#and their team leader was begging them to keep it tied to give green a chance to fight at least until tomorrow

[zeb-z]

“bad and pierre were the heroes of today the server will never know how they sacrificed their reputation to save everyone 😞” yeah and they will never know either, what are you talking about. they made their decisions without having any of the information elquackity had - there were no heroes making a difficult decision to save who they could save. there was no honor in their actions today. bad assumed everyone would be using the same underhanded tactics he planned on using. pierre just wanted to win, survival his priority even if it meant the cost of the others. any so called “heroism” was entirely accidental.

[legallyspawned]

Miraculous/Justice League idea

So Hawkmoth has been around for years. Team Miraculous has found a way to store akumas without them multiplying if they sefeat it before LB is able to show up.

They have been trying to get help from the JL since their first year and have gotten laughed and not believed. The yeam knows they need help. They are just kids and can't do this forever. So Ladybug hatches a plan.

A few days later, the JL gets another message feom Paris, and whoever is on duty is about to just ignore it, but Batman or Wonder Woman are just like "What are you doing?" So they play it instead after informing whichever about the pranks.

They open the message to find a live feed of one of the worst akuma attacks they have ever faced. There is a young woman with blueish black hair and bluebell eyes ranting at them in French about how this is what they have to deal with because of the League ignoring them.

And then the akuma gets a lucky hit in on Ladybug, a blade to the gut, and the team looks on in horror as she gasps in pain and starts to bleed. They defeat the akuma and she cleanses it, but is too weak to perform the cure. She dies as her team begs her not to go, most heartfelt is a blonde boy with green eyes with a catsuit, who screams with his entire being as her breathing ceases.

"I hope your happy." The camera woman says. "Our only hope is dead. We are doomed. Tell us again how this is a prank."

The League is mortified, Wonder Woman is pissed. They immediately send a couple heroes to Paris to help. Thw citizens allow it, but give them the cild shoulder. They will give the heroes information, but glare the entire time. The second one of them try to make casual conversation, the citizsn turns and walks the other way.

The League meets Team Miraculous, and the green eyed blonde who had been wearing a cat suit (Chat Noir, they had learned he was called) was now in a suit reminiscent of the deceased hero, red with black spots, and was now calling himself Lord Bug.

One step behind him is a half-Chinese girl with a black suit, slitted cat-like blue eyes, and dark ankle-length hair tied in a tight braid. She called herself Jinx (either Reflekdoll didn't happen or she looks different enough to pass as someone else. I hated the name Lady Noir), and had a very nervous look about her, as if she wasn't sure how she wound up in her position.

If they thought the welcome they got from the citizens were cold, the heroes treated them Arctically cold. Except the shy cat who seemed awkward, but sincere in her wish to get along.

Eventually, after a few akuma attacks with the League's assistance, the team forgives most of the League, learning only one or two were at fault and they hadn't told the redt until that livestream. Then the find Hawkmoth. And the battle is won.

The heroes are going to retire, but they feel the need to tell Paris their story and reveal identities., with the League invited (mostly because, with Gabriel arrested for terrorism, many people are targetting Adrien. He almost went to the hospital after shattered glass was thrown at him).

The day it happens, all of Paris is almost crying when the heroes walk onto the stage with not Lord Bug and Jinx leading them, but Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The Team Miraculous tell all that they were tired of being brushed off. So they did livestreams to the Justice League. Max, Pegase, hacked their systems just enough to know if their message was actually being watched, and when finally it was, they used Rena Rouge to alter what they saw as the end of the battle. So instead of their being a healthy Ladybug that had succesfully dodged the fatal attack, everyone saw her die. And the person controlling the camera was a mirage of Marinette, so that she wouldn't have to go into hiding.

From that point on, Chat Noir stepped up to be the leader and Marinette pretended to be the shy beginner whenever outsiders were within range of sight and hearing. Behind closed doors, the entire Team knew who she was, so she resumed being their master strategist.

Some of the League want to be angry about being lied to, but they are shut down by the realization Wonder Woman brings them that if they hadn't been lied to, a young woman not even in her 20's would have died, because it would, in fact, have happened sooner or later.

And then the reveal happens. (Cue Lila being pissed to hell and back, preferrably from a jail cell). And Paris goes nuts. The team was popular enough already, but their civilian identities are just as well known. The classmates had stepped up as civilians to spread ways of keeping safe during attacks. They would lead fitness programs focusing on speed (to run away) and strength (in case someone was trapped). They held concerts and gatherings to help people lighten up. They snuck people out of bad situations before they reached their limit. They planted gardens around the city to make it more vibrant. And that was their personal time. They also were all famous professionally, from art and music to tech and sports, and everything in between, they are the best in the city. They made sure the city didn't just survive but lived.

And they are beloved. The city will celebrate them forever. The League offers them spots on the team if tbey want it in the future. But they say no for now. They have school to finish and careers to start. With Hawkmoth out of the way, they can live for once.

[kiwi-buns]

5 Emotions

🎲 100. “Kiss me” from Prompt List

🎲 Genre: Fluff 

🎲 Word Count: 3050 (un-revised)

🎲 Author’s note: Reposted! Sorry for deleting it so fast. I disliked it the moment it was posted LOL, but here it is again! I’ll follow the rules next time and just let a prompt be a prompt, even if it’s bad?? Otherwise, how else will I be able to overcome writer’s block without writing something crazy and then receiving feedback? So.. enjoy! This was honestly fun to write, and I’m thinking of turning it into a full story with better development between the emotions and OC and her crush! 

🎲 Inspiration: Inside Out! Go watch it!

“She made it through the entire date... She did it! She did it!” The only rainbow-colored emotion, Happiness, jumps up and down with his hands raised in the air. 

“No... We did it,” the green emotion interrupts, grabbing Happiness’ arm and lowering it back to his side. With a scowl, Happiness glares at Disgust, scrunching his bunny-shaped nose in annoyance. “Frankly, I don’t think she should have all the credit for our hard work. If not for us, she wouldn’t be able to come within 100 miles of him.”

Sadness bellows a sigh. "Disgust... You know, we emotions only have 50% control over her feelings... Right? Hope you had an idea, at least...”

Disgust twinges his thick brows and sneers. “I want to disagree —”

“But you can’t, because you said she’d think he was ugly and disgusting. And she fell head over heels for him!” Happiness chirps.

“Took me by surprise!” Surprise says, the orange emotion leaping from his chair. Surprise was not very fond of Baekhyun. The star football player is loved by all of the girls, even the popular ones. He can’t believe that Baekhyun had suddenly jumped from the most popular and hot girls on the cheer team, to you.

You’re just a regular girl. Sometimes shy, always sweet. But you don’t come close to the seemingly charismatic and popularity-hungry girls at your school. Maybe that’s what made Baekhyun like you.

Of course, you have no one but yourself to blame for your personality, because you aren’t aware of the emotions that run you, daily. You know you have emotions, but are these emotions you think of really the emotions that you are thinking of? Surely, the last thing that would come to mind is a bunch of colorful, male emoticons using an orb to process your feelings and reactions to things. If only you could’ve seen what they did when you found out you got your first period. That left an awful memory in at least half of the students’ and faculty members’ minds, and yours. And your emotions are all to blame, because they take 100% control when it’s that time of the month.

Which begs to question, why did Byun Baekhyun, the most handsome, charming, and heart-fluttering guy at your school who doesn’t seem to have one embarrassing moment in his life, want to date you? Does he want an embarrassing moment? Sadness came up with that inquisitive theory.

“Alright, alright, the show’s starting. Now, unless you nerds want me to take the steering wheel at the end of the date, then keep talking!” The red emotion, Anger, hovers his hand over a very, very important button. Anger is smirking softly, thinking of how you can just confront Baekhyun about his strange liking to you, about how he likes you when there’s tons of cool girls who’d actually drink the beer at parties when he invites them over, and then leave him hanging without a hug. Or maybe even a farewell kiss.

Baekhyun had been staring at your lips every so often as the two of you talked to each other. Every second, he’d been thinking about doing it. It’d be a bummer for Anger to mess it up. Anger comes with every feeling undesirable; hostility, displeasure, and annoyance. The most common was your annoyance with Baekhyun’s persistence.

Whenever Baekhyun called your name in the hallways, Anger would flare up and cause you to hide in the nearest girls’ room and make you think Baekhyun was playing with you because, “He really wants that bet money from his friends, doesn’t he?” It was a reasonable reaction, but sometimes Anger isn’t the best choice for controlling your reactions to Baekhyun’s genuine smiles, fleeting touches, and heart-fluttering compliments. Anger had to be tied to a chair most of the time when Baekhyun came around. Anger just couldn’t control his anger because he was sure Baekhyun was only toying with your emotions.

The colorful emotions dart their eyes over to the doubled screen, in which they call your eyes. It is the end of you and Baekhyun’s date. The sky is a dusky blue, marking the end of your romantic evening. Now, the two of you are standing in front of each other outside of your house. The date was as smooth as a strawberry milkshake doused in banana puree. All it needed was a cherry on the top.

“Oh, my!” Surprise throws his hand over his lips, shocked at the closeness of Anger’s finger to your outward emotion orb. Before the red emotion can touch it, Happiness leaps over the orb, tackling Anger to the ground. If there’s anyone who’s good at controlling your romantic feelings, it’s Happiness.

Happiness is the leader because he makes everyone happy. Including you. He is apart of the elements that makes every human’s life stimulating; joy, satisfaction, contentment, and most of all — pleasure. Without Happiness, you would have never been able to discover that Baekhyun actually liked you for real.

Valentine’s day had come around, and everyone was receiving these bizarre, crazy gifts. And you? You got nothing.

Anger was so mad, because “what the fuck, Baekhyun?” he barked. Surprise and Disgust was right behind him when you passed by Baekhyun in the hallway, and the handsome jock hadn’t spared you a single glance.

“Boys just talk to you for attention and then ignore you once they get it. Bleh, I knew it. I just knew he was too good to be true. ‘Boys are gross’ — why did she stop thinking this once she got in high school?” Disgust gagged in disappointment, having to excuse himself because of the nausea Baekhyun’s behavior caused.

And Surprise, who was always expecting something and got surprised when that expectation wasn’t met. “Oh, my! He just, passed by her! I know he can see her from his peripheral, she’s looking right at him! Is he seriously, literally, purposely avoiding her gaze? He’s about to pass. He might look last minute. Just wait for it and… He never looked. What a jerk!”

Sadness had put the tear soaked cherry on top. With a groan, he pursed his lips together to conceal their quivering. “Maybe it just… isn’t her time… Good girls come in last place, too, I guess.” Sadness was the one to actually make you feel sad, because he touched your outward emotion orb, which made your eyes well up in the slightest. Sadness felt even more sad even having to do that to you, but who smiles or throws up when their crush simply passes by them?

Sadness had to do it, to show you that you really liked Baekhyun. And if you still liked Baekhyun, Happiness could come in and restore that everlasting likeness by giving you hope. Sadness and Happiness, though being complete polar opposites of each other, were the perfect pair when it came to repairing your heart.

“Guys, just wait! He could have something planned for her later on,” Happiness bursted in. “You all think like children, she’s 18 for Amygdala’s sake.”

“You keep that up, I might mistake you for Hope, which what? Doesn’t exist!!!!!” Anger boiled before smoothing his sideburns down to calm himself.

Happiness touched your orb, and gave you more time to think about your reaction to Baekhyun’s behavior.

Maybe he didn’t see you. Maybe he had to go to class. Maybe he was busy chatting up with his friends that he hadn’t noticed you. The truth is, he was ignoring you on purpose. But not because he didn’t want to not give a lovestruck girl false hope of everlasting in a relationship with him. But because he had something planned for you later, and he wanted to build suspense. He wanted to surprise you.

When you’d received a text at the end of the day from Baekhyun to meet him on the football field, Surprise was not prepared for what you’d see. The orange emotion just thrusted himself onto your outward emotion orb when you saw it. The rest of the emotions watched the scene of you staring wide-eyed at the gigantic heart-shaped balloons, the howling of musical instruments playing a romantic tune, and Baekhyun’s handsome smile and beautiful lips inviting you in for a kiss.

Except, it had looked like Surprise fainted on your outward emotion orb. So Disgust pushed him off, declaring “that’s enough,” all the while bumping his big, green butt into the orb. This caused you to avoid Baekhyun’s lips and lean in to give him a hug instead. A perfect moment to kiss: bombed.

The emotions went to war with Disgust that day. “Why didn’t you kiss him!!!!!” They fell out, popcorn flying.

“Because,” Disgust smirked, with his hands on his hips. “Boys are gross.”

Presently, you and Baekhyun are standing on the curb in front of your house. The skies are pretty and dusky, the wind is blowing softly, and God, Byun Baekhyun looks so good. He’s wearing a pink sweater and  a handsome smile that makes you melt every time. This is the perfect moment for a kiss, if your emotions would just pull themselves together this time. But they don’t seem to be doing so right now.

“Get off me. Your positivity is dampening my will to reject the boy,” Disgust sneers at Happiness.

“Guys… Things are getting awkward…” Sadness glares at the doubled screen. A few minutes have passed, and you and Baekhyun haven’t leaned into each other or hugged or anything. You become the shy girl again, tutting on heels as you stare at Baekhyun with flaming cheeks. Your emotions realize you need them, and they stop fooling around. All of them.

Happiness, Anger, Sadness, Surprise, and Disgust surround the orb.

These guys don’t know what to do. They’ve got all of their own special skills and talents, but who even knows how to initiate a kiss. Let alone, a kiss that feels real? Hugs, compliments, subtle touches are easy. Two or three of the emotions work together to make those. But a kiss? You’ve never kissed a boy before.

Sadness and Happiness try to come up with another one of their brilliant plans to make you kiss Baekhyun, but you’d cry tears of joy, and it’d make things… weird.

Disgust and Anger are out of the picture. The emotions don’t even know how that’d work. You’d bite Baekhyun’s lip, draw blood, and then throw up?

Surprise expects this kiss to be perfect because it’s your first. But you’re not an experienced kisser. He can’t make you go in for the kiss, knowing you probably wouldn’t do so well.

“Um…” Sadness scratches his head.

“This is making me nauseous,” Disgust sneers.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Surprise breathes.

