#His intentions could be absolutely gold and he's still going to execute them like he's trying to wring your fucking neck

[unohanadaydreams]

Wait i havent read the novel what does it say for explaining about kugo in that scene?

Basically, he had a group of Fullbring friends before the story proper and they were all killed by a shinigami assassin after Ukitake gave him a substitute badge (that was spying him), so obviously he came to the conclusion that Ukitake killed his friends and tried to kill him.

Of course, as Seireitei does, they made him a wanted criminal for not presenting his neck and dying like a dog.

It wasn't Ukitake who ordered the hit, but the novel's villain. However, still a fucking shinigami! So it's not like he was super off! Like wow, I wonder who sent a SHINIGAMI assassin? A quincy?

I think if Ginjo had said 'I think they're going to do to you what they did to me, so watch out', there would have been a way better outcome for Ginjo and the entire Xcution group. But Ginjo is simply not able to do that. He is incapable of opening up to people. He is the cautionary tale for Ichigo.

So instead Ginjo says with his actions 'I think they're going to do to you what they did to me, so I'm going to steal the friends you can't protect & the powers you can't wield anymore & use them to kill Ukitake, which by the way you should also want to do you fucking moron piss baby idiot'.

And he takes that really good reason for not trusting the shinigami to the grave like. What a specimen. I love him tbh.

[starrieisdelusional]

when your servant is a little shite

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

Then Merlin looks at Gaius, who’s sitting there, eyeing him as if he knows what Merlin is going to do.

‘Merlin, no’

‘Merlin yes’

or

Merlin tests the limits of Arthur’s patience.

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

alternatively, ao3 link

original prompt

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4 (you're here), PART 5, PART 6

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

Arthur is waiting for a trial.

Earlier that day, a woman had come crying at the castle gate. Begging an audience with the king. She brought her son’s corpse, blaming it on her neighbor.

He cried innocence when the guards dragged him from his home into Camelot’s cell. And so here they are, in the throne room, airtight, waiting for their trial.

Merlin knows the truth; of course he does; he did his own investigation behind Arthur’s back. He sort of had a plan for how this trial would play out, and he hoped he could execute it.

“What’s taking them so long?” Arthur asks from his throne, and Merlin shrugs.

Arthur sighs, staring intently at the door. Five minutes later, they hadn't arrived yet. “Did we get the time right?”

“Yes, twelve on the dot sire, they’re late." Merlin said

It’s not an unusual occurrence; there was that one time they had to cancel a trial because the witness didn’t show up. They were later found dead in the forest.

Arthur stands and says, “I’m going to look for them.”

Merlin immediately stops him, sitting him down on his throne. “My Lord, you must remember, patience is key.”

“What use does the key have if the problem isn’t here yet?”

Right, that was a bad analogy. But Arthur can’t go outside because, well, let’s just say Merlin prepared something that he didn’t want Arthur to see. Merlin starts to think of ways to keep Arthur in place.

They’ll come eventually, Merlin is confident. But for how long, he’s not sure.

Merlin looks at the door, still tightly shut. Hm. And then he looks at Arthur and the empty throne beside him.

Oh.

Well, Merlin had been wanting to test this theory for a while, but he couldn’t do so without looking absolutely disrespectful and rude. And truthfully, he still feels embarrassed about the stunt he pulled at the second annual economics conference.

But seeing Sir Lunard and his friend’s faces after the conference brings him joys he cannot describe. They’re here too, in the corner of the room, probably gossiping about Merlin again. I can’t blame them.

Merlin looks at the empty throne again. Mulling over his choices. Well, this might be rude and disrespectful, but at least it kept Arthur sitting.

So Merlin pats Arthur’s shoulder, giving him what hopefully is a reassuring smile before he goes to sit on the Queen’s chair. If the court wasn’t looking at them, they’re staring now.

Merlin could already feel another round of lecturing tonight from the old man across the room.

“Merlin, what are you doing?” Arthur asks for the third time that week.

“I am sitting, sir, because my legs are tired." that was the same excuse as last time. “And I want to see if what you said about the chair being as hard as ‘Gwen's flooring back when I disguised myself as a peasant’ is true.”

Arthur's face gapes like a fish, trying to make sense of what’s happening, but before he could argue, the group came in, the mother and a man, accompanied by a set of guards.

The mother was hysterical, and the man was pale. Meanwhile, the guards are silently questioning Merlin’s position on the queen's throne. It would have been funny if not for the dead baby on the floor.

“My son, my poor son,” she cried loudly, sniffing into her cloth.

“I didn’t do it!” The man cried and did not question why there are two men sitting on the throne when there’s supposed to be one king.

“Now let’s just be calm." Arthur was caught off guard by the mother’s wail, holding her son’s body close to her chest.

“This rascal snuck into my house to steal my gold, and he killed my son! How could you do this? He’s only a baby!”

“I didn’t do it! I swear it's my mother’s name!” he begs, kneeling on the floor. “You have to believe me, your majesty, this woman is framing me!”

“How could you say such cruel things? The proof is there!”

“It’s not proof! It’s all lies!!” He said, gripping his hair so hard it might fall off his scalp. "Please, your majesty!”

“My son, your highness! My son is dead!”

“She’s lying, your highness!”

“Don’t believe anything that came out of this thief’s mouth.“

"Stop,” Arthur said, silencing them. Arthur massages his temple, thinking for a while, before he turns to look at Merlin. “What do you think?”

Merlin, having already figured everything out, said to him, "Well, for starters, Gaius, do you mind analyzing the cause of death?”

“Isn’t it clear? He gutted his throat! It’s all there to see!” she said

“It’s true, sir." Elyan said, presenting a bloody hatchet. “This was found at the man’s home.”

The court whispers loudly at this new revelation. Merlin leans on his hand. “Then I assumed you would have no problem if the court physician were to check his body.”

“Search all you want, you won’t find anything,” she laughs. Merlin nods at her, and Gaius goes to check on the baby. It took a few minutes before Gaius widened his eyes, obviously faking his surprise. “Why, he’s been poisoned.”

The mother stiffens. The court gasped, whispering loudly, “What type of Gaius?” Merlin asks him

“From the symptoms, I think it might be hemlock.”

“Interesting, thank you, Gaius.”

Gaius stands, and then starts to stare at him. 'Merlin, why are you sitting on the Queen’s throne? This is ridiculous even for you; get off there right now!’

Merlin nods, dismissing him, ‘No.

Gaius sighs, nodding before going back to the audience.

Merlin continues to address the court. “That’s an interesting revelation, but that certainly doesn’t prove anything. Sir Elyan, did you find any sort of potion while you were searching the thief’s house?”

"No, we did not,” he answers, connecting the pieces.

“I see. Now, may you please call Sir Leon and Lady Guinevere for me. They’re waiting outside.” Elyan nods, going outside to fetch them. Arthur immediately turns to him in disbelief, and Merlin shrugs, smiling.

Leon and Gwen both came in with a woman. Befuddled at Merlin’s position, but their faces turned grim once they saw the baby on the floor.

“We were called?” Leon asked

"Yes, Sir Leon, may you please introduce this woman to the court?” Merlin gestures to the woman beside him.

Leon nods. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the shopkeeper at the edge of town; she has something she wants to say,” Leon said, giving an encouraging nod to her.

She sighs, uncertain, looking at Merlin before she eventually says, “It was two nights ago... I usually don’t sell potions, but I encounter them on my journey. So as a shopkeeper, I keep it at the edge of my shelf. No one bought it for months, until... She looks at the mother and sighs.

“I shouldn’t have kept it; I shouldn’t even have sold it, but I did remember this woman coming to my shop late at night, as for the man, I never saw him in my life.”

“You liar!” She screams, launching at her, and the guards hold her down.

Merlin, completely dismissing her, continues to ask her, “And did she buy the potion?”

She was silent, looking at the woman in front of her, and then at the dead child, before eventually saying, "Yes,”

“Does the bottle that you sell have some sort of writing on it?” Merlin continues

“I remember it saying ‘hemlock’” She said she was unsure. The court is wild, whispers turn into full-on conversations.

“But I’m not sure; I could be wrong,“ she says as Arthur raises his hand to silence the court.

“No, it’s alright, miss; that's very useful information. Thank you; that’s very brave of you,” Merlin said, approving her.

“Now, I want everyone to take a look at this. Lady Guinevere, would you mind telling the court what you’re holding?”

She stepped forward, holding a clothed object. “I found this at her home. Everyone is so focused on the man’s house, so I searched at the mother’s house instead. I thought that we could find some new insights and this is what I found.” She said, showing an empty bottle with the word ‘hemlock’ written on it.

The mother has gone pale. “But—“

“I rest my case your honor” he said to Arthur, gesturing for the guards to hold her down, stopping her from attacking them

Then, Merlin turns to Arthur, who’s staring at him, too stunned to do anything. “What Merlin?”

“The verdict”

“Oh yes! The verdict!” Arthur said, standing in front of them. Merlin followed immediately.

“By the court of Camelot, you are found guilty of murder; does anyone have any objections?”

Everyone stayed silent, shaking their heads.

“I object! The king framed me!” She says this, pointing at Merlin.

"Um, no, I’m the King. He’s my…” He looks at Merlin. "He's, uh, he's—according to the laws of Camelot, you are sentenced to death.”

“WHAT?” She yelled at him as the guards dragged her away, cursing King Arthur’s and his lineage to come.

“Thank you, thank you so much, King Arthur. I am forever indebted to you!” The man thanked him, bowing at Merlin.

"Wait, no, no, I’m not—“

“I shall train and join your knight's sire! I realize now that it is my duty to protect you! Please wait for me, my king!" He said, grasping Merlin’s hand before bowing at Arthur. “Sir!”

But before they could say anything, he had already run off, probably to share his wonderful tale of King Arthur.

"He's never seen you before, hasn’t he?”

"No,” Arthur said, pursing his lips and staring into him. And it was at this moment that Merlin just remembered that he had been sitting on the queen’s throne for an indefinite amount of time, probably just insulting Arthur’s mom, his future wife, and his whole ancestry.

Merlin waited nervously before Arthur said, “Thank you, Merlin,” and walked off to brief the guards, like nothing had happened.

It seems like the court appreciation for Merlin has gone up, they no longer scowl when they meet him.

The next time they hold a trial, Arthur insists that he sits at the Queen’s throne.

“You’re the jury at this point; I might as well give you a special seat,” he said when Merlin told him the whole notion was ridiculous.

[mayihavethisdanse]

“What is this, the Dark Ages?”

Or, Arthurian themes and allusions in the Brotherhood of Steel mythos as seen in Fallout 4. (But that’s a lot of words.)

Yep. We're doing this. 

First, some obligatory caveats: there is no single Arthurian canon, just 1500 years of assorted fanfic based on the whims of whoever was writing at the time. For this extremely highbrow Tumblr meta, I have ignored most of it and drawn on my favorites. Also Wikipedia.

Also, I am not an expert in Arthurian literature (or Fallout lore, come to that), and I preemptively beg the pardon of anyone who is.

Finally, in no way am I claiming that all these parallels and thematic echoes are deliberate or even significant. In fact, I'd break it down into:

Clearly deliberate allusions, whether in or out of universe;

Probably coincidence, but could be someone deliberately capitalizing on a coincidental similarity;

Almost certainly coincidence, but fun to speculate about; annnnd

Blatant Monty Python references. (Because of course there are.)

I'll start with the big one.

Arthur Maxson, boy king and unifier

(source)

So across all the retellings and variations of King Arthur’s life story, there are a few consistent elements, particularly in his early life and rise to power. Some of these threads are echoed in the Fallout universe, specifically (and unsurprisingly) in the person of Arthur Maxson.

Both the legendary King Arthur and Arthur Maxson were born with a claim to power lying in their ancestry, both were fostered away from their families, and both proved themselves in combat at a young age. 

King Arthur united the warring kingdoms of Britain into a single entity, making them stronger against outsiders and receiving general admiration and acclaim. Arthur Maxson united the divided factions of the BoS after the events of Fallout 3 and is held in similarly high regard by his men.

The name Prydwen is a reference to the ship of the original King Arthur. Presumably, Arthur Maxson (or someone in the BoS who anticipated his promotion) christened the airship in a deliberate homage to the Arthurian myth.

King Arthur is associated with his legendary sword. I think it’s notable that Maxson’s legend is associated with a bladed weapon, too. ("He killed a DEATHCLAW with a COMBAT KNIFE!”)

Probably coincidence, but fun: the historical emperor Magnus Maximus, who pops up a lot in early Arthurian legend, was known in Welsh as... Macsen. (⌐■_■)

Round Table, but make it dieselpunk

(Continued under the cut.)

Moving away from obvious allusions and into some looser parallels:

Like the Round Table, the Brotherhood is an exclusive knightly order with its leader being the one able to open it up to his chosen few.

Like the Round Table, the BoS sees itself as defending human civilization against forces of chaos. (I’ll touch on their tech-hoarding tendencies when I get to the Grail stuff.) This idea of civilization in the face of chaos goes back to the BoS’s founding, even though the level of isolationism we see in most of the Fallout franchise is not exactly what founder Roger Maxson had in mind: “Notably, Maxson's ultimate intention was to establish the Brotherhood as an organization that works closely with people outside of the Brotherhood, as guardians of civilizations, not its gatekeepers.” (source) In a lot of ways, Arthur Maxson represents a return to his ancestor’s original ideals.

Renegade knights? Internal politics? Traitors within? We gotchu.

In both the medieval legends and in all chapters of the BoS we’ve seen, there’s a big focus on bloodlines (ew). Ironically, it’s probably Arthur Maxson’s unquestionable ancestry that allows him to be more progressive than either of his East Coast predecessors when it comes to boosting Brotherhood numbers by recruitment (even though you can still see a clear division between “born Brotherhood” and recruited soldiers, but that’s a topic for another day). Maxson sees himself as an Elder who "cares for the people"—however misguided and patronizing that attitude might be—and whatever else you might say about the guy, you can't say he doesn't believe he has a duty. Which brings us to…

Know Your Enemy: Danse as Gawain

Before I start this section, an acknowledgement of authorial bias:

Gawain, as portrayed in the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is my very favorite of King Arthur’s knights. (Other stories aren't always as flattering, but like I said at the outset: I'm sticking to the ones I like.)

That poem is my very favorite piece of medieval Arthurian literature. In this section, I'll refer to the modern English translation by Simon Armitage.

...that’s it, I have no other biases to disclose. 

What? 👀

(Art: Clive Hicks-Jenkins)

All right. So in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, you’ve got this himbo loyal knight of Arthur’s who finds himself caught up in... you know what, let me just paste in the Wikipedia summary. (The Toast, RIP, also did a pretty entertaining and more-or-less accurate recap.)

It describes how Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious "Green Knight" who dares any knight to strike him with his axe if he will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts and beheads him with his blow, at which the Green Knight stands up, picks up his head and reminds Gawain of the appointed time. In his struggles to keep his bargain, Gawain demonstrates chivalry and loyalty until his honour is called into question by a test involving the lord and the lady of the castle where he is a guest.

Don’t worry too much about the plot details, though; for this post, I’m more interested in the thematic parallels. The Green Knight story is full of contrasts: order vs. chaos, civilization vs. wilderness, mortal man vs. Other... but let’s start with Gawain himself. 

Some stuff to know about Gawain:

He was "as good as the purest gold, devoid of vices but virtuous and loyal". Gawain took his principles more seriously even than the rest of Arthur’s knights, not out of pride but out of humility: "I would rather drop dead than default from duty," he says. 

He’s faithful and honorable and never even tempted to betray an oath, even when offered every variety of seduction and riches, except for a single moment of weakness in a desperate desire not to be executed for random shit by powerful forces for reasons he doesn't understand.  

Even though he doesn’t really understand why he needs to die, he sticks to his oath. Gawain's one weakness is a moment of desperate, private, human desire for survival. He'll submit to the headsman’s axe if he has to, but he'd still rather live. 

Above all, Gawain is the ideal of a human man: he might be the bravest and loyal man there is, but he’s still fundamentally human.

You can probably see where I'm going with this.

A few more fun facts about Gawain that resonate with Paladin Danse’s story:

He’s got a bunch of really shitty brothers. (No comment.)

Gawain (SPOILERS!) doesn't actually end up beheaded, but he does willingly kneel for his execution and gets a cut on the throat as a reminder of his sin. And, uh, Danse can also get his throat cut! It doesn’t end as nicely but it’s, you know, a thing that can happen.

Gawain might be a really good guy, and he tries really hard to be one, but in the end he’s nothing more than that: there’s nothing supernatural about him, he has no special powers beyond his own principles and devotion. He’s just a dude doing his Best. 

Wait, why not Danselot?

Oh, that guy? Here’s the thing.

Lancelot personifies the continental ideals of courtly love that became popular in the High Middle Ages. Central to his story is the prioritization of personal relationships and romantic feelings in a way that you don’t really see in Gawain's, at least in the Green Knight tale. (Later stories hook Gawain up with an extremely delightful lady, but even that is a different flavor of romance than Lancelot's and has more to do with Gawain honoring his word and his egalitarian treatment of women (hell yeah). In the poem, Gawain is impressed by Bertilak's wife but resists her temptation; in fact, the biggest risk is not that he'll yield to her advances but that he'll be discourteous to her, i.e., violate his principles and cause dishonor to his king and his host.)

Lancelot is driven by passions over principles in a way that Gawain never really is (at least in the stories I’m talking about; later writers have committed character assassination to various degrees). Yes, you could argue that both Gawain and Lancelot betray their oaths, but Lancelot’s betrayal is never, um, blind. He knows what he’s doing and makes a deliberate choice to prioritize his love for the queen over his love for the king. It doesn’t make him a bad guy—he too is an ideal knight with one fatal flaw—but his character isn’t as comparable to Paladin Danse. 

Yeah, Gawain is (in most stories) a prince and a kinsman of Arthur’s, but he’s ultimately a native boy who doesn’t break the mold of a Knight of the Round Table. Likewise, Danse is portrayed as competent and valuable to the BoS, but not exceptional or breaking the mold of what a BoS soldier should be: he simply represents the ideal. Meanwhile, Lancelot is a foreign prince who was marked from childhood as special and fancy, and his storyline goes alllll over the place. (Much like this post.)

For example, Lancelot goes to absolutely absurd extremes to prove his devotion for no other reason than to prove it. (“I’ll do any useless humiliating thing you want. I’ll betray every oath except the one I made to you. That’s what love is!”) Gawain would never. Danse would never.

Ultimately, Gawain's tests are of his character and not of his love. And like Gawain, Danse’s devotion is to service and his principles, not to another person—even Arthur Maxson.

All that said, there are some similarities: both are beloved by Arthur, both are held up as the ideal of what a knight should be. And even if their fatal flaws are different, both make the point that no matter how good and brave and loyal they might be, no human being can be perfect. 

(Except Galahad. Who is, as a result, very boring.) 

I’ll conclude this section with a quote from someone else’s take on the Greek Knight poem:

I like Gawain. He’s not perfect, but he’s trying his best which is all any of us can do. He’s not like the other knights in the Arthurian legends who occasionally ‘accidentally’ kill women on their little adventures and then feel hard done by when they have to deal with the consequences of that. Gawain holds himself to a high standard – higher, it seems, than Arthur and his knights hold him to considering how hard they laugh when Gawain tells them how bad he feels about the whole thing.

I think Gawain is very relatable in this story. We all want to be better than we actually are.

And that, more than anything else, is Danse.

The Grail myth

What’s that? Lost relics of power? Better send some large armed men after ‘em!

The parallels to the BoS’s tech-hoarding ways are obvious enough that the games themselves lampshade them (albeit by way of Monty Python). But it also ties into the larger themes of “purity” versus “corruption” and the BoS’s self-image as a bastion between civilization and chaos. (See Maxson's line in response to the Sole Survivor’s quip about the Dark Ages: “Judging from the state of the world, it wouldn't be a stretch to say we're living in that era again.”)

But the ultimate futility of the Grail mission is also worthy of note. The BoS might want the power of prewar tech on their side, but they’re no more to be trusted with it than any other group of human beings. No matter how they try, the “corruption” of humanity can’t be overcome as long as they’re striving to harness power for their own ends. You can only achieve power by surrendering control of it.

The death of Arthur

The nature of gameplay being what it is, it's not guaranteed that the Arthur figure will be fatally betrayed, bringing Camelot down with him—but it's not unlikely, either.

Awkward.

Some final spitballing:

Outside the Brotherhood, there are some fun parallels of the Arthur myth with the rest of Fallout 4. Betrayal by one’s own son, for example.

The key difference between the BoS and the legendary Round Table: King Arthur’s knights, for all their flaws and human weaknesses, are usually presented as unambiguous Good Guys. The BoS is... a little more ambiguous...

...but damn if they don’t think they're the good guys. 

A-ad victoriam, fellas!

[artemis-pendragon]

wait if you have the time would you mind expanding on the parallels between achilles and patroclus and the ships you mentioned?

OH GOD YES I WOULD LOVE TO THANKS FOR ASKING!! The English Major in me jumped out so here's an absolute novel lmao:

Hannibal/Will:

Hannibal and Will are the easiest to draw direct parallels to because they are textually compared to Achilles and Patroclus in canon. Hannibal draws himself as Achilles and Will as Patroclus, then (because apparently he’s never heard of subtlety) shows it to Will.

