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fractured-legacies · 11 months

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Imprudent, Chapter 4: Collisions

Prologue | Chapter 3

Chapter 4: Collisions

Based on our observations, it appears that the human population on Nephaas is dominated by a locally adapted Hibernaramus variant, although isolated populations of extreme-cold and extreme-heat adapted ramuses have been identified in the equatorial and polar regions respectively. All three ramus types were attested to in our records, but other ramus types that should also exist on the planet seem to have been reduced or eliminated due to the extreme local environmental pressures.

At present, due to our limited resources, we have decided against attempting to make contact or gain small tissue samples for analysis. Most of our efforts continue to be directed towards determining the cause of our failed transit.

~o0O0o~

Raavi ava Laargan

Waking up, I clamped my mouth shut and rolled out of bed. Over by my desk was the small project I had worked on for the last week—a clockwork tower that fit over my sand tray. Grabbing the quartz die from where it sat, I Breathed out into it. Then, as it glowed with the usual green-yellow, I smoothed out the sand and drew a line down the middle.

Taking a deep breath, I set the clockwork contraption on top of the tray and started it spinning. Then, bracing myself, I asked my question, and dropped the glowing die into the chute at the top.

Down it went, bouncing off of gears and paddles; the designs I had found at the library had insisted that this mechanism would help improve the prediction accuracy significantly. I could only hope that they were right.

Finally, the die bounced down the final chute and landed in the sand bowl, sending up a small wave of sand grains.

Looking down at the die sitting in the sand-filled tray, I tried to keep my frown from growing too much. It was so much better to find out this way, so I rose from where I was kneeling and put it away. Of course, I was disappointed, but, well…

It was better this way.

I kept repeating that to myself as I bathed, taking a brisk shower—the water was cooler than normal, and I made a note to check the water heater—and then went downstairs. There I found a few of my housemates awake and off-shift. It was the usual collection that I’d grown used to over the last few weeks of winter. Stylio was sitting in my father’s armchair, reading a book from my mother’s library of medical books, apparently absorbed. Zoy wasn’t present, thankfully. There was no way I could have kept my expression steady if she’d been there.

Over by the kitchen table, a bunch of other overwinterers were clustered around a board game I didn't recognize. They all had hands of cards that they were examining, and in the middle of the table there was an intricate board laden with small wooden and metal pieces, and more cards spread out between them. Judging by the mugs of beer and bowls of snacks, most of them half-empty, they’d been at it for a while.

Janiina grinned from behind her hand, slapped down a card, and said, “I charge five quartz and three pyrite with Breath!”

I had no idea what that meant, but by the way the others groaned and cursed, I guessed it was good for her. I just went into the kitchen and quietly put some breakfast together. The leftovers from the Sundown Feast were long since gone, and we were now working through the stocks of preserved foods and staples from the pantry, as well as a ration of milk from the small dairy.

Making myself some toast and tea—I was definitely going to have to get my mother some more—I settled in a chair and ate, my mind on other things. I still had my project, plus my shifts at the ironworks. And besides, hadn’t Stylio said that she was a wandering penitent? Given how the mayor treated them, there was no way that they’d want to stay for longer than the winter, so it was better this way.

I kept telling myself that as I took the empty plate and cup over to the sink and gave them a rinse before putting them in the drying rack; nearby, the game was still progressing, and judging by the pile of tokens in front of Janiina and the enormous grin on her face, she was probably going to win.

As much as they looked like they were having fun, I wanted to be alone at the moment, so I gave some polite comments and made my way down to the basement, where my workshop was.

Lighting the oilsap lamp with my new lighter, I looked at my project, walking around it and testing the parts and connections. It looked like it was just about ready. I had a few parts left to make at the ironworks, and I’d probably be able to finish it up before I went back to sleep. And then I could take it out for a try; it was definitely cold and windy enough to use at this point in the season.

Which meant that it was time for me to get over to the ironworks and put in some time.

Heading back upstairs, I went into the antechamber and started suiting up for the bone-chilling cold outside. Thick wool socks. Boots with steel cleats. Two layers of pants. Three layers of shirts, the innermost made of fabric that would wick away my sweat. Scarf. A fur-lined coat that I had inherited from my father, with a thick hood. A fur-lined hat with flaps that would cover my ears. Gloves. A pair of goggles that would keep my eyes covered from the wind; I’d heard that it was possible to have your eyelids freeze shut from your own tears freezing on the eyelashes, and was in no hurry to experience that. It was already cold and windy enough that frostbite was a serious risk, and while I could heal it with some Breath, as my mother would say, a whistle of prevention was worth a cantata of cure.

As I finished suiting up, I looked in the mirror. I was still new enough at this that I wasn’t certain that I’d gotten it right without checking. While it could get cold in the autumn and spring, it was nothing like the blasting cold winds coming from the south now, and during the summer, the usual clothing was more designed around linens that would cool the skin and protect against the unending sun. Lots of billowing shirts, skirts, and pants, sandals, and wide hats. The winter outfit was still novel, if not new, and I wasn’t taking any chances.

After checking myself over in the mirror, I nodded, closed the inner door, and opened the outer.

It was cold.

I knew to expect that, but still.

The sky overhead was speckled with stars and clouds, even as the Night-Light glowed in the dark; snow piled in drifts alongside the buildings, even though they were built to channel the winds as they went north to south. I shifted my shoulders uncomfortably; my braid was lying between my shirts and the coat, and it felt caught and tangled between the fabrics, which were already binding in ways I wasn’t yet used to.

Sighing, I started off down the street, making little shifts of my head and shoulders as I tried to dislodge my hair and let it lie naturally. I probably looked pretty silly, what with my shoulders hunched up and jerking my head and shoulders in weird ways, but there was no one around that I could see.

Thankfully.

I got to the ironworks just as the braid cleared whatever obstruction was keeping it from hanging right, of course.

Sighing again, I pulled off my coat and other cold weather gear, hung them, and started on my shift. It was time to focus on my job and my own projects, and put distractions out of mind.

Lady Fiaswith of House Rechneesse

With a deep, invigorating sigh, the kind of sigh that came from relief at an unexpected rescue, Fia stretched herself out, feeling and hearing her joints crackle and pop in sequence. It was the first time she’d been able to stretch in far, far too long, but even with her newfound freedom, she couldn’t resist giving a shuddering look back at the trunk she’d been in for all that time. Refusing to let that nightmare color her thoughts too much—she knew that it would make an appearance in her nightmares later, and she’d attend to it then—she looked up at the cloaked figure who was busy stripping the dead man in the lee of the wagon.

“Thank you,” she said, infusing her voice with every bit of heartfelt gratitude that she could.

The figure nodded and rose, holding up the man’s cloak for Fia. “Here. You’ll need this.” The voice coming out from behind the scarf was feminine, with a Dormelion accent. From Kasmenarta itself, if she didn’t miss her guess. Interesting.

Taking the offered garment, Fia examined it. It had just a few bloodstains discoloring it, the blood rapidly freezing in the chill. “Thanks.” She threw the cloak over her bare shoulders. “I’ve survived worse, but still not fun. How did you know that I’d be in there?”

“You wouldn’t believe me. But I had to help.”

Nodding, Fia took in the figure; she had a bow and quiver slung over a heavy winter cloak, with a rucksack dangling underneath the cloak, and was working at unlacing the body’s boots. “Well, I appreciate it, more than I can say.”

The figure nodded as the laces came undone. “Here. You’ll need these too. Be stupid if I rescued you from that trunk and you got frostbite.”

Fia shook her head, feeling her joints ache despite her earlier stretches. In the back of her mind, she could hear the murmuring growing softer and softer, but she ignored it. It was hardly new, and it had been her constant companion while she’d been in the trunk. “Indeed. I appreciate that too. So, was the rescue entirely out of the goodness of your heart?”

“No. But you knew that, didn’t you?” One boot, and then the other, was tossed to Fia by the other woman. “Here. I’ll work on those coats next, but they got a bit messed up.”

“I also doubt that they’d fit me properly,” Fia said, roughly shoving her feet into the boots before holding her arms out as if for presentation; she was taller than both of the dead men, and with broader biceps and a much bigger chest. Aside from the cloak and boots, the only things she had on were the bloodstained sleeveless shirt and lounging pants she’d been ambushed in. “Better not waste time on them. It won’t be fun, but I’ll deal until I… we?, get to a town and I can buy or steal something that fits. I don’t want to be slowed down by something that’ll bind me up.”

The figure nodded. “All right then.” Whoever she was, she didn’t question the fact that Fia had no serious problems with the extreme cold and wind… but given what she’d already done, Fia knew that this woman knew some of her secrets.

Well, if this woman was her enemy, she damn well would have left her in that trunk. So for now, she was going to treat the other woman as an ally, even if her motivations were unknown. Which meant that pragmatic questions came next.

“Any weapons?” she asked after she got the laces tied.

“Yes, a sword and this one had a crossbow. About thirty bolts.”

“I’ll take both, if that’s all right with you.”

“It is. I have enough with me.”

Fia nodded and took the weapons, belting them on, and examining the carriage as she did so. It had two shaggy horses hitched to it, both of them standing in their harnesses, snow building up around their manes. The carriage itself was a practical affair for traveling in winter. It had ski runners, its wheels stowed in brackets on the side, and was loaded with fodder for the horses and supplies for the men.

And the trunk.

She looked away.

“Pragmatically,” she said, forcing her voice to be even, “we should take the carriage to the nearest town and see what we can get there.”

“I hear a ‘but’ in there.”

“But. I think you’ll understand if I really don’t want to.”

“Oh, believe me, I understand. Fortunately, the town of Rhaanbach is right nearby, maybe a mile or two down that way,” the other woman said, pointing down the snow-covered road.

“Not familiar with the place,” Fia said, checking the crossbow’s action; it was well-oiled, but the cold had made it gum up a bit. She worked it a few times just to make sure that would release the bolt when she pulled the trigger, and then hung it across her back from the strap.

“Medium industrial town, specializes in glass and ironworks. We’re in the duchy of Hoochlicht, if that helps.”

Fia frowned and nodded. She was a bit far from…

From home.

That thought gave her pause. Home really was where the heart was, wasn’t it?

She pushed the thought away, and turned to the figure. “Got a name? Thinking ‘you’ all the time isn’t terribly helpful.”

With a crinkle of a smile behind her scarf, the other woman said, “Yufemya.”

“Ah, so I can go by ‘You’ for short?”

“Ha! If you want.”

Fia went around to the horses, and started unbuckling their harnesses. “Well, it’ll make calling out in a fight easier. ‘Hey, Yu!’”

Yufemya scoffed. “I’m going to remember that one.”

“I hope so! Mind you, I’m choosing to try to laugh right now.”

Yufemya glanced at the trunk and then back to Fia. “Understandable.”

