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bestworstcase · 4 years

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my most controversial tangled opinion is that the sundrop/moonstone lore isn’t confusing, it’s just a soft magical system in a story that wanted a harder one.

what i mean by this is: there are zero theoretical limits on the powers of the sundrop and moonstone, but their actual established powers are nebulous and controlled by vague concepts (“faith” and “feelings”) without any hard explanation. this works as long as the magic is a mysterious quest object and its actual use is largely incidental, but once cass takes the moonstone, the magic becomes a central component of the plot and the system fails.

for those unfamiliar with the soft/hard magical system distinction, in the most general terms, a hard magical system is explained—it has defined rules and limitations so the audience can understand How It Works—while a soft magical system isn’t. neither is better than the other per se, but which type works best for a given story depends a lot on how the magic is used in the plot.

to give an example, bending in avatar: the last airbender falls into the “hard” category. bending is a martial art with a strong spiritual component; there are four types of bending, each tied to one of the four nations; with one exception, benders can only bend a single element, and the exception is explained and given his own set of rules, like the requirement that he must learn the four types of bending in a particular order. even the last-minute introduction of a fifth type bending is logical within the context of the universe: humans learned the other four types of bending from powerful magical creatures, so the lion-turtle’s ability to gift energy bending to aang follows the established rule for how humans acquired bending abilities in the first place; and aang himself has long been established as valuing and prioritizing the spiritual aspect of being the avatar, so it makes sense that when he entreats the spirits for a way to defeat ozai without killing him, the spirits basically go “sure, here.”

and of course, we the audience need to understand these rules, because bending is integral to the plot and to the way characters solve problems. if the characters in atla were constantly pulling new powers out of their butts to deal with the problem of the week, would that be as satisfying a story? characters do discover new powers (katara’s healing, toph’s metalbending, iroh’s lightning redirection, hama’s bloodbending), but when that happens the series is quick to establish how those powers fit within the framework of what we already know. we see this happen in fanworks too, because the audience understands the underlying mechanics and we can extrapolate new powers that fit within the defined rules, eg: could a sufficiently skilled and motivated firebender manipulate the electrical signals of the brain? taking control of a pre-existing electrical discharge and manipulating elements inside the human body are both possible, so i don’t see why not.

now back to rta.

the magical system in the series is very soft. for the purpose of this discussion, we’re going to focus on the sundrop, moonstone, and zhan tiri, because those are the core pillars of the magical system—the assortment of enchanted artifacts that pop up are sort of tangential and irrelevant here.

let’s start with what we know.

the sundrop and moonstone are two halves of an ancient cosmic power (hereafter ACP). the ACP was destroyed by an unknown calamity, the two drops fell to the earth, and they have been longing to reunite ever since.

whether this “longing” implies a degree of sapience or if it’s simply an attractive force like a pair of magnets is never specified, but based on the way the two forces behave i think the magnets explanation makes more sense.

the sundrop and moonstone are said to be inverses of each other. the sundrop heals, the moonstone harms. simple enough.

...but the moonstone also has a secondary protective ability, which it gifts to rapunzel in the form of her unbreakable hair. and the moonstone has the black rocks, which seem to exhibit both the destructive and protective/invulnerable facets of the moonstone’s power.

and the the sundrop also has a secondary destructive ability in that it. explodes.

so...

sundrop heals ↔ moonstone harms sundrop destroys ↔ moonstone protects

now this internally contradictory set of powers for the drops does make sense when you remember that they were originally just one thing. the ACP was theorized to have basically unlimited powers of destruction and creation, so it makes sense for its two halves to exhibit that duality within themselves as well.

if we consider the wording of the four incantations (and the events of BVA), we can kind of get a sense of what else the drops might be able to do:

i think there’s a strong argument to be made for understanding the healing/decaying capabilities of the drops as temporal manipulation. the sundrop doesn’t “heal” so much as it reverses time so it’s like the damage never happened (“make the clock reverse!”)—which incidentally would explain how gothel stayed fertile for two thousand years a lot better than “healing”—and the moonstone’s decay does the same but in reverse, so fast forwarding rather than rewinding.

they both alter/manipulate fate (“change the fates’ design”/“end this destiny”). this may be a metaphorical reference to the temporal manipulation thing, or it could be that the tangled universe truly is deterministic and the drops powerful enough to literally change fate.

a case can be made for a third dichotomy of sundrop faith ↔ moonstone will. by which i mean that the sundrop runs on belief/faith while the moonstone runs on feelings/willpower. the sun incantation focuses on hope (“and let our hope ignite”) and eugene having faith in rapunzel in LAF is what allows her to activate the sundrop nuke even without the incantation. meanwhile, the moon incantation focuses on willpower (“bend it to my will”) and in BVA, the moonstone is shown to react intensely to cassandra’s feelings and is also able to manipulate the feelings of other people (meaning that, presumably, the sundrop could also inspire faith).

...but notice, here, how much of this is postulation. very little of this is explicit textual information; instead, i’m drawing connections between the lore given in LAF and the things that we see the sundrop/moonstone do on screen in an attempt to line up what we see with the loose, vague framework of “two halves of a broken whole that are opposites/complements of each other.”

and i really think this is what people mean when they say the sundrop/moonstone lore is “confusing.” unlike in a hard magical system like atla, the series dedicates no time to explaining how it all works. it’s just There, and while we can make some extrapolations based on what we see, it’s not really a system that is meant to hang together in a coherent, rules-based way. and—unpopular opinion—that is FINE. hard systems are not innately better than soft systems.

do i personally have a preference for hard systems? yes. are hard systems in vogue in modern fantasy? also yes. does that make soft systems inferior to hard systems? no. can i suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy a fantasy story with a soft system? absolutely, yes, though no force on earth can stop me from picking over it with a fine-toothed comb to develop a personal theory on how it all works, or from breaking it down into its component parts and then building a hard system from scratch for my own fanworks like i did with bitter snow.

but—the key thing is—it’s not confusing if you go into it with the understanding that the magical system is soft. the nebulous vague what you see is what you get thing is a feature, not a bug.

the same goes for zhan tiri. i’ve already expounded at great length about her canon lore and i’m not going to get into it again, but suffice it to say: she’s some sort of powerful ancient shapeshifting demon with nature-based magic, a side helping of dream/mind-based magic, and a penchant for deceit and manipulation. and again, the underlying mechanics of any of this are not explored, because rta has a soft magical system.

but farran, you said rta needed a harder system, so why are you now saying that soft magical systems aren’t bad?

i did say that, yes, but it’s not because soft systems are bad. it’s because soft and hard systems are different tools used to accomplish different things, and rta as a series tells a story that, ultimately, would have been better served by a hard system rather than a soft one.

let’s start with cassandra’s control over the moonstone. in RR, she uses its powers instinctively and effortlessly. then, she loses that ability, and zhan tiri tells her that it’s because she needs to focus on her rage because that’s what the moonstone responds to (this is an obvious lie ziti uses to get cass to wallow in her anger, but the basic principle that the moonstone responds to emotion appears to be sound). and then, in BVA, cassandra’s fear about attacking rapunzel causes her to spontaneously manifest a completely new ability that sends magical fear-empathy rocks all the way to corona where they start giving people nightmare visions and petrifying them.

that’s huge! we had no idea the moonstone could do something like that. but then they go away and cass never uses them again. why? who knows!

next, zhan tiri (off screen -_-) evidently tells cass that it’s not actually a matter of trying harder to master the moonstone’s power, she needs to use the moon incantation to unlock it. this is inconsistent with what we’ve seen before (RR and BVA proved that she could access the full range of the moonstone’s power, she just doesn’t know how), and could be explained by zhan tiri lying again... except that when cass recites the incantation it works as-advertised.

and “mastering the moonstone’s power” turns out to be... black rocks and lightning, but bigger and more elaborate. that’s it. there’s no expansion on the withering incantation, or the empathy-rocks or petrification abilities introduced in BVA, it’s just black rocks and a light show. and black rocks shaped like dogs that one time in plus est.

the same thing happens with the sundrop. it glows and it blows things up and it heals things and that is all it does. it just does it... bigger, and flashier, after rapunzel recites the sun incantation.

and when zhan tiri acquires both of the drops, something that we are told grants her the (undefined) “ultimate power,” she... uses them to make rocks, but they’re golden now. what do the golden rocks do? who knows! and she uses the decay incantation, which works exactly as it did when rapunzel used it except faster and bigger and not uncontrolled.

and then she’s beaten by whacking her over the head with a frying pan and tricking her into clapping her hands together, which blows her up. and then rapunzel takes the unified drop and revives cass everyone before letting it fly off into space. yay!

but... do you see the problem here? why so many people felt so dissatisfied with the lore surrounding the drops and zhan tiri in season three? people say it’s “confusing,” but i think that describes a symptom, not the root of the problem. a good, well-utilized soft magical system doesn’t cause confusion; it blends into the story and doesn’t call attention to itself. it’s like... lighting. it’s just there and it just works and it enriches the story but we don’t question it.

whereas a hard magical system is an actual component of the narrative, almost like a character in its own right in the sense that we understand what makes it tick. there are rules, and we understand the rules, and because we understand the rules we can make predictions about what influence or role the magic will have in the plot. to use atla as a very simple example again: when iroh teaches zuko how to redirect lightning, we can predict that this ability will become a vital form of defense against azula and ozai. atla sets up lightning bending, then sets up a defense against lightning bending, and we don’t need to wait around for it to happen to understand that this is going to become Very Important later.

now compare this to rta season three. a whole episode is dedicated to establishing that the moonstone is connected to cassandra’s emotions in a pretty significant way. after bva, there was a lot of speculation about how this fact would play out in the events to come; speculation about other types/colors of rocks and what effects they might have; speculation about how this would tie into cassandra’s emotional arc; speculation about how zhan tiri’s manipulation might interact with the moonstone’s emotion-based magic. and... absolutely none of that happened, because that was rules-based speculation built on the assumption that rta’s magical system had definitive rules. and that was an assumption made because, in s3, rta’s soft magical system started to behave as if it were a hard one. ie, it jumped into center stage and went “look at me! i’m important.”

except it was still a soft magical system with no definitive rules, so any rules-based speculation was impossible and pointless. it is like trying to build a house out of beams of light. you can make a house shape, but if it rains you are still going to get wet.

and i made this mistake, too! i also made the assumption, after BVA, that answers were coming and we could expect the magic to continue to develop into, if not a hard system, at least a hybrid one, and a lot of my speculation after that point came from a place of expecting answers (and trying to unravel the answers on my own before the series showed them to us).

but rta’s magical system just was not built that way. it wasn’t set up to play this central role in the plot, it didn’t have definitive rules, it didn’t have a preexisting framework that could be used to expand and elaborate on characters’ abilities in a naturalistic, predictable way, so... as is often the case with mis-used soft systems, the magic just got vaguely Bigger whenever the narrative called for escalation, and the “ultimate power” ended up being completely underwhelming because it was just More Of The Same, But Make It Yellow.

as... a point of comparison here, because i’m struggling to articulate what i’m driving at, let’s consider my take on the sundrop/moonstone lore—the hard magical system i created for bitter snow.

1) magic is drawn from a powerful magical entities (deities, demons, spirits).

2) magical abilities are based on the abilities of the patron.

3) the sundrop and moonstone are artifacts belonging to/created by a solar deity (huma) and lunar deity (turul). they are basically teeny tiny shards of those deities that fell to earth when it was still a molten lump of raw material and then molded it into a world capable of supporting life. the drops themselves can serve as direct conduits to huma/turul, and both have extensive root systems; the sundrop’s roots support the outer crust of the earth, while the moonstone’s roots (the black rocks) form the inner core.

4) the magic of the sundrop is restorative, and it also “casts” a shadow in the form of destructive magic. the restorative/destructive magics are always equal (hence the “shadow” metaphor). the restorative magic heals, creates and nourishes life, offers strength. the destructive magic is the opposite: it destroys, it kills, it weakens.

5) the magic of the moonstone is transformative. it takes the sundrop’s “shadows” and refashions them into the black rocks. it adapts, it moves, it alters things. it is neutral, centered, and stable in comparison to the sundrop’s intense extremes.

6) both huma and turul (and by extension the drops) are also connected to zhan tiri, as all three formed very early in the beginning of the cosmos. like huma and turul, zhan tiri’s magic is centered around change; hers is corruptive. zhan tiri’s magic manipulates strengths into weakness, and weakness into strength. it gives by taking away. it feeds.

7) to put these three types of magic into more concrete terms: let’s say alice, bob, and carol all break their arms. alice calls on the power of the sundrop to heal herself, and her arm is instantly and perfectly repaired, but some destructive, uncontrolled magic is unleashed into the world to balance the scales. bob, meanwhile, calls on the power of the moonstone, and it transforms the broken arm into solid stone; the pain is gone and the arm is no longer broken, but it is also no longer, strictly speaking, a human arm. and finally, carol entreats zhan tiri for healing, and zhan tiri sets the bone but also infuses it with her own magic, so it festers/grows into a well of power for carol.

now, if we apply these rules to a plus est en vous type of situation where zhan tiri claims both of the drops for herself, what does that look like? it’s the power to instantly unmake and re-make the entire cosmos. it’s the power to transform the entire world and everything on it into stone or ice. it’s the power to cure every disease and heal every injury suffered by every living thing on the planet instantaneously, and to inflict those same sufferings on everyone and everything with a snap of your fingers. it’s, literally, limitless. (it also fuses zhan tiri, huma, and turul into a single entity called jinarche but that is a little beside the point for the purpose of this discussion.)

and... how do you beat a creature like that? well. you sort of can’t, on paper, but in practice the overwhelming shock of the fusion of that much power into a single being would cause a few minutes of intense disorientation and that creates a window of opportunity to break the fused power apart again... but this isn’t a “win” scenario either, really, because when you do that it is going to cause an explosion of power violent enough to shred the entire cosmos so it is basically hitting the reboot button on the whole universe.

so, operating within the bitter snow magical system, the key to defeating a zhan tiri who wanted to acquire the sundrop and moonstone (and fuse with huma and turul in the process) would be to stop her before she gets her hands on both drops. because of the framework created by this hard system, the plot of this alternate plus est en vous is all about preventing zhan tiri from acquiring the drops, because the second both of them are in her possession it’s game over even if you manage to kill her. you either get an unkillable, omnipotent god or you get the entire universe self-destructing. the stakes are that high.

*deep breath*

with this in mind, let’s wrap this back around to canon. when zhan tiri takes both the sundrop and moonstone, what... are the stakes?

in TOTS, when zhan tiri revealed her plan to take both drops for herself, did the stakes feel high? we are told at several points that the drops have the potential to destroy the world, but does the stinger at the beginning of TOTS feel like an “oh, shit, the literal planet is at stake here” moment?

does zhan tiri in plus est feel like a super-powered demon who has just acquired the ultimate power of creation and destruction? no! the golden rocks and turbo-charged decay incantation don’t even feel like an escalation over the cassandra vs rapunzel battles in CR and earlier in plus est—in fact, frankly, they feel like a downgrade by virtue of being less flashy!

the series has given us no frame of reference for what the ultimate power looks like while simultaneously providing no internal scaffolding on which to build that kind of escalation. this is the biggest downside of a soft magical system—it’s really damn hard to keep raising the stakes if you don’t have the basic framework of “here’s what the rules are, here’s the limitations.”

back to bitter snow: neither zhan tiri, turul/the moonstone, nor huma/the sundrop on their own are powerful enough to rip the whole universe apart. zhan tiri is the most individually powerful of the three, and while she could probably destroy the planet if she really put her mind to it, that would take centuries to come to fruition. it would be a matter of planting the right seeds, worming her magic into the right cracks, growing and feeding and hollowing it out from within, and then hitting the pressure points at just the right time. it is only in combination that these three become strong enough to just unmake the whole cosmos in the blink of an eye. this kind of escalation is possible because i know what the limits are.

in a soft magical system version of bitter snow, it’d be more like “well zhan tiri is really powerful, the sundrop and moonstone are pretty powerful too, if you put them all together they’d all be... like, Really Really Really powerful.” because the whole point of a soft magical system is that it’s vague. it’s not supposed to have this level of clarity and precision in how it works. this doesn’t make escalation impossible, just super difficult, because it’s so easy for escalation or new powers to come across as plot contrivances (BVA) or deus ex machina or purely aesthetic in nature like the gorgeous and dramatic fight in CR or the golden rocks zhan tiri uses. and from an audience perspective, there is literally no way to guess what might happen next because there are No Rules. you can predict character beats and plot developments, of course, but you can’t make accurate assessments about the magic.

and when you’re using a soft magical system in this way, where escalating stakes based on magic use are integral to the plot, you are basically inviting your audience to go “hey, wait a minute, how does this work...?” for the same reason audiences try to analyze and understand why characters are acting the way they do.

and that’s why rta’s magical system ultimately failed. not because it’s confusing, but because it was too soft for what the story wanted to do with it.

#rta #farran rambles about worldbuilding for thousands of words again #only semi-coherently rip i have a lot of thoughts and only a vague idea of how to articulate them #anyway!!!#tldr: rta has a soft magical system #soft magical systems are NOT bad #but rta used magic in a way that would have BENEFITED from a harder system

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angelofthequeers · 5 years

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Shine a Light on Me - part 2

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Part 1 | Part 3 | AO3 link

It’s not a fruit basket that Marinette ends up taking to school the next day for Adrien, but rather a box of freshly made assorted pastries. And by freshly made, she means that they’re literally still warm from coming out of the oven, because warm pastries are the absolute best thing in the world. She also takes a small bag of Camembert cheese for Plagg, since she’s only met him once under extreme circumstances and would really like to make as good an impression on Adrien’s kwami as possible. From what Tikki’s said, he can be a rude little nightmare “but he really does have a heart of gold in there”, so hopefully things will go a lot smoother if she wins over Plagg.

Sabine has always taught Marinette that actions speak louder than words when it comes to expressing how you truly feel. Hopefully, Adrien hears her loud and clear, because she’s still not sure that her words will work properly despite knowing that he’s Chat Noir.

With every step closer to school, even earlier than yesterday, Marinette’s stomach starts to churn more and more violently, until she’s almost certain that she’ll be sick when the school is in sight. She plunges her hand into her purse to seek reassurance from Tikki, who rubs against her fingers until she pulls her hand back out.

“Marinette?” says a voice from behind her. Marinette shrieks and whirls around, and she would have dropped the box of pastries if not for the person catching it for her.

“Alya!” she squeaks. “Don’t do that!”

Alya just laughs and hands the pastries back. Marinette’s prepared for a barrage of questions about why she’s got the box, so it’s a surprise when Alya instead says, “Hey, I owe you an apology.”

“Huh?” Marinette blinks.

“Ladybug paid me a visit last night.” Alya looks away. “She heard what happened in the cafeteria and she said that I was out of line…and I realise now that she’s right. It wasn’t my business to post that picture and act like Ladybug doesn’t deserve her privacy just because she’s a superhero.”

“Oh, really? Ladybug knows what happened?” Marinette’s laying it on so thick that she’s surprised that Alya doesn’t realise.

“Yeah. She also told me that she’s not friends with Lila, so, well…you were right. She was totally lying about being in Achu because of that illusion of Ladybug being akumatised – Volpina’s the only akuma who can create illusions. I should’ve realised then, to be honest. I did some digging into other stuff Lila’s said after Ladybug left last night and…everything she’s said was a lie. Jagged Stone doesn’t even have a cat!”

“I could’ve told you that,” Marinette says. “I could have given Jagged or even Penny a quick call. I’ve still got their number in case they ever want me to work on something again.”

Alya attempts a weak smile and looks Marinette in the eye. “I’m sorry for not believing you, Marinette. I’m sorry that I thought you were just jealous of Lila. And I’m sorry for what I said yesterday.”

“I’m sorry too,” Marinette says, because it’s an awful feeling to stand there and have Alya apologise to her when she also played a part in the argument. “I shouldn’t have said those things about the Ladyblog.”

“No, you should’ve,” Alya rebuts. “You were right. I didn’t fact-check the interview with Lila, and I would’ve lost my reputation and followers if I’d just kept going the way I was until someone else exposed it. And you were right to say that it was disrespectful to Ladybug to post that picture.”

“What did you say about Lila?” Marinette says. She really hopes that Alya had listened to her alter ego and not slandered Lila for the interview, because the last thing she needs is for Lila to go fully vindictive.

“Not much,” Alya says. “I just made a post to say that it was irresponsible to post the interview because if Lila really was a friend of Ladybug’s, I was putting her in danger by putting that information out there. I didn’t say anything about the lying only because Ladybug asked me to go easy on her.”

Warmth pools in Marinette’s stomach. She hadn’t even thought of asking for Alya to use that as the official story, yet Alya had extrapolated that idea from Ladybug’s explanation about the danger of openly being friends with a superhero.

“I’m sure Ladybug would be really proud of you, Alya,” Marinette says. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to resist outing her as a liar.”

“Hey, you’re the one who put in the work to figure it out in the first place,” Alya says, nudging Marinette as they head into the school. “And I’ll totally listen to you from now on because you’re my best friend and I should always at least hear you out. Swearsies.”

Before Marinette can reply, an unfortunately familiar voice calls, “Alya!” Marinette and Alya turn to see Lila, sickly sweet smile pasted on her face, no doubt ready to start spinning more lies.

“Oh, hey, Lila.” Alya doesn’t sound hostile, but she doesn’t sound warm either. “What’s up?”

“I was just wondering why you took down that interview on the Ladyblog!” Lila twirls one of the fox tails hanging next to her face. “You were getting so many views, and I’ve never seen you happier!”

“I realised that I was putting you in danger from Hawkmoth,” Alya says, slipping into “storyteller Alya” mode. Marinette sits back to enjoy the show. “And my code of ethics demands that I never endanger someone with my journalism if I can help it. The attention’s not worth putting you in danger.”

“That’s so sweet of you to worry about me!” Lila says, her smile widening. “But you really don’t have to. I knew what I was signing up for by agreeing to be Ladybug’s best friend. In fact –” She drops her voice down to a conspiratorial whisper. “Can I tell you a secret? But you mustn’t tell anyone. I trust you enough to keep this for me, Alya.”

“Uh, sure,” Alya says. “What is it?”

Lila’s green eyes dart from side to side and she beckons Alya to an empty side corridor. She doesn’t protest when Marinette follows, no doubt having written Marinette off as the furthest thing from a threat because of how easily she’d manipulated the class time. “I’m Rena Rouge.”

“You’re what?”

Marinette takes pity on Alya, who looks like she’s about two seconds from exploding and tearing Lila’s head off. “But that can’t be right, Lila! You were travelling around the world when Rena Rouge made her debut. And you were in Achu on Heroes’ Day, when Rena Rouge helped Ladybug and Chat Noir fight Hawkmoth!”

“Oh, Marinette,” Lila laughs, shaking her head. Marinette can’t even be annoyed at Lila’s lies this time, because she’s just digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole. She only wishes that there was some way of recording this for future viewing. “Didn’t you know? One of the powers of the Fox Miraculous is teleportation!”

“That’s a lie,” Alya snaps. “I’ve followed Ladybug and Chat Noir enough to know that they only get one power – two, if you count Miraculous Ladybug. The Fox’s power is illusions, and I’d know because…I saw Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Chat Noir fighting Sapotis. If the Fox had illusions and teleportation then it’d be more powerful than Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses, when they’re the two most powerful ones. Especially when illusions and teleportation don’t even make sense together as powers.”

“You really think I’d lie about this?” Lila’s eyes fill with crocodile tears. “Alya, I’m hurt! I trusted you enough to tell you this secret!”

“You shouldn’t even have told Alya in the first place,” Marinette says, trying not to feel too smug because then it’s just a steep slope into turning into a petty, spiteful person. “Their identities must remain a secret! Won’t Ladybug be mad that you told Alya?”

“Of course not!” Lila says. “She’ll understand that Alya can be trusted to help with cover stories when I need to leave class. Who better to have on our side than the Ladyblogger?”

“You good-for-nothing, lying little snake,” Alya hisses. “You’re not Rena Rouge. You never saved Jagged Stone’s cat. And you were never in Achu on Heroes’ Day! Volpina created that illusion and we all know that you were Volpina.”

Lila sniffles and starts to cry. “Alya! How can you be so hurtful? I thought you were my friend – I trusted you – and you were so mean –”

“Drop the act,” Alya growls. “You’re the last person Ladybug would give a Miraculous to. And you tried to turn us all against Marinette by making her look bad just because she saw through your lies. Well, I’m not letting you hurt my best friend again.”

Lila’s entire demeanour changes in a heartbeat. “That wasn’t a very smart move, Alya,” she drawls, any trace of tears gone. “You saw how I turned everyone against Marinette just like that.” She snaps her fingers. “Do you really want to be next? What would people think of you harassing poor, disabled Lila who never did anything wrong and just wanted a friend?”

“Alya, it’s not worth it.” Marinette gently grabs Alya by the arm. “Without proof, there’s nothing you can do.”

“Marinette’s right.” Lila smiles again, although this one is far darker. “I’ll be nice and pretend that this never happened. We can go back to being nice and friendly. But if you cross me again, I’ll destroy you. And I’ll take your best friend down with you.”

With a toss of her hair, Lila turns and struts off. Marinette turns to Alya, expecting to have to calm her down before class starts, only to blink when Alya’s anger fades and she instead bursts out laughing.

“Uh, Alya?” Marinette says. “She wasn’t joking, you know.”

“Oh, I know. That makes it even better.” Grinning, Alya holds her phone up and taps the screen. Lila’s voice echoes out from the speakers.

“I’m Rena Rouge.”

“No way,” Marinette whispers in awe as their confrontation from moments before is repeated back to her from Alya’s phone. “You recorded her!”

“I sure did.” Alya’s grin widens and she fiddles with her phone for a moment before locking it and slipping it away. “There. I sent it to myself in an email just in case something happens to my phone. Now all I need to do is get it to Ladybug and see what she wants me to do with it.”

“If I could call Ladybug for you,” Marinette says slowly, a plan rapidly forming, “since that’s how she found out about the cafeteria…what would you say about her showing that footage to Rena Rouge? I’m sure Rena would love to know if someone’s claiming to be her.”

Alya’s eyes light up. “That would be awesome!” she shrieks, dancing from foot to foot. “Rena Rouge saying that I – uh, she – doesn’t know Lila would totally verify my video! Then we can take her down for everything she’s done to you. I gave her a chance by not telling everyone that she’d lied in the interview.”

“Very true,” Marinette says. “Shouldn’t we go and find Adrien and Nino? I’m sure you want to say good morning to Nino, right?”

“Oh, don’t you start something you can’t win,” Alya says, wagging a finger at Marinette as they link arms and head out of the empty corridor. “Just you wait till you’re with Adrien. You’ll be one of those couples who needs to make out every five seconds because you’re soooo in loooove!”

“Shut up!” Marinette tries to elbow Alya, only to realise that she can’t do so with their linked arms unless she wants to risk dropping the box of pastries. They emerge out into the courtyard at that moment and thankfully, before Alya can start asking questions about the pastries, they spy Adrien and Nino entering the school grounds at that moment.

“Hey, sweetcheeks,” Alya teases when the four of them are together.

“Dude, I told you not to call me that around other people!” Nino hisses, but he doesn’t seem upset at all as he leans in to kiss Alya. Marinette makes an exaggerated retching sound, which earns her a backwards kick to the shin from Alya.

“Actually, I agree,” Adrien says, wrinkling his nose. “You two are so gross right now.”

Alya and Nino don’t even seem to hear them. Marinette sneaks a look at Adrien out of the corner of her eye and her heart jolts in her chest. This is it. She’s going to make sure he’s Chat Noir, then she’s going to tell him that she’s Ladybug. His lady. And while she’s not sure that she’s ready to get together with him just yet – so soon after these mind-blowing few days – she’s not sure how their dynamic will change with shared knowledge that their feelings for each other have been mutual this whole time.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she says at exactly the same time as Adrien. They blink at each other, then laugh and look away. “Uh, sure. Okay, this is weird.” Shaking their heads, they make sure that Alya and Nino are occupied before making their way into the building to find an empty classroom where they won’t be disturbed. Marinette locks the door behind them, grateful that the school has had locks installed on the doors since the rise in akuma attacks.

“You first,” she blurts out before she and Adrien can start talking in unison again. “What I have to say is…big. Really big.”

“I hope that’s a good thing,” Adrien says with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. God, he’s so gorgeous, how can such a perfect boy exist – focus, Marinette! “So, uh…I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I had a really good think about what you said and, well, you were right. The way Chat Noir treats Ladybug can be pretty disrespectful. The way we were treating her was disrespectful. And I really admire how you stood up for her even though we were angry at you. I wasn’t wrong when I called you our everyday Ladybug.”

Marinette’s sudden, nauseating nerves over that last sentence are the only thing that stop her from melting into a puddle of goo at the fact that Adrien Agreste just told her to her face that he admires her. And being ninety nine percent sure that he’s Chat Noir just makes his compliment about her being an everyday Ladybug that much more meaningful, to the point where she wants to burst into tears and wonder what exactly she’s done to deserve this.

“That’s actually what I want to talk to you about,” Marinette says, swallowing down the lump in her throat. With trembling hands, she thrusts the box of pastries out at him, and although he looks rather bewildered, he still takes them. “They’re, uh…for you. Because Maman always told me that actions speak louder than words and, well…oh, I think I’m going to be sick.”

“If I’m making you anxious –” Adrien begins.

“No! Well, yes! Kind of!” Marinette takes a deep breath but, rather than sticking with her plan of confirming that he’s Chat Noir, her mouth spills the words, “I’minlovewithyousothosepastriesareforyouIhopeyoulikethem.”

Adrien blinks. He blinks again. Marinette whines and closes her eyes, willing the floor to open up and swallow her whole. What happened to her plan? How can she so easily create plans in the heat of battle, yet talking to her partner’s civilian identity makes her crumble?

“Um…I’m flattered, really,” he says slowly, like he’s trying to find a way to avoid utterly crushing her. “But I…uh…I’m kind of in love with someone else.”

“I know!” Marinette says. “With Ladybug! That’s why –” She shoves her hand in her purse and yanks out the bag of Camembert, then practically tosses it on top of the pastry box. “That’s why I got that for Plagg!”

The way Adrien’s eyes bulge and his face pales to a chalky white colour is the last bit of proof that Marinette needs to confirm that her partner is standing right in front of her. How could she have never realised that her kitty’s been in front of her the whole time?

“I – I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he stammers, dropping the pastries and cheese on a desk and taking a step back. Marinette gulps. She may have gone about this the wrong way entirely.

“It’s okay!” she says. “I know who you are, Adrien!”

Adrien’s green eyes harden, and he pulls himself up straight. “What exactly do you want from me, Marinette? If you know I’m in love with Ladybug, why are you giving me pastries and cheese? Are you trying to – I don’t know, convince me to be with you instead? Tell the whole world who I am if I reject you?”

“What? No!” Marinette’s eyes fill with tears. This is going so wrong – so horribly wrong! “Do you really think I’d do that, Adrien?”

The hardness fades from Adrien’s eyes. He sighs and looks away, shoulders sagging. “No. You don’t have a mean bone in your body. I’m sorry, Marinette. I just…”

“Freaked out?” Marinette says. “I know I’d be freaking out if someone discovered my secret identity.” Not that Adrien would know the double meaning to her words.

“Ugh, can I finally come out?” a scratchy voice complains. A small black thing flies out of Adrien’s backpack and makes a beeline for the bag of cheese. “Do you know how much self-control it took me to not come out as soon as I smelled that cheese?”

