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marireadshellblazer · 4 years ago

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Hellblazer Issue #6

While I have read all of this before, I am trying to look at this, in some ways, like I am seeing it for the first time. I’m trying to bring out some of the initial, raw thoughts I had when I had read it the first time.

In keeping with the theme of showing the dark sides of society in these early chapters, it was only a matter of time before the subject of racism and white supremacy came up. This is such a tricky subject to approach no matter what medium is used (comics, novels, plays, TV, etc), and you could argue that it isn’t handled in the most…graceful manner. However, it is good that this is addressed in the series. These dark sides of humanity heavily characterize John’s world; parts of society that a lot of the more privileged members prefer to not see. For John, who sees the worst the world has to offer, these issues are all around him; loud, unavoidable, and heavily tainting even the brightest of moments. John is a cynical man, and it’s not hard to see why. Sadly, this is an all too real reflection of the real world.

I think that growing up the way he did and the area of London he lives in allows John to see a lot of the problems that the upper class (the snobs of the world) and most politicians choose to ignore and puts them front and center; hate crimes, crime just in general, poverty, prostitution/exploitation of women, and the effects this sort of environment has on the young people who can’t escape it. Now, I have never been to London, or Europe for that matter, so I’m not sure if this is just an exaggeration of what the area is like; Delano exaggerating the poverty situation in this area for story-telling purposes. Therefore, I’m not sure how accurate my assumptions are surrounding how “real” this portrayal is of the time this series takes place in. But, I did grow up in another big city; Chicago. And using what I know from life there, I can say that issues like these in certain neighborhoods and projects in and around big cities are very real and very hard to properly impress upon one who hasn’t experienced life there just how very dangerous and terrible they are.

When I left Chicago, I was stunned when I found out that, for people outside the city, gun violence and arson weren’t a normal part of life. Gang activity, using techniques to ward off pick pockets, and knowing which bakeries were fronts for drug smugglers weren’t common knowledge or part of everyday life. It honestly blew me away to see the reaction people had in the other parts of the Midwestern United States I have lived in when someone would go missing or get busted for using meth; the whole town would take it very personally. But for me I felt almost nothing; one person went missing here, but in Chicago, at least 4 people went missing, three died from a drive-by, and the mortician I’m friends with buried two bodies in one casket (one hidden below the other) in order to hide a murder victim who was taken out by the mob (I wish I was joking). So, suffice to say, as sad and disturbing a world John lives in, exaggerated or not, it feels strangely real to me. It’s in big cities like Chicago and London that I think racial violence gets particularly dangerous (don’t quote me on that. But the amount of people who die for being Hispanic/black in Chicago via gun is staggering). Big cities might be seen as colorful due to the mix of languages, ethnicities, and cultures, but it’s also because of this prejudice is often on full display. The more reasons there are to “other” people, the more people will find a way to do it. And it’s a terrible shame. I mean, there’s no reason for that crap. I mean, is it really so hard to at the very least be respectful to each other? SMH

So! That’s just a little bit on where I’m coming from/what’s effecting my reading experience! On to some thoughts!

Aight, well the comment about the Ralph Steadman painting, as it turns out, is not an exaggeration. I looked that shit up and, honestly, he’s not wrong.

I liked that they described creating corruption and as a demon’s real art. It helps hammer home that the corruption and darkness in the hearts of people are a demonic domain which brings the hellish reality in which John lives to life. Very nice.

I love that “weird sex attacks” is in the same line as suicides and cannibalism. Something about that made me double-take.

Nice Bob Dylan reference

Am I the only one that thinks Zed’s hair is weird? Era appropriate or not, I still think it’s weird.

Smooth John…very smooth.

I’m not going to lie, I snorted when I saw what Nergal did to those racists. There’s something poetic about forcing people who unwilling to have empathy and work with/understand others be unable to escape being together. Very nice descriptions of his process in creating the bigot-abomination. Also loving how Nergal is characterized here. He is truly gross. Just…the sewer demon orgy. I was not prepared for that, but I feel like I should have been.

When they show the abomination leaving the sewers, something about the writing there made me think of The Mob Song from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. Anyone else get that vibe?

Now, as far as John and Zed go, I’m not sure if I’d call them a couple. Seems inaccurate. Would this be more like FWB? I mean there is clearly trust there, but we don’t see a lot of depth beyond that. I mean, chemistry? I’m not sure how to say. Not saying it’s bad or anything, but nothing that says “they so cute” either. Maybe this was intentional.

I fucking love Ray. He is such a sweet man. Dude he just…he deserves better. He really does.

Also, once again, freaking love the cover art. 10/10.

Words I had to look up (also, for the derogatory words I include below I mean no offense; these were honest to God words that I didn’t know the meaning of and saw for the first time here. I figured, based on context, they were not good, but I didn’t really know the meaning. I wanted to share that part of my experience, so I included them here):

dole- benefit paid by the government to the unemployed (familiar with it, but never seen it in that context before so I was confused)

yid- derogatory word for a Jewish person

wog- derogatory word for anyone who is not white

fug- warm, stuffy or smoky atmosphere in a room (this is my new favorite word)

strewth- interjection, expresses surprise. I think it might be something akin to “fuck!”

#Hellblazer #Issue 6 #Thoughts #reading

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buffyversefanfiction · 4 years ago

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Slayer of Slayers

Warnings:I do not own, nor do I claim to own any of the copyright or characters within the Buffyverse which includes but not limited to the television shows Buffy and Angel, as well as the Darkhorse comics series’ continuation.

15+ Strong to moderate violence, Graphic to mild descriptions of gore, and torture, sexually charged scenes, sexual innuendos, mild to strong language, and practices of witchcraft.

M/M, F/F, M/F, GEN, OTHER +

PART NINE LINK HERE

Part Ten: Prophecy's Boy

Theo Frey’s affiliation with the first slayer was a strange one, his entire life mission was to become a slayer to eradicate all slayers, especially his birth mother Buffy Summers, and yet during a prehistoric time when everything and everyone was stripped away from him he had reluctantly formed some form of friendship with the primeval Sineya, bonding through their chaotic creation and so he joined her on some of her adventures in slaying until he was brought back to the present time, back to his current grievances, and surrounded by those ready for him to take his revenge. Theo never realized how deeply Sineya impacted her life until he saw her spirit on vampire island, her serving as a reminder to him of a simpler time where he lived his life without vengeance and how that led him to do good alongside the first slayer until he returned to evil crutches of vampire Drusilla and as the vampire/slayer hybrid stood right next to the unopened Hellmouth in the caves of vampire island, being surrounded by an undead army, he couldn’t help but think of the time he spent with Sineya. “They only call you a king because they do not truly know what you really are neither do you yet,” Sineya said to him through her telepathic ways, her words piercing his mind as she appeared as a spirit only, he could see, standing next to him. “Slayer of slayers is just another name, Theo, nothing but a name but none are what you really are…this is now what you truly are.” Theo looked around at his undead army to see if anyone else could see the first slayer knowing deep down that she was only appearing to him, appealing to a good side of him he thought he could bury forever, as she urged him to not bring about the end of the world, to change his ways, and accept his true destiny. “They need to pay they need to all pay!” Theo shouted, grabbing the attention of his fellow vampires who instantly cheered him on, believing that his words were words of war before he would proceed to open the Hellmouth. “They have paid the price already, as have you, and even her…there’s nothing left to pay except your destiny, and this is not it!” The primeval one replied to him telepathically with her cryptic words being said in his mind. “Your blood and your blood alone will open the mouth of hell, but you are so much more than your blood, a prophecy has been calling you long before your birth it is up to you if you want to continue ignoring it for a mission of vengeance or if you want to become what you were truly created to be.” Suddenly, Sineya’s spirit disappeared once again as Buffy, Faith, Angel, Spike, Illyria, Xander, Ruby, and Giles ran into the caves to meet Theo and his army, all equipped with weapons and ready to go to war if needed to stop Theo from opening the Hellmouth, as the slayer of slayer realized that one way or another, he was not making it out of Vampire Island alive…

Theo and his dedicated team of vampires fought against Buffy, Faith, Angel, Spike, Illyria, Xander, Ruby, and Giles viciously as Theo himself went head to head with the blue-haired goddess Illyria, the one who killed his undead lover Tobias, throwing a series of punches and kicks at the old one, making little to no impact, before Illyria proceeded to fight back against the slayer of slayers gaining the upper hand with ease as she showed her superior strength while beating Theo into submission as he fell to the ground, ready to be killed by the same woman who had killed the love of his life, but Angel quickly left his ongoing fight to rush over to his son’s side, eager to save him from being killed by Illyria. “He is my son Illyria, please do not kill my son.” Angel pleaded with his friend, who reluctantly began to walk away from both Angel and Theo before taking to fight in the ongoing war surrounding them. “I may have your DNA or whatever but you’re not my father, you never raised me as my dad did, you weren’t there like he was, and you will never take his place.” Theo snapped at his undead father as he slowly got back to his feet, bruised, and bloodied from injuries he had sustained in his fight against the blue-haired goddess. “You look pretty beaten up; she really did a number on you huh?” Angel replied, choosing to ignore his son’s cruel words. “I know you a slaypire or whatever now but somehow you managed to keep your soul, I’ve never heard of a vampire doing that before I mean I have a soul, but I’m cursed…literally. Yet again you are also the first male slayer, which is another mystery.” “We’ve come too far to stop now my army will not stop until my blood opens that Hellmouth over there…unless there is no blood to be spilled,” Theo responded, as he began to realize that he still had the chance to do the right thing, something which was only validated when the spirit of the primeval slayer appeared to him once again, this time standing next to Angel, who was oblivious of her presence. This time Sineya did not have to communicate telepathically with the slayer of slayers because the look on her face told Theo everything he had to know, her look told him that he had forced a destiny on himself that was never truly meant to be and now all he was left to do was decide whether he let that same destiny lead to him destroying the world or if he was able to do the right thing for the first time, as he suddenly began to finally feel his own humanity beginning to creep back in, as he felt all the pain and suffering he caused to his many victims, through his many evil deeds, as he concluded there was the only way to make up any kind of penance for the monster he had become. “You are right,” Theo admitted to the spirit of Sineya, confusing an unknowing Angel in the process. “There’s only one way my blood cannot be spilled and that is if there is none.” Theo quickly grabbed the wooden stake he spotted in Angel’s jacket pocket and plunged it into his own chest knowing that turning to dust was the only solution out of the hell he would otherwise cause onto this world, leaving his biological father Angel in a state of pure shock and horror as he screamed out “No” with the strength of all his voice, catching Buffy’s attention who turned away from her fight just in time to watch alongside Angel as the son they shared together turned to dust before their very eyes. Suddenly, a red smoke, like the one that had turned Theo into a slayer, formed above Theo’s ashes before it began to spread itself throughout the cave growing bigger as it did so, proceeding to attack, ingest, violate, and turn Theo’s undead army into bursts of flames before they eventually turned to dust leaving Buffy, Angel, and their friends stunned by their bittersweet victory, one that came at a great cost.

The End…NOT

“Hello?” Theo called out as he walked into a darkly lit rundown bar, before noticing a sign saying Willy’s Place, as he proceeded to walk over to the bar counter noticing the place was completely empty, the vibe completely dead, as he began to wonder if this was hell, heaven, or something in-between, when suddenly he felt a warm feeling rush through him, that which felt like love in its purest form and as he turned out he was shocked to find a woman stood behind him, with the softest smile he had ever seen. “You may not know me but I’m your grandmother, from your mother’s side.” Joyce greeted her stepson, the two have never met before. “I know this all must be very confusing for you but I’m here to help while I can.” “Not to be rude or anything but are you not supposed to be like dead or something?” Theo replied as he struggled to get his head around whatever the hell was going on. “Well yes, but then again so are you.” Joyce laughed off innocently. “You know you look a lot like your father, but you have your mother’s heart, no matter how much you try to hide it and that smile of yours is truly beautiful I just wish there were more opportunities for you to show the world that smile.” “They are not my parents; my parents died a long time ago and I am sorry, but you are not my grandmother either.” Theo snapped at his biological grandmother, although his snap was nowhere near as bitter as it once was. “Is this hell?” “No honey it is not hell nor is it heaven, consider this your second chance,” Joyce informed him cryptically. “You walked a path you were never meant to walk and the powers that be are just trying to get you back onto the right path, instead of fighting for another destiny why not try embracing the one that’s already yours?” Theo had no idea what Joyce Summers meant by her words but before he could ask her, he found himself magically being transported from Willy’s Place in the now non-existent Sunnydale to the rundown Hyperion Hotel in Los Angeles, where he walked into the lobby to find a beautiful dark blonde-haired woman stood behind the reception desk with a bright smile on her face that told him she was expecting him. “So, you are my guy’s second son I get vampires normally do not have to worry about you know condoms and stuff, but you’d think after the first son tried to kill, he’d wrap it up from there on out but then again if he’s not worried about losing his soul then he’s probably now worrying about impregnating people.” Cordelia Chase said, greeting Theo as he walked over to her. “You’re all kinds of messed up perhaps more so than Connor and he was raised in a freaking hell dimension by some unhinged hunter who very rudely blew up my friend’s club with us in it nonetheless but hey at least you’re not as bad as Angelus now that is the part of your father that you do not want to take after!” “So, which ghost from Buffy or Angel’s past are you then? Are you Angel’s mother?” Theo asked Cordelia, much to her own disgust, which was clear on her face, making Theo realize she must have been a former lover. “Oh, so you’re not Darla which I doubt because Connor’s her son…leaving you being none other than pretty little rich girl turned high being broke bitch miss Cordelia Chase. I must admit of all the stories I heard about the infamous scooby gang, yours were always the most amusing!” “Well, I guess you got your daddy’s brains, and his looks tell me which part of you is Buffy?” Cordelia wondered. “None I hope!” Theo quickly responded, making Cordelia cackle. “Good one sniveling little cry Buffy is more than enough for my liking.” Cordelia joked with the son of the man she once loved, before going on to hand Theo a room key. “A little friendly warning this guy is no friend of your mum or dads so be wary also his face is all kinds of yuck but hey we’re supposed to give you the full unbiased experience but seriously his face is not going to be easy on your pretty little eyes.”

“So, you are the son of the slayer and Angelus…I have been expecting you, my boy.” The Master announced as Theo walked into the hotel room to find the legendary vampire stood waiting to introduce himself. “From your actions, you are more of Angelus’ child than Angel’s which pleases me immensely to know the girl who slew me now has a beast within her own bloodline. However, I hope there is some of the slayer's DNA in you too after all she was the only one to ever beat me.” “You must be The Master, Dru mentioned you once or twice there sure is a lot of hype about you in your heyday you know before Buffy beat you like some newbie vamp,” Theo replied, mocking the master of vampires. “Tobias bought into all that hype but me not so much…so why the hell are you the latest stop on my supernatural soul train?” “You have this arrogance about you that most definitely reminds me of your mother but unlike her you have been beaten time and time again, therefore, making this arrogance of yours truly unearned.” The Master responded, taking a swipe at the son of the slayer in the process. “Mummy spanked you so hard you turned to dust, I think it’s about time you lose the attitude when in the presence of someone who earned their legacy in this world and the next!” “Now don’t start talking about spanking unless your intent is to turn me on.” Theo recklessly flirted with the infamous vampire. “You have what I call a pillow face, but I can work with it if you want to get freaky…” “Right!” Anya Jenkins shouted before storming into the hotel room, The Master quickly vanishing out of sight the moment Anya entered the room. “I’m taking into this appointment because that is just seriously unsettling, and I’d rather not metaphorically spew all over Buffy’s boy as I try to knock some sense into you.” “Oh, great another bloody ghost from their past!” Theo complained as he turned to face the former vengeance demon, quickly becoming tired of whatever the hell was going on around him. “I’m Anya formerly known as Anyanka formerly known as a vengeance demon, one of the best vengeance demons actually then I almost married your mother’s friend Xander until you know he ditched me at the altar and long before he knocked up the little brat we used to babysit,” Anya answered him, clearly unamused with Xander’s choice of partner to co-parent with. “Now I’m just Anya an ally to the powers that be, who’d have thought it…certainly not me anyway.” “Here’s the thing, I’m growing really tired of this bullshit, and after sacrificing myself for I guess the greater good I could really just do with a nap or something. I am so not in the mood for whatever is going on here nor do I give a damn that your man dumped you for someone younger it happens love get over it!” Theo quickly dismissed the former vengeance. “Sorry that your dead but I’m dead too so how about you go haunt the living? I suggest that knucklehead builder who broke your heart especially considering he has a thing for building prisons now and needs a good little scare for that alone.” “Listen here you little snot-nosed slayer, vamp, brat! I am over a thousand years old, and I will not be spoken to that by someone who is technically an error on human history.” Anya snapped back at the slayer of slayers. “Go get yourself a drink or something! Let someone else deal with you, I’m asking for a pay raise…come to think of it, does money still smell as good as it used to?” As Theo became more and more convinced that he was in hell, Anya took the look on his disapproving face to say he wasn’t going to answer her question, and instead of sticking around to force it out of him, she proceeded to leave the hotel room eager to get back to her own afterlife knowing that the next person to visit Theo would definitely be able to put up with his attitude better than she could, or rather was willing to.

