#I actually think that's the last line from blade runner

[juniper-clan]

Slickpaw: I'm a medicine cat apprentice!

Heronstar, who just lost a friend who was a medicine cat apprentice: Huh.

It's too bad he won't live ... but then again, who does?

[frasier-crane-style]

Fanfic is cringe--nothing with that much Wincest in it can't be--but I will be a booster for it. All the time, I see fanboys talk about their ideal MCU phase or how they would've made a shared universe out of Superman Returns and Batman Begins.

I just want to shake them and say "Hey! What you're feeling is the call to artistic expression. It's a good thing, but you're relieving it by role-playing a studio executive--you know, the guys who added a voiceover to Blade Runner? They blow."

What they should do instead of imagining this perfect world where they get a Batman movie that ties into a Green Lantern movie that has a cameo from the Flash... is try to picture this ideal Batman movie they want to watch. They've probably already come up with the basics. Who the villain is, how they want the story to start and end, what it should adapt.

I want to tell them, okay, go further now. Imagine you're watching this movie. Not just who you'd fan-cast as the perfect Catwoman or Alfred or Joker. What would be the first image shown after the studio logos? What would be the first line of dialogue?

It doesn't have to be super-specific, just imagine what you're seeing and how it makes you feel. Now try to describe it in prose. You can use screenplay format if you really want to, but prose is actually a lot more freeing, and do you really want to role-play a screenwriter? The guys who wrote The Rise of Skywalker?

Is it raining? That's great. Describe what kind of rain it is. Light and drizzley? Really hard and heavy? Consider the words you use to be your mental camera. If your opening scene is the Joker murdering someone, consider how you'd 'film it'. Would we follow the Joker around or see his victim in her last few minutes of life? You can't decide what music is playing or what camera lens is being used, but you can set a tone.

Now go forward a bit. You probably have the next plot point figured out already. Maybe it's something like "the people of Gotham are fed up with Batman." Think of how you could demonstrate this in terms of something shown to the audience instead of told to them. Maybe a bunch of people are holding a rally against Batman? Or someone sees the Batsignal and reacts negatively to it? Or the Batmobile?

It doesn't have to be the perfect solution to the problem of showing Gothamites angry at Batman. Just try something and if you absolutely can't think of anything, skip ahead and leave it for later.

By the time you're done, you will have written at least part of a story. It is time-consuming, but by the time you're done, I think you'll be more pleased with yourself. Which is better, beating a tough game or playing it until it gets hard and giving up on it?

You don't even have to finish it. Most movies these days are barely finished. What's important is saying that a story is not totally satisfying you and trying to write one that would. It doesn't matter if you succeed or not. What matters is trying to share your vision and hoping it strikes a chord.

[findmeinthefallair]

As Hunter puts the work in to recover and heal, looking back on Belos's 'kindness' in offering him a staff, taking him in, and providing the opportunity to be special as the Golden Guard...will be confusing and will involve seemingly conflicting emotions.

Having that treatment from his 'uncle' was the only reference point of feeling loved, while experiencing terror deeper down. This lasted for years before he met Luz and co.

He has overall spent less time in the new framework of healthy found family, than the years in the Castle.

I was looking at scenes from a couple of movies - the Black Widow movie and also Blade Runner 2049 (spoilers for both movies ahead, obviously) - as psychology references to see how two other fictional characters recalled their confusing but significant memories.

These examples carry some big concepts, one of which is that we "recall with our feelings". Not with pure impersonal logic that neatly trims away false info and discards it. If only it were that easy to dust our hands clean this way when healing from trauma.

In Black Widow, Yelena is the character who wears her heart on her sleeve the most, like Hunter naturally does. When confronted with the revelation that her happy childhood was staged, naturally Yelena feels betrayed:

(the GIF file for above was too big so lol I just screencapped a still frame from it)

But she quickly makes a conscious decision on how she wants to view those good memories, when hearing her sister Natasha saying it was all fake. This is perhaps her most important line in the movie:

She still chose to believe it had all been real. She is actively claiming the meaning that her good childhood had provided for her. Choosing what kind of lens she'd like to view those memories through. Defending that good meaning. Because her life fell apart after that good childhood came to an end. She could choose to say it was all fake, if she wanted to see it as fake.

She confronts Melina, her (staged) maternal figure who obviously isn't her biological or even a proper adoptive mother, and says: "You are my mother. You were my real mother, the closest thing I ever had to one."

When it comes to Hunter, he wouldn't find it as straightforward to acknowledge that the times when Belos was nice to him "felt real". Would he ever want to view the late Emperor as his uncle? Not via any conscious decision, I'm sure...since he's the opposite of Yelena here. Hunter's safe haven was after he escaped the Emperor's Coven, but Yelena's haven was at the start of her life, which she wished had been permanent.

Those months of summer when Hunter spent time away from Belos in the human realm must've been so special for him. But when faced with inevitable confusing flashbacks especially after Belos's death (that involve the subconscious, not conscious, part of his mind), he's still going to feel that the Emperor was a close family member whom he had an attachment with. Belos was the closest thing he ever had to family for so long.

In the Black Widow example, Yelena felt that Melina was her mother, from an early age. Around two decades later in her young adulthood, she still feels that this is the case, and consciously still wishes for that. She was lucky to be able to reconcile with Melina in the movie.

Hunter isn't as lucky. While he recovers, I don't think he can simply dismiss what it felt like to be told that he is part of a family (even if it was a lie) in such fragile formative years:

As an example, if I had first been told at age 5 by a parent that they promised to protect me, only to find out a decade later that they actually wouldn't have ever cared if I died...I would be hella confused.

Quoting a guest lecturer from my first year of therapist training, the part of our brains responsible for reasoning and logic - the prefrontal cortex - does not begin to seriously mature until our late teen years. Which is why early childhood memories can't just be viewed by our adult selves and easily trimmed away and viewed in black-or-white as truth-or-lie. Those early years are sensitive for us all, in how they shape us later in life. That inner child is still in each of us.

Blade Runner 2049's protagonist, K, has an arc that takes a different direction: he had actual false memories implanted that were not even his own, but the theme that is consistent for this post is those memories still felt real to him, and thus affected him emotionally. He felt unfulfilled and wanted something new, to feel like he had a soul, which led him on this risky quest. Sadly, he easily believed in a lie because it matched the truth he wished for. Thus, even false memories could feel real to him because he was desperate for meaning in life.

This movie has a cyberpunk dystopian setting, so it's of course more bleak. K was made to believe so strongly in those memories because he was ultimately used as just smokescreen, to keep the real person (who had those memories) well-hidden. Below, he speaks to the memory maker who formed his false memories. She is a very skilled deceiver, and successfully engineers experiences that didn't actually happen because she inserts fragments of truth here and there.

And she makes some good points about how she succeeds at implanting false memories:

Especially the last two lines, "We recall with our feelings. Anything real should be a mess."

Linking back to Hunter, it would be a tough process to learn how to make peace with his childhood with Belos. Because anything that felt real would be a mess.

And K has a similar line as Yelena did:

The running theme I spotted is the realness of confusing memories for these characters, because their inner conflicts involve questioning themselves: whether or not they were just imagining the good feelings they felt.

While we never got confirmation whether Belos used false memories or not, I'm inclined to think he didn't...in order to work more subtly and over a long period of time on Hunter as his latest grimwalker project. The deadlier lies are the ones with many bits of truth scattered throughout their intricate webs, like what the memory maker in Blade Runner 2049 could pull off.

Belos's treatment would've felt kind to Hunter at the time. As they say, how we feel about any experience we have is "what we make of it". Or how we choose to view the experience.

I think Hunter needed to believe his uncle really was kind, while maintaining his own image, in order to keep going and survive.

This tragically meant he had to believe he wasn't doing enough.

It is always scarier for an abused child to see that their parent in fact isn't loving after all/isn't a good person, compared to imposing shame upon themselves and believing they aren't good enough.

Of course, all this would've changed by the time we get to here and beyond:

Memory is subjective and our minds are so powerful that they find evidence to seemingly confirm any kind of beliefs that we form.

All three characters in this post were cogs in a machine, reduced to being pawns in a scheme...until they later had the space to decide things for themselves.

As seen in Hunter's efforts in his Golden Guard days to be good enough in the role, Yelena taking a stand to preserve the purity of an untainted childhood (even if it was staged and not organic), K defying authority to cross a line in his duties and get answers about who he was....this is how much we as humans will clamber to grasp onto a sense of personhood, to give our lives meaning and survive the best we can.

Yelena wanted to preserve the memories of her childhood as good, as a haven or a warm fuzzy bubble to look back on, because it got torn apart before she reunited with her family many years later.

Obviously Hunter can't do exactly the same i.e. preserving the entirety of his time in the Castle as "good", since he has now been able to see that Belos was a constant threat upon his life. However, he could still look back on smaller pockets of his childhood as pleasant, by isolating those specific memories.

We have two examples in canon: the way he grins when remembering the experience of being left on top of the mountain and climbing back down. And him saying that "weekends were nice" since he tasted partial freedom by being outdoors going on missions.

In fact, he would likely start out wanting to erase his childhood, view it as entirely bad and terrible to revisit, and try to force himself to forget its significance and start afresh. But this would only worsen the unpleasant emotions associated with this time of his life that he'd rather wish had not existed.

Mental health recovery is counter-intuitive: avoiding or denying emotions tend to make them grow bigger and scarier, while letting them feel seen and heard can help them along to shrink and positively transform over time. Hunter's therapist would have to provide him with psychoeducation on this so that he doesn't feel like he's grieving wrongly. It would bring him more peace if he can acknowledge both of these seemingly conflicting truths:

Factually, Belos did lie to him and betray him.

(Here's the important part) Emotionally, if the 'kindness/love' offered by Belos felt real at the time, received by Hunter's very legit need for attachment and meaning, then yes, it was real.

Both these points can coexist. Belos's love was untrue in the factual sense (we in the audience can easily see this), yet true in the emotional sense for a young child like who Hunter was. Which is what makes it hard.

Someone would ask Hunter, "Do you think he loved you?" and the answer isn't simple. Maybe it'd be something like "He didn't, but I felt like he really did." And the second half of that sentence ("but I felt like he really did") honestly doesn't need to be changed or removed, and the grief in those words should be honoured. Belos only cared about meeting Hunter's emotional needs as a means to an end, and as strange as it sounds to say this...it did help Hunter survive long enough, however mistreated he was. Because he still clung on to meaning and a purpose in his life.

The love wasn't there in the technical sense: instead it was a twisted version of Philip's love for Caleb, not any love extended towards Hunter. But this love still felt mostly real to Hunter before he fled the coven.

And I bet that even if it was for a split-second, Belos's gaslighting of "Why are you hurting me? I only wanted to help you" felt real and true to the poor kid here:

before Hunter expressed that he knew who Belos truly was as a person: a liar.

[smirk-mode]

The true strength of Back to Earth

From rewatching BTE again a few days ago, it’s made me appreciate once again how good this special actually was and I get a bit irritated when so many people in the Red Dwarf fandom deride it simply because it’s not as funny as other installments in the series (spoiler alert – they were purposefully trying something different with BTE – it wasn’t a sitcom. Yes, it was in many ways a Blade Runner parody but it was also more than that, and it was also trying to be more than just a comedy).

For me it’s the storyline with Lister that really makes it worth watching, coupled with how this Despair Squid is far more intelligent and cunning than the one from Back to Reality.

The Squid from back to reality uses simple tactics to try and kill the boys. It makes Cat think he’s a dork, Rimmer a homeless alcoholic with no-one to blame but himself, Kryten a murderer, and Lister a fascist and a mass murderer. Quite quickly they all decide they’d rather be dead than live in that world… But because the illusion this Despair squid created was so thin, they’d probably have twigged they were in an illusion if they’d stuck around any longer.

This second Despair squid is far smarter though. She doesn’t actually want to kill the boys - but she does want them all thoroughly ensnared for a long time so she can escape without a trace. Ultimately, she doesn’t actually care if her victims succumb, so long as by the time everyone does comes round, she’s either legged it, or has made sure she’s not being threatened (which is exactly what happens as they decided to release her at the end of the special).

She’s taken the time to thoroughly psychoanalyse the boys, in particular Lister, and you can view the Bartikovsky, fake Kochanski and other characters as being her avatars through which the boys interact directly with the squid. She starts working on Lister immediately, sensing where he’s at mentally, and what’s on his mind:

Bartikovsky: Adjustment on command structure is essential if one day Lister is to regenerate human race, huh? Lister: Result. You beauty!

As an audience we’re meant to read this at surface-level – Bartikovsky is taking over the ship so that Lister can get laid… But Lister isn’t that a simple character. Rather this comment is a clue to one of the things that’s weighing on his mind – the fact he’s the last human and can do little about it, but still somehow feels responsible.

Elsewhere Bartikovsky sets about tearing strips off Rimmer. This is either because she’s sensed that Rimmer actually kind of enjoys this (he definitely has some sort of punishment kink..), or more likely she's trying to make him realise how badly he's been failing his bunkmate in recent times. It's here that she slips in this line in relation to Lister:

Bartikovsky: It's tragedy. His body lives but inside he is dead.

Again, reading it on a surface level, or with the level of knowledge the audience currently has about the situation at this point, and you could be forgiven for believing that this is a driven career woman trying to understand the habits of an unambitious slob and coming to the conclusion there's something wrong with him... In reality it’s a genuine observation from the squid, who, having recognised how dire Lister’s mental state is, is actually concerned for him (again, this squid’s not actually interested in killing the crew, she just wants to escape by distracting them…).

Having made such a direct observation, she again focuses her attention on Rimmer, angry that the person closest to Lister hasn’t actually noticed his bunkmate’s ongoing mental health crisis.

Bartikovsky: This is your fault. You kill him […] You responsible for his life but you do nothing. You think only of you.

At this point the squid subtly changes tactics. Rather than suddenly being the senior officer so they can somehow find a way to continue the human race, she instead now tells Lister she’s sending him back to Earth to find a mate. She has another go at Rimmer, telling him to get his affairs in order before she essentially nukes him. It’s clear having read the boys minds that she absolutely cannot stand Rimmer!

