#and also a reminder of how he failed as an older brother... ouch

[cherrirui-official]

"You know... You didn't have to take that with you."

"But I promised him I'd take him out to see the ocean one day."

[shirtlesssammy]

5x21: Two Minutes to Midnight

Then:

The End is Nigh

Now:

Davenport, Iowa

We begin this episode with Pestilence paying an ailing woman a visit. He’s riddled her with more diseases than she can handle. What an experiment!

One Day Earlier

At Bobby’s, Sam’s getting an earful from Dean about his plan to say yes to Lucifer. Dean gets a call from Cas. Dean wants to know where he is --they all thought he was dead. He’s in a hospital. He’s not one for conversation at the moment, but does tell Dean that he just woke up in the hospital. Dean tells him their next step: get Pestilence. 

For Hospital Bed Science:

Cas groans in pain and tells Dean he can’t fly anywhere. He’s thirsty, and his head aches, and he has a bug bite, and he’s all so very... Dean finishes his thought with, “human”. Cas needs money for pain meds and travel expenses. 

Also, he stops Dean from hanging up and says that he owes him an apology. “You are not the burnt and broken shell of a man that I believed you to be,” he confesses. Dean’s awkward about such a solemn apology. I’m soft about how soft this moment is. 

The brothers head out to scope out the convalescent home where Pestilence chills. They knock out the security guard to watch video footage of the place. 

Eventually Sam notices the camera flickering with one person. They head out to find him. 

As Pestilence is taking care of Cold Open Celeste, a demon comes in to warn him about the Winchesters. He’s upset over what they did to his brothers, and wants revenge. The demon reminds him he’s not supposed to hurt “the vessels”. He doesn’t care and starts hurting everyone in the building. 

Sam and Dean start coughing, and struggle to keep walking. They both collapse outside Pestilence’s door. They’re now riddled with disease, just like Celeste. While the boys struggle on the ground, Pestilence gets to monologue a bit about the frailty of humans. 

Enter one VERY human-like angel. Yeah, poor Cas is just as affected as the Winchesters. Pestilence laughs, “There's not a speck of angel in you, is there?” Cas then lunges at him, and cuts his ring finger right off. “Maybe just a speck.” Oh Cas, you badass. Never change. 

The demon attacks, and he knifes her. Pestilence disappears, but not before ominously stating, “It’s too late.” 

And now they have three rings. 

At Bobby’s, Dean asks for some good news. Bobby tells them that Chicago is about to get hit with the storm of the millennium. Three million people are going to die. 

GOOD NEWS, Bobby! Or as Cas deadpans, “I don’t understand your definition of ‘good news’.” 

Bobby points out that Death will be there. They still need his ring. 

Sam wonders how Bobby knows all this. Enter Crowley. 

Bobby admits to selling his soul to Crowley. Dean demands that Crowley give it back. Sam wonders if Bobby had to kiss him. Bobby denies it --but Crowley’s got proof. Of course. 

Crowley won’t give back Bobby’s soul as insurance that the Winchesters won’t kill him. I mean, I kind of have to side with Crowley here. He’s being REALLY generous even considering giving back Bobby’s soul. Bobby sold it fair and square. He’s getting information from Crowley in return. 

Later, by the Impala, Dean and Sam talk. Sam admits that he has his doubts about his plan as much as the rest of them. “You, Bobby, Cas...I'm the least of any of you.” Like, OUCH, Samuel. We deep dive into Dean’s self-worth issues on the regular, but let’s just pause and reflect on the younger sibling right now. 

Sam’s all they got though, so they have to try. 

Crowley interrupts the broment with news about the world. It seems that Pestilence was spreading Swine Flu, and Sam’s old buddy Brady’s company was cranking out the vaccine --only it was full of Croatoan virus not a cure. If this vaccine is distributed nationwide, it’ll all be over.

Cas and Bobby pack up the van. Cas is...moody. He mourns the loss of his angelic might. The only thing he has available to him now...is a shotgun. (Starts humming) Bobby tells him to quit whining and load the truck. 

The teams finish packing for their respective hunts. Sam waxes nostalgically about the simpler days of hunting monsters. Dean doesn’t think it was ever simple. Crowley interrupts and presents Dean with Death’s own scythe (in travel-sized form). 

Crowley urges Bobby to stand up and get ready to fight. He reveals that he inserted a little healing clause into Bobby’s soul deal that healed Bobby’s paralysis. Bobby stands up triumphantly. 

Later, Sam, Bobby, and Cas drive towards the Croatoan virus operation. Cas reflects on Sam’s idea to toss himself into the pit along with Lucifer. He thinks it’s a solid plan. 

Cas passes along some new intel about the archangel prize fight: Michael has taken Adam as a vessel. He warns Sam that failing to control Lucifer means that the apocalypse will happen, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Oh, and “there’s also the demon blood…” Sam will have to drink gallons of blood in order to be strong enough to contain Lucifer. BLEGH.

The next morning, they lurk at the distribution facility. A truck tries to leave and Cas takes out the driver and jams the gate controls. Sam and Bobby head into the warehouse, only to find that the demons have already infected some of the workers with Croatoan. Sam races off into the warehouse to save (uninfected) civilians. 

Dean and Crowley enjoy their first date, tracking Death to a little warehouse.

There’s a lovely clip where Crowley mentions that the area is swarming with reapers, and we get a reveal…

Crowley zaps into the warehouse, discovers that Death isn’t there, then meets Dean outside again. He suggests hightailing it out of Chicago and waiting for the next doomed city in order to find Death. That’s not good enough, though. Dean wants to find a way to save people, even if they can’t track down the Horseman. While Dean despairs, Crowley peers into a little pizza place and then heads back to Dean. He found Death! With his work done and not even a high five to show for it, Crowley zaps out of there.

Back at the warehouse, Sam’s finishes evacuating the uninfected civilians. Just as they think they’re home free, Sam gets attacked and Bobby’s gun jams. Enter Castiel, who shoots Sam’s attacker and says, “Actually these things can be useful.” 

For Angel with a Shotgun Science:

Dean creeps through the pizza parlor, which is full of dead patrons and waitstaff. Death’s scythe heats up in his hand and, agonized by the red hot handle, Dean drops it. The next thing he knows, his Death super-weapon is safely by Death’s side. 

Death sits at a table savoring a piece of pizza, and invites Dean to join him.

Dean wants to know if he’s about to die, but Death informs him that he has other plans for him. Death quietly reminds Dean that he’s as old and vast as the universe. No biggie though. Dean’s a bacterium, practically, but it’s fine. Death serves Dean a slice of pizza and I desperately long for some good Chicago deep dish. 

Death says that he’s as old as God, and maybe older. “At the end, I’ll reap him too.” (And while I appreciate that they didn’t kill Chuck in the traditional stabby manner, I’ll always mourn that we didn’t get to see this line fulfilled in one of the finale’s endless montage sequences, and that Billie didn’t survive to do the job.) (Boris, huddled in the corner: Death didn’t reap Chuck because he won, and the story isn’t over yet...)

Anyway, Dean’s appropriately awed by Death’s power. “This is way above my pay grade,” Dean mutters. Death reveals that he’s been waiting for Dean to catch up to him - Lucifer’s spell has prevented him from directly seeking out the Winchesters. “I’m more powerful than you can process, and I’m enslaved to a bratty child having a tantrum,” Death spits. Preach! Death proposes depowering Lucifer’s Death weapon. He’ll hand Dean his ring willingly.

“What about Chicago?” Dean asks, ever the hunter.

Oh, Chicago can survive. Death likes the pizza. He hands Dean his ring and tells him that he has to do whatever it takes to trap Lucifer. “You’re going to let your brother jump right into that fiery pit. Now, do I have your word?” Dean takes the ring as Death issues one final warning. “You know you can’t cheat Death.”

Back at Bobby’s, Dean looks at the rings. They’ve got all four of them and together, they form into a magic little bundle of rings. Bobby finds Dean for a little heart to heart. 

Dean reveals that he lied to Death - he’s not okay with Sam tossing himself into the pit. However, Bobby thinks that Death may be right about Sam’s plan being their best option. Bobby watched Sam save all the civilians in the factory before they blew it up, and he thinks that Sam can handle it. “Sam will beat the Devil, or die trying. That’s the best we could ask for. What exactly are you afraid of? Losing? Or losing your brother?”

O, Quotes:

I don't understand your definition of good news

We'll catch Death in the next doomed city

Think how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you

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[feirceangel]

Imagine | Lost Brother (Dwayne)

Imagine reuniting with your brother twenty years after he ran away from home

Word Count: 1077

~

What drew you to this strange city?

Was it the odd atmosphere? The fact that all sorts of outcasts come here to escape their past lives?

Or was it something else?

You don't really know why you came here of all places but you don't question it any further as you haul boxes into your new apartment.

Santa Carla is your home now.

That's all that matters.

Setting the box down, you look around the small space and smile. Ever since your mom passed, you didn't have a reason to smile it off moving. And now you've finally done it.

You unpack for most of the night before passing out around four or five in the morning. Good thing you don't have work or anything important to do tomorrow.

By the time you reawaken, it's afternoon. You finish unpacking and decide to go exploring your new neighbourhood.

Of course, you have to go to the boardwalk, but you decide to go there last, deeming it more appropriate to go at night to get a better grasp of the nightlife here in Santa Carla.

As you walk, your eye catches sight of a bunch of missing posters. They remind you of your brother who ran away from home when you were only five years old.

You can't blame him for running, especially after you discovered the whole truth behind his sudden departure.

It turns out, your father was abusive and one day, Dwayne finally had enough of him. So, he dealt with your father before running off to escape the police.

Your mom never really talked much about the incident and you get it. You don't like talking about it either.

Sometimes, if you try real hard, you can picture what he looked like and remember the times you spent with him.

He was a great older brother and you wish he could have stuck around.

Turning away from the posters, you make your way towards the beach to watch the sunset. Your feet dig into the soft sand as you walk in the direction of the boardwalk.

Faintly, you can hear a concert going on - some form of rock band playing to their hearts content.

The music enthralls you, drawing you towards the crowd as a smile grows on your lips. This is what you've always wanted - a carefree existence without worries or priorities.

You sway to the music for awhile before wandering away. Your feet lead you to the shops and you glance over all of the merchandise as you hum along to the tune playing in the background. 

A shadow flickers in the corner of your eye, alerting you to the close proximately of two strangers. Grins adorn their gorgeous faces, their eyes alight with mischief. 

Disconcerted, you walk a bit faster, irked when they keep pace with you before cutting in front of you. 

You stop and cross your arms, "Can I help you?"

"Nope," the one with a mesh shirt and long blond hair says, popping the 'p'. 

The one beside him smirks - truly a dazzling sight to behold - as he looks you over. His distinguishing feature is his wildly curly blond hair. 

"Okay," you push between them, continuing on your path. 

"Hey, wait up!"

Of course they follow you.

You keep walking even as they try to strike a conversation.

"Where you going?"

You don't answer. 

You're not trying to be rude, you just don't talk much and you also believe in the saying 'stranger danger'. 

"What's your name?"

Sighing, you stop in your tracks and face the persistent boys, "Look, I don't know you-"

"That's what we're trying to fix," Mesh Shirt exclaims with a grin.

Dang, he's got a point. If I never talk to strangers, then I'll never make friends.

You scowl at the thought. 

They realize you've given up your escape, restarting their questions.

"So, what's your name?"

"Y/n."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Paul and that's Marko."

You nod your head.

"You new here?"

Another nod.

"You sure don't talk much do ya?"

Another scowl.

"Hey, it's alright. One of our friends doesn't talk much either."

"Why bother when all you two do is yap," you comment with a small smile.

They gasp in mock offense, turning to each other. 

"Marko, can you believe how she wounds us?"

"She's not wrong though," a new voice says, revealing a platinum blond with a mullet. "You two never shut up." 

He tosses a finished cig on the ground as Paul laughs and shakes his head.

"Ouch."

You cross your arms again, uncertain now that they outnumber you three to one. What have you gotten yourself into?

"David, this is Y/n," Paul introduces, seemingly picking up on your discomfort. "She's new to town."

"Hi," is his flippant response.

The fact that he's not really paying much attention to you is oddly comforting. Marko strikes another conversation, with you giving short answers to his varying questions.

With night thickening around you, you've actually started to enjoy yourself around these strange men. So much so that you've failed to realize that they've drawn you away from the crowds.

They lead you off to the beach until no one is in sight.

"Should we wait for Dwayne?"  Marko asks his brothers through their mind link.

"No, he should be here any minute."

Sensing danger, you turn to face the men, now understanding your dire mistake. 

As they approach, snickering at your panicked expression, someone new joins them. 

Your eyes meet his and you feel like you know him from somewhere. Dark eyes, long dark hair, a jacket with a leopard on its sleeve - you wrack your brain trying to remember where you know him from.

Meanwhile, he knows who you are instantly. Call it brotherly instinct or vampiric senses or whatever you want, but he knows you are his sister. 

The sister he thought he'd never see again.

Marko lunges for you as you shy away, but a rough hand on his shoulder stops him.

"Wait, don't hurt her!"

The others stare at him in confusion.

"She's my sister."

At that bombshell, everyone seems stunned into silence.

"Dwayne?" You finally say, tears welling up in your eyes, "Is it really you?"

He nods, unusually emotional as his throat closes, drowning any words he would have said. How many times has he thought about this moment? Dreamed of seeing his family again?

How many times have you thought of this? Wished for this?

You hesitate for a second before dashing into his arms, embracing him with tears falling down your cheeks.

David shares a look with the others at this unexpected turn of events.

Clearly they won't be eating Y/n anytime soon.

[trufflerabbit13]

A Dove’s Ripped Wings: Chapter 2| Scars

prologue / 1 / 2 /

Word Count: 6.3 k

A/N: Cross posted between wattpad and AO3.

🏐🏐THIRD PERSON P.O.V.🏐🏐

"Ibato-san!"

Chiaki looked up from organizing her textbook in surprise as a voice called to. Her soft gaze lands on one of her female classmates who stands near the door.

"The second year senpai from yesterday is here for you again!"

Chiaki's face visibly brightens as she grabs her crutches and lunchbox, making her way to the door. The teen can't help but flash Daichi a smile, ignoring the curious gazes she received from her fellow classmates.

"Hi, here let me help you," Daichi returned her smile with a boyish grin, taking her lunchbox out of her hand to make it easier for her to walk with her crutches.

It doesn't take long for the two to go to their usual place at the back of the school garden, spreading out their lunch. The unlikely friendship between Daichi and Chiaki had bloomed over the last two weeks. The two spent their morning and lunch together, enjoying the others company with mundane conversations. Although Chiaki does admit, Daichi did most of the talking, she only added in some of her thoughts when she deemed it worthy.

Chiaki liked Daichi's presence. He was a gentle male, watching and listening to her silently whenever she did speak. It didn't take her long to realize Daichi reminded her of her eldest brother, Minato a bit. There was something extremely warm and calming about him, and Chiaki subconsciously gravitated towards him. When beside him, she felt at ease, just as she would with family.

And Daichi was respectful. Chiaki sometimes almost wondered if he had some kind of radar in his head that warned him of conversations that could potentially make her uncomfortable. He would skillfully and smoothly change the topic whenever he did realize that she didn't want to talk about it, much to her relief.

Daichi never bought up her past. And Chiaki greatly appreciated it. However, she also noticed that volleyball was a significant part of his school life.

While he did try to avoid the topic of the volleyball with her, it was a bit hard when his life basically revolved around the sport. His closest friends at school were his teammates. He was in the gym practicing or hanging out with his teammates if he wasn't in lectures.

Chiaki couldn't blame him. Instead, she decided she liked it when Daichi spoke about volleyball. A lot of times, the dark-haired male would reveal his struggle with his skills and techniques. In response, Chiaki would gently give him some advice, which he intently listened to, sometimes even noting them down.

One thing that did trouble Chiaki was that Daichi always invites her to visit volleyball practice after school. At this point, she almost felt bad politely declining the invitations because he did it so diligently every single day they had lunch together. Luckily, at the current moment, she had the excuse of having her physical therapy session with her mother after school. While there was no harm in pushing the meeting an hour back, Daichi doesn't have to know that.

And Chiaki was also quick to find out the fastest way for the older boy to drop the specific topic. As long as she says one of her older brothers were picking her up, Daichi would promptly shut up, looking a few shades paler, a shiver running down his back.

While Chiaki did feel a bit bad, it seemed that the twins did their damage when she had failed to stop them from rushing to the door when Daichi picked her up one morning a bit earlier than usual. From what she knows, Taiga and Kouga had given the poor boy a earful of warnings that made Daichi more cautious around her, much to Chiaki's dismay.

"You have chemistry after lunch, right? I don't know how you do it. If it was me, with a full stomach and a hard topic, I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes open," Daichi grimaced as he walked beside the teen, matching his walking speed with her.

Chiaki couldn't help but release a small giggle at the face of disgust he made. "I like chemistry, it's not too bad."

At her comment, Daichi's face twisted to horror, looking a bit betrayed and disgusted. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he could, he gets cut off by a hand slamming into his back, a small spluttered choke leaving his mouth.

Chiaki blinks, her lips parting in surprise as her friend gets attacked by a boy with silver hair a few shades darker than her own.

"Daichi, you sly dog! This is where you've been disappearing off to during lunch! Eating with a girl!" The boy exclaims as he continues to slam Daichi's back, the said male wincing at each smack.

"S-Suga! Ouch! Cut it out!" Daichi winces, successfully dodging the last smack before sending Chiaki an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Aki-chan. This is—"

Once again, Daichi is cut off by a body smacking into his side, a head slamming into his right ribs, a pained groan leaving his mouth as he doubles over. "Daichi-san! How could you! Going off to eat with a cute girl, leaving us!" A short male with the small part of his bangs bleached to a dirty blond cries out.

"Yeah, Daichi-San! This is the utmost betrayal you could do!" A tall male with a shaved head joined in, grabbing onto Daichi and shaking him.

Chiaki watched everything unfold in silence. What in the world... Her gaze moved to another male who stood back, looking lost, not knowing what to do with the chaos of Daichi getting bombarded by three people. The man was tall and broad, with his dark hair tied in a bun at the back of his head. He looked tough. However, Chiaki had a feeling he wasn't really that seeing as he looked bewildered, being at a loss what to do. Their eyes briefly meet, and Chiaki was able to detect hesitance and unease in his gaze before he worried turned his attention back to his friends.

But it seems like neither Chiaki nor the man has to do anything as Daichi stopped everyone with an angry, "hey!"

All three males that flocked around him froze, a look of nervousness appearing in their eyes as a disheveled Daichi glared at them. Before the dark-haired male opens his mouth to begin scolding them, they squeak out a quick, "sorry!" shuffling back, placing a reasonable distance away from the annoyed male.

Daichi pinched the bridge of his nose, briefly closing his eyes. The tall man with the tied hair stepped forward, eyeing Daichi with concern, "you okay there, Daichi?" He asked, checking up at the male who looked suddenly exhausted.

Daichi waved him off with a hand before reopening his eyes, looking at Chiaki with a frown. His gaze softened on her, a penitent look on his face for a brief moment.

"Sorry about that, Aki-chan," Daichi is quick to apologize, sending a stink eye at his friends. "My uh, friends can get a bit rowdy, but I swear they're not bad people."

