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nemuitoka · 4 years ago

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What are your favorte jshk fanfics? also where do you like reading them the most?

Hi Anon!!! today is the day I can finally answer this question😈 ahaha you know how much I enjoy making fic recs so 👀 Let’s go!!!

To answer your second question first, I like reading them on AO3 the most! Mostly because I get almost unlimited number of characters to rant in the comment section........... 😆but also the tagging system is very helpful.

Okay, now to the fun part of this ask😏

You said JSHK, but I mostly read Hananene ones so all of my favs include that pairing... as I already did a fic rec here of my favs, this list will continue that one, so please check that one first hehe ((I apologize in advance..., I would love for people to recommend me some mitsukou ones tbh... I’m really lost when it comes to other pairings orz))

If I’m completely honest with you anon-san, my favorite JSHK fic right now is the one Roxanne ( @istoleyourboat ) wrote based of my art and her snippet:

Star-Crossed and Falling- Where Stars Go to Die by lilaflo

Hanako is Princess Nene’s personal knight 👀. A tale of forbidden love. They slowly fall in love as they exchange a series of gifts, one that includes a pair of matching earrings that remind them of their love when they’re apart. Also, jelly Hanako of Nene’s suitors😏... Oh, but nothing lasts forever and those sweet moments will come to an end when they have to face their cruel reality, in this world, they don’t get to choose neither their battles or the ones they love.

Now more of Roxanne, because I seriously enjoy her work so much (I’m sure everyone knows by now lmao sdkj)

Night of the Phantom King by lilaflo

This one is a spooky one. Nene’s regret for never realizing who she truly loves takes her to mourn her deceased friend Amane and cry on his grave in a Halloween night, then suddenly the Phantom King comes to take her away👀 & he looks suspiciously familiar... Beautiful world building btw, also the ending is just, excellent.

12 Year Romance by lilaflo

Amane meets Nene at the Tanabata festival, she’s older than him, but he falls for her instantly, fast forward, Amane is now in middle school, he’s a troublemaker, & gets constantly into fights, but he swears the new school nurse looks familiar... he then realizes it’s her and thinks it must be fate!!!... This one hits close to home bc I’ve been in this situation irl, so I can confirm all of Nene’s struggles are real (and ofc how a love with an age gap should be handled the correct way, this fic really teaches you many life lessons hahaha)

took a sip then another sip, then you turned and said to me by chivalrousamour

This autor has a bunch of good JSHK fics!! I recommend you check their AO3 out, bec you may find something you like for sure! But, this is my absolute fav from them. Nene is a mangaka, celebrating the finishing of her long serialized manga, while Amane is a delivery boy who happens to find her in a very questionable state in her house👀 (it’s all family friendly ofc, anon, I’m not a slimy pervert like some ghost boy)

Maid for Each Other by corologs ( @corologs )

Courtney has this amazing College AU collection series that I encourage you to check out!!! But Maid for each other is my fav!!! So it’s the Yugi twins birthday, and it’s Tsukasa’s turn to choose where they go to celebrate it... you can already tell where this is going... (let the chaos begin) & as the title said, it involves maids!!! (it has Kaicho wa maid sama vibes if you liked that anime~~)

If I Could Tell Her by corologs

What if the picture perfect arc plan was successful??? Well, this fic explores this idea, and it’s very interesting to read. I like how Amane and Hanako are two separate people here.

the horizon tries but it’s just not as kind on the eyes by sincerelyand ( @sunlightinourheadlights )

(Oh my sweet Karen, she writes such good fics, so go check her AO3 out as well!!) Amane and Yashiro are friends that share an apartment (& they were roommates-- OMG they were roommates), even if Amane has its complains, because Nene can be a handful sometimes (and in denial of her true feelings as always, are we even surprised at this point?) he loves her dearly anyways😭.

for real, this time by sourlemoncandy ( @sour-lemon-candy )

Did somebody say fake dating AU?????? Because hell yeah I did asajj I loved reading this so much!! Nene and Amane are childhood friends, and Nene overhears some girls talking about Amane and how one of them plans to ask him out... but she senses these girls are up to no good so she... well, you gotta read it to find out more~~ it’s no fun If I tell ya everything hehe... so go go go!!

lemon cream by sourlemoncandy

Amane and Nene, just two good friends having a road trip and sharing donuts... what could go wrong?? 😏 seriously, I loved this fic so much!! Instant fav! Also makes me wanna try some good sweet donuts...

Trip Down Memory Lane by insipidenvy ( @insipidenvy )

This fic is so sweet. I have such a huge attachment to it, because I read it when I really needed some fluff in my life hahaha. It’s sort of a collection of memories between Amane and Yashiro’s relationship over the years. So heartwarming... if you need the fluffs you’ll enjoy this very much!!

The Radish Princess and the Toilet Prince by insipidenvy

This is my favorite fic from insipidenvy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know how I am a slut for Royalty AUs so that’s why!!!!! Also Toilet Prince!! hahahaha such a good nickname lmao. I love how they bond over their insecurities, it’s very relatable tbh.

Between Wind and Water by WingSongHalo ( @wingsonghalo )

My beautiful Wing always delivering the good Hananene content, as she should!! This fic is so fun to read!! I laughed so hard at Nene and Hanako being awkward with each other!!! So you know how Hanako is super clingy with Nene, he’s always touching & hugging her, but this time something weird happens and he’s so distant~~ Nene doesn’t want to admit it at first, but she misses his clingy ghost boy~~ you’ll have a good time reading this for sure!

The Monster's Bride by Hammsters ( @uglierdaikon )

Have you heard about the myth of Cupid and Psyche? Well this fic rewrites it in a very Hananene way <3 hehe I loved it so much (as I’m a huge fan of mythology~) To sum it up, Nene is fated to marry a monster that lives in the mountains so she’s devastated... to her surprise, her husband is far from what she expected... she only had one rule to obey and well... we all know how reckless Nene is so... you go find out what happens next now!! hehehe

Morning Reflections by FalalalaLa ( @miss-sternennacht )

So you’ve heard of Hanako watching Nene sleep, but what about Nene watching Amane sleep???!! this fic offers you this and so much more fluff <3 Also Nene remembering how they met and how their relationship evolved during the years, aww <3

Cursed Coin by DaikonSenpai ( @daikonsenpai )

There’s a school dance, Yashiro’s supposed to be dancing with Kou (since she can’t go with Hanako, which causes him to be jelly~~ and bitter), but she loses a coin Aoi gave her for good luck so she goes out and searches for it on the last place she saw it, the school fountain. Suddenly Hanako spots her, what’s she doing outside??? is she drunk or something?? what happens next you may find out when you read it~~~

Between Love and Hope by Baronesscmd (SweeterThanYourDarkestSin) ( @baronesscmd )

Oh to be Nene and get to sleep between the Yugi twins... God really has favorites uh... ISTG, this collection of fics is so cute. I love how Nene loves the twins so much in this AU, they have their little cute family. She ofc is in love with Amane, but their relationship with Tsukasa is so tender... it’s mostly this trio having fluffy moments together to heal your soul... if you need some, you’ll get it here for sure hahaha.

Ghost of You (And All the Futures We've Forgotten) by Indigo_Floof milkteamoon ( @indigosienna , @spades-queen )

So anon you may have been wondering, well this bitch likes fluff only???? how about some angst for a change, uh? DAMN, OKAY THEN, here you have some angst to rip your soul out and wish you never sent me this ask in the 1st place, bec of the emotional damage this fic will leave you sdajjsa, also if you liked “Erased”, you’ll love this fic too!

Hanako of the Opera by zxrstan

Finally, but not less important, me being annoying about Hanako of the Opera & POTO AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! This fic is based of the AU Aidairo created mostly, it’s really fun to read if you didn’t get much of what was happening during the Hanako of the Opera event, it has a nice ending also! very satisfying I must say.

AAAAND THIS IS THE END OF MY ALL TIME FAV LIST OMG;;;; Kudos for me for searching through all my damn AO3 and Google Chrome history (from both my PC and phone, since I am a FOOL and forgot my AO3 password so I read a lot of these in the past as a guest before recovering my password LMAO, please be patient with me omg, and also if you see me bookmarking them now, you know why 😭)

Kudos to all of my writer homies as well, I love and appreciate all of you so much!! you have no idea! 💖

I hope you find this list useful, anon!! Thank you for sending me this ask and have a wonderful day!

Ps. Please everyone feel free to add more fics to this list if you want! this is all my personal picks, but I’m aware there are a lot more fics that I haven’t read and deserve as much recognition as the ones I listed!

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shorkbrian · 4 years ago

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ASKS

Hello again, asks are compiled under the cut. Please block the tag #shorkbrian answers a lot of asks# If you’d prefer not to see these types of posts from me. If I haven’t answered your ask, it’s because I’m saving it for a thirst, drabble, or fic.

I don’t ignore asks, but sometimes getting around to them overwhelms me lol. pls accept my apologies lol k here we go

I am very glad, I legit was so scared that it was too long and that it’d be disappointing bc the smut wasn’t super IN YOUR FACE yknow? But man am I glad to hear that.

I’m looking directly @ you

Someone noticed omg!!! A lot of times I just put whatever song I played on repeat while writing that fit, but I have a *yandere* playlist that I listen to and it gets me going. Ty for noticing!!!

I’ve considered opening them permanently but I just... idek. I’d have to start deleting or ignoring the requests I don’t vibe with and Idk how to handle that lol. But thanks for the well wishes, hope your next few months treat you well friend!

Watermelon sugar why

Srsly you’re sweet but just wait until I start to really get going with all my nasty kinks okay, then you’ll be rethinking this strategy hunty lol!

I literally stalk @.vermiliren and @.kazooli and @.seita lol. Maybe when I get my blog more cleaned up, I’ll create a list of creators that I enjoy, along with fic recs. For now, here’s a link to my AO3 bookmarks which I read one like almost every single night bc I’m a horny gremlin.

I am the shark king. Sharks are my thing bro u don’t even know. I love them so much, they're dumb and big and beautiful and yeah I wish I was a mermaid who got to swim with them. Also I changed it bc I’m trying to make my blog more *professional* and all that so I can start being taken seriously askjakjdf

Compliments suck, if I'm being down and out honest. This does not bother me at all, I’m just unsure how to respond. I think I would prefer no comments, but I’m trying really really hard to just say “thank you!” and move on before I get uncomfortable. Having to fight with someone about how I perceive my self worth is exhausting, and especially so for the poor person that was just trying to say something nice and be nice to me.

They do make me quite uncomfortable my dear lad/lassie/lasso. Say what you wish in the tags tho ! I don’t really reply to those, so there’s no pressure on me to have to say something back. I do however, see all the tags ppl use and some of them make me laugh so hard cause they’re so spot on, and it makes my day. like “Mark me down as scared AND horny” and “Bakugou better be able to bench 165 cause imma throw my fatass in his mf lap” and it kills me.

I SCEREAMED AKDHGSYDGASJSD this is the only format I'll be taking asks in now, no compliments just a yes/no answer to if my works help u cum god bless

you used the /gen!!!!! IDK what these are called but the /S and /gen and /J save my life!!!!

Frick you’ve figured me out, I do try to put like a nail-in-the-coffin sentence at the end. A lot of times it never works right, but I cannot for the life of my figure out how to end a single post ever. If anyone knows hmu pls ty

(Also ps I checked out ur blog cause yans are my jam and it is very much Not garbage!!)

That’s very kind of you, but pls don’t stay up past midnight it’s bad for ur Brian you’ll make bad decisions bro trust me all of my stuff is written after midnight

You will lafff..... but I will tell anyways..... I was prescribed a “life coach” after I got out of the hospital, which was really just a poorly disguised softcore “make sure u don’t yeet urself” type of thing. He had me write down things I liked about myself, and when I returned the sheet of paper still blank, he wrote stuff down for me. Like five sentences of “My hair and skin are unique and special” “I like animals and enjoy being kind to them” “I am worthy of respect” etc etc. and I had to look in a mirror twice a day and say those sentences to help “boost my self worth”. It sucked so bad dude, and I like got upset about it every time it came up, until finally my therapist was like “... this aint doin this sad bitch no good” and my parents got designated for yeet watch instead.

I know, logically, that (the majority of) people are not purposefully taking time out of their day to make me feel bad. They're trying to be encouraging and loving, and I appreciate it so much. But like... what do I say? If I say thanks, it’s almost like acknowledging what they're saying as true, and I can’t live with myself thinking I’m more than I am. I’m sorry you’ve had experiences that make compliments difficult for you also, I understand bro and I hope that your future holds healing and peace for you.

Hopefully I won’t vent as much anymore lol, I’ll try to do that on my sideblog where I reblog really trigger-y memes akjdafhkjf. But thank you for your kind words bro, they’re appreciated and put in a nice lil jar.

Ah dw! This doesn’t sound like a jab. I think all of us r so sad n depressed and feel unworthy of love, so the fantasy of a Yan coming and forcing it on us and not leaving even when we lash out is just..... so attractive my heads gonna explode

me, thinking about kiri at any given moment like:

I have the next Hybrid! Kiri fic like lined up, but I’m so demotivated be I was SO CLOSE to finishing, and then wiped my computer like an IDITO

Waso, I’m taking horseback riding lessons bc my mom went:

and my grandpa told me that one of his horses was named Awaso and I immediately thot of u fun fact. But you’re so very kind, and I enjoy seeing you in my inbox. I’m never tired of u homie. You are loved and important, and it’s not an illusion. Even random strangers on the internet can feel soft towards you bro, and dats me, I’m the random stranger that likes u.

So I took Russian for a year, my dear friend, because I wanted to see if the language myth of “Russian is the hardest, Korean is the easiest” was true. I would say yes. So instead of like translating this and typing out a coherent response, I’ve resorted to google translate I’m so sorry but Виктор мог плюнуть мне в глаз, и я бы поблагодарил его. Also, the way Vitya is written in cryllic makes my heart swell it looks so cozy idek what I mean by that but it does? I treasure you man, hope to see you around in the new year and maybe??? we be good friends

Can any year be good when Kirishima Eijirou doesn’t exist?

cryface;;sad.jpg

I just imagine anyone who comes across my stuff, sitting at their computer shocked and slightly horrified, maybe turned on like

Daddy Aizawa makes me

Wait!! I have something to aid your troubles!!

ur welcome now u can be horny whenever you’d like

pls every time we talk about Kirishima I have to act surprised like

LISTEN BBYGORL I have had therapist Suga in the works since *checks notes* November. I am excited for it yeahhhhhh but sadly, I don’t think I will be continuing piano teacher Suga. The story is petered out in my mind, idk where it would go. Therapist sugarbird tho? We have some thots about this. Coming soon to theaters near you

#shorkbrian answers a lot of asks #pls block that tag if you don't want to see these kinds of posts #inbox was getting fulll #tysvm for continuing to support me

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spock-smokes-weed · 4 years ago

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Okay okay okay I know I’ve talked about this in the past but I’m sleep deprived and honestly really sad rn so imma talk about it again.

I’m so fucking pissed at Iida’s treatment in the fanbase.

Not even the bashing that he gets for being “weird”, but the pure erasure he gets

I ordered this MHA fan zine a few months and it finally got here today, and when I was flipping through it I was so disappointed to see that Iida was probably on three pages total in the whole book. He didn’t even make it into most of the group shots.

