they’re trying to keep it lowkey not to post the same content 👀

i am but a machine spitting out incorrect quotes

Michael Afton: Did you buy eggs like I asked? Ennard: Even better! Michael Afton: What the fuck did you- Ennard: *holding up a chicken* Her name is Fluffy.

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Freddy: God, I love BB. Foxy: Yeah, you fucking better.

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Toy Bonnie: Fruits that do not live up to their names; passionfruit, grapefruit, honeydew and dragonfruit. Toy Bonnie: Fruits that do live up to their names? Toy Bonnie: Orange.

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Glamrock Freddy: What do you call disobeying the law? The Squad: A hobby. Glamrock Freddy: *crosses his arms* The Squad: That we do not engage in.

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Helpy: Bottling up negative emotions is bad for your health, so you shouldn't do it. Michael Afton: I know, that's why I bottle up all my emotions, both positive and negative, so it cancels out. Helpy: Th-that's not how that works-

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Roxy to Gregory: Me? I'm the bee knees, but, you? You're just... Glamrock Chica: Cockroach ankles! Roxy: Ye- uh, what?

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Glamrock Chica: Which way did Gregory go? Moon: Well, based on the direction of the wind, the broken sticks in the corner, and the slight disturbance in the dirt, I'd guess he went left. Glamrock Chica: You could really figure it out from that? Moon: No, you idiot, Gregory sent me a text. See?

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Golden Freddy: Yeah, I don’t like people. Freddy: Oh, well now that’s not fair Cassidy. Have you met all of them? Golden Freddy: I’ve met enough of them. People. What a bunch of bastards!

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Chica: YOU CHEATED! 

Michael Afton: So did my dad, but hey, my mom knew it all and even sorted out their wedding, so what’s the problem? 

The Puppet: I… can confirm that that actually happened.  

Chica: …What.

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Vanessa: Gregory... Gregory: Oh no, 'Gregory' in B flat. Gregory: You're disappointed.

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Balloon Boy: Those darn tall old people. JJ: Darn em' indeed. Dee Dee: Don't worry, they'll be gone soon enough. The Puppet: *sharpening knife* Yes. Dead. The Squad: The Puppet: Hahaha. The Puppet: ...Is this self-destructive behaviour?

(I’ll admit I barely understood the quote ojihugyfvhb)

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Bonnie: "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" - Charles Darwin Toy Bonnie: What the fuck? Begets isn't a word. Quit trying to make up words, fuckface.

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*Glamrock Freddy and Gregory looking at a locked gate into a park* Glamrock Freddy: Aw. :( Gregory: You know what they say. Glamrock Freddy: Please don’t- Gregory: BE GAY DO CRIME! *hops gate* Glamrock Freddy: Frick-

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Gregory: What’s something you guys are better than Roxy at? Monty: Mario Kart. Glamrock Chica: Yeah, video games. Glamrock Freddy: Emotional vulnerability.

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Sun: If I may interject... Vanessa: Oh, awesome, Sun was eavesdropping.

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Freddy: The Puppet gave me a get better soon card. Toy Freddy: That's sweet! Freddy: I wasn't sick, she just thinks I can do better.

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Charolette Emily: Ow! Crying Child: What’s wrong? Charolette Emily: I have this weird pain right above my eyebrow. Crying Child: It’s called a stress headache. I got my first one when I was four.

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Circus Baby: Stop failing. Michael Afton: Don’t tell me what to do! I'll fail right now! Michael Afton: *Succeeds* Michael Afton: Dang it!

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Fredbear: Can I offer you a nice stick in this trying time?

(the Chump Stick)

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Gregory: Hey, wanna help me commit arson? Glamrock Freddy: What the hell!? Gregory: Oh, sorry, my bad. Gregory, whispering: Wanna help me commit arson? Glamrock Freddy, whispering: Of course. What do you need?

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Michael Afton: I have passed the transitional stage of internet geekhood. Michael Afton: I was cashiering at work today, and was punching in the code for plums, which is 4040, and the 0 key doesn't work this well, so I punched it in wrong. And the machine flashed up "Item Not Found: 404". Michael Afton: And I actually laughed out loud.

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Glamrock Freddy & Vanessa: Surprise! We're having a baby! Gregory: What?! Glamrock Freddy & Vanessa: *pull out adoption papers* It's you!

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Gregory: Every zoo is a petting zoo unless you’re a coward. Glamrock Freddy: I’m worried about you.

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William Afton: The waiter at Olive Garden has been grating my cheese for 6 hours now, waiting for me to say when. Customers are screaming. Three people have died. William Afton: I will not yield.

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Roxy: That was the worst throw ever. Of all time. Monty: Not my fault. Somebody put a wall in the way.

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Sun, to Gregory: You know, Monty can be really aggressive, so it's important to take all the necessary precautions when approaching. Sun: *blows airhorn at Monty* GET FUCKED!

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William Afton: Just so everyone knows, don't ever try to climb a tree at night carrying a strobe light, owls DON'T like it. Henry Emily: ...what happened? William Afton: I made a VERY bad mistake.

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Phantom Foxy: Hey, I say we go down there, kick the guard’s door in, and let them know that we’re in town. Phantom Freddy: That ain’t the way we do things here. We may have to go in there and run a con, drop a bug, do the smooth talking. Phantom Foxy: Okay, you come with me, you do the smooth talking, let’s go. Phantom Freddy: No, we just can’t go in there and kick down the guard’s door. We need a plan. Phantom Foxy: Well who makes the plans? Phantom Freddy: Springtrap. Phantom Foxy: Springtrap, what's the plan? Springtrap:You guys are gonna go down there, kick the guard’s door in, let them know you’re in town.

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Vanessa, texting: O Luis: What? Vanessa: Don’t read into that. Luis: But I will read into that. Vanessa: HOW?! IT’S A LETTER! Luis: Why is there a space after it, hmmmmm? Vanessa: Dude, really? Vanessa: It’s a fucking letter. Luis: It could stand for something! Vanessa: IT DOESN’T, I PROMISE! Luis: Like Oppression! Or worse… Vanessa: Dude, I just typed the letter O, that means nothing. :/ Luis: Optometrist. Vanessa: Oh my God…

(idk)

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Roxy: You are irrationally angry 365 days a year. Monty: Well, that’s just your personal opinion, I don’t have anger issues. Do you guys think I have anger issues? Daycare Attendant: Well, I wouldn’t really call it an issue. An issue is something you can fix.

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Michael Afton: What makes you think it's okay to watch Hannibal given its subject matter? Henry Emily: Sometimes, I watch television shows for entertainment purposes. William Afton: Because I condone murder and cannibalism.

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Crying Child: Unfortunately, due to several experiences in my youth, I cannot just 'walk up and join a circle of people talking', but it does sound lovely, thank you.

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Gregory: Freddy, I’m afraid. Glamrock Freddy: Just stay close to Vanessa. Gregory: That's why I’m afraid.

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Crying Child: I think my guardian angel drinks.

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Gregory: Arson? Oh, you mean "crime brûlée".

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Ballora: Alright, which one of us is gonna check outside? Bon-Bon: Not it! Funtime Freddy: Not it! Ballora: ...Neither one of you are as dumb as you lead on to be.

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Balloon Boy: Help! I’m drowning! Bonnie: Calm down. We’re only in six feet of water! Balloon Boy: NOT ALL OF US ARE TALL!

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*The squad's reaction to being told they're the chosen one* Foxy: I will not let you down. Bonnie: Sounds fun. Chica: K. Golden Freddy: No, I'm fucking not. Freddy: Do I have to be? Michael Afton: Please god, I am so tired.

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Bonnie: There's nothing worse than people using big words they don't understand. Toy Bonnie: I photosynthesize with this.

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Michael Afton: And what do I get out of this? William Afton: I will give you a dollar. Michael Afton:: What do you think I am? A chump? I would never do it for a dollar! William Afton: How bout two dollars? Michael Afton: You got yourself a deal.

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Toy Bonnie: Hold on! I’m having one of those things... a headache with pictures. Bonnie: What the fuck? Mangle: He’s having an idea.

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*out grocery shopping* Happy Frog: *takes a free sample twice* Happy Frog: Robbery and Fraud. I am a Rebel.

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Daycare Attendant: Seriously, Gregory, how many people would you have killed if we’d asked you to? Gregory: That’s not important Daycare Attendant: I DISAGREE.

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Balloon Boy: I love you. Foxy: Me too.

(father and son, fight me-)

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Jeremy Fitzgerald: If I stay in bed I'll be warm. If I get in the shower, I'll also be warm. But the distance between the bed and shower? No. That is not warm.

The Princess and the Mad Hatter, Chapter 1 : Tonight, I’ll become the most dazzling precious treasure

Summary : What if Snow-White wasn’t the fairest of all ? What if the most beautiful princess of the Enchanted Forest has been forgotten because she didn’t fell in love with a prince ? This is the story of a curse and of a love story defying all the codes of fairy tales.

Pairing : Jefferson The Mad Hatter x Princess Rose (OFC)

Warnings : None

Word Count : 1 258

Author’s note : Chapter 1 and we dive into the story ! I’ve already posted this, on my main blog, but I decided to rework on it to repost it. Hope you’ll like it. Don’t forget that feedback is appreciated and really important.

Song of the title : Treasure - Flyleaf

Masterlist

The Princess and The Mad Hatter masterlist

Buy me a ☕

Enchanted Forest, several time ago.

  In a kingdom surrounded by the mountain, the forest, and the sea, lives a young and arrogant prince. Charles thinks that since the day of his birth he could get anything and everything for free, from the most random little thing to the most unreachable one. As an adult, and before being crowned king, he falls in love with a beautiful noble young woman named Sophia, whom, for Charles’ unhappiness, is engaged to a blacksmith, Alister, whom she had chose herself with her parents blessing, seeing in a very positive way their daughter be wed by love and choice, rather than out of a sense of duty with someone of her league.

 Totally obsessed by Sophia’s beauty, Charles decides one day to challenge her fiancé to a trial for the beauty’s hand. Relying only on his courage, Alister accepts the fight to defend his fiancée’s honor. Unfortunately for him, Charles’ hanger for power and the fact that he never accepts “no” as an answer, the prince calls Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One, to get what he wants : the blacksmith’s death to marry the beautiful Sophia. Thanks to the dark wizard curse, Charles manages to defeat his opponent who however was stronger than him and marries Sophia less than a week later. Full of sorrow, she resigns herself to marry him and her new princess life, and then, queen, less than two years later.

 A few times after the coronation, the newly queen knows that she is pregnant. She secretly hopes to give birth to a boy for giving an heir to the crown and that maybe, she hopes, her husband will leave her alone for a few times. What she doesn’t expect however, is that her royal husband never paid his debt to Rumpelstiltskin and that this one invites himself to the sumptuous party given in the honor of the future baby.

  “Well, well, it’s like we are celebrating something dearies”, he exclaims, with his very shrilly voice. “Rumor has it, it’s a baby.”

“What are you doing here, fitly gnome”, Charles jumps from his throne and runs towards the little man. “You were not invited to this party, so go back from where you come from.”

“Well, I’ve not been invited, but it seems to me, your highness”, he replies, exaggerating Charles’ title, “that you owe me something. Hihihihihi.”

  A whisper rises in the crowd. All are looking at each other, trying to understand what the dark wizard talks about. He starts to talk again.

  “So, I came to finally have what’s mine, your majesty”, he says shaking his hands.

“I am not going to give you anything. Go away before I give my guards the order to kill you.”

“You perfectly know that they can’t do anything to me”, the Dark One chuckles. “But I can do something against you, in fact, I am going to do it, take it as a warning. King Charles, this is your punishment for failing our contract : all the children you are going to have will be girls, you are going to tell me, having only girls can be a gift, especially if your little princesses are pretty as gems, but and this is the beauty of my curse, all your daughters are going to be uglier and more stupid the next than the previous one, starting with the one your wife is carrying right now.”

  Speaking those words, he disappears with a mad laugh. At the moment he pronounces these words, Sophia collapses on the ground shaken by sobs. This marriage already makes her unhappy, and now in addition, she is condemned to only give the realm only girls and moreover ugly girls, who are probably going to be miserable all their life. It is too much for her and her mental state.

  “Don’t you worry”, Charles tells her, hopping he is going to comfort her, “this is not going to happen, I am pretty sure that the magic of that imp will have no effect on our children.”

  Sophia isn’t reassured at all, she knows all about Rumpelstiltskin’s powers, and perfectly knows that he wasn’t faking. This is a punishment, she thinks, a punishment for marrying the man who killed the love of her life, her true and only love. Sophia isn’t stupid, she knows that Charles only married her as a trophy, and not for love, because she knows perfectly that her husband is incapable of loving anyone but himself. In a last effort, she wishes with all her strength for a miracle to happen. Her pray is heard and a little blue halo entered but one of the throne’s room window.

 “Maybe I can help you.”, says the little halo before materializing into a brown hair woman.

“You can ?”, Sophia asks, her voice filed with hope.

“I can only reduce this spell, that’s the best I can do.”

“What do you mean ‘reduce the spell’ ?”, enrages Charles. “You are going to cancel this spell, and this is an order !”

“I don’t take orders from you, even if you are king.”, the Blue Fairy curtly replies. “You have, by vanity, stole another man’s fiancée and you used dark magic because your oversized ego wouldn’t have supported a defeat, and you refused to pay. However, I can’t for your wife and your future children let it be. Queen Sophia, I can only act on the child you are already carrying, everything will depend on her. Unfortunately, I can’t change the fact that all your children are going to be girls, nor the rest of the curse, but I can do something for that little princess. The child you are carrying is going to be the most beautiful princess that kingdom have ever seen, and probably the most beautiful the Enchanted Forest ever known. She will be brilliant, and loving with everyone, and especially with her sisters. This child will be your only hope to break Rumplestilskin’s curse.”

“How could she do that ? Tell me please.”, Sophia whispers.

“Simply by receiving a true love kiss.”

“If it’s that simple”, Charles mocks the Blue Fairy, “she will receive one soon enough when we will engage her to a prince.”

“Don’t you think that it’s going to be that easy, the spell will be break only if her true love gives her that kiss. Don’t consider that this will work with the first comer to whom you will give your daughter. That’s all I can do for her”, she finishes turning around towards Sophia. “Take care of your precious little flower your highness.”

 This is her last word; before becomes again the little halo and goes out same way she came in. Not really relieved, but a little reassured about the baby she is carrying, Sophia notices by the corner of her eye that her husband is fulminating. Obviously, he doesn’t believe in Rumpelstiltskin and the Blue Fairy spells.

 A few months later, Sophia gives birth to a dazzling and perfectly healthy little girl. She has a light white skin, auburn hair, light hazelnuts eyes, a straight and delicate nose, and thin lips of the color of a pink rosebud. She is, indeed, the most beautiful princess of the Enchanted Forest. That’s why her mother decides to name her after that flower. The whole kingdom celebrates princess Rose’s birth, and even if Charles sees in her a future currency to make his kingdom grow, Sophia, on her side, sees in her a flower who will bring hope to a better future.