When they eventually all gather on the deck at Bartikovsky’s order so she can open a portal to Earth, Lister, the eternal optimist, says this:

Lister: Something always goes wrong. I’m not building me hopes up.

If we hadn’t already seen the scene at the memorial, most long-term viewers would flag this up as being out of character, this is Dave “we’re gonna get through this” Lister. He’s the optimist because Rimmer is usually pessimistic enough for everyone!

Moments later the squid enacts the next bit of her plan – she tells everyone that none of them actually appear to exist, helping frame up what’s going to happen when they reach ‘Earth’. This part of her plan is just buying time, but along the way it’s possible to see what her other aim – other than buying time for an escape – was.

(Cue all the nonsense at John Lewis – my least favourite bit of BTE. Incidentally they cut the best scene from this segment!)

At this point though, the squid already has Lister hook, line and sinker. He’s just happy to be back on Earth, and too happy to analyse the situation properly. But this isn’t enough for the squid. She has an ulterior motive that pays off for both her and the Boys – she sends them on a quest to find their creator to plead for more life, while buying more time for herself.

Looking for their creator, the boys now head to a sci-fi store (as you do), where they meet the owner of the shop - another avatar of the squid. This is when the boys find out they have a fan club!

(Also, the inclusion of the bathtub here is rather smart. It lets us know that Kochanski decided to sneak off the ship while Lister was in the bath, which is why he’s in the bath when Kryten tells him that she’s been killed. Lister runs out of the bath to do something (confirm she’s alive or something) and is so distraught when Kryten confirms that she’s dead, that he completely forgets about the bath and spirals into grief and depression… And nine years later the overflowing bathtub destroys Holly).

As well as learning about the fan club, the shop owner gives them a copy of SFX and sends them on the next part of their wild goose chase – on a bus to visit the props guy – also an avatar of the squid – but along the way Lister meets the two kids on the bus… who are also avatars of the squid and are actually the reason for this part of their quest - and not the props guy.

The conversation with the kids is critical for Lister’s character. Absolutely critical. The squid in the guise of the two kids begins to help Lister rebuild himself – cluing him in to the fact that Kochanski is in fact alive, and that he’s “pretty cool” and “quite brave”. But like the rest of the crew, they also thinks he’s “disgusting”. Here the squid also gives him ample reason to change his ways, elaborating that Kochanski couldn’t bear to watch him slowly destroy himself:

Boy: Kryten made it up. Lister: Why would he do that? Girl: You were a mess, falling apart. Boy: Drinking, being daft. Girl: She couldn’t bare to stay and watch you die, and you wouldn’t listen, so she took a Blue Midget and legged it. Lister: …Why would Kryten lie to me? Girl: He was only trying to save your feelings Boy: So you wouldn’t feel like a big, fat loser. You’ve been dumped!

And just after that:

Girl: Next series, try and find her Boy: And kiss her, I would! Lister: There isn’t going to be a next series. I’m a fictional character. I don’t exist. Girl: I think you exist Boy: I do too

After talking to the kids, he has a lot to think about. Are they right? Is Kochanski alive? Did Kryten lie to him? Does he exist? By this point he’s got to be mulling over his life choices. If he’d taken better care of himself, would she have stayed? How could he expect her to stick around if didn’t even care about himself?

At this point Bartikovsky catches back up with them, but the squid knows there’s no further need for this particular character, and gives Rimmer ample reason to kill her off!

Now onwards to Noseworld, and why can Lister read Chinese? Nobody nose! (I'm so sorry)

And now on to Coronation Street, which was included for two main reasons – budget and contracts. This series was funded by Dave which, although owned by the BBC, has other involved commercial partners which include ITV, and for those not in the UK, Coronation Street is an ITV property. Until the 2000s it was extremely uncommon for actors and other celebrities to do work for both the BBC and ITV simultaneously – some people would appear only on the BBC and vice versa. These days it’s much more common for stars to come and go between the two. But even when BTE aired it was still almost unthinkable to see a BBC mainstay visit the cobbles of Coronation Street.

Trivia aside, this scene is also important for Lister (and good on Craig Charles for being a sport here and running with the plotline). Lister meets the actor who plays him, a man who is famous in this reality… and he’s a mess. Lister walks away glad that he’s Lister and not Craig Charles, which makes him feel better about himself!

Also you could say in this scene that this was Craig Charles acting as the Despair Squid acting as Craig Charles!

(and I miss the Lloyd and Steve double act on Corrie)

From here the Squid is starting to run low on stalling tactics, and doesn’t put any other roadblocks in their way to meeting her penultimate avatar – the Creator - but that doesn’t mean there’s no important lines here. Quite the opposite in fact:

Lister: We want more life, smegger Creator: A series cancellation sequence cannot be revised once it is established Lister: What about all the loose ends? Me and Kochanski? Getting back home? Creator: I grew weary of you

There’s a lot in just these few lines. Lister wants to live because he realises he has unfinished business, which includes Kochanski whom he’d previously thought dead. But then there’s the creator’s ‘weary’ comment, which looks to have really upset Lister. Except Lister has just remembered that his life matters, so he’s not so much upset as he is angry…

Creator: You can never win. Accept it and die well. Lister: *nods as if conceding defeat, then lunges forward and attacks the creator, holding both sides of his head* Creator: If you kill me you moron you cease to exist! Haven’t you been following any of this?! Lister: I’ve been dead for ages man, just sitting around, getting old and fat. I never thought I had responsibility to anyone. I never thought there was anyone out there who was on my side, who wanted things to work out. We’ve got a fan club! They’ve even named a TV station after me! I was never alone, I just didn’t realise it. Now I want more life, smegger!

This is one of Lister's most important quotes in the whole series. Lister is openly admitting just how depressed he is. That prior to this squid incident he’s been sitting around waiting to die. But in the last day or so he’s found a reason to live again… and it’s part of the squid’s ultimate plan. She’s led the crew in circles while trying to find a way out of the water tank, but during this time she’s genuinely been concerned by Lister’s state of mind. It’s possible she’d been sensing the crew’s thoughts and feelings the entire time she was aboard ship, but it’s also possible she only read their minds after they came looking for her in the water tank. Either way, while saving herself, she also steps in and tries to help Lister realise he needs to help himself.

But that doesn’t mean that she values Lister’s life over her own, far from it, and that’s where her final avatar comes into play…

Not long after ‘killing’ the creator, the boys finally figure out what Cat’s little origami creations are – they’re little squid. This is all the boys need to figure out their dilemma and work a way out. But while Rimmer, Kryten and the Cat don’t look upset at the realisation, Lister immediately points out that being in this fake world doesn’t make him feel despair – it makes him feel elation. Lister decides that leaving this illusion and returning to the real world means returning to the shell of a person he’s become, and he doesn’t want that.

Lister: In here I’m somebody. It’s made me want to live again.

With her ruse rumbled, the squid knows she can’t keep the boys occupied for much longer, but to ensure her own safety, she decides to keep Lister with her for a little long (probably hoping the boys will be too preoccupied getting him to wake up back in the real world to bother with her).

And Lister, unable to cope with his depression in the real world, and presented with the possibility of a fake future with a fake Kochanski, begins to consider choosing fantasy over reality.

Lister: I can get her back again. Kids. Everything I’ve ever wanted. Kryten: But in the real world, sir, you’ll be dying. This isn’t real. Lister: It’ll feel real *cut to Rimmer and the Cat’s genuinely horrified faces* Kryten: Not in your heart Lister: I’ve got no option Krytie. This is the only chance I’ve got of getting her back again.

At this point, Kryten finally reveals the truth – Kochanski isn’t dead, and he concocted the story of her dying thinking it would be better for him to hear (it wasn’t, obviously). But even hearing that the real Kochanski isn’t dead isn’t enough anymore… By this point Lister thinks he’s found the perfect solution – he’ll get Krissie back for a little bit before he dies. He’s still ready to die here. More than ready in fact. This is basically Lister choosing suicide.

Lister: She’s in here somewhere as well, in fact she’s right behind that door and in this world she loves me. In fact in this world she’s going to love me till the moment I die.

At this point Rimmer, the Cat and Kryten’s antibodies kick in and they wake up. And realise that Lister won’t wake up. When Rimmer wakes up he looks at Lister in horror and worry. Probably with Bartikovsky’s comments ringing in his ears.

When Squid Kochanski appears she makes an interesting observation off the bat. Unlike Lister’s comments about having to stay, she’s picked up on the shred of doubt in his mind:

Squid!Kochanski: Seems you're undecided about which reality you wish to live in. Lister: I’m-m mulling it over. Squid!Kochanski: Would you mind if I ask you a question? Lister: Shoot Squid!Kochanski: In your dreams, did you kiss me? Lister nods Squid!Kochanski: Was it good? Lister, crying: I never wanted to wake up Squid!Kochanski: Then don’t

At this point the squid’s giving him two options – to take on board what he should have learned from this experience, and choose to live, or to take a convenient out by dying of thirst while in her illusion. At this point I don’t think she’s fussy which he chooses as I think she’s already realised the crew aren’t actually much of a threat to her, but she's still essentially offering Lister the chance to put himself out of his misery...

While Lister is stlll making up his mind they go for a drive. Kochanski’s dressed differently at this point so it’s probably been a day or two from Lister’s perspective. And it’s at this point he makes his mind up for good. Lister's spent enough time with Squid!Kochanski to mull over everything that's happened over the last couple of days, while also realising that the real Kochanski would never act like this illusory version (it's probably also why she's dressed so differently to the real Kochanski). And having previously said he has to stay in the illusion, he now says he has to leave.

The squid doesn’t want him to leave for obvious reasons, but there’s no real urgency about her actions anymore. Her attempt to make Lister stay is half-hearted, and perhaps still has another layer to it since she’s been secretly trying to show Lister his worth for most of this experience.

Squid!Kochanski: The real me? You’ll never get me, I’m way out of your league!

At this point, Lister finally seems to have absorbed what she’s been trying to tell him throughout the illusion, by responding to her as follows:

Lister: I thought that too, but I was wrong. Squid!Kochanski: You were right Lister: No. I’m pretty cool. I don’t take any smeg, and even though I’m disgusting, sometimes I can be quite brave Squid!Kochanski: You’ll never get me Lister: Yeah, I will!

And when Lister chooses life, squid!Kochanski doesn’t look upset at all.

The next scene is Lister waking up back aboard the ship, visibly upset, but surrounded by the boys. He instantly realises that they care because they stuck around waiting for him rather than leaving him alone.

After this, it’s ultimately Lister who makes the decision to release the squid when they get the chance, perhaps realising, at least a little bit, just what she did for him.

After leaving the cargo deck they discuss their predicament and finish off by breaking the fourth wall a bit more (newsflash: we’re not real!), with Lister having a chuckle alongside the boys… but when the rest of the boys turn to leave, his smile falls a bit. An indicator that he’s still down, but perhaps on the road to a better place.

So yeah…that was a bit of an essay, but I hope it shows how BTE was actually a bit of a high concept two-hander between Lister and the squid.

BTE might not have had as many laughs as other series, but it wasn’t trying to. Instead this was a great character study of Lister, and at last a TV canon exploration of his mental state, which couldn’t possibly be good given his circumstances in life.

I also like to think that after this, Rimmer went away and had a good long look at himself. Rimmer was at his absolutely peak of selfishness and self-absorbedness at the start of this special and he needed the squid’s reality-check (oh the irony). At the very least I hope he gave Lister a hug and told him not to scare him like that again.

[argumentalist]

I guess I've got kind of mixed feelings about 08th MS Team. The first half or so is pretty damn good. I really enjoyed seeing the ground war. I liked the obvious Vietnam vibes they were going for. But the second half just feels kind of weird. The Shiro/Aina lovestory seems to develop almost out of nowhere and completely take over the series.

Anyway - this week I've built the RX-79[G]Ez-8 Gundam Ez8.

This is clearly an older kit, so I wasn't very surprised to see polycaps in the box. But I was kind of surprised at just how many polycaps there were...

Look at that huge PC-001 runner!

It really kind of feels like this kit was designed on a dare or something. Somebody just wanted to see how many polycaps they could cram into a single HG kit.

There's a polycap in the knee to articulate a bit that barely moves. The ankle has two polycaps itself, and then plugs into a third.

It's almost ridiculous.

There's a surprising bit of detail here in the chest. That vulcan pod is a separate bit of grey plastic. And there's molded details in the chest for some sort of turbines or vents - that get completely covered with an armor plate.

I do not love this head, and it provides a great contrast to the Lfrith Ur I built last week.

There's only five pieces of plastic in this head and they're all white. The red bits for the chin and camera are both stickers. The eyes are all sticker. If I hadn't done any panel-lining there'd be no detail here at all.

The backpack is kind of weird... There's a kind of equipment-rack backpack that goes directly on the Gundam, and then the parachute pack hooks into that. It's a nice detail from the anime. I like the obvious versatility of being able to equip different backpacks and carry different equipment.

But this parachute pack has a big strap that's supposed to attach to the Ez8's shoulders... And the strap fastens with a couple stickers, which obviously limits how often I can attach/remove it.

Ultimately I decided not to use the strap at all and I think it looks fine.

Decent accessories with this kit. There's the backpack, two different guns, a shield, beamsabers, two holding hands, a trigger hand, and a closed fist.

The blades on the beamsabers are oddly short... I don't really recall them being noticeably different in the anime?

The legs open up to store the beamsabers, but just barely. There's no hinge or anything. They open up, but they're not secured in any way. It's basically a balancing act to keep the outer bit from simply falling off.

I'm not sure how much sense a folding stock makes on an 18m tall robot... But the stock actually folds on this gun, which is a neat gimmick.

This kit poses very nicely. Feels very solid. The articulation is a little limited, but not in any way that really feels restrictive. I was able to get the poses I wanted to.

There's not a lot of surface detail... The panel-lining doesn't do much... But the included sticker-style decals add just enough flair to the kit. And even though I don't love the design of the Ez8, it certainly looks good up on the shelf.

Now I'm wishing they'd do some Hard Graph reprints... I'd love to get my hands on some of those Ground War sets.

