#Paul being terrible at fighting is a thing

[villainelle]

Amber Heard vs. Johnny Depp Fact Check: MASTERLIST (28/04/2022)

VIOLENCE/ABUSE:

Heard has proven 12 out of 14 incidents of abuse by Depp “to the civil standard.

Texts from Depp’s assistant shows his assistant saying Depp kicked Heard; “He was appalled. When I told him he kicked you, he cried…It was disgusting. And he knows it.”

Depp is on audio telling Amber Heard to cut him. He continues to tell her to cut him while wielding a knife, and she is heard begging him to put the knife down.

Texts from Depp to Paul Bettany joke about murdering Amber and raping her dead body.  (Video of it being read in court here)

Texts about him talking about smacking Amber Heard around.

Audio reveals Depp shouting and calling Heard a “fat ass” a “cunt” and Heard telling him to put his cigarettes out on someone else.

“‘Her lip was swollen and busted up a bit, and she also had these horrible cuts on her arms – like gashes … The she told me that the cuts on her arms were from the broken glass that was from him throwing bottles and smashing glasses all over the place.’” (Heard’s sister, Whitney). 

“Ms Pennington said that she could see gashes on Ms Heard’s arms from her wrists to her elbows. In cross-examination Ms Pennington said that one arm was cut worse than the other. Ms Heard told Ms Pennington that the soles of her feet were also cut. Ms Heard said that Mr Depp had thrown a bottle at her; there had been broken glass all over the ground which was how she had cut her feet.“

Johnny destroying Heard’s closet: “Good morning sir … So …. um Johnny destroyed Amber’s closet”.  (page 82)

"As Ms Lloyd said, ‘We had to restrain both of them.’” Depp supposedly instigated the violence, Heard retaliated. (page 81/82)

Diary entry by Heard talks about Depp strangling her and hitting her in the head: “Our fight was terrible. J [Mr Depp] finally at one point found himself with his shirt wrapped around my neck… He hit me several times. I don’t even know how I wound up with this huge rather annoying knot on the back of my head?” (page 84)

Depp refers to the fight on the train as getting “physical”: ‘..other than the fact that we had a fight on the train, which was physical…’ (page 83)

Text message from Heard to her publicist; “ I’m really bruised and might have a black eye or two tmrw – same with my nose. Nurse on the way to make sure I don’t have concussion.” There are also texts to her psychotherapist saying it’s an ‘emergency’ and a text to a friend in which she says “J beat me up pretty good”. (page 87)

Photos of Heard bruised “which the metadata shows were taken on the morning and afternoon of 16th December 2015”. (page 88)

Makeup artist recalls having to cover up bruising on Heard’s nose, eyes, and her lip injury with red lipstick. (page 89)

Although Depp claims Heard hit him at a party in 2016, the photos of injury Depp claims happened in 2016, where found to be from 2015: “This version of the picture has a date stamp of 23rd March 2015. It could not have been taken after the birthday party on 21st April 2016.” The photo instead was from a previous occasion in which Ms Heard already admitted that she punched Mr Depp. (page 99)

Despite police claims, photos of Heard injuries with meta data show she did sustain injuries by Depp: “There are the photographs. The metadata is not disputed and shows that one of the photographs of Ms Heard’s face was taken before the first pair of police officers arrived.” They also show damage to the apartment. (page 107)

Depp texted Bettany that he “pounded and displayed ugly colors to Amber on a recent journey".

HEARD’s CLAIMS: 

Heard has previously admitted to hitting Johnny and throwing things at him to defend herself in her original 7hr deposition. (2016)

“She admitted that in the course of this argument, she struck Mr Depp in order, she said, to protect Whitney.” (page 80)

In regards to the donations: “Amber has already been responsible for seven figures in donations to charitable causes and intends to continue to contribute and eventually fulfill her pledge. However, Amber has been delayed in that goal because Mr. Depp filed a lawsuit against her, and consequently, she has been forced to spend millions of dollars defending Mr. Depp’s false accusations against her.”   

“Please tell people it was a fair fight and see what the jury and judge think. Tell the world, Johnny. Tell them, Johnny Depp. I, Johnny Depp, …. man*, I’m-I’m a victim too of domestic violence and I, y’know, it’s a fair fight and see how many people believe or side with you”.

[*NOTE: Heard is using “man” as in “oh, man”, not in reference to Depp’s gender.]

“Full audio shows Heard talking about how their relationship is not “fair fight”, he scoffs and replies “it doesn’t matter” and “fair fight, my ass”, Heard responds “exactly” and that Depp is “bigger and stronger”. Heard goes on to talk about why she felt the need to call 911 after he threw the phone at her face and laid his hands on her.

THE FINGER CLAIM:

Deuters (Depp’s friend) admitting that the story of Depp’s injury was a public relations disaster and saying: ‘Just make sure you say you aren’t sure how he hurt his hand. (page 75)

Depp’s texts to his doctor states he cut his own finger off. Another text is found of Depp again saying he cut his own finger off. Doctor’s notes show the injury is more suggestive of a crushing mechanism. In fact, Depp told three separate people that he cut his own finger off.

Depp heard on tape stating, “I’m talking about Australia. The day I chopped my finger off”.

“Nor did Mr Depp say that Ms Heard had been responsible for the injury to his finger in either of his two texts to sister Christi on 8th March 2015.” (page 78)

FECES PRANK/CLAIM:

Heard did not defecate in Depp’s bed and the previous judge ruled it unlikely. The judge in the previous case ruled it likely it were the dogs, as there was evidence it “had an incomplete mastery of her bowels.”

“Ms. Heard gave evidence that Boo had in the past defecated on the bed and that she herself had cleaned it up rather than leave that task to Ms Vargas.” (page 100)

Furthermore, Depp is on text’s with his assistant’s suggesting to him to defecate and tell Amber it was the dogs as a prank

DRUGS/ALCOHOL:

Texts from Depp’s daughter (Lily-Rose Depp) and Depp himself show that Amber helped him stay sober. Depp talking to his mother-in-law, Paige Heard about Amber helping him.

Texts from Heard and Lily-Rose Depp show the two had an amicable relationship. 

Texts show Depp’s constant use of alcohol and drugs, mentioning his “blackouts”. More texts here, and here. Texts show Depp referring to his addiction as the “Monster”, even to Elton John who was helping him with his sobriety. 

An audio shows Depp telling Heard he will never get clean or sober.  Amber can be heard crying. Another audio shows Heard crying and saying, “All the coke you’ve done today, and all the booze you’ve drunk today, has it helped us?”

PREVIOUS LIBEL CASE:

As stated, the previous judge ruled Heard has proven 12 out of 14 incidents of abuse.

“For all of these reasons I accept that the Defendants have shown that the words they published were substantially true in the meanings I have held them to bear. The Claimant has not succeeded in his action for libel.” (2020)

Depp’s previous lawyer, Adam Waldman was accused of dishonesty, and was thrown off the case for leaking confidential information to the press and social media which was protected via court order. 

Depp’s team was accused of using bots to influence opinion of social media.  Bot Sentinel, a group that uses artificial intelligence to detect and track troll bots & suspect Twitter accounts, found the actress “had been a victim of an ongoing targeted harassment and smear campaign”. 

(Waldman is a long-time US lobbyist for Russian oligarchs.) 

OTHER OPINIONS/LINKS:

Depp in texts talking about wanting to cause “global humiliation” for Heard.

Depp defending Roman Polanski: “Roman is not a predator. He’s 75 or 76 years old. He has got two beautiful kids, he has got a wife that he has been with for a long, long time. He is not out on the street.”

Depp is close friends with Marilyn Manson, who has his own abuse allegations against him, and who is also suing his victims for defamation. 

PREV. LEGAL ISSUES & CAREER:

Depp was arrested in 1989 for assaulting a security guard after the police were called to end a loud party at his hotel room.

He was also arrested in New York City in 1994 after damaging a hotel room he was staying in with Kate Moss.

Depp brawling with the paparazzi. 

In 2018, Depp assaulting crew member on the set of City of Lies.

In 2018, two of Depp’s former bodyguards sued him for unpaid fees and unsafe working conditions. The suit was settled in 2019.

Depp was constantly late and drunk on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Depp will also supposedly receive his full salary for the third Fantastic Beasts movie, despite filming only one scene for it and being asked to leave the project.

Texts show that Depp told Heard she was not to take roles, stating “No goddamn meetings. No movies”. (x)

Depp admits to getting, “irrational”, “crazy”, and “jealous” when Heard is filming.

Charges against Heard for bringing her dogs to Australia were dropped; it was a supposed mix-up with her staff being dismissed who were to do the paperwork. Heard apologised, and admitted to her wrongdoing, pleading guilty.  

Heard sought a restraining order from Depp in 2016. She also sought an order requiring Depp to attend 52 weeks of anger management courses. (page 19)

PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: 

Depp started dating Winona Ryder when she was a minor, and 17 years old to his 25 [edit:] 26 years.  (Depp is 23 years older than Heard.)

Depp called his ex-wife a “French extortionist ex-cunt” and a “withering whore”. 

Heard was granted a restraining order against Depp. 

Depp was the one to originally ask Amber to settle outside of court, and the couple issued a statement that, “Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain.”

Heard’s previous girlfriend has come to Heard’s defence, saying that Heard never abused her and that the police officers who claimed it had misogynistic and homophobic attitudes once they realised Heard and her were partners.

Ellen Barkin, Depp’s ex, testified Depp threw a wine bottle at her during an argument between Depp and his assistant. (page 43)

DEPP’S JEALOUSY:

Depp has used abusive language towards Heard for her sexuality and her past relationship with women, calling her a “lesbian camp counsellor”. He was also jealous of Amber’s female ex, Tasya van Ree, calling her “Van Pee”, he also “tried to set fire to another of Ms van Ree’s paintings”.

In fact, Depp’s homophobia and jealousy didn’t stop there, he then attacked Heard’s friend, iO Tillet Wright, by misgendering him and mocking his transition, calling him a “dike bitch” and “wanting to be a man now”.

Depp also makes unfavourable comments about Heard’s relationship with Elon Musk: “But she sucked Mollusk’s [I assume a reference to Elon Musk] crooked dick”. (page 126)

He also accused her of having an affair with Billy Bob Thornton, writing about it in graffiti. (page 76)

THE CURRENT TRIAL:

The trial is a not a criminal trial, but a defamation trial. Depp is suggesting Heard ruined his reputation in her article about domestic violence, despite not naming him in it. In fact, Depp was requested to leave the project after he lost his libel case.

Depp is suing Heard for $50 million, over 7x the amount they originally settled together. Heard originally attempted to get the suit moved to California and dismissed, and only filed a counterclaim when it was refused.

Virginia has less strict anti-SLAPP laws and as a result has drawn questionable legal cases in recent years. SLAPP lawsuits are also known as intimidation lawsuits and often used to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening victims with the cost of legal defence until they abandon their criticism.

Depp fans are heavily affecting the way social media is reacting to the trial, by indulging in edits on social media, fabrications of events, pseudoscience.

Heard has had to hire more security. Some Depp fans have attempted to chase vehicles with Heard and her team inside as they return home from the courthouse. 

One of Depp’s witnesses (Gina Deuters) was dismissed from the stand after admitting to watching the trial online.

Depp fans were barred from the court for violent threats against Heard. Most attendees are Depp-fans and have had to have been told, “Order in the court or I will have you removed”.

CONCLUSION:

The suit is not to determine whether Heard was violent, or whether their relationship was mutually toxic, but as to whether Heard lied in her op-ed, and there is plenty of evidence of Depp physically harming Heard multiple times; regardless of Heard’s retaliation, he has been proven to be a domestic abuser.

[DISCLAIMER: This post is purely in relevance to the Heard vs. Depp case, to fact-check claims made by Depp, his team, as well as opinions on social media. They are not meant to be a remission on Heard’s part of any potential wrongdoing.]

// TERFS DON’T INTERACT //

#anti johnny depp #johnny depp vs. amber heard #johnny depp v. amber heard #johnny depp #amber heard #domestic violence #domestic abuse #tw abuse #okay to reblog //

[dreamlandcreations]

Chapter 1 • Faded dreams

Feyd x Atreides!Reader

Summary: You risk your life to find out what your dreams mean...

Warnings: space drugs (🙈), near death experience, mention of blood and death and war, no dialogue, no Feyd yet (well...), this is basically a prologue

•Feyd-Rautha masterlist• Main Masterlist • Moodboards masterlist •

• Series masterlist • Next part •

Your dreams were getting worse and it was getting more difficult to wake up each time. They seemed so real, yet they fade away each time within seconds as you finally jolt awake from the nightmares. All that remains is fear and a knowing that you are seeing the end.

You tried to ask your mother for help, well, more like tried to ask for information without telling her what's going on. Paul's own dreams were a good excuse to justify your curiosity but it also limited your options of inquiring about your specifically maddening problem. Because, of course your brother gets to dream about a pretty girl while you drown in a bloody nightmare every night. If only you could see more clearly, the not knowing of what these hazy images mean is almost worse than the death you witness each time.

You can't tell your mother though, or even Paul. They would try to stop you from making this utterly stupid decision that will probably result in your death. They wouldn't be able to understand that that possibility cannot be worse than this slowly driving you into insanity.

It was not as difficult as you thought, tricking a mentat, a doctor and a Bene Gesserit to give you little doses of spice to try. According to your careful research, with what you were gifted by Lady Fenring on her last visit, it should be enough to induce the process.

You waited until nighttime, until you knew everyone went to sleep. It was an unnecessary precaution as it turns out because Paul in the next room startled awake as soon as you took the spice.

With your last coherent thought you were thinking that getting hit by lightning must feel something like this. Only the energy didn't just hit you once, it was trapped inside your body, wreaking havoc in the very essence of your being. It was tearing you apart, and the pain was unbearable.

For a long while there was nothing but the pain, you did not really feel or sense anything. Then the first thing you were aware of was screaming, it took you a moment to realise it was your own, just before you had another wave of power rushing through you and you lost every bit of control over your body. The screaming stopped and you faintly heard your mother for a few seconds before the dreams drew you in.

No, not dreams, visions. You see everything all at once, and at first none of it made sense then you felt... time, in a way it couldn't be explained in words. The connections, the possibilities, the what ifs... like the branches of a tree... too many variants for even a mentat to handle and you were only half-trained at best. Yet, you understood, no, you felt, you sensed, you became a part of each version a little, living in a million moments at once, spread apart and yet still whole beneath that... like the branches of a tree...

The tree, your ancestry, you have to get to the other memory to finish the trial. You try to look within yourself, slightly distracted by regaining some of your physical sense and weakly trying to fight off the poison of the spice.

At the end of the spiral you see a figure, a source of all the death and misery that haunts you. A familiar, yet strange face that seemed to look into your soul. There is that rage and madness you started to see in your own reflection, only this gaze, this unnatural blue scared you more than your own demons.

Well, she is your demon in a way.

With that thought the spice floods your mind again, taking you where you wanted to go, forcing you down on the line of your ancestors, their knowledge and experience becoming a part of your consciousness but you know something is terribly wrong when your mind takes a path that no Bene Gesserit has before. You see your father and his entire line, both female and male members of your extended family tree on his part. And it comes surprisingly easy to you, too easy.

Your mother's line stops with her, there's something horrible beyond that which your mind cannot deal with and it almost shatters you.

On the inside you struggle to get out of the darkness that pulls you in. On the outside your body crashes, your heart stops, and so does your breathing.

You hear Paul's yell to the doctor to do something, followed by your mother's command, using the Voice to order you to breathe. With your last bit of strength leaving you, it feels like what you would call your soul starts to leave your body. It is quite peaceful actually, there's no more pain or worry, only a calm nothingness but unlike the previous cold and twisted darkness that came from within this feels right and you almost slip away from existence when you feel something, someone catch you and practically drag you back.

There's a voice, a command of a simple "No!" comes with the force that knocks you down and holds you in this world. The tone is unfamiliar, the raspy voice with the obvious rage laced into it sounds more like a growl than anything else and it is followed by a similarly angry, yet so much louder order, "FIGHT!"

The presence is gone as soon as it came but you are tethered to your body again, feeling how it shuts down sparks a sudden defiance in you. Not really knowing what you're doing, you will your heart's muscles to move, to pump the remaining spice through your body and your cells absorb it, sparkling to new life, then you slowly and now consciously start to sort of reboot your system with this new strange energy.

When you are done you just rest, unable to truly sleep but too tired to move too, you think. Going through the visions again and again, you start to see a pattern. As soon as you understand the reasons behind the events, it all comes together, all the previously possible paths become clear until a certain point.

Hours go by as you lie there, practically trapped in your own body but there's no fear in you anymore, you are too busy planning your next move. And the next, and the next.

