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philliamwrites · 4 years ago

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killing me softly with his song | (Childe / Reader) [chpt.1]

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Childe / Reader

Tags: #fem!reader, #from childhood friends to lovers, #reader is a fatui agent, #slow burn, #unresolved sexual tension, #mature language, #forbidden love

Words: 2k

Summary: "Lybuov zla, polyubish i kozla," sighs your sister as she wipes off the table, but that makes you feel even more miserable. Falling for a goat might save you from an actual heartbreak by Tartaglia's hands.

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Loosely connected chapters about you and Childe finding happiness. Maybe.

Notes: Part 2

Masterlist

***

childe? what a problematic asshole i hate him i- *trips* *thousands of pictures of childe spill from pockets* fuck those aren’t mine i swear i’m just holding them for a friend i- *slips on a pile of pictures* fu ck no they’re not mine i hate him i just- *more pictures fall out as i fall to my knees, desperately trying to pick them up* hang on a sec jUst LISTEN

Chapter 1

A cold gust of icy wind drives you deeper into the sheets and you swear by the name of Her Majesty Herself once you get up and find Alexei, you’ll smother him with a towel for leaving a window open in the middle of the night.

Somewhere outside, a rooster crows. Fine, not dead of the night then, but no one cares for technicalities like these when sleep is involved. Especially after a night like this one, when Alexei fucked you into oblivion and back, you need every minute of shuteye you can get before another day of exhausting missions in the Chechnaya Taiga of Snezhnaya claims your last strand of sanity.

It’s peaceful mornings like these that make it all worthwhile though—the quiet during the early golden hour when people slowly wake up to a brand-new day and get ready to do their chores, their factory work. The sheer number of possibilities stretching out before their hands, and hope rekindled every morning despite the harsh cold waiting at their doorsteps. You love how everything stands still, how even the uncaring universe seems to grant people a sliver of peace, allows them to be soft and vulnerable. To be kind to themselves by indulging in a freshly brewed cup of coffee or tea. Nothing can spoil this for you, nothing and no one—

An awkward cough sounds from the door. You close your eyes, willing him to disappear by simply ignoring him, but his eyes burn into the back of your head like two smouldering coals and eventually, you turn around to see Alexei standing in the door frame, shifting from left to right. “There’s someone out there who wants to talk to you,” he says.

Turning around, you try to disappear into your pillow. “Whoever it is, I’m sure they can wait until it isn’t such a damn unholy time.”

Alexei clears his throat. “It’s uhm … it’s someone from the Fatui.”

Your eyes snap open. Suddenly the warm, cosy blankets feel like a snake’s tight hold around your body, and you struggle out of its grip, grabbing for the dressing gown you carelessly threw around the back of your chair last night.

The sun hangs low in the east, painting the city of Kerch that stretches outside of your window a sheen of dusky gold. When the red-brown bricks of the dacha cottages come into view, you think of the gingerbread houses you used to make as a child every year in celebration of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa of the Zapolyarny Palace.

Cold already seeps into your bones even though the robe is tight around your body. You hiss when your bare feet hit the icy floor but can’t find your slippers. Time to die like a woman.

You brush past Alexei, who’s scratching his head, still just in his underwear and you think him crazy for walking around half-naked like that even though it’s minus 58F outside and the heating systems inside your barracks only start to work once outside temperatures drop to minus 75F.

Maybe what they say is true. People from around Noyabrsk in the north of Snezhnaya regularly dip into frosty rivers and you do remember him mentioning ice swimming is his hobby. It was one of the few things you thought attractive about him. Actually, it was the only thing you thought attractive about him.

Light streams into the floor from the kitchen, flickering once, twice in dangerous foreboding. It’s time to switch the lightbulb. Tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure, because that isn’t important right now. What’s important is Tartaglia sitting at your table, leaning back in a chair, both feet crossed on top of the table, and eating your leftover mayonnaise sandwich you saved up for breakfast.

His eyes slide lazily toward you, taking in your form—barefoot, shivering even though the fur from your bathrobe is of the finest white wolf fur obtainable on the market.

Tartaglia finishes your sandwich, smacks his lips and licks mayo off his fingers. He doesn’t even like it, and you know from time to time he can’t handle dairy all that well. He just eats it because he knows how it infuriates you.

“Alexei, huh,” he says in lieu of hello. “Didn’t know you’re into himbos.”

Behind you, Alexei makes a sound like a kicked puppy. You glare at him over your shoulder, then jut your chin towards the front door. “Out. Now.”

He doesn’t wait for you to repeat yourself. Surprisingly fast for a guy this big, he bolts into your room, gets dressed in record speed and leaves your little one-bedroom apartment without so much as a Goodbye or “We’ll hear from each other,” and you prefer it that way. It saves stuff from getting messy.

Speaking of messy, you really wish Tartaglia would have sent you a note before coming. The smell of icy wind and snowy forests clings to his clothes. He must have come straight from a mission, not unusual in the slightest, yet in most cases he sends a message your way just to make sure he doesn’t run into one of your one-night stands and it doesn’t get ugly.

Like right now.

“I thought you had a little more class than that,” he says nonchalantly. His feet keep wobbling from left to right until you make your way over and push them off your table. Not that you actually sit there to take your meals, no. But this is your home, you have to assert dominance.

“Well, I’m not picky,” you say, taking the empty chair opposite from him. “The nights of Fyrva’snezh are really fucking cold.”

“I’m sure Fire-Water will do the same trick.” He’s sulking, yet he has no right to it and knowing Tartaglia, that’s why he sulks even more.

Your relationship can be summarised with one word: complicated. Which is funny, because besides martial arts classes (taught by a teacher that is a real ball of sunshine who could easily snap your spine like a twig) and infiltration tactics courses (led by a grumpy teacher who once woke you all up in the middle of the night to do a spontaneous quiz about infiltration steps and everyone who failed or fell asleep had to run a marathon through the forest in their underwear) you had to take at the Fatui military school of Zapolyarny, they also teach mathematics and molecular physics, and that shit was complicated.

Growing up in a small seaside village—bless little Morepesok; how much you miss babushka Katya’s refreshing botvinia soup—with only a handful kids your age, gravitating towards Tartaglia was the natural development. He loves ice-fishing, you love eating fish. You gag just smelling solyanka, he wolfs it down like it might be his last meal on earth. Opposites attract each other, as they say, and how true it is for you two—you, the morning person and he, the night owl; his will of iron and your nerves of steel. Your bow, his sword, even though Tartaglia is a masochist who likes to make it hard for himself by trying to switch weapons solely because you’re better at it than him and he is a sore loser.

His worship of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, your fear of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa.

“I don’t think you came all the way here just to call me a slut,” you say. He is in no position to do so anyway, because Camilla from the ptychy’moloko shop down the road that leads to the Sarov church didn’t shut up about blowing him for weeks until you sent her a liver of a pig and claimed that was the leftovers from the last girl that thought she could put a leash on the Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. Camilla quickly moved on to an inconspicuous merchant who sells matryoshka dolls for a living and all is well that ends well.

“What do you want?”

Tartaglia starts tapping a gloved finger against the wooden table, a nervous tick you don’t know he’s aware of.

“I’m leaving for Liyue first thing tomorrow.” His tone is low when he speaks, his earlier nonchalance replaced by a sense of urgency.

“Okay.” It isn’t the first time he’s leaving Snezhnaya by order of the Tsaritsa, but every time he does, something inside you leaves with him. “So, you want me to keep an eye out for Teucer and the others?”

“He’s really unhappy I’m leaving again already.” Tartaglia doesn’t mention the reason he was sent away just a couple of months ago to Inazuma was because he accidentally blew up an artillery factory belonging to a nobleman that secretly shipped orders to Fontain. The fallout from that was easier to handle with him not being anywhere nearby. Tartaglia is like a pair of hot tongues; no one is sure where to put him or how soon he would cool off, but if they just drop him, he might light the world on fire. Kid gloves are put on and a careful perimeter marked out.

“And what excuse did you make up this time?” You knock your foot into his leg, lingering on his calf just a second too long before withdrawing again. “Another business trip to promote your toys? You can’t hold up this charade forever, you know.”

“Why, your eyes feast on Snezhnaya’s greatest expatriate toy seller, now extending to the Liyue Branch of our Institute for Toy Research.” Tartaglia’s eyes have taken on a playful glint, and he leans forward as he speaks. “You wouldn’t be so cold to break a little boy’s heart. That’s not you.”

You want to remind him that you have no problem to put an arrow between a man’s eyes, or rip out his fingernails, one by one, to get the information that you want.

“You owe me, toy man.”

“Put it on my tab.”

Tartaglia looks like there’s something else he wants to say, but as always, he decides to swallow those words even though they must hurt like swallowing needles. You know that feeling, and so you help him sort out his tightly entangled yarn of emotions by figuratively pushing him off the cliff.

“Don’t forget to bring condoms. I hear the women of Liyue are beautiful.”

Tartaglia goes a sickly grey colour, like the ashes of a dead fire, but he’s been the leading role of this play too long to fall out of character now. He gets up and stretches like a cat getting comfortable in a spot of sunlight. His jacket rides up, showing a stripe of skin, and you quickly turn your head away before giving into leaning over the table and mark him with your teeth.

Patting his left pants’ pocket, Tartaglia says, “I’m always prepared.” He carries a grin that is dry, humourless, and for a brief moment, you two lock eyes, trading a look that feels like a dare. You allow yourselves to imagine how he picks you up and carries you to your bed where you two would proceed to fuck without abandon through the whole day and the following night, leaving the bed only to get food until Tartaglia leaves for Liyue and you’d send each other love letters until his return. What an idea. What an utterly stupid, naive, wonderful idea.

“Well, lucky ladies,” you say, not bothering to hide the jealousy in your voice because jealousy is easier to handle than regret.

“Lucky indeed,” he agrees and dons his easy-going smile, one that he’s perfected after hours upon hours in front of the mirror until it accomplished what he wanted: to mock people, infuriate them.

On his way out, he stops to ruffle your hair in an affectionate way, one typical for childhood friends, but the distance between you is like the ocean separating Snezhnaya from Liyue.

It was on the very first day of your conscription into the military organisation, Number Six of the Ten Laws that the Fatui abide by: Any physical or romantic relationship between Fatui agents is prohibited. As thou would not exchange flesh with thy brother or sister, so thou shalt not with your comrade, for he or she is thy brother or sister in arms.

And everyone knows Her Majesty the Tsaritsa’s word is law, and though the law is hard, it is the law.

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please drop by my ko-fi if you enjoyed my writing!

#philliamwrites #ao3 #fanfiction #genshin impact #genshin impact childe #childe #tartaglia #genshin impact tartaglia #reader #reader insert #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #genshin impact childe x reader #genshin impact tartaglia x reader #tartaglia x you

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absolutiions · 5 years ago

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´ ･ . ✶ ⧼ madchen amick, non binary, she & they / fucked my way to the top by lana del rey + eyes the color crimson and hands stained in crimson, too. victim of the underworld, you are not. you came, not to sit silent at his side as dutiful wives do, but to whisper in his ear. pouted lips smeared ruby stoke the flames of his darkest impulses and his deepest desires. you are the conqueror. you are the queen. and may god have mercy upon anyone who underestimates this : because you will not. ⧽ ━━ don’t look now, but that’s ATHENODORA. the TWO THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED & TWENTY TWO ( varying physical ) year old GIFTED VAMPIRE has been here in seattle for three minutes, and is considered a member of the VOLTURI. they’ve always been MACHIAVELLIAN & INDOMITABLE, but i guess this town just brings out the worst in people ; apparently, they’ve been way more INSOUCIANT & SUPERCILIOUS than usual. it wouldn’t surprise me if they knew what was going on. click HERE to check out her stats.

they told you that you were a nobody, so you became the QUEEN. ( now everybody knows your name )

SECTION ONE OF THREE : background / human era. trigger warnings for talk of pregnancy, death, abuse

born circa 502 bc, in a little village that has no lasting name nor impact in ancient greece.

five of the children born to her parents survived to adulthood, and since she was the last one... it is almost like, her whole life, she has been suffering from younger child syndrome. who knew !

she very literally grew up in a diff time, so when i say she wasn’t rly close to any of her siblings, i don’t mean it in a like... horrible way. it’s not a reflection of character. they just didn’t have a tight sibling bond, though she loved them greatly.

same w her parents. they were unexceptional people who lived unexceptional lives, and though she was grateful for, u know... their creation of her - they were not close. they did not, in laymans terms, have the lorelai and rory gilmore dynamic.

her whole family were content to live their dismal lives, and... tho athenodora did not vibe, she, again - grew up in a diff time. of course she dreamt of more. of course she prayed to the gods for something better. but she was achingly aware of the fact that no such future would ever exist for her. such is life in 400 whatever bc, bumfuck, greece.

she was just barely eighteen when she was married to athanasios, to secure land, or smth, because those were the times. of course it was something like that.

he was... fine, at first. a little small minded ( that wasn’t the ONLY thing that was small, haha ). he, like everyone, was content to live the same old life, and athenodora just... wasn’t. she had been raised on stories of grandeur, and her parents had thought she would settle for the regular - it should not have been a surprise that she didn’t want to, but gods, did she try.

she never loved him, she can safely say ; but she wished that she did. for a long while, athenodora thought it would be easier, and thought that she could do a lot worse. unfortunately... she cld not.

their lives were meant to follow a certain pattern. they had gotten married, and now he would work all day, make them money, tend their land. she would stay home. cook. clean. raise the children that they were sure to have. athenodora was capable of almost everything expected of her, except for the most important part - she couldn’t seem to give him children. not strong sons. not beautiful daughters.

at first, he told her that it was fine.

after a year or so, he still told her that it was fine, but she could see in his eyes that it wasn’t.

two years after this, he called her the ancient greek version of defective for the very first time - and things only got worse from there.

he had always been a perfectly fine husband, until he was not, and athenodora had always wanted to love him, until she did not. she prayed to the gods every morning and night, to give her what her husband so desired. to give her that which would make her life better, even if she knew it would not heal the wounds already caused.

sometimes the gods r not dicks. a miracle! she becomes pregnant, aged twenty four ( i kno it sounded like she was a crone but again please remember the times ). she always thought it was just what was best n only athanasios would care, but , wow... suddenly. she cares. she has never felt this level of love with anything, until now.

but, tragedy :// straight white men ( idk, i just feel like her husband was the root of all evil ) are not so easily satisfied. who wld have guessed he wld continue to be an abusive asshole even after his wife succeeded in getting pregnant? i bet i shocked u all. who wld have guessed that a huge part of his problem wld end up being that suddenly, athenodora clearly cares abt something - and it isn’t him. again. got you all!

over the course of her pregnancy, he becomes, for the first time, a real threat to her - or maybe, athenodora simply never took him seriously until there is another person to think of. either way, she TRULY fears him and what he’s capable of by the time she gives birth, and after he makes some passing remark abt their baby, she yeets the FUCK out of there in the middle of the night, eirene ( baby ) only a handful of days old. she takes what she can carry and nothing more, and she... makes it pretty far, thanks to the kindness of strangers. you love to see it.

she settles somewhere ( she considers to be ) far away, and she makes up a good story : her husband died in a war ( there were probably a lot of time, i dont know ) and she was widowed, left to care for their young daughter alone. i know. its really original. they didnt have tv shows back then to rip stories from though.

stays in a hovel on the edge of their village. think the shittiest home you’ve ever seen and then make it shittier. there are rumors about her being a witch, and she kind of appreciates them, because it keeps kids out of her yard. and shock of all shock : in spite of being... u know. a woman. and not very skilled. she finds a very hot ticket job - working for the very wealthy volturi family who live on the other ( opposite ) outside of town, but like, in a considerably better home, obviously.

honestly, i don’t kno what the ancient greek equivalent of that secretary in new moon is, but that’s the vibe we’re going for, here. she’s like, a chambermaid or smth. and she makes a tidy little sum. doesn’t question her weirdo bosses that much. doesn’t know what anemia is because im p sure it wasnt discovered by then, but presumes they have it.

and maybe, just maybe, it’s the finesse of the century : or maybe, just maybe, it is destiny. in no time at all, she has caught the eye of the volturi’s most eligible bachelor(tm) : caius volturi. many another worker is made upset by this fact, as athenodora is very quickly alotted VERY special treatment as the apple of his eye, which includes, i don’t know... hand delivered baskets of pomegranates, a nicer home and in due time, the simple pleasures of the flesh.

so that’s pretty neat. and life’s pretty fine. she feels like an ancient greek sugar baby, and honestly, isn’t that all she’s ever deserved? she’s got some nice digs ( i don’t think she’d have called them that ) and a man who worships the ground she walks on and who spoils her with pretty things, and most importantly : she is taking care of her daughter, who i absolutely didn’t forget about. eirene is the literal light of athenodora’s life, and everybody knows it. if i say jean valjean and cosette vibes, can we all pretend we get it?

and then it goes to shit. as things do.

her daughter is fourteen years old, when her father finds them ; and she doesn’t know, she never knows, if he was seeking them out or whether it was all DUMB luck. regardless of it all, he is stood inside her home, his breath coming in angry half pants, and athenodora is convinced that this is it. that her end has come. that her freedom is over. she dies, she thinks, or she returns back to the house that was not her home with him. these are her options.

she tells her daughter to leave. she stops him from following. when she is shoved and her head hits the table, she is aware of the option he has chosen for them more than all else - but the gods, or perhaps, just one - intervenes.

until this night, athenodora had never known the truth of the volturi. but when her beloved saves her from athanasios, she sees him for what he is. she UNDERSTANDS. and she isn’t frightened. she should be, for sure, she should be running as fast as she can - but all she can think in that moment is that she is free now in all the ways she has never been... and caius, her love, is something so much larger than this life.

for the first time, the godhood that athenodora has always dreamt of is within her grasp. she makes him promise that once eirene comes of age, he will make her into the same creature that he IS. she makes him swear a solemn oath, and he who has been so infatuated by her for so long cannot argue.

four years. this is all it takes, and then eirene is eighteen - capable of standing upon her own two feet. athenodora leaves her everything - all the gifts she has ever been given, all the wealth accumulated, the home. everything she will not need, once she is gone. and she says a final goodbye.

caius turns her himself. the greatest gift he could ever give her.

and reborn, athenodora is MORE than everyone in her life could ever dream of being. she is the queen of the underworld, the goddess of death. she is all of this, and more. at his side, she finds GREATNESS. and once she had it, athenodora decided she would never again be without.

