#this is the replacement to coffin agenda

[wildwoof]

No, he didn't steal it -- it was gifted to him. Koga supposes more like permitted for him to have in his possession. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, fingers digging into the fabric, the guitarist hugs the black shirt close to himself. Face partially buried into it. Slowly, he breathes. Though, he knows their scent off by heart enough that he doesn't necessarily need this, but... it's mildly comforting. Embarrassing to admit, and quite frankly, he finds it to be a tad bit annoying.

No matter how many times in the past year he attempted to conclude he found the scent to stink, admittedly deep within himself he knew how much he liked it... Almost alluring to him. Draws him in. He treasures it. It takes him back even farther than just the past year. It's stupid to think of the reason as to why he knows this scent off by heart.

Though not outwardly embarrassed by his past self, it was so inconsiderate of him how he blindly followed without considering their emotions and true thoughts. What he admired was a front to keep safe until everything came crashing down. Still, he's happy enough to still be permitted to stand at their side. Eyebrows furrow as he hugs the fabric closer to himself of the shirt.

When he barely picks up their scent off it, he'll be sure to return it. For now, something to connect himself to them even if they cannot share a room. Even if he cannot be with them. He's allowed this happiness, right? No need to put a shitty ass label on it. But, it brings with it a curiosity on what their feelings might truthfully entail.

Do they feel something for him too? Or... no, no, don't think about it.

Eyelids shut as the young idol squeezes the shirt even more than before. Thankfully, he's alone. Well, Leon's always here too, but the pup decided not to try to bother him this time around. Or, maybe Leon went to nap without a second question, since Koga's presently sitting up on his bed rather than lying down as a sign of him falling asleep.

Usually, he only finds comfort in the scent than anything else. Similar to a comfort blanket, or a stuffed animal for nerves. It eases up any tension in his body that built throughout the day or calm any nerves acting up. Admittedly, it might have been a comfort to him during the SS Qualifying rounds if he hadn't already been so out of sorts by blatantly getting ignored.

"Stupid, dumbass, idiot," muttering into the shirt. Though, this wolf's not tired in the slightest bit to fall asleep clutching onto his possession. Instead, a heat builds itself up within his very core. He hates to admit it, but once again, there's a desire to be wrapped up in their arms. What's it like to finally be connected with them? Is there a chance of them tangling up in each other at last?

Maybe... a sliver of hope in the surrounding darkness. After all, he's been gifted something covered in their scent. Close that gap still between them.

Not the first nor last time certainly he'll be desiring them. Koga hugs the shirt a tad bit tighter while squeezing his eyes shut for a short period of time. Small wiggle of his hips at the growing sensation within his shorts. He must admit that this time around it's began to turn him on. Gradually, body flops over than sitting up in his bed. On his side, he stares at the stand beside his bed upon opening eyes.

Fooling around with himself has become a common routine when he gets excited. Though, he attempts to not think too excessively about who he wants the most in those instances. No matter how he yearns, he keeps it all to himself. Better to stay as things are than risk ruining what he strove so hard for.

One hand continues to hold onto the shirt while the other lifts to brush against plump bottom lip. To kiss them. Would it be feverish or gentle? Heated or soothing? Would they force a tongue between to taste what saliva he has to offer? Slowly, Koga parts his lips just enough for the tips of his index and middle finger to dip into his mouth. Pads press against his bottom teeth and tongue as thoughts begin to burst within his mind.

Would they give him the chance to suck them off? What would that be like? Not that he's ever had anyone else dare to touch his privates, nor the chance to touch anyone else's for that matter. The thought a bizarre one, truly. For sure it'd be wider than his fingers as he slightly pushes them deeper into his mouth. The warmth and saliva moist against them as his tongue wiggles around them.

Another wiggle of his hips, but he won't release his hold on the shirt. He only clutches it tighter with the scent so captivating to his thoughts. Scenarios play out within his mind on what might occur -- if anything were to occur. Maybe a kiss instead -- to feel another tongue within his mouth. No doubt closer to the feeling of his fingers within his mouth. A press down against his own pink muscle within, twirling the tip around it soon enough. To share their saliva with each other -- what they taste like. What's that like? Probably like tomato juice more often than not, assuming so.

Koga pops digits out of his mouth finally as saliva drips from them. Features grimace just a tad, shaking a few droplets off once held a distance out. Bodily fluids are just that: fluids. If they're mixing said fluids, then it'll be worse than just his own. Best to grow accustomed to it. A bit messy but just clean up afterward.

Releasing hold on the shirt for brief period of time, Koga shifts his attention to pushing down his bottoms and boxers to free the heat twitching to the surrounding cooler air. A shiver hits his entire frame as he begins to also push his shirt up and expose himself completely. Only for a split second he momentarily tests the waters on the sensitivity of his chest -- he heard it can still feel good for guys. But... nothing.

Damp fingers pinch at his nipple until the bud appears as the moisture and air around him mix. It just feels weirder than anything truly amazing. Pointless. Hardly excites him even with the scent from their shirt thick in his nostrils. Must only be a girl thing, and he ain't no damn girl. No matter. Just forget about them for now. He knows what feels the best of it all.

With his spine arched, palm glides down his stomach toward his center. Already at full mast, erection quivers for attention. So different than how he typically spends his time when surrounded by their scent. Something to calm his nerves. Not that he ever had any problems sleeping, but it helps him relax into sleep. This time? Dirty thoughts erupt so vividly.

Finger pads slowly drag up the curve of the underside, pushing against the nerves as he lets out a low hum against closed lips. Breathing picks up pace to match the rhythm of his heart. Will they touch him or maybe give him a blowjob? Ask him exactly what he craves out of them? Or maybe do whatever they want with him. Not about to make that choice so easily. Hips buck a tad forward.

Maybe push them down onto the bed -- sit on their lap -- wrangle them in until they retaliate back against him. Still, he hopes when they curl their hands around him and pull him down under the words breathe heavily from their mouth against the shell of his ear to call him a good boy for whatever. Ensnared in the trap of their allure. The guitarist clutches onto the shirt tightly once again while forcing it up against his face.

The wolf nuzzles in against it. He'll have to be careful not to soil it. Koga pinches the tip and massages it between his fingers with a low groan. [ Touch me more. ] If he ever begged them, would that turn them away? [ Begging's fuckin' stupid ], but it's a common thing to get people going. Ugh... makes him think he truly knows not what their interests would be when tangled up in the bedroom.

Not that he's certain they'd tell him or even want to bed with him for that matter. It's his fantasy, so he can make shit up as he goes! Well... it wouldn't be them if he's making it all up entirely. Changes not the fact that he wants them to touch him more. To finally feel him up and over and entangle him completely with them. To feel as if their bodies have intertwined and come together as one.

Hand completely encircles his erection, at last pumping his hand up and down the sensitive skin filled with the heat of his blood as the hormones burn wildly. A quick pace sets itself. Grip gradually tightens around his dick with each stroke. Puff of his chest outward with another wiggle of his hips to the movement. "S--Sa... Sakuma... sen--senpai..." Breathes out in a moan into the shirt. To touch and be touched -- he only imagines it. An idea of jerking each other off emerges within his mind. Hold their lengths against each other with a grind of hips as hands work in tandem to each other.

Push their chests in together with their faces so close to each other. Just about picture they face so close to his own as their ruby irises stare straight into his own. They make speak in riddles to him or tease him in some manner at this close proximity. He might retaliate back or bark at them for whatever they might say, but -- Koga's certain at this point they'd know his true emotions no matter what spews from his vocals.

Honesty in the heat of the moment. Yeah... he might willingly allow them to know while making himself so vulnerable to whatever's wished. The lecherous animal that claws out from underneath. Mouth parts open, pants escaping him. The shirt is not them no matter how realistic their scent happens to be in this moment. No matter how badly he desires to bite down on them -- he cannot. It's impossible.

Shake of his head as jaw snaps shut. Don't think too deeply on it. Extremely needy at this point, certain any time soon he'll be ready to burst. Thus, to move onto the next step. For the moment, he lets go of their shirt to reach out to his nightstand. This part he's grown more accustomed to. Still, it must hardly compare to the real deal. Something so much thicker for sure than fingers. At least it might prepare him for the potential future. Something to discuss if they ever step ahead to that point.

Again, cannot say the older will ever truly bed with him, but -- he'd rather be ready than shoved into the pain from the start. A gradual ease into it, preparing for a possible outcome. However, it may be. The guitarist rolls himself over onto his back. Legs spread with knees up in the air. Free hand halts stroking his length to maneuver the shirt onto his chest.

It's important, after all.

Rip of condom pack open, once more he covers up some of his fingers -- this time: two fingers. Popping the lid open of the bottle of lube, he pours some over his hand. Snuggle of his nose up underneath the fabric of the shirt, scent entirely enveloping him still. Comforting... No matter how many times he used to say it stank... it never truly did... it's embarrassing to admit. Hand reaches down with a push past his balls to tease the tip of his middle finger along the pulsing muscular ring. The latex cool upon his skin.

Three. Two. One. He counts down in his mind before at last pushing two fingers up inside his body. Back arches up off the bed while gradually inching deeper into his body -- farther than he'd gone last time. Softly, groan escapes his mouth. Other hand once more returns to stroking his shaft. Slow at first while adjusting himself to the sensation of fingers as far up inside as possible.

Eyelids shut tight, beginning to wiggle them around. He presses up against the walls at different angles, testing the waters until something feels right. With the stretchiness of the latex, he extends his fingers apart to feel more of a pull and push to his hole. Slight turn of his body with another hitched moan. Legs shuffle against his sheets until finding solid footing to push into the mattress. "Sakuma-senpai..." So encapsulated by his thoughts.

Would telling them he loves them once again ruin things...? With a more serious tone and straight forward with his emotions... He loves them. Loves them so much. Would it burden them, though? Koga never once wanted to be a burden on them, and to this day he still does not wish for such... If they embrace, will it be... okay?

Can he be this happy with them?

Koga holds the position for not long when he rolls slightly over on his side to permit a better angle for his fingers. Mouth hangs open with pants and soft moans. Fingers begin thrusting in and out of his asshole. From a slow motion into a quicker pace. Heart rate thumps wild against his ribcage. More often their name leaves his voice. Thumb drags against the ridge of the head with each stroke. Thrust up in, spread of fingers, pull back out. A rhythm sets itself in place at last for the last stretch of the night to the end goal.

The sparks bursting in the back of his mind as chills travel along his spine. As he feels himself getting closer to climax, he shoves his fingers as far as possible up inside before spreading them apart as much as he can. A pain stings from the stretch before pulling back out completely. Koga shakes the condom off his hand quickly to lift hand up quickly.

Forgetting about the lubricant that leaked onto his hand from the condom, he grips tightly onto their shirt once again. Holds it against them firmly as he rocks himself into the final throws of the pleasure. Palm never stops stroking the sensitive nerves burning wildly with that heated ecstasy. Body contorts as Koga cries out, dick pulsating as he cums. Load spurts out over his arm and the bedsheets.

Left panting, and tired out, body releases itself from the high it felt in that moment. Weak arm reaches out to grab a few tissues to attempt to clean up a bit afterward. Just enough for him to flop back down with their shirt.

Comfort... it's comforting... "Fuck..." he breathes out, winded. Oh how he wants to tell them... He loves them so much.

[the-one-and-only-duckduckgo]

I (finally) finished Season one during my 7 hour long train ride, and since nobody asked, here's a new summary.

The Magnus Archives but I've finished season one (and that didn't help with the confusion)

There's Jon. He's an Archivist, and he got that anxiety rizz™

He also sounds like his life would crumbie in pieces if he doesn't have a seventh cup of coffee before the sun rises.

I can relate.

One of the causes of his anxiety seems to be his least favourite colleague, Martin.

Martin is described as unqualified, suspected to be a ghost and sent into various deadly situations.

He also sleeps in Jalapeño's bed.

I FUCKING LOVE GERARD KEAY

Everyone works in a modern remake of the Library of Alexandria, which would be very cool if there weren't a lot of murderous creatures.

(there are a lot of murderous creatures)

And worms. Would we still love them if they were human? Probably not.

Everything is ruled by a guy named Elias Bouchard. Everyone told me that he's nice.

In what world is a guy named fucking Bouchard nice?

Jane Prentiss is spreading the worm agenda.

SHE DESERVED MORE THAN THAT HELP IS THERE A CHARITY WHERE I CAN GIVE HER A VIRTUAL HUG???

Michael the eldritch horror is very lovely.

OH AND I DIDN'T TELL YOU BUT JALAPEÑO USES THE TAPE RECORDER CAUSE THE STATEMENTS DON'T WORK ON COMPUTER. THERE'S A REASON BEHIND ALL THAT.

That also means that there are statements that can be recorded on the computer and that we therefore don't see. I want to know what they're about.

#JusticeForSasha2k24

I am still lost in the English names.

Gerard Keay still burns books.

