#for the sequel to remove him????? despicable

[naivesilver]

Elias Koteas as Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

You guys mind telling me what you're doing to my little green pal over there?

[ivarlover]

UNEXPECTED

Part 2 (sequel #3 to UNLEASHED and UNDENIABLE)

Alex + Modern Ivar

Mentions of Female Reader + Hvitserk

If you're new here and want to catch up, just scroll down my page, and the first chapter to UNLEASHED is at the bottom, then UNDENIABLE, and now, UNEXPECTED...

This was supposed to be just a one-shot but the story has come alive and the need to write more can't be ignored. At this point, I have no idea how many chapters this will end up consiating of. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! 🔥

Summary: During a hot weekend with your classmate, Alex, and his best friend, Ivar, the two of them had their own fun together. And now, it had turned into an entire relationship between the two of them that neither of them had seen coming. Now, that reality had set in, they navigate the relationship and all that comes along with it, the good, the bad, and the unexpected.

Inspired by a naughty conversation with a friend of mine. 😍

Warnings, The sequel in general: Totally NSFW, Unprotected anal sex (male receiving), oral, male to male contact and more, a bad case of the feels, and smut, with me, there is ALWAYS smut 🤣 Each chapter will have it's own warnings.

This chapter: A little smut, of course, the feels, mentions of Ivar's ex love and the insecurities that brings with it, parents reactions to finding out their boys are together romantically

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Words: I don't know; there are many, many words 🤣

Let me know if you want on or off the tag list!

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

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Before they knew it, the morning sun was shining through the bedroom windows and Alex stirred, still in Ivar's arms. As he started to get up, Ivar's arms tightened around him, "Umm-uh. Not yet," Ivar mumbled, sleep still thick in his voice. "Why are you already awake?"

"I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be right back," Alex laughed.

"Ok," Ivar responded without even opening his eyes. "When you get back I need your help with something," he said, grabbing his morning wood through his boxers and shaking it toward Alex.

"Oh my God! You're despicable, Ivar!" Alex got to his feet and threw a pillow at Ivar, laughing harder now.

"Yes, and you love me for it," Ivar laughed.

When Alex returned, there he saw Ivar, fast asleep, laying on his back, morning glory on display through his boxers, looking quite irresistible. He thought about it for a second and then walked over to the bedroom door. He shook it roughly, ensuring that it was indeed locked, and walked back over to the bed.

He stood at the foot of the bed for another moment and just watched Ivar's chest move up and down as he breathed heavily. He looked so pleasant and peaceful that he almost didn't want to disturb him. Almost.

Alex pulled the sheet back, off of Ivar and Ivar groaned a little but continued in his deep slumber. Alex slowly crawled over Ivar's body and stopped just over his waist. He leaned down and placed a warm, wet kiss just below Ivar's navel, on his happy trail, making Ivar jolt involuntarily. As Alex began to pull Ivar's boxers down, Ivar immediately grabbed them tightly and sat up, "What? What the fuck is..?" and he then realized what was happening and who was undressing him.

"Well, good morning, sunshine," Alex told him in a very sultry voice as he kissed him deeply then pulled away. "Now, lay back down, babe," and Ivar gladly did as he was told.

Alex continued with removing Ivar's boxers, only this time, with Ivar's help. Ivar grinned approvingly as he looked down at Alex, dropping the boxers to the floor.

Alex leaned up and forward over Ivar, caging him. Ivar raised his hands to grab Alex and pull him into another kiss but Alex caught his hands. He then, quickly threw them up by his head, holding them firmly in place. "Not so quick, now. I need you to just lay back and enjoy," Alex grinned and leaned down and licked Ivar's lips. Ivar didn't know what had gotten into Alex this morning but he liked it.

"Now, I'm going to let go of your hands but you have to leave them here by your head. If you move them or touch me, you'll be punished."

"Oohh. Punished? You promise?" Ivar asked all excitedly.

"Yes, but not how you're thinking, babe. Punished, meaning everything will stop, and you'll have to beg."

"Ha! Beg! Right!" Ivar rolled his eyes.

"Well, you've been warned," Alex slowly let go of Ivar's hands. He leaned down to face Ivar and he stopped just as his mouth was right above Ivar's. As he got a little closer, he slowly and gently kissed Ivar. Just as Ivar began to deepen the kiss, Alex pulled away from him. He hovered just above him again and Ivar almost grabbed him and pulled him back down into another kiss before he remembered Alex's rule.

Ivar groaned, "Kiss me again."

Alex leaned back down and just as he reached Ivar's mouth, he stopped and heavily breathed into Ivar's mouth, causing Ivar to moan. "I'm in charge here this time, Ivar. Not you," Alex grinned. Ivar grunted but didn't move his hands.

Alex then licked Ivar's lips again and softly bit his bottom one before beginning to lightly kiss down his jaw toward his neck. He feathered light, wet kisses to the nape of Alex's neck and then withdrew his mouth and lightly blew hot air onto where he'd been kissing. Ivar arched his back and moaned, "Fuck, babe! You've got to let me touch you."

"Not a chance," Alex grinned into Ivar's neck as he licked it, sending chills coursing all through Ivar's body.

"FUCK!"

Alex continued to kiss and nibble down Ivar's collarbone, to his chest as Ivar squirmed. Ivar gritted his teeth, together and placed his hands on his own head and in his hair attempting to prevent himself from grabbing Alex like he was dying to. He began to sweat. He hadn't realized how hard this would be for him.

Alex lightly touched Ivar's smooth chest with his fingertips, dragging them along behind his warm kisses, as he continued to make his way lower down Ivar's chest and stomach. When he reached Ivar's belly button, he placed his plump lips over it and kissed it as he dipped his tongue into it.

Ivar lost it. His hands automatically went to Alex, one landing on his head, tangling in his hair, and the other on his shoulder and back. He pulled Alex's hair without even thinking as he groaned in complete dismay. He squeezed Alex's shoulder tightly and tried to pull him back up to face him. "Damn! Alex! I want you!" He breathed out heavily.

Alex sat up on his knees, pulling away from Ivar completely. "I hope you're ready to beg. Your orders were to keep your hands by your head."

Ivar looked him straight in the face, "Fuck! You were serious about that, love? I'm sorry. Just, umm, damn, come back and finish what you started."

Alex smiled and placed his hand in his own boxers and began to slowly stroke his manhood, "I have no problem finishing on my own while I watch you lay there and squirm. You chose the punishment and the punishment is you have to beg."

Ivar rolled his eyes and groaned as if he was in physical pain, "Fuck!"

Alex pulled his own boxers down just enough for Ivar to get a good view of his hand wrapped tightly around his own cock as he slowly pumped up and down. He licked his lips while looking into Ivar's eyes, "This could be you, babe." He rolled his eyes into the back of his head, exaggerating his movements, and dramatically moaned, "Or I can just finish, myself, while you watch. Oh and it feels so good," he whimpered.

Ivar practically growled, "Damn you! You know what you licking your lips does to me, you little tease!"

In a sultry voice, Alex said, "Then beg. Beg for what you want, Ivar. Beg and your wish is my command. Just beg." Alex licked his lips again, this time even slower than before and then bit his bottom lip.

"Oh hell! Just come back. Place your hands on me again. Put your mouth on me, anywhere, just put it back on me and finish what you started. Oh my God! PLEASE! Please, love, I need to feel your mouth on me again. Please, for my sanity, please come back and let me feel that magical fucking mouth of yours again. Fuck! Please!"

"And what will you do with your hands? Hummm?"

Ivar moaned out between heavy pants, "Fuck! I'll cut them off if you need me to! Just fucking touch me again with your mouth and hands. Please! I won't touch you again until you say I can. I fucking promise! Just please!"

Ivar began to whine and Alex felt pleased knowing he had this power over him. "Ok, I think I've tortured you enough. Put both of your hands by your head and leave them there." Ivar immediately did as he was told and even placed both hands under his head to try to prevent himself from his temptation, looking down at Alex to see what he'd do next.

Alex ran his fingertips down Ivar's chest, reveling in the feel of his hard body and soft skin under his touch. Ivar squirmed as he sighed with relief. Alex then bent back down and looking up at Ivar, dragged his tongue from Ivar's collarbone to his belly button. Ivar whelped in sheer pleasure, his body writhing underneath Alex's hands and mouth.

Alex pulled barely an inch from Ivar and spoke into his abdomen, breathing his hot air onto Ivar's wet skin and causing Ivar to arch his back, his head digging into the pillow behind him. "I'm going to kiss you here again, babe," he breathed heavily, "But don't you fucking move your hands."

Ivar screwed his eyes shut and did all he could not to move his hands. He needed Alex to continue pleasing him even if it was also torture. Alex opened his mouth over Ivar's navel and gently kissed it as if he were kissing Ivar's mouth. As his wet lips rubbed against Ivar's skin, he stuck his tongue out and licked and sucked his belly button. Ivar grabbed handfuls of his own hair and pulled, feeling helpless, wanting nothing more than to touch Alex. He longed to feel him in his hands but he restrained himself and let Alex take control. It was really his first time giving someone this kind of control over himself and he was surprised at how much he enjoyed it and hated it at the same time.

Alex looked up at Ivar, seductively, into his lust filled eyes and smiled when Ivar growled at him. While his hands continued to lightly rub across Ivar's chest and stomach, he continued to kiss futher down Ivar's happy trail.

As Alex got closer to Ivar's swollen cock, Ivar's breathing sped up in anticipation, his toes curled and his entire body stiffened. Alex's hands trailed from his stomach down to his hips where he grabbed on tightly, sending chills throughout Ivar's body.

Alex turned his head toward Ivar's every ready cock that was standing firm against his body. Purposely breathing heavily, he licked up the side of it from the base to the tip. He then moved his head and did the same thing on the other side of Ivar's hard dick. Every nerve in Ivar's body tingled at the sensation and his hips bucked forward. Ivar let out a wailing growl and moaned, "Alex, love, please, can I touch you?"

Alex glanced up at Ivar as he sucked the tip of his dick into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around it, causing Ivar to shut his eyes tightly as he whimpered. Alex answered him with his dick still in his mouth, "Umm humm."

Ivar yanked his head up and looked down at Alex, "Yes, I can finally fucking touch you?"

Alex repeated the humming sound, "Umm humm," sending rumbling vibrations into Ivar's dick and through to his core.

Ivar groaned, "Fuck yes!" He leaned forward and grabbed Alex with one hand on his head, tangling his fingers in his hair. His other hand caressed what bit of Alex's arm and hand he could reach, still planted tightly on Ivar's hip. He left his hand on top of Alex's and laid back down on the bed.

Alex pulled Ivar's hips into him, striving for even more closeness, as he hungrily sank his mouth down over Ivar's entire cock. Ivar grunted at the feeling and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Alex found his pace and began to rhythmically bob up and down on Ivar's cock, swirling his tongue all around as he did.

Animalistic sounds escaped Ivar's mouth as Alex worked his magic. Ivar's legs trembled, and body arched again as Alex moved his hand from his hip to cup his balls. He gently moved Ivar's balls in sync with the bobbing of his head, and it was simply driving Ivar insane. "Awww, hell! Fuck!" Ivar yelled. "I can't take anymore! I need you, Alex! Fuck!" He growled.

Alex ignored him and continued to suck on him. Hard. He went as far down on Ivar as he could, nearly causing himself to gag, and slowly sucked all the way back up to the tip of his dick as he looked up and into Ivar's eyes. When he reached the tip, he swirled his tongue around it, while simultaneously sucking, before letting his dick out of his mouth with a pop. Alex grinned as Ivar tensed and mumbled out obscenities, his hands now white knuckled and tangled in the sheets.

Alex kissed down the under side of Ivar's very stout manhood until he got to his balls. He flicked his tongue across them, feeling very relieved that Ivar loved grooming himself and was waxed bald, causing Ivar to hiss, sweat rolling down his temple.

Alex pushed both of Ivar's legs up and back, exposing better access to his ass. Ivar instantly clinched his cheeks together and Alex chuckled, "I promise I'm not going to hurt you, babe. Relax."

Alex began kissing and sucking under Ivar's balls and to the soft skin between them and his hole. As he lightly nibbled the skin, Ivar yelled out incoherent words. Alex continued on, finally reaching Ivar's sensitive opening. He quickly licked across it, causing Ivar to jolt his hips forward. He then lowered his face and licked around the rim and began giving Ivar the most sensual kisses he'd ever received to a part of his body that wasn't his mouth.

Ivar's eyes widened as he looked down to Alex, in complete disbelief at how good this felt. He squirmed and panted, struggling to keep his breathing steady, as Alex practically made love to his ass with his mouth and tongue. It was like nothing Ivar had ever experienced before.

With his tongue flattened out, Alex then made a long, thick stroke from Ivar's hole, across his balls, and back up his twitching dick, finally sucking the tip back into his mouth. Ivar began to salivate at the sight below him as Alex instantly went back to his expert work.

One of Ivar's hands found it's way to Alex's hair, grabbing a handful, and tugged on it while the other nearly ripped a hole into the sheets. Alex kept bobbing up and down and Ivar knew he was close. He somehow managed to speak and said, "I-I'm so close. Wh-what about you, love?"

Alex raised a hand, not wanting to pull away from Ivar, and motioned his finger back and forth, saying no. Ivar answered, "Now, that's not fair. Turn your body around so that your crotch is in my face, and then we can pleasure eachother." Again, Alex waved his finger back and forth, saying no to Ivar.

Ivar wasn't able to protest as he lost complete control when Alex held onto his hips and greedily pulled him even closer and as deep into his mouth as possible. With a final hard suck and twirl of Alex's tongue, Ivar felt the heat raging within his body. "Al-Alex! I-I'm com..." Ivar moaned out, "MOVE! I'M COMING!"

Alex continued to hungrily suck Ivar, milking him for every drop, as Ivar groaned and growled through gritted teeth, shooting his load down Alex's throat.

Ivar's breathing was irratic as he pulled on Alex's shoulders, attempting to pull him back up his body. Alex quickly understood what Ivar wanted and slowly let his cock pop out of his mouth, licking his lips. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and seductively crawled back over Ivar.

Once he reached Ivar, face to face, Ivar began, "Oh fuck! I-I'm so sorry! I tried to warn you. Shit! I'm sorry."

Alex placed a finger over Ivar's lips, "Shhh. It's ok. I had time to move. I didn't want to. Even I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this." And it was true. Alex hadn't expected to let Ivar finish in his mouth but he enjoyed knowing that what he was doing directly affected Ivar so immensely that he wanted to "seal the deal" in a sense. He blushed, "Is it ok if I kiss you now?"

Looking deeply into Alex's eyes, Ivar answered, "Hell, yes!" and pulled Alex down and they began passionately kissing, tongues wrestling, hands roaming, chests heaving as they shared the air between them. As the realization of everything circled through his mind, Ivar broke the kiss and said, "Oh my God, Alex. That was another first for us and umm," he took a second to catch his breath, "That was pretty fucking amazing. To what do I owe this surprise?"

"Nothing. I just love you. Simple as that," Alex hummed and settled in the bed beside Ivar. "I'm actually sleepy again now."

Ivar grinned, "So, now I know how to keep you in bed past 7 am in the mornings, finally. Just wear you out with hot, steamy sex," they both chuckled. "Mental note taken. This should be fun." He kissed Alex on the forehead as his arms engulfed him, pulling him even closer than he already was. In a matter of minutes, they were both off to sleep again.

-----------‐---‐----------------

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

"Guys! Mom's calling us down for breakfast! Hey, guys, wake up! Let's eat," Hvitserk knocked on Ivar's bedroom door and continued down the hall and downstairs when he heard Ivar grumble something back. "I guess they're coming, mom, but does that mean I have to wait on them? I'm starving."

Aslaug rolled her eyes at Hvitserk, "I don't believe I've ever seen you when you weren't. It won't kill you to wait five more minutes." She glanced over to you, "How do you put up with him, dear?"

You laughed nervously. You could definitely understand Alex's apprehension around her. If nothing else, she was certainly intimidating.

About that time, Ivar came bouncing down the stairs. "Good morning," he sang as he walked passed Hvitserk, thumping him in the back of his head. He rounded the table and took a seat.

"Damn, man, you sure seem happy. What's up with that?" Hvitserk grinned evily and Ivar kicked him under the table. "Where's Alex? I'm hungry," Hvitserk grumbled as you and Ivar laughed at him.

Aslaug turned from the coffee pot, placing cups in front of each of you. "Good morning, dear. Yes, where is Alex?"

Alex entered at that very moment, cheeks red as Aslaug and he made eye contact, and he sat down beside Ivar. Ivar placed his hand on top of Alex's, ignoring his wide eyed stare, and gently squeezed it. Alex couldn't help how nervous he was after the night's turn of events with Aslaug.

You noticed this and looked over at Alex questionly. He only shrugged his shoulders at you.

Things began to feel a little less stressful as the five of you ate. You all talked and laughed and discussed what a good cook Aslaug was.

Alex thanked her for breakfast and said he'd get the dishes, aiming for some brownie points. You took the plates to the kitchen with him and offered to help, seizing the opportunity to talk to him and ask what it was that you'd clearly missed. As the two of you began cleaning up from breakfast, Alex began telling you about what happened with Aslaug the night before.

Still sitting in the dining room, Aslaug looked at her two boys and then back to Ivar. "Ivar, we still need to have that talk. It's really important. Maybe after you two take them," and she motioned toward the kitchen, "back home."

"No, mom," Ivar interrupted her, "anything you can say to me, you can say in front of Alex. I'm sorry, mom, but he and I are together and we're in love. I hate you found out the way you did, but I really hope you can understand and accept that."

"That's not it at all, dear. It's just that, well, what I need to tell you is extremely important and very personal and I'm not even a hundred percent sure you'll want Hvitserk here."

"Honestly, mom, knowing that it's about Katia," Hvitserk nearly choked on his coffee as Ivar continued, "I'm seriously not even interested. That part of my life is over."

"Well, I have a feeling that all is going to change, dear," Aslaug answered him, "If you don't hear it from me, I'm sure she will find you herself."

You and Alex walked in at that very moment, not knowing you'd just saved Ivar. The tension in the room was thick as the two of you sat back down at the table. You looked at Hvitserk and you instantly knew how glad he was that you two came back when you did. He leaned over and kissed you quickly.

Ivar looked at Alex and then back to Aslaug, "Mom, I'm going to give Ivar a ride home now. I'll be back in time to drive you to the airport." Ivar didn't give her time to respond but stood and reached for Alex's hand. Alex looked up at him, placed his hand in his, and stood with him. He then followed Ivar up the stairs to his room.

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

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

"What the hell was that all about?" Alex asked Ivar as he closed the door behind him.

Ivar turned to him, trying to let his stress roll off his shoulders. He stepped to Alex and hugged him tightly, burying his face in Alex's neck, breathing a sigh of relief. "Hey, hey, what is it? What happened?" Alex was concerned now.

Ivar pulled away from him and said, "Oh, it's just that mom is determined to give me this news of Katia's, and, Alex, I seriously don't want to hear it. I'm worried she'll wait until we're in the car ride to the airport, where I don't have another choice, and dump it all out on me."

Alex thought for a moment before responding. He didn't want to push Ivar's buttons but he had to ask, "Ivar, do you think it worries you so much because you may possibly still have feelings for her? And whatever this news is may just change how you see things?" Alex held his breath as he waited for Ivar's response.

Ivar stood straight and firmly answered, "Oh, God, no, Alex, not at all. I'm so sorry I've worried you." He held Alex's face between his hands and gave him a quick kiss. "That's not it. I just umm, well, I seriously feel like I owe her nothing. I know you know, I gave my all and then some and she just umm, she broke me," he sighed and dropped his head. "I'm actually worried of just the opposite. I'm worried what I may say to her, how mean and evil I know I'll be, and umm, the worst part is I don't feel sorry for it. I think it's better if she just leaves me alone. I don't want to feel like that again and I don't want to be cruel but I think I resent her for what she put me through and I don't want that to come out now. Not now that I'm finally over it and happy with my life, happier than I've ever been before." He kissed Alex once more, "And that's thanks to you. I don't want her ruining this, us."

Alex felt torn. He felt horrible for Ivar and all that he knew he'd been through and understood exactly where he was coming from but he also still felt worried. He couldn't help it. Even as Ivar spoke of her, Alex could only think about how hurt Ivar still sounded and felt like that meant that deep down, Ivar still had some kind of feelings for her. He hoped he was wrong and that Ivar would be able to keep to his plan but it was in the back of head now and he knew it would be until they knew what she wanted.

Alex decided not to press the subject. He would respect Ivar's decision and hope for the best. "Oh, come here," Alex stretched out his arms to Ivar and hugged him tightly. "I love you," he said in Ivar's ear as he brushed away his hair and kissed him on the side of his head. He felt Ivar begin to relax in his arms and he loved knowing he had this affect on him, that he was able to help him even if only a little. "Look, don't worry. If she starts to tell you anything you don't want to hear, just tell her. Refuse to listen. Hell, blast your radio," Alex laughed. "But, it will be time for you to take her soon so hey, can I get that ride now?"

Ivar perked up, "Oh, you can get that ride anytime you want, love," Ivar flirted.

Alex let go of him, face in his palm, and said, "Oh, what was I thinking? I should have chosen my words better. You're a mess. Let's go, hornball," Alex said, laughing, and the two of them left quickly, shouting goodbyes to everyone.

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

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

--------------‐-----------------

It was 1 a.m., and Alex heard a knock at the door. Luckily, he was still awake, just finishing up some studying in bed, so he got up to see if it was who he hoped.

Looking through the peephole on his front door, Alex smiled. He opened the door, "To what do I owe this surprise?"

A drunken Ivar stumbled through the door, "I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I needed to see you now. Can I," he burped mid-sentence, "Can I stay here tonight?"

Alrx laughed, "Of course, babe. Come in." Alex looked out on the street and saw Hvitserk in Ivar's car. He waved and drove off.

Alex helped Ivar as he stumbled through the apartment to Alex's bedroom. He pulled his t-shirt off and fell, face first, onto Alex's bed. "Are you ok, Ivar?"

"Yes," Ivar answered, "Umm, can I have a glass of water?"

When Alex returned with a water, to his surprise, Ivar was sitting up against the headboard. "Thank you," Ivar told Alex as he grabbed the glass and drank all of the water in one huge gulp. "Can I just lay here with you, love?"

"Of course, you can, but Ivar, what's wrong?" Alex felt extremely uneasy. He knew something had happened. He just wasn't sure what.

"Umm, not what you think. Don't worry, but umm, yes, Katia," Ivar's voice sounded cold.

Alex's heart sank. He hadn't went to the bar tonight because he had a big exam on Monday that he desperately needed to study for and he knew they'd be busy tomorrow because the two of them were supposed to go visit Alex's mom.

Now that he saw how Ivar was and knew he'd seen Katia, he could only assume Ivar was heartbroken all over again, and it scared him to his core. "Ivar, umm, what happened then?Umm, what did she tell you?"

Ivar moved closer to Alex and Alex, sensing exactly what he needed, wrapped his arms around him tightly, and waited for him to get his thoughts together.

Ivar sighed and began, "First off, yes, I've been drinking, but no, I'm not shitfaced and even though I apparently have no balance," he laughed, "I am thinking clearly and will remember this conversation."

He was so precisely clear that Alex knew he was telling the truth. "Ok, noted, but ummm, what do I not know, Ivar? What did she say?"

Ivar stiffened up in Alex's arms as be began again, "Alex, she came to the fucking bar to find me. She only just saw my mom yesterday and tonight she already brought her smart-ass to the bar, looking for me. The one fucking night when you weren't with me." He sat back up beside Alex in the bed and ran his hands through his hair. "Alex, when I saw her, all these emotions came rushing through me. She was just as beautiful as she always was, if not more, if that's even possible and..."

Alex placed his fingers over Ivar's mouth, interrupting him, "That's enough. I can't fucking sit here and listen to you tell me how beautiful your fucking ex fiance still is. Just break it off with me already and stop torturing me for fuck's sake." Alex's voice was cold and harsh even though he really was about to completely crumble inside. The very thing he'd been worried about was happening.

Ivar reached his left hand across Alex's body and cupped his right cheek, turning his face toward him. "No, Alex. No, that's not what I'm saying. Not at all. Let me finish, love. She was beautiful, yes, but when I saw her, the emotions that flooded my view, my heart, and my soul were emotions about you! I saw her and her beauty, and all I could think about was getting back home to you. I felt no love for her at all. It just made me realize just how much I do love you. She has no power over me now! Do you realize how empowering that is for me? I didn't even feel hate, Alex, and that, I totally expected to feel. I had no desire to get even with her or hurt her or be cruel or rude to her. I simply felt nothing. And yes, I could see how pretty she still is. I mean, I'm not blind, but it meant nothing to me." Ivar smiled as he wiped a tear from Alex's cheek.