SECTION TWO OF THREE : volturi era.

became cool. became powerful. very emma frost of her, rly

didnt rly care for the rest of the coven outside of caius but sometimes u gotta hang w scrubs

didyme dies sometime after her turning, and that kind of fucks everybody up

not so much her bc like i said she didnt rly care but... caius b frightened of losing her, i guess

kind of throws a spanner in the works

she spends a lot of time ‘locked away’. not , like, literally ( bc that’s gross! ) but... caius takes over protective to the extreme

uses this time to harness her power and fuck

not always in that order

also spends a lot of time telling him he deserves to b leader

deserves to b the new aro

who needs powers?

not u, caius

go kick their ass baby i got ur flower-

( he doesn’t go kick their ass but man she wishes he wld )

she’s genuinely devoted to him, however, as much as it sometimes seems as if she’s using him as a means to an end

she DOES do that with a LOT of people, but caius... that’s her baby! her darling! her sweetie pie! fuck everybody else in this house caius, she respects YOU !

she jus wants to see him be the best there ever was, and he’s.... p... happy to giv her everything she wants, so their dynamic is actually p equal

we love to see it

anyway lots of years happened and now she’s here

seattle sucks -athenodora’s official review

but she’s fucking SICK of aro’s shit and thinks her 2020 birthday wld be the best time for an official change of pace

obviously aro can read minds so he knows athenodora has high aspirations but he has learned his fucking lesson w killing ppls mates, i guess

lucky for her!

that’s all i got

hehe

SECTION THREE OF THREE : power.

athenodora is an ungifted vampire in twilight canon, but to that i say : fuck ya chicken strips. in equinox, she be special. her power is life force manipulation, in a pretty unique ( and dare i say ) way.

she was a forty two year old woman, when she was turned. she had lived a life, and she had the MARKS to show for it. but the very first time that she drank human blood from the vein, athenodora realized that she was not as unexceptional as she had always been lead to believe she was. vampires do not change. they’re frozen in time, like statues, portraits, photographs... and yet, before caius’ very eyes - athenodora did what no other vampire could. mere seconds passed, and suddenly ; she was stood before her beloved, decades younger. it lasted as long as her thirst was sated, with her age returning to her as her eyes darkened once more. and it happened all over again, when next she fed.

over time, she’s come to understand it well enough. she has a particular love of younger humans ; those in their twenties, and thus, physical primes. she thinks that is, in part, down to her gift ; she seeks these out to drink from because when she feeds, she’s not simply drinking their blood, but also, their life force. she’s taking theirs to add to her own.

like many gifted vampires, she has spent time learning what she can of her gift, and learning whether there is some other way to apply it. it took almost two thousand years, but eventually - athenodora discovered that with a touch, her fingertips to their skin ( and a great deal of focus ), she could render another changed, also. it lasts for only a short amount of time - an hour, maybe a little longer, depending on how strong she is. but it works. and it makes her think that, in all her unlimited time : she might just be able to do even more. be a danger. manipulate life force in a way that can DESTROY. she’ll keep on working on that for as long as she lives.

#equinox.intro #ath #( 𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐀 ) ━━━ * biography !

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antiquechampagne · 5 years ago

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Beastly Kingdom - CH 9 - Greatest Show on Earth

( Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels)

Liz loved watching the bustle around the park for the nearly invisible signs of her plan showing themselves. The invisible cogs quickened their pace when she received word the General was on his way from Sanctuary. Everything was coming together, even better than she had anticipated. As the General entered the park late in the afternoon, her sealed final instructions made their way to the respective gang leader. Liz decided to put Nate up in her penthouse for the night, satisfied with Dixie and Gage standing guard so no one would dare to try any funny business. The General wasn’t too happy about spinning his wheels for the night, but Liz had a few more final touches to complete before the show could start.

The sun rose in a hazy sky, but Liz had little time to sit and enjoy it, she had been up for hours. Dragging nearly ever raider to one place was a serious pain in the ass. The only venue large enough to house everyone was the main Nuka-Town square, right outside the circular market. A rudimentary stage had been built to add height and extend the 'map alcove', allowing those on stage to look down at the gathering crowd. Liz counted on the long-standing animosity to prompt self-segregation between the gangs. All she had to do was seed the prospective areas with the certain people to make sure each gang stayed in the zones she designated: Operators to her left, the Pack to the right with the Disciples milling about in the middle.

It was growing close to eleven when Liz got word that everyone was in attendance, the final few drug to their spots by an ornery Gage. She stood at the side of the stage as Mason and the rest of the leaders shuffled around off stage, trying to hide their boredom but keeping a cool eye on Nate. The crowd was getting restless. Liz let them stew a few minutes longer than was strictly necessary before ascending the steps, the other leaders trailing behind her.

Standing at center stage with her entourage flanking her, Liz looked out, quickly scanned the faces and belted out, “ALL RIGHT! EVERYONE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

The crowd fell silent. She felt her voice could carry to the very corner of Nuka-World.

“I know what you assholes want to hear, but you… and the General…“ She glanced behind, glancing Nate up and down. "Are going to have to wait.” She heard a shuffle as, on cue, Mason guided Nate to upstage right, Mags and Nisha backing to the other.

“I want to make it absolute clear to each one of you sons-of-a-bitches here, that what we have here in Nuka-World is something unique… something fucking special. You aren't going to find anything like this anywhere else. And, as your Overboss, I'm not going to let anyone or anything take Nuka-World from us. I will do anything to keep us safe.” The crowd was drinking in her words. She decided to step it up a notch.

“Who’s going to keep you safe?” A weak chorus answered. She gave a death-glared down at the crowd, arms crossed. “Who?”

“The Overboss!” That was better.

She wanted more. “WHO?”

Nearly everyone was on their feet now “THE OVERBOSS!” Their answer thundered, followed by whoops and flailing weapons.

“That’s how I expect a true Nuka-World motherfucker to answer!” Liz puffed her chest out. “And who’s the baddest motherfucker in Nuka-World?”

“THE OVERBOSS!”

She thrust her hands out, quieting the cheering crowd.

“You’re damn right.”

She couldn't stop a smirk from spreading over her scarred lips. Time to make them shit their pants.

“Now, I want you to meet the newest member of the Nuka-World family.” She slapped her thigh, as if calling a dog to her side, only instead of a whistle; she let out a low growl.

The crowd glanced around nervously, confused. In the distance, a deep rumbling growl answered. Liz's smirk bloomed into a full on grin as she watched the audiences faces fill with fear. They all knew that sound. She just stood and drank it all in.

Behind the stage, a huge black clawed hand rose from inside the closed market and grasped the roof. With a swift feline-like grace, Big Mama made her entrance. Vaulting herself over the structure, the huge glowing creature landed with a thump next to Liz, snarling. The scattered screams and horror-filled eyes staring from the crowd was totally worth clearing out the market in the dead of night to lock Mama inside with a huge pile of meat.

Liz casually scratched Mama’s chin. “Say ‘Hi’, Big Mama” she prompted.

Mama trumpeted loudly, a supersonic shock wave knocking back the throng, several people in the front blown over by the force. The crowd semi-recovered, but were still frozen, unsure how to react.

In a distant corner, a single triumphant roar rippled across the impromptu theater.

"Fuck YEAH!"

The sound seemed to break the spell, as the entire crowd broke into a raucous applause, shouts and gunfire. Liz let the audience party as she directed Mama to stay behind her, motioning to her underbosses to join her by her side. The crowd, having released some nervous energy, naturally calmed down to where she could address them again.

“Now,” She walked to the edge of the stage. “Let’s get down to serious business at hand. There are only two organizations that pose any real threat to Nuka-World: The Minutemen and The Brotherhood of Steel. Our very existence is a bloody thorn in the side of the Minutemen's peaceful and flavorless vision of the Commonwealth. The Brotherhood, on the other hand, would cream themselves if they got their hands on all our pre-war tech and fire power. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that shit out. I'd been planning for since we started to expand outside of the park."

"Here, imagine my surprise when the Minutemen’s very own General Popsicle walking through the doors, offering a deal nonetheless.” Liz walked over to Nate, stretching her arm over his stiff shoulders. “Gotta hand it to’em, that took balls. More than I thought any Minuteman might have.” She gave him a little squeeze as her other hand slipped her knife out of its sheath on her hip. "But this deal, it got me thinking. -Thinking hard- about the future of everyone here. Here we are sitting pretty in our park, but how can we become something even stronger... spread our influence over the all Commonwealth, maybe even further? Would an alliance with the Minutemen be worth it?" Letting go, Liz began to pace next to Mason, picking at her teeth with the blade. "Just ask Gage... I thought about all this shit ‘till my brain was leaking out my ears. Then, I locked myself up tighter than Bradberton's hidden office bunker to figure all this out."

She made her way over to where three of raider leaders stood. This time she hung herself between the Black siblings, one arm draped over Mags' shoulders, the other over her brother. She still held her knife loosely, weaving it idly through the air under William's chin as she spoke. "I talked to all my underbosses about it, feeling everyone out. Getting their input, as it were."

Liz pursed her lips as if in thought for a moment, every movement calculated to pull in the audience's attention. With a disappointed shake of her head, her blade straightened itself on William's the stubble-speckled neck. "I hate to say it, but one gang just wasn't on-board with my plan." Her free hand gripped Mags metal clad shoulder. "And that is just unacceptable. I won't stand for it." It was so hard not to smile as she watched the shock and fear once again creep over the watching crowd.

Without another word, she swiftly turned the blade away from William and plunged it straight into Nisha's neck. Blood gurgled to her lips. She slumped to the floor. Mason grabbed Nate, whisking him off-stage to safety. On cue, the trusted senior members of the Operators and Pack in the audience unleashed a deadly storm of bullets on the Disciples sandwiched between them, slaughtering many before they even had the chance to draw their own weapons.

"NO!" Dixie sprang on Liz, her blades already drawn, her shock quickly dissolving into a murderous rage. "YOU DOUBLE-CROSSING BITCH!"

Liz didn't even have to move. She watched and grinned as a giant clawed hand effortlessly pinned Dixie to the boards. With a guttural snarl, Mama's giant jaws latched onto Dixie's metal-strapped helmet, crushing the life out of her lover in a matter of moments.

"Careful now, Mama," Ignoring the occasional projectile, Liz coaxed Mama to reluctantly let go of the twitching body. With a few quick slashes, she removed a few choice bits of metal armor. "I don't need you getting anything unpleasant stuck in your teeth. There you go, sweetie. Go to town." She gave an affectionate thump on the deathclaw's luminous hide.

A bullet grazed the Overboss's shoulder, causing her to wince. Turning on her heels, she faced the crowd, searching for the offending shooter. Once she locked eyes on the desperate man, she quickly dispatched him with a knife to chest.

"Ugh, seriously?" Fussing over her bloodied sleeve, she returned to Mama, who was happily munching away in the middle of the stage. The screams and gunfire began to wane. She gave the glowing creature a scratch before returning to the edge of the stage, looking at the bloody, body-filled ground where hundreds of people had once stood.

"Where were we... ah, yes. The plan. The remaining gang leaders have been briefed on the plan and have agreed to the terms." She motioned to Mason to bring Nate back on stage. He was looking decidedly greener around the gills. "Those terms being as follows. The Nuka-World raiders will aid the Minutemen in their offensive to end the Brotherhood. We will withdraw all our settlements and cease any expansion into the Commonwealth, keeping to Nuka-World." Liz pulled a cigarette from a pocket and lit it "In return, the Minutemen will share the spoils, as well as give us access to all established trade routes, along with exclusive and complete control to all chem trade and mercenary contracts within the Commonwealth," she nodded to the Blacks and Mason, respectively.

Nate, recovered, nodded in agreement. He stretched out his hand. Liz grabbed it, pulling him in close. "You're gunna love this next bit... soldier boy..." she whispered to him, pulling a lung full off the cigarette.

Liz gave a nod to Mason, who pulled a cowering Dr. Mackenzie up on stage. Liz reached into her pocket and pulled out a chunky black remote. Mackenzie gasped. The doctor knew a bomb collar detonator as soon as she saw it.

"Not only are we going 'legit', but, as an act of good will...“ Liz opened a compartment on the side, slipping a key into the waiting slot. As she turned, the red light on the detonator and Mackenzie's collar turned dark, the lock sliding open with a clunk. "All of the traders are now free to go and do as they please." She puffed, releasing a long stream of smoke. "However, as an incentive to stay and help Nuka-World grow, I am officially setting aside the town Bradberton as an area for anyone who wants to settle down in, under the complete protection of the Pack, of course."

Mason released a bewildered Mackenzie. All she could manage was to nod of comprehension, slowly skittering off stage as soon as Mason let go of her shoulders.

Liz turned back to the crowd. "And just to be crystal clear on this... anyone not on board with my plan..." she opened her arms dramatically before the sea of bullet ridden bodies before her, "can see my established termination policy." The whole park was as quiet as the grave, all except for the wet crunching of bone and meat from Mama and her meal.

"Seems we are in agreement then! Who's up for making the Brotherhood and the Commonwealth our little bitches?"

Every corner of Nuka-World rang with their thunderous answer.

#beastly kingdom #fallout #fallout 4 #fallout4 #fanfic #fan fic #Ghoul #raiders #violence #gore #nuka world #ao3

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dannissa13 · 5 years ago

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NaNo, part two

Guess what? Every time I’m trying to be an adult and do something responsible it comes back to bite me in the ass. This time it’s an entirely new flavor of “fuck this shit” - I’ve done a good thing and got vaccinated for diphtheria and I now have a lymph node the size of a ripe cherry on my clavicle that hurts like a bitch. My arm hurt really badly too. And said lymph node is going to need medical attention because it’s not going away on its own and I’m fucking terrified that it would need a surgery because I don’t want that to happen to me. I’m really scared and upset and also confused. What did I do that was so vile to fucking deserve this? By the way, I wasn’t sitting on my ass and getting myself even more scared for my health condition this time - I went to the doctor immediately, as soon as I found this problem, and said the doctor was no help at all. Just take ibuprofen and rest, it’ll go away on its own. And if it won’t, you’ll have to do a lot of blood work done and an ultrasound and other shit and probably surgery. Fucking great, so it’s no help at all. Basically, just two outcomes - in both no one knows for sure what to do and in one case it’ll heal itself magically and in the other, I’m fucked ower and will lose money, time and my mind because I’m so scared of this. Just fucking great. Why do I even bother with things, I should’ve stayed down in my depression hole and never moved an inch, because there I at least knew what was going on and who or what was responsible for the shittiness of my state. Now it’s a fucking mystery. Goddamnit!

