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p1nkch3rries · 2 years

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𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 • 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄

TRAVELING THROUGH THE MULTIVERSE has to be one of the most extraordinary and dangerous things a person can do. It can cause an incursion, which means the destruction of one or more universes. Some people like America Chavez can do it without worrying about such a thing happening. However, that's because only one America Chavez exists in the grand calculus of the multiverse.

Now there is a safe way to cross into another universe without risking the lives of billions, but we'll get to that later. Let us focus on the now, in a universe known as Earth-616. Let us follow the journey of one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, who will be assigned on one of her most challenging missions yet. Let us put our attention on a young mutant girl named Y/n L/n.

Earth appears above the center of the table, specifically a hologram of Earth. Around this table sits Wong, Dr. Strange, and Y/n as they watch the planet rotate around, showing the same seven continents. Y/n sits in confusion, wondering why she had to stop her training abruptly for an emergency meeting. An emergency meeting that right now consists of watching the Earth rotate. After a moment of silence and confusion, Strange stands and gestures to the hologram.

"This is Earth-112086, and this universe is one completely different than our own. Every person that lives on our planet is entirely non-existent in this universe. And because of this, the spike in multiversal anomalies has increased in the last few months. We have reason to believe that some of our strongest enemies are using this world as a means of escape. Luckily for us, they are only escaping to one country, which would be Earth-112086's version of Japan. Now-"

Strange's monologue abruptly stops when his mouth is shut closed by red energy that eventually disappears. "Sorry, but the only way to get you to shut up is by doing that. Anyways, what you're saying right now is making no sense and quite frankly is stupid." Y/n states.

"What don't you understand? I think I'm explaining this perfectly." Strange argues, slightly annoyed by the girl's antics.

"What I don't understand is that most, if not all, of our enemies are usually mutants, magical creatures, and sometimes even gods. If they have powers and are going into another universe to hide, wouldn't they just get caught and killed? I mean, I doubt other universes take kindly to people who have powers. Our universe barely does." Y/n responds.

The tension in the room rose after Y/n uttered her last sentence. Everyone in the room knew of the young girl's distaste towards how society treats mutants; honestly, they couldn't blame her. Y/n was abandoned entirely by her parents when her powers started showing, and she was left to fend for herself until S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers took her in.

"Y/n, I think you want to listen to what Stephen has to say. I believe this universe will interest you more than you think." Wong calmly states.

"Thank you, Wong. And also, if you had let me continue talking, I might have been able to answer your question."

Y/n slightly rolled her eyes, quietly apologized, and let Strange continue his previous explanation.

"As I was saying, this universe is completely different from our own, and another difference is that 80% of the population in this world has powers. That's the reason our enemies can slip past and go unnoticed. However, Wong and I have come up with a solution. America, you can let them in now."

Everyone's attention turns toward the door that opens and the four people that walk in. The only person that Y/n seemed to recognize was her close friend America, who appeared to be eating some well-made dangos. Where she got the Japanese dumplings from, Y/n couldn't say.

The young girl's attention was quickly removed from the sweet treat when she noticed the mouse dressed in a suit. Now, this isn't her first experience with animals that can communicate like humans, but it wasn't like she was used to it.

Y/n then focuses on the 7-foot man made of muscle, wearing a red, white, and blue costume. It reminded her of Sam or Steve's suits if they were into flashy, skintight attire. This man also seemed to have a permanent smile resting on his face.

Lastly, Y/n looked over at the worn-out-looking man, who seemed exhausted and had terrible dry eyes. His clothes were simple and baggy, and his hair was messy and unkempt. Just then, Y/n noticed the earpieces in all three of their ears, which seemed to be one of Stark's inventions. Tony used those earpieces to help with language barriers whenever he had to meet with people outside of the US.

Now, Y/n really was wondering where these interesting people came from and why they were here.

"Let me introduce you to Nezu, All Might, and Aizawa. These three are trusted people from Earth-112086 and are here to help with this multiversal problem. America was kind enough to use her powers to bring them over to us." Wong explains.

"Speaking of America, what's with the food? We're in a middle of a crucial meeting." Strange asks.

"Rule number two of multiverse travel: find food." America answers with a smirk, holding up her dango and taking a bite. She was completely unfazed by the glances her way since she knew that if any of them wanted to go home, they would need her power to take them back. Also, it wasn't her fault that she gets hungry when she uses her power.

"Anyways, Y/n, these three are heroes in their world, and with their and the Hero Commission's help, we have come up with a mission that only you can do."

Wong's statement makes Y/n tense up a bit, not liking where this meeting was heading. She knew the only way to stop their enemies from traveling to Earth-112086 was by going into that universe herself. But the last thing she wanted to do was go into a completely different world alone and rely on the trust of a bunch of people she didn't even know.

Y/n's rushing thoughts were interrupted when Nezu started speaking to her. "Your mentor Stephen Strange here has told us about your powers and battle experience, and it's honestly quite impressive! People as young as you in our universe usually aren't out and about saving the world. Those reasons are why we think you are the perfect candidate to help fix this multiversal problem! I hope you are willing to help."

"Well, I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of going into another universe by myself, but if doing so means helping your people and protecting the multiverse, then who am I to say no. So, what exactly do you need me to do?" Y/n asks, eyes flashing red for a split second. She started feeling more comfortable around these new people after she read their minds. Of course, she didn't dig too deep; she just did a quick sweep in their heads to make sure there were no ulterior motives.

"I love your dedication to helping others, Young L/N! Your mission requires you to pose as a student in Japan's #1 school in heroics, U.A. High School!" All Might exclaimed.

"While posing as a student, you'll also collect intel on any information that could connect with these anomalies. You'll have the help of the teachers that work at U.A. and the help of the top 10 pro heroes in Japan. There will be weekly meetings you'll have with your mentors to go over your information. We're counting on you to help keep our world safe as you have done with yours." Aizawa says.

'Cool... No pressure at all.'

Even though Y/n was nervous, she knew she had to shake those nerves off if she wanted this mission to go by smoothly. Mainly since so many people were depending on her success. She took a deep breath and gave her best smile.

"I appreciate you three for trusting me with such a task. I'll do my best!"

"All I'm saying is that it's weird that he can shoot webs! Like, are we 100% sure he doesn't shoot webs out of his butt?"

Y/n laughed a bit at America's comment about the famous web-slinging hero. She didn't know why the brunette was so weirded out by the idea of someone with spider-like abilities, but she did find it funny to hear her talking about it. Currently, America was helping Y/n pack a bag for her travel to another world, and the only reason she was helping was to hang out with her close friend before she had to go.

"I'm telling you, America, Spiderman shoots his webs from his wrists. However, I do hope that's the only place they come from."

While Y/n was distracted, America sneaked a polaroid into the bag's front pocket. The picture was of the two girls, slightly covered in sauce, holding their poorly made version of pizza balls as they smiled. It was probably America's favorite picture of Y/n since it showed her forgetting all her troubles and being happy. America loves it when Y/n is happy.

"Well, that seems to be everything. Thank you for helping me pack, and I really appreciate it." Y/n says, smiling at America.

"I'm going to miss you, and your little wiggly woos a lot. Also, I will not be able to hang out without anyone besides boring old people who can do sorcery. So, whenever you come around, please come and see me!"

"I will, I promise. And of course, I'll miss you too and your eccentric personality. Now, let's go! I rather not keep the adults waiting."

Y/n grabbed her newly packed bag and walked out of her room with America. They both made their way over to their mentors and the pro heroes, signaling that Y/n was ready to leave. She gave America, Strange, and Wong one last hug and told them that she was going to be just fine. However, when she hugged Strange, he whispered some encouraging words into her ear.

"Go kick some ass, kid. I know you won't disappoint."

And with that, America opened the portal to Earth-112086, and Y/n walked through, leaving with her new temporary guardians.

Previous // Next // Masterlist

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i-looove-dillydallying · 9 months

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I’m a wolfstar-shipper, but I actually really like the Tonks x Lupin pairing as a concept; it had a lot of potential that, unfortunately, was not met (though I am a sucker for tragically bittersweet endings, as well as characters who deem themselves unlovable being loved unconditionally, so kudos for that). Part of the perceived poor execution comes from the fact that the Harry Potter series is told through limited narration: we know what Harry knows, and we may be more curious about certain relationships that exist within his periphery than he is. There could’ve been an entire contextual build-up to their seemingly abrupt feelings for each other that Harry - and by extension us as readers - simply did not experience. Personally, however, I feel like we could’ve been thrown a bone regarding their developing romance here and there, considering that it has already been established just how much Harry eavesdrops. Granted, we did get Molly mentioning how people rush (romantic) decisions in trying times: “Its all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and center...”

And now for the potential in dynamic I mentioned: after losing the rest of the Marauders, Tonks’ whimsy might have been just the thing to reawaken Remus’ playful side and create a light in the darkness of war (remember Dumbledores quote about turning on the light?), and Remus could’ve helped cultivate her mature side. As with any good ship (imo), there was also plenty of room for angst: Tonks was an auror, Remus classified as a “Dark Creature”. You can imagine the rest.

I don’t mind their 13 year age-gap as much as I thought I would (and other people seem to do), but that might just be a matter of personal taste (and my complete and utter trust in Remus as a good, if occasionally self-destructive and cowardice person). They’re both consenting adults.

What I do mind is the way Tonks’ character changed for the worse as her feelings for Lupin became apparent. What used to be a fun, likeable character turned bratty and unable to read the room (perhaps it is not the time to publicly press for a relationship label - especially with a notoriously private future partner - when he is in mourning). It has however been ages since I last read the books and God knows the films don’t do Remadora justice, so I won’t go too much into that (unintentional?) negative character arc.

As a final note I’d like to say that Wolfstar could be canon-compliant (or pretty much any Marauders-era ship involving Remus) as Remadora happens later on, and bisexuality exists. Luckily, because Harry Potter and the fanon around it are works of fiction, you can interpret the characters and their interpersonal interactions however you like, which is why I politely ask to remain civil in discussions about this post, which I genuinely do hope will occur. No but seriously. I’d love if you voiced your opinion (regardless of whether you agree with me or not) - you’ve already read this far anyway! Thanks for that by the way.

Tldr: I like Remadora conceptually because of their potential, but it (mostly) fell flat.

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the-hilda-librarians-wife · 7 months

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For Every Action, A Reaction - Chapter 3 - Action and Reaction

Pairing: Raven Scientist (Victoria Van Gale/The Raven Leader)

Summary: Taking a step back from our poetry nerds, this instalment focuses on academic research projects, less than legal shenanigans, and most importantly, two coworkers who are smart enough to be geniuses in their respective areas but apparently not enough to confess.

Over the span of two decades.

Seriously.

Somebody has to do something. Before all their students lose their minds.

Complete!

Notes: HAPPY HILDA S3 TEASER EVE!!!! Posting this today instead of Thursday as usual because I Do Not want to compete with the fandom's hype tomorrow kjsdkjsdfh

Thank you to everyone that read this! If all works according to plan, this won't be the last you'll see of the Carpe Diem verse :)

Read it on ao3: (Carpe Diem verse) (previous chapter) (this chapter)

She should have studied engineering. Everyone in her family had told her that. If you’re already going to submit yourself to STEMS bullshit, better to do it in a prestigious area, at least. But no, she just had to follow her “passion” for weather sciences. Now she couldn’t even plan a sabotage smoothly. Pathetic.

Of course, she knew her ways around electronics well enough; the lab was scattered with a couple of inventions of her own that aided her in one part of the project or another. But her gadgets were always either very simple, or related to the area of study she was actually an expert on. This, though? This was neither.

The devices would have to be able to induce malfunctioning on every single voice box that the poor, desperate students working for Ahlberg’s project had built, causing enough of a ruckus to at least force them all to stop their practical work and go back to the theory, or at best signal to whoever was responsible for deciding which projects got funding and which didn’t that that was a bad idea. The ‘causing a ruckus’ part was easy enough; what was currently keeping Victoria and her student up and in the lab past hours was the ‘not harm anyone in the process’ part, which either was much more difficult or just seemed like it due to Victoria’s much bigger affinity for bringing shit down.

“You think it’ll work this time?” Raven stepped back from the round device they were working on, made of many strips of metal fused together into the ball shape, eyeing it warily. The design was supposed to help it on the ‘self-destruct’ part, in order to avoid them getting caught, but none of them had made it so far on the test runs yet.

“Only one way to know.” Victoria answered, sounding tired. She was usually excited at the lab; no matter what ridiculous situations that University threw at her, she loved her job. That day had just been so damned long that she was feeling the urge to press a self-destruct button for herself.

And, just as she was going to press on the remote that was controlling their creation in order to test it once again, they heard a knock on the door.

“What the-” Victoria whispered, tensing up as the thought of them having been caught in the act immediately came to mind.

“Here.” She threw the remote to Raven, who only barely didn’t let it drop to the floor. “If it isn’t anyone we should worry about, carry on without me. We don’t have time to waste.”

He looked at the remote as if it might explode in his hand, none too happy about the idea of running the test himself (which was fair, seeing as many of the past attempts had exploded in his vicinity), but the professor had walked away to the door before he could protest.

Knowing her messy bun must look like it was falling apart and there was nothing she could do about it to cause a better impression on whoever was on the other side, Victoria opened the door. And imagine her surprise (and utter relief) when it wasn’t another professor, or someone from the board, or even a student of hers, but rather Kaisa’s girl.

“Johanna?” She glanced at Raven inside, letting him know with a look that it was safe to proceed, and then at the clock. The only reason why students came there was to ask her about her subject or about her assignments. If Johanna decided to quiz her on some artistic bullshit, Victoria was screwed.

The second explanation for her coming here that crossed the scientist’s mind was Kaisa needing help, which immediately shook her off of her exhaustion. But Kaisa would call her herself if she needed, wouldn’t she? Unless her situation was too dire to walk or talk, which was a terrifying thought, but Johanna would hardly be standing there, looking calm albeit embarrassed, if that were the case.

“Hi, goodnight, Victoria.” Johanna shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and why did Victoria get the feeling she was about to be roped into something ridiculous? “Sorry to bother you, it’s silly, but when you have some free time, could you maybe help me with something? It won’t take much of your time.”

“I… yeah, of course.” She only hoped they didn’t need couple’s therapy or anything of the sort, because really they had come to the wrong fucking person if that was the case. “Is this about Kaisa?”

Johanna confirmed her suspicion, luckily still acting coy enough that Kaisa definitely was in no danger, and Victoria offered to give her her number so they could text. There were sheets of paper on her desk, even if most of those were discarded ideas for her ploy that she truly shouldn’t give away to just anyone, but eventually she found an old shopping list she could jot her number down on.

“Professor Van Gale, this isn’t working!” Raven screeched, making Victoria wince when she looked in his direction. There was smoke coming from the device, which was not supposed to be happening, and he was covering his mouth and nose with his lab coat.

“Ugh, just hold it for a minute, I’m coming!” She rushed to give the girl the paper and the most polite ‘good night’ she could manage, before closing the door and rushing to fix whatever nonsense life had in store for her now.

…......

Raven had to hand it to her, the professor put her money where her mouth was at. He only wished her mouth wasn’t at places that left him wondering if she was insane.

