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ginkgomoon · 4 years ago

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Helios- A Character Study

I have always been fascinated by Helios so I’m especially excited about this post! If there’s any other additional information you would like to add, ask, or discuss, feel free to send an ask or a post so I can adjust and clarify for you. But before that, I have other things I want to add that are important regarding my blog- I will be expanding and analysing other characters in MLQC, so not to worry Victor, Kiro and Lucien (and Shaw, Eli?, Savin?) stans! I has't not hath left thee! In addition, before every analysis/study that I do, I will post a hint (such a quote) that will foreshadow the upcoming character/topic I will be covering. I know it’s not necessary and literally nobody does it but this is great fun for me so I also want to try to make it fun for you guys to approach my blog and my work! This is a spoiler buffet. Please don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled! This is probably the longest post ever on my blog so enjoy :)

“You either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.” -The Dark Knight

Who is Helios?

??: Do you know what Helios means? The mocking in his face had returned. He suddenly came close and placed his hand on the window behind me. I was imprisoned in his arms and couldn’t move. His eyes drilled into my own. I felt that if I showed even the smallest hint of discomfort or fear, he would use that as an excuse to push me away. MC: Helios is the sun god from Greek mythology- ??: I don’t like that name.

Helios is the God of the Sun, sight and a guardian of oaths. He is seen to be riding a golden chariot to bring the sun across the skies each day from east (where the sun rises) to west (where the sun sets).

Kiro has lots and lots and lots of sun, light, dark and shadow imagery attached to him. Kiro is noted to be everyone’s sun, especially for MC and vice versa as she’s noted to be the one to chase the darkness away with Kiro following through. When he has those stage moments as his idol identity, it’s expected for him to be the guiding light (especially for his fans, the Kirophiles)- “the sun” and “hope” as to what “Kiro” represents, without any impurities associated with that persona. Which is ironic for Helios, who dressed mostly in black without the blonde hair, to have that same name as the God of the Sun working in BLACK SWAN- the organisation with the name literally having “black” in it as well.

“If Kiro is this exuberance and this life, Helios is the opposite of that. It’s what if we took someone who stopped finding reasons to be happy, who stopped finding a lot of things to be passionate about and was just trying to get on day by day- they react to the things that happen to them, rather than going out to look for adventure. Helios lacks a lot of emotion that Kiro has.” -Sean Chiplock, Kiro’s VA

Kiro and Helios

“If I had a dark side… I should hide it from others, right…? Can I really be imperfect?”

There had been a lot of discussion around Helios in relation to his transformation, whether he was acting and what Kiro’s connection with BLACK SWAN is.

To clarify, yes- Kiro is Helios. Helios is Kiro. Just like how Kiro admitted to MC that he’s also the hacker KEY. Helios is just one of the personas that Kiro has (which I will expand on in a future post). This, however, does not hinder negatively on Kiro’s personality, but introduces us to another side of him, one that shows effective in-depth characterisation. Especially when we first view him as the cheerful idol with the power to passively attract others. Kiro first gave off the certain impression to Sean Chiplock that you “don’t take off the calm and quiet person, because you don’t want to see the other side of them”.

Kiro and Helios, which one was the real him? Neither? Or both? -Clinic Date

Before MC has her first encounter with Helios, we have to look more into Kiro’s background and childhood.

Kiro was experimented on as a kid. He didn’t know his name, his birthday or where he came from. Through the experiments of genetic modification, he obtained his evol. Only when MC and the original KEY came to him, did he really strive to fulfil his sense of purpose of “we shall stand in darkness as we defend the light”, and also to protect MC back. His mentor used to be the original Helios, one of the twelve-ranking positions in BLACK SWAN, but went missing when Kiro was 15. Been given the name Kiro, using his idol identity, accepted this as Helios and as of the leader of BLACK SWAN to rid Leto- the true evil of the Season 1 timeline.

It is evident that he does genuinely care about his fans, his career and music despite all of this. This aspect of him is very much true (we see that he exposes a person scamming his fans in Chapter 3 and that in his various dates he dedicates his work to comforting his fans in their everyday lives). However, with this much love and support from everyone with very few knowing his true intentions and darker past, it is easy to “trip up” upon these identities, in a way that he would feel so lonely (as I reiterate what I said above) that everyone would think he’s the perfect man (not saying he isn’t because we all know he is!) without any troubles or experiencing difficulties climbing up the ranks to be where he is now- especially with his evol being charm and control. He would wonder if it’s really him or his evol making people act this way towards him (why he has this much love and attention).

In reality, every teacher who has met him adored him very much. But because of this, Kiro always remained in fear. From the beginning to the end, he had felt that the love and care from others was akin to smoke - surging at first, but from thereafter, dissipates gradually. -CN Stunning Young Idol Rumours and Secrets

He’s like a little sun with no dark spots at all. No wonder people say people say he has a super power. He seems to be loved by everybody… -Chapter 3-1

“A lot of people adore me, but only when I’m doing my thing on stage. They wouldn’t want to see me now...” -Visiting Hours Date

It would be incredibly hard for him to keep this standard and uphold these burdens with his identity as Helios and KEY as well- where everyone would believe those personas of him to be the “vice”- the “evil”, in morality play. Because when the people who love you only know and love this side of you, what becomes of you when you lose it all?

Superstar Kiro was a little angel who received the admiration and respect of thousands and thousands of fans. What the hacker KEY sounded like was someone with malicious intentions.

Kiro didn’t know which one of his identities was more famous. Though of course, nobody would correlate these two polar-opposite identities together. -CN Heavens Home for Children Rumours and Secrets

He always looked so carefree in front of people, smiling and laughing. But when he was alone in the corner, he always looked so solemn and tired. Countless times, Savin had wanted to talk to Kiro about his work, life and feelings but with just a few words, Kiro would always put him to ease. -That Boy Makes Me Worry Rumours and Secrets

However, behind his brilliant smile, I could occasionally feel something different. It was like paper that couldn't be penetrated. After all, he was a superstar. Ordinary people like us wouldn't understand their world, they must have one or two faces of their own behind the screen. -Secret Base Rumours and Secrets

In the makeup room, sitting on the sofa, Kiro had lost some shine he had under the spotlight and looked a little bit exhausted. -Confession Date

In a way, Kiro still staying so pure and happy when others are around is because he doesn’t want people to suffer like he did. He had an extremely rough time when he was young, but his beliefs, light and hope that MC gave him allowed him to fight for better days.

I then thought about the superstar Kiro many years later, who was always shining and effortlessly charming. This made me really sentimental. How many things must he have been through to become strong enough to bring light to other people? -Echoes of Time: Parisian Salon

She looked so pretty when she smiled, and she also had a father who loved her dearly. She was definitely… someone who deserved to live the most. -CN Top Experimental Subject Rumours and Secrets

His dazzling smile conceals something underneath, just like how the dazzling sun shrouds darkness underneath. Hidden in the depths of his own secrets are things even darkness doesn’t know of. If darkness had a mind of its own, it might think it doesn’t fit with this pure and simple youth. Just as how everyone thinks of him as a simple, innocent Kiro, the sunlight casted on him, able to pierce through him completely, with rays of light refracting onto the floor. Actually, since a very long time ago, he no longer was a youth… But now, for her sake, he’s willing to become a youth again. -CN Youthhood Rumours and Secrets

The thing I like most about you is that you never admit defeat and you always stay positive. Every time I see you it's like you’re this brilliant sun and I feel charged of energy. Maybe all the lonely times I’ve been through... was so that I could meet you. -Confession Date

When they were younger, they were together as test subjects for evol. MC promised him donuts. He gave her a stuffed teddy bear. Kiro tried to help MC escape but they got caught and separated. They had spent quite some time together, so Kiro would be able to recognise MC once they had met again. Kiro had to replace another child for a top experiment, and the workers thought he’d die anyway as he was too weak. But still, he had survived and became the first and only successful subject. MC showed him that there was kindness- light- that still existed in the darkest of places. And in the darkest parts of his heart, there was MC to light those areas up for him :)

“Look, this world is so beautiful, and you don’t need to be afraid anymore.” But till now, he has yet to find her. But he remembers her eyes. And one day, he will find her within a vast sea of people.

Kiro remains speechless- quietly listening to the little girl speak. The little girl struggles to pull on his hand. Their fingers interlock together, the warmth from her palm gradually coursing into Kiro’s heart. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.” Kiro turns to look at her - to look at her perseverant brown eyes, looking at how the corners of her lips turn upwards. Kiro slowly learns how to curl the corners of his own lips from her. It’s the first smile to have appeared on his face. “This time, I’ll be the one protecting you.” Kiro says excitedly. He stands outside the airport, staring directly at the sun. “I’ll find you, and protect you. I even have a mountain of souvenirs stored in my luggage- I’ll give them to you! And my purest heart - I’ll give it to you too!” -CN Youthhood Rumours and Secrets

Helio’s Transformation

“Because only you can awaken me from darkness, no matter when.”

When Kiro transforms to Helios, it mainly affects his physical appearance. His hair grows longer and changes to colour, and his black (and super cool) NIRVANA tattoo appears. When he is weak, the tattoo fades (seen in Clinic Date.)

Nirvana- a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.

I looked at his silver hair. It looked very natural with no signs of hair dye. In the serene moonlight, it was very beautiful. It wasn’t dyed, and it didn’t look like it turned silver because of an illness or something. -Chapter 17

Helios’s ring also plays part of his transformation. This is ultimately connected to BLACK CABIN and the 1908′s White House Explosion- when evol was born. From this high-dimensional space, Kiro is able to take on as Helios- who also known to be BS’s first generation of god. He can change upon his will, and influences from BLACK CABIN/QUEEN can cause him to lose control.

The golden hair mixed with the bright silver. He raised his finger, and the silver ring flashed. He muttered quietly, as if speaking to the ring and to himself. -Behind The Curtain Part 6: After Returning

Moonlight shone through the window, illuminating his silver hair with a golden glow for an instant. He buried his face in his right elbow, and large beads of sweat formed on his brow, as if a kind of uncanny transformation was occurring. “NOT NOW!!!” He howled hoarsely, his eyes now golden in the darkness. Residual power inside the Quarantine zone appeared to be affecting him. Violent forces jolted in the tiny space, and coursed through his obsidian ring. -Night Watchman Rumours and Secrets

Chapter 14

He turned and looked at me, his face a pallid white. His smile was still gentle. Suddenly, I felt intensely uneasy.

MC: “We’re going in, right?”

Kiro didn’t answer, his eyes intent on me gleamed with a flash of golden light above. When I looked carefully, I discovered his eyes turned into this exquisite gold like pure amber, or crystallised time.

Kiro: “I command you…”

I have never heard him sound like this before. Stiff, stern and solemn.

“All within my range of control belongs to me. Now walk onto the rooftop, lock the door, and don’t let anyone in… including me... Don’t be afraid. You’ll be okay. I said before, I will definitely succeed this time. I will always protect you.”

In saying this, he believes that his own sacrifices are necessary, no matter what the situation is. Kiro is willing to dim or even smother his own light and sun for MC to be safe and happy.

A black figure suspended in the air behind Kiro, just like scythe-toting Death himself… I seemed to see a golden-winged bird fly by, like a ray of light crossing the sky, leaving a temporary light trail in my vision.

“Death”, “golden-winged bird”, and “light”.

This sentence was highlighted in the chapters’ outline from the chapter contents. This implies the symbolism of the phoenix bird- the mythical bird that rises from the ashes and is reborn again. Kiro was captured by BLACK SWAN as punishment and had undergone modification- and was resurrected as Helios.

Chapter 17

He was standing in front of me. Half of his face was hidden in the shadows, but I could see the sharpness of his eyes and eyebrows. He took the notebook away from my hands before I could finish my sentence.

As MC gets tied to the table, flashbacks from suppressed memories emerge. We see Kiro and MC together being test subjects. (Fun fact- Kiro and MC’s blood type is O!)

White walls. A deserted lab. A cold med table. And a blond boy with agony in his face. Next to him lay a brown-haired girl who was unconscious. …Was that me? I looked at the blood pouring out from the IV. Tears came from my eyes. Kiro… Our lives were connected long before. But where are you now?

She finally realises that Kiro was that boy from the orphanage.

AND I JUST REALISED SOMETHING. HAS HELIOS NEVER OUTRIGHTLY ADMIT THAT HE’S NOT KIRO? LIKE HE NEVER SAID “NO”??

MC: Are you really not Kiro?

??: How long are you going to keep calling me by that wrong name?

(Yes, it’s technically the wrong name because right now he’s called Helios but he’s also technically still Kiro!)

He didn’t sound particularly annoyed, but I felt saddened.

MC: I…

I looked at his face. Every line, feature- they resembled Kiro, but at the same time wasn’t.

MC: I’m sorry… I must be wrong…

I hung my head low. His face may resemble him, but his expressions were so unlike Kiro and I didn’t want to see that.

But my intuition told me that my hunch was not wrong. If that was correct, then one of my paths was already sealed.

Helios: What makes you think that I wouldn’t? You already know where I’m from. Why are you being so naïve? I shook my head. MC: Kiro wouldn’t do this to me… An unknown emotion flashed in his eyes.

Poor Kiro, having to pretend to not know MC and act so cold towards her. It must have been incredibly hard and painful for the both of them. Please just LET THEM BE TOGETHER.

Kiro isn’t risking MC see this darker side of him. He truly doubted if anybody would accept him as Helios, because he was just so used it before as an idol having to act so perfect on screen, showing everybody what they wanted to see.

“MC. Step a meter away from him, and close your eyes.

The golden flashes in his pupils were the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes.

“I command you to forget what just happened. And I command you to forget about me. Remember, I’m just Helios.”

My memories were being erased bit by bit. Kiro was fading from my sight. His smiles, his eyes, his warmth… all of them became vague like a fog and disappeared. I tried my best to hold onto them, but it was all in useless.

Kiro… Even the name I tried to hold on till last was wrenched away from me. He watched silently as MC closed her eyes and blacked out in his arms.

“I’m sorry…”

He apologised again quietly. His eyes that once held warmth and brightness were again now filled with shadows.

“I will find the truth that you’re looking for. I don’t want you to bear that heavy burden. I’ll come back to you some day, but not today. Don’t remember my dark sides. In your eyes, I will always remain Kiro to you. After I take care of everything, things can go back the way they were between us. This time, I’ll make sure that you don’t have to wait long.”

“He looked a lot like Kiro. But it wasn’t him.”

In my palm was a small candy glistening in the sunlight. On impulse I unwrapped the paper and put it in my mouth.

MC: Apple flavour…

It somehow crossed my mind that it was Kiro’s type of flavour.