[sylphidine]

[NDU] Scratch Spins And Shadow Dances

Written for the annual Rise of the Guardians Stocking Stuffer event for 2023.

@rotgsecretsanta

Prompt 30 - NDU Verse (Pitchiner and Pitch)

________________________

“Skiing?” “Good God, no.”

“Ice fishing? Snowshoeing? Tobogganing?”

“I haven’t a clue what that last one is, but it sounds truly vulgar.”

“Oh, come ON. It’s like a long flat sled that’s got a big curl up front, but no runners. You can fit like four or five kids on it, you shoot down the highest hill you can find, and you all jump off before you fall into the ravine or hit a tree.”

“Then I certainly haven’t participated in such a thing.”

“Seriously? Nobody ever did winter stuff with you when you were a kid? That’s just sad.”

“Winter weather out-of-doors involves getting cold and wet. I would think you would know me well enough by now to realize that being cold and wet irks me."

Pitch leaned forward from where he was perched on Coz's lap and gave him a rare, affectionate cheek nuzzle instead of a spiteful ear nip. He continued, "If you can keep your mind out of the gutter, I'm sure you can guess my OTHER favorite indoor winter sport, by simple process of elimination."

Coz gave him a shit-eating grin back. "Hmmmm… pickleball?" 

That earned Coz a hard smack on the shoulder as Pitch hissed like a scalded cat. “Do you really think my mother would allow such a pedestrian, uncultured, NOISY pastime in her house?”

“Nah, I guess not. Alright, Mr. ‘I’m too sexy for my pickleball’, I give up.  What indoor winter sport does the lofty Black family approve of and you call your favorite?”

With the air of one conveying a secret for the ages, Pitch replied proudly, "Ice skating!"

Coz mulled that over, confused for a minute until he figured out that by "indoor winter sport", Pitch was referring to an actual skating rink. He responded, "Huh. We finally have something in common."

“You skate?”

“Of course I skate.  You can’t grow up on the border of The Great White North without learning how to ice skate.”

“I’m not talking about ice hockey, you oaf.”

“Neither am I! Not to mention being part Russian. It's in the blood. You’d be surprised at what I can get up to when I’m bladed up.”

“Hmmmph.”

“I’m guessing that you and Piki grew up with little silver blades on your feet, to go with the silver spoons in your mouths.”

He'd meant that to sound banter-y, but it was apparently the wrong thing to say.

“If you’re going to be rude, I’m going to skip this line of inquiry.” Pitch started to wriggle off of Coz's lap, but not before Coz saw a flash of hurt quickly cross his bedmate's sharp-featured face. He shot out one beefy arm, circled Pitch's slim waist with it, and hauled him back in, holding him close to his chest.

"Hey. Hey, hey. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I was only trying to say you must have been really cute on skates when you were a kid."

"Hmmph," Pitch groused again, but sounding less annoyed this time. He relaxed a bit in Coz's grip.

"My Russian great-aunt ran a skating concession stall up in Malone when I was little," Coz continued, "and she was really patient with the kids. If I close my eyes, I can see you there, too."

"Maybe in another lifetime," Pitch said musingly. "I doubt that my parents ever wintered  north of Saratoga Springs."

Coz wisely held his tongue this time, resisting the urge to scoff at the notion of rich people “wintering” in spots that saw not even half the snow he was used to. He said instead, “So. You. Me. Ice skating. Interested?” 

“You’re on. But ***I *** get to pick where and when.”

“Anything you say, dear.”

_____________

“You do know we could have just driven down, parked at my grandparents' place, and taken the subway here, don’t you?” asked Coz a week later from the backseat of the town car he and Pitch were currently riding in.

“Yes, we COULD have,” replied Pitch smugly, “but I wouldn’t want you all tired out and stiff before we even got to the rink.” Pitch couldn’t help grinning at the double entendre he’d slipped in there, and from the grin and the “oh HO” he got as an answer, Pitchiner hadn’t missed it. 

He gave himself a pat on the back. Had this been his twin brother trying to impress Jack Sickle, Piki would have sprung for buying a VIP package with unlimited skate time, never thinking to ask if Jack even LIKED ice skating, finding out the hard way about Jack’s traumatic past experiences with frozen water, and then flailing around for the rest of the date while Jack fell apart emotionally.

Pitch had more awareness of others’ sensibilities than Piki did, or ever would. [Never mind that it had been PROTO who’d told Pitch about how Jack’s sister died.  Information was still information.] He gave himself credit in finding out what Pitchiner considered fun, and had planned this outing accordingly. 

And no, this was not a date. He wasn't in love with dating Pitchiner.

Yes, it was Rockefeller Center. But no, he wasn’t trying to make a splash with money the way Piki would have.  Pitch’s current intent was to rent some skates and to do two 40-minute skate sessions with food and hot beverages in-between. Even the round trip limo service that he'd arranged between the NDU campus and midtown Manhattan was a practical concern, not meant to be flamboyant.

Nothing extravagant, therefore. Just something that normal people did at Christmas time.

Not a date.

He promised himself he wouldn’t laugh… much… at Pitchiner’s skating. After all, The Rink at Rockefeller Center was not some glazed-over puddle in the backwoods. Indoor ice skating required thoughtful panache, not mindless brawn.

An hour later, Pitch found himself taken aback.

He was used to looking at Pitchiner with attraction and lust. And quite frankly, who wouldn’t? He was muscled in all the right places and had a handsome face, even with the crooked nose.

Pitchiner in bed with Pitch was one tasty feast of a man.

Pitchiner on the lacrosse field was an unstoppable force of nature, one Pitch had to admire even if he didn’t understand the rules of the game. Not that Pitch would ever admit to such admiration out loud. 

But Pitchiner on ice skates… well, “beautiful” was the first word that leapt to Pitch’s mind, and once having leapt there, the word “beautiful” refused to be dislodged.

Somehow Pitchiner managed to convert his formidable muscle and sinew into something tight and focused. He wasn’t showy with his axels and spins. But he stuck every landing, pulled himself into and out of crouches and slides, and dammit, his sensual movements made Pitch regret his extra layers of clothing.

Pitch had at first restricted himself to circling the outer perimeter of the rink, with occasional twirls when he could be sure not to crash into other skaters. Having seen Pitchiner in action, he made up his mind to let loose, just a little.

He put on a bit of speed and caught up to Pitchiner, pulling just ahead of him in the circuit. Wordlessly he held out one gloved hand and was relieved to have Pitchiner reaching back.

Together they skated in silence, hand in hand, keeping pace with each other, complicated feelings on both sides expressed in motion, without words.

[ioannemos]

honestly, not sure who to suggest for your character bingo. just line up one or five or a dozen little blorbos and take aim.

that last line sent me 🤣

first in line is obvious: muninn

almost circled "WHY are they like this" but. lbr. *i* am why he's like this 🧡 also he basically is in a snow globe lol

next! rodney

lower left really should read "i will kill anyone else who hurts them" tbh. i put this man through the wringer in like. every fic i write

next! murderbot

ooh, so close to bingo. fwiw i wouldn't actually try to hug murderbot bc i would respect its boundaries (plus i don't wanna be punched). but i would really really like to hug murderbot 😔 murderbot needs good touches

next! illya

bingo! idk if he'd actually punch me (he never strikes gaby) but i doubt he'd be comfy with it and i'd want him to want to be hugged, y'know

last (for now anyway)! k from blade runner 2049

another bingo! and re daddy/mommy issues, having/not having parents/children is kinda The Theme... like joshi lets k escape and sacrifices herself trying to keep him safe. and wallace is just. a god am i-levels of insane about creation and parenthood and thinks that discovering the secret to making his androids be able to make babies will make them better slaves. if all that wouldn't lead to daddy/mommy issues idk what would. also k lives btw

[m0chaminx]

Dick Grayson | Touch her and you're dead

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 : 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 18+ 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴/𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴

𝘕𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 :)

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 : 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠/𝘕'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵

𝟲𝟰𝟲 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 : 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 - ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴅᴏ ᴀʟᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴇ ᴠᴇʀsɪᴏɴs ᴏғ ᴍᴀʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ɴᴇᴜᴛʀᴀʟ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs :)

Being associated with Robin was dangerous enough, but dating him, puts me in a whole new situation of danger, but it didn't matter, I loved Robin, well, I loved the man behind the mask, Dick Grayson. He's my rock, my love.

Only a few select people knew Dick was Robin, and only a minuscule amount found out Robins identity, and this, unfortunately, was one of those times. They, drug runners or something, found dicks apartment and held me at gunpoint.

"C'mon little lady, tell us where your boy toy is" One man got right up in my face, he stunk of alcohol and chips.

"How bout you go fuck yourself" I suggested. He sighed before nodding to the men behind you. They kicked my leg out forcing me to my knees while another grabbed my hair.

"Let's try again, shall we. Where is Robin?"

"Fuck you" I spat before actually spitting in his face. He scoffed before hurling his first at my face cracking something in my nose. "Ow! Fuck!"

"One last time, " He pulled out a gun centering it between my eyes "Where is Robin ?" Then a voice rang behind him.

"Behind you asshole!" There stood Robin but as Dick. Just returned from work and was pissed off as hell.

"There he is, Robin. Or should I say, Dick Grayson?"

"Let her go" Dicks voice was demanding and powerful, it's a voice I hadn't heard.

"But where's the fun in that?" The man said while moving behind me, pulling out a blade and pressing it to my neck, but not hard enough to break the skin.

"I swear to god. Touch her and you're dead."

"Ooo, there's the Robin we want" He laughed again I looked to Dick to already see him staring at me. My eyes darted over to knife block, Dick's eyes followed your line of sight and give a quick subtle nod. "So here's how this works-" His sentence was cut off as I threw your head back against his crotch. He knelt in pain as Dick lunged at the counter for the knife block.

I swung my hand back knocking over the guy who had a hold of me. I pulled myself away as Dick battled off against another guy, "Go! I'll be fine!" Dick yelled, I nodded and limped to the bedroom because my leg hurt like a bitch.

___

True to his word, it was only a few minutes before Dick entered the room, his once white button shirt now had splotches of blood on it "You know I just bought the shirt, right?" I joked as I leant on a wall.

"Jesus Y/N. Are you ok?" Dick rushed over and held my face in his hands, his eyes scanning over me surveying for injury.

"I'm fine, well, my leg kinda hurts and my nose is broken, but I'm fine," I laughed and Dick gave me a small smile "What about you, they didn't hurt you did they?"

"Didn't get a chance," He smiles before sighing, "You know I have to put your nose back in place right?" I nodded sadly as I pushed my face out towards Dick.

He gently held my nose and then quickly twisted it "Fuck! Ow! Holy Mother Of! - Fucking Fuck!" I leant forward and hit Dicks thigh while gripping his shirt.

"That hurt?" Dick teased.

"No, it felt like I just laid my head on pillow." Dick laughed a little before placing his hand on the busted leg.

"How's your leg?" His voice suddenly switched again and looked between my leg and eyes.

"It's fine I think I just jarred it"

"Ok, let's get you up and to the shower," Dick said picking me up bridal style.

"Shower eh?" I teased

"Yes, just a shower, turn that dirty mind off" Dick shook his head rolled his eyes.

It wasn't just a shower.

Request : Masterlist

[insanityclause]

In the MCU’s fictional canon, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) looks the way he does because of an enchantment his adoptive dad Odin (Anthony Hopkins) placed on him to make him appear Asgardian, rather than as a blue-skinned, red-eyed Frost Giant. In reality, getting Loki to look the way he does is the work of many levels of creatives behind the scenes: including Douglas Noe, Hiddleston’s makeup artist for the past decade.

Noe chatted with us about Loki’s evolution since The Avengers — the first film on which he worked with Hiddleston — and how he created the variants’ unique looks (including that of Sophia Di Martino, who plays fan-favorite Sylvie) in Loki, and how Mobius (Owen Wilson), an agent at the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA), ended up with silver hair.

Were you surprised to be returning to Loki? I assume you did Tom’s makeup for Infinity War — did you think you’d done your last Loki…and then this show came along?

You know, I did. [Laughs] I love Tom like a brother, and one of the things I love about him is his unbelievable ability to keep quiet. I fancy that we are close, and he knows that I keep my mouth shut. But I knew nothing until the wheels started turning on Loki, and I got the call. I went, “Wait a second, how long have you known?” And he just — insert his trademark laugh, right there. I’ve done other things with Tom, so it wasn’t a surprise to hear from him, but I was surprised we were going back into Loki.

How has Loki’s look changed throughout the MCU films, and in Loki?

We warmed him up. He’s a Frost Giant, but as we get farther and farther away from the first Thor, I think instinctively, we’ve ever so slightly warmed him up by a shade or a shade and a half, if you will. I think that’s so you’re not constantly reminded that he’s a Frost Giant. We don’t need to spoon-feed the audience; they know who Loki is.

Loki was interesting, because you were going back to a look the character had before, in The Avengers. Did you approach his look the same way for the show as you had the first time around?

Because I had actually done that look, it was easy. I pulled out the same makeups and the same elements and did it the exact same way. What we did to save time because I’m meticulously precise about these things, the second time we did it, I arranged to have a wonderful makeup effects artist in Atlanta named Andre Freitas make a cast of Tom’s face. And with that cast, I was able to make a template.

When we got those wounds perfect, I put the clear plastic template on [Tom’s] face and marked where those wounds would lie. When that template was pulled off his face, I used a cutting tool to cut out the places where the wounds would be. So, every morning when he worked in Episode 1 with those residual wounds from The Avengers, I would put that template on, airbrush or stamp the makeup through the holes, and we were off to the races. We just saved 15 to 25 minutes of me trying to be perfect. I can’t even tell you how many times I put them on and took them off. And Tom, God bless him, never says a word. He lets me do my thing.

Throughout the show, we saw the TVA had a very particular style — retro, yet eerie. How did you translate that into looks for Mobius, Ravonna, Hunter B-15 and the others?

