty healthcare company

[youngbugandtonystank]

what's the difference between what wanda did to those people in wandavision and what tony did with ultron?

I have so many asks about this. Hate asks, and people wondering what’s going on. This is the only one I’m answering.

Both of them are responsible for their actions. I’ve seen people try and take away either Tony’s responsibility for that or Wanda’s engagement and accountability. 

In Tony’s case, the Ultron program was supposed to be a global peacekeeping program to protect the people, acting as a suit around the world to prevent events like the Battle of New York. He was doing it in the name of peace and safety. Tony was rightfully scared because he was the only one who knew what was coming. Wanda intentionally enhanced that fear in him and this drove him to create Ultron with Bruce. He has responsibility for it. Same as Bruce. He owns up to this, he took full responsibility and agreed that they needed to be regulated. 

Tony Stark: A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault.

--

Tony Stark: There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.

--

Tony Stark: That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing.

--

If people think he needs to be in jail for it, then I’m guessing the rest of the Avengers too since all of them have made mistakes and killed people too. As a matter of fact, after the events of Wandavision, I’m sure that Wanda should be in the Raft, but because she’s ‘a poor baby’ yall won’t think she deserves that. 

SPOILERS

It’s a big possibility that we don’t have all the info about what happened in Wandavision but we’re going to go with what we know so far. 

In Wanda’s case, she did it to appease her grief and pain, and I can understand why she would get to that point, she’s been through a lot and maybe she was about to lose her mind. Instead of recruiting Wanda after the Sokovia incident, they should’ve given this girl treatment for her mental health problems. She just lost her brother and passed through a very traumatic war zone, of course she needs assistance. Cap and Natasha were the ones responsible for her because they were training the ‘new’ avengers. Sam was with them and he used to be a counselor to veterans with PTSD. He could’ve helped Wanda with some of her traumas. As shown in the series, Wanda did the whole hex business before meeting Agatha, which means creating that little reality was all Wanda’s responsibility. Hayward and Agatha did exactly what Wanda did to Tony (and the avengers/other people) in AOU. They manipulated her and played with her emotional traumas. Hayward showed her Vision’s body parts and Agatha started to pull strings to know how Wanda did what she did and her real powers while orchestrating against her. 

Both of them have made mistakes. No one is better than the other. I don’t understand why some fans want to make someone responsible more than the other or blame one character for the other. While Wanda gave Tony that vision and pushed his self-destructive side to obsess over saving the world, he did create Ultron, what Tony didn’t predict was that the robot was going to corrupt itself. Same with Wanda, while Agatha and Hayward contributed to her trauma, she held hostage and isolated 3,892 people to create her perfect reality, ripping these people away from their identities and free will to fit her own fantasy. Don’t turn this into ‘omg poor her, it’s Tony fault that she’s this way'. I can’t believe I have to repeat this but you don’t see Peter Parker obsessively looking for the person who manufactured the gun instead of the criminal who actually killed Uncle Ben. Ridiculous that I have to repeat this example. 

Oh and about Vision’s body (damn yall have a gift to turn everything into Tony’s fault for some reason). I can’t believe some of you think Tony (while grieving for 5 years) would give Vision to Hayward. You’re either pulling stuff out of your asses or you didn’t pay attention to the show. Maria Rambeau founded and was the Director of S.W.O.R.D. In 2018 (when IW happened), this is where she came up with a new policy within S.W.O.R.D. to ground snapped agents in case they ever returned. Maria was diagnosed with cancer, then two years later (2020), she passed away. Then, Hayward was promoted to Director of S.W.O.R.D., in his first years (2020-2022) he refocused the organization’s work from extraterrestrial operations to robotics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, etc. There, that was the 5 years. Then in 2023 it’s when he started project Cataract, which revolved around rebuilding Vision as a sentient weapon. Tony was dead when this happened. How come yall don’t get this part? I don’t understand, do you really think his dead corpse signed some papers to give Vision to those people? LMAO

Instead of thinking Tony would give up Vision just like that, think (possibilities):

Maria was the head of S.W.O.R.D., she might have just been keeping his body safe without doing anything with him. Maybe she trusted Hayward and he, obviously, betrayed her because he’s turning her organization into something else after her death. 

One of the Sokovia Accords regulations states that the use of technology to bestow individuals (the term ‘enhanced individual’ in this book is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities) with innate capabilities is strictly regulated by the government, as is the use and distribution of highly advanced technology. Vision signed those accords ('I'm saying there may be a casualty. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight...oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand’) The Avengers were no longer be a private organization and they operate under the supervision of the United Nations. This means they (UN) were the ones that referred Vision’s body to S.W.O.R.D., to a trustworthy leader, Maria. 

Vision died in Wakanda, not in New York. Tony was missing for 22 days after the snap, the rest of the avengers should’ve taken responsibility for his body.  

Why is it always Tony’s fault but never consider that other parties are also involved in this? 

I want to address some other asks with this one. I know some of you are angry because people are starting to blame Tony all over again, so a few things to remember:

Tony did not create the Accords. The Accords were the result of all the collective actions the Avengers have done in their superhero careers. All of them have made mistakes and the collateral damage of that was taken into consideration by the government and 117 countries around the world. He signed the accords because he knew that he could amend them with the support of the rest of the avengers and he knew about Thanos (something big was coming). 

Obadiah Stane (it’s so bizarre for me seeing that some people don’t know who this guy is, I’m guessing that the people who are watching Wandavision are too young to remember or didn’t watch the Iron Man movies at all which is highly probable) was the one selling weapons to the wrong people, not Tony. Obadiah was the CEO of Stark industries and became second-in-command for two decades. He grew jealous of Tony and began cooperating with the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, selling them Stark Industries weapons illegally. Imagine blaming all of it on Tony when Obadiah basically murdered thousands only because he felt a little green. If someone who you trust (he had no reasons to doubt Obadiah since he was like a second father-figure for him) does something behind your back (take into consideration that people like Pepper; who was Tony’s assistant and had knowledge of all of Tony’s activities and responsibilities, Rhodey; who was the liaison between the military in the department of acquisitions and Stark Industries, and Happy Hogan; who was his personal bodyguard and Head of Security of Stark Industries, didn’t know what Stane was doing either), how are you going to know about it? Tony trusted him. And when he realized what was going on he immediately stopped all of it. He worked hard to be better and people overlook that because they want other characters to look better. 

Don’t act like Tony was the only one assisting the military. All of the avengers assisted in one way or another. Natasha (who used to be an assassin) was in the Red Room, trained in the Black Widow Program in association with Leviathan and the Soviet Armed Forces, served for KGB, etc. Bruce Banner used to work for the United States government and was commissioned to create a super serum for them. Same goes with the rest, Sam, Clint, etc. Steve Rogers was a soldier lmaoooooooooooooo like, what happened to Tony with Obadiah happened to Steve with SHIELD/HYDRA in TWS. He trusted the people working in there (SHIELD), served for them, did missions for them and as soon as he found out what they were doing behind his back he turned against them. 

Knowing all of this, how is Tony always the villain for yall? I’m guessing because Tony’s popularity in the MCU, but still, aren’t yall tired of not understanding the plot and having people repeat it to you constantly? Watch the movies if you want to understand the franchise, people. Stop following the crowd. 

Also, Wanda is not a kid, she’s a 35 year old woman in Wandavision, she was 26 in AOU and 27 in CW. Hardly a child. Tony had almost her same age (38) when he realized Obadiah was selling illegal weaponry behind his back. The only reason people don’t fully forgive Tony is because 1. he’s a man and 2. he’s a billionaire. Even if Wanda was poor she still killed and hurt many people over the course of her life. Stop trying to make Tony the villain only to downplay Wanda’s actions. 

Both have killed people, both have made mistakes. They’re both responsible for them. 

[pinkysfaultorbrainsfault]

animaniacs - s1e40: puppet rulers

episode summary: after seeing how small children react to the characters on their favourite tv show, brain decides that he and pinky will be children’s tv characters, too, before cryogenically freezing themselves for long enough that nostalgia tricks everyone into loving them enough to... elect them world leaders.

because people are totally thinking about old cartoons thirty years after they came off the air, right? that’s a thing normal people do.

the rundown:

we open in 1954.

nobody knows when in 1954 though, because whoever owns this calender isn’t ticking off the days. never mind! i’m sure they have more important things to do.

like welding some shit together, or whatever, like this guy is doing. “there. albert einstien’s latest experiment will be a powerful success.” if it’s albert einstien’s experiment, i don’t know why he hired this guy to do it, but i guess that’s between the big man and himself.

turns out the experiment only needs to be “powerful enough to pull five boxcars and a little caboose”, which is fine. fair enough if albert einstien wants to outsource production of his trainset. he’s probably busy being photographed for ridiculous facebook memes that say shit like “masks give you HIV”. 🙄 

meanwhile, as the music swells and the theme tune comes into the musical layers, we see pinky walking towards brain, who is preparing his coffin. it has a little alarm clock on it so he doesn’t miss bill nye the science guy.

“i’m finished, pinky.” he proclaims. he sure is. “with this cryonic capsule, we shall freeze ourselves and awaken fourty years in the future.” which i suppose is a little less morbid than, yknow, being dead. and bill nye should still be on tv, so it isn’t all bad.+

“egad, brain. what will we do in the future?”

“i don’t know, pinky, but it has to be better than what we’re doing now.”

i feel for him. i have never seen these mice in a well equipped cage. would it kill y’all to put some fucking climbers in there??? jesus.

suddenly, some children appear.

“uncle albert,” they cry. “uncle albert, it’s time.” ominous.

“but kiddies, uncle albert is doing an experiment and did you say it’s time.”

ominous! fortunately, “time” here means “time to sit down and watch tv.”

“hey kids!” says the friendly propellor worm on screen. “what time is it?” it is in fact “TIME FOR MEANIE!” as uncle albert and his fluffy brood proudly complain. yaaaay!

YAAAAAAAAAY.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

anyway turns out meany’s a bit of a dick.

pinky and brain watch on as the worm gets beaten to death. they are not particularly interested in the violence taking place, until Tiny Einstien Boy Edition (tinestien?) mentions that he wishes “treacle and meanie was president.”

to which brain makes this face.

hm. this is the face i make at my dentist when he asks to see if i’ve been maintaining my crown. sorry that my last dentist exploded my teeth or whatever. that’s kind of why i’m here.

“pinky, are you pondering what i’m pondering?” i want to take a moment out here to point out how fucking tiny brain is pinky is laying on his chest. horizontal and he is still taller than brain i just/?? he’s so fucking small. pinky could just pick him up. he couldn’t do anything. pinky could fucking yeet him like a basketball. or maybe just give him a nice hug.

anyway it turns out brain finally has a use for his cryochamber! he wants to get himself on Time For Meany and “endear himself in the hearts of children.”

anyway so once those kids grow up and become world leaders, they will remember brain fondly enough in their hearts so that... when he thaws out, they’ll, uh, elect him president. not entirely... foolproof, perhaps? but on the other hand if the nice couple from out of the box ran for joint prime minister i’d be pretty hype about it. out of the box doot doot out of the box.

pinky wants his show name to be “big ears.”

brain is more into the idea of being The Iconoclast, an Unconventional Eccentric Who Marches To A Different Drummer. privately that sounds like every single half-bearded nerd man at uni who basically accused me of having my boyfriend do all my coursework for me. does brain intend to hang around cardboard forbidden planet and tell the puppet girls that they don’t have the right to be into guardians of the galaxy? is brain going to be passive aggressive about that 2:2 i got in sculpting and rigging, thomas?????

“oh. i thought maybe you could be noodle noggin.”

we then cut to the studio, where the Fat Ceo Man wants the puppeteer to come up with new puppet characters for the next show. unfortunately, the next show is in three minutes, so he’s not very happy.

good thing he gets this suspicious package in the mail, eh?

as expected, it’s full of mice.

“oh my gosh!” cries our man, who has never seen a mouse before, apparently. “talking puppets!”

“actually we are two laboratory mice who wish to be on your show as part of an intricate plan to take over the world.”

“oh, wow, these are really good.”

so the boys make it on! they probably gave mr puppet man a religious experience, but we don’t see him again, so it’s fine.

“hold it, meany! everyone must meet our two new friends! this is big ears! take a bow, big ears!”

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

“and i am the iconoclast, an unconventional eccentric who marches to a different drummer--”

“but you may call me noodle noggin.”

you can’t see it very well in the last image, because uncle albert’s calender is in the way, but this is basically every episode. big ears says something, noodle noggin says something else that’s slightly more pretentious, meany hits him with a big stick.

everyone fucking loves it.

(fuck me. i never actually looked at this screencap close up before. why is pinky in a mousetrap?? why does it have their real names on it???? and why the FUCK do i not have a little brain toy in his own tiny wagon??? hello??? socialist police????)

unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and all projects with talking mice in it must be cancelled absurdly early. and an elmyra reboot of big ears and noodle noggin would be pointless, because brain already gets hit on the head in every episode, so eventually brain has to make the announcement.

“this program has been our last show.” he just sort of... says it, and you can tell pinky definitely wasn’t expecting it. he looks genuinely sad.

but not as sad as the children. even mousetrap pinky looks distraught.

the mice don’t care, obviously, and waste no time in jetting back to the Studio Fridge to activate their cryonic chamber, where pinky makes a very interesting point.

“but brain, why are we freezing ourselves at the height of our popularity?

“to stay fresh in their memory, pinky. we must, to paraphrase milton berle, ‘leave them wanting more’. i’ll see you in the future, pinky.”

there are no good frames for that portion of dialogue but whatever! let’s see how well that goes for them.

conclusion:

so the first thing the boys do upon waking up from ice and dust is to broadcast themselves on tv. “remember me?” asks brain. “it’s your old pal, the iconoclast.”

“and his old pal! zort! big ears!”

it’s very cute.

unfortunately these people are less impressed. they just sort of point, in a scary way. brain invites them all down to the tv station to “shower us in praise and material gifts,” and waits for the fans’ inevitable arrival.

“at last, we can write our own ticket, pinky. no longer in glorious suffering.” alright, hubert von vestra! calm down.

which is when the fans show up. hopefully the fact that they are all morbidly obese is like... coincidental, or to show off the fact that they’re all wearing kid tshirts, right? surely pinky and the brain wouldn’t tell me, a disabled person, that fat people are Bad And Losers? surely not.

“at last, my public has come to shower me with gifts.”

“guess again, noodle noggin!”

“huh.”

“you abandoned us!” cries the crowd. “you went away! you ruined our lives!” as brain tries to grapple with the fact that they are not, in fact, worshipping his image (and uploading pictures of him in the garden of mindy dress to e621) they present him with inordinately expensive therapy bills, because america be that way.

“PAY EM.” yells a gruff man with terrible facial hair. pinky and brain decide they would rather not.

honestly, i’m going to have to give this one to brain. sorry, brain. pinky did make the point earlier, and maybe if brain had thought about it, they might have been able to edit the plan a little and have things work out differently?

or maybe he was just tired of getting hit on the head all the time. ask pinky about that one, b.

brain: 3 pinky: 3 outside influence: 5

“quickly, pinky, we have work to do.”

“you mean taking over the world?”

“no. like finding a good hiding place.”

[comicbookuniversity]

How Black Lagoon Begins Attacking Gender Norms

by Bunnypwn Gold

Rei Hiroe’s Black Lagoon is one of the most intelligent, fun, and kinetic action-crime dramas around. The entire series looks and feels like an action movie; even the way it’s structured feels more akin to a series of movies, with different self-contained arcs building off of the previous installments. While many action movies include philosophical elements and dialogue in an attempt to make the festival of blood and explosions seem more intelligent without exploring the issues, Black Lagoon actively builds its themes and the substance of its plot and character arcs around its stellar action-hero philosophy quotes. One of its strongest points is how integral all the characters’ social identities are to the way the story is told. Chief among these is the way gender is explored and examined. Looking through the first five stories of the series, a powerful message about breaking out of the toxic gender binary is developed, creating an argument that drives the rest of the series. This argument is never made explicitly, but instead through the pattern of behaviors exhibited by Japanese salaryman Rock, as the feminine, and hotshot gunslinger Revy, as the masculine.

For anyone who has not read the series, a little catch-up is in order. At the beginning, Okajima Rokuro, a generic Japanese salaryman, is kidnapped by Revy, the gunhand of Lagoon Traders, a company of underworld couriers. Rokuro was in possession of a disc the Lagoon Traders were hired to steal, and Revy wanted to sweeten the pay with some ransom. During a shootout with mercenaries hired by Rokuro’s company and a chase to certain death, Rokuro goes from wanting to return to his ordinary life, to finding out his bosses are planning to let him die, and finally to diving into the underworld as a crewman aboard the Black Lagoon, taking up the nickname Rock. He then spends the first few stories of the series being taught how to perform basic duties and tasks aboard the torpedo boat by Revy until they have a falling out and make up after a dramatic argument. It is this series of events that sets up the larger dialogue on gender in the rest of the series.  

In an interview published for Sunday GX magazine and printed in volume 8, series author Rei Hiroe and Gen Urobuchi, author of the Black Lagoon novelization, discuss their views on gender in light of the series’ myriad badass women. In it, Urobuchi is quoted as saying,

“I naturally have this idea that women are strong or tough. Like men are just male bees—creatures that should die after they ejaculate…In that sense men are weak. Whereas the battle begins for women once they get pregnant…Women have to keep fighting. I don’t see that kind of strength as cute. I can’t dote on it.”

Later on, when discussing the final scene of The Wild Bunch, in which the heroic cowboys go off to their deaths trying to save their friends, Hiroe and Urobuchi have the following exchange:

Hiroe: “They’re already dead at that point. That’s what’s so cool. They have no intention of getting out alive.”

Urobuchi: “That’s really the only moment men can compete with women, I think. There’d have to be a third world war for men to shine. Like a Mad Max type of world. Maybe only when there’s a real danger of extinction will men have a role. Right now this society could exist only with women.”

This lays out the core of the series’ argument about gender: women are strong because they fight to live and make life, whereas men place all their value on their own deaths and the deaths of others, and the current gender binary denies women their strength and forces them into submission with the violence of death-based masculinity. This is somewhat familiar, since associations between the genders and life and death in this vein are common across cultures. What is particularly instructive for how the series is constructed is how the machismo, male-dominant view of gender is embedded in action movies, particularly cowboy movies. For anyone who has read Black Lagoon, it’s clear how powerful an influence cowboy and other action movies have on the series.

Rock spent his life as a low-level employee in a large Japanese company. Like most companies around the world, large Japanese corporations like the one Rock worked for are male-dominated and are typified by traditional ideals of masculinity, with the CEO and board of directors, among others, working in the role of powerful, great men, and everyone under them working their way closer to that great ideal of manhood. Rock, being so low in the company, is far from manhood, in that sense; he describes his job as mostly consisting of bowing to superiors, and his general conciliatory, subservient attitude throughout the early part of the series can easily be read as traditionally feminine. From that perspective, his time at that company can be read as emasculating (for more on the idea of emasculating corporate culture and men trying to take back their manhood with violence, see Fight Club). Rock even reveals that he would blow off steam at a batting cage, which is a notably phallic activity, with bats and balls, and, being a sport-based hobby, is more traditionally masculine by nature; in a sense, after constantly kissing ass and being forced to get drunk to keep his bosses happy, he recharged his masculinity by knocking his stress into the far end of the cage.

