#bro how even did. like they must have all unionized to make that effort happen tqrsckpjts
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my rat cage somehow fell over and i like. started freaking out when i saw that but like they were still in there?? not injured at all?? just chilling??? i dont even think they know what happened
Holy shit????
#animal injury cw#? just in case#dammit i keep forgetting to make and use an ask tag#bro how even did. like they must have all unionized to make that effort happen tqrsckpjts#alright you lot on the count of three! one... two... three! HEAVE!
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Legacy of Eternity Chapter 5: Unravel the Mystery Part 2 - One step at a time
It was an early day for the young knight like any other but today was different as it was the first day that he a knight would walk the path of a civilian. Though his army had participated in many military operations the knights were eager to go back to the front lines but due to the awakening of one of the legendary angels that guard the dragon-wolf they had been suspended as the angels may have killed the young knight if not careful.
As he got his gear together the young knight made his way down to the living room to see Chimera was finished eating breakfast with Emilia Redridge.
Emilia Redridge or Emilia Swordtaker was a former of the Sword taker clan and had been exiled long before that for saving a baby dragon-kin and a village from the fury of their Father. She had long bright red hair that reached down to her waist, Red eyes, pinkish fair skin, and had a tattoo on her back of a broken blade meaning she was exiled from her clan.
She normally wears a white dress with a black lining and had several blood rose designs on the side of her top. She also wore a red and black belt cape with a pair of brown leather belts, with black and silver lined boots with black stockings.
Emilia is the current wife of Chimera Redridge only by name until further notice during the war for Ren’veil’s freedom she had a major role of providing key information of the defensive lines of the fort Mianola far north of the capital.
She openly helped Chimera and the Crusaegrums in the Northern conflicts and bringing them into the fold of the Free kingdoms. In exchange for her help all she asked was to serve Chimera but instead Chimera offered her to be his wife only by name until certain rights are approved.
“Big Bro, you heading out this early? Wont you have breakfast with us.” Chimera growled.
“Hmm I got time... sure... Miss Emilia good morning to you as well.” Kent bowed.
“Good morning as well mister Anthony... By the way Chimera I am heading to the Bastion Hope base I saw a job posting their for a sword instructor. I’ll be heading their to apply for the position.” Emilia said.
“I will be cheering for you Emi.” Chimera smiled.
“You do realize that I am the general and lord of the Strike Fleet and Bastion Hope is technically my base? So with one snap of my fingers you can get the position right away.” Kent said.
“Thank you for your kindness but Chira has already given me so much and I want to earn the right to stay with him.... If It’s okay Mister Anthony I would like to earn it rather than be given another gift.” Emilia said.
“Okay then... I will honor your request and at least you are a lot better than your former.” Kent added.
“I am no longer a part of that family what happens to them is up to them. I want to live my life as I see fit.” Emilia said with pride.
“I understand Miss Emilia... Still I raise a glass to you miss Emilia for becoming independent..” Kent said as he raised his mug.
“Here here brother here here.”Chimera said as he placed his hand over Emilia’s shoulder with pride.
After eating breakfast Kent left the Manner with Emilia since the young knight had some immediate business at Bastion hope. While Chimera had to settle somethings with the Farmers union in New Hope after that he will meet Emilia again in the base.
They passed through the local market when one of the merchants who first met the young knight in person called his attention and tossed a pair of apples to the two.
With a smile he thanked the merchant and will return later to his stall as they passed the central district Kent and Emilia parted ways for the mean time. He entered the Ayekawa estate though some of the guards are very suspicious of the young knight since during the battle for Ren’veil Kent was not that recognized by the Vai’len despite his stature as the knight lord of the Strike Fleet.
With a hefty knock on the door he waited patiently for someone to open the door just before he could knock again the door opened.“Hey quit knocking twice... already I heard you...” Aisha shouted with a surprised look on her face.
“I am sorry my Lady I will not knock twice next time.” Kent said with a smile.
Aisha’s face immediately turned red when she saw the young knight right at her door step. To her surprise the young knight was at her door step the young knight could openly see how she spends her early morning with her hair tied to the side and wearing nothing but a very alluring violet dress.
“Wait Kent why are you here?” Aisha asked.
“I Believe I owe you a date my lady... Was i not correct my Lady?” Kent said with curiosity.
Though flustered and a bit astonished thinking that the young knight heard her whisper despite being asleep. Kent was asked to wait at the living room while she got prepared Alisyha prepared tea and toasted bread for their esteemed guest and exchanged stories while they waited.
“Interesting so you and an entire fleet of about 2 million souls say that you only spent a day in this apocalypse? and many say that your fleet had been gone for almost 2 weeks?” Alisyha asked.
“Yes my Lady, Some marines and knights volunteered to stay behind to study the ship and see what we can learn from such a relic.” Kent explained.
“Truly magnificent child and you say that this ship is as big or even bigger than the New Dawn Moon?” Alisyha asked.
“Maybe even bigger we cannot say for certain but we shall leave it for a later time.” Kent replied and took a sip of tea.
“And you’re fleet was given a temporary suspension order to recuperate the fatigue that must have built up during such a journey... I must say that is a very interesting tale... You could become a story writer if you keep this up my dear?” Alisyha said with great joy.
“When my duty ends maybe I shall my Lady thank you for listening to my tale.”Kent bowed.
“It is a great pleasure of mine to hear stories tall or short, be it truth or not... It has always been a great passion of mine to hear the many tales of my people and others with a feathered pen you can wield a very powerful weapon my dear... ” Alisyha asked.
“Indeed I love how you described the Wind Runner who ended a thousand year conflict between two great kingdoms despite having nothing to start his life with...He had no obligation to stop the fight and yet he did the saddest truth about it all he simply sat at the cliffs edge and watched the last part of his life end in the embrace of the setting sun... It is a great inspiration to me and many of my men who had taken a liking to your books my Lady.” Kent replied.
“Thank you my dear...Their is an old saying... We can have a different start in life sure you can have a silver spoon or nothing at all. I love how people who didn't have anything but strive to get to where they are now...They are the real heroes of tomorrow and I am happy to stand with them now and forevermore.”Aliysha said to the young knight with a smile.
The two talked for a few minutes when Aisha went down the stairwell to greet the young knight formally now that she is dressed. Just before they left Alisyha gave her blessings to the two and with a smile and a kiss on the cheek to her daughter.
“Now go and have fun you two... and Aisha please... Bring me a grand child on your way home.” Aliysha winked as she closed the door.
“MOM!!!!” Aisha shouted in her embarrassment.
“““slight laugh”“ I believe Lady Alisyha only desires for your well being my Lady?’ Kent asked.
“Mom... she is... just...”“Sigh”“ come on Kent lets go...” Aisha said.
Though frustrated with her mother despite her intentions Alisyha is well in good terms with the young knight and simply jokes around every now and again. Kent sighed and gave her an encouraging head pat saying he will treat her to her favorite strawberry desert in town.
Her mood picked up as they reached the town square many of the Zerrohnian marines who are part of the suspension were out with their family and friends or discovering romance despite being a part of the greatest military in the Frontier space.
They made a quick stop at the local cafe called Due Rigovalto which is famous in the famous as it can make all sorts of sweets and pastries including but not limited to what you can usually find in a regular cafe. The cafe is also well known for its support for the beast folk despite the hate and discrimination before the war for the Free lands ended in the far north of the Core kingdoms.
They sat down at the table near the open view area of the Flower garden as one of the beast folk waiters who was a close friend of Aisha.
“Hey, hey Isha good morning to you... I can see you and a special boy-friend here early in the morning...” Kitia said with a smile.
“““blush”“Ugh... Kitia he is Kent Redridge... The Knight hero of two worlds.”Aisha said while flustered.
“Well look at you... Finally hooking up again after that ass boyfriend of yours cheated on you back in the day... But I am tots happy for you and your seemingly handsome friend here... Though a bit skinny... I think I got the perfect menu for you two.” Kitia happily said to Aisha.
“It would seem your lady friend is very happy for you.” Kent said.
“Yeah Kitia is my good friend back when I was still studying in school and I trust her and all but sometimes she can...” Aisha said when she facepalmed and pointed to the bar.
Kent looked at the bar and saw Aisha’s friend pull in the work of 5 people at once and at the same time talk with no point of stopping.
“I can see but friends are many but true friends are hard to come by my Lady.” Kent stated.
“Thanks Kent.” Aisha said as they held hands.
Katia brought to their table a strawberry mist sundae dew berries shaped as a heart with a pare of chocolate flavored straws. it was enough for the two of them though a bit early in the morning to have a sweet tooth but well worth it.
They indulged on a sweet treat meanwhile at the other side of the street a group of escentric people who barely made an effort to disguised themselves.
“And why am I dragged into this again?” Rex asked.
“Boss Cap, this is our one opportunity to confirm if whether Boss Man prefers Mage Lady or Priestess Lady!” Genji said as he hid behind a newspaper article.
“I have to agree with my bro here... The Boss Man has always taken a liking to Mage Lady even though she tries to be tough but she is actually a softy right Marky?” Clayton asked.
“Hey man I am just here for the bet and the tea here... But have you seen the things they call the General here... outrageous!” Marky stated as he put down the newspaper.
They were served coffee and biscuits when Lily and Willow disguised themselves as waitresses at the coffee shop on the other side of the street.
“I want to support Kent here but why did you have to drag me and Willow out here?” Lily asked.
“We need a sexy spy lady to help us not get spotted!” Genji replied as he drank some coffee.
“I have to agree I want to help Kent with his love affair since he saved my life twice now... and I am loving these maid outfits... They are so smooth and easy on the skin I hope I can keep it are they machine washable?” Willow asked.
“I think they are but I don’t think you can wash them in the laundry but more of hand washing it... and don’t use hot water it could ruin it too.” Lily added.
“How am I even dragged into this is beyond me... This is Kent’s private time for crying out loud!” Rex sighed.
“50 credits say that Boss man will get Lady Aisha.” Clayton added.
“Your on!” Rex replied.
Lily shook her head and facepalmed thinking how did they live through so many dangerous and down right suicidal military operation with a group of escentric people.
“Um guys where’s the boss?” Genji asked.
“Wait Marky I thought you guys were keeping an eye on them?!” Clayton asked.
“Their on the move south they already have a few blocks head start!” Marky replied.
“Which way?” Clayton asked.
“Um... that way... No wait... um damn this tracker... um we go... left!” Marky pointed.
“Okay, drop the mugs, trays and that apron Willow... Wait on second thought you two keep it on! we move now.” Rex ordered.
The team were about to leave when the priestess and a few of her sisters stopped them as she smiled at the captain.
“Rex, good day to you and where are you all going?” Arra asked.
“Lady Fullvrink... Um good day to you um we were just.” Rex said when Arra stopped him.
“Tisk tisk captain... You lot should be ashamed of yourselves... following Aisha and Kent on their date! Though I want to follow them but I will honor my best friend’s wishes and no one shall interrupt them!” Arra said as she snapped her fingers.
“Everyone book it! I mean scatter!!!”Rex shouted.
The team ran in separate directions Arra was displeased as she asked her sister guards to lead them away from the areas where the two will go on their date. Meanwhile the two exited the village through the northern entrance just as they passed the security check point the two made their way to the northern part of the flower gardens where the wild roses grow.
Walking through the park Aisha tried holding Kent’s hand despite how he looked his hand was warmer than it seemed.
They passed through several rose archways and made it to the grass fields where the children and their families come out to enjoy the fruits of the land.
Kent took off his jacket and offered it as a cushion for Aisha to sit on and simply relaxed the day away.
“Hey Kent.” Aisha said.
“Yes my Lady?” Kent asked.
“Thank you... I know that I said it before but... It’s for real this time.” Aisha said.
“No thanks is needed my Lady... I owe you and Lady Arra everything for welcoming my people and opening a future for all to bare.” Kent replied.
“Maybe but I can feel that that isn’t the case here is it?” Aisha asked.
“What do you mean my Lady?” Kent asked.
Aisha sighed and seemingly asked about the young knight if he had seen or came to Ren’veil long after the war of the Demon lord. The young knight simply smiled and said In a way my Lady for the past several years before the rebellion I had dreams of a world with two moons much like Ren’veil has two moons. I cannot make the visions clear but I feel like I was being called to this world as if a child crying for help.
“But you came none the less to our aide?” Aisha asked.
“I guess I cannot deny it anymore my lady... But Yes I was the one who came to your world alone so long ago... After I came to your world and aided your party in defeating that lesser demon... I had no recollection of what else had transpired.” Kent explained looking over the distance.
