#sneaking a call back to the Kyle story I wrote

[shhh-secret-time]

We need more of that Soulmate stuff! Can we get one with Stan??? I've such a weakness for our goth boy!

Oh and thank you for writing gn! It's such a small thing but it makes me feel good to read! 🫶

Of course you can! I love Stan and soulmate shit so literally any excuse! I'm glad my writing makes you feel good darling!

Warning: Strong Language, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, over use of the word skin and flesh, and a single shit excuse for poetry

Pairings: Stan x GN!Reader

The most annoying habit Stan had was chewing his bottom lip, so many things of lip balm used to try and repair his lips. Little discarded tubes of flavors that were the foulest thing he'd ever tasted, it was Kyle's idea, if it tasted bad maybe he could trick his brain into stopping the habit.

The second annoying habit was drumming his fingers on his desk, he was especially bad about it when he was younger. That was before the little marking on his skin started popping up. Little words and doodles on his forearm dancing on his skin. At first it freaked him out, he was fourteen and these weird little tattoos were popping up on his skin and then disappearing.

The third annoying habit was never learning to not go to his father when he didn't understand something. One would think after it backfiring so many times Stan would learn to go to his mother when he had questions. To his credit Randy did give him an answer. It just led to a whole ordeal of him telling the entire fucking town that his son has a soulmate and that his son was just like him when he was fourteen. It was embarrassing and he hoped that whoever his soulmate was didn't hear it.

Apparently, the little doodles and grocery shopping lists on his forearm was his soulmate’s handwriting and boy did they love to draw on their arm. Stan would be out in the football field practicing his throws when he'd feel the light brush of the pen across his arm. Which always lead to him fumbling a pass. Maybe he had to thank his coach for all the times he yelled at him because it was after one practice that he finally started marking on his arm back.

At first it was just to try and get whoever his soulmate was back. Taking a sharpie to the underside of his forearm, the big blocky letters spelled S-T-O-P. He remembers tugging down his sleeve with a grumble, thinking he would be free from the torment. Little did he know this was a declaration of war.

You were sitting in the science lab when it happened, working on your assignment when the letters appeared. Up until then you never saw something like that happen, so when it did you nearly dropped the beaker. Soulmate or not, who did they think they were to send such a passive aggressive message?! You excused yourself and hurried to the bathroom, ignoring the look of your partner. You pulled up your sleeve and glared down at bright silver words.

Stan furrowed his brows as his eyes scanned over the new message.

"Who uses a silver sharpie?! Are you kidding me?!" You hissed.

Well, you couldn't take that sitting down, could you? Your hands dug into the pockets of your pants to pull out the pen you always kept on you. Dragging the tip of the cheap pen across your skin, you wrote your little soulmate a loving note.

"Eat shit."

The font lit a fire in him as his eyes narrowed. Stan took the lid off the sharpie and drew a crude middle finger on his palm. Once he was satisfied with it, he pulled his gloves back on, maybe his soulmate didn't have gloves and would have to deal with that.

From then on Stan carried that damn sharpie everywhere. He would be in the middle of talking with his friends about something when he'd feel your words sketch onto his skin again. He would stop even if he was in the middle of something just to read whatever rude thing you'd come up with. It was Kyle who finally approached him about it.

"Dude you're gonna get ink poisoning." Stan almost missed the way Kyle scolded him, to focused on writing.

"I don't care Kyle! They're insulting the Broncos!" Stan hissed back.

"How did you even get on that topic?" Kyle rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I-...I don't know but I'm not going to just let them shit on my favorite team!" He looked up towards his best friend, Kyle could see the fire behind those blue eyes and almost chuckled.

"This person is supposed to be your soulmate, ya know? Like your forever partner."

"I know that! But it's like they know exactly what to say to get under my skin!" Stan groans as he caps the sharpie and slumps back against the park bench. "I mean...was it like this for you? You found yours recently."

The red head raised a brow at his friend, the question catching him off guard. "Hm...no? We got along pretty much instantly. Guess it helped they found me before I found them?"

Stan watches as Kyle presses a thumb into his palm. A warm smile plays across his lips as he rubs the golden letters. Rumors of Kyle and his soulmate spread quick, they were the talk around campus for a while much to Kyle’s dismay.

"But I get what you're feeling."

"You fight with your partner like this?"

"What? No! Not yet at least...I mean it's bound to happen eventually, but I mean the thing you said about their words getting under your skin." Kyle shook his head making the green straps on his head swing back and forth. Before Stan could respond Kyle held up his hand and continued. "They'll text me or say something to me and it just...feels like my heart is going to explode. The first time we kissed it felt like my skin was on fire, it felt intense. So... I think that might just be a side effect of having a soulmate. Everything is kinda turned up to eleven."

Stan just sat there and listened to him. He pushed his hands in his coat pocket and squeezed the sharpie, letting the words sink in. Leave it to Kyle to make him think about it more. Stan responds with a long sigh.

"... Maybe."

"Hey at least you can talk to yours. We had to go based off each other's thoughts...it's hard keeping my thoughts in control."

"Yeah, I don't know if I could live with that, probably end up cutting my hand off." Stan chuckles and looks down at his forearm.

Maybe he could swallow his pride a little and just take it easy. It certainly made sense now why your words were having such an effect on him. If everything was turned up to eleven like Kyle said, then maybe he needed to take a step back and try something else.

It wasn't until he was sitting in class bored again that he got the idea. He even went out of his way to use a different marker, one with a smaller point. Pressing the tip to his arm, he watched the bright blue ink bleed into his skin. Stan didn't really know what to write, it was hard to go from writing stupid insults and drawing crude things to something just mundane. He pressed his lips together and stared hard at the little blue dot until his hand started moving. Stan wrote best when it was in song lyrics or his poems.

Watercolor running down my skin.

It's supposed to feel cool but all it does is make my head spin.

You get under my skin like fire.

The tip of your pen bleeds me like sharp wire.

He pulls back and looks down at it with narrowed eyes. Stan can already feel the warm embarrassment spreading over his face and up to the tip of his ears. Quickly pulling down his sleeve again, he tried to push it out of his mind for the rest of the day. An hour went by before he felt that all too familiar feeling, it was something he was getting used to at this point. He looked down and his eyes widened in awe.

"Did you write that? It's good."

No smart-ass comment about his poetry. You didn't make fun of him for putting his words in a silly simple format. You just complimented it. Stan could feel his heart speeding up as he re-read the small sentence under his poetry over and over again.

"Yeah. I'm not good at communicating normally."

"Poetry is just easier for ya huh?"

"That or music."

"Really? You play?"

Stan grinned down as he started running out of room on his forearm, having to move to the surface of his arm now. His face getting closer to his skin as he hunches over his desk to keep writing.

"Yeah, guitar and a little bass. They're kinda similar."

"That's cool!"

"Do you play any?"

And soon his entire arm was covered in back and forths. Talking about music to whatever else the two of you could come up with. He learned about all your hobbies just as you learned his. You started keeping a little journal of all the poems he wrote you, all the little songs he'd write down across his. It was when you'd wake up to a poem, first thing in the early mornings. The sunlight caressing your entire body, wrapping you up like a hug.

The poems spoke of things like how he was excited to talk to you throughout the day. Asking you if blue was starting to become your favorite color. Did you think of him when you saw it? Things like how he was so happy to see you respond and that he thinks of you every time he strums on his guitar. You were just thankful he couldn't hear your heartbeat or see the way he made your face flush.

But there was that longing to finally see this person. You learned your partner was a he but the thought of asking him his name didn't seem to matter. It was like you'd known him your whole life, and because of him blue was starting to become your favorite color. So one night as you sat at your desk, you decided to just go for it.

"Hey. I just thought about how I don't know your name!" You had to move to writing with your non-dominate hand which made your handwriting a little shaky.

You giggled at the little doodle that came up next to your statement. It was a horrible drawing of Kirby pointing at the writing, but his face was scrunched up in disgust.

"I dunno. Didn't think about it."

You waited after reading his sentence, thinking he was going to continue. Nope. Nothing.

"Well, what is it??" You asked as you doodled next to the Kirby, a little frog wearing a hat joining the fray.

"It's Stan."

"What?! No way!"

You circled Stan's name with your pen and drew a bunch of exclamation marks. You knew a Stan; he was the quarterback at your university! He had three little friends that always seemed to follow him! He was the kid who brought a guitar to-

He brought a guitar to class sometimes.

He wrote in his notebook when he thought no one was watching.

He made your heart beat and the butterflies in your stomach flutter.

He was your soulmate.

Did he even notice you like you did him? Did he know you sat across the room from him in history? Or that you were his soulmate? Of course he didn't! He doesn't even know your name.

You break out of your spiraling thoughts when you see the blue ink across your skin again. "Pretty sure way. That's the name my mom gave me."

"You know what I mean dick! I know you! You're Stan Marsh! You live on that farm that's like an hour away from here in South Park!"

There was nothing for a while. Maybe you shouldn't have said all that, but the faster your heart sped the faster you wrote. You didn't think to slow down until you looked back at how hastily everything was written.

"You go to my university, don't you?" He asked.

"South Park college. Go cows." You doodled a little cow next to the response hoping to relief a little tension.

"Go to Stark Pond in an hour."

"What?! Dude it's like 6:30! I can't just leave this late!"

"I wanna meet you and I don't wanna wait. I'm already in my truck."

You could tell from the way the letters were spaced out and slanted. It was almost gibberish, gibberish that had your blood pumping. In a manner of seconds, you learned the name of your soulmate and you were actually considering going out. It would be around seven thirty before he actually showed up. You bit your lip and looked over at your car keys but only for a moment. When the thoughts of how he wanted to meet you were so bad he was willing to drive out again to see you. To see who you were. The fear of disappointing him did cross your mind, what if he hyped you up too much.

You knew Stan Marsh. You knew how pretty he was and how he could make a group of people follow him. You knew he had those beautiful baby blue eyes that seemed to go forever.

God you loved the color blue.

With a huff you grabbed your keys and put on some decent clothes. You waited at Starks Pond for that hour, you could have stayed home to wait but your anxiety wouldn't let you. Not the way your heart was still pounding, every minute that passed felt like agony. Pulling your jacket closer to your body, you almost leapt out of your skin each time a car would pull up; only to be disappointed when anyone that wasn't Stan got out or drove off.

When finally, a beat up brown truck pulled up next to yours. Your breath hitched when you saw movement, breathing out when you saw a familiar pair of red shoes. A blue hat that looked well-loved over shaggy black hair.

He was standing by the water looking around, he looked as nervous as you felt. Just when he thinks you're not coming do you finally find the strength, the feeling, in your legs to step out of the car. The cold air nipping at your skin, it felt like ice right now from the way your skin set ablaze. The sounds of your footsteps crunching against the snow makes him look back and his jaw drop.

"It's you."

"It's me." You respond with a little smile, your voice barely above a whisper.

Stan takes the initiative and meets you halfway, the two of you meeting on the worn out walking trail. It isn't until he steps into the moonlight that you realize he's not wearing his jacket, but you notice the ink going up and down his arms.

"You actually came. I didn't think you would."

"I almost didn't...it's cold you know." You shoot him a little smirk, changing the tone in your voice to a lighthearted tease.

Stan let's out a breathy chuckle, you can see the little puff of air that escapes his lips. He takes a step closer towards you. You can feel the heat coming off him, radiating around your body. "Yeah guess it is. Forgot my jacket."

"Were you that excited?"

"Are you kidding? Yeah! It's not fair you knew what I looked like!"

And when you giggled Stan felt himself walking on air. The way you made his heart soar from that alone. He'd never write something funny on his arm again, if he had something funny to say you'd hear it just so he could hear that laugh.

"Then I hope you're not disappointed."

"Wh... what? Of course I'm not disappoint- You have no idea how much I'm trying not to throw up right now."

"What?!"

"No! Hold on! That came out worse than I meant! I mean I'm nervous because- because you're so beautiful and-....and I'm fucking this up, aren't I?" You watch the panic in Stan's eyes as he scrambled to try and find the right words.

You broke his mind when you laughed again. If your hands didn't come out to take his he would have bolted, ran off to find hole to crawl into. Instead, your hands anchor him to that spot, your smile brings him back down just for him to get lost in your eyes.

"You do suck at communicating." You whisper and press a kiss into his cheek.

"Uh...yeah well...you're the one kissing me. So ...I must be doing something right." Stan mentally kicks himself for that comment, but he can't help that little competitiveness in him.

Stan doesn't let you get whatever you're about to say out, his lips meet yours eagerly. He knows whatever you're about to say is only going to make his face turn a deeper shade of red. When he pulls away and sees your eyes are shut and your lips still slightly parted from the kiss, he knows he's already in deep. Especially when you cupped his face and brought him in for another.

Everything felt like being turned up to eleven. Everything felt right. You felt right being in his arms like this. He never wanted to come down from this feeling and he was sure you felt the same.

#south park #reader insert #sp fanfiction #south park x reader #x reader #south park fanfiction #anon ask #requests fuel me!! #i do for you anon #stan marsh x reader #stan marsh #soulmates #soulmate au #ooooooo #sneaking a call back to the Kyle story I wrote #made me feel like I had tank treads on mah brain #i don't #my brain is smooth #shhh its a secret #fluff #another one done #got a cute request next #I've never written headcannons before #But I like them #and it's the next request so #please look forward to it #i love you guys! #be good!

[wunderlass]

I’m feeling so deflated to be writing this post. S1 had its flaws but those could be placed at the feet of a freshman showrunner who could learn from her mistakes going into S2 and up her game. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and S2 was a mess.

S1 had a clear central plotline: the mystery of Rosa’s death, leading to justice in the form of Noah’s death and Rosa’s resurrection. S2’s central plotline was…um. The kidnappings? Leading into the plot to blow up Crashcon? I think? But there was so much other stuff gong on it’s hard to tell.

Carina – if you happen to come stumbling into the tags for reactions – you’ve already acknowledged that you struggle to edit your scripts down for length. And it does show in the finished product. But you also struggle to edit your ideas down to fit into the episode count you have. There were too many extraneous plot threads this season, too many guest characters, and the ideas you had were shoddily and sloppily executed.

There were shining moments scattered here and there and the occasional good episode, but for the most part this season lurched from badly paced episode to badly paced episode. Stuff was crammed into each episode and yet somehow the plot also treaded water until 2x11 when it all kicked off – and this was because so much of what happened in the earlier episodes didn’t feed into the main plot. Even Max’s death, the overarching motivation for many characters at the beginning, was shoved to the side for other ideas.

And the payoffs for each of these storylines was too often underwhelming. Max can’t come back because he’ll be full of dark energy and a destructive force! Resolved in 30 seconds by him blowing up a pile of stuff. Max can’t remember Liz! Fixed in the same episode. That pattern continued with the finale feeling like it was trying to wrap up all these storylines without really having a story of its own. The various cliffhangers from Crashcon were tied up before the title card and then let’s spend the next 40 minutes treading water again.

There were good moments in the finale. Max and Isobel’s discussion, the Maneforrest kiss, Rosa and Helena’s reunion. But as for the rest? Hear me whine:

-          Jesse’s death was anticlimactic. His line about “no more Manes men” makes no sense given as far as he knew Flint (and maybe Clay?) is still alive. His death should have been poetic because one of his son’s killed him but it didn’t hold the weight it should have, possibly because it came so early in the episode.

-          It would have been far better if Jesse had discovered that Harlan killed Tripp and buried him beneath the shed. How awful would it have been for his entire worldview to be shaken by that revelation? How perfect would it have been if he discovered that Tripp loved Nora? If he died after learning all of that, becoming desperate and sloppy in whatever scheme he was trying to pull off (self-immolation via the bomb?), it would have been a fitting ending.

-          So many characters this season were badly served. Alex, Michael, and to a lesser extent Max, had real arcs and progression. Alex especially you can see them setting up his growth for a payoff in the finale. 

-          Kyle was shafted, shoved to the side for the Steph storyline that didn’t feel like it was going anywhere, and I suspect we got a lot of that cut away to make room for other stories.

-          Rosa’s story started off strong and then mostly got tied into rehab or helping Isobel. Them having her out and about in public in Roswell is complete nonsense.

-          Max had a line for Isobel about her becoming her “entire self” this season, and that rang false to me. We’ve only seen Isobel develop her powers. Her personality has shifted each episode, fractured and inconsistent, dependant on what the writers needed her to do. She didn’t get much of a storyline of her own – the abortion was redundant, serving as a political soapbox for Carina rather than anything that served the character – and while she’s found out more about her heritage, that’s never been as important as Michael or Max finding out about theirs. She said she wanted to become more like her mother and that never went anywhere.

-          I was so hopeful that Carina had listened and understood the criticisms with Maria’s handling in S1 and worked to improve it. She certainly gave her increased screentime. Except, so much of that screentime was tied into Michael, and latterly Isobel. She lacked interactions with Liz or Rosa. She was in two whole scenes in the finale and after she broke up with Michael, she disappeared from the story, and if that doesn’t say it all…

-          And that break-up was contrived bullshit. I’m not saying this as a shipper. It felt like they’d planned to have them break-up in the finale and wrote it even though the motivations hadn’t been properly established. Seeds were sown but they were communicating well as a couple and resolving their issues as they went along. Suddenly those issues got un-resolved and were enough to break them up.

-          The most galling part is that so much of what follows comes from Tripp’s diary, and Maria is excluded. This is her story too! Louise was her great-grandmother! Rather than sitting around her in the hospital room reading this stuff, they do it in the Crashdown.

-          Which fits the pattern of what’s happened all season. Maria found out she was part alien and it was about her powers, rather than her legacy, rather than what happened to her great-grandparents.

-          And it became clear that it was done so they could do the Nora/Tripp and Malex parallel.

-          Which completely solidifies for me where Carina’s priorities lie. She’s been clear that Malex is her favourite ship on the show and Michael is her favourite character. But this season has shown that she’s incapable of ensuring her favouritism doesn’t screw over other characters.

-          The sad thing is this really does show up in marketing. Carina always pushes and praises Vlamis and barely ever mentions Jeanine on her SM. Media outlets write about Malex as the centre of the show and they aren’t supposed to be. We have a sci-fi show with a Latina leading lady and nobody cares – not the showrunner, not the media (outside of Latinx-centric publications), not the fandom. I’m not Latina and it frustrates me so I can’t imagine how actual Latinx people feel about that.

-          Maria was dragged into a love triangle that Carina never had any intention of doing justice to. Maria and Michael were always only ever meant to be a pit-stop on the way to a big Malex reunion. Sadly it’s clear the same goes for Maneforrest. Why write something if you’re only going to do it half-arsed? And it clearly was. That’s why the Maria and Michael break-up was so perfunctory and illogical.

-          While I’m on the subject of Maria – last season Mimi was clearly deteriorating and didn’t recognise adult Maria anyway. Now that seems to have shifted to Mimi’s mind moving through time. It’s still unclear if this is the alien DNA or what was done to Patricia Deluca in Caulfield. I don’t understand why they introduced both elements – apart from being able to give Maria a line about unethical science which OH BOY what a contrast with Liz.

-          Speaking of Liz.

-          Wow.

-          If the central storyline was the kidnappings and Crashcon shenanigans, she really had no involvement with that all season apart from the very end. All the investigation went to other characters. Her mother was involved, but not Liz.

-          Let me repeat that.

-          Our lead character was not involved the central storyline of the season.

-          Alternatively, if you think Max learning about his history, and all of the reveals about 1948, and Maria’s heritage etc etc were supposed to be the main storyline…

-          Doesn’t matter because Liz wasn’t involved in any of that either!

-          Liz was a subplot in her own show after they brought Max back. Hell, she was a subplot even when she was working on that.

-          The narrative focus really has centred on Michael, Alex, and later Max.

-          I wonder what they have in common with each other.

-          If you don’t believe me, check out the screentime figures for this season. Liz had the fourth largest amount of screentime in the finale, and she’s only had majority screentime in a handful of episodes all season (2x01, 2x07, 2x11).

-          And then realise that the plot kept moving after Liz left Roswell. She’s just not part of it anymore.

-          I watched the finale and kept asking myself where Liz was because she kept disappearing for whole chunks of time.

-          She was in her own subplot about science for the back half of this season, and honestly, I’m going to have to write an entirely separate post about Liz and ethics in science because NOPE.

-          Max was right. Liz deserved to follow her calling but she had options that didn’t involve risking the aliens.

-          As such the Echo break-up was stupid but whatever, based on this season I guess it needed to happen.

-          Did Max even care that Liz left? He loved her for twenty years and then when he had her, it didn’t matter anymore? What the fuck? Are we ever going to get answers as to why he fell so hard and loved her for so long, or is the “Malex is cosmic” story more important?