Taglist :

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And I’m sure Snowbird getting a happy ending had nothing to do with her being a blonde white woman and Haven being a dark skinned woc

I don’t think it was THE reason, but I would not rule it out as a contributing factor.

The major reason is that Snowbird is a hero and a major character, whereas Haven was an extremely minor character and a villain. So it’s pretty standard in that regard for Snowbird to get a happy ending, and Haven not to. Especially considering that, while Snowbird was not a character that “belonged” to anyone in particuliar, Haven was the creation of DeMatteis and when he left the book, so did she. That’s why her story just ENDS so abruptly after her confrontation with Charles, even though it seems like it should just be getting starting---her creator took off, and the new writer wasn’t interested in her.

She pops back up in the annual a year or two later to die, and I strongly suspect this was due to readers writing in and asking what happened to her; I can’t confirm this for fact, but TV Tropes claimed that fans actually refused to root against her because she was so sympathetic and benevolent, so I imagine a lot of them wanted to know where she went and this was to get them to shut up.

(It kind of reminds me of when this webcomic writer wrote a character he meant as despicable and twisted, and she was, but she was also way more deep and interesting than the 2D mouthpieces the protagonists were, so fans kept asking when she’d come back. He got so fed up he drew her dying in a gross and humiliating way. So yeah, if people were indeed asking “what happened to Haven and her evil possessed fetus?” and writing her dying in the mud giving birth while a goddess victim-blames her was the response...yeah. Again I cannot be for sure this is what happened, it’s just a GUESS.)

But yeah the big reason is Snowbird is a heroine and important, Haven was a flash-in-the-pan villain that only one writer wanted to write and had to be gotten out of the way when someone new came in. Nothing deeper than that. But the WAY that Haven’s story played out, especially compared to Snowbird’s...that’s got a lot of sexism and quite potentially racism there, yeah. So um, let’s get into that. Under a cut for length because I doubt people following a Shaw blog for Shaw want to see a bunch of non-Shaw rambling.

Haven’s story, as I have written about MANY times on her blog, is REALLY UNCOMFY in its sexism, racism, and xenophobia. Let me say, I do not think DeMatteis intended this. He writes Haven as a very kind, well-intentioned person even at her worst, and I happen to know he has a genuine real-life interest in Indian spirituality, which I think is definitely what inspired her. Unfortunately, these good intentions didn’t stop Unfortunate Implications galore: - Our first Indian/Hindu/Zoroastrian character is not only a villain, her “evil” philosophy is taken directly from real-world Hindu beliefs - She is opposed by a team comprised ENTIRELY of white people who work for the US government who scoff at those beliefs and refer to them as “New Age” (aka a white hippie movement that appropriated a lot of actual Hindu ideas but certainly did not invent it!) - The US government says she’s a terrorist. Polaris raises doubts, because Haven’s actions at that point have been nothing but benevolent (she saved Polaris) whereas the same government making these accusations has been malevolent (the people trying to kill/capture Polaris were US agents, despite Polaris working for the government, who attacked her because she had the same energy signal as Magneto) When they go to see Haven in person, she’s preaching peace between humans and mutants. Havok opens fire on her---so basically, a law enforcement officer shooting without warning at an unarmed WOC who isn’t doing anything threatening and they don’t even know has superpowers yet--and Haven has to hit the deck. Despite her own great power that we later learn she has, she never retaliates. But we find out that yes, actually, everything the government said about her is true, she’s leading a terrorist death-cult, and so it’s a-okay that our white government cop FIRED A FUCKING PLASMA BURST AT HER WHEN SHE WAS JUST STANDING THERE. The moral of her story is seriously “this brown woman with a funny religion is a terrorist because the government said so, no matter how nice and gentle she seems, and thus any excessive force against her was definitely justified even if we didn’t know that at the time” like it’s CHILLING. - Haven herself actually has very questionable agency in all this. She’s actually been pregnant for twenty years; her unborn child is permanently in the first trimester and possessed by the powerful demon known as The Adversary (which doesn’t make sense timeline-wise, but I have no doubt this thing can time travel, its entire point is to fuck the rules of universal order) We don’t know exactly how much it can influence her or perhaps even control her, but we do know it’s been talking in her head from 20 years and came on at a time she was REALLY messed up and vulnerable, and manipulated her at the least. I personally think it probably was controlling or influencing her at a very deep subtle level, but that’s just my interpretation. At the least though, again, talking in her head for 20 years, that’s the supernatural equivalent of schizophrenia and we wouldn’t blame her for THAT, right? - Oh, and about it appearing when she was at her lowest, most vulnerable point? Know why she was at her lowest, most vulnerable point just when she happened to be pregnant? Haven’s story is she was born extremely rich but was so passionate about using her privilege to help the poor that she ran away from her parents---philanthropists themselves, but who wanted to protect her from the outside world too---to go work directly in the streets, bathing lepers and cradling dying babies. She got her name “Haven” because she used her wealth to renovate a children’s hospital of the same name, I’m serious. She was literally a fucking SAINT. And then she fell in love with a man, and he used her, knocked her up, and ran off. She was DEEPLY ashamed and berated herself not only for her loss of “purity” but also for being “selfish” and forgetting the children. This is...so sad, and so DEEPLY entrenched in how women, ESPECIALLY women of color in a colonized culture, are considered “selfish” and “evil” if they don’t utterly sacrifice themselves 24/7 to care for others and dare have wants/needs of their own. So she fell into this deep despair and that’s when her fetus starts talking to her and filling her head with twisted lies that preyed on both her devout spirituality and her desire to help others.

There is no more sympathetic villain setup POSSIBLE, you’d think Haven would be a SHOE-IN for a redemption arc or at least being saved from her own “child”, but she gets neither. She dies alone in the mud, having only now realized as the birth is coming just what it is she’s about the bring into the world. Roma, the Omniversal Guardian Goddess and eternal foe of the Adversary, appears to watch. Haven begs her, not to save her own life but to stop the Adversary from the terrible things it’s going to do to the world. To her last breath, her concern is others. And Roma tells her “I would weep for you, but you brought this on yourself.” So basically, Haven, who is the most wonderful person in the world and who VERY much fits expected gender roles (gentle, maternal, loving, non-violent even when attacked, long hair, pink and purple flowing clothes, literally SPARKLES) has sex ONE TIME and she’s punished for it in the worst fucking way while the guy who impregnated her gets off scott-free. It’s just...it’s the worst narrative, in terms of sexism AND racism AND just in general. That’s not even getting into, say, the really uncomfy way her meeting with Xavier is handled, eesh. Compare, Snowbird. She’s actually far LESS the “perfect” woman than Haven is, she’s very cold and aloof and she even contemplates LETTING HER SON DIE so that her ties with mortality will be severed and she can join her divine family in paradise. But she had that son within the confines of MARRIAGE to a mortal man, and she only got married after her duties were done, unlike Haven on both counts. And her loss, and the loss of her child, are deeply mourned by those around her, she has a very dignified and beautiful funeral with Snow White style glass coffins, and we see the spirits of herself, her husband, and her child all ascend to the Inua paradise together, the gods having decided to let them in even though mortals have never been allowed before. She gets divine exception, Haven gets divine condemnation. She gets a beautiful funeral surrounded by loved ones, Haven’s corpse is probably still rotting in the jungle and her brother likely still has no idea what happened to her. To be clear I in no way resent Snowbird for her better treatment in a similiar story, I like Snowbird, but it is very disparate in how differently these seemingly similar situations---possessed baby and such---were handled, and the specific ways in which Haven’s were handled so badly ARE very much the product of bigotry that Snowbird didn’t suffer in part due to her being a white or white-coded character (in addition to being, again, a heroine and a major character, which helped her a lot too) Also, is it just me or is Marvel like...weird around childbirth/babies/motherhood and mixing that with demons/evil spirits/possession? Because in that same vein we’ve also got Madelyne Pryor and Wanda Maximoff who also go through demonic possession that’s related in some way to being mothers of babies. That’s a very strange pattern to have and something’s going on there.   As a note, it bugs me that Snowbird’s human disguise as “Anne McKenzie” is a BLONDE WHITE WOMAN. Like, yes, her human father was white, but her mother Nelvanna is one of the Inua, the ancient gods of Canada from LONG before white people showed up and WHO LOOK LIKE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE, Snowbird herself is constantly emphasized as a child of these lands, she is literally magically BOUND to these lands and can’t leave them without weakening and dying, she was raised by an indigenous shaman, and she can only turn into animals that are INDIGENOUS to Canada. She is very unsubtly the embodiment of pre-colonial Canada, so it’s just...asinine to me her human form is that of a colonizer. I get they probably didn’t think further than “let’s give her human form blonde hair so it’s recognizably her” but like, that’s the problem, they didn’t THINK. Also I feel like her being mixed would really thematically fit her, since a strong part of her story was struggling between her divine and human heritage and being forced to try to “pick a side” which is something I’ve heard (I’m white) that a lot of irl mixed people deal with. It just would make more SENSE.

Issues {Charles Xavier x Reader Oneshot}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 3868 Summary: After a long-term abusive relationship, it’s hard to feel comfortable in a safe space. You are tempted to leave, but Charles wants you to stay. Notes: Descriptions of abuse. May be triggering.

Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngster’s was your sanctuary against the darkest times in your life. “Please, make yourself at home,” Charles had said when he had brought you to the school after finding you beat up in your old apartment. “I can assure you, no one will hurt you here.” So you had - you had a bedroom all on your own that you didn’t have to share with anyone, for the first time in your adult life. You could stretch out, cuddle the pillows, hog the blankets, and not have to worry about any repercussions. You had a dresser with clothes - not many, mind you, only what you had managed to salvage - that you could wear without criticism. You didn’t have to worry about being called frumpy, ugly, too sexy, too cute, you could wear a dress without your ex-boyfriend screaming, asking who you were dressing up for. You had your own bathroom where you only kept a bit of make up - absolutely no concealer since you had no need for covering up bruises anymore. You could take a long bath without your ex storming in and asking who you want to be so clean for. His insults never echoed off of these walls - it was a fresh start. A new beginning.

Charles had even set you up with a job to keep you busy throughout the day. You acted as a mentor to the few students that you had, giving them guidance on how to make it in the world outside of this school when they were ready to graduate. You only had to hope that they wouldn’t get themselves into the unfortunate circumstances that you had out there.

“I think that you have a really bright future out there, Sean,” You smiled at the red haired boy. His smile was beaming bright. “You just have to work on your confidence, but I’m sure that you’ll manage that just fine.”

“Excuse me,” Hank’s head popped into your small office, glasses slightly askew. You nodded to Sean, who got up to leave the room, his appointment being over anyhow.

“What is it, Hank?” You asked with a smile.

“You have a phone call,” He said, pointing to the phone that was on your desk. Indeed, as you took a look at it, there was a redlight blinking, meaning that someone had been put on hold.

Something about it felt wrong though, and you stared at that light, even as Hank left to go about his business. You never had a call before, no one knew that you were here. Your ex had severed your relationship with your parents, and they had moved on without you. It just didn’t make sense, so in order to solve the mystery, you lifted up the phone and pressed the button.

“Y/n,” A heavily panting voice came through the receiver. Your heart was already starting to pound when you heard that you had a call, but hearing your ex’s voice was enough to make it go into overdrive.

“Why are you calling me?” Firstly, your voice came out far more confident than you felt, and secondly, you sat frozen in your chair, every part of your body stiff and rigid. “I thought that you were told to never talk to me again.”

You knew the story, as far as Charles had gently told it to you over a cup of tea the night you arrived here. When he and Erik had tracked you down using Cerberus, they had knocked on your door just as your ex was opening it to leave you bruised and broken once more. Erik had gone after him while Charles had gone to your side to help you up to your feet and help you pack your few belongings to take you out of there. Even if he hadn’t shown you his powers, even if he hadn’t spoken into your mind about how you were going somewhere safe, you would have gone with him simply because he was better than staying where you were. And according to him, Erik had 'told your ex to leave you alone’ but you had the feeling it was not that simple. It’s never simple when Erik was around, especially when he was in a temper.

“Why, didn’t you miss me?” You could hear something in the tone of his voice, but you weren’t sure what it was. “Those men that separated us - they blocked my number, I had to drive to a restaurant across town before I finally got through.”

“It’s for a good reason,” You said, shakily, feeling the need to explain yourself, and your friends, through habit.

“Y/N, they’re trying to turn you against me baby, I know that you miss me and that you still love me - please, just come home.” Oh, how that made your heart go into overdrive, because despite the bruises, despite the yelling, he did always find a way to rebuild your fragile state. “Nothing can keep us apart, you know that baby, come on, tell me where you are and I’ll pick you up - I only know it’s a New York area code.”

A throat clearing sound came from the door, which made you nearly jump out of your skin. Charles stood, leaning against the doorframe of your office, looking at you with grave concern. Your ex continued to talk on the phone, taking your silence for disobedience.

“Really, I’ll come and pick you up now if you tell me where you are and the punishment for leaving me will be very minor. If you tell me right now, you may be able to leave the house in days instead of weeks.”

A chill went up your spine as his tone changed from something friendly into coaxing an animal out of hiding with intent to kill. You stared at Charles, not sure what to do, frozen in place.

When Charles looked into your eyes, he saw the pleading look behind them -  he didn’t have to read your mind in order to get that. During the beginning of the phone call, he had heard the echoing of your ex’s voice in your head as he had been strolling by, and he knew that he had to see if you were okay.

“You can put down the phone, y/n, he won’t hurt you,” Charles said, slowly. You knew he wasn’t in your head, he wasn’t commanding you to do something, but nonetheless, you brought the phone down and returned it to the cradle, cutting off your ex in mid-word.

Within a moment, Charles was next to you as the tears started to flow down your face and you curled into your chair like you were a small child. You’d never act this way in front of anyone, especially someone like Charles who was both your employer and your dear friend, but your ex always managed to bring it out of you. “I don’t think he’s ever going to stop calling me, Charles, I should just give up.”

He ran his fingers through your hair, removing the strands that stuck to the moistness of your cheeks, and offered the handkerchief that was in his pocket. “I don’t think you should do that, love, you’re stronger away from him. If you go back, things will only be bad, I don’t need to see into his mind to tell you that much.”

You took the handkerchief and wiped your eyes, a bit of mascara coming off onto it, and you made a note to wash it for him. “I don’t want you to get involved in this Charles, he might try to hurt you too.”

The handsome young man backed away from you after you had said that. “I’ve been involved since the moment that I found you,” He told you. “As long as you’re here, you’ll be safe, but if you are back with him, I cannot make any guarantees.” He left you on your own, handkerchief in hand, and closed the door so that you would not be interrupted. However, he did linger by it, his hand on the knob, wondering if he was doing the right thing by leaving you alone to decide what to do. He had to talk to someone about this, and immediately set out to find Raven in hopes that she may be able to help.

