I can't believe this... Disney is not going to publish two of Don Rosa's stories anymore because Carl Barks' Zombie character is to be taken as offensive today. This could mean the whole book Life and deeds of Scrooge McDuck is never gonna be published again because it's forbidden to publish its last chapter...

Don Rosa's comics are truly art not just some "light reading". They are by far one of the best comics of all time! And the original Zombie was created... over 50 years ago...

And Disney! Such hipocrytes! The toxicity of Disney is beyond me these days!

A Zombie, which is I think treated with empathy in Rosa's comics, is offensive but this is golden comedy and okey on every level:

HOW IS THIS OKEY IN ANY LEVEL?! Is this Disney values?! A woman can kick a man in his nuts, hit him and distroy him mentally for cutting her hair and the audience is supposed to laugh? And it's still supposed to be funny though the man BEGS her to stop and tries to appologise by revealing his very twisted self-image to her?!

And what about all the rest of Disney's works? The image it is still giving about gender roles. What about male characters like Frollo and Jafar who prey on beautiful women like Esmeralda and Jasmine? Children's movie where the villain is going to burn a woman if she won't sleep with him!!! That's okey and supports Disney values?!

But no Carl Barks' kind Zombie is too much because it reprisents thoughts from over 50 years ago! What thoughts? That the idea of zombies came from the native cultures of the Pacific (or was it Caribbean) islands? Come on! Zombies are great. Everyone loves zombies. When I was a child I was terrified of zombies. Reading Carl Barks' and then specially Don Rosa's stories with the Zombie eased my fear of zombies and death. I felt so sorry for the zombie. He was funny and even cute. Sure he can be viewed as racist but can't he also teach children about many important things like racism?

Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat (siirryt toiseen palveluun) spoke with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö about his experiences during the first days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a deadly attack that has now continued for one year.

The president recalled that he woke up at exactly 5:44 am on 24 February 2022, shocked by the news of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, despite more than a month of intelligence briefings suggesting an attack was imminent. He then called a joint meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy and the president for 9 am.

"By then it was already apparent that it was a very massive attack. It was quite a shocking surprise that Kyiv was being attacked from all directions. The scale of the attack certainly surprised many, including me," Niinistö told the paper.

During the course of the interview, Niinistö recounted the struggles that Ukraine has endured over the past year, the deterioration of relations between Finland and Russia, his last phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, Finland's path to joining Nato, his visit to Ukraine last month, and many other topics related to the war.

Niinistö's message to Ukrainians in the interview was quite clear.

"We have supported and will continue to support them. For private individuals [like us Finns], it is a demonstration of our solidarity from the sides of the conflict, but we are also emotionally involved," Niinistö explained.

He also called for further international arms aid and "stealth tactics" to help increase Ukraine's defence capabilities.

Finland announced on Thursday that it would participate in the international effort to send three Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

As for Finland's relationship with Russia in the future, the Finnish president was less optimistic about what the future of that relationship would like.

"It is very difficult to see."

Problematic comics cancelled

Helsingin Sanomat (siirryt toiseen palveluun) covered the Finnish angle of Disney's shelving two of its Donald Duck (or Aku Ankka in Finnish) comics that the media giant appears to have decided are culturally insensitive.

The two comics on the chopping block are titled "The Richest Duck in the World" and "The Dream of a Lifetime". Both stories feature a black zombie character, with Disney reportedly removing the issues from future reprints and collections, according to Comic Book Resources (siirryt toiseen palveluun).

Don Rosa, the US cartoonist behind the comics which have been a favourite in Finland for decades, said that the omission of the two editions threatens the publication of anthologies to which they belong.

Rosa told HS that he has no opinion on the decision.

"The stories and art in question are not my property, they belong to Disney, and this decision has no financial implications for me," Rosa added.

In Finland, HS wrote that collectors have driven a spike in anthology collections with the stories.

"We sell Don Rosa albums well anyway, and we can see some growth now," confirmed Kirsi Tähjänjoki, communications director of Otava, which owns the book store Suomalainen Kirjakauppa.

Disney referred HS to its Stories Matter website and noted that the negative depictions it made in the past should be addressed.

"These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now," the company told HS by email.

Fishing for naming rights

A fish company wants to secure naming rights for a type of vendance fish found in the Simojärvi Lake, according to agricultural newspaper Maaseuduntulevaisuus (siirryt toiseen palveluun).

It reports that the company Ranuan Kalajaloste applied for EU geographic legal protection for the name Simojärven muikku (Simojärvi vendace in English).

The muikku in question are small, freshwater fish caught in Lake Simojärvi in southern Lapland's Ranua municipality.

The specific type of fish from this lake is small in size and bright silvery due to the barren, wild lake. The roe found in fish in the lake is orange-reddish in colour, while in other lakes the roe is usually yellowish.

According to the Finnish Food Safety Authority, there are other Finnish foods which have received naming protections from Brussels based on geographic protections. These include foods like Lapin Puikula (potato from Lapland), Lapin Poron liha (reindeer meat from Lapland), Kainuun rönttönen (rye crust pie with lingonberries) and Puruveden muikku (vendace caught in Lake Puruvesi).