“Whatever the case maybe we all get a chance to see a brighter future... so again thank you.” Aisha sincerely said with a smile.
The young knight smiled as the wind gently blew upon his skin Aisha stood up for the first time in a long time was sincere with the young knight. She stood up and leaned up on the young knight inviting him to a game of tag getting a head start before him.
He laughed and chased after her meanwhile at the top of the northern wall of the village. The team managed to regroup after losing the Priest guard sisters somehow though exhausted they were very persistent.
“So how is it Clay?” Rex asked.
“I can barely see with this binoculars... Who has a better scope?” Clayton asked.
“Here take mine!” Marky said.
“Wait since when did you have the time to get your sniper rifle? and how did you get that from the Night Hawk Armory!” Clayton asked.
“I left it in my room and this is not my sniper rifle... It’s just the scope!” Marky stated.
“Um guys where’s Lily and Willow?” Rex asked.
“I think they said they will distract the sister priestess ladies for us... I think...” Genji said.
“Right... so we are on stakeout duty... Reminds me of my days as a policeman on shard...” Rex said while spying on the two.
“Wait I thought you were a mercenary?” Clayton asked.
“I was a Mercenary long ago then I join the Shard police force in Troah to help support my Family I was a Captain at the time with more record arrest than anyone in the precinct 69... Those were the good old days but its all in the past.” Rex explained.
“Oh wow... Damn if it means anything to you Boss Cap... It really is an honor to work alongside someone who is experienced in the enforcement of law and order.” Genji mentioned while handing him a bottle of water.
“It means a lot coming from a Promethian warrior...It’s all in the past now... So if you guys want to continue snooping I’ll go and keep a look out for the sisters.” Rex replied.
Rex got off the wall when Marky mentioned that their was a hint of sadness in the captain’s voice he and the sergeant realized that their captain hid something from them.
Some time later the two were spotted heading to sea city’s coast line view since it was recently built not many people have taken the liberty of checking the tourist attraction.
It has an underwater observation deck and even an enviro-dome observing the underwater life had been a dream for many Zerrohnians after the destruction of Requiem it had left a partial void in the hearts of the new generation.
Slowly but surely the children will learn of how to appreciate where one of the building blocks of life had come to pass.
“Wow this place is pretty!” Aisha said in astonishment.
“Yes it truly is.” Kent replied looking at Aisha.
“Kent I never knew that you can make a barrier of glass it truly is an engineering marvel... Eva would be so happy to see this!” Aisha stated as she looked onward the deep sea.
Their were even sea-folk who come to pass near the observation dome some Knights had fully adapted their bodies to the sea through natural evolution as a hybrid warrior species. The Zerrohnians take great pride in sharing with others their culture and take pride of learning new ones.
One of the younger sea folk code name mermaid-folk waved at the two the young knight waved back as a sign of respect. After their visit they went to the small house east of Sea city it was the silent shack since the young knight secretly built it during his spare time.
They sat down on the wooden bench and enjoyed the sunset to Aisha’s surprise the bench was well built with some wool cushions nailed in it was not luxurious but it was enough to set the mood.
“Today was a good day.” Aisha whispered as she rest her head on Kent’s shoulder.
“Indeed my Lady... Indeed...”Kent replied.
“Hey Kent... If this means were dating... Then officially you are ours right?” Aisha asked.
“I believe so... Wait... what do you mean by us?” Kent asked.
“Um You belong to me and my sis.” Aisha said.
She quickly explained the main reason why the priestesses are so few in number and are well protected by the mages of Ren’veil and the citizens of Ren’veil. Aisha also stated why she calls her sister by name since the two grew up together as childhood friends and had a sister like bond to one another.
She stated the main reason some families have 2 wives as one child represents the goddess Su-tharma the goddess of the Earth and fertility, the other represents the goddess of the Moon and stars Ishtarhka and the Priestesses of the Wolf Father Shadow the aspect of Justice and balance.
Kent was surprised to hear that he not only belongs to Aisha now but to Lady Arra as well. The young knight stood from his seat and knelt down before Aisha and held her hand. He looked deeply into her eyes with a gentle nod the young knight stood firmly and accepted this as a blessing.
“I am a knight of Ren’veil I had taken an oath to protect and honor your world’s rules, customs and traditions... I would be honored if you two shall have me for I am yours now and forevermore.” Kent asked.
“It’s kind of embarrassing if you put it like that Kent... But Yeah... I am the happiest girl on Lashurta right now.” Aisha said happily.
“Then so be it... I belong to both of you now and forever more...” Kent bowed.
The young knight as stated by Knight Wolf Champion Umbral Volka, a knight can take many roles in life as he or she serves the Maker and Faith herself. They have honored the bravery and sacrifice of the knights who had fought and bleed beside them during the 1st and 2nd war for creation.
As part of their great passage a Knight may have the option of falling in love and having a family to establish. But they must make their oath of honor and fidelity to their lover or in this case loved ones. Their oath must be made upon the open sky where the land, sea and stars are in view in honor to their deity Faith the goddess of balance and justice.
She stood up from her chair and asked the young knight to stand with her as she too made her oath to be true. The made their oaths that day of September 14, 4118 and sealed it with a kiss. The wind suddenly picked up and surrounded the two they could feel a gentle breeze wrap around their wrist. This was a great sign as Faith and the three gods recognized the oath to be true and gave their blessings upon them.
The Wolf Father recognized the oath of the young knight to the Mage daughter of Su-tharma the mark placed upon his left hand began to shine in recognition to said oath to Aisha.
Meanwhile at the temple of the Wolf Father when she felt a gentle wind caress her cheek and wrapped around her wrist. The oath of the three gods was made that day as her birth mark shined alerting the sisters of the entire temple.
“A suitor for Sister Arriandale had been found... SISTERS A SUITOR HAS BEEN FOUND!” One of the elder priestesses shouted.
“I believe I know who it might be...” Arra thought.
At the same time the Temple Idol of Faith on New Dawn where the knights and citizens come to pray on the last day of each week to give thanks to their deity. As the Knight Father was giving his usual sermon and praise to Faith. It was a rare sight to see the palms of the goddess’s statute to move as the Eternal knight her champion had taken his oath of loyalty to serve and protect the people of creation.
This caused a massive uproar in New Dawn as the Statue of Faith had began to shine greatly signalling great promise for the people of the Dragon-wolf. Not only in New Dawn was this great event seen each and every ship and household on New Dawn or the fleet that held an idol of Faith had shined meaning the new chapter of their people starts that day.
The two returned to New Hope village with a renewed vigor and a refreshed look on their faces ready to face tomorrow. They returned to the Redridge Manner quite late but it seemed like the Knights and police marines were in an uproar and their moral was at an all time high.
This was quite a great news when Kent asked Aisha to come in when his Parents and Aisha’s parents even including Arraiandale’s parents were present. Some looked confused others excited and others were simply out of words to say.
After a much needed explanation and several scoldings from Charlotte and praise from Alisyha.
“So Let me get this straight... What my son did was the oath of loyalty which is basically locks my son’s ability to date others than Miss Ayekawa and Miss Fullvrink correct!” Victor asked.
“Indeed, The oath of the three gods is to be made only when one is absolutely certain of the other party and yes it is basically a great oath to take when one wishes to be with another on Ren’veil.” Alisyha explained.
“I do not permit my Baby girl to be whisked off by another man!” Aliysha’s husband shouted.
Aliysha then pinched her husbands ear and asked themselves to be excused after a minute or two. They returned but her husband had several smack marks on his head.
“Now where were we? ah yes I approve of Kent as our daughter’s protector and lover! right dear?” Alisyha asked with a frightening voice.
“Yes... Dear...” Her husband cried.
“Well I don’t have any complaints... After what had happened to Arra with some hooligans who faked her mark... Regardless Mister Redridge, Miss Ayekawa... I beg for your pardon.” Arra’s Father pleaded.
“Father it’s okay... I am happy that it is Kent that I got paired with.” Arra said as she comforted her father.
“But this humble Farmer is...”“sniff”“ so proud of my humble daughter... Finding love!” Arra’s Father cried heavily.
“Mister Krosta It’s okay...” Alisyha said.
“Kent a word please in private?” Victor asked.
The two moved to the back yard of the manner he handed a drink as they finally had a serious talk.
“My son... Ever since you were born your mother and I had been very worried to all three of you... Ever since you were little you were the youngest to enter the training of the knights at the age of 3 and enact ability to stand up against a fully trained knight at the age of 5... Your brother had an unparalleled knowledge of politics and nature despite his power and being a dragon-human hybrid... While your baby sister is a psycher the strongest one in the history of the Dragon-wolf second only to Tallis... You three are our greatest treasures... Are you sure you are ready to handle such a burden?” Victor asked.
“Father... You told me a long time ago that Faith presents each living being with a mission and a challenge that we must overcome in order to be come stronger both physically and spiritually... I wish to care for them... I believe the emotion is called love... This yearning that my heart beats for battle in every aspect... I will not break this oath even if it kills me!” Kent vowed as he slammed his right hand over his heart.
“I know... Take this time to get to know them better since your fleet is suspended from military activity.” Victor said.
“Thank you Father... I know this isn’t Requiem I wish to see our original home world but I know it is gone now... But Ren’veil is our home now... and I plan to make a better tomorrow for everyone this I swear.” Kent said wit hpride.
“So it is my son... So it is....”Victor happily said.
“father if it is okay... may we go back inside it’s getting a bit cold.” Kent asked.
“Well said my son...” Victor replied.
They went back inside while the others had a chat about what to expect and what is to be expected between the three families.
In order to make the oath complete according to Aisha the young knight must repeat the oath in front of Arra. Kent mustered the courage to repeat the oath in front of the priestess the two were given some privacy as they performed the oath taking in front of the two moons at the second floor balcony.
“This is a bit embarrassing is it not?” Arra asked.
“I cannot see it my Lady...”Kent said as he held Arra’s hand.
“Kent... If you do this... Balance must be maintained between you... Aisha and myself...It would feel like you are engaged to us... Are you prepared for such a responsibility?” Arra asked.
“I am My Lady no matter the risk... Though I am no Hero.” Kent answered.
“Kent... you risked your life to save us but I am worried that I may not be worthy of such powerful love that you possess... Even if you say that you are not a hero... I can feel it in my heart... that you are one... But are you certain that you are willing to go the distance for us?” Arra asked with a gentle sadness in her voice.
“I am... I made my oath to both of you that day... I will never leave you... I will protect you both... On or off the battlefield.. I make my oath to you as well my Lady...I Kent Redridge present myself to you as your protector and lover... I am prepared to take the risks... i wager my life for you two... No matter the cost so long as I can stand with you two I am happy... Should my words utter a single lie I offer my life as the price for my insolence... I pray to the Wolf Father to bless our oath should I be worthy of you...” Kent said.
“KENT NO!” Arra shouted.
They were immediately taken into the astral realm or the forest of the Wolves the final resting place of the priestesses who fell in battle and awaiting rebirth with no memory of their past life.
The Sisters stood around them watching as the Wolf Father himself looked at Kent Arra stood in front of her Father to prevent the young knight from facing his fury. With a wave of his claws her astral form was forcefully sent back to the physical world.
She saw Kent’s body was frozen solid holding her hand Arra tried to go back to the forest of Wolves but she was blocked out. For the first time in her life she was at a loss to save him from the wrath of a god she had to force her way back.
Arra called out for help watching his body started to show wounds made claw, fang and blade. His veins started to scream out while the young knight battled in the Astral realm realizing that the trials of the Father is suicide she tried to stop the oath taking.
Many minutes later the mark on her body was sealed with a crown of roses she looked at the soul mark left by the blessing on Kent’s left palm as it also showed the same markings the trial was complete.
The young knight turned pale sweating endlessly as he tried to open his eyes when a scar appeared over his left eye. Though his injuries were severe yet not life threatening he tried to get his feet under him. Arra helped him on his feet as he looked at her the priestess cried knowing that facing the Wolf Father is suicide regardless as he is the aspect of Justice and balance on creation as she mentioned.
“KENT YOU SHOULD NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!” Arra cried while embracing him.
“I did not mean to worry you my Lady...”Kent coughed heavily.
Arra held him tightly as she heard the Wolf Father’s voice in her head He never ceases to amaze me child of mine... The two goddesses had seen his mettle and had chosen him to be a worthy suitor... Let him prove his worth to you... I am sure he will not falter...