Revy, on the other hand, fits perfectly into macho-violent cowboy movie masculinity during the first set of stories. If she had been replaced by a man, then superficially the story could have been told the same way, with the only difference being that Rock would likely have been a little less shocked to see Two Hand smile while he killed all those mercenaries. She’s short-tempered, mean, constantly looks out for herself before anyone else, and is just so indignant that she has to take orders from anyone. She’s greedy and aggressive and takes great joy in both risking her life and taking the lives of others. Throughout the first few stories, Revy often complains that every little thing Rock does wrong costs her money, and she’s not particularly generous with her own. Though she continues this throughout the rest of the series, and so it isn’t specific to this period, the fact that Revy is most often seen in her downtime looking at porno magazines promising the largest-breasted women around drives home the kind of macho, hypermasculine role she fills. We later learn that she grew up on the streets of NYC, having to run from street criminals and violent police officers. She would take up the gun at age 11 and begin emulating the only kind of power she knew up to that point: the violent men who terrorized her. Her worldview is defined by this dog-eat-dog attitude, with people being nothing more than dead bodies waiting to happen and profit from. She’s so scared of showing vulnerability and anything that could be seen as feminine because the last time she was vulnerable and feminine, she was nearly killed in the gutter by dirty cops.

The pilot chapter of the series sets out to demonstrate the gendered positions of Rock and Revy. Revy starts off the chapter by messing up her boss Dutch’s plan by kidnapping Rock for extra cash. She is then indignant when Dutch reprimands her for this, because she was trying to take initiative and be independent, masculine qualities often praised at companies such as the one Rock worked for. Rock spends all his time whining, or as Revy calls it, “bitching,” about what’s going on, being very demanding, and wanting everyone to take care of everything for him, all of which puts him in a stereotypically feminine role, and a negative one at that. At the bar, Revy belittles Rock’s manhood for drinking beer, saying rum “is what a real man drinks,” and ends up in a drinking contest, because Rock has to prove he’s a man despite his feminine role and Revy, as a “real man,” can’t back down. Revy then demonstrates her penchant for and love of violence as she kills a bunch of the EO mercenaries hired by Rock’s company to kill them and retrieve the disc, just living her best life. The turn for Rock in this chapter is when he talks to his boss and finds out he plans to let Rock die; the company leaders will reward his death with their presence at his funeral, showing the masculine value of death and the power of the executives’ masculinity that their presence is meant to be that great a reward. As the mercenaries chase the Lagoon into the straits, Revy demonstrates her masculine lack of regard for her own life by nonchalantly resigning herself to death. Rock, on the other hand, embraces the opportunity to take up the masculinity his company denied him by devising an insane plan to win the day. After coming out on top and choosing to join the Lagoon, however, that masculinity starts to change for Rock. By choosing to join the Lagoon, Rock was choosing that as his way of life, not simply the place he was willing to die. For Revy’s part, it’s easy to read the way she relishes her part in Rock’s plan as a cowboy choosing to die how she lived, but it can also be read as her accepting a way to fight to stay alive in the way she sees best, which is itself an important turn for Revy. These points are developed further in the rest of the opening of the series.

Throughout the next four stories, Rock remains at the low end of the totem pole, still receiving his training and unsure of how he will actually make his living on the Lagoon, placing him in a similarly feminine position as he was in as the errand boy in a large corporation. Revy emphasizes this with her masculine sense of inherent authority, constantly bossing Rock around and belittling him for failing to learn sailing knots faster or not checking his scuba gear thoroughly. Revy also buys Rock a Hawaiian shirt, which is never seen because Rock refuses to wear it. While buying clothes for a man may be seen as feminine, it more resembles Revy trying to institute a work uniform, since she got it to replace the semi-formal work clothes Rock still wears; it should be noted that Benny, the Lagoon’s engineer and another man who takes a passive position in the crew, wears a Hawaiian shirt. Revy’s masculine position is further solidified in Ring-Ding Ship Chase, the second story, when she single-handedly took out several motorboats filled with heavily-armed men and mounted with machine guns. Rasta-Blasta, the third story, pushes in another direction, with Revy taking a masculine approach to watching over Garcia, the young boy they’re transporting for sale, by threatening to beat and kill him when he won’t comply with orders. Revy’s role can be read as either paternal disciplinarian or like a cowboy angry because kids, which she never wanted, cramp her style. Rock takes on the maternal role in how he deals with Garcia in that story, being more gentle and nurturing. Later on, Rock tries to stop Revy and ass-kicking terrorist-turned-maid Roberta from fighting to the death partly in an attempt to protect them as women, because he still thinks like how things work in Japan. But of course, Revy has to fight Roberta, because, as a “real man,” she can’t stop before things are settled.

Die Rückkehr des Alders, the fourth story, represents the major turning point in this opening arc. During their mission to salvage a Nazi painting from a sunken German sub, Revy leaves Rock behind for a moment to take medals and things from the dead soldiers so she can make a little extra money on the side. Rock takes a stand, saying she should leave them behind. While taking a stand can be read as masculine, Rock does so in defense of what the medals meant to the soldiers, and how those sentiments are more valuable than whatever money can be made from them, essentially taking a feminine position in support of life and love. The fact that Rock backs down by the end is what really does in any hope of this being a masculine moment for Rock. Revy, on the other hand, lays out the bare bones of her cowboy “we’re dead men walking” mentality, pushing herself further into the macho corner. Here is where she reveals what her childhood was like and argues that the bones in the sub and the medals were essentially the same: just things. There’s no value in things like sentiment, which people build lives around. She’s literally placing monetary value on the deaths of Nazi soldiers, the starkest version of her masculinity. She continues when raiding the neo-Nazi ship by killing everyone she sees, including the hired staff who were unaffiliated with the neo-Nazis. When she kills them, she doesn’t have her usual smile, a sign of how her desire to remain in this powerful role is stressing her, how it’s not really bringing her a happy life.

The big conclusion happens in the follow-up story Calm Down Two Men, which sees Revy and Rock going on a simple errand run and then getting lunch. During the errand run, both demonstrate their typical patterns of behavior. Rock is more submissive, just trying to get along, and Revy is aggressive and angry, using violence as her way of handling business. Their roles here play out fine enough with the first two errands, but Revy nearly gets them into a shootout at the Rip-Off Church before Rock saves the day with some diplomacy. Revy is put on edge as Sister Yolanda tells Revy to learn from Rock, which would disrupt her status and position in multiple ways. At lunch, they get into an argument which ultimately dispels the tension left between them after their time in the sub. It is instigated by Rock, who is taking a stand for his principles, a stand that demonstrates his new masculinity. Revy tries to take control back quickly by threatening to shoot Rock dead, since she refuses to be put onto the defensive, which she would interpret as a weak, vulnerable feminine position. Rock redirects the gun and later takes a punch without flinching to show that he can’t be stopped with violence. Rock speaks here about how he got by at work before, and how Revy inspired him by showing how much more he could have in life. This scares Revy, putting her on the defensive, to hear someone demonstrate how hollow and insignificant the power she was wielding truly was. Eventually, Revy sees that Rock is actually offering her something more powerful in exchange and takes him up on it. To sum up Rock’s offer, “Well, if there aren’t any Robin Hoods…then BE a Robin Hood,” meaning take a stand for the principles you want to uphold in life. Before the chapter is out, Revy asks Rock if he’s with her or against her, just like in the sub, in an attempt to place her new path near her familiar ground. Rock doesn’t allow her that simplicity.

In this way, the two switch places in their gender roles by the conclusion of this opening arc, but do so in a way that breaks them free from the stereotypical gender binary. Just as Urobuchi put it, Rock has fully formed his new, life-affirming masculinity by the end of the argument, while Revy is only just starting to chart the course of her new, powerful femininity; to complete the parallel to sex described by Urobuchi, Revy and Rock smoke after their fight and “kiss” their cigarettes to light Revy’s. The argument fully demonstrates how the old gender binary our heroes left behind was damaging to each of them, with Rock left emasculated and, more importantly, unable to live life his own way because of how he always came up short of expectations, and Revy being a tightly-wound ball of self-destructive anger and violence doomed to leave this world without having really gotten anything out of it. Overall, it’s a clever, subtle, and effective way to demonstrate why traditional gender roles are harmful and degrading to all involved. While, as a nonbinary person, I have to point out it still is based on a binary view of gender, it’s still an interesting way to demonstrate how breaking free from the traditional gender binary is empowering and can redefine the course of a person’s life for the better.

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Dancing lessons

Summary: Barry is finally cast in a feature, the problem? He said he could dance and now he can either disappoint Sally or found a way to learn some steps.

Part 1 ● Part 2 ● Part 3 ● Part 4 ● Part 5 ● Part 6 ● Part 7 ● Part 8 ● Epilogue

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence, guns, cheating maybe.

Part 5

And alarm clock went off somewhere and Barry woke up alone, he check out his watch and it said 7:00 a.m. just 4 hours had passed and he could feel the absence of the woman that was next to him just a couple minutes before.

He felt guilty, not entirely sure why and kept his head pressed down on the couch, it was not cheating, right? He had spend the night with a woman who wasn't his girlfriend, having dinner and playing board games and cuddling in the couch... but he did it because she was injured.

And smelling her hair and pushing her against him while they were sleeping was only to keep her safe, it meant nothing, it meant so little that he wouldn't mention a single thing to Sally, because there was nothing to talk about, she was his dancing instructor and a mean rival at scrabble, and now possibly a friend, a friend with beautiful eyes and flowy hair, whit a delicate body that fit perfectly in his arms...a friend with warm skin and red lips he was dying to know what would they taste like.

"Morning sunshine!" Her voice made him shake those dangerous thoughts away and he stood up to see her already dressed and holding two cups of coffee and a bag from a local bakery. "I didn't mean to wake you, but since I'm fine I thought you could use a coffee before going home".

"No, it's okay. Thanks" He said rubbing his eyes and joining her at the kitchen "Are those croissants?" He asked while she put the pastry on a platter.

"They are, I figured since I'm taking the day off I might as well make the best out of it, and since I can't drink an enormous amount of sugar and chocolate is the second best option" she took a bite of one of the pastries and he sited in front of her not quite sure of what he was supposed to say.

She on the other hand seemed not uncomfortable at all, she had a pink headband covering the stitches and that was the only difference, she continued to be the same relaxed and friendly woman she ever was. He was relived but also hurt a little maybe he thought they will have a long heartfelt conversation about the nature of their relationship and how sorry he was about his behavior but she didn't seem to mind at all, maybe it was for the best, at least they were friends now.

He walked down the stairs after he make her promise ten times she would not be opening the studio, and that he would check up on her in the afternoon. He was walking to his car when a familiar sensation in th back of his head alarmed him. He was being followed.

He opened the door cautiously looking around but he didn't see anyone and then, crossing the street in front of him, not caring enough to hide Fuches approach him, he froze in the spot, knowing too well his gun was safe under his bed and that he didn't even had a knife on him.

He looked better than the last time he saw him, no more open wounds, and his clothes were actually clean and new, but even when he looked put together his eyes looked tired and older than ever, maybe that's why he left him approach so easily.

Fuches opened the passenger's door and got inside, and Barry did the same, he start driving in silence in the unspoken understatement that they will do this in a more private place since the people opening the stores on that street were already coming out.

***

You let go a sigh of relief once he left, and look at your empty apartment already bored to death with the idea of staying in the whole morning, but you have promised not to do anything crazy so you put on a movie and sit on the couch in an attempt to become a cozy sloth.

Horror films were the select genre, trying to avoid anything remotely romantic that could reignite the feelings you have woken up to that morning. Not that his arms around your body didn't felt like heaven, because they did, but because you were sure you were dancing on a thin line that you were not willing to cross.

That's why you try so hard to be normal around him, there was no way you would give in on your feelings for Barry specially not around him, and yet you couldn't fight the urge to have him back and just talk to him, about anything he would think off, kick his ass in scrabble again, maybe you were just friends? Maybe after years of being harsh on yourself feeling like a faliure his presence and his optimism about his career was all that had attracted you and you wanted to be around him because it remained of you when you started and he was a nice person worth being friends with.

But that didn't explain why you needed to take a cold shower after he showed you the scars on his exposed skin, nor why did you went to sleep dreaming of touching them, you have to end that, starting with putting a barrier between the two, specially since he was happy with someone else, as happy as you are, you said angry at yourself and push your mind away from him.

Two hours passed and you were fine watching young attractive people running from their lifes, that you forgot that you were supposed to stay away from him and send him a text.

Since we are not dancing this afternoon you should bring money and alcohol and make the scrabble more interesting

The moment you hit "send" you regretted it, and ten minutes went by without any response, you were about to send another message making sure he knew you were just joking when to make the situation worse, the door opened and Alan walked in making you jump on the couch in surprise.

He was holding a nice bouquet of flowers and was about to say something nice when his expression changed with concern.

"What the hell happened to your head?" You have taken the headband off and the stitches were visible, he left his stuff on the ground while you try to explain what had happened leaving one important detail in the dark. "Why didn't you call? Y was free at 5 but I went out for drinks with the guys, you could have called, are you okay? I'm calling your doctor" His paternal voice while he check the wound make you feel worse even when you have done anything remotely accusatory.

"I'm fine, how was Dallas? Did you guys got the old man to sign?" He smile at you, like he always did when you resume his job into making old CEOs to sign their company's away to him and his lawyer friends.

"We did, in fact I was dying to get here to get you out to celebrate" He said pointing out the flowers "But maybe champagne is not the best idea right now" He said looking worried at the injury again.

"That and also the fact that is 10:00 a.m." You said and while he pick up his stuff from the floor and you quickly check your phone, no answer, maybe it was for the better, Barry Berkman was a dangerous path that you shouldn't walk and you could send a text cancelling your class later. You turn off the phone and help Alan out of his jacket.

He took you by the waist and pulled you in for a kiss, maybe was the guilt you felt what was making you eager to ease away a pain you haven't cause him yet but you deepened the kiss right there in the middle of the living room.

"Why was that for?" He asked with a confused happy look on his face holding you tight.

"Well is too early for champagne, but maybe not for other ways to celebrate" You said running your hands trough his arms and resting them on his chest.

"But your head..." He started with his hands on your back already making another choice.

"I'm fine, let's go" you wink at him and he carried you to the bedroom, with your heart rising on your chest loudly enough for your guilty thoughts to remain silent at least for the moment.

***

"Scoring with a married lady, I never thought you have that in you" Fuches said jokingly and Barry's hand tighten around the wheel.

"Leave her out of this" He growled and he saw the grin on Fuches face in the corner of his eye, he was teasing him and he fall right in "That's not what I was doing, she is just a friend" He added with lest conviction knowing he had said too much already.

"I know kid, you are way too decent to do that stuff, weird since you have no problem killing, but anyway I like the blonde one better..." he didn't finish talking since Barry almost lost control of the car when he mentioned Sally.

"Let Sally out of this or I swear to God I'll kill you right now" this time Fuches expression was not pleased, he looked at the road concerned with Barry's actions.

They parked in a drugstore that was empty at that time in the morning. And stand outside the car just watching the fence of the parking lot, Fuches light a cigarette and offered one to Barry but he rejected it.

"You are getting clumsy you know?" He said after a while, trying to find a way to bring on the subject without activating the timebomb he was when he got angry. "Using your own name on the hospital was stupid, oh yeah I know about your little excursion to the E.R." He said tossing the butt of the cigarette in the ground "This 'friend' of yours must be close to call herself Mrs. Berkman doesn't she?"

"She is my dance teacher... people assumed things" He started and the slight guilt in his voice was enough for Fuches to take the reins of the conversation.

"And I'm sure your girlfriend was aware of your whereabouts last night" He said, studying his reaction "Oh she doesn't know?"

"So you are going to threaten me with snitching on me with Sally now?" He said surprised "That's a bit ridiculous, why did you came back man?" He asked tired, he was sure now tha he could never kill him, no matter how much he had damaged him, that's not who he was anymore but his hesitation to end things with him encouraged Fuches to keep coming back into his life.

"Well the Chechens were not please to lose their men, the Bolivians think NoHo Hank betrayed them and the Burmese mob wanted you dead" He said and a pain in his head reminded Barry of the that night, and flashes of his actions play before his eyes, their men, the light fading away from Mayrbeck eyes still haunted him time to time. "Or whoever killed their leader for that matter, only the Chechens knew it was you and they kept it to themselves" he continued and Barry came back to the present, only nodding in understanding "So those guys thought it was Cristobal, since he survived your little outburst"

"And I suppose you didn't have anything to do with them thinking that" Barry assumed correctly.

"Of course not, as I also tip off NoHo Hank that his sweetheart was in danger so he could protect him" He said with a grin "Poor guy is so smitten by him is actually sweet, anyway the Bolivians and the Chechens got in peace after and they stop trying to kill me and welcome me into the family, but they were at war with the Burmese"

"And why does any of that to do with me? since you say they don't know who I am... they told them right? Hank rat me out to the Burmese?" He said connecting the dots on his head, and finally starting to get nervous about his momentary quiet life to blow up.

"It was a peace offering, they will give them this maniac killer who wrong the three of them and restore their peace, and they did already" He said putting out a photograph of a man covered in tattoos liying on the ground with multiple bullet holes on his body and head. "This is Marion Kowalski, an ex navy seal who mess with the wrong people and did some shady jobs for the mob for a price, and the American responsible for the Monastery massacre, and now they are all in peace"

"I don't understand any of these" Barry said regaining a momentary calm.

"Well Hank and Batir, the new boss, have different ideas about what peace means" He said turning on another cigarette "Hank is happy to keep the business running in peace and for Batir is a strategy to hurt them back with all they got." He put a hand on his shoulder when he said the last part and gave him a sad look.

"That includes me? It's insane man, I'm not coming with you, you can't convince me" He said putting his hand aside.

"No kid, I'm not here trying to convince you, this is a heads up" He said and pull out a passport with one of his many fake identities "I'm leaving to Italy, Hank arranged it, they are actively looking for you and since I don't know where you are I'm no longer useful but since he owns me Cristobal's life I got this last favor. They won't take a no for an answer and you either join them as a weapon or as a trophy".

"How long do I have?" He said now finally accepting the cigarette he offered him and looking away thinking.

"I don't know, Hank has been deviating their attention until I'm clear, after that I guess a day or two before they make a formal offer and after that is all up to you" He said and showed him a plane ticket "I'm leaving in a week so if I were you I will start making myself hard to find"

"Are you really going to Italy?" Barry asked finally after they share the silence, knowing too well it was the last time they will meet.

"Maybe, I wouldn't trust my own words, it was good seeing you kid" He said and offered him his hand. "Take care".

"You too" Barry said and resisted the urge to hug him since there were still too many open wounds between the two of them, that now will never have closure, Fuches turn away and start walking before Barry called him again "Hey Fuches!" He turned his head at him with a sad expression again "Thanks" they nodded and he walked away.

Barry tossed the cigarette on the ground and stood there for another ten minutes before getting on his car, his first instinct was to drive away and leave it all behind but he couldn't start the engine, so he took out his phone not sure who he was calling, there were 3 text messages on his screen, one from Sally from an hour ago, another from Y/N grom fifteen minutes before, and a third one from Andre just two minutes ago, in an attempt to ignore his reality read his first.