-          Also the whole thing about the Genericorp lady not being interested in Liz based on meeting her at the Crashdown was stupid. You hire scientists based on the previous work they’ve done and their credentials. Diego’s word should have been enough to convince her, and then maybe an actual proper job interview to make sure she was a good fit. Not “let’s sneak into her secret lab to look at what she’s working on”.

-          When Liz does leave, she only says goodbye to Rosa and Kyle. Arturo is mentioned but not seen. Which means the whole ICE sequence this season, which should have been a solid motivation for Liz to take the Genericorp job on its own, has been resolved without a proper payoff. All that stress – scenes that I know felt genuinely stressful to some viewers because of how close to home it hit – and we don’t even get to see Arturo seeing his “genius daughter” leave with his future secured.

-          It’s plausible that Liz said goodbye to other characters – Maria, Isobel, Michael – off screen BUT SHE’S YOUR LEAD CHARACTER AND HER LEAVING TOWN SHOULD CARRY SOME EMOTIONAL WEIGHT FFS

-          Compare Liz leaving and arriving at the ocean to Buffy Summers leaving Sunnydale in Becoming Part 2. There is no contest.

-          It’s clear to me that the audience Carina writes this show for is herself. And that’s fine. Plenty of writers do that. But that means she’s writing a show for the women in fandom who like epic mlm romances with lots of angst. And the problem with that is that this show has a Latina lead who is not being done justice.

-          This is not me railing against Malex. There is space in the show for both things. This is me expressing my frustration at a showrunner and creative team who are not taking care with all characters equally.

-          Carina uses her platform to throw in politics and use characters as mouthpieces without considering their impact. She thinks she’s educating the straight white people in the audience without thinking about how scenes of ICE intimidation, homophobic violence, and racism will affect the people who are impacted by those things in real life.

-          Am I done with the show? Probably not. I’ve got fics I want to write and while I’m not hubristic enough to think I can write better than a team of professional writers, I’m going to at least try and do some of these neglected elements of the show justice.

-          Hubris. Remember when I thought that was going to be a theme of this season? Apparently not. There was no theme, unless “no editing, we die like men” counts..

#roswell new mexico #rnm spoilers

[rolltobreathe]

The Tough Post

Hi, this is Meg. This post has been coming for a while, but as you may imagine it's hard to write.

I should put the short version up top. Roll to Breathe will not return for any forseeable future, likely not ever.

We started nearly four years ago, now, on a total whim. A name was hastily chosen and wrapped around a simple logo. Our fastest artist popped out an excellent cover in a short amount of time, and we were off to the races. It was Kyle's first time GMing, his only prior experience being a few Dungeon World games. So we played, we had fun, and we were surprised by how quickly we built a small but devoted fanbase of relative strangers. We had difficulties, but we found solutions and we kept going.

After a while there was a subtle shift in our philosophy and approach to the show. I don't think it was conscious or abrupt, but a lot of us stopped approaching games for the show as a fun activity we happened to have the mics rolling for. We were artists, creators, and we were laser focused on telling a good story and creating content that our listeners would love.

This wasn't totally a bad thing. Steel City Rhapsody is, to this day, one of my favorite stories I've ever told. I'm proud of the work we did on Junkyard Elysium and Juniper Springs, and going into Masks again was exciting. But cracks had formed all throughout these games--nothing big at first, maybe a last-second episode rendering here, a cancelled session there, a few-minute-late posting over there. By the time we finished the fifteen or so sessions of the latest Masks season, the cracks had become clearly visible in the form of markedly worse mental health and unbearable creative anxieties.

When we called for the hiatus, I approached Kyle and Holly, who do all of the editing for our show. The consensus between the three of us was that Roll to Breathe was untenable, but that we'd still like to finish the Masks season.

Months passed. I thought of asking the group chat about starting up again around the first of every month, but my stomach sank with the thought and I'd put it off. Soon it was December, and it was Kyle who finally approached me about making this call. (Go thank him for it.)

It would have been nice to see the end of this Masks journey, but the improved mental well-being of our team is much nicer to see. If you like our content, we're fortunately all creative souls, and we'll still be doing things. Here's the American Graffiti ending for you!

Kyle finally told the world he was dating Meg since late 2019, for those invested in the player chemistry. It should come as no surprise, then, that Meg, who writes this, is going to gush affectionately that he's been working hard as an indie game pixel artist. His work is featured in Star Seeker, as well as the upcoming titles War Girl, Super Punchy Face, and Sun Haven. You can follow his twitter, @bugbearstew, to see where he goes next.

Meg finally stopped turning her fanfiction ideas into tabletop characters and just wrote some actual goddamn fanfiction. She still crochets a lot and recently picked back up on writing her TTRPG, The Space Between Us. You can follow her at @Yakomeg on twitter if you want to know more.

Holly took her newfound time not editing Roll to Breathe to dip her toes into a myriad of projects, none of which are fully ready to see the light of day, but all of which are highly exciting. To see them when they drop, follow @goldwright on Twitter.

Bee has not stopped drawing, even when their hand hurts, no matter how much we yell at them. They're taking their skill to the realm of webcomics; their project hasn't been fully announced yet, but those who have seen a sneak preview are excited. Follow @asimplebee on Twitter to get in on the ground floor.

Jovian returned to his home planet, where he has been plotting world domination and miscellaneous stories. He now takes art commissions and posts about story ideas via character profiles on Toyhou.se. As the rest of us, he has a twitter, @joviantwelve, for broadcasting miscellany into the world... to soften us up for a Jupiter takeover, one can suppose.

Chris, having enjoyed his time in the limelight, returned to his home swamp a changed man. While he figures out where he's going next, you can follow his twitter, @HOG_ZONE, for the highest quality of swamp posts.

Beckett dramatically sacrificed himself for this happy ending. There's a little Beckett in all of us, now, and if you look closely at photographs of major events, you may see a familiar ginger-haired boy.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for this journey.

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#actual play #ttrpg #tabletop rpg #pbta #roll to breathe

[itzagothamcitysiren]

Welcome to the Family

So this is just a little one shot I wrote like a month ago but never posted. I wanted to write something about Bruce and Alfred and how they saw Halley and Jay’s relationship early on and I think it came out pretty cute :)

Also, do I picture my Batman as Batfleck? Not exactly. I wish I could’ve seen more than what we got, (not even going to talk about Justice League here). I like how Affleck looks because he looks a lot like the Batman Animated Bruce,  WHICH is MY Batman. Kevin Conroy is my ideal Batman. Is voice is just perfect and that version of Batman is my all time favorite. 

Also I love Jeremy Irons and hope we get more of him as Alfie. 

Watchful Eyes

           People didn’t call Batman a master detective for nothing. His track record alone for turning clues that at first and even second glance, looked like nothing into something attested to that fact. Batman didn’t just beat up bad guys in the dead of night or lock away crazed psychos day in and day out. Batman was hands down one of the sharpest minds out there; Bruce Wayne, in Alfred’s opinion, was on the other hand was another story entirely.  Granted, Bruce Wayne and Batman were technically one in the same, Alfred would argue. Alfred Pennyworth knew Bruce had a one of the greatest minds but god willing, he could be so oblivious that the butler would sometimes question where he went wrong when raising him.

           Alfred wasn’t surprised that he had picked up on it first, Bruce being so consumed with his nightlife and keeping up the image and lie that was the one the public thought he had, along with running a billion dollar company, the poor man would probably forget how to properly dress himself in the morning if Alfred hadn’t already laid his clothes out for him. So when Alfred started noticing the two youngest of the household sneaking around and spending the night locked up in either’s room, it came to no surprise to him that when he mentioned it to Bruce that the man looked up to him clueless.

           Alfred tried to give him some sort of break for being so late on the pickup though. Jason wasn’t like Dick in the slightest. The former Boy Wonder had been so open about his emotions and life, where it was a miracle if Alfred got an answer to a simple question, such as, how was school today? Alfred still remembered when Dick had come rushing out of school one day after asking this nice girl in his class out on a date. He remembered the boy barely able to stop gushing about while he served him and Bruce dinner that night.  

           That had also been another factor that caused Alfred not to be surprised. Bruce busied himself a lot more than he did back then. Alfred often found himself chastising him over that fact, not excusing such behavior, but understanding why. Alfred hated nagging but he made sure it was known to him that he wasn’t just Jason’s and now Halley’s mentor, but their father figure and he should start acting as such. He made it mandatory recently that Bruce at least show up to three dinners a week.

           He was pleased when Bruce had started taking the initiative to spend more time with them. Bruce began showing more of an interest in their lives, taking part in Jason’s love of film and having occasional movie nights with him. He also took Jason to his first baseball game, overhearing how the boy had always wanted to go.  He also made it known how proud he was that Halley had decided to take part in her school’s journalism club after doing well in the class. There had been more than a handful of times where Alfred caught him reading one of her articles that were in the school paper. But even with taking more care in their lives, Bruce Wayne still hadn’t picked up on what had been so clear for the past couple of months.

           “Together?” Bruce muttered, staring at the couple in question that stood off on the training mat, sparring.

           “Yes, Master Bruce, together; as in a couple.” Alfred’s dry voice repeated, still quiet enough so the two couldn’t hear him but loud enough for Bruce to hear him clearly. “Like you and Miss Kyle, but more consistent and not as turbulent.” He compared, never failing to show up his own brand of humor.

           Bruce slowly raised his head to look up at the man, clearly not amused by his jab but not daring to defend himself; his statement was true after all. Trying not to think of his own mess of relationships, he turned his attention back to the pair, the detective in him now getting to work.

           It’d been nearly a year since Halley had officially joined the family and the change she brought to the manor had been apparent to him. After everything settled, getting back to their normal, he did note a shift in his ward. He wasn’t as aggressive, he listened more and didn’t go out of his way to test Bruce. He still had his moments, but Bruce knew he was still learning and like how Bruce was still getting over his own childhood, so was Jason. But as he already observed, he was getting better.

           Even Halley was getting better, Bruce noted. She never had the issue’s Jason had, molding into the nightlife of a Gotham vigilante quite seamlessly. Bruce meant more so that she started acting more like a normal teenager. She began hanging out with a group of friends, Jason of course joining her eventually. The change of her wardrobe was noticeable as well, Bruce seeing her no longer trying to drown herself in baggy sweaters.

           Bruce knew the changes in them were mostly influenced by the other but he didn’t think it was because of some secret relationship. He just thought it was because of having someone the same age, with the same life experiences; something like that was really rare to find and of course having someone like that would affect the way you act. He felt himself falling back into the chair, as he thought, now picking up on the fight laid out before him.

           He wouldn’t even call it a fight anymore.

           Between Jason’s lingering touches after deflecting a blow and Halley’s light jabs and prodding, Bruce deduced that they weren’t even seriously trying to train; they were playing, just like how Batman and Catwoman did. Like always, Alfred was right and Bruce could only feel himself ponder even more as Halley easily flipped Jason over her shoulder, giggling as he hit the mat with a grunt and a pout.

           Why hadn’t they felt like they couldn’t talk to him about it? He wasn’t mad, maybe a little concerned, not wanting anything to affect them in the field but he wouldn’t not allow it. He would of course set restrictions, knowing that they were still in fact teenagers who lived in very close proximities of each other and just knowing how Dick had been with girls around their age, he just wanted to make sure they were being smart.

           “Why are you just now bringing this to my attention, Alfred?”  Bruce looked back up at him.

           “I was giving time for them to come to us themselves or for you to at least notice. I may be a patient man but there are far too many secrets under this roof.” The older man shrugged his shoulders, giving Bruce a look.  

           Taking another look at them, Bruce hummed in agreement. It never did hurt to be too cautious, as Alfred hinted. But it also never hurt to put a little trust in people as well and coming from Bruce, that meant a lot. He wasn’t one to easily trust and was always over analyzing people’s motives and making contingency plan after contingency plan. He felt his mind instantly going into the motion of making one for this exact situation but seeing the smile that Jason gave Halley as he was the one to flip her to the ground made him stop all thought.

           They didn’t trust him enough to talk to him about this and Bruce couldn’t help but feel dejected. In their line of work they needed trust, they’d be left in the battle blinded if they couldn’t trust each other. And the fact that they didn’t trust him didn’t sit all that well in his stomach. Would he be watchful? Yes. Would he still plan in the case of something between them goes wrong? Yes. But would he wait until they came to him when they felt ready? Of course, because not only was he Batman, he was also Bruce Wayne and Bruce Wayne cared about his kids.

#batman fanfiction #batman x batsis #batman x daughter #batman x oc #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x daughter!reader #bruce wayne x batsis #alfred pennyworth #alfred pennyworth x batsis #batfam x batsis #Batsis #batboys x batsis #batboys #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd fanfic #Jason Todd #Jason Todd as Robin #jason todd x oc

[puckinghell]

In secret kiss with Willy?

I had this ready to go up and I figured after the stream today it must be fate. It’s so fricking long sorry I could’ve wrote a whole three part fic for this I think

–

You’d known this was going to suck, but as you watch Will’s back disappear into the crowd, you start to wondering if you should’ve just called in sick.

There’s an ugly knot in the pit of your stomach, and you don’t like it being there. After all, you and Will are not a couple.

You couldn’t be, even if you wanted to.

When you were hired as the Leafs’ photographer, it felt like the best day of your life. Who doesn’t want to do the job they love, for their favorite sports team? You were born and raised a Leafs fan and if you could’ve picked any job in the world, you would be right where you are now, taking pictures of Auston Matthews’ horrible mustache.

Didn’t mean you weren’t fricking nervous when you walked into Kyle Dubas’ office to sign your contract.

But he seemed nice enough, made pleasant small talk with you and complimented your portfolio. It wasn’t until you shook his hand, ready to leave and planning to call your dad and scream into the phone for a solid half hour, that Kyle’s face went strangely serious.

“There will be a lot of contact with the players, as you’ll be traveling with them and join them at events, but I would recommend you keep it to a strictly professional level.”

The words had thrown you and all you’d been able to say was, “Oh?”

Kyle pulled a face. “Just, our last PR person… She didn’t, and unfortunately she’s no longer with us.”

You hadn’t known it at the time but Morgan told you the story later: apparently years ago the PR girl had a thing with a player and when they broke up, they could no longer work together and one of them had to go.

And you don’t fire your 2nd line center.

But even before that story, you had seen the look in Kyle’s eyes and thought: no way.

This was your dream job, and there’s nothing, and nobody, you would risk that for.

Enter William Nylander.

You didn’t even really notice it until it was way too late, until he was pressing you into the wall in a hotel hallway, his fingers digging into your hips, leaving hot kisses all down your neck, until he muttered a quiet: “My room’s right here.”

And by then, you were too far gone.

See, at first you thought Will was just being friendly, because he’s friendly to everyone, all the time. You’ve rarely seen him in a bad mood, even when things weren’t going so well for him; he’s never rude, never stuck up, and only when things are really bad, he goes a little quiet.

But then you started noticing that he was not only being overly friendly, he was also seeking your company literally all the time, and he would touch you without reason – just his hand on your lower back or your arm as he brushed by, or a half hug after games.

And, well, yadayada, from one thing came the next, and now you think you’re kinda dating except you’re not, because you can’t and will not lose this job, but you’re definitely sleeping together, which is probably also against Kyle’s rules, but you haven’t checked.

It’s working decently well for you; Will is an affectionate enough guy that his teammates don’t bat an eyelash when he half drapes himself over you and he’s spontaneous enough that they don’t even look up when he leaves halfway through dinner.

You’re enjoying yourself.

But.

These team galas are always fun because you get to go around and take pictures of the boys having a good time, and they’ll pull you in and rope you into any conversation, so you end up just chatting with them and taking sips of their champagne.

But the last time you did one of these, you weren’t sleeping with Will yet, so you didn’t care about the fact that there’s always different girls around whose main objective, you think, is to see how many times they can bat their eyelashes at a Leafs player.

Normally, you wouldn’t mind – you do you, girl, get it – except now…

Except now you’re gritting your teeth and staring at a beautiful girl hanging off Will’s arm, and you think if you squeeze your camera any harder the lens is gonna crack.

But you can’t very well do anything about it.

“You okay there?”  Of course it’s Zach Hyman, an amused and all-too-knowing smile on his face as he approaches you.

If you would’ve put money on the first person to figure out what’s happening, it would’ve been Morgan or maybe Muzz, but it certainly wouldn’t have been Zach. Except it should’ve been, because Zach and Will seem to have this telepathic connection that means any time Will looks in your direction a bit too long, Zach seems to catch it.

He hasn’t said anything. So far.

“I’m fine,” you lie. “Don’t you have some sponsor to talk to?”

Zach only laughs, ignores your question. “That girl he’s talking to hooked up with Kappy last year and he knows it. He’s not interesting. But he can’t just ignore her with all the sponsors watching, that’d be rude.”

You absolutely do not appreciate the way your stomach lurches, at that information.

“You should go over there,” Zach continues. “He’s looking for someone to rescue him.”

You did notice Will look around in somewhat desperate fashion, but there’s not really a lot you can do about it.

Especially since you just saw Kyle somewhere in that general direction.

“I can’t,” you manage to bring out, and you have no idea what Zach knows but his face softens.

“How about,” he hums, taking your arm as he starts to guide you in Will’s direction, “you go take a picture of me and Will? Our suits match.”

Their suits are both some shade of grey, but that’s as close as they get; however you take Zach’s excuse for what it is and follow him towards Will.

When Will catches your eyes, his face lights up.

“Y/N!” he exclaims, cutting the girl off in the middle of a sentence. “Zachy! How nice to see you.”

“We did say we need a picture together.” Zach motions to you. “Found her.”

“Huh?” Will looks confused as he clearly tries to rack his brain for when that conversation happened and comes up with nothing, but then it seems to click. “Oh, I did say that, huh? Let’s do it. Sorry, Melanie, give me a minute.”

Zach puts his arm around Will’s shoulders and they pose. You take the picture and notice, to your annoyance, that the girl – Melanie – is still standing there, clearly waiting for Will to be done.

You desperately wish Kappy would appear; he’s always flirting with random blonde girls but when you need him to, he’s nowhere to be seen.

“Let me see it,” Will demands, hand grasping your elbow and tugging you closer to him. It’s a weird request, because for as much people seem to think Will is vain, he is one of the only ones that never requests to proof his photos.

Maybe he knows he always looks stupidly good.

You let yourself be tugged against him anyway, because, well, obviously, and try to still your shaking hands when he hooks his chin over your shoulder to look at the screen of the camera.

What you don’t expect is for him to put his lips near your ear and mumble: “Back door, 2 minutes.”

Before you can ask him what the hell he’s talking about he grins and exclaims loudly: “That’s a good picture! I actually wanted one with Kap, too, I’m gonna go find him.” And disappears into the crowd.

Zach sends you a knowing grin, then turns to Melanie.

“So, how’s your evening been?”

Although Melanie seems a bit downed by the ring on Zach’s finger, she still goes straight into the small talk and you manage to slip away, making a mental note to thank Zach later.

And buy him the best Christmas present ever this year.

You find the back door and slip out; it leads to an alley that’s both dark and empty, except for the blonde guy in a suit, leaning against the wall.

“Mitchy told me about this,” he grins. “Said him and Steph snuck off last year and nobody found them for hours until someone came out for a smoke.”

You don’t even manage to answer him before his hands find your hips and yank, having you stumble straight into his body, falling against his chest. His face is close enough that you can see the darkness in his eyes, and the tilt of his lips.

“Kyle doesn’t smoke,” Will whispers against your lips, and then he kisses you.

Despite being in a literal alley trying to sneak away from your employer, making out secretly beside a dumpster, Will kisses you slow and deep, until your toes are curling in your way too uncomfortable heels.

Your hands make their way to his waist and you feel the hard panes of his abs under his shirt, and then he shifts his thigh between yours and you feel something else hard, as well.

Finally he breaks the kiss. You feel a bit dazed as he goes to nip on the skin below your ear, voice low as he mumbles: “Not that I’m happy about this being a secret, but this sneaking off stuff is kinda hot, right?”

And you’re probably gonna need two bottles of wine and a four hour talk with your best friend to dissect what that means, that he’s not happy with this ‘being a secret’, but right now you kinda just want him to keep kissing you, so you decide to ignore what has the potential to be the root of a lot of pain and heartbreak along the line and instead press up on your toes so his lips slide to your shoulder.

“Impatient,” Will mumbles gruffly.

“Don’t like seeing you with other girls,” you admit. The words, although soft, sound loud in the empty alley and you wonder if they’re too much, too soon.

But Will simply breaks away and takes your chin between his fingers, forces them to look at you.

“I know,” he says, as if it means nothing at all. “But I need you to remember that even if I have to spend all night listening to them, I’m only going home with you.”

And you think as long as that is the case you can force yourself to get through this night.

As soon as you’re done with kissing Will.

