#i need you to know i went in entirely and completely unspoiled. for Anything.

[altschmerzes]

good evening everyone. i finished death note. bro holy fuck.

i am getting into anime fifteen years later than the rest of my peer group so you may have heard this one before but death note? PRETTY FUCKIN GOOD.

[narrans]

A Tall and Small Collection | Soren | Square One Again

Rey yawned and rubbed his eyes. For the first time in several weeks, he had a restful sleep and he felt at ease once again being with his oldest brother; however, it was short lived. Upon opening his eyes, he suddenly realized that Soren wasn’t beside him – Dorian was.

Before his mind could race and send him spiraling into panic, he looked around to see Soren sitting at the edge of their makeshift bed.

“Hey,” Soren said softly. “Good morning.” Soren smiled warmly. He had missed how Soren’s smile spread all the way through to his eyes. The moment would have gone unspoiled if Rey didn’t spot Ashlynn sitting up in bed.

His eyes widened and he naturally shrunk back into the covers, bringing them under his chin and over his mouth. Soren noticed this shift and glanced back to Ashlynn. Without a word, she folded the covers off of her body, got up, and headed for the kitchen. Soren and Rey both let out an involuntary exhale, each for different reasons. Soren shook his thoughts away and looked to his youngest brother.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked. Rey pulled the blankets from his face and played with the edges of the fabric. It was very soft between his fingers. He couldn’t help but look at the door where the human left through.

“Yeah,” he murmured. His eyes eventually found his brother’s eyes, for the first time noticing the circles beneath them.

“You… stayed up all night?” he asked. Soren nodded.

“I told you I would,” Soren replied. Their speaking, though still low, was enough to stir Dorian. His brown furrowed as he inhaled slowly and deeply. He winced as he stretched, undoubtedly tugging at the wounds beneath his bandages. Dorian’s eyes flittered open before he became instantly alert and sat up.

“Soren? Where’s the… is she…” Dorian looked around. Soren felt a hint of pride in his brother’s vigilance and concern.

“It’s okay,” Soren soothed, pulling himself further onto the makeshift bed. “She’s making breakfast. It’ll take a while.” Both of the younger brothers exchanged a nervous glance – and Soren could guess that there were a few reasons behind it. “I know she makes you nervous, but it’s really okay.” This didn’t seem to reassure them. To his surprise, Rey spoke up first.

“We… well… dad said that you might be different; that humans had this effect on us over time.” Rey’s statement was reminiscent of what Dorian said the night before. It stung. Soren sighed and shook his head, jaw clenching and unclenching involuntarily. Soren shook his thoughts away. He couldn’t think about that right now.

“I’m going to tell you what I told Dorian yesterday,” he started. “I haven’t changed – no matter what Brady said. I had to improvise to survive and made some difficult choices including staying with Ashlynn because I could not take care of myself with my leg injured like this.”

Soren breathed in shakily. “Which brings me to something I know we need to talk about, and you’re not going to like it. We have to stay here a little longer.” Dorian and Rey glanced at one another and then back to him, their slightly dulled blue eyes conveying nervousness and uncertainty.

“S-stay? For how long?” asked Dorian. His thumb absentmindedly traced over the bandages Soren placed on his forearm. “Why can’t we leave?”

Rey nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’re together now. We have you,” agreed Rey. Soren nodded and smiled. He didn’t want to shatter their perception of him. He was the older brother – the undefeatable hero always able to pull through at the last possible moment. Perhaps it was selfish, but Soren coveted those moments.

“Yes, we’re together – and that’s not going to change; however,” Soren sighed heavily, and his brothers took notice. “I am still hurt. My leg is on the mend and it should be better soon. Until then, I can’t borrow. I can’t run. I can’t carry my bag or anything I find. I can barely climb.” The brothers’ faces began to fill with worry. It was heart crushing.

“B…but… what are we going to do?” whimpered Dorian. Soren leaned forward and clasped his brothers’ hands. Their eyes fixed onto his.

“We’re going to stay for just a little bit longer,” said Soren calmly. “I’ll talk to Ashlynn – she’s the human – and have some arrangements made. We can put our beds on the ground under the bed or just inside the wall; but, until I get better, we have to stay nearby.” They looked reluctant and still unsure, but nodded. To Soren, it looked like they were possibly accepting their perceived fate of captivity.

Soren knew there was nothing he could say in that moment to calm them further. Even he was unsure until very recently about Ashlynn and her intentions. Guard always at the ready. Fate accepted in the worst-case scenario. Soren could hardly say he was as okay as he let on. He shook his thoughts away. There was no time to think about such things now.

His eyelids grew heavy and threatened to close on him. Was he really that tired? The yawn that crept up on him was barely stifled as he returned his attention to his brothers. He needed to find out what happened to that pathetic excuse of a dad, Brady, and fill in the pieces that only Dorian and Rey knew.

“Trust me,” he said finally with another reassuring smile. He saw them nod in acknowledgment, which was enough for now. “Now… I know it only happened yesterday, but I need you to tell me what has happened while I was gone. Where did you go? Where have you been living? Where is Br… I mean, your dad?”

Dorian and Rey both shuffled under the covers closer together, as if their simple proximity with one another would make the situation better and make them more comfortable. Rey was the first to speak up.

“After we got back in the walls, we did like you said and ran a good distance away back toward camp just in case; and we waited and waited,” began Rey. “Dad came back and… and…” Rey sniffed and wiped his eyes with the base of his palm.

“And I wasn’t with him,” finished Soren. They nodded.

“We begged dad to go back and even offered to help, but he said the human got you and that you were captured,” finished Dorian.

Both boys spoke slowly, voices crestfallen as if they were admitting guilt to some kind of crime. Soren clasped their hands harder and pulled himself closer just as they pulled themselves closer to him.

“He said he would keep an eye out and that we would rescue you when the human wasn’t looking; but, before that, we had to move camp. Dad thought the human would make you tell where we were. So, we moved,” said Dorian.

“Yeah,” added Rey. “He had us climb an entire floor up so we could stay in the ceiling.”

“He had you what?” Soren didn’t mean to interrupt. It was completely involuntary, but he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. [An entire floor? They only just learned how to climb a line properly. It’s a miracle they didn’t slip and fall.] He watched his brothers nod again.

“Dad said it was safer there. There was a place with sturdy wood, and it was warm. We moved everything and made camp,” finished Rey. Soren exhaled slowly as Dorian continued the account.

“We did see you from the ceiling. Dad found where you were after the first week or so and took us to see. That’s… when he told us that you might be different…. We saw her doing something to you, but dad made us leave,” said Dorian. Soren felt himself roll his eyes, disguised as a long blink. [At least Brady has that much going for him. He didn’t make them witness everything that happened to me.]

“After that…” Dorian’s voice snapped Soren back to the present. “He went out and tried borrowing what he could, but there wasn’t a lot since we couldn’t go where you were for safety. We tried rationing the food, but… dad… he was having a hard time bringing back rations.”

“After a couple weeks, he said there was a new family he was watching and he was going to try and get food from them. He left, told us to be safe, and to not go to the apartment where you were,” said Dorian.

“How long ago was that?” asked Soren. The brothers exchanged unsure glances. They could tell time, but the family watch was at their last home and was too heavy to bring with them. Soren was impressed that his brothers remembered the account and were able to convey it without losing their nerve – at least for now. He knew there was more to the story.

“Maybe… four days? Five? I don’t remember,” said Rey.

“I don’t remember either,” muttered Dorian.

“Okay. Then what happened?” prompted Soren. They shifted uncomfortably. [That’s what I was waiting for. This next bit is going to be rough] thought Soren as he braced himself for what was to come.

“Well… dad… he said he would; but – he didn’t come back…” muttered Rey. Tears were gathering in his and Dorian’s eyes. [That’s what I thought. Sounds like something happened with the new humans who moved in.]

“We didn’t know where to go and we were so hungry. The lines were still up – the ones you put up. So, we climbed down to see what happened. We thought we could get to the place you took us with all of the chips. I had my hook and we both had line; but, we got turned around and ended up in the old lady’s apartment,” said Dorian.

Soren watched as both of their breathing became shallower. Their eyes darted around as if they could see the events happening again and again in front of them.

“That’s when Rey got stuck?” asked Soren.

“It was so scary Soren,” whimpered Rey. “I… I was trying to be careful and quiet and I just tripped under the cabinet.”

“I tried to get him out,” added Dorian, lower lip quivering. “But the more we struggled the harder it got. I-I-I tried to find something to help pry him off, but that’s when…” His hand involuntarily grabbed at the bandages and wounds on his arms.

“I didn’t see the cat and it got me. I… t-th-thou-ght that it was gonna e-ea-t me, but it l-let me go when the human came in the room. I ran as fast as I could back to R-r-ey to hide, but the cat followed me and so d-did the human,” sniffed Dorian. “That’s when she grabbed the sticky trap with Rey and took him away.”

“It was so scary Soren!” Rey choked partially on a sob as he whipped his eyes with the back of his free hand.

“Shhh… it’s okay,” soothed Soren as he leaned forward and rubbed his brother’s shoulder. He finally had a better idea of what had actually happened and, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, it was just like he suspected.

“So, after that,” said Soren. “You came to find me?” Dorian nodded silently. “I’m glad you did.” Dorian glanced up at him almost disbelievingly, like he was disappointed in himself.

“Even though I was seen and now we’re here with a human?” he asked quietly. Soren nodded.

“Especially now. If you didn’t come and be as brave as you were facing Ashlynn not knowing what would happen, Rey wouldn’t be here. Dorian, you helped save your brother. That’s nothing to be upset or beat yourself up about,” said Soren before scooting closer and pulling his brothers into a tight hug. They leaned into him, wrapping their arms as tight as they could around his shoulders.

There were two conflicting sensations happening simultaneously. The first was the warmth of the embrace with his brothers. He was finally able to help them after being taken out of commission. The second was a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Brady’s whereabouts were still unknown and the pain his brothers went through could only heal with time.

What made the matter worse was the moment was interrupted when both brothers inhaled sharply and shrank in Soren’s grasp. Soren turned to see Ashlynn poking her head through the door, a tray in her hand. He exhaled to relax himself.

“It’s okay! Just give us a minute,” called Soren. Ashlynn, barely hearing his voice, nodded and ducked back out of the room. “Ashlynn made breakfast. So, she’s going to come into the room and bring in a tray of things. Knowing her, she’ll probably have bandages too.”

Dorian and Rey both whimpered and pulled themselves slightly under the blankets. Their lack of trust was making Soren uneasy. He remembered the fear they were going through, but hardly felt it anymore. Was Brady right? Had he really changed so much? The thought of a human seeing him used to terrify him, but now it felt simpler; like he could be at ease with someone he could trust.

He couldn’t think about that now. Instead, he shook those thoughts away and prepared his brothers.

“Okay, here’s how this is going to go. I’m going to call her back in. She’ll drop off breakfast and whatever is on that tray, I’ll thank her, and then she’ll leave for a while. Okay?” Dorian and Rey nodded, but also looked like they’d rather duck under the covers to hide. “It’ll just be a minute.”

Soren stood and hobbled to the edge of the nightstand. “Ashlynn! We’re good. You can come in now!” His voice carried across the vast room to the door. Once again, Ashlynn came in with the tray.

“You okay?” she asked softly upon seeing the way Soren kept glancing back at his brothers. He nodded and watched her set the tray onto her bed. Much to her relief, Ashlynn let Soren point and guide where she placed the different elements which included several bottle caps, a roll of foil, and a two bowls.

The first bowl was filled with finely chopped scrambled eggs with bits of different elements in them which Soren guessed were different meats and vegetables. The second bowl was steaming slightly with warm water. Ashlynn also placed some bandages and cream nearby.

“Ashlynn,” called Soren as she turned to retrieve the tray. “Thank you.” There was a reassurance in her smile, but also a slight hurt that she was back at square one in gaining trust. “Are… I mean… what are your plans for the day?” Ashlynn gave a partial shrug and sighed.

“Not sure just yet. It’s my cleaning day, so I’ll do that for sure. You?” she returned the question. Soren felt a small smile tug onto his lips.

“I’m going to make sure they’re okay and,” he paused as a yawn snuck up on him. “I think I may lay down. We could all use more rest.”

“Not a bad idea,” replied Ashlynn. “I’ll go ahead and leave you to it. I’ll be back later.” With that, she slipped out of the room.

The warm food was much appreciated, especially since missing their meal the previous night. They ate in silence, enjoying the first meal they had together in what felt like forever. After they finished, Soren took the time to change Dorian and Rey’s bandages before washing their dishes in the rest of the warm water.

At this point, Soren was exhausted. His eyes were drooping. Each thought he tried to form faded into the abyss of his mind. There was only one cure – sleep. He needed sleep, but he couldn’t bear the thought of his brothers worrying while he slept. He couldn’t go without sleep though.

He stayed conscious as long as he could as he staggered back to their makeshift bed and flopped onto the soft, cushiony fabric. Dorian and Rey rushed to his side and shook him.

“Soren? Soren! Are you okay?” they asked in unison. Soren nodded.

“Don’t worry bobbins. Just tired,” yawned Soren.

“B…but… what if she…” started Dorian. Soren reached up with both hands and ruffled the hair on their heads.

“Don’t worry bobbins,” he smiled as he dragged himself back into the same place he was the night before. The moment he was situated, Dorian and Rey tucked themselves into his sides, heads resting on his shoulders. Soren’s arms draped over their arms as he pulled them in tight. “We’ll be alright. If she come back in, you can ask her to leave nicely or just wake me up. Okay?” He felt them both nod and mutter an “okay.”

It took moments for Soren to be pulled into a deep sleep. Dorian and Rey both glanced at one another from across his chest. Was this their life now? Were they really going to be set free? Or had Soren pulled them into a trap set by a human?

For now, all that mattered was that they were together; and, soon, they too drifted off to sleep.

Continue 

Previous

Beginning

~Feel free to reblog/repost, comment, like, suggest ~

~Prompts Welcome~

[promisedyouforever]

Calling @megabadbunny!!  ‘Tis your @dwsecretsanta, erm, Santa!

EDITED TO ADD:  I forgot to mention this!  I have a larger version of both images I will gladly send you, since tumblr only takes up to 1280px wide.

