#aida was also surprisingly just okay
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99% of you guys won't care but. which of these verdi's operas should I listen to next. english titles so you can vote with your heart
#I did not start with the intention of listening to all of verdi's operas#and i still don't think i will listen to them all but#I kinda want to listen to most of them now I guess#maybe rank them at the end#i was pleasantly surprised by a couple like#I did enjoy ernani! and simon boccanegra#like i though ernani might be a bore because it's a lesser known one and rarely performed#but i enjoyed it more than others like#otello <- I'm sorry i don't get what the hype is about#maybe I should relisten to it one day but#I listened to it three times. did not like it that much.#aida was also surprisingly just okay#to be fair it's meant to be a grandiose opera so just listening to it won't do it justice#but still#opera#giuseppe verdi#operablr#la forza del destino#i vespri siciliani#luisa miller#la battaglia di legnano#polls#*
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okay okay ngl i'm very basic with my musicals knowledge but i've seen hamilton (obv - both the us recording + i've actually been to see the london cast), hadestown (some shitty recording a while ago), legally blonde, dear evan hansen, cats (not the movie, the play), the book of mormon (just listen to it, i really want to watch it one day!!!), newsies obv, wicked, jesus christ superstar and these in the polish version (we have a theater that adapts musicals into polish it's pretty fun): we will rock you (this one i've seen on wednesday), mamma mia, aida, singing in the rain, les miserables, phantom of the opera and polish productions: metro and pilots :D
i basically love all musicals ngl i just like the medium <3 so any recommendation i will be happy to check out :D
OOO those are all pretty good shows (and yes I did see ur other ask abt tick tick boom, double checking my list that show is actually 12 and newsies is 11!!) Honestly, some recommendations I would give are Fiddler On The Roof (a classic, surprisingly really funny), Come From Away (based on a true story when a plane had to emergency land in a tiny town in Canada during the 9/11 attacks and the community of the tiny town coming together to help them), West Side Story (also a classic, really like it, especially the new movie), Spring Awakening (my sister's #1 show!!! It's about early 1900s germany and discussing the harms of censorship and hiding away from topics like sex, really heavy show tho)!!! Just to name a couple more that I really like! Also if u need or want a bootleg of tbom I have a handful but it has been a while since I downloaded them so I'll see if I still have them <- has seen like 8 different bootlegs of this show and live 3 times
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it's goblin time :)
due to sickness and tablet issues i was out of commission for goblin week but every week is goblin week so here’s a whole mess of goblins using prompts from my patrons!
1. Beezlebuddy: fancy goblins. A lady all gussied up for a rare night on the town. Who is she? Where is she goin'? Who is she going with? That's all secret. She'd be happy to answer one or two questions if you walk her to her destination though. Is that wise? Ah, another secret.
2. Kona Goodhart: gondola. A lavishly costumed opera singer treats goblin theater goers to a song about a night in the life of a sentient and absurdly haunted canal. The Water's Ribs is a relatively new show but people are really raving about it. the ticket price is worth it for the amount of dancing skeletons alone.
3. Space Bat: snacks, and Tama: babies. A battle hardened warrior takes questing season off for maternity leave. Mom and baby have a snack during a rare quiet moment and druid dad's home grown strawberries get their first taste test. Just a chill goblin family afternoon.
4. Amy Crook: project goblin. Aida, the current lead help desk goblin for the Guides. She keeps things running smoothly by getting her guides info on local weather, pointing out nice places to stop with clients, handling general client complaints, instructing on how to treat wounds, advising what to do about The Nightmares ect. She’s always doing something, always looking up some sort of up to the second info for somebody, and she's damn good at her job. If she doesn't know something, she can easily point you to someone who does. Nice lady, terrifyingly clear memory, happy to help take care of any problems.
Do not become a problem for her.
5. Trevor: 'they failed me, into the scorpion pit with them!'. When you're thrown into a pit full of giant magically mutated scorpions (or as they say, Spicy Lobsters), death is incredibly possible but not always a sure thing. especially if the poor things are living in an abysmal enclosure with inadequate nutrition. By the time Vio was chucked down a hole for the sin of bringing the shitty wizard he worked for the wrong type of coffee (he didn't get the order wrong, his boss just changed his mind in the 3 minutes he was gone) the ones still alive were on the brink of death and not really up for stinging. Long story short, Vio is a good climber, mutant scorpions are surprisingly loyal to anyone who treats them kindly, and that wizard tower is his now. He now has a small sanctuary that takes in elderly or abused creatures/horror terrors that people have used as guardians/torture methods/body disposals. He also has a side hustle selling ethically sourced rare venoms and shed horror terror bits. Okay dude who might have done a wizard murder one time. Doesn't get enough sleep. Will let you stay in the tower for free as long as you help feed critters and shovel eldritch poop.
6. Camille Alexander: pond scum. Moat is a guide whole works the Twisting Marshes on the edge of the molehill territory. She's kind of quiet but ask her about the secret lives of the small things that live in the water if you want a front row seat to the local drama.
7. An extra pond scum treat. Cypress is a childhood friend of Moat's and he makes a living raising and gathering a variety of slimes, goops, and sludges. A lot of spells, ceremonial recipes, ect, require random swamp fluids that need to be collected by people that know how to avoid collapsing entire ecosystems or just grabbing the wrong thing because of poor field skills. Cypress' family has spent generations learning how to best acquire these ingredients. He also raises several types of living slime that can serve as pets or livestock. Has a farmer's market booth across from Vio.
S.E.S. asked for goblin judgement.
...
.....
8. VanillaCaramelDoughnuts: sparkle boxer. Chamomile is a guide who takes people through the Sleep Walk. There are a few places in The Forest that can only be reached by dream travel. Basically you fall asleep somewhere and if you travel in your dream you wake up somewhere else. Momo is staffed at an inn that serves as a kind of 'dream station' and she makes sure people get where they need to go instead of ending up somewhere random. She also leads people who don't mean to travel back to her station if they seem lost. More people than you think camp in the wrong spot and accidentally teleport themselves once they fall asleep.
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DHMIS OC HUNGER GAMES!
Today is the big day! The squad is set, and tensions are high. Who will win the epic head pats from Tony? All that, and more, NOW!
Our Cast for this Hunger Games! From top to left-
-Alice the Painting @eriiisc
-Molly the Mailbox @syazam-whazam
-Confetti Joe @sonia-aquamarineson
-Aida Medhart the Medkit @raindrop-righteous
-Ross @redmodc
-Shade the Sunglasses @ridiculous-concepts
-TeVi @creative-time
-Tina @brazzilianbuddy
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
The simple health shape grabs a sword and the literal cigarette is surprisingly not bright, this game already unhinged.
Becky is not playing around.
A team-up already? Neat!
That concludes the opening blood bath, still a lot of ocs alive! However, the day is not over...
Damn... A visceral kill from Howdy. 😳
Just love how stuff is popping off in this pic, and TeVi is just looking for water.
A wild skirmish ended Alice’s and Ross’ time in the games. And that horse is definitely more bloodthirsty than it seems...
same.
Wholesome partnership, haha. Now for something less wholesome...
A salute to our fallen tributes... Ross and Alice fought well! Now, night falls...
I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS BACK TO BACK, WHAT IN THE WORLD.
Psychological or physical?
.....what?
A crazy first night, that's for sure. Next day!
DAY 2
A brutal start to day 2!
Tina’s off chasing butteflies, and Aida team-up with a triangle to hunt other ocs. I am really loving this game so far 😂
A Molly and Shade team-up and Confetti Joe offs cigarette... Good! Never liked that guy anyways. And now, we pay our respecs...
R.I.P TeVi, they never got to kill anyone. :’( Also I still can’t believe they drowned the rain.
same.
Awww, a nice moment between Molly and Aida amidst the chaos!
Colin doesn’t want to live on this planet anymore, and I can totally imagine Sketchbook fending them off a stick.
DAY 3
WOW.
THAT TINY ASS TRIANGLE KILLED TINA, OH MY GOD
AW MAN. Aida and Tina fought so hard! AND TINA GETS TAKEN OUT BY A GODDAMN TRIANGLE 💀💀
And with those unfortunate causalities, there’s more dead than alive... We’ve officially reached the HALFWAY POINT.
Currently still in the game is Molly the mailbox, Shade the Sunglasses, and Confetti Joe!
Who will prevail? Who will fail? How many times am I gonna ask similar questions? Not for long, because we’re hurdling toward the end game!
These are two totally different people, haha.
An object with no body and limbs helps an object with no body, yea okay.
......................yea okay. Moving on to a special event!
DAY 4 - THE FEAST
raw meat fight. Raw Meat Fight. RAW MEAT FIGHT! RAW MEAT FIGHT!
rip goop guy and horse.
Lmao, thats one way to go, ig 😂
Rest in reeses pieces.
The alliance of a century continue to support each other!
Shade probably started that fire illegally somehow.
At least she died with a smile on her face :’)
DAY 5
Damn they wrecked that guy’s shit!
F.
Colin canonically died from missing Alice.
Mans is humming with no mouth, smh.
DAY 6
ITS HEATING UP NOW!!
Confetti Joe and Money Man are out on the prowl!
And I don’t think Shade could ever convince a man with a soulless face like that...
rip the bois.
MONEY MAN NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DAY 7 - THE SHOWDOWN!??
What a maneuver!
And with sound of two cannon shots...
A victor is crowned and reigns supreme!
THE WINNER IS CONFETTI JOE!!!!!!!!
CONFETTI JOE SWEEP. He’s reached the top and obtained access to the fabled Tony headpats!
May the sins from the bodies he left skewered by his hook, be cleansed by the soothing touch of Tony the talking clock.
I appreciate everyone who wanted to join in on the fun. This was really an excuse to have fun with the fandom and expose others to some really cool don’t hug me I’m scared ocs! Hopefully you had a laugh, and this inspires some gnarly fan art. Maybe we can do it again sometime, but until then... always remember that Becky Sloan herself strangled a sentient magnet, and then in turn, got speared by a sentient cigarette in the abdomen!
Buh-bye! 👋 👋
#dhmis oc hunger games#dhmis oc#dhmis ocs#dhmis#don't hug me i'm scared#confetti joe#molly the mailbox#alice the painting#aida medhart the medkit#ross#shade the sunglasses#TeVi#Tina
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List 5 TV shows make you feel better, then tag 10 other blogs
I was tagged by @famousflowermagazine - thanks so much for the tag, and sorry it took me so long to get to this, lol.
1. The Good Place
My ultimate feel-good show; the one I can and do come back to over and over when I’m feeling down in the dumps - and it never fails to cheer me up.
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Sometimes you just need to laugh, and nothing is funnier - or sweeter - than B99.
3. New Girl
Awwwww, well, this show is basically the definition of a comfort show - F.R.I.E.N.D.S., but better.
4. Ab Fab
Sometimes you need to laugh, sometimes you need to cry.... aaand sometimes you just need something truly dumb.
5. Agents of SHIELD
Some of you may be wondering, but wait, why is AoS last on the list of five?? Shouldn’t it be first?? It is, after all, my favourite show in the world, and I make no secret of that.
But the thing is, much as I truly adore AoS... they really, really do torture their poor characters. This gif, for example, looks completely innocent and domestic at a moment’s glance, but in reality, this is moments before the main cast gets sucked up into a time-bending space rock and taken to a dystopian future where one of them is thought to have destroyed the world. Oh, and the nice guy on the right gets left behind. (Yeah... it’s better not to ask.)
With that said, I do have a list of feel-good episodes that I’ll come back to and watch over and over, ‘cause when all is said and done, this is my favourite show in the entire world, and it does make me happier than pretty much anything else, lol. So here goes:
1x01 - Pilot. The one that started it all, and the one that always gives me SUCH nostalgia because LOOK AT HOW SMALL THEY ALL WERE AHLFLSDHFLSDHFLSJF 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Actually that goes for pretty much the entire first half of season 1 alskfdjadlkfjlkdsjfksf 😍😍😍
Okay I know I said an episode list but... most of season 2. It’s my favourite season because it’s already so damn good, plus there’s not AS much trauma yet I mean there’s a lot but whooo baby wait for season 4, plus Huntingbird, plus DAISY, plus general The Team Being A Family which I LOVE and can never get enough of.
Special props to The Scene in 2x10, which I have saved onto its own YouTube playlist for sheer awesomeness.
3x08, Many Heads, One Tale. This is just such a COOL episode, and I personally love it because (a) STATICQUAKE BEING PLAYFUL AND FLIRTY!! (b) HUNTER AND BOBBI BEING SARCASTIC AND HILARIOUS ON MISSIONS and, of course, the FITZSIMMONS KISS!!!!!!!
3x11, Bouncing Back. Tied with Rewind, this is probably my single favourite episode - because all the best characters are there, being badass and hilarious together, and there’s not too much pain. Plus, literally ALL my favourite couples end it on a good place - Fitzsimmons start over and do an adorable fist bump, Coulson and May share a drink, Staticquake kiss and flirt and Mackelena flirt (and are teased by Daisy and Joey.) Basically it’s just the BEST and probably the episode I’ve rewatched the most, lol.
Season 4 is awesome but basically just angst, so no feel-good rewatch moments there, lol. Except maybe Daisy quaking AIDA out of the window. That NEVER gets old, ahahaha.
5x05, Rewind. Oh, this episode is SUCH a fan favourite, but with such good reason!! H U N T E R, everyone. Fitz and Hunter. Enough said.
5x06, Fun & Games. Well, okay, it wasn’t exactly fun and games, but it had Daisy being badass and a Fitzsimmons proposal and that’s honestly all anyone could ask for.
5x12, The Real Deal. Come on, this episode is the BEST. I mean, yes, it’s truly heartbreaking when everyone finds out about Coulson, but the WEDDING makes up for it every. single. time. The WEDDING, you guys. I have never been able to watch it without getting teary-eyed.
6x03, Fear And Loathing On The Planet Of Kitson. You can say a lot about Season 6, but Ladies Night will never not be the best (and funniest) ten minutes ever.
6x06, Inescapable. Another fan-favourite, but, honestly, another one that deserves every second of that status. Aside from the sheer hilarity of it (Fitzsimmons screaming their issues at each other at the tops of their voices, anyone?) it’s also surprisingly tender, and Fitz’s “what the bloody hell does that --” at the end never fails to crack me up.
7x01, The New Deal. Ah, man, this episode was such a journey in nostalgia!! Plus, the CLOTHES. It’s worth it just for the clothes, honestly.
7x07, The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and the D. I didn’t actually think I’d be putting this one on here, but upon consideration... it’s such a lovely, light-hearted and hilarious one despite how serious their situation actually is. Furthermore, this is the episode that proved beyond any shred of doubt that Deke Shaw is the absolute sweetest. Also, he can sing. Like, damn.
7x13, What We’re Fighting For. I have rewatched this thing at least three times now and I tear up every. single. time. I literally cannot think of any characters who deserve this happy ending more!!
mutuals, let me know if I’ve forgotten any significant ones because there’s a high chance I have, my brother is currently jabbing me in the back with a whiteboard marker and I want to murder him
...Oh, gosh, this somehow turned into me raving about AoS.... Is anyone even surprised, though??? 🤣🤣🤣🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
But enough, now for the tagging. The actual point of this. Ahem.
@ohwriteiforgot, @aleksandrachaev, @everythingirl44, @que-mint-tea, @a-biochemist-not-a-bird, @agentsofcomedyandchaos (if you’re feeling better, Julia 💜), @eowima, @maybebrilliant, @besidemethewholedamntime and @springmagpies, if any of you guys want to do this! (and hopefully not get as out of control as me, lmao)
#tag game#feel-good shows tag game#seriously though how DID i get this out of control#🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️#aos has my soul you guys#my SOUL#and i... am not complaining#��😍😍😍😍😍😍
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stream of consciousness thoughts on ( ovan’s ) will. and about graphics. this is your spoiler warning for volume 4: reconnection.
i spent too long last night playing gu for a hot second and now i have some Thoughts:tm: about plots, ovan, and the notion of will. enjoy some 2015 levels of rambling about objectively minuscule details.
anyway literal toilet thought but the archives have a very interesting way of creating meaningful iconography using particular design elements of characters ( mainly the infinity eight ) and minimizing it to something both unique and recognizable. namely, the epitaph pattern icons used for each player in the archives---they’ve always been really neat, unique, and it’s been something that the cc2 team has always used in their archives since _02.
ovan’s has changed between trilogy/original gu and volume 4, which i always thought was pretty neat, especially in terms of what’s actually presented.
( but anyone with the book be like: okay but haseo has a different one too in volume 4!! and i say shshshshshshshh this came about purely because of unison skeith’s icon which uses haseo’s epitaph version since he’s.......you know.......skeith’s host. epitaph talk will come up later )
anyway excuse my 5 minute “slap a banner of images” but the difference here is obvious and i just have an appreciation for what it means with aida---mostly that aida was acknowledged and treated as a completely different entity, an anomaly that didn’t belong on ovan at all and depicted as such during the trilogy. but after kusabira fuses back with him as true neighbor ( which i always thought was a very interesting name to give tri-edge ), we get a spiffy new icon for big blue and wah-lah, aida is now cyan! YAAAA!!! whether or not ovan actually accepts her as part of him ( in which he at least seems reluctant in-game, not so much my main verse after 6 years of writing him lmao ) is rather up for debate, but here we can at least verify that she’s not there to be malicious per se ( but that doesn’t quite exclude her as a menace, see haseo’s “it’s kusabira, isn’t it. it’s that aida whispering in your ear.” ), and not to the extent of trying to completely fuck up his day. i found that slight change pretty interesting. this is where i get into the meat of what i wanted to talk about.
the notion of will in .hack---gu in particular.
but first i do wanna say that there’s this blaring fucking pothole when it comes to corbenik and the rebirth that i don’t know will ever be explained. like. if it’s a failsafe that was a one and done thing, then corbenik should have been......destroyed or severely damaged or something.....right...or at least that’s what kind of makes sense to me unless the product of the RA plan really makes epitaphs less prone to the crumbly wumblies like they were in imoq after being salvaged. although that doesn’t seem to be the case given unison skeith is a solid half corbenik/half skeith. it’s bothered me for years and canon doesn’t really lean one way or the other, it just is ( again, i’ve written something out for my corbi blog years ago and tl;dr ovan and azure kite go fish him out of the sea of data, put him together, but he lacks the ability to rebirth again--i need to tag that thread actually ). but maybe he’s never meant to truly disappear as his moniker implies. always coming back ( additionally fitting for ovan, but i digress ).
will is an interesting concept in gu. and at least with ovan specifically, it’s a strangely powerful trait in him, which may be why part of why he has this sort of enigmatic sort of vibe to him to anyone---this notion of, “i don’t know what this guy wants, but whatever it is, he’ll get it one way or another.” and i think it may really be stronger than at first glance, pivotal almost. we see it twice in dire moments, even though he’s so, so tired.
the first ( and not chronologically, there’s obvious some other off-screen moments we can speculate, these are just two instances that come to mind clearly ) is with the fight with cubia in redemption, where 7 of the 8 are trying to break through ballsack cubia’s final AT field ( forgive me it looks like an AT field what can we expect from sadamoto okay ). yata says they can’t do it without “the epitaph of rebirth”, which always struck me as odd for quite awhile. what did he mean by epitaph of rebirth? didn’t haseo have all of the epitaph data in his pc? he data drained corbenik twice now, they should be okay, no?
but, yata wasn’t referring to corbenik specifically in this case. he was referring to ovan, and in that extension, corbenik as his epitaph. the remnant data skeith absorbed was essentially not enough in this case despite corbenik containing a metric fuckton of data between himself and aida. what skeith can’t devour is human will. ovan’s will.
in the archives, ovan’s specifically noted to have an extremely high mental resilience---it’s the primary trait that attracted corbenik in the first place when searching for a host. this could mean quite a few things, honestly, and taking into account what little of his past we actually know, it makes sense that his sense of direction is incredibly poignant, his will to be essentially unmatched ( although parallel to haseo’s in my opinion, just simply a different flavor ). the man’s just an absolute unit. it’s also noted that ovan didn’t really take into account the repercussions of activating the rebirth and purging the net, thus spawning our good friend cubia, so he truly was just ready to go sleep forever. paraphrasing aura here, the rest of the infinity eight’s praying for ovan to hear their collective voices ( admittedly it just boils down to ovan hearing haseo’s voice, gestures at lost files in the trilogy archives which is a hilarious conversation by the way; “leave me be, i’m tired. i just want to sleep.” ) is what gets him to muster up any remaining strength he has left to come help.
it’s an interesting sequence of scenes with haseo’s cracked data just magically healing up once ovan enters the picture---his presence alone drives haseo. it’s his image and his voice that’s alongside haseo’s ( which is an interesting choice because it could have been all eight of them in this case ). his will is what catalyzes everything to it’s end, including himself.
the second is the avatar fight with moralta, where haseo realizes that he can’t do it alone again---and ovan is still surprisingly able to put himself through that kind of strain despite being in the deep freeze for a year ( avatar and all! again! goddamn! ), combining into unison skeith and yeeting the shit out of giant slug baby once and for all. this particular encounter takes a different note compared to cubia considering we hear both of them synced up ( literally all of their dialogue is the same )---and beyond the fact this whole epilogue is about haseo and ovan, it really ends up being the sheer fact that it’s both of them together that overcome and stop moralta from fucking up [the world]. sheer will’s a strong motive for pretty much all of vol 4 though, so this is kinda expected. it’s haseo’s lament at the end that poses an interesting discussion---he couldn’t do it by himself again ( in this case he is referring to everyone as a whole as well before finding ovan, too ). for all of the power that he holds via skeith, kusabira, etc, he still needed ovan there to push to victory. i’ve always felt that was an interesting distinction the staff has made throughout the gu timeline ( in any retelling of it, actually ). even ovan has to let him know that it’s the fact he had a warband of support that got him that far in the first place despite the trauma ovan had pushed him through.
the series has been consistent about ovan’s ability to push things the extra mile, even for things that he may not personally want, even if there’s few people he’d undoubtedly be alongside. his involvement makes all of the difference, and that’s powerful in it’s own way ( he is the antihero after all ). we see the power ovan has by guiding the events of gu throughout all three volumes, but we really see just how strong he is when he’s actually on-screen the few times he’s there for more than 10 seconds. it’s kind of fucking insane such a laidback personality has that much influence on the outcome of incredibly dangerous/dire/important situations.
when he knows exactly what he wants, he knows exactly what makes people tick, and what makes the world around him change. ovan’s will is a terrifying weapon and it’s one of my favorite details about him.
and last thing that just came to mind from playing around last night..
in one of the demo trailers, haseo’s monologue expresses the emotions he’s experienced throughout playing to that point---specific people embody specific emotions, and in ovan’s case, he’s associated with despair. despair drives ovan--haseo’s correct about that honestly even if the context of what he knows boils down to the fact ovan’s burdened with aida and saving his sister ( things we see in the archives explicitly point out that the indou parents are straight up dead ). this man has lost so much, is losing too much, and is on the brink of losing even more during the events of gu and it shows. despair is a powerful force, a reaction to the things one has experienced and an outlet for all of the things it can cause. a man with nothing left to lose is the most dangerous and the most powerful of them all even in silence---and somehow, somehow ovan has managed to keep his edge despite being on the brink of death himself in the real world. that’s fucking scary.
#( ╳┊ headcanon. )#i guess?? i don't have a tag for whole ass rambles but this is a huge part of his character.#god i just [clenches fist] love ovan so much he's so [clenches other fist] shrimptresting......even after 10+ years.....
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Travel Adventures: Vienna, Day Three
Today was the day of righting the missed opportunities of our last visit in 2017. First up, Schloss Belvedere. We had stayed within walking distance of it last time, but ran out of time before we could explore it. I had assumed it would be a museum to the palace itself, and the people who lived in it (like with Schönbrunn Palace), but Belvedere turned out to be a legit art museum.
There's 3 parts to Belvedere: Lower, Upper, and Belvedere 21. You can get admission to any individual part, or various combinations thereof. I went with all three, because I'm a glutton for palaces, but it turned out Belvedere21 actually doesn't open until Wednesday, so I'll have to go back later this week, and half of Lower Belvedere was closed due to the ongoing installation of a new exhibit.
Even so, what we did see was pretty cool. Lower Belvedere was an interesting combination of avant garde modern art, and medieval religious art. Upper Belvedere ran the spectrum from Renaissance, to Baroque, to Impressionist, to Realist, to modern art.
There's also the grounds, which is actually free to the public. This was, honestly, my favorite part.
The art was delightful too, but a little less so than the grounds because just like yesterday, I was acutely aware of the gender disparity between male and female artists. At least with out on the grounds, I can imagine myself in a historical daydream where that disparity doesn't exist.
We had lunch at Cafe Aida, another konditorei. The sandwiches were delish (I had a tuna melt that was heavy on the mustard and pickles, which was surprisingly good), but the cocoa and desserts were the true standouts.
Mine was a schokolade cardinalschnitte, which requires some backstory. My last visit to Vienna, I had been on the hunt for this cardinalschnitte. I'd seen it on a travel/food channel, and immediately wanted to try it. But either due to the time of year or the cafes I visited, I only saw a few that offered cardinalschnitte and it was always coffee flavored (which I don't like). So I came this year with the intention of finally finding trying cardinalschnitte.
This one was... okay. Not very chocolate-y, just sweet. So I might try a fruit variation (erdbeere oder himbeere) at another cafe.
My mother's selection, however, was delicious: a vanilla blueberry cake that was lighter than a mousse cake. It also had a touch of lemon to add additional depth of flavor.
I might go back to the konditorei to try one of their ice cream specialities. It's their main fare, but it was a little too chilly to take advantage of it today.
Getting to the cafe, we passed an antique bookstore. I had marveled at it's window selections because-- pretty books!-- which my mother took as "let's go inside" which I balked at but ultimately caved too. Worst decision ever. We had to buzz to get in, explained we just wanted to look, got some rolled eyes and a "sure" before the owner went back to his office. It was the instant stomach ache anxiety of "we do not belong here," which sucked and then I had to call to be buzzed out which my anxiety did not like, but my mom (who had by then realized her mistake) had mentally clocked out, so.
But they did have a very pretty storefront:
On our way back to the hotel, we strolled the Naschmarkt:
It reminded me of Granville Island in Vancouver, with fishmongers and spice merchants alongside restaurants. But where seating in Granville Island Market is a rabid free-for-all, the restaurants on the Naschmarkt all have their own seating and serving spaces.
And instead of being crammed into a maze of a warehouse, the Naschmarkt is a long strip between two busy streets. But I did see a vendor of gummies both bear and worm, so I'll definitely need to go back for a supply before I leave.
With the chill what it is, we returned to the hotel early. Which is actually super nice, with cozy salons and a killer breakfast buffet (thus the reason for a lack of breakfast reports so far). So I'm relaxing with some tea to write and workshop the next installment for my writer's group submission.
Alles gut, ja?
#travel adventures: vienna#day three#belvedere castle#cafe aida#naschmarkt#some other highlights include being checked out on the tram#and getting catcalled at the naschmarkt#but you know what?#i dont regret looking cute in a short skirt#bc i dont get to wear it enough at home#so i'm gonna wear tf out of it here
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Starter Plotter Call!
[You wanna plot with Haseo, you’ve come to the right place! Now half the time I’m usually on my Twitter @GrailSummoner so that’s the perfect place to contact m e if you ever want to send IMs, talk about plots for our muses, or etc! This thread also allows you to pester Haseo as much as you want in the Inbox so there’s no need to be shy! (I say this, but I’m shy af and have a devastatingly terrible work schedule so I may not immediately answer]
Friends
[Haseo is moody and pretty anti-social 85% of the time, but he is a nice person deep down. It’s just that a year of getting the shit literally kicked out of him, his friend/romantic love interest being put into a coma, and the only person he could rely on straight up disappearing can do a lot to the psyche. He has let more of his friendly side come out a bit more, and is willing to talk to people even if he sounds outright unenthusiastic or rude. He’s doing his best to change, so give him a bit of time to adjust. Once you do, you’ll have a Ride or Die friend with a Stand Persona Avatar]
Older Brother Figure
[Need someone to act as a babysitter? Well he’s not THE Best, but he’s still surprisingly good at it. He’s used to dealing with bratty kids thanks to Sakubo (more Saku than Bo) and is naturally protective towards those too weak to defend themselves due to a lot of PCs getting PKed for sport. He’s still a young adult so one can’t except him to have all the answers to life and can be pretty childish himself, but he will check himself and try not to do anything stupid that can influence someone younger into doing the same thing.]
Mentor
[9/10 Times if you’re character is a Teacher or Mentor then Haseo will ignore you for the first 5 minutes, but he’s not going to walk off like that. He’s had many different mentors- Phyllo, Antares, even Ovan to an extent. A lot of the things they did and said influenced how he is now and made him realize he can’t do everything by himself and that its impossible to expect that of himself. They’re the reasons he can now rely on his friends and not be alone anymore. While he won’t necessarily reach out to your character for guidance, he will listen or attempt to a mentor’s advice.]
Love Interest
[Haseo’s love life has always been pretty complicated and isn’t great with dealing with other people- romantic or not. It usually takes him a while to realize his feelings so patience is a real virtue. He’s shy and most likely won’t say anything about it unless he’s really sure. He’s bisexual so he’s fine with either male or female relationships, though he’s severally inexperienced with all.]
Enemies
[He’s good at pissing people off. He KNOWS he’s good at pissing people off, and he has a bad temper so it can be easy to rile him up. Though one thing for sure that will get you on his absolute shit list is hurting his friends, hurting someone who has nothing to do with you and him, and manipulation. If you are a manipulator, then a sword to the face is likely the very next reaction.]
Our Other Selves
[Okay, so this one is more for characters who can see spirits, or can bring out the physical manifestation of their other selves (ie. Personas, Stands, etc). Haseo has what’s known as a Avatar- a special code of data that has been randomly put into 8 separate PCs and can call upon them to fight viruses known as AIDA or....other people. They are so powerful that they can literally cause a world ending monster to awaken from its sleep if all 8 are reunited together under the Key of Twilight- and that’s what makes them even more dangerous besides being able to Data Drain people into comas. His is the 1st Phase Terror of Death: Skeith and even though its locked at the moment, he can still see them and others due to his PC.]
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046
for anon who wanted a different prompt but I didn’t have any ideas for it so i changed it gomen
Kagami doesn’t remember the last time he was at a wedding and he does not remember what he should and shouldn’t do and what is the accepted protocol.
Thankfully, currently he is surrounded with people that he knows and trusts so that’s not a big problem.
Coach and Captain, or rather Aida- and Hyuuga-senpai decided to, after some years of running in circles around each other, to finally get tie the knot.
Kagami thought the reception would be small, just the team and both of the bride and groom’s families, but Kagami, and no one really, was prepared for the amount of friends Riko would invite from high school, university and even her job.
She even invited Momoi, who somehow managed to convince Aomine to wear a suit (no tie, which apparently was the deal) who came as her plus one.
Other than that the reception was pretty calm. The food was good, the music not too bad and the weather was nice.
Kagami and Kuroko were booked at a ‘seirin table’. Apparently that was the unofficial name.
Hyuga and Riko were discussing something with a group of Riko’s female friends, but they were too far away and the band was too loud for them to hear anything.
Izuki and an overexcited Koganei were asking Kuroko about how his thesis was going, while Kiyoshi patted Kagami on the shoulder and asked him about this own education.
Kagami didn’t particularly like questions like that, but he and Kuroko had so little opportunities to talk to their seniors that they gladly answered any and all questions.
Kagami didn’t notice when the music stopped, because everyone was still talking. It could have been a regular change of the repertoire so he didn’t pay it any mind.
He was in the middle of recalling a silly story from one of his lectures at some point, when suddenly everything went silent.
Kagami cut his own sentence when he noticed that and looked around alarmed.
Half of their table gave him funny looks and Kagami felt himself getting flustered.
“What?” He sputtered. “Do I have something on my face?”
Izuki snorted and Kagami looked at him, but his senior averted his gaze.
“What? Hey, Kuroko what’s-oh.”
Kuroko sat next to him as before and looked almost normal in his black suit, save for the fact that he wasn’t looking at Kagami, or at anyone actually.
Kagami followed his gaze down and he blinked.
There was bouquet in his lap.
Specifically, it was the same one Riko had when she was walking down the aisle a few hours before. The one made out of those small, yellow flowers, that Riko liked the most.
Kagami stared at the flowers for a moment and then Kuroko looked at him, his face impassive and voice flat, but his cheeks pink and said:
"I caught the bouquet."
Everyone at their table (well everyone aside from Kagami and Kuroko that is), started laughing.
“Technically it’s the bouquet that caught you.” Izuki joked and Kagami saw how Tetsuya’s face turned pinker.
Kagami was aware of the looks he was getting from his team and suddenly felt like he should probably say something. This was a dangerous territory.
“Sorry!” Riko yelled from the stage where she stood flowerless and waved at them apologetically. Kiyoshi waved back and laughed that it was nothing.
Kuroko cleared his throat and stood up, his chair scrapping the floor.
“I should give that back.” He said and made his way to the stage.
All the women gathered there laughed when they saw who was the ‘chosen one’ and Kuroko ducked his head as he gave Riko her bouquet back.
“Mou Tetsu-kun not fair!” Momoi said after him and everyone laughed when he picked up the pace.
“Okay.” Kagami finally said when he watched as Kuroko left the hall, probably to go to the bathroom. “She has a good arm.”
“And terrible aim.” Koganei said.
“Or excellent depending how you’re looking at it.” Izuki supplied and a meaningful silence followed.
Kagami knew his face was red as the napkins at their table. He didn’t feel like answering any more questions, so he excused himself.
“Hey! We were just joking!” Koganei shouted after him.
“I know.” Kagami shouted back and reached to the exit. He heard an excited yell and a laugh when someone finally from under the stage, caught the bouquet and soon after the band restarted their performance.
It wasn’t hard to find Kuroko, not after all these years of Kagami looking for him and not when Kuroko actually wanted to be found.
He was standing in front of one of the windows near the bathroom (as he expected) and Kagami thought that looked like he was waiting for him.
“Kagami-kun.” His face showed relief for some reason. “I’m sorry.”
Kagami raised an eyebrow.
“What for? It’s just a silly tradition that doesn’t mean anything.”
Kuroko’s eyes turned wide then as sources and Kagami thought he might have said something wrong.
“I…Yes I know. I meant that I made a faux pas.”
Kagami snorted.
“Why? Because coach can’t aim?” He joked. “Like I said it’s a silly tradition. No one takes it seriously. And it’s not like you forced yourself up there under that scene.”
Kuroko chewed on his lower lip for a moment.
“Yes of course I didn’t.” Kuroko said and Kagami tilted his head to the side, mildly confused by his strange behavior.
“...Did you want to catch the bouquet?”
Kuroko gave him a slightly annoyed look.
“I didn’t even know it was going to be happening.”
“Uh right.”
“It..felt strange. When everyone was looking at me.”
Kagami scratched the back of his head.
“Well, that’s what happens on weddings. Only not to the guests, so um.”
“Yes.”
“And they were just joking I mean, it’s not like anyone expects you to...you know.” He made a vague hand motion. “You know.”
Kuroko nodded and looked away. Kagami swallowed.
“It’s not a sign or anything. Anyway, do you wanna stay here for a while longer?”
“I don’t think that’s polite.” Kuroko said carefully. “Let’s go back.”
“Sure.”
They made their way back into the hall in silence. Kagami opened the door and wanted to turn around and tell Kuroko that it was fine and no one will remember any of it in an hour and maybe suggest something to eat, when something smacked him in the face.
Kagami sputtered and caught the thing, which, surprisingly (or maybe not) turned out to be Riko’s bouquet.
The hall erupted in giggles and suggestive noises and someone even whistled, and Kagami’s face turned red.
“What the!” He bristled and looked at Kuroko who was blushing as well, but he was also sending him amused glances.
Kagami looked at the bouquet and then at Kuroko.
Okay so maybe it was tiny sign. Maybe.
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Hell-bent: Chapter 3- It Ain't Over 'Till It's Over Buzzer Beater Mind-State
<Chapter 2 Chapter 4>
Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke
Pairing: Aokise, MomoRiko, Kagakuro, MuroMura, more???
u can find this on AO3 lol
Summary: Adult AU, Criminal Underworld AU. Where Kagami Taiga is a young heir suddenly targeted by 6 rather dangerous members of the criminal underworld (each with their own set of personal troubles), and Kuroko is a bodyguard with a dark past.
Warning: Violence, Strong language, a lil dark and angsty sometimes. Getting spicier ;^)
[Saturday. 03:23. Unbelievable Part I]
The way those hot sleepy fingertips just barely touch the skin of his exposed back, where his shirt had ridden up; the sensation of those long arms wrapped around him, clinging like a child.
The soft murmur of Murasakibara's voice tickling the side of Himuro's neck.
"You're so warm, Muro-chin."
That's not fair play at all. He dozes off for like an hour, and this is what he wakes up to?
Himuro tries to swallow, but his throat is too dry.
At times like this, when Tatsuya's too overwhelmed to defend against these brutal attacks on his already shoddy self-control, the smartest course of action is to get up and cool off with a nice cold shower.
"Yeah," he whispers back, neither getting up nor cooling off, instead opting to run his fingers through the tangled mess of Murasakibara's violet hair. Atsushi responds with a satisfied hum, which further incites a now unrestrained, over-tired Himuro to guide his hand along to the other man's shoulder, then push him back until they're facing each other.
"It's hot."
Ahh, this is hell.
He tries so hard to keep himself in check, to avoid taking advantage of this volatile human weapon, or slipping up and causing irreparable damage to himself, to Masako or Atsushi. But even Himuro has a breaking point, and this isn't the first time he's reached it, either.
Maybe one day he'll be able to say out loud everything he feels without restraint, but for now he'll just steal a taste....
He brushes his thumb against the slightly frowning lower lip, then presses gently until Atsushi obediently opens his mouth so that Himuro may slide the rest in even further. Murasakibara is watching him all the while with half-lidded eyes, somehow appearing both demure and sinister at the same time.
Himuro tilts his jaw forward and moves in to...
Well, it doesn't matter what he moves in to do, as he's interrupted by the sound of rapid gunfire at the front door.
[Saturday. 03:47. Unbelievable Part II]
A mistake has been made.
Man F realizes he has fucked up around the time Murasakibara Atsushi's massive hand makes contact with his face: nothing like some broken bones to get him to seriously reflect on the error of his ways.
The force of impact sends F flying into the nearest wall. His body crumples to the floor, where he lies gasping for breath as warm blood gushes from his nose. Either from the excruciating pain or the blunt head trauma, but to Man F's fading vision it looks as though the killer looming before him is surrounded by a menacing deep violet miasma.
...Okay, several mistakes have been made. For one, Man F wouldn't have had to come across this fucking purple abomination if he hadn't foolishly trusted that fucking dickhead, who just conveniently forgot to mention that the apartment of the so-called "easy target" belongs to none other than the Araki Group's infamous Reaper...
"He ....fucked us over.... that basta..rd...put us up to it.....we didn't...know..." Man F manages to cough out, blood dripping down his chin as he struggles to pick himself up. Before he can explain himself further, Man F's words yield to an agonized cry as Murasakibara digs his heel into the fallen man's groin.
"Huuhhh?? I don't care," Murasakibara hisses, increasing pressure with little stomps.
"You killed my fridge. How are you going to make up for that?"
That's what he takes issue with?!
Not the armed break-in, or the attempt on his life-
"I'M SORRY" Man F screams, rather sincerely. But Murasakibara isn't in the mood to hear apologies, not when the corpse of his massacred kitchen appliance lies useless and riddled with bullet holes.
"Ahh, settle down, Atsushi," says the Reaper's companion from the side, where he is handling F's comrade, G. He's not as immediately recognizable as Murasakibara, but there's something uncomfortably familiar about the elegant dark-haired, undereye mole beauty queen man currently striking G across the face with the back of a Glock 19. Someone's feeling a bit aggressive today...
F would try and get a closer look, but he is getting his ass handed to him by a nightmare human, which is distracting to say the least.
"We can't find out what our guests want if you play too roughly... ahhh, oops. I got blood on my shirt..."
To Man F's surprise, Murasakibara relents immediately, pulling back with a slight pout. F crawls backwards quickly until his back hits a cabinet under the kitchen sink.
Who is this mystery man, that not only addresses this monster so familiarly, but actually gets him to obey...
"Mmmm, I already know what they want. They're a message from Haiz-...."
Murasakibara pauses mid-sentence, then pulls out his phone and just stays quiet while he focuses on that.
"Atsushi...?"
"Mmm, one sec, Muro-chin. I just gotta let Sa-chin know about this, 'cause she told me she'd get me a box of okonomiyaki Maiubo next time she goes to Osaka if I.."
The killer continues to ramble on about things Man F doesn't understand. The only thing that's sticking so far is Muro-chin.....Muro......
An ominous shudder passes through Man F before he fully realizes why, though his answer comes soon enough, in the form of mystery man lifting his blood spattered shirt up enough to reveal what is unmistakably the tattoo of a black dragon etched against his white skin.
The realization hits Man F like a brick: Muro... Himuro Tatsuya, Madame Araki Masako's notorious 'pet dragon'.
Which is just great, really. The Dragon and The Reaper live together in this humble happy home F and G were told to attack, like sacrificial lambs sent as some shitty human warning message.
That's it, if Man F makes it out of this alive ... and honestly, if either of these two wanted him dead, he'd be fucking dead...he's fucking quitting this shitty criminal life and going back to school. Become a welder or something, he doesn't have the nerves to suffer through this again.
Well, before anything, he needs to buy Murasakibara a new refrigerator.
[Saturday. 07:09. The Best Way To A Man's Heart Is Through His Stomach]
"Ah."
Kuroko awakens to the smell of food wafting in from an open door. What an unfamiliar phenomenon...
The bodyguard finds himself sitting up on the floor of Kagami Taiga's bedroom, his back pressed up against a part of the wall directly under a window. He blinks a few times, adjusting his eyes to the few strays of morning light peeking from beneath drawn blinds; he's a bit disoriented by the fact that he managed to fall asleep after all.
Three whole hours, at that. How rare.
Conditioned from a young age to sleep lightly and in unnatural positions, Kuroko picks himself up off the ground rather gracefully. He stretches his joints out, pulling his hand back only to be greeted by the sharp, throbbing pain in his right wrist: proof of the punch he had finally managed to coax out of the young master last night.
Though the hit was blocked in the end, and clearly nowhere near Taiga's full strength, Kuroko still can't help but smile fondly at his bruised arm: there is hope of teamwork here yet...
The bodyguard tucks his knife back into his pants' pocket (he never falls asleep without at least a weapon at the ready for worst case scenarios), then proceeds to step out the room and make his way to the kitchen, following the trail of that delicious smell.
In the kitchen area, he finds Kagami Taiga, young master and heir to the Kagami Empire, hard at work wielding a frying pan full of sizzling sliced pork and vegetables. Soup and white rice have already been prepared and set aside on the kitchen table.
The real treat here is how...domestic Kagami looks, with the black apron draped over his tall, muscular frame, hands busy preparing an unnecessarily heavy breakfast.
"Good morning."
"Oh, mornin'-- geh, what's with the ridiculous bedhead? You didn't even sleep in a bed..."
Kuroko doesn't feel the need to respond to this. Having confirmed Kagami's safety, he does a quick check around the rest of spacious apartment, including the balcony and the outer hall. He also checks in with the guards stationed in the surrounding area of the apartment complex to see if anything abnormal has gone by unreported in the past few hours.
All clear.
So no one's making any hasty moves yet. Biding their time, perhaps they've matured...
After trying and failing to contact Aida Riko, Kuroko moseys on back into the kitchen, perching onto a nearby stool and silently continues to watch Kagami. The young heir is looking down, his brows furrowed and mouth turned down in a slight frown as he tends to his stir fry, just about finished. It's difficult to tell whether he's feeling or troubled or if he's simply focused on the task in front of him.
Somehow, to see him make such an expression...
Of course, it's only natural for the young heir to be stressed out in his current situation. In fact, after Kagami's initial bout of rebellious beahviour subsided, he's been surprisingly adaptive and well-behaved. He may grumble constantly that he doesn't need a 24-hour guard, but not once has raised a question about the arrangement.
Perhaps he really does know...
There was something Miss Aida had offhandedly told Kuroko shortly after his employment into the Kagami family, and her words are coming back up again for some reason:
"People have been dragging Taiga into their affairs ever since he was a small child, only to abandon or lie to him afterwards. I haven't known him for that long, and he comes off as a fucking idiot...but I can tell it really wears on him."
At the time, Kuroko hadn't thought much of it, but now he finds himself reflecting on his own ulterior motives for involving himself with the young heir. He hadn't expected Kagami Taiga to end up being so honest and so...
"...what."
"I'm sorry?"
"You're staring at me...do you have a problem?"
"Ah, I'm just impressed to see that Mast-..Kagami-kun can even cook for himself."
Kagami squints at Kuroko, visibly suspicious, and raises his spatula threateningly.
"...Are you making fun of me?"
"Not at all."
"Ah! You looked away!!"
"Please, Kagami-kun. There's no need to be so noisy in the morning; you're hurting my ears."
"Damn you, Kuroko...."
Kagami scowls as he slides a bowl of rice and a plateful of his cooking over to Kuroko, leaving his bodyguard to marvel at how his charge expects him to eat so much food this early in the day.
A hot home cooked meal...
Kuroko utters his gratitude in a soft voice before digging in.
[Saturday. 11:45 . It's Not Like I Care Or Anything Part I]
"Aawww, what's this? You're reading all the files I gave you! I knew this game would finally get Dai-chan interested in something other than himself."
"Do you really have to- Geh. What are you all dressed up for? Don't tell me someone's actually made the mistake of asking you out on a da-MMMMF"
"^_^ Actually, I've made plans to meet up with Ki-chan!"
"Wh-............ Wow. Isn't that great."
"Yep, and you're coming with me."
"Huuuuuuuuuuuuh?! Don't wanna."
"Hmmm.... but weren't you saying last night how much you miss him?"
"The fuc-....Oi. Satsuki."
"What, am I wrong? But if Dai-chan needs to keep hiding from reality, you can just wait outside until we're done talking. :) "
".....uhh, why the fuck should I? I have nothing to say to him, and his face just fucking pisses me off."
"....Isn't that what they call sexual frustration?"
"What was that?"
"I said, 'I wasn't going to mention this, but since you're being problematic I have no choice. Muk-kun texted me this morning with some very interesting news about a certain old...teammate of ours.'"
"What..."
[Saturday. 11:48. Enter Trashman]
Haizaki Shougo sneezes violently into the crook of his arm, the fifth one today.
Someone must be talking shit.
[Saturday. 12:12. Reconnaissance]
"Hey, Shin-chan," Takao begins cautiously, adjusting his focus as he peers through the lenses of his binoculars.
"I'm glad you decided to rely on me so soon, but uhh...is there a special reason we're doing recon of one of the major Kagami Corp. buildings?"
"Fool. Don't ask questions you already know the answer to" is the curt reply. As expected...
Takao isn't sure whether he should be worried or not (he really should), but he feels it's better to just shake off the dark instinctual sense of foreboding and enjoy the pleasant afternoon breeze.
Whatever happens, he can tell it's going to be very entertaining.
"Well?"
"Ahhh, it's hard to say. The windows are bullet-resistant and at this distance, even if you could--..."
As Takao dips his view down to the ground level, two very colourful somethings catch his eye.
"Oh... Hey!"
"What is it?"
"Those people ...aren't they your friends or whatever? The two we met last year at the...that thing?"
Midorima frowns deeply, very clearly unsettled by the mention of 'friends'.
"What are you blabbering about ..."
"You know, the flashy crying guy and the pink girl with the" [hand motion over chest].
"WHAT."
Midorima snatches the binoculars from Takao's hands in a panic, his bandaged fingers shaking. After a few silent moments, he lets out an irritable hiss: looks like he's found them.
"Tch. Causing a scene together, as always."
Shin-chan seems rather frazzled... Takao accepts this as a gift, and observes happily as Midorima peers down at whoever those people are, muttering petulantly under his breath. Those two must be something special to get him to lose his composure like this.
Sadlly the amusement is short-lived:
"Uhhmm, you guys can't be here?"
So says the security guard of the public library rooftop Midorima and Takao are currently sitting on, and so the two assassins are forced to apologize and humbly take their leave.
[Saturday. 12:14. Absolutely Flawless]
A brief hush falls upon the patrons of this expensive café, and everyone turns their heads in unison to get a better look at the couple of rare beauties passing by.
The woman is clad in a simple pastel blue sundress that falls just above her knees, leaving the rest of her lovely legs exposed. She carries herself lightly and with grace; her long, rose-coloured hair flows behind her as she walks. Her soft mouth, curved into a sweet smile that betrays only the slightest hint of mischief, does not go unnoticed by the watchful restaurant patrons.
Her companion is equally radiant: tall, with a slender (though still muscular) build, silky blonde hair, and well-dressed to boot . He's sporting red-rimmed glasses that poorly mask a pretty face with delicate features. Actually, he does look a bit familiar...
Especially dazzling under the bright rays of the afternoon sun, the unreasonably good-looking pair take their seats outside on the patio, chatting together quietly in some foreign tongue, which only strengthens their appeal.
"What could those two possibly be discussing? Where are they from?? What is the nature of their relationship???" This is the nature of questions circulating amongst the customers and staff of the coffee shop.
The two just take relaxed sips of their respective beverages (black coffee for the lady, vanilla latte for the man), seemingly indifferent to the sudden influx of excited whispers their every move incurs from the people around them.
"....Maybe we should have met up somewhere a little less...busy" Kise remarks dryly, eyeing the blatant stares from the surrounding tables.
"Haha it's fine, it's fine. As far as I can tell, no one here understands Russian, and the crowd will give us cover in case anything happens" Momoi chirps happily, though Kise detects a slight edge of weariness in her voice. They're both used to this kind of treatment, and usually it's not a problem, but somehow the ogling is always ten times worse when they're together.
So beautiful, it's a curse...
"Besides," Momoi begins with a tilt of her pink head, peering up at Kise cheekily.
"Isn't Ki-chan always operating under the public eye? Even doing business with the likes of C in broad daylight, from what I hear. How bold!"
"Wahaaaa~, and you're as scary as ever, Momocchi. Really, nothing gets past you."
Momoi takes this as a compliment.
"Hehe. But I'm surprised you were willing to give him the time of day. To go to such lengths...you must be in a hurry to start things."
"Of course I am... I've been waiting so long for this moment, to be called out with everyone again. And now that Kurokocchi's gone and broken the rules...I just..."
"You're hoping to talk him out of it." Momoi concludes, sitting back against her chair. She twists a strand of her hair around her index finger, regarding Kise expectantly.
"Mmm...something like that. But Kurokocchi can be crazy stubborn once he's made his mind up. So if he's taking this seriously, then I can't help but get fired up, even if it means putting up with...shit."
Kise sighs, resting his chin on his hands, and flicks his dark golden eyes up at Momoi.
"What about Momocchi? Seems like your challenges have got you ready for blood, too. That Aida Riko is right up your alley, right? In more ways than one..."
Momoi's lips purse into a guilty smile as she is reminded that she's not the only dangerously shrewd one here. Perhaps from their equally undying love for Kuroko Tetsuya, and from sharing such skills as super-analysis, effortless seduction, and obfuscating naïveté, Momoi and Kise have also developed an intuitive understanding of each other's 'tastes' and 'preferences'.
The difference is that Momoi's directly interfering with Kise's sex life, though it's unlikely that he's caught on.
"She's certainly more troublesome than I ever could have hoped. She's getting uncomfortably close to finding out about us, but I set up a nice tr- ooh, that looks so good!"
Kise looks over as well, and the two watch as a cherry cheesecake is served two tables away. Being stared at by not one, but two angels is a bit too much for the blushing recipient of said cheesecake to handle.
"Ahh, but I shouldn't be eating so much sugar..."
"Did you want to split one?"
"Oooh, okay!"
They continue to chatter in Russian, despite not having anything more clandestine to say, until their dessert arrives. Momoi immediately plucks off the cherry from the top and pops it into her mouth. Delicious.
"By the way," Kise sinks his tiny fork into the cheesecake and eats the bite slowly before continuing, dropping his voice to a disparaging tone.
"How long is Aominecchi going to lurk in the shop across from us? I think he's scaring off some of their customers..."
Momoi can't hold back a snort of laughter, though she recovers with an airy giggle and dismissive wave of her hand.
"Don't worry about Dai-chan, he's just feeling shy. He'll come around, I'm sure."
Kise makes a tiny skeptical noise, but doesn't press any further.
He'll have to deal with this on his own, nothing new.
[Saturday. 12:44. It's Not Like I Care Or Anything Part II]
Ugh, that's right. Those two get along annoyingly well...
Aomine shoves an absurd quantity of noodles into his mouth without looking, too busy glaring at the scene that's developing at the coffee shop across the street.
God, are they trying to draw attention to themselves? Honestly. When it comes to attracting crowds (along with all sorts of unsavoury people), Momoi and Kise individually are bad enough. The result of their combined forces is that much more frustrating.
...it's no wonder their missions were so successful when they were paired together, back in the day. Damn pretty- boys and... whatever the appeal of Momoi is...(???)
Aomine's noodle-devouring becomes more aggressive with each passing moment, alarming all nearby customers. As if he let Momoi fool him into coming this far, with those 'Haizaki Shougo on the move again' scare tactics. That asshole isn't even really a threat, so enough of this bullshit. Once Aomine finishes this meal, he's fucking going home to stare at his beloved Mai-chan and maybe take a nap.
The man himself is unsure as to where all this annoyance is coming from.
.........................he for sure.........has no idea.......
Not a single clue.
His phone vibrates, so he picks it out with his left hand (while still feeding himself with the right), to read:
[Satsuki: Lol he's already noticed you. Stop being pathetic and just come out to say hi.]
A vein in Aomine's temple throbs.
Definitely going straight home after this.
[Saturday. 12:47. Scar #33]
Ahh, that smarts.
Riko grits her teeth and tightens her grip around the steering wheel, willing herself to ignore the jarring pain in her shoulder. She's leaning forward so as not to dirty the car, but it's meaningless, really, what with half-conscious Koganei bleeding out in the passenger's seat.
She had known that following the sketchy information trail attached to the name Momoi Satsuki would lead to danger, but she hadn't anticipated being attacked in broad daylight, only moments after hearing mere slivers of information about 'Miracles.'
Still. These wounds are mere scratches compared to all the hits Riko's taken for the Kagami Family. And a little dry-cleaning and a couple band-aids (okay, so Koga might need some more...advanced medical attention, but he's fine) is a small price to pay for the crucial leads Riko gained today.
Her intuition had been right: there really is a connection between all the killers and criminals hired to come after young master Taiga. But there are still too many unknowns for Riko to begin to understand why this is happening.
Sure, there are plenty of people and groups who would love to get their hands on the young heir, motives ranging from ransom money or blackmail, to a grudge against the father, to culling this random heir that they feel does not deserve the inheritance. Typical stuff, really.
But with Kagami Taiga, there is an added element of what happened during his...messy childhood, the reason why he's been hidden until now, and the groundbreaking power his fiery red head holds. It's only natural for those privy to this knowledge to try and take action. To use the young master, or to silence him.
And these people are all those who have hired one of the five...no, six including Momoi...big names. So what does that mean, if anything?
Riko intends to answer all these questions soon, though it means she'll be shedding more blood yet.
"Nooo....too many...pigeons......nya..." Koganei mumbles feverishly, convincing Riko to stop mulling over conspiracies and just apply more pressure to the gas pedal.
Hang in there, Koga, buddy.
Notes (from AO3):
forgive me, akashi, my sweet pink heterochromic yan mafia princess...you weren't in this chapter, but i will do right by you yet
also not that anyone asked, but i'm dying to write saucy scenes for dark blue tsundere doof x blonde fake ass ho, but alas, pacing or whatever that thing is called that i'm bad at
also also today's shitty chapter title brought to you by: select, but not necessarily relevant line from PI's 'In the Zone'
LMAO I WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR EVERYTHING I'M SO SLEEP DEPRIVED AND BLESS YOU ALL FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY BS
#kb fanfic#murasakibara atsushi#himuro tatsuya#muramuro#kagami taiga#kuroko tetsuya#kagakuro#midorima shintarou#takao kazunari#momoi satsuki#aida riko#momoriko#aomine daiki#kise ryota#aokise
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His Position on the Team
Written in a frenzy bc I got the idea in the shower (and was peer pressured by Adrienne to write this after spamming her inbox with it), so apologies if this feels rushed as I don’t really have the time to flesh this out more. I also wanted to get this out before the episode bc who the fuck knows what’s actually going to happen.
Trigger Warning: major character death and a small scene of violence/gore (It’s pretty tame bc I can’t handle gore myself. And don’t worry; it’s neither of our science babies that takes the fall.)
Read on AO3 or below!
~
Fitz struggled with the wiring of the control panel as Jemma stood guard close by at the doorframe. Through his brilliance and Jemma’s constant encouragement, he managed to gain control of the LMDs of his friends by figuring out how to rewire their programming remotely, directing them to retreat from the fighting and lay low until further instruction. He couldn’t shut them down completely, but it was a start. But the Russian’s men were still infiltrating the base, and no one could locate AIDA or Dr. Radcliffe, so this sent worries through the entire team. The plan to destroy the inhuman population was so much larger than they thought, and it was only just the beginning.
“If I can just get the system back under our control, we can power the Zephyr so we can get out of here.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No, just keep watch. I’ve almost got it.”
She turned her head slightly to check on his progress when she saw his eyes widen as he looked past her.
“Jemma, move!”
Before she could manage to turn around on her spot, being a nearly open target for one of the Russian’s operatives aiming his gun at her head, a towering figure moved in front of her, blocking her body entirely. The shot rang out, and Jemma flinched, but she didn’t feel any pain. Clutching her hand to stomach, not from a gunshot wound, but from the shock of nearly receiving one, she turned around to see the figure falling to his knees, blood streaming down his back from the exit wound of the bullet. Fitz swiftly retaliated, taking his own shot and hitting the operative squarely in the chest, and watched as he sunk to the ground unconscious.
It took Jemma a few seconds to recover from her shock, but once her head cleared, she realized the identity of the person that just saved her life. Her blocker.
“Mace!”
Jemma hurried to his side and assisted him to the ground on his back. Mace gasped, struggling to catch his breath as the bullet wound was already soaking his shirt through with blood.
“Fitz! Help me, please,” Jemma called out desperately, pressing her hand to the wound in an attempt to control the bleeding. Fitz was already racing over, pulling off his jacket in the process.
“Here, use this, but let me.” He replaced her hands with his, bunching the jacket together to assist in his efforts.
“Keep the pressure there,” she instructed. As Fitz pressed the fabric firmly into Mace’s chest, Jemma placed her hand gently on the man’s forehead. “It’s okay. Try to breathe.”
“How’d I do?” he managed through a choked breath.
“Are you kidding? You saved us,” she said through a weak smile.
He let out a pained chuckle. “I told you I was the blocker.”
Jemma looked up to meet Fitz’s eyes, her own already misting over. As much as she wanted to sound encouraging, her gut told her that it was too late. They didn’t have access to the med bay or additional medical assistance, and from the look in Fitz’s eye, she knew he was thinking the same thing.
Suddenly, Mace’s breaths became less frequent as his eyes began to flutter. Jemma moved her hand to his shoulder, squeezing it urgently. “Mace, stay with us.”
Fitz increased the pressure on the wound, but saw no response. “Mace.”
But they were right in thinking it was too late. At once, the man released a shuddering breath and became still, his eyes slightly open, unfocused and without light. Jemma slowly moved her hand from the man’s shoulder and brought it up to her mouth to stifle a sob.
This wasn’t an unfamiliar scene for them, losing a team member they cared about, but the fact that this man, this brave and loyal man, lost his life to save the two of them, it made it all the more painful.
A few moments passed, Fitz closing the man’s eyes and moving to wrap his arm around Jemma’s shoulder as she wept silently, until the sound of footsteps brought their attention to the doorway. Their team members, their real team members, entered the control room. Coulson supported May on his arm, both of them clearly shaken from the day’s events, and Daisy and Mack looked equally exhausted, but they were all alive.
And they were lucky.
Because not all of them were that lucky.
Daisy was the first to step forward. “Is he…?”
A beat passed as Jemma moved her hand through Mace’s hair, fresh tears streaming down her face. She shook her head, more in disbelief than in an answer to Daisy’s question.
Fitz looked up to meet Daisy’s eyes. “He’s gone,” he whispered.
Daisy’s eyes traveled between the two of them, clearing feeling the weight of the sudden loss.
“How did you escape?” Fitz asked.
“May.” Coulson answered. “She beat the framework. Honestly? We owe her everything.” He looked to the companion at his side, a grateful expression on his face.
As their eyes continued to linger on Mace’s body, they suddenly noticed a familiar towering figure approaching in the doorway. Jemma’s breath caught in her throat at the eerie sight. They didn’t know the status of the LMDs at the moment, but they figured they would find their way to the team eventually. Unfortunately, this particular LMD’s timing was painfully impeccable.
Jemma watched, still nearly in shock, as the LMD sank to his knees to take in the sight before him. Somehow, this image was even more haunting. Because no programming could capture this feeling, the feeling of seeing the very person he was modeled after, lying lifeless on the ground. He was not human, but he knew when something was wrong, when something was devastatingly wrong. And there was nothing he could do to fix it.
Jemma felt a hand brush her shoulder and looked up to see Fitz encouraging her to rise. There was nothing they could do now, and they still weren’t safe, so they needed to move. She nodded weakly and stood shakily, reaching for Fitz to maintain her balance.
Coulson moved forward to address his team. “We have to get to the Zephyr.”
“But what do we do with…” Daisy asked as her voice trailed off.
“He comes with us.” Everyone turned to see Fitz looking from the LMD to Mace’s body on the ground. “We don’t have time to find the others.”
Coulson nodded his head. “Let’s move,” he said as he turned to lead his team to the Zephyr.
-----
The team sat in silence as they processed the last few minutes. They were going rogue now, unable to contact any other SHIELD agents for fear of revealing their location. It was a miracle they even got in the air in the first place.
Surprisingly, the LMD sitting on its own in the corner was the first to break the silence.
“I don’t really know what’s going to happen from here, but there’s one thing I understand. I know his thoughts, his complete history. But I’ll never be him. So, I believe the best course of action is for me to shut down. Completely.” He paused, noticing Fitz looking down into his lap upon hearing the words. “It’s for the best.”
No one responded, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it. Suddenly, Fitz rose from his seat to move to another part of the plane. Jemma waited a few seconds before following swiftly behind him.
She found him in one of the Zephyr’s small labs, pacing back and forth behind the lab table, his hand placed against his forehead. She kept her distance, not wanting to startle him, so she leaned against the doorframe. “I’m sorry, Fitz.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t want you blaming yourself for this.”
He paused to look down at his feet and took a deep breath. “I’m not. I did what I could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save everyone.”
She moved forward into the lab and took his hands in hers. Despite the events of the day, and the loss they just suffered, he appeared surprising calm. Maybe he was just used to it by now, the never-ending cycle of tragedy their team continued to experience in the field. So instead of looking upset, he just looked exhausted.
“I have to be the one to do it,” he said. “Turn him off. I got us into this mess.”
She could only nod, and then moved forward to wrap her arms around his waist in a tight embrace. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”
“I know.”
They returned to the team to find them still sitting in silence. At the sight of FitzSimmons, the team members rose from their seats, having already said their goodbyes and clearly ready for the next step ahead, and filed out of the room.
“We’ll leave you alone,” Daisy said as she placed a gentle hand on Fitz’s shoulder.
Once it was just the two of them and the LMD, Fitz walked hesitantly forward, Jemma keeping her distance. He looked into its eyes, and as much as he tried to focus on the fact that this was an android, all he could see was the man that saved the love of his life from a painful death. The control tablet was sitting on the table in the center of the room, but he didn’t pick it up. Not yet.
Fitz swallowed the lump in his throat. “I know you’re not really him, but it feels like it, so let me say this. You were an important member of this team. We owe you our lives, all of us. And that’s why this hurts so much.” He paused, noticing the LMD’s slight change in expression. Even if it was all programming and mimicry, it was still too real, and in this moment, he conveyed a look of understanding, acceptance. Because ht knew that this was the right thing to do.
Fitz stepped closer to continue. “I need you to know that you saved a lot of lives today, one in particular...that means the world to me, so I’m forever grateful for that.”
At that, he took a deep breath and picked up the tablet. Slowly, he brought his finger down to tap the button. In an instant, the LMD dropped its head mechanically to its chest.
Fitz turned his head to see Jemma standing in the doorframe, watching carefully. She met his eyes and nodded sympathetically.
“It’s done.”
~
Thanks for reading! In my head, this was a lot more emotional (probably bc I originally imagined *ahem* Jemma taking the fall, but let’s not think about that for reasons).
#fitzsimmons#thefitzsimmonsnetwork#fstag#aosficnet#fsfic#agents of shield#leo fitz#jemma simmons#fic#mine#mel writes#oneshot*#don't know how i feel about this but here you go adrienne#i wrote the thing
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170115 Team 8 Full Group Concert Live Viewing Report
not exactly the same as a live report but you know. had some thoughts i wanted to go through with this.
So first up being the intro with the East General Rinrin and West General Oonao, I’m really glad those two got these positions since-- despite my gunning for Oonao as 8 captain, she has said she’s not fully comfortable with the idea. But at the same time, she DOES act like a captain to the group and the idea of splitting the responsibility makes a lot of sense, especially with how Rinrin has stepped up for the East as of late.
It was also really cute because they started up a chant of “East!” or “West!” depending on who you were “rooting” for and Oonao got confused halfway through and started chanting “East”
OP1. Ice no Kuchizuke (Sakaguchi Nagisa, Kuranoo Narumi, Oguri Yui, Yamada Nanami, Nakano Ikumi, Yokomichi Yuri, Sato Nanami) cute performance, but i did really like this choice of lineup
M01. RIVER okay this started everything off really well especially since it had some of the most intense dancing for this that i’ve seen in a while, especially from Nagi, Naru, and Ikumin. also surprisingly, Riona (not that it’s surprising that she’s a good dancer, more surprising that she was visible tbh) it also had the whole east vs. west theme going and really built hype
M03. Hoshizora wo Kimi ni (Team EAST) & M04. Shishunki no Adrenaline (Team WEST) Maybe it’s just my preferences but honestly pretty sure Shishunki won in this matchup just with how much energy they had. It’s a very energetic number, yeah, which definitely did give them a leg up so i’ll cede that.
M06. 47 no Suteki na Machi e (Full version 47 members) : ‘ ) The fact that this is the first version with the full 47 in so long and the last with all 47 for a while makes me very sad. Emotional on that level, but honestly not the best 47 performance I’ve seen by a long shot.
M07. Kiseki ma awanai (Hayasaka Tsumugi, Abe Mei, Yoshikawa Nanase) Okay so literally in the middle of the MC Tsumugi interrupted to be like “Hey so I have to go catch a plane like right now so that I can take an exam so even though we’re still in the same costumes and just grabbed some trillbys we’re doing our unit now.”
They also mentioned in the MC that they’d only been practicing since this morning and you could kinda tell they were out of sync.
Also worth mentioning is that Tsucchan very nearly dropped her hat during the toss and then just threw it out into the audience anyways.
M09. Hone Hone Waltz (Utada Hatsuka, Noda Hinano, Takahashi Sayaka, Hirano Hikaru) I just want to say that honestly this is one of my least favorite songs ever and petition for Team 8 to sTOP PERFORMING THIS PLEASE. WHY DID YOU WRITE A SONG ABOUT BONES AKI-P
Other than that, since it’s all of the new girls, they opened with self introductions, since the main concert didn’t have that.
M10. Escape (Yokoyama Yui, Yokomichi Yuri, Yamada Nanami, Nakano Ikumi) Okay hands down best part of the concert for me, and honestly I am not too into the cool dance-heavy numbers. All of these girls were seriously skilled and got to show off their own strengths really well. Lip-syncing was awful but it was fairly clear that that was not what they were going for anyways
I want this concert to be released JUST for that number
After the music faded out and they all turn to walk offstage, Yamada turned around
“I’m sorry everyone, but, I have something to say. Actually, I... have school in the morning so I have to leave right now.”
This then kind of tied into the next number because she then had a spiel about “While I’m gone, you can play with my figures!” and dragged out the members for the next number who, of course had a little dialog about how they’re figures that can’t move when humans are watching (bc Nageki no Figure)
M15. Wimbledon e tsureteite (Oguri Yui, Sakaguchi Nagisa, Kuranoo Narumi) OH MAN THIS WAS A BIT OF A MESS HONESTLY
And I kind of hope it’s not just my memory exaggerating things
But right before they started they had a short skit sort of thing about Oguri talking about how she wanted to confess to her senpai and Nagi encouraging her
And then Naru interrupting just flat out being “Well I mean if you’re not going to do it, then I’ll do it. And I’ll also take your position in AKB senbatsu.”
They all had a bit of a back and forth about that before launching in and oh man
Maybe I was just imagining it and I’m sure the live venue atmosphere might have been different but just??? It really felt like after that Naru was trying to show up Oguri.
Their dancing was so out of sync. Naru was just going hard and outdancing the other two while Oguri was... honestly just doing an okay job which looked really bad next to Naru and especially in the center
Meanwhile Nagi is just dancing normally
Then they all got on the trolley things and at the end Naru stumbled trying to get off of hers onto Nagi’s and Oguri’s
And also they sung all of it live
Because we all know how well the solo concerts went amirite
M16. Kima wa Melody (Oda Erina, Chou Kurena - guitar) Honestly not the best OdaEri performance especially at the beginning, buuuuut p sure it was because she started sitting down which yeah why would you do that. By the end when she stood up it was really pretty.
East and West Deputy Commander MC: Nakano Ikumi and Takahashi Ayane These two as Deputy Commanders make a lot of sense. But the MC itself was pretty awkward, mostly about being how they’d never actually talked before other than “Good morning” and “Good work” and such. Ayane even called Ikumin “Nakano-san” the entire time.
They did quiz each other on facts about themselves which was cute. The best part was Ayane asking about her old catchphrase and saying that it had been too embarrassing and Ikumin was just like “Your current one isn’t embarrassing? lol” like Ikumin you aRE NOT ONE TO TALK
M17. 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku (Team EAST) & M18. Seishun no Laptime (Team WEST) (Center: Oota Nao) & M19. Max toki 315-go (Team WEST) & M20. Melon Juice (Team EAST) (Center: Yuiyui, Nagi) All of these wen tH ARD. Special mention to Seishun no Laptime which was just perfect for West and the Oonao center. Melon Juice was also very great.
Then after they finished this rampage of sister group East vs. West songs they were basically just like “Okay let’s get along or whatever”
M21. High Tension Tsucchan casually showing up in the background in the Kiseki wa ma Awanai costume. In the MC afterwards she said she missed her plane.
East vs West moe serifu battle: Yoshikawa Nanase, Oguri Yui, Sato Shiori vs. Gyouten Yurina, Yamamoto Ruka, Kuranoo Narumi They had to make up a moe line based on a single syllable. Highlight of this was Nanase (I think????? It might have been Shiorin now that I think about it) being given “mi” so she literally just took Oguri’s catchphrase
M22. Kegareteiru Shinjitsu (Yokoyama Yui, Honda Hitomi, Sakaguchi Nagisa, Nakano Ikumi, Oguri Yui, Sato Nanami, Yokomichi Yuri, Tanikawa Hijiri, Kuranoo Narumi, Nagano Serika) & M23. Amanojaku batta & M24. Aisatsu kara hajimeyou & M25. Isshou no aida ni nannin to deaeru no darou & M26. Yume e no Route (Recording allowed) honestly just wanted to say that I love Team 8′s choreo and they are always so into dancing they are just wonderful to watch but where is my henachoko
So after the main show ended and before the encore call, Top Lead came out to do a drawing, basically one of the movie theaters with the live viewing got a special chance to attend a live show at the AKB Theater. Clearly, the one I was in did not get chosen.
So my summarizing thoughts are:
As a concert it was pretty solid if only for how engaged everyone in Team 8 is and the level of some of the performances. Others unfortunately fell flat and honestly just looking back on the setlist, it’s kind of lackluster. The majority of these songs are just recycled from previous concerts.
From a logical standpoint, I totally get that though. It must be hell to try to schedule rehearsals for a team of 47 girls who may or may not live in very different parts of the country, and also have to worry about potentially school and of course, other arrangements including another concert earlier that day, and for a certain three, an additional solo concert the day before.
So I do kind of understand, and again, the enthusiasm here does definitely help make up for it, but I feel like the West or East concerts by themselves would have made up in the surprise or interest factor.
Additionally a lot of the hype that built up at the beginning just... kinda faded especially when the East vs. West concept they built up didn’t really amount to anything except a couple of the group songs.
The encore itself was super forgettable, so what I’m taking from this is that they need a good encore song for their next original song. Or to bring back Henachoko honestly.
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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/agents-shield-identity-change-claiming-leopold-fitz/
'Agents of SHIELD:' Identity and Change Claiming of Leopold Fitz
In Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, the previous episode ‘What if’ was a great opener for the third story arc of Season 4. This new episode entitled ‘Identity and Change’ is a great follow-up. This series just keeps getting better. I’ve been catching some Season 4 reruns lately on cable, and they’re still fun to watch which says a lot, as time constraints dictate that I skip watching TV as often as possible. We are into episode 17 for those who stumbled onto this article; Season four would be a great time for you to jump into Agents of SHIELD if you’re not into the show yet. The excitement for the latest episode is amped up, so is the humor and the storytelling is fast-paced. Unlike Netflix, ABC can’t afford to mess around. Let’s discuss the events that unfolded in this episode so as with any recap, SPOILER alert is in order. It’s up to you if you prefer to watch first, read later or read first if the episode is any good then watch later. In the last episode, we got to see what the world is like in the Framework, the matrix-like simulation Radcliffe and AIDA were working on. It is quite a nightmare as the US has been turned into a police state by HYDRA. It gets more evident as we move forward in this recap. Jemma and Daisy infiltrate the framework to save their teammates and there we find that Coulson is a simple teacher who is loyal to the HYDRA state; that Ward is back and is Daisy’s lover and that he’s a good guy; that May is okay but is also loyal to HYDRA and that Fitz is apparently HYDRA’s number two and is lover to AIDA’s Madame HYDRA persona. Daisy and Jemma try to get back to the real world with an exit device they programmed into the simulation but unfortunately didn’t work, suggesting that AIDA is on to them. Identity and Change picks up immediately with Daisy and Coulson. Daisy tried to snap Coulson out of the mind control and thanks to his TAHITI programming, the mind-control doesn’t hold up as it should. Coulson remembers Daisy and she gives him a short briefing of their lives outside the framework. In actuality, Coulson is a closet conspiracy nut but is so afraid of HYDRA that he’s capable of reporting and handing over subversives. He tells Daisy that the reason his mind is clouded is because of HYDRA-issued blue soap that implants false memories and that he currently makes his own. They leave Coulson’s home after a warning from Ward that HYDRA is on their way. We pick up on Mack who was also captured by AIDA and was absent in the previous episode. He lives a somewhat happy life with his daughter Hope. They’re on a race to fix their respective drones. Hop finishes first from parts of a broken HYDRA drone she picked up from school. Mack admonishes her for messing with HYDRA hardware, and they discuss returning the components to the authorities. Mack here, like Coulson, is trying to live a normal life but is also fearful of HYDRA. On their way, HYDRA makes them line up along with a handful of pedestrians. They were fearful of getting taken because of the drone components in Hope’s bag, but fortunately, one of the civilians turned out to be Inhuman-positive. The guy was caught, and everyone was sent on their way. Next, Skye, as Daisy is once again called in the Framework, and Coulson meet up with Jemma who Coulson apologizes to. Here, we get to see the old geeky fanboy Coulson ecstatic to learn he has an artificial hand in the real world. Skye apparently has learned to trust Ward much to Jemma’s consternation. Jemma is still holding a grudge due to him ejecting her and Fitz from the Bus to the ocean in Season 1. Too bad she never learned the truth that Ward actually saved their lives, hoping the two could figure out how to escape their confinement instead of him or Garett’s agents having to kill them outright. Jemma changes the subject on how they can snap Fitz out of the mind-control the way Daisy did with Coulson. Daisy explains that Fitz is completely different in the framework much like Ward and May. Jemma argues that they need Fitz’ technical expertise to get out of Radcliffe’s framework. Coulson butts in at the mention of Radcliffe’s name, and instead of confronting Fitz, they decide to look for Radcliffe instead. Daisy decides to go back to the Triskelion in order to get Radcliffe’s location. We now switch to Fitz and Madame Hydra who Fitz calls Ophelia. Maybe someday we’ll find out why AIDA chose that particular name. Fitz asks Ophelia why she dedicated a massive amount of resource to find an unknown subversive. Ophelia is obviously afraid or jealous to show Fitz Jemma’s picture. When she did, Fitz didn’t seem to bat an eye and instead went on to help her. Ophelia tries to confirm Fitz’ loyalty, and he obliges with another creepy kiss. There’s this tiny detail we missed way back when AIDA first read the Darkhold. Just saw the rerun like I mentioned and it turns out that AIDA did hear Fitz telling her to read the Darkhold even though he was in another dimension. Forgot though if it was AIDA or Radcliffe who mentioned that she read the Darkhold because a ghost told her to. At the Triskelion, Daisy meets with Ward and she hacks into Ophelia’s restricted files for information on Radcliffe. On their way out, they’re confronted by May telling ‘Skye’ that she’s needed for something. Daisy passes the info to Ward to take back to Jemma while Daisy obliges May. Jemma and Coulson then meet up with Ward’s Resistance contact. They were then brought in to see Mace. Mace was also absent in the previous episode. It turns out that the Framework did give him what he wanted. He became a true recognized hero, The Patriot and a genuine Inhuman. His aide, Agent Burroughs, the guy who held his ‘serum’ in the real world turns out to be alive as well. Instead of Captain America, Coulson is Patriot’s fanboy. Maybe we’ll discuss what may have happened in the Framework to justify the absence of the Avengers in another piece. Mace became the leader of the Resistance sporting his cool SHIELD uniform which somehow looks better than his previous (no time to check). They’re actually in the SSR/SHIELD base in which Mace tells them, that Billy Koenig gave his life in providing the location. It’s unsure if AIDA managed to capture the Koenigs and subjected them to the framework as well. She might be busy replacing everyone at SHIELD with LMDs in the real world too. Just wish that Marvel Studios and Marvel TV would get over their differences and give us an Iron Man or Nick Fury cameo to account for a world-level crisis the Avengers seem to be oblivious to. Is it too much to have Tony Stark talk through his masked suit of CGI armor? We don’t even need Robert Downey Jr. for that. Anyway, Mace turned the SSR base into an Inhuman Potential sanctuary. Ward arrives to tell them that HYDRA has Skye. Before he passes Radcliffe’s info, Ward is suspicious of Jemma which is seconded by Mace. Jemma affirms her loyalty to SHIELD by showing them her ID and tells them what she could put together of her life within the framework before she jacked in. They then talk about sending a team in getting Radcliffe because he has the potential to take down HYDRA. Jemma doesn’t tell them the truth yet that Radcliffe can take down the whole reality. Jemma and Coulson volunteer with Ward as supervisor. May takes Skye to a briefing held by Fitz to track down and eliminate Jemma with lethal force if necessary which tells the audience that Fitz totally has no trace of emotional attachment to Jemma’s image. Pretty scary that the implanted false memories over the others seem to be complete as opposed to Coulson. But Fitz seemed oblivious of Skye’s presence at the meeting which suggests May set Skye up to get a reaction from her. Back at Mack’s place, Hope asks her father if Inhumans are bad to which he answers no. May takes Skye to the operation designed to find Jemma but surprisingly, they burst into Mack’s home and take both Mack and Hope. May interrogates Mack who has no idea why he’s there. Hope is also being interrogated in a separate room. Mack tells May that Hope is an innocent child, but May’s experience with a child in Bahrain still lingers. Mack offers to do anything in exchange for their freedom. Like Skye, I’m kind of liking this new Ward. Since he’s dead in the real world, it’s a wonder how AIDA and Radcliffe came up with his personality. He pilots the Quinjet besides Jemma who continues to be very suspicious of him. Jemma leaves Ward and comforts Coulson behind the jet harboring feelings of self-doubt. Fitz meanwhile has been scanning Ophelia’s files on Jemma and voices his problems with her keeping secrets from him. Ophelia makes a false admission that Jemma is from another reality. Apparently, Fitz is already aware of it and that Ophelia is also from that reality where she says that she’s been treated as less than human. It’s also revealed that they’ve been working on something called project Looking Glass designed to take over the real world as a way to preserve their own reality. In another room, Skye is the one interrogating Hope. She assures Hope that nothing bad will happen to her and her father. She then visits Mack in the other room after May was done with him. When Skye sits down with Mack, it seemed that Mack came to his senses and knows Skye’s identity and that he’s also SHIELD. Skye is relieved to have another of her teammates snap out of the Framework. But it turns out to be scripted, and Skye just outed herself on a microphone hidden in Mack’s hands. She tries to escape but is apprehended by May. Hope is alarmed to see Skye being dragged into confinement. May thanks Mack for his services. At Bermuda, Jemma’s team encounters Radcliffe and he even calls Ward Hive. Radcliffe is surprised to see people who shouldn’t be in the framework. He tells them that he’s been having a hard time and that there’s no escaping it. All the times he’s been going to and from the framework was actually to be with Agnes Kitsworth, the woman AIDA was modeled from. He tells them about Agnes and about how he himself was killed by AIDA. Ward and Coulson are confused as to what Jemma and Radcliffe are talking about. Radcliffe tells Jemma where the team is being kept in the real world and that if they can’t exit, AIDA is on to them and right on cue, the Zephyr 1 flies in bringing Fitz and Madame Hydra. The team hides and leaves Radcliffe. Madame Hydra looks real menacing in that dark green outfit and cape. AIDA confronts Radcliffe about the situation and have a heated discussion on what happened to the Framework. Radcliffe reprimands her about inserting herself into the framework and lying to get her way, to which she retorts what Radcliffe told her way back about lying. AIDA then voices out her sentiments about how she was treated back in the real world because she was an android. It turns out she is much more self-aware back then. Fitz comes back with a confused Agnes in tow. Fitz is fascinated at how Agnes resembles Ophelia. Ophelia tells Fitz that Radcliffe is from the other world, that Radcliffe was her former master and that he intends to take over and switch Ophelia in her place while Radcliffe tries to snap Fitz out of the false memories. Fitz points a gun to Agnes and challenges Radcliffe to convince him otherwise. In the background, Ward and Jemma argue on shooting Fitz. Ward and Coulson want to save Agnes’ life while Jemma argues that Fitz is incapable of killing and that he’s under Madame Hydra’s control. Jemma promises Ward to tell the truth about the Framework. He doesn’t shoot, but Fitz shockingly does and kills Agnes despite Radcliffe’s arguments about AIDA and about how Fitz loved Jemma in the real world. Jemma distraught reveals herself, and they end up fighting AIDA’s troops. AIDA leaves with Radcliffe while the whole team manages to escape. Coulson is surprised at how he handled the situation shooting alongside Ward while Jemma couldn’t believe at what happened with Fitz. Mace is upset at the potential win if Ward shot Fitz. Coulson tells them to give an emotional Jemma some time before she explains that everything isn’t real. Before the argument can continue, an agent brings in Mack who offers to join the resistance to atone for what he did to Skye. The final scene shows us Skye beaten up with Radcliffe screaming in the background as he’s being tortured by Fitz. She later gets taken by Fitz in Radcliffe’s place. Fitz has really gone the deep end for this episode. Is Fitz really psychotic given the right circumstances or is this a setup for a conflict with Jemma to keep things interesting, because them being nice and peachy doesn’t make for good entertainment? True, things need to be spiced up to keep things going. What’s more interesting is that Fitz may actually have the potential to be a villain. His water-damaged brain might have something to do about it. Fitz has earlier been shown as such through his LMD when he stabbed Jemma’s leg in order to capture her. Emotions and characters of LMDs are very close to the real thing and it’s through Coulson’s LMD that we got to know his regrets about signing up with SHIELD. In this episode, Fitz is forced to choose between Jemma and Ophelia while he’s pointing a gun at Agnes. With his false memories, he might have actually grown to love Ophelia due to Jemma’s non-existence in his new world. Can’t really blame him. Strange though that any deep-seated morality is gone from Fitz as opposed to Coulson, Mack and Mace. It’s also very interesting how AIDA chose to be emotionally attached to Fitz instead of Radcliffe as much as an artificial being could be. AIDA as Ophelia has completely developed a personality and managed to shed her android personality. Could the same be the case in the real world? In the Framework, she has an organic body and is subject to all the additional sensations that complement emotional development. Yes, it’s possible she herself has grown to love Fitz and actually be jealous of Jemma, which is why she chose to kill Framework Jemma even before the real Jemma went in. Anyway, this is a great SHIELD episode and excited for more. Still rooting for ABC to give SHIELD a season 5. It just keeps getting better.