"However, I still have no wish to talk to her. I don't care what she has to say. She's a stranger to me now. I was going to have one of the bouncers throw her out, but even that felt wrong so I had a few celebratory shots with Hvitserk, well, you know, he had coke, and then I asked him to bring me here. I had to see you. I had to tell you I love you! I love you, Alex, with all my heart, body, and soul. I never want to leave you. You're my world."

Alex was completely stunned out of his mind. That all was totally unexpected. He thought this conversation was going to end with the two of them breaking up and calling it quits altogether. He stared into Ivar's eyes, "I, umm, I thought you were ending it. I thought you and Katia were getting back together. Umm, you've shocked me. I, uh, I love you, too," Alex's eyes were full of tears that he tried to blink away.

Ivar leaned over to him, "Not a chance!" and he gave him a sloppy kiss. "I told you, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"So you still don't know what she wants then, huh?"

"No, and I don't care," Ivar had never been so sure of anything else before. Alex, on the other hand, still had an uneasy feeling about it all, but he tried his best to ignore it.

The two laid there, wrapped in eachother's arms, which was quickly becoming one of their favorite ways to sleep, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

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

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Alex and Ivar had planned to go visit Alex's mom on Sunday. They'd always went by to see her a Sunday or two each month, even back when they were only friends, and she'd been calling Alex to ask when they were coming next. She told him that it had been too long and she was beginning to get worried.

On the drive there, Alex asked Ivar about Aslaug. "So, how was the trip to the airport yesterday?"

"It actually wasn't all that bad. Mom told me that the more she thought about it, she felt like it wasn't her place to tell me whatever this big thing is with Katia. She told me she was going to let me talk to Katia on my own time and on my terms and said I can call her if I need her," Ivar sounded so pleased but it didn't make Alex feel any better at all.

Alex swallowed thickly, "And umm, what umm, what about us? What did she say about that?" Alex could only imagine.

"She actually didn't mention walking in on us at all! So you know me, I didn't either," Ivar laughed. "I'll wait and let her ask about us or say something whenever she's ready. I'm sure she just has to take time to just process it all."

Alex looked over at him and said, "Well, hopefully, when she does mention it, she will be ok with it all."

"Don't worry, love," Ivar reassured him, "I'm sure she will. Now, what about Mama Hogh? Are we telling her today or what?"

Alex's heart stopped, "Umm, I honestly don't know. I think I'm equally worried about her reaction, too."

"Well, look, no pressure. I'll leave it all up to you. It doesn't have to be today. I have you with me whether she knows or not, so I'm all good. I'll take your lead with this," Ivar's words didn't really help Alex feel any better but at least he knew he didn't have to tell his mom anything if it didn't feel right.

Alex was truly thankful for Ivar's understanding. He hadn't expected that telling their parents about their relationship would be such a difficult task but he realized it was because of not wanting to let them down, not wanting to burst their bubble about not having grandkids and he wondered if this was true for other same sex couples. He knew if he had the opportunity to stay with Ivar from now on, he would, and he knew that meant no child to carry on his name. He just wasn't sure how his mother would take that, and it definitely worried him.

He knew there were other options for them to raise a child together, but they'd certainly never discussed anything like that. They hadn't even discussed where they saw their relationship headed, and he was ok with that, so he wasn't planning on rocking that boat anytime soon. All he knew was that he loved Ivar like no other and he was happy just the way they were. Now, to tackle the subject with his mom.

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

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

After the two of them helped her in the kitchen, preparing their meal, Ivar, Alex, and his mom sat down at the table to eat. She had watched them the entire time because they seemed almost as one, in sync, and so happy and well, different.

"Ok, what are you guys not telling me? Spill it," she asked, looking straight at them both.

Alex squirmed a little in his seat, and she didn't miss it. He and Ivar looked at eachother and then back to her. In the calmest voice he could muster, Alex answered, "What do you mean, mom?"

"Aww, don't you try to play that innocent game with me. You know I see straight through it. I don't know, there's just something different about the two of you, and you're trying to hide it. But boys, you're failing miserably, so just tell me. You know Mama Hogh knows her boys better than this."

Alex wanted to tell his mom, but not like this, when he was put on the spot so unexpectedly. He needed to prepare himself for her reaction, and right now, he had no idea what that would be. So he tried, desperately, to change the subject. "Mom, when is Anna and her new boyfriend coming to finally meet us? I miss her, and I'd love to finally meet this guy who is taking up all of her time."

She stuck her finger up and shook it back and forth at him. "Oh, no, mister. You're not getting out of this that easily. We'll talk about Anna later. We have all evening anyway. Before you make me worry, just tell me, Alex, what are you hiding?"

Ivar just looked at Alex to handle everything. He knew he was the one not ready to tell his mom. Ivar, however, didn't mind at all to tell her. He didn't think her reaction was going to be quite the world stopper that Alex seemed to believe. So he just settled in letting Alex answer her in whatever way he felt fit.

Determined, Alex finally answered, "Seriously, mom, what do you think we're hiding? We simply just came for dinner with you while dad's out of town. The same as we always have. What is there that's different?"

"Well, I'm hoping the two of you finally figured out what I've already known for quite some time now and that you're happy about it. I won't say what I'm thinking, though, because if I'm wrong, it would be super embarrassing, so you're just going to have to come clean."

Alex and Ivar both gulped, and their eyes were wide with shock now. "May I use your restroom, mom?" Ivar asked, trying to leave this uncomfortable situation.

"No, you may not! I am waiting for one of you to tell me what it is that you're hiding. I'm not dropping it until you spill the beans. Alex Hogh Andersen, out with it!"

Alex was already giving up. He knew how stubborn his mom could be. He knew that was a quality he'd definitely gotten from her. He looked at Ivar, who knodded, so he decided to answer her truthfully this time. "Well, mom, ummm Ivar and I umm, well, we're together."

"No shit. I'm not blind. So? Continue," she answered, not quite understanding what he meant.

"No, I mean, we're together, together, mom. Like as a couple."

The room was filled with silence. One of her hands covered her mouth as she placed the other over her heart, her eyes filling with tears.

Ivar's heart sank. He had so not expected this. Not for a second. If she had been anyone else, he would have definitely told her what she could do with her tears, and they'd be leaving immediately. This was supposed to be a happy time, a time for the two of them to celebrate. And now, his heart was breaking and even more for Alex. He knew what his mom's opinion meant to him.

Alex reached out and placed his hand over hers on her heart. "See, mom? This is why I didn't want to tell you. We're actually really, really happy with this, and I hoped you could be happy for us as well. It's all still so new to us both. I didn't think now was the right time to tell you as we are still adjusting ourselves. If you can't accept it, we can give you time. We can leave, mom, but this isn't something that your tears are going to be able to change. I, umm, I love Ivar, mom." He squeezed her hand and fought his own tears. His words hurt him so much.

She abruptly stood up from the table and reached out to Alex. She blurted out, all at once, "No way! I don't want you guys to leave! You misunderstand my tears, dear. I am absolutely thrilled for you! I am happy, Alex. I'm so happy to see you happy! I knew it! I've known for a long time. Before you two knew. You've been more than just friends for quite a while, but you were both just too damn stubborn to give it a chance! Oh, thank God you came to your senses! Now come here and give Mama a hug!"

Alex was completely dumbfounded. He definitely had not expected that. He stood up and hugged her so tightly, tears streaming down his face. "Oh, mom. Thank you so much. You don't know the burden you've just lifted off my shoulders. I was so worried you'd hate me."

"Oh, Alex, don't be silly. Always so dramatic." She looked at Ivar, still sitting at the table and watching them in complete shock. "Ivar, get up here and hug Mama Hogh. You've always been my second son, and now, you really are, and I need to let you know how happy you've made me, choosing my son."

Ivar did as he was told, and the three of them stood in a group hug. Ivar, however, fought back his tears. He wasn't that comfortable yet.

They finally sat back down at the table to finish their meal, all smiles. Alex couldn't help his curiosity, so he just asked her flat out, "Mom, what's made you so accepting of this? Of us?"

After thinking for a second, she finally answered him. "Well, aside from the fact that I've always adored Ivar, here, and am happy if you are, I've learned from my own mistakes."

"Meaning?" Alex pressed.

"Well, meaning I couldn't bear to know your heartbreak was my fault again. I should have never told you to leave," and she looked at Ivar nervously, "Umm, to leave her who should not be named back in Paris."

Alex swallowed thickly, and he answered softly, "Mom, you didn't tell me to leave her."

"Well, no," she answered, "But I told you to bring her home with you and that whatever happened, not to stay there but to return home, her by your side if that's what it took. It was selfish of me, sweetheart. I guilted you into returning, probably when you would have chosen to stay. And I will always regret it and will always be deeply sorry I did that to you. I wasn't blind to your heartbreak, and the guilt of knowing it was my fault will always haunt me. I'm so deeply sorry, dear." She dropped her head and placed her hand over Alex's on the table.

He sat in awkward silence for a moment. The memories of everything she'd just mentioned still stung him a bit, he had to admit, but he knew his mom didn't know the entire story. She wasn't entirely to blame, as she thought, but now was not the time to open that can of worms. "Mom, nothing is your fault. There's so much more to that story, and none of it is important now. Don't hold yourself accountable for the good or bad things that have happened in my personal life. I'm just happy you accept Ivar and I, regardless of the reason."

Ivar sat in silence and just continued to listen. He made a mental note to later talk with Alex about this broad in Paris. Should he be worried? He'd thought he knew everything about Alex, but he'd never heard about her, and apparently, she must have been someone he cared a great bit for. But now wasn't the time, so he just listened.

His mom lifted her head and responded to Alex, "Well, that's good to hear, but you understand. And," she glanced over at Ivar, "That's not the only reason I accept you two as a couple. I love Ivar, and I know he's good for you and will make you happy for a very long time if you allow him to." She squeezed Ivar's hand now. "The two of you are the perfect couple, and have you looked in the mirror, dear? You are absolutely glowing! You are radiating love and happiness, and you deserve them both."

They both smiled at her words. Alex's heart skipped a beat as well. He knew she was right, but for her to actually put a name to it surprised him. Love and happiness. Love. That she was able to see how they felt about eachother meant the world to him.

"Wait! Oh my God! Wait until your dad learns of this. He's going to be beside himself that you've finally taken the next step with Ivar, dear. When he sees your happiness, he's going to bubble over. He's said forever that he wanted to see you happy with anyone."

Alex sheepishly began to answer her. "Umm mom? Uh, how do I say this? Umm, Dad already knows."

"What? You told your dad before you told me? Just how difficult do you believe me to be?" she snapped.

"We didn't exactly tell him. Umm, he walked in on us in the garage last weekend." Alex dropped his head as he smiled. Ivar coughed, trying not to laugh.

"What?! Are you serious? The two of you were making love in our garage?" Her mouth gaped open and she covered it with her hand.

"NO! Oh God, mom, no! What do you think we have a bedroom for? Dad walked in on us kissing! That's all, KISSING!" He had to smile, though, that she actually said 'making love.' She really was ok with this.

Ivar could take no more, and he busted out laughing. Nearly in tears, he said, "Well, I don't know, Alex. I could easily bend you over the hood of your dad's Mustang."

At that exact moment, Alex's dad walked through the door. "Hey, guys, umm, wait. What's wrong with the hood of my Mustang?" He looked at the three of them in a complete panic for his car.

"Nothing, dear. These boys are being ridiculous." Alex's mom answered. "Welcome home."

She picked up her napkin from the table and smacked Ivar with it. "Boy, you hush! Now, I'm not that old. I remember what it's like to be all hot and bothered, and you have to take care of business wherever you can, but you better keep the hoods of our cars and the garage out of it! You boys hear me?" And she popped Alex with the same napkin as he threw his arms up in a blocking motion.

"Mom! Please! I don't need to hear you talking about being hot and bothered and taking care of business. Ever. Oh my God." Alex dropped his head into his hands. Ivar just continued laughing.

After making a plate for Thomas as well, the four of them finished their lunch and sat around the table talking and laughing. It was just great and Alex was absolutely overjoyed at his parents' acceptance. His family had always been close and knowing they accepted Ivar as a happy addition meant everything to him. This was so much better than how their weekend had started off.

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

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

"I know you have that exam tomorrow and need to study, but do you think you have time for us to stop by the park on the way back to your place?" Ivar asked Alex as they pulled away from his parents'.

"Yes, I have time. We actually left mom's sooner than I'd expected," Alex answered, curious of the sudden change of plans, "Are you wanting to get a quick jog in?"

"Well, actually, I have a blanket in the trunk, and it's the first nice day in weeks. I'd umm," he blushed, "I'd honestly just like to spend some time with you, just the two of us, by the little stream at the back of the park. If umm, if that sounds ok with you."

Alex was taken back. Where had this side of Ivar been all these years? If this was any indication of how he treated his girlfriends in the past, no wonder all the women seemed to always flock to him. He felt warmth spread throughout his body, and he smiled. "Yes, Ivar, that sounds great. It really has been a long weekend. It will be nice to spend some quality time with you just enjoying your company."

They arrived at the spot Ivar had mentioned and he spread the blanket down. They both laid down, propped up on their arms, facing eachother. "This is such a nice spot, Ivar. Thanks for thinking of this," Alex smiled. He started to lean toward Ivar for a kiss but then realized how many other people were in the park and he refrained.

Ivar noticed this and asked, "What? What stopped you?"

"Well," Alex looked around, "I just didn't feel like defending us yet again. It's too nice of a day for you to end up in a fight."

Ivar laughed, "It's never too nice a day for a good fight, especially if I'm defending my love for you." He placed his hand on the back of Alex's neck and pulled him closer. He breathed in Alex's sweet smell and slowly kissed him, swirling his tongue around Alex's. He pulled away, his forehead resting on Alex's and softly said, "I love you." Nobody around them seemed to care. Nobody said or did anything but kept on about their day. That was so relieving to Alex and he began to feel more comfortable.

They talked and laughed and discussed all the ups and downs of the weekend. They really enjoyed eachother's company, this had always been true, but now that they were together, it just made it all real. They were slowly getting into the swing of things and getting used to what it was to be in a relationship with eachother. It felt so natural to them both, and it seemed that they were finally finding their groove.

Alex saw movement out of the corner of his eye and as hard as it was to look away from Ivar's sparkling eyes, he looked up, over Ivar's shoulder and saw someone walking up the trail behind him. He couldn't see her face because she was looking down at something in her arms, and the sun was shining so brightly, but he was sure it was Katia. He didn't know if she'd spotted them or not but decided he needed to tell Ivar in case she just walked up on them.

"Umm, Ivar?" Alex said.

"Yes, love?"

"Umm, I don't know if she's seen us yet but I'm pretty sure that's Katia walking the trail behind you."

Ivar gulped. He discretely turned around as Alex told him she wasn't looking their way. "Shit. Yes, that's her. What is she carrying?"

"I can't tell," Alex answered, both of them trying to see.

About that time, they saw her stumble and fall down, still holding whatever was in her arms tightly. She yelled and was then quiet.

"Fuck!" Alex yelled, as he quickly got to his feet alongside Ivar. "Did she hit her head?"

They both quickly ran over to her, not stopping to think. "Shit, Ivar," Alex said as he squatted down to Katia, "The side of her head is bleeding!" He looked up at Ivar, standing over Katia in what could only be described as a complete state of shock. "Oh, God! What? What is it?"

About that time, Alex heard what Ivar was looking at in shock. A baby began crying. Alex's heart completely stopped. He raised up to where the sound was coming from and in Katia's locked arms laid a baby girl with thick brown hair. Alex instinctively grabbed her up and out of Katia's arms to search that she was ok and wasn't bleeding anywhere as well.

With his touch, she simmered down some and stopped crying. He began talking to her as if he knew anything about babies, "Are you okay, little one? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She grasped his finger with her hand and said with her baby voice, "Ma-ma," as she looked up at him. Staring up at Alex were a pair of the prettiest, bluest eyes he'd ever seen. Well, the prettiest, bluest ever besides those of Ivar's. And then, it hit him.

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

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

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

@istorkyou @vero-maris-zamo @chapada010101010 @lostasalice-thisway @ivarhoegh @lonewolf471 @lemonsarepink @covidinducedsocialreject @tessakate

[destinylightsup-2006]

Okay, this time this is my grand update for my little about myself, and I remaked it by removing some of them and replaced by featuring other characters/people who I'd love to choose.

A sequel to the previous page I made before A little about me. And another A Little about me (Remake).

Sadly QUIETTALEOfficial is no longer activated here anymore for a certain reason

(A link to one of my previous references that inspire me.) www.deviantart.com/destinywith… www.deviantart.com/destinywith…

The ones that I did not add into the template, that are similar to the ones in my reference sheet.

My name is "Destiny" (but my real name is "Daniel")

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Alignment: Good

Element: Light, Enchant and Neutral

Personality: Good, Kind, Friendly, Insecure, Heroic, Helpful, Honest, Caring, Pure-hearted, Remorseful, Good natured, Brave, Nervous (sometimes), Gentle, Supportive, Thoughtful, Selfless, Accidental, Sufferable (when something wrong with him), and Well behaved (like always a lot).

Family/Pet/Relationship (I mentioned them because I don't want to use my families' real names.)

My brother

My mother

My father

My 3 cousins (female)

My 2 uncles

My 2 aunts

My grandmother

My grandfather (deceased)

My grandaunt

My granduncle (deceased)

My other relatives.

I have a French Bulldog ever since we got him on 4th June.

No love interest just yet.

Favourite Songs/Musicians

Friday Night Funkin songs (e.g. Mashup)

Owl City (Fireflies, Good Time, When can I see you again)

Ellie Goulding (Outside, Lights, Burn, Easy Lover)

Calvin Harris (We Found Love)

David Guetta (Titanium)

Taylor Swift (Love Story)

Katy Perry (Roar, Fireworks)

Panic at the Disco (High Hopes)

Imagine Dragons (Enemy, Believer, I'm so Sorry)

Skillet (Standing in the Storm, Out of Hell, Legendary)

Little Mix (Black Magic)

Clean Bandit (Symphony)

Michael Jackson (Thriller, Bad, Billie Jean, Beat it)

One Direction (One Thing)

Fifty Fifty (Cupid)

The Script (Superheroes, Hall of Fame)

Jubyphonic (Butterfly and Halloween cover)

Pretty much anything else I love.

Favourite Food

Fish & chips

Sushi

Red apples

Pizza

Macaroni

Grapes

Strawberries

Kiwi

Tangerines

Oreos

Cheesecake

Mango

Spaghetti

Ice cream

Tiramisu

Katsu

Favourite Drinks

Orange juice

Milk

Hot chocolate

Bubble tea

Lucozade

Oreo milkshake

Friends (Like I mean true Friends I communicate with them mostly)

Simphoni

Seyvert

Marta Ceccanti / @martaceccantiworld 

Rosaline Faith Heartglow / @innocent-angel-girl

Bria D./Hatari / @kuukuualchemistjuku 

Ced / Ced145 

Chey / @asktheminecraftcrew

Vabessa / Vabessa2006 

Otto / TheCoreoftheStar/@ottos-core (however I decided to leave them not being tagged so much since they're not on DA anymore)

Kylie / @kylievershion

Deli / @delicatethefox 

Samantha / SweetieSammyCakes 

Molly / Mafu0Mol 

Gianluca Ruger / @gianlucarugergr

Jedidiah Daigle / Reaperental 

Desue / DesueDraws 

Colleen (DesueDraws) 

Scarlet / RedHeartSunset 

Neoshi / NeonFluffyMoon1 

Norman / NormanTheWolfman2002 

Carno / CarnoProductions 

Chelsie / ChelsTheMutant667 

Juan Jose / JJproduction297 

Dylan Jewelson (@innocent-angel-girl) 

Spinel (@innocent-angel-girl) 

Candy (Precure)

Mylai the Ghostfire (Ced145) 

Gingerbrave (Cookie Run)

Kirby

Edd, Matt and Tom (Eddsworld)

Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Raphael (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Gilbert the Jemling (@Princess-Faithra) 

Steven Universe

Ruby Rose (RWBY)

Weiss Schnee (RWBY)

Blake Belladonna (RWBY)

Yang Xiao Long (RWBY)

Jaune Arc (RWBY)

Red and Yellow (Larva)

Sailor Moon

Aang (Avatar)

Sora (Kingdom Hearts)

Boyfriend (Friday Night Funkin')

Girlfriend (Friday Night Funkin')

Flippy (Happy Tree Friends)

Kevin, Stuart and Bob (Despicable Me)

Strawberry Cookie (Cookie Run)

Wizard Cookie (Cookie Run)

Custard Cookie iii (Cookie Run)

Chili Pepper Cookie (Cookie Run)

Steve (Minecraft)

Felonious Gru (Despicable Me)

SMG4

Mario (SMG4)

Meggy Spletzer (SMG4)

Melony (SMG4)

Ben Tennyson (Ben 10)

Charlie Morningstar (Hazbin Hotel)

Hercules (Disney)

Mario

Luigi (Super Mario)

Sonic the Hedgehog

Po (Kung Fu Panda)

Emmet Brickowski (The LEGO Movie)

Invincible/Mark Grayson

Finn Mertens (Adventure Time

Jake (Adventure Time)

Mega-man

Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians)

Close Friends

Jayson / @jj2k20

Eila

Rikadiah

Maia / JustAGirlOnDA 

V.C 2.0 / @v-c2-0

Emma / @emmazworld69420

Arwen Bourne / @ArwenTheCuteWolfGirl 

Zero Experience / Zexperience 

Fancy Graphics / @fancy-graphics63

Vincent / @vincentlopez

Anthony / AnthonyDraws04 

Lengieal / @lengieal 

Mark / Mark-Born 

Zoe Drake/Popping Candy (@kuukuualchemistjuku) 

Sally / SallyVEVO 

YazFly / xXYazzyChanArtsXx 

Amity Hsu / Amity-Hsu 

Remmy / RemmyTheSpaceManX101 

Spring-o-Bonnie / Spring-o-bonnie 

MsTwirlePoofs / MsTwirlepoofs 

Kate / KATEtheDeath1 

Xem / XemTheKillerDoll 

Don / DonCon206andHedgie 

Raspberry Flash (SweetieSammyCakes) 

Stan Marsh (South Park)

Kyle Broflovski (South Park)

Kenny McCormick (South Park)

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup (Powerpuff Girls)

Spider-Man

Osmosis Jones

Thomas the Tank Enginge (Thomas & Friends)

Clotted Cream Cookie (Cookie Run)

Financier Cookie (Cookie Run)

Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)

Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)

Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)

Pure Vanilla Cookie (Cookie Run)

Alice (Alice in Wonderland)

Gandalf (Middle-earth)

Splendid (Happy Tree Friends)

Woody (Toy Story)

Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)

Tanjiro Kamado (Demon Slayer)

Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer)

Zenitsu Agatsuma (Demon Slayer)

Inosuke Hashibira (Demon Slayer)

Lightning McQueen (Cars)

Mater (Cars)

Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls)

Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)

Stanley Pines (Gravity Falls)

Link (The Legend of Zelda)

Samus (Metroid)

Donkey Kong

Ryuko Matoi (Kill la Kill)

Mako Mankanshoku (Kill la Kill)

Twilight Sparkle (My Little Pony)

Spike (My Little Pony)

Starlight Glimmer (My Little Pony)

Tiger Lily Cookie (Cookie Run)

Jotaro Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)

Hollyberry Cookie (Cookie Run)

Dark Cacao Cookie (Cookie Run)

SpongeBob SquarePants

Patrick Star (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Goku (Dragon Ball)

R.O.B. (Nintendo)

Wildberry Cookie (Cookie Run)

Crunchy Chip Cookie (Cookie Run)

Meta Knight (Kirby)

Optimus Prime (Transformers)

Godzilla

Enemies/Rivals (obviously the ones that I mentioned who are targets of me and trolls that hurt my friends, but don't worry, I didn't tag them anyway)

Dreadlock ("Overall Arch-Nemesis" and evil counterpart)

Mucida, Neplacut and Brute ("2nd/secondary Arch-enemies")

Vulgarous the Portentous Dragon

Queen Mahogany

Technaz 

Rosera Doubt Heartbreaker (@innocent-angel-girl) 

Violent Marta (@martaceccantiworld)

Aubri A./Zatari (@kuukuualchemistjuku) 

Queen Aria (@kuukuualchemistjuku) 

DarkCed (Ced145) 

DarkChey (@asktheminecraftcrew) 

Midnight Darkness (Vabessa2006) 

Teeth (@ottos-core)

Keli (@delicatethefox) 

Ahtnamas (SweetieSammyCakes) 

Vinnet the Ghostfire (Ced145) 

Dark Gianluca (@gianlucarugergr)

Princess Nora (@martaceccantiworld) 

Bowser (Super Mario)

Dark Enchantress Cookie (Cookie Run)

Dr. Eggman (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Scar (The Lion King)

Storm King (My Little Pony)

King K. Rool (Donkey Kong)

Sideshow Bob (The Simpsons)

Tord (Eddsworld)

Hades (Hercules)

Diesel 10 (Thomas & Friends)

Salem (RWBY)

Niles (SMG4)

Mommy Long Legs (Poppy Playtime)

Russ Cargill (The Simpsons)

Pain and Panic (Hercules)

Plankton (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Cinder Fall (RWBY)

Dark Meta Knight (Kirby)

Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda)

Mayor Shelbourne (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)

Big Jack Horner (Puss in Boots)

Dr. Octopus (Marvel's Spider-Man)

Lasombra (Hey Arnold!)