You might have failed getting through the Spice Agony and it's a miracle you are alive but it doesn't matter, it wasn't an unnecessary risk after all, you know the truth now. There is only one person who's decisions changed the end game, all the others who you thought had enough power to be key persons could only influence the path, not the outcome. So you know, your mother can never set foot on Arrakis and if you have to take her place in the story, so be it.

• Series masterlist • Next part •

•Feyd-Rautha masterlist• Main Masterlist • Moodboards masterlist •

• Taglist •

#feyd #feyd rautha #feyd rautha x reader #feyd x reader #feyd x you #feyd rautha harkonnen #feyd rautha x you #my stuff #my fics

[notebookqueenofnarnia]

Okay Demigods

now that Season 2 has been confirmed (!!!!!!!!!!) I am here to make my official appeal that you ALL read the books. and yes...i mean ALL the books. Because here is what you are missing if you don't:

(mostly spoiler free. mostly vibes and chaotic no context)

OG PERCY JACKSON

Percy's INCREDIBLE sarcasm

Lots of chaotic Mr. D moments

Percy's unending absolute obliviousness when it comes to: his own abilities/powers, his own feelings towards a certain daughter of Athena, and EVERYONE'S feelings towards him

the full list of Percy's felonies (it's longer than you think!)

how much Percy thinks about Annabeth, especially in the third book

The Hunters of Artemis (everyone's like 'which godly parent would you have?' but im like ??? who cares??? I'm running off with the girls to immortal to hunt men i mean monsters)

soooooooooo much Sally Jackson is the Best Mom (to everyone who walks through her door) content

BLACKJACK. TRANS ICON BLACKJACK THE PEGASUS.

Rachel. Elizabeth. Dare. (this is how the audiobook says her name every single time)

Paul Blofis

Sally Jackson, author

Poseidon: Blowfish?

HEROES OF OLYMPUS

If you don't read these books you are missing out on some of the coolest female characters Rick has created: PIPER (an iconic), HAZEL (unintentionally hilarious), REYNA (beautiful character arc), and ANNABETH's point of view will have you loving her on a whole other level, trust me

Also: COACH HEDGE

Leo

All The Ladies Love Leo

the audiobooks are INSANE. It felt like a full cast read the book, but no. it was just one insanely talented narrator.

FESTUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (im a dragon girlie)

Personally, I spent a lot of time reading the OG 5 wondering about how Roman mythology plays into Percy's world. Uncle Rick answered my questions and answered them SO WELL

Hazel the horse girl

Frank the horsebirddolphinman

Frank, gentle himbo, my beloved son

MY FAVORITE SCENE WHICH INVOLVES PERCY NOT KNOWING HOW TO DRIVE, A HARPY, FRANK, AND HAZEL AND THEYRE ALL SCREAMING AND IM PRETTY SURE STUFF IS ON FIRE

Forced Proximity for 7 teenagers and one chaotically violent satyr (that's Coach Hedge)

Eros/Cupid being one the most genius things Rick's ever written

Percy's hate of Ares transcending god magic

(also his love of Annabeth, but that's like obvious)

PercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabe

weird barely gnome things

this one giant whose name is definitely not pronounced like female anatomy

everyone thinking Percy and Annabeth are constantly getting up to the hanky panky

a statue made me cry

Gay Grumpy/Sunshine (or should that be Death/Sunshine) origins!!

TRIALS OF APOLLO

Apollo, vain himbo of godly proportions is forced to live as Lester Papadopoulos

Percy: why

a very chaotic twelve year old daughter of Demeter

she commands Apollo around

plant magic

terrible great haikus at the start of every chapter

Sally Jackson being the best mom to everyone who comes to her door

magic shoes

a sassy magic prophetic arrow that talks in Shakespearean English

so much gay grumpydeath/sunshine content

also yes sunshine's dad is Apollo

Apollo sings

Grover! Piper! Reyna! Hazel! All the friends! Everyone

Jason! (also im sorry)

what if there were some trees who were an elite squad of warriors who also answer to the chaotic twelve year old

gay moms of the midwest

unicorns

in the last book, chiron takes the campers on a 'field trip' to help take down the big baddie and he shows up dressed as a warrior soccer mom with granola bars, water bottles, and extra swords attached to his fanny pack

a different chaotic twelve year old while fighting to the death in a building that's on fire: "CAN WE GO ON FIELD TRIPS EVERY WEEK?"

chiron: "ROSE DEAR RAISE YOUR SWORD A LITTLE HIGHER!"

okay im not going to spoil it but in the last book there is also this extremely horrifyingly violent moment that Uncle Rick somehow turns into one of the most hilarious things i've ever read

Piper in the epilogue

CHALICE OF THE GODS

more insanely funny percy first person narration

Grover, Percy, Annabeth reunite ("the gang is back together!" "The three musketeers!" "Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey!" "Excuse me?")

have you met the god of himbos? (Percy has)

SO

MANY

EASTER

EGGS

for Season one. you can totally see how Uncle Rick worked on the script and chalice together

if you liked Annabeth shoving Percy into the water....this one is for you

Percy, supreme god of snakes

the cutest cutest cutest cutest Percabeth content you will ever read

hippie gods (yes more than one)

Percy is literally obsessed with Annabeth

Annabeth already being the Jackson daughter in law

Sally Jackson and Paul and

For the record: You CAN read Chalice of the Gods without reading the other series, but please please please read all these books. The audiobooks are phenomenal.

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo disney+ #pjo series #pjo hoo toa #pjo #percabeth #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #chalice of the gods #rick riordan #no spoilers #more or less

[m1ssunderstanding]

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 4.3

Oof! Got him!

“She loves you and he loves him and they love each other”. You know when you've got something to say but you don't want it to look like you really wanted to say it specifically so you throw it in between two other things? No? Just me and John?

I'm obsessed with John just heaping praise on Paul in this interview. Every song the interviewer brings up it's “best” “my favorite” “all Paul” “good piece of work” “somewhere I have the tape of him doing it” “damn good” “one of his masterpieces” See also: Paul’s a good lyricist, he just doesn't try because he's insecure. And: one of the most innovative bass players of all time.

John mixing up In My Life and If I Fell “although I don't know why I'm confusing them, they're nothing alike but they have the same–” The same what? Same target? Same muse? Hmm? “It's really about–it's not about Cyn.” He's barely hanging on to not saying it here, like, by a gossamer thread. 

John confessing that the consistent character flaw of Paul's which hurt him ((hurt. Not annoyed. Not angered. Hurt.)) was insensitivity. Not bossiness or lameness or sneakiness. Insensitivity. What John couldn't handle in the end about Paul was that he wasn't aware enough of John's tender feelings. 

He's also so cruel in this interview. And what you've got to pay attention to is the theme connecting the songs he's cruel about: Let It Be (let John go) and The Long and Winding Road (the long and pointless fight). 

The Japanese Monk comparison doesn't quite land for me because it implies that John purposely broke up the Beatles because he knew they were at a peak and he wanted them to stay gold. And I think that's what John would like the story to be. It makes him feel better inside. It makes him look incredibly wise and courageous. But it's clear – John even stated it himself more than once on record – that the breakup was not purposeful or calculated. It was a terrible accident that nobody wanted, least of all John. 

More quotes to live by when examining John's post breakup “ow!”

I find it fascinating that John thought of Paul's and Dylan's lyrics as very similar and says so twice in this documentary. But nobody else ever draws that comparison. In mainstream thought, Bob Dylan is one of the greatest lyricists of all time if not the greatest (it's me. I'm mainstream. Subterranean Homesick Blues my absolute beloved.) and Paul is the worst lyricist to ever get successful. And you know what? I think Paul gets punished for being physically pretty and financially savvy, and I think in the exact same way his music gets punished for being melodically pretty and commercially successful. 

John about Paul's inscrutable messages in his songs: if one knows the person, one knows what's coming down. John in I Know (I Know): and I know. What's coming down. 

I will always love how he says in the same breath . . . “I've compared it to a marriage a million times" and "Paul and I were together.” 

You really do gotta be like “Johns say the darndest things sometimes.” I mean that's what Paul did, right? Because genuinely most of the time he's a fucking sweetheart. After he's sat there defending Paul's insane mourning bus movie, the interviewer asks him to compare himself and Paul. And after saying there's never been a question about commerciality, he says this. 

Nobody think about Paul writing “One of These Days” just before John's death then “This One” a decade later. Don't do it. I do recommend. 

Free as a Bird is such a beautiful song. It's a gorgeous melody, and it's got such complex emotions. He's still mourning something that was lost, but he's hopeful. He's on his way home. 

You all know that long distance interview Paul did right before John died where they bring up some of the awful things John said recently about him (ignoring the millions of loving and admiring things). When Paul's voice cracks and he looks up at the ceiling and struggles for a minute and the lights go out, I have a theory that it's one of their kids being protective. She was messing with the lights before to be silly and then when the bad question comes she turns them off again as a sort of protective sabotage. 

What If though? What If that's true? 

Quote of all time!!! “The person I actually picked as my partner, who I recognized has talent and who I could get on with, was Paul.” He doesn't say ‘as my sidekick’ or ‘running mate’ or ‘captain’s mate’ or ‘second string’ or any of those things that traditional Beatles fans tend to push on them. Partner. 

Serious question, because I swing all over the place as to what I think actually happened between John and Paul physically and emotionally. If we agree that Real Love is about Paul (a baby and another on the way lalalalalala farm . . . Just call him on the phone) Then what about this lyric? “Was I just dreaming (a word of theirs and something they thought they shared) or was it only Yesterday (Paul's biggest song) I used to hold you in my arms? Is that to be taken literally? John used to hold Paul in his arms? i.e. frequent hugging and cuddling?

The heart monitor cuts so harshly into John singing “Grow Old With Me.” As we see beautiful images of John and all the people he's leaving behind. I'm dry heaving. This documentary is so much more painful this time around than the first. 

Anyway I'm glad we got coverage of all the “for Paul” songs. Which. Btw fuck you Sean and Peter. You proved absolutely nothing.

#paul mccartney #the beatles #john lennon #mclennon #understanding lennon mccartney #ulm

[railingsofsorrow]

Countdown

[s.reid x reader]

summary: Blood and wine were indistinguishable. You couldn't move, you couldn't breathe, the world was giving up on you (or was it the other way around?). You had to keep fighting. If there's one thing you are sure of is that they would find you. He would find you. You just didn't know how much longer you could take until then.

pairing: s.reid x f!reader

w.c: 6.7K

warnings/content: mentions of freud regarding complex mother/son relationships; tw!aggravated assault; tw!coercion caused by substance use; tw!mentions of child abuse, physical and emotional abuse; very tw!graphic violence be aware; tw!blood; tw!descriptions of injuries and scars; cursing; tw!suicide ideation; mentions of hallucinations, tw!abduction and tw!death of a relative; heavy descriptions of losing sense of time; crying; cm usual stuff; poor analysis of a profile cause I'm no aaron hotchner; in resume there's angst; mc cannot get a break. (tell me if I forgot anything plz)

A/N: oof that's a lot of trigger warnings. if you don't feel comfortable, feel free to leave, this isn't a light fic, quite the opposite. mc goes through a LOT. btw do you like wine? I do. (no pun intended) enjoy the reading!

navi

masterpost

follower celebration

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“Suffering is a terrible fire;

it either purifies

or destroys.”

[Oscar Wilde]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

According to Sigmund Freud, there’s a theory called “the Oedipus complex”. It happens when the child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent, meaning that they wish to replace his father to possess his mother, from whom he craves affection. 

Spencer’s voice rang through your head as you observed your surroundings. Your hands weren’t tied anymore but the red marks around your wrists made you feel as if the ropes were still there.

There are five stages in this condition, the fifth being the hardest to overcome, but not impossible. However, when the Oedipus complex is not resolved it could lead to an unhealthy attachment towards the opposite-sex parent in adulthood, besides the commitment issues and trouble involving same-sex rivalry. 

You also recalled the Doctor detailing statistics about the topic, wildly gesticulating with his hands. But your head was fuzzy and you didn’t know whether your memories were true or if you were making them up anymore. Just as a means to bring you some type of comfort in that endless torture.

He was drugging you. 

Paul Knox, the UnSub, was a white male in his mid-forties. Lived alone for most of his life, except for when he married Martha Moore; they stayed together for one year before the marriage ended. Paul worked on a construction site and was described by his coworkers as quiet, “always kept to himself”, and responsible. He always made sure his task of the day was completed before he went home. 

His past wasn’t the easiest one. And it seemed as if he couldn’t get away from it. Paul spent his entire childhood being abused by both of his parents, his father, a strict man, sexually abused his wife, who would later take out her anger on her son, by wrapping a belt around his neck and squeezing it until he passed out — This was the signature behavior they found on the crime scenes. 

Victimology told you and the team something as clear as day: every woman he murdered was a surrogate to his mother. 

And you concluded you had pissed him off enough for him to abduct you and keep you the same way he was keeping his victims. 

When you woke up, the only thing you could see was blood.  

Blood whenever you stepped.  

On your hands. 

On your arms.  

On your lips.  

You could even taste the metallic liquid. And that made you terrified. Not more terrified – of course – than being locked up in a place for god-knows-how-long without a sense of reality. There was a physical fight hours before—or was it days? You couldn't know, time was different where you were. You had a slight chance of speculating if it was day or night due to the minimum crack on one of the walls. Your pinky would fit if anything.  

You succeeded in breaking a plate of food he had brought at the back of his head; which barely confused the man as you attempted to sprint towards the door. Well, You did try. Right as you reached the gate, he yanked your hair back and knocked you out on a solid surface.  

When you woke up, the first thought that crossed your mind was I'm dead. 

You weren’t. 

Thankfully, you had just passed out. Again.  

Letting out a painful breath, you forced your eyes to stay open. You had to keep trying, you weren’t about to let him win that easily. Before your team found you — if they hadn’t already — you had to buy yourself some time. Once his obsession exceeds its peak, you wouldn't stand a chance.

The sound of another shard of glass clicking against the floor disturbed that deafening silence. Although, no more than actually taking a piece of glass out of your flesh.  

You moaned in pain when it was finally out. Maybe being shot would hurt less because I'd blackout. But this hurts like a bitch.

Your breathing was unsteady and you were hyperventilating. There were at least five breathing exercises running through your head as you surveyed the room, looking for a way out. You had been placed in another corner. It was still the same room, but you were seeing it from another angle. This time you could walk; barely, but still. You refused to look at your feet with the trail of blood it left as you walked. 

Focus. You need to find a way out.  

You're a profiler. Profile him.  

Forty-five.  

White male.  

Abandonment issues caused by his mother leaving him at the age of nine years old. 

Each victim was a surrogate to his mother; he kept them for two days and then wrapped a belt around their throats to slash it postmortem. That's his M.O.

You had none of the victim characteristics. You were only unfortunate to be in the right place at the wrong time. 

Emily and you were sent to investigate the supposed location the UnSub took his victims to; an old apartment downtown. However, he was onto you as soon as you entered the place. In a moment of distraction, you had been swiped with a chloroform wipe before Emily could blink.  

What a cliché way to abduct someone.

On the first day, he covered your mouth with a dirty blanket but kept your hands and feet tied up tightly around a chair. You complied with everything he said, claiming you understood him and that he was so much better than his mother. Wrong move. At the mere mention of her, the guy completely lost it. 

You could still feel the slap that made your head turn. No doubt his fingers were marked on your cheek.   

Then, radio silence. Your brain worked wildly as you started to analyze your surroundings with undivided attention. There were two dark shelves a few meters away from you and a few boxes scattered around. The room was extremely dark, no windows, and carried a bitter smell. The floor was a blur to you, you didn't know were you were stepping.

Countless bottles on the shelves. It almost reminded you of—

Wait.

There was barely any light in the room, only through that tiny hole in the wall. You assumed it was around evening because of where the angle the shadow was reflecting upon. 

1978. Read on the bottle.  

This is a wine bottle.  

I'm in a wine cellar.

Your happiness was short-lived as your vision blurred, causing you to stumble back slightly. 

The bottle slipped from your fingers.  

Your mind goes into wildfire when your feet stepped onto something sharp and, immediately, the familiar sensation of it deepening into your skin. You never realized your body was falling, the only thing you could actually grasp onto was the pain, the agony you felt. Your screams echoed through the walls, then your tears joined as a company.

Blood and wine were indistinguishable. 

Your vision begins to gloss over, dark spots covering your eyes from reality. It would be only a matter of time until you drifted off again. Was it sad to say that the sensation was becoming familiar? It shouldn't be. You should be fighting for survival.

But your legs had pieces of glass sticking out and your left hand throbbed from an open wound from another piece you had pulled out. 

You heaved a shaky exhale, grunting as you tried to step back from the broken bottle. Daring to take a look at your legs was the last you did before the door creaked open, a bitter smile spreading on your dry lips. 

“Shit.”