One of your prompts was NinexRose and fake marriage.  And, welllll... this happened.  I’m not sure about the painting, but I hope you like it! (I usually take more time and of course all I can see is every little thing wrong with it and urk, nerves!)  As it needs some ‘splaining, here’s a silly and horrendously schmoopy Blurb of Explanation for which I really have no excuse but Regret Nothing (TM). ;)

~~~~

Fake...?

He’d only wanted to show her Stonehenge.  Really, not a major destination, just a bit of a side trip.  And not the ancient, crumbling relic from her time – what would be the fun in that?  No, he wanted her to see it in its full glory.

Not in the past, of course – nothing dangerous.  No, he only wanted to take Rose forward to the Wiltshire of the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, where she could see the henge fully restored, as if it were brand new.  Of course, that lot had gotten the history of the place completely wrong, but it was nothing he couldn’t correct.

At least they were in the right place...

As soon as he checked the console, he knew their landing was off timewise by at least a few centuries.  But Rose’s curiosity had gotten the better of him – after she’d finished laughing.  

When had it happened? Exactly when had her wish truly become his command?

He was a doomed man. Doomed, a word he’d not dared even think – love, for Rassilon’s sake – roaming his brain freely.  He just wasn’t going to say it aloud.  He’d resolved a good while back (had he really been in love with her that long?) that she would never know.  She didn’t, couldn’t possibly love him in return.

But facts were facts, he could not say no to her, and the two of them ventured hand in hand out into the verdant countryside, wide open and beautiful and unspoiled, at a time very far in her future.

Apparently it was just not far enough, not nearly far enough to avoid, avoid –

this.

It was Earth’s Third Great Dark Age, and they’d plunged themselves into the middle of it. Which would not have been so bad, had they not been inside the henge and holding hands when the caravan of Queen Scary Spice VI had made its presence known by halting abruptly alongside them.

Explanations were demanded and heated words exchanged, and What Is the Meaning of Such Conduct?! Intimate contact, and inside the henge, no less.  Disgraceful!

The Queen Herself had asked him only one thing. “Give us one reason, ‘Doctor’,” she commanded, actually peering down her nose at him, “that you should not be summarily separated from your head.”

Beside him there was a sharp intake of breath, and then, like a fizzy drink shaken once too often, Rose exploded, blurting out, “But we’re engaged!”

What?

As it turned out, impromptu marriage right there, on the spot, was a fairly easy choice over decapitation.  Even if if didn’t really mean anything; even though he didn’t do domestic; even if he knew Rose was only agreeing to save his life; even if it was all a bit of clever acting from the woman he... well.  Even.

Rose was whisked away in a sudden flurry of activity and pulled into the largest carriage.  Except the Queen, every woman in the caravan (there turned out to be several) followed after her, shooing men away as they went, ready to help prepare her for her wedding.

They kept him waiting for two hours (and apparently all he had to do was take off his jacket), but when she emerged, his mind went blank and he had to remember how to breathe.

He’d beheld nebulae forming, borne witness to the births of entire galaxies... but when she caught his eyes and gave him a shy smile, Rose was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Halfway through a strange mishmash of vows that included references to “the Dot Com Most High” and “His Holiness of Microsoft,” she promised to love him.

Rose promised to love him.  Him.  And she was not pretending at all.

She was not pretending, and neither was he.  By the time the priest had finished the handfasting ritual, she was his wife, with a handwritten Decree of Marriage bearing the royal seal.

On the walk back to the Tardis, his left hand still bound to her right, they laughed and talked and read the decree and discovered it was Christmas Day.

The Doctor and Rose, married on Christmas, travelling the universe together.  As it should be.

[keyofjetwolf]

CawCaw is so genuinely delighted to hear Mytho say that he loves her and only her that it makes me hurt for a her a little. I also can’t stop thinking about how much Rue didn’t want ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANY OF THIS, but she’s trapped in there all the same (NOTICE THE TRAPPED MOTIF HERE TODAY). But even with there being as clear a line between the girl and the magical girl that I’ve ever seen, still Rue was doing pretty much this herself. Is that something Rue and CawCaw share, then? But then -- as I can never seem to completely get away from -- why was Rue so freaked out when Mytho thought his feelings might be genuine? Or was Rue wanting Mytho to blankly say the words she told him to say part of a bleed-through from CawCaw, but Rue only really began to question that when it all got too real?

Either way, the difference between Rue’s reaction and CawCaw’s is striking, and both are sad for entirely contrasting reasons, which, I can’t lie, is pretty fascinating.

NONE OF WHICH HAVE FUCK ALL TO DO WITH THESE CAPS SORRY I DISTRACTED MYSELF. This is such a great moment to help show us how fucking empty all of this is. When CawCaw, in her desperate excitement, tries to take the fantasy further by asking Mytho for details about loving her, all she gets is silence and his blank stare. He can’t tell her how much he loves her, because she didn’t tell HIM what to say in response to it.

WHICH HEY CHECK IT OUT COMES BACK TO WRITING. Mytho is a completely unrealized character, an archetype in its purest most fuck boring form. He’s the prince, the romantic lead, BUT THAT’S IT. Putting him into a story and then doing nothing at all with him leads to this, where characters with actual depth and dimension can’t interact with him in any meaningful way. Often times, when writing, the characters do seem to come alive. They have their own wants, needs, desires, their own will even, where they demand more time or for the plot to go in directions you never planned. But that comes from knowing them, from thought and development, from care.

Nobody actually CARES about Mytho. Tutu has probably come closest by taking action for his benefit, but even that began with her deciding FOR him that it’d be better if he had his heart restored. Mytho is the fulcrum of the plot, but not in any way that’s actually caused BY Mytho. He is because he is, like how a plate is where all your food goes, but it’s just a vehicle for all the interesting shit. He has nothing on his own, so when the story went off the rails and started doing for itself, no fucking wonder he pretty much just sat there. He’s a plate in the cupboard waiting for dinnertime.

(I’m completely unspoiled for Princess Tutu and watching it for the first time. Please don’t confirm or deny anything in this post, give me hints or cautions or suggestions about future episodes, or try to explain anything going on. That includes if I should’ve been able to figure it out from previous episodes, or if it’s cultural, or if there’s no answer at all. Spoiling the experience only ruins things for everyone!)

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 240: PLIFF

Previously on BnHA: Shigaraki “Thanos” Tomura gleefully reduced an entire city to dust while laughing maniacally. You know, villain things. He almost turned Re-Destro to dust as well, but Re-Destro got around that by chopping off his own legs. Like it was no big. I still haven’t quite managed to process that yet. Anyway, so everyone was real impressed by Tomura at this point, because how could you not be, and to sum things up, Re-Destro basically accepted him as his lord and savior and handed the Meta Liberation Army over to him. So now Shigaraki Tomura, noted crazy person and heir to All for One’s empire, who has just upgraded his quirk so as to be able to destroy basically anything within an unknown range without even having to touch the thing directly, and who has also pledged to destroy the entire world, has an army. And he also has Gigantomachia, who was watching him all hearts-in-eyes while he did his thing. So all in all this has been a very productive arc for the League of Villains. And meanwhile, the League of Everyone Else may want to think about changing their name to “League of People About To Be Incredibly Fucking Screwed.”

Today on BnHA: The League of Villains, in what is clearly the best rebranding move since New Coke, renames itself the “Paranormal Liberation Front”, a.k.a. PLF, a.k.a. PLIFF because that’s what it instantly became in my head and you can’t stop me. Among PLIFF’s Finest is newly initiated member Hawks, whose mystery bag is finally confirmed to have contained exactly what we all thought it was going to contain. I don’t even want to talk about that. I’m still in denial. But also weirdly thrilled. I’m terrible. Anyway, so Hawks is all “:) we’re fucked,” agreeing with the consensus the general fandom has come to over the past week, and palling around with his new best friend Dabi as he frantically tries to come up with some kind of plan. Maybe the heroes can try rebranding themselves as “the Supernatural Emancipation Cavalry.” That wouldn’t really solve anything, but it’d be funny to watch the villains come to realize they’re being mocked. Sorry but y’all brought this on yourselves.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)  

so I received an ask from a very kind anon warning me to be careful of spoilers for this chapter. thank you, anon! rest assured that I have been very cautious, and am pleased to inform everyone that I’m diving in spoiler-free this week. so bring on your Kacchan hero names, your Best Jeanist heads, your new Deku quirks, and whatever other twists you want to toss my way, manga. but especially that first one. this arc has been fantastic, but now that it’s wrapping up, I miss my kids and I would like to check in with them soon. they grow up so fast and time is precious

so apparently the title for this chapter is “Power”, which could mean lots of things, but I imagine it’s not something that bodes well for our heroes. honestly does anything bode well for them at this point. they’re not having much luck on the boding front

oh cool, a time jump! so this is apparently now one week after “the deadly battle.” wow, way to sum everything up in the blandest terms possible while still being accurate. like, yeah, that is what it was, but somehow it doesn’t quite communicate the full magnitude of what actually went down, you know?

anyway so the town basically looks like it got hit by a fucking meteor

new crack theory that a time-traveling Shigaraki Tomura is what actually killed the dinosaurs

wow would you fucking look at this

I guess this is the BnHA version of “an unfortunate training exercise”

also I like how they didn’t think it would be believable that one sleepy boi could cause all of this destruction, so they amped it up to twenty fucking guys instead. sob. why did they even bother giving Tomura an army. he is an army

lol the bullshit continues

“reporting to you live from Deika City, an innocent and wholesome country town in no way affiliated with an extreme right-wing quirk supremacist movement, where citizens recently found themselves victims of an entirely unprovoked attack by no fewer than twenty, and definitely more than six, villains. the brave citizens proceeded to fight them off, and definitely killed them all and didn’t surrender to them and elect their leader as their new god. also the president of Detnerat just happened to be there. just coincidentally. he definitely was not the one who instigated the entire thing. when asked for comment, Mr. Yotsubashi responded, quote, ‘nonsense, I’m no hero. would you call a man a hero just because he fought off an army of villains alone and selflessly sacrificed his own legs to ensure that justice prevailed? would you call that heroic? poppycosh. that’s just the kind of man I am. I wouldn’t call myself brave. ‘humble,’ maybe. ‘handsome’, perhaps. but a hero? no. I’m just an everyday, all-around good type of person, that’s all.’ so there you have it. truly a courageous figure. a gallant example of truly stellar fortitude and virtue. we need more Yotsubashi Rikiyas in these trying times. back to you, Jeff”

anyway, so the media in BnHA. fairly gullible, huh?

so now the report is concluding with a statement that the investigation is still ongoing. uh huh. damn they really got away scot-free with all this, huh

and we’re cutting to a close-up of sushi! oh my god. Compress have your dreams finally come true at last

yesssss oh my god. I’m so happy for him

(ETA: on my second read-through I paid attention to try to see whether or not Compress had finally gotten a new robot arm, but it’s impossible to tell. he’s only using his right hand here, and later on when he goes on stage with the rest of them he’s wearing his usual trenchcoat and gloves. I’m just gonna assume he finally got the upgrade he wanted, though. nice to see you so content, Mister I-Ran-Around-A-Lot.)

excuse me, what, Dabi? he didn’t even do anything?? as opposed to you, who basically just set yourself on fire and glared at Frogurt for half a dozen chapters?? don’t hurt yourself climbing back down from that high horse you punk

lol what

I don’t even have to scroll down to the rest of this page to immediately know this is some bullshit. she’s not dead. out of everyone in the League she’s probably third most important after Tomura and Mr. You-Didn’t-Even-Do-Anything above. her quirk is too plot-critical for her to actually be dead. you’re not gonna kill off the ONLY GIRL IN THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS, either. Horikoshi who do you even think you’re fooling

ah, yep

Togaaaaaaaaa omg. I’d hug you but you’d stab me. but I’m so happy to see you my precious baby girl

and it actually makes sense for Twice to be mourning the clone, though, and I’m glad they showed it. because he of all people understands that the clone is the person to at least some degree. like, it’s nice that he doesn’t just view them as disposable and he respects them. he’s so nice omfg

anyway so it looks like he’s back to being crazy though

oh well, it was nice while it lasted. at least he doesn’t appear traumatized anymore. and he has a boyfriend now too. where is Giran anyway

now fucking Skeptic is walking in like he’s on the set of a fucking sitcom

[canned audience laughter]

nice touch on the following page with Hanabata starting to refer to Re-Destro as “The Supreme...” before catching himself and amending it to just “Re-Destro”

oh wow

damn, LoV, y’all went from poverty straight to the .01%. talk about an upgrade

oh my god there’s a secret passage

oh my god it leads to a secret basement

trying not to think about the last time we were in a secret villain basement. this isn’t like that. relax. that arc is over now. deep breaths

holy shit

this is like the fucking Mines of Moria. complete with a Balrog. jesus christ

omg look who got himself a BRAND NEW SUIT AND TIE ENSEMBLE oh shiiit

is that a fucking fur-lined coat. Shigaraki Tomura has officially upgraded to KHR Villain status. what a little shit. I adore you, you son of a bitch

and I thought he destroyed all the hands?? come on dude, I know it’s like your signature look, but I was hoping we were going in a different direction from here on out. ah well

wow, Horikoshi

just once. just once I would like this man to leave a plothole unaddressed for more than one page. god I love this manga

anyway so they’re fully lampshading the fact that this one hand somehow miraculously survived, and they’re all “I guess it’s his trademark, huh?” yep, that’s right. his lewk. now be quiet, you two. which of us is doing the recap here

so now RD is up on stage showing off the weirdest fucking wheelchair I’ve ever seen, and singing Tomura’s praises

it’s remarkable how quickly his ego adapted to his brand new role as head of Tomura’s PR. he almost seems to be enjoying this more than when he was the leader

oh shit??

A NEW NAME?? oh my god. edge of my seat. can’t wait. take it away boys

LOOOOOOOL what

sob this makes it sound like they do ghost investigations. is there a League of Villains Buzzfeed Unsolved AU. this is what happens when you put the otaku in charge of the name

just. why paranormal. they thought it sounded cool?? and am I really supposed to type out PLF and not pronounce it like “pliff” in my head moving forward?? yeah, that’s not happening. you guys are now PLIFF. congratulations

thank god they’ve still got Tomura to lend legitimacy to this whole ridiculous operation. god, there’s something I never thought I’d say. Tomura why are you now the part of the League -- excuse me, PLIFF -- that I actually take the most seriously. god

y’all heard the man. whatever we want. this is happening. just remember kid, you gave me permission

holy shit you guys is that motherfucking Carvel!?!? I was staring at the panel all “WHO IS THIS” and wondering if they’d somehow brought Kizuki back to life, oh my god. I’m fucking dying send help. he looks like Galaxy Express 999. my brain is short-circuiting

anyway so everyone is all HOORAY WE LOVE THIS and they’re all cheering

HOMBGLKDF

DSLFKSHDLGK HEY BOY, HOW ARE YOU LIKING BEING A MEMBER OF THIS NEW HERE VILLAIN CULT. WHERE’S THE FUCKING BAG, HAWKS

SDFKSJDLFKSDLKFH A FLASHBACK AHHHHHH

I CAN’T TURN THE PAGE OH GOD NO SOMEBODY ELSE DO IT

OH MOTHERFUCKING SHIT

my jaw just. fucking. -- -----------

okay Hawks. fucking explain. how did you do it. is it a fake?? surely it’s not the real deal?? oh god, the memes have now become terribly real. I have no choice but to embrace this with even more stupid jokes and memes as a coping mechanism or I’m gonna lose it

but for real, they didn’t seriously do my boy Jeanist like that. Paramount Optimal Jeanist did not survive a point-blank attack from motherfucking All For One just to get shanked by Hawks so that he could get good with PLIFF, only to be, and I quote, “too late...!”

(ETA: and on readthrough #2, Dabi does indeed bring up the fact that this might not actually be Jeanist’s corpse. “setting aside the issue of whether he is who you say he is...” so even he acknowledges that shenanigans could be afoot.

but he seems convinced it’s a real body at the very least. though did it never occur to you that he could have just picked it up from the morgue, dude? that’s gonna be my go-to theory for now at any rate.)

is now a good time for me to bring up something I’ve been wondering about for a while, which is how Bakugou is going to take this? yes, Bakugou. “okay makeste, I know he’s your favorite and I know you miss him, but what kind of mental cartwheels are you doing in order to make this situation with Hawks and PLIFF somehow relate to Bakugou Katsuki, whom we last saw twenty fucking chapters ago, and who has absolutely nothing to do with this?”

well I’m glad you asked, and you see, it’s because (a) the internship, and (b) because we already know Katsuki blames himself for at least one hero’s downfall as a result of what happened in Kamino, and I could easily see him having a similar response to Best Jeanist’s injury and subsequent disappearance. like, we already know this shit is all over the news. and Bakugou knows Jeanist personally. and so now what with him being missing, I can’t help but wonder if he’ll blame himself again for being the reason Jeanist was there at Kamino, and lost a lung, and so forth

and I realize this tangent is coming sort of out of left field, but seeing as this arc is finally wrapping up, and we can expect to cut back to the U.A. kids again soon, I just figured I’d bring it up now, because we’ll see if I’m right or not shortly

anyway. so let’s get back on topic. best dead Jeanist. oh god

but it seems like it did, at least, finally convince Dabi of Hawks’s sincere villainous intentions. so we have that one minor win, I guess. congratulations Hawks, now you know about the secret villain basement and their new rebranding. was it worth it you bastard

oh shit. actually, maybe it was. because now he understands just how incredibly screwed they are sob

so he doesn’t know for sure about the Noumu yet. so Tomura still has that little ace up his sleeve. fucking great

but him knowing about the Detnerat thing is big, though. so now the heroes know not to trust any of their equipment, or any of their lackeys like fucking Slidin’ Go. that’s something, at least

and you gotta love the whole “equal to, if not greater than” bit, sob. never in my life have I ever seen something so egregiously understated. “Shigaraki might be more powerful than the heroes at this point” yeah, you think!? god

holy shit Re-Destro calm the fuck down

Tomura’s telling him to get lost, and he’s immediately making himself scarce lol. good riddance

and Tomura is now kneeling dramatically and pounding his fist on the floor. okay

hey

I take offense, sir. “League of Villains” had a timeless air about it. and more importantly, you couldn’t abbreviate it to the sound that someone makes when they plop down tiredly onto a couch

oh shit!!!!

THIS LAST PAGE HAD BETTER BE A TERRIFYING PANEL OF THE HIGH END NOUMUS, OMG. I’M HOLDING MY BREATH

GODDAMMIT IT’S JUST ANOTHER SEXY CLOSEUP OF TOMURA’S FACE

I mean, can you actually call it that at this point? can you actually “grant” something to someone if they already have more of it than they know what to do with?

but I mean, we know what he really means though, so fair enough

oh ffs now he’s saying “but first there’s something I’d like you to do for me” oh my god enough with these side quests!

he wants him to transport something, apparently. ARE YOU HATCHING SOME NEW SCHEME oh gosh

oh my god and meanwhile Hotwings is becoming canon right before our eyes holy shit

of course!! he’s fucking thrilled!! everything is just!! so great!! right now!! :)!!!!!

oh my god Hawks

“Endeavor, and everyone” I see what you did there kid

(ETA: and as far as I recall, Endeavor doesn’t even know about his undercover mission yet. I wonder how he’s going to react when he finds out. your adopted son is now best friends with your presumed-dead son! and in mortal danger omg.)

wow. wow. and that’s the end of the chapter. fucking shit

so! lots to process! Hawks really did it! the absolute madman!! and Dabi fucking loves him now, which is great, if you like things that inevitably end in tragedy. then that’s great for you. but otherwise I guess it’s not so great

so I wonder if our next arc will be the Undercover Hawks Antics arc, or if we’ll be getting back to Deku and the gang. I’m guessing the latter because it’s been a while, but it’s definitely exciting to see this particular plotline finally advancing and becoming more intricate

so basically I have no idea what to expect next week. which is amazing. I’m so fucking excited. now if Horikoshi could just leave us all a little pity disclaimer clarifying that no Jeanists were actually harmed in the making of this chapter and that it was all CGI or some shit, that would be great :/

[aion-rsa]

Power Rangers Beast Morphers Season 2 Episode 21 Review: Source Code

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This POWER RANGERS BEAST MORPHERS review contains spoilers.

This episode was a huge gamble for Power Rangers Beast Morphers. As I wrote about last week, invoking a plotline from Power Rangers RPM could have blown up in their faces. The cliffhanger with Venjix in the morpher has gone unresolved for over a decade and fan expecations for it being paid off were sky high. If even one detail was wrong or out of place, the whole episode would have collapsed.