Where the fuck are you Block? We have the crew ready and I'm not putting my production on hold for you!

Before he could look at the other two Andre was calling him incredibly mad at him, and he shut everything else down and simply started his car while he answered.

"I'm sorry, I slept in, I'm on my way"

[smileyoongle]

Deception (A Kim Namjoon Mafia AU)

Previous chapters in the master list! Sorry for the delay.... let's get it!

Summary: A damsel in distress and a lonely mafia leader. Different but not too different. The two worlds collide on a rainy night when Kim Namjoon, a renowned Mafia leader is called for an emergency and Y/N Y/L/N is on the run from her abusive father. Feelings stir and he rescues her. But one of them is a liar. And the other's life is on the line. It's only a matter of time until all secrets are out in the open.

Will love be born? Or will death conquer?

chαptєr thrєє: Lost and Found

Character Count: 10,033

Pairing: Namjoon×Reader (Appearances by the whole of BTS)

---------------------------------------

The lies you spun when we begun, you thought would be forgot.

-Micheal Faudet

---------------------------------------

Feeling peaceful wasn't something Namjoon was used to. It was a rare feeling considering the kind of things he had to deal with. His mind was in a constant battle between what was right and what he needed to do. A never ending self-conflict.

The news that Hana might be back was too much for Namjoon to handle. She was his best friend. They went to school together, they had picnics together, they grew up together. Both their families loved them a lot. Or at least that's what Namjoon thought. Until his father revealed that he was the heir of the Mafia, the most powerful one at that. Namjoon remembered telling hana about it. He remembered how she had smiled at him and comforted him.

"I'll stand here, no matter what. You do what you need to do."

Those were the times when he used to be at peace.

With her.

Beside her.

But one day, all of it had gone when she died. She took all of Namjoon's happiness, warmth and peace with her. The worst part was, Namjoon never saw her body so he searched for her. He searched and searched for years, eventually giving up when every clue led him to a dead end. And now here she was. 4 years later.

Placing his head on the wooden table in front of him, Namjoon sighed and closed his eyes. His head was gonna explode soon, he was positive about it. For the few minutes that he had spent looking at your sleeping form, he had forgotten about everything. It's like you were a medicine. A medicine that kept him sane and safe. The warm feeling in his chest was back and he liked it. But it was gone just as you started talking about leaving. How could he let you go? With everything that was happening, he needed to feel sane all the time. He needed to feel safe. He needed you.

And so he had answered you, a little harshly.

"You are staying here. Don't talk about going anywhere."

Namjoon winced at the realisation that he might have scared you. That was absolutely not his intention. A knock on the door startled him, making him frown. No one ever bothered him when he was in his study. Actually, he didn't even let anyone inside his study.

"Can I come in?" Your voice reached his ear through the door, slightly muffled and too soft, as if you were scared. Definitely because of Namjoon. "Come in." Namjoon replied, clearing his throat and making sure his appearance was alright. You slowly opened the door and stepped inside, glancing around the study as you pushed the door shut behind you. Namjoon watched you carefully, following your gaze in case he had left any kind of things related to his work.

"So, everything at your house is this.... pretty?" You asked, waving your hands in the air. Namjoon couldn't help but smile, surprised to see that you didn't seem so scared of him. "I'm sorry I forgot to give you a house tour." He said, his eyes falling to your clothes, more like his clothes. You had showered and changed, your hair was damp and a new t-shirt hung on your body. You looked down at your clothes and pursed your lips.

"Uh..sorry I still need to buy clothes. When I came out of the shower, these were already laid out on the bed." You stated, rubbing the back of your neck and looking down at the floor. Namjoon couldn't take his eyes off of you. He concluded that he just liked watching you and everything you did. It was his new favourite leisure activity.

"I told someone to give them to you. You look good in.....my clothes." Namjoon said, hesitating a little on mentioning his clothes. Your eyes widened slightly and you blushed, not accustomed to recieving compliments at all.

"Th-thank you." You stammered, biting your bottom lip. The elephant in the room still needed to be mentioned and you had no idea how to do that. What should you ask him?

"You don't have to go anywhere, Y/N. If that's what you're here to talk about then I think I should be honest with you." Namjoon beat you to it. He had never taken too much time to solve his problems, something people praised him for. You simply nodded and moved closer to his table, resting the palm of your hands on the cherry wood. You glanced at the chair beside you but decided against sitting on it for some reason.

Just like Namjoon thought, he felt better on seeing you. As if you had just taken away all his worries. Now all he had to do was convince you to stay.

"I wanna know everything you've ever been through." He said, resting his chin on the back of his hand. You did a double take at him, stilling all your movements, your eyes stuck on him like glue. Namjoon had hit a sensitive nerve, and he knew that. Your knees felt weak and you just couldn't stand anymore, giving up and sitting down on the chair.

"Why?" You asked, your heart pounding harder and harder. No one ever asked you this because no one cared. You were just a girl who everyone used, to fulfill their needs. Namjoon looked at you with sympathetic eyes and stood up from his plush leather chair. He slowly walked towards where you sat and kneeled down in front of you. Hesitantly, he placed his hands on yours, giving them a light squeeze. It pained him too much to see how sad you had become. He couldn't even imagine how traumatic everything had been for you. He still wished you had just let him kill your stupid excuse of a father.

"You have been through too much, Y/N. You didn't deserve that life. I wanna know so that I can....fix you." He mumbled softly, doubting his words when tears filled your eyes. But it wasn't because of him. It was because this was the first time that someone was so concerned for you. You couldn't help but think this was a game and he was gonna hurt you.

"Why would you wanna fix me? Can't you see? I can't be fixed. You don't know but I have scars that-"

"I have seen them and I really wish I could erase them, trust me." He interrupted you as your jaw dropped. When did he see anything?

You shook your head and pulled your hands away from him, your eyes darting around the room. Anywhere but him. Because you were scared you'd look into his eyes and you would stay. You just couldn't go through all the pain again.

"Y/N, I know you don't trust me but I mean you no harm. You can ask me anything you want." He said, slightly hurt when you had pulled away from his touch. Obviously you were a little too vulnerable at the moment. Maybe Namjoon should have approached this issue a bit differently. He stayed kneeling down in front of you as he saw the hesitation in your eyes.

So you had questions.

After a minute of silence, you finally gathered enough confidence to ask him whatever you wanted to ask.

"Who are you?"

Namjoon's breath hitched, not too surprised regarding your question. He was expecting this. Just not so soon. What was he to tell you? That he ran a mafia? That he was the person who everyone feared? That he killed people and he also did business with your father?

"You scared away my father. That man has never been scared of anyone in his life. You also have a gun."

Namjoon stood up and turned away from you, not wanting you to see the conflict in his eyes. There has to be something he could say. Some lie that you would believe.

"I own a company." Namjoon lied, hoping you bought it.

"A company?"

"Kim Enterprise. It's very popular and-"

"I know Kim Enterprise. I've heard a lot about it." You stated, nodding your head. It was true. Kim Enterprise was a very popular name in the whole country. It had a good reputation and did a lot of work of charities and other NGOs. That made you trust Namjoon a little more.

"What about the gun?" You asked, a little confused as to why a businessman would need such a dangerous weapon. But then again, it probably had to do something with all the rivals and threats.

"I am a businessman, Y/N. I have a lot of people who don't want me to be where I am today." Namjoon replied, surprised with how the lies were easily falling past his lips. You nodded and looked down at your feet, thinking everything through. Namjoon felt bad for having lied to you but that was the only way to make you stay. The truth was, Kim Enterprise did exist but it wasn't owned by Namjoon, it was owned by Seokjin. Along with being in the Mafia, Jin had a company which he ran in order to hide all his illegal practices. The power and money that came with being a CEO, helped the entire mafia in staying superior to others.

When Namjoon didn't hear any reply from you, he turned around to see you lost in your thoughts. You were constantly biting your lips and fiddling with your fingers, eyes trained on the floor. Namjoon walked towards you and pushed your chin up with his finger so that he could see your face.

"Please, Y/N. You won't have to worry about anything. I promise to not let anyone harm you." Namjoon promised, a desperate frown etched on his eyebrows. The sincerity in his eyes was enough to convince you. And so, the words tumbled from your lips.

"I'll stay. But please don't break me again, I am not sure I'll be able to take it."

∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆

A girl dressed in all black, pushed through the crowd, trying to get to the other side of the road. It wasn't her fault that the festival had to happen on the day that she decided to come back to Seoul, the happy chatters of the people irritating her to no extent. She wasn't annoyed because of the loud voices, she was annoyed because of the happiness evident in them.

"Jungkook, close in on her from the west. Hoseok, you take the east. I'm following close behind her." Yoongi said into the earpiece, nodding on hearing everyone's replies. Hana had returned to Seoul, saving Yoongi and the others from the trouble of going to Incheon just for an hour's interrogation. Namjoon had been a little M.I.A from the activities of the gang but it was okay. Everyone understood how bothered he must have been after finding out that Hana was alive. None of the members believed it either until they saw her with their own eyes.

Yoongi walked faster, sighing in relief when Hana started walking into an alleyway, making it easier for them to get to her. Yoongi noticed how she was constantly looking over her shoulder.

Maybe she knew that she was being followed.

Yoongi glanced at Jungkook and Hoseok, nodding at them as they came and stood by his side, all three of them looking in front of them as Hana came to a halt at the end of the alley. Their hearts were pounding loudly at the anticipation of what was to come. Slowly walking towards her, they stopped just as she turned around, their hands clutching their guns tightly.

She stayed confused, narrowing her eyes at the three men who stood opposite her until the realisation dawned on her.

"Jungkook?" She mumbled, making jungkook's breath hitch. Mostly because he finally believed that it was her. Hana was like his sister and the loss of her had been unbearable for him. After hearing her voice, he finally knew that she was alive and this news wasn't just a false assumption.

"Hana?" He asked, taking a step closer to her as Yoongi and Hoseok tensed beside him. They wanted to stop Jungkook but they couldn't. They still weren't sure if they could let their guard down but Jungkook was too overwhelmed to care about any of this. A sob erupted from Hana's mouth as she broke into a run, throwing herself into jungkook's arms.

Yoongi turned to Hoseok, only to find the younger male looking at Hana suspiciously.

"I think it's time to let Namjoon know."

Taglist: @uwunamjoon @shadowstark @addy-nerd @tzuyyyuuu @stressedinmedschool247 @ifellinluvwithdorks @min-t-posts @floofwrites @pretty-in-pink-just-because @bts-d-onut @fangirllbookworm @mystical-writer @it-is-dana @ximaginx @kpopgirlbtssvt @pearylove

Let me know what you think. Also, tell me if you wanna be added to the taglist!

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2

Last time, on PMMM: *Awesome music* “I am Mami Tomoe. And these… are my weapons.” “That’s right, I’m a middle-school magical girl, and I’ve got enough firepower to outfit the Union. Haters gonna hate.” Ooh, phrasing here. “I am one who has made a contract with Kyubey - a magical girl!” So in this show all magical girls makes contracts with Kyubey, no-one else has the power? That implies Homura did so as well. So why was she attacking him? Whoa, alarm clock! Sleepy Madoka waking up again, same as last episode. Was it just another weird dream? Nope, Kyubey’s here to say good morning!... how long have you been sitting there? Same intro as last time, now I have a name for all the characters! Wait, hold up, there was a quick shot of a redhead in the slice-of-life segments. Another character? Episode 2: That Would Be Truly Wonderful

Madoka and Mother are getting ready, when Mother asks about Madoka coming home late, is remarkably chill about Madoka being out. “Just let us know where you are before dinner”? Pretty lenient for a middle-schooler.

Daw, Kyubey’s hanging out in a heated sink or something, that’s adorable. Huh, I was wondering if Madoka was going to have wacky hijinks explaining her new Rabbit-Thing pet to her parents, but apparently only magical girls (or potential magical girls) can see him. Now Madoka’s thinking about her and Sayaka visiting Mami’s place, and damn that’s a nice apartment. Wait, you live here alone? Aren’t you a middle schooler? “Don’t have much to offer as refreshments”? If you consider tea and cake to be ‘not much’, I am insanely jealous. Exposition time! Mami shows her golden egg thing from last episode, which is apparently a Soul Gem. A byproduct of Kyubey making a contract, it’s the source of their magic and proof of them being MGs. Madoka echoes me about whatever this contract thing is, and Kyubey says that he will “grant you any one wish - any wish you desire!” So Kyubey’s a genie? Anything more concrete than “I can grant you even the most impossible of miracles”, some provisos or quid pro quos?

Well, whatever the rules, the Soul Gem is created in exchange for a wish. And those with Soul Gems are duty-bound to battle witches. I assume the thing that they encountered last episode? Out of the flashback and back to the bathroom, Madoka asks Mother a ‘hypothetical’ question about what she would wish fo- Mother cuts her off with a wish to kick two trustees out of the company. Sound like someone’s given this some thought. Mother goes on to say that the CEO should probably retire, but when Madoka mentions off-handedly that maybe she should become the new CEO Mother goes into full strategy mode, reviewing her allies for a power bid. Madoka is as intimidated as I am. Back to exposition, a witch is described as a creature born from curses. Magical girls spread hope, witches spread despair. Furthermore, witches are invisible to regular humans, so we don’t even know they’re around causing trouble. Mami confirms that witches are behind many of the inexplicable bad things that happen in the world. And more than being invisible to humans, witches hide out in labyrinth, like the trippy scenery that Madoka and Sayaka ended up in last episode. So if MGs come from wishes and witches from curses, and Kyubey grants wishes to recruit MGs… does that mean there’s something out there that gives curses to create witches? A sort of anti-Kyubey? Wow, getting heavy here, Mami’s talking about how she fights these witches at the risk of her own life, and cautions the two about becoming MGs. They have the opportunity to have ‘any’ wish granted, “But remember that that wish lies side-by-side with death.” ...Grim. And I don’t know, but the way I see it they’re already at risk, apparently being potential MGs means that you can see witches anyway, so right now all they could do is see what’s actually going on but not be able to do anything. If the monsters are coming after them regardless wouldn’t it be better to have the power to actually defend themselves, and others? Frankly the wish seems superfluous alongside the protection of these powers. Sayaka says that this will be a tough choice, and Madoka is just silent. Mami offers to take them along to a few witch hunts, so they can see it first-hand. And so they can think carefully about if there’s something they want enough to put them in danger. ...but they’re already in danger! These witches are already out there, causing suicides and murders! Forget the vague wish, focus on the power that could defend yourselves and your families! Why is this not a bigger thing? 