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

The BAU’s technical analyst typed fast on her computer, her eyes quickly swapping between each screen. She was checking into possible locations Paul Knox could've taken his victims, excluding where the last body was found. His M.O. changed drastically from one night to the other, which meant he was escalating. And angry, extremely angry — Garcia couldn’t imagine something else after hearing the news you had been taken. 

“As if this couldn’t get any more creepy…” The blonde mumbled under her breath, eyes scanning over her newfound footage. It was a big house, colonial style colored with a pastel yellow on its walls. The picture showed the Knox’s posing for the camera; mother, son, and husband. Left to right. Something irked her in that image and that’s why she hadn’t dwelled on it when they were looking for the prime suspects’ background. His first home wasn’t relevant, he didn't take his victims there. 

They had been so wrong. 

Her server picked up on a distinct signal. One that shouldn't be there in such an old building. 

“He films it. Everything.” Emily handled five of the eighteen tapes they found in the UnSub’s apartment. Derek shook his head as he saw many names written on each of them.

“There’re eighteen here.” You frowned, counting for the third time. “It’s supposed to be seventeen. We found seventeen bodies.”

“We haven’t found the last one yet.” 

And this is how you disappeared from their radar. The eighteenth woman was not found and you were abducted from right under their noses the night after you figured he kept souvenirs from his victims. Necklaces, earrings and those awful recordings. 

When Penelope succeeded in hacking into the system, a camera was functioning properly. Just one. The place was dark, but the camera provided a poor lightening and from that, her breath caught in her throat. 

“Oh, my god.” The technical analyst covered her mouth in astonishment. There you were, on her computer screen. There was no doubt. She's worked with you in the same environment for nearly five years. You were friends, coworkers, partners in crime. She knew you. And that was breaking her heart.

You were thrown over the floor against a shelf, your head lolling to the side as if you were too weak to lift it. “No, no, no,” Garcia exclaimed, tears trailing down her cheeks and ruining her make-up. The floor was damp with something and she can't even imagine what it was. 

“Garcia?” Hotch's voice spoke through their connected microphone. “What is it?”  

She had completely forgotten she was in a connected call. 

The team was in the round table room, trying to figure out your whereabouts with the help of the clues they had until now. Which were minimal. They were very behind in the UnSub's game.  

Garcia's gasp made everyone quit their work, to simply stare at the machine anxiously and wait for the woman's next words.  

“We have to find her. Now!” Nothing else can stand out through the line like Penelope's frantic fingers typing fast.

Derek is the first to ask for clarification, “Baby girl, give us something. What happened?”  

By now, everyone was on the edge of their seats with the tension. 

The line pauses, and before anyone could complain, Penelope interjects in a weak voice, “Come to my cave. You need to see this.”  

Once they arrive in Penelope's office, the sight is more than they expected. Way more.  

The door opened and a figure walked into the dark room. They all watched with bated breath as Paul Knox crouched down to your weak body, drawing a hand to run through your cheek. 

“That son of a—”

“What is that?” Spencer cut Derek off, eyes glued to the man's pocket, something was sticking out of it. His mind works faster than any other, the likelihood of the team having a breakthrough during a case because of his inputs is huge and he's quite proud of that — even though Spencer doesn't give himself much credit. 

He feels the dumbest in the room right now. 

Not only did he lose you the night you were taken but he couldn't find you. The geographical profile was redone five times by him, he analyzed every detail over and over again, his brain was on fire. But he failed. He failed. How could he do that when you needed him the most? Where was his knowledge and IQ of 187 when he needed it?

Penelope turned off the screen on an impulse, earning discontent reactions from everyone else. She didn't answer them as lots of things started popping up on the other computer screen. 

“Garcia.” Spencer presses, jaw clenched. He was really trying to not yell at the technical analyst to find a location fucking faster or else instead of a living agent they would find a body to bury.  

No. No, that wouldn't happen. That couldn't happen.

“I'm trying!” 

“Try harder!” He yelled, causing every eye to give him impressed looks. Spencer Reid doesn’t scream, he doesn’t raise his voice, he doesn’t lose his cool. But he had never seen you in a pool of your own blood in an unknown place as a hostage before. He had never been so powerless. “He's gonna do something!” He reasoned his outburst with the team. How weren't they desperately losing their minds? Was this what they were like when he had been kidnapped by Tobias Hankel? Extremely collected and calm, just like in any other case? “Are we just going to sit here and watch? This is Y/N!”

The sound of the footage suddenly burst through the cave, causing everyone to freeze up. 

“Stop. No, n— what is that? Get the fuck away from me— No!”

“Oh, my god,” Emily mumbles with a hand over her mouth. They weren’t able to see the footage, but hearing your screams was just as painful.

“Reid,” Hotch warned, knowing how hard this was being on him. He shouldn't stay there, it would only make things worse, as much as it pained Aaron what was happening — he was your friend before he was your boss — the situation required him to be the levelheaded one. He couldn't jeopardize your safety because of emotions. “Go take a walk.”

“No.” was Spencer's reply. Before he could snap at anyone else and make the tension in the room increase, a hand squeezed his shoulder.  

“C'mon, kid.” Derek tugged his forearm.

“I'm not going anywhere—” 

“Yes, yes, you are.” Derek sends him a pointed look, pushing him out of the room “C'mon, let's take a walk. Being like this isn't gonna help us find her.”

“Look,” JJ points to the moving image, Penelope had turned it back on due to Hotch’s request. They were too close to figure out your location and they needed to grasp every detail of wherever that room was. “It’s that a… needle?” That can’t be happening. Not again. JJ flinched back as the syringe was pressed against your neck and your cries started to quieten up. She had seen that film before, it was just a continuous nightmare by now. Spencer’s limp body flashed through her mind, a terrible flashback. Now, you. It wasn’t fair. Hotch took her out of her inner turmoil to say they had found her location. Emily was already out of the room.

“Find our girl. Please, find her.” Penelope gave her a pleading look, her glasses were smeared with tears.

Jenifer didn’t need to be told twice.

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

Next time you woke up you saw metal bars. There was a steady dripping sound resonating around. You didn't know where it came from, your senses were compromised by your dizziness; sometimes it was distant, sometimes it was right by your side. 

Plink. Plink. Plink.

Plink. Plink. Plink.

Always three times then a pause. 

Paul had put you in a cage. That much was clear, the quadrangle shape along with the metal bars. You could barely stretch out your legs all the way due to the limited space. 

Something stirred in your sight and you realized you weren't alone in the room. He's still here.

Where are your instincts? Where are the tactics you use to save someone almost every day? And why aren't you making use of them right now?

The dripping stopped. 

Something creaked and your face was being touched. Feeling the familiar reaction of a panic attack approaching, you tried to regulate your breath. This was not the time. You thought. But again, have you had control over anything over these past few days?  

“Don't cry. I won't hurt you.”

When you got out of the high of whatever substance he had injected into your system, you winced at the numbness in your left foot. You moved your limbs around, attempting to sit down. He had cleaned you up. You were in different clothes, too. And the blood was gone. 

He touched me.

Hetouchedmehetouchedmehetouchedmehetouchedm—

Stay focused.  

“13…11…9…7.” You started counting in the odd-numbered pattern you learnt calms you down. “5…3…1…13— What is—” a red light in a corner of the room glinted at you. “Are you recording me?” You exhaled harshly, squinting your eyes. No, that wasn't the dizziness. The red light was probably there the whole time, but it remained unnoticeable. A wave of drowsiness almost knocks you out again but instead, you squeeze your nails against your tight to prevent sleeping — pain was better than the unknown. You didn't know what he did when you were out of it, though you had an idea just a minute ago. “You enjoy your souvenirs, don't you? Sick bastard!”  

You're losing your temper, control yourself. 

I can't.

I need to get out of here. I need to GET OUT.

“Let me out.” You whispered to nothing. 

What takes you to a breaking point? Being held captive by a sociopath maniac or not knowing what to do to escape it? 

All of your qualifications went down the drain. Suddenly you didn't have a PhD in Biopsychology.

Survival mode originally evolved to help us handle threats and situations that activate our stress-response systems. When the alternative does not involve escape or fighting, we are wired to freeze, a state of hyperarousal. 

It's always better to go ahead with the instructions, otherwise, you might touch a rough spot and their only response will be to eliminate their target. 

Your friends’ voices rang through your brain as if they were supposed to help you somehow. 

The walls were closing in, rationality was out of the picture.

“Let me out of here, please!”

“Stop screaming. No one will hear.” 

You turned towards the door, jaw clenching. You weren't just weak, you were angry. That shouldn't be happening to you, you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and he took advantage of that. 

“They will catch you.” You spat out. “You don't have a chance once they find you, Paul.”

He nodded, crouching down in front of the cage, hands gripping the sidebars. “I'm aware of that.”

That made you freeze. 

So it was an all-or-nothing situation? If your probability of getting out of that alive was slim, now it was just ridiculous.

“You need to learn a lesson.” He said, unlocking the cage and crawling in. As much as you tucked yourself in the corner, he was still able to touch you, he was still able to be desperately close. “Beautiful, beautiful, Daisy... Why'd you hurt me like that?”  

Daisy. 

Daisy…

“Daisy... I did everything you asked me too. Why'd you leave me with him? The bad man? Why?”

The bad man.  

Daisy and Caleb Knox, those were Paul’s parents. 

At the age of nine Daisy left Paul to Caleb's care and ran away. She was never found.

It's always better to go ahead with the instructions. Play into his fantasy. 

“I'm— I'm sorry,” you croaked out, testing the waters.  

“Are you really?”  

“He made...” Taking a deep breath You felt your tongue heavy and your head spin. You would pass out any minute. How much longer would you handle without food? You can't remember the last time you ate. “... he made me— do that. I wanted to protect you. I did. But he didn't— he didn't let me,” your breath was shallow and you felt yourself floating.   

Stay awake.  

“Liar.” He mumbled after a while. “Liar!” You didn't expect the slap when it came. The force made you stumble back, pressing your eyes and groaning in pain. “How can you keep lying to me after all these years? You slut! I was alone! With him!”  

“I understand,” you replied, shakily, licking your lips as the copper taste filled your tastebuds. “But— but you love me. Don't you?” Opening your eyes, you realized he was a little farther than you expected. His eyes stared right into your soul with a kind of regret and disgust you had never seen. “You were always a good kid, Paul... Would never hurt your mom. Because you're good. Aren't you?”  

A lot of things were at stake there. your life, mostly. If you as much as stepped into his anger then you would be done for.  

In a blink of an eye he was in front of you again, “I am. I-I I am, mom.” Mom. That's good. He's falling for it. You could save your vomit for later. 

Then, you saw the belt. The same one he uses on the victims for the final kill. 

Death wasn't a thing to be afraid of. It's simply another part of life. Or, for the believers, eternal life.  

You have never been scared of death in your twenty-five years of living. Not when the situation was related to you, at least. Which was completely different if someone on your team got injured badly, let alone your boyfriend. You didn't know what it was that whenever you were in danger's ways, no fear would kick in, only the nice feeling of adrenaline running through your veins.  

However, this wasn't like most cases. You knew this one would break you to the core. You would never be the same after that. If you even get the chance to say after this case. Spencer had this experience. He had been abducted and tortured by Tobias Hankel; you've seen how the trauma affected him till this day.  

You wondered if Spencer thought if he would get out alive. You wondered if, at some point in that cabin in the woods, he contemplated death as an alternative. Because God knew you were considering it.  

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

Aaron Hotchner marched forward to the backyard of the Knox Mansion as Derek Morgan went in through the backdoor. Spencer Reid and Jennifer Jereau were ordered to enter through the front door.

The two-story manor carried a sense of luxury, although the smell was of something rotten from years back.  

It was clear that the inheritance Paul Knox gained from his father had vanished as it had come. The house was almost in ruins, the strong smell of mold all around the walls immediately hit the newcomers. Derek and Aaron met inside close to the living room.  

“It's all clear around the kitchen, Rossi,” Derek said, looking around and studying his surroundings. He quickly covered his nose when the smell reached his nostrils. ��What is that smell?!”  

“I don't know,” Rossi replied, kicking a knocked-over chair. “ There's been a struggle.” 

Derek nodded, pointing towards a line of blood leading to the kitchen. It ended there.

“We're running out of time.” Spencer walked in the kitchen with JJ on his trail. “This is useless. She won't be up here. The camera Garcia hacked showed a dark room and it pointed to a door. Possibly the only way in and out.”

JJ nodded in affirmation, shoulders tensing. “Maybe a basement? There's no guest house, right?”

“There's a basement outside.” Rossi clarified. “Hotch is searching there. JJ and Reid search the second floor, Morgan and Prentiss you take the attic. I'll check that ridiculously big greenhouse outside.”  

“It's not a basement,” Spencer said, cursing under his breath. Everyone stared at him confusedly. “That was not a basement. It—It looks like one. It's supposed to look like one but didn't you see the bottles and the shelves in the footage? And the liquid when she—” he sucked in a breath. “That's a wine cellar.” He concluded. How couldn't he have seen it before? It was being thrown at his face.

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

Hotch stepped towards the wood doors, drawing out his gun to tear apart the locket.

He tried as much as he could not to make a sound as he walked down the basement doors. If the smell in the house was bad, down there was suffocating.

“Paul, Paul listen to me! I'm sorry that I left, I'm sorry!” 

He halted, surveying the area carefully. It was dark, but his weapon light helped him have a grip on his surroundings. That had definitely been your voice. 

“Is Carina here?” 

There was a pause.

Carina Grace. One of the missing girls, probably the eighteenth victim of Paul Knox.

“You told me I wasn't alone before, is she here, too, Paul?” 

That was a bold move. Hotch knew what you were doing, despite the situation you were still doing your job, but this wouldn't end well.

“You have never been alone.”

Your crying out made him approach fast as he followed the sound. That place could fool anyone by the sight of it before you entered. The wood doors made it look like a small corner, but Hotch could see it as a masked labyrinth. 

He kept aiming his gun ahead, entering a room of what he supposed was a wine cellar. Slow and steady steps guided by his instincts; his eyes surveyed every corner of the room until three tall shelves came into sight— and a shadow reflected by the sunlight that entered the only small window in the room.  

His eyes narrowed when he saw it move and the silhouette of a gun was pressed to its hand. Hotch swiftly hid behind a near concrete pillar just as the man shot twice in the previous direction he had been in.  

Idiot. Aaron mentally cursed, eyeing the only part of the room he hadn't checked yet, behind the shelves.  

He saw a glimpse of metal. The UnSub was armed. 

“Found her badge and bullet proof vest up here, Hotch.” JJ's voice rang through the radio. Loud enough for only Aaron to hear, thankfully. “The perimeters are being checked but I don't think—” He could hear the strain in her voice.

“The wine cellar isn't clear, yet.” Hotch said with his tone contained, eyes glued to the UnSub's shadow. He hasn't moved. What was this asshole planning to do? “He's here. Block all exits.”  

“What about her?” 

“She's here, too,” Hotch replied to Reid, squinting at the moving silhouette.

“You're in the basement, aren't you?” He breathed out at the sound of Emily's voice. 

“Yes.” 

“I'll meet you there.”

“There's another body here and he's armed.” Be careful. 

Emily spoke to someone else and then he tuned everything out. 

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

“Spencer!” JJ tried to pull him back but he yanked his arm out of her reach, sprinting towards the backyard. “Would you calm down? You can't barge in like this!” She hissed in frustration. 

He turned back and said through gritted-teeth. “If it were Will, would you be calm?”

She blinked at him, opening and closing her mouth in shock. “I—”

“You know how I feel, you've been there, so why do you keep asking me to calm down?” Spencer spat out. 

JJ silently approached him by the entrance, swallowing the guilt her whole body was drowning in. “I'm sorry. I'm just trying to make you think, alright? Spence, she needs all of us. She needs you, so we need to think straight. Our goal is to get her out.” Alive.

“Do you think we can?”

He asked softly, voice small. 

She squeezed his shoulder and widened the basement opening. “Yes, we can.” She stepped in, turning to him before he could enter. “Don't step away from me. We don't split up, ever, deal?” 

That was something she always said whenever they were paired up in a situation like that. And that's when Spencer noticed that what he suffered didn't just affect him, but everyone else around him. 

“Okay.”

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

Hotch had finally caught sight of you. He could see your frame in a corner of the wall, the sunlight didn't help him visualize anything, it was too minimal. He didn't know whether you were awake or— he couldn't see. “Paul, do you think your mother would be proud of that behavior? Killing women? Hurting them?” He needed to get closer and for that, he had to get inside his mind.

“You don't understand,” Paul said calmly. Hotch hears beneath that contained tone, he was a walking time bomb. But they were on countdown before your location was even found, the team knew who Paul was, they knew how he escalated in the last weeks, and they knew his weak spot, too. 