With the harnesses unbuckled, Fia considered the supplies in the cart. Travel in winter was harsh and hard; while there were waystations where a traveler with deep pockets or the correct writ of passage could resupply and get a warm place to rest, they were primarily for the routes between the major cities. This area was definitely off the beaten path in winter, both literally and metaphorically. In summer, the area would undoubtedly be a hub of activity, with canal boats laden with cargo coming in and out of the town, and travelers on the move.

But with the sun having set and the Night-Light high in the sky, the only things moving were the trees as the wind whipped through their needles or bare branches.

She shivered from the cold; she could feel her body trying to warm itself, and numbness at her extremities went in and out like waves at the beach. The whispering swelled and receded in time, almost like the surf.

“What should we do with the cart?” she asked. Those supplies would come in handy…

“I’m not sure,” Yufemya said. “Unless you’ve changed your mind on driving it into town?”

Fia sighed. “We’d look like bandits.”

“Probably.”

“Well, not a first time for me.” She eyed the two horses and sighed. “Can you buckle them back in while I deal with these two?” she asked as she indicated the two bodies with her thumb.

“Certainly.”

“But first…” Fia went over to the cart, and with a shudder, pulled the trunk off of the back. Holding the heavy wood and leather with just her fingertips, she heaved, throwing it into the ditch next to the road.

Grabbing some tinder from the cart’s supplies, she then made her way down to the trunk, trying not to grimace at the snow brushing against her legs. Throwing the tinder into it, she eyed the trunk for a long moment, fighting down nausea and bile from her empty stomach.

Then, gathering her Will, she hummed a pitch, preparing to cast a spell from her limited repertoire, one she knew exquisitely well from her time at sea.

But… bigger this time.

Shifting into a sharp whistle, she grimaced as she pursed her lips. This was going to hurt—but it would be worth it.

The bolt of lightning formed from her Breath burst from her mouth, massively larger than the usual small spark someone would use to light a lamp or a black-powder charge. It seared her lips, which healed almost instantly, and ignited the tinder and the trunk with brutal efficiency.

As her place of imprisonment burned in the ditch, Fia turned back to Yufemya. “Now let me deal with those two. I’ll be nicer to them than what they planned on doing with me.”

Yufemya nodded and continued checking over the horses and their tack.

Raavi ava Laargan

Having finished my shift hours, I went through the main supply warehouse, looking for some odd bits that I could use. I’d have them deducted from my pay, of course, but the cost wasn’t too onerous. And once I had them, I’d be able to finish my project!

Passing the oilsap barrels, stacked high up to the ceiling, I hummed a little tune that my mother liked to sing as she made her way around the house; nothing magical or anything, but just a pleasant tune. It was about a young man and a girl he fancied, and the two of them trading riddles and answers back and forth as they flirted.

“Girl, I want to ask your mind,

The more you take and make,

the more you leave behind.

What am I?”

I went a bit falsetto for the next verse, as the girl answered.

“Ah, foolish boy, you think me naive?

Walk along we make,

With a path we take,

Footsteps behind we leave.”

I continued to sing as I filled my satchel with bits and pieces that I needed; some more rope, a large block of wax, some large nails…

I was finished by the third chorus, and continued to hum the tune as I made my way back down to the main floor of the ironworks. As a little boy, I’d always loved the cleverness of the riddles, and now the whole thing was etched in my head. And I was glad I had the space to sing it alone. I’d been thinking about singing it… earlier, but now I didn’t dare.

Reaching the ironworks, I made a note in the log about what I had taken and their costs, and then got that approved by the shift forewoman, all of which took only a few minutes. She knew what I was up to, and by now she was just giving my bag a quick glance over.

Then it was time to suit back up for the walk back to my house. By the next time I slept, I’d be ready.

Lady Fiaswith of House Rechneesse

Fia took a deep breath as the town came into view. About a tenth of the buildings glittered with light in the winter darkness, and even with the snow obscuring some of the lines and curves, the Kalltii fondness for natural-looking curves in their architecture was apparent. From here, the town looked like waves breaking against the shore, and she knew that inside it would be decorated to within an inch of its collective life.

But for now, the town represented a place where she could get supplies and recover. She had a lot of work ahead of her, she knew it. But she wasn’t dead, nor destined any longer for an anonymous grave, and for now, that was enough.

Then her eyes narrowed as she saw motion against the snow.

Lots of motion.

“Do you see that?” she asked Yufemya, pointing.

Yufemya peered into the distance and nodded curtly. “I do.”

Wishing she had a spyglass, Fia squinted… and then drew in a short, sharp breath before swearing. She hopped out of the cart, carrying her ‘new’ sword with her, and started to run through the snow. “Come on!”

“Coming! Hya!”

As Yufemya urged the horses on behind her, Fia focused on running as quickly as she could towards the sleeping town.

The cart behind her, the two horses reluctantly picking up speed, Fia focused on what she’d seen, as details became more and more apparent.

A mass of figures moving through the darkness, carrying weapons.

Raavi ava Laargan

Making my way back through the empty streets, I tried to focus on my project, and how amazing and awesome it would be once I completed it. I’d first seen the design in a travelogue over a year before, talking about the Slaekkaruune tribes to the south. I’d taken the idea and run with it, and I hoped that it would work. It should! All of my experiments had shown that it should, and while I hadn’t been able to resist adding my own refinements to the idea, the basic concept was sound.

And soon I would be able to test it.

Of course, I also wanted to show it off, but to who? Zoy?

That thought brought back what the dice had told me when I’d woken, and I grimaced behind my scarf.

Maybe? She seemed like the kind of person who would enjoy it… but did I want to?

Well, first I had to finish it, and then I’d be able to consider that question.

A gust of wind blew a wave of snow into my face, and I grimaced, brushing the snow grains out of the way as best I could. My bag clattered as I did so, a few of my supplies bumping against each other, and the sound echoed weirdly. But sound had been weird all winter, with snow and ice absorbing or reflecting sound in strange ways.

Something about it nagged me, though, and I looked around. I could have sworn that I was hearing footsteps crunching through the snow—but it was audible enough that it had to be snow falling from one of the roofs. There just weren’t that many people awake to be making that much sound—

I turned enough to look down one of the side-streets, and screamed.

<<<<>>>>

Prologue | Chapter 3

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sapphodera · 10 months

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Juno Shepard as a Companion

From the template by @luckyspacerabbit! Putting under a cut because this is long.

Name: Juno Friedmann

Alias: The Ghost

Birthdate: 5/11/2154 (31 yrs)

Class, Specialization: Infiltrator; Sniping and Reconnaissance

Weapons: Sniper Rifles, Heavy Pistols

Powers:

Active:

Tactical Cloak - Juno can employ a light-bending technology that renders her invisible for a limited time, at the cost of health and shield regeneration.

Rank 4 Evolution:

Option 1: Shadow Shield - While Juno’s tactical cloak is active, the rest of the squad gets boosted shield capacity and regeneration.

Option 2: Wraith - Juno’s weapon damage doubles when her tactical cloak is active.

Decoy - Juno places a flashing decoy that mimics the glare of a sniper’s scope. This will distract and confuse hostiles, drawing fire away from the real Juno.

Recon Drone - Juno deploys a cloaked reconnaissance drone, which will highlight enemies and make their silhouettes visible through walls and cover.

Passive:

Phantom Soldier - Juno’s extensive training and experience increases her hardiness and stamina. Cooldown times are reduced and Juno’s health is boosted.

Armor:

Pre-Loyalty: Juno wears light armor to maximize her mobility. She wears armor plating over her boots and kneecaps. Her shirt and pants are made of high strength fabric, with additional padding. A harness and belt keeps her guns and ammo together. She also wears a cloak made of camo-patterned fabric. A neutral color scheme makes it easier for her to blend into her surroundings.

Post-Loyalty: Her outfit is recolored into an all black color scheme, with the addition of a long-sleeve undershirt. Her cloak is gone, and she has a line of black face paint under each eye.

Origin: Ex-Alliance

Codex Entry: Juno Friedmann, a human sniper, was the child of two Systems Alliance officers. Her mother, a soldier, and her father, a pilot, raised Juno on various space stations and ships as their postings changed. At eighteen, Juno followed in her parents footsteps and enlisted.

Juno proved to be a capable soldier, eventually becoming an N7. She was on track to becoming a commander when her ship was attacked by a group of pirates. Despite the crew calling for support, Juno was the only survivor. After learning that their backup was delayed due to prioritizing the escort of a retired general, Juno left the Alliance.

Eventually Juno put her skills to work and became a vigilante. Traveling across the galaxy, Juno hunted down and killed those who she believed harmed the innocent. An excellent survivalist and marksman, Juno would often track her targets for weeks across remote lands before eventually killing them at long range. Her enemies and admirers alike nicknamed her the Ghost, due to her anonymous identity and the fact she was rarely spotted.

Psychological Profile: Sole Survivor

Codex Entry: Shortly after graduating from the N7 program, Juno’s crew was assigned to transport a shipment of element zero to an Alliance research base. Pirates attacked the ship, attempting to steal the high-value cargo. Juno contacted a nearby Alliance vessel for backup, but they delayed in helping in order to secure a retired Alliance general’s transport to the same research base. When they eventually did arrive, Juno was the only member of the crew left. She survived by hiding in the ship’s maintenance shafts, where she remained undetected when the pirates boarded the ship.

Due to the commander of the ship sacrificing herself by intentionally setting off a grenade inside the vessel, all the pirates were killed. Juno and the element zero were recovered by the other Alliance ship. When she learned why their backup was delayed, Juno resigned from the Alliance.

Recruitment Dossier Text:

The Ghost

- Expert crack sniper

- Capable of surviving in harsh wilderness

- Uses sniper rifles and recon to track targets and kill them at long range

A woman believed to be the Ghost was spotted helping a wounded man outside the colony Perseverance. Intel shows that she intends to kill the colony’s leader, who is hiding information about the planet’s volatile storms.

Recruitment Mission ME2:

Juno is recruitable in the first round of dossiers, along with Garrus, Mordin, etc.

Shepard and their two squadmates will be sent to the planet Ontarom (the one from ME1 with the space cows).

When the squad touches down Shepard will be free to explore a grassy clearing on a large, rocky hill. It overlooks Perseverance. Here, you can again encounter the Shifty Looking Cow. Eventually the squad will come across the remains of a fire and a dead space cow. EDI will conclude that the animal was killed less than 48 hours ago, and that the Ghost probably used it as a food source.

At this point the squad will be attacked by a pack of wild animals. After dispatching them, the squad will come across a small cave. Going inside will result in discovering a colonist who injured himself when rock climbing. He will unintentionally reveal that the Ghost helped care for his wound, after which Shepard can interrogate him for more information.

Charm: “If you just tell us where she went, I’ll contact your colony and have them get you out of here.”

Intimidate: “Do you want me to report you to your colony officials for interfering with the business of a Spectre?”

