#it was just altogether so badly executed

[mk-wizard]

Top 10 Media that deserve a reboot

Now, this list might be controversial to some, but hear me out. As an artist and storyteller, I don't believe in bad ideas. Just badly executed ideas. I am going to list 10 media that I do believe had potential, still have potential and had great plot ideas as well as characters behind them, but could have been better. In fact, I believe they deserve another chance because the medias themselves were not bad. They were just done bad, but as the remake of Resident 2, 3 and 4 have shown us, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Note that there are also spoilers ahead and I will not include the Acolyte on this list because it still ongoing and I will not list a media that isn't finished yet. That isn't fair.

1- The Mummy (2017) - This adaptation of the Mummy had potential as it was frightening, it had a good plot and the idea of it being the doorway to a bigger universe was good buildup. Also, this take on the Mummy was the stuff of nightmares in all the right ways. I mean, even visually, she was frightening especially with those trademark eyes. I loved that. However, I find they did too much, too fast with hinting at a bigger universe and should have focused solely on the Mummy. With that said, if you just fix that and clean up the other mistakes, it could succeed where the first try failed. Maybe even succeed at finally opening up the door to that bigger monster universe we never got to see.

2- The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy - I have not given up on Star Wars nor shall I because it still giving us new stuff that is that is good or at the very least, has good potential such as the Clone Wars, Rebels, Andor and The Bad Batch. In fact, even the sequel trilogy itself had potential, but it's biggest mistake in my opinion was that it chose the wrong character to be the hero. It should have Finn not Rey. In fact, I think Rey should have gone down the path of the Sith with Kylo Ren being a red herring big bad. It's second biggest mistake is was the choppy storytelling. The three films did not feel cohesive and the lack of respect for legacy characters was not very nice. I would not have killed off Han, split up Han and Leia, and so on. It needs a reboot with some tweaking.

3- Spider-Man 3 (the Raimi films) - This one makes me sad because it was not bad, but the forced inclusion of Venom really did leave a mark on it (no pun intended). Even Sam Raimi knew that including him in the film was a bad idea, but his hand was forced. In all fairness, the characters acting out of character didn't help either especially when Peter kissed another girl for publicity. Peter Parker would never do that especially when intending to marry Mary Jane. If this film was rebooted the way Raimi really wanted it to be, it would not only be great, but give this series the jumpstart to continue onto the plans he had for his Spider-Man film series.

4- Marvel's Spider-Man (2017 cartoon) - I have another article that explores in detail everything wrong with this cartoon, so to keep it brief, it introduced many great fresh ideas that I loved such as turning Harry Osborne into a hero, making Doc Conners into a bad guy from the get-go, the first cartoon introduction of Miles Morales, great story arc ideas and more. However, I find that the story's downfall is that was too watered down and kid friendly. This cartoon should have been aimed at older teens, Peter Parker should have been the focus and the ONLY Spider with crossovers being put to a minimum, taking its time with the storytelling, less humor, more grit and seriousness, making Doc Ock into an adult, and eliminating that gifted school altogether. Spider-Man needs his own cartoon more than ever, but one where he is shown as a hero not a clown.

5- The Walking Dead TV Series - I have great memories about this show and I was cool with it not following the comic. In some ways, that was its strength, but after season 3, the show lost its way. It stopped being emotion driven, the human element was gone and character development as well as relationship development was gone. Not to mention, the seasonal rot (pardon the pun) began to show. I think this show's greatest downfall was that it went on for too long and should have stopped while it was ahead. With that said, it deserves a reboot where it can retold and remain polished and well written from beginning to end.

6- The Incredibles 2 - I love the Incredibles in general. However, the sequel... it's a mixed bag. I like that the story was continuing, I liked Screen Slaver and I liked that the world was being explored further, but I did not like that it was just a sub-par retelling of the first film while featuring Elastigirl instead of Mr. Incredible. Don't get me wrong, I love Elastigirl/Helen Parr, but I think the way the Incredibles should have continued (as mentioned in another article I wrote once) was as a TV series where the characters age and develop. I mean, who wouldn't love a family sitcom-superhero TV series? Continuing the story is a must, but with new plots and having the story actually progress.

7- Every Pirates of the Caribbean film after the first - Like the Incredibles, the first film was perfect and having the story continue was a genius idea, but it should have continued as a TV series. I love Davey Jones and Jack having his own adventures, but I did not like how the character unlikable especially Jack Sparrow. I admit he is a pirate at the of the day, but he was one with a good heart. By the end of the series, he was a horrible person and I didn't like that. In many ways, I wasn't even sure if I liked any of the characters with how they became in the end. Moreover, Barbossa should have remained dead. Period. That doesn't mean this franchise doesn't deserve a reboot. It does and the characters should have developed in a way that makes them likeable. Maybe even have Jack grow up a little. There are so many things you can do with pirates.