Another thing is - I’ve posted the first fic I’ve finished this time around and it got feedback. Like for days, jeez, I wasn’t expecting that. It was originally conceived as a gift and turned out as a gift but a bit too late for a person’s birthday, and I was expecting like one view and one kudo from them and it turned out to be my greatest smashing success this far in my ao3 time. Other thing is - the person this was written for didn’t really like it that much and they let me know that hard, they red me to filth. The critique wasn’t that bad actually, but I’ve taken it waaay to personally and internationalized the fuck outta it and now am kinda resenting the shit out of that person I tried hard to please in the first place. But that’s my flaw. Not that I don’t think that it wasn’t a nice thing to say to a friend who worked their fucking ass to write for you and tailor the gift specially for you and then you go out of your way and do something you were not asked to do - give your writing critique for example - because that was not fucking nice and made me feel really shitty, I’m saying that I’m a dumbass for lingering on this for too long and caring about this bullshit too much. Other people seem to love that piece of trash, I’ve got the most likes in a day that I’ve ever gotten on any of my works and it’s a record for me because I’ve hit a hundred kudos on a fic, so yay for me, I guess. To spoil my own party, I have to say this - I wasn’t in love with both fandom and a concept and finished it for that person especially but also wasn’t emotionally attached to the work as much and that’s why the feedback isn’t hitting me as hard as it could’ve been if I have gotten this much attention on one of my more involved fics.

Also, through all of this, I’m writing the second fic, also as a gift for my new friend from work. Let’s see how that’ll turn out because apparently, I refuse to learn my lessons. While finishing this one I found bits I wrote while being in a very bad dark place and was like “jeez bitch who hurt ya” to later realize that it was myself. Just a great thing to think about, right? Oh, self-reflection and therapy, you truly do wonders for me feeling good about myself (not). Fuuuck. But I’m writing it, bit by bit, little by little, every single fucking day and I’m getting closer and closer to the end goal of posting it. Which is great. Can’t wait to not get any feedback on it because apparently, I’m a hack who cannot write for shit. Yay!

I’ve also gotten into “fitness” lately, but that I mean wearing my Apple Watch excessively and trying way too much to fill all three arbitrary goal movement rings on that thing because my brain is not okay and that shit works on OCD ridden morons like me. I’ve blown it by the way, because today I was too sick to do that crap so buh-bye my streak of 13 days, I wasn’t even able to make it to two weeks mark. Fuck me.

Also also, I decided to participate in a work event to make a group project that will be later judged by my coworkers as other one’s will, and I roped into it three other people and couldn’t do much of my part properly because of the very first thing I’ve mentioned - getting a severe freaking reaction to a vaccine. And that makes me feel like I’ve failed everybody and we’re not gonna win because of me. I’m an asshole and I didn’t keep my promise. That’s a shitty feeling.

Also, Tumblr, are ya high? Why is it that when I try to make the next paragraph in a simple text post here, you teleport me into another dimension, you dumbass app! This is bullshit!

Also also also also, if you’re thinking that the punctuation on this post is really off and it seems weirdly rumbling to ya don’t fear because it is all sorts of fucked up for sure - I’m writing it at 4 am on a Sunday because I don’t love myself. Fuck me, fuck my bullshit life and fuck this website/app.

I’m out. Deuces.

#dannissa writes #nanowrimo #writing #i write stuff #textpost #text #iwritestuff #mental health #physical health #text post

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chatterbox-meta · 6 years ago

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Katsuki Bakugou and The Five Stages of Grief

Or, the essay in which I argue Bakugou was a great character way before S3 rolled around. The title will become relevant eventually. Speaking of, the following contains spoilers for the entirety of the My Hero Academia anime (S1-S3) and some mild spoilers for the manga. I repeat, this is an in-depth analysis of Bakugou’s entire journey.

(Originally submitted anonymously to @heroes-never-discourse over here.)

When we first meet Bakugou, he seems completely secure in his place in the world. He’s loud, brash and at his most arrogant. But when the teacher reveals that Deku wants to go to U.A. just like him, he doesn’t laugh along with the rest of the class, he’s shocked for a moment and then he flips his shit, to the point of telling Deku he has a better chance of getting a Quirk and being a hero in his next life. The first time, it’s just meant to make us hate him. In hindsight, with context, it’s the first crack in Bakugou’s facade. I’m not saying Bakugou’s arrogance is fake. He wouldn’t care so much about being the best if he wasn’t prideful, but let’s put it this way: Deku’s confidence is a foundation being built brick by brick, while Bakugou’s is a tower of cards. And all because when they were kids Deku cast doubt on that security in his place in the world, making him doubt whether the things he was praised for all his life meant anything at all, if he was weak despite being strong. However, Bakugou is still in denial of these doubts and fears when the series begins. The Sludge Villain incident and Deku rescuing him bring them to the surface, but he quickly pushes them down again by pretending he totally could have handled it himself (though he knows he couldn’t, which is why he doesn’t accept the praise from the pro-heroes on the scene) and avoiding Deku. But then Deku suddenly gets a Quirk and Bakugou is furious. He accuses Deku of hiding his Quirk all this time and laughing behind his back. Again, on a first viewing, this just sounds like Insane Troll Logic, but knowing that Bakugou always feared Deku had some hidden strength, it makes sense he’d connect that with One For All’s sudden appearance. (Though it’s still not a reasonable conclusion since it’s based on a false premise lmao.) During Deku vs Kacchan Part 1, Bakugou can no longer deny what he thinks is the truth about Deku, so he lashes out. It’s his last chance to make Deku give up on being a hero. He’s not just looking to beat up Deku, though, he wants Deku to fight back, to show him that power so Bakugou can snuff it out. After all, a victory over an opponent who’s holding back isn’t a victory at all. But Deku does hold back, focusing on his mission, and in doing so, defeats Bakugou. And it’s here that Bakugou’s security in his place in the world is completely shattered, not just by Deku, but also by seeing other students, especially Todoroki, whom he doesn’t think he can beat. He can no longer deny it and his anger has only blinded him to the path of true victory, as Yaoyorozu points out. And Bakugou, despite all appearances, can take criticism and learn from his mistakes. In the aftermath, both Deku and Bakugou basically declare war on each other, but despite Deku saying he’ll surpass him, Bakugou feels that their situation is flipped. That Deku is the one who’s ahead and Bakugou’s the one scrambling to catch up. (I don’t think he realises that during the time spent chasing Deku, he’ll work harder and grow more than he has in a decade.) And he wants to catch up. Despite his sense of self as a winner being taken from him, Bakugou is not willing to let it go. And the Sports Festival is Bakugou’s attempt to regain it. It’s a bargain. He has a pretty detailed and strict set of rules for that, too. First, he’ll announce that he’ll take the number one spot to the entire stadium. As Deku points out, he’s not bragging, he’s pushing himself, knowing he’ll look like a complete tool if he loses after a declaration like that. Secondly, he has to defeat Deku or Todoroki (or both), the people he perceives as the greatest threats. Finally, he has to win against all of his opponents at their best. If he fails at any of those things, if he doesn’t prove himself to be the indisputable strongest, he will have failed, completely. This period of the story also showcases a subtle shift in his personality, one that was already somewhat visible during the USJ arc. Bakugou was never stupid, but asides from designing his weapons and costume for maximum efficiency (seriously, despite looking exactly like what happens when you give an edgy 15-year-old free reign to design a costume, his is the most utilitarian, mitigating recoil and absorbing sweat and all that), he used to rely solely on his admittedly above-average combat skills. But the fight against Deku proved that it wouldn’t be enough, so he (probably subconsciously) takes a page out of his book and starts carefully analysing his opponents’ moves to find their weaknesses. He’s also rather less nasty. He isn’t kinder or more polite, but he doesn’t go out of his way to be cruel. And he’s starting to look around himself and see other people, recognizing their strengths, if only so he knows how to beat them (he doesn’t underestimate any of his opponents) or use them to his advantage (Cavalry Battle). This is also when his friendship with Kirishima officially starts, since Kiri approached him as an ally. Unfortunately, he’s still a disrespectful tyrant in an environment where people aren’t willing to follow him just because, and he doesn’t deal with that well, exposing himself to be a huge antisocial weirdo when he’s not in control. For me, this was when I started to like Bakugou as a character. He still didn’t seem great without the context provided later, but his personality wasn’t just “Deku’s bully,” as he interacted with people other than him. Back on track, all of this is particularly emphasized during his fight with Uraraka. Just like in his fight with Deku, he’s giving it his all not because he enjoys beating up the weak, but because he knows his opponent is stronger than she looks.* Unlike the fight with Deku though, he has no grudge that makes him act like a rabid animal and isn’t letting his guard down for a second. And when it’s over, he’s disappointed because he’s gained respect for Uraraka and was excited to fight her. (*Though maybe that is an overly charitable interpretation of DvK1 lmao.)

Soon afterwards, Deku loses to Todoroki, but not before making him use his fire side. So all Bakugou has to do to complete his mission is defeat Todoroki. Bakugou isn’t upset that Deku lost, after all, he didn’t believe he himself could win against Todoroki’s ice alone before.

But he does. And he’s not satisfied. Because he didn’t beat Todoroki at his full power since he, due to personal issues, couldn’t bring himself to use his fire side, which he did against Deku. Yes, Deku lost after Todoroki used it, but he forced Todoroki to give him all he’s got, something Bakugou couldn’t do. To him, it’s like losing to Deku by proxy.

(He probably thinks Todoroki didn’t use his fire because he didn’t see Bakugou as worth it, unlike with Deku, but the actual reason is that Bakugou couldn’t reach out to him the way Deku could. That’s what he’s missing, he just doesn’t know it yet.)

Okay, so, Bakugou wins the Sports Festival, but fails to accomplish what he set out to do. He feels desperate and lashes out again. Though I actually doubt he would have kept beating Todoroki’s corpse (so to speak), he’s put to sleep just in case and chained up for the ceremony like a wild beast. Certain people take notice.

Before, that, though, it’s time for some work experience! He’s still behind Deku, but maybe working for the number three hero will help him! Wait, what do you mean, Deku is out there improving his fighting style by copying Bakugou’s moves (and Gran Torino’s, and also fighting a literal serial killer, but Bakugou doesn’t know that), while Bakugou is - what, modeling jeans?!

In fairness, Best Jeanist’s intent was to teach him to be respectable, but, like, he came up to a delinquent teenager and told him he should overhaul his entire look and personality, what did he expect was going to happen? XD

Ooooh, but this next part is super interesting. The End of Term Exam. Deku and Kacchan vs All Might.

The in-universe reason for having these two team up is something like “Bakugou needs to learn to work with someone he doesn’t like and Deku needs to assert himself and force an uncooperative teammate to work with him.” Both of those are likely scenarios in their future careers. The narrative reason, however, is twofold.

Firstly, before this point, Deku and Bakugou have grown mostly separately from each other. This means that while they’ve changed individually, their relationship didn’t. And it has to. Bakugou’s issues with Deku were actually only made worse due to how far behind he thinks he’s fallen, so he attempts to prove he can defeat All Might on his own. When Deku objects, Bakugou even relapses into his cruel personality and pretty much bitchslaps him. Deku can fight back now, but he doesn’t want to, he wants to talk.

Secondly, the fact that they’re teamed up against All Might is vital. Because while there were hints of it beforehand, this is the first time we learn about the two sides of All Might that Deku and Bakugou admire - saving and winning. Deku wants to save people, but hesitates to take on All Might, even though escaping him would be impossible. But he doesn’t run, because Bakugou doesn’t. That is our first glimpse into what Deku admires in Bakugou and what he can learn from him.

However, Bakugou charges at All Might alone and predictably gets the crap kicked out of him. Even though he’s beaten to the point of vomiting, Bakugou refuses Deku’s help (saving), saying that he would rather lose. This is when Deku punches him, and not just to get him away from All Might or because Bakugou hit him earlier, but because he doesn’t want Bakugou to give up on the one thing Deku’s always admired about him.

Bakugou seems to remember himself then. He remembers that he’s the guy who wins, at all costs. Even if it means accepting Deku’s help. Oh, but not just that - he starts emulating Deku in turn. He sacrifices his protection from pain by giving his gauntlet to Deku and making bigger and bigger explosions. When Deku uses the gauntlet, he hurts his shoulder from the recoil, but Bakugou should already be used to the strain, so how far is he going for his arms to hurt?

…Yeah, okay maybe the whole “break all your bones to achieve your goal” isn’t the part of Deku he should be emulating, but the saving part? Absolutely. And he does emulate it, when he jumps in front of a blow meant for Deku and gets smashed into the ground so Deku can get to the gate. Deku being Deku decides to attack All Might so he can carry Bakugou to safety with him. They win by saving and save by winning.

This fight was a pivotal moment for both characters as it shows what their relationship has the potential to become. Though Bakugou probably doesn’t realise it because he’s too busy thinking he failed by accepting Deku’s help. Yet it’s his greatest victory yet.

Speaking of pivotal moments, summer arrives and Bakugou gets kidnapped by the League of Villains. Deku tries to save him, but he tells him to stay away. The others take this to mean Bakugou is too prideful to be saved by Deku yet again, but while that might be partially true, I think it has more to do with the guy whose name literally means “cremation” holding him by the neck and Deku having two broken arms, fucking moron, stay away.

Anyway, in the villains’ hideout, Bakugou is offered a chance to join the League. He refuses immediately and attacks Shigaraki despite being outnumbered, even refusing to lie to get out of trouble. He then explains that he’ll never join the villains, not just because of Shigaraki’s less-than stellar persuasion skills (seriously, Bakugou’s the last person to believe he’s “wronged” by society), but because he wants to win like All Might, like a hero.

This is supposed to be a big twist on a first viewing, but if you pay attention to everything beforehand, it really shouldn’t be. Bakugou has many flaws, but his ambition was never portrayed as a bad thing and now, it’s what’s keeping him from throwing in the towel and becoming a villain.

(Also, I don’t know how anyone thought he’d pull a Sasuke, it would make no narrative sense. Like, the reason Sasuke joining the villains had any impact was because him and Naruto were friends, Bakugou joining Deku’s enemies would have changed what exactly? Lmao.)

So the heroes arrive to the rescue, but All For One appears and they’re all in even deeper shit now. All Might can’t go all out because he’s busy protecting Bakugou, who’s busy holding off the League who presumably want to make him into a Noumu now. Luckily, the Rescue Squad comes blasting through the sky with Kirishima’s outstretched hand. Bakugou takes it. I shouldn’t have to explain why that’s important.

Despite being free to go all out, All Might can’t defeat All For One and his true form is revealed. This is Bakugou’s first time seeing the greatest hero be vulnerable and things look bad. The crowd is desperately cheering All Might on and both Bakugou and Deku are screaming for All Might to win. Which he does. But he’s spent and he points to the cameras saying “you’re next.” Everyone starts cheering, except for Deku, who bursts into tears, and Bakugou, who looks pensive.

When they get back, Bakugou is nicer than normal. He cheers up the class using Kaminari and gives Kirishima money for a new camera as a way to thank them for risking their lives and careers to save him. He respects All Might’s decision not to tell him about Deku and OFA and verbally thanks him for saving him.

This is because Bakugou ended up taking this entire fiasco as his greatest failure yet. DvK1, the Sports Festival, the End of Term Exam - all of it pales in comparison. If he didn’t get himself kidnapped, his idol wouldn’t have lost his powers in order to save him and society would still have its Symbol of Peace. That’s right, society is in disarray and they must all think that it’s his fault. Whether or not it actually is his fault is besides the point, what matters is that he thinks it is.

What’s worse is that he knows Deku now has that power. His worst fear has come true. But he can’t talk to anyone about it, so he tries to bury it. He’s been in denial before, he can do it again, right?

No. It’s always on his mind. And I think this was the reason why he was so harsh on the pretend hostages during the Provisional Hero License Exam. It wasn’t (just) his usual jackassery, he screamed at them to save themselves because that’s what he thinks he should have done. Unfortunately, it’s what caused him to fail the exam.

Now, he’s failed plenty of times, just recently caused the end of All Might, surely that’s nothing? But Deku passed the exam and Bakugou has never been more aware of Deku’s back, getting further and further away. That was the last nail in the coffin.

He goes to confront Deku at Ground Beta, the site of DvK1, to get some answers about him and All Might. And so Deku vs Kacchan Part 2 begins.

I won’t repeat what I’ve already said about what’s revealed in this fight, but I’ll elaborate on what Bakugou wants from it. First of all, he didn’t go into it expecting to win. He’s already lost - he ended All Might and Deku was chosen as his protégé. What Bakugou wants is to know why. He’s always feared that Deku was worthy somehow, but he could never put his finger on what made him worthy.

