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liquid-luck-00 · 3 years

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My Life is One Complication After Another 2

Some cursing 🤬

Ao3 *** Previous *** Next

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"Okay so where were we?" she smiled turning and sitting back down with Fang.

"As Damian had asked are you in reality my biological child," Bruce took back control automatically.

"You can't be serious Brucie!" Jagged went and began to squish Mari's face. "This little ray of sunshine related to your broody majesty. I don't buy it."

"I am not broody Jared." Bruce defended.

"I'll believe that when Ladybug dates Chat Noir." he joked.

"So it is possible" Bruce responded with a straight face.

Now it was Mari's turn to laugh, "Not a chance. Ladybug and Chat Noir dating is as possible as Atlantis resurfacing." she finally stopped laughing. The Wayne's tensed as if they knew more than others about Atlantis. "I honestly don't know if I am your child. I have no objections to taking a paternity test if you want, but I already have parents who love and support me, but I am not opposed to adding to my family though." she again smiled like the sunshine she is.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng What the Hell!?!" Chloe screamed storming into the room.

"What did I do!"

"How are you trending and you never told me" she gave a mock gasp.

However it was not the same for Mari. "I'm what." She opened her phone and sure enough she was trending. "How did this happen?"

She went into the first article she could and backtracked, through the sources and timestamps. Then it all made sense. She was on the Ladyblog, an interview with Lila claiming she was friends with a Wayne. The media then believing her a lost Wayne which explains why she is sitting with the Waynes and them asking about her paternity.

"How did you not know. M."

"All my accounts are private and I've been busy. But this explains the reporters now huh."

"M you are ridiculous, utterly ridiculous" Chloe grumbled. She was now sitting on the armrest Mari was leaning against next to Jagged. "At least tell me you remembered to send the photos and interview." Mari sprung up, Fang having sensed the impending jump. "logged into my laptop" Chloe yelled throwing her key to Mari.

"Meet you at the hospital. 20 minutes. bye" she yelled as she ran down the hall taking the stairs faster.

Chloe and Penny got up followed by Jagged heading to the door.

"Whatcha wait'n for Brucie come on" Jagged called to the billionaire.

Slowly the Waynes stood and followed the others to the hospital, sharing looks and texts the entire time.

True to her word Marinette met with them 20 minutes later on the dot in the hospital.

Both Marinette and Bruce had a blood sample and a mouth swab taken. The doctor then came back an hour later with the results.

"Alright. By the genetic markers that were tested. I can say quite confidently that M. Wayne is the biological father of Mlle. Dupain-Cheng." The doctor handed them a folder. "I'II leave you to process."

Marinette didn't need long to process. In fact her only thought was, Well one more for the list. Everyone in the room was watching her. "Okay" she jumped down from the bench, crap. Forgot about that. Her smile never faltered but her eyes were closed a second too long.

In that second Chloe had taken her purse and was holding up a pair of athletic gloves. “Care to explain!” She held the gloves waving them towards Marinette.

"Um, Well, You see" Marinette started to mumble.

"Why don't you explain in the car" Penny came to her rescue.

"We'll get Pizza and have a Rock' n time" Jagged lightened the mood.

Everyone nodded, walking out Mari kept her hands in her pocket. She was putting on her second pair of gloves, Tikki in her hood, she needed to think and running always helped. Mari was only a few yards away when Chloe noticed, Mari spun to face her when she heard her.

"Red!" Chloe yelled. She noticed how two boys froze, Jason and Tim if she is correct.

"Goldie!" she responded, not missing a beat. She heard Chloe behind her.

"Cat." Penny stated.

"Bird." responded Jagged further confusing the Waynes as they neared the hotel.

Tim was the first who noticed the two girls in front of the hotel. Meaning he was on his phone mapping and timing the route.

"Pizza will be delivered in 10." Mari spoke as the other seven stepped out of the car.

The two girls went ahead of them, but instead of the elevator they took the stairs.

Half way through the second of three pizza did Tim finally speak. "How did you two get back so fast." Tim set down his Pizza as he began to gesture frantically. "There is no way for you guys to have beat as it is a fifteen minute drive and a 30 minute walk, 20 if you run. Wait how did you get there in 20 minutes with a detour." Tim surprisingly still had breath.

"The fastest way from point A to B is not through C." Was Marinette's response as she took a bite. Yet that didn't seem like a sufficient answer as her now brother's eyebrows were still knit in confusion, so she took a breath and said. "Free running, it's a great stress reliever." she finished.

"What did you hit this time?" Jagged gave her a semi serious look.

"I didn't hit anything," a pout on her lips. "The pigeon flew into me."

Dick started laughing "she is definitely yours B, I can say for sure even without that paternity test." Another two hours had passed before she noticed the time and bid everyone goodbye. She gave her number to her father and brothers, Damian begrudgingly because Dick put it in and gave it to Mari.

Her parents had closed early for a date so she was home alone. She went to the couch to sketch a few gift ideas for her newly extended family. She was finishing a semi formal coat with a hidden sling for a katana for Damian. He kept grumbling that if he had it, the way the sword appeared in his akuma form, and she is pretty sure Jason's jokes were more literal by everyone's expressions. When her parents came home.

"Bon soir Maman, Papa," she cheerily greeted them.

"How was your day sweetheart." her Papa smiled kissing the top of her head.

"I met a handful of interesting people." she really didn't know how to broach this subject.

"What's wrong sweetie," her mother must have noticed her be uncomfortable. She sat down next to Mari, and her papa sat across from them.

"Did someone or did these people hurt you." her papa's words began to ring with a hard edge.

"Non, nothing like that. It's just, um," bitting her lip then looking up. "Your not my biological father, are you?"

Her parents froze, and had a silent conversation.

"Marinette, your biological father is an important and busy man. Who has no time for children." Her Maman spoke gently and calmly. "His name is Bruce Wayne."

Okay hold up, she tilted her head empathizing her confusion. "He didn't seem to bad, in fact he has four boys."

"That was who you met today," her papa affirmed, seemingly surprised.

She nodded her head and told them what had occurred today, leaving out the akuma and her free running. When she finished her parents once again held a silent conversation.

"Why don't we invite him over tomorrow for lunch. While you show his boys around." her maman smiled.

"Okay I'll send them a message then." Mari smiled taking out her phone.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

But first she had to survive tonight.

Tonight Ladybug, Todd Tenko, and Emeraude Racer were on patrol. Meaning she had the evening with the Couffaine siblings. Since both were holders it wasn't uncommon for them to swap. Meaning Luka would either be Todd or Viperion, and Juleka could be either Racer or Kitsune.

They each knew what was their designated route, and because of the akuma sent earlier the chance of Hawkmoth striking again was less likely. Each one of the heroes went their separate ways and made their rounds. So when the three heroes went to their rendezvous at Notre Dame's bell tower it ways almost two hour later. However, she noticed she had a tail when she passed the Eiffel tower. So she called Todd and Racer to set an illusion and ambush at the bell tower.

When she stepped on the bell towers stopped in the center and so did her tail with four others, forming a 'v" behind her. Todd's illusion left a Ladybug in the center of the tower while she moved to an ambush point. Four figures swung in and stood at each corner, a Todd Tenko, Emeraude Racer, Honey Bee, and Chat Noir.

"Shouldn't all of you be in Gotham?" Ladybug asked for her.

That seemed to take the vigilantes in her city by surprise.

"We heard about the situation and we just want to help." Nightwing, she is pretty sure, spoke up.

Chat Noir scoffed, "huh as if we would believe that."

"Tt. believe what you want. That is the truth." Robin spoke this time. Interesting.

"Yes after being ignored and called liars for three years really builds trust." Honey Bee's hand curled on her top as she spoke.

Batman seemed like he was going say something, but she jumped down from her perch breaking the Ladybug illusion. As they watched her materialize fifty feet up, followed by Racer and Todd flanking her mere seconds later.

"Todd," her eyes never left the five in front of her as she spoke.

"What!" Red Hood jumped in surprise, "How?"

"Curious. But Todd," this time she turned. "can you drop Mirage." Her teammate nodded and the four illusions disappeared. "Do you need to recharge?"

"Already did LB", he smiled.

"Okay," she pulled out her yoyo, and a box fell out into her hands. "who wants a snack before heading back out."

"Me!" Racer rushed to the box pulling out a strawberry eclair.

It is almost a good thing she always makes eight eclairs for patrol. Seriously she makes two for those on patrol, but after Adrien always left them with one and ate four, did she start bringing more.

Before leaving to do a final sweep of patrol. The three Parisian heroes spoke with the visiting vigilantes.

"We could send them Pinky's way," Ladybug responded to Batman's ask for more information.

"Do you think that's smart?" Todd asked.

"Who is Pinky?" Red Robin stepped into the conversation.

"She is our civilian contact and reserve hero." Racer answered.

"Why isn't she a permeant hero?" Nightwing brought up the question.

"Her identity was compromised but and we aren't sure how many know. So she is kept an back up." she answered.

"Who is she and how do we contact her?" Batman demanded or asked in his case.

"She is Multimouse, her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng." All of them seemed to flinch and paled slightly. "And she'll find you."

The three Parisians stood and left.

Yup, tomorrow is going to be interesting.

Extra:

“So was I supposed to find out the Wayne’s were the Bats on my own or would you have told me?” Mari scolded her boyfriend over video call when she got home from patrol.

“I knew you were smart but less than a day you really are a lucky bug.” He smirked at her.

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Okay, okay.” He rose his hands in surrender. “But how did you figure it out anyways?”

“Apart from Tim and Jason flinching when Chloe called me Red, Damian’s katana grumbles and Tt., Jason freaking out because Todd was on patrol with me, and all of them paling at my name. It wasn’t to hard to piece together after that.” She shrugged.

“You know you’re scary sometimes right?” He feigned chills a goofy grin on his face.

“You love me though.” She teased him.

“I know I do but I know to keep in your good graces.” He responded now completely serious. “By the way, why was my idiot in Paris?” '

“I apparently made headlines a a lost Wayne.” She waved. “Which has more truth than the media knows apparently.”

“You’re serious!”

“Turns out your idiot is my adoptive idiot brother.”

“So are you related to Dick or Tim?”

“Try Damian.”

“To Demon Spawn! How?!”

“Bruce is my biological father.”

“The bug is a bat. Great!” he rolled his eyes, “I knew you weren’t normal but this is ridiculous.”

“You aren’t exactly normal yourself.” She replied pointedly.

“Ya but you love me.” His goofy grin was back.