Both methods of interrogation will result in the colonist telling Shepard what direction the Ghost went in. He will also suggest that Shepard remain hidden, as the Ghost will see the squad approach and likely shoot them upon discovery.

When Shepard emerges from the cave and follows the path that the colonist suggested, they will find themselves in another clearing surrounded by cliffs, which also overlooks the colony. The glint from the Ghost’s scope will be visible.

To approach the Ghost, Shepard has two options: They can sneak up on her, or walk into the clearing alone and fall when the Ghost hits them, as Shepard’s shields and armor will protect them from becoming seriously injured. If you sneak up on her Shepard will hold her up themself, or if Shepard plays dead their squadmates will. Regardless, the Ghost will surrender once she’s been captured. Her appearance is hidden by the recon hood she wears.

The Ghost: “You’re not colonists. Who the hell–you’re Commander Shepard! Shit, I guess the rumors really were true. You here to arrest me?”

Shepard: “That depends. Do you want to help me solve a problem the Alliance is ignoring?”

The Ghost: *Laughs* “Like I’d work for Cerberus. You don’t think I know what they’ve done? Do you know how many of them I’ve killed?”

Charm: “Entire colonies are going missing, and the Alliance doesn’t care. Cerberus does. We’re going to find out what happened to them and stop it.”

Intimidate: “Whole colonies–men, women, children–are disappearing. Cerberus is going to put a stop to it because the Alliance won’t. Do you want to help, or stand idly by?”

After some more convincing, the Ghost will explain that she’ll consider joining Shepard but her business on this planet is still unfinished. She explains that she intends to kill the colony’s president, who is hiding how dangerous the planet is in order to keep the colony profitable. When he is killed, the Ghost’s contact will be able to reveal new research that suggests the planet’s storms will quickly become much more dangerous than expected.

At this point Shepard can either refuse to help her (which will result in Shepard leaving and the Ghost not being recruited) or agree to help her. The Ghost will give Shepard the controls to her drone (named “Spot”), which is capable of scanning lifeforms and drawing their attention with a speaker. The drone, which has its own tactical cloak, will not be spotted by the colonists.

This will put the player in a sort of minigame, where the screen will show the drone's camera. The player will then have to maneuver the drone throughout the colony until they identify the target. Then the player will use the drone’s speaker (which plays an Asari pop song) to draw the target outside. At this point, the Ghost will eliminate the target with a headshot.

As the Normandy’s shuttle touches down, the Ghost will remove her hood and tell Shepard her real name: Juno. At this point, Shepard can ask her questions.

>Why did you leave the Alliance?

Ans: My ship was transporting eezo when pirates attacked. We called for a nearby vessel to back us up, but by the time they arrived I was the only one left. Later, I found out the reason they took so long. They decided it was more important to finish escorting a retired general before helping us. I resigned right then and there.

>Why did you risk giving up your position to help that colonist?

Ans: *Shrugs* He was hurt. What was I supposed to do, let the animals eat him?

>What happens to the colony now?

Ans: I don’t know. A lot of people will probably leave. It might become a ghost town. But I think that’s a lot better than innocents dying in a freak storm just to pad the wallet of some politician.

As they board the shuttle, Shepard asks one more question:

Shepard: “This is a suicide mission. I don’t want you unless you’re serious about this.”

Juno: “Don’t worry, Commander. I’m already a ghost.”

Where Are They On The Ship ME2:

Juno joins Kasumi in the port observation deck. Juno has rearranged the cushions on the other couch into a fort, where her sleeping bag lies. A small stack of books and a datapad are next to it. Spot hovers nearby. During cutscenes with Juno, Kasumi will be absent (or cloaked).

Between missions, she can be asked about:

Her time in the Alliance

Why she left

Her old commander

Her parents

Her time as a vigilante

Any interesting stories?

Why the mask?

Her sense of justice

Her distrust of authority

Her empathy for those ignored by authority

Her rifle

A Normandy upgrade that will allow it to remotely hack Alliance ships—Juno explains she found it on a job.

Loyalty Mission:

Kelly: “Juno said she wants to speak to you as soon as possible.”

When speaking with Shepard, Juno will ask that they go to Illium so she can buy an illegal mod for her rifle. If prodded further, Juno will dodge Shepard’s questions. After the Normandy docks on Illium, Juno is nowhere to be found. EDI informs Shepard that she has already left the ship. After leaving the Normandy, Shepard will question the Nos Astra Concierge, who tells them that she saw Juno steal an empty taxi shuttle and fly off.

At this point, Shepard will get a message from Juno on their omni-tool reading: I have some business to deal with. Alone. Don’t worry about me.

EDI gains access to the taxi company’s records and manages to track the shuttle. She tells Shepard it has left the planet and is currently headed towards an Alliance cruiser, the SSV Amsterdam. EDI discovers that Juno’s father, Marcus Friedmann, is currently assigned as its pilot. EDI will also play a message that Juno recently received:

Female Voice: “This is a message to the Ghost. I’m on your father’s ship. Come and face me, or he dies.”

Male Voice: “Juno, don’t—” [The message abruptly ends.]

Shepard will try to contact the Amsterdam, but EDI will report that the ships’ comm system has been shut down and none of their messages will get through. Shepard can then decide to travel to the Amsterdam, which has stopped moving and can be found near Illium. Shepard can also ignore the quest entirely, and after the suicide mission it will no longer be available and Juno won’t ever come back.

If Shepard does choose to pursue the Amsterdam, Joker will get in close using the Normandy’s stealth systems and Shepard will board the ship via shuttle. If Shepard used Juno’s Normandy upgrade, they can enter the ship stealthily. Otherwise, they will have to brute-force it. If Shepard enters loudly or is caught while infiltrating, they will be attacked by Batarians.

Exploring the ship, Shepard can find that the ship’s crew has locked themselves in the crew quarters. After killing the Batarians trying to open the door, Shepard can speak to the crew. The crew will explain that the ship was boarded by Batrian pirates, who immediately stormed the bridge. The rest of the crew escaped to the crew quarters, where they saw on monitors that Juno boarded the ship and was escorted to the bridge by the Batarians.

Once Shepard reaches the bridge, they can pass a renegade or paragon check to get the Batarians to let them in, or just kill them. Inside, they will find the bridge crew being held hostage by the pirates. Juno’s father has been knocked unconscious. Juno and a Batarian woman are equipping their weapons.

Juno will be shocked by Shepard’s presence, and be angry at them for coming to save her. Upon Shepard demanding one, Juno will explain the situation. Years ago Juno killed a Batarian pirate by shooting him through the eyes, which is a huge insult in Batarian culture because they believe the dead’s soul leaves through the eyes. Juno was unaware of this. Now, the pirate’s partner (the Batarian woman) has taken the ship hostage and has forced Juno in a duel to the death. The Batarian woman, named Tasli, aims to kill Juno in the duel as it would be an “honorable killing” as opposed to just executing her. Tasli says she will let the Amsterdam’s crew go after the duel (but not before looting the ship, of course).

Despite Shepard’s protests, Juno insists on going forward with the duel without Shepard’s help. She only asks that Shepard make sure Tasli honors her promise of letting the crew go.

Tasli and Juno make their way to opposite sides of the cargo bay and the duel commences. Both make use of the cargo cover and try to shoot the other without being spotted. EDI will tell Shepard she has hacked the Amsterdam’s system, and that she can manipulate the electronics in the cargo bay to work in Juno’s favor (ex. using a crane to move the cargo Talsi is hiding behind).

Regardless of Shepard’s actions, Juno will shoot Talsi in the leg and disarm her. Juno will get close to her for the kill, at which point Shepard can talk to her via comms. Talsi begs Juno to kill her so she can be with her partner again.

If Shepard helped Juno using the crane and tries to convince her not to kill Talsi: Juno shoots Talsi in the heart. She is not loyal.

If Shepard helped Juno but lets her kill Talsi without protest: Juno shoots Talsi in the heart, and then admonishes Shepard for helping her.

If Shepard explains they didn’t want Juno to get herself killed: Juno is loyal.

If Shepard retorts that participating in the duel was a stupid idea: Juno is not loyal.

If Shepard did not help Juno but asks her to spare Talsi, or if Shepard did not help Juno and lets her kill Talsi without protest: Juno shoots Talsi in the heart. Juno is loyal.

The Batarians will leave without protest and take Talsi’s (along with any more of their comrades) body with them. The Amsterdam’s crew is picked up by a passing Alliance ship. After the mission, Juno will remark that she was surprised that Shepard came to try and help her. She will reluctantly thank Shepard for doing so. When asked about him, Juno will say that her father is recovering well, and that she will make a point to talk to him often even if he is mad at her for dueling Talsi.

Suicide Mission:

Juno will not survive being the Vent Specialist, or either Fireteam Leader, even if she is loyal. She will survive the Crew Escort as long as she is loyal, otherwise she will die protecting the crew. Juno will almost always die on the Suicide Mission if she is not loyal.

Romance: Juno is only a romance option for female Shepards. However, she has very strict morals. If Sheaprd makes a significant amount of choices she disapproves of (see below) she will refuse to romance Shepard (or break up with them if their relationship is already established).

♡ Lock in Conversation: (If Shepard chooses to flirt with Juno throughout their conversations) In the last cutscene with Juno before the suicide mission, Juno can be found at the observation deck, staring into space.

Shepard: “What are you doing?”

Juno: “Just…looking at the stars. Reminds me of when I was a kid.” She touches the glass. “I spent a lot of time looking out of ship windows.”

Shepard: “Do you know any of the constellations?”

Juno: “Not in this part of the galaxy. But I spent a summer on Earth once, and my dad taught me some. Canis Major, Leo, Orion…I’ve been thinking about my parents a lot lately.”

Option 1: “So have I.” → Shepard and Juno talk about their families.

Option 2: “You should give them a call.” → Juno says it’s too late to reach them before the mission.

Option 3: “You need to focus on the mission.” → Juno agrees, and assures Shepard she’s ready for the suicide mission.

Option 4 (Romance): Shepard places their hand on top of Juno’s. “I’ve been thinking about the people important to me, too.”

Juno: She pulls her hand away. “Shepard…”

Shepard: “What’s wrong?”

Juno: “I…we can’t do this. For both our sakes.”

Shepard: “What’s wrong?”

Juno: “We’re going on a suicide mission. We’re going to die. There’s no point in this.”

Option 1: “We’re not going to die.”

Juno: *scoffs* “You seriously believe that?”

Shepard: “I’m going to give it my best shot.”

Option 2: “You’re right. This was a mistake.” (Romance terminated)

Option 3: “All the more reason we should have some fun before we die.”

Juno: “That’s not how I work, Shepard.”

Shepard: “We still have a chance to make each other happy.”

Juno: “Look, if by some miracle we both make it out alive, we can have this conversation again. Until then…good luck.”