Why did Deku lose? If he’s the true hero, he should have won. Surely that idea is not wrong. Bakugou won, but he’s not satisfied, he knows he’s missing something.

Why did the kid he spent ten years trying to put far behind him overtake him? Why did Deku become the prodigy and Bakugou the failure? Yes, after spending most of the series fighting tooth and nail to hold onto his image as the strong one, he’s accepted that he’s weak, he’s despairing, but why?

All Might provides the answer that was blindingly obvious to anyone but Bakugou. Deku had the heart of a true hero, even though he lacked the power to win and that made him worthy. but Bakugou’s view of a hero that always wins wasn’t wrong either. It was just incomplete, just as Deku’s was. But together, learning from each other, they can be the greatest heroes the world has ever seen.

And with all of their complicated emotions that have been festering for years out of the way, they can finally move forward. Bakugou can finally accept his weaknesses to make himself stronger, he can finally accept Deku as a rival who pushes him forward instead of a threat. And he can support Deku in turn, he does need to make up for years of pushing him down.

…

I think this is as good a time as any to go back to the title of this meta. The five stages of grief are, well, exactly as it sounds, the five steps of the grieving process: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Despair and Acceptance. Not necessarily in that order. Bakugou spends most of his time pinballing between the first three, actually. Yet his overall character arc, spanning the time between chapter one and DvK2, still follows roughly that formula.

But what is he grieving? Well, grief is a general feeling of loss and Bakugou is grieving the slow loss of his identity. Ever since he was a child, he’d put so much stock into his strength and abilities to the point that he didn’t know who he’d be without being the best. Bakugou has no Freudian Excuse, he’s pretty much had it all, yet when I was watching DvK2, I didn’t see a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum because he didn’t get an honor he didn’t deserve. I saw a lost kid who doesn’t even know who he is anymore.

But as painful as all that was, it was ultimately for his own good. His fragile ego needed to be broken in order for Bakugou to rebuild himself into a stronger, kinder, better person. He needed to pick up the pieces that were still useful and fill in the gaps with things he learned from All Might. From Deku.

And the manga is already delivering on that. Bakugou does take a backseat for the next few arcs, but when he appears, he’s always seen making a concentrated effort to be better. I think that’s when his “redemption” truly starts, previously him becoming a better person was more of a side effect of everything else going on and he was dragged into it kicking and screaming.

Bakugou gives comfort and encouragement to Kirishima prior to his internship. He waits up for the interns with the others.

He listens to Todoroki when he suggests a better way to deal with children than physical discipline. He warns a child that reminds him of his past self that if he’s always looking down on people, he’ll be blind to his own weakness.

He integrates himself into the class during the Culture Festival, getting offended on their behalf - because they’re not extras, he’s one of them, now - when the other classes blame them for villain attacks. He listens to Jirou when she tells him to stop improvising because, as a drummer, he’s the support, not the lead.

Finally, he looks out for anyone in danger and jumps in to save them and lets himself be saved in turn. He keeps an eye on Deku and tries to aid his progress, like he promised.

Of course, he’s still got a long way to go. He’s still rough around the edges and he does have a literal decade to make up for, but I believe he will. With him being in on the secret and getting his license, it’s about time he and Deku get into hot water with the League again.

But everything that’s happened so far has been built up from Day One. This is Katsuki Bakugou. In hindsight.

#my hero academia #bnha #bnha meta #katsuki bakugou #chatterbox meta #long post #extremely long post you were warned #almost 4 fucking k #i know bakugou metas are a dime a dozen at this point #but i tried to do it with a different lens!

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heroes-never-discourse · 6 years ago

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Katsuki Bakugou and The Five Stages of Grief

In the early parts of My Hero Academia, Katsuki Bakugou was defined almost completely by his role in Deku’s underdog story - as an obstacle in Deku’s path to becoming a hero, an arrogant bully and therefore an antagonist you really want to see go down. And he served that role really well, but there wasn't much more to him. And what little insight we got into his character didn’t make a lot of sense. Why would he think Deku was hiding his Quirk all this time? He hates Deku for wanting to help him up, fucking really? And he doesn't even have a tragic backstory! Etc. etc. The audience was left with the impression that he’s just a cruel spoiled brat lashing out because the kid he hates for being Quirkless won’t let him do what he wants. That he wants the number one spot because he believes he deserves it. That impression slowly started to change when Bakugou defied expectations by refusing to join the League of Villains just to get more power. Then, it was completely flipped on its head when Deku vs Kacchan revealed that Bakugou never hated Deku for being Quirkless, but that he was always afraid that Deku, despite being Quirkless and clumsy and a crybaby, had whatever it takes to overtake him, knew it, and looked down on Bakugou for it. Of course, Deku’s reply is “I wanted to surpass you because I thought you were amazing, not weak, you fucking asshole” (paraphrased, obviously lol), but that’s not the point. The point is that the audience finally has what was missing from Bakugou’s early characterization - context. With that context, the underlying setup for his character arc becomes visible. Let’s go back to the beginning and take a closer look! When we first meet Bakugou, he seems completely secure in his place in the world. He’s loud, brash and at his most arrogant. But when the teacher reveals that Deku wants to go to U.A. just like him, he doesn’t laugh along with the rest of the class, he’s shocked for a moment and then he flips his shit, to the point of telling Deku he has a better chance of getting a Quirk and being a hero in his next life. The first time, it’s just meant to make us hate him. In hindsight, with context, it’s the first crack in Bakugou’s facade. I’m not saying Bakugou’s arrogance is fake. He wouldn’t care so much about being the best if he wasn’t prideful, but let’s put it this way: Deku’s confidence is a foundation being built brick by brick, while Bakugou’s is a tower of cards. And all because when they were kids Deku cast doubt on that security in his place in the world, making him doubt whether the things he was praised for all his life meant anything at all, if he was weak despite being strong. However, Bakugou is still in denial of these doubts and fears when the series begins. The Sludge Villain incident and Deku rescuing him bring them to the surface, but he quickly pushes them down again by pretending he totally could have handled it himself (though he knows he couldn’t, which is why he doesn’t accept the praise from the pro-heroes on the scene) and avoiding Deku. But then Deku suddenly gets a Quirk and Bakugou is furious. He accuses Deku of hiding his Quirk all this time and laughing behind his back. Again, on a first viewing, this just sounds like Insane Troll Logic, but knowing that Bakugou always feared Deku had some hidden strength, it makes sense he’d connect that with One For All’s sudden appearance. (Though it’s still not a reasonable conclusion since it’s based on a false premise lmao.) During Deku vs Kacchan Part 1, Bakugou can no longer deny what he thinks is the truth about Deku, so he lashes out. It’s his last chance to make Deku give up on being a hero. He’s not just looking to beat up Deku, though, he wants Deku to fight back, to show him that power so Bakugou can snuff it out. After all, a victory over an opponent who’s holding back isn’t a victory at all. But Deku does hold back, focusing on his mission, and in doing so, defeats Bakugou. And it’s here that Bakugou’s security in his place in the world is completely shattered, not just by Deku, but also by seeing other students, especially Todoroki, whom he doesn’t think he can beat. He can no longer deny it and his anger has only blinded him to the path of true victory, as Yaoyorozu points out. And Bakugou, despite all appearances, can take criticism and learn from his mistakes. In the aftermath, both Deku and Bakugou basically declare war on each other, but despite Deku saying he’ll surpass him, Bakugou feels that their situation is flipped. That Deku is the one who’s ahead and Bakugou’s the one scrambling to catch up. (I don’t think he realises that during the time spent chasing Deku, he’ll work harder and grow more than he has in a decade.) And he wants to catch up. Despite his sense of self as a winner being taken from him, Bakugou is not willing to let it go. And the Sports Festival is Bakugou’s attempt to regain it. It’s a bargain. He has a pretty detailed and strict set of rules for that, too. First, he’ll announce that he’ll take the number one spot to the entire stadium. As Deku points out, he’s not bragging, he’s pushing himself, knowing he’ll look like a complete tool if he loses after a declaration like that. Secondly, he has to defeat Deku or Todoroki (or both), the people he perceives as the greatest threats. Finally, he has to win against all of his opponents at their best. If he fails at any of those things, if he doesn’t prove himself to be the indisputable strongest, he will have failed, completely. This period of the story also showcases a subtle shift in his personality, one that was already somewhat visible during the USJ arc. Bakugou was never stupid, but asides from designing his weapons and costume for maximum efficiency (seriously, despite looking exactly like what happens when you give an edgy 15-year-old free reign to design a costume, his is the most utilitarian, mitigating recoil and absorbing sweat and all that), he used to rely solely on his admittedly above-average combat skills. But the fight against Deku proved that it wouldn’t be enough, so he (probably subconsciously) takes a page out of his book and starts carefully analysing his opponents’ moves to find their weaknesses. He’s also rather less nasty. He isn’t kinder or more polite, but he doesn’t go out of his way to be cruel. And he’s starting to look around himself and see other people, recognizing their strengths, if only so he knows how to beat them (he doesn’t underestimate any of his opponents) or use them to his advantage (Cavalry Battle). This is also when his friendship with Kirishima officially starts, since Kiri approached him as an ally. Unfortunately, he’s still a disrespectful tyrant in an environment where people aren’t willing to follow him just because, and he doesn’t deal with that well, exposing himself to be a huge antisocial weirdo when he’s not in control. For me, this was when I started to like Bakugou as a character. He still didn’t seem great without the context provided later, but his personality wasn’t just “Deku’s bully,” as he interacted with people other than him. Back on track, all of this is particularly emphasized during his fight with Uraraka. Just like in his fight with Deku, he’s giving it his all not because he enjoys beating up the weak, but because he knows his opponent is stronger than she looks.* Unlike the fight with Deku though, he has no grudge that makes him act like a rabid animal and isn’t letting his guard down for a second. And when it’s over, he’s disappointed because he’s gained respect for Uraraka and was excited to fight her. (*Though maybe that is an overly charitable interpretation of DvK1 lmao.)

Ooooh, but this next part is super interesting. The End of Term Exam. Deku and Kacchan vs All Might.

This is because Bakugou ended up taking this entire fiasco as his greatest failure yet. DvK1, the Sports Festival, the End of Term Exam - all of it pales in comparison. If he didn’t get himself kidnapped, his idol wouldn’t have lost his powers in order to save him and society would still have its Symbol of Piece. That’s right, society is in disarray and they must all think that it’s his fault. Whether or not it actually is his fault or not is besides the point, what matters is that he thinks it is.

He goes to confront Deku at Ground Beta, the site of DvK1, to get some answers about him and All Might. And so Deku vs Kacchan Part 2 begins.

Why did Deku lose? If he’s the true hero, he should have won. Surely that idea is not wrong. Bakugou won, but he’s not satisfied, he knows he’s missing something.

…

Bakugou gives comfort and encouragement to Kirishima prior to his internship. He waits up for the interns with the others.

Finally, he looks out for anyone in danger and jumps in to save them and lets himself be saved in turn. He keeps an eye on Deku and tries to aid his progress, like he promised.

But everything that’s happened so far has been built up from Day One. This is Katsuki Bakugou. In hindsight.

(This meta is dedicated to Celcius-senpai and Kali. Also, I’ll put in a treat in the fake email name every time from now on. ;))

This is fucking amazing, B-non, like no joke, the best character dive I’ve read, maybe ever

also

asdhkglahdskgj

#bnha meta #bakugou katsuki #meta #katsuki bakugou #bnha kacchan #bnha #bnha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #anonymous online #submission #b-non metas #~B-non #this is so fucking good dude #god i love meta #b-non you're a fucking star okay #long post #very long post

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fictionerd · 5 years ago

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Good to see you, friends.

I apologize for my absence, and further apologize that it will likely continue for some time. I doubt I have the gumption to bring LTA back for the Summer season. I might think about that, but for now I have unfinished business from winter. I won’t be able to let myself rest until I’ve completed this. Much like Hyakkimaru had to pursue his body until he’d retrieved it. So here I give you the remaining episodes of the series that I didn’t cover in full. I provide my thoughts as they were after watching each, and I hope you all will remain patient with me. Thank you so much to anyone who’s bothered to read or interact with my posts.

Episode 15 thoughts: Man Hyakkimaru's a dick now isn't he? I mean. I know he was driven to get his body back from the demons, but the fact he isn't batting an eye at the collateral damage is disheartening. Dude really needs to start listening to Jimin-I mean- OOH LOOK EPISODE 16 BYE!

Episode 16 thoughts: Itachi gon die. We got confirmation that Dororo was raised as a boy too. So the whole identity thing is still a bit up in the air. Living as a boy is certainly easier given the period, though that's bound to change with time. Shark boy is major creepy personally. Then again crazy cannibals typically are. Final thought - HOW DARE YOU TEASE ME LIKE THIS POST-CREDIT SCENE!?

Episode 17 thoughts: [Sniffling] What!? That was legit hilarious. H-how Hyakkimaru cal- He called Jukai... Mama... [gross sob]

Poor Tahomaru though. Kid's got issues.

I'm ready to get back to the show's namesake now... PLEASE!?

Episode 18 thoughts: Shark boy is one MAD LAD. Tahomaru is a MAD LAD. This whole sitch just made me sad, lad. Now excuse me while I hit the next episode... lad? Crap so close.

Episode 19 thoughts: Had a hard time watching this one. I'm not a fan of cringey premises like this one. "We made the characters act oppposite of what they really want! WACKY HIJINKS ENSUE! UHYUK!" Gag me with a spoon. Though I'll be honest it shook out okay in the end, as these things tend to do. "We look happy" T-T

Episode 20 thoughts: Jesus, just Jesus. Epic fights, terrifying close calls. Foretellings of Doom. The return of blind monk dude. Most of all though was Saburota's part in this whole story. That was genuinely gut-wrenching. So shamed and controlled by his own fear that he needed to validate himself by insisting that EVERYONE is a coward deep down. Nobody could POSSIBLY stand up to this thing he couldn't. You can really tell we're in the final stretch now.

Episode 21 thoughts: That horse had DEATH FLAG written in its future it might as well have been painted on its flank in blood. Mutsu and Hyogo have merely been disarmed. At least they still live. Can't wait to see Mutsu learn to draw her bow with her teeth. That's gonna be some badass shit. Hyogo might just gain the greatest of all fapping arms trying to wield that club one-handed. Tahomaru... Well I've been spoiled to at least some of his future.

Episode 22 thoughts: Damn, Hyakkimaru and Midoro are a fucking BADASS team. Even if they are butchering the shit out of people who have no significant part of what happened to Hyakkimaru. How to describe everything else though. It was like was having my feelings dangled at the end of a string for a kitten to play with. Being batted back and forth. The tension is imaddening. I can't wait for the Catharsis.

Episode 23 thoughts: The final ramp. All our players are approaching their proper place. The brothers clash as their world burns around them. Parents rush to witness the end if nothing else. Let us see the end now. What terror or what joy shall rise from the ashes?

Episode 24 thoughts: I can think of no better justice for THISEST OF ASSHOLES than to live with the weight of his sins. A life for a life. Live, Repent, and Change. Now both father and son must do so. As the episode itself said "Hyakkimaru has gone, and Dororo walks on." I pray that Biwamaru is right and their future is a happy one.

Until we meet again. Keep talking fiction, friends. I’ll see you.

#Anime #Let's Talk Anime #Dororo #dororo 2019 #dororo anime #Fictionerd #In-character-ish #Winter 2019 #Spring 2019

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ronweasleydefensesquad · 7 years ago

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Personal headcanon/rant: of magical prowess and bashing

You know all these fanfics where you have Super!Harry with a bunch of superpowers or Hermione creating spells that Merlin himself wouldn’t be able to dream about? And how, oddly, Ron is pretty much always left out of the loop when it comes to the Powerful!fanfic bunch, because people would rather have a spoiled brat of a Death Eater or an asshole teacher be übermensch?

We know Snape is a good duelist and has “created” spells (unless he simply dug them out of a library somewhere), but he’s got twenty years of experience along with some skirmishes he must have gone through with his fellow DEs. We know Hermione’s good at spellcasting but that she also studies heavily, and that she has trouble with spells that are not entirely theoretical (the Patronus). Harry doesn’t study as much as Hermione does and is not that great at magic; the only spells he can to cast without any problem are the Patronus, Expelliarmus and Stupefy. As for Malfoy… He does Serpensortia once and then we never see him fight again because he’s a big coward. No super-strong magic here.

So why am I complaining about stupid fanfiction that makes characters who have no superior magical prowess whatsoever into the new Merlins of the world?

First, because they always leave Ron out.