-

You managed to recover, and did an appointment with Alex before you went to the laundry room and hand washed the beautiful handkerchief that Charles had loaned you. As you scrubbed at the mascara stain with a small bristle brush, you saw the small details, such as his initials embroidered in the corner in blue thread. Leave it to Charles to have such expensive things.

You hung it to dry for a little bit in the sunshine, and as you laid out on a chair to watch as the breeze blew it dry, you did some thinking. Oh, you knew that Charles had a point, that your safety wasn’t guaranteed if you left the school, but his would be. He didn’t know what your ex was capable of. And besides, at best, if you went back to him, you would only have to put up with it for another couple of years until he finally killed you. You would go, you decided. Tonight. You knew that there were enough problems with Erik and his obsession over Shaw, and the training of the students - and what exactly they were training for.

You took the handkerchief off the clothes line once it was dry. You could smell the faint sent of flowers that the breeze had carried over, and embedded within the fabric. Charles hopefully wouldn’t mind that, and you returned to the interior of the school to return it to him.

He was busy, though his office door wasn’t entire closed. You peeked in and saw that he was sitting with Raven, his arm around her shoulders in a very brotherly way, and they were talking in low tones to one another. You were always jealous of the way that Raven got on with others, even though like you, she wasn’t the most confident person in the world.

“You were right, y/n has to make their own decision,” Raven was saying, which made you step back behind the door so they wouldn’t see you eavesdropping. “I know how you feel about them but... you can’t control the people that you care about. It’s not right.”

It was more of a shock hearing this than it was when your ex managed to call the school.

“There’s no way that y/n would go back, right?” Charles asked, sounding insecure. It wasn’t very often that he didn’t know the answer to something. Raven leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed.

“Probably wouldn’t if you told them how you feel,” She suggested to him.

You took a couple of steps back, then ran towards your room, having heard enough. Charles had some sort of feelings and that cemented everything for you - you were going to go back to your ex. Nobody else would think that way, you knew that, because anyone would be lucky to have Charles care about them. He was handsome, kind, had an adorable accent, very intelligent. He could have anybody that he wanted - and he deserved better than you. You started to pack as quickly as you could, throwing everything into your bag. As you did so, you started to think - you would walk to the city, or even hitch-hike if the weather took a bad turn, catch the first bus home. As soon as you made it back to your city, you would call Charles and apologize for leaving so quickly, but it was something that you had to do to protect him. To protect everyone in the school, because their powers would only go so far against your ex’s anger. Perhaps he was a mutant too, and his power was rage, you didn’t know.

You ran a brush through your hair before tossing it into your bag. It wasn’t a necessary item but it was the first gift that you got after arriving here - it had been Raven’s and she gave it to you on the first day of your job. You made your bed, so as not to inconvenience anyone, then snuck out through the door while you assumed that everyone was at dinner.

But not everyone was. And it was the person that you wanted to see least - not Charles, but Erik. He stood by the door with an eyebrow raised, arms crossed in front of him as if he had been waiting for you.

“You being here has been good for everyone, what possible reason could you have for leaving?” He asked you, looking taller than ever in the way that he looked down upon you. He waited for an answer, but you had none, you just stood there, holding onto your bag, your eyes pleading with him to please move. “I’m not a mind-reader like Charles, but I can tell you that your ex-partner means you harm.”

So news had gotten around that he had called you. The only person who knew who it was on the other end of the line was Charles, so he must have told. He shouldn’t have.

“You’re not Charles,” You agreed with Erik, “so you can’t understand my reason for leaving - please, let me go. You two told me that I was free to leave at anytime.”

“I didn’t think you would go back to that situation when I said that,” Charles’s voice joined the conversation, coming down the hallway as if he had been listening the whole time. He never could help himself from eavesdropping, you had noticed. In his hands, he had a clear container of food - whatever had been for dinner, it looked like. You could see potatoes, and carrots, and who knew what else. “Of course we can’t stop you, darling, as much as we both want to.”

“Do you really?” You asked, looking at him. You couldn’t voice the reason you wanted to leave - to protect him, because it sounded so incredibly weak when it was put into words, but you thought it loud enough for him to catch onto it. He blinked, then wiped a tear out of his eye that you had not been expecting.

“You know that everyone here would stop him, even using our powers if necessary, if he found out where you were.” He said, moving in between you and Erik, who duly stepped away to let the two of you talk. The air felt cooler now that he was gone, because the tensions began to grew. There was something about being alone with Charles - it made the hair on your arms stand up, it made your heart beat fast, it made you have to lick your lips because they were constantly tingling in his presence. “It doesn’t have to be like this. You don’t have to be scared of him anymore, you’re more powerful than he is. If you only knew-” “I’m not afraid of what he can do to me, I haven’t been afraid of that in a long time.” Charles’s mouth closed as you started to finally speak. Of course, once you started, it was hard to stop. You had been holding things in for a long time now. “Everything that he did to me, I - I could take it. You don’t understand, if he hit me ... he was paying attention to me and ... and I needed that. You’re perfect Charles, and you’ll never understand that feeling of loneliness. And when he isolated me from my family, when he made me turn all of my friends against me ... he made sure that I only had him. It’s going to happen again, whether I go back or not. Leaving now - at least I’ll have some control over it. He can’t take the control of this decision away from me. You’ll either hate me because I leave, hate me for some reason I can’t control, or hate me because he’s going to come and try to hurt you and I - I’d rather just rip off the bandaid now, Charles, because if I spent anymore time around any of you, I’ll never be able to leave.”

Charles stayed quiet, both hands on the tupperware container full of food, squeezing it until you saw that his knuckles were white. “Because of some reason you can’t control?” He asked, looking at you with confusion. Your words were echoing in his mind, but those in particular. “Why don’t we go into my office, y/n, and we can have a talk about this in a more private setting.”

You looked outside the windows and saw that the sky was steadily darkening. It was getting later, which meant that dinner was about to be over and the students would be walking around, trying to burn their energy before bed. Weakly, you nodded and followed Charles towards the office that you had been outside of just a short time before. Confusion was still evident on his face as he took a seat, not behind the desk, but on the comfortable looking couch, and he patted next to him. You set your bag down by the door before joining him, but after everything that you had just said, it was hard to look him in the eye.

Charles lightly rested his hand on your knee which made you breathe in quickly. “Even if you were to go against us, there is no way that I would hate you,” He started off by saying. His eyes, far bluer than any eyes should be, were heavy on you until you looked right back at them, and saw the honesty, the emotion behind them. Charles is a mind reader, but he is not a deceiver. “If that is one of your fears, then we can work on it together. That’s the only way that we can prove to you that we’re not going to hate you. Even if you leave, even if he comes here, there’s nothing that can happen that would make me turn my heart on you.”

You noticed that he had switched from 'we’ to 'my’ for the last bit there. His heart. That was enough to get yours going. And once more, but in an entirely different way than before - you broke down. Instead of blabbering on and releasing the thoughts, you released your emotions. Your head came down on your shoulder as you began to cry, and he gently patted your back. You noticed after a few moments that your whole body was now pressed against his because he had pulled you into a hug. His face was remarkably close to yours, and you could hear him whispering into your ear.

“It’s all going to be alright, whatever you choose, it’ll be alright, I’ll always be with you.”

It was the first time that you heard something like that. Nice, kind, comforting words without there being some sort of threat behind them. A few more minutes passed until you felt exhausted from the emotional release, both emotionally and physically. It was hard to tear yourself away from Charles, in more ways than one. The tears had made his shirt stick to your face, and you had to peel yourself off slowly. Once you were away, you held your head in hands, realizing that you probably looked a mess, with the tears running down your face, the snot, the messed up make up.

“My bathroom is right through there, you can go clean yourself up and I’ll get your dinner ready,” Charles said, softly. He was so courteous, though you realized he probably read your thoughts about how you looked. You nodded slowly, and got up, going into the bathroom to wash your face, blow your nose, and generally try to make yourself look less puffy.  Before you left the small room, you paused in front of the mirror and forced yourself to smile. Charles had given you all the confirmation that you needed. This, now and forever, was your home. Perhaps you wouldn’t be hated after all. Perhaps - perhaps, you might find the opposite of hate.

You left the bathroom feeling much better than you had when you went in. Set out on Charles’s desk was dinner, still in the tupperware, but it was open and he had folded up some tissues to use as a napkin, and rested a fork and a knife on it. He wasn’t in the room, but he was just walking back in with two glasses of water. “You look better,” He said with a smile, setting the waters onto the desk. He pulled out the chair behind it, offering it to you.

You stepped towards him rather than towards the chair and pressed your hand to his chest tentatively. You could still feel the wet spot that you had made. “I will stay and wash that for you,” You told him, feeling bad for ruining his shirt.

He rested his fingers on your wrist, then rubbed your arm down to your elbow and back up. “Just stay - please. I want you to stay.” He said, his face completely serious. It was the same expression that he had when he pleaded with you to come with him in the first place.

“Believe me, I want to stay too,” You said, closing your eyes, focusing on his touch. Charles had slightly rough fingers - perhaps from years of holding a pencil and writing all of those notes that helped his advanced education.

You felt it before you sensed it. How his breath was against your lips now, your whole arm was against his chest rather than just your hand because he had moved in forward. A second passed before there was contact, his soft pink lips brushing against your own. Quickly, you moved into it, giving him the kiss that the both of you seemed to desire more than anything else. It wasn’t a long kiss, but just enough for you to feel like your entire body was filled with electricity. It must be how Havok felt when he was about to use his powers. You smiled and moved your hand up to Charles’s shoulder.

“Where was I going again?” You asked with a small smile. He looked at you with those amazingly blue eyes, the corner of his lips turning upwards in a crooked smile.

“To my desk, to eat your dinner, then off to bed. You have some unpacking to do in the morning.”

The Seventh Victim: One Peculiar Picture by Kim Luperi

A downbeat story of a suicidal woman besieged by devil worshipers doesn’t exactly sound like standard WWII Hollywood fare, does it?

In THE SEVENTH VICTIM (‘43), naïve Mary (Kim Hunter, in her film debut) arrives in Greenwich Village looking for her missing sister Jacqueline (Jean Brooks). After meeting several characters connected with Jacqueline—her husband, her psychiatrist, a poet, her business partner—she comes to learn of Jacqueline’s involvement with a Satanic cult that wants her dead for exposing their existence.

Producer Val Lewton’s run as RKO’s horror unit head from 1942-1946 is legendary, resulting in classics such as CAT PEOPLE (‘42); part of that stems from Lewton’s method, which he shared in a 1943 Chicago Tribune article: “We make the audience do the work… If you make the screen dark enough, the mind’s eye will read anything into it you want.” Lewton’s fourth picture, THE SEVENTH VICTIM, ranks among his more original and lesser known titles (and less successful critically and financially), but the film has gained newfound admiration and appreciation in recent decades.

The picture’s dark complexity, suggestive touches and eerie ambiguity have resulted in myriad modern analyses – including one in Doug McClelland’s The Golden Age of ‘B’ Movies, positing that the strange happenings were actually subconsciously envisaged by the naïve Mary upon her first encounter with the real world. Since a dive into these interpretations could fill an entire book, I’ll let you form your own take, but I’d like to share some noteworthy behind-the-scenes tidbits I stumbled upon in my research.

Interestingly, RKO didn’t really care about the plots of Lewton’s pictures, as long as he kept within budget and used film titles RKO pre-approved through audience testing. For THE SEVENTH VICTIM, co-writer DeWitt Bodeen penned a short story about a woman ensnared in a murder plot who figures out that she’ll be the killer’s seventh victim. But Lewton, who was actively involved in all areas of production, particularly writing, preferred a different approach and recruited Charles O’Neal to collaborate on a new idea that involved the satanic society. Bodeen said years later in an interview quoted in Edmund Bansak’s Fearing the Dark: The Val Lewton Career that he actually attended a gathering of Satanists under a pseudonym for research purposes. “I must say that they were exactly like the devil-worshipers in Rosemary’s Baby,” he reported, noting that most of the members were older folks knitting and drinking tea… while casting spells against Hitler. Their outwardly normal appearance and gestures inspired the cult members’ looks and actions in the movie.

THE SEVENTH VICTIM has received many lofty accolades; in An Illustrated History of the Horror Film, Carlos Clarens even claimed it may be Lewton’s masterpiece. More than one critic has referred to the haunting movie as Lewton’s most personal, and the evidence I uncovered for this has to do with the location and one specific character. Bodeen explained that THE SEVENTH VICTIM is a “reflection, really, of the happiest time of [Lewton’s] life,” when the producer lived in New York City and worked as a writer. He held a particular fondness for Greenwich Village, THE SEVENTH VICTIM’s morose central setting. Character-wise, Diane Jarrett wrote in a recent Films of the Golden Age article that Lewton’s son claimed his father’s “dramatic and mysterious” aunt served as an inspiration for Jacqueline. That aunt just happened to be silent film actress Alla Nazimova.

Jacques Tourneur helmed Lewton’s first three RKO pictures, CAT PEOPLE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (‘43) and THE LEOPARD MAN (‘43). With these successes, Tourneur moved on to his own unit, and RKO rewarded Lewton with an A budget for his next movie. Lewton picked editor Mark Robson to direct, whom he had been grooming for the job. Robson’s contribution to Lewton’s films with Tourneur meant he was intimately familiar with constructing the dark style and terror those pictures suggested. But RKO refused to hand a first-time director a lofty budget, so they gave Lewton an ultimatum: Robson or the money. Lewton chose the director, resulting in the excision of four scenes from the script to pare the film to a B-runtime of 71 minutes. (If you think you missed some plot points, it likely boils down to these cuts.)

Ironically, my main impetus for revisiting THE SEVENTH VICTIM was to explore how the Production Code Administration (PCA), Hollywood’s censorship authority, reacted to potentially perilous subjects like the satanic cult and suicide. To my surprise, the PCA reported the script read fine; their major concern was to clearly delineate Jacqueline’s relationship with her psychiatrist as platonic. An analysis chart casually logged the types of crimes portrayed as murder and devil worship, but that was all the fuss, or lack thereof, afforded to those subjects. Just another intriguing point relating to THE SEVENTH VICTIM, indeed!

this is life in color

inspired by @johnny-and-dora‘s brilliant fic holding back the flood

read on ao3 here

Jake really should be sleeping.

It’s two a.m. at night, T-minus five hours to their alarms going off for work the next morning, and he didn’t exactly sleep much the night before this either. None of these facts are well compatible with him getting to work on a craft project- yet a craft project is exactly what he has placed in front of him at this moment. He has a set of markers, not his wife’s best ones (he wouldn’t dare use those in anything but an emergency) but the ones ranked number three in her top-five sets of them, white paper, a neon pink highlighter and a black 0.5 pen, an old magazine to keep the paper flat while he’s working and a head full of ideas.

