#in a world where all three of them die in the first war these pieces are all harry has left

[elysianymph]

james is very fascinated by muggle cameras. lily and regulus notice this of course and lily pitches an idea: to get james a camera for his birthday. they save up the money they need for a higher quality camera and wrap it up in a fancy box and present it to him on his birthday. the smile james gives them is worth every penny they spent.

they expected the obsession that came after. james took his camera everywhere, always taking pictures, not just of the the scenery or himself, but of his friends and family and most importantly of lily and regulus. what they didn't expect was that james had all of their photos printed and compiled them into an album, decorated it and drew little hearts and stars and flowers on it and wrote down little notes of what had happened the day the photos were taken. he revealed this album to them on their anniversary as a shared gift.

some of the many pictures james has taken of his lovers:

#regulus paints his lovers #lily writes poems about their beauty and love #and james photographs them #in a world where all three of them die in the first war these pieces are all harry has left #fuck i made it sad #remember the album hagrid gives harry in the first movie? yeah thats the album james made for them #loving someone so much you want to immortalize their beauty and existence <\3 #im gonna go cry now #jegulily #jegulus #jily #regulily #james potter #lily evans #regulus black #marauders #marauders era

[shanieveh]

dangerously yours !

— genshin men as the villain, you're the hero and throw some love in the mix

sacrifices the world to save you— ALHAITHAM, scaramouche, diluc, THOMA, childe, chongyun

He knew you planned to sacrifice yourself. He saw it coming. And he was ready to prevent every bit of it. He loved you. Once from afar, once from a different identity, a falsehood, a lie. He did all of that to see you, to know you and he fell. Hard.

You were a saint, the embodiment of good morality. A hope for the future. The opposite of him. And as you brace yourself for the moment your soul leaves for a new world, all for his arms to be wrapped in your body. You open your eyes and found a new world, the sound of bombs from where you once were. But that didn't matter. Not when his eyes sparkle more than crystals.

let's you defeat them— kaveh, VENTI, arataki itto, AYATO, albedo, xingqiu, cyno, aether, zhongli, tartaglia, heizou

As your blade came so close to slashing his neck you were finally hailed as a hero. A champion, a winner. But that void in your heart, a trophy can't fill that piece of your heart. He told you it was okay, as both of you staged a fight. Now he was tortured, punished for his crimes. He made you defeat him so you'll be once again called a hero.

You visit him almost everyday, always with an anonymous identity. He still smiled even with his tortured frame, one from lashes, some from his couple inmates. How can he sacrifice all his of career for you? It was easy really. No amount of punishment could exceed your cries, and that beautiful pained face he can't bear to see.

you join the darkside— kaeya, AYATO, albedo, pantalone, scaramouche, pierro, dainsleif, tartaglia

He lured you right to his trap. It all started when you met him, it was like Eve drawing closer to the sneaky snake. But just like it, your first meeting was destiny. Your family always wanted you to be a kind loving child. And you grew up as one. But as you learned more about the other side, you realized how wrong the "morally right" actually is.

It started off with a petty theft, to some injuries and then violence. With him at your side, it felt like pure adrenaline rushed to your veins. He taught you reality, away from the fairy tale built by the stupid legends of heroes. He made you feel that pain and hatred all came from love. You made him feel that loving was never enough to show just how much he adores you. Bang.

he becomes good— scaramouche, THOMA kazuha, VENTI, kaveh, tighnari, zhongli, bennett, xiao

He was never really evil. He was hurt. And when you feel him, and touch and be with him you learn how he actually is. How he was supposed to be. He used his power to see you often, maybe battle with you, but with the many chances to defeat you he chose not to. The many chances to destroy your plans, he left.

On quiet nights, away from the prying eyes and evil plans. There lies both of you, one asleep, one awake. He looks at the person lying on the grass and stares at the peaceful sky and saw no difference. You were the shooting star. His wish. He can't be evil, and he never was. And just for you, he never will. He can't stand to lose you, and he would give everything he built for that.

BONUS: he sacrifices himself— thoma, KAZUHA, alhaitham, childe, albedo, diluc, KAEYA

No... it can't be. He cant die like that. Not for you. It wasn't how it was supposed to be. Pleas of you wanting to wake him up. He was supposed to be a foe. But how he loved you so. He made you feel like you had a purpose, that you were more than just a weapon of justice. He made you feel alive and in doing so it killed him.

The war was over. But was it worth it? It wasn't. Killing him, destroyed you, tore you to pieces. He planned all of this. He knew he was... and in the palm of his hand lie the letter. A plan? A story? No.. it only stated three words you were so scared told him. A feeling you now regret.

"I love you."

#kaeya x reader #scaramouche x reader #alhaitham x you #diluc x reader #thoma x reader #childe x reader #chongyun x reader #kaveh x reader #venti x reader #itto x reader #albedo x reader #ayato x reader #xingqiu x reader #cyno x reader #zhongli x reader #tartaglia x reader #heizou x reader #kazuha x reader #tighnari x reader #bennett x reader #xiao x reader #pantalone x reader #genshin x reader #aether x reader #kaeya x you #genshin x you #genshin imagines

[raayllum]

Your Aunt's Spirit In You :: Callum & Amaya, a Meta

Was thinking about these two due to writing a scene between them in a recent oneshot, and then about the similarities they have, so thought - why not? Especially for a shorter meta than more of the long form ones I have siting in my drafts, let's talk about Callum and Amaya

As always, SIMILARITIES first:

Both loyal siblings to a monarch (Sarai through marriage, Ezran through birth)

Taken captive and interrogated by elves

Willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the group (special shout out to 3x01 which puts this back to back * )

* This is slightly negated by Rayla, not Callum, being the one to actually risk her life (as she talks Callum out of risking his own quite easily) whereas Amaya goes through with it. Still, Callum's sentiment and willingness is there (and on multiple occasions), so it's included. ("I need you to kill me" being another example)

Skeptical, distrustful, and good at reading people (even if Callum changes his mind about Rayla and Amaya does not about Viren)

Good planners / generals (see my General Callum tag here)

Often times more decisive than their partner (Rayla often hesitates, which Janai worries about as well) and encouraging them to prioritize their own needs as well above just their 'duty'

In 4x01, they are both worried about secrets (as a result of war based trauma) and potential attacks, even though both 'secrets' wind up being something positive and wonderful (successfully for Amaya - as she is proposed to and happily rejoices with her partner - and an attempt for Callum, as it leaves him forlorn because his partner is still missing)

Slightly darker sense of humour, maybe ("Now that you'll officially be my little brother, I'll try not to beat you up too much" + "Besides, she only eats three people a day. It's a small price to pay for peace")

And last but not least, there is Janai's assessment of their similarities (aka the meta title) that accompanies the soundtrack piece of "Like Aunt, Like Nephew".

Callum does often undertake dangerous quests / make dangerous choices (travelling across the world to return a dragon egg, throwing himself off a mountain, running into what he believes to be a trap, etc). This is, however, much like how Aaravos' assessment of Callum in 4x04 ("and my favourite, the human mage, already tainted by darkness, and destined to play right into my hands") is true for all of his mage pawns up to that point (Ziard, Claudia, and Viren in the past), true of just about every character in the show. Which makes sense - in an action/adventure fantasy show, most of the characters are going to have to be okay about throwing themselves into danger just by proxy of genre. In most of the trio scenes where someone is hurling themselves into danger, it is usually Rayla first - and then Callum, stepping up if/when she can't do something on her own.

As you might've noticed while there are similarities, outside of their skepticism and willingness to sacrifice (which is again, something most characters in the show have) there aren't that many that go beyond more surface level "these events both happen to these characters," as Amaya and Callum's mindsets aren't that similar, which are the bulk of the main differences we're going to talk about next.

DIFFERENCES:

Prejudice (or therefore lack of)

Amaya is very prejudiced against elves ("Moonshadow elves - the worst kind [...] Don't worry, Callum, I've slain monsters before") at the beginning of the show, whereas Callum never is. He still holds some poor misconceptions (mostly the blood drinking) but he still always sees them as 1) people and 2) therefore worth reasoning with: "Can't you just make peace with them? You don't want to die, I'm sure the elves and dragons don't want to die, so everyone agrees"and his first conversation(s) with Rayla.

2. The ways in which Amaya is similar to Viren are largely different than the ways Callum is similar to Viren.

Amaya devoted her life to safeguarding the Breach and their kingdom's borders, a form of security that Viren was worried about and continued to be worried about once he came into power. Amaya and Viren can both be a little two-faced, willing to present a trusting front and hide their ulterior motives (most notably from each other, and something Rayla has in common arguably with both of them), whereas Callum is incredibly honest most of the time and is very bad at covering up his emotions (something he also has in common with Rayla, since although she often tries to cover things up, she routinely fails at it).

Viren is willing to send his children after the princes in spite of the danger of their secret missions ("if you must choose, choose the egg") and Amaya is willing to hold the Breach rather than go after her nephews, leaving Corvus to do so in her stead. This is very different than Callum, who automatically and often times insists on going along with his loved ones (Ezran, Rayla) when they're embarking on dangerous journeys of their own.

On that note, Amaya and Viren are both also taken captive by the Sunfire elves and given the Trial of Light, with very different outcomes that S5 also reaffirms for Callum, so let's talk about it:

3. The Light Will Decide Your Fate

During Janai's interrogation of Amaya, and Finnegrin's interrogation of Callum, the two respond very differently. Both Janai and Finnegrin want information, but Janai doesn't resort to torture even when Amaya remains entirely silent on any and all matters, and Finnegrin keeps pushing at Callum (and Callum keeps giving up information) even if he doesn't give up what Finnegrin wants, at first.

Amaya's trial is specifically about whether or not she's "pure of heart" or, more accurately, whether or not she's done dark magic. Her interrogation and test, if you will, ends with her passing it - to Khessa's surprise. Amaya is not a mage, and certainly not a dark mage, and is therefore going to interact and approach the world differently than a mage - human or elven or otherwise - would. Callum's interrogation and test is also about dark magic, and he does not 'pass it', lmao.

Because where Amaya had to confront the Light, Callum had to confront his Dark.

This is where we get into more of the mindset differences.

Amaya is willing to cut her losses (if she cannot successfully defend the Breach, she will destroy it, circa 3x01) but Callum almost never does (staying too late in the Great Bookery, for example; holding onto hope that Harrow might be alive even when he knows deep down he knows better, etc). Amaya refuses to give up the Sun Seed for her partner's life, knowing it safeguards a bright future and is what Janai would want her to do; Callum does give Finnegrin the spell and does dark magic to save Rayla, even when she wouldn't ultimately want him to do either of those things on her behalf. 5x08 makes this comparison particularly clear by juxtaposing these two deals and scenes throughout the episode.

Part of this is because, as Amaya acknowledges, for a great deal of her life, she and Callum had very different ideas regarding strength - which is exactly what allows these perspectives to switch:

When she died, I felt lost and weak without her. I hated feeling that way, so I learned to be strong alone. Stoic, strong... and lonely.

But the last two years have changed everything. Meeting Janai, falling in love, I am stronger than I ever was... because we are stronger together. And I realized that was the real truth of me and Sarai, too.

Callum has, up until about halfway through 5x08, always believed that he (and others) are ultimately stronger together, and we see this reflected through the first four seasons and into season five. However, the back half of 5x08 begins to greatly challenge this. Meanwhile, this is something that both Amaya and to a more detailed degree, Rayla, have had to learn. Because, when it comes to how they've responded to trauma, Amaya and Rayla are more similar to one another (and arguably to Viren in this way) than Amaya is to Callum, who by and large has a very different trauma response.

CONCLUSION (??)

While Amaya and Callum do have some similarities, Amaya is not extraordinarily similar to either of her nephews - Callum included - due to their differences in occupation, mindset, and trauma response. The similarities they do share are mostly things that they each share with Viren (such as skepticism) or share with most of the general cast (intelligence - although Callum is a standout - and bravery, for example). Most of their parallels, therefore, are put there to provide contrasts within similar themes (mostly in S1, 4x01, and 5x08), and they do not parallel more than any particular pair of characters in the show (seriously, you could throw a dart and probably find parallels between almost anyone, the show is so steeped in them, so looking at consistency and structure is key). Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

—Dragons out

#tdp amaya #tdp callum #tdp meta #the dragon prince #tdp #analysis series #amaya #punching someone in the face is not a thematic parallel in this show i'm sorry to report #however these two do have their similarities & differences #analysis #arc 1 #arc 2 #multi

[ym-loreposting]

Saints, Gods and Dragons in the murals of Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a large game that has subtle world building and thematic details hidden all over and in this post I want to point a few out, mainly concerning the depictions of Seiros, Sothis and the four Saints, as well as some related things. Major spoilers for Three Houses and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes after the cut.

The hooded Saint

Saint Seiros is the identity Archbishop Rhea of the Church of Seiros originally went under during the War of Heroes, which ended with the Adrestrian Empire and Church of Seiros coming to rule over Fódlan. The war ended in the Imperial year 98, but Seiros stuck around for at least a century more until the completion of Garreg Mach Monastery in Imperial year 195.

Some time after this, Seiros would "die" and the Church of Seiros went on to be led by Archbishops, of whom at least a substantial portion were alternate identities of Seiros. This is made most apparent in Sylvain and Ignatz's support line in Three Hopes, where they discuss a painting of an Archbishop who ruled around the Imperial Year 961. During the support line, the painting is noted to bear a resemblance to Rhea and it also looks the part.

Saint Seiros meanwhile is a religious figure revered throughout Fódlan, but she is never noted to look like Rhea despite them being the same person, so why is that? The answer lies in a piece of promotional art for Three Houses that depicts an in-universe mural. Near the bottom of the mural, a hooded figure can be seen that is the Saint Seiros. This is evident from the clothing she wears under her robe being the garb Seiros wears, as well as the wavy Sword of Seiros she holds.

This is further driven home by the murals shown at the start of each chapter in Three Houses, some of which depict the hooded Seiros as well. The one for Chapter 10, Where the Goddess Dwells, for example, shows a variation of the promotional mural. This variation also depicts the Immaculate One, Seiros's Nabatean form, which are thought to be separate beings in the religion of the Church of Seiros.

The mural at the start of Chapter 2, Familiar Scenery, meanwhile shows a statue of the hooded Seiros defeating Nemesis. The familiar Sword of Seiros can once again be seen wielded by the hooded figure.

In-universe, it seems the face of Saint Seiros isn't known, likely a deliberate choice so that Rhea could continue to lead the Church of Seiros as its various Archbishops even after the 'death' of Saint Seiros.