Hannibal says that hiding and revealing identities is a major theme in the Iliad. Will asks Hannibal to reveal himself to Jack Crawford; in the same episode, Hannibal begins to suspect that Will has betrayed him, hiding his true intentions behind a façade to bait Hannibal into being captured by the FBI. However, Will isn’t even sure himself what his real intentions and identity is, and eventually betrays the FBI and runs away with Hannibal.

After Hannibal realizes that Will betrayed him (which is also the episode after he talks about how they’re like Achilles and Patroclus), he stabs Will in the stomach. Patroclus was killed after being stabbed in the stomach.

Hannibal and Will’s blurring identities is a major theme throughout the show. Just as Patroclus takes on Achilles’s identity on the field of war, Will takes on Hannibal’s identity in many ways—both intentionally, and unintentionally.

Patroclus dies wearing Achilles’s armor. Will is accused of being the Chesapeake Ripper, imprisoned, and could have been executed for Hannibal’s crimes if Hannibal hadn’t interfered.

Hannibal is a god-adjacent character, while Will is his more human counterpart. Will is Hannibal’s tether to his humanity, just as Patroclus is Achilles’s.

Just like Achilles couldn’t stand to be parted from Patroclus, Hannibal chose to let Will pull him off a cliff to their (probable) deaths. Hannibal would rather die with Will than live without him.

There is a significant amount of water imagery in this show. Will especially has a lot of ties to water: he likes to fish (his mind palace is initially shown to be a stream); he’s knowledgeable about boats and sailing (he sails across the Atlantic to find Hannibal); his dreams and hallucinations often include water and/or blood; he pulled Hannibal off a cliff into the ocean in a last ditch attempt to kill them both; etc. The story of Achilles also has lots of water-related motifs since Achilles’s mother, Thetis, is a sea nymph/goddess of water.

Hannibal didn’t become overtly vicious and violent toward the Great Red Dragon until he threatened to kill (and then actually stabbed) Will. Then he went totally feral and (literally) ripped Dolarhyde’s throat out. This reminds me of Achilles losing his mind and killing then mutilating Hector after Hector killed Patroclus.

Steve/Bucky:

Steve and Bucky have the “legendary beloved heroic superhuman soldier” and “childhood friend turned war companion” parallel down to a T. Steve is like Achilles: he is a born soldier who wants to fight for his country, starting out idealistic and becoming worn down and jaded by war over time. Bucky is far more reluctant to go to war but follows Steve back onto the battlefield because he believes in Steve and wants to keep him safe—especially from his own reckless righteousness. This is very similar to Patroclus’s desire to follow Achilles to war mostly out of a desire to protect and guide him away from his self-destructive, hot-headed tendencies.

Just as Patroclus put on Achilles’s armor to fight (and die) in his place on the battlefield, Bucky picks up and wields Steve’s shield just before he falls off the train to his apparent death.

Steve starts out saying that he doesn’t want to kill anybody, but after Bucky “dies”, he vows not to stop until every member of Hydra is either killed or captured. This is similar to Achilles’s reaction to Patroclus’s death, where he goes mad with grief and kills everyone in his path to get to Hector, who he then violently kills.

Additionally, after killing Hector, Achilles continues to fight recklessly until someone kills him. Similarly, Steve keeps fighting to stop Hydra but ultimately goes down with the aircraft carrying the bombs, allowing himself to drown/freeze. There’s probably ways he could have gotten out of that situation, but instead he kind of just gives in and lets himself “die” (at least that’s my interpretation).

The Captain America movies also have some interesting water imagery. Bucky falls to his “death” in a ravine, most likely falling into the frozen stream. Steve “drowns” after he crashes the plane into the ocean; in The Winter Soldier, Steve falls from the helicarrier into the Potomac, and Bucky jumps in after him. Again, the story of Achilles also contains water-related motifs due to Achilles’s mother being a sea nymph; I’m sure I could write an entire essay about these parallels before I figure out how to verbalize why this is interesting, but I’m too lazy to right now lol.

Arthur/Merlin:

Again, just like with Steve and Bucky, this is an obvious case of “famous royal golden hero of legends” and “less well-known but ultimately extremely important companion who follows him to war”. Like Achilles and Patroclus, Arthur and Merlin meet before Arthur is a famous warrior and become friends long before the “big war” that ultimately tears them apart.

Arthur and Achilles might be the famous warriors, but Merlin and Patroclus are the kind-hearted, brave, fiercely loyal companions who serve both as a fellow warrior on the battlefield, and as a moral compass. Just as Achilles looks to Patroclus for advice and as a tether to the humility and importance of humanity in the face of a great destiny, Arthur looks to Merlin.

Both Patroclus and Merlin seem at first to be ordinary men who (in the eyes of most casual observers) aren’t worthy of Achilles/Arthur’s friendship. However, they both become legendary figures of their own, without whom their legendary heroic counterparts would never have survived.

As I mentioned in the section about Hannibal and Will, the theme of hiding and revealing identities is very important in the story of Achilles and Patroclus. One of the biggest plot points in Merlin is that Merlin can’t reveal that he has magic; he doesn’t do so until the last episode, once Arthur has been mortally wounded.

Just as Patroclus always believed that Achilles would live up to his great destiny, Merlin always believed in Arthur. And even though Arthur didn’t know about Merlin’s true potential and role in his rise to the throne, Arthur believed that Merlin was one of the best, most courageous men he’d ever met. This reminds me o Achilles referring to Patroclus as Philtatos (in The Song of Achilles), meaning “best of men”.

In an inverted parallel, Arthur is the one who is stabbed and ultimately dies. Although Achilles does eventually die in war, it isn’t until after Patroclus dies. It is then implied that they will eventually meet again someday, just as Achilles and Patroclus would meet again in the afterlife after their ashes were mingled together.  

Dean/Cas:

In this relationship, Dean is very much the “reckless hero with a pre-ordained-by-the-gods destiny who is actually very flawed and carries a lot of self-doubt” and Cas is the “companion with a heart of gold who is almost embarrassingly devoted to the hero and will do anything for him”.

For Dean/Cas, there is also the parallel of struggling with a toxic parental figure who demands too much while also being emotionally absent and manipulative. For Dean, this is John Winchester, and for Achilles, this is Thetis. Cas also struggles with his relationship with his father (who is literally God lmao) and his desire to be a good soldier vs. his desire to do what’s right and to protect the man he loves.

Patroclus strives to help Achilles see that he’s more than just a weapon, and Cas and Dean both do this for each other: Dean helps Cas realize that he’s more than just another emotionless soldier of heaven, and Cas helps Dean realize he’s more than “daddy’s blunt instrument” (the phrasing of which I will still be laughing at in my grave. Thanks, CW.)

Dean’s godly destiny as Michael’s vessel is determined before he’s even born. Achilles’s godly destiny is also determined before he’s born, and neither one really has any say in it.

Patroclus ultimately dies in Achilles’s place, and Cas does the same for Dean many times. When Cas decides to help Dean escape heaven and try to save Sam and stop the apocalypse, he sacrifices himself to help Dean get away. Of the many times Cas puts his life on the line, it’s usually either to help Dean, or to save him. This is reminiscent of how Patroclus did almost everything not in the name of winning the war, or even the greater good (although he was obviously a good person), but to protect Achilles and keep him from getting himself killed.

Whenever Cas is dead, Dean’s mental health visibly deteriorates. He becomes more violent and unpredictable—a worse version of himself—just as Achilles did after Patroclus died.

Just as Patroclus acts as a tether to humanity for Achilles, Cas and Dean both act as tethers to humanity for each other. Cas pulls Dean out of Hell, restoring his humanity, and Dean helps Cas shrug off his emotionless angel identity and find some humanity of his own.

TLDR: Reckless blonde hero (or villain) with a legendary destiny/reputation and badass fighting skills + their viciously loyal brunette companion-slash-lover who's willing to die for them at a moment's notice = good shipping material

[willowbird]

3! 4! 7! (for the prompts yo) .... oh. and. kandreil. (duh)

Be GAY do CRIME, on a violently orange yacht. Oh, and they kiss for the FIRST TIME 😘 For Kandreil!

This is my first Intentional Kandreil y'all (as opposed to like.. the three Accidental Kandreil I've done so far), I hope I don't fuck it up for you XD

----

"Kevin I swear if you peak I am going to go leak those photos of you from last Halloween."

Kevin snorted at Neil's empty threat, though he dutifully kept his eyes closed, letting Andrew tug him out of the car and lead him down what felt like a wooden walkway. A deck, maybe. Or a pier, Kevin thought as he registered the smell and sound of water, the squawking of gulls above and around them.

"Even if you did, no one would believe they were real."

"I'd leak them right to the Trojans." The laughter in Neil's voice warmed something right in the center of Kevin's chest. It wasn't so long ago that Neil was so... terrifyingly cold. He'd joined them as a rebellion against his father, the bogeyman of the east coast and loyal lapdog to the Ravens - who were the direct rivals to Kevin's much smaller, much wilder group of Foxes. But whereas the Ravens were a legit syndicate that dealt with such things like human trafficking and heavy drugs, the Foxes were a group of barely-organized criminals that mostly just liked to say 'fuck you' to the laws they didn't agree with.

The problem? The laws the Foxes didn't agree with tended to be the ones that directly benefitted the Ravens' front businesses. After all, the Ravens controlled several of the biggest corporations in the country, and they were regularly stepping all over average folks, ruining their lives.

Every member of the Foxes had, in some way, been hurt by the Ravens. They were all determined to get back at them in whatever ways possible. Sometimes that meant framing their executives for fraud. Sometimes that meant blowing up a few buildings. They were a multi-talented group.

The Trojans were a similar group of not-quite-but-still-criminals based on the west coast, and they'd combined forces a few times by now. They also were pros at anything that had to do with the internet. If Neil wanted to make something go viral, the Trojans were definitely the place to go to.

"Jeremy would never help you soil my good name."

"Jeremy would think it is hilarious, do not fool yourself, Day." Andrew's tone was dry and deceptively uninterested, but Kevin knew him well enough by now to hear the amusement hidden between the carefully articulated syllables.

Kevin rolled his eyes while still keeping them dutifully closed. He didn't bother to hide his smile though, knowing the other two would see it and not really caring that they would. It was kind of strange to think of, honestly - that he was here, comfortable being led around with his eyes closed, smiling without care. It was because of these two men, and that... that warmed something inside him. Made it glow. Made it blossom. Made it live.

"Okay, alright. Kevin, you may open your eyes." Neil's grin was audible in his voice, and it was the first thing that Kevin saw when he opened his eyes.

The second thing he saw, though, was the absolutely impossible-to-ignore explosion of orange directly behind him.

"What the actual fuck?" Kevin half-spluttered, but he was grinning, too. He could feel it. One did not look at a violently orange yacht and not grin. He laughed. "This is my surprise? You saw an orange yacht in the marina and had to show... me..." His voice drifted off, distracted and confused as he saw the name of the boat in sharp white script along the side.

The Brightest Day

"Neil?" Kevin blinked, and something giddy bubbled up right below his throat, catching and fizzing. He had to swallow it down, and it took effort to do so, especially as he saw the warm, pleased look on Neil's face, then turned to see a similar expression on Andrew's.

To see a similar expression on Andrew's face.

Kevin stared, because Andrew... Andrew wasn't one to emote. Even when it was just two of them, or the three of them. Even after all they'd been through. Kevin and Neil had learned to find the truths hidden behind his sturdy walls, to accept what Andrew was willing to give them when and however that may be.

And here was Andrew, in the open, looking at him with an almost-smile on his face and an expression in those natures-gold eyes that was unmistakably fond.

Kevin had to take a breath, and he wasn't at all surprised to feel it shake. Rough, strong fingers slipped between his own and Kevin looked over to see Neil's expression had shifted to understanding. If anyone would ever know what Kevin was feeling, how he was feeling it, at any given time, it was Neil. They were so similar in the way they processed the world, and how they appreciated the small gifts they were granted in a life that had been too dark and too unforgiving for far too long.

Andrew's smile was one of those gifts. Arguably, it was the grandest of all.

"Come on you idiots," Andrew sighed as he turned to walk up the short ramp already positioned to bring them onto the boat.

Without further word, and without unlacing their fingers from each other, Kevin and Neil followed Andrew up the ramp and onto the yacht. Something struck Kevin as inexplicably right about that. After all - no matter where any one of them went, the other two were sure to follow, hand in hand.

And when they needed to face a challenge they would face it hand in hand in hand.

"I don't understand," Kevin finally said as Andrew lead them across the deck. "The Foxes don't have the resource to --"

"It did not come out of the Foxes' coffers," Andrew cut him off. He nodded to the menace still holding Kevin's hand. "It came out of Neil's."

Kevin turned to Neil, staring at him in open shock. "You bought the Foxes a boat?"

Neil snorted. "No. I bought you a boat." He paused, then looked from Kevin to Andrew and something passed between them. Some kind of understanding, or agreement. Andrew stepped away from where he'd been about to lead them to the interior of the boat, instead joining the two of them. Once he had, Neil looked back at Kevin and said, "I bought us a boat."

It took a moment. Kevin wasn't stupid, but he also had never expected... This thing, this connection or relationship or whatever that was between the three of them - Kevin wasn't sure it would ever be defined and he had come to terms with that months ago. If they went on forever just being Kevin and Andrew and Neil, just as they were right now with no changes - he would be okay with that. As long as he always had these two men in his life, everything else, he decided, would work itself out.

"Us," Kevin said slowly, testing the word, making sure it really meant what he thought it meant.

"Yes," Andrew said. "Us."

And that... that was really all that needed to be said, wasn't it? At least he thought so, up until Neil tugged on his hand, bringing him a bit closer to the both of them, and said, "Kevin, can I kiss you?"

"Yes!" The word burst out before Kevin really made the decision to answer or even necessarily registered the question. A soft huff came from Andrew that might have been a laugh, but Kevin wasn't able to fully catch it when Neil was already pulling him down.

Neil smiled into the kiss. He kissed him slowly, with a graze of teeth and a hum of adventure. He kissed him like it was just the beginning. He kissed him like he knew it was a first kissed but by far would not be the last. Confident, pleased, satisfied.

Blood was pounding in Kevin's ears so hard he could taste the tremble of his own heart on the tip of his tongue, and when the kiss broke he gasped, already leaning in for more. This time, Neil was not the only one smiling.

By the time the kiss ended, they were no longer holding hands. Instead, Kevin had an arm wrapped around Neil's shoulders, keeping him tugged as close as possible, the other hand resting on the side of his neck. Neil was similarly wrapped around his waist and he was still smiling. Kevin rested his forehead against Neil's, then turned to look at Andrew to find the other man was watching them with heat and affection burning in his eyes.

"Andrew," Kevin said, and his voice rasped. He didn't say the words, but only because he was too high on Neil's fire to put the syllables together right now.

Andrew answered anyway, because he knew Kevin well enough to know exactly what question he was trying to ask.

"Yes," he said. And if Neil's kiss was fire and satisfaction, Andrew's was the ocean and determination. Andrew kissed him like he was going to carve his intentions on his bones. He kissed like he was going to take Kevin apart one sigh and tough at a time and Kevin melted into it, more than happy to yield to the power of that kiss. Anyone who lives near the sea would tell you the same - you don't fight the waves, you let them carry you - and that was exactly what Kevin did.

Neil's hand was stroking up and down his spine. Andrew's was cupped around the back of his neck. When the kiss broke, that hand squeezed firmly, then pulled him just a bit further down so Andrew could place one more kiss on his forehead before he turned to Neil.

Something perfect and delicate and yet, at the same time, positively indestructible filled Kevin up to the brim as he watched the way Andrew cupped Neil's face, the way Neil leaning into that touch, the way fire and ocean wave met in a promise while still in the circle of Kevin's arms. And finally, finally, Kevin had a word for it - for the feeling he got when he was with these two beautiful, thrilling, amazing men.

And it was, quite simply, home.

[shyvioletcat]

I’d like to place a request for Aelin singing Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars and Rowan overhearing it (you decide if it’s intentional or her singing in the shower or drunk karaoke hehe) in Striking Matches of course 😉 since that hasn’t happened yet

cont: Oops wait I always forget it’s technically by Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ my bad it’s a collab

I went with something different, but let’s be real... Aelin would just about sing this song every chance she gets.

So Timeline wise, this so just after they get together. It’s probably been a month and a half since he busted her door.

Striking Matches Masterlist

~~~~~

The fire alarm ringing through the school gym had the kids in a panic, it even took a few moments for Aelin to get her own feelings under control. But when her kids had flocked to her, their scared faces wide-eyed, she pulled herself together. When she had volunteered to chaperone the Halloween dance this is not what she expected. 

Her and the other teachers ushered the kids outside, not even a trace of smoke to be found but still they got all the kids out to the car park. It was soon apparent that some cheeky troublemaker, probably urged on by their peers, had pulled the alarm and there was no real threat of fire. But they had to follow protocol and that meant the greater portion of the student body from grades 4-6 were huddled in the car park —all in their costumes— waiting for the firefighters to turn up to give the official all clear. The poor things were getting cold in the brisk October air and still nervous after all the drama. Aelin wasn’t feeling particularly warm herself in her Alice in Wonderland costume, the striped tights at least were offering her some protection from the cold. 

So Aelin did the first thing she could think of. 

Turning her phone full volume she led a dance party in the empty spaces of the parking lot. She was dancing to hype the kids up, most likely looking like a dork as she did the sprinkler for the umpteenth just as the fire engine pulled up. The team unloaded from the vehicle very quickly, Lorcan barely gave the excited children a second glance, but Aelin’s students were thrilled to see Rowan again and he gave them a wide smile and a wave. Fenrys directed a thumbs up to her in approval of her dance moves before he waved to the kids as well, giving them some finger guns to top it off.

Another song played through and the whining of the alarm stopped and everyone cheered. Lorcan appeared again and went to clear things with the principal then the others started filing out. Out of nowhere an idea struck Aelin, a song that seemed too perfect to pass up in the moment. So she unlocked her phone, scrolling through until she found the song she wanted. 

The poppy vocalising at the intro of the song started and she made sure to keep at least one eye of Rowan as everyone started dancing. She saw the twins share a look and then they were laughing. Gavriel was just shaking his head. 

This hit, that ice cold

Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold

This one for them hood girls

Them good girls straight masterpieces

Aelin sang along and somewhere she heard Lysandra cackling. 

Stylin', wilin', livin' it up in the city

Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent

Gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty

I'm too hot –– hot damn

Aelin pointed at Rowan who was trying his damndest not to smile. He was failing. 

Called a police and a fireman

I'm too hot –– hot damn

Make a dragon wanna retire man

I'm too hot –– hot damn

Say my name you know who I am

I'm too hot –– hot damn

And my band 'bout that money, break it down

Aelin wiggling her shoulders ridiculously at him had him breaking and he laughed. By then Rowan had reached and took her by the hand, spinning her a few times –– her apron and skirts fanning out. The kids, meanwhile, were going insane. 

When Rowan stopped the spinning Aelin’s hands landed on his shoulders. 

“Don’t you think this song is a little inappropriate for the little ones?” He said. 

“I suppose.” Aelin sighed and changed the song, a chorus of disappointed protests sounding. “But I just couldn’t resist.”

A terse Whitethorn came from the direction of the fire engine, making both Aelin and Rowan look over. The rest of the team was loaded back up ready to head back to the station. Aelin linked her arm with Rowan and handed her phone off to Lysandra so she could keep the party going while the executives decided what to do next. 

“Will you come by for breakfast tomorrow? I bought a fresh box of toaster waffles,” Aelin asked, leaning close to leech his warmth. 

“Those things taste like cardboard,” Rowan complained. 

Aelin just she rolled her eyes. “Fine, come for the company then.” 

“I think I’d rather eat the cardboard,” Rowan replied, the corners of his mouth betraying him as they quirked upwards. 

“Remind me again why I agreed to make us a thing?” Aelin said as she let go him and Rowan put one foot on the step of the turck then leaned in closer to her. 

“How about I remind you tomorrow morning,” he said, his voice little more than a purr. “And I’ll pick something up from a bakery on the way home.”

Rowan pulled himself up into the cab before Aelin could reply, but she was smiling as he rolled down the window. Then she stepped up onto the step as Rowan leaned out the window. 

“I like that sound of that.”

They were both smiling when their lips met but they managed. They broke apart when Fenrys’ wolf whistle startled them both, Aelin managed to refrain from flipping him of for the sake of the students and the reprimands it would get her if any of her superiors saw. 

“See you in the morning,” Rowan said, Aelin’s reply was a two fingers salute as the truck drove away.

Aelin watched it go until it had turned and she couldn’t see Rowan anymore. When she went to go back to the impromptu dance party she noticed one of her students, Benjamin, standing on the outskirts watching her, his mouth hanging open in surprise. 

“You okay there, Benjamin?” Aelin asked.

It took him a moment to answer and he looked past her to where the fire engine had been parked, then he beckoned her closer. Aelin rested her hands on her knees so she was just about level with him. 

“Miss G, did you just kiss Fireman Whitethorn?” He whispered. 

Aelin nodded. “I did.”

“But…” Benjamin’s brow furrowed. “You’re only supposed to kiss people who are you boyfriend or girlfriend. Is Mr Whitethorn your boyfriend?” 

The boy was so excited and perplexed he’d completely forgotten about the fireman bit. 

“He is,” she said simply. 

Aelin couldn’t wait to tell Rowan about the look of sheer delight that spread over Benjamin’s face when she told him. He spun around, no doubt to spread this new revelation amongst his classmates, she could practically see the ripple of excitement move through the crowd. Aelin just laughed and kept dancing until the parents started to arrive to pick up their kids.

