#the annihilator

[gothamite-rambler]

Jason: The fact that they call Robin Hoodie, Batman was... It feels so insulting.

Bruce: Thank you. I wouldn't kill anyone to fix something.

Jason (missing the point): Exactly, I would! Yet they're calling him Batman? Robin Hoodie is clever.

Stephanie (chiming in as she walked passed the office): Don't forget the Adjuster!

Jason: See, that's a name I would use, so Bruce to fix this... I request I shoot a CEO.

Bruce sighed, covering his eyes.

Bruce: Get out of my office or I won't keep paying for your phone bill.

Jason stomped his foot leaving the office angrily.

Jason: I knew you didn't love me!

Bruce (shouting): Me not wanting you to kill someone means I care about your dumbass very much!

[odinsblog]

“How do you enjoy life as the world burns? When the planet is on fire, and the country is falling apart, and the cops shoot another teenager, and half your neighbors are getting evicted or deported, and Bill Maher is still speaking out loud on television, what do you do? I go to the water park with my nephew Miles.

Miles is 12 years old. He is a brilliant, bow-legged troublemaker. I love him despite the fact that he's 12 and still has a rat tail. It's really not that cute anymore, dude. We're not related by blood, but Miles' dad, Kevin, is like a brother to me. So Miles calls me Uncle Josh.

Uncle Josh, when are we going to the Warriors game? Uncle Josh, will you show me how to open that car with a hanger again? Uncle Josh, Uncle Josh, since I'm half Black and half Asian, does that make me Blazian? No, Miles, that makes you Oakland.

It's August, and it's hot, which for the Bay Area, means anything above 67. Today, it's 91. I'm over at Kevin and Miles' place, sitting in no AC, in our tank tops and boxers, watching Key and Peele.

I say, guys, we gotta go somewhere to cool off. Cooler than the movie theater, cooler than the mall, I'm gonna take us to East Bay's water world. Miles' face lights up. But then Kevin says, I don't know you guys. I mean, those water parks, you know, they're so wasteful.

My man Kevin is the worst kind of Bay Area environmentalist. He's that type of dude who will come over your house and use the bathroom, not flush, but instead write a note on your toilet paper telling you how much water he just saved you. That's a true story.

I say, Kevin, it's so hot out here, I could fry an egg on your face, which I will if we don't go to East Bay Water World. Miles says, please dad. I say, please dad.

Kevin says, fine. Go have fun at the park, but take my car. It's a hybrid.

I grab the keys and soon me and Miles are driving through Oakland. We pass by the Trilingual Liquor Store, the farmer's market that accepts food stamps and we make our way through the tunnel and the hills. We emerge on the other side in the valley.

The further we get from the coast, the ground is drier and drier, browner and browner. The only green is the manicured lawns of the suburbs, the golf courses, the empty field of the sprawling county jail. And then we see it and we arrive at our Mecca, our oasis in the California desert, East Bay Water World. And it's even more beautiful than I imagined. There's four wave pools, there's a 50-foot water park, the air smells like chlorine and sunscreen and funnel cake. Delicious.

Miles' mouth is wide, staring at all these things he's never seen before. Carnival games, Dippin Dots, girls in bikinis, Uncle Josh, this place is awesome. I know, Miles. I know.

We go and we jump in the wave pool, we float down the lazy river, we spin through the whitewater rapids until we're totally drenched, grinning ear to ear and surprisingly thirsty. So I go to the funnel cake vendor for something to drink.

Can I get a bottle of water, please? He says, no problem. That'll be $7. $7 for a bottle of water? He looks at the bottle. It says, and he literally read off the bottle, it says this here is bottled and purified up near Lake Tahoe.

This is California water. California water. I buy two bottles and walk back to where Miles is pointing up towards the sky. I follow his gaze and then I see it. There, staring down at us from the tallest point in the park is the biggest water slide I've ever seen. The tallest slide in Northern California, the Annihilator.

The Annihilator is a seven-story, 80-foot freefall drop down all in just under five seconds. It's one of those slides that's so vertical, your back comes off the ride when you go down, so you feel like if you lean over just a little bit, you're done. It's the type of slide that's illegal in 27 states and most of the European Union, but hey, this is California.

I look and see Miles. His mouth is watering in anticipation. We go and get in line.

Now, the worst part of the Annihilator isn't the ride down. That's only five seconds. The worst part is the 30-minute wait in line, standing in the stairs watching and hearing every kid go down the slide, hearing every scream, every shriek, every, oh, sweet baby, Purple Jesus. The That's a direct quote from a nine-year-old. Shout out to Purple Jesus.

Miles is nervous. His hand is clenching the railing. Uncle Josh, is this thing safe?

Before I can answer, I hear a voice shouting from the top of the stairs, Hands up! Put your hands up!

Hands up!

It's the lifeguard, a tall white teenager in red shorts. He's yelling at the girl about to go down the slide. I'm telling you, it's way more fun if you put your hands up.

And the words hit me like a tsunami. It's August, two weeks after Ferguson, after Mike Brown. After those words, hands up became the calling cry for a movement.

In Missouri, people are putting their hands up to protest the police murdering another black boy in America. In California, I'm watching kids put their hands up as they go down a water slide called the Annihilator, and my nephew asks me if it's safe here. It's August in America.