Chiaki can't help the small smile that makes it onto her face as Daichi defends his friends. "It's okay, Daichi-senpai, these must be your teammates you talked about," she assures, glancing at the males that crowd around her.

Hearing the silver-haired girl's words, the boys all perked up, their eyes shining brightly as they looked at Daichi before moving their gaze back at her.

The grey-haired boy blinked in awe while the two other boys beside him froze, staring at Chiaki with their mouth parted in wonder. "Wow! Now getting a closer look at her, she is really pretty!" He comments, a wide grin spreading across his face.

At his words, Daichi narrows his eyes to his friend in warning before deciding to introduce her to them. "This is Ibato Chiaki-chan, a first-year, in class five. Aki-chan, the guy with grey hair, is Sugawara Koushi, and the big guy who looks terrified behind him is Azumane Asahi. They're both second years with me."

Chiaki nods in understanding, quickly observing the two males and inputting their name and appearance into her mind. After a moment, she looked at Sugawara with a small smile spreading on her face. This makes the said male blush, not knowing how to exactly react.

"We match."

Sugawara's mouth parted in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing. Chiaki was able to read his reaction, a small giggle escaping her lips. Balancing herself on her crutches, she pointed to the little beauty mark under her right eye. This makes Sugawara raise his own hand to touch his own beauty mark under his left eye.

"Also, our hair."

Realizing what Chiaki was pointing out, Sugawara's cheeks flushed for unknown reasons, becoming flustered. He looked away from Chiaki, his hand coming up to cover his lower face, refusing to meet her eyes.

Daichi coughed once, bringing attention to himself as he pointed his thumb back at the two other males who were uncharacteristically being quiet. "Aki-chan, those two, Tanaka and Nishinoya are also first-years, so they're the same age as you."

Chiaki follows her friend's gaze to see him eyeing the two frozen teens. From her past conversation with Daichi, she was quick to decide that the smaller male was Nishinoya seeing as he had mentioned him being the libero a handful of times. Which left the male with a buzz cut to be Tanaka.

"Wait, Daichi. You said her name was Ibato Chiaki, right...?" Asahi questioned hesitantly. With his words, Sugawara, who was flustered just a moment ago, reacts, a look of surprise and recognition flashing in his grey eyes.

This makes Chiaki nearly flinch, quickly realizing that the two second years probably figured out who she was. Their reaction makes her want to curl her body in, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Thankfully, it seems like her fellow first years are clueless, still blatantly staring at her in awe.

"Hey, Noya-San, don't you think if Kiyoko-san is a cold beauty, Chiaki-san is a warm beauty?" Tanaka whispered quietly to Nishinoya, who stared at Chiaki. The said male nodded with the agreement without moving his gaze that shined with wonder.

"You're the rumored beauty that finally showed up after summer break!" Nishinoya gasps in realization as he points his finger at the female who nearly flinched at the loudness of his voice.

Daichi moved to scold the short male. However, he stops as he notices Chiaki and Nishinoya stare at each other, a puzzled look appearing in their gaze as they simultaneously tilt their heads like a confused puppy.

After a moment, Chiaki nods to herself, realizing why she had recognized the male in front of her. "Oh. You're the one who got the best libero award last year," she offhandedly comments, making Nishinoya beam at her.

"And you're the captain of the girls' team who won in first place last year. Didn't 'cha also get the best server award too? Almost didn't recognize you with your hair dyed," Nishinoya comments brightly, seeming to be proud that he was able to remember who she was. However, a look of confusion appeared on his face as he rubbed at his chin. "But what are you doing here in Karasuno? I had expected someone at your level would go to some prestigious school like Shiratorizawa."

His words make Chiaki freeze, her body growing rigid. This doesn't get unnoticed by the second-years, Sugawara's hand shooting out to smack the back of Nishinoya's head quickly.

Chiaki forces herself to give the boys a weak smile. She turns her head to Daichi, slowly reaching forwards and taking her empty bento bag from the male's hand. "Thank you, Daichi-senpai. I'll head to the restroom before heading to class. I'll see you tomorrow."

While a small part of Daichi wants to argue, worried for his new friend, he doesn't push her. In response, he nods with a smile, muttering a quiet goodbye and watching her hobble off down the hallway.

When he could no longer see her anymore, he swiftly turned around, glaring at the boy who rubbed his head where Sugawara had hit him. "Nishinoya!"

The said boy flinches, looking at his upperclassmen in fear and confusion.

Sugawara shakes his head, his finger pressing into his temple. "You're an idiot, Nishinoya."

Nishinoya releases a yelp as he dodges a smack from Sugawara, "what did I do?!" The libero cries out.

Daichi sighs as he crosses his arm over his chest with a frown spread across his face. "You may have not meant it, but your words hurt Aki-chan, Nishinoya. Volleyball is a really sensitive topic for her."

The dark-haired male's answer makes both Nishinoya and Tanaka tilt their heads, an unmistakable question mark floating on top of their heads. This action only makes an irk mark appear on Daichi's face.

Asahi immediately steps in, a weak laugh leaving his lips, "maa maa. Let's calm down. We can't blame them, not everyone was up to date with the volleyball gossip. I'm not surprised that Tanaka and Nishinoya don't know about it."

"Gossip?"

Sugawara stepped forward, a small frown on his face. "It was on the news for a bit earlier in the year. The incident where a middle school student was run over by a motorcycle that was aiming for her team. Between those who played volleyball, it was called the 'war in heaven' or 'the dove hunt' incident."

Nishinoya and Tanaka quickly pursed their lips, finally having a reasonably good idea of who the injured middle school student was, the image of the female in crutches flashing in their mind.

A scowl made it onto Tanaka's face, his eyebrows knitting together, "what kind of stupid names are those anyways? It's extremely chuunibyou-ish (1)"

Sugawara pouted as the younger male blatantly made fun of the names. "There are different reasons, but Ibato Chiaki-san had various nicknames as a volleyball player. The two most well know where the Angel or the Dove. I'm sure hearing just that, you understand the reasoning as to why the incident was called 'the dove hunt.'"

Both Tanaka and Nishinoya nodded, getting the basic idea. "But what about the other name?" Tanaka questioned in curiosity, the group walking down the hallway, Daichi stopping at the vending machine.

The dark-haired male rolled his eyes as he picked out his drink, angering stabbing his straw into his milk. "It's ridiculous, really. I don't know if you're familiar with Christianity, but someone linked the incident with the religion and whatnot, saying Aki-chan was an angel that had her wings ripped from her. In my opinion, the incident is nothing like the mythology. Like Tanaka said, it really is chuunibyou-ish." Daichi's hand crushed the empty milk carton, his gaze moving to the two boys in a warning. "Either way, if I hear that you two cause any trouble to Aki-Chan..." The male doesn't even have to finish his words as the two boys straighten as they salute to their senpai in fear.

A silence falls over all of them until Nishinoya opens his mouth.

"Well, if she's a fallen angel, shouldn't her new nickname be the 'Devil?'" The libero cheekily comments, earning a smack from both Sugawara and Daichi, who scowled. 

🏐🏐2011, SEPTEMBER🏐🏐

With a heaving chest and drenched shirt, Chiaki laid on the ground, pressing her heated cheek into the cold floor with a groan. The silver-haired female doesn't dare to move a single muscle, her body crying out in strain.

Besides the female, Kouga worriedly fanned his younger sister's body with his hand. Taiga, his older twin brother, went to get her a cold bottle of water.

"Good job, Chi-chan. Today marks the sixth month since your surgery. You're done for today. It looks like you're slowly gaining back function and muscles, which I am very proud about," Minako, who was jolting down her daughter's progress on a clipboard looked up briefly with a smile. "Starting tomorrow, I think we can forgo the crutches. But you're going to have to wear your knee brace all the time except when you take a shower and when you sleep. Just for precaution."

This information makes a smile bloom on the silver-haired teen's face. Mentally she cheers, saying goodbye to the dreadful crutches that have been haunting her for months.

"I don't want to be a killjoy, but don't strain yourself, Chi-chan. While you're mostly healed, I don't want you risking yourself. I say another five months have to pass for me to say you're perfectly healed from your injuries, and there's no worries. And physical therapy is still a must! Don't go running off, although I'm sure you want to," Minako warns, narrowing her eyes at her daughter when she sees Chiaki sheepishly look away from her.

With that, the older woman excused herself, having to go input Chiaki's data into the computer system, leaving her children to go to her office.

With the help of her brother, Chiaki sits up, leaning against Kouga as the male turns the TV on. At that moment, Taiga returns, the glassed male handing the bottle to Chiaki and ruffling her head affectionately.

"Ah, it looks like Shiratorizawa won for Miyagi prefecture again this year," Kouga comments as he runs his hand through his dyed locks of hair.

This makes Taiga chuckle, his eyes narrowing fondly as he watched the local news speak about the ranking of the school. "Coach Washijou must be delighted. That old man still sometimes appears in my nightmare, yelling at me," the brunet shakes his head with a frown.

Neither of the males seems to realize their younger sister had stayed unusually silent. Her grey orbs refusing to look at the TV where the Shiratorizawa team and its cheer squad is televised.

When Chiaki climbs up to her feet, the twins finally realize what they did, their skin paling a few shades. Kouga's lips stretched into a line, his teeth biting into the bottom flesh to stop himself from calling out after Chiaki, who walked off.

"Shit," Kouga curses under his breath, closing his eyes and angrily running his hand through his hair, messing it up.

Taiga has a similar reaction, the male pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a frown on his handsome face. "That was insensitive and stupid of us. We should have known it'll upset Chiaki talking about her dream school," the man mumbled in regret.

Chiaki stood under the sharp needles of the shower head water, her skin turning red from heat and irritation. The water pours over her head on high, beating and dripping down her body in steamy rivulets. Like the room, her mind is fogged up, dullness spreading through her body.

Closing her eyes, she sinks down to the floor. The tiles are icy cold, yet she doesn't flinch, too numb to feel anything. Opening her grey eyes, she stares as the enormous pink scar tissue that goes up the length of her knee. While no longer angry red and inflamed like it was right after the surgery, it was still unpleasant to see, a painful reminder of what had happened to her.

Chiaki's trembling fingers traced the scar in loath. An equally large, if not more prominent scar ran down her right hip and upper thigh. That too was healing nicely, the yellow and purple bruising that went down her whole leg from the reconstruction surgery gone for over four months. However, it felt like it was still there, the image of the bruises blooming around the scar imprinted into her mind. Just looking at what remained reminded her of how hideous it looked.

Hideous.

The teen lets tears slip out of her eyes, the salty droplets quickly getting washed off by the water from the shower, going down the drain built on the floor. All proofs of her pain and anger gets washed away. And that only makes the anger inside Chiaki's body to rise, boiling from deep inside of her.

In just a second, it felt like her whole life was stolen away from her. Her dream slipped through her fingers so quickly, and easily, Chiaki didn't know what to do. What can she do now when volleyball wasn't part of her life? What else did she have left? What worth did she have left?

From a young age, her goal was to get into her dream school, Shiratorizawa, graduate, and get into a division one team. She dreamed about going to the Olympics just like how her father had. She had always believed that her adult life would revolve around volleyball, the sports she loved. It was something that was right in front of her. It was something that was promised to her at a young age because of the efforts she made. It was something everyone around her believed would happen.

Yet with the accident, everything that was set up for her had crumpled. The hours of practice, the tears and sweat that was poured, the stinging aches of her hand from practicing spikes, everything was wasted and went down the drain.

In just a measly second.

Chiaki had lost everything she built from plain hard work and dedication. But now she was lost.

And it hurt.

It hurt so fucking bad, she didn't know what to do anymore.

Chiaki finally climbed back up to her shaky legs, shutting the scorching hot water off. Her skin was red, but she paid no mind, wrapping her body in a towel, doing a horrific job of drying herself off and changing into clothes that were free from sweat.

What Chiaki wasn't expecting when she steps out of the locker room was to see her mother leaned against the wall, a cup of coffee in her hand. The older woman stares at her daughter, taking note of her eyes that are rimmed red. She doesn't comment on it. Instead, she just sips out of her cup.

"I told the boys to head home ahead of us. You'll be coming home with me. But before that, Chi-chan, you're gonna learn about basic first-aid."

Chiaki's eyebrows furrowed, not understanding what her mother was trying to do. "I don't think—"

"Chi-chan, you're lost right now, aren't you? The future you had planned isn't something you can achieve anymore, so now you don't know what to do."

Minako's words make the silver-haired girl freeze, shifting on her feet uncomfortably. Minako may have looked soft and gentle, being shorter than her own daughter. But she was blunt to the point where it hurts, often leaving people whiplashed by the gap between her appearance and personality. Chiaki knew her mother didn't mean any harm. Although there's no denying Minako's words was a knife straight to her heart.

Minako released a sigh as she pushed off the wall. "I understand you're still in pain and denial. But there's no point moping around. You should start looking at other things. It doesn't have to be medicine, I just want you looking at options, find something you might be interested in. The basic first-aid certificate is easy, and it can lead up to other opportunities. Your brothers all have it as well. And it's a skill that comes in handy for anyone."

Chiaki doesn't exactly want to. However, seeing the look her mother sends her, she can do nothing but to nod.

🏐🏐2012, MARCH 🏐🏐

"We look ridiculous," Kouga comments, pulling the onyx face mask he wears higher onto his face. At his words, Chiaki turns to her brother, letting her gaze wander over what he wears.

The female adjusts the white cap that covers her head, pulling down on the visor, "I think you look fine. Very fashionable," she comments, her voice a bit muffled by the cloth of the mask that covers her face.

Kouga rolls his eyes before moving his attention to his twin brother, who was the only one out of them, not wearing a face mask. Instead, Taiga wore a bucket hat that covered most of his brown hair, forgoing his usual black-rimmed glasses with contacts.

"You look fine, Kouga. A lot of people wear face masks during this season anyways," Taiga assured as he held hands with Chiaki. Kouga huffed and took hold of Chiaki's other arm, linking arms with her as the three walked through the crowded stadium.

There was a light skip to Chiaki's steps, the female smiling under her mask. Her girls had done an excellent job, collecting their victories against their opponents. Chiaki could feel her heart swell in pride, especially when she was able to see Misaki do her role as the libero, supporting the team as it's pillar just as Chiaki assumed she would.

She lets her older brothers lead her to the next court scheduled for the last Kitagawa Daiichi game, the three siblings picking a seat at the back of the observation stand where they would be away from curious eyes. Although Chiaki had a feeling that they were failing at it miserably seeing the curious looks they received from some middle schoolers.

She couldn't really blame them, seeing as her brother and her towered over most of them. She had even caught some girls whispering and giggling as they looked at the twins. Chiaki didn't mind as long as she and her brothers weren't noticed by Kitagawa Daiichi middle school, her former school.

Earlier that morning, when Chiaki had told her brothers she wanted them to drive her to the stadium so she could watch the middle school volleyball tournament, they were shocked. They had doubted their ears for a moment, actually asking her to repeat her request again. When they realized they heard her right the first time, they were stumbling, running around the house to get ready to go with her.

Chiaki could tell they were delighted, which actually made her chest twinge, a small ounce of her feeling awful because she knew she had been worrying her family. The twins, on the other hand, were delighted that Chiaki wanted to do something related to volleyball again. Ever since the accident, Chiaki had refused to talk about the sport, and it was the first time she had even talked about something related to it.

So neither males complained as they drove their baby sister to the stadium, the two twenty-one-year-old adults wrapped around the sixteen-year old's finger.

"Who are the boys against next?" Kouga asked as he placed his feet up on the empty seat in front of him, relaxing with his arms thrown up behind his head and stretching out like a cat.

Taiga opened the pamphlet he grabbed when they first walked in, "Yukigaoka Junior High. I've never heard of them before," the brunet comments, pulling his hat a bit up to glance at his sister.

Chiaki hums with her eyes on the court, where it was still empty. "I know the girls' team. But for the boys, I don't think they participated during the time I was in middle school," the silver-haired teen comments, playing with a piece of her dyed hair. Her eyes brighten, sitting up as she sees a group walk in onto the court, her eyes catching sight of her former kouhais.

When she sees Kageyama walks in at the end of the group, she can't help but feel her heart swell. While she can't see well from her position, the raven-haired boy looked taller than the last time she saw him. While Chiaki did think she had a good relationship with everyone in the boys' volleyball team, she admits she had a particular soft spot for Kageyama.

She had often stayed after practice to meet up with the boy, helping him with his volleyball skills. She often spiked the balls he tossed, giving him advice on how to improve them and make them faster and more efficient. If she recalled correctly, that had angered Oikawa greatly, the male leaving snarky comments of how prodigies like them stuck together. Which led to Iwaizumi smacking his best friend, calling him 'Kusokawa.'

After a bit, with both teams on the court, the game begins. And it doesn't take long for everyone watching to see it was almost a one-sided match.

"Yikes, I feel bad just watching. The opponent team barely has the experience, huh?" Kouga winces as the Yukigaoka team misses another point.

Taiga silently watches the game while Chiaki also releases a sound as she sucks in a breath. The female can't deny it is almost painful to watch, her heart going out to the opponent team. At the same time, she eyed the Kita-Ichi team in concern, feeling something off.

"There's some kind of tension between the team for Kita-Ichi as well. Or I should say, more so with the team and Tobio-kun," Taiga finally speaks, his eyes narrowing. Hearing her older brother verbally say it, it confirmed what Chiaki was thinking.

Kouga sits up in surprise, squinting his eyes to see what his twin was talking about. But he's quick to give up, knowing both his siblings were more observant than what he was. The silver-haired male almost seemed to lose interest in the game, only watching it with a lazy eye seeing the results already. However, the Ibato siblings all sat up in surprise as one of the boys, an orange-haired male from Yukigaoka, leaped into the air.

"Holy shi—that shrimp has some pairs of legs, although he's short!" Kouga gasps, straightening up to get a better glimpse.

Chiaki bit her lip, her finger tapping against her knee as she watched the said boy leap once more. "His reflex speed is super high as well..."

At her words, the twins turn their heads towards her. They're a bit taken aback, not expecting her to leave input, seeing as she was mostly quiet when watching volleyball games.

"That kid, the boy with orange hair. With proper training that utilizes the talents and skill he has, he would have extreme potential. It's kinda scary," Chiaki comments with a frown, a chill running down her back. She blinks in surprise. What was that?

The twins stared at their baby sister in alarm, letting her words sink into their heads. Their gaze shifted back to the court, eyeing the boy she was talking about with narrowed eyes.

If Chiaki said it, they believed it. The brothers and the whole Ibato family knew that their youngest family member had a keen skill of finding the hidden potential in people. Sometimes it was so scary accurate.

In the past, on multiple occasions, Chiaki had just looked at a group of amateur volleyball players and pointed out a few saying they would grow strong. And much to Hiroto, their father's astonishment, they indeed had, many of them climbing up and becoming part of his current team at Schweiden Adler.

To this day, the twins know their father sometimes asks Chiaki for her option when he's recruiting new players for the season.

"I'm going to the restroom before we leave," Chiaki quietly tugged at Taiga's sweater sleeve as the game concluded, Kitagawa Daiichi becoming the winner with 2:0.

The older male looked at her in concern, "want me coming with you?"