(Which is not soon at all)

---

No more requests please! These will be tagged ‘blurb’ if you want to blacklist

#william nylander #toronto maple leafs #blurb #regular blurb

[astranne]

A new Batmom, bc Batfam deserves this

So... while I wrote another idea of mine down, this one just hit me like a fucking truck. Ugh, I have so many ideas but not the time to write it down. Fuck my life. 

Anyway.

We have one random amazon and one Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. The two of them have an affair or something like that and the amazon becomes pregnant. Slade doesn’t really loves her, just cares dearly for her, because why not. Naturally Ra’s finds out and kills the amazon, to piss Slade of. Slade still thinks she died of child birth. So, he isn’t really the best father and he has still a job. He takes his child, who is a daughter, named her Artemis and went to the league of assassins. There she grows up and becomes something like Ra’s right hand. Slade doesn’t really care, what she does, he just wants her safe. And she’s half amazon and has a meta as father, so she should be pretty safe. Anyway. Ra’s trains her personally, he wants her to make the next Lady Shiva. But the problem, the real Lady Shiva doesn’t take that well. She thinks, that Artemis is just a mindless puppy of Ra’s and kills her. Ra’s brings her back, many hate him for that because nobody really likes Artemis. She follows the orders of Ra’s and does anything for him, or so everybody tough. 

Anyway. Artemis has been killed many times, by metas, assassins or magicians or even aliens. But Ra’s always brought her back. So many times, that half of her hair became white. And then she met Bruce, who begins to train in the League. She is one of his trainers and sees great potential in him. So he becomes her ‘project’, Ra’s sees that but doesn’t say anything. When this man is worthy of Artemis time, he must be good. 

And then Bruce becomes Batman, Dick his first Robin and all the shit. Artemis is still the right hand of Ra’s but then Damian is born. For the first time she speaks against the Al Ghul family and she says, that this child is either their greatest triumph or their downfall. Talia accuses her of being jealous and Artemis snaps. Also for the first time. Ra’s sees, that Talia made a mistake, so he takes Damian from his daughter and gives him to Artemis. He tells her to train him like an assassin, but better. Artemis understands, he wants that Damian one day can take over the league, since Talia is not really suitable for this position. 

Damian still grows up as an assassin, but doesn’t cares for his mother, since she ‘raped’ his father and went against his grandfathers orders. Artemis becomes his mother figure. She realizes, that this is not really a life for him, he’s a son of a great hero, he’s more than just a puppet. Just like her. She talks with her father and Slade just grins. He’s so going to destroy Ra’s. So, over the years he gathers followers and when Damian became ten, he attacked Ra’s. Artemis told Damian to find his father and saved Talias life, but dies. Talia sees now, that Artemis is absolutly loyal to the family Al Ghul and uses the pit for the last time. She brings Damian to Bruce, who is still shocked, that he has a son. Artemis becomes the right hand of Talia, but her father rescues her and tells Talia to fuck of. Omg, this scene would be so gold. The two fighting over Artemis, who is just standing there, watching the whole scene and doesn’t seem to care. 

Anyway. 

Slade takes his daughter back and Artemis works with him. She meets the Batfam, Damian as Robin, who recognizes her. She was fighting against Wonder Woman, when he called her ‘mother’. Almost cries. Everyone is confused. Artemis is a proud mom, tells him that. And then Bruce also recognizes her, just like everyone of the Batfam who met the league. 

“But the last time I saw you, you killed for Ra’s.”

“That’s what everyone tought. I worked together with Deathstroke to start a rebellion, this would bring enough chaos to sneak Damian away.” 

And so Artemis became part of the Batfam, is also the mom of the family. She’s sometimes Batwoman, when Kate is out of town. 

Anyway. 

Bruce and her totally are something, but the two of them are not really good with feelings so they are together? But not official and yeah. The press/world thinks, she was the one who raised Damian, when his mother couldn’t look after him. But some of Bruce’s former lovers are jealous, like Selina Kyle. Selina tries to fight her, the video about Catwoman and Batwoman fighting goes viral. Because Catwoman yells something about stealing her man and Batwoman just stares at her and fights back, isn’t even really trying. Knocks her out and drags her to the police station. And then Robin comes, calls her mother and everyone looses their shit. They know, there are two Batwomans, the first one is surley the sister of Batman, but this one must be his lover, when Robin calls her mother. And everybody knows, that Robin is Batmans son. Honestly, how people don’t figure out their identities...

Anyway. Everybody knows, not to piss of the second Batwoman. She barley talks, fights better then Batman and is just scary. The dynamic duo, Batman and Robin, becomes the terrific trio. The three don’t need to talk, are ‘ruthless’ and now the most scary ones of the batfam. 

So. And then Bruce vanishes. Artemis adopts Damian and takes care of the family. Dick becomes Batman, fakes the death of Nightwing but is really stressed. A half year later there is a huge breakout from Arkham and the whole Batfam starts to fight, the whole world sees this, but doesn’t really understand. They fight over being Batman? Everyona watches, how they begin to vote, until Robin speaks up.

“Tt. You are all not worthy of fathers legacy. I am the son of Batman, so I should wear his mask.” Another discussion breaks out, but Robin speaks again. 

“But we all are trained to be worthy of the legacy of Batman. Some are fitted more than others. I think mother should be the next Batman. She trained him, she was the first of us, she was the beginning.” The Batfam just looks at each other. 

“All in favor?”, asks Red Robin. 

And this is how Artemis became Batman. The Justice League didn’t take it well, but she told them she isn’t so forgiving and patient like Bruce. If they don’t stop the drama, Batman won’t be a part of the Justice League anymore. And that would be a huge hit. 

Now Batman is even feared more, because this Batman wields many weapons and is one of the best fighters the villians ever saw. Deathstroke slips that she’s the daughter of an amazon and assassin. Now everyone loses their shit again. Because she her strenght is the one of a normal human and her refelxes are abnormal, but that could be training. James Gordon asks her, and she stares at him and sais, “My mother was an amazon, yes. But I don’t have her strength, just inherited the talent for fighting. I was raised as an assassin and I killed before, but I also trained the first Batman.”

So yeah... some time passes, until Artemis finds Bruce. He was kidnapped by some former assassins and tortured him for a long time. Everyone is glad, that Bruce is back, but what to tell the world? 

So Artemis becomes once again the partner of Deathstroke, who kidnapped Bruce Wayne and tried to find out all his secrets. Batman and Robin find him then in a locked apartement, someone of the police told that the press and the whole world watches (again) how the heroes find a tied up and unconscious Bruce Wayne, nearly bleeding out. 

And the problem with Batman? So, they teleport Bruce, in his old costume, in the middle of Gotham, fighting Artemis, who is dressed as the head of the league. Later Batman (Bruce) tells the press, he found out, that this assassin wanted to take over the world and he could only stop it, if he went to the future and defeated her. (I’m a fucking genius, this would do a creat comic)

Anyway. 

Bruce becomes Batman again, Artemis is now finally Batwoman. And after some time, the two become officially a pair. This takes like 3 years, after their first kiss, but they’ve known each other for sooo much longer.

And Slade made a truce with Bruce, the Batfam is now under his protection. 

They could totally take over the world. 

Soo... feel free to use this idea for an oneshot or a story, just tag me so I can read and reblog it! 

Masterlist

#batman #nightwing #red hood #red robin #robin #batgirl #black bat #the whole batfam #batfam #batfamily #dc #justice league #league of assassins #ra's al ghul #talia al ghul #damian al ghul #bruce wayne #damian wayne #slade wilson #artemis #amazon #amazons of themyscira #wonder woman #batwoman #ugh #so many persons in this #new story idea #justhugefangirl writes {🥀} #justhugefangirl creates {🌹}

[angsty-nerd]

RNM 2X13 - Echo Download

I've been having a hard time trying to put my feelings about the Season 2 finale into words, so I've been sitting on it for a few days, reading everyone's metas, and trying to organize and separate my actual thinky thoughts from the angst and heartache. That… is not something I am particularly good at. But I'm trying.

I LOVE this show. The writing is a mess. There's plot holes all over the place. The pacing issues alone make me want to tear my hair out. And dear God do I want them to give these characters and relationships (including friendships) the time and space for the big moments to land properly. I don't know if we'll ever get any of that though. And in the meantime, I love these characters and the story, messes and all.

Everyone knows my biggest love is Echo, so I'm gonna start there.

"I don't know what you thought love was gonna be like when we were 17, but it's not all sunsets and horseback rides."

Back in the OG days, there was one consistent criticism I had with the way they wrote Max and Liz's story: the breakups always felt like bullshit. Max breaks up with Liz because she was afraid of some weird alien shit. Liz breaks up with Max because he's "supposed to be with Tess" and meanwhile he's like, "um… no?" We had "it's too dangerous" when it was dangerous regardless. "We're just different" but not in ways that actually mattered.

Echo's breakup mattered. There were issues and they were not dealing with them. Both of them were sneaking around behind the other's back. Neither was being fully honest with the other.

The unwavering honesty was something that stood out to me in S1. Yes, Max was hiding the truth about Rosa's death. But when it came to the present they were almost laughably open with each other. Liz didn't lie about it when Max asked if she told Kyle the truth. When Max asked what she was doing in the lab, she told him the truth. Once Liz knew the truth about Rosa, she knew everything. It seemed like with that truth out there was nothing left to hide. And once they got together they were a team. Immediately. There's a reason that we had a joking headcanon in the Echo world that they had their first kiss and then they were a married couple.

I really think Max's death not only put that to a screeching halt...it also put them on this path to the breakup. Liz has abandonment issues, and Max made a choice, without her, that resulted in him leaving her alone. It wasn't openly discussed in the depth that it should have been this season, but I really do think it was issue #1. Liz loves Max and she was very happy being with him...but after he came back from the dead she didn't trust him to not leave her again. It was an issue simmering under the surface from Episode 7 until the finale. Liz channeled it all into worrying about his heart, but the underlying theme was a resounding "I can't go through that again". Which is deeper than just the worry over a physical health problem. And it pushed Max away from her.

He grew irritable with her. He started hiding things from her and lying to her. The season just ended and I have no idea if he ever told her anything about his memory flashes! He was obsessively trying to learn about his past and never once discussed it with Liz!?? Because he didn't want her to stop him from using the serum? This is a HUGELY personal thing to Max and you can see how much it means to him. He had tears in his eyes while telling Isobel about it. I mean, that puppy dog excitement, and yet, he hides it all whenever Liz is around.

I think it was around episode 8 that we started talking about how badly they needed to have a big fight. Us -- the Echo shippers -- the ones who WANT them to be together -- were BEGGING them to fight. I hate conflict!! But the lack of honestly and the aversions were just building and building and I just wanted it all out on the table.

They finally STARTED having that fight in episode 11, but then Rosa and Isobel interrupted. In retrospect, sweet alien!Jesus, I wish they could have finished then. Maybe they would have gotten the air clear between them. Maybe it would have put them on a path to healing their relationship before the finale. But they didn't, so the breakup happened. And the thing is… that ending. It just kind of haunts me. Liz waiting and hoping for a grand gesture that never comes. I mean, did Max even know WHEN she was leaving!?! He sure didn't seem to have it on his mind when they flashed to him in that scene. And their fight...was all about what Liz was doing and Max not taking care of his heart. They never once touched on what he was trying to learn about his past. I'm pretty certain that Liz left without knowing any of that.

And the thing is… I'm sort of skirting around the meat of the issue here. Because the biggest problem of all of this was Liz violating Max by studying his biology without consent.

I really hate saying that in writing, because, to me, it's kind of the most horrible part of all of this.

Max Evans has been referred to in jest in this fandom as the King of Consent. He was so careful with Liz, tiptoeing around her looking for explicit consent in Season 1 until her desire for him was made abundantly clear. He only ignored the need for consent twice: both times in the S1 finale. Healing Michael's hand and healing Rosa. But those things both happened after he killed Noah. After he was high on his own power. They were very clearly set up as out of character for him.

Liz didn't give him the same respect. Consent does not just apply to sexual situations and healing. It applies to studying too. It applies to Liz USING Max's biology without his permission. It also applies to administering the cure to Steph without her consent. Liz was very, very wrong here.

And the thing is… it sure didn't seem like the writers saw it that way. It also didn't seem like JEANINE saw it that way. There's been a little bit more balanced quotes from them in interviews this week since the finale ended as far as saying that both Max and Liz were wrong, but they sure focused on Liz being incredible and strong before the finale aired.

The part that confuses me though...like, a LOT, is that the narrative was pretty clear that what Liz was doing was Bad and Wrong. She looked guilty. She was lying and hiding things from Max. And the MORAL COMPASS OF THE SHOW, Mr. Kyle Valenti, repeatedly told her she was wrong. Kyle called her out on her ethical violations even as he was thanking her for saving Steph.

Genoryx was set up as being bad. Liz herself refused to go work for them in the flashbacks because they were morally sketchy. Although, maybe that's the draw now that she is all full of ethical violations. Sigh.

I'm gonna leave this topic now, but I'll encourage you to go read @latessitrice's meta on the subject here:

Okay...so to sum this up? The breakup was coming. We knew it was coming. But it still hurt my heart so much. I haven't seen anyone gif Jeanine's performance of the "I am in love with you. And I hate that right now." But the delivery of that line broke me.

That being said...do I see it being over? Let's give that a resounding FUCK, NO. I mean, sure, they fought. And it hurt. And Liz ran away. Without saying goodbye. And all of that SHATTERED ME.

But...they still love each other even if they both have a lot to work on individually. That’s part of what MADE it so hard.

I am actually stoked for season 3. Two Maxes? All of the delicious angst once Liz gets home. Liz not knowing there's two Maxes and meeting Jones first and not knowing who he is and being vulnerable to his mindfuckery? Or just his fuckery in general. Whatever. I am here for it.

I am here for Liz discovering that something about Genoryx is Not Right. I'm here for her living a normal life and getting drawn back into the madness. I'm here for Max getting more powerful and more alieny under Jones's guidance. And I am here for what I am certain will be an epic reunion once they are back together again.

As a last more positive comment...I’m stoked that we get to have both Max and Liz alive and facing interesting potential storylines this hiatus. All I wanted from this finale, in truth, was to leave the characters in a place that inspired me to want to write for them for the next year plus or however long this COVID-extended hiatus ends up being. And I am so excited for that.

And I have talked enough now that I will go ahead and post this and leave this post as my Echo Takeaways from the finale. I'll be back again with some more gen/bigger picture thoughts later.

#roswell new mexico #rnm season 2 #rnm echo #max&liz #max evans #liz ortecho #ogroswell #feeling the feels #ouch my heart #rnm echo meta #my meta

[bellakitse]

Of cute beagles and decidedly cuter owners

For @gra-sonas who had this excellent post and let me use it. I hope this is fluffy enough for you, hon!

Michael, Rosa, Kyle, and Jenna just moved into a new place that doesn't allow pets, luckily across the street is the cutest beagle ever. Rosa is ready to plan a dog-nap, Michael suggests writing a note to the owner instead.

All Rosa wants is to play with Buffy, while all Michael wants is Buffy's owner.

Michael arrives home sometime after six p.m., the hallway of the modest townhouse he and his roommates moved into, still has boxes lying around. They've been in the two-story home for three weeks now. But with work and school, no one has found the time to finish unpacking. Michael has his new teaching post at the university while he works on his doctorate. Kyle has medical school. Jenna, a rookie cop, works crazy hours, and Rosa, their resident artist, has been using all her waking hours to work on a set of pieces she hopes will end up in the city’s next art exhibit. None of them have been particularly motivated to put boxes away, but Michael is starting to think he’s going to have to say something soon, or there’s a chance the boxes will become part of the décor.

“Guerin!” Jenna greets from the kitchen as he makes it into the living room. “Thai or Chinese for dinner?”

“Whatever Valenti doesn’t want,” he calls back out to her, smirking when he hears the man in question curse at him from the kitchen. He hears a chuckle and turns to find Rosa in her favorite spot of the house, the big bay windows. It was the selling point for Rosa when they decided to rent the place together.

“You have to start getting along with him eventually, Michael,” she says, not looking up from her sketching pad.

“Do I have to?” Michael questions as he drops his bag on the couch and walks over to her, lifting her legs to sit down. He leans over to sneak a peek at what she’s working on to find the drawing of a beagle.

“It would help,” Rosa says, a smirk on her face. “We did sign a one-year lease, you’re stuck until then.”

“Cute dog,” he points at her work, instead of acknowledging her comment.

“It belongs to the neighbor across the street, I saw them this morning,” she explains with a smile that turns into a frown moments later. “It sucks that we can’t have a pet here.”

Michael nods; he’s heard all three of his roommates complain about it. Their landlord had killed their hopes for a pet before they signed on the dotted line of their lease.

“I love that expression,” Michael points at the drawing, the beagle has an impressive resting bitch face.

Rosa laughs, nodding in agreement. “I only saw them for a second, but that face is memorable. I had to stop myself from running across the street to beg the owner to let me play with his dog, probably would have freaked the guy out.”

Michael chuckles at the comment, Rosa is the more impulsive one of them all, he could totally picture her on a puppy-high scaring some poor guy into thinking that he was going to get robbed for his dog.

“We just moved in, Rosa, can we maybe wait a few weeks before scaring off the neighbors?” he teases, laughing when she gives him an unimpressed look.

“You’re supposed to be the fun one, Michael,” Rosa pouts. “Kyle and Jenna are the strict, boring ones. You should be helping me plan a dog-nap.”

Michael opens his mouth, only to be interrupted by Kyle and Jenna walking into the living room.

“What’s this about a dog-napping?” Kyle questions, coming to sit down on the couch. Jenna sits next to him, leaning into his space. Her hair is messed up, and her lipstick smudged off, some of it transferred to Kyle’s white polo.

Michael and Rosa look at them, and then at each other, wrinkling their noses in distaste. This is what they get for moving in with a couple who can’t keep their hands off each other.

“Whatever you did in our kitchen, I hope you disinfected it,” Rosa comments still making a face. Michael nods in agreement, a part of him a little jealous of what Kyle and Jenna have. He wants someone to make out with in the kitchen, someone to smile at him the way Jenna and Kyle smile at each other. Something real, like what they have.

Kyle blushes under Rosa’s judging look, but Jenna just rolls her eyes, running her hand through Kyle's hair to settle him.

“Dog-napping, Rosa?” she questions, getting back on track.

“Oh!” Rosa lightens up at the mention, and Michael is starting to worry about just how serious she is. “The beagle across the street, it’s precious.”

“I saw it the other day,” Kyle says with a smile of his own. “Very cute dog.”

“Very cute owner, too,” Jenna comments, tugging on Kyle’s hair when he pouts, it says more than Michael needs to know about their relationship.

“True,” Rosa agrees after a moment, thinking about it. “But not so cute that I’m not totally willing to steal his dog.”

“We haven’t even been here a month,” Michael speaks before Rosa can really get going. “Let’s not commit a crime just yet.”

Rosa exhales loudly like she thinks he’s the biggest party-pooper ever, for not encouraging the stealing of an animal. “What do you suggest then? Because I need to cuddle that dog, bad.”

Michael thinks for a moment before his eyes light up with an idea. He pulls Rosa’s sketch pad and pencil out of her lap. “We can write the owner a note asking if we can meet his dog,” Michael suggests, quickly composing the letter when no one says no. “Dog people understand crazy dog love.”

“Tell them they have the best dog,” Rosa instructs him.

“Ask what treats it likes,” Kyle chips in, getting into it.

“We can take it for a walk if they’re too busy,” Jenna adds, just as excited.

He finishes the note, signing it with all their names and adding Rosa’s drawing. “There. I’ll drop it off in the morning,” he says satisfied, the others nod seemingly pleased themselves. “Now, about dinner…”

*

Michael doesn’t think about it the next day, he tapes the note to their neighbor’s front door and goes to the university where he spends the day teaching freshmen in his Engineering Physics class. It’s only when he gets back home and finds Rosa practically vibrating with excitement that he even remembers about their neighbor and their dog.

“They wrote back, Michael!” she shouts as soon as he walks through the door, waving a piece of paper in the air.

“Who?”

“Buffy Manes!” Rosa exclaims, rolling her eyes at him when he doesn’t answer. “That’s the beagle’s name, look they left a note.”

Michael takes the piece of paper, instantly charmed by the paw print on the back.

It starts:

‘To my new friends, Michael, Rosa, Kyle and Jenna’

Thank you for your nice letter! It made my tail wag all night. The drawing was so good, whoever drew it is very talented, a perfect likeness.

My name is Buffy Manes, and I’m 4-years-old. I love treats of any kind. I love playing catch, -tennis balls are my favorite- and digging holes.

I am the bestest girl! Thank you for noticing, my dad tells me that every day.

I would very much like to meet my new friends, so I’m giving you my dad’s number, call any time.

Sincerely,

Buffy and Alex Manes

505-718-2035

 “Okay,” Michael starts, a smile tugging at his face. “This is seriously fucking cute.”