The depiction of the Goddess and the Saints

While she appears as a child throughout Three Houses and Three Hopes, in the murals of the Church of Seiros, Sothis is depicted as a grown woman. In the large promotional mural, she seems to be the winged woman that takes up the bulk of the mural, as Seiros is depicted near the mural's bottom. Whether the mural depicts an idealized version of Sothis or the actual form she took prior to her murder by Nemesis is something I am not sure of yet. This depiction of Sothis can also be seen in the murals at the start of Chapters 9 (The Cause of Sorrow) and 4 (The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth). Of note is that Sothis is often depicted alongside a star symbol, likely representing the Blue Sea Star, her place of origin.

The mural at the start of Chapter 4 shows several other figures alongside Sothis, which are Seiros in her usual hooded depiction and the Four Saints that fought alongside her in the War of Heroes. The Saints in the mural resemble the statues that were built of them, not necessarily their true appearance (as is the case with Cethleann/Flayn).

The Saints, who are in truth Nabateans, also seem to appear elsewhere, specifically in their Nabatean forms. The crest of the Church of Seiros has a dragon depicts a white dragon that one at first may assume to be the Immaculate One (aka Seiros). However, this dragon lacks some key features of Immaculate One, most notable the Immaculate One's curled horns. Its head shape is also subtly different.

Instead, this may be the otherwise unseen Nabatean form of Saint Cichol/Seteth, which is indicated by the rest of the symbol of the Church of Seiros. Atop the symbol rests a mitre resembling the one worn by Cichol in his statue. In Three Hopes, it was revealed the name of this Nabatean form is the "Hammer of Judgment".

The flags of Knights of Seiros, as well as the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, depict a Griffon-like creature on their flags. This may be the Wind Caller, Macuil's Nabatean form, though there are some differences in their designs, most notably the tail, hind legs and head horns. They could just be generic Griffons, which have appeared in Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem: Engage, but those settings are distinct from the setting of Three Houses/Three Hopes and generic Griffons do not appear in Fódlan. Thematically at least it would make sense for Macuil to be depicted on the Knights of Seiros's flag, given Macuil made weapons for Seiros and the other Saints during the War of Heroes and the Knights of Seiros act as the protectors and metaphorical weapons of the church. The design differences remain notable however.

#three houses #rhea #sothis #seiros #three hopes #macuil #seteth

[ashesandhackles]

@hprecfest Day 10, 11 and 12

Posting three days worth of recs cos real life got in the way of posting it on their said days :P enjoy!

Day 10 - A fest fic

Nymphadora by @bluethepineapple

Written for the @womenofthehouseofblack , this fic is dark fairytale about families - families you are part of, families you have left behind and the complicated love that runs through both. The implied parallel in conversation between Andromeda and Tonks to Andromeda and Bellatrix is particularly haunting.

Summary:

Nymphadora (Greek) n. "The gifts of the Nymphs"

Andromeda could only watch as her daughter set off to war.

The Rougarou by @evesaintyves

Wolfstar.

I am big champion of reading everything written by Eve, but this fic is my favourite from her! This fic is steeped in grief and death post First War, and even as Remus tries his best to hide away from it all, New Orleans haunts him. It's a beautiful piece and I keep rereading it time and again.

Summary:

After the end of the first war, Remus goes to New Orleans to forget.

Day 11 - A dark fic

Three Knocks Upon the Door by @lunapwrites

Lily/Tonks.

This fic! Such effective imagery and contextaulisation for the quotes we know from canon. The Lily in this story has a hypnotic quality to her, and you can't help be drawn in - like Tonks.

Summary:

Knocking on wood three times is said to bring good fortune; but three knocks on your window or door without a clear cause is an omen of death.

In this case, it's a little of both.

(In which Tonks gets suspended from field duty, and takes matters into her own hands.)

First and Last and Always by Vermoulian

Sirius Black/Severus Snape.

The Snirius discord server is in love with this fic - and I can see why. It is beautifully written and makes you sit viscerally in Snape's headspace, to the point that sometimes you are discomfited.

Summary:

Black had been nearly skeletal when he came out of Azkaban, but he’d put on muscle again.

He prowled, and he loomed, and whatever earthy animal quality he’d had as a younger man had transmuted into something feral and predatory, during his twelve years of imprisonment.

Severus had his wand. He swallowed hard. His wand. Magic. His only defense, because Black outweighed him by at least three stone. But magic was more than enough. Severus had never needed physical prowess. His magical strength, and the keenness of his mind, gave him the advantage.

Except when it didn’t.

Day 12 - A WIP you are following

Beasts by @whinlatter

Ginny Weasley coming of age fic? Ginny Weasley fic that addresses all the canon gaps of Hinny relationship in a layered way? Sign me up! I have always liked Ginny, but beyond wondering about how Chamber of Secrets affected her - I never cared for her. Whinlatter makes you care about her interior life, makes you see that post war Hinny isn't going to be as easy as breathing. Basically, it's love.

Summary:

Ginny Weasley comes of age among them: the beasts, the wild things of their world.

(or: how the youngest Weasley won the Hanging Out With Hagrid Award).

Canon compliant, multi-chapter, non-linear narrative, Golden Gen, PS through post-DH (1981-1999). Harry/Ginny.

The War of Roses by @saintsenara

Sirius Black/Severus Snape.

A canon divergent Snirius fic from asenora? I slammed the subscribe button even before reading it - but having read the first chapter, I greatly enjoy the emphasis on what Azkaban has done to Sirius and I cannot wait to see where she takes this.

Summary:

Sirius Black does not die. But this does not mean that it is easy for him to live.

Or: a butterfly flaps its wings and Sirius does not go to the Department of Mysteries. What follows from that twist of fate is a story about the long, destructive shadow of a schoolboy rivalry; a story about surviving, and how surviving is sometimes more difficult than dying; a story about the fragility of beauty, the gentleness of hope, and the value of choice.

It is also a love story.

Scylla and Charybdis by @saintsenara

Severus Snape/Lord Voldemort.

I love the way Asenora writes Snape - his insecurity, his attraction to power, danger and darkness. I love how the narrative has cuts from his older self reflections, and I am really curious to see where she will take this. It also has Snirius crumbs so large that we could make a sandwich.

Summary:

Severus Snape just wants somewhere to belong.

This will turn out to be a curse.

#nymphadora tonks #andromeda tonks #sirius black #remus lupin #wolfstar #lily evans #snirius #severus snape #ginny weasley #hinny #lord voldemort

[terresdebrume]

More fic covers | More fic recs

I mentioned I made fic cover in a recent post and it reminded me that I'd meant to make one for SJTrinity's Band of Brothers fic: Under Thunder and Rain which is THE Webgott fic, as far as I'm concerned. I've reread it something like five time in the past three months, it's ridiculous. You should read it to.

More about my thought process under the cut, with some spoilers.

So, the entire fic is amazing, of course, but the scene that keeps standing up in my mind is the one in chapter 4, where David is about to sail away on the Tusitala and Joe tries to convince him not to. I love this scene, the vulnerability in both of them, the fact that they find each other, the fact that Joe doesn't realize that it's him David was looking for in the sea. (I know David compares himself to the Shark from the Frisco chapter, but to me his fight to catch said shark is also an excellent parallel of the way he constantly has to reel Joe in and then give him some slack before he breaks the line in his struggle.)

All this to say: I had to have the Tusitala on the cover, if only because if this boat could talk it would be able to tell the tale of how Joe and David finally stop struggling and come together for good. The rain, of course, is a reference to the title and the poem David writes Joe in chapter 5, but I still wanted a bright blue sky as the background because I feel like the vivid and peaceful color are a good contrast to the way they struggle to find their way to one another (and also it reminds me of Episode 10 of BOB, where the color is back in the world and it feels like everything should be alright, but Easy is still losing men and none of them is free of the weight of the war.

The title and author name being on pieces of paper is, of course, a nod to Joe's box full of David's letters and notes, which is also featured against the title card. I wanted watercolor of a bag of groceries for the upper left corner, to further reference that first note and the fact that we don't know how significant it is until the end of the story, because Joe keeps all his cards fucking close to the chest, even if he also betrays himself in his struggle.

(Full disclosure, on my latest rereads the bits that caught my brain were

the time David asks Joe if his future wife does have a smile to die for and Joe says "yeah, it's a great smile. Drives me nuts." While running a finger over David's lips

"He wouldn't add or take away a single thing, and the people who read that book would know how fucking lucky he had been, how he had fought against it and gotten it anyways, this symphony of a life.")

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any graphic on Canva that fit the style of the rest of the cover, so I got a pastry instead. I picked the croissant because, while not extremely sweet for a delicatessen, it's very buttery, and, well: "Copious amounts of sugar and butter clearly loosened him in a way even sex couldn't achieve, because when David came and stood beside him by the stove, Joe threw an arm around his shoulder and bumped their heads together, then playfully tried to wrestle him off his feet." which I feel is also a delightfully deep insight into Joe in general.

And last but not least: the transparent text is the last note David writes Joe in the fic, standing in as the last page of Joe's unwritten book of them.

#Band of Brothers #Band of Brothers fic #Webgott #Joe Liebgott #David Webster #HBO War fic #HBO War #Matt makes stuff #Fic cover #Fic rec #15n #20n

[raven-smith]

World-Building Notes In The 'Make-It-Make-Sense' Part Of Making The Redemancy AU Work.

The Government of Ninjago(Redemancy AU)

The Government has three branches. That being Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. This system had been set in place after The First Serpentine War during a civil war that broke out afterwards due to the instability of Ninjago during that timeThe Executive Branch holds The Prime Minister and his cabinet, they aren't who really matter but in order to keep the masses compliant they act like The Prime Minister is the most important role. The Prime Minister can declare martial law, appoint judges for the judicial branch, pardon criminals, veto or approve laws(Though there is an appeals process), and happen to be commander-in-chief of Ninjago militia. The most important job here is the execution and enforcement of laws created by both the Senate and District Assemblage.

The Legislative Branch is built of two groups. The Senators and District Assemblage. There are nine members of each. The Senators are appointed by the king, queen, or sovereign ruler of Ninjago while the District Assemblage is elected by the people. They are in charge of making laws that protect their peoples' or Ninjago's best interests. They are not allowed to receive any money from stocks, bribes, gifts, lobbying, etc. Only their monthly salary is what they are allowed. They can appeal a veto with a 8/9s vote. There are nine districts in Ninjago.

The Southeastern District officially but locally known as The Mountain State due to the sheer amount of mountains there.

The Southern District but the civilians call it Ninjago's Heart and Soul due to Ninjago City and several important cities to commerce lay here.

The Southwest District, The Everlasting Desert, a personal hellscape for many but the locals love it. Outside of desert there are lush jungles full of life. The spirituality here is very alive and shows through the art and music.

The Western District, also known as The Melting Pot, this was where a group of Northerners colonized a perfectly nice warring section of peoples and forced them to be their version of civilized. The Western District is known for rich mythology that managed to survive from the natives and live on in the people.

The Northwestern District, affectionately called 'The Bank Note District' is where all the districts who didn't deplete their funds on wars but gained lots of it through colonization. They are rich and are the second most influential district after The Southern District.

The Northern District, or as locals know it, The Snow Lands, this place is rich in old mythology concerning elemental masters. Nowadays it's mostly cut off from most of Ninjago due to the freezing temperatures but lucky for The Northern District, they aren't very phased by The Serpentine due to how cold it is.

The Northeastern District, this place is known as The Wasteland. It's freezing and everyone is miserable due to it being difficult to give and receive trade with other districts. They too are protected from The Serpentine but they don't care when every winter their young die of starvation. Not because of district government, the national government is just a piece of work.

The Eastern District, the land known as The Last Piece of Classical Ninjago, is known for being immensely wealthy and has a large tourism industry due to how much old ninjago history lays here. It is the second largest tourist area. They still do public executions here on occasion, but that only drums up numbers of visitors.

The Southeastern Archipleago, also known as The Warring Seas, is the newest district of Ninjago, becoming the Ninth District. This is specifically because The Southeastern Archipelago has so much weird crime and warring factions that The South Eastern District simply cut off a bit of it's land and let the sliver of mainland Ninjago known as Hayami and Port Soto as well as all the islands they are closest to, become their own district. They have swamp-like lands and are home to The Toxic Bog as well as The Mangrove Isles which is a series of islands that build up the largest swamp in Ninjago. This area is the largest tourist industry in all of Ninjago too due to the nature of the land's weirdness cultivating a rich history.

The Judicial Branch is the section of Ninjago Government that ratifies laws based on whether or not they are in line with The Grand Compromise and The Inalienable Rights which are two documents that form the basis of Ninjago's government. They are the final court of justice in the land. They are selected by the Prime Minister.

Outside of the government's influence is The Royal Family. This consists of Queen Megumi Fujiwara and her husband King Consort Daku Fujiwara as well as their two children Kyoko and Haruki. Together they are the current Royal Family of Ninjago. They are said to descend from The Grand Creator/The First Spinjitzu Master. This piece of information is factually correct and is, in fact, not propaganda. Queen Megumi's role in Ninjago as it stands is as a figurehead and a piece of Ninjago's rich history as a nation.

#fanfic #fanfiction #wattpad #ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago fanfiction #ninjago kai #ninjago jay #ninjago zane #ninjago cole #ninjago nya #ninjago lloyd #kai smith #jay walker #zane julien #cole brookstone #nya smith #lloyd garmadon #kai ninjago #jay ninjago #zane ninjago #cole ninjago #nya ninjago #lloyd ninjago #ninjago fanfic

[isa-beenme]

Moonchild

Prologue 2.0: 28 Reasons

When Hybern falls, all of their prior experiments are free to take the world as they want, but for months no one hears anything coming from the castle. Until the massacre. Until the whole palace explodes. Their biggest weapon is out, and she only has one objective: get back to her sisters.

Warnings: mentions of child abuse, mentions of experiments with human beings, mentions of possession (?), mentions of child murder, I'm so sorry (please someone tell me if I forgot something)

No one can convince me that the King of Hybern didn't had a bunch of people to write everything that he made thinking that he would be so famous to the point where he would be deeply studied. Change my mind.

Hybern isn't a stupid country. Neither do we have a stupid king. When we made the agreement to turn the human queens into fae, we had already started to search for subjects for the research.

Once the cauldron was complete, we started the tests. What was the minimal and maximal age at which a human girl could get into the water and come out alive. What we could and couldn't do to the tested girl for her to survive the transition. It's easy to say the males weren't pleased by the fact that they couldn't enjoy their prey before and after the transformation or the girls could break. Humans are such fragile beings.

Once we defined those topics, we found out that all of them had some type of power. They were gifted from the damn bathtub. The cauldron considered all of them its children. Stupid magical thing. Not that it was a bad thing; we could always use some additional power in the war.

Of course, some of them were useless, such as helping plants and changing objects' colors. Some of the girls were too stupid and couldn't access their powers, and they ended up becoming nothing more than slaves for the females that could. But, of course, we were lucky with some of them — especially with the ones that were raised here as our old slaves' kin, due to the constant contact with magic — but the girls from Wotawa were the best; all of them proved to be good at bending the magic for their will. If we had more time, we would've created an army full of Wotawa girls.