Chiaki shakes her head, "it'll be crowded. Wait here with Kouga-nii," she softly speaks before walking off to the nearest restroom. With her hat tugged down, she walked the crowded area, many teams leaving for the day after their games.

A small gasp leaves her mouth as a body hits her from behind, making her lose her balance and fall forward. Her hands and arms instinctively come up to soften her fall. However, before she can land onto the floor, a pair of arms catch her, her face slamming into a warm chest. At the impact, Chiaki's nose smashes into the chest, tears gather at the corner of her eyes with pain.

"Wow, are you okay?"

Chiaki freezes at the familiar voice. She can't help but look up, her gaze meeting with a pair of soft brown eyes. Behind the said man, she recognizes two more faces looking at her in curiosity.

Daichi's lips part in surprise as a pair of droopy grey eyes look at him. Confusion flashed in his eyes, and Chiaki is quick to duck her head down, using the cap she wore to hide her eyes, silently hoping that her face mask hid her features enough.

Mumbling a sorry, she tries to slip away. However, before she can even take a step, her wrist gets engulfed by a giant hand, preventing her from walking away. Daichi has a firm grip on her, staring at her covered face with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Aki-chan?"

Before Chiaki could deny it, Daichi reaches forward, swiftly tugging down the black face mask to her chin, revealing her face to his eyes. Chiaki sheepishly smiles as Daichi's eyes brighten, seeming to be pleased he was right.

Chiaki lifts the mask up quickly to hide her lower face again, giving up on leaving without a conversation.

"Huh? Aki-san is here too?" Tanaka gasps, his cheeks turning a rosy pink as he stands next to Daichi. Chiaki briefly gives both Sugawara and Tanaka a nod of greeting, the boys being able to see her eyes squint slightly telling them she was smiling.

The silver-haired female's gaze warily looks around the room, thankful that she didn't see any other familiar faces before turning to Daichi, who looked like he was itching to ask the question.

But it seemed Sugawara beat him to it, the grey-haired male smiling as he stood next to his classmate. "What are you doing here, Aki-chan?"

Chiaki turned to the male she had gotten to know over the last three months. After finding out that she and Daichi often ate lunch together, Sugawara also began to join in. Asahi had too, but in the last few weeks, he hadn't showed up, and Chiaki had a feeling something had happened between them all.

"I'm here with my brothers. I was about to head to the restroom before we head off," Chiaki quickly explains, her voice only a few volumes above a whisper, the three boys only being able to hear her because of how close she was standing to them.

Daichi raised an eyebrow up, sending a look to Chiaki that made her palms a bit sweaty. Chiaki had gotten to know Daichi reasonably well in the last six months. But that was the same for Daichi, he's gotten good at reading the younger girl. And he knew well that if volleyball was related, Chiaki ran away faster than you could say stop.

"You, Aki-chan, came to watch a volleyball game, huh?" Daichi questioned, grinning and showing off his teeth cheekily, much to Chiaki's dismay. The said girl kept her lips pursed as she refused to meet his amused eyes.

Sugawara and Daichi share eye contact with each other, both males grinning. Feeling a bit mischievous, Daichi patted the girl's head. "Yet, you refuse to come to watch us practice, Aki-chan. Are we not good enough for you?"

Chiaki pouts under her mask, but she still refuses to say anything.

"Hey, don't tease her too much, Daichi. Aki-chan loves volleyball, but she doesn't want to admit it because she's shy," Sugawara coos, making Chiaki send him a glare. Sugawara only laughs in response, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Chiaki doesn't know how to answer, she feels a bit attacked at the moment as her two senpais tease her. She's getting a bit defensive, not liking how they were both able to read her. While Chiaki kept denying her love for the sport, these two seemed to know that wasn't the truth. And instead of tiptoeing around the topic of volleyball like they had when they first met, they've learned that little jabs didn't do too much harm.

With a puff, Chiaki turns to the males, her eyes narrowing. However, a mischievous glint flashes in her soft grey eyes as she thinks of something. "I need to go. I'm making my brothers wait right now, and they might worry if I'm gone for long. Of course, we can keep talking if you want them to come looking for me."

Daichi stiffens, his back straightening subconsciously as he finally lets her go. Inwardly, Chiaki laughs at the second-year's reaction and spin on her heel. But before she can leave, she turns back, the corner of her eyes crinkling as she smiles.

"See you guys at school," Chiaki waves sweetly, leaving one nervous male and two confused boys.

🏐🏐EXTRA🏐🏐

CANON

"Daichi-san, you're kinda pale. Are you okay?" Tanaka questioned, holding back his laugh, his shoulders shaking a bit. Sugawara doesn't bother holding it in, laughing with his whole body as he points to his friend.

Daichi scowls, his shoulder dropping as he ushers his teammates away from the scene with a light blush on his cheeks as they continued to tease him about him being scared of Chiaki's brothers.

"You don't understand," Daichi grumbled as he stopped walking, Sugawara and Tanaka pausing behind him in confusion, almost slamming into his broad back.

The two males flinch as Daichi slowly turns around, his face blank, his eyes looking dead as he stares at them.

"Imagine getting towered and cornered by two older guys who are over 190 cm (6'3 ft) as they mutter warnings to you for ten minutes. Warnings and promises that are extremely graphic if I do something to their little sister..." Daichi's voice was dead as he stared off to space.                

Sugawara and Tanaka felt a shiver run down their back, suddenly feeling a chill. Flinching, they looked back as if someone was staring at them. They worriedly glanced at each other as they saw no one else on the street but them.

"Let's go home...." Sugawara whispered, grabbing Daichi's arm, the male mumbled something inaudible to their ears. Tanaka nods his head quickly before following after his senpais.

Silently, the two of them agreed that they didn't want to meet Chiaki's rumored older brothers anytime soon. 

"ACHOO!" Chiaki flinches as both Kouga and Taiga simultaneously sneezed at the same time.

Taiga frowned as he rubbed his nose, his hands on the steering wheel of the car. "Oh, that was sudden," he mutters, making sure his eyes didn't move away from the road.

Kouga scowled and shook his head, "I swear, someone was talking about us," the silver-haired male grumbled much to Chiaki's amusement.

Terms:

Chūnibyō (中二病) is a Japanese colloquial term that translates to "middle two diseases," i.e., "middle-school second-year syndrome" or "eighth-grader syndrome," typically used to describe early teens who have delusions of grandeur, who so desperately want to stand out that they have convinced themselves they have hidden knowledge or secret powers. Creating crazy names and stuff included.

A/N:

Okay, first I know the timeline and months of the competition are all out of whack. I actually couldn't really work with it so I decided to change it around for the storyline. The Junior High athletics where Hinata and Kageyama meet for the first time should have taken place in June but I just made it near the end of March. So in this book, it happens after the 68th Miyagi Prefecture Championships. So Daichi, Sugawara, and Tanaka are at the Junior High Athletics Meet after loosing and the fight between Nishinoya and Asahi had already happened, which is the reason why those two were absent when the three boys met with Chiaki.

Also, Chiaki's nickname the Dove comes from her last name, Ibato. In Japanese Kanji, it'll be 衣鳩　the second kanji is  "hato" which is a pigeon/dove! Hence her nickname the Dove. However, Ibato is not a very common Japanese last name.

Thanks for reading and the next update, Chapter 3| Does He Know? is in two weeks, on August 21st!

We're entering the story line of the anime/manga so be ready to see our favorite cute first years!!

-Ember

>>Next>>

>>

8/7/2020

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior February 21, 2020 – CALL OF THE WILD, BRAHMS: THE BOY II, THE IMPRACTICAL JOKERS MOVIE, EMMA and more!

After overestimating Birds of Prey… I mean, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey… it looks like I underestimated Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog… I mean Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik… with Sonic. It truly spanked my lowball prediction in the mid-$40 millions, but I wasn’t alone there at least. Hey, it’s a fun movie and my positive review wasn’t off-base with the critical world at large, so there’s that, too.  (Apparently, I liked both Downhill and Fantasy Island more than most people, including CinemaScore voters who gave the movies a “D” and “C-“ respectively… ouch!)

This is likely to be another down week as neither of the two new movies are particularly strong, which gives me a chance to focus instead on this week’s FEATURED MOVIES! And we have four of ‘em this week, no less!

That’s right. I think it’s time I go back to my previous desire to use this column to focus on smaller movies that you may have missed since very few of the bigger outlets bother to cover them, and there’s a few worth pointing out this week. I’m gonna start with the two foreign films, because hopefully, you’ve listened to Bong Joon-ho and his translator and are not as fearful of subtitles…

First up, opening on Wednesday at New York’s Film Forumis Jan Komasa’s CORPUS CHRISTI (Film Movement), Poland’s selection for the Oscar International Feature category, which was actually nominated for an Oscar in the category in which everyone already knew Parasite was always gonna win! It’s a shame, cause this is a really amazing film with Bartosz Bielenia playing Daniel, a troubled youth just out of juvenile hall who steals the trappings and identity of the youth prison’s pastor and is therefore mistaken as an actual priest when he arrives at a small community village that has suffered a tragic loss. It’s an amazing film about faith and forgiveness and redemption, and how the script came to Komasa from screenwriter Mateusz Pacewic is an equally amazing story. Seriously, if you get a chance, definitely check this powerful drama out, since it’s another fantastic film from a country that has continually been delivering the goods in terms of original storytelling.

I was just going to do three featured movies this week, but a really good German thriller is finally hitting the States, opening at the Quad in New York Friday then in L.A. on March 13 before a nationwide rollout. Michael Bully Herbig’s incredibly suspenseful German thriller BALLOON (Distrib Films USA) is about two families from the GDR (aka East Germany) who try to cross over into West Germany in 1979 using a hot air balloon, over a decade before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Based on the actual events, their story previously was adapted into the Disney movie Night Crossing (which oddly, isn’t on Disney+ yet-- I checked­, but it’s on Amazon Prime if you wanna compare the two movies). The movie doesn’t spend nearly as much time in the balloon as something like The Aeronauts, as the family’s first attempt fails miserably, so much of the film involves them working towards a second attempt, while trying not to be caught.

Balloon is a pretty heavy film (irony?), sometimes a little overwrought with drama but it keeps you on the edge of your seat as it cuts between the families trying to figure out their escape plan and the authorities trying to put together the clues to find these defectors. There’s a particularly amusing man in charge of the investigation, played by the always-amazing Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), who is constantly berating his men, something that helps lighten the otherwise heavy tone that permeates the film. This is another fairly low-key foreign film that’s worth seeking out.

Another movie people should make an effort to seek out is Rashaad Ernesto Green’s PREMATURE (IFC Films), an amazing film that follows the relationship between two young people in Harlem over the course of a summer. We first meet Zora Howard’s Ayanna as she’s hanging with her friends kibitzing about boys, as they begin their last summer before Ayanna heads to college. Shortly after, she meets Josh Boone’s Isaiah, and the two hit it off. The rest of the film follows the ups and downs of their relationship including incredibly intimate moments that lead up to Ayanna getting pregnant.

I won’t go through the plot play-by-play style, because it’s interesting to discover the twist and turns in their relationship in a similar way as we do our own relationships. Needless to say Green has a pretty amazing partner and lead in Howard, who co-wrote the screenplay, which is probably why it feels so authentic and real. Sure, there are a few scenes between Howard and Boone, both fantastic actors, that feel a bit too showy dramatically but otherwise, it’s a fantastic second feature from Green who has mainly been directing TV since his earlier film Gun Hill Road. I’ll definitely be very curious to see what Green and Howard get up to next either alone or working together.

Opening in New York and L.A. this Friday but in theaters nationwide on March 6 is the latest incarnation of Jane Austen’s novel EMMA. (Focus Features), this time starring the wonderful Anya Taylor-Joy (from The VVitchand Split/Glass) as the title character, Emma Woodhouse, a 28-year-old matchmaker who prides herself on the relationships she’s put together even while unable to find her own mate.  The film follows as the latter starts coming in the way of the former as she infiltrates herself into things as an “expert on love” who can’t find it herself.

Maybe it’s not surprising that I haven’t read much of Austen’s work and have missed this one altogether, never having seen any of the other iterations, but it’s a fairly wild and witty ride. Much of that is due to the amazing and wonderful cast around the young actor, the most surprising behind Mia Goth, who is in fact three years older than Taylor-Joy, but plays the younger wide-eyed Harriet who looks up to Emma and elicits her advice. Emma basically steers Harriet from the farmer she likes to Josh O’Connor’s Mr. Elton, the wealthy local vicar who is more than a little bit of a dark. This leads to a bit of a revolving door of who is interested in whom, etc especially when Emma’s nemesis Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson) returns to Hartfield.

Some of the other men in the mix are Johnny Flynn’s dashing George Knightley – the brother-in-law to Emma’s sister – and Callum Turner’s wealthy Frank Churchill, whose attentions lead to more misunderstandings. Both were great but I was more impressed with O’Connor who transforms into a completely other person when Emma spurns his affections and seems like a different person from the way first-time features director (and photographer) Autumn de Wilde shoots him. Of course, Bill Nighy is as great as always as Emma’s father, always feeling a slight draft, but even more impressive is the wonderfully hilarious Miranda Hart (from Spy) as Miss Bates, a woman who gabs at length about how wonderful Jane Fairfax is, much to Emma’s annoyance. As much as Emma. is Anya Taylor-Joy’s show, it’s the ensemble cast around her that makes the movie so infinitely enjoyable, getting better as it goes along.

This is a very good first feature from de Wilde, who has directed quite a number of music videos for Beck, and Emma. seems very different from the movies we normally get from video directors, much of that to do with Austen’s source material and the cast. Either way, how things develop over the course of the film makes it more enjoyable as it goes along. (Although I have never read the book, the film seems fairly faithful to the book’s Wikipedia page, so Austen fans should enjoy it, too.)

I guess we can now get to the wide and semi-wide releases and the rest of the movies – merging my two columns into one means you get more 5,000-word columns, you lucky ducks!

The higher-profile of the two new wide releases is probably CALL OF THE WILD (20thCentury Studios), a PG adaptation of Jack London’s classic novel starring Harrison Ford and the most adorable CG dog (i.e. not real, so back off PETA!) you’ve ever met named Buck! Sure, dog lovers might say, “Why would we want to watch a movie with a CG dog when clearly, a movie with actors in green suits turned into dogs using CG would suffice?” But no, it’s actually a very heavily CG movie directed by Chris Sanders, who directed Lilo & Sitch, the first How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods before giving a go at live action. (Sanders also provided quite a few voices in earlier animated films like Disney’s Mulan and Tarzan.)

A film that already was well into production when Disney bought Fox (now 20thCentury Studios), Call of the Wild also stars Omar Sy (returning for next year’s “Jurassic World” finale), Karen Gillan, Dan Stevens, Bradley Whitford but the real star of the movie is the dog Buck, which is performed by the immensely talented Terry Notary, who you’ll know for his work on the “Apes” movies with Andy Serkis, Kong: Skull Island and some of the characters in the last couple “Avengers” movies.

Of course, opening the weekend after Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog, which has turned out to be a bigger hit than anyone imagined, certainly won’t help The Call of the Wild.

In many ways, this reminds me of the 2002 Disney movie Snow Dogs, which opened with $17.8 million over the 4-day MLK weekend. The combination of Ford (who appears in very few movies) and the adorable dog antics might be enough for the movie to make $15 to 17 million this weekend, maybe a little more, although it only has two weeks to do business before Disney’s next Pixar movie, Onward, takes over, not giving it much time to make bank.

Mini-Review: It’s pretty evident that this exceedingly faithful take on Jack London’s book will not be for everyone. While I personally was mixed, I expect this to be one of the rare positive reviews just ‘cause. Surprisingly, it’s also the most “Disneyfied” movie that could possibly come from the newly-renamed 21stCentury Studios as it’s a movie clearly made for kids and animal lovers even if never the ‘twain shall meet, in some cases.

The story follows a large St. Bernard named Buck (portrayed by Terry Notary – but we’ll get back to that), who begins his life as the spoiled and pampered pet of a wealthy judge in California but is sold to a man who trains Buck with his club sending the dog on a wild journey across the Yukon as part of a dog sled for a pair of Canadian postal workers (played by Omar Sy and Cara Gee from “The Expanse”). Eventually, he’s paired with an alcoholic frontiersman (Harrison Ford) and he finds true love, as the two of them go off looking (and finding) gold.

Some might be surprised that director Chris Sanders (who has an extensive animation background) decided to go for straight-up CG when depicting the animals and some of the environments in Call of the Wild. In fact, it feels almost necessary to make Buck as expressive as he needs to be to carry this film, and that’s where Terry Notary (Andy Serkis’ partner-in-performance-capture from the “Apes” movies) and the CG team comes in handy. Buck is already lovable but being able to make him so expressive doesn’t hurt, and the scenes where he’s interacting with other animals are pretty amazing.

We do have to discuss the negatives, and one of them is the episodic nature of Buck’s story that means that Harrison Ford, other than the narration and a brief appearance, doesn’t play a large part in Buck’s story until about the 45-minute mark. I didn’t think much of the performances by Sy and Gee or Dan Steven and Karen Gillan as the spoiled rich people who buy Buck to drive their dog sled off to find gold. Buck’s experiences as part of the first dog sled is far more positive even though it’s rigorous and it puts him at odd with the dog pack leader. The problem is that most of the human actors don’t come close to delivering what Notary does as Buck, the exception being Ford, but it’s still one of those odd CG-live action amalgations that doesn’t always work.

If you’re fond of Jack London’s Arctic adventures (as I generally am), Call of the Wild offers as much good as it does bad, but it’s worthwhile more for the amazing vistas and terrific use of CG (and Terry Notary’s performance as Buck) than anything else.

Rating: 6.5/10

I won’t have a chance to see the horror sequel BRAHMS: THE BOY II (STXfilms), but I never got around to seeing the first movie either, although this one, starring Katie Holmes, does look kind of fun. 2020 has not been a great year for horror so far with almost a new horror every weekend and few doing particularly well – The Grudge tops the heap with just $21 million and that opened almost two months ago!

I really don’t have a lot to say about this other than the fact that the original The Boy(not to be confused with The Boy, The Boy or The Boy, which are also movies about a different “Boy”), also directed by William Brent Bell, opened in January 2016 to $10.8 million on its way to $35.8 million domestic but it also opened at a time when there were no strong horror films in theaters. Some could argue that there are still no strong horror films in theaters, especially since so many of them quickly lost theaters after bombing. Still, there have been a lot this year already and the most recent one, Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island underperformed this past weekend, so why would anyone want more?

STXfilms’ marketing has been solid even as this moved from its December release to now, but I still think it will be tough for this to make more than $10 million this weekend and probably will end up closer to $8 million or less.

Opening in limited release but also sure to be exciting to the fans of the TruTV hidden camera prank show is IMPRACTICAL JOKERS: THE MOVIE, which brings the hilarious Tenderloins comedy troop – Q, Murr, Sal and Joe -- to the big screen as they go off on a cross-country adventure to attend a party in Florida, playing their usual prank-filled games to see which three get to attend. At this writing, I have no idea how many theaters it’s opening – I’m assuming 150 to 200 maybe? – so no idea how it might do although there are already some sold out showings in my general area (NYC) where the guys are from.

Mini-Review: It feels like there need to be two reviews for this movie – one for those who already know and love the show and find the Tenderloins hysterical (this includes me) —and then one for everyone else.  The former can probably skip the next paragraph.