“You're right,” Hotch said, craning his neck to the side when he saw your voice. More like a whimper. Low, discreet, but there. You were alive. And he intended on keeping that way. “I don't understand. I didn't go through what you did. I was not left in a house by someone that's supposed to care for me. I was not left to a parent that never loved me.”

Silence. 

“Paul. She deserves everything you did to her. Every beating. Every truth spat out on her face. Every day locked up here. She was supposed to be a good mother back then, why is she trying now, after all.”

“She never loved me.”

Bingo.

“Is that what you think?”

There was shuffling around and then a gun was pointing directly at him, but Hotch had a shelf to cover behind. Paul was finally in his aim, vulnerable. Not yet.

“Do you think people change, Agent?” Paul asked him, cocking the gun at him mockingly. He then looked back at you, tongue moving across his lips slowly. “I don't think so. That's why I didn't kill her. Yet.” 

You said something else but Hotch couldn't hear. He wasn't close enough. You weren't safe yet. Not yet.

The clock was ticking. 

“For some people, death is just another way out.” 

Everything happened so fast his mind didn't grasp it until it happened. 

He heard a click. Then the sound of gunfire exploded through the wine cellar. 

Paul Knox was on the floor, his head had two gunshot wounds on the forehead and blood leaked through it. Eyes wide open. He didn't see it coming. 

Quick and effective. 

A perfect aim to kill. 

He thought it would be Emily at the entrance, gun pointing right at Paul's head. He's seen her frustration at herself for losing you that day, it was a matter of time until she snapped. 

But he was met with Spencer Reid barging into the wine cellar instead. A stunned JJ frozen at the entrance.

Reid's movements carried no hesitation as he dashed towards the body, snatched the keys out of his pockets and stepped back to unlock the cage you were in. 

It was foolish to check if he was still alive. Two shots to the head -  that was the outcome Hotch didn't want. Paul Knox was supposed to go to jail for the rest of his life. Because of the victims he terrorized, because of the days he stole from one of his own that she would never get back. 

“We found Carina.” Derek told him as they watched you being pulled into the ambulance. He didn't need to be told that they only found her body. Carina Grace had been missing for a month. “Same way as the other girls.”

“Safe to say he won't be dreaming about hurting anyone else.” Rossi made the comment as a body bag was transferred out of the wine cellar.

Hotch glanced towards Reid, who had just entered the ambulance by your side. 

He would lecture him later. The only thing that mattered now was that you were safe. 

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

When you fluttered your eyes open, you quickly shut them again. The lights were strong and forceful. Light. Was this the sunlight? Had he dumped your body somewhere? Were you finally dead and this was your spirit floating over what was left of you?

You hadn't felt that cool air in days. It almost felt like air-conditioning. A soft fabric wrinkled between your fingers and your leg… you could move it. You could feel it. There was no numbness.

“Take a deep breath. It's okay, you're safe.”

You're hallucinating. Because what you were hearing didn't make any sense. It couldn't be. Your head was searching for ways to bring your relief. That's the only reasonable answer. 

Reasonable. What about this situation is reasonable?

“You're safe,” He repeated. 

You forced your eyelids open, despite the bothersome whiteness. The first thing you saw was Spencer, his honey brown eyes with heavy bags of sleepless nights around them, his soft smile that threatened to spill the sadness hanging over him. 

You could touch his hand. 

But the calm doesn't last for long. 

“You're not here.” You snatched your fingers away. 

This is not real. I'm dreaming again.

Hurt flashed through his eyes. “I am.”

“That's not you.”

“That's me, sweetheart. This is real, we got you out—”

“No!” 

He flinched back, watching as the heart monitor went off. A group of nurses entered the room to check the commotion; it took five people to hold you down. He never saw you like that. That's anger, that pain. He'd never seen it in your eyes. JJ had to pull him out of the room otherwise he would stay there, frozen. 

You weren't seeing him. 

He provoked that nervous breakdown. 

“Stop. Hey, don't do this,” he could feel air entering his lungs but his chest hurt. “Spencer, this isn't—”

“Don't.” He said shortly, shaking his head. “I shouldn't have…” He stared at his hands as if they had committed a crime, trying to blink away his tears. 

“This isn't your fault, Spence.”

“I should've figured it out sooner.” He said, burying his head between his hands. “I do it all the time. Why couldn't I do it now, why couldn't I find her sooner?” 

Sobs racked through his body and he felt arms wrapping around him some sort of comfort. He didn't feel it. He wanted you. He wanted to make you feel better, he didn't need to be taken care of. He didn't deserve it. 

“It wasn't your fault,” JJ repeated, tightening her hold on him. “We were all in this. And she's fine now. She's safe.”

“She'll never be fine again.” He mumbled through her shirt. It physically pained him to see you like this, as if your mind was playing you. The worst was that he knew what that felt like. He wished he didn't. Actually, he wished that it was him instead. He'd go through it all again just to spare you of that trauma. That haunting pain that would follow you and make you doubt everything. 

He didn’t mean that he didn’t want you to be fine, of course, he wanted it. That kind of trauma, however, doesn’t just let you go, it’s like a shadow looming over you, a tall ghost. 

I should've found her sooner. He couldn't stop thinking that. I should've found her sooner.

An hour passed and nobody moved from the waiting room. They were anxious and on edge waiting for an update. Penelope had drifted off on Derek's shoulder a few minutes ago, Emily had bitten all of her cuticles as much as Rossi reprimanded her on it, Hotch would leave and come back with coffee refills and JJ had left a while ago to speak to Will and her kids. As for Spencer, he was just there. Not mentally, just physically. 

He needed to see you okay to function again.

“She'll need you.” He snapped around to Hotch's voice. At some point, his feet reached the end of the hall, a cup of water in his hands. He wasn't even thirsty. “She'll need you when she wakes up. More than anyone else.” His boss added. 

Spencer knew what he meant by that. It wasn't just in the literal sense. 

“I know.” He responded.

“Then you need to be there.”

Get a grip on yourself. 

“I will.” Spencer swallowed hard, looking up at him. “I will.” He repeated, throwing the cup on the trash can and taking a deep breath. Hotch squeezed his shoulder reassuringly on his way back. 

When the doctor called him back to the room, you were already awake. 

✫・゜・。✫・゜・。

“Spencer?”  

You croaked out, blinking multiple times to undo the blurred image of the long-haired genius. 

“Hi,” he replied, lowering to the seat beside your bed. You oversaw his movements carefully. He looked shaken up but he mustered one of those smiles you were done for from the first day you walked in the Bureau.

“Can you tell me something?” You requested, clearing your throat. You didn’t trust your senses, but it sounded and looked like your boyfriend. Your mind couldn’t play sturdy tricks like that, could it? 

Outsretching your arm long enough to reach him, you nudged his hand. He pulled the chair closer and intertwined your fingers. That was the first time you felt warmth in days.

“What about?” 

“Something only you would know.”

Bring me back to reality.

He sighed, lifting your palm to his cheek. “You hate the color gray,” his eyes locked into yours as he recalled your words from a few months ago when you had revealed this to him. “It was your brother's favorite color. He wore it all the time. When he died, you could never look at anything gray because it would remind you of him.”

You stayed quiet. 

“You hate when people keep telling you to wear your hair down because it looks pretty. You know it does, but you feel uncomfortable with the strands touching your neck. You love sunlight the same amount you love cloudy days – not thunderstorms, you’re scared of those. Especially lightning.” You let out a tearful chuckle to which he grinned. “You have a tattoo on the inner side of your left thigh, it's the page number and the line order of your favorite Norwegian Wood edition, your favorite book. You had a secret obsession with the theme from that animated movie…” his voice trailed off, a crease between his brows. 

“You mean Let it go from Frozen?”

Spencer’s lips twisted in a pout, “Sorry if I don’t know that much about pop culture.”

“You’re hopeless at it, Spence.”

“I’m not that bad.” He rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “How are you feeling?” He asked, eyes softening. You traced the tip of his nose, eyes scanning his features so you’d cement it to your brain.

“Better,” you replied. It was the truth. He nodded, brushing a strand behind your ear gently. “Thank you.” 

Spencer lifted his chin to glimpse at you, disappointment draping over his gaze. “I didn’t do anything.” Disappointment at himself. The failure that he was during the case when you needed him the most. You furrowed your brows at the tear trailing down his cheek, drying it with your thumb. Reaching for his arms, you waited until he adjusted enough at the edge of your bed so you could rest your head on his chest. His heartbeat rang through your ears like a long-awaited tune.

“I know you did, Spencer. All of you did. Hey,” you tapped his chin so he could meet your eyes. “I'm here, aren't I?”

He frowned. “You almost weren't.”

“But I am,” you insisted. Your gaze darkened and you shifted on the bed causing the thin blanket to fall off one of your legs. You were all bandaged up, literally. “You know, I… I lost track of time. After the first two days I nearly went crazy. I knew you'd find me but I— I—”

“You don't have to talk about it if you're not ready.” Spencer reassured you softly. He saw the way you stared at your legs, it was the scars beneath the bandages that you were seeing. And the ones beyond your body. “I love you,” he mumbled against your hair, caressing your arms and cradling you into his hold. “We got you out. You're safe now, alright? I promise.”

You resigned with a long breath, burying your face in his shoulder. That heaviness brewing over your thoughts vanished under his touch, wrapping safety around you instead. 

“I love you too, Spencer.” You said, curling into his side. Now that you knew you were safe, you could feel the exhaustion weighing down your eyelids. “Can you stay?” 

He hummed, tucking his chin above your head and shifting on the bed for a better position. It wasn't the most comfortable setting and you two would probably — certainly — wake up with your backs hurting. But Spencer would do anything for you.

“I won't go anywhere, don't worry.”

That was what comfort felt like. You weren't dreaming. That was real. 

The nightmare was finally over. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Isn’t it funny how day by day

nothing changes,

but when you look back,

everything is different. ”

[C.S. Lewis]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

sources used: [1]; [2]; [3]

taglist: @lilyviolets

#criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid angst #criminal minds imagine #countdown

[qcomicsy]

Hi

Can you recommend me Bat-family comics to read? Which ones do you like?

Heyyyy

I would love it!

DISCLAIMER Keep it in mind I'm a casual reader so my recs might not be the most "this is every issue they are together" or the longer ones!

Let's go!

Nightwing Annual (2021)

Dick & Jason focused

This is one of my favorites ones, it focuses both on Dick's and Jason's relationship as Nightwing and Robin and Nightwing and Redhood.

The dialogue is great, it has both it's really funny bits but also it's really wholesome ones too and it's full of heartwarming moments.

I absolutely adore the way they handled Jason's Robin and acknowledges his violent tendencies without judging him for it.

He's not portrayed as overly violent and reckless, but as a normal teenager having normal reactions given the things he had to deal in his past.

My only criticism is Jason still using that damn crowbar and how they kept drawing Jason shorter the Nightwing for some reason. I think it was to accentuate the "younger brother" feelings so I forgive the artist.

But it's pretty funny.

He looks like short king

Robin & Batman

Dick and Bruce focused

Oh this one, this one it's so good, so good that almost got me crying on main. It's really beautiful, I wasn't the happiest about how Bruce behaved in the comic but it sat in a fine line between Batdad and Bruce being a terrible father/person.

He is too hard on Robin, but it does show how he is trying.

The art is goddamn beautiful, it has this watercolor look and Dick looks adorable on it.

It also goes deep in Dick's feelings about being Robin and what the whole jig means to him, it respects Dick's relationship with Bruce but without forgetting the love and the moments he had with his biological parents.

It's just really, really beautiful a goddamn gem between the many mistakes DC made with them two over those years.

For Tim and Dick I really recomend

Batman Prodigal (1997)

Note: The whole Kightfell series is great for a Bruce, Dick and Tim read. But for the Batfam feelings you can just focus on the prodigal parts.

Dick & Tim focused

The only thing you have to know to catch up is:

1. Bane broke Bruce's back and dignity, so he couldn't still be Batman.

2. Bruce found this guy called Jean Paul to fill for him.

3. Jean Paul is really fond of punishment and violence and the good ol' catholic guilt and goes a little bit too rogue as Batman for everyone's liking.

4. Bruce takes the mantle from Jean Paul and Nightwing fills in as the new Batman.

I wouldn't call exactly brotherly, because Tim wasn't adopted yet in the timeline this was published but they have their moments.

New talent show case DC #2017

Duke and Jason focused

This is also a favorite. It's a short story (unfortunately) but every single panel is worth it.

It's basically Jason and Duke bonding moment between fighting some baddies and trying to clown each other on the way. 10/10 will always recommend.

Robin War

Jason & Duke & Tim & Damian

This one I've read recently (thanks for the asks people send to me y'all are fucking great) and it's a fucking gem!

It shows a lot their chemistry on the battlefield and how fucking insufferable they are around each other. It also shows how Duke fits as a glove in this family of misfits even before he was an "official member".

Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual (2016)

Another Dick and Jason focused!

Oh this one is a blast! It's also short but so goddamn worth it.

Basically Jason and the Outlaws take a gig in a circus to track a Russian bad guy (gotta love how comic books have unresolved beef with Russians until this day) and well it's a circus so how can you not call Dick Grayson?

It's so goddamn funny and it has no right to be, it still very close in the timeline where Dick and Jason were definitely not in good terms, so their interaction it's all so awkward it's a joy really.

We also got a flashback from Dick and younger Jason as Robin and even the flashback is goddamn hilarious, I had such a good time reading it that it's a must read!

Now If you're here for the angst and general feeling's™

I would highly recomend.

- Nightwing Year One (Dick & Bruce)

- Death in the Family (Jason & Bruce & Dick)

- Red Robin (Tim & Dick / Tim & Damian / minor Tim & Cass / Minor Bruce & Tim)

Note: They don't interact much in this run but when they do it hurts. It also can help you understand the beef between Tim and Damian better.

- DCeased (Damian & Steph / minor Damian & Jason)

Note: It's one of the many, many DC aus but this one it's 'pretty' good (it's decent). Definitely not Batfam focused but it has one one of my favorite Damian & Steph and Damian & Jason moments. It's also one of my favorites interpretations of Damian, he gets so sweet and mature over the years that passes in the comic and his reencounter with Jason rewrote my entirety brain chemistry.

Also unfortunately it's the only time we get to see Damian and Jon growing up together :')

- DC vs Vampires ( Batfam (except Duke because the author is a coward) specially Tim & Damian / Tim & Bruce / Dick & Almost everybody )

Note: Okay this one is a fucking car ride, a rollercoaster if you will. And it's ANOTHER DC au but with yeah VAMPIRES so buckle-up.

It has major Batfam moments in the beginning and one of my favorites Damian and Tim interactions ( I'm going to reblog this with photos because Tumblr is homophobic and isn't letting me add more photos in this shit >:( ). Then it goes hard on betrayal (trying not to add spoilers) and feelings so get ready for that.

I unfortunately haven't finished (casual reader remember that) but the much I've read was really, really good.

It gets very silly very quickly as anything made with vampires generally get (unfortunately they butchered a lot of characters in the process) but if you go head empty no thoughts you're going to get a lot of fun and maybe cry a little if that gets to you.

So this is it. I'm sure it has more of it, and oh I'm sure I forgot a lot of it but those are the one's I could get from the top of my head, so I hope you and all of the people who want to follow it have fun!

Also if someone has more recommendations feel free to add on the Reblogs, I'm sure I will eat it up anyway.

#Also Batman & Robin Eternal has been sitting on my reading list for a while (lies) #I've read a couple of panels today and seems really promising a lot of Dick & Tim & Jason interactions! Harpey my dear is also there to! #so if someone wants to check go for it I for now have no idea of it's good or not #but I will (eventually (*I hope*)) #q asks #q recommendations #batfamily #batfam #dick grayson #jason todd #bruce wayne #tim drake #damian wayne #duke thomas #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #alfred pennyworth

[agentnico]

Dune: Part Two (2024) review

I’m fully aware that the Dune sequel has been hit by acclaim from both critics and audiences, and I shall share my own thoughts in due course, but also whilst presenting itself as a serious and sophisticated piece of artsy science fiction tackling challenging themes of religion and politics, from a marketing standpoint this film has been a major farcical meme. From the popcorn buckets shaped like suggestive sand worms (or more so accurately as deformed buttholes) to the viral TikTok video of an unnamed man riding a makeshift sand worm around a cinema lobby on his way to Arrakis, or more likely to one of the gazillion screenings of Dune: Part Two. But yes, absolutely mad bonkers advertising techniques, and not at all reflective of how seriously and straight faced the actual film plays. Anyway, let’s talk Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuneee…..

Plot: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

Controversial opinion - I was not a fan of the first Dune. I thought it was all spectacle and no substance, and even then in regards to said spectacle, it was just sand. Lots of sand and bland dark visuals. I understand that the first movie acts as a massive exposition piece with lots of world building and introductions of all the characters and various political families and the spice trade and all that sweet jazz, but honestly it all felt so dragged out. Also a lot of narrative choices felt really immature and I did not buy it. In fact, the only memorable part for me was that female voice screaming on the music score every time something crazy happened, and my does that woman have some strong vocal pipe work! Like damn, her screams…. I really felt them!