Were she any other professor trying to come out on top of a situation, he was sure he would have been left alone to do the dirty work, forced to put himself on the line because he would have been threatened with the loss of his spot on her programme if he didn’t do what she wished. Van Gale wasn’t at all that type of person, though, and maybe that was why Raven put up with everything he did. Instead, she had insisted she could do it all on her own, and he had tagged along because someone responsible had to be present. He told himself it was out of loyalty, but truly it was equally likely that he had lost his mind after so long spending his afternoons in a small lab with her. Anyone would, really.

He had been left with lookout duty, given strict orders to signal her and disappear completely if someone came, lest someone see him and put him in trouble. Raven did his job minutely, keeping his eyes and ears attuned to any odd motions, trying hard not to think about how very easily the professor had picked the lock to the facility that hosted Erik Ahlberg’s project. In the dead of night, the campus eerily quiet and foggy, he felt like he could very well be in a graveyard.

He only hoped his reputation wouldn’t lie there to die that night.

Luckily, the only sounds he heard throughout the whole thing were those of Victoria skillfully attaching their creations to the voice boxes the project worked on, and after less than an hour, she walked back over to where he was and began locking the door again, always wearing a pair of gloves and her hair tied so as not to leave any traces.

“Let’s get the hell out of here, Raven.”

Never had a sentence coming out of his tutor’s mouth left him so relieved.

He tip toed back to his shared student apartment with the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end, still observing his surroundings as if he were on the lookout. Technically, anyone was allowed to walk around campus at two in the morning, but he still might receive questions if he was caught and he didn’t think he could convince anyone about midnight jogging when he was dressed like he was going to work.

Upon arriving home unseen, Raven breathed a sigh of relief, ready to head into his room and pretend none of that had ever happened. Until, that is, he realised that the lights in the common area were on, and whoever was there must have heard him arriving. He did trust the boys he lived with, but just so he didn’t jinx it, he had preferred to keep the whole sabotage thing between him and Van Gale, and he didn’t want to be raising any suspicions when he was now so close to coming out of this story unscathed. So after a beat, Raven dragged himself to the kitchen, figuring a glass of water would do him well, anyway.

“Bit late for you to be up, isn’t it?” Tontu’s voice greeted him from where he was sitting on the couch, knitting. Raven silently thanked the stars that it was him and not Alfred; mysterious as he was, Raven knew that Tontu wouldn’t give him too much grief about whatever lie he told.

“Yeah, I had trouble sleeping and decided to go get some fresh air.”

Just as predicted, Tondu didn’t question him, only muttered something about finding arts and crafts to be very soothing. And then he said something that almost made Raven spit out the water he was sipping on.

“I had been meaning to talk to you alone, anyway. I know something you might want to about the Ahlberg guy. I remember you telling me the project you work on needed some of the grants that go to him.”

Pretending he hadn’t nearly just choked, he attempted to put his most innocent face on as he turned his falsely naive smile to his flat mate.

“Oh, truly?” God, how he hated acting. “What would that be?”

“Well, I was talking to King.”

“King?”

“Yeah, one of the janitors.” Tontu kept knitting like that should have been common knowledge. “You know, Rat King, big guy, smile’s a bit crooked when you tell them ‘good morning’, knows everybody’s business.”

Raven did not, in fact, know. He had no clue why a janitor would be in on, in Tontu’s words, ‘everybody’s business’, much less why the hell he was called ‘Rat King’, but he was almost sure he remembered a tall man who did give him a lopsided smile when he greeted him on his way to work. He wondered exactly what kind of intel the man would have, and if his silence could be bought with anything Raven or Victoria owned if it was something incriminating to them.

“Okay.” He drew on the word longer than he needed to. “What did he tell you?”

Even though Tontu’s voluminous hair covered most of his face, Raven could see the excited smile underneath, which made him shiver, if he were being honest.

“You’re in luck. There is some dirt on him that might just be enough to deal with your problem.”

…......

It was a day. Not a particularly great day, or a wonderful day, or even a good day. But it sure was a fucking day, and Edmund was trying to be more grateful lately.

He was still working on it, okay?

Most of the other students who worked on the project had already been at their testing area on the edge of campus when he arrived, right where the University’s property ended and the forest began. They were doing a general test run today, finally getting all of their voice boxes to work in sync to see if they had the desired effect; small groups of engineers and physicists worked on their devices, each group with at least one Ecology student. This had been one of the only wins Professor Bloom had achieved when the project had been approved, that it would need to have a minimum amount of her students so they could, at least, make sure that the wildlife they were dealing with weren’t being hurt by their pathetic plans.

The Ecology students in the project were, for that reason, usually referred to as “Bloom’s spies” by the other ones who were there working with them. But it was much more of a fond nickname than a jab - even Ahblerg’s students could see that this project was useless at best. They were all only there because there were many openings and it paid well, and they all knew it.

Sure, there had to be one or two engineers there who were actually interested in the inner workings of the voice boxes they had been perfecting for so long, but no one there (other than Erik Ahlberg, who barely made the effort to even show up) actually believed that what they were doing was important. Troll bugs weren’t a threat to anyone, as anyone with more than two brain cells could attest to. Sure, they tend to chomp on leftovers if you leave them out unprotected, and if one ends up biting you it will hurt like a bitch for a couple of hours; but that was it. No poison, no diseases, no imbalance in the food chain caused by them, and they will leave you alone unless you go out of your way to get close to one. Troll bugs were much more afraid of humans than humans had any right to be of them, as was usually the case for beings no bigger then two inches, much to some people’s confusion.

What was worse, they were an endemic species on its way to becoming endangered. Their habitat already occupied a small area, with the campus and new roads being built directly inside it, it had only been getting harder for them to survive. Yet some people had the nerve to complain when they were living directly inside the land where that species had lived since they evolved into existence. And some people even had the nerve to lead a research project to find ways to scare those bugs away.

Edmund, as well as everyone who had worked there long enough, was sure that had Birgitta not managed to put her own students inside the project, Ahlberg would have aimed for killing them, ecosystem be damned.

He nodded grimly to Gerda as he walked by the desk her group was at, and she answered in kind, returning the “it sure is one fucking day” sentiment. So good to be this connected to your friends.

He arrived at his station and noticed that not even the engineer and physicist he worked with seemed happy to be there. Maybe they all knew that if they accidentally harmed the creatures with their invention, Edmund would not be happy with them.

Huh. How nice to be recognized as a bug avenger. That seemed like a reputation he could get behind.

Later than all of them, Professor Ahlberg eventually arrived and gave a speech that was drawn out for way longer than it needed to be. Something about being able to live with privacy and comfort without fearing for themselves. Edmund wasn’t really listening, he had quit paying attention when he realized that the sentence but they’re just fucking bugs would be the only thing he’d manage to think during the entire time he did so. At some point he stopped talking, and led them all to activate their voice boxes at the same time.

When they did so, a loud screeching came from the boxes, which Edmund imagined would be what it would sound like if bells could be out of tune. They all pressed their hands to their ears, having forgotten the possibility of needing ear plugs; the sound frequency was supposed to be unbearable only to the bugs, they were supposed to be just fine. But if this was their ‘just fine’, Edmund thought, than the bugs must be in complete agony.

He was about to shout at them to stop, and as he looked around he saw other fellow ‘spies’ looking like they were about to do the same, when something went very wrong. The screeching began to come into a halt, the pitch becoming lower and lower as smoke began to come from the voice boxes, one at a time. All tests were immediately terminated, though the smoke didn’t cease, and a loud metallic ‘pop’ came from each of the devices. Ahlberg looked at the smoking desks scattered around the campus’ edge with complete horror as engineers unscrewed the soundboxes’ diaphragm searching for the broken component, and finding it without having to look any further.

Inside each of the boxes, there were strips of metal, still smoking and hot, that could only have been part of the machinery but which none of the engineers could remember ever having been part of their system.

Well, Edmund thought as he walked away from their testing area, trying not to look too pleased. Maybe practicing gratefulness does bring good things along.

…......

Later that same day, he walked into his professor’s office with a smug smile that was the universal code for “I have come as bearer of hot gossip”. Bloom wasn’t in as much of a slump as she had those weeks before, but she still didn’t look or sound as cheerful as her former self. Edmund could only guess what had happened, but it was enough to make him feel a little guilty for it, and he’d been trying to make it up to her since then. He had a feeling that the news of Ahlberg’s project having to be backtracked at least several months before returning to full activity would lift her mood up.

It was really getting distressing to have to keep pretending to not see the constant stiffness of her face, or to not hear her sad sighs.

“Ask me how work went today, professor.” He said after they greeted each other, sitting down on his usual chair. Birgitta lifted her gaze from her laptop, where she’d been looking for his most recent copy of his thesis work, and lifted an eyebrow. They didn’t talk a lot about his job at the project, only when it was to complain about it, so seeing him mention it while seemingly in a good mood was understandably confusing. Not to mention, she had known the first official test was coming up soon, and had been seething about it alongside Edmund for a long while.

“Well, how did work go today?”

Edmund leaned forward a bit, compensating for his lower tone of voice.

“It was disastrous.” That alone was enough to visibly capture her interest. “We went to test the machinery all at once to finally see if it would have the desired effect, but something inside every single one of them exploded and the soundboxes stopped working completely! We will all have to go back to the first stage and plan the devices out from scratch. It’ll take forever, maybe by then the board will agree to give that funding to something a bit less useless, at least.”

Birgitta blinked, something about every last soundbox malfunctioning at the exact same time not sitting well with her. It was just too perfect. The main step towards getting those inventions to actually be put to use disrupting the ecosystem getting completely thwarted like that was too good to be true. It made her wonder if she’d hired some sort of hitman to do it during her sleep walking bouts at night. That sounded exactly like the sort of thing she’d do, especially asleep when her subconscious wasn’t being filtered by any annoying morals.

“That sounds… oddly coincidental, doesn’t it?” There was a smile tugging at her lips despite the suspicious situation, strengthened by the grin her own student was giving her. “What part of the machinery exploded?”

Edmund shrugged, which made Birgitta assume that he didn’t know since he wasn’t one of the students responsible for actually building it. The response, however, threw her off.

“That’s the best part. I don't know, but nobody knows either. The physics and engineering guys are probably still there, because no one recognizes the piece that triggered the system malfunctioning. It was in every single soundbox, yet no one remembers ever having installed it, or what it was supposed to do, or can spot it in the blueprints. I’m half convinced there were some, I don’t know, bug fairies or whatever that didn’t want this to work out. We lucked out so hard.”

But Birgitta didn’t really believe in luck. In karma, maybe - heaven knew how much Ahlberg had yet to receive from it - but not luck. Good things, she believed, came from the love we spread, the people we captivate, the messages we share.

And apparently, they also come from pea-brained scientists who wouldn’t be able to distinguish a terrible idea if it kicked their door open and hit them into next week.

Because it didn’t take hours of analysing this new information and deliberating for the truth to come to Birgitta. She knew what had happened as soon as Edmund had stopped talking. There was only one person in the entire campus who had both the reasons, the means, and the absolute fucking hubris to go and sabotage the largest ongoing research project the university had.

And she was going to have to explain herself.

…......

If there was any activity more depressing than correcting exams, Victoria was unaware of it. Every year, students came excited to learn about clouds and wind and humidity and whatnot. Every year, Victoria had to disappoint them by revealing that meteorology had more to do with physics and calculus than with the “wonder of mother nature” or whatever the hell those hippies who somehow always found themselves in her classrooms had been expecting. You try studying fluid on a constantly moving platform and see how fun it is.

Technically, she could have left that task to Raven, but after having submitted him to their… extra hours last night, she had thought he deserved a day off. She supposed she could have taken a day off too, since she had no classes to lecture that day and any student who wanted to talk to her could just send her an email, but what was she supposed to do? Just stay home? She wasn’t even sure she knew how to, or what the protocol for that even was. Hell, her students might even become worried something had happened to her if she didn’t show up at campus for the first time in… well, since she began working there, truth be told. Not like she had much else to occupy her time with, after all.

She was about to start correcting another (clearly begrudgingly answered) exam when an urgent knock sounded from the door behind her. Her heart leapt to her throat as her mind immediately reminded her that she was very much guilty for something that was very much a crime, and someone in that college had to be smart enough to figure it out. It was all a matter of how lucky she would be in regards of who was the said bearer of the brain cell.

Very lucky, it seemed.

“Victoria.” She would have recognized the voice anywhere, even if she could hardly remember ever having heard it sound that angry. “You better be kidding me right now, I swear-”

Victoria’s best option was, evidently, playing dead. Some small, childish part of her wanted to see how much angrier Birgitta would get if she pretended to be a programmed recording and said that there was no one at the lab and then just not speak any further, but she valued her life a bit more than that. Just a tad bit, but she did. But if anyone deserved to hear it from her, it was Birgitta. Had she never found out, Victoria wouldn’t be able to attest to her morality going so far as to make her confess, but she would feel the need to share it with the woman who had been her close friend for so long. Since she already clearly knew, however (Victoria couldn’t think of any other recent fuck-ups from her part. Birgitta had never answered her last messages but barging on her office weeks later was hardly going to be her way to do it), it would simply be stupid to play dumb. If she at least talked it through, she would have a shot at getting her to not denounce her.

So she got up, and opened the lab’s door to a very angry Birgitta Bloom, her arms crossed on her chest and her eyes glaring at her in a way that, if looks could kill, Victoria would be dead and buried by now.

“Uh, hello!” She attempted sounding normal, even though seeing her again made her heart ache and seeing her like this made her feel like the smart choice was to jump from the window and run from the hills. “Maybe we should have this conversation inside.”

“Maybe we should.” Birgitta agreed, voice icy as she walked through the door that Victoria held open for her without as much as a glance in her direction.

“What the hell.” She wasted no time in saying as soon as they were alone in the lab. “Are you for real? Single handedly putting a halt to the only overfunded project in this university? Have you lost your mind?”

“Well, it wasn’t-” Standing by the door at a safe distance from the fuming ecologist, Victoria was going to say it hadn’t been ‘single handed’, but then realised that it would be better to keep poor Raven’s name out of this. “That big of a deal. Just a little messing with their soundboxes, you see.”

Birgitta squinted in a way that let her know she’d seen right through the slip up. “You know what I mean. It was too big of a risk. People could have gotten hurt!”

“No, they wouldn’t!” Victoria protested, hoping it was Birgitta’s anger speaking and that she didn’t actually think so low of her. I mean, it’s not like she would never hurt people, but hey! Rude! “I promise, I tested it countless times. It was projected to cause malfunction on the devices and then self destroy, but nothing more! My gadgets were the size of a fist, there wouldn’t be much harm done even if it hadn’t been inside the boxes.”

Lifting an eyebrow and looking like she was trying to scan the scientist for lies, Birgitta drew out a “Really?” while she looked around for remnants of that project. There were none. She’d made sure to do away with them all first thing in the morning - which meant she’d taken it all home, burned what could be burned, torn what could be torn, and thrown it all in a ditch in the middle of who the fuck knows where. She hoped Birgitta never found that part out. She might get mad about the littering.