“Plagg!” Adrien hisses. He looks at Marinette, smiles sheepishly, then glares at Plagg. “You can’t just show yourself to anyone who has cheese!”

“Oh, she’s already seen me,” Plagg scoffs, already downing a wedge of Camembert. “About time she figured it out, to be honest. If I have to suffer through one more minute of you whining when she’s right there, I’m actually gonna Cataclysm myself.”

“Huh?” Adrien looks from Plagg to Marinette, to Plagg, then back to Marinette. His head is whipping around as though he’s spectating a tennis match. “Plagg, what do you mean by that?”

“You sure you wanna put up with someone this dense?” Plagg says to Marinette, who giggles. Adrien frowns at her but it still doesn’t seem to be clicking just yet, so she decides to help him out.

“You’re one of my dearest friends, and you know me in a way that no one else does,” she says, repeating her words from the night before. “You’re funny. You’re sweet. You know how to cheer me up when I need it. I can always trust you to have my back when it comes down to it.”

If Adrien had been pale before, that’s nothing compared to the shade of white his face turns now. He stares her right in the eye, then his gaze darts to her pigtails, and then he looks her up and down like she’s a bottle of water in the desert. Marinette swallows and holds her head high, waiting for him to finish his inspection and come to the right conclusion, although his brain seems to be melting out of his ears right about now.

“Oh, great, you broke him,” Plagg complains.

“Shut up and eat your Camembert,” Marinette says automatically. She thinks she hears a little snicker from her purse, but she can’t be sure.

“Yes, ma’am!” Plagg salutes and upturns the bag to tip out the other seven wedges of cheese. “I like her! You better keep her around!”

“Milady?” Adrien’s voice is hushed, like saying it too loud will make everything evaporate like a dream. Marinette gives him a small smile.

“I found you, kitty,” she says.

“That’ll teach me to quote my friends to my superhero partner,” Adrien says with a small, self-deprecating laugh. “You’re not…mad? That you figured out who I was? And that didn’t – I don’t know – make you feel pressured to do this? I won’t forget you this time, bugaboo.”

“I’m a bit annoyed that you made it so easy,” Marinette admits. “That’s why I didn’t want to share any personal information, in case one of us figured it out. But…I can’t really be mad that you’re my partner. And I didn’t feel pressured at all.”

“But you wouldn’t have told me if you didn’t find out who I was,” Adrien says.

“Not if you hadn’t shown that you listened to me and actually took in what I said as Marinette,” Marinette says. “If you’d just brushed it off and kept thinking you were right, I wouldn’t be doing this. That’s what showed me that I could feel safe telling you.”

“You still didn’t have to tell me,” Adrien says. “I would’ve understood if you weren’t ready. I wouldn’t have been mad that my lady knew who I was. I know I got mad that you wouldn’t tell me where you were going whenever you were seeing Master Fu but…after what you said about not respecting Ladybug, I realised that I acted like a brat over something you couldn’t tell me. Which is probably why he didn’t tell me at first.”

“It didn’t feel right to keep this from you,” Marinette says. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches sight of Tikki zooming out of her purse over to Plagg, though Adrien doesn’t seem to have noticed. “I’d feel like our partnership was unbalanced, knowing who you were when you didn’t know who I was. And it felt…I don’t know how to describe it. Like it was disrespectful? You didn’t choose to tell me. I found out. I know I would’ve felt like – like my agency had been taken if the situations were reversed. Telling you was the right thing to do, and I didn’t feel pressured in any way.”

The way Adrien looks at her as though she had hung the stars in the sky makes her gulp and fold her arms across her chest, as though this can shield her from the intensity of Adrien’s stare.

“You really are just as perfect outside the mask,” Adrien sighs. Volcanic heat shoots to Marinette’s cheeks, and she’s no doubt as red as her superhero outfit because even though she knows he’s Chat Noir, it’s still Adrien saying this stuff to her.

“M-Me?” she stammers. “I – no, you are – gah!”

Thankfully, Adrien doesn’t laugh at her stumbling over her words. Instead, he says, “So, wait, you’ve just had a crush on me this whole time?” He sighs and lets his shoulders slump. “Thank god. I thought you still didn’t like me after the gum incident and you were just trying to be nice.”

“That was when I fell for you!” Marinette blurts out. She powers on because hey, she’s made already made an idiot of herself, so she might as well just keep going. “You gave me that umbrella and I realised – I realised you were nice and sweet and not like Chloé at all.”

Unconsciously parroting her words from last night seems to do the trick; Adrien smiles widely, like this is the final piece of confirmation that it’s really Ladybug standing in front of him.

“I’m such a mess,” Marinette moans, moving to cover her face.

“But you’re my mess,” Adrien says, which doesn’t really do much to help Marinette’s imploding brain. “That is…if you still want? I don’t want to assume…”

“I think right this second is too soon,” Marinette says, voice muffled by her hands. “We only just found each other. Plus, we’d have to decide how we’re going to do it.” She manages to drop her hands and look up at Adrien in time to catch his puzzled look. “We can’t mix our identities. Marinette and Adrien can be a thing. So can Ladybug and Chat Noir. But if we do it that way, that means that Chat Noir can’t be seen kissing Marinette.”

“Or Adrien with Ladybug,” Adrien concludes. “I see what you mean. We’ll either be exposing our identities or causing trouble for ourselves by having everyone call us cheaters.”

“And both sides can’t just get together at the same time,” Marinette says. “I don’t think most people would catch on but…better safe than sorry, right? I figured out who you were from one conversation.”

“Strong and smart.” A goofy grin spreads across Adrien’s face. “How did I never realise who you were before? I literally called you our everyday Ladybug.”

“Well, not many people would look at the girl who trips over her own feet and think that she was a superhero,” Marinette says through her once-again flaming face. “That’s why I nearly quit being Ladybug at first. But I’m glad I didn’t.”

“I’m glad you didn’t too. Now that I know it’s you, I can’t imagine anyone else amazing enough to be my bugaboo,” Adrien says. He looks her straight in the eye and says, “With your permission?” and Marinette about melts on the spot.

“S-Sure!” she somehow manages to force out, although she might actually combust if he kisses her. Thankfully, all he does is take her hand and lace their fingers together, and the heat radiating from their joined hands is enough to make Marinette wonder if this is all just a fever dream. She’s going to wake up and find that she just imagined Adrien as Chat Noir because of wishful thinking, because nothing ever works out that perfectly for her –

“I think this is the quickest a Ladybug and Chat Noir have found each other,” Tikki says. Adrien jumps, no doubt not expecting a small red flying creature to appear next to his head, but he doesn’t let go of Marinette’s hand.

“Adrien, meet Tikki,” Marinette says, gesturing to her kwami.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Tikki beams. “I already know who you are, but I’ve never gotten the chance to meet you.”

“How much has Marinette told you about me?” Adrien says with a cheeky little smirk. Marinette moans and looks away in sheer embarrassment. “I know Plagg’s threatened to throw himself out my window from how much I talk about Ladybug.”

“No, I threatened to throw you out the window,” Plagg corrects after swallowing his cheese. “Then I realised that I’d have no way of getting my Camembert.”

“Of course that’s all you think about,” Tikki scoffs.

“Moving on!” Marinette says loudly. The school bell ringing at that moment nicely saves her from any further humiliation, and she jumps and holds out her purse for Tikki to hide in. Adrien shoves both the cheese and a complaining Plagg into his backpack and then picks up the box of pastries much more carefully, smiling at Marinette as he does so.

“We can talk a bit more tonight and figure out what we’re going to do,” Adrien says. “If that’s okay with you?”

“Sure,” Marinette says. “I just have something I need to do first.”

Although they don’t hold hands like they’re itching to do, the lack of distance between them as they enter the classroom is unmistakeable. Chloé immediately starts with her shrill demands of what “her Adrikins is doing with Dupain-Cheng”, and the only way Marinette manages to escape Alya’s interrogation is by promising to fill her in tomorrow. Miss Bustier enters the classroom to begin the lesson before Alya can complain.

“Page twenty-six, please!” Miss Bustier calls out. Marinette flips to the appropriate page in her tablet and tries not to look at Adrien front of her; at least, not too much. But judging from how he’s constantly shifting in his seat and sneaking glances back at her when he thinks she’s not looking, it seems he’s just as hyperactively excited about tonight as her.

#miraculous ladybug #ml season 3 spoilers #oblivio #post-oblivio #identity reveal #ml fic #djwifi #adrinette #plagg is a little shit #alya is the best #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #fluff #aotq fic

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soveryanon · 5 years

Text

Reviewing time for MAG138! /o/

- ………………… It’s Holy Shit Smirke What The Fuck time, and I feel obligated to mention in preamble that: yes, I do get one of the points of his statement – that he lacked… flexibility and that it impacted his understanding of the Fears; that he associated them with a neat categorisation, with places, with stone and concrete and stable, fixed monumentality (“And if, as I came to believe, the Dread Powers were themselves places of a sort, then surely with the right space, the right architecture, they could be contained. Channelled. Harnessed.”) when they’re actually mutable, can express themselves in an infinity of ways, and that Smirke’s ~taxonomy~ was far from perfect, probably too tainted by his preconceptions and associations with tangible places to work for long after a few decades of illusion; that, in the end, Robert Smirke died as an old man unable to admit the flaws in his work (“Would you have me separate The Corruption between insects, dirt and disease? To, to divide the fungal bloom from the maggot? No. No, I… stand by my work.”), ready to blame others than him or his own community for their sufferings (“No; I feel certain they were bought into existence by some ancient civilisation, some… foolish tribe from pre-history.”). Leitner (!) (yes, “!”: Leitner, being right about something, I know. Incredible.) and Gerry had actually warned about describing the Fears with such neat separations:

(MAG080) LEITNER: I told you it was an unhelpful analogy. Let’s try another one. Um… Imagine, you are an ant, and you have never before seen a human. Then one day, into your colony, a huge fingernail is thrust, scraping and digging. You flee to another entrance, only to be confronted by a staring eye gazing at you. You climb to the top, trying to find escape and, above you, can see the vast dark shadow of a boot falling upon you. Would that ant be able to construct these things into the form of a single human being? Or would it believe itself to be under attack by three different, equally terrible, but very distinct assailants?

(MAG111) GERRY: […] And when our fears change, so do these things. But it’s not quick. Gertrude reckons they’ve basically been the same since the Industrial Revolution. She and my mum both liked to follow Smirke’s list of fourteen. ARCHIVIST: [DISBELIEVINGLY] Th– I mean, there are a lot more than fourteen things to be afraid of in the world. Where do you draw the line? GERRY: Hmmm. I always think it helps to imagine them like colours. The edges bleed together, and you can talk about little differences: “oh, that’s indigo, that’s more lilac”, but they’re both purple. I mean, I guess there are technically infinite colours, but you group them together into a few big ones. A lot of it’s kind of arbitrary. […] And like colours, some of these powers, they feed into or balance each other. Some really clash, and you just can’t put them together. I mean, you could see them all as just one thing, I guess, but it would be pretty much meaningless, y’know, like… like trying to describe a… shirt by talking about the concept of colour. O–Of course, with these things it’s not a simple spectrum, y’know, it’s more like– ARCHIVIST: An infinite amorphous blob of terror bleeding out in every direction at once. GERRY: Now you’re getting it. ARCHIVIST: Like colours, but if colours hated me.

Sounds like the Fears are… part of a whole, and that “infinite amorphous blob of terror bleeding out in every direction at once” might still be the most Accurate Description for… whatever they are.

But I’m also an utter fool who likes neat categorisations for these concepts so YES, I acknowledge that Jonny is calling us out on trying to put labels on everything that happens in the series and on trying to make occurrences fit into the list we were given in MAG111, but suddenly I can’t read / HOW ABOUT I DO IT ~ANYWAY~. :w

- Obligatory tears because: Tim, disillusioned at the end of season 3, had reached the conclusions about Smirke’s work that Smirke himself half-admitted here (back-and-forth between admitting that he had been wrong and ~standing by his work~):

(MAG117) TIM: […] You know, for the longest time I thought the secret was in balance…! In some… dusty old architect’s work on symmetry. [SCOFF] But he failed, didn’t he? What was he even trying to achieve? He’d lived like anyone else, he… died like anyone else. Whatever he was looking for, in his “Balance and Fear”? I don’t think he found it.

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “I have been blessed with a long life, something few who crossed paths with the Dread Powers can boast, but now… at the end of it, my true fear is that I have wasted it, chasing an impossible dream. To speak plain, I have begun to lose faith in the possibility of Balance. Of any sort of equilibrium among them.”

And look, yes, I know, I should be terrorised that Smirke’s shiny system wasn’t so great and functioning after all… but I’m mostly SAD, because Tim had spent the last three-to-four years of his life trying to understand Smirke’s work, and had concluded that it wasn’t working. And he was right. (And then he died, too.)

- So we’re getting a new designation for the Fears: the “Dread Powers”, which, yeah, what it says on the tin, neat!

- Smirke’s words and his influence on current characters localised in London puts me to mind again that… how come that some people apparently knew what the rituals would do to our world? How can they know of the result, since no ritual has succeeded so far?

(MAG092) ELIAS: These things that touch us, they… don’t have a form of the sort that could exist in physical reality. So the Stranger wishes to remake that physical reality into something closer to itself. It wants to make this world its own.

(MAG111) ARCHIVIST: No, I don’t have time. Tell me about the rituals. GERRY: Well, they all have one. Most of them, anyway. Takes centuries to build up to a level of power where they can try it, and if they fail, it’s back to square one. ARCHIVIST: Okay, but what do the rituals do? GERRY : They… kind of “shift” the world, just enough for the Power to come through. Merge with reality. Some say, or well, they guess, that it could bring other entities through with them. I mean, I doubt The Buried would be bringing through The Vast, but you know. ARCHIVIST : But what does that actually mean. F–for the world? “Merging with reality”? GERRY: […] right now all the entities have to act like a hunter, they pick off the weak ones around the edges, the ones that wander to close, and the rest of the time they have to just graze on whatever fear we all passively give away. ARCHIVIST : And if one of the rituals succeeds? GERRY : The world becomes a factory farm.

So this might be what Smirke theorised himself, notably on the idea that Powers had allies and opposites:

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “Fourteen Powers, with their opposites and their allies, each with an aim no more no less than manifestation. Apocalypse. Apotheosis. I wonder: did my work bring about these Dreadful things, or… did I simply develop the means by which they can be known…?”

And we saw through The Hunt (or… the essence of the hunt) that its goal is not to manifest, since it revels in the chase and the pursuit – not in getting the prey. Though Smirke might have given inspiration to humans touched by the powers, to organise their activities around circumstantial allies (or allies by nature) and enemies? There might still have been a bit of truth to it, since Gertrude did manage to neutralise The Buried’s ritual with the body of Vast-touched Jan Kilbride… So, to what extent was Smirke, in the end, spot-on, and to what extent did he over-systemise something that was filled with irregularities and particularities?

(- I wonder if the ideas of what the world WOULD look like if one of the rituals succeeded weren’t due to… the Fears-touched dreams? There is definitely something too suspicious about “dreams” overall in this series – I assumed for long that it was a case of “well, of course, if you experience a terrifying thing, your subconscious with get plagued with it and you’ll have nightmares related to this” for a lot of them, independently from Jon’s Archivist-induced dreams. But Smirke revealed that he had initially begun his work influenced by the dreams he had:

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “Did I ever tell you about the dreams? I’m sure I must have. I would dream about them, you see, as a young man, long before I devised my taxonomy. I would find myself in nightmares of strange, far-off places: a field of graves; a grasping tunnel; an abattoir, knee-deep in pigs’ blood. I believed then, as I still believe now, that these places I saw were the Powers themselves, expressed in their truest form, far more entirely than any “secret book” can claim.”

And we’ve had various cases of dreams being more spooky than “regular” ones: Oliver began to see the veins in his dreams (MAG011, MAG121), Robert E. Geiger was only able to hear Stefan Brotchen’s last words in his dreams (MAG099), Annabelle had started to get dreams involving spiders despite being unaware of the nature of the experiments (MAG069), Carter Chilcott had been dreaming of “floating through ancient graveyards or the open, empty sea” while on the Daedalus (MAG057), Joshua Gillespie dreamed of asphyxiating despite the coffin itself not giving him any such experience while he was awake (MAG002)… Is it possible that people are more sensitive to the Fears in their dreams, since dreams are a bit more in the Fears’ territory (Jonny mentioned, iirc, that they behave on “dream-logic”)? Is that how Garland Hillier saw The Extinction coming, too: due to his dreams?)

- Alright: sudden information that Smirke APPARENTLY HELPED THEORISE THE RITUALS??? HOLY MEW????

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “So many have abandoned us, casting about for rituals that I helped design. In my excited discussions with Mr. Rayner, I… perhaps extrapolated too much from his talk of a “Grand Ritual” of darkness. The Dark, I thought, was simply one of the Powers so, it stands to reason that each of them should have its own ritual. Perhaps they already did, even before I put pen to paper. They certainly do now, and I shudder to think how Lukas, Scott and the others may use this conception.”

So, to break this down: it seems like Maxwell Rayner agreed to discuss with Smirke about what he identified as The Dark’s ritual, and Smirke guessed from there that the other Fears that he had isolated probably had (or should have) their own rituals, and worked on theorising them? Basira herself had noticed that Natalie Ennis’s words reported in MAG025’s statement (“She said that they were all going, that 300 years was a long time to wait, but she was lucky to have found it so close to the end.”) matched with two solar eclipses happening in Ny-Ålesund (MAG108: “And when Natalie Ennis talked about it being 300 years ago, well. How much do you know about the relationship between Edmond Halley and John Flamsteed?” “What, Halley like the comet?” “Exactly.”); Basira might have been spot-on on the idea that The Dark is quite… regular and organized around these eclipses? Or at the very least, that The Dark was aware of its opportunities to reshape the world.

And Smirke hypothesises that a few other people might have taken inspiration from it, some of them also part of Jonah Magnus’s own circle (so they were probably all mutual acquaintances, at the very least, as people that Smirke had “brought into [his] confidence”?):

* “Mr. Rayner” (The Dark): unless twist, Maxwell Rayner himself, and Smirke had abundantly talked with him, apparently. No mention on whether Jonah knew him too (except if the Elias-is-Jonah theory turns out to be an actual thing, since Maxwell was revealed to have been a ~friend~ of the Head of the Institute in MAG135), but Dr. Algernon Moss, in a statement given May 14th 1864, had reported on his encounter with Maxwell Rayner who was already well-known at the time (MAG098).

* “Scott” (The Buried): likely referring to George Gilbert Scott (MAG050), who had been under Henry Roberts’s tutelage, who had himself been one of Smirke’s disciples. Sampson Kempthorne, the author of the letter to Jonah, briefly employed Scott in 1834 (historical fact) and noted that he tended to design claustrophobic places. Scott had been said to have “also received certain architectural tutelages from Sir Robert himself”, and during a reception, Smirke had explained to Kempthorne that Scott hadn’t really understood his lessons about “balance” and that Kempthorne had dodged a bullet getting rid of him. Sampson Kempthorne wrote his letter on June 12th 1841, was in good terms with Jonah Magnus but not really an intimate of Smirke himself (he wasn’t into ~the confidence~).

* “Lukas” (The Lonely): we know from Barnabas Bennett’s letter to Jonah Magnus, dated April 9th 1824, that Jonah had warned him to avoid Mordechai Lukas and was himself on “good terms” with him according to Elias (MAG092). Smirke could be referring to Mordechai or another from the family – since, at least, it seems like the ties between the Lukases and the Magnus Institute remained strong over time, with the Lukases being current sugar daddies patrons of the Institute (MAG017, MAG033) and Elias knowing ~Peter~ personally.

So that’s indeed quite a peculiar society of people in the know about the ~Dread Powers~. Given that Maxwell Rayner gave information to Smirke about The Dark’s “Grand Ritual”, and that Mordechai Lukas was already… powerful enough by himself to punish Barnabas in 1824, it doesn’t look like Robert Smirke “converted” all of the people surrounding him, but that he got acquainted with a few people who already had their own knowledge? Not sure about George Gilbert Scott, though – it seems like this one learned Smirke’s principles and ran away with them, serving The Buried.

In the same way, it really feels like Smirke might have exaggerated his role in organising the rituals? The Dark has its own already; we know that the previous attempt to bring The Stranger through took place in the Court Theatre of Buda in October 1787 (statement given by Abraham Janssen in MAG116), when Smirke was… a young kid. There was also some suspicion about the ~Archives~ under Alexandria, which were attacked by what looked like a Dark faction in AD 391, perhaps to stop an attempt by the Beholding (MAG053). According to Peter Lukas, The End and The Web have never been interested in setting up their ritual (MAG134), and Daisy&Jon guessed that The Hunt doesn’t want to reach its culmination (MAG133), even though some Hunters were seeking it. It doesn’t seem like Smirke created the principles that guide rituals, more that he himself didn’t have any information about attempts by other factions than The Dark? But he apparently wrote… guidelines (/wild-mass guessing essays) about others, and feared, towards the end of his life, how they could be misused.

Smirke, why the FUCK did you do that in the first place, OF COURSE IT WOULD GET MISUSED………….. (Though, it’s easy to see how something meant to protect could serve nefarious purpose. Explain in details how fire works, in order to save lives during a housefire, and one pyromaniac could still twist the principles to achieve more damage…)

Smirke specifically said that he “put pen to paper” so, unless it was an exaggeration… there might be a Robert Smirke essay somewhere about his ideas of the Fears’ rituals, whether they’re concrete guidelines or more general principles. The question is: where, and is it actually “worth” something, either to construct the rituals or to stop them? Did Gertrude have access to it? … is it in Elias’s safe? (Or is it… absolutely useless and off-the-mark, and Smirke feared for nothing because he thought his work a bigger deal than it actually was for the Fears themselves?)

- Amongst the list of people into ~Robert Smirke’s confidence~, what about Henry Roberts? He had trained George Gilbert Scott:

(MAG050, Sampson Kempthorne) “Henry [Roberts] was very effusive about the talents and prospects of young Mr Scott and was at great pains to inform me that his young protégé had also received certain architectural tutelages from Sir Robert himself. He said this with the oddest of looks, as though there was some jolly secret between us. I rather just nodded, as if to say I took his meaning, and he left well enough alone. […] At the mention of the name George Gilbert Scott, Sir Robert’s face flushed suddenly, in a manner not entirely unlike that of his protégé. He asked me what my interest was in Mr Scott, and I told him that he had, until recently, been engaged as my assistant. At this, Sir Robert gave a small laugh of satisfaction and told me I did not realise exactly how lucky an escape I may have had. I asked again what his training had entailed, and Sir Robert stared at me for a silent minute, before he finally nodded his head. “Balance,” he told me. “Equilibrium. […]” Without prompting, his tirade continued, and he talked about George, about shortcuts in symmetry and a patron that the young fool did not understand. I could follow very little of it, and it seems to be decidedly removed from anything that I would consider architecture, but whatever it was that Sir Robert had been teaching George, it appeared the lessons had been put to less noble use than he had intended.”

Both George Gilbert Scott and Henry Roberts historically survived Smirke (dying respectively in 1878 and 1876) – but it seemed that at the time, Henry Roberts knew about the true nature of Smirke’s work, and yet didn’t apparently dedicate himself to one power like Scott apparently did with The Buried…? Did it happen later, or did Henry Roberts totally manage to remain neutral…?

(And I’m HOWLING overall that… I hadn’t noticed, back in MAG050, that. Henry Roberts’s behaviour implied that Robert Smirke was indeed sharing what he knew of the Fears with his private club of acquaintances. I thought he was only training people in his “Balance and Fear” and that they independently happened to discover the powers by themselves. But nope, it’s REALLY all because of Robert Smirke; good job, Bob.)

- A curious detail: Robert Smirke’s death as given in MAG138 does not match the official version in our ~world~: the historical figure died on April 18th, 1867 while Martin reported that the letter he wrote to Jonah was dated February 13th, 1867, and that he died of ~apoplexy~ mid-writing it. That’s two months before his historical death!

(MAG138) MARTIN: Statement of Robert Smirke, taken from a letter to Jonah Magnus, dated 13th of February, 1867. […] Uh… [INHALE] The, hum… The letter ends there. Uh… Ap–apparently Robert Smirke was found collapsed in his study that evening, dead of, uh… [FLIPPING PAPER] Apoplexy.

Buuuut that year (1867) curiously has one matching point of data with the statement previously read by Martin, in MAG134 – it’s the same year Garland Hillier disappeared.

(MAG134, Adelard Dekker) “Garland Hillier’s final essay, published in 1867 and simply titled “L’Avenir”, “The Future”, was supposedly a rambling and meandering speculation on the end of the human race, influenced by Darwin’s recent publication of The Origin of the Species and his own shattered faith. He posited a future where, far from any glorious or holy revelation or reckoning, a decadent and corrupt humanity was violently and utterly supplanted, and wiped out by a new category of being. One he referred to as “les Héritiers”. “The Inheritors”. He gave no details on how he believed they might look like, or how they might behave, but his predictions for the final days of humanity were unpleasant, and visceral. […] Anyway, the point is that sometime after that essay was published, Garland Hillier disappeared. Exactly when this happened, no one is really sure, but the last records of his existence can be found near the end of 1867.”

I don’t know if the “change” regarding Robert Smirke’s death is simply a matter of authorial self-protection (Magnus Archives is ~an AU~ of our reality, this Robert Smirke is not the same one as the historical figure) or if it is potentially tied to something more tightly knitted (a shift, a rupture between the Magnusverse and our own world? etc.)

At the very least, I *squint* hard at 1867. Were Jonah’s activities tied (from afar or more closely) to Garland Hillier’s own activities? Did Beholding start feeling threatened by the ~prophecy~ announcing the new emergence?

- You, too, get Marked by Beholding and get A Big Giant Eyeball haunting the sky in your dreams, the got-in-contact-with-Magnus trademark:

(MAG120) ELIAS: The Archivist wanders. He is searching, though, for what he does not know. […] All through it, the shadow is above him; the shape that gazes down upon him, bloodshot and unblinking. […] It opens, and he walks slowly down the steps into the earth; but even as it closes above him, the great shadow still Sees him. There is nowhere in this universe that it would not blot out the sky. […] So he watches her, trying in his single-minded focus to ignore the attention of that impossible thing that covers the sky and fixes its gaze on him with such force it would choke him – were he breathing. […] And at last, the Archivist looks up. [STATIC INTENSIFIES] At last, he looks into The Eye that sees all, and knows all, and clutches at the secret terrors of your heart. The Ceaseless Watcher of all that is, and all that was; the voracious, infinite hunger that tears at his soul, invoking him to discover, to observe, to experience all and everything and forever.

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “I have been dreaming again, Jonah. The same every night for months, now. I imagine myself a boy again at Aspley. I awake, cold and alone in the dormitory. The sky outside is dark and I see no stars. I light a candle to better see my way, and step down the silent corridor. The masters’ rooms are empty; the fire in the kitchen is dead. Eventually, my steps lead out into the courtyard. It is so quiet that the sound of my feet upon the grass is painful to my ears. I stop, and look up at the sky, that empty black nothing, and I see the edges of the horizon becoming a dull white. I cannot understand what I am looking at. And then the sky… blinks. And I awake.”

(Bob didn’t have it so bad, after all? I mean. At least, his Big Eyeball blinked.)

- Third named mention of “The Watcher’s Crown” in the series! … almost directly answering Jon’s plea to know more about it from last episode:

(MAG111) GERARD: She worked out they’d all be happening quite close together. She’d already been doing it a while, and the Unknowing was the next on her list. That and The Watcher’s Crown. ARCHIVIST: The, the what? GERARD: Uh, the Rite of The Watcher’s Crown. It’s what she called the ritual for the Eye. She didn’t tell me much about that one, just that she knew how to take care of it.

(MAG137) ARCHIVIST: […] What the hell is The Watcher’s Crown? So far the only mention of it I’ve had is from Gerry, and he didn’t seem to know much about what it actually meant. [PAUSE] And he’s gone now. But if it is the grand ritual of Beholding, then I– … I mean… I need to know about it. Right…?

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “I am not a fool; I know well enough what this dream is likely to mean, and I warn you again that if you have any remaining ambitions to use our work, to try and wear The Watcher’s Crown, you must abandon them! Not simply for the sake of your own soul, but for that of the world! I have always had the utmost respect for you as a man of dignity, and learning. Do not allow yourself to fall to this madness.”

Interestingly, Smirke presented it like a literal crown that could be worn…? (What is in Elias’s safe.) (Is the crown Fashionable.)

- Take your pick of your Failed-Because-Of-Hubris representative:

(MAG080) LEITNER: And so I branded them with my seal. I told myself that if any should escape such a mark could help me retrieve them. But I think, in my heart, I dreamed of my work becoming known. That “The Library of Jurgen Leitner” would stand as a symbol of courage and protection. Hubris. I suppose it is fitting punishment that my name has become a watchword for evil, spoken by those who only know it as marking the darkest, most terrible of secrets. My name has become a curse.

(MAG111) GERRY: Eventually, I grew old enough and wise enough to see [my mother’s] obsession for what it really was: hubris. She lived her just carefully enough not to be destroyed by things she studied, but that was it. The things out there weren’t like taming fire, they couldn’t be contained or used for light or warmth. The best you could hope for from them, would be that they don’t spot you, and instead my mum chased after them, obsessed with others who had tried to stare at them without being blinded: y’know, Flamsteed, Smirke, Leitner. Idiots who destroyed themselves chasing a secret that wasn’t worth knowing.

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “You see, Jonah, I feel the hour of my death approaching and, though you have always been reluctant to pay due heed to my warnings or counsel, I continue to see in you the reflection of my own past hubris. […] So yes. Hubris. Not simply in that, I suppose, but in believing that those I brought into my confidence shared my lofty goals. “

I wonder if we’ll hear about John Flamsteed at some point, since Basira had done a bit of research on him by MAG108, too… (Though he lived waaaay before Smirke and Jonah.)

- I’m still not sold on the Jonah Magnus=Elias theory. On the one hand, there are many things indeed reinforcing that possibility: Smirke thought that Jonah had sunken into Beholding and that he planned to launch the Watcher’s Crown. MAG138 casually revealed that Smirke knew “Rayner” and the way he described him implied that Jonah knew him too (there was nothing in MAG098 to confirm or deny that Jonah knew the guy; the statement was even given to the Institute, not to Jonah himself, and we didn’t know if he was still alive at the time (1864) until MAG138). This is coming shortly after MAG135 which… revealed that Elias PERSONALLY knew Maxwell Rayner and was acquainted (?) with him at some point. Robert Smirke was guessing that Jonah was trying to escape death, and there is obviously the question: and if he had succeeded, who and where would he be? There is even the mention that:

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “I am choosing to assume that these manifestations are unintentional, Jonah, and you have not… simply decided to implore a Dark Patron to end the life of an old man.”

… which (except for the fact that Beholding Never Does Shit) obviously puts Elias to mind because uh, who is well-known for murdering old people? Would Robert Smirke have been voiced by someone from Jonny’s family, too?

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, every time Elias opens his mouth, I… can’t “read” him as 220+ years old. He’s too shitty? Too petty? Too… not exactly impulsive, but there is always an undercurrent of impatience in him, I feel? I don’t really know how to explain, but I feel like someone much older than “middle-aged” wouldn’t… revel as he does in petty jabs and punchlines, wouldn’t be so intent on getting the last word and on being Verbally Right at every turn?

(But then, that’s one of the main question in this series: what the HECK is Elias, what is his backstory, what are his goals, what even is his ROLE, and what does he know about the Spiders in his Institute.)