Francis (SMG4)

Thrax (Osmosis Jones)

Fliqpy (Happy Tree Friends)

Scanty and Kneesocks (Panty & Stocking)

Horned King (The Black Cauldron)

Tricky the Clown (Madness Combat)

The Auditor (Madness Combat)

Ridley (Metroid)

Queen Chrysalis (My Little Pony)

Lord Tirek (My Little Pony)

Cozy Glow (My Little Pony)

Kazuya Mishima (Tekken)

Matcha Cookie (Cookie Run)

Carnage (Spider-Man)

Pomegranate Cookie (Cookie Run)

Licorice Cookie (Cookie Run)

Poison Mushroom Cookie (Cookie Run)

Balthazar Bratt (Despicable Me)

Thanos (Marvel)

Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Master Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts)

Metal Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Infinite (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Sir Pentious (Hazbin Hotel)

Black Hat (Villainous)

Kavaxas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls)

Megatron (Transformers)

Black Pearl Cookie (Cookie Run)

Slenderman

King Ghidorah (Godzilla)

Neutral/Grey Area (Neither do I trust them, but do sometimes help out)

Beavis and Butt-head

Hank J Wimbleton (Madness Combat)

Peter Griffin (Family Guy)

Eric Cartman (South Park)

Randy Marsh (South Park)

Deadpool (X-Men)

Johnny Bravo

Panty and Stocking

Conker (Conker's Bad Fur Day)

Lumpy (Happy Tree Friends)

Discord (My Little Pony)

Phantom of the Bwahpera (Super Mario)

Credit me when using

Do not steal my art without permission

Do not trace my art

Do not report without a reason

No pedophilia

No Incest

No rip-offs

You have to be 13 or over to access my page

No homophobia/transphobia

No NSFW

Remember what you do, don't post images from other disgusting websites that you're not meant to visit

Definitely no sexual/erotic Roleplaying

(NOTE: I do not own everything, except my persona, Simphoni, Seyvert, Eila, Rikadiah, Dreadlock, Mucida, Neplacut, Brute, Vulgarous, Queen Mahogany, and Technaz, All Credit goes to Everybody else and rightful owners that I used and mentioned.

Also, if I didn't add you here, forgive me, and please don't you ever say, "Where am I?", "Why am I not in it?" or "Please include me", because that would make you look yourself like an egotist and I'd be quite annoyed if you lot don't read the section that I written here, it's my choice and it's my decision to what I like to do. And please respect everything what I added.

[ahkaraii]

[ff15] for the price of an arm (3666 words)

(spiritual sequel to my fancomic here, cw: gore)

"My, my," said the dismissive voice that still haunted Gladio's dreams, over a decade since. "Another one come for a rematch?"

"No." Gladio could not see Gilgamesh, but he knew the old bastard was watching him. "Not unless you don't give the Marshal back."

"The Marshal...?" A low, echoing laugh bounced around the bridge, and was then lost to the fog beyond. "Oh, the little lion? I'm afraid I bested him, long ago... He has belonged to me, since. And now, I have reclaimed him."

"Give him back," Gladio rumbled, voice like gravel. "Or I'll take all of your little arms, and then your fucking head."

The laugh echoed, fainter still, until there was a still sort of silence, broken only by a hair-raising whisper. "You may try, Shield of the Chosen King. But you shall not succeed."

"Show yourself," Gladio said, coldly. "And I shall prove you wrong, Corpse-Stealer."

It was only years spent fighting in the dark that allowed Gladio the reflexes to parry the blade that sought his head, and the years prior to that the ability to recognize the youth attached to the familiar body.

"Cor--?!"

It was undoubtedly the Marshal, but his once-lined face was now clear of scruff and weariness. His eyes were sharp, bright, and filled with a vicious determination Gladio had only ever seen aimed toward their enemies.

"Cor! Wait--"

The man did not appear to hear him, already in transition to perform a flawless gyaku-inazuma giri, and after Gladio hastily parried that opening onslaught, a tsuki thrust that nearly tore through Gladio's throat, managing only to avoid being skewered by leaping as far back as his legs would allow him, though of course Cor followed through flawlessly, relentlessly, and Gladio swiftly found himself on the defensive, gasping through disbelief and then raw, unhindered fury.

"You DARE!" Gladio howled. "You DARE steal his face!"

"His face belongs to me," tittered that ancient, odious voice, bouncing off the walls to the beat of Cor's Kotetsu against Gladio's Genji blade. "All of him does. And you shall not take him from me, unless, of course...you best me."

Gladiolus had bested the Blademaster once, and he could do it again. But it was quite a different story to be fighting against the puppet-corpse of his teacher, his friend. "Cor, don't do this," Gladio spared the breath to say. "Cor, don't make me do this!"

Cor did not appear to hear him, and through sinking dismay and true grief, Gladio knew Cor would never hear him, for Cor was likely already dead. Cor Leonis had said his goodbye, and everyone had respected it-- even Gladio had respected it, in the end. But he'd come down here to reclaim Cor's body and bring it back to Lucis. Bring it back home. He'd meant to bury the Marshal next to King Regis, as Gladio would want someone to bury him next to Noct, when his time came.

He'd envisioned having to fight the Blademaster for it, but he had never imagined he'd have to ruin Cor's corpse to win it back.

"You are dishonourable--" Gladio screamed. "You are despicable--"

"I am, at that," the voice may have whispered, but Gladio was fully concentrated on Cor's blade, the whistle of it before it nearly took out his legs; the metallic vibration of it when it parried his own massive katana; the reach of it, always further than one might expect.

Cor did not fight silently, for all that he did not speak a word. He grunted and gasped and growled, and it felt awfully like he lived again, for it was his selfsame voice, the voice Gladio had grown up listening to and learning from, fighting with and fighting for. It was both a gift and a gutwound, to hear it again, in the flesh.

It could have been a shorter fight-- intense, furious, but inevitably lethal-- had Gladio not kept missing opportunities to cleave the man in two. He could not bear it. A part of him longed to prolong this, if only to keep the fiction going. That Cor still lived, that Cor could still come back alive.

Unfortunately, the longer Gladio drew it out, the more tired he became. And Cor, in the undeathly grasp of Gilgamesh, did not.

He became faster, and faster, and impossibly faster, until Gladio knew that if he did not end this soon, if he did not end this now, then it was Gladio that would be cleaved into pieces, and Cor-- who had not once batted an eye at carnage, who had not once looked upon a fallen enemy with regret-- Cor would simply end him without giving a shit, and then Gladio would be dead, and all this would be for naught at all.

Cor Leonis was dead, Gladio told himself through glassy eyes and a swiftly clogging nose, and this? This was just a cruel echo. It would be kinder to silence it, and let it rest a memory.

So, without further hesitation, Gladio closed himself off, and with one sure thrust, impaled Cor's body with his very own Genji blade, twisting it to ensure he'd severed that great man's spine and abdominal aorta, then up to cleave through three ribs and into his lungs and hopefully his heart, so his end would be swift.

So his end would be sure.

But of-fucking-course the Immortal refused to die easy. Cor made a truly awful noise, choking on his own blood, body twitching with the aftershocks of an immense blow, still struggling, still attempting to swing his sword, which Gladio barely stopped with his other hand.

"Damn it," Gladio choked, through messy tears. "It's okay, Cor. Let go."

The man screamed wetly, gagging, jerking futilely against Gladio's hold. He was half-collapsed on Gladio already, legs limp and lifeless. But even still he refused to die, let alone let go of his sword, which came to rest on Gladio's shoulder, sharp side trying in vain to dig toward his neck, even now, when it was past the realm of unlikely into the sad reality of the impossible.

"It's all right," Gladio whispered. "Shh. Shhh. You can rest now."

Cor shuddered, twitched, and let out a rasping exhale, that seemed to last an age. Blood kept bubbling up his mouth, out his nose, and this close Gladio could see the burst blood vessels in his eyes, making the blue of them all the brighter, even as that inimitable gaze clouded, unfocused, and seemed to still half-lidded, far away.

His sword finally slipped out of his grasp, and clattered unceremoniously to the ground.

For a long while Gladio couldn't speak through his tears. The hand holding the Genji blade was soaked with Cor's blood, with his spilled flesh, and Gladio couldn't find the will to remove it, to further damage Cor's body with it. He pulled Cor close instead, tucking his old friend's face into his chest, shuddering through his grief and processing his rage.

"I'll kill you for this," Gladio promised wetly. "I will fucking desecrate you for this."

"You may try," the Blademaster said, finally showing himself at the other end of the bridge, both armless and unarmed. "I may even welcome it."

Gladio ran a gentle hand through Cor's bloodied hair, and impulsively kissed the top of it, like he remembered Cor doing, once, when he'd been six or seven and he'd asked Uncle Cor for a bedtime story, and he'd eagerly listened to the Marshal stumble through what was more a mission report than a proper fairytale, talking about some young punk going down to Hell to fight some big tough guy with a weird accent, to prove himself worthy of his King. And Gladio, who even at that age feared being unworthy above all else, had anxiously asked And he did, didn't he, Uncle Cor? And Cor had quirked that small, sad, private smile that he showed only to Gladio and Gladio's dad and their King, and then kissed the top of his head and said Sure, champ, 'course he did.

'Course he did.

Gladio gently laid Cor's body on the ground, dislodging the Genji blade from his sternum as carefully as he could. It was impossible to pull out the two-meter long blade elegantly, or even respectfully, not without the King's magic to simply dispel it as he would have preferred, but Gladio did his utmost to do it without messing Cor up more than he had to. He ached to throw the damn sword away and simply grab Cor's corpse and run with it, abscond with it, away from this traitor's cesspit of a bridge and finally lay it to rest where it deserved to be-- but another louder, righteous, and infinitely angrier part of him needed to take the Genji blade-- originally Cor's blade, and now forever the blade that had finally ended him-- and skewer that dishonourable, hateful, and pathetic wraith of a creature at the end of that bridge. If not for Cor's sake, then Gladio's own; for the Blademaster was, if legend served, ancestor to his own blood, traitor to his own line, and therefore Gladio was the last of that longwinded legacy, the last Shield, and if it was anyone's duty to end this farce of a trial, then was is his own.

Gladiolus Amiticia stood tall, and readied his bloodied blade with the grim resolve of a man ready to face his death and walk out alive.

Gilgamesh didn't say a word. He'd said all he needed to, over two thousand years of projected self-loathing, through cruel whispers and claimed corpses shambling in the dark, patiently waiting for his own end, waiting for just this moment.

The tension between the two warriors rose like a fetid odor, permeating a grave. Only one of them would leave here alive, and increasingly it seemed it would be Gladio, for Gilgamesh had made no move to summon either arms or weapons.

"Take out your sword already, you lowly piece of shit," Gladio demanded, coldly. "Or die without one."

Gilgamesh tilted his head slowly, gesturing towards Cor's corpse, cooling before him. "You've already taken it," he said, simply.

Rage enveloped Gladio. He'd killed defenseless men before, but only in the heat of battle; to kill a traitorous kin-killer like this would bring him no satisfaction. Hell, it might even bring him shame, and that pissed him right the fuck off. That even now, filled with so much grief and fury and resolve, he could still lose against this wretched ghost, because winning against a thing determined to die without a fight was no victory at all.

"Arm yourself, Blademaster!" Gladio roared, swinging the massive Genji blade, splattering drops of Cor's lifeblood upon the bridge.

"I have none left," the ghost said, mildly, shrugging his great shoulders bereft of limbs. "Claim my head, Gladiolus Amiticia. It is yours."

"You vile, repulsive--" Gladio snarled, incandescent with rage. "You dishonour my name, your name, the name of the man who you just made me kill-- the lives of my father, my father's father, and all the kings the Amiticia have served--"

"Yes," the Blademaster interrupted calmly, "That's right."

"Pathetic," Gladio spat. "You're pathetic. You are less than a man. I renounce you as Shield of the Founder King. I renounce your trial as anything more than worthless, wretched--"

"That is your right," the Blademaster agreed, placidly.

Gladio screamed, and in his mind, he rushed him. Genji blade met Genji armour and parted it like butter, revealed the putrid insides of a man long since dead; another swing beheaded the man and spilled his brain across the bridge; his red-soled boots stomped that skull to shards, mercilessly, pounding it into the ground, into less than dirt, into less than a memory; in his mind, his heart thoroughly disowned that heartless cur to oblivion.

In reality, Gladio only screamed. And then, heaving like a beast, he gathered up his spite and spat on the ground. "If you will not fight," the Last of the Amiticia swore, "then you will rot here, forevermore."

Gilgamesh's glowing eyes tracked him, quietly, then he bent his head forward, bent his whole body forward, into a bow. "Yes, Amiticia," that dry, ancient, patiently undying voice said, "I know."

Gladio could bear this no longer. He turned, blade in hand, seeking Cor's corpse--

Only to find Cor struggling to his knees.

"Cor?!" Gladio choked, and for a moment his grief and rage split him, for he could not kill Cor a second time, a second time would surely end him--

"Clarus...?" Cor's eyes were still bloodshot but the blue shone through, electric, and violently alive; his face was young, bereft of age lines and beard; he looked like he was half Gladio's age instead of double. "What...?"

"Cor!" Gladio fell to his knees. "You're alive!"

"You're not Clarus," Boy-Cor said, voice oddly-pitched. "Who're you?"

"I'm his son," Gladio said, through tears. "Fuck. God damn it. You're alive, Cor." He impulsively gathered Cor up in his arms, and the kid-- God! Cor was at most a fucking teenager!-- squirmed, uncomfortable, looking confused as all hell.

"As if I'd die in a place like this," Cor said, gruffly, and then he jerked up, "Wait, son?! Y'mean, you're his da?" He pushed Gladio away, squinting up at him suspiciously. "No fuckin' way... you ain't Marshal Amiticia. He's bald, and you got more hair than a goddamn Ronin!"

Gladio couldn't help but laugh, wetly-- even through his confused joy and skewered grief, hearing Cor speak like a feral brat was something else.

"...unless that's a wig? Uh, sir? Shit."

But Gods above, what if this was an illusion? Gladio's whole self shuttered at the thought. He wouldn't put it past that old ghost. He was vile enough for it, Gladio now knew.

"If this is a lie," Gladio murmured, tracing Cor's wary face with his eyes, thinking this might be the last time, "then I swear on my life, I will cut off your legs and piss on your mask, Blademaster."

Cor's eyes widened, narrowed, and shuttered in quick succession. "Well, that's gross," he said, tense-like, eyes skittering over to the Genji blade, thrown aside in Gladio's disbelief-- then he stared at something beyond Gladio's shoulder. "Wait, did'you actually kill him?!"

Gladio automatically followed Cor's line of sight, thinking he'd see the Blademaster as he had been seconds before-- but the fucker was no longer standing there, head bowed or otherwise. He'd vanished.

"Shit," Gladio swore, lunged for his sword-- immediately realized Cor had taken the Genji blade with him, and turned to snatch the Kotetsu instead-- and was on his feet an instant later, ready for a fight. "God damn it--"

"Ramuh's balls--" Cor piped up. "You fuckin' did!"

Cor had fearlessly loped on over to where the Blademaster had once stood, all two meters of the Genji blade casually resting on his shoulders like it belonged there, instead of the Kotetsu he'd carried by his side for forty years-- and then he was bending down, was the sword too heavy?-- no, Gladio realized abruptly, Cor was bending down to grab a familiar silver thing.

"This is his mask, ain't it? Goddamn..." Cor looked very small at the end of that immense bridge. "You beat me to it, huh."

"...I don't think he can die," Gladio said, uneasily. "He's probably hiding somewhere." He resisted the urge to spit and say 'like cowardly fucker', and instead adjusted his hold on Kotetsu, its smaller size unfamiliar to his hands.

"Maybe," Cor said, but he didn't sound convinced. "Shit...if only I'd been a little faster, I could've gotten him first." He looked down at the mask like it had impaled him, like it had skewed him straight through and had watched him drown in his own blood.

Gladio knew that look, because that's the same look Cor had had, as he'd died in Gladio's arms.

Gladio felt the unreality of the situation finally descending upon him. "Hey, kid," he said, low and slow. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was running away from this," Cor said quietly, down at the mask in his hands. Then he squinted up at Gladio. "Sure don't remember you, though. Sir. Did you come down for me 'cause Clarus said somethin'?" His lower lip stiffened, and there was an unmistakable wet sheen to his eyes. "I had it handled, sir."

Gladio's heart was hurting something awful. This wasn't the Marshal he remembered. That inimitable man-- the Cor Leonis that had indulged Gladio's love of fairytales, who had kissed his brow goodnight, who had taught him how to fight, whose last words to him had been 'Y'know, Gladio, I think I've finally earned myself a goddamn vacation'-- that immense, amazing, larger than life man was dead.

So, what was this mockery before him? The soul Gilgamesh had defeated and claimed, forty some years ago, now returned to its old body?

"I know it was disrespectful, sir--" Cor said, stiffly, misinterpreting Gladio's expression. "I know this Trial is only for Shields of the Amiticia line, but-- I can do it, sir, I was doing just fine--"

"All of this is a farce," Gladio said, hollowly.

"No, I can prove myself worthy!" Cor said loudly, desperately, and Gladio was reminded of himself, thinking that being a worthwhile Shield to his King was all he'd ever wanted or would ever want, that fighting some big tough guy could grant him that and more. "I can do it--! I'll try again, I'll beat him, I'll prove it--"

Gladio felt something heavy press against his chest. If this was Gilgamesh's last fuck you to his descendants, or, worse, if it was his idea of a fucking consolation prize--

"Let me try again," Cor said, firmly, holding the mask out like Gladio could summon the Blademaster with it. "I'll show you, sir. I'll show you I can do it."

Gladio's frustration was hardly this kid's fault. Well, it was only Cor's fault insomuch as he'd jaunted on down here as a brat, gotten his ass kicked and his soul snatched, then come back down for seconds when he was too old to care if he lived or died. But it wasn't this kid's fault, anymore than it was Noct's fault he'd gotten saddled with a prophecy that wanted him dead and he'd chosen to fight it for as long as he could, before finally succumbing to it, back straight and head held high.

Gladio had hopefully outgrown his knee jerk reaction of yelling at dumb kids for making dumbass decisions, and he liked to think he'd soon ease into the calm melancholy of a man used to outliving those he loved. Like Cor himself had. The Cor of his memories, now forever laid to rest.

And yet Cor-the-kid was still staring up at him, refusing to cry, looking as stiff and proud and fierce as ever, waiting for him--for Gladio, of all people-- to denounce him.

So he chose not to.

"You did do it," Gladio said, gently. "Cor, you completed the trial, and then some. You are more than worthy to be a King's Shield, or Sword, or soldier--whatever you wanna be."

"What I want is a rematch," Cor insisted, looking more and more like he was gonna fight Gladio for it.

"Maybe later," Gladio said. Maybe never, he thought. Gods. He didn't know if Cor could even leave Taelpar Craig, or if his body would collapse like the walking corpse it should be, without Gilgamesh's magic holding it together.

"Sir," Cor said, edging on the line of begging. "I can't go back empty handed like this. I'd rather die than live with the shame of it."

"Take the mask, then," Gladio said, with an exhausted finality in his voice. "It's there because you defeated him, in your own way."

"...you ain't gonna piss on it? Sir?" Cor said, suspiciously, holding it close like he was protecting it.

If you die as we leave this place, I sure fucking will, Gladio thought, but said aloud, "I'd gotta drink some water, first. You thirsty?"

"What the fuck, sir," Cor said as respectfully as he could, which, at this time, was not much.

"I'm joking," Gladio said, though he really wasn't. "I'm not about making some instant ramen, though. After a meal--" Cor's last, perhaps, "--then I'm leaving here, for good. You comin', or you stayin'? Your choice, Leonis."

He'd come down here for Cor's body, but if Cor truly wanted to stay here, forever fighting a disgraced demigod whose hobby was making undying warriors out of decent men-- if that was truly his idea of a good afterlife, then, hell, Gladio wasn't going to force him. He respected Cor that much, even if this wannabe Valhalla was, in his personal opinion, as disrespectful as it could get.

Cor's rumbling stomach interrupted his thoughts. The kid turned a little red, and it broke the spell of Gladio's melancholy some, to see that. "Hungry, huh?"

"I could eat," Cor admitted, with a stiff little shrug. "What kinda flavour y'got, sir?"

Even though it was far more difficult to travel light enough to fight on the go without the magic of the Armiger, Gladio still made sure to carry at least one of his favourite meals with him in a backpack. For this journey, he'd packed exactly two Cup Noodles: one for him, and one for Cor's memory. He'd left it at the fireplace just outside this final room, alongside the waterproof tarp he'd brought to put Cor's body in-- though now, Gods willing and Gilgamesh be damned, Cor might just walk out on his own.

"Beef," Gladio said, and was gratified by Cor perking up, as he hoped he would. "You okay with that?"

"Yes, sir," Cor said, and quietly admitted, "It's, um. That's my favourite."

"Well, ain't that something," Gladio said, instead of saying, I know. "You comin', then?"

"Yes, sir," Cor said, and even if this was Gilgamesh's last laugh, or his last apology, then Gladio would take it, because Cor was worth it, Cor had earned it.

[fromparishwithlove]

Nothing But Handprints

[2,663 words, Destiel, mostly canon compliant]

A/N: Hey, hi, it’s midnight and I spent three days writing something and I actually finished it. It’s not that long, maybe 3,000 words but it’s something and I’m kinda proud of that. Ever since Supernatural ended I’ve found myself writing more and more. I’m actually working on a full fic and right now, it’s the most words I’ve ever written for one story, even though it just a shitty first draft. But before I publish that, I wanted to share something smaller, ease my way in so to speak. So this is a lot of Dean Winchester angst and a sort of continuous ‘Oh Shit’ moment in which he processes lots of memories and realises the impact Castiel had on his life, many of which are connected by the significance of the handprint. Ahhh the beloved handprint! Tbh I was kind of inspired by Jensen’s enthusiasm for bringing it back in 15x18 so you can thank him if you like this story. I think I’m going to eventually add this to Ao3 and it may get a sequel but for now, I hope you like it. Or at least don’t hate it.

Cas was gone.

Dean felt the loss as surely as if one of his lungs had been ripped out. Maybe it had. Maybe that’s why it was so fucking hard to breathe. And still he kept dragging in air, each breath a razor blade - Inhale. Exhale - forcing himself to endure the exquisite pain of survival.

Survival, he knew, was its own brand of suffering; barbed with regrets and heavy with the keen sting of memories.

Behind his eyelids bullets ripped through a dusty trenchcoat. A familiar voice admonished him; he was almost out of minutes. The cool press of fingertips brushed against his forehead. The silver streak of an angel blade caught the light. A fist collided with his jaw with a sickening crunch. A huff of involuntary laughter escaped from reluctant lips. Stubble scraped his cheek as he pulled the angel into a hug. Shades of blue crowded his vision - the garish blue of a crappy general store tabard, the endless blue of the morning sky as he wrestled his way out of his own grave, the untamed blue of angel grace, humming with raw energy. And best of all, the solemn blue of that unflinching gaze. There was a discarded cowboy hat on the backseat of the Impala. A game of Sorry pushed across a table and into his hands. A shitty four door saloon the colour of middle-aged misery.

And the brand of salvation burning on his skin - the Righteous Man, touched by an angel. The same handprint that now stained his jacket bloody.

As hard as he tried, all he could do was remember as shuddering breaths turned to wracking sobs.

*

Whatever this thing was, it had marked him. Searing it’s own handprint into the flesh of his shoulder, staking its claim.

Dean couldn’t help but feel... violated.

He looked like a walking advertisement for one of those crappy tourist spots: take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints but in his case it read: take nothing but liberties, leave nothing but handprints

He ran a tentative finger over the raised flesh and hissed at the contact. It felt raw, like a burn; still stinging and angry.

He glared at it, hoping the sheer force of his loathing would somehow dissolve it. But it remained, stubborn and resolute.