Well, technically it’s just one idea. But it’s a good one. It should count as several ideas, seeing how proud and probably a little bit horny this should make his wife. She deserves it, especially since the reason he’s up in the first place is due to him being woken up by her throwing herself out of bed an hour ago to rush to the bathroom. He spent the following thirty minutes sitting legs crossed on their bathroom floor holding back her hair, helping her take deep breaths, getting her water and eventually helping her brush her teeth and get back to bed.

Being seven weeks (and three days) pregnant is apparently no joke. He wishes desperately he could do it for her, take over the near-constant nausea and exhaustion and headaches for even a day or two, but since he lacks both a uterus and magic powers, that’s not happening anytime soon. A pregnancy is long, he’s learning, and the weeks until they’re past the point where the risk for miscarriage is lowered and they’ll announce it to their friends and family seems the longest. He wants to shout it from the rooftops already, that Amy’s for realz-realz pregnant, they're having a baby, he’s slightly helped in the creation of a tiny mini human growing inside of his wife. It's the best secret he's ever carried and he can't even tell Charles. In fact, as of right now they're three living beings aware of it; him, his wife and the raspberry-sized fetus pictured like a white blob on the ultrasound picture stuck to their fridge.

This would all be fine and dandy if it weren't for the fact that they spend the majority of their day around people who doesn't know and can't know yet. It's already occurred several times that Amy needs to speak with him about something pregnancy-related while other people are around, resulting in them coming up with a not-so-great excuse about the two of them absolutely needing to go see her niece’s school performance in the middle of the day when they left for the ultrasound, a lie which later led to one too many questions from Terry about the show they had to come up with fake answers to. They need a new system, and Jake knows exactly what it's going to be.

On the paper in front of him, he's drawn seven slightly skewed squares in different sizes and colored them each. There's a blue one, a red one, yellow, green, purple, orange and pink, their color labeled next to them. Under the titles are brief descriptions for what the colors stand for.

It’s the middle of the night and Jake Peralta has created a code system just for him and his wife to be able to talk about anything pregnancy-related without raising anyone’s suspicions. He’s literally never been prouder of himself, and this overpowering pride is making him way too excited to keep this brilliant creation to himself. Amy needs to know.

She’s already stirring next to him, so he’s not technically waking her up - just giving her something good to wake up to. He places a gentle hand on her shoulder, squeezing it a little bit and getting an incomprehensible murmur back.

“Hey, Ames, I made us something.”

“Hnnnfffgggghh”, the response comes. “How important?”

“It’s a code system.”

Her eyes are suddenly wide open as she looks up from the pillow she’s buried her head in, pushing her sleep-tousled hair away from her face to see him better. “Do spill”, she yawns.

“So you know how it’s been an issue recently that we can’t talk about the whole -” He gestures to her flat stomach “- pregnant thing, around other people yet? I’ve come up with a solution.” Jake holds up the paper.

Her eyes grow wider, mouth gaping. “A color-based code system?”

“Indeed. Want me to walk you through it?”

“Please.”

“Thought so”, he grins. “We begin with code red. Code red is the one I hope we don’t have to use, but it’s there in case. It means health emergency. If you start experiencing a lot of pain or heavy bleeding or any of that bad stuff the pregnancy podcast I listened to while making dinner yesterday talked about, or if you’re feeling weird and you’re worried, tell me code red and it means we’re going the hospital stat.”

“Safety measure”, she nods. “Smart. And I’m really proud of you for listening to a podcast.”

“I know, that’s why I did it. Next we have code blue. Code blue’s if you’re crying or spiralling or anxious - if everything’s too much and you need me to come talk you down.”

“Might happen, yeah.”

“Code yellow is if you’re really nauseous or exhausted or feeling too crappy to be at work and need me to take you home”, he continues. “Because I will. I know you take your job really seriously, but you need rest.”

Amy smiles, running her thumb over his cheek. “That’s very sweet of you.”

“Doi. Then there’s code orange. That means someone is close to finding out and we need to help the other one cover so the news don’t get out before we want them to.”

“Smart. And what’s code green for?”

“Well, I figured I should include everything, so code green’s basically if you need me to take you away to storage locker J and get you in a better mood, so to speak.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m not having sex with you at work.”

“Oh, you say that now.” He nods, giving her a serious look. “But the pregnancy podcast also did say that pregnant women’s sex drives can get really intense in the second trimester and I want you to know that I’m always available for that.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“ I take my job as husband and baby daddy very seriously. Anyway, code yellow is food cravings. If you need me to get you milkshakes or exotic vegetables or whatever you’re craving, code yellow and the food you need me to get.”

“Got it. And what’s the last square?”

“The last square is code pink”, he explains. “That’s similar to code blue, I’d say, but in a more positive way. It’s if you need to talk to me and be sappy and emotional over how great this is.” He places the paper on his nightstand to free his hands, shuffling closer to her to hold her in his arms and placing his right hand to a spot low on her stomach. “Because even though you’re pretty miserable right now, and I can’t really do much, we’re still having a baby, you know?” Saying the words makes him chuckle, marvelled by how insane that very fact is. “Like, there’s going to be a tiny half-you half-me keeping us awake at night in a few months, and we’re going to get to order Harry Potter onesies and make our boring storage room into a dope nursery and we’re going to be parents”, he whispers.

“We’re really going to be parents”, she agrees in a hushed voice, wiping a few tears away and placing her left hand over is. “That’s so crazy.”

“I bet our baby will be the cutest in the world.”

“Oh, definitely. They’re already adorable and they only just lost their tail.”

“And they’ll be strong and brave and intelligent and all those things too, because obviously they’re going to be more than pretty.”

“Obviously.”

They lie there for a while, eyes closed and breathing in sync.

“You know”, Amy eventually breaks the silence. “I’m just saying - this is probably one of the hottest things you’ve ever done.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Maybe I could call in sick tomorrow”, she mumbles before kissing him, letting her hands wander.

Success.

Fresh Generation; Life Trials Chapter 5: A Lot To Prove

Keona’s POV

‘It’s been over 20 years…I guess John Charles will still get hit easily’ I think to myself before messaging John Charles my approval privately in Morse code.

After a while, my granddaughter Christine calls me. “Hello Grandmama” She says when I answered. “Hello my little sweetheart. How have you been?” I asked her.

“Well. School’s all good and I’m all good.” She says. “Glad to hear so. Hows your Papa?” I asked her. “Papa is sleeping in.” She says and I just remembered Pierre’s on leave as he’s still recovering from the flu he had confronting that stupid foolish Shauna.

“I see. Let your Papa rest and you yourself behave okay?” I tell her. I hang up after a while of talking to my granddaughter. I then received back another Morse code message from John Charles.

-.-- --- ..- / -.- -. --- .-- / -... . / -... . ... - / ... - .. .-.. .-..

(You/Know/Me/Best/Still)

I figured out what he says in the message. I can’t help chuckling a little. ‘Ti budalla! (You idiot!) Of course I know you best still after all these years.” I chuckled looking at his message as I slowly pack up and leave the office for the night.

Robert’s POV

I was at my brother’s house the next day with Lydia for an UNUSUAL meet-up. I took my time observing Jennifer a little.

Okay I was a little skeptical over but I’m very uncertain about this 16 year old. I really hoping my brother isn’t trying to make Margarethe look like an idiot in the police department.

“You’re being unusual.” I said to John as the kids are playing with Victoria and my wife assisting at the back patio. “How am I unusual?” He asks me. “Bending the rules to scoop up a 16 year old who is not supposed to work in the club.” I said.

“Oh please my brother, don’t tell me you’re starting your theory of the skeptics once again.” He looks at me jokingly saying. “I’m not!” I laughed a little defending myself.

“I just want to hear your reason doing what you did. That’s all.” I said chuckling at the end.

“First of all, doesn’t this Jen remind you a little of our Lulu?” He makes me look at the back patio where Alicia and Jennifer looking like they have the time of their lives playing chase.

I know where is going with this, this Jennifer indeed in some ways remind me also of Leslie our baby sister, quiet, reserved and do have some lady manners of her own.

“She does in some way, but what if being in the FBI isn’t in her books?” I then asked him out of curiosity. “I’ve checked her background, pretty clean. She’s an ace student in school and like her brother, a jack of all trades except socialising which got her bullied a lot, a lot like what Lulu went through.” John answers in a chill manner.

“So that’s why you decide to help her?” I asked him starting to understand where he’s going and he nods his head.

“She only just needs a roof over her head and get through her high school. Can’t deny her a chance and let her work in clubs at a young age.” He sighs saying.

“You and your golden heart~” I chuckled teasingly at him which got him and I wrestling like children for a good while.

Hopefully this Jennifer don’t let John down cause she has a lot, I mean A LOT, to prove that she doesn’t end up like Diane Jane.

Playing God

It’s funny how some events in the course of human history become universally understood as watershed moments and the individuals connected with them become correspondingly famous. The invention of the moveable type by Johannes Gutenberg in the middle of the fifteenth century is a good example: he’s famous, his invention is famous, and the shift from handwritten to printed books is widely understood as a true threshold in the development of world culture. You could say the same thing about James Watt’s perfection of the steam engine in 1781 or Alan Turing’s invention of the world’s first working computer, the so-called Turing Machine, in 1936. All famous men, all the well-known dates of famous events.

But other events fall away, just as do also the people connected with them. The real inventor of the moveable-type printing press, Han dynasty inventor Bi Sheng, is known to almost nobody today. Isaac Newcombe, the inventor of the steam engine that Watt was able dramatically to improve has long since been forgotten by all but historians of science. Charles Babbage, the British polymath whose 1822 “difference engine” was the forerunner of the computer, remains an obscure figure to most. My point in mentioning these three names is not to suggest that the people mentioned in the first paragraph don’t deserve their fame, which they all surely do. Rather, my point is to show how difficult it is to see these events when they are actually happening and to recognize them as momentous. Indeed, despite the fact that all three of the mostly-forgotten persons mentioned here—Bi Sheng, Isaac Newcombe, and Charles Babbage—managed materially to alter the course of human history through their work, all were eclipsed later on by the perfectors of their efforts not because the latter schemed to deny their predecessors their due but because, when the world finally got around to noticing that it was standing at a threshold moment, the people in the first paragraph were standing in the right place at the right time and not the people in the second.

Nor is it easy to notice when society has crossed a developmental line back across which it will never be able to step. And, indeed, all sorts of things that felt momentous in their day were proven later on not quite to be the breakthrough they seemed at the moment to be. I remember buying my first music CD and thinking that music would never be the same again. But that was then…and now the introduction of the music CD in 1982—for the record, a Philips recording of Claudio Arrau playing some Chopin waltzes—feels like a bridge between cassette tapes and the kind of audio files that seem to exist without physical space and which simply fly on command through the ether into the machines devised to play them.

And now I get to the real subject of this week’s letter: the joint announcement the other day by the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine that they formally approve of the effort to modify human embryos by altering the genetic code in which are embedded the traits the people those embryos will eventually become will be able to pass along to future generations. It’s hard to know what to do with such an announcement. Is this one of those pivotal moments in world history that will be remembered as a real turning point in the development of human society, as a real break with the past? Or is it just a breakthrough moment in terms of human attitudes towards a specific kind of scientific research…but not a true threshold moment in the history of humankind? That is the question I’d like to explore this week.

The academies only noted their approval with respect to certain specific kinds of research, the kinds designed to enable the deletion of genes that cause “serious diseases and disabilities.” And even that is only to be considered acceptable when there exists no reasonable alternative to eradicating the disease by altering the genetic code of those who bear it into the world.

It feels unlikely, however, that the kind of discipline necessary to keep faith with those two strictures will be maintained for long. For one thing, the terms in play—the “reasonable” in “no reasonable alternatives” or the “serious” in “serious diseases or disabilities”— are open to a very wide range of definitions. Yet, even with that caveat, there surely are diseases that all would qualify as “serious” threats to health and disabilities that no one would think twice about referencing as “serious” disadvantages to the people obliged by circumstance to deal with them. It’s hard, for example, to imagine the argument against doing whatever it takes to eradicate Huntington’s chorea, a terrible affliction that leads through horrific disability to eventual death. And if there are unfortunates who carry the genetic code for that specific disease, but from whose gametes could be created an embryo that could specifically be altered not to bear that code and therefore not to have to fear the disease and its awful consequences or to risk handing it down to future generations—it’s hard to come up with a cogent argument against helping such people rid themselves and their descendants of a horrific genetic curse.

And yet there are those who look with disfavor on this kind of research, fearing that the moral and ethical brakes they deem requisite for looking positively on this kind of research will simply not be applied by all and, indeed, the whole specter of “designer babies” is something that really should give us all pause for thought.

Due to the development of something called CRISPR-Cas9, the concept is not as far-fetched as it once was. The first part stands for Clustered Regularly Interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats. The second part, Cas-9, is CRISPR Associated Protein 9, an enzyme that somehow has the ability to act as a kind of molecular scissors capable of “cutting” a strand of DNA at a specific point in the genome so that it can be deleted or adjusted.  Come again? I’ve been reading websites all week looking for a simple explanation. No luck on that front! Still, to read the best (and, yes, the simplest) explanations I could find online, click here and here. Really, you need a background in molecular biology even to begin to get how this works, but the ethical issues do not inhere in the science and it should be more than enough for laypeople like ourselves to understand that CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome-editing tool that works well enough for scientists seriously to be on the verge of learning how to alter the genetic code of the pre-born.

From a certain vantage point, you could argue that the ethical concerns that so worry so many are being overstated. After all, we all do what we can to help our children succeed in life! We specifically do not teach our kids just to accept their weaknesses and inherent shortcomings, and to leave it at that. Instead, we do what we can to help them succeed and consider it irrelevant if their eventually performance only comes after long hours of training, practice, rehearsal, study, exercise, etc.  So why exactly shouldn’t, say, tone-deaf parents ask a scientist to alter their genetic code to include the gene for musical excellence for future generations to enjoy? Yes, of course, that sounds a bit frivolous. But the arguments against sound just a bit puritanical (and I mean that in a negative sense): if a child overcomes a natural, genetically-based disability through hard work, perseverance, and dogged tenacity and dedication, we consider it praiseworthy. But, and here we wander onto ethically thinner ice, if the means of overcoming some specific innate, inborn obstacle comes from without—from a friendly genetic engineer altering the child’s potential skill set to delete the specific traits that will hold him or her from succeeding in that very same arena—then we consider that to be unfair and morally suspect. It feels that way even to me! But more difficult, and by far, is saying exactly how those two means of assisting a child excel differ ethically.

Yes, one avenue will be available to the wealthy before it trickles down to the middle class, let alone those who live in poverty. But in a society in which the same could be said of a thousand other things—SAT prep courses, the kind of personal training that leads to athletic excellence, private music or art lessons, summers spent in camps devoted to the cultivation of the specific skills necessary to succeed, travel to distant lands to learn languages or some skill available in that specific place—it feels odd suddenly to climb up onto a high horse with respect to this specific means of helping children succeed. Don’t we specifically not care that the wealthy can provide more for their children than the poor? We certainly behave that way in most other contexts! And to tell the child of well-off parents that he or she can’t be helped to overcome some congenital inability to succeed because of his parents’ wealth also seems a bit perverse. Isn’t helping some children better than helping none?