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Secret injuries would be interesting for some good Flora angst

((Thank you for the suggestion and I’m sorry this is late! I already used the ‘Secret Injuries’ prompt for Rook and Bishop whump... so I decided to add this to my new series about Flora— Put Yourself Back In The Narrative. It still contains Flora whump and angst... Flora secretly misses the professor and Luke, but Kat helps her realise that she’s not alone in that regard! This also contains some criticism of Layton’s decisions during the Relics investigation from Flora’s perspective. I hope that’s ok! 

Spoilers for the anime and most of the series below! It starts with Flora writing a couple of letters...))

- 

Em,

It's a relief to hear that the agency aren't involved... I still can't believe the professor never mentioned them! After everything you and Uncle have told me, I hope we never cross paths with those vultures. Don't worry— I memorised Grosky's phone number and I made sure Fen and Kitty did too.

Though, at the same time, it's disappointing that we've you've exhausted another lead. 

Where will you be investigating next? Is there anyone else who might hold a grudge against the professor? All of the people I can think of are in prison... well, except for one, but he wrote to me insisting he isn't the perpetrator. I'd be more inclined to believe him if he spoke to me in person!

Maybe you could come home and help us track him down? Kitty said she misses her favourite aunt!

And we could make up some better codenames while you're here.

You stay safe too!

Flora

-

To Our Wise Guardian,

Thank you for searching for our reclusive father and looking after our restless uncle.

I trust Miss Altava with my life. If she believes the agency aren’t to blame, then I believe her. I don't care what she did in the past anymore then I care about Uncle's past. She wants to find the professor just as much as he does.

Please remind Uncle of that, and don't let him burn down any trees. Climate change is a real thing.

If you aren't having any joy with the Azran sites, maybe you should take a break. (It sounds like Uncle needs it!) There’s a park just across the road from us where you could land the Bos airship.

Fen would love to talk to Uncle about this device he's been working on. And Kitty has been begging for some new books...

Until next time,

The Layton Clan

-

Dear Brenda & Clark,

We're doing alright here, though we'd be lost without Rosa!

Alfendi has been given some extra time to complete his end-of-year project. At Kat's last parents’ evening, her teachers said she can be quiet in class but other than that, they're pleased with her progress. 

Yes, Grandma Lucille is home now— we went to visit her and Grandpa Roland the other day. I just received Kuri is still with her family in Japan.

I feel awful for Marina's family... Please tell them that they're welcome here in England as well. I'm sure that wherever they are, Luke will protect Marina with his life.

...Arianna mentioned Tony's wedding. We'll all have to go dress shopping together. Kat's already decided she wants a yellow dress. (You might have some competition, Brenda!) Can Clark help Al choose a suit? He's a nightmare to shop for!

We can't wait to see you both. If you need help with the move, just give us a call.

Love,  

Flora, Al & Kat xoxo

-

Dear Arianna,

Don't worry about the late reply! You should see my desk— there are SO many letters I haven't even opened yet! I wish I really wish Luke was here. He’s so much more organised than I am...

I miss him too—

-

The ink was smudged from Flora’s tears. She tried to hide it by scribbling out the last line, but there was no saving the letter now. Sniffing, she crumpled the paper into a tight ball and threw it at her bedroom wall. She didn’t bother aiming for the overflowing plastic bin.

What a waste. If Alfendi or Kat had done that, she would have tutted at them. They couldn’t afford to be wasteful, even with the emergency savings their father had left them… 

Flora squeezed her black fountain pen (a twenty-first birthday gift from the professor), wishing she could snap it in half. 

He had planned for this. He knew he’d be gone for so long and there was a chance he would never return.

Flora hadn’t come to say goodbye to he and Luke the day they set off, but Rosa had. 

“What’s the point in searching for the girl’s father, after all these years? Why take the risk? Don’t you love Kat, Professor!?”

Yes, of course he did, but he wanted to solve the mystery behind her family. Solving a puzzle about a bunch of rocks was more important than raising his daughter, apparently. He had adopted Kat and now he was leaving her behind. 

Flora huffed out a tearful laugh. She, more than anyone, should have seen it coming. But she had believed (assumed) it would be different with Kat. 

The professor had taken Kat in when she was a tiny baby. A baby couldn’t be left home alone or sent to school. Parenting was a full-time job (as Flora was well aware these days). 

Luke had laughed when the professor first announced that he would be Kat’s father. 

Everyone, Flora included, had expected the majority of responsibility would fall on Rosa. Or, in Rosa’s absence, another eager friend or family member. (Grandma and Grandpa Layton, Uncle Desmond, the Monte d’Or gang…) The babysitting offers came flooding in much faster than when Alfendi was little. A newborn baby was far more appealing than a grief-stricken child.  

Flora would have helped look after her siblings even more, had she not been so busy preparing for university. 

But, in the professor’s defence, he had refused to take on any new cases and he had reduced his work hours. When he couldn’t escape his office at Gressenheller, he would bring Kat with him.

