#Rex is going through his feelings regarding how the second movie ended

[sa1808fi]

Rex in his timeline fic :)

______

He was sitting on the edge of a cliff, a large field behind him. The cool night breeze ruffling through his hair as he stared into the inky darkness below his feet.

His brain was...really fucking hazy right now. He didn't fully remember what he was doing here, just that he wandered off, needing to get out of the sickeningly bright and cheerful environment the residents of Syspocalypstar surrounded themselves with.

The fireworks were so loud, too loud

He picked up one of the lone rocks lying on the ground near him, tossing it into the icy depths of outer space, watching as it got swallowed up by the unforgiving darkness. Just a meaningless speck in the grand scheme of things. Easily forgotten... just like he was.

He didn't get why Lucy and the others were making such an effort now to comfort him. Ever since they had such a 'happy' reunion, they've all been somewhere around him. Sure Emmet might've appreciated it but he didn't, all of the attention was suffocating, and he usually liked attention so that was saying something.

It just... didn't make sense. They all forgot about him so easily, moving on like he never existed, like he was meaningless to them. They left him to suffer in the depths of space for years as his mentality slowly crumbled, unforgiving rage taking root in his once sunny demeanor.

He spent so long believing they never cared about him, so long that he didn't know what to think anymore.

The sound of fireworks exploding in the distance overtook his hearing again. The loud booming only serving to make his breath quicken with anxiety.

He was crashing, burning, it hurt-

Lucy... came back for him in the other timeline. Rex still didn't know what to think about that, and it's already been months since that happened.

Something just tightened in his chest whenever he thought about how Emmet never had to go through Undar. That Lucy loved him enough to do whatever it took to find him again. His... gave up on him so quickly.

She and his past self had such a lovey-dovey happy reunion, they were so... happy to see each other. Her speech before Emmet destroyed the cake only adding to his inner turmoil.

Was it just... him? Was he the problem?

Lucy said she never wanted Emmet to change, but that's what happened to Rex. The isolation broke him beyond repair, he could never be the man that Lucy loves-loved-he didn't know.

Looking back down, all he could see was the darkness threatening to swallow him alive. The rock he threw was gone, swallowed by the shadowy abyss, left to be forgotten, just like he was.

Another loud boom erupted in the air as another firework was set off, but all he could hear was the sound of his ship crashing, blowing up into a burst of flames, burning his side as he was launched into Undar. Forgotten by the world around him, rotting in the dusty, lonely wasteland.

It was getting hard to breathe, it was like he was back there, trapped, suffocating while his lungs filled up with dust.

Everything hurt.

None of them were coming to save him.

He was trapped inside an unforgiving cycle of suffering

shedidn'tlovehimshehatedhimwhy-

"-ex, REX!"

He suddenly felt two hands make contact with his shoulders, the touch so sudden it had him leaping away from it like it was burning him. Maybe it was, all he could feel on his entire left side was a searing pain.

His whole body was shaking with his panicked breaths, eyes darting everywhere. Another boom echoed through the air, eyes snapping to watch the firey red and orange explosion erupting midair, just like-

"Hey, no, look at me okay?" A soft voice broke through the thoughts racing through his head. His toxic green eyes locked with Lucy's blue and pink ones. He didn't feel her grabbing hold of his gloved hands.

"Good, alright, take a deep breath, okay?" He could only manage a shaky nod at her question. Everything was still so blurry, reality slipping away like sand.

He distantly heard her counting, trying to encourage him to breathe every 5 seconds or so.

".....in.....hold.....and out....." Rinse and repeat. He didn't know how long they were sitting there in the grassy field as she slowly coaxed him out of that panic attack, the fireworks long gone.

"You okay?" She asked once his breathing evened out, tone drenched in worry he didn't deserve it. He tilted his head in thought. God, she was so beautiful, he never deserved her. Not then, not now.

"...What? You want the truth, or would you prefer me to lie about feeling great to make you feel better?" He answered, voice still hoarse from the frantic puffs of air escaping him beforehand. Maybe he was being a bit harsh, but panic attacks always sucked the life out of him.

She just gave him a sad look, letting go of his hands while he turned away from her, tucking his knees up against his chest and resting his chin on his forearms.

"...Do you..." She began, before thinking over what she was about to say. He just watched her from the corner of his vision, focusing his gaze on the night sky, finally seeing the stars instead of just darkness.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She decided to say.

He let out a sound that was a mix between a laugh and a scoff, dragging one of his hands down his face.

"Talk about what? The weather? The way you all keep dragging me to those mind-numbingly bright celebrations? The ones that have fireworks that remind me of-" He caught himself before he could say more, immediately looking away from her, though he could still feel her gaze burning into him.

"Remind you of what? Rex, what do fireworks remind you of?" She asked. Her tone was so soft and understanding. It made him want to punch something.

But he still hesitated, did he really want to trust her? "I...it's just too... loud. Reminds me of... crashing." He muttered at the end, subconsciously rubbing at his burn scar. He didn't see the way Lucy tensed up at the mention of his crash into Undar, the guilty look that overtook her face.

They both sat in silence, neither willing to break the tense atmosphere that came from his words.

[tloujm]

Part XXVI: Giving Grief

Author’s Notes: This is the first chapter I’ve posted in months (literally since April). I don’t know if this is a full comeback. I have a few chapters in the drafts that need to be edited and formatted for posting but after that, I still plan on continuing the series bc my plan was always have a long fic. With no new content after part II of the game was released, my interest in the fandom waned but was always there. Now with HBO creating a show based off the game, as well as me being apart of the Pedro Pascal fandom, I think I will soon become more consistent in posting as new content gets released. I will say that at least half of what appeals to me for Joel is Troy Baker’s voice and while I love Pedro’s voice too, I know it won’t be the same. I still think Pedro will do the voice justice bc he can do a damn fine country accent as seen in the movie Prospect on Netflix. If you’re a fan of his and have Netflix, please go watch it!

Genre: Angst and Fluff

Summary: You and Joel reconcile and bond over Ellie and Sarah. 

Ship: Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Joel waited for you to come home. He paced back and forth in the kitchen switching from holding the card and setting it down on the counter. He was eager to talk to you about this new revelation partly because he was nervous to have the other conversation with you. After a while of calming his nerves down, you still hadn’t come home. The sun had set an hour ago and Joel was ready to throw on his boots and go looking for you. 

Just as he laced them up, the front door opened. You walked in and immediately stopped because his body blocked you from walking in the house further. 

“Going somewhere?” You asked as you slid past him. He was a grown man and could do what he wanted, but the thought of him leaving to go do other things before the issue between you was resolved upset you. 

He reached back down to unlace his boots. “Not anymore. I was ‘bout to head out and find you.”

“Why?” You asked dryly.

“I’d been waiting on you to come home for a couple of hours. We gotta talk.”

“You’re right, we do. I was helping Wendy walk the kids home from the daycare; that’s what held me up. I’m here now, though.” You leaned against the back of the couch and crossed your arms. The stance you took reminded you of what Joel would do.

He walked into the kitchen and came back. “Kiddo made this for us.”

You took it in your hands. “When did she have time to make this?” He shrugged. Your fingers brushed across the drawing of the hat before finally opening it. “Oh my God.” She looked at you for a split second before looking back down at her signature. “Her name has been ‘Ellie’ the whole time.”

“I know.” He commented. 

“She never said anything. All of us have asked her.”

“Technically, she still hasn’t spoken her name, but I guess she wasn’t ready for that.”

“She wasn’t ready to let anybody in.” You said. He nodded in agreement.

“Until now.” He walked up to you and pointed to her name on the card. “She’s doing so good, this Ellie. I can only try to imagine the horrors that she’s seen out in the world before she came to Jackson, but whatever happened out there, it led her to us. I’m...It’s just nice to see her opening up to this place.”

You understood what he was trying to say. “Yeah, I’m proud of her too.” You walked past him and into the kitchen to hang the card on the refrigerator. Joel followed. This time, his arms were crossed.

“(Y/N), I meant it when I said I was sorry back there. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“If you didn’t mean it, you wouldn’t have said it.” You rebutted.

“I was upset with you because I expected you to react the same as me when Ellie climbed up that T-Rex, but I don’t want a carbon copy of myself. I love you and want to have a family with you because you are wise beyond your years, confident even if you don’t always think so, responsible even for things that aren’t your responsibility and most importantly, you’re level headedness. Where I have a tendency to lose my cool in certain situations, you are guided by this calm...patient sense of will that I envy.” He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, giving you the opportunity to say something. Seeing that you were still soaking in his words, he continued. “You’ll be a great mother. I saw it in the gentle way you juggled all those kids at the daycare. I saw it in the way you took care of Ellie the first day she came here. You’ll see though, if it’s meant for us to have a baby, how difficult it is to stop worrying. It didn’t stop when Sarah....even when I tried to push those feelings away. It doesn’t stop. I know she’s not her, but it’s hard for me to just stand by and watch her do something that could hurt her.”

“I wasn’t standing by, or at least that wasn’t my intention. I wanted to give her space. She’s so delicate, or maybe that’s my problem. I shouldn’t treat her like she’s some glass figurine. I just wanted her to grow comfortable with us by trusting her. Believe me, it wasn’t easy for me to do when there was nothing personally for me to go off of, but then I thought, she’s lived out there for God knows how long by herself. She’s not only seen things but has been able to survive things. It’s hard to see how clever someone is when they won’t let you in, but I knew she had to be to have made it this far. I get it though. I’ve never been a parent. I can only sympathize with your worries. I can not empathize with you until I’ve been where you have. I’m sorry too. I could have found a way to give her space without allowing her to be in such a dangerous spot. You must be disappointed in me.”

He moved up to you and placed his hands on your shoulder. “I’m not. Look at me. I’m not disappointed in you. She was both of our responsibilities earlier.” He brought you into a tight hug. “You’re right, she is smart. She felt comfortable enough to show a side of herself that no one else has seen. You know why? ‘Cause she felt safe around us. Despite the grief she put me through, it was nice to see her so happy.”

“I know it was, wasn’t it? I can’t believe she jumped though! I didn’t think she’d go that far.”

“At the end of the day, kids will be kids. It’s not an excuse to slack off on raising ‘em, but there's just a certain wild and carefree nature that every kid has. It’s instilled in their DNA or somethin’ and then it fades away as they get older, about the time their back starts to ache.” Joel chuckled as he explained. He kissed the top of your head before pulling away to get a good look at you. He made a face as if to ask if you were ok. You nodded. He took your hand and pulled you into the living room. You sat down next to him. “She reminds me of Sarah sometimes. Ellie’s about the same age as her. She ran me through the ringer, raising that one.” He chuckled at the memories. “I wouldn’t trade it in for the world, being her dad, but you shoulda seen the amount of grief she put me through. Especially being a single parent.” He wiped his hand across his face, letting it linger along the length of his neck. “One time, she snuck off to some skate park when I told her no. She was in this skateboarding phase. I bought her a customized skateboard for her birthday and she would practice using it up and down the driveway. She had barely learned that little flippy trick when she asked me to take her to the skate park. I told her no because it looked like it was for experienced skaters. I wanted her to practice more first. To say the least, she was mad at me. She told me she was staying after school for the science club, but she really went to the skate park with some friends. By the time I figured out where she was, I found her lying in the grass, holding her arm in pain. Turned out she had a hairline fracture in her...radius?” He pointed to the bone on his arm. You nodded that it was in fact called radius. “I grounded her for lying to me, but sometimes I wonder if I should have taken her to the park. I mean I’m no expert on skateboarding, but at least I could have been there to supervise; make sure she wasn’t on one of those tough looking ramps.”

“Did you ever take her skateboarding after she healed up?”

“After the cast came off, she switched interests to soccer. I installed a shelf on one of her walls to hang the skateboard on. Better that than being stuffed under her bed. Soccer was her life though. She made new friends from the team, won titles, learned tricks with the ball. Me and Tommy were regulars at her games. I was...am proud of her.”

You smiled as you envisioned his memories. “Did she give you grief with that as well?”

He nodded in an exaggerated way. “Oh yeah, but I’m sure I used to give her grief too.” You lifted your eyebrows with desire for him to elaborate. “I may or may not have argued with the coach and ref on a few occasions regarding plays.”

“You never dated any of the soccer moms?” You teased.

He scoffed. “Most of them were married and the ones who weren’t, I sent Tommy’s way instead. He wasn’t mad at it.” The two of you chuckled. “I did flirt with a few, married or not, so I could get my hands on some of their homemade baked goods.”

“I was under the assumption that soccer moms made food for everyone.”