“She liked my drawing,” Rosa says happily, which Michael finds hilarious. “And her name is Buffy, how adorable is that? If it’s for Buffy, the vampire slayer, this Alex guy is my new best friend. He has the cutest dog and good taste in 90’s tv shows, we need to call them, now.”

“What about Kyle and Jenna?”

Rosa waves his question away. “They went on a date,” she says, tugging at his shirt impatiently. “Let’s call.”

“Okay, okay,” he laughs as he pulls out his phone and dials the number, ringing a few times before someone picks up.

“Manes,” greets a deep voice that makes Michael stand up straighter as it sends a shiver up his spine. That is a very nice voice.

“Um, hi, Alex?” he starts, suddenly nervous. “This is Michael, your neighbor from across the street, my roommates and I left you a note about your dog, Buffy?”

“Right,” Alex says, letting out a soft chuckle. “With the drawing, it was really good.”

“Thanks,” Michael says, grunting when Rosa pokes him. “That was Rosa, she’s the artist, and she’s in love with your dog.”

“You’re not?” Alex questions, sounding a little offended.

“I’m actually the only one of my roommates that hasn’t seen Buffy,” he admits, as Alex makes an amused noise. “But I’m sure she’s great, her letter was perfect. Did it take long to teach her how to write?”

Alex laughs, making Michael feel pleased and oddly proud. “No, she’s a genius, it took no time at all.”

“Well you should be very proud,” he jokes getting another laugh out of Alex. “So anyway, we were hoping that we could arrange that meet-up with Buffy, and you, of course, any time you want,” he rushes to say, ignoring the way Rosa is looking at him.

“We’re home now,” Alex starts, a little hesitant. “If you want to come over.”

“Now?” Michael questions to which Rosa starts nodding vigorously. “It would just be Rosa and me, Kyle and Jenna are out, is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Alex breathes, sounding more at ease. “That’s probably better actually, I don’t do great with a lot of people. We’ll meet you two outside in 10?”

“Okay,” Michael says quickly. “See you guys in a few, thanks.”

“Not a problem, Michael,” Alex says before hanging up. He decides then and there that he likes the way Alex says his name.

“Were you really flirting with a stranger over the phone?” Rosa questions incredulously.

“No!” Michael denies, blushing when Rosa raises an eyebrow at him. “Maybe?”

Rosa shakes her head at him, amused more than anything else. “Keep your head in the game Guerin, we are in it for the dog. Let’s go.”

Michael follows Rosa out of their home, she’s practically shaking by the time they cross the street and open Alex’s gate.

“Don’t freak them out,” he warns. “Alex said he’s not the best with people.”

“I’ll behave,” she promises just as their neighbor’s door opens.

A robust beagle comes out first, followed by what has to be the most beautiful man Michael has ever seen. He has tousled dark hair, big deep brown eyes, cheekbones that could cut glass, and full pink lips quirked up into a hesitant smile. The rest of him is perfect too, strong shoulders and arms, wrapped in a soft-looking grey Henley, and he’s in a pair of black jeans that hug his legs nicely. As he takes a step forward, Michael notices the crutch in his left hand.

“Michael, Rosa?” he questions as he comes down two short steps, standing before them.

“Hi,” Michael breathes, if possible, Alex is even more gorgeous up close, especially when he smiles at Michael.

“Hi,” he greets back at him, before looking at Rosa to give her a smile of her own. “Well, you didn’t come to see me,” he says, looking down at his dog, who is standing faithfully at his side, waiting. “This is Buffy.”

Buffy looks up at him at her name.

“They’re here for you, baby girl,” he speaks to her. “Greet.”

The moment Alex says the command, Buffy leaves his side, making her way toward Rosa as she gets down to her knees to pet her. Buffy’s tail starts wagging excitedly the second Rosa starts to pet her.

“Who’s a good girl,” Rosa coos at Buffy. “You are, you’re such a good girl, so sweet.”

“She’s a therapy dog,” Alex tells them with a proud look on his face as he watches his dog. Michael bends down too, letting Buffy sniff his hand first, chuckling when she starts to lick it.

“She’s very friendly,” Michael comments, looking up at Alex, his breath catching when he finds Alex’s eyes on him.

Alex nods, his expression soft. “She likes to make friends.”

“We can be her friends,” Rosa says quickly, as she rubs the top of Buffy’s head, looking back at Alex. “Her name? Is it because of the show?”

“Yeah, when my friend Maria and I picked her at the shelter, she said that Buffy would slay my demons,” Alex says with a slight laugh. “It stuck, so I named her Buffy.”

Michael bites down on his lip as he stands up, he does it to keep from asking what Alex’s demons are, wanting to know everything about him.

The rest of the visit, they’re on Alex’s porch. Rosa plays with Buffy, while Michael stares at Alex like an idiot as he tells them cute anecdotes about his dog. He shares a little bit about himself with them, each tidbit Michael stores away for later. He learns that Alex was in the Air Force until he got hurt. Alex knocks on his leg, which Buffy responds by leaving the belly rubs Rosa is giving her to press her small head against her owner’s leg. The gesture obviously meant to comfort him, which going by the smile on Alex’s face it does. He still does military work but as a private contractor and mostly from home and has had Buffy since his enlistment ended, and he hasn’t been in town too long, only a few months.

“I don’t really know much around here,” he comments with a shrug. “The base, the market, and the dog park, but that’s pretty much it.”

“I can show you around,” Michael blurts out before he can stop himself, he feels himself go hot as he feels Rosa’s eyes burn into the side of his face. He knows the second they’re alone; she’s going to mock the hell out of him.

Alex starts to smile only to look over at Rosa. “Umm,” Alex begins nervously, and Michael realizes with surprising clarity that Alex thinks they’re together.

Luckily Rosa seems to notice too, jumping in before he can make a fool of himself. “You guys should go,” she says with a grin. “This loser barely goes out himself, it’s just home and the university for him. Sad, really.”

“You’re just as bad as me,” he argues, trying to defend himself. “When’s the last time you went out?”

“Last week,” Rosa says smugly. “I met up with that hot blonde who modeled for me a few weeks ago, she showed me her portfolio,” she continues, waggling her eyebrows which makes Alex laugh. “You guys could go get a bite, and I can stay and hang with Buffy.”

Alex smirks at her, his eyes dancing with amusement. “That’s really what you’re after, isn’t it?”

“I’ll be honest, you can turn out to be Dahmer and eat Guerin,” Rosa says bluntly, ignoring him when he makes a noise of protest. “I’m cool as long as I get to keep playing with your dog.”

Alex looks at her, letting out a low whistle.

“As you can see, I need better friends,” Michael says, shooting Rosa a glare. “Do you want to go get something to eat?”

Alex bites down on his bottom lip, and it takes everything in Michael not to lean in and do it for him. “Now?”

Michael nods. “No time like the present.”

Alex smiles softly at him, there is a slight rosy color on his cheeks that makes Michael’s heart skip a beat. “Okay, let me get my wallet.”

“And I get to watch Buffy?” Rosa asks hopefully, as he stands. “I’ll take real good care of her, give you picture updates and everything.”

Alex looks at Rosa for a moment before nodding, his amusement obvious. “Sure, she’s really mellow, so I don’t see it being a problem if you really want to watch her.”

“Alex, you’re my new best friend,” Rosa says with a serious expression on her face.

“I’m sure that would mean more to him if you hadn’t just offered your current best friend up to be eaten,” Michael grumbles at her.

Alex laughs as he heads inside.

“This is where you say thank you,” Rosa whispers at him.

Michael frowns at her.”You did nothing,” he answers, getting a snort back.

“I just wing-womaned the shit out of this,” Rosa gripes. “You were just staring at him like a smitten idiot.”

Michael hates that he can’t argue with the truth, and in a fit of childishness, sticks his tongue out at her.

“Mature,” Rosa laughs as Alex comes back.

He gives them a curious look as he closes his door, leash in hand. “We usually go for a walk at seven,” he says, handing Rosa the leash after attaching it to Buffy. “She likes the park two blocks away.”

Rosa nods as she starts walking towards the gate with Buffy. He and Alex follow behind them, crossing the street back to their place where his truck is parked.

“We’ll go for a lovely walk, don’t worry,” Rosa promises.

Alex kneels down to rub Buffy under her chin, getting a lick for his troubles.

“Be good Buffy, I’ll be back soon,” he says tenderly before pressing a kiss on the top of her head, it makes something inside Michael flutter behind his ribcage.

Standing back to his feet, he walks over to Michael, giving him a charmed look when Michael opens the door of his truck for him.

“Have fun you two,” Rosa tells them as Michael puts the car in drive. She picks up Buffy and heads inside.

“You just made her night,” he tells Alex as he starts to drive downtown.

“I’m glad,” Alex answers, flashing him a smile. “You said in your note that you guys can’t have pets?”

“Grumpy landlord,” Michael explains.

Alex makes a face. “That really sucks. I got lucky, my landlady didn’t seem big on pets either, I wasn’t even going to interview for the place, but I brought Buffy with me and explained that she’s my therapy dog and I guess Buffy won her over. It’s hard resisting her face.”

“Probably hard resisting yours too,” Michael blurts out, already cringing before the words are completely out of his mouth. He keeps his eyes on the road to avoid looking at Alex, but after a moment of silence, he can’t help but sneak a peek at him. There’s a shy smile on Alex’s face, and his eyes are welcoming as he looks back at Michael, making him feel more confident to continue. “It’s a very nice face.”

Alex’s smile grows until he’s laughing softly, shaking his head at Michael's boldness. “You have a very nice face too, Michael.”

Michael grins to himself, his heart beating faster with excitement. He parks the car outside his favorite Mexican restaurant. “Hope you like tacos,” he says as he gets out, going around the car to Alex’s door.

“Are you even allowed to live in New Mexico if you don’t like tacos?” he questions, passing Michael his crutch. He gets out, and Michael reaches out his hand at his waist to steady him, his body responding instantly when Alex lets out a small gasp at his touch.

Michael lifts his eyes to Alex’s face, finding his gaze already on him, eyes wide, lips slightly parted, and Mickael knows Alex just felt the same spark he did at their touch. He steps in closer, crowding Alex in the door, his pulse spiking when Alex’s eyes drift down to his mouth.

“Proposal,” he starts, his voice low.

Alex hums softly, his body seemed to sway, brushing against his, his eyes half-closed.

“We turn this into a date,” Michael suggests, smiling at the surprised but happy look Alex gives him.

“How does it differ?” Alex questions with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Michael squeezes the side of Alex, where his hand still rests. “I get to kiss you at the end of the night,” he answers, inhaling sharply when Alex closes the small space between them, brushing his lips against Michael’s.

Alex takes his crutch and Michael’s hand leading him into the restaurant.

“You should text Rosa,” he throws over his shoulder, giving Michael’s hand a squeeze.

“Why?” Michael asks, still a little dazed from the touch of Alex’s lips.

A couple of hours is too fast to fall in love, right?

Alex turns back to him, a beautiful smile on his even more beautiful face, and Michael decides that, no, a couple of hours is more than enough time to fall in love with Alex Manes.

“To tell her that starting tonight, she’s going to have plenty of opportunities to borrow Buffy if I get to borrow her roommate.”

Michael grins, pulling out his phone even as he pulls Alex back into another kiss, this one deeper and longer as he takes his time, enjoying the taste and the sounds Alex makes. Rosa will be pleased with the arrangement, and he’s good with it too.

#roswell nm #malex fic #malex #michael x alex #my writing #buffy manes

[andrea-lyn]

Malex prompt: Time Travel AU! I keep thinking of Discworld's Wrong Trouser Leg of Time. Either a dejected Michael or dejected Alex ending up in a universe where they are happily married, in a house with a beagle mix

For every worthwhile piece in his father’s evidence, there’s four pieces of worthless trash. At the start, he’d bundled everything up in boxes and brought it to Kyle for his opinion, but then he’d found another two storage lockers of it and decided that he was going to do this on his own. When things went to shit, Alex had shifted his attention to working through Project Shepard to try and take his mind off Michael (and Maria, and leaving, and the ship, and his doubts; Michael and will be the death of him).

In retrospect? Not his best idea to go it alone when there are alien artifacts in the mix.

When alcohol had stopped doing the trick to numb the memories of imagining Michael and Maria having sex, Alex had trudged over to go over the pieces, digging into one of the boxes to find a piece that looks like it belongs with the ship, but different. 

He’s exhausted, thinking about Michael leaving, thinking about him and Maria (did he stay the night with her? Did he breathe out softly the way he does with Alex, did she find out the truth about his hand), and his spirits are the lowest they’ve ever been.

It means that when he gets both hands on the glimmering piece of tech from one of the boxes, Alex’s mind is pent up and thinking, I just need to know what happens next and obsessively revolves around Michael when he feels a sharp burst of disorienting sickness.

His head is fuzzy, he feels like he could throw up, and for a long moment, Alex grips the piece tighter, for fear he’s going to break it. 

Closing his eyes, he tries to bear it and wait it out. When it passes, he’s on his feet with the piece, thinking that it’s time to stop being sorry for himself and he can use this as an excuse to go see Michael.

Only, when he drives to the junkyard, his trailer isn’t there. There is a house just off the land and Alex heads there, a touch frantic that maybe Michael decided to pick up and leave town. He shifts the piece to hide it within his frame, approaching warily, and not even paying attention until a dog starts howling and barking wildly. 

“Shit,” Alex says, because the last thing he needs is for a dog to get him arrested.

It’s a beagle, like the kind Mimi said he’d get, but if this howling is any kind of hint, then maybe Alex isn’t so keen on one. He’s hobbling over as fast as he can without running, shifting the piece in his hands so he can lean over and try and calm it.

“Hey,” he breathes. “Hey, it’s okay. I just want to ask your owners a few questions, okay?”

The barking isn’t stopping, so Alex moves to desperate measures, soothing and trying to get close enough to pet the animal. Behind them, the lights on the house’s porch flicker on and Alex notices, now, that the sun has started to set. How long had he been going over those pieces of evidence?

Clearly, he needs a break. Between the weird fit with the piece and this house suddenly appearing that he’s never seen before, Alex thinks he’s losing his mind.

The feeling doesn’t get better when he hears a voice from the porch – a very, very familiar voice. 

“What the hell kind of noise are you making, Phoebe? You know who it is.”

Alex freezes from where his hand is on the beagle’s ears, fumbling to check her tags. He probably should have started there, seeing the name GUERIN embossed into them. Frozen, his eyes wide, he tries to hush the barking down, wondering what you do when you can’t just cover a dog’s mouth to stop it. 

He still tries, though, and that’s how Michael Guerin finds him. Maybe it’s more important to mention that Alex finds Michael with a dishcloth thrown over his shoulder, a leash in hand, and wearing a wedding ring on his finger, standing outside the bungalow of a beautiful house. Still, that’s how he finds him. 

Biting back his bitterness, he hates that this is probably some joke. 

“What, so Maria told you about the beagle and you guys decided to get hitched and take that too?”

At least, that’s what he wants to say. 

Instead, Alex tightens his grip on the piece of alien tech and stares, because Michael looks so good. His shoulders actually look a bit broader, but maybe that’s just because of how tall he’s standing, and the way he strides forward to pick up the dog calls attention to the sweatpants and the fact that Alex can tell he’s not wearing underwear from his steady gait.

There’s an amused look on Michael’s face, which only pisses Alex off more.

“What?” he snaps.

This is the last thing he needs. He’s exhausted, he’s tired, he feels a little ill and can’t place his finger on why, and now Michael is playing some practical joke acting like he’s hitched with the dog that Mimi DeLuca predicted.

“Is this the first time you found it? You never told me that story.”

Great, apparently Michael’s also gone insane. 

“What are you, I don’t…”

“Alex,” Michael says softly. “Come sit down inside.”

He does, even though he’s still feeling really out of it. The beagle trots along beside him like he belongs there and when Alex gets inside, he passes a foyer filled with pictures of him and Michael, the dog, and it takes about fifteen seconds for him to realize that half the possessions here are his. 

Michael’s married.

To him?

Did Kyle sneak into the storage locker and knock him over the head? Is this some kind of wild fever dream the alien artifact created for him? Whatever it is, Alex takes the first opportunity to sink down into a chair, gaping at Michael as he heads to the kitchen and turns off the stovetop’s heat, bringing Phoebe back to settle her onto the ground. 

“Lucky for you, Alex of 2025 is currently on assignment, but he did say that he couldn’t travel if the one from the future was around,” Michael absently mutters as he digs through a stack of papers. “It’s sweet of you, visiting, like you know how lonely I’ve been. We don’t need to talk about the boyfriend pillow in the bed, but … ah, here it is,” he says triumphantly, digging out a piece of paper. “Here. You wrote this for yourself. He always said I’d know when to give it to you.” Wandering closer, he holds out a letter, but he doesn’t hand it over so easily. 

For a long while, Michael stares at him, to the point it starts to become unnerving.

“What?” Alex asks. 

“You look…” Michael hesitates. “You look tired.”

He probably does. He hasn’t slept much, he’s been drinking, and he keeps thinking about how he’s lost Michael to Maria because of his own cowardice and now he might lose him to another planet for the same reason, and even knowing that, he can’t make himself do anything different.

“Here,” he says. “This is for you. I’ll finish dinner, so come find me when you’re ready.”

Alex takes the letter and carefully opens it. It’s not new, judging by the color of the envelope, so he has to wonder at what point he’ll write this, if he even gets the chance. He’s not sure what to expect, but the opening sentence isn’t … it.

Congratulations! You’ve won a strange human ability to manipulate the time-space engine of the ship and locked it to your genetic code!

It’s Michael’s writing. Alex huffs out a laugh and can only imagine the way his other self must have been irritated when he’d gained control of the pen again, but the words past that are in his own handwriting.

Alex, it’s me. Or you, however you want to think about this. If you’re reading this, you found a piece of Michael’s ship, before it rejoins with the rest. That happened a couple of years ago, but up until then, when you hold it and think about where you want to be, you can sort of skip along like a record. I remember when it brought me to this, and it’ll help you out a few more times.

You’re going to need it again soon and it won’t be for a domestic drop-in. 

It can’t take you back in time. You can’t change anything that’s already happened. The past is past, the scars are set.

Take care of Michael for me. The glass doesn’t work if I’m within about twenty-five miles. When you want to go back, just think of home. I know things might seem rough right now, but thinking about Michael always did the trick.

He reads that last line a few times because it’s a punch to the gut. By the time he’s read it for a fifth time, Michael is coming out of the kitchen bearing bowls of chicken stew, Phoebe dancing around his heels. “Come on. I made enough for two and I was planning to eat it in a sad grief-state of missing my husband, but I guess we can share and you can tell me why you look like you want to cry.”

If he thinks about home right now, he’ll think of how things with him and Michael are so fragmented and tangled. Maybe with a good meal in his belly and the promise of this in his future, though, maybe then he can head back with the hope of something to come.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “I think it’s getting better, now.”

“I knew you liked me,” Michael drawls with delight, and sits Alex down to a family dinner in a comfortable home, introducing him to what a family and a home can look like inside Roswell in the form of both a place and a person.

#insidious-intent #malex #time travel au #fic prompts #michael/alex #roswell new mexico

[uomo-accattivante]

(Photo by BACKGRID)

SCREENPLAY REVIEW - TRIPLE FRONTIER

Below is a review I recently came across. (I’m not sure if this version is the updated one which includes input by JC Chandor.) 

Pope - Oscar Isaac

Redfly - Ben Affleck

Ben - Garrett Hedlund

Ironhead - Charlie Hunnam

Catfish - Pedro Pascal

Be forewarned - the following review contains SPOILERS:

***

Screenplay Review - Triple Frontier

Genre: Crime/Action

Premise: A group of ex-special forces come together to steal 90 million dollars from a drug lord in the most criminally potent area of the world, the Triple Frontier.

About: Triple Frontier is one of those projects that’s been impossible to get made. It’s had more starts and stops than my neighbor’s 1999 Volkswagon Jetta. But no matter how much talent has come and gone, the project has always been able to replace them with either equal or better talent. That’s typically the sign of great material. That’s because when you have bad material and A-listers drop out, you never get any A-listers back. Your project is doomed to second-tier status. Well, all that waiting has paid off as the film is now in post-production. It stars Charlie Hunman, Oscar Isaac, and Ben Affleck. J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, A Most Violent Year) directed. Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) wrote the script.

Writer: Mark Boal

Details: 136 pages

The heist is one of the most bankable structures in storytelling. Get a group of contrasting characters together (Act 1), give them something they want to steal (Act 3), then slowly build a plan for achieving their goal (Act 2). It’s almost full-proof. And yet, we don’t get a lot of good heist films. In fact, I can’t remember the last one I saw.