8- Every Robocop media that came after the first film - Hear me out please with this one. I find that all of the sequel media of Robocop had great idea and concepts that could have worked, and still would work. Even the remake had some good points. The problem is, all of them could have been better. Even the video game was a lot of fun, but from a storytelling point of view, it too had the same problem all of the other media did. The plot was not progressing and Robocop/Alex Murphy would keep regressing as a character back into acting like a robot. Robocop needs a reboot sequel where the story actually goes on and all the progress he made as a man in the first film gets carried over to the next chapter. A good example are the comics, but even them too... they fall into the trap of the story being stuck. I want to see a sequel where the world of Robocop actually moves on and where things happen beyond Robocop just saving the day. Most importantly, I would reboot the sequel media as an episodic TV series. Not a film. Alex Murphy's journey is too complex and long to be told in just one or two movies.

9- Batman Beyond - I can't say there was much wrong with this series. I think it was pretty flawless and Terry McGinnis did indeed come into his own as the next Batman. My only complaint about it is how it ended. Terry McGinnis does not need to be the convoluted genetically modified son of Bruce Wayne. It defeats the whole purpose of him being his own Batman and own man in general. I think Terry should remain unrelated to Bruce and for their bond to just spiritually be foster father and foster son. It was just fine like that. If I also had to find another thing wrong with this series is that... it ended too suddenly and too soon. I would love to see Terry don the Batman identity again. He was cool and I miss him. Plus, there is still so many things that remained unresolved.

10 - Spider-Man: One More Day - It is quite obvious what went wrong with this storyline. It not only retconned Peter and MJ's marriage and family, it retconned their adulthood and character development. After that, the story of Spider-Man in the comics has just never been the same. While presenting a story where Aunt May was dying and Peter was faced with the choice of saving her at the cost of erasing his new life or keeping his new life while accepting Aunt May passing on was a good idea... having Peter choose to save Aunt May and give up his new life he worked so hard to build was a mistake. Rather than retconning this comic, I think rebooting it with a much better message would fix everything for Spider-Man and the Spider-Man community in general. Just when Spider-Man is about to make the deal with Mephisto, Aunt May herself catches wind of what Peter is going to do and, like in the video games, stops him from making the selfish decision of only saving her. She explains to Peter while getting ill is not ideal, she is old to begin with and even then, got to experience many wonderful things and got to see him grow up and get married. Plus, erasing his life with MJ wouldn't just negatively impact his life, but also MJ's and the lives all those he touched around him. Aunt May would convince Peter that her life alone is not more important the many lives that would get changed without consent. She has accepted that her time has come and that both Peter and MJ must accept it too with grace and not let any devil tempt them to do otherwise. In the end, Peter and MJ turn down Mephisto's deal which does result in a fight which Spider-Man wins with help. It also ends with Aunt May succumbing to her illness and dying, but her soul is at peace and as much as everyone is heartbroken by her passing, Peter and MJ see all the friends surrounding them in their time of mourning and accept that allowing this to happen was the right thing to do. Aunt May was important to them, but so is everyone else who is still here with them, everything they made together and everything that is going to happen after. It also ends with MJ discovering that she is pregnant which drives the point home all the more.

And that's my list. What do you think?

[dominickeating-source]

What Satellite Issue 228 (2005)

BOLDLY GONE 

Star Trek: Enterprise is nearly over. Elise Harris talked to actors Dominic Keating and Connor Trinneer about the end of an era.

After only four series Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth of the Star Trek franchise series, is over. To slightly misquote the theme song, it hasn't been a long time getting from there to here. The last episode of all is controversial. There is a major character death and, metaphorically speaking, some appearances from the ghosts of Enterprise crews past (or yet to come). It may not be what you want to see. 

Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) and Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) think there was a lot of unexplored potential in the show. Dominic particularly feels there was more to see with his character. "I never got a love interest. I got a couple of fling-ets, that were treated as a joke - and I wouldn't have minded - but Trip Tucker got all the top tottie." 

Connor focuses more on the stories themselves. "I think there was an opportunity to see what they could have done with the introduction of these alien species. They always glossed over the first contact - we never investigated the first contact, which I thought we could have had a lot of mileage with." 

The much-derided theme tune and rather tight all-in-one uniforms were not a problem for either, though. Connor agrees the outfits were "like gas station jumpsuits" but feels they fitted the tone of the show, especially the dark sets. Dominic says: "The idea was it was a sort of retro feel and the whole bridge and the ship itself was Das Boot-ish, that sort of thing. I didn't mind the costumes. Though Monday morning was always a bit tricky because they'd wash them over the weekend." 

He says he really quite liked the theme and the sentiment behind it. "I loved the endeavour and the images that went with the credits, 'It's been a long time getting from here to there...this time I'm going to make it.' Alot of stalwart fans didn't want to hear the captain whimpering about that, though." 

Connor thinks the fans would have preferred a heraldic theme more in keeping with the other shows in the franchise. "Yeah," adds Dominic, "the Third Reich march. We will conquer the space." Altogether, 98 episodes of Star Trek:Enterprise were made - every other Star Trek series but the original made 100. Connor says that is enough to syndicate the series on US TV. "Ultimately, that was what they were looking for. There was no point to go five years - if you were going to go five years you were going to go seven. There's nothing for them - they were going to get their package." 

Dominic says: "I'm disappointed. I would have done three more series probably - I would certainly have done two. We signed for seven, so we're three short of what we signed for. I loved going to work, to be honest, I really did. Lovely camaraderie and great crew and just regular employment with a nice cheque at the end of every 10 days. Can't beat it with a short stick." 