Option 1: “Good luck to you too, but you were right. Let’s not do this.” (Romance terminated)

Option 2: “Then once the Collectors are dead, you can tell me about the constellations again.” (Romance locked-in)

Option 3: “I don’t want luck. I want you.” Shepard caresses Juno’s face, and they kiss before Juno pulls away after a couple seconds. (Romance locked-in)

Juno: “Shepard, I…I really hope you make it.” She turns back to the window. “I’ll see you at the Collector base.”

♡ Romance Scene: If both Shepard and Juno survive the mission, Juno will tell Shepard that they should talk in Shepard’s quarters. When Juno arrives, she is wearing a t-shirt and cargo pants and carrying a bottle of champagne.

Juno: “Sorry. I don’t own any nice clothes.”

Shepard: “I don’t mind.”

Juno smiles. “Luckily this champagne is nicer. I got from a Volus as a thank-you for ‘escorting’ some creeps out of his bar. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.” Juno pours two glasses, one for herself and one for Shepard. “In the Alliance, we’d used to treat ourselves to a drink after a mission well done…never anything this fancy though.”

Shepard: “I think we both deserve it.”

Juno: “Since the Alliance, I haven’t really had anyone to drink with…anyone to care about.”

Shepard tries to say something, but Juno interrupts them. “Shepard, It’s hard for me. Having people I care about. Loving people always seems to end in pain. But with you…” Juno takes both of Shepard’s hands in hers. “I’d like to try.”

Option 1: “So do I.” → Juno and Shepard kiss. Juno wraps her arms around Shepard and the scene fades to black.

Option 2: “I’d like to try a few things with you.” → Juno responds, “Oh really?” They begin making out and accidentally spill some of the champagne. The scene fades to black.

♡ Can be Rekindled in ME3: Yes

♡ Mordin Advice: Human on human sexual activity, not a mystery. Juno? Personally, a mystery to me. Can’t provide much help besides the basics. I suggest you discover things for yourself. That’s part of the fun, yes?

♡ Kasumi Commentary: “I know that Juno can take care of herself, but if you hurt her I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” / “What have you done to that girl? I saw her actually smile today! At nothing! She was just walking around, smiling!” / “I hope you don’t mind Spot. She cares about that thing like it’s a real pet.”

♡ If Unromanced: If neither Samara or Juno are romanced, they will engage in slightly flirty dialogue with each other. In ME3, they will be in a relationship.

Citadel DLC:

Message to Meet:

Shepard,

Come meet me at the strip when you have time. Joker told me about this place I want to check out with you.

--- Juno

Friend Date:

Juno meets Shepard outside a club on a strip. Instead of her usual armor, she’s wearing a simple t-shirt and cargo pants with combat boots.

Juno: “Hey.” [Juno looks side to side, and has her arms crossed. She taps her foot on the ground.]

Shepard: “You look...relaxed.”

Juno: “I just I…never know what to do with myself on shore leave! Usually I’d just pass the time by reading or going to the shooting range, but Joker said this place would really ‘loosen me up.’”

Shepard: “A club doesn’t really seem your style.”

Juno: “That’s what I said, but Joker insisted I’d like it.”

Juno and Shepard enter the club, skipping the line due to Shepard’s status. When they get in it becomes immediately clear that it is an Asari strip club. Dancers with various amounts of clothes dance onstage, while an elaborate light show and club music plays.

Juno: “*laughs nervously* This isn’t what I was, um, expecting…”

Shepard: “Of course Joker recommended it…”

Juno: “We could, uh, just get a coffee or something instead…”

Shepard then has the option to leave and get coffee with Juno, or stay at the club. If they choose to leave, a cutscene then plays of the pair having a pleasant conversation at a cafe. If they choose to stay, a cutscene plays where they watch the strippers, drink at the bar, accidentally walk into a private room and then run out, and dance. Juno lets loose, and appears to be having a good time.

Apartment Date:

Juno will arrive with Samara and will people watch with her, along with telling stories of her own time as a vigilante. If Shepard is in a relationship with Samara, Juno will announce “I think I better get going” and leave as things get flirty. If Shepard romances Juno, they will kiss after Samara leaves. If neither Juno or Samara are romanced, Shepard will catch them holding hands when they think Shepard isn’t looking.

Shadowbroker DLC:

Terminal Messages:

Message 1: VOICE MESSAGE FROM LT. ALIX HARRIS, SENT MARCH 3RD 2182

Lt. Alix Harris: “Hey Juno. It’s me, Harris. I just wanted to check in on you…I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now. But we don’t have to talk about any of that. It’s just…we haven’t really talked since it happened. You haven’t talked with anyone, actually. You can’t shut yourself off like this…me and the guys are really worried. Please just…call me back when you get a chance, okay? I want to see my friend again.”

[The message was never replied to, but has been replayed many times]

Message 2: SCHEDULED MESSAGE TO HANNAH AND MARCUS FRIEDMANN

Dear Mom and Dad,

If you’re reading this, I’m dead. I’m sorry. Better you hear it from me than Alliance Brass right? Don’t be too upset. I’ve been killing for as long as I can remember. It was only a matter of time until it caught up to me. If any of my stuff is left, you guys get all of it. Not like anyone else is gonna want it anyway. Don’t blame yourselves. You did a good job. Take care of each other.

I know you want to know why. I did it to protect people. Better it’s me over them.

Love,

Juno

Shadowbroker Comment: “Thank you for bringing the Ghost, T’Soni. Her head will go for a high price.”

Comments on Shepard’s Driving: “I think I’m gonna throw up…”

Opinions:

Friends: Tali, Garrus, Samara, Kasumi, Legion, Liara, EDI, Ashley, Joker, Traynor

Neutral: Kaidan, Mordin (ME3), Wrex, Grunt, Jacob, Miranda (ME3), Jack, Thane, Cortez, Kelly

Enemies: Mordin (ME2), Zaeed, James, Javik, Miranda (ME2)

Decisions They Approve Of:

Killing Morinth

Preserving Maelon’s data

Shutting down project Overlord

Curing the Genophage

Sparing the Rachni queen

Helping the Quarians win Rannoch/brokering peace between the Quarians and the Geth

Decisions They Disapprove Of:

Killing Samara

Sacrificing the refinery workers in Zaeed’s loyalty mission

Letting project Overlord continue

Faking the Genophage cure

Punching Khalisah

Helping the Geth win Rannoch

Comments on Cerberus: “I first heard about them when I was still Alliance. I won’t lie to you, Shepard. Their ‘humans first’ agenda makes me nervous. You know it's just a matter of time before only certain types of humans are first, right?”

Comments on the Alliance: “They have their priorities skewed. All big organizations do. They get founded on some nice virtue and then, as it grows, the message gets muddled. That’s why I prefer to work alone.”

Comments on the Reapers: “I have no idea how we’re going to stop them. I guess that’s not my problem though, is it? Do you think a bigger rifle would help?”

Comments about other Squadmates:

Samara: “Now, Samara is someone I like having on my side. I wish I had known her earlier. Between her biotics and my gun, we’d be unstoppable.” (If both unromanced) “Together, we could make a real difference. *Sighs* Maybe when this is all over…”

James: “He reminds me of the boys in training. They’d say the grossest shit, but one good punch to the jaw and they’d shut right up. He’s the same.”

Zaeed: “I hope Cerberus is paying him a lot, because he won’t hesitate to stick a knife in your back for a few credits more.”

Kasumi: “I’ve stolen a few things here and there, but nothing as impressive as she has. She lets me borrow her books too. So I do like her, even if she does spy on me.”

Jack: “She was cold to me at first, but after I told her the story of how I shot the dick off a batarian trafficker, I think we’ve reached an understanding.”

Mordin: (ME2) “I don’t care how the hell he justifies it, the genophage was wrong. Salarians sure can be cunning bastards.” (ME3) “At least he’s trying to fix his past mistakes. That’s more than most would do.”

Jacob: (ME2) “I get why he left the Alliance. I guess he’s not so bad, for Cerberus.” (ME3) “I’m glad he realized what Cerberus really is. I hope he’s doing well.”

Miranda: (ME2) “I feel sorry for her. Cerberus took her in, and then the Illusive Man groomed her into being his perfect, obedient pet.” (ME3) “Oh, I’d love to see the look on the Illusive Man’s face when he realized she turned against him. Being his right hand man and then joining the other side? That’s one way to stick it to Cerberus.”

Grunt: “Krogans are such a pain to kill. If you want to down them in one go, you have to use an anti-material rifle and get them right in the eye. Good thing he’s on our side.”

Thane: “I don’t think you get a free pass on murder even if you say a prayer after. Regardless, his skills are impressive. We’d make a deadly pair: one to weaken you from afar, and another to close in for the kill.”

Legion: “Well, they haven’t tried to shoot me yet, so they’re fine be me. Unless they start stealing my kills. Then we’re going to have a problem.”

EDI: “The best extranet search engine I know. It doesn’t count as an abuse of power if I keep making her look up Black Widow mods for sale on the darknet, right?”

Kaidan: “He’s alright. He’s Alliance and a Spectre, so I wouldn’t trust him if it wasn’t for the fact that I don't think he has a single malicious bone in his body.”

Liara: “An information broker, huh? Used a couple of those back in the day. I should ask her what she has on me.”

Garrus: “He did a good thing, trying to clean up Omega’s mess. Stupid, but well intentioned. I am glad he didn’t get himself killed, though.”

Ashley: “Alliance brat, soldier, poetry lover…she’s a little too much like me. She does know how to party though…” *whistles*

Tali: “She’s cute. Smart too. I always felt bad for the Quarians. To lose your entire planet…ugh, it makes me sick thinking about it.”

Wrex: “Krogans don’t usually have a sense of humor, but he's kinda funny. He seems almost well-adjusted. Good thing he’s the one in charge.”

Javik: “Kind of a dick, yeah? Guess I’d be one too, in his situation.”

Banter:

Joker commentary on recruitment: “Juno seems okay, even if her idea of fun is tracking some bad guy through the mountains and then blowing his head off. If I start seeing a laser on my chest, I’m blaming you, Commander.”

Joker Comments: “Juno’s actually pretty nice for someone that shoots the dicks off of batarian slavers anytime she gets a chance. Still scares me though.”

Greeting/Default Saying: “Hey.”

How do they Address Shepard: “Shepard”

Combat Phrases: “One down.” / “Hostiles, 12 o’clock!” / (Upon Shepard getting a long-range headshot) “Impressive.”

Low Health: “Cover me!” / “I need first aid!”

Revived: “Thanks.”

Friendly Fire: “Friendly fire!” / “Back off, Commander!”

Location Comments:

Omega: “I’ve tracked a lot of people back here. It’s very vertical, but the alleys make it hard to get a wide view.”

Illium: “The poor criminals run to Omega, the rich ones run here. It’s always easy enough to snipe someone on Illium. Lots of skyscrapers, and even more big glass windows.”