- HOWEVER, nervous laughter re: the fear of dying, because hum. Hum. Who does that remind me of.

(MAG080) ELIAS: Well, he was always going to need to fly the nest at some point. Go out and see the world for himself. LEITNER: He might die. ELIAS: It’s always a danger. Almost always.

(MAG121) OLIVER: The thing is, Jon, right now, you have a choice. You’ve put it off for a long time; but it’s trapping you here. You’re not quite human enough to die, but – still too human to survive. You’re… balanced on an edge, where The End can’t touch you, but you can’t escape Him. I made a choice. We all made choices.

(MAG136) ARCHIVIST: My– [PAUSE] [INHALE] [SIGH] My memories of the coma are not clear. But I know I made a choice; I made a choice to become… something else. Because I was afraid to die.

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “I beg you, do not pursue this goal; if only a single lesson may be gleaned from my life of long study, and longer hardship, it is that the fear of Death is natural, and to flee from it will only bring greater misery. Repent of your sins, Jonah. Seek forgiveness. I am certain the Dread Powers cannot take a soul that keeps faith in the Resurrection.”

Elias had already installed Jonah Magnus as a Role Model for Jon in MAG092 (“Because he had to know, to watch and see it all. That’s what this place is, John, never forget it. You may believe yourself to have friends, to have confidantes, but in the end, all they are, is something for you to watch, to know, and ultimately to discard. This, at least, Gertrude understood.”) and ;; I. Am. Getting the feeling that Jon might be, totally unknowingly, walking in Jonah’s footsteps a bit…? Except for the part where he’d agree to sacrifice people close to him, because Jon’s conscious decisions have been the absolute opposite so far.

- Something heartbreaking to me: the way… information is not being shared, between Martin and Jon – though Martin is apparently planning to let Jon hear Robert Smirke’s statement eventually. Because MAG138 brings another light on Jonathan Fanshawe’s letter and Jon’s own conclusions about Jonah Magnus:

(MAG127) ARCHIVIST: Hm. “Jonah Magnus”. I’ve never really given much thought to him. Not nearly as much as I should have. I suppose I had always hoped there was a chance he was… innocent, in all this. I know, I know! But I had… [EXHALE] I had just… hoped that maybe the founding of the Institute was in earnest. And not simply the foundation stone for all the terrible things that have happened here. … But no. Whatever is happening now… has its origins two hundred years ago. In the work of an evil man.

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “It is telling that of those I have brought into my confidence, it is only you and I who have continued this far without falling to one Power or another, despite all my instruction and work. This is, of course, assuming you have not taken the path of The Eye that I know has called you – called us both – for so long, even since before we began our work on Millbank. […] I am choosing to assume that these manifestations are unintentional, Jonah, and you have not… simply decided to implore a Dark Patron to end the life of an old man. I further find myself supposing that they may emanate from your own intrigues and preparations to culminate those plans which we agreed to abandon so many decades ago! […] The Eye has marked me for something, of this I have no doubt. My… humble hope is that it may be a swift death, an accidental effect of your own researches, which I once again implore you to abandon.”

Jonathan Fanshawe sent his letter to Jonah in November 21st, 1831: the fair assumption was that Jonah had probably funded the Institute in 1818 as a temple to Beholding? But it seems like it wasn’t the initial goal of the Institute, since Smirke was under the impression that Jonah hadn’t followed the path of Beholding until rather recently (unless Jonah had managed to deceive him all this time?). It could explain the wording used by Breekon to refer to the Institute:

(MAG128, “Breekon”) “That was the first time we saw what would become this place, The Eye’s Pedestal.”

“what WOULD BECOME this place”: not what it WAS already, even though Breekon is talking about their time serving on the Robert Small, around 1853, years after the foundation of the Institute. (Though the concept of the Institute, of Jonah asking all his acquaintances to send him spooky stories, amassing knowledge, threading his map of relationships around spooky people, of trying to know and learn more about it… indeed sounded extremely Beholding in the first place. But it seems like Beholding taking a hold of the Institute was a consequence, and not the initial goal of it – like the Institute wasn’t initially created to serve it?)

In the same way, I had wondered in MAG127 if Jon mightn’t have been wrong to conclude right away, like Jonathan Fanshawe, that Jonah’s goal had been to get rid of Albrecht without any concern for him – there could have been other reasons to take the actual books away from him, especially since they were the ones affecting Albrecht? But hum, alright: even without being a (conscious?) Beholding agent in the 1810s to 1830s, there are many ways to indeed be an “evil man” – Millbank says hi:

(MAG127, Jonathan Fanshawe) “Jonah; I must first and foremost decline your generous offer of a medical position servicing Millbank Penitentiary. While the terms you’ve laid out are no doubt more than adequate, I have, over these last months, come to the unfortunate conclusion that our intimacy and friendship must cease immediately. I do not know what interest you have in the poor condemned souls within those walls, nor do I care to guess. In the light of what I have so recently witnessed, I can no longer in good conscience associate with any of your endeavours.”

(MAG128, “Breekon”) “Poor wretches who emerged from Millbank, with tales of Australia and its cruelty on their lips, bundled into the cramped and creaking ship that would drag them away from everything they loved – and towards everything they feared.”

(MAG138, Robert Smirke) “What we built at Millbank should be left well enough alone, resigned to the nightmares of the reprobates and brigands contained within its walls. […] This is, of course, assuming you have not taken the path of The Eye that I know has called you – called us both – for so long, even since before we began our work on Millbank.”

For Breekon to mention that it was an awful place, it must have been REALLY bad, indeed.

And it saddens me to agree with Martin that he… probably wasn’t the right person to read this statement:

(MAG138) MARTIN: I don’t know what he’s talking about when he mentions Millbank. The old prison, I guess? Tim said the tunnels under the Institute were all that was left of it, but… Jon said he’d checked them pretty thoroughly. [SILENCE] [SIGH] I’m not the one who knows all about this stuff…!

It’s not even just Jon who was specialising in navigating the tunnels – he was finding his way, but Tim was able to use them pretty efficiently too (MAG114, Jon: “I know there are some exits to the tunnels outside the Institute, so I guessed you were using them to get in and out, avoiding any… tape recorders.”). And there is something that Martin didn’t appear to remember about them, but that he had read himself:

(MAG088, Enrique MacMillan) “so here I came. To tell my story, of course, but another thing as well; cold, empty and calling. There’s something here, you see. Something to be dug up, rooted out, buried within. A hollow space that all eyes point towards. And I intend to reach it, if my fingers don’t give out first. I know where to dig.”

[…] MARTIN: Based on a few scattered notes and accounts from some of the older staff, it sounds like Mr. Macmillan got in a bit of a fight, which led to his arrest, and the replacement of quite a bit of the floor in Jon’s office. There are still a couple of boards with marks on them that I’d always hoped weren’t fingernail scratches, but I guess…

(+ Daisy’s mention to Jon in MAG114 that she didn’t like the tunnels because they felt “empty”, and the fact that… the “DIG” leaked into Jon’s dreams for reasons still unknown, despite Martin having been the one to read that statement.)

Is it the same structure as the tunnels under the Reform Club (MAG035) and St Paul’s Church (MAG063), or are they all separate installations? The ones under the Reform Club were long but looked clearly organised and structured; the one under St-Paul’s Church ended with a wall; and the ones under the Institute had been mentioned to be a veritable maze and… cover a very large area:

(MAG080) LEITNER: Over the years I have found that [this unexpurgated copy of Ruskin’s The Seven Lamps of Architecture] interacts with Smirke’s architecture, and those tunnels specifically, in a more predictable way. By carefully reading specific passages in certain locations I am able to exercise… a degree of control over the substance of the tunnels. […] I’ve been in hiding for over twenty years now, ever since my library was destroyed. Obviously I have not spent all that time below your Institute. The old Millbank prison tunnels stretch out a very long way, and there are other entrances than the one below the Archives.

(Leitner even telling Jon that he had made them simpler for him.)

- YOU KNOW WHAT OTHER LINES SHARE THE SAME ENERGY?!

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] I wish I could talk it through with Martin. … Or Tim. [SHORT SAD CHUCKLE] Or Sasha. But we never really did that, did we…? … Everything’s changed. … [SIGH] Two days out of a coma, and I’m already tired.

(MAG138) MARTIN: Tim said the tunnels under the Institute were all that was left of it, but… Jon said he’d checked them pretty thoroughly. [SILENCE] [SIGH] I’m not the one who knows all about this stuff…! I wish– … No. No, it’s fine, I’m… fine, I… [EXHALE] I can do this.

It’s open to interpretation but I’m really hearing Martin’s “I wish–” as a “I wish Tim was still alive and with us” and AOUCH orz

(I’m… still hoping that we’ll get something from Martin about his own mourning of Tim orz Because that one must have been… so harsh… he was so worried about Sasha’s disappearance in the beginning of season 3, his small voice broke my heart in MAG092 when Elias confirmed that she had died a LONG time ago, and the fact that he had been buddy-buddy with her murderer while Elias was doing nothing about it had been one of the points he threw to Elias’s face in MAG118. And Tim was around even longer, and he experienced so many bad things alongside Tim, and even at his worst, Tim was often mellowing down / a bit more protective of Martin than… anyone else, really, be it in Michael’s corridors or when Tim had explained to Martin that he didn’t think that reading the statements were a good thing? And this despite Tim telling Jon in MAG114 that he didn’t know Martin as well as he knew Sasha, hence the fact he was avoiding him like the others – what does it say about Martin’s relationships with other people… ;;)

- But the “Good luck, Jon, I– … [HUFF] Stay safe.” coming after was absolute Gay Energy, and MARTIN!!!

It feels like the episode was the Perfect Recipe for how to get an episode popular/trending/making people scream: it has MARTIN throughout it, and we’re all thirsty to hear from him! It has Martin being snappy and cunning! Martin’s loyalty towards Jon! A Robert Smirke statement! The relationship between Smirke and Jonah Magnus! New questions about Jonah! More lore with Smirke’s taxonomy from the inside! Beholding statement, with eyes horror! A small mention of Tim! Elias! Elias in prison! Elias FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGING PETER’S EXISTENCE! MORE CHAINS RATTLING AT EVERY TURN! Elias calling Martin out for his manipulative tendencies! Martin using the tape recorders instead of being used by them!

I still feel floored.

- Special bonus for another occurrence of Martin’s “Mm-hMM” when people are telling him something he doesn’t want to hear, and I LOVE HIS CASUAL SNAPPINESS IN SEASON 4…

(MAG129) ARCHIVIST: I just… I’m sorry. Basira is off doing… God-knows-what, and I can’t talk to Melanie. MARTIN : Mm-hmm.

(MAG134) PETER: […] And as far as the coffin goes, there’s not much I can do about a bull-headed Archivist who seems hellbent on self-destruction. My powers only extend so far. MARTIN : Mm-hmm.

(MAG138) ELIAS: I am so very pleased to see you. MARTIN: Mm-hmm.

Martin “Mm-hMMm.” Blackwood, ilu.

- The difference between how Elias constantly reminded Jon how he belongs to The Eye, versus Elias’s… apparent uninterest? in Martin’s own alliance to the Lonely is quite… jarring. As for Jon:

(MAG092) ELIAS: [SIGH] What are you? ARCHIVIST: I… The Archivist. ELIAS: Precisely. It is your job to chronicle these things, to experience them, whether first-hand or through the eyes of others. To simply be told, well… ARCHIVIST: It doesn’t please your master? ELIAS: Our master, Jon. […] We thrive on ceaseless watching, on knowing too much. What we face is the hidden, the uncanny, and the unknown. If you are to stop them, you need to get better at seeing.

(MAG116) ELIAS: I have been doing my best to prepare you, Jon, to See. You should hopefully have it a bit easier than the others. ARCHIVIST: Another of my… powers? ELIAS: More… an aspect of your becoming. DAISY: You don’t say. ARCHIVIST: Er… right.

(MAG120) ELIAS: [The Eye] stares into him, and it stares out of him, and he is falling into the devouring eternity of its pupil. He wants to cry out in horror, but he cannot. He. is. whole.

(MAG135) ELIAS: Fine. Consider it a test – things are… coming, things that will need Jon to be far stronger and more willing to use his connection to our patron. […] If Gertrude had a plan for this one, I haven’t found it, which is why Jon needs to be closer to The Eye. If anyone can stop what’s happening, he can. See through the darkness, etcetera.

With Jon, it’s always been a casually possessive “us”. While Martin…

(MAG138) MARTIN: I think he wants me to join The Lonely. ELIAS: Then it sounds like you have a decision to make. [SILENCE] MARTIN : … What? [HUFF] That’s it? No, no monologue, no mindgames? You love manipulating people! ELIAS : That makes two of us. MARTIN: [HUFF] ELIAS : But no. This is too important for me to jeopardise with cheap “mindgames”. I simply have to trust that when the time comes, you’ll make the right choice. [SILENCE] MARTIN: Great. Great, great. So, what you’re [NERVOUS LAUGHTER] actually saying is that you’re gonna be… no help whatsoever!

… is clearly not getting that.

It’s terrible yet makes so much sense that of all people, Martin would talk to Elias about Peter’s offer, and implicitly seek out… whatever Elias might have to say about it? Elias had been the one to hire Martin in the Institute:

(MAG056) MARTIN: I don’t have a Master’s in parapsychology, I don’t even have a degree. When I was 17, my mom, she… had… she had some problems, and I ended up dropping out of school, t–trying to support us. I tried everything, but no one was hiring. So I… I just kinda started to lie on my applications, sending them out to just about anywhere. For some reason, my lie about parapsychology got me an interview with Elias and, and then a job here. M–most of my employment details are made up, I’m only 29!

… for reasons still unknown – was Elias actually fooled But Would Never Ever Admit It (as of MAG084, at the very least, he knew about Martin’s fake CV (“I mean, that doesn’t actually, er, make her qualified.” “[POINTEDLY] Formal qualifications aren’t everything, Martin.”) but that was long after MAG056 and he could have eavesdropped on that conversation)? Did Elias hire him because Martin was vulnerable and either prone to become canon-fodder or Beholding food, being Full Of Secrets and fearing that they might get discovered? Was there… something else? And in the same way, we’re not sure how Martin ended up working in the Archives – when Tim, in MAG098, pointed out that Jon had asked him to go with him, Martin was curiously silent as if… he couldn’t really say the same. Why is Martin at the Institute? Doesn’t working there for at least nine years mean anything?

I feel like the episode both began with a question (Martin asking where he should stand between The Lonely and The Eye) and ended up with his implicit answer, maybe… after all guided by Elias, when he made a jab at Martin for being into manipulation games too, and for not sharing his information about The Extinction with Jon:

(MAG138) MARTIN: So… so what? What does it mean? Am I supposed to be reassured that new Entities can be born? That there’s some, some kind of… precedent for The Extinction? … Peter? [SILENCE] Huh. Maybe he has gone to a party. […] I don’t know what Peter’s planning, but my–my guess is that it might involve something below the Institute. Hopefully, by the time you get these tapes, I’ll have something more concrete for you. [PAUSE] Good luck, Jon, I– … [HUFF] Stay safe. [CLICK.]

At the end of the episode, Martin’s answer feels twofold: to manipulate, and to choose “Jon”.

Manipulate, because he checked whether Peter was around before revealing that he wasn’t just using the tape recorders because it’s what the archive team does with the statements (MAG134: “I can’t help but notice you’re recording right now?” “It… was a statement, right, that’s what we do.”), but because he’s planning to send information to Jon, through the tape recorders that have always been associated with him (MAG126: “… It’s because he’s back, isn’t it. [SIGH] He’s back, so now you’re going to be… around, again. Listening in. Mff. You missed him, didn’t you. … Yeah. … [VERY SHARP SQUEAL OF DISTORTION] Yeah, me too.”).

I don’t know if it’s enough to go full Web-aligned, but… it feels like between Eye and Lonely, Martin is actually heading towards a third option? Or maybe a neutral ground, since his loyalty for Jon is bypassing the rest as of now? Elias’s arrest had always been presented as Martin’s plan, it’s logical that Elias would remind Martin of it with such insistence (since he’s still stuck there), but it’s still… stricking:

(MAG113) ARCHIVIST: Martin’s plan is solid. I think. MARTIN: I mean, they might just kill him. MELANIE: Good. ARCHIVIST: I mean, maybe. But… I think they’re still our best chance. Even if we did manage to blindside him, I–I don’t know how long we could… hold him. MARTIN: And, in fairness, he’s happy enough to use the police against us. ARCHIVIST: Quite. And I’d rather not be staring down a kidnapping charge on top of everything–

(MAG114) ARCHIVIST: And Martin… he’s okay with it? DAISY: It was his idea. ARCHIVIST: Yeah. You think it’ll work?

(MAG117) MARTIN: These last couple of years, I’ve always been... running, always hiding, caught in someone else’s trap, but… but now it’s my trap. And, well. I think it will work. I know, I know it’s not exactly intricate, but… it felt good, weaving my own little web. […] I guess I’m just… sick of sitting on my hands, drinking tea and hoping everyone’s okay. This way I finally get to do something. It’s gonna hurt, but… I’m ready.

(MAG120) ELIAS: I must admit I’m impressed, Martin. I knew you were all planning something, of course, but I didn’t believe you specifically would have the… er, capacity for boldness that you displayed. It took me quite by surprise. MARTIN: You didn’t just see it in me? ELIAS: Honestly, I didn’t look. For all my power, I will admit I am not immune to making the occasional lazy assumption. I presumed that I knew you thoroughly, but by the time you demonstrated otherwise… well. There was simply too much to keep watching over. I only have two eyes, after all.

(MAG138) ELIAS: Besides which, don’t forget I am still living At Her Majesty’s Pleasure, due in no small part to your actions. […] MARTIN: … What? [HUFF] That’s it? No, no monologue, no mindgames? You love manipulating people! ELIAS: That makes two of us.

(And once again, it is VERY interesting that Elias likened Martin’s depiction of him to Martin himself on the subject of manipulation. Once again: what do you know about the spiders in the Institute and about Jon’s ties with the Web, Elias…)

- It really feels like Martin was Our Protagonist, during this episode? From Jon barely catching him in MAG124, to Martin’s own work alongside Peter at the end of MAG126, to Martin reading a statement in MAG134 to… Martin being the character we follow in different locations in MAG138, getting his point of view (going to see Elias, reading a statement, doing his own follow-up, revealing a bit more of his own agenda).

;;;; I’m still so “!!!” over Elias and Martin being in the same room. Elias was absolutely shitty with him, but at the same time, there is an undercurrent of… honesty? behind their exchanges? Because Martin knows that Elias knows about his relation to Jon and:

(MAG118) ELIAS: [EXASPERATED BREATHING] … Did Jon put you up to this? MARTIN: You think I’m doing this for him? ELIAS: No. It’s just the sort of half-baked scheme he’d come up with. And I’m well aware that you’ll do just about anything for him– MARTIN: I– ELIAS: –and I don’t need to read your mind for that one. […] MARTIN: Well, I hope you've got something better than that pathetic dig at my feelings for Jon. ELIAS: It’s baffling, really. Such loyalty to someone who really treats you very badly. MARTIN: Oh, is that supposed to be, what, a revelation? ELIAS: [CHUCKLE] You know, I really should have gone for that. Find something that would finally manage to shatter that precious image you have of him.

(MAG138) MARTIN: […] Why am I only hearing about this now, and why doesn’t Jon know?! ELIAS: […] as for our… dear Archivist, I’m afraid I no longer have any real control over what he does or does not know. Unlike yourself! [PAUSE] I notice you haven’t told him either. MARTIN: Yeah. Well. I’m still not sure I really believe it. [EXHALE] A–and, I don’t… I–… I’m, h… ELIAS: Worried he might charge off into another coffin. [SILENCE] … Quite.

… I feel like we always get a glimpse of what Martin isn’t saying, when he speaks to Elias? It’s not the whole picture, it’s not Everything about Martin’s feelings, but there are some bits, some weaknesses that are getting exposed. (And I don’t know if these were Gratuitous Jabs at Martin or if they were meant to get Martin to do exactly the reverse of what Elias was denouncing ;; Because the episode did end with Martin making sure that Jon would know, though indirectly…)

- I’M ABSOLUTELY DDDD: OVER THE FACT THAT

Ahahaha, “This is too important for me to jeopardise with cheap ‘mindgames’” says the guy who sent Basira (and potentially Jon) to focus on The Dark and DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE EXTINCTION TO THEM, and, in the meantime, discusses The Extinction with Martin when he brought it on the table and DOESN’T MENTION THE DARK’S ACTIVITIES AT ALL WITH HIM. Guess who is back to manipulating through information: THIS GUY. So, there is definitely an agenda behind it; he’s not seriously concerned by The Dark, isn’t he. It’s just a matter of throwing a bone to Basira and making sure that Jon gets to Experience The Dark, isn’t it.

- On the Relationship Between Elias And The Apocalypse:

(MAG080) LEITNER: The Unknowing. ELIAS: [CHUCKLE] Creativity never was their forte. LEITNER: You of all people should want to stop them. ELIAS: And we will. But I don’t think we’ll need your help.

(MAG092) ELIAS: The Unknowing. I need you to stop it. ARCHIVIST: Again with– What is “The Unknowing”? Exactly. ELIAS: A ritual. The Stranger and its kin attempting to gather power enough to bring it closer.

(MAG102) ELIAS: I should have thought preventing the horrific transformation of our world is not solely my concern!

(MAG126) MARTIN: Yeah. You said. … But if things are really so urgent, then why didn’t Elias say anything? PETER: [LAUGH] Because, behind all his bluster, Elias’s just like all the rest. He’s so preoccupied playing the game he doesn’t pay attention to the big picture. He managed to convince himself that he could get his ritual off first, which would have made all of this a… bit moot, but that’s not really an option anymore.

(MAG135) ELIAS: I have been observing a recent increase in people and supplies being moved to the small town of Ny-Ålesund, in Svalbard. An increase which I believe may be linked to a rather desperate attempt, by the People’s Church of the Divine Host, to perform a crude ritual of their own. To bring their… “Mr. Pitch”… into the world. […] You thought the final death of Maxwell Rayner might have sufficiently derailed them? Yes, that was my hope too, but alas it would seem not. […] I rather feel the real shame would be letting the entire world fall into Darkness because of a single person’s wounded pride. Detective. The stakes are far too high for that kind of… indulgence.

(MAG138) MARTIN: So why haven’t you helped him?! ELIAS: My relationship to the apocalypse is more… complicated. MARTIN: [UTTER DISBELIEF] Oh, seriously? ELIAS: Seriously.

TECHNICALLY, we only have Peter’s word that Elias wanted to launch ~his ritual~ because Elias was obviously Very Silent on the issue, but. What is your “relationship to the apocalypse”, Elias – is it just a matter of getting it the way you want it, or not at all…?

(In the way he answered Martin, it sounds almost as if he wouldn’t have been against The Extinction wrecking the world, hence his inaction but? He was probably implying that he had other plans to stop it which involved Beholding’s ritual?)

- Regarding Elias’s agenda:

(MAG122) BASIRA: Elias is locked up. […] A bunch of Section’d officers took him in. He made some sort of deal, I think. But… he’s not getting out anytime soon.

(MAG127) ELIAS: Our… arrangement with the Inspector notwithstanding, I… rather feel that right now all the distrust is very much your own. […] I’ve made it clear my cooperation’s contingent on his not seeing me, and my terms have been accepted thus far.

(MAG138) ELIAS: As for why I’ve done so little about such a looming existential threat… to be blunt, I have been rather busy. MARTIN: [BARELY CONTAINED SNORTING CHORTLE]

Was Elias talking about his activities while still running the Institute, or what he’s currently doing in prison? But oh yes:

(MAG138) MARTIN: Great. Great, great. So, what you’re [NERVOUS LAUGHTER] actually saying is that you’re gonna be… no help whatsoever! ELIAS: … Just like old times~ MARTIN: I don’t know what I expected. [INHALE] Right. Right, we’re done here.

Elias has always been a Very Busy Person.

- … And Peter Has A Very Busy Social Life apparently, too:

(MAG134) PETER: Right! Then, if you’ll excuse me, I have a family thing to get to. […] Okay! Now, I really am running late, so if you don’t mind?

(MAG138) MARTIN: … Peter? [SILENCE] Huh. Maybe he has gone to a party.

Technically, maybe he’s trying to make Martin feel Very Alone by showing off that he has a lot of things to attend, but still. Does anyone even realise he’s there.

- Have I mentioned that ELIAS FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED PETER’S EXISTENCE? Incredible, I can’t believe, etc.

And he did it in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY:

(MAG138) ELIAS: Come on, Martin. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Let’s not start with lies. MARTIN: [LOUD SIGH] Fine. ELIAS: I am so very pleased to see you. MARTIN: Mm-hmm. [SILENCE] ELIAS: No time for pleasantries? Very well, then. To business. What can I do for you? Tired of running budgets for Peter? I know I would be.

Absolutely unprompted and to gratuitously complain about Peter – ALSO, L-O-L ELIAS, “let’s not start with lies” but WHO is lying here. We ALL KNOW that you’re dying to do these budgets, that you’re probably doing them in your head a millisecond before Martin by watching him, seething that he’s doing YOUR precious scheduling and budgeting.

And

(MAG138) ELIAS: [INHALE] Everything Peter has told you is true. MARTIN: Oh… ELIAS: For all his… many faults, Peter is legitimately trying to stop the end of the world as we know it.

…………………. Listen. It’s getting harder and harder to keep in minde that they might NOT be marrying/divorcing for the sixth or seventh time. It sounds so much like bitter exes/nagging spouses………………………. And I mean………………… they deserve each other………….?

(Though, if season 4 is any indication: Elias’s true OTP is with hand gestures. He’s getting WORSE and WORSE with the chain rattling sound.)

Title for MAG139 is out and HHHHHHHHHHHHH once again. Immediate thoughts are for AGNES? AGNES? AGNES? PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE? (Reminder that The Desolation still hasn’t gotten a statement in season 4 so far~). Agnes statement from Gertrude’s stash…? (Is there a tape with Agnes’s voice, somewhere?) Or maybe about The Dark’s victims, to keep with the theme; Julia? Julia’s mother?

And second meaning could as well be about Martin, or more likely… Jon, very obviously. I guess ;;

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #the magnus archives #tma spoilers #tma season 4 #mag138 #tma liveblog #long post/

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captainofthetidesbreath · 6 years

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A couple hours late but I just saw you saying how Jesse and Fareeha are more inverses of each other and I completely agree! I personally see Sombra and Jesse as more paralleled, and would be interested in hearing your thoughts on that idea? You tend to be very well-spoken and are good at analyzing concepts, I've come to notice.

EDIT - NOVEMBER 3, 2018: With the release of “Reunion” and Ashe’s hero reveal, the majority of what I wrote about Deadlock in the first three sections—Sign of the Skull, Those Left Behind, Revolutionaries and Rebels—is incorrect. Despite this, I maintain that the socioeconomic context outlines in Those Left Behind remains relevant to the American Southwest in-universe and maintain my belief that it is applicable to McCree specifically, even if it does not apply to Deadlock. I will be writing a new post on Sombra and McCree soon. Stay tuned.

in reference to this post… from months ago

Lucky for you, I was thinking about Jesse and Sombra the night before you sent this! Deadlock and Los Muertos, actually, but I’ll get to that. I absolutely agree that the two of them make much more direct parallels than Jesse and Fareeha, who are interesting as a pair in their own right but they aren’t direct parallels.

I often joke that Gabe adopted the same child twice: smart-talking, hyper-competent Latine who tote around skull logos and are from gangs with the word “dead” in their names. It’s a joke—I don’t consider Gabe’s relationship with Sombra to be that of a parent-child, for one thing—but I believe that Jesse and Sombra are very similar regardless.

They both have similar backgrounds: joined local gangs at a very young age and earned later membership into a high-level covert organization through resourcefulness and an admirable natural aptitude in a specific desired skillset. Although both at first look to be unserious and overly laid-back, they prove themselves to be precision operators who indeed execute plans and achieve goals with immense gravity. They’re both supremely confident in their abilities, to the point that one can accuse them of having too high an opinion of themselves and being overconfident.

They come from similar backgrounds, having been orphaned during the Crisis and suffered under economic disparity driven by infrastructure changes in the rebuilding period. They both similarly drop off the map and resurface under new identities. They both have a deep concern in seeing done a justice that is beyond the reach of the law—or when the law refuses to deliver it.

All this, and more, under the cut. The post is very long.

I would also like to thank @segadores-y-soldados for all he’s written, especially on Sombra and especially recently. I make heavy reference to his writing on Sombra in certain portions of this post. I also must admit that reading his posts on Arturito has motivated me to finish this after three months of slow progress, though I still have a nagging feeling I’m forgetting a point.

Sign of the Skull

To make a quick run-through on Los Muertos and Deadlock Gang themselves before moving onto how these organizations inform Sombra and Jesse specifically. Sort of a section to outline basic things about the gangs that doesn’t neatly fit into other points. It’s mostly to establish their context, and some similarities between their structures and presentation.

Screenshot from the Sombra Origin showing members of Los Muertos. Each member has painted skeletons onto themselves with phosphorescent paint in varying colors.

Los Muertos is a Mexican gang with apparent regional influence with members in both Dorado and the nearby Castillo, and it even has some international reach judging from the Los Muertos graffiti on the Hollywood map. Little is known to us about their structure besides this, and even in-universe they are noted to be mysterious with little information publicly available about them.

However, Los Muertos openly broadcasts their intentions: to right the wrongs committed by the wealthy and powerful against the disadvantaged of Mexico. They position themselves as transgressors of the law specifically to disrupt the lives of the “vipers” in power. More on that later.

The name translates to “The Dead”, and they are identified by skull motifs, specifically the calaveras associated with the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Individual members openly identify themselves and indicate their membership by painting skulls and bones on their bodies with phosphorescent paint.

Screenshot from the Route 66 map of five motorcycles parked in front of The High Side bar. The Deadlock emblem is spray-painted by the entrance.

Deadlock Gang is an American motorcycle club and organized crime ring occupying a Southwestern town on an abandoned stretch of Route 66 running across Deadlock Gorge. It’s unclear where exactly the Gorge is, and the Visual Source Book’s pin for the map is highly unspecific, but I tend to believe it’s in somewhere in northern New Mexico because Jesse’s base of operations is listed as Santa Fe, NM.

In one lore piece, Deadlock is holding a national rally, suggesting they’ve got chapters nationwide and the founding chapter is in Deadlock Gorge. While it’s unclear what their reach is, there is a possibility of international chapters. (Torbjorn’s motorcycle-themed Deadlock skin may suggest this, but it does not have any Deadlock iconography, notably showing a bear where one expects the Deadlock emblem.)

This does not necessarily mean all of the Deadlock Rebels Motorcycle Club is a criminal organization, nor every single member a criminal, but… y’know, the founding chapter is a weapons trafficking racket. They’re a one-percenter outlaw motorcycle club, and there’s a quick and easy comparison in the real-life Hells Angels, whom the show Sons of Anarchy models itself after.

Deadlock, besides naming itself after the concept of death like Los Muertos does, also uses a skull in its emblem. We haven’t seen any member of Deadlock pictured, but extrapolating from the typical behavior of motorcycle clubs, they likely openly identify themselves and indicate their membership by wearing standardized jackets or most likely vests. Members likely have tattoos indicating membership as well, seeing as Jesse has a tattoo of the Deadlock emblem on his inner arm in his Blackwatch skin.