He wants MC to still have faith in him, and to trust in his abilities to protect her, as the candy is a motif for their relationship and exchange towards each other. (This was the same back in the orphanage when they were together too.) However, as his identity as Kiro, not the Helios she encountered. (Dramatic ironyyyy)

“We shall stand in darkness as we defend the light.”

Thorns Date

In the photo, Kiro looked completely different from what he usually looked like. On the glistening water, a youth held a birdcage, with a glint of melancholy in his drooping eyes. This was the last set of photos before quitting.

Kiro asked for my praise with shiny begging eyes, as if the prior sorrow and blue were all my illusions.

We stood very close to each other, yet at this moment, I felt there was a formed gap between us.

“MC, do you think the imprisoned bird can get out of the cage?”

There seemed to be a ray of golden light flashing through my mind but I couldn't catch it. (The thought that Helios came to see her?? Yes.)

I remember his distance, his apathy, yet puzzling familiarly.

Helios saw the magazine falling from my bag, his face flashing with complicated emotions I couldn’t comprehend. And I felt the familiar feeling of being touched deep in my soul.

“You like gazing at me a lot.”

Standing at the edge of the dark abyss, he opened his arms and leaned backward without hesitation. He fell straightly like a folded winged bird in the moment. (Similes, metaphors and symbolism galore!)

I sat on the ground limply and closed my eyes to avoid the dazzling light. This scene felt so familiar as I had experienced such a farewell.. Why?

My senses told me this man was Helios, yet the feelings from deep of my heart were so real.

“Helios! Do you… know how the imprisoned bird can get out of the cage?”

“Why do you think I will answer this question?” Behind such eyes, there seemed to be something else I couldn’t make out in the shadow.

I seemed to see him unfold a pair of black wings on his back and about to flutter away. No more cages could imprison him and nothing could make him stop. Helios walked from the bright light into the shadow.

He recalled her last question and her sad and confused eyes. Suddenly he recalled an ancient story. There was a kind of bird. It was always trapped in the thorns of fate from the moment of its birth. If the most beautiful thing was doomed to be exchanged with the deepest pain. He would overcome all obstacles to come back to her. And be her sun again.

The story that Helios recalled could be The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen.

In Ancient China, one of the forests lived a nightingale, who sang so beautifully everybody would stop and listen. The nightingale was renowned to be the best wonder out of all the things that the travellers abroad had ever seen. However, the Emperor of China didn’t know that such a bird existed, and demand to have it found.

The bird had come willingly to sing for the Emperor, singing so sweetly that tears came out of everybody’s eyes. The nightingale lived in the court thereafter, until one day the Emperor had received a mechanical copy of the bird, golden with precious gems and all. The nightingale had left, and all the courtiers had said that it was an ungrateful creature. It was therefore banished from the empire.

The mechanical bird had stopped working, only being able to play once every year. Five years had passed, and the Emperor fell ill that nobody expected him to live. Death had arrived to the Emperor as he prayed for the bird to sing a note. The living nightingale had appeared again, and had come to sing out of trust and hope for the Emperor. Death went to look at the Emperor’s renowned garden as the Emperor was thankful for the bird’s singing. She sang again, and the sun rose through the window and as everybody thought the Emperor had passed. The Emperor wanted the nightingale to stay by his side but it refused. It cannot live in the palace, but promised to visit the Emperor to sing to him.

Similar to Chapter 14, in this date, Kiro is represented as the bird, trapped in the cage. He had to release what everyone wanted him to be- Kiro, the shining sun/bird trapped in the cage under their control- ironic how his evol is absolute control because his charm would have drawn people this way in as a result. And the only way to be free was to be resurrected, to escape, to disappear from public view- to become free as Helios.

Light Pursuit Date

“Will you forget me?”

Kiro was becoming faint like a water mist. Panicking, I reached out to grab him but he slipped away from my fingers. An invisible wall had come between us and I couldn’t get close to him. This one step was like an unbridgeable gap between us, but it was like a line that we could never cross.

Will I forget Kiro? That sudden question in my head became clearer, and made me tremble in panic.

He had the name of a sun god, but even I couldn’t feel any bit of warmth.

MC: What is Helios here for?

Helios: We meet again, MC.

This was the first time that Helios called me by my name. He was brusque as ever, but there seemed to be a small amount of yearning in his voice. He did not act the way like the Helios that I used to know. His attitude and manners were surprisingly refined… like he was acting out a whole different persona.

The music changed into Por Una Cabeza- the tango song that I was very familiar with.

(I absolutely love the intertextuality that the game has. It’s a Spanish tango song that was also appeared in Scent of a Woman starring Al Pacino where the tango scene featured a blind man dancing with a woman who didn’t know how to dance and was scared of making mistakes. This correlates perfectly for MC and Helios. MC’s body is reacting to Helios as if he was Kiro...)

I didn’t drink, but I felt drunk somehow. Otherwise how else would this reachable warmth and illusion of intimacy familiar?

We were so close to each other, but the distance between us was only one step away, but a step we could never cross.

Helios looked up when he heard my voice. His eyes seemed to have trouble focusing. His blue eyes wavered like a lake sprinkling with sunlight. Surprisingly, there was sorrow, and naivety in those usually unfeeling eyes.

He lowered his head and his chin rested on my shoulder. I have never seen Helios so vulnerable. His hands were wrapped around my waist, leaving no space between us. Helios didn’t answer and continued to keep me pressed to his body. There was a deep aura of loneliness and bitterness about him that was barely discernible from his cold exterior.

Because to me, you were familiar to someone I deeply care about. Because my soul resonates when I am close to you. Because…. of a ridiculous assumption. Did I reach the edge of truth? Or was I just deceiving myself? A thick fog was obscuring me from seeing the truth clearly. I didn’t continue talking or thinking. MaybeI was so vaguely aware that this was the closest I could get to him. Only one step away but a distance I could never close.

MC is also scared. She’s in turmoil. She wants to know the truth but she’s also sitting on the fence with it. Especially due to the memory wipe. It’s like, “maybe it’s better if I don’t,” and “I think you are that someone I care so much about but I can’t be sure about it because even if I ask you, you won’t tell me, and I don’t know what to do.”

Stardust Date

Kiro: That’s right. I’m going to a far, far place. And I will stay there for a very long, long time. Don’t cry when you start missing me. MC: I’m not going to cry!

Kiro: But I will. So promise me, alright? Don’t forget me, even if I leave.

Two days afterwards, I heard him talk to someone on the phone. I’m pretty sure it was his voice, but it sounded like he was a completely different person.

What was he trying to hide? Did it have anything to do with his “leaving”? Was it out of his own will or was he involved in something under duress?

The confident smile on his face as he glided his fingers across the keys fluently, showed his passion for this show. As songs were played after another, he became more focused. I could tell from his expression that he was fully immersed in this performance. As long as he was given a stage and music, he’d become the centre of attention no matter what position he was in. However, the more passion I saw, the more I was scared for his “leaving”. He is the sun- what will happen to his supporters when they lose him? And what about me? What will happen to me?

Light and Shadow Phone Call

MC: Is that melancholy in your voice? It’s unlike you to be down like this.

Kiro: Really? Does everyone think I’m that shallow?

MC: Of course not. But you are the brightest and warmest sun, so it’s easy to be touched by your optimistic side first.

Kiro: But right now, the sunlight is getting too strong that it’s scorching…

MC: Hmm? Is it? right now it’s sunset where you are?

Kiro: Yes. I’m sitting atop of Namibia’s Dune 45 and everything is red. Even the sun is sinking low.

MC: Soon, it will sink beyond the horizon.

Kiro: Yes… Miss Chips, Since you say I’m like the sun, and the sun eventually sets...

Kiro: If I have a dark side, I should hide it from others, right?

MC: Why should you hide it?

Kiro: Because, I don’t want to show you and I don’t want to disappoint others.

MC: But you’re just you, Kiro.

Kiro: I am who I am?

MC: Yes. Why can’t a sun have shadows? Even the real sun has sunspots! People who really care for you will love both the warm sunny side and the occasional dark, depressed side.

Kiro: But I always feel...

MC: Everyone has a side they want to hide in the shadows. No one is expected to be required as perfect. That applies to my little sun as well.

Kiro: Can I really be imperfect?

MC: Absolutely. To me, all sides of you are worth cherishing.

Kiro: Thank you, MC.

MC: What’s there to thank?

Kiro: Because… only you are willing to see the weak and plain side that I’m hiding and accept both my light and my shadow.

MC: That’s why I’m your own personal tree hole! I’ll keep your sorrows tucked away for you!

Kiro: Thank you Miss Tree Hole. I’m so lucky to have you. In fact, you are my sun who gives me light to embrace the world every morning. Thank you, for always being there by my side.

This call is so significant for Kiro, and his battle between light and dark. After his evol went out of control, he’s afraid of hurting his fans and MC. Similes and metaphors are used to compare his evol/different personas as the sun and how it will soon go down. He confronts the truth that he will also have to leave the public view soon, and uses this opportunity of the call to confirm what MC thinks if he had imperfections/shadow sides. And of course, to thank her before he leaves.

Chapter 21 (Winter World)

He was so fast that his moves were a blur. He dodged every attack and landed his own with grace and strength. It was like watching a silver moonlight dancing in flowing moves.

“You seem to be completely ignorant about how weak you are.”

I was trapped in a little cage he made with his body against the wall. The cruelty in his face crumbled the last of my shields. he didn’t stop there. He leaned in with his whole body hemming me into the confined space he created.

Helios: Weaklings should learn to survive on their own. No one will teach you that.

MC: I don’t want to be a weakling forever.

Helios: Then you better figure out how to become stronger.

He dropped his sarcastic tone. Instead, each syllable fell from his mouth with upmost earnestness.

Helios: Use all your strength. Every method you can think of. Abandon your past...even abandon yourself. If you can’t do that, then just go back tot the world you came from.

1562 clutched tightly on his friend’s blanket, refusing to let go. However, in the end, he was shoved onto the ground because his strength was too weak. He had collided so hard that he couldn’t get up for a long while. -CN Top Experimental Subject Rumours and Secrets

If MC hadn’t come, then there would be no real sun in his life. He would only have artificial light. And he would be right- Helios would be just Helios. He wouldn’t bother much about fans or music, but using this identity to climb the system. He had to learn the hard way on how to survive. Nobody was there for him, thus it would be harder for him to feel empathy towards others in situations other than this.

The sun had risen completely. The increasing bright light drowned everything that belonged in the darkness. Helios remembered that day a long time ago. In the darkness, the withered hand touched his head and said faintly, “become Kiro, be the so-called “sun”.

At that time, he had lowered his eyes, nodded blankly, and simply walked out into the night, emitting a false light that was not his own. But today… Helios looked off into the distance, and seeing the dazzling morning light, he remembered the girl… At that moment, he saw the real sun. -Between Light and Darkness Rumours and Secrets

From “Behind The Curtain”, MC fell into the space-time gap and was saved by Helios. Even though he couldn’t see her as they were in different dimensions, she could be influenced by him. This wasn’t the first time that he’s tugged on that bond tying them together to BLACK CABIN. Thank you Helios also for helping bring MC back to her original world.

Chapter 28

Kiro: You should know about everything that I’ve done.

MC: I know that... you’re Helios.

Kiro’s eyes flickered and blinked at me. The golden hair under the now eclipsed sunlight seem to have an extra glow to it. Kiro: Is my name really that important?

MC: Why did you hide it from me? I trusted that you would tell me. That no matter what name you had, you really wouldn’t change...

Kiro: If a superhero were to turn into an arch-villain, would those who always believed in him lose hope? What he want most is for you to be a fairy, free of all cares. Not getting hurt, not getting worries, whose only responsibility is receiving signals and joy and happiness.

Kiro: However, if she is determined to go do something difficult, and she wants to bear this burden on her own... then I wish for her to be a little superhero, who can fly through it all with ease.

Chapter 29

“Don’t get all angry. The person beside you didn't even notice any difference between us. Or put it another way, it seems that “you” aren’t important in this role that you’re playing. Anybody can replace you.” -Anole

Anole is wrong (and just jealous). MC did notice, and plus, he probably wouldn’t have survived in the top experiment that Kiro had undergone in the orphanage. That was something only Kiro would have survived, with his willpower and determination in his heart to make a better life for himself and MC- something that Anole clearly lacks.

I had never seen Helios laugh before. His smile wasn't as dazzling as his golden-haired counterpart’s, but one could say that if the former him was the sun, then his smile was now a gentle moon.

THE IRONYYY. Helios is finally okay with showing this side of him to her, from watching her go through trials and tribulations in the Winter World with the other Helios- of course he wouldn’t want any danger to be near MC, but knowing that she can handle anything after all that she went through, he now knows that it’s better for her to be with him instead. Also he learnt how to smile from her and now he’s smiling again as Helios and I’m just so happy

Whether in the face of violent, nefarious enemies or a wave of blood and bullets, he’d never shown any fear. I got the feeling that he was somehow nervous, or even afraid. Was it because he had to return into the spotlight, back the shower of roses and applause?

Well… when he decided to give all that up and step into the darkness with no turning back, what was he thinking then?

He leaned on the wall and rested awhile, staring intently at the black tattoo on his right arm… he looked at himself in the mirror. His silver strands of hair were tingled with gold, as if bathed in sunlight. And for only that one time, he didn’t avert his gaze from the desire in his eyes. It was like looking at a self portrait—so distant, yet so familiar. It was only now that he realised: this was the moment in his life most worth reliving. Once again, he had become Kiro.

In the PV/Karma (photo down below), we see him wearing black- not as Helios but as Kiro! Again, ironic how he’s holding a comeback concert he’s wearing black, a colour that represents darkness and shadows. It had been noted in the Snooper Rumours and Secrets that this is way out of Kiro’s style wardrobe. However, this signifies a range of things. The two personas are “merging” as he no longer hides this persona to MC- they’re one in the same. It has always been this way and will never change. The colour black also means power and authority, but can mean fear and grief. This is the same outfit when Kiro was doubting himself in the Light Pursuit Date as well.

Right now, if we’re talking moon phases, Kiro right now is in “the void”. Meaning he’s “nowhere”. He’s Kiro but he’s also operating as Helios. He feels nervous to go back but it does come so natural for him to be in the spotlight. He feels stuck at crossroads with himself, especially when he got forced back to perform by Anole.

Ultimately, it’s like he’s saying “no matter what becomes of me, I will always stay true to you.” And I think this is perfectly translated as Kiro says,

“Miss Chips, wait for me.”

(”Wait for me as I fight for us both. So you don’t have to suffer.”) But we suffer either way.

