#he has the classic hook hand but he can put swords and stuff on it

[banana-together]

Currently just thinking about the FMA pirate au that I’ll probably never write. I’ll draw Al eventually once I work out his design. Maybe I’ll make this digital at some point and colour it too. If anyone’s interested, @elwayken and I have pretty much the whole au worked out.

[raspberry-gloaming]

Anon here! I ended up putting this on anon because I wasn't sure if this was a silly idea, but I love that other people have thoughts too 💕

I totally agree with you on the doctor who companions wouldn't be big loyalists or even despise the centre, in the end, even if they were raised two. There's a couple others who I feel definitely might have done a year or couple as kids, but definitely would not have stayed. Rose for one, Mickey too, I think the stipend would definitely have been a big factor there.

There's others that I think would eventually get to the anti-centre mindset but might go through an ideation phase. Yaz is the one in my mind for that one, a young adult year old Yaz who has become a peacekeeper but has a lot of frustration in how she keeps getting sidelined for the ex-center careers, I think there'd be a "I should have taken that opportunity."

Others I can't see as being within a mile of the program, like Bill. Whether they even noticed her at all I think would have depended on her situation growing up - we know she had a foster mum, but at which point? Was she with her for a long time? Was she bumped around foster families? Was she in a group home at some point? I think knowing more about her situation as a kid would help see if they would have like thought, hmm. It doesn't really matter though, as Bill is someone who I could Never joining the Center, not at all, it's very not her all the morality and loyalty and propeganda. Her episodes' messages reallllyyy don't fit in with the center, not one bit.

So the only person that I can think of, like you said there, to go the entire way and volunteer, would be Mels. In this au since River wouldn't actually be Mels, I imagine this is where Mels dies, in the games. Alternatively, you could have that as the thing that has been keeping her straight to a degree, by that I mean not going off the rails, because of the degree of control and pushing and channeling anger and violence in a certain way. I could maybe see her becoming more and more reckless, and something she does gets her. On the other hand, if it's the "keep Rory there to keep Mels and Amy there," and I can't see any reason otherwise he would be kept in so long, it doesn't make sense for none of them to go in at all, so perhaps she does go in and die.

On the matter of Rory, I definitely feel that he was the subject of many board meetings, an is it worth it thing? And I wonder if he would react to things in a way that eventually he does get dropped. Depending how far in they are Im not sure what Mels and Amy would do. From Rory's perspective, I don't think he would enjoy it, but he's got the skill, and the duty. Only his duty is more to Amy than the district. So he ploughs on our of devotion to Amy, but I feel like they could twist it into a "he's loyal to his district" thing to like give them a reason not to drop him. But I'm imagining a Centurion!Rory vibe, with his sword and stuff, and the way he does stuff, it's very earthy and sincere, like the "Where. Is. My. Wife?" *cyberfleet explodes in background and he looks totally badass*

I haven't experienced C'rizz or Charley outside of fandom osmosis yet (but definitely want to listen to Scherzo and possibly more in the future.) But I do know Sissy! (I really liked A Blind Eye, it's cool that there's stuff with Charley's family, even if Sissy is an actual fucking Nazi.) And what you said tooootttallly lines up, very much so with my thoughts there.

Someone I have no idea on whether she would ever be involved is Clara, I can't get a hook on her in this scenario.

Apart from that, I also haven't watched much Classic Who, so I can't speak on their companions. Well, I know Romana and Leela, since I love the Gallifrey Audios, but I don't think any of the timelords or anyone from that setting and the series translate well to this one

I'm not sure if you know Doctor Who but I'm thinking about companions and whether they would be in the program (or not).

One who I definitely think would be, she's textbook program material, they would look at her and want to shape her, is Ace. She's got authority issues, but I think if she was in the program from a young age it would be twisted in a certain way, I feel that's something they would do. She's got a lot of fire and anger and violence, and home issues too. At 13 she burnt down an abandoned house and definitely was charged - she had a probation officer. Feel like that could be twisted instead, or it's a "yeah you get two choices, pass your centre residential exams, or juvi," since Panem has a much stricter and severe police and laws and punishments and stuff. If she did become a Victor I feel like she'd be amenable to Lyme's politics and definitely no treason going on here guys.

Someone who I think would enjoy the early years stuff but definitely not go into residential is Donna. She definitely seems someone who would enjoy all the running and games and stuff like that as a kid, but she wouldn't stay long. Her Grandad, Wilf, would Definitely be against it. He's very anti war and pacifist, he would hate that stuff.

Someone else who I think could go all the way is Amy. I feel like it would work, you've got a seven year old kid, lonely and displaced after moving a long way (would have to be within the district for this au obvs), with if you take it to be the young Amy from the pre-pandorica and reset timeline, no parents and a possibly neglected aunt, firey, dubbed the weird kid and she's very prepared to bite multiple psychiatrists for telling her that her "imaginary friend" isn't real. As she gets older she very much is aware of her appearance and how to use it to get what she wants, in a way that I think in this au the program would definitely have cultivated, she's gonna have good scores in acting.

I've watched Nine, Ten, one season of Eleven, and no Classic Who, so I will take your word for this or if anyone else has anything to add

from what I've heard about Ace that makes total sense though!

[dauntingdarling]

Reviewing Cursed (Netflix)

So I finally jumped on the bandwagon for this show and I’ve got some thoughts: (spoilers)

Bad Stuff:

For all the hype I’ve read about the show, I was expecting the main lead to be at least more than she was. Nimue was a disappointment and honestly is one of the weaker parts of the show. 

The 2nd weakest part being Nimue x Arthur relationship  

And I’m not going to even start on the effects in this show, JESUS

While I don’t necessarily blame the hollowness of Nimue’s character on the actress Katherine, (I will say the reason it took me a while to get into this show was because Katherine has 13 reasons why stamped all over her still in my head) I do think she handled some of Nimue’s scenes a bit... awkwardly. 

Case in point: Her first interaction with Arthur 

^But honestly, this wasn’t that horrible when you look to the effects the show used to make this show “graphic” 

All the bloody gore they showed was done so badly that I scoffed more than  grimaced.

^Also can we just point out that when Nimue strung up that red paladin in vines, they made it seem like it was horrible and prime gore material when in reality it looked like a cheap set piece... what a let down

Now lets chat this up a moment:

We all know how the King Arthur tale goes. He marries Gwenevere who then G cheats with Lancelot (more of him in a moment) etc. I feel for Nimue from the get go when I noticed how quick they were to use her to glow up Arthur... like seriously? 

What girl would start a relationship with Mr. Goody (to the point where he is boring) when her life is literally turning to shatters in all directions? All male writers red flag

And while we are on the topic, Arthur-sir, you are the most annoying and basic good guy I’ve watched in some time. Not only does he seem to be too good to the point that its unrealistic, they seriously played off him stealing Nimue’s sword as an okay thing to do... Sir no. 

Devon portrays all the characteristics of King Arthur perfectly, but I feel like if Arthur is to progress into becoming a king, we should be seeing him making mistakes and learning so as to become the great ruler he will one day be. (writers take notes please)

We need some dirt in that perfect persona he carries 

Also known as Weeping Monk 

Good Stuff: 

Let me just start by putting this magnificent thirst trap right here: 

I’ve got to hand it to Daniel Sharman, he has a very loyal fanbase that seems able to carry THIS ENTIRE SHOW on their shoulders. 

Like honestly, I looked through plenty of content on various apps and the Weeping Monk is blowing through social media like wild fire. 

And for good reason too:

-he’s an attractive dude playing the gothic misguided character (serious cliche but highly effective)

-he’s one of the few characters with an interesting character arch (so far)

-he’s Lancelot (hello ladies man)

-he’s great with kids *swoon*

-and don’t get me started on that entrance in ep1 (the writers knew what they were doing)

I’m going to write another post at some point to address why I don’t think he is a toxic, manipulative character that just so happens to be romanticized because of looks (as is seen so far). So watch for that if that interests you. Post in Question

But to tie this off, Daniel Sharman is a fantastic actor and I hope we get more of him next season. 

And, no, it’s not just because he is visually pleasing to the eye (but god bless guy liner)

 I feel like the writers have suspended his meeting with Nimue to the point were we are all shipping the pair of them together, when it’s possible that they may have a different bond, closer to that of Lancelot and the Lady of the Lake in classic lore

But if they hook up I will still be very pleased ngl

Other things I really loved in this show:

-Pym (her time in the viking ship as a healer was prime humor) but I’m pissed she doesn’t end up with the hot viking because unlike our main couple of the show, these two had chemistry for the short scenes they shared together. 

-Merlin (The moment I saw Gustaf Skarsgård in the trailer, I started the first ep. I loved him as Floki in Vikings and wanted to see him in other things) I was pissed that the writers made him seem... boring. 

-I was happy with how Merlin opened up to us as a father to Nimue. Nimue just needs to get her shit together and learn from him because we all know she’s powerful, she just needs to work on it. 

Watch the writers get lazy and just magically having her cast all sorts of powerful magic just because once upon a time she manipulated an apple tree

-SQUIRELL (I loved him from his first scene)

-the Widow! She was the perfect middle ground for a character and her voice was strangely motherly (and I LOVED IT!) While I know Morgana becoming the widow was a great power play and all that, I miss the original widow. 

-Morgana’s general storyline was great considering what happens in the lore. I expected her to go evil the moment her sweet love (that poor nun!) came from the dead with burn marks and talked about being powerful. I’m glad they didn’t push that on her so quickly. They should let that storyline fester a bit more. She’s too great a character to turn to the dark yet (unless they pull a complete 180 of the Weeping Monk)

-Awesome baddies- And by that I mean Iris and the head monk that came to a very satisfactory end in ep 10. Also, props to the show for making the Pope a quick to anger tyrant and his second in command being a literal weasel. 10/10  villain act right there. With these villains in play, it’s easy for Weeping Monk fans to see the light in him, thus driving his character arch. 

-The Christian themes. This may be surprising to some, especially if you are like me, a christian (I’m catholic). But honestly, I loved how they took snippets of Christian history and flipped it to create a complicated power in this show. By this I mean, the red monks act a lot like the holy orders in Catholicism back during the Crusades and the nuns act as healers and helpers to those that ask for sanctuary (the Abbess kept her mouth shut about Nimue, even when she was at risk) - thats what the core of Christianity is supposed to be, and I’m glad they made religion complicated through the monks and nuns. 

-Red Spear/ vikings- cool concept to add vikings to the story and the red spear is a bad ass. I hope we dive further into her storyline next season (I expect so given the rumors I’m hearing about how she is supposedly Gwenevere)- If that’s true, I’m worried the writers are going to ruin the relationship G is supposed to have with Lancelot, solely because both characters are more Alpha energy than Beta, and we all know how that goes...

Maybe that’s why Red Spear’s interaction with Arthur was so great. He screams beta and I’m all for it. 

[sugargliderowl]

Thoughts on Janus’ Playlist...

Some of my first-time-hearing reactions to Janus’ playlist (sorry for the rambling parts):

Black Hole Sun: It’s apparently about depression according to Genius? Like it’s kinda like yearning for the depression to be sucked into the “black hole sun”... The snake references and heaven and hell is definitely Janus. Also, it sounds old-timey like a jazz song, so that sets up the mood of the entire playlist. I don’t really get this... but this feels like a mood setter for the entire thing, unless it means something else. What do you guys think?

It Seemed the Better Way: The strings? CHILLS. Leonard Cohen’s voice reminds me of Hades in Hadestown. “Sounded like the truth, seemed the better way... but it’s not the truth today” is just his motto is what I’m seeing. And then the “I better hold my tongue, I better take my place...” part feels like resignation to me. It’s either Janus is trying to help, but that didn’t work so he resigns to become the “villain” of the light sides. It could allude to the dark sides as a whole: they are all trying to help Thomas in their ways, but because being themselves doesn’t work, they need the villain, spooky facade.

Anywhere: Ooh, I’m seeing a vintage vibe from all of this... Back to the song. “It’s a beautiful / If you’ve been lied to” is a good callback to the whole “society is built on lies” from SvS from Jay Dee. “Let this be a call to arms / At the changing of the avante garde / Nothing in this world... is beautiful.” Is Janus a pessimist? If so, he’s a good juxtaposition to Patton, the optimist. Also, the vocals remind me of like a really old timey radio, semi-haunted... my instincts say that it feels like the singer is like Harrison Bergeron (Kurt Vonnegut; do read it; it’s a good short story) trying to tell the truth about this world that people think is a good place.

Talking at the Same Time: Someone please draw Janus as like a 1920s gentleman character swaggering... wait I can. This song reminds me of “Why don’t you do right” by Jessica Rabbit on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” Jazz or blues? Either one. This song is really depressing? I don’t know why, but there is that feel of everything is hopeless. Pessimistic, again. “A tiny boy... made a sword from a stick and a gun from his hand” reminds me of Roman in a way? But then again, the “we bailed out all the millionaires / they’ve got the fruit / We’ve got the rind” doesn’t remind me of Roman.

all the good girls go to hell: “MY LUCIFER IS LOOONELYY”... sorry I love this song. Anyways, the lyrics really speak to Janus just because of the whole duality and Christian metaphors. Also, J is the side who would definitely “want the Devil on her team”. We love the whole duality motif. I just *chef’s kiss x3*.

Denial: OH MY GOSH THE SVS REDUX... J was denial. HE WAS DENIAL. “Just don’t shut your eyes closed / Not until I get it off my chest” is basically the blindfold metaphor that happened throughout SvS, so would this be the message he wants to send to Thomas and Patton... or maybe the entire light sides. “Have you turned a corner? / Do you think of leaving me behind?” Dark side acceptance arc? Also, “I know you’re looking for direction... I know where you wanna go / Oh I do, but do you?” is to Roman and Thomas for the callback because he knew they wanted to go “so bad.”

(click for more analysis and summary!)

Trust in Me: Of course, snek boi, I knew this could be something you’ll put in. But do we trust you? So this is his suave villainy song. This again shows how Bananaconda child operates; he wants Thomas to trust him and be selfish but excessively. That’s why balance is necessary for all of the sides!

Razzle Dazzle: *gasp* MUSICAL SONGS NOW? YASSS. Definition is “noisy, showy, and exciting activity and display designed to attract and impress,” so the whole facade of being fancy to hide the insecurities and “bad” parts. Sounds like someone we know (*cough* ROMAN *cough*). “What if your hinges all are rusting / What if, in fact, you’re just disgusting? / Razzle dazzle ‘em and they’ll never catch wise” is just a jab and a stab at Roman. Or maybe it’s him. He’s also the dramatic one. If so, we have angst arriving.

When the Chips are Down: HADESTOWN OH MY YES! STRINGS! AAAAA! Does Janus give me Fate vibes in a way? Yes, definitely. “Nobody’s righteous / Nobody’s proud / Nobody’s innocent / Now that the chips are down” Holy CRAPP. It’s the perfect response to Patton’s “Nobody’s perfect... except for Thomas, he loves his friends!” in SvS. Now that the “chips are down,” Thomas should take after himself... after all, the Fates were telling Eurydice to look after herself. Sounds like what Janus said to Thomas after the Redux.

Mandy Goes to Med School: Oh. Um. This sounds like the whole jazz/20′s theme. This song’s apparently about abortion? I’m kinda confused, so feel free to add on! But it’s quite the bop, just listening to it. Maybe the whole thought that society makes laws based on a false conception? Help.

I Put A Spell On You: Janus definitely goes to jazz clubs. “I can’t stand it ‘cause you put me down” and “I tell ya I ain’t lyin’” and “Because you’re mine” makes the whole villainesque feel. I don’t know where this was from, but this stands out to me just because it was on the “Friends on the Other Side Mashup”. 

Evil Night Together: Ominous, and then jazzy. Jay Dee’s flirting skills go to the max. This also gives the villain vibe by the lyrics referencing things that Remus would be fond about. Also, “Who’s gonna make you a hero” seems to be directed to Roman like he did in SvS. This is a very seductive song with really dark undertones about crime. Janus, that slimy snek boi is a lawful neutral to evil. 

Dont’ Tell Mama: Cabaret... a classic musical, eh? “Hush up, don’t tell mama / Shush up, don’t tell mama” goes to Janus’ power to silence people. “If you had a secret, you bet I would keep it / I would never tell on you...” Janus is definitely the one about lies and secrets, so that goes to that.

You’re a Cad: “What’s the point pretending that you could be a better man? / Just give in, since you always end up right back where you began” “You’re a rascal and a rogue, a villain and a crook” is the other sides viewing him, and “Still I tug at your line, I’m a fish on your hook” and “I should be better, but I’m worse” is hinting at some Janus angst. I think it’s going to be something about trust

As Far as I Can See: JANUS ANGST TRUCKING IN ON TO YA: “Nobody loves me / As far as I can tell.” Or even “Nobody’s listening as far as I can tell / And when I’m crying out / Nobody cries back for me.” Haha... I’m totally fine (*sobbing*). Also, the “we’re all going down / all down the staircase aboard” either hints at the Redux statement of pushing people off staircases... or maybe Virgil who went down the staircase and left the dark sides. Gosh, I thought this was gonna be a hype song by the beat, but I stand corrected.

Criminal: Oh, so the angst continues. Great. Totally great. This somehow links back to the bloopers of Thomas, as J, saying “I’m not bad; I’m just drawn that way.” This is peak sarcasm in a way, but I don’t really know. “I’ve done wrong and I wanna suffer for my sins / I’ve come to you cause I need guidance to be true / And I just don’t know where I can begin”... is this from Thomas to Janus or the other way? If it’s from Thomas, Janus is kinda mad and is using as much sass as he wants. If it’s from Janus, it’s either he’s lying or he genuinely wants a redemption arc like Virgil did... but in a not so righteous way with “And I need to be redeemed / To the one I’ve sinned against / Because he’s all I ever knew of love.” I don’t really know, but this is such a bop.

Change: “I’ve been thinking it’s just someone else’s job to care / Who am I to sympathize when no one gives a d-” and “” Wow. Janus has his similarities with Logan. He wants to be listened to the sides. I mean, there is a reason why he impersonates the light sides: to be listened without bias. “Change is a powerful thing / I feel it coming in me” foreshadows some good stuff with Janus! YES! Also, “Maybe by the time this song is done / I’ll be able / To be honest” and the rest of the lyrics just hit me like a truck? It hurts the soul in a way. Change is inevitable is the message, so would that mean Janus could have an upgrade? I mean, the change started when SvS Redux happened with him coming out and being accepted by the light sides, so maybe, maybe things will change from there in a good way.