Those Left Behind

Sombra, orphaned during the Omnic Crisis, was taken in by Los Muertos, a gang that positioned themselves as champions of the underclass ignored during the post-Crisis rebuilding process. They’ve done this most notably by opposing the CEO of LumériCo Guillermo Portero, who they’ve described as having exercised his social influence to have many wrongfully imprisoned and who we know is working with the not-as-noble-as-they-put-forward Vishkar.

The social context of Los Muertos and Sombra is very directly told to us. From Sombra’s official bio:

After ░░░░░░ was taken in by Mexico’s Los Muertos gang, she aided it in its self-styled revolution against the government. Los Muertos believed that the rebuilding of Mexico had primarily benefited the rich and the influential, leaving behind those who were most in need of assistance.

From a lore post published to the website:

…its members style themselves as revolutionaries who represent those left behind by the government after the widespread devastation of the Omnic Crisis.

And Michael Chu on Los Muertos at Blizzcon 2016 (transcript):

Mexico really suffered a lot at the hands of the Omnic Crisis. The war destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. […] They claim to be kind of revolutionaries fighting for people who were left behind during the rebuilding of Mexico after the war.

Despite their noble stated goal, they seemingly also cross a line in their illicit activity enough to earn the ire of Jack, who isn’t exactly on the straight and narrow himself but still seeks the right side of things. As Chu added:

Whether or not that’s really what they are up to, because they’re also engaged in a lot of other shady activities. It is up to you decide.

Given a lot of other suspect activity they engage in, that noble work might not be the only story to be had on them—especially depending on where you’re standing. Saviors with their thumbs in certain pies not meant for them, possibly.

The social context that Sombra rises out of is made very plain for us. But what does it have to do with Jesse?

While we know few specifics about his circumstances growing up, other than he also lived through the Crisis and was likely similarly orphaned during it, the description and in-game environment of the Route 66 map suggest the area is one of difficult social and economic circumstances, emphasis mine:

Though the travelers and road trippers who used to cross the US on historic Route 66 are gone, the Main Street of America still stands, a testament to a simpler time. The gas stations, roadside shops, and cafes have gone into disuse, and the fabled Deadlock Gorge is mostly seen from the comfort of transcontinental train cars. But amid the fading monuments of that earlier era, the outlaws of the Deadlock Gang are planning their biggest heist yet.

Concept art of The High Side, showing the abandoned bar in disrepair with boarded windows and faded paint.

At least one building, the Cave Inn (ba dum tsh) in the streets portion of the map, is visibly abandoned, and the theme of disrepair and long-gone halcyon days is especially prevalent in the concept art for the map. This all paints a portrait of a Deadlock Gang that operates out of an area that suffered immense economic hardship in recent years, likely particularly after the introduction of the transcontinental train cars, one of which is featured in “Train Hopper”, a comic which takes the time to emphasize the wealth of the passengers traveling on them. So, the Deadlock chapter is localized within a region that suffered economically under infrastructure changes that largely benefit the wealthy and powerful. It’s possible that these infrastructure changes were made possible because of efforts to rebuild after the physical devastation of the Crisis.

Without going off on a tangent about it, there’s a bit of a difference between “Deadlock comes out of the lower class in a geographic region beset by poverty” and “Deadlock gang itself currently has no money”. Apparently, well after the effects of financial misfortune set in, Deadlock was and is making enough money to maintain long-distance shipping, as suggested by their semi-trailer truck, and keep an entire town functioning well enough as a cover for their criminal enterprise. Also, missiles don’t sell for cheap. Deadlock might be financially comfortable now, but their context still involves deep socioeconomic disparity.

This is especially poignant against the Route’s invoked nickname, Main Street of America, which conjures images of the average American person. Those average people who owned gas stations, cafes, diners, roadside trinket shops, dive bars are the ones who are forgotten while the more affluent folks pass them over, traveling in style. There’s also a historical precedent in poverty and social disparity as driven by infrastructure changes specifically affecting the way people travel across regions and the country, specifically in the history of the freeway.

To sort of make the clarification, Jesse’s tattoo states that Deadlock was established in 1976—happy centennial, Deadlock—so they’ve certainly changed a lot as their social context and membership make-up changed. There’s much to be said about social non-conformity, outlaw motorcycle gangs, one-percenters, community integration, and how these intersect with both the politics and economics of the local communities along Route 66, especially given how the Route was recently listed as one of the country’s most endangered historic places, even in Deadlock’s apparent founding in a period of American social unease after the Vietnam War and during the late Cold War, and extrapolate a lot about Deadlock from all that, and even about Jesse himself from some of it, but that’s for a different post.

Revolutionaries and Rebels

In that context, it’s worthwhile to note that in their insignia, seen in the graffiti all over the Route 66 map and in Jesse’s tattoo in his Blackwatch skin, they calls themselves the Deadlock Rebels. Generally, outlaw motorcycle clubs are also known for their contempt for social convention and disdain for status quo.

Screenshot of the Deadlock Gang hideout with their insignia, which includes the words Deadlock Rebels, spray-painted onto a wall.

Deadlock is quite the opposite of Los Muertos, though. Deadlock maintains a law-abiding public face—holding innocuous and even advertised national rallies and hiding their illicit activity under numerous cover businesses—and are more discreet in their disrespect of law. One can double down on this by looking to how successfully real-life one-percenter clubs maintain their public image: openly contemptuous of social norms but keeping public knowledge of any legal transgressions to only the small indiscretions while hiding the major ones.

Taking a look at Deadlock’s primary targets, military installations: the train cars on the map are military-related, the gang traffics military hardware and weapons including missiles. Although Deadlock comes from a similar social context as Los Muertos, these aren’t targets seeking to effect a change in society like how Los Muertos seeks to. Deadlock appears largely self-interested, with little interest in changing the fortunes of anyone else in the American lower class. Los Muertos bills itself as other-interested, seeking to change the fortunes of the Mexican underclass as a whole.

Archetypically, Los Muertos are revolutionaries, Deadlock are rebels. While they both groups reject the status quo, the revolutionary seeks sweeping social change but the rebel rejects the status quo on a personal level. The revolutionary wants society to change to suit their vision of what it ought to be while the rebel positions themselves outside of society and will redefine themselves as society changes.

The difference is apparent in their choice of targets. Los Muertos targets institutions and people who directly have a hand in the building of their social context, and attacking those targets will potentially affect a social change. Deadlock targets institutions and people who may have a hand in their social context, but such targets are chosen primarily for the gang’s financial gain.

Los Muertos is politically motivated. Deadlock is financially motivated.

Admirers in the Shadows

Sombra and Jesse don’t remain in their gangs. They both end up joining shadow organizations with global reach, the terrorist organization Talon and the covert ops organization Blackwatch, respectively. Both organizations were wooed by their specific skillsets.

Sombra launched an even more audacious string of hacks, and her exploits earned her no shortage of admirers, including Talon. She joined the organization’s ranks…

With his expert marksmanship and resourcefulness, he was given the choice between rotting in a maximum-security lockup and joining Blackwatch, Overwatch’s covert ops division. He chose the latter.

A young Jesse McCree was recruited into Blackwatch after Gabriel Reyes saw his potential and gave him a choice: join Blackwatch, or rot in prison.

The difference here is that Sombra was offered a place, but she did not necessarily need that offer to continue on with her life. She takes it because Talon resources allow her to more effectively pursue her goals. If McCree did not take the offer to join Blackwatch, his life effectively ended. (There’s a whole thing to be said about this offer, why it was the best offer that could have been made to him at the same, and criminal rehabilitation—but that’s another post.) McCree’s decision to join Blackwatch isn’t motivated by pursuit of a specific goal. He just didn’t want his life to be over before it started. In that regard, his entire life is shaped very directly by his relationship to Overwatch as an individual and Blackwatch, even more than simply its role in ending the Crisis and overseeing the rebuilding efforts.

Sombra, as someone who survived the Crisis, similarly has that more distanced influence of Overwatch in her life, but there’s the possibility she may have a more direct one.

With the recent spawn interaction between Sombra and Hammond showing a sentimentality for her stuffed Overwatch bear, seen in her den in Castillo, there is a possible picture to paint of a Sombra who may have some sentimentality toward Overwatch and might be aiding individual members on the sly not only because she wants to uncover the Grand Conspiracy they’re caught up in but also because she has a personal motivation.

segadores-y-soldados has a lot of good and very recent speculation on what this could mean for Sombra, either working with the room in her background for her to have worked with Blackwatch or having her as never having worked with Overwatch. If she worked with Blackwatch, which is admittedly a shakier theory, it creates a direct and clear mirror with Jesse: given a second chance at life through working with Overwatch and Blackwatch. If she did not and the influence is only the distant one, and she simply remained on the edges of society and making use of the space available, it is an inverse of Jesse. I recommend reading these two posts on the idea: one, two, three.

Name: REDACTED

One could compare Sombra attempting to eradicate her identity as Olivia Colomar and later returning as Sombra to Jesse going underground after leaving Blackwatch and later resurfacing to work as a bounty hunter. Their decisions to drop off the map have different motivations and different degrees of extreme, and there is a different tenor in how one disappears as Olivia and returns as Sombra and the other disappears as McCree and makes a resurfaces in a return to that identity.

Sombra accidentally stumbled onto a massive conspiracy that controlled the world and drew their attention, compromising her security and forcing her to destroy all trace of Olivia Colomar to go into hiding. She came back as a completely new person with no trails to her old identity, a transformation so complete that it took years to connect the two.

It is possible to draw a stronger parallel between them here. Jesse similarly has parts of his identity that he’s hiding (but which Sombra knows about):

Sombra: Pleasure working with you, McCree… if that is your real name.McCree: Don’t know what you heard, but my name’s not Joel. Best remember that.

There’s a strong case for the Jesse is the journalist Joel Morricone theory: at some point in his life, he created a second identity for himself and is working to keep the two separate. It’s currently unclear exactly what the details of the arrangement is or why he goes to these lengths. Given that he disappeared for “several years” after quitting and before reappearing again as Jesse McCree, gunslinger for hire, it stands to reason he spent the intervening years living quietly under the Morricone identity.

We don’t really know much about the specifics of what motivated Jesse to go to ground, but based on his official bio, it seems related to the infighting following the Talon infiltration at Overwatch and Blackwatch that also drove him to quit. It could likely be motivated by security reasons—in a similar but less drastic way that Sombra burned her old identity to protect herself.

Justice Against Law

One of the building blocks of McCree’s character is his stance on justice. He makes it very clear: he is concerned primarily in dispensing justice to the point that he only accepts jobs as a bounty hunter if he believes the cause just and constantly gets involved in vigilantism, putting a stop to crimes both petty and serious.

Through this dogged pursuit of seeing justice done, he seeks a self-redemption for the wrongs he committed early in his life: “he came to believe that he could make amends for his past sins by righting the injustices of the world”. At the same time, he makes it clear that he believes justice and law run on different wavelengths. He appreciates Blackwatch for its “flexibility” to move “unhindered by bureaucracy and red tape”. The Morricone article seems to suggest a belief that justice can be defended by law, but everything else about him strongly states that he does not believe justice is exclusively defended by law.

The short version: McCree has a rigid sense of justice and dedicates his life to seeing it carried out, but he does not equate it with the law. Both of those points are amply evidenced and are at the forefront of McCree’s character.

Edited sequence from the “Searching” comic where Zarya and Lynx-17 go door-to-door, showing everyone a photo of Sombra. Zarya’s internal dialogue in the last panel: “But no one has seen Sombra. Or nobody admits it. They see her like our Stepan Razin—attacking the rich to defy the czar.”

Sombra is (perhaps surprisingly) similar. As stated previously, she was brought in by a gang who billed themselves as seeking a justice for the Mexican underclass that they believed could not be achieved through legal means.

On her own? She holds to those ideals and that goal. She attacks and exposes the CEO of LumériCo, creating an opening to see some justice done for the Mexican people. (The attempt failed, and Portero is reinstated, but that’s besides the point.) Her continuing interest in seeing the Viper Portero removed only makes sense if she continues to have a personal investment in seeing justice for the underclass of her country.

This leads to Sombra being seen as an extrajudicial force of change and good by the Mexican people, particularly those in the Castillo and Dorado region. Zarya compares her to Stepan Razin (Wikipedia), who as I understand it led force composed in part of peasants in uprising and, though he failed, was immortalized as a folklore hero.

Though her methods are different and her goals much more specific, her actions, at least in Mexico, are similarly driven by a search for justice that cannot be delivered by the law.

The Enemies of Talon

I don’t have a lot to say about this, and segadores-y-soldados has summarized it quite better than I have, but it’s important enough to get it’s own section. But, Sombra working against Talon actually puts her technically on the same side as Jesse is—even though Jesse as of “Train Hopper” doesn’t seem that interested in actually ending Talon’s activities or denying them what resources they want, only in preventing them from hurting and killing innocents. (Though, I doubt Jesse is going to remain in that mode for long.)

It is entirely possibly, maybe even likely, that Sombra is aiding Jesse somehow as well as aiding Jack and Ana. I linked a couple of segadores-y-soldados’ relevant posts earlier, but I’ll link them again: linked before, new link.

Miscellanea, Smaller Comparisons

Sombra is embraced by her old gang Los Muertos, even though she has broken ties with them for her safety, as evidenced by the gang’s enthusiastic and open support of her attacks on LumériCo. Deadlock openly rejects Jesse and is suggested to have a “shoot on sight” policy for him, as evidenced by the numerous photos of him accompanying rifles and his photo pinned to a dartboard; it’s possible that they resent him for having avoided prison and taking the presented opportunity to turn over a new leaf.

Even after leaving their respective gangs, both Jesse and Sombra still make use of variations on the gangs’ symbols in their personal iconographies. Sombra identifies herself through a simplified graphic calaveras. While in Blackwatch, Jesse openly displays his tattoo and wears a buckle of the Deadlock winged skull; after leaving Blackwatch, his prosthetic arm features plating shaped like a skull. (The iconography extends to the game’s UI also, with EMP represented by a calaveras and Deadeye with a skull.)

Both take somewhat similar relationships to Gabriel: Jesse is framed as a surrogate son and a right-hand, Sombra is framed as a young accomplice who takes a more familiar tack and a frequent trusted partner. They’re opinionated and vocal about it, unafraid to talk back to Gabriel and criticize his planning.

Further in the personality vein of things, they’re characterized as deeply confident in their abilities to the point of cockiness and overconfidence, and they can be accused (and have been, by Gabriel, though with dubious sincerity) of having too high an opinion of themselves. But despite the breeziness, they are highly competent, thorough, and conscientious, and although they may appear to have a lot of things to say about other people’s plans, they execute their own plans with precision and utmost gravity. Arguably, both are playing a bit of the fool to mask how sharp, observant, and cunning they really are.

#Jesse McCree #Sombra #Sombra Overwatch #Olivia Colomar #Overwatch #Anonymous #Gena plays Overwatch #I FINALLY FINISHED IT.#I apologize to you anon for taking three months but it's nearly 4k words and I was in a slump.#But I am always very happy to talk about things—especially if it's McCree related.#But Sombra and McCree are very interesting as paired characters.#I fear I've spent more time talking about Los Muertos and Deadlock than I have Sombra and McCree though.#But I am deeply interested in the social dynamics and context of Deadlock specifically and all that can be drawn out of the little we know #so I tend to let it get away from me when talking Deadlock.

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a-fight-we-have-to-win · 6 years

Text

Newsies as Immigrants Headcanons (Part 2)

Part 1

Albert DaSilva

- Portuguese

- him and his dad came over from the Azores Islands

- his dad works as a whaler which means Albert doesn’t see him for months or years at a time, and really at this point Albert has given up on him returning

- all he has left of him is a whalebone necklace his dad carved for him, he never takes it off

- the name DaSilva is Portuguese in origin, it means “forest”

- he maintains a lot of superstitions passed down to him from his dad

- like, he once changed his selling spot because too many black birds had gathered there

- the first newsie he met after his dad left was Race, he introduced himself as Anthony and Albert took it as a sign that he should stay with the newsies because Saint Anthony is one of the patron saints of Portugal

- he says Jack has a natural talent for the evil eye and should really be careful where he points that sucker

- being an island child, he’s one of the few newsies who knows how to swim and will generally take it upon himself to teach the younger kids and Race because dammit Jack, someone has to make sure they don’t drown

- he pretends to not like kids, but absolutely no one believes him and all the little newsies love him

- they’re convinced he’s a pirate and will follow him around begging for stories, and you know just because he helped his dad take over a boat once doesn’t make him a pirate, but he’ll make up stories for them anyway

- he speaks Portuguese, French, and English

- he and Finch have figured out how to speak to each other in French despite the differences in the dialects

- he’s a secret poet, he scribbles poems in Portuguese on old newspapers and then shows them to no one. Ever. No one is allowed to know.

Spot Conlon

- Irish

- Conlon is a very Irish surname derived from Gaelic Ó Connalláin, meaning Dog-Lion or someone who’s very strong

- his story is a lot like Jack’s, except he and his family came from Dublin

- unlike Jack, he still has family left

- his mother is often sick and can’t work, so he helps provide for them

- he has a sister and a brother who work in a factory, they all look after their mother and the younger kids

- a rumor exists among the newsies that Spot spat on his father’s body at his wake and returns to his grave every year to make sure he’s still dead

- no one has worked up the courage to ask Spot if that’s true

- he and Jack can and will hold lengthy arguments in Gaelic

- they will also occasionally give each other shit for their respective city, poor Racetrack is sitting in the middle so very confused

- everyone but the Brooklyn newsies have trouble understanding him through his accent, it’s why he tends to keep his sentences short, loud, and to the point.

- he still goes to church with his family every Sunday, a closely guarded secret among Brooklyn newsies, no other borough would believe them anyway

- Brooklyn has story nights at the Lodge where Spot will tell different Irish myths, he’s like a walking anthology

- and he even acts them out, doing different voices, leaping around the Lodging House pretending to be Fionn mac Cumhaill or Cu Chulainn locked in battle

- another closely guarded Brooklyn secret

- he has befriended crows and ravens in every one of the boroughs, they sometimes follow him or land on his shoulders

- this makes everyone extremely uncomfortable, which Spot finds hilarious

Mush Meyers

- German Jewish

- he came over as a baby with his mother escaping persecution in Berlin

- she died when he was little, so he more or less grew up inside the Lodging House, raised by newsies

- the name Meyers comes from the Hebrew word “meir” meaning “one who shines”

- he doesn’t really know he’s Jewish, or at least doesn’t quite know what that means

- he has a Star of David necklace given to him by his mother, it’s his good luck charm, he has it wrapped around his wrist because the clasp is broken

- it’s Davey that notices the necklace and asks him about it, Mush just sort of shrugs

- cue Davey dragging Mush back to his house and depositing him in front of his parents, like, someone fill him in, please

- it’s one of the reasons he spends a lot of time in the Jacobs’ house, but it’s also because him and Les get on like a house on fire

- he becomes something like the third Jacobs’ brother

- I have a lot of feelings about Mush and Davey being best friends, okay, I blame 92sies

- Davey will go to him if he has questions about being a newsie and Mush will go to Davey if he has questions about being Jewish

- his mother left behind a box of letters written in Hebrew and Davey helps him go through and translate them

- he discovers he has an uncle in Manhattan, his mother had planned to live with him and his family

- he takes Davey with him when he goes to meet them for the first time, they are so happy to see him and poor Mush doesn’t quite know what to do with that

- he ends up with more folks than he knows what to do with, so he just unilaterally decides to extend them to the newsies

- that’s how the Meyers family became the unofficial newsie safe house

Elmer Kasprzak

- Polish

- he’s the only one I don’t have to guess or extrapolate because his broadway trading card states that he’s one of nine siblings in a Polish family

- the name Kasprzak, shared by Elmer’s original actor Evan Kasprzak, is decidedly Polish, but see the thing is, Polish last names don’t usually mean anything

- I know because I have one, sometimes they’ll correspond to the name of a town or son of insert-name-here, but that’s about it

- anyway, Elmer is the son of Polish immigrants, he and his two older sisters remember Poland, but the other six came afterward

- his parents both work in factories, one sister’s married, the other works the night shift at a hospital

- he speaks Polish, German, and English

- everything he does is for his family, he lives in the Lodging House to give his younger siblings more space, but he visits them everyday

- approximately thirty seconds into his and Davey’s first conversation they discover that they were born one town removed from each other

- he gets it into his head that means they’re family and more or less adopts Davey and Les into the Kasprzak clan, but to be fair he does that with the other newsies too

- the Kasprzaks hold a Christmas dinner at the Lodge every year for this very reason

- speaking of, he loves Christmas, he’s responsible for the scrawny little Christmas tree in the Lodge

- he’ll make little snowflakes out of newspapers and stick them to the windows, he always saves up to put candles in the windows, all the little newsies help him

- the little newsies adore him, by the way, and he does his best to look out for them

- he, Albert, and JoJo are the Babysitting Squad™

Benjamin “Buttons” Davenport

- British

- described by Spot Conlon himself as “the only good Brit,” Jack agrees with this sentiment, Buttons doesn’t know what to do with this information

- Davenport is a locational surname, in this case meaning he likely came from Cheshire, England, let’s say Liverpool specifically

- he’s is a fierce Scouser, absolutely no one can understand his accent at first

- his dad’s a sailor and long ago he decided it was safer to live in the Lodging House than with his mother, so he doesn’t really see his parents and he would prefer it to stay that way

- England doesn’t hold many good memories for him, so he’s quick to adopt American culture

- he adores baseball, the different neighborhoods will sometimes meet up for a game and, they might be playing with a ball of twine and a busted pipe, but this kid is all over it

- he’s an excellent pitcher, but you know street rules means playing all the positions

- once during a Manhattan vs Brooklyn game, he ran a grand slam against Brooklyn, knocking the ball all the way into the East river and earning Spot Conlon’s respect

- he can sew, his mother taught him how, and he actually enjoys doing it, plus it’s pretty useful

- he collects buttons for the express purpose of fixing newsies’ vests and he hoards as much thread as possible

- he knows. How to. Darn. Socks. Fight me. It’s true. The newsies’ll find him in the corner of the Lodge with a small collection of their socks just… humming along, darning socks

- he hates coffee and has often asked the nuns if they have any tea, they surprise him one today with some, he is over the moon

- the newsies sometimes refer to him as their Yank

- he once called Spot Conlon a redcoat to his face

JoJo de la Guerra

- Spanish

- Guerra is a Spanish surname that means “war”

- in JoJo’s broadway trading card it says that he was raised by the nuns

- I can imagine his likely religious Spanish parents leaving him on their doorstep with nothing but his name, Jorgelino Josephino de la Guerra

- and the nuns call him Joseph, they only use his full name if they’re angry with him

- but the first newsie he meets, Elmer, hears that name and thinks… JoJo it is then

- he grew up watching the newsies and helping the nuns take care of them and he just wants to be a part of them so badly

- it’s like having siblings, he thinks, he’s already got a dozen mothers, he might as well add siblings to his family

- so the nuns let him, they wave him off to work every morning with coffee and biscuit in hand, blessed six ways from Sunday

- at first, he’s textbook sheltered, but he adjusts very quickly and such language

- the nuns taught him Latin and Greek in addition to English

- when he moves into the Lodging House it mysteriously becomes 100% cleaner overnight and no one can figure out why until they stumble upon JoJo trying to clean the fire escape

- he’s just trained to keep things clean, including himself, but the more time he spends with the boys the less he does it

- someone points out that good things tend to happen with him around, so he’s quickly accepted as the resident good luck charm

- the newsies come up with the notion that any water touched by JoJo becomes holy water, he tries to protest the idea

- it’s become a habit to touch their glasses to JoJo’s forehead before they drink

Bonus:

Katherine Pulitzer

- Hungarian

- the historical Joseph Pulitzer was an immigrant from Hungary, he moved to America and married Katherine Davis, their youngest daughter, Katherine Ethel Pulitzer, died in infancy

- but in our case, she survived to become the Katherine Plumber we know and love

- she doesn’t know anything about her father’s origins because he refuses to talk about it, if he addresses her at all

#newsies #newsies musical #newsies live #newsies 1992 #newsies headcanons #newsies hc #albert dasilva #albert newsies #spot conlon #mush meyers #mush newsies #buttons newsies #jojo de la guerra #jojo newsies #katherine plumber #katherine pulitzer #elmer newsies #elmer kasprzak

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emmadutton1993 · 4 years

Text

Reiki Master For Hire Prodigious Ideas

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barbecuedphoenix · 7 years

Note

Say Gardienne had a bad life, wasn't close to her family, no real friends, etc. What would the boys do if she reacted to their little potion stunt with happiness instead of despair, since now she really doesn't need to return, with no one to miss her.

Well this is an interestingtwist. 0_0 It makes me wonder if this should have been canon. Because it caninstantly resolve the conflict on what to prioritize: a.) honoring theGuardian’s life in the human realm and avenging the injustice of her staying inEldarya, or b.) leaving her to discover her destiny in the faery realm, matureas a person, and build a new life, persona, and relationship there with noqualms.

Frankly, given that it’s adating sim with episodic updates and not a visual novel with aplotline determined in advance, the logical solution would be to focus onOption B entirely. Apologies to the Earth First! party in the fandom. >_>

So I’ll be happy to experimentwith this alternate plot-twist, Anon. ;)

Note: Below you’ll find amixture of in-game facts picked up from Youtube walkthroughs of Episode 13, andsome personal expansion (such as the way the potion works, laws governing itsuse, etc.) It’s headcanon, not canon. ;)

Note #2: For a full diatribe dissection on why I think an angsty Guardian accepting the potion willingly has a lot of potential for the game’s storyline, check out the analysis/extrapolation here. And feel free to leave your own thoughts. :)

Ezarel

What does he know about the Guardian’s past?

Only a little. From a fewpassing, deadpan references, he knows the Guardian has lost people close tothem. Yet he never bothered to ask further: these days, who hasn’t lost loved ones? And from the waythey carry themselves– straight-backed, matter-of-fact, and unfailinglyconsiderate to others (very Valkyon-esque, now that he thinks about it)–Ezarel is inclined to believe that he doesn’t have to worry about them. They’rea smart character with excellent control of their own emotions, and no need fortranquilizers to get to sleep. So as far as he’s concerned, he has no reason topry into their lives, professionally or personally. Let them keep theirsecrets.

How does he react to Miiko’s order to ensure the Guardiantakes the potion?

It feels like a nzmabe’s handhas reached into his gut, and is throttling it for all its un-life. Miiko can’tbe asking this from him. Though hewas responsible for some pretty horrific concoctions– explosives, acid baths,and corrosive lime mixtures for El’s never-ending war against the wilder fey–,this potion violates an entirely new set of ethical principles. She wants himto turn an ally into a living ghostas opposed to a traditionally dead one, without their knowledge or consent; tosever the cognitive and emotional bonds of a living community, again sansknowledge or consent. This course of action violates the basic autonomy of asentient mind and an individual identity; in a time of peace, it’s practicallyillegal.

Only Miiko is now exploitingthe pinpoint-sized loophole in the ancient laws of the land: if the drinker willingly participates in the creationof the potion, then they would have given their consent. Ezarel promptlycorrects her: ignorant consent doesn’t count as willing consent. And it’s thisprinciple– among others– that he’s prepared to defend with fire. In the backof his mind, he wonders what he once saw in his old colleague when he supportedher ascent to leader of the Guard.

Then it dawns on him thatMiiko is intent to see this through;if he declines to help, she’ll find someone else to goad the Guardian intopreparing the spell. Perhaps even an amateur alchemist armed with just lethalresolution… who might have no experience with a volatile reagent like theWaters of Lethe. One misstep won’t lead to just the erasure of their memoryfrom other humans, but faeries as well; a concentrated dose would even destroytheir own memories. And that’s an accident that Ezarel can’t allow to happen ingood conscience.

So he accepts this unsavorytask, with a bitter taste in his mouth. Never has he imagined applying hisskills for this when he took the helmof the Absynthe Guard. He can only hope that there won’t be a reprise withinhis career. And that no one else will learn of the crime he’s committing topreempt a deeper tragedy.

How will he react if the Guardian, on knowing the truthabout the potion, actually accepts it?

Ezarel will actually splutterfor a moment: don’t they understand the ramifications of this ritual? It’sbeyond alchemy: a potent spell encapsulated in a bottle that effects humanpsyches in a vast cascade across the energy network of emotions, feelings, andmemories that starts with them, and will permanently sever their sole link tothe human world. They’ll become a living ghost. They need to understand thatthis is a horrible idea.

But when they flatly tell him thatyes, they’re sure, Ezarel– still flabbergasted– starts to get ticked off: howcan they be so calm about this? Theremust be something critical they don’tunderstand. Hell, if he’s in their place and knows what’s about to happen,he’ll flat-out refuse. (And if he lost this fight, he’ll summon a lawman, andthen call up a trial no matter what for this technically illegal procedure.)

He starts energeticallyexplaining to them– again– why they should refuse, now going against Miiko’sorders. If it comes to it, he’ll even let them sue him for conspiring with that nutcase kitsune. But the Guardian cuts him off and tells him, with a wan expression, that he doesn’t knowa thing about the life they left behind. Becoming a ghost won’t be a tremendous change.

That finally shuts Ezarel up.And he starts to listen– still shocked, but intent onunderstanding this perplexing puzzle– to their life’s story. He learns aboutthe loss of their parents back when their age fell under two digits: one fromnatural causes, the other from government intervention when they proved apt at ignoring their child. Though by then, the damage was done to their hearing from an untreated infection in one ear, and their scalp from when they had to shave it from sequential lice infections. He listens to the cycle ofdisplacement, neglect, more secondhand abuse, and eventual abandonment thatplayed out over and again as they grew up, shunted arbitrarily through fosterhomes, and along the systems of welfare ostensibly made to help other cast-offslike them. He hears about them falling through the cracks in life when theygrew past the age when the city would look after them: their health tenuous,their finances worse, their higher education shelved. Still keeping that rovinglifestyle as they searched– on their own– for a place to stay and makesomething of themselves for anything more than six months. And he remainssilent as they explain the patterns of loss– in both figurative and literalsenses– for family, friends, and the people they could have called both, untilthey learnt to rely on no one, and expect nothing at all from the rest of theworld.

The telling takes over anhour. Ezarel has to get up twice to trim the wick from the nearby lamps, but hekeeps listening.

By the end of their story, hehas no words. Humans have very peculiar ways of causing misery to their ownbrethren. It’s a broad crime beyond anything that can be helped.

He doesn’t try to convincethem again when they break their silence, requesting the potion one more time. Thoughhe does make a half-hearted, half-joking final check on whether there’s any soulthey’re remotely sorry for leavingbehind. For liability’s sake. The way they smile wearily, and joke back thatthose they feel for probably half-forgot about them already, makes Ezarel wantto bite his tongue in half. This is definitelypast the time for jokes. The more he scratches the surface, the moresadness he’s bound to uncover. And he has no idea what he can do to help.Beyond giving the Guardian what they’ve asked for.

How will he help the Guardian with the potion?

So Ezarel offers a quiet apology, mentally kicks himself a second time for mouthing something soinadequate, then shuts up for good as he prepares the drink, with the scrupulousattention to detail that’s second nature for him once he walks into a lab. Heconducts a final check of the potion’s efficacy (exactly 0.005 moles of theessence of Lethe; they did well all right), pours it into a sterile tumbler,disposes of the rest of the batch to avoid misuse, and serves the tumbler tothem. And then retreats to the corner of the bench, keeping a respectful distance.