“Yes, really.” Victoria lowered her gaze, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. She supposed she deserved it, but she really liked it better when Birgitta thought she was only ‘kooky’ mad and not ‘dangerous’ mad. In some ways, it was good she had found out, though. At least maybe she’d see Victoria was not the person she thought she liked and her senseless rejection wouldn’t pain her.

And like she’d heard her thoughts, Birgitta touched that exact matter.

“Does this have anything to do with what you told me?” Victoria looked around the lab, anything but stare at Birgitta’s face as she came to all the right conclusions. “With us not keeping in touch, with you needing to do the right thing…?”

What was more disgraceful, she wondered. That she’d really given that piss poor excuse to someone she loved, or that her actions were so insane that the excuse had begun to make sense.

“It does.” She admitted with a sigh, tugging at the hem of her lab coat. “Birgitta… I don’t expect you to listen to me. I certainly don’t expect you to forgive me. But since it’s out, I have to let you know. I hated that I needed to tell you that. I was looking forward so much to getting to know you in a new way, have been for years, but… the morning after we talked, I realised that if I got caught, and we were dating, people would take you for the head of the operation. Everyone knows you rightfully hate that project, the connection would simply be too easy to make, and then I’d drag you down alongside me without you having done anything wrong!”

Victoria hugged her torso. Her voice had grown louder in her agitation, reverberating against the lab’s walls and machinery, and she noticed it and toned it down. She couldn’t see Birgitta’s face, staring at her feet as she was, but at least the woman was silent and letting her speak. She could only hope that didn’t mean she now feared her. Victoria didn’t think she could survive that.

“I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t take a chance on you taking the fall. So I decided that cutting us off before we even started would hurt less. And here we are. At least I get to tell you all of this.”

Taking the scientist completely by surprise, Birgitta scoffed.

“Maybe you should have let me make that choice, don’t you think?” She asked when Victoria snapped her gaze up to meet hers. Rubbing at the bridge of her nose, Birgitta sighed, muttering a ‘God, I can’t believe this’ under her breath. “Have you ever talked to any of the students who work there, Victoria?”

Caught off guard yet again, Victoria squinted, wondering where she was going with this. “No?”

“Well, I have. And let me tell you, they all hate it. You and I can have our ethical concerns about it, but those kids hate it with the kind of burning passion you can only feel when you spend too long around Ahlberg. Right now, they are all realising that all of their devices went down, at the same time, because of a piece no one can remember having put it there. And what do you think they will do?”

Victoria was about to answer ‘look for the culprit’, her stomach dropping, when Birgitta answered herself.

“They won’t do anything. In fact, I think your work is done forever now, because those kids will probably decide that sabotage is a great idea and try it every time a general test is upcoming. They’ll keep vandalising Ahlberg’s project and getting the money that they need, and honestly, good for them. No one will find out, Victoria, because the only people close enough to actually see how clearly set up this was could not care less.”

Relief would have flooded her. It definitely should at this news that, hooray, she was probably not going to jail! But Birgitta was deflating now, looking more exasperated (and just slightly amused), and something she’d said made her feel even more confused than she was relieved.

“‘Good for them’, really? I thought you were mad, shouldn’t you not be endorsing this?”

“What? Oh-“ Birgitta hummed, realising what this must look like from Victoria’s point of view. “Oh, no, I’m not mad about the sabotage. Ahlberg’s had it coming. What I’m mad about is you pushing me away because of it, and not even caring to explain!”

“I didn’t want to involve you in all of this!”

“Didn’t you, or didn’t you trust me to agree with you?”

The question gave Victoria pause, and she tapped her fingers against one another nervously.

“You may have a point.”

And could she be blamed, really? When the entire world agreed that left was the way to go, Birgitta would follow right if she thought that it was the kind, the thoughtful, the correct thing to do. Why should she expect her to agree to something her own student could barely get behind?

“Maybe.” Birgitta sighed. “Maybe that should have been a reason for you to rethink your plan, not to cut me off entirely.”

Not that it would have been a problem, Birgitta thought to herself, at worst I would have gotten you in contact with some students working there so you could plan it better.

Victoria at least had the sense to look properly chastened (it wouldn’t have been too surprising if she hadn’t), and Birgitta was feeling like she had run out of steam. Being angry was truly tiring, specially at someone she held so dear, and the little ‘you’re right’ that the scientist gently uttered pierced through the rest of her discontent.

It was fine. They were fine. Neither of them had done something horrible, nor had Victoria realised that she’d be miserable dating her or anything of the sort. It was just one of Victoria’s usual shenanigans, albeit admittedly bolder than she’d seen her try before. They were going to be alright.

“Were those all the reasons why you went back on our date, or is there anything else?” She asked, testing the waters. When Victoria shook her head, Birgitta lifted an eyebrow as well as the corners of her lips. “Well, then, is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“Oh!” Victoria looked at her, blushing. “Yes. I’m sorry. Is there any chance you could forgive me?”

“There is, in fact.” She smiled. For the moment being, Birgitta thought it better to not tell her she’d practically already forgiven it. It would do no good to give her the impression she could get away so easily with that sort of thing. “And is there any chance you’d like to rethink your statement about not going out with me?”

Victoria smiled at her like she was the only sun she would ever really care to study.

And unbeknownst to them, Victoria’s cellphone laid on her desk, awaiting for the moment she’d pick it up and read the messages her student had sent her.

………

Surprising a grand total of zero people, it seemed like the way in which Erik Ahblerg had managed to get all of that funding for his project was… less than legal. According to the information Raven had shared with them (and he refused to say where he’d gotten that from, only that it was a bizarrely trustworthy source), the professor had been bribing members of the research directory and the board of directors to push his agenda forward. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise; aside from money spent on materials and employing the students, it wasn’t an awfully expensive project, and yet it received many more grants than it needed, and now they knew where that spare cash went: into Ahlberg’s and his collaborators’ pockets.

They’d had to look into it, of course. Going to the higher authorities and saying she had gossip on a coworker wasn’t exactly going to lead her anywhere useful. But what Victoria did do, alongside Birgitta and other professors who resented that misuse of the university’s money, was request a thorough investigation of the destination given to those grants. What they ended up with was a long and scandalous list of people who Ahlberg was working in concert with, all of whom were then signed up for longer investigations into the source of their money and their actions in regards to their professional life.

Victoria hadn’t been the smallest bit surprised to see the Lyman sisters’ name on that list. She’d taken great pleasure, in fact, in watching the news of their participation in the corruption spread around campus, feeling like she was Karma itself; the very night the list had first been divulged, she’d called Kaisa and as soon as her friend picked up she hit her with a joyful “Guess what, nerd, I got your revenge for you!”

She knew some part of Kaisa had had to be pleased. No one willingly stuck around Victoria for that long unless they were a little bit fucked up as well.

None of that completely solved Victoria’s underlying issue, however. Sure, Ahlberg’s project was discontinued, and the grants were redistributed around other projects on campus, but hers was still vastly underfunded. It bothered her, of course, to know how far she could go and not be able to do it. But it didn’t make her grieve as much as she once would. Because now, for the first time in years, Victoria had something other than her job to live for.

She had strolls through the campus. She had late night phone calls. She had trips to the botanical garden and to the museums in Trolberg. She had movie nights. She had gentle touches and kisses that made her believe that the world was good, after all.

So maybe she didn’t have it all; no one really did, however much they would like to pretend otherwise, did they? But she had enough to overflow the gap that she’d failed to fill during all these years trying to stuff numbers and research and projects into it.

Victoria had enough to be happy. And now that she knew what that was like, she was never going to let that go.

#fic: feaar #verse: carpe diem #my fic #raven scientist #raven scientist ship #victoria van gale fanfic

7 notes · View notes

sleepy-achilles · 1 month

Note

Hi! I have a request. I have would love to get more of Leon’s rebellious teen phase in the family of destruction. I know he and taker didn’t get along too well then, but I’m a sucker for angst 😭!

I adore Teen Leon and I'm kinda mad I don't write them as kids more. I like teen Leon more than adult Leon. Fuck adult Leon.

Also your reminder, because ik some don't read the notes, asks are now reopen and I will be answering them the same day or as soon as possible (incase I suffer writer's block)

Sweet 16

Bro went from the sweetest child in the whole world to a literal spawn of Satan when he hit 16. No? What do you mean he was traumatised and his 16th birthday incident pushed him over the edge? I would never do that to a character 👀

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"Have kids they said. Kids will be the apple of your eye" Taker growls as he slams the report down onto the table. Leon tilts his freshly scarred face as he rocks his feet which are sat on said table. "Why couldn't you be like your brother?" Taker sighs. "What a complete and utter loser?" Leon asks. John glares at him. "None of that now" Shawn scolds. Leon rolls his eyes as shawn taps his feet. He lowers his feet. He's asshole to everyone but Shawn at the moment.

Taker knows why but he doesn't want to speak it, mostly for shawns mental health than anything. But a little someone has followed too much in their papas footsteps.

"I get your having a tough time at the moment, but you said you were ready for school, so what's up with the grades?" Taker asks. "Im sorry, I said I was ready to go out and about again, not do well in school. I never did. Besides I think having my grandfather slashing my face open should give me some leeway as you know it only happened four months ago" Leon snaps as he stands up. He stares taker down. "Now if you excuse me old man, me, mattie and val have plans" Leon huffs grabbing his jacket and walking to the door. "No! Because your grounded!" Taker yells. "Ha! Grounded? Fuck off!" Leon yells before the door opens and slams shut.

"I liked him better when he didn't speak" Taker mutters. Shawn slaps his arm. "You don't mean that" "If he doesn't, I do" John whispers. Both men look at him. "What, he's nicer when he can't speak. In fact he was a lot nicer before Paul turned psycho on him" John admits. "Yeah I know bud. Go get ready for bed" Shawn sighs. Taker watches as John leaves. "Hes gonna do a lot of damage." Taker warns. "I know. But we gotta be careful. It's not just trauma is natural teenage rebellion too. I know damn well you were like it and well I didn't get mine until my 30s" Shawn shrugs picking up Leon's report. "And too be honest he's not wrong. He was doing horrible in school before his 16th. He's just dropping in art and history now which I will talk to him about as I know he likes those subjects" Shawn adds. "I just want him to do well." "I know that and he will too one day. Now are you waiting up or going to bed?" "Bed" Taker mutters.

------

"Your parents are gonna kill ya" Mattie chuckles as he blows smoke towards the sky. "They are cute tho" val smiles poking her fresh tattoo. The trio got group tattoos just below their ribs. Mattie got a wolf skull with a small butterfly wearing a crown. Val got a butterfly that's pattern makes a skull, she got a small pawprint with a crown just above the butterfly's head. Leon got a skull with a massive crown on its head, the skull has a small claw mark up the side and a butterfly clinging to the other side. "Yeah but you two took it too far" Matt states. "What makes you say that?" Leon asks sitting up. "Well you both got your nipples pierced" Matt states. "Oh yeah, and when my face fully heals I'll get my nose done, some sick snakebites and then work on my ears, My ears are gonna be covered" Leon smirks.

Val chuckles and leans forward between Leon's legs. "Get your cock pierced" she smirks. "How much?" Leon tilts his head. "I know whoever wins the next match for their team picks the losers next piercing location" Matt smirks. "Deal" they all shake on it. "You know damn well Leon woulda been tatted up and pierced up if the shop didn't refuse to do more work to cover their own ass" val states. "Or the fact they are scared his father" Matt hums watches as a car races past them. "Ain't that brads car?" Leon asks sliding off the hood of Matts car. They watch as Brad and his friends climb out. "Thinkin what I'm thinking?" Mattie smirks. "Damn right, get the bats" Leon smirks as the other group walk into the mall.

Taker groans as the phone rings. He rolls over and lifts the phone off its holder. "Mm hello?" He mutters. "Im sorry to call you up so late taker but your son is smashing up Mr Daniels sons car up and refusing to get off the car." Officer Bode sighs. "That fucker" Taker growls sitting up, causing Shawn to wake. "Where is he?" "The mall carpark." "Ill be there now" Taker hangs up, throwing the phone back into the hold. "Whats wrong?" Shawn yawns. "Your son is destroying property. That mall was the worse thing I ever built." Taker growls standing up, grabbing a tshirt. "Want me to go?" Shawn asks. "No. I promise not to kill him" Taker mutters grabbing the trucks keys. Shawn frowns as Taker storms out. He glances down at Charlie. "Lets hope it's the last time" Shawn sighs as the dog steals takers spot. Shawn looks at him as Charlie just huffs at him.

Taker is going to loose his head as he pulls up and sees Leon stood on the roof of the car. He watches as Leon hits the mirror off when the cops move closer.

He slams his door. "LEON!" He yells as he walks over. Mr Daniels pulls Brad back as the man walks over. "Im so sorry Mr Daniels. I promise to pay to get this repaired" "don't be sorry dad! His son is a piece of shit!" Leon laughs. Taker looks at val and matt who are leant against the cop car. "You two involved in this?" Taker snaps. "Yessir." They both mutter looking down. Taker looks back at Leon. "Get down now" he orders. "Or what?" Leon snarls leaning against the bat. "LEON! Enough! Down now!" Taker yells. Leon huffs and walks forward until he drops down to the floor. Taker snatches the bat off Leon and throws it to the floor.

"Are you fucking crazy? Bode has every right to throw your scrawny ass in a cell" taker growls grabbing his jacket. Leon just glares at him. "What if I want him in a cell! Look at the damage!" Daniels yells. "Then we'd have to look into that file against Brad last summer." Bode states. "Dad it's fine, Mr Michaels has said they'll pay for the damage. Me and my mates are fine." Brad pleads. "What will it be?" Bode asks. "No charges. But I don't want him anywhere near my property anymore" Daniels snaps. "Of course. I'll make sure of it" Taker promises. "Thank you Mr michaels. I'll drop these two home and speak to their parents." Bode states. "Good. I'll be speaking to them tomorrow too. Now excuse us" Taker nods, pulling Leon towards the truck.

Leon jerks out of his hold. "Let me go" Leon snarls as he storms towards the truck. "Are you fucking crazy!" Taker yells as they get into the truck. Leon sucks in his cheeks as he stares out the window. "Lets go home." "What the hell are you playing at? Hmm? Be angry at me, push me, do not start terrorising the people of my valley" Taker tells him. This causes Leon to snap. "Oh but they can terrorise me?! He's been bullying me and my mates since we where kids! He harasses Valentina and he assaults me!" Leon barks. "You goto an adult! Not do this shit!" "We went to an adult! And as you heard, daddy's got money so this shit gets swept" Leon scoffs. Taker sighs and rubs his cheek as he starts the engine up. Leon turns fully towards the window.

This can't get worse.

----Posted this part before-----but yeah-----lets mix it up--

Taker had to open his big mouth.

Shawn had to leave the arena to go home. When taker found out he was going to the police station he teleported straight there.

"Why Lee. Look at you" he hears Shawn sigh. Taker steps up to the front desk where Bode is waiting. It's late after all. "Go home, ill lock up" Taker tells him. "Sure thing" Bode throws him the keys before walking out. Shawns quiet as Taker walks towards the cell. "What the fuck have you done?" Taker growls as he opens the cell and walks in. Leon stumbles back as the door slams shut. "Do I need to repeat myself?" Taker asks. "It was a fight party. Its not the first one it won't be the last." Leon admits quietly.