He had chosen the name ‘Katrielle’. It was an unusual name, but it went well with ‘Alfendi’. 

You would think eight-year-old Alfendi would be jealous of all the attention his new sister was receiving. It was quite the opposite. By spending more time with Kat, the professor spent more time with Alfendi; trips to the park, the library, the museum… 

Flora would join them whenever she got the chance. Kat was the glue that brought them all together. 

The professor had ‘officially’ adopted Katrielle Layton when she turned three. It seemed he had given up on finding her biological father…

And then Luke (Darn him!) had to stick his nose back in to the Relic Stones business. 

He had married Marina in secret just so they could move to England without the professor’s knowledge. Consequently, Flora had been kept in the dark too.

That hurt. After all these years, Luke still didn’t trust her. 

She could have assisted him with the investigation. She wouldn’t have told the professor… 

Luke had shut her out, along with Marina. (Poor Marina…)

Thankfully, Marina had sought out the professor as soon as Luke went missing. 

The idiot had gotten himself caught by Don Paolo. (Yes, a similar fate had befallen Flora once… when she was fifteen. Luke was twenty-five, trained in karate and he should have known better!)     

After Luke’s rescue, he was dragged back to the Layton household for a family reunion. Flora had given Luke an earful— “YOU DIDN’T INVITE US TO YOUR WEDDING AND THEN YOU ABANDONED YOUR NEW WIFE?!!”—before she hugged him. She had thought that would be the end of the whole Relics fiasco. 

She’d thought wrong.  

The professor had gotten involved after that. Family outings were pushed aside in favour of the Relics Stones. 

At Alfendi’s eighteenth birthday meal, the professor and Luke were trading research notes under the table. 

Flora found a house with her girlfriend, Kuri. The professor never once visited them, despite Flora’s many invitations. 

The day Luke left for his journey with the professor, Marina had called Flora, crying because she and Luke had fallen out. Flora had gone to comfort her. (That was the last time Flora had any contact with Marina.)

Flora didn’t blame Luke as much as the professor. Luke was a young man fresh out of university— reckless, full of heart and loyal to a fault. He had watched Kat’s birth mother die and now he wanted to scour the world for answers. But, as Arianna had said, the world was so vast… 

When Kat was born, Luke had been a student— too young to look after a baby by himself. So, the professor had accepted the role of being Kat’s parent. 

The professor couldn’t just adopt a child (three children) and run off ten years later. 

Kat wasn’t a puzzle that needed to be solved. She was a little girl.

A girl who never stopped eating sweets, but enjoyed going to the dentist if they would give her a sticker.  

A girl who still hoped Santa and the Easter Bunny were real, even if the Tooth Fairy was fiction. 

A girl who practiced her dad’s ‘detective’ poses in the mirror. 

A girl who didn’t like tea, but still insisted on drinking it.

A girl who could hold a heated debate with her older brother (eight years her senior).   

A girl whose family couldn’t afford a dog, so she stopped to pet every stray she met on the street. 

A girl who thought people would only befriend her because of her last name. A girl who feared those friends would leave her when they learned of her father’s absence. 

A girl who dreamed about her dad every night and woke up in tears.

A girl who was always trying to make her big sister smile…

“Hey, Floor…?” Kat knocked on Flora’s bedroom door, but she didn’t wait for Flora to answer. She burst in to see Flora wiping her eyes. Kat wondered, “What’s for dinner?” 

“I, erm… I thought we could have lamb stew,” Flora suggested, standing up from her desk chair. 

“Lamb stew? That’s Uncle Luke’s favourite!”

It was actually roast lamb… Flora could feel her eyes burning again. She turned away from Kat and tidied her desk. “I’ll be down in a minute,” she said distractedly. 

“I can help you clean up!” 

“Don’t worry, Kat—“

“Have you been writing more letters…?”

Flora glanced at Kat. Kat was picking up the ball of paper that had missed the bin— Arianna’s letter. Flora gasped, “Don’t...!”  

Kat, ever curious, smoothed out the letter and read it to herself. She frowned when she reached the end. 

Flora sighed. “No one was meant to read that…”

Kat carefully placed the letter on Flora’s desk. “I miss him,” Kat mumbled. “And Dad…” 

“I know…” Flora touched Kat’s head. “I do, too.” Her words were mainly intended to reassure Kat, but Flora meant it.

She missed them— both of them— so much. No matter how much they had pushed her away, she missed them and she wanted them back. 

“That’s okay,” Kat whispered, reaching up to grab Flora’s hand. She tugged Flora out of her bedroom and downstairs to where Alfendi was impatiently setting the table for dinner.  

Later, Flora would rewrite her letter to Arianna, signing off with: 

 …I miss him too. It’s okay if you ever want talk about it. I’ll be here. 

Sincerely, 

Flora 

holy shamoly there are so many things to play with here AAA (also Gladstone doesn’t have friends like OOF anon ouch right in the kokoro)- imma waffle about possibilities for a bit so feel free to read or ignore

Oh man I’m super into this thank you anon whoever you were.