And yet I also see the other side of the coin…and clearly. There surely is something unsettling about the notion of altering the genetic code that yields the diversity that now characterizes human society. But to oppose scientific research that could eventually assist people in ridding society of gene-based diseases and defects seems impossible to justify morally. So perhaps the real question before us is not whether the report of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine is right or wrong to support the latter while strenuously arguing against using this kind of technology to improve the lot of future generations other than by ridding them of terrible diseases or defects, but something incredibly more difficult to decide: if it were to be so that this particularly genie, once out of the bottle, will be impossible to force back inside…then would the notion of ridding the world of Huntington’s or Tay-Sachs disease or beta thalassemia be worth the risk of scientists, both at home and abroad, crossing the line to create people who are better than they might otherwise be in other ways as well?

To condemn the possibility of altering the genetic make-up of embryos as “playing God” requires having a clear sense in mind of what that thought even means. Every significant medical break-through has altered the world God made in a profound way that could reasonably be qualified as unnatural. Yet none of us regrets the eradication of smallpox or would dream of arguing that Edward Jenner was “playing God” in 1798 when he developed the world’s first effective vaccine for any disease at all. But wasn’t he doing just that?

It seems to me that we are crossing a huge threshold with the report of this last week endorsing the kind of research into the alteration of the genome that we both eagerly await and reasonably fear. Is it worth going forward and merely hoping for the best? Should we shove this particular genie back in the bottle and throw it into the sea?  If you want a clear answer, ask a potential parent who carries the Huntington’s chorea gene!

Why Is This Texas Town Reigning as the Country’s Hottest ZIP Code?

iStock; realtor.com

Hotness is one of those terms that seem to have lost much of their meaning lately, right up there with “awesomeness,” “scalability,” or “fake news.” But when it’s applied to real estate, “hotness” conjures up something very tangible indeed: places where people are truly gung-ho to live.

Every month, we at realtor.com® seek out these prized metros, with our definitive lists of America’s hottest markets for housing. But once a year we take a closer look—not at sprawling cities, but at neighborhoods, right down to the ZIP codes. After all, great communities are what home buyers are searching for the most, right?

This year, for the second time in a row, Watauga, TX, tops the list. Go Watauga! With a young population, a strong economy, and schools that have been rated among the best in the state, this near suburb of Fort Worth has what many buyers—especially those all-important millennials—are looking for.

The rankings are based on how long it takes properties to sell in each ZIP code (an indication of supply) and how frequently homes there are viewed on realtor.com (an indication of demand).

“Millennials are the largest generation in U.S. history, and they are flexing their muscle when it comes to the housing market,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist of realtor.com®, in a statement. “Increasingly, the hottest housing markets are the ones that appeal to millennial preferences, and right now the standouts are relatively affordable suburbs with local ‘it’ factors such as hiking trails, great restaurants, and nightlife. With the largest cohort of millennials turning 30 in 2020, we can expect these types of areas to stay in demand in the years to come.”

Among the top 10 ZIP codes, the influence of millennials, especially those between 25 and 34, is clearer than ever. Older millennials make up 17% of households in the top 10 ZIP codes, compared with 15% nationwide. Millennial homeownership rates also stand out for their region: 50% of 25- to 34-year-olds in these communities are homeowners, compared with 39% in the counties that surround them and 41% nationally.

Other common factors among our top 10 have obvious appeal: relative affordability, strong job markets, and high salaries—all the things that make people feel they can afford to buy a home. Although the median home price in these markets is a bit more than the national median, it’s typically lower than in the surrounding area.

With higher-than-average household incomes, buyers in these ZIPs can afford it!

Let’s take a look at the top 10:

1. Watauga, TX (76148)

Watauga, TX

City of Watauga

Closest large metro: Fort Worth Median list price: $160,441 Median household income: $66,041

As with much of the country, home prices have shot up in the Dallas–Fort Worth market in recent years. But Watauga offers an oasis of affordability.

“Homes in Watauga average about $185,000—an almost impossible price range to find” in the area, says Geoffrey Walsh, a broker associate with Coldwell Banker in nearby Colleyville.

One of the prime draws is the top-rated Keller ISD school district.

“For somebody who’s looking to find a slightly older home with good schools, the price affordability is there,” says Walsh.

A lot of first-time home buyers are drawn to Watauga, as well as people who are relocating for work and empty nesters who are downsizing. The area’s ranch-style homes are particularly well-suited to aging baby boomers who don’t want to have to deal with stairs.

The area has benefited from the business boom along the Highway 114 corridor. TD Ameritrade has a new corporate office nearby, and Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, and Deloitte are also here. The area’s diverse economy supports a variety of trades.

Walsh estimates that a third of his clients overall are from outside the country: “Right now, Dallas–Forth Worth is the No. 3 destination in the U.S. for foreign home workers.” Another third, he says, are people relocating from other parts of the country, especially the pricey coastal areas, and one-third are local buyers.

2. Livonia, MI (48154)

Orson Everitt House historic site in Livonia, MI

Andrew Jameson/Wikipedia CC

Closest large metro: Detroit Median list price: $223,780 Median household income: $74,320

Just close enough to metro Detroit for convenience, but with all the benefits of suburban living, Livonia combines the best of both worlds. Downtown Detroit’s Institute of Art and professional sports teams are just a half-hour away. Livonia boasts more than 60 parks spread over 1,389 acres, and has been ranked among the safest cities in Michigan. Major employers in the area include the Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn and Beaumont Health in Royal Oak.

3. Kentwood, MI (49548)

Kentwood, MI

Closest large metro: Grand Rapids Median list price: $118,833 Median household income: $43,026

On the other side of the Michigan peninsula from Detroit, the Grand Rapids area is one of the fastest-growing parts of the country. Not only is its economy booming, but so are the local microbrewery, dining, and public art scenes. Millennials dominate among buyers here, snagging 42% of new mortgages. They also have a 62% homeownership rate.

4. Medford, MA (02155)

Medford, MA

DenisTangneyJr/iStock

Closest large metro: Boston Median list price: $541,158 Median household income: $81,608

Medford was once considered a sleepy suburb of Boston, but it has definitely woken up. The home of Tufts University has a lively dining scene, and there are a slew of activities along Mystic River, including live concerts at the Condon Shell and the annual Mystic River Celebration of the Arts .

The city has conducted an aggressive park improvement project over the past five years, and most of its 21 parks have been rehabilitated. Want to go ice skating, fishing, hiking, or sailing? Medford has you covered! Public transportation also offers easy access to Cambridge and downtown Boston.

5. Littleton, CO (80123)

Downtown Littleton, CO

milehightraveler/iStock

Closest large metro: Denver Median list price: $533,873 Median household income: $77,489

Littleton offers a fun and historic downtown area nestled in the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, with only a 30-minute drive to the Rockies, it’s one of the Denver suburbs with the best mountain access.

6. Castro Valley, CA (94546)

Palomares Hills, on the east side of Castro Valley, CA, looking south toward Palomares Canyon

Guinnog/Wikipedia CC

Closest large metro: San Francisco Median home price: $728,267 Median household income: $81,754

Castro Valley is perfectly situated for anyone who works in the thriving tech scene. With similar commute times to the employment hubs of Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland, it offers flexibility for homeowners changing jobs to chase the next exciting opportunity. Although home prices may seem high, they’re actually 17% lower than the greater metro area that includes San Francisco and Oakland—one of the nation’s most expensive markets.

7. Colorado Springs, CO (80922) 

The Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, CO

Srabin/iStock

Closest large metro: Colorado Springs Median list price: $273,322 Median household income: $83,245

Unlike the other towns on this list, Colorado Springs isn’t the suburb of a big city. About 70 miles south of Denver, Colorado Springs has its own center of gravity—it’s a regular on our roundup of the hottest metropolitan markets. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Peterson Air Force Base bring plenty of people to the area, and ZIP code 80922 offers easy access to both. Of course, the active outdoor lifestyle is attraction enough: El Paso County has been called one of the healthiest counties in America, offering miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

8. Overland Park, KS (66210)

PrairieFire Museum in Overland Park, KS

Derek Slagle/Getty Images

Closest large metro: Kansas City Median list price: $236,454 Median household income: $72,464

Top-rated schools? Check. Affordable homes? Check. Easy access to employment centers and the cultural amenities of a big city? Double check. Overland Park really has it all. Fun fact: With 14.4% of residents claiming Irish ancestry, Overland Park has one of the highest concentrations of Irish-Americans in the country, beating out Boston’s 14.3%. Take that, Beantown.

9. Mira Mesa, CA (92126) 

Mira Mesa, CA

Google Maps

Closest large metro: San Diego Median list price: $536,394 Median household income: $95,480

With a robust military population from the nearby Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar (“Top Gun” was filmed here—yes, including the famed volleyball scene), and just a half-hour drive from downtown San Diego, Mira Mesa has developed into a booming community. It has a diverse population and a wide array of independent stores, restaurants, and microbreweries. Located 15 minutes from the beach and from a 5,800-acre nature preserve called Mission Trails, Mira Mesa is great for those who enjoy an active Southern California lifestyle.

10. Hilliard, OH (43026) 

Hilliard’s Station Park in Hilliard, OH

Google Maps

Closest large metro: Columbus Median list price: $259,011 Median household income: $82,863

The historic small town of Hilliard offers great price-per-square foot home value and excellent schools. For those who want a break from small-town charm, it’s a quick half-hour trip to Columbus, with its multiple Fortune 500 companies, Ohio State University, and the newly opened Scioto Mile, a sprawling park in the heart of the city.

The post Why Is This Texas Town Reigning as the Country’s Hottest ZIP Code? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/hottest-zip-codes-2017/

The Tezos ICO is Already Worth $200 Million, Making it the Largest “Crypto-Funding” Ever

In Brief

The startup Tezos needs funding for its new blockchain, and it's raising it through an "initial coin offering" crowdsale. The sale has already brought in more than $200 million in cryptocurrencies, making it the largest "crypto-funding" to date.

Revolutionizing Blockchain

The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies owes everything to the system that makes it all possible — the blockchain. Basically, this is a highly secure digital ledger that’s decentralized because of the way it records information and transactions. It’s already impressive as it is, but the innovators behind blockchain startup Tezos want to take the technology even farther.

Tezos is a new crowdfunded blockchain. It allows for consensual upgrades to its protocols, which empowers it to govern itself via what the Tezos white paper calls a “self-amending” cryptoledger. “It facilitates formal verification, a technique which mathematically proves the correctness of the code governing transactions and boosts the security of the most sensitive or financially weighted smart contracts,” Tezos claims.

VIDEO

Now, to get it’s blockchain up and running, Tezos is running an “initial coin offering” (ICO) through Bitcoin and Ethereum funding. At the time of this writing, the Tezos ICO has already received 53,418 Bitcoins and 273,068 Ethereum. That’s roughly $207 million at current valuation, making the Tezos ICO the largest “crypto-funding” to date. Moreover, the Tezos ICO is uncapped — there’s no upper limit to how much funding the company can raise, given the remaining eight days of crowdfunding it has left.

The ICO Phenomenon

What is an ICO, anyway? Laura Shin describes it wonderfully in an article she wrote for Forbes. “An ICO is what you get if bitcoin and Kickstarter had a baby — a crowdsale of a new crypto asset (with a cryptocurrency like bitcoin being one type of crypto asset) that powers some kind of peer-to-peer blockchain network,” she wrote.

Click to View Full Infographic

Essentially, Shin wrote, it enables companies to develop new business models while “making a lot of money for the developers and entrepreneurs who are launching them.” Instead of relying on the usual funding channels, ICOs give businesses a huge amount of leeway. However, it’s not without its dangers. “And we’re not really sure how legal they are,” Shin added.

“ICOs which are uncapped are dangerous as they imply and show a complete disregard for corporate discipline — and to an extent an element of disrespect for the investor,” Charles Hayter, CEO of CryptoCompare, told Mashable. “The question that needs to be asked is can the job be done with less money (…) and that throws a spotlight on the fairness and truthfulness of the proposition being offered.”

But despite its yet unsolved legalities, ICO crowdsales have become popular. Prior to Tezos, there was that recent Bancor ICO which raised $153 million. It’s proof that blockchains and cryptocurrencies are, indeed, changing the way we conduct business.