“Why can’t she just do it? We always have to do the heavy work for her,” Anger growls, massaging his sideburns in meditation.

“Guys,” Happiness begins. The emotions stop buzzing and look up at the leader. He looks down at the glowing orb. “Maybe we should all touch it at the same time.”

“B-But… Wouldn’t she like… Combust?”

“That’s just stupid. She’d be angry, disgusted, sad, happy, and surprised all at the same time. What kind of foolery?”

“If she combusts, we’d all die… I…I’m nauseous even thinking about my own death.”

“Combust!? That’s possible!?”

“No, guys,” Happiness stops them. “Listen to yourselves. You all care about her, no matter what shade of color you are.” The emotions listen to Happiness. They notice how the root to all of their existences — anger, sadness, disgust, and surprise — is you. When they realize the reason they are working everyday to make you react, they realize they’re doing it because they love you. Otherwise, why haven’t they ceased to exist yet?

“That means something good exists in all of you. So look past what you are and do something good for her. She’s in love, right?” The emotions nod. “Love is everything, we are everything. Don’t cry, act dazed, throw up, or bite any lips.”

The emotions narrow their eyes on the orb, staring at it anxiously as their colorful hands come up to cup its edges. Happiness runs his eyes over all of his members and quirks a smile at their unique facial expressions. He calls to them, for one last word of reassurance. They lift their heads, their eyes glazing.

“Just love. Okay?”

The glazing in their eyes fade and is replaced with a twinkle of affection. All of the emotions’ direct their attention to the beaming orb, and their hands draw closer to it.

“I guess this is the end of the line, huh?” Baekhyun says, looking away from your house and at you again.

“I wish I didn’t have to go,” you whine softly. “But 9 PM was the deal.” An abashed giggle escapes your lips, your face heating up with embarrassment because of your parent’s strict curfew.  Baekhyun’s warm hand cups your cheek. He caresses your cheek in a tender circle, making the plush jowl turn warm.

Your heart feels like it’ll melt when his smooth ministrations are paired with a soft, handsome smile. “That’s okay, kitten. As long as I get to see you tomorrow?” he asks, with a hopeful twinkle in his eyes.

“Of course!” Your lips stretch into a wide grin. “In fact, we can hang out all day tomorrow. I have nothing to do. Do you?” you ask, leaning your cheek more into his palm as you blink softly.

Baekhyun shakes his head, lips curving. He pokes his thumb at the corner of your lips. Your heart stutters when the soft pad of his thumb massages your bottom lip — slightly parting your pillows  open. You gasp at his touch.

Baekhyun’s honey brown globes shine as he licks his lips — in his head wishing he could just kiss you already. Ever since you’d exchanged a kiss for a hug, he has been a little cautious with trying to rush things with you. He just wants your first moments to be perfect. Surprisingly, this is the first time the two of you will kiss. Because for whatever reason he still can’t figure out, that special moment got delayed a day ago on Valentine’s day.

“You’re so beautiful,” he coos, tilting his head to the side. “And you’re mine.”

You conceal an abashed giggle. “I’m not…”

His fingers glide towards the back of your head and into your hair. All the while, he’s so unaware of how much that is affecting you. “If you aren’t, then I’ll have to figure out some way to make you mine.”

You realize he missed what you mean. Since he thinks you haven’t already made yourself his, you take the opportunity to ask. “How are you going to do that?” you question, taking a step closer to him.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” he screws his lips up playfully. “I’ll buy you your favorite chocolates?”

“You’ve already done that a million times before,” you tease. “Plus, that makes me feel fat.”

“Ah,” he sighs, which causes you to giggle. “How about a strawber—” he stops himself, realizing he can no longer bribe you with your favorite foods. It worked in his favor so many times at first, but now your heart yearns for a little more than just innocent remarks and romantic gestures. “I’m out of ideas, kitten.” Baekhyun pouts and it’s the cutest thing.

You blow a raspberry at him.

“How can I, really? Can I tell you you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen? Can I take you all over the world? Buy you gifts, feed you all your favorite foods, take you on all the fancy dates you want?” Baekhyun’s hands come to your waist, cupping your sides gently. He whines. “Baby, how can I make you mine?”

“I like the way you think, Oppa,” you say, making the male’s lips stretch a little. “But why do all of that, when you can just...” You pause. Getting on your tippy toes, you reach Baekhyun's height perfectly. Your nose brushes against his on your way up, making you flustered. Baekhyun’s eyes are on your face as he scans your expression. His gaze is full of anticipation and hunger now.

You surprise yourself, not really knowing what comes over you for your forwardness. Baekhyun finds it so cute.

“I can just, what?” Baekhyun asks, a smirk ghosting his pretty lips as he breathes against your parted ones.

“Kiss me,” you breathe.

Baekhyun obliges immediately. His smile fades slowly as he draws himself closer and glues his lips to yours. Your eyes shutter closed and you feel a ton of things all at once as he kisses you. You can barely control your emotions as you wrap your arms around Baekhyun’s neck and press your body flat against his. One hand cups your nape while the other wraps around your body. For the first time in forever, you can’t tell what you’re feeling.

That is, until your emotions bind together to tell you that you’re in love with Byun Baekhyun. And all of those moments of doubt and built-up suspense lead to a kiss that was real and made your emotions go haywire with love.

“Girls, we did it!” Joy cheers, detaching her hands from the orb to shake Shock. Shock’s face is still in a pause because of you asking Baekhyun to kiss you. Joy falls when Obnoxious screeches and pushes her down. Getting back up with a still bright smile, Joy beams. “I can’t wait to plan the wedding!”

“How did such a shy little kitten become so bold?” Sombre asks, shaking her head and removing her hands from Baekhyun’s  orb.

Joy laughs. “That doesn’t matter anymore! We got her to kiss him!”

“Something’s wrong,” Anxiety shakes her head.

“What is it?” Obnoxious shouts.

“Hell if I know,” Anxiety says before walking away from the other emotions circling Baekhyun’s orb without an explanation.

...

Can you guess which emotion is which EXO member? 

Hint: one is Junmyeon, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, Jongin, and Sehun!

[sapphic-sustrai]

Team DMNO Bios: Melanie Hertz.

So, last time I shared the leader of DMNO Douglas Craig’s bio. It’s now time to talk about my yeehaw daughter, Melanie Hertz! If there are any errors, I will go back and fix them eventually.

Previous DMNO Bios:

Douglas Craig.

That being said, more will be underneath the cut.

Full Name: Melanie Celosia Hertz.

Alias: The Sizzlin’ Striker, The Monster Duo {an alias that she shares with Olwen, that was given to them by the Atlas Academy student body}.

Nickname{s}: Mel {used by everyone}, Melly {only used by Douglas}, Buttercup {only used by her father}, Annie {only used by Phlegon}, Flame Brain {only used by Douglas}, Blaze {only used by Olwen}.

Age: 18 {Vol. 1-3}.

Gender: Cis Female.

Race: Highland Cow Faunus, she has cow horns that curve upwards.

D.O.B/Star Sign: August 12th/Leo.

Romantic/Sexual Orientation: Biromantic Demisexual.

Handedness: Right-handed.

Complexion: Tanned.

Height: 5’3 {160cm}, 5’6 {when wearing 3-inch heels}.

Weight: 115lbs {52kg}.

Cup Size: C-Cup.

Body Type: Pear body shape, short, athletic build, medium-length legs, strong leg muscles, small amount of muscle on her arms.

Hairstyle{s}: 

Low-hanging braided pigtails, bangs side swept to the left side {Youth}.

Long-length style, tied into a high ponytail, bangs side swept to the left side {Vol. 1-3}.

Hair Colour{s}: As of right now, honey brown. When she was younger, she had much lighter hair, but it got darker as she got older.

Eye Colour: Hazel.

Aura Colour: Burnt Orange.

Emblem: An outline of a burning heart, with the bottom points separated and curved outwards like a cow’s horns and a miniature heart in the center. The burning heart outline is burnt orange and the miniature heart is honey orange.

Weapon{s}: Blazin’ Buckaroos.

Blazin’ Buckaroos are a pair of buckaroo-style cowboy boots, with a firing mechanism built into them {similar to Yang’s Ember Celica & Mercury’s Talaria}.

The Buckaroos are primarily beige, with honey orange fire designs etched in and mahogany brown bottoms. The branding iron soles are copper, with a rusty look. The spurs of her boots are bronze, with built in flint.

Alongside her kicks, she’ll primarily fire explosive rounds or streams of fire {almost like a flamethrower} from her boots.

Using fire dust, she can heat up the branding irons at the soles of her boots, causing her feet to become searing hot. Clicking the spurs at the back will ignite the boots completely, causing her boots to blaze up for a short amount of time. Combining these two elements is a deadly combination that adds tremendous fire power to Melanie’s kicks.

Dust can be inserted vertically into the two chambers located in the heels of her boots.

The boots are made with a fire-resistant leather.

Types of Dust Used: Primarily fire dust. However, she’ll sometimes use rock dust in tandem with fire, creating a magma element. She’ll also use air dust, allowing her to kick in order to jump higher into the air {it looks as if she’s walking on air}.

Other Equipment: 

Dust Pouch {where she keeps her dust crystals and it’s kept on the right side of her belt. It is hickory brown}.

Fighting Style: Melanie’s fighting style is a combination of Savate {French foot fighting}, aggressive precise kicks, and grapples. Sometimes she’ll incorporate quick jabs as well.

Semblance: Engine Burst - A semblance that allows the user to develop engine-like protrusions made of aura that manifest around her calves. This grants the user increased speed and extra kicking power for a brief period of time. She can only use her semblance in short bursts, otherwise it will cause her legs to lock up for about a minute or two. There are three gears, First, Second & Third. First gear is the standard, Second will give a bit more of a boost, and Third is the semblance’s, “overdrive”, mode. As of right now, Melanie can only access the first two gears, but cannot access the third. She’s attempted once, but this caused her legs to lock up for 24 hours. 

Other Skills, Talents, etc…

Vast knowledge of farm animals & how to take care of them.

Very athletic.

Has good driving skills, thanks to learning how to operate farm equipment at a young age.

Even without the use of her semblance, she’s the fastest member of her team on foot.

Current Affiliation: Atlas Academy

Previous Affiliation: Pharos Academy.

Place of Origin: Vale, in the agricultural district.

Current Occupation{s}: Student, Huntress-in-Training.

Team/Status: DMNO. Currently active, but will become inactive soon after the Fall of Beacon. Won’t be active again for quite some time.

Team Members: Douglas Craig, herself, Norbert Beaufort & Olwen Kunik.

Partner: Olwen Kunik.

Team Role: Melee DPS.

Status: Alive.

Positive Qualities: Optimistic, big-hearted {always willing to lend a hand to those who need it}, passionate, encouraging, nurturing, athletic, protective, daring.

Neutral Qualities: Stubborn, outspoken, dominating, assertive.

Negative Qualities: Impatient, hot-headed {impulsive & a bit reckless}, brash {in a noisy & overbearing way}, overconfident, blunt.

Likes:

Horseback riding.

Apple picking.

Being outdoors.

Knitting.

Going on hikes with friends.

Kickboxing.

Gardening {she loves growing vegetables & flowers specifically}.

Spending time with her niece.

Dislikes:

Green apples {she finds them too bitter}.

Ghosts {she has phasmophobia}.

People who talk trash about their families for no reason {however, she does understand if someone has a bad relationship with their parents}.

People who chew with their mouths open.

She’s not the biggest fan of romantic comedy movies.

She hates it when people make comments about her height.

Favourite...?

Food: Apples {red delicious are her favourite}, breakfast foods {ham & cheese omelettes, hash browns, peanut butter on whole wheat toast, bacon and pancakes are her favourites}.

Drink: Apple cider & orange juice.

Season/Weather: Autumn/sunny & slightly cloudy.

Colour: Marigold & hickory brown.

Animal: Horses.

Movie Genre: Thriller & action movies.

Music Genre: Country & hip-hop.

Relationships:

Ignatius Hertz:

Relationship: Biological Father, good overall, but he can be overprotective of her.

Status: Alive.

Melaina Chastain:

Relationship: Biological Mother, good.

Status: Deceased.

Phlegon Hertz:

Relationship: Biological Older Brother {by 8 years}, good.

Status: Alive.

Ashley Keen:

Relationship: Sister-in-Law, married to her brother, good.

Status: Alive.

Hestia Hertz-Keen:

Relationship: Niece, daughter of Phlegon & Ashley, good.

Status: Alive.

Hephaestus Hertz:

Relationship: Paternal Grandfather, good.

Status: Alive.

Melantha Chastain:

Relationship: Maternal Grandmother, good.

Status: Alive.

Brooke Mathers: 

Relationship: Closest Friend, grew up next door to each other, good.

Status: Alive.

Norbert Beaufort:

Relationship: 2nd Closest Friend, teammate, good.

Status: Alive.

Olwen Kunik:

Relationship: Close Friend, partner, friendly rival, good overall, but sometimes Olwen has to reel her in when she gets, “intense”.

Status: Alive.

Douglas Craig:

Relationship: Close Friend, teammate, good overall, but they do clash often because of their differing personalities.

Status: Alive.

Team RWBY:

Relationship: Friends, good overall, gets along with Yang the best, gets along with Blake the least.

Status: Alive.

Team JNPR:

Relationship: Friends, good overall, gets along with Nora the best, gets along with Ren the least.

Status: Alive {Pyrrha’s alive in this AU}.

Penny Polendina:

Relationship: Friends, good.

Status: Alive, then deceased, then rebuilt and brought back to life.

Ilia Amitola:

Relationship: Friend, crush, they don’t meet until much later on.

Status: Alive.

Early Life {Backstory}:

Melanie was born and raised in the Kingdom of Vale, in the agricultural district.

She grew up on a ranch called, “Woolwood Meadows”, that primarily raises sheep for wool. The ranch was started by Melanie’s paternal grandfather years ago. Her grandfather also started up a forge on the property called, “Hertz Ironworks”.

For most of her life, it’s just been herself, her father Ignatius, and her older brother Phlegon. Ignatius attended Atlas Academy and soon joined the military after graduation. Eventually he decided to settle down with Melaina and take over the ranch from his father, Hephaestus. Phlegon has taken over the forge on the farm and lives on the property with his wife Ashley and their daughter Hestia. Phlegon will eventually inherit the farm when his father retires.