Character specifics. The parameters were Blade Runner to Mad Men, with some Brazil, and a few other elements in there. I think you get a sense of what our parameters were just from those listings. With that template, Mobius, Renslayer and characters like them, we just expanded on. Like with Renslayer, we could do a little more beauty on her because of her position. With Mobius, the character dictated the scruffy hair and the mustache. It made sense. It was only a natural extension of what was written on the page. All the creatives weigh in on those things, and the last line of defense is the actors sitting in the chair.

In Loki, we saw plenty of different Loki variants. How did you approach creating separate looks for different versions of the same character?

That’s a fun question. I think it lends itself to not trying to reinvent the wheel. Very often the costume designer on these projects is brought in long before makeup and hair, because of the amount of fabrication that has to happen before shooting. In order for a costume designer to completely sell their costume, very often the illustrator that does the design implements aspects of makeup and character in the design. Because of that, because Christine Wada is a genius, much of the heavy lifting was done. I would say 50-60% of what was in her designs, we ran with; that way, we could make each Loki variant an individual with their own story. Whether you see the details and textures onscreen or not, the overall package is necessary. It lends itself to each Loki having their own backstory and character.

I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about Sylvie, as she was a huge fan-favorite this season — talk to me about her makeup. What story were you focused on telling with her look?

She’s an amalgam of several influences from the Marvel universe, and because of that, we threw all of that away and decided the best thing for Sylvie would be to play up her natural beauty. It was a matter of keeping her very natural and accentuating the elements of her that we could turn up the volume on without being a distraction. I played up her eyes a bit; I did a little more eye makeup than I usually would for a no-makeup look.

What was the collaborative and creative process like on-set?

Fantastic. What happens is you’re talking to our director of photography, Autumn [Durald Arkapaw], and our director, Kate Herron, and the creative producer, Kevin Wright, and Michael Waldron, and Christine Wada, the costume designer, and Amy Wood, the head of the hair department, and it only happened a couple times, but I wanted to pinch myself. Because here I am, having high-stakes creative conversations with people who share the same love for our craft and art as I do. A lot of those conversations have to be shut down because we can’t stop talking! Because we can’t stop creating and evolving. It was wonderful. It’s a fabulous feeling.

Was there a great, “light bulb” moment that stands out to you?

Yes! I’ve already tipped the hand, and I don’t know if Owen would take the credit, but — when Owen came in, we had several days to work with him. We all had ideas, and when he came in, the topic of hair came up. He said, “I see Mobius with silver hair.” I thought, That’s a brilliant idea! I ran it past Amy Wood, she loved it, and now, up to the finished product, I can’t see Mobius with anything but the silver hair.

What was your favorite look of Loki’s in Season 1?

I like episode 2, just because he’s clean and dapper and handsome and interesting. I think Christine Wada nailed it, because he’s without his green-and-gold suit or his suit from Ragnarok, and for the first time he was dressed as a civilian. And he still looked fantastic. I also liked the end look, because Tom and I had extensive discussions about where the nicks and the cuts and the dirt all came from. He is a mastermind at puzzling these things together. I do like the final look, because just the makeup tells the story — the same story he’s been through is told on face and arms.

Loki, All Episodes Now Streaming, Disney+

[mechanicalinertia]

Finished Edgerunners last night. Some thoughts:

1. It was… okay, overall. Like, a 7.5/10. It embraced modern genre cliches with aplomb for better and for worse, but the plot was… better than I expected from a Trigger anime. Clearly, having a bunch of Polish guys do that end of the work improved the anime over, say, Promare, or Franxx. Thank fucking christ.

2. On that note, I’ve begun browsing through the AO3 for tag for Edgerunners and it is nothing but fix-fics, I mean it’s incredible how many people want David and Rebecca to live. There are various ways people go about this. Among them: Peggy Sue time travel stories, Lucy telling David to not put on Maine’s arms before the timeskip, a ninja saving Lucy from Faraday. The one I like the most, though, is the one where Smasher spares David and Yorinobu Arasaka - that’s right, the only Arasaka with dignity - gives him a new cyberbody, while Rebecca is rescued by Rogue. So the characters are apart but could come together soon.

3. Am I jealous that these fics all are racking up thousands of views in a little more than a month compared to even Divine Patronage? Hell yes. But I don’t know how to get in on this game for two reasons. One, Edgerunners never really gave me too much emotional attachment — I knew everyone was gonna die based on the trailer where they cite the “it’s not how you live, it’s how you die” line (Classic cyberpunk neoliberal nihilism, see my previous post for why I hate that shit), so watching Rebecca die was just kinda eh, whatever. I think most people like Rebecca just ‘cause they’re horny. If they want more of that, hey, Gunsmith Cats has a horny murder-loli as well, they can go watch the OVA for that or read the manga or whatever. Two, I don’t like Edgerunners’ basic universe enough to not cross it over with my own bullshit Bubblegum Crisis 206X universe, and that inevitably leads to thousands of lost views who have no idea what BGC is and don’t want to find out.

4. What’s funny about the first episode is that its ‘call to adventure’, if you want to get all Campbellian, is a side to cyberpunk universes that I don’t think has really been done too much in anime or visual media I’ve seen. (It probably has been done better I just haven’t seen a whole lot of media.) The whole idea of everything having a price, it being impossible for someone like David or his mom to move up in the world — especially since his bullies can just beat the shit out of him whenever they please — feels at once goofy and plausible, and in those last few minutes you can feel the tension rise as David makes his choice. But then after that it’s off to the races, all cyber-murder and heists and the kind of stuff you expect from what cyberpunk means to people nowadays, a glitzy future aesthetic where life is meaningless so you might as well kill as many corporate / themed-gang goons as possible before going out with a bang. (I guess I need to watch Blade Runner Black Lotus to see if Production IG did anything different for a far more somber franchise, but they sure as hell didn’t for SAC_2045, the bastards.) It might have actually been more interesting for Gloria to not be the Anime Dead Mom, and be in critical care, constantly chastising David for what he’s doing but unable to formulate an alternative. My point is there was potential, and the potential was — squandered isn’t the right word, that implies it wasn’t deliberate. Ignored! Yes. Ignored, that’s the right word.

5. In spite of all my inability to get emotionally attached to pretty much anyone except David and Lucy… well, I like David and Lucy. They’re characters that are developed well enough, and David isn’t really your usual shonen-jump protag but more a depressed wreck only able to actualize himself through ultimately meaningless violence. It’s not as though he really accomplishes his goal of getting Lucy to the moon anyway, ‘cause what good is that if he can’t be with her? So now that I think about it, I understand the sentiment of wanting these characters to live, and that’s what fanfiction is for, and there’s no shame in that. (I’m Rebecca neutral, to be honest. There’s not enough character development there to figure out who she is as a person besides horny for Timeskip David Of Considerable Size.)

6. Well, I guess I’m a hypocrite, because I’m writing a new crossover fanfic that will hopefully follow on from Anatomy of a Lovedoll. It’s called The Witch of Tranquility, and so far it’s only a prologue proposing an alternate timeline where Hanako offs her dad and sells its assets to GENOM, thereby crossing over the two universes. I’ve got a timeline written, too, but I’m holding off on posting it for now. It’s not as though explaining the crossover will make more people read it.

Well, we’ll see how things go, there. Edgerunners could not dethrone Bubblegum Crisis in my heart, but then again I didn’t expect it to. I could compare the two, but there’s no point. Let people enjoy things. I enjoyed Edgerunners. It was good. But it wasn’t great.

[twh-news]

Tom Hiddleston’s Makeup Artist Breaks Down ‘Loki’ Season 1 Looks

In the MCU’s fictional canon, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) looks the way he does because of an enchantment his adoptive dad Odin (Anthony Hopkins) placed on him to make him appear Asgardian, rather than as a blue-skinned, red-eyed Frost Giant. In reality, getting Loki to look the way he does is the work of many levels of creatives behind the scenes: including Douglas Noe, Hiddleston’s makeup artist for the past decade.

Noe chatted with us about Loki’s evolution since The Avengers — the first film on which he worked with Hiddleston — and how he created the variants’ unique looks (including that of Sophia Di Martino, who plays fan-favorite Sylvie) in Loki, and how Mobius (Owen Wilson), an agent at the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA), ended up with silver hair.

Were you surprised to be returning to Loki? I assume you did Tom’s makeup for Infinity War — did you think you’d done your last Loki…and then this show came along?

You know, I did. [Laughs] I love Tom like a brother, and one of the things I love about him is his unbelievable ability to keep quiet. I fancy that we are close, and he knows that I keep my mouth shut. But I knew nothing until the wheels started turning on Loki, and I got the call. I went, “Wait a second, how long have you known?” And he just — insert his trademark laugh, right there. I’ve done other things with Tom, so it wasn’t a surprise to hear from him, but I was surprised we were going back into Loki.

How has Loki’s look changed throughout the MCU films, and in Loki?

We warmed him up. He’s a Frost Giant, but as we get farther and farther away from the first Thor, I think instinctively, we’ve ever so slightly warmed him up by a shade or a shade and a half, if you will. I think that’s so you’re not constantly reminded that he’s a Frost Giant. We don’t need to spoon-feed the audience; they know who Loki is.

Loki was interesting, because you were going back to a look the character had before, in The Avengers. Did you approach his look the same way for the show as you had the first time around?

Because I had actually done that look, it was easy. I pulled out the same makeups and the same elements and did it the exact same way. What we did to save time because I’m meticulously precise about these things, the second time we did it, I arranged to have a wonderful makeup effects artist in Atlanta named Andre Freitas make a cast of Tom’s face. And with that cast, I was able to make a template.

When we got those wounds perfect, I put the clear plastic template on [Tom’s] face and marked where those wounds would lie. When that template was pulled off his face, I used a cutting tool to cut out the places where the wounds would be. So, every morning when he worked in Episode 1 with those residual wounds from The Avengers, I would put that template on, airbrush or stamp the makeup through the holes, and we were off to the races. We just saved 15 to 25 minutes of me trying to be perfect. I can’t even tell you how many times I put them on and took them off. And Tom, God bless him, never says a word. He lets me do my thing.

Throughout the show, we saw the TVA had a very particular style — retro, yet eerie. How did you translate that into looks for Mobius, Ravonna, Hunter B-15 and the others?

Character specifics. The parameters were Blade Runner to Mad Men, with some Brazil, and a few other elements in there. I think you get a sense of what our parameters were just from those listings. With that template, Mobius, Renslayer and characters like them, we just expanded on. Like with Renslayer, we could do a little more beauty on her because of her position. With Mobius, the character dictated the scruffy hair and the mustache. It made sense. It was only a natural extension of what was written on the page. All the creatives weigh in on those things, and the last line of defense is the actors sitting in the chair.

In Loki, we saw plenty of different Loki variants. How did you approach creating separate looks for different versions of the same character?

That’s a fun question. I think it lends itself to not trying to reinvent the wheel. Very often the costume designer on these projects is brought in long before makeup and hair, because of the amount of fabrication that has to happen before shooting. In order for a costume designer to completely sell their costume, very often the illustrator that does the design implements aspects of makeup and character in the design. Because of that, because Christine Wada is a genius, much of the heavy lifting was done. I would say 50-60% of what was in her designs, we ran with; that way, we could make each Loki variant an individual with their own story. Whether you see the details and textures onscreen or not, the overall package is necessary. It lends itself to each Loki having their own backstory and character.

I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about Sylvie, as she was a huge fan-favorite this season — talk to me about her makeup. What story were you focused on telling with her look?

She’s an amalgam of several influences from the Marvel universe, and because of that, we threw all of that away and decided the best thing for Sylvie would be to play up her natural beauty. It was a matter of keeping her very natural and accentuating the elements of her that we could turn up the volume on without being a distraction. I played up her eyes a bit; I did a little more eye makeup than I usually would for a no-makeup look.

What was the collaborative and creative process like on-set?

Fantastic. What happens is you’re talking to our director of photography, Autumn [Durald Arkapaw], and our director, Kate Herron, and the creative producer, Kevin Wright, and Michael Waldron, and Christine Wada, the costume designer, and Amy Wood, the head of the hair department, and it only happened a couple times, but I wanted to pinch myself. Because here I am, having high-stakes creative conversations with people who share the same love for our craft and art as I do. A lot of those conversations have to be shut down because we can’t stop talking! Because we can’t stop creating and evolving. It was wonderful. It’s a fabulous feeling.

Was there a great, “light bulb” moment that stands out to you?

Yes! I’ve already tipped the hand, and I don’t know if Owen would take the credit, but — when Owen came in, we had several days to work with him. We all had ideas, and when he came in, the topic of hair came up. He said, “I see Mobius with silver hair.” I thought, That’s a brilliant idea! I ran it past Amy Wood, she loved it, and now, up to the finished product, I can’t see Mobius with anything but the silver hair.

What was your favorite look of Loki’s in Season 1?

I like episode 2, just because he’s clean and dapper and handsome and interesting. I think Christine Wada nailed it, because he’s without his green-and-gold suit or his suit from Ragnarok, and for the first time he was dressed as a civilian. And he still looked fantastic. I also liked the end look, because Tom and I had extensive discussions about where the nicks and the cuts and the dirt all came from. He is a mastermind at puzzling these things together. I do like the final look, because just the makeup tells the story — the same story he’s been through is told on face and arms.

[putschki1969]

KEIKO 2nd Album “dew” Booklet HQ Scans & Bonus Content - Music Videos

FOR ❗PERSONAL❗ USE ONLY CREDIT me and LINK to my page if you share/use any of these.

Overseas fans can BUY THE ALBUM on

CD Japan

Amazon.co.jp

I know the album is a bit pricey but I think you are getting a lot of bang for your buck. If you have the means, please SUPPORT Keiko by buying a copy! At least, go for the Regular Edition in case you cannot afford the DVD and BD edition. You can also purchase the album tracks in digital format in your local iTunes store, on Ototoy and mora! Last but not least, don’t forget to stream the album on all popular streaming platforms.

Download all scans HERE

Download all MVs HERE  You can PURCHASE the MVs in your local iTunes Store!