“Yes I do.” She smiled in return.

~~~~~~~~~~

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#dc x miraculous #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #miraculous x dc #maribat #batfam #bio!dad bruce #MLiOCAA #roynette

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interact-if · 3 years

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Taking the spotlight for Day 6... Lucirene!

Lucirene, author of An Angel’s Song

Latino Heritage Month Featured Author

In the forest of Bres an otherworldly sickness corrodes the soil and changes the creatures within. “A parting gift from the fallen angels” say the citizens of the Hyaku Region and the mark on your hand confirms it.

Though the scent travelling in the air is sweet and enticing everyone knows better than to get closer. But the mark, it pulses, it burns, the pain spreading as fast as the corruption of the forest does.

Your masters are calling, and it seems like this time you cannot escape them.

An Angel’s Song Demo | Author’s Ko-fi | Author’s Patreon | Read more [here]

Tags: dark fantasy, romance

(INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!)

Q1: So, tell us a little bit about the projects you’re working on!

I have so many, but the only one public is An Angel’s Song. It’s, more than anything, a story about grief, loneliness and overcoming it all while navigating a hostile environment and discovering long lost secrets about the Divine and about the MC’s country. That one is very cathartic for me to make because of the themes, I feel like I’m working through a lot of feelings I didn’t even realize I had by writing it.

The next one is also an IF and it focuses on comedy, adventure and character interaction. It’s supposed to be more lighthearted, more fun, but knowing me… I don’t know if it’ll stay that way. Basically, it goes: A Captain’s boat falls prey to the storms and the strange creatures living under the sea, and they and their crew end up washing ashore an icy, snowy country. I already have the main cast written down and they have so much synergy, it’s amazing.

And the last one I’ll talk about (a traditional novel) actually happens in the same setting as my second IF, but many, many years before, when their local deity/guardian was born. It’s more of a romance-fantasy than anything, a love story between a Goddess and a half-dragon, however it also showcases many of the situations the people had to navigate and face before their country could become the place you’ll see in my second IF.

Q2: What excites you most about using interactive fiction? What are some of the biggest challenges?

What I like most definitely is how much freedom we have as authors. Of course, one is constrained by one’s ability to code but I think, for the most part, we can do so many things, reach an entirely new level of immersion that would not be possible with a regular novel. It’s amazing how sometimes I’m reading something and get so into it, feel so connected to the MC I feel dread when they do, panic when they have to make a choice that will clearly impact a lot of people in their world. With IF you can really feel like you’re part of the story.

Another thing I like is being able to explore other paths with my writing. Like for example, what if the MC had done this instead of that? How would that have affected their relationships, their world state? Writing branches is a lot of work, especially because they could change so many things, but it feels oddly satisfying when you do decide to include them.

Challenges… Coding, mainly. I feel like a lot of new aspiring IF authors are a bit afraid of coding and I can understand that, especially since, had it not been for the help of the community, I would have taken way longer to actually start using Twine. Hopefully with time for resources come up and it becomes less daunting.

I don’t know if any other author feels the same way but, though I think branching is a blessing, it is also a curse. I can only write the same conversation so many times, I mean I know I’m writing it in different tones and sometimes with different results but it gets frustrating after a while because it feels like you’re stuck, like you’re not progressing at all.

Another one would definitely be finding a balance between reader interaction and just following your vision. Since it’s IF at times I feel like I have to meet a quota of branches or ways in which you can react, sometimes I also find it difficult to make the MC feel like a real person instead of a reader-insert. I’m working on that.

Q3: What has been something in your project you’ve had to do a weird amount of research for?

That’s a difficult one… I don’t know if I would consider it weird but I do tend to investigate a lot about fashion, especially when designing the main outfits of the characters. I spend hours trying to find out what colors were used back then, what they meant, who was allowed to use them. I have this little image with some palettes for kimonos depending on the season.

I also spend too much time coming up with names, especially for places. Like I look up names of places that already exist, what they mean, I try to investigate if the words that I want to use make sense, then I panic because I can’t find anything, but I think that’s usual for writers. I also spent more time than necessary researching for the name of a tree that you will see way later in the book, which no one will probably notice what the name of the tree means or what it symbolizes but it makes me happy.

Honestly, I feel like the amount of research I have had to do has not been particularly weird? If anything at times I think I should research more, even if some aspects of Japanese culture will not apply to Kyou.

Q4: Which of your characters is most like you? How?

The initial version of the MC from An Angel’s Song, which I miss dearly since they had more personality. They were autistic coded too, and I hope some traces of that still remain. Apart from that I feel like all of the characters from the main cast share something with me, even if their experiences are, of course, more dramatic than my own.

A lot of them have issues with a paternal figure or an absent mother, which also resonates with me. Some of Saori’s traits draw inspiration from ways in which I talked or acted before I became a little better at masking, before I became more self-aware. Hazuki being emotional and caring, K being a bit clingy but devoted, Masa having a temper yet loyal, Miwa being friendly but reluctant to open up beyond surface level information. I think those things describe me.

There’s also Rei but I don’t think I’m writing her book anytime soon. She’s someone that’s very family oriented, she’s a bit temperamental but she means well and she’s not afraid to speak her mind. Now that I think about it, maybe Rei is more the person I want to become.

Q5: Does your heritage influence your characters as you create them? (How? Why or why not?)

I’ve been living in Venezuela my whole life so I think so, even if most of the time I don’t even notice it. I believe that this happens especially in regards to relationships because people in Venezuela are very family oriented and also, from what I’ve experienced, they form strong bonds with their neighbors, which creates this strong sense of community —sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t, but my mom and her friends always make at least some friends in their neighborhoods and they gossip with some coffee about the happenings of the rest—. So when it comes to writing a character it is very important to me to make an emphasis on family relationships because those are a strong part of my culture, of my identity.

In An Angel’s Song you have the main cast having issues or conflicting emotions about one or multiple members of their family, which influence their behavior and their outlook on life, but for the most part they are (or will be) able to form similar relationships with people that are not related to them, or to work towards restoring that relationship, transforming it into something healthier.

In my other books family dynamics are also immensely important. For example, I’m going to mention Rei again because I love her. So, Rei has a sister named Rin, and they are both very close, even if they haven’t spent much time together. Their bond and trust in each other helps them overcome a lot of obstacles and they rely on each other when they need support or encouragement. Rei also has other people that she thinks of as siblings, and restoring that relationship with them is one of her main goals. There’s also this recurring guilt she feels at leaving her birth family and her home to explore, because to her, families are supposed to stay together.

Another aspect that I think influences my writing is religion, even if I wasn’t raised in a particularly religious household nor do I belong to any religion. Religion is a big deal in this country, we have so many events and holidays relating to religious figures. I remember when I was very young I loved going to one of the churches here because the Virgin of that town had a building filled with pretty clothes to dress her with.

So, in that vein, I try to think about the character’s relationship with religion, do they believe in the Gods? Do they trust them? Do they follow local deities or prefer the main pantheon? How does this religion shape the way people interact with each other and the world? In regards to characters that are Venezuelan or Venezuelan-coded… I do have a few that are Venezuelan, but I don’t think I’m going to be releasing their stories soon, so I’ll keep it quiet for now.

Q6: What is something you love to see in interactive fiction?

People being passionate about their work! This isn’t something exclusive to IF, but it is something that I love seeing. I also like seeing the different ways people innovate within the genre. I feel like sometimes, especially with newer writers, there is this idea that an IF has to subscribe to a specific format and that’s simply not true. If you don’t want to use a stat system you don’t have to, if you want to add combat then go ahead, if you would prefer to write an MC that’s already pretty pre-established (which is something that I personally want to try) then there’s nothing stopping you and I encourage you to give it a go. IF is very versatile and it’s wrong to try and fit authors into a box, especially if they want to bring something new into our little corner of the internet.

Q7: Any advice to give?

In general, I advise people to have fun writing, to not worry so much about how good it is, about if people will like it. Writing, at the end of the day, ends up being a pretty solitary activity and having those thoughts in your head too long will make you spiral. Be kind to yourself, be open to feedback when it comes (and learn to distinguish constructive feedback from destructive feedback) and enjoy the exploration of your world and characters.

You are not alone in all of this. If you can, join a group of writers you can talk with, exchange ideas, get feedback from or just exchange memes (the ultimate bonding experience). Don’t be afraid, you’re not alone.

#if: events #latino heritage month #latino authors #interactive fiction #cyoa #choose your own adventure #choose your story

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kaitycole · 3 years

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The Winner Takes It All

Summary: Some insight on Constantine’s thoughts before he confronts Eleanor and Jackson

Word Count: 1462

Pairings: Constantine x Eleanor, Eleanor x Jackson

Warnings: Mentions of adultery, illegitimate child, an affair

Song Choice: The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

Part 19.5 of WP. To catch up, read here.

A/N: This is just a piece to give you some deeper look into Constantine and his actual feelings rather than the mask he wore in the previous chapter.

For Constantine, it was true love the moment he laid eyes on Lady Liana Grayden. If he wasn’t bound by tradition, he would’ve cancelled his social season the first night. He knew without a fraction of a doubt that Liana was the woman for him, his queen. When she left him and Leo, Constantine was forced to remember the words his father repeated to him his whole life: Royals don’t get the luxury of marrying for love. That’s when he boarded up his heart and threw himself more into being king than he did a father.

It was about a year after Liana left that the royal council began pestering him about taking another wife; if only for the sole reason of producing a spare. When he finally agreed, he was told about several suitors, though they all agreed to pick someone that could relate better to the people. Someone from a different walk of life, maybe even someone from another country. They decided to pick the daughter of a man Constantine’s father had dealings with and soon a courtship started between the King and Eleanor.

I don't want to talk/ About the things we've gone through Though it's hurting me/ Now it's history

From the beginning, Eleanor was told why he needed to remarry and while he felt those butterflies when with her, Constantine made sure to not let them cloud his judgement. This marriage was simply for convenience, stabilization of the monarchy, and a married king looked stronger than an unwed one. Especially one that had been left in the middle of the night. Eleanor seemed fine with the arrangement, the two might not have been passionately in love, they still shared feelings that resulted in the birth of Liam. The pair was civil and while it wasn’t the story book love most think the throne has, it was nice.

I've played all my cards/ And that's what you've done too Nothing more to say/ No more ace to play

Constantine often found himself wanting to let his walls down, to let her in, but whenever those thoughts crossed his mind the pain of Liana would creep back in. Even when he found out about her miscarriage, he couldn’t allow himself to reach out. Instead he threw himself back into being king and neglected being not only a father but a husband. Then he saw her tear into Barthelemy Beaumont and while he loved every second of it, the fire in her, it was still uncalled for. He messed up that night too, seemingly siding with Beaumont, leaving her alone once again. But what she didn’t know was that he knew she had snuck off to the courtyard to see Jackson, Timothy had reported it to him when he asked for her. His heart cracked a little when he saw their intimate embrace, but he didn’t let himself dwell. But his anger overtook him and he lashed out on her, pushing her even further away.

The winner takes it all/ The loser standing small Beside the victory/ That's her destiny

Weeks passed and he noticed a shift in her behavior, but knew of nothing that could have caused it. Jackson seemed to stay on opposite ends of the palace as her, but other than one embrace, nothing else was reported; Constantine had no reason to distrust either of them. Then he saw her running around with Liam and the other children and he saw her come back to life. He told himself that he had to do better, to let her in, or he’d end up losing her for good. And things seemed to work out for the royal couple; he really saw them as being happy; finally giving her the marriage that she deserved.

I was in your arms/ Thinking I belonged there/ I figured it made sense Building me a fence/ Building me a home/ Thinking I'd be strong there

The pieces of him that had been broken by Liana were mending the closer he got to Eleanor. He meant every word he said to her, every declaration of love he made, all the times he held her in his arms. Something changed in Constantine after all that, the thought of filling the palace with more heirs brought him a joy he didn’t think he could have. But then the other shoe dropped. The peace treaty with Auvernal was threatened and the fabric of their relationship started to fray. He watched as Eleanor slowly started to pull away from him, his heart broke each time she pulled away from his kiss or she simply ignored him.

But I was a fool/ Playing by the rules The gods may throw a dice/ Their minds as cold as ice And someone way down here/ Loses someone dear

Instead of joining him and their sons at the Portavira summit, she opted to travel to Valtoria: a long-forgotten duchy. He entrusted her safety and care to Jackson, someone he trusted. Someone he personally called to serve in the Kings’ Guard, just as his father and grandfather had. The photographs on his desk proved that to be one of the biggest mistakes Constantine made.

The winner takes it all/ The loser has to fall It's simple and it's plain/ Why should I complain

He looks at them until the images are burned into his mind. There was no disputing what he saw, no way to explain it away. They started off innocent enough; sitting closer than normal, sharing a meal, these were all things Constantine could brush away. But as he flipped through them, the less innocent they became. Each image causes the anger in him to boil until he sees the ones that he can’t ignore. Ones of his wife and guardsman in the throes of passion, shamelessly. He felt sick to his core just thinking of the two as tears threatened to fall.

But tell me does she kiss/ Like I used to kiss you? Does it feel the same/ When she calls your name?

When he asked if Eleanor was pregnant, he was partially joking. While they had been intimate several times, he wasn’t sure if the timeline would fit. But her cravings for sour foods was an identical marker to her pregnancy with Liam and Constantine felt excited for the possibility. Then he saw these photographs and combined with their recent behavior, the chance of him being the father grew increasingly slim and he feels a hatred in him he has never felt before. He had a lot to do, there was a possibility there was another heir, but also the chance of just some bastard of the queen. A better man might have been able to ignore the telltale signs of his wife’s adultery, to just stay married to her by name and remove the guardsman from the palace, royals don’t marry for love after all. But Constantine isn’t a better man, he’s bitter and scorned, scarred from the abrupt loss of his first love, and self-destined to never allow anyone to be close enough to hurt him again.

Somewhere deep inside/ You must know I miss you But what can I say/ Rules must be obeyed

Constantine stands up, flinging the photographs to the floor. As he paces, he starts to wonder if they even had a plan for this abomination of an arrangement they started. If they even thought of the possible outcome of this, a child. He would not allow some bastard a chance to even be in line for the throne, he wouldn’t allow some guardsman’s offspring to tarnish the bloodline of the monarchs before him. But if it was his, he didn’t know how he’d even be able to look at his wife again. Liana just left one night, without a word or warning and it still hurt him to see Leo because when the light caught his blue eyes and blonde hair the right way, he looked just like his mother which broke Constantine’s heart. If he couldn’t look at his own son, how could ever look at someone else’s?

So the winner takes it all/ And the loser has to fall Throw a dice, cold as ice

With each step he takes, the anger continues to grow until he’s come up with an idea, a plan, to cause them to hurt just the way they had hurt him. This wouldn’t go unpunished, regardless of the paternity test. When he leaves his study, he slams the door and by the time the door clicks behind him, Constantine’s heart has completely hardened. His emotions dead bolted behind a door that no one would ever be able to open.

Way down here, someone dear/ Takes it all, has to fall It seems plain to me

#choices #witness protection #witness protection au fic #the royal romance #trr constantine rys #trr Eleanor rys #trr Jackson walker

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Where Are All of the Mothers in Fantasy Fiction?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This is a guest post from Gabriela Houston, the London-based Polish author of Second Bell, a Slavic fantasy debut described as a cross between His Dark Materials and The Bear and the Nightingale. You can find out more about the book here.

Historically speaking, the fantasy genre has a thorny relationship with motherhood. Technically, it’s acknowledged that the protagonists must have sprung from somewhere. But it is often solely their paternity that is seen as important—while the mothers, if mentioned at all, are usually either dead of irrelevant: unmentioned or languishing in a convent somewhere. If the mothers (or stepmothers: a different type of a mother-figure) persist in being alive into their children’s adulthood they are most often presented as an obstacle to their child’s self-actualisation/quest, or, as is most common with the stepmother archetype, present an actual threat to the protagonist.

Since mainstream fantasy as a genre was Eurocentric, this is a trend that is very much connected to the patriarchal structures persisting throughout Europe for most of recorded history. King Arthur, whose legend was first written down in the 12th Century by Geoffrey of Monmouth, had a mother, of course, but her only real importance was in how her beauty drew the eye of Uther Pendragon, who raped her, conceiving Arthur. Since Uther ended up marrying Arthur’s mother, Igraine, story-wise all was considered to be well, and, her role in birthing the future king done, Igraine became an irrelevance, just as any feelings and thoughts she might have had on her second husband. All we know is she was beautiful, chaste and gave birth to the real protagonist of the story.

The courtly love conventions forming the basis of many medieval European legends have seeped into the genre of fantasy, especially high fantasy, and have shaped the way in which female protagonists are related to. In most “traditional” fantasy, motherhood was seen as nearly opposite to personhood. A female character’s value centred squarely on her attractiveness to the male protagonist, meaning that the moment she aged/became a mother, she ceased to hold that particular form of attention that comes from extreme youth and innocence. Motherhood is seen as the end of a female character’s journey. The experiences, shifting relationships and emotions linked to motherhood are not seen as interesting enough to garner any space at all.

In The Lord of The Rings, we are faced with a whole cast of missing mothers. Moreover their absence is not noted as particularly important or carrying any emotional load. Aragorn, son of Arathorn, clearly had a mother, but when his father died he was shipped off to live with the elves. We neither know, nor are expected to care about what his mother thought on the subject. Then, of course, he falls for the elven maiden Arwen, whose mother, we’re told (as an aside) had the good sense to disappear from the scene by sailing beyond the sea before the plot of LOTR begins. Frodo Baggins’ mother helpfully died before he was born and Bilbo Baggins has the rare privilege of having a named mother, Belladonna Took, who, however, is quite dead by the time The Hobbit begins, and is referenced only as a link between Bilbo and the adventurous Took clan. She was a Took and she birthed him. Thus her role ended.

The halls of speculative fiction are carpeted with the corpses of the mothers who died of broken hearts and colds in order to not complicate their progeny’s journey. In fantasy TV and Film the trend, quite naturally, continued. In the original Star Wars trilogy, Princess Leia and Luke’s mother, Padme Amidala lived a full life of adventure but then died of a broken heart shortly after her children were born, as of course she should have done. Can you imagine, had she survived, the plot-spoiling link to their past she would have become? In Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Joyce Summer’s death, whilst arguably the critical highpoint of the series, was seen as necessary. She had to die, or else Buffy might have never become who she was always meant to be. As a mother she was an obstacle, one the scriptwriters helpfully removed.

Occasionally, the death of the character’s mother brings about the advent of the perennial archetype of the evil step-mother. A twisted parody of what a mother should be, just as the dead mother was convenient to the character’s journey, the insertion of the stepmother exists solely to scupper all of the character’s efforts. The examples of the conniving stepmother trope abound in traditional folktales (like in Cinderella, or its Slavic equivalent, Vasilisa, where the young protagonist is sent off by her stepmother to ask a favour of the infamous witch, Baba Yaga), mythologies (think the ultimate evil stepmother, Hera, who habitually persecuted the innocent results of her husband Zeus’ many indiscretions), and, not surprisingly, in fantasy genre as well.

In A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin (which actually does portray an unusual range of mothers with agency), Catelyn Stark, an otherwise fiercely loyal mother, is a cold and distant stepmother to Jon Snow. In the first novel in Katherine Arden’s fantastic Winternight trilogy, the main protagonist grows up in the shadow of her vapid, fearful and cruel stepmother. Part of the reason, I’d argue, why older women are so often portrayed as annoying and conniving, is because, as far as the traditional narratives are concerned, the whole of their role and purpose is fulfilled the moment their physical (youthful) attractiveness wanes. Those without the wisdom to exit the stage by dying become at worst a cumbersome plot bunny and at best an obstacle.