Despite nearly killing the young knight the wolf Father despite his intentions to protect his daughters and ensure they end up with someone worthy of them.
The young knight excuse himself as he was tired and closed his eyes resting upon her shoulders. Though the day may had come to an end their was still much needed to be done.
The next morning after a long night Kent woke up in his room with little memory of what had transpired last night. He then tried to get off the bed when he felt something very soft he looked to his side to see Aisha was to his left and to his right was Arra sleeping next to him and barely with any clothing.
Instead of panicking he simply smiled and got off the bed silently and covered the two with the comforter since it’s still a bit cold in the morning. He then made his way down where the entire family to his surprise was present even Coralline who was always in her study on New Dawn.
he grabbed some food for the two before he returned to his room Charlotte put her tea cup down and smiled at her son.
Kent grabbed a cup of freshly squeezed juice and a piece of toasted bread he grabbed some food for the two before he returned to his room Charlotte put her tea cup down and smiled at her son.
“So my son... did you have a fun threesome last night?” Charlotte winked.
“““spat out his drink and coughing heavily”“ WHAT?!” Kent shouted.
“Shush child you might wake those two up... But still how did it go?” Charlotte asked.
“Wait big brother what does Mother mean by having fun and a threesome?” Coralline asked.
“It would be best if you don’t know it my sister... and No mother we did not do that I barely have any memories of last night...” Kent stated.
“Well, After your battle with the wolf Father which exhausted you mentally according to Arra she and Aisha needed to perform a ritual to heal the damage to your mind and soul...That is why they are in your room right now.” Charlotte explained.
“Don’t worry brother this will not get out publicly Lily and I are already on the case... Lady Aliysha and Mister Vulcan aka miss Arra’s Father had agreed to let them stay here for a time... So you have two new room mates big brother... Good for you and I am impressed.” Chimera said sarcastically.
“By the way my son Mister Vulcan and Miss Alisyha had agreed to allow them to live under the same roof as you so it will be very easy for you lot ot get to know each other.”Victor said as he drank his coffee.
“Okay then... I am okay with them staying in my room but I will need to order a lot of things if that will be the case. Mom I am going to need your help!” Kent asked.
“Sure my son what do you need?” Charlotte asked.
After a few minutes of explaining and preparing breakfast Kent went back to his room with food for the two.
When he got back to his room Aisha and Arra were slowly waking up though they had a fairly long day much was still ahead of them.
His left arm split off into two sub arms and prepared a healthy and fulfilling breakfast for the two.
“My oh my Kent... You should not have prepared such a delightful breakfast?” Arra asked in astonishment.
“This is our first day together my Lady this much is little to what you and Lady Aisha had given me... This is but thanks for accepting me as your protectorate and Lover...” Kent bowed.
“It is a good gesture Kent for you to go through so much effort this day... As you say we three have a long road ahead of us... But what should we do this day since our schedule is practically free for a day or two?” Arra asked.
“Hmm I was going to Bastion hope to see about the trainer selection results and greet them... I believe one of them is your friend Emilia free lander.” Kent explained.
“I am surprised that Emi is here... Let’s go meet her after breakfast...” Arra asked.
“By your will Lady Arra.” Kent bowed.
She drank her morning chamomile tea and to her surprise it was natural blend of herbs that she preferred before and during her time in the Temple of the Wolf Father.
Arra was surprised that Kent learned of her favorite morning tea when he told her that Vulcan told his mother how to prepare it and showed her the way. Kent repeated the process as if the tea was made by her father in the flesh.
Aisha was surprised to hear of their conversation as she took a look in her coffee it was made from the refined cocoa bean found only in the Trigor mountain located at the far north east of the free kingdom and only a few of these beans had ever been exported out of the area.
Along with the refined honey from extracted from the giant honeysuckle bees located at the Forest of Bree where the elfen use it as a natural export product. The cream was mixed into the coffee in the shape of a heart despite how it looks its taste was beyond imagination for the taste buds.
“Kent how did you?!” AIsha asked.
“Same thing I told Lady Arra my Lady... Lady Alisyha passed a note to mother about what your favorites are and I had to prepare them I hope they are to your liking?” Kent asked.
“Well... “”flustered”“Its okay... I guess...” Aisha muttered.
“At least Sis here likes it very much Kent... I will say thank you on her behalf.” Arra mentioned.
“SIS!!!” AIsha shouted.
Kent snikkered to see the two argue over such a trivial matter but one thing seemed to puzzle him why did Aisha and Arra call each other sisters. Arra giggled at the young knight’s curiosity and explained to him that they are not sisters but they grew up together being friends since they were but babies and up to this day they had stood side by side as sisters.
Through thick or thin and even any battle they will have each other’s backs even during the battle for the freedom of the people against the demon lord. Arra was the one who took the spear hit for Aisha while Aisha stopped the Thunder judgement spell used by the demon lord against Arra and barely able to protect her friends at the time.
After their talk and a hot shower for the first time since having hot water in homes at the village is considered as a luxury. The two received a fresh pair of clothes left by their respective families before they left Charlotte gave them a very stylish belt filled with an assortment of gadgets like a micro plasma field, grappling hook, an emergency bio-med gel kit, a tachyon beacon and a atmospheric field projector when trapped in deep space.
The gadgets on the belt were built specially by Charlotte basing it off from her own experience during the 2nd Great War.
“Okay you kids be safe now!” Charlotte shouted.
“Thank you for the great gifts miss Charlotte.” Aisha said as she looked at the belt.
“Oh these are nothing at all oh and they can change color and styles when you place your palm over the belt buckle. Now off you go kiddies and have fun now!” Charlotte said as she shooed the three off.
Arra looked at Kent while he looked through his arm pad while they walked to Bastion hope. To his surprise many marines and Knights had been saluting him on first sight.
They entered the base when the knights immediately lined up and offered their praise to them.
“Hail Lord Anthony!” The knights shouted.
“WOW is this a regular thing you do Kent?” Aisha asked.
“Not really only when theirs a special occasion... But the only occasion today is the Trainer welcoming ceremony.” Kent stated as they entered the main hall.
Upon entering they saw over 3 dozen applicants who passed they all stood side by side with their robes as swordsman before entering the fort. Aisha noticed Emilia was part of the successful applicants the two ran towards her and congratulated her success.
Before they could congratulate her Emi asked the two to sit next to her as Chimera was at the stage Kent took to the stage with Rex and Fenris by his side.
Hello Everyone I am Kent Redridge of Strike Fleet New Hope... I congratulate you all for passing the application process for the sword trainers I know it has been a difficult challenge to face off against a Venerate ranked knight but you all had proven your stride and mettle against a knight who had fought a godly class demons of old.
From this day on wards you 36 swordsman are now ranked trainers and shall be part of molding the hundreds of Zerrohnian Marines and Recruits in sword combat.
I can see much potential in all of your future career as part of the Knight Kingdom I hope that faith and the three gods may shine fortune upon all of you.
Now let us end this welcoming ceremony and enjoy for this day does not belong to you alone for it belongs to the future of our people.
Kent raised his fist and howled much like a wolf many knights followed their lord as they are a part of the Iron Wolves Legion. With the ceremony at an end the mercenaries now turned trainers united with their families with smiles on their faces as a new chapter will start for many of them.
Chimera and Kent’s team approached the newly recruited trainer to congratulate her on succeeding the trials.
“Emi congratulations!” Chimera said as he lifted her up.
“““blush”“CHIRA please not in front of my friends.” Emilia said with a flustered face.
“Sorry but I am very happy for you!” Chimera said as he embraced her instead.
“Regardless of the situation miss Emi I am honored to have a free lander to be in the Base... I look forward to your achievements miss... I mean Sergeant Emilia Freelander.” Kent said proudly.
“Thank you Ken... I mean General Anthony!” Emilia saluted.
“Now then enough of the formalities we have a feast to attend to.. Oh yes I forgot to get something in my office you all go on ahead... I’ll catch up...” Kent told them as he walked away from them.
“Alright Big brother... If their are any hot wings Ill save some for you!” Chimera shouted.
Kent walked away to his office he made sure first that no one was following him as soon as the coast was clear he uttered.
“I got that weird feeling again...” Kent said as he entered his office.
“I am sorry father...” Kyvash said with a serious look in here eyes.
Kyvash turned the chair around but it did not stop spinning her care taker Sword masters stopped the chair for her. Though nauseous from the spinning she instantly recovered the young knight was about to laugh but he held it in surprisingly well.
“Kyvash what can I do for you and why are you hiding?” Kent asked.
“Yes I am here because Astaroth and Tyrannox managed to follow the trail where Willow’s brother was taken in this flash drive holds the data you will need to mount a rescue mission and also rescue the Vailen...” Kyvash said as she placed the flash drive on the table.
“Thank you yet I feel a but is coming in...” Kent stated.
“Yes their is... I wish to have a brand new Hive built on Ren’veil a royal guard Hive that will serve as additional security for our people... They will follow only your orders of course.” Kyvash stated.
“I might agree to that but I need my Father’s Approval and I am curious how the High Glaives produce such powerful warriors like the Sword God masters that always protect you and the Blade god masters that aided us in our escape on Vega?” Kent asked.
“I will explain in due time but this data drive will hold all the information you need, the number of people being held and the locations of possible planets for resource conversion or colonization... Think of this as my investment to the people’s future...” Kyvash said.
“I will consider this as a gift my lady... And I will talk to father soon about this.” Kent saluted.
“Very well I will talk with Father as soon as I get home... Would you like to join the party?” Kent asked.
“I wish I could but for now I need to settle a few more things with your permission I would like to go to the Redridge manner this evening?” Kyvash asked.
“Then it would be an honor for you to visit our home... But I need to get something from my desk if that is fine?” Kent asked.
Before they went on their seperate ways Kyvash told the young knight of her new Apex Prowl Hunters and gave him over 50 of these monstrous hydras they are independent thinkers but they will listen to orders of the one assigned to them by their queen.
The young knight was free to use these new Hunters should the need arise all he needed to do was think and they will hear him.
The young knight thanked the queen for her generous gift he placed his palm over his desk when a massive blade rack appeared out of the wall next to the door.
He looked at the assortment of blades each one of the weapons emitted a powerful aura that the Sword Masters were being pushed back as if they were facing a world ending typhoon.
Kyvash quickly snapped her fingers projecting her own aura field to protect her children as the blades domination field was stronger that their protection auras.
He grabbed the double edge sword measuring 3 meters in length with a eight crowned cross as it’s sword guard with the pommel shaped like budded flower. The young knight excused himself from the room as Kyvash watched her father act the same way she remembers him long ago.
“My Lady now that Lord Anthony agrees to your request should we not tell him of the Hunter killer’s status.” The Sword Master asked.
“He will not do anything unless he is provoked my child... For now let us head home I am a bit tired today I still need to meet Grand Father and Grand Mother later on.” Kyvash said as she opened a portal to home.
Meanwhile at the party all members of the strike Fleet including the Admiralty, the Iron Wolve’s circle of elders and the Commando teams who participated in the recruitment and selection process. Emilia was somewhat isolated as she did not go through the standard trials instead was recommended by Chimera to be a trainer but she participated in the trials where many Venerates had approved her skill as a trainer.
Though some of the fellow trainers did not even bother to befriend her as she was a part of the clan that nearly destroyed Ren’veil and wiped out the Priestesses and mages though it was kept secret but those who knew the truth would prefer not to acquaint themselves with Emilia.
Emi looked to her glass of wine it was a solemn reminder that she was not meant to befriend anyone else but Chimera showed her another path. He tapped her shoulder and tapped her cheek snapping her sadness out of reality.
“Miss Emi don’t look sad it will spoil your appetite... I got you your favorite... Hammer shrimp with sauce butter on the side.” Chimera said with a smile.
“Thanks Chira... You always know how to bring a girl up.” Emilia said as she took the plate.
“Emi don’t worry no one knows who you really are here... You are Emilia Freelander and soon to be Redridge so lighten up this is your day!” Aisha stated.
“I agree Miss Emilia your family’s crime is not yours to bare... It was their choice to set their path to ruin... You only did what is right and no one can hold you accountable for such an atrocity.” Arra added.
“I know Arra but It was my fault why my brother turned out like that... I should have brought him with me when I was exiled maybe things would be different if I did that...” Emilia said as she shook off the memories of her past.
“Emi always know that I am here for you... Through thick or thin I will stand by you as your shield and sword... I am your partner for life...” Chimera said with a proud growl.
“I know Chimera and I would not have it any other way...” Emilia said as she kissed him on the cheek.