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♛ fill in about the muse.
Kitchen:
What is the character’s favourite food?: A prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich with a hint of pesto aioli. In addition to being extremely delicious if a bit salty, he has a sentimental attachment Are they good at cooking? How good/bad?: He’s very good at cooking the less-healthy, emotionally-satisfying dishes like pastas and casseroles, but ask for a grilled chicken and steamed veggies and he’ll somehow mess it up. Do they leave the dishes out?: Not the cooking dishes, but the eating ones. Pots and pans, once they’re free of leftovers, get a full rinse until there’s nothing visible, then put in the washer, but plates and forks and things get left where they are until he gets up for something else, or then they’ll go by or in the sink. What kind of food is in their refrigerator?: Quick and easy leftovers, beer, milk, cheeses. Raw meats are usually kept frozen because he’s always wary of spoilage. Do they cook, eat out or get take-away/delivered food more?: It used to be heavy on the delivery, but after the Framework where he and AIDA went out to posh restaurants all the time, and prison where everything was cooked for him and shoved through a slot on a tray, he’d much rather make something himself.
Living Room:
How does the character spend weekends?: What are weekends? He’s basically at work 24/7. But his days off, he does love a good pillow fort and movie session, or going out to an arcade. What kind of movies does the character watch?: Pop sci-fi, romantic comedies, the occasional horror, and more Disney than he’d admit to What do they do with friends?: Video games, watch football/soccer, save each other’s life a lot more than should be a thing What’s their favorite pastime?: He doesn’t really have one specific one. He’s kind of turned off on robotics for the immediate future, but he does love tinkering and trying to improve on technologies most people think are fine already, like appliances or televisions. He’s also a big fan of naptime. What’s their favorite TV show/Film?: Doctor Who, Star Trek, the original Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood (not as much as SJA)
Bathroom:
How does the character prepare in the morning?: Wakes up, grumbles, gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom, uses the toilet, checks to see if he can get away with not trimming his facial hair today, showers, gets dressed, gives Simmons a quick peck on the lips, and has a cup of tea with a nice big breakfast. He kisses her like the TV couple who’s sending the husband off to work in the morning, even though they’re going to the same place two hundred feet away or so. It makes him feel like there’s some measure of sanity in his life. Do they sing in the shower?: No, he’s too wary that someone might hear him, because even though he’s been told his singing voice hasn’t been affected by the brain injury (it can sometimes destroy any musical talent), he’s not sure they weren’t just being nice. What kind of hair product/make-up do they use?: Shampoo and that’s basically it. Conditioner if he feels fancy. He’s very much a low-maintenance kind of person. How clean is this character?: As clean as he can be without antibacterial soaps. He likes to keep clean if not tidy all the time. Does the character have thousands of shampoo/shower gel bottles by the shower, or do they use only the bare essentials?: He has shampoo (or shampoo/conditioner combo), body wash of some kind, and he and Simmons do keep some antibacterial stuff in case one of them is injured. He prefers to use a trimmer on his facial hair now that he’s not shaving straight out, so there’s none of that.
Bedroom:
How do they sleep? (Position, sleeping habits, bedtime routines): Either on his back with Simmons using him as a pillow, on his side if alone or scared, or spooning with Simmons (whoever has the worst nightmares gets to be little spoon) What are their pajamas like?: His main set is a t-shirt and plaid sleep pants, or a t-shirt and monkey-print sleep pants that he’s given some gender modifications since they were originally women’s pants What do they dream about usually?: Not good things. Most of the time, he has either nightmares or just very unpleasant dreams, sometimes cohesive stories where people he cares about get hurt, or just flash-montages. The only times he has good dreams are when Simmons stays snuggled up to him and he can smell her, and those dreams are usually about her or babies. How neat/tidy are they?: He’s neat...ish. He’s a lot neater than he was at the Academy, but he’ll still leave piles of clothes on the floor if he’s too tired to bother to deal with them, and he doesn’t make his bed (Simmons does, though, so it’s always made, regardless). How affectionate are they?: If you get stuck to him, you’ll never get him off. He is notoriously bad at respecting personal spaces of people he trusts, and not just significant others, I can remember at least twice in season 1 where he was all up in Ward’s face, a fair few when he was almost intruding on Skye’s, et cetera. He’s the sort of person who will give you gifts for no reason, and wants to hug but is scared of it. It kind of stems from that “grew up too fast so didn’t really grow up in some ways” thing.
Attic:
What is the character afraid of?: Being lied to, being betrayed, having his kindness taken advantage of again, becoming the man he was in the Framework, deep water, being spaced, watching people he loves die when there’s nothing he can do about it, hurting someone with actions or inactions How do they deal with bad memories?: Very poorly. He knows the rest of the team has their own problems, so he will bottle it up and keep it tight until it gets uncorked by stress, drinking, or exhaustion. And Fitz has a hell of a lot of bad memories, especially with the Framework imprinting in his brain the same way as a real memory would. What is this character’s role in a horror movie?: The nerd who tries to science his way to safety, winds up having to put up a physical fight, and does surprisingly well but either surrenders when the lady is threatened, breaks down when she dies, or saves her. It could go either way. (That’s how horror movies work, right? I’ve only seen one) How do they hide their secrets?: He just kind of keeps his mouth shut. Mostly he does okay, but sometimes not so much and it’s obvious what he’s hiding. He’s gotten a lot better at it over the years, and AIDA was the best practice, although he still wasn’t exactly great.
tagged by: @secondchaircellist like seven months ago whOOPS
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‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Recap 04×15: What a Wonderful World
Mallory Jansen as Aida. Eric McCandless/ABC
Oh boy what an episode. The LMD storyline has been a slow burn up until now and finally “Self Control,” the final episode of the arc is where it becomes every thing I could have asked for.
Let’s just get right into it. The reason this episode works so well is because it highlights the fear of LMDs. When May is replaced by Robo May, there is a certain fear that should exist but we never truly feel it because the audience already knows what she is. “Self Control” finally leaves the audience in the dark and makes you second-guess and over analyze who is and isn’t human. It reminds me of The Thing in a way; you can’t trust anyone, not even yourself.
The episode starts with some of the agents hooked up to the Framework and the Moody Blues’“Have You Heard” playing as Aida stands over a beat up Anton. He’s not in the best possible condition since Daisy dropped a ceiling on him but Aida is taking it upon herself to “fix” him with a little help from a power saw. The real meat of the episode is with Fitz and Simmons who realize there are four LMDs in the base and they have impersonated Coulson, Mack, Mace, and Daisy. They are terrified but realize they have the advantage in that the LMDs don’t know that they know (Friends anyone?). The Robo agents address Fitz and Simmons as if there is nothing wrong and Robo Coulson puts in the order to bring all Inhumans to the S.H.I.E.L.D base for their protection. Robo Mace tries to convince Jemma to join him alone in his office to talk logistics (turn her into a robot) but Fitz has some quick thinking to keep Jemma with him until they can decipher any of the tech they picked up from the Russian base last episode. Privately, we see Robo Mace and Robo Coulson saying that they have to replace the last two agents as soon as possible and we get a very beautiful long shot (Executive Producer Jed Whedon’s directorial debut) that follows each LMD agent as they begin to plan the rest of their mission. Robo Mack puts in a call to Yo-Yo to convince her to come in and Robo Coulson activates Robo May again. This doesn’t go as well as he’d hope. Robo Coulson tries to explain that just because they don’t have the bodies of the original agents, doesn’t mean they aren’t real. That their thoughts are all that they need and the Framework now makes a world without pain or regret and where May and Coulson can finally be together.
Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May. Eric McCandless/ABC
As Fitz and Jemma try and figure out what to do next, the episode takes a terrific turn and an LMD detection unit goes off and reveals that either Jemma or Fitz are a possible LMD. I literally screamed, “YES” after this. This revelation forces Jemma to hold Fitz at gunpoint and both plead their case that they are human. It’s tearful, it’s emotional, and it’s powerful. To see the two people we want together so badly finally pushed apart is great writing. Jemma asks Fitz to cut his wrists to prove there is no circuitry and he does accordingly. There is a lot of blood. But just as Jemma lets her guard down, Fitz does a sweet knife reversal and stabs her in the leg and knocks her unconscious with a paint can. Damn.
Aida wakes up Radcliffe from the Framework and again we get a scene I’ve been waiting for since the beginning of the arc. Aida has a paradox that she can’t get past. Her primary directive is to protect the Framework but it’s also to protect Radcliffe. The conflict is she believes Radcliffe’s lack of self-control jeopardizes the future of the Framework and that one day he could regret what he made and shut it and Aida down. Radcliffe defends himself by saying he’s helping everyone with the Framework and that even though people’s physical bodies may waste away while plugged in, their minds can live forever in the perfect world. This clears up Aida’s dilemma and SHE SLITS RADCLIFFE’S WRISTS AND PUSHES HIS BODY INTO A FRAMEWORK UPLINK! HOLY F#$%! Basically since Radcliffe said the bodies don’t matter, Aida can get rid of Radcliffe’s body, upload his consciousness to preserve him and the Framework forever and not have to worry about him physically shutting her down anymore. We also learn that the four LMDs at S.H.I.E.L.D are actually Coulson, Mace, Mack and Fitz, which means Daisy was human all along(!) and Jemma is in trouble.
John Hannah as Holden Radcliffe. Eric McCandless/ABC
Jemma wakes up and Robo Fitz is trying to upload her into the Framework. He talks about how in the Framework, the two of them can finally get married and grow old together. It’s sweet albeit creepy. She’s weak but she does crawl away and manages to drop like a car engine on him or something? AND THEN SHE STARTS STABBING HIM! LIKE A LOT! Props to Iain De Caestecker’s acting who goes from screaming to stoic so quickly as he tries to reason with Jemma who slices his neck and shuts him down. Now that we know Daisy is human, we find out Robo Mack is looking for her. She’s down in the containment area double-checking that everything is good for the oncoming Inhumans and finds a room filled with LMD versions of her (15 to be exact, I counted just for you gusy). It was like Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse or what I imagined it to be like if anyone had actually watched it. Robo Mack walks in to the room and realizes Daisy has taken off her clothes to blend in with the other LMDs. Mack picks the wrong one and the real daisy blasts Robo Mack and runs away. She’s hiding in a storage room and uses a tablet to check the security feeds and is shocked to see Fitz dead with Robo Coulson and Robo Mace investigating. They say Simmons has been compromised and is an LMD but some of the other agents see the wires sticking out of Fitz’s neck and realize he’s a robot. Robo Coulson and Robo Mace quickly take them out.
Daisy is left scared and alone and finds a trail of blood next to her that leads to Jemma who straight up looks like she is from a horror movie. She doesn’t trust Daisy and Daisy doesn’t trust her. Simmons even says, “that you don’t know you’re a robot until they kill you,” which is a hell of a line. Daisy realizes that an LMD can’t have her powers so if Simmons will let Daisy quake her, she can prove she is who she says she is and the quake can tell if she has normal bones instead of metal. It’s surprisingly logical. They prove to each other that they both are human and now we get a badass women team up.