Melanie didn’t know her mother Melaina very well. Her mother passed away when she was around 3 years old. Melaina was a Huntress who sustained fatal injuries while out on a mission. Her death was unexpected and the family took it hard… especially Ignatius. From then onward, he became overprotective of both of his children.

Phlegon decided that he wanted to inherit the farm when he was older, so he wasn’t the one he had to worry about as much. His worry over his son disappeared over time. Melanie on the other hand has always wanted to become a Huntress just like her mother… that worried Ignatius beyond belief and he continued to worry over his daughter’s safety.

It took plenty of convincing and begging from Melanie for Ignatius to allow her to attend a combat school. However, he wanted her to attend a school that was close to home and she would have to call him every weekend to let him know how she’s doing. So, Melanie decided to attend Pharos Academy.

When it came time to pick the next academy that she’d be attending, Melanie wanted to attend Atlas, but her Father wanted Melanie to attend Vale instead because it was closer. This caused the two of them to have the biggest argument that they’ve ever had and they didn’t speak to each other for about a week.

Phlegon stepped in and got the two of them to talk to each other. Ignatius finally opened up about how losing his wife made him fear about what could happen to his children if they weren’t careful. Melanie understood where her father was coming from, but that was no excuse for how he was treating her. Melanie finally told her family that the reason why she wanted to become a huntress was because she wanted to use her strength to protect those that couldn’t protect themselves. She also says that she wants to attend Atlas because it was the school that her father attended in his youth. She states that her two biggest inspirations in her life are her mother & father, that they’re the ones that inspire her to do what’s right.

Ignatius reconciled with his daughter and promised that he was going to try and ease up on his over protectiveness. He supported his daughter’s decision to attend Atlas and Melanie promises that she’ll call home every single weekend to check in. Not because she was instructed to, but because she wants to.

Primary Attire {Youth}:

Baggy Button Up Shirt {honey orange, top two buttons left unbuttoned, long sleeved but they’re rolled up halfway}.

Plain Shirt {daisy white, crew neck, long sleeved}.

Denim Overall Shorts {Blue, with gold buckles, a heart outline was sewn into the front flap}.

Shortie-Style Cowboy Boots {mahogany brown}.

Atlas Academy Uniform:

Melanie pretty much wears the standard Atlas Academy girl’s uniform. The only exception is that she wears her cowboy hat with the uniform.

Primary Attire {Vol. 1-3}:

Bull Rider Cowboy Hat {straw, with a mahogany brown hat band, brim & chin strap, usually wears it whenever it’s hot outside or during battle, when not in use it hangs on her back from the adjustable chin strap around her neck}.

Button-up Blouse {orange & brown plaid, first three buttons are left unbuttoned, short sleeved}.

Henley Shirt {daisy white, top two buttons left unbuttoned, sleeves cut off halfway}.

Leather Horseback Riding Gloves {hickory brown}.

Leather Belt {mahogany brown, with a gold belt buckle, dust pouch hangs from the right side of the belt}.

Denim Dungarees {brown, with mahogany brown straps, gold buckles, with belt loops, her emblem is on the front, the front is left open on the right side, while the right strap hangs from her side, she moves the right strap back on her shoulder during fights, pant legs are always tucked into her boots, 100% flame resistant}.

When not wearing the Blazin’ Buckaroos, she wears a pair of carpenter boots {hickory brown, with beige laces}.

Other Notes About Appearance:

Has dimples.

She doesn’t have a tattoo yet and is still trying to decide what she’d want.

Used to have her ears pierced as a child, hasn’t re-pierced them in a while.

Has a burn mark on her left calf. She was around 10 years old and there was an incident where she accidentally burned herself.

If She Had a Voice it Would Be: Cassandra Lee Morris.

Misc. Trivia:

Melanie’s reasons for making her weapon a pair of cowboy boots was not only because of her fighting style, but also because she finds them very comfortable to wear. She has around 10 pairs of cowboy boots in her closet at home.

On the ranch the family deals with sheep, alpacas and goats. However, each member of the family owns a horse, Melanie’s is named Autumn. There are also the three dogs named Bramble, Hazel & Maize. All of the dogs are Border Collies. Finally, there are the three barn cats named Pumpkin, Butternut & Big Max. All of the cats are all tabby, except for Butternut who’s a Maine Coon.

Melanie can play the fiddle, the banjo, and the guitar. She prefers playing acoustic guitars more than electric because It fits her style more.

She speaks with a strong Southern accent. When talking to someone that she likes {whether it’s platonic or romantic}, she’ll often refer to them as, “Sug”, which is basically the short form of sugar.

Aside from becoming a Huntress, other careers that Melanie has thought about pursuing were professional kick boxer, physical therapist or firefighter.

Melanie’s last name Hertz is derived from the German word herz meaning, “heart”, and was used as a nickname for a big-hearted person. Melanie and most members of her family are often described as some of the most big-hearted individuals in all of Remnant.  

Melanie never skips leg day.

That’s all that I have for Melanie right now! Any comments or critiques would be greatly appreciated and my askbox is always open! I’m thinking that I’ll be posting the next member of DMNO Norbert’s bio in the next few days or at least by next weekend. I’ll be posting again soon, so keep your eye out for it!

[calliecat93]

Callie Reviews: TMNT 2012 Season One (Part One)

Ever since 1984, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has gone form a cult-status indie comic to a massive mass market. There have been various comics, movies, video games, merchandise, and of course cartoons. And it’s easy to see why. TMNT’s concept, a group of mutated teen turtles fighting evil in New York, is both incredibly bizarre and incredibly appealing to a mass audience. You have action, science fiction, martial arts, and of course plenty of mutant ideas to make toys out of. The fact that this Fall will be releasing the fourth animated TMNT series and that a new movie series is in production shows that even over 30 years later, this is a franchise that is far from losing it’s power.

As a kid, I of course knew that Turtles as a thing and I even watch parts of 2k3. But I was never really a fan until the day I stumbled upon the 2012 show. I fell in love with it and, since it started when I was just starting this blog, it was a huge focus for me for several years. I have since moved on and while I’m going to check out the 2018 show, I don’t think I’m going to be as crazy as I was with this show (but never say never). Back in 2012, I was someone who... lets say ignored the flaws and defended the show far too passive aggressively to the point that looking at my older stuff makes me want to blow up by blog. 

Nowadays, while some of my opinions hold true (like the ‘Donnie is a stalker’ accusations are still bullshit), I am more willing to admit the shows problems, especially now that I can take the show in fully. I also like to believe that I’ve become a better reviewer since I was 19 years old, plus it had been far too long since I went back over the show form the very beginning. So does the show still hold up? Will 25 year old Callie feel differently than 19 year old Callie did? Well we’re about to find out. This is the TMNT 2012 Season One Review!

The Premiere (Episodes 1-2)

Our story begins with a training sequence that introduces us to the titular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Along with some minor character establishment, like Mikey being the funny one and Raph the violent one, the biggest thing here is one of the shows strengths: the choreography. It’s best exhibited in Leo and Raph’s duel. The movements are very fluid and well-paced. It’s fast, but not too fast, it’s enough to move things along but still let you take in all the impacts. It’s very well done. Raph ends up winning and we are introduce to the boys mentor and father, Master Splinter. Aka, the best written character int he show, but we’ll get to that later.

After the opening theme, we cut to the boys 15th Mutation Day where we get our backstory. Borrowing from the 80′s show origin, Splinter was once a young man named Hamato Yoshi. He had just bought four pet turtles when he stumbled across a shady dealing. Being a ninja master, he was able to fight back, but he ended up getting splattered with a strange green substance. This turned him into a rat, as one brushed his ankle while the baby Turtles become anthropomorphic. Yoshi, taking on the name Splinter, fled to the sewers and raised the four turtles as his own as well as taught them ninjutsu. It’s a simple, but still solid telling of the origin that pays tribute to previous origins, leaves some mystery about the substance and who was dealing it, and is told with use of comic-style panels reminiscent of the original comics.

The Turtles, having lived in the sewers since their mutation, are hoping to convince Splinter to let them finally go to the surface. After some begging, Splinter reluctantly agrees. We then cut to Leo watching a Star Trek: The Animated Series parody where we learn of his desire to become a great hero and leader. This is interesting for several reasons. One, it establishes that Leo isn’t the leader of the group yet, a departure form normal as he’s normally put into that role automatically. And second, ti does a great job at character establishment. In previous versions, Leo is often seen as the boring, overly leader type. Not a bad character mind you, but he lacks the quirkiness that the tough Raph, genius Donnie, and wild child Mikey present. Here? Leo is shown to be an idealistic, naive, but good-intention kid who aspires to be a great hero like he sees on TV as well as give shim some dorky characteristics, like quoting cheesy one-liners to sound more heroic. It helps make him more relateable, funny, and sets up a character arc for when he does inevitably become the leader. Very well done.

The boys finally go to the surface, and are in awe of what they see. They even discover their trademark favorite food, pizza. Given that they only ever ate worms and algae until this point, it makes their love of it all the more understandable. But not all goes well as they soon witness a group of business men kidnapping a red-haired teenager and her father. They attempt to help, but end up only beating each other up and the bad guys get away with their captives. Mikey ends up beating up one and discovers... a brain with tentacles... yipe... he tries to tell the other three, but they don’t believe him. A common trend in the show.

Upon returning home, the boys try to blame each other for the failure before Splinter accepts it for not giving them proper training as a team. While he considers keeping them down below for another year, Donnie convinces him to let them go help the girl due to seeing how terrified she was and how they failed to help her... and because of the crush he developed in a record five seconds. Splinter agrees, but first assigns Leo as the official leader, much to the ire of Raph. They’re eventually able to find the kidnappers vehicle and wreck it, capturing the driver named Snake and they discover a vat of a glowing green substance. A vat that they recognize as the same one that caused their original mutation.

Snake, after Raph threatens to mutate him, leads the boys to the facility where the captives are... and uses the boys bickering as a chance to escape. Leo uses this to trick the crook into thinking that they’re going to plow his van into the place as he conducts a plan to sneak in. All while Roah is an asshole who refuses to listen and outright undermines Leo’s orders. Yeah, Raph is a real jerk during this season. FYI. When Leo shows hesitance about his plan, Splinter tells him of his final confrontation against his rival Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder. It ended in his wife being killed, his house burning down, and his infant daughter nowhere to be found. Well, that won’t be important in any way, shape, or form later! The point being that he lost everything, but gained the boys, easing Leo’s worries about how much is riding on the plan.

So yeah the boys crash the van, Snake gets mutated, the boys break in, fight some guards, and Mikey proves that he isn’t crazy about the aliens.. and then trips an alarm. Smooth Mikey, smooth. They find the captives, that being this version of April O’Neil and her scientist father. Now in most versions, April is an adult woman. Here? She is aged down and is around sixteen years old. We’ll talk more about that later. The bad guys, aka The Kraang, take the captives away and as the boys give chase,t hey are confronted by the mutant Snake... who is a weed monster. Hey, that’s breaking supervillain rules writers! If you have an evil sounding name, that’s what you turn into! Donnie is sent to rescue the O’Neil’s as the other three face Snakeweed... Mikey’s idea, not mine.

The boys eventually defeat Snake via Leo’s direction and mass electrocution while Donnie is able to rescue April, but her father is taken away. April plans to find him however, no matter what it takes with the boys promising to help in whatever way they can. Once home, Leo finds out the complex reasoning for why he was named the leader over everyone else... because he asked. Ming-boggling, right? Well there is actually another reason, but we’ll talk about this in S4. The boys also made the news as their shruriken got found, but come on, what could one tiny news story do that would be bad? Well... being seen by your master’s worst enemy and re-igniting his lust for vengeance might count! Woopsie!

Overall, a solid two parter. It establishes the characters well, has fun fight scenes, the animation is a little dated now but still pretty good, the dialogue is funny, and it does a good job setting up future plotlines while fulfilling it’s own plot. It started 2k12 off on the right foot and was still enjoyable over five years since it’s initial premiere.

The Beginning (Episodes 3-8)

The episodes following the premiere create a steady flow of creating the status quo. You have episodes like Turtle Temper, Metalhead, and Monkey Brains (kinda) that have the boys dealing with the Kraang’s Plan of the Week as they continue their mutagen experiments. It helps with character development and some minor plot progression, such as Raph learning how dangerous his anger can be and Donnie learning to rely on his instincts rather than on his mind 100% of the time. Some are going to want me to comment on the shipping stuff, But I’m gonna save that for later. The biggest issue with these episodes, aside from Monkey Brains, is the Kraang. They are not interesting as villains at all. As great a VA as Nolan North is, the Kraang’s way of talking just gets... annoying. It doesn't help that the threat ultimately becomes either an accidental mutant or Donnie’s robot... well okay a Kraang possessed the later, but it shows that those are more interesting villains than the Kraang themselves and they exist mroe to just have an excuse for a plot. It’s really irking after awhile.

As far as plot goes, it’s mostly your usual ‘Monster of the Week’ stuff. But it has some small things that have a larger impact later. For one, in Monkey Brains, April begins to tap into what looks like some strong emphatic abilities. More on this next season. But due to this, Splinter decides to take April on as a student and train her to be a kunoichi (a female ninja). This will be the largest part of her character for the remainder of the series. April herself... is not utilized as well as she could have been in these early episodes. She’s described as the boys guide to the outside world, and she does serve that in some respects. For example, introducing Mikey to social media in New Friend, Old Enemy to let him make friends without exposing his mutant identity. And in Never Say Xever she takes them to a blind man’s shop so that they can actually experience life topside for once. The issue is we never see April establish bonds with the boys or Splinter after her introduction. In New Friend, Old Enemy she just acts like she’s been friends with the guys for awhile and after showing Mikey the net, doesn’t appear or is even mentioned in the episode again. She disappears after her importance in Metalhead as well, but she is given mroe to work with there at least. I glossed over this when I was watching the show and April does get mroe time with the guys, her relationship with Splinter being one of my favorites. Still, they didn’t do a lot with having April become part of the group or really act on her role as their ‘guide’ and I feel they just wanted to ignore it to get to the other stuff. Which is just a bummer.