That’s because the heist film is one of the most difficult genres to come up with something fresh for. Most of the heist scripts I read involve stealing money from a bank. There just aren’t that many ways to make that premise original. So I was thrilled when I picked up Triple Frontier, which promised to be a new take on the heist genre. Let’s see if it succeeded.

Ex-Special Forces operator Pope has gotten tired of missions to remote parts of the world where he guides local police to take down giant drug dealers. It’s more death, more destruction, and he thought he left all that behind with the special forces. The problem is, a man needs to make a living. And these missions are the only thing Pope knows how to do that pay good money.

Then one day, a Brazilian drug runner discloses to Pope the location of one of the biggest drug runners in the world, Lorea. Lorea has a home in Paraguay right off the criminally infamous Triple Frontier (the nexus of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina), where he’s holding 90 million dollars. With Pope’s unique skillset, he believes he can break in the house and get that money. But he’s going to need some help.

Enter his ex special forces buddies: the all-American Redfly, the bipolar Ben, the wily old vet, Ironhead, and the cool-as-a-cucumber Catfish. Some of the men are reluctant and others reared up and ready to go. But in the end, because there wouldn’t be a movie unless they all signed up, they all sign up.

Once in the Triple Frontier, the group begins doing surveillance and planning. And when I say planning, I mean planning. Pope gets his hands on the blueprints for Lorea’s house and builds an EXACT REPLICA in the jungle so that they can practice the heist. But that’s only the beginning of this mission impossible, as they have to figure out shit like how five men can carry away 4500 pounds of money on foot, and how they can escape through a backyard that rings an alarm if anything over 20 pounds steps on it.

After extensively perfecting their plan, they wait out an unexpected rainstorm and sneak in. Everything goes according to plan until they arrive in the money room and… it’s gone. Not a single bill. Just as everyone starts freaking out, Pope notices that the ceiling is leaking. They moved the money during the storm so it wouldn’t get wet! But that means going through every room one by one to find it.

As you’d expect, this leads to them being spotted, and within seconds there are three dozen guards converging on them. The soldiers go into fuck-all mode and start shooting everyone. They know the gig is up. They know they should leave. But they’ve put so much effort into this that they must have that money. So after the money they go. Will they get it? I’m thinking they’ll find a way. But the real test may be what happens AFTER they get the money.

Uhhhh…

This. Was. Good.

Wow.

I’m talking really really good.

Where do I begin? Let’s start with the heist itself. What’s the number rule for writing a good heist film? It’s not what goes right, it’s what goes wrong. Your job, as a writer of a heist flick, is to have your criminals cover all the bases, make sure they’ve found contingencies for every situation, and then when they show up, something goes wrong. And that thing that goes wrong leads to several other things that go wrong. And quickly, the whole damn heist falls apart.

I LOVED when they arrived in the money room and the money wasn’t there. Even when my cynical screenwriting analyst brain kicked in and said, “Of course they were duped. That’s what always happens!” But then Pope looked up and saw the leaking and realized the money had been moved and I said, “oooooooh, that’s good.”

I loved how the script evolved from there. Because what I was expecting to happen is what always happened in these mid-point heist films (a script where the heist happens at the mid point instead of the third act): They get the money home but then the bad guys come and hunt them down.

Triple Frontier instead focuses on the complexity of getting this money out of the country. The special forces guys rent a helicopter, only to find out that the money (which has increased from 90 million to 600 million at this point) will be too heavy. But they decide to risk it anyway, and fly their copter through the endless South American mountain forest. When the mountains start getting too high, they have to make the unthinkable choice of dropping the money and living or keeping the money and likely spiraling into the most hostile terrain in the world.

That was one of the best scenes I’ve read this year, besting even the Mission Impossible Fallout helicopter chase. And I’ll tell you why. It wasn’t just a simple helicopter chase. Difficult choices needed to be made. They MIGHT have been able to make it through the mountains if they kept the money. But they likely wouldn’t have. How do you make that decision? The decision to throw away 600 million dollars?

But the script isn’t just the heist. Boal made the bold choice of using the entire first act to get the band back together. This is a controversial screenwriting choice because modern screenwriting outlets will tell you to move this section along as quickly as possible. A short burst of scenes that has the band back together and ready to go by page 10, page 15 at the latest. They’re afraid that if you include an entire opening act of characters reuniting and talking and establishing their jobs and lives, that the average audience member will get bored.

But the great thing that happens when you extend your character intros out that far is that we get to know the characters better. I mean, it’s simple math. The more time you spend with someone, fictional or real, the more you’re going to care about them. Therefore, when these guys flew off to the Triple Frontier, I felt like I knew each of them. The extra time really paid off.

Now there’s a caveat to this. You have to be good with character to pull it off. You have to know how to set up a flaw. You have to know how to make your characters unique. You have to give each character a defining personality that’s easy for the audience to understand so they can label him properly (Chris Kyle was the introspective sniper). Each character’s dialogue has to be unique and interesting. If character isn’t your strong suit, don’t spend an entire act getting the band back together.

The fact that this script has been sitting on the shelf for so long is insane. I’m guessing it’s because Ben Affleck has a million projects to do and he’s in rehab half the year and they had to wait for him. I’m just glad the wait is over. Cause this movie is going to be damn good.

[ ] What the hell did I just read? [ ] wasn’t for me [ ] worth the read [x] impressive [ ] genius

What I learned: Find a unique place in the world that isn’t well known and build a story around it. What makes Triple Frontier so good is that we’d never heard of the Triple Frontier before. It hasn’t been in any movie. It creates the all important “strange attractor” we can exploit for one hell of a heist film.

###

#oscar isaac #pope #spoilers #triple frontier #jc chandor #ben affleck #redfly #garrett hedlund #ben #charlie hunnam #ironhead #pedro pascal #catfish #screenplay #script #review

[teacherunicorn]

Opposites Attract (Chapter 81)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13Chapter 14 Chapter 15  Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24  Chapter 25Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Chapter 74Chapter 75 Chapter 76 Chapter 77 Chapter 78 Chapter 79 Chapter 80 Chapter 81

Life in the Gotham Narrows was simple; every man for himself. Sure, there were families, friends even, who held a steadfast and die-hard loyalty to each other but the stranger down the street was hardly your problem. Rule number one: look out for number one.

Alyssa had spent her entire life caring and worrying for others, so one would think the shift of focus would be difficult for her. One would be wrong. As soon as the sunset on the city and all the children were in bed one could find her in one of the Narrow’s fighting rings, drinking, making bets, and occasionally fighting herself. Once she crossed that old bridge the rest of the world ceased to exist.

Not that this was a cure all by any means. The quality of her work was beginning to slip. She was short with the older kids and no longer had interest in playing with the younger ones. Selina had more than once found her asleep at her desk with a pen in her hand and papers stuck to her face.

“Mom! Come on, wake up!” the teen shook Alyssa’s shoulder.

“Hmm?” she blinked and yawned. “Oh, hey kitten.” she peeled herself off of her paper work and stretched her arms above her head before reaching for the half-empty whiskey bottle on the corner of the desk.

“Mom, are you okay?”

Alyssa scoffed out a fake laugh. “You know I’m gettin’ really tired of everybody askin’ me that. I’m okay, I’m fine.” she insisted. “I swear, the next person who asks me if I’m okay, I’m punchin’ em.”

Usually Selina Kyle was quite good at masking her emotions and keeping them to herself. Alyssa was her weak spot however, which meant that she was a different story.

“Don’t lie to me!” She snapped.

“I’m not!”

“Yes you are! You’re lying to me, and you’re lying to yourself!”

“Selina Marie Kyle, you have no right to speak to me that way!”

“Mom, I’m worried about you!” Selina’s voice cracked slightly. “Ever since that whole thing with Tetch, you’ve been acting crazy! Something happened that night, and I get that it was hard, but pretending it didn’t happen isn’t gonna help!”

“Oh so you’re worried I’m so out of it I’m about to blow my lid? Who are you and what have you done with my kid?” Alyssa slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Mom..?”

“I’m fine....” Alyssa leaned on the desk for support.

“No, you’re not.” Selina insisted. “You’re running on fumes, and you can’t run forever.”

“You don’t have to worry about me kitten. I’m the mother, worrying is my job.”

Her daughter scoffed. “Mom, could you stop being so high and mighty for once? You’re right, you are my mother. You’re my mother, and I love you, and I wanna help you.”

Alyssa studied the girl’s face, seeing the genuine worry and concern in her eyes. Her sweet baby girl. She recalled the guarded, short tempered child she’d been when they’d met. That was a girl who did not trust the world around her, and with good reason too.

But that girl was no longer here. Gone was the sad little girl who’d been convinced that her mother was still alive. She’d found a new home with a new mother. Sometimes Alyssa envied her daughter; to be able to drop the life you have and exchange it for a better one must be a wonderful luxury.

Then again, Alyssa considered what that meant for her. While the people she cared about could be formidable foes when she was threatened, they’d also had their moments of being foes themselves. Oswald, Edward, even Jerome.

But never Selina.

And it was that steadfast loyalty that managed to turn the screaming in Alyssa’s head to a dull roar, if only for a moment.

She sighed and hung her head, finally allowing the pain she’d been going through these last few weeks to show on her face. “Kid I’m....I’m scraped out.” she admitted. “I mean life keeps throwin’ nothin’ but curve balls at me, and I’ve always been able to....flip myself back over eventually, but....I guess I ran outta times.” she shook her head. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Jervis always did pack quite the punch.”

“....What happened? That night he took you, Jamie and that Alice chick?”

Alyssa flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. Selina had been kind enough not to say his name, but the tension of it still hung in the air.

‘’Lyssa, we belong together, you know that.’

‘You and I truly are two of a kind my dear.’

‘You don’t have to be scared. I’ll take care of you, I promise.’

‘I won’t let them take you from me again.’

“....Do you remember when you pushed that Archie guy out a window?” she asked, her voice far away. “You were so scared that I’d be mad at you, you tried to sneak past me through the apartment window.”

“I didn’t want you to be upset.” Selina said honestly. She had no idea where this conversation was going but at least Alyssa was finally talking to her.

“You were upset.” she countered. “You said what you did didn’t bother you, but I could tell you were lying. Just....the idea that you were capable of something like that....” Alyssa looked to where a clock hung on the wall to her left, useless now as she had punched the glass face in weeks ago to stop it from ticking. “J- He said I was just like him. That we’re two of a kind, cuz we’re the only ones who know how to...” she was unable to finish, instead tapping her fingers against her skull to get her point across. “...I don’t wanna be like that. Not again.”

*******

*Four years ago*

Having Jervis Tetch back in her life made Alyssa’s visits to Arkham difficult. The trick was, he wasn’t Jervis Tetch anymore. It took some time for her to fully believe it, but the inmate in the top hat truly believed that he was the Mad Hatter from the Alice in Wonderland books. Alyssa had no clue what had happened to him, but whatever it was she wasn’t brave enough to test it too much.

She was subtle, mentioning the name Alice only to get stories of a girl who fell down a rabbit hole. The child he described did sound alarmingly close to his sister, but Alyssa tried to write that off as paranoia. Eventually this paranoia faded as she started to understand just how different the man and the delusion were.

Hatter for instance had no use for technology or tools like Jervis had. He didn’t seem to care if someone wrote him off, simply skipping away to invite the next person he saw to his latest tea party.

Jervis wasn’t like that. When he didn’t get what he wanted things got ugly.

Alyssa knew better than to show weakness around the inmates of Arkham, so she played along with Hatter’s idea that she was the White Queen of his story. In a way it was rather sweet. You couldn’t ask for a better cheerleader than someone who actually believed you were a queen. In fact it wasn’t long before Hatter became one of Alyssa’s favorite inmates. She eventually forgot the history she had with the man he’d be before in favor of having tea with the man he was now.

Still, it was an odd thought to see Hatter with a mischievous smile that somehow held far much more innocence than the one Jervis used to give her.

“Hatter.” she gave him a look as she approached the table in the Arkham cafeteria that held a styrofoam tea set the man had decorated with colors and flowers.

“Your majesty.” Hatter nodded, not tipping his hat as he usually did, both hands held firmly behind his back.

“What have you got behind your back?”

His grin widened as he presented a pristine white paper crown that had a lace design to it. “For you, my queen.” he said as he went down on one knee and held the crown out to her. “I confess it not to be my best work, but resources have been unusually limited in this place.”

“Oh Hatter, it’s lovely.” Alyssa smiled.

“May I?”

“Of course.”

He stood and reached his arms up to position the crown perfectly on her head. As his fingers brushed down her hair, Alyssa recalled a similar white crown he’d made for her out of daises. The memory cast a shadow over the innocent moment and her smile faded.

“Whatever’s the matter, my dear?” he looked at her in concern.

“It’s nothing.” she assured. “I’m alright, Hatter.”

“Then smile.” he cupped her chin, fingers holding her cheek as shivers went down her spine. “It’s coronation day.”

******

For all that Alyssa was doing to pretend Jervis didn’t exist, Jim was doing his best to track the man down. After he had slipped out of GCPD custody, there had been countless reports of people of Gotham’s underworld killing each other, all without motivation. What really unsettled him was that these were all people he knew Alyssa had some kind of connection to. Weather it was a back alley deal or some kind of agreement, they all had ties to the mayor.

If Alyssa was bothered by this, she wasn’t jumping down his throat about it. She wasn’t returning his calls either, and even though Barnes had wanted to put the woman under police protection, she had every right to refuse it -- especially as the mayor.

The whole situation put him on edge. He had come to learn that whenever Alyssa Connors wasn’t actively being a pain in his ass, something was seriously wrong. She had personally seen her sister Jamie along with Alice Tetch to some safe house upstate that she had refused to reveal the location of. He was honestly surprised she hadn’t gone with them; then again he’d never known Alyssa to run and hide in the face of adversary.

His phone ringing interrupted his train of thought. He flipped it open and held it to his ear. “Gordon.”

“Hello James.” a familiar voice said pleasantly. “I’ve heard you’ve been looking for me.”

******

Alyssa turned her head away from Alice, who was crying as her brother put a third needle into her arm. Everyone at the table knew those syringes full of deep red were bad news, and now that Jervis had one for all of his ‘guests’ she was dreading what was coming next.

“You know ‘Lyssa dear, I’ve always wondered what Alice’s blood would do to you.” he admitted. He leaned over her chair, resting his hands over hers, which were bound to the arm rests. “The beast in you is right there. Begging to come out. White queen turned red.” Jervis burst into a fit of giggles, but they faded out when Alyssa refused to look at him.

“Look at me!” his voice lost all of its affection as he tightly gripped her chin and forced her eyes to meet hers. “You’ve spent all these years ignoring who you are, you’ve actually forgotten! You’ve built up this idea, this persona. You think you’re above me, you’re not above me, dear ‘Lyssa, we’re the same!”

“We’re nothing alike.” Alyssa said lowly. “Not anymore.”

“Now you see, that, right there...” he released his bruising grip on her to point in her face. “There’s that illusion. It’s alright, I had it when we were separated too. But we’re finally together again.” he brushed the back of his gloved hand along her cheek, making Alyssa flinch away. “You don’t have to be scared. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

Alyssa screamed, throwing the glass of wine she had been drinking at the wall. She couldn’t keep going like this. It had taken her ten years to get Jervis out of her head last time, and she wasn’t about to go through that again.

She sighed, rubbing at her temples. She knew this was self-destructive behavior. She’d had enough experience with it to be an expert. She just wasn’t sure she was strong enough to face her demons and be able to win. She had fought too hard already; her amour was full of holes and covered in rust.

Her ringing phone interrupted her medieval musings, and she was tempted to throw it against the wall with the red wine that was currently staining her carpet. But she didn’t do that. Instead, she answered it.

“Hello?”

“’Lyssa darling!”

Alyssa immediately hung up. It didn’t take very long for her phone to ring again. Huffing, she answered it once more. “Yes?”

“Careful my dear, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss. If you do, it’s your dear heart’s love down the abyss.”

“What are you rambling about now?”

“I did a little research my dear. To see who had taken my place and become the new Andy; your little arm candy.”

That got her attention. Jervis had been convinced that Andy was coming between them, which had led to him killing him. If she thought she had a new ‘Andy’, whoever he had decided it was was in big trouble. Plus, his rhyming habit was back, which Alyssa knew meant that he was already teetering on the edge.

“Alright, alright, I’m listening. You have my full attention.” She assured, doing her best to keep her voice level.

“Good.” Jervis said pleasantly. “Then you won’t mind joining me for tea. Nothing formal this time, just our usual set up in Arkham.”

“Aren’t you on the run from Arkham? I’d hate to see you locked back in there.”

“Oh ‘Lyssa dear, you underestimate me.” someone screamed in the background of the call, and Alyssa heard several gun shots. “You know, it is remarkable how quickly the police in this town respond nowadays.” Alyssa’s heart dropped to her stomach. “I suggest you hurry, my dear. Between the GCPD and the asylum’s residents, there are quite a few people here that you care about I can hurt.”

#jervis tetch #selina kyle imagine #jim gordon #gotham tv show

[chunsoftie]

#1 2 3 5 9 11 13 for Fanfic Day Meme unless you don't wanna write that much in which case do what your body tells you

Thanks for the ask! Sorry I didn’t answer this sooner - I was at work when I got this but thank you so much, regardless!

1.  What is your favorite fic you have under your belt? 

My favorite fic would probably have to be either the(broken) road to recovery, my current WIP, or if we’re talking about oneshots,the king to your satellite castle is one I particularly admire. 

I think broken road is a fic that’s opening me up to writingmore multi-chapter works. Obviously, I cater more towards the short-story,oneshot style of writing, so the fact I wanted to embark on something longer ischallenging me to the extent I want to be challenged. I think writing this fichas allowed me to experiment more. 

The latter fic is a oneshot that I found myself proud ofwhen I finished. I really enjoy those Kyle/Cartman stories where it’s the twoof them bonding through mutual means, whether it be by deep, intellectualconversations or just hanging out at a D&B’ and then gazing at the stars. Ifind that I always have to include these heavy conversations between the two ofthem – like if I didn’t, what was the point? Kyle and Cartman are both smartkids, they can learn to adapt to the world themselves, but the idea of themneeding the other as they get older, knowing they can’t survive without theother…that’s really impactful to me. 

I also have to give credit to my compilation of oneshots onFFN, “The Most Random One-Shots You’ll Ever Read.” Basically it’s my Lord ofthe Flies compilation I’ve had published since 2014 and it’s over fiftychapters with over 150k+ words. It’s definitely something I’m proud of.

2. What is your favorite snippet of dialogue?

This is from my Junjou Romantica fic, the jetlags and thecatalysts:

Akihiko was just asconfused. It wasn’t sheer egoism that he was surprised not everyone knew who hewas, but a comfort that he could start scratch with someone. He shot the restof the drink, leaving his glass empty.

“I’m an author – my name is Usami Akihiko.”

“Ah, Usami.” The boy refilled the glass.

There was a brief silence where Akhiko expected the action to bereciprocal. When the boy caught on, he become flustered.

“My name is Takahashi Misaki.”

The feminine name left the writer in bafflement but he went withit. Misaki. He found the bartender start to laugh and he raised an eyebrow.

“It’s funny, your name is Usami. An old friend of mine – well,he was friends with my older brother – we called him usagi because he remindedus of a rabbit.”

“Well, that is what usagi means.” Akihiko took a drink. Misakigave off a comical expression.

“I see that the more you get drunk, the more your sarcasm comesout.”

“And I wasn’t even trying to be sarcastic.” Akihiko replied.

And I love thisfrom the king to your satellite castle”

“I should be pissedthat you assumed I wasn’t busy, but considering you never question yourassumptions, what else is new?” Kyle pulled on his jacket and hopped shotguninto Cartman’s truck, and the brunette just scoffed as he pulled out of thedriveway.

“Nice to see you too, Jew.”

“We’re a little too old for the nicknames, aren’t we?” Kylemuttered, eyeing the black jacket Cartman was wearing over his red shirt andhating himself for finding it hot. “Where are you taking me?”

“We should just let it be a surprise.” Cartman grinned, cominginto an intersection. Kyle rolled his eyes and leaned in, eyebrows narrowed.

“Where are you taking me?”

“We could sneak into a movie.” Cartman commented, a suggestivetone rather than a commanding one that took Kyle by surprise. “Terrance andPhilip’s new movie is out.”

Kyle was tempted, but he had already seen that with Stan and hedidn’t feel like seeing it again. Plus, Cartman would just talk during thewhole movie and Kyle knew he could barely take a few sentences with tolerance.

“You would suggest sneaking into a movie, probably because youdon’t have the money to get in.”

“Hey, I actually have a kickass job, Jewboy. I help society withgood deeds and commercial products.”

“You’re a grocer, Cartman.” Kyle sighed. “All you do is stockshit and put things under a beeper.”