With the party well underway the young knight met up with his friends and brother at their table. They were curious as to what was the broad looking sword he was holding the young knight sat down and told them it was his gift to Emilia.
It was one of the first of the 6 blades he forged on New Dawn it was called the Star Strider a blade specially built from purified star Xerromite a sub rare class ore used as a catalyst for making the strongest blade or the toughest armor.
It can absorb heat and heal the wielder’s injuries simply by absorbing sunlight it can generate heat strong enough to turn a mountain into a lava pit. The young knight was infamous in the Forge works for making blades that are extremely powerful and may not require a weapon heart. Although the weapons he crafts are alive in their own way and will only require a small sacrifice from it’s would be wielder in order to seal the bond.
Emi pulled the blade out of the scabbard and cut herself with the blade as it absorbed her blood the blade glowed a bright warm light and transformed into a claymore blade.
“Congratulations the sun strider is now yours miss Emi... use it well.” Kent congratulated her.
“Thank you... I really appreciate it Kent.” Emilia said as she attached the scabbard on her belt.
“Thank you also big bro for giving her a chance...” Chimera said.
“Hey Faenrir wanted a challenge so he was the one who volunteered to test the trainer’s mettle so its all well and good.” Kent answered as he grabbed a carbonated drink.
“Wait Faenrir as in Primal Knight Elite Captain Faenrir Claw breaker? THAT FENRIS!!!” Chimera shouted.
“Oh no...” Kent said as his brother showed his anger.
“Chira what’s wrong?” Emi asked.
“I WANTED TO FIGHT HIM!!! AND EMI GOT A CHANCE TO FIGHT HIM I AM JEALOUS!!!”Chimera cried.
Captain Faenrir Clawbreaker is the biological older brother of Fenris Fellfrost Captain Faenrir is one of the few knights who participated in the siege of the World ender citadel at the final battle during the 2nd great war.
The Primal Captain is one of the rare few to see the Legendary Archon Wodan “Thunderking” Redridge and Keith “Hunter Killer” Aliucard against the demon champion Guision the thousand hands. Faenrir also earned many achievements and an impressive kill count of 5000 mid level demons under his belt.
Many aspirants and Archon candidates like Kent and Chimeara wishes to fight Faenrir it is considered a great honor for one to fight against the few Elites of the 2nd war in a duel of prowess. But Faenrir does not entertain duels unless he specifies it to be so as Elites are always needed in the front lines and have no time for pleasantries.
And when they do they will only use their free time at their own accord not even the great nobles of the Dragon-wolf can request an audience from them.
“It was a sudden request from Faenrir brother I couldn’t do anything... Besides he was only pulled out from the Border patrol because of his fleet needing resupply.” Kent explained.
“Right I wanted to have a duel with him though!” Chimera cried.
“If it means anything Chira... He gave me a tough time when I fought him.” Emi said as she comforted him.
Chimera was saddened as the elites of the 2nd war were so few and are always away from New Dawn it cause him little pain knowing that he could not even fight him. At the same time he was very proud of Emilia for being able to fight a great warrior like him.
Kent laughed at his little brother when Aisha came up to him with a couple of drinks as well with a plan of her own.
“Hey Kent here!” Aisha said while handing him over a very cold can of carbonated drink.
“Thank you my lady... I needed one.” Kent replied as he opened the can.
“Big Bro... I am concerned about your obsession with those carbonated drinks dont they have enough sugar to make a small marble?” Chimera asked.
“Yeah the virus inside my body converts the sugar into usable biomatter while the rest of the contents are being converted to water... I only drink it for the taste...” Kent explained.
“I know that brother but you should calm down with those drinks... Its 9:30 in the morning big bro!” Chimera added.
“Sure after this I wont drink for the mean time.” Kent said as he savored his drink.
“SO Kent... After this do you want to go to the mages temple with me?” Aisha asked.
“Very Well my Lady I would love that.” Kent replied.
“After your visit Kent please fetch me from the temple I just remembered that I am needed at the local orphanage.”Arra asked.
The young knight nodded when one of the marines approached him requesting for his assistance. The marine reported about some incidents in the mage temple about humans turning into monsters in broad day light. Many knights and marines had already been injured and the surviving knights are requesting for immediate assistance from any Crusader class or above for assistance.
Kent agreed to go when Aisha over heard the situation at the temple and wanted to go as well.
“Okay, Brother I will leave the management of the party to you... REX Get the team ready!” Kent ordered.
“YES SIR!” Rex saluted.
The team along with some marine and knight venerates boarded their respective gunships and made their way to the Mage temple at shion.
On their way Kent and the other captains listened on the reports from the on site guards who first saw the incident and from knight aspirants who responded to the alert.
“Okay so something is turning the mages into monsters... But according to the reports the mages still have some shred of their humanity but over time they lose it... Interesting...” Kent said.
“General If I may how many casualties so far?” Captain Yurfa asked.
“So far over 50 wounded 5 critically injured 3 aspirants incapacitated and several civilians wounded from the initial explosive magic used on the aspirant sergeant treko.” Captain Ignus reported.
“Okay... Set up a perimeter 3 miles around the tower have knight elites perform routine patrols around the area make sure no mage escapes using the underground tunnels and sewage system. Have the science and medical teams set up a isolation zone so we can study the thing that caused all this.” Kent ordered.
“Sir if I may how certain are we that this is not caused by a virus or an air born infection of some kind?” Captain Mugen asked.
“If it were the case then a lot of people including the marines turned into monsters already... But have the Templar apocrypha’s check the air for any contagions just to be sure. I almost forgot and have any non knight personnel we have right now wear level 5 bio hazard equipment and bio-masks before we land.” Kent ordered.
“Lady Aisha please wear my helmet... I will be okay without it.” Kent said as he handed her his pressurized mask.
Aisha nodded while the young knight helped her wear his mask it scanned her retina and changed it’s form based on her specifications. the mask that normal covers most of Kent’s face only leaving the left eye to actually see and several sensors on the forehead, sides and the back of the head helped him have a full 360 view of any battle.
Instead the mask’s initial features of heavy protection was removed and replaced with a full indestructible visor with a bio-air filter and several smaller but efficient sensors that can help her see around her.
“Aisha can you breath easy in the helmet?” Kent asked.
“Yeah but it smells like you in this thing... I will borrow it later...” Aisha stated.
“Note to self must wash the inner part of my helmet after each use...” Kent thought.
“General look it’s getting bad down there its getting bad!” Marky shouted.
“Right No time for flirting... Marky and Rex non-lethal rounds only Clayton, Genji, and Miss Willow With me... Lady Aisha please remain on the gunship while we take care of this.” Kent ordered.
“Um boss... she already jumped out!” Clayton said.
Kent looked out the gunship to see Aisha falling from the sky and somehow landed safely on the ground with her magic. The young knight felt a bit stupid for giving an order to Aisha who is a civilian and was an illogical move on his part.
“So boss um should we?” Genji asked.
“Just jump already... I feel very stupid right now for ordering Aisha...” Kent said outloud.
“At least we know your human boss... “”Jumped out the gunship”“ Big bro you owe me 20 credits!” Genji shouted.
“HEY COME BACK HERE THAT DOESN’T COUNT!” Clayton shouted as he jumped out.
“General if you shall excuse me I will scold those two when we get back.” Willow said as she waited for the gunship to land.
“Right... But Willow please take it easy since this will be your first time in battle with your New body.” Kent reminded his friend.
Willow nodded she was still getting used to the absurd strength her new body has and the new bow that the Forge masters made for her was heavier than her previous bow and more stronger than the first. The young knight tapped her on the shoulder reminding that she will always have a friend to count on.
He free felled from the gunship and almost immediately he managed to stomp down one monster that was about to escape containment. Though he made sure that the impact was not lethal it was enough to knock out the mage. Kent turned to check on the other knights Clayton was grabbed by one of the monsters and thrown towards the young knight.
Kent grabbed him by the collar and arm saving him from impacting the wall the promethian sergeant got back up he was very furious.
“Thanks boss man... HEY YOU GET BACK HERE I AIN’T DONE WITH YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Clayton shouted.
“Captain these mages turned monsters are getting stronger by the second we could use some extra muscle... Dread knight class muscles!” A knight shouted.
“ Understood we have already called a few of them in but they are about 5 minutes out.” Rex shouted.
Aisha used her magic and restrained most of the monsters with Earth claw and ice shackles. With her help the knights and marines were able to place the restriction fields on the magemonsters. One of the monsters was able to break through Aisha’s restraining magic and fully lost their minds to their instinctive nature.
It rushed towards the young mage as several knights tried to stop it they were thrown out of the way instead. She needed time to cast a more powerful restraining magic when it was about to crush her. The young knight pushed her out of the way with a deep breath his hands began to flow as if they hand no bones in them.
With only seconds before the monster could slam it’s massive fist over the young knight he closed his eyes and uttered.
“Shadow Fire Art... Claws of the raging wind!” Kent whispered.
The shadow fire art enveloped his arms with a strange black and white aura turning his fingers into miniature spears. With a single thrust his arms became a machine gun and struck the monster in the vital pressure points that controlled movement. With each thrust he was able to toss the monster out of harms way from his men and the civilians trying to get to safety.
With the monster incapacitated the knights applied medical care to it and added a restriction field to ensure no one else will be harmed.
He ran to Aisha’s side and helped her back up asking if she was unharmed aside from the fall and a scrap on her arm she was safe.
The knights and marines who learned about their founder Blazer ShadowFire he had many books about teaching knights about the different styles of fighting including ancient martial arts.
Only a few Champion class knights are able to perform and re-create the techniques in the books but only a direct descendant can unleash their true power. If any Zerrohnian or Xer-razh were to see the technique is a great privilege on its own.
Later that Day with the Mage tower Hazard Knights were sent into the Tower to search for the source of the monster transformation and Apocrypha’s searched the area high and low for any external threats within a 5 mile radious.
They deemed the area safe and free from any air born contagions Kent asked Aisha and the surviving mages to check if their was any magic involved in the outbreak.
Aisha told them no summoning or transfiguration circles were found in the area something bothered here when one of the monsters Kent defeated spewed out blood.
The blood of a Vai’len is a bright red despite any health conditions the blood of a Vai’len will always be bright red but it was darker and the blood almost was similar to acid when came into contact with anything that had life.
“This is not much Kent but it has to be something right?” Aisha asked.
“It is... Lily... Please extract a blood sample from one of the monsters and see if their are any mysteries inside their blood?” Kent asked.
“Im already done Kent and surprise surprise... Their are a lot of surprises inside their DNA... I am sending you the data I have so far but I’ll get back to you once we have more info.” Lily replied.
The report from the science and medical team was sent to everyone inside the briefing room and the details were confusing. According to the medical report their blood had nano-machine cells fast replicating and primitive type of machine cells.
It drew in the energy inside the mage’s body and with the right triggering effect the mage’s body will turn into a beast as a result. No knight hermit or scientist on New Dawn or the Entire legion could do such a monstrous thing to their own kin and brother. It would mean death for them if this was to be true but nothing was said and done until more information was found.
It was an absurd amount of machine cells inside their blood that caused the abnormal change. Kent immediately ordered all the personnel of the mage tower to be detained and questioned by the Crusaegrum mind seekers.
Aisha was safe because she was at the trainer’s welcoming party several hours before the incident came to be and she was at the Redrdige manner even before the incident transpired.
“Lady Aisha this might take a while but you may want to get some rest in the secure camp... I’ll be with you in a moment.” Kent requested.
“Okay... Just don’t take too long?” Aisha asked as she was escorted to the camp.
Once she left Kent and the team including some Elite knights nodded as if they noticed something.
Kent clenched his fist slowly as he smacked the air behind him when they heard a satisfying bone cracking sound. All of a sudden Rex pulled out his vibration knife and started slashing in front of him and the knight elite near the door grabbed something from this air and slammed his fist into the object as its head exploded in a violent gore of blood show.
“Alert every knight and marine we have infiltrators in the area... Lock down the air space have every ship we have scan for Electro magnetic signatures for any stealth ships...” Kent ordered.
“Yes sir!” The Elites saluted.
“WE are going to need prowl hunters... wait a minute...” Kent stated.
He remembered the Apex prowl Hunters that Kyvash gave him earlier today and remembered that all he needed to call them was a thought and they will come.
With a single thought the ground began to shake as 3 of the Apex Prowl hunters who were taller and have darker scales than their cousin. Their muscles are stronger and their mantis like arms have twin blades that can vibrate intensely causing matter around them to split apart.