But Beast Morphers did the impossible. They followed up on Venjix cliffhanger perfectly and delivered the best team-up episode in well over a decade. How did they pull this off? Well, very smartly, the episode knows its following up continuity from over a decade ago but only uses that as flavor for the episodes real focus, Nate.

It might seem odd when you say it out loud. Why bother focusing on Nate at all when you’re bringing back a villain from ten years ago and Dr. K? Who cares about the Beast Morphers team? They’re just window dressing for resolving some continuity! No, Beast Morphers made the smart decision of centering this episode on Nate because that needed to be the emotional core to drive everything else.

We learn that years ago when Nate was just a kid he experimented on old Ranger tech hoping to find new ways to morph. In the process though he experimented on the RPM morpher that had Venjix in it and accidentally released him into the Grid Battleforce computer system. Venjix became Evox! It instantly sends Nate into a spiral. His actions caused all the destruction from the past year. 

He beats himself up for his actions and the show doesn’t quickly resolve it as they have in the past. Nate is given the proper time to lay all the blame at his feet. Venjix wipes the floor with him and constantly needles him with what he did. It’s no wonder Nate just throws his hands up and refuses to do anything; afraid he’d mess up again.

It’s extremely relatable. It’s easy to be harsh on our younger selves with the knowledge of today. It’s not fair but it happens. Doubly so for Nate since he was hit with the crushing weight of what he’d unintentionally done all at once. He had no time to process it, the only thing he could do was blame himself. Plus the kid has lived alone all his life! He probably deep down blames himself for his parents being away all the time so it’s easy to imagine him blaming this on himself as well. He shoves everyone away, including Zoey, and just wants to be alone.

It’s only then the show brings in Dr. K. She’s not here to catch you up on what all the RPM Rangers are doing. She doesn’t tell you her team says hi. She’s there to help Nate but critically, unlike Jason in the big dino team-up and pretty much everyone in ‘Dimensions in Danger’, she feels like she did in RPM. She’s not exactly the same, we can tell some time has past, but from the jump she’s written like she was in RPM. She doesn’t sound like a generic Power Ranger which was critical because Dr. K had a very specific way of speaking and relating to others and we get to see that on display here.

Dr. K was called in by Zoey not just because of her history with Venjix but because she went through the same thing Nate did. In RPM we saw her wrestle with how she’d unleashed Venjix on the world and had to come to grips with it. She’s now helping Nate do the same thing and that is perfect. It’s bringing in continuity but not just for needless pandering to the fans. It’s there to help Nate get through his problem and deal with the emotions around it. Nate is also acting different than Dr. K did so it doesn’t feel like a retread. 

Dr. K tells him, “you want to feel sorry for yourself. Ok. You want to feel guilty and unsure of your ability. I completely get it.” She knows what Nate is going through but doesn’t allow him to stew in it. That’s perfectly in character for her but unlike in RPM where she might have just yelled at him or done the work herself, she simply says, “no matter how you feel, the world needs you.”

She’s grown so much and the episode doesn’t need any exposition to convey it. We simply see it through her words and actions. I love it! Nate doesn’t just roll over either. He really thinks he’s worthless but she finally manages to convince him by saying the only way to solve the problem is by starting with the first step.

That’s a fantastic lesson for anyone watching the show and it’s the most earned lesson we’ve gotten in Beast Morphers. Others have been good but this was beyond perfect. It’s a beautiful synthesis of plot, character, emotion, and callbacks.

Nate works through his guilt and is able to make a counter measure to Venjix which the team tests on Robo Blaze and take him out. It’s wonderful just to watch the Rangers get a call from Dr. K during the fight. It’s a small thing but having her be involved in solving the problem of the day in a cool way does so much to help the episode feel bigger. It ups the threat because these Rangers can’t do it alone and that makes what are usually mundane fights compelling.

Dr. K leaves before Venjix is taken out with the very understandable reason of wanting to go back to Corinth to check if the virus is still there. While I’d love to see her show up in the finale this was more than enough to explain it away. Before she leaves she tells Nate that, “You are guaranteed to face challenges in life, but you don’t have to face them alone. Not when you’ve got such good support around you.”

It’s the perfect lesson for Nate but there’s subtext there that’s a nice callback to what she learned in RPM. She couldn’t do it all on her own, she needed to be closer to the Rangers to accomplish her goals. She then leaves with the killer line of, “you have a beautiful world. Keep it safe.” Chills. With everything that happened to her Earth, that has an incredible depth. 

This episode was perfect. Perfect. Every single moment played off each other and forwarded the overarching story of Beast Morphers, gave Nate some time to shine, or let Dr. K have the spotlight! She doesn’t take over the episode but they do let her interact with the world of Beast Morphers which is half the fun of a team-up. Her bits with Ben and Betty were not only in character but also genuinely funny. When those two aren’t given over the top slapstick they’re pretty charming! The little mission she sent them on was pointless but wasn’t totally dismissive and the compliment she gave felt genuine.

Considering how little she thought of the RPM Rangers at the start but still grew to love them (including the wacky Gem and Gemma) I can believe she wouldn’t mind having Ben and Betty around. Dr. K’s come a long way since she hid away from the RPM Rangers and only referred to them by their Ranger color.

The focus on Nate was also incredible and showed off the bond that’s been built up between him and Zoey. We get a nice nod to her need to solve big problems and Nate admits he’s learned to count on her. Which leads to the adorable reply from Zoey, “feels good to be counted on.” Growth in a relationship! A male character learning it’s okay to open up about his emotions and be able to share them with his significant other. I love it!

And how about that scene where Evox revealed himself as Venjix? That was damn intense! The way his voice slowly morphed from the Evox we’ve heard all season to the old Venjix voice? Glorious and a real surprise, which is rare in the age of social media. (Well, until the Power Rangers twitter account spoiled it but those watching in the UK got to see it unspoiled.)

I could say more about this episode but then I’d just be recapping the entire thing. It’s a triumph and easily the best thing Beast Morphers has done. That isn’t just because of Dr. K showing up (although it was nice) but it struck that balance I’ve wanted of incorporating a good lesson into an emotionally engaging story. It just used Dr. K and the revelation of Evox as Venjix to push that character story. Beautiful.

I guess you could nitpick and wonder why Dr. K handed over the Morphers to Grid Battleforce in the first place but when the rest of the episode is so good I can ignore that. They at least set up the Ranger Vault before now (but they really should explain how that thing came into being.)

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And so now we’re heading to the finale! Venjix is getting ready to use all the Morph-X! This is thrilling! I can’t wait to see where this goes! I haven’t been this excited for a new episode of Power Rangers in a long time. I really hope the finale nails it because this episode showed just how great Beast Morphers can be. They took a gamble and won BIG. Let’s see how they use their winnings.

The post Power Rangers Beast Morphers Season 2 Episode 21 Review: Source Code appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[chaossmagic]

Fic: Balinese Dreams

A sort of fill-in-the-blanks fic for 6x04??? Maybe??? Or maybe I just needed an excuse to write smut.

Summary: The origin of Oliver’s and Felicity’s love affair with ‘dessert’. 

For @felicityollies and @latinasmoak because they are the #1 fans of my smut fics.

(gif by @kagohme)

AO3

The sand was hot under her feet, the sea was a kind of blue unlike anything she’d ever seen, and their little coconut-straw-roof hideout in the middle of one of Bali’s many unspoiled beaches was like her own little slice of heaven, served up on a silver platter just for them. 

Letting the salty air from the sea blow her hair in all different directions, Felicity stood on the balcony outside their tropical retreat, dressed in nothing but a pair of tiny denim shorts and a dress shirt of Oliver’s, unbuttoned to her navel with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It was the same one he’d had on at dinner the previous night, and it still smelled faintly of his cologne and the shower gel he liked to use. Underneath was a bright pink bikini, an impulse buy after Oliver had told her in Positano how much he liked bold colours on her. 

Not that she was buying clothes just for her boyfriend. She was not that kind of girl. 

Speaking of, she saw a faint figure in the distance, who raised an arm in a wave as he spotted her waiting for him. Oliver was on the way back from his jog across the beach, something he’d taken to doing when the sun wasn’t too high in the sky and there was no-one else around. He was still a little self-conscious of anyone catching sight of his scars, and only went shirtless around her in private, no matter how hot it might have been outside. 

Now, though, he was deliciously half-naked, and Felicity watched with open admiration as he came closer, close enough for her to see that he was dripping with sweat and turning a yummy golden brown from the sun. 

Yes, she was very, very happy that this man was all hers, for the foreseeable future and forever.

At last, he was right in front of her, panting hard and soaked with sweat. She watched as rivulets of it dripped down the muscles of his abdomen, and subconsciously licked her lips. Her thighs tightened, and she forced herself to look up at his face instead of the, well, rest of him.

“It’s hot,” he exhaled, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. 

“You’re hot,” Felicity blurted. 

At that, Oliver grinned and laughed a little, kicking his toes in the sand. “I’m glad you approve.”

Felicity preened, leaning further over the balcony separating them. “Oh, I always approve....”

Picking up the hint, Oliver met her halfway in a salty, sweaty kiss, nipping at her bottom lip in the way he knew made her weak at the knees. Felicity rolled up onto her tiptoes to reach for more, making her shorts ride up, the seam on the fabric pressing right between her legs, making her let out an involuntary groan.

“I have to shower,” Oliver mumbled against her lips. “I have to change my clothes...”

“Noooo,” Felicity whispered, taking his mouth in hers for another slow kiss. “You’re all sweaty and I love it.”

Oliver stepped up closer, reaching up to bury his hand in her free-flowing, salt-curled hair as he kissed her again, feeling how soft and warm her lips were, and just a tiny bit dry from the hot climate. Sweat was cooling uncomfortably sticky on his skin, but he paid it no heed when Felicity was right in front of him, making herself available to him in a way he had only ever dreamed she would. 

Felicity walked her fingers over his pecs, smiling against his mouth. “Come over here.”

Oliver wasted no time in doing as he was told; he vaulted over the balcony one-handed, the strong muscles in his legs contracting as he jumped and landed right in front of her. Felicity let out a whimper. 

“You like it when I’m sweaty?” he asked teasingly, brushing his lips over hers once, twice, barely touching her as he placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth. “Does it do something for you?”

“Oh, yes,” Felicity breathed, arching her neck so that he could skim his nose over her sensitive throat and jaw, his lips against her collarbone and freckly shoulder. “Mmm, Oliver.”

Bracing his hands on her waist, he lifted her up in one smooth movement and put her on the narrow ledge of the balcony, still with his lips attached to her throat. She let out a shriek and immediately grabbed his shoulders to steady herself, feeling the taught muscle underneath his skin. Then he returned to her lips, attacking her mouth with a ferocity that made her shudder with pleasure; her hands came up to frame his face, feeling the rough stubble on his cheeks and the sweat on the underside of his jaw. 

“I do love it when you’re sweaty,” Felicity babbled, “like when you were on that stupid salmon ladder...that thing was torture...”

“Mm, is that true?” Oliver replied. 

“Yeah, you were like...a three course meal, if meals came on salmon ladders, which they don’t. Obviously.”

Oliver laughed, the hum of his voice vibrating against her throat and making her whole body quiver with sudden desire. Her shorts were too tight, too hot, and the beam on which she sat was providing a friction that she tried to chase by rubbing her ass back and forth. 

Pressing his face to her chest, Oliver kissed the bare skin under her collarbone, then above her breasts. She felt her nipples pebble under the cups of the bikini, and a rush of warmth spread between her legs. 

Pushing his hands under her ass, Oliver lifted her off the balcony again, and this time knelt on the hardwood deck of the porch to lay her down on her back as gently as if she were a priceless, fragile artefact. The wood was cool on her hot skin and the shade was a welcome addition as she splayed herself out, spreading her arms and legs and closing her eyes as she took in where she was, right here, right now.

“What are you doing?” Felicity said, as Oliver knelt back on his heels and surveyed her, his eyes dark with arousal. If she craned her neck, she could see the shape of his hardening erection in his shorts, which he was ignoring in favour of drinking her in. 

His lips quirked into a smile, a knowing smile that made shivers run down her spine. It was a cat-that-got-the-canary smile. 

Felicity’s breath hitched in her throat as he replied, cocking his head to the side with an innocent expression that reminded Felicity of a mischievous puppy, “Getting you dessert.”

And then he winked. And he bent down to press a wet, hot kiss to the bare skin of her stomach as his fingers went to her shorts, making quick work of the zipper and yanking them down, and oh.

Felicity understood.

Oliver let out a hissing breath when he saw the bright pink thong she wore underneath the shorts, the matching pair to the bikini she had bought. The sudden rush of cool air on the exposed juncture between her thighs made her shiver, clawing her fingers into fists and scrunching up her toes as her body reacted. 

Oliver hooked a finger into the front of the thong, and pulled that down too, taking both her shorts and underwear off and away, throwing them somewhere where they landed with a dull thunk. Now she was completely bare from the waist down. 

His large hands came to rest on her thighs, his thumbs rubbing gently in small circles, making gooseflesh erupt on her skin. Slowly, oh-so-slowly, he brushed the tip of his nose across her naked folds, inhaling the heady scent of her arousal and the sweat that had collected on her skin. Felicity’s hips jerked upwards, her breath coming in rasps as his breath ghosted over her wet, hot sex. 

And then he attached his lips to her clit, and sucked, and wow, this was what being on cloud nine felt like.

The sensation was incredible; warm, soft lips licking and sucking at the little bundle of nerves, making it swollen and hot, his tongue drawing circles over her entrance and back up to her clit in a nonsensical pattern that had her blood pounding in her ears. 

She was soaking wet, her arousal spreading across his cheeks and chin, but that only seemed to spur him on, licking over each fold in turn and returning to suck on the little nerve bundle every few strokes of his tongue. It was completely random, and every time it happened, she cried out, clenching her fists at her sides, her knees drawing up as she tried to present more of herself to him. Sweat was beading along her hairline and down her back, making everything sticky and hot, but that didn’t matter. All that was important was Oliver’s tongue, and the things that it was doing to her.

“Oh,” she breathed, fisting her hands in her hair, her back arching as Oliver rimmed her entrance with his tongue, barely-there touching that made her thrash where she lay, “oh - oh God, oh-”

She knew she was close, the hot sensations spiralling within her getting tighter and tighter, and she pushed her hips up towards his face to get more, to reach that place that she knew she needed to get to. 

One long suck on her clit, and Oliver pressed his lips fully to her sex and then hummed. 

The vibrations sent her over the edge; she came with a long moan, her hips twitching and toes curling upwards, a breathy “Oliver,” on the tip of her tongue as she rode out her orgasm. 

She was still riding the aftershocks when Oliver leaned over her and gave her a sweet kiss, and she tasted herself on his lips, making her groan and shake all over again. She collapsed against the deck as if she were boneless, her entire body sated and content; Oliver flopped himself down next to her, curling in to rest his chin on her shoulder.

Absently, she reached for his jaw, cupping his chin in her hand and drawing it to her so that she could kiss him sloppily. 

“Best dessert ever,” she panted. 

Oliver merely nodded, and wrapped an arm around her waist lazily.

But he was smiling.

[entergamingxp]

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Review — For the Reunion

April 6, 2020 6:00 AM EST

23 years after Final Fantasy 7 changed the gaming landscape forever, Final Fantasy 7 Remake seeks to revisit Midgar on a scale we could only dream of.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is here at last. Hoo boy, where does one even begin?

Say what you will about the original Final Fantasy 7, but its influence on the gaming landscape was massive. It’s not a legacy you can simply ignore, whether you like the game or not. There has been a huge amount of hype and expectation for this remake, and the team at Square Enix has seemingly shown every bit of acknowledgment and respect for that going forward. It’s because of that legacy that I must lay down a couple of points before we begin.

First: I have endeavoured to make this review as spoiler-free as possible. That includes both the events of Remake and of the original. If you don’t know what specifically happens in either, I’ve got you in mind. For those who do know spoilers, I urge you to keep them quiet to fresh players as well. Just go and look up the raw, unspoiled reactions to That Scene from the original; it’s something best preserved for people to experience fresh.

Second: my credentials. I’ve played the original Final Fantasy 7 to completion at least once, and other attempts at playthroughs more than that. This was well after the 1997 release (probably first around 2005), and I went in already knowing about That Scene and other spoilers. FF7’s impact on gaming and JRPGs had been well established by then, so I arrived late. Nonetheless, I thought it to be an excellent game and thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough. It isn’t — and wasn’t — my favourite Final Fantasy game, though it’s never strayed far from the top of the list.

“It’s inevitable that opinions of Remake from any source or outlet will be coloured by prior attachment and sentiment to Final Fantasy 7 (or lack thereof).”

Lastly, I’ve also seen or played most spinoffs (notably Advent Children, Last Order, and Crisis Core). That’s a little less pertinent to this review, but fans of those products can take heart: there are nods to these in the game, as well as style choices that reflect them in places.

Hopefully, now you can approach my words on Final Fantasy 7 Remake with the full context of my connection to the original. It’s inevitable that opinions of Remake from any source or outlet will be coloured by prior attachment and sentiment to Final Fantasy 7 (or lack thereof). As such, take my words as a guideline and use them to make an educated decision of where you’ll land.

Remake Part One

If you’re an FF7 fan reading this review, you’re probably here to find out how much of the game is present. Remake has been split into multiple parts after all, and this is just the first. Square Enix did this to cut as little as possible from the game, sparing no expense in remaking it to the fullest. Having now finished, I can say that they achieved that aim so far.

Content wise, there is a full game here, and my playtime ended at 43 hours. This entailed playing on Normal from start to finish along with being thorough and doing as much side content as I could. Further, additional perks and content become available once the credits roll. If you’re worried that you’re paying full price for an unfinished game, don’t; this is as much a full release as any newly numbered Final Fantasy title, and without Final Fantasy 15’s wealth of DLC required to make it whole.

“Pretty much every locale, scene, and story beat from the original is present in Remake.”

That said, Remake takes place entirely in Midgar, in contrast to the five to ten hours spent there in FF7. Pretty much every locale, scene, and story beat from the original is present in Remake. The additional time is primarily spent to bolster these moments, expanding on dungeons or smaller areas to give them the same scope. A tremendous amount of attention and care has been given to every facet, though. Character banter and dialogues are numerous, with a lot more cutscenes and chances for each to express themselves. Much of the runtime is used well, with new areas and events feeling interesting and consistent with Midgar’s style. Only a small fraction feels like genuine filler.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is fairly linear at first. You’ll proceed through a chapter in a fairly direct fashion, with some side areas and branching paths to explore for treasure and extra fights. Once you move to the next chapter, you likely won’t be coming back. There’s a handful of areas where the game opens up, allowing you to explore a more populated area and take part in side quests and mini-games. One area relatively late in the game opens up quite a bit more, bridging a couple of areas together and allowing an open-ended respite before funneling you towards the final few chapters.

You’ll gain access to a chapter selection function once you beat the game, however. This lets you go back with an experience/AP gain increase and find anything you missed, as well as access the post-game content. I’ll come back to specifics later. So, how does it play?

Mechanics, Materia, and More

Final Fantasy 7 Remake continues the trend of Square Enix games becoming more cinematic and action-heavy in battles. If their aim is to make a playable Advent Children, they’re getting pretty close. This time around, the Active Time Battle (ATB) system of old has been merged into this for a pretty compelling take on an action/RPG.