But that's ok, cause they're evil books from BLOODY JÜRGEN LEITNER I HATE JÜRGEN LEITNER DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS USELESS PIECE OF SHITTY OLD PARCHMENT WHEN HE WAS BORN HIS MOTHER CRIED AND SHOULD HAVE STRANGLED HIM I WISH HE GOES TO HELL ALTHOUGH NO HE WOULD RUIN THE GAY PARTY HAPPENING THERE I WISH HE DISAPPEARED IN THE COFFIN WE SEE AT THE BEGINNING AND WENT ON A CRUISE IN PETER LUKAS' BOAT GOD I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THIS LITERARY DISHONOUR. Fuck you, Leitner.

Hmm, yeah. Sorry. Where was I?

Season one's over, still no trace of the queer rep I was teased with.

Although, that may be a good thing, given the fact that as soon as a gay appears, they get killed/ replaced/ vanished by by some antique object.

Does that mean antique objects are homophobes?

Although these antiques come from Salesa's shop. Perhaps Salesa's the real straight supremacist here.

Selling dangerous items seems like a rentable activity tho. I should do the same.

Starting from now. Does anyone want a totally-not-illegal coffin? Antique dolls? You get your money back if they kill you.

So...uh...yeah. Good show. Amazing sound effects. Watch it. Wahoo.

[orchidsangel]

PERFECT DUET (JASON TODD)

notes/cw ~ GN!reader, angst !!!, childhood friends to lovers set up, (1.7k wc)

You remember the day Red Hood came rolling into town, news stations spoke of a masked man, slinging guns and antagonizing Batman while simultaneously lowering Gotham City’s crime rates. He was a force to be reckoned with, his brutality leaving criminals and civilians both cowering in fear day in and day out. Men and women alike debated whether or not petty crimes were worth committing if it meant a potential run-in with Red; but soon enough, the city of Gotham, New Jersey, would realize that he didn’t waste his time with small-time shoplifters and carjackers. No, he had an agenda. An agenda that included the crime lords of Gotham and you.

Even though you had never and would never commit a crime, you constantly felt like you were being watched as if you were on a most wanted list. Months, you spent looking over your shoulder, wondering if you might have caught the eye of a crazy person, wondering if one day you’d come home to find security cameras installed in places where privacy was sacred. To you, this never coincided with the Red Hood's arrival in Gotham; and yet you did come home one day, but not to cameras, to Jason. Red helmet in hand, with a singular flower, and an apology on the tip of his tongue.

Yeah, he looked different. He was bigger, taller, and more muscular than when you’d last seen him. His face had matured, baby fat you used to pinch, replaced with hollow cheeks and a sharp jawline. He looked different, but you could tell without a doubt that it was him. The color of his eyes, albeit a little more green than you remembered, had the familiarity of a childhood stuffed animal; of an object that had meant something to you in a past life. You knew it was him, and yet he had died, and a part of you died with him. You had seen his cold, lifeless body in that velvet-lined coffin, traces of the boy you once loved under thick layers of waxy funeral makeup. He had died, and yet here he was, in front of you and holding a flower in place of an olive branch.

The following days felt like months, a reminder of the agonizingly slow aftermath of his death. You had learned throughout life how to compose yourself when your emotions were starting to get the best of you. This time was no different. Instead of a normal reaction like an onslaught of questions spilling from your mouth, breaking down into tears on the floor of your apartment, or even an awkward hug; you had given him a little more than a once over—just enough to take in his appearance—and then locked yourself in your room for the rest of the night. You could feel Jason's eyes burning a hole through the door, could swear he was on the other side watching and waiting for you to come back, to jump into his arms like you used to under the guise of friendship. But when you woke up the next morning he was gone, no trace of him being there to begin with, and you almost thought you had dreamed it. When you finally stepped outside the next morning, for the first time in ages, you didn’t feel you were being watched, and you knew then that it wasn’t a crazy person whose interest you’d piqued, it was Jason's.

Months passed before you saw him again. The disassociation had been getting worse by the minute since that night. You’d been living life on autopilot, a ghost of the person you’d grown into. Layers of armor built up after the night Alfred rang your home phone, gone. Leaving you raw and exposed to memories you’d thought better left in the past. You never wanted to forget him, but the agony that was growing without him by your side left your brain choosing self-preservation over anything else. You had chosen it then, on the day before junior year when you locked away every physical memento you had of him in a box and put it in the attic of your childhood home, and you’d chosen it again now when you pushed the recent events of his reentry into your life, to the back of your mind.

An unpredicted rainstorm vetoed your decision, leaving you stuck in some cafe in the diamond district. The combined smell of imported beans and high-end perfumes left you sick to your stomach; but not nearly as sick as when you locked eyes with Jason, sitting in the corner of the establishment, book in hand, but clearly not reading. You had been acutely aware of his presence the entire time; you couldn’t not be. It made the room spin, knowing what you knew about him in such a public place. It made you queasy and faint, like the entire world would soon turn black and you’d end up on the cold tiled floor waiting for someone to hold coffee beans under your nose in an attempt to wake you up. You almost made a run for it out the door; but the heavy sheets of water sliding down the glass windows, blurred the outside world into more of a watercolor painting than your reality, and you deluded yourself into thinking none of it was real, and anything said inside those four walls would cease to exist when the rain stopped.

A few steps taken towards him and you were ready to turn back around, but the clarity you felt, the fog that had incapacitated your brain for so long, was gone in that moment; and you knew if you stepped out into that rain, it would come right back. You remember his face when you sat down across from him, even after your moment of rejection, he still looked at you so fondly. “I always knew I’d see you again.” He had said with so much certainty. And you would come to find that all of the tears for him that you had held in would be shed anyway in the coming years.

Picking up where you left off proved to be impossible, and resuming a years-old friendship with a years-long break wasn’t something either of you could do. Not with both of your hearts tucked away with the other for so long. Not when you had spent years stealing glances at him in class when you were supposed to be working on labs and taking pencils from him from the opposite end to avoid touching his hand in fear that he’d feel the heat radiating off of you. Not when you were green with envy when he got his first girlfriend and rearranged his schedule to spend more time with her, leaving you feeling hopeless for a couple of months. Not when you practically jumped for joy when he came to you mopey and sad because she’d broken up with him to get with a star athlete, not knowing he was jumping from buildings and doing backflips in his spare time. Not when you’d taken him down to the pier, treating him to funnel cake and cotton candy with babysitting money you’d been saving up for a rainy day. And not when the two of you sat at the top of the Ferris wheel, feet dangling over Gotham and wind blowing in your face. His lovelorn eyes, bluer back then, peered over the bar that kept you from falling. He sat back with a sigh, his boyish features had sorrow written all over them. “I’d never hurt you like that.” is what you wanted to say that night, but instead all you could manage was an, “I’m sorry.” followed by, “Do you want to come over for dinner?” 

Not when a month later, your mom shook you awake in the middle of the night, calling your name with the same tone of voice she saved for when a close relative passed. Vision blurred and heartbeat quickening, “Is grandma okay?” you asked, rubbing sleep out of your bleary eyes. Pale, that's what her face was when she said, “No- yes. Grandma's fine.” she pursed her lips, trying to keep her composure but the lack of color in her complexion told you something bad had happened. “It’s…” You were alert by then, waiting patiently to hear whose funeral you’d be attending soon. “It’s Jason.” 

Lovesick. Sick with love. Sick with something. Whatever it was, it kept you from moving past the depression stage of grief for ages. Denial, anger, bargaining, they all came and went rather quickly; but the depression never left, not even when you had seemingly slipped into the acceptance stage. Your family watched you go back to your normal routines, continuing life the way it had been before. You got up in the morning, went to school, and came home exactly as you’d done when he was still alive. Of course, they didn’t see how you struggled to breathe when you saw his seat empty in homeroom, they didn’t see the way people stared at you walking the hallways alone for the first time in years, the boy typically beside you, now six feet under. They didn’t see how you cried yourself to sleep on his birthday that year, and how you subsequently cried yourself to sleep every year after that. No, they didn’t see any of it, and truthfully, they didn’t want to; you couldn’t blame them, not even you did. 

Lovesick. Sick with love. Sick with something. Sick with, “how long were you dead?” 

“Six months.”

Six years of grief for only six months of death. If you were still fifteen you would’ve jumped for joy, thrown a party, and invited your friends and families. You would’ve laughed yourself silly at how absurd it was that he was back with you so soon, how everything was normal again, and how this would just be a funny story you’d tell as an adult. In your early 20’s it was no longer so soon, it was no longer something to throw a party over, you wouldn’t invite friends or family, you wouldn’t even know how to explain any of it to them, and you certainly wouldn’t be laughing about it. All you could do was nod silently, taking the occasional sip from the cup of chamomile tea in your hands, trying your best to let him explain before anger got the best of you.

ro's first time writing angst, how do we feel ?? wrote this in the midst of a BAD case of writers block but fuck it we ball yk, inspired by perfect duet by ed sheeran and beyoncé but if you listen to it and wonder where the happy lovey dovey stuff is plz know i intend to write a pt 2 (key word, intend. i'm not great on follow ups), also if someone wants to give me a lesson a grammar and punctuation plz do bc it's kicking my ass !!

[greatwillhunting]

seeing critiques of adora’s character arc saying that it was inconsistent or “thrown away” so she and catra would end up together is honestly mind boggling so here’s why that’s a bad take

adora doesn’t leave the horde because she’s being treated badly. she leaves because of what they’re doing to other people, and because shadow weaver’s big talk of destiny being her purpose makes she-ra all the more appealing. when she leaves, it’s not her breaking any of her patterns, it’s simply her finding a different environment to have them in. this isn’t to say that catra always understood adora. shadow weaver raised the two very intentionally so that they could never really function together. shadow weaver’s treatment of adora will always make her blame herself for catra’s abuse, and shadow weaver’s treatment of catra will always prevent her from truly seeing how adora is being abused as well.

if you’ve seen succession, it’s obvious that the roy siblings were trained like attack dogs against each other. they don’t know how to love each other (or anyone, really) because logan’s abuse has prevented them from ever seeing each other as anything other than competitors in a war for his love and validation. obviously this doesn’t directly apply to catradora, but you can see similarities in that because of their conditioning as children, they will never see each other in a way that’s conducive to a healthy relationship. adora’s been conditioned to never feel like she’s has enough until she’s truly given all of herself away. so at the end of the pilot, you see their relationship truly fall apart thanks to the groundwork laid by shadow weaver.

the next major episode for adora’s character arc is 1x07 aka the mystacor episode. this is where she truly realizes that shadow weaver has been manipulating her and using her as a way of controlling her. this is important for gaining agency, yes. but it’s not an end to adora seeing herself as just a vessel that needs to carry out her duties. adora never would have been accepted into brightmoon if she wasn’t she-ra. ever. even in 1x03 when angella welcomes her to brightmoon, she welcomes She-Ra, Princess of Power. not adora. this is an incredibly important distinction. yes, glimmer says she-ra isn’t the reason they like adora in 1x04, but they never would have gotten to that point if it weren’t for she-ra. and that doesn’t negate the fact that in brightmoon, especially by glimmer, adora is seen primarily as she-ra and for what she can do for the rebellion.

in promise, we see more manipulation but this time from light hope. it’s clear that catra is attached to adora in a way that’s completely isolated from her duties as she-ra, and so catra is shown memories that intentionally manipulate her into cutting all ties with adora as a friend. this advances light hope’s agenda to remove adora’s agency. even as adora realizes that she’s truly fighting for her friends, the damage has been done to their relationship.

season three is instrumental to adora’s arc but nowhere near the end of it. in the portal reality, we really see the consequences of shadow weaver’s conditioning on catra and adora. adora wants to take responsibility for catra. she wants to save catra. but catra won’t let her. catra wants to win. like she’s been trained to. she needs to win because shadow weaver has always told her she never could. i don’t think adora knows this, but she does finally realize that she’s not responsible for catra. this is huge. this is the final nail on the coffin for their relationship in the horde and all its codependency. but this isn’t the end for adora’s lack of self being replaced by a desperate need to do what she has to. before she punches catra, she says: “i didn’t break the world. but i am going to fix it.” she still needs to fix it. it’s still her responsibility. season five doesn’t throw away or backtrack on adora’s development because her development still isn’t finished.

in fact, season four is pretty much an entire season of characters who aren’t catra (and mainly glimmer) reinforcing adora’s belief that she’s only good as good as what she can do. obviously glimmer is heartbroken after what happened to angella and yes that is indirectly catra’s fault but it’s necessary to point out that this was going to happen no matter what. in season 4, glimmer’s extreme dedication to getting rid of the horde (which has been there from the start) is just rearing its ugly head. she does “what she needs to” and uses adora as bait for the horde. she repeatedly disregards how adora feels so she can win the war. she ignores adora’s warnings against light hope, right as adora is starting to realize that she’s being manipulated by her as well. so when everything goes to shit and adora has to give up she-ra- give up her destiny, that need to save the world we’ve seen all along, even after her development in season three, is still there. but now, she doesn’t have a destiny propelling her forward.