It looked human. That was the worst thing. To think there was something out there - something monstrous - masquerading in the body of an innocent person... And with enough power to pull him from the pit.

That thought alone was enough to chill the blood in his veins.

And what did that mean for him? He bore its signature on his skin after all. Did that mark him as it’s property?

He belonged to no man. And no monster.

He would rather spend a lifetime in Hell.

*

Getting up off the floor had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. Turning his back on the last place he’d seen Cas near impossible.

What if, by some miracle, he came back? He deserved to know Dean had waited. After all, Cas was the only one he’d ever really had any faith in.

But Dean had given up on miracles long ago.

He let his phone ring out again and again; the sound too harsh in the grief-stricken silence. What if he never answered? What if he let Sam believe he was dead? Cas too. Because in reality, he felt as good as.

*

When she saw the mark on his shoulder, her eyes widened a fraction, her mouth parting in what Dean recognised as wonder.

Dean Winchester is saved.

The words came back to him as she aligned her palm with the echo of Castiel’s, caressing the raised skin with a gentle touch.

Something about the contact made him feel nauseous. Even though they were pressed together, not a breath between their bodies, he felt as though she had dug her nails into an open wound. A shudder of revulsion ran down his spine. He suppressed the urge to shake her off, instead drawing her attention away with a searing kiss.

The feeling of unease was harder to dislodge.

The mark itself no longer bothered him; it had faded somewhat and by the time Pamela used it to make contact with Castiel it hadn’t so much as tingled. This sudden display of hostility triggered by Anna’s touch unnerved him.

Maybe it was because she was an angel. Maybe it could sense her power, reacting with whatever traces of energy Castiel had left behind.

Or maybe it was something subconscious in Dean; something he didn’t want to acknowledge - couldn’t acknowledge - for fear of what that might mean.

But he couldn’t outrun the truth.

He noticed how Castiel turned away when Anna leaned in to kiss him goodbye. Thought he saw a flicker of jealousy contort his features. But only for a split second.

And once again that involuntary feeling of distaste rose up inside him, rearing it’s head, demanding to be heard.

And this time he listened.

And this time he recognised the ceaseless lament of his guilt.

*

Every cell in his body screamed in protest as he staggered out of the bunker. Every step a monumental effort. It was as though The Empty had created a vacuum when it had taken Castiel, and now it threatened to drag him into the same darkness.

He was exhausted; more than once he had to fight the urge to lay down and never get back up. But he knew he couldn’t.

He had to get to Sam, had to confront Chuck and demand he bring Cas back. He pinned all his hopes on it. Because if Chuck - Lord God Almighty himself - couldn’t bust Cas out of The Empty, what hope did he have of doing it himself?

So he dragged himself behind the wheel of the Impala and tried to ignore how normal it felt to sit there, as if he were just heading out on another case. As if the whole world hadn’t shattered apart and been clumsily glued back together in a matter of heartbeats.

He refused to look over at the passenger seat, refused to acknowledge the empty space beside him. Castiel had occupied that space just a few hours ago.

Could that be right? Had it only been a few hours since they’d made the journey to Lebanon, their silence weighted with shared worry yet still companionable? How had he lost so much in so little time?

*

Castiel arrived in the nick of time.

Zachariah had been gearing up to do some serious damage. He might not have been able to kill Dean on account of his status as Michael’s Vessel but he could still make him suffer. And Dean knew he had riled him. But nothing, not even the threat of what was to come would induce him to say yes. Zachariah had simply given him an advantage, a roadmap of what not to do to. He wouldn’t end up a cold, callous, merciless soldier like his future self. He wouldn’t. He refused to believe there would ever come a day when he would willingly sacrifice his friends and family - his fellow comrades - no matter what Heaven or Hell put in front of him. He would rather die than live to see himself become so despicable.

“That’s pretty nice timing Cas.”

“We had an appointment.”

His answer was so matter of fact, so practical, that Dean couldn’t help the smile that broke over his face. It implied that Dean could’ve been minutes away from death or simply completing the crossword and Castiel still would’ve come for him at that exact moment. But there was something coy about the set of his features, something like amusement twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Dean was under no illusion that, somehow, Cas had sensed he was in danger and, despite his apparent ignorance, had slipped in and taken Dean while Zachariah’s back was turned. It was crafty, calculated, almost petty in its brilliance.

And now Castiel stood looking at him, ready to talk, to plan their next move, without even a hint of expectation in his gaze.

He didn’t boast or demand gratitude. He didn’t want Dean’s thanks; he just wanted to be included.

The realisation hit Dean all at once, Castiel’s own words coming back to him as he considered how the balance between them had shifted.

You don’t think you deserve to be saved.

But Cas had saved him. Had been trying to save him for a while now but Dean had just been too blind to see it. When he had freed him from Hell he had been following orders but now, he had simply taken it upon himself to remove Dean from trouble’s path.

Against all odds and the interests of Heaven, an angel had his back.

Dean took a step forward and, placing a hand on Castiel’s shoulder, he said, “Don’t ever change.”

What he meant to say was: Don’t ever change back. Don’t ever serve the interests of others when you know in you’re heart they’re wrong. Don’t ever become unreachable, unknowable. Don’t ever stop being the angel on my shoulder because without you, I’d die.

There was so much he had meant to say but the words died on his lips. He hoped that Cas understood just from the look in his eyes, the force in his tone, the significance of that hand on his shoulder.

Dean knew that he didn’t always tolerate human contact but Castiel didn’t shrug him off. He allowed Dean to grip his arm, the fabric of the trenchcoat screwed up under his fingers. For a minute Dean held on and when he finally drew away, he half expected to see the shape of his palm imprinted there, just as Castiel’s handprint adorned his own shoulder.

*

He drove on autopilot, trusting his body to react accordingly; his mind was otherwise consumed by bittersweet memories that made his throat ache and his eyes sting.

He replayed every journey they’d ever made together, nothing but open road before them and unsaid words between them.

You changed me Dean.

His tears ran hot, spilling down his cheeks and splashing into his lap.

Dean had immediately recognised the truth in Cas’ words, but they still reverberated through him like the tremors of a distant earthquake. Letting himself consider the possibility that he, an insignificant stain on the Earth’s crust, had changed Castiel, a centuries old celestial warrior, was incomprehensible.

It was like... staring into the sun.

The more he told himself not to, the more he became blinded by its glare. Dean wanted to squint whenever he looked at it, shield his eyes from its radiant sincerity.

Because he had known it this whole time. Known and never admitted it to himself.

He had witnessed firsthand Castiel’s transformation from a finely tuned, emotionless instrument to a discordant orchestra of empathy and feeling and not once had he suggested it was his own influence that had inspired such a change.

Because how could he have inspired such honesty and compassion, gentle humour and tenderness? He was stubborn and defensive, worn down by years of trauma and still so full of anger.

But he was wrong.

Of course he was wrong.

I cared about the whole world because of you.

It felt too big to accept so readily and yet... Dean remembered the first time he’d made Cas laugh, the first time he’d heard doubt creep into his voice, the first time his cheeks had flushed with embarrassment, his eyes had filled with sorrow, his shoulders had sagged with relief. He remembered it all and he remembered his own despair, his exhaustion, his cocky bravado. He had begged and reasoned and joked with reckless abandon. He had unwittingly smothered Cas with his humanity and instead of suffocating, Castiel had simply taken a deep breath, filling his lungs with every human emotion they’d ever dared to beat out of him.

*

His body felt beaten, his mind battered and broken.

Sam didn’t even have to ask as he forced himself out of the car to meet his younger brother’s eyes.

Understanding glimmered there. He might not know the details but Sam recognised the same heartsick anguish that gripped his own soul. The same bone-deep weariness that had settled over him ever since discovering Eileen was gone.

They had lost everything. Everyone.

Details would come later; coaxing out the truth one shot of whiskey at a time. Although, looking at the state of his brother, Sam wondered whether it wouldn’t take several bottles.

*

Dean took another pull on his beer.

He couldn’t understand why he’d done it. Maybe he hadn’t meant to. But sure enough it was gone. Every day the past slipped further and further away, fading as quickly as dreams but still he couldn’t help but reach for those memories.

There was barely anything left to remind him. Sam was... Well, Dean found it hard to think about Sam. And Cas... Dean hadn’t seen or heard from him in almost a year. He was starting to think Cas had removed the mark on purpose; some deluded attempt at helping Dean forget. Perhaps he thought it was a mercy.

But Dean didn’t want to forget. Not if it meant forgetting what it felt like to belong.

Once again he found himself in front of the mirror, beer on the counter, sleeve rolled up, his own hand pressed to the place where Castiel’s had once been.

He could hear Lisa moving around downstairs, glasses clinking, Ben’s laughter loud and jubilant out in the yard. He shouldn’t be here. Not again. Not today. He should be down there manning the barbecue, joking and celebrating with his family.

But he couldn’t seem to tear himself away. There was nothing to see and yet he kept on searching.

Mary had always said that angels were watching over him but his angel had abandoned him, leaving no trace behind.

Dean’s grip tightened, nails digging into his flesh. He relished the pain but it was not enough.

*

“You’ve got to bring him back.”

He’d ground out the words with deliberate force, still reluctant to admit Cas was gone, to admit that he alone couldn’t save him.

But Chuck had merely shrugged off their surrender. Apparently he was happy to simply watch them flounder. With no one left to fight for and no monsters left to fight, the brothers would be effectively made redundant. Just Sam and Dean and an eternity of suffering stretching out before them. How could that be the end?

In Dean’s opinion it was shitty, lazy writing. Surely Chuck would grow tired of their struggle soon enough and then what?

Stripping him of his power, his divinity, his immortality had been deeply satisfying. Dean relished the moment he turned his back on him, refusing to expend the effort it would take to kill him. That was, after all, not who he was. Not anymore.

For the first time in his life, he was going to carve his own path - without destiny or prophecy or some omniscient douchebag shoving him around on the chess board.

The thought terrified him. Did he even know how to live a life when his every movement wasn’t being dictated by someone else?

He supposed his first move would be the obvious one. But it was the only one he really wanted to make. With Jack taking on the role of God, his task of liberating Cas from The Empty seemed fractionally less intimidating. They would find a way.

Dean swore to himself that no matter how long it took, no matter the lengths he would have to go to, he would see Castiel again. And when he did, he intended to drag him out of the darkness and cover his soul with his handprints.

[carmensandiego-dreams-collection]

I completely forgot to say anything about Mystère au bout du monde, the most Game I’ve ever sat through. My full review of it below the cut:

-Everyone in the older Carmen fandom has said that this game is the worst, so naturally I had to go see for myself -It’s a sort-of reboot of Treasures of Knowledge but all the changes it’s made are bad, if it were a movie it’d be a direct-to-video sequel that you’d find in a walmart bargain bin -Shadow Hawkins is now Adam Shadow, and is now an asshole weirdo

-There’s a scene in the Louvre where he’s told not to touch anything and he IMMEDIATELY goes to pick up an ancient statue barehanded because he thinks it’s broken. The museum curator yells at him and tells him it was discovered in that state. It was the only funny joke in the game

-Jules picks Adam on purpose to be her partner but does nothing but rag on him the whole game. She’s also weirdly abrasive at times

-Neither of them are all that likeable in this, to be perfectly honest. Treasures had awkward moments, sure, but Jules and Hawkins were still fun and their rapport with other characters was interesting, especially with Jules and Carmen. This had absolutely none of that, everyone’s an asshole for some reason

-Everyone’s outfit/hair/aesthetics just......sucks shit, there is no nice way of putting it. Like I made fun of Jules’ character design a while ago but there’s MORE you guys, there’s more

-The plaid turtleneck. The JC Penny statement necklace. The high heeled leather boots. The skinny jeans. The hair. The clownishly proportioned women’s jacket. God.

-What the fuck is going on with this shirt??? the sleeves????

-I have a new drawing challenge that I’m proposing right now: take ANY outfit from this game and try to redesign it to be good.

-Some of the art looks unfinished, too, like nobody inked it properly and they just rushed sketches out to ship with the game

-It’s a personal gripe, but IDK why every reboot/reference to TOK feels like it needs to make Jules pointedly not-butch? CS2019 is light-years ahead of this game but it’s sort of guilty too

-Wow Shadow, your partner looks GNC af

-I think the only game that doesn’t do this is Hidden Drums?

-Adam’s outfits are better, but they’re still kinda bland.

-They took away all of his pockets. Fuck you. I hate you

-Shadow needs to look like a 7 year old boy that was allowed to dress himself at all times, you can’t do this, game

-The artstyle in general is also super awkward, the expressions look awful. A collection my favorites:

-There’s this weird love square going on?????? There’s no development for it, but it’s there regardless:

There’s this weird redditor/incel-type guy working in the lab who gives off Viktor from Despicable Me vibes. He constantly flirts with Jules but Jules isn’t into him, and he’s also relentlessly passive-aggressive towards Adam and hazes him because he probably thinks Adam is a Chad because Jules likes him more

Adam also constantly makes passes at Jules but she’s also not that into it, except when she is?? Half the time she brushes him off, but then she’ll turn around and flirt with him. I think the writers were trying to do that thing where a woman plays “hard to get”, except no woman ever has acted like that

I guarantee this was written by men

People call Jules and Adam up and they’re like “haha don’t get too distracted by each other you lovebirds” but they’ve only know each other for like two days max, what are they talking about

You think this shit is over, but then Carmen shows up in the ring with a steel chair and is like “Oh Jules, I find Adam attractive as well, oh hohoho! :3″ and you have to sit there and take it

I’m not really one to have strong feelings about “ships” either way, but honestly the aggressive attempt to remove the personal connection Jules and Carmen had in the first game and redirect it to be a fight over some Bland Dude is an act of homophobia, I’m sorry fjkdsl;afd

Thankfully none of this goes anywhere, but it’s uncomfortable nonetheless

- Carmen is barely in this game for some reason? The first time we see her in at least 20-30 minutes into the playthrough

-There also.... hints of racism? Like, all of the non-white people are sort of unhelpful, and there’s a moment where Carmen steals a mask from a Maasai Tribe and one dude sees her doing it, and instead of stopping her he’s like “her willpower and coat of red fire hypnotized me, so I came her to warn you instead”

- :/ idk man

-anyway, it turns out that all the items Carmen has been stealing are embedded with...microchips? And that when put together they lead to....atlantis??

-like, the honest to god atlantis

-ACME finally puts all the chips together and find the map, but then Carmen hacks in and get the map

-They race to an island that I guess does have the doorway to Atlantis, but right as Adam is about to catch Carmen, Jules falls off a cliff and has to be rescued

- To imply that this is a tense moment, rather than play intense music or have additional art with dialogue, the game instead flashes between these two images as fast as possible in dead silence

-Then, instead of addressing that the game just implied that Atlantis exists in this world, the game ends before we actually get to see Carmen, or even if there’s anything on the island

-After all is said and done, this game was entertaining to watch. I love bad media so much, although it’s a piss-poor game if you actually want something good about the characters. I’m hoping the recent show will spur HMH/Netflix to maaaaybe make another game, although who knows.

-A big thank you to fycarmensandiego for posting the walkthrough on youtube, I’m not sure if I could have sat through this on my own. If you like Carmen stuff, or would like to play this game yourself, you can check out their blog here on tumblr, they’ve done a lot of neat archival and emulation work!

[frozenartscapes]

Wow. Ok.

I haven’t mentioned it much here, but I’m a pretty big fan of Achievement Hunter. I’ve been watching their stuff since, 2012? I think...

Anyway, if you’re familiar with the group, you might know that some pretty big shit has gone down. I thought I’d share my thoughts. Feel free to ignore, and also if you’re not aware of what went down, I don’t recommend looking it up.

So yeah. I’ll try to keep this short.

I’m...really torn up about this. It seems like such a stupid thing to be torn up about, but... This group of amazing, funny people brought light and humour into my life when I was going through some pretty dark times. A few of their series became things I looked forward to weekly. They honestly kept me going. It was a sort of secret guilty pleasure of mine. I found I could sit through their videos a lot better than TV shows or movies, because it always felt so much more genuine and spontaneous. It was just fun to watch their antics every week.

Sigh. Ryan was honestly my favourite. I’m really, really sad to admit. His brand of dry humour often came in stark contrast to the others and he stood out to me. All of the guys - for a group of gamers - all just seemed so forward-thinking and positive. But Ryan just felt so mature, like a guy I could trust completely to be thoughtful and kind despite some of the crazy personas he would put on for videos.

Now, however, I’m disgusted. This guy had me fooled. He had his coworkers and friends fooled. He had the entire fanbase fooled. (Well, perhaps not the whole fanbase as a growing group of victims emerge.)

I always secretly feared something would come out from AH, because it is a group of extremely popular internet personalities, most of which happen to be men. It’s happened to other RT personalities before. But I never thought it would be him.

I used to love seeing him in videos. Some of my all-time favourite moments involved him. Now everything just feels dirty. This wasn’t a “oh it developed within the last year or two” kind of thing. While I was looking forward to seeing him in content for years, that asshole was doing all kinds of wretched, despicable things to innocent women and fans. To his friends. To his family.

I feel utterly and completely betrayed. The last eight years when I turned to AH content to make me smile feel like a slap to the face. All enjoyment is gone, just like that. Eight years of content, suddenly turned bitter.

Now, to AH’s credit, the rest of the team is going above and beyond to make things right and I feel like there is hope there. They were just as blindsided by this as I was. They’re just as hurt by this, if not more so because they actually knew the guy. I watched Jack and Michael’s statement on the issue and seeing them both breaking down just hurt. They aren’t taking any of his crap. They are treating every statement and allegation seriously. They are in the process of editing and removing content he was involved in, including videos with millions of views. These are people who make videos for a living. That means a lot that they are sacrificing those popular videos.

I still think I’m going to take a break from their stuff for a while. I need time to take a step back and process. I’ve been so busy with work I didn’t have the time to look into anything until today. I just noticed the lack of content for a few days. Turns out the whole department was taking a week off to process things.

This year has been complete and utter garbage for me. It just keeps taking and taking. I’ve repeatedly lost things that brought me joy either due to just losing interest after being disappointed by a poorly executed sequel, to this slap to the face. Thank god I discovered FE3H because without that to keep me entertained right now I’d have nothing. Nothing to look forward to, nothing to make me smile or chuckle. And with my life currently stuck in a miserable job with a miserable personal life and no hope of fixing that anytime soon because of this stupid pandemic, I don’t know where I’d be.

I guess this wasn’t very short. Sorry about that. I just needed to vent. I’m so broken emotionally by now I can’t cry anymore but at least I can still ramble. 

[chelsfic]

No Charge - The Witcher fanfic - Geralt of Rivia x OFC - stand alone for now

Summary: Geralt is hired by a local lord to kill a monster. The so-called monster turns out to be an innocent woman. Will he walk away or will he get involved and help her?

A/N at the end

Sequel: The Worst Damsel

Geralt’s fists tightened at his sides as he got a look at the so-called monster imprisoned in the estate’s oubliette. A young woman in a torn dress sat shivering in the bottom of the well-like hole. She raised a dirty hand to block the piercing rays of light, blinded by the first light she’d seen in days as the hole’s cover was removed. 

His face was stony as he turned to the lordling at his side, “You told me your village was being terrorized by a striga. This--” he motioned toward the pitiful form at the bottom of the hole. “--is a human woman who has been monstrously mistreated. She’s no monster.”

The lord’s eyes shifted in panic but his voice was all false bravado, “Now see here, Witcher. I knew you wouldn’t come if I did not portray the gravity of our circumstances with...slight exaggeration. This she-devil is a demon on the inside, true as any monster you’ve slay’n. She was born on a black omen day and ever since has brought pestilence to our crops and plague to our people. She speaks evil words and is monstrously cruel to those who would give her kindness and safety!”

The Witcher grunted in displeasure, “I begin to see the way of it, little Lord. Did the bad lady hurt your feelings? Is that it? Well, I’ll have no part in this pettiness. There’s an authentic contract posted in Murivel not a day’s journey from here. I’ll be on my way. And I warn yeh not to make light of calling upon the services of a Witcher again.”

***

The starless night left the road obscured in darkness but Geralt had no trouble finding the path. Still, he tarried. Roach shook her head in irritation and stamped a hoof.

“Mmphh,” Geralt grunted in reply to the silent question. “I know, Roach. And yet…”

His mind flashed back to another road, years ago, and a young girl he saved from being attacked and raped by a band of despicable deserters. And what had been his reward then? For involving himself in human affairs and ignoring the Witcher’s code? Revulsion and fear. It wouldn’t do to get involved again.

And yet…

***

The heavy wooden door of the oubliette slid soundlessly open at a sign from the Witcher’s hands. He peeked over the rim and his black gaze, strengthened by the effects of a potion, picked out the huddled form in the darkness, though the girl surely could not see him.

“Quiet now, girl,” Geralt hissed into the still night air. “I’m getting you out of here, alright?”

A moment of stillness and silence. The Witcher feared she might be unconscious or worse. But a wavery voice finally responded, “A-alright.”

It was the work of a moment to climb down into the hole. It was constructed of earth and lined with large paving stones, an easy climb for one with a Witcher’s enhanced abilities. He dropped down onto the damp dirt floor of the hole and looked the girl over. She was still seated, huddled against a wall but as he stepped forward she rose. She was short and he could tell she’d once been plump and shapely although she’d clearly not been fed for several days. Dark shadows ringed her eyes and dirt and sweat obscured her hair color. It was altogether impossible for the Witcher to tell if she was comely or ugly. But given the quality of her dress, despite the dirt and tears, he could tell she came from a comfortable background. Perhaps a wealthy merchant’s daughter. He could guess how far her father’s protection and love extended based on her current predicament.

He cleared his throat and stepped into her space with one long stride. He turned his back to her and crouched down a bit. Patting his shoulder to indicate the idea. A moment passed.

“Go, on,” he said, annoyed, “Climb on, you want to get out of here don’t you?”

“It’s not...proper…” he could hear the indecision in her voice even as she spoke the words. What good had proper behavior been for her up to this point?

The Witcher laughed, “I can certainly leave you here, miss, if you prefer to preserve your precious good name--although I hate to tell yeh, I think the ship has sailed there.”

The girl huffed a sigh but relented. Her arms went gingerly around his shoulders, clasping loosely at his collar. The Witcher grunted out another laugh and with one swift motion boosted her by the rump and forced her legs to wrap round his waist. He felt the press of her breasts against his back and nearly let out a pleased groan. It’d been ages since the last brothel. With a grimace he pushed the thought away and dug his hands into the grimy side of the hole beginning the climb upward.

***

He set the girl down on her feet with a gentleness that surprised her. She was a little more herself now that the urgency of escape was behind her. She stood before her rescuer and for the first time noticed him. He stood more than a head taller than she. His massive shoulders and muscular form were intimidating all by themselves--but the spell-blackened eyes that gazed down on her were truly a fright. Her face must have given her thoughts away for she saw the man grimace and turn away. With a sound of protest she reached out a hand and grasped his elbow.

“I thank you, sir.”

He turned back slightly and she watched as the inky blackness faded from his eyes to reveal molten gold irises. They were startlingly beautiful. Again, her thoughts must have shown on her face for she saw his mouth part in a razor sharp grin.

“You’re welcome, my lady. No charge.”

A/N: I was originally planning to write a reader insert, but it felt much more natural to write this in the third person. However, the female OC is only vaguely described as short and shapely/plump. This is a oneshot, but I feel I could definitely continue more vignettes on these two. Also, like many others I am new to the fandom. I’ve read The Last Wish and started Sword of Destiny but there is a lot that I don’t know about the world of The Witcher so please forgive any mistakes. And as always feedback is appreciated even adored. Thanks so much for reading!

[jayne-hecate-writer]

The Secret Commonwealth: A review of sorts-ish...

So on a cold fresh autumnal morn, I closed the cover of my book, sat back and almost wept. I have waited for this book for so long, I had had it on pre-order from the despicable Amazon (notorious for tax avoidance, low pay and bad working conditions) for so very long and yet, I cannot contain my disappointment.

This is a cold brutal book, filled with anger and sadness, as much a critique of our society as it is a fairy story. My friends, I present to you The Secret Commonwealth, the second in The Book of Dust trilogy and if you have not yet finished the book, be aware that I am about to discuss some events that could be classified as spoilers.

La Belle Savage was at times a dark book, revisiting the lives of Lyra's parents and explaining how she came to reside with in the walls of Jordan College, safely out of the hands of the Magisterium. It also contained a story of heroism as the young Malcolm Polstead struggles to maintain the safety of the infant Lyra during a catastrophic flood. Although it felt detached from the other stories given that it was in effect a prequel, it was complete and did not leave us with a bitter cliff hanger. Alas, I cannot say the same for the sequel, which is set several years after the events of both The Amber Spyglass and Lyra's Oxford.