His light and sun has always come from MC. He will always keep running towards his sun, no matter which persona he embodies. This, we can be certain on. (New Season 2 Chapters please don’t oppose this LOL.)

“I await you at the end of the opposite path.”

#26 pages long #I actually love his voice so much #mlqc #mlqc kiro #mlqc helios #helios #mr love queens choice #love and producer #mlqc cn #mlqc en #恋与制作人 #mlqc analysis #mlqc translation #mlqc zhou qiluo #zhou qilou #kiro #mlqc spoilers

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tokidokifish · 5 years ago

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so i am going to try, as best i can, to sum up the slightly hysterical 1 am call i had w @mum-feather about all the problems i had with the rise of skywalker, here we go, i’m not cutting this, stop reading now if you don’t want

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* STAR WARS SPOILERS *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

that movie felt so rushed it was like watching a flip book sometimes. like it felt so much like they just wanted to pretend that the last jedi never happened, which GOD, i feel that, my dudes, but maybe try to pace it a little better??

also @zwierzodudle pointed out that amidst scenes that happened way too fast there were scenes that seemed to drag on forever, including and not limited to a lightsaber fight between kylo and rey that lasted a minor eternity while i zoned out

this movie was so disrespectful to finn, holy shit. like it seemed? like they kinda didn’t know what to do with him? but i guess after a movie of the three heroes just fucking off and doing their own thing they seem to have kinda lost steam on what should have been the emotional centerpoint of the movie: the relationship between rey, finn, and poe. like it’s still there, it’s still important, but god it doesn’t hit the same as it did in the force awakens.

also he almost tells rey something that’s pretty clearly that he loves her, but then he NEVER DOES, and the movie talks about it a couple of times and then just fucking drops it like a rock to have him spend an awful lotta time with the socially acceptable black lady.

like i liked her character! they could have had a great character dynamic if it had been a touch more fleshed out! but it was just kinda suspicious!

also rose is still like THERE but they NEVER talk about the end of the last movie. she’s just there, and she doesn’t get to hang out with the rest of the heroes because, uh, reeaaaasons? reasons, i guess. i do not understand the treatment of rose.

they made luke (bc force ghost, obviously) a lot more likable, so that was nice, and also made it clear that yeah, leia trained as a jedi, but then she... [shuffles through notes] stopped... because... she saw her son dying if she continued. holy shit. like, luke, dude, you didn’t think to point out that “yeah, force visions are shit, happened to me, maybe don’t get all Greek Tragedy in making them happen by trying to avoid them”

according to these movies luke skywalker apparently didn’t learn jack shit from the original trilogy and then died because he astral projected too hard.

but guess who also dies because they astral project too hard! it’s leia! she just fucking drops dead like her mom because she reached out across the universe to say ONE FUCKING WORD to her son, and that was apparently enough? to get him to turn his life around and yeet his shitty lightsaber into the sea like a businessman who just discovered what was really important in life?

ONE FUCKING WORD??

anyhow kylo is redeemed now. it is... incredibly unearned. hated it.

also hated the fact that rey was apparently palpatine’s granddaughter, mostly because it felt like suuuuuch an awkward retcon after the last movie was like “lmao no you’re no one, because we gotta be SUBVERSIVE”

not to mention the way it treated falling to the dark side as like... something that just happens. like evil is a choice. harming people is a choice. at no point were they ever like “you kinda liked the force lightning thing, huh?” or “maybe you kinda wanna hurt the people who mistreated you for your entire life?” to rey, she clearly hated when her powers were destructive and never seemed to carry any sort of grudges toward the people that made her upbringing shitty.

like when she starts talking abt how she wants to kill palpatine for having her parents killed (which feels incredibly disingenuous) finn says that doesn’t sound like her and she gets angry but a bitch is right! it doesn’t sound like rey! people keep saying she’s got darkness in her but i’m still like BITCH WHERE. like just because she had a shitty grandfather? so fucking what! luke and leia had a shitty DAD and they were the people she looked up to the most.

it’s absolutely BAFFLING to me the way they treat the dark side.

but at the end palpatine dies, again, presumably for real this time, but rey dies too, but redeemed kylo ren, fresh off just murdering all of his knights because only HE gets a redemption arc, it’s not like they were just taking orders from him, they could have thrown in like a single line about how “we serve the emperor”, but no, all the knights of ren got to do were walk around and look vaguely menacing and then get murdered

ANYHOW, kylo ren crawls out of the hole he got yeeted into, and force heals rey, and then she wakes up and is like “ben~” and i couldn’t even look at the screen as they kissed

gross

god

it’s so fucking gross

but then kylo ren just fucking DIES, goddamn VANISHES, and it is the FUNNIEST SHIT. he doesn’t get a LINE of dialogue once he gets out of that pit, he just dies.

AND THEN, THE WEIRDEST SHIT, and the reason i’m like “apparently rey regretted it immediately” is that she like doesn’t even seem to care! like she’s upset but a LOT OF SHIT has just happened in a really short period of time and it seems like kylo dying is just a fucking drop in an ocean.

like she goes to tatooine to bury luke and leia’s lightsabers because why not and some rando shows up and demands her family name, a thing that is apparently important in a universe with characters named chewbacca, and rey looks off into the distance and you know what her answer is going to be because you saw the title of the movie.

but she doesn’t see kylo, because kylo ren is apparently undeserving of a force ghost, apparently even the force thought his redemption was unearned.

she just sees luke and leia, and THAT’S what makes her say “skywalker”, and i like support that! they were important people in her life! sure wish we had gotten to see more of them being important without also being shitty, tlj!luke, but still, i understand.

but it just makes the whole kiss that much more baffling! it’s like they threw it in there to be like “here, now shut the fuck up” and bc they didn’t have to follow through bc kylo died.

anyhow it was an absolute trainwreck of a movie but hey! better than the last jedi. and if it had been like two movies instead and the reylo thing didn’t happen it could probably even have been some solid films.

oh well.

#rise of skywalker spoilers #star wars spoilers #long post

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comicteaparty · 4 years ago

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June 29th-July 5th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 29th, 2020 to July 5th, 2020. The chat focused on Without Moonlight by Tantz Aerine.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Without Moonlight by Tantz Aerine~! (https://withoutmoonlightcomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until July 5th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I really like the flash forward aspect of the beginning - keeping the scene in the back of your mind really helps keep things tense as you see the story build towards the scene we see at the start.

(it also helps with the tone - it would be pretty jarring to go from kids stealing food from trucks to the scenes where bodies start dropping if we hadn't established that dark tone early on)

One thing I like about the comic is how the text colors switch based off languages - blue is greek, black is german, red is english, and i believe green is italian. Really makes the language switches easier to keep track of in the back of your head.

I like the comic's theme of... "your actions have consequences", essentially. There are dozens of moments where something bad happened because of one character's action or lack of action, and it's a matter of... when there are so many factors, who should be held responsible for these bad events?

RebelVampire

I like that the beginning of the comic is...more light-hearted despite the situation? I mean it's tragic and I don't mean to paint the situation lightly, but it's also kids and kids are like beacons of hope. So despite it all there were happy smiling faces. Before the chaos descended. My favorite moment in the comic so far was probably when Basil was rescuing Fotis and Wolff decides to let them go. It was a rare moment of humanity where there was no whose side is whose. Just two people doing a bro favor because neither thought a child deserved to be tortured. My favorite character is Basil. Basil really is just the down-to-earth dude he kind of finds that balance between doing what's right but with principle. And he also gets going when the going gets tough. And I'm sure nothing ever bad happened to him in this comic. My favorite characters interacting are probably Fotis and Martha right now. I like this dynamic that they're brought together by tragedy. So it's kind of interesting to see that bond, while also kind of experiencing this weird age gap where even though Fotis is much younger, he grew up almost instantly cause of tragedy. Something I like about the art is just kind of the grim color palettes. The comic is not overly bright, and I think this choice really enhances the grim situation of the comic. It also adds more of a sense of realism because WWII is serious business and was not fun at all for anybody. For themes, I love that the comic kind of explores demonization vs. humanity, especially through Wolff. It is always extremely to demonize the side you're not on, and we see Wolff both do this himself and be a recipient of it. And the comic really wants us to ask are they monsters, or are they still, unfortunately, humans doing really shitty things.

As for the comic's overall story, I love that not only is it historical in its setting, but just that the comic really throws no punches. You have people dying in gruesome ways, torture, espionage, double agents, greed, etc. Just like everything you'd expect regarding war. In regards to strengths, honestly, what I just said above. So many stories are really, really terrified to actually go deep into that grim reality that is war. And even fewer are willing to show that war very rarely has heroes since at the end, it's people killing people which is not cool. And I think this really makes the comic stand out since there are parts that are gonna stick with me for years.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. What is your takeaway in regards to the comic’s themes about war and the horrors and tragedy that happen because of it? In regards to these themes, how do you feel about Arthur Wolff, and do you think it’s possible for him to be redeemed and/or at least forgiven?

10. What do you think the comic has to say about survival and hope, especially when humans are faced with the most horrid of circumstances? What moment stood out to you the most regarding this? Also, who do you think will survive the story?

11. Do you think anything will actually happen to Orestes in regards to his actions so far? If so, what unintended affects might occur because of whatever does happen? Additionally, what do you think will happen to his contact, Iris?

12. How do you think the events of the story will continue to change Fotis, and will it be for better or for worse? What about the other children? Given the historical base, what do you think they’ll even do once the occupation ends?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

My takeaway from the comic is that war sucks, nobody wins, everyone suffers, and that even good people do some terrible stuff in the name of survival. However, within all that, we're all essentially human and have the capacity for good. Which is why I feel Wolff is an important character, since he's that shining beacon that reminds us that people on the worst side of history possible can still take a step back and go, "Wait a second." As for redemption and forgiveness, I think this is a yes an no. Can he redeem and forgive himself as far as he's personally concerned? Maybe someday. Will others? Probably not in a million years. In contrast to the above, I think that the comic also has strong messages that, even in the face of desperation, humans, as a whole, have a tendency to fight and that, much like everybody in Star Wars, will always have hope. As for the moment that stood out to me the most, I think it was actually the beginning when the kids are risking everything to get supplies. They know it's dangerous, and yet they persevere and don't give up despite being who'd you think would give up first. As for who will survive, maybe Alex cause Alex is toeing the line of safety and staying out of the spy drama. I think Orestes still won't be dealt with for a while, and if anything, will be the victim of vigilante justice because someone didn't want to wait for even a sham trial. I think that they won't realize in his traitorous ways though he really did help out, and will find themselves more at odd with the Nazis. As for Iris, she probably gonna die. Cause that's what happens when you play double agent. I think the events of the story really aren't gonna do good for Fotis, and, at the very least (and assuming he's not dead), he's going to be bitter and have a ton of PTSD. Probably the same for all the children, and I think overall they'll just feel lost once the occupation ends cause normalcy forms fast.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Thank you so much for all the thoughtful analysis and commentary @RebelVampire ! I'm so glad that you have found all these themes in my story

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

I am most looking forward to seeing if Fotis has some epiphany about the horrors of the path he's on. Right now I kind of think he's just kind of...going through the motions and acting mostly on anger. And so I'm interested to see if this will be the case throughout the rest of the story or if at some point his brain stops for a moment and goes "Hey wait a minute these are some pretty serious implications." I think either could change how his character development proceeds. My final words are that I admire this comic's bravery and risks. A lot of creators don't want to write about things like WWII because it's still a little too close to home and painful. But I think these topics are important to show with historical fiction cause not only is it an opportunity to teach about lesser known history in greater detail, but an opportunity to otherwise humanize an event that comes off different when you're just reading facts in a book. So bravo to this comic for doing that.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

@RebelVampire Thank you so much! You honour me. Researching this comic has been both a revelation and a painful affair. As for Fotis, you're very right he IS very angry and very grieved at this point in time. We'll see how he will be soon! I can't begin to say how much your words warm my heart thank you again.

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Without Moonlight this week! Please also give a special thank you to Tantz Aerine for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Without Moonlight, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://withoutmoonlightcomic.com/

Tantz’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/withoutmoonlight

Tantz’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/tantzaerine'

Tantz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TantzAerine

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic bookclub #webcomic book club #comic tea party #ctp #without moonlight #tantz aerine

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tearlessrain · 6 years ago

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time to subject myself to Dracula: The Dark Prince, aka another bad movie starring another dude from black sails. this time with 100% less horny on main because my only real motivation for watching it is it truly looks to be a whole new caliber of horrible and I have to see it.

witness my standards for incomprehensibly bad movies being raised prohibitively high in every way imaginable under the cut

I seriously doubt that.

this was made in 2013 by the way, not 1994 as the graphic design of that logo might suggest

oh good, once again we’re opening with an exposition narrator. except this time it’s a woman and she has less vocal inflection and emotional investment than an amazon echo.

I feel like she’s gonna tell me to turn left in 800ft

it feels like a dragon age epilogue, but just. worse.

WE ARE WATCHING A TRULY HIGH QUALITY MOVIE TONIGHT MY FRIENDS

I can’t even describe how bad this is, you really need the sound. that’s where the true lack of quality shines through. siri’s depressed sister is talking about pre-vampire dracula’s epic feats in battle to more weird sepia dioramas and the dying soldiers sound like they hired muppets to voice them

HOLY WIG BATMAN

also this dude is obnoxiously jovial considering he’s supposed to be dracula, even if this is pre-vampire

oh no dracula’s advisors, who all wear black hooded robes and scowl ominously, have betrayed him and killed his wife, how unexpected

someone drew these, looked at them, and thought “yeah that’s good enough to go in the final movie”

the characters are speaking both english and what I assume is... romanian or something? transylvanian? it’s not spanish or welsh I can tell you that much. anyway there are no subtitles and also no rhyme or reason to which they’re speaking at any given time so I hope I’m not missing anything important. probably not.

so like... they killed his wife, yes. and he went on a murderfest in what appears to be a church in revenge, makes sense. now a dude who... I think maybe he’s supposed to be a priest or something? but he wasn’t speaking english so I can’t be sure, then a voice over said “I have killed for god, the hand that fought for him will now be turned against him” but I’m unclear on who was speaking. this movie is an absolute clusterfuck and we aren’t even five minutes in yet. this is still the prologue.

now zombie alexa claims dracula was cursed with immortality “in punishment for his defiance” but I’m still not sure... what defiance. he killed the dudes who murdered his wife and that’s somehow not okay despite his apparent status as a war hero, a designation that implies a LOT of killing has already happened?

fucking finally, the title screen. usually a prologue clarifies what a movie is about but I went in thinking I knew and now have absolutely no idea what I’m watching.

a carriage drawn by friesians is rolling through a misty forest with wolf howling sound bites playing at random in the background to vaguely urgent music, now this is what I’m here to see.

nevermind the carriage is too slow so they’re leaving it because that’s a thing people do (?????)