“They did, but I still wanted a few more cupcakes for the ride home.” He admitted as you laughed. “Listen, I had a busy life. I didn’t have much time to hone my baking skills, so it was nice to be able to have homemade cakes and cookies for a change.

“Well, if you wanted cookies, that’s all you had to say! I can show you how to bake right now.”

“It’s late.” He reasoned.

“It’s never too late to feed your sweet tooth.” You rebutted as you pulled him back into the kitchen.

[davidmann95]

Some Kingdom Hearts future thoughts

Have to get ‘em out! Went into some thoughts with my psuedo-review of III, but I’ve got others and stuff worth expanding on. I’ll put them under the cut since it clearly goes into spoilers, except for my boldest, most controversial guess: along with being announced either this year or next (since Kingdom Hearts has never reached the end of a calendar year after a release with nothing on the horizon) I think Kingdom Hearts IV is going to be a 2022 release. I recognize that sounds like an intensely generous timeframe, but I have several reasons:

1. Above all else by far: once again, Square Enix and Disney are going to be on Nomura’s ass, nose to the grindstone, to get him to start delivering these on a consistent basis again. Do you think they’re looking at Kingdom Hearts III topping sales charts and thinking “well, it sure was worth the wait”, or do you think they’re going “gosh, these are some nice sales, sure would be nice if it came out years ago and we had a bunch more similarly-selling titles by now, let’s try and aim for something closer to that in the future”. Especially-especially since Nomura and the actors aren’t getting any younger and the series is at a point where the core fanbase for the franchise as-is is going to be the primary target rather than new audiences, which means it has to wrap up in a timeframe where that’s still a viable market. So rapid, priority development and few if any more spinoffs. I mean, not as if there’s really a handheld platform for them to be on anymore.

2. My understanding (and this is going somewhat into the technical side of things, so I’m going thirdhand here based on what I’ve heard from others) is that the lifecycle of the current console generation isn’t going to run out for quite a bit yet, so they can reuse a lot of the assets and whatnot from III.

3. A big deal was made about Dream Drop Distance coming out on the 10th anniversary of the franchise, and given 20 is a much wilder number for this series than most equivalents when it’s about a single cast of characters going through a single story, I can’t imagine they won’t want to push that as at least a similarly big deal.

4. Finally, when things don’t go as catastrophically off the rails as III did, these games seem to have a fairly consistent 3-4 year development span (even III, once they announced the beginning of development in 2013, would have come out 2017-early 2018 if not for switching from Luminous to Unreal Engine), and for the reasons I listed above I think this is going to be on the speedier end of that.

* Firstly: the main discussion I’m seeing at this point regarding IV is “it’s gonna be a Kingdom Hearts/The World Ends With You/pseudo-Final Fantasy Versus XIII crossover!”, and I really expect and hope that isn’t the case. Not that I’ll be pissed if it is, I’m sure it would still be rad, but it strikes me as both unlikely and the lesser outcome. I don’t know that I see the powers that be diverting resources in one of their biggest cash cows towards a sequel to one of their minor games - one that’s already been in Kingdom Hearts, meaning its inclusion here wouldn’t reasonably be a huge enough deal to base a lot of the full story on - and a way to reimagine another project. And for that matter it strikes me as conceptually small-scale given the setup. Nomura went with a name in Yozora that doesn’t just have the bent meaning of Sora’s name but actually literally sounds like him, went with a setting that aside from the one cameo sign mainly screams to viewers “Sora’s suddenly in the real world, holy cow”, and unless I entirely misread it Verum Rex was presented as a total self-roast in Toy Box. It doesn’t strike me as spot-the-reference (even though that’s 100% in there) nearly so much as establishing a tonal contrast to Kingdom Hearts.

I joked initially about this being a Flash of Two Worlds! (linking to a description for non-comics readers who are here because I tagged Kingdom Hearts)/’Kingdom Hearts goes to war with its own gritty fanfic’ setup, but...I actually suspect that’s pretty close to what’s going on here? This seems like a send up of Final Fantasy’s relative self-seriousness and over the top Super Cool characters, as a contrast to Sora’s goofy open-hearted sincerity and optimism. It’s the Secret Movie aesthetic that some want not just more prominent but as the actual main tone of the series morphed into an entire universe all its own, and Sora, out of place, has to find his way through and back home even as the real threat mounts, and probably has to save this world and get through to its heroes who aren’t likely prone to grinning through off-the-cuff monologues about the heart. That is not only entirely my kind of ridiculous meta jam, it feels like a logical next step for the series: if the first trilogy was in part about growing up, the next (and I suspect last, as the Master of Masters and his Foretellers have been set up as the primordial antagonists of the entire mythology and this is where they’re coming to the fore; my old theory of Eraqus being the big bad of an intermediary trilogy looks solidly shot to hell) could very well be about reaching adulthood, in which case it makes sense Sora would have to pass through a near literal fire of Adolescent/Adult Cynicism.

* Speaking of where Sora ends up: I kinda doubt he’s literally dead, or that if he is it’ll last past the opening of the game. They’ve already made a big theatrical production of Sora dying twice now, the second time in the most literal way possible and just a few hours prior to this, so while third time’s the charm I think there’ll be more to it than that. The again common thing I’ve been seeing is that he’ll have to play the Reaper game to win his life back (not something I’m much familiar with but I think I’ve got the basics), but again, while it’ll certainly be part of the game I don’t think TWEWY is going to be the big thing here (like they’d really make that a bigger deal than the Final Fantasy elements have been), and he just dealt with the afterlife and had to essentially play a game to win his soul back, and this wouldn’t even be a game he’s unfamiliar with. My impression is he’s incorporated back and whole - if likely powered down from the ordeal to justify him being back at level one - and the mystery is less whether or not he’s truly alive so much as how he ended up here and how to get back.

* On the other end of things - and I realize it’s a risky prospect to suggest after her getting a shockingly small role compared to everyone else in III was the damning weak aspect of its otherwise basically perfect finale - I think this is where Kairi is actually going to start to come to the forefront. She and Riku would be at the head of a search that everyone would be a part of (they were there when it happened, they know death is negotiable in their world, and they’re good people who all owe him), her especially since he’s her boyfriend - they may not declare it outright but there’s clearly no ambiguity between the two of them as to their situation anymore - and the one he sacrificed himself for, and she’s out there fighting now even if she’s inexperienced. And Riku seems like he’s going to end up lost himself on the search, leaving her behind as the sole Destiny Trio representative. So even if she isn’t a playable co-lead I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one going on a more traditional Kingdom Hearts adventure searching with the rest while Sora and later Riku deal with the genre mindfuck. On the bright side if nothing else, she’s died twice now too and they’ve both been presented as dead in a “maybe this time for real” way for a finale, so while again third time’s the charm, I figure she and Sora are relatively bulletproof from here on out.

* Speaking of Riku, while this seems more like an old-school proof of concept trailer from I and II rather than the more recent actual scenes, meaning his appearance might well change just as Kairi was different in I’s Secret Movie than she really was in II, it’s very notable that he hasn’t aged at all. So likely instead of another tragic I to II scale timeskip of Sora being lost from his friends, it looks like IV will be picking up immediately and the search for him won’t take long to succeed. Also speaking of Riku, I seem to see people thinking he’s with Namine now? Not that that seems impossible, but while the scene as a whole is romanticized in that it’s basically a princess being carried away by chariot to her happily-ever-after, it reads to me less as an actual romance than Riku fulfilling his ‘brother’s promise. Though if Square/Nomura does want to really get into romance with the next trilogy, since Sora/Kairi is locked down maybe they’ll just say fuck it and do a whole Riku/Namine/Xion/Roxas Love Square situation.

* Actual prediction rather than analysis of evidence: I suspect this is the last major time the Destiny Trio is going to be split up, at least in the searching-for-each-other, not-knowing-if-everyone’s-alive sense. I was the search for Kairi, II for Riku, and now IV for Sora - that cycle looks to be completing. Wouldn’t be surprised if V and/or the finale was finally the three of them as the adventuring party as fans have wanted for so long, with III as the grand finale to Sora/Donald/Goofy.

* It seems early to predict the main villain, but at the same time everyone was accurate in assuming a Keyblade-wielding Xehanort would be the final boss of the trilogy circa 2006, so I’m gonna go ahead and say Xigbar/Luxu is gonna be the end-all with IV. The Master of Masters is still the end of the road, and perfect for it because he’s a real-world normal savvy guy who can manipulate this world of straightforward classical adventurers with ease, while Sora at the opposite end of the scale is silly and sweet even by that world’s standard. But Luxu addresses the same ideas in a way that’d be perfect for this game in particular as it seems to be set up, he’d be the villainous connective tissue as this game moves from one trilogy to another, and he has the dangling personal thread of the ‘reward’ he suggested was coming for Sora. Or hell, since now it looks like she’s at least somewhat privy to what’s going on, maybe Maleficent will finally step back up.

EDIT: Ooh, just remembered, speaking of what Xigbar says to Sora, his Olympus conversation also predicts Sora’s fate? The whole “if you leap in to save somebody, you might just end up in the clutch needing to be saved yourself” lecture, i.e. the premise for IV. Maybe his teach isn’t the only one privy to future events?

* Not both, they’ll wanna space it out, but I’m like 70% sure this is where Marvel or Star Wars are gonna happen.

* Finally, while I’ve heard speculation that the Mystery Star is one of the Foretellers or the person who died in that Union X game, I don’t think she’s one of them given it’s a new voice actor and she cites a name Sora knows. More likely she’s ‘Subject X’ (I went ahead and looked up the Secret Reports, haven’t gone back and done all the bonus challenges myself yet and won’t I imagine for some time), who does seem to be from that time but is I think someone new.

[calliecat93]

RvB16 Episode 5 Review: Headshots

So far this season we’ve had time travel, alien Gods, pizza quests, and Tucker cockblocking himself twice at the same time. I’d say so far so good! The question now is what crazy shenanigans will our heroes get into next? Let's find out!

Overview

So last episode, Sarge wanted to try undoing the past again, but this time round up some recruits to ensure success. I wasn’t sure if it was going to go anywhere... but Joe proved me wrong! Simmons informs us through his log that they’re now in the near present (I guess at some former Red Base from the looks of it) and Sarge has rounded up three historical figures. Agent John, Agent George, and Agent Alex. In other words John Wayne, President George Washington (from how it sounds before the Revolutionary War ended), and a dying Alexander the Great. Well, that’s certainly a dream team I never would have thought up.

So what does Sarge plan to do now? Try Broken Ridge again? Nah, at least not for the moment. Instead, they’re going to go back to Season 15 and kill Temple back when they first met the Blues and Reds. Why? Well, Sarge wants to undo Temple convincing him to turn on the others because he still feels guilty about it, though he tries to not admit that it was him even though Simmons already knows. Of course, only George has any combat experience since John is an actor with a tough guy persona and Alex is... well, dying. But they’re gonna go for it anyways. So off to Season 15 they go!

Well... Simmons has one major concern first. Remember back in Episode 2 when Donut said that the portals could only fit two grown men at a time? Well, Simmons is concerned about what will happen with five people going in at once. But when does Sarge play the safe way? So they all go through and things seem okay with them having arrived at the initial meeting of the two teams... except Simmons points out that they were supposed to get there before their past selves showed up. Naturally, Simmons isn’t keen on the idea of his past self getting killed since he’d cease to exist and wants to back out. Sarge, however, decides to press on ‘cause... it’s Sarge, do I need to make an explanation as to why?

So George creates a plan that Sarge likes and ignores Simmons’ protests about accidentally killing their past selves, deciding that the risk is worth it. John proposes a simpler plan of causing a distraction, then getting in close and shooting Temple and therefore getting rid of that risk. They go for it by sending Alex out, which lets Sarge reach Temple and shoot him at point blank. Everyone panics as Sarge does his victory dance (aka, BEST PART OF THE EPISODE) and... Jax cuts the scene... yep, you heard me right. Jax calls cut. So remember during the S15 credits when Jax proposed the entire events as a feature film? Well... looks like Joe found a use for it. So yeah... Sarge killed an actor while Temple is still sitting in a jail cell with his fish. WELP.

Jax is pissed cause... you know, his scene got messed up, but cheers up upon recognizing Sarge and Simmons. So I imagine that those reading this who haven't seen the episode (which... why are you reading this and spoiling yourself? If you are a FIRST Member, GO WATCH IT NOW!) are probably very confused. Weren’t the Reds supposed to go back in time? Not forward? Well, we’ll come back to that later. For now, Sarge is upset that he didn’t get asked to be in the movie because as we learned in that Reservoir Dogs episode in S14, Sarge always wanted to be in a film. Jax explains that he DID try to reach out to them... but no one could find them for a year now. So yeah, they are one year in the future.