Theo didn’t hang around for long before he decided to search for this infamous hotel bar that Anya had suggested to him, wondering if there was even a bar within this rundown, seemingly abandoned place, but after going up and down several floors he finally found the bar the former vengeance demon was referring to as he opened the door, walked through, and suddenly found himself transported to the dive bar he shared with Tobias, only Tobias was not behind the bar, a mousy blonde-haired woman was, a bewitching beauty. “It’s funny the places you wind up when you are not even going in that direction or at least so you thought. It’s hard to accept new paths that are laid out for you but sooner or later you just got to, or you spend forever unhappy and forever’s a very long time.” Tara Maclay informed Theo as he walked over to the bar counter, trying to work out who this bartender was and why they were in some dream-world version of his home. “I much prefer this bar to the last one I’ll give you that,” Theo admitted as he sat down on a barstool and waited for Tara to pour him a glass of whisky on the rocks, to which he quickly downed in one gulp upon being served it. “Which ghost of Buffy and Angel’s past are you?” “I was once Tara, now I’m something else entirely, I am no longer her, and yet her memories remain. It’s funny how they don’t tell you about that when you become a higher being nor do they tell you that despite how much you want to you can never truly reclaim your past, you can never truly get back to where you really want to be.” Tara revealed to the slayer of slayers, as Theo remembered a conversation, he had with Willow about a woman she had love and lost, and how her name was Tara. “I know she feels the same way,” Theo reassured her in a rare act of kindness, as he reached out to hold her hand to comfort the clearly saddened spirit. “See that’s the kindness, that’s signs of your soul, one that was too powerful to be destroyed by demons or anything else that has been thrown at you.” Tara genuinely replied as Theo took his hand back, uncomfortable by showing what he considered to be a weakness but was actually just plain old sympathy. “You have been fighting on the wrong side for all the wrong reasons Theo and I know you know that now even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself you want redemption, more than that you need it.” “Even if you were right, I’m dead now all done and dusted far too late to even try redeeming myself for all the terrible things I have done,” Theo replied, not wanting to admit to the former witch turned higher being that she was right, that he did want redemption, that he wanted to amend for the things he has done, that he had finally seen the error of his ways, and his hatred was placed in all the wrong places. “Oh, sweetie you’re not dead you’re just on a time out, which is sort of over now,” Tara replied before Tristan found himself being transported one last time, only this time he had been transported back to vampire island, to the very spot he had staked himself, standing in his own leftover ashes as he looked around the abandoned caves more confused than ever before as he tried to work out what he had just experienced, why he was back on that island, and what would happen next. “I told you there was another destiny for you, my friend,” Sineya revealed telepathically as her words once again pierced their way into Theo’s mind after her spirit appeared in front of the former slayer of slayers. “And now it has begun��you are no longer the slayer of slayers or the vampire with a soul intact, now you are at one with the very demon itself, this is your destiny!”

The End…of Volume One

Volume one - Slayer of Slayers Master List Link Here

VOLUME 2 COMING SOON...

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tydy-the-megnet · 4 years ago

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Duuuuude, can you do a short fic where a comic book akuma give Nathaniel Robin’s abilities, Rose Starfire’s powers, Kim Beast Boy’s powers, Max Cyborg’s powers, and Juleka Raven’s powers?

Sounds rad so I'll give it a go I guess.

...

Temp Titans

...

"This is the best idea ever." Nathaniel said breathlessly as he did another backflip. He was dressed like his alter ego from his comic book, and he was perched on the top of a building looking at the akuma that Ladybug and Chat Noir were struggling with.

He did another backflip, ignoring the eye-rolls of his classmates as he thought back on the events from just a few minutes ago.

The akume, Comic Boo, was a nerd who nearly got mugged a few hours ago, and was using his powers to make superheroes.

Not the best idea in retrospect, Hawk Moth.

Nathaniel and four of his classmates had been hit, because of course they had. Their class had the absolute worst luck when it came to akumas.

"You guys ready?"

"Heck yeah, man!" Kim wooped, his newly fanged grin a white contrast to his now verdant skin.

Juleka sighed from her position next to Rose. They both were floating slightly above the roof, "Everyone know the plan?" She asked.

"Yep!" Rose answered with a smile, "I'm ready to blind it with my energy bolts as soon as Nathaniel's in position!"

Nathaniel twirled his stick – a pipe from the school's boiler room – and grinned, "I got my stick locked and loaded. Max, crunch some numbers for us?"

Max, happily brought up his arm display, metal-clad fingers tapping against his new electronic components as graphs and charts appeared on screen, "Of course. I'm calculating a 33.333–repeating, of course–percent chance of success. If we stick to the roof-tops, I predict a 12% decrease in possible civilian casualties if Kim turns into a T-Rex and–"

"Right! On it! Let's do this," Kim leapt from the roof, transforming into a massive dinosaur reminiscent of the one Animan had turned into months ago. "Lê Chiên!!! KIIIIMMM!" He roared, charging forward at a full sprint.

"..."

"Oh, my god." Juleka whispered, shock dulling the constant emotional backlash from her powers. There was a surge of black energy that made her silk cosplay cloak whip around behind her for a moment, then-"He just ran in!?"

Nathaniel, mouth agape, shouting after him, "Let's go! And stick to the plan!"

They didn't, as it turned out, stick to the plan. After Kim's initial attempt at a dino-tackle, Comic Boo forced him to revert back to his humanoid form, where he fell off the roof and forced Juleka to scramble to catch him in her pitch dark telekinetic aura.

With out Juleka's telekinetic support and distraction, Nathaniel found himself hard-pressed to acrobat himself over to Comic Boo's side for some melee attack. Especially when Rose couldn't get into position to flashbang him.

Without being stunned, Comic Boo was then easily able to evade Max-borg's sonic cannon, and then he picked up Nathaniel by the leg and tossed him into Chat Noir.

Ladybug, in shock at how things went from very bad to much worse in the span of a few seconds, watched all of this happen in horror before Bunnix dragged her through a portal.

...earlier...

"I AM COMIC BOO! Paris thinks it can be complacent since it has two superheroes, huh? Well! If you thought two was enough! You! Thought! Wrong! I'm going to make EVERYONE a superhero! Then we won't even need Ladybug and Chat Noir any more!"

The akuma glared around, searching for it's first victim. It found them in five young schoolchildren: Nathaniel, Rose, Kim, Max, and Juleka. It fired a multicolored beam at them, aiming to turn them into the Teen Titans.

"Watch out!" Marinette screamed, tackling Nathaniel to the side and letting the beam pass harmlessly through the group. She sat up, looking around to make sure no one had gotten hit. She glanced at Comic Boo to see Chat Noir had already arrived, right on time, she thought.

Then she looked back to see Nathaniel's blushing face beneath her, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah."

"Wow, thanks Marinette!" Rose smiled at her, the palor dimming a bit.

"Yeah, who knows what would've happened if we'd been hit by that beam."

Marinette grimaced, thinking of the memes that would've sprouted of the moment in that alternate timeline.

"No problem."

#idk #miraculous ladybug #nathaniel #robin #rose #starfire #kim #beast boy #juleka #raven #max #cyborg #teen titans #idk how anyone would expect this to go anyway but badly #also #comic boo????#im so bad

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loadthree979 · 4 years ago

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Daniel Craig Clue Movie

Filter by:

Daniel Craig Clue Movie Poster

List Of Daniel Craig Movies

Daniel Craig Film Clue

Knives Out—In theaters November 27, 2019. Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Sta. This crossword clue Notting Hill Actor Who Plays Daniel Cleaver In The Romantic Comedy Movie Bridget Jones's Diary: 2 Wds. Was discovered last seen in the June 18 2020 at the Daily Themed Crossword. The crossword clue possible answer is available in 9 letters. This answers first letter of which starts with H and can be found at the end of T. Clue (1985) is one of my favorite comedies ever as it is a quick 96 minutes of non-stop hilarity. Director Jonathan Lynn makes long sweeping shots of the gorgeous mansion set look as lovely as his quick cuts to each character. His fast paced direction makes Clue a breeze to watch and revisit time and again. The reason you are here is because you are looking for the Fictional spy portrayed by Daniel Craig crossword clue answers and solutions which was last seen today August 21 2018, at the popular Daily Themed Crossword puzzle. Clue: Fictional spy portrayed by Daniel Craig Possible Solution: BOND Already found the solution for Fictional spy Read more →.

The reason you are here is because you are looking for the to Die upcoming spy film starring Daniel Craig which is the 25th installment in the James Bond series: 2 wds. Crossword clue answers and solutions which was last seen today January 2 2020, at the popular Daily Themed Crossword puzzle.

No Time to Die

2020

2h 43min

Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen

UK release: 2 April 2021

The 25th James Bond film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and sees Daniel Craig in the lead for one last time.

Knives Out

2019

2h 10min

12A

Directed by: Rian Johnson

Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer

UK release: 27 November 2019

When mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) is found with his throat slit, puffed-up private detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) gets on the case. A wickedly knowing, flamboyantly bitchy take on the whodunnit, with a great cast, bags of style and a splendidly outrageous comic turn from Craig. Bloody good fun.

Logan Lucky

2017

1h 59min

12A

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Daniel Craig

UK release: 25 August 2017

Jimmy (Tatum), his brother Clyde (Driver) and sister Mellie (Keough) enlist the help of redneck jailbird and explosives expert Joe Bang (Craig) to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Soderbergh’s latest comedy heist movie is perhaps his best, with a great cast, a satisfying plot and witty dialogue.

Kings

2017

1h 26min

Directed by: Deniz Gamze Ergüven

Cast: Halle Berry, Daniel Craig, Lamar Johnson

Following the life of a foster family in LA amidst the riots that followed the Rodney King trial verdict.

Spectre

2015

2h 28min

12A

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Stephanie Sigman

UK release: 26 October 2015

James Bond (Craig) comes up against a global crime syndicate, while back at home, the 00 programme is under threat from reckless moderniser C (Scott). With its swagger, dry humour and frequent, well-executed action it's a solid crowdpleaser, but the story is predictable, the characterisation is thin and overall it lacks…

Skyfall

2012

2h 25min

12A

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Written by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade

Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe

UK release: 26 October 2012

When cyber-terrorists steal an MI6 hard drive, 007 is ordered to recover it. After the let-down of Quantum of Solace, the 23rd official Bond movie is a belter; the script is smart, Craig is better than ever, and Bardem is a thrilling villain. 50 years on from Dr No, it's a well-wrapped birthday present.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011

US / Sweden / UK / Germany

2h 37min

Directed by: David Fincher

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson

UK release: 26 December 2011

An investigative journalist (Craig) forms an uneasy alliance with a computer hacker (Mara) in an attempt to solve a disappearance. Th400 transbrake kit. Fincher amps up the dark poetry and Mara exudes a barely suppressed rage in every scene, elevating a populist novel into a compelling (if overlong) drama of bleakness and corruption.

Dream House

2011

1h 31min

Directed by: Jim Sheridan

Written by: David Loucka

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas

UK release: 25 November 2011

Publisher Will (Craig) relocates to the suburbs with his wife (Weisz) and daughters, but when their house turns out to be the scene of a massacre, the domestic dream turns sour. Best remembered as the movie that saw Craig and Weisz get together, because their chemistry can't save the clunky script and inert direction.

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn

2011

US / New Zealand

1h 47min

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig

After buying a replica model ship at a flea market, Tintin (Bell) is embroiled in a world of subterfuge. Not since Indy's third outing has Spielberg felt so fresh and unshackled; it feels like a hark back to the heyday of 1980s adventure cinema.

Cowboys and Aliens

2011

12A

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde

Drunk and trouble maker Jake (Craig) is broken out of jail and forced to help grumpy old Arizona lawman Percy (Ford) when aliens start to attack. Dull, humourless and over written sci fi western from Iron Man director Favreau.

One Life

2011

Directed by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes

Written by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes

Cast: Daniel Craig (voice)

Documentary for kids featuring stunning footage of animals in the wild and narrated by Daniel Craig.

Defiance

2009

2h 16min

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Written by: Edward Zwick, Clayton Frohman

Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George MacKay

Remarkable true story of the Bielski brothers, three real-life heroes who, against all odds, preserve a community of Jews who escape Poland for the forests of Belarus during WWII. Allied with the Russian resistance, the community thrives unexpectedly, leaving leader Tuvia Bielski (Craig) with heavy responsibilities.

Flashbacks of a Fool

2008

1h 53min

Directed by: Baillie Walsh

Written by: Baillie Walsh

Cast: Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, Claire Forlani, Felicity Jones, Eve, Emilia Fox, Jodhi May, Miriam Karlin

Set in present-day California and an English seaside resort circa 1972, Joe Scott (Craig between Bond outings), is a washed up Hollywood star who recalls a traumatic teenage experience that leads to professional success and personal self-destruction. Good supporting performances and rather pedestrian flashbacks make for…

Quantum of Solace

2008

UK / US

1h 45min

12A

Directed by: Marc Forster

Written by: Ian Fleming, Michael G Wilson

Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini

'Quantum of Solace' starts with a trademark action sequence involving cars burning rubber around narrow roads and then proceeds to jump from one thrill to another, while moving through locations like pages in a travel brochure. A major plus is Amalric's turn as the villain Dominic Greene, head of an organisation which…

The Golden Compass

2007

US / UK

1h 45min

12A

Directed by: Chris Weitz

Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Freddie Highmore, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Ben Walker

Based on the novel by Phillip Pullman, this fantasy adventure follows Lyra (Richards), who has been entrusted with the last remaining 'alethiometer', or golden compass, which she must keep from the power-crazed Magisterium. The world Weitz has created is beautifully designed and fascinating, but choppily structured and…

The Invasion

2007

1h 39min

Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel, James McTeigue

Written by: Dave Kajganich, Wachowski brothers

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Veronica Cartwright

Another reworking of classic 1950s thriller 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. A mysterious epidemic is sweeping the world, and when a DC psychiatrist (Kidman) discovers its extraterrestrial origin, she and her colleague (Craig) must work together to find a cure before they become its next victims. A waste of celluloid.

Infamous

2006

1h 58min

Directed by: Douglas McGrath

Written by: Douglas McGrath, Book:, George Plimpton

Cast: Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Lee Pace, Daniel Craig, Jeff Daniels, Peter Bogdanovich

A more flamboyant and light-hearted biopic of Truman Capote than Bennett Miller's 2005 film 'Capote'. Jones is great in the lead as the eccentric writer but a weak supporting cast renders this the lesser of the two.

Casino Royale

2006

US / UK / Czech Republic

2h 24min

12A

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Written by: Ian Fleming

Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench

The prequel to the other Bond films time warps back to the enduring action hero becoming a 00 licensed to kill. The latest Bond (Craig) proves to be a strong leading man, but the film is let down by trying to do too much. With a weak villain and Bond girl to boot, it doesn't really feel like a Bond film at all.

Renaissance

2006

France / UK / Luxemburg

1h 45min

Directed by: Christian Volckman

Cast: Daniel Craig, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce

Impressive looking 3D futuristic thriller with a black and white render which never quite gets going. Paris 2054. Ilona Tassueiv (Garai), a young and brilliant researcher is violently kidnapped. Avalon, a giant multinational corporation and her employer, wants her found. Dellenbach (Pryce), Avalon's CEO, has requested…

Enduring Love

2004

1h 40min

Directed by: Roger Michellv

Cast: Rhys Ifans, Daniel Craig, Samantha Morton

Based on Ian McEwan's bestseller, a man's worldview is bruised when his attempt to save a boy from a hot air balloon accident goes wrong.

Part 2: How to access iMessage on Chromebook 1. The app Chrome Remote Desktop must be downloaded from chrome web store on your Mac or Win computers. The downloading and installation will be quickly completed on the computers. Imessage on chromebook. Chrome Remote Desktop allows access to another computer's apps and files securely via the Chrome browser or Chrome book. So connect the two computers through the security code and enjoy the iMessage on your Windows PC. 2 Jailbreak your iPhone. There is one more method through which you can get iMessage for windows.

Layer Cake

2004

1h 45min

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Cast: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon

Daniel Craig Clue Movie Poster

A cocaine dealer works his way through two tough assignments from his boss on the day before his retirement.

The Mother

2003

1h 30min

Directed by: Roger Michell

Written by: Hanif Kureishi

Cast: Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Cathryn Bradshaw

A recently widowed grandmother embarks on an affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.

Sylvia

2003

1h 40min

Directed by: Christine Jeffs

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Lucy Davenport

A biopic of the relationship and fatal attraction between poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.

Road to Perdition

2002

1h 57min

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin

A Depression era gangster picture with solid American family values. It may also, like Mendes' absurdly overrated Oscar-winner 'American Beauty', fool cinema-goers into confusing its moody self-importance for profound insight. For here are Big Stars, Big Themes (Fathers and Sons, Loyalty and Betrayal, Sin and Salvation…

Filter by:

No Time to Die

2020

2h 43min

Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen

UK release: 2 April 2021

The 25th James Bond film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and sees Daniel Craig in the lead for one last time.

Knives Out

2019

2h 10min

12A

Directed by: Rian Johnson

Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer

UK release: 27 November 2019

Logan Lucky

2017

1h 59min

12A

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Daniel Craig

UK release: 25 August 2017

Kings

2017

1h 26min

Directed by: Deniz Gamze Ergüven

Cast: Halle Berry, Daniel Craig, Lamar Johnson

Citrix workspace silent install. Following the life of a foster family in LA amidst the riots that followed the Rodney King trial verdict.