Devil In The Details: “A house of cards / A supple heart / Is not a place to dwell”.... Patton? Oh no. “But know there’s no backing out / This is gonna be reality / You can never dream it out” is going to his reputation and relations with the sides and Thomas? He seemed to have hesitated to say his name and let his reputation down since that would change everything that he has known over the years. Would this mean the dark and light side thing will break in later episodes? Maybe. “I put the past into the ground / I saw the future as a cloud / If there’s still time to turn around / I’m going to” is a big oof. And then... “I am the first one I deceive / If I can make myself believe / The rest is easy” comes in. Is Janus lying to himself? He’s the manifestation of deceit, but is he also doing that to himself? Or it could be to Thomas. But then again...

Come Little Children: Spooky. Nice. This feels like a lullaby. “It must be this way / To weary of life and deceptions / Rest now my children...” and then “The time’s come to play / Here in my garden of shadows” make me think that Janus thinks that this life is quite... painful. I am not too sure about this, tell me what y’all think!

Into The Unknown: Oh it’s not that one. It’s the one from Over The Garden Wall (the animation if I remember it right). I don’t know why, but I saw Come Little Children and connected that to Into the Unknown as words, so that was cool. “Dancing in a swirl / Of golden memories / The loveliest lies / Of all” refers to nostalgia. This song is about nostalgia. Wait. OH WAIT. Patton’s room is all about that... so would that mean nostalgia is also part of Jay Dee too because of the mood around it that is distorted by emotions? That’s something really cool to think about. One more: “If dreams can’t come true / Then why not pretend?” I feel like this points to Virgil in a way because his dream is complete acceptance, but Janus knows V was a dark side, so maybe he’s hinting at Virgil pretending to compensate for the fact that he is a dark side.

Summary:

Janus’ aesthetic would be a 1920-40 vintage theme with jazz on the background, strings and piano used ominous effect, and being flashy and dramatic. He wants to be listened to the other sides, so he puts up different disguises (like to Pat and Lo), which includes his villain facade he put on for the past maybe 2 or 3 years. He strongly believes that society is built on lies, and like in SvS, he doesn’t want Thomas to be disadvantaged in the said society. He loves the whole duality and juxtapositions (I mean, his name is Janus for a good reason) because he embraces them both. He jabs at several sides for them faking themselves to hide their true feelings, but then again, he might also be lying to himself. He knows that change is inevitable after the whole name reveal, and we know that his acceptance arc is going to come. It could be about trust and facing the reality... just my thoughts. In other words, this playlist gave me a bunch of reasons on why Janus is a great morally gray character.

FEEL FREE TO ADD ON! I LOVE SHARING THOUGHTS! Especially with analysis, more people means more thoughts and new ideas and theories. Thank you! 

[subspace]

MORTAL KOMBAT (2021)

there has yet to be a truly capital-G Great movie based on a video game. There was hope that the latest stab at “Mortal Kombat” might stand a chance to break that trend. The short answer is a hearty “No,” but that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had here. 

If all you know of “Mortal Kombat” is that it’s a video game that, upon its debut in arcades in 1992, swiftly helped spur a national pearl-clutching tour by politicians and parents’ groups over the level of “realistic” gore and violence found within, you might be surprised to learn that the bones of the story and characters are actually pretty fun. It treads heavily from the roots of comic books and classic kung fu movies which inspired series creators John Tobias and Ed Boon. So while there’s nothing terribly original about a secret martial arts tournament where people with extraordinary powers duke it out to decide the fate of the universe, the sort of (mostly) straight-faced sincerity used to bring it all to life fits perfectly well within the cinematic landscape that regularly sees people with godlike powers traipsing across movie screens these days. 

And to its credit, this take on “Mortal Kombat” never shies away from any of the incredibly outlandish aspects of the series: Warrior monks who can throw fireballs from their bare hands. Laser eyes. A sorcerer who can (quite literally) suck a man’s soul from his body. Another warrior monk but this one uses a razor-edged hat as a throwing weapon and teleportation device. It’s all here. There’s some nominal explanation as to how or why these characters get superpowers, but for the most part it amounts to “just because, now watch this guy with a New Jersey accent wearing a cyber mask use hook swords and run so fast he can teleport.” 

Given the way audiences have simply come to accept comic book heroes and given the movie’s overall embrace of the outlandish, it then becomes somewhat baffling that someone along the line decided it was absolutely essential that we be guided into this world via a brand new character who can act baffled at all this weird stuff happening. It might have made more sense had any questions been truly asked or, more crucially, been answered, but we never even really get an answer as to why exactly a martial arts tournament is what decides the fate of Earth. At the very least it would have been worth it had this character, Cole Young, been played by anyone with even a hint of genuine charisma. Alas, despite his best efforts, Lewis Tan simply doesn’t have the juice to shoulder the weight given him. 

Then again, he’s not really helped by Dave Callaham and Greg Russo’s script. It’s clear that there is an abiding affection for the legacy of “Mortal Kombat” and its world and characters. Fans of the games will have no trouble recognizing the likes of Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) or Kano (Josh Lawson). But the story is so thin and gives the surprisingly large cast very little to do overall. 

After losing an underground MMA match, Cole learns that he’s been chosen to take part in a tournament known as, you guessed it, Mortal Kombat. Shang Tsung (Chin Han), an evil, soul-sucking sorcerer, however is bound and determined to make sure a tournament never happens, thus making it that much easier for him to take over Earthrealm. Fights and fatalities ensue. 

And that’s...pretty much it. Cole meets up with an eclectic group of other fighters as they attempt to train and prepare for the tournament, but this mostly relegates them and the film to a massive cave temple somewhere in Asia. Not exactly the most dynamic or exciting location, especially given how wild and vibrant so much of the video game’s fight locale’s have become over the years. 

So if the film’s budget (clearly) held back its visual potential and its lead leaves much to be desired, how could I possibly claim there’s fun to be had? This is where checking your expectations at the door helps. 

To put it succinctly: “Mortal Kombat” is not “The Raid.” It is not “John Wick.” It doesn’t rise to the fairly high standard that has been set since Paul W.S. Anderson directed the first “Mortal Kombat” in 1995. Simon McQuoid’s 2021 film doesn’t even hit the highs of a lot of Scott Adkins’ direct-to-DVD outings. (Although that’s not an insult to Adkins, as he’s a legitimately great movie martial artist and you should watch his movies.) This “Mortal Kombat” lies somewhere in between. It tries hard. It brings in accomplished martial artists like Taslim and even Tan, whose father, Philip, is an accomplished stunt performer and choreographer. 

Could the combat (kombat?) have been better? Without question. But what’s here is fun. The fights are competent and not edited to shreds. But perhaps more importantly, it’s one of the first movies based on a video game to not only nail the iconic visual aspect of the characters, but to truly and fully lean into the fact that these people all do wild and silly things like shoot lasers from their eyes or throw fireballs. It also delivers in spades the games’ trademark, outlandish violence. To save my editor from sternly admonishing me for describing (even mildly) the things certain characters have happen to them, suffice to say it makes the digitized, roughly pixelated violence of the 1992 look positively PG-rated by comparison. No doubt this will turn off more than a few potential viewers, but there’s no denying that fans of the series flock to it in large part for this reason. So if you find entertainment in violence that’s so absurdly over-the-top it swings right around to being comical, this version of “Mortal Kombat” delivers to a satisfying degree. 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also single out actor Josh Lawson. His performance as Kano is hands down my favorite part of the film and he fills every scene he’s in with a delightfully smarmy energy, much as the late Trevor Goddard did playing the same character in the 1995 film. 

Maybe my enjoyment (or soft judgment) of the film is due more to the fact that it’s just good to see new movies again, and to do so with friends. I got a few (fully vaccinated) buddies to come join me in my backyard, I set up an outdoor screen and projector and streamed “Mortal Kombat” from my laptop and we had a blast laughing at and with the movie and generally relishing the absurdity, the competent fights and some fun characters. 

It’s entirely possible this movie won’t hold up on repeat viewing as such instances will inevitably be divorced from the context in which it was originally viewed, but that’s OK. This time out I got some very basic enjoyment out of it and had a good time with friends and sometimes that’s more than enough. 

[madlymiho]

Hi~~ I just want to say I love your writing so much!!~ Could I get nsfw hcs for Kidd, Crocodile, and Zoro being asked to implement weapons in the bedroom, and how they would use them?

Hi there ~ Finally got you on this request! Hopefully you will like the outcome, sweetie! 💖

Enjoy your reading!

Warning : NSFW

Kid :

• When you tell Kid that you want to spice things in the bedroom, and ask him to add more toys for your steamy sessions... You seriously scratch something dangerous within him, and even if your request was only to bring more pleasure between the two of you, he's not happy about it

• Thing is, Kid is a proud rooster, and always believes that his cock is seriously enough to satisfy your needs. So adding stuff to spice the game? Oh girl, you lost him on this!

• But since you want to play a silly game, and that he somehow appreciates the idea to punish you, Kid decides to accept the rules, even if he clearly has no idea of what you're expecting by "bring weapons on the bedroom and use them on me". And since he really doesn't want to be teased by his fellow companions for his lack of knowledge, he goes with his own idea... and too bad if you don't like it!

• So the day you're back on his bedroom, his lips seeking for yours, and his hands gettind down to grab your rear, you gasp when you feel cool and uncomfortable metal chain circling your wrists and restraining your movements. You wouldn't think that he would use something that... raw for your first session

• Kid watches you closely, lips curled up while he chains you to the bed, his power somehow slightly useful to control their grip on you, and sometimes squeeze your skin if he finds you too talkative. Fact is, he starts to have some fun with you in this position, your hands and legs spreaded to offer him the perfect vision on your naked and offered body, as you're unable to make him stop

• Kid doesn't really know how bondage and SM sex work, so he skips the safe word consultation, and directly goes on your core to hungrily eats your pussy, punishing you for wanting something else than his dick and his fingers. And since he wants to play, Kid suddenly pulls out a knife out of his pockets, staring at your surprised and slightly scared eyes

• Despite his raw and imprevisible nature, Kid finds it funny to run the tip of the knife on your inner thigh, never hurting you, but somehow intimately ordering you not to make a single move while he eats you vividly, until you eventually reach your first orgasm under his tongue, as he feels like he's winning his solitary argument

• Kid suddenly slams the blade into the mattress, angrily looking at you as you gasp and try to move, now convinced that this session would turn ugly. He snarls and catches your cheeks, squeezing them ferociously, his eyes locked on you and he breathes heavy... All of his previous anger is back

• "Why do you need toys when you have already the best thing in the world?" Kid snaps, making his point, his proud nature coming back like a wild fire. He doesn't even let you answer, he only releases your ankles from the chains and rolls your hips on the mattress, burying his dick hard inside of you as you don't even see that coming

• He pounds hard, every time making sure that you understand the lesson, his ego deeply hurt because of this silly request. He takes you strongly, slightly harder than his usual habits, until you eventually end up by screaming his name, apologizing for your fantasy about the weapons in the room

• Once the two of you are done, you better be sure that Kid would brag like a damn king, holding you against his chest while he almost makes a poem about his own cock, and the way he's able to please you without anything else

Crocodile :

• Crocodile is a man of experiences. He knows that having sex can actually bring something primal in the bedroom, and he clearly doesn't mind to add some spices, especially if you are requesting it, with your odd and own words on the matter

• Crocodile has a fierce nature, and it sometimes explodes in your most intimate moments, when he's able to fully dominate you, satisfied to hear your adorable little moans coming out of your throat, as he doesn't let you even think straight, not even for a second

• So weapons, darling? Oh he sure does have his little ideas on the matter. He has already a collection of little toys you might enjoy, but he would refuse to hurt you in anyway. It's about pleasure, and not torture. And he would initiate you in the most suave way possible

• Far from knowing what he's going to do to you, Crocodile starts to roll his tie around your wrists, behind your back, so he can have a proper access to every part of your body, your desperate stare looking at his slow and mastered ministrations, as you can't touch him back

• He first starts with his hook, still shining in the softened light of the room, the flat and harmless tip of his favorite weapon slowly opening the buttons of your shirt and putting aside the material, while he gazes at you with a dangerous smirk. He undresses you gradually, exposing your skin inch by inch, the coldness of his hook travelling through your body while you anticipate his every movement

• Then Crocodile switchs on something much more interesting for him. He wishes that you would understand he doesn't need so many toys to make you scream while he takes care of you. His ringed hands are enough to create those adorable waves on your rear, the golden jewels slapping your butt easily while he takes his time to put you in the mood, either by making him sucking his large cock, or simply by eating your pussy, your hands still restrained behind your back

• If he feels like it, Crocodile uses a martinet and a blindfold, especially when he's in the mood to make you wait and beg loudly, keeping slow and dominant gestures, his cock sliding gradually inside your core to make you pant hard and nasty, his hook brushing the skin of your back with a sort of genuine tenderness, calling you his good girl all the time with his biggest grin

• But if he thinks that it bores him to use such weapons to please you, he quickly starts to impose his pace and wishes, taking you hard and good, only pleasuring you by the feeling of being filled entirely, until your burst into multiple and powerful orgasms, leading him to his own end when he believes that you had enough for the day

• Satisfied with your new requests, Crocodile might start it again whenever he feels like it, or when you will ask for it and behave. After all, your pleasure is always a reward, and you should earn it first

Zoro :

• Zoro isn't particularly a kinky man in bed times... But if you want to explore something different, he's not entirely against the idea of adding a few stuff in the room

• But Zoro is slighty confused by your request... and he clearly doesn't want to look like a fool, so he certainly keep things somehow pretty casual for your first time into this grey and obscure area

• The best weapons are his swords, and since Zoro knows how to use them, you better be sure that he loves to gently brush your skin with the flat of his katana, asking you to seat at the edge of the bed so he can have a proper access to your fully dressed body

• Piece by piece, and with expert gestures, Zoro makes the temperature hotter than before as he slowly rips the buttons of your shirt, destroying every single material with quick movements of his blade, never ever scratching your skin as he asks you to hold still and to watch the show

• He might fondle your skin with the tip of his katana, but he's clearly slightly worried that you might move and end badly hurt, so he doesn't really last long with this game, confused for a moment, but excited by your hungry stare and the way you lick your lips when he's close to your most sensitive parts

• Weapons mean a raw and primal sexy session for him, and since you feel like it, he uses his kimono's belt to restrain your voice, rolling it around your mouth as a gag to muffle your noises as he starts to play with your body, to eventually penetrate you since he can't hold it anymore

• Despite his usual classic sex, Zoro likes to use something else to spice it, loving to take you on your four as you can't properly talk or moan, his thrusts deep and powerful, to the point that it causes you a strong orgasm

• Zoro wouldn't mind to change your position though, and letting you having your own fun on his body, but only if you don't use his katana. He likes being under your control, despite his lack of patience when you are naked and so close to him. Even though, and you know it, in the end, he would certainly rip off his handmade handcuffs or blindfold, and would take you strongly, groaning hard in your ear as he takes the advantage back

• These kind of sessions happen more often that you would thought. Zoro is a dedicated learner, and when he trains for something, he alway does it with all his besg commitment, until he becomes the best in town

[thedeaditeslayer]

Bruce Campbell Calls Hosting ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not’ A ‘No-Brainer,’ Pans Hollywood’s Lack Of Originality.

This interview includes a hint of more “Evil Dead” but for what we would like you to consider is to take it with a grain of salt. The interview covers various topics but mostly Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Over the course of his storied career, actor Bruce Campbell has brought to life many memorable, colorful characters. As the definitive character-actor-trapped-in-a-leading-man’s-body, he’s portrayed Elvis in the campy Bubba Ho-Tep, Ronald Reagan in Fargo, Sam Axe in Burn Notice, and is, perhaps, best known as the Deadite-killing Ash Williams in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise.

As the Travel Channel prepares to relaunch Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, Campbell finds himself in the role of host, introducing us to a fresh round of the spectacular and amazing. Over the course of 10 episodes, he’ll invite viewers on a journey to explore the lives of people capable of incredible things.

“Shooting this iconic series in the Ripley’s warehouse was actually unbelievable,” said Campbell. “I was blown away by the treasures that unveil a fascinating time capsule into the past and present. Fans are not going to be disappointed when they see the scope of wonderful and weird stories we reveal every week.”

Bruce Campbell was groovy enough to get on the phone with me and talk about his new gig with the Ripley’s relaunch, the fates of some of his iconic characters, and the lack of originality in Hollywood — all with the grace to forgive my fanboying.

Kevin Tall: Hey Bruce! I appreciate you taking some time to talk to me.

Bruce Campbell: I happened to be in the neighborhood so I thought I’d step in.

KT: I usually make an effort to at least pretend to be professional but I’m not sure I’m going to pull it off today.

BC: That’s exactly right.

KT: I do want to say it’s an honor to talk to you and I promise I’ll do my best to keep my inner fanboy in check.

BC: Very good.

KT: Can I call you ‘El Jefe’?

BC: Whatever you’d like, sir.

KT: Groovy. Alright. So, coming soon to a cable network near you, you’re hosting the newest incarnation of ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!’ on the Travel Channel. How did you come to be attached to the project?

BC: Things come across the old desk, you know, and you evaluate them. And this was a no-brainer. I still have the Ripley’s book, the red cloth-covered book with those strange illustrations of people doing crazy stuff inside. As a kid, I had it on a shelf so I’m like, ‘Yeah I know Ripley’s.’

And I haven’t done a show like this in a while; I’ve hosted stuff. Back in Detroit, I got my Screen Actor’s Guild card doing training films for industrials, for Chrysler, and some of the other companies. Now I’m back doing it again, so here I am… I guess, showing people, in this case, it’s not about the cross-section of a Chrysler car seat but people doing extraordinary things.

KT: Ah, cool. Part of me thought this revival of Ripley’s could have just been a thinly-veiled attempt at revenge on Dean Cain for stealing the television role of Superman out from under your chin in the 90s.

BC: No, no revenge necessary on Mr. Cain. I see him at conventions all the time.

KT: While I do feel you have the superior jawline, I was a huge fan of ‘The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.’ There have been several Supermen but there was only one Brisco County. Er, two, if you count his dad.

BC: Anyone can play Superman.

KT: Would you ever consider reprising the role of Brisco?

BC: Brisco would be fine. You could do Brisco Rides Again. He started as a lawyer and then someone has to get killed. I’ll put the spurs back on, sure.

KT: So I got to see a screener of the first episode of Ripley’s. I have an idea if you’re open to suggestion.

BC: OK.

KT: Do a follow up in which you balance on a slack line while swallowing a sword and someone throws playing cards at you from a ladder balanced on someone else’s chin.

BC: [Laughs] I think you’ve got it. I think you should work for the Travel Channel.

KT: So your parts were shot on location at the Ripley’s warehouse in Orlando.

BC: Yes, yes, we shot at THE warehouse.