The issue of a lack of older women in fantasy is such an expansive subject that it demands the respect of a separate thought piece, really. And, as regards the stepmothers, I’m not saying, of course, that they should always be portrayed as kind and loving. But precisely because their archetype is rooted so strongly in our collective consciousness, it’s particularly important to acknowledge their humanity. And as far as the humanity of the older female (in the traditional fantasy fiction this seems to describe any woman over twenty) character goes, the good news is the tide is turning.

Part of the reason for that is that more women than ever are given the platform to write their stories. Perhaps somewhere along the way the publishing industry as a whole realised that as women account for the majority of fiction readers (according to one cross-Atlantic research they make up to 80% of fiction market), then perhaps portraying women as actual people, whose agency doesn’t evaporate once they get pregnant, might simply be good marketing.

In the recent years I’ve been ecstatic to see nuance brought into the motherhood trope within the genre. Where the mother of the character is dead, she is so for a damn good reason, with the echoes of her absence reverberating through the story in the most compelling ways, like in Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn. Mothers fight beside their children, and grandchildren (Like the pink-haired protagonist of The Phlebotomist by Chris Panatier), and battle hardship and heartache, like in Madeline Miller’s Circe.

As a mother it was important to me to focus on the humanity of motherhood in my debut, The Second Bell. The mothers I wrote are not perfect, and they are not always right. And even when they are, they might not know it for certain. And that is the point. Mothers deserve their place in fiction not because they’re perfect, but because they are human. Their decisions are just as complex as their younger counterparts and are complicated further by their new and life-changing bond with their child.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Writing mothers is writing humans. No more, no less. They matter and they are worthy of notice.

Second Bell will be released on Tuesday, March 9th. You can find out more about Gabriela Houston here.

The post Where Are All of the Mothers in Fantasy Fiction? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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qviddiitch · 4 years

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⧼ darren barnet, cis male, he/his / we are the champions by queen + a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of all things related to quidditch, ready to recite at a moments notice; a well-worn crimson and gold sweater, a memory of a past life; half-dressed and laying on an unmade bed, his face buried in the latest issue of quidditch monthly; calloused hands from hours spent clutching the handle of a broomstrick; a sense of determination so strong, that once his mind has been made up, nothing will be standing in his way. ⧽ ━━ hey, isn’t that OLIVER WOOD? i read a daily prophet article on them, once ; the TWENTY SEVEN year old half blood WIZARD is a GRYFFINDOR alumnus who has gone on to be a PROFESSIONAL QUIDDITCH PLAYER. i’ve heard they can be quite ASSIDUOUS & LION-HEARTED, but i don’t know… they came off very ARGUMENTATIVE & STUBBORN in that interview. it really is hard to know what to believe these days though, isn’t it?

meet oliver lachlan wood,

ABOUT:

here’s a link to his wikia page, it’s just a reference

oliver lachlan wood was born as the result of a brief affair between aileen wood, a scottish witch, and a foreign wizard wizard. former students of hogwarts and another wizarding school, respectfully, they met through their love of quidditch and had a brief, yet passionate affair. (note, his father remains unnamed as i have a wc up for his paternal family)

his father took off after aileen relieved her pregnancy, claiming that he simply wasn’t ready to be a father. something which aileen came to accept later on, but, heartbroken she returned home to raise her son with the support of her parents.

at the time aileen was set to play for the banchory bangers and with a lot of help from her parents, she made it work. though eventually, she moved out.

they lived a simple life, just the two of them in a small house in scotland. but life was good. but still, he couldn’t help but wish he knew his father. his mother would smile whenever he asked, offering up the same story about how they met and weren’t ready for marriage.

when he was sixteen, oliver decided to reach out to his father, wanting to build a relationship with the man. but upon learning that his father had go on to start a new family, with new children, oliver became angry. and he swore he would never have a relationship with his father.

upon his arrival at hogwarts, oliver was sorted into gryffindor within seconds of the sorting hat touching his head. he knew that he belonged right away, quickly becoming friends with his fellow housemates.

he was an average student, earning passing grades, but never really excelling at his classes. his main focus was quidditch- it was this devotion that led to him becoming captain later on.

he has always struggled when it comes to interpersonal skills, often failing to realize he comes across to people. he’s very passionate about quidditch, intense, really. he’s been known to tell his teammates to suck it up. and then there’s his peptalks, but really, he’s a nice guy.

after finishing at hogwarts, oliver accepted a position on the puddlemore united reserve team. he was on the way to his dream, but he wasn’t there yet. within a year, he’d earned a spot on the main team as the keeper.

he returned to howarts for the battle, coming to the aid of dumbledore’s army and the order of the phoenix, fighting along side his former teammates and complete strangers. sometime afterwards he officially joined the order of the phoenix.

after harry’s death, oliver struggled with returning to his life, the sport he once loved a sad reminder of a lost friend. ultimately, he moved on, realizing that harry wouldn’t want his pity

since then he’s been living his best life, playing quidditch and just having a good time. although, the war has forced him to become more serious.

FUN FACTS:

oliver received his first broomstick, a toy, at the age of three, and he fell in love. his mother often joked that she could never get him off the broom, which wasn’t entirely un-true. he loved flying.

despite knowing it was against the rules for first years to have their own brooms, oliver attempted to and ultimately failed to bring his broomstick to hogwarts. he foolishly thought he’d be able to sneak it into his trunk, and it was confiscated much to his dismay.

he considers being sorted in gryffindor to be one of the best moments of his life. the sorting hat barely even touched his head before shouting gryffindor, to the thunderous applause of his housemates. he knew he belonged in gryffindor right away.

oliver tried out for the house team as a first year and earned himself a place on the reserve team, as well as a water boy. but he never stopped working, ultimately earning himself the position as keeper for the main team.

he has tried to steal the hogwarts quidditch cup on more than one occasion, for reasons he either can’t explain or doesn’t want to explain. the most notable time was after the 1994 season. he was caught of course, but mcgonangall managed to talk filtch out of punishing oliver. with the exception of the battle of hogwarts, he has made an attempt to steal it every time he’s returned to hogwarts. he has yet to be successful.

himbo™

pansexual, panromantic.

i haven’t figured out the logistics but this is 2020 and i like to think the wizarding community has began to embrace technology, specifically video games. that’s why oliver has partnered with a group trying to develop a quidditch based video game.

PINTEREST BOARD: coming soon

PLAYLIST: we are the champions - queen; don’t stop me now - queen; centuries - fall out boy; the boxer - simon & garfunkel; whatever it takes by imagines dragons; i won’t back down - tom petty; eye of the tiger - survivor; let it rock - kevin rudolf; carry on wayward son - kansas

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

OLIVER WOOD ( darren barnet ) is looking for their PATERNAL HALF-SIBLING who resembles ANY HALF WHITE FC / RYAN POTTER, KAYLEE BRYANT, BRIANNA HILDEBRAND, JAMES REID, LUCIEN LAVISCOUNT, LULU ANTARISKA, NATASHA LIU BORDIZZO, VANESSA MORGAN, VERNON CHOI, GEORGE SEAR, MIGUEL BERNARDEAU, XAVIER SERRANO, UTP and should be 19 - 26. applicants do not have to contact MAEVE to talk over the details before applying. ( aileen wood was fresh out of hogwarts and participating in an international quidditch competition of sorts when she met and fell in love with oliver’s father. he was a young hotshot from another country and they hit it off almost immediately. and not long after the end of the event, she became pregnant. and not ready to be a father, he cut ties and ran back to wherever home was. meaning oliver was raised by his mother. his father tried reaching out over the years, but it was only after he had finished at hogwarts that oliver decided to respond to a letter. and this led to a very awkward meeting where oliver met not only his father but the family he stayed with. needless to say, they did not hit it off and oliver likely resented his half-sibling. how oliver and his half-sibling reconnected is not really set in stone, i just know that the sibling now lives in the u.k. and i would like for attempts at reconnecting to be made! and as for details on the father, i left things intentionally vague so you can truly go wild with your characters backstory! just as long as he played quidditch and attended a school that wasn’t hogwarts! )

OLIVER WOOD ( darren barnet ) is looking for their CURRENT/FORMER HOOKUPS who resembles UTP and should be 24 - 30. applicants do not have to contact MAEVE to talk over the details before applying. ( i’ll try to keep this short. With the exception of his one real relationship, oliver has always been a fan of no strings attached relationships, they’re easier. between his pretty face and fame as a quidditch player, i’d like to think he gets around. whether or not this was in the past or still on-going, i’m not picky!! i just think there’s some fun to be had. )

OLIVER WOOD ( darren barnet ) is looking for their PUDDLEMORE UNITED TEAMMATE(S) who resembles UTP and should be ANY AGE. applicants do not have to contact MAEVE to talk over the details before applying. ( i’ll keep this short and sweet! Basically after finishing up at hogwarts, oliver made the puddlemore united reserve squad as the keeper, before eventually making it to the main team. i think they’d spend a lot of time together- meaning their relationship might be interesting. oliver can be very intense and somewhat unaware of how he comes off. so there’s plenty of potential for positive or negative connections alike! )

OLIVER WOOD ( darren barnet ) is looking for their QUIDDITCH RIVAL who resembles SANTIAGO SEGURA, KEITH POWERS, ROSS BUTLER, GAVIN LEATHERWOOD, ALBERTO ROSENDE, DEV PATEL, MIGUEL BERNARDEAU, UTP and should be 26 - 29. applicants do not have to contact MAEVE to talk over the details before applying. ( you know the whole mutual hatred-dislike relationship oliver had going on with marcus flint? this is essentially the same thing, except it’s been going on for several years now. and it’s not just on the field, they can’t stand one another, and they’ve gotten into fights on more than one occasion. basically, they both play in the british and irish quidditch league so they’ve been facing each other for years now which has only contributed to the hostility. i just think it could be fun, because oliver generally considers himself to be a nice guy. )

OLIVER WOOD ( darren barnet ) is looking for their EX who resembles ALIA BHATT, BILLIE LOURD, NATASHA LIU BORDIZZO, KEIYNAN LONSDALE, CODY CHRISTIAN, PEYTON ALEX SMITH, GABRIEL DARUKU, ROME FLYNN, UTP and should be 26 - 29. applicants do not have to contact MAEVE to talk over the details before applying. ( i’m a real sucker for an angsty, ex connection so here i am. this would be the one serious relationship oliver has ever had in his life. they dated for over a year and everyone thought they’d be together for the rest of their lives, unfortunately, oliver put his career first which led to a fairly nasty break up. ideally tensions would still be fairly high, whether or not it’s just because they’re both the argumentative type or because oliver doesn’t seem to care can be discussed, i just think this could be fun. )

other ideas include quidditch friends !! maybe your character doesn’t play quidditch but they’re a fan and they like to talk about it with oliver because he’s a fanatic. or fellow players, anything quidditch related really!!

friends ?? he’s a nice guy, bit obsessed with quidditch. it’d be nice if he had some friends that he met through something other than quidditch/they talk about stuff that’s not quidditch. i’d also like his best friend.

a roommate could be fun !! i feel like he’d want one just bc he’s not always home and someone should be there to look after the place ?? idk

#❝ ʜᴇ·s ᴀ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀғᴜᴄᴋɪɴ· ғʟʏ ʙᴏʏ — ⟪ oliver wood ⟫#nox.intro

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bbq-hawks-wings · 4 years

Text

Series Review Pt. 3/3

Part One

Part Two

All right, last one!

One of the things about adults is that most become increasingly less flexible the older they get. They learn to function in a certain way to get certain results and work themselves into a pattern that inhibits their ability to be creative or dynamic which is compounded the less they are challenged. This isn’t opinion - this has been a scientifically and statistically verified fact. Different levels of physical and emotional development fundamentally changes the way human beings process stimuli and conflict, and factors like physical injuries and trauma affect the ability of one to process and resolve stressful situations. This doesn’t mean adults can’t change the way they think or do things, but it’s much harder for them to mentally and emotionally break out of their preconceived notions unprompted whereas younger adults still largely maintain the ability to criticize and adjust changes in perspective and creatively adapt to new information.

The kids we see in HeroAca are in a particularly unique situation in regards to coming from a background of ideals (“If I work hard, I’ll see the fruits of my labor”) and coming to grips with the inherently unfair nature of the world (“Even the greatest hero can’t save everyone”). Combined with the early exposure they’ve had to the injustices in their society and their general disposition to maximize the positive impact they have on others the “next generation of heroes” is in a unique situation to completely overhaul the current system literally as they enter it by bringing in new ideals and embracing their diversity in thought and background to directly challenge failings in the old system as well as bring awareness to those who exist outside it. With an added sense of camaraderie and teamwork over rivalry they have the ability to foster more “human” conversations with the aim of improving the world as opposed to being purely focused on “business” when in uniform the way their predecessors were.

This isn’t to say that the grown heroes of the series have to be completely done away with, just that they have not had a generation so able to challenge them to action in the way their juniors do now. In fact, it’s a running theme in the series that the next generation of heroes either teach or save their mentors in unexpected ways and with varying degrees of intensity as they work through adversity together.

Red Riot has not only saved Fatgum in a literal sense in the battle with the Shie Hassaikai, but Fatgum explicitly states he underestimated the ability and resolve of the young hero. He also holds faith in his older mentee, Sun Eater, whom he regards as a hero unrivaled in ability in the current climate if he only could overcome his own self-doubt. Sir Nighteye’s confidence in Lemillion is evident from the start and to his dying breath believes the key to his ability to save is not rooted in the strength of his quirk but by his ability to make others smile. Nighteye’s previous disdain of Deku is eventually turned into awe and inspiration when he’s able to do what was previously thought to be impossible and theoretically change destiny itself. All Might’s faith in Deku has also been immediately obvious, but seeing that his symbolic value with the next generation as a hero hasn’t depreciated with his declining ability has given him the resolve to fight for his own survival again. Bakugo in particular has received a new, special place in his heart as a capable hero who together with Deku represents his two separate but related core values in a hero - winning and saving - but with greater potential then All Might was able to achieve alone. Shinsou has served as a personal means for Eraserhead to move past the trauma of violently losing his childhood friend and begin to truly encourage the next generation to accept the risk inherent in this line of work instead of letting his fears inhibit his ability to teach and mentor them. Shouto has been a catalyst for Endeavor to seek to restore to his family what he took away from them and to recognize that he can never fully restore or erase the trauma he inflicted on them nor does he have any right to ask to be included in their lives any further. Even straightforward, straight-laced Tsukoyomi has inspired Hawks to take a second look at what it means to raise up the next generation of heroes outside of his own troubled past with it to the point he now actively encourages and genuinely believes in them as a whole to possess the power to make changes he couldn't.

These conversations have largely not happened with the criminal side of the field as any opportunity for the children to touch the hearts of villains have been marred by the inherent life-or-death struggle of each encounter. Each side is literally too busy fighting for survival/victory to truly have some of these meaningful conversations, but the seeds they’ve planted in the hearts of their mentors as well as the rare heart-to-heart interactions they’ve had with villains have proven they have power; and that’s going to be the deciding factor in this literal war at the end of the manga - that is, this missing piece is going to be an opportunity for the heroes to save the hearts of the villains.

The key to this next generation “saving” an army of villains will be dependent on their ability to advocate for rehabilitation and reintegration into society - both for villains to accept the help and for broader society being willing to forgive them. Hawks has already started with his personal offer to help Twice, but it will be interesting to see how others are able to input offers for reform in the heat of battle and in light of their individual circumstances.

An example I hope we’ll get to see is an interaction between Dabi, Endeavor, and Shouto (assuming, of course, that Dabi is a Todoroki). Shouto would be the main deciding factor in the altercation as he has undergone the same kind of abuse and personal tragedy at the hand of Endeavor as Dabi has; but the outcome was completely different and he therefore may be able to speak to Dabi in a way that Endeavor definitely cannot. Shouto made the personal choice to not let his hatred for his father consume him and instead channeled the resources available to him to become a hero capable of saving others because he determined in and of himself to do so, rather than becoming a person obsessed with personal vengeance or merely operating as his father’s vicarious victory. It’s important to remember that Shouto has looked to the ideals of heroism (mainly through his admiration of All Might) as a good thing from a young age, but those ideals were overshadowed in the face of the constant abuse in his home and he became more and more cynical over time. As he began to accept that he was not bound by the burden of his upbringing and was capable of moving past the trauma to determine his own future despite it, he was not only able to change his entire outlook on his future for his own sake; but Shouto even began to cause Endeavor to reexamine the ethics and consequences of his actions even without the forgiveness of his family simply by operating as the kind of hero Shouto wanted to be for himself instead of the hero Endeavor tried to force upon him.

In this light, Dabi’s personal vendetta is clarified to not be the pursuit of justice but a mere act of vengeance with understandable motivation but ultimately evil justification that has not only failed to constructively address the issue of neglect and abuse in his own home, let alone of hero families as a whole, but has caused undeserved collateral death and grief in the process. Whether this revelation will “save” Dabi is unknown as Shouto and Natsuo also still hold deep contempt for their father; but both of them have begun to move past the events of their childhood (if only in very small steps) and have begun to self-determine their relationship with their father individually, while Dabi is still operating out of pure spite. Interestingly, what we may end up seeing in this situation is a schism resulting in a fight similar to the final showdown between Zuko and Azula in Avatar: the Last Airbender. (And on that note, I don’t know how I didn’t notice the additional parallels between the families sooner between the scar, paternal abuse resulting in an estranged mother, and sibling with blue fire. I called Todoroki Frosty Fire Prince Zuko in the past as a joke, but this feels so obvious now; I’ve clearly been sleeping.) One more wild card thrown in will be if Hawks is present for this interaction and seeing his reaction to it as he will fight Dabi and has a similar story to both him and Shouto.

Where kids like Bakugo and Deku will be most relevant or impactful is not quite clear at the moment, though a clash with Shigaraki feels imminent. We do know at least that each are counted as capable heroes in their own rights with the distinction that Bakugo is a hero who wins fights and Deku is a hero who saves people so their role might look like something along the lines of Bakugo ending a battle and Deku ending the underlying conflict. There seems to be an insinuation that these two things rarely can be done at the same time, and that first the physical threat must be addressed before a sit-down and exchange can be made to talk about the motivations and underlying causes of the fight. Much like with the final fight with Overhaul, Eri was not considered to be completely saved until after she was removed from her situation and then allowed to heal - and even that process is ongoing.

If the heroes are able to refute the viewpoints of the villains at the end of the day and are able to truly move the public on their behalf, those who chose to cooperate will likely be given the chance to start over while those who continue to fight out of spite will be at best detained and at worst killed in the struggle. What this might look like, I’m not sure, as some have hefty crimes to answer for and may not have the opportunity to truly reintegrate. Any country/society/culture with as many people committing as severe crimes as these would have difficulty embracing change that would welcome these people back, let alone the specific context of Japan that brutally punishes criminals and so often permanently damages their reputations and social standing - sometimes for what many would consider only “minor” crimes. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope for even the worst of them with a proper change of heart; and the fact that the Meta Liberation Army was as widespread a cultural phenomena as it was offers the idea that enough people are open to the ideas of the radical shifts necessary to address these concerns which increases the chance to make reforms peacefully.

As a focus point, consider Shigaraki. He’s the most important villain to reach not only as the head of this massive villain organization but as a dire victim of the current system’s shortcomings. His own biggest quarrel with hero society as it stands is that it makes people overconfident and apathetic because there's always a hero just around the corner - let them handle this person in need. While Shigaraki is not advocating for individual moral responsibility, a new societal emphasis on it could resolve most of the issues he has with hero society. A big enough cultural shift could also address instances of criminal activity on a case by case basis - a new focus that hurt people lashing out isn't acceptable behavior, but perhaps some other response than immediate punishment should be considered; as well as reconsider the role of the current justice system in the progressive intensity over a person’s criminal history to mitigate these problems before they manifest.