Anyways, Jax gives a tour of the set with everyone wearing armor because Halo/Jax forces them. Jax is also pretty much now the angry director which absolutely makes sense... though I wonder if Joe (who is Jax’s VA) did this so that he could vent his potential frustrations about directing the show XD Hey, we all get stressed and need to let it out. Jax is also pretty much trying to turn RvB into this universe’s version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe... that explains all the Norse God references... that we haven’t had in a while. When Jax leaves to deal with a problem, Simmons figures that they got sent forward in time due to the portal being unable to handle more than two men. He also hints that they spent a year gathering the recruits, so they are in the present... yes I know that is confusing as Hell, but it’s time travel. We were going to get confused at some point. Also... I guess that means Wash should be okay by now and I imagine that he and Carolina are NOT taking the guys being missing this long well. Hopefully, we see that soon... please?

But anyways, the Temple actor is dead... but he got caught in a scandal so if anything Jax gets free press. Sarge tries to get Jax to hire him... but Jax isn’t sure and then gets called away to deal with wardrobe. So Sarge gets Agent John to help him stage a scene in order to convince Jax to hire him. Yeah, do that against one of the most well known Old West actors. Simmons finds this stupid, but he can’t stop it. Sarge goes for it... and sucks. Like... REALLY sucks. Jax casts John cause... you know, famous professional actor and all. Sorry Sarge, stick to shotguns instead of headshots. Jax’s movie goes forward. This gets Simmons to throw in the towel regarding science and Sarge feels betrayed by one of his old heroes. So yeah, pretty much everyone has either given up on the mission or, in Caboose's case, has interpreted the mission wrong. So everything is officially off the rails now my friends... or is it? 

After what’s felt like forever, we FINALLY cut back to the Cosmic Gods. We finally get to see the head God we only got a glimpse of in Episode 1... and he is HUGE. Kalirama and a bunch of other Gods are there too as well as the golfing guy whose color scheme seems to spell out that he’s going to be the Loki. The designs of these guys are great by the way, all of them having either an orange or green color scheme and armors that give them a distinctly alien feel to them. There’s also this weird echo sound effect added to the voices that make them sound other-worldly. It’s just really well done.

So as we established before, the pizza quest has invoked a prophecy that spells out the end of the universe. Golfing Guy seems excited about it, but the Head God who we learn is named King Atlus Arcadius Rex, isn’t having any of the bullshit. We learn that it’s been eons since the Cosmic Gods interfered with human affairs and there is a reference to the three Fates of Greek mythology, but none of them have spoken for a long while. This is concerning to Atlus, who fears that the Reds and Blues have been having help from within which is causing this. Golfing Guy admits it was him, but really he’s just being an asshole and it’s hinted that he may be the Trickster God that Kalirama mentioned in her debut. 

Atlus shuts everyone up, saying that the Reds and Blues antics are weakening the chains that bind him, aka who I am assuming is the true antagonist. We’ll get more into that in the review section. For now, Atlus swears that one the Reds and Blues appear again, he’ll have Muggins find them and then he shall kill them personally. Kalirama says that they can't cause they’re under his protection (whether she’s referring to Donut or someone else IDK), but this doesn't deter Atlus who makes it very clear that no matter what, his will shall be carried out.

Review

That got a lot longer than I had intended. So I wasn’t sure how to feel about the episode on my first watch... but TBF I’m about that with anything I watch. The second watch through though was a LOT more enjoyable, especially for review purposes. I honestly did not know what to talk about aside from the ending at first, but man I have so much to say about Sarge and Simmons now.

So let's do Simmons first. It’s been interesting seeing him stuck with Sarge this season. Because so far, while he has been going along with Sarge’s plans, he’s clearly not happy with it. He’s been either confused or just plain annoyed at Sarge’s antics and train of logic. Words cannot express how happy I am to see Simmons like this. Like yeah, he’s still going along with it, but compare this to Simmons in Blood Gulch. Regardless of how nonsensical Sarge was, he went with it without any question. He was a suck-up who would do ANYTHING for Sarge's approval. But as we saw with Chorus and Season 15, he’s become a lot more independent. Heck, the only reason he seems to be going with Sarge’s plan is for scientific purposes and because... well it’s either that or be stranded in the past. Plus at least it was an attempt at fixing the past, so they were trying to follow the mission. I’m kind of disappointed that Simmons didn’t finally blow up at him cause, but I guess that can come later now that he’s tossed science out the window, Still, I am so happy to see how far he’s come.

Sarge... it’s interesting really. First, it’s good to see that he still feels guilty for his actions last season, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. Him also feeling bad about killing an actor, even if he won’t admit it was him, is also good. Like it looks like Joe is hitting on that flaw specifically: Sarge’s inability to admit fault. Even last season, when Sarge did admit that he was wrong, he still couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t do it again. It was still a big step, but it shows that Sarge still has a lot of problems. Add that to the last PSA and.. yeah when you really think about it, Sarge has issues. A LOT of issues. It feels like he fucked up so many times that the only way that he can deal with it is to ignore that it was his own fault if he can't just blame something else. Him wanting to kill Temple to undo what he did makes sense and really illustrates how much it really weighs on him. IDK if this is to get Sarge past this or just Sarge being Sarge, but still, it’s incredibly noticeable in this episode.

Heck going off that, it really feels like Joe is putting a lot of emphasis on the Reds having issues. Donut is pretty much God, Grif’s got his vendetta against adventure and trying to ignore it, Sarge has his inability to admit guilt despite how much he feels, and Simmons... actually he’s probably the most stable ATM since he’s mostly grown out of his kissass phase. The Blues have had it more light-hearted in comparison and... I AM SO HAPPY! RED TEAM FOCUS HELL YES! I love the Blues, but they’ve had PLENTY of focus and same with Wash and Carolina. They’ve had their issues focused on and have had character development for years now. Last season felt like it was closing the book on it to make room for Red Team Problem. I think it’s pretty universally agreed that the Reds have gotten the shaft pretty hard since... well, pretty much the beginning. They’ve had some good moments and have had some character development (Simmons’ growing independence, Sarge coming to terms with the Reds and Blues war being a lie, Grif realizing that he doesn’t want to be alone) but it feels like there’s a larger push to give them more development this time over the Blues. This makes me SO happy you have no idea. Thank you Joe!

Alright, so Sarge’s recruits! They are exactly what I would expect from him. He mentioned John Wayne in Episode 2, and of course he would be a fan of him. A tough southern film star? I imagine that Sarge has a copy of every John Wayne movie ever, even the horrible Genghis Khan one. George Washington is a well-renowned war hero and probably one of the first American heroes, so that makes sense. And Alexander the Great was known for being a great militant and conquer, so that also makes sense.... too bad they pulled him while he was dying. So two well-known militants and essentially Sarge’s childhood hero. Yeah, all of these choices fit perfectly for Sarge. I approve! I mean history got flushed down the toilet, but eh, I’m sure they’ll work it out.

So with this episode, it looks like everyone has given up on Donut’s message. Grif never cared to begin with and is still on the pizza quest with Doc unable to convince him otherwise. Caboose interpreted it wrong and Lopez can’t do anything about it. Tucker and Sister are likely banging the Game of Thrones cast by now. And with this, Sarge and Simmons are fed up and call bullshit to science. So... I have zero idea what’s going to happen now. Personally, I hope we cut to Wash and Carolina to give the Reds and Blues a break, plus if it’s been a year now then I imagine that they’re turning every planet in the universe over trying to find them. Oh and sidenote, Jax was great in this episode. I know that some found him annoying and yeah the film references could be a little too much, but making him a frustrated film director who flip-flops between being cheery and pissed off at everything works SO WELL. But anyways, IDK if Sarge and Simmons are going to stick around in the present or send everyone back to their respective time periods, we’ll see. Hopefully, the next episode progresses the plot in some way.

Alright, I’ve held on long enough. Let's talk about the ending. Holy shit, the ending. So it looks like we have a hodgepodge of various mythologies. Kalirama is based off Hindu myth, Golfing Guy seems based off Loki who is Norse and known as a trickster, Huggins and Muggins we’ve already established as being based off Odin’s ravens so Norse also, and Atlas seems based off all the king-esque Gods like Zeus (Greek), Jupiter (Roman), Odin (Norse), etc. IDK who everyone else may be based on since we didn't have enough time with them. I already talked about the designs, color scheme, and audio so not much else to say there, other than to again say I love it. And that I also want a cast list because I NEED to know who all these voice actors are.

So based off of Atlas’ words, here is my thought. IDT these guys are evil. They’re clearly the antagonists because they’re going to try to kill the Reds and Blues, but they are at most morally gray. I think that whoever it is they’re trying to keep sealed away somehow managed to save Donut and convinced him that he was God and the others were evil. Who he is could be based on anyone like Hades, Satan, pretty much any kind of evil God or God of Death that exists. But clearly, they tricked Donut to send the Reds and Blues across time so that it can weaken whatever is keeping him imprisoned and allow him to free himself. I have zero idea how that works, but we’ll learn soon enough. So... kind of annoying that the Reds and Blues are being tricked AGAIN, but TBF the circumstances are WAAAY different from when it was Felix and Temple. Very least they’re going off Donut (who also isn’t with them... also WTF happened to him since Kalirama is clearly fine?!) instead of the manipulator being right under their noses.

Final Thoughts

It was good! It’s pretty much a filler episode aside from the last few minutes, but enjoyable filler. I feel like Joe is both trying to establish how the guns/the portals work as well as to just get the silly time travel antics out of the way before going forward with the plot. The ending seems to hint that the plot is going to hit soon. As I said, we'll hopefully see the Freelancers next since it’s been four episodes now and it’ll give the Reds and Blues a breather. Regardless, it was a fun episode and I really enjoyed it. Plus Sarge’s victory dance. That in itself made this episode perfection.

[seenashwrite]

The Nail: August 2017

The Nail isn’t about perfection. It isn’t about award-level contenders. It’s about seeing focus and effort and hard work radiate off of the screen.

And The Nail’s purpose isn’t to highlight genres of fics or specific ships or pieces written during a certain time frame - the sole focus is quality.

Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Solid world-building. Tension through boundaries. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

And though yours truly - nice to meet you, new folks, I’m Nash! - is editor of the list, the goal is for YOU to curate the content.

Read more about how all this came to be, find past editions, see what factors are considered when constructing the list, and how to get your recommendations in/be a curator HERE.

Hey, ramblers? Let’s get ramblin’.

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

Quickie Nash Note:

As this project evolves, I'm still determining the best way to present it for easiest reader use.

And so, faithful followers of The Nail, you'll notice a touch of a categorization change-up. The lengths are still the m.o. vs. type ["angst", "fluff", etc.], but are now listed in order of word count, low to high. The rest of the categories remain the same, plus a new one that may or may not appear on every edition [you'll see why!].

I've also put a new page on my blog, mainly for authors, with explanation for things they may question regarding this format - things I’ve mentioned prior, but it takes up too much space. Some of the current FAQs are....

- Why did someone make up a summary/why didn't you use my summary? - Why did someone make up a title for my story/poem? - What are those Q comments? - Is Nash actually reading all of this?

One last thing: The Nail is meant to go out the first full week of each month, and was mostly ready this weekend, however I just wasn't in a jovial, woo-hoo mood, I made a brief post why, I've no doubt each and every one of you understand, but you have my apologies nonetheless as poor time allocation on my part meant this wasn't out at some point during the past week.

XO - Nash.

* ~ * ALL FROM THE WORLD OF "SUPERNATURAL” UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED * ~ *

- SUPERNATURAL SUPERSTARS - Organized by length.

THE BOY KING'S DEMONS  -   @rex-daemoniorum / @vengeuse WORD COUNT - 279

Sam understands that there are exceptions to even his own rules. 

Q: Nice detail, pertinents given painted the picture effectively/no belaboring; through-line present of Sam's ability to relate without spelling it out/written for intelligent readers; complexity of situation related in short amount of space

[Nash Note: Additional shout-out to @azazelsocks, who provided a high-quality prompt, as - if your humble editor may be blunt - most fic prompts are beyond lame. Well done, 'Socks.]

--> I cannot tag these folks, if someone could kindly let them know or give it a go in your reblog

CIRCUMSTANCES -  @jessmoorechesters WORD COUNT - 347 words As years pass, the Moores have often found their thoughts turning to Sam.