When they take the cup, he reelsoff an intensive, final explanation of the immediate and residual effects ofthe spell, as it ruthlessly sets out across the ether to eliminate theirpersonal signature from the collective network of thought and emotion. It’s anexplanation that he formerly intended to withhold from them; but now it’s theirright to know, and he has no fear of their reaction. When they thank him– witha minute smile– for his full disclosure, Ezarel shrugs it off with a lump ofunease in his throat and a faint joke: there are plenty of other things theycan thank him for in the near future; this potion isn’t his idea. But this is their decision, and their life from here on.

Still, he finds his fingertipstwitching and his eyes skittering down when they drain the cup in one quickswallow, like knocking back whiskey. Whether it’s from lingering guilt at thetotality of the Guardian’s departure from their world, or discomfort at theirdisturbing certainty, he can no longer tell.

Nevra

What does he know about the Guardian’s past?

Next to nothing, and thatrankles him a little: he’s not the head of El’s information network fornothing. But this Guardian is particularly canny in redirecting conversationsaway from their past, even when lubricated by faery wine and among friends. Sowhat information he has picked up camefrom observing their habits: their unspoken familiarity with locks, the waythey stick to the peripheries of a group conversation and scan a room like ahawk before even taking a foot inside, the peculiar times that they takeshowers, and how they never leave their food and drink away from their own eyes.All without the Shadow Guard quite training them.

They have a past, he can tell.And because of that, Nevra doesn’t dig more than usual; it’s information that’sbound to be sensitive, and warped with rumor if it comes from anyone else’s lips.The Guardian will need to trust him first before they can disclose their life’sstory to him.

How does he react to Miiko’s order to ensure the Guardiantakes the potion?

Nevra is very much against Miiko’s decision, and he doesn’t mince his wordswhen he tells her. She’s ordering them to invalidate a life that’s still beinglived– an innocent one of all things–, and sever nearly all their worldlyconnections without their knowledge or consent. She’s ordering them toreconfigure the minds of a hundred or more people unable to fight theirdecision, erasing what love and experiences are there, and embed a new truth inthem. He doesn’t know where her scruples are taking residence right now, but that is wrong. And that’s coming fromthe head of the Shadow Guard.

But here the constraints ofsaid position spring up to choke him. Nevra soon realizes that if he publiclyprotests the decision, and turns against it, what little unity is left in theGuard will be shaken. People will wonder if the Shadow Guard can be trusted tosupport El if its own chief defies orders from the top. His rivals vying forhis seat will finally find an excuse to band together and depose him, ensnaringhim on false charges against his loyalty to El. And if he loses the trial, he’llhave to leave El and the Guard. And bring Karenn with him back into thehinterland, because she will follow him anywhere, even fight viciously for him…and he’ll no longer be able to protect her in El’s toxic environment on stepping down.Provided that he isn’t arrested and excommunicated first.

To prevent all of that fromhappening, to prevent discord in the Guard and keep his own world from crashingdown… he’ll have to do the unthinkable and sacrifice the Guardian to appeasehis boss’s paranoia. Miiko points out– with unintentional malice– that he’s theone their problematic recruit trusts the most… and will suspect the least. He’ll have to help themprepare the ritual.

Nevra’s decision is clear. Buthe begins to withdraw from his social circles and even Karenn, losing sleepevery night until the day of reckoning. He’s no alchemist or sorcerer, but heknows enough about the potion’s effects to know this ritual is unequivocallywrong. With permanent consequences for a person who has done nothing to theGuard, except for being spotted by a hostile human once. And of all people, it’s someone whose affection and regard hewants to earn.

As much as his hands are tied,as real as the danger is to him and Karenn–and perhaps the rest of El– ondisobeying, Nevra knows he’s still a coward for following through.

How will he react if the Guardian, on knowing the truthabout the potion, actually accepts it?

Nevra is well and trulyshocked. For a disorienting moment, his anxiety from the past fewdays combusts in his stomach; he wonders if his lack of sleep is catching up tohim, and scrambling what his keen ears have picked up. But when the Guardianreiterates their decision, with a calm, wry smile, he has no choice but tobelieve them. Though with no small internal outcry: are they simply acceptingthis as inevitable?

So he assures them empatheticallythat they don’t have to accept this,that they’re under no obligation to follow through (like him). That he’lleven– the idea finally dawns on him, with the two of them alone in the lab– discardthis potion, destroy the papers, and falsify what happens here to Miiko, to letthem keep their own life. And to hell with the mercenaries on their way to El; ifthey have a faery spy here, then they’ll simply leak the Guardian’s existenceto the rebels again after this ritual is finished, and the conflict willcontinue. The Shadow Guard will find another way to head them off; they have his word. Butwhen the Guardian interrupts him with a sharp ‘no’, Nevra is stunned again:they don’t just want to disappear; they haveto disappear.

At last, they tell him abouttheir life before falling into Eldarya: the uneasy home they left at a youngage, where the averted eyes and ironclad silence allowed a relative to hurtthem with impunity, forcing them to hit the streets before they were old enoughto legally pick up a cigarette. The year of scrambling on their own, sleepingin their car even as frost bit their toes, until they found an older manwilling to shelter them, love them, refrain from judging them… and who convincedthem to help him with his ‘side job’. Just until they scraped together enoughmoney for a new start elsewhere. Which was how they learnt some of therequisite skills of the Shadow Guard: hitting the streets, parking lots, andcampuses, playing off the despair and the anxious physical needs that shackledcustomers, and not sparing the kids their age who were still in school. All fora new start that was pushed back to the murky future, month after month. Untilthe law caught up to them during one campus sting; with them unable to cough upthe money for a lawyer, and their lover and partner choosing that moment to letthem take the fall, they spent the next few years learning the life of ajuvenile inmate. They didn’t even have the satisfaction of watching karma taketheir old partner: on being released, they discovered their apartmentrepurposed, and their ex in a cell on the other side of the country… and a fewmonths from parole. They knew in their bones that he was going to track themdown to ‘reconcile’ and ‘help him get back on his feet’… with whatever thatmight entail. And, given their own dire financial straits and dearth of friendsafter being released, they’ll be hard-pressed to refuse his offer of another‘new start’. Falling through a mushroom ring was perhaps the best thing thathappened to them.

By the end of the Guardian’sstory, Nevra is left with only an urge to pull them into his arms. And he doesso. Because after everything he has just heard, he’s at a loss on what else hecan do. There are some marks and some lessons that can never be erased from alife. When the Guardian stiffens like wire in his arms, the salt smell of tearsreaching his nose, he promptly moves to shush them, to reassure them (or bothof them) that from now on, it will be all right. With him, they won’t ever have to worry. Andwhen they break into a laugh– half skeptical, half relieved– he finds himselfkissing them quiet along their hair, their eyes, and finally on their mouth,the way he had wanted to for months. And when their fingers dig into him, heobliges their need: letting them hold onto him tight as they kiss him back.

How will he help the Guardian with the potion?

Only after the tension fullyleaves the Guardian in his arms does Nevra recall he still has an unenviablejob to do in this room. Though now the situation has been flipped onto itshead. At last, he confesses his own reasons for coaxing them into crafting thepotion, and then drinking it: trading one truth for another, suddenly afraidthat they’ll question why he was involved in this sordid business at all. Because thelast thing he wants is to be seen as another treacherous man in their life.

But the Guardian surprises himagain by forgiving him, pressing a tiny kiss to the corner of his jaw, andjoking about how they’re now doubly concerned with taking the potion to savehis job. Nevra has to shut his good eye to keep the lump in his throat fromescaping, tightening his arms around them as relief snaps the tension windinghis body like a spring for days.

When they finally move to thepotion on the lab bench, he doesn’t quite let the Guardian go. Instead, hepours the flask with one arm still looped around them, then steadies their handand the small of their back as they accept the tumbler, holding them close. Ifthey’re going to do this, they’ll finish it together.

But when they raise the cup ina wry toast, and drain it, Nevra has to press his mouth to their temple, unableto watch them swallow the drink. Instead, he breathes in the smell of theirhair, distracting himself from that deep foreboding in his chest at theinvisible forces he knows are now unleashed, erasing the Guardian in his armsfrom the lives of a hundred or more. For good and ill.

Valkyon

What does he know about the Guardian’s past?

Valkyon doesn’t know a thing,and frankly, he suspects that he knows the least out of everyone in HQ: it’shard to miss the way the Guardian clams up around him whenever they fumble an assignment. Even though he already told them– on the day of their first panicattack in front of the ocean, and other occasions since– that he’ll neverjudge them for admitting their own weaknesses, that acknowledging them isalready a mark of bravery in his eyes. Still, some habits and some fears rundeep; Valkyon knows better than to sit his recruit down and ask what made themthis way. The Guardian will tell him on their own time, and only then.

How does he react to Miiko’s order to ensure the Guardiantakes the potion?

His instincts are singing thatthis is not a good idea in theslightest. The Guardian won’t forgive such a profound violation of their trust,and their own right to maintain their identity and roots. But then, thequestion occurs to him on what will happen if he lets this pot bubble under asealed lid. How long will it take for those human mercenaries to storm HQ–again– and make off with the Guardian on their ill-advised rescue mission? Howmany casualties will they leave behind this time? The fort is understaffed asit is. It doesn’t take Valkyon long to run through calculations, using theestimates from last year on the enemy force’s numbers as well as what he haswitnessed on the field recently… and the final sum of every scenario is a much emptier fort. It’ll be a messy raid, no question.

He will be failing his ownduties as the Obsidian Guard’s commander if he allows this metaphorical powderkeg to remain in HQ. Not unless he snuffs out the fuse and curtails the comingconfrontation that he has overheard with his own ears… using a very esotericpotion.

If those mercenaries only knewabout the Guardian by hearsay, then the potion is a moot point. Butone of the rebels had described them with enough disturbing detail to count asfirsthand knowledge. And that, unfortunately, meant his recruit had todisappear.

So Valkyon gives his assent,the only one of the three Guard heads to do so from the onset. All whilelocking down the doubts and the objections stirring in his chest, with thatsteely will that has earned him a local reputation of ‘Last Man to Be Trifled With’. To prevent another carnage, and tosave the Guardian, this has to be done. In fact, he’ll do the deed himself,to spare his colleagues from both the Guardian’s anger and the moral burden.

How will he react if the Guardian, on knowing the truthabout the potion, actually accepts it?

At first, Valkyon feels a hardweight plunge through his gut as the veil of secrecy– his one shield from theGuardian’s moral outrage– is stripped away within six words: they know, and they’llaccept it. Another few moments pass before his mind registers the second halfof their answer. And then he is fully thrown for the loop, at a genuine lossfor words: this is not part of the plan. Though logic tells him that theGuardian’s knowing consent is a favorabledevelopment– because it means no resistance or worrisome grudges from hisrecruit; a clean procedure by both legal and ethical standards–, a seam in hisheart finally starts to tear, now that the armor he has girdled his conscience with has been broken. And he begins to wonder if he wants to go through with this.

They read his hesitationbefore he can voice it: gently, with a sad smile that tugs him again out of thesoldier’s mien, they tell him that they would be glad to disappear, and finallyremove the burdens that they’ve saddled their acquaintances with for themajority of their life. It’s high time their old friends let go of them. And this revelationshocks Valkyon for a second time, finally sparking a question from him, soft and astonished: why? Though he knows regret only too well, it’s another matterentirely to want to vanish from the sphere of loved ones.

At last, in a voice so soft hehas to strain his ears to catch the fall of their words, the Guardian tells him their story. Starting with the accident that took the lives of their father– theironly family– and a stranger on a highway. Sparing, with a certain black irony, only theperpetrator of the crash: themselves.

When the Guardian’s voicebreaks at the first mention of their father in who knows how many years,Valkyon stops them, grasping them gently by the elbows to bring them back tothe present, assuring them that they needn’t tell him anymore. But they shaketheir head, lining their voice with iron, and insist that they need to tellthis story now before wiping the slateclean; this is their final chance to own up to everything.

So he lapses into silenceagain, and lets them; honoring their need to redeem what they can, to crackopen the shell they had built around themselves, and share the narrative theyonce considered criminal, or still do.

They tell him about the dark years after the court hearing when grief and guilt worked in concert to sheathe them from the rest of the world, from any emotion at all besides sudden, precipitous drops into despair. The downhill slide from school, work, friends, and what peripheral family they had left, until they found themselves hooked onto sleeping pills and hard liquor, living in a rehabilitation center. Where they were kept afloat by the efforts of a persistent social worker, and the generosity of a grandmother with some conscience– who routinely visited to implore them to wake up and get their spine back, because it was expensive keeping them in the center. And when her predictions were realized and the money ran out within a few months, they re-entered the working world– just weaned of their vices but still not quite healed–, resorting to lonely midnight-shifts at the back of restaurants and convenience stores. At least part of which was motivated by the need to dodge a few loyal friends, colleagues, and teachers still searching for them. Their only company during those days was the social worker from the rehab center, who stopped at their dingy hostel to check on them once a week, paying for lunch and a coffee, and for an hour taking them away from the other young burn-outs who lived with them. That was the narrative of their life until the day they pulled themselves together to embark on their first hike in years. Granted, they never expected to disappear the way they did, but this potion would be a boon in the long run: one more burden off the lives of the people who still remember them.

Their voice has barely risen above a conversational whisper. But the force of their grief,and the lingering guilt, seems to pull Valkyon lower to the floor the more he hears. Until at last, when they fall silent themselves, he reachesforward– in a gesture so natural that he doesn’t give it a second thought– andgently wipes what tears have escaped with the edge of his thumb, their cheekresting in the warm cup of his palm. Which, ironically, seems to spill more; what’sleft of their stoic mask cracks, and they hold his hand against their cheekuntil the fitful trembling of their shoulders stops.

How will he help the Guardian with the potion?

Valkyon doesn’t dare speakuntil the shivering leaves them, though he doesn’t move his hand away either. In a low murmur, for their ears only, he shares the lesson that he himself learnt: no amount of sorrow or guilt canjustify the past, or cheapen it. What has happened has happened, regardless. So what matters most is to correct oneself and one’s actions today to prevent areprise of their regrets. And from what he has seen since they arrived here,they’ve proven themselves to be a pillar of strength. Even if they don’t quitesee themselves the same way.

When the Guardian squeezes hishand and kisses his palm, their smile still tremulous, his mind promptly takes asnapshot of this moment, then locks it away inside the vault of his memories. Onlythen does he return, reluctantly, to the task at hand, which he has beenordered to see through by whatever means necessary. Though now, with a willingparticipant, he can freely speak his mind to comfort them on the sacrificethey’re prepared to make.

The effects of the potion arepermanent, he reminds the Guardian gravely; there is no known counter-spell.From here on, only Eldarya will be their home. But if it’s any comfort, theones they love best– both passed and extant– will never leave their memories; they’ll always beimprinted in the way they speak, the way they carry themselves, the decisionsthat their heart makes to be moved or otherwise by the world around them. Theirloved ones from before have contributed the most to making who they are today. That’san intrinsic truth that this ritual– or any ritual– can never change.

When the Guardian finallyreleases his hand, it’s only to switch it to their palm. And he lets them holdonto him, their fingers laced tight through his, as they accept the flask passed to them, smile at him gently over therim, and tip it back. Valkyon doesn’t allow himself to look away: it would onlydemean the responsibility he has undertaken, and the total sacrifice that theyhave accepted.

It’s only afterwards that herealizes that the Guardian isn’t holding his hand to comfort themselves, but tocomfort him.

…I think I went over my writing cap for angst-per-page. It’s all your fault, Anon, for sending such a weightyrequest. ;)

If you enjoyed this three-partscenario, and even if you didn’t (which I won’t blame you for), drop me amessage and let me know what you think. My inbox is never closed to feedback. :)

#request #scenario #Eldarya #Ezarel #Nevra #Valkyon #innocent! Guardian #mysterious! Guardian #shy! Guardian #Episode 13 spoilers

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paranoidwino · 7 years

Text

the bilgesnipe in the room

Where the elephant doesn’t really describe the size of the situation, and you’d rather pretend the antlers aren’t poking you in the back. I made it, @bloomsoftly ! For you! Yaaay! Because you’re having a hard time and I wanted to make you smile! :D

Special thanks to @ragwitch who checked the whole thing (and enforced work hours... and helped me with blocks) and @hollyspacey that pretended she was Sam and filled me the conversation voids. You’re awesome! Read in on AO3: here.

“There’s another one.”

Darcy groaned. Loudly. This was the fourth time this week. And yes, she kind of got it, but man this was getting ridiculous.

She opened the doors of Baker Shelter and yep, sure enough, the sounds of battle were already creeping up from the streets and people were trying to find somewhere to hide.

“What is it today?” She sighed, “Doombots? A giant hamster?” she shook her head, “no matter. Open the doors. Close the big pen and let the people in.”

Amanda nodded and rushed to the pens.

It was becoming some sort of routine for the people to come and hide in the Shelter. Darcy hadn’t planned on this, it was a Dog sanctuary not some kind of catastrophe refuge, but when she finally realized it was time they prepped for such a situation, they noticed that many people actually had nowhere to go back to. And they couldn’t turn them away, they weren’t monsters.

And so Darcy had planned accordingly, and had turned to the only person that could have helped her in such a situation: JARVIS.

Nothing about Baker Shelter had been planned. It had been a spur of the moment thing. Like, this kind of thing? Never happened to people like her. Then again, not many could say they outlived not one but two alien invasions, three if you counted New York (and it did so count!).

And so, the day she purchased a Lottery ticket from the National Lottery website while staying at Jane’s mother’s tiny dingy apartment, she… well, she had thought ‘well, we almost died, might as well invest 2£ in this.’ She had not really expected to win the Jackpot. She had not expected to become a millionaire overnight. But Holy Shit.

She was rich now. Filthy rich. Her student debts were no more, her problems with finding a job? Forget it, she’d feed her grandkids if she had her way. And Jane. Who needed grants anymore? She could have everything.

Jane hadn’t been enthused. Or rather, Jane hadn’t really listened, or noticed, at all. And it had probably been that - the absent minded, involuntary rejection - that had stung Darcy badly enough to decide not to tell her best friend anything.

And the ‘lie’ grew and grew, until it was impossible for Darcy to tell Jane, well, anything. So when Stark had swooped in and offered them a place (and unlimited funding, that got Jane going real fast), she’d been worried her secret was no longer going to be one.

She was wrong. Tony had been very understanding of her predicament and agreed not to say anything.

The Shelter just… kinda happened as a consequence of his contaminating her and her bleeding heart. She had the money, the means, and now a powerful ally such as Tony Stark (and Jarvis!). Opening a shelter by remaining anonymous, buying off a ton of land and pretending to be a volunteer at her own creation had been stupidly easy. She was actually surprised she’d pulled it off.

But no matter. In the end, Baker’s Dog Sanctuary for Third Strike Dogs had evolved into Baker Shelter, and it was one of the biggest non profit compounds in the city, comprised of the actual Dog Sanctuary building and greenery, and then proper human buildings that, in reality, hosted people in a much more permanent situation than they should. Not that Darcy cared much about it. These people needed it.

She armed herself with a trashcan lid and a wooden spoon she used for the dog food, checked that no canine was nearby (she was not going to spend the afternoon looking for poor terrorized creatures during a whatchamacallit attack) and loudly banged the spoon on the lid. “This way!” She shouted.

The running crowd didn’t need to be told twice. They poured into the buildings and followed the lights into the underground panic rooms she’d insisted they install after the first attacks (if New York had more of these? Yeah, they’d solve so many problems instead of sending people down to the subway stations). They barricaded themselves in and waited for the alarms to go off at any time. The booms and screams from upstairs were deafening despite being so far away.

As soon as the sirens stopped blaring, the poor civilians tentatively poked their heads around, ready to get back to their lives.

And as per usual, the Avengers dealt with the situation within a couple of hours and that left, well, everyone else cleaning up.

No, that wasn’t fair, Tony and his very government friendly cleaning crew did a lot to remove the big stuff. But in the end, apart from paying damages, people literally had to pick up the ruins of their houses and start anew. This time,after a couple of hours of these bouncing magical watermelons (which were a thing!), 35 people had lost their homes for the foreseeable future. Okay. Okay. She had this.

“Everyone, please listen up.” She tried to look imposing, but since vertically challenged people were usually invisible from afar, she had to stand on a chair to become the centre of attention. If only it worked with superheroes or science!bros as well. “For those of you who can’t go home, there’s temporary apartments in the compound, you just need to register at the Emergency desk. Please don’t occupy rooms if you have your house in habitable conditions. We’re trying to help, help us help you!” She recited by heart with a droning voice. Sounding hardly interested and not very impressive? Check.

The crowd dispersed, and Darcy congratulated herself for another good job. Hopefully this situation would solve itself soon. They were almost out of room and she didn’t want to start turning people away.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with this city.” Mumbled Alan from behind the desk at the makeshift reception. “But seriously, this is like the sixth attack in a fortnight.”

Darcy nodded. “I just hope this is the last time.”

***

It wasn’t.

In fact, it took three more attacks on the population for the ‘real Mastermind’ to come forward and another for the Avengers to finally capture them (Darcy suspected it was a man, but it was seriously hard with the costumes and all that...so). That didn’t stop her from complaining, that day at the Tower.

“Toh-neeeey,” she wailed exaggeratedly walking into his lab, “what is wrong with this city lately? Huh? We’re filled to the brim. Filled. Us! We’re like, the biggest compound in New York! We can’t keep up like this.” No answer.

Tony was deeply focused at his workstation, the soldering iron in his hands.

“Hey, J?” she asked then.

“Yes, Miss Lewis?” JARVIS promptly answered her. J was the absolute best. She should start thinking about adoption.

“Is Tony doing something very dangerous that will explode if I distract him?”

“I don’t think so, Miss Lewis, though may I suggest waiting until Sir is done with the soldering iron?”

She nodded, “got it.” As soon as Tony put down the instrument, she put two fingers at the corners of her mouth and whistled. Loudly.

Tony yelped. “Wha-! Shortstack!” He looked around, as if checking no one was there to witness his unmanly (girlish) scream. “What’s up?”

“We’re out of space. Again.” She sighed. “I’m seriously considering digging under the Subway. Jarvis, what are the chances of me getting away with creating an underground society?”

“The chances of creating a safe and functional secret underground society are extremely small, Miss Lewis.”

Tch. “I knew it.” She deflated on top of Tony’s empty table. “We need more space, more people, this is such a mess, Tony. Like, it was meant to be a tiny dog shelter, not a fully functioning people housing, society rehab center. How did it escalate so quickly?”

“...I blame your bleeding heart.” deadpanned Tony, then held out his hand expectantly. “Give me your phone.”

Her knee jerk reaction was to take a step back and her hand flew instinctively to her phone in her purse. “No?”

He made an impatient gesture with his hand, “Come on, DoubleD, give me some credit here.”

“Yeah, no.” She argued back, “What do you want to do to him?”

“Nothing terrible, I promise. Now gimme.”

Suspiciously, she handed him her phone. He didn’t take it. They stood staring at the phone in her hand for a few seconds. “...Tony?”

“I don’t like to be handed things. Put it on the desk and come back in an hour or so.” Why you!

***

One hour later her phone was laying on the desk. She was almost afraid it would explode in her hands.

“Okay… I’m almost scared to ask, Tony.”

“You wound me, Shorty, wound me!” He exclaimed dramatically. “But no, really, it should be okay.”

She opened her phone hesitantly.

“Good Evening, Miss Lewis, I’m FRIDAY.”

Her phone had an AI. “You… you got me an AI.” She said dumbfounded.

“Well, no.” He defended, “It’s… it’s not like Jarvis, okay? It’s a tiny AI. She can help you vet people and order the stuff you need and book appointments and staff and… why are your eyes wet Shorty?! You said you needed help!”

She had no words, so she shook her head and despite the grease stains on his shirt, she still hugged him (and was she glad there was no arc reactor on his chest anymore). “Thank you, thank you.”

“Yes, yes,” he said awkwardly. “Okay, remove yourself. Now.” He wasn’t really fighting her though.

***

FRIDAY was much more than Tony had given her credit for (he’d been downplaying her abilities, the smug genius!).

First, she was as quick as JARVIS when compiling data and extrapolating from the results.

Second, once Tony taught her how to access the computers inside the facilities, she’d been the source of invaluable help and information.

She was good enough not to spy into the private homes, but she did check traffic from and to illegal sites. That was fair.

Of course, not even FRIDAY the ‘almost-AI’ could have prepared her for what happened when the houses destroyed by the Doombots were finally habitable again and they needed to empty the temporary ones.

“Darcy?” Billy, a lanky, 30 years old volunteer that was responsible for the Monday shift, started. “We have problems in relocating some of the people?”

Darcy sighed. Of course. It wasn’t the first time they happened to host the homeless, or people that couldn’t go back to their homes. “Okay, we have space for them right?”

“Uhm, yeah…” Billy didn’t sound convinced. “But this one doesn’t even have an ID… I mean, we can’t check without a name, right?”

That was slightly more unusual. How had he entered without giving reception his name? “Okay, let me check, uhm?”

Billy’s face morphed into a relieved grin. “Thanks. I owe you.”

Sweet Celestia you owe me, Billy. You owe me all the money and the favours. All of it.

Dressed in a too big jacket and a baseball cap, in one of her temporary apartments awkwardly stood the Winter Soldier.

***

Okay. Okay. This is cool. You’ve done this with scared animals and stray dogs, this is no different.

Apart from the whole… 200 pounds of murdery ex-POW with a metal arm, sure. Oh God.

Psyching herself up wasn’t working.

What would anyone with a lick of sense do in this situation?

Call Tony. The answer was literally right there. She was one phone call away to solve the problem and probably reunite History’s greatest team. Because that man was Bucky Barnes. Even if she hadn’t been bombarded with historical pictures of the Howling Commandos since she started school (and if you didn’t know about the Howling Commandos what kind of patriot were you?), and even if you missed all of those memos and somehow forgot what James Buchanan Barnes looked like, the glinting of the metal arm was a dead giveaway.

But.

She did also remember how Bucky had not looked for Steve. In fact, how he’d been so extremely careful not to be found at all by his oldest friend, and how she’d heard Sam say that they needed to respect his need of privacy and time.

And yeah, having hosted more than a dozen scared women in her compound, Darcy had seen first hand the effects of ‘too much love’ and how quickly it devolved into ‘obsession’. If James Buchanan Barnes didn’t want to go to Steve, she had no right to force him into meeting Steve.

That didn’t really solve her problem, though.

James Barnes hadn’t really moved throughout her inner monologue, but his eyes had narrowed and his posture had tensed minutely. She could relate. It didn’t take a genius to understand he’d been recognized, and he was probably debating if one casualty was worth his anonymity.

Props for not having killed her the first second. And bonus points because he was being very polite, what with waiting and not trying to reach for the cutlery or yeah, showing any kind of reaction that wasn’t the resigned puppy look she was on the receiving end of. Come ooon.

Three seconds into the stare, Darcy knew James Buchanan knew exactly how his handsome looks and that stare worked with the ladies, because they way he could keep it going was extremely artificial. But eh.

“I need your name, dude, if you’re staying here.” She sighed resignedly. He perked up. “And you’re not freeloading, either. I know you can work. I’m not raising the alarm, if you help around, yeah?”

“The alarm?” He asked, feigning ignorance

She nodded quickly. “Yep. You have a metal arm, dude. I mean, it’s none of my business, and I respect your space and all that, but you are a public figure, you know. There’s even a ‘wanted dead or alive’ sign somewhere, I’m sure.” She joked, and was pleased when he snorted.

“Okay, for the record?” She said when he relaxed. “I did tell you that Steve misses you very much and he’d love to have you back. Okay, my job’s done. What’s your name dude?”

He fidgeted for a while, and then tried, “...Jack?”

“Ooookay, …’Jack’” she air-quoted, “you need new clothes, but we need to repaint the nursery in the other building, so keep those for tomorrow.”

“You’re serious.” He was surprised. “You’ll host me for labour.”

She nodded. “Yep. Told you, it’s none of my business. But I did try to convince you to go back to Steve and was very disappointed when you said no, okay?”

He smiled, and it made him look at least five years younger. “Okay.”

***

Jack Robins, the people at Baker Shelter found out, was an extremely hard worker.

He didn’t mind doing the heavy lifting, which he did with ease, and didn’t care about getting dirty chasing the dogs or repainting the buildings. He wasn’t very outgoing, but he was polite and understanding.

He’d rapidly become the kids favourite, too.

If one overlooked the long sleeves and the gloved fingers, Jack was a perfectly normal, great guy with a good heart.

Darcy was pleased their arrangement was working so well.

After a few weeks, she could almost forget about the brainwashed murdery thing (notion quickly squashed the moment an entitled asshole of one of the girls had marched into the Shelter. Bucky slash Jack had excellent protective instincts and a mean right hook. Not even the police had anything to say).

After a couple of months, she could forget entirely about the whole affair. She wasn’t making much progress on the ‘Steve’ front, and while that was fine, she couldn’t not worry about the fact that ‘Bucky’ may never really be coming back.

These worries were assuaged by the fact that they were now adding another building, and there was too much to do to think about anything else.

Darcy’s days started to become very hectic. Between juggling Jane and Tony (and sometimes Bruce) and running the Shelter, and despite FRIDAY’s amazing job, she had hardly any spare time left.

And so, when FRIDAY told her that Steve and Sam were back from another unsuccessful expedition, she didn’t even register in her mind that this was the moment to worry a bit more about concealing what she was doing in her ‘spare time’.

“Hey, Darcy!” Sam was always the first to greet her, since Steve sometimes needed to cool off or just sigh and mope around a bit. Frankly, it was a relief; Darcy always felt a bit guilty whenever he talked about ‘his Buck’.

“Hey, Sam!” She waved back. It was impossible not to smile with him around, despite her tiredness. “Are you okay?” He asked, after taking a good look at her. “You look… well, I don’t know how to say it politely?”

“...Like a zombie?” She supplied and he winced. “Yeah I know, don’t worry, no offense and all that. There’s just been a lot to do. Yeah.” She yawned.

Sam frowned and looked around, and Darcy could see the wheels turning. No Jane in sight, Bruce nowhere to be seen, Tony quietly poking Dum-E in a corner… it didn’t look like the war camp she was coming from. “What-”

She waved him off. “No no, it’s not that. It’s the work at the Shelter.” She added without thinking. What. Oh God she must be more tired than she thought. She almost choked and slapped her hand on her mouth, but restrained. Okay, play it cool.

“So, uhm, I mean...”

“Miss Lewis?” FRIDAY asked from her phone.

Sam’s eyebrows raised another notch.

“There seems to be some kind of problem at the Baker Sanctuary.” Of course there was. Like, no rest for the wicked, yeah?

She sighed. She had no time to distract Sam and FRIDAY wouldn’t warn her for nothing.

“Sorry, Sam, I need to go… just…” She focused on Tony in the corner. “Ask Tony, yeah? Bye!”

She barely heard Tony’s sputtering as she trotted out of the Tower.

***

Talking to Tony Stark had reassured Sam Wilson as much as hearing the latest news about the Election rallies. Read, not at all.

He believed Stark when he said that Darcy was okay, and that if she wasn’t she had a panic button, an AI in her phone and no less than three trackers on her person (Yes Birdman, she knows about them and she’s not stupid enough to complain considering the kind of spotlight people who work with Avengers get!), but he couldn’t help but worry about the dark circles under her eyes and the disheveled appearance.

So, as soon as Tony gave him the address of this Baker Shelter she was volunteering at in her spare time, after checking that Darcy had really preceded him by at least fifteen minutes, he made his way to the Sanctuary for Third Strike Dogs.

Well, he hadn’t expected that.