You start the game as the main character Cloud. Combat will consist of utilizing his basic attacks, as well as manually guarding or dodging incoming damage. Your ATB gauge fills over time and increases when you strike, at which point you can open a menu to expend it. Time slows dramatically in the menu, letting you select from abilities, magic, and items. You can hold up to two bars of ATB (with the option of a third later), and every menu action requires at least one to use. These abilities and spells can be interrupted, but they hit considerably harder than your basic attacks. The damage difference is noticeable, so don’t come in expecting a pure action game; you’ll need the turn-based menu abilities to progress.

Once you get other party members, you can freely swap between them with a D-pad press. Characters you aren’t controlling will play defensive and try to get attacks in when safe. You’ll be the one ordering them to use menu abilities as they build ATB, though, and it becomes quite intuitive to cycle through them as you need.

To keep things fresh, each party member has a set of different mechanics and playstyles. All have an attack string and guard/dodge options, but that’s where similarities end. The triangle button is dedicated to the character’s unique actions. Cloud swaps to a slow-moving, hard-hitting Punisher stance, Tifa has finisher attacks based on the stacks of an ability she has, and so on.

“Of the handful of hybrid action/RPG systems the series has tried, Final Fantasy 7 Remake definitely feels the most well-done.”

Charging time is pretty slow if you aren’t getting in the thick of it, but this also leaves you quite vulnerable to attack. Guarding is a trade-off, as it slows your passive ATB gain dramatically, so trying to stay aggressive and dodging smartly is encouraged. This is further compounded by each enemy having a break meter below their health; hit them enough or with certain attacks and you’ll pressure them, which usually stuns them and makes them take more break damage. Max it out, and you’ll stagger them, wherein they’re completely stunned and take a large increase to all incoming damage for a time.

Of the handful of hybrid action/RPG systems the series has tried, Final Fantasy 7 Remake definitely feels the most well-done. It avoids the spamming of items from Final Fantasy 15 and ends up feeling like a Final Fantasy 13 that you actually control.

If this seems basic, there are further ways to supplement your moves. New abilities are gained in two ways: learned from specific weapons, or gained by equipping materia. Weapons are spaced out throughout the game, and each has a specific ability. Use that ability in battle a handful of times and you’ll achieve proficiency with it, whereupon you can use it regardless of your weapon.

Materia is the major noteworthy mechanic from FF7, and it’s been carried over almost identically to Remake. You’ll find materia orbs as you explore, and these can be set to slots in weapons or armor to gain their abilities. Furthermore, you’ll level the materia through AP gained after battles. A Fire materia will grant the Fire spell to the character while held, for example, and can be leveled up to access Fira and Firaga. Materia can be freely exchanged between characters out of battle, and most strategies for tougher fights will hinge on your setup. Different materia types can offer passive buffs, active abilities, or even massive summons that can be used only in specific fights.

At first, you won’t have much materia to play with, and even fewer slots in your gear to equip them. Cue Remake’s weapon upgrade system. Every time a character levels up, they’ll get 5 SP to spend, with bonus SP available from side objectives later. Each weapon has a unique “core” skill tree, and SP unlocks nodes on it. Each unlock grants the weapon new passive stats, modifiers, or even materia slots. At certain level thresholds, you’ll gain access to new sub-cores to further customize them.

What’s more, each individual weapon gets all your SP retroactively, so no need to pick and choose which to invest in. This means that if you like Cloud’s Buster Sword, you can absolutely keep it relevant throughout the entire game. All weapons have their own unique identity now, with stat priorities and abilities that you can prioritize based on circumstance or playstyle. The build options are quite diverse, and since you can reset them for a small gil fee, there’s no wrong way to approach it.

All these systems are in service of allowing you to customize your characters for the battles to come. Each ability has its uses, and there’s a good selection of materia to play around with. What I found most limiting about the battles, then, is the action parts.

Those who played the demo might have expressed some misgivings about the lack of variety in Cloud’s moveset. For those who feel that this is pretty basic, I’m sorry to say that it won’t get that much more diverse. Almost every ability and materia is one selected from the menu, not in your basic attacks. The different playable characters and conditions of encounters might shake things up, but it’s the ATB spenders that receive most of your attention.

I found this especially disappointing because my expectations were set quite high from the outset. Exploring down a side path in Chapter 2, mere minutes after where the demo ended, I found the Deadly Dodge materia; this changed Cloud’s attack string immediately after a dodge into a larger AoE one. Finding this so early eased my fears that the combat would feel similar for the whole runtime, then! Surely there would be other modifiers like it if I got this one so early?

Nope! This is almost the only materia like it in the whole game.

Much later, you can get the Parry materia (which lets you do a short hop and strike back if using dodge while guarding), and that’s about it. All other materia like it is simply a passive effect or occasional long cooldown. Otherwise, it’s all menu abilities that require ATB. This was tremendously disappointing to discover, and more options like that to personalize my general moveset would have been so much nicer to have. Even something like a perfect guard would have been great, though at least Cloud’s Punisher mode has counters on block. Perhaps that’s on me for coming to Final Fantasy 7 Remake having just played Devil May Cry 3, but that’s how I felt regardless.

That misgiving aside, the battles are nonetheless fun experiences. Bosses in particular tend to be larger than life affairs, with multiple parts to attack and various phases of the fight that change their mechanics. Again, those who played the demo will be pleased to note that more bosses play in the vein of Scorpion Sentinel than not. Some encounters can be pretty challenging, though for every game over I encountered (maybe half a dozen), a quick adjustment to my materia loadout and shift in strategy saw me triumph next time.

“There was a hell of a lot to love about the battles in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and even if I had been hoping for more, it still stands out as a damn good time.”

Even regular enemies have individual mechanics. The circumstances by which the pressure and stagger systems are applied is unique to most enemies, so learning and exploiting their weaknesses makes the experience much smoother. There was a hell of a lot to love about the battles in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and even if I had been hoping for more, it still stands out as a damn good time.

Mini-games are also interspersed throughout Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Most are variations of what was in the original, but there’s been a few added just to break up the routine. They were enjoyable for the most part, so there’s not much to say about them save that I appreciate the inclusion. There’s also a coliseum, letting you fight specialized groups under set conditions in exchange for unique rewards.

After the credits roll, you’ll gain access to the Chapter Select and can revisit any part of the game. You’ll also unlock Hard Mode, which doesn’t serve as a difficulty selection for a new game; instead, you can activate it when accessing Chapter Select. Hard Mode locks out your items and stops MP recovery from rest spots, but offers unique collectibles in exchange. New battles are added to the coliseum also. Those who want more even after the game is over shall find there’s at least a little to check out.

Overall, Final Fantasy 7 Remake kept my attention for the whole runtime. The only real lapses were a few areas of traversal that were overly drawn out, and some of the side quests felt a little mundane. Even so, these featured additional cutscenes and conversations with the cast that really furthered the attachment to the world, so it at least felt worth it to do them once finished.

Tifa fans should do all the side quests in Chapter 3. Just saying.

Regardless, it was an enjoyable game to play. A little more concession to action mechanics would be great, but the hybridised action/RPG implementation was otherwise very impressive. Square Enix definitely seems to have arrived at a happy medium that previous Final Fantasy titles didn’t manage, and I hope they continue with it.

Presenting: Midgar!

Presentation is the shining star of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The demo made it clear that Square Enix wasn’t messing around, and it’s honestly one of the most graphically striking games I’ve ever seen. If any concerns were had about that level being impossible to maintain consistently, they certainly kept it close. Some of the larger open areas — particularly the slums — suffer from character pop-in, delayed loading on textures (if they aren’t just rough or muddy outright) and other small nitpicks. In addition, some cutscenes with minor NPCs talking to party members can be pretty jarring. They simply cannot match the level of fidelity achieved in rendering the main cast or other notable characters.

When the main cast is the focus and the set pieces are rolling, though? It’s far and away beyond anything else the series — or Square Enix in general — has produced. There’s a lot more daytime than the original game, so there’s enough colour variety to keep it from looking bland. Mechanical dieselpunk designs weave into gritty but “lived-in” slum streets. A pristine plate sector at night gives way to rusting maintenance structures underneath. The tall, clean and imposing Shinra HQ is met with the garish lights and noise of Wall Market. Midgar is a fantastically designed place and a treat to explore.

It’s not just the city itself that is well designed, though. To Square Enix’s credit, they have taken the sometimes goofy enemy designs from the original and kept them completely intact. High fidelity or no, it’s not afraid to take an enemy that is just a spiky dancing frog and have it make sense. There are even character dialogue and bestiary entries that further suggest how they work or came to be. If things didn’t have to be changed, they weren’t; they were just reimagined and made to fit.

“Midgar is a fantastically designed place and a treat to explore.”

All of this visual and design splendour is furthered by the audio quality. From start to finish, the voice acting and direction is stellar. Shelving the voice actors that played the characters previously was unexpected, but the new cast absolutely nails their roles. Most have emotional moments or serious scenes that the actors manage to capture effortlessly. Even the NPCs and minor characters have quality voice acting. Shoutouts, in particular, have to be given to Barret’s VA for one particularly memorable scene, and to Hojo who is suitably creepy and sinister in every appearance.

Last but not least on the presentation front: the music. Oh man, the music. NieR: Automata laid the groundwork for implementing dynamic tracks, adding layers as needed to change the tone of the same track at just the right moment. Everything that was learned from that game was applied wholeheartedly to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and then some. Musical cues and stings are on point, highlighting crucial moments in the best possible way.

The original soundtrack is regarded as one of the finest works of legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu. Now, most of those tracks have been remixed or remastered in a slew of creative ways, but they almost always fit the tone required well. Some see multiple variations in different areas to wholly distinct effects. Music in the boss fights tends to really stand out, as the longer battles allow them to build up and crescendo during later phases. You know that the music is a highlight when songs are one of the main collectibles and each is a separate remix from their actual game appearance, all done in the style of music that might actually be made in Midgar’s setting. Genius.

There’s quite a lot to unpack and respect about the game on presentation. But all that presentation is in service of one thing: telling the story.

Reunions

I fully intend to avoid spoilers, so I will keep this section relatively brief.

The story of the original Final Fantasy 7 is one of the major elements that left a mark in gaming. These characters, their world, and their tales are iconic and beloved. Every moment of that story has been retained in full, just as Square Enix originally intended. Some trailers have hinted at adjustments and new developments — especially the launch trailer, which I encourage you not to watch for fear of spoilers — but this accuracy was paramount to the developers.

It’s safe to say that they achieved this. Every notable character, conversation, or location from the original game is included in Remake in some way. There’ll be adjustments, of course; they’re displayed in high fidelity and voice acted this time, so concessions will need to be made. But it’s all here, and the attention to detail in places was honestly staggering.

With that said, Square Enix had no intention of just retelling the same story verbatim. Additional scenes and moments have been sprinkled all throughout, with at least one early chapter composed entirely of new events. All of it builds on the original framework, strengthening it further. There’s more character growth, banter, and interactions between the cast than ever before. It ends up making them feel so much more real and believable. Even characters I wasn’t certain about initially won me over by the credits. This isn’t limited to the cast either, and gives the same treatment to villains and NPCs.

The fact that this is only a chunk of the complete tale means that certain events, characters, and flashbacks have been brought forward in the timeline. You’ll be seeing Cloud get headaches or recall memories of his hometown right out the gate… and that’s to say nothing of Sephiroth. Even so, all of these concessions are handled with the same care as the rest of the game, so their placement fits and strengthens the whole. Better to portray these scenes and build up the characters now than have them appear out of nowhere 10 hours into a second game, right?

Now… thus far, I’ve been talking purely about parts that primarily concern the original work. If this praise was also true of the wholly original plot threads and changes, I’d have no issues whatsoever with Remake’s story. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Far from it.

Early on, there will be a couple of divergences to the story that seem to be setting up a new sub-plot. These divergences increase in volume over time, and grow exponentially in the last two chapters. All the original beats remain, but they’re interspersed with these divergences, leading to a new climax and expanded conclusion.

“Genuinely, I was loving my time with it. But if the game had been a tasty meal up until that point, the final section soured it.”

And here is where it all started to come apart for me. For a brief while, I was ripped out of Final Fantasy 7 and dumped heavily into an unholy marriage of Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts. It was awkward, it was confusing, and it left me shaking my head in dismay. It felt massively out of place.

Did this part have to change so dramatically? Maybe. It wasn’t a true climax or game-ending point in the original, after all, and I expected some new conclusion and an added boss or two to cap off this experience. Yet, until now, it had been such a solid remake that made measured changes to supplement the classic story. Here, at the eleventh hour, it jarringly erupted into a massive spectacle that honestly felt like underdeveloped fanfiction.

When I say spectacle, I mean that it was spectacular to behold in terms of graphics, sound, scale… but it comes at a huge cost, and that cost is the integrity of the story going forward. This finale and the accompanying changes have massive implications for the future installments of Remake, all of which feel like they’re going to ride the divergence train at full speed away from the classic plot. Suddenly, the insane turns that things like Dirge of Cerberus took are looking far more likely in the future.

I had been enjoying Final Fantasy 7 Remake throughout the entire runtime, whether it was new or old material. Genuinely, I was loving my time with it. But if the game had been a tasty meal up until that point, the final section soured it. This isn’t just because they tried something new, either; I could easily forgive it if it was just a new thread that tried, landed flat, and wrapped up. No, this sudden divergence has ramifications that could potentially change all future installments in dramatic ways from what was expected, and I now find myself lacking confidence that it can succeed.

In conclusion: old stuff? Great! Supplementary additions to old stuff? Also great! Character writing, development, and worldbuilding? Excellent! Brand new stuff? Middling at best, potentially disastrous at worst. Most of my grievances with the game are almost entirely to do with that final section. I fully admit to bias in the kinds of stories and developments I like, so your mileage may vary. But I cannot say I walked away from the ending feeling happy.

A Final Fantasy For Fans and First-Timers

One of the big questions approaching this game is, inevitably, “Should I play this if I haven’t played the original?” That’s an easy answer: yes. Everything is here that made Final Fantasy 7 such a stand out of its era, delivered with some of the finest presentation we’ve seen in triple-A video game development. It’s a fun action/RPG hybrid with solid gameplay systems, a strong story, and a set of well-realized characters that suitably develop and bond over time. Fans of the original will inevitably spot more references or appreciate the extra nods, but even newcomers should be able to slip in and find plenty to enjoy.

Next: should you play this now, before the other parts come out? That’s a more tentative response, but yes. Had I not walked away from the ending with such mixed feelings, it would’ve been easy to recommend. Even without knowledge of the source material, the main story and throughline here is clear to follow and wraps up nicely. It’s mostly the setup of larger threads and what’s to come that have me so hesitant to recommend it, and I don’t think the ending was handled well. Buyer be warned, regardless.

“Final Fantasy 7 Remake is arguably the best non-MMO Final Fantasy game released in a very long time.”

Final Fantasy 7 Remake doesn’t replace the original. That’ll be true even when all parts have been fully released. Final Fantasy 7 will be a generational touchstone of gaming with a legacy that has lasted decades, and will remain long after the hype for Remake has cooled. I don’t foresee that same legacy being granted to Remake once the dust has settled, but it nonetheless stands with Resident Evil 2 Remake as a testament to the quality such a project can aspire to.

This is still one of the most excellently presented games I’ve ever experienced, and with a few tweaks for the next installment, that excellence might extend to gameplay and story too. Whatever misgivings I may have going into future releases, it’s undeniable that this was an enjoyable 42 hours marred by a single bad one. Even so, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is arguably the best non-MMO Final Fantasy game released in a very long time. Despite my qualms, it’s been a welcome Reunion.

April 6, 2020 6:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/04/final-fantasy-7-remake-review-for-the-reunion/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=final-fantasy-7-remake-review-for-the-reunion

[dynamic-asteroids]

Kingsman thoughts

Spoilers for all of The Golden Circle below the cut, you have been warned.

After hearing how much other people hated it, I went in with the lowest possible expectations but I actually really really enjoyed it. The storyline was kind of a mess but a lot of the important character interactions were there and it was enjoyable as hell going in completely unspoiled.

The good:

Charlie!! I love him and his bionic arm and his complete lack of redemption arc. That was the thing I was most afraid of, because I’m a sucker for a good villain and redemption arcs are my kryptonite. I expected his death, so I didn’t mind that in the least, but I was thrilled that he got to show off his badass arm and cause some trouble before he died. 

I’d have really really liked some kind of mention on how he dealt with his entire family dying/how he first found The Golden Circle/etc just because I want to know more backstory about him, but considering how many characters were were in this film and how flimsy most of the new ones were, it’s no surprise we didn’t get more Charlie backstory. 

Poppy was an even better villain than I expected. Her combination of hyper feminine and remorselessly bad is just the sort of thing I adore. I shipped the hell out of her and Charlie beforehand but now it’s like...a million percent more. 

I also love everything with Harry. The amnesia, the angst over him being lonely and never having been in love, hallucinating butterflies...it was all perfection. 

Also as someone who was cringing over how Stateman would be handled, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I was glad they mentioned having other branches in other states, and the Statesmen were no more over the top than the Kingsman but didn’t fall into the “lol all americans are dumb hicks” trope I was afraid it would. 

The bad: 

I called Roxy’s death once I first saw the trailer, though it’s very disappointing to have been right about it. Had she at least died on a mission it wouldn’t have been as bad, but killing her off just to further Eggsy’s angst is such a bullshit boring trope and I was pretty disappointed about it. 

Really, beyond Poppy, women barely had any role in this movie at all which is again, disappointing but not surprising. Ginger was a flimsy character whose role was to basically be Merlin but a woman, Whiskey had a girlfriend (wife? can’t remember) die just to give him a motive and some ManPain™ and Eggsy’s relationship with Tilde had horrendous pacing problems. 

It started out cute but then between them rushing into an argument and then marriage, without ostensibly solving any of the problems that caused their argument in the first place, really lessened the enjoyability of the wedding scene. 

Also, Merlin’s death was so unnecessary. If all they needed to do was keep weight on that grenade, surely they could’ve found a rock to shove onto it and then picked those soldiers off from their cover in the forrest? I know his death was supposed to be some big emotional moment--and it was--but I just feel like if they wanted to kill him off they could’ve done it in a way that wasn’t so easy to solve without him sacrificing his life. 

The whole honeypot scene was shot with such an aggressively male gaze that it was almost more off putting than seeing that Angel get his teeth filed down. 

That’s all that I can think of at the moment as far as good and bad. I’ll be seeing it at least once more in the theatre because my friend wants to see it, so it’ll be nice to rewatch it and pick up on anything I missed the first time. It was a good movie, couldn’ve been better, could’ve been worse, but was still a very enjoyable experience! 

