#the fact that he is in india is just mind blowing to me

[chaoticlivingperson]

Today i have discovered that Louis Tomlinson is very bad for my heart

[louisupdates]

In an exclusive interview, the former One Direction band member says it’s the right time to come play in India.

Louis Tomlinson brought an intimate energy to the music festival on Sunday, captivating the crowd with his signature blend of Britpop and indie rock. Fan swayed and sang along to his numbers, ‘Drag Me Down,’ ‘Night Changes,’ and ‘Saturday,’ to name a few. The 33 year-old singer from Doncaster, England, made a confession. “Never in a million fucking years did I ever think I’d be in India as a young lad, and never did I think I’d be performing here. It’s mind-blowing, man. I can’t get my head around it. I love you,” he said. He tweeted after the show, “India I had no idea what to expect but you turned up in full force. From Doncaster to Mumbai. Mind-blowing! Thank you!” Ahead of his performance, earlier in the day, we met with Louis instruct an exclusive conversation with him which revolved around India, his music, and more. 

This is your maiden performance in India. What are your thoughts like going into the show?

I always try and manage my own expectations. I don’t really know what to expect. This is my first time here. There’s a reason why I’m here, that’s for sure. I’ve felt the presence online from Indian fans, and it’s a place I’ve always wanted to come to. So, it feels like a real honour to be here. When I saw the amount of people that were waiting outside the airport just for me to arrive, that’s always a lovely feeling. As soon as I kind of touched down, I had that confidence that I’ve got that support, and that was a nice feeling.

Shawn Mendes wore the Indian cricket team jersey on Saturday. Do you follow the game back home?

Cricket is very big in the UK. I do remember this. My great-granddad used to have this old cricket ball; he had kept it for a long time. As a young lad, I remember playing with it quite a lot, but b eyond that, I don’t follow the game too much, to be honest. I respect the sport, for sure, but I’m not a massive cricket fan.

What do you think of India as a global music destination? Coldplay performed here; Ed Sheeran was here for a while. Various global artistes are now frequently performing in the country.

It’s a surprise to me that we never came here with One Direction. I hear the band was big in India. It was a missed opportunity for us. Although, as you said, it is more common now with the likes of Ed and Coldplay coming here. I feel lucky because it’s the right time to come play in India. I do think like all things in life, the music industry tends to be a bit rigid. As soon as you see Ed and Coldplay come over, that is brilliant for everyone else. It sets a precedent about how amazing the shows are in India and what is possible over here.

I don’t believe there’s specifically a change, but the fact that those massive artists are coming over here and doing substantial shows now, it only means more artists from the West will follow suit. 

Right from The Beatles to now Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, English artistes have a strong connection with India. What was your perception of the country before landing here?

When I was 16 or 17 years old, I never imagined that I would be in a band someday. Probably the thing that might have been furthest away, like a dream, was playing in a place like India, so far from home and with a completely different culture and food. That’s a luxury. That’s something I never thought I’d be in a position to do. So just to be here and take in the excitement... Because, like, the reason I’ve been fighting to come for the last five, six years because it’s just such an exciting place to explore. 

You know, if I go back to England and tell anyone I’ve been to India, i’ll watch their ears prick up. They’ll be interested all of a sudden because it’s just such an exciting place to explore. 

You started off quite young as a singer. You’ve been a contestant, judge, band member and now solo artist. What have been your learning lessons?

I was always taught from a young age to trust my gut, and I think especially in an industry like this, you are constantly surrounded by different opinions, some are valid and some are not. At some point you have to trust yourself and trust your gut. Also, in my world, you’re dealing in the theoretical. We are constantly looking into the future to imagine what things might mean or accept ourselves. There is a big element of crossing your fingers, trusting your gut and just going for it. 

You are known for your fashion and your music. As a trendsetter, what inspires you? What gets you going?

Musically, it’s lyric. I always come back to lyric. I think that’s my strongest suit as a writer. I really appreciate deep lyrics. I admire someone like Sam Fender. He has good conceptual lyrics. As far as fashion is concerned, I always dress down. And in recent years, it’s become trendier to dress down. So, the whole time, it’s kind of suited me very well.

You have acted a bit. Are you aware of Bollywood and the film culture here?

I have done a bit of acting. I am aware of the film culture in India. It’s enormous here. I haven’t really watched a Bollywood film though. Maybe you could give me a recommendation. if someone from Bollywood is listening, I’m in!

You are in Mumbai for the first time after all these years. Is this a brief visit or are you hoping to explore the city in terms of food, people, culture, and shopping? 

I am just taking in as much as possible because this trip, given the nature of the festival, we’re in and out. I’m going to spend about 48 hours here and leave right after the show, so my time is limited. My mission is to absolutely nail the show and hopefully to come back and do my own tour here. And it’ll be at that time where I will probably have more time to explore, take in the culture and eat more food. Because I’ve realized how much of a Brit I sound when I say the only curry I’ve had so far is butter chicken. That’s pretty British, isn’t it? The food is definitely better here, obviously. Even the butter chicken. I had it last night.

Where did you have it?

Room service! (Laughs)

What are you like when no-one’s watching, Louis? With social media, so much of a celebrity’s life is out there.

I suppose everyone says this, but I like to think I’m not too different from what you see on camera. I always try to carry myself in an honest way. I suppose just by the nature of the job, behind the cameras, I’m probably a little bit more lowkey. But yeah, I suppose I’d like to think that I’m pretty similar to how I am now.

[felixferitas]

a boyish, gap-toothed grin appears on his face when she swats his arm, his eyes curving up into amused crescents. it hadn't been his intention to make light of something she was passionate about, but felix did like to pull pigtails and play a game of cat and mouse when he was attracted to someone. the chase was half of the fun. "no, it just comes naturally to me, i'm afraid," felix quips back, studded brow raising along with his lips. their playful flirtation brings heat to his cheeks, heart skipping a few beats. india was so fun to be around, sassy and charismatic. he found her very different from annabel, who was clingy, possessive, and snobbish. or if india was in fact possessive, she'd been careful not to let felix see that side of her yet. "yeah? i'd love for you to read to me. might actually help my attention span," he murmurs. felix typically liked to call the shots, but for some indiscernible reason he didn't mind having india boss him around. it was kind of hot, if he was being honest. so he does as asked and waits an inconspicuous amount of time before getting up to follow her to the bathroom to slip into their designated stall. if anyone happened to notice felix catton enter the ladies restroom, it's doubtful anything will be said nor done about it. his lofty name aside, they were just overwhelmed college students blowing off steam. from one of the most prestigious universities in the world, no less. felix feels they're entitled to. when he opens the unlatched stall door, his breath leaves him for a moment because she looks effortlessly stunning, as always. felix smiles into the kiss when she tells him she missed him, one large palm resting at the pinch of her waist while the other threads fingers into her dark locks of hair. he sucks at the swell of her bottom lip, tilting her head back for easier access as his tongue traces the seam of her lips, a fervid exploration. india tastes like prosecco and felix probably has lipstick on his teeth but he couldn't give a rats ass about that right now, not with india right in front of him, spontaneous and fun and accepting. he grins, pulling out a white ziploc baggie with the coke along with a key for her to snort it off of. "and how do you plan on doing that?" felix asks, tone sultry and suggestive as he opens the bag to place some of the powder on the key, raising it to her nose like a true gentleman. "but don't sweat it, you know i like to share." he was supporting his cousin's cocaine habit as well, after all. felix waits for her to take her bump before pouring a little more powder on the key and blocking one nostril to inhale it. it enters his bloodstream fairly fast, and afterwards he pockets the paraphernalia, cupping india's face in his hands to lose himself in those doe eyes of hers -- pupils more blown than ever. was it purely the cocaine, or arousal?

the swat to the arm arrives not when he comments on her chest, but when he jokingly critiques her choice of literature. india took reading seriously. to the brunette, it was a form of self care and a gateway to pleasure. her studies required a ridiculous amount of concentration, so whenever she had the chance to take a break from it all, the fantasy genre was often the perfect companion to get lost in. "have you made it your personal mission to be an arse to me today or!?" she can't help the laughter that follows after playfully scolding him. neither of them held any real contempt in their taunts. it was all for fun. just like the rest of their relationship. a bloody tease. "if you must know, i'm reading stardust by neil gaiman." in india's opinion, his storytelling was far superior to j.k. rowling's. "and if it's a compelling plot you're after, i'll let you borrow it when i'm done. i might even read some of it to you next time you find yourself falling into my bed."

[ sms: fee <3 ] yes pls. wait 2 mins before u follow x

after the text is sent, she stands up from her position at the table and heads towards the ladies toilets. it's not the first time that they've done this, but it is the first time in a long while that she's suggested it. the last cubicle on the left is the one india usually reserves for their rendezvous. be it for taking drugs or sharing other private moments, it's the place felix knows to look for her. she waits quietly for him to enter, slipping inside and leaving the latch unlocked 'til he arrives. there's no doubt that it's reckless behaviour, but she took no greater pleasure in anything else. hiding away, escaping with felix, partaking in forbidden acts was almost as addictive as the cocaine. applying a fresh layer of lipstick, she swipes the matte red across her lower lip and puckers it onto her top. fingertips then ruffle through her long locks, brushing out the waves of her loose curls. you say jump.... his sentiments echo as she applies a quick spritz of eau de toilette to her cleavage and soon, he's in front of her, sneaking into the confined space. i say how high. she wonders if he truly means it. if he wants to be here as much as she wants him to. a selfish thought for a selfish girl.

soft hands reach out to him regardless, fingers curling around his neck to gently pull him closer. "i missed you, by the way." india confesses, opting for transparency in spite of their collective teasing torments. brown eyes gaze up at him with unabashed adoration. a nervous laugh passes and then, black lashes flutter close while she stretches up to kiss him. she doesn't fully know what the status of his relationship with annabel is. if they're together or not. at this moment, she doesn't care either. perhaps that makes her an awful person and a terrible friend. so be it. the kiss is exactly what she needs it to be. tender, warm, erotic yet innocent in nature. a subtle kind of foreplay considering they're both about to misbehave. pulling back, her hand rests against his cheek where gentle strokes are applied to his jaw. "you're also a fucking lifesaver. i'm running low but i'll pay you back, promise."

[alba17]

John and Borderline Personality Disorder: My Pet Theory

This quote fits my pet theory that John had Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). I know some people don't like this sort of psychoanalyzing or diagnosing famous people. In John's case, I think it helps explain a lot of his irrational behavior.

To simplify, people with BPD usually have a "favorite person," whom they latch onto to create a sense of self because they feel empty inside and have no innate sense of identity. They look to others to provide it. Paul was John's favorite person until he switched to Yoko. (The million dollar question is why he did that. #something happened in India.)

People with BPD need constant attention and validation, specifically from their favorite person. They have intense emotions that are difficult to manage unless they learn specific coping skills in therapy (e.g. DBT, dialectical behavior therapy, which was developed in the 80's). They are highly sensitive to feelings of rejection. They take everything personally and interpret behavior as rejection when healthy people would not. These feelings of rejection can be overwhelming and obsessive.

TW: Suicide for discussion under cut.

Like John, a large proportion of people with BPD experienced childhood trauma. Like John, they often try to manage their overwhelming emotions with substance abuse (and/or self-harm). Suicidal ideation and attempts are also common. Based on his songs, it's likely that John felt suicidal at times.

The quote above demonstrates John's need for validation from the other Beatles, mostly from Paul. He wants Paul to come to him and ask him to write songs, to show John that Paul needs him. Think about that for a moment. It's ridiculous, right? John's job is to write and perform songs. Why does he need The Beatles Paul to ask him to do that? It doesn't make any sense to a mentally healthy person. But for a person with BPD, it makes total sense. The favorite person has to constantly demonstrate their love or else it doesn't exist. He's basically blackmailing Paul by withholding his songwriting efforts until Paul gives him the attention and love he seeks. John sees Paul's failure to ask as rejection. He's constantly on guard and looking for signs of rejection.

"Write some more 'cause we like your work." WHAT? in 1969, he needs the other Beatles Paul to tell John he likes his work? After 10 plus years of songwriting together and as one of the most successful groups in the history of pop music? That's mind-blowing. That makes no sense and sounds crazy. But it shows how little sense of self and self-worth John has. In DBT lingo, he needs to "check the facts" to get some perspective and reduce the intensity of his feelings of worthlessness and rejection.

John has an internal story about himself through which he filters and tries to make sense of the world: "I'm worthless and I don't even truly exist unless my favorite person constantly validates me." Probably Paul's abundant creativity at this time and the competitive aspect of their relationship increased John's need for validation. Perhaps he ultimately had to wrench himself away from Paul as his favorite person because the dissonance became too great between Paul as his competitor against whom he couldn't win in the songwriting contest (as drugs took over his life), and Paul as his favorite person from whom he needed constant attention and validation.

Obviously you can see how John and Yoko's relationship fulfilled his BPD needs given their total enmeshment. It wasn't healthy and it probably would've been better for him to be with someone who could hold boundaries. But that's another topic.

I guess I have to put a caveat that I'm not trying to put him down. Mental illness is an illness just like cancer or a virus. You have no control over it. It's just striking how well BPD fits John and I think it helps in understanding his weird behavior and patterns. And ultimately, even why The Beatles broke up. BPD is a horrible condition and very difficult to live with, both for the sufferer and their loved ones. The suicide rate is actually pretty high. I speak from personal experience. I wish he'd been able to get the help he needed. DBT is the major therapeutic method for helping people with BPD and it wasn't developed until the 80's.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[i-am-kind-of-lost]

Okay genuinely asking

What srk 2000s movie is the best?

Like i was just listening to tumhe jo maine dekha and i realised that i don't even know what that movie is from and like everyone has seen them

so from which should I start?

~cupcake

Tumhe Jo Maine Dekha is from Main Hoon Na. How do you not know that? Jail. Jail.

Okay, so SRK from 2000 to 2010 is pretty much flawless era, except some movies which I don't remember. They are probably shit if I don't remember them.

Every single of these. And I mean, every single of them has a mind-blowing good album. Guaranteed two-three songs in each, which you will love for as long as you will live.

Main Hoon Na (2004) is quintessential Bollywood movie. It is the most bollywood movie to ever movie. You know. And somehow it still works, till this day. Soundtrack is first love vibes.

Om Shanti Om (2007), is another one of the same mould. Made by the same director, Farah Khan. Silly as fuck. Soundtrack is god-tier good.

Chak De India (2007) has probably SRK's greatest performance, along with Swades and My Name is Khan (onto them, later). You have probably seen this. I mean of course you have. The emotions this movie makes you feel, and the fact that it actually juggles multiple characters, and just ugh. I love this movie so much.