But one of them — not one of the Wotawinas, surprisingly — is more than special. The king sees it too. He took her under his wing and trained her himself. Of course, she still sleeps in the cells with all the other girls; she trains in those horrible and smelly camps downtown and eats with them at lunch time. But she also took more classes. History, astrology, magic, and all this stuff. It's almost as if she were his own child. It was almost lovely.

Aemma Archeron is her name. Her grandmother sold her for a better property in the Human Lands of Prythian and some gold coins. We thought she wouldn't even survive the travel here, sick little thing she was. But she was also a fighter and a fierce leader. Somehow smart too. Young Aemma got here when she was three. At the age of eight, it was her time to be thrown into the cauldron. She was the first one to not cry or look scared. Some could say she was almost excited. When she came out of that stuff we felt the flame in her, but together with that, something else came too.

As the girls were always in duos (to make sure they weren't surviving out of pure luck), her weaker friend died there. As I said, Aemma refused to die. We crossed the line at the age of eight at that moment. But this is useless data to use here.

When she came out of there, for days in a row she claimed to have a demon following her. We thought she went crazy as a collateral effect of the transition. But then we saw it too, hanging on her shoulders, we heard the whispers the thing left in her ear, even if we couldn't make out the words.

Then she completely lost it one day when the shadow demon took her body and became her. Sweet and soft skin was replaced by burned and gray pieces of flesh. The dark brown silky hair was replaced by black disgustingly oily hair that dripped down her body. And the body was the worst. Marks were painted all over it, and ancient and undistinguished symbols were drawn—no, not drawn, burned in her. And her eyes became pure dripping silver blue, as if the original Aemma was still in there (it took us some weeks until we found out that she was indeed there, controlling or just watching it, depending on the demon's will).

The thing was an ancient being that was long locked in the cauldron, and while lovely Aemma was fighting for her life inside the dumb bathtub, this smart little demon sneaked into her and is now dividing the body with our special girl. If Aemma dies, the being dies. And the being cannot be killed unless Aemma fully takes control. That's why she took control that first time—to ask for rest in Aemma's name.

After that, the King took an interest and started to train her in particular. Bloodlust and killer machine that Enchantress (or how she asked to be called) demon was, Aemma easily became the best one at everything, if she wasn't so kind and gentle, she could almost be a replacement for Amarantha (half-failed attempt this female was).

Even if she is ready for battle in camp, we know exactly who we are going to find on the battlefield. All of the remaining Archerons will definitely be there, fighting for Night Court. We don't want to risk her getting all emotional during the war when one of her sisters recognizes her (which they definitely will; she and that Elain girl look exactly the same, even if we prayed day and night for them to be different).

It was an amazing idea to bring the other two Archeron sisters and make them a demonstration. The original plan was to throw whatever remaining girl we had in the cells, but once that dumb priestess told us about the Archerons, we knew what we had to do, especially with our girl's twin sister. We had to see if they were identical or if we could be a little bit lucky and both of them wouldn't have any resemblance, which unfortunately didn't happen.

After the war, we are going to release our powerful lovely experiment over Prythian and see them burning in her hellfire. If Maester Cassius is right and Aemma also has a power of her own, we might have to explore that after all. But just when we come back. Then, and only then, we shall be happy.

 

Maester Orwin,

From "The personal perspective

of the Hybern people over

their biggest weapon, Aemma Archeron"

#azriel × reader #azriel/reader #azriel x oc #azriel shadowsinger #azriel #azriel x female!reader #azriel x reader #Spotify

[kamreadsandrecs]

Title: Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country

Author: Patricia Evangelista

Genre/s: nonfiction, history, politics, crime, journalism

Content/Trigger Warning/s: journalistic depictions and discussions of crimes such as murder, kidnapping, and rape, as well as natural disasters, including the effects of Typhoon Haiyan (PH name Yolanda)

Summary (from publisher's page): “My job is to go to places where people die. I pack my bags, talk to the survivors, write my stories, then go home to wait for the next catastrophe. I don’t wait very long.” Journalist Patricia Evangelista came of age in the aftermath of a street revolution that forged a new future for the Philippines. Three decades later, in the face of mounting inequality, the nation discovered the fragility of its democratic institutions under the regime of strongman Rodrigo Duterte. Some People Need Killing is Evangelista’s meticulously reported and deeply human chronicle of the Philippines’ drug war. For six years, Evangelista chronicled the killings carried out by police and vigilantes in the name of Duterte’s war on drugs—a war that has led to the slaughter of thousands—immersing herself in the world of killers and survivors and capturing the atmosphere of fear created when an elected president decides that some lives are worth less than others. The book takes its title from a vigilante whose words seemed to reflect the psychological accommodation that most of the country had made: “I’m really not a bad guy,” he said. “I’m not all bad. Some people need killing.” A profound act of witness and a tour de force of literary journalism, Some People Need Killing is also a brilliant dissection of the grammar of violence and an important investigation of the human impulses to dominate and resist.

Buy Here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/some-people-need-killing-a-memoir-of-murder-in-my-country-patricia-evangelista/19968748

Spoiler-Free Review: Okay, so. I already had this in my TBR and was planning to read it in some vague point in the future, but a close friend of mine picked it up and mentioned it in a tweet. Since I was midway through Mona Awad’s Rouge at the time, I promised to give it a shot once I was done with that. The finishing of THAT book got further delayed because Paladin’s Faith got released and I had to read THAT, then continued with Rouge to finish it. When it was all said and done though I picked this up and got stuck in.

Now just to be clear: I am Filipino, have lived in the Philippines all my life, and am lucky enough to live a privileged life by the standards of my country. I didn’t vote for Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 elections because I liked neither his politics nor his values, and I certainly didn’t like the stories I’d read in the news about the Davao Death Squad, and so was one of many people who felt that sucking wave of dread when it was announced he’d won.

What followed was a nightmare I was lucky enough to view from a distance (afforded to me by my aforementioned privilege), and through the hazy fog of slow-rolling grief because of my mother’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and death in the following years. I didn’t see all the news reports, but I did see the reactions on social media. One of the earliest ones was #CardboardJustice, which was started by my friend Hope Swann, and then popularized by Adrienne Onday. It was a response to how many murder victims had been turning up with a piece of cardboard attached to them with the statement “Pusher ako” (”I am a [drug] pusher”), as if that would justify their slaughter to those who came upon the victim’s body, as if all that was needed to pronounce one guilty of drug pushing was to have a cardboard sign saying so on one’s person. #CardboardJustice was one of the first grassroots movements pushing back against the drug war, and it was adopted quite widely in the latter end of 2016 and early into 2017.

Another one that sticks out in my mind is #Tumindig (”Stand Up”), which was inspired by the artwork of the same name by Kevin Eric “Tarantadong Kalbo” Raymundo. That artwork, released in 2021, was in response to Duterte’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to his government’s half-dozen years of murder, red-tagging, and censorship. Like #CardboardJustice, #Tumindig inspired a movement, especially among other artists - and it was still popular enough by the time the 2022 national elections rolled around to be used by those supporting Leni Robredo’s presidential campaign. #CardboardJustice and #Tumindig - one emerging from the first year of the Duterte presidency, the other from its last - bookend six years of continuous pushback against him and his government.

But what’s puzzling is, there wasn’t any mention of this in Evangelista’s book. And even if she was unaware of those specific movements, surely she was aware of the many other grassroots movements that emerged throughout Duterte’s presidency? People from all walks of life protested against Duterte from before the beginning of his regime, all the way to the end, and even beyond. Why was no mention made of these efforts to push back? My assumption, of course, would be that any mention of these movements was left out for the sake of keeping the book’s narrative and subject matter focused, but if there was room for Evangelista’s personal stories, why was there no room to tell, even in brief, the stories of those who protested and fought back? The concepts of “lumaban” and “nanlaban” are key themes in this book, so why didn’t Evangelista even nod to the protests and protesters?

I would hope that readers, especially foreign readers, will know better than to assume that ALL Filipinos approved of what Duterte was doing, but a part of me is too cynical (especially where white Westerners are concerned) to believe that will be the case. Worse, they might assume that the masa (”the masses”) were uniformly duped into voting for him. So let me say, here and now: many Filipinos from all walks of life saw through Duterte and knew him for what he was. We didn’t vote for him, and we fought back, each in our own way, all throughout his presidency. Some of us - students, activists, social workers, journalists, and many more - were killed, or disappeared, becoming the desaparecidos (”the disappeared”) of the Duterte regime. Many were not directly targeted, but fled due to the dire circumstances both economic and social produced by his regime, looking for better and safer work and living conditions elsewhere. And many of us continue to fight back today.

As for Evangelista herself, her personal stories are scattered all throughout this book, though they are most present at the beginning. While I don’t think there’s really anything wrong with the inclusion of such stories (not least because “memoir” is right there in the book’s subtitle), I kind of found myself sliding through them more quickly as I sought out the more journalistic material on the drug war. It’s not that Evangelista’s personal story isn’t INTERESTING, per se, but I think it would be more interesting to foreigners, who didn’t witness the drug war in real time like most Filipinos did.

Overall I think this is a pretty important read - or, at least, for foreigners: for anyone who, as I said, didn’t see the drug war happening in real time, in front and all around them. And for the most part, it certainly reads like it's aimed at that specific audience, shining a light on events that the rest of the world probably didn’t know about, or only understood peripherally. It’s timely too, considering the ICC case against Duterte plus who the current President and Vice President are. But for those of us who WERE here to witness the drug war, who had to live with Duterte running the country for six entire years and feared he’d declare martial law and rule us for much longer - this book might feel a bit lacking in some areas, not least the coverage of the many protests across those six years. Many people did what they could to fight back - some even disappeared, or were killed, or had to go into hiding or flee to protect themselves and/or those closest to them. It would have been nice to see them get even some coverage in this book.

Rating: four bullets

#book review #book reviews #some people need killing #patricia evangelista #nonfiction #journalism #history #politics #crime #books #filipino history #filipino politics #filipino literature #filipino author

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch:    “Body Stitchers”

The basics:  Alleged artists and confirmed killers the Body Stitchers are back.

Written by:  Adam G. Key & Frank Military

Adam George Key co-wrote "Monster" with Frank Military, "Searching" with Kyle Harimoto and “Land of Wolves” with Justin Kohlas.  Key also played LAPD Officer Harrison in four episodes in seasons 11 and 12.

Military wrote or co-wrote "Little Angels", "Deliverance", "Lockup", "The Job", "Greed", "Betrayal", "Crimeleon", "Vengeance", "Out of the Past" Part One, "Rude Awakenings" Part Two, season four’s finale "Descent", season five’s premiere "Ascension", "Allegiance", "Spoils of War", "Black Budget", "SEAL Hunter", "Rage", "Unspoken", "Unlocked Mind", "Revenge Deferred", "The Seventh Child", "Crazy Train", "Uncaged", "The Silo", "Monster", "Line in the Sand", season ten opener "To Live and Die in Mexico", "The Patton Project", "Better Angels", "False Flag", "A Bloody Brilliant Plan", "Code of Conduct" "Raising the Dead", "Through the Looking Glass", "Indentured" and “Down the Rabbit Hole”. 

He also appeared as Donald Kessler in "Raising the Dead" and several other episodes in photos.

Directed by:  Suzanne Saltz directed "Outside the Lines", "Murder of Crows", "Sundown" and “MWD”.

Guest stars of note:  Alicia Coppola as FBI Senior Special Agent Lisa Rand, Rob Nagle as Albert “Al” Barrington/Plague Doctor, Tobias Jelinek as Bobby Griffin/Wolf, Matt Kelly as Justin Tucker/Clown are all back from “Monster” - that delightful Easter Sunday season nine episode.  Teya Patt as Cindy Ferguson/Faceless Mask replaces Kerrie Blaisdell who played this role in “Monster”.  Richard Gant as Raymond Hanna is back from “Game of Drones”.  JD Cullum as FBI Forensic Psychologist Mark Collins, Derrick A. King as Michael Jeffries, Adrian Elizondo as Philip Guerrero and Antony Del Rio as Alexander Hughes.

Our heroes:  Try, try, try again.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen:  Away on assignment – he always misses these wacky Body Stitchers. Sam:  Pulled away from the case for a terrorist threat in San Pedro. Kensi:  Not thrilled to be dealing with Cindy Ferguson again.    Deeks:   Not thrilled by any of this. Fatima:   Working late. Rountree:   Heard about the Body Stitchers case in the Academy. Kilbride:  Wants the team to stop whining about losing the bad guys the first time and get them this time.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen:   Absent. Sam:   Cleaning up after Arkady in Sam’s own backyard. Kensi:    Working with Agent Rand for a lot of the episode. Deeks:   Working with Sam for a lot of the episode. Fatima:   In charge of freeing the Body Stitchers almost victim. Rountree:  Catches a Body Stitcher on his own. Kilbride:  Warns the team that they can help on this case as long as NCIS doesn’t need them.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange?  No mention today.

Who's down with OTP:   Not a lot of OTP time today.

Who's down with BrOTP:  Not a BrOTP episode either.

Fashion review:   Black, long-sleeve tee for Sam.  Kensi has on a wine-colored long-sleeve v-neck tee.  Deeks wears a very pale blue/nearly grey henley.  Fatima is wearing a purple turtleneck.  Rountree has on a charcoal grey pullover sweater under a denim jacket with a leather collar.  Admiral Kilbride is in his usual three-piece suit with a pale blue dress shirt and a blue tie with a darker blue paisley tie.   

Music:   “Gravy Train” by Lettuce is playing while Raymond is having breakfast.

Any notable cut scene:   None today.

Quote:  Sam:  “I'm just a government employee.  Explain it to me.” Ferguson:  “He's a great master, like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Renoir.  These humans who changed the world with their imagination and a pencil.” Sam:  “So Vincent is a master artist?” Ferguson:  “Yeah, Vincent, like Vincent van Gogh.  Uh... You know?” (mimics cutting her ear) Sam:  “Yeah.” Ferguson:  “He's the great master behind the bodies.  It's his vision.  We're just his apprentices, learning the art.” Sam:  “The art of sewing bodies together?” Ferguson:  “God. Isn't it beautiful?”

Anything else:    Lots of previously-s from “Monster”.  And the weirdos are back doing weirdo things.  This time with extra self-importance.

Raymond is having breakfast, listening to tunes when Sam walks in with a cigar butt.  Raymond feigns ignorance but there are four others in the backyard.  Raymond starts to call Callen – obviously an investigation must be started.  When told Callen is out of town, Raymond suggests bumping it up to the SecNav.  Seems the cigars don’t belong to Raymond – he doesn’t smoke.  But Arkady does.  Raymond made a friend not to Sam’s liking.  The family fun is interrupted by a call – Sam’s being called to the office.  Leaving, Sam bars Arkady from the house.