The Citadel: “There’s too many people here.”

Companion Banter:

[Normandy SR-2 Bug Transcript #A23]

Juno: “Samara, could a human ever join the Justicars?”

Samara: “I doubt it. The training itself takes many decades, and biotics are a large part of it. Why? Do you wish to become one?”

Juno: “No. I was just thinking about how you and I are similar.”

Samara: “In what ways?”

Juno: “Well, we don't have anything except our armor and weapons, live by a code of justice, kill those who break it…”

Samara: “Perhaps. I have also killed many people like that.”

Juno: “Well, I’d like to think my code is better than theirs.”

Samara: “I think…if you were an Asari, you would have made a good justicar.”

[End Transcript]

[Normandy SR-2 Bug Transcript #A19]

Juno: “Spot?”

Spot: *beeps*

Juno: “Who’s my good little drone, hmm? Who’s the cutest, sweetest, little Armali Council reconnaissance-spotter drone?”

Spot: *beeps*

Juno: “That’s my good Spot. My goodest, cutest, loveliest boy.”

Kasumi: “Hey Jun–”

Juno: (screams)

[End Transcript]

[Normandy SR-3 Bug Transcript #H08]

Dr. Chakwas: “You need to take better care of yourself.”

Juno: “I’m fine. I got worse than this when I was a merc, and I didn’t have a doc to patch me up.”

Dr. Chakwas: “Yeah, and that’s why you have worse vision in one eye, a twitch in your left knee, ankle pain…”

Juno: “I can deal with it.”

Dr. Chakwas: “Take these pills. One every day.”

Juno: “I don’t have time for—”

Dr. Chakwas: “Do you want me to call your mother?”

Juno: “...Fine.”

[End Transcript]

#shepard as a companion #mass effect #commander shepard #mass effect 2 #mass effect 3 #mass effect trilogy #mass effect au #sid draws #sid writes #oc: juno shepard

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oldbutnotyetwise · 10 months

Text

Mrs. McDonald

I would like to tell you a story of a lady who wandered into my life for a decade or two. She was an unremarkable woman who led a rather unremarkable life, but all lives are worthy of some recognition and perhaps this is hers. I became a character in the last few chapters of her life, and I was with her to the end.

She was raised in a large family on a farm in the Thorold area near to St. Catharines. She didn’t get on well with her mother, but the way she tells it she was her Father’s favourite. For High School she was shipped off to the Loretta Academy in Niagara Falls where she was under the iron fist rule of the Catholic Nuns but they failed to turn her into a Nun as expected.

She was a short, stocky woman, just getting above the five foot mark and a disease struck her later in life causing her to have limited use of her legs. I don’t know what happened in the earlier years but after marrying Ron they both drank too much and took on all the usual characteristics of an abusive relationship.

It was Christmas Eve in the early 90’s, my good friend and partner Dave was working the nightshift with me. Christmas Eve, families getting together, drinking too much and then getting violent with someone often ending up in jail. Over and over this same scene plays out, just more so on holiday occasions where people gather and start to party together.

It was probably the early morning hours of Christmas Day by the time we were dispatched for a woman in distress on the porch of a house at the edge of downtown. When we got there there was no woman on the porch but the front door was wide open. We carefully entered the house concerned for the woman’s well being, we saw a large man passed out on the couch but then I spotted her laying on the floor of the bedroom. There was a small table lamp on the floor beside her head and the cord from it was wrapped tightly around her neck. To this day I remember how much trouble I had removing it because of how tight it was digging onto the skin around her neck. I could see the fear in her eyes, I think she probably had thought that this was finally the day he was going to kill her. Based on what she told us we arrested her husband and roused him from his drunken slumber on the couch. We charged him with Aggravated Assault, which is one step down from Attempted Murder.

Her husband Ron never fought the charges, in fact he pled guilty the first chance he got and was sentenced to a year in jail. I don’t doubt that he loved her, and that he felt very guilty about what had happened, but it was a cycle of violence that I don’t think either of them could break.

With the Assistance of the Victim Services Branch we reunited Mrs. McDonald with her estranged daughter. Her daughter lived in London and Mrs. McDonald thought she would like to live in St. Thomas, close enough, yet far enough from her daughter. Victim Services found some subsidized housing and she got a cute little one bedroom townhouse that was close enough to downtown that she could get her own groceries on her scooter. She and her little dog seemed happy, perhaps for the first time in many, many years. I knew her as Elizabeth McDonald but she decided she now wanted to be called Eliza, maybe this was her way of making a break from her past. Either way it didn’t matter, she was always Mrs. McDonald to me. Now that should have been the end of the story, but it wasn’t.

Whenever I attended the Police college in nearby Aylmer I would visit with Mrs. McDonald, maybe take her out for dinner and see how she was doing. There was also the phone calls to check in on her, somewhere along the way I became somewhat of an adopted son.

It took a while but then Mrs. McDonald’s life took some bad turns. She called me to tell me that her daughter had told her that she had to move in with her to help look after the children. As well, she would have to sign over her disability cheque to them for room and board. Mrs. McDonald didn’t want to do that and I assured her that she didn’t have to. This resulted in much fighting and at one point she was assaulted by her daughter’s husband. Then a man from the complex forced his way into her unit and sexually assaulted her, her dream home had become a nightmare.

We found a place in nearby Smithville that had an Accessible Unit available, or at least it became available when I explained the situation to the program coordinator. I called my dear and always reliable friend Larry and we rented a U-Haul and went down and moved her to Smithville. This was about twenty minutes from where I lived and it made it easier for me to keep an eye on her. She would join us for holiday gatherings and she made friends at the Legion Villa where she lived.

As time wore on dementia started to set in, she would tell me about things being stolen from her unit but when I spoke with the person who ran the Villa she explained that it was likely that Mrs. McDonald was the one taking things, from herself and others. Her neighbour was in contact with me frequently kept me updated on how things were going. The neighbour called me one day and said she was worried as she didn’t think Mrs. McDonald had been out of bed for days, when I phoned Mrs. McDonald she assured me she was fine. I drove there and found her in her bed, covered in her own filth, she didn’t want to go, but I wrapped her in blankets and took her to the hospital. I think we both knew as I carried her out to my truck that she would never be coming back home to her apartment.

After a while of being in the Grimsby Hospital she was transferred to St. Peter’s Hospital in Hamilton, a long term care facility where she settled in. As I was working in Hamilton it allowed me to stop in and see her more often on the way home from work, and take her out for walks in her wheelchair. We would go in search of orange popsicles that she seemed to love. In time she passed away there and so ended her rather sad story.

The daughter suddenly reappeared when learning of the death but quickly disappeared again when she found out there was nothing in the will for her. As per her wishes Mrs. McDonald was cremated and had no service, no obituary. I wanted to memorialize her in some way, and I remembered that at the Villa she would spend hours sitting on her scooter down by the creek that ran through the property. I would get excited reports of the birds, turtles and muskrats that kept her company there. Arrangements were made for a bench and some plants to be installed where she has spent all that time. I screwed a small plaque Memorializing her onto the bench. Her neighbour and I met there one day, we spread her ashes around the bench and then we sat sharing memories of our time with Mrs. McDonald. I think Mrs. McDonald would have approved.

The thing I remember most about Mrs. McDonald was how grateful she was for any small thing that we would do for her. It is a life lesson that she taught me, how to take joy in the small things despite all the challenges in your life.

There is a movie called Land which stars Robin Wright, in it a stranger saves a woman’s life, helps to bring her back from near death. When she was healthy again she asks him, “Why did you do all this for me?”, he replied “Because you were in my path.” I love that line, that explanation. There is just a gentle, mindful, rightness to it.

Who has stopped to help you while they traveled on their path, and who have you stopped to help while travelling on yours?

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arecomicsevengood · 11 months

Photo

Molly Colleen O’Connell released two new comics recently, her first in several years. Both display an increased accessibility, while retaining her signature wiggliness: a high level of doodler’s digressiveness, moving about a room and saying “oh! what’s this?” to any stray bit of string. You might think, looking at the front cover of The Shriekers, that the focus of the book would be the figures framed by the window, the little Halloween-costumed children in the front yard. But no, the main characters of the book are the figures skulking about behind the curtains, hiding from both the outside world and the prospective reader’s immediate attention. On the back cover, we see their portraits on the wall, with names, amidst the props and furniture that features in the stories inside.

The Shriekers is a set of gag strips, following weird ghouls in a house, sort of like The Addams Family, while also reminiscent of Lizz Hickey’s Jammers comics. Interactions between the characters are limited, we’re introduced to them one at a time, and the structure, a la Richard Linklater’s Slacker, moves on to the next after a brief meeting. At this point, the humor isn’t character-based; rather the characters exist to explore the formal system being created by O’Connell’s drawings. It strikes me as the sort of thing that could continue parceled out into anthology contributions which could then be collected to form an issue two.

While The Shriekers moves about the space of its boarding house setting, Pebbles moves throughout time, flitting around the memories of its titular character, Pebbles. She’s seen at different ages, in different settings, (therapy, childhood, teen years, floppy-titted middle age) and is distinguished by her nose: In the end we see her in a sci-fi pod, and it’s explained she’s traveling through her consciousness, and while this makes sense of some of what we’ve seen, it doesn’t quite account for the digressions into anthropomorphic animals we’ve seen: a chicken atop a next of snake eggs, hatching her doom; two ostriches, with heads in the sand, coming up with ideas for t-shirts while bombs fall in the distance.

I want to see more of both of these stories. O’Connell’s approach is continually suggestive of the idea that she is going somewhere with her ideas, but also might take her time getting there, and maybe in the end your brain is going to need to fill in the blanks, extrapolating from what you’ve been given. Perhaps she is talking around something bigger than her current narrative can handle straight-on, and these themes might end up being addressed in another comic entirely, leaving a reader to grasp the extent of her interests by considering her oeuvre as a whole. Already I can see that Pebbles is talking about death, motherhood, and nature, time and memory, the future and the past: Some of these topics are addressed in the diary/memoir comics mourning O’Connell’s mother that have appeared on her instagram, which when collected will be more immediately understood in terms of power and emotion than the roving jokester consciousness at work in Pebbles.

Anyone looking at these comics has ample evidence of how interesting O’Connell is as a drawer. Pebbles features more grey wash, adding this painterly texture to a clean line that obeys its own wobbly logic to detail what the world is. The loose perspective, and eye for accumulated detail, makes moments like the conclusion of The Shriekers, where we zoom out to see an increasingly cluttered room, feel the same way as the close-ups would work in Ren And Stimpy, this grossness that vibrates with comedic effect.