Now I know artists can make whatever they want and the zine still is very adorable, but it got me thinking about how Iida is straight up fucking invisible to every fucking person in this fan base.

Like yes you can like whoever you like and no one is gonna force to like iida, but it’s pretty fucking telling that even though he’s a main character and is one of Deku’s BEST FRIENDS, he gets fucking erased and forgotten!

It’s also not a fucking coincidence that Iida is one of the most heavily autistic/adhd coded characters in media rn.

Y’all can fucking deny it to the moon and back, but y’all know Iida is on the spectrum! It’s so fucking clear! And it pisses me off to no end that this character with positive coding, coding that doesn’t make in out to be some kind of monster, is practically erased by the fanbase at large!!!

Y’all only fucking care about the characters with mental illnesses that can be fetishize or made “uwu cute”!!! Don’t try to fucking deny that!!! Iida isn’t your “uwu autistic bby cinnamon role” or “omg adhd king!!!”, he’s a fucking accurate representation of what people on the spectrum are like, and y’all ignore him because he’s not the comfortable myth of a “uwu soft autistic bby”

I’ve lived with ADHD all my life, I know what it’s like to struggle hard with being socially unaware and not being able to notice things about people when it was oh so clear to others. So when I finally found this character who was like me, someone who struggled with the same stuff as I did, had the same neuroses as I did, and it wasn’t demonized???? It made me feel like I mattered. So going into the MHA fandom and seeing people erase him, demonize him, mock him, and down play his role in the story and his importants to his friends?? Well it broke my fucking heart.

Honest to god, most of the people I see staning Iida are other autistic and adhd folks. A lot of the time with these kinds of characters, were the only ones that show up to support them.

Well, idk what the point of this post was, I was mostly just sad and tired. Hope y’all enjoyed my rant about my fave fast boi. Please don’t let the comments become a shit show.

#my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha #iida tenya #tenya iida #ablism #im so tired yall #so fucking tired

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mcgregor · 6 years ago

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Random thoughts 1 day after watching Endgame - HEAVY SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

here we go

Don’t even know where to start ..

My girl Natasha ... One of my favorite characters. It broke my heart. And with the same soundtrack they used for Gamora in IW. + they really played with your emotions, is it gonna be Clint? Natasha? Clint again ?

she was so good in this movie though? She wanted to keep fighting, to find a solution, she was strong, and hopeful and confident in her and her family

Don’t know how to feel about Thor. I laughed a lot yeah, and I understand the whole desperation/guilt after what happened but oh man they killed a myth lol He did deserve better I think. Yes, he fought in the end, but that’s it ??

“on your left” GROSS SOBBING

the first scene was so well chosen ? Clint losing his family. I thought Jeremy Renner was so great in this movie

The first 15 minutes are so “WTF?!” you really don’t expect them to go to Thanos right at the beginning. All the trailers make sense afterwards though, finally, you get where they’re going with this movie

we all called the time traveling thing, but it was done so well, the different teams, going back to the first Avengers, to the first GOTG, to Thor 2 !

ALL THOSE REFERENCES TO PAST MOVIES AND CHARACTERS

I felt so bad for Nebula, even though I was pretty indifferent to her character before

Steve fighting himself ??? The wink to the famous elevator scene in TWS? Rumlow? Pierce ? Be still my heart

STEVE’S ASS RECOGNIZED FOR THE NATIONAL TREASURE IT IS

I love when they all brainstormed in the Avengers HQ to find out when/where they should go back in time

STEVE THOR AND TONY FACING THANOS

Thor talking to his mom ♥

Rhodey and Nebula watching Star Lord sing in his iconic entrance scene in GotG, rofl

Scott Lang is the best. Also yeah Giant Man !

The dusted coming back is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SCENE EVER

Steve standing up alone to face Thanos

STEVE WIELDING MJOLNIR AND BEING A FREAKING BOSS OMGGGGG

Also Thor’s little “I knew it” when it happens (nice throwback to that scene in AOU)

Professor Hulk though.. Don’t know how I feel about that either. It’s kind of sudden (even if for them 5 years passed)

Not a lot of Carol, but I didn’t mind. It is a movie about the OT6, it wouldn’t have make sense to have her throughout the entire movie. Love the new haircut though !

Didn’t really like when Tony lashed out at Steve in the beginning (RDj was great though). It’s understandable, considering everything that happened, yes, but saying “where were you??” and all humm he was right there, fighting too, and he lost people too

His death scene was so sad .. But I don’t know, it felt like a fitting end for his character/arc ? His fans must be crushed though

Little Morgan was adorable

The last battle scene is the most EPIC thing I have ever seen. It’s SPECTACULAR! Every freaking character is there

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE

THE WOMEN TEAM UP ???!!! my heart

Wanda being the true badass she is, GO GIRL

finaly Thanos is dead, omg, I thought, it’d never come lol

there’s a brief Steve/Bucky scene so I’m happy

And Steve ... Oh Steve .. Maybe it’s too soon. But I really don’t know how to feel about his ending. It’s very bittersweet. When you love a character, you don’t want to know how his life will end, you want him to live forever and to have adventures forever. Knowing how it all ends in canon is so hard. It’s the end you know ? The real end.

(I saw a lot of people complaining about his ending and all the comes from him staying in the past. To be honest, when you watch the movie, you don’t really think about all the consequences of him staying to live his life with Peggy. Plus, he comes back. I saw it more as if he went to a different timeline, and came back to our present one at the end)

YES for Sam taking the Captain America mantle! YES YES YES

no post credit scenes, it’s really an ending ;_; (edit: apparenty you can hear something at the end, but I personally didn’t hear anything, must be faint)

The credits were beautiful though, I thought I was done crying and then we got to our 6 main actors, oh man ...

#Avengers Endgame #avengers endgame spoilers #spoilers #maybe i'll add more afterwards

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elenatria · 7 years ago

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so the valhalla/hel /dead's army theory is not up anymore ? that's sad

This is not what I heard, darling. ;-) Those “leaks” you probably mention were proven to be some guy’s speculation later on.

These are the new spoilers/leaks I read (thanks to Oystersinthepits).

First of all let me just say about this…

WHAT HORRIBLE MANIPULATIVE BULLSHIT IS THIS.

Also…

@oystersinthepits are they copy/pasting your words now?

I read on. “I was told the movie focuses heavily on the relationship between Steve and Tony and that they for sure were amongst the members who go back in time. “ “The movie revolves around the relationship between Captain America and Iron Man.”

OH MAN, AN AVENGERS MOVIE THAT FOCUSES ON CAP AND TONY, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN.

Also.

OH WAIT DOES THAT MEAN THEY’RE COPY/PASTING MY WORDS AS WELL?

I continue reading. “Given the changes in timeline, this is most definitely not BARF like Marvel wants us to believe, but rather, time-travel.” - And here I’m reminded of people telling me to “beware” and “speculate away–but it’s highly unlikely to be time travel”. Dude, do not tell me what to do in my own posts whether I’m right or wrong, this is pure speculation after all. “Beware”, what the hell, as if I’m supposed to be afraid of being proven wrong… some time in the distant future. As if I’m getting paid to be right.

And guess what, I might be right after all. Just like many other people speculating about the time travel, which is now almost confirmed.

“Scott can shrink himself while Tony tries to blend in as a SHIELD operative to get close enough to grab the Space and Mind Stones” - Well, to be honest with you, I prefer that scenario than “Tony dressing up as a SHIELD operative to rescue Loki”. He has no business rescuing Loki, and maybe Loki doesn’t need rescuing at this point, who needs Avengers!Loki to come back. And anyway it’s Thor’s job to “rescue Loki” and no one else’s.

BUT I truly like that part: “I’ve seen worlds you’ve never known about. I have grown, Odin’s son, in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract.“ What did Thanos show him? What if the BARF boxes seen on set are going to be used to explore Loki’s memories?” “(b) Scott and Tony persuade Loki to help and team up with them and they fight the past Avengers. © The stunt double is for an illusion clone with which Loki uses to distract the Avengers while Tony and Scott make off with the stones.”

“Tony and co. contact Jane Foster, who tells them when and where she came into contact with the reality stone during the Convergence. We might finally see some closure for her and Thor instead of just “It was a mutual dumping lmao”” - Dude. This is NOT the closure I’m here for although I can see it happening. I hope Thor gets to wrap up his goodbyes quickly before he rushes to save Loki.

“Mark Ruffalo has mentioned filming with Tilda Swinton (The Ancient One) for A4. Banner has a connection to Doctor Strange, landing in the Sanctum Sanctorum” - Aaaaaaaaand there goes the Banner-is-Loki theory. Good riddance, that theory holds no water whatsoever, it’s just wishful thinking. And even if it was true and Banner was Loki in disguise, that leaves us with one question only: WHERE THE HELL IS THE REAL BANNER?

“NOVEMBER 22nd, 2017: Chris Evans (Steve) filmed along Metropolitan Avenue in Atlanta. The set had been done up like the 1940's” – Ok I take back everything I said about the Avengers being a Tony/Cap movie. I’m not interested in their dynamic, we’ve seen it so many times before, but I AM interested in any kind of time travel/vision involving Cap in the ‘40s. So haunted and intriguing.

“In the comics, Soul Stone traps the souls of those who were snapped, but Strange has the skill to move around his spectral form. He could be manipulating events outside using his spectral form, or another magical method” - I loooooove that.

Aaaaaand here’s your Hel/Valhalla theory, still intact.

“A4 draws inspiration from LOTR: Return of the King and is very thematically similar to it. And it features a Sam-Frodoesque team up between two heroes and THOR plays the role of Aragorn. Thor’s subplot centers on him assembling an army to challenge Thanos. There was a casting call for Viking extras. At one point, male warriors of all ethnicities (20s-50s) with beards and long hair encouraged (could have been the same call as above) (…) So apparently a plot to kill Loki in one movie, only to have Thor bring him back in the next, had already been considered by Marvel; they just changed which movies they would be. And why not bring back an army of Viking warriors while they’re at it? In RotK, Aragorn goes off to the Path of the Dead to recruit a dead army. Perhaps Thor, like Aragorn, goes off to Valhalla/Hel for his army. I know any references these movies make to Norse mythology are loose at best, but I think it’s worth mentioning that in the myths, during Ragnarok, the army of the slain warriors who die and go to Valhalla will rise to fight for Odin. Loki was originally supposed to appear in Thor’s vision as well, but they deleted his scene. Seeing that Tony’s AoU vision came true, why not Thor’s? It is said that in Valhalla are the Valkyries in white clothes, meaning those maidens could be Valkyries."

DID YOU GET YOUR HOPES UP YET?

I know I did.

“There may be a chance that Valkyrie will briefly be able to reunite with her love” - I LIVE FOR THIS MOMENT. I LIVE FOR IT. Valkyrie as Orpheus omg, and we finally get to see her in the arms of her one true love.

“Also, since Frigga might be there, we could have a family union between the All-mother and her sons” - Ok but as much as I want to see this, I still can’t see how Frigga and Loki had similar deaths so as to end up in the same place. They didn’t… did they?

“Hundreds of snake ornaments is interesting, given that Loki is the one who is associated with snakes. In the MCU, he can turn inanimate objects (Thor 1 “prank”) and himself into a snake. In the Norse myths, he is chained to a rock with the entrails of his murdered son while a snake drips poison into his eyes” - Ok you know I’d LOVE to see that…

“Hela disappeared in a flash of green light at the end of Ragnarok; can you really kill the Goddess of Death? She’d probably go back to her realm if you did, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she were there. The driftwood throne mentioned earlier might be for the Queen of Hel” - HELL YEAH.

“I don’t think Hela would be too happy to see her annoying brother, but I do have a couple theories: (a) Thor and co. have to either fight or persuade Hela. (b) Hela has done some serious character reflection and has changed her mind. © Loki was spending his time as a dead man trying to persuade Hela” - OH WAIT, WHY DOES THAT REMIND ME OF WHAT I SAID IN “ODINSON” ABOUT LOKI’S “SILVER TONGUE”. Gaaaah I do hope they do that. Although I can’t see how Loki could persuade Hela while chained to a rock with snake poison dripping in his eyes. o__O

“Loki’s death scene was super suspicious. He disappears off-screen for a long while, and then comes back confident only to practically commit suicide; Thanos looked like he was going to ignore him, until he popped up again.”

“I remember reading a Reddit post that the Russos have said to pay attention to his words in particular, because they might be important later on.” - WHAT??? Why hasn’t anyone mentioned this before? People have spent so much time shitting on them on tumblr for the “Happy sad confused” podcast and insinuating “Tom is too old to play Loki” but no one EVER mentioned what they said about Loki’s words. What the hell. Do people prefer to hate on artists and creators instead of hanging on to hope? What kind of lust for desperation is that?

“Why is Loki so sure that he has to die? What happened in the time he was off-screen? (…) Spectral Strange meets him as part of the 7D backgammon gambit and tells him he has to die for the good ending.” - As I said before (and as many other people speculated), read “Odinson” plz. ^^

“Could Banner being replaced by Hulk also count as “dying?” If not, then if the rumors about only two OG6 survivng are true, I’m predicting the ones who survive are Thor and Hulk.” - Well that’s good to know. Not that I ever doubted the possibility of Thor 4.

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jenroseyokel · 6 years ago

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Awesome of the Year 2018: The Books

Happy New Year! ‘Tis the season for year end lists left and right as we attempt to figure out the best of everything from 2018. And of course, as a fan of books, music, and movies, it’s only right to get in on the list-making. Over the next week or so, I’ll be sharing my 2018 favorite lists. First up: books! This year, I set my Goodreads reading challenge at 40 books, and actually passed it. I’ve been setting arbitrary book goals for years, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve succeeded since 2007. Probably because of all the graphic novels and comic trades I read this year WHICH TOTALLY COUNT BTW. Ahem. Anyway. This isn’t really a best of 2018 list so much as a Here’s a Bunch of Books I Really Liked in 2018 list, split up into categories. I hope you’ll find something interesting here, especially if you’re looking for ways to spend bookstore or Amazon gift cards you got for Christmas… ;)

Newish Books by Rad Christian Women:

Every Arbitrary Book Goal should have a small correlated goal attached. This year mine was to make sure I read at least 50% women authors… and there have been a lot of GREAT new books from women writers in the past few years. If the “Christian women” section of your local bookstore makes you cringe a little inside too, check out these three wonderful books, all released in the past couple years:

Courage, Dear Heart by Rebecca K. Reynolds (NavPress, 2018)

Anyone who has read Rebecca’s writing knows she needed to write a book. She has a sharp mind, a poet's soul, a scientist's eye, and the most beautiful, tender heart. Also, she's an incredible writer who loves her readers with a love that radiates off every page. Buy a copy for everyone you know.

Wearing God by Lauren F. Winner (HarperOne, 2017) Girl Meets God was a formative book in my early 20s, and I’ve always meant to read more from this author, but somehow haven't. I finally picked up this one and oh man, for a solid month afterward I couldn’t stop thinking about it. With the eye of a scholar and the heart of a poet, Winner draws on personal stories, deep Biblical study, and a love of language to explore lesser known metaphors for God. Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren (InterVarsity Press, 2016)

Several years ago, James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom helped me see liturgy in a new way, as not just religious practice, but the embedded routines that shape us. In this book, Tish Warren brings that idea to life as she walks through an ordinary day explores the holiness in our most mundane moments of living. You may not look at brushing your teeth or losing your keys the same way again.