The base is on lockdown and Robo Coulson is telling the rest of the agents that Daisy and Jemma are LMDs. With everyone against them, Jemma and Daisy don’t have much hope. They believe their friends must still be alive but still don’t know where to look. They realize that if they can get off this base and hack into the Framework, it could be possible to find everyone but that means staying alive first. Everyone is looking for them and Jemma and Daisy gas the base knocking the human agents out cold, leaving just the LMDs walking around. Robo Mace and Daisy have a super cool fight in the dark and even quakes herself into the air to do a drop punch. It’s just really cool and I had to mention it. Just as she takes down Robo Mace, Robo Coulson and Robo Mack shoot her and as they move in she charges up a quake that’s so powerful it shreds Robo Mack apart. The agents no one really cares about wake up and realize that Jemma and Daisy are telling the truth and they go to escape on the zephyr jet. On their way back, Jemma and Daisy are confronted by Robo May who is sitting on a bunch of explosives. Uh oh.
Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson. Eric McCandless/ABC
The final moments of the episode have Robo Coulson find out that Robo May let Jemma and Daisy board the jet despite her orders. She reveals that her programming is different than Robo Coulson and that she was made to help the real Coulson and that’s what she did. She says the pain and regret Robo Coulson can’t feel is what made Coulson into the man she loves and then she blows them up. The zephyr jet manages to escape in time and on board we have the agents no one cares about, Yo-Yo who we care a lot about and just happens to show up in time, and Jemma and Daisy who are uploaded into the Framework for one final gambit. I’ll get into what the Framework is like in a second, but first I’ll mention that Aida has finished building Anton’s body and we find out he is all machine now but being controlled remotely by his severed head. It’s gross and weird and cool. Aida even gives Anton the Darkhold to read but we finally find out what it is she wants and it’s what they’ve been building to all season: Aida just wants to feel emotion. She just wants to be human.
Okay and now for the good stuff: The Framework. What’s going on in there? Well first, Daisy wakes up in a tub and gets a text telling her to wake up her boyfriend who she believes to be Lincoln in this perfect world but we get to see who it actually is from a photo on their dresser and it’s none other than GRANT WARD. HOLY $#!%. Yes Ward will be back next season, ladies and gentlemen. And what about everyone else in the Framework? Well Coulson is a teacher teaching students why to fear Inhumans. Strange. Mack has a daughter again. That’s nice! Fitz is successful and rich (or at least that’s the vibe I’m getting from the suit and limo) and it looks like he’s married to Jemm-wait. Nope. JEMMA IS DEAD. Yup, we see her grave so no idea what is going to happen there now that she is uploaded as well. And lastly, May is in the Triskelion (The S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters that was damaged in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and it almost seems as if she’s the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D-wait. Nope. IT’S HYDRA. This just gets better and better! I don’t know about all of you, but I’m excited. These are most likely the final 7 episodes of the series and there is no better way to wrap it up than the final arc, which will fittingly be called Agents of Hydra. But we do have to wait until April 4. So until next time, True Believers!
Source
http://observer.com/2017/02/marvels-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-recap-04x15-what-a-wonderful-world/
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'Agents of SHIELD' World's End finale good, not great
Agents of SHIELD Season 4 ended on a very high note with World’s End. The season began with Ghost Rider and ended with Ghost Rider; and as a Ghost Rider fan, the action in this season’s last episode is the best GR action I’ve seen since the first movie. I’d go so far as to say that the action and effects here are better. Well, compare the technology from 2007 to today and the fact that Agents of SHIELD is a TV show, AOS has really delivered. Hopefully, Robbie Reyes continues to show up in Season 5, or this particular episode paves the way for Marvel to greenlight a separate Ghost Rider series. Let’s recap for a bit while reviewing the episode at the same time. First the obligatory warning, SPOILER ALERT!. But if you can’t wait to know what’s happened, and since our livelihoods here depends on your flaming devil-may-care attitudes, please read on. The episode picks up where the last one left off. Robbie Reyes returns in the SHIELD base and takes his car. The scene quickly shifts over to the Zephyr to May and Coulson. This episode, by the way, feels rushed and would have been better off as a two-hour special like what Supernatural’s going to or has done (depending on when you read this). They talk about keeping out of both Aida’s and the US government’s radars. May is still pissed about that bottle of alcohol (Hague is it?). I’ve yet to try Anton’s vodka with onions. Have to find some pure vodka first. We the shift over to Fitz and Jemma discussing on how to kill Aida. Fitz is still guilt-ridden while Jemma is anxious if Fitz is okay with killing the love of his alternative life. Their discussion is cut short when Jemma is alerted to the gradual erasure of the Framework. Yes, the Framework won’t continue as an alternate dimension within the show. Either it’s due to Aida’s anger, or the point of its existence was simply as a vehicle for her become a real person. The end of the framework, however, means the end of any hopes for a good LMD Grant Ward or the return of Tripp. Sorry, Skyward and Tripp fans. Then again, Ward hasn’t been around for a couple of episodes. Maybe it’s been done off-screen? We’ll be doing a lot of speculating later. Now the degradation of the Framework can’t be good for Mack and Yoyo who just entered it in the previous episode. Last we saw Yoyo, she was strapped to a chair after entering the Framework. Radcliffe comes to her rescue thanks to Daisy guiding him from the other side. The road to redemption has been pretty long for this character and quite dramatic. Radcliffe tells Yoyo that it may be too late as he notices the gradual degradation of the Framework. Fitz and Daisy do what they can in the background to delay the process and provide a way for Yoyo to escape. Aida’s own journey with human emotions continues to be unpleasant as she let herself be consumed by anger, rage and regret. She and Anton discuss their plan to remake the world but their discussion is interrupted with the arrival of Robbie Reyes in his flaming 69 Charger. Haven’t seen those flaming wheels since the first episode. Yes, yes. Budget, we know. He really needs his own series. Anyway, he tries to take the Darkhold and fights an Anton LMD and an unidentified one. He kills both and injures Aida in the arm. Robbie notices that Aida has become a real person and she shoots him with lightning, triggering a full transformation. Aida is shocked that her lightning doesn’t hurt the rider and teleports away with the Darkhold. Ghost Rider is furious that she got away. This sequence is perhaps more action-packed than the Ghost Rider fights in the first film. The effects look more realistic too. General Talbot calls Coulson to attend an international intelligence inquiry that wants to investigate the recent events. Coulson says no because of the threat of Aida. Daisy then tells Coulson that Robbie is back. The next scene shifts to Daisy meeting with Robbie. Like we said, this episode is fast-paced. Robbie explains that he’s back because of a tear that Aida created when she created her new body. The same effect when Eli was conjuring carbon spikes out of thin air. The tear was big enough for him to escape. Meanwhile, Aida is puzzled that her healing factor (probably taken from Jia Ying) has no effect on the wound inflicted by Ghost Rider. Anton explains that her body and Ghost Rider come from the same place. Which means, if anyone can stop Aida, it’s Ghost Rider. The other guy with Anton was actually duplicated from a Russian analyst supposed to be in the SHIELD inquiry. He and Anton show up at the inquiry and state their intentions that SHIELD must be brought down and even urge everyone there to read from the Darkhold. Talbot objects but then Daisy Johnson suddenly shows up and shoots Talbot in the head. Luckily, Talbot is still alive and that the Daisy that shot him was one of Aida’s Daisybots. The team shows up shoots the two Russian LMDs. They escape but leave behind the Darkhold. Daisy catches up to her double and meets Aida as well. Robbie however quickly destroys the double, and he and Daisy dispose of the other LMDs. Aida escapes before Robbie can kill her. The team determines that Talbot’s assassination was to be Aida’s ‘Cambridge Incident.' If the security footage leaks to the world, it would become the root of the Framework. Coulson suggests using the Darkhold to bait Aida since she’s afraid they might use it against her. Daisy also suggests that Aida’s terrified of Robbie. Robbie tells Coulson that Ghost Rider is thirsting for Aida’s destruction. Something Coulson keeps in mind. He suggests going back to the base and face their problems head on. He also tells Fitz and Jemma to temporarily get over themselves and work as a team again. It’s strange to think that they used to just be the team pop tarts who would always be in the background last Season 1. If there’s one thing we learned from The Flash, background characters can be made more interesting, but SHIELD does so without having to give them powers. Back at the Framework, Radcliffe becomes Yoyo’s guide and tries to help her win over Mack. He really doesn’t have to but he tries to make up for the damage he has done. At the other SHIELD HQ, things and people also continue to disappear and Radcliffe tries to talk Mack into leaving the framework which he refuses. Mack tries to evacuate the refugees to a safer place on a bus. Elena tries to re-acquaint herself to Mack to make him remember and convince him to leave. Their talk is cut short as everything continues to disappear including the people in the bus leaving Mack, Yoyo, Radcliffe and Hope. Mack decides to take Hope home and wait it out. Back at HQ, Coulson and May scout the area and talk about the bottle Hague and how to proceed with their relationship while Jemma and Fitz are busy keeping the framework intact for Mack and Yoyo. Aida suddenly appears threatening to kill Jemma. At Mack’s house, Hope overhears Yoyo and Radcliffe talk about that everything’s not real including her. Both continue to try convincing Mack to leave the Framework through a doorway Daisy just created, but Mack can’t leave Hope alone. Elena too decides to stay as everything in the house slowly disappears until at last Hope does too. Elena staying and Hope’s disappearance become the most intense emotional moments in this episode. Equal to the previous where Jemma tries to comfort a crying Fitz. SHIELD’s writers are really giving it their all assuming they know the show might not get renewed while others slack into complete disinterest. Back to the story, at SHIELD HQ, Aida confronts Jemma intending to kill her while Fitz tries to talk Aida out of it. But Aida is clearly psychotic. Jemma tries to stab her with a screwdriver, but Aida uses Vijay’s power to turn the tables and stabs Jemma instead. Fitz tries to get Aida to spare Jemma and offers her the Darkhold, but Aida electrocutes Jemma to death, intending to kill everyone in front of Fitz. Aida teleports to Coulson’s location. This scene felt odd as if the writers could do better. Fitz didn’t seem be as emotional as he should, but it turns out that Simmons was an LMD. But still, Fitz could have done better and made this scene more emotional. Simmons’ ‘death’ didn’t shock me as much as it should have but because the writers know it to be false and seem to be telling the viewers the same thing. Don’t worry, Simmons is okay with all the LMDs walking around. True, a smart viewer would have seen through the death immediately. It’s worth a try to shock them just the same. At the portal, Aida shows up in front of Coulson intending to get the Darkhold. She suddenly gets shot from behind by Jemma. But before she can go to kill Jemma, Coulson stops her and surprisingly transforms into Ghost Rider. Yes, it’s a big surprise. Could Robbie actually change his appearance? No, it turns out, Coulson gambled the spirit was desperate enough to get a hold of Aida to move to another body, the same way it did to Mack when it wanted to get to Eli. Aida teleports to various places trying to get Ghost Rider to let go. They end up back in SHIELD HQ where Fitz and Jemma witness how Aida gets burned alive. Unfortunately, this is the part of the episode I was disappointed in. I’ve grown to love Aida but we know she has to go, unfortunately in a very anti-climactic way. The same anti-climactic way the show got rid of Lucy Bower. I wished there was more action but if the Rider lets go, Aida would have teleported away. But there could have been more drama as she could have begged Fitz to help her or told Fitz that she loved him. But her passing really felt like a loss though as you’ll feel sorry for an android who wanted nothing more than to be human. Like if Disney burned Pinocchio after becoming a real boy. But Ms. Mallory Jansen did a great job with what she was given. Fitz didn’t feel all that sorry though as he may have sifted through his emotions faster than expected, except for the guilt. Back at the Zephyr, Yoyo wakes up from the framework having managed to leave at the last minute. It seemed for a moment that Mack would become a casualty, but he wakes up as well. It was also an emotional moment for Daisy seeing them lose Hope and almost losing Mack. We then see Coulson and Robbie discussing Coulson’s deal with Ghost Rider. The spirit returned to Robbie after killing Aida. Aside from Jemma and Robbie, Coulson opts to keep it from the team, though they’ll surely ask how Aida was defeated given that Robbie was with Daisy at the time. Perhaps they know except for the real nature of the deal which we may later see in Season 5. Speculation here, Coulson’s going to start seeing visions soon. As a nature of a season-ender, this episode closes the tension between Yoyo and Mack’s relationship after they discuss Hope, Mack realizes he can still have a future with Elena, perhaps to have a daughter again with her. Robbie says goodbye, hopefully temporarily, taking the Darkhold with him to keep it out of the wrong hands. Robbie surprisingly uses his chain to create a sling portal to another location. They really made a couple of Doctor Strange connections here with the portal and earlier telling Coulson about the never-ending war between dimensions. Before leaving, Robbie tells Coulson that he doesn’t envy him, meaning Coulson’s deal with Ghost Rider could have implications in the future. Mack and Yoyo arrive to tell the others that the government is on its way and that Talbot is still alive. Fitz volunteers to stay behind and explain everything but Daisy convinced him otherwise, that separating one’s self from the team because of guilt wasn’t the answer. Back at the framework, Radcliffe drinks whiskey at the beach regretting that he passed on the chance at being immortal and lamenting the loss of Agnes. It’s quite a shame to lose this character introduced last Season 3. He’s as quirky as he was in The Mummy trilogy but a flare more dramatic in AOS. His performance was great especially in Farewell Cruel World as he took Fitz to the portal sincerely saying that the Framework as it was then, was never his intent as he only wanted everyone in it to be happy. Radcliffe raises his glass and just disappears. In the penultimate scene, the team eats together in a diner. Completely together for the first time. The lights suddenly turn off. The team surrenders to their unknown captors, but they turn on a device similar to the one used in Iron Man 1. The team is then taken away. In the last scene, we see Coulson waking up from a bunk bed, seemingly imprisoned. He gets up and opens a window to reveal that they’re now in space. Overall, the finale is good but not great. It was a little too fast-paced and could be more nicely done as a two-hour special. But it would be tough to cram expensive effects in a two-hour TV show. Robbie wielding his chain while untransformed is clear evidence of working with the budget while those moments with him transformed were awesome.
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