#Opposite - Axis Bank

[anigdha]

Head Office : 2nd Floor, N Block, Opposite - Axis Bank,

Sector -18, Noida - 201301

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[danibeanie]

1:24 am astro observations

🦎 I just realized that my 1st ever relationship/fling was when it was the month of my rising sign -taurus. I feel like this makes a lot of sense because your literally the main character for most of that month… even better if you have the next ruling sign 😋

🦎 mercury conjunct mars people have such a sharp tongue 😭 it doesn’t matter what sign it’s in. the way these people communicate can come off rude but it’s just the way they talk.

ex- my new manger has this and it was easy to get offended by her even though she was just giving me orders lol. also kendrick lamar has this aspect and I’m not even gonna get into it cause y’all KNOW

🦎pluto in second house solar return and YOU will make more bank. drastic changes to your money and you can even think of saving money if there’s not any tense aspects with other planets.

🦎no one is gonna understand you more than someone that has their moon sign as your ascendent OR same sun sign as their moon vise versa.🤷🏻‍♀️

🦎 lilith conjunct ascendent synastry is DANGEROUS because why are you so attracted to me and why am I so attracted to you. yet I don’t want you… def my gemini placements 😭

🦎 what’s up with pisces men and wanting to get high with you?!? any pisces placements in matter of fact. they fall into my 11th house so I’m surrounded by a lot of them but there’s always some substance going on.

🦎I personally am not the biggest fan of 10th house synastry. Only when it’s in the work place but beyond that it can be a bit awkward just trying to talk about more personal things. it really depends on the whole chart.

🦎 you’ll never forget anyone that has fallen planets. there’s this authenticity that exudes from them and SOOO many people like to talk about the negatives but when you learn to maneuver around the obstacles you’ll leave a lasting impression on that planets energy.

🦎 cancer mars has such explosive anger which is why most of us resort to crying cause our emotions just bottle up. kendrick lamar being one is not surprising because believe me when I say this… HE AINT EVER LETTING THIS GO😭 cancer mars hold grudges like no other like there’s a reason he’s dropped 4 diss tracks.

⬆️ I notice that many people are taking his side (me) which is funny considering he’s a libra rising so him already being venusian is helping him a ton -people already wanna like you.

🦎drake being heavy scorpio can benefit him by stepping into his power and transform this whole fiasco into something positive for him. OR- destroy him by being exposed for all his dirty lies and his rap career going downhill.

⬆️ it doesn’t help that his chiron is in gemini so he’s obviously gonna feel some type of way about any ♊️ placements. drake is always taking about gemini women in his songs and how he can never figure them out. 😭

🦎 the whole scorpio-gemini axis is so funny because I genuinely think these signs are more similar than we think. as someone with heavy gemini placements many people seem to think were more “mysterious”. but people tend to forget that we have sag in Pluto so there’s MANY oppositions that people with heavy gemini placements have. this creates that plutonian energy. and since it’s a mutable sign it adapts to mostly anything which is why people call us “two faced”.

#astro observations #astro community #astrology content

[gael-garcia]

Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) is an ad hoc coalition committed to solidarity and the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people. Drawing together writers, editors, and other culture workers, WAWOG hopes to provide ongoing infrastructure for cultural organizing in response to the war. This project is modeled on American Writers Against the War in Vietnam, an organization founded in 1965.

Statement of Solidarity

October 26, 2023

Israel’s war against Gaza is an attempt to conduct genocide against the Palestinian people. This war did not begin on October 7th. However, in the last 19 days, the Israeli military has killed over 6,500 Palestinians, including more than 2,500 children, and wounded over 17,000. Gaza is the world’s largest open-air prison: its 2 million residents—a majority of whom are refugees, descendants of those whose land was stolen in 1948—have been deprived of basic human rights since the blockade in 2006. We share the assertions of human rights groups, scholars, and, above all, everyday Palestinians: Israel is an apartheid state, designed to privilege Jewish citizens at the expense of Palestinians, heedless of the many Jewish people, both in Israel and across the diaspora, who oppose their own conscription in an ethno-nationalist project. 

We come together as writers, journalists, academics, artists, and other culture workers to express our solidarity with the people of Palestine. We stand with their anticolonial struggle for freedom and for self-determination, and with their right to resist occupation. We stand firmly by Gaza’s people, victims of a genocidal war the United States government continues to fund and arm with military aid—a crisis compounded by the illegal settlement and dispossession of the West Bank and the subjugation of Palestinians within the state of Israel.

We stand in opposition to the silencing of dissent and to racist and revisionist media cycles, further perpetuated by Israel’s attempts to bar reporting in Gaza, where journalists have been both denied entry and targeted by Israeli forces. At least 24 journalists in Gaza have now been killed. Internationally, writers and cultural workers have faced severe harassment, workplace retribution, and job loss for expressing solidarity with Palestine, whether by stating facts about their continued occupation, or for amplifying the voices of others. These are instances that mark severe incursions against supposed speech protections. Specious charges of antisemitism are leveled against Zionism’s critics; political repression has been particularly aggressive against the free speech of Muslim, Arab, and Black people living in the US and across the globe. As was the case following the September 11th attacks, Islamophobic political fervor and the widespread circulation of unsubstantiated claims has galvanized a US-led coalition of military support for a brutal campaign of violence.

What can we do to intervene against Israel’s eliminationist assault on the Palestinian people? Words alone cannot stop the onslaught of devastation of Palestinian homes and lives, backed shamelessly and without hesitation by the entire axis of Western power. At the same time, we must reckon with the role words and images play in the war on Gaza and the ferocious support they have engendered: Israel’s defense minister announced the siege as a fight against “human animals”; even as we learned that Israel had rained bombs down on densely populated urban neighborhoods and deployed white phosphorus in Gaza City, the New York Times editorial board wrote that “what Israel is fighting to defend is a society that values human life and the rule of law”; establishment media outlets continue to describe Hamas’s attack on Israel as “unprovoked.” Writers Against the War on Gaza rejects this perversion of meaning, wherein a nuclear state can declare itself a victim in perpetuity while openly enacting genocide. We condemn those in our industries who continue to enable apartheid and genocide. We cannot write a free Palestine into existence, buttogether we must do all we possibly can to reject narratives that soothe Western complicity in ethnic cleansing. 

We act alongside other writers, scholars, and artists who have expressed solidarity with the Palestinian cause, drawing inspiration from the Palestinian spirit of sumud, steadfastness, and resistance. Since 2004, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has advocated for organizations to join a boycott of institutions representing the Israeli state or cultural institutions complicit with its apartheid regime. We call on all our colleagues working in cultural institutions to endorse that boycott. And we invite writers, editors, journalists, scholars, artists, musicians, actors, and anyone in creative and academic work to sign this statement. Join us in building a new cultural front for a free Palestine.  

Signed,

WAWOG Interim Organizing Committee

Hannah Black

Ari Brostoff (Senior Editor, Jewish Currents)

Elena Comay del Junco

Kyle Dacuyan (Executive Director, Poetry Project)

Kay Gabriel (Editorial Director, Poetry Project)

Kaleem Hawa

E. Tammy Kim

Shiv Kotecha

Wendy Lotterman (Associate Editor, Parapraxis)

Muna Mire

Perwana Nazif

Brendan O'Connor

Alex Press (Staff Writer, Jacobin)

Sarah Nicole Prickett

Dylan Saba

Zoé Samudzi (Associate Editor, Parapraxis)

Jasmine Sanders

Claire Schwartz (Culture Editor, Jewish Currents)

Janique Vigier

Harron Walker

Chloe Watlington

Gabriel Winant (Department of History, University of Chicago)

Audrey Wollen

Hannah Zeavin (Founding Editor, Parapraxis)

Signed, In Solidarity

Fatimah Warner (Noname)

Saul Williams

Susan Sarandon

Janeane Garofalo

Gael García Bernal

Danez Smith

Ocean Vuong

Aria Aber

Saidiya Hartman

China Miéville

+ full list here

#writers against the war on gaza #wawog #free palestine #this letter is the one #you know how i encountered this when you see one of the people who signed #text #noname #susan sarandon #saul williams #gael garcia bernal #ocean vuong #joel kim booster #what a pleasant surprise #patti harrison #fariha roisin #zoe samudzi

[tirfpikachu]

damn son I'm literally a transandrophobia poster and I routinely rail against TIRFism and even I think your takes are wack. "AMAB privilege" GTFO with that man. we can lift up transmasc voices and promote trans unity and talk about radfem ingression into trans spaces without making this another AMAB/AFAB oppression olympics thing - that was the whole problem, we should be doing the opposite. stop taking words like TIRF and pretending to be against radfems when you're eating their talking points for breakfast

tirf means trans inclusive radfem, so tirfs actually are radfems! i am one myself. terfs aren't actually a thing - there are definitely transphobic radfems, but radfeminism includes ALL afab people, transmascs included. i'm still veryyy critical of how many handle trans issues. i reblog as much material as i can for my book, which very often includes not-so-kind terms/phrasing, but i do try to use language as respectful as i can in my own posts so i can have actual conversations with trans folks and trans activists, including saying amab/afab and agab instead of male/female.

i do believe that transfem people face unique oppression on the complicated axis of what ppl call transmisogyny. which imo is mostly a mix of sexism and homophobia if someone knows that person's sex/agab, mixed with conditional misogyny if they pass and live their life as afab. if they're outed as amab, they're seen as a gnc man again and with all the violent sexism that comes with that. it's a very complex form of oppression. i know they go through a lot of unique trauma, i'm not denying it.

but i also believe that afab people are uniquely oppressed as well.

if not, then what do you call this if not unique oppression? forced impregnation, abortion/pregnancy issues, period tax, lack of menstruation/uterus research & resources, afab bodies being under-represented in medicine which causes horrific things to happen, afab babies being aborted or killed at birth for being born with a vagina (afab) bc they're seen as lesser, afab upbringing coming with very unique experiences that amab ppl for better or worse will never understand (it is NOT a fucking privilege fuck you), being born with a body type that is very obviously vulnerable against people with penises sexually due to people with bio dicks feeling genital pleasure when they stick it in something, and god knows they will not give a shit about the person below them (look at fucking nature documentaries!!!). they will take off the condom. they will pressure ppl to do anal or give painful blowjobs. they will be creeps or jerks about pregnancy. they will generally put penises above vaginas and amab rights over afab rights, and this shit is DEEPLY ingrained in society. transfems being able to transition is very new, meaning that although they had many struggles before, they were not treated as female and had that (perhaps painful) privilege for MOST of human history. this meant being allowed to open a bank, go places without a husband, not being forced to be impregnated like cattle, not being forced to be a mother stuck in a kitchen, and having SOOO much more generational wealth at their disposal. afab ppl reading abt historical afab oppression is upsetting in a way that transfems will never fully be able to relate to. afab people have a deep, rich, unique culture and faced trauma for thousands of years and us being afab is not a privilege!! we have the privilege of not understanding transfem issues, sure, like a woman not being a lesbian won't face lesbophobia. but then again male-attracted women face violence from men in a unique way!! it's complex af when you're already marginalized

most ppl have an agab-based sexuality too, cis men included, meaning afab ppl are the ONLY *INTENDED* target of cis men's lust and sexual violence and whatever misogynistic bs they say about women, since most cis men are heterosexual. amab ppl face it, and it fucking sucks for them too, but they also only face it conditionally - the very second the cis guy realizes the person is amab, the usual trope is them throwing up thinking back on how they kissed and wanting to punch the "crossdressing pervert" EVEN if the transfem had every surgery possible and looked totally afab. they lose attraction, usually anyway, and physical violence linked to homophobia and gncphobia is the danger transfems then risk. which ofc is absolutely horrible, it can be life-ruining. but not an afabmisogyny experience. they aren't unconditionally sexualized. they are mistaken for afab due to all the surgeries and hormones they took. it's misdirected afabmisogyny due to ppl assuming they were born with a vagina and went thru afab puberty. and then harming them bc they see afab ppl as sex objects and dumb bitches, they see us being born and raised afab as a weakness. they hate us and want us for our sex/agab. most misogyny is about specifically afab people! and yes transmisogyny sucks, it should be called out too for sure. but when fem transmascs pass as transfem post-transition they always are open about experiencing misdirected transmisogyny and talking abt transfem rights etc etc. why can't transfems do the same with cis women and transmascs?? why can't they talk abt how transmisogyny & misogyny against cis women are both bad in different ways? it's always them being victims vs those evil privileged bitches!!

and not just quickly mention it but ACTUALLY speak up about it, uplift afab voices, and be genuinely good afab allies? where are the posts from transfems calling out transfems' afabmisogyny? why can't transmascs or cis women write posts abt it without being met by death threats and terf accusations? i know you think you can only further transandrophobia discussions by tiptoing around the existence of afab-exclusive misogyny. i know talking abt transmasc-unique issues already leads to insane amounts of bullying from afab & transfem folks. but i'm tired of transfems getting away with shitty behavior. i'm tired of cis women being only seen as oppressors against transfems. something needs to change. i truly believe that radfeminism isn't a lost cause, and in fact there are more and more transmasc radfems, and even transfems who are strong radfem allies. people are finally waking up to the realities of afab oppression!! they're finally embracing nuance!