so we see season five adora, bereft of all of her coping mechanisms and everything she’s needed to function. this is a logical progression of her character. even though she no longer takes responsibility for catra and she realizes she wants a choice in what she does, she still doesn’t know who she is or what she wants without someone telling her. in corridors, catra’s memories of adora inspire her to save glimmer. she starts to realize that outside of the war and the abuse, adora truly did want to be her friend. (side note- i see a lot of posts about how catra’s physical behavior in the flashback to when they were like 5 is abusive. i want to tell you that you look stupid.) anyways. after catra hit rock bottom in season four, her saving glimmer expecting to die once she did is a complete reversal of the toxic behavior we saw in season three. instead of doing anything to see adora lose, she sacrifices everything so adora can win.

when adora hears catra’s apology she realizes that catra has truly changed since the portal. and what happens next is incredibly important for adora’s arc. like i said earlier, catra is something to adora that’s completely removed from what she needs to do. catra is the only thing adora has ever truly wanted for herself. adora saves catra even when it doesn’t make sense to and this is basically the first time we’ve seen adora take agency in spite of the war. it’s because of this that she’s able to become she-ra again, this time as an extension of herself rather than shoes to fill. how is that throwing away her development?

in failsafe, we see that even though she’s accepted that she needs catra, she still feels like she has to save the world even at the cost of her life. no one challenges this except for catra. so when catra shows up, once again ready to sacrifice herself in a reversal of her previous behavior, adora is joined in what is basically a guaranteed death by the only person that’s seen her as more than what she needs to do. and that person ends up saving her. by the end of the show, both adora and catra still have trauma to get over. but it’s just a logical (and quite beautiful) conclusion to adora’s arc that she overcomes her trauma-instilled neglect of her own needs by accepting love from someone that she’s always wanted in spite of what she had to do.

don’t insult the writers or say they need to go back to writing 101 because you’re disappointed your ship didn’t win or whatever. the show’s narrative is cohesive and pretty easy to follow if you know how to think critically.

sincerely,

a film/tv student whose life is dedicated to studying and understanding narratives and is starting to get embarrassed for catradora antis

[minzart]

Ok so I was thinking... (idk how'd I title this) ultimate visual novel/otome game!mc..? (This can also fall in line with yuu from a family of protags..)

Throughout their life been transferred and transported to many Romcon-esque scenarios. Being through so many years of highschool and college they can practically walk into any job and be over qualified for it.

~~~~

Mc: *waking up in coffin*

Mc:

~~~~

Mc has a bingo card system their not half way through the year and they already gotten 10 full card bingos

Mc: *pulling out bingo card* *underbreath* okay so far...we got.. 'totally not the secret villian Headmaster', himbo jock, Sus salesmen, old reliable... and hot home room teacher...

Azul: *whispering* what are the doing

Kalim: I have no Idea

Mc: there's the young looking but actually WAY older than everyone, the narcissistic beauty that gets his comeupings, small angry one...

Lila: I don't know about any of you... but I feel like beastie I'd talking about us..

Mc: oh! And there's 'also totally not the villian bestfriend', the delinquent that's likes cute things, the tsundere, cute boy that's two faced... the simp lackey

Sebek: *offended* >:-0

Mc: who else do we have... oh we also have the shut in otaku, 'also probably the secret villian', 'rich nieve who's servant is using them as a puppet', using my influence to be corrupt and the second born with a inferiority complex.

Leona: that last one seems TOO specific

Jamil: *annoyed* you tell me

Mc: Oh how could I forget.. then there's the younger brother replacement, the scholarship kid, the servant with a secret agenda, there's the dadd-*cough cough* the happy go lucky who depressed..

Trey:*deadpan* I can only guess

Mc: the sleeping beauty, the creepy one, the homo-erotic twins, childhood friend that doesn't even to this school, and the rival for the narcissistic beauty that gets his comeupings, the baby and the mascots character.. did I get a bingo?

~~~~

Azul: *telling his life story* and then the tied me to the bough of the ship during shark feeding time..

Mc: *writing everything down* did anyone.. of authority like a teacher.. or parent? Know of the situation?

Azul: yes.. but since they were merpeople nothing happened to them.. and if you don't mind me asking what makes you qualified for this job..?

Mc: oh trust me... I've heard and seen thing that would put most into a mental hospital..

~~~~

Mc: *after chapter one* *shuffling through bingo cards* ah yes 'the controlling mom' good this Riddle hasn't killed her yet..

~~~~

If mc is female: *tried to extend the olive branch to RSA*

RSA mob: *aghast* how could they keep such a far princess locked away!

Mc: Wait no...

RSA mod: those villains! A dams-

Mc: yeah yeah.. "I'm a damsel, I'm distressed" *rolling eyes* I got it.. good day!

Mc: *pulling out bingo card* prince complex

~~~~

Welcome to today's episode of "habits of the mc"

Mc has developed a habit of checking the couch/bed before flopping down so they don't squish anyone sleeping

Ace: so then he was like shpee then the other dude was like bravve pew pew! *flops onto chair*

Deuce: I know right it was SO COOL *sits on chair*

Mc: hm.. I'll have...to.. Check it out..*looking over couch*

Ace: what are you doing..?

Mc: I don't to sit on grimm by accident

-----

A God in the kitchen

Jack: what do you think their making?

Ace: what ever it is smells like heaven

-----

Always makes sure to make extra because some one might stop by

Mc: *setting table* BOYS GO WASH UP AND COME EAT

First years: *not walks but runs to the dining room*

Jack: h-how do you we were here?

Mc: I have my ways dear

Knows how to play a multitude of instruments

Lila: *giving mc a club tour* and this is the music club! I'm actually apart of this club~

Mc: cool co- IT THAT AN KILIMBA!

Lila: why yes~ but nobody really plays it.. surprisingly it's quite hard to learn

Mc: *plays a small tune* somebody I knew liked playing this~

-----

Mother hens everyone

Mc: *eating lunch with friends*

Epel: *messily eating mash potatoes*

Mc: * not looking away from food* you got some schmutz on your face.. *wiping eple's face of potatoes* let me get that

Epel: Hey! I could do that myself!

Mc: yes I know but not to point fingers.. but vil has been giving you quite the death glare

Always has something for something

Idia: *muttering* I should have come out today *Kamil, Rook and cater have been chasing him*

Mc: *see's idia starting freaking out* hello Idia dear~ why don't you come with me!

Idia: *a shivering mess* w-where... ar-are you t-taking me..?

Mc: oh just to the infirmary.. *pulls out some candy and a portable game* here.. now Come on~

Has an eye on the back of their head

Floyd: *sneaking up on mc*

Mc: stop right there floyd leech

Floyd: HUH! BUT SHRIMY!

Mc: now not another sass

-----

Casually doing magic even though the mirror said they had none

Mc: now all of you wake up~

Cleaning supplies: *start animating to life*

Crowley: *confused scilence*

THE BINGO CARD

I LOVE HOW SEBEK KNOWS IT'S HIM THE SIMP

[elekinetic]

patrick nancy agenda go

LETS GO

ok so for those of you who don't know my Patrick McKinney Lore, consider this s4 au:

patrick is a steve-esque figure for lucas. maybe we borrow some stuff from lucas on the line. he's popular, well-liked. kind of close with jason (to increase dramatic tension between the two). he uses popularity as a shield the same way lucas wants to. they bond over that.

after chrissy dies, he's silently skeptical of jason's mob-mentality.

gareth is the 3rd victim. when jason goes to the corroded coffin rehearsal, we get some hints that he is gonna Get Vecna'd. when jason attacks gareth, we watch lucas struggle with sticking up for what is right (which would put him in danger) and sticking with the safety of the pack. patrick, who has made this decision countless times, sees lucas struggling. this sparks some doubt of his own.

at the hendersons, patrick catches lucas leaving. he lets lucas go and leads the jocks in a different direction.

we add a scene at lovers lake between patrick and jason where they fight over jason's hellbent desire to kill eddie. gareth, who'd have a pre-established reason to be at the lake, would get vecna'd. the basketball team would watch, and this ends in patrick getting the fuck out of there. he knows this wasn't hellfire, but he jason's mind wont change. (plus i think having the added angle of "oh look now their sacrificing their own members" would be interesting)

something something patrick joins the teens. eddie dies in a meaningful way. their "i didn't run" journeys parallel each other.

end of s4/early s5 patrick's arc is about clearing eddie's name. he's a respected community member and though he struggles to get people on his side, he becomes a community leader. he represents the best of hawkins.

now, onto patrick x nancy <3

i am a jancy endgame girl. this is jancy endgame compliant.

HOWEVER

they are still going thru it in s4.

fuck stancy noise, we're replacing the six nuggets scene with a scene between nancy and patrick while theyre getting ready for battle. they bond over facing parental/societal pressure, esp in the wake of "popularity." he tells nancy that she's brave. that he's sorry she has to be. maybe its a little flirty, but its definitely sincere.

(also we're just slipping the six nuggets dream into a convo steve has w robin abt what he wants his future to look like, if they make it out of here alive. its important we get this foreshadowing for steves impending s5 death)

there are a couple more moments between patrick and nancy, mostly charged w him being chivalrous and checking to make sure she's okay.

when jonathan returns, patrick steps back.

in s5, jonathan and patrick have a conversation about how nancy deserves honesty.

blah blah dramatic conversations and moments happen throughout s5. jonathan + patrick + nancy team up. jonathan saves nancy, nancy saves patrick, patrick saves jonathan. patrick and nancy's relationship grows strongs as it becomes more and more platonic throughout s5, esp as jancy is drawn back together.

the whole situation ends with nancy and patrick being very close friends. best friends. they understand each other fundamentally.

as im writing this, im realizing i lowkey wrote stoncy (but make it better). i sort of wrote steve, but make him better. oh my god. but heres the difference between steve and patrick. steve starts as vapid and overprivileged. patrick starts with a struggle. they both grow, but patrick grows into a community leader, while steve focuses on his own identity (not in a sexuality way. in a person way). plus i think the conflict between him and (a only sort of torn up in this au) jason is a SUPER interesting angle and i wish i could see them use it to explore the hellfire+mob plot.

anyway patrick mckinney deserved better than that excuse of a death and i wish i could give it to him

[protect-namine]

mmmm thinking about Guoshi Fangxin

Also thinking about how good the Fangxin storyline was and just... the comparison between Lang Qianqiu and Xie Lian is so good man

The way Book 1 had the heavenly officials comparing them all the time. The way they got grouped in a mission and whenever Shi Qingxuan has to call their title “Your Highness” they both will of course think they’re the one being addressed so they both answer Shi Qingxuan’s call at the same time.

Lang Qianqiu being taught by Guoshi Xie Lian and being his actual disciple and metaphorical successor. Not just with sword skills, but also as the crown prince of the nation that replaced Xie Lian’s. The way Lang Qianqiu worked to unite the kingdom and make the Xianle people’s lives better during his rule, while Xie Lian made it worse during his descent.

The parallels of their Guoshis posing the problems of “two people are thirsty in the desert” vs “two people are hungry and robbing each other of food.” The way Xie Lian answers by wanting to intervene and save everyone, and how that belief leads him to become the fallen prince. The way Lang Qianqiu says, “Maybe [the third person] shouldn’t have intercepted from the start” thereby showing how he’s already different from Xie Lian and how, in the end, Lang Qianqiu ascends and doesn’t fall like Xie Lian.

Lang Qianqiu growing up and being taught to be so honorable that he would of course ask Xie Lian for a duel to settle things and of course he would break his own arm to make the duel fair, because his opponent’s arm is broken too. Meanwhile, Xie Lian really didn’t care anymore about that kind of thing (not to mention that he also had the hidden agenda of keeping the truth from Lang Qianqiu) and he knew the fight will be unfair from the start (“Fight me, and you will for sure die”) so of course he would “cheat” his duel with Lang Qianqiu and use Ruoye.

The utter karma of the Gilded Banquet. All the royals of Xianle and Yong’an killed except for the crown princes. Lang Qianqiu survives and later ascends; Xie Lian is hunted and staked to a coffin for a hundred years.

“The only thing that could be said with certainty was, of the two Crown Princes, Lang Qianqiu had always been more fortunate than Xie Lian.” SO GOOD. THIS LINE IS SO GOOD. There’s just something so poetic with the story of these two crown princes.

[awordwasthebeginning]

Unfortunately yes, and not just because the MC’s name is Zoey.

A Four Letter Word chapters 6 & 7

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Weiterlesen

[sugarbutterbroadway]

Benjamin Buttons and His Cup Of Brandy

The reception was beautiful, far more luxurious than Buttons felt he deserved. He felt just a little self conscious in his layaway suit while everyone else was dressed to the nines. Jack looked like royalty, it was a little freaky seeing his friend who used to wear the same three shirts dressed like a king. This whole day felt freaky in general, like a blast to the past but not at the same time. He couldn’t describe it. Just a few days prior he had been in his dorm,sipping on wine and trying not to cry over his fashion history essay. Now he was back in New York where it all started, his home. And he hadn’t visited in so long because he knew how he was. He knew the minute he touched down at JFK he wouldn’t want to go back. He liked Europe well enough but this, this was his home. 