So you’re probably wondering about Shredder stuff, right? Well thankfully the Foot Episodes are also the most plot relevant episodes. It starts with New Friend, Old Enemy where Shredder arrives in New York and assigns one of his lieutenants, a famous martial artist named Chris Bradford, to find out about Splinter. The Foot end up encountering the Turtles, with Bradford later using this to manipulate Mikey after accidentally becoming online friends with him. He captures him and use shim as bait to lure out the other three and then follow them to where Splinter is hiding. It fails with the boys using their knowledge of the sewers to literally wash Bradford and his partner, Xever, away. Along with the dangers of meeting people you don’t really know on social media, the episode presents a very unique lesson. In a fight for your life, screw fairness, You fight by any means necessary to stay alive, including fighting dirty. Most shows emphasize on being fair, but this one actually acknowledges that if your life is on the line, you do what it takes to get out alive. It’s a unique message for a kids show and one that I really appreciate.

Next is Never Say Xever where Xever gets to lead the charge. After the boys track down the two and get beat up, Xever receives inlet from the Purple Dragons, who int his version are pretty much a trio of teen thugs. The Turtles fought them off earlier at the shop April took them to, with Leo sparing the leader as an act of mercy. Something that Raph takes umbridge with... as he does with most anything that Leo does in the first half of the series. It’s no surprise that Leo and Raph butt heads, as they do in most series, and it follows their respective arcs. Leo having to deal with being leader as well as realizing that it’s much more pressuring and unforgiving than he thought, while Raph act son his jealousy that Leo got the position even though he’s the better fighter and therefore questioning Leo’s orders or outright just being an asshole for no good reason. But after the shop owner is kidnapped to lure the Turtles out, Leo’s act of mercy ends up saving them as the lead Dragon repays the favor by throwing him back his discarded sword. Which Leo uses to break a water tower to wash the bad guys away again. Angered, The Shredder decides to handle the Turtles himself.

The episodes do a good job in establishing a solid status quo. Bad guy does a thing, one character has their B-Plot to deal with, there’s a clash, the plots intertwine, bad guy gets defeated, and the lesson of the day is learned. A simple routine, but it works here. Plus we get plenty of character establishment and moments which makes you care about them. For example even though Raph is a massive jerk, the end of New Friend, Old Enemy has his comfort Mikey after the deceit and have him see that he’s a good kid who simply got duped as anyone else would. With this being after Raph mocked him wanting to make friends throughout the episode, it helped show that he does have a caring side. Leo frequently has issues with being a leader, such as dealing with Raph and moments like in ITHNiBS where the guys outright refuse to listen to him when he tries to remind them that they’re grounded. Even Splinter has a lot of moments, being a stern but fair parental figure and wise mentor, but is also snarky as Hell. We also see hints to how much the past has affected him, like after April agrees to undergo kunoichi training and leaves the dojo, there’s just a brief moment where he looks down with a forlorn expression. As though wishing that he was telling this to his own MIA daughter. It’s so subtle, but it speaks volumes about his emotional state. 

The characters are ultimately what makes these episodes works and what I would say is the strongest part of the series. You are likely going to relate to or like someone from this show and their progression. But now that we have a fully formed status quo, it’s time to shake it up a little bit and have the Turtles experience their first hard dose of reality.

The Escalation (Epsidoes 9-13)

Episode 9 begins as a typical ‘Mutant of the Week’ plot with the guys trying to catch a pigeon mutant that was after April. But when they do, they discover that he was simply trying to deliver a message... from her father. The message warns her to get out of the city due to a mutagen bomb, but she refuses to leave without him. As such,t he Turtles... somehow... find where Mr. O’Neil is and try to save him. While they get him out of the cell and get the location of the bomb, Mr. O’Neil sacrifices himself when the Kraang outnumber them so that the boys can protect April. All while poor April can only watch, helpless to do anything. Ouch...

The Turtles can only go to where the bomb is to disarm it, but things get further complicated when Bradford and Xever attack, wanting payback from before. Fortunately Donnie disarms the bomb and the four corner the two, but Bradford refuse sot go down quietly and stabs the bomb, but all it does is mutate himself and Xever. But ti also washes them away.... again. I should also point out that this point,t he Turtles have gotten incredibly over-confident since they’ve beaten every bad guy so far, feeling unstoppable. So then... Shredder arrives. Yep. And he kicks their shells HARD. Liek he holds no punches, he easily over-powers all four of them and almost stabs Leo int he head. The only reason that they escape is Shredder getting distracted by his now mutated lieutenants. But the boys retreat, badly beaten up and completely demoralized.

The next episode focuses on the fallout. The four are mostly feeling better, but their fears are being escalated by, of all people, Splinter. This is due to the boys nearly getting killed by his long-time rival re-igniting his own trauma and having nightmares over losing them, causing him to again keep them in the sewers and be far more harsh with his training. The only one doing moderately well is April, who gets intel about the Foot planning to destroy the sewers. The Turtles try to stop it, but get pounded by Bradford, who is now a giant dog mutant named Dogpound. This forces April to get the inlet herself, but she gets caught an captured by the Foot. This further brings Leo down, but to his surprise Raph actually encourages him to pull himself together and lead the team. The Turtles manage to both save April and stop the Foot from destroying the sewers with Splinter apologizing for allowing his fears to affect both himself and his sons. Overall, a solid pair of episodes that bring the boys down a bit, finally has all the plots meet somewhere, and deliver a strong message about not letting fear control you or the others around you.

After a filler episode where the only importance is Shredder forcibly recruiting Stockman to his forces, we get some more Kraang stuff with Episode 12. Where we actually show them being dangerous. Shocker, right?! It also introduces us to long-time supporting character within the franchise  Leatherhead. Here he is an alligator mutant who the Kraang experimented on and it causes him to have violent fits of rage if he so much as hears the word ‘Kraang’. The Turtles end up saving him when the Kraang try to re-capture him, but find his angry bursts, well... dangerous. But Mikey is able to befriend him and it becomes more clear that LH is actually a rather intelligent, good-hearted mutant who has been put through Hell. He gets run off by Splinter though when one of his trauma-induced bursts causes him to attack the boys, forcing the rat master to intervene. Mikey, and by proxy the other three, give chase to an old subway car where LH reveals how the Kraang took him to their home, Dimension X, and experimented on him. He escaped and also took their Power Cell, cutting them off form Dimension X, in hopes of saving humanity from them. The Kraang want it back and act like a zombie swarm as they break through the car. LH fights them off, leaving the Power Cell in the Turtles care.

While Episode 11 sucks (to put it simply Leo and Raph are overbearing assholes while Donnie and Mikey are just made to be as weak as possible), the other three do a good job at making the villains more solid threats. Shredder was built up as intimidating and powerful, and boy did he deliver. The Turtles face their first major loss and have to deal with the fallout, Leo especially dealing with his first real failure as a leader. Even the Kraang come off as a scarier hivemind and we get mroe stuff on them, like Dimension X and their plans to mutate the Earth. Add that with a strong supporting character like Leatherhead, who is understandably traumatized but is an intelligent being who is trying to prevent others form suffering like him. and it helps make some strong episodes.

The first half of the season concludes with the 13th episodes... that aired as the 14th for some reason. But I’m going in order of my DVD’s and this was after Episode 12, so it’s what I’m going with. It both concludes a lot and opens up a lot for the future. The episode I am talking about is, of course New Girl in Town.

TBC in Part Two....

[anotel-rwbyoc]

Charcoal Carapace

“Unlike you, I’m not afraid to spill blood, if it meant protecting those I love. I don’t have many of those.”

Name: Charcoal Carapace

Nickname(s): Cole (Sphene, Satsuma)

Colour: Charcoal black

Age: 19

Birthday: December 29

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Demisexual

Handedness: Ambidextrous

Complexion: Brown

Hair: Black

Eyes: Red

Height: 180 cm (5'11")

Weight: 58 kg (127.9 lb)

Aura: black with water droplet like particles

Occupation: Student (second year)

Race: Snake faunus

Fanus Trait: Scales

Affiliation: Haven Academy

Team: CSMC (Cosmic)

Appearance

Charcoal is tall with a very slim, rectangle body. She has a long face with red, monolid eyes, and thin eyebrows. She has shiny black snake scaled on her cheeks, back, hips, and thighs. Her long black hair reaches to about her knees, and curls up at the ends. Her long bangs are split in the middle and are tied together at the back of the head.

In her main outfit, her face is covered by her black scarf and face mask. Her grey conical hat has her symbol stitched into it at the top, and is tied to her head with a black ribbon. Her grey shirt, sleeves, and pants all have black edges. She also wears fingerless fishnet gloves, along with fishnet sleeves and socks. On her sleeves and pants she has light grey patterns of her emblem. Around her middle is an obi styled belt with a bag at the back. On her left side she has her black sheath for her sabres, hanging off of the belt

Personality

Charcoal is mysterious and soft spoken. She isn’t very expressive, and appears nonchalant and uninterested in conversation, which makes it hard to approach her. She’s calm, relaxed, and keeps a level head in even the most dire of situations. If she sees that a problem has risen she fixes it calmly, but will not be afraid to resort to violence if she believes it is necessary. Manipulation isn’t out of the question either. She gets stressed if she hangs out in crowds for too long, and it isn’t weird to see her quietly slink away from a social event.

If you approach her and she doesn’t know you, she will be suspicious about your motives. She will not trust you, not for a while. If you can prove to her that you have her back, then she will begin to open up to you, kind of. It’s not much. She’s independent and does not like relying on others to help her, instead, coming up with her own solutions to reach her goals. She’s incredibly passionate about her interests and training, but only shows this to people who are closer to her. You might get an actual response from her if you ask anything about her collections. She loves collecting anything interesting that catches her eye. In actual conversation, she’s a little awkward. She answers straightforwardly, and doesn’t quite understand social cues. If she’s given space to find the right words, she communicated well enough. The only person so far to have her undying loyalty is her sister, who she protects with her life, and worries way too much about. She does have a compassionate side, she just needs to loosen up a bit.

She will completely avoid and stay silent towards anybody she doesn’t like. The likely hood of getting any kind of personal information, or even just normal information from her is close to zero at this stage. At this point, you might as well give up on her.

She expects nothing but the best from herself, her studies are no exception. She may over work herself for school, especially for combat. She will spend hours trying to hone her skills alongside school work, which isn’t very good for her health. She will use all of the knowledge she has gained in a fight, and make her own plans.

Likes:

Cool looking shiny stuff

Pumpkin

Reading

Cold weather

Magic shows

Sweaters

Eggs

Video games

Nature

Children

Dislikes:

Crowds

Hot, sunny days

Hawks

Bandits

When her sister walks around without her permission

Wasting time

Coffee

Vegetables

Urban cities

Strangers

Semblance

Geyser- Charcoal can make water rise out of the ground like a Geyser. She can only make geysers right underneath her, or right next to her. In order for her to activate her semblance, she needs a source of water underneath her. If there is no water underneath her, then tough luck. She cannot stop an actual geyser, but she can make it rise earlier. Using an already existing geyser uses up less aura.

Weapon

Kame and Hebi- Two Sabres with handguns as the hilt

Fighting Style

Charcoal uses her speed and semblance to out maneuver her opponents, often by playing keep away by creating geysers underneath her to give her the higher ground. She may shoot her opponents with her guns from that height. She will dash to her opponent with her sabres once she finds an opening, then run back out when things get tough. Basically, she uses a hit and run tactic. She may use her semblance underneath her opponents to surprise them.

Backstory

Charcoal was born into a very poor family in a little cottage away from Wind path, in the mountains. Her mother died when she gave birth to her, and her father died from sickness when she was 2. The one who took care of her was her Grandmother, a retired Huntress, now running a hot spring and Inn. Since they were tucked away in the mountains, business was tough, but they made do. Charcoal helped with the inn, and learnt some fighting techniques from her grandmother. Living in the mountains mean more grimm, and with living close to a shady city like Wind path, self defence was necessary. She lived like this until things changed at the age of 15.

She was walking back home from Wind Path when she came across 5 bandits with a young, green snake faunus, arguing about wether to skin her scales or sell her. Unable to watch the young girl struggle, Charcoal covered her face, and approached the bandits. She challenged them to a duel for her, only realizing too late that she was no match for a group of bandits all at once. While she was tossed around, she thought about another way to save the faunus. At this rate, she would be too injured to move, or worst case, die, and the faunus would either be enslaved or dead. If she attempted to run away with the faunus, who knows what the bandits would do. Chase her? Ambush her in Wind Path? Attack her home? There were too many risks. She didn’t want to resort to it, but she begged for the bandits to stop. When they paused, Charcoal offered all of the lien she had with her from doing odd jobs and helping her grandmother for her entire life, in exchange for the faunus girl. Thankfully, it was barely enough, and they were left alone. Charcoal had just enough strength to carry the little faunus back to her home. She expected her grandmother to punish her for wasting money, especially on bandits and buying a faunus, but, to her surprise, she was forgiven. It was to help a fellow snake faunus, she did the best she could in her circumstance. Since the Snake faunus was an orphan, and did not remember her name, she was adopted by the two, and given the name Sphene by Charcoal. The two became inseparable sisters.

With Charcoal’s failure in combat, she wanted to help her grandmother more, and those in awful situations like Sphene, and decided that following in her grandmother’s footsteps would be her best option, becoming a huntress. She had her eyes on Haven academy, but she would need more combat experience since she didn’t go to a combat school, not to mention she’s going to need way more money. The first was easy. She took her training more seriously under her grandmother’s wing. The latter was going to be more difficult. At the rate she was gaining last time, she wasn’t going to make enough. She decided to take a more, questionable, approach to earning money. She was next to Wind Path after all. She figured that she could repay all of the trouble she was going to cause once she became a huntress. She first took up a few jobs exterminating grimm, then once word got out about her skill, she took up the more lucrative job, assassination. She was picky with who she was hired to kill but she got the job done. It was messy at first but as she continued her training, the more skilled and precise her kills became. The only one who knew of her extra job was Sphene.