misogynistic behavior from transfems gets brushed under the rug and them being amab is seen as completely irrelevant, anyone bringing it up is a bigot, while afab folks are more than open to their agab being a factor in conflict... it's unfair. as you've shown, transfems and the ppl speaking for them refuse to have nuanced talks abt afab oppression, they view it as "omg we're all oppressed!! shut the fuck up theyfab go bootlick those privileged cis cunts! no one wants to hear about your issues for longer than a minute, only listen to MINE!! being afab is a PRIVILEGE i didn't get to grow up afab stop rubbing it in my face!!!" what sucks is that transfems and transfem allies used to be soooo much more respectful of cis women and transmasc people's rights too. literally NO ONE used to say that being afab genuinely meant you got benefits in society. no one. like holy fucking shit. the past 20 years has been a fever dream!!!

i'm 100% for transfems living their best lives, transition included, and i've heard many horror stories of transfem-specific experiences i'll never truly understand. but it's not a strict oppressor/oppressed dynamic all the time. just because you're not oppressed on every axis of oppression ever doesn't mean you have no struggles. it's fucking insane that i keep needing to explain that to people, like oh my god do y'all not understand that someone can be both privileged and disprivileged in society in different ways, and might need to both have their voices boosted sometimes and ALSO need to take a back seat other times??? this ain't us cis radfems OR transandrophobia activists just playing oppression olympics. this is an oppressed group talking abt their unique struggles and being mocked to hell and back. and it's sad that it's seen as catty and selfish and bitchy. but as an afab woman i'm not surprised lmao.

and yeah you might speak on transmasc issues, but do you speak on afab rights? do you call out misogynistic bullshit that transfems say about cis women too? do you speak on cis women's oppression as well, about how they're oppressed by amab people too and are oppressed in a different way than transmasc or transfem folks, for being afab and ALSO identifying as women? do you mention how afab people are a uniquely oppressed class of people, or are you too scared of stepping on transfem toes bc they're seen as the top of the oppression pyramid and will harass you off the site?? why is saying that amab people as a class have privilege over afab folks on an oppression axis controversial? what about that feels like an attack?

if you're transfem or otherwise are amab and live perceived as afab, and you aren't afraid to recognize that afab oppression is its own thing and deserves its own voice and its own movement, ily bestie. i see you. i see more and more of you lately and it warms my heart. we aren't enemies, we can learn from eachother. thank you for working thru that initial knee-jerk reaction and learning to be a good ally to afab folks. i wish you the best <3 and if you're transmasc you DESERVE to have your voice heard too. you deserve to speak on afab rights and for transfems to want to be good allies to you too!! ALL afab people have unique voices that need to be heard for once!

#asks #this was long af sorry i went off lol #i understand your pov anon bc i had it even just a few years ago i was overprotective of transfems #i acted like afab ppl had talked enough and should stfu like they were the lowest bar of oppressed in society #that transfems had it worse by default and any talk of afab rights would make them dysphoric esp if transfems weren't centered #but EVEN THEN even when transfems are mentioned in afab-specific issues they STILL get mad #it isn't an amab/afab oppression olympics thing #and it's so childish of you to draw that conclusion #but it makes sense bc it's the current sentiment in trans spaces. any talk of afab-only issues makes ppl uncomfortable #any talk of transfems not only being the oppressed but also the oppressor class on a different axis makes ppl foam at the mouth #meanwhile afab ppl in general are more than happy to recognize they're privileged on another axis of oppression generally #why is that? #i'm tempted to say amab upbringing (and afab upbringing making ppl want to shield others at all costs esp amab ppl) #but i know now that i said it ppl will be even MORE pissed off #idk. i'm so glad i started recognizing my own afab oppression as mattering too. that thing where women are seen as talking so much more #than men even though if they talked the same amount? yeah. that still impacts things like this lol. identity doesn't change that #idk. respect one another and give equal space to all marginalized folks. simple easy and free!! and yet!!! #lay text #my words #radblr

[saturniandevil]

April 2023 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's April Forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan, Austin Coppock, and guest host Robert Weinstein. Mundane recap: Pluto's ingress into Aquarius heralds the integration of AI-generated text and images into larger parts of life, impacting industries, job markets, warfare, and more. The TikTok ban bill is another manifestation of Pluto's power struggle significations. Saturn in Pisces has also hinted at some of the upcoming themes: the recent banking crisis and a shift in public policy re: covid. The Saturn-Uranus cycle has served as an indicator to economic booms & busts, with eclipses especially igniting this--the 1929 stock market crash happened with the Nodes on the Taurus-Scorpio axis, and the FTX crash can be seen as a final crisis from Saturn square Uranus around an eclipse. Chris predicts eclipses will continue to affect finance. In popular culture, Everything Everywhere All At Once won many awards and was released during the Pisces stellium, which thematically fits.

Additionally, many planets change signs and put themselves in aspect to Saturn or Pluto for the first time since the outer planets entered these new signs, setting the tone for the next few years (or decades, in the case of Pluto). We've got a lot of beginnings and motion with the cardinal sign emphasis (we begin the month with an Aries stellium and Mars having just entered Cancer, and end it with an Aries eclipse).

April 3rd - Mercury enters Taurus From here Mercury squares Pluto, sextiles Saturn & Mars, conjoins an eclipse point and approaches Uranus, putting it in a difficult position to do the planting & planning to which the first decan of Taurus is normally conducive. Slow down and be methodical about what we're doing. Between Pluto's underground machinations and Uranus's unpredictability, it's hard for us to make decisions. In the sign of Taurus this will almost certainly have financial implications as well. Mercury will start slowing down around the 10th or 11th, with the retrograde shadow beginning at 5Taurus soon after an eclipse. Funnily enough, he will retrograde over these same degrees later in the year.

April 6th - Full Moon in Libra Here's the chart:

The Moon is at 16Libra, with the Sun within 4 degrees of conjunction to Jupiter (♈). The Moon is coming off a square with Mars (♋), part of a larger shift towards tension in cardinal signs during the Red Planet's transit. Chiron at 15Aries is very close to the Sun (conjunction) & Moon (opposition). The Moon's ruler Venus has just left a conjunction with Uranus, and in her domicile of Taurus, indicates some fervent and moderately successful attempts at stabilizing matters. We may also find stability through contracts and deals, which are associated with the second decan of Libra. Venus is also approaching Jupiter, whose proximity to the Sun makes him combust (too close to the Sun to be visible) and less able to provide the optimism & reassurance we seek. Alternately, hopeful events may be happening behind the scenes while our optimist planet is invisible for 2-4 weeks.

April 10th - Selected auspicious election

This occurs around 2:10PM local time, with Leo rising and Ascendant ruler the Sun in the 9th whole sign house, which for a day chart is extremely fortuitous. It takes advantage of the Sun-Jupiter cazimi about to occur, with the former in exaltation making things even more auspicious. The Moon in Sagittarius applies to a trine with domicile lord Jupiter. Venus is in the last degrees of Taurus, so Leo rising charts earlier in the month can take advantage of her presence in earlier degrees. 9th house topics (Jupiter) include education, travel, higher learning and publishing, while 10th house topics with Venus can indicate art & creativity. With the Moon in the 5th house this can also be good for leisure or fun & games.

April 11th - Venus enters Gemini, Sun-Jupiter conjunction (♈) The Jupiter cazimi (exact conjunction to Sun) occurs around 21-22Aries: there is still something to believe in. Not only is this fortuitous as a heightening of the greater benefic's energies, but the Sun is also in exaltation. Think optimism, expansion, and hope (Jupiter) and doing something at a level of excellence (exalted Sun). This is the seed point for new ideas, leadership and following your own path. Unfortunately the next week brings a damper on otherwise great events.

Upon entering Gemini, Venus immediately trines Pluto (♒) and soon after squares Saturn (♓), the last major aspects leading up into the eclipse. Venus trine Pluto in air signs can signal intensifying personal relationships as communication delves deeper, or perhaps enjoying the new technologies that are otherwise scary. However, Pluto is rarely light and Saturn makes things significantly heavier. Venus square Saturn indicates significant boundaries or obstacles in personal relationships, something that may keep the relationship from happening at all. In Austin's words, Saturn either locks you out or locks you in. This is also the time when Mercury starts slowing down to a speed slower than average in preparation for retrograde (figuratively tiptoeing up towards Uranus and deciding to turn around).

April 20th - Lunar eclipse in Aries, Sun enters Taurus This is the first eclipse both of the year and in the Aries-Libra axis, but we're not totally out of the woods yet for fixed signs.

The eclipse has a very close out-of-sign square to Pluto, and immediately after, the Moon ingresses into Taurus and squares Pluto, as does the Sun soon later. We'll get insight into what the next 20 years of Pluto in Aquarius has in store. Eclipses have indicated dramatic shifts in leadership since the earliest days of astrology, and Austin says in Aries this indicates actual heads of state. This lunar mansion/nakshatra is also associated with medicine, the public figure(s) in question may be in that field. Pluto at 0Aquarius (degree where pandemic lockdown measures intensified at various times) weighs in via a sextile to the moon, and this eclipse is also square the US Sibly chart's Pluto with Mars, eclipse ruler, on the US Sun. Thus Chris and Robert both expect significant financial events during this upcoming eclipse season.

April 21st - Mercury stations retrograde in Taurus This station occurs closely conjunct Uranus, so technological snafus and freak accidents are certainly in order. Mercury in Taurus helps the trains run on time, so we can expect further disruption and chaos on that front. Avoid messing with electricity if you can, and generally we may feel a shock to the collective nervous system. The Sun-Mercury conjunction marking the retrograde's halfway point will occur around May 1st, so we can expect to start moving towards a resolution then. On May 5th we get the answering eclipse to this one, Mercury stationing direct on the 15th, and Jupiter entering Taurus soon after. These events in mid-May will help stabilize things, though Mars will form a T-square with Jupiter and Uranus... Overall we feel eclipses for a couple weeks on either side. Pay attention to the parts of your chart where the eclipses occur: new beginnings and endings are in order as the nodes move!

#astrology #transits #forecast #april 2023 #sun jupiter cazimi #mercury retrograde in taurus #lunar eclipse in aries

[mortemoppetere]

TIMING: june 25th PARTIES: @honeysmokedham, @chasseurdeloup, & @mortemoppetere LOCATION: the wicked's rest zoo SUMMARY: when an innocent man is framed for murder, axis investigations is on the case! hey, wait, what's animal control doing here? CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

"Wake up." Nora burst into Emilio's bedroom, door banging against the wall, Perro barking at her heels. "We've got a case." Nora scanned the ground of his bedroom. Neither of the Axis employees could claim to be neat in their lifestyles. Nora picked up two of the less aggressive-smelling articles of clothing and tossed them at the sleeping figure. "It's urgent, come on." Nora also dropped the three-legged dog onto the bed, hoping the little guy would go right for Emilio's face and force him to wake up. Nora slammed the door behind her as she left his room. While she waited for her boss to get it together, she paced a trail in the office space. Back and forth, hands shoved in her pockets. 

Nora had been in the office late that night. It wasn't for work. Sometimes she came in when Emilio wasn't home to use a working bathroom. She was pretty sure he knew but never said anything. Nora liked that arrangement. Nora loved her crypt and the freedom it represented, but she missed the utility of running water. Now that she had added a training routine to her night that left her covered in sweat from pushing herself with exercise, access to a shower was life-changing. Since Nora was playing a game of pretending not to need help, she kept a rotation of places she went to shower. Sometimes it was Van's, Thea's, Metzli's. A gym membership would probably help but the ten dollars a month needed to come from a bank account which she didn't have access to. 

Anyway, she'd been about to leave when a man knocked at the door. He'd been older and looked nervous to be there. "You're the private investigator?" He'd asked upon seeing her, Nora could tell from the look in his eye he didn't believe it. Probably because she looked like a child and knew it. Instead of answering the man, Nora had pointed to the cheap Private Investigator sign on the desk. The man must have been desperate enough to need help because he went right into the story. 

As soon as Emilio came out Nora went into recounting the story. "There's been a murder." Nora kept pacing while she spoke. "They think they know who did it, but our client wants to prove it wasn't who they think it was." Nora started stating the facts she knew. The body was discovered three days ago in the morning when the zoo opened. The cameras were down that night, so there was no video footage. "We won't be able to talk to the suspect. He's a polar bear." Nora stopped her pacing to look at Emilio. This was where she thought the grouchy old man might say no. But, despite her own hatred for her own bear, Nora had a deep fondness for bears. Especially the polar kind. Nora grabbed a file she'd prepared for Emilio off the desk and tossed it to him. "That's everything I know and found on Google." She'd gone to the library to print it off this morning. "Our client is a keeper at the zoo. He says he knows for certain the bear didn't do it." 

Blood on the floorboards, in the dirt, on the walls. The stench of it was overpowering, all iron and rust. He was running, but the ground under his feet was moving in the opposite direction so no step he took actually projected him forward. But he could see her ahead, anyway — dark hair tangled in every direction, tiny body curled into a ball, blood pooling all around her. He’d get there too late, because he always did, but he could see her. He was so close, he just needed to —

A voice cut through the silence of the bedroom, and Emilio started awake, eyes wide and wild. His heart was pounding in his chest as he shifted on the mattress, not yet sitting up but far from sleep. He probably ought to thank Nora for waking him; he’d only been asleep an hour or so, but the nightmares only ever got worse the longer he let himself stay in them. More than an hour of sleep and he woke up screaming his throat raw, shouting out names of long-dead ghosts that had never found him worth haunting. 

Nora was saying something about a case, and then there were clothes being tossed at him, and then a dog. Perro licked his nose once, a very intentional kind of move, as if he, too, was urging Emilio to wake up and listen to Nora. The detective grumbled, pulling on the dirty shirt and sweatpants she’d tossed his way as she exited the bedroom. It took him a moment to get off the mattress; it always did. His knee was stiff, hurting more than usual after the ‘rest’ he’d granted it. He did his best to ignore it as he limped into the living room.