•————— ♬ —————• Some random thoughts on the MVs •————— ♬ —————•

Not a lot is happening in these MVs but that was to be expected, Avex clearly didn’t want to invest too much money in these productions. It’s a shame but then again, I don’t wanna come off as too greedy or ungrateful. 9 MVs is A LOT and it’s a huge treat to see Keiko in these different locations with all sorts of cool outfits and hairstyles. I am honestly easily pleased and just looking at Keiko’s beautiful face is enough for me. We get ponytail!Keiko , twintails!Keiko, braids!Keiko, bun!Keiko, wavy-hair!Keiko, etc. What more could a fangirl ask for? XD My favourite outfit is the 2nd one in “Burn In The Wind” => tunic x jeans x converse. Coincidentally, my least favourite look is the first outfit from “Burn In The Wind” and whatever Keiko is wearing in the “Revolution MV”...Ughhhh....

Regarding my fave hairstyle, I think it’s a tie between bun!Keiko in “Latté” and braids!Keiko in “Lost”. My favourite MV overall might be “Burn In The Wind” because it’s just so carefree and casual, I love it. Really fits the sound and lyrics of the song.

Aesthetics aside, I think for the most part, they managed quite well to capture the atmosphere of the individual songs. In that regard my faves are probably “Kimi Ga Nemuru Kara”, “Latté”, “Lost” and “Burn In The Wind”.

After watching the full version of “Nobody Knows You” I think it’s actually a bit too “contemporary” urban for me but it still looks pretty cool. Would have loved something more along the lines of a Blade Runner-esque world but of course that would have been way too expensive to pull off. Love the idea behind “Toori Ame” but I feel like they failed at the execution. It’s just too dark for my taste and the play with shadow is all over the place. It annoys me so much that the surface they used for Keiko’s silhouette has that weird line/stitching at the left side. I wonder what the meaning is behind the two Keikos in “Latté”. It all feels so unreal. At one point Keiko mentioned that she wanted a sort of non-human/robotic/artificial vibe for the MV which definitely fits the “future funk” genre. Her alter-ego with the coloured contacts and the direct looks into the camera definitely comes across like an android or something. The lake view and the plane in “Hachigatsu no Sora” are super cool, unique and gorgeous but I am not sure how it all fits together, I would say it’s a little random and doen’t match the lyrics at all. Not a big fan of her outfit or the location in “Genjitsu no Metaphor” but her hair is hella cute and we get a lot of close-ups of her feet in heels so if you have a foot fetish, this is the MV for you XD Speaking of foot-fetish, there is some nice foot/leg action in “Kimi ga Nemuru Kara” as well. But jokes aside, that MV is absolutely amazing, the nightmarish location, the dream-like illumination, Keiko’s almost ethereal look, I LOVE everything about it. What a beautiful location for “Revolution”. Such a shame it’s almost wasted on the song. Reminds me a lot of “far on the water” which was also quite boring but still had a stellar-looking MV. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to give Keiko that outfit though? “Lost” is simple but beautiful, the cottage vibes really appeal to me. And yeah, “Burn In The Wind” is hands down my fave because, as I said, it just feels very real. Plus, it’s a little less static than most of the other MVs

[uhlikzsuzsanna]

SPOILER WARNING: Do not read if you haven’t seen all of Season 1 of “Loki,” currently streaming on Disney Plus.

Ever since “Loki” first premiered in June, Kate Herron, who directed all six episodes of the Marvel Studios series, has had to pretend like she knew far less than she really does. For one, she couldn’t acknowledge that the homages to sci-fi classics like “Blade Runner” and “Brazil” that she’d baked into the elaborate sets for the Time Variance Authority — the cosmic bureaucracy tasked with maintaining the sacred timeline — were “meant to be sinister” rather than just “playful and quirky.”

For another, Herron was delighted to see fans theorizing after the very first episode that Kang the Conqueror — a character already set to appear in the Marvel Studios feature “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” as played by Jonathan Majors — was really pulling the strings of the TVA. But until the finale streamed last Wednesday, she couldn’t even hint that those fans were only half right: Majors does play the mastermind of the TVA, but he’s a variant of Kang referred to as He Who Remains. It’s only after He Who Remains encounters Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his female variant counterpart Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), and Sylvie plunges a blade into his heart, that the multiverse is reborn, creating the possibility for Kang the Conqueror to emerge.

Again, though: Herron couldn’t acknowledge any of that, even to those closest to her.

“Nothing has prepared me better for working with Marvel than playing tabletop games with my friends,” she says with a laugh. “It definitely taught me how to have a good poker face. You have to hide your hand — and sometimes lie.”

Now, thankfully, all of that is behind her — as is “Loki” itself. Despite receiving widespread acclaim for her assured, ambitious, and visually sumptuous work directing the show, Herron says she has decided not to return for Season 2 of the series.

“I gave it everything — in my soul, in my heart, everything,” she says. “I feel so proud of the work we’ve done. And yeah, I’ll be enjoying Season 2 as a fan.”

She’s quick to sing the praises of everyone she worked with at Marvel, and she says she’s “sure” she’ll work again with the studio. For now, however, she’s ready to take a holiday, and then turn to a project she’s writing herself “that’s really close to my heart that I really want to make.”

“It’s my own decision, but I just feel like my part with ‘Loki’ is finished now and I’m just excited to see where his story goes,” she says.

Before she parts ways for good, however, Herron spoke with Variety about bringing Jonathan Majors into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what she thought of the shocking revelation about infinity stones and what she would like to see happen in Season 2.

She always knew “Loki” would introduce Kang and the Multiverse…

From the very start, Herron says, she and head writer Michael Waldron knew that their six-episode run of “Loki” would always end with Loki and Sylvie meeting He Who Remains at his citadel, the result of which would cause the creation of the multiverse.

As Episode 6 makes clear, both of these events were massive turning points for the future of the MCU — and Herron still can’t quite believe she got to be the one to make them a reality.

“We were just, like, waiting to be told, ‘Actually, guys, we’ve had a change [of heart],'” Herron says. Instead, Herron says she and “Quantumania” director Peyton Reed participated in casting Majors in the role.

“I was just like, pinch me,” she says. “I can’t believe I was at the table for that, because I know it was such a big decision for them all.”

Herron also decided to have Majors provide the voices for all three “Timekeepers” who are supposedly at the head of the TVA, but are revealed by Sylvie to be nothing more than “mindless androids.”

“We didn’t have someone cast for those voices,” she says. “I remember thinking, well, ‘Wizard of Oz’ is clearly a reference for us. We should have the wizard. It’d be great if it’s Jonathan. So we sent him all the art of the timekeepers. And he just kind of came up with these incredible voices for each of them.”

…but not with a cliffhanger.

The most significant decision of the season, though, may be that it ends with a giant cliffhanger, when Loki discovers he’s in a brand new reality for the TVA in which Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) don’t even recognize him. But while Herron knew how this season of “Loki” would end, at first, she did not know that there would be any more seasons after it.

“When I started, there wasn’t a discussion of Season 2, exactly,” she says. “It was just that season of ‘Loki.’ As we got deeper into production, everyone was very happy, and obviously there’s so much to explore with Loki. It felt like we should continue the story. So I think the cliffhanger ending came in later in the process.”

Herron says she sprinkled in some hints to viewers that Loki is in a new timeline, like redressing sets to look slightly off, and recasting Eugene Cordero’s TVA receptionist Casey as a hunter headed to the armory in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. But her favorite bit is that the final line — said by Mobius to Loki — is the same as the first line spoken in the show, by a woman in the Gobi desert, also to Loki: “Who are you?”

“That was kind of the question of the whole first season,” Herron says.

She was just as shocked about the Infinity Stones as everyone else.

In the first episode, Loki discovers to his horror that not only does his magic not work inside the TVA, but Infinity Stones — heretofore believed to be the most powerful objects in the known universe — are just inert rocks there. The revelation sent shockwaves across the Marvel fandom; Herron was right there with them.

“That was in Michael’s script when I first got it to pitch [for the directing job],” she says. “I remember being like, ‘WHAT?! You put me through so much!’ But then I thought, ‘Oh, it’s kind of genius, because it shows how powerful the TVA are. Who are these people? What is this place?'”

Herron especially appreciated how her shock — and the audience’s — mirrored Loki’s own as the rug gets pulled out from under him. “I was quite excited by it,” she says. “It really shows you that there’s a new power in the MCU — and it’s not what we we spent the last decade dedicating our lives to.”

She told Kevin Feige she wanted gender parity among her crew.

Prior to “Loki,” Herron’s most high profile job was directing the second half of the first season of the Netflix dramedy “Sex Education.” She got the “Loki” job thanks to a 60-page pitch memo that filled out just about every detail of the world of the show. After hiring her, she says Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige asked her, “What are your terms?”

“This was the first time I was gonna get to hire my heads of department on a television show I worked on,” she says. “I was like, I’d really love [the crew] to be 50/50 across gender.”

Herron says she wasn’t out to fill any jobs on the film with a specific gender. But, she says, “There aren’t enough women in these roles. They’re out there. It’s a lack of opportunity. It’s not a lack of interest.”

She did end up hiring two women for critical roles that are still rarely occupied by women: cinematographer Autumn Durald (“The Sun Is Also a Star”) and composer Natalie Holt (History’s “Knightfall”).

“I felt like she was inside my mind,” Herron says of Durald. “We have the same taste. And I love the way that she talks about light as a character.”

Herron hired Holt unusually early for a composer, after she’d completed editing the first episode during the pandemic shutdown. She knew that the particular sci-fi film noir look of the show that she was developing with Durald needed similarly unique music, and she liked that part of Holt’s pitch was focusing on Loki’s identity as a character.

“Her music then started to inspire how I wanted to shoot other scenes,” Herron says. She’s especially enamored of Holt’s vision for her dynamic and foreboding theme for the TVA.

“She was like, ‘Oh, let’s have that theme be Kang’s’ — well, He Who Remains, I guess, in our show. But I hope that will go on to be Kang’s theme. That was the real fun of it is that you feel like he’s really played a hand now across the whole show, because you realize that music is his music.”

Herron, Durald, and Holt all deliver distinctive and superlative work that’s nothing like the MCU has quite seen before — and nothing quite like anything previously in their careers, either. And that’s entirely the point.

“I think for us, it was about just showing people what we could do and that we could do it at this level,” Herron says.

The episode in which Loki comes out as bisexual was inspired by Alfonso Cuarón and Richard Linklater.

Every episode of “Loki” features multiple extended scenes of two characters just talking to one another, a rarity in a comic book production. Herron says that cutting Episode 1 together during the pandemic lockdown and seeing the scenes between Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) play out so well “definitely gave us confidence” to continue that rhythm for the rest of the show.

That was especially true for Episode 3. Written by Bisha K. Ali (who went on to create the upcoming Marvel Studios series “Ms. Marvel”), the episode is essentially an extended meet-cute between Loki and Sylvie as they get to know each other on a planet doomed for total annihilation.

“Bisha’s reference was ‘Before Sunrise’ and ‘Children of Men,'” says Herron. “And it lit my brain on fire. It was kind of weird. It was almost like a bottle episode in the sense that we’re just with the two characters, but obviously, it’s Marvel, right? So they’re bonding in this Apocalypse, which also feels very Loki at the same time.”

That episode is best known for making Marvel Studios history, when Loki casually mentions that he’s had dalliances with both men and women. Herron says that when she first interviewed for the job, she asked if the show was going to acknowledge Loki’s sexuality, which had long been established in the comics as bisexual or pansexual.

“I think everyone wanted to acknowledge it,” she says. “It was just really about giving a care and consideration and doing it in the right way. I think everyone knew it was gonna be quite a big moment. So it was just really about doing it in a way that felt respectful. And honoring it.”

Herron also confirms what many fans had suspected, that she deliberately made the lighting scheme for the scene evoke the blue, purple and red of the bisexual flag. “We knew what we were doing with that scene,” she says with a smile.

She has a lot of ideas for what she’d like to see in Season 2.

Since Herron will be watching Season 2 of “Loki” only “as a fan,” she is also free to wildly speculate as to what she’d most like to see happen — like how, wherever Loki story leads, “we’ve opened the door” for the character to explore his sexuality with men as well as women.

Otherwise? She says she wants to know where Judge Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) goes to when she leaves the TVA in search, she tells Mobius, of “free will.”

“I love her,” Herron says. “Gugu used to always call her an indoor girl, which made me laugh, but she is. She’s in the office, but she used to be this kick-ass Hunter. So I’m like, Okay, well, where’s her path going?”

Herron is also keen to learn more about Hunter B-15’s backstory — since she deliberately decided to hide it in the scene in Episode 4 when Sylvie shows B-15 her repressed memories as a variant.

“I was like, we shouldn’t see her memories,” Herron says. “It’s a character that thought they had power and realizes they have no power. It felt really powerful to at least give her some power in that scenario. The memories are private. They’re hers.” She pauses. “Also as a fan, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, who is she?!'”

“And obviously, you know, Loki and Sylvie?” Herron continues, on a roll. “He’s in a completely different reality. What’s going to happen to him? How will he get back? Or will he get back? And where’s Sylvie? She’s still in the Citadel? And the multiverse of it all. What the hell is going to happen?!”

Herron chuckles at her own excitement. “So I think there’s so many questions to be answered, and so much more road to travel with all our characters,” she says. “You know, I’m really proud that I got to set up Loki’s story here. But there’s so many different aspects of his identity and personality that’s yet to be explored. I’m excited to see where it goes.”

[gdwessel]

Otani Surgery Successful, Treatment Begins; NJPW Windy City Riot 4/16/2022: Surprise Return & Juice Robinson Farewell; NJPW, AJPW, Joshi Summit Shows for Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary 4/15 + 4/16/2022; AJPW Champion Carnival, STARDOM Cinderella, DDT, Tokyo Joshi, Dragon Gate, NOAH Results

Shinjiro Otani had a surgery on Wednesday on his spine, for the cervical spinal injury he suffered last Sunday in the main event of ZERO1’s show at Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan. It was said the procedure “went as planned,” and Otani has now been moved to another hospital to begin the next phase of his treatment and hopeful recovery. Otani’s wife Eriko also released a statement (translated by POST Wrestling):

"I married a professional wrestler, Shinjiro Otani, so I was prepared to accept a situation like this, but when I think of Shinjiro’s disappointment, I cry. However, we will not look down, but forward, and with the help of pro wrestling, we will continue to support Mr. Shinjiro. We will do our best with your warm support. We hope that you will continue to watch over us warmly. Finally, I would like to ask for your continued support for Zero One and all the wrestlers that Mr. Shinjiro has been protecting."