Spectre

2015

2h 28min

12A

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Stephanie Sigman

UK release: 26 October 2015

List Of Daniel Craig Movies

Skyfall

2012

2h 25min

12A

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Written by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade

Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe

UK release: 26 October 2012

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011

US / Sweden / UK / Germany

2h 37min

Directed by: David Fincher

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson

UK release: 26 December 2011

An investigative journalist (Craig) forms an uneasy alliance with a computer hacker (Mara) in an attempt to solve a disappearance. Fincher amps up the dark poetry and Mara exudes a barely suppressed rage in every scene, elevating a populist novel into a compelling (if overlong) drama of bleakness and corruption.

Dream House

2011

1h 31min

Directed by: Jim Sheridan

Written by: David Loucka

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas

UK release: 25 November 2011

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn

2011

US / New Zealand

1h 47min

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig

Cowboys and Aliens

2011

12A

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde

One Life

2011

Directed by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes

Written by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes

Cast: Daniel Craig (voice)

Documentary for kids featuring stunning footage of animals in the wild and narrated by Daniel Craig.

Defiance

2009

2h 16min

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Written by: Edward Zwick, Clayton Frohman

Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George MacKay

Flashbacks of a Fool

2008

1h 53min

Directed by: Baillie Walsh

Written by: Baillie Walsh

Cast: Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, Claire Forlani, Felicity Jones, Eve, Emilia Fox, Jodhi May, Miriam Karlin

Quantum of Solace

2008

UK / US

1h 45min

12A

Directed by: Marc Forster

Written by: Ian Fleming, Michael G Wilson

Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini

The Golden Compass

2007

US / UK

1h 45min

12A

Directed by: Chris Weitz

Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Freddie Highmore, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Ben Walker

The Invasion

2007

1h 39min

Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel, James McTeigue

Written by: Dave Kajganich, Wachowski brothers

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Veronica Cartwright

Infamous

2006

1h 58min

Directed by: Douglas McGrath

Written by: Douglas McGrath, Book:, George Plimpton

Cast: Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Lee Pace, Daniel Craig, Jeff Daniels, Peter Bogdanovich

Casino Royale

2006

US / UK / Czech Republic

2h 24min

12A

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Written by: Ian Fleming

Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench

Renaissance

2006

France / UK / Luxemburg

1h 45min

Directed by: Christian Volckman

Cast: Daniel Craig, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce

Enduring Love

2004

1h 40min

Directed by: Roger Michellv

Cast: Rhys Ifans, Daniel Craig, Samantha Morton

Based on Ian McEwan's bestseller, a man's worldview is bruised when his attempt to save a boy from a hot air balloon accident goes wrong.

Layer Cake

2004

1h 45min

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Cast: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon

A cocaine dealer works his way through two tough assignments from his boss on the day before his retirement.

The Mother

2003

1h 30min

Directed by: Roger Michell

Written by: Hanif Kureishi

Cast: Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Cathryn Bradshaw

A recently widowed grandmother embarks on an affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.

Sylvia

2003

1h 40min

Directed by: Christine Jeffs

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Lucy Davenport

A biopic of the relationship and fatal attraction between poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.

Road to Perdition

2002

1h 57min

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin

Daniel Craig Film Clue

2 notes · View notes

mediaevalmusereads · 4 years ago

Text

On Stranger Tides. By Tim Powers. New York: Harper, 1987.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction

Part of a Series? No

Summary: Aboard the Vociferous Carmichael, puppeteer John Chandagnac is sailing toward Jamaica to claim his stolen birthright from an unscrupulous uncle, when the vessel is captured . . . by pirates! Offered a choice by Captain Phil Davies to join their seafaring band or die, Chandagnac assumes the name John Shandy and a new life as a brigand. But more than swashbuckling sea battles and fabulous plunder await the novice buccaneer on the roiling Caribbean waters–for treachery and powerful vodun sorcery are coins of the realm in this dark new world. And for the love of beautiful, magically imperiled Beth Hurwood, Shandy will set sail on even stranger tides, following the savage, ghost-infested pirate king, Blackbeard, and a motley crew of the living and the dead to the cursed nightmare banks of the fabled Fountain of Youth.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: sexual assault, violence, body horror, microaggressions; references to incest, rape, slavery

Overview: I originally picked up this book because I was in the mood for a pirate story, and On Stanger Tides kept popping up on online lists of “greatest pirate novels.” I can see why, to an extent. Powers writes good ship battles, and most of his descriptions of the setting are lush and evocative. However, I couldn’t give this book more than 2 stars on account of the pacing and the treatment of women, people of color, and fat people. I know that, being written in the 1980s, it’s not going to be as “woke” as contemporary readers would like, but even so, there was a lot about this book that made me uncomfortable - things that even “historical accuracy” can’t cover.

Writing: Powers’ prose was something of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, there are some absolutely stunning descriptions of the environment, and Powers has a knack for writing compelling action scenes. I really liked the way Powers would compare resurrected crewmates to “chains and jelly in a wet leather bag” or the eerie look of ships gliding through mist. These descriptions really immersed me in the setting and elicited feelings of horror, so I think Powers deserves praise for that.

On the other hand, however, I think that some parts of the book dragged. It took forever for characters to actually get to the Fountain of Youth, and all the things that were happening in the meantime didn’t hold my attention well. Some of the battle scenes also felt slow at times, in part because Powers is so invested in describing every little action.

Plot: On Stranger Tides primarily follows Jack Shandy as his ship is attacked and he is forced to join a pirate crew. During his adventures, he is forced to accompany Blackbeard to the Fountain of Youth, and must fight a number of sorcerers who seek to control Beth Hurwood, a British woman who seems to exist to be a damsel in distress.

There’s not much to say about this plot. It’s a swashbuckling adventure, to be sure, but nothing really stood out as unique to me. Of course, I could be biased, since I’m reading this story in 2021, not in the 1980s, so take my reaction with a grain of salt. I think to make this story more compelling, I would have liked to see more personal stakes for Jack Shandy. It seemed to me that Shandy mostly went along with the pirates and accepted the existence of magic. Combined with the fact that his desire to reclaim his inheritance wasn’t all that present, I think filtering the plot through the perspective of someone with stronger convictions and goals would have done a lot to create more suspense.

Characters: Jack Shandy, our protagonist, is a bit bland. He originally had some interesting qualities in that he was able to use his background as a puppeteer to get in the pirates’ good graces, but that’s about the only thing I liked about him. He doesn’t seem to have any real flaws and is good at whatever he does, such as handling a sword (despite having only done theater swordplay). He also doesn’t seem to have any strong convictions or goals; other than rescuing Beth and one time shooting a Naval officer because he was about to murder someone in cold blood, Shandy just seems to exist in the world and go along with the flow. His initial motivation - reclaiming his inheritance - also didn’t seem like an important goal; for one, Shandy forgets about it pretty quickly, only retuning to it within the last 70 pages or so, and never seems determined to escape the pirates after 100 pages. Second, his inheritance is a plantation in Jamaica, which gives me icky colonialism feelings.

Beth Hurwood, our damsel in distress and Shandy’s love interest, has no personality traits and serves no role other than being a victim. I hated that her main purpose was to be victimized by her father and her father’s accomplice, Leo Friend, and I hated that her agency was stolen at almost every turn. Beth did have one good moment when she tried to persuade a disgruntled pirate to abandon Blackbeard and escape with her, but since that plan failed, she had no scene where she attempted to seize control of her own destiny.

Beth’s father, Benjamin Hurwood, could have been a compelling antagonist if the focus was solely on his obsession with magic, but Powers had to go and make it weird. Hurwood is obsessed with putting the soul of his dead wife in his daughter’s body, a process which will effectively kill her. The incestuous undercurrent was a bit too gross for me, and I couldn’t get on board with it.

Leo Friend, Hurwood’s accomplice of sorts, is another powerful sorcerer whose goal is to take Beth for himself. Powers also made Friend more gross than he had to be: Friend desires to dominate Beth, body and soul, by using his magic to make her want to have sex with him. On top of that, Friend also wants to use Beth as a stand-in for his mother, who he was also sexually attracted to. To make matters even worse than that, Powers never, ever lets the reader forget that Friend is fat, using lots of adjectives like “pudgy,” “bloated,” and “round” in every scene, seemingly as a way to disgust the reader. This character was so over-the-top. I hated it.

Other supporting characters were ok. Blackbeard was as one might expect: self-interested and intimidating, but ultimately, he became kind of bland when his sights turned towards Beth Hurwood. Davis, a pirate captain, was a kind of loveable rogue with a nice rapport with Shandy. Stede Bonnett had some interesting motivations and hurdles to overcome, but I couldn’t get interested in his story. Anne Bonny makes a surprise appearance, but her entire purpose is to be a sex object, and I hated it.

Surprisingly, there were black characters in this book. However, rather than being complex, they seemed to only exist to be comic relief (such as one named Mr. Bird whose only job is to periodically scream “I am not a dog”) or to embody the magical negro trope (such as Woefully Fat, a deaf “bocor” who delivers weird messages and conducts odd rituals).

TL;DR: On Stranger Tides has some wonderful descriptions and does a good job evoking a supernatural atmosphere, but ultimately, the weak plot, flat and/or offensive characters, and pacing prevents this from being a memorable pirate story.

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wondergal2001 · 5 years ago

Text

Little Lamb: Part Three

When the world finally stopped ringing and spinning, August finally understood what the hell just happened.

A bomb just went off. Two bombs to be exact. One at the front and back entrances. Bombs that were rigged to go off when the doors were opened.

Bombs that an experienced secret agent should have seen from a mile away.

Quickly stopping himself from feeling self-pity, August attempted to contact his team members, secretly hoping no one had died because of his carelessness.

"IS EVERYONE OKAY? Hello? Is anybody on comms?" August questioned his absent team, he was beginning to panic.

Not that he would ever tell anyone that.

As he got no response except the eerie silence of nothingness, August began to run across the sandy yard, up until he reached the front entrance where he could now see the damage the bomb had caused. The whole front entrance of the building had been destroyed, leaving a large gaping wound in the building wall. The bomb had left scorch marks across the sand, launching debris everywhere. August could see the bodies of his teammates sprawled all around the front entrance.

There were bodies 10 maybe 20 feet away from where the doors used to be, the closer he got to the building entrance the state of the bodies began to become increasingly more grotesque. As August was 10 feet away from entering the building he saw a body missing an arm, 5 feet away he saw just a torso, and just as he was entering the building there were no bodies.

Just blood and ash.

Holy shit. August could only assume that the back entrance looked the same. Like the trained agent he was, August strayed away from the fallen bodies of his teammates and carefully entered the building with caution.

If this place had hidden bombs who knows what other tricks they have hidden up their sleeves. August thought to himself as he walked into the building with his gun raised, making sure to look at every possible place an enemy target could be hiding waiting to finish him off.

From the inside, the bomb didn't seem to have been as effective. Everything seemed to be in relative order with only some broken glass and dust blanketing the ground.

August travelled about 15 feet into the building when he came upon a room that seemed to be a make-shift office. There was an old desk with files and loose papers sprawled across the top and 3 large filing cabinets behind it. As August approached the desk he began to notice what kinds of documents were on the table, they looked to be pictures and profiles. Just as he picked one up to take a closer look it started.

The screaming.

As August briskly walked through the long hallway following the sounds of women screaming, guns being fired, and what August could identify from experience, as bodies dropping to the floor.

As the screaming increased to wailing, August began to run down the long hall to where he heard the god-awful sounds coming from. What started as 10 maybe 20 screams when he first entered, was now only a singular voice when August finally reached his intended destination.

He was just on the edge of the doorway, leaning against the wall that kept him hidden. This allowed August a few seconds to pause and asses the situation and make a plan.

But as a small, fragile voice pleads for, who August could only assume was her attacker to stop and get away from her. August knew he had to act now or the only living people in the building would be him and this last living (well he won't be for long) dirtbag.

August spun into the room, gun raised pointed at the head of the target, his finger on the trigger of his gun, ready to pull the trigger and end a life in the blink of an eye.

"Stop, raise your hands above your head and slowly turn around," August commanded. His voice cold, commanding and unemotional, as if seeing the dead bodies of at least 30 women ages varying from, what he would guess to be, teenagers to middle-aged women didn't affect him in the slightest.

The rugged man in front of him tensed up at August's voice. He became frozen, paralyzed like a marble statue in a museum. The man's front was turned away from August, so he could not see his face, but from what August could see, the man appeared to be around 6 foot 2, with a wide frame that implied strength. While assessing the enemy in front of him, August spotted a pair of extremely thin, bruised, female legs further in front of the man.

Before August could get a good look at the last remaining victim, the man, with speed August did not expect him to have, swooped down and grabbed the woman's arms and hauled her up so she was now standing pressed up against him in a choke hold with a gun pressed tightly against her temple, facing August.

At the sight of the weapon and the hostage, August readjusted his aim so it was perfectly aligned right between his target's eyes.

As he was now facing August, he could now see that this man was around 35 years old, with tanned skin, a thin face, bushy eyebrows, and dirty skin. From the way this man was holding the gun August new he was not dealing with some low-life, criminal punk who had never shot a gun before. No, this man knew what he was doing.

August was so busy analyzing the man he completely forgot about the hostage he was threatening. Not to mention he completely blocked out the man screaming at him.

"Lower your weapon or I'll shoot her right now. Don't think I won't 'cause as you can see I will not hesitate to kill the little whore," the unidentified man said in an easily identifiable Spanish accent.

At the threat to her life, the girl began to whimper and shake in fear for her life. The small sound seemed to slap August in the face and he finally came back into the situation but by that time August's target had repositioned the trembling girl so that his forehead was just peaking out from behind the girls head, ruining August's chance of a clean, kill shot. It seemed August had to improvise.

"Listen here you fuckhole. You do not get to make any demands. You have zero leverage against me. I don't give a flying fuck about what happens to the little princess. All I care about is ending your pathetic, miserable existence. Kill her for all I care, in fact, do it. It'll make it that much easier to kill you." August spoke with a hard voice, completely void of any human emotion. He was lying of course, as much as he didn't seem to care at the beginning of this mission, he wasn't about to let a girl lose her life to this scumbag. His speech was all a rouse.

The girl's eyes seemed to widen almost comically, and all hope of being rescued and saved faded from her eyes as it appeared that her saviour wasn't going to be saving her at all. The girl wasn't the only one stunned by August's exclamation. The cruel man was completely dumbfounded that this agent could not care less about his hostage. He was so stunned that he let his guard down just for a split second.

But that split second was all August needed, as he pulled the trigger.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So any thoughts?

I'd love some feedback guys!

#august walker #mission impossible #henry cavill #littlelamb

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karazor--el · 5 years ago

Text

TV Insider

Nicole Maines & 'Supergirl' Take on Violence Against the Trans Community

Supergirl flies into new and socially relevant territory tonight with an hour that explores the impact of violence against members of the trans community.

As the home of TV’s first-ever transgender superhero in Nicole Maines‘s Nia Nal, aka Dreamer, the show has already excelled at raising awareness of matters key to the LGBQT community, but this time, it’s literally a life-altering storyline. Per the Human Rights Campaign’s website, “2020 has already seen at least three transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say at least because too often these stories go unreported—or misreported.”

A look at stars like Stephen Amell, Ruby Rose, and Melissa Benoist who’ve appeared on the big screen before, during, or after CW superhero gigs.

In the episode, entitled “Reality Bytes,” Nia’s roommate Yvette (Roxy Wood), who is also a trans woman, is brutally attacked by an ignorant stranger who can’t handle Dreamer being a transgender hero. Stunned at first, then shook into action, Nia refuses to stand silent, leading to some serious and important conversations with Kara (Melissa Benoist) and the superfriends about exactly what Nia—and Maines, herself—face on a regular basis.

Here, the always enlightening actress and advocate opens up about the need for TV like this and what can be done to hopefully save lives in the future.

How are you doing? Because you have all done really well by this character.

Nicole Maines: Yes. I’m so happy with how Dreamer has really become her own superhero. I was just looking at her yesterday and she really has kind of become her own unique hero. Dream Girl [the comic-book version] is one hero, but I feel like Dreamer just has such a really different feel from Dream Girl. She’s become, in the past two seasons, her own entity and her own person, and that makes me really happy.

This character showed up with a lot on her shoulders, as far as what she stood for socially and for the trans community. But the writers have given her an entirely fleshed-out life, with romance and personal relationships, all that stuff. It’s really cool that it wasn’t just kind of putting down a flag and making a statement, it was actually creating a character and giving her a life.

Yeah, totally. She is a three-dimensional, fully fleshed-out character, and I have just come to love her so much.

The couple shared the news in fun posts on Instagram.

Now, this episode looks at violence against the trans community, which is a real thing — it’s insane how underreported this is.

Absolutely, and that’s something that we touch on this episode: exactly how common this is and how no one really understands that. And of course Supergirl, as just a beacon of hope, is coming to Nia and saying, “Listen, you know, we do this every week, we’re going to get this guy,” and Nia’s like “No, we don’t do this every week. I do and the community, they do this every day. You do this never.”

So it’s showing Dreamer as a member of the trans community and as a guardian of the trans community that is going through this and understanding exactly what she’s going through. And it shows Yvette knowing what she’s gone through and understanding her situation as a trans woman.

And how does Kara take this attack on Yvette? Because you know Kara always beats herself up for not being Supergirl enough.