He also feels the show was just beginning to find itself. "The other series that came before really found their stride round about where we found our stride and I think season one and season two are pretty good too - at least 75 per cent of it is." Dominic credits new executive producer Manny Coto with this turnaround. "He was very hungry and ambitious and talented. He was a huge Star Trek fan from his youth and knew all the lore of Star Trek; he righted some wrongs. They'd taken some liberties in the first two seasons with some of our time lines, which certainly ticked of some of the hard-core Trek fans. He tipped some of those around and made it look as though they were intentional. It was clever stuff, man." 

There are no immediate plans (if any) for an Enterprise film, but both actors think it's only a matter of time before there's another Star Trek project in the planning stages. Dominic says: "There is talk about a Star Fleet Academy movie, but I think they got burnt badly on Nemesis, all things considered." 

Connor says he is overwhelmed at how the media is reacting to the show's demise. He says: "They're treating it as though the franchise is over. My instincts don't tell me that. I think they're going to put it to rest for a while." 

Dominic adds: "It's the end of an era for the franchise, that's for sure. It's the end of producer Rick Berman's stint. Then another man will put his paw print on another version four years from now. Try his luck - "Starfleet Academy 90210 In Space" - something like that." 

Source: www.dominickeating.com

[imagineanime2022]

Together

Chuya Nakahara X Fuyuko (Anon Fem!OC)

Word Count: 1989

Requested: Anon

Request: Original Request

Warning: Written in 2nd person this was requested as an OC from an anon however you can change the name to your own if you wanted to, awkward intimacy and badly written make out scene (I'm sorry)

You and Chuya had been together for years, before you both became executives you had a lot of time to spend together but with the new positions came new responsibilities. You both hardly had any time to spend together anymore, you being the bodyguard to Mori meant that you had more work then Chuya did most of the time, he knew and understood this but sometimes he still wished that you could spend time together, it wasn’t like the boss really needed a bodyguard, he was strong enough to protect himself that was how he got the position in the first place.

Today allowed for a small break and Chuya found himself on the roof for a cigarette, where he found you already smoking there, he walked over to stand next to you and with practised ease you lifted your arm to rest in on his head, he slapped it away and you giggled softly as you held out your lighter “how is work?” You asked. “Annoying, no one can do anything right, there is so much paperwork to do when everything goes wrong.” He grumbled and you glanced down at him. “I didn’t know that so much annoyance could be in that little body.” You teased and he glared at you quick in landing a smack to the back of your head with a disapproving noise resembling a growl. Before you could say anything else there was an explosion, your ability activating to protect Chuya as you both looked for the threat. “Fuyuko!” Tachihara yelled as he and Higuchi ran towards you. “What’s going on?” You asked. “Kajii has made a new bomb, he’s not listening to anyone else and it’s getting out of control.” Higuchi explained, he seemed exasperated almost as if he had been the one trying to talk down the bomb fanatic. You nodded with a sigh as you dropped your cigarette and stomped it out before heading back inside to get your subordinates under control. Chuya sighed as he watched you go finishing his cigarette and heading back to work yet another meeting ruined by work.

Later that afternoon after a meeting of the executives Chuya and Koyo were getting ready to have lunch. “I’m going to ask Fuyuko to come with us, she hasn’t eaten anything today.” Chuya said and Koyo nodded. “That’s a good idea, I’m worried that she’s not looking after herself.” Koyo said “I’ll get the table you can go and get her and meet me at the restaurant.” Cuya headed to your office, opening the door to see you working through your paperwork. “Chuya!” You smiled as you looked at him. “Do you want to come to lunch with me and Koyo?” He asked. “O-oh yeah sure.” You nodded standing up, you were hungry so there was no reason to refuse, just as you were about to leave your phone rang, you answered and Chuya knew in the moment that you wouldn’t be coming to lunch after hearing your answers to the call, he put together that someone had tried to steal the weapons in the armoury. “I’m sorry, I can’t come to lunch, can we reschedule for dinner at your place instead?” You asked. “Yeah of course.” He nodded, glad that you wanted to reschedule and not cancel altogether. “Thanks, I’ll see you then.” You said as you pressed a kiss to his cheek and rushed out of the office, he followed you out a few seconds afterwards and then headed off to meet Koyo (who honestly wasn’t surprised that he had shown up alone).