Taker would hate for his kids to be scared of him. But his anger towards his son is too high to care right now. "Look at me! What did you do!" Taker growls getting closer. "I took it too far. Hurt the kid" Leon mutters looking down at his bloodied knuckles. "Look at me." Taker sighs. Leon doesn't move. "Look at me!" Taker orders. Leon glances up, his lip tucked in so he can fiddle with his snakebites.

"I have been nothing but patient with you.-" "like fuck. You go in guns blazing. Yelling, slamming things. You've never been patient." Leon snaps. Taker stares at him. "Ok. Lets do it that way" Taker states walking away from him. "What? What way?" Leon asks as Taker shuts the cell and locks it. "Ill see you tomorrow when your bail is Posted. If your bail is Posted." Taker states. Both Leon and shawns eyes widen. "What? You can't leave me here!" Leon barks. "Damn right I can. Breaking cars, breaking into buildings, shoplifting and now putting kids in hospital? It's about time you sit in here and think. Sweet dreams leon" Taker snaps before he leads Shawn away

Shawn closes his eyes as his son yells and pleads for them. He knows takers right, but that's his baby boy behind those bars. Shawn opens his eyes. No. No, right now? Right now that's not his baby boy. That's a empty shell of his baby boy.

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Leon fiddles with his lip piercing as the family eat dinner. "So how was the first day of school?" Taker asks. "I got accepted into a club!" Cassie smiles. "A nerd friendship group is not a club" Leon mutters. Cassie frowns at him. "Dont be a jerk." John mutters. "How about you Leon? Did you meet the therapist?" Shawn asks. They all agreed Leon should try speaking to the school therapist when he goes back. And boy did Leon fool them. "Yeah, slept with him and then hung out under the bleachers for an hour before I had to go back to class" Leon smirks. Taker chokes on his beer and shawns eyebrows raise as he turns from sipping his wine to downing it.

"And that's our cue to go and do your homework" John hums lowering his fork. "Yeah..." cassie nods picking up her plate.

Taker stares at Leon as the other two kids escape. "Im sorry what? Leon did he-" "God no, if anything he's more scared of me. He's hot, I'm hot, he's probably done it before tho as he didn't hesitate at all. So yeah might wanna get him checked out there Daddyo but I am not a victim" Leon huffs. "Leon you cannot sleep with an adult who's supposed to be a teacher or someone who we trust to look after you." Taker states. Leon looks at shawn. Taker copies. "Oh no, he's got me on this one. All you or I look like a hypocrite" Shawn admits. "Oh my god" Taker groans. "Yeah sorry dad, your losing this one but hey, found your mysterious predator. Again" he mutters the last part. "Did you just say again?" Taker asks. "Nope, gotta go" Leon hums standing up.

"No Leon you are g-" "grounded? Yeah we know that isn't happening, me and mattie are gonna go joy riding before grabbing Valentina to eat and watch a film" Leon chuckles before leaving.

Taker looks at shawn. "Im sorry baby but he knows too much about me. Ministry era was a weird time for us" Shawn sighs. "You slept with the school therapist?" "My history teacher. Needed a grade." Shawn admits. "What are we going to do Shawn? How far do we let this go before someone dies?" Taker asks quietly. Shawn leans back. "We get Kevin involved. We do what we did with me." Shawn admits. "Hes in the ring every week Shawn." "No, he's a sports entertainer. He needs control and patience" Shawn states. "Could work."

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Leon is 17 when he starts training with his uncle. His violence crimes start going down, but he's not completely out yet. No, he still has some rebellion stuck in him.

------

"How's Lee doing?" Scott asks. "Hes doing good, no more fights, no more crimes. Just got that damnd attitude still" Kevin answers as he accepts a beer off taker. "Tell me about it." Taker sighs watching cassie and John play fight. "Hes definitely pushing those two away still" Taker adds. "Where is he now?" Scott asks. "Got in a fight at school, cassie saw it so shawns sorting it with the school." Taker mutters. "Thought he wasn't fighting anymore?" Goldust asks as he passes a beer to hunter. "Thats the issue. Cassie states it was scary, Leon just stood there and took it. Never fighting back once. I'm worried we might have put the wrong ideas in his head" Taker sighs. "But he fights back in the ring" goldust states. "Hes performing for the crowd then, it's different." Hunter points out.

"So now we are worried because he's no longer fighting?" Scott asks, clapping as cassie knocks John down. "Atta girl!" He calls. "No I'm worried about how his brain is working at the moment. Pushing his siblings away, allowing himself to be pushed around, obviously he's still arguing with me. I'm just waiting for him to be caught with drugs or alcohol" Taker sighs. "You don't think he's going completely down that path?" Hunter asks. "I hope not. He probably won't gain anything from it. But he's definitely spiraling" Taker admits.

"It'll be okay, I think I'm getting through to him" Kevin promises.

"I hope"

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Leon huffs and groans as he's shoved against the old matt, his face pressed into it. "Wanna tell me why your so angry at your old man? Heard you ignored his birthday" Kevin asks as he lowers himself. Leon growls and bares his teeth at him. "Ah ah, none of that bullshit with me, you know better than that. I know you better" Kevin tuts. Leon closes his eyes. "Gonna speak to me kid or you gonna keep hitting me a bit too hard?" Kevin asks. "Uncle." Leon taps the matt. Kevin sits back and watches as Leon pulls himself up to sit.

He keeps his eyes down. Kevin takes in the scar on the boys face. It's no longer red and raw. It's healed as best as it probably will, still bothers him if it's too cold. "Whats going on up there?" Kevin asks quietly. "It was his knife." Leon whispers. Kevin raises an eyebrow. "What?" "My dad's knife. That's what Paul used to do this. It belongs to him, it sits in his office in a case." Leon explains looking at Kevin. Kevin spots the watery look in his eyes. "Ah kid, I get what that looks like but your father would never want to hurt you" Kevin sighs. "You don't understand. You didn't experience Ministry like we did. Like I did. I'm the chosen one. No one experienced it like I did" Leon whispers hugging his knees.

"Ministry and your dad are two different people" "I know that! I get that! But looking at the face of the man who terrorises you is never easy" Leon snaps standing up. "Your dad terrorises you?" Kevin asks noting the lack of past tense. "No. Not now." Leon lies. Ministry is stood around him as he speaks. Taker? Taker would never harm Leon. But Ministry? Ministry haunts him like a ghost.

"Are we done? I'd like to go home." Leon asks. "Yeah, same time Thursday?" Kevin asks. "Ill be there" he nods before climbing out. Kevin hums to himself. Well now this is something. Leon is still a scared little boy, and Kevin doesn't blame him.

---

Taker watches Leon as he searches for something. "Looking for something?" Taker asks. Leon sighs and closes the draw. "Can you just back off?" Leon snaps looking at him. "I wanna talk about what happened." "So Kevin told you what I told him? Cool. I don't want to talk" Leon states. "Leon...I'm worried." "I don't care! I really don't fucking care! I've stopped my crimes! I've stopped fighting! I've got my grades leveled and you still breathe down my fucking neck!" Leon yells. "Because I care! You are on a spiraling road and I want to help!" Taker snaps back. Leon taps his fingers against the cabinet.

"You don't want this Leon. I know that." "You don't know what I want." Leon mutters, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Youll never know." Leon sighs pushing away from the unit. Taker watches him as he walks out. "One day we will be fixed. I promise." Taker sighs.

Leon tilts his head down as he blows smoke out.

Shawn sits next to him. "Gonna have ago at me?" Leon mutters. "No. Glad your smoking outside instead of in the house" Shawn shrugs. "Smoke reminds dad of the house fire." Leon points out. Shawn looks at him shocked. Maybe they all had it wrong.

"Yeah, it does. That's nice of you Lee." Shawn nods. "Im an asshole, not a monster. He doesn't deserve that...he doesn't deserve any of this" Leon mutters rubbing his cheek. "But your angry at the world and need someone strong enough to handle it, because you cannot and no one deserve to suffer" Shawn hums. Leon looks at him. "Yeah...how.." "I did the samething. I was suffering and didn't want anyone to know. So I turned it into anger and your father and uncle hunter suffered the brute of it." Shawn admits. "Guess we are alike" Leon huffs looking at the sky. "Yeah and I'll always be sorry for that." Shawn mutters.

"No one's telling you not to be a rebellious teen, it's part of growing up. We just want you to be happy again." Shawn tells him. "I know. And I'm trying. We've all cut the violence and petty crimes out. Payed for stuff stolen. Repaired things we broke. Replaced broken things. I'm just...lost still." Leon explains. "And that's okay. Your young, one day you'll find yourself and this will all make sense." Shawn promises. "Yeah? You promise?" "I promise. Now your dad will be home soon, what shall we have for dinner?" Shawn asks. "Let me buy you all a pizza, to say sorry" Leon offers. "Sure. A pizza will easily win cassie and John back but also show dad your trying" "Oh I've already won cassie back, brought her that bike she wanted" Leon smiles. "Well thanks, don't know what to get her for Christmas now" Shawn huffs. "Oh please she could give you a list a mile long" Leon laughs.

Shawn smiles. A sound he hasn't heard in ages. "I love you Lee." "Love you too".

------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon didn't find himself until he was 24. He still had slip ups with violence and his anger but it wasn't bad. He wasn't teenage rebellion anymore once he hit 18, he was just a rebel.

He came to accept the truth of what happened. He became a brat but a brat people actually liked being around. He's still an asshole. But he knows when to quit.

Him and taker still fight, of course they do, they have strong opinions and are similar enough in the sense they'd clash over a spoon and a spork. But they love each other and they'll always have each others back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------Notes

I'm so sorry 😞 Its 12am. So I'm pretty tired whilst writing this but I know you wanted angst which led me off Leon's rebellious activities so I hope that's okay. I also wanted to make sure I didn't repeat myself fic wise, which I obviously started to so but changed the scene up a bit.

I really like teen Leon's character. But old Leon and child Leon have a soft spot in my heart. Especially with both out there fighting bad guys and child Leon killing one whilst teen Leon was just out here being a literal criminal.

I do want to write more of the kids being, well kids, Leon was such a ball of sunshine. He went from sunshine to moon to now being eclipse. And well John and cassie have always been sunshine.

I will gladly do a fic focusing on Leon's actual rebellious activities if that's what people want.

Maybe one day we will find out who got the gential piercing 😅🤣

#wwe #shawn michaels #the undertaker #wwf #hbtaker #undertaker x shawn michaels #shawn x undertaker #leon michaels #the family of destruction

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theworldisquietheretooquiet · 1 year

Text

An unhinged attempt to fit deaths in the Silm into the 15 Fears/Entities of The Magnus Archives

THE BURIED

Fingolfin

So in all honesty I struggled to put Fingolfin in one of the others, but he’s here because he was figuratively weighed down by the weight of the ruin of the Noldor… and Morgoth crushed him under his weight, which was “like a fallen hill.”

THE CORRUPTION

Aredhel

She dies to a poisoned wound inflicted by her husband, which is very symbolic of an entity associated with infection and unhealthy love.

THE DARK

Eluréd & Elurín

They are taken by monsters into a dark forest, and their death is a fate unknown in the dark… I’m not crying… MAG 173 vibes.

THE DESOLATION

Maedhros

This works so well and was what originally sparked (ha) this idea. Throwing yourself into a “gaping chasm filled with fire” is exactly what a victim of the Lightless Flame would do. This fear is the manifestation of pain, loss and unthinking/cruel destruction, especially of potential. Maedhros both experiences this and is the perpetrator of this on countless occasions. His death is the consequence of these actions – his last sensations are “pain unbearable”, “anguish”, and “despair”.

Also, the parallels to Agnes Montague! Both are angsty redheads who were held up as the hope of a people only to fail in that role completely and die a meaningless self-inflicted death…

(I promise the others won’t be as long oops)

Aegnor & Angrod

Really all deaths in the Dagor Bragollach fit here – dying in despair in dragon fire is very Desolation.

Aerin

Unlike the others I don’t believe she ever gave into utter despair, and her death by fire has some defiant rage in it. Yet her life was marked by pointless pain and her death by destruction; she burns herself alive to avoid the revenge of the Easterlings.

THE END

Maglor

He’s haunted by inevitable death throughout the narrative - the unstoppable end of all his brothers, cousins and Beleriand itself. Assuming he fades, he dies the closest to a mortal death from old age of any elf.

Morwen

She dies nearly as soon as Hurin finds her on the grave of her children, one of the last of the Beorians, a ‘dead’ people.

THE EYE

Húrin

As Thingol tells him “for he that seeth through Morgoth’s eyes, willing or unwilling, seeth all things crooked”. A figure that keeps constant watch and horrible knowledge that may destroy you are both of the Eye.

THE EXTINCTION

Turgon

The Fall of Gondolin represents that final extinction of all Noldor culture, power and craft in Beleriand – and it was brought down by a Noldo (Maeglin). Destruction by our own doing is very Extinction.

THE FLESH

Celebrimbor

(Yes I know he doesn’t technically die in the Silm sshhh) But being made into a human banner and paraded by the enemy is quintessentially Flesh fears of reshaping and mutilation.

Finduilas

She was “fastened to a tree with a spear”, which is the sort of physical mutilation this entity represents.

THE HUNT

Finrod

He killed a werewolf … with his hands and teeth. Yeah.

Celegorm

This boy is the biggest avatar of the Hunt. He literally canonically served the god of hunting. And his hunting after the silmaril led to the second kinslaying and his death.

Ambarussa

If we go with the idea their own followers turned on them and killed them at Sirion, it has the Hunt energy of predator becoming prey.

THE LONELY

Maeglin

Kind of leaning into popular fanon here (because it has been a while since I read tfog) but his betrayal of Gondolin links with his isolation as Eöl’s son, Sindarin and the way he was raised in Nan Elmoth. Plus his whole being a creep for Idril thing as a desire to not be alone.

THE SLAUGHTER

Dior

The sudden, awful violence of the second kinslaying basically.

Fingon

His death signifies to me the pure, horrifying, unmotivated violence of war which the Slaughter represents. They “beat him into the dust with their maces, and his banner, blue and silver, they trod into the mire of his blood.”

THE SPIRAL

Fëanor

There’s the lies spread by Morgoth, Feanor’s own deceit of Fingolfin at Losgar and his description as “fey”, all which lead to his death, and lies, false friendships, deceit and madness are all characteristics of the Spiral.

Thingol

He was mad to speak to the dwarves like that and not expect consequences lol. Also his obsession with the silmaril is a little like madness. And I guess you could say the dwarves ‘deceived’ him as they never intended to give him the Nauglamir.

THE STRANGER

Beleg

Case 1.0 of Túrin killing a love interest because of mistaken identity.

Nienor

Case 2.0 of Túrin ‘killing’ a love interest because of mistaken identity. Feat. Accidental incest. Also Nienor experiences the creeping sense of knowing something is not right but not how.

THE VAST

Eöl

He gets yeeted to death. Simon Fairchild is jealous.

Elenwë

Dying an ‘insignificant’ death in the unfathomably deep and barren void of the Helcaraxë is very indicative of the Vast.