Kal Ho Na Ho (2003). That's it. Just watch it, if you haven't.

Veer-Zaara (2004). SRK had a very good 2004 btw. He was nominated for Best Actors for 3 different movies. Veer-Zaara is probably one of the best pure Romance movies, made in this country. Rani Mukherjee is so good. Fun fact, the soundtrack of this movie, uses compositions made by Madan Mohan, who had died in 1975. 30 years after his death.

Mohabbatein (2000). This movie is one of the major reasons I want to become a professor in a college in a hill station. Oddly similar to Dead Poets Society. Just like Koi Mil Gaya is very similar to ET.

Swades (2004). The least bollywood movie among the lot. His performance is iconic as hell. I love the pace of this movie so much. And I really love the romance-plot as well, because it doesn't feel overdone, or rushed.

My Name is Khan (2010). You have probably seen this already. It's a little overdramatic in the end. It's Karan Johar, what do you expect. But his performance is so good. So good. Features the greatest proposal scene in the history of cinema. The scene where he meets Jimmy Shergill after the latter's wife is attacked, will never not make me cry. Same goes for the scene, where he reunites with Mandira.

K3G (2001). YEAH.

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997). Everyone remembers the soundtrack of this movie. As they should, because it's fucking amazing. But the movie is so much more than the soundtrack. It's so good. Akshay Kumar is in it, as well.

ALSO.

How I remember these movies, has a lot to do with nostalgia. A LOT. If you have never seen them in your life, and you are watching them for the first time now, you are not going to enjoy yourself as much as I do. Some of them are problematic as fuck. Looking at you Mohabbatein. Move on you fucking weirdo, you are hallucinating your dead girlfriend of 10 years. These movies were a huge part of my childhood, so yeah, I remember them very fondly.

[kathleenmarymulligan]

A Place to Lay our Heads, and a Long Journey Back to the Beginning

December 21, 2022

I am having trouble keeping track of the days. I keep thinking it’s Sunday today (and it’s Wednesday), I’m a bit astonished that we’ve been in India a week, and the fact that Christmas is four days away is mind-blowing. Anyone who knows me knows I love this holiday- and I’m getting a little misty thinking about not being with family this year. But this was a conscious choice (in order to meet with my students at Khalsa College and give them an “activity”—I’ve been advised NOT to call it an “assignment”--for over their winter break) and I will relish the chance to experience what Christmas is like in the Punjab. There are certainly signs of the holiday: our hotel is advertising that we can “satiate our Christmas cravings with luscious indulgences, handcrafted by our culinarians”—and for a mere 599 INR (about $7.00) we can have a “Jagermeister Bomb” (don’t know what that is—but yuck.) And there’s an old Anglican church near here from British times with a Christmas Eve service and Christmas day service- so we’ll attend one of those. There are artificial trees for sale in local stalls, along with Santa hats and some other silly stuff—and our hotel has some nice jazz versions of Christmas carols playing (the same playlist over and over…but at least it’s pleasant.) We’ll make our own unique Christmas tradition this year. But I’ll miss the Christmas House in Brookfield, MA where my sister-in-law Margo goes all out in their 18th century home.

The big news since last I wrote is that we found a place to live! David and I were all set to commit to an apartment that was darling—and very comfortable—but in a neighborhood I had some concerns about. In the meanwhile, I reached out to people I met when I was here in 2018—desperately seeking a recommendation for a real estate broker who might help us in our search. One of those people was an astonishing young woman named Aashna Sachdeva whom I had connected with in 2018.

Aashna and me in 2018

Aashna wrote to me Monday morning that her father, whose family had experienced Partition, was touched by the subject of my project, and wanted to help. Within an hour we were visiting a property he owns in a great part of town—and invited to make that our home for the next six months. The place is shared during the day by his partner and crew who are working on developing an app for film editing (it feels like we are in an episode of Silicon Valley minus the obnoxious characters)- but we have a spacious area upstairs. It was pretty sparse when we saw it, but Aashna’s mom Jasmina met me there the next day and made a list of things she could loan us for our stay: a couch, a table, a small frig, some rugs, etc. The generosity of this couple- who were complete strangers to us a week ago-is overwhelming. We move in on Friday- and we’re planning to treat ourselves to a little shopping spree at Home Centre and Fabindia (the temple of my familiar) to make the place feel homey.

This city is fascinating… and intense. Having an oasis of peace will be crucial.

Our new place:

Today, David and I headed to the old city with the plan of visiting the Golden Temple.

On our way

But when we got there, it was teeming with pilgrims, worshippers, and tourists—and we thought it wise to return early one morning or after dark—the times recommended by many. After stopping in at The Partition Museum (the place I visited in 2018 that prompted the whole idea for this Fulbright project),

Outside of the Partition Museum, housed in the old town hall

we made our way to the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial. If you don’t know or have forgotten: on April 13, 1919, a group of soldiers commanded by British Brigadier General R.E.H. Dyer entered an enclosed courtyard where a large group of peaceful protesters (men, women, and children) were gathered. He ordered the soldiers (sadly, all Indians serving in the British army) to fire into the crowd. No warning was made to disperse (such gatherings were forbidden)—they just fired –1650 rounds—and killed approximately 1500 men, women, and children. 120 of them jumped into the well in the courtyard to escape the bullets—and all drowned. I’m giving the barest of facts here. But see the scene the scene from “Gandhi” on YouTube below for a pretty accurate (and harrowing) seven-minute depiction (if, perhaps, a little kind to the panel that questioned Dyer later.) You'll see the Town Hall that now houses the Partition Museum in the clip. The space is now a memorial park to the victims and very well done, although the cheery music piped in makes for a bizarre counterpoint to the weight of what took place there.

Jallianwala Bagh

We were tired after that- and ready to head back to the hotel for a rest. That was not as simple as anticipated. We got ourselves lost in the warren of narrow streets that make up the old city- and my Fitbit knock-off alerted me that I had reached 10,000 steps long before we made it to a main road where we could call an Uber. And that was right back where we’d started. We had walked in a huge, confusing circle—past countless tiny shops, tea stalls and rickshaw drivers all offering to take us where we were going (but none knowing where our hotel was.) Although I had some nervousness that we might get robbed (pick pocketing and other theft are a big problem here)- we both sort of enjoyed the journey. The weather was cool and not unpleasant. There were lots of interesting things to see.

And we knew eventually we’d have to come to something familiar, which we did. It did feel incredibly good to finally climbed into an Uber and sit back as our driver made his way through unimaginable traffic to finally deposit us at our hotel (how does anyone drive in this city?) The Uber cost: 140 INR (about $1.75.) We tipped him more than the ride cost: that price might have been acceptable (for here) if it had been a clear shot—but that poor driver made no money on that ride.

Off to sleep- with the hopes that tonight I don’t wake up at my new time of 1 AM to lie and obsess for an hour before falling back to sleep.

Oh! My funny story of the day: mid-morning I went down to the lobby to ask about extending our stay by one night (the house isn’t quite ready for us.) There was a woman in the lobby impatiently asking for something from the staff. She had on her flannel plaid pajamas and slippers, was holding a cup of chai in each hand, and coughing non-stop. No mask. Not even an attempt to cover her mouth. She then went over to the elevator to head back to her room. I decided to take the stairs. This is a four-star hotel, folks.

And for a little laugh:

Until the next…

[rainbowsky]

hi! sorry if this isn't really in your interests/purview, but your tumblr post was literally the only english source of info i could find about the sdc4 plagiarism controversy with mr. three. the twitter thread you linked is not viewable for me, as the tweets are protected. i was hoping you had some other sources/details so i could get a fuller picture of the issue.

Yeah, that was not the most glowing moment for the show, I have to say. I felt they didn't handle that in a satisfying way. It definitely soured my feelings a bit last season.

Spoilers for SDOC4 under the cut.

Hitesh* Patel

I think it's fitting that we start out by highlighting the amazing dancer whose moves were stolen, getting his name in our heads and appreciating the work he is doing. Hitesh Patel is a street dancer from Mumbai, India. You can find some of his extremely creative work on his Instagram.

And here he is performing some of the moves that Mr Three plagiarized.

*I will be using 'Hitesh', because it seems to be the spelling Patel uses. There was a bit of controversy about Mr Three supposedly misspelling the name when he posted about it on his social media, but to be fair - Patel uses both Hittesh and Hitesh on his Instagram, so it's understandably a bit confusing. The angry fans used Hittesh in their postings, but as far as I can tell online Patel uses Hitesh, so I will too.

Disclaimer:

I think it's only fair to point out that we really don't know all the details of what happened, or what was going on behind the scenes. In terms of how it was or wasn't handled by the production team, there is room for a bit of grey area and we should be clear about that.

Having said that, I feel that our perception and experience as viewers matters, and SDOC - at best - didn't address or manage those things at all. Which is very disappointing.

Here is what we know for certain:

Mr Three copied the moves, and he did not credit Patel for them. AKA plagiarism.

The show didn't credit Patel either, nor did they address any of this on the show when it aired.

They let the plagiarizer make it all the way to the final.

I just want to point that out because there are some peripheral speculations that I think we need to rein in a bit. The facts above are damning enough on their own.

What happened?

Here's a detailed chronology of what happened, based on what I can remember (with some refreshing from this Douban article). Anyone who has more details or sees anything I've missed or gotten wrong, please feel free to chime in.

The plagiarism

In episode 4 of SDOC4, Mr Three talked about his style of dance and said that his moves were not like other poppers - they were 'strange' and 'more creative'. In his performance he did some mind-blowing tutting moves using his feet and hands that really stunned everyone. He got a lot of praise for it on the show when it aired, and even gave his own commentary about how great and creative and original he is.

Some viewers recognized the moves from an Indian street dancer named Hitesh Patel. They were extremely upset about it because Patel wasn't credited for the moves, and it appeared to be blatant, straight-up plagiarism (for which Mr Three was basking in unearned glory).

Some viewers contacted Patel and asked him about it. He said that yes, those were his moves, and he was not pleased to see them being presented as someone else's. He made it very clear that it was plagiarism, and "Not OK."

Apparently Mr Three contacted Patel after the episode aired, and told him that the producers had been yelling at him and were extremely upset, and asked Patel to say something to calm the producers down so he wouldn't get kicked off the show.

So let's just rewind here, in case it's not clear what Mr Three did: He plagiarized a guy's moves, and when it came out that he'd done so, he contacted that guy and asked him to protect him from the consequences of his actions.

And Mr Three must have been pretty persuasive, too, because Patel went along with it and wrote a message to the program team telling them that he was cool with it and that everything was fine.

But based on what Patel said later, things weren't 'cool' and everything wasn't 'fine'. He was still bothered that his moves had been stolen and he wasn't credited for them.

What's more, Patel had intended that message only for the eyes of the production team. He had never intended for that message to end up online, and being spread more broadly as a cover for Mr Three's behavior. His only intention had been to ensure that Mr Three didn't get kicked off the show. He didn't intend for a broader, more public impression to be given that he was OK with it all.

But because of the fan's digging and because of the controversy that emerged, it had all become public and Patel was in the awkward position of having to simultaneously defend and decry Mr Three.

In his post on Weibo, Mr Three was telling people that he and Patel were friends, that he had compensated Patel for the moves, and that Patel was fine with his moves being used by Mr Three.

Fans were upset by that, and when they contacted Patel to notify him of what was being said, fans told Patel that they felt Mr Three was trying to make it seem like he'd done all this prior to using the moves (when in fact Patel wasn't contacted by Mr Three until after the episode had aired).

The fans who contacted Patel asked for permission to share their chat logs with the public and with the program team, to expose the plagiarism and lies of Mr Three. Patel agreed to it.

That is how this all came out publicly.

Patel said he didn't want Mr Three to be hated, or to lose his spot on SDOC, he just wanted credit for his moves that were used, and he wanted everyone to know that what Mr Three did 'wasn't OK'.

I should add that fans were really upset about all of this. It was by no means a well-contained or 'minor' incident. A lot of angry posts were made, and some people even made claims about Mr Three being a serial relationship cheater. He stirred up a lot of hate among fans.

SDOC's 'response'

Whatever SDOC did or didn't do about the plagiarism, it all happened behind the scenes. Despite the fact that this controversy was making the rounds both on Chinese and on international social media, as far as I know there was never any acknowledgement from the production team that any of this was happening.

By extension, there was never any credit given by the production team for Patel's moves, nor was there any discussion on the show about plagiarism and about the importance of people being credited for their work. None of what Patel said he wanted from this situation was ever given by the production team. At least, not in any public way.

In my book, that makes them really no better than Mr Three in how they handled this. It's pretty shameful.

Not only that, but Mr Three continued to appear on the show, continued to be praised as a dancer on the show, and made it all the way to the finale, where he was praised by the judges for his performance (which audiences could hardly trust was even his own work, given everything that happened).

Not the way anyone would have wanted the team to deal with it, not by any stretch of the imagination.

This especially after the previous season, where so much praise was given for the way DD handled plagiarism when it was spotted during a dancer's audition for him.

SDOC was all too happy to take that positive press when DD was on hot search for taking a stand on plagiarism, but when it came their turn to do something about plagiarism... crickets.

My thoughts on what happened

From the outset it seemed clear that Patel was just too nice a guy to want to see Mr Three face serious consequences. While he was upset about what had happened, he didn't want Mr Three to get kicked off the show for something he might say in response to what happened. It seemed he didn't want to 'be the reason' that Mr Three lost the opportunity.

I found that perspective kind-hearted, but frustrating. I can understand not wanting to harm someone's situation, but we all need to remember that it's not the victim who is to blame for any negative fallout from an action, but it is the person who chose to do wrong who is to blame. If Mr Three lost his opportunity, it would not have been because of Patel, it would have been because of Mr Three being a plagiarizing plagiarizer.

Unfortunately, Patel's choice not to take a strong stand enabled the producers and Mr Three to sweep it all under the carpet, and muddied the waters a bit for viewers because Patel was (unintentionally) giving mixed messages. He was saying, "Yeah, it was plagiarism and it's not cool" while also saying, "It's OK, Mr Three and I are cool."

But it's his moves and his choice, so I think we have to accept and respect that.

Having said that, I feel that the production team really hung the poor guy out to dry. All of this stuff, it wasn't Patel's burden to bear, and he should NEVER have been put in that position. The instant the producers saw Mr Three try to pass off someone else's moves as his own, they should have removed him from the show. End of story.

