#sadly there is no Gabriel section

[angrybatgaming]

.....AW, HELL NO.

The ULTRAKILL update dropped yesterday, and it looks awesome so far! It also added a Museum mode (unless that's always been there and I just never noticed) where you can see the development history behind the game.

Of course I had to take screenshots. And it was worth it because the plushies you can find of everyone are super cute! Some of them, Like Hakita here, talk to you when you pick them up. And then talk some more or scream when you toss them around. There's also books you can pick up and read.

More plushies, and a pair of endless glasses.

MY SON. (Actually it's a placeholder for one of the dev team members, and it only squeaks when you grab or toss it.)

Took him with me on the tour.

Gianni plushie!!!! Unfortunately, you can't carry two things at the same time. -_-

Lost the V1 or any other plush on your tour? Don't worry! There's a theatre FULL of them. The theatre plays a movie about the game development, which I haven't watched yet.

Some miscellaneous locations, plus an enemy development history section. (YES, I CARRIED V1 EVERYWHERE.)

.....LET US IN!!!!!!

There's also a bathroom, with a funny Easter egg hidden in one of the stalls.

There's also a section with spoiler stuff in it, but I haven't played through all of the available levels yet so we're not showing those right now. Anyway, back to making my way through Hell!

EDIT

Okay, so the museum has been out for two years. I just never noticed because it was listed as CREDITS. Thank you to the person who informed me!

[humbledragon669]

S2E3 - I Know Where I'm Going Write Up P2 - Edinburgh (1827)

I have a sneaky feeling that this might be a short one - if I try and do the first Edinburgh section as well as the next “present day” section, this is probably going to come out way too long, but let’s see.

There’s something missing for this introductory Edinburgh scene - have you noticed? This is the first time we’re introduced to a new time period without a banner on the screen to announce when and where the action is set. We do of course have Aziraphale’s voiceover to provide us with that information, so it’s not like there’s any confusion caused by the lack of a banner, I just find the absence of one interesting, particularly if you consider that the opening for the scene from 1862, likely the next time they meet after 1827 (not counting the alleged meeting Crowley calls in 1859 according to the Script Book), also differed from its flashback counterparts in Hard Times (it was the only banner to be incorporated into the scene - appearing below the surface of the water in St. James Park).

Moving on to this delightfully teenage-girl side of Aziraphale that we get to see with him writing in his diary. First thing’s first - the voiceover tells us this is volume 603 of his diaries. My first thoughts about this were along the lines of “where the hell are the other 602 and what do they contain” and “how many more were there after this one”, but the significance of the specific number used here is likely to be much simpler, and a Good Omens favourite - Strong’s Concordance. According to my research, the number 603 in the Greek version of the Concordance translates to “eager expectation, earnest longing”, which seems very fitting for a chronicle of Aziraphale’s adventures with Crowley. But wait! There’s more…

So Aziraphale is writing in his diary about the journey to Edinburgh on the 10th November (he goes on to add the year as 1827 but you can’t make out the beginning of the date very well once it’s been added). I found myself wondering if there was anything special about this date, and honestly what I found blew my mind a little bit. I cannot believe that this is a coincidence, and once more my hat is well and truly tipped to whoever discovered this gem and found a way to work it in. Because on the 10th November 1827, there was an article published in The Lancet about the lack of available anatomical subjects to work on for medical research. The article even references the high prices paid by “the resurrection men”. Don’t believe me? Here’s the link. Very sadly I could not attribute a name to the author, but I kind of don’t care. Fucking chapeau of the highest order for this little treat, honestly. As to the diary entry previous to this, I was unable to decipher it myself but I was able to figure out enough of it to Google some of the phrases. Turns out the content has already been confirmed to us by the author:

This sounds like a very exciting adventure for Aziraphale to have undertaken on his own! I love the insinuation that an attempt has been made to seduce him previously, which he rigorously objected to using a line that sounds similar in subtext to the one he utters upon Shadwell’s accusation that he’s running some sort of brothel in his book shop.

Whilst I appreciate the statue of Gabriel will be used later in the episode to provide a link between the past and present-day scenes in Edinburgh, I struggle to find any narrative purpose for it. In fact, I just end up with a long list of questions about its presence, for instance:

What is its purpose?

Why has it been built in this particular graveyard in this particular city?

Who built it?

Is Gabriel aware of its existence?

Assuming that Gabriel is aware of its existence, what is his interest in it? Did he commission it, or was it commissioned for him?

See what I mean? So many questions for an object that doesn’t really have any purpose whatsoever. I know we’ll hear Aziraphale refer to it later in the episode, but even then I don’t really see a reason for him to return to the statue when there are far bigger fish to fry in his Clue hunting. Perhaps its only real purpose is to find a reason for them being in the graveyard in the first place, though that feels pretty weak: building an entire statue as a prop for it to be used in less than 30 seconds of film just as a way to justify their existence in a particular place. There is one thing that it might be good for though:

What’s that look from Aziraphale when Crowley mentions the word “beauty” in a sentence about Gabriel? It looks a little like jealousy to me. Silly angel! I have no doubt that Crowley is just using words he believes Gabriel would associate with himself but I can understand how the angel might perceive it differently, especially given that both he and Crowley lack the ability to understand the other’s subtext when they’re not in immediate danger. I really don’t think he has anything to worry about.

I love how amused Crowley is that Elspeth shows such disgust towards Aziraphale’s clear Englishman status:

Here we have another opportunity for him to get really mischievous, and I’m not just talking about Crowley. Speaking as a fellow Celt (of the Welsh variety), I can genuinely say there’s something very satisfying about English people being shown disdain. I think it’s an ingrained, from-birth thing, because I’ve never really had to work on it, it just comes naturally. With that in mind, I’m sure David must have had a lot of fun indulging his Scottish nature in both accent and attitude towards the English. Which is all pretty ironic considering how public-school-boy Crowley sounds when he’s not speaking with a Scottish accent. I find it interesting that Crowley adopts the accent so early on in this scene - it’s immediately after he hears Elspeth speak. I suspect he does it because he understands that there’s a lot of bad blood directed towards the English from the Scottish natives, which demonstrates how much further on he is in his journey towards understanding human nature than Aziraphale is.

I also find it interesting that the angel makes no attempt to stop Crowley assisting Elspeth, instead trying to reason with her directly about the perceived “wrongness” of her actions. Presumably he knows that an argument with Crowley is doomed to failure, not least because he technically still has to file reports with Hell about his Earthly achievements. What’s also notable about Aziraphale’s attempts to stop Elspeth’s bodysnatching is that he shows absolutely no understanding of the trials that real-life people face.

ELSPETH: It’s not an easy job. If the Watch catch you, you’ll swing for it. AZIRAPHALE: Well it’s not the danger of what you’re doing. Don’t you know that it’s wrong?

Of the two reasons for not doing a spot of gravedigging, personally I’d prioritise getting caught and killed over and above it being “wrong”. Not so Aziraphale; he prioritises morals over life itself, which I suppose might come from his being immortal. And when you consider the lessons he learned in Uz shown to us in the previous episode, you might think he would have some understanding for extenuating circumstances when it comes to the lives of humans. However, there is an important difference between the actions he campaigns against here, and the ones from Uz, and that’s the originator of the actions. See, in Uz he rebelled against actions he perceived to be unjust and unfair taken by Heaven. Here he asserts the moral high ground against actions he judges to be morally wrong taken by a human. I will likely do a post specifically about the minisodes when I have completed the write ups for the three episodes containing them, but for now I’ll just say this. I think these minisodes, and perhaps the entire season (I have some more work to do there), are keyed towards showing us crucially important moments, specific to Aziraphale. Epiphany creating moments you might say. In Uz he learned that the actions of Heaven cannot be said to be Good simply because Heaven is the originator. He will come to learn in this episode that actions taken by humans cannot be categorically defined as either good or bad. In 1941… well, let’s do that one when we get there, and leave this topic for a separate blog specifically geared towards the subject, because I think I could wax lyrical about it quite a bit.

Anyway, back to the theme that things don’t have to be explicitly good or bad, but can in fact be both:

Beautifully put, and subtly done. Even this poor creature Morag can understand that you can be described as something bad whilst also having good intentions and a good nature, it’s really all about the context. Unfortunately Aziraphale will need to have the point made to him in all the more explicit terms later on in the episode before it sinks in with him, despite the fact that he specifically states he sides with Morag on her view of the situation. Some foreshadowing there perhaps.

Little side note, and this one because I haven’t mentioned anything about the sound in this part so far. If you listen beneath the dialogue in this scene, you can hear a woman coughing, pretty badly, in the background. This is another one of those little elements I so love about this show. That coughing has no relevance to the immediate narrative, most people won’t even hear it, but its presence reiterates how awful the living conditions are in the “piss-drenched patch” that Elspeth and Morag call home. The scene would be poorer without it, but you’d never know why - it’s so subtle, yet so effective. And knowing that someone out there, a sound editor and an actor at the very least, had to proactively do something for it to be included makes me feel very appreciative that we have such a committed cast and crew for this show.

Here we have an explicitly stated outline of Aziraphale’s (somewhat oversimplified, IMHO) view. To sum up:

Heaven = (unconditionally) Good.

Hell = (unconditionally) evil.

Humans = can only be considered Good if they actively choose not to be evil.

Note particularly that last point - his view doesn’t extend so far as to say that humans could be considered Good if they themselves chose to be good. No, there must be an active shunning of evil for them to fit the criteria. Pretty one sided, don’t you think? Though I’m sure none of us are surprised by this.  In applying this condition though, he has automatically applied the label of “wicked” to Elspeth, purely based on her choice to do something he considers to be wicked. I think Crowley’s facial expression speaks for us all in his reaction to this exclamation:

And his counter argument to Aziraphale is rather good, isn’t it? So much more biassed towards the nuances of humanity, showing us, yet again, how much further along in his journey towards his own humanity he is when compared to Aziraphale.

I’m so glad that Crowley tries to call this out with Aziraphale, because the idea that poor people have more opportunities because of their poverty is one of the most aristocratic and arrogant things I’ve ever heard. Honestly, I’m a little ashamed to hear those words come from the angel, but playing devil’s advocate (no pun intended) I can see how these views help us as an audience appreciate how much of a change this episode causes in him. And let’s just take a quick look at his use of the term “ineffable” here. To be clear, the definition of the word I refer comes from the Oxford dictionary:

What exactly about Aziraphale’s pompous ramblings would fit with this definition exactly? It’s my belief that he knows exactly how weak his argument is at this point, and his use of this word in particular is used simply as a way of bringing a close to the argument with the (false) assertion that he’s in the right. Sort of an “agree to disagree” statement with an extra pinch of righteousness.

And so we come to the end of this section. Told you it would be a short(er) one, didn’t I? In fairness, when I started out most of the sections were around this length, and there were less of them per episode, so either I’m getting better at this, or I’m getting more pedantic/more waffly. I’m sure it’s probably one of those latter, so I am incredibly grateful for those of you that actually take time out of your day to read my ramblings. Honestly, I don’t deserve you (though I hope that Lancet Easter egg has made this one worth your while!). As always, questions, comments, discussion, always welcome. See you for the next one!

[adrinoir]

Headcanon: Adrien Agreste is Trans? (Part 6)

First things first: Happy pride month to everyone in the community!

If you’ve followed my blog for a while or fallen down the rabbit hole of this headcanon at some point, you’ll know I’ve supported it for a long time. Sooo, welcome to part 6 of the Adrien being trans headcanon.

Here are the other parts of this headcanon if you’d like to read those: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

Usual disclaimer: this is just for fun! Obviously cis boys can have these same qualities and traits. Don’t take it too seriously. These are all just things I’ve noticed. Also, I use the term "sentibeings" vs "sentimonsters" because I personally feel the canon term has a negative, dehumanizing connotation - please keep that in mind, too!

Sentibeings develop their own lives & identities

I feel like this shouldn't have to be said, but in case anyone feels Adrien being a senti-human debunks the hc, I'm writing this as an important reminder. Although they were developed through a miraculous power, Adrien, Felix, and Kagami are very much still human. Felix has made it clear that people of his kind are dehumanized, seen as "monsters," and taken advantage of which is something that upsets him greatly, and rightfully so.

This in itself is sadly something a lot of trans people can relate to. We're often dehumanized for not being "normal" and having unique/different identities in comparison to cis people who identify with their assigned birth gender.

But, I do want to focus more on the fact that sentibeings who were developed into humans are humans, meaning they develop and function the same way all humans do because this is important when talking about this hc. Adrien can still very much be trans considering he's a human with his own life and identity.

Felix had the dramatic presentation of him and Adrien's life story. Yes, he addressed Adrien being a boy the whole time, but also consider that he's going to respect his cousin's identity if he is trans. If this headcanon was in fact canon, Adrien would very much be closeted, and it isn't up to Felix to reveal his identity to others. Saying Adrien was born and raised a girl would not have added anything to the backstory, anyhow.

Gabriel could be controlling for other reasons, too

As we are all aware, Gabriel is a very controlling parent. We're directly shown that he's this way because Adrien is a sentibeing who he can control through his ring, and he's an evil, narcissistic person who doesn't care about others, including his own son. However, it is very much possible that there are other underlying reasons why he's as controlling as he is, let alone towards his own son. Like, why would he not love his own son?

There could obviously be hundreds of underlying reasons why Gabriel is so careless and controlling, but one of them could be that he may not love his son since he's trans. I briefly mentioned in part 3 of the hc that Gabriel could be unaccepting of Adrien being trans, so I'm going to build off of that.