Then the guilt started creeping in. He came here with a clear agenda,be a good friend,congratulate the couple and then be on his way. How did that turn into him perched at the open bar, sipping on brandy? He sighed, how did seeing Jojo after all those years still make his stomach turn?

How could Jojo act as if he wasn’t a monster?

They had made so many plans together, plans made on the rooftops of abandoned buildings and only said at the hush of night so the world couldn’t taint them. Plans that were spoken from cherry sweet lips that Buttons once knew like the back of his hand--no, he knew those lips like he knew his way around a needle and thread. He needed them, he needed to be in Jojo’s arms, he needed to know that they were okay. But how could they be okay? Jojo had stuck to those plans through and through to the very end, but then life took such a sour turn that Buttons left.

No, he didn’t just leave. He ran, like a coward. He jumped at the first opportunity to leave because he felt suffocated by the city, felt suffocated every time he passed the seamstress shop of the woman who raised him. The woman he had to put into the ground, in a coffin that was less than what she deserved because he was only seventeen. And Jojo had been there for it all. Jojo had been there counting his beads and mumbling silent prayers in a language that sounded like music, it sounded like ambrosia must have tasted to the gods, it was worship and it was beautiful and Jojo was beautiful and god did Buttons need another drink.

He got the attention of the bartender and didn’t even have to speak before his glass was being refilled. He wanted to laugh at himself, how pathetic must it be to be crying at a wedding? A soft chuckle slid past his lips as he sipped his brandy. He wanted something harder, something to make him forget, maybe even put him into a long sleep. He wanted to forget words that sounded like music and the widest smile he’s ever seen in his life. He wanted to forget how that hand had felt in his own as they walked side by side down the aisle. How for a moment it almost seemed like he wouldn’t let go, like they could stay like that forever. But the second Jojo let go, reality came crashing down around him.

Buttons had been the one who fucked up. He went back on his promise and had left. Without a call or a text he had gotten on a plane and hadn’t been back since. And he had the audacity to speak to Jojo like none of that even happened. How had no one else seen the way his eyes dimmed, the way his smile faltered? He was hurt. He had every right to be hurt and Buttons wanted to fix it. But how could he? How do you even start to fix the biggest mistake of your life?

How cou-

“Benny,”a warm voice said, soon after he felt a hand on his shoulder. He froze, he wasn’t even sure if he was breathing.

“Benny, look at me” but he couldn’t, how could he when he felt so awful? The hand on his shoulder moved to gently cup his jaw and tilted it.

“You’re crying”

He was? He brought a hand up to his face and sure enough there were definitely tears there.

“I’m sorry”He whispered.

“What are you sorry for?”Jojo asked.

“I..”he trailed off, a sob threatening to shoot to the surface. And Jojo knew, just how he always seemed to know.

“Let’s take this outside,”Jojo said. He didn’t give Buttons a chance to react before leading him away from the bar and outside the venue hall. Buttons thought that was where they were going to stop but Jojo had kept walking until they were outside the castle. The night air felt chilly against his tear slicked face, he shivered.

“What happened?”Jojo asked.

“I-I don’t know what you mean”He stammered, he wished he was drunk.

“You know exactly what I mean,”Jojo said patiently. “No one just sits at a bar and cries”

“I can’t”He croaked, this felt like his worst nightmare. His heart pounded against his chest and his face now felt hot, his entire body felt like he was burning.

“Yes you can”Jojo said, “You can tell me anything”

“Why?”He blurted out, he wanted to punch himself.

Jojo tilted his head, “what do you mean?”

“Why-”He took a shaky breath, “Why do you still care about me?”

“Am I not supposed to?”Jojo chuckled, though his eyes were serious.

“No,”Buttons said slowly. Jojo’s eyes seemed to flood with realization. He took a seat on the steps of the manor and motioned for Buttons to sit as well. Once they were both seated, Jojo took one of his hands and looked directly into his eyes.

“If we have this talk there’s no going back”Jojo said.

“I want to”Buttons whispered.

“You left me”he said, in a voice so calm he could be saying the weather. So calm that it knocked the wind out of Buttons’ chest. He startled a bit but Jojo just squeezed his hand and continued. “You left me, Benny...but I forgave you a long time ago”

Buttons eyes began to water once again. “Why?”

“Because it was the only way I could move on” and for the first time that night Buttons had seen Jojo's face grow serious. The smile that seemed to split his face in two was replaced with somber eyes. “You hurt me”

“I’m sorry”

“I know”Jojo said, shaking his head. “I know you’re sorry, and i’m sorry too”

“For what?”he said. Jojo squeezed his hand and for the second time that day he let go.

“For leading you on” Buttons felt his heart flutter, and not in a good way. It felt like it had fluttered into an electrical wire and sent his whole body seizing up. He pulled back as if he had been burned. Jojo gave a sad smile and folded his hands in his lap.

“I wanted to pretend”Jojo whispered, “I wanted to pretend that we were okay and I didn’t want to make a fuss because it’s Jack and Davey’s day. I saw you and...and I thought we would just bounce back, like nothing happened, like you hadn’t broke my heart”

“I broke your heart?”He said, he felt mortified.

Jojo nodded and brought a hand up to rub his face. “I’ve thought of having this conversation for years. I wanted to scream at you, I wanted to tell you just how broken you left me. But i’m an adult now and I don’t have time to sit around and cry anymore. I couldn’t keep living in the past, I dreamt of you coming back, of you answering my calls, of you holding me like we used to-”

“Jojo-”he sobbed.

“-but I had to face the music,”Jojo continued. “I still care about you, I never told anyone what you did because I didn’t want them to hate you. But I...I can’t play pretend anymore-”

“W-what if it’s not pretend”He interjected, wiping his eyes. “I’ll move back Jojo, I can do school onl-”

In that moment something seemed to snap deep inside of Jojo because the soft look in his eyes shifted to rage.

“If it wasn’t pretend you wouldn’t have left in the first place!”Jojo exploded, the silence that followed was deafening, but the outburst must have broken a dam because Jojo was livid. “How can you tell me I meant everything to you and not even tell me you’re moving? I tried to reach out to you for months until I found out from Jack that you had moved to fucking Scotland! I held onto the dream of you coming back for years and-I-ugh, fuck you Benjamin! Just fuck you!”

Seeing Jojo angry was about as rare as seeing a shooting star, and Buttons couldn’t believe that he was the cause of it.

“I left because I felt alone-”He tried to explain, but jojo wasn’t having it.

“And you couldn’t just tell me!”Jojo shouted. “I loved you so much! I gave every inch of myself to you and you-you left me!”

Then came the tears. Silent tears that seemed to shoot down his read face, Buttons had tried to comfort him but Jojo had shoved him away.

“Do not touch me”the words said through clenched teeth. “What can I do?”He whispered.

“Did I even mean anything to you?”Jojo asked, rubbing roughly at his eyes.

“Of course you meant something to me!”He spluttered.

“Then why did you leave me?”

“Because I was fucking stupid”He said, “I was stupid and i’m so sorry”

“That’s all you have to say?”Jojo said, “You disappear for six years and that’s all you have to say?”

“Joj...I-”

“I don't want to hear it”Jo said, shaking his head. “You can leave and take your bullshit excuses with you”

“I don’t want to leave you out here,”He said.

“Oh now you don’t want to leave” 

Maybe it was the way Jojo had practically spat the words or maybe it was the disgust on his face, but it struck a nerve deep inside of him.

“I left because I felt suffocated,”He said sharply. “I left because my mom had just died and I couldn’t stand living in the city where her body was buried, so I ran! And yeah, it was a dick move but I was seventeen years old and fucking stupid!”he shouted,”I didn’t tell you because I knew you were going to try to talk me out of it and I knew you were going to succeed and I didn’t want that! I know it was wrong, I know Jojo! I was scared to reach out because i’m a coward and I suck at facing my problems! I...I thought if I tried to forget about you, I would stop loving you but obviously that’s not how things work”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,”Jojo said, after a few beats. “You fucked up, Benny. You fucked up big time”

“I know,”he sighed.

“I thought I forgave you,”Jojo said, shaking his head, “But I don’t even know...I...don’t know. This isn’t some movie where we yell and make up...you’re a few years too late, Benny”

“No”He whispered, “no, please. Jojo please just...i’m sorry, let me make it up to you”

“And how are you going to do that?”Jojo laughed, “You turned my whole life upside down, you made me feel like I was the only thing that mattered, we had plans. Then you leave me to pick up the pieces of the mess you made”His voice had taken on a distant and stony quality, his eyes stared at nothing. “I played nice today, but don’t even think anything will ever come of this. I’ll be your friend, i can do that but I-”He took a deep breath, “I will not take another heartbreak like that,lying to our friends about why I changed just to save your ass. I can’t believe I did that”

“That’s fair,”Buttons said. “I...this is what I deserve”

“Don’t play with people's hearts, Benny”He said, “Especially the people who cared about you the most”

Buttons nodded, “Can you just do me one favor?”

Jojo hummed.

“Please just...please don’t call me Benny anymore”

“Alright, Buttons,”Jojo said briskly, without another word he got up and walked back into the manor. Now Buttons was once again alone in the world without even dreams of Jojo to fall back on. So this was it, this was what happened when your worst fears became your reality. He looked at the cup of brandy that sat next to him, half empty.

He took a sip.

[owlsbride]

This Too Shall Pass

Chapter III: The Reaper.