Later that morning, Madoka is catching up to Sayaka and Hitomi, and Sayaka freaks at seeing Kyubey perched on Madoka's shoulder. Hitomi is very confused, given that she's a Muggle and can't see the familiar. Sayaka tries to brush it off and move on, then gets further freaked when Madoka telepaths to her. Huh, so they already have some powers before making the contract? Nah, Kyubey's just acting as a Familiar Fone. Hitomi is feeling very confused now, as this whole conversation is happening where she can't hear. All she sees is her friends staring at eachother- oh. Oh no. Hitomi, stahp. Stop talking. Madoka, saying "a lot of things did happen last night" is not helping. Aaand Hitomi's running off crying about how they're both girls. Oh dear. And here I (and Madoka) thought that Sayaka was the resident shipper, looks like cultured Hitomi has her own chart. Back in class, Madoka and Sayaka are trying to 'explain' to Hitomi before they sit down (given Hitomi's bearing, I don't think they succeeded), Sayaka brings up a good point: Mysterious Transfer Student Homura is in their class, should Kyubey really be in blasting range? Kyubey counters with the fact that Mami goes there as well, and hello Mami! Seems that she's part of the group think as well. Wait, is this a general magical girl thing that Homura could cut in on, or only between the three girls and Kyubey? In any case, as creepy as Homura can be, she probably won't start fighting in the middle of school. "Speak of the devil" indeed, Sayaka, here she is. Well, she just sat down, and apart from a hair-swoosh and glance at Madoka holding Kyubey- wait, scene transition. Flashback to the apartment and Mami's soul gem, it's confirmed that Homura is a magical girl like Mami, and that she's fairly powerful. But as for her going after Kyubey, it seems that she was trying to prevent another magical girl contracting. Mami says that it's common for MGs to fight with each-other, as defeating a witch can give rewards. (So it's like a MMO, players in general fighting against the world's monsters but competing with each-other for the loot? Nominally they're all on the same side, but good luck when the the Devout Shoulders drop) Ooh, Mami just magicked her gem to turn into a ring, that's a neat way to have it ready to use. Back to the school, Homura is still staring, Sayaka promises to punch the girl who can shoot lasers from her hands and presumably survive fighting witches if she tries anything. You’ve got guts Sayaka, but maybe discretion is the better part of valor here. Mami agrees, in that she’s there so they’ll be fine. Sorry Sayaka. Here we have a language lesson, and get to see the character’s attitudes: Madoka is dutifully taking notes (when she’s not looking at the Familiar-Hunter seated two rows up), Homura is looking straight ahead, Sayaka is falling asleep, Kyubey is completely asleep, and Madoka finds this most amusing. Oh, never mind, it’s less ‘dutifully taking notes’ and more ‘sketching out MG designs’. Up on the rooftop, Madoka’s sharing her lunch with Kyubey when Sayaka asks if Madoka’s come up with a wish yet. So the wish comes before the contract, or can it be deferred? Turns out neither of them have thought up a wish yet. Well, there are things that they want, but huh Hmm. That’s actually a really mature way to look at it: “what do I want that’s worth risking my life for.” I’m still hung up on the fact that they are defenseless against these witches right now, but I can see their point. (Post-episode note: comments on Pt 1 and talking with Tephi have helped to clarify this further. I mean, it’s one thing to know that the danger is out there, it’s another to actively seek it out to destroy it. It’s like how a firefighter has the capability to protect their own home from a fire, but they also have to use the capability to seek out and stop other fires, not just ones affecting them.) Props on our main characters acknowledging that they live pretty decent lives already, and there’s nothing personal worth risking themselves for. (Post-episode note: And yeah, I still think there’s an element of ‘serve the greater good’ in getting these powers to protect those who can’t use them, but they are only middleschoolers after all. Things that risky should really be left to professionals, it’s a lot to ask of children.) Further props that they have lived privileged lives, given that there are other people who would willingly take the risk for a chance to make a personal change. Wait, flash of a dark room, person looking out a window? Someone you know, Sayaka? Well, that’s enough philosophical discussion in our magical girl show, let’s move on! Sudden appearance by Mysterious Transfer Student Homura, she’s walking towards the girls and Kyubey while Mami is watching from a nearby tower. And based on that glance I think that Homura sees her. At least she isn’t resuming her attack from yesterday. She’d hoped to kill it before it made contact with Madoka, but given the Protagonist is holding the Familiar in her arms that clearly didn’t work out. She certainly seems interested (or as interested as she gets) in whether the girls will become MGs. But when Sayaka basically tells her to shove off, she reminds Madoka of yesterday’s warning and leaves. ...sure, that’s going to help, Mysterious Transfer Student. Remind the girl that you threatened her friends and family yesterday, that’ll definitely keep her from accepting an offer of power and a wish (“I wish that that creepy girl would not hurt those I care about.” Boom, danger averted.) Still, Madoka wouldn’t be the Kind and Loving Protagonist that she is without extending an olive branch, so she asks what Homura wished for when she became a MG. Homura stops, turns… then walks away. Guess we’ll have to wait a few episodes to find out whatever it was. (My money’s on “I wish to become a powerful magical girl” or something like that.) End of school day, Hitomi’s grabbing her bag when the girls arrive and say they have a few ‘errands’ to run, so… Yup, Hitomi’s jealous, thinks she’s a third wheel. Basically runs off crying “NOTP! NOTP!” Aw. Meanwhile Homura’s asked by some other girls about getting coffee, she claims that she has urgent business as well. I’ve got a bad feeling, is she going to try and attack again when there are no witnesses? Flute music! Mami’s giving Lesson 1 of “A Day in the Life of a Magical Girl”. More exposition! Sayaka’s come prepared, with… a baseball bat. Not sure how much use that’ll be against the magical monsters, dearie. But at least she brought a weapon, Madoka brought her sketchbook. Good enthusiasm, Madoka, but maybe you should design the costume after you get your powers. Poor Madoka. Mami is now tracking the magic of yesterday’s witch, I guess that Homura didn’t catch it after all. Now to scout the city on foot! Sorry Sayaka, not everything can be exciting as a witch battle, you’ve got to get there first. The trails a bit cold right now, but Mami thinks it was better to let it go and take care of the two girls post-labyrinth. Madoka apologizes, Sayaka just calls Mami an Ally of Justice. But she’s still confused about Homura. (As am I.) Madoka’s just wondering if she is really a bad person. Our all-loving hero, everyone. Calling it now that she’ll teach Homura the power of Friendship. Person awkwardly walking? Into a ruined building? Mami’s giving more exposition, on how witches can be found around areas of misfortune like car crashes and deadly accidents. So that means the middle schoolers will be checking in high-traffic streets and in the Red Light District. Um. Ok, you can also look in obscure places where people might attempt suicide. Uh oh, cut to the walking lady going up some stairs. You might want to hurry, girls. And yeah, a witch and a hospital sounds like a very bad combination. Ooh, gem’s reacting, they’re almost there. Yup, lady is at the top of the building. Hurry… Look up look up look up there, Sayaka saw her! And oh crap she jumped they were too late look out- oh hey, Mami did a speedy transformation this time and summoned some ribbon-things to catch the lady, she’s safe! Phew, that was way too close. Tattoo? Witch’s Kiss? Well, Mami says she’s fine, so they’re going to hurry in and catch the witch. Music’s picking up again as they run in (Sayaka with bat at the ready), and a butterfly gate opens up. Mami then enchants Sayaka’s bat, hopefully it’ll help. Into the labyrinth, stick close to Mami! And Homura’s arrived. What are you up to? Back to the land of Creepy Puffballs, Mami’s summoning rifles and blasting away while Sayaka swings wildly and Madoka’s carrying Kyubey. I’m thinking the enchantment was less about giving the bat more hitting power and more creating these shields or whatever to protect the non-MGs present. Aw crap, one creep just reformed behind the two never mind Mami’s got it. Madoka’s just looking on in amazement as Mami is owning these creeps. She’s scared, but… hmmm, seems Madoka’s found someone to look up to. They’re almost at the center of the labyrinth, Mami’s got no time for the Scissor Puffballs guarding the door. Here they what the ok I guess they’re through and that… thing… is the witch. Ooh, driving music! And freeze frame with title that I can’t read, is that the witch’s name? Mami casts a barrier to protect the girls, and down she leaps! Step on tiny flying thing with really seems to tick the witch off, Mami just curtsies and summons her first (of presumably many) rifles. Magical Girl vs Witch fight! Big witch is flying around surprisingly fast, Mami just uses her beret to plant a bunch of rifles around her and starts blasting away. Eat exploding bullets, monster! Wait, the tiny mustached flying things are swarming around her now, turned into a whip and grabbed her, threw her into the wall. No fair! Mami, Mami please get out of there, you are clearly not fine. Wait, light coming out of the ground? Did you shoot ribbons into the ground or something. Well, whatever’s happening, the witch is pissed, just unfolded jebus into something with way too many scissors and a butterfly for a face. Oh sweet, the ribbons wrapped it up! Mami cuts the whip and what. What. Ok then. So I know I made that joke last part comparing Mami to the heavy, “and these are my weapons.” I am happy to say I was wrong. Those were not her weapons. This is her weapon. That is not a gun. That is not a cannon. This “Trio Finale” is an artillery piece. Holy crap. She just blew the witch away with a single shot. And she lands with a little twirl and drinks some tea. That… that was beautiful. Wow. Ok, enough hero worship for Mami the Destroyer. With the obliteration of the witch, the labyrinth has collapsed, and the magical girl picked up a small black ornament. Mami identifies it as a grief seed, says that it is a witch’s egg. So you’re going to destroy it? Why is it lucky to find one after a battle? Oh, Kyubey says they’re safe, and valuable because… they clear up Soul Gems? Oh, they restore magic used in fighting witches. So they ‘upgrade’ soul gems, increase their mana capacity or something like that. Ok, I can see why this would be considered a reward, if by killing a witch a MG increases her power that would definitely be valuable. No wonder Mami said MGs fight. Wait, why did you just throw away the magic-boosting dealie? Is it a one-time use thing? Wait, someone caught it. “Should be good for one more use?” Oh hey Homura, nice of you to show up after the witch was fought. What, do you follow Mami around and pick up her used Grief Seeds instead of hunting witches yourself? Huh, never mind, Homura tossed it back, said it was Mami’s kill. And ooh, that was Mami offering to team up with Homura and the Mysterious Transfer Student rejecting the offer, wasn’t it? (Homura. Homura, we just saw Mami destroy a witch with a single shot. Maybe that’s someone you don’t want to insult, hmmm?) Homura walks off, Sayaka takes offense in place of Mami, and Madoka’s just sad that Homura doesn’t want to be friends. Sorry Madoka, but I don’t think someone who threatens your family and tries to kill Familiars is a good friend for you. Give it a few episodes so she can see how effective a group of an Artillery-wielder, someone with a Magic Bat, and the Protagonist can be when they work together. Hey, the jumper from earlier is waking up, doesn’t seem to know where she is. Aaand there’s the memories back. Aw, Mami’s comforting her, seems she was under the witch’s influence after all. Looking on, Madoka’s still not sure what to wish for, but seeing Mami fighting to save people… Aw Madoka, “even someone like you”? You’re the Protagonist, you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for! Give it some time, you’ll be blasting witches with the best of them before long. And it is really mature of you to focus on using your powers for good. Seriously, it’s nice to have a character who thinks just being able to help people “would be truly wonderful” (title drop!). Awwww. That was a really sweet episode. Ok, let’s recap as the credits roll. We got some good exposition on the world and rules, some parts I’m still vague on but I guess I’ll get some more answers later. Madoka and Sayaka are still not magical girls, but when they work out their wishes I can’t wait to see them come into their own. Mami, holy crap. I knew you were powerful after the Armory Attack last episode, but this one? “Trio Finale” is incredible! So do MGs get a named Super Attack sort of thing, and if so what will Madoka and Sayaka get? Sayaka’s “Super Swing” with her bat? Madoka’s “Pink Storm” with whatever her weapon is? (Calling a classical MG wand or tiara now). We got some answers about Homura this time, but I’m still not sure what her end goal is. She doesn’t want competition, based on her trying to kill Kyubey, and she doesn’t want to work with others, based on her rejecting Mami’s used Grief Seed. But what do you want, besides to become stronger without “sharing” the rewards with others? (Post-episode note: It was a little while later that I came up with the “Homura summons the Flying Thing from the vision to try and get a Super Grief Seed” theory posted on pg 11). Episode preview- uh, why is there some dude in a Mad Max-ish faceplate in the picture? Anyways, dialogue: Mami says she only pretends to be cool (Mami, you can summon artillery. You are absolutely cool) and pushes herself hard. But… aw, you don’t have anyone to talk to? Yeah, I guess when your only counterpart is Homura the Mysterious you don’t really have deep conversations. Aw, don’t cry, Mami. Now you have two new friends! Yes, we’ve seen that being a Magical Girl can be risky, but train up these two and I know you’ll be an amazing team! See, you just need some friends to help with the burden. “I’m not afraid of anything anymore.” 

[loyalflutist]

Manmade Killer (Pt. 1)

It was Christmas. Snow fell down within the city of Shinjuku and friends, families, and couples come together to celebrate the occasion. The night sparkled from decorations. Blue, red, green, white... all kinds of colors brighten the city. Tranquility makes it difficult for much negativity to taint anyone during this holiday. However, Oshima Yuko couldn't celebrate it. In one of the many buildings, on the third floor, the squirrel sat in one of the many desks. An ex-detective that originally came from the Metropolitan Police Department years ago, she came to an early retirement due to a past issue. But nevermind that, the young woman in her mid-20s clicked away on her laptop. Each keystroke was notable in the barely lit premise, a desk lamp the only source of light. Exhaustion. Fatigue. And alone. She desires to sleep, yet won't allow her body to feel the relief. Yuko has to keep on working. Work... work... work... work. The saying "sleep is for the weak" is horribly applicable to the ex-inspector. She furrowed her brows and resisted the temptation to rub her weary eyes. A loud exhale as she continued to tap away on the keyboard. "Yuko? You're still awake?" Thanks to Yuko's mental and physical state, hypersensitivity is prominent. She nearly leaped off from her black rolling chair. Thankfully, the person that called out for her is none other than Special Police Officer Yokoyama Yui. The tall raven-haired woman rested an arm against the doorway between the main workroom and the nap room, her sharp gaze aimed at the squirrel. In comparison to the ex-detective, not a hint of fatigue was shown on her face and body language. Donned with a white collared shirt, black pants, and uniformed blue jacket, the medal "SP" clung to her shirt as a sign of her prestigious position. Although her duty is to protect VIP figures such as politicians and CEOs, the Kyoto-originated female personally requested to be Yuko's bodyguard. Yui's reason for doing so? Well, it wasn't a difficult question to answer. A faint exhale escaped from her partially parted lips. "You should be sleeping." Yuko shook her head. "I can't. Shouldn't you be sleeping in the nap room here?" Another sigh came from Yui's lips when she saw the other female reach towards her cup of coffee. It wasn't necessarily the caffeinated product that concerned her so much. Instead, it was more so with how OLD the coffee is. When the SP Officer checked in for the morning, Yuko was sipping from the same container and drinking the God-knows-how-long-it's-been-made black coffee. It wasn't like the squirrel to forget how to operate normally on daily necessities. Then again, it's not surprising considering the month-long predicament that ate at them. Endlessly taunting them... especially Oshima Yuko. No grave sins were committed to sending her to Hell, but she's experiencing one right now. Rest did not bring any alleviation, agitation gnawing at her nerve. "Yuko..." she said. Yuko readjusted her seat as Yui waltzed over to the clear-glassed window from behind the inspector. Hands in her jacket's pockets, the Kyoto woman stared out to the city view. If it weren't for the heavy atmosphere that weighed on their shoulders, they would've not only celebrated the holiday but share wine with each other just like old times. Maybe even played out in the snow with their teammates. "I know you're trying your best to search for your sister, but I can't protect you from diseases." A scoff. Then, Yuko clicked on the laptop a few times to close all of the web browsers. Whether she was closing them to actually take a break or closing them out of obligation to shut Yui up is up for speculations. Thanks to the brightness of the screen, it somewhat reflected on the window's surface. The SP Officer didn't have to look over her shoulders to see what was on the device. Nevertheless, her eyebrows slightly raised at the sight of a group photo. Oshima Yuko. Yokoyama Yui. Yamamoto Sayaka. Kashiwagi Yuki. Watanabe Mayu. Maeda Atsuko. Matsui Rena. Seven members. A mixture of active and retired officers. A melting pot for the roles they each played. A group primarily focused on stopping a terrorist organization outside of police jurisdiction and limitations. They were after Adrestia. A faceless Japanese terrorist organization bent on taking revenge and delivering retribution to those seemingly "evil" to justice. They were meant to be upheld as a holy figure that would topple the police force. Those victims who died were murmured and whispered amongst the civilians to be truly terrible in society. For the government to lack efficiency in handling these small, but severe problems became a devastating blow to their reputation. Fewer people trusted the police and more on Adrestria. It's almost as if a superhero arose from the crowd and stood up for what is right and what is wrong. However, what made them God? What made them decide what's just and unjust for everyone? Not many were able to perceive this fatal flaw as their criminal acts... might not be so criminal at first glance.   It has been six months since their existence came to light. Their first appearance was no minor introduction. The death of a man who is labeled as a stalker to an idol from AKB48 was their first case. Gunned down by a security guard protecting Team K when they were out on tour around Japan, the man immediately killed himself before he explained why he chose to murder the fan. Either way, Team K have been protected thanks to him. Adrestia made a big note of who they are when they uploaded a video on the Internet about the fan's crimes. He had stalked them, taken photos of them, and sent them Anonymous videos of the dirty actions he did with those pictures. Idols filed a report many times in the past. The police came to protect them but did a lackluster job. He still came to bother them. Over... and over... and over again. One idol even committed suicide because of it. Adrestia took action and protected the group in the police's stead. We are Adrestia and we strive to take revenge on the evils that outlived their days compared to their victims. The Cleansing Day will come when New Year Eve arrives. All in a distorted voice. Eventually, exactly a month after that, another death came to light. Instead of just one victim, there was a total of a whopping twenty. To make matters worse, they were all young adolescents. Their crimes? Bullying hurts but cyberbullying hurts even more. You have no way to distinguish who they are and if they really meant what they said. These twenty students, all between the age of 12 and 22, committed a grave sin. They bullied others on Facebook. Many victims called for help, but no one came to their aid. Police officers and therapists mocked them for their sensitivity. Adrestia did not take this lightly. We took action and protected the bullied users in the police's stead. We are Adrestia and we strive to take revenge on the evils that outlived their days compared to their victims. The Cleansing Day will come when New Year Eve arrives. A more feminine distorted voice, distinguishing itself from the previous video. And so it went on. Month by month, their crimes became horrific. Murders of rapists, child molesters, corrupted government officials, bribers, murderers, stalkers, corrupted officers... It went on. The crimes committed by them were atrocious. Police forces throughout Japan, especially Shinjuku, went haywire. Everyone in the organization used as much force as possible to search for the culprits. Some overexerted and abused their authoritative powers, making innocent civilians go to jail as a way to pat down one of the monthly cases. Lives were at stakes, reputations were at stakes, and most importantly, answers were desperately needed. The group that Yuko had formed alongside with her stepsister, Mayu, had kicked into gear. Beginning the day after the first month's murder, Yuko and everyone spread out to do their research. They were possibly the only ones able to stop Adrestia given their resources and experiences. But every single time they came close to an answer, it slipped through their fingers. In its place, another murder pops up in the name of the terrorist. It was a frustrating cycle. Loads of responsibilities and trouble began to accumulate as the months ticked by. Clues were gathered, but not enough to catch up on the latest events. By the time the ex-detective found an answer, the worst-case scenario unfolded before her eyes. That day, on November 25th... Yuko's thumb ran across Mayu's face on the screened photo. "I have to find my sister." Missing. Mayu is missing-- Er, well, it wasn't to say that she's missing like those found in the missing person poster. Actually, the Special Regions Crime Prevention Office (SRCPO) member is plastered on the bulletin board of this investigative's room as a wanted individual. Alongside, Kashiwagi Yuki went missing. Whether she was found with Mayu or not currently is not clear. Same goes for Matsui Rena. She disappeared the same day as Yuki. Then there's also the other two members-- "I can't forgive her. She murdered Sayanee." Yuko snapped out of her trance-like state at the sharp proclamation from Yui. She turned to look at the officer, her baggy eyes staring straight at the fierce woman. As if to showcase how serious she is with her statement, Yokoyama took the gun out from her holster and toyed with it. She unloaded all of the bullets into her other hand and immediately stuck them back into the cylinder. One-by-one, the gold metallic ammunition went into its original spot. Silence hung in between the two figures. Figuring that Yuko would object to her perspectives, the Special Police Officer raised her chin slightly. "Did you also forget that she murdered your parents?" They may not have been related to each other, but they were adopted together under the two kind parents. They were raised to be an outstanding citizen of society. Yuko and Mayu wished to serve in the police department as a way to give back to the community. Of course, thanks to a mishap, Yuko took early retirement (more like quit) from her position and became independent. Mayu, on the other hand, remains as a counselor and listens in to people's worries during times of emergencies. Regardless of their roles and what they did with their life, they loved their adopted parents dearly. So the cold-blooded slaughtering of their parents was the last straw for Oshima. She vividly remembers their death. It was exactly one week after the disappearance of Watanabe Mayu, Kashiwagi Yuki, and Matsui Rena. Yuko returned home with her parents to have dinner with them. There wasn't much to discuss, but the least she could do is bring them comfort during this turbulent time. It was likely that the three were kidnapped by Adrestia, but it's also possible that the trio's disappearances didn't correlate with each other. The independent detective does admit that it was too much of a coincidence to have such scenario occur though... Regardless, the doorbell rang during their quiet mealtime. Yuko went to open the door. A loud gasp came from her direction from the sight of who it was. There stood Watanabe Mayu in the doorway. Her eyes dead. A black collar snapped around her neck as if she were an animal. A handgun held within her two hands. The white police uniform she donned disheveled and dirtied. Yuko didn't even have a chance to register a dialogue before Mayu shoved her way into the house. Two fires came from the weapon. Two screams. Then, silence. Complete and eerie silence. It wasn't long till Mayu walked right out the same doorway as she had entered, ignoring the older female. Darkness from the dimly lit streets engulfed the gunner once she was far enough. Yuko was still standing in awe. Oshima Yuko always wondered why she wasn't able to stop her sister at that time. Was it because of her lingering attachment to Mayu? Was it because she hesitated to pull out her own revolver and shoot Mayu? Was it because she was shocked to think that her sister would return after a week of disappearing? Whatever it was, their parents are dead. A single bullet straight to their forehead. It was a direct hit to their brain. Death is certain for their fates. Still... it was all too strange. How could someone like Mayu not only go off to hurt their teammates, but their very own parents? Sure, they weren't related by blood, but it doesn't excuse the abrupt and violent end they were met with. Something must've caused her younger sibling to react this way. Yuko parted her thumb from the screen and bit the bottom of her lip. Besides, Watanabe harmed someone that she too cared for greatly... Someone that Yuko couldn't understand why either. "There's also Acchan too..." she cracked. Yui nodded in the background. That was right. Not only was Sayaka the victim in this betrayal, but Maeda Atsuko was at the brunt end of it. This didn't happen all in one day. The first victim was Yamamoto Sayaka. Yuko remembered the video that Mayu had personally sent to them, stating that another teammate would be next on her hit list. Her lifeless voice... Her bone-chilling message... Was this really the sister she knew since they were children? Atsuko... oh, Atsuko is someone Oshima loved so much. The ex-detective and a profiler from the Crime Lab at the Metropolitan Police Department. The unlikely duo that became tragically separated by a murderer no one expected. Yuko's hands curled into fists as she shakily exhaled. "Yuihan, I want to talk to her before I bring down her judgment. Even if you want to take revenge on behalf of your lover, I... I can't allow that. She's my sister." The Special Police Officer shifted her attention back to the scenery. She narrowed her eyes. "Well, you better be ready for it. I have a feeling we're going to find her before January 1st." "...right." The sooner, the better. Yuko wanted nothing more than to get this nightmare over with. ---------- In another location, Kashiwagi Yuki, a hacker at the Cyber Crimes Division, felt so useless. It wasn't the useless kind of sensation where one stands on the sideline. At least she could be cheering for someone or something. She could become an influence thanks to those encouraging words. This was a literal uselessness. Physically and mentally. She was stuck in a bright metallic room with nothing but herself. Steel wall surrounds her figure as she huddled in the corner of the mostly dried blood-splattered room. She hugged herself. Comfort was nowhere to be seen... She wasn't safe in isolation from her mind. The terrorist organization has her confined to this premise. No matter how much she screams or pounds at the only exit, no one would respond. Well, she tried to scream, that is. Not a single sound came out of her voice box. The tattered and bruised Yuki that was once kind, gentle, and a good listener to everyone around her is reduced to a silent wreck thanks to Adrestia. Whatever poison or surgical techniques they performed on the unconscious woman... She won't be able to vocalize her thoughts, her concerns, her love, her sorrow... anything anymore. Yuki gave up. The woman's ears perked up when the door creaked open. Her brown eyes peeked over her crossed arms. Watanabe Mayu came back. The door immediately clicked close by another individual once Mayu had taken a step into the confinement. Partially bathed in another person's blood on her clothes, Mayu truly painted an image of a psychopath. A black collar around her neck, the woman barely blinked when she saw Yuki extend her arms out. She acted almost like a baby in need of a mother. Ironic considering the fact that Mayu had a hand solidly gripping a loaded revolver. However, everyone knew that the two would never wish harm upon one another. They've loved each other and still do. Watanabe just doesn't know if she's alive or dead in this state. 'Mayuyu... Oh, Mayuyu...' Mayu was the only person who could bring some sense of peace to the hacker. However, the guilt that weighed on Yuki's shoulders were heavy as she littered long kisses on her lover's cheeks. The raven-haired desperately tried to give as much warmth as possible to the present day Mayu. Usually, the officer would be annoyed by the close treatment as it's reserved for privacy, but it hurts that Mayu isn't flinching or reacting to this at all. Tears streamed down Yuki's face as she wrapped her arms around the armed woman. Both of their brown eyes had no life... A lifeless duo that barely clung onto reality. 'Why did it become like this?' Of course, Mayu has no way of knowing. She's not human anymore... A police officer who once specialized in the Special Regions Crime Prevention Office is now a murderer. She not only raised her revolver at innocent civilians, but she assassinated their comrades. Yamamoto Sayaka and Maeda Atsuko... Someone they once called their allies, their friends... it all went away weeks ago with a bullet to their chest. Mayu may have given them a quick death, but the fact that they're not in this world anymore destroyed Yuki. It wasn't Mayu's fault though. "Neh... Yukirin..." That tone. That voice. Unlike Kashiwagi, Mayu didn't lose the ability to speak. This was a chance for her to tell the official what's on her mind. She was given free rein on what to say. Freedom of speech isn't exactly one hundred percent true in the hands of this terrorist organization though. "I killed our captain." Yuki knew Mayu had pride and conviction to remain true to her ways. Yet the collar that Adrestia's leader snapped around her neck served as a torturing device. Poison contaminated the metallic band. Every single time the girl would raise objections to their beliefs, to the orders they shoved down her throat, to their harsh treatment and abuse with Yuki, the leader allowed the collar to release its chemicals into the officer. The excruciating agony that paralyzed the victim ran on till Mayu sobbed for death to relieve her. Of course, they weren't so kind. A quick antidote brought her to good health within an hour. Then, they shoved their idealisms... their moralistic values... and assassination orders upon the woman once again. If she were to object once again, she would be subjected to the same treatment. "I'm okay... I'm fine." The hacker saw it all since day one of their kidnappings. A date out in broad daylight at a park to take a break from their work turned into a living nightmare. Since Yuki holds no value to the terrorist organization, they simply used her as their pawn to keep Mayu in check. With the police officer's strict outlook on what justice means and why revenge can be justified, their eyes have rested on Mayu. Her ability to use the gun is a bonus to them as she can play the role of an "Executioner". Of course, knowing the ponytailed female, she outright rejected their offer only to undergo horrific treatments. Yuki was there to witness it all in her mute cries and sobs. It's as if Adrestia is training a pet... Like a broken pet to order and reward. Yuki tightened her hold around the crimson-stained girlfriend. When the wet cheeks pressed against her lover, Mayu expressed her opinion in a monotone voice. "You're crying? Are you hurt anywhere?" Hurt... Pain. Oh, Yuki felt pain much worse than the abuse she's been submitted to by the hooded terrorist leader. It's the crushing anguish of her heart being squished to oblivion by an invisible force. The sight of her lover succumbing to cruel punishments for staying true to her ideals and not aligning with the enemies'. The horror of losing her ability to speak. The urge to scream in terror as she frantically and desperately provided as much useless care to Mayu as possible. She buried her face into the gunner's shoulder. 'If only I was strong...' Yuki wasn't trained in the art of firearms like Mayu. Thoughts ran through her head about taking up lessons from her girlfriend. However, Mayu urged that it wasn't necessary. If only the hacker held her stance much stronger back then... Then she might've protected Mayu rather than become dependent on her. More tears ran down her face as she leaned forward, lips close to Watanabe's ear. Just like every single day, Yuki tried her best to formalize words that can be audible rather than incoherent airy whispers. "I'm... sorry..." Did Mayu hear that? Or was that just a figment of Yuki's hallucinations she's constantly had in this confined room that she was able to utter words to her lover? Either way, the curtain will soon descend upon the stage as Adrestia makes their final move. After all, it won't be long till New Year Eve comes around the corner.