Overall, the vibe is very animated, of an avant-garde-ish tint: Sally Cruikshank and Suzan Pitt being the American exemplars of an energy otherwise associated with Eastern Europe. While not able to feature the same fluidity of transformation that makes those pieces such mind-blowers of technical acumen, the principles of expansiveness are applied to how a page can move in traditional comic-book storytelling ways but still be so alive it seems to continually redraw itself. Thrilling comics for fans of the medium, currently available at both O’Connell’s BigCartel site and the Domino Books store.

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danpuff-ao3 · 1 year

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Okay so this is unrelated and does not have to be answered in depth, I'm just very curious. My generally headcanoned placement for Narcissa is a Capricorn sun with a Scorpio moon and a Libra rising but it's based on fairly limited knowledge of astrology so I'm just deeply curious what your thoughts are on those placements lmao

Oooh very interesting! I have Narcissa on my "to do" list ([insert wink here]) and I'm still squabbling a bit over the details. And part of it does come down to how do you see Narcissa? We have enough canon detail to do guesswork, but there's enough open to interpretation to have fun.

Now I will say the Cap-Scorp combo forever wins my heart and soul. Cap Sun + Scorp moon or flipped to Scorp Sun + Cap Moon (my partner is a Scorpio-Capricorn so...bias?? Or are they just THAT sexy?? You be the judge.) (Just kidding my taste is unparalleled, they are just that sexy.)

So I'll tell you what you're looking at with Cissa.

So, Libran vibes. Lovely and stylish lady. Has good taste. Very peace and harmony vibes. And I do love Narcissa with some Libra placement. It would put Venus as the chart ruler and with Capricorn as the sun I would guesstimate...hmm. Venus would have to be in Sagittarius, Capricorn, or Aquarius. And I'll hazard a guess that you'd lean more towards the Capricorn Venus. So: very ambitious (especially in love), high standards in a relationship, someone who likes the fine things in life, etc. Big marry for status and money vibes. But it all comes down to that earthen need for security.

Then we jump to the sun and moon. Cap + Scorp is big Slytherin energy if I ever saw it. So at her core, she's giving very "big bad bitch in charge" energy. Very dominant, knows what she wants, etc. Scorpio lends an air of mystique; touches of passion and possessiveness; fear of being vulnerable.

Scorpio is in fall in the moon, which is to say...it's not a bad thing, per se, but the moon struggles in Scorpio and Capricorn. Those are the signs that will struggle most to express emotion, and be able to process/handle emotion. With Scorpio it's a matter of feeling too much and being very overwhelmed by it. Sorta gives me the idea that her emotions are so overloaded the whole system just shuts down.

For me personally, I'm very fond of the Blacks all being water signs. Just pure insanity and intensity across the board. Bellatrix is our Scorpio, of course. I put Andromeda as the Pisces of the sisters, for the romanticism (her and her starcrossed lover turned husband) and escapism (leaving/abandoning her family.) And Narcissa is our Cancer. Cancer is the "youngest" water sign (baby of the family); Cancer is also the Mother (ruled by the moon, which is linked to the mother, and big mama bear energy; also big time valuing home and family.) (I.e. also big on family history, where you come from, family bonds, family heirlooms, etc.)

For her moon...Hmm.

Maybe we should settle her rising, first. For me I sort of want a...if not detached/aloofness, then a wall of some sort. Since you said Capricorn sun, I can get behind a Capricorn rising. Gives us a shot at a sun-rising opposition which is fun. That would create fun internal struggle, with her sense of self (sun) being so entangled/confused by how she is seen (rising.) Can result in relying on others to define herself; i.e. she is Lucius' wife, Draco's mother, Bellatrix's sister, the lady of the manor, even.

But I don't know if that sort of stern outer coating is because that's Harry's impression of her, or if she appears that controlled and self-contained and even "above" to everyone. Is she lady of high society who knows her role and plays it well? Or does she want people to see her as a pretty polite housewife? Is she charming, is she cold, is she critical, is she nurturing?

So...depending on what you want, maybe Libra rising works. But on my end, if I like Cancer Sun & Capricorn Rising...Do I give her a Libran moon? That would suggest an inner need for peace and harmony. Feeling settled and soothed by beautiful things, social gatherings, etc. Likes to be sociable. But also, maybe Taurus moon? Taurus is also ruled by Venus, and the moon is exalted in Taurus. This is very romantic and sentimental and more in need of material/physical security.

Back to Rising, Capricorn Rising would make Saturn her chart ruler, which oof. That's a bitch and a half. I've not met a Capricorn Rising yet who's not been put through the ringer by Big Daddy Saturn.

Which might make sense if you look at her connection to family and home (Cancer) and her need for security (earth; Capricorn rising and/or Taurus moon?) then watch her whole family fall apart. Andromeda disowned, Bellatrix imprisoned. Her husband barely escaping prison. Then watching her son go to the Death Eaters, and fearing for his life. Her tender heart fully shaped by the crucible time and again.

But if Saturn rulership feels too harsh, I can maybe see the case for Virgo rising? That's the same earthen coolness, but Virgo is more service-oriented and more adaptable. Very neat and orderly, critical and perfectionistic. Then Virgo is ruled by Mercury. Sun in Cancer could put her Mercury in Gemini, Cancer, or Leo. I'll nix Leo here.

Mercury would be domicile in Mercury, which is cool. Gemini is also pretty adaptable. Likes new things and experiences (which a lady of wealth could have plenty of access to.) Very charming and playful.

Cancer Mercury would work, too. Mercury is about learning, and would have special interest in family history and connections. A very compassionate and nurturing way of interacting with loved ones.

Anyway, just some stuff to think about! Lmk whatcha think! :D

#hp astro #narcissa black #narcissa malfoy #asked & answered

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kickerofelves · 1 year

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Glen Lockett, the in-house producer and engineer for legendary punk label SST Records who was better known as Spot, has died, former SST co-owner Joe Carducci announced. Spot had been on oxygen after his fibrosis impaired his lung function in late 2021, and, three months ago, he was placed in a hospital following a stroke, Carducci revealed in a Facebook post. Lockett died earlier today (March 4) at a healthcare facility in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was 72.

As the longtime in-house producer for SST Records, Spot helmed the boards for essentially the crux of ’80s American punk rock. He produced more than 100 records, many of which are bonafide classics in the punk and hardcore world and have gone on to influence artists outside of the genre. Highlights from his body of work range from numerous Black Flag staples like Damaged, My War, and Jealous Again to Minutemen’s The Punch Line, What Makes a Man Start Fires?, and Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat. Spot also produced Descendents’ Milo Goes to College, Hüsker Dü’s Zen Arcade, Misfits’ Earth A.D. / Wolfs Blood, and Saint Vitus’ self-titled debut, along with additional records for those bands and others.

Born Glen Lockett in Los Angeles in 1951, Spot was raised by his Native American mother and African American father, the latter of whom was a Tuskegee Airman who flew British Spitfires. He grew up listening to post-bebop jazz, surf rock, Motown, and whatever music he could find on the AM radio. After learning to play guitar at age 12, Spot tried his hand at clarinet and even auditioned for Captain Beefheart. It wasn’t until years later, when he offered to help with a recording studio build, that he learned about the ins and outs of studio recording.

Before he became an integral part of the SST sound, Spot was a musician, not a producer. While waiting tables at a vegan restaurant, he met Greg Ginn, the future co-founder of Black Flag and SST Records, and the two started jamming together in his band. After witnessing a Black Flag show gone awry, Spot decided he wanted to work the board on their next record, a decision that would result in a lot of “head butting” and, eventually, 1980’s Jealous Again. The rest was history.

“[SPOT] spelled his name in all caps with a dot in the middle of the O,” Carducci wrote on Facebook. “He started in Hermosa Beach playing and recording jazz and he took the primacy of live jazz playing into recording bands against prevailing attempts to soften or industrialize a back-to-basics arts movement in sound. When approaching the mixing board SPOT would assume an Elvis-like stance and then gesturing toward all the knobs he would say in a Louis Armstrong-like voice, ‘This is going to be gelatinous!’”

In addition to his work as a producer and engineer, Spot was also a published photographer and freelance writer. He wrote record reviews for the Los Angeles weekly newspaper Easy Reader. During shows, Spot would carry his camera around to document punk bands, fans, and the burgeoning counterculture scene, and he began photographing Los Angeles skateboarding circles as well. In 2014, he released Sounds of Two Eyes Opening, a collection of his photography work from that era.

“First and foremost, I’m a musician and everything else I’ve ever done has been based on that,” Spot told Vice in 2014. “It’s really the basis of all language and if you’re serious about the experience of music, you learn to keep both sides of your brain open and rely upon instinct rather than premeditation. Y’know, using improvisation and gut feelings as frameworks for rhythm and composition. In photography, the viewfinder should not be a limitation—it’s merely one part of a larger vision.”

Several artists have shared tributes in Spot’s honor after learning of his death. “good people, we just lost my old buddy spotski, a terrible blow,” tweeted Mike Watt. “he recorded the minutemen’s first stuff, I go way back w/this man. brother matt took this shot six years ago when spotski came to visit our pedro town... man, this is a terrible blow. I love you spotski forever.”

“SPOT always encouraged free expression and experimentation, even as those recordings were made as expeditiously as possible,” Hüsker Dü’s Bob Mould wrote on Twitter. Mould added that the producer “was a wonderful soul who loved making music, documenting the scene, and unconditionally supporting all the projects that bear his name.”

#Glenn Michael Lockett #Glenn Spot Lockett #Spot #SPʘT #Husker Du #Minutemen #Black Flag #Descendents #Misfits #Saint Vitus #SST

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aprilblossomgirl · 2 years

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After episode 6, I feel like I need to talk about color symbolism in the series. Usually, I am not one to pick up on any symbolism reading, but in this case, it is just too visible that I couldn't ignore it anymore. To start, I am just going to say, that this post will focus on color symbolism specifically in Thailand. Please let me know if you find any of what I write here is incorrect since I am not a Thai and I could not double-check this open-source-based information.

The color symbolism in Thailand:

(1) The country's flag colors. The flag uses three colors to represent the main concepts of Thailand: red, white, and blue. Red represents the nation, the people, and the blood of the people. White represents the purity of Buddhism as the main religion in the country. Blue represents the king and the monarchy. I think it's worth mentioning that the flag is consistently shown in almost if not all episodes as one of the establishing shots. Also, in the special episode, Neo (who plays Kan's character) said. "The Eclipse talks about a whole country minimized in a form of a school". So, if we took the flag as the representation of the country, I guess we could think that the series will somehow have all three symbolisms as part of its elements.

(2) Colors and political statements. Red is the color linked to the democracy supporters, while yellow is the color linked to the monarchy supporters. However, this doesn't mean that these colors are always off-limits beyond political protests. For example, people wear yellow on Father’s Day as the color linked to the King while they wear light blue on Mother’s Day as the color is linked to the Queen.

(3) Colors and religious influence. Red, the color of vermilion used in temples, represents the power of love, desire, passion, and energy. Orange, or saffron, the color of robes used by monks, represents spiritual ascension, radiance, and enlightenment. Parts of the robes may have brown color.