They also have 4 mandible like arms on their backs that can extend for 5 to 6 meters and can puncture 50 inch adamantine reinforced steel walls. The Apex hunters roared as they busted out of the ground and attacked the cloaked assassins with no mercy.
One of the hunters fired a volley of razor sharp spines from it’s shoulders melting and shredding the assassin into pieces. Another assassin tried to Kill Willow from behind but was easily dealt with by the Hunter’s 4 mandibles that impaled it on the fore head, neck and heart.
With the room cleared the pact leader of the Apex hunters looked at Kent with it’s blood thirsty eyes bowing before it’s master asking what is their orders.
“Kill all assassins within this area that turned the vai’len mages into monsters Do not let them escape no matter what... Protect the civilians near here... that is my order.” Kent said to the apex Hunter.
“By your will Master...” The hunter said as they burrowed into the ground.
“Sir is it right to trust those things?” Rex asked.
“It’s fine... They were given to me by Kyvash and this would be a perfect for them to prove themselves to the legion kingdom... Its about time we gave our allies some credit.” Kent explained.
“Wait boss if these assassins managed to pass our sensor defense grid then who knows how many are in this camp.” Clayton stated.
“Then that means... Oh no... Aisha!” Kent thought as he busted through the door.
Kent rushed to the secured camp site where Aisha stayed in she settled down she used the built in shower. She got into the shower the falling water made it difficult to hear from the outside the young knight rushed to Aisha’s camp. The assassin pulled out his knife in an attempt to stab the mage when Kent opened the door she was not in her chamber.
Just before the assassin could deal the final blow a blade pierced the assassins chest. Kyvash appeared from the shadows as she leaned towards the assassins ear and open the assassins helmet she partially changed her face into a monstrous nightmare.
“Let’s talk shall we?” Kyvahs whispered.
With a sadistic smile Kyvash placed her hand over the assassin’s mouth and disappeared into the portal. Kent busted down the door looking for the assassin he heard the shower was on as he opened the door to his surprise Aisha was safe and sound.
“KENT WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!” Aisha shouted covering herself at the same time.
“Aisha I... Um...” Kent mumbled.
He stuttered for the first time in his life when he saw a naked girl specially if the girl he was looking at is the one he loves. Aisha’s face turned beat red as she screamed to the top of her lungs and followed with a thunderous slap to the face.
Later that evening the two went back to the manner when Chimera and Coralline noticed the hand mark on his face.
“Brother... I?” Chimera asked.
“DON’T... Ask!” Kent said when the mark hurt.
“I can picture what happened big brother...” Coralline snickered.
“SO how is everyone doing today?” Charlotte asked.
“I am doing great miss Charlotte I am going to start tomorrow as a n instructor.” Emilia said.
“And I will be their to support her since I am already done with my civil duties today so I’m free for an entire week.” Chimera added.
“I found out that their is another race trying to get their hands on the Vai’len mages so I guess that’s a bonus...” Kent said.
“Kent family rules no business on the dinner table... But I can feel what happened to you today.” Charlotte winked.
“”“sigh”“ Mom please...” Kent begged.
“I’m sorry Kent I just got surprised... and...” Aisha said as she covered her face.
“See what I mean...” Charlotte giggled.
“I can take a guess to what happened to you today sis and it’s okay... This is one way for us all to get our relationship into some progress.” Arra stated.
“I am confused...” Kent said.
“You are telling me Father...” Kyvash said through telepathy.
“What” Kent asked.
“Father don’t be alarmed I am only communicating with you... I am about a minute’s walk away from the ancestral home please be ready.” Kyvash asked.
“Oh right... Mother, Father... I have an important guest that wishes to meet you for the past several months... She will be here in a moment.” Kent said as they moved to the living room.
Everyone was surprised to whom was this person as they moved to the living room Aisha suspected it might be another girl that he wanted to introduce to the family. Arra believed it might be a beast folk that he wished to take care of though their guesses were wild and amazing.
Meanwhile at the gate of the Redridge manner Kyvash and an entourage of her most elite amongst the elite escorted her to the ancestral house of her family.
“Mother are your sure you wish to go alone?” The Sword Master Troa asked.
“I will be fine Troa... Thank you for your concern but this is one of the safest place on Ren’veil but the Assassin we captured earlier please get as much information as you can if he does not cooperate... Extract the information as painfully as possible.” Kyvash ordered.
“By your will my queen.” Troa replied.
She took a deep breath and knocked three times on the door after a brief moment the young knight welcomed the Queen into his home.
What awaited them was just another step into a brighter tomorrow.
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Welcome, dear readers, to the much anticipated Union Season 1 finale, featuring the diverse cast of well-developed characters we’ve all come to love, such as cheating whore #1, cheating whore #2, and my personal favorite, cheating whore #3. Also starring purple Hannibal Lecter, Melody Tinker’s sunglasses, and Leon Trotsky. Last update saw the erotic tension between resident porn-king Gunther and his brother’s intended, Regina George Brittany Upsnott finally boil over, leading to this harrowing image:
GOOD TIMES. Let’s pick up right where we left off..
.. namely precious Gunther immediately jumping into bed with Melody not two minutes after his close encounter of the Brit kind. Guns has been suspiciously loyal and un-gross ever since we moved out of the dorms, but apparently his goal for senior year is to out-worst everyone else in the house. What a comeback!
Meanwhile Brit is depressingly bowling her frustrations away under the unforgiving desert sky. Whaddup Brit, you must be dealing with some pretty complicated emotions right now.
-What?? No way, I’m totally, totally fine!
I mean sure, why wouldn’t you be, it’s not like you’ve fucked literally everything up. After spending half of college dealing with fucking HaremGate all I wanted was an uneventful senior year I could speed through, but that would be too easy now, WOULDN’T IT.
-The pins are you well-laid out plans for the future!
UGH Brit seriously, this isn’t happening. As in we’re gonna pretend it literally never happened, you’re gonna marry Daniel, Gunther is gonna marry Mel, everyone will live happily ever after and that’s the last I’m gonna hear of this bullshit.
BRIT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY
-I’m just heartfarting, GAWD
Yea you’re also about to fucking serenade him in front of Mel, have you legit lost your mind??? Is this how the rest of this year will go, me chasing you around cancelling your dumbass actions?
-Probably! lolol!
-Aww Brit, if there was an award for best couple, we would definitely win it <3
-Oh please, Gunther and I have you totally beat!
-Yea right Mel, bet you §10 me and Brit are gonna move in together before you and Gunther do!
-…So how you liking that pizza, Gunther?
-…Oh it’s good, Brit, thanks for asking.
Meanwhile it looks like my restless Jojo/Wyatt reconciliation efforts have finally borne fruit! Good job, Wyatt!
-It’s no job, I’m just following mon coeur!
Nice, follow it all the way to redemption!
YASSSS. I can’t stress enough how many times Wyatt had to apologize to get us to this point, I’m talking half their awake time for 3 days. God. The whole thing has been an extremely repetitive nightmare but finally we can put it to rest. Much like we put Frances! BURN IN HELL
Finally, the universe has responded to my desperate pleas. I will even forgive the creepy ass llama because for once the cheering is completely appropriate. Reunited and it feels so good! Especially for me because if I had to press the apologize button one more time istg.
Well.. The universe giveth and the universe taketh away. Literally can’t leave these dicks unsupervised for more than a minute before they start slutting it up. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO
-Oh oh oh oh oh OH, caught in a bad romance <3
STOP SINGING INTO EACH OTHER’S MOUTHS. It’s time for drastic measures. Gunther is obviously unfamiliar with the concept of decency but maybe there’s still hope for Brittany..
..especially after Daniel gives her a high-class romantic evening! Looking great, Dan. Please stop picking your teeth.
-I’m so uncomfortable, my hair hasn’t seen the light of day since I was a toddler! I’m putting my cap back on.
DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. Also suppress your gag reflex + every instinct in your body because it’s time-
-to hit Londoste! OOH LA LA
-Brit, I feel like we’re.. ridiculously overdressed.
-No such thing, darling!
-I’ll be having the filet mignon and a glass of the Veronaville ‘64, thank you.
-And I’ll be having chicken nuggets and a detailed report of the working conditions in this bourgie hellhole.
-DANIEL YOU PROMISED
-Let’s raise a glass to us and our magical evening together-
-Yes, and this delicious food, stained with the tears of the working farmhand-
-Daniel, please.
-My beloved ice queen, even though the diamond engagement ring “tradition” is another completely made up, SHAMELESS CAPITALIST SCAM, I just couldn’t bear the thought of wounding your gigantic, aggressively materialistic ego.. Marry me, my darling, be my Nadezhda!
-OH baby of course I’ll marry you! Everything before this moment doesn’t count, right?
-I mean.. sure?
-Great!
Yes, what a wonderful, subtle night.
-Oh Brit, you make me the happiest worker alive, which of course is a completely paradoxical state under capitalism!
AWW MEANT TO BE <3 Finally we can put that gross, freckled chapter behind us.
THAT’S RIGHT YOU BETTER RUN
-WOOO congrats for not cheating for an entire day, Gunther!
Our greek house is currently at a pathetic level 3 and it’s not hard to see why. As if the graves of Jojo’s former flames weren’t enough to put people off, imagine walking by and seeing this.
This shit is still going on and has reached the hate-boner point where these two have permanent wants to see each other’s ghost. So much for nice points!
Also going on: this bizzare, inexplicable feud that appeared literally out of nowhere.
-SHUT UP WYATT MAGIC ISN’T REAL
-IT SO IS MAGIQUE IS ALL AROUND US
Finals are upon us! Only one semester of this fuckery left. There are of course two kinds of people, the kind pictured above..
..and my peeps.
Gunther, who hasn’t done anything college related since we were back in the dorms and Blue Meatballs et al were writing his papers, somehow still has a 4.0 gpa. Wow Gunther, what’s your secret??
-It’s no secret, I banged the half-alien professor.
Oh right lmao. You’re looking pretty down boo, what’s wrong?
-Man idk, I’m struggling with what might be like.. legit feelings for Brit.
WHAT. WELL PUT THEM BACK WHERE THEY CAME FROM GUNTHER AND DRINK YOUR SORROWS AWAY LIKE AN ADULT. GOD
YOU TOO BRITTANY. ISTFG YOU ASSHOLES ARE NOT FUCKING THIS UP ANY FURTHER.
CAUSE HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LAST PERSON WHO WENT OFF SCRIPT. Looking good, Fran!
…………………………poor Brittany obviously suffered a stroke at some unspecified point in time. As if she didn’t have enough problems.
SO. CLOSE. We just have to get through this one semester without the entire charade imploding, is that too much to ask????
APPARENTLY YES. GODDAMMIT GUNTHER
-The heart wants what it wants.
What DOES it want tho, Selena, cause last time I checked you were in love with Mel you GIANT ASS
-Yea, hell if I know! Huhu!
IF I HEAR YOU PEOPLE HUHU ONE MORE TIME
In equally distressing news Mickey Dosser was passing by and I invited him in just to see if he would go straight for the bubbles, which he of course did..
..a move so irresistible that Wyatt had to stop and swoon over him literally in the middle of his millionth Jojo apology. I’ve honestly never had a sim court death as persistently as Wyatt, dude straight up WANTS TO DIE.
-HOW DARE YOU WALTZ IN HERE AND TRY TO SEDUCE MY BOYFRIEND RIGHT BEFORE MY VERY EYES YOU VILE DISGUSTING SLOB
-Wut
-GET. OUT. BEFORE I STUFF YOU AND PUT YOU ON MY PORCH FOR HALLOWEEN
-Wyatt.. I sensed it was you.
-Of course, Jojό <3 I got your message, why did you send a raven, I’m just upstairs-
-SILENCE. I invited you here, to my favorite place on this entire wretched planet, the center around which revolves my very existence..
-..to ask you a very important question that I want you to CAREFULLY consider, taking into account that you’re standing next to the graves of the last people to betray me..
-Wyatt Monif, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. Almost from the earliest moments of our acquaintance, I have come to feel for you a passionate admiration and regard, which despite all my struggles and your whoring around, has overcome every rational objection, and I beg you most fervently to relieve my suffering and consent to be my husband. Also to please ignore my brother woohooing in the hot tub behind us and ruining the moment.
-MON DIEU JOJÓ, OUI, OUI A THOUSAND TIMES OUI!! <3
-Wyatt.
-Oui? <3
-Please don’t make me murder you, ok? Promise?
-Never, Jojό!