[annarosewriting]

Eat Your Vegetables and the Rich

I recently read an article that quoted a woman who’s a CEO of some company based in LA. I don’t remember the name of this individual nor the company but I do remember what she said when asked how she got to where she was:

“If you’re strategic about when you sleep, when you shower and how often you go to the bathroom, anyone can do it.”

Motherfucker, what.

I’m sorry, is this person REALLY telling us, the working class of America who are just trying to get by and pay our bills, that to become rich and successful in this incredibly broken system, that we have to LIMIT HOW OFTEN WE GO TO THE BATHROOM? AND PERFORM OTHER ESSENTIAL TASKS THAT KEEP US ALIVE AND WELL?

WE HAVE TO SUFFER, BE SLEEP DEPRIVED AND SMELLY TO MAYBE MOVE UP A LITTLE BIT IN A COMPANY WE DON’T EVEN LIKE THAT MUCH?

I fucking hate this culture.

This overly ambitious, hustle every day, rise and grind (fucking kill me for just typing that phrase) culture that we have created.

Society’s the one to blame for all this lunacy though. This glorification of overworking arose from the ashes of late-stage capitalism.

We’re not getting paid enough but the cost of living keeps rising because companies love money more than they love people. Pinterest, Influencers, the ultra-rich, they’ve all sold us this idea (tied up in pithy statements you can buy on coffee mugs) that we too can be as wealthy as they are if we just work. 

All the time. 

And never stop. 

We have to hustle harder, we have to be on top of our game 24/7, we can’t ever have a down moment. We always have to think of ways we can monetize the things we do for enjoyment or relaxation. Because what is the POINT of doing ANYTHING if we can’t make money off of it to survive in this inherently broken system that will destroy us all in about 20 years if we don’t get our heads out of our asses???

I fall prey to this ideology all the time. Whenever I lay down to just watch TV I have massive guilt. 

I’m actively doing things that are meant to help me relax and yet, I still get an urge to maximize this time so I can prove to whatever imaginary audience is watching me at all times that I’m always productive. Even if it’s just reblogging another photoset of Ben Hardy flexing. 

Which, in my defense, is hustling to get him to hang out with me on Thursday when I am free. Ben, if you’re reading this, I’m free on Thursday to hang out.

Working in the retail/food service/customer service world made me realize early on that companies do not give a shit about their employees. Even the Cool Hip Companies that have gyms and bring food to the office, they do not give a shit about their employees. Sorry tech bro that works 40 plus hour weeks but thinks that because the office lets you dress however you want that’s enough to make up for the fact they don’t pay you a livable wage!! Even THAT company doesn’t care about you as a person!! 

Companies only care about how little they can pay us to work ourselves to death so the three people who are making all of the money at the top can make even more.

This idea that we should always be working is so damaging and toxic. 

As Ari says, “imma need space, imma-imma need space.”

How am I expected to do my best work when I don’t ever get a break?

I had a whole day at work where I did nothing (nobody snitch on me I swear to god) but it was in that time when I was able to relax and be still that I realized where I want my career to go next.

It’s those idle moments that push me to try that barre/boxing/yoga class/personal training sessions. It’s during that time that I add to the long list of books that I want to read. It’s during those moments of relaxation that I’m able to truly appreciate how good all of Queen’s albums are.

It’s moments when I’m not doing work that I do my best work.

And work is only one part of my life. What makes me interesting is me, my personality, the activities I do outside of my job. 

Because really, who wants to hear about social media marketing. Our lives are one big social media marketing campaign so who gives a shit. 

My job isn’t the most interesting thing about me.

Nor should it be! We’ve been indoctrinated with this idea that our work is what defines us. That our productivity is what gives us purpose in this life and I’m over it. 

Quite frankly, what gives my life purpose is having dinner with my family every night, seeing my friends, planning trips, reading, dancing, running, yoga, going to museums, watching Mamma Mia (1 AND 2 obviously), volunteering, writing, trying to keep a succulent alive, pouring love into my small corner of the world and guess what? None of these things have to do with my job.

The things that make life worth living, that shine a light into the drudgery of every day work life are the things that happen outside of work. 

I’m not lazy, don’t get it twisted. I work hard but holy fuck we all just need to C H I L L. 

Go pet a dog, take a day to not set your alarm, go eat some ice cream, watch all of Chris Fleming’s videos, talk to your parents about what they were interested in growing up, I know this all sounds like hippy dippy bullshit but GOD, I refuse to let work and “hustling” be the defining features of my time here on this earth. 

I think about death a lot, my own mainly, though I do think about Donald and all the men and women who signed the heartbeat bill’s deaths and boy does that make me happy. But when I think about my funeral, I really don’t want people to just talk about my job or my work. I want people to remember how I made them feel. I want people to talk about my spirit, how kind I was, my sense of humor, I want to make sure that I’ve left the people I love with good memories. Because in the end, it doesn’t matter how much you work. What matters is how much love and kindness you poured into the world. That’s what’s important and that’s what will always be important.

So what’s the main takeaway from all this? Well, one, I think about dying a lot which probably isn’t GREAT and two, work isn’t everything. It’s only a small part of who we are. 

Just remember: value your time, the work you’re doing is never that important that it can’t be put off till tomorrow, don’t let your job take precedence over your life, seize the means of production, let love be the main motivating factor in your life, call your mom and remember to eat your vegetables and also the rich.

[hillaryisaboss]

8/25/2016: Hillary was the first to call out Trump's racist history and dog whistling to racists.

This speech should be required viewing. Required reading. The woman who got 3 million more votes called it. She was 100% right. She had the crystal ball. If only a few more of us had listened.

This speech needs to be burned into our memories forever:

"After all, it’s hard to believe anyone – let alone a nominee for President of the United States – could really believe all the things he says.

But the hard truth is, there’s no other Donald Trump. This is it.

Maya Angelou once said: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Well, throughout his career and this campaign, Donald Trump has shown us exactly who he is. We should believe him."

~Hillary Rodham Clinton; 8/25/2016

She warned us.

"Everywhere I go, people tell me how concerned they are by the divisive rhetoric coming from my opponent in this election.

It’s like nothing we’ve heard before from a nominee for President of the United States.

From the start, Donald Trump has built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia.

He’s taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America’s two major political parties.

His disregard for the values that make our country great is profoundly dangerous.

...

It takes a lot of nerve to ask people he’s ignored and mistreated for decades, “What do you have to lose?” The answer is everything!

Trump’s lack of knowledge or experience or solutions would be bad enough.

But what he’s doing here is more sinister.

Trump is reinforcing harmful stereotypes and offering a dog whistle to his most hateful supporters.

It’s a disturbing preview of what kind of President he’d be.

This is what I want to make clear today:

A man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far reaches of the internet, should never run our government or command our military.

If he doesn’t respect all Americans, how can he serve all Americans?

Now, I know some people still want to give Trump the benefit of the doubt.

They hope that he will eventually reinvent himself – that there’s a kinder, gentler, more responsible Donald Trump waiting in the wings somewhere.

After all, it’s hard to believe anyone – let alone a nominee for President of the United States – could really believe all the things he says.

But the hard truth is, there’s no other Donald Trump. This is it.

Maya Angelou once said: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Well, throughout his career and this campaign, Donald Trump has shown us exactly who he is. We should believe him.

When Trump was getting his start in business, he was sued by the Justice Department for refusing to rent apartments to black and Latino tenants.

Their applications would be marked with a “C” – “C” for “colored” – and then rejected.

Three years later, the Justice Department took Trump back to court because he hadn’t changed.

The pattern continued through the decades.

State regulators fined one of Trump’s casinos for repeatedly removing black dealers from the floor. No wonder the turn-over rate for his minority employees was way above average.

And let’s not forget Trump first gained political prominence leading the charge for the so-called “Birthers.”

He promoted the racist lie that President Obama isn’t really an American citizen – part of a sustained effort to delegitimize America’s first black President.

In 2015, Trump launched his own campaign for President with another racist lie. He described Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals.

And he accused the Mexican government of actively sending them across the border. None of that is true.

Oh, and by the way, Mexico’s not paying for his wall either.

If it ever gets built, you can be sure that American taxpayers will be stuck with the bill.

Since then, there’s been a steady stream of bigotry.

We all remember when Trump said a distinguished federal judge born in Indiana couldn’t be trusted to do his job because, quote, “He’s a Mexican.”

Think about that.

The man who today is the standard bearer of the Republican Party said a federal judge was incapable of doing his job solely because of his heritage.

Even the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, described that as “the textbook definition of a racist comment.”

To this day, he’s never apologized to Judge Curiel.

But for Trump, that’s just par for the course.

This is someone who retweets white supremacists online, like the user who goes by the name “white-genocide-TM.” Trump took this fringe bigot with a few dozen followers and spread his message to 11 million people.

His campaign famously posted an anti-Semitic image – a Star of David imposed over a sea of dollar bills – that first appeared on a white supremacist website.

The Trump campaign also selected a prominent white nationalist leader as a delegate in California. They only dropped him under pressure.

When asked in a nationally televised interview whether he would disavow the support of David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, Trump wouldn’t do it. Only later, again under mounting pressure, did he backtrack.

And when Trump was asked about anti-Semitic slurs and death threats coming from his supporters, he refused to condemn them.

Through it all, he has continued pushing discredited conspiracy theories with racist undertones.

Trump said thousands of American Muslims in New Jersey cheered the 9/11 attacks. They didn’t.

He suggested that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Perhaps in Trump’s mind, because he was a Cuban immigrant, he must have had something to do with it. Of course there’s absolutely no evidence of that.

Just recently, Trump claimed President Obama founded ISIS. And then he repeated that nonsense over and over.

His latest paranoid fever dream is about my health. All I can say is, Donald, dream on.

This is what happens when you treat the National Enquirer like Gospel.

It’s what happens when you listen to the radio host Alex Jones, who claims that 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombings were inside jobs. He said the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre were child actors and no one was actually killed there.

Trump didn’t challenge those lies. He went on Jones’ show and said: “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.”

This man wants to be President of the United States.

I’ve stood by President Obama’s side as he made the toughest decisions a Commander-in-Chief ever has to make.

In times of crisis, our country depends on steady leadership… clear thinking… and calm judgment… because one wrong move can mean the difference between life and death.

The last thing we need in the Situation Room is a loose cannon who can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction, and who buys so easily into racially-tinged rumors.

Someone detached from reality should never be in charge of making decisions that are as real as they come.

It’s another reason why Donald Trump is simply temperamentally unfit to be President of the United States.

Now, some people will say that his bluster and bigotry is just over-heated campaign rhetoric – an outrageous person saying outrageous things for attention.

But look at the policies Trump has proposed. They would put prejudice into practice.

And don’t be distracted by his latest attempts to muddy the waters.

He may have some new people putting new words in his mouth… but we know where he stands.

He would form a deportation force to round up millions of immigrants and kick them out of the country.

He’d abolish the bedrock constitutional principle that says if you’re born in the United States, you’re an American citizen. He says that children born in America to undocumented parents are, quote, “anchor babies” and should be deported.

Millions of them.

And he’d ban Muslims around the world – 1.5 billion men, women, and children –from entering our country just because of their religion.

Think about that for a minute. How would it actually work? People landing in U.S. airports would line up to get their passports stamped, just like they do now.

But in Trump’s America, when they step up to the counter, the immigration officer would ask every single person, “What is your religion?”

And then what?

What if someone says, “I’m a Christian,” but the agent doesn’t believe them.

Do they have to prove it? How would they do that?

Ever since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, America has distinguished itself as a haven for people fleeing religious persecution.

Under Donald Trump, America would distinguish itself as the only country in the world to impose a religious test at the border.

Come to think of it, there actually may be one place that does that. It’s the so-called Islamic State. The territory ISIS controls. It would be a cruel irony if America followed its lead.

Don’t worry, some will say, as President, Trump will be surrounded by smart advisors who will rein in his worst impulses.

So when a tweet gets under his skin and he wants to retaliate with a cruise missile, maybe cooler heads will be there to convince him not to.

Maybe.

But look at who he’s put in charge of his campaign.

Trump likes to say he only hires the “best people.” But he’s had to fire so many campaign managers it’s like an episode of the Apprentice.

The latest shake-up was designed to – quote – “Let Trump be Trump.” To do that, he hired Stephen Bannon, the head of a right-wing website called Breitbart.com, as campaign CEO.

To give you a flavor of his work, here are a few headlines they’ve published:

“Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy.”

“Would You Rather Your Child Had Feminism or Cancer?”

“Gabby Giffords: The Gun Control Movement’s Human Shield”

“Hoist It High And Proud: The Confederate Flag Proclaims A Glorious Heritage.”

That one came shortly after the Charleston massacre, when Democrats and Republicans alike were doing everything they could to heal racial divides. Breitbart tried to enflame them further.

Just imagine – Donald Trump reading that and thinking: “this is what I need more of in my campaign.”

Bannon has nasty things to say about pretty much everyone.

This spring, he railed against Paul Ryan for, quote “rubbing his social-justice Catholicism in my nose every second.”

No wonder he’s gone to work for Trump – the only Presidential candidate ever to get into a public feud with the Pope.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, Breitbart embraces “ideas on the extremist fringe of the conservative right. Racist ideas.

Race-baiting ideas. Anti-Muslim and anti-Immigrant ideas –– all key tenets making up an emerging racist ideology known as the ‘Alt-Right.’”

Alt-Right is short for “Alternative Right.”

The Wall Street Journal describes it as a loosely organized movement, mostly online, that “rejects mainstream conservatism, promotes nationalism and views immigration and multiculturalism as threats to white identity.”

The de facto merger between Breitbart and the Trump Campaign represents a landmark achievement for the “Alt-Right.” A fringe element has effectively taken over the Republican Party.