In Detroit, they're shutting off poor people's water. California is suffocating of thirst. Half of my friends are putting buckets of ice over their faces on Facebook. Israel is bombing water treatment plants in Gaza, and in America, we have water parks in the desert. Industrial Almond Farms in the desert, prisons in the desert, my family, me and my nephew right here in the desert looking for anything that could be called an oasis. And Miles asked me if it's safe here.

What am I supposed to tell him?

I don't want to lie to my nephew. I want him to know that yes, some people will always see him as a threat, but I also want him to laugh and play and go get on this crazy ass waterslide.

How do you enjoy life as the world is burning? How do you teach your nephew to hate the park but love the ride? The thing is called the Annihilator. I think it might be trying to tell us something.

And now we're next in line. A girl with blonde pigtails is shaking her head. The lifeguard says, it's okay, you don't have to do it.

She backs away and now Miles is up.

He steps to the edge of the slide, puts his feet in the rushing water.

I can see the brown hills in the distance, Oakland and all its beautiful contradictions waiting on the other side. I wave at Miles, say, you got this. You got this, dude.

And he waves back at me, and when he does, he lets go of the railing. His hand shoots up in the air and the rushing water carries him away. He lets go. He shoots out and disappears over the edge. My nephew!

I rush to the side and look over, and there's Miles at the bottom of the slide, safe and alive and pulling up his bathing suit. He jumps up and runs to get back in line, and the cycle continues. Water, blood, life, death, and maybe rebirth.

I'm still on the top platform of the slide.

I walk to the edge, look down at California, lift my hands, and let go.”

—Mr. Josh Healey

[yeonie]

DARK VERSE - RUNYX (incorrect quotes)

morana: truth or dare?

zephyr: dare!

morana: i dare you to kiss the most pretty person in the room.

zephyr: alpha?

alpha: *extremely satisfied* yes?

zephyr: can you move? im trynna get to amara.

[mzradyer]

wildcat x caveman

morana vitalio and tristan caine from the predator and the reaper (dark verse #1 & #2) by runyx

[readerramble]

The only scene I am living for, which can rival Tristan and Luna’s reunion, is one where Tristan and Dainn have the talk.

Lives will change. My squeal would be heard for miles. Every bookmark and tab in history will find its place in the book to mark the epic showdown.

I don’t want Tristan to be understanding. I don’t want Dainn to be anything but The Shadowman in that aftermath. As corny as it may sound I want The predator to speak with The shadowman and not Tristan and Dainn, at least for the most.

I want the hostility, the I-dont-like-you-but-cant-kill-you-because-it-would-hurt-lyla rage and the hilarity of it. And I want Dante to be the drama queen that fans the flames. It may not fit the plans Runyx has but a girl can dream.

[bookishpedia]

Shadow man: Why do you have a picture of Morana in your wallet?

Dante: Because whenever I need to argue with Tristan, I pull it out to calm him down.

Shadow man:

Shadowman: Could I have one?

[vanona-camp]

Spoilers from here on out for those who haven't read or haven't finished reading The Syndicater by Runyx

Well, I finished The Syndicater and found it lacking but at the same time I can understand the author because she wrote it like that, after two years of downtime it's normal to lose the hype of the previous five books.

First of all, I expected a longer book so as to occupy fight scenes, investigations, plot twists that make you scream for mercy and space for each character to be their own protagonist rather than just supports for a chosen couple.

In The Syndicater it feels like a continuation of the story between Shadow Man and Lyla. Everything revolves only around them.

Secondly, everything seems to happen too quickly, as if the author couldn't wait to wash her hands of it. I would have liked more first-person storytelling of the bond between Tristan, Morana and Xander because so far we have always seen them from the point of view of other characters. I would have liked a turning point for Zephyr and Alpha. Instead of the lone Shadow Man fighting the Syndicater, there should be more Amara and Dante as well as a true union of all the characters.

But, as I already said, given the two years of inactivity, it's normal that it's different and even though I expected something else, it was still nice.

[scarlet742]

Communication is key3:

Tristan: ?

Morana: ???

[theletterboxstuff]

YOU GUYSSSS!!!!!!! I can't wait for 'The Syndicater' to be out.

I wanna experience Tristan and Luna's reunion and their reactions to seeing eachother for the first time in twenty years asappppp

[sarcasmiclife]

Tristan everytime he looks at Morana: I need to kill her *hearteyes*

[azrielsbxtch]

They’re everything omg🥹✨

[kaipaedyn]

we're finally getting the syndicater, I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T BREATHE

[booksandpastries]

Just finished reading the darkverse series by Runyx (super late I KNOW!) (right on time for the syndicator, I KNOW!) and I just want to come out and say that I loveeeeee the series. There’s not a single character I hate, and there’s not a couple that’s boring, and can we talk about the female characters?? They’re all soo strong and their communication skills?? Oh my god.

I can sit and rant about how wonderful the series is but there won’t be enough time in the world for it. May only disappointment with the series is that it’s not longer and it’s about to end 💔

[yeonie]

DARK VERSE - RUNYX (incorrect quotes)

layla: we all have our demons. 

layla, grabbing shadowman: this one’s mine.

[mzradyer]

flamma x devil eyes

lyla blackthorne and dainn blackthorne from the annihilator (dark verse #5) by runyx

[freyjas-musings]

I finished the 5th book of dark Verse and I don't know how I am going to wait for the next one... I need a certain reunion 🫂 😩 and need it now.

Me throughout the 5th book

Anyone looking for something to read ... definitely would recommend it 5/5 each story is special