“Lady Arwen, we cannot delay”

seriously though everyone’s mumbling so much I can’t understand them much better than when they were speaking whatever the other language was

BOOTLEG XENA RIDES AGAIN

but this time she’s accompanied by esme. we don’t know who esme is yet either.

there she goes

and now the knights are being attacked by hilarious squeaky goblin things? who I guess are led by this power rangers villain with, again, an unintentionally hilarious voice. it’s like a bad batman impression.

with every minute that passes I become less certain of what I’m actually watching.

they’re looking for the “light bringer” and telepathically overseen by the world’s most halfassed lestat dracula

they’ve also got some random prisoners in a cage wagon

okay the prisoners are being taken to dracula’s castle and I’m sorry for such an image-heavy post but I NEED you to understand the community theater level of set design/quality we’re dealing with here

“what is that?” cardboard and mod podge is my guess

so far the only thing esme has done is fall off her horse and be knocked unconscious, and now a Roving Band of Misogynists has appeared to harass Bootleg Xena 3.0 in the most generic way possible (the words “what ‘ave we got ‘ere” accompanied by a chorus of malicious cackling and some whistles have been spoken)

oooh no the ringleader of the Roving Misogynists has been given a name, and it’s ~Lucien~. I have a horrible feeling that I’m about to bear witness to the worst romantic subplot in the history of cinema.

oh for... I thought at least bootleg xena 3.0 would be a Strong Female Character and fight them off, but she just rapped lucien on the head with her sword and then they stole her very important box and left as obnoxiously as they came

OH NO SHE’S ASKING TO GO WITH THEM, SOMEHOW THAT’S HER PLAN I THINK I’M RIGHT SHE’S GONNA HOOK UP WITH LUCIEN AND IT’S GOING TO BE HORRIBLE.

“trust me” she says to esme, who, wisely, obviously does not.

I appreciate the timely thunderclap every single time the castle comes on screen

who the fuck are you, did you wander onto the wrong movie set

nope okay they’re not gonna explain that shot at all we’re just moving on to a shot of a weird angel shadow doing slow flamenco moves on the ceiling while ominously gurgling, and the prisoners being led into the throne room

“what’s happening to us?” I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE SAME THING, PRISONER #3

oh never mind that guy from before wasn’t a priest, he is remfield, chancellor of this kingdom, which means the last scene he was in makes even less sense

AKSLDGHJFGAKDLFJGHKAJGHFDKLFDS;GJokay so. remfield introduced himself then said “I will see that your needs are tended to.” then dracula in his new white contacts gets up from his shadowy throne, circumnavigates the cluster of prisoners, sniffs them dramatically, and walks back to his throne. remfield then says, “come, I will see that your needs are tended to” because proofreading is for COWARDS

now remfield is... literally giving the prisoners a tour of the castle and going on the “oh you’re our guests and many pleasures and adventures await you” speech and somehow the prisoners are accepting this despite the fact that they were just carted in on a barred wagon in shackles and got sniffed by a bad alucard cosplayer. they have a fucking harpist.

seriously, who the fuck are you

she’s just been twirling around in the background of this entire scene for no discernible reason no matter what rooms they go into

what the hell am I watching

yeah they’re just going for that incredibly suspicious food and also seem weirdly okay with the ambient clusters of scantily clad lesbians no one will explain okay they deserve whatever happens to them

WHOA TITS apparently this movie is a different rating than I thought

remfield: the newcomers have settled in

dracula: I d o n ‘ t l i k e s t r a n g e r s

then why pray tell have you brought them directly into your home in chains. I cannot stress enough how avoidable this situation was for you my dude

“just think sire, once the light bringer is in your possession no one need die again” “except those who defy me” [ominous chime as the angel shadow on the ceiling continues its sensuous flamenco dance]

meanwhile in the misty blue filter forest of eternal night, some guy in a tricorn finds a gold amulet that I think bootleg xena 3.0 dropped, and the power ranger villain rides menacingly in a random direction for a few seconds

I’m still waiting on whether this masterful display of cinematic calvinball has any cohesive story to it.

ah joy and we’re back to The Non-Adventures of Xena 3.0, Esme, and the Roving Misogynists

as an aside, I’m not calling her that just to be dumb, I’m calling her that because they still haven’t given her a name even though her sidekick got one in the first five minutes

they’ve opened the box and revealed... the light bringer, which is a wooden staff. because it is not shiny gold, the roving misogynists regard it with confounded disgrunglement and scoff at xena 3.0′s insistence that it can defeat dracula

these guys sound like what an eleven year old thinks gangs of ne’er-do-wells sound like. like cartoon weasels, if the weasels were also mediocre pirates who have heard of women, conceptually, but never seen one. like goblins in a pre-written D&D campaign run by a slightly overwhelmed first time DM.

HUR DUR WALKING STICK NOT TREASURE, WOMAN DUMB

it’s what cain used to slay abel, apparently. given that zombie alexa mentioned that dracula is the descendent of abel, this leaves us with the terrifying implication that someone did put at least some vestige of effort into writing this movie.

oh good she’s finally gonna fight lucien

no she failed again. please someone just punch the shit out of lucien so he’ll stop.

NO WHY ARE YOU MAKING OUT STOP IT GOD HAVE SOME STANDARDS WOMAN. STOP PLAYING FLOATY ROMANTIC MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND THEY ARE LITERALLY STILL STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ENTIRE BAND OF ROVING MISOGYNISTS

I thought it might at least be a trick but no she is actually, genuinely starstruck over this profoundly mediocre olde-timey frat boy who called her “sweetheart” while she was trying to explain to him why the ancient dracula-defeating relic was important.

this guy.

we did it boys, we found a worse love story than twilight

also I just. I wish I could convey with words the way the roving misogynists react to every single thing lucien and sometimes xena 3.0 says like the world’s worst greek chorus in a literally neverending stream

lucien (post makeout and xena 3.0 explaining again that the relic is ancient and powerful and they’ve searched for ages to find it): well we may not be knights but we can respect that

[cacophony of rowdy but understated agreement]

lucien: what do you think boys, should we give it back?

[assorted grumbles of assent]

xena 3.0: hm, a thief with a conscience

[gruff mercenary-esque chuckling]

lucien: maybe even a heart

[chorus of “ooooooOOOooh”s and some whistles]

it just goes on like that in every scene they happen to be physically adjacent to, they never shut up but also never actually contribute or say anything meaningful

ah, the mysterious leonardo has appeared. I think he was the one they were trying to take the light bringer to so that’s handy

“what is happening here? what is this flirtation?? is this the people to share your sacred secrets with???” - leonardo, the only remotely rational person in the entire movie

oh he is schooling these idiots, finally someone with sense. it’s bouncing right off of lucien, but at least he’s saying it.

“the scourge” - leonardo

“scourge!” “scourge!?” “scourge?” “hrgghhg??” “hrrm...” - the roving misogynists

power ranger villain and his squeaking goblins vs leonardo, the most useless female leads of all time, and the roving misogynists. who will win.

not the people watching this movie, I can tell you that much.

oh no, the lightbringer isn’t working. this will do nothing to convince the roving misogynists that it isn’t a walking stick

oop, wilhelm scream

oh no lucien has picked up the light bringer

goddamn it he’s the chosen one isn’t he

yep he activated the stick and now we all have to suffer

oh xena 3.0′s coming for power ranger villain maybe she’ll actually do something

nope she bounced off him and now he’s grabbed her and hauled her onto his horse

“you’re coming with me” he says in his weird batman voice, to make sure the audience can tell that he is in fact taking her with him

and esme has yelled “no” to make sure we remember that she’s in the movie

wait what the. did lucien just yell “xena” is that her actual name what the fuck. what the fuck. I had to have misheard that. okay I can’t tell what he’s saying for sure but someone’s bound to say her name again at some point in the movie so I’ll revisit that.

and on that note, I think I’ll end here, because there ended up being a LOT more to unpack in this movie than I expected, it’s after midnight, and I’m tired.

tomorrow, we follow lucien as he presumably goes to save some lady he wildly disrespected and then made out with one time whose name may or may not actually be xena, and hopefully figure out what the hell is even going on with dracula, remfield, and their castle full of artfully strewn half naked harpist lesbians and dancing ceiling shadows. because right now I really don’t have time to unpack all that, and I have a feeling it will only get worse.

#this is #a masterpiece #no description of mine can hope to do it justice #hypnotically incomprehensible #tearless liveblogs

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alchemisland · 6 years ago

Text

The Moors Mutt - II

https://www.wattpad.com/676844776-the-moors-mutt-ii

II. Limbo

Rising early, if rising it was and not merely stirring from a wakened restive state, I walked a barren stretch. At pale dawn birds like Aztec idols flighted at my stirring. Cold light stained the pasture either side. Sleepshod, the road to Cairn Cottage found me quiet company. Even the tinkers were not yet to the road in their triskeled wagons.

When the machine architect of our world was in infancy, men of old, men of renown, used more than sight in their primitive observations of our world. Already we, we as mankind, had realized what appeared as reality was deeper yet than simple tangibility. Further back towards the chaotic and infinite churn of the burning epoch, when mankind had not language to manifest destiny and lived subordinate to Echidna's descendants still fearsome on the plain, parts of the brain which one day became memory centers first stirred to life, elongating the possibility of human memory. Scent still is brother to memory.

The air was heavy with scent when I relinquished vision, only for a short time, and let wind corral me. The breeze carried faint lavender.

A pebbled stretch I crossed stirred a memory of my late father and a codex of heroic tales he purchased, whose high adventure stirred me like nothing prior. At six, maybe seven years old, tales of old Arabia appealed greatly. Fabulous kingdoms wrought of yellow stone against a tangerine haze, swirling tarot sun bemused of countenance, scorpions armoured like chargers sending rodents to their redoubt, the cloying madness of it all. I visited them in dreams, jumping from the path of unruly camels, watching the impenetrable waves humbly part in the wake of Royal palanquins.

Their heroes were unlike our knights. More often broody boys who preferred quill to falchion. Brooding teenagehood made me relish the stranger stories, tales without lessons existing solely to unnerve, speaking on the bleak lives of Tartarian wizards. Older, into adulthood, I came to enjoy Greek tales most. The tragedy of Ajax in his lover's plate leaking on the golden sand moved me. Waves, caressing the moored fleet in passing, bursting against the shale where the pyre burned. Since, when I hear crunching pebbles, I think of soldiers marching on the beach at Troy.

I heard the crunch of a trap and waited hopeful until the crude plume fixed atop the horses head appeared like the mantle of some deposed pagan lord. Ixion's disc four times divided had been fixed to bear this chariot. Its trundle ground debris to powder. I hailed the man, a being of wind, every strand of hair or cloth lank enough to lift stood in disarray. A peak stole his brow, but a smile waved me aboard. He never spoke, though carried me within shouting distance of the manse.

Inside chaos reigned. Lady Sizemore's estate was measured first in paper, not coin. Hundreds, thousands of jaundiced sheets, all in disorder busying every surface. Before a single coin changed hands, a great many hours I spent hauling boxes, within which were more boxes where spiders large as potatoes spun temporary wonders above the invoices.

I wonder what effect prolonged tedium has. Such thoughts are entertained in the avoidance of work that should never be given lucid credence. An entire day dedicated solely to translating letters in incomprehensible cursive, it felt ridiculous. My mind, perhaps reflecting its surroundings, felt dulled, unfocused. So long I stared, when I pried my eyes I found feint margins plastered across reality.

The previous night's visitations I had pondered, ultimately chalking to anxiety. Nothing substantially portentous. Unfortunately, another day was required before I indulged my cryptozooligcal fancies.

Darkness in ravenfeather arrived prematurely. I gathered my belongings, wondering where the time went, then ran to the track and the sounds of the the last husbandmen bound for Sperrin. I found easy passage. Too easy perhaps; I was cursed to endure indignity on a wagon halfheartedly scraped of its stinking contents; with my legs lolling over the side, I was soaked in every splash. I arrived back mud-caked, a shambling golem. Lar tended bar. I wondered had he stirred in my absence. Anticipating my thirst, two mugs were set.

I dropped my satchel, enjoying relief akin to weightlessness by contrast, and we drained tankards like soon-to-war Saxons, speaking of weather. I asked had anyone noteworthy visited, mostly from politeness. When asked had the room served, I replied it had done so more than adequately. Again, politeness.

Not wishing to seem overeager, I spared him my dream. If the tale was relayed to me, I should say how convenient the very man hoping to find the beast would experience a vision.

Besides, in the unlikely event we found a mangy badger after I'd described a prehistoric horror.. perish the thought.

'Do we depart tomorrow?' Lar grunted, pretending to clean.

'Short delay actually. I'd have said from the doorway, only for the ale calling. Alas, labour remains. My charges lust for satisfaction. They are at Rome's gates! Distant cousins write in droves. By air, land and sea their letters come, squeezing through grates, shimmying down chimneys. Forget the beast, if they find me I'm dead.'

'We sank tankards enough last night. I've seen folks pale on the dizzy morning after the night before. If this delay is to spite me, let me allay concerns, I'm the man for this job. We're the men for this job.' He shot a glance at Fergus, a pale lance cleaving his brow.

I looked to my empty cup then longingly at his selection. Lar fingered a cask, but reached further back and took another instead.

'My god, man. Boil a pot and toss it down your trousers. No such notions occurred to me. We're expedition mates! I didn't make a dent in the work, really.' I raised a silencing finger to hear the splash of ale. 'There you have it. Mystery solved. If the mystery of the beast is this easy, we're laughing.' I inhaled its aroma. Fruity, potent, sickly almost. 'This expedition diary I mean to publish, any thoughts?'

Lar's measured tone returned. Careful as a tiptoeing sinner, he asked 'You good?'

I smiled. 'Only Ben Adhem saw the book, ask him.'

Lar stove the ashen helm crowning his cigarette, plunging the embers into the cold bronze bowl. 'At writing.'

'You should say! I tease, I tease. To answer your question, yes is the answer. Humbly, in my hand, the pen is like the master mason's chisel, from whence grand cathedrals spring forth from their less divine constituent parts.' Lar was fumbling for his tobacco already and I thought what small use that vice would be in peril.

'I'm convinced.' Lar spoke quickly, stumbling over the words to get them out. I took no offence at his zeal to change the subject. 'Do you have a manuscript at hand?'

'Not with me, unfortunately.' He stifled a sigh of relief. 'Upon returning home one story heavier, I'll ensure you receive signed copies of every one. I'll sing them My favourite tub of Lar. Yours literately, Beastman. That way you'll know it's me.'