When Tony had said ‘Shelter’ he had expected some kind of tiny building with some pens, they were in the middle of New York after all, not… this. A huge compound of four buildings was not in the cards, was it?

But here it was, and in front of it a group of people in green T-Shirts or tank tops proclaiming ‘I support Baker, do you?’ barring access to the premises to what looked like the NYPD.

“Look, ma’am, we just-” The officer was stammering in front of a very pissed looking Darcy.

“You just nothing, agent. We didn’t do anything wrong. This place is a Safe Haven, this is legal. We have the papers!” She was almost shrieking, her hands balled into fists.

“We are not disputing the legality of this thing!” protested loudly the agent, “we just received a report of a missing woman and this was her last whereabout. Her husband is quite-”

“She’ll be pressing charges against him!” A redhead with glasses shouted from the line of volunteers and the others backed her up, tightening their ranks in front of the door.

“Look, agent,” Darcy tried with practised calm, “we understand you’re doing your job, but we cannot and will not give names of our guests. We can’t. Take it to your boss, take it to the Heads of Baker Shelter, but we volunteers are not letting you pass and violate the rights of these people!” She gestured to a lanky boy and a megaphone was thrust in her hand. “We’re not afraid of making ourselves heard, WE HAVE RIGHTS!”

A chorus of ‘We have rights’ was heard all around and Sam found himself chanting it as well, albeit with a very low voice. It was the kind of fight he could understand, the need to protect the weak and to not give in to the unjust demands. Cap would have approved too.

The police were clearly there because ordered, because they weren’t really trying to get any sort of information or to even pass across the group of people. It was a token attempt at best (one of the officers gave a thumbs up to the volunteers, Sam was sure the captain was going to overlook that as well). However, when the officers left, the volunteers almost slumped as one, clearly spent. They were massaging their foreheads and cheering each other very quietly.

“Okay, we have stuff to do, guys!” The redhead that had shouted before tried to say cheerily, and everyone left.

Sam scrambled to intercept Darcy before she entered the bowels of the giant building.

“Hey Darce!” She tensed, turned and, surprisingly, laughed nervously.

“Hi… Sam!” Her smile was tense as well, and alarms started going off in his head.

“What was that?”

“Oh!” Okay, that wasn’t the problem because she started talking a mile an hour, “That was the last attempt of entitled asshole number fifty-two, I think. They’re always trying to find ‘legal ways’ to get their ‘beloved’ back, right? Pity it doesn’t work here.” She nodded at herself, very satisfied.

He nodded back. “Thought this was a dog shelter, though.”

“It… was. And then… it wasn’t?” She winced. “Like, we started as a dog shelter but before we knew it we were taking in people running from Doombots whose houses were destroyed, and then women and men running from abusive partners, homeless people and shit. Now we’re a fully legal compound for Safe Haven and Shelter.” She seemed surprised such a thing had happened. He’d be surprised too, all things considered. It was certainly an impressive building that required a lot of people and attention...

“And that AI of yours helps you run things, yeah got it.”

She choked. “I… I’m a volunteer here, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She whispered harshly.

“Okay, okay, got you!” He raised his hands. “I think it’s cool. Honestly.”

They spent the next few moments in silence, watching the people bustling around with tools and wallpapers.

“Can you give me a tour?”

Darcy smiled widely. “Sure!”

***

They were walking around the new building when it happened.

And okay, Darcy should have seen it coming, she’d just hoped it wouldn’t be quite this soon.

But Sam stopped dead in his tracks and, following his gaze, Darcy’s stomach sank.

Bucky slash ‘Jack’ was passing by with two humongous paint cans that couldn’t possibly be moved around by a normal human being. Fuck.

Sam’s eyes sought out hers quickly and his mouth tried to work a few times. Was he paler? Oh God, he looked paler.

“Darcy… is that…?” Oh no. Nope.

“That’s Jack,” she said with a completely straight face.

"Jack."

"Yes. Jack," she replied with finality.

"The same Jack that once tried to murder me on a bridge?" he worked out after a few seconds.

"I don't know about that Jack, but this one has a sparkly Elsa on his arm. Did your Jack have it too?" The kids had drawn that one day, and it had stuck. Darcy found it deliciously ironic.

"...I don't think so. I got a pretty good look at it when he riPPED MY STEERING WHEEL OUT OF MY CAR."

"Then yeah, it's a totally different Jack. Why don't you help me with this and we let him do his job?"

He wasn’t convinced. “Darcy, that man, he’s-”

“A guest,” she said, slowly. “Jack Robins is a guest of the Baker Shelter. He lives here, works here and is legally registered here. Do you understand, Sam?” She kept her eyes fixed on him. “I understand where you’re coming from and your concerns, they’re noted, but Jack is one of us, now. He has the same rights as everyone else. He’s a hard worker, and he’s trying very hard. He’s great with the kids and kind to the other people. This is his second chance and you have no right to force him to do anything.”

Sam’s arms shot up at the first ‘trying very hard’. “Okay, okay, woah, girl. Calm down.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve worked at the VA for a while, Darcy, I’m not the judgy douche that wants to criticize you, okay? I just… how long has… Jack, been staying with you?”

“Five months.” She replied promptly.

“And, everything okay? Like, no accidents.. nothing?”

“No,” she stressed. “Look, Sam, I get it. I know that there will be setbacks, okay? But I trust him to know when it’s too much, I trust him to trust himself. Can you do that too? Without alerting Steve, possibly?”

Sam thought about it for a while, sometimes looking at the back of Jack, who was now wrestling the paint like a pro to decorate the interior of the building.

“I… yeah of course. But I’m coming over to check on him, frequently. And I still don’t like him.”

Darcy smiled, nodding easily, “I don’t expect you to like him, but that’s okay. Thanks Sam, you’re the best.”

“...You’re welcome. I just wish I didn’t have this feeling of ‘you sold yourself to the devil’ … you know?”

She laughed uneasily. He had no idea.

***

Steve’s wingman was there again.

Looking at him.

Staring at him.

At least it wasn’t the hateful or terrified look he was expecting.

Wilson, Sam, pararescue, didn’t particularly like him. That was cool, he didn’t like him either.

And he supposed he could understand, what with the whole ‘I tried to kill you’ shtick he’d pulled last year.

He wasn’t going to chicken out of his responsibilities on that one, despite the words of his therapist. Yes, it wasn’t his ‘his’ fault, but he could understand the other man’s reservations.

It didn’t stop making his back itch every time his stare turned towards him, though.

“Are you quite done staring, wingman?” He snarked from the kitchen sink he was fixing.

“Nnope.” Sam drawled from the opposite side of the room. Bucky had no idea how, but Darcy had managed to rope him into mounting the shelves and the suspended cabinets. She was that kind of taskmaster, the boss-lady.

“Careful with those, kids will be in this room a lot.” He remarked.

Wilson cursed from behind him “Dude, I know. Ouch.”

Bucky snickered. “Did you just hammer your finger?”

“...No. Shut up.” Bucky’s lips twitched. Kids these days. “Get back to your sink, old man.” Sam grumbled.

“You okay here, boys?” Darcy poked her head from the other room, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

“Yes, Darcy,” they droned.

“Good, good. Hey, Jack, the sink screw’s loose.”

“..Wha?” But yeah, with a hissing sound the sink decided that this was an excellent moment to spit its whole contents on him.

Wilson’s braying was heard all over the compound.

Oh yes, he disliked him too.

***

“Hey, Darce!”

The voice was so unexpected in the silence of the room that Darcy dropped her needles and yarn on the floor. Their loud clattering was ominous.

“Crap.” Bucky whispered.

“Oh. My. God.” Darcy reached for her needles, but it was too late, she’d dropped at least one stitch.

“You… you... you made me drop a stitch. Oh my God you-” She couldn’t find the right words to express the pain at the idea of restarting from scratch. Or having to re-ladder them. Oh God.

“Sorry?” He looked contrite, but you could never tell with his puppy eyes. “In my defense, I had no idea you were doing… whatever you were knitting, doll, sorry.”

“It’s… I have no chances of actually murdering you, right?” She could always die trying…

He laughed. “No. You can always try, but that’s not happening.”

“Yeah thought so. I have a taser though?”

He winced. “Yeah no, let’s not test that. What were you making?”

She tried to smooth over her project and put it away very carefully (it was delicate stuff!). “It’s a sweater. Or at least, it will be?”

He nodded and probably contemplated looking at it, but one look at her made him rethink his position. He dropped his hand and sat on the sofa beside Darcy.

“Isn’t it a bit too warm for sweaters?”

“By the time I finish this, it’ll be December,” she grumbled, peeved. He chuckled softly. She hit him on the shoulder. He just chuckled harder.

“Sorry,” he said again.

She sighed. “It’s okay. You couldn’t have known. Anyways, did you need something?”

“Mh? Oh yeah.” He stood up. “We’re done with the top floor, we need to move up to the attic.”

Whoa, that was fast! They’d started repainting it three days ago. She smiled happily and cheered “Nice, I’ll be right there. Seriously, you do as much as ten men would in the same amount of time. We’re glad to have you here.”

His face broke into a pleased smile, “I’m glad to be here, too.”

But then his face darkened a bit and she could see right through him. Steve.

“Uhm.. Buc-Jack… Do you, I mean… It’s been over five months since you’ve been here… Do you.. uhm, would you like to tell… Steeve?” She tried delicately, and tactfully. Seriously, this was not her forte

“No.” He said quickly. “I… I’m not… Not today. Maybe later...”

“Hey hey, it’s okay. No problem, dropped it. Like a hot potato,” she said quickly, “Speaking of potatoes, I’m hungry.”

She wasn’t going to push this, for today.

And she didn’t push tomorrow, and the day after. And then, it never seemed a good time.

***

Turns out, it’s ‘The American Way’ that creates ‘a good time’.

Or, for another wording, finds out the stupidest way it can to fuck with your life...

***

For a different reading: It didn’t take long for Steve to notice that Sam was hiding something, and that it was somehow related to the many afternoons he spent outside the Tower.

He’d almost believed Tony when he said it could be a girlfriend (or a lady friend), but carefully blank looks Sam was giving him every time had started to become suspicious.

Covert agent he was not, but he was certain he could find a way to follow Sam, if he wanted to.

So he wore his most nondescript jersey, a baseball cap and was ready to leave.

“Are you going somewhere, Captain Rogers?” JARVIS’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

“Oh. Yes, Jarvis, I’ll be back for dinner. I think.”

“So noted, Captain Rogers.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.” And then he pondered. “Say, Jarvis, do you know where Sam spends all of his time recently?”

“Certainly, sir.” The AI responded promptly. “Mr Sam Wilson spends his afternoons with Miss Lewis...” There was a girlfriend?! “...at the Baker Shelter for Third Strike animals, sir.”

Oh.

That was… nice.

He had not expected that. “Are they dating?” Not that it was any of his business, but now he was admittedly curious.

“Not to my knowledge, sir,” JARVIS said politely, “they’re fixing a new housing facility for women in need. It’s one of the activities of the Foundation, after all.” He seemed almost… proud of this. Could an AI be proud? Well, JARVIS certainly was.

“...Do you know where it is, Jarvis?”

“Certainly, sir. Take the third…”

***

This was certainly impressive.

The buildings formed a massive compound of tiny apartments and the central, big building that Steve was pretty sure was meant to be the actual Shelter.

He walked through the gates without a problem; in fact, no one seemed to care that Captain America was walking among them. He kind of liked it.

He hadn’t seen any dog yet, but it was pretty cloudy and he still had no idea where he was going. Well, not precisely, at least.

Of course all these thoughts flew out of the window when he got close to the building in construction at the far right corner of the compound.

Because laughing softly at some guy’s joke like he belonged there while hauling wooden boards, was his friend Bucky.

And it was like the air was sucked out of his lungs, and for a second he felt dizzy.

In that moment, Sam’s unwillingness to go out and search for Bucky made a lot more sense. Of course.

In the end, though, he didn't even care that Sam had hidden it from him, because Bucky was here. Bucky was right in front of him.

And by the way he’d dropped the boards he was hoisting on his shoulder, Bucky had seen him too.

Steve saw the exact moment in which Bucky contemplated running, and tensed, because there was no way they were doing that cat and mouse shtick of his in a populated area (Hydra bases were tasteless enough), but Bucky steeled himself and made his way towards him.

“Bucky.” He breathed.

“...Steve,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

That… didn’t sound like the correct question. Was there a script for this kind of situation? “I was looking for Sam, actually… Didn’t expect to find you here.”

Bucky shrugged, and Steve felt a pang of something in his chest. “Bucky, I’ve been looking for you for over a year. You- How-... How long have you been here?”

“...Six months…” Bucky didn’t really sound pleased to be interrogated.

“Six- Six months!?” Steve choked. He’d been looking for him all over God’s green Earth and he’d been living less than five minutes from the tower for six months?!

“Yes. Steve, I-”

Steve shook his head. “No, I… I’m sorry, Bucky, I should have been there for you, I should have looked for you… You’re my best pal and I left you behind, I’m so sorry.” He put his arms around his friend and hugged him, not caring of the dirty clothes. “There’s so much we need to catch up on.”

Bucky looked stricken. “Steve, that’s-”

Steve dropped his arms. “I know now things are different and-”

“Steve.” Steve stopped at the tone of Bucky’s voice. “I. I’m not coming with you.” What? Steve frowned. Bucky sighed. “I- I want to stay here. I didn’t come back to you, because I… I don’t want to fight again. You’ll always want to fight, you always did, punk. Gave me a few heart attacks back in the day. But… that’s it. I’m done fighting. I’m done with superheroes and supersoldiers and… I’m done. I… I’m just ‘Jack’ here, and it’s… I like it.”

Steve knew everything about his Bucky, upside down and front and backwards, and he was still shocked to hear that from his mouth. And then, he looked into his friend's eyes, and he realized that he was tired. And ready to start a new page. And if there was someone who deserved it, it was Bucky. "...Okay."

And he saw the relief in his friend’s eyes, and knew it had been the right thing to do.

“Hey, Jack!” A voice behind them made him turn around. It was Darcy, looking at her phone, “what’s taking you so long, you’re usually-Hiiiii Steve…” Her smiled turned forced. “Oh boy.”

***

Life went… surprisingly normal after that.

If you didn’t count the fact that Tony almost thought of a murderbot but was stopped by Bruce, the Avengers stormed a Sokovian base and found tortured kids (and Darcy appointed herself as caretaker there, because she didn’t believe any of them, except maaaybe Clint?, were able to take care of teenagers with their hero schedule), Bucky found himself a black dog he named Dodger and that ‘Captain America’ had become a fixture at the shelter (and that was great for keeping the ne'er do well far enough off), life was extremely boring.

It was almost Christmas and everyone was freezing their asses off. “What’s this?” Darcy turned to a curious Bucky, who was using his ungloved hand to poke at a fluffy package on the table.

“It’s yours. It’s the thing.” She tried to be cool about it, but she’d been debating whether or not to give it to him all day.

True to her words, it’d taken Darcy that long to finish her sweater.

It was a red, fluffy thing with a black and white dog knitted on it. “...Thanks?”

He didn’t really understand the reference, and Darcy probably got that, because, “It’s Baker.”

“...What?” Baker the shelter name?

“Uhm, long story short, Murderbot attacked us all in New Mexico and I saved that dog from wreckage, I named him Baker but I had to let him go. So.. uhm, yeah. That’s Baker.”

She smiled tentatively “It’s a … ‘one of us’ sorta thing, right? But I thought you’d appreciate something warmer than the T-Shirt…”

Oh.

Well, he’d have appreciated a gift from a pretty girl back in the day, and he’d have appreciated a gift from Darcy these days, but this had a whole different meaning.

“Thanks” He said, sincerely.

Her smile lit up the whole room.

#Darcy Lewis #darcyland #gen #bucky barnes #sam wilson #steve rogers #fluff #kinda

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sophisticated-angel · 7 years

Text

Professional

Character: Dean Winchester

Warning: None

Word Count: 1,951

Request: Dean and Reader are on an FBI case and Dean is having a lot of trouble remaining professional around Reader

Pairing: None

Story

His reputation precedes him. You’ve heard stories about him and the notches in his belt, how he survived Hell, traveled through time, destroyed multiple mega monsters and even became one himself. Friends tell you about his intelligence and cunning; female friends come back swooning and ranting about how dreamy he is. All in all, you hold him in high regard, so when a mutual friend suggests you work a case together, you look forward to meeting him. When you knock on the door of their motel room, it’s opened by tall man wearing a worn gray button up.

“You (y/n)?” he asks.

You nod. “Which one are you?”

The man chuckles. “I’m Sam. Fair warning, you’re an attractive woman, and my brother hasn’t gotten laid in two months.”

“I can handle it.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Inside the room is another man nursing a beer and reclining in a crappy dining chair. His denim jacket is rolled up to his elbows and hangs unbuttoned, and though his outfit is wrinkled and dirty, his short hair is damp from a recent shower. When he sees you, he stands and sets the bottle down.

“You must be (y/n).” He dons a sly grin. “I must say, Garth did not do you justice because I was not prepared for all of this.”

“So, you’re Dean.”

“I can be anything you want. Like what you see?”

Shrugging, you drop your duffel bag on the floor and take a seat on the nearest bed. Judging by the way Dean raises an eyebrow, you’ve probably chosen his, but he can think whatever he likes. You’re here to do a job.

“What’ve we got?” you ask the room.

“Uh, not much.” Sam picks up an open laptop from the other bed.

“(y/n)?” Dean says. “Top, bottom, vertical.”

Sam raises his voice. “Couple of weird deaths, some occult signs, but there’s other clues we’ve never seen before. Nothing fits together. Kinda been hoping you can make heads or tails of it.”

“Super strange and extra weird. That’s my specialty.”

“I’ll bet you’re real fun in the sheets, eh?” Dean winks at you.

With a bit of focus, you manage to ignore Dean’s immaturity, so basically his existence, and convince everyone to go out to a diner for a bite to eat while you review the case. A pair of women wearing tightly fitted, swooping V-neck shirts and shorts no longer than their self-respect sits by the window in the restaurant, and in moments Dean has joined them. While the older brother lures the other fish in the sea, the younger one suffers from secondhand shame and helps you try to extrapolate from what little information you have. Dean’s back in a few minutes – as the waiter appears with the tray with everyone’s food, in fact – just as you and Sam have decided that a stop at the police station is the best move.

“What’d I miss?” he asks.

“If you’d been over here, maybe you’d know,” you snip. “And by the way, I know you’re trying to make me jealous.”

“I wasn’t, but it sounds like I did. I’d be happy to help with that frustration.”

“You’re focus should be on the job, not on getting into my pants.”

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

“I’d rather be dull than sleep with you.”

“Wow. That hurt.”

“Good. Now finish your food so we can go.”

He must have been caught off guard by your statement, because his immaturity takes a back seat. You think you’ve got him beat, but a man like Dean can’t be stopped by words alone. But he behaves, and you relax a little. After changing into your FBI suits, you drive to the station for a word with the police chief: a casual man who leads you to the break room and offers you donuts and coffee. Everyone but Dean declines, and once again you and Sam do most of the work. Dean participates just enough to be a convincing federal agent, but he drifts into donut land and meanders around the chief, staying in your line of sight.

A single powdered donut is his victim, but he can’t just eat it. Instead, he slowly slips his finger through the hole in the center, smirking and looking directly at you. Then he replaces his finger with his tongue, licks all the way around, darts in and out sensuously. Donuts should not be this sensual, but you won’t ever look at a pastry the same way again. To your horror, you realize you’re a little bit turned on.

“You alright, Agent Miller?” inquires the chief. He turns, and Dean shoves half the donut in his mouth.

“Yeah, I’m good.” You clear your throat and smile reassuringly, but you glance at Dean and receive a wink that makes you blush with embarrassment. “Um, you were saying about Miss Paroli?”

“New in town, so she couldn’t have made any enemies.”

“Did she seem nervous?” Sam chimes in, “Maybe someone followed her here?”

“Don’t think so. Then again, nobody really knows her, but people say she was odd.”

“Odd how?”

“Well, one of my officers was over at the trailer park on a call about a month ago, and he said her trailer was decked out with gypsy stuff. Had a sign out front for a mystic arts business. Healing, fortune-telling.”

By the donut box, Dean begins licking powdered sugar off his fingers, and he somehow makes this as suggestive as everything else. You get distracted again, and Sam has to give you a quick pinch to bring you back down to Earth.

Thus far, you aren’t impressed by Dean. He doesn’t live up to all the hype, all the stories you’ve heard, and you’re a little worried that he won’t be much good in a fight, not if he’s focused on you. Maybe if you slept with him he’d be able to focus better, but maybe it would encourage him to behave like this in the future. You’ll have to make it clear that you’re only interested in seeing him grow up and do his job, but you’re willing to give him one more chance.

He blows it.

You’re alone in the motel room with him, both of you poring through web pages and books while Sam pokes around Anna Pelori’s trailer home. You’ve changed into loungewear to combat the warm afternoon and chosen to recline on the bed, and Dean sits at the table. Every few seconds, you catch him looking your way, but he doesn’t say or do anything, so you let it slide. But then he crosses his legs, uncrosses them, fidgets in his chair, crosses them the other way, tugs on his pants . . . and does it all over again.

“Seriously, Dean?” you sigh.

“What?”

“Do you want me to say it out loud?”

“I can’t help it, okay?”

“You could be a little less conspicuous about it!”

“Or you could help me.”

“Oh my God.” Slamming your computer shut, you gather it and the book you’re reading in your arms. “You’re being a child, and I am so done with it! You need to grow up, Dean!”

Whatever response he has falls on deaf ears because you meant that. You are done with all of him. The next time someone suggests you work with the Winchesters, your ‘no’ will be a firm one.

But Dean surprises you. Hours after you’ve given up on research for the day, he bursts through the door, eyes bright and proud, and draws an arc in the air with his hands as he announces the name of the creature he’s concluded is to blame.

“Really?” You lift one eyebrow. “I’ve only comes across that thing once.”

“They don’t usually pop up in the States. Heard about one in Alaska a few years ago, but not anywhere else in the country.”

“Do we have the stuff to kill it?”

“Give me an hour.” He steps out but sticks his head back in an instant later. “I call wielding the weapon.”

“You’re geeking out.”

“Yup.”

After this, he just . . . stops. There are no more flirtations, not even a wink. Now he runs like a well-oiled machine. He prepares the weapon, shows you how to make defenses you’ve never heard of, and, finally, starts validating his reputation. In the throes of the hunt, Dean is rather magnificent. He moves with a unique grace and confidence and wields the weapon brilliantly. A few mishaps are had, mostly to do with stealth, but the monster is slain, and no one dies. Ten minutes after the fight ends, you stagger back into the motel room, your mind changed about Dean.

“I hurt all freaking over,” you groan.

“Most of it’s probably tension,” says Dean. And then he winks and adds, “I know a couple of stretches that are perfect for relieving tension.”

Your mind changes back, and you shove him against a wall, suddenly, furious.

“Would you stop?” you hiss. “I am sick of you! I didn’t come here to be hit on, and you have been an absolute child the whole time! You know, I thought you were an adult and a good hunter! You’re a damn good hunter, but you’re so damn immature! You took way too many risks tonight, and look at yourself! Son of a bitch, nobody should look this good covered in this much blood!” Chest heaving, you shut your mouth. Dean just watches you.

“You gonna kiss me or what?”

“Hell yes.”

What you do next can be most accurately described as smashing your mouth against his mouth, but it’s okay. Frustration you denied is released and relieved the moment you kiss. You get into it quickly, and the following minute turns into the hottest, sloppiest make-out session you’ve ever had. Dean decides he knows your face well enough and works his way down your neck – kisses warm, wet, and eager. His hands are eager too. They play in your hair, down your sides, pull your hips close and hold you there. Yours caress his face, trace his neck, press palms in his chest and push him against the wall.

Then he spins you around, swaps places with you so that you can decided when to move. So that’s how he likes it. You shove him bodily towards the bed, press down on his shoulders to make him sit and lie back with his head on the pillow. Straddling him, you pull of your shirt in a single motion before kissing him again from above.

“I guess this means I win?” he murmurs.

“Whatever you want.”

“This is so hot.”

“Thank you.” Another deep kiss. “My specialty is the super strange and extra weird, and you” —you smirk— “are the strangest, weirdest man I have ever met.”

“I have never been more turned on than I am right now.”

“Shh. It’s better if you don’t talk.”

Everything descends into a rolling wave of passion. If he’ll have you, you’re willing to go all the way. So beautiful. Only seconds pass, however, before Sam bursts into the room and flips on the light.

“Congrats to the both of you,” he says in a rush, “but in case you’ve forgotten, we’ve got the cops on our tail.”

“What the hell, Sam?”

“Can’t sleep with her in prison. Get a move on!”

Groaning, you get off of Dean and put your shirt back on. Dean sits up, shakes his head, and gets to his feet. He rushes appropriately, shoulders both your bag and his, and stops you before you get to the door for one more kiss.

“That’s an IOU.”

@pureawesomeness001 @27bmm @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @super-not-naturall @gabriel-themightysugaraddict @mogaruke @mrswhozeewhatsis @hexparker @spn-dean-and-sam-winchester

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realestatemarathonpodcast · 4 years

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Episode 29 Financial Independence Retire Early Explained.

After 49 Episodes, Mike and Larry get the chance to describe the F.I.R.E. movement and what it means to be financially independent. They help you figure out your why of F.I. This is a must listen episode.

Show transcription:

Episode 29 Financial Independence, Retire Early.mp3

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Real Estate Marathon podcast. Your Guide in the Race to Financial Freedom. The Real Estate Investing and Sound Financial Practices. This podcast is for anyone interested in learning more about real estate, investing, personal finances and a new take on traditional retirement. Now here are your host, Larry B0 and Mike Moe.

[00:00:24] What's going on, everybody? Welcome to the Real Estate Marathon podcast. Your guide on the race to financial freedom through real estate investing in sound financial practices. My name is Mike Bell, one of the hosts of the show joined today, as always, Mr. Fisher.

[00:00:39] I'm doing well, Mike. I'm doing very well tonight.

[00:00:41] I know that you're extremely excited because this is an episode that you've been looking forward to for about forty nine episodes, I would think.

[00:00:50] Yes, I am super pumped for this episode. So what are we going to be talking about today, Mike? Well, man, after 50 plus episodes or so, we are finally going to dove deep into the financial independence. What is it? What does it mean? How do you get there? You know, when we started this, you know, we talked about, you know, obviously the name is a real estate marathon podcast for a reason. But when we started this, we talked a lot about, you know, having this be a really good blend of real estate investing and personal finance topics. You know, I think we've we've done a decent job, you know, going over the credit scores, going over a lot of that, you know, setting that strong financials, you know, foundation that we talk about and we delve deep into, you know, a handful of topics around real estate. And now after like I said, after almost 50 plus episodes, we're going to dove deep into financial independence.

[00:01:43] What it means, you know, we're doing five, one on one. So finding independence is one of the posts you put earlier in the podcast on social media was your Wi-Fi.

Larry [00:01:54] Yeah, I like that. And everybody has to have a reason for why they want financial independence. And once you discover that reason, it gives you the motivation to pursue it actively.

Larry [00:02:04] And that's what we're here to do. We're going to define it. And really deep dove into it. So I am surprised you can even sleep last night. We absolutely did.

[00:02:14] I'm omgpop man, and I'm glad we're finally getting around to this. You know, and it's it's a subject that we've we've touched on or it's a term, I should say, that we've used in a ton of episodes.

[00:02:23] So I'm glad we're finally getting to it being given it's a given it the justice it deserves. You really kind of dove deep. So we're going to you know, we're we're going to cover the definition. Obviously, we're in a covered the history of, you know, fights. The basic principle is how did she do it and resources to us to explore more and dove deeper on your own. So it's it's going to be a good episode. And I'm fun. And it's the first time that you and I have gotten to a riff. You're on our own. You know, we've had a ton of interviews, last handful of episodes.

[00:02:50] We haven't that. We've had a solo Soad an hour. It's just us on a topic. So be good to get back to that as well.

[00:02:56] Yeah. Yeah, I enjoy that a lot because I think we we offer a lot of good information, a lot of good material to the listeners and it's great to have the interviewers.

[00:03:06] But one of the things I enjoy hearing the most is my own voice and they have not heard enough of it lately.

[00:03:14] I like hear my own joke. So we'll see if I can throw a few of those in here.

[00:03:17] Oh, yeah, yeah. I loved some bad jokes myself. So. Yes, well, you want to start with the warm up so we can get Guiteau limber and loose ready to run this marathon.

[00:03:27] Let's do it, man. And this is going to be a marathon. It's going to be a get up. So here it is.

[00:03:31] It is. We're talking about the fire movement and fire stands for financial independence.

[00:03:36] Retire early. And the fight the fire movement is essentially the goal of planning for financial independence. So you have the option to retire early or at any time you would like to.

[00:03:48] Yeah. Yeah. It sits exactly what we're talking about today. And, you know, some people get to it kind of thrown off by the R E on that term, you know.

[00:03:58] So people some people like just the they don't like to retire early. Sometimes they retire term gives kind of a negative connotation or you're just gonna be, you know, sitting on the beach and sipping mai tais, which isn't necessarily the case for most people who reach financial independence. But either way, it's exactly, exactly what we're talking about today.

[00:04:18] And I've been known to take some liberties with the army of fire. You know, it could be a financial independence. Retiring is excellent. You know, any any of that kind of thing. Real estate. You know, I take liberties. What it actually does mean the retire early.

[00:04:33] So you know what? Where do you want to start? You know, we're we get really deep dove into it. You want to cover some of the history. Maybe the basic principles of it.

[00:04:43] Well, you know, so let's just expand a little bit more on on fire. So there's a couple of different terms that it can be referred to on a pretty regular basis.

[00:04:51] So fire is probably one of the most common ones which you already defined as that financial independence. Retire early fi or F5, financial independence, financial freedom, the hundred percenters, which is basically means 100 percent of your expenses is covered by passive income. But essentially all these things mean that saying that all mean that you can hundred ten, 11 percent cover your living expenses is with the income that is coming in off your passive portfolio, a passive investments, whatever. Maybe whether it's real estate, whether it's stocks, bonds, whatever your investments is. They all mean the same thing that you made such a cover, your living expenses and your main expenses for life.

[00:05:33] And I'm actually in this position right now with my passive income portfolio, with being able to cover all my expenses.

[00:05:41] I could retire right now and and not lose any ground in my financial livelihood. I guess you could say and this is very freeing. It gives you options. And that's one of the things that people seek is freedom, freedom, freedom. And the FI gives you that freedom. And when we actually in the last few episodes, we've been talking a lot about the financial retirement number, and the number is in an age which we defined in one of the last episodes. It's just a number of how much how many dollars you need to have monthly coming in. So you don't have to work that eight to five or nine to five full time grind the rat race, if you will.

[00:06:24] Yeah. And there you're probably the prime example of why that already doesn't necessarily always apply. So you got that fi- and it's almost like financial independence work optional.

[00:06:33] You're still working. But tomorrow you don't have to. Like that's kind of the options that this gives you. You know, it's kind of like I said, I think a handful of times on this, you know, this this show, I got a you know, a nine-to-five today that they currently enjoy. And I get to do some on energy. And, you know, I'm not one of those people that hates their job day in and day out. Right. But, you know, in five years, I don't know what's going to happen in five years. I think I use this exact term before, you know, my boss could come to me tomorrow and say, you're scrubbing toilets for the next week. You know, obviously in I.T. this could happen, but they could. And I you know, not being at financial independence, what do I do? I guess Guptill is right because I'm dependent on that paycheck right now. So financial independence work optional. You don't have to retire. You don't have to stop working. You don't have to go sit on the beach. But it gives you options. You know, I'm talking to one of these young guys at one of these investment events. The handful of months ago. And he kind of said the same thing is like, I love my job. So why do I care about financial independence?