The book opens with Lyra and Pantalaiman not speaking, during the episodes when they do speak, they communicate though angry argumentative exchanges and mutual misunderstanding. Pan resents Lyra's depression as she discovers the theories and philosophy of Nihilism, a system of thought that denies the existence of the Dǣmon and even of pleasure itself. Her adherence to the subject matter is fairly typical of every pretentious philosophy reading young adult and borders on the self denying extremes of Emo subculture, without stepping into the grotesque regions of cutting and self harm. There is throughout the book a feeling of abandonment and depression in the main character and it is linked directly to this bleak denial of light and goodness as she struggles to come to terms with her own feelings and knowledge, despite her having had first hand physical experience of the spiritual realm. This is an important part of her self denial that has led to the schism between Pan and herself, as she denies the existence of part of herself.

There is also a feeling of animosity towards the modern day society of Brytain which is clearly very similar in many ways to our own modern Britain, with self serving political posturing and power grabbing being clear goals for some of the characters. Gone is the clear evil and avarice of Mrs Coulter, replaced by the cold brutal spite and vengeance of her brother, Marcel Delamare. The main antagonists of this book are both motivated by revenge and power with the protagonists being somehow dirtied by modern life. The previously heroic Malcolm borders painfully close to the paedophilic with his obsession with a young woman who does not yet have adult status, being ten years his junior and whom he has nurtured since she was a child. In fact throughout the novel, there are many characters who it is implied may have flawed sexual relationships, starting with the loveless flirtations of Lyra herself and moving onto the strangely asexual Marcel, possibly even the Saint Simeon as he craves the touch of his boy, the shamed Princess who delved into lesbianism to satisfy the lusts of her own Dǣmon and finally the revolting actions of a group of rapist Turkish soldiers. Speaking of which, the sexual assault of Lyra is both heart breaking and brutal, it is described as a near rape, but it goes into enough detail to sicken the reader and if I am honest pulls too readily on the cliché of powerful men destroying the spirit of the young woman until she is rescued by another powerful man who berates her for daring to go out in public. This is in some ways  the commentary of a middle class academic man, who has tried to imagine what it is to be a marginalised woman and it does show. However, if you wanted to be less critical, you could see this as a brutal statement on the suffering of women not just in the middle east, but the world over as we struggle against sexism, religious persecution and the removal of our bodily self determination.

With the first trilogy, His Dark Materials, there was an innocence to the story telling, even during the vicious battles and violent murders committed by some of the most beloved characters. With this book, there is a bleak world weariness in the subtext, it is every miserable moment distilled and condensed from the twenty four hour news networks, from global war to Brexit and with the reading it does towards the end of the book grow tiring, if not actually despairing. After closing the dust cover, I am left wondering how Pullman can raise the tone of the next book and I wonder if it is even possible for him to give Lyra the sort of ending she deserves, given that she has silently saved mankind across the myriad of realities. Seeing her fall in love with Malcolm would feel somehow lazy, when given her status as the biblical Eve to Will's Adam and their eternal love.

I think that it has also been forgotten that Lyra and Will killed the self aggrandising deity known as the Authority during the last battle in The Amber Spyglass, she knows for a fact that the fortress of heaven is ruled by tyrants, having battled them both directly and indirectly. She is also aware of the presence of the soul having witnessed it first hand escaping from the land of the dead to the plains of land of the Mulefa. Making her a nihilist in everything but name seems somehow incongruous, but maybe this is a comment on the nature of where the world stands at the moment. After all, did not Star Wars do something very similar with the failure and then redemption of Luke Skywalker in the Last Jedi?

As I grew closer to the end of this novel, I knew that it would not and could not end happily. Pullman does not even give us the moment of reconciliation between Lyra and Pan, instead we are left with a cliff hanger and an obtuse poem and worst of all, the knowledge that it is going to be many more months if not years before we get the answers to our questions. Given that his book is nearly seven hundred pages long, there is a great deal in here that is drudgery, misery and depression; which frankly I found heart breaking. Lyra has been soiled by the things that she has done and which have been done to her. I only hope that for the next book she retains her autonomy, does not fall into the predatory arms of Malcolm and finds the reconciliation with Pan, because otherwise this trilogy is going to be bleak and will see the destruction of one of the most beloved characters created in the twentieth century. I also think that Pullman has sank a great deal of his own personal despair with modern society into this instalment, carefully skirting the more usual tired tropes and cliché.

Is the Secret Commonwealth a good book? I cannot answer this question because it has left me feeling unsettled and hurt. What I can say is that as the original readers of the first trilogy have aged, the tone of the second trilogy has aged with us. Where I would have no qualms about letting my ten year old niece read The Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife or The Amber Spyglass,  I would have some reservations about allowing this book to fall into her hands until she was significantly older. The tone of this book is just too dark at times and in some cases just too brutal. Do not forget that it is actually two of our beloved characters, both young women, who have been raped in this second trilogy and on each occasion they have been over powered and violated, while their struggle has been shown to be useless, there was nothing that they could do to prevent it. Yes, misogyny like this does exist, but do I want to encourage my niece to read such things or do I want to protect her from just how awful society can be?

I suppose that I shall just have to wait for two long damnable years to find out what is going to happen next to our dear Lyra, but while we wait we do have the new BBC show to look forwards to. There were moments while reading this book that I looked up from the page to discover my partner was watching the television and there before me was the young woman who had portrayed Lyra in the film of the Golden Compass. Her depiction of Lyra and all of her depth was remarkable for a child who had never acted before and it is uplifting to know that she was able to put the film behind her and continue with her career. I am bitter about that film because it feels like it was scuttled by the studio and the blame was placed at the feet of the religious bigots who had probably never ready the books. The shame of it was that much of the anti-catholic rhetoric had been removed and still the religiously indoctrinated were not satisfied until they had ruined it and stripped it of meaning and value. If anything, that just makes the making of this series even more important. I very much doubt though that should this series be a success, The Secret Commonwealth will also be filmed for this age group.

[unholyhelbiglinked]

Camp Beaverbrook | 020

A/N: Well, that's about it for Camp Beaverbrook. And I must say, I'm super proud of myself for actually sticking with it even if I did go off schedule a little bit. Either way, I want to thank everyone who has stuck with me during this absolutely insane reimagining of classic 80's horror films. You guys are truly amazing and supportive and I'll never forget that.

(Oh, and uhhh I'm going to take a month or two to focus on getting my other stories filled out before I tackle the sequel, but the girl's stories don't' end here. I'll answer any lingering questions you have, just keep your eyes peeled for what happens next. Because we all know final girls don't necessarily stay final girls)

READ ON AO3  | READ FROM THE START 

Chloe Beale had read somewhere that Hospitals were liminal spaces. An area akin to a waiting room, or a train station, even a bus stop across from a cemetery in the middle of New Orleans. A place that was meant for transition. Somewhere no one stopped for too long, heading to the afterlife or simply to the nurses at the front desk who reluctantly handed over discharge papers.

Chloe felt like she would be here forever. There was no second stop for her, instead, there was a dark examination room where she had been separated from the rest of the world. There was a slight hum from the x-ray chart that lit the room in a blue glow. A slight breeze against the robe that she was instructed to put on- they had taken her clothes and stuck them in a little clear baggie. She hugged herself closer against the sterile air.

Parchment paper against the examination table was stuck to her bare skin. She waited for a knock, or simply for the slate wooden door to open. A doctor of a police officer- that’s what she was expecting. Someone to handcuff her or probe at her already stinging injuries. Anything but this stalemate.

She tried to count the number of casualties like sheep with sloppily painted numbers against fleece. There was Jane, Jane who could have gotten lost in the woods but couldn’t have been a simple accident. Then Gail- sweet Gail who had run the camp in her stead for years and years. And Wilkens. A man she didn’t know but felt as if she did, smelling of cigar smoke and spilled blood.

“Ms. Beale?” It was a voice instead of a knock, but the door seemed to creak open immediately after that. She jumped despite knowing that someone would be coming for her. It was the same nurse that was dressed in washed pink scrubs. The one who had given her the robe and looked at her with inept solitude. “Sorry to startle you but, the doctor would like to see you now.”

Chloe nodded and fought back a wince at the pain it caused. She felt stiff, the bruise that wrapped around her skin like a choker was burning hot like a branding iron and she fought the urge to run her fingers over the raw spot.

The doctor seemed to be a woman straight out of med school. Her hair was darkened, almost black under the blue glow. It was thrown up in a messy bun but strands fell evenly into her ghostly stare. Her face was bare of makeup but pretty, a white lab coat over a button-down shirt that was an even forest green. Her nametag read Dr. Mary Saxe.  

She had a soft way about her, but not obnoxiously so like the bubblegum nurse who had tried her best to make Chloe feel at ease. It didn’t work so well, but this woman had a presence around her. An authority that was otherwise unmatched.

“I don’t want you to speak, okay? Not before I can take a look at your wounds.”

Chloe didn’t do anything this time. She didn’t answer or nod. Instead, she just watched the woman wet her hands under the sink and slide on a pair of purple nylon gloves. She didn’t bother pulling up a seat, instead, she stood right in front of the young girl, eyes hard and focused.

She couldn’t’ help the sharp inhale that filled her lungs as Dr. Saxe made the first contact. She traced the ring of clotted blood with delicacy before applying certain pressure beneath where Chloe thought here tonsils were. Before she got her tonsils removed as a kid, a lot of other doctors poked around there too. This time it brought tears to her eyes and she felt a certain heir of embarrassment, to choose now to cry. To break over a soreness rather than when the actual cord wrapped around her throat.

“Right,” The doctor seemed unphased. “I’m going to need to do some x-rays, make sure nothing got crushed or fractured. Amy here is going to get some pain medication and that should stop the discomfort.”

Dr. Mary Saxe did something unexpected then, she put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder. Maybe in an attempt of comfort or to get the girl to focus on something other than the tears that dripped off her chin and soaked into the ugly turquoise gown she wore. “Chloe, we’re going to catch the guy who did this, alright? You’re safe here. I don’t want you to believe otherwise.”

Chloe knit her eyebrows together, staring at the stressed features of the stranger in front of her. The woman who had such intense focus. The one who still had her hand on her shoulder and her eyes level. She mustered the courage to speak- much against the woman’s orders.

“He’s… dead.”

A flash of horror shifted to understanding in a moments time, she nodded her head, squeezing Chloe’s shoulder. Did she know? Had Chloe been the only one not to give a statement in the nightmare that took place over these last few weeks? She had a feeling that all four of them had been separated for a reason- Dr. Mary Saxe turning to leave before Chloe grasped onto the fabric of her lab coat.

“Emily?”

“Your friend.” She responded, eyes flashing down to the death grip Chloe held. “She’s lost a lot of blood. The shrapnel split an artery and we stitched it up as well as we could, but we had to put her in a medically induced coma. It’s up to her to wake up now.”

It was Chloe’s turn to nod and think, her stare focused on the cross-sections that the tiled floor created. She heard the door open and shut and acknowledged the presence of the nurse who handed over a Dixie cup of water and a little orange pill. It burned on the way down.

Beca Mitchell was slumped against a chair in a way her father would call despicable. Her back was touching the wall through the open design and her legs were spread against blue scrubs that were too big on her. A sickeningly gross blue that made her look pale, her bare feet cold against the tile floor.

They let her take a shower.

She made one of the orderlies sit on the toilet seat while it filled up with a toxic mist, heavy and hard to breathe through. The woman made small talk with her about the weather and how it was unseasonably cold for this time of the year before moving into the topic of her newborn grandbaby. Beca had allowed herself to focus on her soothing words as she stared up at the stream of water, refusing to blink, watching as the muck and blood washed down the drain. Her chest ached.

Beca stared blankly at the floor in the hallway. She hadn’t looked up as the food cart passed, or when another nurse handed her a Dixie cup with a little orange pill. She tipped her head back and swallowed it and crushed the frail paper between her fingers.

The girl didn’t glance up with the chair next to her suddenly became occupied with another. Instead, she stared, stared at nothing in particular and thought about the throbbing in her nose and the throbbing in her heart. She had shot someone- nonfatally.

“What if you’re right?” She finally whispered, “About me being a terrible person. About it being in my blood.”

Aubrey Posen drew in a calculated breath. She had on her own set of scrubs, the cut on her hairline had been stitched cleanly and was coated in a thick smelling medicine to quell the pain. Her arms were bruised, and her hair was wet- thrown into a dark ponytail. Despite her injuries, she sat up straight.

Beca sniffed and turned to face the girl completely. “We learned about Aristotle in summer school. How he thought people were born amoral- not good or bad. It’s something that’s learned over time and cultivated and” She took a shaky breath. “What if I was just born bad, and that’s what made it so easy for me to shoot Jesse?”

“That theory has been argued amongst centuries, It’s not even-“She got ahead of herself, stilling her thoughts. “It was easy for you to pull the trigger because someone you cared about was in danger. You weighed the options and no matter what, you didn’t fire the killing shot. Don’t blame yourself for helping us live.”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself?” Beca’s voice was watery. Aubrey grimaced and looked away. “About what happened in the car? That you did what you did because Emily was going to die if we hadn’t of driven away?”

They returned themselves to the quiet that wasn’t quite silence. Aubrey slumped in her seat and tapped her fingers against the armrest. The phones rang at the reception desk a few corridors down. The machines beeped in unison and a man with an awful cough hacked up his second lung for the night.

Then there was the sound of loafers tapping against the linoleum and Beca’s Chest seized. She wasn’t sure if all people in law enforcement were required to wear the same type of shoes or if there was a convention every year under big-top tents to purchase them. He walked with vigor and purpose.

Detective Luis Desmond, Beca remembered. She had seen him more than once at her hearings, his suits always pressed neatly and his hair cut close to the scalp. His dark skin popped against the lavender tie he wore, opting out of the blazer jacket that hugged his frame in court. Wilkens and Desmond shared cigars as they leaned against the car that was wrapped in neon tape at this point.

Beca pushed herself up in her seat and ignored the discomfort it created as the scrubs rolled up against her skin. Desmond didn’t say a word as he sat across from the two girls who cast a wary glance between one another before returning their attention to him.

“Well, girls, I’m going to be frank with you. None of this looks good.” He formed his fingers into a teepee and leaned forward against his knees. It made his pant legs ride up and expose his black socks, but not quite far enough to show his ankles. “We have a dead camp director, a dead federal agent, a body burned beyond recognition and one with an arrow expertly shoved into his throat.”

“We told you everything we know.”

“I’m not finished yet.” He said sternly. “There’s a blown-up shed, a dead little girl with parents who just want answers, and a sizeable dent in a car that you stole.”

There was enough quiet that followed to inform them that he was done now. Beca didn’t’ think it a good idea to mention that it wasn’t technically grand theft auto if the man who held the title was gutted like a fish. She also didn’t’ find it the right time to disclose the fact that she was about to lose the rest of the lake water in her stomach all over those nice leather loafers.

“We’ve called your parents, and then your guardians. They’re all on the way.” Desmond said with a slight twinge in his voice before he stood. “I’ll advise the four of you not to leave town in the following months. It was nice to see you again, Rebeca.”

“Pleasure.” She croaked out, giving a halfhearted wave. He walked back the way he came, and they watched with laser focus before he pushed through the double doors and vanished completely.

“He’s just trying to scare us.” Aubrey exhaled in a shaky breath.

“Yeah, it fucking worked.” Beca slumped further in her chair until she could feel the cold air against exposed skin again, her eyes trained on a little dip in the floor in a space that seemed entirely too liminal.

[owlways-and-forever]

Summary: The Marauders are getting older, and that means so many things. Mischief, heartbreak, and trying to figure out who they really are. They’ll face problems within their group, prove their loyalty to each other, and discover the ugliness that is brewing in the wizarding world at large. Welcome to Years 2-4 of the Marauders time at Hogwarts. **This piece is a sequel to Behind the Mango Tree, however, you do not have to have read the first installment to pick this up. It does stand alone, but there is some carry over from the last book, especially with inter-character relationships. Basically, you don’t have to have read BtMT, but it certainly helps. Word Count: (3,045) 17,423 Links: FFnet | ao3 | tumblr: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4

A/N: Well, would you look at that, I've actually managed to finish this chapter on time! Cheers to sticking to the posting schedule, hopefully I can keep it going next week too...Also big shout out to @mischiefpuff for betaing this and to @indiebluecrown for enthusiastically volunteering to read over it, you are both wonderful.

This chapter is... well, all the angst. Lots of feels, lots of bonding between the boys. The title is a pretty big giveaway for what happens in this chapter. It also marks the last chapter of their 2nd year at Hogwarts, so when we return (hopefully on time) we'll have some excited third years on our hands!

Anyway, that's really all my notes for this chapter. A friendly reminder that feedback is ALWAYS appreciated, and if you really like story, feel free to recommend it to a friend. (And if you really really like the story, hit me up on Ko-Fi). So that's all and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5: Furry Little Problem

“I’m worried about Remus,” James said in a hushed tone as the Gryffindor boys all got ready for bed.

All except Remus, who had been ushered away by Professor McGonagall in the middle of dinner, muttering something about a family emergency. He was careful to keep his voice low, so that Lance and Firmin, who had the farthest beds from them, wouldn’t hear. At least, he hoped they would hear, and if they did hear, they would know enough to butt out.

“It seems like every month he’s sick,” James continued, “or there’s an emergency, or something that calls him away, and he always comes back looking deathly.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing to be worried about,” Peter said dismissively, but he stopped folding his sheets down and caught his own reflection in the glass of the window.

“How can you say that?” James hissed, staring at Peter with wide eyes. “He looks dreadful for days on end, what if there’s something seriously wrong with him?”

“Then it’s his decision whether or not to tell us,” Peter argued, turning to face James.

“I think James is right,” Sirius said thoughtfully, looking between his two friends. “Something seems off, and I think we should... check in. It’ll show that we care about him, that we noticed and are concerned.”

“Or it’ll show that you have no respect for his privacy,” Peter said, looking thoroughly disappointed. “What if it has something to do with Zeva? What if, I don’t know, what if he’s going to visit her grave with his parents or something? Don’t you think he has the right to try to process the fact that his little sister died however he needs without you two butting in and telling him how dreadful he looks every time.”

“Well why keep it secret, and why go on weeknights?” Sirius rebutted, trying to think it all through.

“I don’t know why, maybe she really liked the full moon or something,” Peter said, but he instantly knew he had given too much up. It would be the hint that gave it all away. He quickly tried to cover it up and steamrolled on. “But it doesn’t matter, he ought to be allowed to grieve privately if he wants to. It’s none of our business.”

“He is always gone at the full moon,” James whispered, looking at Peter as if he were bathed in light.

“I – I don’t know, I never noticed,” Peter denied hastily. “It was just a suggestion that maybe his sister –“

“No, Peter, you’re right, I’m sure of it,” James said, shaking his head. He got up and walked to the window, just to be certain, and sure enough, hanging in the sky was a great big full moon.

“You don’t think...?” Sirius gasped, turning toward his friend.

“The school would never allow it,” James answered, trying to make sense of it all. “We can’t just ask him if he is, can you imagine how it would look if he isn’t?”

“But we have to talk to him though,” Sirius asserted.

Remus thought his friends were acting very strangely the next day. He was tired and sore from his transformation, and even though Madam Pomfrey had mended all his cuts and lacerations, he still felt like his body had been put through a shredder. Sirius, James and Peter hardly spoke during the whole day, their usual antics set aside for reasons unbeknownst to him. He thought that perhaps something had happened while he was gone, a fight or some late night that had deprived them of sleep, so he wasn’t terribly concerned. Until dinner, when his gut began to fill with dread at the furtive glances James and Sirius were giving each other, and him. Peter seemed removed from whatever was happening, looking pointedly at his plate of food, and resolutely ignoring James and Sirius.

They all trudged along in silence back toward Gryffindor Tower, and Remus didn’t want to be the one to break it, so he just followed their lead, smiling lightly at Peter, who seemed extraordinarily sullen. They were only a few floors away when James and Sirius ducked into an empty classroom with no warning. Remus gave Peter a curious look, but his friend just sighed heavily and followed the others into the room. Remus gulped, trying to tell himself that they couldn’t possibly know, that he was safe, that these were his friends, and they were probably just pulling some prank on him. Merlin, please let it just be a prank. He took a deep breath and followed the others into the room, the door swinging shut behind him with a heavy thunk.

James and Sirius stood together by the professor’s desk, arms crossed and stern expressions on their face, while Peter leaned against the chalkboard behind them, determinedly looking at his shoes.

“Don’t do this,” Peter hissed quietly, and Remus’ heart dropped into his stomach.

“Remus, we know something’s going on,” James announced, looking defiant and completely utterly sure of himself. So very much the opposite of how Remus felt.

“We think we know what it is,” Sirius continued, his body language mimicking James’. “But we’d rather you told us yourself.”

“I dunno what you’re talking about,” Remus denied quickly, trying very hard not to let the panic show on his face.

“Yes you do,” James insisted. “Come on, Remus, all the nights away, saying that you’re sick or you have to see family. And it’s always on a full moon. You don’t think we’d eventually catch on that our best friend disappears once a month? Didn’t think we’d see the pattern?”

“I’d hoped...” Remus said quietly, not daring to look at them. “How long have you known?”

“It’s true then, you’re a werewolf,” Sirius gasped, his voice low in surprise, and Remus nodded in shame.

“We just figured it out last night,” James answered, elbowing Sirius sharply.

Peter shifted a little behind them, catching Remus’ attention and Remus narrowed his eyes, focusing lasering in on him.

“Peter?” he asked sharply.

“I figured it out around Christmas,” Peter admitted, pushing away from the wall. “Things didn’t seem to add up and then you were gone all night and...something just clicked for me I guess. I didn’t say anything though, I promise.”

James and Sirius both gaped at Peter, and from their expressions, Remus knew that what Peter had said was true. He hadn’t told them anything about his suspicions, they had all figured it out on their own.

“So now what?” Remus asked, scuffing his shoe along the ground.

“What do you mean?” Sirius replied, cocking his head, and James and Peter both looked equally confused beside him.

“Well, what are you going to do?” Remus said. “The staff all know about me, but I can’t ask you to keep my secret. You could tell the whole school and have me thrown out.”

“Of course we’re not going to have you kicked out!” Sirius exclaimed. “Why would we do that? It’d only spoil our fun. Or have you already forgotten our late night mattress escapades?”

“Because... I’m a monster,” Remus replied simply, his shoulders sagging in defeat. He was despicable, nothing could convince him otherwise.

“Remus, you’re not a monster,” Peter said, reaching out to touch his friend’s arm, but Remus shied away.

“I’m not a stuffed animal!” Remus snapped, annoyed that the other boys didn’t seem to understand how abhorrent he was. “I could kill people and I would have no control over it! I could bite someone, make them like me...”

“You’re being dramatic,” James scoffed. “You fold your socks, Remus. Forgive me if I’m not trembling at the sight of you.”

James shook his hands, pretending to quake with fear, over the top and obviously fake. Sirius laughed heartily and Peter grinned, but Remus felt stunned.

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” Remus asked, stammering through the words. “You don’t...and...I mean...I could be really dangerous! I am really dangerous!”

“Really, Remus,” Sirius teased, “what part of ‘you fold your socks’ isn’t getting through? Besides, its not like you transform spontaneously. We’ve got a pretty good idea of when it’ll happen, which makes it right easy to avoid you.”

“Then surely you must despise me,” Remus added, shaking his head. “Werewolves aren’t exactly popular.”

“We don’t hate you,” Peter said kindly, looking at Remus with wide and sincere eyes. “We could never hate you for this. You’re still the same Remus you’ve always been –“

“Except when you’re not,” James joked, and Peter shot him a nasty look that said this-is-not-the-time-for-jokes.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Peter insisted, and James and Sirius nodded in agreement. “And you never have to worry about us telling anyone, we wouldn’t do that to you.”

“But... but...” Remus stammered, unable to accept their words as truth.

“Remus, mate, we’re your best friends,” James said, putting his hands on Remus’ shoulders and looking him dead in the eye. “You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to get rid of us, yeah?”

Remus cracked a small smile then, feeling like crying at the generosity and acceptance of his friends. He had a feeling it wasn’t the end of the discussion – they would be curious about things, inevitably, and he would always have some doubts – but for now, it was enough that they said they wanted him to stick around anyway.

James looked remarkably pleased with himself, as if this conversation resolved everything, and perhaps for him it did. He was often like that – everything was black and white, and he was quick to bounce back. At least on the outside, things never seemed to bother James for long.

Neither Peter or Sirius seemed to share James’ levity. The former looked guilt-ridden, worried that Remus might blame him. If he hadn’t made that blasted comment about the moon, James might never have put it all together. Well, maybe not never, but certainly not that night. He really should have kept his mouth shut, should have done a better job protecting Remus, protecting his friend.

“It’s alright, Peter,” Remus said to the other boy, drawing closer. “Thank you for not telling them.”

“But –“ Peter began to protest, but Remus just shook his head.

“You’re a good friend,” he continued, his eyes tearing up a little bit, “and I don’t think you’ll ever know how much it means to me that you just didn’t say anything – not to me, not to them – without even asking any questions. Not many people would have done that.”

Peter only nodded, seeming about as choked up as Remus felt, and the significance of the moment passed between them. Then it had drifted away into the air, Peter grabbed his bag from the desk and left the room, James hurrying to follow, sensing the awkwardness building between Remus and Sirius.

Darkness had descended on Sirius’ features, surrounding him like a black veil. His grey eyes had hardened to steel and his eyebrows had begun to twitch inward, like they were fighting the anger brewing in his belly.

"I know you're mad at me," Remus said, once Peter and James were gone. He seemed to realize that he had grabbed Sirius' sleeve and let go quickly. "You think I'm a monster, I get it. I am a monster."

"Remus, I'm not mad at you. I meant what I said earlier - you're not a monster and I don't hate you," Sirius answered, but he couldn't seem to meet his friend's eye.

"You've been silent and sulky all night,” Remus countered, pulling his own sleeves down over his hands and balling them in his fists. "You can't even look at me!"

"I'm not mad," Sirius repeated unconvincingly.

"I know you are!" Remus said, his voice rising dangerously. "Just tell me that you hate me! Be honest! Tell me that you think what I am is disgusting. I can handle it."

"Remus, I don't give a rat's bollocks about your - your furry little problem!" Sirius shouted back, stepping closer to Remus. "Okay? So just drop it."

"Then... why are you mad?" Remus asked, trying not to hope too much that his words were true.

"I just... I care that you didn't think you could trust me enough to tell me," Sirius shrugged, looking out the window.

"Sirius, I -"

"No, I get it, you don't tell anyone, I just..." Sirius shook his head, trying to keep his eyes from tearing up, "I thought we were more than that. I thought we didn't have secrets."

"Sirius," Remus said quietly, taking a step closer to his friend and reaching out for his sleeve, "there are some things we just don't tell anyone. We all have our secrets, don't we?"

"There's nothing -"

"You have secrets too," Remus insisted, "And that’s okay, I won’t press you, but I promise that when you're ready, you can tell me anything. But I didn't want this to get out, I didn't know how you guys would react. The wizarding world isn't very accepting of... of people with my condition."

Sirius spun away from Remus, grinding his teeth together and running his fingers through his curls.

"You should have trusted us," Sirius argued.

"I didn't know if I could," Remus answered, trying to make Sirius understand.

"How could you not know?" Sirius snapped, pulling his arm out of Remus' grip, and turning to pace the classroom as his agitation grew.

"You and James are pureblood," Remus sighed, "I know what your families taught you. Think about what you said last year, about halfbreeds."

"I've changed since last year," Sirius snarled.

"This is a hard thing to just unlearn," Remus countered. "Prejudice against my kind runs deep, Sirius."

"You should have known it would be different for you though," Sirius said, changing tactics. "You're our best mate, we would never hate you for something like this."

"Oh, so if it was someone else, you would think they were a monster?" Remus questioned, his usually mild temper rising. "If it were Lance? You're not all that fond of him, so you'd probably hate him, right?"

"No, I wouldn't," Sirius insisted, clenching his jaw, his pride getting the better of him.

"Fine," Remus huffed, crossing his arms.

"Don't be like that," Sirius said, irritation mounting.

"Like what?" Remus snapped.

"All mad at me and stuff," Sirius answered.

"Well you're making me mad!" Remus said.

"Why?"

"Because you're impossible!" he replied, plopping down at somebody’s desk. "You shouldn't think that werew - that people like me aren't monsters just because you like me. You should... you should think that because they aren't. Because its this horrible thing that they're forced into and they get no choice and if we could cure it we would, but..."

"Remus, I swear I don't think werewolves are monsters," Sirius insisted.

They stared each other down for a few seconds, trying to read each other’s minds. Eventually Remus sighed, sinking into a chair, his annoyance dissipating.

"Okay," Remus conceded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could trust us," Sirius answered, sitting down next to Remus and nudging him with his shoulder.

"We should go study with the others," Remus said after a few moments of quiet. "They'll wonder where we are."

"Or we can sneak down to the kitchens and get some more crumble," Sirius suggested, raising his eyebrows excitedly.

"No, we need to write this essay for Binns," Remus replied.

"Why? It's not like he's going to notice," Sirius joked.

"Come on, let's just go get it done."

The two boys stood and walked out of the classroom, making their way to Gryffindor Tower and ducking into the common room. James and Peter had already pulled out their books and were working diligently, although James kept looking around the room distractedly. Sirius found it hard to focus on the impossibly dull essay Binns had set them, despite Remus' admonishments every time he got distracted. Who cared about the stupid witch trials anyway? It was like nine hundred years ago. Sirius wished they could learn about something more relevant. Things felt more intense lately, like all the professors in the school were worried about something big happening. He had no idea what it might be, but it had to be significant for the whole teaching staff to be concerned. The older students seemed stressed as well, more than just worrying about the NEWTs. Whatever was going on, it was affecting everyone, and Sirius didn’t want to be left out.

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Doom Could be Mystery Villain in Loki Series

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Has Marvel already solved one of its major Fantastic Four reboot movie problems with the upcoming Disney+ Loki series? The evidence is compelling for sure, as a first trailer for the MCU spinoff is haunted by a cloaked figure in various ominous shots, and some are speculating that this will turn out to be none other than Reed Richards’ archenemy, Doctor Doom.

The introduction of Latverian supervillain Victor von Doom does actually make a lot of sense at this point. Despite being a beloved and often despicable character in Marvel Comics, Doom hasn’t quite hit right in previous Fantastic Four films, having been played by Nip/Tuck’s Julian McMahon in both the 2005 FF movie film and its sequel, and later by Toby Kebbell in Josh Trank’s unfortunate reboot. With yet another reboot on the way under the watchful eye of Marvel maestro Kevin Feige and Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts, it feels like a solid choice to skip the now-pretty damn redundant Doom origin story and have him just appear as an established menace.

Enter: Loki.

The unifying principle of Loki’s narrative so far is that the God of Mischief has been captured by the Time Variance Authority, who are making him run missions for them. And Doctor Doom is definitely no stranger to time travel. In his very first appearance in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby‘s Fantastic Four #5 in 1962, he sent the heroes back to the age of Blackbeard the Pirate to retrieve treasure for him, while The Time Variance Authority have also previously appeared in the pages of Fantastic Four in the 1980s, notably during Walt Simonson’s time-hopping FF run.

Take a look at these images from the show’s trailer with us…

Just look at that silhouette. Who else could it be except your pal and ours, everyone’s favorite dictator, Victor von Doom! Doom is always hooded and cloaked, and despite his armored form often looks like he’s a little out of step with the times, as if he should be the Burgermeister of some town at the turn of the 20th century rather than the era he actually operates in.

Plus, holding an old-timey lantern like this gives this mysterious figure a sorcerous, magical air. And as we all know, Doom loves him some magic. Hmm, is it really a coincidence that Loki writer Michael Waldron was quickly put on the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness script when original director Scott Derrickson first left the project over “creative differences”? Hey, we’re just asking questions – as we know, it’s all connected.

The blue-green color scheme of this shot kind of evokes Doom’s fashion choices too, doesn’t it?

After Loki was announced, we weren’t really focused on who the villain of the series might be, because Loki is the villain, right? But someone has to be worse than Loki to make all this work and keep us on the character’s side. A bigger threat, with an equally iconic image.

Sure, there’s a chance that the hooded villain here could be someone more traditionally associated with time travel, like fellow Fantastic Four foe Kang the Conqueror (coming soon to an MCU movie near you!). But Kang doesn’t slouch and skulk around like this, nor does he spend all his time in a cozy lookin’ cloak and hood combo.

Here’s a better look at the hooded figure up close…

Again, the shape of that hood is classic Doom. Look closely at his hands and he appears to be wearing gloves with a little armor on the back. What’s under that cloak?

He appears to be about to remove said hood in a dramatic reveal. Why would you be making a dramatic reveal unless the face is gonna mean something? And what face means more to Marvel fans than the horrific metal visage of Doctor Doom? Unless they’re doing a “the hooded figure is just a Loki from another timeline” thing, but you can miss us with that noise.

Those flames are also evocative of Hell, a realm that Doom is pretty familiar with. His mother, a powerful sorceress in her own right, has been condemned there, and Doom ruined his life and reputation trying to rescue her from the clutches of Mephisto. He’s really obsessed with getting his mother out of Hell. So much so, that he condemned his lover there in an attempt to swap out his mom.

Look, Doom’s got some issues.

Anyway, speaking of hell…

Nothing to see here, just Owen Wilson’s Mobius M. Mobius meeting up with a child in a church in a totally wholesome…wait…is that a stained glass Mephisto window? The same Mephisto who loves to mess with Victor Von Doom? The Mephisto who has been tormenting Doom’s mother for decades?

Even if this is all just a red herring or a coincidence, we love love LOVE that we could have already had our first encounter with Marvel Studios’ new Victor von Doom – Doctor if you’re nasty.

Loki arrives on Disney+ in May of 2021. Hopefully he’s bringing Victor von Doom with him.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Doctor Doom Could be Mystery Villain in Loki Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2KedLMu

[furederiko]

Time for November's 1st Random-News-Digest! And specially released on November 17th, 2017... despite being several hours late. LOL.

(Images courtesy of Nintendo, Warner Bros, 20th Century FOX, Square Enix, and The Pokemon Company/GameFreak. Taken from Official Trailers and/or Official Sites)

Super Mario Bros

Hold on to your Yoshis, because Mario Mario is coming back (yes, after that dreadful live action attempt in 1993) to Hollywood. This time, in an animated movie created by Illumination. If the report is to be believed, then Nintendo will be partnering with Universal to produce and release this movie. In case you live under a rock and doesn't know Illumination, that's the studio in charge of the "Despicable Me" and "The Secret Life of Pets" series. I know what you're thinking, I can already see the Toads being treated as the new Minions. LOL.

This project is said to be just in early stages, so it might take a few more years before it is ready for release. The average process to develop a big screen animated movie takes roughly 3 to 5 years, so if the deal moves on this month then we can expect the movie to arrive in... 2020. Which is the year of the Japan Olympics!!! Aaaaah, I see what you did there Nintendo. Honestly, I'm not expecting much of this project. As long as it's as entertaining as SONY's "The Angry Birds Movie", and unlike those numerous dull live action attempts... then I'll be okay. I'm pretty much sold by the word ANIMATED anyway, because forcing a live action adaptation to Mario and Luigi would be... a HUGE NO.

Metal Gear Solid

Now for this one, I'm... NOT so sure. Not just because I'm not big on KONAMI's "Metal Gear Solid" franchise as a game, but because it's live action. And we all know there's an eerie curse looming over live action adaptations for video games title. Look no further than "Assassin's Creed"... among many others.

The good news is, Derek Connolly is writing the script, and Jordan Vogt-Roberts is directing. The former has worked on "Jurassic World" and "Star Wars", while the latter is determined to make a watchable video game movie. LOL. Vogt-Roberts is most definitely a unique and seemingly fun guy, I'll give you that. This pair has worked together creating "Kong: Skull Island", which was an entertaining movie. Hmmm... now that I think about it, the whole espionage Special Forces theme would be somewhat similar to what Vogt-Roberts did in that King Kong movie. I genuinely think he actually CAN pull this off! Let's just hope the project moves on to higher stages, and not fizzles out like... it has always been.

Disney Animation

This was actually a news from last month. Yeah, I got pretty caught up with many personal ordeals, that I've completely missed out on mentioning this movie on my previous R-N-D. "Gigantic", Disney's version of the classic "Jack and the Beanstalk" story had been cancelled.

Said news was quite startling, considering the title was still part of their D23 Event... even if it was in a very minor way. It also has been in development by co-directors Meg LeFauve and Nathan Greno for quite some time, with a fixed 2020 release window. 'Creative process' was mentioned as reason for its cancellation, with Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studio president Ed Catmull calling the movie as 'not working'. The studio has moved on to another original project, that is expected to open in Thanksgiving 2020. Will we be getting another Disney Princess movie, following last year's "Moana"? Here's hoping. For now, the studio still has "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2" set to open on November 21st, 2018, and the sequel to their hit title "Frozen" on November 27th, 2019. We can still look forward to those ones...

Disney Live Action

The live action department also hit a bump. Director Sam Mendes has departed his live action re-telling/adaptation for "Pinocchio". This is the second time he has walked out from a Disney project, with "James and the Giant Peach" being the first one. There's a rumor that Mendes might be moving to the franchise he worked on before, but that's the topic for a different category.

It's unclear if Disney will continue to work on this title by finding another director, or take a completely different approach and shelves it like what they just did to "Gigantic". Right now, two titles that are in active production is Guy Ritchie's "Aladdin", and Jon Favreau's "The Lion King" that will open on July 19th, 2019. If I'm not mistaken, Niki Caro's "Mulan" is still in pre-production, along with other titles.

We can also add a new title "Prince Charming", that is set to be written and directed by Stephen Chbosky. Chbosky is famous for his recent work "Wonder" that is set to be released this weekend, as well as the critically acclaimed "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". As the title suggests, it will focus on a young Prince and all the struggle he faces to live up to the family name. Of course, since the name Prince Charming typically refers to the one from... "Snow White" and/or "Cinderella", I can't help but wonder if this will be connected as prequel or some sort to either. It doesn't sound like it, but who knows, right? Let's just wait for more information in the near future...

Star Wars

Remember the time when many people speculated Rian Johnson would take over Collin Trevorrow's directorial seat for the tentatively titled "Star Wars - Episode IX"? Lucasfilm had expressed positive response to the director, and he himself was genuinely excited, giddy, and extremmely passionate about his love to experience in the franchise. It felt like a sure if not most plausible thing. But then we all knew that didn't happen, because it's J.J. Abrams instead who returned for the job.

But why didn't Johnson take the movie? Surprise surprise, turns out, he has other BIGGER project planned... for the franchise. Yes, he's not leaving the franchise anytime soon. Lucasfilm indeed had a great mutual time with Johnson, that they not only want him to work on another "Star Wars" movie, but to set up an entirely NEW non-Skywalker trilogy for them! The word 'bigger' would be an understatement now, right? He will be writing and directing at least the first one of this trilogy, while long time collaborator Ram Bergman is producing.

We can safely assume that this means the Skywalker-focused storyline will be wrapped up in "Episode IX", and afterwards, we'll be seeing a new route for the franchise in the foreseeable future. This new trilogy might not be episodic in nature, and will introduce entirely new characters from the universe. A "blank canvas" as Kathleen Kennedy said. Many fans have expressed both praises, and approval, as well as concerns, and disapproval for this approach, but if you ask me, I'm welcoming this with open arms. I've never been an avid fan of this space opera before, so this could be my official entry point. Without the need to explore previous movies, that is! LOL. I wonder if this new trilogy will be connected to the newly announced live action TV series?

Of course, this means that his work on "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has completely left Lucasfilm VERY satisfied. Johnson himself might be REALLY anxious about it (a humble response, by the way), but this is by all means an expression of HIGH confidence from the studio. As evidenced by the departure of Trevorrow, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and others, they wouldn't give Johnson such massive responsibility if they are not overly pleased collaborating with him. He might be such a good polite and down to earth guy, eh? If you're curious about his work, then you only need to wait a bit longer. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" arrives in less than a month on December 15th, 2017!

James Bond

Yep, thanks to walking out of the Disney live action project, Sam Mendes has immediately been rumored to direct the untitled "Bond 25". This naturally makes sense. Mendes worked on "Skyfall" and also "Specter", and the next movie might very well be Daniel Craig's last foray. Would be nice to see Mendes returning to deliver Craig's swan song as well as to wrap it up as his final 007 trilogy. Christoph Waltz had stated that he's not coming back as Blofeld though, so I wonder if that might affect Mendes' decision. Sure, Waltz teased that the role could be re-cast, but who can really tell what the future, I mean James Bond holds. Also, MGM announced earlier this month that Annapurna will help bring the franchise to the theatre. Does this mean the studio has won the bidding war? It's unconfirmed for now, but that seems to be the case. Quite surprising too, because it felt like a lesser entity when compared to other bigger names on the mix. But I guess as long as the franchise can still hit theatres, it's a victory for Bond's devoted fans nonetheless.

Dark Universe

Sad to say, this could be the LAST time for this category to be featured in my R-N-D. According to recent report, Universal has pulled the plug on its ambitious Dark Universe. At the very least, it's in critical condition.

All signs have totally led to this. Tom Cruise's "The Mummy" was a big failure that didn't make enough good impression (could you imagine what would have happened had Tom Cruise agreed to play Tony Stark in the first "Iron Man"? Marvel Studios dodged an bullet right there). And then production for Bill Condon's "Bride of Frankenstein" was halted not long after it begun, and the movie had since been removed from the planned release date. None of the other projects like "Invisible Man", "Wolf Man", or some others showed real progress. Next thing that happened, both Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan who seem... (or to be precise USED) to be the overseer to this Monster-based universe, have each moved on to other projects. That pretty much sealed the deal, don't you think? For the record, this isn't the first time Kurtzman abandons a cinematic universe. Don't ever forget Paramount's Transformers and also SONY's Amazing Spider-Man series.

Of course, it doesn't mean that the idea is gone for good. Universal can still pull off a soft reboot or some sort, simply by planning more properly before jumping towards another dark waters. President of production Peter Cramer even stated, "We are not rushing to meet a release date and will move forward with these films when we feel they are the best versions of themselves.". This implied that at least, Condon's movie might still become a reality sometime in the future.

I'm personally feeling VERY disappointed to hear this, knowing the probability of seeing Russell Crowe reprising his Dr. Jekyll is now close to zero. I really want to see him 'Hulk Out' and becomes a massive monstrous Edward Hyde... which we didn't really fully get in "The Mummy". But who am I to say, right? All I can say is, I hope Universal will inspire other studios to think ahead and NOT just try to snobbishly copy Marvel Studios' success without analyzing what makes their universe works. Heck, they have even proved that it's never to late to course-correct things. So don't give up Universal, and just do it one step at a time, okay!

DC Films

Uhmm... so yeah, embargo for critics reviews (both social media on November 10th, and full essays on November 14th) for Warner Bros' "Justice League" has been uplifted earlier this week. And well, true to the nature of DC Films (at least its first three movies, with "Wonder Woman" being the not-that-surprising exception), the response is a mixed-bag. Immediately, it has divided critics both fans and non-fans of DC Comics alike with polarizing opinions. Some said that Joss Whedon's clear influence doesn't gel well with the 85% done by Zack Snyder, but others said it worked just fine to elevate the movie. If you visit one entertainment site, you'd likely stumble on a review that paints the movie in a moderate-to-good light by calling it 'Pretty Good', while elsewhere you'll be greeted by review that sees it as bad-to-awful by calling it 'Pretty Bad'. Suffice to say, despite leaning to positive, things do not look completely 'PRETTY' for WB and DC.

By the way, RottenTomatoes deliberately delayed their aggregated score for the movie. My initial assumption when I saw the headline? "Ain't this cheating, huh?". Those who think RT is being paid by Marvel Studios... looks like WB is the one paying them instead, am I right? After all, this studio is infamous for constantly blaming RT for their movies' own critical failures. Of course, despite the fact that WB DOES have a stake in this site (feel free to make your own conclusion with that), that is NOT the actual reason. It's more inline with the site's Facebook show, or something like that. Of course, said score have been officially (it was leaked before hand) released now, and no surprise... as of writing (October 17th, 08:50PM local time), it's currently sitting at 37%. That is already a tad lower than its initial number. YIKES!

General consensus is calling the movie as fun but flawed. A narrative mess, but at least it gets the characters correctly now. An entertaining spectacle, but visually it's ugly and tacky. So at the very least, it's not a trainwreck and is still BETTER than the dreadful "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" nor the abominable snowma-... er, "Suicide Squad".

Ironically, WB tried to be boastfully 'different' three times, and failed miserably. Eventhough, in a way they WERE mimicking or parroting Marvel Studios. Just admit it, "Batman v Superman" was consciously made to rival Captain America 3, and "Suicide Squad" was their version of Guardians of the Galaxy. This year, they blatantly and openly COPY that 'competitor' movies. "Wonder Woman" was an amalgam of the first Captain America with elements of Thor, while "Justice League" is clearly DC's version of the 2nd Avengers. And my oh my, look what they've gotten! Good to POSITIVE responses!!! The morale of the day, if you can't compete, just follow suit. Oh, and also... use talented people who have worked on the opposite side. I mean, duh... Patty Jenkins, Joss Whedon, and Brian Michael Bendis? "Justice League" opens today on November 17th, so let's hope it will perform better financially than critically.

David F. Sandberg's "Shazam!" is moving along nicely as the movie next to be seen after next year's "Aquaman" (to be released in... *drumrolls* December 2018). After casting Disney Prince Zachary Levi as the heroic version, the movie obviously needs the human version, the little kid named Billy Batson. Remember when acclaimed young actor Jacob Tremblay (who similar to his Oscar-winner BFF, deserves BETTER roles) was said to be in contention? Well, the role ended up on young Asher Angel's hand instead. Name doesn't sound familiar? Well... he is one of the leads of "Andi Mack" on... Disney Channel. See? If you can't beat them, snatch their actors too. Grace Fulton is said to be portraying the female lead, and actor Mark Strong was said to be in negotiation to play the antagonist Dr. Sivana... whoever that is. Should he decide to take the job, this would be Strong's second DC character for WB after his short turn as Sinestro.

Interestingly, WB desperately wants this franchise to be noticed. Why is that? Just think about it, the movie is set to open in Spring 2019, so it's going to be released not far behind a particular Marvel Studios movie called... "Captain Marvel". I'm sure you know where I'm leading to with this, right? Yes... because Shazam used to be called by the same name. Coincidence? Highly UNLIKELY. It's another game of chicken by good'ol always-competitive WB (no matter how many try to scoff it off, their rivalry to Marvel is apparently REAL), folks! And a rather ballsy albeit rude one too. I mean for crying out loud, in this kind of political situation that sees a president continuously provoking people to hate a previous female opponent like a sore loser, and numerous reports of mistreatments of women by Hollywood top names... WB wants to use a testosterone-manchild-themed movie to directly challenge a FEMALE-led movie just because the two shared the same name? I call that suicide.

How about Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam then? That character is the nemesis of Shazam, so it's natural if we get to see him too in the movie. But noooope, apparently WB is planning to put him in another movie instead. And surprise surprise, it's not his own solo movie as the studio repeatedly promised, but Gavin O'Connor's "Suicide Squad 2". I literally slapped myself in the face when I read this, because dang it... wasn't it enough to throw a sexist Enchantress, that they just HAD to pit the broken Squad against another supernatural character? This is not confirmed for now, but since the movie still has a long way before starting production in October 2018... let's just hope WB has a more sane way for combining the "Suicide Squad" and "Shazam!" franchise. Hold on... did they just confirm that "Shazam!" is part of the current continuity then? Then I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that... (read: there goes half of my interest in seeing the movie.). I really want this to be its own separate thing, and not boggled in the failed universe. I guess I expected too much too soon, huh?

About "The Batman", there's a hint that Ben Affleck might be stepping out the Matt Reeves movie after all. Though he was singing a different tune during this year's San Diego Comic-Con International, the actor has since been saying a complete opposite. In a press junket for "Justice League" in London, he even openly said that he does NOT know what the future holds. That sounds like a guy who's thinking of gracefully bowing out from the DC Films... as soon as possible. He even mentioned the exact same thing to USA Today not long after. Quite surprisingly, the internet also expressed their agreement to see him leave. Some already even fancasting and speculating a replacement (that one actor, I hope its NOT true). OUUCH! Looks like what once a bright star, is slowly fading away like a comet that visits a solar system every hundred of years. Hmmm... I wonder if Henry Cavill will follow suit after this...

Last but not least, Patty Jenkins' much anticipated "Wonder Woman 2" has vacated its December 13th release date to arrive 6 weeks earlier. CALLED IT! Yep, I knew WB would end up doing this because competing directly with "Star Wars" would be waaaay too risky. I'm just surprised that it took this long for the studio to announce the shift. I guess they were waiting for Marvel Studios to prove that early November is a good spot for comic book adaptation, huh? Don't worry, Gal Gadot is expected to reprise her role, because WB had said that the report of her 'refusal' (originated at PageSix) is NOT true. "Wonder Woman 2" will now open in November 1st, 2019.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Would you look at that?! I can't believe this, but WB has mischievously prepared a contingency plan for the negative response to "Justice League". I assume based on past experiences, WB is aware that critics would still be divisive (no different situation, a bit worse than "Man of Steel" even) about their DC movies, so they immediately releases official synopsis and cast photo for the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" sequel. Come on, releasing this on the same day the DC ensemble movie is released? Can't be a coincidence. A pretty darn good distraction, if I should add! Not to mention, this comes on the heels of that recently announced Niantic AR game.