As ever, we’ll keep you posted.

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Last night in my neck of the woods (or really, 20 minutes south of my neck of the woods), New Japan of America ran Windy City Riot, a live PPV event in Japanese on NJPWWorld, and in English on FITE TV. Apparently the FITE TV feed has issues, and from comments seen on Twitter, this is not the first time this has been an issue with the English live feeds on FITE TV (I have never watched any so I don’t know for certain).

I was actually in attendance for this one, my first live wrestling event since AEW Revolution 2020. I missed the first couple of matches due to parking issues, and also the massive line of people that was still outside even after the show started. I ended up actually being sat with a whole bunch of Rocky Romero’s extended family members, including his mother, whom I talked to and is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met on this planet.

Windy City Riot - 4/16/2022 Odeum Expo Center, Villa Park, IL (FITE TV)

Rocky Romero [CHAOS] & Wheeler Yuta [AEW] d. Kevin Knight & The DKC (9:30)

QT Marshall, Aaron Solow & Nick Comoroto [AEW] d. Karl Fredericks, Yuya Uemura & Clark Connors (Marshall > Uemura, Diamond Cutter, 11:56)

Chris Dickinson, Ren Narita, Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin & Josh Alexander [Impact] d. Danny Limelight, Black Tiger, JR Kratos, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs [Team Filthy] (Rosser > Tiger, Crossface Chickenwing, 13:50)

NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor [Team Filthy] (c) d. Yuji Nagata (Strangle Knee, 13:57) - Lawlor succeeds his 9th defense

Jeff Cobb, Great O-Khan, Aaron Henare, TJP, Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher [United Empire] d. Scott Norton, Karl Anderson [Bullet Club], Doc Gallows [Bullet Club], Chris Bey [Bullet Club], Hikuleo [Bullet Club] & El Phantasmo [Bullet Club] (Fletcher > Bey, Corealis, )

Chicago Street Fight: Juice Robinson, David Finlay Jr. & Brody King [AEW] d. JONAH, Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito (Finlay > JONAH, Acid Drop, 24:11)

U-S-Of-Jay Open Challenge: Jay White [Bullet Club] d. Shota Umino (Blade Runner, 15:45)

Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] d. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] (Vertical Drop Brainbuster, 18:46)

Jon Moxley [AEW] d. Will Ospreay [United Empire] (Death Rider, 21:24)

The finish of the main was kinda screwy. A very bloody Mox hit two Death Riders on Ospreay, which lead to a 2.9 count but the bell was rung regardless. Mox then applied a bulldog choke on Ospreay to “fix” the finish, and then hit a Death Rider on the ref before getting a mic. Moxley then declared he actually had respect for Ospreay now for stepping up, and called out Hiroshi Tanahashi one last time, to meet him at Capitol Collision in Washington, DC, on 5/14/2022, or else.

Tomohiro Ishii beat Minoru Suzuki, which prompted a challenge from AEW’s Eddie Kingston, also at the DC show; Brody King challenged Suzuki for the same.

The big surprise opponent for Jay White was introduced via video of Jon Moxley, saying “Go get him, Shooter!” Which was amazing. Shota Umino wrestles his first NJPW match of any kind since his final match in the 12th Young Lions Cup on 9/22/2019, having been in RevPro ever since, including during the pandemic. He looked amazing, very much in a Hiroshi Tanahashi mold, despite the obvious Moxley connection. Hopefully he’ll be back in the NJPW very soon.

Whilst we got one return, we also got what was very definitely a farewell, as it’s become publicly stated that Juice Robinson is not renewing with NJPW once his contract runs out at the end of this month. Indeed, the interview where he said this has him saying he may not return to wrestling at all, as he “doesn’t have the urge to wrestle really anymore.”  He is currently engaged to AEW’s Toni Storm, so he may be able to live vicariously on that Tony Khan money for a little while. In any event, he hugged it out with Finlay post-match, and gave a very extended goodbye, including to a cheering section that was very clearly for him with signs and everything. Whatever he ends up doing, hope he does well. A big part of that match saw both Juice v. Tito and Brody King v. Shane Haste in my area of the seating, so that was fun.

I was also very pleased to see Great O-Khan live, and he even gave a post-match promo as the Empire beat the Bullet Club. There were too many people in that match; Scott Norton is now apparently part of the Bullet Club, betraying TEAM2000 (With Cheeseburger) in the process. Also, Norton was good for a couple of bumps and a suplex or two, but that was about it. Nagata goaded Lawlor into making their match a title match, which Lawlor won.

There were no announcements or teases about the rumored AEW + NJPW joint promoted show in Chicago that has been the talk of Wrestling Twitter this weekend. It looks like anything to do with that will be coming up on AEW Dynamite this Wednesday, as Tony Khan may want to deliver this message on his own.

All in all, it was a pretty fun return to live wrestling, especially for a show I was initially iffy about for various reasons. It does not appear that there was an NJPW Strong episode last night either, so there’s one less thing I need to write up.

Tomorrow begins the Golden Fight Series tour in Japan. As for what the rest of the roster were up to this week? See below….

Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary

This weekend saw two shows commemorating the 60th Anniversary, having first opened on 4/16/1962. In addition to its status as the place to go for pro wrestling (indeed, for some promotions Korakuen Hall is the biggest show they run), there were boxing matches held here during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. I don’t exactly know why they chose not to do the same in the 202(1) Olympiad, but here we are.

Two shows were run here. On Friday, a joshi summit card, with wrestlers from all sorts of companies taking part in the event, while Saturday had a joint AJPW/NJPW 50th Anniversary show. The shows were shown on SKYPerfect TV, so I am assuming they will be available at some point, on NJPWWorld if nothing else for the Saturday event. Attendances for these shows were listed at 1251 and 1588 – if that is the case, that is the highest Korakuen Hall attendance for either NJPW or AJPW since before COVID-19. It makes me wonder if restrictions are looser now, or Korakuen Hall is simply not following them.

Show results:

Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary Festival: Joshi Pro Wrestling Dream Festival - 4/15/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Maria [Marvelous] TLD Riko Kawahata [T-HEARTS] (10:00)

Asahi [Ice Ribbon], Crea [PURE-J], Kaho Matsushita [Ice Ribbon] d. Madeleine [Diana], Nanami [Diana] & Kanon [Sendai Girls] (Crea > Kanon, Sky de Special, 9:24)

Yuki Miyazaki [WAVE], Hirota Sakura [WAVE] & Hibiscus Mii [Ryukyu Dragon] d. Tomoko Watanabe [Marvelous], Kaori Yoneyama [YMZ] & Yuki Mashiro [Ice Ribbon] (Miyazaki > Mashiro, Moonsault Press, 13:03)

Koguma [STARDOM], Manami [Sendai Girls] & Chie Ozora [PURE-J] d. Yuko Sakurai [COLOR’S], Rico Kaiji [SEAdLINNNG] & Lady C [STARDOM] (Koguma > Sakurai, Diving Body Press, 8:52)

Kyoko Inoue [Diana], Sonoko Kato [OZ Academy] & Leon [PURE-J] d. AKINO [OZ Academy], Ayako Sato [Diana] & Rydeen Hagane [PURE-J] (Inoue > Hagane, lariat, 10:21)

Tsukasa Fujimoto [Ice Ribbon] & Arisa Nakajima [SEAdLINNNG] d. Yurika Oka [Sendai Girls] & Ai Hozan [Marvelous] (Fujimoto > Hozan, Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex Hold, 9:34)

Unagi Sayaka & Mina Shirakawa [STARDOM] TLD Rin Kadokura [Marvelous] & Haruka Umesaki [Diana] (15:00)

Chihiro Hashimoto [Sendai Girls] & Yuu [EVE] d. MIRAI [STARDOM] & Maika Ozaki [FREE] (Hashimoto > Ozaki, Albright, 18:51)

Mayumi Ozaki [OZ Academy], Maya Yukihi [FREE] & Starlight Kid [STARDOM] d. Nagisa Nozaki [WAVE], SAKI [COLOR’S] & Takumi Iroha [Marvelous] (Kid > SAKI, Eternal Foe, 29:31)

Starlight spit mist to set up her win. Ozaki questioned it, but understood as she has been a heel in the past too. STARDOM’s champion Syuri stared down Chihiro after the semi-main. Sayaka/Shirakawa will be going to Diana on 4/29/2022 (the date of STARDOM’s big show at Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium) ti challenge for the WWWD tag team titles from Haruka Umesaki & Miyuki Takase.

Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary Festival: 50th Anniversary New Japan Pro Wrestling + All Japan Pro Wrestling - 4/16/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Kosei Fujita d. Ryo Inoue (Boston Crab, 9:32)

Yoshitatsu, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato d. Takao Omori, Yuto Nakashima & Ryohei Oiwa (Yoshitatsu > Oiwa, Backdrop Hold, 8:01)

TAJIRI [TOTAL ECLIPSE] & Toru Yano [CHAOS] d. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG] & Black Menso-re (TAJIRI > Menso-re, Samson Clutch, 10:12)

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] d. Yuma Aoyagi [NEXTREAM], Atsuki Aoyagi [NEXTREAM], Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (Naito > Honma, Destino, 17:25)

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH [CHAOS] d. Suwama, Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura [Evolution] (Goto > Tamura, Shoto, 13:47)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kento Miyahara [NEXTREAM] TLD Jake Lee [TOTAL ECLIPSE] & Taichi [SZKG] (30:00)

Tanahashi invited Jake Lee to come to NJPW any time. Kento said he wanted to face Tana once again in the ring, which Tana was all into as well. This is, I believe, Kosei Fujita’s first ever victory!

And while we are talking AJPW...

All Japan Pro Wrestling

Champion Carnival rolled on Friday with another round of matches:

Champion Carnival 2022 Night 5 - 4/15/2022, Tokyo Shinkiba 1st-RING

Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura [Evolution] d. Izanagi & Ryo Inoue (Tamura > Inoue, Boston Crab, 9:21)

TAJIRI & Koji Doi [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Takao Omori & Black Menso-re (Doi > Menso-re, Hitogoroshi Lariat, 8:42) 

Jake Lee, Hokurto Omori & Yusuke Kodama [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Kento Miyahara, Atsushi Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO [NEXTREAM] (Omori > HAYATO, Narcissist Roll, 9:53)

Champion Carnival A Block: Shigehiro Irie d. Ryuki Honda [TOTAL ECLIPSE] (Flying Headbutt, 10:08)

Champion Carnival B Block: Yuma Aoyagi [NEXTREAM] d. Yoshitatsu (Pinfall counter, 9:11)

Champion Carnival A Block: Shuji Ishikawa d. Shotaro Ashino [Evolution] (Splash Mountain, 12:36)

Champion Carnival B Block: Suwama [Evolution] d. Kuma Arashi [TOTAL ECLIPSE] (Backdrop Hold, 14:48)

Here are the current standings after Day 5:

A Block T-Hawk: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Irie: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Ishikawa: 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Ashino: 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Lee: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Honda: 0pts (0W 0D 3L)

B Block Suwama: 5pts (2W 1D 1L) Aoyagi: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Nomura: 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Miyahara: 3pts (1W 1D 1L) Arashi: 2pts (1W 0D 2L) Yoshitatsu: 2pts (1W 0D 2L)

Suwama suddenly takes the lead in B Block with Yuma breathing down his neck. All tied up in A Block, except for Honda, who is still winless.

AJPW takes a break until Saturday from Chiba, continuing Champion Carnival.

STARDOM

STARDOM resumed the Cinderella Tournament 2022 with a show from Tokyo Korakuen Hall. They are listing this one at 1151 attendance, lending credence to the idea that Korakuen Hall, at least, is no longer restricting attendance numbers since we are getting back to what they were pre-pandemic. The second round wrapped up here, as well as the quarterfinals.

Cinderella Tournament 2022 - 4/17/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Thekla [Donna del Mondo] d. Lady C [Queen’s Quest] (Leg Roll Clutch, 5:35)

Hanan, Hazuki & Momo Kohgo [STARS] d. Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa & Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Hazuki > Tsukiyama, Michinoku Driver II, 8:22)

Utami Hayashishita, AZM, Saya Kamitani, Hina & Miyu Amasaki [Queen’s Quest] d. Ruake, Rina, Starlight Kid, Momo Watanabe & Fukigen Death [Oedo Tai] (Hina > Ruaka, 11:18)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Saya Iida [STARS] d. Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] (Iidaiwa, 5:52)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Natsupoi [Donna del Mondo] d. Unagi Sayaka [Cosmic Angels] (Fairy Train, 4:45)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Koguma [STARS] d. Giulia [Donna del Mondo] (OTTR, 7:38)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Saki Kashima [Oedo Tai] d. Mayu Iwatani [STARS] (Kishikaisei, 0:17)

Syrui & Ami Sorei [God’s Eye] TLD Maika & Himeka [Donna del Mondo] (15:00)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 Quarterfinal: Koguma [STARS] d. Saya Iida [STARS] (120% Schoolboy, 4:52)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 Quarterfinal: MIRAI [God’s Eye] d. Saki Kashima [Oedo Tai] (Miramare, 6:47)

With this, the semifinals are now set for the tournament final show on 4/29/2022 from Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium, that will also feature two title matches. The semis are Hazuki v. Koguma, and MIRAI v. Natsupoi. STARDOM’s next show is Saturday 4/23/2022 from Hyogo Kobe Sambo Hall.

DDT / Tokyo Joshi

Marika Kobashi has retired from pro wrestling (at least for now, until she finishes college), and her retirement show was today in Tokyo Joshi.