Yeah, she’s panicked and worried for Yvette and for Nia. Her first instinct is “Are you okay? I came as soon as I heard!” and then it’s “We’re going to get this guy” and “You take care of Yvette, I’m Supergirl, I’ve got this.” But then Dreamer is saying “No, I’ve got this.” And she’s also working with William (Staz Nair) to make sure that this is reported accurately.

And the attack on Yvette isn’t by a meta, correct?

No, and that’s what’s so scary about it and so different about this. It isn’t some supervillain, this isn’t a metahuman, this isn’t an alien, it’s not someone with a tragic backstory, you know, “a love lost so I have to become a villain.” This is just someone whose narrative we’ve heard a bunch of times before.

L.A. is still the entertainment capital of the world, but a surprising number of TV shows film outside of California, too.

I just saw it the other day…people online were talking about this episode and they were like, “Oh, well Dreamer’s just, you know, tricking dudes into thinking he’s a girl, yadda yadda,” and I’m like, “that is exactly who this supervillain is.” And it just made me laugh so much because they were trying to s**t on this episode and on this storyline and I’m like, “all of the points you’re making are exactly who this villain is and what he says.” And that’s what’s so scary for Dreamer, that this is just a guy who could be anybody, some average—well not average because he’s deranged—but just some physically normal person who is capable of inflicting that much devastation.

I hope that there is a point where you address the fact that Yvette’s attacker represents so many ignorant humans out there whose minds can’t be changed.

Oh, yeah. And that’s really what we talked about [with the writers]. We talked about giving him a backstory, we talked about “Who is this guy?” I pitched making him one of the Agent of Liberty goons and then we decided that it doesn’t really matter who this guy is, it doesn’t matter where he came from, and it doesn’t matter what tragic backstory he has that made him want to attack people.

The point is he set out to attack someone because of who they are. And so it doesn’t really matter who you are, because your actions define who you are and your actions are defining you as a villain. And so Dreamer has this confrontation with him and it is so not what Supergirl normally does. Supergirl is kind of like, “You don’t have to do this, you can still be good.” But this is Dreamer. She is not on a mission to redeem this person.

Dreamer has her powers to help with this situation, but as an advocate for the community, what would you tell members of the trans community facing this? Because they don’t have superpowers.

You have to protect yourself. It is just a matter of caution because it’s scary, especially in the online dating world, which is kind of where this [story] takes place. You do see Yvette in the end trying to take some [precautionary] steps. If you’re going to meet a stranger, bring a friend, go to a public place. But you know it still happens, so it’s about trying to protect yourself, making sure you are surrounded by people you trust, dropping pins on your phone so people know where you are. It’s taking every possible step to try and protect yourself.

Even still, as we see in this episode, bad things do happen. So trans women, we have to protect ourselves because it is a scary world out there and there are so many people who don’t understand and there are so many states where you’re still able to plead “gay panic” in a court of law. It’s almost always thrown out immediately because it’s, pardon my French, a f***ing stupid excuse, but the fact that it is still legally permissible in court is absurd.

So it’s a matter of protecting yourself, but also telling stories like this and doing what we can to try to educate the community about these issues, about the dangers we face. Because one of the other things that I saw people talking about online [is that] they don’t believe the story we’re doing. They were like “This is ridiculous! Who’s attacking trans people because they’re trans?” I’m like “Are you kidding me!?” That’s why this is so important that we’re doing this episode, because people really don’t even comprehend that people are attacking, let alone killing, trans women brutally for who we are.

So you did get to work with the writers to make sure certain points were covered?

Oh yeah. We had a series of points that we made sure were covered and were addressed. Of course, you never know what’s going to wind up on the cutting room floor but we said, “these are the points that we need to make sure are said.”

We made a point to mention the increased risk that trans women of color are at and when we wrote the episode, we talked about how many trans women in 2019 had been the victims of hate-related violence and how many have we lost. And I think at the time of filming it was something like 23 or 24, so we tried to use that actual number and also point out that the real number is actually probably much, much higher because it does go underreported.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dreamer? Nicole Maines Brings ‘Supergirl’ Home for Nia’s Big Episode

Nia and Kara head to a small town where aliens and humans keep it chill.

And how was it for you after the episode wrapped? I imagine this is really close to the bone for you.

It felt good to do. It felt exciting to do this story because, while it is such heart-wrenching material, I was doing it with people who understood, who were excited to be telling this story and to shed some light on this. And of course, getting to do this with Roxy was amazing because just having her on set is always a blessing. And Pierson, despite the character he plays, he’s actually awesome.

And our director, Armen [Kevorkian] was just so… bless him, he and the writers were so open to talking to me. Armen was just so good about talking to me about any little thing and checking with me, making sure I felt like we’re doing things right. And he had the patience of a saint because I had no business, just peering over his shoulder the whole time, especially when they were doing the scene where Yvette gets attacked. I was there right next to the director, I had my headphones on and was like, “What’s going on? How are we doing?” I was so overprotective of this episode. [Laughs]

That’s hilarious. Next thing is you’re going to be directing an episode next season.

Oh god, I don’t think I’m ready for that. I think I’m better at micromanaging people against their will. [Laughs] I say that, but there wasn’t anything to micromanage because Armen totally understood what we were doing, he understood the importance of this episode and he’s just a fabulous director otherwise. So, doing this with him was just phenomenal and he did such an amazing job. We’re all so excited for people to see this episode.

Supergirl, Sundays, 9/8c, The CW

TV Insider.

#supergirl

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ohmyprodigalson · 5 years ago

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I saw you were taking requests, and was wondering if I could get a fic where Malcolm's s/o has a night terror at the precinct, and ends up attacking him when he tries to wake her up much like he did to Dani, and he has to calm her down. (Maybe a bit of father figure!Gil too) Just some hurt/comfort please! ❤

Of course! Thank you for giving me my first ever request!

Prodigal Son - Malcolm x Reader

Trigger Warning: Descriptions of gore, mutilation, and murder of women. Night terrors.

---------------------------------------------------

Image by brightwhitlys

(Y/N) was sitting in the room alone, surrounded by the whiteboards with pictures of evidence taped to them and folders with more evidence strewn out across the table in front of her. She had been called to consult on this case, like she had many times before. She actually met Malcolm on her first case, and they'd been dating ever since.

She was called as a consultant because of her skill in deciphering codes and other cryptic messages. The killer in this case was leaving behind notes completely written in math. It was (Y/N)'s job to translate these notes into English for the team.

But this case was different. (Y/N) had seen dead bodies before in all of the other cases she helped with, but this one was particularly gruesome. The victim was a woman in her 30's, crucified with her intestines tying her to the cross. Her tongue had been removed and her eyes gouged out. The scene was truly jarring, and pictures of it lie in front of (Y/N) on the table. She tried to look at them as little as possible because they were so disturbing.

(Y/N) hadn't slept well in about a week. Her insomnia kept her awake, and she barely got more than 3 hours of sleep per night. Now she was fighting off her fatigue in the middle of the precinct. Her eyelids became progressively heavier and she found herself feeling faint. She closed her eyes to regain her composure, but she accidentally fell asleep in the process.

Malcolm happened to look into the room and saw (Y/N) hunched over a bit, head resting on her hand. He smiled to himself, thinking of how adorable she looked. Falling asleep in a public place was extremely unlike her, and he found it comical. But then he saw her tremors. She had begun to shake, and Malcolm's eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening.

(Y/N) hadn't wanted to admit to herself how upsetting this case was for her, because she wanted to be a strong member of the team. They were counting on her to decipher the notes left behind, but she was absorbed by the images of the crime scene. They reminded her of her mother, and the murder that took her away from (Y/N).

(Y/N) was the one to find her. She was 4 years old at the time, and her mother was in her early 30's. (Y/N) found her in her bedroom, left behind like an art piece by one of her patients that had turned violent. (Y/N) had come home with her dad from the park on a sunny Saturday afternoon and was looking to show her mother the pretty flower she picked for her. When (Y/N) found her mother, she was splayed out across the bed. She was naked, her jaw completely removed from her head, her eyes gauged out, the tissue of her upper arms cut and put on display to look like wings, and her breasts cut off. This would be a traumatizing sight for anyone, but it was especially so for the little girl. (Y/N) screamed and cried as she fell to the ground. She cried so hard she threw up all over herself. She was too young to completely understand the concept of murder and how this related to her mother, and had no grasp of mutilation either. This was a situation that could not be explained to her at her young age.

(Y/N) was inconsolable for weeks, and she would often cry herself to sleep. She kept asking for her mother even though she knew she was gone, and this had become an extra layer of torture for her father, who was left to raise (Y/N) on his own. He did everything in his power to help her. He took her to therapy and tried to support her in every way he could. This kept her from completely falling apart, but she was still an impressionable little girl. She was left with emotional scars that would never fade and night terrors that would never cease.

(Y/N) thankfully hadn't had a night terror in quite a while, certainly not in front of Malcolm. But he did know about her mother and how it still pains her when she sees a mother holding her daughter's hand as they walk down the street. It never occurred to him though that the current case they were working on held so many parallels to her mother's death.

That's why, when he saw (Y/N) start to shake in her sleep, it hit him like a brick wall. This case was bringing her terrible memories to the surface of her mind, and now she was going to suffer from it.

He ran into the room just as (Y/N)'s shaking became violent and she started to moan loudly. Malcolm grabbed her upper arms tightly as he tried to wake her up. He gave her a few shakes while he said her name with force. She didn't wake up, so he escalated to shouting. After a few shouts of her name, (Y/N)'s eyes flew open, but she was still in her dream. She started screaming and shouting, "Mom!!!" She scrambled at first before starting to hit Malcolm. "Let go of me!! I need to see my mom!!" She produced gut-wrenching cries as Malcolm tried to hold her in her seat.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)!! It's me, it's Malcolm. You're having a bad dream, it's ok. It's ok!"

His words went unnoticed as she continued to fight and claw at him. Then, in her desperation, she punched Malcolm on the right side of his face. For the smallest of moments he looked stunned before falling backwards onto the floor, unconscious. With Malcolm no longer there to restrain her, (Y/N) bolted out of her seat and headed towards the door.

At this point Gil had noticed what was going on and had reached the door before (Y/N) could. He braced for impact just as one of (Y/N)'s heels slipped on the floor and gave out from underneath her. She hit the ground hard, which stopped her in her tracks both mentally and physically. She sat up but stayed on the ground as she rubbed her left shoulder. This was Gil's chance.

He knew she was probably still caught in her night terror, and the traumatic memories of her mother's death, so he played what would have conceivably been his part in that narrative.

Gil bent down on one knee in front of (Y/N) so that their eyes met without effort, just like he would with a small child. Then he spoke softly and calmly. "My name is Gil. What is your name?"

With a sniffle, she responded with a meek and quiet voice. "(Y/N)."

"Hello (Y/N). I work with the police." Gil paused as he tried to read (Y/N)'s eyes. He decided to test her concept of reality. "Do you know where you are?"

(Y/N) looked around herself shakily. She saw the windows with the shades, the table and chairs, but she was thankfully too close to the ground to see the evidence on the whiteboards. Still, something clicked in her mind as she realized where she was. "I'm at the precinct..."

"Good!" Gil gave her a reassuring smile and continued. "Do you know that man over there?" Gil motioned towards Malcolm, lying on his back, mouth agape and a bruise already starting to form on the right side of his face.

(Y/N) thought for a moment, searching her mind for the answer to Gil's question. This forced her to stop and slow down. It began to pull her out of her dream. After a short moment she whispered, "Malcolm..." She turned her face back towards Gil to see him still smiling at her reassuringly.

He reached out and placed a hand on her right shoulder. "Are you ok?"

The tears started to fall as (Y/N) came back to reality. A reality where her mother had been brutally murdered. Gil scooted closer to her on the ground and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried. Gil placed a hand on the back of her head and whispered to her, "I know... but it's ok now. You will always feel this heartache, but you are surrounded by people that care for you. We will always be here to help you through this pain."

After a few minutes (Y/N) pulled away from Gil, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. She sheepishly looked at him and croaked out, "Thank you."

"Of course," Gil said with a smile. "Now, what are we going to do about him?" They both looked in Malcolm's direction to find that he had not moved a muscle this whole time.

"I'll take care of him. I feel so bad..." (Y/N) watched his slow breathing. At least he was getting a nap out of all of this.

"I'm sure he'll understand." Gil paused for a moment before standing up. He patted (Y/N) on her left shoulder and she winced. She must have hurt it when she fell, and Gil noticed her pain. "When he wakes up, both of you go home and rest. You need it after today, and we've got this covered." He motioned vaguely towards all of the whiteboards in the room. Grateful, she nodded and gave him a small smile. She would never forget the calming comfort Gil provided for her that day.

*Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to do a 'keep reading' break because I'm on the app. If anyone has some pointers it would be greatly appreciated!*

#prodigal son #malcolm bright #malcolm x reader #gil arroyo #fanfic #imagine

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sansalequeen · 6 years ago

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Me: Ugh, I know, I know, I’m a fan of science fiction and fantasy but I just I don’t like super hero movies.

Me: Watches the first Spiderman trilogy, Into the Spiderverse, Watchmen and The Incredibles 2 all in the same weekend.

Me, now, improved, refreshed, wisdomized: When not in the hands of MCU, I uhhhh love super heroes?

#im not tryina be snarky there's just something about the MCU style of filmmaking that i really do not enjoy at all #like i like bits and pieces here and there from specific movies #but sometimes i just feel....MCU movies lack...soul? you know #not ALL obviously but majority of them #like in Spiderman 2 when Peter decides to stop being Spiderman because he's sacrificing too much and he painfully turns his back on a muggin #that was SAD and it required a certain honesty to commit to the obvious emotionality of that scene #i cant imagine a similar scene getting through in MCU movies #like maybe they'd keep it with a dark humour twist where SM says something like well thats not my problem anymore whistle #and the attackers as well as the victim all look comically stunned

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sweettoothshipperrotg · 6 years ago

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okay I know I said last one but,,,,,, i couldn’t help myself- SO how about Superhero AU? With FrostedNature? (loveuthankubye)

Oh you and your promises of not sending more prompts. LIKE.YOU.COULD.HOLD.OUT (don’t you worry baby it’s fine, your prompts always make me happy :3)

Sorry this took so long, but I’ve finlly completed it.

Based on: ‘You’re my arch nemesis but our best friends are dating…I guess I’ll play nice in civvies, for now’ AU

Hope you enjoy!

SECRET IDENTITITES, MY FOOT

Jackson Overland Frost couldn’t believe his eyes when Bunnymund introduced his girlfriend’s best friend.

This was supposed to be a nice evening. He had cleared up his schedule specifically for tonight (if he kept on canceling every time something “came up”, Bunny would probably have strangled him) and was more than ready to enjoy his first free night in three years.

Luckily, he had been spared his friend’s backlash since Tooth’s friend also had to unexpectedly rain check their outing several times.

It wasn’t like Jack didn’t like the idea of his friend now being engaged (albeit, it had shaken him a little). Toothiana was a lovely woman, a bubbly behavior that balanced Bunny´s down to earth personality. The aussie had never been in such a long relationship before, but on the four year mark he decided to pop the question.

Jack, as the newly designated best man, was having a hard time handling his responsibilities for his friend’s wedding, his job at North’s store, and his “extracurricular activities”.

The couple had declared that their two friends had to meet in order for their nuptials to smoothly continue.

Toothiana had told him a little about the future bridesmaid. Emily Jane was a no-nonsense successful botanic researcher who Tooth had met at college and become friends with.

To anyone else such a friendship would have seemed rather odd, but considering that he had and Bunny had become friends when the blue-eyed boy was getting his ass handed to him during a bar fight, he understood. His opponent had managed to throw him over the table when Jack had tried to be a knight in shining armor and save one of his friends from a rather insistent ex-boyfriend. Aster had knocked the douchebag with a mean right hook and helped Jack up from the floor.

They had been besties ever since.

Now he was at a fancy restaurant in a five-star hotel, surrounded by his two friends and sitting in front of a stunning woman in a black dress who was sending intense glances his way.

Not in the sexy sense, more like “I want to murder you with this very steak knife I have in my hand” kinda way.

Although his presence had never warranted such a reaction from anyone he had met, there was a little problem.

He knew this woman.

And judging by the recognition in her eyes when they shook hands for the first time, she knew him as well.

Despite his best effort to keep his night job and his personal life separate, it seems it had come back to bite him.

The woes that betides a superhero.

Yes, he had superpowers. And yes he spent most of his free time as a vigilante making the streets of Burgess City a little safer to tread.

By now, Jack Frost had become more than just a fable among people.

It had been quite a decision when his ice powers manifested for the same time after his close call with death at the local pond he used to skate at with his little sister.

He remembered the cold and the dark water that surrounded him. He can even recall his sister screaming out his name from the surface. But then he woke up in a hospital bed after being unconscious for days and with his mother and sister asleep by his bedside.

His powers took two weeks to show themselves.

A glisten and a flurry of ice shot out of his hand into the tree next to him and covered it with an intricate and budding frost pattern. And the rest was history.

Had it not been for the present tense atmosphere, he would have chuckled at his memory of his first years as a superhero, running around with a mask and in an old blue hoodie. What a reckless kid he had been.

Thankfully his current supersuit was now more outfitted for combat and to handle his powers. North had been very helpful after Jack had busted into his shop to stop a large robbery.