“And what do you do, Kyle? Flaunt your pretty little ass and letyour family pay for all of your shit?” Cartman reached for what Kyle assumedwas a Dr. Pepper in the cupholder and took a drink. Kyle flushed a little atwhat seemed to be a compliment, but he flicked Cartman on the arm.

3. What inspired (broken road)?

In another ask I was told to include Broken Road with this,so that’s what I’m doing.

I actually came up with the idea for Broken Road on a walkback home from studying. I was almost back to my dorm and I thought, ‘You know,if you want more Eric-centric psychological works, why don’t you try writingone, yourself?’ And I was hooked with the potential of a behavior correctionalfacility, so I stuck with it. I ended up going back to the library either thatsame night or the next just to look up research before I started writing thefirst chapter. 

Originally I wanted to just continue writing it and make it along oneshot, but I felt like making it multi-chap was the right thing to do(and honestly I am glad I stuck with it in that regard).

 5. What’s your favorite headcanon you use in your fics?

I don’t really use a lot of headcanons for fics but if I hadto say a repetitive thing when it comes to my fics is when it comes to Kyman, Ilike the more ‘drunken exploration’ trope…a lot more than I care to admit. Myother OTPS, like Jalph, I don’t even care to use this as often just because Ifeel like if two characters could benefit from this, it would be Kyle andCartman.

9. What’s the fic you like the least?

Probably ‘he’s your ride home.’ I kind of wrote that at twoin the morning and thinking of it now, there is so many ways I could havewritten it better. I may go back and edit it just because compared to my otherKyman oneshots, it’s relatively weak.

11. What’s a fanfic idea yo haven’t done yet?

There’s a Stormpilot fic idea I’ve had for a while now thatrevolves around Finn and Poe’s confrontation regarding what they feel towardsone another with the setting of another couple’s wedding and them on the sides,not realizing how this plays with their own lives until they get a littlecarried away and well, yeah. It’s something I’ve been wanting to write for awhile but I just haven’t started yet.

I also would like to write a restaurant!AU Kyle/Cartmanoneshot. I have a few plans for this already so I may go ahead and write thissooner than later.

And, of course, I have another Bellarke piece I want to workon, but that’s going to be for another time.

13. Do you have a favorite character to write for?

I love writing for Cartman. He’s my absolute favoritecharacter to write for and I love it when people request me to write him,because, he’s fantastic. 

I also love writing Ralph. Jack is tied as my favoritecharacter in Lord of the Flies, next to Piggy, but there’s something aboutwriting Ralph that makes it so enjoyable for me, like I can envision hisexpressions in my mind and laugh mentally.

Thank you, @polarspicecaps-blog!

[shirlleycoyle]

Cost Cutting Algorithms Are Making Your Job Search a Living Hell

Jeffrey Johnson was on one continuous job search, more or less, for 12 years.

After the recession shuttered the textbook publisher where he was putting his bachelor’s degree in history to use, Johnson worked office temp jobs and delivered packages, on an Uber-like gig basis, for Amazon and a medical testing company around his native Baltimore. He went back to school for a masters in screenwriting and then a law degree. Throughout, he scrolled through sites like Indeed and ZipRecruiter looking for better, more stable work—or just something to tide him over between semesters.

About two years ago, he started getting emails asking him to take online “assessments” for jobs after he applied. Some were tests of basic office skills, like spreadsheet use and typing. Others were for legal knowledge. Some were dippy personality tests. At first, Johnson was excited. “I thought it meant I’d gotten past a gatekeeper of some kind and was in the running,” he said.

Then the tests came quicker and more frequently. One in four jobs had an assessment attached, he estimates. He got emails prompting him to take an online test seconds after he submitted an application, a sure sign no human had reviewed his résumé. Some were repeats of tests he’d already taken.

He found them demeaning. “You’re kind of being a jackass by making me prove, repeatedly, that I can type when I have two writing-heavy advanced degrees,” Johnson said, “and you are not willing to even have someone at your firm look at my résumé to see that.”

Johnson also did phone interviews with an Alexa-like automated system. For one job, he was asked to make a one-sided video “interview” of himself answering a list of company-provided questions into a webcam for hiring managers to view at their convenience. Or maybe an algorithm would scan the video and give him a score based on vocal and facial cues, as more than 100 employers are now doing with software from companies like HireVue .

Until he started as a legal writer for FreeAdvice.com last month, Johnson, 36, said he was at potential employers’ whims. “I can’t imagine I’d move to the next round if I didn’t do what they said,” he told Motherboard.

Companies are increasingly using automated systems to select who gets ahead and who gets eliminated from pools of applicants. For jobseekers, this can mean a series of bizarre, time-consuming tasks demanded by companies who have not shown any meaningful consideration of them.

“Obviously, in our society time is money,” said Ifeoma Ajunwa, an assistant professor of labor and employment law at Cornell University and author of The Quantified Worker. “So if you are asking [job applicants] to spend so much time on an application then you are transferring the labor your HR department would be doing to the applicant, so it becomes an ethical issue.”

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software has long been used by high-end firms searching for executives and HR managers at large corporations that receive thousands of applications. The systems are increasingly being adopted in various sectors of the labor market. ATS vendor iCIMS claims it revamped Footlocker’s process for hiring sales associates, and JazzHR brags that it helps a regional Pittsburgh construction company hire all its staff, including interns. (JazzHR and iCIMS both declined to comment for this story.)

Beating the Bots

Maneuvering around algorithmic gatekeepers to reach an actual person with a say in hiring has become a crucial skill, even if the tasks involved feel duplicitous and absurd. ATS software can also enable a company to discriminate, possibly unwittingly, based on bias-informed data and culling of certain psychological traits.

Lynne Williams, a Philadelphia-area career advisor, holds a seminar called “Beating the Applicant Tracking System.” Every time, she braces for a wave of anger from the audience. “I can feel their blood pressure rise when I tell them what they are doing wrong,” she said.

Their most important task, she tells crowds of jobseekers, is to parrot keywords from job descriptions. The most basic elimination function of most ATS software is searching résumés and cover letters for keywords. Many systems can’t—or don’t bother to—distinguish synonyms, like “manager” and “supervisor,” so she says to rewrite résumés with each application, mindlessly copying words from the job description. Countless online guides for “beating the bots” recommend the same.

People find this task frustrating and are indignant over its irrelevance to their fitness for the job, Williams said. Others fume about all the time spent carefully crafting applications that were probably never seen by a human.

Jack Wei, a director of product marketing for the job site SmartRecruiters, said that “the moment a candidate applies [for a posted job], a ‘smart profile’ scrapes résumé info into a digital portfolio by extracting keywords.” The employer then sees an automatically generated score, from 1 to 5, of their apparent fitness for the job. The platform distinguishes synonyms and word variances when making this score, but the employer can search using any narrow phrase or word they choose, Wei said.

According to data from the job site Glassdoor, 250 people apply to the average corporate job. Many ATS vendors sell their products on the suggestion that hiring managers are overwhelmed by applicants. When almost half of Americans work low-wage jobs, a good job of any kind will generate a long line of hopefuls, despite the official government unemployment rate being at a 10-year low of 3.5 percent.

ATS technology encourages applicants to find ways to cut in line, said Anjunwa. She has heard stories of people inserting common keywords in small white font on their PDF résumés, visible only to bots, to sneak into the next tier of candidates.

Applicants can also use services to help them beat the algorithms, like the website Jobscan, which will scramble words from a job listing into their customers’ résumés for $49.95 a month.

Such tricks don’t show relevant job skills, but perhaps vital job-hunting ones, Anjunwa said. “People see that only people who are savvy get jobs,” she said, “and the others get shut out.”

How Often Does the Following Statement Describe You at Work?

The next round of the screening process is often an assessment test. Such tests have been around for decades, but ATS software has made it easy to deliver them automatically to an applicant’s inbox.

Indeed, the world’s most visited job site, has been pushing assessments in recent TV advertising. The company offers employers online tests for basic aptitudes, like attention to detail and memorization and recall; job-specific skills, like bookkeeping and first aid; and more abstract competencies, like critical thinking and problem solving.

Most take about 30 minutes. They still piss off jobseekers.

“I've been finding a lot of online assessments that come with the job applications I file, wrote a poster on the jobs subreddit. Every time I see one of those, I immediately cringe. I HATE THEM.”

“They're usually very long … and most of the questions I just. Can't. Answer," they added. "For example, a question such as ‘I prefer to work in team rather than alone’ completely depends on the situation and the kind of job I’m doing.”

Indeed declined an interview but told Motherboard in a statement that “Indeed's free Assessment tool is not a burden to job seekers, it helps job seekers demonstrate their full capabilities to prospective employers,” and that the tests “help job seekers stand out based on their skills instead of their previous titles, employers, or their highest level of formal education.”

Smaller companies also provide assessments, for a fee. Atlanta-based Berke offers both aptitude and personality tests. Neil Morelli, PhD, an organizational psychologist and vice president of product and assessment, said some of the applicant outrage can “come from older assessments that last an hour or two and they can feel clinical.” He added, “These large battery assessments are being replaced by more aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable assessments.”

Morelli admits “enjoyable” is relative in this context, but said a goal of his industry is to produce tests that feel game-like but still convey useful information about a candidate.

The Berke Marketing Free Personality Assessment is a 78-question sample test, where every question is the same: “How often does the following statement describe you at work?” Start it and then comes a flood of phrases and adjectives: “lively,” “disciplined,” “leader,” “angry,” “fearless,” “puts others at ease,” “soft hearted,” etc. The test-taker picks one of four options: “almost always,” “often,” “sometimes,” or “rarely.” Morelli said some of the terms in a test are virtual synonyms to suss out applicants trying to game it. Obviously, one would hesitate to tell a potential employer they are “often” “angry” at work and “rarely” “put others at ease,” even if true.

The assessment tests applicants on psychology’s “big five” personality traits of extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. Some managers consider these traits for even minimum-wage work.

Why Robots Don’t Think Women Can Handle a Job at Amazon

In 2012, Kyle Behm took a break from university to deal with manic depressive disorder. He applied online for a low-wage job at a Kroger grocery store near Atlanta. A friend who worked there told Behm he didn’t get hired because of the results of a personality test. His father, an attorney, filed suit against Kroger and five other companies that tasked Behm with big-five personality tests for a low-paying job, alleging they illegally screened for mental illness. Sadly, Behm ended his life last year before the case was adjudicated.

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits “employment tests that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities” unless necessary for the job.

Morelli said that Berke’s personality assessment is ADA compliant because it “does not meet the criteria for being a medical examination” and “is not invasive or used to infer mental health.” But asking a candidate if they are “fearless” or “comfortable with others” may produce results indicating a condition like depression or social anxiety disorder.

Some advanced ATS have “learned” bias by incorporating variables that favored people who are already advantaged. Amazon abandoned its development of an AI-based hiring process when the predictive models favored male candidates. The system was relying on résumés submitted to the company over ten years, and because of the prevalence of men in tech jobs, the system began to downgrade résumés that included all-women’s colleges or female-indicating phrases like “women’s chess club.”

The makers of more advanced applicant tracking systems are acutely aware of the bias problem, but are not certain of a solution.

Arya is a “recruiting platform” that uses predictive analytics to identify and classify job candidates. Madhu Modugu, the CEO and founder of its parent company, feels assessment tests are a poor indicator of job performance, and claims that Arya’s platform avoids placing a heavy time burden on applicants.

“[Arya] would look at my history and my past, what kind of organizations and what kind of cultures you are exposed to,” said Modugu. The system would then match the candidate against a composite profile of employees “who are the high performers in the culture of the company.” If a company can’t provide that information, Arya offers its own psycho-metric profile of who does well in the jobs that its customers are looking to fill.

The term “culture” can have some problematic connotations when applied to who is suited for a job. Modugu insists Arya measures the work culture of past employers compared to that of the prospective employer.

But he said he is aware of problems like the one that plagued Amazon: If the system is fed data that shows white males have been the “best” employees—because prejudice allowed them into those roles more easily—it will conclude that white males are the “best” candidates. “The AI has interpreted the data correctly,” said Modogu, “but it has generated biased results because the information is biased.”

The solution is not simple, he said. Developers need to work out systems that can better fight bias and HR managers need to take active steps to increase recruitment from non-traditional pools.

On top of issue of discrimination, the emphasis on data in recruiting can make people feel stuck in a role. Data points come from past experience, and neglect factors like ideas, ambition and understanding of an industry.

Nick Thorch once worked in Microsoft’s inside sales division, selling the company’s products to other large businesses. He wanted to transition to product management. After spending time fielding customer complaints about Windows Vista, he felt he had insight into how software should be developed. He applied for thousands of product manager jobs in Silicon Valley.

“The only time a recruiter was interested in me was for another inside sales position, even if my cover letter, résumé and career objective statement strongly supported a range of business roles,” Thorch said. “ATS mentality keeps people pigeonholed in their past, rather than what they feel inspired to do.”

SmartRecruiter’s Wei saidthat the effect of ATS on narrowing career pathways presents a “good question” for the industry.

“On a technological level alone, there is only so much alone you can do,” he said. Recruiters need to identify people who might be viable for a career change. “You lead with people and process first, but with technology alone you can’t have lasting change.”

Asking Some Hard Questions

When it debuted in 2013, HireVue’s AI analysis of video interviews seemed like an endgame for job application automation. A candidate answers questions to a silent webcam and uploads a video. A program then scans their facial features, word choices and vocal indicators to determine—through some murky, trademarked science—if they should advance to the next round. The Utah-based company once had $93 million in venture capital and more than 600 clients, including Goldman Sachs and Hilton.

Last year, artificial intelligence scientists called HireVue’s methods “pseudoscience” and “profoundly disturbing” in a Washington Post article, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging it violates jobseekers’ privacy through facial recognition.

Cornell’s Ajunwa said AI analysis of mannerisms presents some of the worst potential for discrimination in the labor market. The process would be a roadblock for people on the autism spectrum and for many from foreign countries, as acceptability would doubtlessly hinge on neurotypical, American mannerisms. “What if your culture says not smiling is respectful?” she asked. “There are many cultures where people do not laugh and smile like Americans do.”

HireVue did not respond to a request for comment. Its website no longer touts AI analysis of videos as a service. But it is one of several companies that gather self-made recordings from job applicants answering interview questions. The applicants upload them for a manager to, perhaps, view at their convenience in another new task in the automated application process. VidCruiter and Modern Hire, two other prominent video interview companies, also declined Motherboard’s requests for an interview.

“It’s just your typical interview questions like, ‘What’s a time when you failed at work?’” said Jeffrey Johnson. He recalls a herky-jerky system that would beep to prompt him to stop mid-answer.

He’s not sure if an AI or a person looked at his video. He submitted it on a Friday and was rejected for the job the next Sunday.

VidCruiter’s website describes the appeal of having a limitless library of candidate interviews, on tap. In a video, a “senior recruiter,” likely an actress, complains of “spending eight hours doing phone interviews” and “pulling [her] hair out” over the lousy candidates. She then describes “a system that will allow you to ask an unlimited number of candidates as many questions as you want.”

“I’m doing something else while the system is interviewing my candidates,” she says with a smile.

The message is clear: She’s offloaded much of her work to someone else.

Ajunwa said automated systems will probably continue to amass between jobs and jobseekers. “I think that’s the way it’s going to advance,” she said. “Companies have come to count on it.” She has called for mandated auditing of algorithmic systems to ensure against “bias in, bias out” preferences like the ones that affected Amazon.

Should job applicants rebel? Should they refuse to take online assessments or to upload video faux interviews or engage the next faceless gatekeeper?

She encourages candidates to take a principled stand if they are in a position to do so, if they are already employed or have good prospects. Everyone should monitor tests that “echo mental health” or show other signs of bias, she said. But she doesn’t know where exactly to draw the line to refuse to comply with the process.

“That’s a tough question,” she said, “because if you need the job, you need the job.”

Cost Cutting Algorithms Are Making Your Job Search a Living Hell syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[everettwilkinson]

THE FALLOUT: Republicans line up against Trump — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Excerpts of BRADY on tax reform and SESSIONS on Chicago — SNEAK PEEK: NYT Mag cover on Breitbart

Good Wednesday morning. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is again in the hot seat after veering off course and reiterating that there was blame on “both sides” of the protests in Charlottesville. Remember all the bluster that recently named chief of staff John Kelly was going to install order and help get Trump’s presidency back on track so Republicans could make good on their promises to pass tax reform and an infrastructure package, not to mention fund the government and raise the country’s borrowing limit? No dice. White House aides we talk to were surprised this happened, but have grown immune to the president’s unpredictability. Many are dispirited. This was a news conference aimed at boosting an infrastructure bill — Trump’s best chance of bipartisan legislating for the year. Instead, he did this. Remember that there are just four-and-a-half months left in this year, and there’s a lot the president wants to get done.

RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD: How much sway is the president going to have with lawmakers as he is saddled with a 34-percent approval rating coming off playing footsie with neo-Nazi and white-supremacist groups?

Story Continued Below

WAPO OP-ED: “The nation can only weep”: “TUESDAY WAS a great day for David Duke and racists everywhere. The president of the United States all but declared that he has their backs. …

“Yes, there are good and moral Americans who oppose the removal of statues of Confederate generals. Yes, there are reasonable Americans who fear that slaveholding Founding Fathers will be the next target. Notwithstanding Mr. Trump’s comments Tuesday, we don’t find it difficult to distinguish between a monument to George Washington, say, and statues to Confederate generals that were erected in the 20th century with the goal of maintaining white supremacy. …

“There may be a time to debate such questions — but not, as any national leader with a sense of decency would understand, now. Not in a time of mourning, with the wounds so fresh. Not when Mr. Trump has not even bothered to call the family of Heather Heyer, the young woman mowed down on Saturday. Not when Americans are looking for a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the hatred that brought those 700 marchers to Charlottesville.” http://wapo.st/2w03xGG

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2lQswbh

WHAT TRUMP WILL WAKE UP TO — N.Y. POST COVER: “Trump back at it: Hey, some white nationalists are ‘very fine people’ … THEY WEREN’T ALL NAZIS” http://nyp.st/2wdMtwB … N.Y. DAILY NEWS: “SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVILS” http://bit.ly/2v0yw0S … NYT: “TRUMP AGAIN SAYS TWO SIDES AT FAULT IN RALLY VIOLENCE” http://nyti.ms/2v0FAKN … WSJ: “Trump Adds Fuel to Race Furor” … WaPo: “Trump again blames ‘both sides’”

REPUBLICANS roundly criticized Trump.

— SPEAKER PAUL RYAN (@SpeakerRyan): “We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.” … SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FLA.) (@marcorubio): “Mr. President, you can’t allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame.They support idea which cost nation & world so much pain 5/6” … “The #WhiteSupremacy groups will see being assigned only 50% of blame as a win. We can not allow this old evil to be resurrected 6/6” … MITT ROMNEY (@MittRomney): “No, not the same. One side is racist, bigoted, Nazi. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes.” …

… NRCC CHAIRMAN STEVE STIVERS (@RepSteveStivers): “I don’t understand what’s so hard about this. White supremacists and Neo-Nazis are evil and shouldn’t be defended.” … KEVIN MCCARTHY (@GOPLeader): “Saturday’s violence and tragic loss of life was a direct consequence of the hateful rhetoric & action from white supremacists demonstrating.” … JUSTIN AMASH (@justinamash): “‘Very fine people’ do not participate in rallies with groups chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans and displaying vile symbols of hate.”

— SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY.) has not publicly commented about Trump’s press conference.

THE REACTION — “‘Wow’: Stunned TV Hosts Reacted in Real Time to Trump,” by NYT’s Mike Grynbaum: “‘What I just saw gave me the wrong kind of chills,’ a visibly stunned Chuck Todd said on MSNBC. ‘Honestly, I’m a bit shaken by what I just heard.’ Unable to disguise her disgust, the Fox News host Kat Timpf said: ‘I’m still in the phase where I’m wondering if it was actually real life. I have too much eye makeup on to start crying right now.’ And on CNN, as the network cut away from President Trump’s extraordinary 23-minute news conference at Trump Tower, the anchor Jake Tapper could not contain his astonishment. ‘Wow,’ he said. That was something else.’” http://nyti.ms/2vCFYCJ

— TV THIS MORNING — JOE SCARBOROUGH was supposed to be off until Thursday, but he will be live this morning on “Morning Joe” from 6 a.m. to 7:30 to address Trump’s press conference.

THE FALLOUT — “Trump Gives White Supremacists an Unequivocal Boost,” by NYT’s Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman: “President Trump buoyed the white nationalist movement on Tuesday as no president has done in generations — equating activists protesting racism with the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who rampaged in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend. Never has he gone as far in defending their actions as he did during a wild, street-corner shouting match of a news conference in the gilded lobby of Trump Tower, angrily asserting that so-called alt-left activists were just as responsible for the bloody confrontation as marchers brandishing swastikas, Confederate battle flags, anti-Semitic banners and ‘Trump/Pence’ signs.

