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kaeyasaki · 4 years ago

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📹 — :; “face-to-face” GQ interview

-> inspired by the “face-to-face, A$AP rocky answers 18 from rihanna | GQ interview”, except i make the questions a little more personal because i don’t think anyone cares what gojo’s ‘fav curse word is’

-> ft :; gojo satoru

-> interview writing layout heavily inspired by @rintaroll

y/n: hey GQ! i’m here to do face-to-face with my co worker, gojo!

gojo: coworker? is that all i am to you?

y/n: be grateful i even acknowledged you.

gojo: you wound me.

y/n: yet you’re still smiling.

gojo flashes a playful frown to the camera as y/n roll their eyes before pulling out a stack on cards.

y/n: so first question, what’s the hardest part about working with me?

gojo: everything.

y/n: i’m serious.

gojo: and so am i, you make it hard for me to work with you because we never get anything done.

y/n: don’t make it sound like it’s my fault! we never get anything done because you get too distracted and drag me into it!

gojo: maybe you should discipline me more...

he teases and sends you a wink to which you dismiss quickly.

y/n: you’re a grown man, you shouldn’t need me to discipline you.

gojo: what if i want you to?

y/n: would you just answer the question seriously or i’ll really start to think you don’t think we work well together!

gojo: okay, i was kidding... you’re actually a pretty good teammate when we’re sent on missions together, i have fun with you... maybe a little too much fun...

y/n: don’t give them the wrong idea we’re nothing like that!

you cringe at him as he laughs before the camera cuts moving onto the next question

y/n: okay, second question, answer seriously from now on, got it?

gojo: anything for you~

y/n: you disgust me... anyway, how well would you say you take care of yourself?

gojo: you mean like... self care wise?

y/n: yeah, like self care!

gojo: hmm well, i’d say i take care of myself pretty well, after all, pampered men are attractive men right?

y/n: i mean sure, i think it’s attractive when a man takes care of himself but if that mans you... maybe not so much.

gojo: you don’t mean that! you must be somewhat attracted to me.

y/n: can’t say i am no.

gojo: lying is a sin you know.

y/n: you’re totally straying away from my initial question.

you groan and face the camera and gojo tilts his head and laughs.

gojo: sorry, well, i’d say i clearly look after myself very well which should be to your liking.

y/n: you’ll never be to my liking, but it’s nice to hear you take care of yourself well and that you’re not just an annoying man, but rather an annoying but hygienic man.

gojo: you’re so horrible to m-

the camera cuts as you start laughing and gojo starts whining.

y/n: we’re getting through these quickly now let’s keep it that way.

gojo: you know, we’d be half done by now if you stopped insulting me every chance you get.

y/n: i’m the quizzer, you’re the answerer, you answer when spoken to.

gojo turns to face the grinning camera crew behind the cameras on set.

gojo: now do you see what i have to put up with! i’m a victim i’m telling you!

camera man: no no, keep it up, you guys have nice chemistry

y/n: chemistry? not to be rude but you must’ve failed science, the only clear dialogue between us is practically conversation between an adult and child.

the camera crew laugh and gojo feigns offence before you clear your throat and look at the next card.

y/n: anyways, when was the first time you were majorly recognised as ‘famous’?

gojo: ah, a long time ago i need to think, give me a sec.

you pretend to yawn as gojo thinks about his answer before smiling at you.

gojo: my second year i think. that’s when i really started getting noticed for my talent.

y/n: practically a star since birth i see, how do you do it?

gojo laughs at your sarcasm as you grin back, evenly matched banter between the two of you flowing on set.

gojo: i’m handsome and gifted, i was made for this kinda life, it all comes naturally to me.

y/n: you know what doesn’t come naturally to you though?

gojo: hm?

y/n: that dress sense.

gojo: what’s wrong with my outfit?

y/n: bland, basic, and the way you chose itadori’s uniform was just straight up ugly!

gojo: he liked it!

y/n: the poor boy probably didn’t have the heart to express his disgust to your face.

gojo: well, until he does i’m gonna believe he likes it and my dress sense is more than up to standard.

y/n: if that’s what helps you sleep at night i guess...

the camera cuts with the two of you playfully bickering with each other, any previous speculation of hostility now gone as it’s clear for watchers to see just how your dynamic together works.

y/n: question four! what’s the first thing you notice in a person?

gojo: in general or when analysing to an extent?

y/n: in generals fine.

gojo: hm i would say looks, but i don’t wanna look too shallow on camera.

y/n: they would’ve just recorded you saying that. don’t be shocked if you’re trending on twitter later for it.

gojo: it’s fine, as long as i’m trending who cares what it’s about.

y/n: i can see the headlines already... ‘gojo satoru, top sorcerer, favoured teacher at jujutsu high and big narcissist’

you smile smugly at the man as he laughs along with you with the camera crew from behind.

gojo: yeah yeah whatever you say, but if i had to answer honestly, i’d say what energy they give off. i don’t let it bother me too much, but i’d say i’m pretty good at judging what someone’s like based off of what energy they’re giving out.

y/n: i’m shocked, that’s a pretty good answer... for you anyway.

gojo: i try my best for you.

y/n: mhm sure, keep that attitude next time we’re working together and maybe we’ll finish jobs quicker.

gojo snickers and smiles gently at you, his direction is no longer faced towards the camera, but rather solely directed at you as you clear your throat.

y/n: yeah anyway, good answer. that might just get you uncancelled.

gojo: i haven’t even been cancelled yet don’t speak it into existence!

y/n: i’ll ‘try my best for you’

you’re both smiling softly at each other after you mock one of gojo’s previous replies, there’s no speech cut off as a comfortable silence rests for a moment as the scene cuts.

y/n: okay, i want genuine answers only.

gojo: that’s what i’ve been giving you from the start!

you jokingly narrow your eyes at him before looking down at the next card.

y/n: well okay then, so, what was the first thing you noticed about me when we first met?

gojo: unusually bold question from you.

y/n: just shut up and answer, i was recommended to ask this.

gojo: sure, sure.

y/n: would you please just answer so we can get this over with?

gojo sighs dramatically and sits up properly and nods.

gojo: naturally, for anyone else i would say energy but for you, ah, i think it was your pretty face.

y/n: shut up, i said genuine answers only.

gojo: i am being genuine! aren’t i allowed to call you pretty?

y/n: you aren’t allowed to answer falsely, serious answers please.

gojo: you make me sound like i’m down bad, honestly, you’re very attractive to me, your energy was just a bonus, i’m serious, stop doubting yourself so much.

he smiles your way, not playfully nor forced, it’s a soft and genuine smile to calm your nerves, it’s a sign of truthfulness on his end. before you answer he clears his throat, slight hurry in his voice.

gojo: -of course, we were younger back then, since then you’ve gotten wrinkles and is that a few grey hairs i see? you also slouch-

y/n: -okay okay you can stop!

the two of you laugh as you gently kick his chair, the fact you’re being recorded and being watched by a whole camera crew totally forgotten about.

y/n: okay, last question finally!

gojo: admit you had fun with me.

y/n: i see you everyday, today was nothing special.

gojo: you wouldn’t say we’ve bonded more over this interview?

y/n: you’re still as irritating as before this interview so no.

you grin and gojo scoffs before shuffling in his chair a little before a sly smile draws across his face.

gojo: go on then, last question.

y/n: would you sl-

gojo: go on, ask it, we’re waiting.

gojo is leaning on the palm of his hand, teasing smile playing on his lips and y/n stares at the card in disbelief.

y/n: you definitely wrote this! i would never ask this! there’s been a mistake with the cards or something

camera man: ah no, they’re all the questions that were on your form you sent in prior to the interview, these are the questions you apparently wanted to be asked. sorry, you’ll have to make do.

y/n: i’m not asking that.

gojo: come on now, don’t upset your supportive fans.

y/n: i know you wrote this, you’re so infuriating!

you glare at him but not with complete hostility, the situation slightly humorous to you despite your protests.

gojo: i mean well.

gojo shrugs as you sigh and stare at the card before speaking.

y/n: fine then have it your way. would you... would you sleep with me?

gojo: how brave! asking me on camera in the middle of an interview! how could i dare say no!

gojo is laughing along with the camera crew as you fight back a smile, refusing to admit his interference was entertaining.

y/n: at least take me out for dinner first.

gojo: now you’re asking me to take you out? you’re really bold today aren’t you!

y/n: oh shut up! i didn’t mean it like that! this is totally your fault it’s awkward now.

you’re grinning at this point not caring that your flirtatious banter with gojo is being recorded and is soon to be edited and posted for the world to see.

gojo: i mean, i’m free tomorrow if that’s good with you?

y/n: what? no, i- this wasn’t even a serious question shut up!

gojo: i’ll shut up if you let me take you out... and maybe then i’ll sleep with you after if that’s your request.

y/n: i can’t stand you!

gojo: but you do everyday, that must count for something right?

y/n: i hate you.

gojo: quite the contrary, i’m sure i’ll get you to admit that by tomorrow though.

y/n: ...i’ll be waiting on it then.

the two of you are smiling at each other, laughter dying down as you once again softly kick gojo’s chair. he pays no mind to it as a moment of fondness occurs, viewers clearly able to see the evident bond between the two of you.

y/n: okay well... that concludes our face-to-face, GQ interview, thanks for watching and putting up with him!

gojo: maybe we’ll come back to do an interview about our date after i take you out, who knows, maybe i’ll get to ask you to rate me in bed!

y/n: gross. you sound like a fifteen year old boy.

gojo: am i at least a hot one?

y/n: i refuse to catch a case.

gojo cackles as you laugh too, the camera fades out with the scene of the two of you softly smiling at each other as the interview concludes.

#i haven’t beta read this sorry </3 #but go watch the rihanna x asap one they’re so cute pls :( <3 #gojo satoru #gojo x reader #gojo x you #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk #jujutsu kaisen x you #jjk x reader #jjk gojo #gojou satoru #gojo satoru x reader #jjk x you

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ad1thi · 4 years ago

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@starklysteve rhae asked for some winteriron recs (read: i volunteered to spam rhae w buckytony fics because i adore them), so in no particular order, and based on my memory alone, here are some of my favourite buckytony fics!!

(please remember to leave kudos and comments!!)

American Memorial: @/spqr

“Pick up the shield,” Tony said. Understandably, Bucky told him to go fuck himself

Losing You (Is My Supervillain Origin Story): @amethystinawrites

There are a lot of things that Bucky regrets. The list is, quite frankly, longer than he can handle on most days and, right at the very top, is lying to Tony about who killed his parents. Bucky has known even from before they started dating, but he simply can't bring himself to say anything — to ruin one of the few good things he has in his life. It's selfish and wrong, but Bucky just doesn't know how to tell Tony that he is the one responsible for Howard and Maria Stark's deaths.

So when he starts receiving anonymous emails, threatening to expose the truth to Tony and the rest of the world, Bucky is desperate enough to agree to the blackmailer's terms, even if it means breaking up with Tony. Bucky cannot, under any circumstances, let Tony find out about his parents from anyone but Bucky himself.

Too late Bucky realizes that there is much more to the blackmailer's scheme than just having Bucky break Tony's heart. Too late Bucky realizes that despite his best intentions, he will still end up losing everything — in a much more permanent way than he could ever have imagined.

Hindsight: @amethystinawrites

Ever since he was a little boy, Bucky has dreamed of becoming an astronaut together with Steve, and he can hardly believe their luck when both of them are picked for the Ares 3 crew — the third expedition sent to explore Mars. It is, quite literally, a dream come true.

Things get complicated when Bucky finds himself inconveniently attracted to their mechanical engineer, however. Tony Stark is funny, competent, and absolutely captivating, but considering NASA's strict non-fraternization policy, Bucky knows it's better to keep his interest to himself — at least until they return to Earth. He can wait.

Not once does Bucky consider the possibility that all of them might not make it back alive, or just how much he'll come to regret not acting when he had the chance.

Arsenal: @tangodancer91 (part of a series) (also my all time favourite buckytony series ever)

Two years after the Civil War that tore apart everything she’d bled to build, Toni Stark sacrificed herself for her newly-reinstated teammates and ended up stranded in the past. Freed of her name, her fortune, and her hostile ex-teammates, she built herself a life as an agent for the OSS, the American secret service, and, having nothing to lose, accepted a mission to infiltrate the newest player in the war: an organization that call themselves HYDRA.

Then, she met a young draftee with a dreadfully familiar face, and they clicked like she had never clicked with anyone before. By the time she realized she’d fallen for the man who’d cost her everything, it was too late, but she’d always been an all or nothing type of girl, and if she was damning herself, well then…might as well go all the way.

Yield: @aurumacadicus (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

All Bucky has ever wanted was to win the contest for Tony's hand in marriage. It's a bit harder now that he's down to one arm, but luckily his friends are willing to help make up the difference.

Barnes Family Motors Inc: @phlintandsteel-ao3 (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

In a world where alphas legally own omegas, Bucky is just a small time mechanic from Brooklyn who gets lucky in a poker game. Tony is an omega whose life is fraught with abuse, until his luck suddenly takes a turn for the better.

In the grand scheme of things they may only be able to make little differences in the lives of those around them, but that doesn't mean it's not worth making them. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The Long Con (don’t kid yourself): @phlintandsteel-ao3

When Tony finds out that Howard is thinking about changing the terms of Tony’s trust fund, he embarks on a not-so-elaborate scheme to prove that he’s totally settling down and not in continued need of Howard’s “guidance” until 25 instead of 21. Step 1: Get a fiance Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit (Finally be free of Howard)

Unfortunately, Tony Stark is the worst con-artist ever, and may only be kidding himself..

Hot Mess: @/niki

“Would serve him right if we had the world's most ill-advised one night stand.”

Imperceptions and Assumptions: @/NarutoRox

Afterward, Bucky would look back on their first meeting with fondness and a healthy dose of amusement. At the time, though, he’d mostly been confused - and more than a little embarrassed.

Bucky hadn’t paid much attention to the media in his early days, and hadn’t bothered really reading up on the team or anything, either, so when Steve had said ‘Tony Stark’, Bucky had just assumed.

The same way he’d looked at the three people who’d walked through the door - an imposing redhead in heels, a bored-looking brunette who dimpled when she saw him and Steve, and a sturdy-looking man wearing a slight glower - locked eyes on the man, and assumed him to be the infamous Tony Stark Steve wouldn’t shut up about.

It was Bucky’s first lesson when it came to Natasha Antonia ‘Toni’ Stark - never assume.

In which Tony Stark is actually Natasha Antonia 'Toni' Stark (which everyone knows) as well as Iron Man (which everyone does not know), assumptions are made, and there are misunderstandings.

From this prompt: How about a cross between my two favorite tropes? Nobody knows who iron man is other than Natasha/Antonia Stark's bodyguard but Bucky is in love with one or both of them

i know, you know (that i’m not telling the truth) : @imposter-human

psychic tony stark is called to work a routine case with detective bucky barnes; only, he seems to be more connected to the case than anyone thought

or, a psych au!!

the new romeo and juliet: @imposter-human

Bucky and Tony weren’t dating, because a firefighter and a detective couldn’t date (never mind that Tony hadn’t slept with anyone else since their thing had started, and he and Bucky hung out with an alarming frequency, and the whole precinct thought that they were an item). It didn't matter how many nights they spent together, how Bucky had a drawer of Tony's things and vice versa, they just couldn't.

It was a classic Romeo and Juliet situation, if Romeo and Juliet actively disliked each other on top of everything.

if found, please return to: @capnshellhead

Tony Stark shows up at Bucky's bar after a really tough break up and Bucky decides to look after him

gods of carnage: @deathsweetqueen (part of a series)

On May 29, 1970, the Winter Soldier feels a burning sensation and looks down at his wrist to find a single name written in enduring ink: Antonia Margaret Stark.

HYDRA, fearing the defiance of their greatest asset due to a bond that cannot and will not be denied its due, immediately dispatches the Soldier, to locate, collect and deliver this newborn girl to HYDRA, which will become her new home, her new family and her entire world - to be raised as another one of HYDRA’s great warriors: their Engineer.