Finally, she had what it took to get into Haven Academy. She was able to prove her skill as a huntress, and got into the school. She was ready to face the school year alone, or so she thought. Aside from the whole “assigned to a team” thing, she unknowingly brought Sphene with her to to Haven. Though she was upset at first, having at least one person she knew put her a little more at ease. Charcoal was teamed up with Cream, Satsuma, and Moonstone. In the entrance exam, she was paired with Moonstone.

After the fall of Beacon, She resumed her travels around Mistral with her teammates, and Sphene, during their summer break. Currently, they are stopped at her family’s Inn, which has gained more traction with the help of her teammates.

Relationships:

Cream- Since Charcoal is not the leader of the team herself, she was skeptical of Cream as the leader. She eventually learnt to respect her skills, but does not agree with her black and white views. She fears what she would think of her if she found out what she did to get into the school. She thinks Cream is too nosey, but is glad to be accepted into the team. When Cream comes to her for advice, she does her best to help. Wether it succeeds is another story

Satsuma- Charcoal was not too fond of Satsuma when they first met. She recognized his passion and ambition, but kept her distance until Satsuma started to fight with Cream and Moon. No one seemed to be taking his side, so took it upon herself to be by his. She empathized with his insecurities, and now lends a ear whenever he needs it. She is also incredibly grateful of Satsuma to help her out so much with finances and supplies. She insists she repays him, but for now, it’s talk and whatever attention he seeks

Moonstone- Charcoal thinks he’s absolutely adorable, but can’t express that properly. When she tries it comes across as intimidating, or awkward. She wants to try and talk more, but with him being so quiet as well, she doesn’t know how. She relies a lot on outside input to respond to. For now, she just enjoys his company in silence, even if he is skittish and shy.

Sphene- Charcoal’s adopted, little sister is very dear to her. She protects her with her life, maybe too much. Sphene often leaves the house to go exploring, which frustrates Charcoal to no end. No matter how many times she tells her not to go out due to how much attention she draws, she goes anyway. Charcoal understands that she is far more outgoing than her, but she doesn’t want to see Sphene in the hands of bandits or anybody 

Trivia:

Alludes to the madame white snake from Chinese legends

Also alludes to the black turtle from the four symbols

Sphene used to live on a camping site until Satsuma offered his Mistral house

She is a very light, and restless sleeper

Charcoal has a large collection of random shiny bits she found on the road. She tends to hoard things

As the poorest member of the team, she’s jealous about how getting into the academy must have been so much easier for them, or so she thinks

[littlewhitetie]

Interlude

I know it’s ridiculously late, but this was originally inspired by @blackpaladinweek Day 3: Break/Mend.

In which Keith takes care of Shiro after The Journey. 

There.

Keith’s heart leaps into his throat at the sight of the tiny Galra fighter. He’s fragile, Black tells him, but he’s in there.

Keith guides the Black Lion’s massive jaws to clamp down on the tiny ship, thrusters in reverse to ease the deceleration. Each move he makes is deliberate and precise, swift but gentle in carrying the ship to the hangar. The Lion sets the little ship on the hangar floor with utmost care, a mother with her cub.

As soon as it’s on solid ground, Keith bolts out of the pilot’s seat and leaps out of Black’s mouth. He sprints toward the fighter as fast as his legs will carry him.

The ship doesn’t open on its own. Shiro doesn’t step out to greet him.

Without hesitation, Keith pries the fighter open with his—no, Shiro’s bayard, and… It’s him. He’s here, he’s alive—though from the looks of it, just barely.

“Shiro,” Keith breathes, reaching for him when he doesn’t move. Keith tears off his helmet, and long, matted hair tumbles out. He’s been gone for far too long.

Keith tilts Shiro’s face toward him with hands too urgent to be gentle. Shiro’s lips are cracked, his complexion a frightening shade of grey. His eyes are sunken and hollow. “Shiro, wake up,” Keith pleads.

Shiro’s eyelids struggle to open. They manage eventually, cracking open just a sliver. “Keith,” he croaks. “You… found me.”

Keith’s chest swells at the sound of his voice—rough, weak, exhausted, but his. “Of course we did.”

Shiro gives him the faintest of smiles, and then his eyes slip closed again.

(Read more on AO3)

Trying to remain calm, Keith reaches for Shiro’s neck, pressing his fingers against his carotid artery to find his pulse. It’s there, but it’s rapid and thready. What happened to him?

The ship paints a partial picture. It’s a Galra fighter—did Shiro escape from the Galra again? More pressing, there’s a sharp, acrid odour telling of just how long he’s been in there, yet there aren’t any supplies visible in the tiny cockpit. There’s no sign of him having had access to food or water.

A clattering of footsteps fills the hangar in a steady crescendo as the others finally arrive, gathering around.

“It’s him,” Keith tells them, falling into leader mode, “but he’s not doing too good. Allura, can you lift him out of the seat? We need to get him to the med bay.”

“Yes, of course,” Allura says, clambering to his side. Shiro’s eyes are closed, but he elicits a pained gasp when Allura shifts his left leg. He’s conscious, if only just. He groans as she moves him again, lifting him into her arms. Careful, Keith wants to snap, but he holds his tongue. Patience. She’s trying her best.

“Can you guys go get a bed and whatever equipment set up?” Keith asks the others. “I don’t know what happened to him, but from the looks of it, he hasn’t had anything to drink or eat in days, and he might need a pod.”

Coran, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge respond with various forms of affirmation and hurry out of the hangar.

Carrying Shiro, Allura walks at a slower, metered pace to avoid jostling him more than necessary. Keith matches her strides beside her, not wanting to let Shiro out of his sight ever again. It’s a long walk from the Black Lion’s hangar to the infirmary, and they make it in silence.

By the time they get to the med bay, the others have a bed set up for him. As soon as Allura lays him down, Coran calls her over to help him calibrate some of the equipment. On the other side of the room, Hunk is poring over various containers in a cabinet. He trades chemistry jargon with Pidge, who types things into her wrist device at lightning speed. Lance just watches them, his eyes following their back-and-forth like a tennis match. He looks lost.

“Lance,” Keith says. “Help me get him out of this weird suit. Careful with his leg.”

Lance perks up, eager to be helpful. “You got it, boss man.” Keith’s not sure how to feel about being called that when Shiro’s back, but there are more pressing issues. He’ll sort that out later.

There’s no easy way of getting the worn, bulky suit off without moving Shiro too much, and they end up just tearing through the suit with Keith’s luxite blade. Keith and Lance share a horrified glance when they catch sight of what he’s wearing underneath.

Lance swallows. “Is… is that—“

“Yeah.” The unmistakeable tattered purple of a Galra prison uniform.

Keith’s stomach twists further as he cuts away the material covering Shiro’s left leg. There’s a bandage tied around Shiro’s left thigh that’s been completely soaked through, encrusted in dried blood. Lance blanches, looking as ill as Keith feels.

“He’s gonna need a healing pod,” Keith calls to the others.

“Unfortunately, the pod will have to wait,” Coran says, looking over a jumble of numbers and letters on a screen. “The pods use metabolic energy in the healing process, and he hasn’t had anything to eat or drink in a long time. We’ll need to treat that first.”

“We found something that should work,” Hunk calls from across the room. He and Pidge amble over carrying a packet filled with a clear liquid.

Coran pours the liquid into the mouth of a machine beside the bed—some sort of Altean version of an IV. He fiddles with a few things, adjusting settings, and then he inserts the needle into Shiro’s left arm. Or, at least, he tries to.

Shiro’s eyes fly open, and he tries to tear his limb away. “N-no,” he gasps.

“Shiro, Shiro, it’s okay,” Keith says, holding his arm in place with gentle but firm pressure.

“Nn… nnn…”

“Shiro, please,” Keith begs. “You gotta hold still.”

Shiro’s eyes are wild and panicked, but they lock onto Keith’s, and he stays still long enough for Coran to finish.

Leaving a hand on Shiro’s arm, Keith glances up at the others. “Guys, is there something else we can use that’s not…” He gestures vaguely at the line under Shiro’s skin.

Coran strokes his moustache. “Well, we could stick a tube down into his stomach through—“

“Uh, I don’t think that’s better,” Hunk interrupts. “Pidge and I can try to formulate some kinda oral rehydration solution that he can drink,” he offers, grabbing Pidge around the shoulders. She nods. “Y’know, sugars and salts.”

“Great. Do it,” Keith says with a nod. He turns his gaze back to Shiro. “Hey,” he murmurs, leaning in. “We need to leave this in for a little bit, but we’re gonna figure something else out real soon, okay?”

Shiro gives the barest of nods.

“Just rest ‘til then,” Keith says. “We’ll be right here.”

Shiro says something, his voice too low to catch his words. Keith has to lean in even closer to hear him repeat it, his ear barely an inch from Shiro’s lips.

“Just you,” Shiro whispers. “Please. The others… I can’t…” Can’t truly rest with them around. Can’t let them see him like this. Can’t be who he thinks they need him to be right now.

Keith would tell Shiro they’re not expecting anything from him, but that’s not exactly true. The rest of the team only really knows his leader persona. Maybe they’ve seen it slip before, but for the most part, they know the person he lets them see. The team is familiar with his confidence and determination and reassurance, and they do need that part of him. They nearly fell apart without it. It would be fine if Shiro let them see beneath that, of course it would, but it’s not something Keith could convince him of in a few words. Shiro’s got walls up just like Keith; his are just better hidden.

“Okay,” Keith says, quietly. He straightens up and turns to the rest of them. “Coran, you can monitor this stuff remotely, right? You guys don’t need to stick around. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

“I’ll stay too,” Lance volunteers. “I don’t mind.”

“No. The rest of you should get back to the bridge. Figure out a plan for how we’re gonna infiltrate the Galra outposts Kolivan told us about.”

Lance gapes at him. “You—you can’t seriously be thinking about that right now!”

“Come, Lance,” Allura says, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him toward the door. “We need your, ah, sharpshooter eyes on this plan.”

Lance visibly brightens at the appeal to his ego. “Well, in that case…”

Allura glances back as they exit, giving Keith a knowing look. Coran, too, nods almost imperceptibly. Perhaps those Altean ears of theirs were able to hear Shiro’s request.

“Supplies are in here,” Coran says, opening a cabinet. He goes through the different items, though Keith is well acquainted with them already—he prefers tending to his own injuries after battles to having someone else fuss over him, and he’s patched Shiro up more times than he can count.

“I’ll be keeping a close eye on his vitals from the bridge,” Coran tells him. “Let us know if you need anything.” Keith thanks him, and then they’re alone.

“Just me now,” Keith says.

Shiro’s face relaxes a fraction. His eyes flutter closed. “Thanks for staying,” he whispers.

“Of course.”

The rise and fall of Shiro’s chest slows, evening out. Once he’s sure Shiro’s asleep, Keith strips off his armour, disinfects his hands and knife, and begins the unglamorous task of getting Shiro cleaned up.

He cuts away the Galra prison clothes, tearing the awful thing into unrecognizable scraps of fabric. Keith had vowed to make sure Shiro would never end up in that uniform ever again, but he’d failed on that front. Twin storms of guilt and rage crash over him, turning his stomach more with each inch of skin he uncovers.

More of Shiro’s body is bruised than not, left a mess of green and yellow and brown. Whatever happened, he took a hell of a beating. His left leg is caked with dried blood from the thigh down. Gingerly, Keith peels away the bandage to reveal a nasty wound that’s still healing. It looks infected, and the area around where the skin’s been broken is burnt, angry and red and blistered.

The burn mark is shaped like a hand.

Keith swallows down his nausea. He can’t change what happened to Shiro, but he’ll fix him up as best he can. He focuses on his task, wiping away layers of blood and grime.

A few whimpers escape Shiro’s lips when Keith cleans the wound, but he doesn’t wake. With practiced precision, Keith applies a salve and dresses the wound, his hands all too familiar with the motions.

He reaches for Shiro’s face, dabbing at the blood on his cracked lower lip and wiping away the salt of dried sweat. He moves slowly, cloth lingering longer than it has to as it moves over Shiro’s features. When his face is clean, Keith discards the cloth and abandons all pretences, cradling Shiro’s cheek in his bare hand. “I missed you,” he whispers. “I missed you so much.”

Moments turn to minutes. Keith loses himself in a slew of emotions and half-formed thoughts, how could this happen and what can I do and he’s here he’s here he’s here.

Keith doesn’t move until Shiro starts to stir. His brow pinches and his jaw clenches, a groan slipping through his teeth.

“Shiro?”

A hitched breath; another moan.

“Shiro, what’s wrong?”

Shiro’s shallow breathing picks up in pace, becoming harsh and erratic. Something on the monitor starts flashing, graphs spiking.

“Coran?” Keith says over the comm system. “Coran, something’s happening. What should I do?”

“Not to worry, Keith. It looks like he’s just having a bad dream. Unpleasant, certainly, but not life threatening,” Coran assures him. “I imagine you’ll know what to do better than any of us.”

Just a nightmare. Not good, but better. Keith thanks Coran, requesting clothes for Shiro and a tablet when asked he needs anything, and turns his attention back to his best friend.

Pain is etched into Shiro’s features as he suffers through his nightmare. It’s difficult to watch, but it’s better not to wake him. Keith learned that the hard way, and he’s got the scar to prove it. He keeps an eye on Shiro’s left arm to ensure the IV is still in place, an eye on his right arm out of instinct.

Shiro’s distressed noises get louder, more desperate. Still, Keith waits. It’s better for both of them, but Keith hates not doing anything. It’s always been hard for him to sit still. He drives his fingernails deep into his palms and bites down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood.

Finally, with a stuttering gasp, Shiro’s eyes fly open, dazed and disoriented.

“Shiro,” Keith says, carefully moving in close enough to touch. “Shiro. It’s alright. You’re safe.”

Shiro’s eyes dart frantically, and when he catches sight of the IV in his arm, his right hand moves to tear it out. Keith grabs his wrist before he can.

“Shiro, please, we gotta leave that in,” he says, keeping his voice steady.

“No, I don’t—the lab—I…” Shiro trails off.

What lab? What did they do to him?

Keith eases Shiro’s arms back to his sides, keeping his fingers curled over his left wrist. “You’re not there anymore,” he promises. “You’re back at the Castle. We found you.”

Shiro doesn’t speak, silence punctuated only by uneven breaths.