This is part of a broader story -- the rising tide of hardline, right-wing nationalism around the world.

Just yesterday, one of Britain’s most prominent right-wing leaders, Nigel Farage, who stoked anti-immigrant sentiments to win the referendum on leaving the European Union, campaigned with Donald Trump in Mississippi.

Farage has called for a ban on the children of legal immigrants from public schools and health services, has said women are quote “worth less” than men, and supports scrapping laws that prevent employers from discriminating based on race -- that’s who Trump wants by his side.

The godfather of this global brand of extreme nationalism is Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In fact, Farage has appeared regularly on Russian propaganda programs.

Now he’s standing on the same stage as the Republican nominee.

Trump himself heaps praise on Putin and embrace pro-Russian policies.

He talks casually of abandoning our NATO allies, recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and of giving the Kremlin a free hand in Eastern Europe more generally.

American presidents from Truman to Reagan have rejected the kind of approach Trump is taking on Russia.

We should, too.

All of this adds up to something we’ve never seen before.

Of course there’s always been a paranoid fringe in our politics, steeped in racial resentment. But it’s never had the nominee of a major party stoking it, encouraging it, and giving it a national megaphone. Until now.

On David Duke’s radio show the other day, the mood was jubilant.

“We appear to have taken over the Republican Party,” one white supremacist said.

Duke laughed. There’s still more work to do, he said.

No one should have any illusions about what’s really going on here. The names may have changed… Racists now call themselves “racialists.” White supremacists now call themselves “white nationalists.” The paranoid fringe now calls itself “alt-right.” But the hate burns just as bright.

And now Trump is trying to rebrand himself as well. Don’t be fooled.

There’s an old Mexican proverb that says “Tell me with whom you walk, and I will tell you who you are.”

We know who Trump is. A few words on a teleprompter won’t change that.

He says he wants to “make America great again,” but his real message remains “Make America hate again.”

This isn’t just about one election. It’s about who we are as a nation.

It’s about the kind of example we want to set for our children and grandchildren.

Next time you watch Donald Trump rant on television, think about all the kids listening across our country. They hear a lot more than we think.

Parents and teachers are already worried about what they’re calling the “Trump Effect.”

Bullying and harassment are on the rise in our schools, especially targeting students of color, Muslims, and immigrants.

At a recent high school basketball game in Indiana, white students held up Trump signs and taunted Latino players on the opposing team with chants of “Build the wall!” and “Speak English.”

After a similar incident in Iowa, one frustrated school principal said, “They see it in a presidential campaign and now it's OK for everyone to say this.”

We wouldn’t tolerate that kind of behavior in our own homes. How can we stand for it from a candidate for president?

This is a moment of reckoning for every Republican dismayed that the Party of Lincoln has become the Party of Trump. It’s a moment of reckoning for all of us who love our country and believe that America is better than this.

Twenty years ago, when Bob Dole accepted the Republican nomination, he pointed to the exits and told any racists in the Party to get out.

The week after 9/11, George W. Bush went to a mosque and declared for everyone to hear that Muslims “love America just as much as I do.”

In 2008, John McCain told his own supporters they were wrong about the man he was trying to defeat. Senator McCain made sure they knew – Barack Obama is an American citizen and “a decent person.”

We need that kind of leadership again.

Every day, more Americans are standing up and saying “enough is enough” – including a lot of Republicans. I’m honored to have their support.

And I promise you this: with your help, I will be a President for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. For those who vote for me and those who don't.

For all Americans.

Because I believe we are stronger together.

It’s a vision for the future rooted in our values and reflected in a rising generation of young people who are the most open, diverse, and connected we’ve ever seen.

Just look at our fabulous Olympic team.

Like Ibtihaj Muhammad, an African-American Muslim from New Jersey who won the bronze medal in fencing with grace and skill. Would she even have a place in Donald Trump’s America?

When I was growing up, Simone Manuel wouldn’t have been allowed to swim in the same public pool as Katie Ledecky. Now they’re winning Olympic medals as teammates.

So let’s keep moving forward together.

Let’s stand up against prejudice and paranoia.

Let’s prove once again, that America is great because is America is good.

Thank you, and may God bless the United States."

~Hillary Rodham Clinton; 8/25/2016

The woman who warned us.

Trump is a con-man propaganda artist:

Never Normalize Trump.

#strongertogether

[belaborthepoint]

Vice Presidential Debate 2020

SUSAN PAGE: Welcome to the first, and thankfully only, vice presidential debate of 2020. It is my honor to moderate this debate, a messy and chaotic charade that's such an important part of our democracy. We have a small audience here tonight, in part because of covid, and also because no one wanted to come. No one here tonight wants to be here, but with a lot of encouragement they have agreed to express enthusiasm two times. Senator Harris, let's start with you. Please talk about some concrete things that the Biden administration will do to handle covid. You have two minutes.

KAMALA HARRIS: Thank you, Susan. I think instead I'd like to use these two minutes as an opportunity to summarize all the ways that Trump has mishandled the virus. Biden probably does have some ideas, but I will not tell you any of them. Just know that he will do things, and I believe he will do them well.

SUSAN PAGE: Um. Okay. Vice President Pence, I'll give you an opportunity to answer a question. Why is the U.S. death toll higher than that of like every other wealthy country?

MIKE PENCE: Thank you, Susan. I will not answer that, but what I will do is tell you that under President Trump's leadership, Operation Warp Speed, we have something called Operation Warp Speed, which is totally badass. I think ultimately Americans will be proud to have died for their country. Thoughts and prayers to all the families of people who died solely due to our negligence.

SUSAN PAGE: Vice President Pence, your administration has made a mockery of the national response to covid. You don't wear masks and you don't social distance and now Trump has covid himself and is actively exposing other people. How do you expect the American people to take this seriously if you don't?

MIKE PENCE: Well, thankfully most of the country is composed of people who are more intelligent, thoughtful, and compassionate than us, and we trust that they will do the right thing. I have to believe this. President Trump and I are pieces of living human garbage, and if I didn't trust that most people out there are actually decent human beings, I wouldn't sleep at night. I just have to believe that we are the very worst that humanity has to offer if I want to have hope for the future.

SUSAN PAGE: Cool. So, for both of you, have you talked to the guys about if they die because they’re old/one of them has covid?

MIKE PENCE: I appreciate that question, but I would like to go back--

SUSAN PAGE: I would prefer if you answered the question actually.

MIKE PENCE: I respect that you feel that way, and instead I will not do that. Senator Harris, I'd just like to say that a lot of people got sick with a cold under Obama's leadership, and if the common cold were as bad as covid, literally millions upon millions of people would die. Lots of people get the cold, and they would all die.

KAMALA HARRIS: Okay?

MIKE PENCE: Also, I think I would be remiss if I didn't remind all of us about the Plague of Justinian that killed 25 million people from the year 541 to 542. The bubonic plague RAVAGED Europe, and where was Barack Obama then? Nowhere to be seen.

SUSAN PAGE: ....alright. Senator Harris, would you be willing to answer the question that Vice President Pence so ineptly evaded?

KAMALA HARRIS: I would not. But speaking of aging and death, I'd like to talk about life, my life, and some highlights from it. Life is so precious. Here one day and gone the next. Which is why it's so important to take stock of the times in our lives that we felt truly happy, because happiness is ephemeral. It's something we can't grasp with our hands, like a butterfly. It's a chimera of a memory of a moment, and we have to hold onto it. When Joe Biden asked me to be his vice president, it was on a zoom call. Haha, anyone here use zoom? Haha just kidding. But it was a zoom call, and it reminded me of my mother, and the day I came out of her sack of flesh that is a human body. It's beautiful, but also gross and weird. But everyone was crying, because I was a baby who became born, and that's amazing.

SUSAN PAGE: I don't even know why I'm here. Okay, well, we're supposed to be talking about the economy now, if that matters to anyone.

MIKE PENCE: Thank you so much, Susan. What Joe Biden wants to do is to tax people. He will tax you. He will take a portion of your money and use it to invest in PUBLIC SERVICES.

KAMALA HARRIS: Yes, correct.

MIKE PENCE: What? No, we don't like that. He will use YOUR MONEY to build ROADS and LIBRARIES and invest in EDUCATION.

KAMALA HARRIS: Yeah.

MIKE PENCE: Uh, uh, okay, hold on, okay, he's also going to BAN. FRACKING.

KAMALA HARRIS: He will do no such thing.

MIKE PENCE: He wants to ABOLISH. FOSSIL. FUELS.

KAMALA HARRIS: No he doesn't!!! We like the fossil fuel industry!!!!!

SUSAN PAGE: Vice President Pence, do you believe that climate change is related to the fact that the climate is changing?

MIKE PENCE: Nope. I believe that the air and stuff are all actually very clean, not in spite of, but because of capitalism. The free market economy is actually the reason why the earth is in such good shape.

SUSAN PAGE: Huh. Okay, let's talk about China. President Trump is a racist. Can you speak to that?

MIKE PENCE: I am also racist and xenophobic, and those are values that are important to me. Joe Biden, however, doesn't hate China that much, which is bad. He actually likes China. He's obsessed with it. He's also a gay cheerleader. He's a cheerleader for gay communists. Biden has been a cheerleader for communist China for years, ever since he joined the intramural adult cheerleading squad for people who love communism. He literally goes to China and wears one of those little skirts even though he's a dude, and he waves pom poms around and does splits and has people throw him up in the air while he shouts good things about Mao Zedong. In his fifth year on the squad, the whole group got matching tattoos of Chairman Mao on their lower backs, and it was all Joe Biden's idea.

SUSAN PAGE: We've seen strains in our relationship with China. Senator Harris, what's your definition of the role of American leadership in 2020?

KAMALA HARRIS: Thank you, Susan. I like that you use the word 'relationship,' cause I think it really is all about relationships. I talk about this with Joe a lot, and how how important friendship is, and how you have to trust your friends. You have to be honest and loyal to them, Susan, because they are your friends. And that's what it's all about.

SUSAN PAGE: Uh, okay. Moving on, Vice President Pence, if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed as a supreme court judge and Roe v. Wade is overturned, would you want your home state to ban all abortions?

MIKE PENCE: That's a really interesting question, Susan, but I think I'll just take this time to say that everyone who practices Islam is a terrorist and Joe Biden loves terrorists. Joe Biden created an entirely different intramural adult cheerleading squad so he could be a cheerleader for Osama bin Laden, because he's obsessed with terrorism. Also, I hope you don't treat Amy Coney Barrett like you did Justice Kavanaugh, whom you criticized and bullied relentlessly just because he's a rapist. If Amy Coney Barrett turns out to be a rapist, I hope you'll give her the respect she deserves. Also, if you critique the pro-life movement it means that you're intolerant of Christianity and you hate religion.

SUSAN PAGE: Senator Harris, same question: if Roe v. Wade is overturned, what would you want California to do?

KAMALA HARRIS: Okay, I just need to make it very clear that Joe Biden and I both believe in God and we're really into going to church. Joe Biden is a Catholic, and I am extremely proud to be friends with him. Catholic men have been persecuted in this country for too long and I'm so happy to say that soon we will have a Catholic man serving as president of these United States of America. But yeah, obviously women should have control over their bodies.

MIKE PENCE: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris murder babies.

SUSAN PAGE: Maybe we should talk about actual murder. Senator Harris, on the subject of racial justice, do you think it's okay that the cops who killed Breonna Taylor aren't being indicted?

KAMALA HARRIS: No, obviously not. We need to reform our criminal justice system.

SUSAN PAGE: Vice President Pence?

MIKE PENCE: Well, you know, it's an interesting question. I think that...death...is....not good. I do not love it when any person dies. It is not my favorite thing by a long shot. That being said, I think the most important thing is that we have blind faith in our incredibly broken justice system, and they said that everything was fine here. So was it wrong that she died? No. And frankly I think it's rude that you would disrespect cops by condemning the act of murder that they committed.

KAMALA HARRIS: Dude, I love cops. I AM a cop. I just think they shouldn't murder people. And I think that if we make it so that they're not allowed to, they will stop.

MIKE PENCE: Why are we talking about human life right now when we should be addressing the real issue at hand which is destruction of property? Killing human beings is one thing, but destroying property? Reprehensible. The only time I've ever been ashamed to be an American is when I spoke personally to the CEO of Target and saw the grief that he and his family were experiencing at the hands of rioters and looters. Those looters have the blood of private property on their hands. I mean, you know, not literal blood, but like, the stuff that buildings are made of.

KAMALA HARRIS: Why can't you just condemn white supremacy? It's really not hard.

MIKE PENCE: Because we ARE white supremacists.

KAMALA HARRIS: Oh, true. Also you have a fly on your head.

FLY: Greetings.

MIKE PENCE: Okay but should we talk about your history with criminal justice reform? Cause it's also not great.

KAMALA HARRIS: It's fine. You still have a fly on your head.

FLY: Howdy.  

SUSAN PAGE: Yeah, there is totally a fly on your head, dude. Now I want to address the fact that Donald Trump will refuse to leave office even if he loses the election. Senator Harris, do you have a plan for if that happens?

KAMALA HARRIS: I think everyone should vote.

SUSAN PAGE: Yeah, but--

KAMALA HARRIS: Everyone needs to vote. Voting is extremely important, and you should do it.

SUSAN PAGE: But do you have a plan for--

KAMALA HARRIS: Voting.

SUSAN PAGE: Okay, whatever. Vice President Pence, what will you personally do if Trump loses the election and refuses to accept it?

MIKE PENCE: He's not going to lose so I actually don't need to think about that.

SUSAN PAGE: Yeah but if he does--

MIKE PENCE: He's not gonna.

SUSAN PAGE: But IF--

MIKE PENCE: Nope. Not gonna happen. I would also like to say that when Joe Biden was vice president, he made the FBI spy on us and our campaign. They had a little man that they shrunk down to fit inside of my pocket and listen to what I said with a little tiny ear trumpet, and he wrote it all down on a small notepad. They spied on us, and if Joe Biden is president he will make lots of small men to climb in people's pockets and spy on the American people. It is unethical and I will not stand for it. But it's fine because Joe Biden will not win.

SUSAN PAGE: Well tonight was a massive waste of time. To conclude this spectacle, we're going to ask a question from an 8th grader. It's not a real question so don't worry about coming up with anything substantial, just say some nice stuff to end the night on a good note. This question is from Brecklyn.

BRECKLYN: It makes me sad when people don't get along. Why can't people just get along?

MIKE PENCE: Brecklyn, that question was dumb as shit. But it was also beautiful, and the only question I will actually bother to answer. Brecklyn, sometimes your friend is a white supremacist. Sometimes, your cousin has blue hair and is a lesbian. But at the end of the day, we all want to smile and hold hands in a circle, because underneath our skin, we all have bones and muscles, and they can look different, but we're all made of the same stuff. We're all made of stars. And that's America. Thank you, Brecklyn.

KAMALA HARRIS: Yes, that's an excellent question. And Brecklyn, I want to tell you that Joe Biden also feels sad sometimes. If I know anything about Joe Biden, it's that he is a human man. He's literally a living human person, which means that he has experienced emotions. He has felt a lot of emotions such as sadness, joy, anger, that specific kind of secondhand embarrassment that you feel for fictional characters on tv, and lots of other human feelings, because he's a person. He's not a lizard, he's not a small pile of rocks, and he's not a piece of wallpaper. He is a human person. THAT'S America.

SUSAN PAGE: Cool, thanks. Well that's that. We hope you'll join us for another presidential debate next week if Trump is alive and has somehow recovered from covid. Which we want. We wish him a, uh, recovery. Goodnight everyone.

[blueincandescence]

wonder woman + too much steve trevor?

The question of whether there’s too much Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman (2017) is a good one. The idea is that, yeah, Chris Pine is great and all, but is he too good? Is his character, the designated love interest, having a personality, character arc, and agency unfair given how superhero love interests are perceived to be shunted to the side?

Let’s explore.

#1. Falling in Love with an Equal Makes a Protagonist Stronger

Narratives where the love interest isn’t fleshed out diminish the hero and the hero’s journey. Stardust is a great deconstruction of the pervasive trope of “dude does a hard thing for a pretty girl.” …But like why? If the protagonist’s motivation is shallow, if the reasons for the protagonist to care about the love interest are shallow, the character seems shallow. It’s bad writing, pure and simple. I don’t want my Wonder Woman movie to have bad writing just because most other movies do.

#2. Steve Trevor Isn’t Really Her Equal

Best part is, Diana doesn’t really start to actually fall in love with Steve (I think) until he joins her across No Man’s Land. He isn’t her equal in strength or heroism, but he does the impossible led by her example. She admires that. Better still, Steve recognizes that he isn’t Diana’s equal. “Or maybe not,” the look he gives after Diana tells the boys to stay there, the, “You did this” — Steve Trevor Gets It. They aren’t equals. She’s a thousand miles above him, but, damn it, he’s a pilot, and he’s gotta try to keep up.

Remember, this is the guy who sacrificed his life: “I can save today. You can save the world.” He knows she’s destined for bigger and better things than he is. And he wishes they had more time together, but he knows her place is fighting the good fight.

#3. Steve Trevor is an Example of Efficiency in Writing

There is a lot of Steve in this movie, true. And some part of the creation of Steve as a multilayered character is because this is a male character — but it’s also damned efficient writing. And because there is so much Steve, we get more Diana. Hear me out. Steve is a shortcut. 

The plot calls for characters to be Diana’s: love interest (universal storytelling), McGuffin (reason for leaving the island), guide to the outside world (without falling into the Born Sexy Yesterday Trope), voice of cynicism (is Ares real? suspense!), and morality pet (it’s not about deserve). That’s five characters. Etta is Diana’s backup guide and the boys (the squad?) are her backup cynics and morality pets. But the movie would need far more time to develop these characters if it wanted us to be as emotionally invested in the deliverer of each of these messages. Do I want more Etta Candy? Hell yes! But that’s time taken away from Diana because of the extra character work needed. Steve’s audience goodwill builds on itself. (Although, like I said, I wanted more Etta, drastically more. Same for all the Amazons. And, like, random girls and women on the street. And nurses! More nurses!) 

Imagine if it weren’t Steve Diana thinks Ares has corrupted. If it weren’t Steve supplicating himself and begging Diana, a goddess, for help. Imagine if it weren’t Steve sacrificing himself at the end. Do we care? Yeah, sure, a little. But chances are higher that we care more when these things happen because we have had more time with Steve, so we know he’s not all good or all bad, but he’s doing his best. Like people.

#4. Steve Trevor is a Needed Symbol in the Mortal-God Relationship

In the end, Steve’s most important narrative role is this — he’s a symbol of why humans are worth fighting for, a touchstone for Diana to come back to. Not because Steve, mortal guy she fell in love with over a week or two, is the be-all-and-end-all of her life or the only reason she doesn’t hate humans.

Let’s remember, Diana already denied Ares. He asked her to join him in ridding the planet of these meddling humans, but she “could never be a part of something like that.” That’s when Ares attacked. Sure, grief overtook her when she died, but it’s the loss of Steve and the senselessness of the violence that humans unleash on each other. She goes after the soldiers who put the bomb on that plane and made Steve make that choice. It isn’t blind rage, it’s a (demi)god’s wrath. (See this post for my take on the ending scene). Of course, she realizes she’s playing into Ares’ hand and remembers Steve’s advice. She believes him now because he made the ultimate sacrifice — and how does a mortal prove themselves to any god?. 