Q: While perhaps started as headcanon, reads third-person omniscient; emotional, rambling, almost panicked cadence/style/lack of caps/punctuation absolutely works for this subject matter; nice full-stop short sentence toward end; inclusion of poignant details/no unneeded detail

[Nash Note: I already had this on the list, had a couple informal suggestions to check it out, spotted it more than once in my feed - overall, this resonated with many of you, and rightfully so.]

DESIGNATED DUTIES  -  @fanforfanatic  WORD COUNT - 412

A tale about the seemingly ordinary things we do for one another.

Q: Moves at a crisp clip; heartfelt without bending sappy; several great lines/points of humor, prevents getting too heavy given the short length/action in question; nice cap-off/prompts reader to use imagination while not ending on a proverbial cliffhanger

HELLO, DARLING  -  @whispersandwhiskerburn  WORD COUNT - 789

Crowley and Billie have a little chat.

Q: Excellent use of vocab in descriptions; quick, crisp dialogue; spot-on characterization; kept story moving/pacing well done; didn't waste time on explaining things/rehashing things readers already know from watching the show/written for clever readers

SHAPE OF YOU  -  @winchester-family-business WORD COUNT - 1K [minus song lyrics]

In which Dean walks into a bar, has a drink, meets a woman, and whether it's for now or forever, it's definitely meaningful.

Q: A get-in-and-get-out in the opener, setting the scene with just enough information and moving on to the actual story/no wasting time with a long set-up; excellent use of a "gimmick", re: initial communication; nicely fleshed-out protag who has her own thing going on, which he respects, which is in line with the character we know; took a commonly used set-up and took it to a thoughtful but not belabored/shmoopy place

GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE KING  -  @moonlightcas WORD COUNT - 1.6K

At the age of six, Sam is visited by Lucifer.

Q: in medias res; excellent pacing; perfectly plausible in canon; slightly chilling and pressing and foreboding without being suffocating; timing of the name reveal is Absolutely. Spot. On.

ONE, TWO, THREE  -  @kathaswings  WORD COUNT - 3.4K

A trip to a bookstore turns out to be more than you - or Sam - could have imagined.

Q:  in medias res; structure that would please any screenwriter; meet-cute without being immature/shmoopy/saccharine, specifically - protag didn't turn into a pile of weepies or gigglies/displayed strength; nice choice to include action; solid ending/author knew when to step away from the keyboard

[Nash Note: author's inspiration is revealed post-story, however they kept a light hand/did not merely re-hash source material bit-by-bit & just throw SPN atop it, instead made it their own - points and gold stars for this, always]

SUNDOWN, SUNDOWN  -  @thayerkerbasy  WORD COUNT - 6.2K 

"Crowley was done. After hundreds of years and one last sacrifice, he was done. Except, somehow, he wasn't."

Q: in medias res; spot-on characterization; tackled character departure in unique manner that could have easily gone shmoopy/author demonstrated restraint in walking the emotional line/kept that slightly off-kilter tone; moved at quick clip/efficient structure/fluid; touched on things/events seen in show but did not belabor/used as tool vs. crutch; phenomenal end dialogue/last line

- POEMS & POETICAL PROSE - Mostly quick reads, these are actual poems of any structure & short [< 2K] stories that have a poetic feel to the narrative with appropriate use of poetic verbiage given the subject matter and / or setting; pieces in the less-than-300 words neighborhood are considered quality in their entirety, therefore no "Q" notations; organized by length.

SECOND FALLING  -  @vintagesam  WORD COUNT - 135

"Despite the silence in the church, the earth is deafening."

INTOXICATION  -  @copbydayfangirlbynight  WORD COUNT - 199

"Out of nowhere, these two guys you’ve never seen show up and slip onto the bar stools next to you."

THE LEGEND  -  @quailpower  WORD COUNT - approx. 300 words

Exploring the costs of immortality, and what one angel chooses to do with his time.

JULIET  -  @roxy-davenport  WORD COUNT - 1.7K [minus song lyrics]

A night in the life of Crowley's beloved hellhound.

Q:  HERE [Nash Note: Short version? Knowing when it is appropriate to inject "flowery" verbiage into a narrative. Hint: fits the time period and/or character, is kept crisp, to-the-point, and used sparingly, regardless]  

- MULTI-PARTERS - Stories with a minimum of 2 parts, max of 3-to-4, with modestly sized [1-to-2K] chapters; completed as of this list; organized alphabetically by title. 

None this time! [but I’ve got a couple bookmarked whose wrap-ups appear to be en route]

- SERIES SPOTLIGHT : SUPERNATURAL & SPN CROSS-OVERS - Works that are completed series, as well as ongoing / in progress series, with at least 3 parts published as of/prior to the edition of The Nail in question; unfinished series must have been updated within roughly 6 months of this post;  these are lengthier than multi-parters, getting into a 5K+ range per chapter; organized alphabetically by title.

MISE EN PLACE  -  @sp-oops  

A look inside the ways you  - and the rest of the family - help Dean deal with the effects of the Mark of Cain.

Q: in medias res; quick, crisp dialogue & pace; no heavy-handed/laborious descriptors of setting/emotions, whether internal or verbal; nice character development/casual, easy feel to character interactions; sex fit into plot organically/didn't feel forced; plausible reactions by Dean/Sam/protag regarding the complexities of the residual impacts of the mark; witty humor throughout; nice cap-off/author knew when to step away from the keyboard  

Curated by @smi727 , who said: "Stumbled upon this little beauty of a series recently. I was seriously blown away by the plot, the writing, the reader’s personality, everything! Please Nash, share this wonderful writer with the world!"

- RANDOM FANDOMS -   All types, all lengths, all the things that aren’t SPN but are still pretty damn super; organized alphabetically by title.

AGENT 15  [series in progress]  -  @bellamysgirl

[MARVEL - AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.]

"Agent 15 was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents - that all changed when a mission went terribly wrong... but Coulson found a way to drag her back."

Q: in medias res; moves at a quick clip/no time wasted on extraneous detail; well-done characterization of both known/O.C.; reads as if watching episodes/movie; nice format/use of time flip vs. heavy exposition telling another character about those events; keeps intensity while splashing in moments of camaraderie

VERY MUCH FAEBLOODED [drabble]  -  @mickeyrowan

[POTTERVERSE]

"She knows she’s different. She’s always been different... No place lets her forget this."

Q: Introspective without taking the reader on a deep, angst-filled dive; even-handed character portrayal; tone consistent; nice choice of event highlighting vs. a traditional narrative; well done on complementary kick-off/wrap-up

WHO YOU ARE [one-shot]  -  @blackcaptainrogers

[MARVEL - AVENGERS]

Bucky knows showing love takes on a variety of forms.

Q:  HERE

[Nash Note: Short version? Your audience consists of such variety, it’ll take your breath away. And, well...]

On that piece of white paper, Sam wrote, "Write about me sometime." And I typed something back to her, standing right there in her bedroom. I just typed, "I will.”  ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower  

- ORIGINAL WORKS - Anything from haiku to novella; pieces in the less-than-300 words neighborhood are considered quality in their entirety, therefore no "Q" notations; organized by length.

IT IS SO TIRING TO BE DIVINE  -  @mythaelogy WORD COUNT - 52

"The architecture of your bones was built by conquerors."

MYSTERY GIRL  -  @inkskinned WORD COUNT - 111

"[A] girl who convinces you of magic, who flickers just a little on the edge of reality..."

I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE STARS IN A MONTH  - @poemsforpersephone  WORD COUNT - 125

"It’s an easy thing, to open a window, to step outside."

A TRADITION  -   @wakor-rising / @wakor  &  @sonatagreen   WORD COUNT - 189

"In peacetime, the ruler grows their hair long. In war, they cut it short."

--> I cannot tag these folks, if someone could kindly let them know or give it a go in your reblog

NEW YORK CITY TO RICHMOND  -  @haleyincarnate  WORD COUNT - 269

"I wonder if he knows that I can see the trying part of him..."

THE HOUSE OF GRUMLY  -  @erinnightwalker  WORD COUNT - 553

"Everyone knew that the Widow Grumly’s granddaughter was a werewolf."

Q: Sharp start with a phenomenal choice of an opening sentence; took a "historical fact", ran with it, and created a captivating world / plot in an incredibly short span of time; formatting, flow, verbiage crisp; nice & layered/written with a clever audience in mind

THE ADVENTURES OF ROXY AND JUJU   - @wheresthekillswitch  WORD COUNT - 2.4K  [part one/series in progress]

"JuJu finally relents and hands over the car keys to Roxy. It couldn’t possibly go more wrong than it did the last time Roxy drove…. right?"

Q: in medias res; crisp dialogue; absolutely engaging, witty characters developed in a short amount of space; vivid descriptors without being heavy-handed; leans into a vignette [character study] feel vs. hashing out a distinct plot; nice intro/kick-off for a series, though if author opts not to proceed, works just fine as stand-a-lone...

[...which is why I broke my own damn series criteria rule, so sue me. -N.]

- STUFF SO CREATIVE & UNIQUE, IT JUST CAN'T BE CATEGORIZED - What it says, organized alphabetically by title.

ENTRIES  - @cardinaleyes

An inside look into the journals of Team Free Will:

DEAN

SAM

CASTIEL

Q: an ongoing pseudo-series with a creative concept; keeps distinct style for each; bonus points regarding convenience for the reader by having a "home" for each character vs. all together in one blog

JEOPARDY

In which Team Free Will plays a game.

It began with a piece of fanart by @lastlabyrinth  ....

....which got some dialogue by @phantomrose96  ....

.... which got a follow-up by @casonly, and a nice wrap-up from  @guntheramvs 

Q: Written with sharp, quick-witted audience in mind; spit-take worthy humor; great characterization, spot-on in fact regarding our host for the evening; crisp, fun dialogue; excellent collaboration by all involved

[h/t  @waywardafbabygirl ]

JOURNAL OF A MAN OF LETTERS  -  @petite-madame

From the creator: "[This is] a diary in first-person narrative written from Sam's point of view. Once a week, I post an art and a ficlet inspired by an episode or a scene. I'm following the show timeline as close as I can but I'm taking liberty with canon here and there."

Q: Extraordinary, above-and-beyond, clearly evident care, devotion, countless hours put into this project, and it has paid off many times over - there is some of the most beautiful art you'll ever see, there are stories [have a sample] that will hit you right in the feels, there are moments ranging from light-hearted to introspection, and you even have an option of platform - go HERE for the LiveJournal headquarters. Phenomenal, top-to-bottom. I am not over-selling this.

TWO AGENTS MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD - @bohoartist & @piecesofscully

[THE X-FILES]

Two agents are missing - follow the twists and turns as clues are examined, leads are followed, and information is exchanged.

Q: The planning and execution throughout was nothing short of excellent; written/developed with smart audience in mind; methodology of storytelling unique and, more importantly, appropriate for how the authors chose to unfold the plot; format/use of images was spot-on; clear through-line and tone; mystery that was engaging, teasing but not frustrating  

[h/t @itssteaksauce ]

*~* Shameless Self-Promotion *~*

Happy Reading!  XO - Nash.

* Authors, I encourage you to express your appreciation to your curator(s). Readers, if you enjoy curator selections & found them to be of quality, I encourage you to not only give the authors feedback, but also thank the curator(s) for bringing the story/series to your attention. I suspect they’ll dig it. *

[andawaywego]

knowledge is (dinosaur) power

by andawaywego

[or: Trini finds out her Zord is more of an extension of her than she thought. The hard way.]

Read it here

..

Trini doesn’t think anything of it that first time, because it doesn’t really seem like there’s anything to think of. 

It’s only been a month since the whole thing with Rita ended and everyone has spent the weeks on edge–constantly wondering when she would show back up–because nothing ends that simply.

Billy equates it to the dozen or so superhero movies he knows verbatim. “There’s always a third act!” he tells them. Trini isn’t sure that’s what a third act is, but she doesn’t know enough about superhero movies to dispute it.

She saw Spiderman 3, but the one time she’d brought it up, Billy had looked so scandalized that she’d promptly filed anything remotely regarding Toby Maguire in the Don’t Mention column of their conversations.

Along with him dying, of course, and algebra because she hates talking about it. And Jason, too, because Billy could go on and on and Trini honestly thinks it’s sort of sweet, but she usually doesn’t have much time for that sort of thing.

Besides, there’s not much for her to add to the conversation other than, “Yeah, his eyes are really blue,” because she doesn’t see him like that. Never will, either, and she thinks the guys probably understand that even if she hadn’t directly come out and said it at their little bonding bonfire a month ago.

It’s afternoon and they’re tired and sore from two hours of being passed around between putty simulations like a handful of abused hacky-sacks. Trini pretty much wants to go home and sleep, but Zack always has other ideas.