The Tenderloins are a group of four Staten Island friends (names above) whose antics led to a successful TruTV hidden camera show where they pull pranks and challenge each other to say and do whatever they’re told. The show has run eight seasons, and it’s made the Tenderloins such big stars they regularly sell out enormous venues (like Radio City Music Hall) to perform live for their fans. Considering the success Johnny Knoxville’s “Jackass” show has had in movie theaters where it can take advantage of an R-rating, there’s little reason why the “Impractical Jokers” shouldn’t be able to do the same. (For some context, I watched this movie with a theater full of the group’s friends, crew as well as Q’s firehouse buddies, in other words, 75% of Staten Island.)

The movie, directed by Chris Henchy, long time McKay and Ferrell collaborator – the film is presented by their “Funny or Die” brand –opens with one of a number of scripted/staged scenes to frame the road trip the Tenderloins to attend a party in Miami being held by Paula Abdul. Since they only have three passes, they need to compete in their usual challenges to determine who misses out.

If you are a fan of the show, I’m not going to spoil any of the challenges or pranks they plan on each other, but they generally get better and funnier as the movie goes along, to the point that when it returns to the “story” and the scripted stuff, the movie does falter a little. Although the Tenderloins aren’t the greatest actors, they are great improvisers and you can tell when they’re coming up with lines by the seat of their pants.

The majority of the movie is basically what we see on the show without all of the commercial breaks cutting in just as things start to get outrageous, and as someone who watches more of the show than I probably should admit, I find it hard to believe no one watching the movie will at least get one good snicker out of the movie. There are a few recurring gags throughout the movie as well as a follow-up to a memorable punishment from an earlier season. (Like with the show, you’re likely to feel bad for Murr and Sal, the nicer half of the group who always get the most abuse because of it.)

If you’re already a fan of the Impractical Jokers, you’ll probably like the movie, but if not, you might not get it and there’s just no real use trying. In other words, not a great intro to the “Impractical Jokers” but a fine bit of fun for the already-converted.

Rating: 6.5/10

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Sonic the Hedgehog  (Paramount) - $29 million -50% (up $1.5 million)**

2. Call of the Wild (20th Century) - $17 million N/A (up .3 million)** 3. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey  (Warner Bros) - $9 million -48%

4. Brahms: The Boy II (STXfilms) - $7 million N/A (down .6 million)**

5. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $6 million -48% (down .1 million)**

6. The Photograph (Universal) – $5.5 million -55% (down .6 million)**

7. Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island (Sony) - $5.3 million -57%

8. 1917 (Universal) - $5 million -38%

9. Parasite (NEON) - $3.6 million -35%

10. Jumanji: The Next Level  (Sony) - $3.3 million -42%

-- The Impractical Jokers Movie (TruTV) - $1.8 million*

-- Las Pildoras de mi Novio (Pantelion/Lionsgate) - $1.3 million*

* These last two projections are made without much info on either movie, including theater counts for the former.

**A few minor tweaks as we go into weekends with actual theater counts, although this weekend will still mostly be about Sonic the Hedgehog. I still don’t have any theater counts for Impractical Jokers on Thursday night so I guess we’ll just have to see if the theaters playing it report to Rentrak and it gets some sort of placement, presumably outside the top 10, on Sunday. 

LIMITED RELEASES

There are lots of other new limited releases this weekend beyond the ones I mentioned above.

On Wednesday night, Fathom Events is releasing Masaaki Yuasa’s new movie RIDE YOUR WAVE (GKIDS) across the nation for one night only in some places, although it will get a limited release on Friday at New York’s Village East and maybe other places, as well. If you’ve seen any of Yuasa’s other films like 2017’s The Night is Short, Walk on Girl or Lu Over the Wall or Mind Game, then you can probably expect this to be another wild ride, except this time it’s on a surfboard. It follows the story of a surfer and a firefighter who fall in love. You can learn more about how to get tickets here.

Like Portrait of a Lady on Fire last week, Una director Benedict Andrews’ SEBERG (Amazon) received a one-week release in 2019 but it’s getting a legit limited release this Friday. It stars Kristen Stewart as French New Wave icon Jean Seberg who came to the States in the late ‘60s and began a relationship with civil rights leader Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie), putting her in the sights of the FBI who were hoping to use her to bust the Black Panthers. The film also stars Jack O’Connell, Margaret Qualley, Vince Vaughn, and Stephen Root, and it’s a pretty solid historical drama, although I haven’t seen it so long I’m not sure I can say much more about that.

I was never a huge fan of Bob Dylan or the Band but I found Daniel Roher’s doc ONCE WERE BROTHERS: ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BAND (Magnolia) (about the latter) to be quite compelling as the story is told by various people who were there, including the film’s exec. producer Martin Scorsese who directed the band’s legendary concert film The Last Waltz. This is also produced by Ron Howard and Brian SGrazer of Imagine, so you know it’s gonna be a quality music doc, and it certainly is, although I’m not sure it will be of that much interest to people who aren’t already fans of The Band.

Opening in roughly 350 theaters this weekend is LAS PILDORAS DE MI NOVIO (Pantelion), translated as “My Boyfriend’s Meds,” a comedy about a woman (Sandra Echeverria) who falls for a mattress store owner who suffers from multiple personality disorder and when they go on vacation… he forgets to bring along his meds! Humor abounds. As usual, this won’t screen in advance for critics.

Tye Sheridan stars with Knives Out’s Ana De Armas in Michael Cristofer’s thriller The Night Clerk (Saban Films), Sheridan plays a hotel clerk with Asperger’s Syndrome who witnesses a murder in one of the rooms but ends up as the main suspect by the lead detective, played by John Leguizamo. The film also stars Helen Hunt and it will be released in select theaters (including New York’s Cinema Village), on demand and digitally this Friday. Just couldn’t into this one, having at least one good friend with Asperger’s, due to the way Sheridan played this often-debilitating disease. (Think Rain Man without the talent of Dustin Hoffman.)

Opening exclusively at theMetrographFriday with an expansion on March 3 is Portugese filmmaker Bruno de Almeida’s Cabaret Maxime (Giant Pictures), starring Michael Imperioli as Bennie Gaza, the owner and manager of the title nightclub specializing in a mix of burlesque, striptease, music and comedy. Bennie is fairly old-fashioned so when a modern day (translation: trashy and demeaning to women) strip club opens across the way, Bennie finds himself pressure to make changes to stay in line as he starts getting pressure from his mobster financer to change. I was kinda mixed on this movie, which delivers another typically great performance from Imperioli but the way it cuts between various acts and disparate scenes that do very little to move the story forward (including the far-more-interesting subplot about Bennie’s wife Stella, a performer suffering from depression, as played by the amazing Ana Padrão). I think one of the reasons I just couldn’t get into the movie is cause a friend of mine attempted a similar film based out of a nightclub and the film never got much traction. De Almeida should have paid more attention developing the storytelling than showing off his talented musical singing/dancing friends.

A second Portugese filmmaker, Pedro Costa, also releases a new film this week.  Vitalina Varela (Grasshopper Film) will open at New York’s Film at Lincoln Center on Friday. The title of the film is also the name of the non-actor who returns from Costa’s Horse Moneyto play a woman from Cape Verdean who comes to Fontainhas for her estranged husband’s funeral and sets up a new life there.

Also opening at the Quad Friday is the latest from the Dardenne Brothers, Young Ahmed (Kino Lorber) about a 13-year-old (Idir ben Addi) who has come under the grips of radical jihadism in his Belgian town, putting him at odds with various factions. When he carries out an act of violence, he ends up in a juvenile detention facility. The Dardennes won the Best Director award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where their films have been honored with the Palme d’Or twice. I’ve never been much of a fan but what do I know?

Opening at the IFC Center Wednesday is Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte’s documentary The State Against Mandela and the Others, which is built around recently recovered audio recordings of the 1963-4 Rivona trial in which Nelson Mandela and eight others faced death sentences for challenging Apartheid. The film mixes animation showing the trails with contemporary interviews with the survivors including Winnie Mandela, about their fight against the country’s corrupt system.

Another doc I know little about is Andrew Goldberg’s Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations, which will open at the Village East Friday but it includes the likes of Julianna Margulies, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton as anti-semitism rears its ugly head over 70 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust.

Also opening at Cinema Village is Matt Ratner’s Standing Up, Falling Down (Shout! Studios) starring Billy Crystal and Ben Schwartz (the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog!), the latter playing a stand-up comic whose L.A. dreams have crashed and burned leaving him with little money, forcing him to return to Long Island. Once there, he pines over his ex (Eloise Mumford) and becomes friends with an eccentric dermatologist (Crystal) as they help each other deal with their respective failures.

Playing at the Roxy for a one-week run starting Friday is Sam De Jong’s Goldie (Film Movement), starring actress/model Slick Woods as the title character, a teenager in a family shelter pursuing her dreams of being a dancer while trying to keep her sisters together. This premiered at the Tribeca Film Festivallast year.

Oscilloscope (the distributor that brought you the cat doc Kedi) is doing something called “Cat Video Fest 2020,” which will take place at the Alamo in Brooklyn (although the Saturday screening is sold out there) and the Village East Cinema. This screening of pre-selected cat videos is also taking place at other cities throughout the country, and you can find out where right here.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This Friday, the Metrograph will debut its newest series “Climate Crisis Parabels,” a series of varied future shock films, this weekend with Robert Bresson’s The Devil, Probably (1977), Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke (1999) (hosted by Naomi Klein Sunday afternoon, but also playing as part of the Playtime Family Matinees”) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cu ton Sunday night. “To Hong Kong with Love” also continues with screenings of Stanley Kwan’s Rouge (1987) and the 2016 film Raise the Umbrellas. The ongoing Welcome To Metrograph: Redux also continues with HarunFarocki’sdocumentary Before Your Eyes: Vietnam (1981).  This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph is another Japanese thriller, Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1966 thriller The Face of Another, and the Metrograph’s Japanese love continues as Playtime: Family Matinees will also show Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke from 1999.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is Ken Russell’s 1987 film Gothic, and this week’s “Kids Camp” offering is the 2006 animated Curious George with a special “pick your own price.” In preparation for the release of Emma. On Friday, the Alamo is doing a “Champagne Cinema” screening of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, which unfortunately, is sold out already. (Waugh Waugh) Monday’s “Out of Tune” is the Prince film Under the Cherry Moon from 1986, which is also sold out. (Hey, Jeremy Wein, why don’t you tell me these things are going on sale so I can go!?!) Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the horror classic Candyman (1992), which is ALSO almost sold out and then we’re back to “Weird Wednesday” with next week’s offering, 1985’s soft-core actioneer Gwendoline.

If you’re one of those poor souls living in L.A., you can also go to see Don Coscarelli’s 2002 film Bubba Ho-Tep, starring Bruce Campbell, on Wednesday night or the 1986 Little Shop of Horrors on Thursday at the grand, new(ish) Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown Los Angeles. Saturday afternoon is a matinee of Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998), starring George Clooney and J-Lo and Saturday night, you can see Cassavetes’ Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), starring Seymour Cassel and Gena Rowlands. Monday night is Juliet Bashore’s 1986 Kamikaze Hearts, which looked into the X-rated SF underground of the ‘80s. The West Coast “Terror Tuesday” is Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, starring Keanu Reeves, Gary Oldman and Winona Rider!

THE NEW BEVERLY  (L.A.):

Wednesday’s afternoon matinee is the classical musical The Sound of Music (1965) and then Weds and Thurs night’s double feature is Robert Redford’sThe Hot Rock (1972) and Cops and Robber (1973). Friday’s matinee is the late Tony Scott’s The Hunger (1983) and then the Tarantino-pennedTrue Romance (1993, also directed by Scott), will play Friday midnight and Saturday’s midnight movie is the 1967 film Carmen, Baby. This weekend’s Kiddee Mattine is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Monday’s matinee is Terrence Malick’s Badlands (1973) and the Monday night double feature is A Man for All Seasons(1966) and The Mission  (1986). Tuesday’s Grindhouse double feature is 1980’s Super Fuzz and 1977’s Death Promise, both in 35mm, of course.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Weds’ “Black Voices” movie is William Greaves’ 1968 film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, and then on Friday night in the Spielberg Theater, you can see the 1913 film Traffic in Souls with live music as well as a couple shorts. The Japanese horror film Kwaidan(1965) will play in the normal theater. On Saturday, the Egyptian is presenting “Leigh Whannell’s Thrill-A-thon” a series of four films that helped to inspire Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, which comes out next week with some great options worth seeing, including 1987’s Fatal Attraction, David Fincher’s 2014 film Gone Girl, Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation Misery(1990) and the classic Aussie thriller Dead Calm(1989) starring Nicole Kidman … all for just 15 bucks!

AERO  (LA):

The AERO’s “Black Voices” film for Weds. is the great Stir Crazy, starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, and then on Thursday afternoon, you can see Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classicDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb for $8 (free to Cinemateque members!) New restoration of the Russian film Come and See (also opening at the Film Forum in New York) will play on Saturday evening as part of the “Antiwar Cinema” series. Sunday’s double feature in that series is Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957) and the Russian film The Ascent (1977). Tuesday’s “Black Voices” matinee is Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust  (1991) and then Greg Proops will screen the 1996 film Ridicule as part of his Film Club podcast which precedes the film.

MOMA  (NYC):

Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmon continues through the end of the month with Mister Roberts (1955) on Weds., Billly Wilder’s Avanti (1972) and the classic (and one of my all-time faves) Some Like it Hot (1959) on Friday. This weekend also sees movies in the continuing “Theater of Operations” series, which will include Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker (2009) on Saturday afternoon and a bunch of docs including Werner Herzog’s 1992 film Lessons of Darkness on Sunday. Weds also kicks off “Television Movies: Big Pictures on the Small Screen” – pretty self-explanatory, I think – with 1953’s The Trip to Bountiful and 1955’s Tosca on Weds. and Sunday, 1967’s Present Laughter Thursday and Tuesday and more. (Click on the link for full schedule!) Following Film Forum’s focus on black actresses (for February, Black History Month, get it?) MOMA begins a  “It’s All in Me: Black Heroines” series with All By Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story and Julie Dash’s Illusions, both from 1982, on Thursday and many more running through March 5.

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES (NYC):

The Anthology still has a few more films in its “Devil Probably: A Century of Satanic Panic” including Eric Weston’s Evilspeak (1981) tonight in 35mm, but also David Van Taylor will be at tonight’s screening of his 1991 film Dream Deceivers. I’ve never seen either of these, by the way. Robert Eggers’ The VVitch and Alan Parker’s Angel Heart screen one more time on Thursday night, as well. This weekend also begins a new series, “Dream Dance: The Films of Ed Emshwiller” but since I have no idea who that is, I have nothing further to add. (Sorry!)

NITEHAWK CINEMA  (NYC):

Williamsburgis showing David Lynch’s 1990 film Wild at Heart as part of its “Uncaged” series on Friday just after midnight and John Singleton’s Poetic Justice on Saturday morning as part of “California Love.” They’re also showing Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride on Saturday morning for an “All-Ages Brunch Movie.”

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Elem Klimov’s 1985 Russian drama Come and See (Janus) will have a DCP restoration premiere at the Forum and Sunday afternoon will be a screening of the 1953 Mexican film El Corazon y La Espada in 3D. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is the 1953 pseudo-doc Little Fugitive.  Monday night is a screening of David Rich’s Madame X  (1966) introduced by actor/playwright Charles Busch.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

This weekend’s Weekend Classics: Luis Buñuel is the Mexican film The Exterminating Angel (1962), while Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s will screen Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Mnemonic and Late Night Favorites: Winter 2020is taking a surprising weekend off.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Still waiting to see if Pandora and the Flying Dutchman continues through the weekend, as at this time (Monday), there is nothing repertory listed.

BAM CINEMATEK(NYC):

Horace Jenkins’ Cane River continues through Friday. Saturday night’s “Beyond the Canon” is a double feature of Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker(1953) and Malick’s Badlands (1973).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend’s “See It Big! Outer Space” offerings include1974’s Space is the Placeon Friday and 1924’s Aelita, Queen of Mars and the 1980 Flash Gordonscreening on Saturday and Sunday. As usual, 2001: A Space Odysseywill screen on Saturday afternoon as part of the ongoing exhibition.

ROXY CINEMA(NYC)

Weds’ Nicolas Cage movie is Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead (1999) and then Thursday is a 35mm screening of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)!

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday’s midnight movie is Who Killed Roger Rabbit (1988).

STREAMING AND CABLE

Let’s see what’s going on in the world of streaming this week, shall we?

Netflix is debuting Dee (Mudbound) Rees’ new movie THE LAST THING HE WANTED on the streaming service Friday, even though apparently, it opened in select cities last week, including New York’s Paris Theater, although it got such terrible reviewsout of Sundance, maybe Netflix didn’t want any more bad reviews before it begins streaming. Regardless, it stars Anne Hathaway, Willem Dafoe, Ben Affleck and Rosie Perez, and it’s based on Joan Didion’s novel about a D.C. journalist named Elena (Hathaway) who abandons her work on the 1984 campaign trail to run an errand for her father (Dafoe). I guess I’ll watch it when it’s on Netflix just like everyone else but my expectations have been suitably lowered.

The Jordan Peele-produced series “Hunters,” starring Al Pacino, which is about a group of Nazi hunters will hit Amazon Prime this Friday as well, and a new season of the popular series“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” will debut on Friday on Disney+, adding to the amazing amount of content already available on that network.

Next week, Saw and Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell revamps The Invisible Man for Universal with Elisabeth Moss, and there’s also (supposedly) a movie call The Ride, which I know nothing about. You can guess which movie I’ll be focusing on.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or send me a note on Twitter. I love hearing from readers!

[aj-artjunkyard]

I think this is going to be a bit of a one shot series. There might be some time skips and not every chapter is a continuation of the same storyline. I like this better as if I ever go off writing this, you won’t be left on a cliffhanger. Every chapter has a complete story, so it’s also longer, which is a bonus. 

There is a four year time skip. Apollo is now a fourth year.

My gold and black robes billowed behind me as I sprinted up another staircase and hung a left, barreling through some unfortunate first years as I made my way up to the hospital wing.

I’d began training with the Hogwarts matron in my first year, ever since I’d learned a particularly nifty healing spell that had popped a fellow student’s dislocated shoulder back into its rightful place. The Hogwarts matron had seen me and was impressed by my potential - and nearly four years later I was still being taught between classes. Today, they started at 1:55PM. It was now 2:15 (What? I had missed a staircase. Nothing to do with my poor awareness of schedules).

I readjusted my grip on my leather satchel and rushed past the little plump lady standing in the doorway of the hospital wing, smiling a greeting. She kept her ever-present stern facade intact as she shooed me inside. 

“Don’t you be late next time young man, or I’ll be having a word to your father about your punctuality!” She called after me, slamming the door behind her. I smiled at the empty threat. There was no way she would tell my father about my secret lessons, or else both our heads would be on a stick. Headmaster Zeus had some pretty questionable ideology when it came to assigning genders to their copybook jobs. Nursing was a woman’s world, not a man’s. 

I came to a halt at the trolly that overflowed with a mix of different overhanging herbs, anthropomorphised plants and some questionable-looking dried out slug-type creatures. Conical flasks hung suspended in the air, swishing their contents around in miniature whirlpools of colour. This, I’d been told, kept the contents oxygenated. The matron appeared beside me, her wrinkled features comparable to the severe expression of a weathered military general.