Second, because if there’s one wizard in the Potterverse, apart from Voldemort and Dumbledore, who deserves to be given attention about his magic powers, it’s Ron.

Windschild8178 (some of you Ron-lovers might recognize them as the author of the excellent fanfic Stay Standing on FFN) is writing a few Ron-centric stories right now and has written an extremely good author’s note on their story The Boogeyman, a rant about all of the hidden potential Ron’s character presents, and how it gets ignored by pretty much all the HP fandom. I recommend you read it because it’s pretty much as if they took the very soul of Ron-lovers and put it into words.

And now, on to my own, much bigger, much less organized personal rant.

I’ve always had the feeling that Ron was the most magically gifted/powerful of the trio. His so-called “averageness” is very much a lie. His magic is fuelled by his emotions and as such becomes even stronger. This headcanon of mine is founded in several actual canon happenings that we can observe throughout the series (in the books only. Come on, dearest Stevie giving credit to Ron? Now there’s a laugh).

Not only does Ron react very strongly to external magic (the Veelas, Crouch Jr’s Imperius Curse leaves him skipping steps for more than twenty minutes after he’s been freed from it, he notices the locket’s “pulse” whereas Harry only vaguely feels it, he has the very correct feeling that Voldy’s name shouldn’t be said out loud), he also demonstrates great abilities when he gets serious. … and when he doesn’t, as well.

I mean, the class genius masters Wingardium Leviosa and makes her feather levitate 20 inches. Great, fine. Four hours later, the the kid who couldn’t do just that casts Wingardium Leviosa and makes a shit heavy club outright fly 12 feet off the ground!! And nobody thinks that this is slightly impressive?! Hermione states “Ron knocked it out with its own club” and no teacher raises an eyebrow? It’s like Ron is actively ignored by pretty much everyone besides Harry and Hermione.

Second year, Hermione herself tells us that the slug-belching charm is a spell that’s hard to cast, and it’s even worse with a broken wand. Guess who casts it, NONVERBALLY, with a broken wand? Ronniekins, that’s who! Percy was barely learning how to cast nonverbal spells at the time! Oh, oh, and you know what’s even more impressive? Ron’s wand was broken, but it wasn’t even his own wand! It was Charlie’s! Ollivander tells us that a good wizard can do magic with anyone’s wand but it’s easier with their own wand. Basically: holy shit, Ron!

Ron’s crazy magic settles down a bit during PoA and GoF, or at least I can’t remember any instance where JKR describes something unexpected happening concerning him.

However, we then have OoTP, and this time our beloved redhead’s quite in shape. For example, during his Charms O.W.L., it’s said that he transformed a plate into a toadstool/mushroom without knowing how he did it. A wooden plate… into a toadstool… a toadstool, which can actually be considered as… food.

HOLY SHIT RON JUST BROKE GAMP’S LAW OF ELEMENTAL TRANSFIGURATION.

Yeah yeah it was a throwaway joke and JKR created Gamp’s Law in the seventh book so she could justify why the trio was able to starve during the Camping Trip Of Pointlessness™, but she should have known better, or actually establish Gamp’s Law earlier on in the series (after all, they turn pincushions into headgehogs at some point in the earlier years, who’s to say you can’t eat a hedgehog?). And some people might say “but nooo its not food if its a poisoned toadstoool ron is not good at megic bcuz hurmion is bettur, ur full of lies” well guess what, in order to be poisoned you actually have to eat, meaning chew, swallow and digest - or rather fail to digest - the poisonous thing. BAM. IT’S CANON. RON BROKE GAMP’S LAW OF ELEMENTAL TRANSFIGURATION. (And JKR has the freaking gall to give him the same results as Harry only slightly less better. Can you feel her prejudice against her own character?) And that’s not all he does in fifth year!

At the Department of Mysteries, Luna tells us that she, Ron and Ginny fled from four Death Eaters that followed them into a room full of planets. Four Death Eaters. One breaks Ginny’s ankle and Luna blasts him with Pluto. Then they collect Ron, who got cursed by “them” and is acting all loopy and run back to Harry. … what about the three Death Eaters unaccounted for in the planet room? Well apparently Ron fought all three of them, got cursed by at least two, and still won, considering no DEs are chasing after Luna and her group. All hail the King.

In HBP, finally, we’ve got that time where Ron broke up with Lavender and was feeling so guilty, he was simply waving his wand around and… and it starts snowing. INSIDE HOGWARTS. He’s making it snow. INSIDE HOGWARTS. No incantation, no spell, nothing, just “I feel like I’m a coldhearted bastard” and suddenly it’s snowing INSIDE HOGWARTS.

And of course we can’t forget how Voldemort casts a Silencing Spell over the people of Hogwarts, holding his Elder Wand, saying Harry died like an idiot, only for Ronald Weasley, official best friend and badass extraordinaire, to scream AT VOLDEMORT “HE BEAT YOU!” and the charm, the super-powerful, cast-by-Voldemort-and-the-Elder-Wand Charm BREAKS. He wasn’t even using a wand, he wasn’t even saying an incantation, Ronald Weasley, through the simple power of his rage and grief, freaking breaks a silencing charm made by VOLDE-FREAKING-MORT AKA THE GUY THAT COULD HOLD HIS OWN AGAINST DUMBLEDORE.

So that’s well and good but if Ron was so talented, why didn’t he put his magical power to a use, the Ron-lover asks curiously and the Ron-basher sneers contemptuously?

The answer’s simple: 1) blame JKR for getting prejudiced against her own character as she was writing her series; 2) his perpetual negative billions self-esteem that could have been solved had any of his friends bothered paying a little attention to him.

One of the reasons why I’m so hostile to Ron-bashing is because these people look down at someone who already considers himself to be less than worthless… and then they proceed to dig him even deeper. That’s manipulative, abusive, borderline psychopathic behaviour. They do exactly what Draco Malfoy does with Weasley is our King in the first place: they kick people when they’re already down. They act like Snape acted towards Neville Longbottom (you know, the kid whose biggest fear would have been Bellatrix Lestrange had she not been hijacked by a teacher who delighted in belittling him and tormenting him?).

Ron’s the kind of person who needs reassurance to function. He needs affection and nice things said about him. Some people might think it’s pathetic but we all know better. Who doesn’t like to have nice things said about them, and to them? Wanting to be praised, to be appreciated, to be told he’s doing things right for a change, that was everything Ron Weasley needed to blossom, and that’s everything he’s denied for the whole freaking series.

Do you know what Weasley is our King is? If you’ve seen only the movies then no you don’t, and then you have no right to bash Ron. Because this song, this anthem to Ron’s glory used to be a song used to humiliate him so much, he wouldn’t be able to play Quidditch.

Picture it. Draco Malfoy. Sitting down at a table. Thinking “how can I make Ron’s self-esteem take such a nose-dive he’ll be literally paralyzed and unable to play?”. Picture Draco Malfoy actively looking for Ron’s greatest insecurities and fears of inadequacy. Picture Draco Malfoy writing a song about them and teaching it to every Slytherin in the school.

And then try to sell me Draco Malfoy the redeemed little angel, The Boy Who Made The Wrong Choice(s). See me spit right in your face because I refuse to praise an arrogant, bigoted, spiteful little bully, and you should too. He’s not so bad anymore, yes. But do you even begin to understand how Ron must have felt during this school year? How he was probably flushing in humiliation any time he saw something related to Quidditch? How he would have blamed himself for Harry and his brothers’ ban from Quidditch because he thought it was his fault for letting Malfoy get to him? How Harry never, not even once, tries to reassure him? Hermione might try but what does Hermione know about Quidditch? Ron being utterly alone and ashamed and filled with self-loathing? Hm? How’s that for sweet little Draco Malfoy who’s never been bullied and tormented by anyone, ever?

Draco wasn’t irredeemable when he joined the Death Eaters. He was irredeemable as soon as he opened his mouth to say that all Weasleys had red hair, freckles and more children than they could afford. Because while JKR “loathes a traitor”, I loath a bully. I’ve been bullied. I’ve seen people shipping characters with their bullies. I’ve seen people call such relationships as being those of “star-crossed lovers”. I’ve hated these with all my soul. Because being bullied is not romantic, nor is it cool or cute. It’s freaking awful, it’ll make you miserable, cause you to lose your friends, turn your life into a living hell.

Weasley is our King is a metaphor for harrassment and school bullying. It’s basically what a (blessedly) few teenagers have to go through during their school years. Do you know what usually happens to these teenagers? Suicide.

And the worst part? JKR herself partakes in it. JKR herself bullies her character. Do you know what happens after the triumphant reprise of Weasley is our King is sung for the very first time, when Ron saves all these goals, when he shows how incredible he can be, how good he is despite all the mockeries he’s had to endure during all of his fifth year that we didn’t see because it was All About Harry™ as usual? After Ron has finally triumphed and “proved” he was good enough to the entire school?

She has him bump his head on the door’s lintel.

Because being humiliated for an entire school year then proving your abusers they’re wrong without being ridiculed isn’t allowed when your author is named J.K. Rowling and you’re Ron Weasley.

I went on several topics there; Ron’s obvious magical prowess, how he could have used said magical prowess had JKR not restrained him with extra-heavy plot chains, and the disgusting prejudice there is against a kind-hearted character who happens to have a few faults while the bigoted bully next door gets a get-out-of-jail-free card, all by the will of an author who apparently had a nice long discussion with Steve Kloves in-between PoA and GoF to prepare the first movie adaptation of Harry Potter… and we all know how this ends.

That was my little… *looks at slider* … enormous rant on Ron, magic, and bullying. Hope I didn’t bore you that much. Cheers, Ron-lovers!

#ron #defense #submission #ronweasleydefensesquad #ron weasley defense squad #ron weasley #Harry Potter

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dannyphantomisameme · 6 years ago

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~ Chapter 5 ~

(Click for prologue, chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter four part one, chapter four part 2, and fan fiction link)

The morning was cold. The sun was barely out with its small crescent over the horizon. Within the woods it was freezing. Even Daniel felt frigid under his t-shirt and jeans. The sky has decided to let loose another blanket of snow, the snowflakes drifting onto his jet-black hair.

He was alone within the confines of the trees and probably brushing his teeth in one of the most oddest places. Even after washing his mouth with the water he boiled, the minty aftertaste stained his mouth. Last night, he had one of the greatest slumbers of his life. Sleeping around 13 hours, he felt refreshed and prepared for the new day. Quickly washing his hands and face, he returned back to the apartment.

He craved for some froot loops for breakfast, longing their savory, fruitful flavors along with the wash of milk. However, he didn’t have a refrigerator to keep the milk from spoiling. The best he could do was eat a cereal bar. He was fine with the light breakfast anyway.

While chewing on the cereal bar, he gathered the papers and supplies he had bought yesterday: a notebook, folder, and pencils. It didn’t cost him too much, so he was fine using $5. He reached into his backpack and took the wad of cash out. He quickly counted how much he had left.

10, 20... 50… 100… 1200…

$4,326

Not too bad… so maybe he could survive until April. He just needed to conserve as much money as possible. He took out $30 and stuffed it into his jeans pocket. He hid the rest of the money in a pocket of his backpack. Zipping up his backpack with all the supplies within, he slung it onto his shoulder and wrapped his gold watch on his wrist. Checking around the room for anything else he needed to take, he noticed his weapons peeking out from under the pile of wood. Quickly shuffling the wood around so no one would notice, he stood up, dusting his palms in accomplishment. With one final check, he transformed and ascended into the morning atmosphere.

The morning sky was filled with vibrant colors of orange and pink, mixing to create one of the loveliest things he’d ever seen. From the mansion view, the sunrise was boring and usually hidden behind the trees. But here, he felt mesmerized to be encompassed by the dynamic hues of the heavens.

Finally he descended into an alley once he neared the school. He didn’t want to get to close, in fear of students seeing him transform. There were too many of them in the open courtyard that he couldn’t watch out for all of their eyes. Even if he transformed invisibly, an unknown teenager popping out of nowhere would seem suspicious.

Screening the area for people, he exited the alley. He didn’t look out of place today, although he didn’t have a jacket.

Shit. People are going to think I’m dumb for walking out in winter in a t-shirt.

He never thought about his actions ahead of time. It was one of his biggest weaknesses. He didn’t know much about Minnesota anyway, he was for sure to be seen as an outcast. Although the temperature must have been around 3 degrees, he hardly felt it. Grimacing, he continued down the sidewalk, passing by small street stores. Those inside the cars driving by stared at him and his stupidity. He sighed, his breath fogging the air in front of him.

His objective was to keep quiet and lay on the low. He didn’t need people keeping tabs on him, especially when he was bound to disappear in two weeks. He just needed to be seen as the quiet, background kid. No friends, no talking unless he had to.

Finally he entered the school and into the hideous green surroundings. Students still glared at him as he walked down the halls. It was as if he was under microscopic inspection, their eyes scrutinizing the new student. Some students were conversing with friends while some were looking at their phones. He never understood the importance of having your own device at all times, it just seemed like a waste of money and time. He didn’t need immediate internet access at all times, he could just fly to the library in a matter of minutes. Taking a right down the hall, he looked down at the class schedule in his hands.

Locker 724. Alright.

Upon reaching his locker, he frowned at its appearance. It was the worst locker in the entire hall. Its rusted presence with questionable stains made his stomach feel like releasing its contents. There wasn’t anything he could do about it now; the principal had said that the school was quite packed with little space for newcomers. Glancing around, he noticed students placing their notebooks and textbooks into their lockers. So that’s what they’re used for. He didn’t want to touch the unappealing storage container, so he decided to find his first class. He also didn’t have any supplies to put into the locker. He would be gone in two weeks anyway, he could survive without a locker.

Before he could turn and find his classroom, he was shoved against the filthy locker. Disgusted, his stomach churned nauseously, but his attention was focused on the figure in front of him.

“Hey look it’s a newbie.” A blonde boy taunted. He wore a red and white letter jacket, black t-shirt, and skinny jeans. Other guys stood behind him with matching jackets, laughing at Daniel like a pack of wolves congratulating their alpha.

Daniel tried not to get agitated, but he couldn’t help himself. Heat rose to his cheeks, giving them a slight pink tint. He glared at the other teens, eyes meeting at the same level. They looked about his age, maybe even in the same grade. They were also his height, although few of them were a bit taller than him. He could tell they had built up bodies just from eyeing their broad figures.

“What’s your name twerp?” The blondie ridiculed. His voice had a sort of nasally tone to it, annoying Daniel further. A smirk played itself across is face as he began dusting his shoulder from the dust that accumulated after contacting the treacherous locker.

“What’s your name, asshole?” Daniel retorted with as much sass as the boy. The others behind him ‘ooh’-ed at the sudden infringement of the social hierarchy by the new student. Daniel had a feeling that he had overstepped his boundaries and already made enemies. So much for being the low-life, new student. The first thing he did at his new school was create drama. Fuck.

The blonde boy was infuriated and with his mouth twisted into a wicked grimace. Suddenly his hand outstretched and grabbed Daniel by the neck, pinning him up against the vile locker. “What did you just call me?” the boy growled. His eyebrows were furrowed and his violet eyes dead set on the prey in front of him. A crowd began to form behind him. Daniel faintly heard him shout something else as his mind suddenly went blank.

The icy wall was blanketed with a sheet of ectoplasm, splattered everywhere, dripping down onto the white carpeted floor. The gash on his shoulder pulsated with pain. His mind felt like it was swimming in a pool of molasses, thoughts disorganized and floating around slowly. The voices in his head were increasing in amplitude by the minute. The giant monster panted loudly as drips of ectoplasm trickling down his ice horns. Both ghosts were worn out, tired of fighting each other.

Daniel couldn’t move his upper body with the giant paw against his neck. But there was one thing he could do.

Swiftly he kicked forward, contacting the ghost at his core. The unsuspecting specter tumbled backwards into the snow. Daniel swiftly unlatched the thermos from his belt and aimed it at the large abominable figure whose eyes had widened with realization.

‘I let you into my kingdom, teach you everything I know, and this is how you repay me?’ the husky voice bellowed. The ghost looked so helpless as he was held against his liking. His destroyed robe fluttered behind him in the breeze. The voices were clouding Daniel’s mind, incoherently muttering nonsense.

Daniel didn’t want to reply, but he also didn’t want to uncap the thermos. Frostbite was like a father to him. He taught him how to control his ice powers when he was younger. In his weakest moment, the far frozen king blasted three icicles at the unfocused ghost. Daniel dodged each icicle with ease, heir tips plunging into the white igloo behind him. Reluctantly he uncapped the thermos and aimed the bright blue beam at his father figure. The beam sucked him in, and all was quiet. The voices stopped.