~~~~~

I say it every time but... I miss these two.

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[hellishhin]

The Ball: Part 2

Length: ~1,300 words

Content warnings: execution threats, mild emotional manipulation

Summary: Taerand decides a punishment befit for his broken property but Sadie intervenes to save Brimir's life.

Taglist: (adds/removes always open!) @betwixtofficial @taerandcalentavar @talesfromaurea @faelanvance @definitelyquestionit @drippingmoon @dontcrywrite @a-wild-bloog

Without any obvious signal, guards came through the front door, one grabbing Brimir by the shoulders and another making straight for K’lai’a’la who was now twisting in the man’s tight grip. The guard wasn’t halfway across the hall when a flurry of red forced itself between the man and K’lai’a’la. Kireen had the elf tucked under one arm and a threatening finger pointed at who she recognized as Thori Bjornison. If only she had her sword.

“Bring them to the study,” Taerand commanded and gave an emphatic glare at Kireen so she knew the command included her. She knew better than to make a scene.

“Don’t worry, it was a big misunderstanding,” she comforted K’lai’a’la who was glaring daggers at Taerand then Thori and back again. A brief search of the crowd found Sadie hurrying along at the heels of the guard shoving a stumbling Brimir. She was begging the guard to let him go and that it wasn’t his fault.

With little ceremony the three heroes and Brimir found themselves standing at Taerand’s ornate desk once again. Kireen wasn’t pleased that she had landed here a second time.

They could hear Taerand address his crowd just outside the door, “my apologies for the interruption. Please excuse me while I deal with this situation.” He stepped inside with the door shutting quietly behind him. That was even worse than if he had slammed it.

“Look it wasn’t Brimir’s fault he was just dancing and-” a wave of his hand had Sadie silenced. There were new shadows on his features finally betraying the harshness he kept hidden so well. Taerand turned his icy-cold gaze toward Brimir.

“Who are you,” he asked in a low tone.

Sadie looked up at Brimir then Taerand, confused. She spoke before Brimir could answer “what are you talking about, you invited him?” Brimir shifted from foot to foot but Taerand just continued to stare, ignoring Sadie.

Brimir cleared his throat “I uh… I really apologize, Ser Calentavar. I simply wanted to meet your heroes.”

“Something you could not have done at the Laughing Stag where they spend most of their time?”

Brimir shrunk down even further, his face reddening and sweat beading upon his brow.

“Tell me how you managed to gain entrance to my home, uninvited.”

“The guard out front… had a basket of invitations. I just,” he swallowed hard and Taerand’s sharp green eyes looked like they were going to bore a hole in his face so he quickly continued “I pretended to re-lace my boot and I grabbed one from the basket. When I showed it to him he just nodded and let me in.”

A muscle in Taerand’s jaw feathered and Sadie knew that guard was going to be in a terrible place later. She stepped forward. “Ser Calentavar, if I may, he is coming from a place of innocence. Yes, he technically wasn’t invited but he just came here to meet with us. He wasn’t trying to steal anything or hurt anyone.”

When he turned his gaze to her, even she shrunk a little. There was something about his cold, calculated anger that turned her stomach more than if he yelled. “His intentions are irrelevant. Entering a residence uninvited is against the law even without destroying my property. Including the price of the vase he destroyed, I am within my right to have him executed.”

A chill ran down Sadie’s spine. He wouldn’t… Just for an accident?

“Simply because you have the right does not mean you need to follow through,” Kireen matched his coldness.

He gave her a disinterested look, “I will do as I see fit. He broke into my-”

“He walked in when you had the doors wide open. That’s not considered ‘breaking and entering’.”

Taerand’s nostrils flared just slightly at the interruption “then I am assuming you have three hundred and fifty gold to replace my property,” he said, knowing she did not. Kireen pressed her lips together but stayed silent.

Sadie didn’t think that much gold existed in all of the common homes of Stawold combined but Taerand wouldn’t have Brimir executed. He wouldn’t. Then his gaze turned upon K’lai’a’la.

“You threatened physical violence upon one of my guests, a notable one at that. With your lack of standing within this city, you also should be facing death.”

“No.” Sadie said before the last syllable fully cleared the air. “You can’t do that, she got scared and it was not her fault,” her hands started shaking but K’lai’a’la was standing tall and staring Taerand down.

“Cannot hurt me. I do not belong to the city,” K’lai’a’la snarled, barely louder than a whisper.

“In fact, I can. But I shall make an offer. As you helped with my favor, I will speak on your behalf for your sentence to merely be a day in the stocks or a flogging, perhaps. For the burglar, I shall have his life in exchange for the value of my property,” he said it as though he was simply stating what he thinks the weather would be tomorrow but it was clear to everyone in the room that his mind was made up. “Unless the price of my vase can be given to me by dawn,” he added almost mockingly.

“We can’t pay but I have a counter-offer,” Sadie found herself saying before she even realized what was coming out of her mouth. Taerand waited for her to continue but Kireen interrupted once again.

“Sadie whatever it is, it’s not worth-” “Let her finish,” and Kireen reluctantly fell silent. “If you promise to not execute Brimir and don’t send K’lai’a’la to the stocks, I’ll work for you; a life for a life.”

Kireen placed her entire hand over Sadie’s face “absolutely not!” she snarled and Sadie pulled her hand away, glaring up at Kireen. “Don’t put your hand over my face again. I will do whatever I want, you don’t tell me otherwise.” Seeing the ire in Sadie’s eyes made Kireen think carefully about her next words.

“I’m sorry Sadie, I shouldn’t have done that. But please think about what you’re doing. This man would execute someone over an accident. You don’t want to work for him,” there was even a plea in her tone.

“Do not belong to this man, Sadie,” K’lai’a’la’s soft voice startled both of them and when they looked, they saw the hardness in the elf’s eyes. That gave Sadie pause and when she looked to Taerand, she found him staring right back at her, almost evaluating.

“Is there anything else I can do?” She asked, managing to keep most of the desperation out of her voice.

“Your options are simple: repay me the full cost of my property or I have him executed at dawn. K’lai’a’la will serve an appropriate punishment rather than execution. But I am willing to entertain your previous offer.”

Sadie swallowed “then I’ll work for you while both Brimir and K’lai’a’la go free.”

“Done,” he said before either Kireen or K’lai’a’la could protest. Spared execution, Brimir’s entire body swayed with relief. The poor man had been still as stone, petrified into silence. “Thank you…” he breathed but the dragonborn bared her teeth in a snarl, angry with all three of them “then I guess we are done here?” she snapped.

“Yes. All four of you will calmly leave my home. Sadie, pack your things tonight. I will send for you in the morning.”

“Wait, why am I packing my things? The Stag is not that far, I can walk.”

“Servants live on their master’s estates,” he said simply but those words made her shudder. At least she would get to live in a manor like she always wanted. Maybe this would be a good thing.

[next post]----[previous post]

[something-very-special]

they ran over the seals

More Replicant playthrough observations and general nonsense under the cut. For reference, up to the keystone quest; completed the Forest of Myth and Junk Heap.

This fucking game I swear to god.

A vaguely coherent ramble about sidequests An observation about sidequests in general in this game -- and I don't recall if I ever voiced this somewhere public or it was just a personal observation from my time with the original -- is that the quests in the first half of the game are all relatively easy to complete. There's that one asshat who wants 10 goat hides, but other than him, most of the sidequests are either very much based on finding characters, or gathering a sensible number of items that are either relatively common, purchasable, or given a guaranteed spawn for the duration of that quest.

The sidequests everybody remembers having to do are in the second half, where everybody is demanding and awful and I'm sorry ten MACHINE OILS do you know how goddamn rare those are? They're goddamn rare.

(We'll not discuss Life in the Sands.)

This is generally agreed to, in the technical vernacular, 'suck'. And it's always funny that the most interesting sidequests are the ones with very minimal requirements (Yonah's cooking, getting Popola drunk, the Lighthouse Ladoh my god everything's gone blurry I'm not crying you're crying who am I kidding we're both crying). That particular aspect of the design also feels intentional, not really gating your ability to progress the really meaningful or funny sidequests behind an unreasonable number of rare items. The other aspect of the design is that these quests are not meant to be completed in a single playthrough; most of them are single-stage and just absolutely unreasonable, but if you're going through the game four times you have a... reasonable chance of getting everything you need more or less naturally.

Nobody does that but I think that was the intended design. I think it's a good idea, although the execution of expectation is flawed so I don't really blame people for saying those sidequests suck. (Although I will in turn blame people for saying the sidequests suck as a blanket statement. Yeah getting that guy who burned his kitchen down a billion Broken Motors is aggravating but did you not find that old man's dog? Speak to Ursula on her death bed? Solve a murder? Then again I think tracking down that rotten son who's trying to get away from The Family Business only to learn his father is a con-artist and get literally no reward is the height of comedy so maybe I'm not the greatest point of reference.)

But that asshole in Facade can get bent. I can't exploit my garden properly, jackass! I am no longer a god of time. (I kid, of course.) (This guys sucks even when you can fix your clock.)

Forest of Myth It didn't even occur to me to wonder how they would incorporate the comprehensive voice acting into the Forest of Myth. I like how it plays out, although I wish the voices maybe had a fade as you went deeper into the dream instead of just cutting out at some point, especially for the lines where the characters are being ascribed actions by the narrator that they themselves aren't doing near the start of the Deathdream. But it's just delightful to go back to it. The second half of the game really sticks in your mind both for emotional reasons and because you play it at least three times per full playthrough of the game, but the first half is just so much fun.

Protip: Talk to everybody after you've finished the dream sidequest. Weiss tries to dissuade you. Don't let him dissuade you. I'm still delighted by the Mayor; "We're building a statue of you, made of solid gold. I know you don't own a horse, but we're going to put you on a horse."

I forgot about Yonah being a disaster chef Papa Nier's reaction to the stew is better. Brother is still funny but Papa Nier just expecting to die is comedy gold.

For anybody curious, the joke about the cakes is that Yonah made 'fruit cake' using some of the worst possible fruits for cake-making. If only she'd thrown a tomato into the mix, too.

Lighthouse Lady Every time. what the fuck is a canal I'm aware of the addition of the new-old content but it didn't occur to me until Popola suddenly starts nattering on about fixing the canal when I'm expecting Yonah to talk about a penpal that oh, yeah, I guess Seafront would have had something going on the first half that would play into the second half? (I assume it does. Be weird to introduce these characters just to have groundwork for an added sidequest. ...but it was a cute sidequest.) But look Popola my boy is supposed to be in the next area I visit could we-- I mean he's on the way could we just-- no-- fiiiiiiiiiine. (It was short and sweet, though, and I appreciate that the couple's love is exemplified by them both calling Weiss a floating magazine in tandem.) On a related note but was I the only person suddenly concerned when the sidequest completion maxed out at 50% and not 51%? I had to double-check with a guide just to make sure, since I've spent the last decade telling people to make sure you hit 51% before going on to Part II.

MY BOY I love that nowadays, Emil is everybody's son. But I really wish I could go find somebody only familiar with Automata and just watch their reaction. (I'm guessing there are streams out there that fulfill this but man I'd love to get it in-person.) If you're only familiar with him from Automata this has to be a mindfuck.

Personal anecdote, but I've had the privilege of playing NIER with somebody else almost every time I've gone through it. I had a wonderful experience of doing a replay some years back with somebody who had experienced it with me before but didn't have the most solid memory of the beginning (and had actually missed the entire weapon's lab the first time through). I get to the boy at the piano introducing himself and the 'Wait, what?' was a thing of beauty.

MY ANDROID This was a welcome mindfuck for me; finding Sebastian and having him 'reactivate' in such an unnatural, mechanical way. I don't recall if it was ever officially confirmed that Sebastian is an android (I know that it's just understood that this is the case but I'm not I can't recall a specific one) but the little flair they added to his animation caught me completely off guard. I liked it!

Destroying the food source A lot of people will cite a major inciting incident for the game as being when the protagonist heading back into the village and killing the child Shades just outside the entrance. This moment is such a great bit of subtle foreshadowing that's so easy to miss... but kind of joining that, just before the Knave of Hearts attacks, I realized that the Shades out on the Northern Plains are clearly ramping up for an assault of their own by murdering the sheep. The sheep population at this point is decimated (which is great when you realize you haven't gotten the Sheepslayer trophy and you're about to enter Part II and you don't know if the boar drifting minigame got carried forward with the inclusion of 15 Nightmares). You go out onto the Plains and you will find not only small clusters of sheep left behind instead of the vast, terrifying herds from the start of the game, but until you get their attention the Shades are prioritizing killing the sheep. (Also annoying because that doesn't count toward my sheep murder number.) The Shades will be out there also killing sheep earlier on, but since the whole map is in Overcast mode after talking to Yonah it's especially prevalent to go out to the Northern Plains and seeing the slaughter. And I realized-- they're cutting the Village off from a primary food source. Shades don't eat and they don't have any beef with the local ungulates (at least, no more so than anybody else does), so why are they hunting down the sheep? To deprive their enemies of resources. Sheep are extinct by the timeskip. It's actually really clever of them, and a really clever indication of their sentience and intelligence before it's fully verified.

"Let's get these shit-hogs!" Everything about the way Kaine and Emil interact across the entire game is perfect I will brook no argument this is objective fact.

Emotive Rectangles I wrote an essay about this before but it really bears repeating that the job the original animators did with this scene is just phenomenal. The way Weiss drifts, flits, flips, fans his pages, drunkenly swerves, shoots around the room in defiance... He's a goddamn rectangle, but there is so much emotion and personality in this scene just based on the movements conveyed through a what is effectively just a box. Ten years later and triple-A titles with full facial capture don't have this much seething personality. I really have to give props to the cavia animators, wherever they wound up. That studio could really put some subtle love and care into their titles, utterly unnecessary and easy to miss but you can tell that whoever was working on it was giving it their all. The books are probably the exemplification of this, but every time I go into Seafront and visit the seals I can tell that the guy on seal duty was having just the best day. They made Emil so pretty There's an FMV cutscene right smack in the middle of the original game after the battle against Noir. I understand why it was a necessity on a technical level, but it always looked pretty out of place and a little uncanny valley compared to the rest of the graphical fidelity. That's no longer a necessity so this cutscene is rendered in-engine. I admit I was actually curious to see it redone this way and it looks fantastic. I single out Emil since he is the focal point of cutscene and because his particular high-poly model had some pretty weird difference from his in-engine model, but he and Kaine both look great. But, like, it's almost mean how pretty he is.

They made Brother Nier so pretty Yeah okay you got me he's kind of hot. Kaine's expression when she wakes up and looks him over is... significantly easier to read now. Good voice, too. (Ancient rumors tell that one of the issues with international releases of RepliCant was that they couldn't find an English VA with a voice that 'fit' Brother Nier. He sounded good out the gate but hearing him growl "Let's go TAKE CARE of those KIDS" during the thief sidequest-- I got chills. It sounds so silly but there's a kind of percolating fury to that delivery. Papa Nier was like frustrated but mostly disappointed dad; I felt like Brother was going to take care of those kids, and nobody was going to find the bodies. Younger Brother Nier just never stops looking goofy to me but Older Brother just looks great in motion, between the alterations they made to the movement and just the entire weaponry system. The distinction between the two halves of the game was always a little odd in the Gestalt version-- not odd enough to really raise eyebrows if you didn't know about RepliCant, but of course you can tell that this age gape between the optimistic doe-eyed dogooder and a man largely ruled by his fury and calloused by tragedy is what the timeskip was going for. Swab me down and call me Ishmael, it works. Younger Brother wasn't quite clicking with me-- not because of any writing or voicework issues, but I've got Papa Nier on the back of my mind and it's impossible not to compare and contrast the delivery and dialogue between the two. I know that this is intentional, too; Younger Brother is supposed to be that happy-go-lucky video game protagonist, always doing the right thing and helping people, in order to contrast against the man he becomes. Even just edging into Part II the effect is dramatic and it recontextualizes Younger Brother into a much more effective overall character. And let me reiterate, I enjoyed my time with Younger Brother just fine, I have no issues with him. But he's up against Well Meaning Big Dummy Part I Papa Nier. No contest. And I'm excited to see where Older Brother goes from here.

Speaking of voices I mentioned this before but the delivery on the character's lines is different. The entire game was re-recorded and quite a few lines are still pretty similar to the original, but there are some that are... definitely different. Part of this is a difference in the relationship between characters based on their life experience and ages-- Weiss is much more of an ass to Younger Brother but has a much more even respect for Older Brother (neither of which are like the rapport he established with Father). Some of Kaine's lines feel more aloof, dismissive, and almost tired in the front half of the game. I haven't really gotten to a point to dig into Emil's rapport with the other characters, but the delivery feels more hesitant and uncertain (which I think is more in line with his Japanese VO, but I'm prefacing that on an untrained ear and a presumption rather than recent memory). It's been interesting to see not just where hey adjusted dialogue (and how-- there are some lines that didn't need to be rewritten), but also how they adjust tone and delivery. Dealing with Younger Brother is one thing, but as I said, I'm very excited to see what's different in the second half, especially being much more familiar with that part of the game. Speaking of Voices! Halua got dialogue! I... preferred when it was inferred (and the implications of "I'll always be watching over you" are borderline malicious given the results of their fusion dance, yeah THANK YOU HALUA this is GREAT). Halua's delivery also felt a little too innocent and upbeat both for the situation and when compared to her narrative voice in The Stone Flower, where she comes across as much more cynical and cold. But given what she's been through and the nightmare she's finally escaping I guess she's allowed express happiness. She's certainly earned the right to having a spoken line. No matter what. Every fuckin' time.

"Here we go." This was always a great line to kind of ease in to the officially-official start of Part II-- every time you start up a New Game+ you're greeted with Emil musing about his conflation of Halua to Kaine, and then the phrase "Here we go". There's a lot in that one line. On a personal level he's grounding his thoughts in the moment and steeling himself for what comes next and pushing through his pain and sadness and fear. Whatever Nier told him in the facility he's still terrified, desperately terrified, that Kaine -- who was the one who told him his life had meaning -- is going to reject him. And why wouldn't she? Ultimately they don't know each other, not really. He understands at that moment that his relationship with Kaine is based on confused memories of his sister, that maybe the bond he thought they established isn't actually real. As soon as he frees Kaine he's going to have to confront her, like this, and how could she ever-- she won't-- but he can't just leave her. Whatever happens next. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. (God it matters.) "Here we go." On a meta level, that's our introduction into the second half of the game. The first half is all prologue. This is where we'll be spending the rest of our time, even to the point that 'New Game+' skips straight ahead to this moment. Now that we've finished the establishment, this is where it all builds and where it all matters. Here we go, audience. The ride starts now. You get up to this point now in Replicant. You get the same lead-in. My dumb ass even whispered "Here we go", because I can't help myself. And he says, of course he says--! "Anyway." ... ...a-anyway? What the hell kind of line is that? "Here's some deeply personal musings that are also an indication of my own discomfort as I babble to myself just to fill the void so I can stave off thinking for just a few more seconds. ANYWAY." What a... bizarre decision. Just bizarre.

Upgraded melee combat The introduction to the armored Shades always feel kind of rough-- the defenses on those Shades are significantly higher than anything you've faced and the new weapons you're given to combat them just aren't that good. (If you got lucky you could have a fully-upgraded Faith by now, which is nearly three times as powerful as the 'heavy' two-handed sword you're given; if you downloaded the 4 YoRHa pack for Replicant you've probably been able to upgrade one of those weapons once, which are also a really nice strength boost that leaves the freebie heavy swords and spears in the dust). As an introduction to the new weapon types it always feels like rough going. But then you get a chance to get decent weapons and the combat system truly opens up, and compared to the first game you really feel it. At this juncture I would always just bustle off to Facade and grab the Phoenix Spear and never look back-- the raw power compared to the rest of your arsenal coupled with the triangle dash is basically the bread and butter of the rest of the game. It's not exciting, but it's effective. No more triangle dashing, which was deeply disappointing... but both weapons definitely feel good. I am also somewhat ashamed to admit that it wasn't until now that I realized attacks weren't just about rhythmic input-- you can hold the attacks down to do different charged hits and combos depending on when you execute them in your combo, similar to Automata. I, uh... I felt a bit dumb. But hey, wow, it's a welcome adjustment and it makes all of the weapon types feel equally valuable for different purposes. I never liked using the heavy blades in the original release because they just felt too slow for the damage output they did, even if their 'point' was mostly to sheer off armor (and they definitely felt too slow for use in crowd control). Now they're still heavy and slower, but not to the point that you're basically leaving yourself open just trying to attack. Spears now do crazy sweeping combos and multi-hits. Both of these properties were borrowed from Automata and I find myself prioritizing melee combat and almost forgetting I have magic because honestly it just feels intuitive and fun. I feel like Kaine and Emil might have gotten a power boost as well? Not that I can really confirm this but going into some of the Junk Heap rooms I'd focus on killing a few robots in the corner and then turn around and just see a field of item drops and no more robots. Don't take my word on that, of course, but they felt a little more effective, and a placebo effect is still an effect. "You're staging a protest? That's fun!" Emil. Rebel without a cause. Will not hesitate to kill you if you trespass on his property. (Might explain the statues in the courtyard, actually.) I'll have to double-check this dialogue because I definitely remember more of a melancholia before we get to roasting marshmallows. I think Papa Nier actually offers to talk to/implicitly threaten the villagers to let them in the Village whereas Brother offers to sleep outside with them... which is actually kind of funny. In the former it comes off as Emil and Kaine maybe kinda-sorta not wanting to be allowed in the Village for their own reasons (they're not happy reasons but they're reasons nonetheless) and reassuring Father that no, it's okay, it's fun! The latter is almost telling Brother to stay inside because he'll ruin their sleepover.