Right now what's holding up Shigaraki's power over others (outside of the terror he inspires) is the support of others predicated on a lie - and this goes both for the League and the PLF. If that lie is exposed, Shigaraki could wind up high, dry, and unsupported - vulnerable - depending on how individuals take the revelation. He does seem to genuinely care for the core members of the League, and their loyalty to him is undeniably profound and far reaching. Despite his nihilism, at the end of the day he’s still a deeply wounded and angry individual looking in extremes for some solace in the injustice of a world that rejected him. There are many ways this can go depending on who faces who in the final showdowns to come; but for that we'll have to wait and see.

If someone as far gone as Shigaraki can be saved then there's a bright future out there for everyone if they are willing to reach out together and grab it.

This review has left out many aspects of the story I reviewed as important but not necessary for this article, and at some 5k words that's probably for the best. Too much speculation at the moment doesn't feel very productive outside of how general themes and plotlines will tie up at the end, but I'll have to save some of those specifics for some other time. Thank you for sticking out with me this far, and thank you again to @baezetsu and @dorito9708 for helping me review and edit all this information!

#bnha meta #mha meta #bnha chapter 264 #MHA Chapter 264 #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #long post

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afictionaladventure16 · 5 years

Text

The Pen Pal Project (Chris Evans x Latina!OC)

Masterlist

Previously on The Pen Pal Project...

Warnings: Mentions of a dysfunctional family, foul language

Word Count: 1,656

Chapter 7

Letter #7

*Gif not mine

November 11th, 2017

“Wait, so when do you go back to filming?” Scott had asked for about the fifth time today.

Chris rolled his eyes slightly, “in the middle of January,” Chris mumbled.

“And you’ll be gone for about four months, what are you going to do about the girl you’ve been writing to?”

Chris sighed, “her name is Julie,” He stated, “and you guys keep making it seem like if something is going to happen.”

“Because we haven’t seen you this happy in a while,” Scott stated.

“I haven’t even met her, Scott, I don’t want to get my hopes up. Hell, she doesn’t know who I really am. Once she finds out she’s going to stop writing… So, I’m gonna pretend to be this normal guy Chris and I’m gonna help her and she’ll most likely do the same with me. Communication in this thing is the key, it’s what the project is about.”

Scott just smiled at how easily his brother was defending himself, “alright, alright,” Scott said as he put his hands up. He turned to look at their nieces and nephews playing in the yard. “But what if she doesn’t react that way?”

Chris sighed, knowing very well his little brother wasn’t going to let this go, not only him but his older sisters as well, “then you can say I told you so.”

Scott stayed silent for a few seconds, “I spoke to Jenny not too long ago,” he said softly.

Chris closed his eyes as if to hold his composure, “And?” It was true, he still was in pain of letting Jenny go, but they just weren’t a match. They were both so totally different people and he always wondered why they even got together in the first place.

Scott sighed, knowing he shouldn’t have brought Jenny up, “never mind. Shouldn’t have brought her up, I just wanted to change the subject.”

“you’re horrible at that,” Chris said as he let out a small chuckle.

“So I’ve been told,” Scott smiled.

“It’s getting late,” Chris said as he got up, he ran over to his nieces and nephews promising he’d be back tomorrow for a movie night. Walking back over to Scott, who was stuck babysitting for the night, “good luck,” Chris said with a smirk as he walked out the back gate.

Chris made his way on over to the post office, he’d been checking it since the day after he sent a letter, knowing very well that the letter wasn’t going to arrive as fast, he had some hope that it will.

Opening the door for an older lady who was leaving the post office, Chris made his way in. He opened the small p.o. box to only reveal a key and his letter. Chris grabbed the key and looked at the number that had been attached to it, Chris looked around for the specific box the key had been for, finally finding it at the very end of the post office. He opened the box to reveal an orange envelope that read Fragile on it.

Chris was even more excited about this as he noticed Julie’s name on the orange envelope, but of course, it would be her. Chris made his way out of the post office.

Once he was home, Chris made sure he spent some time with Dodger before even reading the letter, giving the lovable dog some food and then some much-needed cuddles. Chris then decided to read the letter.

Dear Chris,

Hmm, looking back at the letters, I recall that we both said it. As for your nickname…. I sure have to give this a thought, certainly, this is something I am going to have to put into the next letters perhaps, but only three chances? Come on, Chris, that isn’t fair. After all, I only know your first name. Of course, how can I forget that you are an actor? My bad.

You know, I’ve never thought of just sitting down with Mr. William and striking up a conversation, I’ll have to do that one of these days. You’ve opened my eyes, Chris.

As for the photos… attached I’ve included a photo I took for my photography class back in college, I am proud of it till this day.

Chris took out the photo from the envelope, it was a beautiful landscape photo in black and white.

It’s from the hills here in California, near the beach, I was driving to get my mind off things and came across this abandoned silo, the photo was just screaming to be taken. So, I pulled over and I may have trespassed, but I got this amazing photo in the process... I hope you like it. It’s my only hard copy.

Chris looked at the photo in awe, wondering if Julie knew how much talent she had, Chris admitted to himself that he could never make such a portrait. The way you just captured the image, blew Chris away, he didn’t know how but he felt so many emotions. Just knowing that you had given him your only hard copy of the photo, meant so much to Chris. He cherished that photo.

I sure do hope you are funnier in person; it’d be a real let down if you aren’t. I can see myself now, making jokes and you just looking utterly confused because you lied of your sense of humor. Tragic.

Living pretty well, you say? Is that a metaphor or something? Does “living pretty well” mean, “help me, I’m poor.” I swear English class has me traumatized. Constantly trying to find meaning in words that don’t have any meaning.

Yes, I am Latina. I do speak Spanish, pretty fluently actually. Willing to learn? The first word you will be learning is Hola. Ho-la. Probably should’ve started with the Spanish alphabet… this would be easier if taught in person… maybe one day? That way I can see you fail in person, oh the scenarios, they are hilarious! Boston must be nice, Chris. I’ve always wanted to visit. Washington D.C. too and New York. I just love to travel. I visited Europe a couple years back, made me realize that I just don’t like staying in one place.

So sorry, Chris. Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings there. But I was just trying to defend myself from being hurt. :D

That’s sweet! It’s always nice to see siblings that are close! Reminds me of how me and my older brother John used to argue all the time as children, one day my dad told us that we would end up being best friends. Oh, how we got so pissed at that! But he was right.

What was my favorite subject in high school? Is that really ALL you got, Chris!? COME ON! It was Art. BUT STILL! WEAAAKKKK!!

Now, here’s my awesome, very cool, waybetterthanyours, question: If you could choose one animal (Real or unreal) to be for the day, what would you choose and why?

Later Vader.

P.S. No one wants to see my wrath when I am upset.

P.P.S.

No, it’s fine, Chris. I’ve been dealing with my anxiety long enough to know how to calm down these small panic attacks. Yet, there is still sometimes I don’t know how to control it.

I’ve only spoken to this about my therapist, of course, and a couple of my best friends. Irene (who’s also my roommate), Andrea, and Destiny. They’ve been my friends for years, the only people I trust with personal things like this.

I can’t wrap my head around it either, Chris. I really can’t. I’ve tried over and over but I can’t understand it. I wouldn’t do such a thing to my own children. Ugh, they’re not even existent yet and I already know that I want to be the best mother I ever can be for them! When I said guilt for her mistakes I meant, alright when I was a baby there were these rumors that I wasn’t my fathers’ kid.

My father shut down the rumors by lying about getting a DNA test, he didn’t believe the rumors because he thought that my mother wouldn’t do such a thing to him. Fast forward to twenty-one years later, my dad, my brother John and I decided to do this Ancestry test and well when the results came back, my dad and I didn’t have any matches to each other, meaning that we weren’t related. I spoke to my father about it and he suggested a paternity test just to be sure. Those results came back negative. I haven’t spoken to my mother since, especially since when we confronted her, she denied everything. When we provided proof, she said that the DNA test was lying.

That should answer your question about my dad’s son from his first marriage. But my dad, he gave us the best childhood ever. He didn’t have one as a kid, so my dad made sure we got to do all the things he couldn’t do as a child. I loved my childhood. I remember there were times he would be tired from work, but he would still play “nurse” with me, he played a stubborn patient though.

As for me and my stepmother, we get along better now. I guess she just didn’t like sharing my dad. I don’t know. I don’t feel bothered by it anymore.

Ask all the questions you want, Chris and thank you. It means a lot to hear that, especially from someone who doesn’t know me that much, let alone someone I haven’t even met.

Chris stared at the papers on his hand, he couldn’t believe what Julie just told him. How could a mother deny something like that when there is just proof right in front of her? Chris just wanted to hug Julie and let her know that everything was alright. Yet he couldn’t do that. Not yet, anyway.

So, this one is short and it sucked. Anyway, let me know what you guys think! Love getting all this feedback from you guys!

Also, REQUESTS for imagines and one shots are open! I’ve been wanting to do a Sebastian Stan imagine just haven’t had any ideas so if you have any and would like me to write it, let me know! Don’t be shy!

Taglist is open!

Taglist: @kelbabyblue @cocomel0613 @thejemersoninferno

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elles-choices · 5 years

Text

Part 14: Consequences (TRR AU, Liam x MC)

Pairing: Liam x MC (Catherine)

Words Count: about 2800

Summary: Catherine Spencer returns to New York after her fall from grace in Cordonia. She left the love of her life behind and all the dreams she had dared to dream. Now she has to pick up the pieces and move on but her past has a way of finding her.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Choices by Pixel Berry

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„Loving you was young, and wild, and free

Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet

Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound

A steady place to let down my defenses

But loving you had consequences“ Consequences, Camila Cabello

——————

Catherine is resting on her bed while the palace doctor prepares the IV to be administered. Liam sits next to her, holding her hand. He puts an arm around her, „Are you okay, love?“.

„I’m feeling nauseous again but other than that I feel fine“, she says nestling into him.

„Lady Catherine, soon you will be feeling much better. Now, give me your arm, please. It may hurt a little but I’ll be done in a… short… second! That’s it, you are all set. I’ll come back in an hour or so to take a look at you but if you need anything before that, I’m in the palace infirmary“, he smiles and looks at Liam, „I’m taking you are staying with her, Your Majesty?“.

„Yes, I am. I would like to ask your opinion on something. Catherine wants to fly to London tomorrow in the afternoon, would you say it’s okay or rather recommend her to stay?!“, he looks at Catherine, catching her rolling her eyes at him and he smiles.

„Your Majesty, as long as she is feeling well, there is nothing you should worry about but I could check on her tomorrow before she leaves, if it’d appease your mind“, he starts to pack up his things.

„I’d like that, thank you!“, Liam brushes his knuckles over Catherine cheeks.

„Dr. Stern, there is something I’d like to ask. What can you tell us about non-invasive prenatal paternity test? Where can we do it?“, she looks at Liam and sees him looking back at her surprised.

„Sweetheart? We haven’t discussed this yet…“, he raises a brow at her.

„Liam, if we do this now you can shut down all the doubts and reservations that others may have about our baby. Now, let’s hear what Dr. Stern has to say, please?!“, they look at the doctor, who seems surprised about the inquiry.

„Well, it’s non-invasive because all what is needed is a blood sample of the mother to-be and a swab from the father to-be. While pregnant, you have free-floating fetal cells in your blood stream, Lady Catherine and through these cells the paternity can be determined. As far as I know, it takes about three days to get the results, it is a fairly simple and trustworthy process. If your Majesty agrees to the testing, I can arrange for someone from a clinic to come and collect the samples tomorrow — needless to say that this will be managed very discreetly!“, he says waiting for an answer.

Liam stands up, walking up to Dr. Stern, „Thank you very much. Please, arrange an appointment for tomorrow morning“, he shakes his hand and shows Dr. Stern out of the apartment. When Liam walks back to Catherine’s room, he looks at her annoyed, „Please, don’t do this ever again!“, he leans against the door and crosses his arms in front of him.

„What are you talking about, Liam? I just asked for informations…“, Catherine looks at him confused.

„Katie, you make me look like an asshole that doesn’t trust you when you ask our family doctor about a paternity test…“, he walks back to the bed and sits down by her side.

„Liam… I am sorry if you felt this way, you know it’s not like that… I just want to all of us to get along. Regina is an important person in your life, she loves you as a mother, she is family and I hope one day she can welcome me in this family too — not for me but for our child. If this paternity test is what it will take, then I think we should do it!“, she puts her head on Liam’s chest and he wraps an arm around her pulling her closer.

„Trust me, I understand but you can’t please everybody, love. And you should be careful, especially with Regina. She may be family but she has her own agenda… this palace and the power that comes with it has a way of corrupting people“, he kisses her head.

„What do you mean?“, Catherine looks up at him.

„Nothing, love… I’m still mad about the fight we had a few days ago“, he cups her cheek with one hand, „I want you to know that once we are married and you are Queen, this palace will be whatever you want it to be… but until then, if anyone says anything to offend or hurt you in anyway, I want to know and I will deal with this person properly“, he lower his lips to hers shortly for a gentle kiss. „Now, on to something happier… I have a surprise for you“, he says smiling.

„Yeah, what is it?“, she puts her hand on his and squeezes it.

„We are having an engagement ball next week… this isn’t the surprise though, I know how you feel about balls since what happened…“, he strokes her arm, holding her tight against his body, „But this time I will be by your side, holding your hand and nothing can touch you, my Queen“, he takes her hand in his and kisses it.

„Thank you, my King. So... tell me more about this surprise“, she giggles.

„You will be named a Duchess at the ball“, he smiles and Catherine looks at him surprised, „That’s the look I was aiming for!“, he laughs, „Yes, A Duchy will be bequeathed to you as part of becoming Queen of Cordonia. I have all the arrangements made, and after the ball we will be visiting your lands“.

Catherine looks at Liam nervously, „What? Wow… Do you think I can do this, it sounds like a lot of responsibility!“.

Liam chuckles, „Says the woman who is going to be Queen and mother to the heir to the throne…“, he places a kiss on her nose, „You will do fine! You are a lawyer, you know how to deal with people; you are a thinker and knows how to analyze situations, looking for the best solutions to problems; you are just and you fight for what is just… and you are the only person in the world, who can tell me what to do…“, he smiles.

Catherine giggles, „Yeah, wait until our baby is born! Then you will know who’s boss“.

„I can’t wait for this day, my love“, he puts his hand on her belly and strokes it gently, „I feel so content with my life right now. I will finally get to marry the love of my life, we are having a baby already… sometimes I fear that something could go wrong. It’s unnatural to me to feel this happy and to live such a perfect life“, he lowers his sight and sighs.

„You have been through a lot already, my King. Aren’t the years married to Madeleine torture enough for you?“, she looks at him smiling and he chuckles. „Talking about Madeleine… is she coming to this ball?“

„Unfortunately, we had to send out invites to the entire Cordonian nobility and that includes her and her family but I’m hoping she won’t come to her ex husband’s engagement party“, he stands up and pour a glass of water for Catherine, „But you shouldn’t worry about it, my love, you only have to worry about getting well“, he hands it to her, „Now, drink and try to rest for a moment. I’ll be by your side all the time“.

Catherine drinks her water and lies down, Liam lies down next to her, holding her in his arms.

—————

A few days have passed since Catherine left to London to deal with her work-related responsibilities. The result of the testing had arrived, proving Liam’s paternity to Catherine’s child — Liam shared the news immediately with Regina, hoping she would finally leave his bride alone.

Catherine arrives from London in the day of the ball and heads to Liam’s study. As she can’t find Liam’s private secretary to make sure he isn’t in an important meeting, she goes straight to him. She knocks at the door and opens it slowly, noticing the room is empty. She walks in and sits down on the couch, waiting for Liam.

Suddenly, Regina walks in, „Oh, I thought Liam was here!“. Catherine stands up and curtsies while Regina walks in her direction.

„Good afternoon. Unfortunately, he isn’t. I have been here waiting for him for the past five minutes“, Catherine waits for Regina to join her on the couch before sitting down again.

„I see he isn’t here. However, I wonder why you are here… this is not your quarter, Lady Catherine. This is the Government wing and as long as you aren’t in the presence of the King or married to him, you can’t walk in and out as you please!“, Regina says looking at her.

„Liam has never told me about any sort of rule that kept me restricted to one part of the palace, Regina. If you think me coming to my fiancé’s office isn’t appropriate, then maybe you should talk to him“, Catherine crosses her legs, putting her hands on her knees.

„Ah… Liam… Liam is blinded by your charms. At least now I know the baby is his but nothing will make me believe that this pregnancy wasn’t planed by you“, Regina stands up, heading to the bar cart, pouring herself some brandy. „I’m keeping an eye on you, Lady Catherine…“.

Catherine stands up, „Regina, you don’t really know me… The wedding is two weeks away and I’ll be marrying Liam because I love him. Can’t we just try to coexist amicably? For Liam and the baby?“

Regina laughs, „Aren’t you such a sweet thing…“, she says sarcastically, „You are either playing games or this place will chew you up and spit you out…“, she walks to the window.

Catherine takes a deep breath, „Alright… my door will always be open for you though, if one day you decide to be a part of my family“, she says leaving the room annoyed. On her way out, she sees Liam at the end of the hall and she smiles. He jogs to her, picking her up and spinning her around.

„Oh, my love!“, he puts her down, placing kisses all around her face, „You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you“, he places his hand on her belly, stroking it and looks into her blue eyes for a second before kissing her passionately.

„Liam… someone could see us…“, she caresses his cheeks, giggling, „I’ve missed you too. I was in your study waiting for you but now I need to go to the boutique to pick up my gown for tonight“, she places a kiss on his lips.

„Okay, love. I’ll try to finish my work within the next hour and I’ll meet you in our apartment… I can’t wait to show every inch of you how much I’ve missed you!“, he smirks.

„Hmm… I’d love that, my King!“, she smiles, „But now I have to go… I love you!“, she places a kiss on his cheek.

„I love you too!“, he embraces her once again before letting her go to her appointment.

————

Liam waits for Catherine at the bottom of the stairs. It is the first time they will be announced together in front of the court and he can’t wait to see his future wife.

When Catherine finally appears, walking down the stairs, she catches Liam’s eyes, sweeping over her body, his mouth slightly ajar. As she arrives at the bottom, she hugs him, smiling „You look dashing, my King!“

„You… look… stunning!“, he looks at her beautiful red gown that accentuates her curves. „More than stunning, no word could do you justice, my love!“, he takes her hand and kisses it, taking a moment to admire her beauty. „Are you ready?“, he asks.

„Lead the way…“, she smiles and they head to the door, waiting for the herald to announce them.

„His Majesty, King Liam of Cordonia and Lady Catherine Spencer“, they hear their names and the doors open up. Liam looks at Catherine and winks, she smiles and they walk into the room full of nobles.

After entering the ball room, Liam danced the Cordonia waltz with Catherine while the room watched fascinated by the two of them. Liam has never looked so happy and in love before. Afterwards, both of them started to do their rounds - Liam walking up to some diplomats to greet them while Catherine heads to Maxwell and Drake.

„Hey you too. Long time no see!“, she says smiling.

„Katie! I can’t believe you guys are finally getting married…��, Maxwell says excited.

„Max, you say it as if they’ve been engaged for twenty years“, Drake says and Catherine giggles.

„You know what I mean… true love winning in the end… this is just like a fairy tale coming true!“, Maxwell raises his glass and they toast to Liam and Catherine. They talk for a while before Catherine goes through the crowd greeting their other guests until she finally joined Liam for a short moment only the two of them. Catherine tells Liam about her talks to their friends and their well wishes, when suddenly she notices Liam’s facial expression changing. She looks behind her and sees Madeleine coming at their direction.

„If this isn’t the woman who destroyed my life…“, Madeleine says with a fake smile.

„I think you are giving me far too much credit, your… how should I address you now, Madeleine? Is your ex-majesty to your satisfaction?“, Catherine raises a brow at her and Liam tries to suppress a laugh, while Madeleine can’t believe her ears. „About me destroying your life, I believe you have managed it all by yourself! Now, excuse me please I have other guests to greet“.

Madeleine narrows her eyes at Liam, „Are you going to allow her to talk to me like this?“.

„You had it coming, Madeleine! And why did you even bother gracing us with your presence?“, he holds his stoic expression.

„That engagement interview you two gave… you embarrassed me, Liam! You came across as if you were forced to marry me to consolidate your power and at your first chance, you threw me out…“, she says hurt.

„I’m sorry if you feel this way. I already told you, I’m sorry I could not offer you anything other than a title but you were the one to offer this arrangement, if my memory doesn’t fail me. I love Catherine, I always loved her and I never hid it from you. I am sorry you think I embarrassed you, I am a man in love and this is how it came across to the people, I can’t hide the way I feel after so many years trying“, Liam looks away, trying to find Catherine, „Anyway, I hope you enjoy the festivities, I have to go find my fiancee“.

„Liam…“, she holds Liam’s arm, pulling him closer to her, „One last advice… keep her on a short leash! Don’t allow her to destroy the monarchy“.

Liam furrows his brow, „Catherine is exactly what this monarchy needs, she is a breath of fresh air, people can relate to her kindness and passion“, he discreetly frees himself from her grip, „And Madeleine…“, he narrows his eyes at her, „Next time you decide to put your hands on me, don’t! And this isn’t a friendly request, it’s a warning“, he leaves without looking back.

Catherine is talking to Hana and Drake, when Liam walks behind her putting a hand on her waist. She looks at him and smiles, „I see you survived that conversation“, she giggles.