Lar's ale, a home brew, was a swift agent, promising to travel from your mouth to the toilet's in twenty minutes. I joked he might patent it for a medicine. Call it the Midas touch. Everything it touched turns to gold: toilet seat, floor, shoes if you weren't careful.

I spied Fergus. His thumb led a blunt edge across the ribbed bark of a sprig, from which he had carved two lidded eyes and a pursed mouth.

Lar lit a cigarette from the flared end of the last, then discarded it on the ashen pyre.

Lar had to raise the hatch spoiling any hope of a dramatic exit, but I hovered over the stool while I spoke. 'Departure two days hence, on the strict proviso no unpleasant libel suit comes once the story hits print. Rest assured, I'll include nothing untoward, but I reserve the right to artistic licence. Print the myth.'

'Libel is a city crime.' Anticipating my desire, Lar walked while he spoke. I mirrored his step, slipping through the open portcullis to sleep, perchance to scream.

Lying in bed, I wondered what to include in my chronicle; exciting details only, or every charged exchange? Nobody asked how the shipwright felt constructing thousands of ships without prior notice. They only wanted Achilles. The reader will concede, I have included much of the mundane.

Well-oiled, I slept easily. Set like a star I saw things past, dark present and murky future, useless without chronology, stifling their prophetic nature. The beast came again, shaking the ground.

Waking, it seemed I fell to the mattress from a height. Not far enough to endanger, but enough to worry the springs. I lurched, took my journal from the bedside locker, levered its purple tongue to split its leather cuirass and let it whip to a clean page.

One mark on the opposite face demanded attention. A black circle, subtle as a bearded chin, formed by the swift fury of a graceless wrist, its blackness total.

How strangely the lines blended. One moment a nest of fastened rat tails, one mark indistinguishable from another, the next a clear set of growing rings. In its swirling centre around the maelstrom's eye, the paper tore with the fury of the quill.

I found the pockmark on every page. Someone strained greatly to make an impression so indelible. First I thought Fergus with his ham hands, unknowingly forcing the nib through the page. When he had the chance, or the notion? It seemed unlikely. Throughout the workday it was with me, resting once for a moment unattended on the desk.

Despite concerns, I knew no progress could be made at this hour. For now it seemed safe to be about my duties without much extra precaution. I returned the journal, pulled the duvet across my shoulders and turned to sleep, when suddenly a violent jolt racked the shutters so fiercely they juddered back into place with a great thunk.

I winced toward the disturbance and found mocking empty blackness. As my head sank back into the pillow, a shuddering pulse shook the building. A rippling seismic attack. Unlike quakes from within, which sally in waves, this was a single detonation, like a dying star; one magnificent shockwave that stirred everything in the world at once, only for a moment. I stemmed panic, falling to courageous platitudes that would embarrass the most shameless Kipling-mimic. Without panic, I deduced more likely my head sharply turning had disturbed my equilibrium, giving the walls the appearance of motion. As if in answer to my doubt, dust sprinkled from the rafters.

Nothing else came. I waited, steeled. I pretended to be brave and at some indeterminate point, felt into a brave slumber.

Lar, blackbird that he was, rose early. He emerged from the fugue state that best pleased his constitution and stretched, his wingspan filling the alcove.

He found me in my linen cell, bewhaled as Jonah.

'Terrible day.' He drew the shutters. I pulled the sheets down over my face to the sight of Lar's stocky silhouette in the dirty light. Tapping his pipe twice on the sill, he plonked one cheek on the ledge and struck a match. 'Anything you want from town? I'm going to get supplies. I should be away most of the day. There won't be a return trip before we go. Speak now or forever hold your peace.'

'Ambulo in pace.' I tapped my journal, 'I have everything.'

'Do you have a mac?' The rain beat harder.

'No, we're English, some Irish. Although I heard tell that a distant branch traded their roses for thistle stalks.'

Lar shuddered, ill-humoured before midday, despite protestations he needed no proper rest. 'I mean a waterproof.'

'Oh give me credit. That's humour.'

'We in the smiling countryside call it idiocy. There's a time for revels. Unless you've been up all night, dawn isn't it.'

'I don't have one and I'd like a loan if that's what you're asking, thank you. I didn't sleep well now you mention it' I tossed my feet onto the cold ground and felt for a sock.

Lar watched the rain spilling in romantic sheets. 'You'll need an ark to get back. It's like a bog when it rains. No one will be able to get you. Not me, not the constabulary, nor anyone else. If the weather worsens, make sure you get back in time. Otherwise, everything will be closed until further boatice.'

'Boatice?' I said.

'Now that is humour. Rain, boats, further notice. Get it?' Lar left more spritely than when he entered.

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eddycurrents · 6 years ago

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Strange Places: The Island

Words & Art: Mike Mignola | Colours: Dave Stewart | Letters: Clem Robins

Originally published by Dark Horse in Hellboy: The Island #1 & 2 | June & July 2005

Epilogue - Originally published by Dark Horse in Hellboy - Volume 6: Strange Places | April 2006

Collected in Hellboy - Volume 6: Strange Places | Hellboy Library Edition - Volume 3 | Hellboy Omnibus Volume 2: Strange Places

Plot Summary:

Hellboy emerges from the depths of the ocean to a crag of wrecked ships and navigates an island of ghosts, ruminating on who he is, who he was, and who he’s meant to be.

Reading Notes:

(Note: Pagination does not represent anything within the issue or collections themselves, it is solely in reference to the chapter.)

pg. 1 - The bleakness in these panels from the white skies, white water, the faded colour to the gulls and the ships, this feels like purgatory. In his introduction to this story, Mike Mignola said that he was inspired by William Hope Hodgson’s Sargasso Sea stories, which explains the setting, but this feels so much further removed from the world. That Hellboy has landed himself in a no man’s land.

Also, I think a potential interpretation of “The Third Wish” and “The Island” is to see them as two parts of the death and resurrection of Hellboy. Maybe not literally, maybe so, since everything here seems to be an existential exercise. In the former, you could see Hellboy going to a “hell” in the underworld of the sea and the final panels are vague enough that he could have drowned. Then in “The Island”, his soul is traversing this kind of purgatory, facing his demons and angels, while searching for a way to exist again.

pg. 3 - Absolutely stunning work from Mignola and Dave Stewart. The fading, distant sunset just adding to the feeling that wherever Hellboy is, there’s soon to be no light or warmth.

pg. 4 - This is a nice summary of the last story. The appearance of others is certainly strange.

pg. 5-6 - The sea shanty, what’s actually looking more like flaming mugs than just sloshing ale, and weird orange colour definitely give it a feel that something’s wrong here.

pg. 7 - And there’s the rub. You do wonder, though, if Hellboy’s drinking with ghosts or if his loneliness and drink have him hallucinating happier surroundings.

Also, I just love the presentation here. The layout for the page and bottom tier’s grid is just interesting.

pg. 8 - Hecate’s looking a bit different from her last appearance, but it’s interesting to see her here to lay claim on Hellboy. The moon in the background is a nice little hint to her identity, if anyone was confused at the onset before she’s explicitly named.

Also, like the monkey with a gun panel, this is probably one of the funniest sequences in a Hellboy comic.

pg. 9-11 - Hecate’s reasoning for Hellboy to join her is kind of weird, reiterating a binary choice that Hellboy himself has rejected the notion of before.

That’s also probably one of the creepiest, most terrifying “I want you inside of me” propositions from a woman...or iron maiden. Somebody should probably do a study of the sexual innuendo in Hellboy and how awkward and strange much of it happens to be.

pg. 11 - Hellboy atop the cliff, tossing away the rum bottle, discovery of another skeleton, and then fade to black is probably one of the scenes in this story that most reminds me of The Seventh Seal.

pg. 12 - And then things possibly get stranger. Being unfixed in time and place give you a lack of orientation literally, so the appearance of a castle randomly on this island is even an odder prospect.

pg. 13 - When has Hellboy ever done the “sane” thing?

pg. 14-15 - Like the castle, the appearance of the priest, knights, and the man they’re judging as a heretic is hard to place, unexplained, making you wonder if it’s something currently happening, something that has happened previously and we’re just getting a flashback, or what.

pg. 18 - Sudden monster appearance is sudden.

pg. 19-21 - Impressive battle, though there’s an interesting level of futility that Mignola introduces through referencing Moby Dick. That Hellboy is losing himself in continuing this battle.

pg. 22 - Yeah...grievous impalement probably isn’t good.

pg. 24-25 - I definitely seems more now that the bit with the priest is in the past. With the heretic telling the priest that he’ll rise again some time in the future.

pg. 26-27 - The juxtaposition of the heretic’s words in the past over the events in the present with Hellboy are well done. The art as well is just phenomenal. The darkness, the spot colours of red, the designs for the sculptures and decorations, the resuscitation of the old heart, you kind of just have to stare at these pages a few times to take it all in.

pg. 28 - Aside from just looking cool, there are also possibly some hints as to some of the story elements in what otherwise may just seem like random images.

pg. 30 - Mohlomi’s reappearance is certainly interesting. Especially serving as a kind of psychopomp for Hellboy. It makes you wonder if his role even in “The Third Wish” was merely a passive guide, ferrying Hellboy from one place to another.

pg. 31 - I absolutely love that the heretic has taken Hellboy’s colour scheme, along with his blood. It helps reinforce the idea that this is an assumption of Hellboy’s life and destiny, that he’s basically stolen everything of Hellboy’s existence to spur his own resurrection. And in doing so, Hellboy’s colour has faded and left him grey.

There’s also a visual similarity to the wound pattern and silhouette of Rasputin. From a conceptual standpoint, it sets up Hellboy against not just someone who has taken on his essential life spark to serve as a kind of doppelganger, but also a representation of his opposite.

pg. 32 - The heretic basically explaining it to us, and Hellboy just not having any of it is typical. Absolutely gorgeous art still from Mignola and Stewart.

pg. 34 - The legend of those gold tablets (alternately copper in some tellings, I think, but mostly gold) is real. Again, it’s a testament to how Mignola tells a story, weaving in bits of pre-existing folklore, urban legends, mythology, occult, and magick with his own inventions to tell a bigger story.

pg. 37 - I find it very interesting that as soon as Mignola goes into the creation story for Hellboy, the constrained layouts and grids ends. Suddenly we get a full bleed page, something we’ve not seen often in the series. Visually, it signifies that something bigger is being told here, even if you don’t necessarily comprehend that on a first reading.

pg. 39-40 - And that full-page storytelling continues through with the creation of the Ogdru Jahad and their offspring.

pg. 41 - And just weird happenings regarding the creator race of Watchers and the one who basically constructed their “devil” in Ogdru Jahad, and how his bits and pieces ultimately come down to Hellboy’s conception.

pg. 42 - This conception of the creation of gods and monsters, of mice and men, is interesting. Even if predicated on a faulty understanding from Blavatsky.

pg. 44 - Just stunning use of colour from Stewart.

pg. 46 - And it gets woven back into the narrative that started in Seed of Destruction and is currently running through this narrative movement in BPRD.

pg. 47 - It’s interesting that it always cycles back to the crazy. Delusions of grandeur and an attempt to run the world, to have it accept him as a saviour, anyone who disagrees be damned. It’s an interesting counterpoint to Hellboy, who doesn’t want to be a hero but tends to do the right thing just because it’s “right”.

pg. 50 - I love it when Hellboy provides his own sound effects.

pg. 51 - It always sucks when hurting the villain hurts you yourself. This mirror nature between the heretic and Hellboy is fascinating. It’s also interesting to see what effect Mohlomi’s trinkets are having.

pg. 52 - The heretic’s assumption of Hellboy’s “true” form, even as this nascent Anung Um Rama demon--though looking a wee bit more like Astaroth--is interesting. It’s a sign of a path not taken.

pg. 53 - Creepy worm is back.

pg. 54 - The heretic suffering as the worm creature thing dies is an interesting touch. Gorgeous artwork.

pg. 56 - After all that...

pg. 57 - Ominous hint of things to come.

pg. 60 - Love the use of the fairies and night creatures and whatnot again as a kind of Greek chorus for the epilogue.

Also a hint for what comes next in the main narrative, “Even now he is bound for England.” which I think picks up in Darkness Calls.

pg. 61 - I find it interesting that Hecate has apparently fallen silent, likely living by Hellboy’s wish for her to leave him alone (at least for the time being).

pg. 62-63 - Nice reiteration and reinterpretation of who Hellboy is.

pg. 63 - It’s also interesting as to just how much of Hellboy’s eventual fate is shaped just because this little hobgoblin, Gruagach, couldn’t handle his smackdown from being a jerk back in “The Corpse”.

pg. 65 - Just let it go, pig dude.

Final Thoughts:

So...if “The Third Wish” was a fairy tale, Mike Mignola’s tragic take on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, this is something else entirely as a follow-up, somewhere between The Seventh Seal and Black Narcissus. It’s bleak, distant, esoteric, and absolutely lush when it comes to its use of colour to set mood and atmosphere.

While it is a resumption of the origin cycle for Hellboy that has played out before in the narrative a few times now since Seed of Destruction, it’s also a bit of transference and confrontation of Hellboy’s destiny that plays out here. Where previous iterations may have been an emotional response and rejection, here we get a more measured physical and intellectual rejection.

This also feels kind of like a dry run for the storytelling approach that we’re going to eventually be seeing in parts of Hellboy in Hell. This story definitely takes us to some strange places.

d. emerson eddy is just a broken machine, with all the layers of dust some things have started to fail. Some things. Some.

#Give 'em Hellboy #Hellboy #Strange Places #Mike Mignola #RaisingHellboy #47

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theepitomeofamess · 6 years ago

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It Takes Two pt 6

sorry y’all, had some severe writer’s block since I got home and my parents put me to work around the house. So anyway this is kinda a bs scene, but y’know what, it’s something.

Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

high school au, theater au, Logince, 2264

An orange glow set into the atmosphere over the Target parking lot. Cars came and went with honking horns, screeching tires, and rage-fueled middle fingers. Children screamed and giggled at their parents, people almost got run over because they were distracted by their phones, dogs barked across the lot where the Pet Smart sat.

“Blue one,” Logan gestured to the blue mustang revving across the lot with the Blue Moon in his hand. Roman added another tally mark under Logan’s name on the pizza box lid, refusing to take his eyes off the lot. It had been Roman’s idea to play the game Russell and Carl played at the end of Up, and he couldn't stop smiling.

When the two of them had left rehearsal that night, Logan stopped at the exit. Roman asked if he wanted to go with Virgil, Patton, and the others to Cookout, then go home with Virgil after. For a minute, Logan had just stood there, and Roman wondered what was going through his head. When he finally spoke up, his voice was soft, to the point of sounding plush.