Frostbite was gone.

Daniel didn’t know what to do as his eyes fixated on the furious boy ahead of him. He felt his heart accelerating quickly; lungs bawling to be set free. With one nimble move, he grabbed the jerk by the arm, twisted him around to face the others, and held his arm behind his back. The blonde boy cried out in anguish as everyone around the two took a step back.

After realizing what he had done, he released the boy and backed up into the locker. His hands were in front of him as if he had been caught by the police. The buff teen fell to the ground, groaning from his strained arm.

“I’m sorry.” Daniel muttered under his breath as his eyes shifted to look at everyone. They all gawked at him like he was a freak, nonhuman, a monster. His vision was hazy, but he sped off. He didn’t know where to go, he just knew he needed to get away. He heard someone shout after him, but he continued ahead, ignoring the call behind him. Everyone was now whispering about him, ogling at the new boy who already mustered up a scene. Their voices entrenched his mind, chaotically screwing up his already disordered thoughts. Noticing a sign for the bathrooms, he slammed the door open and ran into a stall. He locked the stall door behind him and turned to face the toilet.

Unexpectedly he threw up into the porcelain bowl, wrenching his guts until they were free of everything. He sat back onto the dirty floor, weakly leaning against the stall door. His body was trembling. He had another one. He thought he could have escaped them once he’d been free of his father, but there was always the threatening thought looming in the back of his mind that his father was watching. It nerved him down to the bone.

The aftertaste of bile stung his throat as he stood up. Wearily walking out of the stall and to the sink, he looked at himself in the mirror. He did look different from the last time he’d seen his reflection back at the mansion. The bags under his eyes had disappeared and his clothing was of a different style. His skin didn’t look as gloomy as it used to, and his crystal blue eyes shone under the ceiling lights. He washed his hands and splashed water onto his face quickly, dried himself, and exited the bathroom.

Using the paper with his class schedule, he wound his way through the student traffic and to his first class, literature. He had to go up a flight of stairs just to get to the English department. This time, all eyes were on him, but he didn’t return the contact. Hunching, he scurried up the stairs.

Once he’d found the classroom after a bit of roaming, he looked in only to find a bald teacher sitting at his desk. Quickly checking his watch, he realized it was only 7:35, so he was early. Go figure. Entering the classroom, he waved to the teacher who hadn’t noticed him yet.

“Um, hello?” Daniel said hoping to gain the attention of the teacher who was occupied searching something on his computer. The bald man turned around to look at the unfamiliar voice. “I’m Daniel Masters, the new student.” he said extending his hand to shake.

“Ah yes, nice to meet you Mr. Masters. You can call me Mr. Lancer. Welcome to Casper high. Have you been finding your way around easily?” he said caringly while shaking Daniel’s hand. He seemed like a pretty nice teacher.

“Yep.” he replied, popping the ‘p’. Just splendid.

“That’s good to hear. You’re very early. Unfortunately I’ve got some work to do so you may take a seat in the back for the time being.” Daniel nodded and Mr. Lancer returned to his computer. Daniel worked his way through the row of desks and sat in the back. Setting his backpack down and his head against the desk, he sighed. Today was already off to a bad start. He was even getting hungry from hurling what little breakfast he ate.

The classroom was painted in a light blue color. Posters with books and other motivational writings lined the walls. In the front was a large whiteboard and some giant screen. The desks were a boring, bland porcelain color, matching the atmosphere of the room. Other students began trickling into the classroom in groups of two or more. It seemed as if everyone had a companion except him.

Ten minutes later, the bell rang and Daniel lifted his head from the desk to look at the teacher. Mr. Lancer stood up from his desk and walked around. Clearing his throat he began to speak. “Hello class. We have a new student, Daniel Masters. Daniel, please stand up.”

Daniel stood up and smiled sheepishly. All eyes were once again him.

Awe fuck.

The blonde, muscular boy from earlier was giving him the death glare from across the room. Just my luck. He’s in my class. He was going to get beat up for sure once the blondie got the chance. Daniel sat down slowly and everyone turned back to the teacher. He sunk lower in his seat.

“As you all know, today’s Tuesday, which means your receiving your projects today. In a moment I will be pairing you in groups of three and then giving you the topic. So once I say your name, please get together in your groups.” Mr. Lancer paused, retrieving a sheet from his desk. “ Mikey, Nathan, and Leo. Brad, Star, and Lacy. Then Dash, Kwan, and Paulina.” Mr. Lancer listed as students stood up and shuffled around. The blonde kid must have been Dash since he stood up when Lancer called his name. Dash, huh? “... Tucker, Samantha, and Daniel. And finally Katie, Rachael, and Trevor.” Grabbing his backpack, he stood up and looked around the room. Tucker and Samantha, ok. Now I just have to find them…

“Psst, hey.” a feminine voice perked up. He swiveled around to find an African American boy and a goth, Caucasian girl sitting together. Daniel sat in an open desk next to them.

“That was a great show in the halls today.” The african American boy said shifting his glasses up his nose. He wore a red beret, a yellow turtleneck, and camo joggers. Daniel’s cheeks flushed a shade of red as he sunk a little in his seat at the mention of the mornings fiasco.

“Hell yea it was. It’s time someone put ‘the king of high school’ back in his place.” the goth quirked up. Her black hair flowed at her shoulders. Her bright purple lipstick and matching eyeshadow contrasted her pale skin. She wore a black tank top, black and green checkered skirt, purple leggings, and black combat boots.

“Don’t remind me. Everyone keeps staring.” Daniel said shaking his head.

“So what?! Dude you’re already famous. You can achieve popularity in a snap.” The boy presumed to be Tucker exclaimed.

“Fuck. I didn’t want any of this.” Daniel said rubbing his face in his hands. The teacher chose this moment to begin speaking again.

“For your assignment, your group must make a presentation on the book I assign. The presentation requirements are on google classroom. I will come around and assign the books and then you will need to go to the library straight after and get your book. Got it?” Mr. Lancer’s voice bellowed through the room in monotone. The class nodded in reply and returned to conversing with each other.

“Well the name’s Foley. Tucker Foley, but you can call me Tuck.” The boy said as he relaxed back into his desk. He crossed his arms behind his head.

“And I’m Sam. You call me Samantha, and your shin will be bruised and broken.” she threatened, glaring at him. Daniel widened his eyes at the immense intimidation from the petite girl.

“You probably already know this, but I’m Daniel. And I don’t have a nickname.” he shrugged. He never thought about a nickname for himself, it just didn’t pop into his mind. He had more pressing matters to deal with his entire life. His father had called him ‘little badger’ when he was younger, although he always despised the name.

“Pfft. Everyone has a nickname. Plus, Daniel sounds too sophisticated.” Tuck said as he looked at Daniel, scanning his features. “Uh… Danny. Danny’s good. U look like a Danny too.” he quirked as a group of students got up and exited the room, presumably off to the library.

“Danny?” Daniel was confused. Did they just give me a… nickname?

“Yep that’s your new name. No ifs and,or buts.” Sam chimed in, a smirk playing itself across her face. “So where you from, Danny?”

“New York.”

“You don’t have the accent though.” Tuck retorted.

“You’re from Minnesota and you don’t have an accent.” Danny interjected sarcastically. Another group of students left the classroom.

“Touche. What do you think about Casper high?” Tuck asked.

“It’s good. I wish I hadn’t screwed up my reputation the second I entered the door though.” Danny said, running his hands through his hair. The subject was still in his mind. What if someone recognized him? He always considered the impossible because in reality, his existence was an impossibility.

“Relax Danny. You’ll be on Dash’s hit list, but with moves like yours, you’ll be fine.” Sam said.

“Those moves were reflexes. I wasn’t thinking at the time. I can’t fight for the life of me.” Danny whined into his palms. Yes, he lied to them. He didn’t want people thinking he had super strength or some shit. He needed to lay low from now on. At the time, he just… panicked.

“Well you’ve got good reflexes, but you’re screwed if you can’t repeat that display from earlier.” Sam suggested. Danny groaned. Mr. Lancer chose that moment to join the trio and assign them their book.

“Looks like you all have gotten acquainted,” Danny timidly chuckled, rubbing his neck. “You three will be reading Frankenstein, got it? Mr. Masters I expect Mrs. Ishiyama led you through your school google account?” Danny nodded. “Very well then, you three can join the others in the library.” The trio stood up and headed out to the library. Mr. Lancer locked the classroom and trailed not too far behind, but out of hearing reach.

“I’ve actually read this book before.” Danny said out of the blue. The other two turned to look at him questioningly. When he was 13, he would go to the library almost everyday and read some of the most famous books. It was one of his favorite past times at the time. Frankenstein was actually a very interesting book, considering that the scientist was the real Frankenstein as opposed to the monster.

“Dude, if Lancer finds out, he’s going to make you switch to a different group.” Tuck chipped as he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at the ignorant teacher.

“Relax. He won’t find out. This way, I’ll have less homework.” Danny replied crossing his arms. Tuck shrugged in response. The trio proceeded walking into the library where all the other students were waiting. The large area reminded him of the library he had visited on his first day in Amity Park. The set up was similar, except the computers sat at the edges of the room instead of the center. Some students had books in hand, while others were searching for their book through the multitude of stacks.

Sam guided them through the room partly using the signs posted on the shelves and partly using her memory. She seemed to know this place quite well, maybe she was an avid reader. Entering the racks of books with authors that have last names starting with the letter L, the trio began searching the shelves. Tucker called out to the other two once he had found the book. Handing each of them a copy, the three headed towards the front desk and checked out their books. Once Daniel had received his book, the bell rang, prompting students to leave at its ring. He now had 8 minutes to get to his next class.

“Hey Danny, what class do you have next?” asked Sam. He reached into his pocket and produced a wrinkled schedule. Squinting to read the small font, he brought the paper close to his face, but Sam impatiently snatched it out of his hand.

She scanned the sheet while Tuck looked over her shoulder, scanning the sheet as well. “Well we have art, gym, and bio together” she said handing the slip back to him.

“And we have pre-calc, gym, and bio together.” Tuck said grabbing some gadget from his pocket. “And pre-calc is next so we gotta go.” he quickly said, grabbing Danny’s hand. He led his new acquaintance through the crowded halls, bypassing many students in the tight halls. Danny couldn’t even utter a word through all the movement.

The boy with the red beret was shorter than him, but only by an inch or so. He pulled Danny into the classroom. It looked the same as the last one, except the posters on the walls illustrated formulas and inspirational quotes instead of quotes from books. Danny introduced himself the to teacher and then proceeded to take a seat next to Tuck. He recognized a few kids from the previous class, but he couldn’t recall their names. As he took his seat, he noticed Tuck preoccupied with some silver gadget in his hands

“Hey, what’s that?” Danny said eyeing the contraption in the other boy’s hand. It had several buttons on it. He’d never seen anything like it before.

“This is Shelly.” Tuck said in a matter-of-fact tone. He held up the device like a prized possession. Danny just stared at him blankly. He had no idea what a Shelly was. “It’s my PDA.” Oh. He still didn’t understand.

“What’s a PDA?” Danny asked questioningly. Tuck gasped loudly and glared at him like he had committed the worst treason in the world. Daniel was perplexed at what he had done wrong.

“Only the most beautifullest thing in the world! It’s like a phone, but only better! Jeez man, you must be a real gen z if you don’t know what a PDA is…” Tucker rambled on. Danny could tell that Tuck had a thing for electronics. Just the way he talked about them and how even gave them names as if they were human. He seemed like a technology geek to Danny.

The bell rang, interrupting Tuck in his talk. The teacher began instructing the class about trigonometric functions. Danny had some difficulty understanding the concepts, joining late in the semester did that to one, but Tuck helped him through the calculations. Tuck turned out to be a genius in math, and Danny was surprised that he wasn’t in some higher level class.

By the end of class, Danny had somewhat achieved mastery of the subject. The teacher assigned a page of homework right before the bell rang. The entire class groaned simultaneously, hoping they could have evaded the treacherous endeavors of doing homework. At least they don’t have to endure father’s assignments.

Tuck once again led Danny through the hallways to gym class, a class the trio would be reunited in. He realized he had become quick friends with them. The openness between Sam and Tuck suggested that they were close friends, but there was a hint of mistrust between the two, almost as if their friendship was missing something. Danny could never see the two being friends if he hadn’t personally met them before; their personalities just seemed incompatible together. Somehow, they still managed to keep contact.

Tuck brought him into the boys locker room, showing him around. The underground room was lined with dark green tiles with rows of navy blue lockers. The area was dimly lit, like the lights were too old to be repaired. Boys were changing out in the open into red and white uniforms. Danny felt like he should have averted his eyes and given them privacy, but Tuck didn’t seem to be bothered by the sight. He was glad to have someone helping him through his first day. He would have been a complete mess without Tuck and Sam.

Danny received a gym uniform and a locker from the locker room supervisor. Luckily, both of their lockers were situated in the back corner right next to each other, and away from majority of the other boys. Tuck began to unlock his locker, and Danny followed suit. Tuck then removed his clothes one by one, however, Danny didn’t want to change out in the open. The amount of scars that criss-crossed his body would be noticeable in a second. He searched his surroundings and then turned around to face away from Tuck. Removing his shirt, he quickly replaced it with the gym uniform. Next he removed his jeans and slipped on his gym shorts. No one seemed to notice the abnormal amount of scars on his body. He sighed in relief.

Tuck had put on his shorts and now he was pulling the gym shirt onto his head. The boy was very scrawny, although he wasn’t as skinny as some of the nerds Danny had seen earlier. Danny looked marginally better in size compared to the African American boy, and Danny’s body had a light built to it from all the work he’d done. At one point in his childhood, if one could call it that, he had been in a phase of attaining the ideal body. He would workout on a daily basis, and eat a diet based on protein. He continued for two years or so, until his assignments became daily and took up his exercise time.

Danny placed his clothes and backpack into the locker and shut it closed. Tuck finished after a minute, and the two exited out to gymnasium together. Few students were already there, including Sam. She wore the same uniform as them, instead of cropping her uniform like the other girls. Danny noticed Dash sitting on the bleachers and talking to some latina girl, he shuddered. He hoped he wouldn’t have to face him again. The two boys accompanied Sam in the back of the bleachers.

“Nice of you two to join.” Sam said sarcastically as the two sat down next to her.

“Hey there’s two of us and one of you.” Tucker defended pointing his finger.

“Not unless your dressing each other.” Sam snorted. Danny chuckled. It seemed like these two joked quite often. Tuck crossed his arms in agitation. For some unusual reason, Danny felt a sensation of cold in his chest, radiating from his core. He brushed off the odd feeling, believing it to be his core overreacting from his panic episode earlier.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how do you two know each other? You just seem like polar opposites.” Danny questioned. Sam snickered at something, although he didn’t know what.

“This jackass had the audacity to try and debate with me on food preferences. You see, I’m an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian and he’s a meat lover. I was at the Produce Party and Tuck was at the Meat-Meet, and both for some odd reason were situated in the same building. We got into a fight and I tackled him to the ground. Beat his ass till he was screaming mercy.” Sam smiled as she recalled the memory.

“Hey! You left out the part where I slapped that steak on your face!” Tuck clamored.

“Then you left out the part where I tickled out with a lettuce leaf.” Sam snorted as she wiggled her fingers in a tickling motion.

“Sam!” Tuck grumbled as both Danny and Sam laughed. Tuck didn’t seem like he was having much fun being ridiculed by the goth.

“But that still doesn’t explain how you two got close.” Danny said. Although their stories seemed humorous and interesting to hear, Danny wanted to know why the two who came to be friends. Unfortunately, the gym teacher decided to walk into the gymnasium at that moment.

She had short orange hair, although it was oddly mullet-styled. She wore a white polo and knee length red shorts. Her physique was very built as well, people could easily understand that she worked out quite often. Mrs. Tetslaff, right? She blew her whistle to gain everyone’s attention.

“Listen up kids! I’m going to take attendance, so say ‘here’ when I say your name.” her harsh voice boomed through open space. She began listing kids as Danny sat with his chin in his palm, bored out of his mind. When she called his name, he said ‘here’ just like she had asked. A cold sensation rumbled within his chest, something he’d never felt before. It was felt as if a storm was brewing inside of him. Suddenly a gasp of blue smoke released itself from his mouth. He immediately placed both palms over his lips. Nobody seemed to notice his disfunction.

What the fuck is happening?!

Another breath of blue air escaped his mouth through his fingers. He was panicking. He had no clue what was happening. Someone was bound to notice at some point. Another puff of smoke set free from his lips. His hand shot into the air, catching the attention of the teacher. Mrs. Tetslaff sighed, accepting the students question.