(4) For a visually obvious reason, I need to mention black. Black is the color of sorrow and mourning, usually worn in the event of an unfortunate monarch’s death.

(5) There is also a discussion about colors in everyday life (i.e., lucky vs. unlucky color of each day in a week). But I will not talk about this as I haven't found its relevance in the series thus far.

Now, here's the color symbolism in The Eclipse based on the colors mentioned above (*I only rely on my memories without doing any rewatch, so I might miss some details*):

(1) Red, as in blood red, is mainly used as the color of outfits. The most visible is Teacher Waree with her dress in episode 4. Other uses are the 'blood' curse and the color of one of the food stalls during the scene of Wat and Teacher Sani in episode 6.

(2) White is also mainly used as the color of outfits; both Teacher Waree and Teacher Sani once wore the color for their dress and suits respectively. Also, white is part of the color of the school uniform (i.e., the shirts and the socks), as well as the color of the undershirt/t-shirt used by some students. As for other uses, this might be irrelevant, but the scene of Kan and Thua working at Kan's place, and then Kan bringing them two glasses of milk, screamed 'white' to me.

(3) Blue is used as the color of the school authorities' uniforms and students' tracksuits, as well as the color of Suppalo's logo. We've seen the principal, Teacher Chadok, Teacher Waree (although in a flashback), Teacher Sani, Teacher Dika (also in a flashback), and one other teacher-whose-name-I-don't-know who's present during Teacher Sani's interview (also in a flashback).

(4) Yellow, as in bright yellow, is the color of one of Teacher Waree's dresses, while light blue is the color of one of Teacher Sani's suits.

(5) Orange and brown are the colors used on a wall and an announcement board in the Student Welfare Department's office. Orange/saffron/brown is also the color of Akk's tops in that last scene of episode 6.

(6) Black is the color of uniforms of the students and the teachers in general. It is also the color of Ayan's jacket.

And here's the complementary still set because I am just too lazy to analyze.

#the eclipse the series #the eclipse #just thoughts 📝#about colors #the eclipse colors #i hope this' coherent enough

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phosphophyi · 9 months

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(Not Mad For Any Of This): PLEASE Tell Me About The "The Meteor Man's Daughter" Story! It Has Been On My Mind Since 2019, I NEED To Know More!

Ohhhh I love an excuse to talk about my stories buckle up!

(General CW: The story involves child abuse/neglect, and child death. Putting the info under a read more so people can avoid if need be.)

So, I haven't really touched the story in a while so if I ever finally write the album I want to write for this story, some details might change.

The story follows Millie, a young child (somewhere between 7-11 years old, I'm indecisive.) Her father died before she was born and her sister died shortly before the story begins.

With both of them dead, the only people left in the family are Millie and her mom. Her mom very rapidly becomes consumed by her grief, and becomes obsessed with finding a way to travel to a new reality where her family is completely intact. As this obsession grows, she begins to believe that her current reality is inconsequential compared to the one she's determined to find, and so she begins to neglect Millie completely while she builds a machine that will take her to this new world. She figures "Hey, I'll treat Millie well in the new reality, so it doesn't matter what happens in this world."

Millie only passively watches as her mom spirals like this. In a very short span of time, Millie goes from having a completely normal life to being locked in her own home, with the windows (and eventually the doors) boarded up. Her mom becomes so avoidant of the current world that she avoids it at all costs, trying to forget anything outside of their home exists. Millie is left alone, in a dark house, with no food and has no means to change any of this.

Millie's perception of her mom begins to shift, and she starts referring to her as "the Mother." Millie is simultaneously detached from everything that's happening and desperate to escape it. She spends a lot of time just staring through a gap in the boards covering her bedroom window, fantasizing about being able to leave and be in the real world again. Over time, she begins to believe that two stars in the night sky are the spirits of her father and sister, and she believes that these stars are communicating with her. They tell her that the neglect she's experiencing is okay, because once she dies, she'll be away from the Mother and will live in peace with her true family.

So, at this point, Millie is torn between two beliefs: One that says the Mother is doing her a favor, and another that the Mother is a horrible person who is essentially torturing her own child. She's torn between peaceful resignation and fury. And as a result, even when she's gone so long without food that she should be dead, her inconsolable rage keeps her alive, much to her dismay. And so she is now torn between two beliefs and two states of existence - she's essentially a living ghost at this point. At this point, she begins to see apparitions in her house that she believes are spirits, and these spirits also communicate with her. These spirits tell her that the Mother's machine will fail, destroying this entire reality the once it's activated. Then - and only then - will Millie be brought to live with her true family.

It's around this point that Millie notices that the world outside of her home is disappearing. She couldn't really notice before, because her view of the outside world is so limited, but now so much has disappeared that she can see where reality begins and ends. She realizes that things disappear when she no longer considers them real - reality is based entirely upon her perceptions. Millie gets even more upset at this realization, because now she considers the Mother's abuse to be her own fault. She can't believe strongly enough that the Mother loves her, and so the Mother does not love her.

And finally, after an indeterminate but torturously long amount of time, the Mother declares that her machine is finally complete. The Mother doesn't even acknowledge Millie anymore, to the point where Millie wonders if she even exists to the Mother, but the Mother still knows that Millie will exist in the new world. To Millie's joy, though, the Mother's machine failed just as the apparitions said it would, and it creates a tear in reality that functions kind of like a very slow black hole. The Mother is sucked in basically immediately because of her proximity to the machine, and the tear begins to slowly eat Millie's home (and entire world) from the center out. Millie's instinctual self-preservation kicks in as she suddenly "snaps out of it," and starts doubting everything she was told would happen. She hides in a closet in the furthest corner of the house with a portable radio and listens to the music on it while awaiting her fate. Eventually, the tear in reality creeps into the closet, and in the moments before she's consumed by it she sees her father and sister waiting for her, just like they promised. Her final moments before reality disappears are moments of relief, acceptance, and joy.

The story is intentionally pretty surreal and weird, and the ending is purposefully vague, and that's partially because this whole story is (loosely) based on a dream I had around 2015 :P The story also intentionally leans pretty heavily into themes of psychosis, but I also tried to make it seem uncertain whether Millie was experiencing psychosis or of all of this was real.

Fun fact - I don't remember if I ever said this somewhere - but "Under the Final Star's Light" was written to be the song Millie was listening to at the end of the story. I imagine that song as the final song to the hypothetical TMMD album, or at least the second to last song with one more ambient/distorted instrumental following after it.

I do really want to finish that album some day or turn this into a novel or something! I'm really flattered that the story stuck with you for so long, I'm always happy to answer questions about it if you have any :P

#ask #my stories #this story is really weird but what can i say i love weird stories

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waiting-on-a-dream · 1 year

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𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐰𝐬𝐭 (𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲)

Author's notes:

The SD picrew has limited choices, so the pictures aren't very accurate to what I have in mind. :P

In true Xenon fashion, he has some insight into the prisoners' crimes and gives them nicknames based on their motive and/or feelings towards said crime. There's a clue of you guys~

Ichiro ♡

Other names:

Cuttlefish (Floyd)

Monsieur Unbothered (Rook)

Calcite (Slyvan)

Lover (Xenon)

Homeland: Rose Kingdom

Dorm: Ignihyde

Family:

Unnamed mother

Unnamed step-father

Appearance

Eye colour: Denim blue

Hair colour: Light brown

Race: Human

Uniform: He chooses not to wear makeup and his dorm vest. He wore his blazer at first, but lost it after a while and started wearing a cardigan instead. He also tried to wear his tie properly at first, but found it too tight and uncomfortable, so he wears it loose all the time now. He finds his red sneakers perfectly fine for a school setting and wears them everyday (even if some people might disapprove).

School information

School year: First

Class: 1C (Student no. 4)

Best subject: Art

Club: Board Game Club

Fun Facts

Dominant hand: Left

Likes: Keiko (his stuffed koala bear), watching clouds, lo-fi music

Dislikes: Being ignored, his stepfather, not being able to draw the picture in his head clearly

Favorite Food: Mochi

Least Favorite Food: Mint candy

Hobby: Drawing

Talents: Spacing out

Unique Magic: Pop up - He can conjure the non-living things he draws (up to scale) into existence for a short period of time. This works for food and drink as well, delicious taste and all.

Trivia

He keeps Keiko (stuffed koala) in his school bag, so he carries his bag with him wherever he goes.

He would have joined an art club if there was one, but there isn't one, and he isn't interested in founding a club.

He can't play board games that require strategy or critical thinking because they're so much work. As such, Idia is often his board game partner during club meetings.

Akane ♡

Other names:

Pufferfish (Floyd)

Mademoiselle Peppermint (Rook)

Garnet (Slyvan)

Justice (Xenon)

Homeland: Land of Pyroxene

Dorm: Savanaclaw

Family:

Unnamed father

Unnamed mother (diseased)

Appearance

Eye colour: Sienna brown

Hair colour: Robin egg blue

Race: Human

Uniform: She wears her signature red hairband and forgoes makeup. Her uniform is surprisingly put together despite her rough personality, ironed neatly with everything in its proper place. She chooses to wear a long skirt and knee-length black socks, keeping most of her skin covered because she claims she feels cold easily.

School information

School year: Second

Class: 2C (Student no. 16)

Best subject: Ancient Curses

Club: Horse-Riding Club

Fun Facts

Dominant hand: Right

Likes: Woolly sweaters, patterned band aids, helping others

Dislikes: Feeling cold, getting angry, people who look away

Favorite Food: Red bean bun

Least Favorite Food: Baguette

Hobby: Watching action movies

Talents: Tiptoeing (So quiet even she can't hear herself)

Unique Magic: Avert your eyes - She can direct the attention of her target to a (physical) thing. She can take on multiple targets at once. A small amount of blot accumulates every time she activates her UM and for every second she uses it.

Trivia

Her horse is a reddish-brown mare she named "Poppy".

She got angry the first time she met Floyd and reminded him of a pufferfish blowing itself out to look more menacing, hence the nickname. How ironic, since pufferfish are her favourite animals. Not that she would ever tell Floyd.

She gets along with Silver well because he's one of the few people she knows that don't piss her off. Well, its not like anyone could be on bad terms with someone as sincere and considerate as him.

#prisoner 001: kanai ichiro #prisoner 002: kobayashi akane #ueueueueue xenon's nicknames for them 😭😭😭

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doriskilmanandthepinkicing · 1 year

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I’ve seen everyone attributing Goncharov’s initial lackluster performance at the box office to the fact that it had a very limited release in 1973 (and then a slightly wider re-release after the second Godfather film was so successful) and I’m not accusing anyone of spreading misinformation, but I do want to point out the very significant role that the Motion Picture Association (the secret club of people who get to give movies their ratings based on, uh, nothing) played in this film not being available to a wider audience. Obviously Scorcese went pretty hard with the homoerotic overtones and that squicked out the MPA, and that alone would have been enough to do what they did, which is rate the movie NC-17. That’s right! They chose a rating higher than the one they gave to the Godfather (R) despite the Godfather being arguably much more graphically violent, but not just because Goncharov had sexy (read: gay) things that the MPA didn’t want people to see, but also because the movie humanized Russian people.