THE WEB

Túrin

He is the poster child for being trapped in a machination, and not knowing it, Morgoth makes his will not his own with the curse. With his many names he tries to escape the web Glaurung and Morgoth cast over him, but to the end he only furthers his own doom – “master of doom by doom mastered”. (Even his sword was working against him RIP.)

#i have no idea if there is any crossover between these two things #i may just be shouting into the void (hi morgoth)#i tried to stick specifically to the vibes given by their deaths not their lives in general #silmarillion #tolkein #tma #the magnus archives #my post

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female-malice · 5 months

Text

By Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib November 26, 2023

As battered Gazans emerged from their destroyed homes in northern Gaza after the temporary four-day cease-fire took effect, a Palestinian reporter working for Hamas’ own TV station ironically captured dozens of resentful civilians cursing Hamas and accusing the group of having destroyed their lives.

This isn’t an isolated example.

In a short BBC clip showing the aftermath of a deadly Israeli strike that killed civilians in Gaza, a grieving Palestinian mother screams in agony, “This is all because of Hamas’ dogs.” A nearby man, likely a family member, can be heard quickly telling her, “Enough!” He places his hand on her mouth to prevent her from saying more.

Many Palestinians are either reluctant or fearful to express what they are honestly thinking about Hamas, the Islamist group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 and perpetrated the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel. The massive Israeli bombardment throughout the Gaza Strip killed hundreds of people daily, many of whom were neither Hamas members nor supporters. Most, including my family members, are experiencing blowback for actions they didn’t commit, plan or endorse.

Immediately after the horrific Oct. 7 attack on Israeli towns and kibbutzim, I encountered dozens of social media posts from Gazans who expressed immense concern, fear, horror and worry about what this event would unleash. Hundreds condemned Hamas’ “adventures” and reckless disregard for the well-being of its people in the coastal enclave. They considered the attack a suicide mission that would inevitably result in the total and utter destruction of the strip.

Unfortunately, so far their fears have proven accurate.

After the first massive Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, another short video captured a grieving man’s defiant outburst against Hamas during a press conference by one of the group’s spokespersons, blaming the group for what has befallen the coastal enclave.

“Why are they hiding amongst the people?” asked a battered man inside a Gaza Hospital on Aljazeera’s live Arabic news channel, referring to Hamas fighters. “Why don’t they go to hell and hide there?” The interviewer quickly cut him off.

Hamas is deeply unpopular with the people of Gaza. But the way that Israel is waging war in the strip will ultimately make things much worse for both Palestinians and Israelis long-term.

How Hamas uses the Gaza Strip

While ignoring its own people, Hamas has managed to insulate itself and its patrons from the impact of Israel’s 16-year-long blockade. There is rising anger among Gazans at this reality, as well as a rejection of Hamas’ methods, beliefs, ideologies and governance of the strip.

A recent popular Facebook post by a frustrated Gazan inside the strip lambasts the “Iranian-back armed factions” led by Hamas. “It doesn’t seem that we as civilians are remotely considered in their plans or calculus,” he adds, saying that militants “depict themselves as being perfectly fine” with their tunnels and well-prepared supplies and stockpiles while no such preparations were put in place to support the civilian population’s needs.

The post called for the release of all hostages in exchange for the complete withdrawal of IDF troops, stressing that the sanctity of Gazans’ lives is more valuable than prisoner swaps or Hamas’ ideologies and beliefs.

Right before Oct. 7, a survey by the Arab Barometer found a continuing decline in Gazans’ trust in Hamas’ governance along several metrics. Sadly, the intensity of Israel’s military operation is overshadowing dissenting voices, both those that existed before Oct. 7 and those that are increasing as a result of the destruction of Gaza.

Interestingly, Hamas enjoys much more support among the West Bank’s population despite lacking a robust presence in the territory. Resentment of settler violence, Israel’s occupation and the impotent Palestinian Authority likely fuel support for the violent resistance represented by Hamas’ ideology and tactics.

But despite the widespread suffering, the West Bank is light-years ahead of Gaza in terms of quality of life. The violent reality that Hamas rule would bring would seriously reverse support for the group.

Something that makes it difficult to assess Palestinian public opinion, including in Gaza, is that the concept of “resistance” enjoys widespread support, even if people dislike Hamas’ governance and practices. Hamas exploits this, and hides its failures behind its “acts of resistance,” which makes it possible to claim any “achievement.”

This is precisely why Hamas launched its attack on Oct. 7. The attack was not about settler violence in Jerusalem or seeking to break the blockade. It was about stemming the tide of resentment and discontentment. A recent poll suggests that Hamas’ gambit may have worked. Evidence suggests wide Palestinian public support for the Oct. 7 attack. Despite the severe limitations of this survey, the impending release of 150 Palestinian prisoners is already being spun by Hamas as a victory despite the unbearable death toll and cost.

Top Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya told The New York Times — from Qatar — that the group’s goals are not to “run Gaza and bring it water and electricity,” or to “improve the situation in Gaza,” but rather to put the Palestinian cause back on the map.

In other words, Hamas aims to use Gaza as a citadel from which it can drag 2.3 million people along in a “resistance” project that entails continuous and permanent war and violence.

The people of Gaza know this. Poor and working-class residents of the coastal enclave have paid the ultimate price in blood, misery, suffering and hardship without any hope for a prosperous and peaceful future. Amid the devastation of the IDF’s response to Oct. 7, more Gazans have been criticizing Hamas’ actions and hold on power.

Thousands took to the streets in Gaza this summer to protest against Hamas’ rule and their miserable living conditions, a rare display of defiance. The Islamist group quickly quashed the protests, arresting and beating hundreds of people. This is the group’s playbook whenever civilians demand improvements to dire living conditions. And yet there are still people daring to speak out.

I know Gaza well, and have a deep understanding of its population. The aforementioned anecdotes, my lived and professional experiences, friends and family currently in the strip, Palestinian social media, Hamas’ own statements, multiple past protests and the group’s brutal rule clearly demonstrate deep unpopularity and disdain for Hamas, both now and before Oct 7.

The unfortunate truth, however, is that the way Israel is waging this war will prove ineffective in achieving long-term and sustainable security. It is ultimately planting seeds for further violence, extremism and hate while also making it difficult for anti-Hamas activists and the general Gazan population to express what they truly feel and to challenge the Islamist group’s rule.

A counterproductive operation

Many Gazans blame Israel for their displacement from the land their families lived on for generations — about 70% of Gazans are refugees or descendants of refugees from the 1948 Nakba — as well as much of their current predicament. But they have no illusions about Hamas’ nefarious intentions, incompetence and selfishness. And they see the Israeli blockade as enabling Hamas to conveniently absolve itself from its responsibility to govern effectively and provide for their needs.

If Israel were to wave a magic wand over Gaza and somehow dislodge Hamas and remove its grip on power without civilian casualties, I am willing to bet my life that at least half of the strip would welcome such a move, and yell in unison: “Do us a favor!”

However, I am not optimistic that we are on the course to achieving anything close to that. Israel’s past political decisions, poor strategic choices and the conduct of the current military operation in Gaza point to an uncomfortable and deeply disturbing inevitability: Hamas will not be eradicated. And the group will survive as a cohesive entity, ideology and component of the Palestinian national project.

Israel’s military actions in response to the Oct. 7 attack have already killed over 14,000 people. Many bodies, like that of my dad’s youngest brother, uncle Riyad, 57, are long buried under rubble. My uncle was killed in a massive raid that destroyed our entire neighborhood. His body was only extracted from the rubble after six days. Nothing and no one has been spared, including aid workers, many of whom are in southern Gaza.

The unprecedented death toll and destruction have expended most of the international political capital that the Israeli government garnered after Hamas’ horrendous attacks. The IDF estimates its operation inside the strip has killed up to 2,000 Hamas fighters (not including Hamas and other groups’ members killed on Oct. 7) out of a force it estimates to be around 30,000 strong — a shockingly low number of combatants killed relative to dead civilians. Former CIA director and experienced counterinsurgency commander Gen. David Petraeus cautioned that “there’s got to be a real concern about the Palestinian people in Gaza,” especially as the IDF gears up for a ground operation in the south of the strip.

Instead of carrying out a targeted, low-intensity, long-term operation that could sustainably reduce Hamas’ military capabilities and create conditions to introduce a new administration in Gaza, the massive bombardment and destruction throughout the strip have set the scene for what will be one of the most complicated predicaments that Israel has ever found itself in: ambitious, difficult-to-achieve tactical and strategic goals, continued occupation of a ruined Gaza, and most importantly, a highly resentful and deeply antagonistic Palestinian population that will be even more hostile to Israel and more likely to embrace violence as a strategy.

Hamas is resilient

Multiple analysts and observers, including an unnamed senior U.S. defense official, have stated that Israel’s campaign thus far hasn’t even “come close” to eradicating Hamas’ mid- and senior-level leaders.

Unlike other Islamist groups, the official argued that Hamas has a “deeper bench of experienced midlevel military leaders,” in essence making it impossible to destroy the group by eliminating individual commanders.

As a child growing up in Gaza, I remember vividly when Israel assassinated founding and senior Hamas officials, including people like Salah Shehade, Ahmed Yassin and Adnan al-Ghoul. The killing of these leaders was thought at the time to be a fatal blow to Hamas.

Instead, the group’s arsenal, capabilities, political clout and position grew exponentially and expanded beyond what its founders could have ever dreamed of achieving. Not only have I observed this over the last two decades, but I am certain that Hamas today is militarily and politically prepared to successfully withstand Israel’s onslaught in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks.

This isn’t to suggest that Israel cannot or shouldn’t seek to weaken Hamas and target its terror infrastructure. Instead, thinking critically and methodically is an operational and strategic imperative to move forward meaningfully.

Tunnel warfare is dirty, complicated, costly and requires lengthy efforts and campaigns, not the short and swift operations upon which Israel’s military doctrine is built. Rather than weakening Hamas, which is underground, the current Israeli military operation in the strip is killing supporters and opponents of the group alike, inflaming the region, exacerbating anti-Israel sentiments worldwide, silencing political opposition to Hamas inside Gaza, complicating efforts at normalizing relations with Arab countries and achieving precisely what the group wanted in the first place: to reinvigorate the Palestinian cause and force Israel to act in a manner that in essence proves Hamas’ claims.

Despite our mistakes during the global war on terror, the U.S. took numerous steps to minimize civilian casualties. Consider the raid on bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad in 2011. Instead of flattening the entire building, the U.S. surgically raided the structure and methodically separated bin Laden’s family from his guards and defenders, sparing the lives of women and children.

Even if Hamas operates near civilian targets, making it difficult to clearly identify the group’s combatants, international and humanitarian law does not absolve the IDF of its responsibility to operate with due regard for civilians’ lives. If an active shooter is rampaging through a shopping mall, the response would not be to call an airstrike that levels the whole complex. Rather, the counterattack’s top priority would be eliminating the threat while minimizing civilian loss of life.

Defeating an ideology — and what comes next

By indirectly and inadvertently allowing Hamas to cement its rule over Gaza, Israel helped the group further entrench itself as an indisputable component of the Palestinian national project.

Even if the IDF were to permanently occupy Gaza at the end of this war — an option politically and diplomatically untenable — the moment it leaves, Hamas would find a way to reconstitute. Remember, the Taliban survived 20 years of U.S. occupation in Afghanistan. Plus, an occupation will always entail some degree of populace resistance, including through violent means.

Unconventional and creative thinking is the only way to stop the massive bloodshed and stabilize the strip. Secretary Blinken stated recently that “there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict.” Before then, greater U.S. and European pressure on the Israeli government to minimize civilian suffering, protect hospitals, and allow for more humanitarian aid to make its way into Gaza could help achieve meaningful outcomes. Vengeance is not a productive military strategy.

U.N. peacekeeping troops, with Arab and international support and participation, could provide a transitional period that stops the war and provides Israel with an offramp. Deploying these forces along Gaza’s borders with Israel to prevent future infiltration and attacks against Israel, and acting as a quasi-government while Gaza rebuilds, could allow for the emergence of a capable Palestinian body that can govern the strip. The U.N. could operate aerial and maritime corridors over the Mediterranean Sea to facilitate the movement of people and cargo, using existing U.N. infrastructure, protocols, and commonly deployed practices after wars and natural disasters.

Many have taken issue with calls for a cease-fire, fearing that it would freeze the conflict, abandon the remaining hostages and allow Hamas to re-attack Israel. But short-term and temporary cease-fires, not localized and inconsistent “pauses,” can allow for negotiations to release more hostages, revision of battle plans, further evacuations of civilians in Gaza and the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid. The impending four-day cease-fire is an example of this.

My brother, who works for a British medical NGO in Gaza City and has lost his home, told me that in addition to enduring heart-stopping daily bombardment, his family sometimes had to drink salt water (seawater) and boil grassy plants to sustain themselves in Gaza City. How is his suffering and that of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians going to help eliminate Hamas?

Thousands of innocent Gazans are paying with their lives for a sin they didn’t commit. Israel and its international partners should actually implement steps that will weaken and eventually marginalize Hamas. The group and its extremist ideology will never be entirely eliminated in a military operation, just like the U.S. could not destroy the Taliban even after 20 years. However, there are practical steps to take that would give Gazans a fighting chance for political self-determination and stability in the strip.

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darkestspring · 1 year

Note

[ immortal baelon ii - reborn argella au ]

𝐓𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐑𝐄𝐎𝐒, she’d always wanted a purpose just solely for herself. A family. She couldn’t go back to hers due to the gods. But she finally found out that she isn’t truly alone. Baelon was the beacon of hope, her only hope, and she was gonna ensure no one will harm him, or that little princess, under her watch.

It’s been so long since she felt utter elation the moment she saw him. How much she hated thinking about her old life. She longed to go back and changed the inevitable. They don’t bring much joy to her anymore. Only anger and pain, especially the moment when finding out her death has been for nothing.

Well, she did gave them her innocence which instantly and permanently changed her views on everything. And they’d change back to the old ones whenever he was around her- just momentarily bringing the old her back. Even if it lasted for a short while.

There’s no need to fulfill the gods biddings anymore. No need for further planning on bringing death and destruction onto Westeros because she’ve finally found him.

“A gold coin for your thoughts.” Aenar’s nonchalant tone broke Taessa out of her intrusive thoughts. “You’ve staring at the distance for so long now and I’m wondering if you changed your mind-“ she swiftly turned her head towards him.

“No.” Taessa narrowed her dark purple eyes at him and fumbled with her leather gloves. “Nothing’s changed still. I’m planning on suggesting to Baelon about going to the Free Cities for The Golden Company to gain them as our army, find a worthy sacrifice in order to hatch those eggs, and maybe find some more allies-“ his scoff made her stop.

“Never thought I’d see that naivety again.” She can hear the disdain in his voice. “I’d thought they taken that as well. To be honest, I’ve been hoping you change your mind while we’ve been following them for moons before meeting them and do what you were meant to do-“

“Not anymore. I did everything they wanted me to do. I tirelessly travelled and scrutinized each great lord for the last century and spent most of my time under your dreadful watch.” She spat and stood up from the rock. “All I wanted was to see my family and none of you allowed me to go back home until it was too late. All of them are already gone and you knew it’d bring me nothing but agony. So I just gave up and did what you wanted me to do. I’m done being their puppet now.” She’s absolutely done with them. Baelon is her main priority now.