[couldbeyourlife]

that’s a party platter it serves 12 people

avengers done been assembled spoilers below the cut ramble ramble garble garble hyperbole and capslock 

Caveats(?) as it were? My reactions are my own and not a judgment of anyone else’s feelings, thoughts, or reactions. There are like, many paths to the rainbow, dude. It ain’t that deep here for the most part. In this movie especially, there were a lot of moments where my feelings can be summed up with:

Also, Steve and Natasha are my babies my faves I love them most and best. 

Overall, liked MUCH MUCH better than IW. IW focused way the hell too much on people IDGAF about. This one was about the OGs and people I care about so I am here. for. that. 

Has me thinking reallllllly how much of all of this is about getting that Moment On Screen. The “avengers assemble” or steve with the hammer or w/e. Things as “fans” we all have these images of in our imaginations or have seen on page and grown to see as iconic. And really, so very much of all of the Avengers movies mostly seem to be plots strung along to get to those moments? Which, I mean is it what it is. That’s what comic book team up Event Books are about. We’re getting an 18 months crossover event stuffed into a couple of hours BASICALLY. This movie, even more than the others, felt most like a comic book. 

I yelled “fuck you” at least twice at the screen to Tony in the first 20 minutes. The entire thing between him and Steve after Tony gets back was so very not a good look. 

I mean Tony was worse and then better and god as a character he is just so much better in HIS OWN MOVIES. JESUS GOD. Let me stop at IM3 and sing Adele at that. I mean, he’s dead now which works for his arc within the avengers movies. I’m glad he got to form a baby? Ugh. I still find the Iron Man --> Spidey thing odd in the MCU since Spidey is the og really here, y’all. IDK MAN. 

“HEY QUEENS” MY HEART IT HURTS.

All of Steve and Natasha’s interactions made me clap with JOY. It made me want so much MORE of team Cap’s initial time on the run and then afterward with the two of them. UGH. The fact that Natasha is what Steve is crying about in that crying scene from the trailer? JUST LEAVE ME IN THE ROAD TO DIE OKAY.

Which gets to, I am super very glad I both waited and was spoiled. There were a lot of things I would have been less down with if it had been a LE TWIST! if I didn’t know. Such as the failed mission to kill thanos. Also, if Natasha’s death had been unspoiled for me I probably would have gotten the fuck up and walked out the theater yelling OH FUCK ALL Y’ALL.

SAME BUT DIFFERENT FOR LEBOWSKI THOR. EVEN KNOWING IT WAS COMING I WAS STILL BASICALLY THE THIRSTIEST FUCKING BITCH IN THE UNIVERSE WHEN HE WAS REVEALED AND EVERY FUCKING MOMENT AFTER THAT ESPECIALLY WHEN HE SUITED THE FUCK UP. Had I not been prepared I probably would have thrown my bra at the screen. I mean y’all my fucking husband for life is jack black i gots a type. my eyes are just rolling back in my head w/e w/e w/e I’ll get to Thor more later I just gotta thirst all over this god damn page because UGHa;ldafdaadf9df;/ ; I KNOW WHAT I’M ABOUT, SON.

if you aren’t here for wanting ten million pages of lebowski thor and bearded cap fucking then idek 

Speaking of the porn. The following are things I want: Five year gap Steve/Natasha, Natasha/Carol, STEVE/NATASHA/CAROL, Thor/Valkyrie, Carol/Valkyrie, Carol/Thor/Valkyrie (GOD BLESS YOU, TESSA AND BRIE)

CAROL DANVER’S SHEER DEEP POWERFUL LESBIAN POWER AND ENERGY MADE ME SWOON EVERY TIME SHE WAS ON SCREEN. I loved her interactions with everyone of course. Her eye roll at Rhodey at the start was grate. Enjoyed what interactions we had of her and Steve A LOT. I clapped when he radioed to Danvers during the big scene. 

SCOTT LANG BEST AVENGER OR MOST BEST AVENGER Y/MFY/CAP’S ASS IS THE BEST ASS SIR ROGERS CAPTAIN SIR???!!! 

Really, Scott is and was the best and I just loved him so much. Definately one of the characters that can keep me engaged with the MCU going forward (see also: Carol and T’Challa)

I have so many frustrated and angry feelings about Natasha’s death. I get what people are saying about her and full circle etc. But I think that’s all bullshit really. It is a narrative choice to make that her arc? Like, her entire thing was she had things to make up and redeem herself for. Tony’s entire thing was that he was a selfish dick that learned to be unselfish. Natasha didn’t have a self-sacrifice problem. SHE WAS RAISED TO BE A GOD DAMN WEAPON. SHE’S A SURVIVOR because that’s what a weapon does and there is a huge difference in that.  I get they needed to rid themselves of several of the OG Avengers so Dead Tony, Time Jump Steve, and Natasha being dead? I just. I’m too tired to get into hardcore, but I am mad. I will be mad and I will stay mad. Like, I get why they did it, but the writers MADE THAT CHOICE and so I am perma fucking pressed about it. 

I honestly dgaf about the GotG and anything related to them and any moment with any of those characters, other than the Rabbit and Thor together, was basically dead airspace. I just DON’T FUCKING CARE. So every minute with them was wasted except for Thor. Oh THOR. Honestly, talk about a dude that started at the bottom for me and now we at the top. (THAT’S WHAT YOU FUCKING GET, TONY STARK FOR BEINGdl;af). Ahem. I feel like Thor’s arc made sense to me? Like he gets to go be the sort of person he’s always wanted to be who he is inside which is PROBABLY a well meaning and heroic semi-frat boy who wants to play with his Rabbit friend and have adventures and drink beer? His entire thing has been about how much he was or wasn’t able to be a good person v. a good king etc and idk IT WORKED FOR ME and he had one of the better OG endings imo. Also, like THOR HAS SEEN SOME SHIT? SOME REAL ASS SHIT THAT HE GETS TO HAVE SOME FUCKING FEELINGS ABOUT? AND REAL ASS SHIT THAT HIS LIFE UP UNTIL SHIT GOT REAL DID NOT PREPARE HIM FOR AT ALL?  Like, I made a C on a paper in grad school and drank an entire bottle of champagne and fell off a chair. I GET IT. (I get a lot of this in the meta context comes from Hemsworth being fucking miserable with what they were doing with Thor because it SUCKED and people realizing that he’s fucking HILARIOUS and rolling with that). Also, a lot of the upset people seem to be really attached to Loki and liek w/e, but who hurt you? 

Speaking of OGs. The entire Bruce/Hulk thing was weird. I get they were real into what they could do special effects wise but... idk man. I wasn’t here for it?

No one cares about Hawkeye. I mean I know there are people that say that but like. Him?

ON YOUR LEFT, CAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF YOU DON’T LOVE SAM WILSON AND SHIP HIM AND STEVE IDK WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE? 

SAM WILSON CAPTAIN AMERICA IS ALL I HAVE WANTED AND NEEDED OTHER THAN THE OTHER THINGS I HAVE ALSO WANTED AND NEEDED.

Which gets us to the last two and biggest two things: Steve and MCU’s entire time travel theory? They even SAY the BttF time travel theory and hint at the multiverse/DC theory of time travel. They seem to be hitting to something closer to the Umbrella Academy where what is going to happen is going to happen except?????????? HOW IT DOESN’T but it also can split into other realities but only because of the stones or? (This is also where the entire event book crossover Big Bad is always annoying because a) everything bad ends up being about that and b) there is way the hell too much bg mythology to care about. Hydra - Nazis MAKES SENSE! Evil Grimace abuses his daughters for fun and profit and wants to make the universe great again but thinks LotR didn’t go far enough with the jewelry thing???) AHEM. I mean, I got to a point where I was like, “this is the most 2019 movie because evil is inevitable because Hope is a Lie and Evil Always wins UNLESS YOU CAN BEND TIME TO YOUR WILL except nope not even that HA HA”  So, I can’t really lockdown the internal logic completely on the MCU theory of time travel. It is sort of making sense until we get to Steve’s ending? 

SO. 

I have no dislike of this. It is cute. It is fine. It is what Steve deserved. Hell, it is what Peggy deserved. There are other ways it could have went and I would have been down with that too? I’ve been prepared for Steve to die for like 4 years now so you know, this is fine. It removes Cap from the action equation so CEvans like ScarJo and RDJ can be free. I think, if you’re inclined that way there are a ton of character questions you can ask there? Things to pick at and find interesting. I enjoyed Steve’s entire thing this movie immensely (his interactions with 2012 self were great. Him using Bucky against himself I thought was amazing). But here is where I start questioning the time logic which can be summarized with:

WHAT ABOUT POPSICLE STEVE?

Is there a Steve floating out in the ocean still to be found in 2011? There would need to be a Cap from 2011-2019 to put other people in place. You don’t have Sam and Bucky (for example) where they are at UNLESS THERE IS CAP AT THAT POINT??????? Which makes sense because there has to be a Steve to go back to Peggy (AWWW MY HEART IT HURTS), SO does it reform the mobius strip of the timeline to where Steve was ALWAYS in the past with Peggy (but on the downlow???????? WAS HE JUST TOTES NOT STEVE CARTER HUSBAND OF PEGGY CARTER and IDK taught P.E. in Brooklyn???) and so it basically reforms itself to where what was happened always happened but it MEANS that popsicle Steve and Steve from the future that is now in the past exist at the same time and THEN STEVE HAS TO NOT MAKE OUT IN HIS UNDERWEAR WITH HIS OWN MOM????? Or? Like, Hulk even says that when you mess with time, time messes back what are the consequences? Are there? At some point wouldn’t THAT cause some sort of weird paradox? I realize I’m asking SRS questions about fictional time travel so really who is the broken weirdo here me or Marvel (MARVEL OBVIOUSLY?). I’ve read a lot of theories on this and explanations, but none of which really satisfy me. 

and REALLY isn’t that the most comic book thing of it all? The points don’t count and the rules don’t matter. I mean that in the best way possible, really. Fine, it was a yellow bug in Hal Jordan’s brain all along. Oh okay, Barry Allen’s grandson from the future? SURE WHATEVER. I eagerly look forward to ten years from now some fucking fetus getting cast as a new Captain America and being able to yell at whippersnappers how the only REAL CAPTAIN AMERICA IS CHRIS EVANS I HAVE BEEN THIRSTING CORRECTLY SINCE 2009 YOU PUNK ASS LITTLE BITCHES. 

[raw-output]

Aprimay 12-19, 5500

“You’re holding it wrong, Blue.”

Engie walked up to the younger woman and examined her pose.

“You hold that pistol so close to your face, you’ll get hurt. Hot brass doesn’t play well with bare skin.” She gently but firmly pulled Blue’s hands until the handgun she gripped was a safe distance away.

Blue nodded nervously and squinted down her handgun’s sights. She carefully lined up the three dots over the round slab of wood they’d agreed to use as their target. She pulled the trigger two times in a quick succession. Her first shot left a neat hole close to the target’s center. The second went wide and ricocheted off of a nearby boulder with a scornful whizz.

“I can always land the first one,” Blue complained, “but I have to take my time aiming, or it all gets thrown off.”

Engie nodded thoughtfully. Blue took careful aim again, and fired a single shot. There was no new hole, only a slight widening of the first one.

“I never said thanks for getting us down here,” Blue suddenly said, engaging the safety and lowering her handgun.

“Anyone would have done the same,” Engie muttered halfheartedly.

“I’m sorry,” Blue continued.

“Sorry? Why?”

“Your voice. It sounds all wrong, but it’s not your fault. There was probably something bad in the air before you got out of your casket. Back at the hospital, I-”

“Stop. You don’t have to-” Engie held up her hand, surprised at how much the girl’s words stung. Blue either didn’t catch her words or chose to ignore them.

“I met a man who was rescued from a fire at a refinery,” she continued awkwardly. “He sounded like you. The doctors, they said there was permanent damage to his larynx, from the smoke and the gasses. They said it could never be fully fixed.” Her eyes widened slightly when she realized what she had said. “I’m sorry,” she repeated finally.

“It’s okay,” Engie managed. 

It wasn’t, not really.

-

Skye had a simple philosophy in life: do unto others before they do unto you, because given enough time, everyone will try. Back home, before she finally realized how futile it all was, she’d been a cop. She patrolled the worst parts of what her higher-ups took great care to always refer to as the High Density Urban Cluster. To her, it had never been anything but The Hive, a layered, constantly changing and decaying heap of humanity seven kilometers wide and almost three kilometers deep. When the architects’ enthusiasm finally exceeded the durability of even high-purity orbital-smelted plasteel, they began digging down instead of building up. Just like an old book she’d read once, the lower she’d patrolled, the worse things had been. Crooked politicians owned outright by completely amoral conglomerates, setting down policies for crooked precinct captains, who in turn gave orders to crooked enforcers resulted in an upward trickle of kickbacks and favors which was mirrored perfectly by a downward trickle of misery. 

It was there, at Depth 2150, that this misery pooled and festered, and it was on her first patrol there that Skye finally broke. What seemed to be a perfectly respectable (and technically legal) brothel had turned out to be a “dollhouse” run by a flake cartel, with her captain’s signature on a permit displayed proudly on the wall. She still occasionally wondered whether something with the body of a human, but operated entirely by a sophisticated software suite, could still be considered alive. If it could, her white phosphorous grenades had ended dozens of innocent lives that day. Most days, she preferred to think of it as routine incineration. Corpses and bootleg electronics. Confiscated goods. Afterwards, the precinct captain had offered her a raise, with the implication that she’d never mention any of it to anyone. Her counter-offer consisted of a marble bust of a long-forgotten politician to the side of the head.

She used the last of her money to pay her way onto a sleeper ship. When the Soldiers’ Army raided the ship and offered her the choice between piracy and death, she saw her chance to disappear for good, and to finally throw off the pretense of upholding order. The Army lived by a code, sure, but nobody was truly in charge, just as their name implied. They obeyed no government. Favor and respect was earned, not bought. They took what they wanted and hurt who they needed to, but didn’t tolerate cruelty for its own sake. She had quickly become a respected scout, choosing to forego uniforms and firearms, venturing out in nothing but dark body paint and a woolen headcover. Her spiked steel club could crush bone like marzipan.

Last week, when burning debris streaked across the sky and a plume of smoke rose from across the bay to the north, she’d immediately volunteered to investigate. Now, she finally heard gunshots and faint voices. Before long, she finally caught a first glimpse of them - two women and a man, hunting. She listened intently. Another shot cracked and echoed from across the river. It sounded meaty, supersonic. Probably a rifle, chambered in something respectable. A slow rhythm of quieter, high pitched pops followed. A simple handgun. 

These people were armed, and it’d be a matter of time before they either joined one of the nearby settlements and make it riskier to demand tribute, or begin having others join them. She would go after the biggest threat first, then use the rifle to finish - or better yet, capture - the other two. She couldn’t help but consider how much she’d be able to bring back with her, and what she’d be able to trade it for. Smelly and One-Toe Joe claimed to have a crate of pristine plasteel ingots and a few dozen kilos of heavy, hard uranium ore... Perhaps she could give her club a much-deserved overhaul.

-

Engie sweated profusely - the heat was so overpowering that they had to install a second cooler in the larder just to keep up. They had finished a set of simple but decently spacious bedrooms earlier, so at least they no longer had to huddle on the floor. Seven even managed to follow her instructions and build everyone proper beds. None of that made the heat any better, and they were forced to sacrifice personal comfort in favor of unspoiled meat. Everyone grumbled, sweaty and miserable. Even the ever-energetic Hope spent most of her waking hours soaking in the nearby water, only coming back to the compound for meals. After the cougar attack, Engie had decided to set up a perch in one of the taller nearby trees, and spend a few hours a day there, watching over her younger companions as they went about their daily routines. Blue tended to her pet project - an assortment of staple crops from the seeds in the drop container were finally beginning to sprout. Seven stopped by to assist her every now and then, but most of the time the boy just talked. 

Her rifle’s simple optical scope didn’t have a laser microphone, nor was there any glass to catch vibrations off of, but she had a good hunch as to the nature of their conversations. She even saw Blue smile and laugh once. Well, that was right and proper. They’d both boarded the ship centuries ago in search of new lives - who could blame them if they ended up finding one together? The cold, pragmatic thing at the back of her mind chimed in with its own grudging acceptance. After all, long-term chemical contraception was standard for sleepers. A new colony’s simple infrastructure could otherwise be rapidly overwhelmed by a sudden influx of new mouths to feed, new minds to teach, and new bodies to house.

"Hey, up in the tree,” an unfamiliar female voice called out quietly.

Engie’s hair stood on end.

“You can’t see me, so you can’t shoot me. Come down quietly. Make a noise, and I hurt the other two. I’ve watched you move and I know I’ll beat you to them.”

Assess. Respond. Evaluate.

The assessment was straightforward - she’d been had. Engie frantically scanned the surrounding underbrush, but saw nothing out of place. She’d have to comply and wait for her chance. She was about to start climbing down her usual way when an idea struck her. “Let’s see if we can’t get a bearing on you,” she muttered under her breath. She began shifting clockwise around the trunk, doing her best to appear natural as she found hand and footholds.

“Are you seriously trying to hide from me,” the voice finally inquired with bemusement. 

“Gotcha,” Engie thought.

She let go of the trunk and dropped the rest of the way. A sharp jab of pain shot through her ankle, but that was fine. Her rifle, already loaded, sprang up with mechanical precision. There, in the criss-crossing shadows, a vague silhouette. Engie pulled the trigger.

“Not one to do things the easy way, are you,” the voice inquired, unfazed.

“I can see you now, bitch,” Engie growled at the shadows.

“Fair’s fair. You get one more of those before that rifle is mine.” The silhouette darted forward.

-

Skye had to act fast. The other two would have heard the shot, and at the end of the day it didn’t matter if the hole in your skull was 7.62 or 9 millimeters across. She hefted her trusty club. A single solid hit would bend the barrel or the bolt into uselessness, and then the dark-skinned woman would have to fight the old-fashioned way. She saw her opponent cycle the bolt, slowed down to a crawl by her own surging adrenaline. The woman knew what she was doing, that much was clear. She was military, so she’d aim for her center of mass. Skye waited three heartbeats and juked sharply to the left, her club cocked for a devastating strike.

-

Engie fired just as her assailant performed an impressive sideways dodge. What would have been a killing or at least disabling shot pierced her raised forearm instead. The woman dropped her weapon howled in pain through her teeth.

“Walk away,” Engie rasped.

She could see her more clearly now - completely nude save for a simple woolen headcover, and covered in some sort of dark paint - probably charcoal and grease, now streaked with crimson.

“Call me Skye. I don’t walk away,” her foe strained between deep breaths.

“I’m Engie. Makes two of us.”

The paint-covered woman tackled her, grasping for the rifle with her good hand. She was strong, even one-handed, surprisingly so for her build and stature. Engie struggled to keep a good grip on the rifle, but her sweat-slicked hands betrayed her. The weapon went flying out of reach of both women, landing in the dry dirt. The cold thing at the back of her mind made a dispassionate note to field-strip and thoroughly clean it later. After what felt like a day’s worth of fighting for leverage, Engie finally managed to force Skye back enough to jab a knee into her stomach. Her opponent reacted predictably, moving with the strike to minimize the damage, and using its momentum to get back on her feet. Engie followed suit and scrambled to a fighting stance. A sharp high kick caught her across the jaw, leaving smudges of sooty grease on her face and making her vision black out for a split second. Blinking away involuntary tears of pain, Engie forced out a careless chuckle, and taunted her enemy with a hand gesture rumored to have been invented long before humanity left Earth.

Skye roared and rushed in again, undoubtedly going for another tackle. This time, Engie countered with a knee to the face that sent the smaller woman reeling backwards, dripping blood from her broken lips. She followed through with a series of simple straight jabs, aiming for the face and the throat, moving forward with each punch to keep her foe off balance. Skye lashed out with a low kick, this one catching Engie in the side. Her vision went dim with pain. She grunted in pain and sank down to one knee, using one hand to steady herself. There wasn’t much fight left in either of them - Skye was going in for the kill. She felt a familiar, well-polished surface where she expected to find only dirt. She gripped the rifle by its wood-clad barrel and swung its heavy stock upwards like a cudgel. It caught the attacking woman in the temple.

-

Skye was barely conscious. The dark-skinned woman that called herself Engie towered over her - bruised, dirty, and thoroughly victorious.

“They’ll come looking for me,” Skye burbled through her broken mouth. “The Soldiers’ Army remembers.”

“Let them,” Engie muttered.

[laylainalaska]

My GotG thoughts

Also posted on DW.

I did not go in expecting to love it. I actually was lukewarm on the first one (which, by the way, I am totally buying so I can rewatch it now, because Netflix does not have it streaming, the jerks). I DID NOT EXPECT TO LOVE THIS MOVIE. AT ALL. I LOVED THIS MOVIE A WHOLE LOT. I also think the trailer for this movie (the first teaser trailer, the Fox on the Run one) might be one of the best trailers I've ever seen, because it a) took me from "meh" to really wanting to see this movie, and b) did not actually spoil ANYTHING! I went into this completely unspoiled -- in fact, far less spoiled than I thought I was after seeing the trailer -- and I'm really glad. If watching things nonspoiled is your thing, I think you will enjoy having that experience. Which means you will not want to click on the readmore, because ALL THE SPOILERS are here.

Okay, so first of all, the thing about this movie is that it managed to hit a TON of my favorite trope buttons in completely unexpected ways. Obviously the "found family" thing is a gimme (though I was surprised by how sold I was on it by the end of the movie given that I wasn't completely sold on it in the previous one).