“I’m sorry it took us so long,” Keith says, quietly. “I’m so sorry, Shiro.”

The look Shiro gives him isn’t angry, or blaming, or resentful; it’s so much worse than that. It’s mournful, despondent, broken. It crushes Keith, an implosion in his chest, squeezing tears from his eyes and carving fissures across his heart. Shiro’s silence speaks volumes. He doesn’t tell him it’s okay, doesn’t tell him he’s okay. His silence is honest.

“Where were you?” Keith asks, but he doesn’t get an answer.

Agitated and afraid, Shiro’s eyes return to the line in his arm. His metal fingers twitch. “Have to get this out,” he rasps. “Need it out of me.” The desperation in his voice deepens the hollow in Keith’s chest.

“Just hold on. I’ll see where the others are at,” Keith says, keeping his voice even. He opens up a comm line. “Hunk? You guys almost done?”

“Almost,” Hunk’s voice comes. “Give us a couple doboshes. We’ll be there soon.”

Keith cuts the comm and turns back to Shiro. “Just hold on. Hunk and Pidge are on their way over. They’re bringing something you can drink instead.”

Shiro’s eyes dart away. “O-okay.” He doesn’t seem assuaged at the thought. More distressed, even.  

“Do you… not want to see them?” Keith asks.

“I… Of course I do,” Shiro says, but he still won’t meet Keith’s eyes. “I’m just… tired.”

Keith gets it. He really does. “Okay. That’s fine. I’ll be right back,” he says, giving Shiro’s shoulder a brief squeeze before heading outside to wait in the hall for Pidge and Hunk.

They arrive shortly, Hunk carrying a pitcher and a cup, Pidge carrying the tablet and clothes he’d requested.

“How’s he doing?” Hunk asks.

“Can we see him?” Pidge chimes in.

“He’s stable. But you can’t see him yet. He’s, uh, resting.”

“Okay. Well, let us know when he’s awake,” Hunk says. “We wanna see him.”

Keith shifts uncomfortably. “Right. Yeah.”

Hunk and Pidge instruct Keith in how much solution to give Shiro and how often. When Keith heads back in, Shiro’s already got his metal fingers over the IV, ready to tear it out, though his hand is clumsy and shaky.

“I got it,” Keith says, hurrying back over, working as quickly as he can to remove it. Shiro’s relief is palpable. “Okay. Let’s try something else.”

Keith adjusts the bed so Shiro’s sitting up, his back at an incline. He pours a small amount of the liquid into the cup. “Here. Drink this.”

Shiro’s hands are still trembling, so Keith curls his fingers over Shiro’s and helps guide the cup to his lips. “Small sips. Nice and slow,” Keith says. Shiro obliges. By the time he’s done, his eyelids are starting to droop.

“You can rest,” Keith says. “I’ll be right here in the room. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thanks, Keith,” Shiro whispers.

Keith waits until Shiro drifts off. It doesn’t take long. Keith pulls out the pad, brings up some files, and settles in.

…

Keith helps Shiro to drink the sugar-salt solution at regular intervals in between nightmares. Keith cleans him up and changes the sheets when he throws it back up, rubbing his back and soothing him as best he can, gently urging him to try again a bit later.

Shiro apologizes over and over—Keith shouldn’t have to do this—but Keith reminds him of all the times Shiro’s taken care of him. This is nothing. Keith doesn’t mind at all.

Keith tries to do work while Shiro’s asleep, but his thoughts keep coming back to Shiro. He has so many questions. Where was he? When was he? His hair is too long—maybe the Galra did something to him; maybe he was somewhere where time moved more quickly. Keith really hopes there’s another explanation; he hopes Shiro wasn’t suffering for the years the length of his hair implies.

Keith asks Pidge to extract any information she can from the Galra fighter. As Keith listens to the pilot’s log she downloads, he’s unable to stifle a choked noise that threatens to become a sob. If Keith had been looking for him when they were at Thayserix, maybe they’d have found him sooner. He was in there for seven days. Any longer, and he’d have—

Or what if Shiro had caught up to Voltron, and they’d done to his ship what they do to all other Galra fighters? Something awful crawls up Keith’s throat, and he forces himself to stop contemplating what-ifs. He can’t think about that. He can’t.

The space suit. Allura and Coran tell him they’ve never seen anything like the outfit Shiro was found in. It certainly isn’t Galra. It does look like something that’s been mass-produced, though—some sort of uniform, maybe? It’s a good thing he’d had it; he’d used up the ship’s supply of oxygen somewhere around Day 5. But why was he even wearing it in the first place? Was he out in space at some point, outside of the ship?

And the injuries. From the looks of it, he must have acquired them not long before getting in the ship. The massive bruises suggest he was thrown around. Maybe a crash? But the ship was intact. Maybe he had been back in the arena. He was definitely fighting something or someone. The wound in his leg looks like it came from a weapon—the wound Shiro had had to cauterize himself.

And a lab, Shiro mentioned something about a lab. God, what happened to him?

Keith needs to know. He’s curious, of course, but more than that, if it involved the Galra, it could be important to know for the sake of the mission.

“Shiro,” Keith says after a few vargas have passed. “Can you tell me where you were?”

Shiro flinches. “I… I can’t remember much.”

“What do you remember?” Keith asks, coaxing him.

“I… Can we talk about this later?” Shiro pleads, and Keith can’t bring himself to press the issue.

“Yeah. Of course.” Keith puts a hand on Shiro’s broad shoulder. “Well… whatever happened, I’m glad you’re okay.”

Shiro gives him a weak smile, one that says, ‘that depends on your definition of okay.’

“I’m glad you’re alive, and you’re gonna make a full recovery,” Keith amends. “Let’s see how your leg’s doing.”

Keith fetches the supplies to change his dressing, grimacing as he unwraps the wound. The Altean salve has helped a bit, but it still looks bad. “We’ll have to get you into a pod as soon as you’ve got a little more in you.”

Shiro freezes up.

“Shiro?”

His eyes are glazed over, lost in some kind of flashback. Keith waits for it to pass with bated breath. When Shiro finally snaps out of it, he vehemently shakes his head. “No,” he gasps. “No pod.”

Keith frowns. “Your wound’s pretty bad.”

“It was worse before. It’ll heal on its own,” Shiro insists.

“That could take a while,” Keith says.

“You’ve been flying the Black Lion, right?” Shiro asks.

“Yeah, but—”

“So you can handle it for a little while longer. Can’t you?”

It’s a request. It’s not what Keith wants. But if this is what Shiro needs, then… “Okay.”

They settle into silence, something comfortable and familiar. Keith’s about to go back to his pad, when Shiro asks, “How long was I gone for?”

It hurts just thinking about that time. “Eighty-four days.” Eighty-four days of grief and loneliness. Eighty-four days of poor leadership and indescribable stress. Eighty-four days of failing to find Shiro. Why had it taken the Black Lion so long?

Shiro’s expression is unreadable. Maybe it had felt like more, maybe less. “Well, I’m glad you were able to take my place as the Black Paladin.”  

Keith bristles. “I’ve been flying the Black Lion, but I am not the Black Paladin.” His voice is sharper than he intends, but he’s adamant about this. “I could never take your place.”

Shiro’s lips quirk up, and it’s hard to tell whether his smile is genuine or self-deprecating.

“I’m serious, Shiro,” Keith says, just in case it’s the latter.

“You always are,” Shiro says. His voice is exhausted but fond. “So if you’ve been piloting the Black Lion, who’s in Red?”

Keith’s only partway through his explanation of the Lion shuffle when Shiro dozes off again, falling into a fitful slumber.

Keith tries to keep working, but it’s hard to focus on interpreting the Blade of Marmora’s intel with the pained noises Shiro makes in his sleep, the way he gasps and shivers. He gives up when Shiro starts crying out, forming words Keith wishes he couldn’t make out.

Shiro wakes from what sounds like his worst dream yet with a scream. With a surprising amount of strength, he pushes himself off of the bed, struggling to his feet.

“Whoa, whoa, hey, where are you going?” Keith asks, just barely catching him before he collapses.

“My room, or just… not here. Please.”

Shiro should probably stay here in the infirmary where he can be monitored, but his eyes are pleading.

“Alright,” Keith concedes. “But I’m not leaving you alone.”

After sending a brief message to the team to tell them he’s moving Shiro, he helps him to his room. Shiro leans on him heavily, and by the time they reach his bed, Keith is bearing nearly all of Shiro’s weight. The walk there takes all of Shiro’s energy, and he’s asleep in a matter of ticks.

Keith claims the edge of Shiro’s bed and pulls out his pad. He’s greeted by the blinking lights of several new messages. Another Galra outpost identified. Another distress signal. How should we prioritize? How should we approach this part of the plan? How’s Shiro? Can we see him yet?

There’s so much to be done, and Keith’s going to have to figure out how to balance it all. He’ll need to decide how to divide his time between taking care of Shiro and his duties with Voltron. He’ll need to find a way of preventing Shiro’s reclusiveness from affecting team morale. Ultimately, he’ll need to strike a balance between what Shiro wants and what the universe needs. He’ll get Shiro to tell him what happened, even if it hurts.

Keith gets back to work.

Keith doesn’t remember nodding off. He doesn’t remember becoming a body pillow, but that’s how he wakes, with Shiro clinging to him like an oversized teddy bear. It’s distinctly uncomfortable—Shiro’s metal arm digs in under his ribs, and his grip is so tight it’s hard to breathe. Still, there’s nowhere Keith would rather be.

He wriggles out of Shiro’s arms just enough to roll over to face him. For once, Shiro looks like he’s at peace, finally getting the rest he needs. Shiro pulls Keith in close again, eliminating any space between them.

There’s a lot Keith has to do, but all of that can wait. For now, he’s right where he needs to be. With a small smile, he burrows deeper against Shiro’s chest. Taking in the steady one-two rhythm of Shiro’s heartbeat, he goes back to sleep.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/world/how-to-make-an-avengers-film-in-11-steps/

How to make an Avengers film in 11 steps

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The Avengers cast and crew (L-R): Joe and Anthony Russo, Kevin Feige, Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner and Brie Larson

Avengers: Endgame, the fourth instalment in Marvel’s superhero crossover franchise, made an unprecedented $1.2bn at the box office last weekend.

It’s the biggest three-day haul in movie history; and a testament to the strength of Marvel’s serialised approach to story-telling.

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo said they were “definitely surprised” by the film’s “runaway success” – but also announced they were taking a break from the superhero genre, after making two Captain America and two Avengers films in the space of seven years.

“One of the most important things we learned is that when you’re shooting two of the largest movies ever made, and you’re shooting them back to back… is don’t shoot ’em back to back,” Anthony told BBC News, confirming the duo’s departure.

Joss Whedon experienced similar emotions after writing and directing the series’ first two instalments.

“Why on Earth would I make another Avengers movie? They’re really hard,” he mused on the DVD commentary for Age of Ultron. “It was ill advised. I see that now.”

But Marvel’s Cinematic Universe will continue – with new instalments of Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy already confirmed; and a new configuration of The Avengers almost a certainty.

If you somehow end up in the directors’ chair, how should you prepare? Here are 11 key lessons from the people who made the originals.

This article does not contain spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, but will discuss plot details from the preceding films.

1) Start out on a TV show

Image copyright Fox

Image caption The Russos directed the pilot of Arrested Development, and have referenced the show in both Infinity War and Captain America: Civil War

All three directors of The Avengers made their names in TV. Joss Whedon created Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly; while the Russo brothers worked on cult comedies Community and Arrested Development.

Those experiences were invaluable when it came to wrangling a cast of more than 20 characters, “because they are all ensemble shows,” says Joe Russo.

“Those were shows that had to be executed in 21 minutes, they had to be funny, and they had to have a plot. And sometimes, like in an episode of Community, you’d have 30 speaking parts – so that’s an exercise that certainly trained you in trying to contain as many characters as we do in two hours.”

“We’re drawn to multiple points of view and group dynamics, because we grew up in a very large Italian-American family,” adds Anthony, “so we’ve always loved working with ensembles.”

2) Know the characters inside-out

Image copyright Disney

Image caption The first Avengers film brought together six heroes, now there are more than 20

The joy of the Avengers is seeing how these disparate characters, and the actors who play them, interact.

“There is a natural competition when the leads from two different franchises get together and it plays right into the competition of two heroes getting together – so it is delightful,” observed Infinity War script-writer Chris Markus last year.

“A very compelling element of crossovers is who has primacy. They’re all leaders, they’re all used to leading their own worlds, and once you put them into the same room, who gets to call the shots? That is a notion we revisit several times.”

Still, it’s a challenge to give 23 separate characters a distinct voice in the confines of a three-hour film.

Luckily, there’s an old screenwriting tip that comes in handy: If your characters are well-written, you should know how each of then would react if they accidentally fall into a swimming pool.

“Thor from Infinity War would mess that pool up,” says Anthony. “Whereas Rocket – he’s not exceedingly self-deprecating, so I think I could see him gag and spit. He’d be a little irritated.”

3) Take a lot of toilet breaks

Image copyright Shutterstock

Image caption Even superheroes need the bathroom

Scott Derrickson recently tweeted how he “ran into Joe Russo outside the men’s room,” while he was editing the Doctor Strange film in 2015.

“He pitched me the basic story for both Infinity War and Endgame [and] I told him that if he could make the first movie work, the second movie would be incredible.”

Which begs the question: How long did Joe keep his colleague waiting for the loo?

“I think it was like a 10-minute pitch,” he laughs.

“But the funniest thing is that people are like, ‘Do you guys get together at Marvel all the time and have meetings about the storylines?’

“And the answer is, ‘No, it all happens on the way to the bathroom’. That’s where everyone runs into one another and starts exchanging information.”

In other words, don’t hold it in.

4) Keep the story simple

Image copyright Disney

Image caption The search for the Infinity Stones is the key plot device of Avengers: Infinity War

For all of the acclaim heaped on Infinity War, the plot can be boiled down to three words: “Thanos wants stones”.

“We have so many characters in the movie that we knew if the plot was complicated, it would take too [long] to explain and that would take away from the characters and the action,” said screenwriter Chris Markus on the DVD commentary.

Even the number of Infinity Stones caused a headache, said co-writer Steve McFeely.

“Had we invented the idea of Infinity Stones in a vacuum, I’m sure we would not have decided there were six of them. Six MacGuffins is a lot for one movie.”

To keep things moving, the Russos dictated that every scene “had to do more than one thing”.

So the opening sequence – in which Thanos crushes the Hulk, kills Thor’s brother Loki and steals one of the Infinity Stones – conveys three plot points in two minutes.

“It establishes Hulk’s journey – he’s been defeated and doesn’t particularly want to help [Bruce] Banner over the course of the movie,” explained Anthony Russo.

“It establishes a vengeance story for Thor by taking out his brother, and it establishes the plot for stone collection.”

5) The odds should seem insurmountable

Image copyright Disney

Image caption Just another day at the office

“I wanted to make a movie where being a superhero wasn’t a free pass,” said Joss Whedon, about scripting the first Avengers film in 2012.

“Where things were tough enough that you would be as strong as you could possibly be and still not be enough to deal with what was going on.

“The stakes,” he added, “are always the same.

“The stakes are: You could die.”

6) Acknowledge the ridiculous

Image copyright Disney

Image caption He’s behiiiiind you

When your heroes are up against a sentient robot who’s ripped an entire city off the face of the planet, it pays to acknowledge that everything’s a bit far-fetched.

And so, at the climax of Age of Ultron, Hawkeye takes stock of the situation and says: “We’re fighting an army of robots and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense.”

“I refer to that as ‘inoculation,'” Whedon explained. “He says the thing we’re all thinking, and it plays.”

7) Talk to the animators

Image copyright Disney

Image caption Hulk and Thanos are based on motion-captured performances by Mark Ruffalo and Josh Brolin

The Avengers films are some of the most effects-heavy movies in history, with four major characters – Thanos, Hulk, Rocket and Groot – created by computer animation.

Making them believable is a crucial task, so both Whedon and the Russos started working with artists before the scripts were written.

“Thanos was difficult,” says Joe Russo. “We knew we were sunk if Thanos wasn’t photo-real, so we spent two years doing research and development on Thanos and making sure that he would work correctly.”

For his debut as the Hulk, actor Mark Ruffalo even wrote a letter to the effects team, stressing that his motion-captured performances were only the first stage of creating the character.

“We are all playing this part,” he wrote. “I have taken it as far as I can and you guys have to use what you can and then forget about me and become the Hulk.”

“It was incredibly inspiring to the animators,” recalled Whedon, who set aside a day to explain how the movie portrayed two different aspects of the green-skinned monster: “The one Bruce Banner becomes unwittingly and the one he decides to be”.

“What I found out later was that most of them – in fact all of them – had not been able to see the script, so they were just animating things in a vacuum,” he said. “So it was incredibly productive.”

8) Always put the raccoon on a chair*

Image copyright Disney

Image caption Size isn’t everything…

Have you ever noticed that Rocket – the CGI raccoon played by Bradley Cooper – is almost always standing on a chair?

“That’s a great point,” says Anthony. “When you’re dealing with characters of radically different sizes, it presents a lot of framing challenges.

“You start to learn tricks in blocking [staging the scene] to keep everyone in the same relative plane, so you can actually shoot them.”

(* or a table)

9) Ban t-shirts

When we first meet Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow in Avengers Assemble, she’s tied to a chair, barefoot and in a vest top, apparently being interrogated by shadowy Russian forces.

Of course, she breaks free in spectacular fashion… but her outfit made it one of the hardest stunt scenes to choreograph.

“Whenever you say ‘she has no sleeves’ to your stunt co-ordinator he cries man tears,” Joss Whedon noted afterwards.

“It’s very difficult to do a lot of these things if you can’t pad up the knees and elbows.”

10) Embrace the darkness

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Joss Whedon clashed with Marvel during the making of Age Of Ultron

Making these films is “incredibly physically demanding,” says Joe Russo, and there will inevitably be dark days.

“When you start out, it’s all perfect in your head,” Whedon told BBC News in 2015, “and when you work with the actors, it gets better.

“Then at some point you’ve been editing for so long you start thinking. ‘Who am I? What’s happening?’ and you forget why you ever showed up, and what you’re trying to say. And you despair. It’s a very bleak experience.

11) Emotion > action

Image copyright Disney

Image caption Thor is sad

Adding character beats to action sequences has been Joss Whedon’s calling card since Buffy – and he pulls it off perfectly in Age Of Ultron’s climactic battle, where Hawkeye stops whaling on the bad guys to discuss home improvements.

“You know what I need to do? The dining room,” he tells Black Widow. “If I knock out that east wall, it’ll make a nice work space… What do you think?”

“That sequence is, for me, the reason I show up,” Whedon said in the commentary. “Where two people in the apocalypse are talking about re-doing the dining room, that says more about their relationship than anything else I could have done.”

The Infinity War team made a similar decision. Their film doesn’t end with a battle but the emotional fallout of Thanos’s “snap” – scenes that left some viewers in tears.

So what will they feel when they walk out of Endgame?

“Catharsis,” says Joe Russo.

“We realise how impactful the Infinity War ending was,” adds his brother.

“We saw how difficult it was for many people and that’s something that we really respect. So we were very committed to paying off that kind of a story.”

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at Toldnewsnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@Toldnews.co.uk.

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttps://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

[one-of-us-blog]

Casino Royale (1967)

As a second special bonus post, today Drew is watching and recapping 1967’s Casino Royale, the first non-canonical James Bond film. The original James Bond is called out of retirement in order to foil the evil machinations of SMERSH, but to do that he has to put together a crack team of James Bonds. Can the true 007 come out of this one unscathed? How many James Bonds can fit into one movie? And can this movie’s plot possibly be more confusing?

Keep reading to find out…

Screenplay by Wolf Mankowitz, John Law & Michael Sayers, film directed by Ken Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath, Robert Parrish, Val Guest & Richard Talmadge

James Bond is chilling with his dick out at a public urinal in France when he’s approached by Lieutenant Mathis (Duncan Macrae), who shows off his ‘credentials’ at the urinal. The two head off, presumably to beat each other off in the bushes, and we head to an opening credit sequence that feels like something out of Monty Python.

Following this we jump to a caravan of cars making their way through the English countryside. A group of men, including M (John Huston) carpool down a road lined with twelve zoos-worth of lions. They eventually arrive at the home of Sir James Bond (David Niven). Wait, this guy is James Bond? Who was that guy with his dick out earlier? I’m confused already! The men with M are representatives of various intelligence organizations, and we learn that this James Bond is the true, original James Bond, while MI6 gave his name and number – 007 – to a younger, hyper-sexualized killing machine when he left the spy game 20 years ago. Bond isn’t interested in the world of espionage anymore, and only wants to focus on his garden (and presumably his harem of pet lions). M explains that things have gotten very, very bad lately and he’s lost numerous agents, including, maybe Bond’s hypersexual successor. The other intelligence heads report similar losses, which is why they’re willing to overlook their differences and come together to stop this menace to their organizations.

M begs Bond to return to the field, even producing a letter from the Queen asking him to return to action, but Bond refuses. So M has a bunch of soldiers blow up Bond’s house, presumably with his old butler still inside. Looks like Bond is back in action, baby! SMERSH finds out Bond is back in the game and resolves to destroy the aged spy. Oh, by the way, M straight up died in that mortar attack on Bond estate. Yeah, you heard me, M is dead as a doornail. Bond delivers his former boss’ remains to his widow, but it turns out that SMERSH has replaced M’s widow with one of its agents, Agent Mimi (Deborah Kerr). We get an absolute cavalcade of Scottish jokes as the McTarry clan prepares to mourn M.

Bond retires to his suite and two SMERSH agents posing as M’s daughters begin the difficult task of seducing him. Unlike his replacement, who can’t keep his pants on to save his life, the original Bond is famously chaste and SMERSH thinks the best way to destroy him is to break his pure image. Bond is bathed by one of M’s fake daughters, who makes a gross point to mention that she’s 17. Later, at the bacchanalia which passes for a funeral celebration all of the SMERSH agents get so shitfaced that they can’t seduce Bond, so he just goes to bed after they all pass out. Agent Mimi quickly recovers, though, and makes her way into Bond’s bedroom and demands he comfort her in her grief. This is an affront to Mimi’s fake Scottish honor, so she says Bond will have to face off against a gaggle of Scotsmen in a game involving carrying very large stones.

Bond succeeds, mainly because all of the Scotsmen injure themselves trying to lift the stones, and Mimi is so turned on by his prowess that she drops her Scottish act and genuinely falls in love with Sir James. The bevy of beauties posing as her fake Scottish daughters are not happy about their fake mother deviating from their mission and lock her in her room while they and James go out to shoot birds the next day. Agent Mimi’s love won’t be denied, though, and she eventually manages to sneak out of her room while her fake daughters launch explosive ducks toward Bond. The ducks are attracted to a magnetic button that had been covertly sewn into Bond’s pants, and Bond and Mimi take turns throwing it back and forth with the fake McTarry girls. Bond eventually succeeds in blowing up the van the McTarrys arrived in, and Mimi, after sharing a kiss with Bond, goes off to join a convent.

Bond finally escapes Scotland, only to be led into a highspeed chase with another SMERSH agent. That’s right, this isn’t even a canonical Bond film but by golly we’re still going to sit through a chase scene. Bond eventually gets the better of the SMERSH agent and she’s killed by the explosive truck that was meant to kill him. Bond arrives at MI6 and gives a big old smooch to Miss Moneypenny (Barbara Bouchet), who explains to him that she’s the daughter of the original Miss Moneypenny. The new head of MI6 lets Bond know about the sheer number of spies who have been killed lately, though he points out that the hypersexual, murderous agent who replaced Bond as 007 is no longer in the field and is now working in television. MI6 has, however, lost track of Bond’s nephew, Jimmy Bond (played by avid statutory rapist and all around piece of shit Woody Allen). Aware of SMERSH’s preference for female spies, Bond says they need to find an agent who can withstand feminine whiles. Moneypenny is forced to make out with a bunch of dudes because that’s all she is to these people, and finally settles on Coop (Terence Cooper). Bond says that he’s going to put together an elite squad of agents and call them all James Bond to confuse SMERSH, so Coop is now James Bond. Bond is put through rigorous anti-horniness training that involves body slamming beautiful women who try to seduce him. One of the women is known only as The Detainer (Dalilah Lavi), who’s so impressive that she’s brought into the James Bond squad and is now James Bond also.

Bond next seeks out Vesper Lynd (Ursula Andress, whom you might remember as Honey Ryder from a little flick called Dr. No), a retired spy who was presumed to have been eaten by sharks. Lynd isn’t interested in taking a mission, but it turns out she’s in trouble for tax problems and Bond is willing to make those issues go away if she helps him. That’s right, Vesper Lynd is now also James Bond. Bond goes to meet with Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers), a master of baccarat (wait a second, could we actually be getting close to the plot?) and gets him hot under the collar with her feminine charm. Tremble joins Bond in her decadent home and the two bang while Bond makes sure Tremble really is unbeatable at baccarat. Bond has Tremble put on a series of costumes, including an honest to god Hitler costume which prompts Tremble to do a Nazi salute, and eventually Bond asks Tremble if he’s heard of a baccarat player named Le Chiffre (Orson Welles). Bond tells Tremble she wants Tremble to go head to head against Le Chiffre; she’ll put up the money if he’ll play and then they’ll split the profits. Tremble’s quickly convinced, but there’s a problem: Le Chiffre will never agree to play against him, because he’s read Tremble’s book and will recognize his name. Not a problem, says Bond, as she’s got a new name for him: James Bond.

Bond arrives James Bond 007 training and is greeted by Q (Geoffrey Bayldon) and his gay-for-laughs assistant (John Wells). Bond is given a two-way television/radio wristwatch and a super gadget suit. Meanwhile, Bond gets a lead and finds out SMERSH has a cover organization called International Mothers’ Help which pairs nannies and au pairs with wealthy families. Bond decides to send his daughter, Mata Bond (Joanna Pettet), the result of his union with his one true love, Mata Hari, under cover. Mata isn’t a spy, but Bond thinks she has potential. Bond heads to some vaguely Asian country and watches his daughter put on a dance so rich in cultural appropriation that an unborn Scarlett Johansson is already green with envy.

Despite being estranged for pretty much all of Mata’s life, the two are happily reunited and Mata admits that she’d totally bang Bond if he weren’t her dad. Mata’s totally down to be a spy like her late mother and is instantly on board with infiltrating International Mothers’ Help. That’s right, Bond’s little girl is in the game and she herself is now James Bond. The SMERSH agent running MHH loves the idea of Bond joining their ranks and she’s instantly accepted and told about an upcoming visit by Le Chiffre. We find out that Le Chiffre is a compulsive gambler and has been using SMERSH funds to fund his habit, and if he doesn’t come up with some dough to make up for his losses he’s going to be liquidated. He plans on selling off his fancy art collection to raise the dough, but Bond quickly realizes that the art collection is actually comprises of compromising photos of important world leaders that various intelligence agencies want to buy to use for blackmail. Bond is told she can’t let Le Chiffre raise the money he needs through the sale of his collection, so she quickly snatches them and makes a break for it. She dispatches legions of agents in the goofiest ways possible and eventually escapes with a cabdriver who actually works for MI6.

Le Chiffre is informed of the failed auction, and resolves to raise the money through gambling. He was probably planning on gambling soon anyway, so what the hell. Bond heads off for his game with Le Chiffre, but Bond wonders if he might be a double agent. He contacts Bond to ask her, but she assures him that Bond is having enough trouble being a single agent. In France, Bond is seduced by a SMERSH agent named Miss Goodthighs (Jacqueline Bisset), who drugs him and sends him off on a colorful hallucination until he’s shaken awake by Bond with barely enough time to make his game with Le Chiffre. At the titular Casino Royale, Le Chiffre is on a winning streak and also putting on a magic show for his fellow players. Bond escorts Bond to Casino Royale and Bond quickly deduces that Le Chiffre is cheating by using infrared sunglasses which allow him to see every card on the table. Bond tells Bond she’ll take care of Le Chiffre’s cheat-glasses and tells him to just focus on baccarat. Bond manages to snatch Le Chiffre’s glasses while he’s not looking, and Le Chiffre delights Bond with another magic show.