“‘Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth,’ David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, wrote in a Twitter post shortly after Mr. Trump spoke. Richard B. Spencer, a white nationalist leader who participated in the weekend’s demonstrations and vowed to flood Charlottesville with similar protests in the coming weeks, was equally encouraged. ‘Trump’s statement was fair and down to earth,’ Mr. Spencer tweeted. … No word in the Trump lexicon is as tread-worn as ‘unprecedented.’ But members of the president’s staff, stunned and disheartened, said they never expected to hear such a voluble articulation of opinions that the president had long expressed in private.” http://nyti.ms/2vHSBL6

— ANNIE KARNI, ELIANA JOHNSON AND NOLAN MCCASKILL: “[John] Kelly stood off to the side while Trump spoke, staring down at the marble floor as the president doubled down on his widely criticized ‘many sides’ rhetoric. Kelly’s stiff body language appeared to reflect the feeling among many Trump aides. ‘My head is spinning,’ texted one White House aide watching the president unleash himself on television. When asked whether he and other officials supported the president’s views on the protest, [National Economic Council chairman Gary] Cohn hedged. ‘We share the president’s view that infrastructure is really important to America, and our infrastructure is crumbling,’ he said.

“Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the two family members who serve in Trump’s administration, were absent from Trump Tower on Tuesday — they were on a two-day, pre-scheduled trip to Vermont, a White House official said, and were planning to rejoin the president at his Bedminster, N.J. golf club on Thursday.” http://politi.co/2i3g9H8

— @NBCNews: “WATCH: White House chief of staff John Kelly reacts to President Trump’s latest remarks on violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.” http://bit.ly/2vHIIgN

ALI WATKINS and JOSH MEYER: “Domestic hate groups elude feds: American white supremacists enjoy legal protections that blunt sweeping powers used to prosecute groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda”: “U.S. law enforcement officials, who enjoy sweeping powers to investigate and prosecute suspected foreign terrorists on U.S. soil, face obstacles to charging the man, James Alex Fields Jr., as a terrorist. The Justice Department’s civil rights division is currently focused on whether Fields committed a hate crime. Beyond Fields’ case is the urgent question of how law enforcement can prevent further violence at a time when radical white supremacist groups appear emboldened. U.S. officials are severely limited in their ability to crack down on domestic extremist groups—even those who spew hate-filled rhetoric, acquire arms and advocate violence.” http://politi.co/2fKyecg

****** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD): If you know only one fact about rising drug costs, know this one: drug makers set prices for prescription drugs. To help manage nearly double-digit price increases, employers, unions and government programs use PBMs to negotiate lower net prices to help curb costs for employers and patients. Learn more at affordableprescriptiondrugs.org ******

THE BROADER NARRATIVE — “Racial politics haunt GOP in the Trump era,” by AP’s Steve Peoples and Bill Barrow: “[T]he fight over ‘traditional America’ is throwing a spotlight on the Republican Party’s struggle with race in the age of Trump. The deadly white supremacist rally against removal of the Lee statue served as a painful example of the uncomfortable alignment between some in the party’s base and the far-right fringe. But despite the party’s talk of inclusiveness and minority outreach, it’s clear white fears continue to resonate with many in the GOP base. Politicians willing to exploit those issues are often rewarded with support. One big beneficiary, critics say, has been the president himself.” http://bit.ly/2w9u3xA

DON’T EXPECT HILL ACTION — “GOP chairmen resist hearings on white supremacy,” by Kyle Cheney and Rachael Bade: “Days after neo-Nazis and white nationalists led a deadly march through Charlottesville — and are beginning to organize again — Republican leaders in Congress appear to be in no hurry to tackle the issue beyond statements of condemnation. Many GOP lawmakers called Saturday’s march and the killing of a 32-year-old woman an act of ‘domestic terrorism.’ … But there was little urgency for congressional action among committee leaders and top GOP brass. Despite House Democrats’ calls for hearings on the rise of white supremacy, the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Department of Justice’s handling of domestic terrorism, has no immediate plans to schedule one, aides say.” http://politi.co/2uI1MxQ

— “Confederate statues in U.S. Capitol likely going nowhere,” by Elana Schor: “Some of the most famous Confederate statues sit smack dab in the U.S. Capitol — and there are no plans to remove them. … Robert E. Lee, leader of the Confederate army during the Civil War … is among the 10 Confederates whose statues remain in the Capitol, lionizing a slaveholding era and sparking calls this week from some House Democrats to rid the building of their likenesses. The Capitol’s Confederate statues are part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, created more than 150 years ago as a means to represent two citizens of each state under the dome. Even as multiple other cities follow Charlottesville in pursuing removal of their Confederate monuments, however, only a handful of Democrats have so far called for the statues’ replacement after the violent rally in the Virginia town left one woman dead and injured more than a dozen others.” http://politi.co/2i3VVx3

SARAH ELLISON, a UVA alum, in Vanity Fair, “Why Charlottesville, Liberal College Town, Became Ground Zero for White Supremacy”: “The university, in many ways, represents a sort of antebellum fantasy of the South. From its founder to its sororities and fraternities, to its public face as a Southern Ivy, the image that Charlottesville and U.V.A. occupies is a kind of Southern masquerade. It matches perfectly with the fantasy of the aggrieved Trump supporters’ vision of themselves as a group under siege—one representing a way of life that is falling away and that must be made great again.” http://bit.ly/2vCEuZf

— NORTH CAROLINA GOV. ROY COOPER in Medium on the Confederate monuments: “Some people cling to the belief that the Civil War was fought over states’ rights. But history is not on their side. We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defense of slavery. These monuments should come down.” http://bit.ly/2wOXIcL

ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE — “Trump pours gasoline on feud with CEOs,” by Dan Diamond: “The businessman president is bleeding support from business leaders he once called allies — and his latest comments cost him another adviser. ‘I cannot sit on a council for a President that tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism,’ Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO, said in a statement on Tuesday, an hour after President Donald Trump defended protesters in Charlottesville at a free-wheeling news conference. ‘His comments today were the last straw.’

“Since Monday morning Trumka and four other business leaders have dropped out of Trump’s manufacturing council, citing his inadequate response to the Virginia protests or suggesting that their companies shouldn’t be involved in politics. Trump on Tuesday escalated his feud with those leaders, accusing them of failing to do their jobs and rebuffing criticism from Wal-Mart’s CEO that his comments about Charlottesville were insufficient.” http://politi.co/2uI3gZ1

— WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD: “Trump and the CEOs: A GOP President who loses the business class has a big problem”: “Their decision to quit now in such public fashion shows the growing political and cultural pressure that CEOs and others in public life are under to distance themselves from Mr. Trump. The disdain for the President in the media and Hollywood isn’t surprising, and Mr. Trump wears it like a badge of honor. But the business community is, or ought to be, a natural part of a Republican President’s governing coalition.

“Mr. Trump began his Presidency amid unprecedented hostility from those who didn’t vote for him. This is all the more reason to govern in a way that seeks to broaden his coalition with new allies. Yet Mr. Trump has seemingly taken every opportunity to escalate feuds and attack even allies in Congress like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. … Mr. Trump’s ego won’t allow him to concede error and he broods over criticism until he ends up hurting himself, as he showed again Tuesday by relitigating his response to the Charlottesville violence. This is how he has achieved a 34% approval rating, as even allies flee and his Presidency shrinks in on itself.” http://on.wsj.com/2vCuwan

WAPO’s Danielle Paquette in Indianapolis: “Trump tried to save their jobs. These workers are quitting anyway”: “Kipp Glenn grew tired of standing for eight-hour shifts, assembling steel furnace doors. His knees ached from 25 years on the concrete factory floor. So even after President Trump made his job at Carrier a symbol of American prosperity and vowed to save it, the Indiana native took a buyout. ‘What we want to call “blue-collar jobs” are on the way out,’ he said.” http://wapo.st/2wP2oPR

— THE PRESIDENT at 6:12 a.m.: “Amazon is doing great damage to tax paying retailers. Towns, cities and states throughout the U.S. are being hurt – many jobs being lost!”

NEW POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL — STEVEN SHEPARD: “Poll: GOP voters side with Trump over McConnell”: “Republican voters are taking President Donald Trump’s side in his war with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll that also shows a bump in Trump’s approval rating after last week’s all-time low. The poll shows more GOP voters think Trump is looking out for the party’s best interests than think McConnell (R-Ky.) is. By a more than three-to-one margin, they say that Trump is more in touch with Republican voters and that Trump is more honest. More evidence Trump has the upper hand, at least among Republicans: McConnell’s favorability rating among GOP voters is down over the past three weeks, and half of Republicans say Trump’s attacks against him were appropriate.” http://politi.co/2fKJLZg

— More Shepard: “Poll: No increase in support for military action in North Korea”: http://politi.co/2fK4YT5

TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY — THE PRESIDENT heads back to Bedminster, New Jersey, at 2 p.m. today. At 4 p.m., he’ll sign the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017. (Today show spot on the bill http://on.today.com/2v1djDI)

ABOUT LAST NIGHT — “Trump, McConnell will try to avoid Alabama embarrassment,” by Alex Isenstadt and Seung Min Kim: “President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell went all in for their man Luther Strange in the Alabama Senate race — but the two GOP leaders will need a lot more to put him over the top after Strange’s second-place finish in Tuesday’s opening round of balloting. Strange starts the six-week runoff in the hole against former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, whose fervent base of evangelical supporters helped him clinch nearly 40 percent of the vote in a field of 10 candidates.

“The outcome puts enormous pressure on Trump and McConnell, both of whom have put their political capital in the line: They now must find a way to get Strange a majority of support when the Republican nomination is decided on Sept. 26. Senior Republicans conceded that Tuesday’s results weren’t what they’d hoped for. But they argued that Strange, who in February was appointed to the Senate seat that Attorney General Jeff Sessions held for two decades, still has a path to victory.

“One option being considered by McConnell allies, who have already spent around $4 million in support of Strange, is a scorched-earth campaign targeting Moore. In a possible preview of what’s to come, the pro-McConnell Senate Leadership Fund began airing TV commercials in the days leading up to Tuesday’s primary accusing Moore of taking funds from a charity he ran. Those involved with Senate Leadership Fund insist they have not yet decided on what approach to take.” http://politi.co/2w0hTqr

— THE PRESIDENT at 6:18 a.m.: “Congratulation to Roy Moore and Luther Strange for being the final two and heading into a September runoff in Alabama. Exciting race!” As CNN’s John Berman said on Twitter this morning: “rooting for both the Red Sox and Yankees.”

— WAPO: “John Curtis, mayor of Provo, Utah, wins GOP nomination for House seat formerly held by Jason Chaffetz,” by Mike DeBonis: “Curtis faced hundreds of thousands of dollars in negative super PAC ads that sought to portray him as insufficiently committed to lowering taxes and cutting government spending. Many of them highlighted his 2000 run as a Democrat for a state legislative seat.” http://wapo.st/2v0U1yp

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: WHAT HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN KEVIN BRADY (R-TEXAS) WILL SAY ABOUT TAX REFORM TODAY IN CALIFORNIA: The House’s top tax writer will talk tax reform today at a replica of Ronald Reagan’s White House tax-cut table at the Reagan Ranch. Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) will all be with him. WHAT BRADY WILL SAY: “Thirty-one years ago today, a conference committee of 10 Members of Congress – five tax-writers from the House and five from the Senate – reached agreement on the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in American history. … As we stand here 31 years later, we face a monumental challenge of our own – coming together to fix a U.S. tax code that has become just as broken as the one President Reagan and Congress overhauled in the 1980s. … Today Americans are watching good-paying jobs, manufacturing plants, and our research and development move overseas to countries with more competitive tax systems. …

“It begs the question: Why are we standing idly by while this happens? When did this nation start shrinking from challenges? At what point did we give up on the principles of fairness, simplicity, free enterprise, and – most of all – faith in each American’s individual talents? … And when did we decide that it was better to give in to Washington special interests at the expense of all the hardworking Americans who truly contribute to our economy? … For the first time in over three decades we have a president, a House, and a Senate who are all committed to overhauling this broken tax code and unleashing the growth of jobs and paychecks nationwide. And whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, if you’re serious about getting real pro-growth tax reform done for the American people this year, we are serious about working with you.”

HAPPENING TODAY – ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS and ICE acting director Tom Homan are speaking today at 3 p.m. at PortMiami about how they believe jurisdictions like Miami-Dade are sharing more information with federal immigration authorities. The speech is meant as a contrast to cities like Chicago. Earlier this month, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel sued Sessions over his threat to withhold federal money for cities that don’t cooperate with Trump’s policies on illegal immigrants.

WHAT SESSIONS WILL SAY: “Miami-Dade is an example of what is possible through hard work and a rededication to the rule of law. It is proof that the entire nation can do better. … The most fundamental duty of government is to ensure the safety and liberty of its people. … Respect for the rule of law has broken down. In Chicago, their so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies are just one sad example. … That makes a sanctuary city a trafficker, smuggler, or predator’s best friend. … I know that Miami-Dade will be an example of the good that comes from following the law. We have already seen that: the same Independence Day weekend when Chicago suffered more than 100 shootings and 15 homicides, Miami-Dade also had an historic number of shooting deaths – zero.”

THE JUICE …

— FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA set the record for the most liked Tweet ever at 10:07 p.m. last night, according to Twitter. His tweet (http://bit.ly/2wdRGEr), which has over 3 million likes, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…” is also currently the fifth most retweeted in the company’s history with over 1.2 million retweets.

THE WASHINGTON POST on the Senate Subway. http://wapo.st/2wP6BTK

PHOTO DU JOUR: President Donald Trump reaches into his suit jacket to read a statement regarding the events in Charlottesville, Va., while addressing the media at Trump Tower in New York on Aug. 15. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

SNEAK PEEK — NYT MAGAZINE COVER – “Breitbart Goes to the White House — Inside the paranoia-inducing, rage-channeling, conspiracy-fanning media company at the nerve center of Donald Trump’s America,” by Wil S. Hylton (online headline: “Down the Breitbart Hole — Steve Bannon once said it was the platform for the alt-right. Its current editors disagree. Is the incendiary media company at the nerve center of Donald Trump’s America simply provocative — or dangerous?”): “In the short annals of journalism, there’s no real precursor for Breitbart. I don’t mean to suggest that this is because of the site’s political agenda — the history of journalism is a cacophony of strident writing as far back as you want to look. … What makes Breitbart distinct … [is] the way the site appeared to materialize overnight, from the outermost periphery of the media, and to dominate the political conversation in a pivotal election.

“Maybe it’s hard to remember anymore what you thought of Breitbart two years ago, but if you were like most people, you didn’t think about Breitbart at all. The average voter had no idea the site existed, and by the time its stories slipped into the mainline arteries of public discourse, most people were already hearing more about Breitbart than they would ever hear from Breitbart. Take a quick survey of your friends and see how many visited Breitbart last week or can name two articles that appeared on the site in the past three months. Then ask the same people what they think of Breitbart’s influence on the election, and watch how loud the room becomes.

“It’s startling the way the word ‘Breitbart’ has become iconographic, referring not really to the website or the company but to an amorphous mass of revanchist opinions for which Breitbart receives credit or blame. We’re all so certain that Breitbart is spewing a fountain of bigotry every day — denigrating women and riling up anti-Semitism, wailing about ‘black crime’ and ‘trannies’ — that few of us devote much time to observing it for ourselves. As a result, we haven’t done a great job of figuring out what exactly Breitbart is or what Steve Bannon meant when he described it as a ‘platform for the alt-right.’” http://nyti.ms/2fJtFzb … The cover http://bit.ly/2i4TVEL

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Israel Seeks UN’s Respect in Campaign for Security Council Seat,” by Bloomberg’s Kambiz Foroohar: “Outreach to Africa, educational trips for foreign diplomats and a more conciliatory Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make it clear: Israel is campaigning to overcome its acrimonious relationship with the United Nations in time to win a coveted spot on the Security Council next year. Israel is working to rally enough votes in the 193-member General Assembly to defeat either Germany or Belgium in a three-way race for two spots on the UN’s most powerful body. … [C]ampaigning … sometimes resembles a cross between the campaign to win an Oscar and a high school student council election. Germany and Belgium kicked off their campaigns in 2015 with colorful posters, notebooks and little packets of candy bearing their country’s campaign logos.” https://bloom.bg/2v0Qxfd

THIS IS A BIG DEAL — TEXAS TRIBUNE: “Federal court invalidates part of Texas congressional map: Federal judges have invalidated two of Texas’ 36 congressional districts, setting up a scramble to redraw them ahead of the 2018 elections,” by Alexa Ura and Jim Malewitz: “A three-judge panel in San Antonio unanimously ruled that Congressional Districts 27 and 35 violate the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act. The judges found that Hispanic voters in Congressional District 27, represented by U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, were ‘intentionally deprived of their opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.’ Congressional District 35 — a Central Texas district represented by Democrat Lloyd Doggett of Austin — was deemed ‘an impermissible racial gerrymander’ because lawmakers illegally used race as the predominant factor in drawing it, the judges wrote.

“The 107-page ruling … sets up a scramble to redraw the districts in time for the 2018 elections. The court ruled only on the current congressional map, leaving legal challenges to the state House map unanswered. The court ordered the Texas Attorney General’s Office to indicate within three business days whether the Texas Legislature would take up redistricting to fix those violations. Otherwise, the state and its legal foes will head back to court on Sept. 5 to begin re-drawing the congressional map.” http://bit.ly/2w9rc7T

****** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD): Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate the lowest net price for prescriptions on behalf of employers and other health care purchasers; however, the list price – the important starting point for those negotiations — continues to rise, at a rate of nearly ten percent in 2016 alone. Increased competition, faster reviews of generics and biosimilars and ending anti-competitive practices can also bring down the cost of medications for patients. Learn more at affordableprescriptiondrugs.org ******

TOWN HALL HEAT — “Colorado’s Gardner faces blowback at home over Obamacare repeal,” by Rachana Pradhan in Lakewood, Colorado: “Sen. Cory Gardner was hammered for supporting Obamacare repeal during a series of raucous town halls on Tuesday, where constituents repeatedly criticized his role in a closed-door partisan process to draft the failed GOP health bill. Gardner, who’s responsible for protecting the GOP majority in the Senate in 2018, faced heated criticism over the repeal effort that collapsed just a few weeks ago, even as congressional leaders try to pivot to tax reform when they return from the lengthy recess next month.

“While Gardner’s constituents in this purple state applauded him for his swift and strong condemnation of white supremacist groups this weekend, he was interrupted by boos and jeers of ‘shame’ and was called a ‘liar’ as he defended his support for health care legislation that would have significantly scaled back Obamacare and Medicaid. One attendee at the town hall here, held at Colorado Christian University in a Denver-area suburb, was escorted out by police after repeatedly shouting, ‘Why are you taking away health care?’” http://politi.co/2i4aFfw

— “Trump Threat to Obamacare Would Send Premiums and Deficits Higher,” by NYT’s Robert Pear and Tom Kaplan: “Premiums for the most popular health insurance plans would shoot up 20 percent next year, and federal budget deficits would increase by $194 billion in the coming decade, if President Trump carried out his threat to end certain subsidies paid to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. … Those threats continue, though the Trump administration has paid the subsidies each month. The nonpartisan budget office has now quantified the cost of the threats and potentially handed Democrats a weapon to force Congress and the administration to keep the money flowing.” http://nyti.ms/2fKwFv7

NAFTA TALKS START TODAY — “5 big questions about the NAFTA talks,” by Doug Palmer: http://politi.co/2w9w0Ks

BACK HOME — “N.H. neighbors say Corey Lewandowski threatened them in land dispute” – AP: “Glenn and Irene Schwartz countersued Lewandowski this month after he filed a $5 million lawsuit in July over access to a pond-front property in Windham, New Hampshire. Lewandowski accused the couple of blocking an easement granted to him so he could reach the tract. Court documents indicate Lewandowski is building a garage at the property. In the countersuit, the Schwartzes accuse Lewandowski of repeatedly intimidating them, once coming out of his house with a baseball bat and another time yelling on the phone that he would ‘use his political connections and clout to shut down all building and work and make your life a nightmare with an expensive and extended lawsuit.’” http://bit.ly/2x3lUYb

AT THE PENTAGON — “In a meeting with sailors, Mattis lauds their service and vulgarly criticizes people ‘sitting on the sidelines,’’ by WaPo’s Dan Lamothe: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with sailors serving on the submarine USS Kentucky last week in his home state of Washington, praising them for their sacrifices and expressing concern that he has ‘grown remote from those of you who matter.’ Then he noted the up-and-down nature of military life, told the sailors that they’ll miss being in the Navy after they leave — and issued an off-color compliment.