Chuya found his mind wandering back to you while he cooked, he worried that it was becoming common that you could forget or simply choose not to eat in favour of finishing your work, something that you couldn’t sustain. Chuya decided that he’d talk to you about it, as if called by that fact there was a ring of the doorbell. He walked out into the hall and opened it, finding you waiting there. You greeted him as he beckoned you into the house, taking your coat as you took off your shoes, when you walked back into the kitchen and dining room, you started to set the table as you weren’t all that great in the kitchen. Once you both finally sat down to eat, he watched as you ate everything on your plate over casual conversation and once he was sure that you were done decided to broach your eating habits. “You can’t keep doing this.” He finally said. “Huh?” You asked as you looked at him. “You have to eat proper meals, you haven’t eaten all day.” Chuya informed him. “I doesn’t matter, I don’t eat that much and work is more important.” You waved him off. “Yeah I get that our work is important but who’s going to be around to do it if you starve yourself, just eat a snack or somethin’” Chuya suggested as he took the plates from the table. “Do you think I’ll get fired for eating snacks?” You asked after a moment of silence, he placed the plates in the sink and turned to look at you. “We don’t have a normal job, you aren’t going to get fired for eating food, just look after yourself.” Chuya ordered and you nodded. “Okay.” You finally agreed with a smile, you reached for your glass of wine before you phone rang, you glanced at the screen before walking out to the balcony and taking the call out there, Chuya watched you as he finished the washing up and put the plates on the draining board, you had lit a cigarette halfway through the conversation and he knew that you weren’t going to come back with good news. “What’s wrong?” He asked when you walked back in. “I have to go to Italy with Mori.” You answered, “he wants to leave tonight.” “Italy? Why?” Chuya asked, usually he would have been sent to Mori's place. “The boss there wants to meet him in person, so he needs his bodyguard.” You explained. Chuya nodded, he had met the woman before she trafficked poisons into Japan and they used them quite frequently given that they were hard to track and often left no traces in the body. While she seemed kind and gentle given the right motivations she could be ruthless. “Be careful with her.” He warned and you nodded. “I’ll see you when I get back.” You said again pressing a kiss to his cheek before leaving to head back to your apartment to pack. Chuya drank the rest of the wine left in your glass as yet another night was ruined, cleaning up and heading off to bed with nothing better to do.

Over the next couple of months Chuya felt himself getting jealous of the couple that he saw around the city, they were happy and together but he refused to say anything to do when you talked on the phone or texted each other, you never complained that he didn’t have the time to spend with you so he refused to be selfish and complain about you. His mood was easily noticed by Koyo though. “Chuya what’s wrong?” She asked one day while they were out for lunch. “Nothin’” He answered. “That’s not true.” She smirked, “Is this about Fuyuko?” She asked. “I just miss her, we’ve not been able to spend time together and every time we plan something, work gets in the way or ruins it.” Chuya admitted as he explained what happened on the night that you had planned to have dinner. “Maybe you should talk to her about this.” Koyo suggested. “I can’t! She doesn’t complain about me not spending time with her.” Chuya explained. “Maybe she hasn’t said anything because you haven’t, she’ll never know how you feel if you don’t tell her, she’s not a mind reader.” Koyo reminded him and he nodded, maybe he would talk to you about it.

Mori noticed that there was something going on with Chuya when he came to pick him up from the airport “Chuya, you're sulking, what's wrong?” He asked, Chuya grunted as he looked away from the boss. “It’s nothin’,” He answered. “That’s not true.” Mori smirked. “She’ll have more work to do when we get back right?” Chuya asked. “Fuyuko?” Mori asked. “I suppose so.” “Just as I thought.” Chuya mumbled, Mori’s attention was taken by Elise after that but his mind continued to wonder back to what he had just said trying to figure out what was wrong.

Finally back from the mission Chuya took a moment to look at you in your office, you still had to pick up your bike but you were finally back, he walked into your office and you looked up at him and smiled. “Hey.” You greeted him. “Are you okay?” He asked. “Yeah, I’m fine, poison didn’t get me.” You joked and he narrowed his eyes, he was about to say something but the door to your office opened and Mori walked in. “Fuyuko I have another mission for you.” He said, you were about to nod but Chuya found himself speaking up. “Boss, is there someone else that you can send?” Mori looked at Chuya for a second as he seemed to be remembering something and nodded. “There is someone else I can send, you’ve just gotten back, please take some time to rest Fuyuko.” Mori finally said, Chuya watched as confusion spread across your face and Mori left the office, he smiled in hopes that you’d be with him for the rest of the evening at least. “Come to my apartment once you're done here, he didn’t get to finish the night before you left.”

Chuya heard you walk through the front door to his apartment and turned beckoning you over, it took a second before you did come over, he handed you a cigarette, you took one and you both smoked in silence, Chuya watched you from the corner of his eye, noting the way that you sat almost as if you were scared of something, he watched as you put out your cigarette and turned to him, he placed his in the ashtray and reached his hand out to touch your face, he watched as you cheeks turned a bright red and your eyes moved anywhere except for his face. “You know we’ve not been spendin’ a lot of time together, I started to miss you, you know I even got jealous of couples that I didn’t even know.” He explained as he leaned in closer, eyes catching the way that you seemed to get caught on his lips under her sunglasses. “I’m sorry, I missed you too, I didn’t mean to spend so long away from you.” You finally said and Chuya shook his head. “It’s not your fault, I just want more time with you.” He said softly. “I’ll spend tonight with you, I promise.” You said. “Thank you for telling me how you feel.” “Thank you for listening and for understanding.” He said, giving her his hand.

Chuya pressed a kiss to your lips, one that expressed everything that he had felt over the past couple of months, gently removing the sunglasses blindly placing them on the bed side table, the kisses turned gentle after that, hands mopping your body as if remembering it again after so long. Chuya’s body caged yours and despite you being taller in stature, his presence alone gave you a feeling of being pressed down to the bed, every part of his body touching yours, you gave a soft noise of appreciation as he leaned away, catching his breath for a second, your face was bright red and he chuckled lightly when you still chased his lips “pace yourself, the nights far from over.” he leaned back down kissing you again as he aimed to finish what he started.

Request Here!!

[occidentaltourist]

Devil’s advocate: yes it is about The Story but sometimes that story is Supergirl Season 5 (project nonsense) & Season 6 and the shipping is how we cope lol

Hahaha ... fair. ;) Sometimes The Story is just so badly done/written/executed that we would stop watching altogether if not for the ship, and squeezing blood from that stone even when the characters would go multi-episode stretches with zero interaction.

Just having flashbacks to so many takes that basically came down to fans watching exclusively for the (non-canon, despite our fondest wishes) ship, and then getting mad when the writers clearly had different stories they wanted to tell. :)

[mariacallous]

In the late 1990s, when I was a New York Times correspondent based in West Africa, international airline connections made passing through Paris a rite of both work and vacation. On one such visit, I received a shock that has stuck with me. As I approached a subway station not far from the Champs-Élysées, out of its stairwell came running two policemen, their guns drawn, as they pursued a young Black man whom they caught up to, badly manhandled, and then hauled away under arrest.

As someone who had grown up in Washington, D.C., and recently moved to Africa from New York City—or simply as someone who had watched U.S. local news broadcasts and grown up consuming his country’s violent small- and large-screen offerings—I had been trained to think that urban scenes such as these were a unique product of my own country.

On subsequent transits through Paris, I was disabused of yet more of my naivete when I began taking trains into the central city instead of taxis. Maybe it was a labor strike that had caused me to do this at first, but the experience so intrigued me that I began making a habit of it. Not even in New York had I felt such a gulf between the popular image of a city and this kind of lived experience of it via public transportation.

For long sections of these rides, the cars were filled with Black and brown people–– overwhelmingly young and, I surmised, overwhelmingly either the children of recent immigrants or immigrants themselves, with France’s former colonies in North and sub-Saharan Africa the most likely places of origin. Before reaching the stylish, urban dreamland exalted in countless romantic Hollywood fantasies and more than a century of novels and travel writing, one must traverse something altogether different and discordant: a huge expanse of what the French rather delicately refer to as banlieues. They needn’t have resorted to the term, though. For many of these places, the old European word “ghetto” would have fit just fine.

Passing through and eventually visiting some of them, I was reminded of other grim cityscapes I have known in other parts of the world. The comparisons are admittedly not perfect, but segregated townships built under South African apartheid came to mind, as did some of the bleaker sections of New York where I had once paid dues as a local reporter, such as the more depressed parts of the Bronx.

As with the notorious infrastructure schemes of the powerful New York master planner of the last century, Robert Moses, which deliberately isolated Black communities and cut them off from areas privileged in terms of race and class and from public amenities such as the city’s beaches, Paris’s banlieues are poorly connected to the city’s transportation system, heightening their economic and social isolation and therefore their misery. For those looking for points of optimism after France’s recent civil disturbances, projects underway or on the books are expected to dramatically increase subway connections for these long-neglected parts of the city.

There is an old saw that holds that history never repeats itself but often rhymes. And it was just such a resonance—and not the recent events in Paris themselves, per se—that has brought France’s capital powerfully to mind for me.

To briefly review those events, though: On June 27, a French teenager of Algerian descent was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in what amounted to a virtual execution. A video of the incident that was widely shared online shows a police officer shoot 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk at close range through his window as his car pulls away.

Outraged young people, who were disproportionately “of color,” then rose up in protests that lasted for six days and included numerous acts of looting, vandalism, and even violence. This, in turn, drew florid condemnations from broad segments of French society, with many people using racialized language or outright racism to denounce not just the protesters’ behavior, but also the growing presence of minority groups in France and the immigration that helps drive it.

What has intrigued me here is a powerful coincidence of timing—and, as I will explore below, perhaps a deeper connection in terms of history and significance with a major decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. And therein, a paradox arises.

France has long prided itself on its all-but-unique handling of racial diversity. Official policy comes close to pretending that such a thing does not exist and takes this for an unqualified positive. The republic is indivisible, says one often invoked phrase, and in the pursuit of its supposed universalism, France has made it illegal to collect data on the basis of a person’s race.

If it is possible to glimpse some admirable idealism in France’s notion of universalism, it has an insufficiently acknowledged dark side as well. Firstly, it requires a near complete assimilation into the dominant national identity of we might call “Frenchness,” which is overwhelmingly defined and policed by people of one race. This might even be considered one of its main, if unstated, features. In order to function, French universalism requires a charade: pretending to be colorblind.

This colorblindness may help prevent French people from noticing that their television news industry or their cinema, to take two industries, are crushingly white, well beyond the true demographic breakdown of the society. But it does nothing to alleviate the underlying reality that opportunity still correlates strongly to race in the country. The same, for that matter, is true of life in the isolated banlieues, as opposed to the tonier parts of the city. I have little doubt that the same patterns hold in other spheres of society as well, from elite educational institutions to national politics.

France’s readiest and most powerful counterexample is, of course, the United States, which has long served as an almost archetypical national “other” to justify French policies and obtain buy-in from a French public that has been socialized over generations to view the United States both with haughty disdain and as a menace to the French way of life. Any idea of taking race or color into account in forming public policy is dismissed as succumbing to a dangerously corrupting Americanism.

The recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that race-conscious college admissions programs violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, however, suggests the French may have little to worry about on this score. The two countries would indeed appear to be converging in favor of the French way: pretending that color doesn’t exist and that race has no place in social policy.

The Supreme Court ruling may have barred the overt consideration of race in college admissions in the United States, but it cannot pretend away the fact that Black students are dramatically underrepresented in higher education in the country, as they have been for generations—a product of actual policy during the United States’ long era of segregation and Jim Crow.

In fact, as the University of Chicago law professor Sonja B. Starr has argued, racial gaps exist across a very wide range of categories in U.S. life, from income and employment rates to maternal mortality and life expectancy to exposure to toxic environmental pollution and incarceration.

The question is: What are wealthy societies such as the United States and France to do about such realities? Overtly taking race into consideration clearly displeases large numbers of people in rich democracies, especially among those who have benefited most from inequality. If governments are not allowed to even weigh the racial facts before them, what realistic hope is there for public policy to redress these problems?

[onewomancitadel]

Hey listen, for whatever it’s worth. I’ve not even started reading your fic yet (planning to) (executive dysfunction has got me in a stranglehold rn), but the *reason* I’m planning to do so is you’re one of the very few people on RWBY tumblr whose analysis of Cinder/Jaune/the story generally rings true to me. I really really admire how plugged in you are to the text and (importantly, this is the specific thing that made me go “I gotta read Skimming Eye”) I feel that way even when my own analytical lens leads me to different conclusions from yours—it’s like. You GET it. You’re down in the bedrock of this story cracking open geodes. I’m sorry you’re feeling badly about the fandom’s general preference for pebbles. I’ve been holding off with the intention of actually, um, reading your fic before saying anything but here we are. I appreciate you and your reading of this story so much. Thank you for sharing.

I'm not really only talking about the fanon here but the commenting culture in general. For years I have put up with people negging my fanfic and I'm really tired of it. I don't want to interact with people who don't like major components of it. I don't find the criticism helpful (I have specific people I refer to for this) and I don't ask for it and I specifically don't request comments anymore so I don't seem ungrateful when they inevitably make me upset. I must've been unclear in the previous posts I made: it's not only the fanon I'm taking umbrage with here, it's the engagement itself.

Likely nothing is going to change, I just don't want anything to do with it right now and I don't want to post anything right now.

If everybody wants to know how pathetic I am, I go to other fandoms and read the comments sections for nicer fandoms and I think about how nice those people are and how happy they make those fic authors.

I have anonymously posted a fic work in a different fandom of a completely different demographic (non-anime adjacent) and the difference is night and day. I have slightly edited the statistics to anonymise it but these are the stats on a single oneshot for a different rarepair:

By the way, Skimming Eye has about a couple of hundred more kudos than that. So I'm aware it's statistically not a well-liked work lol.

But hopefully this also separately demonstrates I don't care about the status side of it. This anonymous posting is not a particularly inflammatory work, it's just in a different fandom from what I usually post in and I didn't want to open up another account for it.

I could cope if I were not getting comments altogether because there's a world of difference between writing for a rarepair for its own sake and the experience of the RWBY fandom.

I'm not asking for a hugbox I just want people to leave me alone and stop expecting my fanfic to be catering to their fanon and I beg for people to just stop fucking qualifying about how bad x component is. 'Oh most of this is shit but I really liked it!' The only bit I'm going to zero in on is the material substance particularly if it's non-canonical characterisation. Non-canonical characterisation is the most grievous issue one could possibly take with my work. The rest of it is irredeemable if so and honestly effectively makes the work pointless. The only reason to write is canon.

To be entirely honest I'm not sure how you can have an opinion on my fanfic without having read it and even here you say that your analysis departs from my own so how can you possibly know it's any good?

You're not obligated to say anything positive and that's not what I'm angling for, much as I appreciate the spirit of what you've said here.

I just don't want anything to do with the fandom right now and I'll have to figure out how I feel about it all later, if I decide to moderate comments or just turn them off altogether, because it feels like they do more harm than good now. I avoided checking my inbox for six months because of this.

I understand the RWBY fandom is not like other fandoms but where I come from when someone is sharing you their passion for free you treat them kindly. I don't read fanfic with fanon I don't like or pairings I don't like or writing that I fundamentally do not respect. I just move on. I extend courtesy to others I'd hoped would be extended to me.

Nothing will change so there's no point. I just need time away and to reconsider my options. Thanks for what you've said here. I hope you have a nice day. Don't stress about my reading my fic, take your time. You're under no obligation, and frankly you're probably not missing much. (Honestly, I really have no delusions about the quality of my work; that's not the point here).

Thanks again.

This reply is way too long but it's an issue I've been dealing with for a long time and I've just been told I'm ungrateful and should get over it and I really don't know what to do, that and I'm really tired. It's possible I'll be over it in a few days and I'll go back and dirty delete all these posts.

[originalpackersandmoversblog]

Relocation during Covid – 19 Pandemic!

The year 2020 began well until the novel coronavirus hit the planet with its deadly impacts resulting in death. While social distancing became the necessity of the hour, the universe was certainly hit by the doomsday altogether aspects. A serious loss was also faced by the movers and packers business. Since moves were planned during the Covid 19 scenario, seeing the proper team of packers and movers in Pune was certainly a frightening job.

The Covid 19 hit businesses badly and nearly put a period to the daily routines of individuals within the US and other countries including India within the next few months. There was disgust among the common public who were planning relocation during the pandemic. Leading organizations were arising with measures and tips to make sure people are safe during that point and therefore the relocations happen stress-free. Proper social distancing protocols required for the prevention of this disease was ample distancing of quite six feet, staying faraway from gathering into groups, and avoiding crowded areas.

Covid 19 was the deadly communicable disease that was spreading sort of a wildfire within the country. Having been originated in Wuhan, China – the virus became an epidemic on the planet map in December 2019. Since the carriers of Covid 19 were asymptomatic, proper sanitization and face masks became essentials to avoid the potential spreading of the virus.

Moving during Covid 19 essential

For people that were planning relocation during the pandemic, getting a specified date for an equivalent wasn't easy. Access to essential services was tough. While cities and states across the country advised to temporarily close, relocation services couldn't be severed because it was altogether one amongst one in every of"> one among the primal operations that were administered in all parts of the country, the sole thing that would be amended was the moving date and this made many of us consider waiting especially if they were located within the danger areas or containment zones as announced by the middle .

The matter of concern wasn't the execution of relocation successfully but the exposure to an outsized section of individuals and disruption of sanitization.

Relocation during Covid 19

If you're moving during Covid 19, hardships are unavoidable. If you're flexible together with your relocation date, things can become easy. To make sure things work effectively, you'll ask your moving services providers to find out the security measures they're taking and belongings you can do to make sure you've got the safest move.

Health has, is, and shall always be a top priority and when it involves coming in close contact with people during a move; health and safety should be taken care of by all means people that are becoming the foremost affected are those above the age of 60 and people with pre-existing health ailments. So, whenever you opt to maneuver, make sure you take a worthwhile decision.

If you're anxious of moving out during the Covid 19 situation, then there's no got to fuss because the moving companies offer virtual surveys rather than visiting your premises to supply you a price estimate. you'll call and ensure the schedule and other details and also verify the status of your move.

Moreover, these companies have their own set of practices for operating during the pandemic and you'll get answers to your qualms and issues by lecture the experts of the corporate. Make sure that protocols like sanitization and physical distancing are maintained during these emergencies.

You can clarify things beforehand just like the expenditures and other charges before you begin organizing your goods for the move. Inform the moving companies before your shifting date in order that you recognize exactly what to expect from your move. Transparency is that the key during these odd hours once we are handling the fatal virus. Hence, to make sure everybody is safe including the movers, seek that they're taking ample isolation when not working and therefore the following sanitization throughout the day. These movers work for long hours, during a sort of places, in several circumstances – this extensive exposure comes with the danger of abnormal spreading of the virus. Ensure ample use of face masks and gloves while packing and unpacking, use antibacterial sprays and disinfectants aside from all the mandatory measures that ought to be taken into consideration.

Finally, once you have ensured all the security measures and protocols are in situ, you'll move ahead with the plan without stressing over the scenario. Attempt to remain a step ahead to make sure that you simply have all the proper supplies within access and plan early.

Contact your team of professional packers and movers in Pune once you’ve finalized the date. Ask them about your plan and discuss the practices and safety measures to be undertaken on a moving day. This may make sure you and therefore the movers' team are on an equivalent page.

Since the movers bring all the equipment and packing items along, you would like not buy additional supplies for your packing. Try to not buy extra, you'll use the calculator to estimate and know if you would like to shop for inventory.

Make sure that you simply pack a minimum of each day before the particular moving day. Keep de-cluttering your stuff as you pack them for the move. This is often a perfect time to sanitize your belongings and prepare them for the move. Doing this is often mandatory because this deadly virus stays active on the surface for up to 24 hours and thus, being liberal with all the security tips like wearing gloves and masks is primal.

Planning relocation requires both parties to take care and abide by certain important tips during the Covid 19 pandemic. So, if you’re planning your move during this point, embrace the very fact that you’re not alone. Take consideration of all of the aspects that ensure everyone on board is safe. Inform the health care workers or get yourself tested if you or someone around you is experiencing symptoms. Provide all the hygiene products for your movers and packers in Pune to assist them in every way possible.

Be a sensible customer and enquire about the security protocols before your move along side keeping your precautionary steps intact attempt to stay informed and follow the regulations and amendments within the industry all the time.

[neven-ebrez]

Im so so so confused about 15x13. Wtf was those flashbacks of Jo/Ruby ?? Did I miss something ? It means that circa s4 Jo was already on earth, which, ok i rly dont remember her backstory so maybe, but... She KNEW Ruby was on Lucifer's side ? Even tho NOBODY except Lilith and Lucifer himself knew ? That doesnt make a goddam sense that a demon as cunning as Ruby would share those infos with any Angel, even a rogue one like Jo...

Hey there anon. Let me start by saying 15x13 was a good concept episode in *theory* but it was so poorly executed that I’m not sure about everything I even *think* I understand and I’ve already watched it a few times. I usually try to give Buckleming credit where credit is due. They do deliver on theme fairly consistently, if not exactly with elegance. I want to say 15x13 folds into this more heavily than most but the thing is... I’m not entirely sure it’s by design, from any standpoint.