Beginning pretty much even before World War II ended, Russian people were consistently portrayed in American movies and TV as godless, amoral people at best and envious, sadistic criminals at worst. Goncharov is really portrayed as none of the above, or at least not so much that any of those things define him. Yes, he is disillusioned with the Soviet Union but not so much that he supports capitalism, and yes, he states in no uncertain terms that he thinks the Union’s collapse was a good thing but not so much that he wants to turn his back on Mother Russia and what the communists had been trying to achieve, and to top it all off, he clearly cares for Andrey (anti-Gonchrey shippers DNI, this is not the time or the place) and the MPA just didn’t know what to do with that. How could they let American audiences see into the mind of a character who was 10 times more human and more complex than any Russian character that had been portrayed in Western media in the past 30 years? They couldn’t - or at least, they couldn’t let children see it, lest the youth of America get wild ideas about the Soviet Union’s not being some faceless evil entity.

And that’s where the NC-17/limited release duo really dug this film’s grave. Giving it the NC-17 rating was not enough, you see, because in a lot of cases, and ESPECIALLY when one of the film’s creators/producers is a celebrated cinematographer, rating a movie NC-17 would actually encourage teens and even kids who would otherwise have no interest in the movie to seek into movie theaters to see it. So they had to double down. The reason Goncharov was initially released in, like, 100 theaters and only in cities like New York and L.A. (and even there it was in the inner cities only) was that the all-powerful and anonymous MPA actually warned theaters not to screen this movie. All it had to do was convince a few major movie theater chains to get on board (mostly by referencing the “moral degradation” that the overt homoromantic subplots would surely cause throughout the country) by sending official releases to those major chains stating that after careful consideration, Goncharov would be rated NC-17. But that’s not all they said. They actually gave a purported review of the movie in the letter and actually fabricated more-than-racy scenes that straight up never existed, and cautioned the theaters to use their discretion in deciding to show the film.

Once the major chains opted not to screen it, smaller theaters had no interest, because if a huge movie theater chain was boycotting a fucking Scorcese movie, then there HAD to be something wrong with it...right?

tl;dr: the MPA tried to kill Goncharov and, until now, mostly succeeded.

#goncharov #goncharov (1973)#gonchposting #anyone with receipts please chime in!

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hyperlexichypatia · 1 year

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Written July of 2022, as part of my "How to Be Pro-Choice Without Being Pro-Eugenics" series.

Disclaimer #1: I am an American writing within a United States context because that is what I am familiar with. Many other people have written about family law issues in other countries or in international contexts. Disclaimer #2: I am not an adoptee, nor am I currently a parent involved in adoption. Adoptees are the most affected parties in adoption, and as such their perspective should always be given the greatest weight. Parents involved in adoption are the second-most affected parties whose perspective should be given the second-most weight. Please listen to adoptees over me. With that said, let's talk about why almost all discourse around adoption in the U.S. is rooted in harmful underlying assumptions and structural inequalities, especially the oppression of children and framing of children as property. Family law in the U.S. is deeply flawed and limiting. This is true not only in the context of adoption, but in every family situation other than that of two cisgender adults married to each other, sharing a household, and solely raising their shared biological children. Every other type of family situation (including single parenting, extended family co-parenting, adoption, fostering, step-parenting, and any other type of family structure) is contorted to fit into an approximation of this nuclear family model. Multi-parent families are not acknowledged, with children allowed only two "real" parents. Non-biological parents can only gain parental status if biological parents lose theirs. Parenthood is equated with marriage or romantic partnership between parents. Mandatory child support is imposed on families who are not seeking it in order to qualify for public benefits that should rightfully be available for all. Custody disputes center around the "rights" of adults over children rather than the wishes or best interest of children, and when the interests of children are considered, they are interpreted through the lenses of sexism, racism, classism, ableism, and heteronormativity. Disabled parents and poor parents are considered inherently inferior to wealthy abled parents (I've written about this in other posts, most recently this one). Poor families can have their children removed from the family simply because they lack money to pay for their children's needs, and states will transfer the children to foster or adoptive parents, who receive state subsidies to pay for the children's needs. In short, the system is broken, and everything is wrong with it. The system is so broken that, in a rare national consensus, almost everyone agrees that the system is broken, even if no one agrees on how to fix it. But because the problems are rooted in pervasive, unquestioned societal prejudices such as ableism, classism, racism, sexism, and most of all, ageism, most analyses of the problem and proposed solutions also perpetuate those same pervasive, unquestioned societal prejudices. Many people, including elected officials and supreme court justices, argue that the ability to place a child for adoption is a reason that pregnant people have no need to access abortion. Other people, attempting to rebut or expose the "hypocrisy" of those people, argue essentially that no one wants adopted children, or that since biological mothers are forced to have custody of children (which they are not), someone other than the biological mother should be "forced" to have custody of children. Many people (purporting to be from varying points of a political spectrum) oppose adoption across the board, and especially oppose state-mandated termination of biological parents' custody, from essentially a property-rights stance ("taking" "their children"). Others oppose nonbiological families based on children's perceived intrinsic need to be raised by their two biological parents -- but the fact that they don't oppose all nonbiological families equally (for example, very few people oppose sperm and egg donation on this basis) reveals that their belief is less than sincere. These arguments do not acknowledge the humanity, needs, or agency of children -- specifically, their need and human right to be loved and wanted by their families, whether biological or nonbiological. These arguments also do not acknowledge the humanity, needs, or agency of parents of origin who choose to place their children to other families. In addition, these arguments do not differentiate between parents who abuse their children or otherwise make intentional choices which make removal necessary for children's safety and well-being, and parents who either fail to conform to societal norms or lack the material or external resources to meet a child's needs. So let's run through some common conditions for which adoption is proposed as a solution, and clarify whether or not adoption is the correct solution to the issue at hand (or what the correct solution would be).

Note: This is about whether the CONDITIONS for adoption are correct or incorrect, not whether the individual adoption SITUATIONS are positive or negative. Conditions in which adoption is necessary can still lead to harmful individual adoption situations. Conditions in which adoption is not necessary can still lead to beneficial adoption situations. Defer to adopteees on their own adoption situations. Condition: A parent does not have the money to pay for their children's physical necessities, like housing, utilities, food, or healthcare. Is adoption the correct solution? No. The correct solution is to make subsidized housing, utilities, food, and healthcare available to all members of the family. Condition: A parent is disabled and needs additional assistance to perform activities of daily living or to help their children perform activities of daily living. Is adoption the correct solution? No. The correct solution is to assign the family a publicly subsidized personal care attendant to help with activities of daily living as needed.

Condition: A parent is psychiatrically disabled and behaves in ways that are perceived as "odd" or "strange" by those around them. Is adoption the correct solution? No. The correct solution is for the people around them to get over their neurobigotry and accept neurodivergent people as they are. Condition: A parent does not have the skills or knowledge to effectively care for their children. They make make choices that endanger or harm their children, but motivated by ignorance, not malice. Is adoption the correct solution? No. The correct solution is to provide the parent with education on child care, and ensure that they have the material resources to implement it. To prevent this situation from being so widespread, the correct solution is to make child care and child development classes standard in every public school. Condition: A parent is an immigrant or noncitizen in the U.S., and has a native-born child who is a U.S. citizen. The parent is being deported to their home country. Is adoption the correct solution? No. The correct solution is to abolish deportations and allow citizen and noncitizen families to live together.

Condition: A parent has conceived a biological child, but for whatever reason, does not want to take on the role of being a child's primary caregiver. Is adoption the correct solution? Yes. Many people who conceive children do not actually want to be primary caregivers or do not feel that this familial role is right for them. They may love and care about their children, and want them to be raised by loving parents, but do not want to be those parents themselves. This is entirely fine and valid! Raising a child, even under ideal circumstances, is an intensive physical and emotional commitment, and if a parent does not feel that this is the right familial role for them, allowing their child to join another loving family unit is a loving, justified, and good option. Condition: Parent(s) and a child's family of origin have died or are otherwise unavailable to be full-time caregivers. Is adoption the correct solution? Yes, it can be, although it is better for a child to be adopted by someone close to them, someone they already know, so as to minimize the traumatic disruption to their lives and the trauma of losing their family of origin. Condition: A parent intentionally, repeatedly chooses to physically abuse or neglect their child. This is not a result of ignorance or lack of resources, but because of the parent's own choice. Is adoption the correct solution? Maybe. It can be. Children are not property, and parents should not have the right to abuse their children. Children may need to be rescued from abusive parents. And child abuse is, in fact, a choice, not an aspect of "needing help." The nominally progressive discourse that there is no such thing as a bad parent, only a parent who "needs help," equates a parent who is poor, a parent who is disabled, and a parent who chooses to abuse their child as the same thing. Two of those parents need help (material resource help, not psychiatric treatment (unless they choose it)), while the third needs to have their child rescued from them. Choosing to abuse a child is not attributable to disability or circumstance; it is in fact, a choice for which individuals can and should be held accountable. But more to the point, children have a right not to be abused. Children have a right to be rescued from abusers. If parents refuse to stop abusing their children by their own choice, the best way to keep their children safe may in some cases involve transferring them to another family unit. Condition: A person is pregnant and does not want to, or cannot safely, use their body to gestate and give birth. Is adoption the correct solution? No. Adoption can only happen after birth. The only solution to this condition is to terminate the pregnancy. In short -- any discourse on whether adoption is correct based on the family of origin's CIRCUMSTANCES (poverty, disability, age, singlehood) rather than the family of origin's DESIRES and CHOICES is inherently the wrong framing. "Poor/disabled parents should just place their children for adoption" is wrong, but so is "Adoption is wrong because parents just need help." Parents "needing help" is not the only reason that adoptions happen. Parents also choose to place their children of their own volition, or choose to abuse their children of their own volition and choose to create a situation from which their children need and deserve to be rescued. Parents are capable of making choices. "Biological imperatives" are fake. Everyone who conceives a child should have every opportunity and every resource necessary to raise that child, but should not be compelled to if they do not want to. Nor should their parental rights override a child's rights to safety and freedom from abuse. This is part of my existing series "How to Be Pro-Choice Without Being Pro-Eugenics" written in July of 2022. For information on adoption from adopted people:

bastards.org

adopteerightscampaign.org

adoptee-voices.com

adopteevoicesrising.org

thisadopteelife.com/community

#adoption #eugenics #disability rights #ableism #neurobigotry #mad pride #reproductive autonomy #reproductive justice

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