Good Stories

This year, fiction reading was… all over the place? I don’t know if I read much that was OMG amazing, but here are a few that were fun…

The Fairyland Series 2-5 by Catherynne M. Valente (Feiwel & Friends, 2012-2015)

I am notoriously awful at finishing book series. I read the first Fairyland book maybe… two years ago? Yikes. Just finished the last one and wow, so fun. Colorful characters, a whimsical narrator, crazy locations, and a whole lot of heart make this Victorian fairytale meets contemporary fantasy a delight to read.

Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Harcourt, 1956)

Lewis’ contemporary retelling of the Cupid and Pschye myth through the eyes of Psyche’s jealous sister Orual. Second read for me, and even better this time around. Pretty sure this is Lewis’ storytelling at his best.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw (Orbit, 2017)

This was a year to embrace fun, nerdy reads. So there was the Star Trek spoof Redshirts (with a plot twist I totally saw coming... and I am not good at guessing plot twists) and my first trip into the Star Wars extended book universe (or whatever the heck they call it these days) and… this. A story about a doctor for the undead in London, trying to solve the mysteries surrounding a murderous cult and keep her monster friends safe. Not the greatest, but a fun Halloween read. I’ll get to the sequel eventually. (See also: bad at finishing book series.)

Poetry for Everyone

Another new reading practice this year: always keeping a poetry book on the bedside table. Poetry books are best for leisurely dipping in and out rather than reading cover to cover. If you think poetry is only for the ivory towers, give these writers a try and think again.

A Child's Year by Christopher Yokel (Independent, 2018)

Okay, I’m biased here, but hey! Chris quietly released a new poetry book into the world this fall, and I’m a big fan of Chris AND his poems. A Child’s Year is a season cycle, sort of like his last book A Year in Weetamoo Woods, but this time it’s anchored by a four part poem recalling the journey of seasons through childhood eyes. And according to our friend Kirsten’s 7-year-old son, he gets the experience right. ;)

The Jubilee by John Blase (Bright Coppers Press, 2017) For his 50th birthday, John Blase released his first poetry book, with a poem for every year of life. It’s rare for me to make it through an entire collection start to finish but these were just so good. There are poems about aging — the author’s and his parents’ — and poems that evoke wide spaces and natural wonder. There are psalms and parables, and meditations on dying and, yes, living. All of them finely tuned with wisdom, gentle grace, and a touch of humor in all the right places. How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson (Dial Books, 2014)

When I heard Marilyn Nelson read her poem “Thirteen-Year-Old American Negro Girl” on the On Being podcast, I was captivated. And when I found this lovely hardcover in a used bookstore back home in Florida, I knew I needed to read more. This is a memoir in poetry about growing up in a black military family during the American Civil Rights era, told with gentle lyricism, warmth, and humor. Plus, the book itself is lovely with whimsical illustrations and family photos.

Comics!

I’m always on a quest to get more comics in my life. Plus knocking out a whole series in a couple weeks is a solid way to pad out your Arbitrary Book Goal.

Amulet 1-7 by Kazu Kibuishi (Graphix, 2008-2016)

After their father’s tragic death, Emily and Navin move with their mom to a strange old house that belonged to their great-grandfather… and so the adventure begins. In this fantasy series, the two kids find themselves in an underground world of demons, robots, talking animals, and a dangerous and powerful Amulet. A captivating and beautifully illustrated fantasy tale. Ms. Marvel 1-5 by G. Willow Wilson (Marvel, 2014-2016)

Y’all, I super want to be a Marvel nerd. But alas, I can't keep up, so I get my sister to loan books to me. Ms. Marvel is my new fave. A Pakistani-American girl from Jersey City has the power to grow, shrink, and stretch her body at will. So she’s trying to fight crime, keep up at school, and well, stay out of trouble with her parents. So fun. (Dear Disney: I really want this kid to show up in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before it gets canceled kthxbye.)

The Legend of Wonder Woman by Ranae De Liz and Ray Dillon (DC Comics, 2016)

Weren’t we all mildly obsessed with Wonder Woman after the 2017 film? Another one I borrowed from my sister. A solid take on Diana’s origin story that’s accessible for comic n00bs (ahem, like me) who can’t figure out where to begin with beautiful art and a lot of heart.

The Classic I Finally Read

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen I always try to tackle either a thick intimidating novel or an unread classic in the wintertime. This year, I worked on my Austen deficiency and discovered I relate a little too much to Elinor Dashwood.

What’s Next?

In the new year, I think my goal is less about numbers and more about reading widely. I liked the 50% women authors goal because it helped me actively choose to support women writers. This year, hoping to read more books by authors of color, explore some new ideas and genres, and hopefully do a better job reading deeply and taking notes. I’ve got my eye on Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge too, perhaps as a way to dig into new things I wouldn’t normally notice. And yeah... perhaps a monthly reading life update is a thing I can do here on the blog. :)

If you’re curious to see the full list of What I Read This Year and follow along with me in 2019, feel free to follow me on Goodreads!

What were some of your favorite reads in 2018? And what are your goals for the new year? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

#art #books #reading #awesome of the year #readers of tumblr #reading list #favorite books #best of 2018 #readers are leaders yo

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callie-the-snarky-geek-blog · 6 years ago

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RvB16 Episode 7 Review: It Just Winked At Me

Last time on Red vs Blue: O’Malley came back bitches. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. No need to go into how Grif is all alone with only a talking lens flare and all the potential angst that writers can dig up from that. Or that Atlus is a dork who obliterated Tucker and Sister into subatomic particles. None of that’s important at all. Only O’Malley matters.

Alright, so this episode has been hyped for awhile. Joe hyped it up. Kyle Taylor (the Machinima director) hyped it up. Even Gus hyped it up. Any of this can mean anything. So as we enter the shortest episode so far (only 7 minutes… I guess Joe couldn’t make the episodes longer unless he’s holding them back for later), what has all the talk been leading up to? Well… I can say it was like nothing I’ve seen before!

Overview

So good news, Tucker and Sister are alive! Yay… yeah I knew that was coming. There is no way that they’d kill a long-time character and a fan favorite character they finally made a main like that. Also it looks like the blast sobered them up. So there’s your lesson kids: if you are drunk off your ass, being blasted by God is how you sober back up! Atlus tries to kill them a couple more times before finally realizing that ‘his’ protection is making that impossible. Also we find out that Kalirama is his sister, which explains her being the Queen of the Cosmic Powers. So goign into some speculating, Kalirama mentioned being the Daughter of Time. My guess has been that the villain is Chronos, the Personification of Time. It can also refer to Cronus, the King of the Titans and father of Zeus. If Joe made Chronos and Cronus the same person who Atlus overthrew and he and Kalirama and his kids trying to keep him locked up… wow and I thought the Church and Grif families were fucked up.

Since Atlus can’t obliterate Tucker and Sister, he goes with the option of ‘let my mindless minions do it’. So he summons up a cyclopes… I am NOT joking. Some may find this too bizarre, but as someone who likes mythical shenanigans I do NOT give a shit! Plus it fits the myth theme since cyclopes’ are part of both Greek and Roman mythology. So the cyclopes obviously isn’t a Halo character, so what did they do? They… put Gus in a costume/a ton of makeup and made him do it. Yes, you read that right. The cyclopes was RvB’s very own Gustavo Sorola. It is also, I believe, RvB’s first implementation of live-action within the show, at least on this level. It’s pretty good! I mean the cyclopes is butt ugly, but I’m pretty sure that was the point… sorry Gus.

So Atlus sicks… Grugh, I think? Screw it, I’m calling him Gus. My blog, my rules. Atlus sicks Gus on the two Blues. They understandably, make a run for it. At least until Sister quips that Tucker could prove how great a fighter she is. Which she meant as sarcasm… but Tucker of course has to decide to be Mr. Macho and face Gus. The result? Both the time gun and the sword get knocked away from him. I should also point out that Gus is about 100X larger than Tucker. So he can easily crush him… yyyyeah… not your best plan Tucker.

Back in the 6th Century (not the 16th like I wrote last week, Past Callie is stupid), Huggins is trying to figure out what to do now that O’Malley has gotten away and both she and Grif are stranded. Grif is currently… I guess looking for mushrooms since he mentions eating them later. Guess since he can’t talk Italian, that’s the only way he can survive, I mean it worked on the moon! Anyways, Huggins contemplates her options. Now because she’s talking fast, it’s hard to make out everything and for whatever reason,t he RT site doesn’t have a subtitle option that I REALLY hope they fix soon. But anyways, Huggins comes u with three potential solutions:

Wait it out and let time move along until she’s back in present day. This is ruled out because it would take far too long. This one is declared a ‘maybe’.

MURDER! Kill Grif and prevent at least one dirty shisno from fucking everything up! This is also ruled out as it goes against Huggins’ code and it’s also forbidden. Oh, but Atlus can obliterate people? I sense abuse of power!

Talk to Grif and convince him to team up so that they can find a way out of the 6th Century. But if she does this, thee penalty is getting tortured int he Underworld for all eternity. But this is the only option that could work, so… ye, she risks it.

Alright, so reasoning! Huggins goes to Grif, who is pretty much refusing to believe anything that is happening. Huggins tries to convince him to help her since otherwise hey’re both gonna die. Grif doesn’t buy any of it, especially when Huggins reveals that the Gods sent her to spy on them. SO he just walks away and Huggins is probably re-considering the murder option now.

Alright, back to the moon! Tucker tries to shoot Gus… and of course fails. Stupid guns! Sister retrieves both the time gun and Tucker’s sword as Tucker himself ducks inside the base. He tries to think of what to do… and sees his old armor set, giving him an idea. Gus reaches in and grabs what looks like Tucker, eating his head. Eww, Gus! That’ll ruin your teeth! Also is this an Attack on Titans reference? I’m positive that it’s an Attack on Titans reference. But of course it was really the empty armor which Tucker stuffed with grenades. Which go off, distracting Gus and Tucker drives in with the Warthog, driving it straight into hos face. It finally knocks Gus down and Tucker along with him.

So it looks like Tucker wins, right? Haha… yeah… about that. Sister points out that normally when you beat the boss, they come back twice as powerful. You’d think that Tucker, living in a video game, would know this but meh. SO yeah, Gus gets back up and he is not happy. Hey Tucker, tell him that they should go to Vegas! That’ll make him REALLY angry I bet! Tucker runs into the caves and seems safe since Gus’ hand is too big… until Tucker says he needs to do it one finger at a time. And Gus can understand English, so… yeah…

Fortunately before Tucker can get grabbed, Sister channels her inner Xena and attempts to use the sword, jump down form the cliffs, and stab Gus in the head. But Tucker informs her too late that the sword only works for him. SO she gets smacked away and when Tucker exits the cave to help, he gets knocked over to her. Sister points out that cyclopes’ have a fatal weakness, so Tucker goe sin and… attacks Gus’ groin. I… don’t think that’s what she meant Tucker… but it works as Gus finally hits the ground. Well… not the defeat I was expecting, but it was a defeat!

Unfortunately, Atlus decides to sick Gus’ wife on them who is rather peeved that due to this, they can’t do hanky panky and have kids. Having had enough, Tucker and Sister FINALLY do what they should have done before: open a time portal and get the fuck out of there. Where do they end up? Well remember the medieval scene from Episode 1? Well they FINALLY connected it to the main narrative as the two end up on the same tower as medieval Grif and Simmons. And the two get arrested… WELP.

Review

This episode has had a lot of mixed reception so far. I haven’t seen anyone hate it, but many were disappointing. It’s understandable why. After all the hype, it was really just about a dumb joke. A very well shot dumb joke, but a dumb joke. There’s still so little about he plot we know, nothing advanced any further here, the episode was incredibly short, and it’s still unclear what all of this is leading us to. We’re on Episode 7 and no progress has been made. I think so far Joe has the opposite problem he had last year. Last year, he rushed it because he only ha done season. This year he has more than one, but due to it he slowed down. A little too much maybe. This coming off the heels of last week’s O’Malley plot bomb and… yeah I don’t blame people in being disappointed and viewing this as completely pointless.

I didn’t know how to feel during the first viewing… but when watching ti again to write this review, I was laughing so much. I got a LOT more enjoyment out of it. To be fair, I am always like that. I always like stuff on the second watch than the first one since I knwo what’s coming and I can better process it. And watching ti again… I don’t think that this was pointless at ll. There’s no major progression with the plot, and I agree that it’s been long enough. But… I got a lot out of this episode, even form Grif’s brief scene. Not just with plot, but the work on this episode is truly impressive imo.

Before we talk about that, lets do Grif’s scene. It’s only about a minute long and the only machinimated scene. Yeah, 95% of the episode was CGI animated. But Grif’s scene, while brief, was good. I wish we saw a bit mroe follow-up on how he’s doing after O’Malley left him stranded, but him living off mushrooms I can buy. Him also goign into denial over everything I can also buy. So not as much as I was hoping for with him, but good stuff that matches his character.

The scene’s actual importance is mainly setup for what’ll happen later. It also FINALLY gave us some time with Huggins’ since Episode 1. And OMG, I absolutely love her. Her rapid fire dialogue is kind of hard to make out, but her actress did a good job at it. Huggins is cheerful, but serious about her job. She understands the importance of what’s coming, but has to resort to breaking law since she’s in a position where otherwise, everyone is doomed. She’s cute, but also sassy as evident with her response when Grif calls her Tinkerbell (is that gonna be his nickname for her when he warms up to her? I want it to be!) Seriously I am already loving the interactions between Grif and Huggins and I am really excited to see more of it! Now how they’ll get out of the 6th Century IDK, but we’ll just have to wait.

Okay, back to the res tof the episode. As I said, pretty much the entire episode is CGI animated. it’s the first major CGI fight in the season, and it was awesome. Okay it was mostly running, but it was fun to watch. Tucker plowing the Warthog into Gus was freakin’ badass. The voice acting was also on point. I have never laughed harder at Jason Saldana’s performance than I have today and Becca continues to crush it as Sister. Seriously, going all Xena with the ‘alalala!’ war-cry had me dying. An ProZD as Atus… OMG ProZD. He was fantastic in this episode and it added so much to Atlus as a character. Like he is just enjoying the show and is so unimpressed with Tucker and Sister even when they win. His animation where he’s just celebrating watching Gus winning was also so freakin’ fantastic and again, dds to the character. Seriously, I wasn’t sure what to think of Atlus before, but he has already become one of my fav RvB villain ever after this episode alone.

So onto Gus… I have no idea how Joe talked him into this. I mean he’s done worst and IDT anything will be as bad as when he did the Baby Gus RT Short. That short man… anyways! I think Gus did really well! It felt like he was truly interacting with the environment. He didn’t have to do much acting aside form grunting and going around wildly, but it felt like he was playing a monstrous cyclopes. Credit also to Joe and his directing. I don’t knwo what inspired him to do this, but OMG I am so glad he did. I mean it looks weird and it’s ridiculous.., but it’s RvB. It’s always been weird and ridiculous. Plus using live action again sells the effect that the cyclopes is a monster compared to what we’re used to with the machinima. It sold the effect really well. So kudos to Joe and to Gus because shooting this and then editing it in had to be a nightmare.