But there was a bunch of other stuff too! First of all, I absolutely adore the trope of choosing the imperfect, painful world over the perfect fantasy built on top of a chasm of horror, and everything with Peter's dad nailed that so hard: being offered not just a perfect fantasy of a happy family, but genuine godhood, and noping out hard once he realizes what accepting that godhood actually means for the galaxy and for him personally. And I love the way the movie develops the theme of "everything you wanted was there all along" -- a bickering family that was nothing like he imagined (but he loves these stupid assholes anyway), and a flawed father figure who loves him enough to die for him. ... Everything with Peter and Yondu. OH MY GODDDDDD. THE FEEEEEEELZ. I have to remind myself that Yondu is VERY FAR from "parent of the year", and he knows it, which makes it worse in a way ... and yet, in the end, he was there when Peter needed him, and they got to have their moment, and ... just FEEEEEELS, ENDLESS FEELS, help. I also have way more feels than I was expecting about Peter, in general. I was kind of indifferent to Peter in the first movie, which I guess was one of the main things that made it hard for me to get into it. But I keep thinking about a piece of movie meta that someone (I think it was violent-darts) posted afterwards about how Peter's entire persona is basically "peacemaker" and "caretaker" -- he's basically the team mom, and watching this movie just impressed on me really hard about how much of Peter is wrapped up in loving people, and wanting them to love him, and just trying to make the people that he loves be safe and happy. And now I have about a billion Peter feels (though I think Yondu edged him out as my favorite, because I am such a total sucker for someone who has done terrible things and doesn't think they are a good person but manages to hero it up anyway). So there was that! But I also loved how this movie wasn't JUST Peter's daddy issues (though I enjoyed those) or even Peter and the Guardians' found-family thing. Every character had at least one important platonic relationship that got story development and its own little mini-arc: Yondu and Rocket, Gamora and Nebula, Drax and Mantis. I particularly loved that Drax and Mantis were explicitly platonic (in this movie, anyway - I guess it's possible future movies might go a different direction), because it started off hitting some unpleasant buttons -- childlike female character as potential object of sexual interest (Born Sexy Yesterday), but then it didn't go that way at all! And yet, despite the fact that the movie makes it very obvious he is not sexually into her, he still makes friends with her, and is willing to die to save her at the end. Ultimately, in this movie, the one and only romance (Peter/Gamora - well, if you don't count Ego/Meredith) is actually an incredibly minor part of the movie; the fulcrum on which the movie's emotional heart rests is friendship, found family, and adoptive parenthood. The movie's ultimate message is that your birth family may be total irredeemable dicks and there's nothing you can do about it, but you can still build a whole world with people who love you enough to die for you, and I just spent the last half of the movie wallowing in that so hard. (Extra bit of awesome: that Mantis and the Ravager first-mate guy, whose name apparently is Kraglin -- I had to look it up for the fic I wrote -- and even Yondu, posthumously, ended up becoming part of the Guardians, part of their new ship's crew. I love that it's not just the 5 of them; I love that others can be drawn into their family. Same thing I'm loving in S3 of Flash, actually -- that the "family" metaphor is explicitly drawn wide enough to include the "new" members of the family as well as the founding members.) And then there's all the '80s nostalgia stuff, which the movie cranked up to pure camp AND IT WAS AWESOME. The music! The cameos! (Best David Hasselhoff cameo EVER.) The whole aesthetic of Ego's planet, and Ego himself, which was total '70s/'80s stoner sci-fi (Rodney Matthews/Boston album covers/every paperback fantasy novel of the era) at its most psychedelic. THEY DIGITALLY RECREATED 1980s KURT RUSSELL FOR THE EGO FLASHBACKS. I CAN'T EVEN. Not all of the humor worked for me, but I loved that the movie was funny and entertaining and then it made those sudden left turns into massively serious stuff (the charnel house of dead children's bones; "I won't leave him behind - I won't leave you behind"; "He may be your father, but he wasn't your daddy") punch all the harder because it was such a sharp turn away from the humorous tone. Also, because it was willing to be funny instead of dead serious all the time, it came across feeling more human that a lot of epic sci-fi does -- even stuff like the video game warriors on the planet of the gold people (I don't think I ever caught what they were called), who react to winning and losing in life-and-death space battle just like teenagers playing a game, because that is essentially what they ARE. And this movie even ended up doing better than Marvel movies typically do with female characters, admittedly with an extremely low bar to clear, but out of 8 main characters (as I count them?) 3 of them were female, none of the three were "just" there as a love interest, and all of them got cool plot stuff to do and at least one important platonic relationship, including one lady-lady relationship that was a running thread throughout the movie. Low bar? Sure. But if you'd told me that GotG2 would actually be one of the best movies in the entire MCU franchise for female characters, I would not have believed you. And yet it was! Finally, let me leave you with the one original song on the movie's soundtrack, in all its campy glory ...

WHICH IS PERFORMED BY DAVID HASSELHOFF IN CASE YOU MISSED THAT PART.

[justnoise-blog1]

Live at Leeds 2017

Live at Leeds is a festival dear to my heart, having either worked, photographed partied or taken ill at it, I've been every year since 2009 and I show no sign of stopping. It is an award winning metropolitan festival that takes place across various venues in the city and just beyond, and personally this is my favourite type of festival. Lots of walking, drinking, and listening to great music with great people.

Every year I attend this event with one of my closest friends, and it’s just become that thing we do, and just recently have added another similar event to our line-up but i’ll come to that in another post. We start the day with bacon and egg butties, strong coffee, sturdy shoes and an open mind and always have a quick run through of our schedule so we don’t miss anything.

This year we kicked things of in Oporto with Faux Pas & Joy Room. As is usually the case, tickets sell fast and these small venues fill up and spill out, so when Faux Pas came on stage there was a brick wall between their performance and my eyes, but this wasn’t so bad as the sound that came through the gridlocked doorway was enough to get my feet moving. Ironically my stand out track from these guys, and the reason they were on my list is ‘I Hate Dancing’. The Jangly guitar riffs behind some semi-grungy vocals marry perfectly to give your bum a bit of a wiggle, and their live performance of this track didn't differ much from the recording, which is always a bonus. When they had wrapped up their set, we managed to slink further in to the venue to actually see the next band Joy Room perform.  As they set up, the room started to fill with a crowd looking to be 10 years our junior so we weren’t really sure what to expect. I couldn’t help but think of an early Kings of Leon, Kick the Bucket kind of vibe, which i love so this band we’re a nice little addition to our day. As we hadn’t actually scheduled them in i haven’t got a stand out track, but check them out on Facebook via the link i have provided and make your own mind up.

Still having some time to kill before our main line-up kicked in we headed to The Belgrave Music Hall to see a band called Indigo Husk who claim to be a high energy grungy punky bluesy get up. Not having heard any of their stuff before we had this gig alone to go on, and the high energy thing i get, but only from half of the band, it seemed a bit disjointed as a performance but as the set went on the music grew on me and yeah i guess i’d give them a listen again.

After this we headed off to one of our most anticipated acts of the day, White Lies. This is a band I had wanted to see for many years having first listened to their debut album ‘To Lose My Life’ in my first year of university and had recently missed on a tour just a few months before the festival. They were a late addition to the line-up for Live at Leeds but a very welcome on in my eyes. We rushed up to the venue to get there with plenty of time in order to attempt a front row position, being a photographer I like to assume the best position even if I am just whipping out my iPhone. I’m going to be completely honest about this one, I wasn’t wowed where the stage presence was concerned, but vocally it was pretty damn good. I wasn’t immediately taken in by their latest album ‘Friends’ so at this gig I was holding on to the hope they would do a bit of a throwback to their earlier sound, my favourite track being ‘Farewell to the Fairground’ and I wasn’t disappointed. I must admit I didn’t stick around to the end of their set as the vibe on stage was a bit lacklustre, but I heard what I wanted to, and since the festival their new album has really grown on me and I urge you to give it a listen. The intense booming vocals are still an evident theme throughout, but the twist of the synth gives it a subtle nostalgic 80’s vibe.

Our next stop was Leeds University Refrectory for a bit of a wild card ‘The Hunna’, We’d heard the name but weren’t too sure on what we were getting, yet it turned out to be the best show we saw all day. My first thoughts were, this is the sort of band you listen to when you’re in that teenage in between stage of not knowing whether you’re really that in to rock yet so you’ll settle for a stepping stone. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it though, the atmosphere was incredible, the crowd were throwing themselves at one another whilst singing at the top of their lungs. Every song was just as catchy as the last, with simple lyrics with just the right amount of arrogance, punchy guitar ringing throughout each track and a consistent beat to keep the crowd moving. The stand out song for me was and still is definitely ‘Bonfire’ which structurally is pop perfection. Starting off slow with some strong vocals and gradually getting more upbeat, introducing new instruments at just the right times to peak your interest, when  you get to the chorus you already feel like you know the words and by the second bridge you’ve nailed it.

The next couple of artists on our line-up were Fickle Friends, chosen for their similarities with HAIM, and Clean Cut Kid for their upbeat indie vibe. At festivals like this I like to inject as much variety in to my day as possible, and these two choices following on from one another reflect that.

Fickle Friends boast a strong female vocal sitting on top of a synth heavy backbeat with some subtle guitar leads thrown in, which was perfect for their mid-afternoon scheduling. I think what I like most about this band are their consistent toe tapping beats throughout each track, allowing the vocals to carry the drops and the soothing pitch of vocals dominate each track with a subtle hint of vulnerability. It was hard not to have a wiggle at this show with their slinky stage presence flowing with the beat, and family members up on the balcony hanging on every word.

We didn’t stick around for much of Clean Cut Kid’s set, but I put them on the list for their track ‘Pick me up’ which isn’t their most recent track but it kicked off the set perfectly and if you are looking for a bit of a pick me up then it’s definitely worth a listen.

The final stop after 9 hours of queuing, listening, dancing, drinking and walking was one I’d been looking forward to since having to leave half way through the set the first time I attended the festival 8 years ago. Frightened Rabbit were one of the main headline acts this year taking stage at Church and I wasn’t about to miss it this time. The first time I was introduced to this band was back in my first year of university where I was discovering a new life in a new city so there is a lot of nostalgia attached to their music for me. We arrived an hour early to this one expecting a packed to the rafters experience, this wasn’t the case but I wasn’t complaining as it meant I got an unspoiled front row spot to the gig I’d been waiting 8 years for. The illusion that this would be the stand out gig of the day, and probably of my Live at Leeds experiences over the last few years was quickly diluted when the words out of Scott’s mouth upon taking stage were filled with self-doubt, but I didn’t want to let that cloud my reasoning for turning up.

They compiled a set list of tracks trailing throughout their entire back catalogue which made it quite refreshing to hear some of my old loves being mingled together with new ones. From their 2008 album ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ to their most recent release ‘Painting of a Panic Attack’ it is clear that the band have taken a darker turn lyrically, but they manage to peak an interest with their melodies which make you hear some of the more sombre lyrics as beautiful and thought evoking rather than just a bit depressing. It’s hard for me to pick a favourite track of theirs because each tells their own story, but I do have a choice lyric ‘Bare your teeth to me please, Maneater’ which even to me doesn’t make a lot of sense sat by itself but just take a listen to ‘The Wrestle’ which is the track it hides in. I don’t really have a reason why I like it so much, but I’m not sure I need to.

Maybe I was watching this gig through rose tinted glasses, but despite the opening statement, I still hung on to his every word, and it wouldn’t stop me from buying a ticket to their next show.

From start to finish this event for me was as it always has been, a day to discover new music, rekindle old loves, and revel in previously missed opportunities to see some great artists. No performance will ever be completely what you expected it to be, whether that be for better or worse, but whatever happens Live at Leeds is always a festival that I can’t wait to go to again even before it’s over. Until next year….

All photo credits are with www.jennysneap.co.uk

[a-non-sequitur]

Rogue One: Catalyst: Thoughts

- link to my other Rogue One blabberings -

Finally finished reading Rogue One: Catalyst by James Luceno, or as it's also known by:

Lyra Erso: Badass;

Lyra Erso: They Could Have Easily Created Parallels Between You and Chirrut+Baze in the Film Instead of Ignoring Your Existence;

Lyra/Galen OTP Fever: How to Write a Strong, Balanced Couple While Still Giving Them Relationship Hurdles;

"I'm Thirsty for You and Your D, Galen," Screams Krennic Into the Rain

with foreword by Galen Erso, "Who Is This? And What Does He Mean By My D?"

and annotated by Lyra Erso, *The dickbag is talking about the Death Star, honey.

Tarkin/Krennic: Hux/Kylo Ren Got Nothing On This Hate Couple

and finally: Jyn Erso Is A Normal Human Child: how this makes her future character arc 1000x more painful

NB: Have only seen the RO film and have now read this book. This is going to be long and about 90% quotes related to characterization.

General Impression:

Writing was okay. Not great, but not bad. (This is especially apparent since I've just started reading the RO novelization, and the difference in quality is pretty startling.) Nice quick read.

Lyra is fantastic.

Galen is pretty interesting.

Jyn is adorable and normal, and it breaks my heart.

Krennic is... wow, I just want to laugh because he's so absurd but also a Terrible Human Being.

Tarkin is fascinating (see waaaay below for details).

Lyra Erso

No one holds this bitch down.

"She had no recourse. She wasn’t built to hold things in; to be complacent or compliant."

"Some of Orson’s remarks had made her wonder whether she and Galen were under surveillance, or even whether her personal comlink might be bugged. But she didn’t care either way. Orson may have drawn the line in the sand, but she would be the one to step over it."

Lyra loves exercising and exploring. She wants to go everywhere in the galaxy!

"She needed wind and rain, cyclones, quakes, and the threat of avalanches. Unpredictability. Natural forces at work."

She sees the galaxy with very, very clear eyes.

“Who knows to what ends Dooku might have put this crystal.”// “I can guess,” Lyra said carefully, “since Dooku loosed a droid army on the galaxy.”

"This is the Emperor’s dream,” [said Galen.] // Lyra wrinkled her nose. “Can’t we just call him Palpatine—in private, I mean?

Lyra is probably mildly Force-sensitive.

She was against coming to Vallt, where she and Galen would later be imprisoned, from the start. 

"Her reverence for the Force had evolved from an enduring love of nature."

"... even if she wasn’t able to use the Force, she could at least feel it."

"But being pregnant with Jyn—especially while in captivity—had made her aware of the Force in a way she imagined the Jedi experienced: a profound connection with life that went beyond mere understanding."

"...she was secretly glad that [Galen] was no longer attempting to synthesize or create facsimiles of kyber crystals. One might as well try to clone the Force itself, or turn to magic in an effort to simulate the power."

"She would often sky-cab to the Jedi Temple grounds and exercise there, basking in the energy of that elegant site, surrounded by a nexus of the Force."

"The Jedi killed by the thousands, their Temple the scene of a battle, scant survivors scattered to the stars, the Force dispersed…She was as heartbroken as if she had lost a family member, and had cried for hours."

[Saw] pulled his datapad from his pant pocket and showed them the image of a green, black, and blue planet with a wide ring. “It’s called Lah’mu.” / Papa looked at the image and said, “It looks unspoiled.”

this is significant because Lyra talks a whole bunch about “untouched” nature and its strong connection to the Force throughout the book.

Galen Erso

has a very interesting brain

"he felt as if he already held the entire galaxy in his thoughts."

"He had a greater fear of attention than he did failure, refusing even to celebrate his birthday much less receive gifts or acclamation. With romance he was hopeless, pretending disinterest when in fact he was confused by his changing body and how it sometimes took him out of his mind, out of his deep thinking."

"...inability to find refuge even in his thoughts; to find what one of his mentors had called the still point in the turning world."

"He was suddenly lost without his research; torn between uncompromising tenderness for Lyra and Jyn and a sense of burden in being able to provide a flawless future for them."

"In his daily life he would sometimes go out of his way to introduce imperfection—in his drawings, his routines, his attempts at housecleaning—as a means of keeping himself from becoming overly occupied with results."

"It wasn’t that he didn’t wish to see the world as others did; he was unable to. He saw more deeply into things, and was attuned to nature’s own musings and inner dialogues."

"At times it seemed as if, in attempting to unlock the secrets of the kyber, he was trying to decode something about himself."

is very plain-spoken and direct.

"Most would have remembered him as the one who was always speaking out of turn."

"Galen merely shrugged. “Normalcy has taken leave of the galaxy.” / [A scientist named] Herbane’s jaw dropped a bit and he looked at Lyra. “Is your husband always so confrontational?” / “He speaks his mind,” Lyra said."

"But he was a terrible liar; he had no practice in the art. Never wanting to be involved in games, he had always spoken his mind. Where he was forever attempting to simplify his thinking, lying introduced complications."

“You could have at least made him work to get the current data,” [said Lyra, after escaping with Galen from Coruscant.] / “He’s welcome to whatever he finds. I could have sabotaged everything, but I don’t want to give the Empire a reason to hunt us down. We’re simply dropping out—although covertly. Besides, what I left will keep them occupied for a while.” / “Revenge was never your style.” / Galen considered it. “Orson may have worked me, but he didn’t force me.” 

Galen has such a rigid sense of principles that even though Krennic had blatantly lied to Galen and was weaponizing his research - the! very! last! thing! Galen! wanted! - Galen didn’t sabotage or delete anything because technically Krennic didn’t force him at blasterpoint.

And this, plus the quote about the inability to lie, makes me see RO!Galen in a whole different light? Because Galen ends up changing fundamental parts of his character because of the trauma Krennic puts him through (aka losing his family). And Jyn ends up irrevocably changed from who she was as a child because of Krennic. And it makes me wonder - what would have happened to Lyra if she had not died? How would she have been changed?

so basically the only reason Galen isn't known throughout the galaxy as a genius of the highest caliber is because he can't write scientific papers.

 when Krennic shows Galen the ruins of a facility on another planet, Galen (rightly) assumes that the scientific team there fucked up duplicating his kyber research, causing the experiment to explode.  Galen says, "I was very precise in my notes."  But when Krennic had interviewed the team a couple of chapters earlier, they said that the data and methods they'd be given "aren't specific enough in many instances" and that provided equations were "in a shorthand difficult to decipher."

Galen sent out his research findings to his colleagues in his own special shorthand without thinking of defining anything

And it's mentioned throughout the book that the way he writes is very rambly and with tangents and he'll write in different directions on a page and cram every bit of space with words

what makes this even funnier is that it's Lyra who he trusts to transcribe his notes. Which means that she transcribes all this down, doesn't get most of what it means but assumes any of Galen's scientific peers must understand it, and sends it on as is. And Galen trusts Lyra, so when she doesn't ask for further clarification on the notes, that must mean they're okay for sending!

like, i imagine galen could never figure out why he never got published, and Lyra's just like, "Honey, they'll realize they're missing out on something great soon." and on another planet, scientific journal editors and peer review boards internally scream when looking at the gibberish this supposedly hotshot scientist is sending them AGAIN and they throw everything into the trash compactor AGAIN because what the fuck they had told him to clarify, not write more nonsense

you don’t understand. this is h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s.

headcanon:

one way that Galen slows down work on the Death Star is that he takes his terrible research writing habits and exaggerates it to the max.  You know how Leonardo da Vinci used to write backwards, right-to-left?  Galen starts pulling off that shit ASAP but adds vertical/diagonal/loop-de-loop writing, too.

Krennic had to actually hire codebreakers to be part of the "Transcribe Galen Erso's Notes" team just because Galen's notes became so illegible.

Galen used to take the time to simplify and re-simplify and re-simplify whatever crazy, complicated idea was in his head when he talked to Lyra until she could understand.  On Eadu, when scientists and engineers ask for clarification, he'll restate whatever concept in equally if not moreso confusing terms, using long weirdass metaphors. Or he'll just completely ignore them, saying, "Leave me be! I'm at a breakthrough!" And woe be those who interrupt Galen when he's breakthrough-ing.