“Let’s go to Target.” Roman hadn’t spent a lot of time with Logan, but he remembered what “going to Target” meant between him and Virgil, and that muted smile and matte fog in Logan’s eyes screamed of the subtext.

“Let’s not go home. Let's not go to my house or your house or Virgil’s house, let’s go out and pretend that we don't have anywhere else that we have to be except with each other. Let’s wander around a store that has a little bit of everything and pretend we have money to buy the things we like and just wander and look and laugh and pretend reality doesn't exist because it really doesn't in Target.”

And that's what they'd been doing for the past few hours. They'd circled around the store around three times, stopping at different things each time, talking to each other and laughing and letting time slip away into the odd obscurity that comes with places like Target. After a while, they bought a six pack of Blue Moons from an older woman who trusted Roman and never asked for IDs, and a pizza from the Pizza Hut inside the store, and gone out to the curb to watch for blue and red cars.

“Red one,” Roman pointed with his pinkie, the rest of his hand still wielding a pizza crust.

“Roman,” Logan deadpanned, “that’s a decoration.” Roman looked from the red ball cemented in front of the entrance to an unamused Logan.

“Yeah, but it’s red, isn’t it?” Logan scoffed at the rebuttal, rolling his eyes in an attempt to hide his smirk.

“Fine. In that case,” Logan pointed to the label on his beer, “blue one.” Roman laughed at the gesture, throwing his head back and using his entire body to laugh. Logan smiled, chuckling at the ground while Roman smacked his knee with his free hand. Roman’s laughter rang in Logan’s ears and warmed him to his core, filling him with more warm and fuzzy feelings than beer ever could.

“You’re fantastic.” The comment was off-hand, spilled without meaning to be spoken. Logan smiled, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at the comment. Swirling the beer in his hand, Logan watched the sky, orange glowing on the horizon and pink cotton candy clouds blushing against the darkening blue sky, his gaze too intense to be apathetic and too careless to be intent. He seemed to be watching something far beyond the colors of the sky, beyond the parking lot, like he was looking through the particles of reality to watch something happening in the next dimension.

Roman swallowed hard as he forced on himself the truth that he had no clue what was happening in Logan’s head.

“You okay,” he finally asked, trying to snap Logan from his trance-like state. Logan hummed before answering.

“Thinking.”

“What about?” For a long moment, Logan didn’t answer. Roman almost thought that Logan hadn’t heard him.

“What’s your favorite flower?” The question caught Roman off guard. He couldn’t quite tell what Logan meant to convey with the question. Was that what he’d been thinking about? Was he just asking to change the subject? Was he actually interested, or was it a new game?

“Roses.” Logan snickered at the answer. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just,” he sighed, “I should have seen that coming. A classic symbol for passion and romance, I don’t know how I didn’t expect it.”

“That’s the beauty of it, though,” Roman defended calmly. “You’re only thinking of the red rose, which symbolizes courage in addition to passion. I love roses in all colors and meanings. Yellow ones symbolize friendship, pale peach is modesty, yellow with red tips is falling in love, orange is desire and fascination and creativity and enthusiasm, burgandy is unconscious beauty, blue is,” Roman’s voice caught when he noticed how Logan was looking at him as he rambled, a ghost of a smile on his lips and the fog almost cleared from his exhausted eyes. “Blue is the unattainable, the impossible. Roses of all colors are beautiful and have their own unique and beautiful meanings, and they’re just in general lovely flowers. Anyway, what’s yours?”

“Mine?” Logan asked, turning his gaze to the ground as he thought. “Dandelions.”

“Really,” Roman smiled. “I had you pegged for more of a lily or lilac kind of guy. Why dandelions?” Logan shook his head, smiling to himself.

“They symbolize a lot of things, from intelligence to healing to survival. The message being conveyed when they’re given is to not give up, even when those around you keep trying to get rid of you. That’s what I really like about them, I think. They’re resilient. Most people call them stubborn, but that’s just annoyance at their resilience. People only call it a weed because somebody decided it was growing in the wrong place. They’re jealous of its resilience, its ability to thrive whether it’s growing in rich soil or breaking through concrete to reach for the sun. Once its life cycle is up, it becomes this beautiful little dainty thing, and allows itself to be carried into a hundred next lives by either the wind or someone who believes in wishes. Most flowers need exactly the right conditions so they can grow for a few weeks and be at their peak for maybe two days before they start wilting. Dandelions can grow anywhere, and for half their life they look like the sun and the other half they’re a beautiful puffball that rides on wishes.”

Roman watched and listened to Logan in awe. He remembered Logan mentioning having an appreciation for poetry, but at the time he’d thought that that was all it was - an appreciation. The way Logan spoke, though, the way the words spilled from his lips so eloquently and effortlessly, Roman felt a smile quirk his lips at the realization that the connection was so much more than just academic fascination. Glancing at the bottle in Logan’s hand, Roman told himself that Logan had to be at least a little tipsy to talk so freely about this kind of thing. He usually rambled on forever about facts and science and analysis, not the symbolism and sentiment of flowers.

“Sorry,” Logan’s smile faded as he bowed his head. “I’m rambling, I know it’s annoying. Next time, just tell me to stop, okay? I don’t want to-”

“You’re not being annoying.” Roman’s words were much harsher than he’d intended, as though he were offended at the notion. He was, but Logan didn’t need to know that. “I will personally fight anyone who told you that you’re annoying when you’re talking about something that you are clearly passionate about. I love listening to you talk, and if you ever think otherwise, you just point out the one who planted that thought in your head.” Logan huffed a laugh through his nose, sending a half smile up at Roman.

“My knight in shining armor, you are,” Logan mumbled into the bottle as he took another swig.

“I should hope not,” Roman replied. “A knight in shining armor hasn’t done anything, hasn’t been anywhere. If anything, I’d be your knight in dented, rusted, dirt- and blood-stained armor. That way people can know that I’d protect you from anything that tried to hurt you.” Logan kept his eyes trained on the ground in an attempt to hide the smile he couldn’t quite hold back.

“You’re too good.” Roman smiled at the comment. He couldn’t remember the last time someone called him good. Not fantastic, not spectacular, not anything on the other side of the spectrum, just good. That was probably the greatest compliment Roman could dream of receiving. Taking a swig of the beer sitting next to him, Roman’s mind raced, trying to come up with a way to continue the conversation.

“What’s your favorite Disney movie?”

“Big Hero Six. You?” Logan’s answer came too easily for Roman’s liking. Roman had a hard time choosing his favorite Disney movie, as all of them had worked together to form his childhood and him as a person.

“Currently, I’d have to say Hercules, but I can never choose an all-time favorite. I love them all equally for different reasons. I could never choose.”

“Well, I have to agree that Hercules is a good choice. The art and music style were daring, and Greek mythology is always a good choice. That’s probably my fourth favorite.” Roman hummed.

“What’re your other top four?” Logan continued to stare at the concrete as Roman watched him think on the question.

“Big Hero Six, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lion King, and Hercules.” Roman hummed at the list.

“Why those?”

“Why are you asking me so many questions?” Logan looked back up to Roman, eyes squinted with suspicion.

“Just curious. Besides, you and I still don’t really know each other that well.” Logan watched Roman’s expression for any ulterior motive, only to find sincere curiosity.

“Big Hero Six, the protagonists use their brains instead of brawn to defeat the antagonist.” Logan turned to watch the concrete again, eyes following a lone ant looking for any speck of food. “Hunchback, firstly because I have a soft spot for Victor Hugo, and secondly because it has my favorite songs and some of the most relatable and interesting characters. Lion King, mainly because it has some of the greatest quotes, including my favorite. You know Mufasa’s speech to Simba?”

“The ‘everything the light touches is our kingdom,’ one,” Roman asked as Logan picked a crumb from the pizza box, setting it in the path of the ant. Both of them smiled as the ant picked up the crumb, happily starting back toward its colony.

“No, the one about the stars and the great kings of the past watching over us.” Logan’s head tilted up, the sky turning inky where it had been orange moments ago. The stars were invisible due to the street lamps everywhere, but Logan smiled nonetheless. He knew they were there. He was comforted by the knowledge that they were watching over him.

Roman smiled at the stars glittering in Logan’s eyes. He might not be able to see them in the sky, but he could always marvel at the galaxies in Logan’s onyx eyes, at his soft smile.

Logan just about jumped out of his skin when his phone started buzzing madly in his pocket. Taking it out, his eyes widened at the number. It didn’t have a contact name, but Logan clearly recognized the number. Thumb hovering over the green phone icon, Logan took in a deep breath.

“We disappoint, we disappear,” he mumbled, the words barely audible to Roman, “we die, but we don’t.” Swiping the red icon, Logan slipped the phone back into his pocket. Roman almost asked who that was, what was wrong, but something made him hold his tongue. Maybe it was the way the stars had faded from Logan’s eyes, maybe it was the way his shoulders were starting to collapse in on themselves, maybe it was the way his hand moved up to grip at his hair.

Roman wasn’t quite thinking when he laid a hand on Logan’s back. He felt Logan’s back tense under his palm, but he didn’t pull away, rubbing at the tension in his back and shoulders.

“So, you like Victor Hugo, huh?” Roman hoped to whatever God there is that his voice was level enough to seem nonchalant. “Is Les Miserables included in that?” Logan finally seemed to relax as he went on a tangent about Les Mis and Victor Hugo’s other novels and poetry and everything he could think of. He didn’t seem to feel himself leaning closer into Roman as he talked, relaxing into Roman’s side.

They stayed there, talking until the sky was black and Target closed. By the time they were back in Roman’s car, Logan was half asleep and the clock read 11:08. When Roman asked where Logan wanted to go, Logan didn’t respond beyond a grunt when Roman suggested Virgil.

“11:11,” Roman announced softly when he checked the clock at a stoplight. “Make a wish.” Roman expected some kind of scoff or eye roll from Logan, but there was nothing. Silence filled the car, the red light turned to green and Roman started driving again. Something in the back of his mind wondered if Logan’s wish had been anything like his own.

I wish we could spend every night like this.

Tag list:

@individual-charlie @ab-artist @fandoms-n-ship @iamtrashcans@jazzyb11 @lucifer-in-my-head @romanssippycup @pendragonqueen09 @margarethx @angst-patton @nienna14

#logince #logince au #thomas sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #ts #sanders sides #thatsthat24 #patton sanders #virgil sanders #logince fic #fanfic #fanfiction #high school au #theater au #nonsense #somebody stop me #please

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fantroll-purgatory · 6 years ago

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@rice-22

FIRST: AU,fansession where there are “12”,(really 13) trolls based on Chinese horoscope

Oo, somehow we’ve never had anyone on this blog go through the Chinese zodiac? I think we might’ve had a few separate instances, but never a full roster, so this ought to be fun. I’m gonna try to tread lightly, but this seems like a good time.

Name:shū,i know trolls need 6 letters on each name, but im not sure for her,shū is the Chinese name of rat

Hmmm. I always feel weird picking on folk religion for names, but we use Greek/Roman deities just fine so I’ll tentatively recommend Huxian for the first name. This comes from Huīxiān, the Rat Immortal of Northeastern Chinese religion, which reflects on broader Chinese cosmology (which is why I thought to use it in the first place).

As for her last name… How about Glaber, from Naked Mole Rat. They’re remarked for their longevity and survivability in harsh climates, and it fits well with the Rat Immortal name along with the fact that reds are notoriously hard to kill.

Huxian Glaber.

Age:6 sweeps

Strife Specibus:hmm

Rats are well known for their cunning, so I think you should give her a trap-based specibus. Maybe trapkind with her specifically using sticky traps? She throws them down and then leads people into the sticky trap, so they’re stuck in glue while she runs away! Hehe.

Fetch Modus:labirynth modus,she needs to solve an labirynth and find the way to the item she wants

Maybe she has to have one of her pet rats run the maze instead of doing it herself! Just an idea.

Blood color:ugly rusty red,not like that beautyfull cherry red

Well now that’s rude- is that what she thinks of herself poor girl? )^:

Symbol and meaning:she is derse and i think she is a void hero,but im not sure about her aspect,for now she got the Chinese rat symbol and i want to mix this and her true sign

It feels a little odd to me to use just the Chinese word for rat as her symbol? Straightup using language words for symbols isn’t something Homestuck really does. I’ll try to see if I can reasonably incorporate anything with red sign language! But I’ll probably be taking most of my symbol design inspiration from Tachigami, the Rat Constellation, from the game Okami.

Trolltag:rodentTrainer

What about rodentiaCutpurse? Rodentia still references rodents, but cutpurse references her thiefy habit. Hey, maybe her rats can help her steal.

Quirk:hmm shE usヨs E’s facing on lヨft and right

I know this is probably referencing her symbol, but just in case we change that… Rats are known for their luck and such, so I think we should use her lucky numbers. She should change: Z=2, E=3, D=6, B=8. But she should also Never use 4, 5, or 9 and reverse replace those, 4=A, 5=S, and 9=Q. EX: th3 quick 8rown fox jumps ov3r the la2y 6og, 2q tim32 to 83 3xact.

Special Abilities:she is sneaky like a shadow,also she keeps live and dead rats

Oo, she could talk to the rat spirits and get them to spy for her, maybe.

Lusus: she is an rat keeper,so she may have a lot of lusii

I dunno, it seems like there’s animals outside of lusii on alternia? Like, we see Feferi keeping cuttlefish as pets! So she can probably have some pet rats but only one or two lusii… Though you saying that does make me like the idea of her lusus just being like, a Ratroyshka. Just a tiny rat piloting a bunch of other rats. Her lusus is very hard to kill because you kill it and another, slightly smaller lusus just Emerges.

Personality: she is playfull and loves to steal and sneak on weird places

Try to beef this up a little more. Is she an eavesdropper? I think she could also use a little bit of an interest in food because Rat Associations. Rats love, love, love to eat. Make sure she’s clever, too. Sneaky, good at coming up with plans, and REALLY good at escaping.

Interests:rodents,sneaking,exploring places,like your hive

Title: thief of void??

Honestly I thiiink she might have to be a life player. Rats are associated with offspring and descendants and that’s a major part of why they’re not only In the chinese zodiac, but also the FIRST one in the chinese zodiac. They’re the progenitor, the beginning. Rats are also associated with plentiful food, and abundant, indulgent food is a common life theme in homestuck. Rats are also associated with energy, adaptability, which are also common life themes in homestuck.