Rountree is waiting as Kensi walks into the office.  Agent Rand from the FBI called.  Kensi speaks highly of Rand and asks why Rand called.  Rountree tells her about the “legendary” case while he was in the Academy about killers who make Frankenstein monsters out of their victims.  There was scuttlebutt Rountree heard about another agency being involved in the case.  Kensi said they were all in a dark place after the case.

Up in Ops, Kensi and Rountree join Deeks and Fatima.  Agent Rand is on the big screen.  In a different Zoom box is Special Agent Zachary Collins from the BAU.  The FBI heard the group is back in LA.  Rand sends Fatima some pictures from a the “Body Stitchers” last crime scene.  It freaks Fatima out a little and Rand apologizes. 

Rountree asks for a motive.  Collins explains the killers think they are creating some kind of art and make money selling the event as art on the dark web.  The money gives the killers the freedom to move around largely undetected.  Collins thinks the motive is also sexual – the killers meshed violence and sex together as young people and are acting on it. 

The Body Stitchers have been seen in the US, Central and South America.  The FBI has gotten close several times but just missed.  Deeks asks why.  Collins tells the group – including an arriving Admiral Kilbride that the killers aren’t stupid.  They set up, do their thing and move on.  They avoid common ports of entry and regularly purchase new identities on the dark web.

The Admiral puts his foot down – this is not a military related action, the OSP’s involvement will be limited.  If NCIS needs the team or a team member, they’re out of the case.  Rand is fine with that – the OSP is the only agency ever to interact with the killers.  As advisors or part of the task force, the FBI wants NCIS to offer whatever they can.  Kensi tells the Admiral the case is unfinished business for the team.  No, it is unfinished business for the FBI, he replies.  Deeks brings up Lt. Commander Weir but Lt. Commander Weir was a random crime victim and not killed because of his service.  Kensi brings up how he was killed and the Admiral relents – NCIS will be mildly involved.  Rand is grateful. 

Sam, Kensi and Deeks arrive at the crime scene.  Rand is there with the dead guy and Collins from BAU.  Collins introduces himself as Mark Collins which is weird since he was Zachary Collins about five minutes ago.  Sam asks when did the FBI figure out the killers were back in LA.  Rand explains a woman named Staci Campbell was murdered.  Suspect Michael Jeffries got a text with photo of all the body parts used to sew the “art” together.  Sam notices freezer burn on the dead people’s shoulder.  That makes sense to Collins – if they don’t have enough parts to sew together, the killers have to preserve the parts they do have.

Kensi asks about Jeffries, who is in custody but there isn’t much to hold him.  He’ll likely be cut lose in a few hours since a judge turned down their warrant request to search Jeffries’s apartment.  He was only seen with the dead woman a few hours before her death – that’s not enough.  Sam, Deeks and Collins are off to interview Jeffries, Kensi and Rand are teaming up.

Just after the men leave, a young female FBI agent has something to show Kensi and Rand.  There was a locked room, now opened.  Inside are a lot of dead bodies.

While Collins is interviewing Jeffries in interrogation, Sam is in the main room of the boatshed talking about how the four people in the case lied right to his face.  They killed people and sewed them back together.  “And we had them.”   The Admiral arrives and wants Sam to stop “wallowing in the fact that you missed something” and tell him what Sam learned.

Sam said the killers knew exactly how to manipulate the investigation.  Deeks chimes in that the killings themselves, the planning, the execution – “the intelligence was off the charts.”  They did not present themselves as smart.  Collins joins the group.  Jeffries knows the FBI and NCIS have nothing so he’s going to be released soon.  Sam asks about Jeffries, who doesn’t really work, just short-sells stock online.  He has no connection to the killers, just lives in the same building as murder victim Staci Campbell.

Fatima pops up on the plasma to connect Kensi and Rand.  The only person to see Campbell and Jeffries together is the super in their share apartment building.  They are going over to interview the super now. 

The Admiral tells Sam and Deeks to remember who they are, put the past in the past and “get this thing done.” 

In interview, Deeks just stares across the table at Jeffries while Sam sits near the door.  Jeffries is about to speak when Sam tells him to “hold that thought.”  Deeks talks about the smell of the sea around them, the ocean breeze and how these things hide a cold, hard truth.  Jeffries tells them he did not kill Campbell.  They were neighbors but he never touched her.

That’s not the truth, Sam tells Jeffries.  Deeks explains that Jeffries is surrounded by frustrated and angry agents from several government agencies.  “We’re hungry and you’re the only thing on the menu,” Sam says.  Jeffries is keeping up – the kitchen is closed, he didn’t kill Campbell.  Deeks brings up his connection to the killers, killers who executed a member of the US Navy.  That’s federal lock-up. 

Sam pushes the idea that they have proof that Jeffries has provided financial assistance to the killers.  Jeffries admits he’s a fan – “people love true crime and serial killers.”   He though the body parts came from grave robberies or morgues.  He didn’t think they were being killed for the art.

Outside Jeffries’s apartment building, Kensi and Rand approach Phillip Guerrero, the super.  He’s trimming some hedges in the building’s courtyard.  He liked Campbell, “good tenant, nice girl.”  Guerrero saw Campbell and Jeffries walk into the courtyard.  They were chatting about food delivery people leaving too many menus by the mailbox area.  As the conversation goes on, Guerrero brings up “Mrs. Jeffries”.  Rand thinks wife but it actually Jeffries’s mother.  She’s in bad health – an invalid after a partial stroke a month ago.  Guerrero drops off food deliveries from time to time – he likes her.

There is no response from Mrs. Jeffries after they knock on the door.   Guerrero lets himself in to see if she’s OK.  While he’s looking around, Kensi checks in with Rountree.  He’s trying to chase the killer’s money but it all leads to offshore accounts which are dead ends.  As Rountree finishes, Guerrero runs from the apartment, horrified and unable to breathe.  Kensi and Rand enter the apartment.  They find Mrs. Jeffries in the bathtub.  Kensi and Rand flee the premises when they get a whiff of sulfuric acid fumes.

Outside, Kensi provides the team an update.  The building has been evacuated due to the health concerns around sulfuric acid.  Guerrero breathed in too much and is getting treated.  Kensi assures everyone she and Rand ran out as soon as they understood what was in the air.  Collins notes that sulfuric acid is easy to find so tracing its purchase will be tough.  This fact annoys Sam. 

A titanium knee pretty much identifies the woman in the bathtub as Mrs. Jeffries.  Collins offers the idea that Jeffries killed her because she had incriminating info on her son.  This doesn’t work for Rand.  Based on the lack of damage to the bathtub, Mrs. Jeffries is likely dead only 12-hours.  Jeffries has been in custody for over a day.

Sam, Deeks and Collins ask Jeffries about his mother, why he didn’t mention an older, sick woman alone in his apartment while he was in custody.  Sam tells Jeffries his mother is dead and he seems genuinely surprised. 

Jeffries blames Collins for his mother’s death.  The killers would know the Feds were in town while they were planning their show.  He had a ticket to go but couldn’t because he was in custody.  The killer thought he was selling them out and since they couldn’t kill him, they killed his mother as a message.  Collins thinks Jeffries’s mother knew he killed Campbell and he paid someone to kill his mother.  Jeffries is willing to trade info on the dark web he has about the show for witness protection.

Rountree gets to the Body Stitchers’s website on the dark web.  It’s been cleaned out but they access to the e-mail server and will be able to track the killers to their next website.  Kensi calls in with Rand.  Mrs. Jeffries right hand was sawed off before she was put in the acid bath. 

Fatima found the new website with a new live video going out shortly.  Everything is password protected but she’s working her way in.  In the live stream, everything is set up but nobody is there.  The stream is coming from an abandoned movie theater in Woodland Hills. 

As the team is about to leave, a terrorist warning come in based on an OSP case in San Pedro.  The Admiral has to send something to deal with San Pedro since it is an NCIS priority.  Sam goes.  Deeks and Collins are off to Woodland Hills. 

Kensi, Deeks, Rountree and Fatima pull up with Rand and Collins leading the FBI.  SWAT is on their way but not expected for 30-minutes.  The teams can’t wait and enter the theater.   There are 16-theaters.  Everyone breaks off to clear their own theaters.  Fatima and Rountree are in five, Kensi is in theater six.  Deeks enters a theater on his own.  He’s worried the place is too big – too many places to hide.  He starts looking around as one of the FBI agents notes the comms in the theater barely work.

Outside of theater seven, Rand find the group at theater eight.  Kensi and Collins are on their way.   A shot is fired during the “art” event, dropping one of the killers on the stage.  Rand is as surprised as the killers.  She yells FBI and seems stunned that everyone runs.  One of the killers, Barrington, is chased by the young FBI agent who showed the team the dead bodies earlier in the episode.  Barrington drops his knife in his right hand but has a really small boxcutter in his left palm.  When the FBI agent tries to cuff the killer, he stabs her in the throat just as Collins arrives.  As Barrington flees, Collins calls for an EMT.

The young agent claims she’s fine so Collins goes after Barrington.  In a hallway, he runs into Deeks.  The two startle the hell out of each other.  They search as a team for Barrington.

In the theater, Fatima is having the planned victim released from the board he is strapped to with the help of the FBI.  Another FBI agent removes the mask of the dead killer – it is Bobby Griffin.  Everyone wonders who shot him.

Kensi finds Cindy Ferguson trying to escape and quickly cuffs her.  “You’re not getting away, again,” Kensi tells her.

Justin Tucker, the fourth killer, runs right to where Rountree is searching.  Tucker pulls out a big knife, which Rountree insists he drop.  An elevator ping and opens, giving Tucker a way to escape.  Rountree tries to get to the elevator before the door closes but doesn’t make it.  On comms, he warns everyone that Tucker taking the elevator down.  Collins says he’s nearby but the elevator barely moves before Tucker shuts it down.

Outside the elevator, Rountree and Rand try to talk Tucker into surrendering.  Rand demands a cellphone.  He wants to speak to Vincent, the last living master.  Rountree and Rand have no idea what he’s talking about.

Deeks is in a projection room when he hears Collins call “Agent down.”  Deeks finds Collins, who says Barrington stabbed him in the neck.  With the comms are failing, Deeks goes after Barrington when Collins says he’s alright.  Deeks finds a fire exit and starts making his way down.

In the theater where all the killing was going to go on, Fatima with Kensi and Deeks are talking to Alexander, the man who nearly was killed.  She has photos on her phone of the Body Stitchers and Alexander recognizes a few of them but wonders why they don’t have a photo of the main guy – “Master”. 

Cutting a deal, Tucker will come back to the NCIS/FBI floor and turn himself in if he can speak to Vincent.  He does go to the NCIS/FBI floor where he cuts his own throat in front of the NCIS and FBI teams.

Kensi has a very tough talk with Ferguson, who the FBI dropped off at the boat shed.  Ferguson doesn’t know Michael Jeffries but she’s not interested in talking to Kensi.  Talking to Kensi takes time away from the beautiful places like the Taj Mahal and not the prison cell she will call home for the rest of her life.

Out in the main room of the boatshed, Sam is back with Deeks, Rand and Collins.  The reason to call Sam away was a paperwork issue.  Collins doesn’t think Ferguson will offer up anything – she’s too committed.  While they have to cut Jeffries loose – no real reason to hold him – Jeffries lawyered up and the lawyer wants him in witness protection.  Deeks thinks that’s the next best thing to having him in custody.  Sam wants a chance to speak to Ferguson.

Ferguson remembers Sam.  He asks to speak to her without Kensi and Kensi is happy to leave.  Reintroducing himself, Sam tells Ferguson she’s being turned over to the FBI.  Ferguson doesn’t care and Sam knows that – because she’s “stupid.”  Ferguson doesn’t like that.  She really doesn’t like when Sam tells her Vincent is in custody and spilling everything he knows.  He gets time off any sentence for every crime he helps the FBI solve – crimes that will put her in prison for decades.  Ferguson doesn’t believe him but Sam says it is a done deal.

Sam would like to Ferguson explain the whole idea of Vincent being her master.  He isn’t her master, Ferguson explains, they aren’t a “cheesy cult.”  Vincent is a great master like DaVinci or Michelangelo – a great artist like Vincent Van Gogh.  Ferguson shows off her ear and pretends to cut it off.  She is an apprentice to a great master learning their art.  It is “affecting” and Sam agrees – he’ll never forget what they did.  Ferguson goes on about their art making them immortal, gods and how they’d die for Vincent.

At home, Sam is enjoying a nice dinner with his father.  Raymond jokes that he’s cooking great meals hoping it will keep him in Sam’s house.  There’s a WBA middleweight fight that night – Sam thinks the two of them should watch together but Raymond has other plans.  A honking horn outside the house is Arkady, who knows he isn’t allowed to come inside.  Raymond is off to play poker and drink some fine whiskey.  Sam isn’t happy about this.  Raymond is annoyed – he’s happy, he has a friend and someplace fun to go.  He plans to live whatever days he has left as full a life as he can have.  Raymond hits up Sam for a few hundred dollars – he’s joking.

Just after Raymond leaves, Rand calls.  She’s sure they missed something.  Jeffries’s mother was dead for at least 48-hours based on the blood lividity tests.  He killed her – Jeffries wasn’t in custody at that time.  And if he removed his mother’s hand, he’s part of the Body Stitchers.  Sam wants another crack at Jeffries, who is being taken to an FBI safehouse in San Diego by Collins.   Sam calls with an apology to Fatima but he needs her help.  She has Kaleidoscope searching the cameras around the theater.  They are looking for video of Barrington leaving. 

Saying “Dementia can eat my shorts,” Raymond returns home with a large wad of cash.  He throws it to Sam, who was snoozing in the living room.  When Raymond leaves for bed, Fatima texts Sam – “You need to see this.”

There is video of Barrington leaving the theater through a back door.  There is someone wearing a dress shirt holding the door open for Barrington.  A flashback shows a wounded Collins getting up and letting Barrington out of the theater.

In a car, Collins is joined with Barrington, who is sure the entire state of California is looking for him.  Collins tells Barrington he updated the killer’s profile saying Barrington is likely to return to his home in Orlando.  Collins plans to have him on a beach half-way around the world.

Sam contacts Rand with questions about Collins.  Rand met Collins during the Body Stitchers case.  He’s profiled many serial killers, a logical addition to the team. 

In Collins’s car, Jeffries joins Barrington and Collins with a “gift from his mother, I thought she could give us a hand” – it’s a cooler.  Collins is relieved they got rid of the amateurs – Griffin, Tucker and Ferguson – who were only going to get them caught.  Another flashback shows Collins killing Griffin from the theater’s projection room. 

The plan is for Barrington and Jeffries to lay low for a good long time.  Collins gives them envelopes with new identities and $10,000.  There will be more cash when needed.  Down the road, they will reunite and change their art.  Make a body with three arms, five legs and a head growing out of its stomach.  “What would Picasso or Dali do?”