London was no longer London. At least not the London he had come to love. Now it was a mix of modern buildings as tall as the sky itself. The old carriages over the years had been replaced by modern cars much faster and more compact at the same time. Now there were buses and even high-speed subway trains. Modernity was a new world and infinite possibilities. There was no misinterpretation, he had adapted well throughout all these years. He had learned to use every technological advance that came his way: cell phones, computers, the glorious internet, television. He even enjoyed from time to time going to the movies. He had learned that the latter was not significantly different from how people's cinematics records worked and that in a way filled him with pride. Even if he was a deserter, he had to accept that his people were far more intelligent and advanced than humans. He was used to modern life; it could be said that he even enjoyed it. He had come to learn some of the little pleasures that this era could bring him. He could sit for hours in some trendy little cafe, (where in order to pay a cup of tea, a regular person would have to consider selling a kidney on the black market) just to watch humans live their lives as fast as possible, coming and going without even pausing for a second to look to the side or behind, without even having the slightest consideration for what they did to the other or to the world in which they lived. These people lived oblivious of the finiteness and fragility of their bodies. They walked around proud of their cars, their clothes, their lovers and their promising careers, never stopping to look at or ask the needs of the others, never acknowledging that in the end death was inevitable and that at the last breath she equalled them all. Royalty, politicians, businessmen or beggars, they would all follow the same path and some of his former colleagues would be willing and able to judge them and take them without the possibility of the slightest protest. Oh these humans, they would never know what they got till is lost forever. He had lost everything once, even his sanity, and he was sure he would not do it again. Not now that he saw things as they were. His obsession with death had long been replaced by his obsession with life. That was what had driven him away from what had made him a legend so long ago, and what drives him crazy every time a little more. It was the burning desire to know what life was afterlife itself. How to prolong it, recover lost moments, and why not, create new ones. How to find once again what was lost and how to restore it as an exquisite work of art. Ironically, to reach his goal, he needed death: he was tied to it, and just today, in these times, the business of death was dying. Hilarious. Something as simple as passing, now it was complicated. In the good old days, when he had decided to turn his back on everything he knew, he had become London's best-known mortician. With his small business in Camden Town, he had had access to the most extraordinary elites of English society, and yet also made important contacts with simple commoners. As an undertaker, he had connections, the most varied and they all turned to him. Of course, he was not moved by money, he had never cared, he simply demanded in return a good joke that would make him laugh. After all, even death was not to be taken too seriously. He ran his business diligently getting to know more people than he ever imagined, one more curious and entertaining than the other. As an informant for the queen's watchdogs, he had managed to get into the elite, and thus each subject of study reached him without significant problems. He was happy, Oh what wouldn't he give for listening to the Earl's little voice once more asking for information? That butler was an incredible specimen, and he would have loved to dissect him. Oh lord, if only the little boy wouldn't be so stubborn about his stupid vengeance. Today the Parlour was not enough. Undertaker knew that if he wanted to continue his investigations even nearly 200 years later and with many incredible technological improvements, he had to be able to access another source of income. Modern times meant diversifying. Today, everyone's favourite mortician was no longer called to make arrangements for the afterlife. No. Now there were hundreds of other undertakers who did the same as him. Therefore, a place in the hospital morgue had been secured for some time. Who better than him, after years and years of seeing corpses to perform an autopsy and making himself time to take a look at his hidden agenda secretly? So yes, Undertaker was happy. Even if he missed the old times sometimes, he still ran his Parlour in the afternoons and was a forensic doc in the mornings. Just like a superhero with a secret identity, thinking about it, too many identities. Undertaker was sitting on the counter at his place, his long booted legs swinging lazily. The newspaper rested next to him, he had just finished reading the news, and they were hopeless, people in London were dying in droves, more like hundreds a day and that sort of hurt. Of course, he had witnessed other pandemics and knew very well what the consequences were. Not only did people die from the disease itself, but the devastation left, and the collateral damages were incalculable. It was as if the Horseman of the Apocalypse from the bible really put his feet on the slaughtered Earth. Undertaker knew that by now his fellow shinigamis would be desperate from overwork and felt sorry for them. How much would the lists of people to die have increased in recent months? He also felt sorry for the doctors who work non-stop to save lives. Two sides of the same coin: medical services and shinigamis, both barely surpassed by an infamous virus invisible to everyone's eyes, even his own. He regretted his work in the hospital too, it had been interrupted in these months, and he no longer had access to people's bodies for security measures. Obviously, the virus did not affect him in the least, but he had to keep up appearances. He sighed bored as his black nails drummed on the surface of the counter, he had no pending work, and he only had to wait. Sighed and wait. No more laugh, no more research, no more hilarious strange glances from his fellow doctors, nothing. Just desolation in every corner. His day couldn't get any worse, he burnt his bone-shaped cookies and was running out of tea. He would have to go to the store soon. He hated the store, he much preferred Lau's herbs, even the funny ones, those who made people laugh and relax when used in the right amount, and if not, still, he was not one to judge. So picking up the keys, he was ready to go out when something or somebody took him by surprise. "Heh heh, but if it's none other than the red shinigami ~ Tell me, sweety, Dear William gave you some free time?" "Undertaker, always a pleasure ..." Grell began nervously. Being in front of the legend of the shinigamis made him nervous "I have a favour to ask you." "A favour? Hmm ... How long has it been since the last one?" The silver-haired man chuckled, removing his bangs from his eyes. "You know what to do ~ give it to me first. Come on, you know what I want." "Undertaker ..." Grell pleaded "Now is not the time, besides you know I don't know how to do it." "My my, your face is priceless; you are still a nervous wreck." The Undertaker smiled almost fondly at the younger reaper. "What do you want?" "I need you ..." Undertaker raised an interested eyebrow, putting the keys back where he had found them, the tea could wait. Not every day a Shinigami would show up at the doors of a deserter asking for help. "I mean... WE need you." "You mean the London Despatch?..." Disbelief in his words, Grell nodded "Now, that's the joke of the century Grell, come on, I don't have time, I'm running out of tea". Grell Sutcliff rolled his eyes. He hadn't changed in years, Undertaker was just the same and he kind of like it. If it weren't for his relationship with William, Oh, the things he could do to the revel grim reaper in front of him. "Really, Undertaker? Is that what you do now? Take tea like an old lady?" the red-head spoke loudly, pointing at Undertaker's hidden scythe. "Well ... I'm quite old after all" Undertaker smiled and Grell pouted. "Ok, Ok. Why don't you take a seat on one of my special coffins and explain yourself?" Grell blew out the breath he didn't know he was holding and accepted the invitation. It was his idea after all, and he couldn't bring a no for an answer to his beloved William.

The chilly winter covered the city with a heavy mist. The sky threatened to snow at any moment. It didn't take long to convince him. Once young Grell Sutcliff had finished telling him his crazy plan and talked about how much the Despatch needed the help, he was ready to go. Plus, the red riper dared to say that the snob William T. Spears would have more than a headache knowing that he, the renegade shinigami, would accomplish the task better and faster, and nothing made him happier than bother poor Will. He was ready to wear the shinigami outfit one more time. He had to admit that he had missed it and that there was nothing like fieldwork. He was prepared to prove that no one could ever match him. Within just a few hours, he had been able to carry out the work of four shinigamis together and was just getting started. He caressed his lifelong companion with devotion, he had never gotten rid of his lover, and today they were walking together once more. His scythe was fantastic, and he loved her. Standing on the terrace of the hospital, he checked the list one more time. There were only two names left before the end of the shift when something caught his attention. She wasn't on the list moments ago. Her name had appeared suddenly, and she should not be there: Gwenhwyfar O'Doherty. He knew her, he had seen her from time to time in the corridors of the hospital. The young Irish doctor, lovely green eyes, cute freckles, she was so full of life. Working diligently every day to save others and yet here she was about to take the somersault that would make her, at best, one of his own kind. She wasn't ready to go, the world needed her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, dear~ You are very much need it right now~." and his soft chuckle got lost in the winter night.

[soybeeftacos]

A Long Rant and Mediocre Analysis of the Future of My Beloved Jinteki Faction, by scd.

I have been thinking about Jinteki and the impending rotation of a lot of Jinteki cards...

As many have, I eagerly anticipate the upcoming System Update and System Gateway releases from NISEI. I’ve not been the hugest fan of Ashes, to put it mildly, especially their ID design. As someone on the Green Level Clearance Discord said the other day (I forget who, sorry), it’s almost as if they made every Runner a different kind of Shaper. And the Corps are, by and large, uncompetitive and overly fiddly for my tastes — oh, how I wish Hyoubu Institute was any good! I’m dipping my toes back into Standard after a few years away, and have lately been trying to get my head around what’s coming around the corner, especially since beyond Engram Flush and LaCosta Grid, I don’t see a ton to be excited about in recent Jinteki cards.

Then it dawned on me, with the upcoming replacement of SC2019, Honor & Profit, and the SanSan Cycle, we are actually losing a lot of Jinteki cards. This hit me most the most at the level of identities. On the potential chopping block are: Jinteki: Personal Evolution, Jinteki: Replication Perfection, Harmony Medtech, Nisei Division, Tennin Institute, Jinteki Biotech, and Chronos Protocol. Add in that Mti Mwekundu and Jinteki: Potential Unleashed are currently banned, this leaves the competitive pool as of System Gateway/System Update: one of the above identities (if the rumors that System Update will have only one Corp ID per faction are true), the new Jinteki ID in System Gateway, then Pālanā Foods, AgInfusion, and Saraswati. No other legal Jinteki IDs. I understand that the first two are solid glacier choices, and I actually quite like Saraswati, but I want more and more variety.

So it’s a bit of a bummer for my favorite faction, which has had goofy FA Tennin decks, Punitive Medtech techs, Complete Image Chronos Protocol kill decks, lots and lots of different PE decks. Will we see the death of the Jinteki I loved? Or will it rise again from the proverbial coffin of rotation? (Yes, this was all an elaborate justification for using the old GIF above that I think Eric Caoili made many years ago).

I’m basically just sick of Jinteki glacier. It’s never been fun for me, nor does it feel like what the faction should be primarily “about.” Jinteki’s current state as a glacier faction primarily has as much to do with what’s been banned as much as what’s been printed (LaCosta, for instance). If there are enough net damage cards in the pool, someone will make yet another new version of the caustic “Potatoes” deck and then NISEI will ban a bunch of the most troublesome cards again. Ignoring currents, there are five Jinteki cards on the current banlist, which is tied with Weyland for the most — followed by four NBN cards, two HB cards, and four neutrals.

If System Update has only one Corp ID per faction, as the recent rumor has stated, then I’ll be bummed out. If it’s true, I fully expect that Personal Evolution will be the one to stick around. It’s always been at least marginally playable, it does something different (a net damage tax), and it’s intelligible for new players. But what other cards stick around? What else should stick around? I thought I’d look and see what cards are actually going to rotate and which ones I was most upset about. What I found was actually a little surprising to me — while I claim I love this faction, I’m, uh, not going to miss many of these! I’ve gone through below and identified from SC2019, Honor & Profit, and the SanSan Cycle all of the cards that I suspect just can’t go and/or I’d be real sad if they did.

From the pool of SC2019 Cards, here’s what I’d hold onto:

Jinteki: Personal Evolution Nisei Mk II Fetal AI Philotic Entanglement Project Junebug Ronin Snare! Neural EMP

All of these are such key cards to me, I just can’t see Jinteki without nearly all of them. Fetal AI, Philotic and Ronin are possibly marginal, but I think NISEI really made the right call bringing Fetal back (t’s a beautiful card on a number of levels); Philotic being limited to 1-per-deck has always made it a fun surprise and/or a welcome 3/2 in the faction; and without Ronin or a suitable combo-kill replacement, I don’t see the faction moving beyond just glacier decks. Can you imagine Netrunner without Snare!? Or NISEI getting rid of Nisei Mk II? Personal Evolution, Neural EMP, Junebug — these have always been faction-defining cards to me, and I don’t see NISEI being foolish enough to mess with that.

So, what would I lose from SC2019?

Jinteki: Replicating Perfection Sundew Hokusai Grid Celebrity Gift Trick of Light Himitsu-Bako Wall of Thorns Lotus Field Yagura Neural Katana Swordsman Tsurugi

A lot of great cards here, but push come to shove, I could lose any of them. I’ll miss all of these if they all go, and I won’t be sad if any are kept (other than maybe RP, as I think there are better options, if NISEI has more than one core Jinteki ID in System Update; see below).

Onward and on to the Honor & Profit Cards:

Psychic Field Mushin No Shin Komainu

This genuinely surprised me! I had expected that there would be many, many more Honor & Profit cards I’d want to keep. As a Jinteki lover, I’ve played with all of the cards in this box (with the possible exception of NeoTokyo Grid), but only Psychic Field, Mushin, and Komainu seemed obvious keepers to me. Now, now, I’m sure there’s some group of people out there who think Mushin is "bad” and I understand that, but without Mushin there needs to be something I want there to be something that has a similar effect — Saraswati is kinda it, but it’s also the ID itself and Mushin as an ID is not the same. I think Mushin needs to be kept to help facilitate the shell game Jinteki that has been a staple since Hinkes’ Cambridge PE. In the online play world of Jinteki.net, many people would love to see mind games and traps leave the game entirely, but I don’t think NISEI does (given that they kept Cerebral Overwriter in Uprising). Psychic Field, I’d keep, partially to facilitate this but also as a necessary, hard 419 counter — a counter on a mechanical vector that is not just about money and math. Komainu is a beautiful piece of ice, and one I’d love to see stay in the game.

So, what are we losing if I ruled NISEI?

Harmony Medtech Nisei Division Tennin Institute House of Knives Medical Breakthrough The Future Perfect Chairman Hiro Mental Health Clinic Shi.Kyū Tenma Line Cerebral Cast Medical Research Fundraiser Inazuma Pup Shiro Susanoo-no-Mikoto NeoTokyo Grid Tori Hanzō

Ouch. There are a lot of almost-keepers here. House of Knives, TFP, Tennin, Pup, and Susanoo, are all cards I’d love to see stick around but frankly, I don’t think they really need to. TFP is a great defensive agenda but we already have some fantastic defensive agendas in the faction (and I’d love to see what NISEI cooks up for other defensive Jinteki 5/3s). House of Knives is a great card and maybe it should stick around, I dunno, but perhaps there’s more interesting space to explore in net-damaging 3/1s (plus, we just got Sting! somewhat recently). These remaining ice don’t get a lot of play, even if they once did (like Pup); I’d be happy to see any of them stick around, but I’d also like to see new ideas. So, they can all go.

What about the SanSan Cycle? I’d keep:

Jinteki Biotech: Life Imagined Crick Cortex Lock Marcus Batty An Offer You Can’t Refuse

Okay, whoa, there’s actually an ID in here! Yeah, I love Biotech, even if I haven’t played it in a long time. I feel like Biotech needed just another couple of cards to make the other non-Brewery flip sides workable. I’d love to see NISEI attempt to fix an ID rather than just rotate it. Crick and Cortex Lock seem like such solid, interesting ice that I wouldn’t want to lose either — Cortex Lock is of course a wonderful facechecking ice, good early game ice that was only really ever a problem during the Mti meta. I’ve always loved the positional ice of that cycle, and Crick is lovely. Batty is too fun to ignore and is versatile for multiple decks, and is not stifling like other defensive upgrades. And An Offer You Can’t Refuse — clearly the weirdest, least-played card of this entire post — I just want to keep it around, for the novelty of forcing a run on the Corp’s turn and its related rules confusions. And for the memes.

What would we lose?

Genetic Resequencing Ancestral Imager Allele Repression Genetics Pavilion Lockdown It’s a Trap! Clairvoyant Monitor Chronos Protocol: Selective Mind-Mapping Recruiting Trip Valley Grid

Not a lot here that I really care about, I guess? Genetics Pavilion is probably the one I’d miss the most, not that it’s had much play since Wyldside rotated. And Chronos Protocol — I’m glad it got a brief moment to shine in the sun of Complete Image, but I’m not going to miss it otherwise. Maybe Allele Repression, but frankly, Genotyping, Preemptive Action, etc. have shown that Operation-based card recycling is the best way to go post-Jackson. The rest of these cards were, I think, pretty mediocre design; I’m surprised at how little wheat to chaff there was in SanSan for Jinteki, as my memory is quite different!