So does Jason, it seems, who thinks it’s a good idea for them to “spend some time” in their Zords, like they hadn’t done plenty of that during their actual battle with Goldar.

“We haven’t been in them since then,” Jason tries to argue and Trini looks to Kim for help, for someone else to back her up, but Kim is too busy inspecting a big bruise on her ribcage and then Trini forgets why she even looked over in the first place.

Because Kim’s shirt is ridden high up on her abdomen and all Trini can see is tan skin, shimmering slightly in the low light from sweat and it’s super perverted that her mouth waters, but it’s not like she can stop automatic body functions.

She looks away.

“Aw, hell yeah!” Zack exclaims and then he’s off and heading towards where their Zords are hidden so quickly that the rest of them can do nothing but follow.

Alpha-5 is beeping out something about needing to bond with the Zords and Kim snorts from next to Trini as they walk.

“What’s funny?” Trini asks, lips already quirked up in anticipated amusement.

Kim grins at her and then shrugs, looking away. “Nothing, just…That’s what she said.”

It doesn’t necessarily even fit what Alpha had just been saying and that joke is super old, but laughter is bubbling up in Trini’s throat before she has the presence of mind to stop it.

“What’s so funny, lovebirds?” Zack calls back and Jason laughs, too. Billy gives them a sympathetic look.

Trini flips him off.

Her Zord looks pretty much how she remembers it–yellow and sleek with bright, dusted metal shimmering a little as she steps closer. Her nightmares where she’s trapped inside of it, surrounded by putties, listening to the others gasp out for help around her, had gotten the face wrong, though–made the teeth shorter somehow or the legs longer.

There’s one problem though: it’s practically laying on top of Kim’s Zord.

“That’s not where I put it,” Trini mumbles, more to herself than to anyone else, Kim hears her and looks over.

“I was gonna ask about that.”

“Yeah, what the hell? Practicing some smashing moves without us?” Zack jokes, but it almost seems too serious because that’s what it certainly looks like.

Or, rather–

Jason coughs into his fist and looks away and Trini’s ears turn bright red in embarrassment.

“Do these things move by themselves?” Trini asks Alpha, because he’s looking at with those big, orange bulbs he calls eyes.

“They’ve been known to possess a spirit of their own,” he says, but it almost sounds like he’s not telling them something. “They’re an extension of each of you.”

It’s most non-answer answer he could have ever given them.

A moment later, Zack is too preoccupied petting his Mastodon on the nose and cooing at it like it’s alive to say anything else smart.

Kim is smiling, the confusion from before forgotten and Trini puts it to the back of her mind.

It’s a fluke or something. Alpha practically just told them their Zords can move on their own. Maybe hers needed to stretch its legs or something equally ridiculous.

It’s possible, right? .

Except she moves it right then, backs it off of Kim’s Zord so carefully that it ends up taking her about 15 minutes just to do it right.

Two days later, it’s back again, only impossibly closer. Zack makes a dry-humping joke that leaves Trini’s mouth dry and makes Kim avert her gaze.

She makes sure to punch him extra hard when she’s paired up with him for sparring a little later.

“But they can definitely move on their own, right, Alpha?” Kim calls while Zack and Trini duke it out.

Trini tries not to let the soft sound of her voice distract her like it usually does. She’s trying this brand-new thing where she tries to remain unaffected around everyone, even Kim. Usually, she’s successful at the “everyone” part, but Kim being added in makes things tricky.

“It’s possible, Kimberly,” Alpha calls back.

Trini doesn’t want to wonder what that means and even Jason looks a little perturbed by the whole thing. His frown is deeper, more worrying than usual.

“I mean, unless Trini is just sneaking in here in the middle of the night to have her Zord put mine in a headlock.”

It’s meant to be a joke, no doubt, but the surprise of the whole thing ends up getting Trini kneed in the stomach.

She drops to the ground while Zack splutters apologies and tries to edge around touching her–moving his hands frantically five inches away from her because she can’t give him permission until she gets her breath back.

Kim comes barreling in a moment later, tugging Trini into a seated position and saying, “Are you okay?” and then shoving Zack out of the way so hard that he loses his balance and falls over onto the ground.

Her hands are warm on Trini’s cheeks as she says, “Hey, you’re fine. Just breathe.”

The feeling of her thumb brushing against Trini’s chin, though, does nothing to help her catch her breath. “I’m fine,” she wheezes out, a moment or two later.

Kim rocks back on her haunches, knees brushing into the dirt, and she looks relieved. “Told you so,” she jokes and Trini sticks her tongue out at her, clutching her stomach.

Jason and Billy are standing over them, with twin looks of worry aimed down at her. Billy pats her on the head, his fingers combing mildly through her hair and she reaches up to pat his hand.

“Let’s not kill each other,” he says, aiming the comment directly at Zack who nods and starts apologizing again.

Jason calls it a day a minute or two later and on their way back through the ship, Zack nudges Trini lightly in the arm until she looks at him.

“What?” she spits, only half-kidding. “Gonna hit me again?”

He frowns guiltily and then shakes his head. “No. I was just gonna suggest that maybe you’re not the only one with a crush on Kim. Or…an extension of Kim.”

She doesn’t get what he means until they’re through the water and back up the cliff, as she watches Kim grin and push her wet hair away from her face.

.

It doesn’t really get bad, though, until Jason suggests that they actually practice with their Zords a week or so later.

Trini’s been doing a pretty good job of shrugging it off until that point and everything returned to normal for the most part. Kim hasn’t brought it up either–how weird it is that it’s happened twice–and she’s had ample opportunity.

It would have been so easy to say, “So, what do you think is going on with our Zords?” when she’d come over to study for their Biology quiz a few days before. They’d been alone and the words might have come more readily without the boys there, staring at them, always.

Or when they went to Jamba Juice together after school and had talked about just about everything except for the Zord thing. Trin had actually almost brought it up, if only to jokingly apologize for her Zord’s erratic behavior, but the afternoon sun had been hitting the side of Kim’s face through the window and her hand had been resting placidly on the table between them, fingertips brushing against Trini’s wrist, and it hadn’t felt like the right time.

But now she’s sitting in her Zord–which had been conveniently parked on top of Kim’s once again–climbing out of a freakin’ mountain so that she can practice “tactical” at one in the morning.

Jason figured the cover of darkness was as good a time as any to do this and now he’s clambering around the mountain in his Tyrannosaurus-Rex like the boss-man he is.

“Okay, guys,” he starts over the intercom and Trini fights off a yawn, listens to Kim sigh into the mic in this breathy way that makes her chest ache. “Let’s start with some basic maneuverability.”

His idea of maneuverability is pretty much the same as the DMV’s, just without the safety cones.

Billy goes first, dodging trees carefully while Jason calls out hypotheticals–”A group of putties to your right!”–and times it with the stopwatch on his phone.

Zack is second and he’s not nearly as delicate as Billy is. Even ends up upending a couple of trees almost sliding all the way down the mountain. Jason berates him for a little while and Kim is asking what he plans for her to do, because clearly maneuvering her Zord is a lot different for her than it is for everyone else.

Trini looks up at her through the darkness, where her Pterodactyl is hovering a couple hundred feet to her right. Kim catches her eye through the glass and she smiles, gives a little wave, as Jason says, “I haven’t decided yet, Kim. You’ll go last.”

Which means Trini is up next. And she’s tired, of course. Barely keeping her eyes open. All she can think about is her warm bed, waiting for her at home, but she’s not tired enough for what happens to be her fault.

It starts out okay and she doesn’t knock anything over like Zack and then the controls just sort of lock up. Like, her entire steering thing freezes and maybe that should mean she stops moving entirely, but that’s not what happens. What happens, instead, is her Zord lurching forward like a car in manual, right on the cusp of stalling out.

“You okay?” Jason asks, his voice loud in her ears, and she doesn’t know what to say.

Other than, “Holy shi–!” as her Zord jumps straight in the air. Her stomach lurches up into her throat and she’s expecting instant death or going out in a blaze of fire right there on the mountain.

Instead, what she gets is a panicked and shocked scream from Kim as her Zord is pulled out of the sky by Trini’s, pounced on and pushed to the ground.

The boys yell out for her to stop, but Trini is speechless and doesn’t know how to explain that she can’t.

For one brief, terrifying moment, Trini is positive that her Zord has gone completely crazy and is about to rip Kim apart for reasons beyond her control, but–

“Um…Trin…What the hell are you doing?”

It’s Zack’s voice that breaks the tension of the moment and that’s when Trini realizes that the head of her Zord is gently bumping into the head of Kim’s, metal grinding against metal in a sort of quiet slide.

Maybe it’s the fact that her Zord looks like a cat that makes her realize, but Billy must have reached the same conclusion either way.

“Are you…nuzzling her?”

“I’m not doing anything!” Trini protests. Because she’s not.

“I’m pretty sure you are,” Kim cuts in and Trini can just see her down below, her eyes turned up in confusion and glinting a little in vague amusement. Perhaps relief that she isn’t dead and that she hadn’t been that far up in the air anyway.

“No, I’m not!” Trini says. “I’m…It, like, froze up and I…I’m not doing this. My Zord has completely lost it!”

It’s embarrassing, to say the least. Trini is fairly positive that she’d be completely happy if the ground opened up beneath her and swallowed her whole, if only so she wouldn’t have to deal with the way Zack is laughing on the intercom.

And then her seat starts vibrating, humming, loudly.

“Holy crap, Trini, are you purring?”

Trini doesn’t even have it in her to protest that part, even though she’s not.

She’s fairly certain that, whatever this is–dire or not–she’s never going to live it down.

.

She bounces entirely after that, too embarrassed to look at the others. Kim especially.

Jason tries to stop her, tries to say that she should ask Zordon about this or something, but Trini can’t even meet his eyes. She can’t imagine trying to make eye contact with their resident wall-face as she explains that her Zord tackled Kim’s out of the air and tried to snuggle it.

At home, she buries her face in her pillow and tries to sleep.

It doesn’t work.

.

Kim smiles at her like nothing has changed the next morning in detention and everyone seems to know better than to bring up what happened the night before.

Jason sends a note around an hour in that says they should skip training for the day. Trini is relieved, until Kim sends another note right at Trini’s head. It clips her ear and falls to her desk and when she shoots a glare Kim’s way, Kim is already mouthing, Sorry.

Wanna come over when we’re done? the note reads. Chopped Jr. is on hulu.

She wants to say no, because the memory of what happened last night is still playing over and over in her head. Did her Zord really purr? The thought alone seems crazy.

But Kim is sitting just a couple of desks up and to the right and Trini can see that she’s trying to act nonchalant, but she’s fiddling nervously with her pen while she waits for a response.

Trini scrawls down a response quickly–you’re paying for pizza, it says–and chucks it back at Kim’s desk.

The smile she gets in return is blinding.

.

would u call what u did last night yiffing? Zack texts her a few hours after they’re released from the confines of the high school.

Trini is lying on one end of the Hart’s leather couch with Kim’s feet near her head, her own down by Kim, who is currently attempting to prove that Trini’s ankles are ticklish. They aren’t, but that’s not the problem. The problem is the Urban Dictionary definition of whatever that word is he sent.

Kim watches her carefully as she groans and drops her phone down onto the carpet by the couch. “You okay?” she asks and one of the kids on the screen is drinking a milkshake instead of cooking with it.

“Zack’s an idiot,” Trini says and she doesn’t seem to need to offer anything more.

Kim bobs her head in agreement. “He said something stupid this morning, before you got to the school.”

Trini’s throat closes up. She barely manages to squeak out her questioning, “What?”

Kim looks away, immersed in whatever one of the judges is saying on the show, and apparently only finds the courage to say it once the timer runs out and everyone sort of groans in worry while too-dramatic music plays. “Do you think your Zord has a crush on mine?”

It comes out like a joke, but Trini knows that Zack was serious when he said it. He puts a little too much stock in this “extension of you” crap that Alpha is constantly feeding them.

Still, Trini finds herself floundering. “What?” she asks and Kim finally looks at her, which just serves to make things that much worse. “Dude, like, no.”

Kim’s face doesn’t give her away, mouth set in such a serious line that it’s Trini who looks away this time.

“I’m pretty sure they’re inanimate,” she offers a minute later and Kim nods.

Things are quiet. One of the kids–the last girl–gets Chopped and Kim taps her foot along Trini’s ribcage, the toes of her sock settling under her side and wiggling there for a moment.

“I was mostly kidding,” Kim says, which Trini had sort of known and then immediately forgotten under the heat of Kim’s stare. “But…if it did, that’s cool. I give them my blessing or whatever.”