No victim should ever be in the position of having to stick their neck out and push for justice. We should all be committed to upholding justice, not because a victim wants it, but rather because it's the right thing to do.

There is absolutely no excuse in my opinion, for letting it slide in any way. It was especially unconscionable to put Mr Three in the finale.

Like I said above, if the program team had felt they'd sorted something out, they should have let the audience know. Pretending like none of us were aware of the controversy was a mistake at best, an insult at worst.

However, what's done is done. I hope they learned something from it and will have a clearer, better policy on all that moving forward.

Hope this gives you a bit more information on the whole thing.

[mahayanapilgrim]

When Venerable Atisha came to Tibet he first went to Ngari, where he remained for two years giving many teachings to the disciples of Jangchub Ö.

After two years had passed he decided to return to India, and Jangchub Ö requested him to give one last teaching before he left.

Atisha replied that he had already given them all the advice they needed, but Jangchub Ö persisted in his request and so Atisha accepted and gave the following advice.

How wonderful!

Friends, since you already have great knowledge and clear understanding, whereas I am of no importance and have little wisdom, it is not suitable for you to request advice from me. However because you dear friends, whom I cherish from my heart, have requested me, I shall give you this essential advice from my inferior and childish mind.

Friends, until you attain enlightenment the Spiritual Teacher is indispensable, therefore rely upon the holy Spiritual Guide.

Until you realize ultimate truth, listening is indispensable, therefore listen to the instructions of the Spiritual Guide.

Since you cannot become a Buddha merely by understanding Dharma, practise earnestly with understanding.

Avoid places that disturb your mind, and always remain where your virtues increase.

Until you attain stable realizations, worldly amusements are harmful, therefore abide in a place where there are no such distractions.

Avoid friends who cause you to increase delusions, and rely upon those who increase your virtue. This you should take to heart.

Since there is never a time when worldly activities come to an end, limit your activities.

Dedicate your virtues throughout the day and the night, and always watch your mind.

Because you have received advice, whenever you are not meditating always practise in accordance with what your Spiritual Guide says.

If you practise with great devotion, results will arise immediately, without your having to wait for a long time.

If from your heart you practise in accordance with Dharma, both food and resources will come naturally to hand.

Friends, the things you desire give no more satisfaction than drinking sea water, therefore practise contentment.

Avoid all haughty, conceited, proud, and arrogant minds, and remain peaceful and subdued.

Avoid activities that are said to be meritorious, but which in fact are obstacles to Dharma.

Profit and respect are nooses of the maras, so brush them aside like stones on the path.

Words of praise and fame serve only to beguile us, therefore blow them away as you would blow your nose.

Since the happiness, pleasure, and friends you gather in this life last only for a moment, put them all behind you.

Since future lives last for a very long time, gather up riches to provide for the future.

You will have to depart leaving everything behind, so do not be attached to anything.

Generate compassion for lowly beings, and especially avoid despising or humiliating them.

Have no hatred for enemies, and no attachment for friends.

Do not be jealous of others’ good qualities, but out of admiration adopt them yourself.

Do not look for faults in others, but look for faults in yourself, and purge them like bad blood.

Do not contemplate your own good qualities, but contemplate the good qualities of others, and respect everyone as a servant would.

See all living beings as your father or mother, and love them as if you were their child.

Always keep a smiling face and a loving mind, and speak truthfully without malice.

If you talk too much with little meaning you will make mistakes, therefore speak in moderation, only when necessary.

If you engage in many meaningless activities your virtuous activities will degenerate, therefore stop activities that are not spiritual.

It is completely meaningless to put effort into activities that have no essence.

If the things you desire do not come it is due to karma created long ago, therefore keep a happy and relaxed mind.

Beware, offending a holy being is worse than dying, therefore be honest and straightforward.

Since all the happiness and suffering of this life arise from previous actions, do not blame others.

All happiness comes from the blessings of your Spiritual Guide, therefore always repay his kindness.

Since you cannot tame the minds of others until you have tamed your own, begin by taming your own mind.

Since you will definitely have to depart without the wealth you have accumulated, do not accumulate negativity for the sake of wealth.

Distracting enjoyments have no essence, therefore sincerely practise giving.

Always keep pure moral discipline for it leads to beauty in this life and happiness hereafter.

Since hatred is rife in these impure times, don the armour of patience, free from anger.

You remain in samsara through the power of laziness, therefore ignite the fire of the effort of application.

Since this human life is wasted by indulging in distractions, now is the time to practise concentration.

Being under the influence of wrong views you do not realize the ultimate nature of things, therefore investigate correct meanings.

Friends, there is no happiness in this swamp of samsara, so move to the firm ground of liberation.

Meditate according to the advice of your Spiritual Guide and dry up the river of samsaric suffering.

You should consider this well because it is not just words from the mouth, but sincere advice from the heart.

If you practise like this you will delight me, and you will bring happiness to yourself and others.

I who am ignorant request you to take this advice to heart.

This is the advice that the holy being Venerable Atisha gave to Venerable Jang Chub Ö.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S5 Ep 19: Yugi and the Only Neck Accessory He Didn’t Really Want to Wear

Been busy! Hopefully stuff will open up soon as I’m taking a hiatus on a different quarantine project and will be finishing painting the entire roof of my car this week? One can hope. Sanding the rust off the whole top of a car takes a long time it turns out?

Also, fun Yugioh fact, I recently painted a book cover for an author who is older so she’s never seen the show, and she looked at my tumblr, saw my Duke Devlin fanart and was like “That’s him. That’s my main character. OMG. You captured him perfectly!” and I was like “Ma’am that is Duke Devlin, hence the single dice earring on his lobes there, but we can work with this.” and now a spiritual Duke Devlin is on the cover of a Wuxia-style fantasy trilogy on the Vella. Had to give him a top knot and delete the eyeliner for Wuxia reasons but uh, that’s just Duke.

So long story short, fanart can get you work, don’t even worry about posting that stuff online because most people don’t even know it’s fanart anyway and older ladies freakin love it.

Back in Yugioh, the team was doing their best to navigate a map through the woods and they do about as well as they normally do.

And inside Tristan lifted up the floorboards and was like “I found the only way out, this is it, this is the only way.”

And they ended up in something that has a color scheme I would actually associate with a jungle. Finally. We have finally left California (in order to go to another Hell.)

Youknow, when we went to California, we visited Hell, and when we went to India, we also took a stop at the nearest death destination. There’s just so much death on this show and sometimes I forget because there’s been a ghost in our party for so freakin long it’s been normalized.

(read more death imagery under the cut)

Joey freaks out at a flock of crows and reveals in this episode something I never realized about him before.

Like I’m not always the perfect observer as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I love that this is canon for probably only this episode, but I will never forget it for the entirety of this series.

You go on hating birds, Joey.

Bro was like “Maybe it’s a deep cut about Mai Valentine because she’s a harpy lady” but eh...pretty sure we spent like an entire season of Joey telling us that Mai was a good experience? Would be incredibly funny if immediately after all of S4, Joey was like “You know what? Screw Mai, guys.”

So my thoughts...it’s probably just a literal bird experience. Like I had a friend who hated deer because once she went to a petting zoo, got some pellets to feed the deer, but her finger was sticking up, so when the deer came over to nibble on some pellets her finger went up it’s nose by accident. She was so disgusted by this event that was entirely her fault, that she brought up how much she hated deer basically whenever we saw one.

So like...maybe Joey fed a bird wrong at a petting zoo. I can see him getting bit by a parrot because he was too Joey Wheeler.

But now that we’re in a graveyard neighborhood, Pharaoh decides to hop out because there’s a lot of ghosts here and he needs to practice socializing with his peers.

So that’s just a Yugioh monster doing the ostrich dance, right? Like this is a meme from like 2010 but on Yugioh in 2003(4?)

Good to see the Ostrich dance here in the land before Vine.

So they pull out their Pokemon to do some antics, Tea looked like she was about to do something useful, and Yami does a yump across time and space to get her as far away from playing (not)cards as quickly as possible and y’all...sure was a position these animators animated.

Holy crap.

And I was going off about that scene last season where they woke up in the same bed like...

...have these two been together this entire time? Like together together?

They’re like...way more comfortable than you’d figure they’d be considering Yugi nearly passes out every time he gets a hug. But Yami just like....How long has this been going on? As long as Joey’s fear of birds?

Like obviously this show would never cover what the hell Yugi may be thinking about this overreaching move here, because we’re gonna gloss right over that, and just run away up a flight of stairs. No one mentions this ever again. Which is mind blowing for an anime to do. I think in most anime I watch, the kids would be like “ahh ahhhh I bumped into a booooob!” like it does for I want to say every other episode of My Hero Academia. But in Yugioh, they saw that low hanging fruit and they were like “we expect a higher level of maturity out of our audience. Now here’s a fleet of ostrich dancing tree monsters with faces for crotches.”

They decided to sprint up this flight of stairs, and it enough of a slope to deter the monsters who are only unbalanced weird legs.

I want us to take a moment and admire this background painting. I can’t unsee the rocks that are all the same size, just piled on top of eachother. Did Alexander the Great just plop rocks here--or was the mountain made up of tons of similarly shaped boulders?

Like there’s a lot of nice bg’s in this arc, don’t get me wrong, but this one...I’m just trying to wrap my head around the logic of it.

At the top, they meet a pantheon, that is immediately blocked by this wall, because if this arc had a tagline, it’s “Yugi gets inconvenienced every 4 seconds.”

Bro was like “Clearly they would have pushed it over if Tea wasn’t slacking off” and like...she is actually. Look at her. Only used one hand? Slacker.

Joey was disappointed he couldn’t push over a massive wall, and the team decided not to analyze how much Joey Wheeler thinks of his own strength and instead fixate on these statues.

Usually in anthro characters they kinda look birdlike but act human. But what about an anthro that’s just a bird? Like human torso, but can turn his head 180 degrees? Yugioh made me ask this question.

And then Joey was like “wait, there may be a solution that isn’t just to use brute strength!”

Youknow it is a bummer that Kaiba couldn’t witness Joey own a dragon while he himself only has a robot jet dragon. Although, the jet is probably faster, stronger and overall...better than this baby dragon. It would have been great for Kaiba to witness Joey under-utilize this dragon and forget he has it for like huge swatches of the episode.

And then Grandpa pulled some body horror out of nowhere.

Wow.

I mean that is really gross.

I guess Grandpa can’t use Blue eyes, because Kaiba ripped it up, Grandpa can’t use Exodia because Weevil tossed it off a boat, and grandpa can’t use the card that’s just a building because...it’s a building.

So instead Grandpa has a bunch of meat and bones that look like something out of Doom. It’s probably from a more obscure Konami property, but I forget which.

I’ve seen Tristan hold back Joey in this hold, first time it’s been Tea.

So much shipping in this episode, it’s wild.

It’s also wild how low my standards are for what could possibly be shipping when it comes to Yugioh because of how freakin tepid all of these characters are, which as I’ve brought up before, I really don’t mind.

So Yugi decides that because Grandpa was folding his arms like one monster and it made a gem light up or something, to just do the video game thing and use the giant ass statues as clues.

Why was this arc not a video game? Like parts of it really feel like it was meant to be.

So Yugi falls down a hole, where the walls cave in like it’s that dumpster in Star Wars but like...it barely phases him.

Also...Yugi might be able to see in the dark. It’s never been brought up but like...the more I think about it...has Yugi ever struggled to see without the lights on?

After Joey disappoints everyone, he confronts death.

And Pharaoh and Yugi decide to solve the puzzle of “how do I get out of this trap dungeon room” which, honestly, is probably what they’re doing every time they hang out in the brain pyramid.

So they summon their mascot monster, and surprisingly the show decided its ability to fly cannot help them out here.

Kuriboh manages to become enough of a doormat to push Yami up to the stone and they end up in a set of weird cuts that ended in this?

Like seriously it was like flashes of light and then they were just...up here like this.

Hey like...

Alexander the Great, my man...

Were you planning to put that stone in the middle of a exhaust vent hoping someone would touch it? Because there’s no way anyone would rationally have done that. You would need to fly to do it. This is the world’s worst DM.

Like Yugioh pulls a lot of fantasy nonsense but this arc is a lot more like a “it’s a kid’s show, just go with it.” arc than most of them. It’s not a bad vibe, necessarily, it’s just not the vibe I’m used to.

So once I witnessed maybe the most boring conversation I’ve ever witnessed about corn (this was on a twitch stream, by the way, a guy was playing an interesting game, and then a guest came on and started talking about corn and plants for 2 hours) and they would not shut up about how all taxonomy is wrong because there are no such thing as trees and how all animals are labelled incorrectly, and then they started comparing it to like all sorts of mushrooms and phytoplankton as you would if you clearly got a little bit high before dumping your corn knowledge on a twitch stream.

Anyway, after that bizarre experience I suffered so I could learn how to play an obscure video game, I think I can safely say, that while I know everyone here thinks a bird can’t be a dog. If you’re a high biologist: a bird is absolutely a dog. Apparently you can just do that if you’re the most boring biologist alive and no one will argue with you because to do that would involve talking to you. We’ll just say a bird is a dog and no one can fight me or I will talk about the corn book that this guest on this twitch chat was thinking about renting from the library about the different types of corn mutations inherent in freakin Indiana. Therefore, Joey’s fear of birds and dogs is same.

So they use Dark Magician to save them from the statues, and Yugi busts into the pantheon again because they got to open this casket before a time limit that I kind of forgot about, tbh.

And inside the casket, is...this thing!

(enjoy this line on the bottom of the image I don’t feel like fixing it)

And you may say to yourself...it looks like it’s just floating in mid-air, that’s silly, and so I want to introduce you to the next panel where you can see that it is...quite literally...just floating in the air like a video game.

and it just slurps itself onto Yugi before he can be like “nonono.”

Wasn’t there some horror movie where you were stuck in some sort of body brace that slowly tortures you (was that Saw?) This has that vibes. Like man that looks uncomfortable to wear over a jacket and two belts and a collar that is another belt.

That and I...I gotta appreciate that Yugi popped his collar while wearing body armor and chunky necklace. What 00′s fashion appreciation right there.

Bit like...this isn’t breathable, right? Like Yugi’s gonna finally take this thing off and his jacket will just be completely soaked in sweat?

Anyway, that’s it for this post, next week we’ll see if Yugi can walk through a doorway in that thing.

Also, I can’t bring up the ostrich dance without sharing the vines of my generation

[mysticalmusicwhispers]

i'm just going to put indchuran for the pottertalia ask even if we all know their houses already i just want to read your character analysis of them :D

The bastards!!!!! :)

For anyone that missed it, Vietnam is here (spoilers: she’s an unconventional Slytherin)! 