“‘You’ll miss it like the dickens, and you’ll be changed for the better for the rest of your life,’ said Mattis, who retired as a four-star Marine general in 2013. ‘So you’ll never regret, but you will have some of the best days of your life and some of the worst days of your life in the U.S. Navy, you know what I mean? That says — that means you’re living. That means you’re living. That means you’re not some p—- sitting on the sidelines, you know what I mean, kind of sitting there saying, ‘Well, I should have done something with my life.’’ He continued: ‘Because of what you’re doing now, you’re not going to be laying on a shrink’s couch when you’re 45 years old, say[ing] ‘What the hell did I do with my life?’ Why? Because you served others; you served something bigger than you.’” http://wapo.st/2i5ymUL

SPOTTED: Rupert Murdoch and former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa having lunch on Monday at the commissary at the Fox studios in Los Angeles … At the Watergate hotel last night having drinks: Morgan Ortagus, Tony Sayegh, Marty Obst, Jason Miller, Chris Giancarlo, and Samantha Menh … Steven Mnuchin and wife Louise Linton last night at Cafe Milano for dinner … Denis McDonough outside of the Center for American Progress on Monday after speaking to the U.S. Mexico Leaders Initiative.

ENGAGED – Isaac Baker, partner at AKPD Message & Media, got engaged on Monday to Kristina Peterson, congressional reporter for the Wall Street Journal. He proposed in Greece while they were on vacation. They met online. Pic http://politi.co/2uHnHFI

–Victoria Hartman, senior account executive at Politico Pro, got engaged yesterday to Paul Blair, strategic initiatives director at Americans for Tax Reform. He posted on Instagram: “9 years ago we were next door neighbors in a freshman dorm at GW. 7 years ago we went on our first date in Georgetown. 8 months ago I brought two round trip tickets for a ten day trip to France. I had today in mind, the day I’d propose to my best friend. She said yes and I’m the luckiest guy alive.” Back-story on their engagement: “I bent the knee as we sipped wine and hid from the rain on the balcony of our hotel room … With a bit of inspiration from an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Parts Unknown,’ we celebrated with a bit too much champagne and cheese at Paul Bocuse’s flagship restaurant, The Auberge du Pont de Collonges. Next, we’re off to Paris.” Instapic http://bit.ly/2w0xmXy

WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Jackie Kucinich, Washington bureau chief for the Daily Beast and a CNN political analyst and Jared Allen, senior director for media relations at the National Automobile Dealers Association, welcomed Evelyn June Allen, who was born on Tuesday at 11:08 a.m. at Sibley Memorial Hospital, weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. “Her middle name ‘June’ marks the first double byline Jackie and Jared shared shortly after meeting at The Hill newspaper in 2008. They are overjoyed to welcome Evelyn to Washington, although her arrival nine days prior to deadline will have them scratching their heads for some time to come. Evelyn and Jackie are both doing great and enjoyed their well-earned rest.” Pic http://politi.co/2wPbVpQ

— Jordan Jiloty, director of public and government affairs at NASCAR, and Summer Jiloty, a speech-language pathologist in Volusia County Schools, on Saturday welcomed Charles Jordan Jiloty, born at 10:53 p.m. at 8 lbs, 20 inches. “His big sister, Abigail (2 years old), was very excited to help welcome Charlie and mom home last night.” Pic http://politi.co/2wdlAsK

TRANSITIONS — Caitlin Girouard started on Tuesday as communications director for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). She previously was deputy chief of staff and communications director for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.). … David Kanevsky has joined the Republican State Leadership Committee as director of polling and analytics. He held a similar role at the NRSC in the 2016 cycle. …

… Participant Media has named Amy Glickman SVP for publicity and corporate comms. She is an alum of 42 WEST, PMK*BNC, and Rubenstein Communications. … Meredith Swan has been named the national finance director for South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s new super PAC, Hitting Home PAC. Swan is an alum of Evan Bayh, Melissa Bean and DWS PAC.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Patrice Woods Wildgoose, on AARP’s social team and a Capital One alum, celebrating in Costa Rica (hubby tip: Laurence, who was on time)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Jack Quinn, partner in the gov’t and regulatory practice at Manatt and former Clinton W.H. counsel. How he’s celebrating: “Celebrating in Jamaica, the island, where I’m mostly working but also enjoying a fabulous lobster feast on my birthday with Susanna, Storm, Jocelyn, Brendan and Clementine Quinn and great friends including Allen Gannett, Matt Dornic, Kate Bennett, Stephanie Cutter, and more. We are staying in an amazing villa overlooking the Caribbean Sea.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2wP5hA3

BIRTHDAYS: Josh Bolten, president and CEO of the Business Roundtable, is 63 … Politico’s Michael Grunwald is 47 … Ramesh Ponnuru is 43 … CNN’s Chris Moody … Tom Lopach, chief of staff for Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and DSCC, Tester and Kennedy alum (hat tip: Jon Haber) … Erin Casey French … Danielle Jones … FWD.us’ Chris Golden … Tyler Grimm is 32 … Dave DenHerder, partner at FP1 Strategies, is 45 (h/t Ryan Williams) … Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is 69 … Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) is 51 (h/t Team Collins) … Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) is 54 … former Rep. Dick Zimmer (R-NJ) is 73 … former Rep. Rick Berg (R-ND) is 58 … Steve Abbott is 55 … Neil McKiernan … Charles Brittingham … Tom Anfinson is 76 … Marli Keeley … Lyndsi Stevens … CBS’ Matt Silverstein … Karly Moen … Stacey Daniels, press secretary for Rep. Farenthold (R-Texas), is 26 … Kenneth Ryan James … Nick Rawls … former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) is 8-0 … Qorvis VP Sol Levine … James Chris Bowen, former company commander/platoon leader in Iraq, now working in the DoD’s military labs office, is 34 (h/t Saana Allie) …

… Abe Adams, Targeted Victory managing partner … Tricia Moffatt (h/ts Zac Moffatt) … Grant Rumley, research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who just published “The Last Palestinian: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas” ($16.32 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2w6zFZA) (h/t Mikayla Bouchard) … Matt Spence, partner at Andreessen Horowitz … Ellen Weissfeld … Harrison Roday … Julia Haslanger … Nick Rawls … Marshall Cohen … Kourtney Geers … Dean Thompson … Seth Colton … Rafael Viturro … Jane Elizabeth … Julie Young … Michael K. Lavers … Robin Ahnen … Jon Lipshutz … Hunter and Cole Norris … Linda Honold … Dave Jacobsen … Uday Sreekanth … Lisa Graves (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD): The high prices that drug makers set for prescription drugs can put financial strain on patients, employers, unions and others who provide health care coverage to more than 50 percent of Americans. Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate the lowest net price for prescriptions on behalf of employers, unions and government programs. But, as list prices – the starting point for those negotiations — continue their nearly double-digit increases, the effects ripple throughout the system. The key to ensuring greater access and affordability lies in fostering greater competition. Facilitating faster reviews of generics and biosimilars, identifying off-patent drugs with little or no generic competition, and ending anti-competitive practices that keep safe, effective alternatives out of the market are also key to abating rising drug costs for patients. Learn more at affordableprescriptiondrugs.org ******

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The Puzzling Case of Marco Estrada

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Over an 11-start span beginning with a nine-run shellacking in Texas in May of 2007, Roy Halladay pitched to a 6.35 ERA. Over that span he gave up 92 hits in 66.2 innings, while striking out just 37.

I still remember being at the third game of that stretch vividly. Halladay had given up nine in Texas, eight more (seven earned) in his next start against Boston, but seemed to have righted the ship, twirling seven innings of six-hit shutout ball against the White Sox. Then: kablammo! He imploded again, lasting just 3.1 innings against the Rays (then still called the Devil Rays), giving up eight runs (seven earned) again, surrendering 12 hits to just 23 batters faced.

Fans streamed to the exits, and I ended up sneaking down into preposterously good seats for the rest of the game—which was a huge stroke of luck, as the Jays came back to win with an incredible six-run ninth inning that ended with Tim Corcoran (the Rays' fourth pitcher of the frame) walking Aaron Hill with the bases loaded to score Matt Stairs as the winning run.

I wrote about the crazy win but also something else that happened that day: the fact that Halladay got booed.

Oh, I'm sure that those who did it would claim that they were just "booing the situation," sending a message to a manager with a slow hook, or some such nonsense, but I was there. I heard it. It happened. And it was about as vicious as I can remember hearing the crowd get toward Halladay—or, at the very least, the post-reinvention version of Halladay that had arrived five seasons prior, in 2002.

Joe Carter talks to VICE about his 1993 World Series walk-off homer

Halladay the great. Halladay, in the middle of what likely will be a Hall of Fame career. In the middle of his run of six straight top five Cy Young award finishes. Getting booed by his own fans. And, in a vacuum, based only on the way he pitched that day and in two of his previous three starts, probably even deserving it.

That strange stretch in the middle of his incredible career seems as inexplicable now as it did then. And just as quickly as it came, it went. Halladay resumed being Halladay, pitching to a 2.75 ERA over the final 14 starts of 2007, then winning 20 games and posting nearly 7 WAR the following season.

I've thought about this stretch and those boos more than a few times lately, as I've grappled—along with most Jays fans—with the way Marco Estrada's 2017 season has gone.

There aren't a lot of similarities between Estrada and Halladay. Marco doesn't have Doc's pedigree, his size, his fastball, or his lengthy track record of success. But until a couple weeks ago, few would have argued against the notion that he's been the Blue Jays' best and most consistent pitcher over the last three seasons. And then, just like the good doctor, inexplicably, he hit a trough.

Had there been as much publicly available data back then as there is now, maybe we could have diagnosed Halladay's struggles with more than a shrug of our shoulders. As for Estrada, while there aren't really any smoking guns to be found in the data, there are a few things we can see that might indicate where the problem is. And, unfortunately for Marco and for Jays fans, they all seem to revolve around his bread-and-butter pitch: his changeup.

Photo by Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

FanGraphs provides us with data for what they call "pitch values"—an advanced stat that, in their words, "attempts to answer the question, 'How well has a batter/pitcher performed against/using a certain pitch?'" You can read about the math involved here, if you really want to, but essentially what their calculations produce is a number that shows us how effective a particular pitch has been. And this all mostly passes the smell test, as in 2015 and 2016 Estrada's change up graded out as one of the most effective in the league—among qualified starters, at least. Last year, for example, only Kyle Hendricks and David Price got more total value out of their changeups, and even on a per-pitch basis, Estrada was in the top ten in the league.

The numbers for 2015 tell a very similar story. The ones for 2017 sure don't, though!

Estrada has had one of the least effective changeups so far this year, ranking 63rd in total value among the 70 qualified starters who've thrown the pitch. In the month of June, the "pitch value" of his changeup is dead last.

FanGraphs would be quick to caution here that these values aren't predictive, and don't say much about the actual quality of the pitch. They are simply "a reflection of what happened, not necessarily a method to explain why something happened." Still, the results are troubling, especially given how important the pitch is to Estrada, and how important Estrada is to the Jays. And we can see that he's well aware that the pitch has been a problem for him, as he threw his lowest percentage of changeups all season in his most recent start.

This gives us a place to start looking, and wondering. At Brooks Baseball, we can see tables and graphs of all kinds of data on Estrada's changeup, but it's not always easy to know what a whole lot of it means. For example, the first thing to jump out at me was the graph below of Estrada's horizontal release point. Here we're looking at where Estrada has released the ball, on the horizontal axis, since the beginning of the 2015 season. In his last few starts, beginning on May 17 against Texas, we see a subtle but quite noticeable shift.

Where he's been releasing the ball lately isn't too far off where he was at the end of the 2015 season, but it's quite different than last year or early on this year, and it coincides with the period where Estrada was most badly getting his ass handed to him.

Image via Brooks Baseball

Unfortunately—or maybe fortunately!—the shift here doesn't coincide with much of a change in his vertical release point, which suggests that he's not changing his arm angle or suffering from fatigue or anything physical that might be causing the difference—it looks more like Estrada has made a slight move on the rubber toward first base.

Is that enough to have caused his changeup to have taken a huge step backward? There are surely better folks than I at interpreting this kind of stuff, but… uh… I doubt it. Especially given the fact that his changeup problems have been there all season, at least according to FanGraphs' calculations, and really have only been highlighted by the disastrous stretch he just went through—and may well still be in.

In fact, the success batters have had against his changeup may mean something is amiss with his fastball—which he certainly doesn't seem to be locating well, as compared to last year—allowing them to sit on the changeup. Or maybe he's been tipping his pitches and the Jays haven't yet figured out how.

For his part, at least publicly, Estrada seems as stumped as we all are.

He issued an uncharacteristically high number of walks in his last start, a decent-enough outing against the Royals, and according to the pitch values his performance with the changeup was worse than all but two starts this season. Yet it still felt like a step in the right direction. At the very least, he made it through seven innings for the first time in a month, and the just the fourth time all season.

It feels like he can only go up from here. Like it's only a matter of time before "good Marco"—the one Jays fans have been so thrilled with and so fallen in love with over the last three seasons—will show up and, like Doc Halladay before him, make us all forget about this little blip.

That is the thing we'd all like to believe, at least. Estrada has had such a great run and it's been so fun to watch him baffle batters and suppress solid contact in ways that pitchers simply aren't supposed to be able to do that it feels much too soon to have to wonder whether his incredible changeup and his rising "cue ball" fastball always had a limited shelf life.

Estrada is a free agent at the end of this season. He's potentially a great trade candidate for the Jays, should they decide to become sellers by the end of next month, and is sporting the best strikeout rate of his career. He's also potentially an extension candidate—a guy who seemed to genuinely like being here when he signed on for two years at the end of 2015, and who fans would love to see be here for a very long time. But only if he figures out just what the hell has been going on these last several starts, and finds a way through it.

You've gotta hope that he can, even if you can't quite figure out how he got here in the first place.

The Puzzling Case of Marco Estrada published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

[flauntpage]

The Puzzling Case of Marco Estrada

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Over an 11-start span beginning with a nine-run shellacking in Texas in May of 2007, Roy Halladay pitched to a 6.35 ERA. Over that span he gave up 92 hits in 66.2 innings, while striking out just 37.

I still remember being at the third game of that stretch vividly. Halladay had given up nine in Texas, eight more (seven earned) in his next start against Boston, but seemed to have righted the ship, twirling seven innings of six-hit shutout ball against the White Sox. Then: kablammo! He imploded again, lasting just 3.1 innings against the Rays (then still called the Devil Rays), giving up eight runs (seven earned) again, surrendering 12 hits to just 23 batters faced.

Fans streamed to the exits, and I ended up sneaking down into preposterously good seats for the rest of the game—which was a huge stroke of luck, as the Jays came back to win with an incredible six-run ninth inning that ended with Tim Corcoran (the Rays' fourth pitcher of the frame) walking Aaron Hill with the bases loaded to score Matt Stairs as the winning run.

I wrote about the crazy win but also something else that happened that day: the fact that Halladay got booed.

Oh, I'm sure that those who did it would claim that they were just "booing the situation," sending a message to a manager with a slow hook, or some such nonsense, but I was there. I heard it. It happened. And it was about as vicious as I can remember hearing the crowd get toward Halladay—or, at the very least, the post-reinvention version of Halladay that had arrived five seasons prior, in 2002.

Joe Carter talks to VICE about his 1993 World Series walk-off homer

Halladay the great. Halladay, in the middle of what likely will be a Hall of Fame career. In the middle of his run of six straight top five Cy Young award finishes. Getting booed by his own fans. And, in a vacuum, based only on the way he pitched that day and in two of his previous three starts, probably even deserving it.

That strange stretch in the middle of his incredible career seems as inexplicable now as it did then. And just as quickly as it came, it went. Halladay resumed being Halladay, pitching to a 2.75 ERA over the final 14 starts of 2007, then winning 20 games and posting nearly 7 WAR the following season.

I've thought about this stretch and those boos more than a few times lately, as I've grappled—along with most Jays fans—with the way Marco Estrada's 2017 season has gone.

There aren't a lot of similarities between Estrada and Halladay. Marco doesn't have Doc's pedigree, his size, his fastball, or his lengthy track record of success. But until a couple weeks ago, few would have argued against the notion that he's been the Blue Jays' best and most consistent pitcher over the last three seasons. And then, just like the good doctor, inexplicably, he hit a trough.

Had there been as much publicly available data back then as there is now, maybe we could have diagnosed Halladay's struggles with more than a shrug of our shoulders. As for Estrada, while there aren't really any smoking guns to be found in the data, there are a few things we can see that might indicate where the problem is. And, unfortunately for Marco and for Jays fans, they all seem to revolve around his bread-and-butter pitch: his changeup.

Photo by Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

FanGraphs provides us with data for what they call "pitch values"—an advanced stat that, in their words, "attempts to answer the question, 'How well has a batter/pitcher performed against/using a certain pitch?'" You can read about the math involved here, if you really want to, but essentially what their calculations produce is a number that shows us how effective a particular pitch has been. And this all mostly passes the smell test, as in 2015 and 2016 Estrada's change up graded out as one of the most effective in the league—among qualified starters, at least. Last year, for example, only Kyle Hendricks and David Price got more total value out of their changeups, and even on a per-pitch basis, Estrada was in the top ten in the league.

The numbers for 2015 tell a very similar story. The ones for 2017 sure don't, though!

Estrada has had one of the least effective changeups so far this year, ranking 63rd in total value among the 70 qualified starters who've thrown the pitch. In the month of June, the "pitch value" of his changeup is dead last.

FanGraphs would be quick to caution here that these values aren't predictive, and don't say much about the actual quality of the pitch. They are simply "a reflection of what happened, not necessarily a method to explain why something happened." Still, the results are troubling, especially given how important the pitch is to Estrada, and how important Estrada is to the Jays. And we can see that he's well aware that the pitch has been a problem for him, as he threw his lowest percentage of changeups all season in his most recent start.

This gives us a place to start looking, and wondering. At Brooks Baseball, we can see tables and graphs of all kinds of data on Estrada's changeup, but it's not always easy to know what a whole lot of it means. For example, the first thing to jump out at me was the graph below of Estrada's horizontal release point. Here we're looking at where Estrada has released the ball, on the horizontal axis, since the beginning of the 2015 season. In his last few starts, beginning on May 17 against Texas, we see a subtle but quite noticeable shift.

Where he's been releasing the ball lately isn't too far off where he was at the end of the 2015 season, but it's quite different than last year or early on this year, and it coincides with the period where Estrada was most badly getting his ass handed to him.

Image via Brooks Baseball

Unfortunately—or maybe fortunately!—the shift here doesn't coincide with much of a change in his vertical release point, which suggests that he's not changing his arm angle or suffering from fatigue or anything physical that might be causing the difference—it looks more like Estrada has made a slight move on the rubber toward first base.

Is that enough to have caused his changeup to have taken a huge step backward? There are surely better folks than I at interpreting this kind of stuff, but… uh… I doubt it. Especially given the fact that his changeup problems have been there all season, at least according to FanGraphs' calculations, and really have only been highlighted by the disastrous stretch he just went through—and may well still be in.

In fact, the success batters have had against his changeup may mean something is amiss with his fastball—which he certainly doesn't seem to be locating well, as compared to last year—allowing them to sit on the changeup. Or maybe he's been tipping his pitches and the Jays haven't yet figured out how.

For his part, at least publicly, Estrada seems as stumped as we all are.

He issued an uncharacteristically high number of walks in his last start, a decent-enough outing against the Royals, and according to the pitch values his performance with the changeup was worse than all but two starts this season. Yet it still felt like a step in the right direction. At the very least, he made it through seven innings for the first time in a month, and the just the fourth time all season.

It feels like he can only go up from here. Like it's only a matter of time before "good Marco"—the one Jays fans have been so thrilled with and so fallen in love with over the last three seasons—will show up and, like Doc Halladay before him, make us all forget about this little blip.

That is the thing we'd all like to believe, at least. Estrada has had such a great run and it's been so fun to watch him baffle batters and suppress solid contact in ways that pitchers simply aren't supposed to be able to do that it feels much too soon to have to wonder whether his incredible changeup and his rising "cue ball" fastball always had a limited shelf life.

Estrada is a free agent at the end of this season. He's potentially a great trade candidate for the Jays, should they decide to become sellers by the end of next month, and is sporting the best strikeout rate of his career. He's also potentially an extension candidate—a guy who seemed to genuinely like being here when he signed on for two years at the end of 2015, and who fans would love to see be here for a very long time. But only if he figures out just what the hell has been going on these last several starts, and finds a way through it.

You've gotta hope that he can, even if you can't quite figure out how he got here in the first place.

The Puzzling Case of Marco Estrada published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv