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duhragonball · 4 years ago

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (158/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story takes place about 1000 years before 66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[24 December, Age 762. Planet Namek.]

The mission was simple enough on paper. The demon Towa had traveled through time and used her magic influence on various fighters throughout history, in order to gather energy from their battles. This time, the villainous Frieza had been enchanted, making him stronger and more belligerent. Luffa's job was to join the small band of fighters on Planet Namek who had fought Frieza on that day. It was up to her to make sure that the enemy’s intervention would not alter the outcome of the fight.

In practice, the mission had become a debacle. Once, long ago, Luffa had been the Legendary Super Saiyan, capable of destroying a menace like Frieza with ease. But now, her powers had been drastically reduced under mysterious circumstances. Luffa had gambled on the faint hope that her body was recovering from this. Each mission she performed for the Time Patrol seemed to restore a portion of her former strength. At times, it seemed like every punch and kick she took from an enemy would bring her a step closer to where she needed to be. She had expected this curious phenomenon to carry her past the finish line against Frieza in the same way.

But this time, it wasn't working. Frieza nearly defeated Luffa with a single blow, and even though the young Namekian Dende had healed her, even though she did see an increase in power, it wasn't nearly enough for her to keep up with this battle. The one saving grace was that another Namekian, one Dende called "Nail," had arrived to join the fight. But Luffa knew this wouldn't be enough.

As she approached the site of the battle, she caught sight of Nail and recognized him as Piccolo, the Namekian she had seen on her first Time Patrol mission. Piccolo had died in battle on her second mission, and the Earthling's expedition to Namek was intended to wish him back to life, among others. Luffa wasn't sure if this was Piccolo resurrected, or if Nail was actually someone else who happened to look and dress the same way. In either case, she had no idea how any Namekian had managed to get so powerful in such a short time. It would have been reassuring, except Frieza was in the middle of transforming himself into an even more powerful form, one that would surely be too much for any of them to handle.

In the original course of events, the day was won, however improbably. But the dark purple aura that swirled around Frieza was a sign that things would not go the way they should. It was Luffa's job to force destiny back into frame. Everything ultimately depended upon her, and she was no longer sure that her power would be enough.

But it would have to be. Luffa had contacted the Time Vault for extraction, only to find that it couldn't be done. "Chronal interference" was the term used by the Supreme Kai of Time in her last transmission. The rest of her message was garbled, but Luffa got the general idea, someone had trapped Luffa on Namek, and Luffa had a fair idea who was responsible.

"Towa..." she muttered under her breath. Luffa had brazenly challenged the demon on the last mission, and fought her creation, Mira, to a standstill. Towa had elected to withdraw, which seemed like a moral victory at the time, but now it was clear what Towa had in mind. Having taken Luffa's measure, Towa had lured Luffa into a no-win scenario. Sooner or later, Chronoa would find a way to retrieve Luffa from the past, but Towa was counting on Frieza to kill Luffa long before that happened.

Or, perhaps, Luffa considered, Towa wasn't expecting Luffa to die here. Maybe this was just a receipt for interfering in Towa's business, or a test to further gauge Luffa's abilities. If that was the best-case scenario, things were truly grim indeed.

Concerning Frieza himself, his third form looked positively revolting. The first transformation simply made him bigger and taller, but this one hunched his posture, and expanded the white carapace that surrounded his chest, shoulders and cranium. The growths on his shoulders now resembled enormous pauldrons, similar to the armored uniforms worn by his henchmen. Spiky protrusions jutted out from his back. His head had expanded to an oblong shape, with horns jutting out from the sides. His face was distorted to the point where his nose was completely gone, and his mouth now resembled the muzzle of a reptilian animal. Part of his tail was missing, and Luffa could only guess that this had been damaged during the fight while Luffa had been hurt. Judging by Frieza's smug expression, he didn't seem to think the injury affected his chances.

Frieza renewed his attack on Piccolo, who wisely kept his distance. He had done well against Frieza's second form, but the third was simply too powerful to attack head-on. Luffa chased after them, though she quickly found that she wasn't able to keep up. Piccolo was moving at top speed, and she reasoned that this was his final card to play. She didn't know how he had increased his power so dramatically, but Frieza had neutralized any strength advantage he once had. All Piccolo could do now was to hope he had a speed advantage.

He did not. Frieza intercepted him no matter which way Piccolo turned. With no other option, Piccolo tried to attack, and Frieza dodged his punch with ease, then began battering the Namekian at will. Then, Frieza fired a ki blast from his fingertip into Piccolo's knee. The blast didn't leave much of a wound, and from the ki she sensed, Luffa reasoned that it was intended to inflict pain more than injury.

Then he fired another blast from his other hand. And another. And another, until he was bombarding Piccolo's entire body with ki blasts. Piccolo was helpless against this assault, as he lacked the speed to even attempt to dodge. He simply flailed in midair, like a flag being buffeted by heavy rainfall.

Luffa knew she had to step in. Currently, Piccolo was the strongest one on their side, and no one else could help him. The problem was that she lacked the power to do any good. She decided the best bet would be to approach Frieza from behind and force him to turn away from Piccolo to deal with her, but as she got closer, she realized that he hadn't noticed her at all.

This had been a recurring theme with her previous Time Patrol missions. The Saiyans she had fought on Earth had been unable to sense ki, and while Vegeta seemed to acquire this skill by the time he reached Namek, none of the Ginyu Force had it, and now it seemed that Frieza had the same weakness. It was a reminder that, for all his power, Frieza lacked any genuine talent for martial arts. All of Frieza's precise movements and uncanny reflexes were simply a function of his incredible speed and strength.

It suddenly occurred to her that this was probably why Piccolo and the others had lasted this long in the first place. Frieza was a spiteful sadist, and was happy to drag out a fight to prolong his enemies' suffering, but he probably also had trouble gauging how hard to hit a powerful opponent without killing them immediately. It also explained how he lost the end of his tail. Someone must have managed to sneak up on him and get off a lucky shot.

She imagined that it must have been a razor-thin application of ki energy, since this would produce intense damage over a narrow range. She looked at her own hand and began to concentrate her own power to try to replicate that idea. But as she prepared to strike, Gohan suddenly broke away from the others and flew towards Frieza.

It was remarkable how much energy Gohan was putting out. Luffa wasn't sure what to make of the boy, but her main observation was that he was too inexperienced to use his power to its fullest. As he charged after Frieza, he let out a defiant battle cry, which alerted Frieza to his approach. Frieza turned to see the boy, then, after firing one more shot to dispatch Piccolo, flew higher into the air to avoid Gohan's kick.

Undeterred, Gohan turned around and flew at Frieza again. Only this time, he flew past Frieza instead of barreling right into him. Luffa couldn't help but smile. The boy lacked experience, but he was sharp enough to learn quickly. Frieza was too fast for a direct assault, but confusing him would slow him down just enough to make things easier. And as Frieza turned to await Gohan's next move, Luffa took the opportunity to make her next move.

Maneuvering to Frieza's blind spot, Luffa drove her fingers into Frieza's back and dug as hard as she could into his flesh. He cried out and swatted her away with his tail, but she was prepared for this and wrapped her legs around the base of his tail, and grabbed one of the bony protrusions on his back. In this way, she could cling to Frieza's backside and he wouldn't be able to reach her. With her free hand, she slashed at any exposed skin she could find.

The tips of her fingers glowed with five tiny blades of ki. She doubted that she could do any serious damage, but it would be enough to buy the others time. And, with any luck, she could hurt him enough to neutralize the effects of Towa's magic.

"You should have stayed the way you were, Frieza!" Luffa growled as she struggled to stay on his back. "Your other forms were smaller, and I never could have hung on like this. But now, your upper body's so big and bulky that I could stay here for days!"

His tail whipped around her head, and she finally started slashing her hand at it to keep it at bay. Frieza reached for her with his hands, but it was useless.

"Get off me you, damn dirty Saiyan!" Frieza screamed.

"That's just what your father said!" Luffa lied. "Right before I killed him!"

She knew her attack wouldn't work for much longer, so it was important for her to push ahead with her earlier plan. Towa's magic had made Frieza so aggressive that there was a danger that he might kill the others too quickly, and alter the course of history. Luffa had gotten him to slow down by inventing a tale of secret conspirators and assassins dedicated to dismantling his empire. By arousing his curiosity, she hoped to keep his mind off of destroying Namek with a single stroke. So far, it had worked, but she wanted to keep up the pressure.

"You're dead, you hear me?" Luffa shouted. "Even if you survive, your life won't be worth a hill of beans. And the best part of it is that if you knew who I was working for, you'd know just how doomed you really are!"

At last Frieza managed to shake Luffa off his back. It was only a glancing blow from his tail, but it was enough to knock her senseless and send her tumbling to the ground below. But Luffa was satisfied with her efforts, and she managed to stay conscious this time, which let her see what happened next. As Frieza turned his attention to Gohan, he found the boy high above, readying an enormous ki blast.

Luffa hit the ground with a loud thud, and while she couldn't get up very quickly, she didn't feel too badly hurt. As she rose to one knee, she saw Frieza brazenly charge into Gohan's attack, only to find that it wasn't as easy to power through as he had expected. And then, impossibly, Gohan began to drive him back.

It was an awe-inspiring sight. Luffa's thoughts raced back to her first Time Patrol mission, when she first saw Gohan display a similar radical increase in power. He seemed to do this whenever he was especially upset, but he could never maintain the power boost for very long. But this time he was operating at a much higher level, greater than any normal Saiyan she had ever seen, and now he was doing it for the second time in the same battle!

As Frieza struggled to hold back Gohan's ki, he looked like an oversized tick clinging to a giant light bulb. And Gohan responded to Frieza's resistance by turning up the pressure. He was actually getting even stronger, and Luffa was forced to revise her estimation of the boy. He was not only stronger than any normal Saiyans she had known, but he was also beginning to surpass some of the ones who had enhanced themselves through artificial means. What was his secret?

She suddenly remembered the others, and looked around to find Krillin and Vegeta hovering nearby. Luffa was reminded of Krillin's earlier heroism, selflessly sacrificing himself to save the Namekian child, Dende. Frieza had run him through with his horn, and Krillin still struggled to put up a fight, even past the point of certain death. He was an Earthling, like Gohan's mother. Was there a connection?

Gathering her strength, Luffa flew over to join them, anxious to prepare a new offensive.

"We can blindside him!" Luffa said. "If Piccolo or Gohan can hold his attention for a second, the three of us might be able to--!"

"It won't work!" Vegeta snapped. "Frieza's too strong for that. That's why I need one of you to attack me!"

"Attack you?" Luffa asked. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"He wants me to hurt him so badly that he almost dies!" Krillin explained. From the look on his face, it was plain that he wanted no part of the idea, but he continued to explain further. "Then he expects Dende down there to heal him, and then...!"

"And then," Vegeta said, "My power will increase dramatically. You're a Saiyan yourself. Surely you're familiar with the concept."

"The zenkai?" Luffa said with a gasp. "That's your plan?! It doesn't work when you injure yourself!"

"You think I don't already know that?" Vegeta seethed as he pointed to Krillin. "That's why I need Baldy here to help me! He's weaker than me, but if I lower my guard, he should be able to deliver a critical wound."

"I already told him it was nuts!" Krillin said. "If I'm not careful, I might kill him, and then where would we be?!"

"It's the only way!" Vegeta insisted. "I'm so close, and once that brat heals me, I can finally become a Super Saiyan, and destroy Frieza in an instant!"

Luffa was horrified. Despite the danger posed by Frieza, It was Vegeta's words that made a chill run down her spine. "A Super--?! You think that would make you...?" she asked, unable to finish the question. "Vegeta, listen to me! It doesn't work that way!"

"And what would you know about it, woman?" Vegeta scoffed.

Her eyes went wide as she grabbed him by the shoulders. "You fool!" she screamed. "You can't turn into a Super Saiyan just by raising your power level! If it was that easy, every Saiyan would do it! And besides, the zenkai is a reward for valor on the battlefield! You're talking about mutilating yourself to exploit it like some... like some faulty line of computer programming!"

Vegeta shook loose from her grip and made a contemptuous snort. "Hmmph! Exactly the sort of defeatist gibber I'd expect from a low class warrior. Know this, woman: I am on the cusp of becoming a Super Saiyan, and I would brave hell itself to achieve it. If it doesn't work on the first try, then I'll just have Baldy hit me again until it does. If that bothers you so much, then I suggest you look away."

The determined smile on his face shook Luffa to the core. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him this wasn't worth it, and that it would never work. And then, she had to wonder. What if it could work?

One thousand years ago, Luffa's powers had begun to increase, only for her father to betray her to the insectoid hordes of the Tikosi. They had struck a bargain with her father. He would give them Luffa as a subject for their experiments, and in return they would share the fruits of their research with him.

For months, they tortured her to the brink of death, always healing her injuries before she could actually die. There had been no glorious battlefields to provide the wounds, but the zenkai effect worked all the same. And the Tikosi studied this, and reverse-engineered it. Luffa had grown stronger during that ordeal, but she was kept drugged and restrained so that she could never turn that strength upon her captors. And so it had gone, until at last, on one fateful day...

And now, a millennium later, Vegeta had stumbled upon the same idea. What the Tikosi had done accidentally, he was trying to achieve deliberately. He was willing to stoop to anything, even risking his own life, to attain the power to destroy his enemy.

Luffa didn't know whether to admire the man or pity him. At least she was able to avenge herself against the Tikosi, but Vegeta could have no such satisfaction.

He was his own tormentor.

Nappa was right, it seemed. It was fitting that the Prince was named for their planet, but not in the way Nappa thought. Both were doomed.

Suddenly, Gohan's attack on Frieza had failed. Luffa had expected something like this to happen. As incredible as Gohan's rally had been, she figured it was only a momentary respite at best. She sensed his power being driven back, and turned to find Frieza had shoved the ki blast back on Gohan. It was then deflected again, as Piccolo drove it off course, and safely away from the boy. Instead, the enormous globe of power soared higher into the air, before finally exploding. Frieza stood still for a moment, glaring at Gohan, as though contemplating what had just happened.

"That's it! Vegeta shouted at Krillin. "The kid's had it! That attack was impressive, but he won't have any power left after a stunt like that! If I'm going to defeat him, I need to become a Super Saiyan right now!"

"But... I can't just--"

Luffa ignored them and focused on Frieza. He would probably attack Gohan again to pay him back, then go after Piccolo to pick up where he had left off. In the meantime, Luffa would need to come up with another hit-and-run offensive, only this time, she knew Frieza would be on-guard for such a thing. She considered targeting his eyes. Without any ki senses, he relied heavily on sight and sound, but it was a small target, and she would have to come straight at him to hit it. Then again, she thought, he wouldn't be expecting something so audacious, and it would make things much easier going forward.

"Pardon me."

A bead of sweat rolled down Luffa's face. She had hoped that Frieza would take a moment to fight Piccolo and Gohan, but instead he turned his attention to the rest of them. Suddenly, it didn't seem to matter what plans she and Vegeta had in mind. They wouldn't get a spare moment to execute them.

"I do hate to interrupt such a spirited conversation," Frieza continued, "but I am running on a bit of a tight schedule. So, to be fair, I'll let you decide which one of you gets to be my next victim. Feel free to take a vote, or draw straws, or one of you can think of a number and the one with the closest guess can do the honors. It's entirely up to you. But while the rest of you sort that matter out..."

Faster than Luffa could react, Frieza left the ground and suddenly appeared right in front of her. She managed to raise her arms but not high enough or fast enough to stop Frieza from grabbing her by the throat.

"... I need a moment alone with your charming friend."

The others were too stunned to intervene, both by Frieza's quick recovery, and the fact that he was completely unharmed by Gohan's efforts. Frieza threw Luffa into the distance, and then flew after her, catching her before she could crash into the ground. This was no act of mercy, as Frieza then drove her face-first into the dirt, with far more punishing force than the throw.

"You're different from the others," Frieza said. "They're all appropriately terrified, but you seem to want my attention for some reason. Well, you'll be delighted to know that you finally have it. I wanted to ask you a question. I do hope you'll be kind enough to answer it for me. It would be a shame if our first encounter should end in a disagreement."

Luffa tried to spit in his face, but Frieza planted his foot on her head before she could manage it. "It's about that boy. You see, I finally realized that he must be a Saiyan, like you and Vegeta."

Luffa grabbed at Frieza's leg. Against a different foe, she might have transitioned into an ankle lock, or some other hold. She knew this was unlikely at best, but still held out some faint hope. Frieza crushed that hope by applying more force, driving her head into the earth below.

"I destroyed Planet Vegeta decades ago," Frieza explained. "I thought I had wiped out all of the Saiyans, except for Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz. There might be a few others I missed, but hardly worth mentioning. Those infiltration babies probably grew up not even knowing what a Saiyan is, and even if they ever learned, they have no homeworld to reconnect with."

Luffa released Frieza's leg and tried to shoot a ki blast at him, but he reached down and grabbed her arm to spoil her shot. He did not let go.

"But now I find a Saiyan child working alongside Vegeta, of all people. And more, the boy is far stronger than any Saiyan I've ever met, including the dear Prince himself. I must admit, it's made me a bit curious. And here you are, a Saiyan woman, threatening me with all sorts of tall tales and revenge fantasies."

He pulled on her arm, and Luffa began to wonder if he was going to rip it off of her shoulder.

"I despise legends, you see. As you might have noticed, I have a reputation for being the most powerful being in the universe. It's the truth. A cold, hard, irrefutable fact, my dear. My reputation precedes me, but it's only because it's simple reality, like the speed of light in a vacuum, or the half-life of astatine. But some people can't handle the truth, and when they can't find a way around it, they retreat into fantasy. They look for legends to give them false hopes. Look at Vegeta. I was so kind to him, and yet he threw away a promising career as my underling, all to chase after the Dragon Balls for a chance at immortality. And then, as soon as the Dragon Balls were lost, he starts nattering on about this Super Saiyan."

Luffa had been trying not to scream, but that was before Frieza had dislocated her shoulder. He heard the muffled cries from beneath his foot, and smiled warmly. "Ah, then you can still speak. I was beginning to think you had lost your voice somewhere along the way."

He removed his foot and lifted her up by her arm, letting her dangle at just the right height so he could speak with her face to face.

"I think the boy might be Raditz' son," Frieza said. "Ironic, since Raditz himself was so pathetic, even by Saiyan standards, but there are only so many candidates, and I just can't see any resemblance to Nappa or Vegeta. Then again, you Saiyans have always been so fixated on bloodlines. Pairing off in some futile attempt to breed a better warrior. It all seemed rather pointless to me. But maybe Raditz finally hit paydirt. I wonder who the boy's mother could be. You, perhaps?"

He slammed Luffa into the ground before she could respond. This time he planted his foot on her back.

"I had kept a few Saiyans alive for my own personal use," Frieza said. "And I made sure not to leave any females alive, but you and the boy have shown me that I missed a few. Perhaps I might have tolerated this, except the boy shows exceptional strength. Who can say? Within a few generations, a genuine threat might arise, purely by chance. Is that the truth behind the Super Saiyan legend? Maybe once every few centuries one of you filthy monkeys manages to win the genetic lottery? Was King Vegeta trying to rig the game by mating all of his 'elite' warriors with each other? Why, it's positively revolting. Just the thought of it reminds me of why I segregate my crews by gender. It's not an ideal solution, but it cuts down on the fraternization, at least.

"Oh wait! What was I thinking! I no longer have any ships left, nor the crews to maintain them, because you destroyed them all, didn't you? That's what you told me before, wasn't it? You and some elaborate band of conspirators. Such a fanciful story. And I could almost believe it. The Dragon Balls seemed like a fairy tale, but they turned out to be real enough. This is why I despise legends. Once in a great while, one of them happens to have a hint of truth to it, and it requires me to investigate. I find it easier to destroy the storytellers. For example, I planned to annihilate Planet Namek whether the Dragon Balls were real or not. Immortality would have been nice, but the important thing is to make certain that no one else is lulled into thinking they can have it.

"As for the Super Saiyan, I give that tale no credence at all. But it has led so many into ruin. Look no further than poor Vegeta, desperately awaiting a hero that will never arrive. My father believed you Saiyans were the perfect slave species. All you ever do is fight, and he believed he could control you forever, but I knew better. Your own dreams conspire against you, tempting you to rise above your station. And now, I finally see that even a handful of Saiyans is too many. I must eradicate every trace of your misbegotten bloodline. So I shall ask again: Are you the boy's mother? I don't really need to know, but it would make it more enjoyable when I kill you in front of him."

Luffa was not Gohan's mother, but the very suggestion brought back painful memories of her own son, and the tragic ruin of his short life. Ignoring the time travel, the strange things King Rehval did to accelerate his growth, her son would have been roughly Gohan's age. Her entire body suddenly erupted with power, enough to knock even Frieza off his footing.

And then, just as she had planned before, Luffa went straight for his eyes.

If her fingers couldn't reach him, her own eyes would unleash a powerful ki blast into his, and she longed to hear his agonized screams. But it was not to be.

Once again, Frieza was too fast for her, and he swatted her aside like a bug.

"I expected as much," Frieza said after clicking his tongue. "You won't even answer a simple question. There really is no reasoning with you Saiyans. You're a blight on creation. Perhaps it's time I stopped indulging myself by prolonging your agony. Feast your eyes then, on my true self. My final form!"

He stooped down and lowered his head, and Luffa could sense his power increasing. It felt as though some other creature was struggling to escape, and the gutteral sounds coming from Frieza's throat only made the process even more grotesque. The power he was generating was strong enough that Luffa would have backed away to a safe distance, but it was all she could do to roll onto her back and scoot a few meters away.

The ground beneath Frieza began to tremble, and streams of sand and silt erupted through small fissures in the topsoil. Occasionally, he would pause and look at his hands, then laugh with a triumphant satisfaction. Mostly, he just screamed, and his skin began to pulse with a crimson glow.

As Luffa watched, she could only wonder if this meant she had failed the mission. Her job was to prevent Frieza from using his final form right off the bat. She had delayed him, but she had no way of knowing if she had kept him occupied long enough. Desperate for answers, she cast about with her ki senses, searching for the others. A faint energy signature in the distance was the Saiyan Goku, who was recovering in Frieza's ship. Piccolo's ki was also weak, but it steadily rose, as she could sense Dende healing him, just as he had healed the others before. Gohan and Krillin were there, but she couldn't pick up Vegeta...

And then she finally found him. His power level was so low that she had nearly missed it entirely. It didn't take her long to guess how that had happened. One way or another, he had convinced Krillin to help him. The question was: Would his plan work? Even if he could recover from his wounds, would it be enough to make a difference? Was this how history was supposed to play out?

Watching Frieza, it certainly didn't feel like things were going well. As he continued to laugh, every surface on his body began to crack and blister. With a brutish smile, he raised up his hands and cried out one more time, and then his body seemed to shatter apart to reveal the true Frieza underneath. Luffa covered her face with her good arm, and the world around her went bright white. Then she found herself surrounded by a cloud of dust. She could sense Frieza standing still in the center of it all, but he seemed to be waiting for the air to clear before taking any action. Luffa used the momentary respite to shove her dislocated shoulder back into place. Despite the pain, she kept her eyes trained on Frieza's position.

She had seen this version of Frieza before, when viewing the altered history of this battle. Unlike the previous forms, this Frieza had a sleek, muscular body that reminded Luffa of a dancer she had seen in a performance on Carber IX. Gone were the ribbed sections of pink skin and bony carapaces. In their place was a form of chalky white with purple sections on his shoulders, chest, head and shins. He looked a great deal like Dewar, the Time Patrol historian she had recently met. Dewar's people considered Frieza a shame on the honor of their species, and Luffa was beginning to understand how deep that shame ran. It was one thing to know about his evil deeds. Facing him in person was an entirely different experience, one that revealed entirely new reasons to despise this monster. As he glanced around in search of his foes, Luffa could tell from his blank expression that he didn't care at all what his people thought of him. Like so many other Luffa had fought, Frieza considered himself the only being in the universe that mattered. Luffa's only regret was that she lacked the power to give him the same treatment as the others she had faced.

For a moment, his eyes met hers, and she wondered if he planned to attack her next, but then she sensed something, a rising power coming from where she had sensed Vegeta's dying energy. Dende had healed him after all, it seemed. And he had gotten stronger. The only question was, would it be enough?

And if it wasn't enough, would Luffa be able to make up the balance?

NEXT: Unfulfilled.

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blackthorncurse · 4 years ago

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I read the Shatter Me series so you don’t have to

Overall score: ⭐️⭐️.5/5

Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi so don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled!!

Okay so I technically didn't even finish this series, I got to around 30% in the final book Imagine Me and I couldn't hold out any longer to push through this series so after realising I didn't care what happened to any of the characters, I gladly gave up. This was another of the TikTok recommended book series that I kept seeing popping up and even though I took one look at the cover of the first book and knew it wasn't going to be my cup of tea I thought I should give it a go. People always say not to judge a book by its cover but i think that doesn't apply to this series as I genuinely wish I hadn't bothered.

I can kind of understand, as it first came out in 2011, the hype around the kind of dystopian themes and super powers aspect of the book as it was very popular at the time. But honestly the writing style of this book and some of the plot points were just so strange to me. I don't know what Mafi was going for with all the damn strikeouts in the earlier books but that immediately put me off as it came across to me as lazy writing. I understand that she was trying to portray Ella’s Juliette’s sanity being lost but i felt that there are much better ways to do it and I've seen it been done in much more imaginative ways that this. I have also never read a book with so many metaphors in my life. Everything had to be a metaphor and it was overkill. She definitely toned these down in the later books but even when a single strikeout would appear I’d get war flashbacks from the first book. Honestly I’m surprised I went so far in this series, if they weren’t so short to read I probably wouldn’t have bothered. The best line of literature in this book wasn’t even written by the author, it was a quote from Shakespeare: “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here”

One of the reasons that I kept reading was that I desperately wanted to know that Juliette didn’t end up with Adam (which thankfully she doesn’t). I hated Adam as a love interest from the very beginning he was very boring and one dimensional (as most of the characters in this series were) I wasn’t convinced they should have been together at all. I liked Warner in the first book, he was the kind of crazy villain of the story with some strange infatuation with Juliette and her power and I liked how over the top he was. However, by the third book Mafi chose to mellow him out and he eventually became boring enough to me that I didn’t care what happened to him either. Another reason I kept reading was Kenji, he was the only other character I liked and surprisingly I liked him throughout the whole series, he was the comedic relief that this series so desperately needed in a boring world or recurring plot points.

I also wanted to touch upon the point of Juliette’s powers because at first I was really interested in her power. She wasn’t able to touch anyone without killing them and I was intrigued to see where Mafi would go with this as I thought that she could have had a really interesting and unique relationship going on where they are so desperately in love but they can’t touch each other. But unfortunately, she decided to go with the safe option and make it so that both Adam AND Warner’s powers cancelled out hers and then she finds out that she can actually control her power so now she can just touch anyone she wants and all is good. I’m not even going to talk about the whole secret sister, mind control, memory wiping, evil parent plot points because this rant review is already going on too much. But lastly, how many times did they have to kill Warner’s dad to actually kill him my gosh it was almost like the author couldn’t think of a better villain so she just magically resurrected him after every book.

Overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this series to be honest. I’ve been a bit brutal in my review but it just wasn’t my kind of book. I think there are much better series out there by authors who have much better writing styles who won’t put you in a massive reading slump. Please don’t kill me for not liking the series.

#Mia reads #shatter me #shatter me series #tahereh mafi #unravel me #ignite me #restore me #defy me #imagine me #book review #booklr #bookblr #bookish #books #ya books

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Darkwing Duck Reviews Halloween Special: Fungus Amongus and Ghoul of My Dream

Happy Halloween! Halloween Havoc races to the finish with another Darkwing Double Feature! Love is kinda crazy with a spooky girl like Morgana, and in this case “kinda crazy” means a board of ghouls stealing pizza, sentient mushrooms, grumpy spiders, student lone debt, and a gremlin who somehow sees himself as a valid romantic option. It’s a Darkwing Duck Halloween under the cut.+

We’ve made it! While I got less Halloween reviews done than I would’ve liked, I’m still happy with the ones done and there’s still two more to get in the pocket before the day’s up. So with Halloween today it seemed fitting to talk about the Justice Ducks resident sorcerer and Darkwing’s Girlfriend, Morgana Macawber. Morgana was the only one of the four to stick around as a recurring character out of the four Justice Ducks: Gizmoduck would show up once more after the four parter, and sadly Neptunia and Stegamutt just seemed to vanish but the crew clearly liked Morg a lot and her relationship with Darkwing, so she stuck around for the rest of the series, and is even the focus of the final episode “Malice’s Restaurant”, as well as a sizeable part of the comics. And it’s easy to see why as Kathie Sourcie had great chemistry with Jim Cummings and Morgana’s very presence, being a sorceress raised by the munsters and living in a creepy mansion, allowed for diffrent stories than what Darkwing usually dealt with. While magic didn’t feel like it contrasted with the world, as Darkwing’s world feels like your standard superhero fantasy kitchen sink where anything is possible, most of his foes were either super villains or the kinds of super spies you’d find in a comic book. So fighting ghoouls, goblins, and Satan himself, yes that’s an episode that actually happened, no it’s sadly not on Disney plus, and yes I will be covering it eventually, was a nice out of genre experience and a nice way to put our daring duck of mystery out of his element.

She brought something diffrent to the table, both forcing Darkwing to grapple with letting someone into his life, and with having something to focus on other than Gosalyn or crime. So I wanted to see how this plays out, so expect me to cover all her episodes and not just the Satan one or the Valentine’s Day one, though like my Tom Lucitor retrospective, expect this one to also take some time. So with that all set up, Halloween is the perfect time to begin our journey with her first two episodes.. and Morgana’s Villian Career. Yeah while she only had about 9 episodes to her name, 2 of them are as a Catwoman or Black Cat style antagonist, someone whose likeable and who are hero is attracted to, but is on the wrong side of the law.

She eventually came around, but it’s still an intresting way to start things and an intresting dilema for our hero I wish stuck around for just a smidge longer. These aren’t bad episodes with Ghoul of My Dreams being a pretty good one. If I had to guess though the reason the dynamic fizzled out.. is they simply didn’t have a lot of ideas of how to use her as a bad guy. Part of the reason i’m covering these two episodes together is that they follow basically the same plot beat, the only differences being Darkwing meets Morgana in the first one and they know each other in the second, and that the evil entity who ends up turning against her she works with is different for both. The third act is also entirely unique to each episode, so it feels less like them lazily repeating themselves on an episode and more like they genuinely realized they didn’t have a ton of ideas for Morgana as a villain and thus had her reform with the Justice Ducks two parter. And I can’t blame them: fan would get annoyed if basically every Morgana plot played out the same, and this way she could know Drake’s secret identity, and thus allow the stories to use Gosalyn, though I do wish she’d shown up in one of the villian ones just to see how that played out. But still her time as a Villian is there, and is even a plot point in the valentine’s episode, so let’s see how it played out and see what I think.

Fungus Amongus

The plot here is fairly simple: there’s been a rash of mysterious thefts in St. Canard, and Darkwing is stumped.. until Launchpad asks if they can go for pizza, because he’s hungry and Darkwing is the terrible kind of boss that doesn’t’t care about meal breaks. It makes our hungry hero realize that each of the thefts are connected to PIzza Toppings, and after thwarting the bats and spiders stealing some anchovies, figures there’s only two left: Green Peppers and Mushrooms, and so he decides it’s time to split up gang and while Launchpad guards the peppers, Darkwing goes to visit the head of the mushrom company, who naturally turns out to be Morgana. The two end up taken with one another, to the board’s annoyance as Darkwing is onto them and could stop their whole evil plan and they want to just murder his ass and be done with it. But Morgana proves seduction’s a bit more useful as she sweetalks our hero into leaving, and points out given he’s also a creature of the night in a sense, she plans to turn him.. or kill him if she has to. More on that in our next episode. The facade dosen’t last long as Darkwing goes to help launchpad at the pepper place, and ends up finding out oh no the hot lady he met five minutes ago is bad! While the board plans to feed Launchpad to mutant mushrooms, while Morgana seemingly turns Darkwing into her mindless slave.. but really just played the board and switched sides, not wanting to hurt the guy she just met because he’s cute, they defeat the mushrooms and the board who turn into mushrooms in the light because....

The day is saved though we do get the one standout bit of the episode. Darkwing despite his attraction to her, wants to turn her in, while Morgana simply teleports her house away. And thus the dance begins. As for the episode... as you can tell by how brief I was... for one i’m not doing my usual died in wool recapping for these two to get them out on time. And i’m also not because this one.. is pretty thin. The mutant mushroom and boards’d esigns are cool and Morgana is intresting.. but having seen Ghoul of my Dreams first.. it’s just not as fun, funny or good on the Morgana Darkwing dynamic. Morgana just decides because she wants to ride that dick she’ll be good for a moment, and throw away her hard worked scheme, and the board is turned into mushrooms because.. well see the lex luger pic above. It’s not a TERRIBLE episode, just not a terribly intresting one. It has good elements, but they just don’t come together well and the pizza scheme isn’t as funny as the episode thinks it is. I can kinda see why this one was buried deeper into the series and Ghoul of My Dreams is where they put focus. I just don’t have a lot to say about this one, it’s just bland and uninteresting. It’s kind of why I just sorta plopped it next to Ghoul, I needed to review it for completion’s sake, but lord if I can think of a lot to say about it that isn’t tied into the next one. So since I can’t...

Ghoul of my Dreams:

Now this is better. The basic plot is still simple but allows for a lot more intresting set pieces: It’s a slow night in St. Canard, to Darkwing’s natural annoyance, until a bunch of fire fighters start sleepwalking and throwing gold to some spiders and bats. Something is afoot and since the bats belong to Morgana, Darkwing goes to investigate her. Granted we just MET eek and squeak, but it’s easy enough to assume Morgana struck again off screen and some time has passed. And i’ts honestly what makes this episode more interesting: now it’s more of a cat and mouse game, with Morgana using their chemistry against him, but still being genuinely drawn to him and not wanting to hurt him. It’s better than “I met you five minutes ago might as well throw away my money for you”. Instead Morg truly likes Drake, but wants to keep doing crimes to, in easily the best joke of the entire series “Finally pay off my student loans”.. which makes her already not really a bad guy. I may not haves em but I know people who do. Those loan people do not play around. It’s investing and Sourcie and Cumming’s chemstiry really makes it pop. Sourcie really is what makes the character, giving her energy, sedcutivness when called for and a really sympathetic quality that makes her face turn, sudden as it is, believable. It’s why I really like the character. And I get why some don’t: Her romance with darkwing is sudden, her face turn is even more sudden, and she gets in the way of Drakepad shippers. The first two are valid criticisms, while the last one is understandable.. depending on motive. If your just bummed this relationship you don’t like is forced into the show and gets in the way of the one you actually enjoy.. trust me...

BEEN THERE. And far far worse.. I didn’t start up an entire retrospective on the guy who DIDN’T get the girl here for nothing. But if you say “oh well it’s homophobic or you hate gays” if you don’t ship drakepad, which I have actually heard for both this ship and delpad.. kindly go fuck yourself and stay away from my posts. It’s NOT homophobic to ship a character who is CANOCIALLY into women, with a woman. Launchpad had a girl of the week or two in ducktales, Drake’s attraction to morgana is canon and he also had some ship tease with Neptunia. They both like women.. but there’s nothing saying they DON’T like men, don’t want to date men, or aren’t attracted to them.

Been waiting to reference Schitt’s Creek at some point here now i’ve started watching it. It’s biphobic to say this sort of harmful shit, and it doesn’t’t help there are plenty of gay people who genuinely believe bi and pan aren’t sexualities and harm their own community by doing so. Saying this kind of shit just fuels their fire and bi people like me and pan people like my firend have a hard enough time with straight people being dicks about this. You should know and be better. Don’t bring that shit into this fandom. We’ve already ridden incest out on a rail we don’t need this. I already put up with enough bullshit being a loud house fan and having to deal with ACTUAL homophobic ships like Sam/Lincoln, aka setting up a character you don’t know to be anything but gay, versus her girlfriend whose canocially been shown to be bi if preferring women, whose the proment and well like love interest of a woman, and pair her with her younger brother to clearly troll people. Now that’s a homophobic ship and that you shoudl be angry about, not “oh no the person who likes women in canon.. LIKES A WOMAN IN FANON”. It’s part of what made shiping delpad hard at times because people got really dumb about it to the point someone drew some very horrible fanart just to clog up the tag. Knock. it off.

And if your curious for my actual thoughts on Drakepad: in the classic series.. i’m not a fan, but I get it, and I do think they could work... it’s just. that Drake treats Launchpad really bad, including throwing him out of the house for a year without telling him why over something that really wasn’t his fault, not feeding him, not treating him as an equal after a while. This would have to change for them to work but I could see it happening, as the comics and one of the peisodes make a point that Drake can be a pretty shitty partner to Morgana too.

And just to show i’m equal opprtunity, despite shipping Delpad in the past, i’ve moved on to Penpad and Drakepad , ironcially enough, i’m not as big a fan anymore. LIke the above, Della just dosen’t respect launchpad as a human being. She was willing to keep the Halloween thing up JUST to scare children, looks down on him, and whie is his friend, is not all that close. I could see them happening, and do still think it’d be cute, it’d just take a ton of work and there are better ships for both. And yes I do ship Drakepad in the reboot, but there the two aren’t employer and employee, but equals who genuinely love and respect one another, listen to one another, and value each other. In the Reboot they have genuine chemistry and I could see them together, while in the original Launchpad and Morgana both really deserve better.

Now that’s settled, we get a fun scene of the two primping for each other. then flirting a bit, though Morgana, in AWFUL looking black lipstick wins with the move above and has her spider web launchpad, who hates morgana.. which is one part common sense given how darkwing gets around her and one part ho yay. But yeah this is pretty much Launchpad for both these episodes.

And darkwing dick is calling the shots so fair enough. But Morgana is once again nto wokring alone and is working with a creepy, well designed gremlin, named Nodoff... eh i’ve heard worse, whose giving her sleeping dust to knock out her targets and hits on her constnatly. Naturally he plans to betray her as soon as he can, and is likely only tolerating her because he wants to hit that. There dynamic boils down to this.

There’s also tons of fun dream sequences including one at the top with darkwing being confronted by his enitre Rogue’s gallery before seeing morgana, NOdoff using baseball on Morg’s next target and some great ones at the climax. It’s part of hwy I like this episode better: While someone using dreams for stuff has been done a lot, it’s given a creative spin here as instead of killing them, Morgana’s simply using them to steal. Good stuff.

Darkwing foils their first attempt, though gets blamed for it because St. Canard is about as grateful as New York when it comes to superheroes. Morgana knocks darkwing out with some dust via Eeka and Squeak and admits Nodoff is working for her, though fobids him to harm Darkwing. This.. dosen’t last and we get another great setpiece, of sarkwing on a high dive. Thankfully, Launchpad finds him, and they find Morgana, who gives off the student loans comment. But in the struggle to stop her, Darkwing accidently puts her and the city to sleep.. and Nodoff is now super powerful and imprisons morgana. Darkwing i s back at her house, wondering what to do, but the bats give him a clue.. by flying him thorugh the door to fight Nodoff. It goes about as well as you’d expect with him freeing Morgana.. then trying to murder them both. Darkwing however pulls an Elm Streett 3 and says to think happy thoughts and take control of the dream.. which ends up at Darkwing’s Wedding to Morgana to his horror..... remind me whose the hero again. The woman who, while doing crimes is trying to pay off unfair debts, or the guy who finds the idea of commitment horrifying.

Anyways we get some more great bits, I brush over them so I don’t ahve to talk about them conantly, including darkwing getting a cake on him, before Darkwing turns the tables by finding the hourglass full of the dust.. and in a clever finale, loading it into his gun and firing it on nodoff. This puts him to sleep.. which puts him in the real world, while Launchpad uses a giant alarm clock to wake everyone. They throw NOdoff back into the dream world.. for some reason.. and the episode ends iwth morgana kissing darkwing and the episode possibly having been all a dream.

This one, while I was again breif, is a classic, with a much more interesting dynamic. Instead of a morgana who goes from willing to kill we get one whose conflicted over things, who clearly wants to be a crook but may like darkwing more than that, as evidenced when he talks her out of taking Nodoff’s offer of riches. It’s good stuff and the gags are back to the show’s usual top notch level. It’s a creative, fun episode that really helps Morgana come into her own and I look forward to more of her. Overall i’d recommend skipping fungus amongus, but DEFINTELY check out ghoul of my dreams, as it’s throughly fantastic. I’ll be back in a bit for one last Halloween review and as always you can find my backlog on my blog. i recently covered Tiff of the Titans and there’s regular ducktales coverage every monday. Until then make sure to vote, wear a mask and check your house for gary busey till we meet again! Play us out Gerard Way!

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#darkwing duck #drake mallard #disney afternoon #morgana macawber #launchpad mcquack #halloween #drakepad #drakegana

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gladuisnocturno · 5 years ago

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It all started at First Aid Class

Let me paint you a picture and tell me if it sounds familiar. Quirky girl meets a dorky boy. The two hit it off almost immediately. A girl with troubles making friends and a boy trying too hard to be liked, seemingly out of nowhere encountered each other…and all of those insecurities just banished. It just felt natural, it was as if they had known each other since the beginning. They shared laughs, they shared dreams and over time, they began to share more and more. What drove them, what scared them, what gave them guilt and what gave them hope and in every step of their journey, no matter what the world threw at them, they were always there for each other. A simple meeting built a bond that couldn't be broken. It just felt right.

It's been a few years since that encounter, but the spark of that friendship only grew larger. Jaune and Ruby had been through a lot. They had their victories, their challenges…and their losses, but they faced it all together.

Their journey now took them to Atlas Academy, a place of wonders and distrust, but somewhere that reminded them of their old home at Beacon. Teams RWBY and JNPR had fought through Grimm, terrorists, and villains, but after all of their adventures, they now found themselves with a little bit of time for themselves.

General Ironwood had granted them the title of Huntsmen and with it, the teams had finally reached what they had worked so hard to become, but of course, the circumstances meant that they were still a bit inexperienced. Fortunately, the General gave them free leeway to make use of Atlas Academy's resources to further their growth as true Huntsmen. Students, teachers, facilities, and of course classes. They would have been crazy not to take the opportunity…then again, something happened at a certain class…something that made things…a bit awkward for everyone.

"Yang, for the love of the gods! Turn down the music!" Weiss yelled. As usual, she was trying to focus on her studies, she had taken a few too many supplementary classes, something that of course pleased her…yeah, I don't get either, but neither did Yang. Her blonde teammate kept on dancing in their dorm.

"Come on! Throw those books away and have some fun for once, Weiss!".

"Books are fun! How dare you?!".

And thus, another argument, but as usual, Blake found herself having to mediate between the two.

"She is…kind of right, Yang…." Blake said rather nervously, hiding her shame behind her book.

Yang and Blake had been developing a special bond lately, so as soon as she heard that, Yang responded with awkward shock, "Oh!..I…I thought you were enjoying it…I'm sorry..".

"No! No! I was! It's just that…maybe you can turn the volume down just a little?" Her cat ears retracted as she quickly tried to cheer Yang up. "It's fine! Really! Maybe we can read later!"

"No, if it's bothering you…"

"Is not! Really! I promis…"

"UGH! Just kiss already!" Weiss rolled her eyes, getting third wheeled was becoming a recurring thing in their spared time and at this point, she just wanted them to get it over with.

"WHAT?!".

"WE-WE WERENT GOING TO…"

"Fine! Then don't! whatever. Just, turn down the volume. I don't want to get distracted with neither your music nor your 'will they, wont they' routine". Weiss said without taking her gaze from her books, leaving Yang and Blake to fluster and murmur in embarrassment.

Blake crawled to her bed and hid once again in her book, but Yang was a notoriously sore loser. Her embarrassment however only let her mumble her snappy comeback, "….At least I have a will they wont….".

"AH! FORGET IT! Where is Ruby?! I can't deal with the two of you alone!". Weiss, said even more frustrated. She would have been lying if that comment didn't sting though.

"She should still be in her first aid class, right?" Blake responded.

"Oh yeah, that started today".

Weiss took a deep breath to calm her nerves, but her frustration still lingered…if only she knew it was going to get worse. " Sigh. Why she even took that anyways?".

"Why else do you think? Jaune asked her to take it with him".

"Seriously?! The guy healed me from a stab wound with his semblance and he needs first aid classes?".

"Nora said he didn't want to rely on his semblance though. Honestly, I can relate to that". Yang responded, she completely understood where he was coming from. She had to learn that her semblance, while useful, should not be more than a tool for the right moments.

Jaune himself had been working towards becoming a good guardian, protecting his loved ones and the people that needed him was the path he chose, so learning first aid was just a part of his formation. Ruby in turn was more used to protecting by attacking, she was a prodigy in combat, and dealing with threats was her way of guarding those in need, however, knowing how to treat a wound was a useful skill that she wanted to learn as well.

"Fine. Then I'll go to the library. You two have fun…but not too much…".

"WEISS!" Blake yelled in embarrassment while Yang just turned red.

Weiss chuckled a bit, "You two are adorable" she said to herself as she opened the door. To everyone's surprise, a twister of roses trampled everything in the room, throwing Weiss and Yang to the floor and leaving the room full of petals. The red whirlwind rushed to the top bed bunk and hid under the sheets.

"RUBY! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!". Weiss yelled, surprised, a bit angry at the sudden rose storm that hit her in the face but also genuinely worried for her best friend.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!". Ruby yelled before hiding her face against her pillow.

Yang, Blake, and Weiss all jumped at the scene, all concerned. It wasn't usual for Ruby to act this way.

"Rubes! What happened?" Yang asked her little sister, climbing to her side trying to console her.

"…issed me….".

"What?".

Ruby turned her face away from the pillow a little. She had some tears in her eyes and her blushing face was redder than her hood. "Jaune kissed me…".

Yang froze. Her eyes wide and an awkward and confused smile covered her face. She slowly climbed down and walked backward, still facing her sister and still with that weird smile on her face.

"What did she say?" Blake asked.

"Jaune…kissed her….".

"Jaune kissed her?".

"Yeah…"

The room went silent for a minute. Blake served water to her friends and the three of them cleared their throats. Once refreshed, they took a deep breath and responded in the most naturally and calmly way possible.

"….JAUNE KISSED YOU!?".

"SHUT UP! DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!"

Ruby kept on hugging her pillow as tightly as possible, trying to shield herself from the embarrassment, but her older sister didn't exactly make things easy for her.

Yang picked her up as if she was still a 5-year-old, hugging her and swinging her around with joy, "You had your first kiss! I'm so proud of you!".

"Yang! Let me go!" Ruby whined, freeing herself from her sister's hug with a temper tantrum.

"But this is so cute!".

"Shouldn't you be upset? I mean, Jaune just took advantage of your little sister!" Blake argued, but Yang just kept a joyful smile.

"Well, yeah, if it was any other person I would be pissed. But this is Jaune we are talking about. I mean, I once saw him apologize to a bunch of baby spiders for killing their mom, he was crying the entire time and cried, even more, when the baby spiders crawled in his mouth". Yang responded chuckling with a big smile.

Weiss was curious. She had some unpleasant times with Jaune back at Beacon. At the time she sure would have bought that he would be the kind of guy to steal a kiss from a girl…but that was a long time ago. Jaune wasn't the sort of person she once thought he was. He had grown a lot since then, he left those habits behind him and Weiss knew perfectly well that Yang was right, he cared a lot about Ruby and would never take advantage of her.

"Here" Weiss told her partner before passing her a glass of water that Ruby instantly drank entirely. "Better?".

"…Mhm".

"Good. Now, tell us what happened".

Ruby took a deep breath. "It-It all started at first-aid class…".

Classes at Atlas Academy normally were given in large auditoriums full of students listening to a conference from one of the many teachers of the academy. However, the first aid class was a more private and personal course. It was an elective, students had the option to take the class or chose another and since this wasn't a particularly exciting course, not many took it. Still, Jaune was very intimidated by the group of around 12 students sitting around him.

"Come on, where are you? Please don't leave me alone here…" He kept saying to himself, begging for his friend to finally arrive.

The door was opened but to Jaune's misfortune, it wasn't who he wanted it to be. Instead, it was the teacher in charge of that morning's class.

"Good morning students. Please have a sit" Winter Schnee walked with elegance and authority everywhere she went. "I'm afraid Mrs. Silva is undisposed today. As such, I've been assigned to substitute her. For those who don't know me, I am Special Agent Winter Schnee. Today we will go over basic first aid techniques following the training guides of the Atl…"

The sound of the door slamming open was more than enough to throw Winter off her tracks and of course, the entire classroom quickly turned towards the sound.

"IM HERE! I made it in….time…".

Jaune just chuckled awkwardly, seeing how Ruby tried her best to keep her cool as she walked down to her seat.

"Ms. Rose, you are late".

"I'm sorry, Winter! Nora challenged me to a waffle eating contest and I could have beaten her if only…".

"Just take a seat! And it's Ms. Schnee".

"Right, sorry. Ms. Schnee. Hehe" She said, she was clearly a bit embarrassed but as soon as she sat next to Jaune, that embarrassment didn't matter at all. She was just happy to see him and so was he of seeing her.

"I was totally gonna win though", She whispered to Jaune who immediately chuckled.

"Against, Nora? Please, I've seen her eat a full pie in less than a minute".

"Oh, so you are a man of low faith, I see! I'll show you!".

"She had already eaten a full cake and a milkshake".

"Ok, then maybe I was 5 waffles behind, but the match didn't end so if you think about it…"

Two white summoned Nervermores flew at high speed and landed on their heads, pecking them slightly.

"Ow! OW!".

"Ow! That hurts!".

"Rose! Arc! May I remind you; you are in the middle of a class!?".

"Sorry, Ms. Schnee…". The two said with shameful voices but as soon as Winter turned to her board, Jaune and Ruby just took a quick look at each other and chuckled at the sight of the other's smile.

The class continued as Winter went over multiple techniques of first aid in a variety of situations. Jaune and Ruby took the class seriously for the most part, but of course, there were moments in which neither could avoid just goof around with the other. Whether it was Jaune throwing small paper balls at her or Ruby making funny drawings of him, the two were occasionally caught by the serious gaze of their teacher but neither could stop having fun with the other, it was just the way they were.

It had been so long since the two got to have some time to breathe and just enjoy each other's company. Ever since the Fall…it was rare to see either smile. Jaune was haunted by the sorrow of losing Pyrrha that night, while Ruby was filled with guilt for not having been able to save her and for dragging Jaune in this mission, knowing full well how much he was suffering.

The journey hadn't been easy. The weight of the world resting on their shoulders, it was unbearable at times. Ruby in particular tended to push through her doubts and sorrow, but of course, she had her limits. Some nights she would wake up sweating and with tears in her eyes, desperately wiping them out before someone noticed it. Everyone relied on her to continue going, which she did gladly, but she would be lying if she said it didn't affect her at times…but then, there were moments like this one. Moments in which she could forget for a moment all the pressure of the world and just enjoy herself. She enjoyed just letting loose with her friends, her team, her family. And of all those people, there was one she just enjoyed hanging around the most. Jaune was always there for her when she was in doubt when she needed help and especially when she needed someone to smile at her, Jaune was always there.

Jaune began his journey without knowing what even meant to be a true hero. He was put in a position of responsibility that he never thought he would be able to handle. He worked to better himself, he learned through many mistakes, and eventually…his fears became true…he failed and people got hurt because of him. The Fall of Beacon left a dark void in his heart. To say he had been in a dark place would be an understatement…and yet, here he was, with a smile once again. Ruby had always been there for him. When he had doubts, she was the first one to inspire him. When the world told him to stop trying, Ruby was the one who inspired him to keep going. The moment he began to fall into that dark self-hating place, Ruby was always there brightening his day. She shared a laugh with him, she shared her tears with him and he in turn did the same.

Friends until the end. It was amazing how a bond that strong was born from a simple meeting….It just felt right.

"I really thought you were leaving me alone here".

"Pff. Have I ever let you down? Plus, I don't know why you were so scared".

"We are in a room full of people I've never seen in my life. What if I had to talk to one of them?!".

"So? You did that with me when we met and had no issue".

"Yeah, but you are special".

"Eh?...".

Jaune's face turned red and without noticing he started sweating a little. Special? He just called her special? Of course, she was special to him but up to that point, he had never outright said it. He began to panic a little, afraid that he had accidentally said something embarrassing.

Unbeknown to him, Ruby's mind did linger on that word for a moment. Special? He just called her special? What did that mean? What was is it special about her? Why did he think she was special? Special how?...Did she want him to think she was special? All questions that rushed Ruby's head as fast as a bullet train.

Jaune began to stutter "I-I mean. Not special…well, yeah, when I first saw you there was something special about…Well, no, I mean…".

Neither could hide their blushes and the two just wished the world ended right there and then to end the embarrassing conversation. They were never as relieved as the moment the white Nevermores hit them on the head again.

"ROSE! ARC! That's enough! The two of you should be ashamed", she had no idea how right she was. "You two are licensed huntsmen now and are here just behaving like children! Instead of acting like fools maybe you could make yourselves useful. Stand up and come down here".

Jaune and Ruby complied, still a bit uncomfortable with their heads down in shame. They stood in front of the class as Winter began to give them instructions.

"Ms. Rose, please lay on you back. Mr. Arc, please kneel next to her".

The two of them did as told. Having all those eyes staring at them just made the entire experience more and more awkward by the minute. But the moment Ruby laid on her back, she got a bit of a confidence boost since she couldn't really see the audience. This gave her an idea.

"Hey, Jaune. Are you scared?".

"I wanna die!".

"Come on. We have been through worse. Don't worry, just look at me and ignore the audience. Trust me".

Look at her? After what he said earlier? Even with his eyes closed, he felt embarrassed just being near her. But seeing the audience staring and judging him freaked him out more. Something that Ruby said gave him confidence though. She asked him to trust her and there was no one in the world he trusted more than her.

Jaune took his eyes away from the audience and centered them on Ruby…and nothing else mattered. She just kept smiling and humming and all his anxiety slowly banished. She then began to make funny faces and he couldn't help but chuckle a little. She truly was special to him.

"Ok, class. This is a demonstration of assisted artificial respiration. Mr. Arc if you may".

"Eh…yeah…assisted…yeah, I know what that is…".

"You…weren't paying attention at the classes, were you?".

"Of course, I was!...So I put my hands here and…".

Winter rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What you are doing is CPR and you have your hands wrong! Sigh. To perform assisted artificial respiration, you must first cover the patience's nose like this", Winter grabbed Jaune's hand and helped him pitch Ruby's nose.

"OW!".

"Ah! I'm sorry!".

"I'm just messing with you! Hahah".

"Aw, give me a break. Hehe".

Winter rolled her eyes at the goofiness of her students. "Take this seriously. Your friend is in mortal danger, Mr. Arc". Those words hit Jaune deeper than she could imagine, but it was everything he needed to stop playing and learn every skill he could to protect his loved ones.

"Now, grab her mouth like this". She put his hand on her face and slightly opened Ruby's mouth.

"Ok, then what?".

"Then you put your mouth against hers and blow".

"Right. I put my mouth against…hers…WAIT WHAT?!".

"HE IS GOING TO DO WHAT?!".

The audience burst in laughter and Winter just grew more annoyed. "You two are unbelievable. Assisted artificial respiration is better known as mouth-to-mouth resurrection. Your friend is not breathing and you must fill her lungs with air through her mouth".

" Yo-You can't be serious!".

"Well, no, this is a demonstration. You are not going to actually blow air into her. That would be dangerous. Just press your mouth against hers and…".

Ruby tried to stand up. "You know, maybe we can see a video on the internet! I'm sure if we ignore the kitty videos and the lets players, we can find someone doing…".

"Lay down! You are supposed to be unconscious!".

"Doesn't that make it worse?!".

"For the love of…. You are in a desperate situation, Arc! Rose just got attacked by a Grimm. She hit some rocks and now is not breathing. Every second that passes, her life in danger. It is up to you to do something or else she will die. What will you d…".

Before Winter could finish, the mere idea of losing Ruby had pushed Jaune to ignore everything in the world. He had to give it his all, he couldn't lose her, he was not going to lose her…so he did it.

Ruby's eyes showed her shock…his lips…and hers…Her mind went blank. Her heart just kept pounding faster and faster. What was happening? How did this happen? Jaune was her friend, her best friend. And here he was, with his lips against hers. She didn't know how to feel, she couldn't understand…but a part of her was enjoying it. She soon relaxed, slowly closed her eyes..and let herself go.

Jaune wasn't thinking. He got carried away by the scenario and just went for it. He even forgot to cover her nose. The only thing in his mind was trying to help Ruby…but at one moment, he realized what was happening. He had his eyes closed and let himself get trapped by the soft and sweet lips of his best friend. It felt odd. She was his best friend. She was special to him…maybe the most special person to him…He shouldn't have but he couldn't deny it, he was enjoying every single second of what was happening.

Jaune and Ruby stayed there for a few seconds that felt like hours and a part of them wished it was years. It was confusing, it was sweet…it just felt right.

Their closed eyes just showed the sweet joy they were feeling….yet something happened that shocked them back into reality. Their eyes got wide and they stared at each other. Jaune stood back is awe of what just had happened, while Ruby stood covering her mouth with both hands. Their eyes didn't disconnect from each other and the two blushed and shook nervously.

"Ru…" That was all Jaune could murmur, before Ruby's eyes became a bit teary and a vortex of rose petals rushed out the classroom at max speed.

"Wa-WAIT!".

"And then I ran here…". The little huntress finished her story, whimpering in shame and confusion as her friends stood around her chair focused on the story.

The first one to break the silence was her dear sister. "It's ok, Rubes. You didn't do anything wrong".

"Yang, my friendship with Jaune is over! How do you want me to see him in the eyes again?!".

Blake stepped in, "It wasn't a kiss though. He was just using a first-aid technique, it was part of the class, nothing else".

"Blake is right. Besides, just because your lips touched doesn't mean you can´t be friends anymore. Nothing bad happened" Weiss continued as she showed her support to her dear friend. The three gave her a soft smile as if saying "you poor thing" to their brave leader…poor poor girls, they weren't mentally prepared.

"There was tongue…".

"…."

"Guys?".

"JAUNE, I TRUSTED YOU!":

"I TOLD YOU! ALL MEN ARE PIGS!".

"YOU DID THAT IN FRONT OF MY SISTER!?".

All four girls had their own freakout. To say that dorm was in chaos was putting it slightly. But after a few seconds of constant screams, a chilling knock on the door sent goosebumps to their spines.

The knocks grew stronger and stronger until they were outright slams. And an aura of a powerful beast could be felt behind it.

"Oh, no…you don't think…".

Another slam made a dent on the thick metal door.

"Yang! You answer!".

"Blake! I thought we had something special!".

Another dent appeared.

Weiss shallowed as she built up courage. "Co-Come in!".

The door opened with enough impact to shake everything in the room. "One of you is coming with me…".

"Nora. We can talk about th…". Weiss tried to reason with the ragging berserker in her doorstep, but before she could finish, Nora put her on her shoulder and made her way out with the princess as her hostage.

"AHHH! HELP ME!".

"You will be missed, Weiss!".

"I'll dedicate my first book to you!".

"SCREW YOU, GUYS!".

Nora dragged Weiss to the gardens of Atlas Academy, sitting her on a bench.

"That was extremely unnecessary!".

"Shut it! Princess! You know why I brought you here!" Nora pointed at Weiss accusatorily…before wiggling her finger to play with her prisoner's nose.

Weiss shook her hands to get her off her, "St-Stop it!". She took a deep breath before addressing the matter. "So, you heard".

"Heard?! Jaune came in rushing like a bullet! I have never seen him so embarrassed in my life and I was there when he got a wedgie from an Ursa".

"Don't remind me, he was giving me flowers that day".

Nora certainly was upset but her demeanor didn't show anger. She was mainly frustrated with the whole situation and worried for her two friends. Jaune in particular…she wasn't sure how his heart would take it. "Seriously, of all ways for this to happen. You know how hard it was to get Jaune to smile again?!".

"Hey, don't look at me, I had nothing to do with this! Besides, if you are so worried about Jaune, why aren't you with him?".

Nora scoffed "Please! It's not like I left him alone. Ren and Oscar and keeping an eye on him".

"You left him with Ren and Oscar…".

"Yeah. Why?".

"I don't get it! Why you took your hand off her nose? Wouldn't the air come out from there?".

"She put her tongue in my mouth! Who cares about the first-aid technique, Oscar!?".

"But are you sure it was a kiss though? Many cultures have varied ways of greeting a friend or family. The customs in Patch might be more exotic than we think".

"Ren, just…Just give me another tea…".

"This really isn't his day, is it?".

"Would you take this seriously?!" Nora was growing ever more frustrated by the time and Weiss began to notice this situation had her unusually nervous.

"Nora. Calm down. This isn't that big of a deal. I'm sure they can makeup, they are inseparable". Weiss reassured her.

Nora sat next to her, letting herself fall as if her worries were weighing her down. "It's just… You don't understand. When we traveled to Haven, I had to see Jaune and Ruby get eaten by their own regrets. Ruby had nightmares every night. Jaune barely slept". Nora took a deep breath, the memories of that road trip with team RJNR were as sweet as they were sorrowful. "Jaune's heart…it took him so long to start to heal. It made me so happy seeing him goof around and have a smile again after so long. But you know who managed to bring joy to him before he began to stand up on his own again? Little Ruby Rose".

Weiss was beginning to understand where Nora was coming from, "You are afraid they'll drift apart over this?".

"Ruby worked so hard to take his mind off…what happened. But every time she gave him joy, something else happened that pushed him back into that pit and every time that happened Ruby fell back into hers. I knew she regretted bringing us in that trip, I knew she felt guilty and was hurting just as, if not more than the rest of us. But I didn't know how to tell her everything would be ok…But you know who did?".

"Hehe. Of course, I do. Even before the Fall, Jaune and Ruby always knew what to say to each other". Weiss chuckled just remembering those good old days when all her family, her true family just spent time simply enjoying each other's company at Beacon.

"Yes, I am very afraid they'll drift apart. They are great for each other, Weiss! That's why I brought you here, I need your help".

Weiss was a bit surprised by her words. "Wait…You mean…you want them to be together?".

"They bring the best on each other and are happier when the other is around. Let me tell you a little story. We swore to never tell you guys…but I already told Yang so…".

Weiss rolled her eyes, just thinking that of course, Nora did.

"There was this one night we were setting our camp. We were getting everything ready when Jaune noticed his sleeping bag was full of ants. He started swinging it around but the thing was completely covered. Jaune didn't have anywhere to sleep…so."

"No! They did not!".

"Yep. Ruby told him they could share hers".

"Why didn't he share it with Ren?".

"Because I'm an amazing matchmaker, that's why! They ended up spooning each other that night!".

"Ruby was the big spoon, wasn't she?".

"It's called a jetpack".

"Ren is a little spoon too, noted".

"Every night was another nightmare, another sleepless night that just ate them from inside…but that night…that night they sleep so peacefully. Ren and I couldn't believe it. That was the one night they had a deep sleep…and it was while one was embracing the other".

Weiss understood completely. Ruby and Jaune were in a panic for the same reason, it wasn't just embarrassment. They were special to each other and just like Nora, what scared them the most was losing that bond due to a silly mistake…if only they could see it. "Are you sure they like each other?".

"Come on! I've been dealing with Jaune's love life since day 1 at Beacon. Trust me, they are head over heels for each other!".

"Then what's the big deal? They are not going to drift apart; all they need to do is be open with one another".

Nora launched herself at Weiss and put her face uncomfortably close to the snow princess' "As if it was that easy! You have done it before, haven't you? That fear of making things awkward by saying the wrong thing. If you care too much for someone, screwing things up would be as painful as tabbing your hand! Just spitting your feelings is not as easy as…".

"I never said it was easy, but if that person matters that much to you, you have to be honest to them and to yourself.".

"It's more complicated that…".

"I…feel we aren't talking about Jaune and Ruby anymore….".

Nora sat back down, her gaze drifting to the distance, "…It's hard to tell the person you love how much you love them…and there is always that fear that they won't say it back…".

Weiss delicately put her hand on Nora's shoulder who turned to see her reassuring smile. "You know what I love about you and Ren? You show your love to each other. Even in the smallest moments, Ren is always showing how much he cares about you. Give him time, someday he might find the courage to say it, but until then remember that actions speak way louder…and Ren does love you".

Nora became a bit teary-eyed, but she wasn't going to let the ice queen win, "Stop it. Hehe. Sniff. This isn't about me".

"Nora…you have to be open with Ren if this worries you so much. Hell, you would all be happier if you were more….That's it" Weiss stood up revitalized and with a plan in mind. "I know what to do".

"RUBY STOP!"

"I'll drink my pain away! I LEARNED FROM THE BEST!"

"I doubt Qrow was passing out on milk…".

"GIVE ME THE BOTTLE! YOU HAD ENOUGH!".

"NO! LET ME GO! YANG!".

"What the…" Weiss entered the room, amazed at the bizarre scene. Of course, this wasn't the weirdest thing she had found her teammates doing in their dorm by a long shot…which really is saying something.

"Weiss! Do something!". Ruby pleaded but Weiss planted her palm on her face.

"For the love of, Ok! Listen up! All of you!". Maybe in another life, Weiss would have done for an excellent general, because as soon as she spoke, all her teammates stood with attention. "We have exactly an hour to have Ruby ready".

"For what?" Ruby said concerned but Weiss was done with everyone's nonsense.

"Quiet! Yang, take her to the shower; she reeks of milk".

"On it!".

"Wa-WAIT! AHH!" Ruby continued complaining but Yang just carried her as if made of cardboard.

"Blake, help me find her an outfit. Nothing too formal but what I would call 'casual elegance', and no heels! I cannot put her under more stress".

"I think I got an idea, but…Weiss, what's going on?".

Weiss gave her a confident smile, the one she usually got when all her chess pieces fell into place. "Tonight, everything changes. For everyone".

Night fell and the gardens of Atlas Academy lite up with gorgeous lamps that displayed the snow lowly and softly falling on the bushes and trees. The sound of the running water of a fountain was a sweet melody that brought attention to its beautiful depiction of two huntsmen standing side by side against all adversity.

"Weiss, this is insane! Please let me go back to my bed".

"And run and hide for the rest of your life? Not a chance, you are braver than that, besides, you look so pretty!" Weiss said while fixing Ruby's clothes and hair, she wasn't going to let her be messy this night, but of course, she knew her best friend far too well, she wasn't going to put her in a dress she would be too embarrassed to wear, but between the skirt and one of Blake's shirts, Ruby looked comfortable and pretty, the exact balance Weiss was looking for.

"Weiss, I don't want to see him. It makes me nervous just thinking how Ill mess this u…".

"You won't! Ruby, you care a lot about Jaune and he cares so much for you. I get it, you guys did something embarrassing, who cares?! That doesn't change anything between you. But you have to talk about it".

"But…what if…".

Weiss hugged her tightly, she was there for her and she wanted to show it. "You know how you feel about him. But Ruby, you have to be honest with yourself. I know it is scary, but it's a leap of faith you must take".

"But…what should I say…?".

"The truth. All of it. Let your heart go wild. Be honest and I'm sure he'll be honest with you too. You are special to him, I'm sure of it".

Ruby hugged her even tighter, she needed those arms she could rely on more than anything at that moment.

"Besides, if he rejects you, I'll push him off Atlas".

"Hahaha. No, you wouldn't".

"There is a reason we are doing this outdoors, hehe".

The two separated a little, giving each other a loving smile, "You got this, Ruby. Just be honest with yourself".

"Thank you".

With those words, Ruby turned around and walked off to the meeting spot. Her legs were shaking, but with all the support Weiss gave her, how couldn't she try?

The snow kept falling but Ruby didn't know if her shivers were of cold or excitement or both. She had so many things in her mind, what she was going to say, what she was going to do…how did she actually felt? The more she reflected the more she kept wondering what she feared the most, for Jaune to not have feelings for her or him having them and her hurting him. He was her best friend, he was family…but…was he also…

Her feet stopped as soon as she noticed the figure of her tall friend. Jaune was rather nervous himself. Nora had made him take off his armor and go out mainly wearing his jacket, but somehow this made him feel vulnerable.

"But, Nora…".

"No buts!" her voice came from his scroll, "You are doing this and is final! Plus, you look so handsome!".

"You are sounding like my mom…".

"Yeah, talk about your mom. A great conversation starter, big guy".

"Star.." Jaune turned around and immediately froze seeing Ruby standing behind him.

"Good luck!" with that final message, Nora ended the call and Jaune and Ruby found themselves alone.

"..hey…".

"….hey".

"This feels wrong, why are we spying?".

"Oscar, sweetie, you need to learn to listen to big sis Nora!"

"Shhhh! It's starting!".

The entire team hid behind the bushes, ready to listen to their leaders. They were all wondering how things would go, but Weiss just had one wish, for the two to open their hearts.

The awkward silence was as cold as the snow. Jaune and Ruby had decided to share a bench. For a minute, all their conversation was silence followed by a few "hey"s and "so"s…but at least they were trying.

Jaune began to wonder how did he end up in this situation. How after everything they had been through, an awkward kiss had changed the way he acted around Ruby. It was always so natural to talk to her. From the start, he never had fear or anxiety talking to her. It was always so easy….then why was it different this time? He made a mistake, but this was still Ruby. She was the most amazing person he knew, she was kind, brave, strong, funny...beautiful. She was special…so why should this be different from normal?

"R-Ruby…" She was surprised to see him force those words out. He did his best to put himself together. "Ruby, I'm so sorry!". She was shocked, but at this point, he couldn't stop. "I-I didn't mean to…kiss you. I wouldn't steal a kiss from you, no, no, no! I don't mean from you; I mean from anyone. Not that I want to kiss other people besides you...wait! No, that's not what I…"

"I'm sorry too!" To Jaune's surprise, Ruby had jumped in as well "It was my fault! If I had paid attention to the class or…or…I didn't mean to….I didn't mean to put my tongue in your mouth!".

"IT WAS HER?!".

"I owe Jaune an apology".

"Oh, so is not a custom in Patch?".

"What?! No!".

"It was my fault! I shouldn't have asked you to go on that class in the first place!".

"I shouldn't have made Winter mad! How was I supposed to know she was a big Weiss?!".

"…Why did I help those two…?".

"Look, it doesn't matter".

"Right! What matters is…".

"IM SORRY!" The two said at the same time, surprising the other. Ruby and Jaune sat there with a look of shock, staring into each other's eyes.

Silence had returned, but this time it wasn't as awkward. That small outburst felt liberating. It was as if a big weight had been lifted from their shoulders. The two still had ashamed faces, but looking at each other, the two couldn't help but to crack a laugh at their situation.

"Hahahahah".

"Hahahahahah!".

They laughed as hard as they could, barely being able to compose themselves.

"What are we doing?". Ruby asked, resting her hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"I guess…I guess we are being dumb". He responded with a soft smile on his face.

"Yeah. Big time. Hehe…Look, it was a silly mistake".

"Yeah…To be honest, I was really afraid. I just…I didn't want you to hate me. You are my best friend, Ruby".

She punched his arm lovely, "I would never hate you, silly. I actually thought you hated me. I mean I did take advantage of you…".

"You are right! I should report you! Or worst… I'm telling your sister!".

"Ha! Too slow as always! I already did!"

"Really?! How did she take it?".

"Dad is gonna kill me!".

"Surprisingly well".

The laughs kept coming as the two did what they did best, enjoy each other's company and bring in joy in one another.

Ruby paused, she started to wonder just how open she could be with him. He was her best friend. They had shared many things, especially in their darkest moments. She decided to test the waters, but might have overdone it a little, "If I'm honest…I was afraid I would hurt you".

"What do you mean?".

"…You told me…about your first kiss and…I was afraid you'll get hurt ag…".

"You could never hurt me" He stopped her. "Ruby…Yeah, I have some memories that pain me to this day. But those aren't the ones I treasure. Do you know which I do? The ones that make me happy and you happen to be in plenty of them". He caressed her hair lovely, something that made her skip a beat. "I do miss Pyrrha…but, not long ago, I realized that I couldn't continue hurting myself, especially because I was hurting the people I love. Ren, Nora, Oscar, Weiss, Blake, Yang…and You. I would never have made it to where I am if not for you. You could never hurt me because you make me stronger, Ruby".

Ruby smiled at him, her eyes tearing up a bit. Jaune was special to her, she now saw it clearly. Being a part of his life and him being a part of hers brought her so much joy.

"You really are a dummy, aren't you? Hehe".

"Oh, come on! I'm pouring out my heart here!".

"But it was so cheesy!".

"Well, yeah, but…".

"I'm messing with you…I happen to like cheese".

"Gods they are adorable and lame".

"I think it is sweet".

"….Ren….did you just….".

The awkward tension had banished. It was as if it had never been there. They were back to normal, joyful, playful…simply happy about being together.

The snow was starting to grow a bit stronger. Ruby was grateful for Blake lending her clothes, but her taste in shirts wasn't really wintery. She began to rub her arms and shiver.

As the silence continued, Ruby kept on thinking how relieved she felt, how she was able to be honest with the way she felt and Jaune returned that honesty. But a part of her was also glad this was all over and everything could go back to norm…

"Here. It's getting a bit cold…".

She was stunned. She felt it in slow motion, how the fabric of his jacket covered her skin. A look of shock was all she could give in return. She stared at him while he just sat there next to her, only a shirt on and a bright and warm smile.

"Maybe we should get back in. Come on. I think they have hot chocolate in the cafeteria". He stood up cheerfully and began to walk away. But Ruby didn't follow…she stayed seated.

"Uh…Ruby?".

"I enjoyed it".

His eyes got wide and his heart skipped a beat, but Ruby had finally made her mind. She was not going to be silent; she was going to be honest with herself, she was going to be honest with her feelings and honest with him.

"I enjoyed it, ok? It felt…I felt like I wanted it to last forever. I don't understand it yet but I do know that I enjoyed it and not just the kiss!" She stood up looking at him straight in the eyes. "I was so happy when you said I was special to you. Because YOU are special to me! I care about you and have done it for a long long time but I knew how much you were hurting; I knew all the pain you were going through and it killed me that I couldn't just take that pain away!".

Jaune was paralyzed on his spot. His heart rising with every word.

"It's embarrassing! It's weird! It's frustrating but I don't care!" Ruby began to rant and clench her fist in frustration and determination. "Weiss is right! Hiding your feelings isn't fair to yourself. Sometimes you might want to protect and respect someone, others you just can't put your feelings into words, but you should always be honest to yourself! Be honest with your feelings! Be honest with who you are, what you want, how sad you are, and how much joy you have in your heart when you see someone you love smile!

Weiss, looked attentively, she was worried but more than anything, she was proud. "Be honest, Ruby". She said with a soft smile.

"When you care about someone, that person is special to you. If you love them that much why wouldn't you be honest with them!? Why would you hide your doubts and fear from that person who is always there, with whom you share something so beautiful and special?!. Be honest! Be honest with your own feelings and be honest with that person you love! It's hard, it's scary but ARENT THEY WORTH IT?! You love them for a reason! BE HONEST!".

She didn't realize it, but those words hit hard to more people than she thought. Yang and Blake had been through many things together and still had a long way to go, but there was something clear to everyone, they cared for each other and their bond had been tempered in fire, it was stronger than steel. Yang grabbed Blake's hand, she was surprised, but the smile they shared gave the two of them warm.

Ren had never been good at expressing his feelings. He always kept them hidden, is not that he didn't have them nor that he didn't want to let them out, it was simply difficult to put his love into words. Nora knew this, it pained her but she was certain he loved her just as much as she loved him. Ren was never good at talking, but he always showed how much he loved her, still, his heart was pained and worried and Nora was determined. She knew how much she loved him and she was going to be there for him. Someday, somehow, she would get through him, she would help him be honest with himself…and until then, she was going to stand by his side, giving him all her love. To her surprise, even in these moments of uncertainty, Ren held her hand, he looked ashamed, he knew he had too much in his mind and didn't know how to say it, but Nora understood the gesture, a soft touch that said "You are special to me". She smiled and leaned on him, not a word was said and at the same time, they said it all.

"That's why….that's why I'll be honest wit h you!...I did enjoy it…because you are special to me…because I…I…".

"I couldn't sleep!" Jaune said, stopping and surprising Ruby. "That night in Argus! When we were split. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, Nora had to make me drink water! I was so worried about something happening to you! To all of you but especially you! I was terrified of losing you, Ruby!". She began to get tears in her eyes. "I did enjoy it but it wasn't meant to be a kiss! I was afraid! I let myself go by what Winter said. The idea of you getting hurt…I CAN'T BARE IT! Ruby you aren't only special to me, you are the most special person in my life! I've known for a long time, I just….I had so much hatred for myself…A part of me refused to be happy...but you were always there bringing me joy even in my darkest times…You were always there…you are always there and I want you to be there and I will be there for you! From the moment I met you I wanted to walk beside you, I just never realized just how much I want to be with you!".

The two stopped and began to breathe faster and faster. Exasperated….but somehow also relieved. They were there bringing out everything filling their hearts. They were being honest with the most important person in their lives.

"….Go out with me…" Ruby said, breaking the silence with a shy voice. "I want to be with you too…so…". Before she could realize it, her head was already down, hiding her face from the embarrassment and had grabbed her hands and pressed them on her chest as if holding her heart. "I know is silly….but…".

"Yes". And with one word, Ruby's head rushed back up, meeting Jaune's eyes. The two connected with a simple gaze. "Yes…of course, I will…".

They had shown the contents of their hearts…and the love was mutual and strong. Ruby and Jaune changed their shocked looks for joyful smiles as the two of them realized what happened. They were honest with themselves….and it just felt right.

"Jaune…".

"Ruby….".

The two got closer. Their bodies moved on their own. Without a moment to waste, Jaune caressed Ruby's face and the two got closer and closer and closer…

"MY BABY SISSSSS!".

"YANG?!"

"AHHHHH!".

And with that, Yang had exposed all of their friends hiding in the bushes. Jaune and Ruby had their jaws on the floor.

"Damnit, YANG! It was so close!" Weiss yelled in frustration.

"I've been waiting for this for SO LONG!" Nora worked so hard for months and now, she got robbed.

"I couldn't help it! It was so beautiful! Right Blake?".

"It was so cute!".

"Good job, Jaune. I was really moved". Ren smiled while giving a thumbs up.

"I'm so happy for you guys!". Oscar cheered.

Jaune and Ruby turned red. All those embarrassing things and their friends heard every single word. Had the world ended right there, they wouldn't have had any regrets…well, maybe just one regret.

"We have to celebrate!".

"Can it be inside? It's freezing here!".

As their friends all walked away, they followed behind, discreetly walking right beside each other. After all, they had promised to stay by each other's side…always.

Ruby sneakily grabbed Jaune's hand, caressing it tenderly with her thumb.

"Don't think you'll escape".

"Hehe. I wasn't planning to".

"You know…you do owe me".

"What?".

"Yeah. Apparently, my first kiss wasn't a real kiss after all…".

Jaune began to rub the back of his neck. "Haha…yeah…But I…can make it up to you lat…".

He didn't notice but she had a keener eye, as soon as she noticed their friends had gone a bit farther away, she took the chance and stole a sweet and lovely kiss.

"You know what? I enjoyed this one more" Ruby winked with a smile and blush before running back to her friends.

Jaune stood there but the sight of his special girl with a big smile brought nothing but joy to his heart. That warm love….it just felt right.

"Hey wait up! That's not fair!".

"Come and catch me if you want another!".

"Ruby!".

________________________________________________________________

Fan fiction for the 9 days of Lancaster 2020!

This is honestly my first time writting romance but lancaster is worth it!

Prompts: Regret / Apology

@9dayshandler

#rwby #lancaster #ruby rose #jaune arc #fanfic #9daysoflan2020 #jaune x ruby #ruby x jaune

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whereismywizardhat · 5 years ago

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I know I’m not the first one to say it, but the thing that has really been driving me mad every time I devote brain space to The Rise of Skywalker is that it is a thematically dead movie, that not only cheapens its own trilogy, but the original trilogy too. Like, every negative stereotype of the sequel trilogy is represented in force.

I hated this movie. I truly loathed it. I put spoilers under the cut but the basics are that I’ve been ruminating on it since I saw it opening night and it’s made me more mad the more I turn my brain back on. Any good reviews of this movie you see are probably because this movie moves faster then the Millennium Falcon, shooting stupid, pointless sequence after stupid pointless sequence into your brain so quickly that it makes you forget that what it’s showing to you is utterly banal and gross.

I think that the Sequel Trilogy is, ultimately, a failure. A lot of people believe Return of the Jedi is the weakest of the original trilogy, that cast fatigue and the beginnings of Lucas’s drawbacks showing as a writer hurt that film overall. If that’s the case, then The Rise of Skywalker shatters it’s predecessors because the film’s contempt for the Last Jedi in turn tells you that none of it was worthwhile. The Last Jedi was a flawed film, but it was trying to drag Star Wars into a place that was healthy for the franchise. Rise of Skywalker says “No”, and tells you that the sequel trilogy was afterall nothing but digging up the corpse of the Original Trilogy and parading it in front of you one last time.

Rey being born of nobody was important both as a way of getting away from the weird eugenics thing that Star Wars courted as Anakin Skywalker went from “Powerful Jedi” to “Virgin Birth Chosen One”, and as a way of differentiating herself from her nemesis. Kylo Ren is the heir to some great dynasty, Rey comes from nothing, it’s part of their yin/yang thing. Making her a dynasty too destroys that, brings back the eugenics in full force, AND adds a bunch of plotholes to boot. “They sold you to save you” is probably the worst dialogue I’ve ever heard, including Anakin’s attempts at flirting under Lucas’s pen.

Palpatine being alive is... nonsensical. A desperate plea for forgiveness to twitter after not explaining Snoke. Going in, I assumed it was an evil force ghost, the sequel’s equivalent of that period from Legends where Palp’s rapidly decaying clones were being burnt through and he tried to possess Leia’s baby in the womb. Not so much. It seems Palp just... kind of appeared through a plot hole. Exxegol is fine as a base, I thought it was Korriban/Morriband and was disappointed that they didn’t go with the Sith planet (except they did, I guess Sith all use the same firm for designing their ).

Which goes into Kylo Ren. Adam Driver was really just... not given anything to do (a recurring problem). To his credit, the character is on the ball for the first half of the story. It’s just... all chemistry with Rey is gone, a problem Finn has too. The movie doesn’t have time to take a breath to allow the actors to emote at each other, and Kylo takes the worst of it because he’s already a terse character and the mask is back so you don’t even get his face. The film gives one moment that works with Kylo: his vision of Han. I’ve seen some comments on this that didn’t like it, but to me it’s quite obviously the light side equivalent of Rey’s evil Rey scene. Rey looks forward and sees evil, Kylo looks backwards and sees a version of the first films climax with what he was supposed to do. It’s... the one moment in the entire film where I felt like there was some actual craft in what was going on. That’s without getting into how robbed Kylo Ren was as a villain. The Last Jedi basically set up Kylo Ren as the ultimate big bad, having achieved everything Vader wanted. Here, he’s back to being a lackey of a weirdo in a bathrobe, who doesn’t even have the benefit of being a force ghost who he can’t stab.

I mentioned Finn before. Finn has... no presence in this film. He screams after Rey, he gets a one film love interest while the previous movie’s love interest kinda just sits there scowling in the background while a hobbit whose name I didn’t catch gets more lines, he has some force sensitivity but the kind from the original movie where you squint at the screen and learn what the audience just saw while Rey has taken levels in D&D paladin. He has about the same amount of significance in this film as Obi-wan did in Phantom Menace, that is to say none except we know he’s an important character in a movie that came out before this one and he gets one action sequence near the end.

Poe makes out slightly better, taking up a lot of screen time. Poe has never been a consistent character in this trilogy. One movie he’s a compassionate cool dude, the next he’s a fuckup cowboy who doesn’t play by the rules, this one is he’s a weird stand in for Han Solo, being handed Han’s smuggler backstory and acting like Han did in ESB’s first half (without the UST with Rey). He is just as unimportant as Finn, but ALSO has to be given a lot of screen time to actually establish some rapport with his castmates because he wasn’t previously given any time with Rey and only a small amount of time with Finn.

The supporting cast from previous movies... may as well not exist. Other then Leia, all the original trilogy characters are just around. Chewie gets a fake out death. Lando shows up, gives a speech, and disappears til the end. Wedge makes a cameo ten second after his stepson dies and has no reaction to that, and the only reason I know that is because I’m so invested in Wedge that I bought the tie-in novel because it had him in it. In fact, most of the supporting cast from Force Awakens dies. Snap, Hux... that’s about it. I’m sure they would have killed off Rose if JJ thought that letting her languish in the background with no lines wasn’t a worse fate for the character. As previously noted, one of the Hobbits from LoTR has a bigger role then she does. The movie also introduces an entire legion of runaway Stormtroopers... for no reason other then to introduce Finn’s third love interest in three movies, Tika. She’s fine. I’ve heard there’s a deleted scene that says she’s Lando’s daughter kidnapped by the FO. Glad we got the weird “Who’s Your Daddy?” thing out of the way with this side character before the fans bullied the director into retconning it to being Mace Windu’s secret love child.

Consistently, this movie feels like a fever dream fan fiction with a budget. I consider A New Hope’s original cut to be the platonic ideal for an adventure film in terms of pacing. Prologue, Three Acts on Three Planets, with the tension ratcheting up with each planet. It’s follow up is a slower, more cerebral film after a bombastic opening. Rise of Skywalker takes neither option, instead going for a hypnotic, Fincher-esque pacing with no brakes. It doesn’t want you to realize what you’re watching is shlock. What isn’t a calculated spit in the face of it’s predecessor, The Last Jedi, is a stab at the hypothetical second JJ Abrams Star Wars film which didn’t exist to reference back to. Rise of Skywalker exists, and it exists to appeal to the most toxic elements of the Star Wars fanbase. I don’t think it’s salvageable.

Somewhere, out there, there is a version of Rise of Skywalker that is thematically coherent. Maybe there’s one that actually follows up on it’s predecessor like... every other Star Wars saga film instead of an imagined film that didn’t happen. I dunno. Regardless, it really makes me question whether Disney actually understands what they’re doing, or if it’s all just luck and nonsense that let them become a monopoly.

I guess it wouldn’t seem so awful if the Mandalorian wasn’t just sitting there.pursuing a part of the Star Wars universe that feels fresh and original rather then ruining better films.

#star wars #ros #rise of skywalker #rant warning

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livvyplaysfinalfantasy · 6 years ago

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Please remind me to never again go solo into a recorded alliance run on the last week before a new expansion, because this run was rough. Fortunately, we didn’t wipe! But that nearly total party KO at the very very very end pretty much summarized my feelings.

The Orbonne Monastery might be one of my favorite dungeons in this entire game so far. I say this with every hint of bias: not only does so much of Orbonne speak to everything I love, it also has so many great memories from running it with friends. My first time going through Orbonne in particular was great, because I did it with @barbariccia and I was screaming at the turn of every corner. Tears were shed. It was incredible.

So here’s a run-down:

0:50 - Harpies in the jungle! This enemy design was lifted straight from Vagrant Story, and I let every team I ran with know this for the next five weeks. Please play Vagrant Story.

2:20 - Ivalice confirmed for the gays.

2:55 - Inside the monastery, the first boss battle is Mustadio Bunansa. Mustadio, one of the first machinists of the Final Fantasy series, has been transformed into an automaton not unlike those he researches. His fight has a lot of tricky AOEs and quick-loading mechanics, not unlike the moveset of machinists in Tactics! He has a really cool ultimate at 5:00. (After weeks of trying to figure out how to explain this mechanic to newcomers while shot-calling, I eventually resorted to just saying “expose your hole.” 1. It works. 2. No one ever forgets it.)

When defeated at 12:18, Mustadio fades back into his Hyuran form - and even his voice goes from mechanical back to normal. It’s a subtle detail but really, really touching. There’s no indication for who the massive portrait on the wall leading into the monastery might depict... but with absolutely nothing to base this speculation on, my guess is that it’s Ajora Glabados.

At 12:40, you head into the wine cellars - another holdover from Vagrant Story. I didn’t catch it in this video, but the first people to follow Fran and Montblanc into the cellar will see three rats running across stagnant water in a way that can only be a throwback to Vaan’s intro in the Garamsythe Waterway. It was around this part during my first run of Orbonne that I told Molly, and the other Riskbreakers over voice chat, that I was going to lose it if the next boss was Agrias. Sure enough, the next boss was Agrias; sure enough, I lost it.

Agrias’ fight starts at 13:12. Her voice acting is so good; the lesbian paladin aesthetic in her boss design is to die for. (I mean, the Enhancing Sword and the Ritter Shield play a key role throughout this fight, and they’re the most WLW weapons in the game.) Some other great references find plugs in this fight, too: one of Agrias’ many moves, at 15:58, is Northswain’s Strike - Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca’s ultimate Quickening! But what really hits me, every time, is her dialogue when you defeat her (see 22:30): “My Ovelia awaits...” Agrias was the princess Ovelia’s protector and best friend in Tactics; in the PSP remaster, she was also the one who gave Ovelia the dagger that later killed her.

The next area at 22:58 looks like it was taken out of the Palace of the Dead - which is funny, because when the Palace of the Dead’s final room was first revealed back at Fan Fest 2016, everyone I knew who was into Ivalice was like “VAGRANT STORY?!” And Palace of the Dead was based on Matsuno’s Ivalice predecessor Tactics Ogre. That said, a recurring concept in Ivalice games is that of the “necrohol” - a city lost to the dead. This necrohol is Mullonde, which got its origins in Tactics as a city which was destroyed when Ajora Glabados was hung for heresy. Like in XIV, Tactics’ Mullonde lay hidden deep beneath the Orbonne Monastery.

At 23:25, you fight four automatons. The last of them is Dark Crusader, a Vagrant Story boss. In Vagrant Story, the Dark Crusader was summoned by the knight Grissom, despite losing his life and his soul being trapped inside his decaying body. (Please play Vagrant Story.)

There’s only one remaining option for the third boss of Orbonne at 26:26, confirmed as soon as Montblanc makes a quip mistaking the man ahead for Cid: Count Cidolfus Orlandeau, the Thunder God. “T.G. Cid” is a game-breaker in Tactics; he’s so overpowered as to be capable of soloing certain late-game maps. Similarly, Orlandeau was (is) the raid-killer. A lot of the mechanics in his fight require consistent coordination throughout the entire alliance.

Somewhat strangely, the music that plays during Cid’s fight isn’t from Tactics at all: it’s the final boss music from Vagrant Story! It’s a bit of a strange choice thematically: although the circumstances of Cid’s (and Mustadio’s and Agrias’) transformation aren’t ever fully brought to light, it’s hard to think that he would have stooped to the same lengths of greed and power-hunger and detached cruelty as Vagrant Story’s final boss.

Though I did just realize that this fight, like Vagrant Story’s final boss fight, involves lots of running around the edges of a circular platform. And, you know, lots of praying.

Anyway, please play Vagrant Story.

At 38:00, you finally enter the High Seraph’s prison. She’s creating auracite stones one by one, casting them to the floor. She suggests that you have come seeking her power but says to take the auracite and leave - that “mortal agency in matters divine shall not be suffered.” That concept is the direct opposite of XII’s plot, in which the villains are seeking to overthrow a godlike power on the course of history!

Throughout this fight, Ultima summons three of the Espers you’ve fought before: Famfrit, Hashmal and Belias. Before she can obliterate you and your party, however, the three guardians of Orbonne - Mustadio, Agrias and Cid - appear to shield you. Ultima reveals her final form and readies to smash the barrier, only for Ramza Beoulve to emerge from the aether to lend his own soul to your defense. I yelled the first three times I saw that, I’m not even going to lie. The next phase of the fight gets even harder - though I should say that the brutal tankbusters make it one of my favorite fights to tank. Minions bearing Ultima’s Tactics appearance show up in this fight, too, usually to deliver powerful AOEs.

Ultima’s dying words: “I am your mother. I am your maker! I. Am. Ivalice!” Shivers.

#LPFFXIV:S #Livvy Returns to Ivalice

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rainy-rose · 6 years ago

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11/11/11 Tag Game

I was tagged by a few people: @aslanwrites @graceomeallain Sank youuuu

Is this becoming one of my favorite tags? Probably!

Rules: answer 11 questions, ask 11 new ones and tag 11 people.

This is gonna be a loong one, but first:

My Questions:

1. Do you have an outline? Do you stick to it?

2. A line that made you feel second hand embarrassment?

3. What is on your OC’s bucket list? Why?

4. What is your favourite book?

5. Do your OCs have any secrets?

6. Is any of your OCs superstitious?

7. How do your OCSs deal with headaches?

8. Do you find more comfort in animals or in people?

9. What is your favorite trope in media?

10. Do your OCs use nicknames/pet names?

11. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go? And why?

The answers to the questions I got are under the cut.

Tagging: @mvcreates @igotablankpage @elizabethsyson @radley-writes @graceomeallain

Feel free to tag me so I can answer your questions as well ^_^

1. What are some influences for your WIP?

My RP experiences, random conversations I want to say some myths and legends, but I still need t read them :)).

2. Is there a writer or someone you would like to collab with? Or maybe even do a crossover with?

I have no clue because I am still a tiny tiny begginer at this :)) but I am open to all collaborations!

3. What are some facts about the world you’ve created that you’d like to share but can’t seem to quite fit into the story yet?

Yes! So long ago there was a clan that had mind reading as a family spell/magic. Things happened, the clan members died and with them mind reading disappeared. In the last few decades law enforcement figure out that hey mind reading could be pretty useful for the 2 member unit field agents teams and for the mentor and disciple units. So what did they do? They worked on figuring out a way to use mind reading by splitting it into telepathy ( for the field agents) and one - way emotions reading for the mentor and disciple units. It is not mandatory, but Elise has both so there is that.

4. What are you most excited about sharing with your WIP?

Everything? I am not sure how to answer :)).

5. What are your OCs favorite genres of music?

I am still getting to know them so for the moment everybody is into rock music cause that is the music I listen to with some language variation. As in Vincent listens to Romanian underground rock music, Takeru to Visual Kei etc.

6. How good is your main character at cooking?

Elise knows to do basic stuff. She is not awful, she’s somewhat decent let’s say. She does orfer a lot of take put and Osgar and Sometimes Vincent used to cook for her.

7. What kind of comics would your OCs like?

Marvel? And I think some autobiographical graphic novels? I don’t read that many comics so. Oh Tarioush and Osgar have the Wheel of Time graphic novels and they have read those multiple times.

8. What inspired you to write your WIP?

I had Elise as a character on a RP forum and I really liked her backstory :)).

9. What other stories do you have in mind?

I kind of have one, maybe two.

Raflec’s story is a high fantasy bildungsroman thingy in which the main character, Raflec battles with his inner demons while trying to find himself and the kilveh ( humanoid magical creature ) community he belongs to and also get control of his unstable powers and being tracked down by the villain named, Fyron who wants to break him and get him on his side.

The other thing which I’ve had small snippets popping up for the past few years is a quest type fantasy. The goal is to find a mythical plant/rose.

10. Oh no! Your main character has been kidnapped! Who goes to find them? Who says “let it be”? Who forms a search party? And what does your main character do in this event?

Well Elise will get kidnapped at some point :)). Vincent and Takeru and Ingrid, strategise and figure out how to get her back. Elliot might say let it be, if i decide to make him a recurring character. Tarioush might stay behind because he will not be allowed to come, at least not initially.

And what does Elise do? Well nothing case she is being... incapacitated to put it mildly.

11.What is your favorite kind of ice cream?

Just one? Ummmm, mint with chocolate chips I guess.

1. What’s the age gap between your oldest and youngest OC?

18 I think between T-

*Nathair hisses at me showing his fangs threateningly, The Fear demon draws closer*

Okay, okay, calm down! It’s 1000+ cause those to magical beings are ancient and stopped counting.

2. If your MC was dropped in a high school setting, which clique would they fit in with?

Elise is a jock :)) and a mythology nerd.

3. Which of your OCs is the funniest?

Tarioush I think. He is a friendly ray of sunshine that wants to make everyone happy.

4. Who’s an early riser, and who sleeps in?

Early riser: Tarioush and Osgar, Buach

Sleeping in: Elise and Takeru, The Accomplice

And Vince just wants sleep anytime he can get it.

5. Which draft of your WIP are you on?

First draft which I am also using as an outline.

6. How many main characters do you have in your WIP?

In theory one, but I write third person with multiple perspective so 3 kind of.

7. Which of your OCs is the best looking?

Vincent hands down! Face scar included! This might be because I’ve had an aesthetic crush on his play by, Cillian Murphy, for years :)).

8. What do your OCs do at Christmas? If nothing, why not?

Secret Santa at the office. Then Elise spends the night over at Taripush and Osgar. Vincent doesn’t celebrate, too many bad memories. Takeru visits him cause he doesn’t care for the holiday and wants to get away from the fundraising party his cousin organizes and flying all the way to Japan to spend time with his family is time consuming so Vincent is the next best option.

9. Do your OCs have any piercings?

Takeru might have had one in his cartilage and I think Elise wants to get her tongue pierced at some point.

10. What are their favourite foods and why?

Elise: homemade apple pie - it makes her feel warm, fuzzy and cared for

Tarioush: muffins - he has a giant sweet tooth

Vincent: cabbage rolls with polenta - brings back memories of his grandmother in Romania and the whole family gathered around the table

Takeru: vegan omurice - childhood memories

11. If your WIP has any couples, which is your favourite?

There are 2 couples for the moment, one establishes and one that is a couple in everything but name. My favorite is the established, happily married one, Tarioush and Osgar. They have a supportive, healthy and adorable relationship.

#11/11/11 tag #violetvineyard #tag game #my ocs #wips #silver serpent #worldbuilding

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forest-of-stories · 6 years ago

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“They Won’t Let You Remember”: Obsession Before Fandom

[This is another round of extremely personal spelunking into my own fannish past that I sometimes do on this and other platforms, including Dreamwidth, which is where I first posted it. Content warning for digressions into Fannish Discourse, and also brains - mostly mine - conflating fiction and reality in sometimes unhealthy ways.]

Not long ago, my mom asked me on the phone if I was aware that a new Men in Black movie would be out later this year. I told her that I knew, and added, “If I see it with other humans, they might have to hear how the original was one of the root causes of my mind control feelings.” Not the root cause, I should emphasize: those feelings could have come from any number of sources, but that number is probably greater than “one.” We both knew why she had brought up this particular franchise. There is a file cabinet in my childhood bedroom that once contained many, many handwritten stories – some co-written with middle school classmates, though most of them weren’t – that featured the titular secret organization, the protectors of the Earth from the scum of the universe, as the bad guys. I wrote those in order to deal with the sharp turn that my already present Mind Control Feelings took when a silly science fiction comedy featuring giant space bugs encouraged me to root for characters who maintained the status quo by erasing memories from ordinary people – people like me – on a regular basis. Some of you might be asking, “Wait, you knew it was only a movie, right?” And my answer would be, “Yes, but…” Since time and emotional distance have both clarified and obscured my understanding of how I used to think and behave, here is the best (and probably most long-winded) way that I can answer that question for both myself and others: I was an imaginative and overwhelmingly anxious child. On the one hand, my imaginative side desperately wanted magic and aliens and Weird Stuff to be real, which I still don’t think was always a bad thing. On the other hand, during my preteen and teenage years, my anxiety (which wouldn’t be linked to a diagnosis until much later in my life) manifested as “what if?” scenarios that were at least as convincing as reality… even if they were based in speculative fiction. Even if I didn’t believe that they would happen, I spent a lot of time telling myself stories about what might happen if they did, or even just thinking, “What if this is how the world is supposed to work, even if I don’t like it or want it and you can’t make me?” So, although I knew the difference between fiction and reality by the age of twelve, knew that Men in Black was Only A Movie, my “what if?” reflex kicked in hard the more I recognized its world as being much closer enough to my own than my previous, limited encounters with memory erasure in fiction. According to the rules of that world, if the Weird Stuff were real, I wouldn’t even know, and, according to the text, shouldn’t know. “Wasn’t the next line of the theme song ‘They won’t let you remember’?” Older Sister asked, the last time we talked about it. Yes. Yes, it was. The immediacy is right there in the song’s refrain (which, by the way, is still an earworm and a half). At one point, Tommy Lee Jones’ veteran agent character insists that, while Earth is constantly under extraterrestrial threat, humans can only live our lives peacefully if we don’t know about it. (Keeping in mind that humans do a pretty solid job of threatening life on Earth ourselves, I feel like that statement is also linked to questions about the supposedly blissful ignorance of privilege, which go beyond the scope of this post, but are still worth mentioning.) Maybe I reacted so strongly to that bit of dialogue because I believed that it wasn’t true, or because I feared that it was. I’m pretty sure that it was the combination of that scene and its message, with my recurring issues around authority and self-control, and my growing self-awareness about my misbehaving brain, that set my anxious imagination spinning. I would guess that I was wondering something like, “What if the only way that I could have peace of mind was if somebody or something else edited my thoughts and memories without my knowledge or consent?” That idea scared me. It made me angry. And since I was not mature enough to have any filters or sense of other people’s boundaries, I talked – loudly and incoherently – to anybody who would listen, and quite a few people who wouldn’t, about how scared and angry it made me. A lot of the things that I said and did are now difficult for me to understand (one might almost say… alien), and I’m not sure whether they helped with my worries or just made them worse. I do know that this was neither the first nor the last work of fiction about which some of my loved ones told me to shut up because I was too obsessed, resulting in screaming fights, sneering mockery, and tears. I was also old enough, you see, to understand that I wasn’t responding to fiction in the same way that a lot of my peers were, and to, perhaps, start feeling like there was something wrong with me. Not that this was enough to shut me, in fact, up. But I did something else, too: I started to write the stories that I mentioned above. Some of my point-of-view characters were disillusioned agents, others were characters from other media that I enjoyed; the more sources I could pull from, and the more surreal I could make the mix, the happier I was. Still other POV characters were authorial avatars who started out as innocent bystanders and narrowly escaped having their memories wiped. (A few of those self-insert fantasies also involved my earliest fictional crush, who just happened to be an alien from a certain book series that I loved at the time. I quite happily imagined scenarios in which my very knowledge of his true nature was forbidden and yet our love conquered all in the end, but I never put any of those scenarios on paper. I kind of wish I had.) Some of the storylines fizzled out after a few chapters, while others ended with my protagonists riding off into the sunset with their minds, for the time being, safe. I should stress that even my writing wasn't necessarily integrated into my life in a healthy way: I scribbled during my classes (yes, I got caught at least once), I wrote scenarios that crossed the line from nonsensical into offensive (why so many “man in a dress” jokes, younger self? Why even one?), and I buttonholed friends and classmates as audiences and even collaborators despite their probably being much less interested than I was. Even though I was discovering a third option besides “shut up forever” and “shut up never,” it would take several more years, at least two more obsessions, and the discovery of online fandom (I only somewhat knew what “online” was in the late 1990s, and “fandom” was nowhere near my vocabulary) before I sorted out the appropriate time and place for each of those options. But I was on my way there, even if I didn’t know what “there” was. When I questioned and pulled apart an established narrative to turn the heroes into villains and shine a light on viewpoints that I thought the original creators had overlooked, I was writing fanfiction, whether I knew it or not. When I finally did find my way to fandom communities, it was thanks to the Harry Potter books, whose world-building also relies on what TV Tropes calls “The Masquerade.” (If you look up the page for that trope, guess whose quote is right at the top? Yeah.) Which led me to recognize it in certain versions of X-Men, and The Incredibles, and Torchwood and The Vampire Diaries and and and… The more I saw of organized efforts to conceal the existence of Weird Stuff from the Oblivious Masses, the more I understood that the audience was meant to feel like we were in on the secret, but I couldn’t stop sympathizing with the people who weren’t. I still dislike and distrust that trope to this day, even in works that I otherwise enjoy, and storylines involving memory erasure – consensual or not, narratively endorsed or not – still push both good and bad buttons, sometimes both at once. And I believe that my explorations of mind control in fiction, from the beginning until now, have partly been informed by questions like, “What if I couldn’t trust my own mind, and was asked to believe that this was for my own good and/or the good of society?” And, since it bears mentioning: I hope that nobody interprets this recollection as, “A storytelling device warped Nevanna’s understanding of reality, and therefore stories can reprogram people’s behaviors and problematic fiction should be eliminated!” First of all, I object to that kind of black-and-white thinking, as a librarian, a writer, and someone who tries to thoughtfully consume media. Secondly, it’s more accurate that the dysfunction in my own brain once warped my understanding of reality; that even then, I was still responsible for my own actions; and although I have a history of giving fictional constructs an unhealthy amount of power over my own life, I grew out of it. And even though I have mixed feelings about the debate over Problematic Fiction, and I certainly do not condone harassment and shaming – because I’ve been there and done that, on both sides – I try to maintain that it is not my place to stop people from having negative emotions about stories. Even if I don’t agree, even when their objections make me uncomfortable, I can disagree with what they’re saying or doing without invalidating what they might be feeling. And I try to be better at doing so, because I am the last person in the world to deny that stories spark powerful emotions and thoughts, that sometimes they go against the creators’ intentions. Part of becoming a responsible consumer of media and participant in fandom is learning to manage those emotions constructively and make space for other people’s feelings and needs. I used to be angry at my younger self for being unable or unwilling to do that. I’m not anymore. That said, one of the differences between preteen Nevanna and thirty-something Nevanna is that nobody has to hear me talk about mind control unless they want to. (Although I’m happy that a noticeable number of people usually seem to want to.) I never saw the original Men in Black in the movie theater. I think it took me several tries (much to Younger Sister’s frustration) to sit through it on home video, and the ghost of who I was back then, as much as if not more than the actual content, has kept me from revisiting the 1997 movie in the intervening years. If I wanted to watch it again, I think that I would want (and here I'll paraphrase a fantasy series, also about aliens, that more or less avoids the Masquerade altogether) to prepare myself emotionally. I still haven’t watched the sequels or had much interest in doing so, and I never posted any fanfiction set in that universe. It has occurred to me that I might end up writing fic for the 2019 reimagining, if I see it (it wouldn’t be the first time in the recent past that I revisited fictional worlds from my childhood in new and surprising ways). But if I do write anything – and maybe even if I don’t – I will continue to feel pity and compassion and gratitude for the twelve-year-old believer in Weird Stuff who heard, “They won’t let you remember,” and responded, “What if I did anyway?”

#fictional is just differently real #nevanna life #nevanna likes mind stuff #even when she doesn't

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neitherlandslibrary · 7 years ago

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If You’re Not Watching “The Magicians” At This Point, You’re Missing Out On Something Great

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When it comes to the shows that hog all the attention in our era of peak TV, The Magicians is nowhere near the top of the list. Mainstream conversations about fantasy TV are often limited to the wild success of Game of Thrones, and The Magicians is nestled into an underrated corner of TV on the Syfy network. It’s easy for any series to get a little buried when there are 500+ shows and the Stark family around. But if we’re judging on ambition and inventiveness, The Magicians is one of the most notable shows on television — and its third season, which wraps up this week, proved that point over and over again. It’s a show that plays with story convention so consistently it blows up any boundaries that might hold it back.

Technically, The Magicians is built on the familiar. Based on Lev Grossman’s book series of the same name, the show began in 2015 as a sort of advanced-age Harry Potter meets Chronicles of Narnia. Unlike Hogwarts, the Magicians’ magic school — Brakebills — serves grad school students instead of children. When the characters discover and eventually become kings and queens of Fillory, their own version of Narnia, the escapist world operates as a Technicolor meditation on what it means to embrace adult responsibility. The series is also a direct descendant of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: It follows a group of ragtag young people as they repeatedly try to save the world. The characters fight through depression, sexual assault, addiction, and the general sense that things may never get easier. That’s all classic, well-trod territory. Which makes it all the more impressive that The Magicians inspires the feeling that it’s doing it all for the first time.

Here are just a few of the elements that make it stand out.

It’s one of the best ensemble shows about a group of twentysomethings.

From left: Stella Maeve as Julia, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice, Appleman as Eliot, Bishil as Margo, Jason Ralph as Quentin, and Arjun Gupta as Penny in a promotional shot for The Magicians.

The Magicians has always had a stellar cast of characters on its side — a group of friends brought together via Brakebills and overlapping heroes’ journeys. They’ve fought moth-faced villains and conquered gods, each character an integral part of a larger and pretty magnificent whole. Eliot (Hale Appleman) has a palpable regality in both his look and his soul; Margo (Summer Bishil) has blossomed as a brazen queen; Quentin (Jason Ralph) is steadfast and earnest, buoyed by Ralph’s deep pleasantness, an energy that’s completely transformed the character from what he was in the books. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg — Julia (Stella Maeve), Penny (Arjun Gupta), Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley), Kady (Jade Tailor), and Josh (Trevor Einhorn) are all worthy of their own odes. In a strange way, through them, The Magicians sits right alongside Insecure, New Girl, and Girls — it’s a sexy ensemble show about a twentysomething friend group. They muse on responsibility and the big life decisions you’re forced to make as you become a true grownup. They just do so while having hoversex, battling literal manifestations of their depression, and trying to run a kingdom or two.

And it has the kind of diversity that so many of the shows it riffs on lacked.

Beloved as Buffy may have been, it was also notoriously white. The Magicians, on the other hand, very much lives in a socially conscious 2018. A significant portion of its main cast is made up of people of color. Not only that, but every single one of them — from Maeve’s Julia, to Gupta’s Penny, to Bishil’s Margo — is the kind of complex, specific character you won’t find anywhere else on television.

A sizable portion of the characters also appears to be sexually fluid. Quentin, who on most shows would be the straightest white man on the planet, has a threesome with a man and a woman. He hooks up again with that same man in a later episode. There are no coming-out storylines, no hemming and hawing about labels — intimacies just happen to manifest in all types of ways on this show. On the one hand, there are always downsides to a lack of labels, including perpetuating the erasure of orientations like bisexuality. On the other, it’s kind of freeing to watch a show where it’s genuinely possible that anyone could sleep with anyone else and everyone treats that pretty casually. It goes well with part of what makes The Magicians so fun to watch: It actually does feel like anything could happen. The story options are wide open when everyone’s at least a little bit queer.

The Magicians’ third season has also heavily featured Candis Cayne, a trans actor who previously broke ground with her role on Dirty Sexy Money — the first time a trans actor had a recurring role playing a trans character on primetime television. Here, she plays the Fairy Queen, an intimidating force and a standout of the season. Another standout: Marlee Matlin’s Harriet — a deaf actor playing a deaf character who gets a beautiful moment in the spotlight with Season 3’s “Six Short Stories About Magic.”

What’s more, most of the show’s inclusivity goes unremarked upon on the show itself. Race, gender, and disability aren’t invisible to any of the core characters, but neither are they the focus. Characters will call out white supremacy and sexism without the show bragging about having a queen (and king!) of a magical realm be played by an actor of Mexican, Indian, and European heritage. Or a black man as the king of their neighboring kingdom. Or a mixed Native American woman on the path to becoming a goddess. And so on. Which is not to say The Magicians shouldn’t brag — if they want to spend all of Season 4 bragging about their magnificent ensemble, that would work too.

The show has a true sense of playfulness.

When Buffy aired its iconic musical episode in 2001, it had a ripple effect. Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, Psych, That ’70s Show, and even 7th Heaven all turned themselves into musicals for an episode. The Magicians, for its part, has been following in those same footsteps since its first season. Only instead of just one designated episode, they’ve peppered musical numbers into every season so far. In Season 1, Quentin sang Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” while trying to break out of a spell that had him trapped in a psychiatric hospital. “One Day More” from Les Misérables made a magnificent appearance in Season 2, as Eliot prepared for a duel to save his kingdom. (That one resembled what Game of Thrones might look like if Game of Thrones liked to party.) And this season, The Magicians did finally designate a full episode to several numbers. It culminated in the show’s main ensemble joining together in a rousing rendition of “Under Pressure.”

Integrated throughout the show, these moments stand as a declaration: This is just what The Magicians is, at its core. These scenes aren’t just an aside, a whim to break through the mundanity for a single episode — though The Magicians is also very good at that. With this show, narrative is twisted like a rubber band and then flung across the room. This is a series where talking sloths serve as top political advisers, party gods get banned from Instagram for posting too many shots of nipples, and messenger rabbits say things like “eat my ass.” It’s a blast.

And the fun they have with the story will also punch you in the heart (in a good way).

Wrapped up in all of its magical elements, The Magicians also happens to be wildly convoluted. Here, though, it’s at least in a way the show seems to truly delight in. As things grew more complex in Season 3, every week felt like the writers were taking the series’ classic fantasy tropes and conducting science experiments on them. Sometimes the effect is that aforementioned playfulness. But their characters are still on a variety of heroes’ journeys — which means this show is also willing to rip your heart out and tap dance all over it. Honestly? It feels great.

If there was one shining highlight of the season — and the show overall — it was the Feb. 7 episode, “A Life in the Day.” In it, Quentin and Eliot are tasked with completing a mosaic puzzle as part of a season-long quest to bring magic back to their world. To do so, they have to travel to a past version of Fillory. But unable to leave until they complete their mission, they wind up staying in the immediate vicinity of that puzzle for…well, the entire rest of their lives. The show plays this out in an extended montage. The two grow restless. They fight, they bond. They hook up. Quentin meets a local girl, settles down, has a son. When she’s gone, Quentin and Eliot spend the rest of their lives raising the kid and growing old together. Like the opening montage of Up, it’s the kind of sequence that really hits you with everything that it means to be human. It stays with you.

By the end of the episode, Quentin and Eliot had completed the puzzle and found their way back to their youths and their usual timeline. But the show made sure the impact of their time together was felt. These two characters had lived out an entire life as loving partners, side by side. It was an emotional beat that packed a hell of a wallop, and payoff has been sprinkled through the episodes that have followed. Sometimes it’s in small asides between the two characters; sometimes it’s just in knowing the way they look at each other. It’s hardly the first time characters in a genre show have lived out their entire lives in a separate timeline. But “A Life in the Day” was indicative of what The Magicians does best: It uses its magical setting and all-star cast to mold itself into different forms. Sometimes, like in that episode, it knocks you off your feet in the process.

In another episode, called “Six Short Stories About Magic,” the narrative is split into six vignettes sorted by character. The final one is centered on Harriet, a freedom of information activist and magician who runs a BuzzFeed spoof called FuzzBeat (hi, guys!). As Harriet is deaf, 10 minutes of the episode take place in silence. The segment includes some long-awaited exposition into Harriet’s backstory, which we get through her perspective before the series explodes back into sound in its final moments. The effect is stirring.

In “Be the Penny,” we get another play on perspective as Penny finds himself separated from his body with his friends believing him dead. We spend the episode with his astral self, watching people react to his death as he tries desperately to contact them. In both of these, the show plays with form to reveal depth. Penny doesn’t get a normal death, so it follows that the episode focusing on that would be just as off-kilter as the story itself — and just as sad. Penny watches his friends grieve, though not always to his satisfaction, and he can’t reach them to tell them that he’s still there.

This kind of experimentation is not new to fantasy. Supernatural, in its seemingly 500th year on television, has employed practically every genre and meta twist there is. Most recently, the characters crossed over with Scooby Doo and literally became animated. And Buffy was groundbreaking in this field before that, not only for the aforementioned musical episode but also for forays into silent filmmaking with “Hush” and character experiments like “Tabula Rasa.” One of the joys of sci-fi and fantasy is that it gives you a built-in excuse to fuck with convention. The Magicians has reveled in that from day one — and from the ground up. And with this third season, it took itself to a whole new and thrilling level.

#the magicians #the magicians spoilers #info: interview

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 7 years ago

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Episode 63: Cry for Help

“I don’t understand.”

Pearl has done some awful things in Steven Universe. She nearly kills Steven in Space Race, and even if we ignore the rocket malfunction, her plan was to steal him from Earth for fifty years under false pretenses. She nearly kills Steven again in Rose’s Scabbard through inaction during a fit of furious sorrow. She indoctrinates Connie to see herself as fodder to be sacrificed at a moment’s notice. And she only apologizes in one of these cases.

Before Cry for Help, the show seemed pretty lax with Pearl’s tendency to lash out at others when in pain. While her grief explains her harmful decisions, it also appears to excuse them: most of our focus is on the suffering leading to her actions, not the victims of these actions. Steven comforts her every time she endangers him or his friends, which is nice of him, but suggests that his own feelings are secondary to hers.

It’s honestly reminiscent of Island Adventure, where the show refused to acknowledge the severity of Sadie’s physical and mental abuse. The difference is that Pearl is shown to be in the wrong, while Sadie is portrayed as a hero despite abusing Lars, but it’s still troubling to see Pearl more or less get away with hurting people on a recurring basis.

But it was all a glorious ruse. The Week of Sardonyx is here, groundbreaking for its depiction of a brutal rift that has almost nothing to do with the show’s title character, taking full advantage of the Steven Bomb format to tell a long-term self-contained story about what happens when Pearl finally gets called out for her toxic behavior.

If this story arc was condensed to a single episode, we would certainly spend it watching Pearl and Garnet. But with extra time to set the tone and understand the stakes, we instead see Pearl’s instigating betrayal from Amethyst’s point of view as the latter faces similar fusion woes. The focus on Amethyst is absolute (she even gets a song!), and it makes Pearl’s actions sting so much harder when her perennial rival’s reaction isn’t anger, or glee at the opportunity to tattle, but a deep and heretofore unseen discomfort.

Amethyst, who uses motor oil as a condiment and hoards literal garbage, is ashamed of Pearl. But even so, she comes to Pearl’s defense after outing her deception, because unlike Garnet she can understand the rationale behind Pearl’s actions: Amethyst and Pearl both see Garnet as strong, and themselves as weak. Amethyst misses being Sugilite, conflating fusing with Garnet as a means to share her strength, so she gets why Pearl misses being Sardonyx.

In a conflict between Pearl and Garnet, the most obvious approach is to have our third Gem act as a mediator, but I’m so glad the show developed Amethyst to fit organically into that role. Not just because she’s secretly the most sensitive Gem, or because she understands Pearl without condoning her behavior, but because she’s spent Steven’s whole life as a bridge between him and the other Gems. When you’ve got two close friends coming to a head, there’s nobody better to have in your corner than a middle child.

Amethyst's other big role is as a counterpoint to the notion that being sad excuses selfishness or cruelty. Cry for Help encapsulates the series-wide reactions that Pearl and Amethyst have had to sorrow, and seeing both at the same time removes any doubt that Pearl's approach is unhealthy, even if Amethyst’s is far from perfect.

When Pearl gets especially sad, her self-loathing fuels her self-centeredness until she stops caring about how anybody else feels. This is obviously bad news for the people around her, but eventual remorse over her actions fuels her self-loathing even further, and the fire just keeps burning. Everybody loses when Pearl is sad.

But look at what happens when Amethyst is sad in Tiger Millionaire, On the Run, Maximum Capacity, and Reformed: her first response is to show off, usually to Steven. She longs to be included, to be looked up to, so she becomes hyper-aware of how she’s perceived. She plays up the attributes she desires in herself (respective to those episodes: strength, belonging, the ability to chill out without thinking about sad stuff, and a better sense of self) in hopes of hiding her vulnerabilities. Or perhaps just to cope? I wouldn’t want to get all psy-cho-logical on her.

Amethyst and Pearl both struggle with self-esteem. And their actions have some overlap: Pearl taking Steven with her in Space Race sounds like something Amethyst might do, and Amethyst ignoring Steven to hang out with Greg in Maximum Capacity sounds like something Pearl might do (minus Greg, of course). But the intents that prompt these actions are night and day. Pearl wants to punish herself and Amethyst wants to feel comfortable with herself. Pearl is depression and Amethyst is anxiety.

And then we have Garnet, whose healthiness has always been portrayed as a universal positive. She’s strong in every sense of the word, which is great, right? It makes her the bedrock of the team, and gives her an ironclad sense of right and wrong with the conviction to back it up.

But it can also make her oblivious to suffering.

Nothing excuses what Pearl does to Garnet (which we’ll get to, don’t worry), but Cry for Help is part of a long line of episodes displaying the downside of Garnet’s strength: an inability to understand what it’s like to be weak, leading to many moments of callousness that honestly remind me of Pearl at times.

Remember how in Serious Steven she thinks plowing through the dungeon is the best option, even though Steven is clearly rattled? Remember how in Beach Party she’s incapable of caring about wrecking the Pizzas’ sign? Remember how in Monster Buddies she can’t see that her gauntlet is what’s bothering Centy? Remember how in Warp Tour she’s more interested in humoring Steven than taking his worries seriously? Remember how in Love Letters she prefers absolute bluntness to a polite but firm rejection? Remember how in Reformed she gets aggravated with Amethyst instead of exploring the root of the problem, leaving it up to Steven to figure it out? Remember how literally one episode ago in Chille Tid she ignores Pearl’s pleas to help out? Is it really any wonder she can’t see that Pearl and Amethyst are upset in Cry for Help?

This is a huge gap for a character that’s all about understanding, and it’s the reason the Week of Sardonyx is important for Garnet beyond making her a victim. Spoiler alert for Inside Out, but sadness is critical for nurturing empathy, and Garnet's general lack of sadness can make her miss when her friends are upset without...well, without a cry for help. There’s a reason it takes defusing into Ruby and Sapphire for her to start processing what happened to her, because Ruby and Sapphire are a lovable bundle of neuroses next to Garnet’s cool calm.

But there’s also a reason defusing into Ruby and Sapphire doesn’t directly lead to Garnet forgiving Pearl, because holy shit Pearl. Once again, fusion’s value as a multi-faceted metaphor is crucial to the tone of the show: there’s plenty of sexual innuendo to it at times, particularly in Cry for Help’s dances, but the fact that it stands in for relationships in general instead of just sex is all that prevents Pearl from being a literal rapist. Not only is consent important, but we were explicitly reminded of this only three episodes ago in Keeping It Together. It would’ve been bad enough if Pearl did this with Amethyst or Steven, but Garnet is particularly concerned with consent in regards to fusion.

Cry for Help tones down the drastic implications of Pearl’s betrayal by giving Garnet a somewhat childish initial response (“You tricked me!”), but from there it pulls no punches portraying Garnet’s righteous fury. Amethyst’s defense only makes her angrier, because it doesn’t matter if Pearl had a motive for fusing with her under false pretenses, and it doesn’t matter that Pearl feels bad about it. Even if it isn’t read as sexual assault (and I genuinely don’t think it’s meant to be, given how the situation resolves), Pearl’s actions are a violation of Garnet, their relationship, and fusion itself. It’s the dark side of the insecurity that fueled the longing hopefulness of sister episode Coach Steven, and it packs the biggest emotional wallop of the series thus far.

There’s a feeling of hopelessness to the end of Cry for Help that I deeply appreciate, because really, where do we go from here? It’s unlikely that the show would break up the Crystal Gems permanently at this point, but there’s also no real reason for Garnet to ever trust Pearl again. Garnet’s still mad (and she should be), Pearl’s a wreck (and she should be), and Amethyst and Steven have no idea what to do. Cliffhangers like this are rare on Steven Universe, but it does so well at capturing the awkward, awful aftermath of a friend wronging a friend.

Because despite all of this, Pearl is still Garnet’s friend. And I’d argue that despite all of this, Pearl is still a good person. In fact, I’d argue that Pearl being a good person is the most important thing about the Week of Sardonyx. It’s easy to tell a story about a bad person doing a bad thing, but most people see themselves as good, and most people have done at least one bad thing. If we write Pearl off as a monster and leave it at that, what room is there for us to learn? If doing one horrible action is enough to make you a villain, what hope is there for anyone?

I say this while knowing that I’m actually pretty quick to condemn people forever for certain actions: namely, try as I might, I struggle to see any reason for any rapist to be allowed to live. Like, to the point where my first wish if I ever nabbed a genie would be for every rapist on the planet to vanish and get replaced with a note that says “Don’t mourn for me, I was human garbage.” (Obviously there would be many footnotes for this wish; for instance, if a rapist is a pilot I don’t want to endanger folks on a flight, so extra magic would have to intervene. I have really thought this out, I got the footnotes all set, I am ready to find a genie.)

If that’s how I feel, how is it that I have such empathy for Pearl, even though I’m completely on Garnet’s side? It’s not that she’s fictional, because I’m not huge on fictional rapists either. And it’s not that her action isn’t actually rape, because it’s still a gigantic violation. So I honestly don’t know. But Steven Universe is capable of making me examine how I view the world in a way few shows can, and even if I don’t think the Week of Sardonyx quite sticks the landing, the opening is appropriately wrenching stuff.

(With funny weeping foodstuffs to keep the younger audience from getting too upset. Not the subtlest subtext in the world, but I’ve got no beef with kids’ shows keeping things grounded for kids.)

Future Vision!

Nothing too direct, but the Week of Sardonyx’s angst returns with a vengeance in the Breakup Arc immediately following Wanted. Multiple episodes of working through an argument? Check. A sense of betrayal involving fusion? Check (sorta). A resolution brought about by a common enemy? Check. The biggest difference (beyond the shifted focus to Steven) is that the Breakup Arc is more invested on making you miserable on an episode-by-episode basis, making it even harder to watch. Want a break from Steven and Connie not talking? Have a secondary breakup between Peridot and Lapis!