Liam chuckles, „Yes, indeed but let’s try to focus on something else“, he looks at the time, „I wanna ask you to join me in the gardens to watch the fireworks“, he takes her hand and kisses it.

„I can’t wait to see it with you!“, she says excited.

„Hana, Drake, the others will be joining us in a couple of minutes. You should come with us now, so you can choose a nice spot for the show“, Liam says, putting a hand on Drake’s shoulder.

„Wonderful! I haven’t seen a celebration like this in a while“, Hana says and they head out.

They walk through the crowd on their way outside and while Drake and Hana look for a spot, Liam takes Catherine to the place reserved for them. He helps her to sit down on the blanket before following her, „You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen, my Queen“, he kisses her lips gently, „It is quite difficult to handle an event like this with you by my side… you make me wanna kiss you every second of the evening!“

Catherine giggles and quickly enough the lawn fills up with people ready for the fireworks. Soon the countdown starts and the sky brightens in different colors in honor of the couple. She leans against Liam’s chests and it feels as if there were only both of them in the world. He wraps his arms around her and says, „I love you, my Queen!“

She turns her head to him, „I love you too, my King!“.

To be continued...

For more chapters go to my MASTERLIST in my bio.

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jwartblog · 4 years

Text

More Notes (cont.)

Notes on this further debilitation of the brain

This is me inundated in another consciousness. The reasoning is now foreign, too. It has been that way for some time, but there's less of an obvious differentiation between the way I would feel about certain topics, even in sleep state that's barely leaving unconsciousness. The only way to maintain a sense of objectivity now is largely because of the nature of the thoughts themselves. Partly the game that's played is rewarding the subject, in this case, me, with the right to healthy sleep, external peace through a decent lack of debilitating continuous sexual harassment, emotional abuse, discreet sexual and psychological assault, if I don't fight against diminishing qualitative thinking, which is preserving my identity . The continuous narcissistic drone that induces unhealthily defensive immediately rectifying mindset (of course at the expense of longterm planning and almost all deep, carefully considered thought). For instance, it continues as if there's some known secret violent, or sexually deviant behavior performed that has to come to light, of course through this style of torture. What it actually seems to be more and more is a conditional crime pre-punishment, a future-looking consequence based on inductive reasoning--ideally the crime, that, when this discreet torment has been completed, will, by its nature, have proven all of the tortuous actions taken upon me, just. But I believe this is based on a hunch that's arisen from the belief in congruence of data from a particular surveillance, even more daunting if that surveillance was coupled with conditioning by persons who would seek this outcome, the justification for that kind of surveillance and discreet torment then. This information, however, doesn't prove the truth of any one act, only the perceived likelihood, perhaps in the court of public opinion, which isn't sufficient. The persuasion that's continuously transmitted is, in a semi-conscious state, even made to seem to be me at the gut of consciousness--i.e. what it would feel like, neuro-physiologically to think and know it's me thinkin--slyly, disarmingly persuading someone else to follow a line of thought that's anti-thesis to what I'd most like to suggest, but it may actually fit in more with what would be congruent with the evidence that supports the truth of an instance of transgression, which is what's sought after. At this point, it's really only the fact that I don't think those things, that I don't consider that content and often thus(thereby) genuinely don't like it, that confirms for me, the foreignness of it. It does tend to resemble what's described by Foucalt in Madness and Civilization when he says that power itself takes this route regardless of the people who associate themselves with it, so that all persons in those positions that act as factors in this system behave as needed to support an outcome. In that book he describes three tactics the asylum-keepers use to sedate the subject, longterm*: silencing through ex-communication, through various means, ending regular social interaction; playing to, however belittling it is and beknownst it is to the subject, their idea of grandiosity, their belief of their superiority or deep importance, the delusion that they're a high-ranking official or royalty or a celebrity, whether or not they actually really feel that way, even if they only play along to someone else's suggestion; and the third escapes me, but it believe it has something to do with thwarting immediate goals. Fear is another tactic, or some kinds of trauma tantamount to what traumatic occurrence has caused inhibition ( as flawed as that sounds), and the use of family-ties to persuade, to bring the subject to his right-mind, the definition of which is malleable as necessary like-wise, like what I had written earlier, to justify the tactics used, often what's sought is an ideal external to who the person actually is, an unchanged personality that's often only what it has to be to put loved-one's minds at ease...for instance a person could finish school and be considered insane because e.g. school is unnatural for his ilk (by way of his new knowledge he's writes or speaks like he aims to escape himself, or belittle rather than enlighten--usually the case when there's class-transcendence, when the actual numbers for progress are lost on an insular community, the national goal of education, or how education actually relates to affluence or career success, or gives a country it's competitive edge--generally preferred-- regardless of provincial opinions about individual cases), so a community could be persuaded, by the nature of their conditioning, to right the wrong of his enlightenment, to prevent continual learning, to, as overtly illegal and unethical as it is, seal off any chance for further naturally-resulting intellectual development. The problem in 2020 is that the knowledge of these conditions and disorders are known and that increasingly that knowledge is used to mislead the unwitting or support defamation or serve as peripheral intangibles used to wrong someone, i.e. it's weaponized. So street level skullduggery graduates and with the science of thought, there is increasing certainty, less error, so that the chance for something like this, an objective document, is less and less reliable. This might not be a reliable document. There could be for instance a gradual move towards planned happenstance, that secures planned outcomes. I had mentioned the systematic prevention of enlightenment or discreet impairment of the brain as it might be used for, for instance, discrete maths, or quantum mechanics, so lineage, documented familial inclination towards higher-learning, may more and more be seen as insurance against this. Gradually I'm made to become more and more comfortable with a second presence in mind, who, before any guarantee of compensation or noticeable benefit implores me to 'get out' or 'go up' or do a myriad of things as if I can at will make those outcomes happen, or as if the fact of my being or maturation isn't in itself, right, or self-evidently wrong. What it feels like, as I've stated before is rape, a marathon of rape-marathons, that itself forcibly becomes a new norm, and I'm responsible for my own pain, guilty for being violated, guilty for being hurt or protesting the rape-marathon in any way at any given time, especially if that protest gives some semblance of respite. The idea is to simply have it stop. I would like it to stop. I have never known this to exist. It was never a reality to me. I don't want it. I have nothing to prove. I only have to become more intimate with what I'm most interested in, and this something I can do without any help. The goal is the extensive depletion of the brain, mind, and eventually everything else. The prize, I believe, is what strike a person who encounters me, what would constitute a strength, and so one might like to see me or someone, for example, lose their ability to think in the way they are accustomed to thinking, especially if it's unique or adequate, or proven. Reasons can be as malleable as they have to be, to be sure I don't pontificate or don't mull over problems in the same way. There's an urgency in disrupting creation or thought production that reminds me of poverty-stricken children battling for crumbs or pieces of food, a certain scarcity-mindedness, or zero-sum, end-game, stubbornness. The chief goal here would be sabotage for highly-personal ego-driven reasons, not reasonableness. I'm made to believe that I should make some arbitrary authority my authority where there is none, and one is certainly not wanted or needed. There are large amounts of external stimuli present around me under the guise of helping me think. What this means is a demeaning attempt to forcibly outsource responsibility, which I believe is to make me comfortable with encroachment, especially to reveal private information, even information it is illegal for me to knowingly reveal, illegal for someone to forcibly extract from me, or frame me for relinquishing. Even as thoughts or thinking can be approximated, specific thoughts are more and more echoed in media, but not as general foresight or the synchronicity-high that follows a break from the ideal, a relational dependency, what state of being and thinking would have to take place to make sufficient meaning, or the actual events as genuinely foreseen meaningful encounters, but something else, almost as if I can't think unless each thought is good enough( this bypasses the feat of controlling each thought to even close to that extent to begin with), which they can never be if they're subjectively assessed, and goodness itself has to be questioned here if thoughts are more and more produced (which they are) by some far less adequate (for what I do) external transmitter, as preposterous as this sounds, the fact that I would ever have to consider a second presence in mind as a police for any reason.

*The third here was constant references to the past--the asylum keeper would find a way to have the subject ensnared in his own past, which they could always refer to, if they've been keeping good notes, and the subject would ideally keep searching for some answer not readily given--partly due to an unkempt or unreliable memory in tandem with continual subliminal and overt cues to stop actively thinking--but instigated by past psychologically unresolved occurrences that are constantly urgently alluded to, one by one, until a certainty is achieved that further sedates the subject. Non-empowering recollection.

More and more, in the morning and at other times, like in Iowa, in the morning, a foreign personality takes over, in the same way a foreign laugh did then, a foreign consciousness, for instance what would be the way I would seem to go in a more generically paternalistic manner (and also paternalism or masculinity as brutishness, manliness as primitiveness), a voice less fluid, a word selection accounts for less nuance, which is even less refined than the initial incapacitation of the basal ganglia, other parts of the brain responsible for high level processing of concepts and a usual work-history-consistent manner of contemplation: what would work for flavors of contemplation, art-thinking for art-writing. More and more the spine is the outermost protruding part of skeleton behind me, the skull is continually pushed forward, the trapezoids are tightened and forced high along with my shoulders (to sit at the top of my torso not at the sides) and ass is coached to increasingly remain tucked under, the back is therefore elongated and bows outward like a bulldog where it approaches the neck, a layman's cognitive consonance is expected to result from daily nudging to escape yourself, to 'leave your head,' as if leaning forward, an animalistic lean is what would make a person more himself. The overall goal is to completely disrupt bodily coordination. What this means, partly, is a conscious operation of the body to replace what should be thought-work, contemplation for interests and work, and other activities. The faculties are increasingly disrupted. Increasingly, simultaneously aptitude is compromised and replaced, the rate of intellectual growth is slowed, the quality of it increasingly less valuable, originality is directly minimalized as a result, and were-withal for self-propulsion is increasingly made voluntary. The base-work of easy recollection, long and short term reflection, sign-creation, visualization, is forcibly outsourced, and all of it to mock all thought-processing as a means, itself, the reality of that depletion, to distract from an initial crucial loss of deep-meaningful consideration gained over time, through encounters, close-study, long-term deep careful-contemplation of the best that can be thought, for itself, it's own sake and as a foundation for future application. The brain is continually attacked, continually made to be atrophied object, as stated before, increasingly cadaver-centric. The body carries a head, an near-dead extremity, not a center. I'm made to reach, to partly consider at least as a fleeting thought the idea of my brain, my body and mind being diminished to enhance another life, of course, a life that hasn't worked for that reward and who boastfully will not compensate me for that depletion. The game here, as stated before, is to make a person believe many people are hiding from anonymous machine that doesn't know who I am, and only plays to a person's ego (therefore a shameful thing to admit to being bothered by), their idea that this machine is referring to them and not some collective. The ego is conflated with thinking itself, it means to make the case that thinking, especially high-level thinking, or the way an educated person normally would think about his world, is only meant to nurture the ego. There's a lull in the machine's operation for continued thought-work and contemplation, but this is only to create the illusion of an order within this terror, and one the subject should subscribe to, an authority, where it would be most troublesome to a power-monger to not have one, where there should be none, a whip for thought where no whip is needed, an eye and narcissistic cloud for each thought, even after a major collapse of the faculties, the urgent establishment of an authority where it would only worsen not improve work. For every thought, there's it's counter-thought, but not the specifically tailored counter-thought I'd employ to help me gain and retain healthy objectivity. Another game that's repeated here is the idea of inevitable competition, and a naturally occurring inevitable authority over that for the quality of thought a person possesses, logic with every thought, which is not my goal, and not desirable to me. By it's sheer presence, the authority expects forfeiture of sovereignty, not its own death. All of this is not the same as the carefully-tailored thinking I or any person might develop over time, that I have developed over time, the specific way of dealing with people I've cultivated over time (both fallible but uniquely fallible), that's particular to me. This is an externally-orchestrated intrusion on internal space, that can easily be made to seem like an internally-originating mental breakdown. There's a narcissistic drone, that of course works against what it means to administrate over which is the worst of egotistic impulses, the most publicly despised by the most people, but this is accompanied by continuous manipulation of bodily sensations, neuro-physiology and even thought production. What this could easily appear to be to some unwitting person watching is a person struggling with undesirable impulses and characteristics, a person who needs professional help. For instance, if an external presence is forcibly coaching a person to think of murder, in tandem with manipulating the brain, mind and body to viscerally feel that impulse at gut level, that external presence, now internally situated, would taunt or shame a person for even thinking along those lines which would be especially difficult to manage for a person who clings to moral standards. This person witting could perform a myriad of exercises to regain equilibrium, perhaps include that in a daily routine, but a person unwitting could be tragically set back by this constant shaming, which could erode at their form, their freedom amid granted societal freedoms, inalienable rights, or slavery amid all of the resources available for assuring freedom. The shaming would exacerbate impulse, which could lead to impulse-fulfillment. It means to diminish all strengths and not as germaine to some lesson or attempt to target someone else, and it means to outsource all thinking, all facility with various functions, all of the faculties, that are healthy and in some cases above-average.

#art

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blog-by-samata · 4 years

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Do people with family history of alcoholism develop alcohol dependence? (Week1 | Assignment -1)

This study was based on the survey by U.S. National Epidemiologic Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). I would like to do a research on alcohol dependency. There were a wide range of variables, like alcohol consumption, experiences or symptoms etc. present in the NESARC data set. Since, I am yet to finalize the specific variables that I should use to determine the alcohol dependency, I have included all the relevant variables in my personal codebook: background, alcohol consumption, alcohol dependence, and diagnoses

However, I realized alcohol abuse disorder is a wide topic, and I should deep dive into the area that has piqued my interest most. I have often heard that alcoholism is a family disease; in most cases, every member of the entire family suffers. And, alcoholism takes an especially high toll on children, who often carry the scars associated with an alcoholic parent’s drinking well into adulthood.

Over the years, I have noticed how some people within and outside my circle have become dependent on alcohol. Some seemed to get addicted in their adolescent only, almost immediately after some exposure to alcohol, while others in their later life having irregular drinking habits.

So, within the topic of alcohol dependence, I got more intrigued in understanding the association between parental alcohol consumption and children’s alcohol dependency. And, I added “family history of alcoholism”, “drinking frequency”, “type of drinks” and “drinking quantity” variables to my codebook to understand drinking dependency levels.

Given below are the research questions, hypotheses, parameters and the literature review that I conducted to develop the hypotheses. All the sources have been cited at the end of this post.

Research Questions

1. Is there a positive relationship between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence?

2. Are children of alcoholic parents more likely to develop alcohol dependency?

Hypotheses

1. Higher amount of alcohol consumption increases the likelihood of dependency

2. Family history of alcoholism can influence a person’s risk of becoming alcohol dependent.

Parameters used

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: NESARC respondents represents the civilian, non-institutionalized adult population of the United States, including residents of the District of Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii. It includes people living in households, military personnel living off base, and people residing in the following group quarters: boarding or rooming houses, non-transient hotels and motels, shelters, facilities for housing workers, college quarters, and group homes.

2. ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: Circumstances surrounding drinking, beverage-specific consumption and consumption patterns (frequency of drinking and of intoxication, amounts consumed) over the last 12 months and throughout the lifetime.

3. ALCOHOL ABUSE/DEPENDENCE (ALCOHOL EXPERIENCES): Alcohol experiences (effects and consequences of drinking, development of tolerance, attempts to stop drinking)

4. ALCOHOL TREATMENT UTILIZATION: Experiences with treatment for alcohol abuse and dependence.

5. FAMILY HISTORY (I) OF ALCOHOLISM: Family history of alcoholism was based on the reported alcohol problems in 14 different categories of first- and second-degree relatives (kappa = 0.70) (Dawson & Grant 1998).

Literature Review

[1] is a study on the relationship between lifetime alcohol dependence, age at first alcohol use, and a family history of alcoholism which was investigated using data obtained in the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. The objective of [2] is to present nationally representative findings on the prevalence, correlates, psychiatric comorbidity, and treatment of DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence. In [3] researchers have examined the effect that perceived social support has on the relationship between having a family history of alcoholism and alcohol use in a sample of 85 adult children of alcoholics and a control group (n = 68). [4] examines NEO-FFI correlates of risk for alcoholism, alcohol use disorders and alcoholism subtyping dimensions in a mixed-gender sample of 468 young adults (mean age = 21.3) presumed to be at high risk (n = 239) or low risk (n = 229) for alcoholism on the basis of a family history of paternal alcoholism. Authors of [5] have assessed the effects of family history and family environment on alcohol misuse.

References

[1] Bridget F. Grant, Ph.D., Ph.D. “The Impact of a Family History of Alcoholism on the Relationship Between Age at Onset of Alcohol Use and DSM–IV Alcohol Dependence | Results From the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey.” (1998).

[2] Deborah S. Hasin, PhD; Frederick S. Stinson, PhD; Elizabeth Ogburn, MS; et al. “Prevalence, Correlates, Disability, and Comorbidity of DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence in the United States. Results From the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.” (2007).

[3] Christine Mccauley Ohannessian, Victor M. Hesselbrock. “The influence of perceived social support on the relationship between family history of alcoholism and drinking behaviors.” (1993).

[4] E D Martin K J Sher. “Family history of alcoholism, alcohol use disorders and the five-factor model of personality.” (Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55(1), 81–90, 1994).

[5] Elizabeth M. Hill, Janet L. Nord, Frederic C. Blow. “Young‐adult children of alcoholic parents: protective effects of positive family functioning” (1992).

#nesarc #alcohol dependence #parentalinfluence #alcohol consumption #data analysis #alcohlism

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dunkmasterkyouko · 6 years

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The Role of The Player Protagonist: What Fallout 4 Got Right and What it Got Wrong

Some reflections on the good and bad parts of the “player character” experience of Fallout 4.

There are many ways to approach to the main character of an interactive narrative. Not all game narratives are changed by the player’s actions in particularly meaningful ways, but for a large percentage of games, the player is at least advancing the narrative if nothing else. In doing so, often this entails controlling the protagonist of the narrative.

It’s worth noting that I’m couching my statements a lot. Gaming is a diverse medium, and even the definition of what is a game will change from person to person. Obviously, in some genres such as an RTS, you may not embody a particular protagonist. In some narratives, your level of interaction with the story may be essentially non-existent, and you’re merely piecing together a story from outside of it. For this piece I’m referring to a more specific kind of games where you control a single person for the majority of the experience and push forwards a story of some kind where that single person plays a large part in events.

That established, even this has many branches. There is of course, always the option of giving the player limited control of an already defined character. It’s hard to argue that someone like Lara Croft or Tidus is a meaningful reflection of the player, or that they are particularly defined by the player. Another approach is simply to make the main character so generic that they are easy to relate to for huge numbers of people, simply by never exhibiting particularly strong personality traits that would cause a player to go “I’d never do that!”

Games such as Mass Effect push it one step further. Instead giving you preset character, they give you a choice of two obvious general characters, but allowing you to mix and match a little. Shepard has a last name and some general constraints to their backstory, personality, and appearance, but the player is allowed customization to some degree. Players will often refer to “their Shepard”, and there is uniqueness to each person’s Shepard, but the fact of the matter is that there are marked similarities between them that makes them quite recognisable. One important component of that is the shared voice, which we’ll come back to later.