This is the original from the comic scan! Regarding your observation of it not relating to marriage, I think that’s covered by the Don Rosa original explanation in Sign of the Triple Distelfink that it was designed specifically for the coming of a new child. Taking that packaged on top of the fact that it was in fact his mother who received that particular hex effect, and that Gladstone inherited it after the fact, I suspect there’s room for a shift in how the luck functions. Also this is like, happy fun duck comics land so I’m not gonna get too bogged down in technicalities (also going to talk about the theme of isolation in this later).

I do like that you pointed out it has stuff to do with familial love and is different from the symbol for friendship- that works all too well! Gladstone loves his family a lot, but even then his actual friendships with and within the family aren’t all that great! He loves Scrooge, and doubtless (deep down) Scrooge loves him, but they don’t always see eye to eye and in terms of ‘friendship’ it isn’t easy to say that they have a good relationship. Same with Donald; ultimately, they’re cousins, and would never hurt each other seriously in any way, but they fight all the time! Donald in particular is very open about the fact that he hates Gladstone, and while I don’t believe I’ve ever read Gladstone saying he hates Donald, he certainly enjoys being his rival and getting on his nerves!

The one-instead-of-three tulips is particularly laden with possibilities; with how you described them, I would say it fits Gladstone very well! Gladstone has absolute faith in his luck; in fact it’s when he doesn’t that it sometimes stops working for a time. If we take that as ‘faith in what one does’, that erases ‘faith in oneself’ and ‘faith in ones fellow man’- which half works, because he doesn’t trust others (perhaps with the exception of his family, but even then in O Lucky Man we see he was suspicious of Donald using him too), but then Gladstone is very arrogant and confident, so does that negate the first? So perhaps we have to cancel out ‘faith in what one does’ and THAT fits in the sense that, even if it always benefits him, he doesn’t have any control over his luck and effectively is hostage to its whims. Moreover, as in this particular comic, it’s suggested that he feels frustrated and guilty that it doesn’t matter whether or not he tries to achieve something good, it just happens to him. Basically, the thing that he lacks is faith in his worth as an individual: however, is that ‘faith in oneself’ or ‘faith in what one does’? I’m not actually sure! But he certainly doesn’t have faith in all of those three aspects, so one tulip sounds just right.

In terms of the birds, that is to say the ‘distelfinks’, there are several ways to interpret their positions and behaviour, but I can only make these guesses as an outsider based on what you’ve said and other symbolisms I’m more familiar with (there are so many little tie-ins to heraldic, alchemic and tarot symbolism with this image but I’ll try not to deviate).

From your statement it’s unusual for them to be facing each other, and hex signs are usually applied to households, marriages, or friendships; i.e. situations that involve multiple people. This along with ‘inward facing’ creatures to me implies a statement on inwardness, and an inward channeling of the power it is meant to summon. Gladstone’s luck may have a slight umbrella effect, but what is repeatedly enforced in the comics is that it only benefits him. There’s some amount of his luck ‘rubbing off’ on people, whether by literal touch or simple proximity, but the hex only affects him to the absurd degree we’re used to (which makes it entertaining as a character feature, but has proven to be distressing both for him and others). 

We can, again, take this imagery as a depiction/description of Gladstone’s selfishness, or it could be a conscious decision on the part of the hex maker to restrict such a high level of supernatural luck to one entity only. Imagine if that level of luck happened to everyone who was within shouting distance of Gladstone, or everyone who happened to walk past that particular barn, or stayed with people who’d made contact with him etc. The results would be impossible! Dangerously so. With inward facing distelfinks, it leads to a supposition that the only beneficiary of the hex is someone who it explicitly refers to; it worked for Daphne, obviously, as she was the person it was made for and was born directly in front of that symbol, and it works for her son who was born on her birthday. My redraw excludes that specification of the ‘newborn child’ image in the heart, and I’m starting to think that I’ll have to fix that! Because this is so obviously an inherently important aspect of the symbol- this hex can only be received as a birthright. In this sense, the spell is purposefully isolating itself from outsiders, and that reflects perfectly with how Gladstone has done the same to himself; in that vein, it could be said that Gladstone’s self centred personality is not only inevitable as a side effect of being so lucky, but is a necessary form of self-defence to cope with the mechanics of his luck.

As for ‘staring down’ at the tulip and the heart (which I take to be a symbol of the hex’s receiver), it could again be seen as a literal depiction of the distelfinks having a position of superiority and control over the subject. In my redraw I attempted to keep it close to the original, but I took the liberty of making it look even more like the tulip is viscerally connected to the heart. It could be seen either as a tulip growing out of the heart, or being forcibly inserted into it by the distelfink- either way it is a slightly uncomfortable concept. It also struck me that the birds were clearly holding onto the tulip, and the centermost bird is in a slightly aggressive stance- leaning over the flower, looking right out at the viewer. In other symbol language, a symmetrical creature gazing front on to the viewer is often a warning or a confrontational statement; again, a form of exclusion, and a statement of something that should not be interfered with. I wish I knew what the four flowers in the design were, and whether they have some inherent symbolism too...