I think I discussed before that they’re all in Slytherin, and they’re in there for mostly the same reasons, although China is the only one that I think has almost 100% Slytherin qualities.

China Yao views most of his interactions through the lens of business transactions and mutual interests, and has a lot of “every person for themselves” mentality. He partners up with people (in a platonic business affair way) because both parties have something to benefit from the arrangement, not for sentimentality or loyalty. After both their needs have been fulfilled, he isn't one to stick around because of sentimentality, not unless he's really formed a bond with the other person and genuinely likes them as a friend, not just a good business partner. Yao also has ridiculously questionable morals, so it's logical that he also believes ethics > morals, whereas Gryffindors are more morally aligned. He's incredibly ambitious, partially because he views ambition and success as necessary to keep his footing in the world, but also because he just has a thirst to do better. Quite admirable, but he does shady business to achieve his success (none of it is outright illegal/wrong, but it's still very gray), and this combination puts him firmly in Slytherin to me (Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs would only choose the right, 100% moral path, and Ravenclaws don't really thirst for success/status, and instead seek knowledge above all.) Although canon depicts him as rather sunshiney, that doesn’t contradict his Slytherin qualities (nobody said Slytherins had to brood all the time), and a lot of his actions and thoughts are guided by cunning, reason, and ambition. (also realistically, I think he could tick off every single adjective on the Slytherin corner of this image, even if he doesn’t always show it. In modern day, he can afford to goof off and fool around quite a lot, but when it really comes down to it, Yao’s 100% Slytherin.)

India Also a Slytherin; he’s a fair bit more extroverted than Yao (I think they’re both pretty extroverted, but India is a true social butterfly) and his people oriented tendencies + his cheerfulness might get him sorted into Hufflepuff (at least in the one (1) sorting I’ve seen for him... 😔). However, he’s prone to gaslighting and guilt tripping and overall using emotions as tools to manipulate people to do things the way he wants, and when it comes down to it, he runs on his own agenda and... is not the most sympathetic when his plans are detrimental to others. And anyways, Slytherins can be charming and genuine when they want (biggest gripe with HP is that Slytherins are always shown as unequivocally evil and Bastards) but it’s just not their core goal/personality. I think he’s also rather quick to act on emotion sometimes and his feathers get ruffled very easily on certain subjects. He also loves attention and is at least 70% drama queen, and because he feeds off of praise/attention and values other peoples’ opinions a lot he’s Slytherin (sure he’s self-motivated as well but loves it when loads of people like him.) His egotism and how he preens under attention, flaunting his accomplishments, I think that is also kinda slytherin. India also isn’t a stickler for fairness, and hmm... I think he would pretend to be moral and righteous (a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff thing), but he never actually lives up to that standard and can do quite underhanded things to get what he wants (he doesn’t see it as underhanded but it still is). I think he can fall into periods of laziness and procrastination which is inherently a roadblock to ambition, but overall I think he’s mostly a Slytherin.

Iran Slytherin, but unlike India who might seem like a Hufflepuff, Iran might seem like a Ravenclaw (I think?). They appreciate the fine arts very much and hhh I think they appreciate a well written romance tbh (along with other literature)? And with the amount of learning/inventions/knowledge that’s come out of Persia/Iran I think they’d be very fond of learning and appreciate a great mind or a thoughtful discussion more than most. However their ultimate goal in life (? as much as a country can have a life) isn’t to collect knowledge or to learn as much as possible (although they appreciate intellect), but success (and their ambition, especially in ancient times, proves that success is what they’re chasing), and therefore that aligns them more with Slytherin. They can also be kinda ruthless in their pursuit of that and do whatever it takes, although most of the time they’re pretty amicable with others. But again, like China, they don’t really cultivate friendships for being friends alone, more like “you have something I want and I have something you want so let’s work together for a little until we both get what we desire”. They’re very friendly and mild-mannered about partnering together though, and it’s very chill to work with them, except that they see others as rather disposable and don’t really have a concept of loyalty. Also they can hold a grudge for a really, really long time, but are pretty good at not showing it for business (but they get rather tetchy when someone bugs them to make up) and I think that’s pretty Slytherin (pretend everything’s fine because it gives you the upper hand.) Additionally, they brood a lot and often blow things out of proportion when complaining dramatically. They’re very good at logicking out their next steps (instead of using instincts/relying on emotions and subjective view of others, which I think is more Gryffindor/hufflepuff) and operate based on facts and ethics, and would rather be the first to act instead of waiting for an opponent to strike a blow first (proactiveness). Anyways, their pragmatism + ambition = Slytherin, and although knowledge = Ravenclaw that’s not the thing they ultimately value.

As always, the sorting is based on this and this

[carmenxjulia]

Another Duane interview transcript, coming at you! This one was from a smaller Carmen Sandiego chatroom. There were several interviewers, so that’s why the name of the question asker changes. Get the details below the break! Stay tuned, more interview transcripts coming soon.

Duane Capizzi:

HI EVERYONE! I'M IN!

Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the way haha. Then got lost trying to change my PFP

Thanks for gathering! Shall we get started? Let's do some Q&A!

(as long as they are not geography questions haha)

Fuel:

What characters or plot points were cut from the final product?

Duane Capizzi:

Ooo, starting with a right hook to the jaw!

Let me think about that for a moment: I'm hesitant to give too much away because I'm really hoping we can tell more stories in this world at some point

Which is to say, we tend not to waste anything: if we don't use it when we originally planned, we usually find a way to use something later - and there's usually a "karmic" reason that we waited.

I'll also preface by saying this: I know season 3 was more of a mini-drop and some felt season 4 was rushed. But I wish EVERY season were longer. Season 1: ideally, i wanted the Pilot to be its own event and 10 more episodes after that (but we had to tell the post-Pilot story in 7. At the end of the day, that had its benefits: we got to the Shadowsan turn earlier and I think that's when a lot of viewers realized the ride they were truly in for). Season 2: we initially figured we'd need 5 episodes to have Carmen doing the ACME dance with Chief, and wound up doing it in 3 - mostly because it quickly became clear that Rio needed to be a 2 parter, and the Zack and Ivy backstory a rough 2 parter. So we squeezed 3 episodes worth of plot into 209. It was exhilarating!

So, we had hoped to have more episodes for Season 4 of course. We had a ton of ideas and had to compress things a bit. But honestly in many ways it was for the better. I know we all wanted to live in this world longer, but I think sometimes the flip side is true - when you have big ongoing storylines, it can get frustrating when some things drag out too long. But, we got all the "story" we wanted to tell in Season 4 - we just lost some "incident" if that makes sense. We would have taken longer to get there.

So, all that preface to answer the question: we wanted to do more musical numbers! We had a Bollywood dance sequence in a return to India caper with Paperstar. We wanted to do a famous Elvis suit theft in Las Vegas during an Elvis impersonator convention (Shadowsan's an early elvis guy; Brunt likes the Vegas "jumpsuit" era). We also wanted to do a thread where Gunnar gets captured by ACME so that Julia could interrogate him and he could play mind games with her a la Hannibal Lector and Clarice. CAVEAT TO ALL THIS: these were some ideas that were bouncing around, that may not have seen the light of day if we couldn't get them to work. But they were on our wish list.

re: "other stories" - I could live with these characters for another 32 episodes easily and there have of course been discussions. But alas, that is up to the powers that be. Let's keep fingers crossed - and keep the Carmen love alive online so that someone up there takes note

There is more of course, but those are some things that spring to mind.

Fuel:

Were there any scenes cut for time that were your favorite?

Duane Capizzi:

Not much springs to mind: our directors were amazing at getting everything in the scripts to fit naturally (and in fact, I was the one who was usually suggesting trims to let other things breathe, etc). We were limited to 22 minutes of episode time, NOT counting front and end credits so a little longer than the average show. We have a pretty good idea when the SCRIPT is too long, so the cutting usually happens at script stage before it gets to the board crew so that they don't waste efforts over-boarding material that won't be used.

We had hoped to build out Chase and Carmen teaming up for the first time, meeting at Carmen's hotel lobby etc for more scenes of them together; but had to reduce that to get that all to fit in the VERY packed episode 406. But again, tighter was fine considering. That's one area that leaps to mind. (note that when I say packed, I don't mean that in a bad way: we spend a lot of time pouring over details in editing to make sure everything gets its due).

If I think of anything, I'll circle back at a later point. But the simple answer is that scenes were usually trimmed or compressed at script rather than board or animatic. So nothing comes to mind. I know it's hard to believe, but "shorter is usually better."

except for my answers to fan questions of course

Fuel:

We saw that in s4 episode 6 that Julia's mother(?) is wearing a necklace remarkably similar to the one Julia wears all the time. Is this the same necklace and if so, why was it given to Julia?

Duane Capizzi:

Just when I thought I was detail oriented! Wow! You guys blow me away

I can't take credit for that: it was either the board artist or director who added that. They do slip things in! As I've said before, EVERYONE on the crew really brought their A-game and were as deep thinking and as passionate as I was/am about the show.

It's a nice detail and I would say your interpretation works!

It took me three or four reviews before noticing that the team had slipped in baby Carmen near the play set in Mom's front yard at the end of 408. When I caught it, I was like: bravo!

Fuel:

When they first met, Zack and Ivy said to Carmen that they were the only family they had, do you know what happened to the rest of Zack and Ivy's family?

Duane Capizzi:

I don't. At least, I don't yet until such a time that I might have the opportunity to explore that. It was important to their relationship with Carmen that they be orphans, so they had that common bond (aside from being "thieves who steal from bad guys" - even if it was only gonna be one time for Zack and Ivy).

I know there are writers out there who like to do entire bio's for characters up front but i'm not one of them. It could be a trap in many ways. I like to have a general idea but be open to the demands of the ongoing storyline. You discover things along the way - it's like you're taking a journey with the characters by writing them, and the longer you spend, the better you get to know them (that was not a prepared statement by the way - I just made that up but I'll have to use it again :). So in Z/I's case it wasn't important to the story or Carmen's relationship, we felt. Conversely, we STARTED with Shadowsan's family backstory with 203, but more important to me was that we use it as a platform to explain why he stays with Carmen and crew. He really has no home at that point, so it was relevant to the present ongoing story. Which is what made that especially powerful to me.

Also, there's always a push-pull between telling character back stories while balancing them with ongoing episodic plots. You have to service both. If you just tell back story, then you're writing a biography

Arden:

What was the biggest challenge when designing these characters, especially the pre-existing characters from the series in the 90's?

Duane Capizzi:

This is probably more of a question for Chromosphere, re: challenges. But from my standpoint overseeing that process, the first thing I'll say is that we weren't necessarily trying to be "true" to those characters since we reinvented nearly every one from the ground up. (with the exception of Carmen of course - her trademark red hat/coat weren't going anywhere! But mostly the update with Carmen was in the styling of her "outerwear"

ALTHOUGH: I will admit that I was pushing for Carmen to have shorter hair as Carmen. I thought it would be a cool update. Chromosphere were really passionate about giving her long full hair and I have to see that they were right. The short tomboy cut worked so well for Black Sheep anyway. We had a different hair style for each of her ages.

So about the reinventions: Gunnar is in spirit a similar character to the original (old colleague in Vile and an early mentor if I remember), but his presentation completely different. We weren't trying to be "in canon" with the original. The beauty of CSD is that every incarnation has been its own entity so that freed us to reimagine the characters. THE CLEANERS, for instance: gimme some Cleaner love! There were a pair of janitors from the original game named RICK AND NICK ICK. They were literally janitors, it was too silly for our purposes. But, it's one small step to make them "Cleaners" (in the sinister hit men sense) - and lo, our reinvention.

So to summarize the answer to your question, they weren't really challenges to me so much as FUN to creatively reinvent the original characters (many of which were from the game, so not really "characters" per se with dialogue and inner lives). Whenever we could, we tried to use character names from the originals and update their looks and personalities. Where we couldn't find an equivalent for what we needed, we created characters from whole cloth. For instance, it seemed a miss to do a heist show without a tunnel guy and a high rise climber guy. Hence, LC & ET, everyone's favorite taco truck vendors!

(yes, i've seen some short hair carmen fan art on Twitter - someone did a great one recently!)

Arden:

Are there plans to give us more of the characters in, say, novel/graphic novel form?

Duane Capizzi:

I know HMH has done a bunch and no doubt have more in works. There's currently a novelization of the Pilot with some additional material if anyone's interested. I consulted on the second one, Clue for Clue, because it falls in the timeline while Chase was still Interpol/pre-Acme so was tricky.

And depending on whether another series in this canon makes it to air, I may just approach them about writing one or two myself to get some "further adventures" our there. Anything is possible!

Arden:

If you could go back and change anything about the series, what would it be?

Duane Capizzi:

File under anecdote, but there was what I felt was an important expression on Gray that kept me awake at nights, from his graduation ceremony at Vile. When we revisited those flashbacks in the Gray arc in Season 4, I had them change his expression there (to be more evil less innocent). We had it corrected in 404 so was able to get permission to have Netflix "fix" the Pilot by adding that shot in. I am tenacious!

We really poured over everything, it's the series that I have virtually zero complaints with the end product to be honest. But the simple answer is: I would have gone back to 106 and "un-greek'd" Gray's nametag. It's sort of a rule for international that we scramble signage (which is weird for a show that takes place in many countries/languages, I know I know). It's mostly for localization/translation reasons. And I'm sure there are some countries where Gray's name might be spoken differently. But as a proper name, I think we could have made an exception and seen "Gray" on his name tag. See? Details! But that's about the worst of it

there's also like one small line from Chief in 208 where she indicates she knows Carmen is a good guy (something to that effect) which I felt was too absolute and would have tweaked the line to temper it a bit. It's tiny, but looking back it sort of bugs me and I kick myself for not catching it. But this is absolutely the series I wanted and couldn't be happier.

Carmen:

How did Carmen know she could trust Julia? As far as we know, she has not seen or heard Julia defending her, and in the Fashionista Caper, Julia even held up her gas gun to her, saying she was under arrest. Do you have any opinions on this? Was it just intuition?

Duane Capizzi:

I'm gonna go with intuition

Carmen was raised on an island with some hardened criminal types. I think she's a pretty good judge of character. Poor Julia, trying to be tough with Carmen didn't suit her.

But, great observation! I'd have to mentally step through everything to see if Carmen had any earlier indication but i think you're right there.

Yes, sometimes you just gotta follow your heart

Carmen:

Are there any characters that didn't actually interact that you think would get along well?