“Do you live here now?” It was only half a joke. Inviting her to move in and forgetting about it wasn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility to Emilio. Nora accepting such an offer, however, seemed entirely unlikely. He moved into the kitchen as she spoke, starting the process of making a cup of coffee in his ancient, moldy coffee maker. 

Murder wasn’t Axis’s usual fare. That kind of thing was better left to the police, if only because Emilio attempting to take on such a thing seemed like a short walk to a prison cell for him. But apparently, the police hadn’t done their job. He listened as Nora told the story, finding it entirely unsurprising that the cops had the wrong man behind bars for this one. The police liked easy answers, most of the time. They tended to go with whatever suspect looked the best without digging into the evidence. Sometimes, that meant the wrong person got caught up in things. And sometimes, that wrong person had the funds and determination to hire Axis to help them. Not the worst case, really. It was nice of Nora to take it for him, nice of her to…

Wait. 

“Did you say a polar bear?” He caught the file she threw his way, looking down at the printout of some webpage about a polar bear. “A bugbear? It’s a bugbear, right? We can get them to transform and talk to them then?” He wanted, so badly, for the answer to be yes. The more Nora spoke, however, the less likely that seemed to be. “It’s a bear.”

"Live here? In this sty?" Nora rolled her eyes. "Never." It wasn't that Nora hated Axis. It was the opposite. Nora loved Axis. Nora loved how the noire feel of the office space made her feel like a star in a detective movie. She loved that blocked off from prying eyes was Emilio's home, a place where she was welcome to traverse, making her feel welcomed and like she belonged somewhere. There was joy in being able to come in, wake up Mimi, and get to work. No harsh words, no yelling. No demands to keep to a schedule. Axis was the easy and simple life she loved and always wanted. 

But the Crypt was everything to Nora. The Crypt was the symbol of freedom that she'd fought tooth and nail for. An oasis unto herself where no one could tell her what to do, how to exist, and what to be. There was nothing in that Crypt that demanded she twisted herself into different shapes to fit a box that wasn't designed to fit her. The Crypt was someplace she couldn't see herself giving up ever. She knew Emilio hated the Crypt. All of his mentions of the place came with reminders that there were creatures there that wanted to kill her. He was convinced that one day something would claw its way out of death and attack her down there. He was probably right, but her freedom was something she'd discovered she'd die for. 

Nora wasn't done pacing. Her boots slammed a steady beat against the worn wood floor. "A bugbear? It’s a bugbear, right? We can get them to transform and talk to them then?" Those words came with a sting of pain. Nora kept her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her, one boot in front of the other. The hope that it could be a fellow bugbear had crossed her mind when she first heard about the case, but further research into the bear had revealed that the bear was born and raised in captivity. The true sting came from the knowledge that even if it was a bugbear, Nora would have no clue how to tell. As far as she was aware, she was the only bugbear in existence at this current time. Despite her efforts to find others, there had only been one in her life. Her. It was blatantly apparent to her that she lacked something. Something to tell her where the other bugbears were. Something that could answer a question like "It's a bugbear, right?" 

"A bear." Nora repeated. Her voice and face remained as impassive as ever. "It can't defend itself. Someone has to do it." As Nora spoke her hands started fumbling through her pockets. Change. Ham. Snake. Some string. Finally, they came across what she was looking for. Nora pulled out two all-access zoo passes, tossing one at Emilio. "He gave us a way in." Not only did he give them a way in, but the man had also said these would be good all season. Unlimited zoo trips. Nora wasn't going to admit it to Mimi, but she was stoked. She was going to use this pass to try and free all the animals. Sometime. Not now. Right now they had a murder to solve. 

"He said we'd be able to use this to get into where they are holding the bear too." Nora stopped pacing, turning to look at Emilio. "He's sure the bear didn't do it. The bear doesn't have a history of violence. He was originally supposed to be picked up for rehabilitation and then release, but after she was healed her caretakers declared she was too dependent on humans that they didn't think she would survive in the wild." 

“It’s better than your place,” Emilio huffed, though he wasn’t entirely sure that was true. Axis and the Crypt were probably equally terrible for different reasons. Sure, the Crypt was in a graveyard that was potentially full of undead, but Axis was in a building of potentially dangerous people. The guy across the hall had come at Emilio with a switchblade more than once, and it was a lot harder to fight off crazy neighbors than it was to kill spawn vampires. Spawns were easy. You hit them in the chest with a stake and they turned to dust. But people were complicated. You kill one, even in self defense, and you’ve got a world of shit coming down on you. Especially if you were Emilio, he suspected. An undocumented Mexican murdering his neighbor probably wasn’t going to be given any kind of benefit of the doubt. People not turning to dust after dying was, frankly, a little rude of them when you threw that into consideration. 

Still, Emilio was a stubborn bastard. He’d die before he admitted that Nora might have a point about the Crypt being a step above Axis. He’d also never try to convince her to leave it. For whatever reason, she seemed to genuinely like being there. And Nora wasn’t the kind of person who seemed to genuinely like many things at all, so Emilio figured he ought to let her keep whatever she could find. He thought she might do the same for him. 

The coffee machine finished, and Emilio poured the liquid into a reasonably clean mug he pulled out of the sink, pulling a bottle of whiskey down from the cabinet to add a bit of that into the mix as well. With both the cup and the bottle in hand, he walked over to his desk and settled into the rickety chair, leaning back to watch Nora pace.

She was worked up about this. That much was obvious from the way she moved, stress coming off her in waves. It reminded him a little of Rosa when she got herself wrapped up in something, the way she’d walk and talk while making gestures with her hands, frustration clear in her expression. (He and Edgar used to make bets on who she’d take a swing at first. The bets were stupid. It was always Emilio. As the youngest brother, it was his God-given right to be the more annoying of the two.) 

But while Rosa often got worked up over things Emilio could relate to, Nora’s reaction seemed a little more foreign. If it was a bugbear, he’d get it. Even with his disconnect from the life, he’d still feel some sympathy for a slayer wrongfully accused of something and suffering the consequences of it unjustly. But a bear? Nora had admitted that she hadn’t even spent a large amount of time in that form, using it only when she needed to. Did she really feel such a connection to this animal? 

He thought, unwillingly, of Teddy and the way they’d spoken to the animals Joy had trapped away, the anguish in their face when they’d saved Emilio’s life at the cost of letting the baukbear die. He thought of Perro, of the anger he’d felt when he’d seen the condition the dog had been living under in the home of the vampire he’d taken him from. Maybe Nora’s frustration wasn’t as perplexing as he’d first thought. It was just a bear, but it was still something. Something that couldn’t look out for itself, something that needed someone on its side. Emilio bit back a groan. 

Reaching out, he caught the lanyard she threw his way, making a face at it. A zoo pass? Christ, he’d never even been to a zoo. He could only imagine how overwhelming it would be for a man who disliked crowds and had trouble maintaining a strong hold on his own mind. But this was clearly important to Nora, and she’d done plenty for him without protest, so he wrapped the string around his wrist and held the little piece of plastic in his hand. “Okay,” he agreed. “We’ll go in, and we’ll find out what happened. But if we find out the bear did do it, kid, I don’t know what we can do.” It seemed unfair, punishing a bear for doing what bears did. It wasn’t like the vampires Emilio took out who killed with intent; it was a fucking animal. It shouldn’t be punished for that. But how could they stop it? They couldn’t exactly sneak a bear through town and release it into the woods. Emilio didn’t even think polar bears lived in Maine. 

If they had to, he guessed, they could go to Teddy about it. The very thought filled him with irritation, but Teddy had proven to be useful when it came to animals. They’d probably know what to do with a polar bear. With a backup plan that he desperately hoped they could forgo, Emilio forced himself to his feet. “I know someone we can call if we have to,” he said, “but I’d rather we not have to. So tell me everything you know about the murder, and why they think the bear did it. We’ll start there.”

Emilio’s face was a carousel of emotion. With each passing bit of information Nora imparted his face contorted into different shades of what the fuck. “The bear didn’t do it.” The bear probably did it, but Emilio didn’t need to know about Nora’s internal monologue over this case. Nora wanted the bear to be guilt-free, and if it wasn’t well, “If the bear did do it, we can break him out.” Nora always had a straight face; it was part of the emotionless exterior she wore on a day-to-day basis. But this time? She meant it. She wanted it said with a straight face because if the bear did do it, then she would break out the bear. Like for fucks sake, it was a bear not a badly behaved human. Of course, it didn’t know better than to eat a human. “He can live in the crypt with me and Babs.” Nora continued. “We have the space.”

Babadook was taller than Nora while standing on hind legs, and the bear would be taller than Babs and together they would be raising the bar. Ha. That was an old commercial, why did she even think of that? “Who do you know? Mimi, do you…” Nora lowered her voice, as if what she was about to say was the most sacrilegious thing that came out of her mouth today. “Do you have a friend? I’m impressed, Mimi. I was starting to worry that you sat around wallowing by yourself when I’m not around to kick you into gear.” A tease. Her mentor may have the attitude of an ostrich, but he was a good guy. Anyone would be lucky to be his friend.

“Come on, I’ll tell you about the case in the car. I got us a ride.” Neither of them had a car. Nora walked everywhere, and she wasn’t sure how Emilio got anywhere. She wasn’t going to ask him to walk, not with that limp. That’s why she arranged for Mrs. Penelope to drive them. Nora knew basically nothing about the woman except she was very easy to scare. In fact, for the last three months she’d been showing up to Mrs. Penelope’s house at three am on the 18th of every month. Recently she’d approached the woman and told her she knew all about her little monster problem. “I want to help,” Nora had told the woman, “But the only way I can help you is if you drive me and my friend to the zoo.” The fact that it worked was truly a testament to the stupidity of humans.

Nora slid open the soccer van’s door, holding it for Emilio to get in, before following in and slamming the door after them. Mrs. P was a shivering shaking mess in the front seat. Her mascara stained her face, and her hands couldn’t keep a straight grip on the road. “To the zoo, Mrs. P!” Nora announced, slapping a hand against her shoulder. The woman practically jumped out of her seat at the contact, but at least she listened. The car slid out of its parallel parked spot, and they were on their way.

Mrs. P had five kids which meant there were snacks somewhere in this van. Nora rummaged around until she pulled out fruit snack baggies. She threw one at Emilio. He didn’t eat enough. “The bear’s name is Nanook.” Dumb name for a polar bear, considering it was polar bear in Inuit. Almost as dumb as someone naming their dog Perro. “The body was discovered three days ago, but they think he was killed four days ago around midnight. There was an electrical malfunction causing the cameras to go down.” Nora popped fruit snacks in her mouth and kept talking. “The guy killed was the polar bear trainer. He’s been working with that bear since it was born at the zoo.”

Nora had been doing extensive research about the polar bear all night, but what was the information that Emilio would find useful? Nora tapped her foot against the driver’s seat as she thought. Mrs. P let out a startled yelp, increasing the speed of the minivan. “No one saw it happen, and no one knows why he would have been there that late. It was after hours, he should have been home by then. Oh, the dude is married. She’s alive. Maybe she did it.” Wasn’t that what they said on crime shows? The spouse was always the one who did it? Nora figured the chances of being killed by your spouse were probably higher than being killed by a polar bear.

More fruit snacks down the hatch as Nora tried to dig some more information out of her brain. “The man loved his polar bear, and from the articles I’ve read the polar bear liked him.” That was the real shame about Nanook, he could have been so much more terrifying. “The body’s cause of death was assumed to be a bear attack because it was super shredded. Like the kind of shredded that if something else was the cause of death no one would know.” At least that’s what the zoo director had told her when he’d hired them for the case. "That's it, I think." Nora looked over to Emilio. "Do you think we should steal the body to do our own examination?" Nora had never stolen a dead body before, but if she had to guess that would be her greatest triumph yet. Body thief would sound so good on her resume of accomplishments.

This had to have been the stupidest case he’d ever agreed to take on. Stupider than the otter trapper, stupider than the cases that weren’t cases at all, stupider than the line of divorce lawyers who wanted him to help their clients come out on top. Polar bear wrongfully accused of murder really took the fucking cake here, but what could he do? Nora wanted this case solved, and Emilio wouldn’t deny her that. 

But… he wasn’t sure he could allow her to keep a polar bear in her crypt. Especially not a polar bear that might or might not kill people. “What would you feed it?” As if that was the biggest question here. “Look, if we break it out, the guy I’m thinking of probably has some way to get it to… wherever polar bears live.” It seemed like the kind of thing Teddy would know. Asshole. “But they’re not my friend. I have friends. Just not this guy.” Teddy had said as much themself. Do you think we could have been friends in another life meant that they weren’t friends in this one, meant that they never could be. And that was fine, because they were annoying. But he didn’t want Nora… worrying that he didn’t have friends. She had other things to worry about.

She had a ride? Emilio tried to decide whether or not he wanted to question that. It felt like the kind of thing he should probably be concerned about — either they were about to catch a ride from one of Nora’s friends, who would probably be another kid, or they’d catch a ride with someone she’d met and coerced on her way here, which would mean someone from Worm Row. Neither option was entirely appealing. He was about to suggest they just steal Jeff’s car instead, but Nora was already on her way down the hall. Great. Her ride it was, then. 