Trini can’t help but laugh–the awkwardness dissipating between them. Kim smiles at her from the other side of the couch and her thumb brushes carefully along Trini’s shin through her jeans.

She doesn’t answer Zack. There’s no good way to.

.

It doesn’t resolve or anything, but Zack seems to know better than to bring it up again. Especially after Trini puts him in a headlock the next time they have practice as a lesson.

Alpha-5 doesn’t ask anymore questions and Jason doesn’t make them practice with their Zords again for two weeks. Trini pushes it to the back of her mind–distracts herself with Kim’s smile and study dates and Bio labs that have them standing a little too close.

She almost forgets.

And then it happens again.

Sort of.

Jason had pulled her aside before scheduling another midnight practice–a gesture she’d appreciated enough to agree to it. She’d told herself she’d do everything in her power to stop it this time. She’d hone or whatever.

Take full control.

And it had worked. She’d gotten through her exercise just fine.

And then Kim’s Pterodactyl slammed into the top of her Zord and–

Zack’s laughter, she decides, is the most annoying sound in the entire known universe.

She’s sure of it.

.

“Jeez, Kimmy, wait till you get Crazy Girl alone, why don’t you?” Zack says when they’re safely hidden away again in the darkness of the cave.

Alpha-5 is waiting for them and Trini can feel his confused stare as he looks between them in askance, waiting to be filled in on whatever happened while they were gone.

Kim looks away and Trini watches her carefully.

Billy bounces on his heels and says, “This is weird, right, guys? Cause, like, I never lose control of my Zord like that. Maybe once, when we first used them, remember? I accidentally hit you, Trini. Sorry about that.”

Trini smiles at him. “No biggie, Blue,” she says and nudges Kim’s arm to draw her out of herself.

Kim throws her a smile that doesn’t seem genuine, still lost in thought.

“Our Zords are an extension of us, right?” Zack asks and Trini thinks she might love him–at least in the friendly way that involves wanting to occasionally wrap him up in a blanket when he’s having a rough day. But right then she really, really wants to kick him.

Alpha-5 looks at him, clearly confused at having been brought into the discussion so suddenly. “Yes,” he says. “I told you that already. Maybe Trini hit you too hard earlier.”

Jason shoots Zack a warning look, but that doesn’t stop him.

It might just egg him on.

“I think it’s pretty obvious what’s happening, then,” Zack says. “I mean, first Kitty-Cat over here can’t get close enough and now the love bug got passed off to Kim?”

It makes Trini shrink in on herself in embarrassment, crossing her arms over her stomach as Kim lurches forward, as if she’s about to hit him or something.

Jason grabs her arm to hold her back.

The thing is, though, he has a point. Trini’s known it pretty much from that accidental lunging thing that her Zord was just acting on feelings she didn’t understand how to act on herself. Almost like some horrible, alien, metal matchmaker.

But hearing Zack call attention to her feelings–in front of Kim–is a recurring stress dream she’s been having since before they defeated Rita.

“Okay, I’m out,” Trini says and she turns tail to leave, ignoring Zack calling out a, “Yeah, you are!” after her and the way she’s pretty sure Kim is watching her walk away.

Everyone seems to know better than to follow, at least, which is good. That means they’re learning about each other.

Everyone, it seems, except Kim.

Who grabs her by the elbow before she can reach the ship, stops her right there in the middle of the cave and spins her around the room.

“What?” Trini manages to snarl, but the dark look in Kim’s eyes when she looks at her makes her stop for a second. Makes her shiver.

And then Kim kisses her.

It’s been a month or so of wanting this. Possibly longer, but Trini hasn’t been letting herself think about that other girl Kim used to be. That Kimberly Hart who wore a cheerleading uniform to school for pep rallies and walked through the hallways with Ty Fleming’s arm around her shoulders.

Still, she’s wanted this Kim long enough that she doesn’t even hesitate before kissing back. She’s not sure how long it goes on for because her brain shorts out a couple seconds in, but after a little while Kim pulls away to smile with her forehead to Trini’s, her fingers gripping warmly on Trini’s hips.

“Does this mean our Zords are dating now?” she asks and Trini wonders vaguely if hers is back on top of Kim’s in the cave she just left.

Or if maybe this has resolved whatever caused it and they’re now sitting comfortably, reasonably apart again.

“I don’t think they can date,” Trini returns, but she’s smiling and lightheaded from Kim’s mere proximity.

Kim laughs and the boys are coming. Trini can hear their footsteps scraping across rock and dirt and coming closer. She half-expects Kim to tug herself away and try to deny what just happened, but she doesn’t. She stays close.

“Called it!” Zack calls when they finally appear and there’s a thump and a groan that Trini thinks must be from Jason shoving him or something.

She makes a mental note to thank him later.

“It makes sense,” Billy concedes gently and when Trini tilts her face away from Kim’s she can see Jason nodding in agreement.

“If our Zords can’t date,” Kim says, drawing Trini back over with the playful lilt of her voice, “can we?”

Before she can answer, they’re kissing again–Kim’s lips more gentle on Trini’s than she ever dared to imagine–and Trini laughs into Kim’s mouth, pulling her closer, the boys’ presence be damned.

As it turns out, they can.

…

[placetobenation]

Steve’s Box Office Report: May 2010

Top 10 Films for the Month of May:

1. Iron Man 2 – $312,433,331

2. Shrek Forever After – $238,736,787

3. Robin Hood – $105,269,730

4. Sex and the City 2 – $95,347,692

5. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – $88,656,132

6. Letters to Juliet – $53,032,453

7. Just Wright – $21,540,363

8. MacGruber – $8,525,600

9. Babies – $7,320,323

10. Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World – $6,096,582

Honorable Mentions:

None

May Winners: Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After, and Letters to Juliet

We continue on through the year of 2010 with the month of May as we kick off the summer season. The slate of films for this month was an interesting crop as there were some films that you knew were going to do well in some capacity, but there were plenty of films that could either surprise people to end up flopping in the end. Ultimately, we only had 3 films make it into this category and the first is the next installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which is Iron Man 2, a film that sees Tony Stark face a threat that has personal implications while coming to terms with his possible mortality with what is keeping him alive. While many felt it was a slight notch below its predecessor, it still did great at the box office and easily surpassed the first one while showing everyone that the MCU was here to stay. The next film from this month that makes it into this category is the animated film Shrek Forever After, the fourth film in the franchise that sees Shrek yearning for the days when he was a feared ogre and Rumpelstiltskin agrees to help him though with possible consequences. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was the worse of the series, but it still made quite a good chunk of money and showed that the franchise was still viable even though this film felt like the end of the franchise with new ones starting to crop up. The third and final film from this month that makes it into this category is the romance film Letters to Juliet, a film about a fact checker who answers a “Letter to Juliet” and helps the writer of the letter look for her long-lost love. The film would receive mixed to negative reviews from critics who felt it was rather lackluster even as a romance film, but it still managed to walk away with just over $53 million which was perfectly fine considering some of the bigger films that came out around the same time. While it is a bit disappointing that only three films made this category, two of them pretty much dominated the whole month and attributed to the bulk of the success of the month which is fine.

May Losers: Robin Hood and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

As I mentioned in the previous category, there were a few films that looked like they could potentially be surprise hits though in the end I don’t think we got much in the way of surprise hits which was a bit disappointing. On the flip side, it was going to be interesting to see if anything ended up being a flop and sure enough we had two films that flopped which isn’t good given that they were pretty anticipated going in. The first film from this month that makes it into this category is the epic drama film Robin Hood, a retelling of the classic tale of Robin Hood as he grows to become a hero to England while preparing for a surprise invasion from France. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was a lackluster film and not the best adaptation of the classic story, and while the film did reach over $100 million it still fell well short of its budget and as a result it ends up being one of the bigger bombs of the year. The other film from this month that makes it into this category is the action fantasy film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, based on the video game of the same name of a young man who finds a mysterious dagger that can control time as he teams with a princess to prevent an alteration in the timeline. The film would receive mixed to negative reviews from critics though some felt it was a better video game adaptation than most others, but the film would bomb at the box office even being released over Memorial Day weekend and it was another in a line of video game adaptations bombing. It’s too bad because I’m sure there were people that were looking forward to these two films and had some decent expectations, but in the end both failed to deliver and they ended up keeping the month of reaching the top level.

The Surprise/Story of May 2010: MCU launches to a new level as Iron Man 2 wins May 2010

When the year of 2010 started, there were a lot of films coming out that were going to have plenty of eyes on it and people were anxious to see how they were going to do. At this point two years ago, we saw the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the release of Iron Man which did very well and then the next month was the Incredible Hulk which was a bit of a disappointment. Knowing we were going to have to wait two years until the next installment, the anticipation was pretty high to see if Iron Man 2 would build off of Iron Man or it would play more like Incredible Hulk and become a major speed bump for this fledging franchise. In the end, Iron Man 2 ended up being a major success and while it just missed Iron Man by a few million dollars, it had to come as a major relief to Marvel knowing that there was an audience for this universe. We would now have to wait another year for the next installment meaning that the anticipation was going to grow again, but for now Iron Man 2 was a big success and easily took the top spot for the month of May as nothing else including Shrek Forever After came even close to matching it.

Overachiever of May 2010: Iron Man 2

Back in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with Iron Man and it was a major success, and then a month later the second film in the franchise came out in the Incredible Hulk and that was a bit of a disappointment in the box office. Knowing we would have to wait two years until the next installment came out, you knew the anticipation was going to be high and Marvel had to be on edge to see how Iron Man 2 would end up doing. The reviews for it were fairly positive with many saying that it was a good follow up to the original, though some did feel that there were aspects that didn’t work and it didn’t feel as fresh as the first one though that it always hard for a sequel to do. Ultimately, when the film did release at the beginning of the month it crushed the opening weekend of the first Iron Man by making close to $130 million showing that the MCU was now a viable franchise and had plenty of legs going forward. Now while the film just missed passing Iron Man by only a few million dollars, you can’t take away how well the film did and the complete domination of the month which easily earns it the title of the overachiever of the month.

Underachiever of May 2010: Sex and the City 2

I have made reference to May 2008 a few times and I do it again here as it was that year we saw the release of Sex and the City, and that movie did very well despite the mixed reviews and it seemed inevitable that a sequel was possible. Sure enough two years later, we get the release of Sex and the City 2 which sees the four gal pals travel to Abu Dhabi for a vacation as they deal with their own personal issues. Unlike the first film which had more mixed reviews from critics, this one received negative reviews from critics who felt it was a sad end to the long-running TV series and the film was also criticized for certain aspects of it regarding race and sexism. Also unlike the first film which managed to perform well and exceeded most expectations, this one ended up falling flat on its face as not only did it fail to match the predecessor, it didn’t even finish with $100 million. This happened despite the fact it came out over Memorial Day weekend and looked prime to be solid counterprogramming to Shrek and Prince of Persia, but in the end it was a major disappointment and is more than worthy of the title of underachiever of the month.

May 2010 Awards Watch: Iron Man 2 and Sex and the City 2

After the new award season started fairly strong between February and March, things have dipped quite a bit as the previous month only had one film in this category and now this month only has two films make it into this category. It doesn’t say much for the films in this month when the majority of them don’t make it into this category for any of the big three, and perhaps that just proves how middling they were for the most part. The first film from this month that makes it into this category is Iron Man 2 which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Visual Effects) which it wouldn’t win, but it was still a win for Marvel to at least get an Academy Award nod. The other film from this month that makes it into this category is Sex and the City 2 which would win three Golden Raspberry Awards (Worst Actress, Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off, or Sequel, and Worst Screen Ensemble) while being nominated for four more (Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actress, and Worst Screenplay) which reaffirms its status as one of the worst films of the year. We will see going forward if this category becomes more meatier in the coming months, but right now it is not off to the best start for the 2010-2011 season.

Overall Thoughts of May 2010:

Overall, the month of May 2010 was a pretty solid month though after looking deeper into it, it was not as good as I had originally thought and because of that I had to knock the grade very slightly. Usually when you have a couple of films do very well, you tend to skew the grade for the month towards that and you just assume that the rest of the films from that month didn’t have that much of an impact. But when you compare it to previous months with the same grade, you realize that the month was not as good as originally thought and that happens here as this month was not an “A” level month like I thought. Having said that, this month did have some successes with Iron Man 2 and Shrek Forever After driving most of the business, and the rest of the films either bombed, underdelivered, or met their expectations which were probably low going in and we will see how things continue to play out through the summer. As for the month of May 2010, it is a pretty good month though it does have to be considered a bit of a disappointment given the number of what looked like strong contenders being released this month.