Duane Capizzi:

Amazing question! First, I'd have to think more about who DIDN'T meet - you're asking the hard questions haha. But "get along well" is very specific! Hmmm, care to volley anyone?

I'll also add that so many smaller moments get lost in the "binge" of it all, but I am surprised how few fans have noted the first meeting between Player and Julia. THAT was a good one IMO! Very sweet!

Before getting back to your question, I also want to add that we were originally going to find a way for Carmen to lose her earring in Stockholm so that Julia could pick it up and be communicating with Player. BUT, I cut it at treatment stage because I knew we didn't have room in that episode to service it. Circling back to questions 1 & 2, another case where it turned out better saved for later IMO (saving Player meeting Julia, not to mention the earring business in 402 with Ivy).

Oh of course, Julia and any of the other Vile members. It would have been Gunnar for my vote, as mentioned earlier. We probably would not have had Julia meet anyone else and mixed it up more. I like that Cleo sort of became J's personal nemesis.

YES, SONIA & XIFENG (and LUPE PELIGRO, if I can add). The intent was (and is, if we ever get to revisit) to see them again in Carmen's travels. We started to expand Carmen's world but when we finally learned the finite number of episodes we had to finish the story, we drilled back down into the essentials. Would love to see them some day!

I'm hesitant to share too many things I have in mind in this forum for hope that they will see the light of day one day. You know, "spoilers"

Julia:

Do you have any opinions on Zari? Just in general? Some thoughts on her backstory would be nice if possible

Duane Capizzi:

I love Zari! I really don't have any back story on her at this point. She was originally just "Agent B" but when the need arose to give story points to another agent, we chose her because she looked so awesome! And Sharon Muthu gave voice to her so wonderfully.

I love when we finally teamed her with Chase. Hopefully the anticipation was that she would give him a hard time. I love that we defied expectation (organically, of course) and had her respect him by the end of that episode (for believing that he foiled Carmen!)

Julia:

Do you have any thoughts on small facts about any character, major or minor, that you think are fun/interesting to think about, but don't necessarily add to the plot itself?

Duane Capizzi:

Bellum, like myself, likes cats. But you knew that!

I try to put everything pertinent on screen, doing double duty to service any given episode's story but also the overarching story. That "journey" thing I mentioned earlier - we had no idea Chase falling on his own car would be a thing when I first came up with it. But as other characters refer to the incident, it took on a life of its own and made the characters feel more real.

Sorta kinda related to this question and some earlier ones, I will say that I DO think there's more to learn about Shadowsan's past vis a vis Lady Dokuso: it's clear to me that they have a history together, and it's something I hope to explore someday soon (maybe in a book if not another series

Julia:

Are the Carmen Sandiego books a part of canon?

Duane Capizzi:

I only consulted on the first two or three (too busy with series!) and have not read them, so hard for me to answer in a definite way. They are definitely in the universe we've created, but not in the timeline that I know of (which would have been too hard to pull off with our script development running concurrently). But do know that the book team at HMH pays close attention to the series and world so they should be perfectly compatible. Look no further to their clever social media on the series for example.

Kenz:

We saw in season 4 that Julia and Carmen helped each other mid to long term; would there ever be a possibility that Julia would permanently or semi-permanently join team Red?

Duane Capizzi:

Of course there's a possibility. But in a sense, with ACME now finally on Carmen's side, in a sense if Carmen were back in the game Julia, Chase, Zack and Ivy would ALL be an extension of Carmen's crew. But, would J remain with ACME or literally come to Carmen's team at her HQ? As they said in an old radio show: "Only The Duane Capizzi knows ..."

Kenz:

Where do you see Carmen in her retirement (if she retires)? Do you think she would still travel the world or settle down somewhere? Similarly, do you have any thoughts on what some other characters could be doing years down the line?

Duane Capizzi:

That is a big question, and one difficult to answer without some potential future spoilers (and yes, I really want to tell more Carmen stories if you can't tell But I'll answer by giving you one "read" on our open-ended ending as seen in 408 (read no further if you haven't seen it - yeah, right haha). The ending suggests to me that Carmen settled down for a spell to forge that relationship with her mother, to make up for lost time. But, if that is indeed Carmen that we see on the rooftop, I think the ending suggests that Carmen doesn't stay still for very long. If Vile is back, there is work to be done! Carmen has a life mission - she's one determined lady.

But of course, it's deliberately ambiguous: "anyone with your heart, wisdom and courage can be Carmen Sandiego." Is it Carmen? Sonia? Someone we haven't met? I think both endings resonate: Caroline and I always said "Carmen is bigger than a person, Carmen is a movement" would be a great message to end the series on. And I think our ending resolves this chapter of Carmen's journey as a person, but also elevates her to mythic status. Which is why I love it!

And, that seems to me a pretty perfect question and answer to end our chat on. Thanks everyone! Again, I cannot tell you how moved I am to see that we have such a passionate, intelligent and talented fan base. THANK YOU.

Take care guys, thanks again for having me! 'night!

[willymywonkers]

Experiments

Summary: A flashback to when Wonka first opened up his factory, and his relationship with his partner and close friend, Maude, were all the rage. A new guy pulls into town and has his sights set on Maude. Drama ensues.

A/N: Oof, I apologize if the ending feels a little rushed. I should say this fic does have a bittersweet feel to it, but that's how I like it lol. I am working on rewriting one of my other fics because honestly I think I've gotten better at writing Wonka, lol

Willy Wonka made headlines around the world when he opened the largest chocolate factory ever in history. He stood proudly in front of the looming building as the press went wild.

People stood all around the factory, celebrating such a momentous occasion. Especially, Maude Figgle, who stood right in front of the crowd, chewing on a piece of gum.

While chocolate was Willy's main passion, Maude helped out in crafting different kinds of gum. She even invented a kind of gum that would never loss its flavor. The press never seemed to care much about her, even though she was the brains behind most of his famous candies.

"Hello, and thank you for coming." Willy began to speak on a podium. He began adjusting the microphone. He took out several notecards, flipping through each of them.

Finally, he spoke again. "It is with great honor that I, Willy Wonka, have finally opened the largest chocolate factory in the world. Candy has always been my passion since I was a little boy, and I couldn't have done it alone. Maude Figgle, my very good friend and partner, has done so many things to help me on this incredible journey that I could never imagined of doing it on my own. Now, without a further ado, Wonka's factory is now opened!"

The crowd cheered as Willy stood up and cut the rope of his shiny new factory.

Maude ran up the steps, waving to the crowd. She hugged Willy, tightly.

Will was a bit surprised at the hug. He chuckled nervously, hugging Maude back.

It was the happiest day of their lives.

Will sat in his office, admiring all the workers below. After just a few months, people already seemed to enjoy working at the factory. Will would go down from his office sometimes, and test the different samples that people had made.

Maude was usually in the experiment room, where she made most of her breakthroughs. She was currently testing out a type of rock candy that projected different kinds of emotions.

"Maude, if you keep chewing that gum, your jaw will close shut, haha." Will said, jokingly.

"Yeah, says who, Smartypants?" Maude chuckled, and continued chewing.

Gum seemed to be the only thing that keep her focus. Ever since she was a little girl, she had a habit of chewing gum. She would chew faster if she was nervous or extremely focused. When she didn't have gum to chew, Maude would chew on her hair, pencils, or anything to keep her mind to focus.

Willy's stance on gum was obvious. He hated the stuff, but when it came to Maude, he seemed to tolerate it a lot more.

"Whatcha working on?" Will asked, leaning over Maude's shoulder.

"None of your business." Maude scoffed.

Will pouted, crossing his arms. "Haha, jokes on you. This factory is my business."

"Oh, of course, Mr. International Hotshot." Maude pushed Will gently to the side, and grabbed a few chemicals from behind him.

"You better believe it, missy." Willy looked to the experimentation table. There seemed to be a rock that was glowing pink.

"What does that mean?" Will asked, looking to Maude.

"It's emotional rock candy. You just touch it, and it'll glow whatever color you're feeling." Maude said, excited at her new invention. "It's like a mood ring."

"Uh-huh, and what does pink mean?" Will asked, again, placing his gloved hand on the rock.

Maude blushed, slightly. "Um, it's usually referred to the feeling of love or well happiness. It's kinda not really completed yet."

The rock candy began to shake as well as turn several different colors.

Maude gulped, grabbing Will to the ground. The rock exploded and bits of rock candy seemed to blow everywhere.

Luckily, there wasn't any other workers nearby, but Maude and Willy.

Willy grabbed his cane, and started laughing. "That was magnificent! We should do that again, but next time we should add different labels on the colors."

Maude chuckled as well. "Hehe, of course."

"Yes, we should definitely do that when I get back from India."

Maude's smiled quickly faded. "Leaving? To India?"

"Prince Pondicherry asked me to build him a palace entirely made out of chocolate." Willy chuckled. "It's really a strange request, is it not?"

"Yes, but, who will be in charge when you're gone?"

"You will, of course."

Maude's eyes widened as Willy headed out the door. "But, wait, why me?"

"Why not you? You're the only gosh darn person I'd trust to run this entire factory."

Maude smiled, slightly. She seemed a little troubled. "I'll do my best, Will."

He smiled back at her, pulling her into a hug.

Maude hesitantly hugged back. She looked up at the chocolateir's face. He looked young and bright. His lips were almost kissable. His hair was all short and crooked.

Maude pulled out of the hug and looked away. The very words "I love you" hung to her tongue, as Willy walked out of the factory.

"Good luck, Will."

A few weeks later, the press were hounding the factory, curious to where the chocolateir went off to.

Maude tried to maintain her composure without him, but it was no use to the press. They liked to dismiss her like she was some secretary. It annoyed her at times.

Even some of the workers in the factory didn't seem to care that she was in charge. They would say revolting things behind her back. Soon she didn't show up to the break room anymore. She started chewing her gum a lot faster.

"Um, excuse me, miss." A man said, knocking on the door of Wonka's office.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Wonka isn't here right now. Is there anything I can help you with?" Maude asked, opening the door for the man.

"No, actually. I was just looking for you." The man stammered.

The man seemed to have red hair, with captivating green eyes.

"Well, is there anything that you need help with, sir?" Maude repeated.

"Um, I apologize if this comes off as a bit dodgy, but I wanted to ask if you'd get drinks with me later?"

Maude crossed her arms at the offer. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to decline, because I've got lots of work to catch up on."

The man still insisted. "The drinks would be on me."

"Uh-huh. Another thing is I don't even know your name." Maude said, rolling her eyes.

"It's Ron, Ron Duncan." The man stuck out his hand.

She looked at his hand, and raised an eyebrow. "Maude Figgle. Now, I'm really swamped with work, if you'll excuse me."

"Look, I get that you're busy, but, I really admire your since I was a kid. In my opinion, you'd be better off without Wonka." The man turned to leave.

Maude stopped whatever she was doing and looked at him. "That's very kind of you. You know what, sure, I'll go."

"Great, then it's a date." Ron smiled at her and walked off.

From that first meeting, Maude didn't expect to be in a relationship with him. Ron seemed so nice and caring, but there was something off about him. She didn't exactly know what, but she did have a feeling that his intentions were cloudy.

When Willy got back from India, he was greeted by a tight hug from Maude.

"Ah, it's good to be back after such a long time. India is scolding hot, you know." Willy said, as he hugged Maude back.

"There's someone I want you to meet." She smiled at Will, bringing him over to Ron.

Willy's smile faltered, when she gave Ron a kiss on the cheek. "Heh, hi."

"This is Ron. He's my boyfriend." Maude said, holding onto Ron's hand.

Ron stuck out his hand for Will to shake it. Will hesitantly shook it with a disgusted look on his face.

"I find it extraordinary that after all this time you guys held up your friendship." Ron smiled. It seemed to have a sour connotation to it.

Will smiled back, just as sourly. "Uh-huh, yeah. We've had the same dream since we were kids."

Ron's smile disappeared, slightly. He gave Maude another kiss before heading off. It made Will grimace slightly, as Ron walked off.

Will didn't know how to describe it, but he didn't like Ron. In fact, he grew to despise him, but he just didn't know why.

Whenever he would see Maude all lovey dovey with Ron, it just made Will sick to his stomach. Soon, candy sales began to drop. His chocolate just wasn't tasting as good as it used to.

It started getting worse when spies began stealing his life's work. The only thing that kept him afloat was Maude.

One day, Maude announced that she was getting engaged. However, she didn't seem too thrilled about it.

Willy picked up on it right away. She didn't seem to want anything to do with him anymore.

Maude began to distance herself from Will more and more. He felt more hollow without her.

During the wedding, Will showed up to walk Maude down the aisle.

"H-hey, Maude." He began.

"Yes?" She answered.

Will couldn't get over how she looked in her wedding dress. Her hair was done up all nice, and her lips looked almost kissable. He placed his gloved hand on her cheek, as the words "I love you" hung on the tip of his tongue.

"Good luck." He said, as he walked her down the aisle.

[kreekey]

examples of people being racist toward yoko unintentionally: 1- calling her a weird stalker when they glorify/don't mind the many white fangirls who used to stalk the Beatles. 2- spreading misinformation that she lost custody of her daughter when in fact she'd won against her white crazy ex despite everything NOT in favour of her 3- bashing her for using John's glasses on the album cover she worked with John on, when they would've praised the artistry and bold statement if she was a white woman

Hey sorry I got around to answering your ask so late! You make a lot of really interesting points and I rarely hear people consider that. 

1 - reminds me of a Tumblr post I saw about an obsessive Beatlemaniac stalker and people were like “me” or “bless her” haha. Definitely different when they can interpret Yoko’s actions as “stalking”. And your point also reminds me of this quote, which isn’t about fangirls but still somewhat kinda related.