AW, what a beautiful engagement you guys, I’m tearing up.
AND FINALLY, IT’S OVER. Gunther seriously graduated summa cum laude, how in the fucking world I legit dk but whatever!
The last supper.. The Union bros have all graduated and I’m gonna speed-play the rest through their last year. Also Daniel and Melody are bffs now, I didn’t even know they were talking but nice.
Time to go back where we came from! Ah, all grown up. It seems like yesterday they were toddlers surviving on cat food.
Brit is the youngest of the bunch and has the whole house to herself after Mel and Wyatt graduate, a situation she takes advantage of by ALMOST CHEATING WITH THE FUCKING LLAMA. BRIT ISTG
Finally, it’s time for Brit to leave our gross, incestuous cocoon. We’re gonna need a placeholder for the next generation tho, so as much as it pains me to say..
..it’s Frances time. Bitch literally scares Brit as she’s trying to resurrect him, way to make me doubt my merciful decision Fran!
Ugh great. Welcome back, Frances. I really did prefer you dead.
Yea, can’t make any promises there. I don’t know what kind of wave of kindness overcame me, but I felt bad for Fran being all alone so…
-I’M BACK BITCHES
Can’t believe we wasted 20k on these assholes but whatever. Time to grow up, Brit!
Oh yea, looking good! Taking the ‘on Wednesdays we wear pink’ rule to extreme lengths.
And we’re out of here, leaving the place in the capable hands of Fran and Ti-Ning, who immediately reconnect for a hot tub celebration of life.
So normally you’d think that would be the end of it and we’d get to the heir vote, right? RIGHT?
WRONG. Please bear with me through this incredible bullshit. So I’m taking the heir vote portraits, specifically Jojo’s, and everyone else is hanging around on the edges of this empty photoshoot lot, when suddenly the fight cloud appears. At first I think it’s Wyatt/Daniel aka business as usual but then I make the horrifying discovery that it’s.. DANIEL/BRIT.
As expected, the MINUTE I looked away, Gunther/Brit went for it in plain sight, leading to the eruption of a massive shitshow. I’m like ok w/e we’re basically in pre-heir vote limbo so it doesn’t count, I’ll just quit without saving. But THEN I take a look at Daniel’s panel.. AND SEE THIS:
I’ve literally no idea WTF HAPPENED, HOW IT HAPPENED, WHY, WHO MADE THE FIRST MOVE but the fact is that right after catching Gunther/Brit cheating, Melody and Daniel somehow got together even though they have never given any indication of being into each other and have one sole pathetic bolt. My best guess is 4-nice-points Melody went for it as a revenge but seriously WHAT THE FUCK
GOOD TIMES. At this point I’m obviously even more like ‘I’M GONNA QUIT WITHOUT SAVING’ so I’m just taking these pics for shits and giggles, but THEN I look at Gunther’s panel… and see probably the most disturbing want I’ve ever come across:
OK THEN. Reminder that Gunther’s secondary is PLEASURE so there’s literally no explanation for this shit except for legit. true love. As much planning as I did for these couples I’m like who am I to refuse A ROMANCE SIM’S engagement want???? I mean I also planned for Jojo to marry Frances and we all saw how that went. So I decide to save the game, even though it’s kinda unorthodox since it didn’t happen during actual gameplay but w/e, you just can’t ignore shit like that!!
So I revisit the lot the next day and am faced with a shitshow of cosmic proportions. The whole thing is like a bizzaro parallel universe, I mean you have Brit and Dan legit looking like they crossed over from the set of NLL..
..Gunther and Mel heartfarting over each other while also wanting to beat each other up..
..this torrid affair out in the open..
..AND WHATEVER THE FUCK THIS IS. I changed their turn-ons and now they have 3 bolts cause it felt like they really got the short end of the stick but I still can’t get over this bullshit happening in the first place. At least Jojo and Wyatt are having a good time! I guess at this point there’s only one thing left to do..
..simultaneous break ups! The couple that dumps their fiances together stays together.
Moving on to simultaneous crying/sighs of relief. If it seems like I’m halfassing this by not writing any dialogue it’s because I am, but I legit can’t, the whole situation is just too absurd to dramatize.
And now to complete the wife-swap..
Incredible. Now, hold on to your seats, everyone.. because the red ring memory..
IS NOT GUNTHER’S. WHAT IN THE NAME OF HELL. BRIT GOT A RED RING FROM HER ROMANCE SECONDARY BUT SOMEHOW GUNTHER DIDN’T??? Honestly I’m hardly a romantic but. TRUE LOVE. Or a glitch. Let’s go with true love.
And there you have it. The end of generation 1, which will live in the annals of history as the one where literally no one ended up with the person I had in mind for them and I might as well haven’t been there for all the control I had over these assholes.
NOW. TIME TO VOTE.
WHO WILL IT BE????
Head over to my lj for a handy guide to voting + the link to the poll. Thank you all for reading! <3
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How #MeToo Is Smashing the Casting Couch
A basketball court at the Park City Municipal Athletic and Recreation Center has been converted into a screening room, as have a nearby synagogue and the auditorium at the local high school. The roads of this old mining town are gagged with standstill traffic.
And the Utah attorney general’s office is staffing a 24-hour hotline in case anyone is sexually harassed or threatened while at the Sundance Film Festival.
No matter how Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial in Manhattan turns out, the revelations about the way he used his power over women have altered Hollywood in ways big and small. There are new rules on where and how to hold meetings, legal changes that make it easier to sue for sexual harassment and different ways to report when something goes wrong — all efforts to make Hollywood a bit safer. And while the industry is still very much dominated by men, women have begun to land more directing and executive roles, the positions of power that shape its culture.
Hollywood is a business of freelancers going from one project to the next, a setup that makes predators difficult to contain and blowing the whistle especially risky. Still, activists and industry professionals say that the steps being taken represent sustained attention to the issue, some improvement in day-to-day working conditions and perhaps signs of bona fide change.
“I think most people would like to see a situation where people go to work and feel good about the environment,” said Gail Berman, a producer and co-president of the Producers Guild, which now offers sexual harassment training to independent projects. “Does that mean there is no longer any predatory behavior in this business? I’d say that would be a ridiculous assumption. But I can tell you I think there is a great deal of sincerity on the part of a lot of people to change the culture.”
A fight that began a century ago
The Manhattan sexual assault case against Mr. Weinstein focuses on two women. One was a film production assistant who said Mr. Weinstein forced her to have oral sex in his apartment. Another was an aspiring actress who said that he raped her in a Manhattan hotel room. Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers say that “loving emails” between him and his accusers show it was all consensual.
But for many of the dozens of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, the story was the same: Actresses say he cornered them in hotel rooms and offered them roles as a form or coercion. Sleep with me and you’ll be a star. Or don’t, and I’ll ruin you.
At least two women have accused Mr. Weinstein of raping or sexually abusing them while at Sundance, the country’s premier annual exhibition for independent films. In 2018, just a few months after the accusations against Mr. Weinstein exploded, the festival announced its hotline, which is now advertised on signs around Park City and on the Sundance credentials. A spokesman for the Utah attorney general’s office said while the office did not keep a log of harassment complaints to the hotline, investigators recalled receiving one in 2018 and none last year.
While the casting process has been professionalized for years, concerns about the “casting couch” — a euphemism for demanding sex in exchange for a job — are as old as Hollywood.
Filmmakers started arriving in Los Angeles around 1910, according to Denise McKenna, a historian who has researched the early history of the film industry, and by 1915, a minister named Charles Selecman was campaigning against what he called the “moral conditions in Los Angeles.” Articles appeared in the local press that insinuated women were being forced to have sex for work, under headlines like “Girl Tells Selecman of the Vice Dangers in the Movies” and “Studio Evils to Be Fought to the End, Says Pastor.”
An arm of the Los Angeles Police Department called the City Mother’s Bureau was installed at studios, Dr. McKenna said, and was supposed to check on young actresses to be sure they had enough money and places to stay, and that they didn’t become the city’s responsibility.
One of the earliest known instances of casting couch behavior was not in the movies, but on Broadway. In his book “Boys From Syracuse: The Shuberts’ Theatrical Empire,” Foster Hirsch described an “elegantly furnished boudoir” the theater owner Lee Shubert kept near his office, where he brought leading ladies and promising up-and-comers. He kept a separate, sparsely furnished room with “a single couch” where he would bring chorus girls.
This brand of predation extended deep into the studio system. “Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer,” described Mayer’s MGM — and every other studio — as housing “a supply of what were known as ‘six-month-option girls’ to be passed around the executive offices.” The book quotes a producer once saying of the studio executive Darryl Zanuck: “You must realize one thing: Every time Darryl takes a girl to bed, a star is born.”
The abusive behavior went beyond the major studios. One of the blind spots exposed by the #MeToo movement was how the Hollywood system, in which the studios often do not have direct control over the employees of powerful independent producers like Mr. Weinstein, left workers with nowhere to turn with complaints. Among other changes in the industry, Warner Bros., for example, has created a human resources team specifically assigned to its productions. And the Hollywood Commission, led by Anita Hill, is building a system where anyone in the industry who does not already have a place to file complaints can report harassment or discrimination.
Actors are now encouraged to avoid one-on-one meetings in private settings. SAG-AFTRA, the screen actors union, has issued guidelines saying its members should not go to meetings in hotels and residences, and if they feel they must, they should bring someone along.
Sharon Bialy, a casting director in Los Angeles, always has at least one other person in the room with her during auditions. Long a practice she’s done herself, she now makes it a point that everyone on her staff does the same.
While private meetings certainly still happen, even in hotel rooms, some industry professionals mentioned that a hotel meeting might now take place in the lobby instead, or what might have been a meeting in a home office now takes place at a coffee shop.
“Everyone is aware of the optics now,” Ms. Bialy said. “And I do feel like people are more careful and cognizant about it.”
Taking the camera under the covers
What could make someone more vulnerable than taking off his or her clothes in a room full of people and pretending to have sex with a colleague?
Difficult in the best of circumstances, sex scenes can easily go horribly wrong. According to Time’s Up, the Hollywood-led group that combats sexual harassment, actors have arrived on the day of the shoot and been pressured to show more of their bodies than they agreed to, or later discovered that members of the crew had taken videos of them on their smartphones and posted them online. Some actors have been told that they should have actual sex instead of simulating it.
Time’s Up has released guides on how to handle intimate and simulated sex scenes, and what actors should do in an audition if someone tells them to “come back sexier.” New laws in California and elsewhere make it easier to sue people like producers and directors for sexual harassment and have restricted the use of nondisclosure agreements, which prevent victims from speaking out and allow abusers to continue their harmful behavior.
And in the past two years, productions have been turning more and more to intimacy coordinators, whose job, which falls somewhere between stunt coordinator and therapist, is to make the scenes as comfortable as possible for the actors while still creating a convincing shoot. They have conversations about boundaries and sexually transmitted diseases. They make sure the performers have robes to wear between takes and covers for their genitals during filming. They also have precise conversations about what will and will not be shown, and see that those limits are written into contracts in the form of “nudity riders.”
“It’s often been, especially in TV, an actor would have a rider for the series and the rider used to say, ‘Actor agrees to appear nude and perform scenes of a sexual nature during this series’ — and that was it,” said Claire Warden, an intimacy coordinator. “Now there’s a rider for each scene in each episode, and it will say, ‘actor will show top of breast and side of breast but not nipple,” she said. “Or they agree to three-quarters of buttocks shown, but not a full shot.”
There is some resistance, however, especially from directors who are concerned an intimacy coordinator will step on their toes creatively, or interfere with their relationship with the actors. Teniece Divya Johnson, an intimacy coordinator based in New York, described being told on set not to speak unless spoken to.
But overall, coordinators say that the directors come around.
“There is an acceptance,” Ms. Warden said, “that this needs to be paid attention to.”
Putting women in power
As part of the #MeToo movement, there has been a vocal push to hire more women, and more people of color, to positions of power in Hollywood. That, activists say, is the key to changing the culture of the movie business, as well as the kinds of stories that are celebrated and told. (The Oscars were criticized this year for nominating a best acting field that was almost exclusively white and overlooking women completely in the best director category.)
Darnell Hunt, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who produces an annual Hollywood diversity report, said that while the share of women directing and starring in big movies has increased, it is still nowhere near where it should be. Women directed about 4 percent of the top 200 films in 2011, he said. By 2017, they had increased to a little less than 13 percent.