SO yeah that’s my little analysis. It has to be said all of this is complete speculation on my part! Whether Don Rosa had any of this in mind when he was making the design is anyone’s guess, but he has a long history of depicting very accurate research and I strongly suppose that he knows a lot more on distelfinks than I ever will. Whatever the case this sign is certainly one that could stand more exploration in the canon! There’s just so much to play with!

Anyway, this was fun- now I have to work. Oops.

Couldn't sleep last night because I was recalling what happens in Don Rosa's Scrooge comic that's got the banned zombie in it.

So the values that Disney doesn't stand behind is basically; a rich white duck feels incredible remorse over the fact he used a native shaman in a most imperialistic way and would like to set things right...

Sounds like Disney.

The zombie is really the ghost of imperialism that will always haunt the western world. So of course it needs to be banned. It would be horrible if children learned about something as fundamental as imperialism. They might realize it's wrong.

I suppose this was also the reason Disney once banned another Rosa comic because it contained Carl Barks' native american tribe. They looked all the same which was racist but as a child I at least just thought they were like smurffs. Rosa's story was clearly against Disney values.

In it Scrooge remembers what's important, what has true value; nature...

You really should read books instead of burn them!

The Orphan Experiments

Chapter 4 

Tanner was frozen in place, his muscles tight and completely unable to move. The skin on his arms bristled with goosebumps and he quivered from head to toe. But he couldn’t move. His body felt detached and strange. Mr. Kleary's voice came through the locked door. Tanner looked down towards his arm to see flames on his sleeve. He couldn't feel it. He couldn't speak.

First - Previous - Next

Alone in his room, Tanner stood motionless. He stared with fear at the flames around him but felt no heat. The cheap furniture was starting to crumble to ash and the smoke blackened the metal walls. Tanner was frozen in place, his muscles tight and completely unable to move. The skin on his arms bristled with goosebumps and he quivered from head to toe. But he couldn’t move. His body felt detached and strange. Mr. Kleary's voice came through the locked door. Tanner looked down towards his arm to see flames on his sleeve. He couldn't feel it. He couldn't speak. The flames ate through the wood of the small bookshelf behind him, dumping the burning books with a clattering crash that broke Tanner's trance-like state and sent him scurrying forward. It took him a few tries to unlock the door and, when he finally did, there wasn't a thing left in the room that wasn't covered by flame.

"Tanner!" Mr. Kleary hugged him tightly, pulling them both away from the door. "Get down on the floor, we need to get as far away as possible." They all ducked down and half ran to sit against the wall by the, now closed, opening where they had gotten their food.

"What the hell are we gonna do?" Jacob gestured towards the flaming gap of Tanner's open door. "If the fire spreads we'll die. We got nowhere to go." There was an edge of fear in his voice, but Jacob was surprisingly calm. "And I can't run anywhere." He gestured to his ankle, a lot more swollen from the running around.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, this issue will be dealt with momentarily,” the voice came over the loudspeaker again. After a short pause, the door to Tanner's room slammed shut and they heard huge fans turn on. The smoke was quickly sucked out of the large room and stopped seeping out from under Tanner's door.

"The loudspeaker guy sounded freaked out about something," Rosa whispered. "Like he got what he wanted, but it was more than he could've imagined."

"What are you on about?" Willow got close to Rosa's face. "Some made up BS like you do all the time?" Rosa mumbled something. Willow grabbed Rosa's shirt. "You can't possibly know what's going on!"

"I don't. I just say what I see." Rosa looked like she wished she could disappear.

"So you're some sort of freak who sees stuff?" Willow let go and leaned back. "So glad we have a freak here." She smiled sarcastically.

"Willow. Enough." Mr. Kleary scooted towards Rosa. "Are you alright?" he asked her quietly as she started to cry.

"I'm not a freak,” she mumbled. "Ms. Singer says I'm very observant."

"That you are." Mr. Kleary began to get up from the floor. "Let's go over to the couches, we'll all sit and talk about what's going on."

"I'm not going that far." Jacob looked at his ankle and winced. "I don't really wanna go anywhere on this."

"Ok, we'll sit on the benches right there." Mr. Kleary leaned forward to help Jacob up.

"Can't we just stay on the floor?" Tanner said in a voice so quiet it was barely recognizable.

"Fine." Mr. Kleary sat down again. "Are you alright Tanner?" Tanner just stared at him silently. "Can you tell us what happened? How did the fire start? Are you burnt at all? How come you aren't severely injured?" Mr. Kleary began to rapid fire questions until Willow hit his arm. "Ow. What was that for?" Mr. Kleary looked at the others and noticed the look on all their faces. He took a sharp breath and shook his head slightly. "Right, sorry. I'm being a jerk. Sorry. But can you tell us anything Tanner?"

"I don' know." Tanner wouldn't look anyone in the eyes. "I don't really know what happened. I woke up an-and everything was o-on fire." He grabbed at what was left of his shirt sleeve. "I had a bad dream and, and I, I-I....." His words could barely escape and his closed against threatening tears. "I think I did it. I don't know how but I think I made the fire."

"Great now you're acting like a freak too." Willow stood up. "It's not possible to make fires on accident like that. I'm not listenin' to this bullshit." She stormed off toward the living area.