“Like Yoko when she met John, Linda was a divorced woman with a daughter when she met Paul mere months later.  There are stories similar to those about Yoko of her “scheming” to meet and marry Paul.  In the same way that Yoko is said to have joked prior to meeting him that she was “going to marry John Lennon,” Linda joked like any woman with a celebrity crush about how she was “going to marry Paul McCartney.”  (Bob Spitz notes both in his book The Beatles.  Guess which one he thought was conniving, and which one he thought was adorable.)... Was it the lucky fact that Linda got the scene a few months later than Yoko, or was it her whiteness?“ 

X

And I don’t have the answer if it was Yoko’s race that made her such a target, but it’s something interesting to consider and note. [And I’ll clarify this, I'm pretty sure Yoko didn't know about the Beatles until she became face to face with one, like she wasn't a fan who got lucky enough to meet her idol. In the David Frost interview and the 1971 Rolling Stone interview, John noted that Yoko didn't know him when they met, and Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies by Neil Beram says this on their meeting: "She was about as familiar with John's work as he was with hers. "I was an underground person, and such an artistic snob," she said later. "I knew about The Beatles, of course... but I wasn't interested in them." Just about the only thing she could recall about them was the drummer Ringo Starr's first name, because ringo means "apple" in Japanese.”] Also, and this definitely wasn’t stalking, but I posted a quote from Bob Spitz’ biography where he writes along the lines of

“[Linda] always insisted that she was going to marry Paul McCartney,” [Nat Weiss] recalls, “even before she met him”... It was no accident that Linda Eastman veered into his aura. She’d taken a few polite shots of Ringo and George before “zeroing in on Paul,”... Linda had come dressed to kill. Most days she played the typical rock chick, decked out in rumpled jeans and a T-shirt, with little or no makeup and unwashed hair. But today her hair had been carefully blow-dried so that it fell perfectly forward in wing points at her chin. And she was dressed in an expensive double-breasted striped barbershop jacket arranged just so over a sheer black sweater, with a miniskirt that flattered her gorgeous legs. When she squatted down – not so subtly, in what must have been a rehearsed gesture – in front of Paul for an intimate chat, he had trouble keeping his eyes from wandering below-decks...

, and some people commented that it appeared kinda predatory/pre-planned (reminds me of some criticism of Francie Schwartz’s meeting with Paul), but overall cute and everything. At the time I wondered how people would react if Yoko did that to John lol. No way of knowing, just a thought. And also, I know Yoko sent him Grapefruit and little instructions often, I think that’s usually what people cite as the stalking, that she tried to ensnare him with it. Again quoting Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies, 

For a time Yoko kept in touch with John by mailing him daily instructions-she called this Dance Event-that said things like "Dance" and "Watch all the lights until dawn" and "I'm a cloud. Watch for me in the sky." John found the instructions as perplexing as he found them intriguing.

And quoting this interview (in which she also asserts that “each and every occasion she visited John at Kenwood, it was at his invitation.”),

Despite the popular theory that Yoko was frantically inventing schemes to snare the wealthy Beatle, she was struggling with problems in her marriage [with Tony Cox] and also working hard to establish her career in the UK. Arriving in London in September 1966 to perform at the ‘Destruction In Art Symposium’, Yoko was already respected as an avant-garde artist and performer in New York, where she was allied to the Fluxus movement. She had a trained musical background, and had recently been involved in the improvisational music favoured by her peer group. She had also compiled a book of conceptual and instructional pieces called Grapefruit, and printed up a limited edition.

Yoko distributed copies to a number of influential people during 1966-’67. And John Lennon was one of the recipients. This has since been interpreted as one of various ruses on Yoko’s part to enchant Lennon.

She retorts: “There was a myth that I sent Grapefruit to him… how I wanted to trap him. It was a printed, published book. I had an orange carton of them, a lot of it. I would be giving it to critics. It was that sort of thing. He wasn’t the only one who got it.”

X

And by then, John had already eagerly offered to sponsor one of her shows, I think he was genuinely interested in her work. I don’t think John was actually threatened by these notes or felt he was harassed, especially since he made the jump to invite her over while his wife was away (and Yoko just thought it was a party!). He once referred to Yoko “someone that could turn me on to a million things” in the Lennon Remembers interview, he admired her art. And I know he said to Cyn that the letters were just junk from another one of those weird artists, but c’mon, what do you think John would say to his wife regarding the woman he’s romantically interested in? I don’t think it would’ve been fully truthful IMO, especially considering when John said that he nearly invited Yoko to India around that time because he liked her so.

2 is very true. Tony himself tried to make it seem like Yoko and John were crazy heroin druggies, and that's the case he tried to make (and that’s what he tried to tell Kyoko, that he was “saving” her from drug obsessed occultists). But, Yoko had gone “cold turkey” (ala the song) off heroin in 1969. This was 2 years before she won full custody in 1971. 

Although neither parent had been awarded sole custody of the child, Mr. Cox became increasingly reluctant to let Yoko and her new husband spend time with Kyoko, and finally refused to permit it at all. For a year before the Lennons came to America, they had been chasing Mr. Cox and Kyoko around Europe. In Majorca, Spain, the Lennons caught up with them and spirited Kyoko off to their hotel; but Mr. Cox called the police, and a Spanish court gave the child back to him. The incident added to his fear that the Lennons wanted to take her away from him for good.

Soon after the Lennons arrived in New York, they went to the United States Virgin Islands, to the same court where Yoko had been divorced, and that court awarded her permanent custody of her daughter.

X

But, Tony then took Kyoko to Texas (hiding/kidnapping her) which was in violation of that court order. Then more custody battle due to Tony’s stubbornness and evasiveness, but yes, Yoko did win custody then despite everything (even though John was very threatened by Tony lol, to the point he disallowed Yoko to visit him alone in order to discuss co-parenting when that was an option and suggested kidnapping Kyoko. But then again Tony was also kinda crazy. Seriously though IMO Yoko really tried gallantly to have Kyoko in her life, and the loss hurt her. To hear people try to spin it as Yoko being the monster in the situation through misinformation is unfortunate.)

3 is hypothetical, but I do speculate that if Yoko was white, the attitude toward her would’ve been different. Sean said, “It’s intense how racist the world is. If my mother had looked like Debbie Harry, I really think the reaction would have been different.” (X) Yoko’s former partner, Sam Havadtoy, also touched on this in an interview from 1990:

Q: ...No matter what Yoko does, she’s frequently the victim of a bad press. Any idea why?

Havadtoy: After John’s death, newspapers wrote that Yoko was this selfish person hoarding John’s memory, controlling it, not willing to share it with his fans. So after two years, she puts out 200 hours of film footage and a record and they say she’s exploiting John’s memory. She can’t win.

Q: Why not?

Havadtoy: Racism. If she were blond-haired and blue-eyed, nobody would have blamed her for breaking up the Beatles. They were the darlings of the universe; she was an outsider, an Oriental, an avant-garde artist--easy to pick on. When John married Yoko, the British press wrote: “At least he will have clean laundry.” And it’s still happening. America is infatuated with Japan-bashing. 

X

And I do think Season Of Glass was a memory thing, I posted about it here: X. 

And yes, I think that much of Yoko’s criticism/legacy was rooted in that initial reaction, which was pretty sexist and racist. But I think that influence can still be felt today, in ways that aren’t obvious. And like you said, unintentional. (Before anyone gets mad, if you dislike or hate Yoko that doesn't automatically make you racist lol. But the narrative built around her might’ve influenced your opinion of her, and the narrative was kinda rooted in a racist mentality. So that’s why and re-interpreting her in a fresh light is necessary).

[kingofdirtandnothing]

@polyfacetious big ass Christmas Drabble Extravagaza: Day Nineteen

George has a damned fine voice. And it’s a good thing that he does, because the man talks about boring shit more than anybody that Atticus has ever known. 

Like now. He’s been droning on about chemical reactions for god knows how long. If they weren’t naked in bed, Atticus would get up and walk off. Go make a cup of tea or something. It wouldn’t deter George at all. He’d just keep on talking. 

Because it wasn’t really about having a captive audience. George just did his best work thinking out loud. God only knew how much chatter that little assistant of his heard. Hours upon hours would be Atticus’ guest. 

But you didn’t get to be one of the best chemists in the world by being white bread and butter normal, now did you?

Atticus waits for a lull in the onslaught of words, giving it a full three seconds before he speaks, just to be certain George had wrapped up his thought. (He’ll never admit to thoughtfulness out loud. That would ruin his reputation.)

“I’m getting leave again at Christmas.” George shifts onto his side, head resting on the upturned palm of his hand. He’s not what anyone would call beautiful, but there’s something about him that makes Atticus’ blood run hot. (He’s not a looker himself. Atticus figured that out young. He also learned that personality could get you the same bits with just a little more work.)

There’s a moment where George’s eyes are far away. Atticus waits, as patient as he ever is. You had to give the man time to come back to himself from wherever those rambling thoughts were. But there’s a blink and those clever eyes zero in on him, because George is clever, and he sees what’s being offered. 

A holiday. Together. 

Neither one of them had any family to speak of. Atticus had the crew, and George had his work socials and his bored rich housewives, but beyond that, there wasn’t really much to do on a holiday. 

Unless one of those bored rich housewives could sneak away from her family on Christmas day. Which if a woman could handle that, Atticus would concede his spot in the bed, because that’s some fucking logistics and deep lies to accomplish. 

“I could swing ‘round this way.” An offer. Because they’ve been doing this on and off for years, but it’s never been Official. It’s never been just the two of them and no one else. Atticus don’t mind it that way. He’s not jealous of saggy breasts or diamond earrings. A man had his urges. 

But there was something about asking to spend a holiday together that felt intimate in a way they tended to skate away from. Atticus was head over heels, there was no denying that truth. He’d been in love with George for a long time now, and he’s confident enough to say it’s mutual. But mutually in love and mum about it was a hair different than mutually in love and spending Christmas together like a pair of old queens. 

He brushes his fingers along the corded muscle at the back of a strong neck, his breath a sharp exhale when George clambers on top of him. “You aren’t exactly light as a feather here, Georgie.”

And that gets him an elbow right to the ribs for his trouble. “I’m perfectly shaped for all my activities, I’ll have you know.” George had a voice that made your toes tingle. It’s what drew Atticus in, back when they first met. Sitting a few blokes apart at the bar, nursing drinks in the quiet of an early morning. 

All the partiers were gone, the lightweights sleeping it off against the bar top. All that was left were the lonely men and the alcoholics. And when Atticus heard that raspy, dry paper grumble of ‘another, damn it’, his dick was already on board and half hard. 

There wasn’t much courting, then. But neither one of them were the type for romance. (A lie Atticus perpetrated because if George saw his notebook full of poetry, he’d never let him live it down.) Atticus had simply moved three stools down, knocked back the rest of his pint, looked over at George and said ‘I’ll jerk you off in the bathroom if you’ll do the same for me.’

And they’d been meeting ever since. A slow and steady escalation, because despite the drugs and the booze, George was as steady in spirit as he was in hand. Hand jobs in the bar bathroom became back alley blow jobs. Back alley blow jobs became backseat fucking in George’s car. Fucking in George’s car became a short drive to whatever hotel that Atticus was scrimping out to get him through leave. 

All to get them here. Legs tangled like mad drunk grasshoppers, fingers tracing muscle and ink. (George had a fondness for tracing the lines of the compass tattooed on the top of Atticus’ head. He said it helped him think.) Talking about spending the holiday together in a hotel room just like this. 

“Well.” The word is snapped off at the end, though the rasp of it is teasing. “If you’re going to be staying more than a day or two, it stands to reason that you should sleep at my place. That way, you can spend your money on getting me a proper gift.”

Another escalation. Atticus knows where George lives. He’d gotten the address back when they were still fucking in the back of the car, fogging up the windows like teenagers. He’d used it only to send the bastard postcards, though. Atticus liked to fill them out with useless facts about things he saw when they were out and about. The biggest thing he saw in a place, and the smallest. What the oddest local cuisine was. Atticus liked his little facts.

And he liked an excuse to keep himself in George’s thoughts, since the slimy git had a habit of taking up space in Atticus’ thoughts, whether he wanted to or not. 

But being offered to stay at George’s place? That was a big deal. Because it made this holiday bit even more serious. It wasn’t two men sharing take away on a shitty motel bed with A Miracle on 34th Street playing quiet in the background on an out of date TV. 

This was a proper Christmas. At home. In George’s home. For at least three or four days. 

“You’d do that?” It’s a stupid response, and Atticus sees just how stupid it is by the way that George is looking at him. 

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to.” And he had a point there. It was like moving mountains to get George to do things he was indifferent about. Atticus couldn’t imagine what it would take to make the bastard do something that he really didn’t want to do. 

“Right.” Atticus murmurs, tracing the crow’s feet wrinkles where they crease the skin at the corner of George’s eyes. Some people said you could read those lines, the same way you read the lines on someone’s palm. But Atticus can’t be sure if those were lines of laughter, or lines of squinting behind goggles in a lab. 

He hopes it’s more laughter than anything. 

Atticus saw a fortune teller once, a little old woman set up on a blanket at the fringes of a bazaar in India. She had taken his hand and pointed out the lines to him in broken English. His life line was long, a few close calls written into the cracks in the line along his hand. His fortune line was more like Morse code, and Atticus felt like that was pretty true to life. 

But most of all, she earned those rupees when she pointed out his heart line. ‘Late’, she said with an all knowing nod. ‘Strong.’ 

It’d be years more before he met George. The old bag had been more right than Atticus could have guessed. Late meant he was in his forties before George Cholmondeley. (And another year plus before he could spell the bastard’s last name.) 

Strong wasn’t the half of it. 

Nothing was ever going to keep Atticus from being out at sea. But George was enough to lure him back to land more than he ever did before. This was the first year that Atticus was actually going to use up all of his leave, instead of having it converted and put onto his pay. 

“Right.” George agrees, and that’s the end of that. There’s a light in those clever eyes that says ‘argue with me and lose hours of your life and still do what I say’ and Atticus can’t argue with those facts. 

Arguing with George was like trying to shove a camel through the eye of a needle. You’d work up a sweat, you’d get pissed off and tired, but you’d be no closer to your goal hours later. 

No, it was settled. 

“And what does a man such as yourself want for a Christmas gift, hm?” Because Atticus has no earthly idea what to get him. He knew all the stupid tidbits, things that George liked to eat, the things that he loathed. What movie he’d roll over to watch, if it was on the television when they were done fucking. 

But none of those things equalled out to Christmas gifts. It’s not like Atticus could buy him a tie or a nice pen and call it a day. 

“You to figure it out.” And Atticus should have seen that coming. George was contrary, often just for the fun of it. And even more often, just for the amusement of watching Atticus get pissed off trying to figure it out. 

“Bastard.” He drops his head back against the overly starched hotel pillowcase and sighs, eyes on the ceiling. There were no stains up there, which was an improvement from the last time that they met up to spend the night together. But it was that popcorn style that reminded Atticus of being a little boy, spending his nights staring up at the ceiling in the boy’s home. Right out of the 1970s, it was. 

“You like it.” And again, Georgie isn’t wrong. Atticus loves the holy hell out of the bastard, not that he’s going to say that out loud any time soon. His silence is rewarded with George easing down into the crook of his left arm, cheek pillowed against Atticus’ chest. 