Going into Dune: Part Two, I was very much of two mindsets. One was more so a feeling of obligation to watch it, as I wasted 3 hours of my life watching the first one that I felt I deserved some kind of closure for my efforts. The other being Denis Villeneuve. Aside from the first Dune, he’s a director that has constantly impressed me with his unique vision and style. Simply look at his past filmography! Prisoners. Enemy. Arrival. Sicario. All impressive pieces of genre filmmaking. Then there’s Blade Runner 2049, that took the classic Ridley Scott movie and managed to improve on it and become one of the most thrilling science fiction epics of the last decade. Also the trailers looked appropriately exciting, and it seemed like the second movie was actually gonna deal with some serious shit finally. Again, my problem with the first Dune wasn’t that it was slow. I mean, I can happily watch Paris, Texas any day of the week and be mesmerised by the empty yet beautiful takes of the American desert. It’s more-so that the first Dune felt aimless and messy. As for Dune: Part Two?

Well, if we’re going to use The Lord of the Rings terminology, and boy am I happy to refer to the dear-to-my-heart Middle Earth whenever I have the chance, then Dune: Part Two holds the scale of The Two Towers. I may not agree with all of it, and there are still some moments that drag, though The Two Towers is also guilty of that - I’m looking at you Treebeard! But overall this is one hell of a cinematic experience and achievement. Visually for one this is eye-candy. And yes, yet again there’s lots of sand, but this time around Villeneuve manages to find very creative ways to add/take away colour to make many sequences truly impressive. There’s an early scene where the Fremen are fighting Harkonnen goons in the desert and the entire thing is seeped in this blood orange palette, reminiscent of the Martian Chronicles, and then there’s the part where we are introduced to the Harkonnen home planet where the entire screen is drenched in hardcore intense black-and-white due to their sun only giving out white and black light, and instead of fireworks there are these watercolour stroked exploding in the sky, to of course the much talked about eye-dropping sand worm riding into battle scene that had the feel of the giant elephants appearing in The Return of the King, and yes that was another most delightful reference to Lord of the Rings! As I was saying though, the entire movie visually is certainly something to be in awe of.

Also Hans Zimmer’s score!! Of course the man’s a genius, having composed so many of cinema’s greatest musical compositions. I can recommend his Live in Prague performance! Hit after hit, and I find myself spinning it on my record player a good few times. Hans Zimmer’s Dune: Part Two soundtrack feels like a thunderously bombastic continuation and expansion of the first film’s more quiet and moody opener, and that shift in tone allows for some truly spectacular weaving of the composer’s thematic tapestry for Dune – with the finest new thread being the absolutely gorgeous love theme for Paul and Chani. A truly beautiful piece that echoes the heartbreaking tragic nature of the central romance of the film. Needless to say I’ve already pre-ordered the limited edition coloured vinyl of Dune 2’s soundtrack from Mutant (the new Mondo).

As for the narrative, as that is where I felt the first film faltered the most in my humble opinion (which I share so publicly online). I really do feel like the sequel is a major set up, for since the first one focused more on the endless word building and set-ups, this movie is all about the character developments. The scope is still big with the various political and religious elements that are tackled and explored throughout, however at the same time Dune: Part Two manages to feel more intimate compared to its predecessor, with the unravelling of the romance between Paul and Chani, but more so the inner struggles of Paul Atreides, as he tries to balance his emotions of revenge with the feeling of wanting to belong somewhere, as well as his denial of being called the so-called Messiah to the Fremen people. Look, the idea of the chosen one has been a concept that has been done over and over again, however I felt here they managed to really make it feel unique and different, with Paul choosing not to take this major responsibility due to visions of the future where he sees this choice result in darkness and dread, yet at the same time realising he has no choice but to follow his destiny and calling. It’s powerful stuff.

The cast list is stacked in this one. Timothee Chalamet is a rising star, having previously excelled his dramatic chops in Call Me by Your Name and his charismatic whimsy in last year’s Wonka, but this is by far his most impressive acting feat. You truly feel his character turning from boy to man, and it’s a real and raw performance. Zendaya shares great chemistry with him, but also in her own right gives a strong turn as a warrior Fremen conflicted with what she sees and thinks. Javier Bardem’s Stilgar adds a slice of surprising humour to the mix, being so obsessed with Paul being part of the prophecy that anything he’d do, Stilgar would find that to be part of what has been foretold. Paul Atreides could literally fart and Stilgar would observe in wonder proclaiming “as it was written”. There’s also a tiny No Country for Old Men reunion with Bardem being joined by Josh Brolin, who’s alright by the way, though it’s a typical Brolin brute role. Charlotte Rampling as the Reverend Mother continues being truly despicable and honestly that wench deserves to be put in her place - the movie’s ending is very satisfying in this regard. There’s also some newcomers to the Dune world too. Florence Pugh as the Princess reminded me a lot of Padme from Star Wars, and Christopher Walken I felt was tad miscast as the Emperor. Don’t get me wrong, Walken is a great actor, but his way of speech has been impersonated and overdone so many times that it is difficult to take him seriously in a role like this. Minus a couple of strong deliveries Walken felt really lazy here. You know who wasn’t lazy though? Austin Butler! This guy understood the assignment, playing the psychotic nutter Feyd-Rautha and he’s truly unrecognisable. Even his voice is different. Gone is Elvis and in cometh his Skarsgard impression! He’s brutal and maniacal and was honestly superb, and I wish there was more of him in this movie.

Again, it’s far from a perfect movie. There are parts still that drag, and certain times where things feel surprisingly rushed, but overall this is an experience through and through, and unlike my feelings after the first film, here I find myself really looking forward to the inevitable third part. In fact f*ck it, who am I kidding - this movie is bloody incredible!! Like I can’t even - it’s abso-fricking-lutely spectacular!! And by the way I read a bit about the Frank Herbert Dune books now and the future sequels are gonna be mad, just saying. Paul’s son becomes this half-man half-worm known as the God Emperor! Things are gonna get weird! Anyway, Dune: Part Two - go see it if you haven’t already. And in Austin Butler’s voice: “may thy knife chip and shatter”.

Overall score: 9/10

#dune part 2 #dune #dune part two #dune movie #denis villeneuve #timothée chalamet #zendaya #movie #movie reviews #film #film reviews #drama #science fiction #cinema #2024 #javier bardem #frank herbert #dune part two review #hans zimmer #josh brolin #christopher walken #austin butler #florence pugh #rebecca ferguson #stellan skarsgard #charlotte rampling #sand worm

[moonlitlex]

i have so much to say abt chalice of the gods so im just gonna copy paste my review from goodreads here. you can also read it on goodreads

ok. i promised i would hate this book. and i do. i hate this book. i also hate rick riordan. in addition, i hate capitalism. i promise that’s relevant.

let’s talk about the book now. i’ll cover the things i love first. i love percy jackson. i love grover. i love annabeth. i love sally. i love paul. i love percy annabeth and grover together. all of these things are very obvious and self-explanatory. percy is hands down THE main character of all time. i have nothing bad to say about him. his literal fatal flaw is loyalty. he’s actually perfect and has no flaws. this is expected from the son of sally jackson, the perfect person. paul is sweet and kind to sally and that’s really all that matters. annabeth is awesome and supportive and so is grover and they’re all besties forever. you get it. you’ve read percy jackson.

the jokes are better than before. there are definitely some legitimately funny jokes in this book, which i was really missing from the last few rick riordan installments. and i don’t think this is because rick suddenly got funnier. i think it’s because this style of joke works for percy. of all of rick’s protagonists, percy seems the most natural fit for these jokes.

sally is great. grover and annabeth are generally on form. so is percy, as much as can be expected from rick riordan at this point. i will elaborate on this later.

now to complain. this is the stupidest premise i’ve ever heard of. percy is a high school senior. he is going to go to new rome university. he needs 3 divine recommendations. this is already a stupid premise but don’t worry, it gets worse. poseidon reveals that the reason percy needs these recommendations is that it’s a special requirement for him specifically made by zeus. and the reason he gets to have this stupid requirement is that he’s a child of the big three and shouldn’t exist.

hello. zeus. yes, lord zeus, it’s me. alexis.

what the absolute FUCK are you saying.

this doesn’t MAKE SENSE. the only reason percy shouldn’t have existed was that the gods had a stupid pact to not have any kids because of a stupid prophecy. two things here. one - that prophecy is OVER. everything turned out fine. thanks to percy jackson. you’re welcome, gods of olympus. two - percy has literally saved olympus TWICE now. two times. this is genuinely such a dumb and made up reason to send percy on a quest that i can’t even turn my brain off and enjoy it. it’s not fun. leave percy alone. LEAVE HIM ALONE.

it’s literally insane how stupid this setup is. rick keeps writing books about how the gods are horrible and take advantage of the demigods and the demigods live terrible lives. in this book, percy has LITERALLY saved olympus TWICE and motherfucking zeus (literally) had to be talked down from making him get 25 letters of recommendation to 3. this is AFTER percy spent 3 years in pjo almost being killed and got his memory wiped for 6-8 months depending on which book you read in hoo and then got sent on a quest to save the entire world AGAIN. this CHILD got like a 2-4 month break (depending on which book you’re reading) and he woke up with no fucking memory and had to spend like 2 more months fighting monsters and the literal primordial earth goddess. and now he has to go on literally pointless quests that someone who didn’t just get back home from saving the actual world could ALSO just do. because he needs to get some fucking letters of recommendation.

look. genuinely. percy jackson should snap at this point in the story. this boy should’ve snapped like at least 5 books ago. at minimum. rick wrote the perfect setup to show us percy’s instant descent into madness. he should LOSE it. all the gods have done for the ENTIRE time he’s known he’s a demigod is treat demigods like disposable tools. this is the point in the story where percy goes. wow. luke was right. you guys are all assholes who don’t care about us even a little bit. i am NOT saying what needs to follow is a fanfic-esque dark!percy story where he successfully destroys olympus or something. what i AM saying. is at bare minimum this is where percy goes you know what fuck you i hate you guys and washes his hands of being a demigod at least temporarily. at the very least he should sit back and think yeah, i don’t really want to go to new rome university. it’s not worth it. i will just go to a different university. look. it’s percy jackson. he can literally one shot all but the most fearsome monsters (typhon, the giants, a drakon, etc). he is literally going to be 100% completely fine going to mortal university AND he wont have to deal with zeus’s annoying ass.

listen. MY percy jackson wanted to kill smelly gabe as a 12 year old because he abused his mother. MY percy jackson doesn’t like bullies. MY percy jackson challenged ares to a fight just on the basis that ares was a fucking asshole.

MY percy jackson is not going on useless fucking quests to go to new rome university of all places.

which reminds me. why DOES he want to go to new rome university. this is percy jackson. he LOVES new york. why is percy “what did they do to my city” jackson going to university ACROSS THE COUNTRY from the city he loves. why is he doing that. and hey look. sally and paul (and soon estelle) are ALSO going to be in new york. so like WHY is he leaving for real. percy my fatal flaw is loyalty jackson. IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE OK! it’s percy he is seriously not going to have issues with common monsters attacking him. we literally saw him fight off titans and giants a fucking hellhound isn’t gonna get his ass. WHY is he leaving. it does NOT make sense.

there’s this scene ok. where sally tells them she’s pregnant. and percy’s like oh my god…. i’m going to be in california…. and my sister is going to be here…. and i was just sitting there going. yeah bro. why are you going to california. i literally do not understand. you literally are from nyc. you live here. your family is here. your friends from chb are like a short pegasus ride away. there are like 50 universities in new york. just go here. why are you leaving. you are percy jackson. being a new yorker is literally one of your defining traits. stay here. WHY AR EYOU LEAVING I DO NOT UNDERSTAND PERSEUS

and listen. if your argument is that annabeth is going to be in nru. why the FUCK is ANNABETH going to nru!!!!! WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT!!!! EXPLAIN IT!!!! percy LITERALLY says annabeth is such an overachiever she’s already run out of ap classes to take. he literally says that. why the fuck is this girl going to nru where let’s be real her admission is guaranteed. annabeth is 100% someone who would want to go to an ivy. and would you fucking believe it there’s an ivy right here in nyc. like let’s be fucking realistic here. annabeth started her architecture career at SIXTEEN designing the city the fucking GODS live in. so like. don’t you think she’d want to be a bit more challenged. don’t you think she’d want to go to a university that is actually recognizable to mortals. annabeth did NOT love new rome that much like did richard forget what he wrote. this girl was freaking out about new rome until percy said he only likes it because they could live together there. she literally does not care about new rome and she is WAY too ambitious and academically inclined to be happy with going to some small as uni 99% of employers have never heard of.

this isn’t even the worst character assassination in the book. that award goes to the way rick wrote percy. percy. my darling percy. my beloved percy. perseus jackson. light of my life. as i said before, he is MOSTLY on form. the him really wanting to cali thing is definitely ooc for him but it is NOTHING compared to the sheer amount of times rick portrays percy as stupid in this accursed novel. his internal monologue is constantly shit like i’m always so behind annabeth and omg i’m being so dumb right now and annabeth calls me seaweed brain because i’m an idiot and blah blah fucking blah.

dick riordan has forgotten that perseus jackson is, in fact, not stupid at all. he is INCREDIBLY clever. he is just not particularly academically inclined/not very book smart and it would also be perfectly understandable given the fucking books that riordan wrote to interpret that as percy being very discouraged from engaging with his studies. he genuinely enjoys chiron’s class at yancy because chiron is an engaging teacher and encourages him. he spends 90% of his time in pjo deducing what’s going on with extremely limited information because rick decided none of the characters can tell him anything because of plot and exposition reasons. in son of neptune he literally just coasts on having sherlockian (not bbc that’s a whole other angry review) powers of deduction. to the point where the characters around him are amazed at how he’s figuring stuff out. literally in house of hades annabeth’s pov’s are constantly her commenting on how she gives percy shit for being a dumbass but he’s actually really clever.

it genuinely feels like at some point during the writing of mark of athena rick decided to just slowly start making various fanon ideas canon. percy being stupid is very commonly accepted fanon because he doesn’t realize how smart he is (and fans don’t realize he’s an unreliable narrator) and the fans also love to infantilize characters with more in your face adhd (leo is another victim of this phenomenon). we’ve spent 5 books in percy’s head and he doesn’t think he’s particularly clever so it makes sense to ignore the mountains of evidence pointing towards his quick and creative thought process in favour of haha percy is dumb jokes.

the wild thing is, percy isn’t even that hard on himself in pjo. he obviously doesn’t see himself in the same way we later come to find out other people see him (mainly thinking about hazel and frank in son of neptune, which is the only time in hoo he genuinely feels like the same character as pjo percy) but he’s not really dealing with crazy self doubt and self esteem issues. he does have his down on himself moments but they’re all extremely understandable given the context because he literally faces impossible odds in every single pjo book. at one point he’s disappointed he couldn’t tell that ares and luke manipulated him… like yes bestie that’s a very valid thing to feel upset and betrayed about. it doesn’t mean that he’s actually stupid though and genuinely he comes across more as humble and not realizing just how awesome and cool and interesting he is than anything else. percy consistently shows that he is really clever. half of pjo is percy figuring out a new and interesting way of defeating his enemies and the other half is percy figuring out how to bait his enemies into a duel to improve his odds. it’s horrible what rick does to percy in his internal monologue.

it’s to an insane degree. yes i realize i have already written 500 words about percy not being stupid alone but i must stress how egregious this is. it’s literally characters who have previously acknowledged percy’s intelligence who start remarking about how he’s stupid. in house of hades percy and annabeth get out of fucking TARTARUS and reyna makes a jab about how percy wouldn’t be able to find his way out of a paper bag without annabeth. that is an INSANE thing to say for reyna and for rick. rick has not written a stupid character so it’s weird to make that something a character does without really trying to show them being wrong. from reyna’s perspective, this is a guy she was complimenting a few short weeks ago. this is a guy she immediately wanted to make a leader at the camp that she loves and is her home. this is guy she barely knows and she pretty much immediately proposes to him. WHY would she suddenly start making jokes about how dumb he is? it’s not like she actually knows him better now. he came to the battle with reinforcements and basically immediately dipped after the feast. how are we to accept reyna treating our beloved perseus in this horrific manner? we simply cannot. it is unnacceptable. this is inaccurate.