However, many games prefer to take an approach closer to pen and paper RPGs- you are given constraints in the form of what the system can model, and are encouraged to create your own character within that mold. In fact many of these games originate from pen and paper- Fallout itself was originally intended to be based on the GURPS system.

Of course, given the limitations of computing compared to a human game runner, your options are a little more limited than that. There’s only so many dialogue options they can program in. There’s only so many talents, abilities, and solutions to problems that can be accounted for. You are still in many ways picking from a list still, but it’s a collection of interconnecting lists rather than a set of fully independent stand alone options.

Whatever the particular methods, the end result is a game designed around the assumption that the main character could be any number of people who might have any number of dispositions, skills, personalities, and motivations.

The first way that Fallout 4 goes wrong is a point that I’m far from the first one to make. The main story of Fallout 4 is almost completely devoid of diversity in how it plays out character-to-character. That isn’t to say that there are no choices, but that the player’s role in the story and their character as represented by their actions are almost identical. No matter which faction you choose, no matter what choices you make, no matter who your character is or how they behave, in the main story of Fallout 4 the Sole Survivor is a distraught widow or widower who is desperately searching for their son. They are also passive, stupid, and gullible.

Firstly, it is essentially impossible to establish a character unique motivation for your involvement in the main quest. Using an example that I won’t touch on for the last time, in Fallout New Vegas, you could have any number of reasons for engaging with the main quest at first. Petty revenge for being shot. A search for answers about why you were shot. Simply because you encounter events relating to as you travel the wastes, since the enemy placement and geography funnels you towards the main quest locations. Once Benny is dealt with, which can be done a variety of ways for a variety of reasons, your character still isn’t locked into any one driving motivation. Maybe they’re siding with the NCR because they value stability, or maybe they just want to be on the winning side. Or maybe they just hate the legion. Or think that the NCR is most likely to pay well and not backstab them.

Meanwhile, in Fallout 4, there is one and only one reason to engage with the main story: maternal or paternal instinct. You engage with the main story because you want to save your son, and you are forced to assume that Shaun is alive and forced to decide that it’s logical to bumble around asking people if they’ve seen “a baby”.

This also touches on what I said about the main character always being passive, stupid, and gullible. It is not ever an option to have the sole survivor consider that the first unfreezing did not happen right before they were unfrozen for good. You can occasionally pick a token dialogue option about “maybe Shaun wouldn’t be a baby”, but the Sole Survivor will always behave and speak with the underlying assumption that Shaun is a baby until the child Shaun concept is introduced, at which point they will always act with the assumption that Shaun is about ten. The second I left the vault in Fallout 4, knowing nothing about the plot, I immediately realized that I had absolutely zero idea how old Shaun would be. It could have been a hundred years ago and Shaun was already dead. There was absolutely no way to communicate this as the Sole Survivor. You have to make stupid assumptions because the plot is written that way. Deal with it.

Once you follow the main quest, you are confronted with another problem: you are never allowed to try and solve anything on your own. You go to where people tell you, and follow the leads you are directly handed. You are never given a chance to make any deductions or decisions. You simply go to the next person who might solve things for you randomly. Once again, you’re forced to follow the plot thread of this one mercenary you have a fairly generic description of being definitely 1) still alive 2) infamous enough that people would know he is and 3) still a link to Shaun rather than “I don’t know, someone hired me to steal vault babies”. You are not ever given any option to search in another other way. You describe Kellogg, and you get the dog to track him.

Meanwhile, going back to Fallout New Vegas, you can track Benny however you want. You can follow the breadcrumb trail, asking about a far more noticeable person who you know did something recently rather than an unknown period of time ago, or you can make the logical deduction of, say, going to where you were delivering the package, or going to the central hub of the world, or learning early on that Benny is from New Vegas and making a beeline to him that way. In the original Fallout, you can follow the trail the game sets up for the water chip, or you can simply walk in a direction and find settlements, search for vaults in the mountains, or ignore the quest entirely and focus on exploration until you feel that you’ve met people that might actually know where the water chip is.

I don’t think it’s necessary or called for to go over the main quest step by step criticizing it. The main points are already evident. There are a few more things to mention, however. Firstly, you are never allowed to not fall for the android Shaun. Secondly, you have absolutely no agency over your response to Shaun. You cannot not believe him that he’s your son. You cannot feel no connection to him given that he grew up completely separate to you and there’s no emotional connection to this old man when you were looking for your baby child. You are always emotional to see him and fully believe first that the android is real, and then that Shaun is actually your son, neither with any real evidence other than your magical ability to know what your child would grow up to look like.

The last point on the main story is to revisit the passivity I mentioned earlier. You are fundamentally incapable of making enemies except by allying with their enemies, are completely unable to explain things to people. You cannot ever tell the railroad that you control the institute and that you don’t need to kill them to free the synths. You cannot ever tell the institute that you won’t kill the railroad, and that you’re in charge so they can sit down and shut up. You can tell the brotherhood that you don’t agree with them, but they will continue to treat you like you do. Your character is only ever capable of picking whose orders they follow, even when they’re supposedly the leader of multiple factions.

But, Fallout 4 is not a game that consists of only a main quest. And that’s where Fallout 4 does some things right.

I, like many others, was worried at the announcement of a voiced protagonist. The skeptics predicted- correctly, as it turned out- that this would mean that dialogue would become much less varied and less options would be available. It also made your character less unique- as I mentioned with Shepard earlier, having someone deliver a line in the exact same tone and inflection with the exact same voice makes them seem more identical to another character than just choosing the same text dialogue option. Two couriers can seem completely different, but any two Sole Survivors of the same gender will speak identically.

Generally, in a game like that, it’s troubling to erode a player’s unique identity. However, there is one instance where the uniqueness of a character’s identity doesn’t need to shine through for your to feel like you’re playing your own character.

And that’s when you’re pretending to be someone else.

One of the main draws of the Fallout series for me, and the Elder Scrolls series to a lesser extent, is the appeal of the Kung Fu style wanderer. Travelling to communities that you’re not a part of, experiencing the local flavour, solving problems and then moving on. It’s a fun fantasy, and allows things to seem more alive than they really are. When you’re living in the same city as someone, and you hear their four lines of dialogue ten thousand times, how flat and unreal they are is obvious. But when you’re just passing through, you only see a slice of them, and don’t see that that slice is all that’s there. Fallout 4 presents a number of quests that allow you to seamlessly slip into a place where you don’t belong and merely enjoy the ride for a little while. The two best examples of this for me are the Silver Shroud questline and the Last Voyage of the U.S.S. Constitution quest.

The Silver Shroud quest is not only a lot of fun, but it’s both a reflection of things players do organically and a chance to define your character’s motivation and approach. People will often dress up as things just for fun in these types of game- putting on the Grognak outfit and hitting people with Grognak’s axe is just something you do, not for any in game reason but just because it’s fun. So letting you dress as the Silver Shroud at having it mean something is great. Additionally, you’re allowed to pick how much you want to get into character. You can just interact with the people in the quest normally, but you’re given the option to do silly impressions of the Shroud’s voice and pretend to be the character completely. It’s a rare moment of doing a quest differently than another player in a way that isn’t “oh, I did the evil option”. And you could have any number of motivations for acting like the silver shroud- maybe you’re doing it because you’re trying to bring the legend to life to scare people, maybe you’re humouring the old man, maybe you just find it fun to pretend. Since you’re playing the role of the shroud, all these motivations are plausible even with the same options, because you’re not acting like yourself.

The Last Voyage of the U.S.S. Constitution is a slightly different take, but it’s a similar thing- when the robot announces that you have been drafted, as a citizen of the US, simply saying “oh yeah, of course, lead the way” has room for all kinds of different motivations. And like I said, it’s genuinely fun to just see where whatever strange person you’ve run into is going with this and take a walking tour of a miniature community.

In the end, I still don’t much like Fallout 4 for a variety of reasons. But for all the issues the plot has with giving the player the chance to actually play things out the way they want to, those two side quests are genuinely fond memories that I deeply enjoyed. Sometimes the best way have a quest that any number of different people would do for any number of different reasons is simply to hand someone a costume and whisper “play along”.

#fallout #fallout 4 #my writing #yeah that's right jerks I did some more rambling about video games

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haltandcatchfiretothemax · 7 years

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Mystery and Misery: "I/O" and Cameron and Donna's roles therein (or, a sort of/inverse H&CF recap)

The first thing I noticed when I put on the pilot of Halt and Catch Fire for this dedicated rewatch is that it’s long for an hour of network television, at 47 minutes. It didn't feel long though, probably because it doesn't waste a single frame or second, and thusly manages to cover a lot of ground. Rather than merely setting up the premise of the show it effectively establishes it, including the characters, most of their relationships and dynamics, and their relationships to the places and locations in the show; there is nothing tentative or conveniently ambiguous about it. It is an incredibly ambitious introductory hour of television, which is appropriate for a show about what turns out to be a group of very ambitious individuals.

The second thing I noticed is that "I/O" feels more like a movie than a television episode, and that if it were a bit longer, it probably could be. I don't know if it would be possible or worthwhile to make a two hour movie about the entire process of designing the Giant, but I think it could work as a feature film about facing off against IBM (though not necessarily an interesting one, but either way, the pensive legal drama about one young male lawyer's ethical struggle is a thing, is it not?). All you'd really have to do is draw out and really dramatize all the IBM/deposition stuff -- and fill in all the 'missing' scenes of Cameron and Donna that are curiously absent.

Based on the rest of the series but against my better judgment, I'm going to give the showrunners the benefit of the doubt and say that Cameron and Donna appear sparingly in the pilot for good reason. It's easy to read their limited presence as a quiet commentary on how both fictional and real women are frequently sidelined in television and in life, and as a set up meant to surprise the viewer with how essential they both quickly become to the plot, though just writing this out makes it feel overdone. (And if I remember right, a lot of critics and recappers weren't feeling it either.) But it makes sense if you look at Cameron and Donna's roles in "I/O" separately.

Cameron appears in the opening scenes of the pilot, and then returns at the end of it. This is partly because she's still four hours away from the action for most of the show, but the show could have cut back to her life at school -- it doesn't. When we do see her again, getting (physically) thrown out of an arcade, you get the sense that this isn't because her life as a student is typical or easily guessed at; the arcade fight suggests pretty strongly that she hasn't been hanging out on the quad with her friends or planning parties with her sorority sisters. Her absence cultivates genuine mystery and a dark but not so much sinister as sad gut feeling around everything we don't know about this strange, aggressive girl. It might not read for 'normal' viewers, but real life 'strange' girls, orphans, throwaways, gay and trans feminine women, disabled, cr*zy, and especially non-white otherwise marginalized social misfits will understand that people like Cameron are hidden from view because their experiences are not positive or 'normal' by mainstream society's standards, and are not understood or valued. Cameron isn't in most of the first episode because she is truly Unknowable, and literally doesn't fit in with the rest of our characters.

The opposite seems to be true of Donna, who appears here and there in the pilot, but only in scenes with Gordon. This episode doesn't cut to Donna or her life outside of Gordon, either, and she seemingly only pops up to 'nag' Gordon, if by 'nagging' one means dragging Gordon back to the present and/or reality. We get a real sense of what their marriage really feels like, but mostly of what it feels like for Gordon, who unsurprisingly seems to think he's the main character in his marriage. We eventually learn that Donna doesn't seem like she's getting drinks with friends after work or lunching with her sorority sisters either, but by contrast, her daily life isn't shown because it is entirely 'normal', an iteration of womanhood, marriage and working motherhood, based around constantly and silently performing an incredible amount of domestic and emotional labor so taken for granted that it's invisible. Cameron's life is hidden from view, while Donna is practically erased and redrawn as a mean, miserable wife right in front of us.

Until we get our emotional climax toward the end of the pilot, and Gordon realizes that Donna has been right all along. After 30+ minutes of J*e, Gordon, the weird dance they do at Cardiff, and the consummation of their relationship via their illicit 3-day weekend of successful reverse engineering, Donna comes home to a tidy living room, where Gordon is happily engaging with their two young daughters. Thinking that this is the result when Gordon is allowed to pursue his dream, Donna tells him, "Whatever you're dreaming of, build it, I know you can make it great," and Gordon tells her what she's needed to hear, and what he's needed to say, which is simply that their family is more important to him than a pc clone. They make a deal that Donna thinks will make her happy: she will fully support Gordon's pursuit of this project so long as he prioritizes her and the girls.

In the following scenes, Cameron is convinced to drop out of school, move to Dallas, and write the BIOS code for this project. She is both guileless and completely unbeguiled by J*e and his slick charm, but has no immunity when he switches over to warm, not overly paternal approval, and tells her, "See? Now you're thinking like a professional." You can see his manipulation start to finally work on her after he says this, and the way her eyes and face go from tough to perilously vulnerable here is quietly devastating. She finally arrives at Cardiff Electric, where she integrates swiftly into the action around the hasty legitimization of the presently illegal Cardiff pc project, even if she still doesn't exactly blend in. Cameron is immediately taken into a solo meeting (deposition?) with Cardiff's lawyer, where she quickly catches onto and gets on board with the deceptive legal maneuvering that this whole thing is apparently going to require.

As Cameron answers Barry the lawyer's questions and allows him to coach her into saying that no, she has not ever attempted to disassemble or reverse engineer any products manufactured by IBM, we hear his voice over Donna's last scene of the episode, in which she goes out into her garage and gazes at several tables' worth of evidence of the illegal reverse engineering Gordon did just days prior. We unexpectedly cut to her, gazing at various hardware with concern, or is it envy? She's in the garage where Gordon and J*e really bonded over the very laborious process of figuring out an IBM boot code (…or something? And probably other stuff I don't actually know about? sorry), by herself. She's too late, either to stop it or get in on it.

But, she's there, finally, and so is Cameron. Their positions haven't changed much (yet); Cameron is still a true and genuinely unknown quantity and outsider, and Donna is still a long-suffering wife, mother, and some kind of employee at Texas Instruments. But now, we can see them, at least.

Other notes:

I blog for the people who had no idea that "i/o" is short for input/output and had to google it (which I did when I rewatched s1 early last year). No judgment, friends.

The focus on J*e and Gordon feels how I remember it feeling: like a very intentionally hollow version of Mad Men, where J*e's 'charm' and speechfying are barely tolerated by the people most affected by him. Literally everyone sees through him, and we see them see through him.

The thing though, and what makes this series resonate with me personally, is that seeing through someone isn't always enough to protect you from them. Gordon and Cameron are both smarter than Joe, but they both desperately need to be seen by someone, and so his attention works powerfully on them. Donna and Bos are both savvier than J*e, but they’re caught off guard by him, and unprepared to even try to anticipate his calculations.

Still, Gordon recognizes that J*e's enthusiasm is one of the few authentic things about him. He relates to it, and defends him when Donna (not unreasonably?!) identifies J*e's showing up at the movie theater as "cr*zy" ("He's just keyed up, is all")

J*e's whole shtick feels especially and deliciously phony when compared to the visceral and organic-feeling air/stormcloud of 'WHO IS SHE???' that Cameron generates when she's literally just sitting and doing nothing.

NB: there is obviously nothing wrong with having sorority sisters! Just saying that Cameron and Donna are really friendless, and that it’s painfully real. Cameron doesn’t have enough chill for them, Donna doesn’t have the time, and they probably both have trouble relating to other people who aren’t engineers.

My favorite non-Donna/Cameron scene is the sales call-lunch thing. "I'm not going to apologize for caring about your business" is J*e's "I'm not here to tell you about Jesus" moment, but the whole thing, his whole "pitch” where he is so clearly talking to Gordon -- "You can be more; you want to be more, don't you?" -- is like some kind of next level, Don Draper-meets-Tyler Durden shit. Good thing Cameron will be there to keep them from turning into fascists.

The title "Mystery and Misery" is taken from a song/band I love too much to not link to, even if they have nothing to do with any of this.

#...this got v long and is also a day late sorry #& also isn't behind a cut for accessibility #pls enjoy tho!#cameron howe #donna clark #donna emerson #halt and catch fire s1 #1x01 #i/o #the h&cf rewatch #hacf to the max original recaps #halt and catch fire to the max originals!

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stephaniefchase · 4 years

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 26/2/2020

Good Morning #realdreamchasers ! Here is your daily news cap for Wednesday 26th February, 2020. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a MidweekNation Newspaper (MWN).

DEADLOCKED – Strike action sweeping through Barbados’ biggest construction company could affect critical projects as both workers and management refused to back down yesterday. As a result of the tense two-day stand-off between C.O. Williams Construction and more than 200 of its workers over wages, the matter has now gone over to the Labour Office. The company is involved in several Government projects, including the in progress demolition of the former National Insurance Building in Bridgetown to make way for Golden Square Freedom Park; construction at Sam Lord’s Castle in St Philip and crucial roadworks, the latest being in Collymore Rock, St Michael. The workers said they had not received an increase in eight years and Barbados Workers’ Union general secretary, Senator Toni Moore, said they thought the matter would have been closer to a settlement at this point. (MWN)

1.5 MILLION PUT ASIDE FOR JOBS – Government has allocated $1.5 million in the 2020 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure to fund its national first jobs initiative, Jobs Start Plus. Minister of Labour Colin Jordan said yesterday a significant portion of that money would be used to assist small business people and artisans participating in the training of the 500 young people who had been selected for the pilot programme, with the payment of the $800 monthly stipend which the trainees would receive. Speaking in the “Well” of the temporarily relocated Parliament at the Worthing Corporate Centre in Christ Church, Jordan said: “We will use as part of the basis of our populating the programme, those households that have been identified as the most vulnerable.” The programme will give young people the opportunity to get the job experience which most employers demand. (MWN)

‘ONE STEP CLOSER’ TO NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE – The process to determine a new national minimum wage is at an advanced stage, with the findings of a study on the matter to be submitted to Government by next Monday. Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations Colin Jordan said today that while the governing Barbados Labour Party (BLP) had proposed a minimum wage of $8 per hour in its 2018 election manifesto, the final rate would be among the recommendations in the study. Speaking in the Well of Parliament as debate on the 2020-2021 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure continued at Parliament’s temporary location at the Worthing Corporate Centre, Christ Church, he noted that the existing minimum wage of $6.25 an hour currently only applies to shop assistants, but the Government was extending the requirement for all categories of workers. Jordan explained that research was still being undertaken by his ministry’s Manpower Research and Statistical Unit to determine a final figure. “I expect to have on my desk, or at least on the Permanent Secretary’s desk, by Monday morning, a report of their findings into what that minimum wage should be…; if we should phase the approach,” he told the Chamber from the Well, where he was flanked by high-ranking officers of his Ministry, including new Permanent Secretary Karen Best. Jordan referred to previous studies which recommended a phased approach to implementing a minimum wage. “And so, while we had indicated in our manifesto that we intended to work with $8…because we understand that these things require a little bit more research…we have not said how we will get to that $8 and the timeframe. That needs to be based on good research, and that research is currently being undertaken,” he stressed. Jordan, whose ministry has been allocated $7.1 million in this year’s Estimates, also indicated that the research would address whether that national wage should be applied across the board or be segmented by sectors. “We also discussed with the public sector and the private sector and the Minimum Wage Board, and the question as to whether it should be related to the different sectors…different industries, came to the fore. That was part of the research that is being undertaken at the moment,” the Labour Minister pointed out. “Now, I have not given thought to a mechanism…like indexing; we have not given thought to that as yet. But suffice that it was raised [by Minister of Transport and Maintenance Dr William Duguid], we will factor that into our discussions if we should do an indexing of the minimum wage. “But what is clear, is that there will be a minimum wage set across the board. That is to say, beyond shop assistants. But whether it will be the same number for every sector remains to be seen based on the information that comes out of the research that is being done,” Jordan added. (BT)