It’s why I don’t think the episode was at all pointless. I mean we DO have some minor things. We find out that Kalirama is Atlus’ sister, the villain si indeed a locked up time God, get a taste of how powerful the Cosmic Powers forces are, have some characterization for Atlus, setup for Grif and Huggins’ plot, an actual fight scene after so long, and it FINALLY ties in the medieval scene. It’s also huge on a cinematic scale, which is probably why it’s only 7 minutes. I mena Joe and his team had to fully animate the episode, shoot Gus’ scenes where he’s pretty much just interacting with air, combined the footage together, likely do re-shoots if the live action was even slightly off, edit it all together with the machinima, and… yeah. This was likely a huge pain it he ass to do for everyone involved. But I appreciate that they did. Joe is going above and beyond what he has to do. he could just do solely machinima and it would be fine. But he’s trying new things, implementing more CGI, and taking the show to the next level. Is it a hit? That’s for one to decide on their own. I think it worked here, but I don’t think they should regularly implement live action as they did. Special occasions are fine though. But I still appreciate Joe trying things and putting in the effort when he doesn’t have to. He wants to make the show as good as he can, and I can absolutely respect that.

Final Thoughts

Did they hype this one too much? Maybe a little. It was not what I was expecting at all. But I don’t thin that’s a bad thing. Again, I appreciate them going out of their way to do this. Plus the animation, dialogue, and voice acting were really good. Can I understand why people don’t like this episode and are getting weary of the season? Absolutely yes. I do hoe that Joe starts to speed up the plot soon. But I still had a fun time watching the episode, and in the end that’s what matters: having a good time. It was weird and ridiculous and I wouldn’t have it nay other way.

#rvb #rvb16 #rvb reviews #old blog repost

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calliecat93 · 6 years ago

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RvB16 Episode 7 Review: It Just Winked At Me

Last time on Red vs Blue: O’Malley came back bitches. That’s it. That's all you need to know. No need to go into how Grif is all alone with only a talking lens flare and all the potential angst that writers can dig up from that. Or that Atlus is a dork who obliterated Tucker and Sister into subatomic particles. None of that’s important at all. Only O’Malley matters.

Alright, so this episode has been hyped for awhile. Joe hyped it up. Kyle Taylor (the Machinima director) hyped it up. Even Gus hyped it up. Any of this can mean anything. So as we enter the shortest episode so far (only 7 minutes... I guess Joe couldn't make the episodes longer unless he’s holding them back for later), what has all the talk been leading up to? Well... I can say it was like nothing I’ve seen before!

Overview

So good news, Tucker and Sister are alive! Yay... yeah I knew that was coming. There is no way that they’d kill a long-time character and a fan favorite character they finally made a main like that. Also it looks like the blast sobered them up. So there’s your lesson kids: if you are drunk off your ass, being blasted by God is how you sober back up! Atlus tries to kill them a couple more times before finally realizing that ‘his’ protection is making that impossible. Also we find out that Kalirama is his sister, which explains her being the Queen of the Cosmic Powers. So... I made a post a few days ago about Kalirama’s titles and she mentioned being the Daughter of Time. My guess has been that the villain is Chronos, the Personification of Time. It can also refer to Cronus, the King of the Titans and father of Zeus. If Joe made Chronos and Cronus the same person who Atlus overthrew and he and Kalirama and his kids trying to keep him locked up... wow and I thought the Church and Grif families were fucked up.

Since Atlus can’t obliterate Tucker and Sister, he goes with the option of ‘let my mindless minions do it’. So he summons up a cyclopes... I am NOT joking. Some may find this too bizarre, but as someone who likes mythical shenanigans I do NOT give a shit! Plus it fits the myth theme since cyclopes’ are part of both Greek and Roman mythology. So the cyclopes obviously isn’t a Halo character, so what did they do? They... put Gus in a costume/a ton of makeup and made him do it. Yes, you read that right. The cyclopes was RvB’s very own Gustavo Sorola. It is also, I believe, RvB’s first implementation of live-action within the show, at least on this level. It’s pretty good! I mean the cyclopes is butt ugly, but I’m pretty sure that was the point... sorry Gus.

So Atlus sicks... Grugh, I think? Screw it, I’m calling him Gus. My blog, my rules. Atlus sicks Gus on the two Blues. They understandably, make a run for it. At least until Sister quips that Tucker could prove how great a fighter she is. Which she meant as sarcasm... but Tucker, of course, has to decide to be Mr. Macho and face Gus. The result? Both the time gun and the sword get knocked away from him. I should also point out that Gus is about 100X larger than Tucker. So he can easily crush him... yyyyeah... not your best plan Tucker.

Back in the 6th Century (not the 16th like I wrote last week, Past Callie is stupid), Huggins is trying to figure out what to do now that O’Malley has gotten away and both she and Grif are stranded. Grif is currently... I guess looking for mushrooms since he mentions eating them later. Guess since he can't talk Italian, that’s the only way he can survive, I mean it worked on the moon! Anyways, Huggins contemplates her options. Now because she’s talking fast, it’s hard to make out everything and for whatever reason,t he RT site doesn't have a subtitle option that I REALLY hope they fix soon. But anyways, Huggins comes u with three potential solutions:

Wait it out and let time move along until she’s back in present day. This is ruled out because the Reds and Blues will still be time traveling, evil time God goes free, and the universe dies. This one is declared a ‘maybe’.

Alright, so reasoning! Huggins goes to Grif, who is pretty much refusing to believe anything that is happening. Huggins tries to convince him to help her since otherwise they're both gonna die. Grif doesn't buy any of it, especially when Huggins reveals that the Gods sent her to spy on them. SO he just walks away and Huggins is probably re-considering the murder option now.

Alright, back to the moon! Tucker tries to shoot Gus... and of course, fails. Stupid guns! Sister retrieves both the time gun and Tucker’s sword as Tucker himself ducks inside the base. He tries to think of what to do... and sees his old armor set, giving him an idea. Gus reaches in and grabs what looks like Tucker, eating his head. Eww, Gus! That’ll ruin your teeth! Also is this an Attack on Titans reference? I’m positive that it’s an Attack on Titans reference. But of course, it was really the empty armor which Tucker stuffed with grenades. Which go off, distracting Gus and Tucker drives in with the Warthog, driving it straight into his face. It finally knocks Gus down and Tucker along with him.

So it looks like Tucker wins, right? Haha... yeah... about that. Sister points out that normally when you beat the boss, they come back twice as powerful. You’d think that Tucker, living in a video game, would know this but meh. SO yeah, Gus gets back up and he is not happy. Hey Tucker, tell him that they should go to Vegas! That’ll make him REALLY angry I bet! Tucker runs into the caves and seems safe since Gus’ hand is too big... until Tucker says he needs to do it one finger at a time. And Gus can understand English, so... yeah...

Fortunately, before Tucker can get grabbed, Sister channels her inner Xena and attempts to use the sword, jump down from the cliffs, and stab Gus in the head. But Tucker informs her too late that the sword only works for him. SO she gets smacked away and when Tucker exits the cave to help, he gets knocked over to her. Sister points out that cyclopes’ have a fatal weakness, so Tucker goe sin and... attacks Gus’ groin. I... don’t think that’s what she meant Tucker... but it works as Gus finally hits the ground. Well... not the defeat I was expecting, but it was a defeat!

Unfortunately, Atlus decides to sick Gus’ wife on them who is rather peeved that due to this, they can't do hanky panky and have kids. Having had enough, Tucker and Sister FINALLY do what they should have done before: open a time portal and get the fuck out of there. Where do they end up? Remember the medieval scene from Episode 1? Well, they FINALLY connected it to the main narrative as the two end up on the same tower as medieval Grif and Simmons. And the two get arrested... WELP.

Review

This episode has had a lot of mixed reception so far. I haven’t seen anyone hate it, but many were disappointing. It’s understandable why. After all the hype, it was really just about a dumb joke. A very well shot dumb joke, but a dumb joke. There’s still so little about the plot we know, nothing advanced any further here, the episode was incredibly short, and it’s still unclear what all of this is leading us to. We’re on Episode 7 and no progress has been made. I think so far Joe has the opposite problem he had last year. Last year, he rushed it because he only has done season. This year he has more than one, but due to it he slowed down. A little too much maybe. This coming off the heels of last week’s O’Malley plot bomb and... yeah I don’t blame people in being disappointed and viewing this as completely pointless.

I didn’t know how to feel during the first viewing... but when watching ti again to write this review, I was laughing so much. I got a LOT more enjoyment out of it. To be fair, I am always like that. I always like stuff on the second watch than the first one since I know what’s coming and I can better process it. And watching ti again... I don’t think that this was pointless at ll. There’s no major progression with the plot, and I agree that it’s been long enough. But... I got a lot out of this episode, even form Grif’s brief scene. Not just with the plot, but the work on this episode is truly impressive imo.

Before we talk about that, let's do Grif’s scene. It’s only about a minute long and the only machinimated scene. Yeah, 95% of the episode was CGI animated. But Grif’s scene, while brief, was good. I wish we saw a bit more follow-up on how he’s doing after O’Malley left him stranded, but him living off mushrooms I can buy. Him also going into denial over everything I can also buy. So not as much as I was hoping for with him, but good stuff that matches his character.

The scene’s actual importance is mainly setup for what’ll happen later. It also FINALLY gave us some time with Huggins’ since Episode 1. And OMG, I absolutely love her. Her rapid-fire dialogue is kind of hard to make out, but her actress did a good job at it. Huggins is cheerful, but serious about her job. She understands the importance of what’s coming but has to resort to breaking law since she’s in a position where otherwise, everyone is doomed. She’s cute, but also sassy as evident with her response when Grif calls her Tinkerbell (is that gonna be his nickname for her when he warms up to her? I want it to be!) Seriously I am already loving the interactions between Grif and Huggins and I am really excited to see more of it! Now how they’ll get out of the 6th Century IDK, but we’ll just have to wait.

Okay, back to the res tof the episode. As I said, pretty much the entire episode is CGI animated. it’s the first major CGI fight in the season, and it was awesome. Okay it was mostly running, but it was fun to watch. Tucker plowing the Warthog into Gus was freakin’ badass. The voice acting was also on point. I have never laughed harder at Jason Saldana’s performance than I have today and Becca continues to crush it as Sister. Seriously, going all Xena with the ‘alalala!’ war-cry had me dying. An ProZD as Atus... OMG ProZD. He was fantastic in this episode and it added so much to Atlus as a character. Like he is just enjoying the show and is so unimpressed with Tucker and Sister even when they win. His animation where he’s just celebrating watching Gus winning was also so freakin’ fantastic and again, dds to the character. Seriously, I wasn’t sure what to think of Atlus before, but he has already become one of my fav RvB villain ever after this episode alone.

So onto Gus... I have no idea how Joe talked him into this. I mean he’s done worst and IDT anything will be as bad as when he did the Baby Gus RT Short. That short man... anyways! I think Gus did really well! It felt like he was truly interacting with the environment. He didn’t have to do much acting aside form grunting and going around wildly, but it felt like he was playing a monstrous cyclops. Credit also to Joe and his directing. I don’t know what inspired him to do this, but OMG I am so glad he did. I mean it looks weird and it’s ridiculous.., but it’s RvB. It’s always been weird and ridiculous. Plus using live action again sells the effect that the cyclops is a monster compared to what we’re used to with the machinima. It sold the effect really well. So kudos to Joe and to Gus because shooting this and then editing it in had to be a nightmare.

It’s why I don’t think the episode was at all pointless. I mean we DO have some minor things. We find out that Kalirama is Atlus’ sister, the villain is indeed a locked up time God, get a taste of how powerful the Cosmic Powers forces are, have some characterization for Atlus, setup for Grif and Huggins’ plot, an actual fight scene after so long, and it FINALLY ties in the medieval scene. It’s also huge on a cinematic scale, which is probably why it’s only 7 minutes. I mean Joe and his team had to fully animate the episode, shoot Gus’ scenes where he’s pretty much just interacting with air, combined the footage together, likely do re-shoots if the live action was even slightly off, edit it all together with the machinima, and... yeah. This was likely a huge pain in the ass to do for everyone involved. But I appreciate that they did. Joe is going above and beyond what he has to do. he could just do solely machinima and it would be fine. But he’s trying new things, implementing more CGI, and taking the show to the next level. Is it a hit? That's for one to decide on their own. I think it worked here, but I don’t think they should regularly implement live action as they did. Special occasions are fine though. But I still appreciate Joe trying things and putting in the effort when he doesn't have to. He wants to make the show as good as he can, and I can absolutely respect that.

Final Thoughts

Did they hype this one too much? Maybe a little. It was not what I was expecting at all. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Again, I appreciate them going out of their way to do this. Plus the animation, dialogue, and voice acting were really good. Can I understand why people don’t like this episode and are getting weary of the season? Absolutely yes. I do hope that Joe starts to speed up the plot soon. But I still had a fun time watching the episode, and in the end, that’s what matters: having a good time. It was weird and ridiculous and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

#rvb #rvb16 #rvb16 spoilers #rvb reviews

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izartn · 4 years ago

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Dunno I’ve been thinking and the last book I remember liking by RR was The Son of Neptune bc outsider pov on percy??? I’m always a sucker for those. Also the Leo and Jason parts of the first of HoO; Piper was meh, Jason a little less meh and Leo surprisingly good. But I just lost any major interest in the series with Mark of Athena; it was entertaining but it didn’t thrill me anymore. Maybe I had grown too old? But mostly I think it was so many charas saturating the plot.

But really, The Last Olympian is such a good finale? Of course I wanted to read more of Percy and Annabeth but I was so happy when I finished it... And of course the undervalued Kane Chronicles, whose mythology and fantasy I liked even moren although the charas weren’t superior; that trilogy deserved so much more.

The nome system, the different specializations and rituals and the way the protags are living gods at different points of the story??? the whole walt-anubis-sadie situation? and zia, omg? The romance is also wonkers in this trilogy, it’s so subtly creepy-wrong and the supernatural vibes... But like, when treated more seriously. Hello Sadie is 13 by book 2 and I completely forgot that bcs she was being romanced by a god and a 15-16 years old, and doing dangerous things and being Isis avatar, and like no way she is that age. Also, Anubis as a 5.000 years old teen is like... no, riordan. It’s still being a bit weird. I wasn’t expecting the kiss >_< You could’ve made it an interesting exploration of the mutable qualities of the egyptian gods and the lack of like, modern standards of behavior, and then go ahead with the Walt-Anubis plotline. And after PJO and seeing the results of god-human unions... Play with what it means, but for the love of god, Sadie’s age >.>

But I loved her being obsessed with Adele bcs by then I was too. XD

TW INCEST. Here I go off the rails speculating for a parragraph on ancient egypt royalty and the kanes, if you don’t want to read it, close the tab or scroll past it, it’s nothing too dark, nor it’s explicit in any case. More like the result of reading too much weird fic.