(They're absolutely having giggly girl talk about him outside the gates, 100%.) they ran over the seals All I want in Seafront is to enjoy the music and run out to the big beach and hang out with the last living seals and they put a fucking pirate ship on top of them. Oh, wow. Gideon. Wow. OG Nier featured a Gideon that tried to keep himself together and then had fits of mania. You'd be concerned about him during some of the dialogue but generally speaking he came across as... functional. The delivery on all of his lines is now so insanely murder bonkers, like every line he's addressing you like you're already chained to the wall of his serial killer dungeon and it's glorious. I don't know if the distinction between the games is deliberate (in that Gideon in Gestalt was just more even-keeled between his 'rip 'em apart' snarlings and was always just totally nutso in RepliCant) but I do appreciate it. It's a good mirror to Brother Nier's own anger, which only ever seems to be mollified when he's talking to his friends (even kindly accepting sidequests there's a pretty consistent -- not universal, but consistent -- air of barely-bridled frustration). The other characters that Brother encounters are various reflections of himself if things had just been a little different-- Gideon was a representation of the kind of obsessive madness that would have eaten Brother alive if he hadn't had his network of support. Gideon's constant fury and bloodlust even bleeds into him just saying "What can I do for you?" He has no anchor to keep himself sane, nobody to stay human for; he's all mania, all anger, and he only takes any real interest in Brother on his return because he sees an opportunity to act out his vengeance. After defeating Beepy and Kalil he even goes so far as to not only blame Beepy for killing Jakob, but for also killing their mother, which is patently insane but really speaks to how far his justifications and fury have taken him. Papa Nier responds to his anger toward Beepy by basically backing away slowly and saying "Oookay then". Brother, however, actually commiserates; "That's enough. [...] We get it. We really do." This is definitely one of those moments where Brother's context works better than Father's; he absolutely sees himself in Gideon. He completely understands him and sympathizes. He recognizes the madness of his own quest, he sees where it could take him, and there's a resignation when he speaks to Weiss: "Revenge is a fool's errand." "...yeah." Papa Nier has a similar delivery and similarly implies that he understands how terrible his quest is, but there's something decidedly haunting in Brother's sympathy. Also just verifying something on the wiki and this bit of 'Trivia' really jumped at me:

Gideon is the only character to only cause the deaths of other characters. In his case, he caused a platform to crush Jakob and ordered the deaths of P-33 and Kalil, with P-33 surviving.

Metal AF.

[merryfortune]

Covenant of the Gold Spinner

Written for 100ships On Dreamwidth

Prompt #100 Gold

Ship: Classicalshipping | Reiji/Yuzu

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V

Word Count: 4,477

Rating: T

Warnings: No Warnings Apply

Tags: Alternate Universe - Rumplestiltskin, Minor or Implied Yuri/Yuzu

  Yuzu was getting the distinct impression that it was possible that her father loved her too much. She loved her Father dearly but this was just too much, too big of a lie.

   Yuzu’s Father was a miller by trade and by hobby, quite the talker. However, no one would say that Shuzou had the gift of the gab. He just talked and talked and talked, to whoever would listen. He would talk to the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees. Sometimes he would even get lucky and talk to the other folk of the town but usually he didn’t talk of anything of consequence but the rumour that he had inadvertently started was most certainly of consequence.

   He had started a rumour that his darling daughter had quite the prodigious talent: she could spin straw into gold.

   Now this was most certainly not a skill that Yuzu possessed. She was quite certain that it was a skill that no one possessed. Not that it mattered much. The rumour had most certainly gotten around and with such a shiny ring to it such as that, it had caught the interest of one of the four princes of the land, the youngest of the four and the one with the worst reputation.

   Shuzou could hardly believe his eyes when Prince Yuri turned up on his doorstep, inquiring about Yuzu’s talents. There was a shine of greed to his pink-coloured eyes and he was promising great things for Yuzu should she allow herself to be borrowed by him.

   “I desire to see Yuzu’s talents in person, I have a room prepared for her at my estate where she can spin to her heart’s content with your permission and I can promise you, her worth to the kingdom could have great rewards for you.” Yuri spoke. His voice was like silk but Yuzu was certain it was hiding poison.

   She tugged on her Father’s sleeve in protest but Shuzou dismissed her, waving her off and grinning, he was too good natured to realise that there was something awry with the young prince. He was too proud of his daughter’s merit, as imagined as it was, that he wanted Yuzu recognised on the grandest stage of royalty - and his old mill could use some repairs so perhaps the prince could have that afforded.

   So, Shuzou agreed. He let Prince Yuri whisk Yuzu away without another word. Though her Father did bid her goodbye at the top of his voice, his hand flying through the air with his proud farewells, he had no idea what was in store for Yuzu as soon as she was pulled out from behind the threshold of their house. She was bundled up like hay and packed into a palanquin, taken to the palace where there was, indeed, a room prepared for her. Yuzu was shoved into it, her head still whirling with how she had been stolen away from her home and her father in the brink of an eye.

   The room that had been prepared for her was eerily luxe. It was neat and pretty, with rich coloured wooden floors and pale coloured walls that had no windows. It reminded Yuzu of an inn but it had nowhere to rest save the floor. The only item inside of it a wheel with which Yuzu could use to spin. 

   Behind her, there was a knock on her door but before she could answer it, faceless soldiers stocked her with straw. Prince Yuri watched and he smiled sharply.

   “Spin this straw into gold,” he said, warning, “or I will cut off your head.”

   Yuzu bit her lip. She frowned.

   “You have until morning.” Yuri told her and with a snap of his fingers, the soldiers that had been giving her bale after bale of straw ceased and retreated with him.

   The door locked in front of Yuzu. She tried the door but it was useless. She would only ruin her hands if she tried to brute force her way through by scratching it. She sighed, withholding her despair, and looked at the dozen or so bales of straw that she had to spin into gold with her alleged talent.

   Yuzu stumbled back to the middle of the room, uncertain what to do, only to collapse in front of the spinning wheel. She clutched onto it and started to sob. She cursed her Father and his idiocy. She cowered in fear from the threat literally looming over her head. She had no idea what to do.

   Fortunately, the devil in the room did and he spoke, “I see that you are in a predicament, young lady.”

   Yuzu’s blood ran cold as she heard this voice. The tears that had been streaming down her face stopped as he looked. As she listened. She turned her head and towards the front of the room, in front of the door, stood someone who could not possibly be inside of a locked room with her.

   He was somewhat tall with grey hair and pierced, triangular ears that jutted out the side of his face. He wore nice trousers and a button-up blouse. He was adorned around the neck with a blood red scarf. He stared at her curiously from behind a pair of glasses. Yuzu swallowed a lump in her throat as she gawked as this youth. It most certainly did not escape her attention that through the cascades of his hair, he had a pair of black horns and a flicking tail with a diamond-like texture to it.

   “Who are you?” Yuzu asked, shocked.

   He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “Someone who appears before those who are in need of a deal or a trade.” he said and he smiled. “I propose that we make a contract.”

   “What are your terms and conditions then, to this contract you think we should make?” Yuzu asked, her shocked expression giving way to wariness. The devil liked that immensely.

   “I will spin this straw into gold on your behalf,” he began, “for the price of the ornaments that you wear in your hair.”

   “That seems like a relatively cheap contract.” Yuzu said but already, she had begun to take the disc-like baubles out of her pigtails, just in case the cheapness was fairness; she even began to take precautionary steps closer to him.

   The devil smiled, “I can assure you, the emotional value of your trinkets have worth equal to my time.” he said.

   “Very well then.” Yuzu said.

   She frowned as she handed over the baubles that she had once worn. She placed them in the devil’s awaiting hand, atop his pale palm, and when Yuzu did, they disappeared in a burst of lavender coloured flames. Yuzu’s hand flung back in surprise.

   “It won’t hurt you,” the devil told her and then stepped around her, she stood, gawking still, “but if you will allow me, I have some work to do.”

   Yuzu was mystified as the devil began to do her chores for her. She sat against the wall and watched as the devil fed straw through the spinning wheel and had its transmute into gold. He did so effortlessly, without a wry complaint and the gold that resulted was magnificent. 

   Even though the day had grown long and the room had grown dim, the gold shone like none other. It practically glowed. Yuzu had been watching intently as the devil spun the straw into gold but she couldn’t believe how beautiful it had been. When he finished, he got up and he put his hand on his heart.

   “I must bid you goodbye.” he said, bowing at Yuzu.

   “Thank you!” she gasped, eyes wide. She scrambled to her feet and towards him, her heart light with her burden eased and she smiled, “Before you go, I must get your name.” 

   The devil shook his head, “Names are contracts too and there was no clause in ours which mandates that I must tell you.” he replied.

   Yuzu simpered, disappointed by this outcome but her gratitude still burgeoned. She smiled, “Still, thank you, I mean it.”

   “Do not be bothered by my departure, I am sure we will meet again soon.” he replied and just as mysteriously as he came, he was gone.

   Yuzu could feel the life drain from the room with the devil’s vanishing. It was just her and the piles upon piles of gold - and the spinning wheel too. She felt her heart race in her chest. She hoped that their reunion was not too soon but hopefully, this would be enough to sate the greed in Prince Yuri’s heart. It was late, Yuzu told herself, and so, she curled up on the ground and slept until morning.

   She slept dreamlessly and uncomfortably until morning. She awoke with a rapt, thunderous knocking upon her door which scared her. She felt helpless as once more as the Prince and his private guard came to inspect the room.

   Prince Yuri’s face lit up in twisted delight as he marvelled at the gold that was present. He could hardly believe his eyes as he admired what was once bales of straw. He grinned in a way which made Yuzu’s skin crawl. He made a superfluous gesture towards her and then made his speech.

   “I am impressed,” he said, “I did not think the rumours were true but it appears the truth is stranger than fiction.”

   Yuzu glared. She held onto her bracelet for comfort.

   “You may keep your head,” Prince Yuri continued, “for now.”

   “What does that mean?” Yuzu asked. “I’ve done what you told me to do, so let me go.”

   “Oh no, this is not nearly enough, I want you to spin more and more for me.” Prince Yuri teased her. “And this time,” he tilted his head up slightly so he could look down his nose as the terrified but bold Yuzu, “if you do not complete this task, you and your father will be publicly executed for lying to royalty.”

   Yuzu gasped, horrified by this demand.

   “Understood?” Prince Yuri sneered venomously.

   “Understood.” Yuzu timidly nodded and that was the cue for yet more bales of straw to be brought into her room.

   Yuzu watched in horror and absolute despair as bale upon bale of straw was brought into her room, until all the floor was stacked with them. It was hard to move, they only really gave her enough space around the spinning wheel where she stood like a newborn deer.

   “Until tomorrow morning.” Prince Yuri said and he bid Yuzu goodbye.

   The door closed - and locked - with a slam. The silence that ensued was deafening. Yuzu stood where she was, paralysed by fear. If only she knew that devil’s name, she thought as she began to cry, a single tear streaking down the side of her face, then she would be able to call him. Her heart sank and her stomach lurched. She came down to her knees and broke down weeping once more, holding onto the spinning wheel.

   After what felt like an immeasurable length of time, despairing for the inevitable killing of herself and her father, Yuzu heard a voice: “Hello again.”

   She stopped and her blood ran cold. She pulled herself up and got herself together, clawing at her face so she didn’t look like some pitiable crybaby girl. She looked over her shoulder and the devil was here with her once more. His tail flicked petulantly behind him as he took stock of the situation.

   “I see that you are once again seeking a deal or a trade,” he said, “are you willing to make a second contract?”

   Yuzu got to her feet and she held her fist in front of her, determined, she nodded her head.

   “Excellent.” the devil smirked. “In exchange for all this straw spun into gold, I will take your bracelet.”

   Yuzu felt as though her face had been slapped but she mustered a very simple reply to the devil anyway, “No.”

   “Oh?” The devil tilted his head to the side. “Perhaps you do wish to die by the prince’s execution, and your poor father too. Or, perhaps, you have decided that you ought to attempt this task for yourself after all, it has been done once, even if it was by me so therefore, it is no longer quite so impossible.”

   “No.” Yuzu said again, her heart trembling. She held onto her bracelet. “This bracelet means the world to me.” Her eyes began to water and yet they were fierce. “This bracelet is my one memento of my mother, she passed away whilst I was still an infant.”

   “You would prefer to hold onto such a thing… over you and your father’s lives?” the devil pointed out, sauntering closer and he touched Yuzu’s face. Yuzu flinched. The devil caressed her face. His fingertips were cold as ice; her heart leapt to her throat upon his caring stroke. “Are you certain that is a good trade? After all, what good would that item be when you are dead, yourself? No guarantee that your murderers would let you take it into the grave, into the afterlife.”

   Yuzu held her breath - and she wanted to hold her ground, too but the devil was right. There was no guarantee that a fraud such as her and her father would be respected so well that their most precious property would go unscathed by their killings. Her bracelet was an item of fantastic emotional value to her, she had always worn it, even when it was too big for her wrist, but it was true. There would be no use to it, no value to it, if she was dead. With a shaking hand and a snivelling expression, Yuzu gave the devil her bracelet, even if it broke her heart to do so.

   “A good decision.” the devil praised her.

   He accepted the bracelet and it, too, burst into lavender flames that made Yuzu’s hand recoil instinctively. The devil smiled a small, self-assured smile then stepped around Yuzu. He sat down at the spinning wheel and began to get to work.

   Yuzu could only watch. She sat with her arms tight around her legs, her chin over her knees. The devil had a steady hand and with it, he did the impossible with magical ease: he turned the bales of straw into ingots of gold and other threads of it, too. Moreover, he was swift at his chore, as well, Yuzu had thought it would be impossible for him to do it but he made great pace.

   Occasionally, Yuzu would try to make conversation with the devil, only to be promptly shushed. He was busy at work, after all, no time to talk. Regardless, Yuzu sulked. Or at least, she sulked up until she was too tired to sulk. She wasn’t sure when but she drifted off to sleep, the click of the spinning wheel was oddly comforting. So, she laid down, curling up against stacks of gold and straw that had yet to be transformed.

   In the morning, she woke of her own accord but she was certain that the Prince and his guard would be on his way. She looked around and the devil was gone. As was the straw. All there was to remember him by was the gold - and something peculiar. Yuzu realised there was something soft on the ground with her. The devil had placed his scarf under her head, folded it up to be a pillow for her. Yuzu’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected a token of kindness from the devil, at least not one that wasn’t negotiated half to death. She smiled to herself and that smile gave her a little bit more strength which she would need.

   Within the minute of her realisation of the devil’s kindness, the door opened. No knock this time and Prince Yuri flounced in. He gasped and exclaimed in greedy awe. His joy was fiendish as he pranced through, disbelieving his eyes but his hands confirmed what he was seeing was nothing but the purest gold.

   “Oh, my dear,” he exclaimed, “you have done it again. Wonderful, truly wonderful.”

   Yuzu got up and she held onto the scarf, balling it up, hoping that Prince Yuri wouldn’t notice but his eyes lingered on the fabric, probing his memory for… did she always have that on her person? Regardless, he had bigger things to worry about. 

   “I have decided,” he began, officially, “I want you to be my bride. Should you complete your next task, I would very much like it if we were wed. Then, you can spin all the straw in the world to gold.”

   Yuzu grimaced. Her stomach churned. Prince Yuri was a monster, taking what he pleased and threatening her with his power. There was no way on Earth that Yuzu would ever agree to such a wedding but Prince Yuri chose to take her silence as a yes.

   Thus, yet more straw was brought into the room. It was piled up methodically, making use of every possible inch of the room until there was more straw in the room than air to breathe. Bales were stacked on top of each other, again and again. Yuzu was all but buried in the room with the impossible amount of straw she was meant to spin into gold. 

   Locked inside once more, the sound of the door closing at all was muffled by the amount of straw that had been brought inside. Yuzu took a deep breath and her heart raced; her brow came down to a glare and she yelled. She yelled over and over for the devil and sure enough, he did appear before her once more.

   In what little space was left in the room, the devil pressed up against Yuzu, his hands outstretched and grappling against the bales of straw. Yuzu felt very small in front of him like this, pinned to the straw and with the devil looking down at her.

   “Thrice now, you have been in need of a trade or a deal.” the devil tutted.

   Yuzu scowled, “I need the ultimate trade or deal. I’m running out of things to trade with you.”

   “That’s quitter’s talk, you still have plenty to offer me.” the devil assured her.

   “I want to escape this room. I’ll never see my father again if I am married to that horrible Prince Yuri.” Yuzu said.

   “But you still need to uphold your offer to the prince, you cannot let this promise go unpaid. I won’t allow that. The straw will be spun into gold, I will do that for you, in exchange…” the devil murmured as he paused to peruse Yuzu’s person for his next thing to take from her.

   “In exchange for?” Yuzu prompted him dubiously.

   “In exchange for your firstborn child.” the devil said. “Take my hand in marriage instead, I will return you to your father and whilst I have my own work as a devil of contracts and covenants, what say you? You are after the ultimate contract so I offer you the covenant of marriage in return.”

   Yuzu’s guts twisted. To get married to a devil or to get married to a devil. She wasn’t sure which one was worse. 

   “Well, what say you?” the devil asked.

   “Do I at least get your name if I marry you?” Yuzu asked, half a harrumph to her voice, some fleeting bravado.

   “Of course.” the devil replied.

   Yuzu placed her hands on the devil’s chest and sighed, “This must be the part where I say I do.” She got up on her tiptoes and surprised the devil with a kiss.

   The devil’s lips were cold but hers were warm. His eyes were wide open whereas Yuzu kept her eyes clenched shut. The kiss was awkward, took them both by surprise but the devil kissed back gently, easing into it and Yuzu smiled.

   Yuzu broke the kiss first but the devil remained close and from his lips slipped his name, “You may call me Reiji.”

   “Well it’s good to meet you, Reiji.” Yuzu whispered back.

   The devil - Reiji - made an odd noise that made Yuzu laugh. He seemed harmlessly eccentric to Yuzu and he fidgeted with his glasses, excusing himself so he could get to work with the straw now that his and Yuzu’s ultimate contract had been made. He sat down at the spinning wheel and Yuzu watched. She was in a perky mood as she watched, tapping her feet and humming. Reiji smiled a small smile as he listened to her musical habits.

   All around them, the bales of straw were transformed into gold but the first sprig of straw that Reiji spun, he stopped. He so easily manipulated it down to a smaller form and beckoned Yuzu closer. Her heart pounded but she got up and knelt by Reiji’s side. He took her hand with his own and then threaded on a simple, gold ring that had a criss-crossing diamond motif.

   “With this,” he said, a softness to his voice, “our covenant will be known to all.”

   Yuzu blushed and nodded. Reiji leaned over and kissed her forehead. She settled down, changing her position to sit and Reiji resumed his spinning. Yuzu didn’t try to initiate more chatting with Reiji as he was very busy but his presence was a comfort, as was the clicking of the spinning wheel. She tried to stay with him, awake, for as long as possible but as more and more straw was spun into gold, the less time there was in the day and so, naturally, Yuzu fell asleep.

   In the morning, she was still asleep propped up by the spinning wheel and even had Reiji’s scarf draped over her once more. She woke up, blurry eyed but calm. She didn’t feel afraid of Prince Yuri when he and his posse made their arrival at the room she was locked inside of.

   His eyes were wide as dinner plates as he marvelled at the mountains of gold that were inside of the room with his bride-to-be and the spinning wheel. Even Yuzu had great admiration for the pace at which Reiji worked but she remained on her hackles as she waited for Reiji. He had disappeared but she was certain that he would return for her, rescue her, the feeling of his lips on her own and the ring on her finger was a promise. He wouldn’t violate his own contract, Yuzu was certain.

   Prince Yuri clasped his hands together and smacked his lips, “Oh, I hear wedding bells.”

   Yuzu’s mouth twisted shut. She scowled, remained firm, but she was begging for Reiji to reappear in the blink of an eye once more. Especially now that Prince Yuri was sauntering towards her. She fidgeted where she stood, afraid of how his hand was reaching out to touch her but intervention struck.

   Reiji grabbed Prince Yuri’s wrist and crushed it, “Correct,” Reiji said scathingly, “there shall be wedding bells but not for thee.”