Perhaps most crucially, at some of the biggest movie studios, including Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix and Amazon, 82 percent of the chief executives today are male, and 91 percent of them are white, according to Dr. Hunt’s coming 2020 diversity report. In 2015, about the same percentage of those executives were white — but every last one of them was a man.
The problems, of course, have not gone away. Genie Harrison, a lawyer in Los Angeles who represents some of Mr. Weinstein’s accusers, says she still receives cases alleging sexual harassment in the industry, and retaliation when someone comes forward to report it.
Mara Grobins Nasatir, one of the leaders of Time’s Up’s entertainment work, said that while there were definite improvements, “it also feels that we’re moving at a glacial pace.”
“While I am very hopeful and excited because the conversation is happening in a way that wasn’t the case two years ago, I also think there is an urgent need for change because people are continue to be harmed,” she said. “Safety is at stake.”
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The year of speculation around Amazon’s HQ2 landing pad felt like nothing so much as a prolonged anxiety attack. Attracting corporations has generally been viewed as economic development, but Amazon, now valued at $1 trillion, feels bigger than Bell Labs, Under Armour, Twitter, or any given sports stadium.
As of last week, Amazon has picked two new homes, each of which offered incentives and subsidies. Northern Virginia and New York City offered workforce cash grants of $22,000 per job and $48,000 per new job, respectively. New York is kicking in nearly three times what Virginia offered. Both probably overpaid, given that they are already rich in the “access to tech talent” that Amazon stressed as paramount for its next location. And the loosely connected environs of Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Potomac Yards have been renamed, per northern Virginia’s response to Amazon’s request for proposals, as the agglomerated “National Landing.”
Amazon is bigger, both as balance sheets go and in how it feels. The fracas around the HQ2 search has been a concentrated version of what sociologist Harvey Molotch, in 1976, termed the “growth machine”: the willingness of cities to prioritize economic development and corporate attraction. The underlying logic, which is not necessarily flawed, is that in order to provide public services, there must be a base to be taxed. And economic development is, fundamentally, better than decline, which results in a scarcity of resources most likely to hurt vulnerable and underresourced people.
Ergo, a city needs people who make lots of money to live in it, so that they can, ideally, kick in to the public infrastructure. But there’s always been tension between what Molotch describes as “politically mobilized local elites” — elected officials, private sector higher-ups, chambers of commerce — and the proletariat; the former is likely to handily benefit from growth, whatever it may be, while the latter often feels that its well-being and way of life is perhaps expendable.
I live in DC, right next door to Crystal City. I also work for an advocacy organization, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, that fights for a more affordable and accessible region, primarily through urban policy and planning. Our ideological paradigm favors affordable development in places that are accessible by transit. We work specifically to prevent suburban sprawl, which is an environmental, inequality-exacerbating disaster. Amazon, unsurprisingly, has been at the forefront of many of minds in our universe since the HQ2 search was announced.
The DC area has an incredible regional transit system in Metrorail and Metrobus, and a growing mode share of people who walk and bike to work, but that isn’t enough to squelch the sentiment that the region is expensive and hard to get around. People who live here are right to be nervous about the Amazon effect, though Amazon is merely exposing what’s been true for decades: that accessible, affordable housing; frequent, reliable transit; well-protected jobs that pay living wages; and land use laws that support environmentally sustainable growth are talking points, but not necessarily priorities for elected officials.
Our region needed these fundamentals long before HQ2 was a twinkle in anyone’s eye, and would need them whether or not Amazon existed. It’s humbling to admit that for many people, we’ve failed to meaningfully provide.
Here are three big takeaways to consider for DC residents who want to think about what this means for the region — and the country more broadly as we watch the new HQ2 cities develop.
Amazon coming to Crystal City validates much of what smart-growth advocates have known for decades: Walkable, well-connected places are economic engines. Another northern Virginia site, further afield in Loudoun County, was also under consideration. But the metro-accessible, downtown-DC-proximate, and relatively dense Crystal City won out.
There are also practical merits to Crystal City. It lost 17,000 jobs over five years as a result of the military’s base realignment and closure initiative, and so has been readying itself for a large influx of workers anyway. And developer JBG Smith pulled most of its leasable space off the market on the same timeline as Amazon’s HQ2 search.
Nonetheless, corporations go where their CEOs want them to be, and Jeff Bezos has shown an obvious personal preference for the DC area, which is also home to a large, existing pool of skilled white-collar workers—many of whom have clustered in this region because it’s one that epitomizes smart growth.
Contrary to what some analysts have said, this is, I think, a good thing. The bandied-about idea that Amazon should go to a place where it’s “needed,” likely some ailing Rust Belt town, is perverse, as is the idea that private corporations can be counted on to benevolently redistribute wealth. Cities like Cleveland, Ohio, where I lived for several years before moving back to DC, are replete with weak political and social institutions. Amazon, for its part, is not, should not be, and was never going to be the fix for cities like it, which have so much more to lose. Just look at Wisconsin’s Foxconn boondoggle.
Amazon plans to gradually hire 25,000 workers in northern Virginia. This is not substantially greater than the number of workers the DC region adds yearly. Nonetheless, Amazon feels like a blow because it’s a single thing onto which we can graft any frustrations — traffic, expensive housing, irritating tech bros — about where we live. Adding workers to a region over time, even if it exacerbates income inequality just as much, has never come off as cataclysmic. But HQ2 does.
Living in America has never been easy or affordable for many people, and is increasingly difficult and expensive for even more. In the 40 years since Molotch named the growth machine, wages have stagnated, personal debt has exploded, and the sense that our redistributive policies are largely unfair has crept into our discourse. Amazon’s arrival might once have been heralded as an unalloyed good. But in our current cultural context, the prospect of HQ2 felt, to any given person on the street, like a mixed bag at best and a looming disaster at worst.
The “HQ2 spectacle” was a race to the bottom. But mayors and their backers didn’t have to participate. They did because not doing so is at odds with how American cities are currently run. There was no reasonable expectation that any place’s chamber of commerce class would pass on the opportunity to offer high-dollar tax breaks to attract an employer, even if that employer doesn’t need them to make their math work.
There is no doubt that inequality, already raw, will intensify post-Amazon: People who have however minor a foothold will likely see their property values increase, while others, especially renters, will struggle to pay ever-higher housing costs. We should be skeptical, though, of how much of that can be attributed to Amazon, which should not be treated as exceptional in its capacity to transform places for good or ill. After all, we are hurtling toward a future in which something even greater than any corporation — the shifts in the climate in which we live — will profoundly and painfully alter our lives at a rate at which we have chosen not to comprehend.
In Crystal City, perhaps the specific planning projects that my colleagues and I have pushed, like bus rapid transit, a second entrance to the Potomac Yard Metro station, and the conversion of Route 1 into a boulevard, are more likely to occur now that Amazon is coming. Or not. That’s the thing: Amazon may be big, but its expansion, functionally, is business as usual. There are promises for critical transportation improvements, and Amazon’s presence offers an opportunity to push for more affordable housing. But there are no promises yet on how any of it will be implemented. We’ll be advocating just as much for our foundational priorities as we always have.
If you want the DC area, or Long Island City, to retain any semblance of a cost of living that’s not a gross financial strain, and to be places where commutes aren’t nightmarish, you must support more housing, more funding for affordable housing, strong protections and resources for existing tenants, living wages and unionization efforts, and the conversion of space for cars into space for buses and trains. And no matter how unpopular such priorities are to some constituents, they must be carried out region-wide. Maybe Amazon can “inspire action.” But ultimately, the decisions to do these things are signed, sealed, and delivered by elected officials and administrators — the public sector. And they needed to happen decades ago.
The investments that cities, and this country, should have made by prioritizing frequent, reliable public transportation; affordable, fair housing; and the compact, accessible, and environmentally sustainable land use patterns that support the former should not be made for Amazon. They should be made for our own good, and to correct a nationwide pattern of environmental design that is not sustainable, resilient, or healthy.
Over our 20-year history, Coalition for Smarter Growth has celebrated numerous smart-growth victories in Crystal City and northern Virginia. Arlington’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, planned in the 1960s, is a national model for building abundant housing near transit. We know what we need to do, and in several cases, we’ve done it well.
But it is also reasonable to say that despite its best efforts on particular projects, our region has not meaningfully prioritized a shift to an ideology that puts affordability and access first. That’s why the Amazon anxiety is palpable. The inherent value of more six-figure jobs coming to the DC region, and the attendant industries that will support them, should not be overlooked. But many people feel as if they won’t be touched by those jobs, and that Amazon’s presence will lock them out of a place that they have increasingly tenuously been able to call home.
Growth does not solely look like the wholesale accommodation of a particular corporation’s headquarters; Crystal City is likely to accommodate Amazon, the workplace, just fine. But people don’t just work in cities; they live in them. That’s why cities are as volatile and in flux and as mobile as we deserve to be.
The best of that energy and interconnectedness is championed as the great promise of cities by the likes of booster economist Ed Glaeser. But that can only be realized through investments in ourselves.
Alex Baca is the engagement director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, and was previously the general manager of Cuyahoga County’s bike-share system. She has worked in journalism, bike advocacy, architecture, construction, and transportation in DC, San Francisco, and Cleveland, and has written about all of the above for CityLab, Slate, Washington City Paper, and other publications.
First Person is Vox’s home for compelling, provocative narrative essays. Do you have a story to share? Read our submission guidelines, and pitch us at [email protected].
Original Source -> I work in urban planning. Now Amazon’s coming to my city.
via The Conservative Brief
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J.F.K. Files, Though Incomplete, Are a Treasure Trove for Answer Seekers
New Post has been published on http://usnewsaggregator.com/j-f-k-files-though-incomplete-are-a-treasure-trove-for-answer-seekers/
J.F.K. Files, Though Incomplete, Are a Treasure Trove for Answer Seekers
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The J.F.K. Assassination: A Cast of Characters
As a new trove of documents about the killing of President John F. Kennedy is released, The Times’s Peter Baker walks us through who’s who in this American tragedy.
By NATALIE RENEAU and PETER BAKER on Publish Date October 25, 2017. . Watch in Times Video »
WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered the long-awaited release on Thursday of more than 2,800 documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but bowed to pressure from the C.I.A. and F.B.I. by withholding thousands of additional papers pending six more months of review.
While incomplete, the documents represented a treasure trove for investigators, historians and conspiracy theorists who have spent half a century searching for clues to what really happened in Dallas on that fateful day in 1963. They included tantalizing talk of mobsters and Cubans and spies, Kremlin suspicions that Lyndon B. Johnson was behind the killing and fear among authorities that the public would not accept the official version of events.
Paging through the documents online on Thursday night was a little like exploring a box of random documents found in an attic. There were fuzzy images of C.I.A. surveillance photos from the early 1960s; a log from December 1963 of visitors, including a C.I.A. officer, coming and going from President Johnson’s ranch in Texas; and reports that Lee Harvey Oswald obtained ammunition from a right-wing militia group.
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Some of the documents convey some of the drama and chaos of the days immediately following the murder of the president. Among them is a memo apparently dictated by J. Edgar Hoover, the F.B.I. director, on Nov. 24, 1963, shortly after Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald as he was being moved from police headquarters to a local jail.
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“There is nothing further on the Oswald case except that he is dead,” the memo begins laconically, before reciting the day’s events.
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Mr. Trump, who has indulged in his own wild speculation about the sensational killing, had expressed eagerness to finally open the last of the government files, only to run into a last-minute campaign by intelligence agencies to redact certain documents. Grudgingly, he gave the agencies until April 26 to go through the remaining papers again and make their case.
“I am ordering today that the veil finally be lifted,” Mr. Trump said in a memo to the agencies. Given their objections, he said, “I have no choice — today — but to accept those redactions rather than allow potentially irreversible harm to our nation’s security.” But he ordered the agencies to “be extremely circumspect,” noting that the rationale for secrecy has only “grown weaker with the passage of time.”
For conspiracy theorists, the Kennedy assassination has been the holy grail, one that has produced an endless string of books, reports, lectures, articles, websites, documentaries and big-screen Hollywood movies. It was the first murder of an American president in the television age, touching off a wave of global grief for a charismatic young leader while also spawning a cottage industry of skeptical questioning of the official version of events.
Every government authority that has examined the investigation of his death, from the Warren Commission to congressional investigators, concluded that Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, who fired three shots with a mail-order rifle from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository when the presidential motorcade passed by on Nov. 22, 1963. But that has never satisfied the doubters, and polls have consistently shown that most Americans still believe that someone other than Oswald must have been involved.