it’s so WRONG to do this to percy. yES I UNDERSTAND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR TOO LONG. I DON’T CARE. PERCY JACKSON IS MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE AND I NEED TO DEFEND HIM FROM THIS SLANDER. I AM ONLY PARTIALLY JOKING. listen. liSTEN. this is the guy whose signature move is manipulate your enemy into dueling with you when you’re outnumbered or outmatched. he very coolly manipulated bob into killing his own brother (btw this was very hot and sexy and clever and attractive perseus is king of gaslight gatekeep girlboss). he is NOT stupid. he is impulsive. he is extremely oblivious about some things. he is NOT stupid. i watched perseus jackson grow up for 5 books and he is not stupid. i always say this. i always say that percy is not stupid and richard riordan refuses to listen to me.

there are such horrendous lines as “i am a guy of limited talents. if i can’t kill it with water, a sword, or sarcasm, i’m basically defenseless.” richard how DARE you say this about my beloved perseus. he is NEVER like this. he literally would never say that. even at absolute worst percy’s internal monologue was “this plan is stupid and will get us killed. but it’s the plan i have.” he’s NOT a being defenseless guy. what hte fuck are you saying. richard did you read your own books. RICHARD. DID YOU. at one point he says that he is constantly several steps behind annabeth’s thought process. he has literally never thought this before and it is also untrue. richard. i hate you. read your own fucking books oh my god.

ok. i think i have sufficiently harped on the fact that percy is not stupid. now i will complain about another thing. and this was just in one part but it bothered me and this is my review so i get to talk about whatever i want. if you don’t like it read someone else’s review. don’t hate read my review. i didn't charge you money to read it

at one point, percy has to wrestle a god who hercules once wrestled. and annabeth says something about hercules brute forcing it. and look. i GET that hercules was freakishly strong. i get that. i understand it. but when annabeth says hercules just brute forced it they’re both like ah shit i can’t do that. perseus. beloved. you ripped the minotaurs horn off its head with your bare hands as a 12 year old with no training. you are literally insanely strong as is. that is an insane thing for a 12 year old to be able to do. hell, that would be an insane thing for a grown adult to do. i don’t think rick realizes how op percy is. he was so caught up in making percy cool (which is, you know, extremely understandable and right and correct percy jackson is the coolest man in fiction for a reason i get it) that he forgot that he made percy extremely unbelievably powerful too. with the curse of achilles he was potentially matching minor gods in power level. he fights while sustaining mini-hurricanes and explodes glaciers and shit.

some more things. the prose is… acceptable. the plot reads like a fever dream. there is a smoothie shop called himbo juice that annabeth percy and grover are evidently regulars at. and there are. himbos. that serve. juice. so you can imagine what this fever dream looks like. like the last couple rick riordan releases, this one reads like published fanfiction too, just with better quality of writing than the sun and the star.

there are some WEIRD continuity errors in here. one of them is fairly minor but i still noticed it - percy says his father compared his mother to a princess. this is not true. poseidon compared sally to a queen. specifically, he called her “a queen among women”. i know this because i am sally jackson’s number 1 fan.

more egregiously, however, is annabeth’s yankees cap heebie jeebies. percy puts on annabeths’s cap and gets the heebie jeebies while using it. and then he goes wow annabeth. you never told me that using the cap is like this. and annabeth is like yeah well. power is like that. richard. riordan. did you fucking FORGET that percy has, in fact, worn annabeth’s cap before. and it was literally completely. once again, richard, did you read your own books.

one more good thing - when percy fights geras/gary, who is the god/personification of old age, the way he does it is by imagining him and his friends getting older and embracing it. this was a genuinely good and sweet moment and it was very touching. the trio’s talks about this after the fact are also absolutely a return to form from riordan. for like, a few paragraphs. but still.

the biggest problem is just how obvious it is that this book is a cash grab. we had pjo. then we had a sequel series. then we had ANOTHER sequel series. and now we’re getting random standalone novels that are extremely unnecessary and don’t add anything. rick riordan has dollar signs in his eyes. these are not stories that make sense. these are not stories rick genuinely wanted to tell. these are stories that are being told because the purpose of publishing books now is to maximize profit. (sidebar - i told you the capitalism thing would be relevant. you should believe me more often. smh) the only reason rick is still writing these books is that they make money. they feel extremely empty and hollow.

percy is trapped as a teenager forever because rick refuses to let him age up. percy accepting old age would make FAR more sense for a percy who’s in his 20’s and just now realizing that he lived past all the shit he thought was going to kill him and he has a real life that he likes and he could actually grow old now. but percy must be a child for marketing purposes, so he stays a child. the world itself is trapped in a cycle of the gods promising they’ll be better and the gods literally not changing at all. and for the sake of the book series, it can’t change. if we had real change in the world, that would actually mean something, silly. we can’t have consequences. we have to reset every 5 years like a fucking comic book so that we can make infinite money. this is the infinite money glitch irl. just make trash that doesn’t need to be made. the end point of capitalism is making trash no one asked for that has no artistic merit just because you can make money off of it.

by the way, dr emily wilson’s iliad translation, which was also out on the same day, is LESS expensive than this book. this cashgrab nonsense novel is MORE expensive than a book a professor in classics who has a phd spent 4 years on. this is just wrong. the fun and stupid cashgrab book should NOT be more expensive than a book that someone spent 4 years meticulously translating from ancient greek. it’s just so clear and in your face. trials of apollo absolutely felt like a cashgrab but at least there was SOME semblance of effort there. this is literally just the most plain and simple cashgrab novel you can make.

hey. you know the infinite monkey theorem? the infinite monkey theorem is that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text including shakespeare. richard riordan is a monkey with a typewriter. you get it. you’ve read percy jackson.

rick riordan struck gold with pjo. it’s genuinely to this day one of my favourite things i’ve ever read, flaws and all. it’s FUN. it’s COOL. it’s THEMATICALLY COHESIVE. the characters grow and change. they feel like real people with personalities. it literally doesn’t even matter how op percy is because THAT’S how good of a character he is. he is so compelling that you want to read about him anyway even though you can tell right from the minotaur fight that this kid can decimate whatever opponent he has. the books are funny and moving because you can genuinely connect to these characters. the more i read rick riordan’s work, the more certain i am that pjo was a fluke. i don’t think he knows what he’s doing. i think he should retire from writing.

unfortunately for me, richard riordan seems to have no intention of retiring. he has announced another percy jackson book that will be released next year. i assume there will be at least 2 more books based on the setup in this one.

rick. listen. i know you’re listening because what else will you do with your time. rick, why are you doing this. hasn’t percy been through enough. when will it end. give it a rest. stop it. get some help. at the very least, read your own books before writing percy. i am right about him and you are wrong about him. you are the author and i’m killing you right now. i am strangling you and i am hitting you with weapons. all at once. i am very proficient at causing deaths. (this is a metaphor referring to roland barthes’ death of the author. i wish no bodily harm to richard riordan).

this book is… alright. percy is my smart king. sally jackson is queen of my heart. it’s a fun read but you do have to turn your brain off completely and read through some serious percy defamation.

[edit: i am downgrading this book to one star (was at 2). the more i think about it, the more angry i am. there is literally a paragraph tailor made to rub jason's death in our faces. it's about how he looks forward to getting old being married to piper and having grandchildren. it's a very low blow. jason is literally rick riordan's biggest missed opportunity and he's rubbing in how poorly he treated jason even after killing him off for apollo's character development.

annabeth still keeps putting percy down because rick doesn't realize how mean she is i guess. she's still scared of him. canonically. which is a really weird and fucked up thing to write imo. this relationship doesn't seem healthy in canon (they are healthy in my head, however, because i know what women are like) but rick refuses to address it or let them break up. i LOVE annabeth. i love her. but she is an extremely flawed character and rick never treats her as such. and it just makes it exhausting to read about her.

percy IS on form but it genuinely feels like he's tlt percy, not post hoo percy. his inner voice sounds way more immature than it has for most of pjo and in son. riordan also repurposes the "look, i didn't want to be a half-blood" line from tlt to make a dumb little joke about how high school is hard. it was a GOOD opening line. it immediately set the tone and told us so much about percy in literally just a handful of words. now it's a joke about how being a senior in high school sucks. it's this mcu-esque allergy to being sincere that pjo never had.

there is BARELY any grover in this book. i love grover so much that i was cheering any time he was there, but there is very little of him. he's in like 2 or 3 scenes and has his own side plot going on with juniper and being bad at understanding what his girlfriend wants or whatever. extremely unnecessary and not what i want for grover. this book kind of ends up feeling like it's about annabeth but from percy's perspective. she gets good moments at percy's expense. percy spends the book monologuing about how annabeth is way smarter than him and all he has is his sick ass water powers and the best swordfighting skill in 300 years, both of which are very downplayed. percy explodes a river and it's treated like this crazy freaky scary thing but two years ago in universe he made a volcano erupt and everyone was like yeah this makes sense percy is that powerful. in son he explodes a glacier and it's just a normal tuesday for him. he literally doesn't even react to it. and now we're supposed to believe his exploding and purifying a river feat is some unbelievable feat.]

in conclusion, i want a refund. no i did not purchase this book. however, i would like to be reimbursed about $5000 in emotional damages. i will also be suing richard riordan for defamation on percy’s behalf. good night new york city. and my beloved perseus jackson who lives in new york city.

#alexis.exe #pjo #cotg crit #rr crit #cotg spoilers #cotg #i hope yall who dont want negative stuff have the crit tag blacklisted lol dont come at me

[nothingtherefornow]

Do you think Jin Kazama fucked up in Tekken 6 and activelly seek redemption in Tekken 8 ?

That's two opinions that diverge reguarding Jin's character, wether his war spreading action during Tekken 6 were justifiable or not, and whether he really protected the world from a bigger threat or if he committed atrocities for nothing in the end despite what we could beleive to have been noble intentions.

After reading those two opinions, I concluded two things :

First , Jin was truly convinced that he was committing short-term harm for long-term good, and most certainly hoped that he would be killed along with Azazel, and perhaps hoped that fighters of Lars Alexander's caliber would be enough to put an end to the threat that Kazuya represents if the latter decides to set out to conquer the world right after (which he will do from Tekken 7). But on top of that, Jin may have wanted to get rid of his devil gene unfortunately more than he truly cared about the loss of innocent lives in the process, probably due to the influcence of Devil.

Second, Jin's plan indeed failed, because Azazel's spirit survived, and is threatenign to resurect through Zafina's body who tried to have the demonic entity's spirit sealed into her left arm, only to realize that she is slowly, but surely losing control of it. Both Zafina and Jin didn't foresee this terrible outcome, yet it makes it will make it seem that all the sins Jin's comitted, in the hope that humanity would still be protected despite the death count, were for nothing.

And this is why Tekken 8 may be the chance for Jin to atone for his actions in Tekken 6, which he guenuinly regret according to his bio for the game : "Jin swore to end Kazuya's reign of terror in order to atone for the war and destruction he had caused"

Jin is even willing to die in order to stop Kazuya, which could be seen as Jin thinking that He himself also deserves to die for his crimes in Tekken 6

Yet I can't help but imagine Jin's reaction once Zafina manages to meet him again with Xiaoyou and Claudio's help, and she tells him that his fight against Azazel didn't killed the demonic entity, and thus that the crimes he had committed to protect the world from a bigger threat may actually have been for nothing.

I beleive Jin is gonna be devastated once he learns that, and focus even more and killing both Kazuya and himself in the process in order to "atone" (Although I personally beleives that living with what he did would a more efficient way for Jin to atone).

Overall, even though Jin's intentions are understandable, his logic is terribly flawed. Azazel wasn't a direct threat, with more time Jin could have and should have at least tried to seek another way to awake the entity and destroy it, and only use WW3 as a desperate last resort (the short time frame between Tekken 5 and Tekken 6 doesn't seem to indicate that Jin searched for others "solution" to get rid of Azazel and his Devil gene when he was the Mishima Zaibatsu's dirigeant).

And in Tekken 8, Jin is still focused on killing Kazuya, thinking that both himself and his father should not live, despite the fact that Jin's mother mother asked her son to "save himself and Kazuya" according to the trailers

In my opinion I think Jin blindly sees the Devil Gene as the cause of all the evil and tragedies in the world, yet I believe his judgement is clouded by his own trauma.

In Tekken Bloodline, Heihachi makes Jin thinks that Ogre attacked Jun and her son because the entity felt the power of the Devil gene inside of Jin (yet we know Ogre especially seeked strong powerfull opponents, and Jun was one of them). Who know if Jin weren't fed the same lies and semi-truth by his grand-father in canon ? And on top of that Tekken Bloodline also showed us Jin learning a lot of negative things about his father, from crimes Kazuya committed between Tekken 1 and Tekken 2 and which were listed, Kazuya being called a demon by Heihachi himself, and Paul Phoenix confirming to Jin that Kazuya was “a real bastard” for whom “winning wasn’t enough, he had to hurt”. again, who know if Jin hadn't learn those things during Tekken 3 and before Tekken 4.

And then in Tekken 5 after seeing Jinpachi possessed by an world threatening demonic evil entity, Jin once again came to the conclusion that the Mishima's blood was truly a world level dangerous curse that the world would be better off without. What Jin didn't know though, is that the demon who possessed Jinpachi had nothing to do with the same Devil gene that both Kazuya and Jin carry, and he was unaware that the devil gene wasn't actually a the Mishima's curse, but the Hachijo's curse.

And Jun made the mistake of never telling Jin about Kazuya. As a result, Jin developed the idea that his father was born monstrous, perhaps without knowing that it was Heihachi's horrible actions that led Kazuya to the path of evil, and that with more tim with Jun's influence, Kazuya may have been able to find salvation for his soul.

Jin thus cannot see that the true causes of all the tragedies surrounding his life don't specifically come from the existence of the devil gene, but rather from Heihachi's ambitions and own violent and abusive actions toward his own family.

Had Heihachi not weaponized the Zaibatsu mishima and imprisoned his own father to let him die, Kazumi would not have let her duty and mission trump her feelings towards her husband, who had indeed become a srious threat to the world through his actions (especially if the intro of Tekken 8 does indeed imply that The Zaibatsu Mishima may have been the origin to the loss of other exorcist clans which protected the world against demonic threats). Without Kazumi's death, Heihachi would not have thrown his son off a cliff, without which Kazuya would not have become the demon man that he is, without which Jin would not have been born in circumstances conducive to his development of the power and influence of the Devil gene within him.

#tekken #tekken 6 #tekken 8 #tekken rant #tekken analysis #tekken thoughts #tekken opinions #Jin Kazama #Kazuya Mishima #Jun Kazama #Heihachi Mishima #Zafina

[misslavenderlady]

OK Since you left me some questions about Cherry, I'm gonna leave you some asks about Bree!!

Who's our gals go to when it comes to late night rides? Which of the boys is she sticking with?

Each of the boys nicknames for her? Do they share a collective one?

Which of the baby bats are mama's girls or daddy's girls?

Do you think she and Michael would ever start a family in the future?

Awwww thank you!! You're too sweet! 💜

Being on motorcycles makes her nervous as hell. She's constantly worried about getting into an accident, so her go-to is actually Michael. He sometimes takes her on rides (😏) around Santa Carla or gives her a lift to work if she's having car issues. He's very sweet and patient and doesn't drive faster than what she's comfortable with. If she's with the Lost Boys, then her go-to is Dwayne. In her mind, if Laddie is safest with him, then he's the best pick.

And unlike the others, Bree wears a helmet. She doesn't care how much the boys tease her about it, brain damage is no joke. She will not get on the bike without it. She'd rather walk than not wear a helmet.

2. These are their nicknames for her:

David - Darling, Pretty Girl, Little One

Dwayne - Sweet Girl, Little Lady, Honey

Paul - Babydoll, Hottie, Wifey (makes her blush the most)

Marko - Bella, Angel, Nightingale (as in Florence Nightingale)

Michael - Bee/B, Babe, Beautiful (the second two are only for when they're in a relationship)

All five of them call her "Baby" most of the time

3. Honestly? It's an even split. The baby bats are basically clones of their fathers in both looks and personalities, meaning they're very attached to their dads, but their mother is so loving and kind to them. They all follow her around like ducklings.

Kira does tend to gravitate to her dad just a smidge more. She got her mother's need to take care of everyone, and her anxiety as well (sorry bby), so she wants to learn from her dad about being a strong, brave leader so she can protect her sisters. She's always spending time we David, getting guidance from him on how to hunt, fight and outsmart her enemies.

4. Okay......here's the thing. She kinda already does have something with Michael. This is a long answer, so I'll divide the post and add the answer below:

When I played this all out in my Sims game, I had a separate family for Michael and Star. Now, we all know about the terrible "sequel" to the Lost Boys called The Tribe, where our main characters are Chris and Nicole Emerson. I've seen some sources say they're Michael's children and others say they're his cousins. I feel like it makes more sense if they're his children. Not that I would ever enjoy acknowledging the movie as canon, of course.

But I thought "I can make this better".