And really that no one (no god ever) ever mentioned the practice of marrying family in egyptian dynasties to horrorize or joke a little to carter and sadie? (i know my mind is perturbed but these two see each other when? once, twice a year a bit more in the lucky ones? honestly if this was and adult or even ya and the author another it’d been an interesting conflict treated seriously. keeping canon ending pairs et all!!) Although carter knows for sure and just hasn’t clocked in what it means they’re the blood of pharaohs. Yup your ancestors x-generation removed were into incest for purity reasons. And know you’re the incarnation of the horus-pharaoh in earth too. Enjoy! (this is like in yu-gi-oh!! fandom where we pretend the concept didn’t exist bcs too serious and creepy to be treated seriously. and like atem died at 15? 16?)

END TW

I guess they did the whole explaining the gods have the same relationship their vessels have with each other by feels-possesion double track influence, so that one is resolved, bcs if not it’d be beyond weird that isis is both their mother and the spouse of their osiris-julius and also sadie sometimes. Like, Kane Chronicles mythology is much much older than in other RR series and it tracks with the undercurrents of the trilogy (crap under the radar i think?) and how the gods acts i think.

But you see the above clusterfuck??? If RR had aged a bit the charas, bc is not as if Sadie is a real 12-13 years old, more like a 15-16 one at minimum with how she acts and the narrative treats her, and made Carter like 18-19? Thinking about what he wants out of life and uni, etc because for him it clocks with his arc. Or even older; I think that would be have been better but then it’d be another kind of book. Make Sadie the one starting uni and Carter the one finishing his master in egyptology bcs that’s all he’s known all his life, and he’s interested in it truly, and their father is still the one who wants to reunite the three for Sadie’s birthday going with Carter in plane from whatever university he’s in (could be one in egypt Julius has ties to) and it’s then when all goes to shit.

The conflict, the stakes... You could treat the family conflict and well, the racial aspect of the books in more profundity. Maybe make them biracial but their father is afroamerican and the mother is british but descendant from egyptian immigrants, so yup. You have that connection with the original land of the myths, and Carter and Sadie perspectives on being poc shoe the contrast btwn the sister raised by her mother parents, and the brother by the father. But that’s need much more sensitivity than RR is able of. I wouldn’t dare to write that book alone, that’s for sure.

As I understand it there are more than some problematic elements to RR tendency to diversify his cast without doing profound analysis and research and using sensivity readers so. I’m south european white, I don’t have a real idea of all the messes he made with Kane Chronicles so I don’t have anything more say anything more about this. But yeah, it’d been another demography completely different from the original, and would have needed another author which I think would have suited the mood I get from this trilogy even now.

We all know the errors RR makes like doubling down on romance forever saving the day and female characterization or his well. Well-intentioned if misguided discourse? (that cursed word) I’m all for social justice, but Magnus Chase read like a pamphlet at various points instead of being organically integrated in the story (KC and HoH have sometimes that problem but in MC is really blatant) who am I going to lie, although Magnus has fascinating potential as a protag.

And Alex chara too, plus Hearth and Blitzen. I think he made a full on queer protag quartet without realising it (which is why Blitz and Hearth are those two guys instead of confirming any status. like just besties, or qrp or budding romance, which one? we can’t have full on queer quartet) plus Samira and his poor we’ll call it that, handle of her muslim lifestyle from what I’ve seen from muslim fans reviews. (so, my idea of sadie above wouldn’t been plausible) If she’s gonna marry make her at least older than 20? After finishing uni, which I think is something you usa (noarospec) people do regularly without religion or anything? But really marriages just make me go yikes anyway so. Do away with that plot point you don’t have to follow so exactly the myths.

And so their charas aren’t explored with profundity. Although they could have been really interesting.

And the ending was... meh. The point was the anticlimax, but Loki was well build enough in the two first books and the third was a deception honestly.

But again, I think I also simply aged of his books + started noticing his fails. See above my KC tangent. Curiously I think the PJO books (not HoO) are good as they are... No urge to make charas older or anything. The dysfunction is different in both stories I feel.

I KNOW! It’s because in KC we see the magician society and it’s full of adults and seriousness so it would have fit having two older teens-young adults be the protags, exploring it properly and so Carter and Sadie being the chiefs of the Brooklyn nome and the initiators of the gods path in contemporary times wouldn’t struck me as so weird. The nome politics ;_; We were robbed.

Compare that to the ways PJO with its ephemeral demigod lives and constant death and youth as the one who bring the necessary change for the gods (plus the absence of older demigods coming back to help in TLO, be it bcs they’re done with greek gods or they’re dead, functions really well following Percy since he’s 12 to his 16 birthday and beyond if he had managed to do the roman fussion correctly. Make it so PJO ends with Percy and Annabeth at 16 and HoO alt series, starts 4-6 years later. Because the roman camp and its senate and norms and village are more serious and imply a heavy adult-political presence, with legacies etc; because the gods are starting to forget their promises; bring up the parallels with Luke and mentions of how live has been treating both Anna and Percy. Enrich the world and make the sequel interesting to your original audience who is much older than when they started reading the PJO books.

Well. This is a fantasy...We know RR would never ;_; Although he’s done much for young fantasy. And know I’m searching the impossible fic.

#percy jackson #kane chronicles #magnus chase #tw: incest #meta #rick riordan #PJO

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dpargyle · 7 years ago

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Thoughts on the Last Jedi

OMGs so many spoilers!!!!! Also it gets a lil NSFW and super dweeby at the end…. (proceed at your own risk)

So I just got back from The Last Jedi and -

I have so many EMOTIONS!!!

Lemme at least attempt to go through this chronologically…

“The First Order reigns.” I got goosebumps from that opening sentence of the opening crawl. It was like, yup – pretty much the feeling in the real world rn too hahahaha *sobs*

That whole opening space battle scene – ahhhh!!!! I loved so much about it – I especially loved how quickly Rian Johnson (the writer/director) was able to establish Paige Tico’s character – make the audience care about her and then boom she’s gone and I knew she was a goner as soon as they introduced her at Celebration but still it hit me right in the feels – like damn the sacrifices the Resistance is forced to make

At long last we got back to Rey and Luke on Ahch-To and I love how he doesn’t even say anything – he just flips the lightsaber over his shoulder like “thanks, I hate this!”

And then Rey follows him around like an adorable lost puppy for days and days and days and I was like awwww!

Speaking of which – I really liked how Daisy Ridley played Rey this time around – not so naïve (although I loved happy go-lucky, plucky Rey from the Force Awakens) – but she’s grown now – she’s seen some shit – and so as a result her character is a little more galaxy-wise and wary – which I think fits – though we see some of that lighter Rey sprinkled throughout the narrative – the “reach out” moment which I thought was pretty damn hilarious…

As for the new characters – oh my – how I love Rose. She’s this fan girl who’s suddenly grieving and then one of her heroes shows up and she’s all ready to fangirl but then he severely disappoints her but she doesn’t even hesitate – she stuns him – like yeah, she’s excitable and incredibly sad but she’s still gonna do her damn job and I loved it. And we see her grow and mature throughout the film and learn to trust Finn again – and the end where she saves him and then she says “we can’t fight what we hate – we have to save what we love” and then she snogs him and I was like HELLLS YES! What a bad. Ass. Character.. I love her. #protec I already liked the sorts of things Kelly Marie Tran was saying from the press tour – but she brought this character to life and now I have EMOTIONS.

So yeah, I’m totally on the FinnRose ship now since Disney are cowards and Stormpilot is never gonna be a thing ☹ (though I did appreciate when Finn and Poe finally meet up again Finn literally squirts on Finn lmao (I’m sorry I have a dirty mind!) so I think that’s the closest we’re ever gonna get hahaha)

I loved how Canto Bight really illustrated this incredible gap between rich and poor – so similar in our own world right now – and Rose’s rage at this injustice – “I just wanna punch straight through this beautiful, ugly terrible town.” (First off – what a line. Second off that sounds like something Leslie Knope might say hahahaha) Rose was given some of the best and most poignant lines.

Also – the focus on the little children slaves – fuck, that was crushing. And the Fathiers – how their coats were bleeding from the whips and the lashes – damn all so heartbreaking. I’ll get back to the little slave boy at the end – as I think there’s so much going on in that final scene.

Back to the Force montage on Ahch-To with Luke & Rey – damn I love how Johnson elaborated on the Force – showing us what Rey was seeing – such beauty. Such resonance. Kinda reminded me of those BBC nature documentaries (The Planet, etc…) – the beauty and savagery of nature – personified in the Force – ughh so frikken powerful.

As for Luke – his scene with Artoo was the best. Artoo shows him young Leia pleading for Obi-Wan and Luke’s all like “you’re not playing fair” and Artoo basically gives him this shit eating grin and oh gods so good – this is why Artoo continues to be my fave. Character. He is the best. Doesn’t even have to say anything. Like yes! Damn! Ughhh!

Then Luke’s scene with Yoda’s force ghost!!! As soon as you saw that little profile and the ears I was internally going like !@@!#$%&^%!@#$%%@$ and then he just blows up the tree like HaShem in Exodus and you’re like lmao – and he literally tells Luke “Rey has all the knowledge from the Jedi Texts with her already” – then if you fast forward all the way to the very end of the movie when everyone is on the Falcon – Finn is rummaging through a bunch of drawers and if you blinked you missed them – but the texts were in there! Rey up and stole them hahaha – amazing! And Yoda knew too! Ugghhhhhhh I love these characters!

Alright. Now on to the really big stuff.

Holy crap. Snoke is dead. HAHAHAHA! Ren turned out to be the BIG BAD of this trilogy. I guess I shoulda seen that coming, but tbh I was absolutely gut-wrenched. I thought he and Rey would join forces and become gray force users and have babies and it would be beautiful, but it was not to be. When they were fighting Snoke’s red guards I thought that would happen but then Ren is so full of hate and greed he can’t see anything else – he’s dead inside. He can’t see a path to redemption. He doesn’t even ask for forgiveness.

Yes, I know – for the last several months I have been a Reylo. I really wanted them to get together. And when they were force-touching hands I really thought they would – but then this asshole goes and

Decides to tell Rey she’s nothing???? Like what? No. No, no, no. You don’t tell someone they’re trash but they mean everything to you. Like I sorta get what he’s trying to say but he’s being super manipulative. Is that what gaslighting is?

Like fine you murdered Han Solo. You blew up Akbar. AKBAR! But you will not insult Rey. No. That is crossing a line. Maybe he wasn’t even consciously doing it – maybe he thought he was praising her – but really he was just trying to convince her she’s nothing without him. He allowed his rage to rule him.

I’m sorry people who still might see them together – but I no longer do. Rey doesn’t need Kylo’s bullshit. She gave him a chance at redemption and he denied her. She realized she can’t save him – and I think that’s an incredibly valuable lesson to teach young girls.

I’m sorry if that offends some people on the Tumblrs – and you’re totally entitled to your opinion – I’m not gonna be a dick about it (it’s not my way) – but respect that I’ve changed my mind.

As a side note – I think it’s kind of hilarious how whoever the hell Snoke was and who Rey’s parents were don’t even matter! All those theories! All the mental anguish we put into discovering how everything connects to older characters! But it doesn’t. Ha! We deserve it!

Luke made a mistake trying to take out Kylo, no doubt, but Kylo has to be responsible for his own actions. I think that’s what Johnson was trying to say – sure he might have been neglected, abused, and then manipulated by Snoke – but ultimately he had the power to choose – and like so many young men in this day and age – Ben has chosen hate. Rey has chosen hope.

And I choose Rey’s path.

The darkness might reign right now. But the light is strong. And it can burn in us all, if only we allow it to ignite within us.

Sure, the Jedi have a legacy of failure. But as Yoda said, “Failure is the best teacher.” Don’t I know it. Failure is painful. Failure sucks. But that doesn’t mean we burn it all down. We can rebuild. We can grow. We can make new the old.

The Jedi can live again.

And that gives me great hope, kids.

Great Hope.

And now, Luke and Leia.

I….

I can’t even…

This woulda been emotional enough with Carrie Fisher still with us – but now that she’s gone…

“Nobody’s really gone.” – Luke. That last conversation – just the two of them – Oh man, I’m not a crier but sometimes I wish I was. So powerful. So important. So cathartic. Funny. Sad. Bittersweet reconciliation. Imperfect people, imperfect goodbye – but a perfect scene.

I feel like we all needed that. Or I did anyway.

And then….Luke dies.

Luke dies?

Luke Skywalker. Is gone.

What? No! How?

Feels like I’ve known him my whole life – cuz I have. Like he’s a real person and the myth he became all at once. Who was one of the ones who taught us the power of forgiveness. To let go of hate.

And now he’s gone?

I know, I know, I sound ridiculous – he’s not a real person and it’s just a movie and you’re probably all rolling your eyes and saying “bundles you’re being such a dweeb rn” but damn it! stories matter. Characters matter. Words matter. Words have power.

Star Wars is a great myth of our time. The saga of the Skywalkers is our Arthuriana. From Anakin to Rey – this is our Trojan War. Luke is our Achilles.

And now he’s gone? When he disappeared watching those two setting suns (gods what great cinematography) it was like a gut punch. Like fuuuuuuuuuuuuck what now?

How do we go on?

I think Johnson gives us an answer – look to the past – look to the future – to the balance – to the cycle –

Which brings me to that final poignant scene -

The slave boy on Canto Bight. As with Anakin Skywalker all those years ago – he’s a force user (pulling that broom to his hand ala Mickey Mouse in Fantasia) and he’s staring up at the stars and dreaming….he embodies, with his phoenix-inspired Rebel insignia ring – the rebirth of hope – of the rebellion – of the resistance – of the beautiful broken dream that were the Jedi – he is Johnson. He is all of us. From Anakin all the way to this slave boy. And the story repeats. The cycle continues.

The myth lives on. Hope lives on. And if the myth lives on, well then so does Luke – “nobody’s really gone…”

I love Star Wars.

I love stories.

#star wars #sw #the last jedi #tlj #last jedi #rey #luke #luke skywalker #leia #carrie fisher #anakin #myths #mythology #rian johnson #luminous beings & bad feelings

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bewarethebutler · 5 years ago

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When You Come at the King, You Best Not Miss (The Holdout by Graham Moore)

This book could not get out of its own way. It has an intriguing premise, it’s well paced, and it has compelling characters. The plot is...solid as long as you don’t look too close. It also tackles an important topic: white liberals who, intentionally or not, position themselves as white saviors. The problem is, while it lays the groundwork for a unique and timely deconstruction of white liberalism, it never quite has the balls to truly tackle the issues in a meaningful way.

The basic plot is that ten years ago, Maya (who is white,) was part of a jury that declared Bobby Nock (who is black,) innocent of killing one of his (white) students. Initially, all the jurors except Maya thought he was guilty, but Maya eventually managed to convince them all of Bobby’s innocence, predicated largely on her insistence that the system is racist and treating Bobby unfairly. After the trial, the whole world condemned the jury, and especially Maya, for finding Bobby innocent. Rick (who is black,) another member of the jury and Maya’s friend/lover, goes on to first publicly attack Maya’s character and then spend the subsequent decade trying to prove Bobby’s guilt. The jurors are all gathered together for a ten year reunion/tv special, with Rick insisting that he has new evidence to prove Bobby guilty. Before he can share it, Rick turns up dead in Maya’s hotel room, and Maya is accused of killing him.