While the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone, the House Select Committee on Assassinations said in a 1979 report that Kennedy “was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy” but did not identify who those conspirators might have been. It ruled out the Soviet and Cuban governments, organized Cubans opposing Fidel Castro, the Mafia, the F.B.I., C.I.A. and the Secret Service, although it said it could not preclude that individuals affiliated with some of those groups might have been involved.
Among the doubters have been Mr. Trump, who last year alleged that the father of his Republican rival, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, was somehow involved in the assassination. The president’s longtime friend and adviser, Roger J. Stone Jr., authored a book accusing Johnson of being responsible for the shooting that elevated him to the presidency.
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Why Do We Love J.F.K. Conspiracy Theories? Blame the Movies
The New York Times chief film critic A.O. Scott analyzes how movies such as Oliver Stone’s “J.F.K.” helped fuel America’s interest in conspiracies.
By AINARA TIEFENTHÄLER and A.O. SCOTT on Publish Date October 26, 2017. Photo by Warner Bros.. Watch in Times Video »
As it happened, Mr. Trump’s deferral to the C.I.A. and F.B.I. invariably will lead to suspicions that the government is still protecting sensational secrets about the case. Administration officials said there was no cover-up, just an effort to avoid compromising national security, law enforcement or intelligence gathering methods.
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The C.I.A., which has borne the brunt of suspicions from amateur assassination theorists for years, went out of its way on Thursday to try to dispel concerns that it was hiding important evidence.
The agency issued a statement noting that the vast majority of assassination-related records have been released, and that redactions were intended “to protect information in the collection whose disclosure would harm national security — including the names of C.I.A. assets and current and former C.I.A. officers, as well as specific intelligence methods and partnerships that remain viable to protecting the nation today.”
The release of the documents owes as much to the moviemaker Oliver Stone as anyone else. After his 1991 conspiracy theory movie, “J.F.K.,” stoked renewed interest, Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, which was signed into law by President George Bush on Oct. 26, 1992. The act mandated that all assassination records be released no later than 25 years from that date, which was Thursday, unless the president authorized further withholding for national security reasons.
In the years since the law was passed, the National Archives and Records Administration has released 88 percent of those documents in full and an additional 11 percent with portions redacted. Until Thursday, just 1 percent had been withheld in full.
Of the 2,891 documents released on Thursday, just 53 had never been disclosed by the archives; the rest had been made public with redactions.
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Read J. Edgar Hoover’s Memo on Soviet Reaction to the Assassination
While he was F.B.I. director, J. Edgar Hoover sent the following memo in 1966 to the White House, detailing Russian reaction to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
OPEN Document
The papers range widely and while many are not directly related to the assassination, others add context. One recounted the reaction of the Soviet Union to the killing, reporting that some in Moscow assumed it was a “coup” by the “ultraright” that would be blamed on the Soviet Union. An unnamed informant told American spies that the K.G.B. had proof that “President Johnson was responsible for the assassination.”
An F.B.I. cable from April 1964 reconstructed Oswald’s bus trip to Mexico weeks before the assassination, including the names of the people sitting around him and even what he was wearing: “a short-sleeved light colored sport shirt and no coat.”
In Hoover’s memo two days after the assassination, he expressed anxiety that Oswald’s killing would generate doubts among Americans. “The thing I am concerned about,” he wrote, “is having something issued so that we can convince the public that Oswald is the real assassin.” The F.B.I. director also fretted that discoveries that Oswald contacted the Cuban embassy in Mexico City and sent a letter to the Soviet Embassy in Washington could “complicate our foreign relations.”
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He called the Oswald killing “inexcusable” in light of “our warnings to the Dallas Police Department” and hinted at Ruby’s mob connections, which would soon spawn an industry of research and speculation. “We have no information on Ruby that is firm, although there are some rumors of underworld activity in Chicago,” Hoover wrote.
The documents will not end the debate or speculation — and a few may add to the questions. In a 1975 deposition, for example, Richard Helms, the former C.I.A. director, was asked: “Is there any information involved with the assassination of President Kennedy which in any way shows that Lee Harvey Oswald was in some way a CIA agent or an agen…”
But the document ends there, and Mr. Helms’s answer is missing.
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How #MeToo Is Smashing the Casting Couch
A basketball court at the Park City Municipal Athletic and Recreation Center has been converted into a screening room, as have a nearby synagogue and the auditorium at the local high school. The roads of this old mining town are gagged with standstill traffic.
And the Utah attorney general’s office is staffing a 24-hour hotline in case anyone is sexually harassed or threatened while at the Sundance Film Festival.
No matter how Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial in Manhattan turns out, the revelations about the way he used his power over women have altered Hollywood in ways big and small. There are new rules on where and how to hold meetings, legal changes that make it easier to sue for sexual harassment and different ways to report when something goes wrong — all efforts to make Hollywood a bit safer. And while the industry is still very much dominated by men, women have begun to land more directing and executive roles, the positions of power that shape its culture.
Hollywood is a business of freelancers going from one project to the next, a setup that makes predators difficult to contain and blowing the whistle especially risky. Still, activists and industry professionals say that the steps being taken represent sustained attention to the issue, some improvement in day-to-day working conditions and perhaps signs of bona fide change.
“I think most people would like to see a situation where people go to work and feel good about the environment,” said Gail Berman, a producer and co-president of the Producers Guild, which now offers sexual harassment training to independent projects. “Does that mean there is no longer any predatory behavior in this business? I’d say that would be a ridiculous assumption. But I can tell you I think there is a great deal of sincerity on the part of a lot of people to change the culture.”
A fight that began a century ago
The Manhattan sexual assault case against Mr. Weinstein focuses on two women. One was a film production assistant who said Mr. Weinstein forced her to have oral sex in his apartment. Another was an aspiring actress who said that he raped her in a Manhattan hotel room. Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers say that “loving emails” between him and his accusers show it was all consensual.
But for many of the dozens of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, the story was the same: Actresses say he cornered them in hotel rooms and offered them roles as a form or coercion. Sleep with me and you’ll be a star. Or don’t, and I’ll ruin you.
At least two women have accused Mr. Weinstein of raping or sexually abusing them while at Sundance, the country’s premier annual exhibition for independent films. In 2018, just a few months after the accusations against Mr. Weinstein exploded, the festival announced its hotline, which is now advertised on signs around Park City and on the Sundance credentials. A spokesman for the Utah attorney general’s office said while the office did not keep a log of harassment complaints to the hotline, investigators recalled receiving one in 2018 and none last year.
While the casting process has been professionalized for years, concerns about the “casting couch” — a euphemism for demanding sex in exchange for a job — are as old as Hollywood.
Filmmakers started arriving in Los Angeles around 1910, according to Denise McKenna, a historian who has researched the early history of the film industry, and by 1915, a minister named Charles Selecman was campaigning against what he called the “moral conditions in Los Angeles.” Articles appeared in the local press that insinuated women were being forced to have sex for work, under headlines like “Girl Tells Selecman of the Vice Dangers in the Movies” and “Studio Evils to Be Fought to the End, Says Pastor.”
An arm of the Los Angeles Police Department called the City Mother’s Bureau was installed at studios, Dr. McKenna said, and was supposed to check on young actresses to be sure they had enough money and places to stay, and that they didn’t become the city’s responsibility.
One of the earliest known instances of casting couch behavior was not in the movies, but on Broadway. In his book “Boys From Syracuse: The Shuberts’ Theatrical Empire,” Foster Hirsch described an “elegantly furnished boudoir” the theater owner Lee Shubert kept near his office, where he brought leading ladies and promising up-and-comers. He kept a separate, sparsely furnished room with “a single couch” where he would bring chorus girls.
This brand of predation extended deep into the studio system. “Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer,” described Mayer’s MGM — and every other studio — as housing “a supply of what were known as ‘six-month-option girls’ to be passed around the executive offices.” The book quotes a producer once saying of the studio executive Darryl Zanuck: “You must realize one thing: Every time Darryl takes a girl to bed, a star is born.”
The abusive behavior went beyond the major studios. One of the blind spots exposed by the #MeToo movement was how the Hollywood system, in which the studios often do not have direct control over the employees of powerful independent producers like Mr. Weinstein, left workers with nowhere to turn with complaints. Among other changes in the industry, Warner Bros., for example, has created a human resources team specifically assigned to its productions. And the Hollywood Commission, led by Anita Hill, is building a system where anyone in the industry who does not already have a place to file complaints can report harassment or discrimination.
Actors are now encouraged to avoid one-on-one meetings in private settings. SAG-AFTRA, the screen actors union, has issued guidelines saying its members should not go to meetings in hotels and residences, and if they feel they must, they should bring someone along.
Sharon Bialy, a casting director in Los Angeles, always has at least one other person in the room with her during auditions. Long a practice she’s done herself, she now makes it a point that everyone on her staff does the same.
While private meetings certainly still happen, even in hotel rooms, some industry professionals mentioned that a hotel meeting might now take place in the lobby instead, or what might have been a meeting in a home office now takes place at a coffee shop.
“Everyone is aware of the optics now,” Ms. Bialy said. “And I do feel like people are more careful and cognizant about it.”
Taking the camera under the covers
What could make someone more vulnerable than taking off his or her clothes in a room full of people and pretending to have sex with a colleague?
Difficult in the best of circumstances, sex scenes can easily go horribly wrong. According to Time’s Up, the Hollywood-led group that combats sexual harassment, actors have arrived on the day of the shoot and been pressured to show more of their bodies than they agreed to, or later discovered that members of the crew had taken videos of them on their smartphones and posted them online. Some actors have been told that they should have actual sex instead of simulating it.
Time’s Up has released guides on how to handle intimate and simulated sex scenes, and what actors should do in an audition if someone tells them to “come back sexier.” New laws in California and elsewhere make it easier to sue people like producers and directors for sexual harassment and have restricted the use of nondisclosure agreements, which prevent victims from speaking out and allow abusers to continue their harmful behavior.
And in the past two years, productions have been turning more and more to intimacy coordinators, whose job, which falls somewhere between stunt coordinator and therapist, is to make the scenes as comfortable as possible for the actors while still creating a convincing shoot. They have conversations about boundaries and sexually transmitted diseases. They make sure the performers have robes to wear between takes and covers for their genitals during filming. They also have precise conversations about what will and will not be shown, and see that those limits are written into contracts in the form of “nudity riders.”
“It’s often been, especially in TV, an actor would have a rider for the series and the rider used to say, ‘Actor agrees to appear nude and perform scenes of a sexual nature during this series’ — and that was it,” said Claire Warden, an intimacy coordinator. “Now there’s a rider for each scene in each episode, and it will say, ‘actor will show top of breast and side of breast but not nipple,” she said. “Or they agree to three-quarters of buttocks shown, but not a full shot.”
There is some resistance, however, especially from directors who are concerned an intimacy coordinator will step on their toes creatively, or interfere with their relationship with the actors. Teniece Divya Johnson, an intimacy coordinator based in New York, described being told on set not to speak unless spoken to.
But overall, coordinators say that the directors come around.
“There is an acceptance,” Ms. Warden said, “that this needs to be paid attention to.”
Putting women in power
As part of the #MeToo movement, there has been a vocal push to hire more women, and more people of color, to positions of power in Hollywood. That, activists say, is the key to changing the culture of the movie business, as well as the kinds of stories that are celebrated and told. (The Oscars were criticized this year for nominating a best acting field that was almost exclusively white and overlooking women completely in the best director category.)
Darnell Hunt, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who produces an annual Hollywood diversity report, said that while the share of women directing and starring in big movies has increased, it is still nowhere near where it should be. Women directed about 4 percent of the top 200 films in 2011, he said. By 2017, they had increased to a little less than 13 percent.
Perhaps most crucially, at some of the biggest movie studios, including Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix and Amazon, 82 percent of the chief executives today are male, and 91 percent of them are white, according to Dr. Hunt’s coming 2020 diversity report. In 2015, about the same percentage of those executives were white — but every last one of them was a man.
The problems, of course, have not gone away. Genie Harrison, a lawyer in Los Angeles who represents some of Mr. Weinstein’s accusers, says she still receives cases alleging sexual harassment in the industry, and retaliation when someone comes forward to report it.
Mara Grobins Nasatir, one of the leaders of Time’s Up’s entertainment work, said that while there were definite improvements, “it also feels that we’re moving at a glacial pace.”
“While I am very hopeful and excited because the conversation is happening in a way that wasn’t the case two years ago, I also think there is an urgent need for change because people are continue to be harmed,” she said. “Safety is at stake.”
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