Rand tells Sam that Collins and Jeffries never made it to the safe house in San Diego – they were due hours ago.  She’s worried something happened to Collins.  Reviewing Collins’s interrogation of Jefferies, Sam sees Collins run his hand through his hair and showing Jeffries his ear.  Sam flashes back to Ferguson and her Vincent Van Gogh remarks.  Sam tells Rand that Collins is Vincent. 

What head canon can be formed from here:  “Monster” was a really well done episode that was also a one and done hour.  No need to stop on USA or ION when you see it is rerunning there.  It was clever (if disgusting) and rarely does the team get beaten by the bad guys at the end.  There was also the introduction of Spencer Williams and all that would unfold in the Mosley storyline.

This wasn’t that.  A little lighter on the gore, though only a little, a lot more muddled in the storytelling.  Hated the idea that what we thought were these clever psychopaths were actually just lemmings following a serial killer who was working for the FBI.  It takes away the accomplishment of the “Monster” episode.

Always happy to see Rand but Collins (with three names here – Zachary, Mark and eventually Vincent) was going to be one of two things – the red-shirted member of the team or one of the killers. 

Did like the Sam and Raymond storyline bracketing the episode.  Raymond putting his foot down about living his life the best he can as long as he can was good to see.  Sam has his father’s best interests at heart but Raymond lived a long life and planned to enjoy what he had.

Also liked that Rountree learned about the case in the FBI Academy.  A reminder how much younger he is than the rest of the team that participated in the case.

Kudos to Callen who missed both of these episodes with the Body Stitchers. 

Episode number:     The third episode of season 14.  Episode 305 overall.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #ncis la #Youtube

[punisheddonjuan]

Favourite Music 2013-2023

As part of attempting to recover/reconstruct my blog here in the event that my old account is not restored, I'm reposting some old things that I've painstakingly pieced together from Internet Archive scrapes of my old blog, personal files, and cross-postings elsewhere. A tradition I maintained on that blog for its ten years was putting out a list of my favourite music releases at the end of every year. I make it a goal to listen to fifty new releases every year, and I frequently manage over seventy or more, occasionally hitting one hundred. At the end of the year I distill all that listening down into a list of thirty-odd releases that I really enjoyed.

I've never much liked numbered and ranked lists so the lists are unranked and have been from the beginning. They are, however, partitioned into three categories. Two of these categories are self explanatory "Favourite Music" and "Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums" while the third "Honourable Mentions" acts as a holding tank for things that I either liked "fine enough alright" or which I was/am still digesting. I have not gone back and edited these lists in any way (except to alphabetize earliest ones), as that would be cheating. I wanted these lists to be a document of a moment in time, a personal record of what I was listening to in any given year. Consequently, the further back you go, the more likely it is my opinions have changed. Some albums and artists that were favourites fell out of my rotation entirely, a few honourable mentions graduated to favourites while others slipped off, but a good half or more stayed right where I placed them. Some year's lists are longer than others, as I was more discriminating in the first few years and left a great many things off.

I'm posting this mostly for myself, but please, take a look if you're looking for something to listen to, there are hundreds of recommendations below, something for everyone. My favourites from 2023 are directly below, and 2013-2022 are below the "read more" in reverse chronological order.

Favourite Music 2023:

Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad — Jazz is Dead 16

Algiers — Shook

Anjumile — The King

Annelies Monseré — Mares

ANOHNI — My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross

Brighde Chaimbeul — Carry Them With Us

Chris Watson & Philip Jeck — Oxmardyke

Colin Stetson — When We Were That What Wept for the Sea

Danny Brown — Quaranta

The Drin — Today My Friend You Drunk the Venom

The Inward Circles — Before WE Lie Down in Darknesse

Jaimie Brand — Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))

Kahil El’Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble ft. Dwight Trible & David Ornette Cherry — Spirit Gatherer: Tribute to Don Cherry

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — The Silver Cord

La Baracande — La Baracande

Lankum — False Lankum

Meatraffle — Base and Superstructure

Oxbow — Love's Holiday

ØXN — CYRM

PJ Harvey — I Inside the Old Year Dying

Protomartyr — Formal Growth in the Desert

Squid — O Monolith

Tim Arnold — Super Connected

Tyvek — Overground

Yossari Baby — Inferiority Complex

Water From Your Eyes — Everyone's Crushed

Honourable Mentions 2023:

Gazelle Twin — Black Dog

Lonnie Holley — Oh Me, Oh My

Matmos — Return to Archive

The Mountain Goats — Jenny from Thebes

Mozart Estate — Pop-Up! Ker-Ching! And the Possibilities of Modern Shopping

The Murder Capital — Gigi's Recovery

Neil Young — Before and After

Peter Gabriel — i/o

The Pigeons — Bird Brain Gang

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS — Land of Sleeper

Shame — Food for Worms

Sparks — The Girl is Crying in Her Latte

Stuck — Freak Frequency

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2023:

Alkemie — Pentiment (Original Game Soundtrack)

The Beatles — 1962-1966

The Beatles — 1967-1970

Black Country, New Road — Live at Bush Hall

Devo — Art Devo 1973-1977

John Coltrane — Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy

Lingua Ignota — The End: Live at Islington Assembly Hall

Neil Young — Chrome Dreams

Nervous Gender — Music from Hell

The Replacements — Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)

Shizuka (静香) — Heavenly Persona 天界のペルソナ

Sonic Youth — Live in Brooklyn 2011

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 — These Things Remain Unassigned (Singles, Compilation Tracks, Rarities & Unreleased Recordings)

Various Artists — Happy Land: A Compendium of Alternative Electronic Music from the British Isles 1993-1996

Various Artists — The NID Tapes: Electronic Music from India 1969-1972

Favourite Music 2022:

Alison Cotton — The Portrait You Painted of Me

Bill Orcutt — Music for Four Guitars

Black Country, New Road — Ants from Up There

black midi — Hellfire

Cate le Bon — Pompeii

Decius — Decius Vol. 1

Diamanda Galás — Broken Gargoyles

Extra Life — Secular Works, Vol. 2

Fontaines D.C. — Skinty Fia

Gnod — Hexen Valley

Hercules and Love Affair ft. Anhoni — In Amber

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava; Omnium Gatherum

Magma — Kãrtëhl

Moundabout — Flowers Rot, Bring Me Stones

One More Grain — Beans on Toast with Pythagoras

Richard Dawson — The Ruby Cord

Sam Slater — I do not wish to be known as a Vandal

Sault — 151; Air; Earth; Today & Tomorrow; UNTITLED(GOD)

SCUDFM — INNIT

Shovel Dance Collective — Water Is The Shovel of the Shore

Special Interest — Endure

Viagra Boys — Cave World

Honourable Mentions 2022:

The Chats — Get Fucked

Lady Neptune — Noz

Omertà — Collection particulière

Suede — Autofiction

Trupa Trupa — B flat A

Weak Signal — War&War

Yard Act — The Overload

Yoo Doo Right — A Murmur, Boundless to the East

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks & Live Albums 2022:

The Beatles — Get Back: the Rooftop Performance; Revolver Super Deluxe Edition

Bog-Shed — The Official Bog-Set

David Bowie — Divine Symmetry

Diamanda Galás — The Divine Punishment

Iannis Xenakis — Electroacoustic Works

Norma Tanega — I’m the Sky: Studio and Demo Recordings, 1964–1971

Oliver Coates — The Stranger

Oxbow & Peter Br​ö​tzmann — An Eternal Reminder Of Not Today: Live At Moers

Sonic Youth — In/Out/In

Tomasz Stańko Quintet — Wooden Music I

Valentina Goncharova — Ocean: Symphony for Electric Violin and Other Instruments in 10+ Parts

Favourite Music 2021:

Ärabrot — Norwegian Gothic

black midi — Cavalcade

Richard Dawson & Circle — Henki

Desperate Journalist — Maximum Sorrow!

Dry Cleaning — New Long Leg

Gnod — La Mort Du Sens

Greg Coates — Witch Egg

Hawthonn — Earth Mirror

Hedvig Mollestad Trio — Ding Dong. You're Dead

Iceage — Seek Shelter

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — L.W.

Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra — Promises

LoneLady — Former Things

Low — HEY WHAT

Marissa Nadler — The Path of the Clouds

Mirage — Mirage

Nick Cave & Warren Willis — Carnage

Nyx & Gazelle Twin — Deep England

Oliver Leath and Explorer Ensemble — 'Me Hollywood'

Parquet Courts — Sympathy for Life

SAULT — Nine

shame — Drunk Tank Pink

Shortparis — Яблонный сад

Sleaford Mods — Spare Ribs

Snapped Ankles — Forest of Your Problems

Sons of Kemet — Black to the Future

Squid — Bright Green Field

Taqbir — Taqbir (Victory Belongs to Those Who Fight For a Right Cause)

Viagra Boys — Welfare Jazz

William Parker — Mayan Space Station

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks & Live Albums 2021:

Can — Live in Brighton 1975

Can — Live in Stuttgart 1975

Coil — Love's Secret Domain 30th Anniversary Edition

Faust — 1971-1974

Gang of Four — 77-81

John Coltrane — A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

The KLF — The White Room (The KLF Director's Cut)

Magma — Simples

Suburban Lawns — Suburban Lawns

Van der Graaf Generator — The Charisma Years 1970-1978

Various Artists — Do You Have the Force? (Jon Savage's Alternate History of Electronica 1978-1982)

Various Artists — Cameroon Garage Funk

Willie Dunn — Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: the Willie Dunn Anthology

Favourite Music 2020:

Aksak Maboul — Figures

All diese Gewalt — Andere

Baxter Dury — The Night Chancers

Bill Fay — Countless Branches

Bob Dylan — Rough and Rowdy Ways

The Chats — High Risk Behaviour

Cold Meat — Hot and Flustered

Crack Cloud — Pain Olympics

Duma — DuMa

Einstürzende Neubauten — Alles in Allem

The Heliocentrics — Infinity of Now

Hen Ogledd — Free Humans

Hey Colossus — Dances/Curses

Idris Ackamor and the Pyramids — Shaman!

Jeff Parker — Suite for Max Brown

Jennifer Walshe — A Late Anthology of Early Music, Vol. 1: Ancient to Renaissance

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — K.G.

Lonnie Holley — National Freedom

Nadine Shah — Kitchen Sink

Oranssi Pazuzu — Mestarin kynsi

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs — Viscerals

Protomartyr ��� Ultimate Success Today

Róisín Murphy — Róisín Machine

Sault — Untitled (Black Is); Untitled (Rise)

Shirley Collins — Heart’s Ease

The Sorcerers — In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God

Wilma Archer — A Western Circular

Young Knives — Barbarians

Honourable Mentions 2020:

Algiers — There Is No Year

Christine and the Queens — La vita nuova

Fontaines D.C. — A Hero’s Death

fra fra — Funeral Songs

Idles — Ultra Mono

Pharoah Overlord — 6

Richard Skelton — These Charms May Be Sung Over a Wound

Sex Swing — Type II

Sparks — A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip

Thundercat — It Is What It Is

Torres — Silver Tongue

Wire — Mind Hive

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2020:

Beverly Glenn-Copeland — Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland

Black Sabbath — Paranoid Super Deluxe Box Set

Coil — The Gay Man’s Guide to Safer Sex

David Bowie — I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour ‘74); Ouvrez Le Chien (Live Dallas '95)

Fela Kuti — Perambulator

The Heshoo Beshoo Group — Armitage Road

The Jimi Hendrix Experience — Live In Maui

Neil Young — Homegrown

Pylon — Pylon Box

The Sun Ra Arkestra — Swirling

Sun Ra — Live Egypt 1971

Theotis Taylor — Brother Theotis Taylor

Uranium Club — Live for the Very First Time (In Italy)

Various Artists — Join The Future: UK Bleep & Bass 1988 - 1991

Various Artists — Interstellar Funk Presents Artificial Dancers: Waves Of Synth

Various Artists — Deutsche Elektronische Musik 4: Experimental German Rock And Electronic Music 1971 – 1983

Favourite Music 2019:

Alexander Tucker — Guild of the Asbestos Weaver

Ana Roxanne — ~~~

Årabrot — Die Nibelungen

BATS — Alter Nature

Beverly Glenn-Copeland — Primal Prayer

black midi — Schlagenheim

Cosey Fanni Tutti — Tutti

Damon Locks/Black Monument Ensemble — Where Future Unfolds

Drenge — Strange Creatures

Fat White Family — Serfs Up!

Holly Herndon — Proto

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — Infest the Rats’ Nest

King Midas Sound — Solitude

Lingua Ignota — Caligula

MEATRAFFLE — Bastard Music

The Mekons — Deserted

Michael Kiwanuka — Kiwanuka

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds — Ghosteen

Priests — The Seduction of Kansas

Purple Mountains — Purple Mountains

Richard Dawson — 2020

shortparis — Так закалялась сталь

Sleaford Mods — Eton Alive

Snapped Ankles — Stunning Luxury

Test Dept. — Disturbance

Vanishing Twin — The Age of Immunology

Honourable Mentions 2019

Angel Olson — All Mirrors

Cate Le Bon — Reward

Caterina Barbieri — Ecstatic Computation

CHAI — PUNK

Earth — Full Upon Her Burning Lips

Jenny Hval — The Practice of Love

Kim Gordon — No Home Record

Leonard Cohen — Thanks for the Dance

The Murder Capital — When I Have Fears

Pharmakon — Devour

Richard Skelton — Border Ballads

Sudan Archives — Athena

Swans — Leaving Meaning

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2019:

The Beatles — Abbey Road Super Deluxe Edition

Can — Live Rockpalast 1970

David Bowie — Conversation Piece

The Deontic Miracle; Catherine Christer Hennix — Selections from 100 Models of Hegikan Roku

Hildur Guðnadóttir — Chernobyl (Music From the Original TV Series)

His Name Is Alive — All the Mirrors in the House (Early Recordings 1979 - 1986)

Mort Garson — Mother Earth’s Plantasia

Patrick Cowley — Mechanical Fantasy Box

Various Artists — Nigeria 70: No Wahala: Highlife, Afro-Funk & Juju 1973-1987

Various Artists — Tarantismo: Odyssey of an Italian Ritual

Various Artists — Third Noise Principle: Formative North American Electronica 1975-1984

Various Artists — Further Perspectives & Distortion: An Encyclopedia of British Experimental and Avant‐Garde Music 1976–1984

Favourite Music 2018:

Ärabrot — Who Do You Love

Capitol K — Goatherder

The Caretaker — Everywhere At The End of Time, Stage IV; Everywhere At The End of Time, Stage V

Chris Carter — Chemistry Lessons Volume 1

Daughters — You Won’t Get What You Want

Die Nerven — Fake

Lonnie Holley — MITH

The Ex — 27 Passports

Gazelle Twin — Pastoral

Gnod — Chapel Perilous

Hen Ogledd — Mogic

Hawthonn — Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing)

Julia Holter — Aviary

Hot Snakes — Jericho Sirens

Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids — An Angel Fell

ILL — We Are Ill

Insecure Men — Insecure Men

Idles — Joy As An Act Of Resistance

KELD — You Are Wolf

Laibach — The Sound of Music

Lonker See — One Eye Sees Red

Low — Double Negative

Mamuthones — Fear on the Corner

Parquet Courts — Wide Awake!