TJPW Spring Tour ‘22 - 4/17/2022, Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall (Wrestle Universe)

Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta d. Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku (Noa > Harajuku, Rotating Foot Hold, 8:59)

Miyu Yamashita, Raku & Yuki Arai d. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu (Yamashita > Kiryu, Attitude Adjustment, 12:50)

Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki d. Maki Itoh & Haruna Neko (Sakazaki > Neko, Magical Merry-Go-Round, 13:45)

Hyper Misao, Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto d. Shoko Nakajima, Suzume & Arisu Endo (Misao > Endo, Hypami Returns, 12:52)

Marika Kobashi Graduation Commemorative 1 v. 20 Handicap Tag Match: Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Yuki Kamifuku, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Moka Miyamoto, Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Yuki Arai  d. Marika Kobashi - All 20 Wrestlers > Kobashi, Goodnight Express, 2:26 - Raku > Kobashi, Front Neck Lock, 17:41 - Yamashita > Kobashi, Attitude Adjustment, 21:10

Kobashi said she is focusing on graduating and doing new things that will help her be a more rounded wrestler, and hopes to return to TJPW some day, as well as actually beat Abdullah Kobayashi. Hyper Misao gets a win on her way to challenging Shoko Nakajima, using Nakajima’s title belt as a weapon both pre- and during the match.

Meanwhile, DDT posted the semi-finals to the King Of Street Wrestling tournament yesterday.

King of Street Wrestling - 4/16/2022, various (Wrestle Universe)

King of Street Wrestling Semi-Final – Shizuoka Fumotoppara: Chris Brookes d. Hikaru Machida (Octopus Stretch on top of a tree, 22:24)

King of Street Wrestling Semi-Final – Kanagawa Ofuronokuni: Abdullah Kobayashi [BJW] d. Shunma Katsumata [The 37KAMIINA] (Bakachinga Elbow into a bubble bath, 22:07)

The first match was at a campground. The second was at a public bath house. The final is Brookes v. Abdullah, which will be shown 4/23/2022, taking place at a Sengoku battle site in Kawanakajima in Nagano Prefecture.

DDT also ran a show with indie promotion ONLY WE.

DDT / ONLY WE Max Bump 2022 Tour In Chiba - 4/17/2022, Chiba 2AW Square (Wrestle Universe)

Soma Takao d. Yuya Koroku (Official Endless Waltz, 8:41)

Danshoku Dino & Yuki Iino [Pheromones] NC Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda (11:33)

Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani [Eruption] d. Hiroshi Yamato, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida (Higuchi > Ishida, Brain Claw Slam, 9:20)

Yukio Naya & KANON d. Akito & Shunma Katsumata [The 37KAMIINA] (Naya > Katsumata, Backdrop Hold, 13:20)

Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada [Burning] d. Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima [The 37KAMIINA] (Okada > Kojima, Sudden Death, 20:29)

HARASHIMA [DISASTER BOX], Yuji Hino & Quiet Storm d. Daisuke Sasaki [DAMNATION TA], Shogun Okamoto & Akira Raijin (Storm > Raijin, 50cm Arm Lariat, 14:13)

DDT next run on 4/22/2022 from Tokyo Shinjuku FACE.

Dragon Gate

The Gate of Passion 2022 tour resumed on Saturday. Earlier today, the company held a matinee and evening show from Fukuoka, both of which were streamed live on DG Network.

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 8 - 4/16/2022, Nagasaki Heiwakaikan Hall

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] d. Yosuke Santa Maria, Strong Machine J & Takuma Fujiwara (Minoura > Fujiwara, R-301, 11:12)

Shun Skywalker [Z-Brats] d. Ishin Iihashi (Moonsault Knee Drop, 10:03)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. KAI & SB KENTo [Z-Brats] (Dia > KENTo, DQ, 10:00)

Jason Lee d. U-T [Natural Vibes] (Inside Cradle, 7:52)

Ultimo Dragon, Eita & Yasushi Kanda d. BxB Hulk, HYO & Diamante [Z-Brats] (Kanda > HYO, Inside Cradle, 9:28)

YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Ben-K & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] d. Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka, Big Boss Shimizu & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (YAMATO > Kamei, Galleria, 18:02)

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 9 Afternoon Show - 4/17/2022, Fukuoka Acros Fukuoka (DG Network)

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] d. Big Boss [Natural Vibes], U-T [Natural Vibes] & Takuma Fujiwara (Minoura > Fujiwara, R-301, 11:28)

Masaaki Mochizuki d. Stan Ichikawa (Lariat, 0:13)

Ultimo Dragon, Dragon Kid [HIGH-END] & Ben-K [HIGH-END] d. Eita, Yosuke Santa Maria & Ishin Iihashi (Ben-K > Ishin, Spear, 11:45)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. YAMATO & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] (Yoshioka > Okuda, Frog Splash, 12:11)

BxB Hulk & HYO [Z-Brats] d. Jason Lee & Strong Machine J (HYO > J, Nekotamashi, 8:56)

KAI, SB KENTo, Shun Skywalker & Diamante [Z-Brats] d. Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka, Genki Horiguchi & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (Skywalker > Kamei, SSW, 14:44)

Some sort of drama happened between Ultimo Dragon and the members of HIGH-END. Shun basically abducted Jason Lee after the semi-main, leading to…

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 9 Evening Show - 4/17/2022, Fukuoka Acros Fukuoka (DG Network)

Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka & U-T [Natural Vibes] d. KAI, BxB Hulk & HYO [Z-Brats] (Yokosuka > HYO, Yokosuka Cutter, 11:21)

Eita d. Ishin Iihashi (Boston Crab, 8:34)

Shun Skywalker [Z-Brats] & Jason Lee d. Big Boss Shimizu & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (Lee > Kamei, Maximum Driver, 11:22)

Yosuke Santa Maria, Strong Machine J & Takuma Fujiwara d. Ultimo Dragon, Masaaki Mochizuki & Genki Horiguchi [Natural Vibes] (J > Horiguchi, Machine Suplex, 9:00)

Masaaki Mochizuki d. Stan Ishikawa (Udegatame, 5:44)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. SB KENTo & Diamante [Z-Brats] (Dia > KENTo, DQ, 8:03)

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi, Kaito Ishida & Minorita [Gold Class] d. YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Ben-K & Keisuke Okuda (Minoura > Okuda, R-301, 14:30)

Gold Class dared anyone to challenge them for the Open The Triangle Gate titles to close the show, and nobody did. Shun Skywalker forced Jason Lee into a tag match with him, still calling him his “property.” This will all, hopefully, be resolved at the 4/25/2022 Korakuen Hall show. Shun also made a challenge for the Open The Twin Gate titles for Dead Or Alive 2022, however GM Ryo Saito shot it down, saying Dragon Dia already has a match booked, against Shun’s own stablemate at that. Seems like a very wrestling thing to make someone with two titles defend both on a show, but what do I know.

The tour continues with a house show tomorrow, before a break, then resumes Thursday with a streamed show from Kyoto KBS Hall.

Pro Wrestling NOAH

NOAH held the final Real Overture 2022 show, before their big weekend at Ryogoku at the end of the month.

Real Overture 2022 - 4/17/2022, Niigata Bandaijima Multipurpose Plaza (Wrestle Universe)

Seiki Yoshioka [STINGER] d. Kai Fujimura (Tornado Strike, 7:26)

Tadasuke & Hajime Ohara [Kongo] d. NOSAWA Rongai & Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon] (Tadasuke > Rongai, Fuyuki Special, 8:36)

Daisuke Harada d. Alejandro (Katayama German Suplex Hold, 10:39)

Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada d. King Tany, Muhammad Yone & Akitoshi Saito [Funky Express] (Inaba > Tany, DDD, 14:59)

Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY & Junta Miyawaki d. HAYATA [STINGER], Yoshinari Ogawa [STINGER] & Yasutaka Yano (Kotoge > Yano, Killswitch, 17:38)

Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] & Kotaro Suzuki [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuya Susmu [STINGER] (Suzuki > Susumu, Tiger Driver, 16:32)

Takashi Sugiura [Sugiura-gun], Go Shiozaki, Masa Kitamiya & Hao d. Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya & Nio [Kongo] (Shiozaki > Nio, Gowan Lariat, 20:13)

Shiozaki declared “We Are NOAH!” once more in victory. Kenoh & Nakajima attacked Sugiura backstage. Hao v. Nio will not only be a match for their names, but their hair as well.

NOAH is now off until 4/29/2022, the first night of Majestic at Sumo Hall.

Other News

A Jumbo Tsuruta Memorial Show will be taking place on 5/31/2022 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall. So far only one match has been signed, Yuji Nagata & Suwama v. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku, but Shingo Takagi, Jun Akiyama, Tatsumi Fujinami, Great Kojika, and others will be taking part. Guests will include Stan Hansen, Kenta Kobashi, Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue.

Another memorial show at Korakuen Hall, for Hana Kimura on 5/23/2022, has their main booked, with STARDOM’s Syuri v. DDT’s Asuka. I am still rattled by her death.

Yuko Miyamoto remains BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion, beating Hideyoshi Kamitani today in Sapporo for his fifth successful defense. Drew Parker challenged Miyamoto for Yokohama Budokan on 5/5/2022, whilst Kamitani accepted a challenge from the team of Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe for Kamitani/Daichi Hashimoto’s tag team titles.

A lot of other promotions ran this weekend. This weekend was a lot. And Golden Week will be coming soon as well.

[minidigidestined]

Antlion and Seung

A oneshot I started like a year ago and finished the other day. it is the meeting of two of my OCs, Antlion and Seung. Just something short, simple and fun... I may rework it and turn it into its own series!

XXX

"Alright, Bonk, let's get out of here. I think we've got about all we can carry." Auburn hair tied into twin tails with string fluttered in the spring breeze as a stout woman screwed the cap back on the last of the many canteens hanging from the belt at her waist, slipping a morel mushroom into the straps on her back. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the hem of her dress, squinting at the fading sun. "Plus it's getting late. Owls will be out." Each movement--down to the most minute--efficient, sure and almost mechanical. A round toad, pale white and studded with cheerfully ruddy warts, stared back at her with scarlet eyes. He stood about an inch or two taller than his possibly human companion--well, if you didn't count her absolutely diminutive stature or slitted eyes, along with a few other uncanny features.   Bonk cocked his head, looking concerned and almost as uncanny as the girl with his wide mouth and unwavering stare.   His throat swelled with a chirp of warning, but the tiny woman was preoccupied with situating the plump morel among her gear. "This'll be some great eating! Mix it up with some roasted crickets back at the hollow and we'll definitely be good to hole up for a coup--" The ground rumbled with the slightest of vibrations, but silence hung heavy in the air--with even the cicada choir gone quiet, that definitely meant there was some sneaky predator around.   "Bonk, go!" Without a second thought, the tiny lady swung atop her warty steed, grasping onto his parotid glands for purchase. The albino toad lurched forward with a mighty hop, abandoning their puddle of rainwater and shooting toward the trail leading to their burrow in the gnarled roots of an old oak... ...And slammed straight into an open palm. "Hm. I'm sorry." The voice that rumbled above them was thoughtful, quiet, calculating. And yet no less terrifying. A human this far in the woods couldn't mean anything good. Bonk fell backwards, chirping desperately as he sprung up to cover his friend with his heavy-set body, flattening down on top of her. Terrified, she pressed her face into the soft bumpy skin of his belly, mind rushing to think of the old Nature Queens her mother had taught her about when she was young. Something to pray to. To cry to. And quite possibly to curse at. She had never once been this foolish and oblivious before, but she had just been so tired and hungry... She and Bonk both had lost so much weight during the barren winter, but she thought with the recent rain their luck was changing at last. She got too excited, a rookie mistake when out foraging. "Stupid..." She grit her teeth together, willing her tears away as she felt Bonk's rapid heartbeat thrum against her face.   "An albino--how rare and pretty." The once-before dreary voice now seemed to hold a bit of sparkle. "Let me get a good look at you...you're a big guy for being so bright out here. Figured you would have been eaten by now. Lucky one." Long fingers gently curled around Bonk's abdomen, lifting the little toad right on up despite his now outraged wriggling. "Piss rocket, Bonk! Piss on him!" The girl grit between her teeth.   She knew the human would see her any second now--and once he did, it was all over. Bonk began to squirm wildly, spraying a certain kind of liquid artillery as his tiny feet grasped for his friend's hands. His red eyes shone with terror, the woman's own black eyes reflecting pure rage. The human lifted Bonk completely into the air after getting a firm grasp on his back legs, turning the amphibian with a sure hand to face their visage head-on. The tiny woman finally got a good look at them--tall and rail thin, pale eyes and hair brushed away from their brow and tied in a high ponytail. Everything about them seemed pointed and grim,  fragile like glass, a stark contrast to both the woman and Bonk's soft, rounded and much sturdier looking shapes. "Such bright colors." The human mused, flipping Bonk over to inspect his belly. "I just can't get over it. How did such a garish little thing like you survive so long?"   The woman eyed a strange contraption hanging around the human's neck, a circular lens catching the last of the fading sun. Bonk smacked the human with his front feet and swelled his throat, all out of pee and struggling to escape. I can't let this go on, The woman thought. Who cares about the elf courts? The rules? No one's here to listen in now. No nobles have ever helped me, and I refuse to let a damn thing happen to Bonk! The tiny lass, no more  than a few inches tall, whisked her blade from the strap at her hip--be it but a sewing needle, she knew it could still draw blood if neccessary. She slipped the morel from her back to use as a, uh... Club? Shield? She wasn't quite sure at this point, vision going red with rage and brain dizzy with fear. He's all I have left. "Put him down!" She cried at the top of her little lungs. "Or else my Deathweaver will have a taste of you, human!" The human seemed to startle for a moment, flinching inward and glancing around almost sheepishly. Then their gaze flicked down, jaw going slack. I'm all he has. Anything but leaving him behind, She reminded herself as her blood turned to ice.   She tried to imagine herself as a human would--being tiny was shocking enough she was sure, but her long ears, mottled white and tan skin, black spots, slitted eyes, whip tail and her hands covered in setae? She had seen how humans reacted before... Knowing some kind of earth magic would be great right about now... Anything more than a knitting needle to keep from getting stepped on. Oh, how she wished she had been as talented as the rest of her family! "...You look like a House Gecko. Mediterranean." The human blinked. "But a person. At the same time. Huh." She blinked back, then sneered. "I am Antlion." The woman gripped her needle, growling. "And you will unhand my friend at once!"   She was shaking uncontrollably. The human continued to stare, Bonk himself going still and cocking his head as if confused by the sudden stand-off.   "Well, I'm Seung." The human said, plainly. "I need to get a look at you." "Excuse me?! I'll poke out your--" Her war cry became a squeal when the human reached forward with his free hand. She rolled out of the way--just how Honey-Lavender taught me--but it still wasn't enough. The human's fingers caught the strap across her back, lifting her right off the ground. Antlion snarled, kicking her legs and thrusting her needle upwards. She laughed when it raced across the human's palm, making them wince. "Bring me to your face, Seung!" She hissed out mockingly. "Let's see you look at me with no eyes!" Seung's lips twisted in a wry smile. "What a shame that would be." "Eeugh?" Antlion felt heat rise to her cheeks before baring her teeth. "Let my friend go or your nose is mine!" She pointed the needle right at their face, wincing inwardly when she noticed something more along the lines of a paper cut rather than the grievous wound she had been aiming for on her foe's wrist. "You've got attitude. Usually house geckos are runners. How interesting. You do have the markings though. Does your tail drop?" Antlion stared straight forward, her black and silver eyes locked into his own. The clear blue of a frozen lake. An early morning sky before frost. Delicate as glass. She burned. She'd do anything to melt that ice into nothing. The little woman cursed her diminutive size. "Hm. I could see why you'd be frustrated." They seemed to snap out of a fog. "I guess that was rude. I've just never seen anything like you. And your companion is an albino american toad? With your...aggression, I suppose I know how he's survived so long despite his color." Bonk croaked indignantly. Antlion's eyes narrowed, her sword arm unwavering. "We grew up together, I raised him from a tadpole. I'd do anything to keep him safe--even slay a giant like you." "There's no need for any slaying." Seung said dryly, the edge of their mouth curling into something like a smile. "Let me prove it to you." Carefully, they lowered both of their hands to the earth, placing each of his tiny charges back on the ground. "There." Antlion's heart was in her throat, even as Bonk pressed his face into her shoulders, his body loose with relief. "What are you doing, human?" "I would just like to talk. Ask some questions." Seung said delicately. "I'm studying herpetology right now, and I'm the president of the photography club. The only member of it, actually." "I do not know what your silly words mean." Antlion's eyes became angry slits, the human's shadow encompassing her. "That's okay, we'll get there." Seung nodded, as if this were all completely natural to them. "What do you mean?" Antlion demanded, eying them warily as she sheathed her Deathweaver. "We are friends now, are we not? I have a bit of cheese and crackers I'm willing to spare. Let us sit and talk awhile." The little gecko woman blinked. This human was...different. Intriguing and unflinching. She held tight to her anger. Anger kept you safe. But it had been so very long since she had cheese... So even though she was breaking about thirty seven different laws...in their shadow they remained. "I will speak in exchange for cheese." Antlion huffed. "But we are not friends. You giants are my enemy!" Seung smirked softly, reaching into their bag for the snacks. "Of course. So, why don't we start with what in the world you are, then?" Antlion sucked in a deep breath. Bonk nudged her arm, looking just as curious and hungry as she did. She had been lonely for such a long time. Quiet for even longer. And this human...odd as they were, they were also kind. Gentle. Even after she had threatened and spit and spat at them. Perhaps they could be useful to a beast elf like her. After all, there were no law keepers to punish her for simply...using the resources around her, now was there? So she let go for the first time in many years, and began to speak.