“May I go to the restroom?” Danny urgently asked. He needed to get away before anyone noticed.

“You should’ve gone before class. But go quick, I don’t want to hear this next time.” Mrs. Tetslaff bellowed. Danny nodded and dashed down the bleachers and back into the locker room. The blue breath had started come in quick succession, almost every second. He stared at a mirror, hands gripping the porcelain sink for stability. His knuckles were turning white with his taut grip. He was shivering. Shivering. He never got cold. Other than the time he had discovered his ice core. He could barely stand with the sudden freezing sensation. He felt like jumping into a pit of lava to feel warmth.

With his supernatural hearing, he heard a soft noise behind him. Looking through the mirror, he noticed a large figure standing right behind him. Before he knew it, he was tackled to the floor.

Goddamnit.

The mirror shattered, echoing through the open room.

#sorry for late update #didn't feel in the mood to write #im so slow #gosh my writing is getting worse #love it when ur last phicc post gets zero notes #totally not being a whiny bitch about it #im just an attention hoe #btw this story is now a 53 paged doc and its clogging up my laptop space #please read if ya can #will probably be updating weekly from now on #locker reference anyone?

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filmgutter · 7 years ago

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Comic Dots Review for Justice League (2017): Part I

Late to the party, I know it. My time was quite occupied in these past few weeks, but I had managed to find some free space on a late Thursday evening to finally watch DC's latest, Justice League. This entry marks 'Part I' of my review, and this series of mini rundowns will not be focusing on the cinematography, the editing, the pacing, or anything else that can be filed under the technical aspects of filmmaking. Instead, I'll be shining some light on character adaptations that were given a voice by the writers and were brought to life by the actors. Note: my analysis is spoil-free in terms of story, but if you're like me and won't even watch past the first 15 seconds of a trailer for fear of spoilers, you may want to steer clear from this read. Let's begin these assessments with Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman. I'd normally switch that around with the concise-yet-more-accurate introduction of Batman, also known as Bruce Wayne... but not this time. In the history of his true characterization, Batman has patrolled Gotham City suited up and down from cape to cowl, but Bruce Wayne — the face of a spoiled playboy whose father would perhaps feel in him great disappointment — that's his mask, and that's something I didn't see in Affleck's adaptation of the character. On the contrary, he seemed more comfortable seeking the likes of Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and Barry Allen (the Flash) in broad daylight, and without his iconic Bat gear. He admittedly didn't know much of these characters, yet displayed an unconditional trust in them without somehow testing the waters in the skeptical Bruce Wayne way that is to be expected. It may be weakly argued that his patience has started to wither with age, having him favour a more 'cut the crap' approach to seeking aid in battle, but then were the rest of his traits met with that same fate? The many traits — stoic, resourceful, distrusting, focused — that make up The World's Greatest Detective weren't anywhere to be seen in this film. Affleck's Bats tripped over his own words, was emotional but not passionate, was driven but not motivating, and was harsh but... not not "an asshole" (Cyborg's words). He has always been notorious for not being able to play well with others, but it wasn't merely a charming part of the stubborn Bruce Wayne package in Justice League; most evident when he used Diana's pain against her by bringing up Steve Trevor when it wasn't called for. Contributing to the harm of someone's inner wars is not Batman, no matter how you spin it. However, Batfleck is not a lost cause: it is worth noting that his years of vigilante life has taken its toll on him in rather interesting ways. Bruce appears to be less confident in his own abilities as, not only a hero, but a functioning human being. A man who was once physically outstanding and talented in his brilliance now finds himself face-to-face with the very harsh reality of time. Being without superhuman abilities has pushed him to thinking on his toes better than most, but he was always running on borrowed time, and postponing the inevitable part of being a human being can no longer be toyed with. All that's seemingly left is a man who never lived for himself and doesn't know how to start. His drive to form this team of heroes may be the last act for society from a once great Dark Knight. Batman wasn't the highlight and didn't have much of a role in the actual fighting scenes of the film, but in many ways, that in itself carries with it a handful of complexities that can be played with and applied to who Bruce Wayne has become. Optimistically, I think there is some solid material there worth staying tuned for.

#Justice League #Justice League 2017 #Batman #Batfleck #Bruce Wayne #review #reviews #films #dc comics #the justice league #ben affleck #overview

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minaminokyoko · 7 years ago

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The Last Jedi (A Spoilertastic Review)

So I stayed off Twitter for almost ten straight days and I reduced my Facebook usage by about 80% in the last 48-hours in order to avoid spoilers for The Last Jedi, as I was spoiled for Han Solo's death in The Force Awakens literal days before attending its premiere years ago. Was it worth staying off social media to stay unspoiled and unbiased?

Eh. I dunno.

So I'm now hearing, as I return to social media, that some fans hate the movie. Color me shocked. (That's sarcasm, if you can't tell--we really do need a font for that.) There is a large chunk of the Star Wars fandom that contains some of the nastiest, pettiest, most immature hypocrites on the planet earth, and I can see those same fans hating this movie. Well, maybe I can help balance the scales.

To be frank, I'm not a Star Wars fan. I saw the originals as a kid and liked them okay, I hated the prequels and I still think they have zero justification and do not stand up to even the slightest film criticism or storytelling criticism at all, and I liked The Force Awakens quite a lot. For me, The Force Awakens finally gave me a reason to personally invest in the Star Wars franchise. Don't get me wrong--as a kid and a teen, I liked Han and Leia. I liked the setting of the original trilogy and the memorable stories and performances and dialogue. However, Luke was, well, this is an unavoidable pun, a lukewarm character for me. I didn't really care about him and I didn't understand him from a personal standpoint, so while I enjoyed the story, I just didn't take anything away from it. Force Awakens introduced me to an ostracized girl who had a miserable existence who always felt like she was waiting for something to happen to give her life meaning, and a terrified slave/survivor who defected in order to run away from something he feared but he instead found a reason to stay and fight. Plus, adding in the fact that Finn is awkward and likable and now I am emotionally invested in the new main leads of the franchise.

Sadly, though, The Last Jedi falls short in most of the aspects that made me like Force Awakens. Keep in mind, it's still an enjoyable film, but it most definitely suffers from Middle Movie Syndrome, where there's a lot of wheel-spinning because they need action set pieces, but in the end, what happens doesn't really change much about the characters or their motivations. Allow me to explain below. Naturally, spoiler alert.

Overall Grade: B-/C+

Pros:

-Creative scenarios. I like the film's creativity in terms of the scenery. The Force Awakens lived in the shadow of the original films. It was a very strict sort of format in order to make the older fans feel at home and to bring the new fans into the franchise at the same stepping off point. However, this film was able to stretch out a bit and not feel as bound by the same look and feel of the original trilogy. I know a lot of fans bitched about that with Force Awakens, and I think it was a semi-legit complaint, but I felt it was mostly the studio being cautious and trying not to piss off such a massive number of fans. Here, the scenery feels new and fresh, from the casino to the large part of the plot taking place on unfamiliar planets or with the rebels in space.

-I'm not going to sit here and lie--Oscar Isaac finally got to me a little bit in this one. Don't get me wrong, I liked Poe but I noticed Isaac amassing a legion of fangirls and was mystified as to why. Poe was a good character and Isaac's a good actor. Then when I saw Poe getting passionate about the rebellion, I admit I started to swoon a bit. There's just something about the way that he cares, how he makes the war feel that much more personal, and his relationship with Leia that floats my skirt up quite a bit. I like that he is hardheaded and impulsive, but he still feels like his own man. At first, I was worried he'd be our Han Solo replacement, but they drifted away from that idea. He's a very enjoyable character and I give a damn about him. I like that he grew this time, that he was able to recognize that he can't make every mission a suicide mission because the rebels have limited numbers and every man is precious. That's cool. I can dig it. Nice work, Mr. Isaac.

-I enjoyed seeing Finn take another step towards becoming a more stable rebel. He was still naive and brash, but he gave it his all and he was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to do what he felt was right. I appreciate the hell out of that and I'm glad they didn't kill him. I threw my hands up in the theater because I like him a lot and I thought they were going to do the dumb thing and waste him. Phew. Bullet dodged, for now at least.

-I enjoyed seeing Yoda pop back up. Granted, he took his sweet ass time, but that was a nice surprise for me. I thought it was very touching to see him again, and well timed since Frank Oz is on the older side and we don't know how much longer we'll get to enjoy him.

-The Luke and Leia forehead kiss almost made me cry. Fuck. God. It was eerily appropriate as our goodbye to the amazing Carrie Fisher. I miss her terribly and seeing them reunite for the last time genuinely tugged at my heart strings.

-I liked the idea of Luke wavering when he found out Darth Temper Tantrum--excuse me, Kylo Ren slash Ben Solo--and being faced with a terrible choice. I like that Kylo's interpretation of danger is what screwed everything up and made him run away. It's a simple misunderstanding on a grand scale that is important to both of them and it's about the only thing that I think works about Kylo Ren's character. We'll discuss more about him in the Cons section, though. I like it because it's reminiscent of something I love from The Dresden Files series, where Karrin Murphy and Harry Dresden are talking about the fact that some people become monsters because you treat them like monsters. The possibility that maybe he wouldn't have turned if Luke hadn't gone there to stop him is great motivation to cut yourself off forever and feel that you deserve to die alone with the last of the Jedi kind.

-Luke's projecting power at the end was a nice aversion to being slain by the whiny git Kylo Ren. I'm still angry he dies anyway, because what the fuck was the point if you still killed him off, but that was a cool power that I don't recall seeing before and it made Luke seem even more badass than I ever thought possible. Nice work, Luke.

-We'll discuss my problem with Ren's fake redemption arc momentarily, but I did like the scene where he kills Snoke. That was a nifty idea and I like that Snoke's smug ass didn't see it coming. He was so convinced he knew everything and that manipulating Ren and Rey would give him what he wanted, but it didn't and that's a satisfying story element in a movie that kind of botches most of its pay off.

-I liked the Purple Haired Lady (sorry, I didn't catch her name, I have a bad memory) light-speeding right through the fucking Empire ship. That was a badass way to go. Now, granted, I still think it's pretty ridiculous that all the main characters managed to survive a catastrophic event like that no problem, but it was still cool as hell.

-Rey's a nobody. Called it. I love that she didn't have super special plot relevant parents. They were just scumbag assholes, much like Yondu's parents in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Thanks for disproving all the nonsensical fan theories. I knew she wouldn't be Luke or Leia's bloodline, but I like it even better than her parents don't even get names or anything. That's baller storytelling.

-Leia surviving the cruiser explosion. What. A. Badass. Motherfucker.

Cons:

-The biggest problem I have with the Last Jedi is Kylo Ren's fake redemption arc. Look, I get what they were going for. It's reminiscent of what happened to Zuko in the amazing Avatar: The Last Airbender series, and that to date is still the best redemption arc I have ever seen with my own two eyes. That's possibly why this one fell so flat for me. The set up for Kylo Ren is relatively solid. He was raised by heroes of the rebellion and so it was expected of him to become something great, and Luke training him sounds like a great bit of backstory as well. However, by not showing us details, Ren's redemption arc rings hollow as hell. Let me explain. They never showed us the details of the darkness that was apparently building in Ren. What is it driven by? Is it just a feeling? Was he just dangerous and unwilling to listen to Luke while he was in training? You can't just give such a blanket statement without reasoning or showing the actual backstory itself where we see what made him someone Luke thought would kill or massacre the innocent. I think the movie should have had a flashback segment of Luke and Ren's training days where we see that, yes, the kid was powerful but he had no restraint and he was arrogant and cruel or at the very least, unfeeling. Most of the time when you have that type of character, it's one of those traits that leads to evil. He thinks he's above the law or above reproach because of his power, or in Ren's case, it could have been because of his parentage. That was a huge missed opportunity. Maybe he was just a spoiled brat from being the son of two war heroes and the nephew of one of the greatest Jedi of all time. But we get none of that. We just get that he was a bad apple and Luke panicked and his panic made Ren run away. But that brings me to the next part that doesn't work in this film. Okay, so you think your uncle tried to kill you. Why did you immediately decide to join up with the fucking Space Nazis? How does that work for your desires? We don't know why Ren joined up. It's one thing to abandon your family out of anger and shame, but the Empire literally slaughters billions of innocent lives on a daily basis. We don't know why Ren said yes to them because we haven't been told personal details about him. Why did he blame Han and Leia? It's totally backwards. He should have gone to them and told them what Luke did, and there should have been repercussions. Maybe they didn't believe him and that's why he ran off, but the film doesn't tell us any of these things that would help us understand him more. Then, the final nail is the idea that Kylo murdered the other young Jedi, murdered Han, tried to murder Leia, and has been in the company of genocidal maniacs for years, and yet the film wants me to believe he can be saved. Nah, bruh. You gone. You been gone. You're not gonna flash your puppy dog eyes at me and think I want you to come to the light side. You stood by and watched billions of people die and yet Rey's big blues make you change your mind, but only for your own ambition? Fuck off. That entire thing fell to shambles for me. I like the idea of Rey and Ren having a connection because they are both alone and unsure of themselves, but this was not the way to do it. Ren's actions are beyond irredeemable. They were irredeemable the second he killed Han. Han didn't do shit to that snot-nosed punk bitch. He was his father and he wasn't the one who turned on him, it was Luke, so frankly, Ren can fuck off the edge of my non-existent dick, and I don't like that the movie swept all his indiscretions under the table to say maybe there was still good in him. He's a selfish bastard and that's that.

-Implying that Rey would turn to the Dark side fell flat on its face as well. She had no reason to turn. The movie played with the fact that she was alone, but that still doesn't work. She's not alone. She has Finn and the rebels. Sure, none of them would be able to understand the Jedi aspect of her personality, but it's still stupid for them to act like she would just be magically okay with the genocidal maniacs who slaughtered everything in the galaxy. It was weird, too, because Ren says something to the effect of "I saw you turn" and that doesn't happen, so was he lying to manipulate her or did the movie drop the subplot altogether? There was never a moment that I doubted her. I knew she had a pure heart because of what we've seen from her before. All we knew is that she was simply scared and alone. None of that translated to her joining the fucking Space Nazis, so why did they even pursue it? I think this could have been done better if instead of Ren killing Han (but to be fair, it's all Harrison Ford's goddamn fault, if he didn't hate Han, then this idea could have worked) we saw Ren and Rey starting to understand each other BEFORE he killed Han. Love is a strong motivator for if you want to have this idea of Rey possibly wavering from the light. I sure as fuck don't ship Reylo and I think it's gross, but if you rewrote the movie so that she and Ren bonded in the first film rather than him simply terrorizing her, then sure, the second film where she feels a connection with him and wants to rule at his side because she loves him now makes sense. The idea is similar to something from my urban fantasy series that I wrote, where the villain has no plans of ever turning good, but he has a soft spot for the leading lady and he doesn't want so much to turn her as make her his so he can be with her, and she doesn't so much want to turn him good as she recognizes that there is something inside him that calls to her. This is one of the only cases where I think a canon romance would have made more sense than whatever we got in the film itself. I could see Rey doubting herself if she fell in love with Ren. The starcrossed lovers angle is much stronger and much more believable than just "Rey doesn't know who she is and she thinks maybe she can bring Ren back to the light."

-I didn't like Finn and Rey being apart for the entire film. I think their friendship was easily the best and strongest thing about the Force Awakens. Both of them had strong motivations to do what they did and it made sense for them to both care so deeply for each other because they crashed into each other's lives and saved each other. They work better side by side, not in separate storylines. Their friendship was charming and adorable and this film really should have used it.

-If you add everything up, Finn's entire mission was pointless. The stand-in commander already had a plan and so everything Poe, Rose, and Finn did was pointless in the end. That sucks. You wasted their time and the audience's time, and that's what I meant when I said this movie has Middle Movie Syndrome. It feels like they just needed to find something for Finn, Rose, and Poe to do and so they just threw them this B Plot that is entirely useless and that's a huge disservice to them as characters.

-Rose is pretty forgettable. That's not knocking the actress playing her. It's just she's sort of a tool to the story and they really should have given her a better role with better stakes. I also don't like the shoehorned "love" line. It was a good line for the rebellion, but not for those two characters. I don't buy Rose falling for Finn. Finn's awesome, but they didn't go through nearly enough and didn't bond at all during their journey, so that "love" line is awkward and unwanted to me.