With the preamble out of the way the game gets underfoot. Le Chiffre has the upper hand for a while, but then Bond raises the stakes and quickly wipes the floor with Le Chiffre. Bond is kidnapped by two men, so Bond steals a racecar and gives chase. Suddenly Bond wakes up in Le Chiffre’s clutches and Le Chiffre begins to psychologically torture Bond in an attempt to make Bond give up the check for his casino winnings. Bond rescues Bond from his hallucinatory nightmare, only to turn around and kill him herself. SMERSH agents arrive and execute Le Chiffre.

Meanwhile, Bond wants Bond to let her into MI6 so she can see her father at work, but he refuses and sends her on her way. She wanders around, only to be kidnapped by a man on a horse and taken aboard a SMERSH flying saucer. Bond is instantly aware of his daughter’s kidnapping, and while trying to make plans for her rescue he’s interrupted by the arrival of a nun seeking donations. Turns out it’s actually Agent Mimi, who passes Bond a note telling him Bond has been taken to Casino Royale. Bond and Moneypenny head to the casino and are immediately ambushed by SMERSH agents. They’re taken deep underground to the lair of Dr. Noah (get it? like Dr. No? get it?), the head of SMERSH.

Dr. Noah taunts Bond and Moneypenny as they flee through his lair, and soon they’re brought face-to-face with a robotic James Bond double that Dr. Noah is planning to use to take over the world. It’s soon revealed that Dr. Noah is, in fact, Jimmy Bond, James Bond’s awful nephew. Jimmy reveals that his plan is to release a biological weapon that will kill all men taller than himself and make all women beautiful. Fun. Bond and Moneypenny are taken away by SMERSH agents and Jimmy goes to taunt Bond (whom we haven’t seen since she and Bond were wrestling way back at the start of the movie), who’s been captured, stripped and bound to a table. Bond taunts Jimmy for being such a grotesque little goblin of a man, and we have to watch him dance around and make an ass of himself while trying to impress Bond. He shows off a pill disguised as an aspirin but is actually a million little bombs.

Bond tells Jimmy she’ll be his co-ruler of the world so he’ll untie her, but she grabs the bomb pills while he’s not looking. Meanwhile, Bond, Bond, Bond and Moneypenny make preparations to escape. Jimmy shows off his room of robot doubles and we find out every world ruler is actually under his control. Bond slips the bomb pill into Jimmy’s drink and he begins to explode as she flees. Bond, Bond, Bond and Moneypenny escape and avoid being shot by SMERSH agents long enough to reunite with Bond. The four Bonds and a Moneypenny head for the surface and emerge into Casino Royale. Bond prepares to call for help, but he’s confronted by the treacherous Bond, who reveals she went through a lot of trouble to get him here so she could kill him.

The American cavalry arrive on horseback to do battle with the SMERSH agents, and an absolutely bonkers fight breaks out. The bombs inside of Jimmy finally go off and Casino Royale explodes, killing everyone inside. All of the Bonds and Moneypenny are seen in Heaven, while Jimmy is sent down to roast in hell where he belongs.

The End

~~~~~

Jeez louise, I need a nap after all of that. To be fair, there were actually a lot of genuinely funny jokes in this movie and I laughed out loud several times while watching it, but man alive was it ever goofy. The plot was maybe one of the most convoluted I’ve ever seen, and I have no idea why Coop or The Detainer needed to be in the movie at all. Everyone involved seemed to be giving it there all and I can tell this movie was a lot of fun to watch, but it’s so long that it really was exhausting to get through. Toward the end it got so incoherent and chaotic that I honestly wasn’t sure what was going on at times, and I had to consult the movie’s Wikipedia page more than once to keep track of what was happening. I don’t know that this movie fully succeeded as a Bond parody, or even as a coherent comedy, but I’m still glad to have checked it out and it’s got me very excited to check out the canonical Casino Royale next!

[vg11k]

Fire and Blood - 1

The wagon was moving calmly along the river. The team was not in a hurry to get the passengers talking to each other. Two young men stood in the front of the car, keeping an eye on the monotonous road. In the shadow of the tarpaulin at the back, an older, thicker man kept passing a rag over his gun with his heels touching the dust. After a while, he lifted her up above his head and gazed at her in a ray of light. The mighty war hammer sparkled. Satisfied, the man in bure delicately put it inside, at the feet of a fourth man. He looked at her with great respect, before turning to the blue sky at the end of the afternoon.

Snoring was coming up from under the fourth man's imposing hat. Despite the fine weather of late autumn, he had kept his ample coat, his arms crossed, disappearing inside. The jolt of a bad stone shook the hammer which touched his thick studded boots. Crystalline tinnitus erupted from the crates on either side of the sleeper.

John is still sleeping, said the man cheerfully following the wagon.

Raising his head, the bald priest gave him back his smile. Few things could pull John Grenaille out of his sleep. Few things have been omitted from its obligations, as both of them had already noted on numerous occasions. Rare were the men who had practiced his profession so long and so enthusiastically. John had been a repudiator since he was nine years old.

He can sleep after the life he made in Nuln! cried one of the soldiers, also walking behind him, at the head of the fortnight's head.

The first one laughed and approved. John had animated one of the city's largest inns until after sunrise, seemingly tireless, always dancing, courting or singing. And yet he had achieved the impossible the day before. Without the man in the adventurer's hat, the twenty or so people in the procession would have perished in the sewers of the city. He was the one who had killed the master mutator, the abominations puffed up suddenly destabilized by the disappearance of their pack leader. The vermin would still have been a real scourge for merchants for a long time, piercing their cellars and seizing their possessions as well as their servants...

Tristofan Tisseron wore a white and gold tabard, embroidered with scarlet flames attesting to his status. He was a magus of fire. His beard, constantly brownish, contrasted with the thick red hair that grew in disorder on his skull and sparkling green eyes. Her bare arms were covered with freckles, whose skin stuck to her muscles revealed her regular excess in magic manipulation. Nevertheless, he advanced vigorously among the soldiers, holding his stick firmly and firmly.

They had now been warned of increasing disappearances in the city of Grissenwald two days ago. They immediately set off, flanked by Dave and Leon, the two apprentices of the repurgator, and accompanied by Brother Brandit. To them five they had already carried out more than fifteen interventions through the empire, relentlessly tracking down the servants of ruin, the Skavens or any other vermin.

A little less than twenty soldiers followed, with their metal armour rattling as they walked. They had heard about their problems with the solved skavens at the same time as the Grissenwald incident group. They were delighted to learn that John had decided to visit the scene of the incident. But surprised that he told them that if the soldiers wanted his help, they would have to move at his own pace, which means at the speed of a mule. Preferring to count on his support, Corporal Rechald had given up their mounts. At least they didn't carry the majority of their food and sleeping accommodations, which were currently used as mattresses and pillows.

*

With her eyes soaked in tears, she begged the individual to let her go. Her long, brown hair was glued to her cheeks and her naked body by croupy water. She suffocated for a moment. Her gag prevented her from stirring her jaw completely.

Lying on the cold ground, she could only contemplate the other three women slowly bleeding to death. A bloody furrow was traced on each of their throats, yet they were still alive. The trachea and esophagus had not been severed. Nevertheless, they remained immobile, paralyzed by magic. She saw the creature leaning towards the nearest one, observing it carefully. He totally ignored the naked, slender body dripping with hemoglobin, and stretched a emaciated finger towards the bloody cut.

The fourth woman shouted a stifled cry as he slipped his finger into the wound of his immobile victim, the skin waving as he stroked the inside of the flesh. Slowly he took it off and carried it to his lips. For a moment he seemed to study her taste like a winegrower of a great vintage, the vague glance. Slowly, a smile stretched over his light grey face, revealing his yellowish, prominent canines. Slowly he leaned over the poor woman whose gag had been removed. His crackled lips rested on those, red and fleshy, of the throat.

She was a witness despite herself of this long kiss in the light of the torches. The fluids of the first three victims flowed on their kneeling bodies, criss-crossing between their breasts and dripping from their thighs in furrows dug into the stone. These formed a perfect circle in which the dark liquid flowed, before going into a central basin where it gradually accumulated. A crackling sound made the woman startle, fascinated by this morbid kiss. A horror thrill roamed her as she watched the creature straighten up. The woman turned forward, her gaze stuck in the survivor's eye while her paralyzed jaw remained wide open. A new flood of blood flowed through her thick broth as she tried to loosen her ties, screaming in spite of her gag.

There is no doubt that it is the tastiest of the three,"said the individual, chewing slowly. From the point of view of experience as well as nectar. And you, sweetheart, what do you have to offer me?

He swallowed his victim's severed tongue by turning to the last woman still screaming. A big smile spread over his red smudged face.

As I wish I could read in the past, whispered the man as he contemplated the ceremony with an envious gaze. How pleasant it must be !

Master Scleras will soon give us his kiss, said the smiling blonde woman in a low voice.

She still held the seal of water with which she had awakened the other brunette in her hand. Carefully tracking every move of the vampire, she leaned her head aside, calculating. How she admired the grace with which he manipulated the emotions of each of them.

Castille herself had coated the dagger of her master with paralytic poison. She knew her effects perfectly well. The other three women were fully aware of what they were going through. Better still, she felt with increased perception every sound, every caress and every dash of pain. And yet, the substance forbade them from moving. They were no longer even able to blink eyelids to moisturize the apples in their eyes. Each had an open throat from which an irregular stream of hemoglobin came out, ejected by the painstaking beating of their hearts.

At his side, Morisburg was fascinated. The envy was so powerful in his eyes that he could have illuminated the room. Entirely dressed in black cloth, his outfit contrasted with his neighbour's light white dress, whose bare feet were stained with clay. Where she was excited, the fabric bounced over her knees, he was totally motionless. As if he had cut himself on the dagger of Master Scleras. Dagger that drew a new scarlet line in a muffled cry.

*

You say that each of the forty-three missing were under the age of thirty-five? Leon asked Leon, observing carefully the innkeeper's expressions.

Next to him, Dave wrote down every word on a notebook, his hand constantly moving.

Yup, even though the old Baster was found dead the day after his daughter disappeared, approved the man with the imposing belly.

Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary, a detail, an object that was not in its place, a wound, a missing jewel?

Well, everything was locked in their house and we didn't notice anything broken or missing, said the innkeeper, scratching his stomach and frowning. But old Baster... he had an expression...

The man had a heart that did not escape the eye of the apprentice.

An expression...? he urged him to continue, Dave looking up from his notebook.

It was as if the devil had taken his daughter away, he whispered quickly as he pressed his thumb against his forehead. I've never seen anyone with a face like that before, and yet I've seen some pretty good weirdos in twenty years in this hostel. But I'll tell you myself, he added, leaning towards a conspiratorial air. I'll tell you who killed him. It's not that hard to make wine. Old Baster... he's scared to death. Something that scared him so much that his heart gave out...

The two boys exchanged an anxious gaze. His testimony concurred with that of a woman at the wash-house at the entrance to the city and a baker three alleyways further on, which was not reassuring...

I mean, Mr. Grenaille, couldn't it wait till morning? complained Simon, a local soldier. You've only been there two hours, and I'm going to...

Soon finish your service I know yes, cut the man with the hat, inspecting the door lock of the entrance door by the light of a torch. You'll tell the next victim's parents that.

The man sighed. The repurgator had come to interrupt him at his post in the middle of dinner, posing a red mullet in his place. "You're from here," he argued. And he said that he was probably safer at his side than alone at the end of the bridge or in a prostitute's diaper. John came in and lifted his torch to inspect the room.

Did you move anything? he asked.

We pushed the table and a few chairs to get the body out of the old Baster, he says. Nothing good...

How many people came in ? cut John off.

Boarf, no more than ten.

He kept quiet by quickly sweeping the room. There was nothing left to get out of this place.

You all went up to Baster and his daughter's rooms, I guess.

Uh, uh....

I see.

They went upstairs. Just as in the lobby, he did not dwell on the beds or chests of drawers that too many people had obviously moved. On the other hand, he inspected the doors at length.

But what exactly are you looking for ? the soldier was surprised.

Did you tell me that Baster was found lying dead on his daughter's bedroom door? Ignorah John turned to the window of the room in question.

Yeah.

Has anyone touched that window?

Uh, not that I know of, why?

Look at this.

Simon leaned forward and examined the glass that John had pointed to him. There was a wedge on the ledge so that the window did not open violently during draughts and could break. He gazed at his reflection in the torchlight for a few seconds before turning to the repellent.

Yes and?

John sighed and pointed his index finger at a specific point on the tile.

Look at this much.

He gave him a few seconds to examine it more closely. The soldier finally noticed that a more translucent circle was visible on the glass.

Somebody rubbed the dust? So what?

So here's the subtlety.

John wiped the window with his sleeve.

I really don't see what...

He stopped when the repellent removed his arm. The circle was still visible. Simon frowned. John carefully opened the window. The door opened inwards, and then jammed at an angle close to 45° with the wall, blocked by the wedge. He remained impassive and had to stretch out his arm to be able to touch the dirt on the glass at the same level as the clean circle.

Someone wiped this window from the outside, John said with an insured tone. Moreover, there are no shutters.

Impossible, look at the height and texture of the wall, protested the soldier.

Performing, John leaned over. They were almost four metres high and the wall was virgin plaster.

Brother Brandit, over here! He calls in the night.

Did any of you pass under that window? The repurgator questioned, showing the opening to the garden, while Simon shook his head negatively.

A torch appeared beneath them. Its brightness was reflected on the priest's smooth skull and the head of his heavy hammer, hanging on his back.

See if there's any ladder marks, we're going down.

They quickly joined him, the priest inspecting the grass arriving at half calves.

What's up?

No trace, Brandit commented with a hard look. On the other hand, I found this in the grass.

He raised his free hand and showed them his find. The soldier blurred as John's eyelids were strangled. These were three human phalanges.

*

On the eastward bank four silhouettes stood up, observing from afar the gleams of the sleepy city. Three of them had thick armour with dull reflections under the moon. The fourth one had him only a leather cuirasse. Sheaths hung from the belts of each of them. The glowing light of their eyes pierced the semi-darkness.

Can you smell the web ? asked the first one, the others nodding in silence. We are not alone in the region.

previousnext