   “Reiji!” Yuzu gasped with a smile that was lit up with delight, she clasped her hands together and she knew she was saved.

   “It is unlawful and against the contract for two men to marry the same woman, as I have already staked my claim with her, any advance from you would be ill-fated.” Reiji warned Prince Yuri.

   Prince Yuri gritted his teeth and tried to rip his arm away from Reiji who was like a vice upon him, “Unhand me, you fie-” Prince Yuri’s words died on his tongue as his eyes travelled upwards and he saw the horns upon Reiji’s head. 

   “You have more than enough gold in this room to buy a different bride for yourself if that’s what you truly desire but you cannot have this one, she is mine.” Reiji snarled.

   Prince Yuri gaped, pathetic. Reiji huffed and he let Prince Yuri go. He held his own wrist, there was frost on the sleeve of his jacket and undoubtedly the marks of a hand on his skin. Reiji’s eyes were cold but they warmed when his gaze flicked to Yuzu. 

   “Never contact me or my father again.” Yuzu snarled as she hurried to Reiji’s side.

  Reiji smiled a covert smile as he let Yuzu latch onto his arm. Prince Yuri was stunned by this turn of events and in just the blink of an eye, his bride-to-be and the devil were gone. It was just Prince Yuri and his endless hoard of gold.

   Yuzu was dizzy from the teleportation but she couldn’t believe it. She was home. She stood amid the green grass and the trees, the homestead that she had been born into and had never truly wanted to leave. She felt shaky with her excitement and the door of the house opened. Her Father was bewildered to see her and Yuzu ran up to her father. She gave him a huge bear hug and breathed deep his smell, the smell of their home and her stomach growled. She could smell breakfast in the kitchen and became all too aware that she hadn’t eaten for days.

   “What’s the matter, Yuzu?” her Father asked.

   “The prince was mistreating me but don’t worry, I’ve escaped.” Yuzu told him.

   Shuzou pulled back and he caressed his daughter’s face with a deep expression of rue and regret on his own, “I’m sorry for letting them take you away, I’ve been lonely without you but I had no idea that they could be so cruel.”

   “Don’t worry, I’m fine now.” Yuzu said and she wriggled out of the receptive hug she had pulled him into. She showed him her hand and glanced back at Reiji who stood, cast aside and awkwardly, “In exchange for my rescue and safety, I’ve had to promise myself to him.”

   Reiji approached, trying to make himself seem small so as to make a good impression. Even though Shuzou could clearly see the devil in Reiji, his horns and his tail, he welcomed Reiji into his house, complete with a hug.

   With Yuzu returned home and the rumours of the miller’s daughter who could spin straw into gold quelled, Reiji did disappear. He came and went as he pleased, more like a pet cat than a husband but in his attempt to shroud his mystique, his intentions only became clearer. Each stint of absence shortening and what he spent with Yuzu and her father lengthened. He had a job and it was not to grind flour or rice to powder, like Yuzu and her father, but he was still upholding the covenant that he owed to Yuzu. Eventually he and Yuzu welcomed a firstborn child into the world and he was beloved immensely by his unusual, little family and together, they lived happily ever after.

[spiralhigh]

ranking the sdr2 cast by how much their formal wear hits

this is just my opinion, but my opinions are great and i know what i’m talking about! this will be long so it’s under a cut

S TIER:

s tier is reserved for only the best of them all, the cream of the crop, the fit that i would gladly lay down my life for. s tier is the crown jewel. s tier is what everyone else should strive to be... but only one can take the prize.

#1: AKANE OWARI

the undisputed champion. this look is everything to me. EVERYTHING. the red-trim cape with the fur. the contrast of the airy, gathered blouse with those skin-tight shiny (leather? vinyl??) pants. the pumps. the belt that screams disco style. the necklace accentuating the tasteful titty window. the red white and gold color scheme  are you FUCKING WITH ME miss owari this look could bring ARMIES to their KNEES in an INSTANT. whoever drew this deserves full creative control of the danganronpa franchise and i’m not kidding

A TIER:

a tier is for the fits that frankly own bones. they’re not as jaw-dropping and legendary as owari, but they’re still razor as hell and deserve to be met with riotous applause.

#2: KAZUICHI SOUDA

kazuichi, i didn’t know you had it in you, but this FUCKS. the character of the pins on the lapels, the sneakers, and the mispinned tie. the absolute CLASS of the suspenders, watch, and tiny round glasses. the handsome slick in the hair now that the greasy beanie is gone. the tasteful highwater. he looks like the host of the larry king show if the larry king show was exclusively about ska bands and he has never looked better

#3: HIYOKO SAIONJI

tell me this isn’t the cutest shit. the colors here are EXQUISITE. the bright notes from the blue on top, the way the soft pink is a perfect middle ground of the pink + white flowers on her sleeves, the subtle way the green in her bow matches the green in her collar, the white petals breaking up the sky blue that might otherwise look out of place? remarkable. stunning.

#4: PEKO PEKOYAMA

the ELEGANCE is EVERYTHING here. the monochrome is offset by just a splash of red that ties everything together with her eyes and the flower in her hair, the checkerboard pattern is visually interesting but not distracting, and her hair in that loose ponytail with the little white ribbon? ugh. ADORABLE! but most of all, look at those BOOTS. those CUTE LITTLE HEELS on those SICK LACE-UP BOOTS..... QUEEN shit!!!

#5: CHIAKI NANAMI

rounding out our a tier is chiaki in this adorable little dress just LOOK at her!!! she looks like a little rose, a perfect flouncy skirt with a glittery mesh overlay, a fun and fresh over-the-shoulder collar, a fucking big old bow tied in the back?? i can literally feel the way this dress would feel in my hands. it’s simple and perfect and frankly a GORGEOUS color on her this is flawless

B TIER:

b tier is a perfectly respectable place to be. these fits lack the lustre and flavor of the a tier entries, but they’re still dressed to impress and they still look fine as hell.

#6: TERUTERU HANAMURA

say what you will about teruteru (and i do) but this suit is ADORABLE and it fits in with his theme + talent better than any other mfer on this list. the tasteful white/brown/red palette gives it a flashy chocolate cookie look, which is amplified in the fun pattern on the jacket. the chef’s hat switching out for a little top hat and the way the cumberbund looks a lil bit like a chocolate bar is also VERY cute

#7: THE IMPOSTOR

now on its own, the suit is just alright. a vibrant pinstripe blue three-piece with the classic red tie wouldn’t land the impostor in b tier on its own... but that FUR COAT, LUXURIOUSLY DRAPED OVER THE SHOULDERS does WONDERS to pull this look together. not only is it worn with “yeah, it’s real mink, no, you can’t touch it” confidence, but it also ties the otherwise arbitrary white loafers into the structure of the look. it’s subtle and class as hell.

C TIER

c tier is full of looks that are... fine, but ultimately either are boring, lack cohesion, or have a confusing design choice or two that make it hard to get all that amped about. c tier is a passing grade, but nothing more.

#8: NAGITO KOMAEDA

there’s a lot that’s good about this outfit, but there’s also a lot that doesn’t really work. let’s start with the good: the slutty loose bowtie and collar, the tight-fitting vest that ends before the hipbones so you can see the belt, the cute little ponytail? (chefs kiss) exquisite, all of it. but the suit itself is boring as sing, and who the hell decided to put the t-shirt symbol on the sleeves??? was it to add visual flavor to an otherwise bland suit? this does NOT have the black/white/red elegance that peko had.

#9: FUYUHIKO KUZURYUU

the silver and gold mob-boss look, complete with matching shoes vest and fedora, are a nice nod to fuyuhiko’s talent! the plaid is teetering on the edge between fun and garish to me, but the fact that it’s consistent and the only pattern means it isn’t too offensive. quick question though: why are his pant legs rolled up like that?? this isn’t a cute “cuffed at the ankle” look, dude looks like he had to wade across a pond to get to the venue. what gives

#10: GUNDAM TANAKA

out of everyone here, gundam’s suit might be the most boring of all. the scarf is just his normal scarf. the red tie and trim don’t do anything to tie the look together. the only mild point of interest is the asymmetrical vest, and i can’t even tell if that’s intentional. simply put, this “““fancy”““ outfit isn’t even in the same ZIP CODE as the level of ostentatious chuuni that gundam serves us every single day in his casual wear. maybe even worse than being ugly... it’s disappointing.

#11: IBUKI MIODA

now, look. is this dress buckwild and ugly as hell? yes. but you know what else it is? it is IBUKI MIODA’S DRESS. there might not be a single cohesive thing about this dress aside from its color scheme. the huge poofy ruffles of the skirt and arm things with the spiked bow and corset are baffling. the artist somehow managed to draw the awkward, clumping shape of the skirt to make it look exactly like an emergency cosplay sewn four hours before a convention. frankly, i can’t justify ranking it as a c! but i’m doing it anyway, because the sheer level of craftsmanship demands it, and in this house we respect diy queens that are totally off the shits.

D TIER:

d tier is for outfits that aren’t offensive, exactly... but like, they sure don’t look good! d tier is not a respectable place to be. those in d tier won’t be laughed out of the ceremony in shame, but they should really run their outfit by someone else first next time.

#12: NEKOMARU NIDAI

now don’t get me wrong: i have nothing but respect for the titties-out look. keeping the shirt unbuttoned all the way down to where the lapels of the jacket end? that’s sexy as hell. however, this flawless idea has a confusing execution. why emerald green and orange? what’s with the... long-sleeved printed (hawaiian?) shirt? why the red pocket square? and the jacket itself, while fitted perfectly along the chest and midsection, has a weird, unflattering scallop shape flaring out at the bottom. i want to like this fit, but there are just too many bad choices.

#13: HAJIME HINATA

oh, hajime... literally nothing about this ensemble is it. the creamy manila suit might have had potential if there were literally any color variation in the vest (or potentially shoes) to give it a little more shape, or even if you just went with a white shirt underneath it! i could get behind a light, off-monochrome look! but that leprechaun-green shirt is downright perplexing to me. it looks like a mistake! did you get dressed in the dark? did you spill something on your other shirt? this is a mess.

F TIER:

f tier is inexcusable. f tier should never have happened. how does it get this bad. who did this? who’s responsible for this?

#14: SONIA NEVERMIND

y’know, the colors are pretty! i dig the white and teal! but... girl... what the fuck is this construction. the ruffles are all over the place. the bodice looks like it has less fabric than space it needs to cover. the bottom half of the skirt looks like it was sewn on as an afterthought because the top half was too short for dress code. what’s with the weird choker collar detached from everything else. why is the hairband a slightly different shade of green. so many decisions were made here and none of them are flattering

#15: MAHIRU KOIZUMI

yknow, i like the idea behind this. i can see what you were going for! the dress on its own might have worked, even! but everything else about it is just... so ugly. what the fuck is happening with those shoes??? the sheer black tights aren’t the sexy OL look you think they are. the collar of the dress looks like it’s... braided for some reason??? those earrings are so huge for no payoff, statement jewelry with nothing to say, and worst of all... that headband. GIRL. that headband and that belt...... there’s nothing here. also i love orange but it’s not her color.

and finally... the worst.

#16: MIKAN TSUMIKI

what the fuck. what the fuck is this. this is straight up cheap rubber fetish gear. why is the HAT rubber? that skirt ruffle makes this look like fucking polly pocket clothes. why the fuck is she wearing that. the clothes are so bad that it makes her hair look like rubber too. was she dared to wear this? is this some cruel punishment? i don’t even know what to say. this is the worst possible outfit. there is not even one redeeming quality about it.

[grigori77]

2020 in Movies - My Top 30 Fave Movies (Part 2)

20.  ONWARD – Disney and Pixar’s best digitally animated family feature of 2020 (beating the admittedly impressive Soul to the punch) clearly has a love of fantasy roleplay games like Dungeons & Dragons, its quirky modern-day AU take populated by fantastical races and creatures seemingly tailor-made for the geek crowd … needless to say, me and many of my friends absolutely loved it.  That doesn’t mean that the classic Disney ideals of love, family and believing in yourself have been side-lined in favour of fan-service – this is as heartfelt, affecting and tearful as their previous standouts, albeit with plenty of literal magic added to the metaphorical kind.  The central premise is a clever one – once upon a time, magic was commonplace, but over the years technology came along to make life easier, so that in the present day the various races (elves, centaurs, fauns, pixies, goblins and trolls among others) get along fine without it. Then timid elf Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) receives a wizard’s staff for his sixteenth birthday, a bequeathed gift from his father, who died before he was born, with instructions for a spell that could bring him back to life for one whole day.  Encouraged by his brash, over-confident wannabe adventurer elder brother Barley (Chris Pratt), Ian tries it out, only for the spell to backfire, leaving them with the animated bottom half of their father and just 24 hours to find a means to restore the rest of him before time runs out.  Cue an “epic quest” … needless to say, this is another top-notch offering from the original masters of the craft, a fun, affecting and thoroughly infectious family-friendly romp with a winning sense of humour and inspired, flawless world-building.  Holland and Pratt are both fantastic, their instantly believable, ill-at-ease little/big brother chemistry effortlessly driving the story through its ingenious paces, and the ensuing emotional fireworks are hilarious and heart-breaking in equal measure, while there’s typically excellent support from Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine from Seinfeld) as Ian and Barley’s put-upon but supportive mum, Laurel, Octavia Spencer as once-mighty adventurer-turned-restaurateur “Corey” the Manticore and Mel Rodriguez (Getting On, The Last Man On Earth) as overbearing centaur cop (and Laurel’s new boyfriend) Colt Bronco.  The film marks the sophomore feature gig for Dan Scanlon, who debuted with 2013’s sequel Monsters University, and while that was enjoyable enough I ultimately found it non-essential – no such verdict can be levelled against THIS film, the writer-director delivering magnificently in all categories, while the animation team have outdone themselves in every scene, from the exquisite environments and character/creature designs to some fantastic (and frequently delightfully bonkers) set-pieces, while there’s a veritable riot of brilliant RPG in-jokes to delight geekier viewers (gelatinous cube! XD).  Massive, unadulterated fun, frequently hilarious and absolutely BURSTING with Disney’s trademark heart, this was ALMOST my animated feature of the year.  More on that later …

19.  THE GENTLEMEN – Guy Ritchie’s been having a rough time with his last few movies (The Man From UNCLE didn’t do too bad but it wasn’t exactly a hit and was largely overlooked or simply ignored, while intended franchise-starter King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was largely derided and suffered badly on release, dying a quick death financially – it’s a shame on both counts, because I really liked them), so it’s nice to see him having some proper success with his latest, even if he has basically reverted to type to do it.  Still, when his newest London gangster flick is THIS GOOD it seems churlish to quibble – this really is what he does best, bringing together a collection of colourful geezers and shaking up their status quo, then standing back and letting us enjoy the bloody, expletive-riddled results. This particularly motley crew is another winning selection, led by Matthew McConaughey as ruthlessly successful cannabis baron Mickey Pearson, who’s looking to retire from the game by selling off his massive and highly lucrative enterprise for a most tidy sum (some $400,000,000 to be precise) to up-and-coming fellow American ex-pat Matthew Berger (Succession’s Jeremy Strong, oozing sleazy charm), only for local Chinese triad Dry Eye (Crazy Rich Asians’ Henry Golding, chewing the scenery with enthusiasm) to start throwing spanners into the works with the intention of nabbing the deal for himself for a significant discount.  Needless to say Mickey’s not about to let that happen … McConaughey is ON FIRE here, the best he’s been since Dallas Buyers Club in my opinion, clearly having great fun sinking his teeth into this rich character and Ritchie’s typically sparkling, razor-witted dialogue, and he’s ably supported by a quality ensemble cast, particularly co-star Charlie Hunnam as Mickey’s ice-cold, steel-nerved right-hand-man Raymond Smith, Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery as his classy, strong-willed wife Rosalind, Colin Farrell as a wise-cracking, quietly exasperated MMA trainer and small-time hood simply known as the Coach (who gets many of the film’s best lines), and, most notably, Hugh Grant as the film’s nominal narrator, thoroughly morally bankrupt private investigator Fletcher, who consistently steals the film.  This is Guy Ritchie at his very best – a twisty rug-puller of a plot that constantly leaves you guessing, brilliantly observed and richly drawn characters you can’t help loving in spite of the fact there’s not a single hero among them, a deliciously unapologetic, politically incorrect sense of humour and a killer soundtrack.  Getting the cinematic year off to a phenomenal start, it’s EASILY Ritchie’s best film since Sherlock Holmes, and a strong call-back to the heady days of Snatch (STILL my favourite) and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels.  Here’s hoping he’s on a roll again, eh?

18.  SPONTANEOUS – one of the year’s biggest under-the-radar surprise hits for me was one which I actually might not have caught if things had been a little more normal and ordered.  Thankfully with all the lockdown and cinematic shutdown bollocks going on, this fantastically subversive and deeply satirical indie teen comedy horror came along at the perfect time, and I completely flipped out over it.  Now those who know me know I don’t tend to gravitate towards teen cinema, but like all those other exceptions I’ve loved over the years, this one had a brilliantly compulsive hook I just couldn’t turn down – small-town high-schooler Mara (Knives Out and Netflix’ Cursed’s Katherine Langford) is your typical cool outsider kid, smart, snarky and just putting up with the scene until she can graduate and get as far away as possible … until one day in her senior year one of her classmates just inexplicably explodes. Like her peers, she’s shocked and she mourns, then starts to move on … until it happens again.  As the death toll among the senior class begins to mount, it becomes clear something weird is going on, but Mara has other things on her mind because the crisis has, for her, had an unexpected benefit – without it she wouldn’t have fallen in love with like-minded oddball new kid Dylan (Lean On Pete and Words On Bathroom Walls’ Charlie Plummer). The future’s looking bright, but only if they can both live to see it … this is a wickedly intelligent film, powered by a skilfully executed script and a wonderfully likeable young cast who consistently steer their characters around the potential cliched pitfalls of this kind of cinema, while debuting writer-director Brian Duffield (already a rising star thanks to scripts for Underwater, The Babysitter and blacklist darling Jane Got a Gun among others) show he’s got as much talent and flair for crafting truly inspired cinema as he has for thinking it up in the first place, delivering some impressively offbeat set-pieces and several neat twists you frequently don’t see coming ahead of time.  Langford and Plummer as a sassy, spicy pair who are easy to root for without ever getting cloying or sweet, while there’s glowing support from the likes of Hayley Law (Rioverdale, Altered Carbon, The New Romantic) as Mara’s best friend Tess, Piper Perabo and Transparent’s Rob Huebel as her increasingly concerned parents, and Insecure’s Yvonne Orji as Agent Rosetti, the beleaguered government employee sent to spearhead the investigation into exactly what’s happening to these kids.  Quirky, offbeat and endlessly inventive, this is one of those interesting instances where I’m glad they pushed the horror elements into the background so we could concentrate on the comedy, but more importantly these wonderfully well-realised and vital characters – there are some skilfully executed shocks, but far more deep belly laughs, and there’s bucketloads of heart to eclipse the gore.  Another winning debut from a talent I intend to watch with great interest in the future.

17.  HAMILTON – arriving just as Black Lives Matter reached fever-pitch levels, this feature presentation of the runaway Broadway musical smash-hit could not have been better timed. Shot over three nights during the show’s 2016 run with the original cast and cut together with specially created “setup shots”, it’s an immersive experience that at once puts you right in amongst the audience (at times almost a character themselves, never seen but DEFINITELY heard) but also lets you experience the action up close.  And what action – it’s an incredible show, a thoroughly fascinating piece of work that reads like something very staid and proper on paper (an all-encompassing biographical account of the life and times of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton) but, in execution, becomes something very different and EXTREMELY vital.  The execution certainly couldn’t be further from the usual period biopic fare this kind of historical subject matter usually gets (although in the face of recent high quality revisionist takes like Marie Antoinette, The Great and Tesla it’s not SO surprising), while the cast is not at all what you’d expect – with very few notable exceptions the cast is almost entirely people of colour, despite the fact that the real life individuals they’re playing were all very white indeed.  Every single one of them is also an absolute revelation – the show’s writer-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (already riding high on the success of In the Heights) carries the central role of Hamilton with effortless charm and raw star power, Leslie Odom Jr. (Smash, Murder On the Orient Express) is duplicitously complex as his constant nemesis Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson (In the Heights, Moana, Bull) oozes integrity and nobility as his mentor and friend George Washington, Phillipa Soo is sweet and classy as his wife Eliza while Renée Elise Goldsberry (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Jacks, Altered Carbon) is fiery and statuesque as her sister Angelica Schuyler (the one who got away), and Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter) consistently steals every scene he’s in as fiendish yet childish fan favourite King George III, but the show (and the film) ultimately belongs to veritable powerhouse Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting, The Good Lord Bird) in a spectacular duel role, starting subtly but gaining scene-stealing momentum as French Revolutionary Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, before EXPLODING onto the stage in the second half as indomitable third American President Thomas Jefferson.  Not having seen the stage show, I was taken completely by surprise by this, revelling in its revisionist genius and offbeat, quirky hip-hop charm, spellbound by the skilful ease with which is takes the sometimes quite dull historical fact and skews it into something consistently entertaining and absorbing, transported by the catchy earworm musical numbers and thoroughly tickled by the delightfully cheeky sense of humour strung throughout (at least when I wasn’t having my heart broken by moments of raw dramatic power). Altogether it’s a pretty unique cinematic experience I wish I could have actually gotten to see on the big screen, and one I’ve consistently recommended to all my friends, even the ones who don’t usually like musicals.  As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t need a proper Les Misérables style screen adaptation – this is about as perfect a presentation as the show could possibly hope for.