The new official title has immediately generated mixed response. After all, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" OBVIOUSLY put the focus on Johnny Depp's villainous character Gellert Grindelwald. It could be a good thing, if his name was still as big as it used to be in the past, but we all know that the world has changed. Thankfully, one character stood out the most among the confirmed cast members. It's none other than Jude Law's young Albus Dumbledore. I must say, he doesn't look the way I expected to be, but I'm definitely not complaining. Hey, a charming dashing Dumbledore would be a great selling point for the new franchise that hasn't been able to be on par with its "Harry Potter"... sequel.

We got FIVE couples now. The four core characters from the first movie are here, hopefully in a bigger and more memorable inclusion. We have Claudia Kim's cursed 'Maledictus' character, who seems to be pairing up with Ezra Miller's Credence and could very well be serving as an antagonist. And then there's Zoe Kravitz's Leta Estrange who is engaged with Callum Turner's Theseus Scamander. Indeed, Theseus is Newt's big brother, so here's hoping Eddie Redmayne isn't sidelined completely and get to showcase actual dramatic involvement in this sequel.

Say what you will about the first movie, but it was surprisingly entertaining enough to make me see more. It might be not at the heights of the "Harry Potter" series, but I'd gladly take this over the DC Films anytime. Directed by David Yates based on a screenplay from J.K. Rowling, this movie is set to arrive precisely one year from now on November 16th, 2018. Aaaah, I get it now.

X-Men Universe

Let's address the elephant in the room first. When we talk about Marvel character owned by 20th Century FOX nowadays, then you should be aware of a recent report that has taken the world by storm. That's right, the House of Mouse Disney is in negotiation to purchase FOX's film and TV division, because the other company wants to focus on news and sport. That literally means, all the movie rights for X-Men and Fantastic Four will be reverted back to Marvel! Yes, every characters from those faction might be returning home in the foreseeable future, because despite the report that talk has ended, the possibility is still very much high. Assuming Comcast or Verizon doesn't suddenly come out of left field and snatches this opportunity instead, of course.

If you ask me how I feel if FOX and Marvel Studios arrange an agreement similar to what the latter did with SONY and Spider-Man? Then I would not hesitate to say "No Thanks". Combining Marvel Studios' movie universe with FOX's sloppy, botched, and well... generally uninspiring one would be a disaster. FOX tend to disregard good characters, and treat them badly more often than not. But if this deal DOES become a reality, then I'd be REALLY happy. That means we WILL be getting the much-needed reboot that the X-Men and Fantastic Four are desperate for, and not just a soft-reboot that producer Simon Kinberg had been boasting out and about... that ended up with his "X-Men: Dark Phoenix". I don't know about you, but Kinberg clearly doesn't know what he is doing, so I want to see him OUT of and AWAY from any Marvel stories for good. Of course, there's a downside to all things. Through FOX movie division, we were able to get more comic adaptations in a yearly basis. Not just that, we also got titles like "Logan" or the upcoming "The New Mutants" that run in R-rated route, one that Marvel Studios or Disney in general would be highly unlikely to explore. That might be an outcome that many fans might be hard to swallow...

Anyways, amidst that rumbling news, Deadpool kept on walking proudly, as if it doesn't care about what would happen to its own crumbling universe. After all, one comment on social media said that Wade Wilson is the only Marvel character who could easily address the change casually without the need to mind its own continuity. Don't forget, this is the guy who is consciously confused which Professor X he should report to. LOL. "The Untitled Deadpool Sequel" (that's the placeholder title, which I hope would be the official title because it just fits the character so much) movie released a holiday-themed first official poster, as well as a Bob Ross inspired second teaser that well... if you ask me, pretty much stole a bit of buzz from WB's movie premiere. LOL.

This teaser suggests that despite the change in director, the movie still retains the same idiosyncratic atmosphere. I'm glad that the returning characters aren't forgotten in this one, and if some people catch this one theory right, we might be getting a rather 'sinister' antagonist as the super villain. WOW. "The Untitled Deadpool Sequel" (I'm still laughing here!) arrives on June 1st, 2018, so if you're a fan of the first movie, make sure you mark your date.

One more thing, would you like to see a movie featuring... a mutant character called "Multiple Man"? Well, James Franco might be starring in one. So whether you want it or not, it's still probably coming in the future. Who's behind this bizarre and preposterous idea? Duuuh... Kinberg of course. Who else? LOL.

SONY Marvel Universe

Situation in the SONY side, is a 'little' different. Not content with "Venom" (showing us a first look of Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock after just 2 weeks of production) and "Silver & Black", the studio is already moving forward with another title. This time, "Morbius the Living Vampire". Earlier this week, it was revealed that the writers of this year's "Power Rangers" Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama had submitted their script to the studio. The two previously worked on several underwhelming movies like "Dracula Untold" and "Gods of Egypt".

To be honest, I'm actually surprised when I found out that Dr. Michael Morbius belongs to SONY. He's a long time antagonist of Blade, and as far as I know, that character has reverted back to Marvel. Of course, I just discovered that the Roy Thomas and Gil Kane's creation debuted in "Amazing Spider-Man" #101. It makes sense now, because it's almost the same situation to the character Kingpin. Problem is, similar to Venom and other Spider-Man related characters, the BIG question is will these character work without Spidey himself... Or in Morbius case, without Blade? I seriously doubt it. I believe just the fact that these characters will not interact with the ones from Marvel Studios, is already strongly pessimistic. Let's just wait and see if SONY can prove that it DOES have what it takes to jumpstart their own Spidey-less Marvel Universe.

Marvel Studios

Let's talk about "Thor: Ragnarok" first! Eventhough this weekend the movie's might would likely be overthrown by DC's first ensemble movie, Taika Waititi's comedy has managed to at least stay on number 1 for two consecutive weeks. It's making huge money, even more than Chris Hemsworth's first two solo movies. Seriously though, should we even be surprised? This buddy comedy is genuinely FUN and hilarious, and plenty of its memorable scenes will be etched into your brain... forcing you to laugh or giggle whenever the memory strikes. Like a lunatic? Well, if you say so. LOL. Really though, you couldn't see me now but I'm currently cackling upon remembering that... uhm, naked scene. LOL.

By the way, Waititi has openly expressed his desire to make another Thor movie with Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo. What do you think? Should he get his second Ragnarok movie? If it means we'll get another 'Get Help' moment, or more of Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster? Waititi might not have a vast or deep knowledge of comic book, but since "Ragnarok" pretty much creates a clean slate for Thor Odinson and the Asgardians... he can pretty much do anything. And I honestly look forward to see that.

Disney has begun campaigning the movie and James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" for Oscar race too. Since many of the Award's regular players have been lambasted with various kinds of sexual misconduct allegations, can we expect members of the Academy to turn towards comic book adaptations now? I certainly hope so. We know that 'Best Visual Effects' and in some cases 'Best Make Up' will be the usual entry, but I sure hope these movies get a chance in other categories too. 'Best Score' or 'Sound Editing' perhaps? I do think Mark Mothersbaugh deserves an appreciation for his work in "Ragnarok".

"Black Panther" is now officially three months away from release! Well, for the US region at least... because several other countries (like yours truly) usually get it earlier. To celebrate this, Marvel Studios have released a batch of single character posters that includes Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, his royal family members, up to Andy Serkis' Ulysees Klaue. As far as I recall, we haven't had one for Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger... or did I miss anything? The movie also have tested positively in early screenings according to report, so we're in for another Marvelous time. "Black Panther" arrives on February 16th, 2018.

Fans have been actively demanding the D23/SDCC trailer for "Avengers: Infinity War", to the point that people started doing illegal stuff like posting leaked images and all. We got the first look for Proxima Midnight, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow's new hairdo and costume that resembled another Marvel character, as well as Paul Bettany's Vision and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch looking in despair. These pictures are great, but HOW we get them is the morale question here. I'm not particularly fond of this attitude, because it only shows the dark and negative side of fandom.

Obviously there are VALID reasons why Marvel Studios is withholding that trailer, thus is it so hard to just WAIT until it is released officially? The reason can be a simple one, like the need to add quality Visual Effects to it, or a bigger one like... the potential of spoilering other movies. In particular, "Ragnarok" and "Black Panther". I'll use "Ragnarok" for example. Thor's appearance in the trailer shown exclusively last Summer was INCONSISTENT compared to how he ended up in "Ragnarok". In the end of "Ragnarok", we know that he got a 'permanent scar', and he didn't look like that at all in the "Infinity War" trailer. And then there's that scene with Loki holding the Tesseract. Also, Thor ran into a gigantic vessel, that Marvel Studios President has confirmed to be the Sanctuary II. The owner? Josh Brolin's Thanos. See? It's a massive spoiler already. Who knows what kind of secret from "Black Panther" it would spoil in advance!

I personally feel what we all need to know, is that the movie will undoubtedly be HUGE. Like Ruffalo himself hyped stated, it has "all of the Marvel characters in it. All nine franchises. I mean, it’s mind-boggling. Everyone has their moment to shine. Everyone is still their characters.". Feige admitted that even the filming felt overwhelming and surprisingly emotional everyday. And also, that the movie is some kind of a... heist movie? HUH? Yeah, co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo specifically said so to CNET, which honestly made me wonder. They were pretty specific that the heist would be Thanos' play, as he collects all 6 Infinity Stones. Hmmm... let's just stop right here, because now I've become curious to see the trailer. LOL. But nope, I know for sure that I'm going to be watching this movie. At least, ONCE. That's why Marvel Studios can even delay the trailer forever or not release it at all, and I won't mind. Because I don't really need any more convincing to see it.

As far as I know, "Ant-Man and the Wasp" has completed production. I'm not really sure about this though, but I think I did see like some kind of celebration for it on Twitter. Regardless, both Walton Goggins and David Dastmalchian have completed their parts earlier this week. Dastmalchian even gave us a look for Randall Park's Agent Jimmy Woo. Here's hoping we'll be getting a teaser trailer soon.

Laurence Fishburne who would soon be seen as Bill 'Goliath' Foster in the movie, opened up to Collider that because he grew up with Marvel, he actually pitched himself to Marvel Studios! Intriguingly, he also came with several ideas, and has been developing one secretly with Marvel. He hoped that "It’s gonna change the world". Hmmm.... this is intriguing. Fishburne didn't specifically say movie, so it could very well be a comic series, or even a TV one. Something related to Blade perhaps? or some others? Hmmmm...

Recent report by Variety claimed that Ben Mendelsohn has been approached to play the antagonist in "Captain Marvel". If his interview with Collider was any indication, it seems he might have officially come onboard the movie... or at least in final talks. His response reminded me greatly to when Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, and also Carol Danvers herself Brie Larson tried to play coy about their roles. These are obviously polite and sincere actors, so they couldn't really hide that big of a secret. Since this is feeling like a dejavu, let's just say we shouldn't be surprised if Mendelsohn ends up antagonist-ing Larson in the movie when it arrives on March 8th, 2019.

This is the last one for the category folks! More SPOILER-ish (as usual, you might want to skip to the next category if you avoid one) information surrounding "Avengers 4" has been flying over the internet. One particular bit teased the reenactment, a flashback, or perhaps a time travel twist involving "The Avengers". Not only because Robert Downey Jr. was spotted wearing the exact same shirt from the 2012 movie, Hemsworth himself posted a photo (with his daughter) wearing a costume precisely from the same movie. Actor Frank Grillo and Maximiliano Hernández were also suspiciously present in Atlanta. Does this mean Crossbones and Agent Jasper Sitwell are alive in the movie? Hmmm. Could we be seeing a reality alteration here? Especially if we consider the ability of the Reality Stone. According to report that can't really be considered credible, these will all be scenes generated by Tony Stark using his B.A.R.F. simulation that we saw in "Captain America: Civil War". To who? Ty Simpkins' Harley Keener, who has been confirmed to appear in the movie. Hmmmm... now I'm really curious about this movie too. But let's just focus on "Infinity War" first, shall we?! One day... I mean one movie at a time.

Marvel TV

Oh hey, Marvel's "Inhumans" has officially ended with its eight episode. I think it was last Friday, if I'm not mistaken. How would I know, if I couldn't even care less about it. Personal preference aside, that means the 5th season of Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." is about to air very soon. And if you're among devoted Marvel fans who are already counting days, then the show has released an official trailer to wet your appetite for this new season.

The trailer was... uhmm, okay I guess? I'm still on the fence to follow this season, so I can't really tell if this manages to persuade me or not. One thing for sure, it's action packed and filled with creepy aliens. It's really nice to see Henry Simmons' Mack and Natalia Cordova-Buckley's Yo-Yo get more presence and involved in more action. We also see bits of the new characters: Jeff Ward's ambiguous Deke, Eve Harlow's Tess, Pruitt Taylor Vince's commander Grill, and Coy Stewart's possible-Nuhuman Flint.

And then there's that confirmed report of Nick Blood returning in some capacity as Lance Hunter. What about Adrienne Palicki's Bobby Morse? Last we heard, she won't be making an appearance due to her tight schedule in the equally space-themed alien-filled "The Orville". That doesn't mean she's not open to reprise her role though, because she has had a great time and is still in touch with the cast. Here's hoping the stars will align somehow, and we get to see her official return in the series. "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." will begin the new season on Friday, December 1st, 2017, with a two-episode premiere entitled "Orientation Part 1 & 2".

Marvel's "Runaways" is set to premiere next week, on November 21st. Its first three episode will hit the streaming platform Hulu on the same day. To prepare for this, Entertainment Weekly has released official posters and banners for each of the six lead characters, while IGN dropped additional ones showcasing their super-powered abilities. They looked neat, and teased the teenager's signature skillset. Currently being praised as the teenage soap-opera side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, let's just hope that this series attracts enough viewers and good rating to warrant another season.

Meanwhile, Marvel's "New Warriors" has departed Freeform... even before it is even aired. Although Kevin Biegel's 10-episodes first season was initially meant to debut in the network, the pilot was so well-received to the point it attracted several high-level Disney execs. Freeform was unable to set a time slot for this show (I guess they prefer Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" more?). Thus Marvel Entertainment pulled it out, and has been actively searching for a partner that can launch it next year as planned... as a direct two-seasons package! Surely it won't land on Netflix, given Disney's plan to launch their very own streaming service in 2019. This is just a wild guess, but I think Hulu would end up becoming its new home.

Speaking of Disney's upcoming new service, CEO Bob Iger confirmed that it will feature at least one new Marvel series among others. I wonder what that is? I just hope, and sincerely hope that it is not concerning Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel. It would be such a waste to utilize that massively popular character in a TV setting, when it would make the most in movie format. She's an Avenger, so she's better of to be with the other members, right? Not to mention, Marvel TV doesn't exactly have a good track record to pull their projects off properly (Inhumans, anyone?). I prefer that rumored "Power Pack" movie to switch places if that's indeed the case. Crossing my fingers!

Netflix

Eventhough Marvel's "The Punisher" is catching everyone's attention, and receiving mostly positive response from entertainment critics (general drawbacks are inevitably concerning the gun violence), Marvel fans need to be prepared with the possibility of it being the final Marvel title on Netflix. As has been widely reported, Disney is intent on creating their own streaming service. One that will include new live action show for "Star Wars", animated series based on "Monsters Inc.", and also Marvel series.

It's unlikely if the service will ONLY have one series. So it makes perfect sense for Disney to end their contract with Netflix, and pull out movies and shows like Marvel's "Daredevil", Marvel's "Jessica Jones", Marvel's "Luke Cage", Marvel's "Iron Fist", and Marvel's "The Defenders" from the platform to be exclusives alongside their 'future family'. After all, Disney had openly stated that Netflix would end up becoming their competitor when the time come. I doubt Netflix would be threatened, with a vast library of original series and movies in their pockets. But this might have a bitter result to fans of the series. Sure, this might not be as bad as many fans are worrying about, because these shows might simply move to a different place. Then again, we also need to remember that Netlfix co-financed these series, so the most likelihood is that these series will be put to a close. Can fans handle that? I don't think so.

For now, "Daredevil" begins filming Season 3 this week. I think the 2nd seasons of "Jessica Jones" and "Luke Cage" had wrapped, while the one for "Iron Fist" will start next month. At the very least, these shows are still set to air in 2018 since Disney won't be launching their service until the following year. Come 2019? Come what may. All episodes of "The Punisher" should already be available today, so you might want to enjoy it as much as possible... while you still can.

Final Fantasy

"Episode of Ignis", the third character DLC for "Final Fantasy XV" has received an official release date. Square Enix announced at the Paris Games Week 2017, that it will be available on December 13th, 2017. The storyline will take place after the "Trial of Leviathan", where Ignis is tasked to protect the unconscious Noctis as they make their way to safety. Ravus will also join forces with Ignis, likely to protect his sister Lunafreya. The story will have multiple endings, and feature new music from "Chrono Trigger" composer Yasunori Mitsuda. You can check out the official trailer for this DLC on Youtube.

Noctis himself, is set to have his own... uhmmm, 'adventure'. As in, he will be guest starring as a playable DLC character in... "Tekken 7". Yes, I know I should've put this in a separate "Tekken" category, but moreso than Geese Howard who came from "The King of Fighters" series, Noctis IS the LEAD of "Final Fantasy XV". It would be more appropriate to feature him here in his own turf, right? Ahahaha... good excuse, eh. Noctis will be available in Spring 2018. The announcement trailer sees him receiving an in-game invitation/request from Lars Alexandersson, and features his three travelling companions too (who unfortunately are only present as cameo). Go check it out, it's a fun video...

Dynasty Warriors

KOEI Tecmo has announced the release date of the English version of "Dynasty Warriors 9". While the original Japanese version will arrive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 8th, 2018, countries in North America and Europe will have to wait a few days later for a release on February 13th, 2018. I doubt this will spark complaints though, because unlike previous titles, this one only sees a delay that is only less than a week away.

Pre-ordering the game will reward players with a set of extra costumes for the character Zhao Yun, Guan Yinping, Diaochan, Sun Shangxiang, Lu Lingqi, Wang Yi, and Wang Yuanji. I know what you're thinking, Zhao Yun's the only male on the list! I guess that's because he's the unofficial poster boy for the franchise, so he gets the privilege to be surrounded by the ladies. Fans of the series can already book their copy of the game right away, whether in physical or digital version.

Ace Attorney

Nintendo Switch has taken the world by storm, and rightfully so. While its launch lineup was pretty scarce, third party developers have begun noticing the potential and strong selling point of the hybrid console. One of them, is of course CAPCOM.

According to recent report, they are preparing THREE... yes, not one or two, but three titles from the "Ace Attorney" franchise to be released in 2018. The first two, are compilation titles set to be released between April and October 2018. The first one compiles the first three games (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations), and the second compiles the next three (Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice). All those titles have been exclusively available or re-released for Nintendo 3DS, so I doubt it will take long for them to be transferred into a Switch version.

The third title, is going to be an entirely new title that features Phoenix Wright as the lead protagonist once again. This is good because the latest title released was the 19th century setting "The Great Ace Attorney 2: Ryunosuke Naruhodo’s Resolution", and just like its prequel, it didn't get an English-language version. Having Phoenix at the spotlight means fans might get an international version, albeit via digital services. This news is still regarded 'rumor' for now, but as I said, Switch is getting all the buzz, so I won't be surprised if it ends up becoming actual fact and not just fan fiction.

ARIKA

The company's so-called 'Mysterious Fighting Game' has been given an official title. It's "Fighter EX Layer".... Whooaa--HUH? Hold on, Layer? Why Layer, what's the point? I wonder why they don't just call it "Fighter EX Arena" or something. Japan and their Engrish sometimes throws you for a loop, huh? LOL.

ARIKA will start beta testing on December 11th, with six playable characters: Kairi, Garuda, Skullomania, Darun Mister, Allen Snider, and Shirase. Those who attend PlayStation Experience 2017 on December 9th and 10th, will also be able to play a demo version. The game will utilize a system called 'Gougi', which sounds a little hard to describe or comprehend. Apparently, this will allow players to have different ways to play, so the flow of matches will be changed. To put it simple... it's difficult to make sense of until I can get my hands on it. LOL. "Fighting EX Layer" will arrive next year, so for the time being, check out the new trailer to get more... uhm, understanding about it.

Pocket Monsters

DC fans have gotten a "Justice League" movie, while Marvel fans received "The Punisher" series this very day. There's still one more, and this one is dedicated for Pokemon fans worldwide. Yes, the high-scored "Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" is now officially available in market! Yaaaay...

Since the start of the month, The Pokemon Company has been releasing new promotional materials to convince gamers to grab the new and final adventure on Alola Region. Did you know that every Legendary Pokemon and their alternate forms are set to appear via Ultra Wormhole? Make sense, because this would be the last title for Nintendo 3DS. Some of them are version exclusives (like Ho-Oh is Ultra Sun while Lugia is in Ultra Moon), and some even requires special conditions (Giratina can only appear if version exclusives Dialga and Palkia are present), but all the Legendaries from Generation I to VII is here.

What about Team Rainbow Rocket? It's a villainous organization created by... previous bosses from past games. Yes, Team Rocket's Giovanni is bringing Team Magma's Maxie, Team Aqua's Archie, Team Galactic's Cyrus, Team Plasma's Ghetsis, and Team Flare's Lysandre to challenge the protagonist. There's also The Battle Agency that allows players to use Rental Pokemon, and also Totem Stickers that enable them to obtain totem-sized Pokemon. You can check out the details on these features on Gematsu, or check out the official trailer.

The latest one focuses on Necrozma, because the so-called 'Strange Evil' contains another enlightening "Secret". This refers to a report that the poster Pokemon/Ultra Beast will have a new form in these games, and not just the Dusk Mane or Dawn Wings. Read the details of this news on Gematsu.

Those who don't have a 3DS, has no other choice but to rely on "Pokemon GO" your Smartphone. Hey, there's a free Alolan costume now... to make it seem like we're also playing "Ultra Sun & Moon". LOL. Problem is, what would happen now that Niantic is actively developing a new title? Should casual and devoted players alike be nervous? Well... if Niantic's statement could be hold accountable (they... generally do, by the way), then players should NOT be worried. The company openly promised that inspite of "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite", "Pokemon GO" will still be continuously improved and updated. They even say that the team is 'doubling down' on new improvements, particularly in the year 2018. Hmmm... that means we won't be getting the rest of Generation III until at least January, huh? Bummer.

With a new 'copycat' app already 'stealing' the buzz by implementing most-requested features that "Pokemon GO" has been sorely lacking, it looks like Niantic will be pushed to step up their game much faster. Producing updates in a slow pace simply won't cut it anymore, unless they are planning on losing more and more players by relying on the same gameplay that... well, ends up becoming tedious and boring after a while. So yeah, let's just keep a close tab on this 'promise' and whether the company will be able to be true to their words or the opposite. That's when the judgement will be strike down. Am I right? *wink*

[ramajmedia]

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Tom Cruise is one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and this is mostly down to his versatility as an actor. He started off starring in action-packed blockbusters like Top Gun, but he’s also proven that he has comedic chops alongside the likes of Ben Stiller and held his own in more contemplative dramas for directors like Oliver Stone, Stanley Kubrick, and Paul Thomas Anderson.

RELATED: Tom Cruise’s 10 Most Memorable Characters

Few actors have the rare combination of talent and charisma that Cruise has – and on top of that, he’s fiercely dedicated, doing most of his own stunts and not letting something silly like a broken bone stop him. Here are Tom Cruise’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes.

10 Collateral (86%)

Collateral is a fascinating two-hander focusing on the relationship between two strangers. Tom Cruise plays a hitman with jobs all over L.A. and Jamie Foxx plays the mild-mannered cab driver he’s commandeered for the night. The two share spectacular on-screen chemistry that keeps the whole thing riveting from start to finish.

Michael Mann directs this slick thriller with gusto – a midpoint neon-lit nightclub shootout stands out as a highlight – but it’s really Cruise and Foxx’s acting that keeps you hooked. Stuart Beattie masterfully introduces his characters in the first act, escalates the tension slowly throughout the second act, and delivers a gut-punch finale in the third.

9 TIE: Rain Man (89%)

Although its use of an able-bodied actor to play a disabled role would be considered controversial in today’s climate, Rain Man is a fantastic movie, mixing comedy and drama in pitch-perfect ways and capturing the relationship of two brothers beautifully.

Tom Cruise stars as Charlie Babbitt, who finds out he has an autistic brother named Raymond (played by Dustin Hoffman) from his wealthy father’s will and finds that he’s good at counting cards and takes him to Vegas to win big. Cruise plays Charlie as unlikable, conflicted, and irritable, which leads to some truly interesting character development and well-acted scenes.