It wasn’t what he’d been expecting, in any case. The minivan was at least easy to get into, with enough room for him to stretch his leg out in the backseat. The woman driving it looked terrified, which did answer some questions. He nodded to her as he settled into the seat, inspecting her carefully to determine that she wasn’t a threat before saying, “Appreciate the ride, señora.” She didn’t acknowledge him. He slid back against the headrest, shooting Nora a half-amused glance. 

The ride to the zoo was uneventful, with Emilio listening as Nora filled him in on the case. He caught the baggie she threw his way, glancing down at the packaging and making a face, but opening it anyway and popping one of the candies into his mouth. It tasted far too sweet, and he held it back out towards Nora with a shake of his head. She needed it more than he did, anyway, and she certainly seemed to enjoy it more. “Maybe she did,” he agreed when hearing about the wife, nodding his head. Wives and husbands killed each other all the time. As someone who’d been married once, Emilio couldn’t quite understand it. He and Juliana fought sometimes, but he’d never had the urge to feed her to a polar bear. Maybe she’d felt differently about him, though. Who knew? “Anybody talk to the wife? Maybe she can at least tell us why he was there so late. Think that’ll be important to know.”

Despite the outlandish nature of the case, he found himself being sucked in by the evidence all the same. A man, a zoo, a polar bear. If the bear knew him, why would it have attacked him? It had never attacked him before, and he’d presumably been in the enclosure plenty of times. What were the odds that it would only choose to break that pattern when the cameras were down and no one could confirm it? It wasn’t as if the bear would have seen the need to hide the nature of the man’s death from anyone; it was a bear. Stuffing the body in the enclosure would have been a smart move, too, had the killer been of the non-bear variety. When authorities found a corpse in a bear enclosure torn to shreds, they didn’t tend to ask any questions beyond that. They let the obvious answer be the thing they believed, even if it wasn’t true. Which it very well might be — despite Nora’s evidence, which was compelling, Emilio wasn’t entirely sure that this wasn’t just a case of a hungry bear taking a bite out of the wrong meal. 

But Nora was right, he figured. Even if the bear had eaten its trainer, it didn’t really deserve to die. Not if it could be placed somewhere where it wouldn’t be a threat to anyone instead. If they could get it back to its natural habitat, or to some sanctuary somewhere where no humans would bother it, that was what they were going to do. 

As they pulled into the zoo, he considered Nora’s question. “I don’t know how to examine a body,” he admitted. “And if I call the ME, she’s going to be pissed at me.” If Regan found out he’d stolen a body, she’d definitely turn him in. He had no question about that. “Better to just… look at the things we know how to. Like the polar bear’s, uh…” He struggled for the word. “Home. Cage? Where it lived. Can your contact get us in there?” Mrs. P parked the car, still trembling. Emilio glanced between her and Nora before deciding, “You can wait in the car. Only got two passes.” She looked relieved. Emilio decided not to ask.

There had been a time in Nora’s childhood where her life was filled with research of Polar Bears. Each new fact she collected on her Polar Bear board went into her plan to run away one day to the Artic so she could meet her birth family of Polar Bears and ask what went wrong. It was a funny memory, now that Nora knew she wasn’t actually a polar bear. But her fondness for the creatures persisted. “Food.” Nora answered Emilio’s question as if it was the dumbest thing, he could ask her. Like what? Was she going to feed a polar bear trash? What kind of animal did Emilio think she was? “We’ve got a lot of honey at Axis.” Nora commented. They had a lot of honey at Axis because she kept filling Emilio’s kitchen with it.

Emilio was going on about how he knew a person, a person that wasn’t his friend, but could probably help. Also, that Emilio had friends. Nora side-eyed Emilio as she let himself talk his way through that one. “Whatever, sure. You have friends.” Nora rolled her eyes. An exaggerated movement made for Emilio’s benefit. “Just not that friend. At least this not friend can help.”

“Did anyone talk to the wife?” Nora repeated back at Emilio, shooting him a look. He was making a disgusted face over the fruit snacks. God. That man had absolutely no taste when it came to anything. Nora accepted the bag and ate his share of fruit snacks as well. “You think the cops did anything that wasn’t blaming Nanook?” That was a big assumption. The zoo wanted to do something, and they did, by hiring Axis. Talking to the wife was going to be their job. Everything was going to be their job. Humans hated animals. Nora shifted in her seat, her feet slapping against the back of Mrs. P’s seat causing the woman to scream again in absolute horror. “Chill Mrs. P. I’m just moving.” Nora found herself rolling her eyes again. Perhaps it was time to stop scaring the lady so much. She looked like she hadn’t slept in years.

"What do you mean you can't examine a body?” Nora had seen two dead bodies in her life, and she knew how both of them died since one was killed in front of her and the other, she’d killed herself. “You just look at it.” She was also filled with the endless confidence of youth that told her there was nothing in this world she couldn’t do. “You know the ME?” Nora had pulled out her phone and was lounging in the chair scrolling through some social media website as the ride dragged on. This got her to look up from her phone. “Is she one of those friends you keep telling me you have?” Nora went back to scrolling. “Maybe if she’s a good friend of yours she can examine the body for you and tell you what she finds.”

“Habitat.” Nora supplied the word while not looking up from the phone. “Cage works, but I think they want the enclosures to feel like a house and not a jail.” Nora stopped replying long enough to leave a long and scathing comment on something Elias had posted. She knew she was probably still blocked by him, but for some reason Elias liked to unblock her every now and then to see what she was up to. Those were the moments those reviews were for. With that done Nora shoved her phone back into her pocket. “That’s what our passes are for. He said it’ll get us wherever we want to go.” Nora hoped he hadn’t been lying. “He said he’ll meet us behind the polar bear exhibit, or send someone to meet us. I don’t remember.” Nora had to get better at listening when people were giving her direction.

As soon as the car was parked, Nora was slamming the door open and jumping into the nice morning breeze. Normally Nora wasn’t a morning person. They were the worst times to be awake. This morning was different based on the intent. Today Nora would free an innocent Polar Bear. Emilio was saying something to Mrs. P, and taking his sweet ass time about it. “Come on.” Nora called, joining the crowd headed to the gates. Nora made sure to not get too far ahead of Emilio, tracking him by scent in the crowd instead of turning around to look.

At the gates Nora presented her pass and was given a map and ushered in. Nora unfurled the map as she waited for Emilio to finally catch up. The arctic wasn’t that far from where they were. “We can stop by and see penguins on our way there.” Nora told him, pointing out the location on the map. Nora worked very hard on keeping up her tough cool girl exterior. When people saw her, she wanted them to have no doubt in their minds that she was cool, calm and collected. Unfortunately for her, there was something about animals that made her want to lose control and scream for joy like a fucking child. Nora wanted to see those penguins so badly.

The walk through the crowds made their proceedings slower, but they got to the polar bear exhibit eventually. The arctic area was a collection of motifs all designed to look like they were in a snowy paradise. Years of use had caused the once white snow mounds and igloos to turn a shade of gray from wear. A sign hung on the polar bear exhibit that said the animal was currently unavailable. Nora spotted the employees only access tucked away and led them back there. The door was unlocked, and no one was there to stop them. In the center of the employee only area was a polar bear, locked in a cage too small, obviously under supervision from cameras pointed at it. 

“I don’t think polar bears eat honey.” Though, really, what did he know? It wasn’t as if anyone had ever taught Emilio the ins and outs of nonsupernatural wildlife, especially when it came to creatures no one imagined he’d ever come face to face with. Why did a hunter growing up in Mexico need to know anything about a polar bear? His mother certainly never would have guessed that he’d be trying to clear one from a murder charge one day. If she had, maybe she would have added a fact or two into the curriculum. 

Then again, she’d always known he’d be dealing with people, and she’d never taught him much of anything about those, either. If she had, maybe he’d be a little better at understanding friendship, and what did and didn’t qualify as such. “I think they can probably help. They’re good with animals. And they care about them.” And they were a demon, which would probably come in handy somewhere. Maybe Teddy could open some kind of a demon portal to the bear’s natural habitat and let it go there. Or shrink the bear so it would be easier for Nora to keep in her crypt. Whatever.

All right, so Nora probably had a point. Cops, as a whole, were lazy. When they found an answer they liked, they didn’t spend a lot of time looking for alternatives. Even if their answer was wrong. It was why there were prisons full of innocent people… and why guys like Emilio tended to wind up picking up the slack with the ones who got away scot free. The police had decided the bear was to blame, so they wouldn’t talk to the wife. That’d be Axis’s job. And Emilio hated that. Talking to spouses, in cases like this one, was second only to talking to parents on the list of things he couldn’t stand. There was a chance the wife had done it, sure. But if she hadn’t? Then she was someone preparing to bury the person she’d thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. And Emilio could relate to that a lot more than he wished he could.

“I mean I don’t know how to examine a body,” Emilio replied dryly. “There are going to be a lot of wounds on it. I don’t know how to tell if those were there before he died, or if they happened after. And I have a…” He trailed off, trying to think of the right word. “Working relationship with the ME. We’re not friends. She doesn’t like me. But she helps me out when I find a body. I don’t think she’ll help us with this one. She’s weird about corpses.” He tried not to think about it, because if he thought about it, he was going to start trying to figure out what Kavanagh was. A hunter’s mind was a hard thing to shake, even when you were a shitty hunter. He didn’t want to be a man who went around having conversations with people and spending the whole damn time trying to figure out what kind of beast they might be. 

He nodded as Nora provided the correct term, filing it away for later. And he liked the way she did it; casual, without looking. Not like he was stupid, not like he should have known. English was a slippery thing, and there were times when Emilio couldn’t grip it quite right, despite his best efforts. Some people would make you feel stupid in those moments, but Nora didn’t. For all that she liked to poke at people, she never seemed to actively try to hit the buttons that would really hurt. Not with him, at least. “Maybe the bear had a pass,” he said dryly, flipping the little piece of plastic between his fingers absently. 

It was clear that Nora was in a hurry, so Emilio didn’t waste too much time conversing with their reluctant driver before following the kid towards the entrance. She seemed to know where she was going, and he trailed along as quickly as he could without setting himself up for a day of discomfort. They’d probably be on their feet for a while as they trekked through the zoo, so he needed to make sure he didn’t overexert his damn leg. This case was clearly far more important to Nora than she’d admit, and he wasn’t going to risk dropping the ball on it. 

Getting in was easy enough, though he’d figured it would be. Nora had clearly done her due diligence here. It was the first time she’d gotten this involved in a case, though Emilio knew better than to get used to it. This case was special. Raising a brow at her request, he nodded. “All right,” he said. “Never seen a penguin before. Those are birds, right?” Maybe he was playing up his ignorance a little bit, but he figured Nora’d probably get a kick out of it. Maybe she’d like to make fun of him and look at penguins. That seemed right up her alley. 

By the time they finally made their way to the arctic exhibit, Emilio’s leg was aching a little more than he’d like to admit. He trailed a little ways behind Nora, jaw clenched a little as they slipped into the employee’s only section. The sight of the bear caged in the center of the room did fill him with more anger than he’d like to admit, but he was careful not to let it show too much. They’d need to keep a level head here. As much as he’d like to just open the bear’s cage and let it loose, it wasn’t feasible with the crowds outside. “What, they think it’s gonna do a jailbreak?” He scoffed, glancing up at the cameras. “Seems like a little much.” He walked over to the cage carefully, stopping just before he got to the bars. The bear only watched, looking incredibly docile all things considered. It certainly didn’t look like the kind of bear that had killed someone. “Not violent,” he observed. Carefully, he grabbed one of the bars with his hand. The bear still made no move towards it. “What do you think, kid?”

Texting on her phone in the car, body positioned in a way that car seats were not supposed to hold human bodies, Nora dropped her phone as Emilio said something odd about the ME. Nora looked up, turning to face him. “What do you mean she’s weird about corpses? Weird how?” Thoughts were racing, none of them good. Nora swiveled back, resuming her optimal phone position. “I’ve thought about it, and I don’t want to. She’s not your friend, she’s friends with the corpses. Got it.” This had a lot of implications, and all these implications were being saved for a day Nora wasn’t busy trying to save a polar bear’s life.

It was unfortunate that they hadn’t gotten a look at the penguins, but Nora’s one-track mind had forgotten to lead her boring mentor there. What kind of man had never seen penguins before? Was this his first time at the zoo? If Nora could retain any thoughts that didn’t revolve around saving Nanooks life, she would try to remember to take him around to see all the animals. She could tell him that she wanted to show him her favorites, but her favorites were all of them. Besides, Nora had never been to this particular zoo.

Nora had been to a lot of zoos. Nora had made a point of visiting the polar bears every single time she went to zoos. But that didn’t change the feeling she got every time she saw one. The feeling of wonder and longing and confusion all bundled into a tight package presented with a bow. This time it had something new, it had the knowledge that she wasn’t a polar bear but a bugbear, but the old feelings still remained. Nora followed Emilio’s approach to the cage and watched as his hand touched the bars and did nothing. “I told you he didn’t kill anyone.” Nora shoved her own hand through the bars, palm forward hand outstretched. The polar bear sniffed in her direction. Could he smell the sameness on them? That in a different life their roles could have been reversed?

For a brief moment, Nora considered transforming. Maybe if she was a bear then she could talk to a bear. A glance around the room reminded her that was a bad idea. Too many cameras. First, she’d have to take off her clothes, and transform, and then that would turn into a viral sensation, and then she’d be found out as still alive. Better to not tempt YouTube fame over a bear to bear she didn’t know would work. Instead, Nora moved Emilio, positioning him so his back was blacking a camera and then moved herself so her back was blocking another. Reaching inside herself she found that thread of power within her and tapped it.

An illusion bloomed in front of the bear, the perfect image of the man who he’d killed. The bear did nothing. The illusion shifted, showing Nora turning into a bear and the two of them hugging because she wanted the bear to know they were friends and honestly didn’t know how to convey that in bear terms. The bear did nothing. “I don’t know how to talk bear.” It sounded frustrated, even in her monotone voice. Once more she was lacking at something she felt she ought to be able to do. Nora was having the illusion of the bears shake hands when the door swung open, and a familiar scent filled her nose.

Nora flipped around, dropping her illusion, but she was aware that if the man had been paying attention there was no way he would have missed it. “Well, if it’s not my ex-lover.” Because Nora was nothing if not confident that this man wasn’t paying attention. Everything always worked out for her, after all. “You’re a lot shorter than I remembered.” Nora pointed over at Emilio. “This is inspector gadget, John Brown, world renown private investigator and bear fanatic. We’ve been hired by the zoo to clear this bear of all charges. Why are you here?” 

When Kaden heard the talk going around the station about the case where a bear killed its handler, he knew something sounded a little off about all of it. There’s no way someone who worked with this bear day in, day out would be stupid enough to get himself killed by it, not without anyone seeing it. And he wasn’t even mauled? There were too many fucking weird things about it all for him to ignore it. Thankfully, the detective on the case was fine with his suggestion to have animal control go give an inspection of the situation and report back. Probably because there were so many other bullshit cases on his plate for him to want to babysit the glorified dog catcher. Which was fine by Kaden.

That was, until he remembered where the polar bear was located. And what happened the last time he’d been to the zoo. 

Putain de merde. For once in his goddamn life, he opted to wear his uniform. Maybe no one would recognize him as the idiot who fought a mascot with an umbrella if he looked moderately professional. He also made sure to park by the back and use the employee entrance, hoping to avoid as many people as he could manage. When he explained why he was there, the guard let him in and took him to the back office where the coordinators and managers were. “Officer Langley,” he said when he approached the coordinator. “I’m with Animal Control. I’m here to look into the polar bear for Detective Peterson.”

A knowing smirk was spread across the coordinator’s face when he looked up at Kaden. “Here to fight another one of my mascots?” he asked.

Putain. He could feel his cheeks getting red. “I’m, uh, not sure what you’re talking about. But if you could just point me in the right direction, I’ll get to work.”

The zoo employee was clearly not fooled by his attempt at subterfuge and raised a brow. Still, he decided to let it go, nodding towards the direction of the door. “The bear’s being held behind the exhibit. We already have a team of PI’s looking into it. I’m not sure if they’re here yet, but one of the zookeepers can lead the way if you insist. Just so long as you’re not armed with an umbrella, it should be fine.”

Kaden didn’t have to be told twice and rushed out the door and towards the polar bear exhibit. When he reached it and was let into the back, he’d hoped to be alone in the room, just him and the bear. Only when he entered, careful to be quiet and not startle the animal, he saw two figures standing by the cage. Must be the private investigators. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it closed when he felt the hair on his arms all stand on edge – a shifter was in the room. Beyond that, he recognized both the man and the young woman there. It took everything he had not to curse aloud right then and there. These were the PI’s hired by the zoo? He refrained from cursing and stood back to watch what the fuck Emilio and Nora were doing when they thought no one was watching. 

The hunter thought he was imagining things, slightly worried he’d been hit with some ballybog toxin again when he saw the illusions conjured in the cage with the polar bear. He thought he had a lot of questions before he walked into the room and now they’d all but tripled. He was about to speak up when the kid turned on her heel to face him and had to fucking remind him about the incident at the coffee shop.

Wait. His brows knit together. Did she just call him short? “Putain de merde, first off I’m not your ex-lover or lover of any kind so don’t fucking start with that shit. Second,” he turned to Emilio, “What are you doing here with her?” Kaden crossed his arms against his chest. “And I’m here because I’m animal control, part of the WRPD. Trying to examine the case, report on the bear.” He hoped that sounded convincing since, while he was there on the job, it was hardly at anyone’s request. “I take it you’re the crack team of PI’s they hired. You, I should have guessed,” he nodded to Emilio. “You,” he said, looking at Nora, “not so much. And both of you, get your hands away from the bear, for fucks sake.” 

Whatever conclusions Nora seemed to have jumped to, Emilio wouldn’t correct her. Regan would probably prefer it if Nora thought she was weird enough to avoid, anyway, given how weird she got online any time anyone even suggested friendship in her general direction. They had bigger fish to fry right now, anyway. Or… bigger bears to fry. Or not fry. Bigger bears to free?

This was stupid.

But it wasn’t stupid in the kind of sense that made him think Nora’s insistence that the bear was innocent was wrong. The more time he spent by the cage, the more he figured the kid was onto something. He watched as she made illusions appear, marveling at how different these were than the last ones he’d seen her put up. In the graveyard, that first day they’d met, she’d been trying to scare him. It was clear that her intentions were different now. There was some attempt at communication, but Emilio didn’t know enough about bugbears to know if it would be successful or not. Emilio’s marriage to Juliana meant he knew more about shifters than the average slayer might, but hunters didn’t tend to know much more about what they hunted than they had to. He didn’t know if bugbears could talk to bears; neither did Nora. They were both just taking guesses here. 

“That’s all right,” he told her lowly. “I don’t know how to speak bear, either. We’ll figure out another way, okay?” He could tell she was frustrated, even if she wasn’t one to admit to something. Emilio had spent enough time with the bugbear to read her blank expressions, to notice the minute differences between one and the next. Despite what people tended to assume about him, he was a half decent detective. It was one of the only things he was really good at. Other things, he thought, were much harder to accomplish.

For example… this. The door behind them opened, and Emilio spun around so quickly that he ached with the movement. He was expecting some zoo employee to tell them to keep their hands out of the damn cage, which probably would have been fair. Instead, there was a familiar face in an unfamiliar uniform. And Emilio had a thousand thoughts at once.

Kaden was a ranger. He’d be able to sense a shifter in the room. Kaden knew Emilio was a hunter. He wouldn’t mistake the slayer for the beast that was making his hair stand up on end. Emilio had asked him enough about bugbears to make him at least a little suspicious. Nora had been positioned to hide her illusions from the camera, but not from the door. It didn’t take a half decent detective to string all those things together and realize that Kaden probably had enough to know what Nora was now, and it didn’t take a man as paranoid as Emilio to fear for what that might mean.

His eyes darted between the two, listening as Nora spoke. They’d met each other before. Kaden must have known she was a shifter from the start. Was he planning on targeting her? He wasn’t here for her now — the uniform said he was probably here on official business — but did that mean she was safe later? Andy said that she and Alex didn’t hunt anymore, but Kaden said he killed ‘dangerous shifters.’ How much weight did that qualifier carry? Was Nora dangerous in the eyes of a ranger who seemed to think not everything was? 

He was tense as Kaden turned to him, trying and failing to school his expression into something neutral. “She was hired by the bear,” he replied dryly, a hint of something like a threat in his tone. “I thought the police were finished with this one. We were told you weren’t coming for the bear yet.” They were supposed to have time to actually look at this case before wrenches were thrown into it. But a ranger stumbling into the room with Emilio and his bugbear assistant? That was one hell of a wrench. 

You're not supposed to speak bear, I am. Nora had wanted to snap out the words. Lash out for her own failings. Instead, the words choked in her throat, swallowed down by her own feelings of self loathing. "Fine. Yeah." Nora reluctantly agreed. But wouldn't it have been easier if Nora could figure out how to work the bear part of Bugbear? Fuck. She didn't even know if speaking to bears was something that bugbears could do. Could werewolves talk to wolves? It was another one of those 'fuck you birth parents why couldn't you've given me to another bugbear so I could at least understand something basic about myself.' moments. 

Some people were experts at reading a room. They could look at people's body language and parse out exactly what was happening. Those people could react accordingly to keep tensions at bay. Nora was not one of those people. It slipped by her completely that Emilio had become tense with recognition the moment Kaden entered the room. Nora was too busy caught in the mirth of meeting the man that was the target of so many funny rumors. "Don't start with that shit?" Nora lay a hand over her mouth in mockery of someone who might actually be offended. "Kaden, don't tell me you're here because you're continuing your crusade as the zoo's most invasive species." Nora's eyes raked up Kaden's body. "At least you're wearing clothes today." 

Seeing Kaden there was the perfect redirection for her frustration from moments before. There were many quips and jabs Nora wanted to toss at the man. He was funny. There was something about him that made people want to lie. She'd noticed it online. How did he create such an interesting conundrum he kept putting himself into. Oh, Nora wanted to scare him. Her fingers itched and twitched at the thought. There was a second where she almost reached into the power deep within her and unleashed it, creating a massive creature coming at him. Nora took a deep breath and composed herself. Because she was mature, and this wasn't about her and her love of tormenting Kaden. This was about a polar bear named Nanook and his right to live a long and happy life. 

Because Nora, at this point, and if she was being honest with herself, probably at any point of time, would back up anything Emilio wanted to say to fuck with Kaden. Nora may not have been the proudest of bugbears, it was taking work for her to even become on, but she was a proud fan of bears! They were large, scary and, well, scary! They deserved to eat people if they wanted to. Nora particularly didn't like the way Kaden called them the crack team, or the tone he took with Emilio. Nora could take all the smoke Kaden wanted to throw at her, but Emilio was a good man and a good detective who was here helping her. Nora hadn't believed it at first that he was a good detective, and he'd already proved Nora wrong. Since revealing that he'd known who she was this whole time and had just been keeping it quiet cause he'd detected she didn't want to talk about it, Nora believed the man could solve anything. He didn't deserve Kaden's insults.

Kaden seemed mad that they weren't supposed to be here and it took everything in Nora's trembling body to not make fun of him for being bad at his job. But she refrained. Because she was here to help Nanook. It was a herculean task, holding back the barrage she had for him. Nora forced herself to turn away from Kaden's stupid face and to look at Nanook. The polar bear caught her eye. He looked so sad in the small little cage instead of being in his large habitat, allowed to walk around as he wanted. Nora took a deep breath, centering herself. "If you don't believe us, you can always call the zoo director." Nora tugged at the pass around her neck. "He's the one who gave us these to investigate." Clasping her hands behind her back, she turned herself back towards animal control. “We’re going to prove he’s innocent. You can’t take him.”

Nora's body trembled as she kept back the rage within her. The tongue that wanted to lash out every single insult and rumor she knew about this man. The way she wanted to see his sad and pathetic life made fun of in that moment. He'd go 'stop please I'm so old and tired and I didn't actually want to fight' just like the last time he'd engaged her online and thought he could play her game.  But she refrained. Because she was here to help Nanook. It was a herculean task, holding back the barrage she had for him. Nora forced herself to turn away from Kaden's stupid face and to look at Nanook. The polar bear caught her eye. He looked so sad in the small little cage instead of being in his large habitat, allowed to walk around as he wanted. Nora took a deep breath, centering herself. 

With a quick glance at Kaden, Nora stuck her arm further into the bear cage. "We know he's not a man eater, is that what you're trying to cover up, cop?" Nora asked, a tone of accusation melded into her monotone. It had just been the way he'd added get your hands away from the bear for fuck sakes. Like he, on the team condemning the bear, knew better than them, the heroes of the story. "You're just jealous because if you stuck your hand in here, he'd bite you and it'd be deserved." Nora looked back at Nanook. "It'd be self defense, right buddy?" 

Hired by the bear. Hired by the fucking bear? “Putain de merde,” Kaden muttered to himself. This was going to be a long fucking day. “I’m not coming for the bear. I’m here to investigate, alright.” Alright, sure, he came because he didn’t really believe the reports. Detective Peterson might have thought this was an open and shut case, but Kaden didn’t buy it. Animals in captivity sometimes exhibit aggressive behaviors to their handlers, but rarely was it out of nowhere with no history. And if anything it would be out of boredom or frustration and that would be the fault of the zoo, not the goddamn polar bear. 

“Very fucking funny,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You know I was never naked here in the first place.” Not that it would matter to her one way or the other. He hadn't been sure that Nora was the shifter in the room when they met in the cafe; it was nearly impossible to narrow down in that sort of crowded space, but now there was no mistaking it. And the illusions. Hired by the bear. 

Ah. Bugbear. Had to be.

Wait. Kaden side-eyed Emilio, the guy who had been asking a whole lot of questions about bugbears. And his “apprentice” (if that was even the truth he couldn’t tell with these two) was a bug bear. Was he asking because he was planning to kill her? Seemed like a lot of wasted effort for that. Did that mean he was helping her? Or using her? Strange. He’d taken the man to be the kind to stab first, ask questions later. That still didn’t make him comfortable with the idea of him hanging around Alex. Last time that he’d talked to her, it sounded like Emilio didn’t know what she was. He didn’t plan on changing that anytime soon. But he sure had a lot more questions for the other hunter now. He’d have to figure out when to ask them because here and now wasn’t the place or the time.

“I’m not trying to cover up shit.” Kaden sighed and got closer to the polar bear, keeping his eyes on that seemingly docile predator. His cage was way smaller than it should be – the enclosure was barely large enough and that was far larger. And even so, the bear was calm as ever, even with all these strangers staring at him and sticking their hands in his cage. He tried to look for any signs that the bear might have been sedated, any signs of tranq darts, dilated eyes, anything. There was nothing like that he could see. It was funny that the last time he’d been here, he thought the damn golf cart was a polar bear and he was petting it and now he could practically reach out and touch the creature for real. No illusions. Not anymore, at least. 