16.  SPUTNIK – summer’s horror highlight (despite SERIOUSLY tough competition) was a guaranteed sleeper hit that I almost missed entirely, stumbling across the trailer one day on YouTube and getting bowled over by its potential, prompting me to hunt it down by any means necessary.  The feature debut of Russian director Egor Abramenko, this first contact sci-fi chiller is about as far from E.T. as it’s possible to get, sharing some of the same DNA as Carpenter’s The Thing but proudly carving its own path with consummate skill and definitely signalling great things to come from its brand new helmer and relative unknown screenwriters Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev.  Oksana Akinshina (probably best known in the West for her powerful climactic cameo in The Bourne Supremacy) is the beating heart of the film as neurophysiologist Tatyana Yuryevna Klimova, brought in to aid in the investigation in the Russian wilderness circa 1983 after an orbital research mission goes horribly wrong.  One of the cosmonauts dies horribly, while the other, Konstantin (The Duelist’s Pyotr Fyodorov) seems unharmed, but it quickly becomes clear that he’s now the host for something decidedly extraterrestrial and potentially terrifying, and as Tatyana becomes more deeply embroiled in her assignment she comes to realise that her superiors, particularly mysterious Red Army project leader Colonel Semiradov (The PyraMMMid’s Fyodor Bondarchuk), have far more insidious plans for Konstantin and his new “friend” than she could ever imagine. This is about as dark, intense and nightmarish as this particular sub-genre gets, a magnificently icky body horror that slowly builds its tension as we’re gradually exposed to the various truths and the awful gravity of the situation slowly reveals itself, punctuated by skilfully executed shocks and some particularly horrifying moments when the evils inflicted by the humans in charge prove far worse than anything the alien can do, while the ridiculously talented writers have a field day pulling the rug out from under us again and again, never going for the obvious twist and keeping us guessing right to the devastating ending, while the beautifully crafted digital creature effects are nothing short of astonishing and thoroughly creepy.  Akinshina dominates the film with her unbridled grace, vulnerability and integrity, the relationship that develops between Tatyana and Konstantin (Fyodorov delivering a beautifully understated turn belying deep inner turmoil) feeling realistically earned as it goes from tentatively wary to tragically bittersweet, while Bondarchuk invests the Colonel with a nuanced air of tarnished authority and restrained brutality that made him one of my top screen villains for the year.  One of 2020’s great sleeper hits, I can’t speak of this film highly enough – it’s a genuine revelation, an instant classic for whom I’ll sing its praises for years to come, and I wish enormous future success to all the creative talents involved.

15.  THE INVISIBLE MAN – looks like third time’s a charm for Leigh Whannell, writer-director of my ALMOST horror movie of the year (more on that later) – while he’s had immense success as a horror writer over the years (co-creator of both the Saw and Insidious franchises), as a director his first two features haven’t exactly set the world alight, with debut Insidious: Chapter III garnering similar takes to the rest of the series but ultimately turning out to be a bit of a damp squib quality-wise, while his second feature Upgrade was a stone-cold masterpiece that was (rightly) EXTREMELY well received critically, but ultimately snuck in under the radar and has remained a stubbornly hidden gem since. No such problems with his third feature, though – his latest collaboration with producer Jason Blum and the insanely lucrative Blumhouse Pictures has proven a massive hit both financially AND with reviewers, and deservedly so.  Having given up on trying to create a shared cinematic universe inhabited by their classic monsters, Universal resolved to concentrate on standalones to showcase their elite properties, and their first try is a rousing success, Whannell bringing HG Wells’ dark and devious human monster smack into the 21st Century as only he can.  The result is a surprisingly subtle piece of work, much more a lethally precise exercise in cinematic sleight of hand and extraordinary acting than flashy visual effects, strictly adhering to the Blumhouse credo of maximum returns for minimum bucks as the story is stripped down to its bare essentials and allowed to play out without any unnecessary weight.  The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elizabeth Moss once again confirms what a masterful actress she is as she brings all her performing weapons to bear in the role of Cecelia “Cee” Kass, the cloistered wife of affluent but monstrously abusive optics pioneer Aidan Griffin (Netflix’ The Haunting of Hill House’s Oliver Jackson-Cohen), who escapes his clutches in the furiously tense opening sequence and goes to ground with the help of her closest childhood friend, San Francisco cop James Lanier (Leverage’s Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter Sydney (A Wrinkle in Time’s Storm Reid).  Two weeks later, Aidan commits suicide, leaving Cee with a fortune to start her life over (with the proviso that she’s never ruled mentally incompetent), but as she tries to find her way in the world again little things start going wrong for her, and she begins to question if there might be something insidious going on.  As her nerves start to unravel, she begins to suspect that Aidan is still alive, still very much in her life, fiendishly toying with her and her friends, but no-one can see him.  Whannell plays her paranoia up for all it’s worth, skilfully teasing out the scares so that, just like her friends, we begin to wonder if it might all be in her head after all, before a spectacular mid-movie reveal throws the switch into high gear and the true threat becomes clear.  The lion’s share of the film’s immense success must of course go to Moss – her performance is BEYOND a revelation, a blistering career best that totally powers the whole enterprise, and it goes without saying that she’s the best thing in this.  Even so, she has sterling support from Hodge and Reid, as well as Love Child’s Harriet Dyer as Cee’s estranged big sister Emily and Wonderland’s Michael Dorman as Adrian’s slimy, spineless lawyer brother Tom, and, while he doesn’t have much actual (ahem) “screen time”, Jackson-Cohen delivers a fantastically icy, subtly malevolent turn which casts a large “shadow” over the film.  This is one of my very favourite Blumhouse films, a pitch-perfect psychological chiller that keeps the tension cranked up unbearably tight and never lets go, Whannell once again displaying uncanny skill with expert jump-scares, knuckle-whitening chills and a truly astounding standout set-piece that easily goes down as one of the top action sequences of 2020. Undoubtedly the best version of Wells’ story to date, this goes a long way in repairing the damage of Universal’s abortive “Dark Universe” efforts, as well as showcasing a filmmaking master at the very height of his talents.

14.  EXTRACTION – the Coronavirus certainly has threw a massive spanner in the works of the year’s cinematic calendar – among many other casualties to the blockbuster shunt, the latest (and most long-awaited) MCU movie, Black Widow, should have opened to further record-breaking box office success at the end of spring, but instead the theatres were all closed and virtually all the heavyweights were pushed back or shelved indefinitely.  Thank God, then, for the streaming services, particularly Hulu, Amazon and Netflix, the latter of which provided a perfect movie for us to see through the key transition into the summer blockbuster season, an explosively flashy big budget action thriller ushered in by MCU alumni the Russo Brothers (who produced and co-wrote this adaptation of Ciudad, a graphic novel that Joe Russo co-created with Ande Parks and Fernando Leon Gonzalez) and barely able to contain the sheer star-power wattage of its lead, Thor himself.  Chris Hemsworth plays Tyler Rake, a former Australian SAS operative who hires out his services to an extraction operation under the command of mercenary Nik Khan (The Patience Stone’s Golshifteh Farahani), brought in to liberate Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal in his first major role), the pre-teen son of incarcerated Indian crime lord Ovi Sr. (Pankaj Tripathi), who has been abducted by Bangladeshi rival Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli).  The rescue itself goes perfectly, but when the time comes for the hand-off the team is double-crossed and Tyler is left stranded in the middle of Dhaka with no choice but to keep Ovi alive as every corrupt cop and street gang in the city closes in around them.  This is the feature debut of Sam Hargrave, the latest stuntman to try his hand at directing, so he certainly knows his way around an action set-piece, and the result is a thoroughly breathless adrenaline rush of a film, bursting at the seams with spectacular fights, gun battles and car chases, dominated by a stunning sustained sequence that plays out in one long shot, guaranteed to leave jaws lying on the floor.  Not that there should be any surprise – Hargrave cut his teeth as a stunt coordinator for the Russos on Captain America: Civil War and their Avengers films.  That said, he displays strong talent for the quieter disciplines of filmmaking too, delivering quality character development and drawing out consistently noteworthy performances from his cast.  Of course, Hemsworth can do the action stuff in his sleep, but there’s a lot more to Tyler than just his muscle, the MCU veteran investing him with real wounded vulnerability and a tragic fatalism which colours every scene, while Jaiswal is exceptional throughout, showing plenty of promise for the future, and there’s strong support from Farahani and Painyuli, as well as Stranger Things’ David Harbour as world-weary retired merc Gaspard, and a particularly impressive, muscular turn from Randeep Hooda (Once Upon a Time in Mumbai) as Saju, a former Para and Ovi’s bodyguard, who’s determined to take possession of the boy himself, even if he has to go through Tyler to get him.  This is action cinema that really deserves to be seen on the big screen – I watched it twice in a week and would happily have paid for two trips to the cinema for it if I could have.  As we looked down the barrel of a summer season largely devoid of blockbuster fare, I couldn’t recommend this enough.  Thank the gods for Netflix …

13.  THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 – although it’s definitely a film that really benefitted enormously from releasing on Netflix during the various lockdowns, this was one of the blessed few I actually got to see during one of the UK’s frustratingly rare lulls when cinemas were actually OPEN.  Rather perversely it therefore became one of my favourite cinematic experiences of 2020, but then I’m just as much a fan of well-made cerebral films as I am of the big, immersive blockbuster EXPERIENCES, so this probably still would have been a standout in a normal year. Certainly if this was a purely CRITICAL list for the year this probably would have placed high in the Top Ten … Aaron Sorkin is a writer whose work I have ardently admired ever since he went from esteemed playwright to in-demand talent for both the big screen AND the small with A Few Good Men, and TTOTC7 is just another in a long line of consistently impressive, flawlessly written works rife with addictive quickfire dialogue, beautifully observed characters and rewardingly propulsive narrative storytelling (therefore resting comfortably amongst the well-respected likes of The West Wing, Charlie Wilson’s War, Moneyball and The Social Network).  It also marks his second feature as a director (after fascinating and incendiary debut Molly’s Game), and once again he’s gone for true story over fiction, tackling the still controversial subject of the infamous 1968 trial of the “ringleaders” of the infamous riots which marred Chicago’s Diplomatic National Convention five months earlier, in which thousands of hippies and college students protesting the Vietnam War clashed with police.  Spurred on by the newly-instated Presidential Administration of Richard Nixon to make some examples, hungry up-and-coming prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is confident in his case, while the Seven – who include respected and astute student activist Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and confrontational counterculture firebrands Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Succession’s Jeremy Strong) – are the clear underdogs.  They’re a divided bunch (particularly Hayden and Hoffman, who never mince their words about what little regard they hold for each other), and they’re up against the combined might of the U.S. Government, while all they have on their side is pro-bono lawyer and civil rights activist William Kunstler (Mark Rylance), who’s sharp, driven and thoroughly committed to the cause but clearly massively outmatched … not to mention the fact that the judge presiding over the case is Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella), a fierce and uncompromising conservative who’s clearly 100% on the Administration’s side, and who might in fact be stark raving mad (he also frequently goes to great lengths to make it clear to all concerned that he is NOT related to Abbie).  Much as we’ve come to expect from Sorkin, this is cinema of grand ideals and strong characters, not big spectacle and hard action, and all the better for it – he’s proved time and again that he’s one of the very best creative minds in Hollywood when it comes to intelligent, thought-provoking and engrossing thinking-man’s entertainment, and this is pure par for the course, keeping us glued to the screen from the skilfully-executed whirlwind introductory montage to the powerfully cathartic climax, and every varied and brilliant scene in-between.  This is heady stuff, focusing on what’s still an extremely thorny issue made all the more urgently relevant and timely given what was (and still is) going on in American politics at the time, and everyone involved here was clearly fully committed to making the film as palpable, powerful and resonant as possible for the viewer, no matter their nationality or political inclination.  Also typical for a Sorkin film, the cast are exceptional, everyone clearly having the wildest time getting their teeth into their finely-drawn characters and that magnificent dialogue – Redmayne and Baron Cohen are compellingly complimentary intellectual antagonists given their radically different approaches and their roles’ polar opposite energies, while Rylance delivers another pitch-perfect, simply ASTOUNDING performance that once again marks him as one of the very best actors of his generation, and there are particularly meaty turns from Strong, Langella, Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (as besieged Black Panther Bobby Seale) and a potent late appearance from Michael Keaton that sear themselves into the memory long after viewing. Altogether then, this is a phenomenal film which deserves to be seen no matter the format, a thought-provoking and undeniably IMPORTANT masterwork from a master cinematic storyteller that says as much about the world we live in now as the decidedly turbulent times it portrays …

12.  GREYHOUND – when the cinemas closed back in March, the fate of many of the major summer blockbusters we’d been looking forward to was thrown into terrible doubt. Some were pushed back to more amenable dates in the autumn or winter (which even then ultimately proved frustratingly ambitious), others knocked back a whole year to fill summer slots for 2021, but more than a few simply dropped off the radar entirely with the terrible words “postponed until further notice” stamped on them, and I lamented them all, this one in particular.  It hung in there longer than some, stubbornly holding onto its June release slot for as long as possible, but eventually it gave up the ghost too … but thanks to Apple TV+, not for long, ultimately releasing less than a month later than intended.  Thankfully the film itself was worth the fuss, a taut World War II suspense thriller that’s all killer, no filler – set during the infamous Battle of the Atlantic, it portrays the constant life-or-death struggle faced by the Allied warships assigned to escort the transport convoys as they crossed the ocean, defending their charges from German U-boats.  Adapted from C.S. Forester’s famous 1955 novel The Good Shepherd by Tom Hanks and directed by Aaron Schneider (Get Low), the narrative focuses on the crew of the escort leader, American destroyer USS Fletcher, codenamed “Greyhound”, and in particular its captain, Commander Ernest Krause (Hanks), a career sailor serving his first command.  As they cross “the Pit”, the most dangerous middle stretch of the journey where they spend days without air-cover, they find themselves shadowed by “the Wolf Pack”, a particularly cunning group of German submarines that begin to pick away at the convoy’s stragglers.  Faced with daunting odds, a dwindling supply of vital depth-charges and a ruthless, persistent enemy, Krause must make hard choices to bring his ships home safe … jumping into the thick of the action within the first ten minutes and maintaining its tension for the remainder of the trim 90-minute run, this is screen suspense par excellence, a sleek textbook example of how to craft a compelling big screen knuckle-whitener with zero fat and maximum reward, delivering a series of desperate naval scraps packed with hide-and-seek intensity, heart-in-mouth near-misses and fist-in-air cathartic payoffs by the bucket-load.  Hanks is subtly magnificent, the calm centre of the narrative storm as a supposed newcomer to this battle arena who could have been BORN for it, bringing to mind his similarly unflappable in Captain Phillips and certainly not suffering by comparison; by and large he’s the focus point, but other crew members make strong (if sometimes quite brief) impressions, particularly Stephen Graham as Krause’s reliably seasoned XO, Lt. Commander Charlie Cole, The Magnificent Seven’s Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Just Mercy’s Rob Morgan, while Elisabeth Shue does a lot with a very small part in brief flashbacks as Krause’s fiancée Evelyn. Relentless, exhilarating and thoroughly unforgettable, this was one of the true action highlights of the summer, and one hell of a war flick.  I’m so glad it made the cut for the summer …

11.  PROJECT POWER – with Marvel and DC pushing their tent-pole titles back in the face of COVID, the usual superhero antics we’ve come to expect for the summer were pretty thin on the ground in 2020, leading us to find our geeky fan thrills elsewhere. Unfortunately, pickings were frustratingly slim – Korean comic book actioner Gundala was entertaining but workmanlike, while Thor AU Mortal was underwhelming despite strong direction from Troll Hunter’s André Øvredal, and The New Mutants just got shat on by the studio and its distributors and no mistake – thank the Gods, then, for Netflix, once again riding to the rescue with this enjoyably offbeat super-thriller, which takes an intriguing central premise and really runs with it.  New designer drug Power has hit the streets of New Orleans, able to give anyone who takes it a superpower for five minutes … the only problem is, until you try it, you don’t know what your own unique talent is – for some, it could mean five minutes of invisibility, or insane levels of super-strength, but other powers can be potentially lethal, the really unlucky buggers just blowing up on the spot.  Robin (The Hate U Give’s Dominique Fishback) is a teenage Power-pusher with dreams of becoming a rap star, dealing the pills so she can help her diabetic mum; Frank Shaver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one of her customers, a police detective who uses his power of near invulnerability to even the playing field when supercharged crims cause a disturbance.  Their lives are turned upside down when Art (Jamie Foxx) arrives in town – he’s a seriously badass ex-soldier determined to hunt down the source of Power by any means necessary, and he’s not above tearing the Big Easy apart to do it. This is a fun, gleefully infectious rollercoaster that doesn’t take itself too seriously, revelling in the anarchic potential of its premise and crafting some suitably OTT effects-driven chaos brought to pleasingly visceral fruition by its skilfully inventive director, Ariel Schulman (Catfish, Nerve, Viral), while Mattson Tomlin (the screenwriter of the DCEU’s oft-delayed, incendiary headline act The Batman) takes the story in some very interesting directions and poses fascinating questions about what Power’s TRULY capable of.  Gordon-Levitt and Fishback are both brilliant, the latter particularly impressing in what’s sure to be a major breakthrough role for her, and the friendship their characters share is pretty adorable, while Foxx really is a force to be reckoned with, pretty chill even when he’s in deep shit but fully capable of turning into a bona fide killing machine at the flip of a switch, and there’s strong support from Westworld’s Rodrigo Santoro as Biggie, Power’s delightfully oily kingpin, Courtney B. Vance as Frank’s by-the-book superior, Captain Crane, Amy Landecker as Gardner, the morally bankrupt CIA spook responsible for the drug’s production, and Machine Gun Kelly as Newt, a Power dealer whose pyrotechnic “gift” really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  Exciting, inventive, frequently amusing and infectiously likeable, this was some of the most uncomplicated cinematic fun I had all summer.  Not bad for something which I’m sure was originally destined to become one of the season’s B-list features …

[sylvie-writes]

Ma Chérie

Disclaimer: I’m a doofus who wrote this

Requests are open!!!!

Masterlist

Summary: After a grocery trip you come home to find Steve and Sarah learning French. 

“So how do we say hello, sweetheart?” 

“Bon-Drawer!” 

Steve’s laugh could be heard all the way from the front door where you were standing, putting down your grocery bags. 

“Close enough, honey.” 

And then you heard Sarah’s precious giggle that was like music to your ears. 

Curiosity got the best of you and you approached the kitchen in an attempt to find out what they were talking about. Sarah was so busy attentively listening that she didn’t even hear you walk in. 

You took this opportunity to quietly pull out a barstool chair so you could watch the two. Steve was facing you, while Sarah’s back was your way.

 Discreetly, your husband winked at you, acknowledging your presence. 

“So now we are gonna learn how to introduce ourselves.” 

A look of confusion held itself on Sarah’s tiny face. 

“Introduce means to meet people!”

The lightbulb over Sarah’s head clicked as she now understood what introduce meant. 

Perhaps it was her new favorite word because that girl was such a social butterfly. 

Inside of Steve, a deep feeling of pride bubbled. He could just gush to anyone for hours about how proud he was of his little girl, and he was gonna make it known to the world. 

“Je m’appelle Steve Rogers. Which means ‘my name is Steve Rogers’.”

Slowly, Steve annunciated every word to his daughter who watched intently as if she were etching the words into her brain. 

“Okay, now you try!” 

Steve gave Sarah a reassuring smile, to which she returned with a toothy grin. 

“Je-ma-fell, Sarah.”

As Sarah spoke, she paused occasionally to think about the next word. Sure, she might've been a little off on the pronunciations, but for a three year old she was doing outstanding. 

 You couldn’t help but smile at your daughter, who was trying her best to learn another something of her father’s. That child was a daddy’s girl in every way.

“Oh, ma chérie.” 

As he got up from his chair, Steve went to go kiss his daughter’s head before coming back with a snack and some drinks.

“Daddy, what does that mean?” 

“Ma chérie?”

Sarah enthusiastically nodded her head as she struggled to reach into the bowl of pretzels, while Steve pushed the snack bowl closer to her in a helping manner. 

“It means, my darling.” 

At that moment it was like a bunch of fireworks went off in Sarah’s head as her eyes lit up in appreciation. 

“Yay! I’m daddy’s darling!” 

Her chair was scooted back as she ran to go jump in Steve’s lap, hugging him tightly. 

“Oui.” 

Sarah’s little arms were still wrapped around his neck, but she quickly pulled back to look at Steve. 

“I know what that means, daddy!” 

Steve thought to himself how blessed he was to have Sarah, her adorable personality and all. 

He never understood how he was worthy, but he does know for sure that he’d do anything for his darling. 

As Sarah giggled at him, Steve quickly kissed her nose before smiling back with a cheesy grin matching her own. 

“What does it mean then?” 