8 TIE: The Color of Money (89%)

Martin Scorsese’s belated sequel to The Hustler brought Paul Newman back to the role of “Fast Eddie” Felson to mentor a new student, played by Tom Cruise. The Color of Money is basically detached from The Hustler – the two work just as well on their own – but it’s still a terrific movie.

RELATED: Martin Scorsese's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Until this movie came along, moviegoers thought that Tom Cruise was just some pretty-boy actor. However, holding his own opposite a screen legend like Paul Newman under the direction of a master like Scorsese, he won over those audiences and proved that he had some serious acting chops.

7 TIE: Born on the Fourth of July (89%)

A biopic of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, Born on the Fourth of July was the second installment in the Vietnam War trilogy directed by Oliver Stone, who is also a veteran of the conflict. Like Kovic, Stone returned from battle with a staunchly anti-war stance and began conveying that in his films.

So, when the director took on a film adaptation of Kovic’s memoir, it was like a match made in Heaven. Stone and Kovic collaborated on the script together, so this is more accurate – and more political – than your average, run-of-the-mill biopic. Tom Cruise’s angry, bitter portrayal of Kovic told audiences that he wasn’t afraid to play an imperfect character.

6 Edge of Tomorrow (90%)

When most moviegoers heard about the premise (and title) of Edge of Tomorrow – a soldier in a distant future relives the same day of a battle with aliens over and over again, a la Groundhog Day – they predicted that it would suck. However, when the movie came out in 2014, those fans were surprised to discover that it’s actually a mind-blowing sci-fi action thriller.

Director Doug Liman’s sense of pacing does a fine job of making sure the movie doesn’t feel repetitive, skipping over the repeated events quicker and quicker each time, and Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt make a compelling pair of leads.

5 Minority Report (91%)

Philip K. Dick has always been a rich source of cinematic material. This Steven Spielberg sci-fi actioner has a juicy premise – focusing on a futuristic police force that can predict crimes before they even take place – and has an even juicier plot to back it up.

Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, who is determined to be murdering a man he’s never met in three days and has 72 hours to figure out who this person is and why he’s going to kill him. In an almost impossible feat, the movie’s execution lives up to its lucrative setup from beginning to end.

4 TIE: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (93%)

The fifth Mission: Impossible movie was the one where Christopher McQuarrie jumped aboard the franchise. He has since directed the sixth one, making him the first ever director to helm two installments of the franchise, and then signed on to shoot the seventh and eighth movies back-to-back.

RELATED: Everything We Know (So Far) About Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible 7 & 8

He clearly has a great working relationship with Tom Cruise, and it shows from the off. In the opening sequence, Cruise hangs from the side of a plane as it takes off. McQuarrie knows that this sight is interesting enough not to need any camera trickery, so he leaves a stationary camera locked on Cruise for the entire breathtaking sequence.

3 TIE: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (93%)

There weren’t any truly great movies in the Mission: Impossible franchise until Brad Bird came along with Ghost Protocol. It has an engaging plot that takes you along for the ride, and achieves this by using spectacular action set pieces to drive it forward.

From sending Tom Cruise into a sandstorm for a novel take on a foot chase to blowing up the Kremlin in shocking fashion to having Cruise dangle from the side of the Burj Khalifa using nothing but sticky gloves (and harnesses that were removed in post, but still), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a gorgeous showcase of mind-boggling big-screen thrills.

2 Risky Business (96%)

Imagine if Superbad starred a young Tom Cruise and had an even racier plot involving scorned prostitutes and trashed sports cars and you might have a vague idea of what Risky Business looks like.

It’s crazy to think that a guy who jumped out of a plane and piloted a helicopter for his last major movie got his big break starring in an ‘80s high school comedy, but Cruise fits the role of Joel Goodson like a glove. In fact, Cruise’s charismatic and likable performance is possibly what makes the whole movie work. In the wrong hands, his character could’ve come off as pretty despicable. With Cruise in the role, he’s just a lovable rascal.

1 Mission: Impossible – Fallout (97%)

As soon as Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout was released last summer, critics were calling it one of the greatest action movies ever made. With the sixth M:I movie, McQuarrie and his star Tom Cruise were faced with a difficult task.

How do you top hanging off the side of a plane during take-off? Their solution was to make a movie where every scene is this intense. Chasing helicopters, dangling from a cliff, zipping around the Arc de Triomphe the wrong way on a motorcycle – McQuarrie and Cruise have left themselves with an even bigger challenge for Mission: Impossible 7.

NEXT: George Clooney's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

source https://screenrant.com/tom-cruise-best-movies-according-rotten-tomatoes/

[sutzrainbow]

An alternative to “Love Never Dies”

(Warning: I do rag on LND a fair amount in this, but I’m pretty gentle. Please don’t feel got at if you happen to like it. My issues with it are plot and character-based. The music’s fine. Except the sex song. Ew.)

Watching the 25th Anniversary of Phantom of the Opera completely reignited my love for the musical, especially since I could now look at it with an adult perspective and do all this fun character analysis.

I found the Phantom - Erik - engaging for similar reasons I found Josh Washington from Until Dawn engaging. A human being that does despicable things, but who is still understandable and sympathetic. If anything, Erik is worse than Josh, because he actually goes into full jealous-lover-control-mode, and he kills a couple of people. And yet I still really, really like him and would have loved to see him get a happy ending.

That said, I still think Phantom’s ending is perfect, because it has Erik making this huge jump in character and performing his first act of legitimate true love: letting Christine go. It’s brilliant, and beautiful, and bittersweet.

Which is why I take such enormous issue with Love Never Dies.

Now look, if you enjoy Love Never Dies, then that’s absolutely fine, more power to you. I absolutely understand why it must be cathartic and gratifying to see Erik and Christine as a legitimate couple. No one should ever try to take that away from you. I have pieces of media that I love, even though I know they’re riddled with flaws and other people might hate them.

The reason I hate Love Never Dies so much is because it removes everything about Erik that I find interesting or even sympathetic. He has tons of money, a support network, already had sex with Christine offscreen somewhere (which I feel totally invalidates the kiss she gave him at the end of Phantom), and a kid - and yet he still acts like he did in the last one, threatening and bullying. It’s like he learned nothing. He’s no longer a tragic character whose actions are understandable: he’s just an entitled douchebag. Also, making Madame Giry and Meg the villains and killing Christine; what the heck was all that about? What in the last story made it even plausible that this is where things would go?

I don’t feel Phantom honestly needed a sequel; the ending was perfect and wrapped up all the loose ends. We don’t know what happens to Erik, but we don’t need to.

That said, the sheer screwing around Love Never Dies does with the story and established characters made me so mad and got under my skin so much that I felt the only way I could purge it from my mind was think up my own sequel idea, one that I tried as hard as I could to keep in line with the story of the original. So that is what I humbly present to you today: my sequel idea to Phantom of the Opera, in place of Love Never Dies. As yet it has no title.

So where could the story go after Phantom? The only thing I could honestly think of was continuing the lesson Erik began learning, i.e how to love. How about he learns about a different kind of love? Say, platonic love, maybe?

Let me tell you a story...

It is five years after the events of Phantom. Christine no longer works at the Paris Opera house, and instead has disembarked to a smaller one elsewhere in the country, where she is much happier with a relatively successful career as an opera singer. Amongst the regulars is a young girl of Romani background whom Christine has taken under her wing. Let’s call her... hmm, what’s a traditional name from that period...? Maria. Let’s call her Maria.

Maria has a very pleasant voice which Christine sees a lot of potential in. Unfortunately the girl lacks technique and has poor breath control. Christine thinks she could become a great singer with the right training, but because Maria comes from a difficult background, no one is willing to spare the time or the money to train her, and because she abandoned her star role at the Paris Opera, and has a growing family, Christine cannot fund her training either. She attempts to teach her herself, but Maria’s progress is slow.

Christine is tempted to send Maria to Paris, hoping that the Phantom may still be living there and might teach her. Her husband Raoul, understandably, is not keen on this plan. (They’d probably have a long duet here weighing up the pros and cons.) Maria overhears their conversation and insists she is not afraid. Eventually they decide it’s possible Erik might have changed and it may be worth the risk. They send Maria to Paris with some funds, a letter for Madame Giry and Meg who are still working at the opera house, a letter for the Phantom if they find him, and a young man Christine employs to look after Maria. This chap is Auguste and he wants to be a doctor. He’ll be important later.

In Paris, Maria and Auguste are greeted by Madame Giry and Meg, who manage to find them some rooms to stay in. Madame Giry and the owners audition Maria and agree that while the girl’s technique is all over the place, if she improves, she may land a job as a chorus girl. Maria and Auguste intend to go searching for the Phantom, but Meg warns them against searching for such a dangerous man. When Auguste and Maria point out that getting lessons from the Phantom is the only reason they are here, Meg reluctantly admits that she believes the Phantom made a new lair somewhere in the Paris catacombs. The next day, the two enter the catacombs, but quickly lose each other in the darkness. Auguste gets out offscreen, but Maria hears eerie organ music playing and follows it, only to come across a dark chamber and the Phantom, though all she can see is a vague silhouette (they could have a lot of fun here with lighting and effects). The Phantom is now sporting a black half-mask instead of a white one, because why not.  At first he doesn’t believe that Christine has sent Maria, thinking that she would have tried to forget him. Maria insists:

“She has not. She speaks of you often.” “What does she say of me?” “She says that you were her teacher, and that you were the best.”

The Phantom is still reluctant, but he asks her to sing for him anyway. Maria ends up singing an exercise she used to do with Christine, which turns out to be one which the Phantom taught her. This finally convinces the Phantom to begin training her.

Cut to a month or so later, and under the Phantom’s tutelage, Maria’s voice has grown strong enough that she now has a job as a chorus girl. Hijinks ensue at the Opera house when one of the bitchier girls, Jeanette, sabotages Maria’s performance, but later slips on a wet patch on the stage, earning her a twisted ankle. Auguste cares for her, being a trainee doctor. Meg and Madame Giry wonder if this could be the Phantom’s doing and fear that he may have returned to the opera house, but when they check his original underground lair, they find nothing. Still, stories begin to spread about the opera ghost’s return.

Maria, suspicious, attempts to quiz the Phantom in their lessons, but he keeps the topic strictly on their task, snapping at her if she tries to change the subject. He reveals to her that he is still writing music, and has in fact written a short aria intended for her. Maria is shocked and doesn’t think she’s even close to being ready to perform a solo. The Phantom assures her - surprisingly gently - that he has put in many short phrases, to help with her breath control, and that he believes she will soon be skilled enough to perform it. Thrilled and full of gratitude, Maria kisses his cheek before she leaves, leaving the Phantom stunned.

Later Madame Giry and Meg overhear Maria singing her aria backstage. They suggest she submit it to the opera house’s current owners, and ask the identity of the composer. Maria makes an excuse and leaves, eventually voicing her concerns to Auguste. She has grown to care for the Phantom (basically he’s been playing Grumpy Dad to her), and she wants his music to be heard, but knows he is not welcome here. Christine never told her why, but she did mention the Phantom’s deformed face, so Maria assumes it’s because of that. 

To her surprise, the Phantom agrees to submitting his aria, and they put it in under his real name, “Erik”, to avert suspicion.

Rehearsals are under way and the opera house has an unexpected guest: Carlotta, with her new partner. Turns out lovably bitchy Jeanette is her niece. Carlotta expresses distaste that this young gypsy upstart with little experience is going to sing a solo - reminds her of another unfortunate series of events that occurred not too long ago. Cue over-the-top grieving for Piangi. When Maria asks her to elaborate, Carlotta tells the story of how the Phantom abducted Christine and killed both Buquet and Piangi, before disappearing. She insists that the Phantom’s influence alone was what started Christine’s career, that she was never truly talented, and after he disappeared she had nothing left, hence why she moved away.

Maria, of course, tries to protest this, but there are too many questions now, and too few answers. She knows that there’s something really iffy going on and that the Phantom and Christine have both kept lots of things from her. Once again she has a conversation with her teacher, which becomes pretty fiery. 

“You know everything you need to.” “You are a man with two faces! You tell me your real name, but you won’t let me see the truth! Christine told me what that mask is concealing; surely it cannot be worse than what I have imagined! I’m a gypsy - I’ve seen my fair share of freak shows!”

The Phantom is incensed, and almost kicks her out, but the sound of the Masquerade music box makes him hesitate. He calms.

“I will tell you - after your performance. As soon as I know your future as a singer will be secure, I will tell you anything you want to know.” “Do I have your word on that?” “You have my word.” He touches his hand to his mask. “You have earned it.”

Première night comes, and Auguste drops a hint to Maria that the Phantom may well attend, in disguise, to watch her sing. He reckons the old grouch has grown - gasp - fond of her. As the final act begins and Maria prepares to sing her aria, she notices a masked figure slip into Box 5 next to Auguste. She sings and gets a round of applause, then pleads with the crowd to meet the composer of the aria, hoping that the Phantom’s different mask (not the half-one this time, but a full-face one vaguely similar to the one he wore during Masquerade) will disguise him.

Unfortunately Carlotta remembers the Masquerade incident and recognises this man as the one who killed her husband, so interrupts and accuses him of Piangi’s murder. When the Phantom doesn’t deny it, Carlotta’s boyfriend, who is a trigger-happy chap at the best of times, fires two shots at him. The first misses, but the second catches his mask a glancing blow, shattering it. Erik flees back to the catacombs and chaos descends on the opera house.

Maria sets off for the catacombs to find Erik, but Auguste begs her not to go.

“I need him to tell me the truth!” “I’ll come with you!” “No - no, I daren’t. He’ll trust me better if I go alone. Get help. Hide outside the lair in case something goes wrong.” “Maria - how can you think of going there alone, knowing what he is?” “I’ve always known what he is - but if we don’t give him the benefit of the doubt, he’ll only act as we expect him to. He deserves one chance, Auguste.” “All right. For pity’s sake be careful, Maria.”

She reaches the lair just as Erik arrives, now back in his black half-mask. She is furious with him and gives him a huge mouthful: is it true that he committed those murders? Did he lie to Christine? Has he been lying to her? Should she truly have been afraid of him all along?

Erik denies nothing, and when she’s run her mouth for a while, he admits that it’s true, all of it. Why did she think Christine gave her all those warnings about him? He hoped that by teaching her as Christine requested, and looking out for her, he could atone for the dreadful things he did. But now he knows that the people will never accept him, not just for his deformed face but for the severity of his crimes. He removes his mask to demonstrate: he is a monster inside and out, and he knows it. He cannot run from it, however hard he tries. No wonder Christine walked away.

Then he collapses. Turns out the first bullet did hit him, in the side. 

“He shot you!” exclaims Maria. “I didn’t know...” “Of course not. I never said.”

Maria is horrified as she rushes to tend to him. Erik of course goes through that usual tirade that ‘it’s better this way’ and ‘better kill the monster before he harms anyone else’. At this, Maria snaps.

“I don’t think you’re a monster! You’ve never been a monster to me. You were good to me; you taught me. You were strict, you were stern, but you were patient. Christine warned me, she told me to be wary, but you never gave me a reason to fear you. Not even your face."

Erik is deeply touched at her words, and wonders if by caring for her he has earned a place in heaven, as before him stands an angel, in a form he recognises.

Of course it’s not an angel. It’s Christine. She came to hear Maria sing his music. Because despite the bad history between them, she still cares for Erik, too.

“Why did you return?” “Because I believe you still have so much to give to the world. Hearts soared with your music tonight. You made people happy.”

She’s so proud of him. She heard what Maria said. She feels he’s finally learned to love, and earned someone else’s love in return. It’s not the romantic love he always craved, but it’s love nevertheless.

Following her is Auguste, Meg, Madame Giry and Raoul - and of course Auguste is a trainee doctor. Maria begs him to save her teacher. Auguste says he’ll try - but the wound is very deep... (lights down! Cliffhanger! Aaah!)

An unspecified time later, the opera is preparing for another performance. Madame Giry meets with the opera house owners. It appears the dramatic première night only served to sell out tickets.

“Nasty business, though, very nasty business. You say the man died?” “Indeed Monsieur, there was nothing that could be done.” “Do we know if he truly was this so-called ‘opera ghost’?” “As he died before he could give a confession, I feel we may never know.” “Pity. He may have been a criminal, but the chap wrote good music.”

Meanwhile, Christine, Raoul and Auguste watch Maria sing her final aria. The music swells. The audience applauds - and in a dark, distant corner of the opera house, a man in a mask can be seen, watching.

...Okay, so it is fanficcy, but y’know what, it’s lot less fanficcy than what we got in Love Never Dies. I hope I managed to keep all the returning characters in-character, with their development from the first story intact. No drunken, gambling Raoul, but a sympathetic and cautious one. No villainous Giry or Meg who are loyal to the Phantom for some reason; they’re a neutral force as always. No kid whose parentage drives the plot. An active Christine who makes her own decisions and isn’t treated as an object for the guys to fight over. God, that pissed me off!

Honestly, there was no chance of Christine and Erik getting back together. Their romance is toxic, sorry guys. And their story is over when he lets her go. That said, I didn’t see why Christine couldn’t be part of his later character development. Erik does still angst about her, because she’s the only person who has ever shown him compassion, and she still walked away. Christine could be the catalyst to help him start changing, but for the main lesson, I had to start him afresh with someone else.

I like to think Maria is not a Mary-Sue - for a start she doesn’t hook up with Erik, and she isn’t a singing prodigy like Christine either; she’s got potential, but she needs a lot of work. She doesn’t go searching for Erik in an attempt to ‘fix’ him; she needs something from him. He’s her teacher who at first she cautiously respects, but later grows more attached to as he does legitimately nice things for her. At first Erik only does this to honour Christine’s request, but later it’s because he genuinely wants to. He learns to love, and he also learns that yes, his deformity is a huge social handicap, but if he’s kind and does good things, he can still earn love. That was the best reward I felt I could give him - but he had to earn it, and he couldn’t have everything. After all, this guy’s a murderer. So no, he doesn’t get accepted into society, he doesn’t get Christine - but he does earn applause for his music, he earns Maria’s love, his relationship with Christine becomes a whole lot healthier - and he becomes a better person.

So yeah, if you hate Love Never Dies as much as I do, I hope that was cathartic - at least as much as puncturing an abscess could be.  And to be fair, there is one good thing that came out of that wretched musical: the ultimate Phantom/Christine power duo that is Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess. They met through LND and have since forged a friendship that is the purest, sweetest, cinnamon-coated bond I’ve ever seen. And when they’re playing Erik and Christine, their chemistry is so hot you could fry eggs with it. I absolutely understand why they were picked for the 25th Anniversary version. And they make LND almost tolerable. Almost.

[gehayi]

I know Christian has committed sexual crimes and maybe murder, but can you list what in the business sphere he has done illegally or unethically? My dads a lawyer who deals with this shit, so I'm curious.

For one thing, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc. is, by its name, incorporated. That means that it needs a board of directors. Christian says loudly in both Fifty Shades of Grey and the un-Google-able sequel, Grey that he has no board telling him what to do. This statement could have been qualified in Grey; he could have thought that he had a one-person board and that he was it, which is possible. But his reaction in Grey is the same--that he doesn’t have a board because he doesn’t want one. That’s not how incorporation WORKS.

Second, he violates the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. All but one of the employees at Grey House, his headquarters, that we see is a white-skinned blonde woman, and that one exception is a white-skinned redheaded woman. Ana speculates that he hires women who look a certain way; in Grey, we’re given confirmation that yes, that’s exactly what he does. From where I’m sitting, he should be half-buried under anti-discrimination class action suits.

He employs a private hacker, Barney, who breaks into computer systems to illegally obtain information--like Social Security numbers, amounts of money in bank accounts, images in closed-circuit city TV cameras monitoring roads, etc. Grey also states that he uses Barney to vet all potential hires and any woman with whom Grey might get into a BDSM relationship. This should raise all sorts of questions about identity theft and violations of privacy. It doesn’t.

He ordered another employee (Jason Taylor, his chief bodyguard) to beat Jack Hyde  (the man who attempted to rape Ana shortly before this) within an inch of his life when a) Jack was unarmed,  b) he was not threatening  or endangering Grey, Ana or Taylor, and c) Ana was in a tank of a limo that resembles, in many ways, one of the cars James Bond drives. I’m pretty sure that you’re not allowed to order random assaults on despicable people who are not a clear and present danger to you or those around you...even when you have skilled bodyguards.

The chief accountant of the company (Gwen) and the the Vice-President of the company (Ros Bailey, who seems to do all the work, thanks to Grey’s ineptitude) are in a romantic and sexual relationship. To me, this indicates conflicts of interest.

The company was founded with money that Elena Lincoln stole from her husband and gave to Christian Grey. Furthermore, Grey either knew that the money was stolen when he received it or learned it shortly afterwards. I’m pretty sure that profiting from a crime is also illegal.

Grey routinely uses company resources for personal gain. He seems to feel that since it’s his company, everything belonging to the company belongs to him individually. 

At the end of Fifty Shades Freed, when we find out that Elena’s ex-husband Linc Lincoln was the Big Bad all along, Christian says this in a phone conversation:

“Ros, how much stock do we own in Lincoln Timber?”:::“So, consolidate the shares into GEH, then fire the board . . . except the CEO . . . I don’t give a fuck . . . I hear you, just do it . . . thank you . . . keep me informed.”

You can't just say "You're fired" as if the words were magic—and that's what Christian is doing. He doesn’t OWN Lincoln Timber, not the slightest part. Elena Lincoln's ex does. And the ex doesn't like Christian at all. I can't think that he'd allow Christian to buy a controlling number of shares—and I doubt if Christian did so, especially since he mentioned earlier in Freed that he didn't even know if he'd invested any money in lumber or timber.  

Boards of directors can be changed, but not by one person hiring or firing everyone.1) Boards can be elected at the annual shareholders' meeting at the end of the year.

2) A shareholder can call a special meeting when they want to change directors before their term ends. However, this involves contacting all other shareholders and giving them notice of the place, time, date and purpose of the meeting.3) Shareholders can vote to remove directors from a board, with or without cause, unless the corporation has a staggered board. Once that is done, they can vote to replace the directors they voted out.

However, a) a meeting is required, b) a quorum of shares must be present at that meeting and c) a majority of all shares entitled to vote must participate in removing and replacing the directors. Furthermore, many by-laws translate this as "a majority of all SHAREHOLDERS" rather than "a majority of all SHARES." Which means everyone might get a vote over the dismissal of Lincoln Timber's board, even very minor investors.4) With a staggered board, only a portion of the board is elected every year—half to one third, generally. Replacement and removal of members of a staggered board are similar to what's done in the third case…but members of a staggered board can only be removed with cause. And the by-laws spell out what the causes are. Posting bail for someone that one shareholder doesn't like is not a valid cause.

Removal and replacement of boards always seem to come down to other shareholders, meetings and elections. And even if Christian could just wave a dictatorial hand and say, "Begone!", Linc could put the directors that had been removed, as well as anyone else on his side, up for election again, campaign for them, recommend that other shareholders vote for them, etc. This has been done in other companies; it's fairly routine.

As plans for vengeance go, this one is unworkable, illegal, and pretty much useless.

Christian also plans to do the following:

“But he’s seriously crossed the line with Hyde. Linc’s made this personal by going after my family. I’m going to crush him, break up his company right under his nose, and sell the pieces to the highest bidder. I am going to bankrupt him.”

Bankruptcy law has ways of fighting hostile takeovers, which is what Hellspawn is proposing. Not only that, but a Chapter 11 bankruptcy—the most typical way for businesses to go bankrupt in America—wouldn't leave Linc stony broke, which is what Fuckface wants. "A [C]hapter 11 debtor usually proposes a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time."Chapter 11 bankruptcy is REALLY common with big businesses. This not only wouldn't leave Linc broke, he might even profit from the deal. If Hellspawn wants to force Linc to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which involves liquidation of non-exempt assets and distributing the proceeds to debtors...well, first of all, Chapter 7 is generally used by individuals, not businesses or corporations (which usually file Chapter 11) or sole proprietorships and partnerships (which usually file Chapter 13). Note the word "generally." It's not impossible for a business to use Chapter 7, but Chapter 7 would involve selling a great many assets, including the business itself. So it's not common.Second, Linc himself would have to cooperate with Hellspawn's "plan." He'd have to apply for credit counseling first, because you can't petition for Chapter 7 liquidation without that. Then he'd have to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition with the courts, agreeing to sell almost everything he has because that's the only way to pay off his debts. Linc is a wealthy man. What's likelier—that he'll voluntarily strip himself of almost everything he owns or that he'll fight a hostile takeover? 

And that’s just the stuff I can think of right off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s more.

Does that help?