KT: Did you get to see anything amazing or… unbelievable?

BC: You know, the warehouse, where would you start? It is the closest we have to one of those Indiana Jones-type warehouses. It’s probably the most richly appointed warehouses in the world, I would say. They’ve collected for a hundred years. I can’t think of anyone else, maybe the Smithsonian, but Ripley’s is probably a close second. Ripley’s might have more stuff than the Smithsonian, that would be a fun one to test.

KT: Which do you think would have more body parts?

BC: Well, Ripley’s would have more body parts.

KT: OK, but the Smithsonian does have John Dillinger’s, well, you know.

BC: So the rumor goes.

KT: As they say. So, speaking of ‘Believe It or Not!,’ I still can’t believe you retired iconic character, Ash Williams. Are you sticking to that? No way I can talk you into reconsidering?

BC: Yeah, I’m sticking to that; it gets easier every year.

KT: [Laughs] Fair enough.

BC: I’m still doing video games, I’m doing voices for Ash. I’m just not going to grovel in the blood anymore.

KT: I think that’s fair. It’s not retiring the character, just a retirement plan.

BC: I’m retiring from certain types of roles, ones that require looking at tennis balls on sticks.

KT: I’m excited to see you’ve got the paperback for ‘Hail to the Chin’ coming out; I was a big fan of ‘If Chins Could Kill.’ Although when you were teasing that on social media, I think a couple of fans interpreted that as a little bit of foreshadowing of a new gig for Ash.

BC: That’s fine. Fans are always going to do that. Everyone’s a genius, everyone’s got opinions and the internet fans the flames. No, it’s all good. They’re going to see different versions, they’re going to be seeing more ‘Evil Dead,’ too. We’re not done with the ‘Evil Dead’ saga, more stories to tell.

KT: Do you think Fede Alvarez might return?

BC: I don’t know, Fede’s a big Hollywood director now. I don’t know if Fede needs this. We’ll have to see.

KT: Everyone needs a passion project.

BC: Fede had it. Fede came and pitched his version of ‘Evil Dead.’

KT: Any juicy tidbits you want to tease from the ‘Requiem For Ash’ Edition?

BC: It’s a fuller explanation of the birth, life, and death of ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ and then the ultimate retirement of that character. It’s a little more of an essay approach, it’s a little more esoteric.

KT: Psychologically, what is it about Ash Williams that inspires such devotion from fans?

BC: Because he is the fans, the fans are him. Ash has no skills, Ash doesn’t come from another planet, he comes from Michigan. He’s the guy you want in the foxhole, but he probably got low SAT scores. So people watching him, I think they root for him because they’re like, ‘Damn, that’s like my neighbor. That’s like if my neighbor decided to save the world from evil.’ Kind of like that. That’s how I look at it and that’s how we played it. That’s why it was worth bringing the guy back 48 years later to try it again… He’s the ultimate anti-hero, anti in that he can’t even get out of bed, you know?

KT: He comes across as an oafish, ill-mannered lout as well.

BC: Of course, but you know what? He was written in an ancient book, so there’s more to him than just the trailer park guy. That’s what was fun exploring.

KT: The prophecy of the ultimate average guy.

BC: Exactly.

KT: Got it. You’ve had a number of memorable, colorful roles over the years, from Ash to Brisco, Autolycus to Sam Axe, even a fictionalized version of yourself in ‘My Name Is Bruce’ (shout out to Guan Di, the patron saint of bean curd). Is there one, in particular, you’ve enjoyed playing the most, above all others?

BC: Elvis was pretty fun. I think most American males would have enjoyed playing that part. Playing President Reagan on ‘Fargo’ was fun, I used to imitate him with my buddy, John Cameron, who produced that show. In the ’80s we were both subjected to endless Reagan on television. That was fun.

KT: Have you been in that situation professionally, where you’ve gotten kind of a lousy role on a great show?

BC: Well, I’m better at saying no to stuff now, so hopefully I won’t find myself in that situation nearly as much.

KT: Circling back to Elvis, there was talk of a ‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ follow-up years ago. What are the chances of that coming together?

BC: Zero. I’ve retired that character as well. I’ve notified Don Coscarelli and Joe Lansdale. You know, it’s Don Coscarelli’s project, he’s more than welcome to forge ahead. We couldn’t crack the script the way I saw it and we were going to come to loggerheads. I didn’t want to do that, so I backed out because I know now if the script isn’t where it needs to be, the movie will not get there either.

KT: Marlon Brando advised a young(er) Johnny Depp to play Hamlet before he got too old for the role. Are there any of those iconic types of roles you’d like to tackle?

BC: Of iconic people?

KT: Yeah. Just those classic roles from that sort of timeless production, like ‘Hamlet.’

BC: No. No, I don’t, because I like original stuff. I mean, if we’re going to remake something, let’s remake our own stuff. That’s the case with ‘Bubba Ho-Tep.’ It won’t be as good and people will only remember that you blew it on the second try.

KT: So the legacy of the project would be one of failure.

BC: You have to have original stuff out there to make up for the movies that have a seven, eight, and nine after them.

KT: The old maxim is that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

BC: Yes, except ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not!’ There’s never too much of that.

KT: [Laughs] Well played, fair enough. Fan question: Who would win in a left-handed arm wrestling match, Ash Williams or Sam Axe?

BC: I don’t do those questions, because they’re hypothetical and impossible to answer.

KT: Can you hook me up with a six-pack of Ash’s favorite beer, Shemp’s?

BC: No, because it’s fake.

KT: Well, Bruce, I came here to ask questions and kick ass, and I’m all out of questions.

BC: Let’s go kick ass!

KT: Again, thanks so much for taking some time to talk with me and putting up with my silliness and unending admiration.

BC: Yeah, my friend. All good. Thank you, sir. Have a good day.

KT: Thanks, Bruce!

BC: Cheers.

[pikapeppa]

Cullen/Lavellan modern AU: Luck (A Reprise)

Guys: big news. 

TODAY (May 3) IS @schoute​‘s BIRTHDAY SO GO WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIGHT NOW!! GO GO GO!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

In honour of her birthday, I have finished Luck of the Law, our modern AU Cullen x Piper Lavellan fic! AND THERE IS FINALLY SMUUUUUT. THIS IS THE BIRTHDAY GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING I HOPE AAAAND THIS GOT AWKWARD REAL FAST MAKER’S BREATH

Anyway, the final two chapter are up on AO3! Read them here; this is just an excerpt from the second-last chapter, which is quite long. 

******************

Piper nervously tapped her booted feet on the steps of the courthouse. She listened idly to Isabela and Merrill’s chatting for a moment, then pulled out her phone and glanced at the time.

It was 10:20am. Hawke and Cullen had been in the courthouse for over an hour already.

She looked up at Isabela. “How long do these things usually take, d’you think?”

Isabela propped her fist on one luscious hip and grinned down at Piper, who was seated on the courthouse steps. “Why are you asking me? I’m a naughty girl, but I’m not that naughty.”

Piper smirked. “Well, that’s disappointing. I would have thought you’d been brought up on charges for public indecency or something at some point, at least.”

Isabela gave a throaty chuckle. “Oh, sweets, I have. Just not in Kirkwall.”

“Of course you have,” Varric deadpanned. He leaned casually against one of the courthouse’s imposing stone pillars and looked at Piper. “Depends on if they got called in on time, Rowdy. If the courts are backed up, we could be waiting until noon.”

“Noon?” Merrill exclaimed. She wrung her hands nervously. “That’s so long to wait! Poor Hawke. She’s not very good at waiting, is she?”

“She really isn’t,” Piper said. “Remember that time she ordered a Lyft and an Uber at the same time because she just wanted us to get into the one that came sooner?”

“And then they came at the same time!” Merrill giggled. “And she made us use them both–”

“–because she’d already paid,” Piper finished.

“Don’t forget the best part: that she put the wrong address into the Lyft, so it ended up on a different damned street,” Isabela said wryly.

Piper laughed. “Oh yeah, that’s right. We ended up getting to the club even later than if she’d just waited for the one fucking car. Classic Hawke.”

Varric, Isabela, and Merrill laughed, and Piper grinned, but she couldn’t help but glance up at the courthouse doors yet again. If she was being perfectly honest, she was getting a little worried. Cullen had the utmost confidence that Hawke’s charges would be dropped, and Piper believed him, but she still wouldn’t feel completely at ease until Hawke and Cullen walked out the doors and gave the verdict.

Merrill sighed and drummed her wine-red fingernails on her phone. “I wish we had a way to know what was going on. Anders has been asking for updates, and I don’t have any news to tell him.”

Isabela raised an eyebrow at Piper and Varric. “Why didn’t Hawke want us to come in with her? We’re allowed to go in. These court things are open to the public, aren’t they?”

Piper nodded; she’d asked Cullen the same thing, just to be sure. “Yeah, but Hawke didn’t want an audience for this,” she said.

Isabela snorted and shifted her weight to her other hip. “Since when does Hawke not want an audience?”

“Uh, since they’re deciding whether to stick her with murder charges or not?” Varric quipped.

Isabela rolled her eyes and waved one elegant hand. “Oh please. The charges won’t stick.” She looked at Piper. “That man of yours has it sorted. If it seems like they’re losing the case, he can just open one button on his shirt. Show off that handsome chest of his.” She winked at Piper.

Piper grinned. “That’s what Hawke said too.”

Isabela shrugged and grinned. “There you go. Great minds think alike. Maybe I should become a lawyer. Pop my top button every time I think I’m going to lose…” She tapped her chin mock-thoughtfully.

Varric raised one eyebrow. “As if you need the excuse to show your chest, Isabela.”

Isabela grinned, then bent over slowly until she – and her ample bosom – were at Varric’s eye level. “As though you need an excuse to look, handsome,” she drawled.

Varric smirked and shook his head, and Merrill giggled. Piper snickered, then glanced hopefully at the courthouse when the doors cracked open.

Two stern-looking besuited women emerged. Disappointed, Piper forced herself to turn away, then looked up at Varric. “Hey, how is the research going for your sequel of Swords and Shields?” she asked.

“Hey, keep your voice down,” Varric said. He shuffled a little closer to her and lowered his voice. “I’m trying to keep that one under my pen name.”

Isabela pouted playfully at him. “What, the hardened crime novel author doesn’t want everyone knowing he secretly enjoys writing torrid sex scenes?”

“Yeah, Varric, what’s to be ashamed of?” Piper asked. “I’ve been told the legal stuff you wrote was really accurate.”

Varric raised his eyebrows. “Really? Who said that?”

Piper shrugged and held her boss’s shrewd gaze. No way was she telling him that Cullen had read Swords and Shields; Cullen’s face would go up in flames if anyone other than Piper ever knew he’d read it. “Someone in Cullen’s office was talking about it,” she fibbed. She nudged Varric’s knee. “You should be proud of it.”

“Hmm. I’d be more proud if the sales were better,” Varric said. “I’m really not much of a romance writer.”

Merrill patted his shoulder encouragingly. “Practice makes perfect! You can’t give up! I really liked Swords and Shields. Even Aveline said it wasn’t bad.”

Varric snorted. “Not exactly inspiring confidence there, Daisy. But… ah, we’ll see. I need some inspiration for the sequel.” He smiled at the three women. “If I ever decide to go back to it, you three will be the first to know.”

“Aww, thanks Varric,” Piper cooed.

“Yes, that’s so sweet of you!” Merrill chirped. She gave Varric a hug.

“Sweet and handsome. Such a catch,” Isabela purred. She playfully chucked Varric’s chin.

Varric waved his hand magnanimously. “All right, ladies, that’s enough. Give a man some room to breathe.”

They all laughed. The cheerful conversation flowed forth as time ticked on, and as much as Piper enjoyed their friendly chat, she couldn’t completely let go of the hint of worry that scratched more insistently at her mind with every passing minute.

Almost an hour later, the doors to the courthouse opened. Piper casually glanced up at the doors, and her heart leapt into her throat: Hawke and Cullen were finally stepping outside.

She shot to her feet, and Merrill and Isabela also stood. “So?” Piper said eagerly. Her eyes darted anxiously from Hawke’s reddened eyes to Cullen’s stern face. “What happened?”

Cullen looked at Hawke and nodded encouragingly. Hawke shrugged and grinned. “They dropped the murder charges. No trial necessary,” she said. “I’m off the hook.”

Piper clutched her face in relief. Merrill squealed in excitement, and Isabela whooped loudly, and they all flooded up the stairs toward her.

Piper pulled Hawke into a rare impulsive hug. “Congratulations!” she exclaimed, then grunted as Merrill’s and Isabela’s arms surrounded them as well in a messy group hug.

Hawke laughed – a loud, merry burst of amusement. “Oh, thank you, thank you. The miraculous Rynne Hawke narrowly dodges another disaster.” She smiled at Varric, who was standing beside Cullen with his arms folded and a huge grin on his face. “You should write a book about me, you know. I bet it would sell extremely well.”

Varric chuckled. “I’ll think about it. Between keeping you and Rowdy off the bar and managing the finances at Athenril’s, I barely have time to write these days.”

Hawke laughed again. Varric, Isabela and Merrill continued to chat happily with Hawke, but Piper’s eyes were drawn to Cullen.

His eyebrows were creased in a slight frown, but he was smiling at Hawke and the others. As he met Piper’s eyes, his face relaxed until he was grinning.

She grinned back at him. “Thank you,” she mouthed silently.

His grin broadened further, and he shook his head dismissively. Then Isabela and Merrill released Piper and Hawke from their tight embrace. “We’re having a party to celebrate,” Isabela announced. “Saturday night. Yes?” She raised her eyebrows at Hawke.

“Ooh, how fun!” Merrill chirped. “Let me just text Anders…” She pulled out her phone and began to type.

Hawke shrugged. “I never say no to a party,” she said happily. “As long as the boss gives me and Pipes the night off?” She batted her eyelashes winningly at Varric.

Varric rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I guess it’s a worthy cause. Maybe I’ll even take the night off. Get Athenril to run the bar for the night.”

Isabela clapped her hands cheerfully, then sashayed over to Cullen and tapped his chest. “You have to come, Mr. Rutherford. You’ll be the guest of honour along with Hawke.”

Cullen’s smile fell, and he tugged his tie. “Oh. Er, that’s very kind, Isabela, but–”

“Come now, I’m not taking no for an answer,” Isabela insisted. “It will be a great party. I’ll have Josephine arrange the whole thing, and we’ll have dancing in every room of the house…”

Piper watched with a rush of fondness as Cullen’s expression grew more and more apprehensive. “I-I will have to check my schedule,” he hedged. “I am usually working on Saturday nights…” He shot Piper a please-help-me sort of look.

Piper bounced over and hooked her hand through Cullen’s elbow. “I’ll walk him through it,” she said confidently. She gave him an adoring look. “He’ll be there. He’ll even have fun.”

Cullen glanced at her pleadingly, then sighed. “All right. I suppose I will be there. I will trust Piper’s judgment that this will be, er, fun.” He gave Piper a wry little smile.

“Fantastic,” Isabela announced. She grinned confidently at them all, then snapped her fingers. “A victory and homecoming party, let’s not forget!” She raised her eyebrows curiously at Hawke. “When are you moving in again, sweet thing?”

“Ah, I hadn’t decided yet,” Hawke said airily. “Only half of my things are packed. You know how good I am at getting my shit organized.”

Piper shot Hawke a swift sideways glance. Hawke tended to give an impression of being humorously scatterbrained and impulsive, but Piper knew the truth: in the aftermath of Malcolm’s death, with Leandra incapable of action and Carver obliviously out of the picture, Hawke was the only one managing her family’s finances and household responsibilities.

Hawke met Piper’s eyes, and her smile slipped for a split second. Then she wrestled it back onto her face. “Listen, all of you, in the excitement of this criminal court-y business, I forgot how badly I need to piss.” She looked at Piper. “Come hold my purse for me?”

“Sure,” Piper said casually. She squeezed Cullen’s hand briefly, then followed Hawke back into the courthouse.

Hawke sighed happily as they walked through the elegant municipal building. “You know, I’ll almost miss this place,” she said. “It’s sort of fun being on the wrong side of the law. Everyone kind of gives you this look like you’re a total badass. I could get used to that.” She tilted her head. “Come to think of it, I rather have gotten used to it. Maybe I should actually do something illegal next time, instead of just being wrongly accused.”

Piper smirked. “And maybe you should keep your voice down while we’re, you know, surrounded by witnesses.”

“Ah, clever,” Hawke said. She tapped her nose and winked at Piper. “You’d make a great accomplice, you know. Actually, scratch that, you’d be the brains of the operation.”

Piper snickered and elbowed her. “I’m sure that would go over just great with my lawyer boyfriend.”

Hawke widened her eyes. “Please. That’s what would make it all the more romantic.”

Piper laughed, and Hawke continued to crack incessant jokes until they found their way to the women’s washroom. Once they were in the washroom, Piper glanced briefly at the gaps under the doors to the three stalls; no one else was here.

She looked at Hawke, who was inspecting her makeup in the mirror and still talking. “... met this fellow who was about to go on trial for pissing on his boss’s storefront after his boss refused to pay him overtime,” she said. She carefully wiped away a trace of smudged eyeliner. “Now that seems like the kind of case that you’d think Cullen would pick up pro bono, but he was all, ‘no, Hawke, I refuse’–”

“Hawke,” Piper said.

Hawke glanced at Piper in the mirror. “Yeah, Pipes? What’s up?”

Piper leaned against the bathroom counter and folded her arms. “Are you okay?” she said seriously.

Hawke widened her eyes. “Of course. I just got let off the hook for my father’s death. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Because your mom’s going to have a fucking fit when she hears the news, and she’s going to have another fucking fit when you move out, and you’re stuck managing the whole household by yourself, and your dad is dead, Piper thought.

She shrugged and awkwardly nibbled the inside of her cheek. “Just checking. You know, with all the… other stuff.”

Hawke smiled, then turned away from the mirror to lean against the counter beside Piper. “Ah, you’re sweet, but I’m good. Really.” She nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m good. Everything’s good. Feels like a weight’s been lifted, you know?” She smiled at Piper.

Her eyes were shining. Piper’s heart gave a painful thump in her chest.

Hawke dropped her gaze to her feet. “I’m good,” she repeated. “It’s all sorted out.” A drop of water fell onto the toe of Hawke’s boot, and Hawke hastily wiped her face.

Piper swallowed the lump that was swelling in her throat. “Hey,” she said softly, and she gently patted Hawke’s back.

Hawke buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders jerked with a silent sob.

Piper froze for a split second, then wrapped her arm tightly around Hawke’s shoulders. Hawke curled toward her, and Piper simply held her while she cried in silence, her shoulders shaking with unspoken distress.

A long, silent moment later, Hawke sniffled wetly, then wiped her nose on her hand and laughed. “Gross,” she said thickly, and she turned away from Piper and turned on the faucet.

Piper pulled some paper towels from the dispenser while Hawke washed her face and hands. She handed the paper towel to Hawke, who smiled at her with puffy eyes. “Now you’re stuck with me while I put my face back on,” Hawke quipped as she patted her face dry.

It’s not ‘stuck’ if I chose to be here with you, Piper thought. But that would be too sappy to say, even to her best friend. And if she said it, Hawke would probably start crying again, and then Piper might start crying…

Ugh, she thought. She leaned her elbows on the bathroom counter and grinned at Hawke, who was pulling a cosmetics kit from her purse. “You should have kept the smeared makeup,” Piper said. “You kind of looked like the Joker. Then we could have gone through the courthouse–”

Hawke gasped. “–and pretended we were going to rob the place or something? Oh Maker’s balls, that would have been so cool.” She pouted at Piper. “Remind me again why we don’t just fall to a life of crime? We’d be so good at it.”

Piper shrugged and watched with a smile as Hawke began expertly reapplying her foundation. “I don’t think they have my favourite brand of hair oil in jail,” she drawled. She ran a hand through her mass of silvery waves. “This would turn into a nightmare if it wasn’t controlled.”

Hawke raised one eyebrow. She reapplied her raspberry-red lipstick, then smirked. “Or we could use it as a weapon. Or hide weapons in it!”

Piper cackled at the thought. They continued to joke around about their imaginary criminal activities as they left the bathroom and made their way back to the exit.

When they reached the courthouse doors, Cullen was there.

Piper’s heart gave an instinctive leap of pleasure at the sight of him. He smiled at her as they drew near, then turned to Hawke. “Take these,” he said to her, and he held out a small pack of tissues.

Hawke took them with a quizzical look, and he grimaced apologetically. “I forgot to give them to you before, for which I apologize. I… These moments can be difficult, and I should have remembered earlier…”

He broke off as Hawke threw her arms around his neck in a hug. “You’re so fucking nice, Cullen,” she said. She released him and fondly patted his clean-shaven cheek. “How are you so fucking nice?”

He flushed and tugged at his tie. “Hmm, well. Thank you, Hawke, that’s very kind.”

“No, you are,” she insisted. She squeezed his arm, and her face was serious now. “Thank you, Cullen. Truly. I would have been rightly fucked if not for you. I… seriously, I don’t know how to thank you.”

Cullen’s face continued to redden, and he shook his head. “Please. No thanks are necessary. It was the right thing. You… truly, it was the right thing to do.” He looked Hawke in the eye.

She gazed back at him, then squinched her face up slightly and laughed. “Oh balls, you’re going to make me cry again. Enough of this.” She flapped her hands vaguely, then turned to Piper with a grin. “You can give him a proper thanks on my behalf. How’s that sound?”

Her tone was distinctly salacious, and Piper grinned. “That sounds like a great plan,” she said, and she and Hawke both looked at Cullen.

His pinkened cheeks turned tomato-red, and the two women cackled. Then Hawke gave Piper and Cullen one more quick hug each. “I’ll see you guys later, all right?” she said brightly. “I’ve got some party planning to do with the lovely Bels.” She winked at them, then strolled out of the courthouse with her usual confident aplomb.

Piper smiled at Cullen, then stepped closer to him and rested her palms lightly on his abs. “You’re my hero,” she said, only half-jokingly.

He scoffed and gently squeezed her arm. “Hardly. It is my duty. Hawke’s case was very worthwhile.”

Piper shook her head and leaned into him. “I mean it,” she said seriously. “You’re… you didn’t have to do this. You had so much else going on, and this was an extra thing you didn’t need on your plate, and you still…” She shook her head and met his eyes – those deep, delicious chocolate-brown eyes of his.

“You saved my best friend from a major criminal charge,” she said quietly. “You’re a fucking hero, Cullen.”

He ducked his head shyly, and Piper grinned at the lingering redness of his cheeks. He was so modest and so good. He believed in the goodness of other people and in getting justice for those who did wrong, and simply standing close to him made her heart feel like it was going to pound its way out of her chest.

I love you, she thought. She’d been holding back on telling him, but she wanted so badly to say it, and the words were sitting right there on the tip of her tongue with all the sweetness of a ripe cherry…

She opened her mouth to say it, but Cullen spoke first. “Would you come over to my place tonight?” he blurted.

Piper’s eyebrows shot up. “Huh?” she said, slightly disoriented by her own feelings and by his abrupt invitation.

He winced slightly. “That was graceless. I – well, now that this case is wrapped up, I was hoping…” He straightened and took Piper’s hands in his. “I am going to take a night off from work,” he announced. “And I would like to cook dinner for you.”

Piper stared at him, then smiled slowly. “That’s your idea of a night off? Cooking?”

He gave her a slightly chiding look. “Cooking for you would be my idea of a night off. And, well… you have not seen my home, and… I would very much like to have you there.” His eyes were serious on her face. “You know it has never been much of a place of relaxation for me, but perhaps with you there…”

Piper’s heart swelled with a fresh bloom of pleasure, and she squeezed his hands. “I would love to come over,” she said. “That sounds amazing.”

The smile that lit his face was swift and brilliant. “Good,” he said happily. He nodded, then released her hands. “Good,” he said once more, and he ran a hand through his hair before gently ushering her toward the exit. “I should return to the office; I have a number of things still to do today, and I’ll need to go to the shops after work…”

“Can I bring anything?” Piper asked as they stepped outside. “Wine or dessert?”

Cullen shook his head. “No,” he said firmly. “Bring only yourself. That is all I need.” He smiled at her as they made their way down the courthouse steps.

She grinned at her feet, then coyly tugged her hair over the heated tip of her right ear. “All right,” she said. “I’ll see you tonight, then. What time?”

Cullen checked his watch. “Would six o’clock be too early?”

Noon wouldn’t be too early, Piper thought. She would honestly spend the entire day with him if she could. But alas, there was work he had to do, and she had a party to help plan and a best friend to check in on…

She shook her head. “Six is perfect. I’ll see you then.” She rested her palms on his abs again and lifted herself onto her toes.

He leaned down to meet her, and Piper drifted dreamily in the pleasure of his kiss and the warmth of his hand as it cradled her neck. He pulled away slowly, and Piper drank in the beauty of his scarred and smiling lips as he straightened up.

“Have a good afternoon, Piper,” he murmured. He straightened his tie, then turned and walked away toward the parking lot.

Piper smiled foolishly at his departing back, then popped in her earbuds and skipped off in the direction of home. There were so many things to look forward to: a party this weekend, and Hawke moving into Isabela’s condo with them as soon as she was able, and most exciting of all, a date at Cullen’s condo tonight.

A leap of nervous excitement hopped in her belly. A quiet, private dinner at Cullen’s condo… It was the perfect romantic setting for everything they’d been putting off for the last two hectic weeks, and Piper grinned to herself as she strolled along the street. Maybe I’ll be getting lucky tonight, she thought mischievously.

And maybe, just maybe, she’d find the right moment tonight to tell him exactly how she felt.   

Read the rest on AO3.

[garrulus]

Dude, I never watched GoT (I just often lose the patience at long series, not being elitist, I read the first book though), but your review of Jaime's character arc totally got me hooked and now I desire to know the symbolism you see in his arc! Please write another essay

hi Nonnie, thank you so much *_*

well… i can try to put my jumbled thoughts into words. it takes me so long though, to write anything remotely coherent.

this is the post about Jaime i made some time ago about how it felt for me to read about him so i won’t go into that much. this is what i usually do. i find a story,i pick a character in that story and then i dissect them. it’s not very healthy, really, but whatcha gonna do. but this explains why him.

how i saw Jaime’s story or symbolism i saw in it, as you put it, can be divided like this: a) an identity search story b) leaving an unhealthy relationship story and c) breaking of addiction story. all three of these together make a redemption arc. so, i never saw Jaime’s story as an redemption arc in it self. i saw him dealing with those three problems, in that order, and through that getting a redemption, in his own eyes and in eyes of others. and when i say redemption, i don’t mean erasure of his sins, i mean a chance for him to make peace with himself and with what he did and to decide that he won’t do horrible stuff like that anymore.  

okay let’s start with 

a) two things that define Jaime the most in the beginning are that he is Cersei’s twin brother, basically her male mirror image and that he is an honorless oathbreaker who couldn’t keep his word. the difference between these two things is that Jaime believes the first and people around him believe the second which led, with time,to him becoming bitter over it and accepting this persona for himself even though it is not what he wanted to be. this leaves us a character who defines himself with two characteristics that aren’t really his at all.

pair it with years of emotional trauma and baggage he still carries from his years of service under Aerys and from family drama he grew up with and you get a wonderfully confused, emotionally stunned character who kind of hates himself but won’t admit it and kind of hates most people around him and admits it loudly.

however, he is not a male Cersei and he is not an honorless oathbreaker. unlearning things about yourself and accepting that maybe you are not really exactly the person you believed yourself to be is hard and usually people need some kind of push to start that journey. for Jaime that push was loss of his sword hand. this was in a way a metaphor for this whole part of his arc: losing something that you thought defines you and coming to terms that maybe… it didn’t really define you that much. that maybe, by losing that part of yourself, you can gain something more valuable or something you want. so, slowly he starts seeing things Cersei does that he wouldn’t or didn’t do. he starts keeping his word. he starts to tear down the two things he believed are basically who he is. (Brienne, at this point, is here mostly to remind him why he never wanted to be seen as honorless in the first place. to remind him of what he wanted to be and what circumstances, other people’s judgment and his own bitterness actually made of him.) so, this whole part is a painful, hard, inner turmoil that he goes through. and he has to come to terms with some things before moving on to the next one of so many problems that is his life. 

b) Jaime is a victim in a toxic, manipulative relationship and he has been a victim in a toxic, manipulative relationship ever since he was a little child. i’m sorry, but J/C is fundamentally wrong on so many levels. we can argue that it’s interesting, we can argue that it’s appealing to some people in some sick way…whatever. when all is said and done, it is wrong. now i believe that when something is established as wrong in a story it has to be either punished or it has to be stopped. in order for them to be punished for this in their world they would have to die and there is no way around it. Jaime and Cersei and their children could have been killed in any moment of the story and with all other characters, with all other arcs the story as a whole wouldn’t have suffered that much imo. but they weren’t. they are still alive and their relationship is changing. this is the nature of story telling: you either end it or you have to change it somehow. it can’t stagnate because then what would even be the point. Jaime’s part in this is realizing that he is in fact the wronged party in that relationship and after going through some of the a) stuff making an effort to break free from it. one way this could have happened (sort of! because, again, it’s abusive) is for them to elope. to just go away and be together. they wouldn’t have to hide, he wouldn’t have to do her bidding, she wouldn’t have to sleep with other men etc. the thing is, Cersei doesn’t want that. while Jaime always mostly wanted her, for Cersei ‘their love’ was never quite enough.

so the only other way for Jaime as a character to change his present situation is to decide to leave her. his a) journey helps him here because it gives him other stuff to do and think about. this is direction in which his character goes. at least that’s how i saw it. this is connected to the last part:

c) this one i believe he can never truly finish as in he can never completely lose his addiction but he can get it under control enough to move on with his life. as previously stated Jaime has been with Cersei all his life. he has never even considered anybody else and did all in his power to prevent a marriage to another woman. his feelings for Cersei are unhealthy and seeing them as addiction rather than love is not overreaching. because of this, him just leaving her can never be enough. he has to come to terms with this. he has to acknowledge the fact that what he thought was love all his life was something else entirely. in order to do that he has to complete almost whole of his a) journey and complete his whole b) journey. he has to remove himself from her physically (which he did) and remove himself from her emotionally (which he started to do). here i think Brienne can help him not only as a friend but also as a lover, but i won’t go there now because it would take me another hour and it’s 2 am xD

so yeah, i guess this is it. i don’t see Jaime’s story as a classic redemption arc (even though that term has imo been butchered but that’s another can of worms i won’t be opening tonight) but i think it could be seen as one or as a promise of one but only if Jaime conquers his personal demons first.

as for where i see his story ending as in where he is physically in the end. i don’t know. i can imagine many many different scenarios happening at any point of his a) b) c) journeys. i just don’t like the idea of him retracting (because what’s the point of a journey if you’re just gonna go back anyway without getting to some kind of stop point) and i believe that going back to Cersei to justify her actions or only to hold her hand while she dies would, at this point in the books, be retracting.

gosh….i am not proof reading this, maybe tomorrow morning. i hope you find this Nonnie and i hope you like it. thank you for the question and good night now :*

[paladin-andric]

11/11/11 Tag

Tagged by @corishadowfang! Thanks, this is a long one but I always have fun blabbing on and on!

Rules: Answer the 11 questions, make 11 of your own, then tag 11 people.

1: Do you have a favorite WIP? Tell us about it!

Blackheart for sure. It’s the only one finished (first draft), and I’ve put way, WAY more work into the lore, setting, characters and world than I have with any other project I’ve ever worked on. Not that I’ve ever completed anything else, aside from one I scrapped a while back...

I really, really fell in love with the characters. Everyone’s great, and god damn I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to meet them.

2: What’s something you’re looking forward to writing that you haven’t gotten chance to yet?

Party conflict/Suspected traitors in the midst. Not in Blackheart, but that’ll come into play in Stay the Night, a sort of slasher-horror-mystery thing set in the same world about a group of five that find themselves trapped in a mansion with a murderous cult and a highly suspicious owner.

3: Do you have a clear idea of what your OC’s look like?  Show some pictures!

Alright, I’ve actually been having an artist friend draw the cast of Blackheart and they’re turning out amazing! Keep in mind these aren’t finished yet, some things may change. Also, this is only about half the cast, we’re still working on the rest!

Knight Alexander:

Cleric Leianna:

Senci, Andric’s Son Protégé:

Tourthun, the Dragon of Havel:

Razorwing (Half finished):

Paladin Andric:

4: What animals would your OC’s be?

Huh. Never had good answers for these, but I’ll try.

Alexander - Lion (Courage)

Leianna - Honey Badger (Don’t mess with me fool)

Lexius - Bee (Diligent, hard-working)

Senci - Uhh...alligator? (Dunno, just kinda resembles an animal version of him?)

Tourthun - Do dragons count as animals??? (Komodo Dragon???)

Wurie - Wolf (He’s literally a bipedal wolf? Something about loyalty too)

Razorwing - Eagle (See above, but an eagle instead of a wolf)

Paul - King Cobra (Dangerous, keep your distance!)

Charles - ...dragon? (He’s half-dragon, half-human...maybe jaguar cause he’s a loner?)

Andric - Some breed of dog (Brave and protective of others)

5: Is there any trope that would make you put a story down immediately?

The everyone’s evil/chivalry’s dead thing. Also the no happiness or good endings sort of story. I like having hope in my stories, and constant misery and edginess without anyone standing against it just makes me groan. If no one’s redeemable or even the least bit likable why should I even bother following this group of jackasses?

6: Coffee, tea, or something else?

Coffee’s alright, but I take it light and sweet for the taste. Caramel makes it great too. Basically I like coffee when it doesn’t taste like coffee. Maybe soda or water?

7: What’s your WIP’s aesthetic?

Misty cities, ruined buildings, twilight and darkness, lone figures standing against the hordes.

8: What’s one piece of writing you’re really proud of?

This isn’t from Blackheart, but from a short story set in the same world, but in the future. Dragons call a council to discuss what to do about humanity as their power grows and the dragons’ dwindles. To do this, they use telepathy to meld all dragons’ minds so all of them know each other’s positions, stances, and can hear everyone else’s arguments in seconds.

It felt as though a hook was lodged into his brain, then began to pull violently. Then another. And another. Now, it was as if his mind was being pulled in hundreds of different directions at once.

He reeled, feeling disorientation and confusion wash over him. He felt a palpable degree of fear as well, until at last he understood.

He was not only in his own mind…but in the minds of others. Just as he was being pulled in all directions, it felt as though his mind had lodged itself in hundreds of others and pulled at them as well. With this equal force, the feeling of pulling, of vertigo and confusion faded. There was balance.

Now, he was not just at the front of the crowd…he was in the back. He was in the middle. He was left and right, up above and down below. He was everywhere and nowhere.

Patriconius at last understood. The telepathy of the elders was nothing like the standard affair. They had brought their minds together, instead of merely making them able to hear one another. The red dragon felt revulsion, fear, joy, determination, hopelessness, confidence, love, hate, anger, fearlessness and boredom. He recalled memories that were not his own, heard thoughts that did not belong to him.

In these moments, all dragons were one.

“State your cases.”

The Speaker’s voice reverberated from all directions, for as she spoke to each dragon’s mind, Patriconius’ mind, abiding in all the others, heard it each time.

9: Favorite character archetype?

A combo actually. The Tragic Hero combined with the Classical Hero. Someone who has suffered misery and heartache, sometimes to a horrifying degree, but refuses to be broken or changed, still unwavering in their morals and standing for what’s right no matter what. Something about that is just so heartwarming and inspiring, I just absolutely adore those kinds of characters. Dunno if there’s a name for that.

10: Do your OC’s have any unusual hobbies?

Charles usually loves reading, but he’s actually gotten a bit into knitting and tailoring because of Merjim, the Seemstress of the Guild of Dragonoids. She taught him how to weave and modify his own clothes! She does this for other half-dragons because of how costly it is to have clothes modified to account for dragonoids’ wings and tails!

11: How did you first come up with your WIP idea?

Just randomly started writing. Alexander and Senci came from some other unfinished story from middle school, though their characters were so massively transformed they’re nothing like what they used to be. They’re basically the same in name and profession only. I remember wanting to make an actual fantasy story, and, fresh off of being inspired by Demon’s Souls aesthetics, came up with the corrupted, ruined city. Everything else got fleshed out way later.

As for my 11 questions...

1: What’s the most important key to improving your writing, in your opinion?

2: Would your characters have the discipline and nerve to handle high risk, high stress jobs? S.W.A.T. or Air Piloting for example.

3: Do you have any scrapped stories or ideas?

4: Favorite number of characters to write in a group or scene? (Duo, Group of 4, Solo, etc.)

5: Listen to music what writing? What kinda stuff?

6: Favorite mythological creature?

7: Have any Rookie/Veteran dynamics going on?

8: Which RPG stat would each of your characters have the highest in? (Strength, Charisma, Dexterity, etc.)

9: What’s something that’s in most of your work that makes people say “Oh yeah, this is definitely by _!” ?

10: Something your characters REALLY hate/find stupid

11: Hands down, your favorite thing to gush about your own work?

Tagging @lady-redshield-writes, @oceanwriter, @urbanteeth, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @homesteadhorner, @sheralynnramsey, @dragonauthor, @nightskywriter, @dreamywritingdragon, @elliewritesfantasy, @elaynab-writing

As usual, no pressure! Feel free to skip if you don’t want to do this.

[recentanimenews]

Ranking All 49 One Piece Anime Arcs (Yes, Even The Filler)

  On July 7th, the long-awaited Wano arc of One Piece begins, and because we're about to jump into an arc that's been building up for eleven years, I think it's as good a time as any to rank all 49 of the arcs that we have already. And I'm going to include the filler arcs, too, because even though many of them can't really hold a candle to the main narrative, I think a few of them are quite underrated. 

  49. Buggy's Crew Adventures

    This isn't really an arc so much as a sigh of relief after the runaway train of emotion of the last few episodes of Arlong Park. You can laugh at Buggy for a bit after watching Nami's soul get ripped apart (and then put back together again).

48. Post Alabasta

    You know video game sidequests that are basically around to level up your specific partner characters so that they don't get immediately wiped out in boss fights? This is the anime filler arc version of that. It's fun, though.

47. Foxy's Return

    I loooooove Foxy and I looooove the Davy Back Fight arc. But Foxy's Return doesn't quite hit home. It might be because we last saw Foxy six episodes ago, but it truly speaks to Foxy's character that he'd try to make a grand, dramatic return after he got the crap kicked out of him so recently.  

46. Spa Island

    Foxy returns again in Spa Island, though this filler arc is mostly notable for the fact that Luffy uses Gear Third to split an artificial island in half. That alone wins this arc points.

45. Warship Island

    Warship Island isn't a bad filler arc, just a victim of poor placement. It comes right after Loguetown and right after the Straw Hats have each declared their dreams. So it becomes a pit stop arc, like the Straw Hat crew getting gas and snacks before they head out on the Grand Line.

44. Little East Blue

    I like to think of Little East Blue as a celebration of pre time skip One Piece, where the Straw Hats get (deservedly) celebrated for a bit. It's cute and it's a nice prologue to the Strong World movie. 

43. Z's Ambition

    The filler arcs that precede the movies are an odd bunch, as they tend to end with the main villain of the movie showing up in the last five minutes and declaring their plans. So it's hard to enjoy them on their own. That said, Z's Ambition has enough action that even if you don't watch Film Z (but you should, as it's great), you won't really mind the cliffhanger finale.

42. Straw Hat Separation

    After Kuma wiped out the crew, this batch of episodes shows where they all ended up. And it's mainly a montage of Straw Hats being confused. And don't get me wrong—the Straw Hats do confusion like nobody's business. But you get more out of their separation in the Post War arc when they finally get around to business. 

41. Diary of Koby-Meppo

    Koby is a character that has always deserved more time, so getting a few episodes devoted to him and Helmeppo training to be Marines is welcome. Also, my dude Garp shows up for the first time, which means that I've rewatched these two episodes FAR more than I should. 

40. Goat Island

    Goat Island doesn't feel as "classic" as G-8, nor is it as entertaining as Ocean's Dream. In fact, it's about as fluffy as the goats that appear in it. But a three episode arc where Chopper talks to goats and Luffy doesn't beat up a villain but rather causes him to get shipwrecked? I'm FOR it. 

  39. Chopper Man Special

    Chopper Man has Chopper in a cape. It's worth it for that. Please @ me. Chopper Man, you're my hero, and I hope you one day get a Chopper Man & Sogeking Save The Grand Line special.

  38. Romance Dawn

    Romance Dawn establishes a lot of things that will become classic tropes in One Piece: Going to a new island, meeting new crew members, helping out little kids, taking out a power hungry warlord, etc. It's a blueprint arc, and it works well as that. Sadly, the anime would not continue the "introduce a Straw Hat character with rad guitar" idea like they do with Zoro here. 

37. Orange Town

    The East Blue saga only gets better as it goes along, and Orange Town provides a nice counter to Romance Dawn. For example, if Axe-Hand Morgan represented the seriousness of the Marine threat in the last arc, then Buggy represents the other side of the villains that the Straw Hat Crew will encounter: cartoonish, loud, and beaten in a really fun way. 

36. Ruluka Island

    Ruluka Island feels like condensed One Piece, like you'd just add some water to turn this four episode arc into a twenty episode one. It's a nice arc to stretch your legs in before you go to the big themes of Jaya.

35. Ice Hunter

    Ice Hunter is neat because it gives every member of the Straw Hat crew a little time to shine in a story that is action-packed and intriguing. If you miss pre timeskip One Piece and haven't watched the Ice Hunter arc, give it a shot.

34. Marine Rookie

    I know that we're all eager to see the Straw Hats reunite in Wano, but if you want to see more of Whole Cake's Sanji Retrieval Team, the Marine Rookie arc makes for a solid bonus round. Also, the only reason it starts is because Luffy eats all of the Straw Hats' supplies, which, logically, should be the beginning of waaaaay more One Piece arcs.

33. Silver Mine

    If you didn't get enough Bartolomeo in Dressrosa, then surprise! They made a filler arc just for you. 

  32. Boss Luffy Specials

    You know when you fall asleep watching a show, and then you wake back up and, in your grogginess, suddenly whatever is on TV looks insane? That's what happened to me with Boss Luffy. I had just finished watching Ace's fight with Blackbeard and then, boom. I was out. Then I wake up and see the Straw Hats in 19th century Japan. The Boss Luffy stuff is fun, but I think it's best viewed when you're in a delirious half sleep. That's just my personal preference, though.

31. Caesar Retrieval

    Caesar made for a fine antagonist on Punk Hazard, but he's even better as shreiking deadweight that the Straw Hat Crew and Company have to keep alive. 

30. Little Garden

    Little Garden isn't as cool as Whisky Peak, nor does it provide the emotional gut punch of Drum Island. Instead, it's mainly here to further the theme of what it means to be a true warrior and introduce giants (and dinosaurs!) in the One Piece universe. It gives Usopp some of the character development that he needs and Zoro almost cuts off his own feet in an effort to keep fighting. Any arc that illustrates how hard Zoro goes gets at least one thumb up from me.

29. Loguetown

      Loguetown is a fun arc when you consider just how much it expands the scope of the world. Smoker and Tashigi truly begin the Navy's quest to stop the Straw Hats, Dragon gets introduced in a big, mysterious way, and Luffy takes a massive step in establishing himself in the realm of pirating. However, the Straw Hat side stories in the middle (aside from Zoro's awesome bit in the sword shop) slow it down a little. 

28. Zou

    Zou might be one of the most visually rich arcs in the series. From the massive elephant to the Mink tribe to the terror of Jack to more lessons about the poneglyphs, there's a lot shoved into this short span. And between the intense epics of Dressrosa and Whole Cake Island, it's fits nicely as 10 cc's of wonder and fantasy injected into the New World.  

27. Fishman Island

    Fishman Island occupies a weird spot. It's thematically heavy, but also serves as the action-packed Straw Hat Crew comeback tour. It needs to stand on its own, but it also caps off with a declaration of war against Big Mom, a villain that won't be encountered for years. In all, I feel that the importance of the Fishman Island arc is yet to be truly realized. 

26. Ocean's Dream

    One of the final two filler arcs on this list, Ocean's Dream seems like One Piece fan fiction in the best way. If you were dissatisfied with Luffy's fight with Zoro on Whisky Peak, you get another round of it here while Zoro is being mind controlled. 

25. Syrup Village

    If Romance Dawn and Orange Town were warm up laps, Syrup Village is when One Piece begins to break out in a sprint. The introduction of Usopp and the Going Merry make for some great moments and it's this arc that got me hooked on One Piece when I first started watching it. 

24. Dressrosa

    Dressrosa, for better (and sometimes for worse) is massive. Doflamingo is a threat that had been popping up since the Jaya arc, but because of Dressrosa's scope, his defeat can feel a little lackluster, especially when you consider that he's a pitstop on the road to Kaido. But Dressrosa introduces the endlessly cool Fujitora and the Straw Hats' big pirate alliance, and also gives us the dual backstories to Law and Doflamingo, neither of which disappoint. Also, Doflamingo's abilities lead to some of the coolest action scenes in the series. 

23. Return to Sabaody

    The post-timeskip starts with a bang, as the Return to Sabaody arc is both hilarious and thrilling. The Straw Hats get to show off their newfound strength as they do what they definitely couldn't do in the first Sabaody arc (easily knock out a Pacifista). And we also get to meet the Fake Straw Hat crew, which does a nice job of illuminating just how much the legend of the Straw Hats has grown since they were last together. 

22. Reverse Mountain

    One of the major strengths of One Piece is that it can accomplish three kinds of storytelling at once—giving us a narrative that is immediately satisying, giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the near future, and giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the long term. In the Reverse Mountain arc, we not only get a nice story about Laboon, but we also get introduced to Baroque Works (who will be the main antagonists of the saga), and also, we get hints that will only pay off when Brook is introduced years later. Reverse Mountain is short, but it also displays Eiichiro Oda's wonderful talent as a writer. 

21. Long Ring Long Land

    I've seen people on the internet say stuff like "WHEN I REACHED THE DAVY BACK FIGHT ARC, I NEARLY STOPPED READING!" and man, why? Quitting a series that you love because it slightly diverts from the hero fighting god-like enemies in order to participate in some fun games? Everyone has their own opinions, but your opinion of what fiction should be is wrong. That said, this arc is hilarious and great. 

20. Whisky Peak

    Whisky Peak is so cool. It's an anime arc with swagger, the kind that steps into a bar and buys everyone a round. I want to be friends with Whisky Peak but I know, deep down, that Whisky Peak is far too rad to be friends with me.

  19. Reverie

    The best thing about the Reverie arc is that it makes the world of One Piece a little more conveniently manageable (Oh neat. All of the major side characters get to hang out for a while), while also opening a can of worms (What's with the giant straw hat? WHAT'S WITH THE GIANT STRAW HAT?). Because this is the most recent arc, I don't know if we've seen the ripples that it will create across the One Piece world, but I sure am excited to.

  18. Post Enies Lobby

    This isn't the first time the Straw Hats have been forced to flee a place. However, this is the first time that it's felt like they'd be wiped out if they didn't. The return of Garp (and the spectre of the Yonko) throw the Straw Hats into all new territory, one where maybe being the plucky underdog team isn't enough to save them from the threats that come. Also, goofy Franky joins the team, which provides a nice counter-balance to the hints of oblivion. 

17. Punk Hazard

    Punk Hazard is home to one of my top 10 One Piece fights (Vergo vs Law & Smoker), features one of my favorite locations (an island that is half fire/magma and half ice/snow and home to an evil science base), and introduces a character that has only grown on me with time (Here's a hint on who he is: He laughs like "SHERURURURURURU SHERURURURURURU). It's kind of a prequel to Dressrosa, but in that spot, does a great job at furthering the menace of Doflamingo. 

16. Post War

      The introduction of Sabo aka Steampunk Ace aka I'm Just Kidding Sabo Is Kinda Cool and Luffy realizing that he has his crew to keep him going make the Post-War arc into a short but powerful cap to the pre-timeskip era. 

15. Amazon Lily

    Boa Hancock is a supremely underrated One Piece character, with a terribly sad backstory, amazing powers, and a hilarious crush on Luffy. And Amazon Lily helps further the major trend that will reach fever pitch in Dressrosa of Luffy amassing supporters because he's just such a dang ol' nice guy. Hopefully Hancock will one day meet Bartolomeo and together they will start a Luffy fan club and then argue over who gets to be President. 

14. Jaya

    If you were in the dark as to what the themes of One Piece are, here comes Jaya with a flashlight. This is basically a montage of the things that are important to the Straw Hat crew, and it introduces Blackbeard, a guy that will go from "Oh he seems interesting" to "OH I HATE HIM" over the next few hundred chapters. Luffy saying "Do I know how to throw a punch, you ask?" before absolutely walloping Bellamy still gives me goose bumps.

13. Thriller Bark

      There's so much good to Thriller Bark—the spooky atmosphere, the introduction of Brook, the underrated Gekko Moriah, the Binks' Sake song, the Straw Hats teaming up to face a giant zombie, etc. And just when you think it can't get any better, Kuma shows up and rocks the One Piece world. 

12. Impel Down

    Hey! It's Buggy! And Mr. 3! And Mr. 2! And Crocodile! And our new best boy Jinbe! And Ivankov! As both a launching point for new protagonists and a comeback for old foes (along with introducing Magellan, one of the best villains in the series, and Shiryu, one of the scariest villains in the series), Impel Down succeeds. I love it more and more with time.

11. Drum Island

    I've written an entire article about why the arc where we first meet Tony Tony Chopper makes me weep, so I'll try to be brief here. Drum Island is beautiful. It's the story of a little deer guy that couldn't find a place in the world and the loud rubber bro that gave him one. It's an arc about the price of dreams and the power of having someone stand up for you when you need it most. It's about love and respect and kindess. And now I'm about to cry again. THANKS A LOT, ONE PIECE.

10. Baratie

    The Baratie arc is the first hint that we'll get about how hectic the One Piece world is. We meet Sanji, we meet Don Krieg, and we meet Mihawk (and is stronger than the whole cast of the show combined at this point). Syrup Village is about leaving your comfort zones and Baratie is about finding a home in the chaos that follows. 

9. G-8

    The best One Piece filler arc and the One Piece arc that I most revisit (it's only 11 episodes, can you blame me?), G-8 is a One Piece Greatest Hits collection and possibly the first thing you should show someone if they want to get into One Piece but don't have long to do so. 

8. Alabasta

    Are the Straw Hats ready for the Grand Line? Are they ready to topple evil villains and protect those that need help? That's what Alabasta asks and the answer is "Oh yeah." Luffy punching Crocodile up through the center of the city is an iconic moment, showing us that the Straw Hats, whether they mean to be or not, are forces of good in the world. 

7. Marineford

    Marineford is loud and chaotic and powerful, forcing Luffy into a situation where he is simply an especially energetic pawn on the chessboard of battle. It's just as much of a rescue mission as it is a quest for survival for him, but in the midst of Whitebeard and the three admirals and the Shichibukai, Luffy makes his mark. However, he doesn't do it through displays of awe-inspiring force, but through his willpower. Aokiji is right when he says that Luffy isn't "ready for this stage yet," but the thing that scares the Navy most is that one day, he will be. 

6. Sabaody Archipelago

    This is not a happy arc. It's a satisfying one (Luffy punching the Celestial Dragon will never get old), and it's an illuminating one (Silver Rayleigh, y'all!), but it's not one that will end with cheering. Kizaru shows up to put an entire generation of pirates in their place and Kuma wipes out the Straw Hats. That said, even if it concludes with the most uncertain moment in the series, it's still a fun ride. 

5. Arlong Park

      Nami is the soul of the Straw Hat Crew, and learning what she's been through at the hands of the despicable Arlong is heart-breaking. But Luffy doesn't need to know every detail to know that he needs to help and the Straw Hats walking to Arlong Park is another one of those "One Piece is literally the best thing ever" moments. And by the end, every Straw Hat bro gets a victory, Luffy gets a bounty, and Nami gets her freedom. And what does she do with this freedom? She joins a ship full of dummies as their navigator. And I'm so happy about that. 

4. Enies Lobby

    For many, Enies Lobby is THE arc and I'm not disagreeing with them. It's such a display of raw emotion and exciting battles, a nonstop rollercoaster of everything that makes One Piece great. And it ends with a Viking funeral for the Going Merry, a scene that reveals Oda's true power as a writer: He makes you sob about a ship. 

3. Whole Cake Island

    If Enies Lobby is about being a hero, then Whole Cake Island is about letting that idea go. The Straw Hats can't beat Big Mom or her crew and will have to settle with getting Sanji and getting out. And Katakuri, the protective brother of the Charlotte family, learns that he doesn't have to be perfect all the time. It's a beautiful arc that shows that Oda is willing to play around with some of the pre-established ideas of One Piece.

2. Water 7

    Robin leaves. Usopp defects, Luffy is forced to do things that no captain wants to, and a villainous team shows up that seems unstoppable. Water 7 may be the first half of a story that continues with Enies Lobby, but I find it to be the better one (though not by much). It's an arc that constantly leaves you saying "Well, what else could go wrong?" and then something else does. And it's just so good.

1. Skypiea

    This is it. Everything good about One Piece, from the powerful villain (with a great weakness), to the touching themes, to enchanting locations, to the gripping adventures, is wrapped up in Skypiea. And while I have no problems with arcs being connected, there's just something about the standalone nature of Skypiea that leads me to regularly revisit it. It's an arc that makes me glad that I started this nearly 900 episode adventure in the first place. And that's the highest compliment that I can give.

  Want to make your own ranking? Then watch One Piece on Crunchyroll! It's literally the only way.

  What is your favorite One Piece arc? How do you feel about this ranking? Let us know in the comments!

    ------------------------

  Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. He has a Twitter, where you can disagree with him. 

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 1X22 - A Land Without Magic

We are finally here!!!!! I can’t believe I’ve written 90 pages for this Season AND managed to stay on schedule AND get a couple of notes, too! Btw, for my loyal readers, I’m going to do a brief overview of Season 1 in an upcoming post before I get started on Season 2, and I hope you’ll all read!

Okay! No more disclaimers! If I may paraphrase Darkwings Duck’s catchphrase, “Let’s get magical!”

General Thoughts Past I feel bad, but I didn’t have a lot to say about the past events that I didn’t discuss in either my “Both,” “Insights,” “Arcs,” or “Flip My Ship” section. This is a really good segment, but there’s not much of a story to discuss. Charming’s mission to get Snow is a good show of his character and he fights his obstacles valiantly, but there’s not much of a story going on apart from that. Charming doesn’t have to learn anything and mostly serves to be a contrast to Emma in the present, and again, that’s really cool, but again, I discuss that in just a bit where it’s more appropriate, and the same can be said for the excellent dialogue between him and Rumple. So yeah, go read those! Present As I type, I’m trying to decide whether or not I like the moment where Emma believes. On one hand, it almost feels like a leap. However, I think I do. Emma takes Henry’s last words to heart and because he believes in her and she knows what she saw, she believes in him, and that makes her believe too. I think it’s adequate and I’m willing to accept it as shorthand.

I do have one problem with this present segment and it’s Jefferson. I really tried to keep him off to the Insights section where stuff that doesn’t affect my scoring of the episode (It’s not going to have a big impact, but I do have a lot to say), but given the amount of screentime he gets and what he interrupts, I found it unavoidable. Fuck, I forgot that Jefferson appears in the hospital scene, and it’s such a shitty moment. Now, as I said earlier, Regina deserves consequences for her actions, but having her time with Henry as he lays unconscious in a hospital bed is not what should happen. Those consequences should be (And thankfully are) given by Henry, Emma, and the Charmings come Season 2. And why would he expect Regina to pay him back now? I wouldn’t have this problem, but Jefferson was characterized as someone who was intelligent in “Hat Trick” (Mad, but intelligent all the same), and given how he knows Regina and her current frame of mind, why would he expect her to say anything but “fuck off” at this moment? And that projection of not having it in you to kill someone - where does that come from? It’s not like we’ve ever seen Jefferson explicitly say that he’s a pacifist, so why is there so much emphasis on it? Finally, how does Jefferson know what to do with Belle? It would’ve been one thing if we saw them interact or saw Jefferson reference that he knew where she was, but as it stands, it’s weird because there’s no way in hell that Regina would’ve told anyone except MAYBE the Magic Mirror that Belle was even down there. I’m glad Belle gets to appear and the payoff to this ridiculous setup does work, but that doesn’t change the fact that the setup still sucks. I was positively gutted by those quiet moments that passed as Emma and Regina heard about Henry’s passing. The way that everything slowed down and the strings played so mournfully just speaks to the love Emma’s grown for Henry over the course of their time together and the grief she feels in that moment is just so sad. It left me speechless. Additionally, when it came to the goodbye kiss, Jennifer Morrison deserves all of the awards for her performance. You see that perfectly imperfect quivering in her chin and the rapid running of her tears. Finally, I want to give Lana and the writers major props for showing Regina’s grief over both losing Henry (almost) in terms of his death AND her emotionally losing him as a result of the curse breaking. Lana’s breakdown as she tearfully cradles Henry’s pillow (One, or rather I can argue that she kisses it, her own version of the Swan Believer kiss) doesn’t erase her villainy (Note how she smiles at the cloud of magic), but still instills Regina’s love for Henry too.

Both Let’s talk about those kickass Maleficent fights. We get a cool contrast between Emma and David as they fight to get the egg out of and into Mal, respectively. David fights like a classic hero, but more than that, he’s able to pick up strategies and form ideas, showing how seasoned of a fighter he’s become. However, Emma, having never faced such a creature before, uses more basic tactics (Averting the dragon by running and shooting it with a gun). And even her last throw is spontaneous and brutal, making her fight so unique, but also allowing for her to accept this fairytale world in her own way.

Also, all the props in the world to Isham for his composing, So much of the tone of the story here was reinforced with his music and whether it gutted me or gave me goosebumps, I was blown away. There were great choices to deliver the optimal feelings from the swells to the choice of what instruments should take over and when. Insights -Ok! I actually like Graham in this scene! His actions make sense and he was pretty intelligent! My one nitpick is that giving up his heart (His words, not mine) is a bit of a stretch. -I know that I’m watching a fight between Rumple and Charming, but all I’m getting are proto Golden Hook feels. Hey, someone had to inspire him to learn how to use a sword! XD -Not gonna lie, that “it’s her son” line does not fit you well, Rumple. Look, I get it. Regina royally screwed up with Henry and I think by now, you all know that I love Emma. But I love Regina too, and while there should definitely be consequences in regards to what she did as far as Henry goes, it shouldn’t erase her role as a parent. -Also, I like the allusion to Belle during Rumple and Charming’s scene in the flashback. We both get to see how Rumple’s perception of Belle and their love (And love in general - compare “a flicker of light in the darkness” with “love has killed more than any disease”) has changed since “Skin Deep” and we get to allude to her return. -I like how Emma doesn’t just kiss Henry here. She seems to mull it over and to me, that seems like if she kisses him, it’s saying goodbye, and since there’s still a chance, she’s not going to say goodbye just yet. -The conversation about breaking the curse between August and Emma was really good because it served more as a general pep talk. -Regina, just tell her, “she’s a dragon!” It’s not hard and it’s probably better that Emma knows ahead of time! -Maleficent, that candle trick was just so freakin’ cool! -Nice foreshadowing, Mary Margaret! -Also, I may have complaints about Jefferson’s appearance in this episode, but I have no complaints with his...appearance. He could be my nurse any day the way he wears those cute scrubs. -If there was ever an episode that positively sold me on the idea that Rumple was always supposed to be caught between being good and evil, it was here. Whether Rumple knew or not that the curse was about to be broken (And given his reaction to the return of Belle’s memory, one can reasonably argue that he didn’t), that act of stealing Henry’s last chance from Emma and Regina was just plain evil! -Props to everyone’s acting. All of the little snippets of people remembering and reflecting that in all of 1-2 seconds of screen time is just fantastic! -The way Rumple looks like he’s going to sprinkle the magic from the bottle only to just drop the whole thing in is funny as hell! Arcs Emma’s journey of belief - What I like about Emma’s journey is that this journey never quite ends, but there are clear milestones that she reaches. In Season 1, it’s an ability to believe two things (1) in magic (2) in Henry. And it was done so well. While I got a little lazy bringing this point up in my Arcs sections in the latter half, there were few episodes that didn’t affect this arc. And I think what made the arc better was that we got to see Emma have moments of failure where she herself lost belief. When moments like that happen, it makes an arc all the more dynamic. Anyway, back to the episode at hand! Emma’s reactions to the curse being real - though they’re smaller in order for the episode to keep its actiony pacing - are all distinct and just great! Snow and Charming and MM and David finding each other - This episode does something so lovely. All season, I’ve been talking about how Snow and Charming and Mary Margaret and David are physically apart/together and emotionally together/apart in comparison to their counterpart, and this time, the story brings both sets of them physically together, both through the story of the past and present. While Snow and Charming coming together was a foregone conclusion, MM and David weren’t as easy to peg down. So, just as Snow and Charming are coming together, David and MM are on the cusp of being torn apart physically after having already been torn apart emotionally. Favorite Dynamic Emma and Regina - They are just explosive here and it is amazing! That first scene together is just brutal with the shoving and screaming and voice breaking, and it comes from this place of gut punching sadness. You see the struggle that these two women have had with each other and while they’ve put it aside at moments, it’s never been after something like that. Remember how a few episodes back, I talked about Rumple and Gold working together, but all the while being snippy towards each other? Well now, we have that but with an added venom twenty-two episodes in the making. There’s this balance of trust, but a lack of trust at the same time, and it gives way to mistakes and weaknesses for both of them. And despite their differences, they still grieve for Henry in the same way and respect how each other does it (With a stunning contrast to the Swan Believer kiss for Regina in Henry’s bedroom), giving us both a sense of where the story might go for Regina as well as reminding the audience that she’s his mother too. Writer I don’t know how people can say A&E are bad writers when episodes like this exist. A&E are overambitious, but when it comes to telling a singular story, they’re quite competent, for the most part! This episode’s writing really builds the sense of urgency that it needs to tell its story. Furthermore, apart from Jefferson, every character was given an amazing moment to capitalize on just what makes them so great, whether it be Charming fighting a dragon, Emma’s kiss on Henry’s head, Mary Margaret’s post-engagement promise, Regina’s scene in Henry’s bedroom and subsequent smile when magic returns, Rumple holding Belle and then bringing magic back, or August’s final speech to Emma. Rating 10/10. You see? Jefferson didn’t hurt my score too much at all! What a wonderful episode! We were provided amazing closure to the season and all major arcs, got to see every major character have a shining moment, and every emotional note hit just where it needed to. I’m so happy and satisfied with what we got and I had so much fun watching everything coming together! Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Dragon Queen - “I knew you couldn’t resist bringing her over.” I didn’t realize before now that Rumple was also a Dragon Queen shipper! Congratulations, Rumple! Welcome to the team! All the same, it’s cute to have your basement dragon wife! Rumbelle - Rumple’s also a Rumbelle fan! “You’re real.” I wonder how many hours did Rumple pretend that Belle was there while in his castle or shop or home. It’s clearly been some. I already discussed how in the past, Rumple’s dialogue to Charming reflects how his perception of Belle has drastically changed, so I’m going to fangirl about the present here. Hearing Rumple’s voice crack as he assures Belle that he’ll protect her is so adorably heartwarming and tearjerking. Look, for as much as I love Rumple, I’m no Rumple woobie, but damnit, I can see how people do because his moments of vulnerability are beautiful. All the applause in the world to Rebert Carlyle. Snowing - Rumple’s also a Snowing fan! Look at him getting his OTP ready for their big moment! And what a moment it was! I found the recut awakening to be just as powerful as the original because of all the the character that Snow and Charming now have! Also, their proposal was just beautiful, as was their resolution afterwards. They were delightfully simple and yet majestic as the music swelled around them! Additionally, when the curse broke, there was this wonderful moment where they were just holding each other and trying to figure out what to say before Snow speaks. It’s only 2-3 seconds long, but it just says so much!

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Thank you so much for reading, whether you’ve been with me since episode 1 or just came here for my grand finale! Writing these reviews takes a ton of time and your likes and comments are always appreciated. I’m going to be doing an overview of Season 1 before I start production on Season 2. This will be a moment for me to reflect on how my perception of aspects of the Season changed over this rewatch, who was the best writer of the season, my top five favorite dynamics, and why I think Season 1 was both as successful and as beloved as it was!

Special thanks to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales again. This is some of the most writing I’ve ever done on this website and it’s all thanks to you! Additionally, getting an expanded platform has been really nice. As a small page, it’s very much appreciated.

Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (60/70)* Liz Tigelaar (17/20)* David Goodman (41/50)* Jane Espenson (54/60)* Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (38/40)* Daniel Thomsen (8/10)* Vladimir Kvetko (9/10)* (* = Their work for the season is complete)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[cartoons-tothemoon]

Zak Storm Origins Part 1 Live-Blog:

Hello!  The Miraculous Ladybug PV Discord recommended the show heavily as a better alternative to ML when it comes to certain writing things that get on our nerves, so they recommended Zak Storm, and now I am watching it. Such is life.

I’ll put all my commentary in stuff in the “read below” section, so I don’t clog up your dash if you don’t want to see it. Have a nice day!

- First things first, I want you to know that the only things I know about Zak Storm is that it’s about a brown haired pirate kid and the Bermuda Triangle. That’s it. I’ve skimmed some of the post edorazzi does about Zak Storm, but I really mean that I skimmed it. I’m going into this effectively blind, so, this should be interesting for all of us.

ORIGINS PART 1:

- The theme song is very radical, I guess. Nothing makes sense, but the theme music’s cool.

- Man of Action, as mentioned in the theme song, is the company that created Ben Ten, of course, my memory’s pretty bad, so I could be wrong.

- Panning over the background for ambience’s sake. There’s surfboards, a tiki head, a globe, a starfish, some fishing wire in a cabinet, a swordfish, a sea shell, etc. It’s very nautical themed but, then again, I don’t know what I expected from a show about pirates.

- The man fiddling with the radio appears to be Zak’s father/uncle/general caregiver, and seems to have a degree. The font is too small and blurry to make out, but I suppose it implies that he’s not the bumbling fool that the Hawaiian-styled shirt implies.

- A map and an eel-head. Huh.

- He SNEAKS. *Knocks over a bunch of stuff as he attempts to escape the scene of his crime.* He attempts to SNEAK.

- Classic beleaguered father figure and classic probably cursed necklace. Considering Zak knows of the necklace, as well as its existence, it’s probably not that bad though.

- Wow. I can’t believe ZAG actually put in the time and effort to actually animate water here. On one hand, it’s necessary, but on the other hand, in Miraculous Ladybug, literally nobody ever cried until Syrena. It was just weird sniffling. I got distracted, bottomline, good job for doing the absolute bare minimum here, Zag.

- How confident is this Zak kid that he can surf while listening to music and playing on his phone? What a guy.

- AND he’s on a webcam. Wow.

- His English voice sounds kinda cute, though, in an Ash Ketchum kind of way.

- He’s literally just the protagonist in a JRPG game. So, yeah, Ash Ketchum. “Pressure? What’s that?”

- His dad/uncle/care-giver’s head looks really small in comparison to his body, but that’s more of a “my opinion” kind of thing, given how relatively realistic ZAG tries to keep the proportions.

- Wow, those storm clouds appeared really quickly.

- Was the whole storm thing mentioned on the radio earlier? I wasn’t really listening.

- “Take off the necklace” is the necklace the one thing that’s keeping him from capsizing or on the board or? Otherwise, why would Zak grab it?

- I’m barely 2 minutes in. Sorry for this effectively frame-by-frame analysis, but in my defense...I’ve never done this before.

- “How do we make those dark storm clouds shrouding our protagonist in disappointment more ominous?” “I dunno, man, a skull?” “Genius.” 

- Storm family magic. I knew it. 

- A potentially tragic misunderstanding is going on here. 

- Whoops. I guess I expected the dad/uncle/care-giver figure to be more emotionally distraught over potentially losing his son to a mystical portal forever, but...We barely know them and he clearly knows the necklace, so, he may...Be fine?

- Never mind. He’s probably not fine. Also, why is he not more panicked to be surfing around lightning? Probably shock.

- Cool water animation, though.

- Zak, I haven’t really grown emotionally attached to you yet, and I want to like you, but please stop with the dumb slang. 

- Huh, so it was his dad, after all.

- On one hand, the whole “I must be dreaming thing” is very cliche, on the other hand, I feel bad for this small child who’s abandoned in the middle of the ocean with only a webcam, surfboard, and dumb necklace and crying out for his dad, that I’ll let it slide.

- Green and red, the most insidious colors imaginable. At least it isn’t red and black.

- This green skull guy looks almost 2D animated in the first shot, which is not a bad look.

- I like that boat design for that golden skull guy, at least, a lot more than what looks like Zak’s ship, but I suppose he’s supposed to have that generic pirate look.

- Never mind. It’s less generic than I thought it would be.

- He’s still going along with the nightmare idea, He’s in shock, He’s trying his best, I remind myself.

- Yay! Tiny British ghost friend! Also, who are you calling him small? The ghost friend looks to be a child.

- Scratch that. Tiny, maybe British, astral-projecting spirit friend who’s bad at jokes.

- Cool name for a boat, but aren’t boats usually called she's? Eh, whatever.

- Wow, already trying to escape. 2 minutes with tiny spirit friend who’s name...Hopefully hasn’t been mentioned yet because it shows how well I can pay attention to the forest, and you’re already trying to abandon him.

- “Eye of Peru,” just where does this take place? It’s clearly not in some weird alternate fantasy world if countries from our world exist.

- Clovis. That’s the tiny British spirit friend. I have no strong feelings about him whatsoever.

- Okay, seriously though, Goldenbone’s voice is very cool sounding. Just very classically threatening. It’s kinda like Slade with a bit more energy put into it, but I’m not sure if that statement is right.

- Zak has such dumb sneakers I love him.

- Wow, actual guns. Those look like legitimate pistol designs, but they shoot laser beams. We had to get them through the censors somehow, I guess.

- I think this is the first time I’ve seen a hook hand actually used for something useful outside of just looking cool and threatening.

- “You have a salty spirt, boy.” Dang, who’s Zak vagueing about now.

- Please don’t say good boy. That’s a very cursed phrase if you aren’t talking about an aging labrador.

- I love how Clovis just low-key called him an idiot. Zak really is just a JRPG protagonist, all shiny and dumb and easy to trick, but it would be bold of you to assume that I don’t love him for it.

- Also! Bermuda Triangle! One of the only things I knew about the series has at last been integrated.

- “Let me talk to him.” Why? Why would background skeleton #423 actually suggest this? Does he think he’s special? Because he’s going to have a bad time looking into that mirror and seeing everybody he’s ever known there.

- Why is the Bermuda Triangle just a myth or a legend in this world? It’s a region in our world that’s known for its ship disappearances, it’s not entirely explained, but it’s not like it’s the jersey devil or anything.

- “Surf rat and internet wannabe.” Well, at least he’s honest.

- Clovis confirmed for ectoplasmic whatever, but is also totally a poltergeist.

- 13:55-14:20...Sigh.

- So, does Goldenbone being dead allow him to touch both corporeal and non-corporeal beings, or is Clovis constantly tangible but also not?

- Oh never mind this was actually explained.

- Yes, Zak. Listen to your strange magical heirloom here for once.

- You know what’s worse than a sword? A talking sword.

- Ah, yes, the classic ZAG transformation sequence. This totally won’t happen every single episode to add run-time and repeat animation.

- You’d also think he’d be used to this by now, or just completely out of it given everything that’s been happening.

- I wish they did more animation with the fire, but that’s really a nit-pick.

- What’s up with Clovis just...Continually doing peace signs. Does he not know what else. he can do with his hands.

Conclusion: Zak is dumb but I love him. Golden bones is evil but trying his best here. Clovis is also there. Why does he have a cockney accent. Good show. 7/10.

[stewblog]

MORTAL KOMBAT (2021)

There has yet to be a truly capital-G Great movie based on a video game. There was hope that the latest stab at “Mortal Kombat” might stand a chance to break that trend. The short answer is a hearty “No,” but that doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had here.

If all you know of “Mortal Kombat” is that it’s a video game that, upon its debut in arcades in 1992, swiftly helped spur a national pearl-clutching tour by politicians and parents’ groups over the level of “realistic” gore and violence found within, you might be surprised to learn that the bones of the story and characters are actually pretty fun. It treads heavily from the roots of comic books and classic kung fu movies which inspired series creators John Tobias and Ed Boon. So while there’s nothing terribly original about a secret martial arts tournament where people with extraordinary powers duke it out to decide the fate of the universe, the sort of (mostly) straight-faced sincerity used to bring it all to life fits perfectly well within the cinematic landscape that regularly sees people with godlike powers traipsing across movie screens these days.

And to its credit, this take on “Mortal Kombat” never shies away from any of the incredibly outlandish aspects of the series: Warrior monks who can throw fireballs from their bare hands. Laser eyes. A sorcerer who can (quite literally) suck a man’s soul from his body. Another warrior monk but this one uses a razor-edged hat as a throwing weapon and teleportation device. It’s all here. There’s some nominal explanation as to how or why these characters get superpowers, but for the most part it amounts to “just because, now watch this guy with a New Jersey accent wearing a cyber mask use hook swords and run so fast he can teleport.”

Given the way audiences have simply come to accept comic book heroes and given the movie’s overall embrace of the outlandish, it then becomes somewhat baffling that someone along the line decided it was absolutely essential that we be guided into this world via a brand new character who can act baffled at all this weird stuff happening. It might have made more sense had any questions been truly asked or, more crucially, been answered, but we never even really get an answer as to why exactly a martial arts tournament is what decides the fate of Earth. At the very least it would have been worth it had this character, Cole Young, been played by anyone with even a hint of genuine charisma. Alas, despite his best efforts, Lewis Tan simply doesn’t have the juice to shoulder the weight given him.

Then again, he’s not really helped by Dave Callaham and Greg Russo’s script. It’s clear that there is an abiding affection for the legacy of “Mortal Kombat” and its world and characters. Fans of the games will have no trouble recognizing the likes of Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (Max Huang), Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) or Kano (Josh Lawson). But the story is so thin and gives the surprisingly large cast very little to do overall.

After losing an underground MMA match, Cole learns that he’s been chosen to take part in a tournament known as, you guessed it, Mortal Kombat. Shang Tsung (Chin Han), an evil, soul-sucking sorcerer, however is bound and determined to make sure a tournament never happens, thus making it that much easier for him to take over Earthrealm. Fights and fatalities ensue.

And that’s…pretty much it. Cole meets up with an eclectic group of other fighters as they attempt to train and prepare for the tournament, but this mostly relegates them and the film to a massive cave temple somewhere in Asia. Not exactly the most dynamic or exciting location, especially given how wild and vibrant so much of the video game’s fight locale’s have become over the years.

So if the film’s budget (clearly) held back its visual potential and its lead leaves much to be desired, how could I possibly claim there’s fun to be had? This is where checking your expectations at the door helps.

To put it succinctly: “Mortal Kombat” is not “The Raid.” It is not “John Wick.” It doesn’t rise to the fairly high standard that has been set since Paul W.S. Anderson directed the first “Mortal Kombat” in 1995. Simon McQuoid’s 2021 film doesn’t even hit the highs of a lot of Scott Adkins’ direct-to-DVD outings. (Although that’s not an insult to Adkins, as he’s a legitimately great movie martial artist and you should watch his movies.) This “Mortal Kombat” lies somewhere in between. It tries hard. It brings in accomplished martial artists like Taslim and even Tan, whose father, Philip, is an accomplished stunt performer and choreographer.

Could the combat (kombat?) have been better? Without question. But what’s here is fun. The fights are competent and not edited to shreds. But perhaps more importantly, it’s one of the first movies based on a video game to not only nail the iconic visual aspect of the characters, but to truly and fully lean into the fact that these people all do wild and silly things like shoot lasers from their eyes or throw fireballs. It also delivers in spades the games’ trademark, outlandish violence. To save my editor from sternly admonishing me for describing (even mildly) the things certain characters have happen to them, suffice to say it makes the digitized, roughly pixelated violence of the 1992 look positively PG-rated by comparison. No doubt this will turn off more than a few potential viewers, but there’s no denying that fans of the series flock to it in large part for this reason. So if you find entertainment in violence that’s so absurdly over-the-top it swings right around to being comical, this version of “Mortal Kombat” delivers to a satisfying degree.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also single out actor Josh Lawson. His performance as Kano is hands down my favorite part of the film and he fills every scene he’s in with a delightfully smarmy energy, much as the late Trevor Goddard did playing the same character in the 1995 film.

Maybe my enjoyment (or soft judgment) of the film is due more to the fact that it’s just good to see new movies again, and to do so with friends. I got a few (fully vaccinated) buddies to come join me in my backyard, I set up an outdoor screen and projector and streamed “Mortal Kombat” from my laptop and we had a blast laughing at and with the movie and generally relishing the absurdity, the competent fights and some fun characters.

It’s entirely possible this movie won’t hold up on repeat viewing as such instances will inevitably be divorced from the context in which it was originally viewed, but that’s OK. This time out I got some very basic enjoyment out of it and had a good time with friends and sometimes that’s more than enough.

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Taking Action

FINALLY. Months of writer’s block and my typing laptop’s battery finally dying, my next chapter in the Mary Grayson Talon story is here. Call this a very late Christmas present for you all. 

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

@lightdusk96 @fireflyxrebel @tarisilmarwen @nightglider124 @robxstar , Thanks for everything, you beautiful bastards 

As the Xenothium factory hummed down below from her rooftop position, The Talon lets a breath that shows itself as a little cloud of fog courtesy of the cold air. Red X was in position, as he signaled bird clad warrior,

“Alright ma’am, I’m rolling up to the front doors.”

“Ok, so far so good. I guess I’ll be making my way around then.”

“Before you do anything though, remind me again how this can put a dent on these Court guys again?

“Easy, the owner of this cooperation is an Owl. I have scared off plenty already but it looks like they’re moving ahead with their little plan and I can’t, I repeat, I CAN NOT risk the Titans or even the candidates for the Mayor get caught in the middle of something I can stop. So letting this one know of what we prove a turning point.”

“How exactly…?”

“In recent years, The Court has been supplying their Talons with Xenothium based weapons, weapons that can pass even through a metal detector without any hassle, in which can only boost their killing power, and bear in mind that power was pretty deadly before I was even there…”

“So take away the big boys’ toys, and they’ll go sulk to their rooms for bed”

“Precisely”, nodded the Talon as she flipped off the last flag pole in her descent from the rooftop and begin making her way to the garbage truck parked outside the Xenothium factory.

As Red X, wearing not his signature suit but rather a simple workers uniform complete with a standard issue cap and convincing fake moustache hanging onto his face, makes his way pushing an entire hand truck’s worth of ‘Xenothium-filled’ barrels into the main entrance, he can’t help but not one puzzling question he has to address before he has to start talking to their workers around him.

“What about Chuckles and his happy little friends?”

As Mary Grayson the Talon knocks out a guard with the bunt end of her knife before dragging his unconscious body to the side, she replies with, “If the Titans or hell even Zucco’s men do take notice and start coming after us, you can get start making a run for the Xenothium and do what you do best.”

“So I’m bait?”

“Bait, who just so happens to have a way out.”

“Oh yeah, there’s you” X chuckles to himself.

Just in time too, for he’s now arrived at the main processing part of the factory itself, numerous machines humming a glorious and thunderous but calm buzz in their atmosphere, the random banging emerging from the top signifying the crushing of individual atoms that give Xenothium its nuclear sting when in use. Next one of these machines, X places one if his four barrels at a spot just close enough but not enough for anyone to take notice as the other barrels next to it are a relatively further distance from the machines. X does this three more times before finally just letting the hand truck go and making his way back to the doors.

“Alright, Ma’am, Phase 1 is a go.”

Mary, now making her way into the factory’s offices towards the owner’s own room, gives a nod and then a reply,

“Ok then, you might want to start dressing up for this party then.”  

Red X couldn’t help but slip a small smirk as he exited the factory since now all it takes is a good signal to get everyone out of the way of what will soon be a firework show on par with that little comic he reads, V for…something, he forgot.

As X made his department into the streets, the Talon had finally reached the door to the owner’s room and to further increase her chances of entering, no guards were present. All she needed now was confirmation of the owner being present inside. Placing her ear on the door, Mary can hear a distinct, rough, almost Russian accent coming through…

“…Yes My Grandmaster. The weapons are almost ready. The night this city shall onto grips will soon come. By this week’s end, the prey of our fierce might will be consumed in the sharp claws of our might. Yes, the Titans will not even know what hits them by the time they even reach…the labyrinth. Those brats will know fear alright. Hail Barbatos.” The phone clicks off as said device was placed on its place. Now was the moment to strike.

With a blazing swiftness, the rouge Talon slips the door open and pins this man, Nikita Jughashvili, onto the wall with some wire sprouting from her knives keep him there. At any minute, she can trigger these wires to discharge a large voltage of electricity onto Nikita’s flesh. But for now, she didn’t want that, at least not yet, for now she wanted to talk.  

“Mr. Jughashvili, I would like to discuss about your business.”

The wealthy man, along a streak of white and grey hair on his sideburns and one glaring brown colored eye with the other just a black orb in its place, just look at his assailant with a bit of shock

before letting it slip into… arrogance out of all things.

“Well, well, well, the golden girl of the Court finally decides to face me directly.”

“Why the smirk, Mister, you do realize of what I can do…”

“Though, I don’t care. Your defection however, intrigues me.”

“How’s that…?” Mary asks, right before being cut off by the sudden whooshing noises right behind her. Next thing she knew, three mores Talons, all in similar uniforms to hers, landed and whipped out their swords. Mary looks back at Mr. Nikita, who now had a nasty smirk growing on his face.

“You did not seriously believe your terrorism against the Court would go unnoticed now did you? Against the power of Gotham’s true fathers, there can be no victory. Do not spoil yourself and your already meaningless life fighting. Reconsider your efforts, simply let me loose from these wires, come upon your knees and say ‘I surrender to my Master with all intent and will forever grovel at his…”

*SLASH*

Nikita Jughashvili had never had a chance to finish his little monologue before Mary Grayson performs a clean yet bloody slice to the disgusting man’s throat, leaving his head to roll to the other Talons’ feet. They took this as their cue to lunge forward with their blades up in front, hoping to impale the rouge right here right now. That decision does not go well as Mary quickly draws her own swords from her back as the battle begins.

In the midst of sword clings and slashes that scratches all four birds, Mary manages to tap unto the communicator on her ear to signal X of the…little side block to their plans.

“Red X, can you hear me?”

“Just strapping on my last and got my handy dandy trigger to distract the…”

“Push that trigger, now!”

“Um…what was that?” Red X asks with a tiny bit of shock.

“It was a step up! They knew what we’re doing!! Check your sides!”

As if on cue, X looks to his left side, narrowly avoiding the sword blade and allowing it to hit the concrete block wall before swinging his leg without his boot on and slamming the Talon right on his head. Oh yeah…classic booby-trap. So one button press later…

Meanwhile…In Downtown Jump

Robin had just secured another tight landing on the neighboring rooftop after about three times in a row of doing such right after a classic grapple hook swing. The patrol had been going on for about three hours by now. Every now and then, a Trade Fed Helicopter would pass by but otherwise no activity had been reported for them. No lead up on his long lost mother, no clue on Slade’s whereabouts, not super criminal robbery, not even a dang small time gang fight. For the most part, the lack of activity both relaxed and infuriated Robin. The normally quiet nights always signaled to him that while having a soothing and calm atmosphere in which he can use to hang out with his friends, something sinister can using this time to plan cunning and damaging schemes that will, not can but will, hurt his friends and the city they’ve defending for years by now.

Both thankfully and regretfully, Robin’s wish for action was fulfilled when a massive explosion both in gunpowder and the red distinctive glow of Xenothium echoed from the Lokiva plant about 10 miles away. Something’s causing trouble, so now he knows who to call.

“Titans, meet me at Lokiva plant, NOW!”

“Roger that!” replied Cyborg

“Understood” replied Starfire

“On my way” replied Beast Boy

“Same here” replied Raven, and finally

“It’ll just take a minute” replied Kid Flash

Two minutes later…Lokiva Xenothium Plant

As all six member of this Titans team land in the outside of the plant, they frankly wish they hadn’t due to the amount of heat generating from the huge fire they see in front of their very eyes. The tall and daunting trees of flame and ash erupting from the building were the stuff of legend in terms of the size of pure destruction they have ever witnessed. On many levels, this flame storm reminds them heavily of Trigon’s ascension onto the mortal plane, and that’s a VERY bad reminding they need.

To their collective relief, fire trucks and police officers were on duty, tending to the numerous workers who’ve escaped and rushing into the towering flames pulling more of those workers out of the fiery maelstrom. That���s where they come. So then, a grand total of thirty minutes and about three back drafts in which would’ve leveled the entire block plus more had it not been for Kid Flash and Cyborg’s quick timing and thinking, and while every civilian was in fact accounted for and safe, now the question becomes very obvious: who started this explosion?

As the firefighters pressed onward dousing the towering flames, the answer became all the more

clear when Robin notices something on the rooftops on top of them all, what seem to be two distinct glowing little lights looking down upon the fire, perching like an owl glaring for its next prey. With an urge to chase down the lights, Robin’s body begins to slightly tense since he knows at the moment that this particular crisis was more apparently than hunting down the Talon. However, the Police Chief running the operation, Chief O Hara, had noticed this anxiousness and walks up to Robin, “We’ll take it from here, whatever you needed for, you can go.”

Robin nearly double takes, ‘But Chief, we can try helping with the…”

But then the good old O Hara places his hand on Robin’s shoulder, “I know the look of when you have something or someone vital to find, sonny. We’ll all be okay.” He finished with s small smirk and a nod

With that, Robin now knows what he and his Team must do and nods too.

“Titans, the firefighters can take it from here. Follow me!”

With that, Mary Grayson begins her chase across the rooftops away from the burning factory. By the time Mary reaches the third rooftop away, the distinct glows of Starfire, Kid Flash, and Cyborg appear rising from edge of the roof she was once on. It was made clear they would indeed follow her until they can get their hands on her. This was precisely what banked on though as she taps until her earpiece, communicating with Red X.

“They’re right behind me and closing,. are you on the spot?”

The feedback had a  tad bit  of static coming through but otherwise fine enough, “Yeah, I’m at the spot. Let me tel you something though, those Talon friends of yours REALLY don’t know the meaning of ‘piss off’”

A small chuckle came from Mary’s end, “Well that’s what they are trained and meant to do. Nut anyways, I’m closing in, stick to the shadows.”

“Gotcha”

The microsecond Mary taps out of her comm link, the distinct yellow lightning of Kid Flash nearly hits her face, indicating a missed punch. With that, she knew where she was now and with one more leap, Mary begins her descent down from her last rooftop and towards the alleyway down below. Barely dodging more of Kid Flash’s attacks and now Starfire’s trademark star bolts as she flips and hops down the building stairs, Mary only now begins to spot some UH 60 Blackhawk helicopters hovering above her and the pursuing Titans, indicating of Boss Zucco’s Trade Federation forces joining in the chase. This quick little speculation was confirmed with  TF troops beginning their own descent via ropes coming out of the Blackhawks.

Finally, the rouge Talon touches the concrete, only to be met on both sides of the alley with opponents she really hadn’t banked on being together. Towards her left were the faceless and well armed TF troopers, all taking aim with apparent now pure shotgun, assault rifle and sub machine gun firepower and red dot lasers out of their aiming sights to ensure accuracy int his nighttime operation. On the opposite end were the Titans, living breathing spirits of strength made into teenage flesh and bone, all led by the one person she considers her dearest love in the whole world. Said love, whipping out his two escrima sticks with tasers at the ends, stared her down as Mary simply stood and stared back.

“Look whatever you are doing has gone far enough” Robin firmly yet loudly enough states with a tad bit a shakiness, “I know what you might be doing might be for the best for me, but the facts are that innocent people are getting hurt and maybe far worse, your little war has turned into full blown terrorist attacks! I-I-I don’t to say it l-l-like that…but you HAVE to stop all of this before more innocents are caught in the…” Robin never had a chance to complete his sentence. Mary simply just raises her hands into the air, dropping her bag unto the ground. Both the TF and Titans were simply…stunned. They didn’t honestly expect that.

They almost certainly didn’t also expect the lone Talon to simply walk up to them, not taking out any of her swords or knives, slightly dropping her hands in front of her, in a submissive position.

“Okay,” the Talon mutters, almost cheerfully, “you can take me in right now.”

“Uh ma’m?” Cyborg questions, his index finger on his left hand rightfully pointing out the swords on her back. Said question was almost immediately answered with the Talon proceeding to unstrap the swords from her, letting them and the belt of throwing knives drop to the ground.

Robin, taking said dropping as his personal cue, puts away his escrima sticks in place of high powered handcuffs. Apparently, his mother wanted them, so why not?

Taking note of the TF troops moving up by a least two steps as they prepare to apprehend his mother, Robin simply raises his hand up,

“We’ve got this.” he says with now absolute firmness behind it.

The troops look at each with expectant questioning looks on their faces. So much questioning so that the lead troop, distinct by his blue/red bandanna underneath his helmet, taps unto his own communicator to talk with the Boss himself. The almost silent atmosphere between the TF and the Titans lasts a grueling one or two more minutes before the lead troop taps his ear piece off.

Beast Boy felt and unnerving sense of what should the right question be at this moment, 'What The freaking hell is actually going on here and what we are doing exactly?!’.

Such a question will have to asked maybe later though, as the lead TF troops signals his squad via

head and hand cues; the Boss said the target was clearly in Titan hands and if we try blowing them away over this, the city officials especially the cops will notice and with all the publicity looking for ANY sort of scandal, big or small, they can use to discredit him, they will use this as their way to do so. Besides if anything, despite his deal with the Court, it’s clear that they weren’t not really so good fellas any and where mostly likely gonna take him out eventually and maybe, just maybe the team he openly bashes in his speeches will be far better as allies at the moment anyways. With the Talon on their hands, maybe they can even get an answer or two out of her without pointlessly torturing her like they would’ve done. So the order was given, “Stand down and just let the kids take the dumb-*ss bird lady anyways.”

With that, the TF begins their climb back up the ropes to their Blackhawks with the last troop to go up giving an unseen glare towards Robin and the Talon before the command of “Come on, Kenny!” from his comrades above in their Blackhawk cue him to take the rope back onto the flying craft.

“So….that was easy.” Kid Flash comments as the Blackhawks fly off and they are left with their bird themed prisoner.

Twenty Minutes Later….Titans Tower Holding Cells…

Mary Elizabeth Llodveski Grayson, now mostly stripped of her Talon gear including her mask and now fitting with most plain clothing that of course exposes her arms, face, and neck of the near grey and blue vein skin albeit with her still shining dark red hair wrapped in a ponytail, takes note of the relatively decent sized but still frustratingly apparent cell being in the shape of an average looking bedroom. More specifically, her own bedroom that she and her late husband John shared during their days as the Flying Graysons, right down to the poster  of their troop on the wall right on top of her bed, the exact same spot she had back at the circus. She guessed her son had some courtesy to make sure she was comfortable in her stay, or rather imprisonment, in their Tower. Not that comfort would matter too much since her mission was accomplished; unbeknownst to both the Titans and the TF at her arrest, Mary had secretly dropped a USB drive unto the ground but at an angle neither side can see it right away. The only one person who knows of this drive was Red X, the politely albeit rough around the edges young man who’ve helped her escape the TF crackdown a few weeks ago and worked with her on covering her assault on one of her targets in this city. By now he should be safe and sound in his secret headquarters (i.e. the Robert Kane slums), USB drive in hand with all the info of what he needs to give the proper warning to both Zucco and most especially her son of what the Court plans to do…

Whoosh

The sliding doors open, revealing a certain red, green and yellow clad vigilante with a black domino mask and steel toed boots as he approaches Mary’s cell door.

“Why did you do it?”

“You mean the surrender part or the destruction of the Xenothium plant? Or even that maiming of that family?”

“All of it and you should know that Mom”

A deep sigh is heard from the other side as Mary gathers her thoughts, “It’s quite easy, Little Robin. A warning. to be specific, the first incident was meant to warn the Court that they will not make their city their own unless they get through me first. The last two things however, were more of their warning to me.”