Final Grade: B+

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Firefly, Black Mask, Original Adventures Reincarnated

Anime (RMWC Reviews): By 1969, Japan had advanced quite far in terms of animation. Especially when a studio would put real effort behind a project, such as when Toei Animation released Sora Tobu Yuureisen in July of that year. Known in English as The Flying Phantom Ship or The Flying Ghost Ship, the film is a 60 minute full-color adventure into suspense, conspiracies, and super science with a few important creators involved.

T.V. (John C. Wright): We were discussing Joss Whedan’s late and lamented outer space horse opera FIREFLY. A reader named Sophia’s Favorite holds forth sharp criticism for the show: In my opinion Firefly is the JFK of TV shows: a mediocrity at best that gets ludicrously overrated solely because it was taken “too soon”. He goes on to list several reasons for saying so.

T.V. (Jon Mollison): If you’re into network action/dramedy shows, you’ll want to give tonight’s episode of Hawaii Five-O a look.  For one thing, the show has not been renewed for an eleventh season.  Ten years is a pretty good run for any show, and this revival is one of the few to come close to matching the original.

Writing (Pulprev): Conventional wisdom states that characters should be flawed. Nobody can relate to perfect people. Flawed characters are more believable, more likely to gain the reader’s sympathies. But the conventional wisdom doesn’t teach how. In the hands of lesser writers, this usually manifests as a grab bag of random negative traits. Alcoholism, smoking, minor but not debilitating mental illness, snarkiness, cynicism. Poorly handled, these traits add flavor to the story but they do not significantly influence the characters, and therefore do not influence the plot. The result is a patchwork person, a collection of traits and behaviors sewn together and little else.

RPG (RPG Pundit): “Adventure Paths” Aren’t Deep-Roleplay, They’re D&D for the Special Bus Today: “Adventure Paths” and story-mechanics are not ‘deep roleplaying’. For that, you need the freeform style of the OSR. Take off the D&D training wheels!

Horror Fiction (Wasteland & Sky): Today I would like to talk a bit about horror fiction. It isn’t brought up much on this blog because my knowledge on the subject isn’t too vast, but I have been reading a bit about it recently and would like to share some observations. This is because horror, like just about everything else, isn’t doing so hot these days. Though I suppose that isn’t much of a surprise.

Science Fiction (Washington Post): In “The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom — Volume One: The 1930s,” David and Daniel Ritter — a ­father-and-son team — show us, through words and pictures, how a passion for science fiction evolved into a way of life for young people who couldn’t get enough of that crazy Buck Rogers stuff. The result is a sumptuous scrapbook of photographs, magazine covers, artwork and hundreds of articles, letters and typescripts, everything beautifully held together by the Ritters’ concise but enthralling text.

Cinema & H. P. Lovecraft (DMR Books): Entertaining adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft’s work are, in my estimation, few and very far between. While I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a few films over the years, for the most part movies tapping into Lovecraft’s work tend to feel like they’re miles away from the cosmic horror themes that saturate most of the author’s stories. Five years of working at a video store and taking home anything that promised to delve into the Cthulhu Mythos have, I confess, made my approach to these kinds of films rather antagonistic. They have to prove themselves to me.

Anime (Walker’s Retreat): Given the point-and-shriek swarming attacks done on other targets, this was inevitable. Amazon is vulnerable due to having SJWs in junior positions who are amenable to SJW swarm attacks, and one can likely assume that Ebay and other Western-controlled outlets will feel the swarm in the days to follow once Amazon’s seen to bend the knee. As usual, the SJWs in the media will reliably inform you that this is the play by making a big deal out of it once such swarming gets sufficient momentum to amplify in their outlets.

RPG (Karavansara): Fantasy AGE does not walk any extraordinarily original terrain – it’s basically a sword & sorcery engine, very similar in tone to the old classic D&D, but running on a system that’s both lightweight and cool, allowing for the creation of original, detailed characters rather swiftly. Clocking at a little over 140 pages, the Basic Handbook is beautifully illustrated, rationally arranged, and covers all the bases: the races and classes we expect from a fantasy game, combat and magic, and all the basic perks.

Pulp Magazine Fiction (Pulp Fest): Although a trailblazer as a specialty magazine, DETECTIVE STORY did little to further the development of the detective or crime story. That task would be left to its highly prized successors: BLACK MASK  — the pulp where the hardboiled detective story began to take shape — and DIME DETECTIVE MAGAZINE — where the tough guy detective became extremely popular. Call them what you will — flatfoots, gumshoes, dime detectives, or private eyes  — it was these hardboiled dicks that transformed the traditional mystery story into the tough guy (and gal) crime fiction that remains popular to this very day.

Fantasy (Dark Worlds Quarterly): What I do like about Rabkin’s scale is it helps me to identify or codify some types of fiction that don’t fall neatly into genres (which we must remember were invented by publishers as a marketing tool, not academics). For example Doc Savage is a genre-crosser, with some Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror and Mystery elements, and yet none of the above. But ol’ Doc can be placed on the scale, outside of genre considerations.

Men’s Adventure Magazines (Paperback Warrior): During the 1950s and 1960s, Men’s Adventure Magazines like “Stag” and “For Men Only” told salacious stories – often masquerading as non-fiction journalism – of daring deeds and lusty ladies around the world. The magazines were illustrated with vivid action drawings by many of the same artists who created the cover art for the vintage action and crime paperbacks we adore. Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle have preserved many of the great stories and art from these magazines in a series of anthology books called Men’s Adventure Library published by New Texture.

RPG (Goodman Games): You’ve speculated. You’ve wondered. You’ve waited. Now you get an answer. Coming this September, Goodman Games will release Original Adventures Reincarnated #5: Castle Amber. Intended for levels 3 through 7, Castle Amber was the adventure that launched the Mystara campaign setting, and was the second adventure for the D&D Expert Set. Here’s some text from the back cover:

Music & Comic Books (Far out Magazine): We dive straight back into the Far Out Magazine Vault to find Marc Bolan, the musician, guitarist and poet who is arguably best known for being the lead singer of the glam rock band T. Rex, who was seemingly obsessed with comic books. Now this tale seemingly twists and turns into areas that even we weren’t sure where it would take us next. This story is going to depict how three extremely popular figures of popular culture all interviewed each other, at different times and in different circumstances but all with aiming for the same end result.

History (Peter Grant): The so-called Shangani Patrol was a legendary encounter in 1893 between colonial forces and the Matabele tribe of Lobengula in what is today Zimbabwe.  The entire patrol was annihilated, after having killed more than ten times its own number in an epic fight through the bush.  In colonial Rhodesia, it was regarded in the same light as the fall of the Alamo in Texas, or the doomed fight of the three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae.

Gaming (News Hump): Nation turns to Warhammer players for advice on how to stay at home for two weeks. Pungent men with severe vitamin D deficiency and a large collection of overpriced figurines are suddenly very much in demand as they are deemed the nation’s greatest experts at staying indoors for weeks on end while they paint space goblins.

Comic Books and D&D (Goodman Games): Thus begins the Crypt-Keeper’s Corner, the letters page in the June-July 1950 edition of E.C. Comics Crypt of Terror. You could be forgiven if you mistook that dramatic introduction as the opening salvo from any game master at any table-top role-playing game. In fact, it’s also fairly easy to see how Gary Gygax, the main co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons (and an entire gaming industry) would fess up to being influenced by the art and storytelling found within the comic books of his formative years.

Sensor Sweep: Firefly, Black Mask, Original Adventures Reincarnated published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[iamandco]