PATERNITY LEAVE COMING SOON – Barbadian fathers will soon be getting paid leave from their jobs to help take care of their newborn babies. The revelation came today from Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations Colin Jordan as the House of Assembly went into the second day of debate on the 2020-2021 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. He said the leave would be granted under an arrangement similar to what currently obtains for women. “The paternity leave will be statutory, like maternity leave. It [is] our proposal that it will be paid leave as well. Our proposal further is that it will be taken around the time of birth…, no later than a few months after birth,” Jordan explained. Responding to fears expressed by Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey that the new system could be abused, he reiterated that the frequency with which paternity leave is taken will mirror what obtains for maternity leave. “So that the potential for abuse, we believe, will be mitigated. There is still the obligation, for example, to notify the employer at some point in time before that leave is requested; then you outline…the period of time that the leave is needed for,” Jordan stated. “Our Government as a whole does not believe you defer an action only because it can be abused. We believe that potential abuse should be managed, especially if the action is going to be an action to benefit others. And while there is that view about how Caribbean men or Barbadian men would view paternity leave or the frequency with which they may want to have it, we view paternity leave as helping to change that mindset. We view paternity leave, philosophically, as a provision that says to men and to fathers, ‘you have a role in the raising and rearing and training of your child; you are not just a sperm producer’.” Jordan disclosed that the relevant Cabinet paper has already been drafted with his Ministry’s proposal on what the pending legislation would look like. He noted that the document has been circulated for comment from the relevant stakeholders. Without that process completed, and acknowledging there could be amendments, the Labour Minister declined to provide details of the proposed period of paternity leave. “But there will be paternity leave. There will be…paid time off. So there is the matter of payment and there is also the matter of the protection of your job. So that after they leave, the father still has a job, as obtains currently for mothers,” Jordan told Parliament. “Under discussion would include matters of adoption in current situations where the father might not be living with the mother. These are all issues that come to the fore when we look at Barbadian society, its evolution, where we are at. What drives us is an understanding that while this is a legislative act, it really has as its underlying philosophy, wanting to change what some perceive to be a mindset that men are just people who go around and drop stuff all over the place and don’t take their responsibility seriously.”. He said Government did not believe that was the case with most men, and by enacting legislation it was demonstrating its desire to assist men in honouring their responsibility as fathers. “And coming out of this legislation, we expect to see socially better adapted young people…young people who would have benefited from input from both of their parents; young people who have a better sense of self because they have seen that collaborative input into their rearing; and young people who are better able, therefore, to contribute to the development of society and reduce waywardness in our society,” Jordan stated. (BT)

LABOUR MINISTER WARNS BAD BOSSES – Declaring that too many employers in Barbados are mistreating their workers, Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations Colin Jordan has served notice that he will be using the force of the law as a weapon against perpetrators. Responding to questions in the Well of the House of Assembly as the Chamber discussed the 2020-2021 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure today, he singled out some employers in the construction sector as being among the offenders. And he revealed that a Protection Against Discrimination at Work Bill will be tabled in Parliament in the coming month, followed by a Recognition of Trade Union Bill. “We have a draft Protection Against Discrimination [Bill] [which] is one of those areas where workers have been finding difficulty in their work place…being discriminated against for all kinds of reasons. That Bill has now been approved by Cabinet for submission to Parliament, and that will be debated sometime soon,” the Labour Minister said. “These are the tools that we are using. There are many other pieces of legislation that have to be worked on. Sexual harassment at work…we were instrumental in getting that convention passed at the International Labour Conference last year. That adds a dimension to our Sexual Harassment Act. It widens it; it offers more protection.” Jordan said Government was working to either have the existing legislation beefed up or embrace new legislation. He noted that the proposed laws underlined Government’s stated policy that it would not be accepting investment at any cost. “We have in construction – and this is a matter that has been occupying the attention of the Ministry…and it is a matter that I am very concerned about – the hiring of workers in the construction sector and the designation of those workers as sub-contractors,” Minister Jordan said. He noted that this was being perpetrated even though normal labour practice and understanding make a distinction between contract for service and contract of service. “We are of the view that some of our construction establishments have been taking advantage of people in that regard. One of the pieces of legislation that we are reviewing is that which governs the Labour Department,” said Jordan. He noted that that Department has limited power to address some of those matters on its own, but it has the authority to go into businesses and ask for records. “And every time we get complaints, we ask persons [if they are] willing to step forward and bring a face that we can support. And, often, persons are reluctant to do that,” Jordan added, though stressing that other means of tackling bad labour practices would be pursued. “We have to work on the legislation angle, but we also are going to use competition to assist in that. By that, I mean there is increasing competition for workers and the labour that workers bring to the table. Business analysis tells you the supply and demand will cause some things to happen.” He suggested that in order to attract better workers, businesses would have to offer something others were not providing. The Minister said Government’s drive to bring economic activity and good investment to the country would help in that regard. “But we are also working on trade union recognition. That is a manifesto pledge and that is a pledge from which we will not resile. We will be working on bringing trade union recognition [legislation]. The reason why we have to bring trade union recognition [legislation] and why we have to strengthen the Act that governs the Labour Department is because, as a Government, we recognize that the power relationship in the work place is not even,” he said. Jordan contended, therefore, that there was the need to bring some equity to the table. He said while the use of moral suasion was good, the force of legislation was necessary to strengthen Government’s hands. “The approach to these matters is not singularly focused. But we are using different aspects of the power of the State to make sure that our workers are well treated. And I want to take this opportunity to appeal again to employers to treat their workers as people,” Jordan cautioned. “Those who provide labour are people. They are human beings just like any employer…to be respected. And it has to be understood that they come to the work place, not as machines with algorithms inside of them, but people…,” he said. Jordan also responded to an intervention by Chairman of Committees Dr Sonia Browne who asked if the measures would cover offshore companies based here, some of whom she complained have problems paying overtime and docked workers’ pay for bathroom breaks. The Labour Minister gave the assurance that the legislation and other measures would include such companies. “We are looking at all of those, especially in situations where the workers have not been organized [unionized] and situations where there are persistent efforts to stop them from organizing. We have establishments that when workers are subject to the matters that you [Dr Browne] have identified and they attempt to come together to address them, then sometimes reasons are found to get rid of them,” he disclosed. Jordan also revealed that draft instructions for regulations to support the Safety and Health at Work Act have been sent to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. (BT)

AG: LABOUR MINISTRY TOO SLOW TO SETTLE DISPUTES – The time it’s taking to settle matters brought to the Chief Labour Officer is a major source of concern for Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall. Under the law, a person who considers himself to have a complaint against his employer will apply to the Chief Labour Officer. This triggers the section of the Employment Rights Act, which requires a conciliation within 45 days. “I think that the whole point of the Employment Rights Tribunal is to move things through swiftly,” Marshall said Tuesday during debate on the 2020/2021 Estimates. “I am just a little bit concerned that your approach to dealing with it, as well-meaning and good-intentioned as it is, may really not be helping to serve the purpose that it should be. “Under the statute, if you’re not able to complete that conciliation within 42 days, the Chief Labour Officer must send the matter to the tribunal,” Marshall added. Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations Colin Jordan said there are currently “200 plus cases” before the tribunal. He pointed to a number of challenges facing his ministry, as it tries to settle the cases before it. “One of the reasons why we continue after the number of days in the statute, to attempt conciliation, is to continue our efforts to reach resolution so as not to put inordinate burden on the Employment Rights Tribunal,” Jordan explained. “[Given] the number of labour officers that we have, the number of calls that we get for what might be considered more routine questions, queries, challenges, is one of the things that hamstring us a bit. “We will be intensifying our efforts in putting more information in the public domain so that hopefully, over time, the number of calls will fall so that labour officers can devote more of their time to actually working on the conciliation that some effort needs to be put into, rather than answering questions – the answers to which could probably be otherwise provided to those persons who need the answers,” Jordan added. But Marshall remained resolute that the labour ministry must follow the rules. “Forgive me, but I happen to be the Attorney General, so these rules mean a lot to me. The law says that you must, except in extenuating circumstances, make a report to that effect to the tribunal,” he said. “Now, I understand the Minister’s concern because the tribunal is having challenges with space to have hearings, sharing a conference room, things of the sort, but I don’t think that it is fair to the litigants for you to decide that you are going to intentionally slow down things so as to spare the tribunal. That doesn’t help anybody. “I really think that we should follow the law – it says if you can’t effect settlement within 42 days, you shall make a report to that effect to the tribunal itself, so I’m afraid you don’t have the discretion in the matter. “At the end of that 42 days and you’ve not been able to effect a settlement, you must send it on. It then requires us as the executive, as the Government, to ensure that the commission itself has the ability to deal with those things fairly and quickly,” Marshall added. Chief Labour Officer Claudette Hope-Greenidge said between April 2019 and Sept 2019, her office received 3,209 complaints, of which 65 disputes were conciliated and a further 78 referred to the employment relations team. She explained that there are only nine labour officers in the department to deal with the high volume of cases. “There has been some retirement and staff changes in the industrial relations section, and as a result, of the nine labour officers, approximately half would still be categorized as relatively new,” she said. “The learning curve for the technical officers in the department is pretty long. In under a year, it is not likely that you can get the person to perform a conciliation role or safety and health role at the level that would be desirable.” Meanwhile, Jordan said while his ministry, like that of the Attorney General, is interested in people getting justice, they are faced with even more challenges. “The other thing is, we have been using a model which does not speak to people’s only work being a tribunal chair,” Jordan said. “So, tribunal chairs find themselves using the time between their other responsibilities – their occupation as attorneys at law – and the time that they can devote to the work of the Employment Rights Tribunal is in many cases, limited. “We will engage with your good self and your good office to work through if we should have dedicated tribunal chairs, persons who can devote the kind of time to the very serious responsibility and allow the litigants to have justice served in a timely manner,” Jordan added. (BT)

ADVANCE CSME OR ELSE, WARNS COMMISSION – The Caribbean Commission on the Economy has issued an impassioned plea to regional leaders to take action now to advance the Caribbean Community (CCARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME), or face further social and economic decay. The warning is contained in a draft report that outlined several recommendations to leaders during the recent 31st Inter-sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Bridgetown. “We owe it to our parents and we owe it to our children, to return our economy to the path of strong, sustainable and equitable development,” Chairman of the Commission Avinash Persaud said as he delivered the report. Pointing out that over the past 25 years, action has been scarce while threats and vulnerabilities facing the region have been plentiful, Persaud contended that “this is one of our last chances to act before the lateness of the hour dims the possibilities available to us”. “If we do not act, too much of our talented will leave, never to return; our vulnerability to natural disasters will so undermine our fiscal position that governments can no longer borrow to invest. Then, the frontier of the possible will close in, triggering a self-feeding cycle of societal and economic decay,” he warned. Persaud pointed out that Caribbean people were impatient for change but not pessimistic, adding that despite the threats they still see viable opportunities. According to the Commission, while some challenges could be addressed nationally, there were others that should be dealt with regionally and would not cost governments a cent. Among its recommendations, the Commission called for changes to the existing regulatory framework to ensure the easy travel of people, goods and services between islands. It also called for “a different education system” that uses more technology, and for greater transfer of skills between countries. “We propose two simple, small, powerful changes. First, that any CARICOM national would be treated as if they are a skilled national with rights to stay and work, as long as they had two or more Caribbean Secondary Education Certificates or their equivalent,” said Persaud. “Equally important, however, is that we propose that those that have this qualification do not need any documentation other than electronic verification.” The Commission also proposed that participating member states should establish “a single, independently operated, internationally credible and scrutinized agency” that would deliver an anti-money laundering (AML) certificate to anyone in the region seeking to open a bank account, send money abroad, or set up a financial business in any of the member states. “Singapore did it. It will dramatically reduce the cost and time of compliance and release resources for more productive use. It would also remove AML and CFT [Countering the Financing of Terrorism] as an anti-competitive device to thwart the introduction of fintech solutions to the high cost of payments in the Caribbean,” said Persaud. Another proposal was for governments to “prioritize building resilience for those least able to afford it and encourage those who can, to fill the resilience gap”. “For that, we need new instruments. We propose that this encouragement take the form of new resilience requirements for homes – that they should be hurricane resistant from the roof down, for instance; should have minimum reserves of power, water and food. “These new requirements for those who can afford it must be matched with inexpensive, long-term financing, through the issuance of a new asset class of growth and resilience bonds focused on resilience investments only and, as a result, drawing in social impact investors.” The Commission also called for greater use of technology to help countries overcome the constraints of distance as residents seek to offer goods and services globally; and for the billions of savings in the commercial banking system to be mobilized to support growth and development of people in the region. “Our report recommends the creation of a new asset class of growth and resilience bonds, funded by our own savings,” the Chairman said. The Commission further proposed that a new governance arrangement be put in place to tackle the issue of crime and violence, adding that if it was not speedily addressed “there will be a major confrontation between the region’s tourism dependency and its high crime rates”. “There are good opportunities for the sharing of intelligence, experience and specialized personnel,” it said. (BT)

NEW THREAT FROM OFF-THE-SHELF COMBOS – As he concluded his presentation on Day Two of the 2020-2021 Estimates, Minister of Youth Affairs and Community Empowerment Adrian Forde took the opportunity to warn Barbadians of a new mind-altering substance that is threatening to destroy the health of young people. “The Prime Minister has given me responsibility to partner with the National Council on Substance Abuse, the Barbados Drug Service, the Ministry of Health, the Immigratoon Department and the Attorney General’s Office to stop the prevalence of Purple Drank and Lean. These products represent a perfect political, social and economic storm if we do not curb their use.” Forde, who is Member of Parliament for Christ Church West Central and a pharmacist by profession, continued, “I am making a plea to our young people to take stock and stop the nonsense, because there are dangerous effects when they combine these with cough syrup, Jolly Ranchers and amphetamines. “When young people use these things, they cannot tell you what they did the night before, and with the heat created as an after effect, they are taking off their clothes. How can this be seen as normal behaviour? They are also capable of destroying all of your internal organs and it is my call today to put parents on guard. We will use our Youth Commissioners and other community workers to get the message out.” Earlier, Forde stated that the recently established Barbados Youth Advance Corps had done well in its first year of existence, and with $9 million allocated to it this year, the programme will be able to introduce courses catering to the interests and imaginations of young people. “We find they are interested in technology such as computers, smartphones and also have an interest in animation. Through this programme we want to create world leaders, so we had to broaden the nature of the courses offered and these courses are expensive.” Director of the Youth Advance Corps Hally Haynes said his organisation features tailor-made programmes for its candidates. “We do a pre-assessment to find out where they are and we teach them civics, leadership, mentorship and financial literacy. One of the key things we do is to find out what our candidates are interested in and once we ascertain that, we work accordingly.” He added that the Building Blocks programme will eventually be set up in all 30 constituencies. In response to questions about the number of Youth Commissioners, which is now down to 22 with three temporary officers among them, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry Yolande Howard stated that they were reassessing the posts and ultimately Youth Commissioners will be posted in each constituency. The youth affairs minister also spoke of the under-19 football tournament that formed part of the Community Sports programme, noting that “this tournament is not only about sports but it also teaches the players life skills, and as part of it they receive HIV counselling as well as discussions relating to healthy lifestyles. Within the next couple of months we will also be launching a road tennis tournament in all the constituencies.” (BT)

LASHLEY ISSUES COMMON ENTRANCE ABOLITION CAUTION – Former government Minister Hamilton Lashley is cautioning Government not to replace the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (BSSEE) with a system that is either similarly flawed or worse. While admitting that he has always supported abolishing the examination which determines the movement of primary school students to secondary school, Lashley said the alternative should not be based only on what policymakers want, but should come from a national consensus. The social activist and community organizer said the boys on the blocks must also be included in the process of revamping the education system, stressing the decision-making should not be reserved for a privileged few. “There should be serious consultation across Barbados and not the usual style of a town hall debate, because there are certain types of people who will be intimidated by the bourgeoisie to speak as it relates to their opinion. What should be done is there should be a census poll to get the opinion of Barbadians per constituency,” he said, a day after Education Minister Santia Bradshaw announced in Parliament on Monday that 2020 is likely to be the final year of the BSSEE. “I don’t believe that trained educators have the answers to the issues confronting our education system. I believe that some of the best advisors are the people themselves. If it is going to be successful, BLP [Barbados Labour Party], DLP [Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and Opposition Leader Joseph Atherley [of the People’s Party for Democracy and Development] and all other parties must be involved. “I would bet my life that there is no consideration to involving the leaders of the boys on the blocks in the consultative process. We know that if you ask them to come into schools they are not going to come, so a special forum must be set up so they can air their views and [be treated] as diplomats on this particular subject because they are the recipients of the failure of the 11-plus exam,” he added. Government’s Advisor on Poverty Alleviation under the previous DLP administration argued that a child’s true ability and purpose could not be decided by a two-subject examination at a particular time in his or her life. He also argued that the “hype” associated with the BSSEE divides “what we call the successful and the unsuccessful” students, causing some children to go into depression and view themselves as failures. Lashley pointed out that the majority of children who failed the annual examination were “poor people children” coming from a certain socio-economic bracket and demographic. “The alternative to the 11-plus examination is critical. What is Government going to offer or replace the 11-plus examination with? I am hoping that it will not be one that is just as contentious as the 11-plus examination. I believe in the process; there must be a complete overhaul of the education system. We have to look at an overall assessment and the impact it would have on the Barbadian society as a whole. “This aspect, if handled properly, could create one of the biggest revolutionary changes in the social and educational dynamics in this country. If it is viewed only from a partisan position, then it is doomed for failure,” Lashley contended. (BT)