[00:07:34] Don't care about, you know, that whole movement. It's like, man, things change real quick. And, you know, I think we're in a position right now currently in our current situation that we got going on here, mid 20s, Tony, where a lot of people would be better off. Have they had some, you know, passive income coming in?

[00:07:51] Yeah. Yeah. And you bring up a good point where we are with my my financial independence is it is work optional. And part of the reason, you know, people are saying, why?

[00:08:02] Why should I care about financial independence? I enjoy my 9 to 5. Well, financial independence. What that allows you to do it. It allows you to build wealth twice as fast, because if you've got dual income, you've got the the portfolio income, which is equal to or higher than what your regular paycheck is. And then you got that weekly paycheck coming in. You can actually get to, well, wealthy. You're rich even faster if you take that money and use it is as in investments or however you choose to use it. We choose real estate. But if you have that financial independence. No. On top of your regular income, that's just it's brings a lot of a lot of wealth to bear at your situation.

[00:08:49] So, yeah, it it's it's just a numbers game and it's just taken the numbers and extrapolating. I know, you know, I used to always hear, you know, one of the best things to do was, you know, you know, if you're married, you get two incomes. You should save 100 percent of one person's income and just live off the other one.

[00:09:04] Well, in essence, if you are five or if you build up a portfolio of, you know, whether it be rentals or whether it be stocks or bonds, that provides you enough pass, it could provide, you know, passive income to live on. Well, essentially, you have two incomes. You're just one hundred cent investing one and then you're living off the other. So it's almost doing the same thing, but better because you're building this investment portfolio.

[00:09:26] Yeah. Yeah. And like you said, if if my boss came to me today and said you've got a you've got to clean those toilets, I have the option of saying I really decided I didn't want to do that today.

[00:09:37] Yeah, that's. We'll get to that in the basic principles of fi. That's what we like to lovingly referred to as F-U money.

[00:09:44] F-U money, the toilet principle. And I'm still reeling over you quoting your own term, that thewall Wauchula theWall Financial. Linda Pence's financial independence work optional.

[00:09:56] I like Eminem. Yeah. His trademark that themwho coined to fuel this is a new thewall movement. There's some other other variations of FYE that I want to touch on real quick.

[00:10:08] And that's fact fire and lehne fire. And essentially these are just the, you know, lean fire is you have enough passive income coming in to cover your basic basic basic living expenses. So you can eat. You can. You could. Your mortgage, but you're not living the life you want to. It's not like you're going oh, it's not like you're traveling. You're not living the life even that you're living. Right now, you would have to make some significant cutbacks. But you wouldn't make it right. So that's lean fire. That fire is kind of the opposite. That where it's, you know, you have more than enough to do it. You know, I wouldn't say extravagantly, but you can travel. You can, you know, live above your means that you're even doing now. I'm completely on your passive income. So I moved in last year living large. Right. So I thought fire.

[00:10:53] Fire. I like it. That's that's the way to be. Get enough of that passive income. And there's not really much you you don't necessarily have to live large way. You could if the if the mood struck you.

[00:11:05] Yeah. Exactly. There's a kid. You can take trips or travel or you know, do whatever you wherever you may be. But you're not you're not living like pinching pennies.

[00:11:14] Right.

[00:11:14] So these are as you see with the pictures of the Lamborghinis and the private jets out there, they're definitely fat firing that straight away.

[00:11:21] And it's straight wealth, man. That's that's wealthy for sure. But yeah.

[00:11:26] So we actually move on or you want to dove in and anything else on those, you know, the FatFighters, when I think I think a lot of people are trying to get to the lean fire is when you first achieve financial independence, you have lean fire.

[00:11:40] You don't necessarily have to retire. But you can. And just get by. But like you said, that fat fires, what dual income that I'm working towards right now is.

[00:11:50] Yeah. Yes. But I'll give you a I guess I'll give you an example right now. So, you know, if you're somebody who on a regular day to day basis is living off about, say, let's say six grand a month and you take a look at all your expenses and you realize you can cut out, you know, you can cut your grocery bill, you cut gas down if you know, if you had to.

[00:12:08] And then you could you could live at, say, forty two hundred bucks a month. Your lean fire would be forty two hundred bucks a month. I mean, you could live. You could pay your bills. You wouldn't be you know, you wouldn't be going hungry, yoga, losing your house or going bankrupt.

[00:12:20] So it's very nice in that same example. You know, let's say 10 grand a month. Is that advice? You know, it's well, but beyond that, you know, that six grand that you're accustomed to, you can splurge a little bit on travel alert. You know, what have you per month and you're good to go there.

[00:12:37] And the fat fire, my goal, just so everybody knows, is that taken that month or two off and just just traveling for an entire couple months, you know, that's serious.

[00:12:47] Well, my hope is that fires.

[00:12:50] But we got to go. We've got to get a handful of these people. Oh, there's so many people that take these many retirements that I've listened to where, you know, that worked for three or five years.

[00:12:59] And they'll take six months out because they can because it built this this this machine. And that is their portfolio that can that can, you know, sustain them for more than six months.

[00:13:11] But they'll just do that as a mini retirement so they don't wait until they're, you know, fifty or fifty five years old. And you only need to wait till you're fully, you know, that fire. You can just do it. If you have a if you union fire and you have a little bit of an essay that you're comfortable with it, you take them in your retirement and MBNA.

[00:13:27] Yeah. And one of the terms and I think it was Jack Bosch on his episode said, was that forever cash? You know, it's an excellent concept. I love that forever cash flow out, you know. So you want to jump into the history and file. But where did the word that term get coined?

[00:13:45] Yeah. And we weren't willing to spend too much time here, man. But it did start better. It is known to have started right around in the mid 80s by a couple, Vicki, Robin and Joe Domínguez. They wrote a book.

[00:13:57] They wrote a book, not a bike, pirates' and bikes, but they wrote a book called Your Money Your Life. And the core concepts of this book is that most people go through life unknowingly trading their time for money. So essentially, you guys, everybody, most of the people here, they show up at a job every day and you spend eight, nine, 10 hours at that job and you're essentially trading now or you realize for certain things in your life. Basically, it's a trade off, right?

[00:14:24] Yeah. Yeah. And that's I mean, a lot of people when they and this is how I run my finances, you actually think to yourself when when you're looking to splurge on something or you're trying to decide whether something is in need or want.

[00:14:38] I generally calculate how much time I would have to spend to make the money to pay for that.

[00:14:45] So which is it? That's a great thing to do, man, because when you look at it like that, when you kind of put that that on its head as far as well that 400 at our and that's easy.

[00:14:54] I can I can handle that. I can make those payments. But when you kind of put that on its head and say, well, how many hours your life are you trading for that hour payment, well, then it kind of becomes real. There's a little bit more personal. And I wrote an example here and see if I can get it straight. This is a week or so ago. But so if you think about that 400 car payment, which is not I mean, that's pretty average for people these days, I'd say maybe that's even a little bit on the low end. But 400 bucks a month is your car. If been making bread around the national average of $50000 a year, you know, after taxes, you always gotta come. You know, factory taxes, because when you think about it, you make 50 grand a year. Sure. But you are paying in taxes and all that money. And then when you are buying something like this car, you're also paying taxes on it. So how much you truly walking away with? So let's say after taxes, you are going to forty three hundred bucks a year. So a 40 hour work week say that you work out of 40 hour work week, you're averaging 20 bucks an hour or twenty dollars and 70 cents an hour you're walking away with. It would take you 19 hours. Nineteen point three hours a month to trade for that car. So essentially, you think you work Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday and the first week of every month. That is your time that you traded for that car. And when you think about it like that, especially when you start thinking about, you know, this mortgage payment of two, three, four, five thousand dollars a month, you're trading how many hours or weeks or days year your life for that essentially every month. And when it adds up, you want to make sure that you're trading your time for things that actually mattered and helps put things in perspective a little bit.

[00:16:29] It does. It does. In one of the things I kind of throw a little bit of a subjective part of that as well. You know, I look at it like, do I buy a car that gives me nineteen point three, two hours worth of enjoyment for that?

[00:16:43] Because it's it's a input output kind of thing. So I'm putting my nineteen point three, two hours. But if I get 50 hours worth of enjoyment on my will, say like a Corbat or whatever I decided to buy, it becomes worth it. But if if you're buying, you know, I don't know what kind of little tiny, you know, card doesn't go very fast and you get maybe an hour and a half of enjoyment. And it's just for getting you back and forth to work. Then, you know, it might not be a tradeoff, but you definitely do need a car.

[00:17:16] So, yeah. But so you bring up a good point that in the whole I think the whole reasoning behind looking at it like this is it's looking at what am I spending money on? And does it truly bring value to be it like I am not a frugal person. So that's why I went at a time when we talk about budgeting, when we talk about debt. Like I see those cars. I'm like, yeah, I want that. So, like, I have to look at that and say, does that. Is that worth trading my time for it? And some of it does splurging on those nice things. It's worth it to me. And some of it isn't. And that's that's why looking at it and taking a true look at your expenses and you're spending. I was able to cut a bunch of expenses just by, you know, in hindsight thinking of how much value I got out of those expenses and shift those into the things that I actually got value. I think that's the power I find that really makes you look at where's your money going and does it align with your values and what you find beneficial and you like you enjoy, you know, getting time and spending time on those things that you spend your money on.

[00:18:17] And I think this is a good time for the credit score. KING To jump on a different side note, you know that that example you had would cost you nineteen point three, two hours a month.

[00:18:28] Imagine if you had like a four hundred credit score that could number could easily jump to 30 hours or 30 hours a month and you're paying more for your credit. So, you know, the higher your credit score, the lower the amount of hours that you have to cover purchases. So, yeah.

[00:18:46] And you know what I like about the credit score. And you know that I don't like the credit score very much. But I do like the credit score.

[00:18:52] The fact that you can you can maintain and you can you can get a good credit score without spending a lot of money. Like I always feel people and you know, you've heard my complaints about the credit score that I don't think it's a very good indication of how financial savvy you charge because you're able to borrow a bunch of money and pay it back. And that doesn't mean you're good with your money, but you can do it without spending money. And you can you can build that up without going and racking it into debt. Like like we talked about, you can get a credit card and you can put your you know, if you're smart about it, you can just put your next year and your money that you would have spent anyways on that card to get those points into build up that credit and not go into more debt than you weren't expecting to. Yeah.

[00:19:35] And that's definitely another benefit. So but it looks like you have listed a few few different resources to help people deal with FI. I mean, the first one you've got listed here is the Mr. Money Mustache Blog 2011 net. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:19:51] So we went we went a little off track of the history. You know, it started with Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez with that book, Your Money, Your Life. And then it really exploded. 2011/2012 with with the blog that you you mentioned, Mr. Money Mustache. It's a lot of people's kind of first foray into, you know, financial independence or what it might actually mean to, you know, go this unconventional route and be able to retire early. So there's an article that was one of his most famous one that's called The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement, which we linked to here and we can link to in the show notes. It breaks down in a unbelievably easy way to understand how you can retire at 30, at 35, at 40 if you truly want to. It kind of breaks down that it is just a numbers game and makes it super easy for people to comprehend.

[00:20:45] Retirement just. Well, math problem. And yeah, you know, math and realize it tells you exactly what you need how to get there.

[00:20:53] And once you get there, the numbers work out. It's it's glorious. People lie.

[00:20:58] Numbers don't lie.

[00:21:01] That's how it goes. So, yeah.

[00:21:03] If you guys haven't heard Mr. Money Mustache, you know, he bragged he was one of the really the pioneers of bringing, you know, the financial independence, financial freedom fighter or whatever the heck you want to call it to a little bit more of a mainstream with his blog. And then there's a handful of other ones that choose F choose F, I guess, which is phenomenal podcasts. They also got a book I A Blueprint to Financial Independence. Remember correctly. And then the bigger pockets, money, podcasts. All of these are really the core players in the financial independence education sector. I would say, you know, out there and have done a ton of bringing all these principles and these concepts to the mainstream.

[00:21:44] Yeah. And the nice thing about all these blogs and podcasts is they basically put a put a term and a face on what I was already doing.

[00:21:54] It took me 15 years to get to the point where I was financially secure and and had my credit score and everything fixed. And I started listening to these guys. I'm like, you know, why are you do that? And I didn't realize there was a rule to cover it.

[00:22:08] This is what, you know, you'll be even before where obviously this guy really popular in 2011, 2012 started to take off. You know, obviously there are people doing it and practicing this. But I think what you know, what that goes to say is there are still ways that you can even improve even further. There's not a lot of these are just minor, minor tweaks that over the long run really, really, really make a difference to these different like tax strategies that these different savings tactics and things like air investment strategies that really they seem I knew in the in the in the real time here, but, you know, expand that over a five or seven or eight year investing term. And the numbers show how much of a difference this can make. And it is really tactical ways about going about your finances.

[00:22:59] And once you start getting getting a handle on everything, it generally falls into place. You have to you have to get this stuff set the the basics before you can run, you know, when and where you can run.

[00:23:12] Yeah, 100 percent.

[00:23:13] And there is there's almost these different levels of as you kind of dove down into the financial independence rabbit hole, there's these different levels of, I guess, educate educators and a levels of education. So if you think about, you know, Dave Ramsey is one that I know a lot of people mention in is a is one that I started out with. You know, I started out listening to it. You know, it kind of led me to the next one, the next one to the next one. And Dave Ramsey, you'll see a lot of people in the financial independence community, starting with Dave Ramsey. He's got super good principles. He teaches a lot of the basic money concepts. But when you look at it, some of it is just too black-And-White. Like he's got this like, you know, you hate debt. Right. Like, he just absolutely can can't stand debt and says you shouldn't buy real estate unless unless you can buy a cash, which I mean, and leverage is one of the amazing tools of real estate and amazing tools and investments if done right. So I think you'll find people start with like the Dave Ramsey or some of the other basics and then graduate once they learn those. They kind of. They graduate to some other concepts of different educators and the financial independence world.

[00:24:25] Now, I see Dave Ramsey as being the person that gives you a healthy respect for the power that the negative aspects of debt. And then once you learn to have a healthy respect for debt and you use it wisely, then a debt can be a huge tool in your tool belt.

[00:24:41] Yeah. And let's be honest, like you think about like you listen to the Dave Ramsey podcast and you listen to the people that call in. You know, he's got these millionaires that call in and it'll work.

[00:24:51] If you want to. And believe me, I was on this train at first. You know, when I when I started listening to this and when I started getting into this movement, you know, worked twenty five years and spend your super frugal and don't spend a lot of money and save as much as you can into mutual funds. And in twenty five years, you'll be a millionaire.

[00:25:09] That will work. One hundred percent that will work. The problem is, I don't want to do it in twenty five years. I don't want to do it in like five years. So there are others tactics and other strategies for it. You know, those goals. So it all comes back to that. So it's a it's a good start. But then I think people kind of graduate from there.

[00:25:27] Yeah. Twenty five years is a very long time to get to be a millionaire. Bye bye. Yeah. Scrimping and saving pennies and things.

[00:25:35] Yeah. And it's like I don't want to pinch pennies or twenty five years.

[00:25:38] I just want to do the same page with that, Mike. You know, it's a lot of things I don't want to work for sixty five years. For ten years of fun before. That it has a way.

[00:25:48] So that's why we're here trying to help as many people as we can to get that. Get the heck. Yeah. 25 year millionaire do it.

[00:25:56] I mean, there's studies. I mean, obviously. So a lot of the financial independence blogs, podcasts, things like that. It all depends on your savings rate, which we'll talk about in a little bit here. But there are case studies, people doing it in two or three years as case studies of people doing it in nine or 10 years. I think on average, people can get to this five point anywhere from five to 10 years, depending on how much you make, depending on your savings rate and really depending on how crazy are about it. You know, some people don't mind being super, super frugal and cutting back down to the bare bone and saving, you know, 60 percent, 70 percent or 80 percent of income. Other people, you know, totally cool will do 20, 30 percent and just add a couple years under, you know, the time it take you to get there. And either approach is fine. It's just kind of what fits you type thing.

[00:26:43] I tell everybody, you took me forty nine years to get to financial independence. It was forty seven years of trial and error. And I wasn't doing that correctly.

[00:26:53] Yeah.

[00:26:53] And so if you can take that and if you can use some of that education that's out there, you know, just so much education out there, you might go to cut down that learning curve more.

[00:27:04] Yeah. I'm hoping to condense my forty seven years of trial and error and help these folks in in listening to the podcast do it in a couple years, so.

[00:27:12] Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Man, you. Yeah. I can't even tell you how many resources are out there, podcasts and books. And, you know, obviously that's that can be an issue, too, because it's almost overwhelming how much stuff is out there.

[00:27:25] And it's just it's like it's just like the health industry and some of the stuff contradict each other. Some of the you know, this this guru says X and Scooter says Y. And there's really no easy way to navigate that other than you've got a headache. Go out there and explore and take what works for you and discard the rest and keep keep going and figure out what works for you.

[00:27:45] So, you know, and you guys are all listening to my favorite podcast resource. So keep that up with that.

[00:27:54] The real estate marathon is my favorite resource. That's right. It's a dad joke. So a lot of people miss him.

[00:28:05] So you can jump into the basic five principles and rules of thumb.

[00:28:09] Yeah. Let's do it.

[00:28:10] So the 4 percent rule, the 4 percent rule is essentially you need a hammer. So essentially you 4 percent of your nest egg you can live on essentially forever. So if you have a million dollars, you take out 4 percent of that. That's what, $40000. Right. So you could essentially take out four percent of that million dollars. And there is a 97 percent chance, likelihood that that principle will last or that that nest egg will last forever. It's based on what the called the Trinity studies, which is this massive study of basically of what you can take out and with based on the returns in the whole other factors, the likelihood of it lasting forever, essentially. You never having it touch that principle. So based on that, the four percent rule, it's kind of been this rule of thumb being, you know, once you reach that's that 4 percent rule, you're essentially for. So my expenses are $40000 a year or, you know, adjusted for taxes. Then you're a little over a million dollars nest egg. If I'm doing stocks or bonds or whatever that it's that stock portfolio, then that would be your number.

[00:29:22] Yeah. And as everybody knows, it's one of the one of the fears of people that they're they're going to outlive their money. And that's not a good retirement. If you end up having enough money to cover five years and you live, you know, twenty five years of retirement, you're you're broke in five years. Then what do you do?

[00:29:40] Yeah. Right. Yep. The other way to do it is just take your expenses that you need. So if you need $40000 a year to live. Times it by twenty five. It's the same thing, but it's just like anything. It's a rule of thumb. So it does not. You know, there are there are more conservative folks out there who might who would say it's probably more like three and a half percent and would also say that it largely depends on what happens in the market. The first handful of years, if you were Tirina, because you you know, if you're a tired day one and you start drying on your portfolio in the market immediately takes a dove, say 20 percent, I don't know. Like it just didn't stop 25 percent, then that way you can't take that 4 percent off that original balance. You have to then adjust for what the principle is. Sorry. What's your your total portfolio is and take 4 percent off that new. Right. Right. So in sequence return risk essentially is what they refer to. That is what it is a good rule of thumb, at least while you're traveling on the road to fi and as you're trying to. The goal to shoot for is that 4 percent rule.

[00:30:49] Yep, yep. And then the next thing you've got there is the savings rate. Now, that's the amount of savings that you need to retire. Financial independence, is that what that means?

[00:31:00] No, it's it's essentially. What percentage of your income are you saving today? So if you're making said one hundred thousand dollars a year and you're saving ten thousand dollars a year, whether it be to invest in stocks or to invest in real estate, you know, your savings rate is 10 percent.

[00:31:17] We've talked on the show a few times where we think, you know, in normal in a society, you hear about somebody saving 10 percent of their income and they get that boy.

[00:31:26] And everybody is super pumped in the firewall world. You know, it's more like 40 or 50 percent. It is usually the average. People are saving upwards of 40, 50, 60, sometimes 70, 80 percent of their income just in investing that tire on it that they're saving and then just living on that 10 or 20 or 30 percent of their income. You know, that's a little bit extreme depending on how much money you make. But I think 50 percent is kind of that that nice balance, at least in my my perspective.

[00:31:55] To get to from a savings rate on the savings rate, like you said, if you can save 50 percent.

[00:32:00] That's where for me personally with the portfolio, that's where my portfolio comes in because I make as much in my portfolios as my wife and I do working full time. So we we live off of our full time income and then basically save 50 percent of our income, which is the portfolio income. We put that right in the savings. So that's going to help effectively get us to being millionaire status a lot sooner.

[00:32:25] So you're essentially saving a 100 percent and you're able to 100 percent of your working income. You were able to save because of that, because of that rental income that you had coming in.

[00:32:36] Yeah. And then once we get to a level where we can invest even more into another expanding their portfolio, another duplex or try to flekser multifamily, then that just keeps increasing the amount. So at some point we're going to be saving 200 percent of our of our income.

[00:32:54] Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And definitely powerful, powerful, powerful thing.

[00:32:59] Now, what's this next item on their mind? Inefficiencies in taxes, spending and investments wasn't necessarily like a rule of thumb.

[00:33:07] This is more of a kind of a general guiding principle.

[00:33:10] You know, when you get into it, like I said with earlier, with the Dave Ramsey is the world has got really super good basic basic financial literacy. Right. That's the foundation. And then financial the five principles, the fire principles typically are a level up from that.

[00:33:29] And they they a lot of times all kinds of shit like that on those minor, minor efficiency's that really make a big difference in the end. A lot of my around taxes.

[00:33:39] So how can you max out your tax tax deferred savings, things like your phone fallen case, things like HSA or MAX, maximize tax benefits, do things like real estate.

[00:33:51] And then on the I guess on the withdrawal, you know, maximizing your tax burden by doing things like Rothenberg's and Ladders. You make it backdoor Roth contributions and things like that.

[00:34:03] Now, these are kind of more advanced financial principles that you can look into and get details on, but it really comes down to expanding or making those those improvements on the margins. So, you know, you got your basics and then fight typically goes above and beyond. And it makes those minor adjustments, like you said, seem minor, but make a huge difference in the this category.

[00:34:28] Here is it reminds me of the saying that somebody I heard a long time ago and I don't remember where I heard it's from.

[00:34:34] Are we going to I'm probably gonna busher. It might have been Robert Kiyosaki and rich dad. Poor dad. But he said it's not about how much money you make, it's about how much money you keep. Yeah, and that actually plays right into the efficiency's in tax. And his taxes and spending because you you actually if you can reduce your spending and reduce your tax burden, you're going to be able to keep more of your money regardless of how much money you make. You can use that to get to be millionaire status or even, you know, even if you're just shooting for fi doesn't necessarily have to be millionaire status. But you know that personally is what I'm shooting for.

[00:35:08] Yeah. I mean, when you eat it makes it so, so worth it to dove into this and figure out how you can how you can truly make get the most bang for your buck. You know, somebody wants that. And again, it's kind of the same thing you just said as a quote there somewhere. I can't remember who said as I apologize, I'm not giving credit.

[00:35:25] But there's one line in the tax code that says you have to pay taxes on all your income. And then there's like thirty thousand lines in the tax code that gives you loopholes to not pay taxes on your income. So, you know, you say what you will about the wealth, the avoiding taxes, but they use the tax code to their benefit.

[00:35:43] You know, if you could do the same. Should so figure out where you can save or where you can reduce your tax burden. Get yourself educated so you can you can get your goals a lot faster and keep more of your money that you make.

[00:35:57] Yeah. Yeah, that's and that's actually a very powerful thing. Thirty thousand versus 1. So. Yeah, and how but when.

[00:36:03] And that's only one thing that says you got to pay out pay taxes.

[00:36:07] Every other line in the tax code is loopholes on how to not pay taxes. So why the heck once you take advantage of that as a real estate man, as you and I know the tax the tax benefits from owning real estate. Q Huge, huge. You know, there's there's doctors and lawyers who dumped some money into real estate, you know, not even caring about the performance just because it can completely simply wipe out a lot of their tax liability and all the income limit.

[00:36:33] So, yeah. And if you it's hard to tax season, you're now investing in real estate, right?

[00:36:40] Yeah. I don't look forward to tax season because of the paperwork, but I do. I'm with you.

[00:36:44] I'm a numbers guy. I'll sit there all day and add my wealth.

[00:36:48] That's probably a whole another whole topic around. Don't wait until last minute to do your tax paperwork, your expenses for your business and stuff like like I sometimes might have said that 48 hour I called the 48 hour tax marathon that you don't really know of.

[00:37:05] All right. Now, I'm curious, this one I I've heard the term before, but I've never really delved too far into it. What exactly are you meaning by stealth wealth, stealth wealth, mail.

[00:37:16] This is a millionaire next door and this is it. This is those people who can essentially buy your Tesla with cash if they wanted to. But don't they choose? Not that they choose to drive a five or six year old Camry or Kearl or whatever, you know, whatever your car choices. But the point is, is that they could spend a ton of money. And they're very, very wealthy, but they don't because they spend money on what they value and because they they've been able to get their wealth by not spending things on flashy things that don't make sense. So the stealth wealth community is one that that is they're they're interesting bunch, but essentially they're bunch of millionaires. You don't look like millionaires. They look like your average person who looks like your average working class person.

[00:38:00] So these are the folks that you see every now and then.

[00:38:03] You read an article about it where people say they were surprised that they were able to leave a 10 million dollar endowment fund to their college. Right. You know, they passed away. They left all this money and everybody's like they were just normal people. They cut coupons and they did, you know, they did whatever they had to do. And nobody knew that they were millionaires.

[00:38:22] Yeah. Yep, exactly. And I got to I mean, I got a I won't say I'm might with this camp, like I completely understand and respect the selfless community in a. Who's the guy who is a millionaire next door. Can't remember the name of that book. Yeah. Cameron. It's because I'm. I know I like my Teslas. I like my flashy stuff. But no, it's it's totally it's definitely a movement out there in a community out there that is very proud of what they do and the more power to them.

[00:38:53] And I clearly like my camper and my Corvette that I'm looking to try and have fun. Let me buy.

[00:39:00] Yeah, but it's the spending money on what makes it what makes you happy. It will make sense for you.

[00:39:05] Yeah. Well, and I was telling somebody that I'm trying to talk my way for.

[00:39:09] No, let me get a Corvette. Nice. We were playing a chess game of this, trying to get this Corvette out of the dealership and you'd be surprised if you start beating your wife in a chess game of getting the Corvette dealership, how quickly it turns into hardball playing hardball.

[00:39:25] So it was a firm. No, after that. So what you got to do, man, you just need to buy a pickup, one more property and half your tenants pay for your Corvette. One of the that thing and like five, six, seven hundred bucks a month, all you gotta do is find a couple of properties, a cash flow that ammo and go right there.

[00:39:42] I actually already I already started with that argument, had the properties all picked out and everything so nice to the network. But that's that my friend is is that is a principle.

[00:39:55] It wasn't a key Sakhi thing was that we're okay. So essentially have your your assets paid for your liabilities. Huge. Huge. Basic principle of investing. Right. So if you base if you want that Corvette, don't go work your 9 to 5 and use your your after tax dollars to buy that Corvette. And B car poor essentially. Right. Go buy an asset that pays you that amount of money and then that funds your fund, that buys your Corvette. You know what happens when that Corvette is paid off in five years? Your assets still paying you money and you still have that.

[00:40:33] So you go from having a Corvette bought for you to get in the race. Exactly. Or something else. Gomez, I got something else in mind. Let's say your assets paid for your liabilities when I had never. Have a lack of imagination. So I think of it. You. And the next term, they're the next principal, the F-U money. It's my fast favorite f you money, financial university money.

[00:41:00] That's why they say using your son. No, we won't. Because we we check that little box that says we're, you know, a clean, family friendly episode for our right as listeners. We want one explain this one too much and do so. But this is kind of the point before Lehne Fi that you have if enough money where if that boss comes in and says, look, you scrubbing toilets for the next six months because a sorry, that doesn't work for me. What a it changes the game. It changes the perspective that you can.

[00:41:28] You're in a position of power.

[00:41:29] You know, there's so many people who have written about this and about how they've enabled to, you know, after they got into this step, may have had the courage to go negotiate with their employer for a better work life balance or for more money for a better position, because just worried about where the employer says yesterday. Because you have that money that you can say, well, you know, that doesn't work for me. I respectfully decline and see you later because you have that money, whether it's six to eight to nine months expenses or, you know, the exact dollar amount is all personal. But it's whatever that that amount of money that you feel comfortable living off of for space with, you don't have a job.

[00:42:07] Yeah. I call this the forget your money because you get you and your money. Because when I leave work, I'm going to forget all about you because I can afford to live a mile.

[00:42:18] This is the type of money in the situations that we are in right now.

[00:42:22] Like I said, we're recording this March, April 20, when you get this little thing called COBRA 19 going on right now. And it's causing a lot of anxiety with people like we've talked about before, a lot of people don't have that for on their books that that stat that they say, you know, most Americans can't take a $400 expense without diving into credit or, you know, dip in it, you know, borrowing the money. What happens right now when hundreds and hundreds of millions of people are getting laid off from their job are now uncertain? You know, this isn't necessarily the F you money, but that same type of money that concept comes in where, you know, if you lose your job, can you survive for six, eight months with expenses? You have that rainy day fund built up. And I think, you know, I hope, you know, people who don't use this as an opportunity to realize how important it is and how much much stress that could take off. Yeah.

[00:43:16] Yeah. And it's times like this when I'm I'm glad we're able to save one hundred percent of our income through the portfolio, because that's just. Money will fall back on. So I can sit here and talk to you with the podcast without worrying. Yeah.

[00:43:32] Yeah. It's. That's that's a rare situation to be in.

[00:43:36] And I found I think it's a it's it's a good one man and I think this hopefully will well implore people to start looking at their finances and start looking at some alternative options, you know, saving the 10 percent. We'll get you there in 30 years, probably.

[00:43:52] But, you know, you really got to make some more aggressive moves in order to to get there any sooner. Really? To to put yourself in a better spot.

[00:44:01] Yeah. Well, next is the burning question that I have for you, Mike. How do you cheat, achieve my financial independence? How do you go about doing that?

[00:44:10] Well, this is kind of a loaded question, because it's it's it's a little tongue in cheek because it's kind of like, how do you be successful? There's a, I don't know, a million different ways that you could you could chuck an answer out for that. There's probably gonna be new ways invented every day and height, yet there is kind of the same thing as five, but the basics of fi are the same, which I think we've covered a couple times on this on this show in various episodes. Here's what you spend, you know, whatever you spend, and then here's what you make, whatever you makes it take, whatever you make, minus what you spend. And the point is, Tate, that needs to be as big as a number as possible and wisely invest the difference. So if I make $5000 a month and I spend $3000 a month, I get two thousand dollars surplus that I can invest in wisely with over a long period of time. The point is, the fastest way to achieve high is widening that gap, lowering those expenses, increasing that income, whichever you want to focus on, both want to focus on one either way, widening that gap and then wisely investing that difference over time consistently. So maybe you get A's and you go up to seven grand a month and maybe cut your expenses back a little bit more. But on twenty five months, it's just widening that gap and being smart with the difference.

[00:45:31] Yeah. And it's it's not rocket science. It's just a math problem. Yeah. You want to get there? The solution would be the biggest number you can and it's a subtraction problem.