It was stupid, but her last jab that the bear would bite him hurt a little. He didn’t care about a lot of things and he wasn’t good at a whole lot of shit, either, but he was good with animals. Someone accusing him otherwise always stung. The other shit she said, about being her lover or being naked at the zoo, that was frustrating, sure, but it didn’t hit quite the same way this had. “I don’t think he’d bite anyone, kid,” he said, unwilling to meet her gaze lest she caught sight of the hurt that might be lingering in his own. “If he’s this calm with no stimulation, I don’t buy that he did anything to the handler.” Kaden crouched down to get a better look at the bear’s paws and legs. “I don’t see any blood stains, either. I would expect those would still be there even if they cleaned him.” 

Kaden rubbed his face with his palms as he stood back up. He had no fucking clue what to do here, he doubted the detective wanted to hear from him, the animal control officer, that he’d fucked up or at the very least had gotten lazy. “So what’s your plan for clearing the bear?”

It was clear that she was frustrated, even if she was trying to hide it. There was a large part of Emilio that wanted to offer her comfort, somehow, wanted to put a hand on her shoulder or share some sage words to help her accept that these things took time or whatever, but he didn’t have much of a chance because there was a ranger in the room staring at them both like they had two heads a piece and Nora was talking to him like he wasn’t built to kill her. It was probably just as well, anyway; Emilio would have been shit at the ‘words of wisdom’ thing, anyway. Losing his daughter was never going to make him a better father, and he’d already been a pretty shit one.

But that didn’t mean he’d repeat all the same mistakes. He might not know how to comfort Nora about her inability to communicate with the bear, but he knew how to protect her from Kaden if he had to. Subtly, he positioned himself with his shoulder between the hunter and the bear, ready to step in if Kaden made a move. He probably wouldn’t do anything here — his reputation at the zoo was already bad enough — but Emilio wouldn’t bet Nora’s life on a logical hunch.

“Nora,” he said quietly as she began mocking Kaden, “not now.” She’d probably have questions about that later, he knew, because it was uncharacteristic of him to stop her. Typically when she went in on someone, Emilio was content to watch and allow himself to be entertained. He doubted she’d assume it was because they were on a case, given the fact that he tended to let her do whatever while they were working, and he wouldn’t have lied to her, anyway. When they got out of here and she asked, he’d tell her. Outing a fellow hunter felt wrong in a way that made his insides twist, but Nora deserved to know this. Especially given how much she seemed to enjoy driving Kaden out of his mind.

Speaking of which… Emilio glanced down to see Nora’s fingers twitching, and he could practically feel how much she wanted to craft some illusion or another against the ranger. In all honesty, Emilio didn’t even know if it would work. Were rangers immune from bugbears’ illusions? He was kicking himself now for all the things he’d never asked Juliana about, though given the fact that she hadn’t tended to hunt bugbears, he wasn’t sure even she would have known. And it wasn’t as if he could ask Kaden now — he’d already made the other hunter suspicious with his questions regarding bugbears the last time they’d had a conversation about it.

In a subtle attempt to communicate to Nora that she should not, under any circumstances, try to scare Kaden right now, the hunter knocked his wrist against hers. He wasn’t sure if the lack of illusions was because his message got across or if she really was so focused on saving the bear that she decided to forgo her usual level of shenanigans, but he was glad for it either way. Less glad that she seemed unwilling to forgo all shenanigans, but she wouldn’t be Nora if she didn’t cause at least a little bit of trouble.

Even without the bugbear of it all, he expected Kaden to argue with them. If he really was here on police business — and given his last experience at the zoo, Emilio couldn��t imagine anything else that would drive him to return — then he shouldn’t be on Axis’s side here. The police had already decided the outcome of this case; it was the zoo that wanted a different answer. Emilio was expecting Kaden to insist that the police’s official stance was the correct one, that the bear had killed the handler and would be put down as a result. Instead, he took a surprising turn, and… agreed with Nora? Emilio blinked, trying not to let his surprise show.

“No shit he didn’t bite anyone,” he replied, though the words weren’t as harsh as they normally might have been. “Look at him. I’ve got clients I’d be more worried about taking a bite out of me than him.” Throughout it all, the bear remained calm behind them. 

Emilio tensed as Kaden approached, but all the ranger did was crouch beside the cage to inspect the bear further. The lack of blood was an important enough observation, though it hardly cleared the bear of any wrongdoing. The presence of blood wouldn’t have condemned him, either, given the fact that the body had been in the bear’s original enclosure. It was a tough case to prove in either direction; without cameras, and with the only ‘witness’ to the case being a bear they couldn’t talk to, there was really only one solution. “Only thing we can do is find out who actually did it,” he replied with a shrug. “Clear the bear by finding the actual killer. The one the police aren’t looking for.”

Two hunters and two bears enter a room. There was a punchline here, but Nora didn't know it probably because she was unaware of the joke's existence, with Kaden firmly remaining a frail and easily targetable human in her mind's eye. The only thing Nora knew was Emilio acting weird. Her favorite thing about the man who'd taken to helping her was his proclivity to play along. "Tell Gael, if you speak to him, that I broke your kneecaps." "Let me scare the shit out of that suspect so he talks." and not even questioning why Mrs. P was crying the whole way here. So why was this a not not situation? It wasn't just a no mocking situation, it was a no illusions situation, his wrist knocking against her as if to say 'knock it off.' Fine. Nora could play the human. 

Kaden wasn't making it easy. Didn't she know he was never naked there? God. The words stung her lips as her teeth bit down to try and keep from retorting 'Oh yeah? Is that what the orangutan said?' Her eyes shifted to the side to Emilio, as if to gauge how serious he was. How far could she push this? The answer was she couldn't. Emilio had already won her steadfast and unwavering loyalty. If there was a reason for this good behavior, it was probably good. Once again she was reminded that her biggest curse in Wicked's Rest was knowing that this sad sad man was basically always right. Nora swallowed back her other retort of 'Oh, was that why you're here today? To strip off for the bear and set the record straight?' This was some shit character development. It would be much more fun to bully the French Canadian. 

As Kaden called Nora kid, she let her normal mask of indifference slip into a death glare. It was an easy step. Instead of looking bored, her eyes burrowed into Kaden. He didn’t get to call her that. “My name is Penny, not kid.” Nora informed him, using the identity of Inspector Gadget’s niece. Not that he expected any of the men to know who that was, or remember that Nora had introduced Emilio under the Inspector’s name. It was disappointing that they’d already known each other. What was the point of fake identities if they already knew the real ones. This was ruining her noir detective experience. 

As the two discussed what they were going to do, and to keep her mind off the burning need to bare her teeth and dig them deep into Kaden's metaphorical hide, Nora turned her attention fully to the bear. The bear looked back at her. They looked at each other. Then the bear stepped forward close to Nora's hand and sniffed her hand. Did it smell the bear on her? Did it smell that they were comrades? The bear rubbed its head against her hand and Nora found her heart shattering into ten million pieces before repairing itself into the face of Nanook. If anything happened to this bear she would burn down the whole town. "Jailbreak the bear." Nora told them. "Come on. We won't need to solve anything, and he'll be free to return to the wild." Or Nora's crypt. Either one. 

Nora reached into her pocket and pulled out a bit of the ham she was saving for later and gave it to the bear. Building trust started like this, right? Giving up what she loved for something she suddenly found herself loving more. "Or we could go talk to his wife." Nora mumbled, knowing already that breaking the bear out was supposed to be their last option. It was worth the try with 'I'm on your side', bootlicker animal control Kaden here.

Either way there was no point in remaining here. Except to talk to the bear. Which Nora still hadn't figured out. "I'll be back for you, I promise." Nora whispered to the bears, in a hushed voice that she hoped the two men couldn't hear. They didn't need to know how invested Nora was in this case. Not that she hadn't made it glaringly obvious already. Nora turned away from the bear, and pointed at Kaden. "You've been no help. At least you know you're playing for the wrong team." Not the cease fire she’d been instructed in, but like Hoobastank’s hit song “The Reason”, Nora was not a perfect person.  Her finger moved to Emilio. "Back to Mrs. P? I've got a home address in the file." 

Kaden tried not to turn his head or furrow his brows or make any sort of visible reaction when he heard the slayer whisper to the kid. Had to wonder if Emilio forgot that rangers had super hearing. Or if he just didn’t care one way or the other if Kaden heard him tell Nora (was that her name?) ‘not now.’ There were too many possibilities as to what that could mean considering that Kaden still didn’t understand the dynamic here. It almost felt like he was being protective of the kid. But from what? Wait, from him? Kaden couldn’t help it, his brows knit together at the thought alone. He had to be wrong about that, there was no way that was what was happening here. He knew he was playing by a different set of hunter codes than most but he didn’t expect anyone else to. There was no way a slayer was knowingly protecting a bugbear. It was weird enough that there were two rangers in town living with a werewolf. 

“Penny?” he asked, looking at the kid. “Here I thought it was Nora.” Probably wasn’t the best idea potentially clueing in Emilio that he’d heard the man before but Kaden couldn’t help himself. “But fine, I won’t call you kid, connasse. That better?” He didn’t know what the fuck he’d done to make himself her target but he was fucking sick of it. Fucking baffling that she was nice to Emilio, maybe even respected him, and all Kaden got was insults and coffee thrown at him. Just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He sighed and crossed his arms, watching Nora interact with the polar bear. A smile found its way onto his face even though he tried to keep his countenance flat. “No jailbreaking the bear,” he told her. “None of us have anywhere to put it and no way to feed it.” That said, if the worst came to worst, well… he didn’t have any better ideas. And he would volunteer to help.

Kaden rolled his eyes as the kid pointed at him. Why was she so fucking obnoxious to him in particular? “Putain, I’m not playing for any team, alright. Other than the bear’s. And I’d rather not have to help you two find it a new habitat if you fuck up the investigation and have to jailbreak the goddamn bear.” He looked back at the polar bear in his cage, as calm and quiet as he had been the whole time. There was no way Kaden was letting anything happen to that bear, whether or not the other two in the room believed him on that front. 

“Anyway, you better figure it out quick. Best I can do is put in my report about the bear and let Detective Peterson know the behavior profile doesn’t match up with the assessment of the crime. But I doubt he’s going to put a whole lot of weight on the dog-catcher cop’s word.” It probably wasn’t wise to clue Nora in on the fact that his job wasn’t exactly respected at the station, but it didn’t seem like it was worth it to hide the reality of things. It didn’t bother him much, to be honest, he knew that if any of those idiots had to work half a day in his job, most of them wouldn’t survive it. They fucking knew it, too, even if they acted like their jobs were more important. The last thing Kaden needed was to be respected as a cop so that was fine by him. The only time it was a problem was in the rare situations like this where he needed the WRPD to listen to him for once. “Hopefully I can help stall things long enough for you to do the rest.” Emilio better be as good a detective as he said he was. He really didn’t want to have to help jailbreak a bear if it came down to that.

 Emilio bristled as Kaden responded with Nora’s name, kicking himself internally. Of course he knew that rangers had enhanced hearing — he’d been married to one for years. He couldn’t grab a beer from the fridge without Juliana hearing him from across the house and asking him to get her one, too, and he couldn’t whisper Nora’s name without Kaden hearing it and taking advantage. He shot his assistant a look that was half an apology and half a promise to explain everything just as soon as they were out of Kaden’s very impressive earshot. 

But first, they had to deal with this. “I told you,” he said at the same time as Kaden’s protest, “that is the last option.” Maybe not the best thing to admit to a cop, even if he was just a cop for animals, but Kaden didn’t seem to disagree. Emilio still didn’t trust the ranger around Nora, but he thought he might trust him around the other bear in the room. “We have a plan for that,” he told Kaden, eyeing him carefully. “We won’t be telling you.” Wasn’t plausible deniability a good thing? They were doing Kaden a favor by keeping him in the dark. If it did come down to breaking the bear out of the zoo and convincing Teddy to help them transport it to wherever it needed to be, Kaden could lose his job for knowing about it. And as much as Emilio distrusted the guy, he didn’t particularly want to be responsible for that. Finding another job that he was similarly suited for would be difficult at best, impossible at worst. 

With a faint smile, he nodded at Nora. “First we talk to the wife,” he agreed. She was either going to be a prime suspect or a potential witness to the discrepancies of the story and, as much as Emilio disliked the process of dealing with other people’s grief, he was good at telling when that grief was genuine. If the wife was lying, he’d be able to sniff it out. She’d be easier to read than Kaden, in any case. And as an added bonus, there was no way the animal control officer would insist on joining them on that leg of their journey considering there were no animals. 

Looking back to Kaden, Emilio tilted his head a little. Dog catcher cop. And here he thought the ranger was still trying to sell his ‘I’m a respected member of the police force’ lie. He’d have to remember this the next time Kaden threatened to arrest him for something. “We’ll let you know what we find out… probably,” he told Kaden with a brief shrug, looking amused. To Nora, he added, “I’ll take the lead with the wife. You can snoop around her house while we’re talking. See if you can find where she keeps her food or something.” The instruction was half in hopes of distracting her from pissing off a ranger… and half genuine. Nora snooping around the house really would come in handy. He began ushering the bugbear out of the room, turning on his heel to offer Kaden a lazy half-salute. “Officer.” 

Kaden said her name, her real name, causing Nora’s eyes to narrow in a glare that attempted to strike Kaden dead on the spot. Had this man recognized her? Did he know? Nora missed the Emilio was giving her as she contemplated Kaden like she could cause him to spontaneously combust if she focused hard enough. What did connasse even mean? Nora made a mental note to google it when they got back to the car.