Gabriel may not have always been quite as controlling and neglectful. Maybe before Adrien transitioned, he was a gentler, more caring father. However, we're shown in Wishmaker (yes, I know I always reference this episode lol) from Adrien's perspective, that his parents have always had certain expectations of him, most of which he's followed. So, if Adrien went against their expectations and transitioned to be their son instead of their daughter, that could've easily set Gabriel off (maybe even Emilee too, for all we know).

Why does Adrien tolerate the way Gabriel treats him?

To build further off of my last section, Adrien is aware of his father's terrible behavior and accepts it for what it is throughout a good portion of the series. But, why does he tolerate and accept it? There could be many reasons why, but I'm going to focus on two particular possibilities.

First of all, I also mentioned in part 3 that Gabriel seems like the type who'd gaslight Adrien, saying things like, “you have it so good here! I didn’t kick you out and I use your right name and pronouns!" If he is like that, that could be what makes Adrien so tolerable of his controlling behavior. He may allow this neglect and control because his father is "accepting" of his identity, enough to use the right name and pronouns.

OR, maybe Adrien thinks his behavior is acceptable due to internalized transphobia. Internalized transphobia is sadly a very common thing trans people experience. If this is something he feels, he may think it's right of his father to be unaccepting because "trans people (like me) are not worthy of others' acceptance."

Adrien's vision of the ideal man

This is another thing I've talked a bit about, but I think it's important to talk about in depth.

We see Adrien in many different identities. The ones I'm going to focus on in particular are himself, Cat Noir, and Cat Walker.

Adrien seems to have this idealistic vision in his mind of what an ideal man is supposed to be like. When he plays his role as Cat Noir, he's very over-the-top: flirtatious, strong, protective, destructive. It doesn't mirror how he acts normally, which as we see is the version of him that conforms to most of his parents' expectations. And, when he plays the role of Cat Walker -since he got the sense that Cat Noir was neither an ideal man nor heroic partner for Ladybug- he tones a lot of that down and acts the way he feels she'd like him best for, very laidback, a bit seductive, and helpful, following her ideas.

Why does he have these odd, idealistic versions of what a man should be and tosses his identity around so much? Let me explain.

Adrien hasn't had a good father figure in his life. So he most likely has had to develop this idealistic version of what a man is and follow that, switching it when he has the ability to live his second life as a hero without needing to conform to his father's standards. Adrien wants to be a man but he has no one to follow for that, especially if one of the main reasons for his father's neglect is due to unacceptance of him being trans, Gabriel will hold back as much as possible on being a good father figure and being a positive influence in his growth into manhood.

[seventhdoctor]

Trauma Team Artbook Character Bio Lore

...As gleaned from running artbook scans from 2014 through a sketchy machine translation in the year 2023. I won't post the exact translations for fear of mistranslations ending up reported as fact on wikis and so on, but here's the gist of what Google Translate yields.

CR-S01

Is named Erhard Muller, a fact that already made the rounds in the 2010s

His nationality is also listed as German, though he clearly spent most of his life in America

Most of his backstory isn't anything new compared to in the games, but the artbook does provide a timeline: adopted by Professor Sartre at age 9 after his parents died, enrolled in medical school at age 12 and hailed as the youngest ever to do so, age 13 when Rosalia was adopted, age 16 when the Cumberland Institute incident happened

Erhard and Rose weren't super close siblings, but got along well enough and they had happy lives until the bioterrorism attacked

The government 100% knew Erhard wasn't the culprit when they arrested him - he was the public scapegoat because they couldn't find Albert Sartre, their real person of interest. They never stopped looking for Sartre, and S01's work to reduce his sentence was a quiet compromise for the fact that they, y'know, ruined this kid's life

After learning the truth, S01 is disappointed at his father's betrayal but also chooses to take blame for Sartre's crimes and work off his sentence rather than expose Sartre as the true culprit

Not in-game lore, but according to the concept art section he was nicknamed Chris (CRS) during development. Other people will be funnier about this than I am

Maria Torres

Has the shortest bio and the least amount of new information along with Tomoe, honestly

Born in the slums

Was already at the orphanage at age 10 when Rosalia (age 3) came there

Ended up in rehab of some kind after the orphanage fire

Hank Freebird

Also doesn't have much new compared to the game, sadly

Joined the military out of a sense of justice, left out of disillusionment following John's death and used the medical knowledge he gained in the military to become an orthopedic surgeon (not that this wasn't already implied in the game)

His bio specifically calls him out for being kinda clumsy/goofy. Poor guy

Tomoe Tachibana

Honestly the only thing that's new is a bunch of names, so this is the one time I break my rule and cite a translation directly. TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, IT'S STILL A MACHINE TRANSLATION

The only daughter of the Tachibana Zaibatsu, a global organization run by a family descended from the leader of the Koga Shinobi Army, Hisayori Tachibana.

Gabriel Cunningham

Nationality is listed as Great Britain. Surprise!

His wife Lisa left him with Joshua and went to her parents' six years before the game because she didn't like his lifestyle

Lisa was willing to get back together if Gabe was ever willing to talk to her properly, but as seen in the game he kept his distance. He and Lisa met occasionally over the next six years, but he never saw Joshua - which is of course why Joshua never recognized him in the game

His decision to go through with the divorce was about acceptance of his failings and a desire to do right by Joshua and Lisa

Naomi Kimishima

NOW WE'RE COOKING WITH BACKSTORY

All right, so that bit in Second Opinion where she took a Savato sample after cutting ties with Delphi and used it to bargain amnesty with Caduceus [Europe in the US version; US in the JP version]? Yeah, apparently she transported that sample by CARRYING IT IN HER OWN BODY for Caduceus to extract

Her fatal condition is a result of that, though it's already implied to be a result of GUILT in the game anyway. It was a sudden development a few years later, followed by Derek's six-month diagnosis

There's also details about her illness! Apparently her specific brand of PGS or whatever involves excess serotonin and dopamine production, which she needs meds to regulate.

It also means she's no longer able to operate on the living, which is why she transitions to forensic medicine as part of her plea deal

[Insert grimace here] I don't want to get too into this because this bit because 1) machine translation fears, 2) even perfectly translated it's not likely to be accurate to actual philosophy/terminology anyway, 3) I'm not a doctor I don't know what I'm talking about…

But the bio then starts talking about pranayama and prana, defining prana as life essence and...saying Naomi lacks it because of her condition and its effect on serotonin? I'm not entirely clear on this and I'm hesitant to say anything for sure; the main thing is that they take her illness and use the concept of prana to connect that to...

Her new ability to hear the dead! Apparently Naomi reads the prana left behind in a corpse and translates it into the person's final words via her phone; the worse the damage to the corpse (e.g., skeletonization), the less prana remains and the weaker the voice she hears is

Whether any of this relates to the Healing Touch is not mentioned. IDK man

Technically this was in S01's bio, but it relates more to Naomi: Jacob Tillman originally wanted Naomi to perform his surgery and keep it secret. Naomi was already unable to perform surgery on living people at that point, though, so S01 was Plan B

Rosalia Rossellini

Admired her big brother Erhard :(

Albert Sartre

Adopted Rosalia to study the virus in her blood (that is, he already knew about it by the time he adopted her in case that's ever a timeline question)

Additional Note

If someone with actual knowledge of Japanese corrects me and anything I've written in here, absolutely believe them over me. I'm not the translation hero anyone still in this fandom in the year 2k23 deserves, I'm just the stopgap until maybe one arrives someday.

[doublethetheories]

Miraculous LB/CN Movie: Multiverse Notes

Based on the movie having differences in not only plot, but worldbuilding laws set up in the show, I’d like to propose the perspective that the movie is in a different universe than ours (the show). This is less of a theory and more just me wanting to point out some interesting things I saw when watching with this pov. I hope you all enjoy!

Canon Events

Using the logic from Spiderman: Across The Spiderverse, we can gather that multiversal laws have canon events for every version of a like character. Ladybug And Cat Noir presented a few of those when compared to Miraculous Ladybug. Let’s talk about them.

Alya:

She is meant to be the first person to document the new Holders’ first battle. It’s a shaping moment for her (and sometimes Marinette too, though it isn’t a canon event for LB). 

Marinette:

Obviously it’s becoming the miraculous holder, but quickly after, she has a more notable canon event: rejecting the miraculous. I saw this as a canon event because its sameness made me realise how significant to her this decision, and then the decision to rejoin the fight, is for her growth. Realising she is capable is huge for her.

Adrien:

Losing his mom. This may seem obvious, and it is, but I want to discuss how it affects him differently in this universe in the next section. (Other than the upcoming notes though, this obviously is what shapes his relationship with his father, and it’s also a CE for Gabriel as well, launching him into his next arc.)

Differences (and significance)

Aside: Okay so first let’s address the butterfly in the room: changes in the moth miraculous. I’ve been seeing a lot of people on twitter discuss how it was presented as evil/chaotic by a default in this movie, and when I watched sadly I agree. This falls under the “changes to the world laws” umbrella I mentioned earlier, and it didn’t worsen the story, but I also feel like it could’ve been better used as an opportunity to show how the power isn’t bad and it’s the holder’s responsibility to use it for good. I feel that would have been a better lesson. Anyway, back to theory.

The biggest difference I noticed was in a specific scene with Adrien and Gabriel, where Adrien talks back and even shouts at his father, and it really caught me by surprise. But then I realised why.

Adrien in this universe isn’t a sentimonster.

It’s not a canon event, it’s one of the things which makes him different than ours. Here, he’s able to go through the teenage angst that comes with his age and with losing a mom (and having that as your dad). 

Lastly, I’d like to point out other differences in the world, broken into two categories for ease of reader 😌

Character Differences:

Nino never had a crush on marinette (that we know of), and it seems like he did on Alya :)

Marinette isn’t blubbering-nervous, she’s quiet/shy-nervous around Adrien (an improvement, I think we all agree)

Kwami’s personalities ! (explored more in World Law Differences)

Gabriel both A) did more damage as a villain while B) caring more as a father, both of which were equally jarring

if you’re confused about A, the mime literally pulled out a(n invisible) gun multiple times o.o

World Law Differences: (mentioned earlier)

Holders’ Powers: To my knowledge, the Holders don’t have a time limit after using their powers

Furthering that point, and this may be debated, but I don’t think their powers work the way we’re used to.

We never see any holder use their trigger word, and it doesn’t seem to be a one-time or limited thing, it’s contraints are just the Holder’s willpower and physical endurance for what they’re doing

Other miraculous might not exist, it might just be the main 7 (fox, bee, moth, turtle, peafowl, and ladybug/chat noir)

This is implied by the intro sequence, and also I thought I noticed the miracle box being shorted in my watch through, though that might be just me

Kwamis are able to be physically present while Holders are transformed (doesn’t affect much but I found it interesting)

They also acted wiser, Tikki and Nooroo having moments of sober seriousness that was wildly different than what we’re used to.

except for uh...

Plagg.

no comment.

Guardians of The Miraculous might have powers of their own which we just didn’t have time to explore. (This could’ve also just been the creators wanting him to be mysterious with no intended lore implications)

Implied chaos around the Moth Miraculous (this is mostly just in the intro though, the rest of the movie it’s Gabriel who’s responsible for the bad stuff rather than it being inherent)

There is still something to say here about power corrupting, we don’t know how much of it was him or the miraculous, and that does bug me :/

Power ups likely don’t exist in this world too, given what I mentioned about the power-constraints being different; The holders likely are able to handle extreme circumstances naturally when transformed, and if they can’t (like the lava scene) that’s because it is too much for them.

Contacting holders was significantly easier here since they were able to receive (vague) notice while detransformed; I liked that :)

That’s all!

Let me know if there’s anything I missed that I should discuss! As always, the ask box is open and I love reading comments and discussing things with y’all :))

Thank you for reading!

[thebandcampdiaries]

Ron Hamrick has released a brand new single: “I’d Give Anything.” 

May 2023 - Hailing from Michigan, Ron Hamrick is a renowned songwriter who has even made it to Billboard's Top 10! His latest offering, "I'd Give Anything,” showcases a contemporary and polished arrangement strong of a captivating melody that perfectly matches the nostalgic spirit of the tune.

“I’d Give Anything” is an energetic yet smooth song that feels like a quintessential soft-rock number. It is all about creating a mellow, soothing sound that's perfect for relaxing and unwinding after a long day. One of the things that makes Ron’s music so special is the artist’s ability to write very relatable tracks without compromising the uplifting energy of his work. “I’d Give Anything” is the kind of track that most music fans will be able to connect with. It’s a song that dwells on a fascinating hypothetical reality: what if the greats of music who passed away were still around? What if greats like Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and others who left too soon had been able to make more music to share with the world? The possibilities are truly endless, but sadly, we can only speculate at this point in time. Still, “I’d Give Anything.” highlights Ron’s timeless passion for music, and it feels like a homage to some of the most iconic musicians who elevated the craft throughout the years.