So in this setup, Michael was in a relationship with both David and Star (Michael has two hands! He can share them!). He ended up having Chris and Nicole with Star while David became a step-dad to them. This was while the other baby-bats were around. Kira is the only one of the girls to have siblings that aren't biologically related to her. She sees herself as the big sister of Chris and Nicole.

Tweaking this story a bit, Chris and Nicole become the children of Michael and Bree. There's a bit of an age gap between the two Emerson kids and the Lost Girls, but they're all still family. Unlike in the movie, Chris and Nicole are still kids when the girls are grown up. Kira teases her brother a lot, but she's also a good caretaker to him, making sure he knows how to be a good big brother to Nicole.

That advice comes in handy because Chris grows up to be a very cautious and protective brother while Nicole is adventurous and reckless. He has to keep her in check so she doesn't wander into danger. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her.

Bonus Grandma Lucy:

#the lost boys #tlb #lavender lady rambles #asks

[themarginalthinker]

Brained

(The boys go for a drag race along the beach. They do not use protective gear. Guess they'll just use their thick heads instead.)

-

Vampire bodies are pretty durable in the grand scheme of things.

Sure, sunlight was no picknick (just ask David, the poor guy couldn't even handle a sunrise) and running water made things difficult (lord knows why Max decided to move them right to the edge of the fucking ocean) but all in all, final death was a pretty distant concept. How many randos on the street would one, just happen to be carrying an authentic, sharpened wooden stake they had the strength to shove through someone's chest - muscle, bone and all - and two, would be willing to do so in public because like hell anyone could sneak up on the pack at home.

'Eternal life' meant just that. Death is a social construct, just like nuclear families and the economy.

Which meant that whatever David was going to do to Paul when he was back in one piece was perfectly fine.

It had started as a perfectly average night. Maybe, if he'd really been paying attention, David might have noticed that Paul had woken first, and been out of the roost before the others had even had time to spend the requisite fifteen minutes sleepily blinking at the wall before moving. Maybe that he'd been the one to suggest going for a drag race at the Boardwalk beach, despite it being just after the height of the season and plenty of people still dotting the sand to make for dangerous obstacles.

Paul had been vibrating with that certain something that drove him, his 'go-motor' as Dwayne called it once, kicking into high gear. Paul had wanted to satisfy that demon inside him, be it a fight, a fuck, a fly. Far be it for David to deny. Most of the time, Paul's instincts lead them to some pretty wild times.

Honestly, after thirty years of knowing him, David ought to have known better than to feed that beast one too many times.

So they'd raced. Marko picked the starting point, just far enough out to give them a decent sized 'track', where the lights of the hustle and bustle of the 'Walk started to blur into the distance, but also, per Paul's own wishes, just close enough to the populated parts of the beach where bonfires in the later season were flickering. 'Good for slaloming', he'd said. 'What's the point of a drag race if all you do is drive in a straight line?'

Alright, so the maniac could still coax even immovable Dwayne into some immortal stupidity once and a while. They were all still young. In a way.

So off they'd gone. David and Paul first, the others hollering after them, keeping pace just to be sure of the winner. (Lord knows David would cheat when he could, bend the rules and be a terrible pedant when that wouldn't work, and Paul would kick up a tantrum twice as hard just for shits.)

It was exhilarating. Not much got their slow, cold blood to actually move in their veins like a hit of adrenaline. Sometimes that was stolen from their prey, like shotgunning smoke from someone else's lips, and sometimes it was things like this. Cliff-diving from what ought to be fatal heights, actual diving to depths humans would get nitrogen narcosis and drown at. And this.

Skidding along the sand at speeds that would barely be allowed in town, let alone out here on the populated beach. People jumped and screamed when they saw what was coming out of the gloom - curses and bottles thrown at them in equal measure as they flew by. Paul showed teeth and David could barely keep himself in check to not do the same. Tawney eyes meet in the dark, flashing in the passing bonfires. David picks up speed, trying to match Paul's insane bobbing and weaving. Christ, but he was like a man possessed tonight. At one point, he comes to a raised section of sand, clearly a leftover from someone's art project that day, and actually gets some air.

Paul's face as he actually leaves the ground can only be described as rapturous. Across the bond, David gets it second-hand. Weightlessness in a very human way. Marko and Dwayne howl with Paul as he lands, building that feeling just to feed off it themselves. It's intoxicating. It's addicting.

So much, he nearly lets Paul win. Their turn around point was the pier, first one back to their starting position wins.

Nearly.

Maybe David should have let Paul have this. After all, he'd started it, and had been the most enthusiastic about it. Getting the most out of the game. But no, David was feeling it too, the air whipping at his face, the competition, the show of teeth, the drive in the bond, egging him faster, better, more, more, more. He'd win, just so he could watch Paul snarl and snap and insist he'd cheated just to race again.

Maybe 'eternal life' combined with 'eternal youth' meant the synapses were always going to be firing at just a slow enough pace that the earthly gift of 'foresight' would always be a rarity for them.

Before the pier, there was a cluster of rocks along the surf. Part of a much larger formation under the ground that the legs of the pier were situated on, keeping it steady. Paul locked onto these, and David knew what he was going to do practically before he did.

Paul veered off, knowing his own bike wouldn't win on straight speed, knowing that there were no other obstacles to make David have to check around. This might slow his packmate just enough, and give Paul the extra boost he needed. Literally.

His front tire hits the base of a flat, angled rock, and suddenly David knows, like he knows his own name, that this is about to go fucking pear-shaped.

The rock was by all means ramp-like. It wasn't too far off the ground, and dry enough from being out of the tide for long enough. No slippery seaweed or algae coating it. And maybe, that would have been enough.

If it hadn't been for the unseen divot at the very tip of it.

Paul's wheel catches in that hole, and speed can do a lot, but not drive through solid rock. It stops the tire spinning it its track - but all that momentum needed to go somewhere.

There is a moment, like shining, crystal clarity, where all the secrets of the universe align in one's head, where Paul knows just what this means. How he calculates the trajectory, the force, the how his own body is lifting.

But not really enough time to do anything about it.

He flies in a way that rocks dropped do not, but with all of the same finality of destination.

His head hitting one of the jagged stones makes a similar sound.

Marko and Dwayne are already off their bikes and racing to him, David pulling up quickly and dismounting. Paul lays in a sprawled heap of limbs, twisting around in ways they probably shouldn't.

Vampiric blood is thick in the air, drawing the back of David's head - and the other's as well - in. Pack blood. Better than any prey.

Paul's head is. Well. Not quite in two, but the image of an egg smashed onto the edge of a bowl and left to hang there wouldn't be an inaccurate description.

David growls, lips lifting to bare his teeth in utter frustration.

"Fucking idiot!" Marko barks, clambering over the rocks to try and lift Paul's body up. Dwayne is doing the same from the other side, going for legs. Across the bond, Paul's connection is sluggish. Here, but not responding. No shit.

For once, Paul's head was literally in two places at once.

David suddenly wants a cigarette.

"Get him up. Guess we're fucking staying in tonight," he sighs instead.

They do, and manage to sling him onto the back of David's bike. (He was going to make Paul clean every stain he left behind off with his fucking tongue when he woke up.) Marko circles anxiously, eyes never leaving the limp body as David balanced it against him, but Dwayne stays back a few moments by the rocks.

David raises an eyebrow, and Dwayne holds up a finger.

It's a few moments, but soon he comes trotting back. Marko asks what he was doing, and Dwayne wordlessly holds something up.

A long bit of blond scalp and red-stained bone.

Oh yeah, Paul was going to be cleaned all of their stuff for a month.

#the lost boys #injuries #bodily harm #vehicle accidents #stupid vampire tricks

[bebx]

tw: abuse, victim-blaming, the Johnny / Amber situation

I told myself I wasn’t going to talk about this again. Johnny has moved on and has left that chapter of his life behind and is glowing and healing. and I am so happy, so so beyond proud of him.

so I’m sorry for not being able to help it and having to bring this up again, because not only is it frustrating but it’s also very very triggering to see some people still use those inappropriate texts Johnny sent to his friend, Paul Bettany, in private, to try to paint him as this bad guy they so desperately want him to be. where in those texts he said inappropriate things about her, because he was venting to a friend after he’s been mentally and physically abused by her for years. but hey, since Johnny is a man, it’s oh so terrifying that he said mean things about his own abuser, who happens to be a woman. and therefore these texts alone must mean he was the “bad guy” in their relationship, because he said terrible things about her after he’s been mentally and physically abused for years, and it must mean she was this poor victim even if there’s solid evidence of her having mentally and physically abused him, one of which is her admitting, in her own voice, to having started physical fights, abusing him, calling him a baby when he chose to peacefully walk away instead of fighting with her, and daring him to tell the world that he, a man, was a victim too of domestic violence and see how many people believe or side with him, those were caught on tape in her own voice. let’s not forget those CCTV footages, the police / medical records and dozens of other eyewitnesses who confirmed she was the abuser, not Johnny. or the fact that she was the one who was previously arrested for domestic violence against her at-that-time girlfriend. or the fact she lied and was exposed when she said she’d donated money to sick children (literally I don’t care what she does with her money. she has the rights to keep those money, since it’s hers, and to not donate anything, it’s the fact she lied and literally used dying children as a tool to make herself look good — by saying she’d donated it all when it fact she did not donate anything and was later exposed for it — that disgusts me).

but because Johnny is a man, it’s so vile that he would say terrible things about his own female abuser in private text messages, when he was venting to a friend, because she was abusing him.

look at those tweets from our abuse apologist, Caitlin

I must say at least the ratio Caitlin has been receiving nonstop (these are only some of them) quite gives me hope in humanity. but I truly hope they learn and educate themself because, god forbid, if they were to find themself in an abusive relationship with someone (and I truly hope they never have to go through that) and were to say messed up things about their own abuser, I genuinely hope no one invalidates their being a victim because they said messed up things about their abuser behind said abuser’s back.

again, this will most likely be the last time I talk about this. so if you sent me something in my inbox, whether it’s to agree with me or to tell me to unalive myself (if you’re one of those abuse apologists who cannot except the fact that women can be abusers and men can be victims and that abuse has no gender) I’d have to respectfully ignore, and move on with my life. because I’m not looking forward to having any back and forth conversation regarding this topic again. Johnny has moved on. it’s over. he rightfully won.

last but not least, I’m happy that Johnny got his justice and is healing, living his best life. I am beyond proud of him for how strong he is and how far he’s come. that man is my strength and my hero.

#johnny depp #revenge fantasies #I stand with johnny depp #pirates of the caribbean #gellert grindelwald #fantastic beasts #potc #grindelwald #hollywood #disney #men’s mental health #mental health #wonka #willy wonka #jack sparrow #warner brothers #disney + #warner bros discovery #wb pictures #disney plus #warner bros

[batboyblog]

There's No Such Thing as an Off-Year: You Better Vote 2023.

It feels like every day you read about a horrible new law being passed by a Republican State government, or a Republican governor saying something horrible usually about trans children or drag queens. It can feel like there's nothing you can do, its an off year for elections so you just have to sit and wait and hope they don't get to pass too much terrible shit before Election Day 2024. Well you're wrong! there are elections in 2023! and big ones! There are 3 Governor's races and 4 state legislature races this year!

Before we go any farther I need EVERYONE (who is an American, sorry non-Americans I know we're annoying) to PLEASE check if you're registered to vote, Republican elections officials love to purge voters from the rolls. If you're under 18 but will be 18 by the next election many states allow you to pre-register and you should:

VOTE

Also if you don't live in a state listed below, you should check to see if you're city/town council, county commission, or local school board are holding election this year, Check!

Governors:

Kentucky:

If you're not from Kentucky you might not know that the home of Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul has a Democratic Governor, but it does, Andy Beshear. Governor Beshear from his time as Attorney General (2016-2019) through his first term as Governor has been a support of trans rights in Kentucky. Beshaer vetoed a sweeping anti-trans bill last month, sadly the Republican super majority overrode his vetoed. However Beshear and his veto powers is the one thing standing in the way of Kentucky becoming like its neighbor to the south Tennessee which is leading the nation is extreme anti-LGBT laws and general undemocratic behavior. On his second day in office Governor Beshear restored the voting rights to nearly 200,000 former (nonviolent) felons, disproportionately African-Americans. During the Covid pandemic Governor Beshear became a national leader in fighting Covid disinformation and enforcing recommended public health rules while Republican governors in the states around him denied science and let people die by fighting mask mandates and shut downs. Governor Beshear is also strongly pro-choice, he's endorsed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL, he helped expand access by allowing a second clinic to provide abortions in the state, and has vetoed efforts to restrict abortion in the state. Having a Democratic Governor is so important to mitigating the harm of the Republican legislature and improving the lives of people in Kentucky. So if you live in Kentucky of course vote, but also if you live in or near Kentucky please please think about volunteering just a little of your time to talk to voters and explain why this is important and if you don't live near Kentucky you can donate even a dollar helps or buy a hat or bag to help

VOTE VOLUNTEER SHOP DONATE

Mississippi:

It's pretty rare Democrats get a shot at the governorship in a state like Mississippi but 2023 might really be that chance. If you look at health, education, child hunger, unemployment, and life expectancy Mississippi regularly ranks near or sometimes at the bottom of states. When you understand just under 40% of the state (38%) is Black and Republicans have dominated politics for a generation those numbers start to make painful sense, it's intentional. However! we face a rare moment where Democrats might take the governor's mansion in Jackson. The last election in 2019 was unusually close (52-47) and since then Republican Governor Tate Reeves has been mired in a welfare scam scandal (involving Brett Favre of all people) and a failure to deal with a water crisis in Jackson the state's capital and largest city that left 150,000 people without clean water. Reeves is today the least popular Republican Governor in the nation. The Democratic candidate is Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley (yes he is related to Elvis Presley, yes really). Presley was elected his hometown's mayor at the age of 23, the youngest mayor in the history of the state. In 2007 he was elected to Mississippi's powerful Public Service Commission representing the northern 3rd of the state, he's won re-election in 2011, 2015 and 2019. The Public Service Commission regulates electricity, railroads, and internet service in the state of Mississippi. As a commissioner Presley repeatedly blocked efforts for "clean" coal in the state and managed to push through the largest solar power protect east of the Rocky Mountains. He's also made bring high speed Internet to rural communities in the state a main part of his mission on the commission. Presley wants to expand Medicaid (remember worst health outcomes in America?) Mississippi is one of just 10 states that still hasn't expanded it under Obamacare. He also wants to do away with the grocery tax and fully fund education. Reaves is against the first two and has mocked and blocked efforts to fund education. Mississippi for the first time in a long time has a chance of electing a governor who cares and will fight to improve people's lives. If you live in Mississippi of course vote, but also volunteer, if you live near Mississippi take a weekend to travel to the state and volunteer, if you don't live near Mississippi please give what you can donate or shop

VOTE VOLUNTEER SHOP DONATE

Louisiana:

Not gonna lie Louisiana will be the hardest lift this year. For the last 8 years the state has had a Democratic Governor, John Bel Edwards first elected in 2015 and now term-limited so he can't run again. While being thought of as a conservative Democrat (it is Louisiana after all) Edwards as done a lot of good, he expanded medicare in the state and cut the number of uninsured people in half in his first year in office. One of his first acts was to sign an executive order protecting LGBT people from job discrimination and repealed a Republican executive order protecting companies from discriminating against same sex couples. Republicans are desperate to retake this Deep South Governorship. The Republicans have endorsed the state's Attorney General, Jeff Landry. Landry sued Governor Edwards in 2016 to block his LGBT protections, even though Landry's brother is openly gay and spoke against the suit. Landry joined election denying law suits trying to overturn the 2020 election. He sued the federal government over Covid vaccine mandates for health care workers. Landry has lobbied with other Republican AGs to stop Title IX from being used to cover protect trans students. On the Democratic side Democrats have rallied behind Shawn Wilson who served as Governor Edwards' Secretary of transportation for the last 8 years. Wilson would be the first black governor in the history of Louisiana a state that is just over 30% African American, and the first black governor from the Deep South. Wilson favors raising Louisiana's minimum wage, stuck at the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. He's for investing in costal communities facing the effects of climate change. Wilson also represents a major shift in Louisiana politics, he's pro-choice while Governor Edwards is anti-abortion. This represents a big move, when Edwards was first elected just under 60% of voters in the state say they wanted Abortion to be illegal, in 2022 that had shrunk down to just under 50%. Louisiana has a choice between becoming a radically anti-LGBT state run by an election denier, or protecting progress made and electing a pro-choice black Democrat. If you live in Louisiana make sure you're registered to vote, and everyone you know knows to vote. If you're in Louisiana or close to it volunteer just for a weekend. If you don't live close donate or buy something.