And, of course, with the release of System Update, we’ll presumably get some other old cards resurfacing that we haven’t seen in a while. I certainly hope NISEI gets aggressive and interesting with these choices, as I think they did a pretty good job with SC2019 (even if I found Core Experience to be a slog of a format). I’m excited at the options of what from the original core, Genesis, Spin, and Lunar might resurface. If it were up to me, here are the four cards that I would bring back:

Hostile Infrastructure Shock! Edge of World Industrial Genomics

Okay, okay, Hostile Infrastructure won’t be popular, but I love it. It’s expensive to rez and with SanSan gone there won’t be the old Breaker Bay Grid cheese to get it rezzed for free. It’s been back in the meta with Salvaged Memories for a bit now and doesn’t appear to be the scourge of the meta, so why not just keep it? More importantly, I’d love to see Shock! come back — it felt infinitely more fair than Breached Dome with a similar (albeit costlier to trash) effect. Edge of World was a jank-enabler that I would love to see again (perhaps because I’m currently playing Retrunner with these old cards again), and then there’s ... Industrial Genomics.

Okay, okay, okay, I hear you, “IG bad.” It’s a mean, mean, Bad People Play It™ identity that made you cry real bad that one time. It did the same to me once, too! I get that perspective, but if we are going to choose a Jinteki ID that is very functionally different than Personal Evolution to complement it in System Update, I’d like one that facilitates the kinds of play IG does. Biotech fits that bill, but frankly, Biotech unless it gets the card support will just be another Brewery kill ID, and I’m not sure NISEI are thinking that’s worth keeping. I’m being hopelessly optimistic that we’ll be getting three Jinteki IDs when System Gateway and Update drop rather than just two, and if I had to choose between Biotech and IG, I’m going IG every time.

Now, with Kakurenbo in the cardpool, a return of IG just can’t happen; so... ban Kakurenbo! It is a ridiculous card that was, seemingly, mainly designed for IG to play in Eternal. I can’t see any other good use for it, at least. Bring back the old IG from before Bio-Ethics prison. Bring back Shock! Hell, even go ahead and ban Bio-Ethics — gasp, I can’t believe I’m typing such blashemy — and give us something that can open up new kinds of play with this interesting, classic, and overly-maligned ID. Industrial Genomics was a weird thing of beauty, and it deserves another run. Laugh at me all you want, you know I’m right.

One more thing — what about Caprice Nisei? Shouldn’t she be discussed? Nah, she gets no love from me, simply because of the playstyle she empowers. Caprice is of course a great and meta-defining card — for glacier! But haven’t we had enough of glacier by now? Like, two years of mainly glacier Jinteki? And I’m the lord of my own barely-read blog fiefdom; I decree that if you really want a psi game to protect your agenda, you should just go play Hyoubu Precog Manifold.

Anyway, just some thoughts by someone who doesn’t play any Standard but wants to do more. I started writing this thinking it was about the dire state of Jinteki, but I’m now left thinking there’s actually a much smaller set of must-keep Jinteki cards than I initially thought. Granted, most of them are non-ice cards, and that’s a problem here — only a handful of ice here seem really necessary to keep. And maybe that’s what this is about; encouraging more deckbuilding that has little to do with building remotes.

I’m most concerned about IDs. Keeping PE and either Biotech or IG would make me personally happy, and Tennin would be an acceptable “sure, why not.” There’s a lot of potential for Jinteki to move into more forms of play that aren’t so glacier-heavy, and I’m hopeful about that. I do think what they do in System Gateway and System Update will need to address the loss of Jinteki cards, but perhaps not as seriously as I had feared when I started writing this.

Anyway, I’d love to hear any reactions to this. Long Live Chairman Hiro!

[vampireadamooc]

Links tracing the Internet’s History of the Ojai Vampire.

The Ojai Vampire

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 http://thedemoniacal.blogspot.com/2011/09/ojai-vampire.html

The Ojai Vampire wan an alleged vampire that moved to Ojai, CA, circa 1890, and set up home near Creek Road.

Appearance: An undead corpse.

Lore: According to local folklore, circa 1890 a European vampire moved to the area of Ojai, CA, and set up home near Creek Road. The vampire was blamed for mysterious animal disappearances, cattle mutilations, and strange disappearances and murders of people. The vampire was dispatched by a local mob who crept up to the monster's stone sarcophagus which was guarded by a black dog. The mob sprayed the hell hound with holy water, causing it to flee. The mob then lifted the lid of the sarcophagus and drove a stake through the heart of the vampire. The vampire troubled the community no more.

According to some forms of the legend, the mob took the remains of the vampire and encased them in a slab of  cement. The slab was then hidden in nearby Camp Comfort County Park. To this day there are individuals who claim they know where the remains of the vampire are hidden, It is also still common for people to meet up in groups to attempt to find the location of the vampire's remains or of it's former stone sarcophagus.

Powers: Typical powers associated with vampires.

Defense Against The Ojai Vampire: The Ojai Vampire is no threat as it was killed by a local mob.

Posted by Doc Conjure at 2:42 PM

3 comments: Anonymous said... i have seen the vampire of ojai califorina i will never tell of it's loction neer camp comfort me and my friend found it we saw the black dog too. the vampire is real. not a story. i will never go back to that spot again, ever. i felt like we where being watched.. the black dog attacked us.it was very uncomfortable for us. we saw him in the coffin. you can see him if you can find it on your own...do not mess with the stake in his chest.......

January 11, 2013 at 3:07 PM Anonymous said... to those who have seen the black dog leave a black rose for me and let him know i am beseach him to the fulliest and thank him for being and existing in all worlds . emerald-grace3 - queen rebecca of rome italy

July 7, 2013 at 12:40 PM Anonymous said... Plz believe me leave the black dog alone when me and my friend came a cross the black dog it was not cool and me and my friend haven't talked since that day and we grew up together I see him every once in awhile and still no words between us it changed us both it has taken me awhile to send you this message stay away from the black dog and I will never leave anything for that dog if you feel you need to find the black dog good luck in trying to find the black dog

March 22, 2018 at 12:35 AM

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Ojai Vampire Update

Thursday, February 11, 2010 http://doaav.blogspot.com/2010/02/got-so-caught-up-in-new-vampire.html

Got so caught up in the new vampire encyclopaedia news, that I completely forgot about my further investigations in the Ojai Vampire!

After their previous response, I sent them another e-mail ("RE: A Query about Camp Comfort Park", Tuesday, 9 February 2010 7:19:42 PM). I was trying to determine if they had heard any variants of the tale: Hello,

Thanks for giving me the heads up on the sarcophagus issue.

I'm interested to know if you've actually heard about the vampire legend, however. What's your version of it?

~ Anthony And here's what they wrote back ("RE: A Query about Camp Comfort Park", Wednesday, 10 February 2010 3:47:04 AM): Office staff is unaware of any tall tales that have to do with so called "vampires" and the County parks. This makes me think that maybe the legend isn't as widespread as I thought. That, or they're new!

Or, we could go the conspiracy route and suggest they're covering up, but even if that was the case, would you want a bunch of vampire hunting wannabes to be scouring your Park, looking for a (most-likely) non-existent sarcophagus?

Didn't think so.

Besides, the story's obviously bogus. But it's an interesting lesson in the way "stories" are passed along. As long as no-one gets hurt, of course.

Posted by Anthony Hogg at 1:34 AM

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http://doaav.blogspot.com/2010/02/not-alls-sunny-in-california.html Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Not All's Sunny in California

I first read about the Ojai Vampire in Martin V. Riccardo's "Vampire Haunts" chapter for Rosemary Ellen Guiley with J.B. Macabre's The Complete Vampire Companion (New York: Macmillan, 1994).

The story is told on pp. 47-48 and relates the account of (unnamed) local ranchers finding their cattle mutilated and exsanguinated in the 1980s. They suspect a vampire, arm themselves and target a new landowner.

They come across something that resembles a "large stone box near a crossroad off Creek Road" and hear a vicious growl. It comes from a large black dog guarding this "box" (actually a sarcophagus). One of the ranchers whips out a large, silver crucifix, which keeps the dog at bay.

When they get closer to the box, the dog lunges for them, and they fire at it, with no effect. A plucky rancher flings holy water at it and the dog shrieks and runs away, leaving them free to approach the tomb "surrounded by tall weeds under the tree".

They pried off the lid and find "the cadaverous body of a nobleman" and stake it through the heart, just as the sun begins to set, and replace the lid.

Riccardo points out that the story contains "common pagan, Christian, and fictional elements of the vampire myth", taking note of the "crossroad, the spectral black dog, the nobleman, the silver crucifix, and the approaching dusk" (47). He also notes that a black dog is sometimes seen in the area and the sarcophagus has apparently been found, on occasion, with a window in the lid that reveals the vampire's unholy remains.

The story still circulates in Ojai, and is related on a section of Weird California's "Char Man" article. However, the date given in the story is vastly different from Riccardo's account. It also gives a bit of a background to the mysterious nobleman, too: According to urban legend, a vampire relocated to the Ojai area around 1890 from either Italy or Spain. He acquired a small ranch and kept a low profile. However, as soon as he arrived, local cattle began turning up dead and drained of blood. Shortly thereafter locals were assaulted by strange wolf like creatures. The townsfolk got up in arms and realizing that a vampire was in their midst, raided the vampire’s ranch during the day. There's also speculation as to the story's origins and a more specific geographic location of the vampire's resting place. It ends with a sombre warning: It has been speculated that this legend cropped up from a possible real life above ground tomb. It is plausible that an old family near the turn of the century could have buried their dead in this manner upon their estate. It is not only not unheard of, but also apparently the custom at the time in certain parts of Europe. Even the window in the stone coffin isn’t completely unheard of. Stating that, however, if you are wandering around Camp Comfort County Park and come upon a stone sarcophagus with a skeleton inside, don’t pull out the wooden stake. I did some more browsing on the case and found a classic friend-of-a-friend account: Supposedly in the mid 1800s a Vampire Settled in the Ojai valley. In the late 1800s the villagers of Nordhoff, now Ojai, hunted him down and staked him through the heart. Now I have heard that the poeple incased the remains of the vampire in a slab of cement. A buddy of mine actually says that he knows the location of the concrete slab. he says it is about a mile back from the intrance of Camp Comfort across the stream and over the first hill.....a bit of a hike but worth checking out....On my next trip to Ojai it is in the agenda. This is the area where the Phantom Dog roams as well as Charman I tried registering with the forum, to ask this guy to produce a photo of the tomb, but was sadly confronted with this: "Sorry but you cannot register at this time because the administrator has disabled new account registrations."

I also came across what appears to be a slight variant of the story, but much less literate: A guy that transformed into a vampire is repeatedly observed concealing a dead body by a large boulder in Camp Comfort Park after midnight. One thing's for certain, this spirit undoubtedly is bloodcurdling; one that you don't want to encounter at the stroke of midnight. The Ojai Vampire has all the classic urban legend traits, but I'm also reminded of certain elements in 1959 Western, Curse of the Undead.

Not only is it set in California, but the plot revolves around a mysterious gunman, ranch wars and a vampiric plague.

To cap it off, the vampire turns out to be Don Robles, a Spanish nobleman.

Posted by Anthony Hogg at 4:30 AM

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http://doaav.blogspot.com/2010/02/chasing-up-ojai-vampire.html Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Chasing Up the Ojai Vampire

After writing my previous entry, I e-mailed the Ventura County Parks Department (who administer Camp Comfort) with the following ("A Query about Camp Comfort Park", Tuesday, 9 February 2010 5:02:50 AM): Good morning,

Have you heard of the Ojai Vampire?

If so, what's the story you've heard?

It's apparently centred around Camp Comfort County Park.

There's rumours of a sarcophagus that's meant to be somewhere in the area, containing the remains of a vampire.

I don't believe in the story, but I'm wondering if the sarcophagus might actually exist. Can you confirm or deny this?

Sinc., Anthony Hogg And here's what they wrote back ("Re: A Query about Camp Comfort Park", Tuesday, 9 February 2010 7:37:41 AM): The Parks Department Administrative staff knows nothing about a sarcophagus onsite at any of the County parks. And you'd think they would, if there was one out there.

Nonetheless, they weren't very forthcoming about the vampire legend, so maybe they "get that a lot".

If any readers out there have been to Camp Comfort and seen a sarcophagus, or, better yet, have a picture of it, I'd love to hear from you!