“Today is simple,” she barked. “Damage to the left arm due to a high fall. Broken humerus, dislocated shoulder, shattered clavicle. The patient is in bed A6. Collect what you need and do what you have to. No lollygagging!” She turned on her heel and marched to a patient who had managed to have the placement of their hands and feet switched. I stifled a grin. My younger brother, a third year Slytherin named Hermes, got a kick out of forging fake love-heart shaped chocolate boxes filled with enchanted candies and leaving them to be found by his unfortunate targets. His spells were never actually dangerous per se (however I would not put it past him. He is unnervingly clever), but they tended to land the non-willing participant in the hospital wing until the matron could figure out how to undo them, which was usually a few weeks. Hermes was a complete ferret of a person, and I always told him so, but he was undeniably good at his craft. I sniggered to myself. As soon as I worked out how to fix the enchantments, I’d have potential blackmail against my darling little brother. I planned to get him do give me something in exchange for me not immediately healing his targets and ruining his fun.

After choosing a few conical flasks and a vial of my experimental Skele-Gro (just in case) I jogged to bed A6 and slipped out my private notebook of healing spells from my satchel. As I flicked through the pages, I didn’t give the red-clad student a second look. It was just another reckless Gryffindor who had probably jumped from the astronomy tower for fun while testing out their friend’s levitating spell (that obviously hadn’t succeeded). I found the right page and set the notebook on the bedside table. Only then did I glance down at the the boy strewn on the bed. He was well-built and broad shouldered, even for a seventh year. His muddied, black hair was chopped in a military buzz cut, and his face and arms were littered with old and new scratches, some much deeper than the others. He wore the scarlet robes and leather armour of a Gryffindor Beater, though his uniform was torn and caked with mud and soaked through from the December rain. He looked like the definition of a stereotypical high school bully. His face held a permanent scowl. I gulped.

“Hey Ares,” I greeted weakly. His scowl deepened. I tried to ignore that. “Um, I just need to check your arm…” I edged around my older sibling like he was an angered boar, waiting to run me through with its horns. I all but hid behind my clipboard while I examined the twisted arm.

Let me be crystal clear with you, reader. I was not scared of my brother. He was violent and reckless, yes, but a coward. I knew that if he bothered me, I only needed to poke his shoulder and he’d be wailing for an hour. However, do you recall how I was trying to keep this little side gig a secret? For years I had been keeping track of the quidditch games and taking note when any of my siblings got injured in one, so I could avoid the hospital wing until they were healed. I was usually quite on top of the Hufflepuff games (as I was their seeker), and Artemis, who happened to be the seeker for the Gryffindor team, helped remind me when her matches were. If any of my dear half brothers or sisters found out that I was learning a ‘woman’s trade’, they’d either tell father (resulting in my death) or use what they’d found as blackmail, threatening to tell father if I did not do their dirty work (resulting in my drawn out, much more embarrassing death). Of course, there had been a few close calls and a few accidental slips of tongue. My best friend Meg (a first year Gryffindor that I had met back in September of this year, while she was stealing my bag) knew. So did my twin, Artemis, and my aforementioned brother, Hermes. I had sworn them all to secrecy, but I did not trust Tell-Tale Ares one little bit. I did not even know how I had forgotten today’s Gryffindor v Slytherin match, but it had crossed my mind that the corridors were emptier than usual. 

I copied down useless bulletpoints on the clipboard, such as ‘broken arm’ and ‘ouch’, while my mind wandered down the dark paths of my anxiety, each thought more desperate and panicky than the last. What will father do when he finds out? Will he give me a lifetime of detentions? Will he expel me? Would my uncles and aunts step in? Probably not. Would I have to leave the country to go to a different wizarding school? Would I have to give up learning magic entirely? Will I-

“Apollo!” The matron hollered across the room at me. “Stop your clowning around! Treat the patient!” I wondered if she even knew Ares’ relation to me. My dad had so many kids with so many women that we were admittedly hard to keep straight, and I certainly did not act like Ares did. I was far more - how do I put this - refined.

Ares snickered at the matron’s tone. 

“Stupid little Sunny can’t even do a girl’s job,” he taunted.

I took a deep breath and turned my attention back to the task at hand. 

“Okay,” I said, starting as I would with any other student. “I am going to use the Brackium Emendo charm to fix your humerus and clavicle. I assure you that I am well trained in this charm, otherwise I would not be allowed to practice it on students. I then have to-”

“Get on with it, Sunny.” Ares growled, his mood swinging faster than the Whomping Willow’s branches. Wanting to give him the best hospital experience ever and possibly convince him not to blab, I obliged in silence. My hopes of getting out scot free were demolished when I was straightening out the newly mended arm a few minutes later. “Dad’s gonna love this one, Sunny,” Ares grunted through the pain. His face was tense with restraint, his forehead glistening with sweat and rain from outdoors. “If you’re lucky, you’ll even make it onto the papers. ‘Loser Son Disappoints Dad Yet Again’. Yeah, that’ll be fun.” I tried my best to bite down on my tongue, let it wash over me. I tried not to get angry. I tried not to scream at Ares to shut his face, and I almost failed. Luckily, I was distracted.

BANG!

The hospital wing door flew open, and a young girl sprinted in, looking around wildly until her cat-eye glasses landed on me. I recognised her as the one and only, bag-stealing, meat-scoffing ragamuffin Meg McCaffrey. She, like Ares, was soaked to the skin, her lenses dotted with raindrops and steaming up from the indoor heat. She wore her red high tops over her uniform grey tights, an obvious infraction of the school dress code (the teachers had already given up, and she had only been here for just over three months, which I think sums her character up very well). Her black and red Gryffindor robes were wrapped around her torso in a useless attempt to keep in heat. We shared a look of dread. 

“You can go,” I said defeatedly to the healed Beater, all the angry wind gone from my sails. Ares stood, sneered at me and sauntered out, flicking Meg in the head as he passed her. She hissed, which I thought was an appropriate response. I kept staring at the empty hospital bed, my eyes fixated on the dent in the mattress where Ares had lay, slowly inflating itself. I heard the loud squelching of wet shoes approach me. Meg appeared at my side.

“I’m sorry,” She muttered. “I didn’t realise he was injured enough to go to the hospital wing. I was too far up the stands. By the time I noticed he was already on his way.” She lowered her head. “I didn’t warn you in time.”

I sighed. “It’s quite alright, Meg. You weren’t to know about the extent of my father’s strictness. Thanks for trying so hard though. It means a lot.”

“I know what it’s like.”

I turned to face her. Her glasses were still steamed up, and I couldn’t see her eyes. The expression she wore was blank and unreadable. I wanted to know more, but I didn’t want to push too much. I simply asked, “Your father?” 

“Step-father,” she replied plainly.

…

Meg scoffed down her eggs and bacon like there was no tomorrow. I sat between her and Artemis at the Hufflepuff table. This was an advantage to all of us. Artie and I got to eat where the rest of our family didn’t bother us and Meg got to inspire terror into the meek Hufflepuff first years with her champion eating skills. Win-Win. Also, it was good to have two bodyguards from a house that was known for being protective and rash after the proceedings of yesterday afternoon. The enchanted roof was dull and grey with clouds, a reflection of my tense and dreading mood. I was awaiting the call to go to my father’s office, where my sentence would be given. Needless to say, I was not excited.

Nothing happened at breakfast. No word at lunch. By the time dinner rolled around at 6pm, I was almost gaining a little ray of hope that Ares had forgotten, or maybe held back in order to threaten me with it later. Then all conversation died around me at the Hufflepuff table. A low, gruff voice sounded from behind me, making me jump a metre and drop my fork.

“Apollo.”

My stomach sank to my feet while my heart leapt to my mouth. I turned to meet the stone chiselled, bearded face of Headmaster Zeus. 

“Sir,” I squeaked.

“My office. After dinner. Do not be late.” He moved on to the teacher’s table at the back of the hall, leaving me pale and faint, unable to eat another bite of chicken pie without feeling like I was going to hurl, despite Artie and Meg’s attempts to reassure me.

Dinner ended so much quicker than it needed to. Students and teachers started filtering out as soon as 6:45. By 7, the hall was practically empty except for a couple of teachers and some Gryffindors, who were celebrating their quidditch win against Slytherin. I knew my time was running out. Father had stomped out a few minutes ago, glaring holes into me as he passed. Meg and Artie had stayed with me, but even now they seemed to be on edge about my punctuality. They wanted me to go and get things over with, while I just wanted the ground to swallow me. But eventually, even I could not make up another excuse. I stood and bade them farewell, then made my way towards my executioner on the seventh floor.

Reaching the headmaster’s tower had never been so exhausting. Every step reminded me of what and who I was waltzing toward. Questions burned through my head, demanding attention. I ignored them and instead focused on striding briskly through the hallways, trying my best not to get lost and be even later. I turned a corner and saw the gargoyle entrance to the office awaiting my arrival. The regal stone eagle had already leapt aside, the rotating staircase revealed. I stepped on and waited. The grinding of stone against stone grated my ears as the the stairs moved up the walls. It was an agonising wait. But of course, it ended.

I stepped into the silent office. It was small enough, but not cramped. Certainly smaller than father’s office at home. It was a round room, decorated with waist-high pedestals that held marble busts of past headmasters. The left wall had a large rectangular indent in the stone, which showed shelves that were stacked neatly with different objects, some I recognised as my father’s belongings (a bronze shield carved with the twisted face of Medusa and some bronze rods - his renowned enchanted lightning bolts), and some of which had obviously been confiscated - a stack of chocolate boxes that glowed a dim green (Hermes’ little experiments), a bunch of sharp iron weaponry, enchanted to drip blood and gore (Ares’ favourite toys) and a bottle of Dio’s Delectable Delight (an alcoholic drink made by my Gryffindor first year brother, Dionysus, that gave a bunch of Slytherins and Gryffindors sick with poisoning while they were having a drink-off between the houses. I remember because I had to treat them all). 

At the back of the room, behind an intricately carved wooden desk, sat my father. 

He was a six foot five giant of a man, muscular and powerful. His middle age eye creases and greying black hair did not distract from his obviously handsome features. His salt and pepper beard covered the bottom half of his face, and reached down to the base of his throat. His hair was long and slightly wavy, like mine, but less flamboyant and stylish. He wore a smart grey pinstriped suit, with dress shoes and a black tie. His bushy eyebrows were furrowed in anger over his striking blue eyes. He gestured to the small wooden seat opposite him.

“Sit,” he commanded. I sat. My palms were damp with sweat, so I rubbed them on my robes and folded my hands in my lap, fidgeting and changing their position constantly. My head was lowered and my golden hair swept down the side of my face, blocking my peripheral vision. I locked my sight onto a dark circle on the table before me. I could feel my fathers stormy eyes on my seemingly insignificant frame.

His voice thundered; “You know why you are here.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear nervously and chanced look up into the eyes of my father. They were a bright electric blue, and seemed to flash a warning, daring me to speak out of place. I looked down again.

“Yes, sir,” I muttered.

Zeus leaned over the table. It made a loud creak, and I wondered whether or not it would be able to support his weight.

“Do you know who told me?”

I nodded. “It was Ares. I healed him after the quidditch match yesterday.”

“Then you know that he is not innocent either.”

I looked up at him again, confused as to why I had not been zapped yet. He seemed to be…giving me a chance? No, that was impossible. And yet…

“Sir?” I asked, daring to ask for some clarification. Zeus narrowed his eyes and sat up straighter in his chair, increasing his height. His hands rested on the desk, his fingers laced like a top boss talking down to his lowly employee.

“I wanted to expel you,” he growled. “You embarrass my family tree time and time again. I need solid proof that you belong here. Unfortunately, I cannot put you to work as I would like. The ministry would never allow it. However, I have a different task in mind.”

I held my breath and waited for the verdict of my disproportionate offence. “Impress me.”

“W-what?” I spluttered, choking on the air I’d been holding in. Impress him? Him? My father? The most powerful wizard in my extensive family that could harness lightning? “How?” 

“I don’t care for specifics, boy” Zeus scoffed, waving off my question. “This is a magic school, is it not? Prove you have ability. Prove to me that you are not just some filthy squib, destined to become a nanny. Such beings do not deserve to be called my son. If you succeed, which I doubt, you may continue with your hobby. If not…” He left it to me to fill in the blanks, which was almost worse. I just knew my imagination was going to run wild with that unfinished sentence. “You have until the Christmas holidays begin. Do not disappoint me.” He leaned back in his chair. This meeting was Over.

…

“He didn’t expel you?” Artemis exclaimed, looking mildly impressed. “Not even a little zap?”

“No! It was…very unlike him.” 

“So you got off easy then,” Meg piped up through her breakfast, spraying me with bacon bits. “That’s good.”

“If you count vague instructions to show off to a guy that has the emotional range of a teaspoon as simple, then sure!” - I glared at Meg - “I got off easy.” Meg rolled her eyes and went back to licking the runny yolk off her sunny side up. I thought that to be selfish. I was the one in peril here! “The deadline is the holidays! We get off on the twenty-first of this month, and it’s already the third! Not to mention that I have the concert on the last day! How am I supposed to learn how to gain fathers respect in seventeen days?”

“Maybe you should start by thanking mother,” Artemis mused. “She is the one who got him to lighten up.”

I looked at my twin questioningly. “How did she know?”

Artie rolled her eyes and Meg snorted a laugh, spewing out half of the contents in her mouth onto the table. 

“Honestly Ollie, do you ever listen?”

“No,” Meg sniggered, answering for me.

“I wrote a letter to mother about the whole predicament right after I heard about it. I got her response at lunch yesterday. I gave you her letter to read so you would calm down.”

“What? No you didn’t!”

“Uh, yeah, she did,” Meg mocked in an ‘obviously’ tone. “Check your pocket, dummy.”

I reached into my robe pocket and drew out a few items; a keyring, a harmonica and a folded up piece of parchment. Meg snatched the parchment from my hand and unfolded it roughly, then slammed it on the table in front of me. The ink was fashioned in neat cursive.

“Read it,” Meg stated. I picked it up and scanned down the lines.

Dearest Apollo,

I sincerely hope you are feeling better than yesterday. Artemis wrote to me about what happened. I wanted to tell you not to fret, for I am on my way to purchase a howler as I speak - the quill is writing for me. Please do not worry, darling. Your sister and I will not let that man touch a hair on your head, and from what you have told me about your new friend, Meg, I suspect she will help you too.

The letter went on, more reassurances, more threats at Zeus, more pet names. Yes, this would have helped yesterday. If I had not been so numb to the world around me and taken the time to actually read it. The letter ended;

Love you, Sunshine! 

~Leto

“Oh,” I said dumbly, feeling my cheeks heat up with embarrassment. “I didn’t see that.”

“Yeah, no duh.” 

“Shut up Meg.”

I remembered my mother fixing this kind of problem for me before. When I first arrived at Hogwarts, I had been sorted into Hufflepuff - what my father called The Weak House. The Friendly House. The house that none of his children should be put in, especially because he was such a model Slytherin, the house known for storming through the door first, instead of the house known for holding the door open for others. My father had gotten yellow on his ledger, and wanted to wipe it out. My mother shouted him down, and I kept my place in Hogwarts.

A new voice spoke calmly behind me. 

“Begin with the library. Information is the starting point of all wisdom.” I spun around. Standing there was the tall, lean form of a seventh year Ravenclaw. Her dark brown hair was gathered into a tight bun on her head, and her arms clutched several dusty old rolls of parchment. Her grey eyes peered down her nose at us. The sapphire and obsidian robes she wore sat perfectly on her form, and her tucked in shirt and neat tie was exemplary of a Head Girl and Prefect - the badges of both gleamed on her lapel. Athena held herself with pride and confidence, knowing well that she was smarter, more privileged and generally better than the rest of us (read: Daddy’s Favourite). She knew rightly that whatever she did, she was untouchable. Thankfully, her freedom included helping me. “I can get you on the list for the restricted section. It is going to take some light-show to get on father’s good side. And,” - she smiled cockily - “some hard work and research.” Of course.

“So you aren’t really going to help me then?” Athena said nothing, but only smiled before turning on her heel and striding out of the hall to her first class. I rolled my eyes. Turning to my teammates, I announced; “I guess it’s just the three of us, then! No worries, I am positive that if we all work together-”

“-Actually Ollie,” Artie interrupted, totally stomping on my Inspiring Speech Hero Moment. “I have a load of stuff to do…with Orion. So…yeah,” she tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. I tried to ignore the blush forming on her cheeks. She gained confidence and stated; “I will not be around a lot this month. Sorry.” My beloved twin stood abruptly and rushed out of the hall. 

Naturally. The one time she gets a teeny crush, she abandons me to do my own dirty work. How rude. I was not fond of that tricky fifth year Slytherin boy, and let me tell you, I planned to get rid of him. But that was for later. Right now, I needed to stay on task. Though looking at my only remaining teammate, who was currently showing her chewed-up food to a grossed out Hufflepuff girl, I wondered if that was even worth doing.

…

“This is so boring!” Meg lay with her feet up a against a bookcase, tapping her toes together as she flung another priceless book into the Useless Pile.

“Meg, you aren’t even helping. You’re just looking at the pictures!”

“Even those are dull,” she whined. “It’s so late and the Gryffindor dorms are sooo far from here.”

“It’s only seven o’clock, Meg.”

“It’s dark!”

“It’s winter!”

“Shhhhhhh!” The librarian hushed for the umpteenth time that evening. I whispered our apologies and kept reading about turning people into birds of prey. However I did not think that giving my father another eagle would suffice. I too, chucked my book onto the Useless Pile. It was now the sixth of December, giving me exactly two weeks until the last day school before the holidays.

“Right,” Meg announced, “I’m going back to the greenhouses. Good luck, or whatever.” She grabbed her wand and stuck her hands in her pockets, then disappeared into the maze of the library, leaving me alone in favour of checking on her secret karpos friend Peaches in the herbology classroom.

I sighed. Admitting defeat for the night, I grabbed a thick book I had read many times before. The leather bound book was emblazoned with silver text in ancient greek, a language every member of my family was fluent in, and I was no different. The title read ‘θεός’. I flicked through the weathered pages. Every chapter was a different relation, introduced with a detailed portrait - It was a family tradition to get one done one your twenty-first birthday, when you are your in prime stage of life. I saw my father’s, my uncles’ and my aunts’ portraits, and stopped at the chapter entitled ‘Hecate’. Her mother was sisters with my own mother, making her my first cousin. She was extremely experienced in charms and transfiguration, one of the best witches in the business. I figured I needed some inspiration, so I sidled through the mess of ancient greek and scribbled diagrams. I found that her specialty was inventing new spells. Then I came across a very interesting quote from some guy named Hesiod who had wrote a different book:

“Zeus, Cronus’ son, honoured [Hecate] above all others: he gave her splendid gifts - to have a share of the earth and of the barren sea, and from the starry sky as well she has a share in honour.”

My eyes lit up. That’s exactly what I needed. Well, maybe father wouldn’t ‘honour me above all others’, but he might at least give me a pat on the back, and to get that from my father would be good enough for me. Inspiration struck as I slammed the book shut and began my hunt for any information that might be of help. 

By ten o’clock, I had been chased out of the library and back to the Hufflepuff dorms. I went to sleep cosy and content, knowing that all I needed to do now was invent a new spell.

Apparently, this is harder than it sounds. Drat. Even thinking of a new spell took me all Sunday, but at least there was no classes. Meg and I spent all day outside by the lake, sitting underneath a laurel tree while I poured over a seemingly endless stack of books, eliminating spell ideas as I saw them mentioned. I knew I wanted something flashy, something I could add into my concert - which was a great opportunity to show it off in front of the whole school. But alas, as I crossed off ‘self playing violin spell’ I began to loose the inspirational buzz I’d started the task with. Meg leaned over and swiped my list of possible spells from my lap.

“‘Poetry generator spell’? Really?”

“Gah! I don’t know!” I wailed, waving my arms desperately and throwing down my quill in defeat. “I can’t think of anything else! There is not a single spell out there that has not already been created!” 

I slumped back against the tree and sighed, watching Meg make a dandelion grow with ten times the regular speed. She had a real knack for herbology and garden magic, just like I did for divination. Divination class had never steered me wrong, especially because the professor is my grandmother, Phoebe, who says I’ve inherited her talent. I had stayed behind after class last Friday to ask Professor Phoebe about the future outcome of my little trial, and she’d told me to grab a crystal ball and see for myself. All I had gotten was the mist in the ball turning gold.

I glanced over to the lake where my uncle Poseidon was lobbing fish for the giant squid. He was wearing his usual attire; a loud Hawaiian shirt and tan kakis with loafers and his signature fishing cap, even in the cold winter weather. As his bucket emptied, he turned to stroll back into the castle when we locked eyes. Noticing my distress, he ambled on over to us, his hands in his pockets and his kind, sea-green eyes twinkling. 

“I heard you’re in a bit of hot water with my dear little brother again, Apollo.”

I blew out my cheeks in exasperation and slumped even further down the tree, making Poseidon chuckle. “I know the feeling.”

“He’s impossible!”

“What have you got so far?”

I handed him my list of possible spells, which he read through with careful consideration.

“I want to invent a new spell for dad. Like Hecate did. But every spell is already taken! There’s nothing to invent!”

Poseidon scratched his neatly trimmed beard thoughtfully.

“Well, when people want to sell a product, they usually want the product to solve problems.”

“So?”

“So what problems - besides the whole ‘Impress Zeus’ chore - do you have that can’t be solved with magic right now?”

I furrowed my eyebrows in concentration.

“I have a gig on the last day of class. I have this one song prepared that requires a whole congregation of different instruments, and I still can’t find anyone else with the mere skill set to play with me, so I had to enchant the whole orchestra to play itself. There’s no backup singers either, since all the muses are doing their own parts, and if they play every single song they’ll be exhausted.” I huffed. “Mnemosyne remembered her girls coming home to her in first year after the concert, and she banned them from doing it again. And she never goes back on a rule.”

“Enchanted backup dancers,” Meg snorted. Poseidon raised an eyebrow at my young friend, smirking at her humour. 

“Yes,” I mumbled, my mind running at full speed, giving me the ideas and inspiration I had spent a week looking for. “Yes, that could work.” I grabbed my quill and ripped out a new piece of parchment and began scribbling like a madman, muttering and blocking out everything in my peripheral vision. 

“Well!” I heard Poseidon say, his voice retreating and getting more distant. “Glad I could help.”

“Don’t Bother,” Was that Meg? I couldn’t tell, I wasn’t paying attention. “He’s gonna be in that trance for hours.”

…

It was 9pm on the eighteenth of December. Exactly seventy-two hours until the concert began. I stood in an empty classroom that was packed with grimy wooden crates that had probably been there for years. A few of the stacked crates acted as Meg’s high throne, where she proceeded to look down upon myself, who trying feebly to summon my incantation. I glanced yet again at my jotter, which was propped open on top of a crate to my left. On it was my scrawled notes on my new spell: the Golden Charmer. The incantation words were translated into ancient greek: Χρυσεαι Κηληδονες, or, Chryseae Celedones. Their purpose was to act as my backup group, to sing, dance and play whatever I asked of them. They amplified my own voice, but in any voice type (tenor, soprano, bass, you name it) or gender that I pleased. They were also supposed to have a golden form, but so far, I had only accomplished a yellow wisp protruding from the end of my wand.

“Be more magic,” Meg suggested unhelpfully before stuffing another fistful of popcorn in her gob. I rolled my eyes, turned back to the empty room, set my jaw and tried again. I pointed my wand at my voice box, uttered “Χρυσεαι Κηληδονες!” and flicked my wrist until the wand tip was pointed away from me. I then drew a steady line downwards with my wand, the golden mist following in its wake and sculpting itself until a beautiful apparition stood before us, casting out warm light and an aura of grace. Her detailed face held an impassive expression, like she could just as quickly bare her teeth in a growl as she could in a smile. Her sleeveless dress was draped across her shoulders and flowed majestically down to the floor. Her hair was folded in a loose bun on her head, the fibres drooping but far from messy or unkempt. She was perfect. I could feel my heart rate rise unnaturally with unbound excitement. I had done it! 

Meg, whose mouth was hanging open and spilling chewed kernels all over the place, quickly shut her trap and made an effort to look unimpressed. 

“Does it work?”

I glared at her, thinking about that bat-bogey hex Hermes had just taught me, and how many times I would get to use it on my young friend by the end of the school year.

“I just invented a charm, Miss McCaffrey. Can you be impressed for a little bit before ruining my fun?”

“Nope,” she stated, twisting to lie upside-down on her crate, her glasses falling up to her forehead. “Get her to sing.”

I sighed. Tapping my wand on a crate for the golden being’s attention (which was most likely unnecessary, but still, delightfully dramatic), I held my hands up like a conductor with my wand as his baton. The Celedon sang in tune to my gestures.

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

I smirked at Meg, deciding I had every right to be cocky. The celedon’s voice was pristine. It carried brilliantly, and was as clear as day. 

“Are you just gonna conduct, then?” Meg asked. “Like, you’re not actually singing?”

“No, no, no. I’m singing and playing violin for this particular piece,” I said, loosing a bit of my confidence. Did the Celedons need me to conduct them? If so, id just created a whole new problem. “I’m sure if I just…” I turned once again to the Celedon and cleared my throat. “Ahem. Celedon, sing Greensleeves.” Thank the heavens, it seemed to understand. She burst into a rendition of the mournful tune. Meg’s eyes turned glassy with tears that threatened to fall, her soul plunged into the despair of loosing a loved one. I, on the other hand, felt the sound was empty. It was good, yes. But it could be better. I held a hand up for the spell’s sound to cease. It obeyed. 

Meg stared at me, wiping her eyes. “Why’d you stop?”

“One moment…” I performed the spell’s gesture thrice more (now knowing the correct way to cast the spell), and soon had a quartet of golden women before me, awaiting my command. “Let’s try that again, shall we?” This time, the song was flawless. The first Celedon took the lead, while the other three vocally danced around the first’s notes, emphasising the main tune. Even I had a tear in my eye by the end. I was glad I had soundproofed this classroom beforehand, or I might have reduced the transfiguration class down the hall into a sobbing wreck.

“Ah ha!” I exclaimed. “Fantastic!” My mind raced for something else I could give them to do. “Uhhh…here! Try this! Accio violin!” 

Whoosh - craSH. 

A violin smashed through a window, and flew into my open hand.

“Couldn’t you have just went and got your violin?” Asked Meg. “I thought the Hufflepuff dorms were like, a floor down from here.”

“Pizzaz, Meg.”

“You’re dumb.”

I handed a Celedon the violin and announced; “Celedon, play Swan Lake.” But instead of Tchaikovsky’s magical piece, a sound not unlike a spiteful cat dragging its claws down a chalkboard screeched from the instrument. Meg fell off her wooden throne in surprise, clutching her ears and screaming at the charm to stop. The Celedon, obviously not used to being hated on by twelve year olds (despite her limited existence time) paused her torturous tune and glared holes into the red-clad preteen. After the ringing in my ears subsided, stared into space wearily, knowing that I now needed to teach a spell to play expert level violin. And I had less than three days.

…

I tugged nervously on my blazer sleeve as Calliope finished up her last song. I had decided to wear my usual house uniform, but instead of the cloak, I had donned a sharp black blazer with a bright yellow lapel. I smiled at my half-sister as she jogged offstage and joined me behind the great hall’s doors.

“You’re up next, Ollie,” Calliope panted, her sweat dampening her brow and coming through the folds of her stylised Ravenclaw-blue t-shirt dress. Black skin-tight jeans clung to her legs and her socks had sunk below the rim of her pastel pink converse boots. She grappled blindly for her water bottle before dumping the contents on her face and chugging the rest of it. Her wavy caramel hair straightened and darkened under the weight of the water. Cal and I were the main participators in each year’s Christmas concert. And every other concert at the end of a school term. She had just finished her version of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, and just before that, had sang a variation of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ with me and her other eight sisters. She had also sang the song before that, and after three songs with hardly a break, she was rightfully exhausted. No wonder her mother had banned her from playing every song (a rule that my mother had belatedly decided to enforce on me too). Once she caught her breath, Calliope straightened up and patted me on the shoulder. “I hope this last one goes well for your sake, Ollie.”

I blew out my cheeks. “Me too.”

“It’s not a Christmas song though, right?”

“No, It just packs a punch. I wanted something that could really wow someone, y’know?”

Calliope nodded solemnly. “Of course. No one can do that with ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’.” 

I knew she’d get it. Still, from behind the doors to the great hall where the tables had been cleared and a stage set up, I questioned every decision I had made leading up to this moment. Every face in the crowd was blurred together, but somehow I could easily see my father, reclining in his chair and glaring at the empty stage as if that would make the acts happen faster. I was terrified, and I do not get stage fright. I love being the centre of attention, especially when it’s for something I’m brilliant at. I did not doubt my own ability to put on a show. I only doubted my ability to read my father. 

But of course, that did not matter. I had to start anyways.

As I sauntered out and onto the stage, I felt the heat of the room smack me dead in the face. The chatter of the crowd lowered to a mumble. I turned from my spectators and waved my wand at the hoard of unmanned instruments packed at the back of the stage, which sprung to life and readied their first notes. I then turned to my side and muttered “Χρυσεαι Κηληδονες!”. Twice before turning to my other side and doing the same again. I now stood between four Golden Charmers, readily holding matching violins. I silently prayed they had picked up the song I had attempted to teach them. Anything could’ve gone wrong at that point, and I could do nothing about it. I heard gasps and mutters go up from the students, but did not dare look. They may have been laughing - or something worse. Instead I focused on grabbing my own violin - whistling a single low note to signify that I was starting - and played.

As soon as my bow hit the strings, I felt the adrenaline flood my being, filling every bone in my body. I was no longer apprehensive. This was the feeling I lived for, and I intended to let it take over. My fingers flew across the strings, and at just the right moment, the Celedons joined in with perfect synchronisation. Everything was going to plan. The operatic voices of the Celedons joined the choir, singing along with the notes. “Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!” 

The first verse arrived and the Celedones ceased their play, as planned. I continued with my violin, belting out the lyrics with all my heart and soul. The instruments gradually picked up, and I sang louder and louder, summoning all the melancholy I could muster. I could feel my musical magic making the audience break into tears. The exhilaration fuelled me. I could feel no exhaustion. 

As soon as the last note evaporated, I felt my energy drain, my shoulders and head suddenly becoming a lot heavier. I wanted to heave for breath, but I simply could not allow myself to do so while still onstage! So I shortened my breath to what I hoped was normal, and not a person who had just ran several marathons back to back. My brow and torso were sticky with sweat and I had the urge to rip off my blazer for some relief from the overwhelming heat. I could hardly hear the applause that had erupted until I actively forced myself to listen.  I was too busy scanning the audience to soak up the praise, but my eyes only landed on the unreadable, impassive expression of the headmaster.

…

I would have liked to be able to truthfully say that I spent most of the night celebrating the deadline of my trial and the end of the term with the muses, my twin, and all my good friends, partying to Pompeii by Bastille until the little hours of the morning, not bothering to concern myself with past mistakes or future hardships, drink too much butter beer and pass out on the Hogwarts Express the next morning. You know, the good life. But alas, that was not the case. For one, we were told to trot off to bed right after my final song, which was only a couple of minutes past ten o’clock, and warned that our heads of houses would be checking that we were all asleep by ten-thirty. If we were not, we would receive a detention for the first day back. 

However, I still attempted to force my way through the swamp of students making their way to the doors so I could talk to my father, and perhaps get some clarification on my fate. However, my plans were spoiled when I couldn’t get past a particularly moody cow.

“Bed, Goldilocks!” Hera commanded, her hatred for any children of Zeus that were not hers abundantly present in her poison tipped words. “That husband-stealing mother of yours may cause Zeus to lighten his punishments, but don’t think for a second that I will have any displeasure in seeing you in detention for the rest of your years at this school!”

I leaned past her and searched around, not really taking in her threats (this is a common and practised reaction to children of Zeus), and tried once again to slip past her.

“I just need to talk to father real quick, then I promise I will be out of your…” I glanced up at her. “rapidly greying hair. Won’t be a moment.” At that second, Hera grabbed my wrist and yanked me backwards, almost pulling my shoulder from its socket. She sneered down at me, bearing her teeth and pointing to the exit. I realised it was not worth my trouble. I huffed and, turning on my heel, strode back to the Hufflepuff common room.

If nothing else, being in the common room was always a nice experience. The whole place radiated a calm laziness, the ever-burning fire in the fireplace keeping the temperature cozy in winter months. The low ceilings were just above ground level, so the highest windows let in the sweet smell of cut grass towards the end of the school year. A few older students were lounging on the comfortable yellow sofa facing the mantelpiece and the dozen beanbags scattered throughout the room. These were the students who were staying over the winter break, and had few concerns over the timing of their retirement to bed. Some congratulated me on my performance. A couple gave a thumbs-up and nothing more - I returned these with an added smile, of course. I took a crumb of shortbread (which I had stuck out of the kitchen on the way to the dorms) out of my pocket and tossed it to Badger, the friendly mouse who lay reclined on one of the low tables in the centre of the room (I had found him in first year and the whole Hufflepuff house had unanimously adopted him as our secret mascot). Then I slipped through the rounded, honey-gold wooden door that lead to the boy’s dorms and threw myself onto my mattress.

Was I off the hook? Did I pass the test? Did father approve? Did he hate it? It looked like he hated it. Why is it always me who’s on the wrong side of father? Would it have been different if I was in Gryffindor? Is that why he hates me? Does he hate me? 

Fathers words rang in my head. “If you succeed, which I doubt, you may continue with your hobby. If not…” WHAT DID HE MEAN BY “IF NOT”? What did that IMPLY? Does it mean detention, expulsion or worse? Should I be terrified? 

…

Why was I still worrying? Everything was out of my hands. I had done my best.

…

…

…

BUT WHAT IF-

The anxieties didn’t cease all night. I do not know when I finally managed to drift off.

…

I hurriedly stuffed my trunk full of the belongings I would need for the two week break. Artie and I were staying with our mother on Delos for the duration of the holiday, and I did not intend to miss the train. When all my things were safely tucked away, I slammed the trunk shut and hauled it out of the dorms and through the earthen exit of the Hufflepuff common room, bidding my farewells to the few students who were staying. 

Due to my late night worries, I had woken up late and already missed breakfast, so I took the obvious solution to a Hufflepuff. I lay down my trunk at the end of the corridor and tickled the pear - the entrance painting to the kitchens.

I left ten minutes later, licking my fingers which were sticky from strawberry juice and greek yogurt. The house elves had been grudgingly generous, having just finished cleaning up for the winter. Smirking as they chased me out of the kitchen, I grabbed my trunk and began dragging it up the stairs and towards the castle grounds. Halfway there, I ran into a slight problem. Well, we kind of ran into each other.

The headmaster, my father, stood in all his muscular, bulking glory, blocking the way to freedom. He looked as authoritative as always, his grey-streaked beard and hair well-kept and neat, his navy suit and tie clean and imposing, his eyes a sharp shade of piercing blue. I backed off a few steps and tried for a chill smile, but I had a strong feeling that it looked more like a pained grimace. Father straightened his back, rolled back his shoulders and rumbled; 

“So. You made… a singing spell.”

I gulped down the bile that was fighting its way up my throat. I hated the way he oversimplified things. It made all my achievements look so much smaller in comparison to their real gargantuan importance. For instance, take that time I recorded a mashup of myself and the muses singing to hit tracks in howlers, and installed the howlers in between walls - our own in-built speaker system! Genius! Unfortunately, a few party-poopers (cough, Athena, cough) complained and had father tell me to ‘Take the paper planes back’, which, frankly, is an utterly ridiculous understatement of the hard work and effort put into that project. But the past is the past. In the present, Zeus was still waiting for an answer.

Oh reader, I so desperately tried to tell him of the wondrous things even a single Charmer could accomplish! They were not merely singing spells! They could entertain, play for those who were lonely, fill vacancies in choirs or orchestras in emergency last-minute cancellations! They could solve more problems for a showman than there are notes on sheet music! 

But Zeus would have none of it. He stopped me halfway through my righteous rant. Rude.

“Enough,” he commanded somewhat wearily, holding one hand up for silence and rubbing his temple with another. “It is too early for your passionate outbursts.” I may have pouted slightly at that. It’s not important. Zeus regained some of his intimidating authority and continued, “I have already decided the outcome.” I knew it. I was expelled, I was dead I was- “You were not at breakfast. I was on my way to your common room to inform you of your success before you depart.” 

My face paled. I dropped my heavy trunk with a loud thump. 

“My… success?”

Zeus grunted.

“Yes. It was… a good show. Many staff and students were moved to tears. That would be the sort of reaction I cannot ignore in my decision making. Spells are typically not simple to create from scratch. And to have seen someone pull such things off in a few short weeks was…” he paused, considering the right word to use. He begrudgingly settled on: “…impressive.”

Let me tell you, if I had still been holding onto my trunk, I would have dropped it all over again. I swallowed, struggling to process a compliment coming from the lips of the toughest, most powerful wizard in the family. My heart was buzzing, my head was light, my breathing was uneven (though I tried my best to hide it). My brain worked overtime to somehow comprehend these impossible words. Impressive. Dad…impressed. I was impressive. I had done something worth being impressed over. For him. He was impressed. Eventually I managed to croak a measly “Thank you.”

It could’ve been me hallucinating, but I could’ve sworn I saw the slightest smirk underneath the greying beard, and a minuscule spark of pride in those electric eyes. 

“Ten points to Hufflepuff.”

@psychologymademeunderstand @go-danielle

[rogue-barnes-16]

THAT PUNK (part I /?)

Summary: Some people don't distinguish between hate and love. Some people do, but fail to express it.

Pairing: 40's!Bucky Barnes x reader

Genre: angst-fluff

Tags: —

Warnings: language (?), jumps in time, maybe a bit cliché.

A/N: this is a multipart, but not a miniseries, I hope you enjoy it (^u^). Also, you'll have the forgive me but I couldn't put other Gif like, c'mon, did you see him?!

(aesthetic) (part I) (part II) (part III) (part IV) (part V) (part VI)

"Moooooom!" I cried, running with tears in my eyes. "Mommy!" I saw my mother sitting besides Winifred at the park, and I approached them. As soon as the women saw me, they stood up to meet me.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" My mother asked me whilst hugging me. I felt James's mother caressing my hair trying to calm my sobs. I hugged tighter my mother as I heard James running towards us, yelling my name.

"Y/n! Don't!" he said, and I turned around to see his mother standing up and grabbing James by his left arm. "Ouch!"

"James Buchanan Barnes, what did you do to Y/n?!" I looked at James with tears in my eyes and I could see he was begging me to stay quiet about what happened. "James!"

"Nothing!" he raised his voice, slightly scared, even though we both knew that his mother wouldn't lay a finger on him, nor would mine. "I-I promise. She fell, I didn't do anything!" he glanced at me again. The difference was that now my mother and his where looking at me too.

"Y/n, honey, if James did something to you, you can tell us." My mother said, rubbing my back reassuringly. I looked down, not wanting to see James's face. Should I say that truth?

"I fell" I muttered, and I could practically hear James's sigh of relief. However, our mothers looked at me in disbelief. They were our mothers, after all, so they knew when we lied. But they agreed on pretending to believe us.

"You're grounded for a week, young boy." I heard Winifred whispering before going with my mother back to the bench where they were.

"Thank you" James muttered, looking down. I took the chance to look at him. He had the red mark of my palm on his face, but it was almost unnoticeable. "For not telling them I k-"

"Leave me alone, James." I hissed, cleaning the tears which were wetting my cheeks. He tried to talk again but I pressed my ears with my hands and I closed my eyes "LEAVE ME ALONE OR I'LL TELL THEM" I yelled. When I opened my eyes, James was already gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

James left me alone for a year and a half. Each time our mothers met, we saw each other, but that was all. I kind of missed him, and I was starting to think I made a mistake, but when I finally decided to apologize, James stopped going out with his mother.

A couple of days later, I was at the park, picking flowers, when I saw James talking with a group of older boys. I didn't think twice before jogging towards him and hugging him. "Hi James!" I said, but I didn't feel him hugging me back.

When I pulled back, I frowned at him, and then at the older boys, who where laughing by now. "Bucky, do you know this baby?" one of them asked. So now it was Bucky, not James.

James looked at me and didn't hesitate even a second. "No, I don't think so." I looked at him confused, and then at the older boys. I felt my cheeks reddening as I looked again at James, well, at Bucky.

"I-I'm sorry" I muttered, looking into his eyes for an instant I saw the same fear in his eyes he had had a year and a half ago, when he made me lie at our mothers.

But then, that mocking smirk came back "listen just leave us alone, go to play with your dolls or something." he said, and the other boys laughed. I felt my lower lip quivering and I turned around to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few years passed, and I started to get along pretty well with James's younger sister, Rebecca.

Whenever I went to Winifred's house to pick up Rebecca, I would wait for her outside, not wanting to see him. Maybe I was being childish, but it wasn't just the fact that I was still hurt, it was also the fact that I thought James didn't want me in his life.

One day I knocked the door and James opened it. He looked at me for a couple of seconds before turning around "Becca, your friend's here!" he said, and, without looking at me again, he went to sit down in the small living room.

A couple of minutes later, Rebecca got out of her room, frowning at his brother. "her name is Y/n, Buck. Could you be a bit nicer?" she asked bitterly. Becca didn't know we were friends once, she just knew we didn't get along.

"Come back in time. Y'know Ma'll get angry if you're not" Rebecca huffed and got out, holding my hand and guiding me out of the building.

"ignore him, he's so stupid sometimes" she said walking besides me. She was telling me something, but I couldn't focus on her, I was still thinking about James's words. I was no longer Y/n. I was just Becca's friend.

"Does he hate me?" I asked out of the blue, startling Becca. She frowned confused and tilted her head slightly. "Your brother. Does he hate me?"

"oh" Becca pursed her lips before answering my question. "well... I think he doesn't like you" she mumbled, adding quickly something else. "but Bucky is just like this y'know? He's a bit of a jerk."

"Okay." I muttered, trying to smile at her. Probably it was my fault that we ended up like this. After all, it took me a year and a half to apologize to him.

"seriously Y/n, don't worry." Becca reassured me "Ma told me he's just one actual friend, Steve. So I guess he's not nice."

"I dunno Becca, he seems really nice and caring when he's talking to you." I wanted to say he was nice and caring, because I knew he used to be. He probably still was.

She just shrugged "why d'ya care anyways?" she gasped and smiled playfully at me. "You like Bucky, don't cha?"

"no, oh my... Of course not Becca." I sighed and I told her about our friendship.

BUCKY'S P. O. V.

"I froze again, Ma" I muttered. My mother had just arrived, and when I didn't greet her, she knew something was wrong. She sat with me and asked me about it. "I just... I dunno what to say, she hates me."

"Darlin', she doesn't hate you." she said, making the dinner. "She's just... Hurt" she added hesitant, and I knew she deep down thought Y/n hated me.

"y'know that's not true, Ma." I sighed and got up to finish the dinner by myself, since my mother had to go to work already.

She pecked my cheeks and rubbed my back. "don't give up, darlin'. I'm sure she'll forgive you." she grabbed her coat and turned around to remind me something.

"I'll make sure Becca's here in time, don't worry." She smiled at me and, with a quick 'love ya', she got out.

I had just finished dinner and it Rebecca had an hour left, so I sat in the living room and I started to read a book, just to be interrupted by the door opening, letting in a pretty mad Rebecca. "you fucking jerk!" she yelled. "how can you be so damn idiot?!"

"Rebecca, watch your language!" I warned her startled, shutting the book I was reading "and what did I exactly do to deserve this?" she hissed a 'you damn well know' and walked to her room.

I didn't even noticed Becca wasn't alone, until the door closed. Y/n glanced briefly at me before looking down, walking towards Becca's room "Becca wait, please."

[calliecat93]

RvB16 Episode 8 Review: Recovery

Last week had some... mixed reception to say the least. Like to the point that some were outright outraged by it kind of mixed reception. Now personally. I was okay with it, but I can certainly understand people getting fed up. It looks like Joe needs to give us something nice to make it better... and bringing Wash and Carolina back finally is a pretty good start! So lets see what our two Freelancers get themselves into!

Overview

We begin on Chorus where good news, Wash is up and can still talk! Take that ‘new Meta’ theories! He’s telling Carolina about his old cat, Loki, who despite getting electrocuted, dried n a dryer, etc always came out perfectly fine. Lived to be 25. Aww, kitty! Anyways, we find out that the bullet form S15 was actually a head injury, but Wash says that he’s doing better. Well eh certainly seems to be in a good mood. Carolina takes him to a basic training course that she use son occasion and Wash challenges her to a race on it. While she does remind Wash that he’s on the mend, she ends up agreeing.

Things go well at first with the two having a good time. While Wash struggles a little, he’s still trying his best. Carolina is in perfect form, so safe to say that she’s fully recovered from the armor lock. Wash however ends up tripping up. He’s okay, but... well we find out about a mroe serious issue. Upon tumbling, Wash asks why he was on the course to begin with since he’s in no condition for it. And I don’t mean int he way that he’s frustrated and asking why he even attempted it. No, he legitimate does’t know why he was on the, assuming that Carolina’s competitiveness is to blame. Carolina can only roll with it, clearly distraught at this.

Later, Carolina goes to speak with Dr. Gray who is int he middle of an autopsy. Gray confirms that while Wash’s physical condition is recovering steadily, the head wound has affected his memory. This ugh... hits really close to home for me. I’ll talk further in the review. Anyways, Carolina is unwilling to tell Wash about this, even when Gray says that she herself prefers to let her patients now everything. Carolina’s reasoning for not talking is because of how many times she’s seen Wash get back up, regardless of what he went through. She even calls him the strongest Freelancer. So having to tell him about this... well it’s hard for her. Gray also asks if she’s heard from the Reds and Blues yet, with Carolina saying that they can handle themselves regardless of what they got into. Aka, she’s very concerned.

Back in the Sixth Century, Huggins is once more trying to talk Grif into teaming up with Grif not having any of it. His main reasons being that Huggins’ people caused pizza to not exist (which she denies) and because working with a lens flare is stupid. But Huggins does get his attention when she tells him about Doc and O’Malley... well after she tries to give exposition about the Gods and he refuses it. Must be a jab at the criticism last year. Anyways, Huggins explains that up until the betrayal, Doc would only go into O’Malley when Grif was sleeping at night and that he is now a Shisno. What is a shisno? An alien slur against humans, right? Wrong! A shisno is an agent of the ancient time God Chrovus. Going off the name, he is clearly based off Chronos, Personification of Time.

So as it turns out time travel can be kind of dangerous. And not just because it can change events, oh no. According to Huggins’ kind, time travel can warp the mind, fulled by the desire to fix the past. Those last three words sound familiar? Yeah, we have a LOT to talk about int he review section. But the point is, if you get too deep into fixing the past,, you get corrupted and become a Shisno. AN Agent of Chrovos. This gets Grif to angrily ask why Huggins didn’t speak up before, but she says that she wasn't allowed and talking to him now is going to get her into trouble, but unless they work together they’re stuck. Grif continues to refuse however and outright snaps when Huggins throws the sister card, saying that she’s in the same time period. That gets him to outright try and shoot Huggins, which fails cause she’s a ball of light. So he threatens to toss her into a black hole, which makes her back off. Sheesh...

Back in Chorus, Dylan has called Carolina due to having some major news. She shows Carolina some historical images... that have Tucker, Lopez, and Caboose in them. Yeah... Dylan has pieced together that the Reds and Blues are lost in time, even pointing out Loco’s time machine which makes it very plausible. TO say that Carolina is unhappy about this would be an understatement. Dylan has tried to dig into it, but ever scientist she went to got her laughed out of the building. She has found someone though, but he is on location so Carolina will have to go to him herself. Carolina is at first reluctant, until Dylan reminds her that Caboose has a time machine. So for the sake of all fo time, Carolina agrees to meet with the expert.

Back in Ancient Italy, Grif has calmed down and is asking about his sister. Huggins confirms that while she’s in England, both she and Tucker are in the Sixth Century. This gets Grif to finally agree to work with her, but only to get back to his sister and friends. He also has some demands. He wants no exposition about Gods and stuff (GDI Grif, this si the good kind of exposition!0, no talking in general (that’s not gonna last), and he wants Huggins to dim her light. Huggins agrees and also asks Grif to not bring up black holes again because one killed her parents. Ouch... but yeah, Grif is reluctantly on board with going to England. Huggins is so happy she brightens up! Literally! This is gonna be fun!

To close out the episode, we once mroe cut to Chorus where Carolina is speaking to Wash. She informs him that the Reds and Blues are in trouble and Wash is ready to go help. But Carolina intends to go alone since Wash is still recovering, even pointing out that all she’s gong to do is talk to Dylan’s expert. But Wash is unwilling to stay while the guys are in trouble, also thinking that it’ll help him focus. Reluctantly, Carolina agrees to let him tag along. The two head off, Wash asking Carolina if he ever told her about his cat Loki. Ow...

Review

Well... that was... ow... okay, as I said we have a LOT to discuss.

Lets do Grif and Huggins first. So Huggins reveal means... a lot. I’m gonna speculate more when we’ve gone over all the character stuff though. Huggins herself continues to be so freakin’ great. Cheerful, but also knowledgeable. Proactive, but also silly. She’s patient with Grif, not even getting mad when he threatens her with the black hole and even understands him not being willing to trust her despite his denial of it. Like I am seriously loving her and Grif’s interactions. It’s like a cherry younger sister/annoyed with everything older brother dynamic and it works perfectly. Like picking Grif to be the one stuck with Huggins was a perfect choice.

Grif himself has been so well done this season so far. Like him getting angry enough to shoot at Huggins is a little extreme, but with how nothing has gone his way all season, it’s understandable that he’d be pissed. Plus he DID come around at the end once he calmed down and realized that he can reunite with his sister and Tucker. Seriously, it seems like using Sister against him regardless of the intent is a VERY good way to make hims nap. It was what made him snap at Dylan back in S15 after all. SO yeah, no one use the sister card against Grif. Ever. But he is setting aside not wanting any par tin anything for his friends, which shows that ultimately they will come before everything else. So the development form last season has stuck, which is good! It really feels like Grif is being set up into the main protagonist role, kind of like Church has been through mot of the show and Tucker during Chorus. Which I am all for cause he deserves the spotlight!

Okay, so onto Freelancer. SO I’m gonna be honest, this was hard to get through. Not because it was bad. It was VERY good. It was so good to finally see Wash and Carolina again after so long and to have them back in the plot. But... Wash’s memory lapses... well it hits hard. When I was 12 years old, my dad got a brain tumor. While he survived it, they had to do brain surgery to remove the tumor and that permanently damaged his memory. His lapses were like Wash’s, constant short term memory loss. He’d forget about appointments, things he said, what he was doing/supposed to be doing, phone numbers, etc. It was like that for 12 years, right up to when he died in February. TO say that this hit me hard would be an understatement. I was outright teary eyed as Wash started to repeat the cat story to Carolina and the emotional turmoil his state is leaving her. It... it hit hard. And Wash has been a character I never particularly cared for, but this... man my heart breaks for him because going through that is absolutely horrible and frustrating. I hope that he’ll be okay,

It makes me feel for Carolina too, maybe even moreso. Like her not telling Wash? Horrible idea. He needs to know about his memory issues so that at least if he forgets things, he knows why. Like Gray said, it’s best to tell them everything. But at the same time, watching such a strong person go from normal to... for lack of a better word broken with you unable to do anything about it is terrible. As someone who has been in her position, it is incredibly difficult and emotionally draining to go with. So while I think that she’s making a huge mistake in keeping it to herself, I can absolutely sympathize with her position. Joe really captured her feelings well and while I feel for Wash, it’s good that eh decided to have the injury cause consequences instead of writing it off as a full recovery. I’m glad that he went this route.

Wash and Carolina themselves were well done. I liked them just talking in the beginning and Carolina trying to help Wash with the training course. Her worry about the Reds and Blues, despite her best efforts to not be worried, is also good. Her being absolutely exasperated but unsurprised that they got lost in time also made me giggle. Seriously, they are all SO grounded. Wash also immideatly ready to jump up and go with Carolina once he finds out is also great. It’s clear that he’s probably not fit for it, but he is not going to sit back when his team clearly needs to be found. But yeah, it was so good to finally get these two back and Joe certainly made up for lost time with them. I am very pleased. Hopefully it won’t be another 7 episode gap without seeing them though.

Okay, so back to the Shisno thing. So as we learn form Huggins, ‘fixing the past’ is really just a way to break people’s minds and convert them into Chrovus’ minions. So it’s kind of like mind control, but not the conventional type. So I think that Grif is perfectly fine. Why? Because Huggins made it pretty clear that what mainly causes the corruption is getting sucked into fixing the past. Grif has wanted nothing to do with fixing it. Sure maybe he has some signs with some stuff like nearly blowing himself up or shooting at Huggins’, but I think that he’s the most safe out of everyone. Sister and Tucker I think are also okay since they spent all their time banging dead celebrities and to confirm if they sexed or not. Then again, they were immune to Chrovus’ blasts, but IDK if that’ due to the corruption or if using the time guns just does that instantly. But for now, I think that they’re fine.

That brings us to Sarge, Simmons, Donut, Caboose, and Lopez. So Donut is definitely a shisno. Think about it. It’s clear that the ‘God’ he met was Chrovus. He fixed him and likely converted him himself, then gave him the guns to kickstart the Reds and Blues going through time with the cryptic ‘saving the future means fixing the past’ speil. Like that’s what ‘fixing the past’ means, a blank term that will draw in someone, make them come to their own conclusions, go through time to fix whatever, and the more they get invested the easier it becomes for Chrovus to corrupt them. Now it IS possible that he just fooled Donut and lied to him to make him do it willingly, but I’m really not sure.

That leads us to the other four. Now we haven’t seen Caboose and Lopez in forever, but last we did they were going through time to find Caboose’s penny to start an interest account. So I have NO idea if this is going to affect them or not. I think Lope will be fine, maybe even go with it cause Lopez hates everything so he won’t care. Caboose... well he’s kind of trying to fix the past, even if it’s misguided. So it’s possible. But I don’t know for sure until we see them again. Then Sarge and Simmons, it’s even harder to call. Sarge was absolutely fixated on fixing the past until Episode 5. Simmons wanted to test the gun and frequently try to get Sarge back on task about fixing the past until Episode 5. They both called it quits, but IDK if they are still in Desert Gulch or are going through time again at this point. But Sarge fit the criteria and last we saw, Simmons gave up on logic itself. So it is very possible for them to get corrupted and the fact that it’s been so many episodes wince we saw any of these four and Donut concerns me. You’re an evil man Joe.

Okay, so chances are Grif and Huggins will eventually get to England, get captured, thrown into wherever Tucker and Sister are, and they’ll somehow ge tout and get the gun back. I’m going to assume that it got confiscated and Tucker and Sister are in a dungeon somewhere. I could be wrong, but that seems to be where we’re heading. So currently IDT that these three will get corrupted. It’s also pretty likely that Carolina and Wash will also get sucked into the past eventually. I think that Carolina will be okay. Sure maybe she’ll get tempted, but I think that she’s reconciled with the past and won’t seek to change it. IDK if Wash will either, but with his current state... well it looks like Villain Wash may be making a comeback guys.

Final Thoughts

This was such a good episode. The Freelances are back, bits of character development, some much needed info about the Shisno stuff, and overall it was very well done. It hit all the right emotional notes. Seriously, if you were not happy with last weeks episode, I think that this will be a much better watch for you. Very well done!

[phoenix1966sbottom]

Hi Phoneix! Do you have any favorite fics discussing the more gloomy, realistic problems between Sam and Dean? Safiyabat's for example (just an example, it doesn't need to be something like that), but non-slash is fine with me. Preferably hurt Sam, and no fixing. Also, if you don't mind, I'm curious what's your idea on their dysfunctional relationship? Thank you! ( I understand this is a fic rec blog, please just ignore my question if you don't feel to answer :)

When I read your first sentence, I immediately thought of Safiyabat for their wincest and gen stories. I haven’t come across many that really focus on the dysfunctional nature of the family relationship as well as their stuff and stays close to canon (there are plenty of serial killer!AUs, etc., for example).

That being said, I have a couple of gloomy ones and ones that just focus on the broken, family dynamic. Hurt!Sam all the way. Heed the warnings where the stories are hosted as there are deathfics in this list, not to mention other disturbing content (also, John and/or Dean are not “good” guys in these stories):

Remember When…by darkroses on Ao3. Sam/Dean, Dean/John. Wincest. John is mysteriously back from the dead and Sam is happy about that until he walks in on his father and Dean. Sam is upset and jealous, so Dean reminds him of times in their past.Sam doesn’t want to think about those times. Dean thinks Sam is playing a game by shying away from him.

Don’t Let Me Know We’re Invisible by mimblexwimble on LiveJournal. Sam/Dean. Wincest. The sex is ambiguous. Sam just can’t cope with the hunting life.

Wild Men Who Caught and Sang the Sun by kroki-refur on adult-fanfiction.org. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Sam is Dean but Dean is not Sam.