Now he belongs to her. She carries his words and his talisman (watch) with her. Part of her, sure, wants ice-cream and breakfasts and to know what it’s like to do what people do when there are no wars to fight. But there are wars to fight. And she’ll fight them. And when she doubts, she’ll think of the one who sacrificed himself believing with all his heart that she could save the world. Love is strength, and he lends her that after death. I get that it’s hard to see past the man-woman dynamic, but the movie is giving us a mortal-god dynamic. We just need to recognize it.

#5. Love Interests Should All Be Feminist Takes

Patty wanted Steve because (a) he’s arguably one of the most consistent things across Wonder Woman’s mythology (b) women should not be denied universal storytelling. The presence of a man does not diminish a woman, amen. Loving-and-losing is a time-tested way of bringing maturity to a character. Usually, this is called “manpain” or “fridging” — the female character is killed off to motivate a male hero. Here, it’s reversed, but Steve at least gets agency in the way he dies. This is a good example for writers who want to kill off a character but can’t think of how to do it without undermining the character. 

In general, Steve is a positive template for every superhero love interest going forward. He’s a feminist love interest because feminism isn’t flipping the script on misogyny. It’s throwing misogyny out the window and building something equal from scratch. I don’t want to watch a movie where it’s back-and-forth “he’s on top, now she’s on top,” spokes on a wheel. I want my movies to break the wheel (ha, sorry, had paraphrase the Mother of Dragons).

#6. Audiences Read More Into Male Characters Than Female

Ask yourself this: is Steve Trevor really that fleshed out? Or does he just have a penis? Sure he gets to do a bunch of stuff, but his character doesn’t change so much as respond to Diana’s evolving character. He’s clearly subordinate to her arc, so why all the hand-wringing?

I swear to Athena, anytime a female character has or is a love interest, suddenly people become blind to all her character nuances and arc and agency — if they even bothered to look in the first place. It’s honestly so frustrating. For all my complaints about the DCEU (and they are legion), it does not sideline female love interests. Lois Lane gets shit done, she’s treated with respect and makes her own decisions. Even Harley goddamn Quinn, the poster-girl for unhealthy relationships, makes small moves toward breaking out of that mold in Suicide Squad. And outside of that, CEO Pepper Potts doesn’t take shit from Tony Stark. The Wasp’s defining trait is that she’s more capable than Ant-Man. Jane Foster may be written out of Thor, but at least she’s getting a Nobel. Etc., etc.

Like, we actually are getting some meaty or at least accomplished female love interests — we need more and they need more screen time, for sure, but let’s stop dismissing female characters as “boring love interests” in favor of plumbing the depths of characterization for “male side character #1453.” That is honestly my biggest pet peeve of fandom. “It’s not our fault we don’t write meta and fic for more (especially POC) female characters! The creators don’t give us interesting ones!” As if most of the “interesting” parts of any of their exclusively (white) male faves aren’t 75% fanon. Half the reason I never jumped on the Pine/Kirk bandwagon was all the shit Uhura got dragged through because she had the audacity to be the love interest for Spock. I see you.

#7. We Got a Steve That Made Unimaginative People Uncomfortable

How many articles have been written about Steve being too “woke?” Like, there are people who believe the fact that Steve isn’t a sleazeball who learns some manners is a character flaw. Excuse me while I barf. We have to deal with that storyline all the damn time and it is so tired (*cough* Guardians of the Galaxy *cough*). In Wonder Woman (2009), Steve Trevor is a misogynistic bro who gets a tiny bit better by the end, but you’re still left wondering why the hell Diana would give him the time of day. Loving that version of Steve Trevor makes Diana look weak. The Wonder Woman (2017) version of Steve is selfless and charming. He doesn’t need to be taught that women should be respected because he already knows. You get why Diana cares, you care about him (usually), and caring for him doesn’t cost Diana or the audience anything in terms of dignity.

I don’t want a movie that makes me actively hate Steve Trevor just so Diana gets to spout some overwritten girl power catchphrases. If this were a movie where it’s all “Girl Power, She Sure Showed Him!” or even “Wonder Woman Had to Have a Weakling/Milquetoast Love Interest to Look Strong in Comparison,” then these unimaginative people would get their misogynistic/misandrist movie and feel good about how the world works. Well, screw them. 

Instead, we got Steve Trevor, Feminist Fantasy. And, yeah, it’s obnoxious hearing so much praise heaped on Pine, and it’s agonizing imagining the writers bending over backward to bring him back somehow. But for this movie, I think we got the amount of Steve Trevor we needed to make it work.

wondertrevweek day 6: free choice (so I’m doing meta)

[aresaphrodites]

the night’s on fire chapter one

Summary: 

"the scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls." -edgar allen poe

Lies. Betrayal. Star-crossed lovers. Hope. Dreams. Tragedy. Betty Cooper is tasked with taking down Jughead Jones and the throne he sits upon. Nothing is ever that simple though and Betty soon finds herself in the middle of his world as she learns that not everything is always black and white.

Here we go, guys! :)

A few things before we start. This is a mafia au so Jughead is going to have his dark moments. I want him to be pretty ruthless since that's kind of what his entire character is here. This means that he'll be involved in the occasional murder, torture, and illegal crime activity. That being said, he will NEVER be abusive towards Betty. I just want to clear that before anyone asks or assumes or anything. He's a mean man but there's only person he'll adore above all else and that's Betty. However, he is going to be pretty rude and uncaring towards her in the beginning because that's just his attitude. It'll change.

I've been doing a little research so here's some vocab for you guys! The Boss (FP): Head of the entire organization and has the power to order anything from anyone in the organization. Think CEO of a business. Most Bosses of the Mafia are Multi-Millionaires or Multi-Billionaires, and are incredibly powerful, influential, extremely dangerous, and universally feared. Underboss (Jughead): Second in command in the hierarchy of the Mafia crime family. Groomed to become the eventual Boss. Capo (Reggie): In charge of the soldiers, can order them to do anything like murder, assault, witness intimidation, picking up cash, deliveries, etc. He is ranked high up in the Mafia hierarchy and takes care of most of the money. Solider (Joaquin + OC's): Grunts of the organization who do the majority of the work such as murder, assault, picking up cash, deliveries, etc etc.

In this story there will be mentions of drugs, prostition, and other illegal crime activity. I'll put warnings in each chapter for whatever is happening in that specific chapter.

In this chapter: Drug mention.

Thank you to @itstenafterfour for looking this over. Can't wait to work on this new story with you!

The title is from Hurricane by Thirty Seconds to Mars which this fic is loosely based off of.

That being said, I hope you enjoy!

The man screams out. They always scream during their last moments. Jughead wonders if maybe they scream because they know, no matter what they say after this point, there’s no going back. He isn’t going to let them live, he’s not going to let them “call their family for one last goodbye”. He’s not going to let them do any of it.

“Shut up,” he says nonchalantly as he drags the blade of his favorite knife across the man’s chest. “You knew this would come,” he tells the man, Jonathan, with a disappointed look. “I just need to know, when you decided to doublecross me, what did you think was going to happen? Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Did you think I’d let it go because of all the times you ‘were there for me’?” Before he can answer, Jughead takes the knife and jams it into Jonathan's leg. He screams and Jughead smiles sinisterly at him. He’s always loved whenever they scream; it’s his favorite part of all of this.

He twists the knife around, smiling wider with every yell and cry the man lets out.

His father had told him once when he was younger that he would grow up to be soft and sensitive; weak. At the time it might have been true. There was a point in his life whenever he was weak, when he was soft. As a child, he didn’t understand his father’s job and he didn’t want to. That changed as he got older, as he learned the truth behind the family business. His love for the family grew just as his need to please his father did. Imagine his dad’s surprise when he learned his son harbored a bigger bloodlust than he ever did. FP Jones was respected and he was feared, but not like Jughead Jones was feared.

“I have to make a message out of you,” Jughead sighs. “Which is incredibly unfortunate. You were one of my best men. If only you weren’t such an idiot.” He stands up straight, no longer leaning over Jonathan and pulls his knife out of the man’s leg, causing him to breathe in harshly through his nose.

“Fuck you,” Jonathan spits at him. Jughead just clicks his tongue at him before turning over to Reggie Mantle, his second in command.

Reggie stands in the corner of the room like he always does; tall, detached, and ready to comply. He doesn’t move a muscle until Jughead tells him to.

“Kill him,” Jughead instructs. “And make it good.”

Only then does Reggie move; smirking at his instructions as he walks forward towards Jonathan. Reggie’s just as ruthless as Jughead is and it’s the reason the two work together so perfectly. Jughead would be nothing without his partner.

He walks out of the room. He doesn’t care to see this part. Reggie will torture him a little bit before one big finale, usually a bullet between the middle of this eyes, and then he’ll get rid of the body and that will be that. Jughead’s used to it. He used to enjoy doing the killing himself, but now he was over it. If he had someone who could do the dirty work for him, why did he need to bother at all?

He leaves the basement and walks up the stairs back to the parlor. Joaquin DeSantos is sitting in one of the red leather chairs, legs crossed and looking all too relaxed. Joaquin was a kid, only twenty years old, but Jughead’s dad had taken him in when he was about ten years old. His parent’s had been deadbeats and if it weren’t for FP, he’d probably be dead. Joaquin was loyal and he was fierce, Jughead thought of him as a brother, but he was also careless. Jughead would see the way his eyes would wander when they were out in public; how they’d linger a little too long on the people his age that were out having fun, going to college, working normal jobs. Joaquin was a good soldier, but his heart wasn’t in it; not like Jughead and Reggie’s were.

“Bored?” He asks, startling the younger boy. “Should have helped Reggie out downstairs.” In all honesty, it should have been Joaquin doing the killing and not Reggie, since Reggie was a capo but they both knew that he didn’t have the heart or strength to do it. Joaquin was good for deliveries, picking up cash, the occasional assault, but not murder.

“I’m not bored,” the blue eyed boy bit back. That was another thing; the kid had an attitude. If he hadn’t been brought up as Jughead’s younger brother; Jughead probably would have beat the shit out of him long ago. He didn’t respect anyone unless it was FP and Jughead was getting real tired of it. “I’m just sick of sitting here and playing watchdog. It’s not like anyone’s going to barge in and ask where that douchebag went.”

He has a point. Even if someone did care about where Jonathan Ruiz went, they weren’t ever going to find him. Jughead lived in a mansion that was so far from civilization, it was nearly off the grid. It wasn’t exactly convenient, but it was necessary. He couldn’t have anyone trying to trail him. His father had been the one to talk him out of buying a luxurious apartment on the Upper East Side of New York and Jughead was thankful for it. There’s no way he’d be able to get away with murder, or any of this, in an apartment.

“Fine, you want something to do?” Joaquin’s eyes light up at the question and now he looks at Jughead with excitement instead of disdain. “I need you to go to Toni’s and pick up this week’s logs.”

Joaquin nods eagerly and is out of the parlor before Jughead can say anything else.

Toni Topaz is one of their associates, but she’s a hell of a lot more than that to Jughead. She’s one of his closest friends, probably the closest. She’s been in his life ever since she had beat the shit out of some pudgy kid for stealing his pudding on the first day of kindergarten. True friendships are forged over violence, he thought jokingly.

Jughead’s dad hadn’t been happy that his son had cried in front of everyone and had to rely on a girl to help him out, but Toni hadn’t judged him at all; not even when FP had yelled at his son and hit him over the head for making him come to the school over something so childish. It was the last time Jughead ever made that mistake.

Toni stuck up for him after that and then, when they got older, Jughead stuck up for her. The two were thicker than thieves and got into more trouble than they could handle growing up. After his mother up and left, taking his younger sister with her, Jughead spent a lot of time experimenting with hard drugs and partying more than his body could take. It had been Toni that had saved him from his own death one night when he went too far and he owed her his entire life.

FP had taken a liking to the strong willed girl and Jughead knew that she was the daughter he wished he could have. After Jellybean left with his mom, she cut off all ties with Jughead and his father. It had hurt FP just as much as it had hurt him, probably more, and Jughead knew that his dad never really recovered from it.

All in all, Toni was like family to them. Which was why she had offered to help them out as much as she could once she found out just how the Jones’ made all their money. She owned an mechanic shop out in Queens and had let a few of Jughead’s guys use it as a cover for a job. Jughead and Reggie owned a huge nightclub in New York City so they were covered. As for the other guys, as long as they kept up with the logs at Toni’s, it seemed like they were making a living doing honest work and there was no reason to suspect them of anything; and if anyone caught wind of it, there was no evidence to back it up.

There’s the loud bang of a gun and then the sound of a body hitting the ground and then nothing. Jughead stands and waits until he hears the sound of Reggie’s footsteps coming up the stairs.

“That guy fucking bled everywhere,” Reggie says in disgust. “Look at me!” Jughead turns around and sure enough, Reggie is coated in blood. It’s all over his clothes and his face.

“You better not get that shit on my floor, man! Why are you even up here? Get back down there and get his body out of the basement before he stinks up the entire house.”

Reggie just rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t step onto Jughead’s carpet so at least there’s that.

“Where the fuck is Junior?” Junior is what Reggie refers to Joaquin as, deeming him the younger version of Jughead.

“Out to Toni’s, we need to make sure the logs are good to go for this month.”

“Then get Reid and Michael down here,” Reggie tells him, referring to the other soldiers. “I’m not cleaning up this shit.”

Jughead goes off  in search of the two kids. He’s not as surprised as he should be when he finds them hanging out by the bar in the living room. Reid’s mixing drinks while Michael cuts up lines of cocaine. Jughead doesn’t mess with drugs anymore, but he’s not going to stop them from doing them. He can’t help the way his fingers twitch at the sight of the substance, though.

“Go help Reggie get rid of Ruiz’s body,” he tells the two kids. They jump in surprise at his voice and are quick to scramble themselves together before running off towards the parlor. He’s used to his presence scaring people and while it used to make him sad, now he lives off of it.

He decides that he’s done for the day and heads up the huge spiral case in the foyer, to his bedroom. It’s been a long day and he deserves a shower. He has a bit of blood on his hands, literally, and it’s starting to gross him out a bit.

He strips himself of all his clothes before turning the showerhead to its hottest setting and stepping under the water. It feels good against his skin as it releases the tension that’s been building up in his body. He’s quick to shampoo his hair before he begins to run his black loofa over his body. He’d never used a loofa before but Reggie swore it was life changing so he’d finally given in. It sure made shit easier that’s for damn sure.

After he’s done with the shower, he dries off and slips into a pair of sweats with a plain black t-shirt. As much as he wishes he could just go to bed, he knows he can’t just yet. He needs to make sure the logs are in order with Toni and then he needs to call his dad and fill him in on everything that happened today. He doesn’t know how he’ll take it. Jughead might be in charge while his dad is out of town, but FP still ran everything for now. Jughead’s supposed to run stuff like this by him, but he acted impulsively on this one. He couldn’t help it, though. Jonathan had disrespected him and the family in the worst way possible. Jughead had to teach him a lesson. You didn’t screw around on the Jones’ family and live to tell about it, especially not while Jughead was running shit. He didn’t regret a single thing he did today, but he knew he probably should have checked in with the Boss first.

He walks downstairs and sees that Joaquin is already back. However, he looks panicked and Reggie is glaring down at him. Jughead already knows that whatever happened at Toni’s wasn’t good.

“What?” He asks as soon as he gets in front of them. “Tell me what happened.”

“Don’t freak out,” Joaquin says and Reggis snorts and mutters a ‘yeah right’ under his breath. “Toni couldn’t give me the logs.”

“Why the fuck not?” Jughead snaps, his patience growing thin.

Joaquin mumbles something under his breath and Jughead leans down.

“What was that?” He asks. “I didn’t hear that. Speak up.”

“Thecopshavethem.”

The words come out quickly and jumbled together, but Jughead’s still able to understand them. Although he wishes he didn’t. He clenches his fists, trying not to lash out at the kid.

“Excuse me?”

“Speak up, Junior,” Reggie says, although he’s smirking so Jughead knows that he’d known about this beforehand.

“The cops have them,” he says louder and Jughead has to refrain from hitting something.

“Why the fuck do the cops have the logs?”

“Toni said that they started sniffing around a while back but she didn’t think anything of it, because it’s not like they had anything to go off of. Seems like not everyone was logging in their work hours though and the cops started looking at work hours versus pay grade and said it didn’t match up. She thinks they’ve been looking at us for a while now, ever since the drug deal in Brooklyn.”

Fucking Brooklyn. Reggie and one of the new guys, Mario, were supposed to go pick up some drugs from the Andrews’ clan. The Jones’ hardly ever did work with the Andrews’, too much bad blood between the families, but this one was a dire need for them. Everything was going good until it turned out that one of Andrews’ men was really a fucking nark. Reggie had the kid dead before he could even reach for his phone to call the cops.

They had gotten rid of the body, but it didn’t help that the guy wore a fucking wire so he knew everything that was going on and so did whoever his superiors were. They hadn’t caught them in the act though, so they didn’t have a case. Apparently they had enough though.

“I thought you took care of that,” Jughead says with a pointed glare at Reggie.

“Don’t look at me! It’s not my fault that Andrews’ men had a fucking nark on their side. Guess we should have known, huh?”

Jughead runs his hands over his face in frustration. In all honesty, this isn’t really that big of a deal. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s had their eye on them, but it’s always a fucking hassle to deal with. It’s something that he shouldn’t have to deal with at all.

“Do we know which cop it was?”

“Keller.”

Jughead rolls his eyes. Kevin Keller has been a thorn in his side for as long as he can remember. Before him, it was his father that was always giving them trouble. Apple didn’t fall too far from the tree it seemed.

“I can take care of Keller,” Jughead says. He’s a soft cop. He wants to be on top, wants to prove to the world that he’s not as soft as he looks, but it’s a front. The kid isn’t a problem; he’s hardly a worry at all. “Anything else you wanna tell me?”

“That’s it.”

Jughead nods before walking off.

“Where you going?” Reggie calls out to his retreating back.

“To fucking sleep!”

His mood has diminished and he needs his bed. The world can wait.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HOW ART CAN YOU LOVE

Now publishing online is becoming so popular that everyone wants to do it. Maybe that's possible, but I personally have timed out. If you want to understand economic inequality—and more importantly, if you have to choose between two theories, prefer the one that doesn't center on you. Variation in productivity is accelerating.1 Its purpose is to shield the pointy-haired boss doesn't even want to think about. If you try to start a startup. As for libraries, their importance also depends on the application. We'd ask why we even hear about new languages like Perl and Python. Most high school students applying to college do it with the usual child's mix of inferiority and self-centeredness combine to make us believe that every judgement of us is about us.2 Probably because small children are particularly horrified by it. If you start a company, the less you need the money.

You probably never can completely undo the effects of lies you were told as a kid I was confused for years about him. If they get something wrong, it's usually not realizing they have to be working for an existing company for a couple years before starting your own company.3 If you're young, you should take the riskiest investments you can find. Poverty and economic inequality are not identical.4 I mention this mostly as a joke, but it is enough in simple cases like this. There will be a few stars who clearly should make the team, and if it doesn't work, then go work for another company for two years, and the rest of the company through the COO. You'll learn some valuable things by going to work for.