But the Engineer is a faulty asset. She thinks things that may get her killed one day. She wants things that she shouldn’t, that are not hers to want. She has a mind and body that belong more to herself than any handler, than any commander she may have.

And if she cuts her strings, when she cuts her strings, well, when you put sheep next to wolves, you ask for a bloodbath.

where i walk, you follow (where i burn, you burn): @deathsweetqueen

At his father's command, Anthony Stark trades in his northern keep for a southern crown, wedded and bedded by Alexander of House Pierce, First of His Name.

Tony does his duty, becomes a wolf in name only, toothless and clawless, and a dark, gleaming ornament for the King, even if he would make himself a widower a hundred times over.

Honour demanded it of him, and so he did.

But it is Ser James Barnes, named the Kingslayer for his sins during the Rebellion, that draws his eye, gives him comfort in this pit of liars and monsters

So, what is honour compared to a good man's love? They are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love.

[Fic by deathsweetqueen, Art by MassiveSpaceWren]

Cat Parenting (And Other Meet Cutes): @singingwithoutwords (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

Of all the ways Bucky could have finally gotten a chance to speak to his crush, why did it have to be his cat getting Tony's cat pregnant?

Codename Heartbreaker: @rinnwrites (part of a series)

Today was a day that, contrary to popular belief, Tony Stark had most certainly not been looking forward to. It was election day, or election night, rather, and the polls were closed, the results were in; Howard Stark was the next President of the United States of America.

Tony Stark Bingo - R3: Election Day

Fate Strings Not Required: @akira-of-the-twilight

“Hey doll,” a new voice said from Tony’s side.

Tony glanced at the person approaching.

Someone was working the rugged, bad boy look. The new guy rocked a leather jacket and blue jeans.

His blue eyes lit up with joy as he approached Tony. “Something wrong here?” The new guy gave the first guy--the one insisting he was Tony's soul mate--a once over then turned his full attention on Tony. “You’re looking a little stressed, anything I can do?”

Tony took the hint.

Tony wrapped his hand around the new guy’s elbow. He kept his touch light and breakable in case he’d misread the cue.

“Just some guy claiming to be my soul mate, babe.”

The new guy’s eyebrows rose to his hairline in surprise. He chuckled and gave the first guy a smirk. “Strange. Last time I checked we were soul mates.”

Siren’s Treasure: @akira-of-the-twilight

Prompt: I really love the idea of playboy!Bucky flirt of the seven seas first-mate to Captain Rogers, falling completely overboard in love with our Blacksmith-Inventor Inexperienced!Tony who goes from confident captive to shy woe-begone man in the presence of Bucky's fierce affections. Virgin!Tony wonders what a siren like Bucky could possibly want with him. Bucky wants to know what the fuck Logan thinks he's doing flirting with the man who stole his heart like sunken treasures. Happy ending please?

“Sirens killed your crew?” Steve repeated.

The dark haired man nodded. Just an hour ago the Avenger crew had found the man clinging to driftwood in the middle of the ocean. Now he clutched the flask of rum Bucky had given him like it was all that kept him buoyant during these tumultuous times.

The man—Tony—had already downed more than half the flask and was still sober. “Not exactly my crew, but close enough. Yeah.” Tony uncapped the flask and threw back a mouthful.

Steve frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

Tony shrugged. “I wasn’t captain of the ship.”

“So what were you?” Steve pressed.

Road hazards: @riotwritesthings

Steve and Bucky's BFF road trip is not going well. For starters, Steve couldn't even make it, and for some bizarre reason asked Tony to take his place. The fact that it’s only a couple days before someone is trying to kill them isn’t nearly as stressful as the fact that Bucky and Tony have never really had an actual conversation.

It’s hard to avoid someone when stuck in a car with them though, and if they manage to stay alive they just might learn a thing or two.

Once Upon a Wintertime: @iam93percentstardust (this is an a/b/o verse fic)

Look, Bucky knows that he’s fulfilling every cliché in the book right now. He knows that, as a bodyguard, he’s not supposed to fall in love with his client. But Tony’s good and sweet and so, so lonely and how could Bucky not? He thinks he’s got a shot after Tony breaks up with his boyfriend but on a trip across the country, he finds out that Tony needs a bondmate or the board will steal SI—and Ty’s already said yes.

little bird: @thxngam

Bucky laughs, and it’s loud and unbidden, a way he hadn’t laughed for years before, tugging his giggling omega into his lap. Tony quiets and nestles into Bucky’s chest like he was made to belong there, and Bucky has noticed several times that Tony is much smaller than he is, but he never quite noticed how Tony always seemed to curl into him as a reason for his size.

Tony nestles like a little bird.

Teenage Dream: @anthonyed

Tony Stark develops a crush on the school's bad boy who is too cool to hang out with anyone. At least, it's what Tony thinks. He never considered that James Barnes is probably as lonely as he is.

(in the process of editing)

The Best Laid Plans (of Mice and Men): @arboreal-elm-ash-oak

His Dark Materials AU

It was Annalise who noticed their small visitor first.

“Tony,” the spider daemon said softly, skittering up the collar of his dress shirt, two of her eight legs resting delicately against his cheek, “Don’t startle them, but I believe we have a guest. Look, by the coffee table.”

A Kitten and a Soldier: @/ThatDamnKennedyKid

Bucky hadn't heard from Rumlow in years - since the whole Winter Soldier fiasco in Siberia. They've been discharged for nearly six years, but when he gets a message that only says "I need your help" , he grabs his jacket and keys.

The Prince’s Bride: @hddnone

After Tony loses the love of his life to pirates on the high sea, not much matters to him. He agrees to wed Prince Justin Hammer to gain access to vibranium and shut himself away in his workshop until the end of time, but a group of ruffians kidnap Tony to take him to Hydra.

Tony's rescue takes on an unlikely form - the Dread Pirate Rogers, who killed the love of his life five years ago.

A Princess Bride AU

A Kind of Destiny: @weethreequarter

A chance meeting at a wedding brings together an American war veteran and the Prince of Wales. Little do they know, the wheels have been set in motion for a relationship which will change not only their lives, but the monarchy itself. Bucky and Tony strike up a friendship at Steve and Peggy’s wedding, a friendship that soon develops into more. But it’s not so simple: Tony is the Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Any relationship is played out in the press and public eye, and then there's that pesky issue of succession to consider too. But Bucky is no coward, and when he finds something he wants, he’s prepared to fight for it. And fight he will, at Tony's side, for their very own fairy tale ending.

#adi's rec list #buckytony #winteriron #bucky barnes/tony stark #bucky barnes x tony stark #bucky/tony #bucky x tony #i should create a tag for fic rec lists #this got sort of long so ive hidden some of them under a read more #that doesn't mean they're any less good though!!

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mwolf0epsilon · 4 years ago

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For the Post Studio AU, what was the hardest part of escaping the studio? For everyone? Like, recovery wise, what's the hardest part for the inky Joey Drew Studios crew?

Oof, where to start with this one... I'm gonna set a few exceptions aside that didn't end up in the Cycle but that were still affected by the studio's descent into madness.

Henry Stein - Being a war veteran Henry was already dealing with PTSD and his old injuries, so being stuck in the studio for five long years repeating the same thing over and over, reopened a few psychological wounds he was working through. Coping with double the survivor's guilt isn't easy, especially when he lays awake at night wondering if he could have stopped Joey if he'd just stayed, but Henry is a stubborn son of a gun. He finds ways to march on and does his best to help everyone else.

Sammy Lawrence - The sacrificial cult murders are hard for him to forgive himself for. He's resentful of his own shattered mind, and is stuck in his own personal loop of being unsure of who he is. Surely he's not Sammy Lawrence anymore, nor does he fit the bill of Prophet. When he ends up spitting up the ink that forms Andy (aka Wanderer/Wandering Sin Bendy) he also ends up with a new hurdle to deal with, which is this mischievous cartoon that looks like a character he absolutely loathes, but who is connected to him in a way he might dare say is more like a parent-child relationship than god-subject. Needless to say Sammy needs time and a little bit of affection to bring down the self-loathing walls he's slowly built up. Once he's learned to reach out to others for help instead of being a prideful mule, he'll finally be able to start mending himself.

Jack Fain - He honestly believed he'd never see his husband again, and that nearly broke him. Then when Henry and Linda managed to contact him, Jack was instead afraid that he'd be rejected because he wasn't human anymore. Jack's insecurities made it hard for him to heal and work his way up back into a semblance of humanity, after all who'd ever be able to love a lump of ink that smells like your bathroom plumbing? Thankfully he was wrong and his husband was more than willing to welcome him back into his life. They have 20 years worth of grief and longing to work through.

Susie Campbell - It takes a while for Susie to forgive herself for what Alice had done in the studio (what she'd allowed her to do). But unlike many of the others she can't afford to sit still. As one of the more humanoid survivors she is tasked with helping Allison with groceries and, as such, is confronted with 20 years worth of change. Once she has time for herself she spends it in introspective silence or straight up just writes about it. She ends up uncovering a talent for literature and becomes a self-made successful "fiction" author. Her specialty? Sci-fi horror.

Norman Polk - Norman's life is a living hell even as he is rescued. He's lucid most of the time but (if provoked) he can easily switch back to being a feral mess. The silence is also suffocating to him, so he gets incredibly antsy if there isn't much happening. Combating his wanderlust is difficult so he coped by walking in the woods, often getting lost unless he's accompanied (which is a rule Henry immediately sets up). The most he does at first is to sleep all day and walk all night. Once he gains more of his self-control however, things begin to look up for him. It helps to have an emotional support dog that can keep up with him, as well as having people in his life that treat him like a person still. His little cartoon "child" also brings out the more tender side of his less lucid state of mind.

Allison Pendle - Like Susie she has little time to sit around and wallow. She has many responsibilities and as such is always busy. The only time she has to think and let herself cry is when she's in bed. Thankfully Tom is there for her, even if he can't talk anymore. Being held is enough for her though.

Thomas Connors - At first he's furious at being stuck as a mute cartoon wolf. He feels useless being unable to get a job and help provide for the cabin, and sitting around twiddling his thumbs was never something he liked doing. The only way he has to cope is helping Lacie figure out how to sort out Bertrum's situation, try to find a way to fix Norman's speaker and hearing, as well as keeping an eye on everyone when Allison and Susie leave to go into town. Running outside like an unbound dog alongside Buddy also helps. Freedom and exercise go well together in keeping him nice and active.

Shawn Flynn - He is incredibly frustrated about his size and lack of speech. He used to be a very loud and boisterous man, so being rendered a giant mute unable to convey his thoughts in a meaningful (albeit crude) manner makes him feel a bit isolated. His size also makes it difficult for him to get back into toy-making, but he'll be damned if he doesn't have at least one thing to do with his hands. Most of the time he spends hanging out with Grant who needs a little bit of supervision. He hopes his company helps the depressed mess his dearest friend has become.

Grant Cohen - There's a lot going on in his head, so most days are spent laying around just sleeping. He has very little motivation to do anything, and mostly only trusts Edvard (the Edgar clone that has a piece of his soul) and Shawn. His best days are spent reading or even listening to the radio. That's enough proof that he's unwell but at least coping in his own way. His is very slow progress, but still progress.

Buddy Lewek - He misses his family dearly, and it was hard having to accept he's never going to be a productive member of society, much less see the changes of a progressing civilization. Still Buddy is young. He finds things to busy himself with, enjoys being able to live free and without fear, and still practices his drawing with great gusto (even if he never quite gets Bendy's head right). He won't admit it but running wild like a rowdy pup is actually quite nice. He illustrates Susie's novels.

Abby Lambert - She was in very bad shape like Grant, depressed and suicidal, but was lucky enough to be reunited with her family early on. The occasional letter she sends shows she's doing well and getting better each time a new letter arrives. She feels a little bad that not everyone is as fortunate as her to have the support of their loved ones... Some don't have families to return to at all and that just doesn't sit right with her.

Bertrum Piedmont - Hates life a little less with each attempt Lacie makes at improving his living conditions. Being a stationary amusement park ride takes a toll on one's sanity, so it's normal that Bertrum is incredibly antisocial at first. Fortunately he's slowly warmed up to everyone as time goes on, and the one thing that bothers him is being unable to show his appreciation for the stubborn idiots who keep trying to help him. Inadequacy is a bitch to someone who's used to giving his all.

Lacie Benton - She's a living animatronic and she hates it, but now that she's not immobilized and that Tom built her a new arm, she can actually move on with her life and try to sort the real issues. Starting with Bertrum and Norman who definitely need a bit of refurbishing to live a better life. Surprisingly Bertrum is easier to sort out than Norman, who gets just a little too upset when she touches his speaker or wires...

Emma LaMonte - Like Jack and Abby she got lucky enough to go back to her family. Being as determined as she is, she also managed to regain her human form pretty quickly. Her perfectionist nature may have made her difficult most of the time, but now it's certainly worked in her favor. The one thing that she can't cope with is the memory of once having no legs to speak of... It chills her, the thought she'd never be able to dance again.

The Ink Demon - Binky needs to learn how to people and that in itself is already hard. Learning to cope with the monstrous things he did to everyone else is a whole new can of worms... Luckily the toons seem to like him a lot. It helps to not be cast aside. Henry also makes an effort to teach him as best he can, and show him the affection and understanding that Joey never did.

Joey Drew - Fled the country once he realized Henry broke the cycle. Can't deal with the fact he was wrong and that his life's work amounted to nothing, so he avoids dealing with it altogether. He's a wanted man, not by the law but by Henry's own righteous fury and desire for justice, as well as Linda's protective rage over her husband.

Wally Franks - He's the one that got away, so he carries a lot of survivor's guilt on his shoulders. Wishes he'd been able to help in the past, so once Henry contacts him for help finding everyone's families he jumps at the opportunity to do right by his old coworkers. He's the one who gets Norman a dog that wouldn't just flee from him, and he'll donate funds to keep the cabin afloat whenever things aren't doing so good. He visits a lot too.

Dot - She couldn't believe that the people she was sure as hell were dead actually survived Drew's madhouse of a studio. She had to pinch herself when she reunited with them however, because she wasn't expecting... Well... This... She feels responsible for Buddy being stuck as he is because she couldn't save him and instead saved herself. She's taken it upon herself to locate Joey and expose his monstrous actions.

Linda Stein - Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This lady was not scorned by her husband, but she sure has a bone to pick with Mr. Drew. Luckily for her, Henry feels just as vindictive as she when it comes to Joey's obscene cruelty. Linda does her best to help everyone at the cabin, and gives her all in helping her husband through listening to the things he dare not tell his therapist... Needless to say she's heartbroken that her beloved had to go through two separate hells only to be expected to move on once he got out...

#bendy and the ink machine #batim #Post Studio AU

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oscopelabs · 5 years ago

Text

The Murder Artist: Alfred Hitchcock At The End Of His Rope by Alice Stoehr

“Rope was an interesting technical experiment that I was lucky and happy to be a part of, but I don’t think it was one of Hitchcock’s better films.” So wrote Farley Granger, one of its two stars, in his memoir Include Me Out. The actor was in his early twenties when the Master of Suspense plucked him from Samuel Goldwyn’s roster. He’d star in the first production from the director’s new Transatlantic Pictures as Phillip Morgan, a pianist and co-conspirator in murder. John Dall would play his partner, homicidal mastermind Brandon Shaw. Granger had the stiff pout to Dall’s trembling smirk.

The “interesting technical experiment” was Hitchcock’s decision to shoot the film, adapted from a twenty-year-old English play, as a series of 10-minute shots stitched together into a simulated feature-length take. This allowed him to retain the stage’s spatial and temporal unities while guiding the audience with the camera’s eye. In the process, he’d embed a host of meta-textual and erotic nuances within the sinister mise-en-scène. Screenwriter Arthur Laurents (Granger’s boyfriend, for a time) updated the play’s fictionalized account of Chicagoan thrill killers Leopold and Loeb to a penthouse in late ‘40s Manhattan. There, Phillip strangles the duo’s friend David—his scream behind a curtain opens the film—immediately prior to a dinner party where they’ll serve pâté atop the box that serves as his coffin. It’s a morbid premise for a comedy of manners, and Brandon taunts his guests throughout the evening. (Asked if it’s someone’s birthday, he coyly replies, “It’s, uh, really almost the opposite.”)