“I’d give anything to hear those songs that never were.” - Anyone who has ever been a fan of musicians who passed away before reaching their full maturity or potential can most definitely empathize with this feeling! It's a shame that so many talented artists died too young, as we're missing out on the incredible music they could have created. From Jimi Hendrix to Kurt Cobain, there are countless musicians who left us far too soon. Each of these artists had a unique perspective and voice, and it's heartbreaking to think about what they could have achieved had they lived longer. However, their music lives on and continues to inspire generations, proving that their legacies will never be forgotten - including artists like Ron Hamrick, who carry the torch and keep the flame alive. Musically, the song is just as compelling as its inherent meaning. The soft synth sounds on “I’d Give Anything” blend seamlessly with the groovy yet smooth rhythm section, creating a unique and captivating sound. The combination of the two elements makes for a dreamy, almost hypnotic quality that draws the listener in and keeps them hooked until the very end. The way the synths and rhythm section complement each other is a testament to Ron’s exceptional songwriting skills and his ability to create a cohesive and compelling tone throughout the spectrum. Ron’s voice on “I’d Give Anything” is soft-spoken yet full-ranging and dynamic, reminiscent of great vocalists like Peter Gabriel and Mick Hucknall (of Simply Red). His vocal delivery is expressive and emotive, conveying a sense of longing and vulnerability that resonates with listeners.

The instrumentation is beautifully layered, and Ron's vocals are smooth and emotive. However, what’s even more striking is how down-to-earth the song feels, despite the sophisticated musicianship behind the track. Ron's humility as an artist shines through in every note. It's a rare combination of musical complexity and emotional authenticity that won’t go unnoticed. In an era in which every artist seeks glory and feeble notoriety, it is refreshing to come across someone who actually sings from the perspective of a passionate music fan. Ron's song "I'd Give Anything" embodies the essence of what it means to create music for the love of it. 

Fans of artists as diverse as Billy Joel, Air Supply and Lionel, The Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac will certainly appreciate the soft rock smoothness of this amazing release by Ron Hamrick. Whether you're feeling nostalgic, romantic, or just in need of some good vibes, there's a soft rock song out there that can lift your spirits and make you feel good, and remind you of the power of music and its lasting legacy.

https://open.spotify.com/track/43DXKMREaKxX1tKAboScWt?si=59dc173d516645aan

https://youtu.be/alrrOugip4w

https://www.youtube.com/@RonHamrickMusic

https://twitter.com/ronhamrick

We also had the opportunity to ask Ron a few questions: keep reading for more!

I love how you manage to render your tracks so personal and organic. Does the melody come first, or do you focus on the beat the most?

Answer:

I hear both in my head when I sit down to write a song. I also have at least most of the lyrics in my head. They all come at basically the same time when I get an idea for a new song.

Do you perform live? If so, do you feel more comfortable on a stage or within the walls of the recording studio?

Answer:

I have been performing on stages for many years, and I have also spent many hours in recording studios, so I am very comfortable with both.

If you could only pick one song to make a “first impression” on a new listener, which song would you pick and why?

Answer:

I would pick my song “Tomorrow” from my EP “Nothing But Sunshine” because it’s a very mellow, optimistic song with lyrics full of hope. Perhaps it would serve to make the listener’s day a little better, although I try to do this with all of my songs.

What does it take to be “innovative” in music? 

Answer:

I think the masters at being innovative in music were The Beatles, and they were innovative in various ways, which I think is the best answer to this question – I don’t think there is only one thing you can do. I also think it’s a fine line, and if you get too innovative, you can scare off listeners. The Beatles were innovative from their conception with just the idea of using the complementary interplay between two guitars in a band (which was very uncommon at the time they formed), and they continued to slowly push the envelope using things like unheard-of recording techniques, new sounds (a sitar in pop music? – really??), unconventional song structures, unusual key signatures, unique chord progressions, and even blending ideas from multiple genres of music. In my songwriting efforts, I try to draw in listeners with the idea that many people can relate to and keep them listening using various techniques I have learned from studying Beatles music. This can be something different in every song.

Any upcoming release or tour your way?

Answer:

I continually write new songs, and I’m currently working on several I plan to release on an EP later this year, with perhaps a single or two released ahead of the EP. I play live performances regularly at venues around the area where I live in Virginia, and I have had numerous requests to do a performance in the town where I grew up in Michigan, so I will be traveling to Michigan for a performance in September. I have also been invited to do another tour in England, which is being planned for the Summer of 2024.

Anywhere online where curious fans can listen to your music and find out more about you?

Answer:

The best place to listen to my music and find out more about me is on my website www.ronhamrick.com.

[sgprc]

2023-02-22 SGPRC Board Meeting (Full Video)

We have been advised by the First Amendment Coalition (www.FirstAmendmentCoalition.org) that this video recording may be posted for public review in accordance with the Bagley-Keene Act.

During public comments, Carl Argila said San Gabriel Pomona Regional Center Executive Director Jason Weller’s long-awaited letter to Argila regarding recent and longstanding inquiries fell short of expectations after hoping the new director may be “an agent for change.”

Weller “incorrectly” cites Title 17 [Section 50540], a state regulation protecting due-process rights, and fails to acknowledge the lawsuit on behalf of deaf clients against the SGPRC, Argila said.

“Sadly, the only thing I can do is bring about violations of the Lanterman Act, but it does not compensate for the lack of leadership,” he said.

During his executive report, Weller expressed optimism toward several items, including the prospect of assembly bills awaiting the state legislature’s vote.

AB 649 removes generic service and resource mandates Weller cites as barriers to best utilizing resources. Regional centers are prohibited from purchasing services already made available through Medi-Cal, Medicare and private insurance. Current law limits dental services for individuals three years or older unless there it is determined by appeal process that the request has merit.  

“This is an exciting one for our system if this passes,” Weller said.

The purpose of AB 1147, the Disability Equity and Accountability Act, is to eliminate disparities and increase transparency statewide.  If passed, the Department of Developmental Services will evaluate regional centers and establish metrics by 2024.

"We are really focused on eliminating disparities,” Weller said before adding that the Association of Regional Center Awareness has yet to take a position on the bill.

Regional centers may apply for grant funding through the Mental Health Services Act that aims to better serve individuals with, and at risk of, serious mental health issues, and their families, Weller said. Applications are due March 17.  

“Hortencia [Tafoya] and her team are reviewing our needs, and seeing if this is something we can pursue, and if we have resources to pursue,” Weller said. “Other regional centers are collaborating with each other to see if there can be some joint projects with this funding.”

Weller said he is excited about the Coordinated Family Support pilot program, a new service for adults who choose to live with families. He also encouraged promotion and attendance of upcoming “critical” Purchase of Service Expenditure Meetings, public meetings that highlight expenditures relative to age, ethnicity, age, disabilities and areas of residence.

The SGPRC received 299 new referrals for Early Start Admissions in January, 167 of whom were found eligible for Early Start Services. Weller credited the clinical team for eligibility and the admissions department for helping increase the numbers.

“It’s a great sign,” Weller said. “It means we’re connecting with people. We’re serving individuals.”

Starting in March, meetings with vendors will take place monthly instead of weekly.  Feedback from vendors showed that the frequency of meetings should be reduced.  They were originally increased in frequency because of the pandemic, Weller said. These meetings are in addition to Vendor Advisory Committee meetings.

Albert Feliciano, advocate for the State Council of Developmental Disabilities and Westside Regional Center said SCDD’s office offers Self Determination orientations in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, and participants receive certificates upon completion. The LA office is also hosting a monthly roundtable for independent facilitators to share and discuss information. Feliciano said he is currently creating a list of IFs, expanding the list from solely LA County names to include IFs throughout the state.

February’s Board of Directors meeting featured mental-health focused training presented by Dr. Stephen Mouton, clinical psychologist for the SGPRC and policy liaison for Los Angeles County’s seven regional centers.

Directions were provided on steps and procedures for handling potential crises, as well as the differences between common hospitals and health facilities designated for mental health crises through the DDS. It is recommended clients visit designated locations, such as the Las Encinas Psychiatric Hospital in Pasadena, or Charter Oak in Covina.  

“A crisis means different things to different people,” Mouton said, highlighting events that may affect a family but not necessitate action from health professionals or police. “To a family, a crisis is when a family member is out of control, or not listening, or they won’t complying, or having some kind of aggressive behaviors,” whereas “police or a hospital that may be responding to a request for an assessment, they are looking for is that the client or person a danger to themselves or others due to a psychiatric disorder, or currently gravely disabled.”

[lunalive-at]

End of 2022 Fic Recs 

Since it's a new year, I've decided to do a round-up of fics that I loved in 2022. In the interest of helping people finding more unknown fics/authors, I'm only doing fics that have less than 1000 kudos. 

So, in no particular order: 

Five Women Who Hate Fleur Delacour by Snegurochka 

She was beautiful, intelligent, talented, successful – and not very nice about it. Clearly, other women must hate her.

Ostensibly, this is a story about Fleur, but it's really a story about how other women react to Fleur and the gender politics of the world JKR created. Snegurochka takes us through the perspectives of several minor female characters--Gabrielle, Narcissa, Molly, Tonks, Minerva--and shows us the reasons that they "hate" Fleur, but of course, unsurprisingly, their reasons say far more about themselves then Fleur herself.  Those sections are interspersed together with conversations between Luna and Fleur at Shell Cottage, and through that, we get to see Fleur's perspective as well. 

Along the Way by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling)

Idealism is hard to balance against the rest of life. Hermione, post-DH, epilogue-compliant, mostly gen. Written for Femgenficathon 2007. 

I am very picky about Hermione characterization, but this fic absolutely nails how I imagine adult Hermione. Elizabeth depicts Hermione as a complex, flawed person--not just showing us her idealism, her persistence and her good heart, but also her arrogance, her anger, and her need to always be "right".  This is a story that reads like real-life, in that all of the relationships are imperfect and complicated--there's an especially moving exploration of Hermione's relationships with her parents. Also great use of the second person POV. 

Good Morning, Midnight by tangina (tangina0_0)

A time-travel fic in which Luna Lovegood finds a magical artifact that can travel through time — but only in a very scattershot way, for limited periods. Her experimental adventures are sometimes angsty, often humorous, and eventually lead to a happy ending. Who but Luna would be mad enough, and have a big enough heart, to go back in time to befriend Snape and save his life?

As my (very old and kind of embarrassing) username indicates, Luna is one of my favorite characters. Tangina has written what is probably my favorite characterization of her ever--preserving what makes her unique (her whimsical and unconventional thinking), but also giving her emotional depth and seriousness that you don't always see. The premise is also genius: what more interesting person to time-travel than Luna? 

I often think that the mark of a truly great writer is to make readers invested in a pairing or character that they never thought they would be. I definitely never thought about Luna/Severus before, and I don't read a lot of fics about Snape. But I found the relationship development convincing, and done without sacrificing characterization. 

see it all through a telescope by thatdarkhairedgirl

We don’t always pick the ones we love, or the ones who love us. Alicia and Terence, through the years.

I found this from a fic rec list that I sadly can no longer find, but what I do remember is that reccer commented that they had to look up who Terence Higgs was before they read this. (He's a very very minor Slytherin character, if you're wondering). I adore fics that give life to very peripheral characters, so I loved this. It's an exploration of the relationship between Terence and Alicia, who are forced to sign an arranged marriage contract when they are teenagers. Despite the tropey-ness of the premise, it feels very "real"--the characterization is well-textured, the prose is lovely, and the non-linear narrative is perfectly done. 

All Maps Welcome by Rozarka, smutty_claus 

It's not easy to find a clear way out of the wreckage of a war, whether you're a battle-scarred girl, a ghost with regrets, or a scion of wizarding Britain's most notorious family. But when their paths converge, the journey forward gains both purpose and clarity.

Given how Lavender was treated in the books, I always love stories that do her justice, and this is probably my dream characterization of her. She’s the perfect mix of girly, funny, and Gryffindor-brash in this fic, while also being changed and matured by the war and Greyback’s attack. This story also features a very moving and thoughtful reckoning with the murder of Charity Burbage, which I haven’t seen any other story before. And a bunch of other things I love: Squib characters, Draco in the muggle world, werewolf rights, Lavender-Parvati friendship.

Bonus, other fics:  

Far Away as Moonshine by zephrene (Draco/Luna, Luna-centric) 

Soulmates With Benefits by TheFrancakes (Draco/Ginny soulmates, but they exploit it to win the quidditch cup!)

The Wizard of Witley Court by CorvinaNightshade (muggle-OC centric fic, Roger Davies/OC, set during DH)

My heart is a fist of barbed wire by dwellingondreams (what if there was another magical child with Tom Riddle at Wool's? OC centric)  

Keeping a Secret in the Burrow by FloreatCastellum (very fun next gen-centric fic, makes you fall in love with the Weasleys all over again) 

like a house on fire we’re up in flames by kitsunerei88 (Cho-centric, Cho/Blaise, how war changes your moral calculus) 

Once Upon A Wish by wynnebat (Ginny-centric, Ginny time travels, plays quidditch, and meets Regulus Black ) 

Little By Little by eriathiel (muggle-OC centric fic, Draco/OC, Draco in the muggle world!) 

[jasmine-the-fox]

I did the work... You guys were lazy

For this salt fic, I want you all to see what happens to the class for believing Lila and her lies and leaving behind Marinette... Also Damienette ship!!

For years Marinette didn’t think about her old class... Caline Bustier’s class was gone like the wind to her when she left Paris to go to Gotham for college, there were times when Alya and some of them will text her old number about demands of baked goods, dresses or new date Adrien plans... She would ignore them and at one point got rid of her phone as she was done with them, the only people she spoke to was Chloe who never believed Lila and even worked hard to be forgiven by Mari, Sabrina did so much research on Lila with Max that they too were forgiven with time, then was Alix who was visited by a furious Bunnix who showed Alix her future if she follows Lila.

Nathaniel was also someone who believe Mari, from the start he thought Lila was strange and one day with Marc spoke to Mari and has been loyal to her... Lastly was Kitty section, Luka was furious with them for listening to Lila about music and warned them about him quitting if they keep this up, after a while they heard Mari crying to Luka about what Lila did to her and they ended up leaving Lila, outside the class was of course Luka and Marc, Kagami, Aurore, Mireille, Ondine and Felix who is Adrien’s cousin, he was furious when Chloe told him about Adrien’s take the higher road line he told Mari.