Sarah excitedly clapped her hand as Steve supported her on his lap.

“It means, yes!” 

“Good Job, you smart cookie!” 

Sarah shyly hid her small face in the crook of Steve’s neck at the compliment. Steve chuckled and ran his hand over her hair in an attempt to sooth her. You stood watching from the living room like a proud mother. It really struck you then how much Sarah and her father were alike.

After a good five minutes of watching the endearing conversations between your husband and daughter, you decided it was time to go and actually see them. 

You started to move from the barstool and to the kitchen before you heard Sarah say something to Steve, making you freeze.

Sarah picked her head up from Steve’s shoulder and started to gently trace circles on his clothed chest as she bashfully asked her next question. 

“Daddy, how do you say ‘I Love You’?”

He looked at his daughter, who wasn’t looking back at him. Steve took his index finger and tenderly pushed Sarah’s head up so she would look at him. 

“Je t'aime.”

Once again, Steve slowly pronounced the word in an attempt to make it easier for Sarah to understand. 

“Jar-tame.” 

For a three year old, Sarah was absolutely marvelous and Steve could feel his heart swelling. 

“Very good, darling!” 

Sarah pecked her dad’s lips and then ruffled his hair around. 

Obviously, Steve didn’t mind, he was actually laughing along with his daughter who was having the time of her life. 

“I wanna ‘mpress, mommy!” 

“I’m sure you will, my love.” 

With that Steve motioned for you to come over and say hello to your daughter. 

Poor Sarah was so tired now that she let out an adorable little yawn and laid her head on Steve’s shoulder. 

You quietly walked over to sit in Sarah’s previous seat at the table. Steve, who was sitting directly across from you, smiled and nodded to the little girl asleep on his shoulder. 

In a loving manner, you slowly ran your hand over Sarah’s small back to try and wake her. 

Her blonde head of hair turned and she sleepily sat up in her dad’s lap. When she realized who you were, all sleepiness disappeared. 

“Mommy!” 

“Hi, babe!” 

Sarah then jumped from her dad’s lap into your arms, almost giving you a heart attack from the extreme parkour she just executed. 

Reckless just like her father. 

You mentally scolded Steve, burning holes into his eyes and he put his hands up in surrender. 

Sarah was clueless to your silent banter with Steve as she was too excited to notice anything else.

“Guess what we did!”

Sarah hadn’t known you were there the whole time, so you played along. 

“What did you do, baby?”

“Well, Daddy taught me French!” 

“Oh really?” You leaned in and blew raspberries on her skin making her giggle. 

After she calmed down from her fit of giggles, she made grabby hands at her dad, who then got up to join you two. 

“Bon-drawer, Mommy!” 

Even though you already heard her say the word, it was just so delightful you could get enough. 

“Bonjour, Mademoiselle Sarah!”

“Oh and Daddy told me I was his ma-cherry!” 

Steve started laughing and went to go grab his daughter. 

“It’s ma chérie, doll.” 

Sarah then made a face of understanding and nodded her head, turning back to look at you. 

“Guess what it means, Mommy!” 

You playfully brought your hand to your face in a thinking manner.

“I’m Daddy’s Darling!” She was so happy and proud that your heart couldn’t take all the sweetness of your daughter. Sarah was the most precious thing out there. 

Steve kissed Sarah’s cheek and then wrapped his arms around your waist. 

“Yes you are! And Mommy is ma belle.” 

Sarah’s eyebrows were furrowed as she looked at her dad. 

Raising his free hand, Steve smoothed out Sarah’s scrunched forehead.

“It means my beautiful one.”

Then suddenly, Sarah whipped her head to you and reached out to grab your face, pecking your lips.

“Yeah! Mommy is so pretty!” 

“Yes, she is.” 

You looked from Sarah to see Steve looking at you with a loving gaze to which you blushed.

“I wanna be just like mommy when I grow up!”

You just looked at your daughter and husband in admiration.

As if Steve wasn’t adorable on his own, you have your precious Sarah who doubles the effect when she’s with her other half. 

Unfortunately, the apartment doorbell rang, interrupting the peaceful moment. 

“Oh it’s the team! I told them to come over for lunch.”

“I’ll go get it!” 

Sarah got down from Steve’s arms and ran away to go answer the door, already rambling to Nat, Bucky and Sam, about her morning with Steve. 

Before you could walk away, Steve enveloped you with his strong arms, your back to his chest and his lips pressed to your temple.

“Thank you, Mrs. Rogers, for this amazing life.”

“Anytime, Mr. Rogers.” 

You broke his embrace turning around to capture him in a deep kiss.

“EWWWW!” 

Sarah’s cry of disgust made you both turn towards the door to see her cute face twisted in a look of revulsion. 

“Oh really, Missy?” 

Steve scuttled across the room to Sarah, who ran around her aunt and uncles.

As she scurried in circles, Steve finally caught her, picking her up and pressing many kisses to her face as she giggled and squirmed in his embrace. 

Nat was clutching her chest as she was laughing so hard, Bucky and Sam joining in the snickering. 

Times like these were absolute gold for the team, they had never seen the Captain so vivacious and laid back, until sweet Sarah came along. 

Sarah continued to play with the boys while Nat walked into the kitchen with you to help make sandwiches. 

“You’re so lucky, babe.” She bumped your hips and you happily nodded in agreement. 

This was your family and you couldn’t have been blessed when anything better. 

[self-loving-vampire]

Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (1988)

Summary

Ultima 5 is what you could call Ultima 4′s edgier but “cooler” sibling. The gameplay has gained in complexity, dialogue has been greatly expanded, and the ground-breaking system of virtues and morality from the previous game has been twisted by the tyrannical Lord Blackthorn following the disappearance of Lord British.

Ultima 5 also introduces more of a day/night cycle to the proceedings with the introduction of NPC schedules, enabling a level of world simulation that was very new at the time of release. It goes on to make good use of this system by casting the player in the role of an outlaw fighting against the new government, meeting with members of the resistance in the shadows, and going around the martial law that has been imposed.

Freedom

Just like in Ultima 4, you are dropped into an open world right from the beginning, and your tools to explore the world have been expanded. 

The inclusion of more complex systems also enhance the feeling of being able to interact with the world with less barriers, as there is now furniture you can use, barrels you can search, etc.

Like with Ultima 4, there is only one way to win and a list of absolutely required steps that must be taken to reach that victory, but the order in which these steps can be taken is rather flexible, allowing players to create more of a personal narrative as they follow clues they picked up on wherever their instincts or whims took them first.

It is worth noting that there are actually some optional quests dungeons this time around, which is always nice.

Character Creation/Customization

While it is very nice that you can import your character from Ultima 4 into this game, I would say that this aspect of the game has taken a step back in a sense even as it has made progress in other ways.

The eight classes of the previous games have been reduced to four: The standard Fighter/Mage/Rogue Bard trio plus the Avatar class the main character belongs to, which is an all-rounder. As before, there is not really any customization beyond equipment either.

However, the positive of this is that equipment has been greatly expanded from the previous game. While in Ultima 4 you were limited to merely choosing your character’s weapon and armor set from a very short list, Ultima 5 not only enlarges the list but also allows for equipping multiple armor parts (such as a helm or amulet) while also providing a secondary hand slot.

What this means is that two-handed weapons now also give you a trade-off between their big damage and the option to use a shield in your other hand, or even dual-wield.

This greater variety of equipment allows a greater degree of specialization for your party members, though by modern standards this still isn’t much. The supremacy of ranged weapons also continues here, as magic axes are undoubtedly what you should be equipping everyone with later in the game, and now that class does not restrict equipment every single one of your party members will end up in plate with a magic axe.

Story/Setting

This is, in my opinions, one of the most interesting things about the game. Ultima 5 takes all of the virtues from the former game and turns a corrupted form of them into the law.

The game is pretty explicit about this too. Early in the game, in the town closest to the shack you start in, you can find a man in the stocks together with his son. The man is being punished for failing to donate enough of his income to charity as the Law of Sacrifice demands, while his son (who is barely breathing at this point) is being tortured for not reporting his father to the authorities.

Throughout your travels, you meet many kinds of people. From victims, to resistance fighters, to supporters of the regime and everything in between. Throughout your interactions with these groups you will have to discern who can be trusted (generally easier than it should be since the bad guys tend to be meaner or even cartoonishly evil at times) and learn how to fight Lord Blackthorn and the Shadowlords who corrupted him.

The Shadowlords are, incidentally, the part of the story that I don’t quite enjoy. Fantasy is full of one-dimensional ancient evils and dark overlords. By making the events of the game the result of an unambiguously malevolent supernatural force rather than human failings of the type that are not uncommon in real life, the game makes those events feel more distant and less complex.

This very series already has had plenty of “Defeat this one evil force and everything will be fine” plots. They are generally devoid of the moral complexity that the series is now aiming to explore and I want to know what this game would have looked like without the Shadowlords.

Fortunately, however, this effect is not too pronounced. Blackthorn remains a misguided man with good intentions. He admires you a lot, actually, and seeks avatarhood himself. He has such a positive view of the virtues that he sought to enforce them by law.

(Then again, his actual plans for the shrines make this apparent idolization feel dishonest, or at least inconsistent.)

And there is a real type of authoritarianism that functions a lot like this. Even on this site there are many who would be in favor of things like surveillance, police brutality, and harsher punishments. Even on this site there’s a whole lot of people who seek to punish others over stupid things like shipping the wrong fictional characters.

The people I grew up with even went as far as yearning for a dictator who would unleash death squads to execute all the “bad” people. This is a wish that I still see in many people, even those who grew up outside of the circumstances of my country of birth.

This is not an error that humans need supernatural corruption to fall into.

Other than that, I find the dark twist on the existing setting from the previous game to make for a spicier world to explore. 

This is also the section where I should point out that Ultima 5 introduces a rather large and dangerous “Underworld” map that is easy to get lost in. While it is mostly barren, you do have to visit various parts of it as part of the main quest, and I just find the concept of a massive dark world beneath the earth to be a super interesting one (I mean, I have even run D&D campaigns based primarily in the Underdark).

I kinda wish there was more to it other than some items and a companion to collect. Something like a town would have been interesting.

Immersion

This is one area where the jump from Ultima 4 to Ultima 5 was massive thanks to the day/night cycles, NPC schedules, expanded dialogue, and even the addition of words of power to the magic system.

But the best thing I can say about it is really that it calls on you to actually roleplay and engage in the world as if you were actually there, at least to a degree, and it does so through a combination of atmosphere and gameplay.

You will not only want to be careful with your words when talking to certain people to avoid being reported to the regime, but you can also learn the resistance password and use it to get help and information from other members.

While these systems are all still pretty rough here, they still come together well enough to make this a lot more immersive than the average JRPG.

One thing that does feel really off is that the guards are not only superhumanly tough but you also lose karma for attacking them. They also behave strangely in that even though you are a wanted outlaw they don’t actually hunt you on sight, only trying to arrest or kill you if you refuse to pay tribute (as if they didn’t recognize you or your companions at all). This despite wanted posters.

So there’s definitely some rough aspects to the crime system in this game.

Gameplay

Massive improvements have been made in this area, and I don’t just mean the above-mentioned expansion of items and the addition of NPC schedules.

For one, enemies now drop things other than gold, such as food and armor pieces. The magic system has also been improved so that you can now mix multiples of a spell at once instead of having to do it manually every single time.

Additionally, spells are now cast using a consistent language of magic composed of several words of power, which you can chain together to produce effects.

But I would say that the single most significant improvement in the gameplay is the simple fact that most NPCs now have significantly more keywords that they react to in dialogue, including many that do not come up through normal conversation with them. The system is still not perfect, but you can have more of a conversation with characters now and switch from topic to topic relatively easily.

In terms of combat, you can attack diagonally now (only monsters could do that in Ultima 4) and random overworld encounters are much easier to avoid now, cutting down on what eventually starts to feel kind of like padding in the previous game (but see below).

Despite the fact that the material rewards from combat have been increased and items are much cheaper now, Ultima 5 is actually significantly more difficult than Ultima 4. Not only do you have less health, enemies also seem to do more damage.

Dragons and daemons in particular are a nightmare, as they can summon more daemons (who can posses party members) and are extremely durable. A single dragon is a very tough challenge for an unprepared mid-level party, and even after giving most characters magic axes they still prove tough to take down while also being extremely damaging. Trying to fight multiple ones at once without blowing powerful spells or glass swords is costly at best and foolish at worst. Dragons are best thought of as boss-level enemies probably.

I am pleased to report that the dungeon crawling is better in many significant ways. Not only are the graphics more pleasant and immersive but also fully cleared rooms no longer respawn endlessly the moment you step out of them (in fact, they may not respawn at all).

It is not all positive however. The descend and ascend spells seem to be nearly useless this time around and the spell to instantly exit a dungeon is gone entirely. This can make getting out of the underworld such a pain at times that you might even prefer to literally kill yourself in-game and lose some XP instead of doing that. Fortunately you can now dig up and bury moon stones, so you can create moongates down there to quickly escape that way.

There is one problem in terms of balance though. While obtaining gear is significantly less of a problem now due to many enemies dropping tons of torches, gems, and keys, your experience will lag far behind your itemization and your quest progress. This means that to actually reach the 8th level and unlock all of the ultimate spells you will need to either explore all the dungeons thoroughly while focusing XP on one character, or otherwise just grind a lot.

Enemies just don’t give enough XP for a smooth progression otherwise. This would have been solved entirely by making significant main quest events (such as finding the artifacts of Lord British or destroying the Shadowlords) grant experience, but no such luck.

This makes for a strange endgame where you’ll have so much money that you run out of worthwhile things to spend it on while at the same time still feeling forced to grind out enemies, even if you imported your Ultima 4 character for an XP boost.

You do want to have access to these 8th-level spells too, as the final dungeon can be brutal without them or items that replicate their effects.

Adding to the experience issue is the fact that you can’t level up at will in this game. You have to camp and hope that an apparition of Lord British will appear and level you up (if you have enough experience). He does not always show up, and as far as I can tell he does not appear at all if you sleep on a bed or camp inside a dungeon. It has to be out in the wild in the overworld (and possibly also in the underworld).

I wish leveling up was just not tied to him at all.

Aesthetics

As is often the case for this series, the game looks and sounds really good for its age. The jump from Ultima 4 is particularly notable, as the level of detail is on a whole other level, particularly within the dungeons.

As with the previous game, the aesthetic core of the Ultima series (after the first trilogy) lies in the virtues. While there is still a karma system involved, it is much simpler than having to maximize eight different virtues. The karma system determines how much XP you lose on death and how much shops charge you, encouraging players to behave (or at least atone for their misbehavior).

But the biggest impact on the feel of the game is the above-mentioned corruption and tyranny affecting the land. Some of my favorite moments were early on, when I was just starting to get involved with the resistance and investigating what was happening around the overworld.

That said, I think that if the guards did actually recognize you on sight and hounded you more aggressively after spotting you the atmosphere could be even better (assuming they were balanced a bit better).

I think some of the music some versions of the game have is quite good too.

Accessibility

This game manages to up the complexity from Ultima 4 while not being any harder to play. Chances are that if you’re importing your Ultima 4 character you will need only a little bit of adaptation to do fine in Ultima 5.

As before, you will need to take many notes throughout the game. More so than in Ultima 4 due to the greater size and density of content. However, if you played Ultima 4 and took notes for it, this is somewhat alleviated. The mantras for the shrines remain the same, and the world’s geography should be mostly familiar (though there have been changes there as well).

You will also still need to consult the manuals and map frequently, at least early on.

The difficulty has also increased dramatically. You will likely end the game with about 200-ish HP rather than 800 and every enemy is much more deadly. Both the early game and the final dungeon will challenge the improvident.

For these reasons, the game is not that easy for newcomers to pick up but I would not call it obscure or complex.

Conclusion

I would say that the positives definitely outweigh the negatives on this one. The story and setting are interesting even if I don’t agree with all of the decisions made in crafting it, and the rest of the game is usually tolerable at worst. Nothing nearly as annoying as Ultima 4′s Reaper and Balron sleep spam (in fact, a plot-relevant item you can find renders Reapers pretty much helpless).

My primary complaint about the game is that the balance is poor. You will end the game loaded with all the items you could ever want while struggling to reach level 8 with even a single character even after doing nearly everything you need to do before the final dungeon.

I know there is a remake of this game made using Dungeon Siege, which I have not played. I think this is a good thing and I’d hope that it fixes some of these issues, but even apart from that I wish there were games that set out to achieve the core concept of this game.

What I am talking about is an open world RPG in which you play an outlaw who must hide from the state and meet other rebels in the darkness, but with complex and mechanically-competent systems to enable all the interesting possibilities this should enable.

I do not assign numerical ratings to games with these reviews, but I can definitely say that I liked Ultima 5 better than Ultima 4. I think it is worth trying even today despite the late game grind.

[anexplanationofunfortunateevents]

democracy was on the ballot and it won

I am a slow-boring-of-hard-boards realist about politics. I am delightedly surprised when I get what I want AT ALL. Months and months ago, I said that my number one issue in this election was the desperate need to put the brakes on democratic backsliding in the United States. I’m not sure how to process the fact that I’ve started to get what I wanted even before the transition.

There is a real path forward for democracy reform in this country. EVEN WITH an aspiring autocrat doing everything he could to rig this election, EVEN WITH a pandemic raging, EVEN WITH malicious foreign actors still trying cause problems, EVEN THOUGH we still have not restored the Voting Rights Act, EVEN WITH all the structural imbalances built into our creaky eighteenth-century constitutional system:

Voter participation went way up! People voted over the course of several weeks from the comfort of their own homes, or on weekends, or on Election Day. And because people took responsibility and spread out their votes like that, it was safer to go to polling places. That was a huge collective choice to prevent a lot of suffering and even some deaths.

A big part of why they could do that is the enormous number of citizens who rallied to work at the polls so that the retirees who usually do the job could sit this year out.

Cities and states around the country took the time they need to count carefully.

Media gatekeepers, for the most part, had the discipline and the patience to be helpful to users about what we knew and what we didn’t. If anything, they’re erring on the side of being too cautious. This is after weeks of most media gatekeepers having the discipline to debunk a disinformation campaign by Trump’s allies and Russian backers, instead of aggressively participating in it.

Social media companies took the most aggressive countermeasures yet against election misinformation.

The person who got the most votes is also the person who won the election, which is pretty cool!

That is a huge improvement from EVERY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. Just in terms of how well the election itself was administered, my only major criticism is that we still did not do something called risk-limiting audits. In the case of an election, audits are basically a carefully calibrated statistical smell test. They’re not a recount. They are a reliable and cost-effective way of figuring out if a recount or some other type of scrutiny should be done for the sake of public confidence in the results – and that makes them a cost-effective deterrence against any bad actors who are considering sabotage. Audits are important whether an election goes your way or not, just like smoke detectors are important whether your building catches fire or not.

But that absolutely should not take away from the fact that we overcame all the new problems that were introduced this year and took some big steps toward solving a lot of old ones – despite the best efforts of Trump and all his enablers. Imagine what we could do under an administration that is helping democracy revitalization instead of aggressively hindering it.

The easiest way for us to make the most comprehensive change would be to win the Senate, which would allow a Biden administration to pass a revitalized Voting Rights Act and restore legitimacy to the federal courts. If you have any time or money to spare in the next few weeks, consider sharing it with the two excellent Democratic candidates in the Georgia Senate runoffs.

We should be realistic about the situation: we’re probably not going to get to do it the easy way, at least, not until after the midterms. But we’re not going to be doing it the hard way any more. The hard way is what we’re doing now. We’re about to get a Department of Justice that opposes civil rights violations and enforces what’s left of the current Voting Rights Act. The intelligence and military cybersecurity units are going to be able to work with the administration instead of around it. And we aren’t going to have to deal with a 24/7 fusillade of lies and voter intimidation coming from the Oval Office. To spin out the “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” metaphor: we’ve been running a marathon uphill carrying forty-pound backpacks. We’ve reached the top where the path levels out, and someone just took our bags and gave us protein bars.

And while we have our protein bars, let’s look around, because the view is as clear and as beautiful as it’s going to get. Donald Trump had every intention of wrecking American democracy, and the entire Republican party had every intention of supporting his aspiring dictatorship. And, while Trump himself is and always has been a clown, the person occupying the Oval Office is the most powerful person on the planet. Actually, that’s an understatement. Since Truman gave the order to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, our technology has grown stronger and our government has concentrated more and more power in the executive branch, which means that every holder of that office has arguably been the most powerful person in the history of the world. Every other holder of that office has at least wanted to think of himself as using that power for the advancement of democracy and humanity. Donald Trump affirmatively tried to use all that power to entrench himself there permanently.

We stopped him. We stopped him peacefully. We stopped him without further harming the many vulnerable people he holds hostage in a hundred different ways. We stopped him not by elevating an equal-but-opposite charismatic demagogue for a two-men-enter-one-man-leaves smackdown, but by building a vibrant, heterogenous coalition and finding competent, experienced, principled leaders who respect that coalition in all its raucous power. We stopped him, in short, by choosing to do democracy.

That feels good today and it’s enormously consequential. It is also proof of concept. It is something that can happen, because it has happened.