Bible Arguments 9

By DeYtH Banger "Many of our biological instincts are nurturing, but some are thoughtlessly violent. Reasoning may be based on untested premises or inadequate information, resulting in bad conclusions. Many laws derive from primitive tribal fears or the privilege of power and may have nothing to do with morality." - Dan Baker "Speaking about morality, good is the absence of harm. To be good is to act with the intention of minimizing harm What else is meant by morality? Morality is not a huge mystery. Ethics is simply concerned with reducing harm. (There is a difference between ethics and morality—one is theory and the other is practice—but most people informally use the two words as synonyms, so I will too. Some nonbelievers don’t even think we need the word “morality,” and they have a point, but I am using the word in the informal sense of “how should we act?”) Morality is not a code." - Dan Baker "It is not pleasing an authority figure. It is not “bringing glory” to a god, religion, tribe, or nation. It is not passing a test of virtue. It is not hoping to be told someday that “you are my good and faithful servant.” Humanistic morality is the attempt to avoid or lessen harm." - Dan Baker "I think most believers are good people. Although religious doctrine is generally irrational, divisive, and irrelevant to human values, some religions have good teachings sprinkled in with the dogma, and many well-meaning believers, to their credit, concentrate on those teachings. Surveying the smorgasbord of belief systems, we notice that they occasionally talk about peace and love. Who would argue with that? Sermons and holy books may encourage charity, mercy, and compassion, even sometimes fairness. These are wonderful ideas, but they are not unique to any religion. We might judge one religion to be better than another, but notice what we are doing. When we judge a religion, we are applying a standard outside of the religion. We are assuming a framework against which religious teachings and practices can be measured. That standard is the harm principle. If a teaching leans toward harm, we judge it as bad. If it leans away from harm, it is good, or at least better than the others. If a religious precept happens to be praiseworthy it is not because of the religion but in spite of it. Its moral worth is measured against real consequences, not orthodoxy or righteousness." - Dan Baker "Mere Morality is all about. (“Do unto others” is decidedly not a good rule for masochists, psychopaths, or people with kinky sexual preferences, religious obsessions, or simply bad taste.) Religious groups such as Buddhists, Jains, and Quakers that are known for their ideals (if not always practices) of pacifism are more moral than groups such as Christian Crusaders, Muslim suicide bombers, and Kamikaze pilots, whose dogma has led directly to violence. We can make this judgment on the basis of lessening harm, which is a principle available to all of us. So the good values that a religion might profess are not religious values. They are human values. They transcend religion, not in a supernatural sense, but in the natural sense that they are available to everyone, regardless of our particular religious heritages or choices." - Dan Baker "What day of the week you should worship, how many times you should say a certain prayer, what religious texts you should memorize, how you should dress, whether women should wear jewelry or makeup in church (or whether their bodies should be seen at all), what words you can say or pictures you can draw or songs you can sing, what books you should read or music you should listen to or movies you should watch, what foods you should eat, whether you can drink alcohol or caffeine, whether women can take positions of leadership, if and how women should submit to men, how women should control their own reproductive future, who your children are allowed to date or marry, how gays, nonconformists, heretics, or infidels should be dealt with, how a class of privileged leaders (clergy) should be treated or addressed or whether they should be allowed to marry, how much of your money or time is demanded by the religion, how many times a day you should pray, what words should be said or what direction you should face during prayer…" - Dan Baker "If religious teachings cause unnecessary harm—and they often do—they are immoral and should be denounced. If we play C. S. Lewis’s game and separate out common human morality, Mere Morality, from religion, nothing is left worth praising on ethical grounds. (We might appreciate religious art or music, for example, but this is irrelevant to morality.) Turn it around and strip each religion of its weird supernatural and ritualistic uniqueness and what is left, if anything—such as peace, love, joy, charity, and reciprocal altruism—is Mere Morality, or humanistic goodness…" - Dan Baker "Since harm is natural, not supernatural, its avoidance is a material exercise. Harm is a threat to survival. It is disease, predators, parasites, toxins, invasion, war, violence, theft, parental neglect, pollution of the environment, excessive heat, cold, lack of food, water, shelter, and adequate clothing, unsafe working conditions, accidents, drowning, natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, volcanos, winds, storms, lightning, mudslides, coastal erosion … you can add to this list, but whatever you add will be natural." - Dan Baker "Intention is crucial when determining the legality or morality of an action. If you trespass on my property and trample through my garden while fleeing from an attacker, I will not press charges. If you do it because you hate my family, then I will press charges. In the first case, I can see that my garden is minimal collateral damage in the overall assessment of harm. In the second case, it is maximal harm, in context…" - Dan Baker "People who are selfish, greedy, and egotistical may indeed be trying to minimize the harm to their own personal lives, but if they are ignoring the harm their actions cause to others, they are not acting morally. That is what morality means. That is why we have laws against theft, homicide, battery, abuse, mayhem, and perjury. Mere Morality does not mean we should completely ignore our own interests; it means we should take all harm into account. If an action results in a harm that is much greater to yourself than to another person or persons, then it is not immoral for you to protect yourself. That’s why we allow for the motive of self-defense in a trial." - Dan Baker "Harm is still harm, whether it is social or not, but your body is your body, and if you are mentally healthy, and if your action does not affect others, and if you can cover your own health expenses, then harming yourself is a health issue for you alone, not a moral issue for society. It should be none of my business what you do to yourself. (Although, if you are my friend, I may try to talk you out of it.)" - Dan Baker "…his own fingers (or some other body part, as Jesus encouraged in Matthew 19:11–125), that is certainly harmful and destructive, and may be unhealthy, but the act is only immoral if it affects other people—and it might indeed, especially if others are dependent on that person. (In my case, as a professional pianist, it would certainly affect others.) If I know in advance that that man is intending to lose a finger, and I suspect there is no good reason for it, then I am the one faced with the moral question of whether I should try to stop him. I certainly want to keep people from harming themselves, and I think most of us feel that way." - Dan Baker "Similarly, virtually all women who choose to have an abortion are making a mentally healthy and rational choice, a difficult decision for moral and health reasons. I’m not directly comparing a fetus to a finger, although most abortions occur when the fetus is smaller than the tip of your little finger. Contrary to the dogmatic opinions of the misnamed “pro-lifers,” abortion is not killing an unborn baby." - Dan Baker "In my opinion, that is immoral. Mental illness or instability are not “evil” or immoral. The consequences of the actions of mentally deficient people may indeed be harmful, but we put such people in the hospital, not in prison. It is a health issue, not a moral issue. For society, however, mental illness is indeed a moral issue because those who are entrusted with the authority to determine the fate of such individuals have to determine the course of action that results in the least amount of overall harm to society as well as to the individual involved…" - Dan Baker "Instinct and law prejudge your actions, but reason, the real-time investigator, can re-judge them, using the harm principle as the measure. All three of these tools, taken together, can make a powerful arsenal for moral decisions. For better or worse, they are all we have…" - Dan Baker "We now know that acts of charity and compassion actually boost pleasure chemicals in the brain, similar to how we feel when eating chocolate, listening to music, making love, or laughing. Why do you hold the door open for the person coming behind you? It’s partly learned common courtesy, but it’s more than that. You don’t know that person, and might not even like that person. It’s not just reciprocal altruism—“Listen, buddy, you better hold the door for me next time!”—because you would do it anyway. You would feel bad not doing it. Why? Part of it is pure instinct, part of it is chosen social cooperation, and part of it is the little chemical…" - Dan Baker "Thomas Jefferson was a deist, living just like an atheist with no religious practices, but believing there had to be some kind of starter god, or impersonal force that got everything going. The deists were the pre-Darwinian freethinkers, lacking a model for the origin of life. But Jefferson got it right about instincts, anticipating the theory of evolution by many decades. Charles Darwin famously wrote: “It has, I think, now been shewn that man and the higher animals, especially the Primates, have some few instincts in common." - Dan Baker "Frans de Waal, in his book The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society, gives many examples of nonhuman animals acting compassionately. Altruism is an evolved behavior that does not rely solely on having a “higher” brain that can construct formal moral philosophies." - Dan Baker

The 405 curated streaming queue #1A, March 2019 – totally free streaming choices.

The world of streaming is getting more and more dense with more and more options for the average viewer among more and more outlets to choose from.

Indeed, the sheer volume of content is daunting. But this climate also offers a tremendous amount of quality choices. If one knows where to look.

Toward that end, at The 405 I will be sharing a snapshot every month of my entire streaming queue across Hulu, Amazon, Tubi TV, PlutoTV, Sony Crackle, Netflix, MUBI and Vudu – all of which have apps for one’s smart TV in addition to the usual mobile fare. We will be adding entries for other free services like IMDb Freedive, and other paid services like The Criterion Channel, as they expand their smart TV capability. I have taken into account truly great films in most every genre in making this list and will continue to do so.

Tubi TV, Sony Crackle, and PlutoTV are all free all time (with adds), Vudu has a tremendous amount of free content but also pay content (all entries on this list for Vudu are free with ads). Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix are of course pay options.

Towards that end, entries over the free services will be in this article and entries in the paid services will be coming a little later this month. This template will be repeated from month to month as the platforms rotate new titles in.

The options below are on their respective outlets as of March 11, 2019. As I am in the US, they may not be accessible to viewers who are not. I cannot guarantee that one way or the other.

This is also just a snapshot. To list my entire queue would make this article unbearably long. What I have included below are the choices in my queue that I consider to be the most essential, must-see, and the highest quality. Links to each film at the respective service are embedded in each bold title below, along with the film’s trailer after the description.

Stay tuned for “The 405 curated streaming queue #1B, March 2019 – paid edition” for the best of my queue on the paid services, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon.

I. Vudu

Still from Darren Aronofsky’s first film PI (1998). Source:Nerdist.

Tootsie

The classic starring Dustin Hoffman as a down-on-his-luck actor who cross dresses to gain a part on a TV show is always a fun watch and really essential if you have not seen it. Tootsie was directed by the one and only Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa) too.

The Last Witness

The Last Witness is a WWII murder mystery about a very real massacre of 22,000 Poles by Stalin and the Red Army. Catch my interview with director Piotr Szkopiak here.

A Scanner Darkly

Based on the Philip K. Dick novel, A Scanner Darkly is a dark, dystopian wonder with a lot to say on the human condition.

Pi

Pi is Darren Aronofsky’s first feature length film. It tells the story of a migraneur mathematician obsessed with the Bible Code and the people chasing him. In its monochrome, frenetic, and sublimely beautiful style, Pi is a cannot-miss.

Bully

From Kids director Larry Clark, Bully is a gritty look at teenagers and a murder plot involving their bully in 1990s California. It is a visceral gut punch of a movie that anyone who appreciates great cinema will love.

Irreversible

Gaspar Noé brings us a vicious, incredible, seemingly-random story of violence in Paris in a way only he can. Irreversible was the follow-up feature to his I Stand Alone, which was terrifyingly brutal in its own right. While both films are hard to watch, this is very intentional considering the subject matter and should not deter the viewer as Noé’s horrifying elegance is one-of-a-kind among directors.

Last Man Standing (NOT the Tim Allen TV show)

Bruce Willis is a mob hit man getting in gun fights in a Texas ghost town – which is a setting not often seen in mob movies. Last Man Standing is an action flick with a story the one and only Akira Kurosawa contributed to the story of – Last Man Standing (like Sergio Leone’s Fistful of Dollars in 1964) is a retelling of Kurosawa’s 1961 classic Yojimbo which is itself based on “The Maltese Falcon” author Dashiell Hammett’s novel “Red Harvest”. The Coen Brothers”– and Frances McDormand’s – incredible 1984 film debut Blood Simple. also got its title from a quote in “Red Harvest”.

Amityville II: The Possession

One of the best in the Amityville franchise and starring the incomparable ‘80s sex symbol, actress Diane Franklin who started the teen heartthrob curly-haired revolution. My interview with Diane can be read here.

The Machinist

Christian Bale stars as an insomniac machinist with a very dark secret. Bale lost an incredible amount of weight to play the part – dropping around 60 pounds, he is damn near unrecognizable in it – and his acting does not disappoint. Come to think of it, neither does the writing or filmmaking of this black as night neo-noir. The Machinist is truly a must-see.

Delicatessen

Delicatessen is a darkly funny, brilliantly-surrealist, post-apocalyptic fantasy. This is one you have to see to believe.

II. PlutoTV – Note that PlutoTV does not have a search function that I could see. You have to scroll through the relevant section for a title. Therefore, I have noted which section I found each title in next to its listing. While the site’s features and navigation frankly suck something awful, PlutoTV does offer an exceedingly wide breadth of great films and overlooked gems.

Still from TEETH (2007). Source:Bloody Good Horror.

The Evil Dead (horror)

Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead tops more than a few “essential horror cinema” lists for good reason.

Night of the Living Dead (classic movies)

More essential horror, this time from the master George Romero. Night of the Living Dead is still scaring many an audience after nearly 51 years.

Hellraiser (horror)

A third entry for essential horror, this time from the great Clive Barker who both wrote the “Hellraiser” novels and directed the film.

Bronson (thriller)

Bronson is a loosely-true, biographical film of “the most violent prisoner in England”(an electric Tom Hardy) from The Neon Demon and Drive (look for Drive under the Sony Crackle section lower down this page) director Nicolas Winding Refn. NWR also runs a streaming site that is pretty incredible in its own right: bynwr.com specializes in restoring, then streaming, old cult classics and great movies that fly below the radar. Restorations are personally supervised by NWR and the site is always free to watch and read the treasure trove of information it shares on each film. The paid MUBI service streams these films on the larger mobile and smart TV ecosystem.

Children of the Corn (horror)

The feature length horror classic from Stephen King all about a couple whose car breaks down in a tiny Nebraska town with homicidal child religious zealots. Children of the Corn did a lot to define Stephen King’s horror on the big screen in the 1980s.

Bug (indies)

Bug is an overlooked gem of psychological horror starring Ashley Judd and directed by cinematic legend William Friedkin of The Exorcist, Wages of Fear, and The French Connection.

Donnie Darko (indies)

One of the most significant head-trips I’ve ever experienced at the movies – Jake Gyllenhaal is sublimely terrifying as the titular character who just so happens to have a homicidal rabbit named Frank as his hallucinatory friend. Donnie Darko messes with your sense of time and reality in incredible ways that no fan of serious, cerebral horror should miss.

Freakonomics: The Movie (documentaries)

An exceptional movie after an exceptional book (which I also highly recommend). Freakonomics will teach you to think counter-intuitively and reason like the rogue economist who wrote it.

Teeth (horror)

Teeth is a blood-chilling feminist horror film about a woman with literal vagina dentata (look it up) that became much more relevant in the #MeToo era. Read my interview with Teeth’s lead star Jess Weixler here.

The Merchant of Venice (drama)

Al Pacino stars in 1984 director Michael Radford’s 2004 take on Shakespeare’s play. Watch for the incredible realism here: for instance, the prostitutes are topless in the beginning scene not because Radford wanted a racier movie, but because it was the law in Venice, where authorities thought it would stomp out homosexuality. My interview with Radford can be read here.

Melancholia (indies)

Melancholia is Lars von Trier’s surreal story about two sisters (Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg) who find their already strained relationship at its breaking point as a mysterious planet is colliding with Earth. While far from von Trier’s best (that, in my opinion, goes to the profoundly nihilistic Antichrist), Melancholia is well worth a watch.

A Star is Born (classic movies)

The 1937 original with Frederic March and Janet Gaynor.

Suddenly (classic movies)

A thriller with Frank Sinatra as the baddie along with Sterling Hayden? Count me in.

His Girl Friday (classic movies)

Cary Grant is always a great watch with his one-of-a-kind humor and goofiness. The great Howard Hawks (the original 1932 Scarface, The Big Sleep, Bringing Up Baby) directs.

House on Haunted Hill (classic movies)

The original 1959 horror classic based on the book by Shirley Jackson and starring the immortal Vincent Price, this is essential modern gothic horror.

D.O.A. (classic movies)

Edmond O’Brien is California businessman Frank Bigelow who is poisoned when he heads to San Francisco. Can Bigelow find his own murderer before the poison acts? D.O.A. is a fantastic, frenetic film noir directed by prolific cinematographer Rudolph Maté who worked on classics from The Passion of Joan of Arc to Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent.

Algiers (classic movies)

Hedy Lamarr and Gaslight’s Charles Boyer star in this locational love story that did quite a lot to convince the studios of Casablanca’s merits four years after Algiers came out.

He Walked By Night (classic movies)

Richard Basehart is a cold blooded killer in this noir that acted as a forerunner to TV’s Dragnet.

Indiscreet (classic movies)

Indiscreet is one of screen legend Gloria Swanson’s first talkies. Wanna see what the experience behind her immortal portrayal of Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950) looks like? Indiscreet is a definitive entry in the canon of a powerful actress that helped build that indelible foundation as Norma Desmond in Wilder’s movie.

Maniac (classic movies)

A fascinating example of early grindhouse cinema (from 1934) in its violent, disturbing style, Maniac (originally titled “Sex Maniac”) tells the story of a former vaudevillian who is skilled as an impersonator as he aids a mad scientist in re-animating the dead.

They Made Me a Criminal (classic movies)

An essential early noir starring the great John Garfield (The original Postman Always Rings Twice).

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (classic movies)

More essential noir and Kirk Douglas’s film debut. Barbara Stanwyck also delivers knock-out performance.