Each of her friends did sadly go to different places and she only had Chloe with her in Gotham but that was fine with her, she still texted and did video calls with them so that was fine to her... And then she met Damian Wayne, the boy was cold and rarely spoke to anyone unless for a project he had to do in a team, slowly she began talking to him outside of class and that made him at some point want to speak with her about anything at all that wasn’t even related to school, with time Chloe helped her with there friends to change Marinette’s style, she went from pigtails to her hair down or in a braid, from white pink and gray to black and other kinds of colors.

She also began to wear make-up and she opened up a website for her designs, a blog so people can see tips and tricks on how to do things with clothes or how to fix something, she also took down all her previous accounts she had with the class following her and opened new accounts for her real friends to be seen with her, Damian would glare when his brother’s would talk about a new post on her social media or on her blog while his father often commissions her for clothes, this caused for her to become famous in Gotham and Clark interview her... Making her also famous in Metropolis.

And while she was becoming famous while still in school... Her class was losing there dreams, Alya was the first one to go through this, Nadja Chamack got to interview Lois Lane who ripped into the Ladyblog by pointing out posts she made that were lies and the consequences that would have happened if certain people saw them... Leading to her blog being taken down, she with Lila got sued and Lila was exposed as the liar she was including the bonus of Lila being deported back to Italy to live with her grand-parents who were sending her to a private school.

Slowly everyone including Adrien were targeted, Adrien being found out as Lila revealed that he and Marinette were the only ones who knew she was lying from the start... He was homeschooled once again but was able to go to college, he picked one his friends were going to with the grades they had but they all glared at him... But none of them thought to apologize to Mari for bullying her and claiming her to be a liar... Not until there bank accounts were frozen because there parents received from Tom and Sabine bills for each of there kids for baked goods, clothes, babysitting that Alya and Nino put on her at the last minute for a date and anything else that they never paid back.

That’s when they remembered Marinette, they all began trying to call and text her... But her number wasn’t available anymore as it wasn’t use so they couldn’t talk to her, Alya thought she was being petty while Adrien thought Mari was being selfish, with time they got back to work on what they wanted... And then they saw Mari on the news in Metropolis as an up coming designer, Gabriel Agreste saw a solution to the problem Lila brought to his work and told Adrien to try and talk to her and see if she would date him... Except Adrien didn’t have her current number.

It took some time but Gabriel ended up being invited to a Wayne Gala, he took his son and instructed him to try and get Marinette’s new number to try and then date her, Adrien was certain it would all go well and he would get her new number... Then everyone will be able to contact her and things will go back to normal for them, when they got there, Adrien began looking for Mari but saw Chloe with Damian Wayne and some girl with short hair, he decided to ignore them for now and focus on searching for Mari but couldn’t find her at all.

“Adrien? I’m surprised that your here since your father always comes alone” he turned to find Chloe and the girl from earlier, Damian wasn’t with them now and was instead talking to some guests “Hey there Chlo, my dad heard about Mari on the news and wanted to meet her and so I was just trying to find her for him” he explained as the girl looked annoyed at him while Chloe looked disappointed “Mari has been next to me from the start... You should have come over the moment you got here” she said as Adrien looked shocked at Marinette, her hair was now chin length, her dress was a beautiful red dress with a beautiful dragon design.

Chloe had to then walk away to speak with a guest, leaving the two alone, Adrien began trying to start a conversation but Mari simply went with short and simple answers... No going into detail of things, this was not the Marinette Dupain-Cheng he knew so he had to do something, he then began asking her if she could show him around Gotham while he was here, if she would like to have lunch with him at some point and even if she would like to dance with him... She said straight up no and didn’t give him a reason as to why, still wanting her number to begin contacting her, he decided to wait until she was drinking wine before snatching her phone from her purse and adding her number to his phone and sending it to the class before putting it back into her purse.

He just had to tell her she gave it to him while she was a little drunk, it would be just fine in the end and nothing would go wrong... He was wrong, the next day, police came to arrest him for stealing her phone and sending her number to others who contacted her the whole night... He tried to defend himself but security camera’s caught him stealing her phone and slipping it back, he was being sued and a restraining order was on him to stay away from her while she once again changed her number and ended up telling her clients about it... Gabriel was disappointed in his son for he had to go meet with her to try and fix everything... While trying to get her to agree to going on a date with his son.

She was already dating Damian though.

He found out when he saw them together, Damian had called her Angel and they kissed before he left, she refused to go on a date with his son or to remove the restraining order on his son... But Gabriel won’t give up “Make one of them hate the other, anything will do but make one of them dump the other!” he ordered his son who nodded to the demand, since Adrien couldn’t get close to Mari... He had to aim for Damian, he decided to us a few pictures he took of her in the past to make Damian think she has been dragging around a bunch of guys and girls, he didn’t care that Nino and Kim knew from childhood, he also didn’t care that Chloe and Kagami were in a relationship with one another, he didn’t care about Luka and Felix’ pride.

He was going to win this no matter what... He will make his father proud of him.

He was sent back to Paris to be put in jail there three days later, he really didn’t know what went wrong, all he did was show Damian the pictures and told him a few lies about her... And next thing he knew police was at his hotel room door and took him away to get to the airport to get to Paris, what he didn’t know was that Damian had seen those very pictures on Mari’s old friends and current friends social medias, so he knew he was lying from the start and called the police about it, Gabriel tried to stop them but he too was sent back to Paris for Nathalie had given the police a recording of Gabriel telling Adrien to try and get Mari’s number and have her date him.

Because of this both of there miraculous were taken, since Ladybug was now part of Batman’s team and had warned the police about the Agreste father and son having one each, Nathalie of course gave up her’s with the info and then returned early to Paris to take care of things there... And get Lila into even more trouble as she did work with Hawkmoth all this time, even so it wasn’t over, after a while in prison Adrien was released but not his father, after that Adrien saw his friends and fixed everything with them since he did get Mari’s number for them... If only for a while, so they forgave him, Adrien ended up getting the whole Agreste fortune and he then sold the mansion and the fashion company to live in an apartment.

His friends all worked hard to save up money to have a class reunion, with time everything was planned out and they got the whole class notified about it so they know when it happens and where to go at what time, they were so happy to have it happen as they couldn’t wait to see everyone, when the day came they were shocked at the friends they thought were evil...

Max and Sabrina ended up getting married, it was big and hard to get into a news reporter was able to find out from Sabrina that her dress was made by Marinette herself, Kitty section ended up breaking up, Juleka was now a model for Mari while Rose became a writer, Mylène was now a famous actress and happily married to Ivan who was now a famous song writer, Chloe and Kagami also got married, Chloe was Marinette’s assistant while Kagami opened up a Tsurugi fencing school in Gotham, Luka was now following Jagged Stone and becoming a famous singer and guitar player, Nathaniel become her website artist, helping her redesign her site page depending on new themes and seasons while Felix was Marinette’s image manager.

They were all there, even Lila... But Marinette was nowhere in sight, they all tried getting answers but the gang had ignored them, Aurore, Ondine, Mireille and Marc found it funny that they would try to get answers on Mari after all this time they had bullied her, Marinette then walked in arm in arm with Damian Wayne, they looked amazing in there outfits, just like all of her friends as they too were wearing her designs, the two walked around to greet her friends and see how they were doing since the last time they had spoken together, Alya and the gang tried to talk to her but all she did was ignore them... Lila on the other hand glared at Mari.

Everything Marinette was doing and getting... Should have been her, Lila should have been the one to meet Damian Wayne, she should be the one dating him, SHE should be the one becoming famous! But no! She was found out as being dangerous, working with a villain like Hawkmoth destroyed everything she could hope for... Now she worked part-time at some little restaurant in Italy being barely paid much with the hopes of meeting some rich guy to sweep her off her feet, she looked at times towards Adrien, he may no longer be a model for his father’s designs but he was now modeling for an agency who knew of what he liked, disliked and wanted to work in.

Even so she was disappointed when she saw how Adrien was focused on Mari, he still wanted to be with her,  he began walking towards “Agreste! You know that the restraining order is still on you! Take one more step towards Mari and I will call the cops!” Chloe shouted making the other’s of the class look at her in shock, Restraining order? On Adrien? To not get close of sweet innocent Marinette? Chloe must be lying, so of course Alya snapped back with Nino on her side on how Adrien has a right to greet Mari, they claim he’s allowed to go see her and insist he does, Kim pushes him forward towards Mari while Sabrina calls her dad to inform him about Adrien breaking the restraining order.

He got there in just a few minutes...

“Mister Agreste due to the fact that you broke the restraining order miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng placed on you after you stole her phone during a Wayne gala and then sent her number to an unknown number of people you will be coming with me to the station” Roger said as he cuffed Adrien and forced him to follow to his police car, Alya, Nino, Kim and Lila were in a massive shock at this... So Chloe was right, Marinette did put a restraining order on Adrien... Because they wanted her number to talk to her again since she changed it after all this time, and now here she was, changed and not allowing them to talk to her and to apologize for what they did.

The whole event ended and by morning everyone was on a plane to get back to where they live or are to be staying for work, about a week later Alya found out in the paper that Marinette was going to become a Wayne soon, she so badly wanted to report about in order to help her make it big so she with Nino got to the airport and paid for plane tickets to Gotham to speak with her, they found where she worked and begged to see her “Alya? Nino? Can I ask why your here in Gotham?” they turned to find Mari with Damian, they were just about to leave for lunch when she saw them “Mari! Gurl you NEED to let me report about your wedding! This could give me a huge break and get to become a reporter again!” Alya claimed as Mari glared at her.

“What do you mean by again? Alya all this time, you were not a reporter... You were the owner of a tabloid that posted every single lie Lila spoke to you, and as for this big break of yours it was destroyed the second Lois spoke about the Ladyblog, try anywhere and they will reject you because Lois is the one who reveals who is a good reporter... And those who are like you... Trash under our feet” Mari hissed and began walking with her fiancé too the door until she turned to the front desk “Alissa, please get these two on the blacklist and kick them out, I don’t want to see this trash by the street when I get back” she said and walked out like this wasn’t anything new for her to say.

Marinette worked hard to get to where she was... With the help of her friends and Damian... But her three remaining classmates all believed that Lila would help them skip up to the lifestyle she has now... But everyone knows you need to put the effort into things to get there.

[hargrieve]

moments from the wolf 359 finale behind-the-scenes podcast that made me *clenches fist* really happy

spoilers for the finale!!

everyone! was in the studio! at the same time!!!! they really recorded the episode with everybody there

michelle agresti: “hallo-wolf, halloweekend!”

michelle made goddard futuristics nametags for everybody :)

michaela and scotty’s opening is so much more sinister-sounding without the music

a lot of the podcast is raw audio from the recordings. first, the cast is SO talented. second, you never realize how much the audio engineering and music add to the podcast. HOLY SHIT the difference between the raw recordings and the finished product is unreal

noah masur, dramatic VO voice: “i’m doing these slates for my podcast. the show. wolf 360. space wolves.” everyone cracks up in the background

ariela rotenberg: “I’M GONNA DIE! I’m killing kepler!” zach libresco: “hey, you come for the top, you best not mISS”

ariela: “yeah I died. I died a LOT”

zach l: “he drinks whiskey before he dies. like, you can’t get a death better than that”

scotty shoemaker performs cutter dying painfully and then it’s cut immediately to group laughter

emma sherr-ziarko: “that’s my favorite part. it’s funny minkowski!”

cecilia lynn-jacobs: “the days that i’m proud of myself are her every day.”

i’m going to cry

the last scene they recorded was the last scene of the episode alskdjfalskdf

emma, wonderingly: “have i really done all my parts before now? is that real? i think we forgot one.” noah: “gabriel, did we forget a season?”

zach libresco: “we’ve officially entered the ‘i’m not crying, you’re crying’ part of the evening”

noah, to loud background laughter: “as we get ready for this slate, i can’t help remembering the time that i made a visit to this school...where they are sadly without many slates, and i gave them a speech, and i said to them, i said in the speech, i said something that i learned at home [scotty: “someone’s stalling”] , which was GOIK BLURK *rasping dying noises*, and they learned a lot of things that day. and the first thing they learned was that this is episode 61, section 45, take 1″ and the iMMEDIATELY launches into his line, perfectly in character

emma is clearly one of the people laughing loudest, but she switches back to minkowski incredibly quickly

emma finishes the first take of her last line and everyone starts cheering

they put music back in and go through some of the final lines for jacobi, hera, lovelace, eiffel, and minkowski. + alan rodi’s cameo <3

i’m ugly crying

gabriel urbina: and there we went. and that’s it.

emma talking about how minkowski is the first female role she’s played that was of great substance!!

ceci talking about how great it was to hang out with people from college and see them grow up and become “the next iteration of who we are”

as if I could forget that they were basically all friends in college. legends only

zach libresco: “it’s a wild ride. it’s a blast!”

and that’s it :)

link if you want to re-listen

[crystal-moon-101]

Generator Rex - Rewrite!

So I’ve mentioned and drawn things tied to my rewrite of Generator Rex, made between me, my friend and brother. I thought I’d give a basic timeline in what happens in this version through the notes I have, so feel free to read and see what we have to offer. I hope you enjoy what we’ve made, and feel free to ask any questions because I have probably left out many things still. Warning, this does get quite long to read, so you’ll need the time to do that, lol. I am also in the process of writing the Ben 10 Rewrite me and my brother wrote, though that is far longer so it will be a while for it come out, but let me know if you are interested in seeing it! 💙

-History-

Prior-Nanite Event

Violeta, as a child, is adopted by Abuela, raised in the small village/family she looks over.

A young teenager Black Knight, back when she went by her real name Ebony Hale, lived with her single father, who she was close to. Unfortunately, during a break-in gone wrong, he is killed by a burglar. Sadly, not enough evidence was found to convince the suspected murder, despite Ebony’s claims, mostly because of the corrupt and lazy criminal justice system. She is placed into foster care, and starts seeing all the dark sides to the world, due to troubling systems and powerful people, causing Ebony to grow this need for control and dreams of setting the world straight in her own ways.

Van Kleiss is kicked out of his home around when he turns 18, unable to live up to his parents’ expectations, doing what he can to scrape by in life, taking odd jobs and even living out on the streets a few times. He has many failed friendships or relationships of any kind, and starts to distance himself with people because of this.

Ebony jumps around studies, learning things such as law, psychology, basically anything that ties into her goal of making the world what she thinks is best suited for it.

Violeta meets Rafael Salazar during her school studies at university, the two becoming friends and eventually sparking a romantic connection. Violeta is also introduced to Rafael's long time friend Gabriel Rylander. 

A young Six is found and taken in by One, and begins his training with the other members. 

Van Kleiss is involved in a horrific accident that takes his arm. But during his recovery with a prosthetic, he meets Cassandra who is his physiotherapist, who manages to build a connection with him, the two even eventually falling in love.

Early in their marriage, Rafael and Violeta have their first son, Caesar Salazar. It would be another 13 years before they have their next one, as the family gets busy with travelling due to all the job opportunities they get.

Plans of the nanite project slowly start to become something over time.

Rex Salazar is born during the time the family is staying around Switzerland. A few others like Noah are also born around this time or closely to this year, including Circe from both Van Kleiss and Cassandra.

At the young age of five, Rex and his family are brought onto the nanite project by the suggestion of Rylander.

Van Kleiss’s wife, Cassandra, unfortunately, contracts an untreatable disease and passes away. This is the start of Van Kleiss building up his walls once more, but he tries to ignore his guilt and grief for the sake of himself and his daughter. 

After doing his best to hold his life together and finishing up his schooling, Van Kleiss ends up joining the nanite project in honour of his wife. He has many strained relationships with his co-workers due to misguided judgement on both sides, even gaining quite the rivalry with Caesar. However, he and Circe end up befriending Rex, and Van Kleiss somehow ends up babysitting the two quite often.

Meanwhile, a young girl named Emiri (Breach), is adopted into a family, even gaining a younger sister named Mary.

New main nanites are made for the project. The first being the Alpha Nanite, which is the leading nanite that can control them all, used mostly to keep them under control or pass out orders or new updates. The other is the Omega, which can control a selected group of nanites that are nearby, but it is also the key to using the Alpha, as only those who have access to the Omega can have access to the Alpha. The Omega is mostly used for maintenance and testing, perhaps to select out nanites that need fixing or to make the Alpha do something. 

Unfortunately, Rex and Circe sneak away at one point when Van Kleiss is distracted, keen to play hide and seek. Rex ends up finding himself in a nanite room with the Omega, and after messing around with his soccer ball, get caught in a lab accident. Heavy damage if done to his body, and the nanites in the room were broken out of containment and were altered by the lab damage in some ways, finding themselves in Rex. When the others finally got him out of the room and into the medical centre, a decision was made to keep the nanites in Rex, and have the Omega help in his recovery, making him the first patient to be using the nanites. He survives but with...unusual side effects, giving him technological powers that let him control tech around him, and even understand and talk to it, including the nanites. This also drives a wedge between the Salazars and Kleiss family, so whatever peaceful grounds were forming them are gone, even if Rex still tries to remain friends with Van Kleiss and Circe.

Eventually, a new member joins as an assistant, Ebony Hale. She mostly takes care of the minor things, and even ends up becoming the new person to watch over Rex, and the two do form a friendly dynamic with each other. However, what the scientists don’t know is that Ebony is really a spy for the Consortium, their main benefactor, as they wanna keep an eye on how the project is going.

Rebecca Holiday, a young and wild college student, learns that her parents died in an accident, and ends up having to take care of her younger sister, while studying. She calms down in her wild ways, and pushes through so much for her sister and herself. 

After a while, it is eventually figured out that one, there is a spy among them and they don’t know who, and second, the Consortium actually plan to be in the ones in charge of the nanites, including the Omega and Alpha, as that would give them a lot of control over the world. Given they are greedy rich businessmen. With this learned, the series of events that lead to the nanite event begins to unfold.

Nanite Event

The scientist begins to debate what to do about the project. One section of the team suggests they simply destroy everything to do with the project, deeming it too dangerous for anyone like the Consortium to get their hands on, people like Peter Meechum and Rex’s parents agreeing to this. Another section of the team suggests finding away to remove the Consortium from the plan and get another benefactor, just being careful with the project as there is too much to just throw away, people like Rylander and Van Kleiss agreeing to this. And one other section of the team didn’t really care if the Consortium did get their hands on it, as this was what they were paying to do, Caesar actually being in this group (He was often too absorbed in his work, which made him narrow-sighted unfortunately.). After much debate, it was eventually settled to just end the project.

However, Ebony caught wind of this, and informed the Consortium. Wanting to save the project, they hired arm soldiers to...clean up the members of the project, planning to replace them all with a new team eventually. But Ebony secretly did not agree with this, as she has been doing her best to play both sides, given she had her own plans for the nanite project. Plus, she will admit that she had formed some quite nice relationships with members of the project, so she ended up quietly tipping them off to the up-coming assault anonymously. 

The day comes when chaos comes. Some members had already fled, like Rylander and Meechum, who wanted to find their families and vanish. The rest stayed behind to begin destroying all of their work, even Caesar who, while not agreeing with it, helped out in the end. But when armed soldiers started coming in, killing scientists, time was running out fast. 

It became apparent they didn’t have time to destroy the Alpha or the Omega, not with the resources they had. So a plan was devised that someone would take the Omega and flee, as without it the Alpha was mostly useless on its own. But the plan ended with giving Rex the Omega, as his connection to tech and the nanites meant he could hide it in him longer than anyone else could, and would head to the docking bay where Caesar would meet up with him to fly out. It was quite a harsh debate, wondering if it was a good idea to put Rex through this, even his parents hated to do this, but they couldn’t risk letting the world being controlled by these people. Van Kleiss and Circe were originally going to accompany Rex to the docking bay, as they had been planning to up and leave too, but a surprise attack from the soldiers caused everyone to split, including Rex with the Omega.

Distressed from everything, Rex finds himself stumbling his way around, unable to focus properly due to everything going on around him, and the effects of the Omega being inside him. He does run into a group of soldiers at one point, but he is let go by them when Ebony appears. The soldiers knew she was the spy and working with them, so when she ordered them to just let the kid by, not knowing what he was hiding, they let Rex go. Ebony supposes she did owe Rex after everything going on…

Van Kleiss and Rex’s parents get into an argument about all that happened, especially with how they involved Rex in everything and how this project went in the end. Van Kleiss leaves the room with his daughter, planning to run, when he is confronted by soldiers, who demand he open the door to where the Salazars were, or else they would kill him and his daughter. Van Kleiss ends up agreeing, despite how hard it was, and ends up letting them kill Rex’s parents as he tries to shelter Circe from everything. 

Caesar finds his way to the docking bay where his ship/mobile lab is, but sees no signs of his little brother. He looks around and sees and hears everything the Consortium has done to his home, work, friends and family...It makes him feel guilty and hurt for being so narrow-sighted, for actually thinking it was ok to let these people have control over the times. He wants to go back in to find his family, his brother, but he realises that with everything going on, the lab is about to explode. Due to all the gunfire, violence, scientists messing with machines and computers, and even Rex’s stress affecting the Omega which affects the nanites around him, everything was about to burst. With a heavy heart, Caesar flies off just as the labs explode, creating the nanite event. 

Some others managed to escape just before everything went off, including Ebony and some soldiers, but most others don’t survive. However...some were protected by nanites that infected them, as they begin to spread across the globe. Rex also survives thanks to his nanites and the Omega, but all the trauma and stress results in him losing his memories, as he couldn’t handle it, with the nanites wanting to erase it all as a means to ‘help’ Rex cope, in a way…

The mysterious nanite event in history has been marked down….

Post-Nanite Event

The entire world, of course, falls into a panic when people randomly begin turning into monsters after an unknown explosion occurred, the source of the mutations discovered to be tiny machines called nanites. Governments are quick to try and calm the public, and begin starting research on how to stop the nanites and cure those turning into creatures. But fear starts to take control of the world pretty quickly.

Broken from what happened, the small surviving members of the nanite project split off from each other. Peter Meechum returns to family life with his daughter, Rylander tries to confront the Consortium but ends up going on the run from them, having to abandoned his family to keep them safe, and Caesar goes into hiding, in despair over all that he’s lost, believing his parents and Rex to be dead. He isolates himself from the world, working on personal projects to distract himself over the years. 

Meanwhile, in Abysus, Van Kleiss discovers his connection to the lands and learns what the nanites are doing to the world. After everything he’s gone through in life, he starts to grow this odd idea that this is the next step in humanity, that it’s time to start fresh and starts his plans on making the entire world creatures like him. Slowly, he builds Abysus into a haven for those who have turned and are still sane, or are sane enough, Abysus turning into this strange yet beautiful overgrown jungle-like place. Circe stands by her father’s side, as he’s all she has left, even if, at times she grows doubtful of who her father is becoming.

Rex, however, wanders out of Abysus sometime after the nanite event, with no memories of what happened. He blacks in and out for the first few weeks, losing his memories over and over again due to the trauma of everything, his body and mind weak but slowly start to recover. But, every time he’s evolved in something highly dangerous he can’t handle, or is close to death, his nanites kick in and take control, kicking him alive until they find somewhere safe to change him back, but this results in him losing his memories again. The Omega, still inside him, slowly begins to evolve and connect with Rex in a deep way that does not notice for a long while, unaware of what’s inside him.

After a few months, Rex somehow finds himself in Hong Kong, first meeting and befriending Tuck. Tuck used to live with his father in an auto shop, but after some bad run-ins with some gangs, his father is killed and Tucks ran out onto the streets, eventually turning EVO. The two of them are picked up by Quarry, who has been making EVO gangs and sees potential in the two, especially Rex. Their team begins to grow when running into ‘Chen Tsui’, who they end up calling Cricket. She uses to be from quite a rich family, that sadly had high expectations for their image, and kicked Cricket out of their home when she turned EVO. Then they run into John Scarecrow, who had quite the sucky life before due to neglectful parents and bullying issues, and eventually ran away from home before turning EVO. Rex and Scarecrow end up butting heads alot. Finally, their last member is Walter Martin, who ends up getting the nickname Skywdd. His parents died when he was very young, and so he was raised by his loving grandmother, even when he turned EVO. However, she passed away one night and while Skywdd called to have the body removed and buried properly, he ran before anyone came as he knew him being EVO would cause problems. The five of them become quite the trouble-making team.

Meanwhile, Emiri’s family undergo many issues when their hometown is invaded by EVOs, the main one being an overgrowth of plants. Sadly, her adopted parents are killed, while she ends up turning EVO, her mind and memory becoming iffy, broken, now having powerful portal powers. She and her adopted sister, Mary, end up fleeing and have to survive on their own, Emiri soon going by the name Breach due to not properly remembering who she once was.

Governments around the world begin to put money towards creating a group called Providence, an anti-EVO force that not only removes and capture dangerous EVOs, but also research on finding a cure. The Consortium become key benefactors towards Providence, with no one knowing their true involvement with the nanites past. 

After her sister turns EVO, Holiday convinces them not to kill Beverly by helping and working at Providence, eventually working her way up to become the assistant to their leading scientist Doctor Fell, even if she doesn’t agree to their methods of research.

After some time, Rex starts to drift from his friends in Hong Kong, feeling this longing to be somewhere, to find out who he really is. He tosses around the idea, but after finding some clues that point him in the direction of America, Rex decides to hand over his leadership to Quarry. He hates to leave his friends behind, but due to some emotional manipulation from Quarry and Scarecrow, Rex truly believed it was the best thing for his friends, and that Quarry would protect them. But after he vanishes, Scarecrow pretends to be him for a voice recording, planning to blackmail him if he were to ever return.

The Six’s mostly tried not to get involved with the whole world burning due to the nanite event, but things take a turn when One turns EVO. The group splits, either continuing their mercenary lives, or to find One help. Six ends up joining Providence, after his old friend, Robinson White, convinces him to join the cause, especially when he mentions they’re looking for a cause. Six used to be one who didn’t care much about the life of others, he will admit, but after what happened to one and now actively helping people around the world...he does start to question how this war is affecting people, especially with them killing EVOs who use to be normal people.

While working at Providence, he ends up running into Holiday fairly soon. She catches his interest due to her speaking up about finding another way to look for a cure, even if Dr.Fell and White put her down. Six ends up agreeing with her, to her surprise, and a silent partnership begins to form between the two as they make plans to try something new. They just need something to work in their favour…

Then, one day, they are called to flush out a bunch of EVOs in a ruined city. Things are going normal for them, as normal as they can be, when reports of a mechanical EVO is seen running around, something that looks like a person wearing a parasitic robotic suit. Wild and dangerous. When the EVO shows itself, Holiday and Six are quick to realise that underneath the mutations, there is a young boy. They urge Providence not to attack him, but a twitchy soldier causes a fight to break out and the group is forced to split, with Six guiding Holiday away from the fight. But the two end up running into the strange tech EVO, though after some peaceful gestures, they actually get him to calm down, only for him to turn back into a young boy. Confused of course, they decide to try and take him back to Providence, only for them to learn three things. One, he has no memories beyond knowing his name, second, he is still EVO, and third, he can cure EVOs after saving Six from one.

Holiday and Six decide to keep him a secret for now, not trusting White and Dr.Fell with Rex. They plan to later move him somewhere safe, and for the next few days do their best to hide what Rex is, using the excuse of Holiday looking after him until he can maybe recover some memories.

Rex becomes a bit of a handful, due to his powers sometimes affecting the tech around him, befriending an EVO chimp called Bobo, and even getting scared when learning that Dr.Fell dissects and kills EVOs. However, despite how hard they tried, White does eventually learn what Rex is. White and Fell try to do to Rex what they’ve done to all the other EVOs, but a fight breaks out between them with Six and Holiday. After a brutal fight, it ends with White saving Six, him getting bleached with Nanites, but narrowly saved by Rex.

With the discovery of Rex becoming more open to their benefactors and governments, things change up in Providence. Holiday becomes the new leading scientist, Six becomes Rex’s mentor and partner, Dr.Fell is fired and White becomes the new leader of Providence due to being the one person who can’t turn EVO, now going by the name White Knight.

Meanwhile, the Consortium, knowing Rex’s old ties to the nanite event and where Providence is heading, decide to call in their old Spy, Ebony, to join Providence to keep an eye on things in the background. She agrees, them not knowing that she too is making her own plans when see where Providence is going.

Meanwhile, Abysus has grown to be quite the EVO community, many EVOs seeking refuge with Van Kleiss after he offered them shelter. His main group by his side is called The Pack, which consists of him, Biowulf, Skalamander, Breach and his daughter Circe. And yet, despite how pleased he is seeing his Kingdom grow, seeing the good he has provided for the outcasts like him, he still acts distant, not wanting to build up any more personal connections due to his bad history with them...Circe being the only person close enough to him, and yet even that is cracking. 

Found at the age 13, Rex begins to train for the next 3 years in secret from the public eye, becoming Providence’s secret weapon.

-Generator Rex Series-

Season 1

After training for 3 years, Rex ends up introducing himself to the world after a quite large EVO invades a town. Word spreads quickly through the media when learning what Providence has been hiding, and the reception is quite mixed. Some finally glad there is a somewhat cure and help, some terrified for hating the idea of having an EVO help, some thinking this will go down hill quickly, and some merely standing by to see what will happen. 

Rex has, unfortunately, become a bit of a rebel, as he is tired for hiding away all the time, curious about teenage life styles and wanting to feel more human. He does, after all, want to learn about his past and who he is. This results in him wandering off after a mission at one point, and running into a boy named Noah Nixon, the two bonding over some basketball, mostly because Noah didn’t know who Rex really was. Not until Six came to pick him up. However, this does cause White to take notice of Noah, seeing how he managed to get Rex to stay still for once, and reaches out an offer to help keep Rex in line, saying Noah will receive payment and help in the war. Noah ends up agreeing.

Word reaches out to Van Kleiss eventually, and he is surprised to learn that Rex is alive. He decides quickly that it would be a good idea to get Rex to join Abysus, as not only is he an EVO like them that suffers from negative gazes and comments from the general public, but also because he would be useful due to his EVO powers, Van Kleiss knowing he has the Omega in him. But there are hints that a part of Van Kleiss may or may not still care about Rex, but he mostly denies this. Other EVOs in Abysus are also eager to have him join, wanting to welcome their new members. So The Pack, minus Circe, does eventually snatch him away and offer him a chance to join Abysus, and Rex does get tempted, especially when Van Kleiss reveals he knows who Rex once was, but turns away when learning that Van Kleiss wishes to turn everyone EVO and fleds. Van Kleiss realises he’s gonna have to start pushing it if he’s going to get Rex to join.

However, a lot of what Van Kleiss and the other EVOs said does get to Rex, who starts butting heads with Providence more, especially after learning that his friend, Noah, was a spy for them all this time. While he and Noah do make up eventually, it’ll take some time before Rex starts to trust Providence again, especially with him and White often arguing at each other. Really, it’s mostly thanks to Six and Holiday that Rex hasn’t up and ditched Providence yet.

Circe does eventually run into Rex again, flabbergasted by the fact her childhood best friend his alive, and does yell at her father for not saying anything sooner. However, he convinces her to not tell Rex anything about the past, telling her they need him on their side and they must do what they can, even if they have to be harsh about it. Still caring for her father, and not having a backbone for herself, she does agree to help with him, often trying to convince Rex to join as she does feel like the world is unfair to EVOs like him, her and the others, but Rex often pulls away from her and instead tries to convince her to leave Abysus, noting that while Van Kleiss may think he’s doing the right thing, he’s clearly pushing everyone away out of fear, including his own daughter.

Rex also develops a secret friendship with Breach, after some mishaps of her kidnapping him, then the two of them saving each other at separate times, and Rex connecting with her when seeing there is more to Breach than a broken person.

Still being a spy unknown to Providence, Ebony starts pulling her strings her own way in secret, even anonymously reaching out to Van Kleiss to be a spy for him, doing her best to play all sides. 

Rex runs into his old Hong Kong friends, reconnecting with them and trying to help them deal with Quarry. There is an issue that splits him and the others when Quarry tells them Rex was the one to ditch, along with playing the voice recording. But Rex eventually comes back to help them, while also learning that Scarecrow tried setting him up, mostly because Scarecrow thought it was unfair that Rex gets to forget everything bad he’s done or gone through, and gets to ditch everyone behind to get what he wants. Eventually, Quarry is captured, while Scarecrow runs off, and Rex and his friends reconnecting once more.

Eventually, Rylander is found, still having been running from the Consortium all this time. However, he’s not quite himself, under a lot of stress after what happened, and doesn’t tell much to Rex before he’s killed by mistake during a brief scuffle with Van Kleiss. However, Rex does know that he does have family out there, even a brother.

Eventually, Van Kleiss does strike Providence directly, and manages to swipe many of Rex’s own nanites, that not only improve his powers and keep his nanites stable, no longer dying when out of Abysus, but he also gains the power to turn people EVO. However, something happens to Rex with his small amount of remaining nanites, as if he’s body is under some kind of stress. It’s revealed that the Omega is inside him, and has upgraded his powers to defend him and fill him back up with his nanites, helping him win the day. Though Providence does need to go under some repairs. 

Season 2

Rex has become quite well-known by now, his public image not so great due to people’s fears towards EVOs, and people like Hunter Cain causing some uprising. So whenever Rex does hang out with Noah, he wears a ‘civilian’ outfit that Noah, Claire and Annie picked out for him. 

Meanwhile, Caesar, who has still been in hiding to this day, finally catches wind that his brother is alive, along with the Omega still being with him (Caesar hadn’t really been paying much attention to the news up until now.). He runs into Providence, finds his brother, and does try to leave, though Rex convinces him to just stay at Providence. Rex is excited to finally have family back and some connection to his past but...his brother wasn’t exactly what he was expecting, as Caesar, as much as his loves his family, does seem to often put his work first without realising it, and is more keen to create something to prove he can do it, rather than how it can benefit people or the consequences of it. But, he does try to connect with his little brother, even if it’s hard for the both of them. 

Rex’s EVOs powers start to develop more, in a noticeable way. Not only is he getting new builds, but his connection to nanites and tech become something more, even starting to get strange dreams from the nanites, as if they’re trying to warn him or tell him something. He is mostly use to this way of life, though it is strange for an outsider to see.

With Caesar back, Rex starts to get hints about the past, and not the good parts of it. This mostly comes from Caesar’s one off comments, but he’s mostly keeping things a secret for some reason, while Van Kleiss gives him hints and clues, even stating things for Rex that what happened in the past wasn’t happy, and that Rex’s dreams to have the family he wished for isn’t going to be what he wanted, especially since Caesar struggles with connecting and family life. It seems Caesar doesn’t want to tell Rex much, for fear of them growing more distant if Rex were to learn the truth about how distant and busy their family used to be in the past, especially between the two brothers, and exactly what went down to create the nanite event. 

Tired of waiting, Rex does start to call out people like Caesar and Van Kleiss here and there more often than he did before, and even starts snooping at times to find his own answers, but he doesn’t seem to dig up much.

Eventually, things come to a head between Providence and Abysus when Rex finally convinces Breach to leave the Pack, after seeing how harsher Van Kleiss has become, the man getting frustrated that things aren’t working out (Along with secretly trying harder to push away people he starting to get attached too). After a fight, including a point where Breach snaps and her powers go highwire, Rex manages to calm her and eventually Van Kleiss gives up and lets her go, calling her a traitor, becoming more aggressive due to his lack of control, along with parts of him not wanting to let go. 

Circe follows soon after, finally unable to take anymore of what her father is doing, leaving her for own sake, even if it’s hard for the both of them. Rex does his best to support her, and eventually takes her to live with the Hong Kong Gang, knowing they can help her and give her a home she deserves. 

After losing two key members of his team, Van Kleiss ends up recruiting Scarecrow to join The Pack, using the man’s shapeshifting ability to help him out many times. Van Kleiss is also becoming more desperate to reach his goal, becoming more snappy towards everyone, especially to those who try to reach out. Rex does call him out on this many times, but Van Kleiss just pushes him away in the end.

Eventually, Van Kleiss decides to take proper action, heading to purgatory, where Rex normally offloads his nanites. He activates them and plans to create another nanite event, one that will turn the majority of the world in EVOs this time, given there aren’t enough nanites there to change the entire world, but he was planning to deal with the rest later. The Pack and Abysus members protect him as he begins his plans, and by the time Providence can reach him, he’s already started the meltdown that can’t be stopped. But Rex decides to try something, planning to enter Purgatory and connect with the shield system, going to make it cover the entire building to contain the explosion, and hopefully if his nanites protect him, he will then proceed to shut down every single nanite that is let loss in the shield, even if it takes him weeks, months of even years to do stop, maybe even dying in the process. Of course, everyone tries to change his mind, not wanting to lose him, but they know it might be the only way. Rex does succeed in stopping another nanite event from happening, trapping him, the nanites and Van Kleiss, as he begins to shut down each nanite.

Season 3

Six months end up going by when Rex finally finishes, shutting down the shield with no more wild active nanites that could cause any harm to be set onto the world. He is quickly greeted by Providence soldiers who had been waiting at the sight, taking him and Van Kleiss to Providence. Van Kleiss is taken somewhere else, while Rex is taken to White Knight’s room, learning how long he’s been gone. However, he learns that someone else is in charge now, Ebony Hale, who now goes by Black Knight, who happily greets Rex back to Providence. There she explains that White Knight went rogue, while people like Six and Holiday left after losing Rex, and they don’t know where they’ve gone. Caesar and seemingly Bobo are still around, and Black Knight convinces Rex to take his old job back.

While working at the new Providence, Rex starts to learn a few things, including a little more about the original nanite project. Black Knight even shows him something they found while he was away, the Alpha nanite, which had been damaged during the nanite event, sending out signals that were causing the random mutations. It is in the process of being repaired, but they need the Omega to finally stop the mutation order and fix it completely soon. Something feels off to Rex, and he assumes right when Black Knight and Caesar suddenly turn on him, saying they just want to remove the Omega from him, but Rex doesn’t trust them, knowing something is wrong. A scuffle breaks out, and when Rex is knocked out, he is unknowingly saved by Six and Holiday, learning also that the Bobo at Providence is a fake and spy for them. 

Six, Holiday, Bobo and White update Rex on a few things that happened. They explained to him that the Consortium took control of Providence, claiming they failed too many times, putting Black Knight in charge. However, they learn what they’re really after is full control over the Alpha and all nanites in the world, and there are rumors of a project called ‘The Meta Nanites’ going around, though they don’t exactly know what they are. For now, Rex finds that him and his group have to be on the run and in hiding for a while now. He also learns that Providence is now mind controlling EVOs, presenting it as something good to the public, when really it’s something horrible in reality, hunting down any and all EVOs they find. 

Rex starts running into old friends and people, learning how things have changed. Circe and the Hong Kong Gang are on the run from Providence. Noah has to be careful as Black Knight knows of his connection towards Rex. Abysus is now run by Biowulf, who still had faith in what Van Kleiss built for them. Members of the old nanite project are being tracked down, along with any blueprints and info that could help fix the Alpha. Breach hopping around the place, helping EVOs get to Abysus where they can be safe from Providence. All a mess really, with Rex being the centre of it all due to him having the Omega.

Tensions are high between Rex and Caesar, as Rex is convinced that Caesar is helping them because he wants too, like in the past where he didn’t really care who had the nanites as long as he got to do the project. Caesar tries to explain things, but is still distance and lying, not telling the whole truth still.

Meanwhile, Van Kleiss refuses to help Black Knight or the Consortium, but after the fight in Abysus, they catch Circe, and use her as leverage to get Van Kleiss to help.

There is a brief time where Providence catches Rex, having Caesar make the Omega talk to them through Rex, planning to remove it from him with simple voice commands. But to everyone’s surprise the Omega has evolved quite a bit since they last saw it, the piece of tech deeply connected to Rex to the point it seems to only follow his command, wishing to protect “The Catalyst”, and is unable to be controlled by any member of the original project, taking control of Rex and helping him escape (With subtle help from both Van Kleiss and Rylander). 