"I would say to watch your language, but I highly doubt any of you listen when I say that," Mr. Kleary said with a sigh. "Tanner, it may have just been a dream that you caused the fire." He couldn't muster any conviction. "Even if it wasn't, there's nothing we can do about it now. Try not to worry too much." Mr. Kleary reached out to place a hand on Tanner's arm.

"No, don't-" Tanner started to protest but Mr. Kleary's hand had already touched his skin.

"What the hell?" Mr. Kleary pulled his hand away quickly, shaking it as it turned red.

"Language," Tanner muttered sarcastically now fully sobbing.

"You burnt me." Mr. Kleary looked incredulously at his hand. It throbbed with pain and the skin was bright red. "How? This is odd." He got up and left quickly to pace the opposite side of the room, muttering.

"Tanner?" Jacob scooted slightly away from him. "What's goin' on?"

"You're afraid of me." Anger bubbled behind Tanner's tears. "I knew no one would believe me or you'd all think I was some freak. I shouldn't've said anything." He went to sit alone at one of the tables.

"And now I'm left here alone. Great." Jacob huffed. "Can't move 'cause of my stupid ankle and they all ditched me."

"I'm still here." Rosa waved at him awkwardly.

"Lot of good that does." Jacob sighed.

"I'm stronger than I look, you know." Rosa stood up. "Let me help you to the couches." Jacob raised an eyebrow at her as she put out her hand. "I'll give you a piggyback, I'm good at that."

"Rosa, I appreciate you tryin' and all but..." He cut his sentence off when he saw her glaring at him. "Okay, woah, you can try I guess." He grabbed her hand and she helped him into a standing position from which she turned around and got him onto her back. With a fair bit of effort, but in the end success, Rosa carried the much taller Jacob over to the couches.

"Did she just carry you all the way over here?" Willow rolled her eyes. "Good job weirdo."

"Yea, she did carry me. She's pretty cool honestly and I think you need to leave her alone." Jacob glared at Willow. This response made a shy smile on Rosa's face as she sat down. Jacob grinned back at her, glad that his pathetic defence made her smile.

After a while of awkward silence, the call to breakfast was made. Mr. Kleary seemed to appear out of nowhere to tell the kids to wait at the couches, he would bring their food to them. When he returned he brought Tanner with him as well. They all ate in a tense silence that was interrupted only by forced attempts at conversation. Once he finished his food and no longer had something to busy himself with Mr. Kleary started to shake his hands again.

"Are you alright Mr. Kleary?" Tanner asked, looking specifically at the burnt hand. Mr. Kleary nodded, although he turned his head away and started shaking his hands faster.

"You sure?" Jacob said with his mouth still full of food.

"I'm not going to tell you guys, so you should stop asking about it." Mr. Kleary shook his hands even faster.

"No, this isn't about that." Jacob swallowed his food. "It's about that..." He pointed to Mr. Kleary's hands, now going faster than should've been physically possible. Mr. Kleary looked at his hands and gasped. His stomach flipped and claws closed in his chest. As he watched, his hands blurred, they were moving so fast. His entire body trembled and he jumped up from the couch. A strangled sound escaped his closed throat as he started backing up, trying to flee his own hands.

"Mr. Kleary calm down!" Tanner shouted at him. "Freakin' out does nothing, you keep saying that. Please Mr. Kleary, calm down." But Mr. Kleary was deafened by panic and didn't even register Tanner's words. He had backed himself into the wall and slowly sunk down to the floor as sobs exploded through his body. He stared at his hands, muttering incomprehensibly.

"Mr. Kleary." Rosa got up and walked to him, her soft voice doing nothing to get his attention. She crouched down and grabbed his hands to hold them still. "It's ok. It will be ok, we will figure this out, but we need you. We need you to not panic and try to focus, please." He lifted his tear-streaked face to meet her eyes. Then he softly shook his head and fled. He ran impossibly fast to his room and locked the door behind him.

"Oh my god," Willow kept mumbling repeatedly. "Oh my god."

"What Willow?" Jacob glared at her.

"Mr. Kleary is totally useless, we are trapped who knows where, something weird is happening to everyone, Tanner burnt his room down somehow, I moved a huge wall on my own and dropped it on you. I keep hurting people and breaking things, I'm just kinda freaked out, ok? Sayin' oh my god is all I can do to not start screaming." As she finished this little speech Jacob noticed that the glass of juice from her breakfast lay shattered in front of her.

"I wish I could tell you everything's gonna be fine but I really don't know." Jacob sighed. "Rosa, you got any clever insights?"

"I  can only say what I observe and I can't make sense of any of it right now."  Rosa shrugged. They all sat in agitated silence yet again. Eventually, someone turned on cartoons and they all tried desperately to distract themselves from their situation.

"Willow?" Tanner asked after a long while. "Can I talk to you over there for a bit?" She shrugged as she got up and followed him away towards the tables. Jacob and Rosa continued sitting in silence.