Dr. Erso is such a nice - if quiet - man, think his coworkers. But every time he writes some indecipherable equation on his lab's boards, they have the intense, passionate urge to wring his neck.

Lyra/Galen, my OTP (with Lyra/Galen/Bodhi being my OTThreesome that will never be, apparently):

They're hot for each other:

"[Lyra] recalled the first time she’d set eyes on [Galen] on Espinar, thinking: If this guy was any more magnetic, pieces of metal would fly across the room and start sticking to him…"

"that what [Lyra] interpreted as hostility was actually a ploy that allowed [Galen] to maintain a safe distance from her while he sorted out what she wanted from him and solved the calculus of their relationship."

"what Galen had found in [Lyra]: his opposite."

"The expedition lasted six local months, and by the end of it they were lovers. She had made the first move, but he had gotten the hang of things very quickly."

aka: Galen was a virgin or with little experience, and the two ended up fucking like bunnies.

They have an incredibly healthy relationship where they respect each other's abilities?!

"With her maternal instincts running strong, she had to resist an urge to intercede [on Galen's behalf]. After all, she wasn’t Galen’s parent; she was his partner."

Lyra to Krennic, who is trying to shame Lyra for making Galen's work "harder for him": “He’s his own person, in any case, and whatever stress I introduce isn’t going to cripple his concentration or interfere with his work.”

"She restrained an impulse to touch Galen or send him any kind of reassuring message. The job was his choice and she was determined to stay out of it."

“I’m hardly sacrificing myself, Galen. Being here was as much my choice as yours.” She looked from Galen to Krennic and back again. “Anything else either of you want to say about my life?”

But are also incredibly devoted to each other and hold the other's opinions in the highest esteem?!

Galen to Lyra, regarding providing his research to the Separatists, who'll probably weaponize it: "Should I simply accept their terms? I will do it—for your sake, for the sake of our unborn daughter. You need only say the word."

Galen, while experiencing moral conflict over his research on Coruscant: "Would Lyra understand? Or would she accuse him of being so driven by a need to measure up to the challenge that he had not only abandoned caution and scientific discernment, but also dragged her and Jyn down with him? What would his legacy be then? Lyra might not see it as a noble lie so much as a grand betrayal."

When Jyn, Galen, and Lyra are doing research on a different planet that ends up being targeted by Separatists, they end up trying to run away from their over-run town but end up being cornered by Separatist droids. Galen is constantly putting himself in between the droids and Lyra/Jyn.

[Galen] turned to face [Lyra]. “I had myself convinced that I was doing it for you and Jyn and to safeguard future generations. Instead I failed as a husband, a father, and a scientist.” He snorted in a sad way, then said: “I can’t do anything about being a failed scientist, but I can correct the rest—if it’s not too late.” / She smiled in encouragement. “Don’t be an idiot. I didn’t fall in love with your research, Galen. I fell in love with you.” / He took her into his embrace and held her tightly, saying into her ear: “I love you and Jyn. You’re all that matter to me.” He’s back, she thought, resting her head against his chest.

Kyber Crystals

How kybers are found:

“In most cases, kybers are brought to the surface by seismic activity—movements along slippage fault lines, and typically only when an oceanic plate is sliding against a continental plate. But even then the movement has to be horizontal. The crystals rise, gathering impurities or other minerals along the way. That’s why it has always been said of kybers that they are more often grown than mined."

Characteristics:

Close and extended contact with kybers is detrimental to sleep.

"Even on the nights when sheer exhaustion overwhelmed his racing thoughts, the crystals infiltrated his dreams. The Jedi were believed to have been able to establish a kind of rapport with the kybers through the Force. Was it possible that the crystals could affect non-Force-users as well?"

“The internal structure is unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s almost a bridge between organic and inorganic, as close to alive as a stone can be—which I suspect is why the Jedi were able to interact with kybers through the Force."

"It warmed as he curled his hand around it, but he knew from previous research that the crystal would show no change in temperature; and he knew also that it would not warm a sheath or a towel or any inanimate object. It responded only to life, even plant life. Which made the Jedi’s use of it to power their lightsabers all the more ironic and mysterious."

"kyber’s mix of transparency and opacity—characteristics the ancient Jedi had referred to as “the water of the kyber.”"

"By rights lightsabers shouldn’t have been able to cut through meter-thick durasteel and yet they could, which lent credence to the notion of their being augmented by the Force itself."

"One Jedi commentator had called the kyber a somnolent stone that needed to be woken up to perform its purpose. But that same commentator had cautioned that the crystal was also easily insulted and a Jedi needed to take care."

Galen: "Now that he’d found a way to alter the internal structure of the crystals, the kybers seemed in turn to have found a way to alter his."

Kyber Necklace

Krennic had showed Lyra & Galen some kyber crystals as a way to tempt Galen to continue his kyber research. Lyra is the one who realizes that they came from Jedi lightsabers. Later on in the novel, Galen reveals that he keeps one of those crystals in his pocket. There's never any mention of Lyra's necklace throughout the book, so I'm pretty sure that Galen gives Lyra the kyber crystal post-escape

WHOSE LIGHTSABER DID IT COME FROM

c'mon, someone write about how that Jedi hangs around Lyra and Jyn as a Force Ghost. please please please.

Orson Krennic

started as an engineer.  Helped design/build a bunch of buildings, including on Coruscant

actually thinks, "Vader’s eccentric fashion sense notwithstanding"

[Krennic] turned back to Galen. “I wasn’t born brilliant or especially talented, but I’m capable and I’m driven, and that’s brought me to where I am."

Gotta give him credit: he really is a great manipulator. Tricked Has Obitt - the smuggler who would later smuggle the Ersos off Coruscant - and Tarkin into starting an all-out war between the Empire and an independent star system.

Krennic/Galen

One-Sided As Fuckkkkkk

I tried so hard to figure out how to describe their relationship.

Krennic is a Nice Guy (TM).

Krennics's that Guy who hangs around you a lot and you're kind of ???? about it but don't really say anything for or against said hovering, so he makes this epic love story between the two of you?  And gets weirdly jealous around your friends?

Krennic is kinda like the Star Wars version of Severus Snape, with Galen serving as Lily, Lyra as James, and Jyn as Harry. Except the "friendship" is pretty one-sided all the time, Krennic doesn't have any redemption attempts for his shitty-ass decisions, and Lyra was never a bully. Jyn as Harry seems pretty damn accurate, tho.

“except it seems I no longer have to fight your battles,” [said Krennic.] Galen wiped the drink from his face and nursed his fist. “You never did.”

“It can’t have escaped your attention that you have a powerful ally in Orson Krennic,” [said Tarkin.] / Galen raised his eyes from the carpet. “We were acquaintances in the Futures Program. Years ago.”

Quotes showing Krennic's Thirst for Galen:

[After rescuing the Ersos from Vallt:] Once inside, Krennic whirled Galen into an embrace. “How wonderful to see you after all this time!”

“We have to put some meat back on those bones of yours,” he said as he crossed the cabin to Galen, “but I think I could get used to the beard.”

"... and on a couple of occasions [Krennic] had been Galen’s protector in fights or brawls."  

[Lyra said,] “You realize that he’s never going to stop looking for you, Galen. You’re in his blood, crystal research or no. He’s never going to let go of you entirely.”

[When Krennic suspects the Ersos are escaping, but Krennic's stuck in traffic.] The anger and despair he had felt in the airspeeder returned and settled on him like a great weight. “Galen,” he said, as if orphaned. Then: “Galen!” shouting it to the busy sky.

Yes, Krennic just shouted Galen's name into the sky.

Krennic haaaaaaates Lyra omg (the feelings becomes increasingly mutual)

Krennic thinking about Lyra/Galen's courtship: "Still, he hadn’t expected the love affair to last more than a couple of months, and was shocked when they wed."

Thinking about the courtship again: "[Krennic was] being entertained by [Galen’s] bright-eyed confession that he had fallen in love. Galen, who would scarcely raise his eyes when a pretty woman entered a room, in love? It had to be a joke. The thought of Galen’s genius being undermined by some grasping creature drove him to distraction."

drove him to distraction

those words were actually written and published

Krennic said, "The Emperor has made reparations and reconstruction a priority, and one way he hopes to achieve this is by being able to provide sustainable energy to worlds that have suffered on both sides of the conflict.” He gestured with his chin to Galen. “Even your own Grange [Galen's home planet].” / Lyra’s brows quirked in a sign of doubt. “This is the same Palpatine who couldn’t get anything done as supreme chancellor?” / Krennic stared at her. “He defeated the Separatists.” / “With a lot of help.”

[When Krennic tries to make Lyra resent Galen for "holding her back":] [Lyra] regarded [Krennic] frankly. “I haven’t put my life on hold, Orson. My career, maybe, but certainly not my life.”

[Krennic said to Galen,] “You know what I find interesting—or maybe ironic is the word. It’s that each of us wants what’s best for you. In a way, we’re competing to make you happy, as old-fashioned as that sounds. And each of us has a different idea about what you should be doing. Especially now that you two have a child, Lyra wants you to be settled on a course that will mean the most for the family—fulfilled in a somewhat conventional way—and I maintain that you’re meant for bigger things, and will continue to do whatever I can to bring opportunities to your attention.” / Galen smiled thinly. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate it.”

[Krennic, regarding Lyra:] "That left only one person who still needed to be broken."

[Krennic said to Galen,] “Don’t you see what Lyra’s really trying to do? She’s using these alleged concerns to persuade you to abandon your research. Her goal is to keep you to herself—to stand in the way of your legacy.”

[Lyra, when thinking about Krennic's machinations:] "Was Galen to become the prize in a contest between them? Well, hadn’t he always been that?"

Krennic also hates Jyn

probably because she reminds him how Galen didn't Choose Him (the Snape parallels are strongggg)

he forgets her name 2/3 of the book and calls her "it" in his head

"Orson tracked [toddler Jyn], his upper lip curled in what seemed disapproval. “She’s feisty.”

“Yes, how is the child?” Krennic asked, all but sneering. “Into everything, I’ll bet.”

"The fact was that work on the superlaser was stalled, and Galen’s insights were needed more than ever. After all [Krennic] had done for Galen! Fame would have come to him. Grandeur. Legacy. Without his science, Galen was a nonentity. And Lyra… Flushed with anger, he peeled his gloves off as he walked and threw them violently to the polished floor. He would leave no stone unturned in the search for them.

Two things:

one: he's walking down a hallway in this scene. he literally throws his gloves to the ground and keeps walking down a hallway. our fave drama queen.

two: i honestly cannot decide whether that last line was a massive piece of dramatic irony purposefully written by the author. It's just... so good?! And hilarious?!  Looks like Krennic forgot to give that order on Lah'mu to his troopers.

Tarkin/Krennic: A Never-ending Dick Measuring Contest

"The two officers [Krennic and Tarkin] had begun to circle each other as they spoke. “Our main weapon will have more firepower than ten vessels that size,” Krennic said. / Tarkin looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “Should it ever reach completion.”"

Ok, so I'm not going to get into all the scenes/lines that the two had between them (mostly because I didn't highlight them on my Kindle), but:

the greatest reveal of this book (other than Lyra's awesomeness)

is that the reason the Ersos escaped to Lah'mu in the first place

is because Tarkin facilitated their flight

ok, it's not confirmed, but it's heavily implied

remember that unexpected war I mentioned earlier that Krennic tricked Tarkin into fighting? So Tarkin saves Has - originally Krennic's agent, who betrayed the Empire after being Shown The Light by Lyra - in order to question him, and realizes that Krennic had played both of them. and so Tarkin is PISSED (and relunctantly impressed). And Tarkin knows Has is anti-Krennic. So Tarkin goes, "Hey, I'll let you live if you play as MY spy in Krennic's employees," and Has thinks quickly and goes, "Oh, sure, but let me send out this message to Coruscant to make my return seem natural," and  sends a message to the Ersos that BASICALLY says, "Yo, you want me to grab your family and ditch?" Like, five minutes prior, Has had confessed to Krennic that Lyra Erso had Made Him See The Light. Tarkin ABSOLUTELY knew what Has was planning to do.

and that's how Tarkin's dick grew a centimeter the next time he and Krennic compared

Jyn Erso

born on the first day of Vallt's spring.

is technically a Vallti citizen

nicknamed "Stardust" by Galen because her eyes changed colors and "became flecked."

“Stardust,” Galen said. “That’s what’s in her eyes.”

YOU MONSTER:

"Having hurried over to have a look [at the kyber crystals], Jyn said: “I want one!”

“Maybe someday,” Lyra said.

Jyn is an incredibly normal child, and it friggin HURTS to think about what she’s forced to become

3 year-old Jyn used to travel around in the Coruscant research facility on the Star Wars equivalent of a hoverboard. Her parents forced her to wear a helmet. a;lsdkjfasdf socute

She's a pretty independent child, able to entertain herself for hours

She'd run around around with a toy sword in a scabbard and her stuffed animals.

"Instantly adopted by everyone, Jyn—indefatigable as ever—reveled in being the center of attention, entertaining everyone with her antics, watching closely, learning.

There's this kids' holodrama called The Octave Stairway, which Jyn is obsessed with

one: i had to shoo the Discworld reactions away.

two: the story is about this kid Brin who wants to go home, but to go home, he has to go down these eight floors of challenges in a castle. And at the very bottom he'll get the item that will help him fly up through all of those floors and out of the castle and back home

two-a: so in the book, Galen directly compares himself to Brin (he thinks Jyn drew Brin to look like him), and this scene is basically where he breaks down and realizes how he's pushed his family away and he cries and asks Jyn for forgiveness and Jyn is sweet and says, “It’s okay, Papa. Can we follow Brin home now?”

two-b: but you know how in my Second Viewing post I mentioned how falling/climbing (or, more accurately: going down/going up) seemed to happen waaaaay too often with Jyn for it to not be some sort of theme?  

two-c: WELL THIS STUPID HOLODRAMA JUST ADDS TO MY CONSPIRACY THEORY.  and possibly gives me a better idea as to what the dichotomy symbolizes.  

Saw Gerrera

"[Saw] wasn’t shouting, but he might as well have been, such was the force of his personality."

[Saw talking to Has during the unexpected war] “Cheery thought. Throw dirt in your enemy’s face, get crushed underfoot.” / Saw stopped what he was doing and walked over to him. “Look at it this way, Has. If we can persuade enough people to start throwing dirt…” / Realizing that he was supposed to finish the thought, Has considered it, then said: “Eventually we bury them.”

Random Bits and Pieces that Didn't Fit Above

“You [clonetroopers] are never less than predictable,” [said the smuggler Has.] / “Yeah, we’re made that way,” the other clone said.

“Is there some equation that can put an end to all this, Dr. Erso?” one of the shaken insectoids asked. Galen set himself down on the floor to join him. 

 “If sentient beings were moved by the same laws that govern nature, there might be. But as we’ve come to embody entropy, I don’t hold out much hope.”

A second Lokori countered: “Surely the Jedi have unlocked the secrets of reversing chaos and will be able to outwit nature at its own game.”

“The Force derives from nature,” Galen said somberly. “Against such chaos, even the Jedi are capable of accomplishing only so much.”

oh my god the Death Star project is codenamed "Project Celestial Power" POWAAAAAAH

names of Cantinas: Malicious Moondog on Suba, Contented Krayt on Tatooine,

The Hiitian [a member of the independent solar system that wars with the Empire] agreed. “Occupation? Captain Obitt, you’ve obviously visited worlds that have chosen that route. How is life there?” 

Has smiled in solidarity. “I’d rather fight.” Again he glanced at Saw and his fellow smugglers. 

“That’s why all of us are here.” The humanoid flexed his feathered back. “What we fail to protect, Captain, we will leave in ruins.”

There's a celebration called All-Species Week on Coruscant

GIMME THE HISTORY OF SPECIESISM IN THE GALAXY

- link to my other Rogue One blabberings -

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 160: Grand Theft Auto

Previously on BnHA: Deku knocked Overhaul THE FUCK OUT. Tamaki saved Aizawa and captured Chronostasis. Eri wasn’t able to deactivate her quirk, and for a few moments things didn’t look good for Deku. But the cavalry brought Aizawa to the surface just in time, and he erased Eri’s quirk and she passed out. The heroes called like a dozen fucking ambulances to evacuate all of the wounded. Nighteye was strangely peaceful for someone who just lost an arm and got impaled through the fucking stomach, and he was grateful to Deku for bringing about a future different from the one he had seen. I feel like Deku sensed something was going to happen, because he suddenly started encouraging Nighteye to hang on, and that he had to talk to All Might and make up with him. But Nighteye closed his eye really dramatically, and I’M FEARING THE WORST HERE YOU GUYS. We then cut to the ambulance containing the wounded villains (and their confiscated goods, including the quirk-be-gone bullets and the quirks-come-back serum), and watched as it was intercepted by a trucking carrying none other than SHIGARAKI FUCKING TOMURA. This is easily the most badass villain thing he’s ever done tbh.

Today on BnHA: We learn that Jin and Toga called the rest of the squad to let them know where the villain ambulance was headed. What ensues is probably the most badass action sequence this series has ever had. Dabi takes out the ambulance’s police escort with his quirk, but it turns out the car is protected by a pro hero named Snatch. He can manipulate sand and he is fucking awesome. So Tomura fucking leaps at him from the back of a moving truck, and the two of them start to duke it out, but Snatch keeps him at a distance, knowing better than to let Tomura touch him with his bare hands. Enter Compress, who rolls an innocent little marble under the car they’re battling on, and then snaps his fingers and turns the marble back into A GIANT FUCKING BOULDER. The car flips over and crashes into the ambulance; Spinner whips the truck around while shrieking nonsense; Dabi and Compress take care of Snatch; and Tomura goes to confront Overhaul in the crashed ambulance. He takes the bullets and the serum. And then he disintegrates Overhaul’s fucking hands and chops them off at the wrists. And he and the rest of the League just casually walk away. Holy. Fucking. Shit.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 187 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.) 

so basically they figured out that the police would have to transport the villains to the nearest villain hospital, so they went on Google Maps and found the fastest route, and from there it was simply a matter of intercepting them

so Toga’s on the phone with Compress. and she says Jin is the one who told her to contact the others. I like that she gives him credit where due

(ETA: I can’t believe this joke went right over my head earlier, but at the time I had somehow forgotten Compress’s arm status. now that I remember, I can’t fucking get over this bit:

this son of a bitch kidnapped Bakugou. how dare he be so absurdly charming now. praising Toga for her quick thinking and making jokes about his own missing limb. I can’t believe the entire League of Villains are now collectively my favorite character.)

Jin is cradling his head in his hands and trembling :(

oh my god I love how she just gently takes his hand and leads him along. lord help me, why do I ship this so fucking hard, goddamn

also she’s so fucking smart. she watched and waited for a while before she contacted the others. to make sure that’s where the “finished product” was headed, since she knows that’s what Tomura was after, and they weren’t able to get ahold of Eri

and now we’re cutting back to the highway

this poor driver is having himself a hell of a morning

boy, you about to earn that paycheck today

(ETA: yeah I’m pretty sure this guy is dead now. this joke didn’t age so well ffffff rest in peace??)

and he instantly recognizes Tomura and knows him by name. but I suppose he’s just about the most recognizable villain in the business when he’s all done up in full hand gear

(ETA: it’s cute that he feels the need to clarify, as though there was more than one Shigaraki Tomura running around and we needed to know which particular league this one hails from.)

I have to imagine it’s not actually that easy to maintain one’s balance on top of a moving truck. you sure are full of surprises aren’t you Tomura

oh shit Spinner’s here too!

(ETA: is Dabi just being cute here or do you suppose he really does get carsick. are you gonna puke on everyone, Dabi. do you need some dramamine)

haven’t seen you in ages, Spinner. we still don’t know what your quirk is if I recall

(ETA: oh my god, and we still don’t. Horikoshi you are playing a dangerous game, dragging it out for this long. if it doesn’t turn out to be some incredibly badass, plot-twisty thing when it’s finally revealed, you and I are gonna have words. I swear to god if we finally get that dialogue box and all it is is something like “quirk: lizard. does whatever a lizard can!”... I didn’t wait around this whole time for you to be all “LOL HE CAN SMELL STUFF WITH HIS TONGUE”, okay.)

this guy really learned how to drive from video games and Tomura still trusted him to drive this fucking truck while he stands ON TOP OF IT. wow

Spinner is disgruntledly muttering about not being sure whether this is really following Stain’s will

and Tomura can somehow hear him from on top of the truck, and he says this is “a necessary sacrifice”

he’s gotten so good at management. he really has matured a lot

I really want to see this in the anime. mainly because I feel like Tomura’s jacket is going to be whipping around in the wind and it’s going to look cool as fuck