The Consortium starts getting more involved personally, much to Black Knight's annoyance, but she still puts on a front to keep playing them and everyone else.

Eventually it is discovered that The Meta Nanite project is really just creating five different Omegas, so that each Consortium member can have one to control the Alpha and all nanites in the world. This is the main reason they keep trying to take the Omega from Rex, in hopes to clone it. 

After a partially bad battle, the Consortium and Black Knight eventually confront Rex, pushing him too far physically and emotionally which results in Rex accidently turning them EVO. The Consortium turned into a hybrid monster and Black Knight turning into an EVO that can turn solid and into a liquid form. Narrowly, Rex manages to escape, while Black Knight gets the Consortium under control, ‘promising’ them that they can be cured eventually. 

Things reach to a head when the final battle takes place, everyone aiming to get to the Alpha and taking the Omega first. Unfortunately, Black Knight and Consortium’s new forms provide an issue, especially when they also used mind control EVOs. However, Caesar ends up mildly sabotaging them, managing to free half of the EVOs before he is caught by Black Knight. He reveals he’s been playing them, as there was no way he was actually planning on helping the people who killed his family. Black Knight too reveals that she doesn’t want to help them either, instead was helping herself the entire time, and takes control of the operation and throws Caesar away.

Because half of the EVOs were freed, Van Kleiss joins the battle with any members of Abysus around, still wanting to create the EVO paradise they all wish for. This results in the fight being four ways, Abysus’s side, Providence’s side, the Consortium Side, and Black Knight’s side. Rex is caught in the middle of it, but after much growth with his nanites, he allows himself to go full EVO, even at risk of losing all his memories. The fight reaches the point where Rex, Black Knight, Van Kleiss, White Knight and the Consortium reaching the Alpha, all of them realising that Rex has full control of the situation and it’s his choice to make, each leader prompting him to follow their goals. After a long debate, Rex reaches for the Alpha and fixes it, now able to take full command over all nanites in the world. But instead of curing everything, turning everything, or mind controlling everyone, he merely stops the process of any new mutations from happening, though does cure people like Black Knight and the Consortium so they don’t become a problem again. Rex knows that he can’t make a sudden massive decision that will do something bad to the world, even curing it would create unwanted side effects. Instead, he wants to take the time to use the Alpha to cure/fix what needs to be fixed, but in a safe and slow manner. After all, what the nanites did to the world is not going to be an easy fix, and sadly some things are going to stay.

Black Knight and the Consortium are arrested, while Van Kleiss and members of Abysus flee back home, needing to make plans but...maybe willing to listen if Providence wants to make a deal. The Alpha is handed to Providence, with White Knight taking back charge, and begin making plans on how to set the world back to normal, or as normal as it can be, Rex still being the one to hold the Omega and able to control the Alpha. 

While not perfect, Caesar and Rex begin to try and patch things up, deciding it might be time to actually start being a family, though with people like Six, Holiday and Bobo also involved (And Six and Holiday would totally be dating at this point). 

Rex also reaches out to Van Kleiss, with the help of Circe who wants to reconnect with her dad, and while things aren’t good between any of them, there are hints it could be better in the future.

[milasartblog]

An unexpected visit (part 2)

As soon as Gabriel got to Hell by himself, he looked around. The view in Hell made him stunned: it didn't look much like centuries ago, it was more...civil?

Gabriel: What in the name of the God is it?...Did I make a mistake? No, this must be it. But....it changed a lot.

He was paralyzed by the view for a moment before starting to move towards one of the cities. He walked carefully and slowly, examing everything. Some demons looked at Gabriel with a big surprise, some even hid in their places, some were curious and others just looked at him with little dislike. And yet, for a place where every sin of the mortals inhabits, it's more cultured and educated. Of course it was not in every corner, but still more than in other spots of Hell.

Gabriel: Did Lucifer and Lilith....do all of this? King and Queen of Hell themselves? That's....unbelievable. Wait a minute, this must be another trick. They sure made it so that more souls come to Hell. Yeah, that's the only reason they created such illusion.

He thought to himself as he wanted to check it, but he was either coward or his manners didn't allow him to do it so. Instead, Gabriel went outside of the city. The rest of the Hell looked almost exactly like he used to know centuries ago. Still a bit changed tho. Suddenly he stopped to think for a moment.

Gabriel: But what if he and Lilith really did such changes for good? Some demons seem...not so chaotic. And even some places look like a soul could live....Was it because of that Gardener? Or there is something mo-

???: Gabriel?

A sudden voice pulled the archangel out of his thoughts as he slowly turned around to see a familiar face to him.

Gabriel: L-Lilith?

Lilith: I didn't expect to see you here. Is it going to snow in a human realm?~

Gabriel: ...What?

Lilith: Hehe, it's a human saying to stuff that happen unexpectedly~ And yet, I'm so surprised to see you here. It's been a long while since we last saw each other, moreover having a chat.

Gabriel: Yeah, it's sure was...

He replied sadly, but quickly returned his look to a serious one.

Gabriel: Anyways, I'm here for another reason.

Lilith: Oh, really? Not because that you missed your little precious sister?~

Gabriel: You're a Queen of Hell right now, we're not siblings we used to be anymore.

The sentence made Lilith a bit sad, but she knew it was true as she tried to keep her calm demonic nature. And yet, she kinda hoped for this reason to be for Gabriel's visit.

Lilith: Then for what reason, Gabi?~

Gabriel: It's...not something that should bother you.

Lilith: Aww, really? You know that the more it's in a secret, more curious we become~

Gabriel: You demons are always curious about different stuff. And because of this, chaotic things happen every time!

Lilith: Well, it would be boring if things went well every time, don't you think?~

Gabriel: That's why we're here, to make sure that we guide human to the right path.

Lilith: Hehe, still loyal to Father's laws as usual.

She said it lowly as looked down, which made Gabriel concern for a moment, but stayed silent. Then Lilith looked at Gabriel.

Lilith: You came to talk with Gardener, didn't you?

Gabriel: ?! How did you-?!

Lilith: It was not difficult. The Gardener once told me about meeting you when I payed a visit to him. Plus, you know how rumors and talkings spread in Heaven and Hell, don't you?~

Gabriel was more stunned, but didn't deny the truth about the last sentence. Moreover he knew it was no use to lie to a demon who can literary see through you.

Gabriel: Yes, I'm here to chat with Gardener.

Lilith: May I ask you about what?~

Gabriel: It's....personal. And this time I really can't tell you.

Lilith: I see....Well, he is busy right now, it can take a while.

Gabriel: Oh, really? Well, that's okay, I can always come back la-

Lilith: Why not to come and wait for his break time at my place? It's been a very long time since I last saw you~

Gabriel got nervous for a moment. He knew that such invitations can end not good, especially with demons. But Lilith is his sister, plus she behaved like a normal person, which was weird for him. So what kind of bad things can happen?

Gabriel: Umm, I still have stuff to do in Heaven.

Lilith: Aww, really? It would be nice to have a chat with you after being separated like this. Well, I will not stop you.

Gabriel looked at Lilith as suddenly felt awkward and guilty. Even tho he did had tasks in Heaven, they were not that serious. Mostly guarding gates. Plus, deep inside he knew that once he comes back to Heaven realm, he will not have such chance to talk to her. He sighed deeply.

Gabriel: Maaaaybe I can use some time for this. But then I will have to go.

Lilith got surprised for a moment, but smiled.

Lilith: Then let's go~

Gabriel: Umm, before we go, do you and Lucifer live separately from each other? You know, since when-

Lilith: Hehe, no worries, we have our personal rooms and different sections~ Let's go, I will show you~

Gabriel was about to say something, but quickly they teleported to Lilith's guest room. He was surprised by how the room looked. More elegant and cleaned. Sure, the colors still vibrate demonic aura, but it's more...restrained.

Lilith: Welcome to my guest room~

Gabriel: I'm....I'm honestly shocked. Wait, so you and Lucifer have different sections in one palace??

Lilith: Yep~ It's actually one of the things we did since our relationship didn't work well. The palace is large enough for having separated and common rooms. Even enough space for Cerberus~

Gabriel got nervous for a moment, thinking about what Cerberus is as Lilith giggled.

Lilith: No need to get scared like this~ Cerberus is a nice puppy~

Gabriel: I somehow doubt your words.

Lilith: Hehe, no need to~ I'm sure Cerberus will like you~

???: Ms Lilith, I need to tell you so-

A sudden voice interrupted their chat as they turned around to see a demon, holding some papers and being stunned by sudden guest.

???: I'm sorry if I interrupted something important.

Lilith: That's okay, Jikan. Just our guest came to us a bit unexpectedly, so even I didn't know about it~

Jikan: Oh, I see. Should I come back later?

Lilith: Just leave the papers at my office and I will handle them later. You can take a break~

Jikan: Thank you, my quee- I mean, Lilith. I will do it after giving some contracts to demons.

Lilith: Good~ Also, Gabriel, it's Jikan. Jikan, it's Gabriel, one of the archangels.

Jikan: It's an honor to meet you, Sir Gabriel. I'm sorry for such short meeting.

Gabriel: I...It's okay.

Jikan bowed politely and went back to his duties, leaving Gabriel speechless. Lilith couldn't help not to giggle from such scene.

Lilith: Didn't expect it?~

Gabriel: I...I can't understand. Is it....Is it really all happened after Gardener's appearance in Hell?

Lilith: Yep, you can say so. If you want, I can tell you everything what happened over the past years here in Hell.

She went to the sofa, inviting Gabriel, who at first hesitated, but then accepted her invitation and sat on the sofa too.

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

And that's the next part of the story^^ Gabriel is stunned by how Hell looks now, even demons began to behave a bit differently. How will it affect his view?

Lilith belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane

Jikan belongs to @captainthane

Gabriel belongs to @wildstarfan and @milasartblog (both me)

Okaria et Feria belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane

[lucisfavoritedemon]

Rebellious Soul: Chapter 5

Pairing: None

Summary: Y/N is having a hard time coping with the fact that her friend is gone and now her best friend is back, but there is a new player in town. The ultimate leader of the Rebels, Commander Ruby. Will Y/N be able to defeat Eve or will she give up the fight to mourn the loss of Dean?

Warnings: Mentions of torture.

Word Count: 1324

A/N: I realised that what I had posted, and what I had written were two completely different things. So I went through an edited this chapter, along with Chapter 6. I have major plans for those two chapters, and I got away from my original thought process. Also, as you may have noticed, this is loosely based off hunger games, but it's with a twist. I hope y'all are enjoying this series so far. Thanks for the understanding and patience.

"I thought that the Colt was just a legend?" I asked looking between Gabriel and Charlie.

"Well supposedly, but there are more facts out there proving that it exists more than there is proving it doesn't. When thinking about stuff like this, I go with the facts."

"Alright then. I guess I should round up my gear and head out. The faster I can find my guy the better. I have a feeling it won't be long before Eve figures out what we're planning."

"Good idea. Why don't we head out together that way we could both hit our people and both know with having to relay the information to multiple people? That way Eve doesn't find out as quickly."

"I agree. Gather everyone interested and let's head out in ten. I have to speak with Sam before we leave."

"Sounds like a plan."

Gabe and I headed off in different directions. I hadn't seen Sam since we heard about Jessica. It was hard for him not knowing whether she's alive or not.

"Hey Sam. How's everything?"

"Better. At least getting there."

"I feel so bad for what happened to Jess. I'm sorry she got dragged into this."

"Don't be. She knew the risks just like everyone else. Trust me you didn't do anything. Ruby told me what you did for her, and that is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. I never expected you to give up this opportunity to get revenge on Eve for Dean."

"Did you not hear what happened? The theories at least?"

"No. I haven't really wanted to listen to what people have to say about the matter. He's gone and I can't have him back. It hurts because we were close. We grew up in this together. He was like a brother to me."

"I know Sam. I wish there was more I could do to help you cope other than the fact that we are going to get him back. I don't care what anybody says, Ruby promised a rescue and amnesty for all of them. Including Dean."

"What does everyone say happened to him exactly?"

"That Eve had taken him hostage. Tortured him in unimaginable ways. Using him as their poster child to rid the world of Rebels. She won't stop till we are all dead or worse under her spell. Killing us off is her main goal, and she has the biggest inside man we had. She has the means of destroying us if she truly wanted to."

"I know Dean is our biggest and best weapon we had against her. He was building a case file on how to kill her. Said that he was doing it for someone special. I could now only assume that's you."

"Why me though?"

"Because you would want revenge. He knew your father died. Apparently he also knew how, and it's not how you think it happened."

"I knew he was killed, but I never told anyone because no one would believe me. They all knew I hated Eve from the moment I first saw her. She is clearly nothing but evil, and I will stop at nothing to defeat her. We have everything we need except the weapon to kill the thing that can kill her."

"What is that?"

"A special gun that can kill almost anything with a single bullet. We need the gun to kill a Phoenix. It's ashes are the only thing strong enough to kill her."

"You're not talking about the Colt are you?"

"Afraid so. Do you happen to know someone who might know it's whereabouts?"

"Yeah, but I would save him as a last resort." Sam warned.

I knew perfectly well who he was talking about, but this was a chance to get the upper hand on Eve. I wasn't going to let him tell me otherwise. I couldn't risk Dean's life on a last resort situation. He was our last resort.

"I'm sorry Sam, but this is that type of situation. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get Dean back. For all of us, not just me. He meant something to everyone, which is why this betrayal is the worst we have ever seen."