UWI PRINCIPAL: TIME FOR CHANGES IN EDUCATION – One of the region’s leading academics has welcomed Government’s plan to replace the Barbados Secondary School’s Entrance Examination better known as the 11-Plus, saying change was inevitable. However, said Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus Professor Eudine Barriteau, the issue should first be carefully examined. She said while it has not yet been cemented as an education policy and discussions are yet to be ironed out, she agreed there was need for change. “I do know that you need change. I would support change. It has to be well thought out. It has to be well planned,” said the UWI head. During the opening day of 2020/2021 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure from the Worthing Corporate Centre, Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw announced that this year’s sitting of the 11-plus or Common Entrance as it is also known, would likely be the last. As she spoke about the over $320 million earmarked for her ministry, Bradshaw disclosed that public consultations on a replacement for that exam would start next month. She said authorities were hoping to devise a new method for children to transition from the primary to the secondary school level. “We are hoping that this would be the last cohort of students that will participate in the 11-Plus examination, and if that is the case then once we start in March it is intended that we spend a few months in discussion with the entire country and be able to formulate a programme going forward for implementation in 2021,” Bradshaw announced. Asked by Barbados TODAY to share her thoughts on the development, Barriteau said: “Change is inevitable. You have to rethink educational policy, and you have to plan for it and you have to know very clearly what you are replacing it with. But it is clear that we have to do something,” said Barriteau. The UWI principal said she was concerned that every year a lot of focus was placed on the “bright class fours” while there are four or five other class fours “that we don’t hear about”. She said the challenge those students then face was the pressure associated with trying to make it into the so-called “top schools”, but when that did not happen they were subjected to the stigma of under-performing, which becomes “problematic”. “So I think change is inevitable, but at the same time it has to be well planned,” said Barriteau. She was speaking at the official launch of the School of Governance and Public Policy on Tuesday at the Cave Hill Campus. Under this new training module, which will be opened to entry-level officials, middle management and senior leadership, there will be tailored courses that will be offered in face-to-face sessions and also online. There will be up to eight courses from which to choose and these will be offered from one day up to a week duration under the Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology in a partnership with the Faculty of Social Sciences. The certificate courses will be developed in an range of areas including Implementation, Protocol and Diplomacy in the Public Service, Auditing and Cost Controls, Civics, Grant Funding and Interactions with Regional and International Institutions, Budgeting, Government Project Management and Procurement. (BT)

NEW SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC POLICY LAUNCHED – The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus is answering the call for it to offer more targeted areas of studies, introducing a School of Governance and Public Policy. And the university’s principal, Professor The Most Honourable Eudine Barriteau has thrown out a challenge to academics at the tertiary education institution to scrutinize the legislative framework in Barbados to identify any hindrances to public sector development. A choice of up to eight certificate courses, ranging in length from one day to a week, will be offered from May through online and face-to-face teaching at the School of Governance and Public Policy, Barriteau’s brainchild. The courses, which will be tailored to the needs of sectors and industries across the public and private sectors and civil society organizations, will be developed in an assortment of areas, including: implementation, protocol and diplomacy in the public service, auditing and cost controls, civics, grant funding and interactions with regional and international institutions, government administration, budgeting, government project management and procurement. Addressing Tuesday’s launch of the school, Barriteau said that education “has to break down disciplinary boundaries” and it was time that the “rigid scaffoldings” are removed and individuals are allowed to “create their own majors”. “We cannot seek to improve public sector performance without an examination of the legislative framework in which these services are delivered, and whether or not our legislative architecture facilitates or constrains the work of delivering improved services and other public goods,” she said. Stating that the UWI had the capacity to improve public sector leadership, strengthen management capabilities and enrich research skills, the principal said the overarching purpose of the new School of Governance and Public Policy was to “build resilience and innovation within Caribbean public sectors”. An upbeat Barriteau told the modest gathering that university officials had recognized that the post-Independence public service structure had “radically changed” and that education should also change to meet the new and emerging needs. “At the university, we know that to advance the optimal functioning of government and parastatal organizations we need to review and appreciate the critical importance of the legislative, administrative, regulatory and public processes of 21st Century governance procedures, and where necessary, government operations,” said the trained political scientist. Promising high quality assurance standards, she explained that training would be offered at three levels – entry level, middle management and senior leadership. “In the 21st Century, we have to offer interdisciplinary programmes that abandon balkanized, rigid, disciplinary boundaries. The time for that has passed and we are going to see a lot of abandoning [of] those boundaries when we create the programming in the new Faculty of Culture Creative and Performing Arts,” said Barriteau. The School of Governance and Public Policy’s courses will be offered under the Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology in a partnership with the Faculty of Social Sciences. Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Professor Justin Robinson described the new school as a “flexible organism”, explaining that it would create training programmes that were needed, and deliver them in a way that would better equip public servants, CEOs and leaders of civil non-governmental organizations. “As issues emerge, we need a flexible modality that you can bring on a set of training, address the needs and shut it down, and sort of move on with something else. So, the School of Governance and Public Policy is the latest innovation from the UWI as we continue to attempt to be a faithful servant of the needs of Caribbean society,” he said. “Everyone is critically aware that an effective public sector is critical to sustainable socioeconomic development. The needs of the public sector, the role of the public sector, the skills that are required are constantly evolving. As the needs in society evolve, we have to evolve new mechanisms to serve that society,” Robinson added. (BT)

QUARANTINED STUDENTS GIVEN CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH - Some of the Barbadian students who had been stuck in China due to the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been cleared by authorities after returning home, Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Jerome Walcott has revealed. He told Barbados TODAY this morning that while some students remain in parts of the East Asian country where the virus originated, others managed to fly back to the island and were quarantined and subsequently cleared. “Some of the students who were in China two or three weeks ago have come back to Barbados. The parents have made arrangements for them to come back. These students were quarantined at home or places where they would be monitored by the public health officials and so far, so good,” Walcott explained. “There has been nothing to worry about where these students are concerned. One student reported that he had a fever, and he was checked and tested and was cleared.” The Minister did not disclose whether any of the returning students had been stationed in Wuhan, ground zero for COVID-19 which has now racked up a death toll of more than 2,700 in China alone. He also did not divulge where the remaining students were located, saying only that every provision was being made for their continued safety. Walcott described their situation as “stable”. “The Barbadian Ambassador in Beijing is in constant contact with them. There are no real issues and we appreciate the assistance that the Chinese government has been giving to them in terms of their safety,” the Foreign Affairs Minister said. Since news of the outbreak, Government has been working on measures to deal with students in the danger zone in Wuhan, noting that given that the area itself is under quarantine, extracting them would not be an easy task. Among the critical considerations is transport in and out of Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei, where three students – two males and a female – have been confined to their university dormitories. The city has been on lockdown since the viral outbreak triggered a global alert. (BT)

CANADA NOT TAKING SHOOTING LIGHTLY – The recent shooting of a Canadian visitor in Barbados is being monitored closely by the High Commissioner of Canada in Barbados Marie Legault who expressed concern that this could be a sign that the recent uptick in local gun violence could be spilling over to visitors to the island. She told Barbados TODAY this morning that if incidents of this nature were to increase, steps would be taken by Canada to protect its citizens. “Of course it is a concern for our office. We are following the situation very closely and of course if we were to see an increase we would have to first have discussions with the Government of Barbados and then decide what we are going to do to ensure that our citizens are safe. In this case we are not taking any measures at the moment apart from making sure that our citizens are okay and communicating with the Barbados Government to understand what measures are been taken,” said Legault. The Canadian diplomat revealed that she has been in touch with the family of the victim, who has since been airlifted to the United States where he is still in serious condition. She noted that throughout the ordeal, the Government of Barbados has been “extremely helpful” and has shown the same measure of concern. “We are extremely concerned and all I can say is that what helps in this is knowing that the Government of Barbados is also extremely concerned. We have been working together to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. We are looking very closely at what happened to our Canadian citizen and we are taking measures to support him. He was evacuated to the States right away to ensure that he got the medical help that he needed,” said Legault. The High Commissioner added, “What is heartening to us is that members of the Government of Barbados were at the hospital with him making sure that everything was in place to have the proper support that he needed. We know the Government of Barbados is taking this very seriously, so we are working together to ensure that the threat of these aggressions is removed.” Also speaking to Barbados TODAY on the matter was Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Jerome Walcott who condemned the attack while acknowledging that Barbados had some work to do in repairing the confidence of Canadian visitors. “The incident is most regrettable, and we have expressed our empathy to the family. You spend years building your tourism product and things like this can cause severe destruction to the entire process. We have to now rebuild the confidence of Canadian visitors and with social media it is now global. People will begin to wonder about the safety of Barbados,” said Walcott, making it clear that attacks on tourists are rare. According to reports, the victim, Kenneth Elliot, 65, had chosen Barbados as the venue for a family reunion. His wife Linda Brooks revealed that they had been saving for this vacation for some time. “It was supposed to be a family reunion, for Ken with his family. His two brothers and a sister were going to fly down on Friday of this week, so that all the siblings would be together because all his siblings live in Ontario, so they don’t get to see each other very often. He retired approximately a year and a half ago. “He was a foreman for fleet services at the City of Calgary. He worked for the city for 36 years. We’ve been saving our money for years to be able to travel, do and see things,” said Brooks, who described her husband as a man who could do anything he put his mind to. His long-time friend Landon Zabloski also revealed that he has started a GoFundMe page to assist with the family’s medical expenses. “This morning after talking to some of the other guys that I work with, we started a GoFundMe page for Ken’s family, and we’re trying to raise funds just to help with the recovery. We don’t know what it’s going to look like, we don’t know what kind of costs are going to incur, but definitely they’re going to need support of the friends and family,” he said. (BT)

MECHANIC REMANDED ON THEFT CHARGE – He was recently granted bail but a 64-year-old returned before the law court on a new charge today and landed himself on remand at Dodds. Farley Nigel Smith, of Lightfoot Lane, St Michael, will make his next appearance before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant on March 24. Smith, a mechanic, is accused of dishonestly obtaining a case of malt belonging to Asif Bhikhu on February 22 knowing or believing it to be stolen. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. Police constable Kenmore Phillips who objected to bail argued that there was a likelihood that Smith would re-offend as he was before the court last week in connection with a similar offence and was placed on a bond. The officer also pointed to the seriousness of the charge and Smith’s antecedents which he said showed a propensity to commit such crimes. (BT)

NEPHEW STEALS UNCLE’S VEHICLE AND DAMAGES IT – After Gregory Theodore Junior Desantos stole a car from his uncle’s driveway he drove “all over” but was forced to abandon the vehicle between the JTC Ramsay and Norman Niles roundabouts after it ran out of fuel. The motorcar X7516 belonged to Andrew Scott but his brother Desmond Scott kept it at his Fairy Valley, Christ Church residence as he had exclusive use of the Toyota Corolla. Principal Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney said on November 5, 2015 Desmond Scott left Barbados and the vehicle was driven back to his home by Glenroy Gaskin who locked it, left it in good condition and held onto the key. Another family member subsequently realised the vehicle was missing. The car was spotted between the JTC Ramsay roundabout and the Norman Niles roundabout with damage to the right side of the door, bumper and fender. Today, in the No. 5 Supreme Court Desantos pleaded guilty to entering Desmond Scott’s residence between November 5 and 23, 2015 and stealing a $10 key. He also admitted to stealing a $16,000 motorcar belonging to Andrew Scott during the same period. But he told Madam Justice Pamela Beckles he was not guilty of taking the vehicle without the consent of the owner. When lawmen arrested Desantos, also of Fairy Valley, Christ Church at a bus stop in the same community and questioned him he responded: “This is the ting bout the car, I dun know what going on.” Under caution and after being told of his rights, he told police he did not want a lawyer to represent him. “A lawyer for wuh? I tek up the car.” He also opted not to give police a statement. “Statement for wuh it is me who tek up de car,” he said adding that he took the vehicle from his uncle Desmond Scott’s driveway and took the key from the house. “I open the garage door with a knife”, and got the keys from “a cupboard” in the kitchen. He told police he did not receive permission from his uncle to use the vehicle but drove it “all over, Nelson Street, Cave Hill and Bank Hall” and got in an accident at St David’s by hitting the right front wheel on “the soft stone rock”. Desantos then explained that he abandoned the vehicle when it ran out of gas leaving the keys in the ignition. He allegedly told lawmen that his intentions were to drive around and try to get the vehicle sold. Desmond Scott meantime said that there were three keys and most of his family knew where the spare was kept in the kitchen cupboard because it was “never a secret”. However, he never gave Desantos permission to enter his house. When Desantos returns before Justice Beckles on April 2 the court will find out from the Records Department of the Royal Barbados Police Force whether he has any previous convictions. A report on the time he spent on remand at Dodds should also be available at that time. A pre-sentencing report has also been requested on Desantos who remains on bail.(BT)

EX-PLAYERS EYE BDF POSTS – The election date has been set and two former players are running for positions in a bid to improve the Barbados Football Association (BFA) for the next four years. Long-standing coach of Technique girls club Adrian Mapp and former Weymouth Wales custodian Omari Eastmond will be in the election race at the BFA’s annual general meeting on March 22 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael. The pair confirmed the news to MIDWEEK SPORT in an exclusive interview, following a notice of the AGM dated February 14 and signed by BFA general secretary Edwyn Wood. “Initially I did not plan to run but after seeing that nobody else was running and knowing full well that something needs to be done about football in Barbados, I decided the best thing for me to do is put in the work and make sure people know,” Mapp said. (MWN)

PRIDE FINED FOR SLOW OVER RATE – Barbados Pride and the Guyana Jaguars’ Leon Johnson and Nial Smith have been penalized for breaching the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Code of Conduct during the first half of the Regional Four-Day Championship, CWI confirmed yesterday. Pride were fined for maintaining a slow over-rate against the Jaguars during their second-round match at Kensington Oval, from January 16 to 19. Johnson, the Jaguars captain, was fined while pacer Smith was reprimanded for Level 1 breaches of the Code – displaying behaviour that could be deemed as showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by action or verbal abuse – during the fourth-round match between Jaguars and Jamaica Scorpions at the Guyana National Stadium from February 6 to 9. Pride were reported by field umpires Danesh Ramdhanie and Christopher Taylor, as well as reserve umpire Troy Tudor, for being three overs short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration. Under the regulations, minor over-rate offences occur when a team fails to bowl one to five overs short of their target in the allotted time. The fine for a captain is 10 percent of his match fee for every over his side fails to bowl in the allotted time. Other team members are penalized five percent of their match fee for every over the team fails to bowl in the allotted time. As a result, Pride captain Kraigg Brathwaite was fined 30 percent of his match fee and the other members of the squad were fined 15 percent of their fees. Brathwaite pleaded guilty to the offence after the match and accepted the proposed sanction from CWI match referee Stephen Proverbs. Johnson and Smith also admitted to their respective offences and accepted the sanctions after being reported by field umpires Zahid Bassarath and Deighton Butler, and reserve umpire Ryan Banwarie. Match referee Colin Stuart fined Johnson 15 per cent of his match fee for the breach of Section 2.4 of the Code during the Jaguars’ second innings, when he was dismissed. The umpires reported that he stood his ground before leaving the wicket and waved his hands in anger while walking away, when he was given out lbw in the 16th over. Stuart gave Smith a reprimand for the same breach of the Code, which also occurred during the same innings, when the pacer was dismissed. The umpires reported that Smith stood his ground before leaving the wicket and made a questionable remark, when he was adjudged lbw in the 85th over. The sanctions that could have been imposed on Johnson and Smith for their Level 1 breaches were: an official warning/reprimand and/or fine of up to the equivalent of 50 per cent of player or team official’s match fee. CWI also announced Monday that Scorpions off-spinner Peat Salmon was suspended for having an illegal bowling action in the same match against Jaguars. (BT)

SAMMY TO BE HONORED BY PAKISTAN – Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy is to become an honorary citizen of Pakistan and will also receive the country’s highest civilian award, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced. In a post on Twitter, the PCB said Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi will confer the Nishan-e-Pakistan award on the 36-year-old St Lucian here on March 23, for his “invaluable contribution to cricket” in the South Asian nation. Sammy will be the first cricketer to receive the honour. The former Windies skipper had been among the first foreigners to agree to tour Pakistan when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sought to bring the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final to the country in 2017, eight years after a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus outside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore caused the country to be blacklisted as an international cricket venue. Sammy is currently in Pakistan participating in the PSL as captain of the Peshawar Zalmi which he has represented from the inception of the tournament. The team’s owner Javed Afridi, who described Sammy as “the most loved and cheered foreign cricketer in Pakistan”, said the franchise had put in a formal request to President Alvi for the honorary citizenship for the allrounder. Pakistani politician Ali Muhammad Khan took to Twitter to congratulate Sammy. “You have won the hearts of millions of Pakistanis not only by your game but also by your stand for Pakistan when you came here in difficult times in 2017. We will always remember it,” tweeted the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. Sammy, meantime, said that whatever he did for Pakistan was not for any personal gain. “My love for Pakistan is natural, my contribution to this country is pure. I don’t need a passport to show my love for this country. All the players who have supported this step have contributed to where we are today. It is good that it has been recognized, but I didn’t do it for myself it is for my affection with the people and for the love I get from here,” he said. (BT)

MUBARAK DIES AT 91 – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who held power for 30 years until he was ousted in 2011 in a popular uprising against corruption and autocratic rule, died on Tuesday at the age of 91. A partner of the West in fighting Islamists, Mubarak presided over an era of stagnation and oppression at home and was an early victim of the “Arab Spring” revolutions that swept the region. He died in intensive care a few weeks after undergoing surgery. Egypt’s presidency and armed forces mourned him as a hero for his role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war and the former air force officer will be given a military funeral. He was arrested two months after being forced out by the protesters who crammed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and then spent several years in jail and military hospitals. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators during the 18-day revolt, but was freed in 2017 after being cleared of the charges. He was however convicted in 2015 along with his two sons of diverting public funds to upgrade family properties. They were sentenced to three years in jail. Egyptians, who often complained about corruption, repression and unemployment under his rule, had mixed feelings about their former leader as news of his death spread. “We had good and bad memories,” said Sherin Saad, a woman in her 30s, who criticised graft and the privatisation of public firms, which his critics say enriched the elite. Atef Bayoumi, walking on the Nile Corniche in central Cairo, said: “He was a patriot. Regardless of the final events, he surely did good things for the country.” The United Arab Emirates’ minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Twitter that the Arab world had lost a statesman who took significant national and historic positions. Mubarak did not leave the country after his overthrow, unlike Tunisia’s Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who fled with his family to Saudi Arabia after being ousted in the first Arab Spring protests. In contrast, the Mubarak family has stayed in Egypt since 2011 but kept a low profile. (MWN)

GRAYDON SEALY SECONDARY SCHOOL REOPENS TODAY – Students and staff at the Graydon Sealy Secondary School can return to the Paddock Road, St Michael, campus tomorrow. The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training is informing parents and guardians that all of the plumbing work was completed and the school will reopen today. (BGIS)

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