like, if this scene plays out anywhere near like I’m expecting it’s about to, this is basically going to be our confirmation that Tomura has finally graduated from the ranks of “baby villain” to “main villain at large”

(ETA: yeah I think it’s safe to say our boy has got his bachelor of villainy)

ohhhhhhh shit

THIS IS GOING TO LOOK SO FUCKING AMAZING IN THE ANIME YOU GUYS

(ETA: it stands a good chance of surpassing the one in Black Panther to become my new favorite car chase tbh)

jesus christ

that cop car that was in between the villain truck and the ambulance was completely engulfed

oh! or maybe not, because it looks like the car is FIGHTING BACK

I LIKE THIS GUY. WHAT A BADASS. WHY HAVE WE NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE, THAT’S A DAMN GOOD QUIRK

(ETA: maybe a little too good. that’s probably why this is his one and only appearance)

Tomura’s just annoyed, though, and he’s telling Spinner to slow down

so now Snatch is pumping the truck full of sand, but at the same time Tomura is leaping right at him

Snatch are you about to be disintegrated my dude

oh!!

HE’S NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT

lol what

lmao just because someone is capable of holding you back for more than two seconds doesn’t mean they’re your “natural opposite” Tomura. I’m not quite sure you understand how that works. is he restoring a pile of dust back into its original form like what we all hope will happen in Avengers: Endgame? no? then he’s not your opposite, he’s just a guy with an awesome quirk that you’re having a bit of trouble with

he is fucking amazing, though

he’s absolutely right. Tomura he got your number dude

Dabi and Compress are still in the truck watching this play out

and Compress realizes that Tomura is trying to distract the guy

oh snap

you know, I’m starting to realize Compress’s quirk is quite a bit more badass than I previously thought

ohhhhhhhh shit

(((╹д╹;)))

aaaaaaand the ambulance is crashing

do you see how they did that? making it clear beyond a doubt what happened without actually showing it in horrific excruciating detail? I could have used more of this during the Overhaul arc

(ETA: also this answers a question I had as to whether Tomura had ever actually killed one of the good guys (as opposed to a fellow villain) onscreen. I couldn’t recall for sure. but that’s a definite yep.)

also this is a super epic car crash. this is crazy cinematic, it’s straight out of a movie

LMAO

I LOVE IT

and oh my god it looks like Snatch actually saved the driver just in time. so no one was disintegrated after all!

(ETA: I actually think that’s the driver of the police car that he saved. not the ambulance driver. he ded. correct me if I’m wrong!)

but now Dabi is there >_>

preemptive RIP, Snatch. you were the GOAT for one whole half of a chapter

I’ll take that as a “no I haven’t”

oh snap is he still alive though?

but we can all agree the other guy definitely died. that driver cop guy. rest in peace, friend

(ETA: yeah both drivers are super dead from what I can see)

so now back to the ambulance, where Tomura has retrieved and is talking to Overhaul who is strapped to a bed

TAKE HIS QUIRK!!!

Tomura says he hates Overhaul because he’s arrogant

something is clearly about to go down, so before that happens I’ll just say, I thought Overhaul could disassemble anything he touches. so how come he can’t just do that to the handcuffs. plothoooooooles

anyway

well LOOK WHO GOT HIMSELF A SHINY NEW ROBOT ARM MOTHERFUCKER

THIS MAN DESERVES HIS REVENGE. AND... YOU DESERVE TO DIE

(ETA: any idea what he just compressed, btw? I can’t for the life of me figure it out. this chapter is so cool but there are a handful of little details that I can’t quite get straight)

(ETA 2: many thanks to @baezetsu who pointed out that COMPRESS MOTHERFUCKING STOLE ONE OF OVERHAUL’S ARMS. straight up. you’re absolutely right. Tomura only disintegrates the right hand, and the left arm is already gone in the panel below. so either this is some good old-fashioned “eye for an eye” revenge (but with arms), or Compress is looking to replace that robot arm with something even better. god this chapter gets better and better with every subsequent readthrough holy shiiiiiiiiiit.)

so now Tomura is opening the box of bullets, and thoughtfully saying that he’s not sure which of the two boxes they recovered actually holds the finished product

“ahh well, guess it doesn’t really matter”

oHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

oH MY GOD!!!!

MOTHERFUCKER!!!! MY JAW DROPPED TO LIKE HERE. HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS THE MOST HARDCORE SHIT I’VE EVER SEEN??!?

HERE I WAS SURE HE WAS GONNA DELETE HIS QUIRK, AND INSTEAD HE JUST DISINTEGRATES AND THEN CHOPS OFF HIS MOTHERFUCKING HANDS

SHIGARAKI TOMURA HAS GAINED +10,000 VILLAIN POINTS!! SHIGARAKI TOMURA IS MAKING A SUDDEN POWER RISE THROUGH MAKESTE’S FAVORITE CHARACTERS LIST

SHIGARAKI TOMURA IS ONE CRAZY BITCH AND I KIND OF FUCKING LOVE IT

THIS IS SO FUCKED UP AND I’M LIVING FOR IT?????

“GOOD LUCK WITH THAT”!!!!!

yo, when Deku and the others hear about this attack later what will their reactions even be. cuz if it was me I’d be like, “oh no... that’s terrible... you know. in principle”

hahaha!!!!

(ETA: gotta love Overhaul screaming in the background. this chapter is so fucked up lmao)

THIS HAD BETTER BE A FUCKING PROMISE TO US LOYAL READERS YOU SON OF A BITCH. NO MORE SIDE VILLAINS. I’VE GOT FIFTY-ODD CHAPTERS LEFT BEFORE I’M ALL CAUGHT UP, AND THOSE FIFTY CHAPTERS HAD BETTER NOT FEATURE ANY OTHER BAD GUYS BUT YOU SONS OF BITCHES

(ETA: he just ignores everything I ever say to him)

oh man. well, that was a grand five chapter binge and I feel satisfied and very exhausted. I’m gonna turn in, and then tomorrow I can hopefully finally read a chapter with my explosive and hot and cold sons at long last

BONUS:

likes: barbeque. is this Horikoshi’s idea of a joke. holy shit

and I guess that confirms whether or not he died, huh. these motherfuckers didn’t leave any survivors apart from the captured villains. that’s so messed up. why do I love them so much. Tomura you are a terrible man. please keep getting more terrible

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 121: New Semester

Previously on BnHA: After an intense shounen throwdown, Kacchan emerged victorious. Then All Might showed up and revealed he had been spying on them. He explained to Katsuki why he chose Deku to inherit his quirk, and told him what happened at Kamino wasn’t Katsuki’s fault. Then he gave him a mini hug, no big deal, I didn’t cry or anything. Anyway, he told Deku and Katsuki that heroes need to have Katsuki’s strength and Deku’s spirit both. And he told them that if they could recognize each other and raise each other up, they would both become the best heroes. At this point that was more than good enough for me, but then to cap it all off, Kacchan was officially inducted into the Club of People Who Know Deku’s Secret, and the circle of trust was expanded. Ugh, this whole little mini-arc has been incredible. Where do we even go from here.

Today on BnHA: All Might lets Kacchan in on The Whole Deal with All for One and all that stuff. Kacchan and Deku become Official Rivals™. Aizawa grounds them and sends them off to bed. The next morning the rest of class 1-A (i.e. the actual good kids who don’t cause trouble and don’t sneak out to beat the living shit out of each other in the middle of the night) heads off to the opening ceremony for the new term. Kacchan and Deku have an actual conversation with no shouting and no crying and no one is getting punched or dying or whatnot! It’s less than ten sentences long but MY GOD PEOPLE IT’S A START. Class 1-B shows up for two seconds to remind everyone that they still exist. Rat Principal gives a long and boring speech and mentions the word “successors” exactly once. All Might is all, “successors, eh?” and has a flashback to when he was first hired by U.A. prior to meeting Deku, and Rat Principal was all “hey we got someone for you here.” WHO COULD THIS MYSTERIOUS PERSON BE.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 151 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.) 

I wonder if I’m emotionally prepared to continue this shit. well here goes

haHA WE’RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS SCENE OMG. IT’S STILL GOING. SURE, WHY NOT. I LOVE IT, LET’S CONTINUE

All Might says he’s sorry Bakugou ended up learning his secret. not in a “why does this asshole know” way, but in a “that’s a huge burden to have been carrying” way

so basically All Might understands how heavy that was for him along with everything else, so he’s apologizing

Kacchan says it’s no big and it’s too risky to tell anyone else anyway. yeah no shit

OH MY GOD

HE’S GETTING THE SAME TREATMENT AS DEKU. THE FULL STORY ABOUT ALL MIGHT AND ALL FOR ONE

which, yeah. seeing as Kacchan actually met All for One face-to-face, he knows about that part of it even more intimately than Deku

and also if he understands the whole thing and knows how long it’s been going on, it might ease some of his lingering guilt just a bit more. because All Might’s right, it really was something that was going to happen eventually no matter what

you guys I’m just really enjoying Kacchan being part of the inner circle so much. this means he gets to be in on all important plot-related things from here on out. because you can’t very well trust him with this and then not keep him in the loop moving forward

(ETA: although I’d like them to do a better job of this! granted I’m still like 60 chapters behind, so they might have caught him up on the specific thing I’m thinking of by this point. but if not, I’m officially launching Keep Kacchan in the Loop 2019 dammit. who do I need to get in touch with. what’s Horikoshi’s email)

anyway, obviously they’re not showing the whole scene because IT WOULD TAKE SO MUCH TIME!! but please show me Kacchan’s reaction now

okay good they’re showing it

lol now that he knows, he’s even more annoyed that Deku went and blabbed to him on their second fucking day of school lmao

(ETA: to be fair, it’s only because he went and challenged Deku and practically blew him up and then had a meltdown after. on their second day. and now we have this shit happening at the start of their second term. they still have two more terms and then two more years of this. will they survive?? will we survive?! stay tuned!!)

and All Might’s telling Kacchan again -- because yeah, he already did, but this is important for him to understand -- that it wasn’t his fault

and obviously words alone can’t make that kind of feeling go away completely. but he understands it in full now and knows the whole story, and to hear All Might tell him so firmly should help a lot

and now there’s a character development moment happening! no big. it’s just Bakugou having possibly the single most important and defining moment in his life which is going to change his entire course from here on out haha. it’s cool. I’m cool

(ETA: even higher. implying that Deku is now the one to beat. the goal post. the watermark. just casually acknowledging it. “chosen one.” no bitterness, no jealousy, and no underestimating him or chalking him down as not worthy either. even as he declares that he’s going to surpass him, he simultaneously recognizes that Deku is still going to be right up there with him at the top. of course. he’s the one All Might chose. how could he not be.

yeah, don’t mind me. I’m just gonna bask in this moment for just a sec. I fucking love rivals, guys. I really, really do.)

how fucking great is this. how fucking perfect is this. they hashed everything out and it didn’t wreck their dynamic or make it stale or boring. on the contrary, it now has more potential than ever before. they’re still rivals. they’ll still push themselves to become better while setting each other as the benchmark. and thus pushing each other to become better as well. but the confusion and hostility and resentment is gone. this is healthy rivalry. they’re not going to all of a sudden become buddy-buddy, but they understand each other now, and there’s a balance there that was missing before

YOU SEE, THEY CAN STILL SQUABBLE AND ANNOY EACH OTHER. but it’s so much purer now

THANK YOU ALL MIGHT. THE REAL MVP

can I just say, in hindsight, Kacchan’s emotions were going to come bursting out of him at some point no matter what. you could see during the fight how hard he was struggling to control them and to clamp back down on them, but he kept losing that battle and breaking down. but All Might is the reason he and Deku were able to resolve things so calmly and healthily in the end. he took full advantage of the fact that they both respect him so much lol. he’s such a good dad and I want him to take both of these kids out for ice cream

-- oh my god

speaking of good dads

well actually this one’s more of a mom

children you’ve interrupted this man’s beauty sleep and I’m afraid you must pay

also

can we just stop and appreciate it for a little bit. why does his hair look better in his off hours than it fucking does at work, honestly. were you just bored and wanting a change of pace. I guess it doesn’t really matter does it

does Aizawa’s ponytail have a fanclub you guys. asking for a friend

All Might’s telling him to hold up a sec and that it was his fault! wow taking one for the team

also can we take another moment and appreciate how fucking cute lil Deku and Kacchan are, being sat down and scolded like the troublemakers they are

now we’re having a quick flashback to All Might meeting Aizawa outside

Aizawa’s telling him about the fight, and All Might is all “I think I know what’s going on, can you leave it to me?”

and yes, just a reminder that even though Aizawa always seems to know everything, and even though he’s a trustworthy guy, he doesn’t actually know about One for All (even though I’d argue that he should, since Deku is his student too)

so now he’s confused and asking what this has to do with All Might, and

I fucking love so much that Kacchan gets to be a part of these moments now omfg

good thing All Might is a smooth fucking operator

fucking look at this master at work, though? he sticks to the truth enough to keep the whole thing plausible, and manages to let Aizawa in on the fact that Bakugou’s mental health has been shaky lately, so now he knows about it too and can be on the alert for it if it becomes an issue again. and he even helps make it so the boys will hopefully be in less trouble

so Aizawa looks a bit more understanding now (but like. still Aizawa though), but he says “nonetheless, rules are rules” and that he’ll dole out an appropriate punishment

fifty points from Gryffindor. but at least he won’t fucking expel them lol

who do you fucking think

Kacchan’s owning up to it because he’s a good, honest boy who owns up to his shit and doesn’t try to weasel out

and Deku is also just such a good fucking kid because he immediately adds that he fought back. yeah, after about a whole chapter’s worth of Kacchan diving at you trying to blow you up, and only after he broke down and started fucking crying and you realized it was a therapy fight

anyways. so they’re grounded

TWELVE YEARS DUNGEON. EVERYONE, DUNGEON. SEVEN YEARS, NO TRIALS

lmao this is why he’s the mom. the strict disciplinarian these kids fucking need

I want to read Bakugou’s written statement of regret so bad

(ETA: I imagine it being a single page with giant font containing only two words: “I REGRET.” he feels it’s sufficient. Aizawa just stares for a moment after Kacchan hands it to him. and then he just shrugs and he’s like, “eh. okay.”)

Aizawa’s also yelling at them to go to the infirmary if they need to. because yeah they beat the living fuck out of each other. Bakugou’s face got folded in on itself, and he slammed Deku into the concrete from like three stories up lmao

buuut, he says to “heal your selfish injuries by yourselves” and not to bother Recovery Girl. yeah as if they want to be chewed out by anyone else tonight

what are you going to do with these kids I swear. omgggg I love this

so now it’s morning and news spreads fast

lollll I love it!! so much!! the best!

GIRL YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW. IT WAS A WHOLE THING. BUT LONG STORY SHORT, YES

Deku says... it’s hard to put into words. ffff

now Iida’s telling them off. because he also thinks he is their dad. poor BakuDeku dealing with dads scolding them left and right

Shouto’s asking Bakugou what he’s going to do about the provisional license supplementary lessons and Bakugou says it’s none of his business. sorry for caring

but really Shouto don’t worry. he just likes to go about his character development the hard way is all

so now everyone’s leaving

AND WE’RE STICKING WITH THESE GUYS

I have no idea what’s going to happen but I’m loving it so much

BAKUGOU IS INITIATING CONVERSATION!?!?!?!

(ETA: nope, Mangastream got it wrong. it should be Deku asking Kacchan what he thought of his shoot style. I would have just posted FA’s scan here instead, but then my reaction wouldn’t have made sense)

NO I DON’T KNOW, WHAT ABOUT HIS SHOOT STYLE

there’s a really long pause, which it turns out it just Bakugou not knowing how to do this without being awkward about it

nothing to see here, just Bakugou fucking Katsuki giving free advice to his rivalfriend Deku because they have a healthy rival relationship. just a little thing we like to call Character Development. it’s how we do things here in BnHA. we develop our fucking characters

so Deku’s asking him about it, and Kacchan’s like, ‘how can I make sure this is still surly’

heeeeee

:))))

(ETA: and now I am going to post the correct translation though because I love this part.

:))))))))))))

I now have a headcanon of Kacchan following through on his vow to adopt Deku’s “observe everyone else and learn from them in order to get stronger” philosophy by starting his own stalker notebook (in secret. obviously. no one can ever know). because if it works for Deku then he should at least try it, goddammit. only his notebook doesn’t work at all because his observations mostly consist of things like “fuck this asshole” and “her quirk is such bullshit” and “when he punches it pisses me off.” one day the others find it and they’re just like “holy shit Bakugou I can’t believe you have a burn book.”)

I expect we’re going to see a lot of the back of Bakugou’s head during these moments in the future lol. I don’t mind. LET HIM KEEP HIS DIGNITY

so now we’re cutting to U.A.

they’re heading to one of the training grounds and Iida is telling everyone to move swiftly and DON’T BREAK THE LINE!!!

IIDA FUCKING TENYA YOU’RE A PEACH

(ETA: he wakes up at night in a cold sweat thinking about this)

ah, interesting. Ochako says Aizawa wasn’t at the entrance ceremony either

(ETA: so far this doesn’t seem to be plot related that I can recall, so I’m going to assume he just wanted to skip out on the boring speeches and have a nap instead)

here comes Monoma. I was wondering when he would hear this news

what are the odds he failed his own damn self

lol Kirishima’s asking the same thing

but Monoma’s laughing

oh snap

oh yeah!? well! our kids had character development! so

lmao Todoroki can’t handle the shame

HE’S LET YOU ALL DOWN

oh my god finally it’s that pony girl from before! I definitely looked at those bonus pages too soon lol

she has a weird accent. it’s cause she’s American, I remember that from her bio

anyway she says that their two classes will have a class together during second semester. like a one-time thing? or like a regular class. because that’ll be nuts

(ETA: I think that maybe this is either happening right now in the manga or just wrapped up, because I feel like there was a lot of class B stuff making the rounds on tumblr over the past couple of months)

Monoma’s whispering something to her

omg

NO DON’T STOP. TEACH HER MORE

oh shit look who it is!!!

Sero says he seems a little “rougher” now. does he? idk

he should have been put in the hero course after the sports festival. and since they’re showing him again and it’s the start of a new semester, can I dare to hope that they’re about to rectify that?

so all the students are lined up for the opening ceremony, and the Rat Principal (whose name I finally memorized in spite of my best efforts. but to me he’ll always still be Rat Principal, so there, Nezu) is waving at everyone

he’s rambling on about how everyone needs proper sleep. wow what a captivating speech

this is followed by a page of All Might and Thirteen, which I’m going to post because it does a great job of showing something I was trying not to get too excited about during the BakuDeku fight

namely, the fact that All Might has finally, FINALLY started wearing clothes that actually fit him omgggg

and the fitted shirt/vest/rolled-up sleeves combo looks damn good on him, I gotta say

anyway, so yet again an authority figure is lecturing everyone about the effects of All Might’s absence and how they’re going to face great difficulties moving forward

honestly, by this point they fucking get it. we all get it. shit’s tough

he’s mentioning hero internships that the second and third-year students are engaged in, and I figured it was just more of the same that the first-years did in the previous semester. but Mina and Tsuyu are whispering to each other, and it seems like they don’t know what this is about, so that’s interesting. maybe they do longer internships in the second and third years since they have their provisional licenses by that point

Rat Principal is still talking. I’ll just post the rest of the speech so I don’t have to paraphrase it

yes, everyone is very invested in making sure the new generation of heroes is prepared for the new post-All Might society. it’s great, but we covered this exact same thing less than ten chapters ago at the end of the provisional exam arc. so this is kind of a retread now

now RP is finally stepping down from the podium and bragging about how he kept thing short and sweet. ahaha. funny. jokes

and All Might is reflecting on RP’s use of the word “successors”

and remembering what Bakugou said to Deku the previous night

and he’s flashing back to, I guess, his job interview with RP when he agreed to come teach at U.A.

flashback!RP is sliding a piece of paper toward All Might

and now All Might’s thinking that U.A. used to contact him every once in a while regarding his search for a successor

oh my god

I’m almost positive that this is the guy with wings that I’ve seen in fanart and shit. oh my god

(ETA: lmao it is not. however, now I’m for reals almost positive that I’ve been spoiled on who the wings guy is, which was bound to happen since it’s been two and a half months since I read this chapter, and I’ve only gotten 30 chapters further in that entire time. and also because once I caught up with the anime I gave in and started reading fanfic. so basically I have only myself to blame)

so Rat Principal thought this guy was worthy of being All Might’s successor, huh. well, he might not be wrong about that. in fact, even though Deku is officially the one who inherited One for All, I’m gradually becoming more and more certain that the next “Symbol of Peace” won’t be a single hero at all, but rather multiple individuals, and possibly a whole new generation. but at the very least, I envision Deku and Kacchan being at the top together, the same way Batman and Superman lead the Justice League and Iron Man and Captain America lead the Avengers. and I can just see the other students from U.A. forming a team just like that, and that team being the new Symbol of Peace that keeps evil at bay and brings hope to the world

so yeah. successors. a whole lot of them. at least I hope so

 haha and that’s the end of the chapter but I guess we have to skip the bonus content since I already posted it! Tsunotori Pony, who has horns similar to Mina and seems to have nothing to actually do with ponies whatsoever, and who is from America. and is adorable