[00:45:41] So you want the left side of it to be as big as possible. And the. Right side of it to be as little as possible.

[00:45:47] Yeah. And you know, it's comes down to it's not not sexy. There's a thousand different ways to do it. I mean, you could literally do that and just throw it in stocks that, you know, index funds, whatever you may.

[00:45:57] And you'll get there, you know, in the past. And the more you save the bad, you'll get there. You could put it in real estate and you can, in some people's opinion, get there faster. Like like what we think. But it's just making that that gap as big as possible and then investing in that that the difference. Wisely and then taking advantage of the margins or taking advantage of your tax.

[00:46:18] You're you're more strategic tax. Either ways to go about reducing your tax burden in reducing your fees on your at your best friend strategy and things like that. It's a bunch of different ways that you can you can kind of optimize at the margins, as I say, with with some of those more those higher rate, not higher those more advanced strategies.

[00:46:43] Yeah. Your your tax strategy planning is something that you really need to look at probably before you need it.

[00:46:53] I mean, you should start planning way early because if you get to tax season and you think to yourself, I could've used another three or four, ten thousand dollars and deductions all, it's too late at that point because every first or last years when you should have been planning that unless you're a corporation, then you may have may go a different calendar year.

[00:47:14] But for the most part, for you privately, the thirty first of December is the last time we get a chance to do it short of maybe investing in an I.R.A. and that's a..

[00:47:24] And even if you do it, it you know, even if you do it at the very end of the year, there's so much there's not as much as you can do.

[00:47:30] You want it like going to you with a really good tax strategists who will say, you know, throughout the year hear the different things, they should do it. Here's the investments you should do to reduce your tax burden. I guess taxes, I think there's a really daunting, early, intimidated people. And I know that I felt that same way when I started looking into it. But really, it's really amazing how you can use some of these strategies to reduce the taxes that you pay to you in the end.

[00:47:56] In the end of this, you know, especially some of these tax advantaged accounts that you can invest through. It's just it's really remarkable once you start diving into it.

[00:48:05] So as it is and I know investors that use their their portfolios to pay for every aspect of their life and a lot of it legally can be written off. You know, it's just the tax the tax advantages, real estate are just limitless.

[00:48:24] Yeah.

[00:48:24] And even if, you know, in real estate, you still want to be smart about your taxes and you still want to figure out, you know, what can you invest in that reduces your taxable income? What are different ways that you reduce your taxable income? So you're you're keeping most your money now.

[00:48:39] Now, if I want to learn more than then, just as a podcast, what do you think we should do? I notice you got a list of some books here.

[00:48:48] Do it. Yeah. And there is no shortage of them. And I I didn't even know.

[00:48:52] I almost didn't want to make the list because I mean, you're inevitably going to leave some of the big hitters and the key ones off. But I think it give us it makes sense to to the people at least some place to start if they want to dig in more. So, I mean, we've got a bunch on the list now. We've got Rich Dad poured out of it by Robert Kiyosaki, which I think is I mean, bar none. It is one of the biggest ones that always gets brought up. When you talk to people about, you know, what changed your mind would change your life, your financial trajectory.

[00:49:21] And a lot of people refer back to the rich dad for that book from Robert Kiyosaki.

[00:49:25] And that changed my life when I read it, because it makes you look at a different way, your finances. What exactly an asset is.

[00:49:34] He's defines assets a lot differently than we've been taught through school and through our parents. And it's definitely worth a read. And I've noticed like I bought twenty five thirty copies of Rich and Poor that they were they were on sale going on and I'll hand it out to people one. And the funny thing is I say it either resonates with you and you go and buy every one of his books and read read voraciously or you just don't get. You just don't like it or doesn't. Does that strike a chord with you? So, I mean, it's it's 50 50. You know, you can either be something that's going to change your life or you just go, what's the what's the all the hype about?

[00:50:13] And I think more often than not, people are all right. It's definitely on the former of those two because it's time and, you know, it's time tested. It's one of the most popular personal finance books ever written. When was it written? Early 90s. Maybe it's been off for lying is a long time and it's always been at the top of the list for personal finance. So it's definitely a time tested bestseller for sure. And then, you know, I'm going to skip around a little bit. Maybe a little maybe a little bit of a out there statement, but I think the rich and poor that of our generation is the book by Scott Trenchcoats set for your set for life.

[00:50:55] And this is one tenth of what you mentioned on buying 30 copies and given it out. I think this people need to buy these for any graduating senior from high school. Anybody graduate college? Any any young adult could benefit massively by the principles that are taught in this book. Set for life by a trash.

[00:51:17] Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, your money or your life. Vicki, Robin and Joe, you you basically touched on that and started the fire more.

[00:51:26] My back in the 90s are back in the 80s, actually. So that was that was pre, you know, the kind of computer stuff we got going on now. Pre technology, man. No, everybody checks and everything back then.

[00:51:41] Yeah. Back in the ghetto there's the good old days.

[00:51:43] The good old days. You know we were riding around in horse and buggy easier, you know, the wagon trains.

[00:51:51] But you know and J.L. Collins with the simple path to wealth. And one of my personal favorites is The Honeybee by Jake Stand's Piano and Geno Barbaro. We yeah. Podcast episode with those guys on that. And it just touched on basically how to create the multiple streams of income, which is so powerful in the world today.

[00:52:13] Yeah. You know, I love this one because it breaks down these principles in such the easy way, easy to understand way. So it's that's the honeybee. Baiji extends the unknown. You know, Barbara, we didn't like you said, we didn't interview with a handful of episodes back. Memorable what episode number that was. Twenty, twenty, episode 20. About creating multiple streams of income. Yeah. Easy, easy. Read another one that should definitely be handed out set to anybody who is interested in learning more about this. Definitely be a life changer. So yeah.

[00:52:45] And then we've got some some blogs and some podcasts.

[00:52:49] Yeah. Yeah. We'll just run down the list is what is we're getting kind along here. But from a podcast perspective, you know, choose f I mean those guys do a phenomenal job of going over.

[00:53:00] I mean they're on a couple hundred episodes now, but you can go back all the way to the beginnings and listen to a lot of the basics around financial independence and kind of follow along with their journey. Mad faintest. This guy is, if you like, numbers. This is the dude to talk to. Here he writes some of these articles. It's a little bit harder to follow. I would say. But it is numbers, numbers, numbers. He is a guy who's reading these thirty thousand lines, the tax code, figuring out how to best take advantage of it. And it gives these case studies of how he's done a lot of the things he's talked about. So Mad Scientist is a good podcast and blog to talk about as well. Bigger pockets, money, I guess, is another good one. And then Dave Ramsey, MINIFY podcast. It's got a lot of really, really good basic financial literacy.

[00:53:47] Yeah. You know, I started reading the tax code, too. I think I'm on line five or seven, something like that. You get a little bit of it. Yeah. Well we take it in fits and spurts. So they go on the blogs. Mr. Money Mustache.

[00:54:05] I follow his blog, The Financial Samurai. Those. Yeah. Yeah. That's a great one. I love that one. And the physician on fire. That's. Yup. You know, they're all great blogs. They give you a ton of information. So you should check those out.

[00:54:20] And this is just a starting point. Like I said, it was I was debating on whether or not we'd make a list here because, you know, this so many people in the space right now.

[00:54:27] So many people in this area that inevitably leave some of the really, really good ones out. But, you know, you're linked to you jump from one to the other to the other to the other other end by timing. I mean, we are one that you've never heard of before. But Scott, you know, they all got good information out there now.

[00:54:45] Yeah. And the last thing we got there is our Wi-Fi. Mike, that's what motivates you and I.

[00:54:53] Yeah. I think this is important.

[00:54:55] Not necessarily that anybody cares about our Wi-Fi, but it's important to have Wi-Fi in it. It's kind of fun to say, but like, why do you want financial independence? Why do you want freedom? What do you do in it for a nine? If you if you have that, then these some of these concepts, these things that you had to sacrifice, because let's be honest, it be a lot easier. Just go rack up credit card debt and go, you know, go, you know, live the life you want. Go travel and go party and buy the fancy cars when you can't afford it versus waiting, you know, a handful years till you can. But see, if you're making similar sacrifices now, it's it's easier to do so if you have a Y.

[00:55:38] Yeah. Yeah. And like you said, there are options and freedom. That's one of the big ones.

[00:55:44] Seems to be a running theme options, man. It's literally all about options, like when his options ever been a bad thing.

[00:55:52] Never. Never.

[00:55:53] You know, it's, you know, no idea what's what's going to happen in five to seven or eight years or even two years. So like you options and you can kind of control more of it.

[00:56:04] I do know one instance where option too many options are a bad thing. Let's hear it. Starbucks. I mean, I love Starbucks, but come on. You know that. Let's go back to decaf and regular.

[00:56:17] No, man, I like my fancy coffee mcare. But coffee, though, you know, being from Minnesota. That's kind of my my my thing there. But you know, Amanda. Yeah. We posted a while back on Instagram.

[00:56:30] And we're like, what's your Wi-Fi? And, you know, I originally because it was what I was doing at the time, as you know, because books and a/c and the deck was, you know, shouldn't just be for Saturday ability to do that. You know, any day that week. Right. Is we want to spend more time with you. You know, the people in you know, the things that you love to do. So, yeah, you know, I never was.

[00:56:52] Well, I mean, that's that short of doing the call to action. You know, I got the cool down.

[00:56:58] You want to do kind of a quick recap and I do.

[00:57:03] Let's see if we can if we can recap this. We covered a lot. I think we're we're a little over an hour, you know, some outlets yourself.

[00:57:09] Arsalan, final good byes today. I literally cannot wrap it up with my options. Options are good.

[00:57:21] Let's call that action that way. Issue we get the Wi-Fi like figure out what's your Wi-Fi has made sure that.

[00:57:26] Yeah, it's well understood and well documented. Why you're traveling down this path. That is a little bit unconventional. It might might be a little bit more difficult in your in your daily life than your average life.

[00:57:41] And I think you should write it down and put it like on your bathroom mirror or some place you're gonna see it every single day. And remind yourself what you're working so hard.

[00:57:48] George, techie Asian apps to keep that front center. Now, so while that's everything I got, all I got in my moments, I wrap her up. Thank you, guys. We've seen another episode of the Real Estate Marathon podcast and we'll see you next time. Take care, guys.

[00:58:07] Thanks for listening to the Real Estate Marathon podcast. If you found value in any of the content from this show, consider supporting us in the following ways. Subscribe to the Real Estate Marathon podcast. Leave a rating and review. Continue the conversation with like minded individuals on social media by heading over to the real estate marathon podcast Facebook Group or follow us on Instagram and Twitter at Real Estate Marathon podcast.

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#multifamily real estate

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ladytrollfishes · 5 years

Text

Cress, Shupaa and Lyrian: Dal Segno

Kitty | neriticNomadLast Tuesday at 11:40 PM

Neuja never sleeps. The cover of the crowd never dissipates, it only adapts, as pedestrians exchange coats for sun-proof cloaks, and bikes for covered vehicles. In the center of Neuja Square, billboards hawk their wares: Stop by the Chocolate Shoppe on 4th street. How do you keep up-to-date with the news? Blue Cow energy drink really does give you wings!

Tajnost Subway Station has been out of service for several perigees. Its ground entrance sits, empty, between buildings that reach infinitely towards the sky. The entrance to the tunnels below has been sealed, but the top level was not so lucky. With blown-out windows, scraps of broken glass, and empty, hollow doorframes, it is far from a welcoming sight - but it is not remote, either. This makes it perfect for you. Two blocks from the entrance, you click your communicator, locking it in the on position. One block, and you lock your eyes on the rendezvous point, now in sight.

"Entering the area," you murmur, seemingly to no one in particular. You don't see Lyrian. She must be inside. "Are you prepared?"(edited)

March 6, 2019

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 2:45 AM

It's not the first time you've flown a drone like this. But it's also not the hundredth time. You squint at the feed of the fly drone's camera's, split screened for 360 view and land the drone on Maera's sleeve, instead of trying to mimic an actual fly's movement, or relying on the autopilot.

"I'm on your arm," you murmur into the microphone. You've got a soundboard balanced on your lap, keyed to the musical cues you had gone over before. You're a few blocks away, sitting in a library's private room, with a laptop and a few books spread out on the table. "We're as prepared as we can be."

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 6:43 AM

You spare a glance over at the little robot. A fly. You will never look at nuisance insects the same again. The doors of Tajnost are more of a courtesy than a requirement. An agile body could step through, or vault into one of the open window frames. You do not do this, because your self-preservation protocol is screaming about the jagged edges of the glass.

Therefore, silly as it looks, you open this strangely empty doorframe, as if it had substance. The station's interior is dark, lit only from the outside. Multi-colored lights from every direction dance just at the edge of the space. The deeper you go, the less light follows you. You find yourself at the edge of these lights, facing into the pitch darkness, listening to the last echo of your own footsteps resonate off the empty ceiling and floor.

"It is hoped," you say, to the shadows, "that you would show yourself for this meeting."

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 5:17 PM

You switch to infrared as Maera descends into the darkness, taking stock of the run down station in stark black and whites. It's covered with garbage and graffiti, bent rebar, piles of crap that look like they were left behind by trolls looking for scant shelter in the city. In the darkness you can see her silhouette step out from behind a column, and a bright light flares on as she flicks a lighter on.

The light would put her face into sharp relief if her paint didn't already do that for her. Her blacks fade into the background, and if you hadn't seen her elsewhere, didn't know that her cheeks were as rounded as yours, you'd have guessed she was gaunt.

"One person alone is not a meeting," she says, a slight tilt to her head. "Is it?" You hold your breath as you lean forward, intent on the screen as the drone focuses on your signmate.

You can't hear them, not psychically, through the screen, which means a lot of guesswork on your part, but that strange push and pull from the ball meant the gig would be up immediately.

"You have interesting taste in meeting places," she says. "Why here?" You hit a button on your sound board that immediately fills the audio channel with soft, cheery music. You can't add words to it without setting Maera on edge. It's so strange to be trying to manipulate someone's emotions like this.

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 5:32 PM

There's a flicker of yellow that crosses over your cybernetics. The fire bathes everything in soft, warm light, and the flame flickers as it illuminates the harsh contrast of her face... ... and you never quite get over it. You're never truly prepared. The flicker of light, the sharp lines and stark whites, spark a chill that runs down your spine. Ironic, that your fear would present itself this way. It's Cresce's taste in music that pulls you back to green. Your stance doesn't change. You look her in the eyes, even though you aren't supposed to. Legend says that locking eyes with a psychic lets them reach in and steal your soul.

"It is not." Good thing you probably don't have one anymore.

As you fight to stay calm, your artificial psi is still recovering from the momentary increased "leak." Your words leave your mouth with a puff of cold air, forming mist in front of your face.

"There is protection in a crowded place, but there is also risk. This location allows the ability to harness the benefits of crowd and isolation."

It's the truth. You're confident in your ability to be stealthy, because it's what you were made to do. Instinct told you this would be a good meeting spot. The only security flaw is the one you carried in.

"As you arrived first, it is presumed you assessed the location already, for any hidden listening devices." It's protocol. Everything you've done so far is standard procedure. "Can you confirm?"(edited)

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 7:15 PM

Lyrian nods in the dark. "Of course," she says, and steps forward. The firelight falls on a dilapidated bench that she sits down upon. Reaching into her pockets, she retrieves several small circles- it's unclear what the feed shows until she holds one up to the lighter and the wick of the candle catches.

"Tell me again about the incident with Cresce," she says, laying candles out on the bench to light the area.

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 7:34 PM

You think, given the circumstances, you might have felt safer in the complete darkness. "The assignment was given at 1000 hours, from Derevnya. Departure for initial gathering of information took place at 1030 hours." Your records are precise, just like your work. This part is watertight. You're only nervous for what she might say when you finish. After all, if this was all she wanted, there was no need for a meeting.

"Several contacts, confidential, provided information that produced leads. Available leads led to the Ghoulisar area. Departure took place at 1500 hours on the following day. Upon arrival in Ghoulisar, recon procedures began at approximately 1900 hours, mapping the city and gathering visual information. Recon continued the following, third day."

You continue in this way, describing the cold, hard facts of your file. Before you even started tracking Cresce specifically, you needed to know the city. You needed to be seen in the city, too, because a new face is always noticed, especially in tighter-knit towns. It was careful, delicate work, hours of it - which was all promptly ruined, despite your best efforts. Then, at the time of your meeting, the fabricated record begins.

"The target recognized a tail and proceeded to retaliate. Target used an acquired soda bottle to strike, breaking glass on impact and spilling liquid, unknown, across critical junctions in technology. Target then produced a civilian-issue taser in self-defense and disabled tech long enough to escape. Attempts to recover the trail were fruitless, as target evaded each time.

"It's information you've edited into your file. If your memory were taken as-is, the falsified data would be there, exactly as you spoke it. Still... you've never had to lie like this. You're still afraid, despite your efforts, something will show through. "The assignment was relegated to 'failed' status at 1400 hours. Contact with the client was established remotely to report on the mission, due to extenuating circumstances."(edited)

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 7:49 PM

It's one of the tells of a lie, you know, that someone repeats themselves, telling the same story over and over as though rehearsed. You tense, when you hear Maera's voice repeat the same words she told you the last time. Will Lyrian pick up on that? Or will she brush it off as another one of Maera's quirks? It's impossible to tell from here, when you're a screen away.

All you have to go on is the careful consideration on Lyrian's pixelated face.

"What did you think of her?" she asks mildly. Your mind races. She's probing for an emotional reaction, you think. She's testing Maera for loyalty, and her genuine response to this, as well as any follow up is going to lead any follow up questions. It's what you'd do.

You hesitate for a second. What's the best emotion to follow up this question? Anger? For a thwarted hunter? Nervousness, for the unexpected line of questions? You hit the button for white noise. Confusion, you think. The best approximation you have for it.

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 7:54 PM

You react in kind. "Opinions are not relevant to the assignment." "Does not compute," or, the robot version of "haha, what?" Are you deflecting? Yes. But you're also telling the truth: it isn't your job to form opinions. That's why you're so god damn bad at it.

"She possesses heightened awareness, compared to the average troll. She is also quick to retaliate. Further data on her skills and attributes cannot be gathered. Extrapolations on existing data are not a default function of existing protocols. Do you wish to to inquire about extrapolation?"

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 8:09 PM

Lyrian doesn't even twitch. She waves a hand to indicate to Maera to proceed. You don't know what she wants from this. You don't know what she's taking from this interaction. You wish, again, you could hear them properly. You don't stop the white noise. You'd think Maera's at least as thrown as you are.

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 8:26 PM

You have to keep your assessments as close to your data as possible. You know about Cress. You've learned more about her from the time you've spent, but you can't access that information now.

"The target possesses quick reflexes and quick thinking. She is prepared to use improvised weapons in an effective manner. She assesses potential enemies and attempts to pinpoint weak points, suggesting that she prefers to rely on strategy rather than brute force. In a short time frame, this kind of thinking is somewhat difficult. Therefore, the fact that she executed a complex maneuver under pressure suggests she may present more of a challenge than anticipated.

"Data also suggests that the target possesses a heightened awareness. Potential cause for this is varied. Further observation would be necessary to determine if this awareness was due to a temporary increase in anxiety and hyperawareness, or if she is highly aware as a baseline. This would make her difficult to attack, if the assignment were to attack, capture, or kill. However, since the assignment included only observation, further pursuit would have driven the target out of known ranges."

You've seen what trolls do when they're spooked. Usually, you only complete these missions because you stay one step ahead, and because, when you do catch them, you only need to kill them. Long-term observation is harder. If a troll notices a tail, they'll act erratic until they believe the danger has passed. There's no easy fix for that. "Is this speculation sufficient?"

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 9:08 PM

Oh you're certainly nervous now, but Maera rattles on in her monotonous, factual way you'd have a hard time poking through if you weren't, you know. Listening properly. Her extrapolations and speculations are pretty realistic too, if you say so yourself. Lyrian sighs. You watch as she raises her shoulders and drops them in an exaggerated motion.

"Then you're no use to me," she says and stands, easy and comfortable on the balls of her feet. "You're a waste of time."

You immediately tense up again. "Maera," you murmur and hit the track for the cheery music again. "Don't."

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 9:16 PM

You know you shouldn't ask them, but the questions in your mouth are burning. You know you shouldn't, but you want to ask her why she sent you on an impossible mission. You want to ask what she hoped the achieve - but you can't. If you do, you'll give Cress away. You'll give yourself away.

But you need to ask something. You need to improve. Even without the lab making your improvements, you need to improve yourself. You did fail this mission. You need to do better. Cresce can't understand that.

"Respectfully," you begin, because she's your better, in addition to your client, "before taking your leave, data is being collected for analysis and future improvement." Your eyes follow her as she starts to move, and you stay facing her, though you try to stand your ground. "Can you provide further details on problem areas?"

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 9:28 PM

Oh no. You can't pin point why this strikes you as such a bad idea, but it does. You can't even begin to predict how this conversation is going to fall out, or what Lyrian wants from this.

"You poor thing," she murmurs. "So desperate for any scrap of approval. With such an empty life, I imagine it wasn't so difficult for Cresce to get you on her side. It's startlingly easy for people like us to manipulate people like you."

It's like a pit of ice drops into your stomach.

"Maera," you say, your mouth dry, but you don't have a follow up to it besides- "you need to get out of there now."

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 9:38 PM

You hear Cresce. That doesn't mean you listen. "The descriptors chosen are grossly inaccurate." You try not to speak with gritted teeth. Your face doesn't change, but your implants have turned red., glowing softly in the dark room.

"'Desperation' is not present. There are no sides." You're angry, frustrated at not receiving a useful answer, and offended at the insinuation of an attack on your method. But... but there's something about what she says that sticks in your head. Is Cress manipulating you, like she says? She would know, wouldn't she? If she set everything up from the start... And in your preoccupation, you don't outright deny her influence. Oopsies.

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 9:47 PM

"Maera!" you snap. "Leave! Get out of there now!" You know Maera likes you, even if she's suspicious of you, and if Lyrian has put the idea in her head that you're anything like her well. Well then, you don't know what to do. You can't even be sure there's doubt in her head right now. You're on your feet now, pacing as Lyrian's voice starts again.

"Please, Maera," she says, her voice still calm and smooth as a pond on a cold autumn day. "Desperation is what happens when you want an answer this badly, from someone you've only met twice. Cresce can be quite charming when she wants to be. I assume she's listening in."(edited)

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 9:56 PM

There's one clenched fist, held at your side. It's the only outward indication of your anger, bubbling just below the surface.

"Any involvement Cresce has would be irrelevant, were it true." She says you should leave. Should you? Can you even trust her anymore? She got her information, but you haven't gotten yours.

"Protocols exist to improve performance. It is a sim-ple request." Your voice breaks on the word as you lose your composure, only for a moment. "Desperation is irrelevant to the assignment. Cresce is irrelevant to the assignment, except as a target. The inquiry relates only to performance on the given assignment. You called this performance 'a waste of time.' Why?"

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 10:30 PM

Maera still isn't moving. She's ignoring you entirely to focus on whatever feedback Lyrian has for her, on her mission to stalk you. Your hands fly up to your hair as you tug on your curls, frustrated. Was this what the handlers felt like all the time?

"I lied," she says as she looks Maera over. "I've learned quite a bit with this little exercise. Your flaw here is that you don't understand how relevant your desperation is. Or the little games that Cress plays. You do not understand the playing field and so you are a tool and not a player."

Her eyes barely narrow as she stares straight into the camera, and before you can react, she reaches out and crushes the drone with the flat of her hand. "Fuck!" you exclaim, leaping to your feet. You stuff your soundboard and laptop into your bag and bolt for the streets. "Maera, seriously, if you want I'll go over all of this with you and point out everything you did wrong, but you need to get out of there!"

Kitty | neriticNomadYesterday at 10:46 PM

Your reflexes are good, but she wasn't reaching to touch you. She was reaching for the drone. She crushes it just as your glove makes contact with her hand. You shove. It's easy to do, with your anger behind you. Desperate! As if you don't think about your assignments, or allow petty things like desperation to get in the way of them! As if you weren't made, fine-tuned and relentlessly trained, for this exact kind of task!

The flare of offense and outrage powers your blow, only to flee immediately after, as your implants go dark. Then, all that's on your mind is strategy. You struck her. You dance back away from her, anticipating retaliation, and your boot hits something.

You don't feel it, but you hear it, as metal skitters across concrete. Behind you, there's a woosh. When you look, you see that it was caused by a pile debris, consumed with fire from one of Lyrian's candles. It doesn't matter. Lyrian is the bigger threat. If she won't strike you for your attack, she will for your proven betrayal. And the worst part is, the one time you need to defend yourself, you don't even know what to say.

A persistent thought nags at you: What if she's right? You need to get out. The emergency shutoff protocol kills your artificial psi. You're defenseless, you don't know what Lyrian is capable of, and more of the abandoned station is catching fire with each moment you delay.

Finally, you follow Cresce's instruction, and bolt for the door.(edited)

Tang | MD (indigo) IT (maroon)Yesterday at 10:58 PM

You bolt for the station you had staked out beforehand, forsaking your image as you push past the crowds of people and towards the roped off station entrance. You know what it looks like down there but you're not quite ready for the smell of smoke. What the hell?

You nearly run into Maera as she's bolting up the stairs and you grab her by the shoulders before you let go in surprise- she's freezing to the touch, and when you turn to get a glimpse into the subway station, you can see her standing there, turned around just enough so that you can meet her eyes through the smoke.

You can hear her. She's clanging with satisfaction. You throw your shoulders back and narrow your eyes as you throw her a middle finger. Satisfaction turns to laughter. Real, non psychic laughter.

Bells ring in your ears as she laughs, rough, like she hasn't in a long, long time. A chill runs down your spine, and you hear the bells stop as you follow Maera and run out of the station.

>End RP

#cresce rps #lyrian rps #cress shupaa and lyrian: dal segno

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nedostajeminasaljubavmila · 6 years

Text

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Therefore if you want to obtain more traffic from SEO within 2018, I recommend creating plus optimizing content specifically for Youtube . com. When it comes to organic language, voice search, and smart voice assistants, what SEOs may do much more related in order to optimizing for the parsing plus indexing phases of the Search engines algorithm than to rankings on their own. Check out this infographic in order to learn more in regards to the top SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION trends you should keep an eye fixed on to stay competitive within digital marketing arena in 2018 and beyond. In order to get executive buy-in, SEOs require to talk another language -- a CMO is just not interested within a list of rankings, they will want to understand the influence of SEO on performance. In case you are going for nearby SEO, try to obtain the server close to the location you attempt to rank with regard to. This individual is the proud Founder and Chief Architect of cognitiveSEO, a good SEO Toolset focused on in-depth analysis of ranking signals. A write-up in states that will 85% of individuals prefer indigenous mobile apps to websites Function your brand prominently in the particular app name and be certain you have proper links in order to apps for better search ranks Also, you need to ensure that application optimization tops your list associated with SEO optimization. Plus because Google shows YouTube movies in their search results, your own video must be SEO pleasant. Enter your competitor's URL directly into the SEMRush search bar and you should be provided with a listing of SEO keywords, with their particular rankings and traffic. Lastly, Amazon can dominate e-commerce queries in 2018 via Alexa voice, touch, plus other innovative interfaces, leaving numerous e-commerce SEOs to target in upon the content-side of their advertising. So, make certain to focus a bit upon these trends and search study more about them in purchase to make your SEO sport stronger. Indeed, I agree with you Karthikeyan Maruthai, We ought to Understand Above Off-page SEO Processes to Accomplish Very Good Ranking. Additionally, it provides me a place to embed the video (giving it more views, embeds, wants, etc) which improves both the video's SEO and my home page's SEO as well… people are usually more prone to share, link to, plus spend more time on the particular page if it has the nice video. Allow me to operate you through the top SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION vogues and what you need to do, to improve the rating your website. In SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION NAP stands for Name, Tackle, Phone #. While it might appear innocent enough, people mess this up time and period again, and inconsistent information on the particular web will destroy any prospect you have regarding ranking in local search. Regarding example, considering the keyword tea” or marketing” may take very a long time for enhancing the ranking for every upon Google, however, using less looked terms like home tea-maker” or even SEO marketing for your business” can improve your chances associated with raking high in Google. Search Motor Optimization is done through creating SEO optimized content for the website. I WOULDN'T 301 REFOCUS users blindly to your house page in case you anticipate any SEO benefits from 301s. Nevertheless, 2018 SEO trends will prove in order to be the clincher. Canonical: This particular plug-in handles content syndication, which usually essentially allows other blogs in order to publish your projects (similar to franchising) without hurting your website's SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION ranking—simply with the addition of a rel=canonical may get your brand and content material out on the web within multiple outlets, ensuring a higher reach and bigger audience with no hurting your own search outcomes. Rich snippets and schema markup language is the the one that a single needs to work on even more to get a good increase in SEO score and furthermore for having a better standing searching engine results page (also generally known as SERP). ” The wealthy snippets are a way in order to communicate with Google in regards to the articles contained within the site. With more than 200 ranking factors in Google's search algorithm, SEO is today a highly complex process. A SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION process may involve a website's coding and structure, content plus copywriting, site presentation, as properly as fixing other issues that will will prevent search engines through indexing your company website. Just because Google and other search motors are using personalization more frequently in order to get more accurate search outcomes for their users, user customization has become more prevalent within SEO. The particular need to learn about brand-new entrants like Siri, Alexa, Fb, Linkedin, and specialist search motors (like, for example) will maintain SEOs on their toes with regard to years to come. It took me plenty associated with time to get ready for it, in order to conduct the research and therefore forth. It is very helpful to have the information upon how the very best professionals use SEO at hand. Affected sites along with poor onpage and offpage SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, and has a massive impact on location related search. SEO differs from regional search engine optimization in that will the latter is targeted upon optimizing a business' online existence so that its web webpages is going to be shown by search engines when the user enters a local lookup for its products or providers. In a current survey by Hubspot only 9% of businesses using inbound advertising with SEO failed to discover an ROI. Today, the only way to show up in the search engine webpages like this is by posting your videos on You Pipe or through video SEO. SEO requires an understanding associated with how search engines work, exactly what individuals search for, and the reason why and how people search. While Search engines makes it near impossible in order to completely crack its page rank algorithm code, constantly adjusting in order to accommodate one thousand different intricacies will be the challenge intended for SEOers in 2018 and a lot of a long time. In order to get them, you'll have in order to read other blogs that examine between the lines of exactly what Google representatives are saying which usually publish data that illuminates the consequences, say, of a new protocol change or that tries in order to determine is new ranking aspects are taking effect when Search engines isn't being clear about exactly what is going on. The comments upon posts in this blog are usually often worth reading, even in the event that just to see what various other SEO professionals are thinking. In on-line marketing, few strategies are since competitive or rapidly evolving since search engine optimization (SEO). SEMRush - Another excellent tool for SEO analysis, especially where it concerns business cleverness, SEMRush allows you to determine and analyze the keywords that will the competitors are using. All these great elements is going to be useful for a successful marketing plus branding strategy and finally boosts your SEO rank. However, with all the development of technology and Google most recent updates you can improve search positions by adopting voice search, expanded mobile pages, content marketing, cellular optimization, user-experience optimization, long-tail key phrases, local SEO, Google Quick Reply Box, Microformat and Artificial Cleverness in your SEO strategy 2018. SEO is the particular series of strategic approaches plus practices that are implemented in order to organically generate a high-rank placement in the search engine web page outcomes of internet search motors like Google, Bing, and Askjeeve.

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