Posted by Anthony Hogg at 7:36 PM

[science-criticaltheory]

It’s a New Day in American Politics - Ferguson Is No Exception by Zak Cheney-Rice

Democratic candidate for St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell speaks during a campaign rally, in Bridgeton, MoPhoto: Jeff Roberson/AP/Shutterstock

The year 2019 marks a sea change in American politics. More than 100 new members of Congress were sworn in on Capitol Hill on Thursday, including 67 freshman Democratic representatives, introducing President Donald Trump to divided government for the first time in his tenure. The new House majority will seek to obstruct key parts of his agenda, most immediately by refusing funds for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. Just as Trump’s election in 2016 was seen as a rebuke of the Obama era, the blue wave that engulfed the November midterms can be understood as rejecting his first two years in office and curbing his heretofore unchecked power.

But locally, a different sea change has been underway for years. Voters dissatisfied with their local prosecutors — who in several high-profile cases have shielded police from accountability by declining to charge them for killing unarmed black boys and men — have sent old officials packing in favor of more reform-minded replacements. New top prosecutors in places like Cook County, Illinois, and Orange and Osceola Counties, Florida, have taken office on vows to curtail their predecessors’ more punitive practices, especially concerning black and brown people. Nowhere was this more apparent than in St. Louis County, Missouri, where former Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch guided a grand jury into declining charges against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown, a black teenager, in 2014.

In August, McCulloch was primaried into early retirement by Wesley Bell, a fellow Democrat and black former Ferguson city councilman. Bell ran on a reformist platform that included ending cash bail and the death penalty, and “[resisting] the Trump administration” by limiting local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Since his swearing in on Tuesday, he has wasted little time demonstrating his intentions to fulfill his promise to “fundamentally change the culture” of the office that his predecessor held for 27 years. On Wednesday, he suspended two McColluch-era veterans, Ed McSweeney and Jennifer Coffin, pending termination hearings, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also fired Kathi Alizadeh, the main prosecutor who presented evidence to the Wilson grand jury, and who famously submitted to jurors an old statute asserting that police are justified in killing unarmed suspects who flee the scene of a felony. The statute had been ruled unconstitutional in 1985. “Despite Mr. Bell’s rhetoric about building bridges with career prosecutors, he has apparently decided to suddenly discharge three dedicated public servants in his first hours in office,” Ed Clark, president of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, the union that represents two of the impacted attorneys, said in a press release calling for their reinstatement.

Bell’s shake-up seems practical as well as symbolic. Though the ex-councilman has not made public why he chose to take action against these three prosecutors specifically, McSweeney claims his suspension is retaliation for a Facebook post he wrote criticizing the incoming prosecuting attorney. “County voters will soon regret what they did,” McSweeney reportedly wrote after Bell’s victory and McCulloch’s ouster. Alizadeh’s seems more symbolic, given her involvement in the case that threw Ferguson into chaos and cemented its residents’ lack of trust in the prosecutor’s office. But both send a message. The speed and intentionality of Bell’s moves herald his desire to show the public that St. Louis County is entering a new era of criminal justice.

These changes, though significant, are dwarfed by the tragedies that have marked Ferguson these past four years. Brown’s death and the Wilson non-indictment sparked rioting in the St. Louis suburb in August and November 2014, the root causes of which were laid bare in a Department of Justice report published in March 2015. The report found that “Ferguson’s law enforcement practices [were] shaped by the City’s focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs” — which, in turn, drove police to generate funds by stopping, harassing, and ticketing Ferguson’s majority-black citizenry. Municipal courts augmented these efforts by issuing a staggering number of arrest warrants — 9,000 in 2013 alone — often stemming from minor infractions, like traffic tickets. Fines mounted and jail stints lengthened for those who could not pay, resulting in an environment where both blackness and poverty were functionally criminalized.

In the time since, three young St. Louis-area residents whose activism — or proximity to activism — played key roles in bringing these issues to national attention have died. Darren Seals, 29, was found shot and incinerated in his car in 2016. Danye Jones, the 24-year-old son of activist Melissa McKinnies, was found dead in October, hanged by a bedsheet in his backyard in what authorities deemed a suicide. In November, 31-year-old Bassem Masri, who broadcast many of the protests to the wider public via his storied livestream, was found unresponsive on a bus and declared dead at a local hospital hours later. His cause of death remains undetermined. The number of young people who have died in the course of this sordid saga makes optimism a tall order, even with McCulloch — arguably its greatest villain after Wilson — finally out of a job.

But the fact that McCulloch is gone at all signals the possibility of voter-driven change. Organizers have spent years mobilizing residents to pay greater attention to prosecutor elections across the country. The result, in Ferguson, is the ouster of a man who refused to hold a killer accountable in favor of one whose official policies include no longer prosecuting marijuana cases where fewer than 100 grams are involved; not prosecuting people who fail to pay child support; and not requesting cash bail on misdemeanor cases, to name three. Whether Bell’s tenure meaningfully slows the momentum of the carceral apparatus that drives law enforcement in St. Louis County and beyond remains to be seen. But shifting a dynamic once defined by powerlessness to one rooted in influence suggests that accountability to black Missourians is not a pipe dream. Residue from Ferguson’s waking nightmare may still hang over the foreseeable future — the image of Brown’s dead body lying in a hot cul-de-sac for hours, ashes from the fire tearing down West Florissant Avenue, and the protesters dead too young remain indelible. But a St. Louis County prosecutor who is accountable to black voters more than arguably anyone, who has held the office before, is worth savoring. The arc of the moral universe may not organically bend toward justice, but sometimes, it can be bent.

[herocentral]

Voltron Season 7 thoughts and theories

Well folks I’ve just watched season 7 of Voltron all 13 episodes worth (yes they back on that system) and I must say its been the most adrenaline pumping season of the lot!

To start with episode 1 which was a good way to show the characters life on Earth before the Kerberos mission and how Keith met Shiro in the orphanage. I think what that episode showed was that a lot of people even the teachers were neglecting Keiths potential as they said he was undisciplined for the Garrison but Shiro saw something else in him and got him the chance to prove himself. 

What surprised me the most was the fact Shiro had a disease. This was something we didn't know about and he didn't show any sign of illness in past seasons. This compromised his ability to go on the Kerberos mission until Sam made his case and got him on the mission. He also had concerns from his partner which was a good addition to Shiro’s back story as we don’t seem to see him talking about his family much in the show. Adam was right to show concern but was still unsupportive of his boyfriends choice. This shows another side of Shiro’s character when he puts his mind to something he sticks to it no matter the circumstances. 

What I found harsh was having Adam killed off during the Galra invasion of Earth that did a blow to Shiro when he returned home, but at least he had the consolation of knowing that Adam died a hero God rest his soul.

I rather found the interactions of the passengers during the road trip rather funny, Allura and the Wolf disagreeing, Corans alphabet singing, Romelle’s curiosity of the red lion just funny its basically road trips in a nutshell. What I found intriguing was that the Paladins had been reported missing for about three years, this was possibly due to what happened after the quintessence field battle with Lotor and after sealing the rift, time must pass differently just like in the Quantum abyss. In that time Zethrid, and Ezor became warlords in the turmoil of the Galra empire after Lotors demise but Axca turned on her fellow generals and decided to help the Coalition which shows what I suspected since her debut in season 2 there was some good in her and Keith helped bring it out. Who knows maybe there is something between them as Ezor said. Then theres Haggar who had her druids find the blades and wipe them out since their operatives were exposed when they allied themselves with Lotor but hopefully Kolivan and Krolia will bring the Blades back into action.

But seeing Krolia leave her son a second time was heart renching, but at least this time Keith was awake for her goodbye.

The game show episode seemed a rather nice touch on the comedy front of the series and having returning characters like Zarkon, Lotor and Morvok was a good twist. What was constant was the Paladins bonding as a team with Keith in charge again since in season 3 they didn't have chance to bond with the lions well since Shiros disappearance into Black’s consciences. So having them without their lions and showing they came together by fate shows how they developed and grown together and the fact they formed Voltron again using their connection. 

Then theres Voltrons new found power with the Black and Red Bayards, they didn't ignite the sword but gave Voltron and awesome Jet pack! 

Seeing in the few years when Sam arrived on Earth was a good thing to show just like how Keith found his mother whilst the whole Oriande quest was going on. What strikes me is how the admiral wanted to keep what Sam learned under raps but Sam and his wife ended up going behind their backs to show the world of Voltron, The Paladins, The Galra everything he’d learned and Iverson actually stuck up for him which was a surprise given the first episodes. 

I found it heartbreaking when the Paladins returned to find their home in ruins, but to see them reunite with their families was the best sight of all, and the fact Keith and Iverson made amends with each other however it seems Griffen may have different opinions given the last time they saw each other Keith kicked his but which in fairness he deserved for talking trash about Keiths parents. 

The fact that they built the Atlas to replace the castle was amazing it looked like Skybase and the castle of lions put together, but seeing it integrate the diamond from the Castle of lions helped greatly, but the biggest surprise was that Shiro connected with the Crystal and made the Atlas into Atlas Voltron! IT WAS AMAZING no Vehicle Voltron but still pretty good. However it does mean this is getting awfully close to being more Power Rangers than Voltron. 

Some point I knew Sendak and Shiro would have a rematch and how Shiro kept up with his new arm which was amazing showed that the two were evenly matched. In terms of Shiros new arm I think the reason Shiro crashed as they were installing it was because it was rejecting his bio signs with the power source until Allura installed the jewel from her crown into it. Its not as good as the Galra hand but it does pack a punch. 

The scene where Keith struck Sendak down with his Bayard was epic though I was expecting him to say “Say hi to Zarkon for us!” That would've been pure greatness. However just when the battles won a new threat comes a Robeast no coffin this time and has the same powers of the Komar device. I have a suspicion that Haggar created that robeast to face Voltron and drain his quintessence but again it failed. I was rather tense at moments in the show such as the Admiral betraying her people just to save the earth which whilst noble was naive as you can't bargain with Sendak. Then there was the moment with the Zaiforge cannons about to destroy earth but the lions and Atlas prevented it. 

The ending where everyone from the universe came together to honour those who fell in battle was just what the season finale needed to remember the fallen and to be reunited with their families Hunk especially as the Galra being on Earth and taking his family was hard on him but we got to show Keith show some sympathy for his fellow Paladin. The shock of finding an Altean in the mech was a surprise and could be the subject of season 8.

On that matter what will happen next, with Zarkon, Lotor and Sendak dead that only leaves Haggar and the Druids. Kolivan said that the Altean colony was empty when the Blades arrived most likely since Haggar beat them there thanks to hearing the story from Keith and Krolia through the Clones eyes. What does this mean what is Haggars agenda now? Honestly I gave up guessing her agenda since season 5 in quoting Ezor “Too complicated” 

Questions are raised, new discoveries found but for now Earth is saved and the Galaxy Alliance is born better watch out Haggar in quoting Optimus Prime “Leave planet earth alone, because I’m coming for you!”  So until Season 8 lets hope its soon LONG LIVE THE DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE!

[haxorus-imp]

Alien Affections - Villainous/Reader - Chapter 3

You couldn't comprehend what happened after you entered Flug's lab.

One moment you're standing, the next you're sitting down on a stool with Flug directly across from you with a thick notepad. Then came the confusion. He started to fire off question after question. Even if it was of good nature, and it was kinda odd to be interrogated for the first time in your life, you couldn't help but admire the curiosity Flug has for the unknown. Which many people are scared of. But, he's a scientist. It's his job to find out how things work and discover the undiscovered. After asking him to slow down on the questions, Flug did just that. Yet, he wasn't prepared for the disappointment that unexpectedly followed. "So, let me get this straight...you DON'T have Star ships, teleporters, robotic servants, nor gigantic death rays capable of destroying planets?" Flug asked, his face crestfallen from the recent information he received. You nodded in affirmation and Flug gave out a disappointed sigh. He was just hoping for some newer technology to understand from a raw source, yet he found nothing. "But!" You followed, as Flug looked back up in curiosity and slight hope. "I don't think we have that kind of stuff, mostly because my people have no NEED for that type of stuff. However, other things, like robotic servants, are in their primitive stages. Mere shells of what they can be further towards the distant future. My people are more focused on medicine and improving our daily lives than conquering other planets and blowing stuff up." You finish. Flug pondered for a moment. "So, your people don't use advanced technologies to build weapons, but to improve daily activities and health oriented fields?" Flug asked, while writing something down in his notepad. "Yeah, pretty much. We are trying to specialize in making the paralyzed walk again, have robots assist in daily chores, making artificial limbs to replace the original ones that were lost, further medicine to make us immune to certain deadly diseases, cure the once-incurable, and so on." You explained. Flug was writing all of the information you spouted down into his notebook. After he was finished, he pressed the pen to his face, to what you guessed where his mouth would be located underneath the paper bag. He looked lost in thought for a few seconds, before asking another question. "What about your planet's military? What advancements have been accomplished there?" Flug questioned. "Well, we have tried to avoid war after 2 wars that got the entire planet involved and a bunch of bloody battles and shorter wars that followed after. Currently, a few countries relations have soured and a current smaller war is going on." You explained. "But, as for advancements, we currently have weaponized drones and bomber drones to assist in fighting. We are far from replacing people in war. But, we'll get there." Flug listened with severe interest at the information. He was fully aware of battle machines. They are not a new concept to him, as many are used by villains to fight heroes during combat, but none have been used to actively preserve human life in times of war. Usually, mechs and robots were used to forward destructive agendas. "So, your people are actively trying to preserve human life by replacing them with robots?" You nod in confirmation. "How has that gone for your people?" "Eh...not so great, but not horrible." You replied. "Oh. Did the enemy use electro-magnetic pulses to shoot them out of the sky?" Flug looked at you in confused anticipation. "No. My people get attached to the robotic drones and die trying to protect them. Effectively ruining the entire purpose of the drone." You replied flatly. Flug nearly fell off of his stool at the answer he received. Sputtering incoherently as he straightened himself back out to prevent himself from loosing his balance. "B-But! Why?! Why ruin the effectiveness of the drone if it's there for that exact purpose?!" Flug exclaimed, flabbergasted at the information. You just shrug. "My people care too much for things that behave sentient and tries to protect them from harm. It's the same with pets and friends. You can abuse someone who can take it all you want, but the moment you lay a hand on something that is valuable to them, be it a pet, object, or helpless being...prepare yourself. Because you're in for a nasty fight." You respond. Flug seemed to understand now and hummed in thought, while putting his notepad down onto his lap.