And yes, of course North knew of his double life (the ex Russian scientist was his go to tech guy, after all). A superhero couldn’t keep down a stable job as easily as the comics made it look, and he had rent to pay.

In his many comings and goings he had faced many different foes: the low life criminals that preyed on the streets, the low level grunts of the mafia families, even a few corrupt leaders of the crime syndicates that sat atop of the city.

But none had been such a challenge like his arch nemesis. Persephone.With such a taste for dramatics, no wonder the universe had decided to search for someone to meet her match.

Her phytokinetic powers had him gawking at her when they first met at a bank robbery – that she orchestrated!

With a graceful swoop she and her plants had descended upon him and confronted him in one of the most engaging combats he had had in ages.

He was quick and nimble, but her defense and her strikes knocked the wind out of him.

Luckily, he had entertained her enough for the police back up to arrive.

She had left him fighting off thorny vines and unable to follow her and end the dance they had started.

Jack Frost had encountered the mysterious woman several other times.

She seemed to dabble in several types of crimes, but was quite adept to burglary. The high-class type. Although those pompous fishes could do with having a little less money, the upper class victims were outraged at the inability of the police to catch the masked villainess.

The mystery that was Persephone had kept him awake many nights. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all from a sleuth-related nature.

Her sly smile was ever present when he closed his eyes, so was her taught yet lithe body he had felt during close quarters combat and her alluring and taunting voice.

In other words, his imagination was playing against him. And he was losing, part of him wanted to put her behind bars so he would stop thinking of her so damn much.In another universe, these two characters would have never recognized the other; oblivious of their double life until some convoluted hand of destiny revealed their identities at a more inconvenient time.

But it seemed that fate had other plans.

His mind was brought back from his machinations all of a sudden.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this call.” Emily’s voice apologized profusely to her friend. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

She sauntered out of view, almost as if she knew that his eyes would follow her.

“I…uh…I gotta use the restroom” He spluttered and excused himself away from the couple.

Jack passed the restrooms, and made his way to the open courtyard the hotel had.It looked quite pretty with the lights that illuminated the ornate fountain.

She was there, with her back to him and appearing to admire the abundant yet harmonic greenery that surrounded them.

Oh how freaking convenient.

He approached, carefully as you would to a deadly animal. The frost was starting to surge on his palm but yet he didn’t attack. The place was secluded but not enough for a full on battle to go unnoticed.

“Of all the places in this city, I find you here.” She still did not turn to face him. “How odd, isn’t it?”

Jack didn’t answer, sizing her up. He felt relief that she hadn’t take the steak knife with her, but that feeling burst when he realized she was far more deadly without it.

“And here I was planning such a show for when we met again.” Persephone said in her usual tone; the type of confident voice that came from always holding all the cards.

“Eager to see me, sweetheart?” The word escaped his mouth before he could help it.

They had slipped into well-known roles; their war of wits just as accelerating to him as their physical warfare.

“Flirt all you want, Frost.” Her head turned to glance at him, a smirk blooming in her lips. “But you’re not handing me over to the police just yet.”

The plants around them swooshed, but not because of the wind.

“Really?” Jack clenched his jaw, his muscles tensing. “And why is that?”

She now fully turned around and stepped forward, but he held his ground.

“Because you wouldn’t want to break your dear friend’s heart, would you?”

That sent a rush of fear through his blood. Instantly, a sharp spike of ice was forming onto his hand and was inches away from her neck. She didn’t even flinch. “If you dare harm Bunny or Tooth-”

“Spare me the theatrics, Frost.” She said calmly, as if she didn’t have an ice blade to her neck ready to run her through. “I’m not going to hurt any of them.”

Ok, that had him baffled.

“What?”

“I happen to truly care for Toothiana, and I even like Bunnymund enough to entrust him the safety and happiness of the only true friend I’ve ever had.” She firmly explained in all seriousness. “I would walk through burning coals for her and make anyone who hurts her wish they were dead.”

“What I meant to say is that we happen to be their best man and bridesmaid, quite crucial to their wedding if memory serves me right.” Emily continued to explain. “And I think it would put a damper on their wedding if I were to get rid of you or, in the most unlikely case, for you to send me to prison. That’s why I’ve decided we should reach a compromise.”

“What exactly did you have in mind?”

“A truce.” She replied with a confident smile. “I don’t go around on my nightly activities and you don’t try to throw me in jail while our friends are planning their wedding. Heck, we might have to work together to make it happen so it would be useful to not be at each other’s throats.”

Jack Frost had not expected this at all. Was she truly going to just play nice with him until their friends were married?

It felt like he was missing something. Once more, she had pulled the rug from under his feet.

Jack shook his head to clear out the fog, as the wheels spun inside his head. “How can I trust Burgess City’s top criminal to keep her word?”

“I guess it’s all about a leap of faith” She stepped closer and gently placed a hand on his chest, the ice dagger now pressing firmly against her skin but she paid it no mind since she was finding him far more interesting. The conflict that battled within those blue eyes of his was positively delicious, and so was his accelerated heartbeat. “Aren’t you heroes all about that, anyways?”

Silence stretched over them, both enemies sizing each other up for the others next move. But, in the end, it was him who spoke.

To be honest, he was probably making the biggest mistake of his life.

“Fine.” He warily acquiesced. “We play nice until Bunny and Tooth get married, but if I find out that you’re at it again then the deal is off.”

“Sounds good to me” She grinned, trying to suppress the mix of anticipation and adrenaline that had her self-control in such shaky grounds. “Now would you kindly put the icicle away? I need to get back to our table before Tooth gets worried.”

The spike vanished, and he retreated back so her influence would stop messing with his head.

She made her way out of the garden, but turned around to end their encounter with one last warning. “Don’t worry, once we cart them off to their honeymoon we can go back to destroying each other like always”

He didn’t grace her with an answer as the sharp click of her stilettos faded away in the distance.

Jack combed a hand through his hair and sighed.

There were definitely going to be some interesting months ahead of him.

TADA! Hope you liked it.

If you feel like sending asks, don´t hesitate to do so (it might take time but I’ll eventually get there, I promise!)

#emily jane pitchiner #Jack Frost #frosted nature #rise of the guardians #ROTG #jackfrostxemilyjanepitchiner #guardians of childhood #GoC

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rose-lighters · 6 years ago

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Time to rank every MCU film

Yes I am doing that oh so original thing of ranking every marvel film from worst to best. Criticisms and debates are welcome. (Disclaimer: I like all these films unless stated otherwise)

X. Incredible Hulk - I haven’t seen it. Sorry.

21. Guardians Of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - I can honestly say I hated this film. The only likeable part of the whole film was the soundtrack and the first few minutes with Groot dancing. Beyond that it was dull, cringy and oh so predictable. The second that Ego (???) appeared and said he was Quill’s dad I was just like “Oh so this guy’s the villain then” and noped out of there. I never saw past that point and don’t intend to.

20. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - People praise this film till kingdom come and I for one do not get it at all. Many say that it is unique in moving away from the typical superhero film and towards the spy genre. Maybe I just don’t like spy films but it is in no means a great Marvel film. I liked it enough but it’s so forgettable I had to google the plot for this review. I liked the characters and all but it just never stuck with me as anything special.

19. Guardians Of the Galaxy - Maybe I just don’t like the guardians??? I don’t know but this was another film that just didn’t stick with me. I like Rocket and Groot but beyond that the Guardians themselves hold no interest with me. I don’t care for the humor particularly and whilst the music is great that really shouldn’t be the best part of a film unless it’s a musical.

18. Avengers: Age of Ultron - People hate this film, I however do not. It’s an okay Marvel film, I don’t care for it enough to hate it. I like that scene where they’re all trying to lift mjolnir and I think I liked the ending (I watched it like two years ago so I don’t remember that well) but I have to agree with a lot of the criticism of white washing the Maximoffs (despite how much I love Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor Johnson, it was still shady). I didn’t hate the ‘giving Hawkeye a family’ like a lot of people did because the already made it clear he wasn’t like comic Clint.

17. Thor: The Dark World - Now we’re moving into films I do like (I love Marvel films more than I dislike them, it's literally just GOTG2 that I don’t like). This was a good film from what I can remember (as I said it's been a while since I’ve seen a lot of these films). I liked the story arcs, I liked that it was set in places other than America and space (ok, so I’m from England, sue me), I loved Tom Hiddleston in this film and I like Darcy. All in all it was an enjoyable viewing, a little dull at times but generally harmless.

16. Doctor Strange - This would be further up if it wasn’t for how dull the first half hour or so is. I had to go back and watch this months after I had first tried just because the start was so boring. Once I moved past it however it was a great origin film. I liked the humour in it and I have always had a soft spot for magic so it was a brilliant film. The effects were absolutely stunning and on aesthetics alone it would place as the second or third best marvel film. I loved the good guys and was genuinely rooting for them despite Strange being a bit of a snarky arsehole.

15. Iron Man - Is this a very important film? Yes. Is it a great film? Also yes. Do I remember it? Not at all. Okay, so I remember some stuff and what I do remember was great but to say its a film that sticks out would be a lie. It’s THE origin story in as much as it’s a formulaic one: flawed character is traumatised and realises their flaws in the process, is influenced by important person, becomes a hero and is betrayed. It works though. That’s the thing, it works so damn well that its almost not in the formula. It's a great watch and honestly RDJ looks great in it (so not the point but I digress). That bit with Stane ripping out the arc reactor made me feel betrayed and I kinda knew it was coming. ( https://tonynatashas.tumblr.com/post/184375713429/that-scene-in-iron-man-where-obadiah-stane-is this post explains why this scene is so great important)

14. Captain America: The First Avenger - Another (enjoyable) origin story. If Sebastian Stan wasn’t in it it would probably be three places down but hey I have a type. No but seriously this was a great film because not only did it show off the brilliance of Roger’s transformation and gave us an idea of who he was and what motivates him but it also then gives us details of his waking in the 21st century and begins to expose his issues with this time travel (for want of a better phrase). This film shows you what you’re gonna get whilst still having pretty good effects, a good, solid storyline and a pretty badass comic book villain. The serum guy creeps me out though and there are so many ethical issues of that level of human experimentation on a person whose only friend went off to war, had Steve died they chose someone no one would really miss which is so concerning.

13. Captain Marvel - A lot of people may have a criticism of this film being so far down but for me it needs to be. I like superhero films where the main character overcomes a flaw and amnesia is not a character flaw. This is a good origin story but it is not a great marvel film. I like Carol but I don’t love her. I love the fact that we have a superhero film with a female main character and i liked that scene where she talks with biker guy but it felt like Samuel L Jackson was a more interesting character at times. I often rate characters on humor so there’s that. It was a good film but I’m mostly looking forward to what will be done with the character as she has so much potential.

12. Spiderman: Homecoming - This is a weird one for me. It’s the only marvel film I own on DVD and it’s the only one I like where I skip scenes. I can not deal with cringy humour so I skip 80% of the jokes and awkward moments in this film however it’s a really good film. It’s funny and the music is great, I love Zendaya and Jacob Batalon probably more than Tom Holland, their roles are great and the film’s emphasis on friendship is one of the elements from the Iron Man and Captain America films that I love just further amplified. The references to Ferris Bueller and the fact that it is, at its core, a teen flick makes it a brilliant film. The vulture twist was also amazing.

11. Ant-man and the Wasp - I feel like it isn’t talked about enough but I really bloody love Scott Lang. He is one superhero that I can really get behind because above all else he is just the nicest guy. He is probably one of the most human seeming characters in the MCU and it always makes for such an enjoyable viewing. This could probably draw with ant-man in terms of great films. I loved Ava Starr so much and my heart really went out to her and that FBI guy was a total joy to watch. The Ant man films are so funny and light hearted that they don’t have that sort of weariness that other MCU films have. If only Luis told more stories in the MCU.

10. Ant-man - Honestly just look above. Also I love Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne so much. The villain was kind of eh but I loved the heist aspect.

9. Black Panther - I watched this film for Shuri and to an extent because I felt obligated to so I had low expectations. People were talking about it for the significance of fighting for equality (which I am all for, don’t worry) so I was expecting it to not live up to the hype and it didn’t. That being said it was a bloody great movie. The movie was beautiful, the use of colour and the CGI tech was so damn pretty. The plot was brilliant and for a while I wanted Erik Killmonger to win, he put forward a good argument and I like a ‘baddy’ so to speak. The fights were great and I was so here for their version of going under cover finally not being a hoodie and cap. Was it over hyped? Hell yeah. Was it still a great film? 100%

8. Iron Man 3 - This gets a hell of a load more crap than it deserves, mostly from comic book fans who can’t stand that their precious mandarin was a hoax but honestly I respect the fuck out of marvel for that. Rather than having a stereotypically asian terrorist they turned that stereotype on its head and made the white guy the actual terrorist. Ben Kingsley is one of my favourite actors and he was amazing. I, obviously, also loved the representation of PTSD as a serious issue and how it was displayed in all of its real ugliness. For once it didn’t just show a damaged person who was fixed with romance. So yeah, this film was a masterpiece.

7. Captain America: Civil War - Zemo may just be my favourite MCU villain to date, why? Because he fucking won. This was a film about a man who knew his victims and rather than stupidly trying to attack the big scary strong guys he exposed them and made the best of circumstance. He got under Captain America’s skin and played him like a puppet. This was more than just a villain, this was finally a smart villain. Not to mention that this film had some of the best action sequences and heart breaking moments whilst still having time for a laugh. It’s also the first film (in my opinion) that called out Steve’s morals and his obsession with the past. Bucky was hot used against him and it showed that above all else, even the little people, Steve’s loyalties are with his past.

6. Thor - Most people would disagree and rate this film far lower however for me this was the start. I didn’t grow up watching superhero films because I didn’t like watching TV as a kid so it wasn’t till I was 13 that I saw a superhero film and this was it. I honestly watched it because my friend had it on DVD and I thought Tom Hiddleston looked hot but from what I can remember this was one of the best films I ever saw. I wasn’t too bothered by Jane Foster but I absolutely loved Darcy, Loki and Thor. Whilst I’m not adopted I do know what it is like to be the younger and smarter sibling with an older thuggish brother who is still the favourite so I loved Loki with a passion and was so upset when he fell.

5. Iron Man 2 - This was the film that made me realise that I liked girls, Scarlet Johansson in a black cat suit and red ringlets was an amazing thing to little 13 year old me. Beyond that it was just a solid film, it had spies and daddy issues and sass and Samuel L Jackson. What more can you want?

4. Thor: Ragnarok - This is the peak of Thor, I’m calling it now. Never had a director before been able to capture the absolute chaos of Loki and the sweetheart-ness of Thor so brilliantly. As far as representations of characters this, Captain Marvel and Iron Man 3 may just be the best of all the MCU. This is the full completion of Thor’s arc, this is the film that the first Thor set up. Finally Thor is ready to be King. This film had so much humour but still set it all up so perfectly that it was more than just a comedy. Jeff Goldblum was amazing and honestly Taika Waititi should direct the whole of the MCU. He knows the characters better than anybody.

3. Avengers: Endgame - I cried three times. That scene with the portals was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed and whilst many criticize much of the plot I don’t have too much I’d change, though in fairness I did like the cursed child so maybe I just have a soft spot for all things time travel. Dynamic timelines are not used in cinema enough and the three alternate timelines create have all sorts of implications for future films in the MCU. If Thor is not fat in the next film this may go down to 20th though.

2. Avengers Assemble - This is the film that I believe best represents what the MCU has to offer. It’s a light hearted superhero film with all the characters that were needed at this point in time. For its time it was ambitious and honestly it shows. I loved the dynamics between the characters, the plot was engaging and not overly complex and even if you haven’t seen any other MCU films it makes perfect sense. In some respects it probably is the best the MCU has to offer.

1. Avengers: Infinity War - Oh boy do I love this film. This isn’t just a film, this is the film. Did it have the same emotional impact as Endgame? Fuck no but it didn’t need to. It was serious. It was funny. It had just the right amount of just the right characters and may I just say that is the best that Captain America has ever looked in the MCU. I (controversially) really loved Gamora dying and most of the Guardians being dusted. The memes were great.This was the most ambitious cross over event since Wizards of deck with Hannah Montana. One thing that I can’t get out of my head though is Bruce’s comment of “broke up like the beatles?”. Does that make Bucky Yoko Ono?

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thesffcorner · 6 years ago

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Robin Hood

Robin Hood is directed by Otto Bathurst and it’s a reimagining of the Robin Hood stories. I say reimagining, because this film has barely anything to do with the time period or the actual historical tales, and yet somehow it’s still one of the better adaptations out there.

This film positions itself as an origin of sorts; we start with Robin of Loxley played by Taron Egerton being called into the Saxon army to join the Crusades, except here the army seems to be English(?) and lead not by King Richard Lionheart, but the actual sheriff of Nottingham played by Ben Mendelsohn. After four years of fighting Robin tries to intervene in the execution of a Saracen soldier, the son of John (I know he has a full name, but he’s not credited as such and I don’t remember how to spell it, played by Jamie Foxx), and failing that, he is returned to England. There he finds his property seized by the Sheriff, Maid Marion gone (who in this version is neither a Lady nor a wood smith's daughter, but a thief played by Eve Hewson), and the Sheriff proclaiming him dead. At the behest of John, Robin starts training to become a master thief, the Hood, who will take down the Sheriff from the inside.

I love Robin Hood. I grew up on the stories, and I had an illustrated version that collected all the most famous tales and as such I am familiar with the source material. I have hated every single Robin Hood adaptation Hollywood has shat out, with the exception of the Disney version which is fine, if a bit simplistic and Men in Tights, which is both the closest in tone and execution. This version is at once excellent and batshit insane; I had a lot of fun watching it, and I do recommend it, but it’s not a good film. It has some major problems, and how much you will enjoy this depends solely on how forgiving you are of them for the sake of action and style.

Stylization (Automatic Ballistas? In my movie?):

The stylization of this film is intense and very ridiculous. What I feel like it was going for was Moulin Rouge/Great Gatsby, but what it actually ended up as, is the Matthew MacFadyen Three Musketeers.

Nothing in this film is of the time period; the clothing, the scenery, the castes, the weapons, the way people act and speak. We are introduced to Maid Marian in the first scene of the film, wearing a headscarf while she has on a dress with a cleavage so deep and so pronounced it would be considered raunchy by today’s standards, nevermind the 1300’s! And this is her ‘thieving outfit’.... Right. The moment where Robin tells her she’s stunning I was like… well, her boobs sure are. Robin himself wears regular modern day shirts, leather jackets, and let's not even touch on what everyone is wearing at the party for the cardinal.

The scene where they show the Crusades is so insane I genuinely thought we started watching a different film. It’s shot like a war movie, with lots of tight, worm’s eye perspective shots, and everyone is wearing armor that looks like modern day kevlar vests. There is a ballista which fires arrows like a machine gun and the way people are shooting arrows and crossbows in narrow corridors is like something out of a video game. In fact this whole sequence feels like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed had a child and it was a good indicator as to the rest of the film. I didn’t mind the stylization as much, but there were times, mostly with Robin and Marian’s outfits which made me go “what am I watching??”

Tone (Zero Dark Loxley):

Let me go through just a few scenes as an example of just how wildly inconsistent and fluctuating it really is. The first scene is the meeting between Marian and Robin; it’s supposed to be romantic, something akin (ahem, a copy) to The Princess Bride. But it’s shot so weirdly, and the blocking is stiff and unnatural and the dialogue is just so full of quippy one liners that I felt like I was watching a porno!

Then, Robin gets drafted and the next scene is literary The Hurt Locker, but with arrows and catapults instead of bombs. There is even a fellow soldier Robin is trying to rescue, and like I said, it’s shot exactly like a war film. It was by far the best and tensest part of the whole film, and the action was creative and well shot and edited for the most part, especially the fight between John and Robin.

The scene after that is absolutely brutal and honestly almost too dark for this film. It shows the English torturing the captured Arabian soldiers and has two executions which are brutal. But then, we cut right back to Robin Hood shenanigans with Tuck, and I swear I got whiplash. This happens throughout the film; we have a scene of funny, quippy dialogue between Robin and Tuck or Robin and John, and then bam, the next scene is torture, or a riot.

Plot (Nobody Expects the English Inquisition):

The tone isn’t helped by the fact that the plot of this film is completely ludicrous. It is essentially several heists that culminate in a massive riot/heist, but the plan of the villains makes everything that much more crazy. Warning SPOILERS, but trust me, you want to know the plan.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is working with a Cardinal to finance the Arabian army during the Crusades, so they can beat the English, and presumably win the war, so then I guess the Cardinal can say whoever is King in this (neither Richard nor John are mentioned once) is unworthy of the crown and install The Sheriff as the new King… what? Do the Arabian soldiers know they are being paid by the English? Does the Sheriff’s death squad? Because they seemed all too happy to execute Arabian soldiers and lost a lot of their men in the skirmish. Also, do the cardinal and the Arabs have a deal that after they win they won’t just invade England? Cause that sure seems like something they’d want to do. Also England wasn’t the only country (well it wasn’t even England, but we’ll ignore that for now) fighting in the Crusades. There was Normandy, Lombardy, the Holy Roman Empire…. Are they also in on this plan?

Another thing; the whole bit with the Sheriff wanting to imprison or kill all his subjects who had no money to pay in the mines; who are you going to rule over if your populace is dead? No. Sense.

Characters (Ben Mendelsohn Makes Everything 300 Times Better):

Speaking of the Sheriff let’s talk about his backstory.

Ben Mendelsohn is an excellent actor, and he elevates material that is usually far beneath him to good, even great standards. And he is clearly having the time here; he has several monologues, many scenes of shouting or overacting, and he has really good chemistry with both Egerton and Fox. The scene where he is threatening John is probably the best acting in the film, and I wish the two had more time to spar.

However, this character’s backstory and the way he delivers it is insane. I have to put a SPOILER warning, but trust me, you want me to tell you what it is. The Sheriff apparently was an orphan, raised in a church orphanage, where every night the Lords and Cardinals would come to beat and possibly, heavily implied, sexually assault the children, including him. He has a long monologue about this, where he goes in graphic detail, of which I will spare you here, and he tells all of this to Robin of Loxley who he has, at this point known for a few days at most. Honestly the pure confusion and terror on Egerton’s face during this scene was what I was feeling the whole time. The film makes you remember this backstory, brings it up in both every scene Egerton and Mendelsohn have after this and even have Robin callback to it at the very end in a pretty callous manner, unbefitting of the film’s protagonist. And I have to ask, why? Was the Sheriff being a greedy, immoral man not enough, now he has to be the victim of child abuse and sexual assault too?

Speaking of bad idea characters, Will Scarlet is in this and boy did I hate him. Jamie Dornan is finally allowed to be Irish in this which is refreshing, but by God, he has nothing to work with. His whole character is just set up for a sequel and in this film he just exists so Marian has a reason not to immediately reconcile with Robin. Why filmmakers always feel the need to have Will’s character be some kind of a twist, instead of just playing him straight is beyond me.

Marion, if we ignore the ridiculous outfits she’s forced to wear is fine as a character, but she just doesn’t fit with the fabric of this world. First off, how was she living with Robin (and everyone knew this) without being married to him? And how is she living with Will now without being married to him? Also, how is she allowed to question and attack the Sherrif without being 50 kinds of executed after the first time she dared to speak? She was also a lot more proactive in the whole going against the Sheriff business than Robin, so why he was leader at the end and not her is also beyond me, but what do I know. At least she wasn’t a damsel in distress.

Tuck and John were both fine. I liked them both equally, though John gets a lot more screen time. Jamie Foxx kills every scene he’s in, and I liked that he had his own mini storyline with the Sheriff and his son’s death. I don’t understand why they felt the need to combine the role of Little John and the Saracen character (who in my version of the stories was called Salim), but he was still a great character. Tuck was comic relief, but he was a welcome change from the rest of the film, and he resembled his story counterpart the closest.

Robin Hood himself was a mixed bag. Like Foxx, Taron Egerton is a trooper and he give Robin a lot of charm and life, which this version of the character desperately needs. There are several scenes where he is absolutely frightened, emotional or suffering from PTSD, end Egerton sells it. He is great at the action scenes, has the physique for the part, and brings a charm and a sexiness to the role that really works for the scene where he’s the Lord Loxley.

What doesn’t work (at least not always) is the actual character. Bless his heart, but he has no chemistry with Eve Hewson, no matter how much he tries. He has much more chemistry with both Foxx and Mendelsohn, but the issue is that Marian is his entire motivation. The film resorts to numerous cheezy flashbacks of their romance, scenes of them kissing or longingly looking at each other and it just comes off as ridiculous and forced. If they were going for a Princess Bride vibe, that film worked because a) Cary Elwes and Robin Wright had chemistry b) the film established their love and didn’t rely on flashbacks to convince us they were in love, we just knew it.

I did like that Robin was a bit selfish, and seemed to be doing things just to win Marian back, even though technically that’s not faithful to the stories; it was was a good starting point for the character to grow from. I’m just not sure he grew much at all; at the end of the film he’s still a bit selfish and a bit petty. Things like his PTSD are also never really addressed and explored and though again, it makes sense that Robin being in the wars would suffer from it, I’m not sure Robin Hood is the place to tell it.

Conclusion?

All in all this film was very fun. It doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, and as such it tried to be everything and excels at nothing. However the good acting, fun action scenes and truly bizarre style of the film more than make up for it, and I implore you to go see it, both so you can experience the madness yourself, and so it makes enough money for a sequel.

#robin hood #moni talks #film review #robin hood review

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showbizprofiling · 4 years ago

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Top 24 Best Action Anime of All Time to Watch Right Now

Best Action Anime has always been a signature of anime genre from the very starting. Even if it's not ever the primary focus as it once was, in the 1970s and 1980s, most anime displayed scenes or set plays with intense fight scenes. And I would hope that the top action anime world never went too far away. Let's take a look at a couple of action romance anime that ranks the best of all time. Don't miss Thrillist's best action anime list. 'Top Action anime' is an audit quality, so We compiled 24 best action anime, and each anime series had a few notables. Every anime encourages dramatic change or stands out due to a brilliant plot or character. You asked for the best anime action of all times, and we brought a list of romance action anime.

The List of Best Action with Romance Anime

24- Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress

Directed By: Tetsurō Araki Release Date: April 8, 2016 Duration: 12 Episodes Rating: IMDb (7.3/10) The "Kabane" are horrible creatures like zombies that can only be killed by piercing their iron-protected hearts. After "Ikoma's" city overran, he boarded a fortified iron train alongside some new allies searching for a safer place. The Good action anime here is its key selling point, with the continuous panning of camera angles accentuating dynamic and rapid combat. There's a flashback: "Ikoma," a professional investor, had told "Mumei" that he would transform her back into a human. Do we feel some kind of romance action anime tension between the two? They're a fine pair of fights, for sure. In the present, Ikoma" is convening with human leaders to formulate a war plan, but humans don't trust him, possibly because of his "Kabane" blood. It doesn't work for him that he's not quite himself. He sweats like crazy, and he falls to his knees. During the Industrial Age, the action romance anime occurs as the virus infects humans and transforms them into "Kabane". 23- Black Lagoon

Directed By: Sunao Katabuchi Release Date: April 8, 2006 Duration: 24 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.3/10) The squad of the "Black Lagoon" is ragtag of mercenaries in the coin, but their relationships are tied together. When "Rokurou Okajima" (a non-assuming businessman) joins the gang and gives it the name "Rok," he turns away his life, as he flew into a world of crime, corruption, and greed. The Titan assault is terrible, but it's not exactly a horror action anime. You will discover an operation that is heavy on the scheme, creating a character and the environment, if you can stomach the gruesome, inner presence of the titans and the violent intent of how to devote their victims. Since there is possibly more action romance anime than almost any genre, Attack on Titan is indeed the best one since the virtual absence of plot shield means that no one is ever truly safe, and the consequences were genuine. Black Lagoon, the best action anime without our happy trigger Revy, who promises to push the series together, cannot be said about it. 22- Dorohedoro

Directed By: Yuichiro Hayashi Release Date: 1999 Duration: 12 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.5/10) We find powerless people and strong magicians alike in the abandoned and unhospitable district of Hole. Kaiman is a tall, brooding figure with the head of a crocodile. But he wasn't born that way. And he's looking for the guy who took his body, his memories, and, ultimately, his identity. When this top action romance anime begins, "En", a leading mafia magician, hears a Lizardman murdering his people and sends out the indifferent Shin and his partner, the bubbly (and too muscular) Noi, into the Hole to take care of Caiman, triggering a messy conflict between the two worlds. Although the initial premise would otherwise suggest that the moral world of Dorohedoro is far from black and white, sorcerers' society appears to be one with its internal conflicts and oppressive machines. 21- Gintama

Directed By: Shinji Takamatsu Release Date: April 4, 2006 Duration: 367 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.6/10) Hundreds of "Gintama" episodes cover many genres. I loved it from the very beginning, but some suggest you must get to the first serious arc to appreciate the value of "Gintama's" setting and characters. "Gintoki" is a samurai who helps people with jobs here and there in Feudal Japan after an alien invasion. Comedy's an anime's hard nut to crack. The funniest series there relies on Japanese phrases that do not translate. "Gintama" is on the thin side, and witches might lose in Western audiences. The Comedy action romance anime is still legally funny, so the award of best comedy anime is taken. Part of this is from jokes that land amid the language barrier. 20- The Tower of God

Directed By: Takashi Sano Release Date: June 30, 2010 Duration: 13 Episodes Rating: IMDb (7.9/10) The Tower of God recently completed is the first action romance anime webtoon! I'm pleased that I Choose a good one. The anime enhanced over the webtoon in every possible way, with the distinct and raw art style and an epic weight for every conflict. This electronic orchestral soundtrack. 25th Bam was a boy who knew only a dark cavern, a filthy cloth, and an inaccessible light all his life. Then the whole of his life changed when a young girl named Rachel came into him by morning. He learned from her some things about the outside world by being close friends with Rachel. Begins "Bam's" journey, a young boy who wasn't selected from the Tower but had his doors opened. They call its kind of "Irregulars" being that each time they put a foot in, it has shaken the very base of the Tower. 19- Akira

Directed By: Katsuhiro Otomo Release Date: July 16, 1988 Duration: 2h 6m Rating: IMDb (8/10) Akira is a classic all-time Anime. Gang wars, psychokinetic conspiracies, and a government effort are situated around Neo-scenery, Tokyo's, which could ruin the city and kill most of the inhabitants. The tale is dense, so let us concentrate on the action. Akira is not just a action anime, and not just great animation, although both are great. It's a beautiful film; it stops absolutely. There is a lot of top action romance anime list, and every year more come out. Akira remains a high watermark. It is a great film, a cool story, and a beautiful, action-packed animation with tremendous attention to detail. 18- Parasyte

Directed By: Bong Joon-ho Release Date: May 30, 2019 Duration: 2h 12m Rating: IMDb (8.5/10) But not his side, now hosting a personality. Oh, his eyes and the mouth. Okay, that's terrible, but you can still change. The horror of the body was never so freely directed into motion. This best action anime will concentrate on Izumi Shinichi, a 17-year-old who lives in Tokyo with his family. One night, an alien Parasyte that looks like a worm enters his body, burrowing on to his arm, which is named Migi. It leads to an unusual connection between the two. 17- Land of the Lustrous

Directed By: Takahiko Kyogoku Release Date: October 7, 2017 Duration: 12 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.4/10) It's beautiful to watch, featuring many pleasant and well-defined people who each need a demon in an eternal war with the Lunar people who are mobilizing their bodies to harvest their beauty. Some of the settings will leave your jaw between your knees, waiting for the next episode to be clicked. Crystalline creatures called Gems in the unknown future occupy a planet devastated by six meteors. Each Ornament is assigned a role to combat the Lunar people, a species that attacks them to break down their bases and utilize them as decorations. It's dynamic, brilliant and has some of the most pleasant films in best action romance anime TV history. 16- One Punch Man

Directed By: Shingo Natsume Release Date: December 4, 2015 Duration: 12 episodes and 5 special episodes Rating: IMDb (8.8/10) The author of the original webcomics hit it with his first idea, uh, punched it out of the park. Get this all right? Just imagine a standard shounen or even super heroic comic. Although the action anime genre is still spoofing, One Punch Man ventures in a different direction and asks the fundamental question: What if a superhero were so powerful that he could punch all of his enemies? The top action anime series begins with a regular guy called Saitama, who chooses a nonsensical training scheme to become a superhero. He overdoes it, becomes so dominant that his opponents are not in trouble, and as a result, he becomes bored (and bald). This, however, is a cool, funny and good action anime series of bonkers with lots of action - Saitama must take things seriously every once and for a while. 15- Sword of the Stranger

Directed By: Masahiro Andô Release Date: September 29, 2007 Duration: 1h 43m Rating: IMDb (7.8/10) As part of their unprecedented ability and straightforward aim, Sword of the Stranger may very well be the most thoroughly performed entry in the best action anime of all time genre. Young orphan Kotaro and his heroic dog Tobimaru encounter an unnamed swordsman whose adventures need little clarification. It seems to Sword of the Stranger, a great option to start this rundown, precisely because it is the high-octane action with some good action anime choreographed parts that keep you attached to your seat during the film. She would not mislead her narrative characters, incredible sequences of action, stunning art styles, and only the fraternal love between two main characters has a progressing past. If you love the setting of history, that's another justification to give the Stranger's Sword a chance.. 14- Hellsing Ultimate

Directed By: Geneon Release Date: February 10, 2006 Duration: 10 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.6/10) Hellsing Ultimate incorporates anything from the Hellsing original and lifts it to the extreme. A little less than an hour, ten episodes tell you a macabre and witty tale of vampirism and survival. Very legendary, fabulous, unique, and one of the most sensitive artworks. A lot of vampire amines will occur. The varied best action anime output was understandable, as it had been subject to various animation studios. The animations from Gory were adequate to make you feel disgusted and distressed. The source was faithful, but the production of timing and plot was too quick and choppy for non-manga readers, making plot twists and character development trivial and impressionable. 13- Evangelion

Directed By: Geneon Release Date: November 17, 2012 Duration: 26 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.6/10) Gurren Lagann brings things in a genre known for excess to another stage with a good action anime breeze, a node, and a screamed alarm. A mecha with sunglasses could turn off visitors who aren't in the giant robot-anime genre. However, what seems to be an embarrassing mess works much better than it does. Crochet, line, plunger, the high-energy opening sequence, and the first episode lead you through some well-designed scenes that are strange but brilliant and amusing best action romance anime for the same time. When each character is introduced, we learn more about the brain, nerve, and soul organizations and why they have been developed. 12- Katanagatari

Directed By: Hideo Katsumata with Others. Release Date: January 25, 2010 Duration: 12 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.4/10) In his quest for 12 special blades, Katanagatari is the story of strategist and Martial Artist Shichika. It is also the tale of shifting times when the swords' age was forced to end with the rash of firearms in Japan's Edo-era. The core partnership is just as intense as the realization of its key subjects, which ensures that the bread and butter of this series will keep you in some way amused as you chatter interminably. This isn't to say that this top action romance anime are not entertaining. Still, it is more aimed at fans who might be considering pivoting towards more dialog-heavy anime and, at the same time, retaining a substantial side dish of action. 11- Kill la Kill

Directed By: Hiroyuki Imaishi Release Date: October 3, 2013 Duration: 27 Episodes Rating: IMDb (7.9/10) Revenge is the game story in "Kill la Kill," starting from a basic plot but becoming more complicated and more in-depth, rather than just an anime full of best action anime and beautiful combat scenes than appears in each chapter. Ryuuko Matoi roamed the country in search of his killer after the assassination of her dad. At the renowned Honnouji Academy, she is at high school, unlike any other, with just her lead-the absent half of his innovation, Scissor Blade. The Academy, along with its influential subsidiary elite four, is ruled by the formidable and cold-hearted student council chairman Satsuki Kiryuin. Satsuki offers those in the highest unique clothing called "Goku's Uniforms," which offer the wearer extraordinary superhuman powers in the school's brutally competitive hierarchy. The hits are still entertaining with their characters and the storyline. This is a roller coaster; you will understand when you watch this anime. 10- Devilman: Crybaby

Directed By: Masaaki Yuasa Release Date: January 5, 2018 Duration: 10 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.1/10) This is numbered as the top 10 action anime of the year, and it sounds incredible to modernize a classic anime, and it demonstrates that it can be significant. The 1972 and 1987 originals are little-known but decent classics. I recommend that you watch the sub or read the manga. Although it's all packed, blood, blah blah blah drugs, it's also emotionally full. It's about who the real demons are with a deep and dark psychological subject. Monsters killing people or people killing people. The fight between Fudo and these malformations is incredible. Although it's full of feelings, tears in your eyes sometimes don't like Naruto, One Piece, and Koe no katachi. 9- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Directed By: Naokatsu Tsuda Yasuhiro Kimura Release Date: January 1, 1987 Duration: 42 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.7/10) The events of the Joestars, which now take several decades, families, and even timelines, can practically not be summed up. This romance action anime has already seen several bizarre adventures from slaying vampires to defend a small town – and a lot to come! The charming old-school beginning; the following with maybe the most charismatic protagonist; a curious tour with an even better-known Villain, and even a small one clashes with the most inspired path to date. Every season has its attractions. But as the environments, skills, and tones change, two aspects remain the same the unforgettable positions of Hirohiko Araki and the fact that JoJo's battles quickly turn out to be a strategic game. 8- Mob Psycho 100

Directed By: Yuzuru Tachikawa Release Date: July 12, 2016 Duration: 25 Episodes Rating: IMDb (8.5/10) Read the full article

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renaroo · 7 years ago

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Promises (10/30)

Disclaimer: Batman and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics. Warnings: One Year Later/Evil Cass allusions Rating: T Synopsis: For an entire year after the Crisis which threatened to wipe everything they knew and loved off the Earth, after so many hardships and loved ones lost, Cass and Tim find themselves battling on different sides of the globe not only for the fate of what’s left of the world, but for the sake of once again feeling purpose. [A One Year Later fixer upper]

A/N: Thiiiiisssssss was an emotional chapter to write, not going to lie. I have a lot of Feelings about the Infinite Crisis/52 era and what things happened there. Obviously. I’m writing this fic. But this one’s where we’re finally getting to the... well, super painful stuff on Cass’ end. My poor darling.

Special thanks to @mitchthebat, @secretlystephaniebrown, @chimerakitten, Osamatsu, and kiyomisa on tumblr, ffnet, and AO3 for the feedback and support!

A Detective’s Currency

“Lacerations found on victims showed identical stroke patterns. Blade is believed to be a dual edged weapon, not a carving knife or other appliance. Exact centimeters of length of chest laceration over the sternum from Victim One to Victim Six include: thirty-five centimeters, thirty-four and a half centimeters, thirty-four and a quarter centimeters, thirty-five and—“

Cassandra sat, perched like a bird on the edge of the computer seat. She was looking at the main monitor of the Batcomputer with some amount of apprehension, her brain mulling over the facts being read to her from the scanned police files over and over again.

She was still in her suit, cape draped over her, elbows firm on her knees. But she’d pulled her mask off some time ago. The sweat on her brow was getting to her and it was easier to hear the computer without the distraction of her cowl.

But it was still a monotoned computer droning over very flat, though detailed, notes on the cases which the Commissioner had asked her to look over. There was no difference in tone, no hesitation before particularly dire details for Cassandra to clue in on.

Just the words. And the words were both descriptive and terrifyingly brief for someone whose relationship with words was still strained at best.

To try and concentrate even more on what she was hearing, Cassandra closed her eyes and leaned toward the speakers, forcing herself to only listen to the computer.

It wasn’t helping.

“My word,” Alfred declared as he walked down the steps from the Manor. “These crimes seem positively gruesome.”

Eyes snapping open, Cassandra glanced over in Alfred’s direction and she tilted her head at him curiously. He hadn’t even heard most of the details that she had but his ashen face seemed to tell he had more of an intimate reaction to the cold facts than Cassandra had had yet. Her frustration, as a result, only mounted.

“Have to solve it,” Cassandra explained determinedly before looking back to the screen and waiting for the words to escape the speakers.

Quietly, Alfred set down a tray of food on the console to Cassandra’s right — it smelled like a wonderful soup, some oyster crackers, and an orange juice. Smells that weren’t strong enough that Cassandra could immediately identify them, of course. But when her brain was desperate for anything else to occupy its time with other than translating words into visuals, it suddenly became all she could think about.

“Gah!” Cassandra cried out angrily, grabbing at her hair and squeezing her eyes shut. “Why’s… it so hard!?”

“I fear that, for whatever faults in corruption it once had, the Gotham City Police Department still has capable detectives and officers in its ranks,” Alfred offered, patting Cass’ shoulder tenderly. “Whenever they have asked for Master Bruce’s help or the help of the others, it has been only in the most dire of circumstances. Or with foes whose tactics are frightfully familiar and require their… unique attentions.”

With a whine from the back of her throat, Cass buried her face further into her hands. “I just want that one,” Cass groaned. “I just want them to say it’s Killer Moth. Then let me punch.”

“That does sound as though it would have some appeal toward you,” Alfred replied crisply. “But I am afraid this case looks to be quite the former. A dangerous and unknown culprit with nails ensnared in the city. Difficult. Very difficult.”

Cass looked back up to the words printed out over the screen, her frown only growing as she watched the letters and numbers bleed into each other. “I need to see… If I’d been there… at crime scenes. Seen bodies. I could read them. I could tell what happened. That’s… That’s my detective work.”

“Which Miss Barbara says you more than excel at,” Alfred continued reassuringly. “But hopefully your wit and skill will prevent the necessity of finding a crime scene which is fresh on this case. Instead, you will stop the perpetrator by learning from what you read here and save even more lives—“

Immediately enraged, blood boiling like the green pools that had once overtook her veins, Cassandra got to her feet, kicking the chair out behind her and slamming her palms against the surface of the computer console hard enough to dent its hardy metal. “I CAN’T!” she roared viciously. “I’m stupid! I’m dumb! I can’t learn — words… words aren’t real. They aren’t things! They don’t mean anything to me!”

As quickly as the flash of anger had come, Cassandra felt it begin to wane, her eyes losing a heated glaze and leaving her instead to look at a stunned Alfred whose brows were high and lips pursed in silence.

Heavily breathing, Cassandra looked down to the damage she had caused, then back up to the computer screen where the mess of words and the dullness of their arrangement brought tears to her eyes all over again. “I can’t be a detective,” she admitted, biting her lip. “I’m not… I’m not smart. Everyone is smart. But not me. Not… Not me…”

“Oh, child,” Alfred’s soothing voice called. Cassandra looked up to him and he gently held her chin with one hand as the other gently wiped the streaks of tears from her cheeks. “You are the furthest person I have ever met from stupid or dumb, and I almost would shame you for even using such terrible terms against yourself. You are far too smart and beautiful and promising to feel such heartache.”

“I’m not good… at this,” Cass argued through her sniffs, hands waving to the screen. “They… They want me to learn. But I can’t. Words aren’t real.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Alfred asked. “You cannot form a story in your head from hearing them out loud?”

For some reason, Cassandra’s memory drifted to Dick and stories of Cinderella. The story that had no meaning until he acted it out for her, gleefully and with great expressiveness. “Sometimes…” Cass admitted. “But not like this. Not… without help.”

“Well, then, help has arrived,” Alfred offered.

Cass was less than thrilled at the proposition. “Batman doesn’t need help.”

To that, Alfred looked genuinely offended. “Well then, young lady, I would dare you to explain how — if the Batman needs no help — the rest of us all fit into this grand picture of his?”

At first Cassandra opened her mouth to protest, but she wasn’t sure how she could.

Fortunately, Alfred’s snark was somewhat contagious.

“Right now?” Cass clarified. “So he can… go on vacation.”

Alfred stood still, looking at her levelly, but his mustache took on a certain amused twist at the notion. One that was enough to inspire Cassandra’s own broad smile.

The butler then opened his arms to her. “My dear Miss Cassandra, I do believe that all of this hard work and intensive thought you have put forward on the family’s behalf is most deserving of a hug. Don’t you?”

Tearing up again despite herself, Cassandra stepped forward and tightly hugged Alfred as he returned the same. She sniffed and buried her face closer against his chest.

“Do not forget, Cassandra,” Alfred said down to her gently. “I am also here, to provide you as much help as you need. We all are. For we all have our strengths and our weaknesses. Don’t you believe?”

“Yes,” Cassandra agreed. She then looked back to the computer screen. “Been listening for a while… still not getting the… the bruises.”

“They’re fairly gruesome attacks,” Alfred noted. “Wouldn’t you believe bruises would be a natural sign of defense.”

Releasing herself from Alfred’s hug, Cassandra looked back to the screen and shook her head, though hesitantly. “Don’t… know. Need to see bruising. Then I can tell… but… cuts are on chests…. also bruises across chest. Why all that? You don’t defend with chest against… knives.” She pursed her lips and remembered the description of the blade. “Not daggers.”

“You believe it’s a dagger?” Alfred asked curiously. “Using a dagger to make a superficial wound on—“ He paused, eyes widening. “Chubala.”

Cassandra looked back at him, eyebrow raised. “Chu…ball…uh?” she repeated.

“One of the master’s first cases, from so many years ago. Not even Master Richard or Miss Barbara were around to help in those days. It was only the two of us and…” Alfred put a thoughtful hand to his chin. “You wouldn’t know of the connection, how could you? Those files are ancient, so old and disconnected from most of the cases solved since that I would be doubtful if even Master Timothy read into them.”

“Alfred?” Cass questioned, not following hardly at all.

Alfred then looked seriously to Cassandra. “Those bruises… they could be from other hands holding the victim down. The cut is sacrificial — part of a ritual. Master Bruce solved a case, many many years ago, which involved a growing cult in Gotham’s elite circles surrounding a mystical and devilish figure called Chubala. He solved it and stopped the practices, but its roots were deep within societal elites. There has always been a darkness capable of roosting in its place ever since. Especially when so few of the cult members other than the heads themselves were properly prosecuted.”

“It’s connected now?” Cass asked, almost hopefully.

“Unfortunately the similarities are stark, even to me after all these years,” Alfred conceded.

Not wasting another moment, Cassandra pulled down her mask over her face. She paused then leaned over to press a kiss through the mask’s fabric to Alfred’s cheek. “Thank you,” she said sincerely.

Then, before Alfred could get another word in, Batgirl raced to the platform where he bike was waiting and she quickly jumped onto it to race back to Gotham.

“Chubala.”

The word has escaped her lips nearly fifty times on the drive between the Batcave and Gotham Central. She uttered in under her breath two or three times more as she ascended to the familiar window to Jim Gordon’s office and slipped in without further invitation.

When he entered his office and closed his door, oblivious to the way she waited for him in the shadows, Cassandra said it one last time, boldly and clearly.

“Chubala.”

Gordon fumbled with his keys for a moment, looking to the shadows with surprise. He obviously was not expecting her — at least not her her. Maybe more of a him’s voice. But Cass was seemingly just full of surprises that night.

“What is that?” he asked after the shock wore off.

“Chubala. The cult,” Cass clarified, heart pounding a bit in her chest. She really hadn’t allowed Alfred to get much further in his explanation and she should have. But judging by the expression on Gordon’s face, he knew what she was talking about.

“That case is from… well almost twenty years ago now,” he revealed, eyes wide behind his glasses. “You really think that it has something to do with the current murders? I don’t even know if you’re old enough to know about the murders yourself.”

Regaining the confidence of Batgirl, Cassandra tilted her head. “Read records.”

“I suppose so,” Gordon continued, putting a hand to his chin as he walked across the room and turned his attention to his desk, fanning out the papers that were there and almost humming to himself over the casework. “I remember when that happened. He— The Batman hadn’t been around for that long. Horrible stuff. Didn’t end well for most people involved. But also didn’t go much our way either. Most of the people in that society were more concerned about the impact of their reputations to their stocks than they were about ever getting legally implicated.” He looked back to Cass with a furrowed brow. “Gotham was a much different place at the time. I wasn’t even commissioner yet. The city had… problems at the top. Believe it or not, crazy colored goons and all, from an enforcement perspective it’s better than it once was.”

Though she knew it would not pass through the cloth of her mask, Cassandra softened her expression. “Thanks to… you, Commissioner.”

��Only in part, if I even deserve that much,” Jim replied. “I’ll pull the old records and get my men on that direction… The previous detective on it… Yeah. Dammit. It was Bullock. Well, I was hoping to find a reason to get to him anyway.”

Feeling that her part was done, Cassandra began to sink back in the shadows, but almost as if he had a sixth sense toward the motion at that point, the Commissioner’s head snapped back up.

“That’s good work. An angle we weren’t going to be looking at for sure,” Gordon answered. “That’s a hell of a lead, thanks to you.”

Thinking back to Alfred, Cassandra reserved her bodily flinch. “Only… part,” she assured him.

“I knew we gave you quite a load last time so I didn’t light the signal yet — at least, I hadn’t gotten around to it,” Jim explained, pulling a pen from his pocket and grabbing a sticky note from his desk. “Turns out, we found another murder that fits the profile. Woman. Mid-twenties Same marks. Same general location. I just got back from sending a few people out so if you hurry you might get there before they do and… well, I know Batman likes to be early and catch things before we leave the crime scene. Maybe your fresh eyes could use the jump on this, too.”

Heart rate increasing, Cass bit her lip and looked at the sticky note as Gordon wrote out the address. She recognized a few letters but then the scribble was as foreign to her as any other written word. Her throat grew tight and painful. “Time,” she blurted out.

That made Jim stop and look up at her over the rim of his glasses. “Hm?”

“Need to… get there. You can just… tell me address,” Cassandra tried, hiding the shakiness in her voice by going as deep as she could, almost gravely.

“Are you… alright?” Jim asked, clearly confused.

“Wonderful,” Cass coughed. “Address?”

“Central Heights,” Jim answered, slowly lowering the sticky note and his pen. “Kane Street. Old condemned apartment building — thirty-fourth on Kane. Do you know where that is?”

“Already there,” Batgirl answered, heading out the window as quickly as she could manage. She had no idea what the Commissioner would make of her behavior or of anything, really, but she was almost too relieved to have avoided the situation of finding out all the same.

She focused instead on his thanks and his trust in her.

Then, slowly, as she got to her motorcycle and began to drive toward Central Heights, it hit Cassandra like a ton of bricks.

Another person was dead. Another life was lost. On her watch. In her city. Because she wasn’t figuring things out quickly enough.

For a moment, she almost got ill, but the second the wave of nausea passed, Cass took a breath and reminded herself of two important things: she would stop these murders because she was a detective, and also Bruce would not have left the city to her care and to her skills if he did not have faith in them both.

And with those cold comforts, Cassandra took off, heart heavy and brain pounding.

Lives were on the line.

Despite a break, the blow still felt devastating to Cassandra when she reached the building the Commissioner had given her long before the detectives.

She pushed through the emotion of the very thought of a life being lost due to her ineptitude and determinedly kept to the shadows, parking far enough away she was not seen by the officers already on scene. Then she used the building next to the condemned apartment, crossing its roof, and then carefully leaped down to the building’s rickety fire escape.

The crime scene was already cordoned off, which was good for Cassandra as it was easy to identify and also meant that there were no officers around until the detectives were there to call the room.

It gave Cassandra the moment to slip in and do what only she — as a detective — could do.

The broken glass of the window was scattered on the floor just beneath the window sill and not scattering too much further. The intruder — or intruders — had broken the window from the outside, but had also done so at a speed and angle that indicated they had used the roof across the alley just as she had.