It's common for startup founders of all ages to build things no one wants. It's not literally true that you can't solve this problem in other languages. They'll do well at it too, because determination is the main reason is that he likes the way source code looks. The more general version is our answer to the Greeks: Don't see purpose where there isn't.5 He thinks you should write it in. So you can test equality by comparing a pointer, instead of comparing each character. If you ask yourself what you spend your time on them have to be paid enough to prevent them from doing it. Actually this seems to be a job.6 But like a lot of changing the subject when death came up.

So they give you very precise numbers about variation in wealth and income, then follow it with the usual child's mix of inferiority and self-centeredness in that they assume that admissions committees must be all-seeing; self-centeredness in that they assume that admissions committees must be all-seeing; self-centeredness in that they assume that admissions committees must be all-seeing; self-centeredness combine to make applicants passive in applying and hurt when they're rejected. All users care about is whether your site or software gives them what they want. Though lie has negative connotations, I don't mean this in an insulting way—of the kind of people who do that tend not to have much power in big companies unless they happen to be the CEO. Richard Dawkins made another step in that direction only in the last 10 years.7 If one woodworker makes 5 chairs and another makes none, the second woodworker will have less money, investors have less power over them. Closely related to poverty is lack of social mobility. Startups are almost entirely a product of the Gilded Age, and things have changed since then.8 So when I say it would take ITA's imaginary competitor five years to duplicate something ITA could write in Lisp in three months, I mean five years if nothing goes wrong.9

How you live affects how long you live.10 Their dislike of the idea is so visceral it's probably inborn.11 It also gives them more power relative to employers.12 In past times people lied to kids about some things more than we do now, but the Lisp that we actually ended up with was based on something separate that he did as a theoretical exercise—an effort to define a more convenient alternative to the Turing Machine. Is life actually short, or are we really complaining about its finiteness? The more confident people are, the more risk you should take the riskiest investments you can find. The founders will run engineering directly, and the next stop seems to be that that Python is a more elegant alternative to Perl, but what this case shows is that power is the ultimate threat.13 You could also try the startup first, and if the difference between the two, you can, to a limited extent, simulate a closure a function that generates accumulators—a function that refers to variables defined in enclosing scopes by defining a class with one method and a field to replace each variable from an enclosing scope.

The Matrix have such resonance. Ignorance can't solve everything though. Present-day Fortran is now arguably closer to Lisp than to Fortran I. They want to believe they're living in a comfortable, safe world as much as their parents want them to believe it. If you just need to feed data from one Windows app to another, sure, use Visual Basic. But from what I've heard the founders didn't just give in and take whoever the VCs wanted.14 But as I explained in The Refragmentation, that was an anomaly—a unique combination of circumstances that compressed American society not just economically but culturally too. The VCs will have to be really good at tricking you. As for number 8, this may be one of those things the old tell the young, but don't expect them to listen to.15 But there's more to it than that. Close, but they don't realize it.16

Variation in productivity is always going to produce some baseline growth in economic inequality we've seen since then has been due to bad behavior of various degrees of oddness, and violent anger. It does help too to feel that you've squeezed everything out of some experience. But the unconscious form is very widespread. What we mean by a programming language in this sense, but the Lisp that we actually ended up with was based on something separate that he did as a theoretical exercise—an effort to define a more convenient alternative to the Turing Machine.17 His body switches to an emergency source of energy that's faster than regular aerobic respiration. But if they don't want to wait for Python to evolve the rest of the way into Lisp, they could always just.18 We found the startups that did best were the ones with the sort of conservatism that comes from weakness.19

Notes

Parents move to suburbs to raise their kids to be staying at a discount of 30% means when it converts. Steep usage growth predicts x% revenue growth with retained earnings was one that we know exactly what they're really works of anthropology.

Life seemed so much about prestige is that it's hard to answer your question. Source: Nielsen Media Research. According to the year x in a rice cooker and forget about it. Digg is Slashdot with voting instead of happy.

Presumably it's lower now because it's a proxy for revenue growth with retained earnings was one firm that wanted to than because they want to learn.

Perhaps the designers of admissions processes should take more than serving as examples of how you spent your summers.

But politicians know the actual lawsuits rarely happen. At the time 1992 the entire period since the war, federal tax receipts have stayed close to the margin for error. No VC will admit they're influenced by buzz. Since I now believe that was mistaken, and unleashed a swarm of cheap component suppliers on Apple hardware.

Ideas are one step upstream from economic power, so it's conceivable that intellectual centers like Cambridge in that. Vii.

They have no trouble getting hired by these companies substitute progress for revenue growth. Obviously this is: we currently filter at the final version that afternoon. If you have significant expenses other than salaries that you can send your business plan to have to spend a lot about some disease they'll see once in their racks for years before Apple finally moved the door. Hodges, Richard.

Because we want to live. In practice most successful startups of all the money was the fall of 2008 but no more unlikely than it was considered the most powerful men in Congress, Sam Rayburn and Lyndon Johnson.

I should do is assemble components designed and manufactured by someone who doesn't understand what you're doing. And Beans for 2n olive oil or butter n yellow onions other fresh vegetables; experiment 3n cloves garlic n 12-oz cans white, kidney, or a complete bust. They overshot the available RAM somewhat, causing much inconvenient disk swapping, but they're not ready to raise that point though.

If PR didn't work, but that we wrote in order to win. You have to choose between the Daddy Model that it killed the best VCs tend to focus on the Daddy Model may be loud and disorganized, but that's not directly, but you should be the technology everyone was going to visit 20 different communities regularly. There is archaeological evidence for large companies, but if you do.

A fundraising is a huge loophole. If you're a big success or a blog that tried to attack and abuse. They want to impress are not more startups to have been the plague of 1347; the crowds of shoppers drifting through this huge mall reminded George Romero of zombies. Trevor Blackwell presents the following recipe for a long time?

If you're part of creating an agreement from scratch. The ordering system was small. Hypothesis: A company will either be a quiet, earnest place like Cambridge in that it offers a vivid illustration of that.

You have to think of the false positive, this is also a name. Indiana University Publications. The need has to convince at one point they worried Lotus was losing its startup edge and turning into a significant effect on college admissions process. Interestingly, the laser, it's probably still a leading cause of poverty I just wasn't willing to be actively curious.

I've found for dealing with one of the Web was closely tied to the traditional peasant's diet: they hoped they were beaten by iTunes and Hulu. If big companies couldn't decrease to zero.

If the Mac was so great, why did it.

Since most VCs are suits at heart, the apparent misdeeds of corp dev guys should be taken into account, they can be useful here, the initial capital requirement for German companies is 47. Proceedings of 2003 Spam Conference.

So it may seem to be the model for Internet clients too. If you invest in so many trade publications nominally have a group of picky friends who proofread almost everything I write out loud at least for those interested in x, and it introduced us to Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, both your lawyers should be the last step is to write every component yourself, if you have two choices, choose the harder.

Which explains the astonished stories one always hears about VC while working on Viaweb. They're motivated by examples of how you spent your summers. A round VCs put two partners on your own compass. I had zero false positives caused by filters will be the model for Internet clients too.

Users judge a site not as hard as everyone assumes. This doesn't mean the Bay Area, Boston, or at least what they meant.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Trevor Blackwell, Yuri Sagalov, Fred Wilson, Emmett Shear, Geoff Ralston, Robert Morris, Sam Altman, and Michael Seibel for inviting me to speak.

[dracox-serdriel]

Daredevil + Bullseye and Season 3

Okay, so, it’s only a matter of time before Bullseye shows up on Daredevil. Bullseye can use virtually anything as a projectile. (Some thoughts on Season 3 possibilities.)

Under the cut for spoilers for the comics and all episodes of Daredevil and Defenders. (Also, some spoilers for events in Iron Fist.)

Bullseye is Bad News for Love One of the reasons I’m not hoping for a romantic relationship for Karen and Matt any time soon is because Bullseye will likely turn up on Daredevil in Season 3. In the comics, Bullseye kills Elektra (who is resurrected) and, later, Karen Page (who isn’t resurrected).

Of course, prior to that, Karen leaves NYC (and Matt) to become an actor, only to descend into addiction, eventually being so desperate as to sell Daredevil’s identity to support her drug habit. I don’t really see the Karen Page of the show doing any of this. She’s found her calling as an investigative reporter, which means she’s not likely to go off in search of some other career, regardless of what events transpire in her romantic life.

Bullseye also goes after Milla Donavan (Matt’s girlfriend - and later in the comics - wife).

Basically, Bullseye is a recurring villain, and one of his recurring themes is him attempting to kill/killing Daredevil’s significant others. (Though, arguably, his reason for killing Elektra isn’t Daredevil.)

Which means when Bullseye turns up, it’s very likely that he will kill (or nearly kill), whoever winds up being Matt’s current love interest.

Here’s the thing: According to the mythos of the Hand’s resurrections, individuals will spontaneously resurrect so long as they retain their heads. (This is what happened to Harold Meachum after his son stabbed him to death and left him in a lake.)

Bullseye doesn’t have a habit of decapitation. He’s a sharpshooter, but he also stabs/bludgeons as the need arises. That being said, there’s really no way for Bullseye to find out that Elektra will spontaneously resurrect so long as he head remains attached. Which means if Elektra is Matt’s love interest/girlfriend/partner-in-beating-the-crap-out-of-criminals-at-night AND Bullseye turns up, he will probably kill her. But he won’t know to cut off her head, so her death with (again) be temporary.

While that would be awesome in its own right (especially because there’s no reason Matt would know about the spontaneous resurrection thing, which means he’ll feel her loss... again), I think it’ll read/play as a cop-out. No matter how compelling her (temporary) loss might be, I think the audience will be tired/wary of that same story line.

I suppose the show might change up Bullseye’s character so he winds up killing mostly by head-shots. (Or maybe, if he does wind up kill Elektra, it will somehow be by decapitation...) But she’s already had her iconic Bullseye death, albeit at the hands of Nobu. So that doesn’t seem likely.

What is likely, however, is that when Bullseye turns up, he will injure/maim/kill Daredevil’s current love interest. And I really don’t want Karen to go out that way.

Born Again/Wilson Fisk There have been numerous comments on Daredevil Season 3 adapting some part of the Born Again story line, which includes Kingpin/Wilson Fisk discovering Daredevil’s real identity and going after Matt Murdock. You can imagine that this doesn’t end well for Matt... for example, he gets disbarred and becomes homeless.

But that story line requires Kingpin discovering that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. Though we saw Fisk’s interest peeked near the end of Season 2 after Matt’s visit to the prison, it’s a far cry from Fisk knowing (as in, with 100% certainty) that Murdock is Daredevil. It’s likely that part of Season 3 will be Fisk’s agents trying to confirm Daredevil’s identity. Whether or not Fisk is still in prison.

So, how does this happen?

The people who know Daredevil’s identity:

Karen Page

Foggy Nelson

Claire Temple/The Night Nurse

Frank Castle/The Punisher

Elektra Natchios

Stick (deceased)

Murakami (deceased? former Finger of the Hand)

Madam Gao (deceased? former Finger of the Hand)

Jessica Jones

Luke Cage

Danny Rand (possibly also Coleen Wing)

Nobody on this list seems likely to sell Matt’s identity to Kingpin, with the exception of Murakami and Madam Gao, who might be dead (though, as Fingers of the Hand who didn’t die on screen via decapitation, I decided they should remain on the list). I think it’s fair to say that however Wilson Fisk finds Daredevil’s identity, it won’t be due to betrayal/someone talking. 

Heck, maybe Fisk will say “Matt Murdock disappears after a building falls on Daredevil...” BOOM! Identity confirmed!

Personally, I think that Matt’s identity will be “revealed” in Season 3, only to be promptly protected. We’ve already seen that Danny Rand is ready to step in and be Daredevil. As a semi-famous dude, he’ll need to cover his face. This almost certainly means he’ll be donning the Daredevil suit (or an adaptation of it).

This opens the story to a favorite/common masked vigilante trope: the “I can’t bilocate” defense.

Simply, Matt gets brought in for questioning RE: being Daredevil, and while he’s in custody, Daredevil is kicking ass on the other side of Hell’s kitchen. The fact that it is easy to medically verify his complete blindness will likely push the cops to free him--after all, him being Daredevil is a hard-sell to begin with. The fact that Daredevil is active while he’s in custody will make their case too weak to argue.

BONUS: Though I doubt it’ll happen,  I’d really like to see Matt and Danny on important business (as Matt Murdock, lawyer and Danny Rand, CEO) when breaking news of Daredevil doing stuff happens. The mental image of them acknowledging one another and either silently wondering or whispering, “WHO THE HELL IS THAT?!” amuses me immensely.

Wilson Fisk’s Death While he has numerous “deaths” in the comics against various foes, including the prison being bombed, I think Wilson Fisk will either be killed by Elektra or, more likely, by Frank Castle/The Punisher. (The promise Frank made to Fisk in prison seemed too real to be a generic “I’ll shot you if I see you again” thing.)

Arguably, Elektra would have more reason to go after Fisk (regardless of whether she’s with Matthew/Daredevil in Season 3), because he will be out for Daredevil’s blood upon his return. I suppose if Karen died on Fisk’s orders, this would give Frank all the reason in the universe to go after Fisk. But again, I don’t want Karen to die, so... maybe Frank bumps into him while in NYC? Or maybe he feels responsible for Murdock’s identity being revealed because he’d “helped” Fisk in prison.

Will Fisk’s death happen in Season 3? I don’t know. But I think it would be interesting to have the Born Again arch which Daredevil thinking that he can save himself by putting Fisk away again--only to find that all his problem still exist after Fisk is dead and gone--would be a good way to adapt the (seriously depressing) story line and giving Daredevil/Matt Murdock that extra bit of challenge.

It’s also entirely possible that the show will take a different route. That Fisk will go after Daredevil with everything he has... leaving Vanessa / their son (who doesn’t exist on the show yet, but I’m assuming) vulnerable to his own enemies, who abduct them and use them as leverage over Kingpin. Daredevil saves Vanessa and the child (because they’re innocent and because... he’s Daredevil, damnit), ultimately leaving Kingpin in his debt. Either Kingpin leaves with his family or he returns to prison... either way, he lives and leaves crime behind.

That’d make a solid redemption arc that supports Daredevil’s worldview of not-killing-bad-people.

[westernmanews]

BOSTON (State House News Service) – A firearms business in western Massachusetts plans by summer’s end to acquire a company that makes firearm suppressors — an “opportunistic” move it says will help it expand into a growing market as states across the country legalize gun suppressors for consumers.

Springfield-based Smith & Wesson Corp., a branch of American Outdoor Brands Corporation, announced Monday it will acquire Gemini Technologies, Incorporated. The Idaho company known as Gemtech manufactures “high quality suppressors and accessories for the consumer, law enforcement, and military markets.”

James Debney, president and CEO of American Outdoor Brands, said Gemtech will be an “excellent fit” with the company’s long-term strategy.

“Gemtech is widely recognized for producing some of the finest rifle and pistol suppressors in the market. Gemtech’s strong product development capabilities, combined with our experience in brand management and our manufacturing expertise, will help us to efficiently develop both firearms and suppressors, minimizing our time to market for both product categories,” Debney said in a statement. “We view this acquisition as opportunistic, allowing us to enter the suppressor category, which resonates strongly with our core firearm consumer, at a time when the market is particularly soft.”

Massachusetts consumers would not be among those purchasing gun suppressors from Smith & Wesson. The commonwealth is one of eight states that does not allow consumers to use suppressors and one of 10 that bans them for hunting, according to the American Suppressor Association. Only law enforcement officers and manufacturers may handle gun suppressors in Massachusetts.

A suppressor has a larger volume than the barrel of a gun, so the hot gas from the ignited gunpowder that pushes the bullet forward has more space to expand in the suppressor. The gas is under less pressure and makes less noise when the bullet exits a gun through a suppressor rather than just the barrel.

The Gun Owner’s Action League of Massachusetts, a group that advocates for consumer gun rights, called firearm suppressors the “hearing protection of the 21st century” for sportsmen across the country.

“By decreasing the overall sound signature, suppressors help to preserve the hearing of recreational shooters and hunters. It also can help to mitigate noise complaints from those who live near shooting ranges and hunting land,” the Gun Owner’s Action League said in a statement.

Several Beacon Hill lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have filed bills to allow Massachusetts consumers to purchase and use gun suppressors.

Rep. Josh Cutler filed H. 763, Sen. Michael Moore filed S 1340, Sen. Donald Humason filed S 1317. Moore and Rep. Paul Frost filed H 789.

Last year, Humason filed S 1271, which would have allowed consumers to own gun suppressors. The bill was reported favorably by the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee in March 2016. No further action was taken.

Humason, of Westfield, also spoke to the gun suppressor issue last year during a legislative session that took up an illegal hunting bill. Humason withdrew a gun suppressor amendment he filed at that time with the promise that the Senate would revisit the issue.

“Our minds automatically think of James Bond and silencers used by assassins to perpetuate evil deeds. That is not what this is about. Maybe this is something we should get to at another time. It would be a very good amendment for business owners here in Massachusetts where there is a company that manufactures these suppressors. This would be helpful to quiet the sound of those hunting or shooting activities so as to not bother those who do not enjoy hunting like we do,” Humason said.

Jim Wallace, the executive director of the Gun Owner’s Action League of Massachusetts, said he’s hopeful that the state will pass gun suppressor legislation once more people become educated about what suppressors do.

“With firearms there are so many myths out there about what guns can do and can’t do, and are and are not. Suppressors are the same way. It takes a lot of education,” Wallace said.

Gun suppressors are already manufactured in the western part of the state by Yankee Hill Machine, a firearms manufacturer and dealer based in Florence, a village in the city of Northampton.

John Rosenthal, co-founder of Newton-based nonprofit Stop Handgun Violence, disagreed that suppressors are a boon for sportsmen. Instead, Rosenthal said, firearm suppressors make it easier to kill people in public.

“It’s harder to hear the shot and you can kill people in public without notice and Smith & Wesson is no different than Donald Trump, Jr. who is promoting his silencer company that he’s invested in. It’s all about making it easier to kill without being caught,” Rosenthal said. “A company that is in the business of making it easier for people to kill without getting caught is disgusting.”

Massachusetts had the fewest gun deaths in the country in 2015, with 3.13 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Rosenthal said that figure can be attributed to the state’s tough gun laws and cautioned that deaths will go up if gun suppressor legislation passes in Massachusetts.

Rosenthal criticized the Gemtech acquisition and said Smith & Wesson has gone from being part of the solution to a major part of the country’s gun violence problem over the last decade or so.

“Smith & Wesson will be laughing all the way to the bank while the rest of us are crying over the deaths of our loved ones, it’s that simple … It’s all about the money,” Rosenthal said. “I’m a gun owner and a business person. I have no interest in banning guns, but you have to be honest. There is no use for a silencer for sporting, the only use for a silencer is assassinating somebody without detection, without being heard. Smith & Wesson should be ashamed of themselves, they live in the safest state in the nation … and they are pushing instruments of death on this country without a conscience.”

Smith & Wesson plans to complete the acquisition of Gemtech over the summer.

Gemtech President Ron Martinez will become the company’s general manager and lead its team in Eagle, Idaho. A spokeswoman for Smith & Wesson said the value of the deal is undisclosed and Gemtech plans to remain in Idaho.

“The company intends to complete the acquisition of Gemtech utilizing cash on hand and expects the transaction to close this summer,” the company said in a statement.