--

After some speculation, Flug started to suspect something else about yourself. The planet in question was not only similar to his own home, with some things in history being vastly different. He began to suspect a peculiar theory that he was taught in science class once. The Multiple Worlds Theory. Commonly known as the Multiverse Theory. Which is stated in the theory that the universe functioned like a tree. Certain choices would cause the tree to form more branches, creating endless possibilities. Some worlds will branch off into different alternates depending on the path that the planets' history took. These changes can range from something small, like deciding to wear a certain outfit on a particular day, to colossal events that changes the history of the world forever. Your planet has such close similarities to his own planet. The History, the technology, it even had HUMANS on it. Yet, there were major differences to his own home. They even had some of his planets' own historical figures. Like Thomas Edison. They even share references. This was shown when they saw some of those embarrassing 'Hang in there!' posters on his labs' wall and laughed at the kitten that had a cut out picture of his own face plastered over the kittens' face. All while being familiar with the concept. So, with careful thinking, he pondered for a question that would confirm his suspicion. Yet, even he could tell that you were becoming exhausted. As you looked like you might fall asleep sitting on your stool eventually. He had to make this question count. He paused for a moment and thought about his next question very carefully. Then suddenly, he got an idea for a question that could hammer the final nail in the metaphorical coffin. "How about Heroes and Villains? Do you have those?" Flug asked, silently anticipating the answer. You rubbed your eyes and stared at him in a slightly confused manner. "You mean like in the comic books and movies? Those heroes and villains?" You stared at him, letting your eyes droop slightly. That did it. The person in front of him was indeed from another world branch entirely. A world where there were only humans. No mutants, no heroes, and certainly no villains. "Comics and movies?" Flug asked, obviously intrigued from his recent mental discovery. "Yeah. You know. Works of fiction? One of the most strongest sources of entertainment?" You affirmed. 'So. They're from the multiverse branch where heroes and villains are made up fictional literature just for pure amusement...interesting.' Flug thought. "Yes. So, as you know, this is a villain-run organization. We cater to villains to assist in fighting heroes. E-Er...well, that's what Black Hat says anyway." Flug idly rubbed his arm. You just laughed. "You're world is really strange. Heroes and villains? Like people who fly and have super strength? I thought I was going to wind up on a planet or spaceship full of tiny foreign little creatures. But, I get warped to someplace that runs like the comic books back on my planet." Flug cocked a brow. "You're the one to talk. You have no advanced military, space travel, or anything. Yet you are willing to die for a robot or a drone? Excessive love and nurturing natures for things that aren't even properly alive. Artificial, yet you would rather take care of every thing. I was expecting more advanced lifeforms." Flug and yourself had a small staring contest. Before you both started chuckling. Like strangers bonding over cups of coffee and bantering about the best form of coffee. Maybe this wasn't going to be half-bad.

--

After a short coffee break, Flug got you some cold water (by your request), he than assessed all of the information he gathered from you. "It seems your species has a very strong nurturing nature. As they tend to focus on bettering their lives for, not only themselves, but for the sake of animals and the planet as well." You nodded. "As to that, your people stick strongly to the positives of life and want places, not just your own native country, to have food, drinkable water, and even medicine to help fight off diseases." You nod again. "But, prior to that statement, you said that not everything was great. As some people tend to let their greed get out of control, people who fear that there are things in their food due to misinformation, some believe that vaccines can cause numerous mental problems, and that your world has been warming up to dangerous levels due to uncontrolled greenhouse gas output. How do you feel about the negativity?" Flug asked as he sipped his coffee from a straw. You turned your head to the side and nodded. "Well, yes, there are certain things that happen that many people can't believe happens. There are some things going down on my planet that some people can't believe are going on. Some things make you want to pull all of your hair out. Some things make you want to cry out in frustration. When it all comes down on you, it can feel like too much." you said, looking off into a nonexistent distance. "But, bad things happen, but good always counters it. When our current leader pulled out of the climate agreement, cities and people took action. They filled in the void that the person tried to create. They weren't going to let that person win. To give up without a fight. They resisted. They stuck to it. They disobeyed authority to do what is right." You snapped out of your trance and looked back at Flug and laughed slightly. "So, I guess my planet has some form of heroes and villains. There are those that want to do harm to better themselves. Be it to other people, the environment, or the oceans. Then, there are people who combat it with resistance, companionship, love, community, and care." You smiled at Flug, who stared back for a few silent moments. "I see. You're very optimistic about these types of things." Flug says, looking back at his clipboard that was full of papers. You just snorted in feigned offense at his underwhelming reaction. "If I'm not, then who will be?" You grinned at him while drinking your water.

--

You yawned. You had no idea how long you and Flug asked questions about your planet and its cultures. But, it seems he was getting ready to wrap up as he placed his pen down for the last time it seemed. Flug examined his notepad as he got up from his stool and walked over to a table with some equipment on it. Much to your confusion. Laying his notes down, he began to scan over some of the things on his workbench. He then picked up a syringe, some sterilized alcohol pads, a bandage, than began to walk back to you. You wouldn't lie that you were kind of afraid of the needle, yet you kept your relaxed posture, to not worry the already-anxious-enough scientist. Flug paused as he neared you and cleared his throat. "U-uh. Would you mind if I took a blood sample to finish up this interrogation?" He said, nervously shifting on his feet. "J-Just for research!" He quickly reassured. You hummed slightly and shrugged. "Go ahead." You waved, as you propped yourself up on the stool and relaxed your arms. "Ah! Thank you!" Flug graciously exclaimed as he walked over and picked a shoulder, preparing it with alcohol pads. "This might sting a little..." Flug warned as he prepped the needle. "Eh. I just won't think about it." You muttered while closing your eyes. Then you felt the insertion of the needle, it stung a bit, but it was carefully placed in a vein. Maybe he had done this before? He does look like a doctor of some sort. This is also a laboratory. So maybe he had some experience in doing this kinda thing. Flug took it slow and steady. Watching as the blood filled the syringe cylinder. He was careful with it, trying to cause as little discomfort as possible. Last think he wanted was for something to go wrong and you to become guarded and closed off. It was better to be cautious anyway. Once it was filled, he removed the needle, sterilized the area, and placed the bandage on it. "Done!" Flug announced. You slightly moved your, now sore, arm and stood up from the stool. Yawning loudly as you did so. "I can see that you're tired. You can lay down in the cot over there." Flug said as he pointed to a bed located near the door of the laboratory. You blinked, still in a drowsy state. "Aren't you gonna go to bed too?" You yawned. "Don't worry about me. I go to bed late all of the time! Besides, I have some testing to do." Flug replied, walking back to his workbench as he did so. "I'll wake you up eventually, tomorrow you're going to meet the rest of the group that lives in the manor. Hopefully, everything goes right." Flug muttered that last part under his breath. "Oh. Alright then. Goodnight, Flug!" You waved at him, while walking over and  climbing into the cot. Covering yourself up with the blankets. It's funny how the blue sheets had paper airplanes on them. "Goodnight, (Name)." Flug muttered automatically, while working the blood sample into a test tube.

--

The night ticked on. The only things making noise was the humming of machines and you sleeping in the cot, for when Flug crashed in his lab after long periods of sleep deprivation. Flug, on the other hand, was wide awake. Eagerly studying the blood sample he retrieved from yourself. It was magnificent! Your blood had plenty of different cells and structures to study! Despite being and looking human, you had a rather unique blood type and cells in your body. Almost mutant-looking in a way. Yet, fully human and perfectly functioning foreign cells. This mistake just got....very interesting. Flug continued to work on studying the blood sample with knowledge-hungry desire. Not knowing that the night ticked on by and the sun had begun to rise. Well, not until he passed out from over-exertion, that is. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next> <Previous ~First~

[heckaroniandcheese]

whoaaaa nelly we had a heck of day!!! great news!!! I actually decided to quit and never come back!!!!!

turns out my former boss spent his whole ass day yesterday talking shit about me!!!!!!!!!! like!!!!!!! not even like work related shit. to begin: he smelled a little bit of my perfume on me this morning (context: I wear diy perfume that lasts 10 minutes because it makes me happy. perfume is against dress code. I put on my perfume before work because it's gone before I get there) and he was like super bitchy about it. he pulled out his fake coffee snob attitude (I am literally the biggest coffee snob in that place and he does not even care) and made up some bullshit about how the aroma of my perfume will seep into all the coffee beans and distort the flavors and I was like no.

context item 1: the reason we are not allowed to wear perfume is because The Starbucks Smell is carefully crafted.

context item 2: everyone wears perfume anyway. (like, one of my coworkers keeps his perfume on the manager desk next to the computer and gives himself a spritz every time he goes back)

I take my apparently heavily scented self to work (I make everyone smell me, they're like nah you smell normal) and go about my day. my boss. chooses to spend the rest of his time. telling everyone I smell "earthy" "smoky" and "like patchouli" context, . perfume recipe: 50ish drops of sweet orange essential oil, 10~20ish drops of tea tree oil, 0~5 patchouli oil drops. mix with 4oz water. girl what.

then he waits until I'm done setting up and cleaning and rearranging the back room to tell me that actually, they need extra hands on the floor, would you mind staying and helping out? I go out to the clearly not at all busy sales floor and twiddle my thumbs for an hour while they have the meeting I was clearly just regular uninvited to.

immediately after they finish my bff and my frenemy (who I still love even though she breaks my heart) come shooting out and pull me off to the side to tell me how our boss diverted from the planned agenda (since he turned every meeting into an all out boss shits on everyone repeatedly party and got reported a lot he has to plan meeting agendas ahead and have them approved by his boss) and turned to "some concerns" he has about "certain people" and you'll never fucking guess what came NEXT!!!!! (all out boss shits on sprouty party) remember my bff. who is in this meeting. with him serving us both a huge fuck you with this one. and if she opens her mouth she's out of a job. cute!!!!

our next juicy little nail in the coffin is he talked shit about me to the "second" store manager context: they're making him train his replacement before they fire him. (no one has said this to me outright but it'd take a second post this long to explain) "second" store manager is by all accounts a super kind, nice, and gentle guy, really encouraging, exactly the type of person we've dreamed of. unfortunately, my boss's shit talking was 2nd's first impression of me. so 2nd is very. careful. around me. and. watchful. understanding the full breadth of my boss's complaints about me, I understood. but still. bruh.

ANYWHO I went into work today like wow I am so close I am at the finish line and one of my other friends (2 difficult to explain relationship) I did not see yesterday was in. and she filled me in on some details that were overlooked, as she was also in the manager meeting, and was held back by 2nd for some training things (she's taking my job even though I warned her heavily and repeatedly not to) and we did not see each other before she left. and something just like. clicked. and I was like oh. okay. yeah fuck this I'm out.

but i was like slow down think about it. can you afford it do the math. then I did the math. and I decided to finish out the day and leave my keys in the safe as is the respectful thing to do at the end of ones last day. I slacked on a couple things, but who can blame me I left a decent close and a quiet goodbye. I didn't go out screaming and swearing, though I should have, on multiple occasions. I didn't break anything, but everything will be broken in a week once they realise they barely knew the half of the maintenance I did on that place ✌️

my only regret. is that I didn't steal more. dear stinkybucks if you're reading this I don't like you. booooooooooooo u. sorry this story has so many characters we have a p big group just cause stinky boss just keeps hiring people so he can not schedule them ever and get upset when no one is begging at his lap to take any open hours on zero notice. anyway xoxoxo that's it love you guys

tomorrow is my last day before I demote to live my last two months in this state in a healthier way than the other 10 and prepare to move back home (back home meaning the vague area of my hometown, not my parents' home)

catch me at my apartment cleaning and cooking and organizing and relaxing