Goya’s Ghosts (drama)

Goya’s Ghosts is an incredible look at a scandal involving the mistress (Natalie Portman) of legendary Spanish painter Francisco de Goya (Javier Bardem). Milos Forman (Amadeus) directed and co-wrote this fantastic, based-on-a-true-story historical piece.

III. Sony Crackle.

Ryan Gosling in DRIVE (2011). Source:Japan Times.

Sexy Beast

Sir Ben Kingsley earned an Oscar nomination for the role of brutal British gangster Don Logan in this Jonathan Glazer-directed crime thriller.

The Haunting

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Liam Neeson star in this more modern take on Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House.”

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is Guy Ritchie’s breakout London crime comedy that is always a treat to watch. Check out my interview with Rocketman director and actor Dexter Fletcher who plays Soap in Lock, by heading here.

Arlington Road

Jeff Bridges plays a college professor who suspects his new neighbor (Tim Robbins) may be an alt-right domestic terrorist. It is sad how timely a thriller Arlington Road still is (it is 20 this year) – but even if it wasn’t, Arlington Road is still a taut and very well-executed.

Drive

Nicolas Winding Refn directs this neo-noir with Ryan Gosling as a stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver with a conscience. The visual palette of Drive is absolutely incredible with its neon-drenched, realist, California scenes – made all the more incredible because Winding Refn is actually color blind in that he is physically unable to see midtones. If you like movies like Nightcrawler, you’ll really like Drive.

Lords of Dogtown

Heath Ledger, John Robinson, and Emile Hirsch star in this look at the skateboarding trends that developed in the 1970s in Venice, CA. Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Miss Bala) directs Lords of Dogtown.

IV. Tubi TV

Still from CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962). Source:The Criterion Collection.

Memento

Christopher Nolan’s epic 2000 neo-noir murder mystery told in reverse chronology. Starring Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss, Memento is undoubtedly one of the best and most influential neo-noirs of the early 2000s.

Mulholland Dr.

David Lynch’s surreal magnum opus is a movie I’ve written about extensively at The 405 – read my original analysis of it here. Mulholland Dr. is essential cinema for the modern world. Check out my interview with Oscar-nominee Robert Forster, who was in Mulholland Dr., here.

True Grit

The Coen Brothers version of the classic western from 1969, with Jeff Bridges in John Wayne’s part of Rooster Cogburn. True Grit was nominated for 10 Academy Awards.

Hugo

Martin Scorsese’s multi-Oscar winning love letter to classic cinema. Hugo (with its PG rating) also functions really well as a family film that has substance and can teach your kids a thing or two about the great Georges Méliès who directed one of the first great movies in the early 1900s: A Trip to the Moon.

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage

The 1970 giallo classic from Dario Argento. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage is a defining film for giallo as a style in its reluctant detective story about an American who witnesses a murder at an art gallery in Rome and tries to piece his recollections together for the carbineri.  .

The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made

An entertaining, self-explanatory documentary. Every cineaste should know about The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.

Multiple Maniacs

Multiple Maniacs is the definitive John Waters classic. Read The 405 interview with him here.

Reefer Madness (In Color and Restored)

While it isn’t the monochrome original from 1936, Reefer Madness is an essential watch to understand the racist and hype-driven roots of America’s Drug War. It is definitive in that area and even birthed terms like “voodoo pharmacology.”

The Goode Family

Another brilliant satirical show from Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge. The Goode Family is a scathing sendup of modern leftism and was beloved by many regular leftists when it was on for one season in 2009 because it shows a regular family. Think King of the Hill with weird vegan hippies and not Texans and you’ll understand this half hour show. Alas, petulant, safe-space-hiding critics hated The Goode Family and crucified it till the plug was pulled. Still, the lower than average ratings also didn’t help the shows ultimate destiny. But don’t let that deceive you: this is quality – and very funny – satire. See the pilot below.

The Little Shop of Horrors

A fantastic little piece of comedic horror from 1960, Roger Corman directs The Little Shop of Horrors.

The Hitch-Hiker

The Hitch-Hiker was the first Hollywood film noir directed by a woman: the incomparable actress and filmmaker Ida Lupino. Edmond O’Brien stars.

Carnival of Souls

A remarkable low budget but high-concept, psychologically-driven horror flick made by Herk Harvey, a Kansas filmmaker who specialized in industrial films in 1962. The film’s entire budget was sourced over the course of one weekend in Lawrence, Kansas. Carnival of Souls is a must-see that bombed when it first came out but is now viewed as a standard-bearer of superb psychological horror.

Suspiria

The Dario Argento horror classic which was recently remade by Luca Guadagnino.

1984

Director Michael Radford’s superb take (the 1956 version, done almost 25 years before this one, was essentially panned by Orwell’s widow for neutering the more brutal lessons Orwell intended in the novel) on George Orwell’s powerful and timely novel of an authoritarian future. Read my interview with actress Suzanna Hamilton who played Julia in 1984, by going here.

Dial M For Murder

Dial M is the Alfred Hitchcock suspense classic starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. Warner Brothers insisted the film be shot in 3D, which Hitchcock did not want. The craze was fading but Hitchcock gave in to their wishes. Still, like all his movies, Dial M is nerve-shredding.

The Naked Kiss

A 1964 crime drama about a prostitute working out her psychological demons. Prolific auteur Samuel Fuller (The Big Red One, Shock Corridor) is the mind behind The Naked Kiss.

Five Minutes to Live

Johnny Cash stars as hood Johnny Cabot in this 1961 crime flick directed by Bill Karn. Five Minutes to Live was the only feature length film the Man in Black acted in in the ‘60s, he would go on to do more in the intervening decades before his death in 2003.

Kansas City Confidential

Kansas City Confidential is a rather under-rated film noir with John Payne as an ex con trying to go straight who is framed for an armed car robbery and must go to Mexico to seek justice and the truth.

Gothic

Gothic is the great Ken Russell's take on the infamous story of what happened the night Mary Shelley wrote “Frankenstein” with Gabriel Byrne as Lord Byron and Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley. Russell’s work is always bold and boundary-pushing: if you like Gothic, you owe it to yourself to see his 1971 film The Devils too, although you’ve probably already seen The Who’s Tommy – probably Russell’s best known directorial effort.

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A Gentleman’s Task by Iiefregro WIP

“Hello? Charles, can you hear me?” Ask a cold toned Thyriir through a tiny earpiece on Charles’ ear

“Perfectly. Would you mind running me through this little tasks one more for clarity”

“Sure thing. Our... ‘assosiates’ at the Cartel have asked for our assistance in elimination a mole who threatens to reveal their hiding and have offered very reasonable compensation in return”

“That is not all though is it my dear Thyriir?” Charles inquisitively asks.

“Well, the special ammunition you’re testing, one of the types is a tracer round, locating the whereabouts of the Cartel could be very advantageous to our group.”

“I shall see what I can do” Charles replies.

The beating, hot desert sun begins to fall as Charles makes his way through the suburbs district of Tmyrthiil City to the works district, strolling while spinning his favoured right revolver. The pistol was regularly sized for such a weapon, however, Charles is a man of class, the gun was far more flashy. The body of the weapon appears to be gold plated, with silver coating the grip and encrusted with only the finest of jewels (rubies and sapphires to be specific) in places of screws. Of course, the weapon was in a pristine state, even the chambers. One of Charles’ favourite pastime was to maintain his weapons pristine state. He was dressed head to toe in a very formal attire, his usual outfit. Shinning black shoes with a long straight, black pair of trousers with a golden chain attached to a pocket watch protruding out of his right pocket while brown leather gloves in the left. He boasts a brown leather belt with a golden buckle boasting a very expensive and shiny looking rare white artist crystal as the centrepiece. A plain white shirt with black tie lay under a brown vest, buttoned with a long trailing coat, splitting into two long triangular points at the end, finishing just above the joints of his knees, many buttons ran down the coat. Despite the many fights his clothes have endured they never become rugged or the slightest bit rough, not a single tear or stain in sight, Charles is a man of class after all and a cultured man should look the part. A neutral blonde (slightly brown in nature) moustache grazed his upper lip, spanning across his nose until sloping to a point with a flat bottom. A slick back haircut leaving an open forehead pushed back behind his ears, with length only coming to about the bottom of his ears and beginning of his neck. Atop his head rests a medium length top hat; a bright red, white and yellow feather tucked neatly within the lace. But Charles’ most defining feature was his trademark monocle on his left eye of his rich blue pair. A bronze frame holding a slightly cracked glass, much tougher than it appears, hell could rise and when the forces consume the earth the miracle would appear untouched.

A few hours had past and Charles had wondered about the borderline between the suburbs and the works, needless to say, he was out of place in such a rough area. A lot of eager eyes were trained on a man of Charles’ apparel. All predatory eyes quickly averted their gaze however when the woman Charles was supposed to meet showed up, they might not be the force they once were since Alister and Co. showed up but they’re still respected and fear in the criminal underground.

“Eyy err... You with the spiffy spectacle, you the one here to help with my little, er... mole infestation?” She asks

“Yes, I am ms. Charles, gentleman gunslinger at your service” Charles says, taking a small bow.

The woman had a very raspy and nasal, speaking almost through their teeth and very acute on pronouncing the letter ‘s’. They were quite tall standing at 5′11″ to Charles’ 6′3″, he was the second tallest in the group before Alister joined after all. The woman was also quite tanned of skin with large brown eyes and ponytailed black hair down to their shoulder. They had a rough appearance, baby eyes and a few small facial scars, not at all intimidated by Charles’ presence. They sported a simple long pair of blue jeans with large black boots and a brown scabbard holstering a large blade. They had a plain white vest covered by an open red and dirty yellow floral style aloha shirt. A large golden watch also grazed their wrist, something the Renegade quickly picked up on.

“Ah, I see you too are a woman of culture!” He comments with a large smile and chipper tone.

The Cartel information simple stares in confusion.

“Your timepiece my dear, a grand display of a fine taste!”

It’s unknown what puzzled the informant more, the comment on her watch or him being oblivious to the large automatic rifle slung over her shoulder with a thin piece of string. In his defence, it would be expected in such an area.

“A-yeeerr, yea. Anyway, follow me” She motions him over to one of the many dark and narrow alleys that litter Tmyrthiil City.

They get about eight or so metres in, with light becoming very dim before Charles questions...

“This is rather over-dramatic don’t you think?” He asks, looking at his surroundings.

“How can I trust you, how do I know you’re who you say you are!?” The informant demands, pushing Charles towards a wall and aiming her weapon at him after slinging it around her waist.

“My dear, I hardly resemble any gangster and besides... If my intention was to kill you then you simply wouldn’t be breathing right now”

“How so?” She asks, aggressively shoving her weapon in his face.

“Well to start, the safety is still on your rifle” Her eyes widen and she reaches to pull out her knife to put to Charles’ throat only to come up empty.

“And I have already disarmed you” Charles smirks, wielding her large knife.

“H-how!?” She demands, now with safety off.

“Thievery is not a part of the gentleman’s code, however, sleight of hand is integral” He informs, strolling further into the darkness.

“That doesn’t help your case much gunslinger” She aims her weapon at the dark.

“You’re correct, however, this might” Charles adds, lighting a match to provide light and presenting his earpiece.

“Miss García?” Thyriir asks from the earpiece. She seems to recognise his voice.

“Mr. Thyriir!?” She asks in a rather surprised tone.

“If there are any queries concerning Charles’ loyalties I can vouch and confirm he is indeed a part of my organisation, his gentleman's’ code ensures it... or so I’m frequently told” He adds in a somewhat annoyed tone.

“Alright gunslinger, I trust you, doesn’t mean I like you though,” She says as she walks past into the pitch black, snatching her knife back.

“That’s rather rude” Charles comments, inserting his earpiece once more and following the Cartel member further through the long, damp and dark alley to deal with their ‘mole infestation’.

The night was in full swing at this point and most of the residents of the suburbs-works border had either gone home, retreated to a tavern or died at this point, one of the three Charles was bound for. With the informant coming to a halt at a back alley pub at the end of a labyrinth of passageways.

The tavern itself is a large wooden building, a dark rich coloured wood to be specific, it’s small and foggy windows allowing no sight into the building, protected by a bright yellow glow, similar to molten iron emanating from them. A crumbling slate roof topped the wooden structure and an unstable-looking chimney, crooked and falling apart pumping smoke continuously. A large sturdy door, reinforced with iron and bolted with rust creeping up the metal augments while vegetation the wooden aspect.

“After you ms.” Charles, always the gentleman insists, outstretching his arm to the door.

Any attempt at chivalry was thwarted however as the Cartel member simply pushed him through the door...

“Stop playing around gunslinger”

Needless to say, Charles looked out of place. Every large, muscular rough figure immediately silencing the chatter and snapping their gazed over to him. soon slight murmurs began to rise and angry looking eyes you could have sworn turned red, well at least the hungry looking ones did. All savage intent was quashed however upon the Cartel information entering, much to Charles’ surprise. The crime lords may be down but surely not out.

“You’ll be meeting our little pest over there, I’ll be sitting on the table over in case things get out of hand” She says, pointing to a table against the left wall of the tavern in the middle of the row.

The inside of the tavern itself was nothing special, a few oil lamps hanging from the rafters, a testament to the building's age. The interior matched the outside with the inside wood being of slightly better condition to that of the outside. A long wooden bar stretched over the majority of the right-hand side of the pub with a single bartender looking over it, dressed in a white shirt with a black bow-tie and vest to match, along with the wide variety of ales, spirits and such that lined the back and kegs linked to taps below the actual bar front that holds the drinks of many mean looking characters. A small smoking area with a poker table lay almost hidden in the far back right corner next to an odd looking metal door with a rather large keyhole.The majority of the tables where simple tables, a round top with a slightly smaller round base and a rusted iron bar connecting the two with the taverns logo and name branded on top, a raven with its wings outstretched and the words “Fallen Hero’s Refuge” written across it inside a thin circle.

“Do whatever you do gunslinger, just be careful, they look like shit but is far from it” The informant warns as they push Charles towards his table. “Oh, and try not to make a scene” She adds.

“Excuse me sir, is this seat taken?” Charles asks who he now knows as his target.

“No.” He replies in a cold tone, his gazed fixed firmly on the floor. The man appears to have the same skin tone and complexion as the informant with lighter, more blonde like hair, cut much shorter, spiked at the fringes tips. Their attire seemed more formal than the Cartel’s usual dress code, a black shirt, unbuttoned at the top with a similar, suit like black jacket, however, his eyes where the most peculiar part about him, pure white pupils and iris with small amounts of deep red streaks of blood around the edge of his eyeballs, their sight could be up to debate.

“Care for a drink, my good chum?” Charles inquires.

“No.”

“Erm, bartender, two whiskeys my good sir!” He asks, raising his arm and a single finger to grab their attention.

The bartender simply stops cleaning his glass and stares at him, stone-faced until walking off.