Something that political scientists and democracy advocates have been saying for the past few years is that Trump has been a propaganda gold mine for dictators. They use him as a cautionary tale against liberal democracy or even against hoping that things can ever get better: see, even the Americans are no better than we are! Dictators can artificially insulate themselves from accountability in the short term, which makes them ill-equipped to think about backfire. Train your people’s eyes on the aspiring American autocrat, and they can all see his humiliating fall.

To our sisters and brothers around the world, from Idlib to Hong Kong, from São Paolo to Moscow, and along every wide country road in between: this is the only true thing your oppressors have ever told you. We are no better than you are. We are no more suited for or entitled to liberation. Look what we have done. Imagine what you can do.

There’s kind of a false dichotomy going on where people swung from “Trump is going to successfully rig the election for himself” pessimism to “oh, Biden only ousted an incumbent by a freakishly large margin, it wasn’t an immediate electoral college landslide, why did Trump get so close.” This take has set in before deep blue California and New York have come close to completing their mail-in ballot counts, which tells you that it isn’t serious, but it’s also beside the point. Trump succeeded in making the election unfair. If he hadn’t illegitimately put a whole lot of thumbs on the scale in his favor, if we’d actually had the free and fair election we deserved, I think he probably would have lost in a landslide. We did the work and showed up in numbers that were ultimately too big to rig. That led to victory, although not a victory you can quantifiably measure against the dozen or so American elections that were more or less free and fair. That doesn’t mean the rigging didn’t happen or have any impact. It means we beat the spread. As the world’s most prominent train enthusiast once said, that is a big fucking deal.

A government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the earth. One day soon, it may even exist. That is our charge. That is our choice.

So take a moment to recharge. Enjoy the view. Breathe. We got work to do.

[airiustide]

forver young. forver you.

also posted on AO3

chapter 4/day 4: celestial

A/N: i had no intentions of posting this so late after zutaraweek but due to an unfortunate tragedy on my husband's side of the family, i had to take some time away. i, of course, will continue with this fic, no worries. 

summary: Death is inevitable. Not everyone is meant to be saved. The world can end in just a heartbeat and for Zuko that was very much the case. Emotions take a turn. Katara comes to the conclusion on how she truly feels about Zuko and Zuko faces the horrible reality of his ordeal.

"I know I can be destructive and I can change the atmosphere. All I ask from you is patience. Some patience." - Lose Control by Meduza, Becky Hill, Goodboys.

Death is inevitable. Not everyone is meant to be saved. The world can end in just a heartbeat and for Zuko that was very much the case. That’s why he no longer wanted a single moment to be fleeting; to hang tight to the second chance the Spirits had so graciously bestowed upon him, disguising that blessing into the form of a master waterbender.

He grasped Katara’s arm, aiding her to the rooftop. The breeze blew through her long chocolate tresses. Swinging hair from her face, Katara flickers her gaze to Zuko with a smile in her eyes. It’s infectious, his lips curling into one of his own- she doesn’t see it but her being here gave him absolute joy.

A midsummer festival was taking place. Green lanterns lit the streets, vendors lined up with mouth-watering food and live music had the townspeople giddy; dancing about and enjoying the atmosphere.

A door creaked just below and Zuko’s features go stern, gold eyes flashing dangerously in the moonlight and he signals Katara to follow. She creeps next to him, staying hidden in the shadows until Zuko okays for her to come closer.

“It’s possible that the White Lotus might find out you’re here.” Katara warned. Tonight was the night. The raid will take place at thirteen locations, the main strike teams preparing for what could finally break these rings of murderers. “Aren’t you undercover?”

Zuko swings around, face so close to hers, Katara’s breath stills. “You don’t need to worry.” He tells her.

Katara narrows at him. “Why do I have the feeling you’re keeping something from me.”

He doesn’t reply, and she doesn’t like how inexpressive he’s being or the fact that whatever he’s thinking is hidden behind a mask. Why he’s avoiding her concerns or why he’s standing up and leading her to the middle of the rooftop with a teasing glint in his eyes, she couldn’t point her finger on it.

It’s when Katara realizes the music had gone from lively to a slow, steady beat that she concludes exactly what he’s up to. She’s pleasantly surprised to find herself enveloped in his arms, Zuko’s palm pressed flat at the base of her spine, bringing her close to his broad chest and draping her arm over his shoulder. One hand rests on her waist, the other, enclosing the master waterbender’s.

They sway to the music, catching Katara off guard. She hides her laughter in his shoulder as their feet shuffle on the rooftop floor. “Who would’ve thought, former angry-face zuko would be a good dancer.”

“Why is that a surprise?”

“It’s not exactly easy to see you willing to participate in dance...” Katara pauses. “You’re really good at this.”

“It’s not like I learned by choice. Princely duties require the art of dancing and my teacher advised me how impossible it would be to woo a future courtesan if I did not learn the proper steps. My feet paid for it severely and so did my bottom. Lady Pamu always kept an impossibly large ruler at hand.”

Katara pictured a smaller version of Zuko yelping every time a ruler came in contact with his bottom. “I take it that didn't fair well with Azula.”

“More or less. Azula didn’t have to go to lessons, considering Pamu’s eyebrows had yet to grow back.”

“That’s tasteful.” Katara chuckled. “What else don’t I know about you?”

Zuko pondered this, his eyes lighting up. “I can play the tsungi horn.”

“Really?”

“Uncle would make me play every night during my banishment. It was really annoying.”

“Please, I bet you liked it.”

“Actually, I did and I was quite good at it. At least, Uncle said so.” Zuko was glad his blush was hidden. “I miss Uncle.” He admitted.

“He misses you too. And everyone else. Even Aang.”

“That’s good to know.” Zuko chuckled, imagining how the young Avatar might react upon seeing Zuko again. “He’s okay with you being here?”

That irks her, how everyone truly thought of her relationship with Aang, as though he was the head and she just happened to be an attached limb. And though she knew Zuko meant well by the question, it was annoying all the same. Katara doesn’t blink when she tells him. “Why would his input matter whether I’m here or not? Even so, me and Aang are no longer together.”

She almost pulls away but Zuko’s gentle squeeze to her waist makes her waver. “It doesn’t. If I came across as though you aren’t your own person, who can’t make decisions for themselves, I apologize. I admire you Katara. Your determination, your consideration and most of all, your desire to help those who can’t help themselves. When everyone else was so willing to turn their backs, even me, you refused. Thank you.”

Katara’s taken aback. Zuko admire her? What exactly did she have to offer in her position compared to him, who carried more power in his tiny finger than her entire existence? “For what?”

“For reminding me why it’s important to live.”

They fall into a comfortable silence. Voices in the crowd grew quieter and quieter as it got later. The smell of food began to diminish and eventually, the music stopped; but not the swaying of Zuko and Katara’s feet. Even when the world went still, they remained linked to each other. The former Fire Lord hums a tune for them, showing Katara a side of him she was glad to have witnessed. The hand on Zuko’s shoulder slid their way to the nape of his neck; delicate fingers stroking, igniting sparks where skin met skin.

The stars above them shine brighter as the streetlamps below grow dimmer. The roof was their stage and the sky their orchestra. They’re gazes do not stray from one another, Zuko’s heart pounding erratically after Katara grazes fingernails along the back of his neck.

“I want to kiss you!” He blurts, the mood immediately going awkward.

Why was he such an idiot? What in his right mind made him say that out loud or remotely consider that Katara was attracted to him? That doesn’t come out nearly as shocking as Katara’s response.

“Then what are you waiting for? Kiss me.”

***

She had not seen Zuko since they separated, stealing Katara’s breath away with a parting kiss, their masks between them, before he turned on his heels and jumped from the rooftop with a mischievous glint in his gold orbs. It was after this that she joined the others in executing their plan and though they managed to round up almost all the criminals that were accounted for, there were still two missing.

Piandao pointed out that one that went by the name Li and former Governor Ukano were nowhere to be seen. It became apparent that an informant had tipped off the ex governor. Katara willed herself not to hyperventilate, knowing this ‘Li’ was, in fact, Zuko working undercover.

They were successful in raiding the facility, of course, trapping the Ozai Society members in place. A shocking reveal had everyone’s blood running cold when it was discovered that not only was there a hit on the Crown Prince Koji and Fire Lord Iroh but that major cities across the globe were being targeted for a massive terrorist attack. Battle plans and illustrated instructions of massive bombs were uncovered.

Her heart pounded in her ears, the anxiety of not knowing where Zuko or Ukano was weighed heavily on her. Dawn broke and it was clear the Ukano had gotten away. Piandao congratulated Katara and everyone else for their hard work, having received news via messenger hawk that the other locations had been successful and those involved apprehended.

Once cleared to go, the master waterbender’s feet never carried her faster. She arrived at Zuko’s apartment first and was stricken to find he had not made it home yet. Her mind raced with a million scenarios, with a million outcomes, and all of them ended with Zuko dead somewhere.

She should have gone with him. She should have been there when things went down. He’s always looked sickly but lately she had taken notice of his staggers and labored breathing. The walls seem to close in on her and it was getting late. She was suffocating, minute by minute ticking by with only one thought in mind; Zuko. Katara failed to find sleep. Not until he came home, she thought, not until he’s in front of me touching and kissing me again.

That kiss, that sweet kiss that did not meet skin to skin but left a fire where he placed his lips on hers- no kiss had ever made her senses come alive before. None. It wasn’t enough. Katara has always known she’s harbored an attraction for Zuko. He was handsome, yes, but so easy to talk to, easy to relate to. Well, after they had initially become friends. Falling for him? That in itself was unexpected, yet deep down inside, Katata felt as though her feelings regarding Zuko were more than attraction but genuine affection, and being here now proved she was indeed falling for him.

“I’m falling for him.” Katara whispered out loud, grasping the front of her tunic. She now needs him more than ever, she needs him here with her, clinging onto him for as long as the spirits will let her have him because, La, she was in love with him. Bring him back, she pleaded, if for just one last time, please bring him back to me.

*** He has blood on his clothes, eyes swollen and hair clinging to his forehead. He collapses at the front door, startling Katara, her first instinct to run by his side. Zuko quickly stops her, raising a hand and shaking his head, ignoring the concern contorting her lovely features.

He stumbles on his feet, slamming the door shut and leaning hard against it. His vision goes blurry.

“Zuko, you’re bleeding.” Katara reasoned and made a step forward.

‘Not mine.” Zuko managed to heave, jerking away when Katara tried to reach out for him. She pulls back, blinking back the hurt surfacing on her face.

He buries his head in his hands, both from shame of hurting Katara when she only cared about his well being and the realization of what truly took place the night before.

Katara stays still, twisting fingers in her tunic because Zuko has not moved, has not spoken since burying his face in his hands. He finally speaks and Katara swallows. She opens her mouth to ask what he had said but was silenced by his sudden declaration.

“I don’t want to die.” He sobs, falling to his knees and bowing low, hands covering his ears. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die!”

It was all too real now. All too real. Zuko couldn’t control the tears, the absolute agony of no longer existing, of no longer being alive. If only he had appreciated his uncle more, or had made an attempt to be a better brother to Azula, or hadn’t taken for granted his future, maybe he wouldn’t be here desperately crying, desperately wishing for just a little more time.

Katara wants to hug him, wipe his tears away and tell him everything will be okay. But it wasn’t. This will never be okay. Death was a terrible burden that laid fear on many people’s hearts but came face to face with it, it makes living all the more unbearable. Katara can only watch, hugging herself and witnessing for the first time Zuko curling into a ball and crying himself weak.

***

“I killed him.”

“I know.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“No. But you had your reasons.” Katara replied, combing her fingers through his hair as he rested his head on her lap. If she had done the same to Yon Rha, no doubt Zuko would be comforting her just the same.

“You don’t find me vial? Disgusting?”

“I find a lot of things about you, but never vial or disgusting.”

Zuko closed his eyes and groaned, enjoying the light scrape of her fingernails on his scalp. “You’re too good to me. Why are you so good to me?”  She had been patient while he cried until he was pale and swollen, cleaning the blood from his face and readying clean clothes for him while he bathed before she aided him to bed. This was how he wanted to go; his head in her lap and Katara’s gentle hum as she stroked his hair.  

“Perhaps I like you or something.” She jested.  

“Or something.” Zuko remarks, his scarred eye peering at her and she was thunderstruck by how beautiful he was; dark shaggy hair exposing his scarred cheek, the sharpness of his jawline and the structure of his fine cheekbones. He had certainly grown into a man.

“Or something.” She repeats.

***

 “Prince Zuko.” Piandao nodded an acknowledgement, gaze stern and narrow.

“Master.” Zuko greeted in a mutter.

For a vigilante going undercover in enemy territory Katara thought Zuko being confronted by Piandao made him look like a toddler caught red handed in a cookie jar. Zuko asked for this meeting, also requesting Jee, yet somehow the two men didn’t seem all that surprised to find the former Fire Lord sitting nervously at the table of the inn's dining area where Katara was temporarily residing.

“So, you’ve been the one putting everyone, including yourself, in danger by infiltrating the Ozai society on your own?” Jee narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

Zuko deflated, bowing his head in shame. “Yes. I meant no disrespect, I only wanted to help. But I was sure to be careful so that no one would get hurt.”

“Foolish. Absolutely foolish. I’m only glad that Master Katara was not involved in this since the beginning.” Piandoa scolded. Then his face softens, sympathy shown in the old Master’s eyes. “When you told me what had happened to you, Zuko, I did not anticipate you being so reckless.”

Katara’s eyes widen. He knew? Why! Why did Piandao keep this from her? Not only that, why did he keep this from Iroh? It took her all, and the squeeze of Zuko’s hand on her thigh, to calm her.

“Is that why you brought Katara here?”

Piandao and Jee exchange looks, not denying in the least what Zuko accused.

“You had known I was following Ukano the whole time. I can hide a lot of things, even from Uncle sometimes- you and Jee, I bet it didn’t take a week before you knew who I was when you both arrived here.”

“You think I wouldn’t know the reckless teenage boy I spent three years under the thumb of?” Jee arched a brow.

“Piandao turned me down and refused to let me join the White Lotus.” Zuko snapped. “Of course I couldn’t sit there and do nothing while my Uncle and cousin were in danger!”

Piandao sighed, gently stopping a waitress and requesting four cups of tea. The older gentleman smiled at the couple, resting his hands on the table. “Tea lightens the tension. At least, your uncle always says. Zuko, I was simply refusing your services only because I wanted you to live the remainder of your life with ease and no regrets.”

Zuko slammed his fist on the table, kicking back the chair he was sitting on. “The biggest regret I’d have would be to sit around while the Ozai Society plotted to murder my only family!

“Zuko.” His rage is soothed over by the voice of his adoration and he’s immediately guilty for the outburst. Zuko frowns at the apprehending gaze Katara was shooting at him. “Enough. Sit down.”

He sulks when picking up the chair and announces an apology to the barkeeper shooting daggers at him. When the former Fire Lord settles again, Katara slips her hand in his, lacing them together and Agni, he’s so grateful to have her here.

“That doesn’t explain why you had intentionally brought Katara here.” Zuko pointed.

“Was there another motive behind this, Piandao? Jee?” Katara’s gaze flickered between the two men she had always trusted. She wanted answers too.

Piandao smiled admiringly at the Master waterbender, “We knew you could bring him to his senses. Prince Zuko was desperate to join the White Lotus despite his health, and I worried what would come of him once he was rejected. Coming here a year ago, we started receiving intel and evidence of all kinds at our doorstep. It didn’t take long to figure out it was you, Prince Zuko.”

Zuko shook his head. “I’m not a prince, not anymore.”

“Is that so.” Piandao sighed, pausing as the tea he ordered was brought to the table. “I was not aware of how fully involved you were until an informant told us you had in fact joined the Ozai Society under the guise of ‘Li’. Jee says you and Master Katara shared a deep...respect for one another-“ Zuko and Katara simultaneously blushed. “- I feared for your life and just how deep you had gotten yourself.”

Zuko nodded, yet displayed not an ounce of remorse for his actions. “I did what I had to do. I did what I felt was right.”

“Prince Zuko, where is Ukano?”

“Dead.” He says without a beat.

“Hmm.” Jee looks around the bar, making sure there weren’t other members of the White Lotus with prying eyes. Luckily, they were the only patrons this early in the morning and the innkeeper was informed to allow no one else entry. “You realize vigilante justice is not the same as holding a person on trial. The World leaders will not approve of this.”

“What do I have to lose?”

Zuko snaps his head at the sound of a chair creaking and an angry Katara stomping up the stairs of the inn.

“A lot, by the looks of it.” Jee remarked, bringing the cup of tea to his lips.

[olivia0823yxa]

Notes on Mistborn: The Final Empire

This book is so much shorter than the Stormlight ones, thank god for my slow-ass reading pace. My overall impression: less good than Stormlight, but still amazing and I’m going to start The Well of Ascension tonight probably. The plot feels very much like a one-off fantasy series to me, so I’m glad there even is a series at all, but it makes sense that there’s such a timeskip. Generally I like almost every character and absolutely love the world’s lore being slowly fed to me through character dialogue and old rediscovered texts. I have some misgivings about the ending and the true identity of the Lord Ruler, but I’m also hoping that the next books will make that seem less... problematic. Definitely continuing on my plan to read every book in the Cosmere, hopefully I can get through the first Mistborn trilogy before Rhythm of War comes out

Anyways, below find my detailed and unorganized notes I took partially during reading and partially in the last 20 minutes

Kelsier is like, the exact opposite of Kaladin

I knew after the very first meeting with Elend that I would fuck him, wasn’t sure how I felt about him right away but I’d fuck him

While I eventually came to decide I definitely like Elend I really don’t see why they handed him the crown to the new nation. Like yes he seems like a good guy and would make a valuable advisor to new leadership, or maybe even on some council of leaders, but he has no practical leadership experience! Not to mention that he found out 2 days ago that Skaa are like, real intelligent people. Even with the best intentions, reading liberal philosophy does not make you a revolutionary

Similarly, judging by the preview to The Well of Ascension, the plan to ally with the nobility and maintain peace with their authority didn’t really work out so well. What a surprise. While I’m not quite as far on the “kill every nobleman” side of the debate as Kelsier would be, clearly this universe doesn’t have Marx. Of course they wouldn’t give up power to a band of Skaa rebels. The noble houses needed to be crushed immediately

What are the koloss, and will they ever come into play? The way they’re talked about do not make them sound human. Their leadership structure is presumably completely intact, but also lacking a clear goal now

Loved seeing Vin kill Shan, what a bully she was

Inquisitors are absolutely terrifying. I hope that Marsh can bring them under his control, because even though they’re small in number they could do a lot of damage. That final fight with Kelsier was off walls, though. Great job, Kelsier

For a long time I thought the inquisitors were after Vin in particular because they knew she wasn’t just a regular mistborn, and that all inquisitors were naturally like her before getting their spikes, and that they were trying to recruit her. The way it actually turned out was more fitting with Vin’s storyline, though: politics are difficult

I want to see allomancers in space!

Okay so in this book there were 12 allomantic metals shown: the usual 8, gold & the “11th” metal, atium, and that metal the inquisitor forced Vin to burn which temporarily disabled her allomancy. From this we can assume that there are at least 16, because they come in groups of 4. So gold is paired with the 11th metal, and atium is paired with an as of yet unseen metal to complete the 3rd group--potentially able to see briefly into the past. And then there should be at least 3 more unseen metals to complete the one that disabled Vin’s allomancy. Disabling allomancy seems like an internal push to me, so for the internal pull I would see a metal that enhances one’s allomantic ability. Then for external push/pull maybe you hinder/enhance another allomancer’s ability? Maybe even temporarily give a non-allomancer allomancy, or temporarily make a misting a mistborn? Can’t wait to see more metals introduced and used

Kandras are sick as hell. I don’t really see what Vin has against them, or why she’d be more willing to give OreSeu the body of an executed criminal over a misting she killed in combat. I get why she doesn’t like ¿him? having Kelsier’s body, though

Why did Lestibourne change his name to Spook? Did I miss something? Vin didn’t even ask why, if I’m remembering correctly

The Lord Ruler mentioned that he’d survived being beheaded, but if the source of his power was really only the circlets on his arm that doesn’t make much sense to me. And, as Vin acknowledges, nothing has really accounted for his extreme allomantic power or his invulnerability to injury. Very excited to see where they go with these powers

Also very excited to watch Vin be the real Hero of Ages or whatever and fight the Deepness now that the Lord Ruler isn’t holding it back/taking all of its power (just two ideas I had)

Very surprised that, so far, shards have barely been mentioned at all. Probably the Deepnees is one. Odium, perhaps?

Not sure how I feel about the Hero not actually being the Lord Ruler, and the Lord Ruler being a formerly oppressed minority turned tyrant. For one thing I’m kind of into fallen-hero story lines, so I liked the “power corrupts” way things were going, especially with what appeared to be parallels to Vin and Kelsier. Also not sure I like what it might try to say about rebellious groups of oppressed peoples today. It’s very telling that the villain comes from oppression, while the heroes put a privileged nobleman in charge after knowing him for approximately 2 hours

Hoid was so low-key in this book, I definitely wouldn’t have noticed him if I didn’t already know his name from Stormlight. Will he play a larger role in the next book? Will his mystical asshole with good intentions personality be more apparent, or does his personality change as he travels worlds?