I think I might place her as a Rogue of Life? She’s a passive allocator, someone who moves and obtains, redistributes sneakily and behind the scenes. Being a trainer kind of helps this, she moves and transfers around the developmental energy for the good of all her little rat friends. In the grander scheme of things, like in the game, it would allow her to transfer developmental energy and lifeforce between her teammates. She could take life energy from herself in order to heal her teammates, or she could take life energy from enemies for the same purpose. Or she could mass LARGE amounts of life energy onto herself in order to make herself very unkillable. Her inverse would be Knight of Doom, which would allow her to use structures and inevitability as a weapon against people when she took life out of the equation.

Land:hmm

How about the Land of Generations and Ancients. The denizen is stealing the lifeforce from the consorts around him and so the consorts all age, live, and die very quickly. Huxian steps down on planet and within the first day watches an entire generation die. She has to figure out what the heck the denizen is doing and stop him, redistribute the lifespan to the consorts of the planet. And then she has to exploit the denizen’s new weakness and give him a good ol’ stab.

Dream Planet:derse

Since she doesn’t have any themes of dissatisfaction or hiding herself, I think she reads more as prospit! This would theoretically make her sign Arsci, the Medic, but I’m gonna be adapting several symbols together for her instead of just this one.

Design:

Horns: I didn’t want to get rid of the ribbons or the rat ear look despite changing her hair, so I made her horns rat-ear shaped and put ribbons around those.

Hair: I wanted her hair a bit messy- hair that’s messed up is often called a rat’s nest! I also gave her a rat-tail braid.

Face: Rats have those big shiny eyes, so I gave her huge pupils. Her smile can’t have sharp teeth, since rusts are shown having blunt or nubby teeth.

Jacket/scarf/shirt: I edited these from Jade’s squiddle outfit and Eridan’s scarf respectively. The Rat Zodiac’s associated season is winter, so I thought it made sense for her to dress like it was winter- that’s probably something I’ll keep in mind with all of your trolls. For that reason, I also gave her a regular top instead of a tanktop.

Pants/shoes: Her bottoms were edited from Terezi. The shoes are meant to have little buttons on them to continue the mildly wintery look!

Symbol: I took the circle from Arsci/Tachigami. On top I added the wings from Tachigami’s eyeliner, and on bottom I added the drop lines from the symbol you originally gave her!

Thank you for sharing. I look forward to getting to the rest of these kids.

-CD

#rice-22 #shu #huxian glaber #huxian #glaber #rustblood #maroonblood #burgundyblood #review #redesign #cd review #submission

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darkzorua100 · 6 years ago

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Well episode 55 was interesting to say the least. We finally get to see another Ignis, our Wind one who literally just named himself Windy just like that, and what’s been going on with him and such. Not going to lie, I have some mix feelings about this episode but before I get to that, I just like to take a moment to point this out for a second because I can’t be the only one who thought this and got a good laugh out of it.

During when 56′s summary was first revealed, I saw some people wondering why Windy was asking Soulburner to duel Blue Girl, thinking it was for some important reason or another but no, it was really just because of this.

No females allowed in his “Ignises/Ignises holders only” club house!

So the episode starts off with Playmaker/Ai and Soulburner/Flame meeting back up with each other after their duels and finally entering the gate to this Unknown World with Ghost Girl and Blue Girl right behind them. After going through some trippy data, please tell me I wasn’t the only one who was getting a headache from that one scene, Playmaker and Soulburner enter a valley with a huge windstorm. The boys end up having some trouble but its nothing they can’t handle. The girls, on the other hand, are a different story. As soon as they enter the windstorm, Blue Girl gets knocked off her board immediately, shocker, but Ghost Girl is able to save her before she takes any fall damage. The girls have no choice but to take shelter in one of the many caves that this valley seems to have as they regroup. During this, Blue Girl gets a signal from the research team that’s been studying this area and goes to save them immediately with a moment of hesitation.

Now here’s my main gripe of the episode and I will come back to this many times throughout this but Aoi’s character during this episode. Yes, I very well knew who was writing this episode coming into this but did common sense just leave this girl entirely? I respect her courage and selfless heart during other moments of this episode but there is a fine line between being brave and being stupid. Running around unknown territory, through a windstorm mind you, with just a signal as your lead is how you get killed! Have we apparently forgotten what world we are living in here? Signals can be hacked and use as an ambush! In any other situation, Aoi would be dead right now. However, lucky for her, this actually turned out to be the real thing but this reckless attitude of hers is going to get someone hurt sooner or later if this continues.

Anyway, after a brief cut away to Kusanagi, who has decided he is going to make himself useful by trying to dissect the Ignises’ program, we go back to Playmaker and Soulburner who are still having some trouble in this windstorm until Ai and Flame agree to use themselves as shields to protect their boys from the wind. And I just really liked this moment, especially later on in the episode, of how the two Ignises are willingly to hurt themselves if it means that their boys are able to get through. Later on in the episode, we find out that Windy, unlike Flame and Ai, really doesn’t trust humans and if he was put into that situation, he more then likely would have just let his human take the brutal beating before crashing. I don’t know if that was what the episode was going for when it came to comparing the Ignises but I just found that interesting.

Speaking of Windy, before we cut back to the girls, we happen to see his eyeball form as the literal eye of the tornado that is causing this windstorm which I found really cool how they did that.

Blue Girl and Ghost Girl find the research team, knocked out cold, with Blue Girl deciding to use her emergency escape program to log them out. Ghost Girl is against the idea at first but Blue Girl was able to convince her to use hers, allowing them to log out with them now having no way out. Blue Girl gave this big speech about how she was acting like a child during season 1 and being selfish since everything she was doing was for her brother so she’s trying to become less selfish but really, that doesn’t happen later on in the episode because the actual reason why we are having Soulburner vs Blue Girl in the first place is actually really stupid.

And yeah, Akira doesn’t seem to happy about that fact when he finds out about it. Again, I respect Aoi trying to be less selfish in that instance but again, later on, she just goes right back to her roots.

Back with the boys, Ai and Flame aren’t able to take the wind much longer so their shields drop and they are caught up in the storm once more but only for a few seconds as the wind suddenly dies down around them. They are able to process through the valley, finding a temple at the very end of it. I just like to say this now. I am loving all the Greek Mythology stuff that Vrains has been throwing into their show. I love Greek Mythology to death so seeing a Greek-like temple just made me smile. Anyway, the boys land on it, since it is floating in the sky and are immediately greeted by a giant monster, Vrains sure loves its non-Yu-Gi-Oh monsters, who Flame claims to have been one of the creatures that destroyed the Cyberse World. The boys are about to be blasted into kingdom come by it when suddenly...

“I tricked you!”

Windy appears, laughing his ass off.

Well, its official. All of the Ignises are little sh*ts if Ai, Flame, and now Windy are anything to go by. Light, Earth, and Water are going to be treats when we finally do meet them in person.

So yeah, we finally have our third Ignis everyone: Windy. I have to say, his fully design surprised me a lot. Compared to Ai and Flame, he looks almost half done in a sense. While Ai and Flame both have black bodies with their outlines being their attribute type (purple for dark and red for fire), Windy’s body is like a green yellow with pure green outlines and unlike Ai and Flame who have yellow eyes, Windy’s eyes are red. I have to say, I do like the fact that the Ignises aren’t all the same in terms of how they were designed but it still weird to see how different Windy is.

Anyway, the new little sh*t introduces himself as the Wind Ignis and that the giant monster that greeted them was his pet guard dog, Echo, who is a humanoid Ai Windy created that can shapeshift. He’s also Windy’s personal carrier because the little sh*t is to lazy to even fly around. Wow, and you got on Ai’s case for being a lazy little sh*t. Wow, I like Windy already.

So Playmaker and Soulburner both quickly got dismissed as the three Ignises talk between each other. Flame questions why Windy didn’t go to his kid while Windy just straight up says he doesn’t trust humans and I found this really interesting. Flame did say that the Ignises did spend a lot of time discussing if they should trust humans or not. Flame seems to be on the side of trusting the humans while Windy isn’t so it make me wonder now just where the other three are if some of them don’t trust humans and didn’t go to their kids because of this. We still don’t know who the last two kids are so maybe one of the Ignises is on Flame’s side and went to them but the other two could be anywhere. It also makes me wonder who Windy’s kid is since he doesn’t say it. His exact words when asked this were “I can’t trust humans like you do. I don’t want to be captured.” which is making me think of Spectre since we know that Spectre is apart of the Knights of Hanoi and they want to destroy the Ignises. If it is him, Windy obviously has the right idea on staying away from him. Then there’s Jin and if Windy knows that he’s been captured and are using him for bait to get to him, his words make sense since he knows he would be walking right into a trap. But yeah, this whole Ignis situation is giving us more questions then answers by the second. I just hope we get to find out who Windy’s human is sooner then later.

Playmaker starts asking his questions about if Windy created this world and that’s when Windy officially decides to name himself that, since he hasn’t bothered to give himself a “human” name yet. I loved Ai’s reaction to the name though XD. Windy introduces Echo and after Playmaker restates his question, Windy finally acknowledges who Playmaker is, the Hero of Link Vrains, and then Soulburner and I do not like fact that Windy just stops after saying Soulburner’s name and glares at him. Windy, you are not helping the conspiracy theories by doing that! Seriously, what’s with the death glare? Do you know something we don’t? Is it the eyes? I knew there was something up with Soulburner’s eyes! Starts talking, Windy!

Anyway, conspiracy theories aside, Windy takes the boys and their Ignises to his private garden for them to talk. Windy explains how he created this world as basically a meeting point for the other Ignises so they can meet back up with each other after they all got separated so they can rebuild the Cyberse World together. He also created this world as a trap for the enemy that destroyed their world since he wants to get some payback against them.

After Windy explains his side of the story, Playmaker shares why he and Soulburner came here to get Jin’s consciousness back. Since the person who stole Jin’s consciousness was also the same person who attacked their world, Ai asks if Windy would be able to help them. Windy looks to give some thought into the idea but flat out refuses since he clearly just doesn’t want to put himself in danger for the humans. He tries to asks Ai and Flame if they would stay in his world instead as well but they refuse as well since they want to get to the bottom of things about why the Cyberse World was truly destroyed for and because they are attached to their human partners now. Windy respects their decision, since he is just happy to know that they are okay, and is allowing them a safe passage to their destination. He just wants one thing in return.

“Tell these bitches to f*ck off! This is my private domicile and I will not be harassed!”

Windy shows the boys and their Ignises Ghost Girl and Blue Girl and asks them to kick them out before they reach his hideout. He has a no girls allowed policy.

Yeah...that’s why we are having the Soulburner vs Blue Girl duel on Soulburner’s end...

I do love how Ai is just like “do it yourself” while Windy is just like “hell no!” XD

So yeah, Playmaker and Soulburner go and meet up with the girls and I swear to god, Aoi you are a freaking idiot! I said I was going to face palm so freaking hard if they were able to figure out that Blue Girl was actually Blue Angel because of her playing Trickstar but no, she just basically tells them it! Again, what the actual hell was the point of her going undercover if she’s just going to tell them who she actually is?! If they just wanted to change up Aoi’s Link Vrains design, just do if off screen like you did with Ghost Girl! Don’t make it seem like she is doing it for something like hiding her identity when she isn’t actually going to do it! Once again, my brain is getting mad over something as simple as this but I can’t be the only one who finds this so counterproductive!

I will admit that Soulburner did get a good laugh out of me when he comments about how he likes Aoi’s new design and questions if he should change his look as well with Flame telling him what’s the point of doing so when he was already a nobody XD Rip Takeru. But no seriously, unless he’s going to turn evil and needs a new evil look to go with the turn, they better not change Soulburner’s design. I love it to pieces. Especially the scarf, I love the scarf.

So Soulburner, Flame, Blue Girl, and Ghost Girl are all finally introduced to each other with Ghost Girl figuring out that Soulburner is also a victim of the Lost Incident and is asking the boys why two of the victims are working together when the Knight of Hanoi were gone. Playmaker gives them the rundown and Ghost Girl seems to have put the pieces together on why Playmaker was dueling Bohman in the first place. Playmaker then asks her the same question on what they are doing here and Ghost Girl explains how they are trying to find Windy for SOl Technology.

Uh excuse me what? When did this turn into the plot line of the girls working for SOL Tech? Yeah I know Akira is working at SOL Tech but he’s doing this behind their back. They are making it sound like they are doing this for SOL Tech and Blue Girl is really not helping that case when she’s starts pulling this sh*t that Akira did during his and Playmaker’s duel when she tries to convince the boys to lay off and let the “adults” handle this. I like how Soulburner states how they are the ones that need to lay off since they are doing things their way and that SOL also played a role in the Hanoi Project so they have no right to trust them.

And right after that, I think I out right started to dislike Blue Girl for the rest of this episode when she says this.

“In that case, those Ignis were originally under SOL Technologies’ control. Give them back.”

Bitch what?

I love how even Emma is looking at Aoi like “bitch what?” after she says that.

So Blue Girl is convinced now that if they get Ai and Flame, they will be able to find Windy. Uh no...

Again, I know who is writing this but what is this mindset of hers at the moment? Even if she did capture them, you really think they will just tell you, let alone bring you to him? Geez, you wonder why Windy doesn’t trust humans...

So Soulburner tells Playmaker to go on ahead as he deals with Blue Girl and her bullsh*t. Honestly though, I think he just really wanted an excuse to duel Blue Angel. Playmaker leaves with Ghost Girl trying to follow him but Ai just bitch slaps her away with his data storm powers so who knows if she will actually be able to follow him now.

And that’s basically how the episode ends up with Soulburner and Blue Girl about to start their speed duel. From the preview, it looks like Blue Girl is getting a new Trickstar but who knows what that will actually do if Soulburner pulls out a Fusion during this duel.

But yeah over all, this was an episode. Again, the bits with Aoi just pissed me so much since I honestly expected more out of her but again, bad writing and it is more then likely going to get worse next episode because again, you know who is also writing for the Blue Girl vs Soulburner duel. I did enjoy Windy’s introduction though and I can’t wait to see more of him in the future.

#vrains #vrains spoilers #Thoughts #theories #mini rants

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saturn-rowlf-wrong · 6 years ago

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Chapter One: That Suffix is Greek For Destroyer.

Equius was dead to begin with. No, that’s a stupid beginning. Let’s start somewhere happier.

John, Dave, and Karkat were playing Mario Kart. They were in Dave’s house. Dave, being a Hero of Time, could easily use some time travel to make sure the place stayed clean, but no, junk littered the area. The mess spanned from a stack of dinosaur fossils next to the tv, to an impressive tower of cups and plates in the sink. Dave’s sword, Caledfwlch, was plunged in the wall. Three boys sat on the leather sofa. Man, this sofa is comfortable. Karkat sat on the right. He was the Knight of Blood. He’s pretty shouty. Dave, the Knight of Time, sat in the middle. He wore sunglasses, and liked making raps and archaeology. What a cool guy. John sat on the left. He was the Heir of Breath and he liked Nick Cage movies.