“Well that was rather rude, wouldn’t you agree?” Charles notes in a stern tone with a stern expression... to no reply, the target didn’t even react.

The bartender then arrives with the two drinks, staring at Charles for a few moments before walking off.

“Much appreciated”  Charles thanks, sliding a glass the target’s way “Well then, I see small talk is clearly not your forte...” Charles goes, only to be interrupted by a larger brute, similar size to Alister, possibly larger at what Charles could estimate 6′6″.

“Wot’ are you doin’ ear? Poshy!” He asks, trying to look as intimidating as possible, stretching to look tall, widening their stance and leaning into Charles while he sits. “I suggest you get out while you can!”

“Excuse me, but that is no way to address a gentleman!” Charles replies still seated.

“Keep it together gunslinger” The informant comments in a whisper.

“Who’d you think you are!” The brute continues, almost laughing.

“Charles..” He starts, slipping a bullet into his gun’s chamber.

“Charles, don’t blow this!” Thyriir pleading his ear as he stands up.

“Goddamn it gunslinger!” The informant silently cries.

“Gentleman gunslinger, at your service” He finishes, aiming his revolver at the thug’s head and pulling the trigger.

The brute’s head now with a bottle cap sized hole in it and body falls limp down to its knees and drops into a small pool of blood. The rest of the tavern falls silent, all staring at Charles as the bartender ducks under the bar.

“I do apologise for that chum but I simply could not stand for that, my gentleman’s code prevents it” Only for him to turn after finishing his sentence to the same situation as the target’s lifeless eyes are locked to Charles’ own and pistol pressed at his forehead.

*Sigh* “Just make it quick” Thyriir buzzes in.

Charles swats the weapon away with the back of his hand, setting it off and sweeping the legs of the informant sending them crashing into the table. He raises his gun to take a shot but the revolver simply clicks, void of any ammunition as the informant rolls to the side.

admits the slight conflict the entire tavern had readied their weapons in response, ensuring the chaos to ensue.

“Get down gunslinger!” The informant orders, vaulting over her own seat and pushing him to the ground, flipping the table to provide cover for the two while the tavern opens fire. An establishment in such a rough area of Ahrthwuien must be sure to protect itself, turning its most abundant furniture into useful resources, even the tables, capable of stopping some of the most common ammunition types.

“Terribly sorry abo...” Charles attempts to apologise.

“Shut up and shoot”

“Ok” Charles responds, loading his chamber with a variety of coloured bullets as courtesy of Thyriir.

Rolling out of cover Charles brandishes his second revolver, firing all six rounds into the crowd of angry patrons, five landing in the heads of five while the sixth ricocheting off the bar front and into the left leg of the target, sending them down to the floor. Holstering the weapon, Charles turns to see a large knife go gliding through the air where his head once was, in response Charles sends a strike down to the elbow joint of the assailant’s arm and chop to their neck, causing them to fall onto a chair and for Charles to fire a red looking bullet into their head, setting it alight.

“So Thyriir, I see you’ve been rather busy” Charles comments, touching his ear, only for the scientist to chuckle back as a body goes flying past, shot down by the informant, nodding to Charles only to turn and continue firing into the crowd.

“Much appreciated ms.” Charles adds, taking a bow, only to be charged and kicked on the side of the head, sending him crashing down to the floor. The same attacker diving to pummel Charles and while he does land a few hits, Charles, grabbing a chair breaks it over their head and rolling them off. Taking the broken leg of the chair; impaling it into the foot of another attacker, causing them to fall to one knee, Charles sweeping their other leg and resting them on his knee, striking their neck, causing it to break.

Taking this momentary break in the action to reload his second revolver with regular bullets and swinging his right revolver anticlockwise from his thigh, aiming up and shooting a blue coloured bullet, piercing the torso of the previous attacker, freezing them almost instantly.

NOTE:Hit w/ butt of gun and behead

How to Keep Your Retirement Years Golden

I got a nice reminder of why I do what I do a few weeks ago when I met my dad for dinner.

As we sat down to eat, I could tell there was something he wanted to tell me, but he didn’t want to just blurt it out. But, after a few minutes, he couldn’t wait any longer.

“I spoke to your sister earlier today, so she’s already gotten the news. I’ve decided it’s finally time,” he said. “I’m going to retire at the end of this year.”

This news didn’t come as a total surprise. He’s talked about hanging up his hat for a couple years now, and he’s definitely an appropriate age for retirement. But I could tell that he really struggled with the decision. This was not something he chose to do on a whim.

I could also tell that he was apprehensive about it.

He’s in a good spot financially. He lives modestly. He’s paid off his house, he’s already drawing Social Security, and he’s accumulated a decent nest egg over a lifetime of work.

But walking away can be psychologically difficult, particularly for men, who tend to base their identity and sense of self-worth around their careers. When they quit working, they often have a hard time figuring out what to do next.

It’s a major step into the unknown… and it’s scary.

When you’ve been gainfully employed for nearly 50 years, it’s jarring to suddenly have your primary source of income dry up. And this isn’t the 1970s.

Very few Americans enjoy the security of a traditional pension. They’re on their own at a time when the yields on bonds, CDs, and most dividend stocks are near all-time lows.

So, again, this is why I do what I do: analyzing, thinking, and writing about the markets. There are tens of millions of Baby Boomers approaching that same fork in the road that my father just reached. If I can make that transition into retirement a little easier (and a little more comfortable), then I’ve done my job.

I write Peak Income, my income-based investment newsletter, under the assumption that you could put your entire retirement nest egg in the plan.

I try to manage the risk in such a way that, were you to invest your total portfolio in Peak Income’srecommendations, you wouldn’t be at risk of taking major losses. And indeed, right now, 20 of our 23 positions show positive returns.

But I would never recommend you put your entire portfolio in any single strategy, no matter how much I like it, because I’ve been doing this long enough to know better.

Even investing gods like Warren Buffett and George Soros are humble enough to spread their bets among different strategies. It would be reckless not to.

So, with that said, where does Peak Income fit into the mix?

My rule of thumb is 20% to 25%. I recommend limiting your exposure to one single strategy to no more than about 20% to 25% of your portfolio. This isn’t a hard, scientific number. But it is a level I consider prudent.

The investments I recommend in Peak Income are generally quite safe, particularly given how tight I keep our stop-losses. Chances are good that we’ll never take a large loss.

But, like anything that trades on the stock market, they’re prone to occasional bouts of volatility. And, as we saw in 2008, no matter how much research you do, there can always be some new risk that comes out of the blue.

So, again, this is why it makes sense to diversify, and not just among stocks or funds within a portfolio. You should also diversify among strategies.

Speaking of that, I’m hoping to have some good news to report within the next few months.

I’ve already hinted a few times that I’m working on a new project for my readers, coding out a new model that combines the best of value investing with the best of momentum investing.

Early results look very promising, and I hope to have an announcement soon.

Charles Sizemore Editor, Peak Income

Read more from Charles and the rest of the Dent Research team here, at Economy & Markets!

Why Is This Texas Town Reigning as the Country’s Hottest ZIP Code?

iStock; realtor.com

Hotness is one of those terms that seem to have lost much of their meaning lately, right up there with “awesomeness,” “scalability,” or “fake news.” But when it’s applied to real estate, “hotness” conjures up something very tangible indeed: places where people are truly gung-ho to live.

Every month, we at realtor.com® seek out these prized metros, with our definitive lists of America’s hottest markets for housing. But once a year we take a closer look—not at sprawling cities, but at neighborhoods, right down to the ZIP codes. After all, great communities are what home buyers are searching for the most, right?

This year, for the second time in a row, Watauga, TX, tops the list. Go Watauga! With a young population, a strong economy, and schools that have been rated among the best in the state, this near suburb of Fort Worth has what many buyers—especially those all-important millennials—are looking for.

The rankings are based on how long it takes properties to sell in each ZIP code (an indication of supply) and how frequently homes there are viewed on realtor.com (an indication of demand).

“Millennials are the largest generation in U.S. history, and they are flexing their muscle when it comes to the housing market,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist of realtor.com®, in a statement. “Increasingly, the hottest housing markets are the ones that appeal to millennial preferences, and right now the standouts are relatively affordable suburbs with local ‘it’ factors such as hiking trails, great restaurants, and nightlife. With the largest cohort of millennials turning 30 in 2020, we can expect these types of areas to stay in demand in the years to come.”

Among the top 10 ZIP codes, the influence of millennials, especially those between 25 and 34, is clearer than ever. Older millennials make up 17% of households in the top 10 ZIP codes, compared with 15% nationwide. Millennial homeownership rates also stand out for their region: 50% of 25- to 34-year-olds in these communities are homeowners, compared with 39% in the counties that surround them and 41% nationally.

Other common factors among our top 10 have obvious appeal: relative affordability, strong job markets, and high salaries—all the things that make people feel they can afford to buy a home. Although the median home price in these markets is a bit more than the national median, it’s typically lower than in the surrounding area.

With higher-than-average household incomes, buyers in these ZIPs can afford it!

Let’s take a look at the top 10:

1. Watauga, TX (76148) Watauga, TX

City of Watauga

Closest large metro: Fort Worth Median list price: $160,441 Median household income: $66,041

As with much of the country, home prices have shot up in the Dallas–Fort Worth market in recent years. But Watauga offers an oasis of affordability.

“Homes in Watauga average about $185,000—an almost impossible price range to find” in the area, says Geoffrey Walsh, a broker associate with Coldwell Banker in nearby Colleyville.

One of the prime draws is the top-rated Keller ISD school district.

“For somebody who’s looking to find a slightly older home with good schools, the price affordability is there,” says Walsh.

A lot of first-time home buyers are drawn to Watauga, as well as people who are relocating for work and empty nesters who are downsizing. The area’s ranch-style homes are particularly well-suited to aging baby boomers who don’t want to have to deal with stairs.

The area has benefited from the business boom along the Highway 114 corridor. TD Ameritrade has a new corporate office nearby, and Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, and Deloitte are also here. The area’s diverse economy supports a variety of trades.

Walsh estimates that a third of his clients overall are from outside the country: “Right now, Dallas–Forth Worth is the No. 3 destination in the U.S. for foreign home workers.” Another third, he says, are people relocating from other parts of the country, especially the pricey coastal areas, and one-third are local buyers.

2. Livonia, MI (48154) Orson Everitt House historic site in Livonia, MI

Andrew Jameson/Wikipedia CC

Closest large metro: Detroit Median list price: $223,780 Median household income: $74,320

Just close enough to metro Detroit for convenience, but with all the benefits of suburban living, Livonia combines the best of both worlds. Downtown Detroit’s Institute of Art and professional sports teams are just a half-hour away. Livonia boasts more than 60 parks spread over 1,389 acres, and has been ranked among the safest cities in Michigan. Major employers in the area include the Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn and Beaumont Health in Royal Oak.

3. Kentwood, MI (49548) Kentwood, MI

Closest large metro: Grand Rapids Median list price: $118,833 Median household income: $43,026

On the other side of the Michigan peninsula from Detroit, the Grand Rapids area is one of the fastest-growing parts of the country. Not only is its economy booming, but so are the local microbrewery, dining, and public art scenes. Millennials dominate among buyers here, snagging 42% of new mortgages. They also have a 62% homeownership rate.

4. Medford, MA (02155) Medford, MA

DenisTangneyJr/iStock

Closest large metro: Boston Median list price: $541,158 Median household income: $81,608

Medford was once considered a sleepy suburb of Boston, but it has definitely woken up. The home of Tufts University has a lively dining scene, and there are a slew of activities along Mystic River, including live concerts at the Condon Shell and the annual Mystic River Celebration of the Arts .

The city has conducted an aggressive park improvement project over the past five years, and most of its 21 parks have been rehabilitated. Want to go ice skating, fishing, hiking, or sailing? Medford has you covered! Public transportation also offers easy access to Cambridge and downtown Boston.

5. Littleton, CO (80123) Downtown Littleton, CO

milehightraveler/iStock

Closest large metro: Denver Median list price: $533,873 Median household income: $77,489

Littleton offers a fun and historic downtown area nestled in the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, with only a 30-minute drive to the Rockies, it’s one of the Denver suburbs with the best mountain access.

6. Castro Valley, CA (94546) Palomares Hills, on the east side of Castro Valley, CA, looking south toward Palomares Canyon

Guinnog/Wikipedia CC

Closest large metro: San Francisco Median home price: $728,267 Median household income: $81,754

Castro Valley is perfectly situated for anyone who works in the thriving tech scene. With similar commute times to the employment hubs of Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland, it offers flexibility for homeowners changing jobs to chase the next exciting opportunity. Although home prices may seem high, they’re actually 17% lower than the greater metro area that includes San Francisco and Oakland—one of the nation’s most expensive markets.

7. Colorado Springs, CO (80922)  The Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, CO

Srabin/iStock

Closest large metro: Colorado Springs Median list price: $273,322 Median household income: $83,245

Unlike the other towns on this list, Colorado Springs isn’t the suburb of a big city. About 70 miles south of Denver, Colorado Springs has its own center of gravity—it’s a regular on our roundup of the hottest metropolitan markets. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Peterson Air Force Base bring plenty of people to the area, and ZIP code 80922 offers easy access to both. Of course, the active outdoor lifestyle is attraction enough: El Paso County has been called one of the healthiest counties in America, offering miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

8. Overland Park, KS (66210) PrairieFire Museum in Overland Park, KS

Derek Slagle/Getty Images

Closest large metro: Kansas City Median list price: $236,454 Median household income: $72,464

Top-rated schools? Check. Affordable homes? Check. Easy access to employment centers and the cultural amenities of a big city? Double check. Overland Park really has it all. Fun fact: With 14.4% of residents claiming Irish ancestry, Overland Park has one of the highest concentrations of Irish-Americans in the country, beating out Boston’s 14.3%. Take that, Beantown.

9. Mira Mesa, CA (92126)  Mira Mesa, CA

Google Maps

Closest large metro: San Diego Median list price: $536,394 Median household income: $95,480

With a robust military population from the nearby Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar (“Top Gun” was filmed here—yes, including the famed volleyball scene), and just a half-hour drive from downtown San Diego, Mira Mesa has developed into a booming community. It has a diverse population and a wide array of independent stores, restaurants, and microbreweries. Located 15 minutes from the beach and from a 5,800-acre nature preserve called Mission Trails, Mira Mesa is great for those who enjoy an active Southern California lifestyle.

10. Hilliard, OH (43026)  Hilliard’s Station Park in Hilliard, OH

Google Maps

Closest large metro: Columbus Median list price: $259,011 Median household income: $82,863

The historic small town of Hilliard offers great price-per-square foot home value and excellent schools. For those who want a break from small-town charm, it’s a quick half-hour trip to Columbus, with its multiple Fortune 500 companies, Ohio State University, and the newly opened Scioto Mile, a sprawling park in the heart of the city.

The post Why Is This Texas Town Reigning as the Country’s Hottest ZIP Code? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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