He wasn’t exactly a chiseled Greek god, but it was easy to not feel insecure about the softness of his belly when George was running his fingers through the soft, downy hair there. 

“A notebook is cheating.” Because he knows that George is going to buy him a gift too. There’s a huff of offense that blows warm air against his chest, and Atticus grins. “If I don’t get the easy out, then you don’t either.”

His notebook did need replacing, though. It was a battered old spiral bound number. In a few more weeks, it’d go in the bottom of his trunk with the other full ones. But he wasn’t going to carry around some expensive leather wrapped thing. Hell, just last week he dropped his notebook in the toilet. 

Not going to risk doing that with something that cost more than a pound or two. 

“Now you’re the one who’s being a bastard.” George’s irritation always has such a lovely bite to it. Atticus likes getting him riled up, though he doesn’t try too often. It wasn’t easy. But it was always worth his hard work, as evidenced by the blunt nails dragging deliciously down his belly. 

It’d be awhile yet before he was able to go again, seeing as they’d just finished fucking about ten minutes ago, but the spirit was really fucking willing right about now, regardless of what bullshit the flesh was on about. 

“Yeah. But you love me.”

And yeah, it was very much mutual. 

[missjosie27]

Year 3 Part 2- Boggarts and Slytherins

Hello, everyone. New day, different chapter. Hope you guys like it as always!

One small note: this is the beginning of the arc I have planned for Merula which will be quite extensive. For now she’s still perpetually angry and vengeful but I plan to plant the seeds very subtly along the way.

Constructive feedback is welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

The next morning the Gryffindors received their schedules for the year from Professor McGonagall and certain times had been switched around from the previous year.

“Looks like we have Herbology first thing in the morning now,” Rowan observed. “I always liked it in the afternoon.”

“At least we still take it with the Hufflepuffs,” David shrugged. “Potions on the other hand…”

“Slytherins, I know,” Rowan sighed, shaking his head.

“And that means another year of having to deal with Merula Snyde trying to get underneath my skin or attempting to blow up my cauldron.”

“Just be thankful, it’s not Ismelda,” Ben came up behind them, timidity in his brown eyes. “She doesn’t announce beforehand how she’s going to make your life miserable.”

“Well then brace yourself, because we have that today too,” David stated glumly.

“At least the rest of the week doesn’t look so bad,” Rowan pointed out on the schedule. “We get Transfiguration and Charms on the same day. Defense Against the Dark Arts on Wednesdays and Fridays along with our electives.”

“Can’t wait to see what rubbish teacher they picked for that class, if the previous two are any indicator,” David muttered.

Just then Charlie interrupted them, hustling over, a gigantic bag slung over his shoulders.

“Hey, guys. Did you get the schedules? What electives did you take? I can’t wait to take Care of Magical Creatures.”

David had never seen Charlie so excited before. He suspected the reason why.

“Well I’m taking Magical Creatures as well alongside Ancient Runes…Charlie are you taking this class so you can see a dragon?”

The response was predictable.

“No….maybe.”

“You realize that logistics of getting a dragon to Hogwarts are extremely difficult, bordering on impossible, especially with the more aggressive species. The sheer manpower alone would be astounding, not to mention the amount of sedation,” Rowan rattled off.

“I know, I know,” Charlie said sheepishly. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t learn about them. Hagrid is pretty knowledgeable about dragons too. Even offered to lend me a few books.”

“Out of curiosity, did anyone take Divination?” Ben asked.

The rest of the boys shook their heads.

“Heard the professor for it is completely bonkers,” David replied. “My parents also think the subject is a load of old tripe. For once I agree with them.”

“Not really my style either,” Rowan concurred. “I like dealing in facts not predictions.”

“I guess I dodged a bullet then,” Ben said with relief.

“Dodged a what now?” Charlie asked.

“Muggle saying,” Rowan informed.

It was then that Professor McGonagall came up to shoo them away as their cue to leave.

“We better get to Herbology before Professor Sprout gets cross with us,” David said aloud.

And off the Gryffindors went.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Professor Sprout took her job very seriously as head of Herbology, taking immense care of her greenhouses. However, being the Hufflepuff she was, she was not the type to give detention for tardiness. David personally enjoyed her class due to her friendly but fair demeanor. She even gave him a personal greeting upon arrival as the rest of the students set up.

“David Grant,” she said cheerfully. “So nice to see you in Herbology instead of inside of a Cursed Vault.”

Grinning at the good natured humor, David was thankful for Sprout’s non judgemental disposition.

“Cursed Vaults don’t compare to your class, Professor Sprout. I hope you had a nice summer.”

“How thoughtful of you to ask, your brother was always the same way.”

David ignored the pang in his chest as he listened politely.

“My summer was splendid! I conducted several experiments on the composition of dragon dung fertilizer. The quantity and quality of it has a tremendous impact on a plant’s growth.”

“Interesting. Just don’t let Charlie hear the word ‘dragon’ he might trip over himself trying to find it.”

Professor Sprout gave a hearty chuckle.

“There’s that wonderful sense of humor of yours. Ten points to Gryffindor for the laugh. Now, find your place Mr. Grant, we are about to begin today’s lesson.”

Feeling quite pleased with himself gaining points for simply making his professor laugh, David gladly took up a spot in between Tonks and Penny (the former gave him a wink) as the demonstration commenced.

“Good morning, class! Welcome back to Hogwarts and I hope you all had wonderful summer holidays!” Professor Sprout greeted in her usual affable manner. “Today we will be learning to grow Valerian. The roots of this magical plant can be used in many magical potions. All eyes up front, please!”

The lecture began with information about the plant itself, its properties, and the potions commonly used for. Penny was particularly excited as it turned it was a common ingredient in more advanced brews such as the Draught of Peace and the Forgetfulness Potion. Following that were notes on the proper care of the Valerian, the gathering of equipment and working on soil and roots. Greenhouse three usually housed far more dangerous plants, but that wasn’t what made the Valerian tricky. It required a very specific amount of water and light and if botched, died quite easily, something Professor Sprout was very quick to point out.

“Gather around, everyone,” she called out. “Too much water on the Valerian root will kill it within moments. I will demonstrate the proper amount to use. Miss Haywood, will you fetch me that pail on the shelf?”

“Yes, Professor Sprout,” the blonde beamed, hopping over to the shelf.

While that was occurring, Tonks took the time to catch up.

“Wotcher, Dave. I felt like I hardly saw you at the end of last year.”

“Saving the school from becoming the Arctic tundra will take up a good deal of time,” David joked. “But I promise we’ll hang out more this year.”

“Smashing! We can start right away. Which of these plants do you think would work best for bothering a certain, irritable librarian?”

The third year Gryffindor rolled his eyes but smiled all the same.

“Tonks, just how many detentions do you plan on getting this year?”

But before she could retort with a quip of her own there was a sudden crash and scream. Everyone turned to see Penny Haywood standing in front of one of the pots, positively petrified with fear. Standing over them all, was a vicious, snarling werewolf.

Immediately some of the class started screaming and a cold washed over David’s body.

How on earth did a full grown werewolf get in here?!.....In the middle of the day….when it’s two weeks before full moon….

None of this added up but before he came to the obvious conclusion, Professor Sprout leapt forward, wand drawn.

“Everyone remain calm!” she ordered. “There is nothing to fear. Please stand back, Miss Haywood.”

Penny dove underneath the table as the head of Hufflepuff house yelled out, “Riddikulus!”

The werewolf immediately transformed into a harmless, poorly stitched, teddy bear causing some of the class to laugh at the sheer hilarity. It proceeded to burst into a pile of smoke and vanish completely.

“What the hell was that?” Tonks asked aloud. “Was that a real werewolf?”

“It wasn’t,” Professor Sprout answered. “That was a boggart. Nasty shapeshifting creature that takes the form of a victim’s worst fear.”

“I’ve heard of those things,” Rowan informed them. “They’re found in almost every country. My grandfather came across one in India once. Not a pleasant experience.”

“Very true, Mr. Khanna. However, a boggart cannot physically harm you. The true damage it causes is to the mind. It is repelled by laughter and the incantation I just used will change it into something humorous.”

Sprout checked underneath the table.

“Miss Haywood, you may come out now. You do not need to be afraid any longer.”

Slowly, the blonde peaked her head out and slowly brought herself to her feet though her body was still trembling mightily.

“Oh, you poor, dear. I think a trip to Madam Pomfrey might be in order just to be safe.”

“I’ll take her,” Chiara Lobosca immediately volunteered. “I have some experience helping in the Hospital Wing. It’s the least I can do.”

David could already guess why Chiara was doing this so readily. As a werewolf herself, there was a guilt that she carried that he hardly blamed her for. And though Penny knew her secret and the two were friends, no doubt Chiara did not want to run the risk of her dormmate’s fear tainting that friendship again.

“That is very kind of you Miss Lobosca. I think we’ve all had enough for one day. I will also be forced to report this to the Headmaster; to my knowledge this is the first time a boggart has ever been seen inside the greenhouses. Class dismissed.”

Professor Sprout waved her wand, sending the Valerians back to their proper stations as the rest of the class put away their materials, gloves, and packed their things. Chiara hurried Penny away, the blonde still holding back tears and unable to speak.

David made up his mind to pay her a visit later on just to make sure she was okay. He also reflected on Professor Sprout’s comment that a boggart had never been seen in the greenhouses before.

Hogwarts was never what anyone would call ‘normal’ but even so, something very odd was going on.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lunch time only served to prove his hunch further. He and Rowan discussed the issue over pumpkin juice and ham sandwiches.

“An anomaly to be sure,” his best friend commented. “Boggarts typically like dark, decaying places.”

“A pot filled with soil is technically dark and decaying,” David joked.

“A pot in a greenhouse which absorbs and takes in massive amounts of sunlight,” Rowan pointed out. “When my grandfather stumbled across one in India, it was in a cave. It hardly adds up.”

He took out a book titled ‘Blithe’s Guide to Dark Creatures’ and flipped a few pages.

“Case and point,” he said, showing him the underlined text. “And I don’t know if you noticed this, but that boggart looked a lot more…realistic than normal.”

“It is odd I grant you that,” David conceded. “I’m just concerned about Penny mostly. She looked as though she might die of fright.”

“And that’s precisely what I’m getting at….what if that was no ordinary boggart?”

Before he could elaborate further, they were joined by the Weasley brothers, who sat down next to them.

“Did you hear about what happened?” Bill asked them.

“Charlie filled you in pretty quickly, eh?”

“No, not Penny. There was an incident in McGonagall’s sixth year Transfiguration class with the Ravenclaws. A boggart in the form of a banshee popped in out of nowhere and nearly gave this one bloke a heart attack. And there was another one in the Astronomy tower with the Slytherins. Second year broke down after seeing a bloodthirsty ogre.”

Rowan gave David a knowing look. Yes, something was definitely going on here.

“In other words, Penny wasn’t the only one to see their worst fear today,” Charlie summed it all up.

“One day back and we’re already dealing with a crisis,” David muttered. “If it isn’t cursed ice it’s the ‘Attack of the Boggarts’. Oh, joy.”

“You don’t think this has to do with another cursed vault, does it?” Rowan asked.

“And if it is, should we try and find it?” Bill added. There was an eagerness in his voice, but as it was during the feast, he tempered that eagerness.

David thought for a brief moment. It seemed preposterous to think that a cursed vault would be active so early in the year. Then again there wasn’t a viable explanation outside of that. But what did boggarts have to do with ancient curses anyway? They were sentient dark creatures, not tied to anything other than taking the shape of someone’s worst fear.

“I think we need to learn more about boggarts,” David said aloud. “There’s only so much a book can tell you. As far as whether this stems from a cursed vault, it’s too early to tell.”

“You should ask Hagrid,” Bill told him. “He knows all about terrifying creatures. He’s actually in the courtyard now if you want to talk to him. Let me know what you find.”

Just then the group had to duck as a custard tart narrowly missed hitting Charlie on the head.

“Duty calls,” Bill grinned, tapping his prefect badge. “OI! You first years! Stop throwing food in the Great Hall!”

As he left to handle the situation, David couldn’t help but shake his head and snicker a bit.

“He seems to be getting a handle on the job.”

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t entertaining when he tries to corral the first years,” Charlie laughed. “But this is going to work to your benefit, Dave. Bill can give you cover when you’re searching for the vaults. Like I said, he has no interest in stopping the search.”

David nodded but kept his response neutral. This wasn’t the time to go galloping off in search of another vault…not yet anyway. Dumbledore would not be pleased if he were to find out he directly disobeyed him. Nor did he want a howler from his parents.

He tried to ignore the memory of his brother once more as his face became quite vivid in his mind.

“Let’s just take it one step at a time.” Draining the last of his pumpkin juice, he got up from the table. “Shall we go visit Hagrid?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Finding a ten foot tall human was not a difficult task. David and Rowan spotted him right away. He was tending after Fang, who had grown quite considerably since the previous year, throwing him treats and laughing mightily.

It was a bright, sunny day. Perfect weather for going outside, and it seemed that most of the students had not heard of the mishaps with the boggarts. Not yet at least.

“Hey, Hagrid!”

The giant turned around and waved cheerily.

“Dave! Rowan! Good to see yeh.”

“Likewise. How was your summer?”

“It was fine. Thanks for askin,” Hagrid replied cheerily. “Raised a litter of flobberworms in the hut but now they’re fully grown. Don’t know what to do with em, really. Not very interestin creatures, flobberworms.”

“You could always set them free, Hagrid,” Rowan suggested. “Especially if Professor Snape doesn’t need them for any other potion.”

“Not a bad idea, though I’d have ter set em free away from me garden. They’ll eat all the pumpkins I’m growing fer this years Halloween feast. But enough of me flobberworm problems. What can I do fer yeh?”

David tried to phrase the question innocently.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard but there have been multiple boggart attacks today around the school, including Penny. Seeing as you’re an expert on creatures, we were wondering if you knew why so many are popping up out of nowhere.”

Hagrid’s normally warm, beetle eyes narrowed as he rubbed his massive beard.

“A boggart will occasionally get in here, but I haven’t seen one o’ them in ages. Not since…”

There was a pause and it was clear the gamekeeper was reluctant to reveal more.

“Since when, Hagrid?” he pressed.

“Since yer brother was a student and came askin about them as well.”

As it usually was with these cursed vaults, all questions seemed to lead to more questions, including several David had off the top of his head. He could not contain his desire for more information about Jacob this time.

“Why was my brother asking about boggarts? What did he say? What did you tell him?”