Granger deemed the film lesser Hitchcock due to two limitations. One was the sheer repetition and exact blocking demanded by its formal conceit, the other the Production Code’s blanket ban on “sex perversion,” which meant tiptoeing around the fact that Brandon and Phillip—like their real-life inspirations and, to some degree, Rope’s leading men—were gay. That stringent homophobia forced Hitchcock and Laurents to convey their sexuality through ambiguity and implication; the director would use similar tactics to adapt queer writers like Daphne du Maurier and Patricia Highsmith. (“Hitchcock confessed that he actually enjoyed his negotiations with [Code honcho Joseph] Breen,” notes Thomas Doherty in the book Hollywood’s Censor. “The spirited give-and-take, said Hitchcock, possessed all the thrill of competitive horse trading.”) The nature of the characters’ relationship is hardly subtext: Rope starts with their orgasmic shudder over David’s death, then labored panting after which Brandon pulls out a cigarette and lets in some light. A few minutes later, Brandon strokes the neck of a champagne bottle; Phillip asks how he felt during the act, and he gasps “tremendously exhilarated.”

Like Brandon’s hints about the murder, the homosexuality on display is surprisingly explicit if an audience can decode it. The whole film pivots around their partnership, both criminal and domestic. In an impish bit of conflation, their scheme even stands in for “the love that dare not speak its name,” with David’s body acting as a fetish object in a sexual game no one else can perceive. The guests, as Brandon puts it, are “a dull crew,” “those idiots” who include David’s father and aunt, played by London theater veterans Cedric Hardwicke and Constance Collier. Joan Chandler and Douglas Dick, both a couple years into what would be modest careers, play David’s fiancée Janet and her ex Kenneth. Character actress Edith Evanson appears as housekeeper Mrs. Wilson, a prototype for Thelma Ritter’s Stella in Rear Window, and a top-billed James Stewart is Rupert Cadell, who once mentored the murderers in arcane philosophy.

This was the first of Stewart’s four collaborations with Hitchcock. It cast the actor against type not as a romantic hero but as an observer and provocateur, his gaze shrewd, his dialogue heavy with irony. The role presaged his work in the ‘50s, with Mann rather than Capra, emphasizing psychology over ideology. Rupert, like L.B. Jeffries or Scottie Ferguson, is rooting out a crime, and in so doing comes to seem more loathsome than the villains themselves. “Murder is—or should be—an art,” he lectures midway through Rope, eyebrow arched, martini glass in hand. “Not one of the seven lively perhaps, but an art nevertheless.” Half an hour in real time later, having seen David’s body, he flies into a moralizing monologue: “You’ve given my words a meaning that I never dreamed of!” It takes up the last several minutes of the film, with Rupert snarling from deep in his righteous indignation, “Did you think you were God, Brandon?”

Stewart was a master of sputtering, impassioned oratory, and his facility for it renders Rupert’s hypocrisy especially stark. He taught these murderers; he can’t just shrug off his culpability. The Code decreed that “the sympathy of the audience shall never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, or sin.” Every transgression reaps a punishment. The ending of Rope abides by the letter of this law, as Rupert fires several shots into the night, drawing a police siren toward the building. He sits, deflated, while Phillip plays piano and Brandon has one last drink. But none of David’s loved ones get to excoriate his killers. The one man here with no integrity, no moral authority, is the one who gets the final, self-flagellating word.

The Code forbade throwing sympathy to the side of sin, but if Hitchcock meant any character in Rope as his stand-in, it was Brandon, not Rupert. The top to Phillip’s bottom, he’s the director of the play within a film. He’s storyboarded it to perfection. Janet, realizing he’s toying with her, cries that he’s incapable of just throwing a party. “No, you’d have to add something that appealed to your warped sense of humor!” Hitchcock, who’d built a corpus of corpses, must have gotten a chuckle from that line. Whereas Phillip fears discovery, Brandon puts symbolism above pragmatism, prioritizing what Phillip dubs his “neat little touches.” He needs to have dinner on the chest, the murder weapon tied around antique books, and his surrogate father Rupert in attendance, much as the film’s director needed to shoot in long takes—not because it’s pragmatic, but because it’s beautiful. He went to great lengths for verisimilar beauty here, as Steven Jacobs details in The Wrong House: The Architecture of Alfred Hitchcock. Miniatures in the three-dimensional cyclorama seen through the broad penthouse window were wired and connected to a ‘light organ’ that allowed for the gradual activation of the skyline’s thousands of lights and hundreds of neon signs. Meanwhile, spun-glass clouds were shifted by technicians from right to left during moments when the camera turned away from the window.

Jacobs notes as well that a painting by Fidelio Ponce de León hanging on Brandon and Phillip’s wall actually belonged to the director and had previously hung in his own home. Rope is avant-garde art wrapped in a bourgeois thriller, about avant-garde art wrapped in a dinner party, pushing moral and aesthetic boundaries while collapsing any distinction between the two. In this nested construction, Brandon the murder artist becomes a figure of auto-critique or perhaps apologia. Did you think you were God, Alfred? By 1948, he’d already made dozens of films, often obliquely about sex and violence, across decades and continents. He’d become the world champion sick joke raconteur. Rope is a reckoning with the ethics of his genre.

By 1948, the world had changed. A few years earlier, Hitchcock’s friend (and Rope co-producer) Sidney Bernstein had asked him to advise on a film about Germany’s newly liberated concentration camps. As Kay Gladstone writes in Holocaust and the Moving Image, Hitchcock worried that “tricky editing” would let skeptics read its footage as fraudulent and asked the editors “to use as far as possible long shots and panning shots with no cuts.” The director took his own counsel to heart.

Rope was also his first color film, the start of his fascination with dull palettes. (A quarter-century later he’d limn Frenzy’s London with every shade of beige.) Genteel browns and grays dominate the penthouse, the hues of men’s suits. Only after nightfall does the apartment glow with, in Jacobs’ phrasing, “the expressive possibilities of urban neon light.” The dinner party takes place at the crest of postwar modernity, a world away from the camps. Here, among the East Coast intelligentsia, murder’s merely a thought experiment. When David’s father mentions Hitler, Brandon dismisses him as “a paranoiac savage.” Yet even in polite society, the evening can begin with a secret killing and end with that iniquity brought to light. “Perhaps what is called civilization is hypocrisy,” says Brandon. “Perhaps,” David’s father concedes.

In 1948, the world was changing. That year saw the publication of Gore Vidal’s landmark gay novel The City and the Pillar and the first of the Kinsey Reports. Antonioni was a documentarian about to make his first feature; Truffaut was a delinquent catching Hitchcock movies at the Cinémathèque. Rope’s amorality and pitch-black humor augur a world and a cinema that were yet to come. It’s thorny gay art through a straight auteur. The film’s last thirty seconds show Rupert’s back to the camera while Brandon sips his cocktail and Phillip plays a tune, the trio lit by flashing neon. In this denouement lie decadence and damnation, art and death, the Code-closeted past and a disaffected future.

#alfred hitchcock #rope film #rope movie #hitchcock #james stewart #farley granger #john dall #gore vidal #michelangelo antonioni #francois truffaut #frenzy film #the wrong house: the architecture of alfred hitchcock #musings #film writing #film essay #oscilloscope laboratories #o-scope labs #adam yauch #Beastie Boys

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jenthebug · 5 years ago

Text

Taking some characters out for a test drive

I wrote what might become a scene in my novel, to give myself some practice with these new characters and this new setting.

The preacher’s son meets the witch at a farmer’s market, 1311 words.

A tall, muscular man with a crew cut approached a booth at the Bonny Farmer’s Market. He walked straight up to the proprietor, who was eyeing him suspiciously. “I don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m Cole Harlan, Don’s son.” He held out his hand for a handshake.

“Terra Moirai.” She gave him a quick, perfunctory handshake. “I’ve had a few conversations with your father,” she said coldly.

“Did he tell you that he’s leaving town for a few months? He’s going on a mission trip to Thailand to build homes for the homeless!” Cole beamed. “I’ll be preaching in his place on Sundays. You’re welcome to come to tomorrow’s service.”

“That...is not what I heard from Don,” she said. She tugged the hair tie out of the braid that hung over her shoulder, a tangle of green and brown curls, and unbraided it. “He explicitly told me that I am not welcome in church, not to speak to his family, and not to spread my wickedness in this town.” She piled her hair on top of her head and pulled it up in a messy bun. “I’m spreading my vegetables. Is that okay?” Her voice hit a sardonic note.

“That’s more than okay! I actually came over here because your greens look so good! And, Terra, please excuse my father.” His whole posture seemed to soften. “He is a man of the Baptist tradition. He’s very conservative. He wants his flock to adhere to the Baptist Faith and Message, live a lifestyle free of sin, and take the Bible as the final word.”

“You sound almost apologetic.”

Cole sighed. “I’ve only recently moved back to town. I’ve been away for four years, studying at seminary, and becoming an ordained minister myself. I’ll admit, I spent too much time doodling in my notebook and listening to secular music and staring out the window with my eyes glazed over. But one thing held my attention every time I studied it: The teachings of Jesus Christ. I’m not sure if you know this, but there are times that the Baptist Faith and Message seems to contradict the teachings of Christ, and there are many more times that the lifestyle we live contradicts those holy lessons.”

Terra raised an eyebrow.

“Have you read the Bible?”

“No.”

Cole seemed unfazed. A gentle smile spread across his face. “1 John 4:20 states that ‘Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For they who do not love brothers and sisters, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.’ And while it’s easy for a person to say they hate the sin yet love the sinner, that statement is usually followed up with berating and punishments. That is not a loving way to treat a person. To love someone, one must act lovingly and kindly.” He opened up his cloth bag and began inspecting the bunches of spinach and kale piled up at Terra’s booth. “Church should be a hospital for the spirit, not a museum of how closely one can stick to doctrine and tradition, you know?”

For the first time since meeting Cole, a smile spread across Terra’s face. “Well said!”

Cole grabbed one bunch of spinach and one bunch of kale, examining them closely. “How on Earth do you get these to grow so well? I planted spinach, kale, and lettuce in the backyard this spring. The spinach was alright, but it was so small. The kale immediately bolted and went to seed, and the lettuce just died.”

Terra nodded knowingly. “The soil in eastern Colorado is just so sandy! I come from the foothills, where the soil is more dense, so I’ve had to learn a few things. Water often, it’s totally worth it to set up drip irrigation. Mix more compost into the soil than you think you need. With the heat out here, partial shade works better than full sun, despite what the seed packets say.”

Cole nodded. “Alright. Water, compost, partial shade.”

Terra stepped back and smirked. “You want to know if I put a spell on these things, right? Called up the Devil and asked for good veggies?”

Cole laughed nervously.

“I draw my energy from the earth, and return my energy to the earth. Everything I do is a reflection of the cycles of nature. My spirit communes with the spirits of the soil, the plants, the water, the insects, the animals. I am as much a part of nature as the seed that grew that spinach, and as much a part of the seed’s growth as it is a part of mine.”

Cole gave Terra a blank smile as he tried to wrap his head around her words.

“I did not call Satan, and I did not cast any magic spells on those vegetables.” She spoke simply and bluntly. “I’m just a really good gardener with a bit of an innate advantage. Call it a green thumb if that makes it easier for you.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll take two spinach bunches and one kale bunch, please.” He pulled three dollars out of his pocket and handed them to Terra.”

“Thanks, take your pick.”

“Hey! Cole!” Hannah, Cole’s sister, ran up to Terra’s booth. “There you are! I tried texting you!”

Cole gave Hannah an apologetic look. “Sorry, I got caught up talking to Ms. Terra. Have you met her?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve bought skin care stuff from her before. She makes a really good goat’s milk soap.”

“Is that what that stuff in the bathroom is?”

“The pink bar of soap? Yeah. Goat’s milk, rosewater, all kinds of good stuff.” Hannah pulled her blonde waterfall curls up into a bouncy ponytail and turned to Terra. “Hey, have you ever thought about making hair stuff?”

Terra laughed, pointing to the green and brown bundle on her head. “Maybe I should! But I never really do anything with my hair, except make sure it’s clean and untangle it…”

“And you dye it,” Hannah said. “That’s damaging, especially since you’re lifting brown.”

Terra shook her head. “Nope. No dye. This is just how it grows.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Cole said.

Without a word, Terra lifted her combat booted foot onto the table, behind the iPad that she used as a point of sale. She lifted her long, brown skirt to reveal that she hadn’t shaved in way too long. Along with the brown stubble that Cole and Hannah expected to see, there were little green hairs mixed in.

“Oh...kay. Now I don’t.” Cole pressed his lips together, trying to suppress a laugh.

Terra giggled and put her foot down. She sprayed down the table with a homemade cleaning spray, wiped it with a washcloth, and rang in Cole’s purchase.

“Cole, would you like a receipt?”

“No thank you.”

“Hannah, are you still okay on soap?”

“Yes, I am, but I was hoping for some of the rosewater toner that you had last time.”

“Oh no, I sold out of that!” Terra cringed. “Tell you what. I’m coming into town on Tuesday to get my oil changed. I’ll bring a bottle for you then, and only charge you $10 instead of the usual $12 for the inconvenience.”

“Sure! Thanks! Can we meet here at the park at 5:30? I’ll be on my way home from cheer practice.”

“Why not just meet at the school? It’s right by the garage.”

Hannah cringed. “Well…”

Terra sighed. “You know what? The park should be fine.”

“Thank you so much.” Hannah said.

“Yes, thank you,” Cole said. “It shouldn’t be like this...but it is.”

“Yep.”

Cole held out his hand for another handshake. “It was nice to meet you, Ms. Terra. I mean that.”

Terra smiled and shook his hand again. “And it was nice to meet you, too, Cole. I also mean that.”

#my original writing #practice

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foxgirlintestines · 5 years ago

Note

Which one is the best monowhite budget commander? Can you build a list?

Well this is a tad bit vague. There is no definitive best budget mono-white commander as you can build white in different archetypes. Mono White is usually associated with aggro and equipment. There is a problem with those in budget. Good equipment can get expensive, same with their support cards. Stoneforge Mystic was just unbanned in Modern so that will definitely make Voltron White a bit less accessible. Aggro on the other hand is cheap, but also very soft in Commander. White weenies turning sideways often is just too slow to get there when you have three opponents and life totals start at 40.

(Decklist at the end)

That makes me want to build a Mono-White deck in one of two ways if I had a pretty low budget in mind: Stax and End the World control. Of these two options, Wrath tribal does not overlap witrh Modern in the types of cards you want so it will probably be cheaper. So, first off, we want our Commander to synnergize with the idea that every permanent is temporary, so there are three creatures that really catch my eye: Heliod, God of the Sun, Oketra the True, and Mageta the Lion (honorable mention to Avacyn who would be here if she was budget). The two gods are indestructible allowing them to safely live through the end of the world, and Mageta is a Wrath of God on legs. The problem Mageta runs into is the lack of card draw in white limits how well you can use him, you can simply run out of cards to discard. The other problem is since you are going to be running a lot of wraths he will be caught in the crossfire. That narrows it down to the two gods.

Heliod and Oketra operate pretty similarly. They are creatures that are basically turned off until you add permanents to the battlefield. One cares about white symbols, and the other cares about creature count. They both produce an army of creatures, but Oketra can animate herself while Heliod cannot. Heliod on the other hand makes larger creatures and has Enchantment synergies. You can honestly go with either one, but I will choose Heliod for the ability to have an enchantress subtheme as a way to keep him animated with permanents that aren't creatures and as another control element.

I'm going to try to limit all the cards in this deck to $5 or less unless they are important for the deck to function (some cards to save up for).

So, first off we need the removal suite. 1-for-1 removal should be kept to a minimum as you can't really keep up trading like that in a multiplayer game especially with less than ideal card advantage. Swords to Plowshares and Generous Gift will be the targeted removal suite outside of the ones that will come from enchantments. Next up is the big kaboom. We want to be able to really be the old testament god on one hell of a rampage. You should be able to control the board by having access to a wrath when needed after you hit 4 mana. Now to make the numbers work you need to kind of factor in how much card draw you have at any moment's notice and that will not be a super high amount. Somewhere around 10 with 12 being more comfortable is what you will need to have a wrath on hand at most times. If people are rebuilding fast and you need multiple wraths to stay on top of the board you'll need around 15. Lets just see how many we can fit in: Wrath of God, Austere Command (I found a copy for less than $5 so it counts), Day of Judgement, Rout, Fumigate, Cleansing Nova, Hour of Revelation, Akroma's Vengeance, Planar Collapse, Sublime Exhalation, Phyrexian Rebirth, Planar Cleansing, Myojin of Cleansing Fire, Nevinyrral's Disc, End Hostilities, Mageta the Lion, Martial Coup, Waking Sun's Avatar, Descend Upon the Sinful, Hallowed Burial, Urza's Ruinous Blast, Winds of Abandon, and Tragic Arrogance. Whats that? 23 but we only need about 15? I SAID THE OLD TESTAMENT HELIOD! If it bleeds it can die, and if it doesn't we'll send the whole fucking planet into oblivion! You made a black mage make a mono-white deck so its your fault for thinking this would end any other way.

Ahem... That seems decent enough. Some card draw, pillow fort, and mild stax should help round it out from there.

The enchantment package should be mostly defensive and geared towards stalling, but some heavy hitters to end the game should also be included. First off the payoffs for enchantments: Sigil of the Empty Throne, Mesa Enchantress, and Sphere of safety provide control, creatures, and card draw off of your enchantments giving you engines. Parallax Wave can temporarily mess with creatures, or save things from your constant wraths, it also forms an infinite exile combo with Starfield of Nyx. Oblivion Ring, Banishing Light, Ghostly Prison and Aurification provide you with some early defenses, and Phyrexian Unlife combined with Solemnity create temporary imortality. They can be peiced together with Plea for Guidance, and on their own they are decent though narrow. Rule of Law, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Curse of Exhaustion, and Spirit of the Labyrinth will help against the unfair decks that otherwise ignore your wraths. Overwhelming Splendor can help if someone really needs to just stop. Nevermore and Gideon's Intervention can pinpoint cards that might take you down or lock a commander thats problematic out of the game. Martyr's Bond can be a heavy Stax engine acting as a Grave Pact on steroids. Finally True Conviction, Starfield of Nyx animating the Enchantments, and Ethereal Armor on Heliod can close out games.

The deck has solid "meat" but will need support from card draw and ramp. Draw is limited, but Endless Atlas is pretty good and Mind's Eye is slow but solid for budget reasons. Mentor of the Meek and Skullclamp can turn Heliod's Activated Ability into card advantage but they are a bit slow. Staff of Nin is expensive but you can't get picky. Though it only grabs lands Thaumatic Compass is good for consistent mana and its flip side is excellent for a deck like this. Treasure Map will filter draws and provide cards after it flips. Sadly some of White's best answers to its limited card advantage are quite pricey. Your main advantage will come from depleting your opponent's resources with a single card answering their full boards and breaking up their own card advantage.

Ramp is also limited, but since the best ramp is actually artifacts it’s not that bad. Sol Ring is the always present auto-include. Smothering Tithe is one of the few out of budget cards but its honestly one of the best white cards for commander and synergizes as it’s an enchantment so it’s one of the few cards to go out of your way to get. Starfield Mystic will discount your Enchantments and Pearl Medallion will discount all your colored spells. Solemn Simulacrum just got a reprint and is a decent land ramp. Most of your ramp should take you from 2>4 though so you can get your wraths online so you should stick to 2 cost rocks like Mind Stone and Marble Diamond. Arcane Signet will be an option but it might end up a chase card from the brawl deck.

Finally we can use Sun Titan as a random finisher with value attached.

Lands will mostly be basic, but we will have Emeria the Sky Ruin (another budget stretch that you can justify), Myriad Landscape for ramp, Mistveil Plains for recursion, Flood Plain and Grasslands as extra cards for Sun Titan recursion and to find the Mistveil Plains. Arch of Orazca and Cryptic Caves provide a little flood protection. Hall of Heliod's Generosity will return your destroyed Enchantments or create a loop of apocalypses with Planar Collapse. You could add more utility lands as you like, but otherwise its a simple 28 plains from there.

I learned from this exaercise I am terrible at budget decks. I wanted thios onbe to be less than $100, but...

As for how to play, its pretty simple; it is tap out control. Cast your cards sparingly, ramp and get in card advantage when you can, but most of the time you are the demolition crew. Most of your wraths will be one sided as you run very few creatures andmost of your spells only hit creatures. There are a few that hit everything and that exile which will catch Heliod. Basically you want to either try to cast those before you set up other permanents or as a last resort.This deck is a budget deck, its obviously not going to dominate a table of competitive decks or your standard pub-stompers. However, it should be solid in a meta that is reliant on creatures and combat. Lower power pods tend to resort to creature strategies, so thats where this fits in as a control deck. Sadly, the lack of interacting with the stack makes this deck very weak to combo or some other types of control like Superfriends. Either way, if you enjoy seeing a nice orderly clean table with no pesky permanents on it you should have some fun with this.

Upgrading this deck would be pretty standard. Take out the clunkier wraths, and add in the higher power Enchantment cards like Serra’s Sanctum, Academy Rector, Idyllic and Enlightened Tutors, Greater Auramancy and so on. Start adding the heavier stax cards and the Armagheddons.I purposely did not include land destruction as budget groups have less options to handle them so its just going to make people not enjoy the deck, but as power level goes up its one of the few ways White can really contend with the other colors through mana denial.The deck should look something like this:

Commander: Heliod, God of the Sun

-Creatures:

Myojin of Cleansing Fire

Mageta the Lion

Waking Sun's Avatar

Mesa Enchantress

Eidolon of Rhetoric

Spirit of the Labyrinth

Mentor of the Meek

Starfield Mystic

Solemn Simulacrum

Sun Titan

-Artifacts:

Nevinyrral's Disc

Endless Atlas

Mind's Eye

Skullclamp

Staff of Nin

Thaumatic Compass

Treasure Map

Sol Ring

Pearl Medallion

Mind Stone

Marble Diamond

-Enchantments:

Planar Collapse

Sigil of the Empty Throne

Sphere of Safety

Parallax Wave

Starfield of Nyx

Oblivion Ring

Banishing Light

Ghostly Prison

Aurification

Phyrexian Unlife

Solemnity

Rule of Law

Curse of Exhaustion

Overwhelming Splendor

Nevermore

Gideon's Intervention

Martyr's Bond

True Conviction

Ethereal Armor

Smothering Tithe

-Instant:

Swords to Plowshares

Generous Gift

-Sorceries:

Wrath of God

Austere Command

Day of Judgement

Rout

Fumigate

Cleansing Nova

Hour of Revelation

Akroma's Vengeance

Sublime Exhalation

Phyrexian Rebirth

Planar Cleansing

End Hostilities

Martial Coup

Descend Upon the Sinful

Hallowed Burial

Urza's Ruinous Blast

Winds of Abandon

Tragic Arrogance

Plea for Guidance

-Land:

Emeria the Sky Ruin

Myriad Landscape

Mistveil Plains

Flood Plain

Grasslands

Arch of Orazca

Cryptic Caves

Hall of Heliod's Generosity

Plains x28

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wavemaker9 · 6 years ago

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Here’s 2 things I want to touch on and make into 1 big topic re gta au:

1, if i’m pulling toni to be separate from aph too, i don’t have to give a fuck about how the relationship between portugal and spain works as countries and can give him and whatever-port’s-human-name-will-be wahtever relay I wanna give them. So maybe port as the right hand man for toni as well. I was thinking toni not having anyone who he trusted in the city but i like him having one person. Them not being blood, but met when they were young and first in the city, two newly moved kids from europe trying to get used to life in los santos, slowly starting to trust each other and work together as they eventually fell into crime together, as they dug and clawed for any coin they could get until eventually it all paid off. Toni’s ambition and charm causing him to take the lead a little more, but port always having his back and vice versa, with port even often joking (or reassuring, depending on context) that he’ll be there to take over whenever toni’s gone (when the joke first started, toni joked back to ask ‘and what do you think is gonna happen to me exactly? You think anyone in this city has a chance at killing me?’ and port ‘oh, no, no, of course not. I’m just waiting for when your head gets so big it finally crushes your body. that’ll happen way before someone kills you’). 2, i’d suggested that toni started to have a crush on cami for a while there, but once he realized, he backed out both of fear of getting attached + of putting her in danger somehow as well, and so withdrew until she stopped showing interest in him as well. Instead, i like him actually entertaining the idea of pursuing the relationship, even at the risk of backing out of the crime business to do it even if just for a little while.

like toni lowkey flatters a lot, it’s what he does. it’s not obvious, he’s not being super clear about it, but the subtlty makes it so that automatically flattering people gives you a nice small bonus to most relationships had. so it starts out like that as well, toni complimenting the shop when he comes in, the food and how delicious the last item he got was, or even when he feels like flustering her just a bit, cami herself. but after a little bit, it feels more natural. he’s not saving the things to fill space in a conversation, or to win a little favor in advance for the next time he needs it. he really does think that chalk drawing is very cute, he really did love that new batch of chocolates she made, he really does think that new dress she’s wearing brings out her eyes in the best way. and taht’s the first realization, that he actually is interested in her, even if he doesn’t pick up just yet that it’s more romantic than normal. at that point he starts to throw out a couple more flirts when they talk, he buys two tickets for something they talked about a month or so ago and plays as if someone else cancelled and she wouldn’t be interested in going to this thing would she? he’ll even make it worth while by buying her dinner as well! he starts to bring little gifts, flowers, his efforts really pick up without him even realizing. normally he’s totally fine with sleeping with a couple dif people at the same time, but finds he’s less open to other relationships when he starts to hook up more with cami. he spends time with her and his whole day, his whole view of the city feels like it brightens. he kisses her and it’s like sparks light up along his lips. he sleeps with her and finds himself much less interested in his own needs, far more focused on making sure she’s satisfied.

and all of this kind of piles into realization 2, which is that he genuinely just wants to see her happy. specifically no strings attached. this isn’t a ‘make them happy so i get something out of it down the line’ sort of thing, he just genuinely sees cami as this light in the dark of los santos, and he could stop talking to her tomorrow and he’d still want to at least know that every day she was better off than how she’d started. which is probably weird for him??? i don’t know if that’s happened at least since he was young. again, i mentioned him not really fully processing gil and francis as friends because he gets something out of their relationship business-wise and it’s kind of foolish to actually befriend your business partners. port’s the closest, but they feel more like brothers than friends, and it’d take a lot more to betray family, especially one that has helped and continues to help as much as he has. outside of her presence, cami doesn’t get much for toni that he couldn’t get elsewhere. he could find anyone to sleep with if he just cared about sex, he knows a few other good bakers and chefs in the town who could probably whip him up a batch of some tasty treat with the right amount of persuasion. she doesn’t have a lot of money, not many connections in town, and if anything he’s actually /losing/ things because of her, considering that time before where he spent money to help her with robbery repair costs + spent resources having some of the toros watch the area to keep hostile gangs away from her store. if this isn’t new for him, it’s old enough where it oughta be new, and a part of him says immediately to back out, that this is foolish, that this is how you die in this city. making connections when you’ve got a target on your back like he does. but then a part of him also points out that he could always just... get rid of the target. people want him dead for power, for money, sure, but if that wasn’t his anymore, no one’d have a reason to come after him /or/ her. it’s at least an idea he doesn’t immediately discard.

and as more time passes, he considers it more and more, until he finally brings the idea up to port, asking if port’s still planning to take over for toni after toni’s no longer running things. as always, port jokes about how yes yes when you finally die i’ll make sure the toros live on and forget you so they can look up to me, no worries, no worries, haha. toni offering what if this happened before he died though? what if it was actually a lot sooner than port thought? port laughing off the idea, asking if toni is bullshitting him, until he realizes toni /isn’t/ bullshitting him, hold on what the fuck. he’s quickly trying to question what he’s talking about, is he ill, is someone making him say that, blink once for yes, twice for no. toni laughs and waves off the pseudo-faux concern, insisting it’s just a thought, just something he’s been rolling around in his head lately. Port asking what on earth could make toni consider that, since he’s been giving everything he had to get to be where he is since they first met. toni’s ignored every religious insistence that crime is a sin not to be involved with, so what on earth could get him to consider actually stopping. toni hesitates before vaguely admitting, “There’s this woman” and port laughing hard, declaring bullshit again but once again more convinced by toni /not/ chuckling and smiling and waving it off as nothing to worry about. port asking “Did this woman threaten to kill you????” like what the fuck, and toni having to vaguely talk about how he’s been sort of head over heels lately, though not going into details on who it is. Port teases him for being lovesick, that he’d throw everything away for a romance that will fall apart in another week or two, but toni dismisses the prediction, as well as any concrete decision here. he’s still just considering, he just feels it would be better to retire if he did want to pursue anything more. besides, he can’t really complain retiring at his age. ludwig’s already running gil’s crew and he bets francis will have someone new soon enough as well. what if it’s time for the second stringers(or whatever) to have a chance at the gold. port rejects the idea of being called a second stringer, but ultimately agrees of course he’d take things over if toni wanted to retire, though he disagrees that toni should do it just for one person. finally he asks what toni’d even do if he retired from crime, with toni considering before prolly saying as a dramatic irony thing about cami, ‘y’know, i was considering taking up baking.’

and that idea stays in his head for a little while longer. if anything it grows stronger as he continues to fall for cami. i think he genuinely 100% considers a fantasy of dropping all this, moving to the north of the town where it’s a little safer, and just living his life with cami. it’s a period where he probably starts to mellow out just a little in the violence department as well. but it deosn’t last especially long, when a realization hits toni. i’m not sure how to get this through to him; i was originally suggesting some other higher up in the town being attacked, osmeone who got out of the game a year or so ago at least, but instead, i think i like cami’s shop being broken into again, the first time since that time toni offered helping with that. and this time it’s not just that they made a mess while looking for valuable shit to take. this was aggressive, this was violent for violence, this was a message. i think cami was hurt a little, with toros members in the area who moved in to attack the other gang when they made a move also suffering some injuries. as soon as toni finds out, he comes over to try and help, apologizing in a way that cami thinks is in a very ‘i’m sorry that this happened to you’ but is truly just toni taking this as his fault. and it kind of clicks that like, oh, no, he was wrong. he thought money and power would be the only major issues someone’d want to kill him, but he temporarily forgot about revenge and all that jazz.

and it takes a day or so to process everything before something snaps in toni and he just kinda realizes oh this was a mistake, i’ve made a mistake, what a fucking fool i am. i think he makes a show of force to the rival gang, but only in a way that toni feels won’t put camille in danger. he starts to pull back, eventually making up some excuse to ask that htey just be friends instead if that would be alright, though wanting very much to make it clear that he did like what they had, he did like her, it’s just not working out with him where he is right now and work’s been /so/ bussy and stress lately, she knows how it is, though. he hopes she’ll understand. when he breaks the news he won’t be retiring after all, what was he even thinking, the toros are the only home and family he needs, he says through a tone that port raises and eyebrow at. port teasingly upset at first, it was supposed to be his crew, soon, damnit): though ultimately yeah, he’s glad, wouldn’t have wanted to do this without the two of them working together. then it’s not too long after that that cami meets cian. and toni has to learn to be cool with him instead

#ignore this #i did not reread this to edit it because it's 11:45 and i'm tired #the boss kid #amusing muse musings #crossovers! unlimited crossovers!#crossovers gta edition

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chiseler · 3 years ago

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Democracy in Action: THE PHENIX CITY STORY

By all accounts, Phenix City, Alabama was a pleasant little town sitting just across the river from Columbia, Georgia. People were nice, it was a fine place to raise a family, it exemplified small town America. Then in the 1940s, perhaps smelling the untapped profit potential waiting in the nearby military base, The Syndicate moved in, opening an armload of casinos, bars, and whorehouses, as well as offering graft enough to insure the cops and community leaders would look the other way. Before long, Phenix City earned a reputation as the Sin City of the Southeast, drawing suckers and reprobates from all over the state. Sure, the cards were marked and the dice were loaded, but anyone who wanted to squawk about it was beaten until they didn’t feel like squawking anymore.

Things rolled along just fine that way until the mid-50s, when a lawyer named Albert Patterson and his son John, also a lawyer, decided it was time to clean things up. Too many people were being robbed, beaten and killed, and too many other good citizens of Phenix City were too scared to say anything. But in 1954 when Albert ran for and won the State Attorney General’s seat on a platform of rousting out the Syndicate, he was gunned down before he could take office. The assassination made national news, and while the trial was still underway in ‘55, Phil Karlson was in town with a film crew, determined to tell the whole sordid tale.

Using real people and real locations—a move that would be aped in subsequent years in films like The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery and In Cold Blood—gave Karlson’s docudrama a tangible realism and immediacy rarely seen before. The level of unflinching brutality (even breaking Hitchcock’s dictum about killing children) only drove the ugliness home a little harder. But there’s something else going on here, too, and I’m still not sure if Karlson was being cynical, being naive, or simply reflecting the disturbing mindset of the country at the time.

The film opens with a long pre-credit sequence designed to overemphasize its documentary intentions. Real-life Los Angeles TV reporter Clete Roberts (who would later go on to become a busy character actor specializing in “TV reporter” roles), stands in front of the actual courthouse where the actual trial was taking place, and announces that he came to “learn how the good people of Phenix City triumphed over evil and how democracy had finally asserted itself over a very real dictatorship.”

He then goes on to interview a string of actual Phenix City residents, many of them portrayed in the film, and many of whom seem to openly contradict what he’s just said by noting that the Syndicate was still around, still intact, and was in the process of reclaiming its old power and position.

Maybe in a move to distract viewers from that, the newsreel is followed by an opening crawl which claims the people had been under the “yoke of oppression” for almost 100 years, and that the film hoped to illustrate the power of the people united to prove that democracy works.

This, then, is followed by a bit of opening narration by John Patterson (Richard Kiley), who once again lays out the situation in Phenix City, claiming that vice had reigned supreme there for “almost fifty years.” (How long the Syndicate had been in control seems to be a point of some definite contention, though most histories trace it back about a decade before the assassination.)

Save for the small Southern town setting and the brutal violence, once the film finally gets underway the core story is fairly standard issue for the genre: an upstanding, morally-driven lawyer (in this case Patterson together with his father, played by John McIntire) goes head to head with the local mob boss even though the odds are firmly stacked against him.

Toward the end of the film following the assassination the townsfolk finally do come together. It’s not with a mind to peacefully go to the polls to illustrate the unbeatable strength of democracy by voting the gangsters and their cronies out of town. No,they form an angry mob with a mind to do some killing and burning of their own.

Although Patterson does stop them, he doesn’t stop them in order to encourage them to vote peacefully and prove democracy works, and he doesn’t stop them to offer the audience a satisfying man-to-man confrontation with the mob boss. No, he calms them down so he can call the governor and demand that the National Guard be mobilized and the town put under martial law. So instead of a brutal and steel-fisted gangster running the show, we have heavily armed government troops smashing up casinos, patrolling the streets, and imposing a curfew. Is there really much of a difference, except that the people are no longer allowed to drink, gamble, or whore under the latter? Under the Syndicate if you raised your voice and caused a ruckus about being scammed, or if you didn’t pay your debts on time, you’d be beaten or killed. In the strict new law and order town if you raised your voice or didn’t pay your debts, you’d be imprisoned, beaten, and quite possibly killed. Take your pick.

The film closes with Patterson (having assumed his father’s State Attorney General post) offering the audience an uplifting speech about the power of democracy to triumph over evil. But if you recall to the pre-credits interviews, many residents seem to believe the Syndicate hadn’t been broken, and that things would soon enough be back to the way they were. Which may say everything about democracy you really need to know.

In an interesting historical note, in 1958 the morally upstanding and kind-hearted John Patterson ran an openly racist campaign for governor, and won.

Meanwhile, nearly 20 years later Phil Karlson made another film based on actual events. Walking Tall told nearly the exact same story as Phenix City with a greatly increased level of violence. It was another big hit. by Jim Knipfel

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arnoldjaime13 · 3 years ago

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Blog Tour: WOLF MARKED by @AlexisCalder1 With An Excerpt & $10 Amazon GC #Giveaway!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the WOLF MARKED by Alexis Calder Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: WOLF MARKED (Moon Cursed #1)

Author: Alexis Calder

Pub. Date: July 29, 2021

Publisher: Alexis Calder

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 232

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle

Read For Free With A Kindle Unlimited Membership!

They tried to break me. Now I’m going to break them.

Cursed to never shift, the only thing I was looking forward to about the First Moon Ceremony was that the magic sealing me into Wolf Creek would break, and I could finally leave. Instead, the ceremony reveals my true mate: Tyler Grant, future leader of my pack and the man responsible for my most recent concussion and black eye. He’s as brutal as he is handsome and fate is a bitch to put us together. There’s a rumor that a mating bond could break my curse and just as I’m getting my hopes up, Tyler destroys them all. Instead of bonding with my mate, I’m beaten and left for dead. A hot-as-sin feral shifter finds me and helps me back on my feet. But his help comes with a cost and I’m not sure I’m willing to pay the price. With my former pack hunting me down, even an enemy might be a better ally than trying to stay alive on my own. This is book one in steamy rejected mate series. This is not a reverse harem series. 17+ for steam, language, and darker themes.

Excerpt

Chapter One

The wind rustled the paper calendar hanging on my wall and I glanced at the crossed off days. Six days left. I was so close to freedom. Pulling my jacket tighter around me, I walked over to the window and peered outside. The sky was steely gray and the clouds looked like they might bring a tornado. It was late spring and the weather this time of year was unpredictable.

Maybe I’d get lucky and it would hit my mom’s shitty trailer and I could get out of here permanently. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get out of here that easily. Whatever witch magic they’d used to seal us in pack lands seemed to also keep the worst weather away. It also prevented us from self-harm. Not that it kept anyone else from beating the shit out of me.

I supposed if I really wanted out, I could have pushed Tyler and his entourage a little more. The penalty for killing another member of the pack was death, but I had a feeling nobody would mourn me. And it wasn’t like they’d lock up the next alpha for getting rid of the broken wolf.

I closed the window. While we were unlikely to get a tornado here, we did get rain and I didn’t need the water coming in and ruining my few meager possessions.

The duffel bag sitting next to the folding table that served as my desk was already packed. It had been for three months. Waiting until the night the magic would free me from this prison. On the first full moon after my nineteenth birthday, I was supposed to shift, and with that magic, I’d gain the ability to leave the magical border around our town. I already knew I wouldn’t shift, but the magic should break, letting me finally escape from the hell that was my life.

For the rest of the pack, that barrier was our savior. It kept us hidden and protected. Away from feral wolves who hunted other shifters for sport. Away from humans who would kill us on sight. Most importantly, it kept us away from witches. At least that was what they taught us. For me, it kept me away from freedom. I’d take my chances with humans and feral shifters any day over the shit I dealt with here. Witches and magic freaked me out more, but I’d cross that bridge when I got to it.

Fucking magic. Fucking witches. They were the cause of all my pain. The reason I was trapped in a town where I was abused daily. The reason my mom spent her days on her back with whatever pills she could find to dull her pain. I didn’t even know who my dad was but I was sure he was an asshole. Just like my mom’s dad. He was the one who pissed off a witch, resulting in the curse that follows my family. No shifting for us. Practically human with a dormant wolf shifter gene. If only my mom had fled while she was pregnant with me and let us live as humans. Instead, she’d stayed here, pining over the fucker who knocked her up. He never came back and I got stuck here.

“Lola, did you grab cigarettes at the store?” Mom yelled.

“Yeah, mom. They’re on the table.” I shouldn’t indulge her habits. It was gross and it cost me a small fortune but it kept her off my case. She didn’t ask where I went or what I did as long as there were cigarettes on the table and food in the fridge. All paid for by my after school job at the pack grocery store.

It wasn’t a glamorous job, but it was helping me save something for when I finally got free of this hellhole.

I took a peek in the mirror and gingerly touched the bruises from my latest black eye. Another gift from the male who would one day be the pack alpha. If Tyler Grant had treated me with indifference, maybe I’d have stayed here. Instead, I got daily reminders that I was unwelcome. One of these days he was going to go too far and I intended to be long gone before then. Huh, how about that? I guess I didn’t have a death wish after all. My desire to survive was barely hanging on by a thread. It would be easier to roll over and give up. Thankfully, I had the reminder of my mom and what her life was like. I refused to become like her.

I considered applying some concealer to cover my injury, but it wouldn’t hide it much. The rest of my classmates would be healed by now, but since I didn’t have the wolf inside me to aid in that, I healed like a human. The purple and blue made my eyes look even more green than they were. Apparently, I had my father’s eyes. Most of the pack had brown or amber eyes. The green in mine was another thing that made me stand out. Add in the red hair and it was impossible for me to hide.

Quickly, I pulled my hair into a low ponytail to get it out of the way. I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. Six more days. That was all I had to do. Just a few more days of school, a few more days of work, a few more days of ignoring the over-acting of my mom’s moaning through the paper-thin walls of her bedroom. I shuddered. No kid should have to hear their mom engaging in that. I didn’t judge how she earned her money but I sure as hell didn’t want to listen to it.

With one last glance at my packed bag, I left my room. The thought of leaving was the only thing getting me through the motions. Chin high, I reminded myself that I was almost there. I’d made it this far. I could make it six more days.

Students mingled in the grass in front of Wolf Creek Community College when I arrived. I glared at the building, which was right next door to Wolf Creek High School. Sometime when I was a small kid, they’d expanded the school requirement to make all of us take at least one semester of college while waiting for our first full moon. Most kids who grew up here dropped out as soon as they had their first shift and settled into some mundane job in town. Few left because we all knew being a wolf without a pack was challenging. I wouldn’t ever turn into a wolf so I wasn’t worried. Being alone would be better than being here.

It was the twenty-fourth of May and there were only a couple weeks of school left before summer break. But I wouldn’t be here to finish the year. My birthday was last week, which meant the full moon in six days was my ticket out. I was so close, I could taste it.

As I neared the entry, I realized that a small group of guys was waiting by the front doors. My heart pounded and I froze. Tyler and his crew were gathered there despite the fact that most of them had already had their first full moon. Tyler was one of the few wolves who stayed enrolled in school after his first shift last month. I figured for sure he’d be out of here since his future was set. As the next alpha, it didn’t matter if he had any actual skills aside from being able to throw people around. He could do whatever he wanted and nobody would bat an eye.

Quickly, I changed direction and started walking toward the side of the building. There were other doors I could use and I wasn’t in the mood to get the shit beat out of me today. It wasn’t like I was a pushover but there was nothing fair about three dudes against one non-shifted chick.

I slipped into the side door and walked down the tile hallway. Kids I’d known my whole life glanced at me and quickly looked away. That was how it was for me. When I was younger, it hurt that I was so alone. Now, I was grateful for their indifference. Ignoring me was better than the alternative.

When I finally took my seat in my Calculus class, I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d made it in without sporting a new black eye. Six more days.

Professor Ortiz started writing on the white board and the four other people in the class were already taking notes. I had no deep love of math, but I was good at it and Tyler wasn’t. Another not as proud moment. My schedule was based on things Tyler hated. I reminded myself that it wasn’t like I’d even get the credit for the class since I’d be out before the term was over. It was pure survival at this point.

Soon enough, I was sucked into class, too focused on the numbers to worry about anything else. Okay, so maybe I liked that about math. It forced me to shut out my other worries.

I went through the motions for the next two classes, doing enough to keep the professors from noticing me and not engaging enough to draw attention to myself. It was a balancing act I’d perfected over the years. Keeping to myself and making myself nearly invisible were the only ways I’d made it this far.

The hallways were packed. There were only a hundred of us in this school, but since we all had the same lunch, it got busy when it was time for a break. I walked into the crowd, keeping my gaze down to avoid confrontation. It was especially important this close to a full moon.

Someone ran right into me, their shoulder slammed into mine, shoving me aside. I looked up, ready to find a way out, but when my eyes met Tyler’s I knew I was fucked.

“Where have you been hiding little wolf?” He stared at me with his amber eyes, a vicious smile on his lips. His fingers dug into my bicep as he held me tight. “I waited for you at the front door but you didn’t come. I thought maybe you were playing hooky.”

“What and give someone else the chance to beat the shit out of me? You know we’re exclusive.” Missing school was worse than attending. Tyler and his friends might use me as a punching bag, but the torture that came with being truant was far worse. I’d tried a few times in high school, but it wasn’t worth the pain.

He pushed me forward into the women’s bathroom. The door swung open and two girls standing by the sinks screamed.

“Out. Now.” Tyler growled.

“I don’t know why you waste your time with her,” Tenny, a tall blonde who was a few months older than me said.

Every female at school wanted Tyler. He was going to be the next alpha, after all. Even without the promise of power, his looks would buy him a lot of attention. He was over six feet of solid muscle. With wavy black hair, piercing amber eyes, and a strong masculine jaw, he was like a walking wet dream. Thankfully, his good looks were wasted on me. He’d been an awkward kid and by the time he resembled a fucking Greek God, I knew what kind of person he was.

“Ditch the loser, Ty,” Tenny said in what was probably supposed to be a seductive tone. “We haven’t had a tumble in my back seat in a while.”

“I said, out,” Tyler repeated.

“She probably doesn’t even know what you like,” Tenny whined.

“What exactly do you think he’s doing with me?” I asked. “Because I promise you if he put his dick anywhere near me, I’d bite it off.”

Tyler’s hand made contact with my face, slapping me so hard it nearly knocked me on my ass. The sting made my eyes water and I forced myself to clench my jaw and hold my breath rather than cry out. I’d learned long ago that when I reacted, it made things worse.

Tenny giggled. “Well, since she’s not meeting your needs, you know where to find me if you want a real wolf.”

“Out,” Tyler repeated.

The girls left the bathroom and I pulled free of Tyler’s grip. “What do you want, Tyler?”

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said. “My father should have kicked you and your whore of a mother out the day your grandfather crossed that witch. Better yet, he should have let you starve in the caves.”

I swallowed hard. The worst punishment in our pack was being locked in the caves on the south end of town, right near the border. Locked in without food or water with other criminals meant that wolves often went feral and fed on each other. It was gruesome and had only been used once in my lifetime, but the threat was always there. Only, this was the first time Tyler mentioned it. He’d told me I shouldn’t be here in previous encounters, but he’d never talked about the caves. Ever since his first shift, he’d been more emotional and less stable. I was grateful he wasn’t the alpha yet.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be out of here soon and you’ll never have to look at me again.” I glared at him.

Before I saw it coming, his hand was around my throat and he pushed me back, slamming me against the wall. I heard the cracking of my head as it made contact and hoped it didn’t mean I had another concussion. Pain blurred my vision and I winced despite myself.

He was faster and stronger than he was before his first shift. When we were younger, I had a chance against him. As we got older, he got stronger, feeding off the energy of his wolf. I didn’t have that advantage. It was hard to tell if the beatings had gotten worse or if he’d gotten stronger.

When we were in elementary school, he teased me but by middle school, things turned physical. In the last year, I had learned I didn’t stand a chance fighting back anymore. What I wouldn’t give for some of the strength and power that came along with a shift.

Tyler scowled at me. His expression reflecting pure hatred. I never knew what I did to make him so mad, but it had gotten worse recently. Beating me up had always seemed to be a sport, something he did with a laugh to show off to his friends.

That’s when it hit me that we were totally alone. My heart pounded faster. In all the years of dealing with Tyler, he’d always had others with him. There were always witnesses. He liked the audience and there was always someone to pull him back if he took things too far. We’d never actually been alone before. For the first time during one of our little torture sessions, I was worried. This wasn’t just a game anymore.

“Let me go,” I demanded.

“Like I said, you shouldn’t even be here, little wolf.” He squeezed harder, making me gasp for air. My vision blurred, growing darker around the edges. For a moment, I wondered if this was it. If he took me out, I would be free of this place, done with the pain. I considered it for a heartbeat. A flicker of anger urged me forward, I wasn’t ready yet.

Risking retaliation, I kicked Tyler right in the nuts. He let go, groaning, as he grabbed his manhood. I sidestepped him then bolted for the door, sucking in air as I fled. The hallway was empty. His friends nowhere in sight. Whatever Tyler had been after, he didn’t want any witnesses. If he hadn’t already had his mind set on murdering me, he probably did now. I might have just signed my own death warrant. Fuck. Surviving for the next six days was going to be harder than I thought.

About Alexis:

Alexis Calder writes sassy heroines and sexy heroes with a sprinkle of sarcasm. She lives in the Rockies and drinks far too much coffee and just the right amount of wine.

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fae-fucker · 7 years ago

Text

Zenith: Chapter 6

We get some more hints about Dex’s and Andi’s past together.

Their last meeting hadn’t exactly gone over well, what with the whole, Andi soaring away with Dex’s ship, leaving him bleeding and dying on a fire moon thing.

Who edited this?

Update: Someone finally did, it seems, because this has been updated to:

Their last moments together hadn’t exactly gone well, what with the whole “Andi soaring away with Dex’ s ship, leaving him bleeding and dying on a barren moon” thing.

So uh. Better, I guess.

As with any shitty book with a STRONK FEMAIL CHARAKTOR, we must -- MUST -- wank on about how fucking amazing and hot she is, because she can’t just be brutal and off-putting and human, she has to be HOT while she’s doing physically exhausting shit that can both get bloody and sweaty, so let’s take a look at this garbage, shall we?

Godstars, she was magnificent, a creature that deserved to release her wrath on the world. It would be worth every drop of blood about to be shed to bring her to Cyprian’s feet.

So she’s so cool that ... she deserves to murder people, just because how cool she is? And capturing her is totes worth letting people get murdered?

I would maybe understand it if she was a massive threat to all intergalactic civilization and that throwing armies at her is the smaller price to pay, but she’s just one schmuck who does petty smuggling and escort jobs. Or does Dex just want his ex back and he’s ready to let people die for it? Because these are just space cops she’s killing and he’s ready to sacrifice, they’re just dudes doing their jobs.

What the fuck am I reading.

Update: This has been changed to:

Godstars, she was magnificent; a creature who had released her wrath on the world. It would be worth every drop of blood about to be shed to be the one who finally brought her to the general’s feet.

Oh, so now she already has released her wrath on the world, regardless of whether or not she deserved to?

So Dex is happy to let other people die for him just so he can brag about capturing his ex?

I’m glad we cleared that up. What a guy.

He hadn’t seen her in years, but he’d heard the rumors. He hadn’t truly known if she truly could wield those weapons with the a glory and grace that drew blood and split bones.

Why was he even questioning this? He’s been bragging about how he’s trained her and taught her everything she knows, and now he’s wondering if she could wield her own weapons?

Is Dex an idiot?

*looks at art* Forget I asked.

Gone was the girl young woman he’d once known, that shivering thing he’d found bruised and broken in the wilderness of Adhira in the markets of Uulveca.

In her place stood the warrior he’d trained and hardened and turned into something devilishly delicious.

He Dex reached for his gun as the Bloody Baroness attacked.

Devilishly. Delicious.

Shinsay. “Bloody Baroness” isn’t intimidating, alright? It’s not scary. Please stop this nonsense.

Andi and Dex have themselves a fight. Well, Andi kills a buncha dudes (+10 points to Gryffindor, Sasha managed to do what her hero SJM couldn’t, and that’s having her killer character actually kill someone on-screen) and Dex just kinda stands around in the background thinking about how hot she is.

We get a pointless POV switch.

The world slowed, but Andi moved like a flash of light.

Uh-huh.

“Take out her crew!” Dex shouted. “I want her alive.”

“Take them out!” Dex shouted. “Save Androma for me.”

His words sent a spike of rage straight to through Andi’s heart.

Spike of rage.

A ball of white light shot past Andi’s shoulder. An enemy was blasted backward, already a corpse as he slammed into the door frame.

“Oh, that was a good shot,” Gilly said, giggling and brandishing her double-trigger gun.

Weren’t you just weeping and losing your shit four seconds ago?

I’m loving this mood dissonance.

“I want the floor stained with their blood!” Andi yelled to her crew above the chaos.

This book is sending a blade of edge into my heart, I’ll tell ya that.

Update: If any of you were wondering where this comes from, this sequence has been updated to include Breck and her BULLETPROOF SKIN. The girls hide behind her and there’s emphasis on how USELESS the bullets are, because apparently these Patrolmen not only have Stormtrooper aim, they also haven’t heard of the concept of surrounding their target or moving a little bit to the side to get an angle on it. Or maybe Breck also has the ability to expand her physical form and encase her crewmates like a living hamster ball.

Hey Shinsay. This doesn’t in any way justify your characters using swords and fists and whips in a fight. If anything, it just draws more attention to how fiking stupid it is.

If you’re wondering how the fuck Andi survives this fight without being blown to bits while using katanas against dudes with guns, here’s where I admit and brag about the fact that I totally predicted that she’d deflect or slice through bullets, which yes, she actually does that.

Andi lashed out as a Patrolman shot at her, her sword barely cutting through the bullet before it could hammer itself into her throat.

You know, you’d think that Sasha, who supposedly reads a lot, would be aware of dumb shit like this and know not to do it, but alas.

This might work in anime or video games, but try to avoid this kind of garbage nonsense when you’re writing, because it’s so dumb that it takes the reader out of the experience. Unless you’re writing a comedy, just ... if you have someone slice through bullets, please reconsider.

Usually I’m not one to tell people not to do something, especially when it comes to writing, but sometimes you just gotta take a step back and look at the sins of humanity.

Also ... and I don’t know shit about physics, but if Andi has enough strength to cut through a fired bullet and her sword withstands this process without breaking, and the bullet clearly isn’t deflected but cut through, meaning its momentum is still carrying it forward and the impact of the sword didn’t slow it down, Andi just made two fucking bullets, or one bullet with its butt cut off.

She didn’t even deflect the thing.

She should be dead.

Oh my god.

Update: She now deflects the bullets with the cuffs on her wrists that “protect” her burned skin. So that’s why they were written in! This smells very much of Wonder Woman but it’s better than SLICING BULLETS IN HALF.

Seriously, Shinsay, did you read my snark? You’ve edited out all the best bits that I’ve complained about while leaving the bland and boring garbage intact. Why didn’t you hire ME as your editor? I could’ve made this GOOD. Or at least passable. But I’d charge you more than you could afford, because I’d have to rewrite the whole book for you.

“What’ s wrong, Dex? You don’t want to come out and play with me?” Andi said, her voice a dangerous purr.

Dex chuckled, his mahogany hair falling across one brown eye as he stepped forth to meet her gaze. “You were always one for theatrics, Androma. My little bitter ballerina.”

Dex’s hair color has been changed from “midnight” to “mahogany”. What, did SJM call you and told you to tone down the Rhys if you wanted her to pretend to like your book in public?

Also, bitter ballerina? Really? Who the fuck talks like this?

“These three can live,” she said, nodding her head at the final Patrolmen. “It’s you I want a fight with, Dextro.”

Yes, his name is actually Dextro. At least the book admits it’s fucking silly.

With a crackle of her swords, she lunged forward and cut off three heads in one scissoring slice.

#edgy

Still better than Sardines tho. Andi actually DOES SHIT.

Zenith is officially better than Throne of Glass.

After a bunch of nonsense fighting that I can’t even be assed to keep track of, Andi walks into Dex’s trap. His trap is basically even more dudes with guns, except this time Andi can’t fight them, for some reason, despite doing it just now, no problem.

Plot!

Update: Breck isn’t there anymore, so I guess it makes slightly more sense this time.

Dex notices the cuffs on Andi’s wrists, just so he can give the reader some info about them, I spose:

They were unbreakable, just like her swords. But the cuffs weren’t just an accessory. They held together the burned flesh on her wrists from an accident long ago. She didn’t have the privilege of seeing a doctor at the time, so her skin had become damaged beyond repair.

Without Dex’ s gift, she wouldn’t have the full function of her wrists and forearms—likely wouldn’t have the strength to lift those swords she was so fond of.

It gave him a sick kind of pleasure to know she still had the cuffs, a reminder of his kindness to her when she was at her weakest. A part of him she could never shed from herself.

So you’re telling me that ... Not only are her wounds still open under those cuffs, but that installing those cuffs was somehow faster and less expensive than finding a doctor who could patch them up for you?

Or that they “healed,” and then, instead of paying for surgery, Dex paid for some GLASS CUFFS to slap on the wounds instead?

And that Andi, during all this time and after presumably getting some money, hasn’t had her fucked-up wrists fixed, and instead keeps these cuffs on her still-fucked wrists even as they remind her of Dex Dogtective?

The wording implies that she physically cannot remove those cuffs without reopening the wounds.

Why did she have ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS METAL PLATES ON HER CHEEKS INSTALLED, WHEN SHE HAS AN ACTUAL WOUND THAT SEEMS A BIT MORE URGENT? Wouldn’t fixing a burn be cheaper in this hyper-tech world than grafting fucking metal into your flesh?

WHY ISN’T SHE IN IMMENSE PAIN AT ALL TIMES WITH THOSE GLASS CUFFS ON HER BURN WOUNDS. HOW FUCKING BADLY WERE HER WRISTS DAMAGED IF SHE CAN STILL BREAK PEOPLE’S NECKS AND WIELD HER SWORDS NO PROBLEM?!

HOW EXACTLY ARE THOSE GLASS CUFFS ATTACHED THAT THEY SOMEHOW HOLD HER SKIN TOGETHER BUT ALSO ALLOW HER WRISTS FULL MOBILITY?!

AHFSJFHGDKFJHGDSKFJHGSDKJFHGDSKJHF

“If they move, my guards will shoot.” Dex waved a hand, and half the men angled their light rifles upwards, where toward Andi’s motionless crew stood motionless.

The blue-skinned pilot from Adhira, the giantess beside her. And that psychopathic red-headed child, glaring down at Dex with the cold calculation of a seasoned killer.

Dex just waves a hand. Not his own hand, just a random hand he found on the floor.

I just remembered that their crew is literally just four people and I’m so tired.

Dex Dogtective takes Andi to some room on the Marauder to talk to somebody.

Cold calculation flashed in [Andi’s] eyes.

Oh, just like the cold calculation in Gilly’s eyes barely half a page ago?

Who edited this?

Update: "Cold calculation” has been changed to “disgust.”

Also, this is in reaction to Dex telling Andi to sit. When she refuses, he’s super impressed.

Instead, she stood with her back up against the wall, her gray eyes roving left and right.

Dex had taught her well.

Did you teach her not to sit on command, like the opposite of a dog trick?

I would not expect anything less from Dex Dogtective.

For the first time today, despite everything Dex had thrown at her, she actually looked stricken. Shocked. Pained.

“Hello, Androma,” the man on the screen said. “I’ve been searching for you a very, very long time.”

The drama!

#book rants #eff reads: zenith

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denemebonus-site2024 · 7 years ago

Note

Tell me about your ocs

Do you mean just my MCL and Eldarya Oc’s or like??? Do you mean ALL of my oc’s? Since you didn’t specify I’m just gonna go with all of my oc’s that I still like

Fandom Based OC’s

My Candy Love: -TrinityIf you follow this blog theres a good chance you know who Trinity is. She’s my candy. She’s a Leo, lots of freckles and a spunky personality. She’s basically a self insert, back when I made her she was based around everything that I wanted to be and now, 5 years later, she’s everything that I am. Sure theres a few differences here and there but overall she’s a hard working, arrogant and narcissistic prick whos loyal and funny and loves unconditionally

Eldarya-MadelineMadeline is my Guardian from Eldarya and she’s everything that I’m not. She’s shy and quiet, hardworking, and passive. She’s the eldest in her family and cares for her two younger brothers while going to college and getting used to her roommate @mcl-mackenzie‘s guardian Victoria. When getting sent to Eldarya she panics and is distraught when she finally finds out she can’t go home, she’s a pisces and very short, her power is ice and her fae race is elemental

Homestuck -Trollsona EmileeEmilee is exactly what you think she is. She’s my self insert in homestuck, she’s a limeblood and was held prisoner by the Condescension, who abused her powers or some weird shit like that. It got a little mary sue in the end and she’s a really old oc (there she is ft. my friend Rose’s trollsona, mine is the green one, old drawing for an old oc)

-ShardeMy first ever troll oc, she was a silly blueblooded troll who was goofy and adorable and so in love with the world (Drawn by my old friend Molly on DA)

Steven Universe-AmberAmber was my first Gemsona I made in freshman year of highschool, ironically enough she came to me in a dream. She was a neat oc but she wasn’t me and as I began to change she became less and less like me so I made a new one-RubeliteRubelite was everything I wanted to be in my sophomore year, tough and unyielding and overall a fighter. But she was everything that I wanted to be not everything that I was so a year later I made a new one-Selinite My current gemsona (not that I’m really into the SU fandom anymore sadly) but I think that she’s just the cutest I rlly like her

And of course there was a bunch of fusions but when you add that to the mix it just becomes super extra and yeah. Another old drawing

DND-Fayre (she was the inspiration for Fayrelynn (my username))Fayre was my Elf character in a DnD campaign a while back, she was being corrupted by a type of virus, that would change one into a demon, she knew she couldn’t fight it and she didn’t try to so she enjoyed the rest of her time with the rest of the party and tried to help as many people as she could before she would become fully corrupted (The image below was drawn by my lovely friend Rose)

Non Fandom Related Oc’s

-The Squad-AdriannaAdrianna was born in 1200 Russia, she was soon to be married to a wealthy man, but before the wedding he tried to kill her and steal her riches (this is based off of an old Norwegian legend), because of this, mixed with her rage and grief she was changed into a werewolf (the origins of a werewolf) and was stuck being immortal. Flash forward t0 2013 she finds two girls to room with and also finds a boyfriend that she really cares for despite him being a slum (Actress Emma Roberts )

-KyleKyle is just Adrianna’s boyfriend, he’s a “rebel” and not the best guy but he cares about her very deeply even after he found about who she was. I think he’s in a gang but I’m not sure (Actor Rami Malek)

-MaribelleOne of the roomates that Adrianna found to live with, she’s a tomboy who also deeply loves fashion and aspires to be a journalist. She’s v gay (Drawn by Insolent_Devil on DA) (Actress Odette Annable )

-Elise MillerThe other roommate, she’s a photographer and very quiet, she’s been friends with Maribelle since they were little kids and she’s very dependent on her. She was hesitant to have Adrianna live with them but she adores her too (Drawn by Insolent_Devil on DA) (Actress Lauren Ambrose )

The CrewThe crew was a group of friends/people that I made with @mcl-mackenzie years ago but they all have such a special place in our hearts

-Lucy AirashiLucy was your typical emo/scene/2007/hates life wannabe and yikes looking back on it she was CRINGE but she’s improved now, she’s dating @mcl-mackenzie‘s oc Bryce. Well they’re not together rn…but they will get back together one day (Actress Ksenia Solo )

-Hope AirashiHope is Lucy’s little sister, two years younger, who is a sweet and intelligent girl, she’s hard working and soft spoken and is disliked by Meg ( @mcl-mackenzie main oc in the thing) due to jealous of Hope’s relationship with Nate ( @mcl-mackenzie oc) ( Actress Lily Collins )

-Austin AirashiLucy and Hope’s older brother by a few years, he’s in the military and a very kind and loving guy. He loves to laugh and seems to have a permanent smile on his face, when need be he’s very stern and he was stuck taking up the dad role for his little sisters making him mature for his age, he’s engaged to @mcl-mackenzie‘s oc Sam (Actor Dean Geyer )

-Tyrone /Complicated and stupid last name/Tyrone was Lucy’s other best friend (aside from Meg) in high school, he was in her grade so they hung out a lot and had a lot of classes together (whereas meg is a year or two behind), once they all graduated he ended up finally meeting Meg and falling in love with her and all of her uniqueness ( Actor Daniel Sharman )

-ShaydeA typical cat girl, she’s roomates with Nate and is really close with Meg and Bryce (she even dated Bryce for a little but that was mostly to fill a void in both of them), after realizing her love with him was unrequited in many ways she moves on only to find a lovely man Johnathon ( @mcl-mackenzie oc) who was going through similar feelings with Hope, the two of them found love and are loveable side characters ( Actress Emilia Clark )

Misc Oc’s

-Ereshkigal My Demon oc she represents a prominent “sin” that I have, she represents Vanity and just kinda haunts a representation of me or whatever. Kinda like an Ava’s Demon scenario (Drawn by insolent_devil on DA, not a super accurate representation of her but I can’t find my drawings of her sooo)

-RamoneRamone is my shapeshifter demon straight from hells door. She’s really insecure about her natural form so she shifts herself into her preferred form, which resembles a human, in a way. She’s a pretty lousy demon, her favorite things to do are just cause a whole bunch of mayhem and chaos but nothing too detrimental (pictured below is her normal form and then a dumb doodle of her preferred form)

-CharlieA breed I created myself, I mean after I made it I saw a lot of other people doing similar things so I guess it’s not that original, but I combined my two fave breeds, a cat and an owl and I named him Charlie

And those are all of my main OC’s that I use a lot/like a lotI also have another Lucy from a totally different story but that’s about it///We’re not going into my self inserts though because that’s a whole shit storm

SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS WAS OMG

#ask #anon #anonymous #long post #afm #my art

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judgeanon · 8 years ago

Text

A SHORT HISTORY OF FEMALE JUDGES IN JUDGE DREDD FROM 2001 TO 2004

As Mega-City One changed leaders at the turn of the 21st Century, so did 2000AD itself, having been bought off Egmont’s hands by independent UK video game developers Rebellion. The early days of this newfound alliance were surprisingly quiet, as Rebellion had never tried their hand at publishing before and the 2000AD editorial team needed time to rebuild and reorganize. So it will take a while for the next giant city-wrecking epic to come by.

In the strip, DeMarco’s departure for the Megazine and Anderson’s continued spinoff success combined with Judge Hershey’s promotion to Chief Judge naturally brought about a sharp increase of the latter’s appearances. But as great as it is to see a character grow into a role in real time, the position does come with a particularly insidious couple of downsides that have plagued her pretty much ever since. More on that later, but for now, let’s get started.

(Previous posts: 1979 to 1982 - 1982 to 1986 - 1986 to 1990 - 1990 to 1993 - 1993 to 1995 - 1995 to 1998 - 1998 to 2001. All stories written by John Wagner unless noted otherwise. “Cover” art by PJ Holden)

Blog favourite Staz Johnson kicks things off drawing “The Sons of Katie Didd” in progs 1248-1249 (June 2001), which features a Judge Vance assisting Dredd with an investigation. She even shows her face too, which was something a bit missing from a lot of background female judges in previous years. Immediately afterwards, we get the last story written by Garth Ennis for the prog, one that would prove divisive with readers even to this day.

Written as part of a deal to get the rights to his early “Troubled Souls” series back, “Helter Skelter” (drawn by Carlos Ezquerra and Henry Flint, progs 1250-1262, June-September ‘01) is Ennis’ unabashed love letter to all things 2000AD-related, although mostly Dredd. The story concerns a group of scientists who use interdimensional jump technology, reverse-engineered from the Dark Judges’ d-jumps, to send unmanned probes to several alternate universes. However, this catches the attention of one of those universes’ version of Murd the Oppressor, the Necromancer of Necros who’d haunted Dredd and his crew back in the “Judge Child Quest.” This Murd came from a universe where he had succeeded in feeding Dredd to his toad, and upon learning of an alternate reality where Dredd had bested him, travelled across the dimensional gulf to gather a party of many other classic Dredd villains. And together, they came up with a plan to travel back to the main dimension and kill him and take over Mega-City One all over again. It’d seem Ennis had picked up some multiversal habits from working at DC.

The only female judge in this story is, rather predictably, Chief Judge Hershey. The above panels belong to the second episode, and they do give us a nice, albeit small glimpse into her mindset one year into her first term. It’s interesting to see a bit of uncertainty from her, since right from day one she’s been shown to be fairly comfortable in her role, and Dredd quickly stamps it out by making it clear that she can’t nor should lean on him for approval, even managing to slide in a bit of double meaning with the “You’re your own judge” comment. A harsh, but effective tactic. Perhaps too effective, given what’ll happen a few years from now.

Unfortunately, sharing the same space-time for almost a tenth of a second with an alternate universe Call-Me-Kenneth puts her out of action for most of the story (not to mention leaving her in a rather undignified position), and when she comes back it’s mostly so alt-Judge Cal can have someone to monologue at. We do get a nice little bit of continuity, however, when alt-Fink Angel, whose main universe counterpart had tried to gruesomely murder him back in “The Fink”, calls dibs on her as the rogues gallery tries to decide what to do with the survivors of their initial assault. Ultimately, it’s Murd who wins the discussion, and so we get one Hell of a page:

The sole survivor of Murd’s fun and games, Hershey is nursed back to health by Dredd in a citizen’s apartment and Ennis, perhaps feeling a bit guilty over the whole ordeal, does give her a bit of respect by having Dredd tell her she was “too strong” to die. In all fairness, if there’s one guy who’d know what it takes to survive crucifixion, it’s Ol’ Stoneyface. Unfortunately this is one of those stories that end with Dredd (mostly) single-handedly beating the tar out of everyone else, so there’s not much else for Hershey to do.

She does take a more center stage in progs 1263-1266′s “On The Chief Judge’s Service” (October ‘01), gorgeously painted by Colin MacNeil. A sequel to “The Chief Judge’s Man”, it opens with Armon Gill, the Justice Killer, seeing Hershey live for the first time in a lecture and then silently murdering a citizen for spreading rumors of her sleeping her way to Chiefdom. Besides showing how much Gill’s obssession has grown, it is interesting to see an outsider’s view of Hershey. We know how citizens feel about judges in general, but opinions on particular judges besides Dredd are much more rare.

Much like in the original there’s not really a lot for Hershey to do in this story, although when Gill is captured as part of a larger plan to kill a previous Justice Killer now languishing in a cube, we do get to see her reaction to being accused of covertly masterminding the murder of dozens of innocents. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from her at this point:

On one hand, this kind of matter-of-fact coolness and honesty are perfectly in line with her character so far, not to mention being admirable qualities in and of themselves. But on the other, this is a good example of Hershey’s biggest problem as a character moving forward: there’s not really a lot of genuine depth to her. She’s certainly an excellent judge, but things like her more liberal views or her relative inexperience, even her underlying lack of desire to be Chief, are just not coming out to the surface. What we’re left with is someone who’s really good at her job, but since so many of Dredd’s stories are based on things going terribly wrong, it’s not a quality that gets showcased a lot. And without McGruder’s conflictive nature, Hershey risks falling into the same bland mold of most Chief Judges before her.

(Slight art error from MacNeil here too: Hershey is wearing the straight shoulderpads and star ornament of Chief Judge, but also her regular badge)

Prog 1271′s “Driving Desire” (December ‘01), by Cliff Robinson introduces Judge Vonne Hollister, a Wally Squad operative under the guise of a slabwalker whom Hershey promotes to the Council of Five as her way of bringing in “the true voice of the streets”. Which is certainly more in tune with how she was portrayed during her candidacy, but as far as this story goes it’s less about any actual lasting developments and more about getting a few laughs from the rather... candid Hollister jokingly trying to tempt her straight-laced colleague, Tek Judge McTighe. A point could be made about Hershey trying to bring more women into the Council, but certainly not by the story itself.

2002 kicks off with prog 1276′s “A Walk in the Park”, written by Gordon Rennie and drawn by Paul Marshall, where Dredd chaperones a group of cadets through a training exercise in one of MC-1′s last surviving parks, among them a girl by the name of Vesey who shows herself to be a bit of a softie, though she hardens up quite quickly. The very next week, we get a small Hershey sighting at the end of prog 1277′s “First Blood”, by Alan Grant and John Burns (February ‘02). Of note is that Dredd calls her by her rank instead of her name, which makes sense since Dredd is always a bit more of a robotic bastard when Grant’s writing him.

Cam Kennedy makes a double appearance in this post, first by drawing a Judge Ansey helping Dredd deal with the recurring Branch Moronians and their ill-fated hostage-taking attempts in “It’s Deja Vu All Over Again Again” (progs 1282-1283, March ‘02), and later with one of my all-time favorite comedy Dredd strips, “Block Court” (prog 1284), where Judge Burnside helps Dredd get through the soul-crushing horror of old-time due process. There’s also a Brit-Cit judge by the name of Dolman in “Escape from Atlantis” (art by Paul Marshall, progs 1285-1287, April ‘02), although sadly she’s unable to escape getting shot to death by androids.

The next mini-epic is the ten episodes long “Sin City”, drawn by Kev Walker, which ran from prog 1289 to 1299 (May-July ‘02). The eponymous Sin City is a giant floating city that tours the world, allowing visitors to enjoy all manner of illegal activities thanks to its independent sovereignty. Of course, Dredd is not a big fan of this scheme and would rather not see any of his citizens making it their vacation destination of choice, but as it turns out, his boss has other plans. And so, about two years into her first term, we finally get the first of several voice-raising, rank-pulling, table-slamming, “Why are Mommy and Daddy fighting?” rows between Dredd and Hershey:

... which turns out to be pure theater on Hershey’s part to hide the true nature of Dredd’s assignment: an undercover operative in Sin City has reported the presence of an international terrorist with a mad-on for Mega Cities called Ula Danser on the island, and then promptly vanished after trying to get more information. So Hershey wants Dredd on the island to pick up the trail and find out what’s what. This also opens the door for Judge Hollister to reappear, leading a small army of Wally Squad judges into Sin City, including one Judge Molotar who ends up impersonating Ula near the story’s end. There are two other street female judges in the story, Kaplin and Blane, but they don’t really contribute much to it besides filling up crowds (and in Kaplin and Molotar’s case, casualty lists).

Overall there’s not much to say here in regards to our main subject, but Hershey’s penchant for subterfuge and espionage is beginning to show from underneath her liberal cover. She’s clearly gotten used to lying through her teeth and hiding ulterior motives, but she still finds a place in her mind for doubt and regret when Dredd fails to stop a chemical weapon from being released inside Sin City and infecting thousands of citizens, requiring the whole island to be quarantined while the virus runs its course. So we see that Hershey’s lack of ambition doesn’t equate to a lack of standards, and she feels a strong responsibility to do better, which is not something many other chief judges have expressed. At least, not until a major crisis nearly wipes out the entire city.

Moving on, Colin MacNeil returns to paint a couple of background judges in “Blood and Duty” (1300-1301, July ‘02) and Ben Willsher makes his first appearance in these posts by drawing an unnamed med judge at the end of “Case for the Defense” (1303, August ‘02). Ian Gibson returns to draw the Gordon Rennie-written “Give Me Liberty” (1304-1305, idem), another personal favorite comedy story. In it, we get to see Hershey living up to her promise of listening more to the Council, although ultimately it’s Dredd’s suggestion that she follows. And much like McGruder way back in the day, Gibson takes the liberty to redesign the Chief Judge’s badge:

For a bit of variety, we have a vid-fone judge in “Class Project” (art by David Millgate, prog 1310, September ‘02) and an SJS judge by the name of Vickers who conducts a cavity search on a cit mostly for fun and giggles in “Waiting” (by Rennie and PJ Holden, 1312, October ‘02). Carl Critchlow brings out his new artstyle in “Out of the Undercity” (1313-1316, November ‘02) which has Dredd talking to an unnamed female judge who’s wearing a helmet but also the double shoulderpads of a Tek, or even a Chief Judge, so it’s not terribly clear who she is. Another female judge appears as part of a disciplinary council in 1317′s “Reprisal” (art by Paul Marshall, idem) which serves as a small coda to “Sin City.”

While not actually featuring her, prog 1318′s “Open Justice” (by Rennie, Mike Collins and Dylan Teague, idem) deserves an honorary mention for using the framing device of an e-mail sent to Chief Judge Hershey from a disgruntled criminal as part of a new citizen relations idea. Which, in true Justice Dept. fashion, ends up being a total lie.

(After over five years of working in different call centers, this is an intensely relatable page for me)

Having already tango’d with a Predator in the 90s, Dredd finally filled the other side of the intergalactic ugly motherdrokkers dance card in 2003′s “Judge Dredd vs Aliens: Incubus”, written by Wagner and Andy Diggle and drawn by Henry Flint. Starting on the new year’s special and running until April’s prog 1335, the story co-stars Judge Sanchez, a rookie judge fresh out of the academy who is having second doubts about the whole street judge thing, freezes under fire but ultimately manages to find the courage to fight back and help Dredd save the day and... have we been here before? Yeah, Sanchez is pretty much a recycled Castillo, with her character arc condensed into one 15 part storyline. The biggest difference is that Castillo was already a foul-up when we met her, while Sanchez is still teetering on the edge. But apart from that, they may as well be the same character, in all honesty.

The story also has a Judge Pitt who gets her fingers burnt down during the first encounter with the xenomorphs, and of course, Chief Judge Hershey also shows up, mostly just to look really cross as the aliens murder their way through the Grand Hall and to authorize the use of mothballed Mechanismo units, although it was Giant Jr.’s idea. So overall, not much else there either.

A loose end is finally tied in “The Trial of Orlok” (art by Cam Kennedy, progs 1336-1337, April ‘03), which features a Judge Wing as part of a special court that decides the final fate of Orlok the Assassin. No points for guessing what that is. Hollister and Hershey also make small one-panel appearances, although the latter is drawn with regular shoulderpads. A couple of weeks later, Judge Lucas fills a crowd in prog 1339-1341′s “Hard Day’s Night” (May ‘03), written by Robbie Morrison and drawn by Patrick Goddard and Dylan Teague. But going back to loose ends...

Armon Gill’s third and final outing, “Revenge of the Chief Judge’s Man”, appeared in progs 1342-1349 (May-July 2003) and was drawn by John Burns. It opens with a bit of a surprise return as Dredd visits the Cursed Earth penal colony where Gill is being held to meet with its warden, Judge Jura Edgar, last seen about two years ago when Hershey all but exiled there. To everyone’s surprise, including Edgar’s, Dredd asks her for help in uncovering the identity of the man behind the Chief Judge’s man. And despite being resentful of her demotion, Edgar agrees, half out of curiosity and half out of genuine surprise of Dredd’s humility.

Although brief, Edgar’s role here resembles a more hard-edged Miss Marple, sans the colorful anecdotes. With only a handful of second-hand information to rely on, she accurately produces a psychological profile of Gill’s handler and suggests a couple of possible starting points for Dredd. The narration also gives us a glimpse of Dredd’s own feelings on her, including a lingering regret that it had to come down to this. Even with all that happened there is a strength and dignity to Edgar that he can’t help but respect. But despite her and Dredd’s efforts, Gill manages to escape and sneak his way back into Mega-City One.

Back in the Grand Hall, Dredd tries unsuccessfully to convince Hershey to cut down on official engagements, and although she recognizes the risk, duty comes before security. It’s interesting that, while other Chief Judges would’ve met this threat with a bit of bravado (like the time Griffin held a council meeting on an open terrace, or McGruder herself giving speeches while snipers gunned for her head), Hershey’s reaction is comparatively fatalistic. But out-living three Chiefs while still a member of the Council of Five must really put things in perspective.

Such fatalism turns out to be 100% justified, as Armon Gill infiltrates an official visit to a tunnel project, commandeers a giant drill and even with three bullets in his chest and Dredd’s fist all over his face, still succeeds in brutally killing the Chief Judge, who dies screaming as she’s shredded to pieces by the deadly machine.

Anyway, our next stop is prog 1360, where--oh wait, hold on, turns out Dredd managed to convince Hershey to use a robot double for once. Overall, there’s not much Chief Judge in the Chief Judge’s Man trilogy. The few snippets of characterization we do get are nothing too insightful or surprising, and by revealing the real face behind Gill in the very first story, it doesn’t even entertain the possibility of Hershey actually being guilty of ordering the murder of innocents. Bit of a missed opportunity there.

“I need a vacation.”

Ok, for real now, our next stop is “See Zammy Run”, by Gordon Rennie and Iñaki Miranda (progs 1360-1361, October ’03), which features a Judge Gulacy, likely named after famed Shang-Chi and Batman artist Paul Gulacy. A week later, Ian Edginton and Steve Pugh introduce us to Judge Jules, a sector house chief with a nasty case of perps dying in lockup, in prog 1363-1364’s “Inside Job” (idem). Hershey returns for a very small cameo at the start of “Meatmonger”, by John Smith and Siku (who had already drawn one of her solo adventures in the Megazine, many winters ago) in progs 1365-1370 (November-December ’03). The first story of the new year, “Cincinnati” (art by Carl Critchlow, progs 1371-1373, January ’04) involves a blind protester assaulting and seemingly seriously wounding the Chief Judge, causing a massive manhunt across the Cursed Earth. And an unnamed female judge assists Dredd in a hostage situation in prog 1374’s “S.A.M.”, (idem) drawn by Val Semeiks and Cliff Robinson.

And then we get to 1375-1377′s “Master of Fear” (February ‘04), written by Alan Grant and drawn by John Burns, which co-stars Psi-Judge Shakta, Anderson’s friend from the Megazine. Or maybe, someone with the same name who looks absolutely nothing like her:

For argument’s sake, here’s Arthur Ranson’s original Shakta:

That... is some change. It does seem to have gone mostly unnoticed at the time, probably since people were busy shouting in the Nerve Centre about Steve Moore’s “Valkyries.” To add insult to art error, she doesn’t even get to do much, since Dredd rescues himself in the end.

Moving on, we get a couple of background cadets and a female academy attendant in “Cadets of the Blood” (Ezquerra, progs 1378-1381, March ‘04) and that leaves us comfortably at the start of the last long thrill of this post, prog 1382-1386′s “Gulag”, by Gordon Rennie and Charlie Adlard (April ‘04).

The premise is simple enough: satellite imagery reveals evidence that some Mega-City One judges, likely Apocalypse War prisoners, are being held in a secret sov gulag. A special meeting with Justice Dept’s defense division (two of which are female) is held and a full-on military incursion is dismissed as potentially too harmful to sov relationships. Dredd, who of course is in attendance, is having none of it, and we get a magnificent demonstration of his arm-twisting prowess:

Of course, Hershey is hardly the first Chief Judge to get this particular threat. All the way back in “Robot War” we had Dredd straight-up giving his badge to Goodman and “quitting” until things got hot enough for him to call himself back into action, because deep inside that leathery exterior beats the heart of a total drama queen. Luckily, this time there’s no need for such antics, as Hershey dismisses the council and has a meeting of her own with Dredd that neatly encapsulates everything good and everything bad about their relationship:

By their very positions, Dredd and Hershey see different things. Dredd is all about the small picture, the street level, tiny things that can lead to larger conflicts, and like the street judge he is, his solutions are short and to the point (and usually brutal). Hershey, meanwhile, has to look at the bigger picture. She can't afford anything else. But coming from street division and having worked with him for so long, she understands and agrees with Dredd far more often than her position should. So she gives him what he wants, but also makes sure to establish her own terms as well, which are grounded in her established penchant for subtle, covert operation (although how she expects the sovs to believe MC-1's biggest judge was not acting with the consent of their own department is anyone's guess). Together, they form a two-pronged approach to Mega-City One's affairs, with Dredd keeping an ear on the street and an eye for simple solutions, while Hershey deals with the larger problems and shadier business that Dredd refuses to engage in. And if Dredd sees something that Hershey might have missed, he knows he has a direct line to her, to the highest power in the city who is also sympathetic to his way of thinking.

But that's where the relationship begins to strain: in Dredd's abuse of that closeness, strained by his reckless attempts at arm-twisting. To Dredd, letting nebulous compromises and escalating fears taint his ability to act decisively would be tantamount to treason, and the more the ruling bodies of the department advice caution, the more likely he is to blackmail them into action. And Hershey sees through it immediately. She's not willing to entertain Dredd's antics, but finds herself in the awkward position of agreeing with them. And the more Dredd pushes and oversteps his boundaries trying to strong-arm his own boss into righteous but potentially devastating decisions, the more Hershey feels it. The prongs risk breaking. And while first seen here, this is a conflict that will reapper in various forms and even reach a climax of sorts nearly ten years later.

Going back to “Gulag”, Dredd’s team of volunteers has a fairly respectable female count: Judge Morinta is a med-judge with a taste for modifying weapons that will turn out to be highly valuable on the field, Judge Kleinman is a gruesomely scarred street judge who had already spent four years in one such gulag, and there’s a surprise return in the form of Psi-Judge Karyn making her weekly prog debut. Last seen in the pages of the Megazine, Karyn’s logic for volunteering is, quite frankly, impeccable:

With boots on the snow, Morinta quickly proves her worth by arming everyone with tranq darts to sneak into the camp undetected. Inside, the team finds an empty barrack with the badge numbers for several justice department judges scrawled on the wall, and Karyn confirms Dredd's suspicions by reading the lingering emotions of the people who were kept there. However, they are long gone, moved somewhere else, and everything turns out to be a trap set by War-Marshall Kazan's clone son, Anatoli. Things turn ballistic soon afterwards, and Morinta gets another chance to shine thanks to a special dart with a chemical that blows up spectacularly when in contact with human blood. Karyn also pulls her weight by mind-controlling a sov tank into a bit of friendly fire, and everyone's generally having a pretty good time. Except for Kleinman, who's hit with a tank shell and dies in the battle.

Just when the rest of Dredd's squad seems to be about to end up the same, Justice Dept reinforcements arrive, shoot out the sovs, extract Dredd and company and blow up the entire gulag. All that's left is for Dredd to explain himself to the council, who are worried that his actions will instigate a new apocalypse war. He assures them that the sovs won't do anything, however, since now they have evidence that they kept and still keep Mega-City One judges prisoner decades after all hostilities ceased. Of note here is that Hershey and the council didn't know this and still gave the order to rescue Dredd and his team, so someone up there must've decided that he and his team were worth more than possible nuclear warfare. And although the story doesn't explicitly say so, the most likely source of that order has to be the Chief Judge herself. Especially when, once again, she has a private meeting with Dredd to reveal the mastermind behind the ruse.

Rounding up the post we have three more small roles: an unnamed black judge harasses a hapless citizen in the hilarious “Finger of Suspicion” (Cam Kennedy, prog 1387, April ‘04). John McCrea draws another female judge in “Last Respects” (written by Gordon Rennie, prog 1389, May ‘04). And in his first appearance on this retrospective, D’Israeli draws another black judge called Lola in the Ian Edginton-written “Tempus Fugitive” (prog 1390, idem). By some coincidence, both the first and the last of this trio have pretty stocky bodytypes, but it’s always nice to get some variety instead of swapped heads on the same body. As for wether said variety will be maintained, we’ll just have to wait and see.

On our next episode: Chief Judge Hershey’s first real crisis goes thermonuclear! And that's just the start of her problems...

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mycasandstarrs · 6 years ago

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SPN 8x05: “Blood Brother”

THEN: Sam retired because he met Amelia and had a normal life with her. Dean went to Purgatory and befriended a vampire. Cas was also in Purgatory. Kevin, Prophet of the Lord. Kevin and his mother ran away and are in hiding.

Eagle Harbor, Washington.

Benny’s getting revenge at anyone involved with his original death.

OOOHHH BENJAMIN.

RIP Quentin. Killed by Benny.

Stood up by Kevin...again.

“When's that little idiot gonna stop running from us?”

“I don't know, Dean. I mean, you did try to kill his mother.”

“I was trying to kill Crowley, okay? Who happened to be wearing Kevin's mother at the time. Well, there's a difference.”

Still doesn’t make it okay, Dean.

“Hello? Uh, hang on. There's not enough bars.” Subtle.

RIP numerous vamps. Killed by Benny.

“And – and what exactly is that supposed to mean, you've got to go?”

“Which words are giving you trouble?”

“You mind if I take the Toblerone?” Always gotta sneak in humor.

“Last I counted, you took a year off from the job. I need a day.” Good fucking point.

Benny and Dean hunting together in Purgatory as Benny whistles. I love that moment.

“Not stalking... concerned.” Stalking.

God no, please no Amelia in this flashback.

“Yeah, you really messed up that dog.” IT WAS AN ACCIDENT.

Resourceful Sam.

I do like how pleased Sam is with himself when he fixes the fan in their current hotel room.

Benny ain’t looking good.

“Benny? Not lookin' good.”

“Up yours.”

He still has his humor!

Benny cleans up good!

“Benny. What's going on?”

“You and that whole ‘friend’ thing, man.”

Cas!

“Well, I got to admit, Dean – he's got his strong points, but holy hell if he ain't a magnet.”

“Well, before we found Cas, you said it was my humanity that was drawing too much attention.”

“Yeah, that too.”

pfft.

“If you murder a monster in monster heaven, where does it go?” hahaha, I assume it just pops up somewhere else in Purgatory.

“And this is the crazy aunt I want to take on the road?”

“I am not your aunt.”

“What? Really?”

“I have no possible relationship to your sibling offspring.”

“Now, you’re kidding me.”

I love Benny and Cas’ bickering. it’s hilarious.

“the angel” “the vampire” They don’t even address each other by name.

“This dimension wants to spit you out, which is exactly what's gonna power our escape pod. Now, I'm pretty sure I can squeeze through, too, because, after all, you take away the fangs and the fun, I was born human, too.” Goddamn, I love Benny.

Cas trying to get off this ride early before it’s too late and too painful.

Dean insists on taking Cas.

Benny’s hunting his maker...who is also his murderer.

Another flashback.

Lady in 118. Amelia.

“I knew there was something off about you, with your creepy Army-Navy and your sideburns –” SHUT THE FUCK UP.

“Sea You Later” is a FANTASTIC yacht name.

“Boarded, burned, and buried at sea. My nest – that's how we fed... How we always fed. We kept a tight little fleet, maybe a half-dozen boats. Nothing ostentatious, just pleasure craft. I must have circled the Americas ten times during my tour. A few of us would act as stringers and patrol the harbors, looking for the right-size target – fat, rich yachts going to far-off ports. Take down the boat's name and destination, radio it to the crew in the water. And then we just, uh... let the ocean swallow up all our sins.”

That’s quite the strategy.

“Vampire pirates. That’s what you guys are? Vampirates.”

“You know, all the years we ran together, I can't believe nobody ever thought of that.”

“What do you mean? It's like the third thing you say.”

“No, it isn’t.”

The cutest banter.

“When you get turned, it's like you're reborn into a vampire nest. Your maker – he means everything to you. I mean, you really start believing he's God. Now, if your maker happens to believe the same thing, well...” The god complex.

Andrea Kormos.

“My life changed when she entered it, Dean. Everything I had been or done up to that point just... seemed to vanish... into what we had become together.“ That’s the sweetest damn thing.

They killed Benny because he left them for Andrea, and then “killed” her. I’d want revenge too.

Dean’s almost sent text: “Hunting vamps - nest on Prentiss Island...not alone”

He should’ve sent it.

“It's weird being back – in the world, I mean.”

“Sure as hell is.”

“I mean, what do you do with it all? All the – all the everything? Hell, I don't even know if this world is real, if I'm real.”

Huh, Benny is reminding me of Mary. Resurrected, but not used to the current world.

A new photo of Andrea. Benny knew.

Damn it, Benny. You got too distracted.

Sorento.

Should’ve sent that text Dean. Maybe Sam wouldn’t be calling.

Flashback.

“So that’s what you do? You stalk helpless women and you break into their motel room...and you fix their plumbing? Why are you fixing my sink?” This is only our third episode with Amelia, and I’m done with her already.

Why did she stuff limes down the sink??? Is there no trash can?

“Why am I explaining myself to you? You're a drifter or a handyman.” Judgmental much?

Can I punch her?

Dean finally answers Sam.

“It's kind of hard to explain right, but I'm sort of in the middle of cleaning out a vampire's nest, and it's sort of gone a little sideways on me.”

“WHAT?!”

JEEZ.

I’m so sick of this “all your friends are dead” crap.

“It's been a long time. Our father has come to trust my judgment over Sorento's. I answer only to him.”

“Well, sleeping with God has got to have some perks.”

BURN.

All that just to get them alone.

Andrea handing over a weapon and the keys to the handcuff.

Sam’s loud ass talking was perfect bait.

RIP vamp. Killed by Dean.

Another phone bites the dust.

“I know it won't change anything, but I regretted having you killed. When it was all done, I wailed when I saw you in all those pieces. Didn't I, Sorento? Didn't I wail like the ugliest baby in the world?” I somehow doubt that.

“If that's all I could salvage from my wayward son – the woman he defied his maker for – I wanted someone to remember you by.” haha, Benny’s a wayward son.

RIP more vamps. Killed by Dean.

Purgatory flashbacks.

You know what? I’m surprised Dean never brought up the fact that he was a vampire for a night. That would’ve been an interesting conversation between him and Benny.

“Look, all I'm saying is I started seeing something in humanity, okay? Something that shouldn't be taken. I drink blood. I don't drink people.” Benny liked humanity.

Leviathan are coming.

Sam casually stealing a car.

“the angry lady” that’s putting it nicely.

“I have to say – um... I've seen a lot of stitches in my time, and you've got really good hands.” That is a rather weird thing to say someone.

“I think it's creepy you buy all your clothing at army surplus. White supremacists do that....Drifting serial killers do that.”

Good points.

“You come from nowhere, you appear to be going nowhere, and you've, quote, ‘seen a lot of stitches.’ It's all pretty solid creepy.” Fair-ish points, but she’s also from nowhere and going nowhere.

“You have no idea where you're going, either, do you?....And that's because you have no one. I mean, at all, right? I mean, that's why you're... here, in this place.”

Sam reads her pretty well.

A very anxious Sam. I get it: he’s afraid something happened to Dean, and that he’s gonna have to start all over without him.

OH THE FIGHT MOVES ON BENNY.

RIP Sorento. Killed by Benny.

“I am evil, after all. At least I've had that much to keep me cold at night.” Nice line.

RIP Benny’s maker. Killed by Benny.

“We have everything we need right here. The operation is still perfect. We can ride the high seas, plunder together. We can have the life we always wanted.”

Andrea’s been corrupted. :( She’s gotta go.

“What I wanted was to leave a burning crater behind. I wanted to put your memory to rest.”

“But I'm not a memory. Benny, I'm right here.”

Not anymore.

“You think you're better than me now?” Andrea’s last words.

“No. I think we’re all damned.”

RIP Andrea. Killed by Dean.

Poor Benny.

“Why’d you do it Dean?”

“Do what?”

“Resurrect me?”

And then we launch into the flashback where BENNY SAVES CAS’ LIFE.

That has to be Sam’s biggest bitch face.

I always wondered why it was only by the touch of Benny’s hand that Sam knew something was up...and now i realize it’s because as a vampire, Benny must be stone cold.

That slow mo, silent exchange between Sam and Dean.

Oh no, THAT’S Sam’s biggest bitch face.

#supernatural #spn summer rewatch #spn liveblog #spn 8x05 #blood brother

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