The interactions between Rick and Maya are the strongest part of the book. On a DnD character alignment chart, Rick would fall solidly in the Lawful Good category, while Maya is totally Chaotic Good. They’re both young and idealistic (they bond over Maya’s Obama ‘Hope’ pin,) and have a passionate relationship largely built from their mutual admiration of the other’s intelligence and morals. Then when the jury first votes, Maya is shocked to find that Rick thinks Bobby is guilty, and he is equally shocked to find that Maya thinks Bobby is innocent. Their relationship quickly dissolves, with Maya becoming the leading voice in the ‘Not Guilty’ camp and Rick the leading voice in the ‘Guilty’ camp. Maya can’t believe that Rick, a young black man, can find another young black man guilty in a system so stacked against him. Meanwhile, Rick is understandably upset that Maya assumes he must hate the system and support Bobby, because in her mind all black people should feel the same about law enforcement.

Unfortunately, though much of the novel is told in flashbacks, Rick dies very early in the book. So instead of two people re-examining their opinions and relationships, we get the black guy acting as a sort of object lesson for the white girl. There are several points in the novel when Maya starts to interrogate her own (well-intended but condescending) assumptions about identity politics. But then inevitably the paparazzi show up, or someone is arrested, or we jump from the past to the present or vice-versa. It’s almost as if Graham Moore feared making his protagonist too unlikable, so he lays out moments like Maya assuming Rick will be equally outraged about a racist comment, but then never really does anything with it.

The closest the story comes to really challenging white liberalism is when Trisha, the only black person on the jury besides Rick, gets angry at Maya for assuming that Trisha will automatically side with the defendant because he’s black. It was a take-down that was badly needed and almost came too late, well after Maya has repeatedly scolded the non-white members of the jury for not seeing the case as an instance of racial injustice. When Maya tells the others how they should feel about being Black or Asian or Hispanic, the moment really makes you cringe...as it should.

White liberals (myself included,) have an unfortunate tendency to overshoot the mark when it comes to allyship. We’re so eager to prove ourselves and support people of color that we assume every person of color feels the same way about issues of racial inequality. It’s a great set-up because Maya does it with the best intentions but we still understand she’s forcing Rick and others into her idea of what a Black or Brown person “should” be, a position born of the privilege of reading about Critical Race Theory without ever having personally experienced racism.

And then...Moore doesn’t really go anywhere with it. In fact, Trisha changes her mind and sides with Maya shortly after calling her out, a decision born more of her uncertainty about the facts of the case than any real opinion about the situation. Trisha sort of drops her call-out without reaching a real point, which is fine, (the novel does a solid job of driving home the idea that it’s not the responsibility of people of color to educate white people,) but then when we switch back to Maya there’s never any indication that Trisha’s words made any kind of impact.

Even worse, at the end of the novel we find out that Maya was actually right the entire time--not only was Bobby Nock innocent, but some of the parties involved in the case were deliberately using the myth of black men as dangerous to white women to get the verdict they wanted. It turns out Rick and Bobby should have trusted the white woman’s opinion about the racial elements of the case, even though they’re the ones who are being pigeonholed (Rick,) and stereotyped (Bobby). To add insult to injury, to a greater or lesser extent both Bobby and Rick’s murders result from their inability to realize they’re being manipulated by a white man.* *Yes, Rick’s death isn’t organized by Lou Silver the way Bobby’s is, but he’s only in that position because Silver used him to gather information and do the dirty work of his personal crusade.

Honestly, the book’s treatment of Rick and Bobby might have been its biggest weakness. Even the set-up is weak: we never quite understand why Rick is so convinced of Bobby’s guilt he’s willing to spend ten years trying to convict him. It turns out he doesn’t have any new evidence, he just found a way to blackmail Bobby into confessing...for a murder Bobby didn’t actually commit. The way the novel presents it, the evidence against Bobby is pretty compelling (including traces of the victim’s blood in the trunk of his car,) but not air-tight. In fact, it’s not even clear why the public is so convinced that Bobby is guilty: it seems unlikely that many liberals wouldn’t feel the same as Maya, that Bobby is being railroaded by the system. So in the end, Rick, who is the closest thing the book has to a “moral” character (in the sense that he sticks to his principles regardless of others’ opinions,) ends up resorting to blackmail to try and “get” Bobby.

Again, Rick’s obsession seems particularly misguided and hollow in light of the fact that Bobby is actually innocent. Similarly, while I wasn’t expecting Bobby to necessarily be grateful to Maya for the ‘Not Guilty’ verdict, I was genuinely confused by his animosity towards her. His life after the trial borders on Dickensian in its never-ending onslaught of misery, but that isn’t Maya’s fault. He’s almost annoyed that she pushed the jury to find him Not Guilty, even though, again, he’s NOT GUILTY. I think Bobby was supposed to serve as an example of how even if you’re found not guilty the system can still ruin your life, but since the alternative was life in prison the point becomes somewhat muddied.

And then there’s the end. OMG, the end. First, credit where credit’s due, I didn’t see the twist behind Jessica’s disappearance coming, and it’s pretty interesting and well done. Her mother helped her disappear to escape her abusive father, and she now lives on a farm with a partner and a child. (Although, now that I’m typing this that does read as so idyllic as to be unbelievable, but the book presents it pretty straight.) Lou Silver genuinely believed Bobby Nock killed his daughter and arranged for Nock to be murdered. Maya wants to expose Elaine Silver, but doesn’t for the sake of Jessica’s child and Bobby’s child and the child’s mother. It’s not entirely clear how, but Elaine Silver implies that she knows Maya is lying to protect Bobby’s partner and child, and if Maya exposes Jessica Elaine will expose the partner and child. Whether or not she could actually do so is sort of up in the air. In the end, Elaine and Maya agree not to say anything, meaning the world still thinks Bobby is guilty (his death is set up to look like a suicide,) and Rick’s murderer will never be found. Elaine does express some remorse about how she used Bobby to make Jessica’s disappearance believable, but it’s very tacked-on. So, the book ends with two upper-middle class white women deciding that the potential emotional trauma for two mothers and their children must be avoided, even though it means throwing away everything meaningful about the lives of two black men. That’s...ick. So. Much. Ick.

A major theme of the book is that no one can ever really know the full truth of a situation, even though we feel compelled to seek it out, and therefore the legal system is incapable of producing true justice. The book shoots itself in the foot in the final pages, though. Instead of a critique of the legal system, we end with proof of the larger problem: that white people are able to manipulate and discard the lives of black people with no repercussions.

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pendulumprince · 7 years ago

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Episode 11! *guns intensify*

Clear blue skies

The sun is shining

Everything looks Pretty Chill™

OH HAI IGNIS

HOW’D YOU END UP THERE

WHY ARE YOU TAKING A NAP IN THE OCREAN

Where are you my guy

Ignis remembers what happened

“I’m sleepy. I’ve never been sleepy before. What happens if I go to sleep...?”

NO IGNIS, DON’T GO BEDDY-BYE

I REPEAT: DO NOT EMBRACE THE SEEET RELEASE OF DEATH

After the opniong, bacvk in Link Vrains

Ghost Girl is still trying to get into the Data Storm, but there’s no opening

And if she tries to leave Link Vrains

She won’t be able to return

Akira’s still with Blue Angel

Who is still unconscious

Back in Den City, Shoichi’s fucking around with the Data Storm?

He’s going to try to create a pathway for Ghost Girl!

YES

HE DOES IT

GHOST GIRL REALIZES THAT PLAYMAKER HAS AN ALLY

AND THAT IT’S THIS ALLY WHO’S GUIDING HER IN

SHE TAKES THE PATHWAY

GETS TO THE BIRDCAGE

SHOICHI CAN SEE NOW, TOO

GOOD SHIT MAN, GOOD SHIT

So back to the duel, Playmaker’s at 3600 LP and Rev is at 4000

Dr. Kogami is watching on

Playmaker is TIGHT

“That’s what happens when you reply on Ignis… IGNIS ISN’T A REGULAR AI”

No shit.

So bascally, folks were trying to create life within the network

But could only create regular AI’s that didn’t have free will

BUT ALONG CAME KOGAMI, WHO DECIDED TO PLAY GOD

MODELED AFTER THE MYTH THAT GOD GAVE FIR TO HUMANS, WHICH HELPED THEM EVOLVE

KOGAMI NAMED THE PROGRAM “IGNIS”

And Ignis is an AI with free will

REMEMBER, Y’ALL: GHOST GIRL, SHOICHI AND AKIRA ARE ALL LISTENING IN

Playmaker refuses to believe that a program can have free will

Rev doesn’t care either way

“Ignis creATED THE CYBERSE AND IS TRYING TO CONQUER THE NETWORK. WE’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KILL IGNIS AND THE CYBERSE.”

AND WITH THAT, REV TAKES HIS TURN

USES BELTLINK’S EFFECT TO GAIN A WALL COUNTER

RELEASES HIS OTHER DRAGON

SPECIAL SUMMONS ANOTHER AT 1200 ATK

SPECIAL SUMMONS SNIFFERDRAGON AT 800 ATK

ACTIVATES IT’S EFFECT

ADDS ANOTHER SNIFFER TO HIS HAND

SUMMONS IT

LINK SUMMONS

HE SUMMONS VARRELOAD DRAGON AT 3000

PLAYMAKER REMEMBERS IT FROM THAT VISOON HE HAD OF REV IN EPISODE 3

PLAYMAKER’S FIELD IS EMPTY

REV GOES IN FOR A DIRECT ATTACK

SHIT SHIT FUCK

AN ACTUAL GUN COMES OUT OF VARRELOAD’S MOUTH

AND

HE LITERALLY SHOOTS PLAYMAER IN THE FACE

BRINGS HIM DOWN TO 600 ATK

SHOICHI IS SCREAMING

GHOST GIRL IS ALSO CONCERNED

REV ENDS HIS TURN

PLAYMAKER’S UNCONCIOUS

FUCK

AW SHIT IT’S BABY!YUSAKU!

And… he has a VR headset on?

He just lost a duel

“Get up.”

“Who is it?”

“Three. Think of three things. Three things to live. Three things to go home. Three things to defeat the enemy. By thinking, you can still live.”

Holy shit is Yusaku’s Special Person a macHINE??

No seriously, it looks like the voice is coming from this… sleek looking box with some writing on it

Anyway, back to the present.

Playmaker remembers his three reasons for living:

To regain his memories, to learn the truth and “connect all the moments of [his] life, and TO FIND HIS SPECIAL PERSON.

“IF THAT PERSON IS STILL CAPTURED, I MUST RESCUE THAT PERSON.”

OKAY OKAY SO. SPECIAL PERSON IS INDEED A PERSON??

AND THEY MIGHT STILL BE CAPTURED.

PLAYMAKER CAN STILL FIGHT

GOOD SHIT SON. GOOD SHIT.

HE TAKES HIS TURN

KNOWS HE HAS TO DO SOME CRAZY SHIT THIS TURN

FEELS SOMETHING IN HIS DUEL DISK

IT’S! FIREWALL!

He thinks back to when Ignis asked him about his Link Sense

Playmaker’s had it since he was young

OH SHIT

IS HE JUST REMEMBERING THIS NOW

In any case, he’s had this link sense for years

SO PLAYMAKER DECIDES TO USE THAT SENSE

AND HE CALLS OUT TO IGNIS

“Ai, are you still in there? Can you hear me? Answer me, Ai!"

“Playmaker…” ow the way he said that name.

Playmaker asks Ignis to lend him strength omg

He plays a magic card!

It boosts all Link Monsters on his side of the field by 300 ATK!

Rev tells him it’s pointless, but lol Playmaker can still feel the Cybsese

THIS FREAKS REV OUT

PLAYMAKER LINK SUMMONS

With what my guy with whAT

… when did Decode and Encode come back

And these two ghosts of Decode, too??

Lmao alright

“Here I go, Revolver! This is the Cyberse’s new potential!”

Nice.

AND HERE IT IS

FIREWALL DRAGON

AT 2500 ATK

HELL YEAH BITCH, THATY’S THE CARD HE GOT FROM THE DATA STORM

AND

REV’S BIRD CAGE IS UTTERLY DESTROYED

Because when the monsters that the fire prison seal away leave the field (like Decode and Encode did for Firewall) the card is nullified.

And!!

IGNIS IS BACK

“Where am I?”

“You’re back to being a hostage” lmao

IGNIS STARTS BUGGING OUT B/C HIS MAIN DUDE ONLY HAS 600 LP

But at least fire prison is destroyed, yeah?

Anyway, ON TO REVOLVER’S FIREY DEATH

BELTLINK GOES DOWN TO 2100 DEF

AND FIREWALL GOES UP TO 2800 ATK

IGNIS IS SO IMPRESSED BY ALL THESE COOL DRAGONS

PLAYMAKER HAS FIREWALL ATTACK BELTLINK

TAKES OUT BELTLINK

AND BY HIS MAGIC CARD’S EFFECT

PLAYMAKER BRINGS ENCODE BACK TO HIS HAND

SETS TWO FACEDOWNS

ENDS HIS TURN

KOGAMI IS MILDLY AMUSED, BUT URGES REV TO DESTROY PLAYMAKER

REV TAKES HIS TURN

PLAYMAKER ACTIVATES HIS TRAP

PROTECTING FIREWALL FROM CARD EFFECTS AND BEING DESTROYED IN BATTLE

LOL NICE

REV ACTIVATES A SPELL FROM HIS HAND

DRAWS TWO CARDS FROM HUS HAND

SUMMONS A 0 ATK MONSTER

PLAYS A QUICK PLAY MAGIC CARD

DESTROYS THE MONSTER HE JUST SUMMONED

DRAWS TWO CARDS FROM HIS DECK

PLAYS A FIELD SPELL

SUMMONS TWO MONSTERS AT 2500 DEF AND 1300 DEF

ACTIVATES VARRELOAD’S EFFECT

LOWERS ONE OF HIS MONSTERS TO 8000 DEF

Lmao okat by guy

HE ACTIVATES THAT MONSTER’S EFFECT

DESTROYS HIS MONSTER

TAKES OUT PLAYMAKER’S TRAP CARD

AND NOW, HE CAN TARGET FIREWALL

REV GOE SIN FOR THE ATTACK

SHIT FUCK DAMNIT

THE ATTACK CONNECTS

AND

AND!!

FIREWALL DRAGON ENDS UP ON REV’S SIDE OF THE FIELD

DAMNIT REVOLVER

HE HAS FIREWALL ATTACK PLAYMAKER

BUT PLAYMAKER ACTIVATES HIS OTHER TRAP

WHICH DESTROYS ALL MONSTERS IN THE MAIN ZONE WHEN A CYBERSE MONSTER ATTACKS

LMAOOOO REV YOU THOUGHT

HE WIPES OUT REV’S MAIN FIELD

HE SETS A FACEDOWN

SPECIAL SUMMONS ANOTHER MONSTER AT 1200 DEF

AND ANOTHER!

HE BRINGS THEM BOTH UP TO 1500 DEF

PLAYMAKER UES HIS TRAP TO BRING FIREWALL BACK

AND BRINGS IT UP TO 2800 ATK

HE ACTIVATES ANOTHER TRAP

BANISHES DECODE TALKER TO BRING OUT ENCODE TALKER

WHO HE ALSO BRINGS UP TO 2600 ATK

“THE REAL FIGHT IS ONLY GETTING STARTED”

You can’t tell me that wasn’t an Arc V callback lmao

Preview time!