Emilio often let Nora take point on interrogations because he knew she enjoyed it. He knew she loved scaring people until they told them the truth. But telling her he was going to take the interrogation part so she could snoop also wasn’t odd, because he knew she loved snooping through their houses. Especially the part where she got to eat their food. Her stomach let out a loud grumble just thinking of her next meal. Honestly? Maybe Nora was born to be a private investigator. This work was very conducive to her hobbies. Anyways, those words had been enough to distract Nora for a moment, but then Emilio was shuffling her out the door and Nora realized it was her last chance to bully Kaden.

Looking over her shoulder, Nora winked at Kaden. “Officer.” Her tone oozed with mocking disrespect. “I’m sure they respect you as much as I do.” Nora added, flashing the ACAB badge sewn into her jacket. Before Emilio could weirdly tell her to stop again, Nora walked herself out the door. At least the bear was safe for now. Even if it came from an unlikely ally.

#honeysmokedham #chasseurdeloup #nora: dead bear walking #kaden: dead bear walking #wickedswriting

[cherryhodrialsblog]

1.Jews in Israel mainly classify themselves along a fourfold axis, from least to most observant, hiloni (lit. 'secular'); masorti (lit. 'traditional'); dati (lit. 'religious' or 'orthodox', including religious zionist); and haredi (lit. 'ultra-religious' or 'ultra-orthodox').[6][7]

Israeli law guarantees considerable privileges and freedom to practice for the recognized communities,[8][9] but, in tandem, does not necessarily do so for other faiths. The Pew Research Center has identified Israel as one of the countries that place "high restrictions" on the free exercise of religion[10] and there have been limits placed on non-Orthodox Jewish religious movements, which are unrecognized.[11][12] Pew ranked Israel as fifth globally in terms of "inter-religious tension and violence".[13]

2

Most Jews across the religious spectrum agree in principle that Israel can be both a democracy and a Jewish state. But they are at odds about what should happen, in practice, if democratic decision-making collides with Jewish law (halakha). The vast majority of secular Jews say democratic principles should take precedence over religious law, while a similarly large share of ultra-Orthodox Jews say religious law should take priority.

Even more fundamentally, these groups disagree on what Jewish identity is mainly about: Most of the ultra-Orthodox say “being Jewish” is mainly a matter of religion, while secular Jews tend to say it is mainly a matter of ancestry and/or culture.

3,.Roughly eight-in-ten Israeli Arabs (79%) say there is a lot of discrimination in Israeli society against Muslims, who are by far the biggest of the religious minorities. On this issue, Jews take the opposite view; the vast majority (74%) say they do not see much discrimination against Muslims in Israel.

4.Founded in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization is an umbrella organization for groups that represent the Palestinian people before international states.[62] The Palestinian National Authority, officially established in 1994 as a result of the Oslo Accords, is an interim administrative body nominally responsible for governance in Palestinian population centres in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[63] Since 1978, the United Nations has observed an annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. According to British historian Perry Anderson, it is estimated that half of the population in the Palestinian territories are refugees, and that they have collectively suffered approximately US$300 billion in property losses due to Israeli confiscations, at 2008–2009 prices.[64]

5.The origins of Palestinians are complex and diverse. The region was not originally Arab – its Arabization was a consequence of the gradual inclusion of Palestine within the rapidly expanding Islamic Caliphates established by Arabian tribes and their local allies. Like in other "Arabized" Arab nations, the Arab identity of Palestinians, largely based on linguistic and cultural affiliation, is independent of the existence of any actual Arabian origins.[92]

6.In the 7th century, the Arab Rashiduns conquered the Levant; they were later succeeded by other Arabic-speaking Muslim dynasties, including the Umayyads, Abbasids and the Fatimids.[99] Over the following several centuries, the population of Palestine drastically decreased, from an estimated 1 million during the Roman and Byzantine periods to about 300,000 by the early Ottoman period.[100][101] Over time, much of the existing population adopted Arab culture and language and converted to Islam.[97] The settlement of Arabs before and after the Muslim conquest is thought to have played a role in accelerating the Islamization process.[102][103][104][105] Some scholars suggest that by the arrival of the Crusaders, Palestine was already overwhelmingly Muslim,[106][107] while others claim that it was only after the Crusades that the Christians lost their majority, and that the process of mass Islamization took place much later, perhaps during the Mamluk period.[102][108]

[adamwatchesmovies]

Charade (1963)

1963’s Charade is a comedy, a romance and a suspense thriller all at once. The mix seems incompatible, particularly when your lead couple is separated by 25 years, but the results work. So well. In fact, much of what makes the film special are the ingredients other movies would’ve eliminated. It’s got so many twists it’ll make your head spin off its axis and there’s no way you’ll guess the ending.

Returning from a skiing holiday in the French Alps, Regina “Reggie” Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) discovers her apartment stripped bare, her bank accounts empty and the husband she was about to divorce dead. His four passports - all under different names - lead the police to suspect foul play. All signs point towards the three men who attend his sparse funeral (played by James Coburn, George Kennedy and Ned Glass) being involved in his murder. They threaten Reggie, warning her the money they’re owed better show up soon. With the help of a charming American stranger, Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), Reggie begins sifting through her husband’s last possessions for clues.

From the colourful and stylish opening credits (Designed by Maurice Binder), you know you’re in for an unusual treat. This movie is bright and shiny. When Reggie and Peter are together, all you can think about is them but he’s apprehensive. She just lost her husband - she didn’t love him. They’ve just met - and aren’t they great together? There’s such a big age difference - she doesn’t care, why does he? The banter they have back-and-forth is full of great, witty lines, the kind you want to memorize and pull out at the right moment to knock all your friends off their feet.

But wait. This is a romantic comedy… but it’s also a thriller. Just when you think we’re getting ready to zoom in on that first kiss… a dead body. A hideous murder. A gun. Now you’ve got to wonder. Is he actually hesitant to get with her because of some chivalrous impulse… or is he stringing her along for nefarious purposes? What if it's the opposite. Maybe Reggie knows something we don’t and she’s trying to seduce it out of Peter. Maybe their coincidental meeting wasn’t a coincidence at all! But no, there’s no way there could be anything sinister between Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. They’re simply too good together to be anything but a couple waiting to fall in love.

That’s how you feel during the whole movie. One moment, you’re in knots over the thriller elements. You wonder if the unhelpful CIA agent (Walter Matthau) is up to something no good… until you remember this is a comedy. You think it’s getting fun and screwball-y with people looking into rooms for clues to figure out who’s got the money… and then someone turns up dead. Yikes! This movie keeps you on your toes in a way you’re not used to, which might make it more enjoyable on a second viewing. Then again, this first ride is a blast as you try to figure out who’s lying, who’s going to betray who, what’s a real clue, what’s a dead end, and so on. Not that you’ll be able to figure it out on your own. This is not the kind of movie that will linger on a piece of paper to give away a crucial detail. You might be able to guess certain motivations but where the money went? No way. I suppose you could call that a bit of cheat - part of the fun is usually piecing together all the puzzle's pieces and seeing if you can beat the detectives to the conclusion - but this isn’t a normal thriller. Not at all.

You could never recreate the magic of Charade. You might be tempted to, with the one fight scene that’s a bit clunky and another where everyone decides to go with the flow instead of calling the police, but too much of what makes this movie good is unique to when it was made. The actors fit their roles so perfectly it would be foolish to recast them. The dialogue is too magnificent to be tweaked. The atmosphere is a perfect mix of romance, mystery, and danger. It’s a great choice if you want to know what made Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant icons. (May 14, 2021)

#Charade #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #stanley donen #peter stone #marc behm #cary grant #audrey hepburn #walter matthau #james coburn #1963 movies #1963 films

[a-minus-content]

OR A HAMMER KNEADING NAILS DOWN TO LET THEM RISE

I have the click clack jaw too: “low dopamine mornings” (warnings)

Do I have a better answer now except

I was built to clamp down on "the other" and

And here's where they drew the lines on us

Around race and gender, public and private,

Good and bad

To be opposed

It's a relation

To be a bank takes a river of some kind,

Opposite in what way? It takes a kind of sameness as an axis; this is Universe

101. Suppose you wish to drive

A bright splash to madness, communist, beautiful, smart, persuasive, to ineffectuality,

Suppose you taught that the status quo was the expression

Of an implicit balance, so that

The trough of the fountain believed it deserved to be brought low

By the rain I would choose you; they tell me now

It’s time to retire the phrase “toxic masculinity”

That all phrases are useless since they taste of the mouth, no that’s me watching the cat

Erroneously but without another option using incoming calls for location

And I'm naming these fingers for good,

This time: sword tongue Swadyaya, I'll keep

Trying the "it” but the / you

Are my only hope / supposedly, an alleged reality

The insistence of some birdcalls is arousing,

Like the repetition of a saw sawing 🔁

#morning pages #poetry #daily poetry #automatic writing #stream of consciousness #poemsoftheday

[travelbudie]

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Custom Tour Packages:

Thrilling Treks and Adventure Activities:

For the adrenaline junkies and nature enthusiasts among us, Travelbudie offers an exciting array of treks and adventure activities that promise to get your heart racing and your spirits soaring. Whether you’re scaling the majestic peaks of the Himalayas, traversing verdant valleys dotted with cascading waterfalls, or embarking on a thrilling wildlife safari in the Rajaji National Park, our expert guides and instructors will ensure that every moment of your adventure is filled with excitement and wonder.

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In conclusion, Travelbudie is your ultimate partner for unlocking the treasures of Uttarakhand. Whether you’re seeking a customized tour package, an expertly curated adventure, or seamless rental services, we are committed to making your dreams a reality. So why wait? Embark on your next great adventure with Travelbudie and let the journey of a lifetime begin.

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#tour operators in dehradun #tour agency in dehradun #travel agent in Uttarakhand #best travel agency in dehradun #tour and travels in dehradun #top 10 travel companies in dehradun

[shreeshivam]

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Get ready to dazzle in #shreeshivam's #indowesterngown! 🌟✨ 

#clothingbrand #fashion #style #wedding #bride #wedding gown #evening gown #fashion gown #indo western dress for women #stylish #outfit #party dress

[eklavyaoverseas]

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#MBBSinBulgaria #MedicalJourney #StudyAbroad

[qu-film-history-to-1968]

From Supportive to Critical: How Political Hollywood films changed drastically overtime.

Today, Hollywood is often seen as a very liberal industry where people aren’t afraid to speak out against America when it does something wrong. But in previous years it was more of the opposite. During World War II, Hollywood was under a strict mandate from the government to produce films that would aid the US war effort. This led to a vast wave of propaganda films being made to get the Americans to hate their foreign adversary, with two notable examples being The Great Dictator and Shadow of a Doubt. 

Shadow of a Doubt is a much more subtle example of propaganda. The film stars a young woman named Charlie who lives in a small town in California. Her life is then changed when her Uncle Charlie comes to visit her and her family. At first young Charlie is incredibly excited to see her uncle, but that all changes when she slowly finds out that her uncle is most likely a serial killer called "Merry Widow Murderer". While this film never mentions anything about a war or foreign adversary, the propagandistic message of this film is that America is being subverted by an outside force. This is represented by the character of Uncle Charlie, not only is he not native to the town young Charlie lives in, but he also says many things that show what a suspicious character would look like to the US government. At various points, he talks about how he distrusts US institutions like the banks, and he repeatedly comments on how he hates rich widows, he even calls them "fat, wheezing animals". It tells the American audience that the people who could be subversives are the ones that distrust the institutions of America and degrade others. Which brings to mind images of the Nazi’s as they were also critical of institutions like banks and of course degrade the Jewish population by treating them as less than human. The main theme of this film is summarized in an article by Steffen Hantke, where he writes “the film tells a powerful cautionary tale to wartime America about the enemy hiding in its midst” (Hantke). So, while Shadow of a Doubt doesn’t seem like a propaganda film at first, its message of America secretly being subverted by a foreign adversary make it fit right in with the films of the time.

The Great Dictator is a more obvious example of a propaganda film, but what makes it stand out from other films of its kind is that it's a comedy rather than a drama or thriller. It features an obvious parody of Adolf Hitler who makes comments like “Free speech is abhorrent”. As well as the Nazi soldiers being portrayed as stupid bullies. The propaganda in this film goes in the complete opposite direction of Shadow of a Doubt. Rather than trying to warn the audience of their foreign threat, it is saying that the ideas of the Nazi’s are completely ridiculous, and you would be a fool to believe in them. It comes as a stark contrast to previous Hollywood films as most of them didn’t overtly reference or criticize the internal politics of the time. But this was most likely due to the special codes that the government implemented on Hollywood to control what kind of content they were allowed to depict. A quote from The Journal of American History sheds light on why the US government saw this as important, by saying “The enemy was fascism. The enemy was not the Axis leadership nor all of the Axis-led peoples but fascist supporters anywhere, at home as well as abroad. "Any form of racial discrimination or religious intolerance, special privileges of any citizen are manifestations of Fascism, and should be exposed as such," (The Journal of American History). The US government saw fascism as such an existential threat to society that they wanted to make sure it was completely hated and ostracized by the American public. Even if that meant making questionable decisions that arguably violated the first amendment.