Robin raises an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“Well, i knew it but it’ll be a matter of time before the Court themselves took notice of what was I doing to their members left and right…”

“You mean that little girl whose limbs you shattered and now Mr. Jughashvili’s beheading?”

“And I freely admit my apologies for those two..”

“You better be thankful that we asked the Law and the TF to let us take you into our custody and you’re very lucky you can’t really die again, otherwise given what you’ve done and the type of people after you…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay Little Robin. I understand and frankly I do deserve whatever sort of punishment should be done to me right now and…”

“MOM!” Mary quickly gets stunted into silence.

Realizing his shout, Robin quickly breathes out to collect himself before letting his emotions get the better of him once again. “I’m simply here to ask you about why you surrendered. I can tell there’s something bigger you’re up to and need answers to them.”

“Please mom, you got to work with me here. Whoever’s planning whatever and if it puts innocent lives in grave danger, you HAVE to let us know.”

Mary, knowing of a semi desperation in Robin’s request despite no apparent signs of showing it, looks unto her hands to note, with her streak maiming and killing, it’s quite surprising her morally driven (a fact she’s very proud of) son would demand her the truth without resorting to much more…rougher methods of extracting the information she wants to tell them but couldn’t out of fear for their safety. Given what she knows now and the building pressure in the atmosphere, well might as well spill the beans.

“The Court of Owls are preparing for a certain night. Maybe later this week or even tomorrow, they are readying their finest assassins and soldiers into an all out assault. ”

“What soldiers?”

“Every Talon that’s not me, they’ve probably shipped about at least tens to hundreds of them here from Gotham probably just today. The Lokiva Plant was run by a well member of the Court, secretly crafting and preparing Xenothium  weapons that these Talons can use.”

“For their attack? Mom, what kind of night are talking about here because it sounds like something we should’ve prepared for months by now.”

“They’ve prepared this night, A Night of the Owls, for months actually, a contingency should one of their own turn his back on them as they secret convert this city and its criminal underground into their own. Granted, they never had total control of even Gotham even when you were little, given the amount of villains that hellhole already has…”

“The point?”

“By at least the end of this month from now, a full entire Private Army of assassins like me but without any thought of their own will target ANYONE that can stand in their way of claiming this city as their own.”

“Anyone? As in whoever’s running the city?”

“Along with whoever’s running to take charge like Zucco and especially it’s resident self proclaimed protectors.” Mary finishes somewhat mournfully given who she means with that last statement.

“You mean us.”

“(sniff) Pretty much yes. And it’s all my fault. Had I not thought of you and rebelled. I would’ve made sure none of this happened. I should’ve long dead by now. I should’ve let that fall just finish me off and I could’ve known you were going to be in good hands instead of the Court’s. (sob) God damn it all. (sob) Have could’ve been so God damned stupid?! How could I..?!”

Mary abrupt found herself cut off a sudden tightening around her chest section. Looking around her was the notable red tunic her son wears on duty now wrapped her as his arms were wrapping around her. Mostly one of the Graysons’ trademark 'cool down’ hugs they would give to each other whenever their own goes through emotional distress, like what she was.

As Robin finishes his cool down hug to his mother, his Mama, he quietly steps back outside her cells and gently closes her door before finally collecting himself to speak.

“Whatever comes our way, we’ll take it down. We will not let this city fall as far as we are concerned.”

Mary remains silent in near wonder of her son’s determination that she can clearly her.

“If we can beat a madman who went as far as torturing me on a mental level literally whenever I was in the dark, an entire of school of egotistical kids who want to be criminals or even the Devil himself and save our friends numerous times in the process, we can beat these Talons and this Court. The Court are just enough group of bad guys. They just so happen to be a little grey around the edges.”

“Can you?”

“We will Mom. And once the Court are beaten, no matter what night it’ll be, we’ll find a way.”

Noticing her son’s valiant determination in his little speech, Mary feels something else besides the usual Mother’s Love and pride at work work…something rather more on her mind..something that says to her “Yeah, you didn’t really need to do all of this, but this is your chance to free yourself from these criminals and live a new life outside”…something that says confidence in her future ahead,,,something that let’s her know it’ll work, no matter if it’s the hard way or not, it’ll all work out in the end…something that says…hope.

Yeah..that was it…hope. And her son gave it, of course he would, he is her Little Robin after all.

Epilogue : Robert Kane Slums

As Red X entered his abandoned house/HQ via the secret window, he checks his belts for signs of that dang stick of plastic Mrs. Talon made such a fuss earlier that day to make sure he got once she was taken in by Chuckles and his friends.

Quickly noting the USB drive safe and sound and making his way to his little laptop, X turns on the little computer as he pulls off the skull like mask of his face , letting loose his black hair with a white streak on the front end and his near pale skin, with a notably 'J’ mark on his right cheek so said facial features can breathe in fresh air as the laptop loads.

As the laptop screens finally shows and the USB given by Talon in secret registers, one note file appears, “WARN THEM ALL; ASSEMBLE THE TITANS”. Clicking open the file, X couldn’t find himself both amused and even alarmed of what was being loaded onto his screen.

'Ofelia Garibaldo, City Manager.’ 'Tina Polanski, Jump Public Advocate’ 'Slade Wilson, Criminal Mastermind and Former Mercenary for the League of Shadows and United States Government’ 'Jason Haywood Todd, Local Thief known as the Red X’ The names went on, up to probably a thousand and growing by the time the file was halfway done.

On yeah, this was big. X might not be a hacker or expert of sneaking onto Titans lines by any means…but he knows he has to…given what the birds here are going to do. Better act fast though.

Meanwhile, Jump Civic Authority Party Headquarters, Downtown

“You heard me right guys. I quit.”

“Certainly, you must be joking of such. No single man dares to defile a deal made with us and expect no consequences as a result,”

“Oh I know, I’ll get consequences. I’ll be expecting those birdies or yours to barge in my office and saying the usual 'The Court has sentenced to die’ shtick maybe while I’m doing some paperwork or listening to ave maria while trying to perform urinating in my toilet upside down out of boredom on the day you’re ready. Frankly, I can’t even give a damn if I try with sincerity.” Zucco states as his cigar smoke reaches the ceiling fan as the hologram call from the masked Owl glares him down as if he was on spot, given said hologram showing the man in his appropriate size when faced for real.

“You shall pay for this defiance.’

"I paid for plenty in my life, Paid for stuff i didn’t even do. The fact of the matter is that I didn’t get your Talon and you probably going to take me out once I was elected anyways. The deal was off the minute she got away from my boys twice by now. So yeah, bottom line is, it’s off and you better have enough Talons to try to get me when this 'Night’ thingie blows over. IF push comes to shove, I’ll fight alright. Screw you guys, I’m staying at my new home.”

“YOU WILL-”

“Ah ,ah. Screw you guys.”

Thus Zucco hangs up and the Owl’s hologram fades out.

“Come and get me. I dare you”

[toomanyfeelings5]

happy, part 5

drama! intrigue! sexual tension!  

the fic continues. here’s a post i made that links to the other parts.

9. the door closes. there’s a long, embarrassed silence. 

then, finally, after a brief cough:

“sorry about that.”

rosamund doesn’t look up from her laptop. she has a fashion design exam tomorrow morning. “no problem.”

chelsea doesn’t take the hint. she keeps talking. rosamund hears her shift from foot to foot. “no really, that wasn’t cool. i should’ve, um, texted you or something--”

rosamund shakes her head, sits straighter at her desk, skims the title of an article she has to review. “just let me know next time. it’s alright.”

chelsea almost says something, mutters under her breath, and then she asks, “are you sure?”

textile design in the industrial age: a comprehensive summary. that’s the article she has to review. she leans closer to the laptop--the text is tiny.

she tries to read, but she can’t focus, not really. chelsea doesn’t answer her texts promptly. chelsea hadn’t bothered to tell her that she had someone coming over. chelsea hadn’t bothered to answer when rosamund had texted her to ask if she could use the room to study. chelsea hadn’t even bothered to lock the door when her and some girl decided to make out on her bed and--and-- 

the other thing is that chelsea’s half of the room is decked out in punk aesthetic--band posters, embroidered patches, a guitar rosamund hasn’t ever seen her play--it’s a disaster. an absolute disaster. 

rosamund squeezes her eyes shut. she doesn’t want to think about opening the door, about seeing her roommate half-dressed in an entirely new context, about any of it. she opens her eyes. it was just a lack of communication. that’s all. she’s just tired from schoolwork. chill. she needs to chill.

rosamund says, “it’s fine.”

chelsea probably runs a hand through her dark hair--it’s probably a mess, all tangled and loose--but rosamund doesn’t know for sure, because rosamund stares at her laptop. rosamund does not look at her. eventually, chelsea apologizes one more time, gets the hint, and leaves to get dinner with friends. 

rosamund gets an A on her exam. she grips the paper tight in her hands, and it still doesn’t feel like a victory. 

10. it’s been a month since dorming with chelsea beatrice, and thankfully, there has only been one other time in which chelsea forgot to text her about having "a friend” over.

chelsea doesn’t have hook-ups over often--she doesn’t seem to hook up with a lot of people anyway. mostly she skypes with her grandma and her mom and her younger sisters, hikes on the weekends, and has her artsy-music-STEM friends over occasionally, and ok, rosamund has to admit it: chelsea isn’t an awful roommate. not ideal--the sex pistols, really?-- but not awful.

there’s one friday night in early october when they both finish all of their work around the same time--this is a bit of a minor miracle, since chelsea double-majors in physics and political science, and rosamund double-majors in business and fashion--and chelsea suggests that they watch the princess bride to celebrate. 

“you said it’s one of your favorites, right?”

“yeah,” rosamund smiles, pleased that chelsea remembered. “yeah, it is.”

“cool, it’s one of mine too. let’s watch it.”

it’s all well and good, sitting on rosamund’s bed, watching the princess bride on chelsea’s bigger laptop, until chelsea points to the screen when the dread pirate rogers makes his first appearance and says, “you know, i think that this movie would be a lot better if wesley was a girl.”

rosamund frowns. “i....suppose that would be nice--”

“i mean--” chelsea pauses the movie, waves her hand. “i mean like, wesley is a super hot guy, don’t get me wrong.”

rosamund nods, because of course, of course he’s a super hot guy.

chelsea continues. “so like, wesley was one of my biggest crushes when i was little, but i also totally loved buttercup. and my point is that the princess bride should have had wesley be a girl. it’d have the whole True Love theme be so...revolutionary, and...” her voice quiets. she picks at the sleeve of the weathered leather jacket she wears all the time. “i think i really needed that kind of stuff, when i was a kid.” 

rosamund hums. “yeah.” she shifts slightly. she doesn’t know what to say, has never known what to say when things like this come up. “can we keep watching?”

“yeah, let’s do it,” chelsea enthuses too quickly.

rosamund wants to enjoy watching it, and in some ways she does: she likes laughing with chelsea at all of the funny parts, she likes telling chelsea her favorite moments. 

the problem is that she gets distracted whenever wesley and buttercup hold hands or kiss or say, “as you wish,” because rosamund keeps picturing wesley as a girl, and she she shouldn’t want to, and it’s distracting. 

the movie ends, rosamund almost flinching when wesley and buttercup kiss for the last time, and chelsea leans back against a few makeshift pillows after she’s put her laptop away. “man, that’s a classic. fezzik and inigo are totally married.”

“totally.” rosamund lets loose a laugh, a bit higher than her normal one, but at least she knows exactly how to talk about this. “my brother fred says the same thing! his friend max always says that wesley and inigo should’ve ended up together.”

“oh my god,” chelsea grins, and she shifts slightly closer to rosamund: when had she moved away? why is she so much more relaxed now? “oh my god, wesley and inigo! i hadn’t thought of that.”

“yeah, fred and max argue about it a lot.”

“it’s worth arguing about!”

they chat about it some more, and they talk about the costuming in the movie, and the sword fight choreography, and eventually chelsea nudges rosaumund’s shoulder and asks, “hey, you’re taking dance classes, right?”

“yeah,” rosamund says, raising her eyebrows. “why do you ask?”

“oh, well, you know.” chelsea adjusts her thick-framed glasses. “do you need a partner still? you were saying something about it to your friend dana--?”

“oh right,” rosamund says, frowning slightly: since when did chelsea remember so much about her, or care? “yeah, i need a partner for next week. we’re practicing the waltz.”

“cool,” chelsea almost mumbles, and stares at her hands. “i just--i did a lot of ballroom dancing when i was younger, and i’m looking to get back into it i guess. i hope it’s not weird or anything, but--” she looks up at rosamund, plaintive, and asks, “but is it ok if i’m your partner? for next week?”

rosamund raises her eyebrows, feels her shoulders tense. she had been planning to ask robert or emmanuel or jason, guys from the dance class, or even luke from the student association, but chelsea...well, she’s apparently an experienced ballroom dancer. it might be useful. 

“i suppose--yes, that would be nice of you.”

“awesome,” chelsea beams. “thank you so much, i’m so excited to get back into dance--i’m a little rusty but i shouldn’t be too awful--”

“not a problem, i have two left feet most of the time anyway--”

“so i could teach you,” chelsea laughs, and rosamund shakes her head: chelsea had never teased her before. are they friends now instead of semi-cordial roommates?

chelsea is expecting a response, so rosamund says quickly, “i’ve always wanted to learn to dance. i’m just not very good at it so far.”

“that’s alright,” chelsea shrugs easily. “you’ll pick up on it the more you do it.”

“yeah. practice makes perfect.”

“eh,” chelsea shrugs again. “perfect isn’t the goal anyway.”

rosamund’s not sure what to say to that, and then she feels inept about it, so she’s almost grateful when chelsea changes the subject and asks, “is it ok if i have a girl over next week? i’ll definitely text you in advance and we won’t be long, i--”

“alright.”

chelsea frowns. her voice cools. “you’re doing that thing again.”

rosamund’s jaw twitches. “what thing?”

“that thing where you freeze up whenever i mention being with a girl.” chelsea squints. her brown eyes harden. “you didn’t do that when i brought a guy over.”

rosamund opens her mouth, closes it. her face is heating up, she can feel it. her nails dig into her palms. “i’m not prejudiced, if that’s what you’re asking. i don’t care who you have relations with--”

“i’m not saying you’re a total biphobe,” chelsea interjects. “jeez, i’m not saying that at all. i’m just....look, i have to ask: do you have a problem with me being bisexual? do you have a problem with me being with a girl?”

“no, no of course not!” rosamund smiles slightly, because this is a ridiculous line of questioning. there’s a stab of guilt in her chest--she sees max at his first pride--but she elects to ignore it this time. why does everyone keep asking her this? why does everyone assume that she’s--that she’s--“i have no problem with you being bisexual, or being with girls or guys or otherwise or whoever you want to be with. my brother’s gay, and max is basically my second brother and he’s gay, and i’m--”

“ok,” chelsea raises her hands. “ok, i get it. sorry for asking, it’s--i’ve had shitty people say shitty things to me before, and i wanted to make sure, that’s all.” her tone remains light and casual, but rosamund feels the air still when chelsea continues. “when you, uh...when you walked in on georgia and i, you’d looked--”

“terrified?”

the word slips out of her mouth, stark and open in the air.

rosamund wishes very much that chelsea would move away so their shoulders are no longer touching. she needs her space. she needs to control herself.

“i was going to say horrified,” chelsea says slowly, frowning slightly. she does not move away. “which like, yeah, it was an awkward situation--sorry again--but like, anyway. glad this is all behind us now. rosamund vincy is the one true ally, everyone.”

irritation prickles up her spine. “guess i am.”

“there it is,” chelsea mutters. “there’s that tone again.” a long pause. rosamund takes a tiny breath. she hadn’t realized she’d been holding it for so long.

in a quiet voice, chelsea asks, “why did you say you were terrified?”

rosamund forces herself to uncurl her fists. “i was surprised, that’s all.”

chelsea stares.

rosamund changes the subject. chelsea is getting way too TMI. “i’ve never danced with another girl before.”

chelsea startles, face no longer closed off. “what?”

rosamund nods rapidly. “i mean, i’ve danced with groups of friends before, but never one-on-one.” she doesn’t know why she feels this urge to prove herself, why there is this angry, heated feeling building in her chest, but she lifts her head and stares at chelsea and tells her, “i guess you’ll have to teach me.” 

chelsea makes some sort of spluttering, strangled noise, and rosamund smirks a little: finally, chelsea’s the one at a loss for words.

she doesn’t realize that she’s been leaning towards her until chelsea manages, “i guess i will,” breath hitting her face.

rosamund’s smirk grows wider. “good.”

“yeah?” chelsea’s voice is low. she is looking at her in a way she never has before, and rosamund--rosamund thinks of chelsea looking at georgia--she thinks that this is a similar kind of gaze, that maybe--

slowly, carefully, chelsea murmurs, “do you want me to teach you?” 

she is so close. rosamund sees the mole on her neck, the collection of freckles near her right eye. rosamund swallows, her entire body warm and tense and waiting--her hand grips the lapel of chelsea’s jacket, and chelsea is so close, chelsea is going to kiss her--

rosamund jolts back, yanks her hand away.

chelsea, dazed, hoarse: “what--?”

there’s a loud buzzing in rosamund’s head. her hands are shaking. she’s trembling all over, god, what was she thinking, what was she thinking, what was she thinking--

“i have to go.”

rosamund doesn’t hear chelsea’s reply, doesn’t sleep in the dorm that night--she stays with dana, dana has space on her couch, dana has lots of beer she’s more than happy to share--and rosamund doesn’t look back. 

“so why, exactly, do you plan to move into my spacious, bodacious single?” fred’s voice is too loud and too demanding and too annoyed for rosamund’s hangover right now, so she snaps, “my roommate and i had creative differences,” and that’s the end of it. rosamund texts chelsea goodbye, that it was nothing personal, that she’s dropping dance class because it’s too time-consuming, and she moves into fred’s that saturday morning. 

that’s the end of it. 

she ignores chelsea’s phone calls and texts. she ignores the static in her head, the ringing in her ears, how her lungs feel constricted, how it’s difficult to breathe sometimes--there are marks on her palms from her nails digging into them, from making them bleed--

she goes by rosy now. it’s shorter, it’s what fred calls her time. rosamund is too stuffy. rosamund is too proper. who’s going to marry someone named rosamund? rosy is easy, rosy is girlish, rosy is confident, rosy is fun. 

eventually rosy hears about a video project fred is helping out with, about a handsome, brilliant pre-med student named thomas lydgate who, according to dana, has spent the past semester in london and who has recently returned to middlemarch. she thinks of her list--1. find the man of your dreams--and that’s the end of it. rosy beams into the camera lens for the fifth time in a row. it is.