“I will go back to the ruins of Old Valyria on foot and tell them about your-“ He immediately stopped when she angrily tore her glove off and raised her fingers that were blackened all the way to her knuckles towards his direction.

“Why don’t you just go on then? And what will happen? They’ll take away what I granted for myself? It’s too late, demon.” Aenar flinched at the nickname, she knows he hated it. “I will follow Baelon Targaryen until my final breath… if that’s possible of course.” She snorted and lowered her hand. “Consider harming either of them and especially him! You’ll be facing my wrath. Not theirs.”

Taessa calmly put her gloved back on before walking off. “Now if you excuse me, I’ll be fetching them breakfast for the morning.” She won’t hesitate to put Aenar in his place if he dares to questions her intentions again.

[ did she really tell the entire truth to baelon? maybe, maybe not. You’ll see. :)) But to be perfectly clear, she has nothing but platonic devotion towards our bby Baelon. She just wants him safe from aenar and the gods. I just needed to do a little filler before we head back towards Baelon’s pov- ]

- 💜 Anon.

i am so invested in this but god, im torn between suspicion and dislike for aenar. i still don't completely trust taessa either.

#💜 anon #immortal baelon ii au

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pink-tuesday · 1 year

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ATTENTION ALL CHRISTIANS WHO LISTEN TO BEYONCE!

(This is a message for the church/body of christ/Christians. There shouldn't be anyone who isn't in this category making noise chile.)

Good day, pray all is well. Well I'm doing this never thought I would have been, considering back then I used to ridicule people for this, but this what God wants so imma do it and obey.

Jeremiah 13:15

"Hear and give ear:

Do not be proud,

For the Lord has spoken."

Jeremiah 13:17

"But if you will not hear it,

My soul will weep in secret for your pride;

My eyes will weep bitterly

And run down with tears,

Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive."

If you have seen prophets saying don't go to beyonce's upcoming concerts, believe them. I always felt they were judgemental and coming in the way of people having fun but it wasn't until God sent me a dream and interpretation of this concert. (I will mention somewhere down in this post.)

That lady has shown she is a practitioner of spells, witchcraft etc. since lemonade. Now as Christians, we know how God goes about that. Before you run and say "do it in love! pray for her, don't judge!", I prayed yet she's unrepentive and has made her decision and my time is up interfering with her music, music videos, concerts etc. Jeremiah 7: 16-19 " “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the Lord. ��Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?” When God said Jerusalem, Judah etc. In today's time, He means HIS PEOPLE, THE BODY OF CHRIST! When God got mad because his people were committing idolatry what do you think He meant? Obviously when yall would wake up, not even thank God for the day but check yall favs pages and rush to listen to the album they dropped at 12am that you missed because you were sleeping. Then on top of that, go the rest of the day not uttering a word to God but call yourself His child, well Dad is calling and He would like for you to answer.

At first I was hesitant to let this woman completely go, but the time has passed. (God took the taste out of my mouth for it, can't do nun else bout that 🤧🤷🏽‍♀️). So pray for God to help you because I get it, it's hard, it's a stronghold.

As christians, we need to learn more on agreements/covenants/promises/oaths, portals, gates, etc. How is it people of different practices/religions know these things yet we are behind?

Hosea 4:6 "my people perish for lack of knowledge" which is where I need to get at, this has little to do with "judging" beyonce and more with protecting yourself, your spiritual and mental wellbeing. This concert is served as a portal, a gateway and whoever goes, especially Christians will be affected. If you've been warned and you still go, God is taking His covering off of you. Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden His face from you" So whatever happens to you, that's on you and God be with you afterwards. This "concert" is going to negatively influence your life (spiritually especially), finances, mental health (and honestly whatever manifests in the spiritual will eventually manifest in the natural, as yall would say "the 3D"), but for her? She's harvesting more power, wealth and authority for herself hunni. Though, there's a penalty for her for this. Galatians 6:7-9 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

"But God is a God of love and forgiveness!" Yes, Yes He is, but why keep abusing it? He loves you enough by warning you! He warned me! And He didn't have to because He know how I went about yonce and her work, He knew I loved her and He don't even approve of the things she does, he still overlooked that and warned me. God sees things lot of us don't see, this doesn't have to be so though since He gave us the tools to see (prayer with Him, dreams, visions, the Bible etc.) But are we using them? Are we paying attention?

Before as a Christian you get outraged, ask yourself why? Is it the conviction? Because you don't wanna give it up? Get really honest with yourself before you take your frustration out on this post. Then cry out to God! Be honest, you really love it and it's a struggle to let go, dont worry, He'll help you.

From my memory of the dream, the concert was in a barn and the people there were in the area where the animals be at (but it was set up as a concert, so there were barricades there and stuff), I saw yonce but as her 2013 self or her era of self titled self, with bright red lipstick. She was with her fans and took pics with them, very personal and to me at first..it seemed sweet? She said something along the lines, "I've never did something like this with my fans before." Honestly I thought this was a good thing, I then a saw a man dressed in black standing by the barricade watching her and the fans intensely wondering if everything is gonna go as planned, (the guy was either p. diddy or jayz).

At first I thought hey, this is nice but later God literally kept me home that day, I had somewhere to go important but He wanted to break down exactly what it meant, that's when He led me to lala Jenkins video bout her concert and then I got tuned in. He then after some time, led me to interpretation of the dream by the guide of the Holy Spirit. Genesis 40:8 "They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

The people there are herd. She the farmer. Symbolically as the farmer, she wants total control over those there (the herd), she's sowing seeds among them as well (the harvest will be the effects after the concert). Trust this concert will be aesthetically pleasing, people will think not much of it at first. As she said in pretty hurts, "what's glitter is not gold". Folks gon be food (the herd once again) for the entities she contacts and yall better not say she doesn't contact them! Like as if in her latest projects she didn't admit it right in our faces. (Yes and I admit, I brushed it off.) This renaissance era is exactly it is means, a renewed interest, since lemonade, yonce has lost her fans due to racial themes, even some Christians but she has gathered many back with this album and all that is behind it. Don't be surprised when the idolization meter goes sky high during and after the concert period. She's serving as a renewed interest for the public, she literally went number one off one of her albums after how many years? And the song wasn't even all that. (I thought this too when I was a fan so.) It's not a coincidence either this new show "swarm" premiered close by the time for her touring, let's put two and two together children of God! And that show is unhinged!

I've read* the recap of the last episode, how is it the show apparently is supposed to show awareness for mental health and such, but at the end of that episode, the girl is rewarded by going somewhere else with her fav after hurting many people? She wasn't even treated or anything at the end to say, "hey guys this behavior is unhinged here's the actual penalties for it or what can actually happen to you." Nope, just she ended up going home with her fav after slaughtering all those people.

(Lol I remember yall had the same segments about euphoria, just to complain later on that the show is hyper sexualized, lacks plot, glamorized the negative aspects, and how the creator/director...sam levinson? Whatever his name is needs to be on "the watchlist" for predators in the industry and how this shows serves has a wet teen dream to him, I saw yall complaining about his recent show with the weeknd, "idol" too, those two even admitted their minds are sick and twisted at the opening credits!)

For my black sisters and brothers in Christ, don't let anyone bully you out this faith pulling the "white jesus card"! Don't. Know God for yourself and be a testimony!

Trust I thought I would be the last person doing this but hey, God will use you. I really want us all in Christ to read our bibles with the guide of the Holy Spirit and talk with God, He will look out for us and inform us on literally anything in life, anything you're in query of, just ask and wait.

Also try to look at christianity from a spiritual/relationship with God view and not in a religious/routine/traditional sense, maybe that's why many christians got mad at prophetess tiffani and not realized she only a vessel and in reality they were just mad at God unfortunately. Jeremiah 7:13 "And now, because you have done all these works,” says the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer," God always sends warnings before penalties, remember that.

If you want more insight on how spirituality is used with these kind of things with artists and their music, here's an example from the comic, "spellbound?" by Jack T. Chick. I want all my brothers and sisters in Christ to read this comic.

Jeremiah 7:23 "But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you." Take heed, be sober minded and vigilant.

Also this is a video from one of the people who has prophesied on the matter of beyonce and over all what God is saying.

youtube

#Youtube

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wolfkitty42 · 1 year

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i had the weirdest dream crossover

So like, the Owl House finale aired recently. Right??? And on the night it aired (last night as of writing this) I only got there about halfway through the finale. So I went to bed after it finished with a strong intent of watching the new episode when I woke up.

That was a mistake.

So basically, I had an insane dream that told me there were two new episodes instead of one. One was the finale, and the other was utter insanity. The one that was utter insanity and purely from my dream was placed before the finale, when the gang was on the Boiling Isles.

I’m not entirely sure why, but Julieta from Encanto was there. She had a large ship and described herself as an animal tamer working with what looked like a 3d model of Gus’s dad. Like I said, my dream gave me a crossover. Okay. This is still relatively normal for a dream.

So, Julieta was like “You guys need something to fight Belos? Well there’s a really big seal out there if you wanna go use it as a weapon.” and Luz was like “Yeah okay sounds legit, get to the pirate ship!” Then there was this shot from above of the sun rising as Luz and co sailed towards a mountain island. And also for some reason there were a lot of airships following them. Like yeah there’s hot air balloon ships in the show but why here??? I just remember there being a lot. AND MOST OF THEM DIDN’T EVEN SHOW UP LATER??? Regardless, Luz and co was still on a boat in the water. Julieta was flying an airship.

So, everyone landed at the mountain. And there was a really big baby seal just there. It was cute.

(Image above fits it pretty well)

But it was also like, causing mass destruction around. So Julieta was like “Guys, we need to give it a sedative before we can bring it back to the Boiling Isles.” And everyone was like okay! So they grabbed this sleeping powder thingymabob and started trying to get it into the seal’s nose. But the seal was big so it was far off the ground and it was also moving around a lot. Cue a montage of Luz and her buds trying to slap it in while my dream gets fuzzy for a moment.

Everyone was taking turns trying to do it. Then fucking Sans Undertale came out and was like “hey let me try” BECAUSE APPARENTLY SANS UT HAD BEEN IN ONE OF THE FLYING BOATS?!?!?! AND ALSO PAPYRUS!?!?!? AND ALSO FELL SANS????

(These ones should be much easier to find images of then that specific cute seal. You can google them yourself.)

But I quickly. Accepted this. I tried My best to understand it. The logic of my dream had already moved on past my processing stage. So, I watched as Sans did literally nothing except accidently breathe in the sleeping powder and conk out. Or he just felt like sleeping. No clue.

At this, Papyrus got really annoyed. He ran to the side of the mountain, pushed open a gray door (which coincidently did not look like the mystery man door, it was much less detailed. just felt the need to clarify that gaster did not appear in this dream.) and ran inside it to his house. He ran upstairs to his room and to his desk, which was now in front of a window.

His desk had sleeping power on it and this is the part where my brain just exploded and starting spitting out nonsense. I don’t even know where Luz went anymore guys! Papyrus took over the dream!?!?!?!

Anyways, Papyrus fucking snorted the sleeping powder off his desk, reverse snorted it onto a piece of paper and ran back outside. When he ran down the stairs to leave his house you could see the lower half of his house was now filled with sleeping powder and/or snow. If you slowed down the frame and zoomed in on the left part of the frame you might have seen the Annoying Dog jumping through the drifts of ambiguous white stuff. (I’m being completely real here, my brain slowed it down the second time and zoomed in on it. Send help.)

So after that minor bout of insanity, Papyrus floated up and slapped the powder in the seal’s face. I think he can fly, so that... makes... sense...?

After that, I think Fell Sans tried to do something too but he must’ve failed because he was like “aw heck. now it’s just down to time sans.”

.............................WHO IS TIME SANS?

Now, the first thing I did when I woke up was go to google Time Sans. I haven’t even watched the part of the TOH finale I missed, guys! THIS DREAM INSANITY TOOK PRIORITY. And researching through google did give me some results, but none that matched my dream.

Time Sans was only called that about once. My dream also referred to him as Clock or most commonly Old Hour. I’m guessing Old Hour was his actual name or something and Time Sans was more of an obligatory title so that I would know who they were. Old Hour wore a suit with some nice shoes. They also had a cane and a tophat. I would say he was pretty short, and he had a monocle. I may draw him soon.

If ANY Undertale fans feel like they recognize this description, PLEASE contact me! I am desperately trying to figure out if my brain spawned an au Sans purely for this strange crossover dream or if I subconsciously was thinking of another au that I repressed memories of and can’t find on google. Help.

Old Hour got up to fight the seal and for a moment it looked like he was going to fight it. There was a really dramatic shot of him running, and then the seal sneezed. It blew away Old Hour’s tophat and monocle so they were basically just Sans in a suit. (But still very fancy.) Old Hour got up and sat down by the door in the mountain to Sans and Papyrus’s house after that. He just wasn’t feeling up to it :(

After that, Luz, Eda and co busted in. They used a sleep mist so the seal went to sleep. I remember Luz turning towards the camera viewpoint I was watching my dream from, saying “The Boiling Isles is saved!” before a cut to black.

Now, eagle eyed viewers may have spotted a strange passage earlier. Let me copy paste it here.

If you slowed down the frame and zoomed in on the left part of the frame you might have seen the Annoying Dog jumping through the drifts of ambiguous white stuff. (I’m being completely real here, my brain slowed it down the second time and zoomed in on it. Send help.)

Yes, my brain was treating this like an actual episode of a show I was watching. It made me sit through this dream TWICE to catch all the easter eggs.

So, I’m recovering now. if you got through all this text, good job! Maybe I’ll even draw Old Hour/Time Sans for ya! Or maybe I’ll never remember this dream again. Thanks for reading! For now, I gotta go watch the Owl House finale.

#the owl house #dreams #sans #undertale #papyrus #fell sans #julieta madrigal #luz noceda #eda clawthorne #time sans #old hour sans #im putting both his names in #in the lame hopes that someone will stumble across this post and recognize him #have you seen this sans???#i gotta make a missing poster for him guys #no but seriously please message me if you can because i am literally insane trying to figure out who he is

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desertdragon · 2 years

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has there ever been a time where they feared for their life? why?