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs — King of Cowards

Protomartyr — Consolation EP

Pusha T — Daytona

Richard Skelton — Front Variations (I & II)

Rival Consoles — Persona

Simian Mobile Disco — Murmurations

Sons of Kemet — Your Queen Is A Reptile

Szun Waves — New Hymn to Freedom

Tropical Fuck Storm — A Laughing Death in Meatspace

Yves Tumor — Safe In The Hands Of Love

Honourable Mentions 2018:

Amen Dunes — Freedom

Amyl and the Sniffers — Big Attraction & Giddy Up

The Cavemen — Nuke Earth

Death and the Maiden — Wisteria

The Dirty Nil — Master Volume

Here Lies Man — You Will Know Nothing

Hop Along — Bark Your Head Off, Dog

Iceage — Beyondless

The Limiñanas — Shadow People

Lucy Dacus — Historian

The Messthetics — The Messthetics

Mitski — Be The Cowboy

Nine Inch Nails — Bad Witch

Ought — Room Inside the World

Sarah Louise — Deeper Woods

Scourge of Women — To End It All

Thou — Magus

U.S. Girls — In a Poem Unlimited

Tπc9 — Sekundenschlaf

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2018:

Art Ensemble of Chicago — Les Stances a Sophie

Austin Wintory — The Banner Saga 3 OST

Colin Stetson — Hereditary OST

Holger Czukay — Cinema

Holger Czukay & David Sylvian — Plight & Premonition/Flux & Mutability

Neil Young — Songs for Judy

Throbbing Gristle — Mission Of Dead Souls

Ursula K. Le Guin & Todd Barton — Music and Poetry of the Kesh

Various Artists — Uneven Paths: Deviant Pop from Europe 1980-1991

Various Artists — Deutsche Elektronische Musik 3: Experimental German Music 1971-1981

Various Artists — Onda de Amor: Synthesized Brazilian Hits That Never Were, 1984-1994

Various Artists — Venezuela 70 Vol. 2: Cosmic Visions Of A Latin American Earth: Venezuelan Experimental Rock In The 1970s & Beyond

Various Artists — Soul Of A Nation 2: Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher

Various Artists — African Scream Contest Volume 2: Benin 1963 - 1980

Favourite Music 2017:

Algiers — Underside of Power

Atlantik Wall — Atlantik Wall

Charlotte Gainsbourg — Rest

Circle — Terminal

Colin Stetson — All This I Do For Glory

Gnod — Just Say No to the Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine

Here Lies Man — Here Lies Man

Idles — Brutalism

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith — The Kid

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — Flying Microtonal Banana; Murder of the Universe; Polygondwanaland; Sketches of Brunswick East

The Moonlandingz — Interplanetary Class Classics

Nadine Shah — Holiday Destination

Oxbow — Thin Black Duke

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs — Feed the Rats

Protomartyr — Relatives in Descent

Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement — Ambient Black Magic

Richard Dawson — Peasant

Thundercat — Drunk

Waxahatchee — Out in the Storm

William Basinski — A Shadow in Time

The Yossarians — Fabric of Time

Zola Jesus — Okovi

Honourable Mentions 2017:

All Them Witches — Sleeping Through the War

The Caretaker — Everywhere at the End of Time (Stage 2); Everywhere at the End of Time (Stage 3)

The Chats — Get This In Ya

Chelsea Wolfe — Hiss Spun

The Dumpies — The Dumpies

Electric Wizard — Wizard Bloody Wizard

EMA — Exile in the Outer Ring

The Fall — New Facts Emerge

French Vanilla — French Vanilla

Game Theory — Supercalifragile

Japan Blues — Sells His Record Collection

Moon Duo — Occult Architecture Vol. 1; Occult Architecture Vol. 2

NSRD — The Workshop for the Restoration of Unfelt Feelings

Onus — Ratsickles

Priests — Nothing Feels Natural

St. Vincent — MASSEDUCATION

Torres — Three Futures

UUUU — UUUU

Wire — Silver/Lead

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2017:

Black Sabbath — The Ten Year War

The Fall — Singles 1978-2016

German Oak — Down In The Bunker

Husker Dü — Savage Young Dü

Midori Takada — Through The Looking Glass

Patrick Cowley — Afternooners

The Pentangle — The Albums

Pep Llopis — Poiemusia La Nau Dels Argonautes

Various Artists — Music From Saharan Cellphones Vol. 1

Various Artists — N.E.E.T (Not in Education Employment or Training)

Various Artists — Noise Reduction System: Formative European Electronica 1974-1984

Various Artists — Silhouettes and Shadows: A Gothic Revolution 1978-1986

Favourite Music 2016:

All diese Gewalt — Welt in Klammern

ANOHNI — HOPELESSNESS

Årabrot — Gospel

Car Seat Headrest — Teens of Denial

Cheena — Spend the Night With…

Controlled Bleeding — Larva Lumps and Baby Bumps

David Bowie — Blackstar

The Dwarves of East Agouza — Bes

Exploded View — Exploded View

Fat White Family — Songs for Our Mothers

Fear of Men — Fall Forever

Hedvig Mollestad Trio — Black Stabat Mater

Jozef van Wissem — When Shall This Bright Day Begin

The KVB — Of Desire

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard — Nonagon Infinity

Leonard Cohen — You Want It Darker

The Mekons — Existentialism

Mélanie De Biasio — Blackened Cities

The Minneapolis Uranium Club — Human Exploration; All of Them Naturals

Moor Mother — Fetish Bones

Mütterlein — Orphans of the Black Sun

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds — Skeleton Tree

Parquet Courts — Human Performance

Savages — Adore Life

SHXCXCHCXSH — SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs

True Widow — Avvolgere

White Lung — Paradise

Honourable Mentions 2016:

The Caretaker — Everywhere at the End of Time

Diminished Men — Vision in Crime

Dinosaur Jr. — Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

Future of the Left — The Peace and Truce of Future of the Left

Hen Ogledd — Bronze

Jenny Hval — Blood Bitch

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani — Sunergy

The Limiñanas — Malamore

Marissa Nadler — Strangers

PJ Harvey — The Hope Six Demolition Project

Radiohead — A Moon Shaped Pool

Rangda — The Heretic’s Bargain

SubRosa — For This We Fought the Battle of Ages

Swans — The Glowing Man

Wrekmeister Harmonies — Light Falls

Wire — Nocturnal Koreans

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2016:

Big Star — The Complete Third

Cluster — 1971-1981

Nine Inch Nails — The Fragile: Deviations 1

Pere Ubu — Architecture of Language 1979-1982

Scott Walker — The Childhood of a Leader (OST)

Sun Ra — Singles: The Definitive 45's Collection 1952-1991

Various Artists — Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984

Various Artists — Killed By Deathrock Vol. 2

Various Artists — Wake You Up! Vol. 1: The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock Music 1972-1977

Various Artists — Wake You Up! Vol. 2: The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock Music 1972-1977

Favourite Music 2015:

Bad Guys — Bad Guynaecology

Baron — Torpor

The Body & Thou — You, Whom I Have Always Hated

Chelsea Wolfe — Abyss

Circuit des Yeux — In Plain Speech

Couch Slut — My Life As a Woman

Die Nerven — Out

The Eccetronic Research Council — Johnny Rocket, Narcissist & Music Machine…I’m Your Biggest Fan

Feu! Chatterton — Ici le jour (a tout enseveli)

Ghold — Of Ruin

The Inward Circles — Belated Movements For An Unsanctioned Exhumation August 1st 1984

Institute — Catharsis

Jenny Hval — Apocalypse, Girl

Low — Ones and Sixes

MEATRAFFLE — Hi Fi Classics

The Mekons — Jura

Men I Trust — Headroom

Negative Scanner — Negative Scanner

Protomartyr — The Agent Intellect

Pyramids — A Northern Meadow

Thundercat — The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam

Torres — Sprinter

U.S Girls — Half Free

Viet Cong — Viet Cong

Honourable Mentions 2015:

Alessandro Cortini — Risveglio

Bell Witch — Four Phantoms

Container — LP

Gnaw Their Tongues — Abyss of Longing Throats

J.C. Satàn — J.C. Satàn

Księżyc — Rabbit Eclipse

LoneLady — Hinterland

Nadine Shah — Fast Food

Spectres — Dying

Titus Andronicus — The Most Lamentable Tragedy

Tropic of Cancer — Stop Suffering

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats — The Night Creeper

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2015:

Coil — Backwards

Harmonia — Complete Works

Patrick Cowley — Muscle Up

Peter Christopherson — Live At L'Étrange Festival 2004

Rose McDowall — Cut With the Cake Knife

Sun Ra And His Arkestra — To Those Of Earth… And Other Worlds

Swans — The Gate

Swans — White Light from the Mouth of Infinity/Love of Life

Van der Graaf Generator — After the Flood: At the BBC 1968-77

Various Artists — [Cease & Desist] DIY (Cult Classics from the Post-Punk Era 1978-82)

Various Artists — Next Stop Soweto: Zulu Rock, Afro-Disco and Mbaqanga 1975-1985 Vol. 4

Various Arists — Small Town Country, Vol. 1

Favourite Music 2014:

Angel Olsen — Burn Your Fire for No Witness

Ben Frost — A U R O R A

The Body — I Shall Die Here

Burial Hex — The Hierophant 

Current 93 — I Am the Last of All the Field That Fell

Die Nerven — Fun

Einstürzende Neubauten — Lament

English Heretic — The Underground Service

Fear of Men — Loom

Feu! Chatterton — Feu! Chatterton

Grouper — Ruins

Hedvig Mollestad Trio — Enfant Terrible

Inga Copeland — Because I'm Worth It

The Inward Circles — Nimrod Is Lost in Orion and Osyris in the Doggestarre

Leonard Cohen — Popular Problems

Pharmakon — Bestial Burden

The Proper Ornaments — Wooden Head

Protomartyr — Under Color of Official Right

Pye Corner Audio & Not Waving — Intercepts

Richard Dawson — Nothing Important

Scott Walker & Sunn O))) — Soused

Silo — Work

Swans — To Be Kind

Thou — Heathen

White Lung — Deep Fantasy

Honourable Mentions 2014:

The Antlers — Familiars

Cult of Youth — Final Days

Earth — Primitive and Deadly

East India Youth — Total Strife Forever

EMA — The Future’s Void

Flying Lotus — You’re Dead!

Gazelle Twin — Unflesh

Iceage — Plowing Into The Field Of Love

Off — Wasted Years

Slim Twig — A Hound at the Hem

Sd Laika — That's Harakiri

Somali Yacht Club — The Sun

St. Vincent — St. Vincent

Tindersticks — Ypres

Ty Segall — Manipulator

White Fence — For the Recently Found Innocent

Wovenhand — Refractory Obdurate

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2014:

Austin Wintory — The Banner Saga (OST)

Jack Ruby — Hit and Run

John Coltrane — Offering: Live at Temple University

King Crimson — Starless

The Spies — The Battle of Bosworth Terrace

Various Artists — Native North America, Vol 1.: Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985

Various Artists — Sombras: Spanish Post-Punk and Dark Pop 1981-1986

Favourite Music 2013:

Chelsea Wolfe — Pain Is Beauty

David Bowie — The Next Day

Dawn of Midi — Dysnomia

Destruction Unit —Deep Trip; Void

The Devil — The Devil

The Dowland Project — Night Sessions

The Fall — Remainderer EP

Fat White Family — Champagne Holocaust

Iceage — You’re Nothing

Industrial Park — Cold White

Jozef Van Wissem — Nihil Obstat

Low — The Invisible Way

New War — New War

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds — Push the Sky Away

Pharmakon — Abandon

Protomartyr — No Technique, All Passion; Colpi Probiti EP

SubRosa — More Constant Than The Gods

Savages — Silence Yourself

True Widow — Circumambulation

Veronica Falls — Waiting for Something to Happen

Wire — Change Becomes Us

Honourable Mentions 2013:

Catholic Spray — Amazon Hunt

Darkside — Psychic

Diarrhea Planet — I'm rich beyond your wildest dreams

Jenny Hval — Innocence Is Kinky

The Limiñanas — Costa Blanca

Mark Mulcahy — Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You

Merchandise — Totale Night

My Bloody Valentine — m b v

Nadine Shah — Love You Dum and Mad

Nine Inch Nails — Hesitation Marks

Suede — Bloodsports

Tropic of Cancer — Restless Idylls

Ty Segall — Sleeper

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats — Mind Control

Unknown Mortal Orchestra — II

Favourite Reissues, Compilations, Soundtracks and Live Albums 2013:

Bob Dylan — Another Self Portrait (1969-1970): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10

The Conet Project — Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations

Earth Dies Burning — Songs from the Valley of the Bored Teenager 1981-1984

Jozef Van Wissem & SQÜRL — Only Lovers Left Alive (OST)

King Crimson — The Road to Red

Neil Young — Live At The Cellar Door 1970

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds — Live From KCRW

Patrick Cowley — School Daze

Swans — Not Here/Not Now

Various Artists — Deutsche Elektronische Musik 2: Experimental German Rock And Electronic Musik 1971-83

Various Arists — Everything's Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals

Various Artists — Scared to Get Happy: A Story of Indie-Pop 1980-1989

Various Artists — Sorrow Come Pass Me Around: A Survey of Rural Black Religious Music

#music #best music 2023 #best music 2022 #best music 2021 #best music 2020 #blog #personal history #major works

[caspian-16]

Time to save them all

Alternative ending to Harry Potter.

May 2nd 1998

There it was. The Ravenclaw diadem. The 5th horcrux. Destroying this one means a step closer to ending it all. One Step Closer to ending the war. The war that took everything from him. His parents. His Friends. His hope. His happiness. He could end this. He would end this.

He slowly moved his hand to the shimmering head piece that was embedded with the soul of the man who destroyed everything he ever loved. Embedded with the very soul that was inside of him. As his fingers brushed the azure jewel, a glistening gold flash of light hit the corner of his eye. He squinted and moved his head to look where the reflecting glare came from. Harry saw a thin metal chain peeking out from a mess of dust and clutter. His mind was practically begging him to find out what it was, begging him to look at the object, lost in a pile of forgotten trinkets. His feet moved slowly towards it. His hand reached into the mound on top of the desk, going into the void and clutching his fingers around something thin and circular.