Pearl’s similarity with Spinel makes the movie’s exploration of a suffering Gem’s toxic reaction to pain a fascinating companion piece to the Week of Sardonyx. The major difference is that Pearl hurts others due to selfish thoughtlessness and Spinel’s goal is hurting others, but both have great reasons to feel terrible, neither has a great reason to inflict this pain upon others, and both need to make a change.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

This is the episode in my “Love ‘em” category that I’ve watched the least, because it’s a tough one. I more appreciate Cry for Help than enjoy it, because it’s not meant to be enjoyable, but it’s still worth putting up there because man does it nail the tone.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

Chille Tid

Keeping It Together

On the Run

Warp Tour

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

The Test

Future Vision

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

4. Horror Club 3. Fusion Cuisine 2. House Guest 1. Island Adventure

#cry for help #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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asagimeta · 7 years ago

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What If... One Of These Witches Shouldn’t Have Magic...?

Recently the showrunners for Once Upon A Time confirmed that we'd recognize the faces of some of the Coven Of Eight witches, including witches "from fairytales and Disney lore", out of the six witches we have left (Gothel and Anastasia take two spots) I'd be willing to bet that three to four of them are recognizable in this way (it'd be really overwelming to only have one fairytale witch and one Disney witch) let's air on the side of quantity and go with four, that leaves two witches left, and wile they could be red-shirts, they could also be more than that, remember that all of these witches are living with cursed personas, they aren't going to come out of thin air, it's going to take time and effort for Gothel to wake them up, and we'll likely be prompted to care about them in atleast some capacity (even if we don't actually *like* them, we'll be interested) the two remaining witches could just be original charectors that Adam and Eddie came up with Charming's brother, Catherine, etc, but there's a second possibility too, atleast for ONE of the witches....

What if it's someone we already know?

It could be someone we REALLY already know the way we know Regina and Henry, or it could be a VERSION of someone we already know, like wish!Hook or Cinderella (remember, Jacinda is not the original Cinderella that we had in season one)

We know that 7B is going to "throw us a real curveball", there's something up their sleeves that they want to be incredibly shocking and I think it has to do with these witches, they sort of finished out the story of the curse and clearly aren't trying to make anything shocking about the Henry/Lucy situation or about Henry/Ella as a ship (they've more or less spoiled how the those situations are turning out in interveiws recently) and they don't seem to be very secretive about the Guardian, Alice/Robin, or Zelena either, the storyline they seem to be having the most mystery towards is about the witches, with Rumple probably taking a shakey second place

In addition, they keep saying that they want to really make this season difficult for our protagonists, not in a brute-strength sort of way, but in an intellectual, creative way, "Regina and Zelena have to find a third way where there are only two" (in regards to saving Henry vs Lucy), "Weaver has to lead them (Alice and Hook) without magic to wake them", out of our main conflicts they've already determined that two are intellectual based and not about brute strength, so it makes sense that the primary conflict (The witches) would also be more about intellectual solutions/conflict than simply strong magic force, plus, we're coming off of a season with the /most/ brute magic conflict we've ever seen and I doubt they want to introduce another Black Fairy this soon, it'll make things feel too repetitive when they're trying to make a refreshing season, and they might want to save the stronger magic for a later season after taking some time to build it up again

So how could this conflict with the witches- with who the witches are, what they're doing- be an intellectual/emotional problem to solve and not something that can be banished in a good witch fight? Well there's Anastasia, having an innocent child forced into this coven could be a problem, but Anastasia is a secondary charector, someone who the main audience doesn't really care about yet and who only Victoria and Ella have any emotional connection to, not much of an emotional conflict, there has to be something else, there has to be some ONE else...

Adam and Eddy are good at making us feel connected to charectors quickly, but I don't think even they could make us- and more importantly the charectors- feel really conflicted and connected to a charector that's introduced as a villain almost straight away, unless....

Unless they were someone we knew beforehand

We could have a new version of an old story charector (like the new Cinderella and new Rapunzel) who ends up being one of the witches (someone like a new Elsa, a new Wicked Witch- or even a new Glinda, a new Maleficent, etc) wich would provide us with a short shock moment like we had when we found out that Victoria was Rapunzel, but that still creates the problem of an emotional connection, wich is why I have a feeling it's more likely the second option...

One of the witches is a charector we already know- full stop

Think along the lines of dark!Emma, still Emma, just evil, we might have another one of those on the horizon, or a wish/fantasy/curse/alternate-realm version of someone we know such as the evil versions of Snow and Charming, hero!Rumple, or wish!Hook

The thing is, there aren't a ton of magic-users who we have an emotional connection to who the witch could be in the coven, people like Regina are probably ruled out because of the sheer amount of altrnate versions of her we've seen of her, I don't think there'd be any reaon to bring back ANOTHER one, especially working with such an incredible pallette of not only actors, but charectors both in and out of the show, it has to be someone who we either don't have an alternate version for or someone who's alternate version we've only seen very breifly- if they're going to go this route

Witches* who are emotionally connected** to someone from this season and fit that criteria include:

Zelena (unlikely, Rebecca Mader has enough going on playing both Zelena and Kelley- albeit self-aware and awake) Gideon (usually this would be possible, but Gothel specifically said that the witches are all women)

*Note: I only include witches because this is SPECIFICALLY a coven of witches, as stated multiple times, magic-users of different persuasions such as fairies and genies need not apply

**I say "emotionally connected" because if we're being brually honest I just don't think the charectors would care that much if they found out one of the witches was, say, Elsa, (specifically since /Emma/ was the only one really emotionally connected to her, Regina and Henry barely knew her and wish!Hook had never met her at all) so I'd hardly say she could qualify

So that's it, there are only TWO people who could possibly fit the bill, one of wich we know isn't it because he isn't a woman, and the other we can probably safely say is going to be too busy to be it, so what does that leave? It leaves us with one option and one option only:

If this theory is true, then the witch we know shouldn't have magic

Let me elaborate, we know via the wish realm that just because you don't have magic in one universe, it doesn't mean you don't have it in another (as per Snow White) so what if we're looking at someone who, in the original universe, doesn't have magic, but does in an alternate universe?

It'd be a curveball alright, it would be shocking to both the audience and the charectors, and it'd be emotional, having to strike down a villaionous version of someone you love is never easy- especially if they aren't ACTUALLY villianous (but we'll get to that in a minute)

So what if this mysterious witch- one of the mysterious witches anyway- is an alternate version of a female charector that we already know and love as an audience, and that our cast of returning charectors already know and love, who, unlike her original self, has magic? Someone like Snow...... or Belle

Something has felt odd to me ever since Belle died, Rumple just feels ... incomplete without her, it's his searching for her- for a way to die and be with her- that keeps him rounded out but how many seasons can they drag that out? Sooner or later the search won't be enough anymore and the incompleteness will start to be more apparent, plus the search for a "cure" will eventually lose it's gleam and become another dragging storyline and not a unique thing anymore, but at the same time, I have a hard time really believing that they'll just kill off Rumple that easily, OUAT wouldn't be the same without him and even in this rebooted cast it's quite clear that he's a necessary part of the storyline that can't be written out or replaced, he's too big of a cog in the weel, so I've been wondering all this time how they could keep him around without dragging their feet with finding a cure to get back to Belle, I've been wondering if they might wish!persona him like Hook or something, and then it hit me.....

What if they don't need to change RUMPLE, what if they need to change BELLE?

Emilie has a very deep love for the show, clearly, and I think it was OUAT's decision to cut her from the recurring cast- NOT Emilie's, if that's the case then she's probably open to doing more episodes, and we know from Rebecca Mader that just because you're announced as being in one episode of 7A, it doesn't mean you won't be back as a recurring cast member for 7B, not that Emilie would need to be, ofcourse, if they save the reveal for the season seven finale' or the episode before it she'd only need to appear as a guest star for two to three episodes and then hit back on recurring for season eight

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that dark!Belle would in ANY way replace or fill in the gap for normal!Belle, but it might present Rumple with a world of interesting conflicts- especially if he DOES get the cure in his hands to be rid of the darkness and go join his Belle in the afterlife, he might be struck by his sense of humanity and, just like Regina and wish!Robin, feel responsible for her- feel an inability to just leave her to figure things out on her own, he might stick around a wile to help her, guide her, teach her, etc, it wouldn't have to be romantic, but it would still be BELLE and Rumple is incapable of abandoning her- ANY version of her

To that note, magic!Belle might not even be evil, she may have been recruited into the coven against her will, or been manipulated into joining it, we've seen countless times on OUAT that just because you work with a villain it doesn't mean you yourself are necessarily evil, maybe magic!Belle was an innocent girl coming into magic she couldn't control, like Anastasia, and was taken in by Gothel to join a coven she knew nothing about, when she cast the curse, she may have been told that she was doing the right thing to stop bad people (Regina, Henry, and co) from doing *insert evil deed here*

Now ofcourse, there's an ENORMOUS chance that I'm just coming up with really random theories that won't go anywhere, and I know that, but it's still something I've been pondering, and I wonder if it might be the case...

(Also, fingers MAJORLY crossed that one of the witches will be Glinda- either the one Zelena knows or an alternate- I've always wanted evil!Glinda)

#Once Upon A Time #OUAT

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tigerlover16-uk · 8 years ago

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How would you handle a sequel to Dragon ball super?

Hmm. Here’s an interesting one. Well, I don’t have a plan for a full series, but I do have a bunch of scattered ideas for one.

* It would be an EoZ follow up, taking place about 7 years after Goku left with Uub. During this time Goku resumed living at home at some point due to Chichi becoming pregnant with a now 3 or 4 year old daughter, but Uub is now capable of instant transmission so they’re still able to train together regularly regardless, and he’s more or less integrated himself into the Z fighters.

In this show, Uub and Pan would share the role of main protagonist, both striving to become as strong as Goku to protect the earth in his place someday (and so Goku can challenge them both once they’ve hit their peaks. Because Goku. Hey, don’t look at me like that, at the end of the series it’s pretty explicit that’s part of why Goku wants to train Uub).

Meanwhile, Bulla, Marron, Trunks and Goten would also be major supporting characters training alongside Uub and Pan to help defend the earth, while having their own character development and subplots going on. Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and etc would all be firmly in the role of mentors for most of the series, occasionally helping out in the case of a big threat to the universe. The rest of the Z fighters would still be around to various degrees of relevance, several of them also helping to train the next gen characters and teach them their techniques at various points, but Uub, Pan and the next gen characters are the main focus throughout.

* Majin Buu would basically follow his storyline from the Dragon ball Online/Xenoverse lore, creating himself a wife through some kind of weird magic and beginning to create a whole race of Majin’s. At the time the show starts, they would have one son who’s about 4 or 5 years old and is about the size of Kid Goku, and would be one of the next gen Z fighters, while Buu and his wife also have several dozen baby Majin’s to take care of, with help from dear uncle Satan of course.

* Pan and Bulla would become a couple at some point. Because the franchise could use some gay characters that aren’t minor one offs like Kakunsa and Vikal so far, or offensive stereotypes like General Blue. Also, because Vegeta’s reaction to his daughter dating Kakarot’s granddaughter would be HILARIOUS.

* Tien would still be teaching students at his dojo, many of whom are expert Ki users by now, while Krillin has taken over the reigns to the Turtle School of Martial Arts from Master Roshi, who left a while back on some sort of “spiritual journey” (Meaning he’s on a road trip around the world with Oolong trying to pick up chicks). He wouldn’t appear again until much later into the series, so for now Krillin is trying his hand at being a martial arts instructor, Marron being his prized student.

* Yamcha would have found a loving girlfriend and is living a happy life like he deserves already.

* Optional, but I might have Piccolo have become a father by this point with a child who has the potential to be as strong as he is, but is surprisingly meek and tranquil, to Piccolo’s awkward bemusement.

* In addition to being her personal trainer, Whis would have basically taken on the role of Bulla��s surrogate Uncle, having a surprisingly close relationship with her as they hang out on Beerus’s world all the time and Whis talks to Bulla about her personal life and helps her work through personal issues. Beerus would also have a soft spot for her, but tries very hard to hide it and pretend Bulla is a burden.

* Pan’s personality is basically a lot closer to her adorable EoZ self than her GT self. She would learn how to go super saiyan fairly early into the show, and ascend to super saiyan 2 either at the end of the first or second saga. She and Uub share a sibling like relationship, despite initially having a rocky start prior to the start of the show due to Pan being a tad jealous that Goku ran off so suddenly to train with Uub, but we get some flashback episodes at some point showing how they worked it out.

* Marron would basically be characterised as a cool big sis figure to Pan, Bulla, and other young characters like Goku and Chichi’s new daughter, Buu’s kid and Vegeta and Bulma’s new son (Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that?). She’s warm, expressive and friendly in similar ways to her father, but can be as intimidating as her mother when in a fight or when she’s in “Babysitter mode”. She starts the series off training under Krillin and 18, and has aspirations to be the first human member of the Galactic patrol, a role she acquires half way through the show after apprenticing under Jaco for a while.

* Launch by this point would be a minor recurring character married to Tien. The two of them have a young son who shares Launch’s split personality quirk.

* Uub’s family would be recurring minor characters in the show, and his village is thriving due to funding from Mr Satan.

* Gohan by this point is a successful scholar, and is also once again serving part time as the Great Saiyaman. Pan is the new Saiyagirl, and is just as much of a lovable dork as her dad when in character.

* The series would start with a number of episodes introducing and fleshing out each of the next gen cast and the current status quos of the old Z fighters and their allies, before moving into a saga that’s basically a dragon ball hunt. As a test, Goku tasks Uub, Pan and their friends (Sans Goten and Trunks, who had done a similar exercise before) with finding the Dragon Balls during summer break from school, without the use of their flying abilities so they have to hike around the world to find them by a certain date.

What they don’t know Is that Goku has set up a number of challenges along the way for the group to overcome. Nothing especially dangerous, but stuff that would give each of the new Z fighters their own difficult obstacles and opponents to overcome (part of which would involve calling in favours from some of his allies from other universes). Beerus however, who’s in on Goku’s test, decides by the end of it that his final challenge is a bit too tame (Read: Not guaranteed to get the kids brutally killed if they’re not careful enough), so basically goes behind Goku’s back and has Whis round up a group of the universes most dangerous super powered criminals to attack the young Z fighters, after making sure that Goku and the other high-tier Z fighters are off world at the time so they can’t find out quickly to deal with the situation themselves. Things work out after a huge struggle though.

This saga would mostly be a fun adventure story in the spirit of the original Dragon Ball and chock full of character building moments and interaction. Maybe some fun fanservice with the young Z fighters encountering some of the characters from the original Dragon Ball, like Suno and Android 8 (Heck, maybe throw in a Dr Slump crossover while we’re at it).

*Each saga would have a number of breather episodes between them, much like what Dragon Ball Super does, to further focus on supporting characters that don’t get as much limelight in the main sagas and also to just further flesh out our primary cast.

* The second saga would be a tournament arc, featuring another multiversal tournament. This scenario assumes all the universes that participated in the tournament of Power were revived, and that Goku convinced the Zen-oh’s to hold annual multiversal tournaments WITHOUT blinking anyone out of existence for stupid reasons.

However, the main thing to note is that there are actually TWO tournaments held annually, a Tournament of Power every two years featuring the absolute strongest fighters from each universe (Goku and friends, Toppo, Jiren and the Elite Pride Troopers, the Kamikaze Fireballs). And every year after it, there’s now another tournament meant for less experienced fighters from the various universes (Young Pride Trooper recruits and a young magical sidekick to Ribrianne in the vain of Chibiusa from Sailor Moon, for some examples).

Uub and the other next gen fighters compete as a team in this tournament, which is structured a bit more similarly to the World Tournaments from the original Dragon Ball except with whole teams competing together. This tournament would basically be a chance to introduce a bunch of new characters that’ll be more important later in the show, as well as re-introducing and catching up with established other universe characters from Super like the Universe 6 saiyans and Hit, Toppo, and the various Gods of the multiverse. It would also establish that there seems to be a feeling of discontent between the Gods of Destruction of the other universe, especially in regards to a newly appointed God for one of the universes that seems shady.

* A potential third arc would involve an invasion from the Demon Realm Dabura ruled over, possibly lead by his widowed wife who has a grudge against the Z fighters because she believes them and the Supreme Kai at least partially responsible for her husband’s death.

A notable thing that would happen during this saga is that the villain would use a special kind of dark magic to effectively nerf most of the strongest Z fighters. Goku, Vegeta and Gohan would lose their ability to assess their super saiyan transformations and Gohan’s ultimate form for example. I suggest this mostly as a way to make sure there’s tension for later sagas so that when bigger threats start popping up, Uub, Pan and the other next gen characters can still be the main heroes of the story and Goku can’t just use his God forms to easily end all the conflicts himself.

The first half would basically be the main villain and a group of elite mooks scheming to find a way to break the barriers between realms so that an entire army of demons could invade universe 7, while the Z fighters try to stop her. But because Dabura’s wife is a chessmaster and a scheming genius, she basically plays them all to help her succeed in her goal, and the second half of the saga deals with the next gen characters and the weakened Z fighters all trying to repel the invasion and minimize damage. This saga would also feature cameos of various ally characters like Android 8, Upa and Bora, Korin and Yajirobe, Baba and her monster fighters, Jaco and the galactic patrol, namekian warriors and even minor villains like Master Shen and Tao Pai Pai fighting demons attacking various places around the earth and other parts of the universe.

The explanation for why Beerus isn’t around to deal with this situation is that he was in universe 6 challenging Champa to poker, and at some point the two ended up having a drinking contest that got them both so drunk they passed out for a month. Whis decided to hang out in universe 6 for the time being and catch up with Vados in the meantime, being unaware of what was going on in universe 7.

*At least one or more sagas would take place almost entirely in the other universes

And, that’s all I got for the time being. Might go back and add to this later for the fun of it. I just hope we get another EoZ sequel at some point for real, there’s SO MUCH potential for that era and the characters beyond that point, and I would HATE for GT to be the only show ever made taking place following this era because of how badly it screwed that all up.

#dragon ball super #dragon ball #dragon ball z #uub #dbs #dbz #end of z

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