"So, Rosa," Jacob said and smirked at her. "Seems like we're all gonna be superheroes." She looked at him questioningly. "C'mon think about it. Everyone seems to be getting superpowers or something. Tanner's got, like, fire powers." He wiggled his fingers at her. "Willow's super strong, and Mr. Kleary is like the Flash." She stared at him blankly. "What do you think my power will be? I hope it's something cool, like flying or invisibility." Often times talking to Rosa was like talking to a pet rock, absolutely no response. "I bet you'll be able to see the future or read minds, something like that. Maybe that's why you keep knowing everythin' that's going on." She shook her head. "No seriously, think about it. It would totally make sense for you to have a power like that." She shrugged. "Fine, whatever." He gave up trying to talk to her. They watched a short episode of some random cartoon and Willow and Tanner still hadn't come back.

"I don't see the future or anything," Rosa said quietly. "I just pay attention and I always have. Remember that time we were watching a sports thing on tv and I said that the red guy would beat the blue guys?"

"That's not very specific." Jacob half laughed.

"They did and I knew they would right away. I pay attention, everything that's happened here is no different. And I think it would be different if it was gonna be my power or whatever." She shrugged.

"I guess that makes sense. So what do you think it'll be?" He knew he wouldn't get more than a shrug in response and they went back to watching tv.

While that conversation was happening, Tanner and Willow had been talking about the same thing over at one of the tables.

"Think about it Willow," Tanner said. "If we've got these powers and we can't control them, we're really dangerous."

"Well, what could we even do about it?" Willow fiddled with her thumbs.

"I don't know, I just know that if I get upset I'm gonna end up setting something on fire again. I can feel it." Tanner put his hand out on the table. "Why would us two get the dangerous powers?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Willow crossed her arms.

"We’ve both got, like, emotional issues. So it's harder for us to control things with emotions." Tanner shrugged as Willow glared at him. "You broke your old foster dad's arm 'cause you were pissed and you didn't even have super-strength then."

"This conversation is over." Willow started to get up.

"No, c'mon Willow." Tanner reached out, pulling back before he touched her. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Get your hand away from me." She jumped up and stomped back to the couches. Tanner stayed at the table, squeezing his eyes shut to hold back tears. It was all too confusing, too terrifying and he was exhausted. His jaw trembled and he pressed his hand on the table. He didn't want to hurt anyone. No matter how angry he got, he never wanted to hurt anyone. But if he couldn’t control this... He shook his head and shoved himself away from the table, heading over to the couches. The table was left empty, save for a hand-shaped burn.

Gold Coast Suns hold off Essendon in the heat in Mackay

Gold Coast have overcome a slow start against an undermanned Essendon to remain unbeaten in the AFL pre-season with a three-point win in hot conditions at Harrup Park in Mackay.

The Bombers were without captain Dyson Heppell, vice-captain Zach Merrett, David Zaharakis, Mark Baguley, Orazio Fantasia, Patrick Ambrose, James Kelly, Matt Dea and David Myers but still managed to push the Suns all the way before going down 0.12.7 (79) to 0.12.4 (76).

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Melbourne and West Coast enjoy big wins

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Suns sneak past Bombers, Kangaroos down …

Suns sneak past Bombers, Kangaroos down Hawks

The Gold Coast fight back from 24-nil down to defeat Essendon in Mackay by three points, while a strong effort from North Melbourne saw them beat Hawthorn by 11.

Melbourne and West Coast enjoy big wins

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Melbourne and West Coast enjoy big wins

Melbourne and West Coast enjoy big wins

Melbourne and West Coast have enjoyed 50+ point wins over Carlton and Fremantle respectively in the pre-season competition.

Richmond take pre-season victory over Crows

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Richmond take pre-season victory over …

Richmond take pre-season victory over Crows

The Tigers have made a winning start to their year with victory over the Adelaide Crows in the pre-season competition 92-73.

Sam Mitchell’s first game for West Coast

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Sam Mitchell’s first game for West Coast

Sam Mitchell’s first game for West Coast

The derby in Geraldton has sold out! It will be the first time people can see Sam Mitchell play in the blue and gold. Vision: Today Perth News.

Bombers secret tapes reveal anger with AFL

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Bombers secret tapes reveal anger with …

Bombers secret tapes reveal anger with AFL

Federal Labor MP Kimberley Kitching has called for a senate inquiry into the conduct of the AFL and ASADA after secret Bombers tapes were leaked. Vision courtesy Seven News.

St Kilda pip Port Adelaide

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St Kilda pip Port Adelaide

St Kilda pip Port Adelaide

The Saints have warmed up with a one-point pre-season win over Port Adelaide, 57-56.

Matt Priddis reveals 2017 Eagles skipper

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Matt Priddis reveals 2017 Eagles skipper

Matt Priddis reveals 2017 Eagles skipper

West Coast’s Matt Priddis announces the 2017 Eagles Captain on Mix 94.5.

Suns sneak past Bombers, Kangaroos down Hawks

The Gold Coast fight back from 24-nil down to defeat Essendon in Mackay by three points, while a strong effort from North Melbourne saw them beat Hawthorn by 11.