But that left Batgirl — and by extension, the GCPD — the question of how someone could break through a window in that way and not land hard enough to make an impression in the floor’s carpet or to crush the glass.

It was an anomaly that Cassandra would not have been able to maneuver herself, and she had been trained for such things from literal birth. That meant there was a possibility that the attacker had never touched the ground at all despite leaping through the window.

That left the possibility of someone flying, or at least hovering. Which made the case infinitely more difficult by Cassandra’s estimations.

Once more dwarfed by the enormity of the situation at hand, Cassandra reached to her forehead and took a deep breath. She was doing it. She was proving herself. She just needed to keep going.

Further into the room, the body was laid out over a few milk crates, arms crossed over her head, feet crossed at the ankles.

When Cassandra examined closer, pulling out her pen light, she could see the patterns of rope in the skin. She had been tied, for sure. Tightly and without a way to escape.

Which brought the question of why anyone would go through the trouble of untying her and taking the ropes with them. Most murderers, cultists or not, would find rope disposable.

Cass brought a hand to her chin and thought on the detail. Something might have been special about the rope, then. Something might have been related to the rituals.

But what rope could be that special?

The cuts were the same as the ones before, over the sternum, single blade that was dual edged. Ritualistic. Barbaric.

For a moment, Cassandra found herself not investigating with her limited time, but just looking into the poor woman’s eyes. They were glossy and rolled back, bulged with terror but frozen without life or feeling. They were the kind of eyes that would have been beautiful while alive — dark, endless pools to emote through. Cassandra’s stomach twisted at the painful thought that it was a life that was gone before she could personally have ever known her.

And that was sad.

By instinct, Cassandra began to move her hand toward the woman’s face, to close her eyes out of respect, when she heard the rumbling, dry voice of a man.

“Don’t. The police detectives need their turn.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Cassandra leaped over the crime scene, barreled through the apartment door and tackled the man who had been watching her at the waist. He must have been there before her in order to have not been noticed, but that also meant he had been hiding in the shadows from the other police officers on the scene in order to have seen her.

There was a very short list of people who would be in the room still after the police came to a clime scene.

The man was frightfully strong. Though he was taken down by the tackle and didn’t seem to have a particular fighting style to go off of, he was quick to rely on muscle memory for a swinging punch back in Cassandra’s direction.

When the man jabbed with his right fist it was tight and controlled, carrying the momentum all the way through. When he threw his right fist, it was quick to withdraw and go for a second punch she also evaded. His footwork changed, being quick and swaying.

Batgirl didn’t have to think for too long about who it was she was fighting.

Without another moment’s hesitation, she grabbed the bolas from her utility belt and in a blink of an eye threw both — wrapping around the man’s torso and ankles. He let out a grunt before falling.

Cassandra stood over him, eyes narrowed. “Two-Face.”

“Not anymore,” he grunted in return, struggling against the ropes. The normal face looked back at her from beneath a toboggan cap. “Just Harvey Dent now. Now let me go.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“Because I’ve not done anything wrong,” he argued.

“No. Why here?” she demanded.

“Because I heard about the murder from the police scanner he gave me so I came to work the case before they got here and the evidence was away from me for good,” he answered.

Confused, Cassandra tilted back away from him. He wasn’t lying… “Who gave you it?”

“Batman,” he answered. “When he told me I had to protect the city. You can ask him yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“You?” Cass asked, heart thumping in her chest. “You… He left you the city… to…”

Police were racing up the stairs and Cassandra’s opportunity to further examine the crime scene was gone. But she wouldn’t have been able to do more even if they hadn’t been barging in. With a few quick steps past Harvey Dent, Cassandra was out the window of the adjacent room and grappling to the rooftop of the nearby building.

Unlike her beauty and grace before, however, she wobbled carelessly and once she was at the top of the roof, she slammed into the cement hard, rolling over the tarmac top until her momentum gave way and she stopped on her stomach, face buried into the surface as she tried her hardest to sob, to scream, but only came out with dry heaves so painful her lungs felt like they were going to swell and burst.

He didn’t leave her the city.

He just left.

They all just left. And she had nothing. She wasn’t even a detective without help.

Her heaving continued, her whole body shuddering with them, as the large feathers and plumes on the surface of the building blew around her in the wind.

#writing #batfic #Batfic: Promises #Cassandra Cain #Alfred Pennyworth #Jim Gordon

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the-kool-kyle · 6 years ago

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Alita Battle Angel Review

Alita Battle Angel to put it simply is a visually stunning, well acted, entertaining and fun to watch action that doesn’t have much going on with it's plot and characters. While it is Robert Rodriguez's best movie in recent years and has some of the most impressive CGI this side of Avatar and action that will keep you entertained the other half of the film falls flat due to it's poor screenplay, lack in character development and a plot that was just all over the place. However to some people this movie is considered a great live adaptation of the manga but to others a typical CGI fuelled action movie that they will immediately forget about as soon as their home from the theatre.

This movie is based off a cyberpunk styled japanese Manga series of the same name that takes place in a devastated earth after a great war set in the 25th century where humans cyborg humanoids struggle to survive in their poverty stricken world known as “Iron City” while trying to reach the wealthy city that lives above them known as “Zalem”. The film and Manga both follow the story of a martial arts Cyborg heroine known as “Alita” and her many other friends as well as enemies that well get to later in the review.

Now unfortunately this film's story is probably one of it's weakest points. While for most people it's par the course for them to the fans of the manga it felt like a poor structured plot that doesn't quite live up to it's source material. Primarily because it story covers the first 4 issues of the manga it failed to fit all of the critical plot points in and left out many critical moments of character development and world building. It seems this movie feel victim to the similar problem that “The Last Airbender” suffered from and by that I mean it crammed in so much plot into a roughly 2 hour movie that it failed to make room or even focus on the point of the movie. Plus it was really desperate to get to next epic fight scene and over the top action sequence that it felt rushed at times. So while ABA's source material was rich and interesting this movie's plot wasn't.

Now the main reason this film wasn't a total disaster is because of it's action! The fights and action sequences are without doubt some of the best I've seen in recent years it's fast, well shot even in the slow motion matrix styled shots and completely over the top. It really does a great job in capturing the martial arts styled fighting with Alita and the crazy oversized weapons and hidden gadget attacks the other cyborgs use through the movie. It is just a lot of fun to see the characters go toe to toe with each other and can be watch over and over and still looks amazing. So if all you care about in your movies is action then you won't be disappointed.

This movie has probably one of the most beautifully designed and well detailed worlds in the last decade it's just another one of those movies that looks amazing and needs to be seen at the cinema to be experienced at it's full potential. It's CGI, motion capture, set pieces and visuals are all oscar worthy. The many characters, robots, cyborgs and humans look really cool with their Japanese cyberpunk style appearances especially Alita herself. But I have to be honest in some of the scenes some the cyborgs with humans faces looked a little fake at times which is understandable since it can be a challenge since this whole movie is about badass looking cyborgs. So while they don't always look amazing it's something that won't bother most of us since they mainly in the fast paced action scenes. The city of “Iron City” looks exactly like what it is like in the comics with it's japanese styled buildings with a bit of futuristic touch to fit in with the time it's in. So this movie has visuals and CGI that could win an award.

The film's main character “Alita” is a powerful, strong, warm and emotional character that is brought to life brilliantly well by her actress Rosa Salazar who is just phenomenal. She is instantly steals the show with her heroism, bravery and humanity but sadly since this film cut out major plot points from the manga it feels like she could have become the more powerful and inspiring character she was in the source material. One thing a feel I should mention is....Alita's big bulging eyes. While they aren't as bad as Henry Cavil's mouth from Justice League they are as equally distracting. But I guess that's the whole point since their meant to look like a japanese anime character. But none the less...very distracting.

The movie's other characters felt a little wasted and underused. Especially Alita's adoptive father Dr Dyson Ido played by oscar winner Christoph Waltz this actor's talents felt like a missed opportunity to build a strong father daughter relationship with Alita and he felt more like the boring rule explainer guy. The movie's villains (like many villains these days) were pretty boring and dull compared to the other characters in this movie and were ultimately more forgettable than the villains from a few other comic book movies.

So in conclusion Alita Battle Angel wasted it's supporting actors, had a plot that felt less like a well structured story and more like a loud dumb action blockbuster that doesn't full respect it's source material and characters. But has action, visuals and a perfect leading actress that kept it from being a total disaster plus it tried and succeed in doing something new with movies these days. But I have to be honest it's really desperate to set up a sequel and I never had high expectations for this movie since it was first announced.

Final Verdict 7/10

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seventeenbiscuits · 8 years ago

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Friendly(?) Banter (Minghao Imagine)

Word Count: 1909 omg no how

Genre: FLUUFFFFF

A/N: slipped into the “my bias wrecker is minghao” phase bc of this damn fic

“Oi Minghao, get out of my way.”

“Maybe you just need to slim down, Y/N.”

You summon the most pissed off look you can muster, and shove your most favourite person in this world to the side before storming to the back of the bus.

He doesn’t thud satisfyingly to the ground, to your dismay, and instead catches himself and aims a low kick at your heels.

“Are you a little dog, Minghao? Is that why you need to nip my heels?” you retort, pushing your bag onto a seat and pulling out your earphones to block the irritating boy out. Unfortunately, the cord is tangled with almost everything in your backpack: your hair ties, strips of paper, pieces of your soul, the body of your latest murder victim…

You grin. Just kidding, you reassure yourself.

As you feel like you’ve finally untangled the earphones, someone plunks down next to you and tugs at your hair.

Rolling your eyes, you don’t even need to turn your head to know who it is.

“Get away from me, idiot,” you hiss, messing up his perfectly styled hair and shuffling as far away as you can get from him.

He mimics your voice, pulling a stupid face as he does, and you’re ready to punch him so hard that he’ll fly out of the bus, over to the moon and land on a crater and stay there forever.

You stuff your earphones into your ear and crank up your music as high as you dare. Minghao’s lips are moving with a smirk on his face, but you’ve got no idea what he’s saying. It’s music to your ears.

“Good morning, old man,” you grin with a quick ruffle of MInghao’s hair. “I see you still haven’t stopped dying your hair, or is that just your natural grey hair showing?”

He pokes his tongue out at you. You do the same.

“If I’m old, then what are you,, Y/N?” he retorts with a cheeky smile as he tags on the bus. “Ancient? Where can I find your fossil?”

With a grumpy sigh, you wait for him to find a seat before you pick one far, far away from him.

Tugging out your earphones like you do every day, it's a wonder how they don’t yank out all your possessions as you pull them out of your pocket. You plug them and put your music on shuffle. The bus starts, and you stare out of the window at the passing trees and cars.

A loud thud catches your attention. Minghao’s bag is on the floor, and he’s desperately trying to reach it but it just keeps sliding further down the bus. He looks so comical, arms and legs outstretched, trying to conserve his pride while his backpack just runs away from him. You giggle, and feel just a little bit sorry for him when you see how embarrassed he is.

As the bus continues on it’s journey, more and more people begin to fill up the bus. At this stop, an elderly couple and a couple school kids board the bus. You frown intently at the rowdy group of kids as they shove and push each other on the bus. Thankfully, they move to the back of the bus, leaving space for other people to stand.

Your eyes flit to Minghao, who’s offering his seat to the elderly couple. “Would you like to sit here?” he offers with a charming smile. He pushes his newly dyed, soft and silky lilac hair back and gets up in one fluid motion, standing to the side as the old man helps his wife into the seat. At his dashing smile and sweet act of compassion, your weak heart skips a beat.

“Thank you, young man,” the aged man says gratefully. Minghao dismisses it with a grin and a salute. He catches your gaze upon him and winks.

Your heart, beating painfully fast, starts palpating faster than Usain Bolt can run.

Whyyyy, you cry silently. Why is he just so damn attractive?

As Playboy by EXO graces your ears, you internally shriek at this unfair situation.

Ok, so in high school, he was always the one who got all the girls. Everyone wanted to date him, you groan. And now, he hasn’t changed one single bit!

Except maybe he got even more handsome, if that’s possible, you frown. And it’s like every time I want to tell him “You look nice”, instead I say something stupid like “Ew you look old”.

The automated voice on the bus announces with an almost sarcastic voice, “This stop, Botanical Gardens. Alight here for direct bus services to the National University of Performing Arts.”

Minghao, I’m expressing my undying love for you by bullying you, I hope you understand.

You get up with a sigh, brace yourself for the swarm of girls waiting at the bus stop for Minghao the playboy, and with a forced smile on your face, you dive right into your day headfirst. Today you have a packed schedule and rehearsals between classes, after classes, and a ton of choreography to learn, and you really don’t know what you’re doing.

By the time you get to the bus stop after your exhausting day, it’s dark out and the stars are winking back at you amongst the rich wine of the summer night. The moon is round and full, silver like Minghao’s hair. You let your mind wander to your rehearsal in the dance studio, watching him dance was so distracting. Every movement he did was so sharp and precisely executed with a passion and feel that you could never hope to achieve. All the little things about him made you swoon just a little, from his gorgeous hair to his flushed cheeks, pink lips and-

An electrocuting feeling races down your back and brings you back to reality as you sense someone’s presence behind you. They are wearing a long black hoodie and you can see the malicious glint in their eyes. Fear curls icy fingers around your neck, and dread writhes in your stomach. This person does not mean well.

They are tall, too tall to be anyone you know. Before you can sprint off or reach for your phone, a muscular arm wraps around your shoulders and a rough hand squeezes the sides of your face together. You choke on the combined stench of cheap cologne and cigarette smoke.

“It’s a little too late for outside to be someone like you…” purrs the man in your ear.

Despite the disastrous situation you’re in, you can’t help but laugh at the stupid attacker’s mixup with his words.

“I think you should practice your cliche “creepy harasser” lines before you go and prey on people,” you snigger, forcefully lifting his arm off your shoulders and removing his hand from your face. You pat the stunned man on his back, and slap a 5 dollar note on his hand.

“Go buy yourself a better life,” you beam innocently, before lifting your knee to land a hit where it hurts the most on him.

He crumples pathetically on the floor, and you feel just a tiny bit bad, but he really should’ve thought things out before he went and put his arms around you.

“Y/N!”

The sound of running feet attracts your attention, and as you turn, two hands grip the sides of your shoulders.

You instinctively grab the wrists of the person who just grabbed you, and you twist them, your nerves tighter than your skinny jeans after eating a whole bowl of mashed potatoes.

With a shock, you realise that you’re twisting the wrists of a very pained Xu Minghao.

“Please let go of my wrists,” he croaks, face contorted in pain.

You let him go with a startled and genuinely worried “I’m so sorry” and as soon as you do, he resumes his previous action before you interrupted by bending his wrists.

He grips the sides of your shoulders and with concern embedded in the warm orbs of his brown eyes, he examines your face, tilting you this way and that.

“Are you alright? I saw that guy grab you, so I ran as fast as I could!”

You grin. “I’m fine, but you run really slow…”

He drops his arms and puts them on his waist. “Hey, I stopped because I saw you knee him,” he protests, pushing his hand through his hair.

Oh no, you think. Not the hair, not again…

Your heart takes off again, and you can just imagine tangling your hands in his hair, tugging on it for fun, holding his hand…

“Holding his hand??” you accidentally blurt out loud.

Minghao grunts in confusion. “Holding who’s hand?” he asks, and all traces off tough boy Minghao have disappeared, his head cocked to the side like a little puppy dog. If you concentrate hard enough, you could see something glint in his brown eyes, something that feels a lot like jealousy…

“Y/N?” he calls, waving his hand in front of your eyes.

Uh oh.

“Um… um… holding… your… hand?” you try, your racing heart speaking instead of your brain, which is panicking because for the love of everything in this world, he looks so innocent and adorable and you just cannot.

When those words leave your mouth, you’re ready to just die. Your face is burning and you can feel your hands getting sweaty.

He smirks, and you remember why all the girls fell for him and his stupid heart fluttering moves in high school. With a deliberate motion, he plants both his hands firmly on the glass wall behind you, trapping you between his arms.

Uh oh.

His eyes crinkle with amused confidence, and he brings his face so close that just a little push would be enough for him to kiss you.

You panic just a little bit, and blink as fast as you can to maybe deter him from coming any closer.

Uh oh. You repeat mentally, and your brain suddenly floods with unadvisable courses of action. He’s going to kiss you, turn your head! Knee him! Throw your bag at him! Slap him! Tell him to leave! Nuke h-

In the time while you were internally carrying out your bad excuses for escape plans, he had leant forward and ever so gently brushed your lips with his.

Everything falls away. The beating of your heart and the rush of your blood hits a perfect ostinato, the bass line of his breathing and yours synchronise with the lilting melody of pure joy erupting in your heart and the notes of lightheadedness in your head. The symphony of utter happiness envelopes you, and everything feels so right, so flawless that you wonder how you lived without it.

Minghao pulls away from the kiss, eyes sparkling and a dopey grin on his face. You’re sure that your expression mirrors his, because he beams brighter than you thought was possible. He squeezes you into a tight hug and you bury your head into his chest, loving the feel of his arms around you. It feels safe.

“You don’t know how long I wanted to do that for.”

“Neither, you dork.”

Thanks for reading!

#svtnetwork #minghao #minghao imagine #seventeen #seventeen imagine #xu minghao

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