Kogami continues to watch the duel

Someone comes up from behind, though?

Specteeeer!

Playmaker and Rev keep fighting each other.

Yeah yeah yeah

But what’s got me is the voiceover??

“Searching for the truth… the lost past… an irreplaceable friend. Ten years have transformed a boy into an envoy of revenge. Playmaker musters all his strength to risk everything on his final draw.”

Damn Vrains why so cryptic.

#yugioh vrains #vrains episode reactions #vrains episode 11 #yusaku fujiki #playmaker #ai #yusaku's special person #revolver #kiyoshi kogami #knights of hanoi #link vrains #cyberse #my posts

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spicyxllama · 7 years ago

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KamiMiyo; Occupation: Love [2/5]

Series: Joker Game

Pairing: Kaminaga/Miyoshi

Rating: T

Word Count: 4234

Summary: Jealousy would be so much more delightful, had it been that.

Read here on AO3 （*´▽｀*）| Chapter One | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five

...I’m sorry for being dead for so long >o< Work and school has been rough since I had to take on more shifts but things are mellowing down at the very least hehe! Also, omg I feel awks because of the shorter length of the chapter since I like this to be consistent, but tbh it just felt done, so I’ll just have to extend the fic by an additional chapter bc of the next scene that was supposed to be in this chapter ^^;;; I should be able to do weekly updates now because of more time I have now and also, I like following a schedule wwww

oh and lol if if it wasn’t blatant already, new blog to separate fanfics and headcanon screams ;v;

Chapter Two: Second To You

It wasn’t unlike any other work shift that Miyoshi had ever been assigned to—not in the least. Even if his neck was slightly sore from drifting into an unwelcome ... rest on the daily commute this morning, and meeting his more than unamused boyfriend after class was the self-indulgent type of pain. Miyoshi wasn’t one to be caught daresay, off-guard in public, for he’d always gotten the quintessential hours in the night before. Though, even when he didn’t (which was more often than not), it would be infallible for any entity to discern such a myth. It was simply a delay in blinking, of course—one that was oddly taking a couple hundred seconds to fulfill, and naturally, it could be fashionable to be late (just this once).

If it wasn’t related to class or his erratic work schedule, it was innately Kaminaga who’d been keeping him up throughout the night. Contrary to the spiteful remarks that Kaminaga only knew far too well, Miyoshi never minded in the least. The back and forth texting was nothing less than second nature at this point, and as daunting as Miyoshi hoped it to be, it was the unrivaled calm among a wretched storm of some entity known as life itself.

It was nearly akin to the all too familiar tracklist that’d been playing during the month; the very one that Miyoshi in actuality grew not to mind, and the fawning from admirers over his little mishap on the train. The darting gazes and hushed murmurs were of course, all too lively, and as irritable as they always were, such strangers made him feel closer to Kaminaga. For Kaminaga had constantly been dealing with such displays of amour that it innately proved difficult to find alone time with said boyfriend on campus, and how he even had the gall to loudly proclaim sweet nothings to them in Miyoshi’s presence was most aggravating of all.

It was no secret that Kaminaga absolutely adored Miyoshi’s avid (and absolutely fictitious) jealousy, after all.

However, there was no harm in showing gratitude to those who could distinguish true beauty and Miyoshi knew that for certain. Except that it was Valentine’s day of all days, and he’d rather be doing the uniform date with Kaminaga, instead of being clad and miserably attractive in uniform.

As Miyoshi continued to rearrange the disarrayed shelf and place but another box of gifted chocolates onto the nearby trolley, he found it nearly pleasant that Book-Off wasn’t bustling with customers for once. It was only natural to catch sight of visitors searching through rows of products and gently checking the items; shopping baskets in hand and lighthearted conversation amidst. The reselling of used entertainment goods was the establishment’s main purpose, though, it was anything but entertaining when his manager seemed to adore provoking him to no end. Even the girls who’d constantly approached him with presents on the annual occasion did naught to interest him for long, and he was nearly doubting his narcissistic wiles at such a feat.

Perhaps the redundant love songs playing about were growing truly menacing, and the occasional couples gawking at merchandise were vexing it seemed. For he had no say in the matter when that horrendous manager was the son of the dean, and Miyoshi’s scheme to ruin said employer couldn’t be put into play as of yet. Kaminaga would scold him further if he’d attempted anything without his assistance or “consent” as he’d liked to call it, though Kaminaga too was quite devious all on his own. It would indeed be troublesome if their scholarships were relinquished by word of a certain bastard’s mouth, and Miyoshi wouldn’t allow for that to happen to either of them. However, Miyoshi was more than just a mere multi-tasker who could easily uphold grades and troublesome notions. This specifically was a rather personal malice that he’d like to see through desperately to the end, and naturally so, Kaminaga would forgive him later anyway.

Despite this, Miyoshi had more frivolous concerns at hand when he was eyeing the stock that was still in need of replenishing. Even more so when there was an out of place novel among the textbooks, and its very positioning was noticeably baffling considering he’d been re-organizing for the past fifteen minutes or so. Even with the constant pauses to attend to his admirers, it was unlike him to be so hasty. For he couldn’t grasp the concept that he was daresay missing Kaminaga, as said boyfriend would always appear just as he was supposed to when needed. It would prove difficult to miss one that would never leave, and was never allowed to leave in turn. That would just be unfair.

Of course, it most definitely was a consumer driven scheme that Miyoshi could never get used to come Valentine’s day and that was the only reason he could entertain such daunting notions. Those sickening and sweetened murmurs that he too had heard from a certain someone only proved to remind him that such longing was unnaturally unnecessary—or naturally , he’d supposed. It couldn’t be natural to miss Kaminaga, just as Miyoshi couldn’t have missed adjusting this silly novel. It must have been the fault of this opportunistic customer who more than likely returned the book to its wrongful location while Miyoshi’s focus was elsewhere. Though, this customer’s presence was ironically calming for Miyoshi hadn’t noticed them in the least.

Or so he thought, because as he reached to arrange the shelf yet again, his fingers were immediately grazed upon by a familiar palm and his lips curved delightfully all the same.

Shying his hand away, Miyoshi took a gander at the foolish grin staring back and the book that was now placed in his grasp. The coy smirk plastered upon Kaminaga’s visage only seeped of a subtle intrigue and Miyoshi froze for a moment too long it seemed, gently toying with the novel in his clutch before putting it away in cautions. He soon found comfort, however, in frowning at his boyfriend who appeared to show interest in the various products at the store and was sneaking glances at Miyoshi knowingly. He was always such a horrible liar.

“Kaminaga, what are you doing here? It’s not even close to the end of my shift.” Miyoshi greeted in drawls, meeting Kaminaga’s gaze and relenting with a sigh.

His timing was irrefutably without flaw and only seeped of a blatant facade that was already crumbling down. Naturally, Kaminaga only had a single reason to be in this very location as of now, and that was the constant inevitable of his impatience for tonight.

Edging closer and observing his surroundings momentarily, Miyoshi was thankful that there were no customers in sight. Though, he was merely growing vexed at the older man who was supposedly distracted by a textbook and selfishly tugged at his sleeve.

“Miss me already?” Miyoshi continued in almost hesitations and caught himself scarcely in the act, gripping all the more in a futile endeavour to hide himself.

At the child-like motion, Kaminaga playfully hummed in response; diverting from the doe eyes that were far too demanding in all their wiles and fixated at but another book in retaliation. He’d previously studied this author’s works in the past, and innately so, it wouldn’t be odd to find himself drawn into the next redundant novel he’d put out. If it meant that he could tease his boyfriend just a little bit longer through the use of measly excuses, then so be it. The fingers entwining into his own that were soon becoming firm in their jealousy were the most adorable after all. As he finally set his sights upon the agitated Miyoshi, he could barely even stifle his chuckles and grinned lavishly in return.

“I think you’re the one that’s missing out on me.” Kaminaga murmured and gently squeezed his hand, haughtily leaning in for a kiss. “Look at all the hours that are being wasted working, when you should be working on me.”

Cautiously, Kaminaga was then able to eye others roaming about along the aisles and immediately snaked an arm around Miyoshi’s waist; drawing him near for customers to continue on their way and concealed an affectionate kiss with an opened book. It was the very approach Kaminaga forbade himself of upon entering the store, and even so, the contemptuous grin drawn upon Miyoshi’s lips was nothing less of a cruel jest that was all the more enticing.

Miyoshi whimpered softly at the abrupt assault and taunted his tongue against the opening of Kaminaga’s mouth all the same, kissing roughly and teasingly. Though, Kaminaga merely chortled softly at the baffling gesture and found himself pushed up against the product shelf; his lower lip that was being bit at softly and how he was wincing subtly, for it was proving difficult to remain quiet. It would be troublesome if they were caught by staff and undoubtedly so, Kaminaga knew for certain that Miyoshi wasn’t frightened in the least.

He was in no need of questioning Miyoshi’s enrapturing and conspicuous guiles when kisses were being stolen at their hasty pace. It was so like Miyoshi to not admit to the obvious through words alone, of course.

Bashfully, Kaminaga was averting his gander in full acknowledgement of the blush plastered across his face and cautiously grazed his fingertips against his mouth once they separated. Naturally, Miyoshi was only smirking with that haughty glimmer in his eyes when Kaminaga could barely even muster a response. He knew he should’ve been in disbelief with Miyoshi’s selfish antics, and yet, he only expected as much.

“As tempting as you unfortunately are, the storage room is pre-occupied and frankly, so am I.” Miyoshi responded with conceit in his drawl, subtly lifting his chin for added measure and toying his hand against Kaminaga’s chest in flirtations.

It was just a few months prior to their discreet exchange as of now, that Miyoshi was working but another unforeseen shift and Kaminaga received a seemingly urgent text from his boyfriend. It entailed of something along the lines of a ‘desperate endeavour’ that only Kaminaga was capable of achieving, and oddly enough, Kaminaga found himself being all too concerned about Miyoshi’s well-being. His worry had soon found itself faced with a rather discerning longing, for it wasn’t long at all until Miyoshi had dragged him into the closed off storage room; lights dimmed and doors clasped shut.

At the impatient click of the lock and the firm push against the wall, no further explanation was needed when Miyoshi’s lips were latched onto his own and the younger man was murmuring words of dismay between kisses. Such a perilous scenario should prove as enticing with Miyoshi’s ever demanding wiles and frustrated muses. His movements grew aggressive within mere moments and the look in his eyes had innately softened for the man before him. Even if Kaminaga had playfully jested that the situation was rather arousing, it was evident that Miyoshi’s huffs were the result of a blatant vexation from his manager’s torturous requests and that the only one who could spare him from his distraught was Kaminaga.

His break had already been ticking away and he found no shame in spiting the son of the dean by feeling his boyfriend inside of him for a little while longer. Kaminaga always knew exactly what to say, even as Miyoshi was venting likewise to a child and embracing his boyfriend all the while more between thrusts.

Naturally, there was something most provoking with getting away with what his superior would have detested and Miyoshi absolutely sprinted with that notion.

“Are you trying to distract me from scolding you?” Kaminaga questioned with a teasing hitch in his voice; a discerning glint reflecting in his eyes.

Revenge would be all the more thrilling in due time and he’d rather not be rushed in pleasuring his ever so demanding boyfriend. Meeting Miyoshi’s flirtatious gander, he then reached for the taunting hand that was upon his chest and pressed a hasty kiss onto the younger man’s wrist.

“You’re so cute in this uniform; I’d like to admire it on you and not off you. Though, I didn’t come here for you.”

At the demeaning utter, Miyoshi darted a more than inconspicuous frown to the man before him; crossing his arms and turning away.

“Then why are you wasting my time?” Miyoshi murmured, ignoring the unhindered chortle that definitely wasn’t endearing at all because he knew better than to let Kaminaga get away with mocking him. Even if that softened stare was testing him all the more.

“Because I’m trying to get you fired.” Kaminaga blatantly remarked; a whimsical grin residing on his lips before continuing in jest. Observing in a nearly coy manner as Miyoshi grew fascinated at the disheveled shelf that wasn’t actually disheveled at all and pulled away the novel from the other’s man grasp, Kaminaga spoke again. “Kidding~”

In spite of his rather enlightened facade, it was growing difficult to discern if the agitation rummaging through out his mind was a result of the couples whose loving conversations were naturally in earshot, or the talk of Valentine’s dinner plans that he too was eager to indulge in. Surely, it was the latter—or perhaps, neither at all. For there was no reason to be disheartened when watching Miyoshi work was all the more intriguing.

Except that, he hadn’t appeared to be actually working since Kaminaga had entered the shop. Miyoshi was constantly being whisked away by supposed gift bearing customers and though Kaminaga expected to be rather amused (with the minor pauses to work between admirers), he was only growing more wary as time began to trickle by.

At first, Kaminaga diverted his attention elsewhere because as adoring as it was to see Miyoshi’s valiant endeavours to defeat him in the chocolate count, it was evident that his efforts were to be naturally defeated but again. With that notorious smirk curved upon his visage, he thought better to browse the rest of the store in blatant curiosities. Kaminaga never really was all too distant when the women stole Miyoshi away and strangely enough, Kaminaga was keeping watch out of habit. He’d long searched the many aisles and even found himself buying what was probably unnecessary but hey, the prices were most definitely attractive—unlike what had been going on for the past two hours.

To be fair, Miyoshi did mention something of the sort that this year’s competition would surely be different and with Miyoshi’s growing popularity in spite of his seemingly effortless endeavours, that could definitely be the case—and it definitely was thus far. For Miyoshi was earnestly working harder and as amusing and enthralling as that was, something still was off-putting.

Diverting his focus from the shelf and to the next young woman that had pranced over to Miyoshi with a box of chocolates, Kaminaga bit back the sigh he so desperately needed to release. He hadn’t actually approached Miyoshi at first for it was all too interesting to take in every daunting task that his manager had set him out to do. Though concerning, Miyoshi never spited him and it was only once he’d finished all those troubling tasks that all the girls were practically lining up and attending to admirers was the only task he had for well over an hour. Even if Kaminaga’s situation was clearly no better, he was certain at most that there was an irrefutable difference between the two.

“Hey, Miyo~ where’s my honmei chocolates?” Kaminaga bashfully mustered, tugging against Miyoshi’s sleeve at the first possible moment in a futile endeavour to steal him away.

Surely, Miyoshi’s vanity hadn’t gotten the better of him on Valentine’s day of all days. Even if the chocolates were just a competition to them, he never once had to compete for Miyoshi’s time in such a frustrating manner. Jealousy would be so much more delightful had it been that.

At the impatient touch and the abrupt rustling of bags being pressed against the other, Miyoshi paused for a momentary second and found himself merely glimpsing at what was in Kaminaga’s grasp, rather than at him. He’d easily expected that Kaminaga would be busy as well with his avid popularity with the ladies, and had blatantly brought a preview of his triumph in mocking jest. Though that didn’t appear to be entirely the case, for the multiple Book-Off bags in hands were proving all the more daunting and Miyoshi couldn’t help but feel concerned at such a feat.