This is difficult for me to answer because I don't think Vaste so much fears for her life, as she fears the consequences of her loss on those around her, as well as dying having lived honoring her spiritual beliefs- there's a big difference since one implies importance on the Self while the other suggests importance on Others/Culture

So it's hard for me to answer the question and feel as if...I answered the question lol

To make Vaste fear for her life you'd have to put her in an ultimatum, in a situation where the risk is complete oblivion from existence, and even then if she has a level of choice over it the fear is alleviated- but to have no choice in permanently ending her existence would be frightening

So for example, all the fuckery she does fighting in a soul form against Hydaelyn and Zodiark? Risky, death there would mean she's gone forever having not accomplished her goals- the same with one of my apocalyptic What Ifs where Lewena can't control her connection to the Primals and simply becomes a monstrosity that kills the universe, there's no coming back from that that Vaste can control either, it's the complete destruction of life with nothing her powers can do since Lewena would be far stronger than even her, Ms. Cheese going bad is something everyone wants to avoid

And for fun, any characters who are Reality Writers would also pose a massive threat given that they can just decide they prefer a reality without her in it, then boom, gone from existence

There's the Cosmic Horror aspect as well, any cosmic level entity that by default she can't defy would create a genuine dread

In essence, utter annihilation from existence especially before achieving satisfaction over her life is the one way she truly fears for herself, rather than an Other

@lettersnorth I have an addendum as I'm heading home from work:

I think a further example of Vaste fearing for her life under Cosmic Horror also applies in the sense of being taken over by such an entity, especially since she can't understand what it is or entirely what it wants because it Is unknowable- I know I listed that she can't be mind controlled in her powers/abilities on the carrd, but I think a Cosmic being surpasses that restriction just as much as a Reality Writer does, just because mind control I feel is one being forcing its Will on another, it's not a part of nature as it's a choice, a power dynamic created consciously or subconsciously, and Hydaelyn protects the WoL from that

A Cosmic being however Is nature personified, it Is a piece of the law which constructs the universe, it Is the primordial fabric all matter requires to exist- gravity, physics, entropy, creation etc. we can attempt to quantify these Principles with formulas, but I don't think we'll ever truly understand them nor fully comprehend all their potential, as they've existed since before the first living thing drew breath- they will outlive all life by the very same virtue of their existence

(As a side note this is why I don't fully follow the Heat Death of the Universe theory, I'm a fan of the Cyclical Universe Theory instead; I think it's extremely arrogant of humanity to presume it Knows something so vast and ancient and fundamental as the universe down to the date and method of death, and that it can only exist Once- especially when we more than likely will never be there to verify it actually Dies and doesn't just restart the Big Bang, even if we achieve cellular immortality on schedule or sooner)

Because a Cosmic being/aspect simply Exists then it has no Will to force, no agendas, it just Is- and you can't fight what just Is, in the same way you can't fight those cosmic principles I listed, or the fact that you need air to breathe, that you are subject to natural forces, that you are made of cells etc.

This is how The Slaughter from TMA would take her over into becoming an Avatar because the more you reach for a cosmic being like the Concept of violence and fearing violence, at a point you have allowed that cosmic force inside, you are under its microscope- and I think that would make her fear for what life she has as a living thing, until the pull of the Entity strips that away, too

#hc #I call Lewena by Ms Cheese sometimes bc bitch loves cheese hashtag Token White Girl fjdjdj #I love her tho #I think it's funny that she feels this way considering she becomes more Buddhist later on and accepts oblivion instead #reality writing characters are some of my favs though bc they're so busted broken there's a lot of ways you can take them esp mentally #I did that to Nozomi Tojo in my JJBA LL AU for her Stand's Requiem form- years of fun w that Vaste would shit her pants if they met #love me a busted broken bitch- anyway this has nothing to do w the ask fjdjd

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yata776 · 7 days

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Chapter 17 - Serenity in Ruins

I LOVE this chapter. It just checks all of my boxes. Fighting against all your previous Emblems is a fantastic experience, and I love how each boss is really threatening! Griss just can nuke everyone in your area if you get close enough, and the rest of his squad will do the job otherwise. Marni is a total defense tank, and her multiple HP bars and her Roy emblem means you won’t be able to nuke her out of the map without a complete well built squad that is able to endure a really dangerously packed enemy phase. She is so extremely well positioned that pulling her in will pull Mauvier too, and good luck fighting against two tanks at the same time! Oh, and there are also monsters with extended range? This map just throws EVERYTHING at you.

It's very hard to slowly tank all the enemy waves because there is always SOMETHING up ahead that will become a problem if you leave hanging for too long. Admittedly the ending is a bit of a wet fart, but Veyle’s Emblem pulls enough of a punch (she killed my Merrin!) to be threatening.

The aesthetic really helps too. The damaging fire tiles all around are great to set up the tone AND provide good map design at the same time. The sunset background really meshes well with the destruction all around you, and we get a unique map theme that is amazing! I believe this map conveys much better all-out war than any of the maps of Three Houses which really tried selling this idea.

youtube

Nu FE always has one of these sad map themes for the emotional climax of their games. In my opinion, both the story and music in these instances has only gotten worse with each entry but Falling Petals is still a great track.

This is probably my favorite map in the entire game and a standout map in the series, just excellent. It's so good I will probably keep a save file just for it in the future.

10/10

The story is…utter garbage! Everything with Veyle is so garbo. Please someone get a writer!!!

#Yata plays Engage #FE Map Impressions #fire emblem #Youtube

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evil-rainbow-sunshine · 1 year

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About Felix's "Redemption Arc"

Firstly, I need to preface what I'm about to say on the subject with this; Felix could not be redeemed or condemned by the narrative without it sending mixed messages to the audience.

Felix has performed immoral actions, both when he was first introduced and now in season 5. I am not here to talk about whether or not he or anyone deserves forgiveness. I'm not here to take a stance on that.

I am here in the interest of understanding why he acts the way he does and why he narratively possesses the ability to improve himself.

There is a lot we don't yet know about Felix's upbringing, but I will present what I have noticed in his interactions. He has reacted quite poorly to being called a monster (and to the name-concept of sentimonsters), but has dolled out the term 'monster' quite liberally to describe people who are manipulative, abusive, or controlling.

During his conversations with Kagami, he casts his father as one such monster, likening himself to Kagami in that they both have had parental figures who failed to provide the necessary tools for growth parents owe their children.

These two things inform us that, during an impressionable point in Felix's life, he lacked the ability to exercise free will, and was not given proper coping tools by his father/creator.

With this in consideration, his complete and utter lack of empathy toward human beings is entirely unsurprising.

(Please put aside the exceptions to that rule, for now. I will expand.)

Here, I will get slightly personal for the sake of explaining the reason why his behavior, however unacceptable, was never coming from a place of maliciousness. (note: this is not an excuse for his actions, only an explanation.)

I did not grow up in a healthy environment, for a number of reasons that will not get into here. I felt trapped, controlled, and constantly manipulated. Nobody was able to help me develop healthy coping mechanisms for what was happening, nor offer their understanding.

As a result of being treated that way for so long, it took me being completely physically removed from the situation and a number of years of hard work on myself to finally see other people as sentient beings. In retrospect, I acted unacceptably in my desperation to be heard. I don't know if I will ever forgive myself, but I have made efforts to show my family that I will never do those things again and they have forgiven me regardless of whether or not I deserve that forgiveness.

All this to say; I genuinely did not understand that I was not the only sentient person struggling with this lack of essential coping skills. Until I began to realize otherwise, other people were effectively the same kind of 'monster' that Felix also seemed to believe others to be. Manipulative, controlling, and abusive for reasons that could not be fathomed.

Now, back to the important matter of a children's cartoon!

I find it interesting that the ladybug vision / lucky charm of the two most Felix-centric episodes of the current season has told us(and Ladybug) that Felix is worthy of trust because he has the ability and desire to change.

Here is what I mean.

When Ladybug called for her lucky charm and received nothing, she looked to Felix and trusted that he would stop the destructive behavior without her personal interference. She bet her life on it, and was proven correct to have done so.

To show us(the audience) that it was an intentional message, they immediately followed that up with the Kagami kidnapping/liberation episode. While it was the case that Kagami was part of the solution as well, Ladybug outright stated for us that it was time to trust Felix - and again we see this to be the correct choice. Felix helped to defeat the villain of the week.

Although Ladybug still expresses uncertainty about having allowed Felix to escape with the peacock miraculous, we get to see something she doesn't; Felix giving Kagami's family crest-ring(which represents her free will) back to her after she thought she had no choice but to relinquish it to her mother.

tldr;

We are being pretty explicitly told that Felix, while still having a lot to work through, is worthy of trust. It doesn't matter if he receives forgiveness from us or the characters he has hurt.

The moral narrative of Miraculous Ladybug isn't about taking a stance on who deserves to be saved or excused from their actions, it's about growing beyond what your trauma led you to become, making an active effort to improve yourself.

#ml spoilers #ml season 5 spoilers

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deadcactuswalking · 1 year

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 10/12/2022 (Metro Boomin’s ‘HEROES & VILLAINS’, Lewis Capaldi, Christmas Garbage)

This is a big one... I think. Not only is it an oddly busy two weeks coming up for what is otherwise Christmas season, but it’s also time for the massive Off the Charts round-up of everything since around 5th November, which will actually pre-empt the rundown as well as the new arrivals, just so it makes sense to skim over this and there isn’t really an interruption. Regardless, “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey is the UK’s #1 this week and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Off the Charts

So this is probably the final “Off the Charts” section – I simply don’t have the time to keep up as intently with new music as I had throughout most or some of the year, and I’m just losing interest in new releases in general. With “Off the Charts”, some of the intrigue and purpose of this very series was lost, so that experiment, whilst it went well, is not something I really am prepared to repeat. I was convinced to make this a separate post but not enough people read this for me to care. Of course, I will try and talk about as much music outside of the charts as I can but it’s unlikely that it will be nearly as frequent. Above all, this blog is about pop music. Now, I’m going to try and be as skim-read as possible with this: these releases are in order of when I listened and not of how much I like them as usual (so I’ll add a rating), but don’t expect paragraphs for each one. Part of why this section soured on me was the fact that its length was never all that consistent. I’ll say my favourite tracks and a brief summary of my thoughts as always. I will not be showing my year-end list regarding albums, mixtapes or EPs of 2022 until the episode dated to the 24th. I will not be talking about Metro Boomin’s new album because three songs from it charted so I’ll cover it there, or Her Loss because I already covered it in a previous episode, and also it’s garbage. I also won’t be covering Stormzy’s This is What I Mean since I had also covered it prior. Now, with all that sorted, let’s start with:

froge.mp3 – piri & tommy

I discussed this in part on the last episode but this is a pretty solid collection of atmospheric, mellow dance-pop tracks with almost PC Music-esque vocals and a lovely breakbeat palette. It’s not reinventing the wheel but the wheel isn’t that boring. It’s a 7 and my favourite track is “beachin”.

10 – Westside Gunn

It took a while but Westside Gunn has finally won me over with this, and mostly through staying quiet. There are moments where you’re barely listening to a song as much as you’re hearing dusty, dilapidated “beats” that strike a particularly bittersweet chord, with most rappers outshining Gunn but in a way that makes him sound more energetic than he’s ever been just to keep up with them. It’s an 8 and my favourite track is “Switches on Everything” with Run the Jewels.

Marvelous – Yung Gravy

The first six or so tracks are the most diverse and skilful Yung Gravy has ever been, with his cheesy grin edging itself into every joking sex bar. The rest are leftovers. It’s a 6 and my favourite track is “Sugar Mama” with IshDARR.

melt yourself into the flesh of midnight – NEUPINK

NEUPINK’s Halloween record is a beautifully sarcastic celebration of life – or lack thereof – rippling and malfunctioning until it forms a conglomerate of utter despair. That was my poetic way of saying it hits and is completely destructive. It’s an 8 and my favourite track is “oh, gwen!”.

It’s Not a Phase, Mom – Ms Liz

With a newly manic variation in sound and a refined attitude to song structure, Ms Liz has produced a fun amateur pop-rap record as concise as it is playful and at times completely stupid, but it would suffer with any less honesty. It’s a 6 and my favourite track is “Hideaway”.

AT LEAST WE TRIED – SURF GANG

The wavy collective delivers a project that is out as soon as it’s in with 14 minutes of unfiltered, basically unfinished, cloud rap that cuts straight to the chase and is just a breezy breath of less than fresh air. It doesn’t matter if you can’t tell which one is which, because the vocals are rarely the focal point, and when they are, like in my favourite track, “LA FREESTYLE” with RealYungPhil, they kill it. It’s a 7.

5 to the Eye with Stars – R.A.P. Ferreira

Speaking of good short albums, this one is bitesize at 23 deadpan minutes but that ephemeral space that it takes up within that less than half-hour is thought-provoking and psychedelic in a uniquely lowkey way that really, only R.A.P. Ferreira can pull off in this way without sounding pretentious. In fact, he’s absolutely the opposite here, with his conversational flow crafting arguments about sensitive topics – such as early deaths of rappers on “mythsysizer instinct” with Hemlock Ernst – with as much respect as possible but never losing the organic cadence. Sometimes, he’s just spouting poetic turns of phrase that don’t seem to mean all that much on the surface but hit a resonance that allows for interpretation whilst still feeling satisfied in that he got the message, or at least the vibe, across. The fragile determination of “consolation (inspired by Butter Sunday, a poem by Octavia Rucker)” is damn near motivational, the production on all of the album is perfectly crafted with its vintage sandpaper, coated by a blanket of keys as if that can really cover the grit and honest dystopia here. The casualness of “tennessee farmer jutsu”, my favourite track, contributes to the playfulness he displays here, because the only way he can play up to making art in a time where that’s no one’s focus is to laugh, even if that laugh is a smoky parodic chuckle over a disappointed jazz band. No rapper has been able to showcase this modern 2022 dread in such an equally personal and universal way as well apart from perhaps Quelle Chris earlier this year, and of course, that was a 10/10. This is no different.

misery hill – ratrace

This is way less cohesive than pure_and_powerful_hardcore, sure, but ratrace’s Halloween album – at least in energy – is a mental breakdown and a half with less dissonance and more just outright rage or wackiness, all in the name of a desperate suicidal ideation. It’s an 8 and my favourite track is “unkind”.

D1G1T4L_DR1FT – Thotcrime

I’m still not all that convinced by Thotcrime, mostly because they struggle here and everywhere else to make a consistent balance between the destructive screamo and their pretty apt, pop-perfection electronic careening that appeals a lot more to me personally. Without a tone that can control itself or effectively build up, here, we just have fragments of what could be great songs and a lot of messy aggression not grimy enough for it to entirely work. It’s a 6 and my favourite track is “trust://fall”.

HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING – Backxwash

Maybe this is a misread but Backxwash, even in all her aggression, comes off as more reflective here in her impassioned retrospect that commands the album, placing all of its swell in a different direction to how I’ve read her projects before. She’s still rightfully pissed but she’s focusing more on her devastating storytelling and it creates a fuzzy tribute to everything that made her decidedly her. Oh, and it kicks a lot of ass. It’s an 8 and my favourite track is the brutal “NYAMA” with Pupil Slicer.

STONE FRUIT – Left at London and g.rola

Nat wails over some of the rawest sounding vintage hip hop production, ranging into drumless, soul-sampling tracks that fit her more than you’d expect. The solid production doesn’t always keep the writing afloat but it’s an inspiring little EP with three tracks that let Nat swim in the production rather than just flailing on top of it as she tends to even on her best work. It’s an 8 and my favourite track is “XL”.

Pink Heartz – SoFaygo

It’s fine. I wish the production were more lively and rage-focused than it is, and SoFaygo’s presence becomes draining over time, but it’s completely listenable and has a lot of good moments. It’s a 6 and my favourite track is “Hell Yeah” with Ken Carson.