Image 1: The Boys

“YOU BETTER NOT BE AIMING THAT RED SHELL AT ME, JOHN EGBERT.” Karkat whispered, not daring to release his eye contact from the screen.

On the tv screen, Yoshi crept behind Bowser, a red shell a way from causing personal destruction.

John showed no mercy. “Hehehehe.”

Karkat growled. “I’M WARNING YOU, EGBERT.”

John threw his red shell.

Karkat threw his joy-con. “OH F*** YOU, EGBERT. YOU KNOW HOW STUPID YOU LOOK IN YOUR BIDDYBUGGY? WHY DID YOU EVEN THINK YOU COULD FACE MY LANDSHIP? YOU THINK A RED SHELL WILL STOP ME? YOU ARE ONE LAP AWAY FROM YOUR JUDGEMENT DAY, GOT IT? ONE. LAP. AWAY.

Roy zoomed on his Yoshi Bike, right past Bowser and crashed right into Yoshi, completely wrecking him.

Image 2: Roy

“Hoisted by your own petard, John.” Dave said. “It’s pretty stupid that Roy is the only character who wears shades in this game. Like, who even cares about Roy. He’s like one of Bowser’s kids, and even though he looks more like Bowser, we all know Bowser Junior is the best. Phenotype vs. genotype I think. Anyway, get wasted, boys.”

“Dude, you’re being a total butt,” John said. “And Karkat, you know this is just a game, right? Wait, are you driving backwards?”

Karkat was hoping 8th place would let him receive the blue shell. It didn’t. But he did not let that phase him.

“I’m doing what I have to,” Karkat said as he got the lightning bolt power-up. “I’m scratching the session.” Gauging their position on the map, he released the storm right as Dave and John were jumping across a chasm, causing them to fall in, destroying their chances for first place. The boys cursed.

“HAHAHAHA,” Karkat laughed. “JUDGEMENT OF BLOOD. ARE YOU BUTTHURT, JOHN? ARE YOU BUTTHURT, DAVE? I HAVE DECIMATED Y’ALL.

“Karkat, you made us fall in 4th and 5th,” Dave said bitterly. “You were in 8th.”

“I BASE MY SUCCESS ON THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT, LIKE A WRITER OF A STORY LOVED BY A DEDICATED AND VULNERABLE FANDOM. I MEAN AUDIENCE” Karkat said, making his way to the kitchen. “YOU THINK WHEN WE DEFEATED LORD ENGLISH AND INHERITED THE NEW UNIVERSE I WOULD JUST SETTLE DOWN? THERE WAS A TOTAL OF 12 TROLLS IN MY SESSION, AND ONLY THREE OF US DIDN’T DIE, WHILE ALL 4 HUMANS IN YOUR SESSION SURVIVED, AS DID THE FOUR HUMANS IN THE OTHER SESSION. I MEAN, TECHNICALLY WE ALL DIE IN OTHER TIMELINES, THE SAME WAY WE ALL ACHIEVE GOD TIER IN ONE REALITY OR THE OTHER. FUNNY: NEITHER KANAYA, TEREZI, OR I ACHIEVED GOD TIER IN THIS TIMELINE THOUGH. HOW ABOUT THAT? IS THAT CONVENIENT? IT’S LIKE MY STORY ISN’T OVER YET. HMMM. BUT SEE. I DON’T NEED GOD TIER. I’M THE KNIGHT OF BLOOD. I AM DESTINED TO DESTROY MARIO KART. THAT MIGHT AS WELL BE CANON. I DON’T NEED GOD TIER, I AM ALREADY A HIVEWRECKER. YEAH, THAT’S CANON NOW TOO. KNIGHT OF BLOOD EQUALS MARIOCLAST. YES. THAT SUFFIX. IN FACT, FORGET ABOUT ASPECTS. FORGET ABOUT BLOOD AND BREATHE AND TIME AND SPACE AND LIGHT AND VOID AND HOPE AND RAGE AND LIFE AND DOOM. THERE ARE ONLY THOSE WHO DESTROY AND GET DESTROYED. BOOM BOOM, MOTHERGRUBBERS, THAT’S CANON AGAIN. THERE ARE THINGS OUT THERE THAT CAN’T BE EXPLAINED. LIKE WHERE DID SGRUB COME FROM? OR SBURB, I GUESS THAT’S THE HUMAN WORD FOR IT. THE NAME FOR THE GAME WE ALL PLAYED. SBURB. AND I DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW WE BEAT LORD ENGLISH. I DON’T CARE THOUGH. WHAT I REALLY WORRY ABOUT IS THE HORRORTERRORS. THOSE SPOOKY TROLL-LOVECRAFTIAN ANCIENT GODS THAT SPEAK TO US IN DREAMS FROM THE DEEPEST REACHEST OF PARADOX TIME AND PARADOX SPACE. BUT I WON’T GO INTO THAT. WHO WANTS SOME RUFFLES.”

“I’ll have some Ruffles,” John said. Karkat took some chips and threw them at the Heir of Breath. “Thanks, Karkat.” John was used to Karkat’s rants. This one was pretty short, really.

Dave took an apple juice from the fridge. “Dude, are you talking about my dreams again?” he asked. “Don’t worry John with that stuff, it really doesn’t matter.”

“What dreams?” John asked.

“HE KEEPS FLINCHING IN HIS SLEEP AND WAKING UP AND NOT TELLING ME WHAT’S WRONG.” Karkat said, throwing chips at Dave. “DID YOU KNOW HE SLEEPS WITH HIS SHADES? I CAN’T EVEN LOOK HIM IN THE EYES AND KNOW WHAT’S WRONG. ALL I GET IS THE DOUBLE-REFLECTION OF A CONCERNED FRIEND AND PARTNER. ME, IN THE REFLECTIONS OF HIS STUPID GLASSES.

Dave drinks his juice.

“Wait, do you guys sleep together?” John asked, unwittingly entering a touchy subject. Neither troll or cool dude responded. It was pretty awkward. John started to feel stupid and blush, so he made an excuse to go home and get his phone charger. Then he dissipated into wind, because that’s the sort of thing you can do when you’re a Hero of Breath.

The John molecules regathered in his house as he jumped on his bed to get the charger he left between it and the wall. He really did forget it. What was he going to do about Dave and Karkat though? It was obvious they liked each other. Honestly, a lot of people he knew were together. Sheesh, Kanaya and Rose got married and they never went through anything like this. Maybe he should text them. Wait no, he needed some experienced with the internalized homophobic behaviors and messy relationship, not something perfect. John called Jake.

“Well if isn’t my dear grandson in some timey-wimey something or other.” Jake crowed.

“Um, yeah? Listen, I need some help with my gay friends’ relationship and I thought you were the most qualified to help me help them.” John said.

“Crikey, John, you could not have made a worse call on judgement.” Jake chuckled.

“Haven’t you been dating Dirk for like a year now?” John asked.

“Ha ha, just because I’ve been blessed by Lady Luck doesn’t mean I fathom how it occurred. When it comes to relationships, my wisdom is nil, I’m afraid.” Jake apologized.

“You sure?” John asked. “Because I think Dave and Karkat’s problem is that they don’t want to admit their gay. Or, I guess that’s normal on Karkat’s planet. Not that that planet exists anymore, just that maybe Karkat might have a problem with dating a human. Like, they like each other but they’re afraid there’s something wrong with that.”

“Mm,” Jake intoned. “I think I know the shot you’re shooting for. Your comrades are afraid of not fitting the shape society made for them, even though we inherited a new universe and our traditions are being built from the ground up, from random chance and foggy memory. The culture they were born into is ingrained in their beings”

“Yeah, that,” John said.

“Well, if I am to dispense any council to you, by true-blue friend, is that a lack of communication can leave both parties feeling culpable, and the silence will just force them into roles that only demean them and show them in the worst light. Blood can spoil in someone’s heart, John. It can sour someone’s spirit. The old blood can kill you if you don’t do anything to replace it. They just should come clean with each other, because if you don’t respect your partner enough to tell him the truth, then how do you expect him to spend his life with you?”

“Jesus Christ, what on earth are you talking about?” John asked.

“By asking forgiveness. Because we all want to be forgiven, and people are really more sympathetic then we realized. At least, in my opinion. Anyway, I should get going John. It was a joy hearing from you.”

“You too, Jake. Thank you so much, this was really helpful.” John said, hanging up. Man, he just forgot everything Jake told them. Maybe he should’ve texted Rose, she would have a mature way of handling this. John aeroported himself back to Dave’s place. Yep, aeroport, that’s the word for when John turns into wind and transports somewhere. It’s CANON now.

“Hey guys, I found my charger,” John said walking into the living room. Dave was sitting at the table alone, staring at an incomplete game of Connect Four and several empty juice boxes.

“Karkat went home,” Dave said, completing a #red!Six-In-A-Row. “We had an argument, I guess.”

“What?” John said. “Did he leave while playing Connect Four. That’s unlike him. He would’ve thrown it to the ground.”

“Nah, dude, he stormed off with my Nintendo Switch and remaining bag of chips. I sent this game up post-argument, and I’ve been playing by myself ever since.”

“Dave, do you want to talk about something!?” John yelled.

“Well, yeah I had something in the old thinkpan. A real thought omelet. It’s not even an omelet any more, it’s a scrambled egg of contemplation, transfigured by the a worryspoon. It’s been in the thinkpan so long it’s starting to dry. The spoon keeps it from burning, flipping it indefinitely. But if this thought had any less moisture it would beat the Saharan desert in levels of dryness. Heck, it would beat a sandwich without any condiments. It would beat all the jars of peanut butter in the world if you even could conceive such a level of dryness of existing, and there’s no cup of milk or seasonal rain or hand turning off the oven flame that could change these levels of dryness. S***, I need another apple juice.”

“Yes. Please keep talking,” John said in a manner which was not desperate.

“Like, if this was a frog it would probably die. I just would. I mean, it just would. I’m not a Kermit, John. I just have some things I’m concerned about, and maybe Karkat flew off the handle because I was unreasonably keeping the door locked.” Dave said.

“Uh, yeah. You know if you ever need to talk to me, Dave, I’m here,” John said.

“I know,” Dave said. “That’s why we’re talking.

“Yeah, John said. “We’re talking.”

Dave: …

John: …

Dave: …

John: …

Dave: …

John (in pain): “So if you need talk about your relationship with Karkat—"

Dave: “What.”

John: “What.”

Dave: “I’ve been having these terrible nightmares, dude.”

John: “…”

John: “What.”

Dave: “John, I’ve been having nightmares about a figure with a burning skull. It rode a badass™ motorcycle and had knives for claws. It was a freaking Freddy Kruger demon, man. A dragon and a demon. And the sky was full of fireworks but I couldn’t tell what color they were because everything was black and white. It looked at me with its burning eyes and horns and it was holding a puppet. But the puppet was me, John. And then the skeleton changed and it had broken horns and cracked glasses and it told me to go back into the Game. John. I was the puppet.”

John: “…is this another metaphor.”

Dave: “No John. There are ghosts out there that want me to go back into Sburb. It said I needed to return, for my sake and his, and for everything that we had to let go of when we lose someone we loved. And then he wasn’t holding a puppet. He was holding a carton of eggs.”

John: 0 :

Dave: Karkat says I should forget about, but that’s because he doesn’t want me to leave him. Can’t blame him though. It’s a fool’s errand. But I’m that fool. Every fiber of being is telling to go on this errand. Do it, my fibers say. Be the fool. Not that know where I’d begin. But he said he wouldn’t help me and we started arguing and he ran out. That’s when I started to drink away my sorrows with apple juice.

John scratched his head. “So, you’re saying that you got a dream from… the Ghost Rider?”

“Yeah,” Dave said.

“Except he was probably a troll, since he had horns?” John asked.

“Troll Ghost Rider, yep, it appears so,” Dave said.

“Ghost Rider was a Nick Cage movie,” John said.

“Hm,” Dave said.

“Unless it asks you to make a deal. Wait, no that was Mephistopheles. You haven’t sold your soul to the devil, have you, Dave?”

“Hey, John, how about we don’t talk about Nicolas Cage, okay?” Dave asked.

“I mean, we could.” John said.

“Please. Could you do me a favor and breeze us to the Monument?”

“Sure,” John said, and he

“Wait,” Dave interrupted. He walked to his sword, unsheathing it from the hole in the wall. “Alright, now I’m ready. John held on to Dave’s arm as he areoported them to the Monument.

The sun had not yet set, but it had painted the sky pink in preparation for its departure. The sky is so pretty.

The Monument was shaped as the Sburb logo, a white house the size of… well, a house. They had opened the door from the other side, stepping into the new universe and out of the game. They were able to take the inhabitants of the game’s planets with them, although the door of the house soon vanished, leaving only a white expanse of sleek material.

Dave put his hand on the surface. He tried kicking it. He tried hitting it with his sword. Nothing worked. John watched him. This was not going as he planned. John tried making the breeze open the Monument. Nope, that was stupid.

“But Dave, don’t you have time travel powers?” John asked, lying on the grass.

“I can’t time travel into the game. It’s locked somehow,” Dave replied.

“Oh,” John said. “That’s a bummer.”

Dave sat down next to him. “I guess this was a waste of time. It’s like time is chocolate wrapper, and opportunity is a just a golden ticket you’re searching for. Look at all the time in the trash, and no golden ticket to show for it.”

“That’s pretty good, Dave. You should put it one of your rap songs.” John said.

“No, John, it was cheesy. Which is why you like it,” Dave said. “You know what I want to write about? All the people we left behind. Not just the dead but like movies and books and our human culture. I want this new culture to know about Snoop Dog, John. I want them to know about Texas, and CoolMathGames4Kids and the Great Wall Of China. This are all things that would’ve matter in a historical context but now it’s personal. I need people to know these things because things that existed should be cherished. Maybe. I don’t know. I feel like I need to prove something. This is irrelevant to anything that occurred today, though. “

“How long have you had these dreams, Dave?” John asked.

“Hmmmm I guess I’ve known the dream demon for a week now.” Dave said, taking off his glasses to clean them. “Crap, I forgot how bright the world is. “I’m putting these back on.”

“Hey, Dave.” John said.

Dave leaned backward until he was on his back. “Yeah, John?”

“How about we visit the cemetery?”

#Equius Was Dead To Begin WIth #Chapter One #Homestuck #homestuck fanfiction

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