Adding insult to injury for the Bombers was star defender Michael Hurley hurting his right foot late in the fourth quarter. He took no further part in the game.

Gold Coast were missing Gary Ablett, Tom Lynch, Jarrod Harbrow, Jarrod Witts, Aaron Hall and Matt Rosa.

Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti takes a mark. Photo: Getty Images

Essendon coach John Worsfold said he expected no major issues from Hurley’s injury.

“I haven’t had any feedback on that [but] it didn’t look too bad so I’m pretty confident he’ll be up and going soon,” Worsfold said post-match.

And he was particularly pleased with the efforts of Josh Begley.

“Outstanding start,” Worsfold said. “Young kid who’s worked extremely hard over the last 12 months in his footy. Gave himself the opportunity to get drafted and his first step out there today was very impressive.”

Essendon’s Brent Stanton takes a mark against the Gold Coast. Photo: Bradley Kanaris

Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade had praise for one of his own youngsters, with first-round draft pick Will Brodie pushing his case for a round-one berth after his 18 disposals and two goals.

“With young lads, it’s a fairly hectic pace, the game in round one and round two – quickest part of the year except for finals,” Eade said.

Suns’ Will Brodie celebrates kicking a goal. Photo: Getty Images

“But he’s a tough player, he’s going to be a really good player for us. There’s no doubt about that.

“But we’ve got some good midfielders coming back … so if he does miss out he’s not far away.”

The inefficient Suns’ sheer dominance of disposals (407-350), clearances (36-26), inside 50s (59-40) and contested possessions (153-116) ultimately tipped the contest in their favour.

Alex Sexton was the standout for the victors with 25 touches and two goals, while Michael Barlow (31 possessions), Steven May, Brodie, Touk Miller and Pearce Hanley also shone.

Essendon youngster Begley was a revelation in attack, booting four goals and setting up a few others while teammate Jayden Laverde (three goals) was also effective.

Brent Stanton (23 disposals) starred in defence in his official return from a 12-month doping ban, while Hurley, Michael Hartley and Mitch Brown were also stoic in defence. Darcy Parish and Jobe Watson stood out in midfield for the Dons.

The Bombers got off to a flying start with the first four goals of the game, including a miracle left-foot snap from James Stewart next to the behind post while being tackled.

The Suns proceeded to kick seven of the next eight goals to grab a 14-point lead late in the second term in the see-saw clash.

The Bombers trailed by eight points at the major break and four at the final change.

Goals to Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Josh Green early in the final quarter gave the ascendancy back to the Bombers but the Suns kicked the next three goals to take a nine-point lead before Parish cut the margin to three points with 40 seconds left.

AAP

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Gold Coast Suns hold off Essendon in the heat in McKay

Gold Coast have overcome a slow start against an undermanned Essendon to remain unbeaten in the AFL pre-season with a three-point win in hot conditions at Harrup Park in Mackay.

The Bombers were without captain Dyson Heppell, vice-captain Zach Merrett, David Zaharakis, Mark Baguley, Orazio Fantasia, Patrick Ambrose, James Kelly, Matt Dea and David Myers but still managed to push the Suns all the way before going down 0.12.7 (79) to 0.12.4 (76).

Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti takes a mark. Photo: Getty Images

Adding insult to injury for the Bombers was star defender Michael Hurley hurting his right foot late in the fourth quarter. He took no further part in the game.

Gold Coast were missing Gary Ablett, Tom Lynch, Jarrod Harbrow, Jarrod Witts, Aaron Hall and Matt Rosa.

Essendon’s Brent Stanton takes a mark against the Gold Coast. Photo: Bradley Kanaris

The inefficient Suns’ sheer dominance of disposals (407-350), clearances (36-26), inside 50s (59-40) and contested possessions (153-116) ultimately tipped the contest in their favour.

Alex Sexton was the standout for the victors with 25 touches and two goals, while Michael Barlow (31 possessions), Steven May, Will Brodie, Touk Miller and Pearce Hanley also shone.

Essendon youngster Josh Begley was a revelation in attack, booting four goals and setting up a few others while teammate Jayden Laverde (three goals) was also effective.

Brent Stanton (23 disposals) starred in defence in his official return from a 12-month doping ban, while Hurley, Michael Hartley and Mitch Brown were also stoic in defence. Darcy Parish and Jobe Watson stood out in midfield for the Dons.

Suns’ Will Brodie celebrates kicking a goal. Photo: Getty Images

The Bombers got off to a flying start with the first four goals of the game, including a miracle left-foot snap from James Stewart next to the behind post while being tackled.

The Suns proceeded to kick seven of the next eight goals to grab a 14-point lead late in the second term in the see-saw clash.

The Bombers trailed by eight points at the major break and four at the final change.

Goals to Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Josh Green early in the final quarter gave the ascendancy back to the Bombers but the Suns kicked the next three goals to take a nine-point lead before Parish cut the margin to three points with 40 seconds left.

AAP

The post Gold Coast Suns hold off Essendon in the heat in McKay appeared first on Footy Plus.

from Footy Plus http://ift.tt/2kYYMIy via http://footyplus.net