“...How many times have you visited the cash register?” Miyoshi cautiously questioned, eyeing Kaminaga’s dubious expression and the blatant frown that was making him uneasy.

For it was unlike Kaminaga to be so wasteful with his earnings, even if it was far too often that he was later than he should be for their dates because of overtime. Not to mention that he was irritably so insistent on paying every single time and bringing gifts when he most definitely shouldn’t be. Though, Miyoshi supposed it was alright if he was the only one receiving gifts. Even if deep down, he had a sneaking suspicion that Kaminaga was constantly presenting others with such ...offerings and that perhaps they were taking advantage of him.

Irritably so, Miyoshi knew he couldn’t bring himself to scold him anymore because Kaminaga was as naive and stubborn as he’d always been. Not to mention that the nearly tumbling arrangements of chocolates beside him were less for vanity and more for a sense of worth. Maybe it was foolish and the very notion was all too frivolous, but Miyoshi wasn’t one to back down in a game of stakes; especially the one that he knew Kaminaga had always been looking forward to since their high school days. For it was more than just a mere competition; for if he hadn’t been doing his very best up until this point—

No, it would just be foolish to lose again.

As Miyoshi’s lip quivered in a precarious attempt to muster even a semblance of speech, Kaminaga’s gaze escaped him and the older man was glimpsing elsewhere it seemed.

“I’m not sure. Do you think I should get a points card?” Kaminaga managed with a discerning urgency in his nearly unbecoming murmur, fumbling about all the more. Miyoshi paused at such a gesture and as he met the dismayed orbs that were fruitless in avoiding his own, he wavered yet again. “...Maybe then all these girls will stop flirting with you, if you go and help me.”

Kaminaga was well aware that the reasonings behind Miyoshi’s seemingly narcissistic wiles were the result of a triumph in their little game and yet, the younger man was growing all the more wary. Jealousy wasn’t a colour that Kaminaga would often allow himself to be seen in, and as Kaminaga’s fixation to steal his boyfriend away was flourishing with a steeper desperation than every moment before, Miyoshi was certain at the very least that perhaps he made a mishap in his judgement.

“You can just use this instead.” Miyoshi asserted in a nervous caution, unaware of where Kaminaga’s notions lay and offered his employee card that continued to dangle on his lanyard.

Even if he’d never taken up the offer of an employee discount (or was even certain there actually was one), Miyoshi supposed there’s nothing his charms and persuasion couldn’t attain. Especially if it was for Kaminaga’s sake, whose blatant desperation wasn’t a fine attire whatsoever.

“So you’ll come with me then?” Kaminaga mused with a delighted beam curved upon his lips, ignoring the ID card that he wasn’t at all too interested in and merely reached for Miyoshi’s fingertips.

Though, Kaminaga should’ve easily anticipated that such endeavours were unavailing and tactless for the subtle nod and discerning hum that escaped Miyoshi’s mouth was but a curious motion at most. If not only that, such unnatural decisions could be ignored and questioned upon at a later time.

Truly, however, it was the mixture of what was lacking in Kaminaga’s grasp and the seemingly strange tension building about that was most worrisome of all. For grazing against Miyoshi’s palm was in fact some admirer’s, and Miyoshi wasn’t one who’d dismiss the polite stranger who was boosting his ever growing ego (at least, not anymore). In spite of this, Kaminaga wanted to be anything but polite and it wasn’t as though he was over-exaggerating upon the idea that Miyoshi was possibly succumbing to his vanity at the worst time altogether.

“...Did you only come here to flirt?” Kaminaga mustered gradually, eyeing the woman that had finally took her leave and back to his boyfriend who was now shying from his gaze.

“That’s insulting, coming from you.” Miyoshi spoke quietly, placing the box of chocolates among the others and gently pursed his lip before continuing again. “...Is it so wrong to be appreciative of those who admire me?”

“You know it’s not like that.” Kaminaga asserted with a subtle and desperate linger unravelling in his voice, catching Miyoshi off-guard as the older man drew closer in cautions.

It was becoming daunting to observe as Kaminaga appeared to be fumbling about and his brow merely crinkled at every passing motion; time that appeared to elongate as words ceased their exchange. Even if the captivating eyes whose stare had grown sheltered and hidden away, Miyoshi too had undoubtedly shuddered all the same as he was beginning to miss the one that was never allowed to leave. Concerning, perhaps, for Kaminaga still stood before him and yet it was as though he was missing and Miyoshi could scarcely admit that he too, was missing Kaminaga.

“Then why would it be like that now?” Miyoshi offered softly, murmurs emitting at a most gentle pace as he silently pleaded for Kaminaga’s orbs to glimpse at his own once again.

As a shiver whisked into Miyoshi’s grasp and at the quiet enrapturing in a most tense instant, Miyoshi sought out for Kaminaga’s palm in accordance to the erratic thoughts that began to frighten him relentlessly. If this mishap was his doing, then a misunderstanding could also be undone. Miyoshi was as entitled as he’d always been. The fault would be his, but the indifferent expression glimpsing back was even more cruel than the doubts he became uncertain of.

“...Because you only have time for strangers and not for me.” Kaminaga mumbled, retracting his fingertips away before Miyoshi could grasp them.

At the hastened movement, Miyoshi bit back his own hesitation and soon met Kaminaga’s gander that was far too telling on its own. It only proved difficult to even relay an answer when Kaminaga’s expression was crumbling and he appeared too distraught to remain stable for even another moment longer. Miyoshi’s actions were most certainly not for a sense of egotistical gain, but out of a subconscious fear that had unwillingly began to surface into the open.

Kaminaga was never one for the mundane now, was he? Miyoshi, of course, had always been the same way.

As Miyoshi’s lip quivered and he found himself disheartened that Kaminaga would even suggest such a notion, he then ceased his unnatural wavering and took a needless breath. Though, perhaps, it would be better to relinquish his pride just this once. His better judgement had already threatened to devour whole the lump in his throat. He most certainly knew what the best course of action was and so, his lips soon parted in nothing less of a hasty motion.

Unfortunately so, the discourteous tug upon his sleeve and the unfamiliar scent of what wasn’t Kaminaga’s cardamom and lavender cologne had whiffed into his vicinity, and instinctively, Miyoshi allowed himself to set eyes on what was yet another gift bearing woman who couldn’t read the atmosphere. Even if her excuse-me was anything but polite and how she even had the gall to greet him with a presumptuous excuse, he simply couldn’t speak poorly to her within the workplace and merely offered a weakened smile.

Even if he most definitely knew that he shouldn’t have.

He had more reasons as to why that had nothing to do with work ethic and everything to do with Kaminaga, but that was the least of his concerns. For Kaminaga had dropped his gaze and shifted from Miyoshi, frowning inconspicuously and emitting a dismayed breath.

“Don’t bother. I’ll be doing the closing shift if you need me.” Kaminaga monotonously announced, gracing his boyfriend with a dejected drawl and promptly taking leave.

“Kaminaga, wait…!” Miyoshi immediately attempted, taking a hastened step forward and diverting his focus from the woman who he had no further business in attending to.

It was in that frail instant that he was scarcely coming undone at the sight of what remained shrouded and most definitely not unkempt, hidden beneath the nearly tumbling tower of chocolates. He’d done such a dainty job in keeping it secret from Kaminaga that he too had nearly hidden it away from himself in turn; forcefully chuckling bitterly at the ironic unveil.

Below the exquisitely wrapped and self-satisfying endeavours to triumph Miyoshi’s supposed amour, there was but one that lay lonesome at the bottom; handmade and decorated to precision, bearing a most stupendous riddle. Incomprehensible to anyone but, and yet, it could only be gifted to the very fool who would dare rival his own enticing wiles and succeed nonetheless.

Kaminaga.

#♥fanfic #joker game #kamimiyo #♥Occupation: Love [2/5]

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tipolover22 · 8 years ago

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An AU where Branch is a human and Poppy is still her adorable troll self!!

OMG I thought of a beautiful AU (it's not really beautiful, it's really horrific, but still) Where Branch is this teenager who suffers from dysthymia and paranoia because, when he was around seven, he had been singing a wonderful song for his parents so loudly, they didn't hear anyone opening the front door, too busy enjoying their son's concert. His parents were killed by the intruder and, for some reason, the intruder let him live. Branch was found the next day crying in a closet and covered in blood by his grandmother, who had promised to come that day. Ever since then, Branch has been in the custody of his grandma and can't go a day without worrying something like that might happen again, so he has a bunch of traps around his grandma's house (sort of like in home alone) that only he and his grandma know about and he carries a taser with him just in case. I imagine that his grandma lives in a house surrounded by nothing but forest and the closest neighbor is 2 miles away, so Branch's biggest fear is someone could come through the forest to intrude their house and kill them and it would be weeks before anyone noticed because he didn't have any friends other than his therapist, if he could even call her that, and his grandma never really had anyone over. And he turns the basement into a panic room should anything ever happen. He has food stocked down there to last him and his grandma for five years and nice comfy beds to stay in. He is taking medication for both his illnesses and has a schedule for Talk Therapy, which he tells his grandma is useless because he refuses to talk to a stranger. He does it anyway because she tells him it will help and she's the only person in the world that he trusts. All these things often get in the way of his social life and that's why he has no friends. Everyone at school sees him as gloomy and aggressive except this one darn group of overly preppy teens that don't know the concept of personal space and are sometimes the causes of his breakdowns because he refuses to tell anyone the real reason he doesn't like to be touched. Poppy is a seventeen year old and the princess of her troll village. She loves to sing and dance and hug and the one thing she loves more than that is her citizens, who she does whatever it takes to make sure they are happy. One day, she insists that she go to Bergen town alone after a whole ordeal that happened when she was just a baby. There used to be a thing called Trollstis, a holiday where Bergens would eat trolls to feel happy, but that stopped seventeen years ago when her father, King Peppy, helped them all escape from that life. Apparently, the new king of the Bergens had found something he was sure was happiness in a relationship with a nice girl and he wanted his people to be able to feel that. So he sent out a search party to find the trolls and make peace and to hopefully have them teach them to be happy. It was a little scary for the trolls at first, hiding at the first sight of a Bergen. But it all went well when Poppy was the first of them all to come out of hiding and talk to the Bergen and accept the invitation if a peace party between the two rulers. Her father was reluctant to let her go alone, but he gave in eventually. On the way to Bergen town, she met this weird cloud that helped her find out which root tunnel lead to the troll tree, as she was using the map that had been planned for the escape to get to Bergen town. He told her he would tell her if she guessed the right one. She pointed to an oddly shaped hole, it wasn't so much that it was odd, but it was a perfect circle, which really caught her eye. The cloud told her that that one wasn't it, that it, in fact, lead to another dimension. She pointed to the one next to it and he told her that that one was the correct one. She thanked him before going to have her peace party. It went very well, the two future queens hitting it off and becoming best friends in seconds, and the Bergens were eager to start their teachings right away, the Troll Tree that they once lived in watered and ready to be lived in again. On her way home to tell her kingdom the good news, she couldn't stop thinking about what that cloud said. A different dimension? So she takes the chance and goes into the perfectly circled hole only go come out of the end of it and find another forest. The forest wasn't anything like the one she had lived in. The bark of the tree was rough and the leaves weren't as fuzzy. Out of the corner of her eye, though, there was something fuzzy. It was a creature she had never seen before (a squirrel) and she goes up to it in a friendly manner. After finding out that the creature was, indeed, friendly, she started to sing to it. On that same day, Branch had just gotten home from school and went straight to the fridge to see if grandma was home. They had a plan that Grandma Rosiepuff, as she was called, would write down a note on the Fridge's board that he had installed for this purpose if she was going out. If the board was empty, he could assume she was home and would then proceed to see if she was taking her afternoon nap. The board was not blank, though, and it left a note saying that she was visiting an old friend from her old days working as a nurse at a children's hospital. So Branch proceeded to do what he did best and check if everything was safe. He had his taser around his ankle and a small crate for when he checked the traps and an animal or two got caught in them. That's when he heard singing. He had called out to see who's there and a nice, feminine voice answered. Man or woman, she was still a threat for he was not his grandmother. He told her that she shouldn't be here, that this was private property and brought out his taser just in case. They have some small talk as they get closer to each other, Branch thinking she's human since she can talk and Poppy thinking he's a troll since he has no clue what a Bergen is. As they get closer to each other, Poppy traveling from branch to branch, leaves blocking her view and Branch traveling by foot, ducking below low branches, and they don't really see each other until Branch is about to push a low branch out of the way and one of leaves on said branch gets lifted up, revealing a small, pink thing he has never seen before and Poppy lifting up a leaf to find a creature as big as a Bergen but looks nothing like them. Her instant reaction is to take a step towards the creature and introduce herself but Branch's reaction is completely different. Out of panic, Branch hits the branch anyway, causing Poppy to fall off and scrape her ankle on a small, sharp stone before Branch traps her with his crate. Poppy is now on edge and crawls backwards as far as she can from Branch and Branch does the same to the crate. After a few moments of panicked silence, Branch finally asks her what the hell she is. She tells him that she's a troll and then proceeds to ask what he is. Branch doesn't answer for a while and Poppy thinks he didn't hear her but he really is just thinking that he has a FREAKING TROLL trapped in a crate right now and his hand goes to his head on instinct and he thinks he's gone mad and suddenly regrets not taking his meds on those spontaneous days in the past and stands up to walk away. Poppy, seeing this, suddenly stands up and runs to the other side of the crate, no matter how much the cut hurts, and yells at him that he can't just leave her here. Branch immediately turns around and yells at her that she's not real, causing Poppy to laugh at the silly accusation and explain to him that, yes, she is real, how could she not be? And Branch starts to explain to her how trolls are just myths before realizing that he's talking to her again. Something along the lines of, “Oh my god, I'm talking to it!” Poppy is offended by the “it” comment but let's it slide because she really wants to get the hair out of this plastic cage and asks him if he could let her go. Branch contemplates this and finally decides to lift the crate so that she could be free. Maybe if she's free she'll leave him alone forever. That is not the case, though, for the second she's free, she asks him if there's anything to treat her wound. Branch, still shocked by this whole ordeal, actually does have something to treat her wound and hesitantly picks her up, with her permission of course. He's completely shocked by how trusting this creature is, he could've just smashed her now and she should be none the wiser. He brings her to his house and treats her wound using cotton swabs as she talks about her home and her species and how happy they are. She tries to goad him into talking about his species and home, but he only gives blunt answers to her questions until he finally asks one of his own; why is her blood rainbow colors? Poppy makes a comment like, “Well, duh, isn't yours?” And Branch tells her that, no, it's not. And they have a little bit more of small talk before Poppy convinces him to help her find the tree that she came from. It takes about forty minutes since they used where Branch had left his crate to retrace her steps and they're finally parting ways and Poppy realizes that she has not introduced herself at all. So she holds out a hand tells him that her name is Poppy. Branch, not really sure how to shake a hand so small just gives her finger and she takes it with a giggle. Branch tells her that his name is Ramon, but most people call him Branch. So Poppy goes through the tunnel thinking she's made a new friend and Branch goes home thinking he's lost his mind and that's all I'm giving away for the plot because I am totally f*cking writing this!! THIS IS GONNA BE SO FUN!!

#dreamworks trolls #poppy #branch #au

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