Nowadays the government doesn’t have that many strict codes on what films can and can’t depict and propaganda films are largely in the past. In fact, modern Hollywood has gone in the exact opposite direction, it very rarely releases films that comment on a certain international issue and is more likely to criticize America than its foreign adversaries. A more recent example would be the film Team America: World Police which is a parody film that was meant to criticize the US government’s decision to invade Iraq after the 911 terrorist attacks instead of making fun of terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. If this kind of film was made in the days of the WWII production codes, it would probably be deemed as anti-American propaganda and most likely not even released. A quote from The Journal of Social Relations shows the massive difference in political films made the past vs ones made from today, they say, “The movies reaffirmed political and social values of a free market economy in order to conserve social status quo: "A movie made for the purpose of changing attitudes about, say, American foreign policy or socialized medical care or monogamy would be a propaganda film" (Humboldt). In short, Hollywood's biggest change was that the propaganda films of the past were meant to make you more in favor of the US government’s actions. But the propaganda films of today are meant to make you more skeptical and critical of the US government’s actions.

Sources:

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, 1990, Vol. 16, No. 1 (1990), pp. 43-65

Steffen Hantke (2016) Hitchcock at War: Shadow of a Doubt, Wartime Propaganda, and the Director as Star, Journal of Popular Film and Television, 44:3, 159-168, DOI: 10.1080/01956051.2016.1161586 

The Journal of American History, Jun. 1977, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jun. 1977), pp. 87-105

#submission

[exhibit-of-the-century]

Lecture Notes MON 23RD OCT

Masterlist

BUY ME A COFFEE

Doing Art History: Architecture

Looking at this building, without prior knowledge of its purpose or background, what are the defining features and what do they tell us? What do you see and how do you interpret thus building? What gives you that impression?

Aspects of this house that give it an air of grandeur, or rich quality, can be associated with the colour of it. White render is a difficult colour to upkeep on a house, and truthfully any colour is. This white render highlights how expensive this building is, as more effort in building highlights a performance of wealth.

Hendrick Danckerts, View of the Queen's House and Greenwich Palace from One Tree Hill 1670s National Trust, Dyrham Park

Inigo Jones, Queens House, Greenwich,1616-1618, 1629-1635

Here, the historic image of the house (an archival image) helps us understand it’s birth and change through time. Blueprints and plans are especially helpful in dissecting a building, it’s like seeing the arteries, muscles, bone structure of the building. Stripped to its core, and revealing things we may not have known about it from the outside, or even inside the space we may have trouble mapping the areas that surround us. This also reveals degrees of privacy that are afforded inside the space, certain intimate, and hidden rooms.

The Axial symmetry, and the balustrade, suggest and define the grouping as classical.

Axial symmetry is symmetry around an axis; an object is axially symmetric if its appearance is unchanged if rotated around an axis.

Render and Tudor Brick Red have a long history, of one replacing the other and then the opposite begin more favourable. We will explore this further in the post, specifically around William Morris’ home. This transition through time and space, changes due to the address of person and society. We learn to read buildings by the buildings we’re exposed to.

KEY WORDS: (find more art key words here)

Architrave: In classic architecture, an architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The 6term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, of a frame with mouldings around a door or window. Cornice – A cornice (from the Italian cornice meaning “ledge”) is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element – for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a pedestal, or along the top of an interior wall.

Colonnade: row of columns generally supporting an entablature (row of horizontal moldings), used either as an independent feature (e.g., a covered walkway) or as part of a building (e.g., a porch or portico).

Loggia: (from the Italian word for 'lodge') is an outdoor corridor or gallery with a fully covered roof and an outer wall that is open to the elements. Traditionally, loggias either ran along the facade of a building or could exist as a stand-alone feature.

Balustrade: a railing supported by balusters, especially one forming an ornamental parapet to a balcony, bridge, or terrace.

Rustication: is a range of masonry techniques used in classical architecture giving visible surfaces a finish texture that contrasts with smooth, squared-block masonry called ashlar. The visible face of each individual block is cut back around the edges to make its size and placing very clear.

String Course: a horizontal band or course, as of stone, projecting beyond or flush with the face of a building, often molded and sometimes richly carved.

Note: Classic buildings used rustication to mimic Italian/Roman architecture and to make the building seem heavier and in turn sturdier, especially with the use of horizontal weight and ground weight.

These qualities, of weight, and grounding, can lead to a certain building types like banks being associated classical building styles.

Double Height Hall

The inside of the building, although harder to gauge through photos of the space, is a perfect 40 by 40 feet. Perfectly symmetrical. This space, with the balcony overlooking the space, is the welcome mingling area, as seen and deduced by the large window doors that lead and make the space brighter. This symmetry adds to the demonstration of wealth, as it demonstrates knowledge, power, and influence. Especially a knowledge of geometry. This perfect symmetry and flooring design out of marble echoes the Roman and Classical style.

Cultural Capital: wealthy enough to spend money on it all, and to demonstrate knowledge and new forms of understanding, creation, and interpretation. When it’s less accessible to people. Especially in denial of the everyday building and its meaning.

USE OF BUILDING:

How does architecture hint at behaviour? The way we should conduct ourselves and interact with the building and its space? With the Queens House, the door positions and stairs are leading us to the foyer, or socialising space that was just discussed.

This socialising space, has a balcony leading around the middle, suggesting voyeurism. To spectate and be spectated. This gallery, hints at being behaved, dressed up for the viewing pleasure of others.

Jones, the architect, was known for creating masks. Masks were a performance by aristocrats for other aristocrats, various people of court preforming for each other, with elaborate costumes and stories. Usually retelling or preforming some mythos or other.

Jones was not an architect as we know it. Keep in mind that architects were not trained due to it not being a profession, therefore no training was needed. He underwent travel to Italy and drew while being there in person, but also has background understanding of the people, and their buildings use. He is known to give buildings a dramatic flair.

Tulip Staricase

A hint of his dramatic flair can be taken from this: Tulip Staircase. The first unsupported staircase in England, which was seen as a great feat of engineering. Contributing to the wealth and well of knowledge, the culture capital on display.

Palladio, Palazzo Chiericati, begun 1547

This building, from the 16th century, was the direct inspiration for the Queens House. England was greatly drawing inspiration from the Mediterranean and signified the pre-birth of the classical antiquity. Of course, this villa palace design was adapted for England’s weather and climate.

Philip Webb, The Red House, Bexleyheath, 1859-1860.

Philip Webb, The Red House, Bexleyheath, 1859-1860, east elevation.

William Morris: The Red House

The Red House, where William Morris lived and had designed for him by a young architect, displays a change in ideals and beliefs that is reflected from society in their architecture. Especially when an artist has a clear set of beliefs and wishes to embody them. Moreover, as the Arts and Crafts movement founder, he wished to separate himself from previous ideas, and this clearly comes through with the architecture.

The aforementioned Tudor Red Brick comes back, and the white render is all but abandoned in this building. Symmetry goes out the window, elements of gothic come into play, windows are miss matched and experimental, the steep roof gives this house a medieval quality. Morris was a great fan of the tales of King Arthur, round table, and his knights. (He even roleplayed as them with his art friends at his house).

Façade: a single elevation.

The Red House all but attempts to abandon this with its various elevations, recessions, and projections.

Fenestration: putting windows in certain places.

Architects guide us by manipulating light in indoor spaces, they guide our eyes and in turn lets our brain subconsciously know which way to go. The legibility of the windows helps us understand the interior address, design responds to function but also to aesthetic choice.

The Red House adopts a vernacular architecture style too, incorporating it into the gothic. Vernacular Architecture: a type of local or regional construction, using traditional materials and resources from the area where the building is located. For the people/belonging to the people. Return to nature. Eg. Barns and Farmhouses.

Philip Webb and William Morris, The Red House, Bexleyheath, 1859-1860, Drawing Room

Morris aspired to have a community of Art Houses, even encouraged other artists to build their own houses in the area, people such as Rossetti. All that ended up happening was Rossetti had an affair with Morris’s wife. So….

Morris actually learned to weave himself and experimented with dyes to better understand and create his art.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Hill House, Helensburgh, 1902-4

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Hill House, Helensburgh, 1902-4 Detail: hallway (left), drawing room (right)

Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Hill House: Art Nouveau

A house building upon Morris’ ideas. Historically the architect also did the interior design, if you observe the photo of the hallway, managing the volume and light, the architect controls where you should go/stay.

1902-04 Japan becomes more influential and inspires a large aspect of Art Nouveau. Mackintosh uses graphic pattern carpets/rugs to give direction on where moveable furniture should go.

Taking note of the previous buildings observed and presented in this post, look at the Hill House and consider how similar/different it is to the previous two.

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[cosmicanger]

Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) is an ad hoc coalition committed to solidarity and the horizon of liberation for the Palestinian people. Drawing together writers, editors, and other culture workers, WAWOG hopes to provide ongoing infrastructure for cultural organizing in response to the war. This project is modeled on American Writers Against the War in Vietnam, an organization founded in 1965.

Statement of Solidarity

October 26, 2023

Israel’s war against Gaza is an attempt to conduct genocide against the Palestinian people. This war did not begin on October 7th. However, in the last 19 days, the Israeli military has killed over 6,500 Palestinians, including more than 2,500 children, and wounded over 17,000. Gaza is the world’s largest open-air prison: its 2 million residents—a majority of whom are refugees, descendants of those whose land was stolen in 1948—have been deprived of basic human rights since the blockade in 2006. We share the assertions of human rights groups, scholars, and, above all, everyday Palestinians: Israel is an apartheid state, designed to privilege Jewish citizens at the expense of Palestinians, heedless of the many Jewish people, both in Israel and across the diaspora, who oppose their own conscription in an ethno-nationalist project.

We come together as writers, journalists, academics, artists, and other culture workers to express our solidarity with the people of Palestine. We stand with their anticolonial struggle for freedom and for self-determination, and with their right to resist occupation. We stand firmly by Gaza’s people, victims of a genocidal war the United States government continues to fund and arm with military aid—a crisis compounded by the illegal settlement and dispossession of the West Bank and the subjugation of Palestinians within the state of Israel.

We stand in opposition to the silencing of dissent and to racist and revisionist media cycles, further perpetuated by Israel’s attempts to bar reporting in Gaza, where journalists have been both denied entry and targeted by Israeli forces. At least 24 journalists in Gaza have now been killed. Internationally, writers and cultural workers have faced severe harassment, workplace retribution, and job loss for expressing solidarity with Palestine, whether by stating facts about their continued occupation, or for amplifying the voices of others. These are instances that mark severe incursions against supposed speech protections. Specious charges of antisemitism are leveled against Zionism’s critics; political repression has been particularly aggressive against the free speech of Muslim, Arab, and Black people living in the US and across the globe. As was the case following the September 11th attacks, Islamophobic political fervor and the widespread circulation of unsubstantiated claims has galvanized a US-led coalition of military support for a brutal campaign of violence.

What can we do to intervene against Israel’s eliminationist assault on the Palestinian people? Words alone cannot stop the onslaught of devastation of Palestinian homes and lives, backed shamelessly and without hesitation by the entire axis of Western power. At the same time, we must reckon with the role words and images play in the war on Gaza and the ferocious support they have engendered: Israel’s defense minister announced the siege as a fight against “human animals”; even as we learned that Israel had rained bombs down on densely populated urban neighborhoods and deployed white phosphorus in Gaza City, the New York Times editorial board wrote that “what Israel is fighting to defend is a society that values human life and the rule of law”; establishment media outlets continue to describe Hamas’s attack on Israel as “unprovoked.” Writers Against the War on Gaza rejects this perversion of meaning, wherein a nuclear state can declare itself a victim in perpetuity while openly enacting genocide. We condemn those in our industries who continue to enable apartheid and genocide. We cannot write a free Palestine into existence, but together we must do all we possibly can to reject narratives that soothe Western complicity in ethnic cleansing.

We act alongside other writers, scholars, and artists who have expressed solidarity with the Palestinian cause, drawing inspiration from the Palestinian spirit of sumud, steadfastness, and resistance. Since 2004, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has advocated for organizations to join a boycott of institutions representing the Israeli state or cultural institutions complicit with its apartheid regime. We call on all our colleagues working in cultural institutions to endorse that boycott. And we invite writers, editors, journalists, scholars, artists, musicians, actors, and anyone in creative and academic work to sign this statement. Join us in building a new cultural front for a free Palestine.

Signed, WAWOG Interim Organizing Committee

Hannah Black

Ari Brostoff (Senior Editor, Jewish Currents)

Elena Comay del Junco

Kyle Dacuyan (Executive Director, Poetry Project)

Max Fox

Kay Gabriel (Editorial Director, Poetry Project)

Kaleem Hawa

E. Tammy Kim

Shiv Kotecha

Wendy Lotterman (Associate Editor, Parapraxis)

Muna Mire

Perwana Nazif

Brendan O'Connor

Alex Press (Staff Writer, Jacobin)

Sarah Nicole Prickett

Dylan Saba

Zoé Samudzi (Associate Editor, Parapraxis)

Jasmine Sanders

Claire Schwartz (Culture Editor, Jewish Currents)

Janique Vigier

Harron Walker

Chloe Watlington

Gabriel Winant (Department of History, University of Chicago)

Audrey Wollen

Hannah Zeavin (Founding Editor, Parapraxis)

Signed, In Solidarity:

Fatimah Warner (Noname)

Saul Williams

Susan Sarandon

Janeane Garofalo

Gael García Bernal

Danez Smith

Ocean Vuong

Aria Aber

Saidiya Hartman

Judith Butler

China Miéville

Cathy Park Hong

Robin D. G. Kelley

and much, much more here

To sign this letter in solidarity, click here

[anigdhaoverseas]

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