The Family and TM – BROCKHAMPTON

The Family is an honest albeit stumbling nostalgia trip about BROCKHAMPTON’s time as a group, with Kevin taking the solo route and reflecting on what went wrong with some drunken anger and listlessness, but ultimately collecting himself to understand that even if the best times may be before him, the good times are what he’ll remember. BROCKHAMPTON always felt like more of an event than a collective so the emotion doesn’t always click and there is definitely a great amount of scrapped, unfinished filler, with few tracks feeling all that well-defined. The same is also true with TM, which features basically demo tracks from the rest of BROCKHAMPTON scrambled together onto meandering beats as if they’d all died in a car crash and this is all the label had. Some tracks go hard with that archetypical 2000s pop-rap sound but a lot of it feels deflated and derivative of rap that they wouldn’t have even acknowledged during SATURATION. The Family is a 7 and TM is (barely) a 5. My favourite tracks are “Brockhampton” and “NEW SHOES” respectively.

softCORE – Fousheé

Out of all people to go punk, Fousheé was not one I predicted, and this album doesn’t fully commit but its juxtapositions feel way more prepared than you’d think, with infectious choruses that string together each jumpscare and scrapped-together aggression in between silky and soulful R&B cuts, so much so that it almost seems seamless. Ultimately, it doesn’t all hit consistently, but the record is about the same confusions, hypocrisies and contradictions that it displays so loudly, so it comes with the subject. It’s an 8 and my favourite track is “stupid bitch”.

Feed Tha Streets III – Roddy Ricch

Roddy spends half of this mixtape crooning over well-written but barely-existent R&B-leaning songs, flailing in most of his performance. The other half is frenzied trap fuelled on pure decadence in a way that definitely overweights the more mediocre tracks. Some of these beats are pure chaos and Roddy may no longer be in top vocal form but it was for the best for this tape. It’s a 6 and my favourite track is “Blue Cheese”.

SMITHEREENS – Joji

This is a slog of an album, and it’s not even half an hour’s worth of music, with Joji’s wistful droning in full sad boy mode, with trap drums creeping in and all – unless of course they are basic, weighty drums that feel slapped onto this list of half-finished demos and mumble tracks. Whoever scrambled this together to produce some kind of companion to “Glimpse of Us” needs to be fired, because this is not a project where anyone involved seems to have read either the room or the Spotify numbers. Joji needs to be careful moving forward if he thinks he can just slap this onto streaming services. It’s a 3, at best.

One More – MIKE, Wiki and The Alchemist

One of the few projects releasing in 2022 that I care about after this week is MIKE’s latest album, and this short teaser shows that same dazed delivery, set alongside your classic Alchemist beats you’ve come to expect and a grimy, and scarily constant Wiki who kind of steals the show. It’s an 8 and my favourite track is “Be Realistic”, and with that, we can return to your normal programming. Thank you for reading.

Rundown

Welp, welcome back to the actual chart show, and as not so always, we return with our notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, the list includes some big deals. These next few are not those: “This is What I Mean” by Stormzy featuring uncredited vocals from Ms. Dynamite, Amaarae and Black Sherif among others, “Fresh Out the Bank” by Meekz featuring Dave, “Circo Loco” by Drake and 21 Savage (Good riddance), “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert and “Warm” by K-Trap. In terms of actual long-term hits, we say farewell to “Glimpse of Us” by Joji, “Victoria’s Secret” by Jax, “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” by Harry Styles, “Bad Habit” by Steve Lacy and finally, “Afraid to Feel” by LF SYSTEM though of course, that and some others will likely return come New Year’s. I found it very interesting that the two forms of modern streaming hit are exemplified by “Victoria’s Secret” and “Music for a Sushi Restaurant”, as whilst both lasted 16 weeks, Jax’s song peaked at #33 after a couple weeks whilst Harry’s debuted and peaked at #3. Okay, maybe it’s not that interesting.

The three highest-charting holiday tracks are all in the top five, with “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas” by Michael Bublé joining them in the top 10 at #6 and #10 respectively. Of course, I don’t track week by week movement of our Christmas songs, of which there are 24 in the top 40 alone, but songs returning for their first week on the annual festive trip this year include “The Christmas Song (A Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole at #71, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby at #67 and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by the Jackson 5 at #66, all fully canonised Christmas classics, as well as the underappreciated “Christmas Lights” by Coldplay making a play at #64 (it’s one of the best ever Christmas tracks, and deserves better every year). On a similar quality, “Stop the Cavalry” by Jona Lewie, an even more heartwrenching track, is back at #59, with lesser hits – in my opinion at least – like “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” by Frank Sinatra at #56, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love at #52 and “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me?” by Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande at #48.

As for notable non-holiday gains, there literally aren’t any, but we do still have a top five on the UK Singles Chart. Last week’s #1 “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift is at #5, the surprisingly promising performance of the frankly terrible “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John continues at #4, “Last Christmas” by Wham! is at #3, “Escapism.” by RAYE featuring 070 Shake is at #2 and of course, partly due to an ACR reset – look it up – we have “All I Want for Christmas is You” at the very top. It’s time now to look through our small batch of new songs, mostly from Metro Boomin but we instead start with...

NEW ARRIVALS

#58 – “Christmas Drillings” – Sidemen

Produced by Nyge

The Sidemen are one of those YouTube collectives, which always tend to have a focal point of one guy who’s bigger than all the others, of which KSI fits the bill here. The lads released two songs this Christmas, one of which is an incoherent comedy single about Santa Claus committing sexual assault with a brostep drop and no KSI to speak of... and probably would have been the most experimental song to hit the singles chart this year. I honestly might prefer the tasteless 100 gecs-esque “This or That” to “Christmas Drillings”, simply because it takes very few risks in comparison... yet somehow I actually like this a lot. Yeah, the content about killing Santa is a bit overdone and has no real impact anymore, and ultimately the comedy of it doesn’t register but this kind of lads-y gross-out hasn’t been my thing ever, and really, it’s embarrassingly close to The Midnight Beast, but there’s a lot to like. It’s pretty good that the twinkling nature of a lot of drill keys and loops functions really well in a festive environment so I can imagine we’ll get many a Christmas drill track from here on out, as the song is a lot more subtle in its rumbling, allowing for more cascading over the typically stiff drill rhythm. A lot more drill should take advantage of this atmosphere. Grime legend Jme isn’t credited for whatever reason, but he delivers a pretty incredible verse, with more charisma than all of these other guys combined and some genuinely lightly funny commentary on British holiday tradition. Tobi has a pretty great melodic flow and effortless cadence, and the chorus reminds me of early 2000s R&B in a really nostalgic way for whatever reason thanks to those harmonies. Whilst “Vikkstar” – who the Hell are these people? – has the worst verse due to him retreading everything that’s already been said, KSI comes in with an unnecessary level of energy and some corny punchlines that somehow end up not embarrassing him entirely, which sums up this surprisingly decent song in general.

#46 – “Niagara Falls (Foot or 2)” – Metro Boomin, Travis Scott and 21 Savage

Produced by Metro Boomin, Allen Ritter, My Best Friend Jacob and Peter Lee Johnson

I liked Metro Boomin’s first solo output, NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES, and I may enjoy it even more in retrospect as that era of atmospheric trap comes to a close. Metro had another go at adding another defining piece of trap canon last week in his #3 album HEROES & VILLAINS and whilst it may be more ambitious, it sometimes finds itself drowning in its ambition when it comes to production as many if not most of the performances are mediocre, especially from Travis Scott, Future and Don Toliver. Thankfully, Metro is one of the best hip-hop producers of all time, so the album never really slogs, and his ideas are sometimes pretty genius, like the fuzzy bass on “Too Many Nights”, the house influence on “Trance”, the unique and endearingly off rhythms of “Metro Spider” and “Feel the Fiyaaaah”, and especially the beautiful progression of my favourite track, “Walk Em Down (Don’t Kill Civilians)”, where the differing perspectives of gang violence from 21 Savage ib one hand and Mustafa on the other are placed together in a way that causes genuine whiplash and a pretty touching emotional moment. “Niagara Falls” is a years-old Travis Scott leak, and I swear Bryson Tiller was on this at some point but we have 21 instead, and like most of the Travis-led songs here, it’s pretty mediocre. The lead synth is oddly weak and the keys trickle down in an awkward but functional way. It has a reverse snare and a real grandiosity to the melodic blend but this is not the instrumental version, sadly, which I probably would enjoy, especially with those little harmonised loops in the chorus. Instead, we have a deadpan Travis Scott grinding one particular catchy melody into my head until my brain runs on Auto-Tune. At least 21 shouts out Kermit the Frog in his verse but out of all songs to have a Morgan Freeman outro on this album, this may be the least cinematic and therefore least deserving.

#39 – “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)” – Metro Boomin, Future and Chris Brown

Produced by Metro Boomin, Allen Ritter and DAVID x ELI

A bit more than half of this song is a really weighted trap beat that sounds like 2015 encapsulated with its skittering percussion, distorted vocal blips and eerie albeit triumphant brass loop that does get a tad tedious but that tends to come with the territory in classic trap. Future goes hard with some of his more venomous bars and effortless deliveries, and it’s a pretty dark atmosphere... which does seem a bit strange as Future’s part is the part about superheroes and not villains, which fittingly is dedicated to Chris Brown, who gets an awkward piano loop and badly-isolated JAY-Z sample to riff melodically on. He sounds great for once as he’s drenched in Auto-Tune and reverb, but it’s pretty gross to give a platform to Chris Brown’s victim-blaming, especially if the song is just going to weakly drown itself out after his misshapen fragment of a “verse”. I’m pretty conflicted on the song’s quality but it does exemplify some of my wider problems with the album, mostly how Metro is desperately trying to transpose as much ambition and grandiosity onto personality-sapped performances. An attempt at a wider narrative surrounding heroes and villains makes some of the decadence a bit dubious and the theme is practically incoherent and irrelevant in most of the album apart from “Walk Em Down” (which is pure genius and should have charted but I understand why it wouldn’t), and at its worst-deployed, it’s a method of excusing the stars’ wrongdoings from the narrative, which probably wasn’t intended but does hit some of the wrong notes – and not all of that can be fixed with Auto-Tune.

#20 – “Pointless” – Lewis Capaldi

Produced by Lewis Capaldi

You’re right, Lewis, this song is pointless, so pointless in fact that it kind of flopped in its first week. It’ll probably stick around but I have to worry about Capaldi, especially when he’s not making any movement in the US. Oh, and this is literally the exact moment where he starts making good music: when he stops getting hits, because this is a pretty cute song about a mutually beneficial relationship with a really sweet narrative that doesn’t feel overplayed – or well, not as much as it could be considering Capaldi’s “voice” – or condescending. It’s not that interesting of a ballad, with the echoing percussion and acoustic drawl feeling a bit generic, if not for the strings that give this a slight Christmassy feeling (I know what you’re doing, UMG), and a genuine sing-a-long chorus that just clicks. It’s one of his first happy-sounding songs and for some reason, his moaning works a lot more for me when it’s a universal and wistful rather than the self-doubt and loathing. That’s not to say that his more reflective and depressing music doesn’t have a right to exist, but I like this mode of Lewis more and this is my favourite song from him so far, even with the iffy mix and my never-waivering struggle to get past his voice. I hope more like this comes from him, and I hope the British public doesn’t give up on the guy now that he’s started being, you know, good.

#13 – “Creepin’” – Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage

Produced by Metro Boomin, DaHeala, Peter Lee Johnson and johan lenox

On the Billboard Hot 100, a massive album will chart most if not all of its songs, sometimes including interludes, but on the UK Singles Chart, thanks to the three-song rule, it’s much more selective, and it sucks when the songs that chart from an album I mostly like don’t end up reciprocating my thoughts on the album (it’s a 7). Thankfully, “Creepin’” is an incredible pop song, even if it may require some backstory. Influential singer-songwriter and Celtic phenomenon Enya may be most fondly remembered for “Only Time”, her 1987 debut album contained the deep cut “Boadicea”, which was never released as a single but with an infectious and immediately recognisable vocal harmony as its main refrain (and very much else in the way of structure since it’s a peaceful, gorgeous new-age track), it was ripe for remixing and sampling, and naturally has found its way to people like Wale, Jhené Aiko, Anuel AA and even Bastille, yet the most important “Boadicea” sample was “Ready or Not” from 1996, which had iconic alt-rap trio Fugees and their co-producer Jerry Duplessis flip the new-age track into an eerie loop under a hard-hitting banger, with immaculate mixing and a rich chorus from Ms. Lauryn Hill interpolating the Delfonics’ 1968 hit, “Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide from Love)”, which originally peaked at #41. Naturally, as is the case with the Fugees, everyone except Pras kills it, especially Wyclef, and they got their first #1 hit in the UK. Now, take the drums from EPMD’s 1988 deep cut “You’re a Customer”, which is essentially sampledelia when it’s not an undeniable synth bass groove and some of the best rapping you’ll ever hear in the 1980s, and place it on that same flip the Fugees had of the Enya sample and you get “Creepin’”, right? Nope, this runs even deeper. Instead of the new hit, you actually get “I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans featuring P. Diddy and you get yet another UK #1. 2004’s “I Don’t Wanna Know” is a classic in which Winans bitterly says goodbye to a partner who cheated on him, rejecting honesty as he doesn’t want to know whether his girl is cheating on him. It’s one of the best #1 hits of 2004 in the UK, and I thought it went underappreciated until Metro proved me wrong by essentially covering the song in its entirety... and it’s just as great as Metro shows anyone how to do this obvious sample flip right. The Weeknd sells the content even better than Winans in his fragile high register and the trap dirge makes this rock-bottom low-point in a relationship sound even more hopeless. You have the Enya sample being replicated by an uncredited Travis Scott – which is genius – adding a darker atmosphere that the Fugees were going for in “Ready for Not”, but with Travis mesmerizingly replicating the harmony, it effectively modernises the track whilst paying a great deal of homage, which is probably why they kept Mario Winans’ bridge and ad-libs. Oh, and replacing Diddy with a 21 Savage verse is always a good idea, as whilst his verse isn’t mind-blowing, I love hearing his grit in this cinematic pop context, especially since his verse leads into the final chorus in which the strings really come to a swell. Part of me hoped that this hit #1 just to continue the trend of tracks sampling “Boadicea” to do so, but I’m happy with a #13 debut, especially since I think this is impressive enough to stick around past Christmas. The mixing is perfect for this kind of misty ballad, there’s Goddamn Sampha on it – where’s the album? – and I essentially have no complaints regarding this masterclass of sampling and production. If dark alternative R&B like this and “Escapism.” is going to be the way forward for the top 20, and it could be considering SZA is on the way, I’m all for it.

Conclusion

Well, obviously “Creepin’” by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage gets the Best of the Week. I didn’t want to spend most of that review talking about the sampling but it does put into context how well-crafted the final hit is, and how great of a producer and song crafter both Metro and The Weeknd can be with what sounds like the simplest task. As for the Honourable Mention, it’s going to be a tie between Lewis Capaldi and the Sidemen of all people for “Hopeless” and “Christmas Drillings” (what a sentence, maybe doing this on Saturday messes with my head), and sadly, despite the album being good, the only real clunker is “Niagara Falls (Foot or 2)” by Metro Boomin, Travis Scott and 21 Savage so that ends up taking the Worst of the Week. What’s next on the horizon is unknown to me so for now, thank you for reading – especially if you read that ridiculously large Off the Charts bit – and I’ll see you next week!

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