  PHOTO: COURTESY GETTY  Known as the Goddess of Pop, Cher has had a successful career in the entertainment industry for the past six decades. Since early on in her career, she has redefined what it means to be an independent woman working hard to succeed in a male-dominated industry.  In a 1996 interview, Cher recounted a conversation with her mother where her mom said “You know sweetheart one day you should settle down and marry a rich man.” And oh so famously, Cher simply responded, “Mom, I am a rich man.”  Those six words still resonate with women today and mean so much in a world where feminism and female equality are at the forefront of social justice issues.  Just recently, Taylor Swift released a music video for her latest single “You Need to Calm Down” where the iconic quote “Mom, I am a rich man” is seen framed on the wall. Swift may have used this moment as a silent response to the sexist questions she receives regarding settling down to start a family as she approaches her thirties. But as Cher would probably agree, a woman’s decision to focus on her career rather than a family should be nobody's business. Swift seems to be doing just fine, with or without a rich man at her side.  Since her acting debut in 1967, Cher has had many roles on the big screen, television, and on the stage. Below, I have picked ten movies from her film career to showcase just how versatile Cher really is.    PHOTO: COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES  “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” Released in 2018, the film serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the 2008 movie “Mamma Mia!” because it is told in both present day as well as flashbacks. Following the passing of her mother Donna, Sophie prepares to reopen her mother’s hotel. During the preparation for the grand opening, Sophie learns more about her mother and the similarities that they shared. Parts of the movie are told in flashback and show a young Donna in 1979, travelling through Europe, meeting her beaus Harry, Bill, and Sam and her eventual arrival to the Greek island of Kalokairi.  Cher portrays the character of Ruby Sheridan, Sophie’s estranged grandmother and mother to Donna. Ruby is a sophisticated woman with a taste for the finer things in life. Ruby expresses her desire to build a real relationship with her granddaughter. As the events of the movie unfold, Ruby herself is reunited with an old flame.  You can stream, rent, or buy “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” on HBO , iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY SONY PICTURES  “Burlesque” Starring alongside Christina Aguilera, Cher portrays Tess, a retired dancer and owner of a Burlesque club in Los Angeles. Tess struggles to keep the club afloat amid financial issues as well as issues with her talent.  When young and naive Ali moves to L.A., she stumbles into the club and accepts a job as a waitress, despite wanting an opportunity to perform on the stage.  Everyone is surprised by Ali’s talents, especially her voice. Despite this, she must truly prove to Tess that she has the passion to become a Burlesque performer. Amid Ali’s pursuits to become a performer, she also struggles with romantic issues while Tess struggles with greedy businessman eyeing to buy out her club. You can stream, buy, or rent “Burlesque” on Starz , iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX  “Stuck on You” “Stuck on You” was released in 2003 and stars Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins. They play brothers, Bob and Walt, one extremely shy with an online pen pal and the other an aspiring actor.  When Walt decides to pursue his acting career seriously, he and Bob move to Hollywood, with no plan but a dream.  In Hollywood, Walt lands a starring role opposite Cher, acting as herself, on a prime-time TV show. Cher, upset with her role on a TV show, hopes the project will be cancelled due to the fact that Walt is a conjoined twin, making acting that much harder. However, with the power of movie magic, Walt doesn’t appear as a conjoined twin in the show, which skyrockets to success. As Walt becomes famous, so does Bob.  But life for Bob in Hollywood isn’t perfect. When their physical situation starts to get in the way, the brothers must once again begin discussing the possibility of surgery to permanently separate them once and for all.  You can stream, buy, or rent “Stuck On You” on Starz , iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY GETTY  “Tea With Mussolini” The film is set in the 1930s, and follows the story of Luca, a young Italian boy who is raised by a group of women called the “Scorpioni.” The woman, a mix of British and American women, all live in Florence, Italy and spend their afternoons together, drinking tea.  The events of the film are set both before and during the events of the Second World War.  Cher portrays the character of wealthy American Elsa Morganthal, who sets up a trust fund for Luca when she finds out about the death of his mother.  As the war progresses, Luca’s father decides to send his son to an Austrian boarding school. But Luca eventually returns to Italy, a young man with a passion to study art. Luca becomes extremely close to Elsa and even begins to fall in love with her.  Mary, one of the original “Scorpioni” women to care for Luca, continues to be a mentor for him during a time where his naive and immature actions may cause more harm to the women around him during a war ridden time in their lives.  The backdrop of the war changes the lives of all the “Scorpioni” women as well as sets the tone for Luca’s journey to becoming a man. You can buy or rent “Tea With Mussolini” on iTunes , or Amazon Prime .   PHOTO: COURTESY Matthew Rolston/Hbo/Moving P/REX/Shutterstock  “If These Walls Could Talk” The film, released in 1996 and broadcast by HBO, is told in three different segments. The theme of the film being abortion, follows the story of three different women, during three different time periods, but all of who live in the same house during their respective time.  Cher, directed the third segment and portrayed the character of Dr. Beth Thompson.  The first story is set in 1952 and follows Claire Donnely, portrayed by Demi Moore. Claire is a nurse who must find a way to terminate her pregnancy during a time where abortion was illegal.  The second story, set in 1974, follows Barbara Barrows, a pregnant housewife who already has four children to care for. Barbara struggles with the decision on whether or not to keep her fifth child, having just gone back to college and already struggling to care for her family.  The third story is set in 1996 and tells the story of Christine Cullen, a college student who becomes pregnant after sleeping with her married professor. Christine makes an appointment with Dr. Beth Thompson, but things go wrong fast due to an anti-abortion protest.  Demi Moore, who served as an executive producer for the film was praised for her passion to get the film made, a task that would take seven years.  You can buy “If These Walls Could Talk” on DVD from Amazon .   PHOTO: COURTESY NEW LINE CINEMA  “Faithful”  Margaret, portrayed by Cher, is the perfect housewife with the perfect life. Or so it seems. In actuality, Margaret is actually really unhappy in her marriage to Jack, who she believes is having an affair. Which he later confirms. On their twentieth wedding anniversary, Jack gifts Margaret a diamond necklace, and to her surprise, a hitman.  Tony, the hitman, played by Chazz Palminteri, holds Margaret hostage in her home as he waits for orders to complete the murder. As the two wait, they begin to bond.  Tony begins to get cold feet about killing Margaret the more they spend time together and she begins to reevaluate her life.  As the suspense of when her husband will call in for the job to be completed, Jack’s arrival to the house where Tony and Maragret have been waiting complicates everything.  You can buy “Faithful” on DVD from Amazon .   PHOTO: COURTESY GETTY  “Mermaids” The film stars Cher as Rachel Flax, mother to fifteen year old Charlotte, portrayed by Winona Ryder, and nine year old Kate, portrayed by Christina Ricci. Rachel has a complicated relationship with her eldest daughter, who calls her Mrs. Flax.  Rachel also has a horrible relationship with men and is used to moving her family from town to town when her relationships end. The movie starts with Rachel moving her family to a small Massachusetts town after another failed relationship.  Charlotte is tired of her mom’s actions and often feels like she's the parental figure in the household, not her mother. She plans to become a nun in the future and practices the Catholic faith, despite her mother’s constant reminder that they are Jewish.  Charlotte’s life becomes even more complicated when she begins to fall in love with an older man who works for the local church, leading her to believe that her thoughts and actions are sins.  Rachel decides it’s time to move her family to a new town, but events will lead the family to reevaluate what they want and need in life moving forward.  You can buy or rent “Mermaids” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY SHUTTERSTOCK  “Moonstruck”  Released in 1987, the film stars Cher and Nicholas Cage. Cher portrayed Loretta, a widowed 37 year old Italian American, living with her family in Brooklyn Heights, New York.  Loretta is in a relationship with Johnny, who proposes to her before travelling to Sicily to be with his dying mother. While he is away, Loretta begins to fall in love with his younger brother, Ronny, who is portrayed by Nicholas Cage.  Ronny and Johnny have a complicated relationship and despite Loretta being engaged, Ronny has no problem pursuing his brother's girl.  “Moonstruck” was nominated for six Oscar’s at the 60th Academy Awards, with Cher receiving the award for “Best Actress.”  You can stream, buy or rent “Moonstruck” on Starz , iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY WARNER BROS.  “The Witches of Eastwick” Starring Cher, Susan Surandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jack Nicholson, “The Witches of Eastwick” tells the story of three women who become seduced by a mysterious stranger who arrives in their small town of Eastwick, Rhode Island.  Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie have become widowed, divorced, and abandoned by their husbands. They have become lonely and often dream of the perfect man walking into their lives.  Unknown to them, they are all witches, and when a mysterious man, Daryl Van Horne, comes into town, he helps the women tap into their powers while seducing them all at the same time.  Daryl will turn out to be more evil than the women could have imagined and turns their lives upside down, even leading the women to become social outcasts among the town.  The film holds a 74 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is described as “A wickedly funny tale of three witches and their duel with the Devil, fueled by some delicious fantasy and arch comedic performances.”  You can buy or rent “The Witches of Eastwick” on iTunes , Amazon Prime , or Vudu .   PHOTO: COURTESY UNIVERSAL PICTURES  “Mask” “Mask” is a 1985 biographical film that was based on the real life and early death of Roy L. “Rocky” Dennis, who suffered from an extremely rare disorder that caused him to have a disfigured and extremely enlarged head and face.  Rocky was portrayed by Eric Stoltz and his mother, Rusty Dennis, was portrayed by Cher.  Despite his physical deformity, Rocky is intelligent and outgoing. His mother, Rusty, wants nothing more than for him to live a normal life and attend school, like any other kid his age.  Rocky had always been accepted by his mother, and even their biker gang family. At school, Rocky quickly wins over his peers, making friends, becoming a tutor and camp counselor, and even falling in love.  Through her portrayal of Rusty Dennis, Cher received the 1985 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress.  You can buy or rent “Mask” on Amazon Prime . *** Today, Cher continues her career in the entertainment industry. At 72 years old, she is no where near slowing down.  Over the years, Cher has held three Las Vegas residencies. With the third one ending on September 1st, 2019.  Through her many roles in the industry, she has won many awards, including but not only: A Grammy, an Emmy, an Academy Award, and three Golden Globes. She has transcended and become one of the best selling musical artists in history.  In 2018, via social media, Cher announced she is working on new projects, including a Christmas album, an autobiography, and a biographical film about her life. 

[catharinewiegand-blog]

FIFA 18 Demo With 12 groups And 4 stadiums

The Frostbite™ Engine powered FIFA 18 on PS4, with Power to the boundaries between the digital and the real world blur and brings the entire ambiance of the soccer better than ever earlier than to life. Experience a PS4 sports activities recreation You don't want to overlook it anymore! Let the cinema atmosphere tires in FIFA 18 entrainment, which increases depending on the Action on the signature field or subside. Adaptive comments to heat you up throughout a scorching Match, in addition, whereas the structure of the lawn bears witness to gradual your efforts around essential objectives. The viewers reactions are all the time violent, and the group chants give you an adrenaline rush with a objective, ultimately, true elation set off. A real stadium atmosphere and expertise at your house, going to the game makers. If you have any sort of inquiries regarding where and ways to use buy fut coins (you can try this out), you could contact us at the web-site. The broadest reaction quickest and smoothest Gameplay of the Fifa series experience. A Gameplay that reveals the real soccer precisely. Each participant is represented on the lawn so exact, not to exceed the authenticity of the entire sport nearly. The new animation system gives you breaking every thing the place it you've got been waiting for, simple to Prepare. New sorts for distinctive real particular person personalities on the courtroom. Real movements, sizes, and attributes have a direct impression on the movements of the gamers. The particular moves of the world's greatest gamers are up shut so that you can experience. With the official DFB-license any third-are in FIFA 18 League group with. With greater than 500 gamers, as well as the home and away jerseys. Lots of the normal clubs to rejoice for the first time its FIFA debut. The best of the very best you may discover in FIFA 18 on the Playstation 4. Games with the greatest football legends. Positive you with the FIFA Ultimate Group Points, the very best in the game.

I really like that two of my gamers go after the season, to different Clubs. The decided time within the winter break, that I could do something about it. I mean, I know from the predecessors, however as time has beaten in three seasons, cross part modifications out of the blue, from out of the membership. Two are from the starting eleven to me a bit much. I hope that was just a coincidence. So I like the play to date, also very good. The more targets like comes as much as me and the sport fun as well. Realism is nice, but if I every recreation 1:Zero, zero:0, or with little goals to finish and master 50:18 goals, then it feels not so good. I feel it is great that the AI performs quick within the tip, and the one can obtain both corners, as well as normal edges, or by a long shot objectives. Also I've handled myself to, since I extra usually play at work, or simply within the evening in front of the telly. It actually is to FIFA 16 with current rosters. It plays rather well, Sure, but it's and stays FIFA sixteen. For the Handheld that isn't also increase, but as a full-fledged Model in comparison to the opposite consoles/Computer significantly. I assume that it will be the final FIFA for the Change - sorry, but for those who give so little effort, then it's simply so..

after all, we can even cancel at any time the negotiations and the virtual workplace. We resolve to convey the Transfer itself on the stage, we meet personally with the Manager or a responsible particular person of the opposing membership. Then we can make a Dialograd, as we comprehend it from the story mode of The Journey, provides and reject or a recreation alternate propose. We now have agreed on a transfer payment, we should converse with the participant and his agent about the salary, the duration of the contract, the role in the Association and possible bonus payments. When can you play the pattern? Whereas such Contracting negotiations in earlier FIFA versions, plenty of E-Mails and several virtual days, we can negotiate in FIFA 18 now so every part is in a single sequence. It remains questionable whether or not the entire thing is, even after the tenth Dwell of negotiation even more thrilling, or whether or not we depart in the end, all of the Deals our Wizard. Electronic Arts commented on the release of FIFA 18. In the context of the financial report of 9. May proclaims the corporate, that this 12 months's soccer simulation seems within the second quarter of the current fiscal 12 months (July to September). Thus, the Publisher confirmed that the release coverage in a FIFA 18, nothing modifications. As effectively as the predecessor of this year's Kicker is more likely to be launched in September. During FIFA sixteen on the 24. September 2015 got here in the marketplace, EA released FIFA 17 on the 29. In September 2016. The discharge of FIFA 18, it is expected, therefore, also in direction of the tip of September. The soccer simulation is coming to Laptop and consoles in the marketplace. Along with versions for PS4, Xbox One and co. Digital Arts can be engaged on a model for the Nintendo Switch. Not too long ago EA had careworn repeatedly that it is a "special Version". Concrete Details are but not recognized. Because of the Hardware performance of the Nintendo Switch is oriented assumed that FIFA 18 Gene in terms of the know-how to the Final variations for PlayStation three and Xbox 360. FIFA 18 supposed to return within the second quarter available on the market.

With the ability of Frostbite™ EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 blurs the dividing line between the virtual and the true world and brings the players, the Groups, and the emotion-charged ambiance of football to life. FIFA 18 is the largest step when it comes to Gameplay Innovation, the sport collection has ever given. The game presents the true Player movement know-how, a brand new animation system with a brand new sort of response tempo and unprecedented in-recreation character. Cristiano Ronaldo and his super-star colleagues are actually of their movements and in their character exactly to their actual-life examples. The game control and the new workforce types and crew positions for Dramatic moments, through which the Thrilling ambiance of actual-world soccer. In addition, the participant within the Journey is a true journey around the world: In the Hunter Returns, you can look ahead to loads of Stars and top players like Cristiano Ronaldo or another European Stars. In FIFA ultimate team™ the best of the very best to enter also. Electronic Arts has now revealed the Soundtrack of "FIFA 18", and reveal which artists and Songs on Board. Digital Arts has confirmed the small print for the Soundtrack of "FIFA 18". Greater than 40 Songs. Alex Hunters return in "The Journey" is. also an Original Rating by "Junkie XL" malt, which has already created movie music for cinema hits similar to "Mad Max: Fury Street", "Divergent", "Deadpool" or "Wonder Girl" Avelino (United Kingdom) - Power feat. Mura Masa (Guernsey) helpline feat. Oliver (Canada/USA) - Coronary heart Assault feat. RAC (Portugal/USA) - Beautiful Sport feat. Sofi Tukker (USA) - Greatest Buddy feat. Tremendous Organism (In the UK) - One thing For your M. I. N. D. Témé Tan (Belgium) - Ça Va Pas La Tête? Vessels (United Kingdom) - Deflect The light feat. New Tracks from international Hitgaranten reminiscent of Lorde, alt-J, The warfare On Medication, The National, Portugal. The Man, The xx, the great Belgian Rapper Baloji, an unpublished Music by the British Artrocker Django Django and a brand new unique Banger from Run The Jewels. The following wave of Grime Superstars, with snappy Tracks of Avelino that includes Skepta and Stormzy, and a previously unreleased Song from Sneakbo featuring Giggs. Indie artists such as the Seattle-born Electronic Duo ODESZA, the British Shoegazer Slowdive, and shortly earlier than the breakthrough-standing Australian Singer/songwriter Tash Sultana. FIFA premieres by Sir Sly from Los Angeles, the British Singer/Songwriter Tom Grennan, and a new, unreleased Monitor from Kimbra from new Zealand. New artists such as the American Alt-Folk Performer Mondo Cozmo, the London-born Duo IDER, the Britpop rockers The Amazons and Kovic, the seventies Vibes of the bathroom, the Sounds, the Danish Pop-Punk Off Bloom, the British Singer/Songwriter Rex Orange County, and the insane tremendous-organism. September 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Computer, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation three and Xbox 360.