VOTE VOLUNTEER SHOP DONATE

Other Statewide Offices:

This year in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi there are also statewide elections for the important and powerful but often over looked jobs of Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Agriculture Commissioner. Sadly each of these posts in the 3 states is currently held by a Republican. These jobs, particularly Attorney General the chief law enforcement office in the state and Secretary of State that over sees elections are very important. Traditionally because they're more overlooked Democrats in Red states manage to pick them up. If you live in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi please do your research, remember to vote all the way down the ticket and get involved, these jobs often times don't get coverage but they are important. I'd like to briefly highlight just one race. In Kentucky the Republican Attorney General (who tried to use Covid to ban abortion, and then sued against masks) is running to unseat Governor Beshear. Democratic State Rep Pamela Stevenson is running to fill the seat. I could say a lot of things but just watch this fire breathing speech by Representative Stevenson in support of trans rights

Stevenson would also be the first black woman elected to statewide office in Kentucky, so check her website give her a dollar, volunteer if you're in Kentucky

State Legislative elections

Four states, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia are having elections for their state House and Senates. If you've been frustrated, horrified, and/or scared by the flood of anti-trans, anti-abortion and anti-LGBT more generally bills that seem to be coming out of state legislatures every single day this year, well here's your chance to really effect that.

Virginia

In 2021 Republican Glenn Youngkin narrowly won Virginia's governorship. While some in the media tried to paint Youngkin as "moderate" his governorship so far as been consumed with a war on diversity, trying to ban "CRT" and setting up a hotline to report "divisive practices" in schools. He also attacked trans students by trying to overturn the progress made under the last Democratic Governor and changing school policies to enact a bathroom ban, a pronoun/name change ban and out students to parents. After a mass walk out by students in the state Youngkin was forced to put those policies on hold. In the same election Youngkin won in 2021 Republicans narrowly, 52 to 48, took control of the Virginia House of Delegates. Thankfully Democrats retained control of the State Senate, 22-18, which has served as a block on Youngkin, stopping him from appointing a former Trump official and coal lobbyist to head the states environmental protection. It's very important to protect the Senate majority and retake the House to block the worst of Youngkin, protect Virginia's students, and set the state up to take back the governorship. One special shout out, the first openly trans person to be elected to state government, Danica Roem, was elected to the Virginia House in 2017. After being re-elected twice, Roem is running for the State Senate. If she wins it'll be the first time a trans person has been elected to both houses of a state legislature, and the first time a trans politician has "moved up" an important step to maybe one day a Congresswoman Roem. Check her website to see how you can help make a little trans history. Make sure to VOTE, VOLUNTEER, and DONATE

Louisiana and Mississippi

both Louisiana and Mississippi have Republican majorities in their state House and Senate and pretty big majorities. But thats not a reason to give up hope. One of the big problems we see across the country is Republican super majorities or veto proof majorities were there's no break on the most extreme instincts of the Republicans. Republicans have a super majority in all four chambers of these state legislatures. However flipping just a few seats will drastically reduce the power of out of control Republicans. Particularly if either state manages to elect a Democratic governor. A Democratic governor facing a veto proof Republican state legislature is greatly reduced in what they can do to block the worst. Democratic governors in Kentucky and Kansas both vetoed hateful anti-trans laws only to be overridden by Republican supermajorities. However again only flipping just 3 seats in the Louisiana House (for example) will strip Republicans of their super majority and force Republicans to have to talk to the Democratic minority on issues rather than steamrolling over them. If you're in Louisiana or Mississippi you should have already checked if you're registered to vote, but check the Louisiana and Mississippi Democratic Parties for ways to help.

New Jersey

New Jersey is a blue state with a Democratic governor and Democrats control both houses of the state legislature. But thats no reason to get complacent! Democrats don't have a super majority in either house of New Jersey's legislature, a more deeply blue state government can push forward strong bills. Governor Phil Murphy has been an aggressively progressive guy which is a big contrast to former governor Trump ally Chris Christie. In the 2018 US House election Democrats won all but one of New Jersey's Congressional seats, by 2022 there were 3 Republicans representing New Jersey in Congress, the road to winning back the US House runs through flipping New Jersey's Republican seats and that starts by building a strong ground game and an engaged voter base in these elections right here. Don't take it for granted, don't sit it out. If you're in New Jersey VOTE, VOLUNTEER and DONATE

Special elections

If you don't live in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, or Virginia like I said at the top there are LOTS of elections to city/town council, county government, judgeships, local DAs, and school boards all the time. So far in 2023 there have been 14 states that have had a special election to fill a vacancy in their state legislature so pay attention there may be an important election coming your way. And finally before I got I have to highlight two special elections everyone in America needs to be paying attention to

Tennessee

In the aftermath of the Covenant School shooting three Democratic members of the Tennessee House joined protesters calling for action on gun control. Rather than take action on gun control the Republican super majority in the State House filed to expel the three from office. In the final vote the two black Representatives, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled from office while their white colleague, Gloria Johnson, who did the same thing, was not expelled by the Republicans. This is a naked assault on democracy, with the Republican majority declaring they get to decide who their opposition is, and that they get to override the will of the voters whenever a black member of the House hurts their feelings. And expelling the black members and not the one white member for the same behavior is nakedly racist. There's lots more shitty details that I can't get into but if you're in Tennessee make sure you're registered to VOTE because the assault on your rights is fully under way. Both Jones and Pearson have made it clear they plan to run for re-election in the special elections set off by their expulsion. So if you live in Nashville (Jones' district) or Memphis (Pearson's district) you better show up, vote, tell everyone to vote, if you live anywhere in Tennessee please check their webpages (Justin Jones, Justin Pearson) for ways to volunteer and get out the vote. Where ever you live you can DONATE that link gives to them both jointly. Also check out the Tennessee Democrats because you better not let this moment pass, you need to gear up to fight for next year.

Please Remember to VOTE, but also volunteer, and engage, there are big elections happening all the time, and next year will be even bigger.

#vote #voting #politics #tennessee #Virginia #louisiana #mississippi #Kentucky #New Jersey #election #elections #election 2023 #tennessee 3 #trans rights #abortion

[laytonsartblog]

Jasmine The Informant (TF2OC)

Here’s some more of my one and only Jasmine, the wonderful Informant!

I’m gonna add more on her in the form of a file summary, redacted for the sake of privacy and confidentiality:

Her name is Jasmine [REDACTED], born on ##/##/21 in [REDACTED], United States. Her home life was fine, and in some cases more open than her peers, if not distant. Encouraged by her father to expand her intelligent mind, she went to the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry in 1939 and received a PhD in Library and Information Science in 1947. In her final year at university, Jasmine would have a fling with one of her classmates: a man named David [REDACTED], and in 1947 was born her daughter [REDACTED] [REDACTED]. Jasmine raised her as a single mother for eight years before being contacted by The Administrator to replace the old Informant. She took the job on the condition that [REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED], in exchange, she would [REDACTED REDACTED]. The Administrator agreed. In 1955, she officially became The Informant and has been working on the job ever since.

And here’s a list of things about her and her life:

• Her daughter, of whom you may know is named Mary, is an activist, and an organization leader for her service The Simple House, a nonprofit group dedicated to housing, educating, and caring for children. She has a side job at a restaurant as a waitress. She also graduated with an associate’s degree at the same college her mother went to for business with a minor in sociology

• While she can’t hack, she has incredible memory and often only needs to see someone type in a password once in order to replicate it. The same goes for organization systems, language, etc

• Speaking of language, she dedicates herself to learning every language that the Teams can speak. So far she knows Russian, French, Spanish, and German fairly well, though not at any fluent level. Catalan and Dutch are on her list.

• Her job is mostly like an archiving/IS job when she has free time, though most of the time she is tasked with making sure no one is contacting the outside world unless cleared and preventing any spread of information that leaks. This can lead from reporting any suspicious creations by the Engineer or Demoman that might work as a radio, removing any phone or computer not connected to the Administration’s network (looking at you, Spy), and following the Sniper to his phone calls to his parents. She is the one that writes down every recorded conversation and stores it safely away. She also occasionally helps Ms. Pauling on field missions, though mostly on information retrieval.

• Ms. Pauling views Jasmine like some grumpy aunt that mostly complains about her work and spills any gossip she hears around the office or team members.

Okay… silly fact time

• She is ambidextrous

• She hates any and all gerbils

• She eats a banana with jelly and peanuts on top every morning and washes it down with black coffee. She says it’s nutritious

• If you put sugar or milk in her coffee she will kill you. If you give her decaf as a prank she will ACTUALLY kill you

• She has one of those mini toolkits on her at all times and will freak out if she can’t find it

• She only ever had a pet cat and that thing hated her almost as much as she hated it. She only bought it for her daughter. His name was Donald.

• She only talked to Spy once. She almost throttled him when he asked her if she was single

• Her favorite color is a nice minty green

• She is so tired. All of the time. She sleeps a maximum of 6 hours a night, usually 4

• She is a bisexual mess. She’s fantasized many times having one spicy night with Helen. Look man don’t judge her she admires the ferocity and power what do you want

• She is genuinely awful at combat. Terrible. She stays fit and acrobatic to sneak around, but ask her to fight Scout and she’ll end up on her ass in two seconds

Aaand that’s it. I invite any and all propaganda, fanart, etc, for the @tf2shipswag OC tournament! Can’t wait to see how far she gets!

#tf2ocpropaganda #tf2octourney #tf2 oc #tf2 oc art #my art #The Informant

[ussjellyfish]

new job?

I interviewed at a different district on Friday. (I'm a math teacher). I have been teaching 7th/8th, with the advanced classes, because no one wants them, so the fun stuff like geometry and fancy algebra). I've had 4 different classes in the past year, which was a lot, but I did a good job.

I interviewed at a suburban district where my brother lives with his wife and kids. I have been teaching in St. Paul, big urban district. 3rd biggest in my state, 30,000+ students, 8 middle schools, BIG district.

My school has about 600 students, and 5 math teachers.

Potential new school has 1000 students, and 7 or 8 math teachers. It's wealthier. Myold school is in a nice neighborhood (too nice for me to ever afford a house) but it's very mixed economically and racially. It's in an odd position because there are some really privileged students who are really advanced and need one set of things and other students who have really strong needs another way. It's a difficult balance. The kids are great.

I'm sure the kids at the new school would be great. It's wealthier, newer building, more resources. I probably wouldn't have to fight to get whiteboard markers.

more under a cut

Murray (current school) - upsides and downsides

Upsides

I know everyone. I really like most of my coworkers. They're great. I have a work best friend. We're gaining a really fantastic 8th grade history teacher that I could work with, which would help my floor.

I'll get to teach more interesting math. I'm the department head. I have a lot of power (sort of) and I get to pick the interesting classes and can really reshape the department. (partially because no one else cares, but it's fun).

It's the least effort, I'm set up to go back there, I have a plan that works for Felix (he goes to a new school in the 4 year old program. He gets to ride the bus home, which is a big step and I'd have a much easier commute immediately.

I could move to a smaller apartment near work and walk. (in January). I'd still have to drive Felix until he's in kindergarten, but he'd go to a really good elementary school, and I'd be in a really nice little walkable neighborhood. Great little grocery store, taco place, parks, playground, walking distance to work best friend's house.

Pension/retirement here is really good, like, stunningly good.

Downsides

My principal is incompetent, tone deaf and really difficult to work with. He's incredibly privileged, lives in the suburbs (the far out rich suburbs), he has a fancy car, he loves to hear himself talk. He's...someone I avoid rather than enjoy talking to.

Assistant principal thinks she's saving the world while is literally the embodiment of every meme about terrible admin. She's the one who gives a kid a cookie when they cuss you out. She's dragging the building down in so many ways and principal can't do anything to stop her. (there's something weird where she's kind of blackmailed the district? she can't be fired, but desperately needs to retire and won't. She's saving the world, the rest of us are terrible. (she seems to genuinely believe this and it is weird).

We had to go on strike to get a 2% raise in 2020. Our contract is up again and we're negotiating, and we nearly went on strike in 2022 but they gaved at the last minute. With the economy being what it is we're probably going to ask for 5%, and not get it and...there's some uncertainty.

I don't have tenure and will finally get it after this year. (This is in the middle, I guess?)

I am CONSTANTLY asked to cover other classes because we don't get enough substitutes. (like...once or twice a week, it's a lot).

New School SLP -

Upsides

Principal seems amazing. I've only met her for an hour and half, but she trained with my favorite principal ever. She's new to the school and very excited to be there.

Math department is really competent and the way they do teaching and grading is awesome. Really neat program of self reflection for students. I'd be walking into something made by people who know what they are doing and I wouldn't have to make it. I could just use theirs.

They asked my pronouns in the meeting. I had to argue to get current job to talk about them.

I drive to visit my brother's family at least once a week, and it's 20 minutes one way (with freeway). It would be about 10 minutes, no freeway. We could walk on a nice day.

I could move in January (my current lease doesn't run out until then and the penalties are stiff). I have a wide variety of apartments to chose from, near parks, near schools, some of them are in nice walkable areas. It's the suburbs, so slightly different lifestyle. I could definitely bike to work, good paths for that.

If we live in SLP we're much closer to brother and that would even out some of the responsibilities for Dad. I'm definitely moving, by myself in January, so dad needs his own plan by then, but, who knows what he'll chose.

Downsides

Absolute chaos in the near term. I'd need to leave one job (turn everything in, exit, meet with new HR, etc etc. We're going to Scotland on Wednesday so it would be fast and furious for awhile.

I don't know anyone at new place. (I will but...that's scary in the middle term).

Felix would need a different school. So I'd have to find one. I think I can make it work, but it'll be annoying for me.

My commute will be awful until January.

It will be harder (though not impossible) to hang out with my one friend from old work.

I'm struggling here, so this one is probably better?

6th grade math is less interesting, but less behavior problems. They're squirrels, but they're cute at that age.

smaller district? if it sucks, it'll really suck. (but I don't know yet).

Pension is less good. Any salary gains I got would be gone in how much I'd have to put away for retirement.

Brother #1 who lives in Iowa says it's okay to have two decent choices, and they kind of are. It matters how much admin/work culture influences my job, and where I want Felix to go to school. (there is a push that sububrbs would be better for him, I thnk he'd be fine anywhere, he's a good kid).

The short term chaos would be a LOT. (I can do it , it's just a LOT).

#whingeing about life #personal

[kriwix]

My fan transcript of the latest episode TribeTwelve and messages from Twitter.

[All this is written by me and is subjective, based on my personal opinion. If you see factual errors, please let me know.]

[I also use a translator, so I apologize for any mistakes.]

1 message from Twitter and approximate English translation:

"Our ability to perceive entities is directly dependent on our innate perception of those for whom we were created. Unless you are trained to spot camouflage, it is invisible. The suit decides you're blind" - remember it

In the last episode "Facade", in the last seconds, the inscription appears:

At the end of the last series there are the words "The eyes see only what the mind is ready to comprehend" - this is the phrase of Henri Bergson, but if you rely on the Bible, then this is the message to the Romans of the Apostle Paul 1:20:

"...For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,.." In itself, the greatness of God cannot be seen through the eyes of creation, only known through the world order. The Bible plays a role in deciphering the latest episodes and messages from the official Twitter.

2 message:

This is the most interesting part.

"10 damn years. I used to think posting this video ruined my life. Now I know better I've always been damned, born in hell. I lived by the book of Job, I fell from heaven, and one day I will become Satan."

The book of Job - Job is a pious and immaculate person, but later the devil slanders Job, considering him mercenary and hypocritical, which can be revealed (according to the devil) if wealth is taken away from him. Job is subjected to terrible calamities, but patiently endures them.

Perhaps "...fell from heaven" in the message is also a reference to Job, who lost everything due to slander; the interpretation revolves around "does misfortune always come from divine punishment?"; the book also explains that grief is not necessarily caused by a sin committed, it can be an experience, a lesson, a discipline, or a real punishment. Does this mean that "I lived according to the book of Job" = the unpunished and righteous received calamities? But is he so unpunished?

What role does Satan play in the book of Job? Satan takes everything from Job with God's permission to test, hoping that Job will curse God. "Become Satan" - to become the one who takes away from Job and tests him. Noah lived according to the Book of Job, righteously and trying to fight Satan, but later "falls from heaven" and "becomes Satan" that is, joins the side of the Collective? I think so, because the last words we hear from Milo are "you should read me". And I think this means that in the end Noah joins the Collective, and "becomes Satan", that is, the one who takes away, as it was once taken from him. Noah writes that he will become Satan, because he himself will take from the unpunished. That is, he will enter the Collective and will punish those who did not sin, as he did at the beginning: he suffered losses and suffering, like Job, for verification, and not for punishment.

But what then did Noah experience? There are two options:

1. Noah did not see the real greatness of God, and everything that was in the labyrinth was only a part, or only the beginning

2. Noah saw the greatness of God, which means that he is not the Creation of God, since he could know and see.

But only you can decide that.

You. The one who reads this. On the other side of the screen. Comeclosertous. WENEEDYOU

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