Patreon: https://href.li/?https://www.patreon.com/toadwarts?fan_landing=true

Ko-fi:    ko-fi.com/toadwarts

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToadWarts

[side-effect-of-the-meds]

I know it’s not what you usually write, but could you do hc’s for Nicky / Aaron / Neil learning the actual timeline for Andrew and Roland’s “relationship” and then completely cutting Roland out of their lives? Bonus points if Neil like, kills or calls up Ichirou to kill him :) thanks :) I need closure :)

Don’t we all, babe? Here’s a lil something for your trouble

“How old were you when you lost your virginity,” Andrew read off the block. All the Upperclassmen, save Renee leaned forward in anticipation. Amidst the flood of articles published upon Andrew’s admittance to Easthaven, the media had muddled much of the story in regards to the entire Pre-Thanksgiving Fiasco. While Neil had taken the time to clear things up with the Upperclassmen, he’d left out a lot of the details, namely Andrew’s history of trauma.��

“It’s none of y’alls fucking buisness-” Aaron started. 

“Seven.” It was as though someone had sucked all the air out of the room. “He was dating my foster mother. She knew what he was doing. So long as she got her check, she didn’t care.”

Folding his hands in his lap in an attempt to sate his urge to reach out, Neil let his eyes go out of focus. Every single fiber of his being ached to touch Andrew. For eight months, Andrew had stood by his side, quelling his every urge to run despite the looming threat of his father. Even after Nathan’s death, Neil had bolted awake in the middle of nights, iching to cut and run. Every single time, Andrew had hooked a hand behind his neck, drawn him close, muttered quiet reassurances until he’d smoothed over all of Neil’s ragged edges. Admitting this could not be easy for Andrew. Why he’d even done it, Neil didn’t know but he wished that he could offer Andrew with at least a fraction of the support he’d provided him in the last year. By nothing short of a miracle, he was granted the opportunity to. 

Andrew’s arm dropped from off the couch back, settling across Neil’s shoulders. Immediately, Neil felt himself relax. 

“How old were you when you chose to have sex for the first time?” Nicky asked, hesitantly. That wasn’t a distinction anyone should ever have to draw and it cut Neil deeper than any of his father’s knives. 

“Seventeen,” Andrew answered. The Foxes collectively exhaled. In South Carolina, the age of consent was sixteen. It probably wasn’t a good call to grant hormonally charged teens the legal ability to consent to sex but what were they going to do? Have sex with an adult? 

“Who was it?” Nicky asked. Aaron groaned, clapping his hands over his ears. 

“Roland,” Andrew admitted. The second the name left his lips, Nicky’s smile faltered. Aaron’s hands dropped away, his brows knitting together as they always did when he was sorting through something. 

“No way,” Nicky laughed but it was false cheer. Concern welled in Neil’s chest. “Andrew, when you were seventeen, Roland was…”

“Twenty-three,” Aaron said. His voice was empty, devoid of all the fury painting his features. “He was twenty-three years old and you were a child.”

“I’m more than capable of making my own-” Andrew started.

“No you fucking weren’t!” Aaron roared. “He was your boss. Not only was he older than you, he was in a place of power.” Once more, a pregnant silence fell over the Foxes. None of the Upperclassmen nor Kevin deigned to intervene. 

“Aaron-” Andrew began.

“No,” he snapped. “I don’t- I can’t,” Aaron said as he rocketed out of his seat. Storming through, he knocked into the table and sent the jenga tower toppling. 

“How about we call it a night?” Matt asked. He didn’t wait for an answer before he began clearing away the blocks. Renee moved next, clearing up the glasses and coaxing Dan and Allison to help her with the dishes. Nicky stood, his movements mechanical as he made his way from the room. Kevin followed him out in silence. It wasn’t until everyone had left the room that Andrew moved. Unfurling from where he’d curled up on the couch, he drew his arm back from around Neil and stood. 

“Andrew,” Neil called quietly. There was something poisonous in the gaze he turned on Neil but it did nothing to deter him. “He wasn’t just older or your boss. He didn’t respect you.” Andrew’s lips curled in a snarl. “You had to handcuff him just to keep his hands off you.” Neil’s voice broke near the end but he didn’t care. It seemed to break something in Andrew too.His apathetic facade fell back into place but there were cracks in it now. From the slump of his shoulders to the muscle ticking in his jaw, Neil could see how their words had affected him. Andrew didn’t believe in regret for it was the result of shame and guilt. Surely, he felt neither of those things now. There was no shame in sating his desires. All teens had them. There was no guilt in it either. He wasn’t the one that had done anything wrong. 

Fishing his cigarettes out of his pocket, Andrew slipped one out of the carton and lit it up. He headed out the door with Neil at his heels. They parted ways at the door to their room, Andrew headed for the stairwell in search of some time to clear his head and Neil headed for their bed to give him the space he undoubtedly needed. 

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“How was y’alls weekend?” Bee asked, chipper as ever. “I heard you forwent the usual Columbia outing in favor of going to one of Dan’s game night.” Aaron’s heart stumbled. A wave of anger washed over him, thinly veiling the anguish beneath. Seven. Andrew had been hurting since he was seven. Not only that, but he’d allowed the unthinkable.

“How can you stand him?” Aaron asked, his body trembled as he struggled to contain his anger. 

“How can you stand her?” Andrew countered. As always, he looked entirely uninterested in the proceedings. He was slumped down in his chair, absently stirring his hot chocolate. 

“Tilda didn’t rape me.” Bee sat a little straighter. Immediately, her gaze flicked towards Andrew. Aaron watched as Andrew set his cup back onto the desk. 

“I trust Neil.” 

“Like you trusted Roland?” Aaron’s voice came out sounding cold, empty, and nothing like himself. Fury lit up Andrew’s face. “He was twenty-three, Andrew. An adult! You were seventeen. What the fuck were you thinking?” A heavy silence settled over them. Bee always gave the boys a few minutes to cool down or pick up the conversation without her own intervention. Just as she opened her mouth, Andrew spoke.

“It was the first time I’d felt in control of things,” he said finally. “Everyone was always taking what they wanted from me. My… arrangement with Roland was purely transactional. I got him off and I got to feel like I was in control.” Andrew picked his mug back up from the desk. Aaron watched as he drained it in one go. “In retrospect, I see that I wasn’t. My sense of control was an illusion that Roland allowed me to maintain so that he could get what he wanted.” 

“That’s a very interesting insight, Andrew,” Bee remarked. She made several notes on her clipboard as Aaron digested his brother’s words. That was all they had time for. The two of them allowed Bee to walk them to the door of the clinic and drove back to the court in silence. 

Despite it being the middle of practice, Nicky was standing in the parking lot. 

“Hey,” he said, plastering a smile to his face at the twins’ approach. 

“What are you doing?” Aaron asked. He watched as a shiver ran down his cousin’s spine at the chilly tone. 

“I left the flash drive with all my old photos of Erik at the house a while ago. I’ve gotta go grab it so I can make him a video for our 7th anniversary! Kevin’s letting me borrow his car too. How was Bee?” Neither of the twins answered. “Alright, good talk!” Nicky called after them.

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Good talk indeed. It seemed that neither of the twins suspected a thing. Cutting the engine on, Nicky peeled out of the lot. A month after Riko’s death, the Ravens had sent his old car to Kevin. They’d said that, as his brother and closest family member, Kevin should be the one to inherit all his belongings. Of course, their intentions weren’t as pure as the media portrayed them to be. Every single one of Riko’s belongings served as a reminder of Kevin’s time in the Nest. 

The Foxes had held a bonfire on the beach in which they’d burnt all of it. Neil had attended as well. From what Nicky had managed to wring from him, his mother had died on a beach and Neil had been forced to burn her body. 

“It won’t be easy,” Neil had admitted, “but I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” The smile that had stretched across his had been so undeniably fox-like that Nicky had done a double take. 

It was nice seeing Neil smile. It was even nicer to see the way Andrew relaxed around him. The two of them had been forged in the hellfires of their upbringings into the most wicked blades in the Fox arsenal. But that didn’t mean they were invincible. Even the sharpest of knives could be scratched and chipped and, eventually, broken. 

Ever since Andrew first arrived in Columbia, Nicky had sworn he’d protect his cousins to the best of his abilities. He’d never once managed it. In fact, more often than not, Andrew was the one protecting him. It was time he paid him back for it. 

Nicky pulled into the parking lot of the ramshackle apartments at the edge of Columbia in record time. Atop his car, lounged a familiar figure. 

“Nicky?” Roland called as he sat up. His eyes were red and he reeked of weed. “What are you doing all the way out here without Andrew?” Nicky could feel his blood boiling beneath his skin. 

“When did you start sleeping with him?” Nicky asked, struggling to keep his voice steady. Roland’s brows knitted together as he thought.

“Started maybe… four years ago? It ended as soon as your little runner joined the line, though. Shame,” Roland said, sliding off the trunk of his car, “Andrew was the best I’d ever had.” 

“Do you know how old he was?” Nicky demanded. There was no hiding the way it trembled now. 

“He was seventeen.” The answer was immediate and it knocked the air out of Nicky’s lungs. “He was legal,” Roland said with a shrug. The old one two, he heard Matt say in his head. It suddenly struck Nicky that Roland was older than he was. 

“He was a child,” Nicky roared. “My child!” Before he even realized, Nicky had closed the space between them. His hand came up, curled in a fist. The jarring pain of his own knuckles connecting with the side of Roland’s jaw knocked him back into his body. 

“What the fuck, Nicky-” Roland started but, as he looked up from where he’d fallen, terror washed over his face. 

“Don’t you ever speak to me or my boys again,” Nicky snarled. The drive back passed in a blur. Making his way up the stairs mechanically, Nicky headed back to his own room. When he opened the door, he found Andrew settled on the couch with Neil in his lap and a controller in his hands. Aaron was stretched out on the other couch, watching the screen. 

“Can’t wait to lose a fourth time, can you, Minyard?” Matt taunted. 

“Fuck off, Boyd,” Andrew snapped. Aaron laughed, warm and bright, and the sound filled the room. Nicky watched as Andrew’s gaze flicked over to his brother, the ghost of a smile flickering across his mouth. My boys, Nicky thought with a smile. 

“Come on, Nicky,” Matt called. “I need someone who’ll put up a real challenge.” 

“Get ready to have that fine ass of yours handed to you,” Nicky shot back. 

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“You’ve missed quite a few birthdays,” Neil said, offhandedly. 

“That’s a helluva birthday present, Abram,” the man on the other end of the line remarked. 

“It is,” Neil agreed. The man huffed an exaggerated sigh. 

“Fine. You’ll have Roland’s head by the end of the week.” 

“Thanks, Uncle Stuart,” Neil said. He could feel the cruel smile curling his lips but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was one of the monsters after all.