What Doesn’t Kill Us by kroki-refur on LiveJournal. Sam/Dean, Sam/John. Wincest. Incest. Heed the warnings on this one! John and Dean use abusive methods to keep Sam in line. (this might be f-locked now)

Talk to Me by darkroses on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest. John walked in on the unthinkable. He never wanted this to happen but he needed answers. He hoped this wasn’t true. He hoped there was another reason.

The Wolf At His Door by goandgetthegun on Ao3. Sam/Dean. Wincest.  Dean wants Sam in every way he shouldn’t, so when he gets an opportunity to have what he wants, he takes it.

The Virgin by darkroses on Ao3. Sam/John (non-con). Wincest. Sixteen year old Sam is on a hunt with his dad, brother, and Bobby. The thing is targeting virgins. John takes matters into his own hands to protect Sam.

And if I show you my dark side by ratherastory on LiveJournal. Sam/Dean. Wincest. Dean will never let Sam go, and Sam knows it. This changes nothing, but it changes everything.

These two are a/b/o by darkroses:

To Have Worth. Sam/Dean. Wincest AU. Dean claims Sam from a young age to be his omega. Sam wasn’t sure how he felt about that. His feelings changed with time. All he wanted was to be worth something. No matter what Sam offered, he could never have what he was searching for.

The Monster in the Shadows. Sam/John, Sam/Dean. Wincest AU. John comes to terms with how to treated Sam after he presented as an omega at the tender age of twelve. He only did what he thought he was right. He can never make up for what he did. He can never change what Sam thinks of him now.

And, finally, a gen one I really liked because it showed how Sam suffered for a decision Dean made (something the show, in my opinion, teases at but never fully resolves. e.g. Dean selling his soul and not really considering what hell he’s condemning his brother to in the process, allows an angel to possess him even though he knows Sam hated every moment of Meg and Lucifer). It goes AU after Dean knocks Sam unconscious and leaves him on the ground in 9X23.

How the Wild Things Start by foolscapper on Ao3. Gen. Sam-centric. "This is where it starts — the brightly lit ring, the screams, the glinting of knives, the baring of teeth. This, right here, is where it begins. Sam turns to Dean, Metatron just a hero’s walk away, and Dean slams his fist into the side of Sam’s face. It will bruise, but that’s not the point. Sam will not face Metatron’s blade and wrath, but that is not the point. The point is, Dean puts Sam’s hands on his chest, the action sickly sweet like perfume left on a tacky, bloated corpse — and then he walks away. He leaves Sam, dreaming black dreams on the ground, just outside of the impala. Baby does not protect him when one of Abaddon’s followers finds him. Baby does not scream for help or look for Dean when the demons drag Sam’s unconscious body away.When Dean leaves Metatron’s burnt-out husk, his bones screaming ecstasy from the kill, he finds Sam gone.“

As for my thoughts on dysfunctional wincest…I’ll put them below the cut so people can skip that if they want.

I started watching the show as it went on the air, so I have had 12 years to mull over all sorts of relationships, etc. Below are my thoughts on wincest in fanon. I am by no means saying it exists in canon or should exist in canon. These are simply my opinions. 

Wincest, to me, was there from the start. You’ve got the father (and one day I will sit down and write out my take on John) who raises his sons as soldiers (I know Sam described them as “warriors” in the pilot, but I suspect the word choice was intentional by the writers. There are rightfully all types of negative connotations to the phrase “child soldier”). Nevertheless, this is how they were raised.

The sons were never given the time or permission to form outside attachments with all the moving around John put the family through. They were taught at a young age to lie, and later to cheat and steal via credit card fraud and pool hustling at the very least (a reason the whitewashing of John’s character in these last few seasons irks me. “I raised you right” was John’s motto? Really? However, that is a discussion for another time)

Dean was given the heavy burden of raising his brother. John stripped him of his childhood and drilled into him to always “take care of Sammy” from a very young age. And that is where I see the seeds of wincest, with the older brother having proprietary feelings for his younger because John placed Sam (literally and figuratively) in Dean’s hands. And, at his end, John placed Sam’s life once more in Dean’s control by urging him to save or kill his younger brother while leaving Sam in the dark about what he knew.

John emphasized family first according to his rules and did not allow them to leave (except, of course, he was allowed to go off and not only father another son, but let that son have the life, including “normal” dad, Sam and Dean ached for). The price of leaving the family (and for college, not to run off to deal drugs, etc.)? Excommunication from the only family/support system Sam was allowed to have. Having made his sons so dependent on the family unit, I wonder if John secretly thought Sam would eventually cave and come crawling back to them (my speculation - nothing in the show overtlypointed to this).

For me, that sealed the deal that Sam and Dean were much like two people trapped on a deserted island, or like siblings trapped in an attic with a parent that was only sporadically present - ripe breeding ground for incestuous thoughts and feelings. No, I don’t for one second see it as a healthy relationship, because the boys were never allowed to know healthy.

Furthermore, Dean was always the controlling partner. I would say to the point of obsessiveness, which is understandable given the pressures that were placed on him by John. In the first season, we get to see Dean isolating Sam from the life he was building outside of the “family”. In “Skin”, he sort of mocks Sam for staying in touch with his friends, making him feel guilty that he is dishonest with them and agrees when Sam rather incredulously asks if he is supposed to just cut them out of his life. By the end of that episode, Sam is resigned to no longer really staying in touch. But Dean, like John, gets to live by different rules. We discover Dean did have a relationship with Cassie while Sam was away, going so far as to break that unspoken rule the family had about not revealing the hunting life to people they aren’t “saving”. That backfired on him, with her ending the relationship. When they meet up again in the first season, he promises to come back to her even though she doesn’t believe they have a chance. He never does return and even ignores Sam’s offer of staying there longer (Sam wanting Dean to have that life he himself had tried to fashion is once again echoed in the promise he extracts from Dean in Swan Song. Notice that when Dean returned from Purgatory [when he was thought dead], he harangued and punished Sam verbally and emotionally for trying for normal once again).

So, the show continued its slow reinforcement of the boys never having successful relationships outside of their tiny family. Sam “fails” at love when almost all his significant others die, and Dean “fails” at love when he is either rejected by them or he feels they are unsafe knowing him (in the latter, he makes one of his unilateral “I know what’s good for you even though this will take away some of your autonomy” decisions and has Lisa & Ben mindwiped. foolscapper did a dark fic au on how that choice played out in the end…ouch)

To me, there is so much fodder to play with in fanon for a twisted, unhealthy relationship with a dark, controlling Dean. Although I read very little written like that, it is my favorite wincest headcanon. This is not to say I don’t enjoy a romanticized version of wincest (because I do very much and it is usually my preferred reading), but, to me, the show enforces an unhealthy, push vs. pull relationship between the two that they will never completely resolve.

As an aside, I also find it almost humorous we all refer to them as “the boys” when they are men (if you take into account their age), as though we subconsciously acknowledge they have not grown up into adults in the conventional sense of the word and probably never will.

They truly are the lost boys doomed to never leave Neverland.

[powerborntouch]

“The Altered Adventure: Secrets of the Cyclone: Grave Robbers (Chp 10)” Reaction

This will probably be the most different from the Minecraft roleplay. That’s exciting.

If you don’t want spoilers, stop scrolling down and blacklist “altered adventure spoilers” or “secrets of the cyclone”

I’m actually sad that Brayden wasn’t that involved in the book. I was under the impression that he would. Well, if the future books at least clarify his motives, I don’t care if he’s underused. Just fix the plot holes.

I thought campfire was a typo. Omg, I loved that joke. (There are a few typos and formatting errors in this book, btw)

Omg, Letvia and Inferno finally appear. Yuuuussss

Omg, guys, the novel is giving so much Voice/Letvia shipping fuel. I think this book is trying to redeem itself with how the roleplay treated Voice/Letvia

LETVIA, YOU’RE BLUE NOW. THAT’S MY ATTACK. Third time. Her skin is actually blue. I assume she’s a Justment. So Justments give no shit about what color they look like. But I want to know what their bodies look like figure-wise and what sets them apart from NPCs.

Inferno looks exactly the same.

I like the tension between these Guardians and the different opinions.

Without his body, Voice felt anxious and empty. And 136% done with all the puns he had to hear

Graves just pop out like daisies? Ok. I can roll with that. It feels like a video game. First the quest vibe. Now this. These aspects make me excited about Altered.

“rip Samantha Telling. You had a very weird name. Like, what parents in their right mind would name someone Samantha in Altered?” I wonder if Samantha Telling is a shoutout/easter egg that I don’t know.

Poor Betsy and Gizzy :( Why did they have to make this hurt

Elizabeth is more appreciated that Barath. Rip Barath. Rip. Still the least favorite Guardian of them all

Gizzy’s asking Benji for advice. That’s a step :D

A trap to anyone who steals the keys. Courtesy of the Guardians. Now that’s what I call actually protecting the Prophecy.

I’m glad there’s flaws to the morph ability. Coming to think about it, I think the morph ability is more balanced in the novel. It’s harder to kill things in the real world than in Minecraft, so it will be harder to gain new forms. I’m starting to appreciate this power

Daaaang. A skeleton army o_o This really escalated from the wolf pack and Ratchet

Barath was destroyed by his own hammer. How ironic. And finally Gizzy uses that hammer for once

Clayton, goddamnit. Have you been following him all this time?

I feel so worried for Gizzy and Benji. Who’s gonna save them this time? Not Betsy, that’s for sure.

Ouch. Hit in the head. …is it bad that I’m hoping for one of those flashbacks?

Yaaay, flashback

Omg. Please don’t mess up with Ratchet’s character and the timeline continuity. Pleeeeeaaaase. I’m begging you.

Witch left his chill back in the Minecraft roleplay. He’s so dramatic in the novels.

Oooooooooh, Voice. That was SAVAGE

“Egotistical notion” Witch is implying that Voice is saving the world just to improve his image. I can take this in two ways. 1: Voice loves his reputation, will do anything to secure it and thinks saving the world is the best way to do so. He’s not saving the world for the lives, but for himself, and doesn’t care if people get hurt. Or 2: Voice is so concerned about being Altered’s best Guardian. He feels like he has no choice but to prioritize the Prophecy over Aurona because he believes it’s what’s expected of him. He doesn’t want to fail Altered and make the people fall into despair.

“you’re going to pay for those words” BY BECOMING WORDS

Witch is also calling Voice hypocritical.

“This, Voice, is a fitting punishment for such a ridiculous name.” OOOOOOOOOH OOOOOOOOOOOH OOOOOOOOOH BUUUUUUURN. So apparently, in Altered, Shamas, Witch, Letvia, Samantha and Alpha are acceptable names. But being named Voice is a tragedy. Lol.

Looks like Voice’s attacks are weak when he has no body. I like that limitation.

Ok, the book doesn’t acknowledge the timeline continuity nor Ratchet’s motives. It better not had mess it up…

Seriously, Gizzy needs to get his head checked for a concussion. He won’t survive long enough to kill the Demon if he’s suffering internal bleeding.

Witch as ashamed? Gypsy has no chill? OMG, did he just SLAP his son? Omg, they’re both crying?? Omg. No nooooo. Omg. Witch’s mental breakdown reminds me of my Witch Redemption AU. I don’t know if I should be happy for the similarities or be even sadder. Aaaaaaah Omg. We finally get Witch’s backstory…but I don’t know what to make out of it :’D

Aurona overshadowed Witch. But Witch still cares about him.

Ok, Witch’s motives are better explained. I like that.

“You will become king of Altered” *DESK SLAM* STOP LYING. We know this isn’t true! The book describes Gypsy as uncertain when he said that. But why is Gypsy insisting it anyway? I hope this is addressed later.

Witch says that the Guardians made him look bad…but he is bad. He did a lot of bad stuff in the Minecraft roleplay. I wonder how the novel series is gonna present this guy. So far, he’s someone I sympathize for.

I’m finding so much info that aligns with my Witch redemption AU too :D Differences are Witch being more sentimental and being the older brother

I’m kinda confused…the Chosen One and the savior of Altered…are not the same thing. ???

Dang, Ratchet is still villainous. I’m starting to doubt that he will receive a redemption. Like, at this point, Witch has a better chance to be redeemed that Voice and Ratchet

I’m still confused about the Prophecy. It can either make Witch king or take Gizzy home. I hope this is addressed better later. If I didn’t knew about the Minecraft roleplay, I would assume that the Prophecy is something that grants people wishes.

Also, I noticed that Gypsy didn’t say that his time was coming to an end…hmm…

There’s one great thing about making Aurona and Gizzy children in the books: it questions morality. Witch was angry at Voice for separating him from Aurona (a child), but he was ok with Voice’s plan to separate Gizzy (another child) from his family. So, is Witch just as bad as Voice?

I don’t know what to think about Witch. His character is not clearly defined with all these different perspectives. Like, this info contradicts the info from chapters 2 and 3. I want to analyze this later and figure out why the narrator lied about Witch in chapters 2 and 3.

Did Witch agree to Voice’s plan willingly or unwillingly? What did Witch do as a Guardian? So many questions, but they can’t be answered in the book.

[sparda3g]

Kingdom Chapter 554 Review

It’s the day that will define the phrase “make or break” in this first of the three days before total downhill spiral. It’s also the rise of Heki as we begin the story of his uphill battle. He knows too well of feeling down and on the losing edge; the fans can joke around all day long. It’s time for him to prove the doubters wrong. The chapter is a straightforward hype build that showcases Heki and his developing mentality to achieve brilliance in what it is a do or die event.

In the last chapter, the Quanrong has increased their army size greatly to end the fight for good on this very day. This one elaborates that Heki’s position isn’t the only to be concern, because every position is about the same amount. It raises the stakes and potential death higher than before, which that seriously help me to relax. That’s when Heki realizes that the plan has been exposed; no longer feel like on the high ground. I doubt his words mean there’s a traitor; it’s more of praise towards Shunsuiju’s strategic move.

Katari insist Heki to fall back and change the position by having his men to go in front. I laughed at Kitari’s eagerness to kick them out already. When you don’t look at the context, you would think she is eager to die. Heki’s men have the uncertainty to accept Katari’s request, but it would only add fuel to Heki’s rise as a true Commander. It becomes clear by his respond that Hara has begun setting up his character to be the true underdog.

It’s a bit baffling to look back at older chapters and think Heki will die as a pathetic piece of crap. While it is uncertain if he will make it out alive or not, he is definitely not going out with a whimper. He’s on the rise with him declining a Mountain Tribe fellow’s request, which could have been a ticket to enter easier mode. Instead, his manliness has increased and so as his pride to prove the man he is to Yotanwa. That’s enough to make a man the man. It also helps the setting automatically place him in a position of a rookie playing the big league field.

As straightforward the action is, it’s compelling and somewhat inspiring when you follow the path of Heki’s resolve to overcome the odds. Bunen sends his men, believing to be an easy victory. Heki’s men were feeling fear by not just numbers but their class. However, Heki doesn’t back away and feels that their past experiences are enough to know how they work and believe the time to show off their strengths is now. It’s very telling how his men thought about their stance when they felt no confidence on their strengths. They have the expression that reads like, “Strength? We have that???” This only increases Heki’s momentum as a Commander.

His command consist a classic wait and mark position with the archers taking their shot when the enemy fleet is close enough, yet it was satisfying. It displays him further as the underdog of everything and he’s holding up pretty well. His offense to defense is swift and clever timing, even if it is common sense; the point is those Quanrong men are not so bright. Once they break through the archers, they have to deal with shield troopers, which dumbfounded them to attack and bull rush to their death.

Probably the most impressive tactic is to use archers inside the formation, which is a tactic hardly done within this series’ history. Basically, they shoot from a close range position rather from afar as you usually see or reminded many times before. This is a nice refreshing move to use, commanded by Heki no less. Despite a good tactic play by a man who is seen as a novice in compare with all others there, it’s more or less done by the book routine; meaning it’s not extraordinary or mind-blowing. That’s completely fine.

The most significant part that practically defines the chapter in the nutshell is the inspiring words from Heki and his stance. He knows his tactic isn’t something to write home about, let alone flashiness. Hell, you can say that Hara decided to give background character #554 a moment to shine and leave you wondering, “Why this fodder?” That’s perfectly fine to him because as ordinary they are and as weak they are in compare, he trusts his men more than anything.

He has a true Commander’s synergy when he can count his men to get the job done as well as executing the fundamental tactic at its best. When the rhythm gets going, he will eventually defeat Bunen and his men. That’s a pretty bold statement. You may mock him for believing that chance, but it speaks volume of him for having this much momentum. It’s a complete opposite on what he has gone through since the beginning of the war, which was an atrocious start. His mental state is completely healed and he is throwing everything without reluctantly make a foolish of himself. That’s actually inspiring.

Even Katari thought it was praiseworthy, though Kitari says otherwise. Can you at least give one ounce of credit? Bunen is pretty savage to call off the Calvary and order men to decapitate those who have failed. Wow, that’s messed up. Waste of men but whatever I suppose. Normally, the infantry would have startled or scared the normal Qin Army away, but Heki continues to be impressive and encourage them that numbers won’t determine the outcome. Quickly changes the formation into 5 man squads and prepare for infantry combat; proves that he has thought this through.

It’s a nice touch to Heki’s uprising with him being the one to request his next command to Katari. It’s a good contrast from earlier scene where the latter was the one requested to the former; I thought it was worth mentioning. Also, it’s a classic case of great minds think alike, so there’s no need to rewrite.

I feel like their chemistry is growing and I can imagine they will be best of pals by the end. Katari is already gaining more respect for him, so I imagined Hara doing something special. It’s interesting to note that Katari will be the one to kill Bunen when the time is right. I don’t know if Hara is setting up for a red herring, like it will be Heki to take the kill. I wouldn’t mind either way, but I think it will make Heki a standout if he slays. Waiting is the only way to find out.

The funniest part is after Katari wish him the best. As nice it was for them to wish for their safety, it’s Kitari’s turn to say her “farewell.” I thought it was a perfect opportunity to show her gratitude and how her opinion changed so much. Nope. She speaks in her language, wishing to see the moment of slaying Bunen as Heki falls. Ouch. It doesn’t matter. Heki, all serious, prays for her safety and believed her genuine words mean best wishes. Yeah...

She got annoyed by his dumbfounded reaction, even though he didn’t know better. I found it hilarious that Heki even managed to pull a cool/badass exit of the conversation. I love the guy, but he hasn’t really qualified for that exit with his cape flapping. One day though. She’s definitely not on best term, but I would like to think Heki will win her over soon. Regardless, the interaction is amusing.

The chapter ends the setup stage as everyone has finally meet up their match and engage the bone-chilling plan. Feego King seems to be easily aggravated or invoked as he is the last one to the clash. I got a feeling that Hara is setting up for his downfall and perhaps the only one on this day. The fact he believed that the youngest brother is afraid to come out and fight sort of signal for a trap.

I thought it was a gripping way to end the buildup with Yotanwa feeling the sensation of being balanced on a knife’s edge. It’s her way of saying that this day is make or break and it can seriously lead to her end. It’s the first time for the fans to witness her being in a life or death situation. It completely set the tone for this faithful day.

It was a really good hype chapter that was needed to prove Heki’s position in a better light. While there was a neat action here, it was solely done to prove that he can hold up well with the big dogs. Nevertheless, it was done nicely and Heki’s rising star power looks pretty promising. The visual is pretty good, capturing the tone of do or die greatly, especially concerning with Yotanwa’s feeling. Hell is here and it’s only day one.