-Luke's death. Look, the fucking movie is called The Last Jedi, but did you really have to fake us out only to kill him anyway? That was fucking lame. What would have made it go down easier is if Luke had known when we first see him again that he was on his last legs. Build up his final days. Have him be old and tired and coughing constantly or knowing by the Force that he's reached the last moments of his lifetime, and that's why finally spurs him on to help the rebels once again after he meets Rey. Don't spring it on us. It didn't have a good impact because it just felt obligatory because it's the future franchise and we have to have our original three protagonists all bow out for the new kids on the block. I wanted a more touching death scene for him, even though I liked Han and Leia more from the original films. It just felt like a waste of a great legend for him to die out of nowhere. I actually thought from that shot that he saw an Empire ship firing at the island to kill him and I sort of like that more, as it would have been a good sucker punch (and we did hear Snoke mention that before he died) so I think this was yet another missed opportunity.

-Though the entire movie focuses on Rey, I feel like it told me less about her than the first film did. I like that she's a nobody. That's good. That's strong. That's interesting. But I don't like that she didn't really bond with Luke and I don't feel as if she learned a single damn thing on that island aside from maybe Ren was starting to falter, but in the end all he did was kill Snoke and assume command. He didn't turn back to the light, so why was there all this focus on him that took away from her? I was excited for the film because I thought Luke would come around and train her the way Yoda trained him. That would reveal more of her abilities and her strengths and weaknesses, but we didn't get much of that at all and it's not fair to her. She has so much potential, but it felt squandered to me.

-The goddamn Porgs. Look, Disney, I know you gotta sell toys, but I haven't seen such a transparent fucking commercial for toys since Olaf from Frozen. Jesus H. Christ. They literally just keep popping up on screen like a goddamn commercial. It's so obnoxious. They are not that cute. They're just gerbils with duck feet. I think Star Wars fans overreacted about the Ewoks, but if they all hate the Porgs, sure, I'll light a torch to march in that parade. Stop that. I'm watching a movie, for God's sake, not a toy commercial.

-I'm not really sure where things are heading with where it ends here. It just seems sort of vague and undefined, and as if we didn't get much accomplished in the long run. Very wheelspin-y.

-There’s a million plotholes and plot contrivances. I can’t be bothered to count them all, so a year from now when CinemaSins does a video, then I’ll post a link, Just know there are a lot of plotholes this time around.

Bottom line: if the neckbeards are out here hating the movie, cry me a fucking river. It is in no way that bad. The prequels are still by far the worst movies in the franchise. I think The Last Jedi is simply misguided. It brings up great questions, but then doesn't answer or address most of them. It introduces too many ideas without flushing them out and making you connect on a personal level the way The Force Awakens did. It's mainly just that the goals are unclear and so are the characters. I think it's still possible to get the franchise back on track with the final film. I certainly don't think this movie is bad by any stretch. I just feel that it missed its target. Maybe they'll hit it next time.

#Star Wars #The Last Jedi #Star Wars The Last Jedi #movie review #film review #Luke Skywalker #Rey #Ben Solo #Leia Organa #Han Solo #spoiler alert #spoilers #finally #Poe Damaron

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ollis-beard · 7 years ago

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please do all of the aesthetic themed asks C;

My goodness.. let’s do thisflower crown: when did you last sing to yourself?A few minutes ago, i sing to myself all the time. It was the baby song Finn sings from the Adventure Time episode “The Jiggler”

fairy lights: if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know?What my life’s purpose is, what i’m meant for

daisies: what is the greatest accomplishment of your life?Graduating from high school? Lol i haven’t done much

1975: what is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?I was playing with my dog a few minutes ago, she always looks so happy and cute, it makes me want to explode

matte: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?I would try to go out and experience more but I’m still dependent on other people for adventures.. so i guess i’d get my driver’s license and explore on my own

black nail polish: do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things?I don’t have one, i’ll have to put one together

pantone: describe a person close to your life in detail.My favorite person, we used to be super close and talk everyday. They’re super silly and goofy and one of the only people i can be really open and honest with. We used to have so much fun and we’re getting back to being close again

moodboard: do you feel you had a happy childhood?Yeah but it wasn’t really exciting either

stars: when did you last cry in front of another person?A month ago maybe

plants: pick a person to stargaze with you and explain why you picked them.A friend i’ve had for a few years but haven’t gotten close to until recently. We’ve actually gone stargazing a few times before and each time is magical, everytime we do it, we see shooting stars.

converse: would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them?Probably because i love deep conversations and probably couldn’t stop myself no matter how embarrassing it might become

lace: when was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you?An ex lol we’re friends now though

handwriting: if you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom?I would tell my youngest brother to keep working his way through life, he has so much potential and a lot of people seem to put him down, they don’t realize how hard he’s trying

cactus: what is your opinion on brown eyes?I love, love, love them! Any kind of brown, a bright golden honey colored brown, a soft muted medium brown or a deep dark, almost black brown that has the most beautiful flecks of red and gold. I love all of them and think they are absolutely gorgeous on both men and women.. its probably even part of my “type”, i just think they’re the most adorable feature

sunrise: pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally.“Keep moving forward” - Monty Oum, just him telling people to keep living their lives and doing what they want even when things don’t go right or get tough

oil paints: what would you title the autobiography of your life so far?“Why did I do that?”

overalls: what would you do with one billion dollars?Spend some of it on a little house for me and a business to make more money, then use whatever’s left and whatever i earn to spoil my friends, family and pretty much anyone who needs it

combat boots: are you a very forgiving person? do you like being this way?I think so, i think i know when someone deserves my forgiveness

winged eyeliner: write a hundred word letter to your twelve year old self.All i have to say is don’t be afraid. Make new friends and forget about your old ones. You’ll learn to love your new life and you’ll hate yourself for not accepting it sooner and spending your time being miserable. Your bitterness now will only hurt yourself in the future. Stay away from asshole guys, you will be happier on your own and their love is not real. They will only hurt you. And please.. please for the love of god.. skip your emo phase. Its nowhere near as cool as you think and loving bright beautiful things does not make you weak. Try to enjoy everything.

pastel: would you describe yourself as more punk or pastel?I’m like perfectly in the middle right now, i’m transitioning into pastel but i still have a lot of punky hottopic shit

tattoos: how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain.I love them, they are art to me!

piercings: do you wear a lot of makeup? why/why not?On a daily basis, no. I wear makeup like twice a week but when I do, I wear about a medium amount.. tinted moisturizer/mineral foundation, light eye makeup, light contouring and lip liner. I’m just not good enough at makeup to do a lot, only what i need

bands: talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way.Rammstein helped me get through a very abusive relationship. It just made me feel strong and empowered. I loved how elegantly vulgar they are, using poetic songs to tell terrible, disgusting stories

messy bun: the world is listening. pick one sentence you would tell them.Just stop, everyone needs to lay down, stop fighting and listen to each other.

cry baby: list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel.I went to a Maroon 5 concert with my best friend when i was in like 4th grade, i don’t remember it much lol. I went to a Between the Buried and Me concert (mostly went for Animals as Leaders) a couple years ago, it was my firs real metal show, i was dressed like a slut and got pushed over by a drunk guy so thinking about it makes me anxious. I went to an Animals as Leaders concert (With Plini, yes!!) a few months ago for my birthday, it was excellent and i was there just holding hands with my girls and crying so it makes me feel warm and loved.

grunge: who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?An ex, just telling me he loves and misses me like i know he does. I just want to hear a lot more from him

space: do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised?Lol i have a desk but i don’t do work there. There’s just makeup on it so that gets out of hand when i need to use it, especially if i’m in a rush and will be gone for a while

white bed sheets: what is your night time routine?I take a shower (use the oil cleansing method for my face), moisturize, brush teeth and watch youtube in bed until i get sleepy

old books: what’s one thing you don’t want your parents to know?I almost got period blood on my parents’ new couch one night, my mom loves that couch more than me and my brothers, my youngest brother isn’t even allowed to sit on it lol

beaches: if you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why?I want to dye it a lighter strawberry blonde or a peachy color and cut it short with wispy bangs, i think it would look cute on me

eyes: pick five people to go on an excursion with you. who would you pick and where would you go/what would you do?Three of my sister-in-laws and my two best friends. We would have a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas style trip

11:11: name three wishes and why you wish for them.I wish i was super fckn rich so i wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore, i could take care of my friends and family, pretty much anyone that needs itAnd that animals could never get hurt, everyone treated them well and didn’t use them for whatever evil needs people haveAnd hmmm maybe that people aren’t hating on each other all the time about things like race, sexuality, religion, then people could work together better and solve the real problems

painting: what is the best halloween costume you have ever put together? if none, make one up.I dressed up as Dipper Pines the halloween before last! That’s when i decided that i don’t like trick-or-treating anymore because even though i was dressed in a totally non-sexual costume from a children’s show, i was still getting weird stares from older men, one tried to look down my shirt… bleck

lightning: what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done while drunk or high?I can’t even say.. so instead i’ll say something funny, i pissed in the bushes of my friend’s apartment complex when i figured out that i couldn’t get in her place

thunder: what’s one thing you would never do for one million dollars?Hurt an animal.. there’s not enough money in the world for me to do that

storms: you on only listen to one song for the rest of your life, or only see one person for the rest of your life. which and why?I’ll choose to only see one person, and we could listen to all the music we want! I love music too much and people are overwhelming, this sounds great

love: have you ever fallen in love? describe what it feels like to realise you’re in love.Yes, its scary because you know it’ll hurt when they leave, no matter how hard you try to hold on to them

clouds: if you’re a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? if you’re a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair?I wish i could have short hair.. it just wouldn’t look good on me

coffee: what’s your starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone?S’mores frappucino right now boooiiii

marble: what is the most important thing to you in your life right now?Keeping myself and my friends happy

Thank you for the ask.. my hands hurt lol

#ask

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chrismaverickdotcom · 7 years ago

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Thanos Shrugged... or A No-Spoilers Review of Spoilers: the Motion Picture (a No Spoilers Avengers: Infinity War review)

So I’ve seen Infinity War twice now. That’s rare for me to do before I write a review. I saw it originally Thursday night and then again on Friday. I wanted to really think it through so I could find a way to review it without spoilers. I did write up a “call for comments” for my podcast blog (cheap plug, go subscribe to my podcast!!!) as our next episode is going to be about film franchises as a new media type, but I went out of my way there to address the movie as little as possible to avoid spoilers for people who haven’t seen the movie yet. And then I realized that the reason this is so hard is that this isn’t really a “movie” per se… not in the traditional sense. It’s not even just a Hollywood blockbuster… and it’s not just an entry in the MCU Franchise TV show that we only get to watch in movie theaters. This is may be the greatest ever entering in a different type of motion picture altogether. This is a spoilerogram!

Sometimes people complain about my star scoring on some movies. Especially the superhero or otherwise genre based blockbuster ones because I never put them that high. As I’ve explained before, I try to rate movies on the same scale just so that the rating have some sense of meaning, even though in reality I know it’s impossible to really compare say a Ladybird to a Logan. They’re different types of movies, trying to do different kinds of things. This also allows me to analytically take my personal enjoyment out of the review. My key example is always Suckerpunch. A movie that I personally LOVE!!! Even though I am completely aware that it isn’t very good.

When I do this I try to think of how the movie stands up to classic rules of cinematic story telling. How well does this tell a complete story with a beginning, middle and end? How well can a person who has no experience with this world become invested in it and enjoy it? Are the characters fully developed and realized and engaging? How does this piece of art stand as a complete and cohesive work in and of itself? And if I had to judge this movie on THOSE merits alone, it might very well get a zero. A one at best.

I’m not sure this is a movie.

It does not stand alone. Even more so that other films that are part of long running series. I don’t expect Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to stand alone. It is a part of a greater narrative. Similarly, I especially don’t expect Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 to stand on its own. In both of those cases we are looking at a film that is intended to be part of a much greater whole. And yet, there is enough there that they feel like complete movies. There is a beginning to the narrative. There are character introductions. There is a building action and a decisive end point that makes it feel like the end of one story and makes you excited for the next one. They are complete.

Infinity War is more like picking up a 24 chapter novel and skipping to chapter 19, reading it, and then setting it down.

It’s a good thing that those two chapters just happened to be really good. But they’re not a story.

At least not by themselves.

Crossovers have been a staple of super hero comic books for over seventy years. And the comic book mega-event crossover for over thirty. Up until this point, attempts to bring this to the movies have worked by movie rules. There can be related to other things but each one stands in and of itself. Essentially, both the first and second Avengers movies were Secret Wars. There was an assumption that the reader had some passing familiarity with the characters at least. There is an awareness that there are other movies in the franchises, and that the moviegoer is looking to see all of these characters in the same sandbox. But if you aren’t aware of what was happening in some of the individual franchises, it just didn’t matter. Thor even tells you this in the first film Avengers film. There’s a question as to why he is even there, since according to the continuity between his first and second film, he should have been trapped in Asgard. He basically says “magic, don’t worry about it” and the film moves on never thinking about it again. Because, despite it’s protagonist being one of the stars of the film, the concerns of the Thor franchise are outside of the scope of that film. This is similar to other blockbuster franchises. If I am a fan of Star Wars movies, I am able to watch the films and ignore all the side novels, comic books, cartoons and other supplemental media. Everything that is important to the main narrative, happens in the main films.

This one is different. This is more like a more modern comic book crossover event. The narrative is split over a billion separate parts in different series and the main series assumes you are following all of them. From the very first scene of Infinity War, it is readily apparent that the concerns of the Thor franchise are very much relevant to this film. As are the concerns of every other MCU franchise. But since this is chapter 19, of the novel, the film isn’t going to bother to recap chapters 1-18. They matter, and you should have read them asshole! It feels like that’s what this film is saying to you. So much so that the inconsistencies in the film with other chapters seem to REALLY STAND OUT from that very first scene (mostly due to the absence of certain characters, presumedly for budgetary reasons).

That’s not to say that this is bad. It has emotional stakes. It has pathos. The actors make you care about the events that happen to their characters. It’s just that the film relies on you being “all in” to the greater narrative that is the MCU. Whatever this is, it’s bad… it’s just not… a movie.

And that’s what makes its hard to talk about without spoiling anything. There’s no building action to this. It starts out in medias res and doesn’t let up. It’s hard to talk about any specifics of the film because it really is two and a half hours of continuous pertinent plot points. The film is nothing but spoilers.

What I an say is that it does pose interesting thematic questions. What has made the Marvel films so successful is that at heart they have attempted to be movies first and superhero movies second. A large part of this has been, rather than focusing on big beefy guys punching the shit out of each other, many of the previous films have been built around the same complex thematic questions that one would construct any other speculative fiction film around… and then having big beefy guys punching the shit out of each other. What I found most interesting about the film is that the narrative, such that it is, is built around a very fascinating moral question that places moral objectivism in conflict with relativism and asks you to consider, not only whether or not philosophical objectivism can even exist, but which side is even subscribing to it. If deconstructed to its bare bones, the central conflict amounts to a trolley problem… one where I’m not sure which side of the conflict is trying to throw the switch and which one is trying to hold it.

And that is fascinating… it is a question that I think in a different film, could be debated for hours, with no one ever coming to a conclusive decision. In this film, even though it is central to the narrative and a constant question throughout almost every scene, there is so much more going on with regards to the greater MCU narrative, the worry of who will live and who will die, the ramifications of those events, the incredible amount of pathos that Marvel has frankly completely earned through the previous films even if it doesn’t come from this one in specific and the constant visual spectacle from the very impressive beefy guys punching the shit out of each other, that the thematic philosophical question kind of seems to fade into the background.

And that’s a shame. But maybe that’s just what we do. After all, how many people really understand the deeper philosophical ramifications of Atlas Shrugged anyway… it’s easier to just say “oh, this means I can be selfish and lower taxes for the rich!” than it is to question which side of the ideology you are actually embodying. And Galt or Taggart had been a giant purple alien with a magical bejeweled oven mitt would it have made any difference? Wait, which one are we supposed to be be admiring anyway? *shrug*

((∞✊🔴💜🔵💚💛🔶)/√-1)☆☆☆☆(STACK OVERFLOW – RUNTIME ERROR out of 5 stars)

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Lee Sheng, Steve Shaffer, Nicole Aceto, Danny Anderson, Michael E. Higgins, Cheryl Platz, Karl Greenley, Andy Stowell liked this post

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Thanos Shrugged… or A No-Spoilers Review of Spoilers: the Motion Picture (a No Spoilers Avengers: Infinity War review) was originally published on ChrisMaverick dotcom

#Avengers (comics)#Infinity War #marvel cinematic universe #Marvel Studios #Production of Avengers: Infinity War and the untitled Avengers sequel #Star Wars

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