What entered his vision was something he never thought he would see again. It was a Time Turner. Memories of his third year flooded into his brain, going back with Hermione, producing his first patronus charm, saving buckbeak, saving Sirius. Sorrow was then what flooded into his heart. Sirius. Was saving him pointless? He died only a few years later. He watched him die. Why did he have to die? Why couldn't he have saved him? Like back then. Suddenly he felt as though a light bulb switched on in his head. As though real hope sparked in his heart. He could save him. Save them. Save everyone.

“Harry?” 

Hermione's voice brought him back to reality. He looked back at her, tears coming into his eyes, a slight smile of relief resting on his face.

“What if we could save them?”

“What? Save who Harry?” 

It was Ron’s voice this time that spoke.

“My parents, our Friends, Cedric, Sirius, Everyone…What if we could save them?” 

His throat got hoarse and sore as he spoke.

“Harry, I don’t understand? What are you…” 

Hermione stopped as she saw what was dangling from his hand.

“What if Voldemort never had a chance to start a war?... What if Cedric never died?... What if Sirius was still here? or… What if sixteen years ago Lily and James Potter stayed with their son?”

“Harry…Mate…I know you want them back but this is dangerous.” 

Ron started to cry too. He could see the pain in his best friend's eyes, he could see the guilt that was held in them. But, he could also see the hope. The hope he thought he might never see Harry have again. It was crazy, but when was something they did ever not crazy.

“Harry. Bad things happen to wizards who mess with time.” 

Hermione always tried to be the voice reason in the group. Always trying to stop the two idiots from getting himself killed. Always trying to protect them, that moment more than ever.

“Not if I'm careful. If I go back and destroy his horcruxes again and kill him before the war starts, we can grow up how we were supposed to. Loving families we don’t have to say goodbye to, classmates who aren’t destined to be killers, not being forced to fight in war—”

“A normal School year.” 

The three stifled a laugh at Ron’s comment.

“Yeah, a normal school year.” 

Harry’s voice still having the reminisce of joy

“You know Ron you won't be able to use the excuse ‘I was fighting a three-headed dog’ to get out of doing homework again.” 

Hermione’s joke erupted an old sense of glee in them.

“Now I hate this plan.” 

That moment of contentment in that dusty room before the upcoming battle, meant the world to the three unlucky friends.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trio made their way across the corridor, legs walking as fast as possible.

“Everyone should be at the great hall by now.” 

Hermione stated, panting slightly from the quick movements. 

“They all must be very confused.”

“I’m still bloody confused.”

 Ron’s feet slammed against the moving staircase, making the noise bounce around the stone walls. 

“You're gonna’ have to give one of those inspiring speeches you do, to make everyone not think you’ve gone insane.”  

“Thanks for the encouraging word Ron.” 

Harry’s sarcastic comment stopped when they reached the large, wooden doors of the hall. A sense of panic coursed through his veins when he heard the chatter of the innocent lives he was supposed to be leading in front of him. Was he going to do this? Lead these people to their deaths, to go back in time and save everyone the hardship of this mindless war. It might not work. It might end with the only people he has left in this world dying in front of him then Voldemort finally, killing Harry Potter. But, what if it does work? Everyone who's died, everyone whose heart has been pierced by pain from this war, can live in peace without knowledge of what touture they endured. Was he going to do this? Yes, he was.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The creak from the heavy doors echoed throughout the hall, every head turned to the three before them. Confusion and sorrow dripped from the atmosphere, creating an almost deafening silence that could make ears bleed. 

“What’s going on Harry?”  

Ginny spoke up, asking the question that plagued everyone's mind. 

“We have a plan.” 

Harry stated to the crowd. 

“A crazy plan.” 

Ron joked.

“What is it?” 

Remus asked, making Harry hope the plan would work to see the man have his friends and husband back.

“I use this.” 

He pulled the time turner out of his pocket and showed it to everyone. A few gasps could be heard from the people who knew what the device could do but most were confused. “I am going to go back to 1978 and kill Voldemort before he started the war.” The hall erupted in yells and accusations of madness. Molly stepped forward to Harry, shaking her head.

“Harry dear, this…this plan of yours it’s—”

“Crazy?” 

The trio question in unison a smile of hope on each of their faces. 

“Yes, you're right. It is.” 

Molly answered back.

“If this plan works, this war will never have happened. Everyone we’ve lost could be alive again, we won’t know what a life of pain and sorrow is, we won’t remember the absence of goodness in the world, we won’t fear the name Voldemort. We will have a chance to live in a world with peace and happiness, so please. Help me.” 

The hall was once again in silence but this was not one of pain, but one of hope.

“How can we help?” 

Neville asked. Harry looked to Hermione to tell the world's last hope, the plan.  

“To go that far back in time it has to be spun one hundred and fifty times.”

“One hundred and fifteen times! Blimey Harry, you're gonna be sat here all day!” 

Seamus’s shock brought a small laugh to the room. 

“To do that, we're going to need to protect Harry when Voldemort and the death eaters come for him.” 

Continued Hermione.

“So we’re going to die–” 

Fred started.

“--But come back and not remember Voldemort’s ugly mug” 

George continued.

“Seems alright.” They said in unison. Laughter once again erupted in the hall, the twins alway had a way of bringing humor to even the darkest of situations.

“Right, well. The teachers and adults should help set up defenses for the hall, everyone else should relax for a few minutes, get prepared.” Mcgonagall announced. 

Everyone in the hall separated off to say a form of goodbye and a ‘see you when this shit is over.’

Harry found himself pulled into a hug by Molly Weasley.

“Stay safe out there, dear. And remember no matter what year it is or what has gone on in the world, you will alway be welcome by the Weasleys, Harry.” He could feel her tears on his shoulder and his in his eyes. She was the only mother he had and hearing her say goodbye was like a stab in the heart. They both pulled back and looked and looked at each other's water-soaked face.

“Thank you for everything, Mrs Weasley.” Molly stepped away as Aurther hugged him too.

“Good luck, Harry.” He smiled with tears and pulled his wife away.

“Don’t mess up you specky git!”  The twins said together, both ruffling Harry’s hair and walking to their parents. His eyes fell on Ginny, one of his greatest friends. She wrapped her arm around his neck while crying.

“I’ll see you soon, Harry.” 

“I’ll see you soon, Ginny.”

Ginny walked away towards Luna, Harry knowing he’ll get to play matchmaker with those two in the future or past? To be honest he wasn’t sure what to call it.

The thing that broke him out of his thoughts was by far the weirdest thing that's happened in the last thirty minutes. Draco Fucking Malfoy was coming up to him. Did he just slip into an alternate dimension?

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

…

Yeah this is awkward. 

Draco coughed and slicked back his snowy hair trying to get himself together.

“Look, I know we haven’t exactly got along–”

“Well that’s an understatement.” Harry sassed. 

“Yeah it is… but, I just wanted to say thank you, for everything. Trying to stop people like him and my father from taking over the world. Trying to stop me.” His expression turned sad and cold. He knew Draco had no choice in the matter. He knew what his father was and what he could probably do to his own son to make him follow in his footsteps. It wasn’t Draco’s fault and maybe, when everything is over, Draco can grow up in a family that doesn’t brand a mark on a sixteen year-old’s arm.

“I don’t blame you Draco, I never have. It’s your family's fault for making you believe those things, your father’s fault for making you join him. I know you never had a choice and when we meet again, maybe I'll shake your hand.” Faint tears welled up in Draco’s, feeling happy from the acceptance he received form the boy who was supposed to be his rival.

“Thanks Potter.”  

And with that he walked off. Harry saw him going into the comfort of Blaize’s arms, letting each other have peace and love in their final moments. 

It reminded Harry of his times with Cedric. When the two of them strolled along the black lake in the early morning, after hours of sleepless slumber. When they had small picnics in the astronomy tower, pointing out different constellations and staring into eachothers eyes. When they went to the Yule ball together, dancing and laughing, relishing in their time together and their time back in Cedric’s room, along with those hours in the prefect's bathroom. Merlin, he missed their moments together. Their youthful, dumb, love-filled moments together. It was probably the best moment in his war-like life. But this, this was the reason why he was doing this crazy plan, to get him back. To get everyone back. Ced, Sirius, Dobby,...his parents. He had to get them back. He had to.

“Uncle Remus?”

The tall, lanky man in an old, stitched-together suit turned and faced him. His messy brown hair almost covered his honey eyes, stubble painted on his pale skin.

“Yes Harry?”

“I’m going to get them back.”

His face softened at Harry’s word. His mind clouded of his school days with the marauders. Study sessions with lilly. Double dates with Dorcas and Marlene. Those days at the black lake with Sirius… their wedding.

“I know you will, Harry.”

They embraced each other at the end of the world, hoping for the past to be rewritten.

Harry sat at the back of the great hall, on Dumbledore's chair, staring at the trinket that could grant them peace.

“Harry?”

His eyes moved to see the two most important people in his life standing in front of him. All their faces flooded with salty water, knowing this could be the end of the journey they started at eleven.

“Hi.”

His voice choked, causing the friends to wrap each other in a strong unbreakable hug. They were all sobbing into each other.

“We're going to be okay. You’ll destroy all the horcruxes, kill Voldemort and will all be okay. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Harry replied back to Hermione’s mothering tone. 

“You can do it, mate.”

“Everyone! It’s time.”

Mcgonogall’s voice yelled over the chatter, signaling it was time to save the world. All of them started to get into position.

“See you soon, Harry.”

Everyone was in position, apart from Nevill, who was running up to Harry in the silence.

“Here.”

In his hand was the sword of Gryffindor, sheathed in brown leather.

“Thanks, Nevill.”

Nevill nodded and surveyed back to his position, shoes squeaking on the floor.

This was it.

one turn…

Two turns…

Three turns…

The footsteps and yells of the Deatheaters were growing louder. They got past the defenses. Maniacal screams of madness echoed throughout the stone wall. They were coming.

ten spins…

fourteen spins…

fithteen spins…

Sweat was gliding off everyone’s skin in anticipation of their deaths.

eighteen spins…

Nineteen spins…

twenty spins…

BANG!!!

The door burst open with Deatheaters, clad in black cloaks and intricate masks.

twenty five spins…

thirty spins…

thirty five spins…

Crackles of spells filled the halls in a few seconds, the order of the phoenix, dead.

forty spins…

fifty spins…

sixty spins… 

Fighting continued. 7th year dead.

seventy spins…

eighty spins…

ninety spins…

6th and 5th year dead.

one hundred spins…

one hundred and five spins…

one hundred and ten…

There he was. The man himself. Voldemort. The battle split like the red sea of him, walking towards his enemy, the lightning branded boy.

one hundred and twenty spins…

one hundred and thirty spins…

one hundred and forty spins… 

All the students were dead. All that's left were Mcgonagll, Reamus and Flitwick.

one hundred and forty fix spins… 

Harry was all alone.

Voldemort ran to grab Harry, planning to publicly execute his death to the whole world. He ran to the boy, bloodlust filling his veins.

But it was too late.

one hundred and fifty times…

Harry disappeared from Voldemort’s grasp.

𝕮𝖆𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖆𝖓

#harry potter #the marauders #alternate ending #hedric #harry and cedric #wolfstar #time turner #time travel #horcrux

[zarinthel]

dvd ask meme; nobody is asking about impel downer so clearly i have to. i think i’ve read this fic in it’s entirely three times so i’d wanna interrogate you about every chapter, but I’ll pick ch8 times up. there’s a lot i like in here, sybil and akainu’s “fight”, sybil’s last prophecy to akainu as they think they’re about to die (is it a prophecy, a threat, a hope, or. last fuck you, all of the above), canonizing oars death in a heartbreaking way that fits into your plot, more hints at sybil’s backstory (which i’m always dying over will we learn more) in her conversation with shanks and the doctor and their awkard silence reaction to just casual mention of how excessively fucked over sybil has been by the world government

ch8 of impel downer, Time's Up! what a throwback. i loved writing this chapter. now let's see what i remember of something i wrote (checks date) over two years ago lol.

one of my favorite things of shifting between povs in this chapter is that nobody is happy. not garp, not shanks, nobody. not a single person in this war except for blackbeard gained more than they lost.

shanks negotiations. the thing is, he doesn't want to fight. he's not actually interested in swinging the balance of the world any further, but he's also not willing to back down-- he wont let them have whitebeard's body. he won't abandon sybil to marine custody just because it would be "easier".

garp is actually helping him with the offer. but who knows if he'd actually go along with it if sybil hadnt broken their time clock while the arguement was still ongoing.

sybil and akainu. sybil has the strength of a properly made paramecia-- if you make the right circumstances, they can hit way above their level. but there's no way for them to actually hurt him, lol. sybil doesn't really have offensive skills. well, they could probably develop them, but they don't have them. so its a cat and mouse game where the most important things are this

they want to live

akainu wants them to die; its unthinkable to let someone ruin a marine admirals rep like that and live. the problem isn't that they didn't get clobbered but that they did in a way that made him look really bad and ineffective. Lol

"Everything..." They mumble, giving up on running as they focus all their energy into the venom of their voice. "Everything you build. It's gonna crumble. The seas will bleed red with the blood of your enemies, and it will be for nothing. The seas will part, the sky will fall, the---"

the prophesy/curse/fuck you.

sybil's got a lot of stuff their unsure of. a lot of memory problems. inconsistent recall. so maybe they don't know for sure, /memory wise/, that that will happen. but because they believe that they live in a world where Monkey D Luffy will become Pirate King, it's a prophecy. they say it and they believe it.

Oars Jr.

you know, i write a lot of tragedies, but i don't actually write a lot of death scenes. im the type of person who kills people off screen and then writes reactions. so, this one...

i hate when i kill off a character and its less impactful than the original canon. so i thought, this has to be at least as sad as when Oars died in marineford, and that scene was AWFUL.

but i was genuinely sad, you know. i saw the pieces come together, realized how sybil was going to get out, and i, the author, had to realize that oars wasn't going to live. even though i'd half thought he might. thats what happens when you put the puzzle together and then realize what it shows.

you can't save someone like ace and not lose /anything/. and not lose almost everything. you just have to think its worth it.

so, sybil's backstory. this is the first time they even lay most of it out-- we've met them at the start of their adventures in the grand line, but theyve been having a rough decade or so

a watchmaker in west blue, a bad, unlucky run in with a celestial dragon, a failure to pay the Heavenly Tribute dominoed off the original bad run in, a stay in Impel Down dominoed off that. and then, the part they've failed to explain after that of how a civilian who should have been floor 1 had ended up at floor 5.5. the circumstances around their devil fruit. a lot of stuff..

how can a seer not have contempt for the heavens?

how can a prisoner not despise their chains?

and despite all that, they saved ace not for grandiose reasons, but for personal ones. do you think your death would improve the world? Even if the answer is yes, it's fine if you still live!

oh, and then the bounty. that was fun. you know, i actually picked 99 million BEFORE i realized that was the same number as th rest of doflamingo's subordinates. lmao

#meta

[ashesandhackles]

HP re-read: Goblet of Fire (Part 3)

Chapter 31,32, 33, 35,36,37

Harry hearing the trial is important because it deepens the seed in him for wanting to finish the war. He thinks about how it was Voldemort who had ripped Neville's parents away, and why BCJ went to Azkaban with his mother fainting and his father asking him to rot. His world has expanded.