“Slow down, Dave. I’ll tell yeh everything yeh want to know,” Hagrid eased. “Years back, there was an infestation of the ruddy things. Yer brother came to me seekin’ ter know more. He had a theory that one of the vaults at Hogwarts played on the fears anyone who tried ter open it. If these boggarts are suddenly appearin’ again, it might mean someone’s bin messin with that vault.”

That all but confirmed that another Cursed Vault was currently active in the school. Except this time they had no idea where it was, unlike the ice which originated from a specific source.

“It is another vault,” Rowan whispered. “I knew it.”

“Do you know if my brother kept research on the vaults? Any writings of that nature?”

“Fraid not,” Hagrid said truthfully. “Yer brother didn’t have a lot o’ friends at Hogwarts. But he did spend a lot of time at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Madam Rosmerta is the innkeeper, I ‘spect she migh’ know more about any writings or notes he kept.”

David gave a wide smile.

“Well that’s quite convenient, because we’re third years now and we’re allowed to visit the village.”

Hagrid beamed. “Wonderful. I’ll have teh introduce yeh to her. She’s quite the woman, Rosmerta.”

“First trip is scheduled for the first week in October. We can meet then.”

“Sounds good ter me, Dave. I’ll see yeh around. Come along Fang.

*woof!

As Hagrid lumbered away, Rowan gave David a half inquisitive, half worried expression.

“What?”

“I know you and I know that look you get in your eye. This newfound information on your brother has you all excited again.”

“So what if it does? Do you know what I’ve had to put up with over the summer? Living with…”

He stopped, unwilling to reveal anything more. As always, the status of his family was not something he enjoyed or wanted to talk about and kept it under wraps. Rowan, gazed at him sympathetically, however.

“David, only a day ago you said you didn’t know whether we should continue searching for the vaults. One talk with Hagrid and you’re ready to go to Hogsmeade right now. Just be careful. Don’t get sucked back into this too early.”

His best friend definitely had a point. There were places in time during the previous two years where the search for Jacob had caused him to lose his rationality. Still, if there was a lead, he couldn’t simply stand by and not follow it.

“Don’t worry, Rowan. That Hogsmeade trip isn’t for another month. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with talking to Madam Rosmerta just to learn more about my brother.”

“We both know that’s not the only reason you want to talk to her.”

“Fine. You caught me. I’m going so I can stare at her chest all day. Happy?”

Rowan couldn’t help but chortle at that as he adjusted his glasses.

“David, I know I can’t stop you from talking to Rosmerta. When you put your mind to something there’s very little anyone can do to stop you. I just don’t want to see you expelled.”

“I won’t be, I can promise you that,” he replied, putting an arm around the Indian boy. “And I know you’re looking out for me like you always do. Thank you.”

That brought a big smile to Rowan’s face. Underneath the surface he was always a bit insecure about his place at Hogwarts and to reaffirm his friendship was exactly what a person like him needed now and again.

“I always will.” He checked his watch and frowned. “Lunch is almost over, and potions starts soon. You know what happens if we’re tardy.”

David groaned. Though potions was actually a subject he normally did well in, it also meant afternoons spent with two of his least favorite people: Severus Snape and Merula Snyde. And though he had not seen the latter of the two yet, there was no doubt the Slytherin girl would have multiple choice words for him.

“Let’s face it then, yeah? Nothing like trading warm air and sunshine for the black pit of the dungeons and Merula.”

It would have been a lot funnier were the prospect not so bleak.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sure enough, upon their entry to the Potions classroom Merula was waiting for them. Her look had changed slightly over the summer- she sported black eyeliner, heavy dark eyeshadow, and what looked like a tiny amount of blush in her cheeks. Otherwise, there was very little difference in her appearance- the orange tuft of hair, ripped tights and combat boots were still there. However, this time she wasn’t alone.

“Welcome back to Hogwarts, Grant. How did it feel to be publicly humiliated by Dumbledore at the welcome feast?”

“You know as lovely a tradition arguing with you every first potions class is, I really don’t have the patience to keep it going this year,” came the witty retort. David also wasn’t lying. His ire against the girl certainly hadn’t subsided but on days like this it receded into a kind of bored exasperation.

“You’ll need more than just patience this time around. In fact, I wouldn’t even bother trying to find the next vault. I’m going to open them all before you even have a chance to find them,” she sneered at him in her usual manner. “With my associates Ismelda and Barnaby here, all of the fortune and glory in the vaults will be mine.”

It was like the speech of a badly written villain, however Merula wasn’t fibbing on one aspect of her statement. Flanked on each side was indeed Ismelda Murk and Barnaby Lee, two people he was familiar with- the former once tried to threaten him into revealing more information about the vaults while the latter was notorious for consuming potions he wasn’t supposed to drink.

“Didn’t you say something similar to that last year?” Rowan pipped up.

“I don’t believe I was talking to you, four eyes,” Merula snapped at him as she turned back to David, violet eyes glinting maliciously. “You got lucky last year, Grant. But that luck is about to run out.”

The third year Gryffindor gave a false yawn as he slung his bag over his chair.

“Truly, I’m shaking in my boots. Merula. When you actually find a vault as opposed to talking about finding one get back to me. Otherwise, I have better things to do than listen to you carry on like a prat.”

Merula’s rosy pink cheeks turned a bright shade of red as anger surged through her.

“Like what?!”

“Uh, literally anything else.”

The Slytherin witch had no time to reply, however as Snape entered the room, his usual slumped over, bat like silhouette taking immediate command of the room. That certainly hadn’t changed.

“Alright you insufferable lot,” he droned in his usual monotone. “Take your seats, heat up your cauldrons and do try to not ruin another lesson…Mr. Lee that goes double for you. Any consumption of potions and I’ll have you repeating your third year faster than it takes you to form a sentence. Now, take out your books and turn to the first pages. Today we will be learning Wide Eye Potion.”

The class did not hesitate in obeying the Potions master and set to work. David was also extra careful to pay close attention to Merula and Ismelda, the latter of whom frightened the life out of Ben and never missed an opportunity to screw with his brew. However, Merula didn’t attempt to sabotage him today, nor did she whisper unsettling, annoying threats underneath her breath. Instead there was a pronounced smirk on her face, one that she occasionally threw his way. He did not care for it one bit.

After adding the two sprigs of wolfsbane and adding three counter-clockwise turns, David figured he’d brewed an acceptable concoction and placed a sample on Snape’s desk, who barely acknowledged his presence and waved him away. All in all, the class itself was uneventful. But Merula and her cronies weren’t done trying to antagonize him. After leaving the potions classroom, David and Rowan were again confronted by the Slytherin gang.

“You think you’re so amazing,” Merula snarled at him. “But you’ve had a team of people helping all along the way and taking the credit. Well that’s exactly what I have now. Wherever the next cursed vault is and whatever is inside it, it’s mine for the taking.”

David was about to retort but before he could, Barnaby interrupted. The hulking mass was easily the tallest among the group and was already just under six feet. When he spoke his voice was deep but surprisingly gentle.

“What do you think is inside the next Cursed Vault?” he wondered aloud more to himself than anyone else.

“I hope it’s something that can bring back the Dark Lord,” Ismelda said darkly. This caused Barnaby to look slightly fearful and the two Gryffindors extremely apprehensive.

“Maybe it’s something that can bring back Grant’s brother,” Merula said tapping a finger on her chin, her eyes up towards the sky. Her expression then turned back to her usual nasty leer. “On second thought, no one cares about that loser.”

As it was with David, he had very few sore spots, but his brother unfortunately was one of them. He could handle her usual barbs and insults, but if she needed another lesson when it came to talking badly about his family, he would teach it.

“I’d shut your mouth, Merula. Unless you want to duel again and we both know how that ended up the last two times.”

He stepped forward. She was still his equal in height but he held no fear of her. Malicious violet eyes clashed with the cold fury of hazel-blue ones and the tension was considerably heightened.

“You got lucky, Grant. You always get lucky. Next time, you’ll be begging for mercy…” Merula said dangerously.

“Didn’t you beg a bit when Grant beat you the last time?” Barnaby asked her stupidly. “People told me you cried too, but I could have sworn there was begging.”

It wasn’t until a few seconds passed that David realized the question was not a jab at Merula but a genuine one. He had heard Barnaby wasn’t the brightest candle in the room, even so his lack of brain power clearly irritated his leader.

“Shut up, Barnaby,” Merula growled. “Let’s go. This loser isn’t worth our time.”

She brushed past him, while Ismelda gave Rowan a rough shove. However, Barnaby did not immediately follow the two girls as he stared down at the Gryffindors in front of him, his face taking on a serious, stoic expression.

“If you mess with Merula, I’ll vanish all the bones in your body,” came the words. It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.

David sized up the burly Slytherin. This was probably not someone he wanted to tangle with both physically or in a duel. And yet there was something he didn’t understand.

“In case you haven’t noticed, she’s the one constantly messing with me,” he pointed out. “Why are you friends with her? She treats you like rubbish.”

“She treats everyone like rubbish, actually,” Rowan muttered.

“Merula says whatever is inside the vaults is something really powerful. If it makes me stronger, I want it. She’s the most cunning witch at Hogwarts and the only way I’ll ever get that power is to do exactly what she says.”

David resisted rolling his eyes at that logic. It was typical Slytherin speak. Power over everything else no matter how intelligent or moronic you were. In Barnaby’s case it was the latter.

“Is that what she told you?” he asked sincerely.

“Yes,” came the simple response.

“You ever think she might be lying in order to manipulate you?”

That gave Barnaby pause scrunching up his face as though he were trying to solve an incredibly difficult math equation. After a few moments, he frowned.

“Don’t try to make me think, Grant,” he growled, cracking his knuckles menacingly, multiple silver rings glinting as he did so. He too walked off to find the rest of his gang though he did not shove either one of them as Ismelda and Merula had.

“Is it just me, or was that conversation literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever been a part of?” David asked aloud.

“Barnaby is one of the strongest wizards in our year,” Rowan told him. “Has quite the reputation as a duelist. Even so he’s still thicker than a troll.”

“Even a bloody troll would know better than to trust Merula. Then again, I’m surprised that bloke knows how to put on his trousers properly in the morning.”

Rowan laughed and they continued on their way, but David couldn’t help but feel that his third year at Hogwarts might be the most challenging one yet. Between the possibility of another cursed vault and dealing with three hostile Slytherins as opposed to the usual one, the message was clear.

He had his work cut out for him. 

[mahayanapilgrim]

ADVICE FROM ATISHA’S HEART

After two years had passed he decided to return to India, and Jangchub Ö requested him to give one last teaching before he left.

Atisha replied that he had already given them all the advice they needed, but Jangchub Ö persisted in his request and so Atisha accepted and gave the following advice.

How wonderful!

Friends, since you already have great knowledge and clear understanding, whereas I am of no importance and have little wisdom, it is not suitable for you to request advice from me. However because you dear friends, whom I cherish from my heart, have requested me, I shall give you this essential advice from my inferior and childish mind.

Friends, until you attain enlightenment the Spiritual Teacher is indispensable, therefore rely upon the holy Spiritual Guide.

Until you realize ultimate truth, listening is indispensable, therefore listen to the instructions of the Spiritual Guide.

Since you cannot become a Buddha merely by understanding Dharma, practise earnestly with understanding.

Avoid places that disturb your mind, and always remain where your virtues increase.

Until you attain stable realizations, worldly amusements are harmful, therefore abide in a place where there are no such distractions.

Avoid friends who cause you to increase delusions, and rely upon those who increase your virtue. This you should take to heart.

Since there is never a time when worldly activities come to an end, limit your activities.

Dedicate your virtues throughout the day and the night, and always watch your mind.

Because you have received advice, whenever you are not meditating always practise in accordance with what your Spiritual Guide says.

If you practise with great devotion, results will arise immediately, without your having to wait for a long time.

If from your heart you practise in accordance with Dharma, both food and resources will come naturally to hand.

Friends, the things you desire give no more satisfaction than drinking sea water, therefore practise contentment.

Avoid all haughty, conceited, proud, and arrogant minds, and remain peaceful and subdued.

Avoid activities that are said to be meritorious, but which in fact are obstacles to Dharma.

Profit and respect are nooses of the maras, so brush them aside like stones on the path.

Words of praise and fame serve only to beguile us, therefore blow them away as you would blow your nose.

Since the happiness, pleasure, and friends you gather in this life last only for a moment, put them all behind you.

Since future lives last for a very long time, gather up riches to provide for the future.

You will have to depart leaving everything behind, so do not be attached to anything.

Generate compassion for lowly beings, and especially avoid despising or humiliating them.

Have no hatred for enemies, and no attachment for friends.

Do not be jealous of others’ good qualities, but out of admiration adopt them yourself.

Do not look for faults in others, but look for faults in yourself, and purge them like bad blood.

Do not contemplate your own good qualities, but contemplate the good qualities of others, and respect everyone as a servant would.

See all living beings as your father or mother, and love them as if you were their child.

Always keep a smiling face and a loving mind, and speak truthfully without malice.

If you talk too much with little meaning you will make mistakes, therefore speak in moderation, only when necessary.

If you engage in many meaningless activities your virtuous activities will degenerate, therefore stop activities that are not spiritual.

It is completely meaningless to put effort into activities that have no essence.

If the things you desire do not come it is due to karma created long ago, therefore keep a happy and relaxed mind.

Beware, offending a holy being is worse than dying, therefore be honest and straightforward.

Since all the happiness and suffering of this life arise from previous actions, do not blame others.

All happiness comes from the blessings of your Spiritual Guide, therefore always repay his kindness.

Since you cannot tame the minds of others until you have tamed your own, begin by taming your own mind.

Since you will definitely have to depart without the wealth you have accumulated, do not accumulate negativity for the sake of wealth.

Distracting enjoyments have no essence, therefore sincerely practise giving.

Always keep pure moral discipline for it leads to beauty in this life and happiness hereafter.

Since hatred is rife in these impure times, don the armour of patience, free from anger.

You remain in samsara through the power of laziness, therefore ignite the fire of the effort of application.

Since this human life is wasted by indulging in distractions, now is the time to practise concentration.

Being under the influence of wrong views you do not realize the ultimate nature of things, therefore investigate correct meanings.

Friends, there is no happiness in this swamp of samsara, so move to the firm ground of liberation.

Meditate according to the advice of your Spiritual Guide and dry up the river of samsaric suffering.

You should consider this well because it is not just words from the mouth, but sincere advice from the heart.

If you practise like this you will delight me, and you will bring happiness to yourself and others.

I who am ignorant request you to take this advice to heart.

This is the advice that the holy being Venerable Atisha gave to Venerable Jang Chub Ö