"I know, it's just, he is bad news. I wouldn't go to him unless no one else truly knows the whereabouts of the Colt."

"Fine. But if no one else does, or even if they hesitate for a second we move to him, got it?"

"Yeah now go and save Dean. For all of us."

Gabe, Ed, Harry, Michael, Castiel, and I all headed out in search of our first lead given to us by Gabriel and Cas who have known this person, well rather Angel, for a long, long time.

"Balthazar. We are here for knowledge on a weapon we seek the location of!" Gabe yelled through the thick of the forest.

As I have stated before each creature lives in a designated section of the world. If ever caught out of their designated area, they were immediately killed off. This was a beautiful lush forest that looked like a Heavenly paradise Perfect for the majority of it's heavenly inhabitants.

"Ah, Gabriel and Castiel. What brings you two traders back home, and with humans too?"

"Enough Balthazar. We need to know the location of the Colt."

"Ooh, temper. I say, is this how you got daddy to give you your favorite toys? Well that tone doesn't work on me Mikey." Balthazar spat.

I had to agree with the Angel, Michael was being a little too straight forward.

"Balthazar? We seek the location of this weapon for a good reason. Please will you help us?" I asked kindly, gaining a gentle smile.

"I wish I knew, but sadly I don't. Maybe if you five hand over the girl I will suddenly remember."

"He's lying." Gabe simply stated.

"How do you know?"

"He only wants Y/n because it will earn him and the others a spot at the big kids table. He doesn't really know where the weapon is. I say we move on."

"I agree. Let's head out."

"Okay, you got me. I really don't know where the weapon is. I'm only in charge of the Angelic weapons. The rest go through Crowley. He will definitely know where this weapon you are seeking for is. I swear."

"I know. Sadly Crowley knows everything about this gun." I whispered walking away.

I knew exactly where to find Crowley. We had a few talks here and there, but I have never asked him for a favor as big as this one.

"Crowley! We need to talk! It's about the Colt."

"Hello darling. It's about time."

"I know it has been a while, but I need you to pull in that favor of mine. You know the freebie before you start charging?"

"Yes I know what freebie means. Why do you want this Colt so bad? It doesn't even do anything."

"It's important."

"You want to kill Eve don't you? Well sorry to break it to you, but sadly she is one of the four beings this won't work on. Been there, tried that."

"We know it doesn’t work on her, but it will work on the thing that can."

"Oh. Well in that case here."

Then the gun appears in his hands and he tosses it to me. I looked at the gun in awe. It was the most beautiful thing in the world. Now all we needed was to get to the Phoenix mountain without being caught by Eve and her stupid henchmen.

"One last thing. Well really two. Don't let her know I'm working alongside you and two DON’T miss your target! Kapeesh?"

"You got it. Don't let Eve know and don't miss."

"Good." As quickly as he appeared he was gone again.

Now all we needed was to find these Phoenixes and find Eve. Things were starting to go in our favor.

SPN Tag list:

@atc74 @bella-ca @canadianspnhunter @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog @ericaprice2008 @impala-dreamer @impalaimagining @katymacsupernatural @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @mamaredd123 @masksandtruths @mirandaaustin93 @muchamusedaboutnothing @our-jensen-ackles-love @roxyspearing @sea040561 @snffbeebee @spnwaywardwitch-blog @squirrelnotsam @torn-and-frayed @winchesterprincessbride

[oursocialghosts1050hb]

Blog post 10/18

In the third and final section of this story I got very confused. The section began  in a very bizarre and confusing manner. I would later come to realize that John is undergoing some type of hallucination which leads to his “spiritual rebirth”. John emerges from these visions with a new outlook on religion and he expresses that he is saved. Throughout this story I had high hopes for a change in John and Gabriel’s relationship. Sadly, when John emerges from this dream like experience, Gabriel remains cold. “I’m saved” John said , “and I know I’m saved”. In response Gabriel says, “It came from your mouth, I want to see you live it. It’s more than a notion” (245).John has lived his life tiptoeing around his father. He feared his temper and he feared his opinions. Following his rebirth, John is surprised that even when on the same spiritual and religious level, his father is still so bitter. This made me really sad for John when this could have been something powerful to bring them together. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved getting to see the character development with each part of the story and seeing all the different times and experiences throughout their lives. Being completely honest though I didn’t quite understand much of the deeper meaning of this story. Yes, getting a deeper look into characters lives is a big deal but not when there lives don’t necessarily tie into the story as a whole. 

-Sydney E.

[mcheang]

Lila Salt Lila tries to lie to Luka to impress him he just shrugs not really interested and rejects her she snaps and tries to get him kicked out of Kitty Section when ask why she would do this he didn't do anything Lila snaps at him for rejecting her and now he'll pay Alya records updates it on her blog and let's say Karma's gonna come collect Lila's debt

Sore reject

Post-Miracle Queen

It pained Lila to have to obey Gabriel on his new edict to leave Kagami be, but to be honest, Adrien hated her. She got what she wanted from Gabriel: stardom. Best not to rock the boat.

Speaking of boats, Lila was currently on Juleka’s family boat. The band was going to start shooting their first music video. Alya was doing the camera work. Lila was just there for support with Mylene.

Marinette sadly couldn’t make it because she was currently shopping at some Chinese herbal store for her Mother (potion ingredients)

While the band set up, Lila skipped the grunt work in favour of a self-guided tour.

Ugh. Everything here is so cluttered, it’s practically a pigsty. On the upside, Lila can easily trip and sprain her ankle.

As Lila headed downstairs, she heard the fine tuning of a guitar. Entering a double bedroom, she saw the guitarist.

Woah. If Adrien was droolworthy, this boy was the manifestation of cool.

Blue hair graced the handsome cheekbones of the stranger. He was tall and slender, dressed in laidback style.

Lila just found her new Adrien. Imagine if she dated a guitarist? How awesome would that be? She knew girls who would be envious that she had a musical Boyfriend. And he’s older too, bonus! To get the interest of a senior boosts Lila’s own attractive level by curiosity.

Time to turn on the charm. Lila plasters on a friendly smile and leans in.

Lila: Hey. You must be Luka right? I’m Lila.

Luka looks up briefly before flicking his eyes back down. “Hello, Lila.”

Lila beamed and took that as an invitation to continue. “You’re a serious Musician, aren’t you. Juleka told me all about you.”

Luka didn’t look interested in her conversation. Time to reel him in with some fabricated connections. “I actually know this music producer from Hollywood, and I gave him a copy of your band’s music. With any luck, we’ll hear from him soon. Fingers crossed!”

Lila expected Luka to at least show some gratitude, but he just kept strumming his guitar like he was trying to tune her out. Rude!

(Beneath Luka’s serene nonchalance, he refrained from wrinkling his nose and gagging. Lila’s inner melody sounded oily and off-tune. It made him long for Marinette’s vibrant and beautiful song.)

Lila gave one more try. “I can’t wait to hear you perform. Hey, do you think you could give me guitar lessons? I’ve never been taught anything beyond the triangle.” Lila gives a laugh, hoping for something.

Luka has by now completely zoned out. He had been tired of listening to Lila jabber jabber jabber. And the mention of producers reminded of his experience with Bob Roth...bad memories.

Lila stared at this stupid boy before turning around with a huff and stomping off. Before she left the room, she noticed that near Luka’s bed were a few photographs. One of his family. One of Kitty Section. And one with Marinette.

Lila gritted her teeth. First, Adrien, now Luka. What do these boys see in her? Here was a perfectly gorgeous Italian flirting with them, and they go after Asian girls with no social charisma.

As Lila stewed on her thoughts, it suddenly struck her. If Luka was on team Marinette, he’ll believe Marinette over Lila. Luka holds sway with Kitty Section, and having no real reason to dislike Lila since he is very reasonable and not to be swayed just by Marinette’s opinion, he might actually sow a seed of doubt in them.

Like hell Lila would let that happen.

Putting on some sniffles, Lila walked back to the band.

Rose: What’s wrong, Lila? Did you hurt yourself?

Lila shook her head. “I just saw this boy downstairs. I tried to be friendly, but for some reason, he just brushed me off.”

Juleka frowned. “That’s my Brother Luka. He gets absorbed in his music sometimes, to the point where everything else is white noise. Don’t take it personally Lila. My Brother is a really nice guy.”

Lila nodded sadly, inwardly frustrated. White noise? Time to change tactics. “Why is he in the band again?”

At everyone’s surprised looks, Lila quickly explained. “I’m just surprised. Luka’s in a different grade, don’t your schedules clash?”

Ivan: Yeah, but we make it work.

Lila: Is he in charge?

Rose: Actually Marinette organizes our schedules, she’s really good at that. She knows everyone’s schedules ahead of time anyway.

Lila saved that bit of alarming information for later. “But don’t you think it’s weird that he’s the only one from a different grade?”

The band are getting tired of her criticism on Luka. “It’s not weird. Luka’s the soul of our band. He understands music the best.”

A bass voice interjects, “I am more curious about why you’re singling me out the way you are, Lie-la.”

Lila turns around, wide eyed. She hadn’t even hear him arrive.

“What? I’m not!”

Everyone’s eyebrows are raised skeptically.

Lila flushed. “Ok, so maybe I am. But you were really rude ignoring me the way you just did. I did something nice for you and you didn’t even say thank you. You barely even said a word.”

The others were wide eyed, this was the first time they were hearing Lila sound angry.

Luka just strummed his guitar, looking more interested in the notes coming off it than the upset girl in front of him.

It made Lila see red. As the music continued to pour forth, everything else faded away and Lila just focused on Luka. It was like he was a snake flute player, only Lila was the snake.

Luka: And that gives you the right to criticise me?

Lila: Of course, it does! It’s called payback.

Luka: that’s a pretty harsh payback for not talking to you. The way you were talking about me, it was like you were trying to convince the band that they would be better off without me.

Lila: It’s what you deserve.

Juleka: Lila!

Shocked, Lila snaps out of her confrontation with Luka. Crap, the music got into her head and she forgot she had an audience, one of whom held a camera with a blinking red light.

Needless to say, Lila was asked to leave, despite her begging and dry tears.

As the band rehearsed, Alya finally did her research.

Jagged Stone’s pet kitten- false.

Prince Ali’s Friend- false as proven by Rose with a single text

Lila’s disabilities- false due to the fake kitten

That night, Alya posted an apology to her viewers for not checking her sources beforehand. In this apology video, she posts Lila’s true colours as the cause for her suspicions, followed by screenshots of proofs disproving Lila’s claims.

Alya’s viewers forgive the novice reporter and instead criticise Lila.

Notably, one of the subscribers to the Ladyblog is Owlman (the man loves anything hero-related), and he decides to check on Lila’s health records and gives a call to Mrs Rossi.

A lot more truths come out (including Marinette’s expulsion) and Lila is expelled.

Lila tries to get Adrien or Gabriel to back her up but why would they? Lila has been nothing but horrible to Adrien’s friends and she is no longer useful to Gabriel.

Good news for Luka: Marinette is impressed by the way he handled Lila.

[pcttrailsidereader]

Progress

By Howard Shapiro

I was glancing over some current trail blogs and noticed that many people are  now heading into the Sierras. They have either made it to Kennedy Meadows or are  past it and well on their way. This got me thinking about passing through this same spot. The owner of the Kennedy Meadows store has changed and there appears to be a new burger place down the road but the same feeling of accomplishment and relief arriving at Kennedy Meadows remain.

We were section hiking in the quest to eventually complete the PCT. My hiking partner Rees and I had made our way through some very dry areas as we headed north. Like the hikers out there today, we passed through burned areas that simply made the fires we had read about or seen or news footage of, all the more real. Sadly those areas are getting to be more and more of the landscape one passes through. This summer appears to hold the same threat that has played itself out over the last ten years or so. The threat is real and all it will take is a random lightening strike, a tossed cigarette, or an unattended campfire. 

As I scan the current blogs there are consistent themes that resonate with me. First there is the heat. Things are heating up in southern and central California. As the temperatures rise things will get ever drier. I remember times packing so much water because we couldn’t be sure where the next reliable water would become available. Currently there has been late snow in the Sierras so that will provide more water flow in a few more of the streams and creeks. 

The places the hikers have passed through immediately take me back there and I can almost hear the rushing sound of flowing water. In the next moment I can also see the fetid troughs that hold  ‘spring water. Water and heat, those two variables play a huge role for people hiking the PCT right now. 

Those places the hikers have passed through immediately take me back. Whether it is a picture in the San Gabriels or a burger in Kennedy Meadows. It is amazing how these images transport me and confirm my memories.  Now so many are headed toward the high passes in the Range of Light. For many they have found a ‘groove’ in the daily routines of waking early and walking far. Their confidence is high and matches their enthusiasm. 

One other theme is the comfort that comes from walking with another. I relish my time hiking with Rees. Our conversations push me to think more deeply and get closer to how I feel about people, events, and experiences in my life. Many of the blogs mention the other hikers that have joined up with. They express a similar comfort I have felt in knowing I am not entirely alone. Walking with others provides for a ‘group think’ when conditions or other issues present themselves. A simple sense of security in knowing we are in this together. 

As the summer fast approaches there are many who have walked more than 800 miles. They have essentially completed nearly a third the distance of the entire trail. I am intrigued by their progress and their experiences. As I can, I will monitor progress and surely have more thoughts and reflections that I can share in future posts. For now, I am wishing all good things to everyone who is out there. This is your time to make your own memories and enjoy the comfort of knowing you are not alone.