Ron being a bb and being like how the extra jinxes they learnt is good training for them being Aurors. I love how childlike his assumption is that this is what the three of them will end up doing. Always the three of them against the world. <3

ooh Harry's initial shield charm is weak. Set up for when it gets stronger later in the series - it's one of the spells he uses in the final battle, one that protects Molly from Voldemort's wrath.

Sirius sending daily owls and then giving Harry a muddy paw print as a good luck card. I LOVE HIM.

Fudge apparently looking stern next to Maxime, and her eyes being "rather red" while Hagrid kept glancing at her from along the table. What a subtle way of telling us what happened here.

Cedric raising his wand to shower red sparks for Krum after being tortured by him. This is a good moment, because Cedric doesn't know Krum is under the Imperius, and he could have just let Harry do it. But he also raises his wand along with Harry, right after saying Krum would deserve being eaten by a passing Skrewt. Nice character work.

Harry politely asking the sphinx to move <3

the chapter really sets up its imagery: a dark overgrown graveyard, a church, a yew tree, an outline of an old house on the hillside. The yew, in particular, because its associated with Voldemort. (we also see baby! Voldemort being carried into this setting by Peter)

there is also something about Voldemort's father's house overlooking the rebirth at the graveyard - the above/below positioning of it all. Such a strong image.

"blank and expressionless as windows of a deserted house": as we note earlier, Avada Kedavra is a spell that releases the soul from its container. So this specific imagery of a deserted house - a body that no longer houses its soul is very eerie, very effective.

every image in this chapter is horrifying: Harry tied to Tom Snr's headstone, baby!Voldemort at his feet, Nagini circling the headstone.

Interesting what was Voldemort's understanding of why his father left his mother: "He didn't like magic, my father", "the fool who gave me his name - Tom Riddle". We know from HBP that he pieces together a story from Morfin's account of what happened - and he thinks it's his father who gave him the "ordinary" name. Even with Voldemort's hatred for his father, it is him Voldemort assumes an active role for, and not his mother. His negative feelings are directed against his father.

"may your loyalty never waver again Wormtail": Voldemort does gift giving and rewards with implied threats. XD

"one who I believe has left me forever, he will be killed of course" : Snape. I would kill for a conversation between Snape and Voldemort, when Snape comes in two hours late.

Peter convinces Bertha for a night time stroll. Where is Peter's adventures in Albania before he returns to Voldemort story? He has been quite busy.

Voldemort Villain monologues the entire chapter. He is so overt with his immortality hints that I am surprised baby Reg is one who catches on. Speaks to his and Sirius' upbringing a bit.

"and now, you face me like a man, straightbacked and proud" : the crumbs we get of James Potter's characterisation and how Harry uses this taunt later to empower himself to fight. ("he was going to die upright like his father")

James arms Harry with knowledge of what he must do, whereas Lily's role is more to offer him comfort (its the nature of the books. Lily gains a more stronger role in last 2 books, whereas the first 5, James is central to Harry's development)

Harry leaps over the cup (his means of escape) to get to Cedric's body first - all this with a broken leg. What a pure boy. It is not only the fact that Cedric asked him to, but because he has also witnessed the desecration of a dead body in the ritual. He recognises it as a violation.

BCJ's father wound pouring out of his monologue, and the need Voldemort fulfills or one BCJ hopes he would fulfill is that he will be closer than a son, that he will be singular, noteworthy and special among Death Eaters in a way he wasn't to his own father.

@dragonlordette talked about how BCJ! Moody was in tune with people's feelings and she is right: the careful way he manipulated Cedric, Dobby, and planted a book with Neville well in advance shows someone who watches, catalogues people's behaviour, so he knows which buttons to push.

Rowling planting Snape's loyalties here: she emphasises Snape's face in BCJ's Foe Glass both when three of them burst the door open and once again when he enters to survey the room.

Crouch's mother's love as a destructive force that enabled the rise of Voldemort when she broke her son out and took his place in Azkaban. (love as destructive force is a theme that series plays with both in good way and bad way - and more overtly in HBP)

I love how seamlessly Dumbles, McGonagall and Snape work together. When McGonagall is losing it over the Dementor's Kiss, Snape sarcastically explains what Fudge has done (" he seems to feel his personal safety was in question" Imao)

Sirius spends all year obsessing over a plot in the tournament and that someone is out to get Harry, and he sees Harry in this state, his suspicions are confirmed in worst possible way. His hand shakes when he helps Harry into a chair .

Harry drawing comfort from Fawkes. <3

Sirius, noticing how Harry was avoiding Dumbles eyes, harshly tells Dumbledore that Harry needs sleep <3

the "gleam of triumph" in Dumbles eyes that set off so many fan forums when GOF first came out.

Sirius gets so upset when Harry mentions how James asked him to escape, so for the first time in the whole meeting, his face is in his hands. (instead of Harry's shoulder) In Sirius' eyes, he failed to protect Harry and James' ghost saves Harry instead. It is a reminder of his failure.

also hilarious that no one besides Madam Pomfrey questions the presence of an emotional support dog. (also like the best emotional support dog in question, Sirius growls at Fudge for insinuating Harry's liar. I would love to hear the cussing out Sirius is giving him)

Snape makes a "sudden movement" when Lucius' name is mentioned. Snape's feelings for the Malfoy family, despite actively working against them, is complicated.

also how throughout the altercation between Dumbles and Fudge, Mrs Weasley had to keep a hand on Harry's shoulder to prevent him from rising.

Another person who has had enough of Fudge in the scene is Snape. Snape showing his Dark Mark to the Minister of Magic is legitimately one of my favourite moments of him in the series. It's a stand he is making - and in rereads, his loyalty and commitment is clear as day.

Harry wants Sirius to stay. I love that Harry actually asks for what he needs when it comes to Sirius. BB :heart:

"He had no memory of being hugged like this, as though by a mother" AHHHHHHH.

ah Cho crying when they raise a toast to Cedric upsets Harry. He looks down in response :(

Impassive face Hermione = Hermione who has just been kissed goodbye by Krum. (also that Harry isn't surprised when Ginny later reveals that they did indeed kiss)

Ron asking for Krum's autograph makes Hermione smile, and him assuring Fleur her english is good enough already makes her scowl The range of emotions she experiences in this scene.

Harry asks the twins to buy a different set of dress robes for Ron and say they are from them. Harry learns how to be careful and sensitive with Ron's feelings. What a sweetheart.

#hp reread #harry james potter #sirius black #barty crouch jnr #severus snape #goblet of fire #lord voldemort

[squalodinoappreciationsquad]

Headcanons: Dino Cavallone’s entire family tree - Pt. 5

So, fifth generation, we are now talking about Dino's great-grandfather!

UNDER CUT!

Proceeding from here: CLICKETY CLICK!

The First World War and the 7th generation / The Second World War and the 8th generation

So, Duchess Gemma Cavallone and her husband had a total of four children, whilst Duchess Perla Cavallone never married or had any children.

The four children are:

Emanuele: third born, named after the king, he will be a key man in directing the spies at the service of the king during the war.

Marino: first born, he will serve as a captain during the war. He will tragically die during the 1917 battle of Caporetto. His family has a memorial tomb in the local cemetery for him.

Norma fourth born, she will be the one smuggling goods and necessities for the people affected by the war.

Fancesco: second born, he will be the one inheriting the title and the will of his mother Gemma and aunt Perla. He will show the flames as he is defending his home and his people against the invaders, and will be the one present at the various treaties that will be made after the war, securing his position as head of the Cavallone family and lord of the land at the service of the king and the royal house.

The three sons will obtain the Silver Medal of Military Valor, whilst the daughter will obtain the War Merit Cross for their services during the war.

After the war they all took separate paths.

Francesco took the title of Duke and became the seventh boss of the Cavallone family, thus introducing the family into a new era.

Emanuele permanently joined the Servizi Segreti and whilst he really never came back home, he was quite the successful agent.

Marino unfortunately died tragically during the battle of Caporetto (a notorious debacle for Italy), but his family treated him with all the honours anyway. His gravestone reads "To the one who put freedom above all".

Norma married Duke Francesco's second in command, a gentleman called Alberto Sanna, moved to Sardinia with him and went on with a peaceful life.

Duke Francesco Cavallone married a lady called Clelia Fabbri and whilst their marriage was a very happy one, they managed to have only one child, a boy they called Giorgio.

The Great Depression had its effects on Italy as well, it was the period where that fascist piece of shit that was Mussolini was starting to conduct his populist campaigns which would eventually lead him to become Italy's dictator.

In any case, the people suffered and the noble families tried to stay afloat. Duke Francesco Cavallone passed away due to poor health issues, but in the meantime his son Giorgio had shown the signs of legitimacy whilst trying his best in his father's stead to keep the people in his area somehow fed and fighting off the jackals who would try and take advantage of the situation.

The Cavallone family became very antifa and later on Duke Giorgio Cavallone would do everything in his power to save Jews from concentration camps, from paying to forge fake documents, to hiring them among the men who worked for him, to bribing the guards at the borders so that they could safely get to Switzerland, or east Europe.

And ofc the fascists were pissed, as these shitheads do, and for nwly appointed Duke Giorgio Cavallone that meant downsizing considerably.

He sold the castle that had been the home of the Cavallone since 1200 and purchased a villa - what would become later on Villa Cavallone.

Due to the merits obtained by the family during World War I, it was a little less taxing, but the Cavallone family was indeed very targeted by the fascist government, who would try to do everything to erase them from the face of the earth. When Nazist piece of shit Hitler himself came to Italy in 1943 the family risked a lot more - cue the SS gunpointing at him and his family, raiding their resources, etc - and here they received a LOT of help from the Vongola family, who protected the Cavallone family. After that the Cavallone family became one of the main supporters of the Vongola family to pay off the life debt they had with them.

Eventually the war ended in 1945, the Nazists were sent back to Germany to die/be trialed/be condemned, same happened with the Fascists, Mussolini was killed and hanged upside down rightfully so.

The Cavallone family could breathe again.

After the war they let go of their noble title - the Savoy were exiled, the Republic was born and they felt that a noble title would just be a burden. So they let it go.

So Duke Cavallone became "Onorevole" Giorgio Cavallone in legal documents.

Giorgio Cavallone, eighth boss, eventually married a lady called Lucia Pavan, with whom he had three children:

Tommaso: first born, he would become a discretely famous writer. He will not marry, but he would have a life long companionship (read: queer) with his best friend Furio Barbieri.

Marta: second born, she would be a very smart and pragmatical lady. She would eventually marry a gentleman called Donato Gallo and have a son called Marco.

Cosimo: third born, Dino's dad. I talk about him here: CLICK!

And ofc here's the family tree (including people I mentioned in my previous post).

#khr #khr headcanons #cavallone family tree #cavallone family #famiglia cavallone #kateikyoushi hitman reborn #katekyo hitman reborn #IT'S FINISHED! #FINALLY!

[faroreswinds]

Would you say 3H suffers from Ludonarrative dissonance?

For those who don't know:

Ludonarrative dissonance: the conflict between a video game's narrative told through the story and the narrative told through the gameplay.

Hmmmm. I would say no. The gameplay of Houses (and FE in general) is a game of war. It's Chess with RNG rolls.

An example of Ludonarrative dissonance would be more like this something from Breath of the Wild. BotW characters tell you to hurry and save Hyrule and save Zelda before it's too late. But the gameplay actively encourages you to take your time and look under every rock for a Korok. BotW tells you the world has been ravaged and is dangerous, but it's honestly pretty beautiful and most of the residents seem pretty a-ok with the state of things.

The gameplay does not actively encourage the narrative details of the game. It's become a meme in the Zelda community as a result.

Houses suffers from a different situation, where the worldbuilding of the game does not support the narrative the game is trying to tell. It's not really inherently linked to the actual gameplay, more like two sides of the writing (the "background" information and the "front-end" information) do not line up.

This is something that I personally find hard to describe with solid evidence because a lot of it is based on the general feel of the story. When you consume a piece of media, often you will walk away with a feeling, hopefully the feeling that the creator intended you to walk away with. The lesson you were supposed to learn, or how you were supposed to view something. It's something you usually passively pick up on.

In the case of Houses, when I play the game, I constantly feel like I am supposed to be cheering for everything Edelgard says quite a bit. As if everything she says is supposed to be treated as a good thing. The game rarely pushes back on her words- even her enemies like Seteth and Dimitri will often have good things to say about her "ideals". When I consume media like this, I walk away with the idea that the developers were trying to tell me that Edelgard was meant to be viewed in a fairly positive light and that everything she says is to be felt favorably.

Like, in Hopes, Edelgard literally says something along the lines of "our attack was not unprovoked because one of your lords invited us in." Claude then basically agrees with her saying "well, I guess it's true that he turned against us" or something like that.

This happens quite a bit, and it's just an example of how the writing constantly supports Edelgard rather than challenges her. Her biggest challenge in Hopes is that she spread her army to thin, so she needs to rethink her plan. And thaaaat's pretty much it.

Houses (and Hopes) also tries to push the idea that the Church is a pretty messed up organization that needs to go. We are told this through character words, mainly. There are a few actions of the Church that are indeed questionable, but most of the blame thrown at the Church is directly told to us.

However, when you look past character words, you see other things that don't line up with their claims. "The Church keeps out foreigners!" but then all three nations have trade with countries outside their borders. "They died because of their culture!" but it was us who attacked them first and we basically didn't even give them a chance to surrender. It's little stuff like that that adds up. Unless you only listen to what the characters tell you, it makes for a startingly playthrough. You feel like the characters, and in turn the narrative, are constantly trying to manipulate you into thinking a certain way.

If anything, when it comes to gameplay, it actually supports the idea of war. FE, in general, has always been a series about how war is bad. Characters die. People suffer. You have to fight back because if you don't you will be conquered. Without something like Divine Pulse, the older games emphasized this by having characters be able to perish in battle. It's a painful loss.

This holds true for AM and SS, and to an extent VW as well. But with Divine Pulse, the loss of your allies is basically impossible and that risk is no longer there.

But CF is completely different. It supports war, that war is an overall positive force for change. Build strong units, kill the enemies defending their homeland! Yes, some characters are sad about fighting old loved ones, but look how happy the ending is! There is True Peace! The sacrifices WERE worth it in the end!

So while there is dissonance, there isn't necessarily Ludonarrative dissonance in Houses.

#Three Houses discourse #anon asks