Simply, Buckleming wanted to see J2’s wives be frenemies. That was the concept they started with. And they absolutely wrote to concept over characterization. They said “Well! Until now we’ve been letting people assume Anael fell with all the host during the 8x23 Angel Fall Event but ACTUALLY we never said that’s when she came to Earth *exactly* so we have some leeway here! Yeah she talked about things post “The Fall” but ACTUALLY she could have been talking about her personal Fall which happened Chuck knows when now! You see!” And then they wrote 15x13 from there aiming for the S4 timeline after Ruby was introduced in Genevieve’s vessel but before Ruby was killed. It’s the same type of thing they did for 14x20 essentially, only with God. It’s subjective whether these detailed canon jossed reveals work or not. Re: characterization: I liked 14x20 personally but disliked 15x13 because one highlighted the show’s values (free will, team work, chosen family, always keep fighting) while the other stood divided.

For Jo you’re gonna have two reactions: those fans who liked her original implied 8x23 Fall story/situation over the new clarified canon and those who don’t. I personally don’t like it. I liked what they were doing with Jo up til that point. I liked that she was kinda like Cas (wayward) and now she’s decidedly... not. I don’t know what the aim was for her character doing this reveal and accounting for her new actions. Maybe she’s supposed to be an example of what not to do? Don’t be selfish?? Don’t run and hide?? Idk. Imo if I can’t tell such things, like why the writing is moving in the direction it is moving, then to me it’s just not organic and thus, not good for episodic tv (and organic character based writing is essential to episodic tv imo). Jo’s whole thing is she looks out for herself, yes, but she also is dedicated to meddling because she dislikes what God has done. The reveal that she wanted to run away and hide while billions of humans died?? When she could have continued helping them (and even if in a small capacity)? She loves pretty things and is highly materialistic, yet is fine letting it all burn, all that beauty?? And now how she’s refusing to pick a side, here at the end of all things? Well. That just doesn’t sit well with me. She meddles. Now she doesn’t. Just... why? I don’t feel like they told me why.

And that’s not touching anything with Ruby and why they would sometimes work together. For me it’s an issue about who Anael is, her core character. Imo they betrayed that and it’s like... they didn’t have to?? They could have easily written something that maintained who she was at her core instead of diving so hard into concept that seemingly sits apart from everything else. It’s just inorganic writing imo. Like I said, 15x13 was... a lot. Concerning your specific raised concern over Ruby spilling her secrets, again, concept over characterization. Keeping her true allegiance from the Winchesters was paramount to Ruby’s involvement with them. Everything depended on it. So, no. I 1000% agree with you. Imo it doesn’t make sense that her character would tell someone who wasn’t even a friend her true allegiance. Like??? This person could be tortured for info? Or they could just betray her if a better opportunity presented itself?? No spy would do this?

A meddler who is no longer meddling and a spy who can’t keep secrets. While this episode heavily delved into opposite imagery and “meet in the middle” imagery (there’s a lot to be written on this angle and I don’t know if anyone has yet b/c I’m not on the internet in general much these days), I really don’t think Buckleming needed to change so much character-wise (even Rachel’s portrayal of the Empty, no longer slightly unhinged, had me having to really look at the psychological WHY) with 15x13 but they did and for now we are stuck with it.

[actualbird]

omg can we talk about the R cards they give you in the event for a second?

What are Vyn and Artem wearinggggg

like Luke and Marius look so good as always, Luke blushing is the cutest thing ever <3

but with the other two. I’m too distracted by their… weirdly asymmetrical outfits. Not that asymmetrical outfits are bad in general but. It sure is Something™…

omg yes we CAN talk about the R cards i love these R cards so much hhhh and jhvjVKJHV AGREE ON UR OPINIONS,,,,actually i wanna go thru all of em one by one (particularly only the first evolutions cuz i find those much more endearing than the second) for fun

-

precious blushy treasures, casual and looks GREAT

im biased, im Obviously biased, but luke is my fave. theres no misses here whatsoever. nor for marius, imo.

also why are yall in matching color schemes, did u guys plan this. im not complaining cuz the plan execution came out great, i like these outfits

both their expressions r SO CUTE, SO ADORABLY NERVOUS, I WANNA SQUISH them

but whats getting me the most here is that luke---notorious for wearing for certain perplexing outfits that are so confounding that even if it doesnt happen all the time, it's still really frigging hard to forget---is wearing something fantastic. it's simple but it WORKS and that already is a FEAT IN ITSELF

my favorite thing about both outfits is the little chain attached to the belt loop cuz idk why but thats ridiculously attractive to me???? what does that chain do? i dont know. i dont care. it looks GOOD

i do have to admit that the see-through pocket of his denim jacket is funny to me. it looks nice but also luke, i hope ur not putting like, ur credit card in there absentmindedly

black jeans. enough said

-

[said lovingly] what r u guys wearing?

jus so it's outta the way: no complaints about their expressions, theyre both also very cute. vyn stifling his laughter and artem looking away, badly concealing the box gift....theyre cute :((

and now onto the cruz of the matter: the outfits

i can see that theres a matching theme going on. the younger boys get the light blue/dark colors casual matchy theme and the older ones get a more sophisticated and primarily black deal

and also asymmetrical designs. which, as u said, theres nothing wrong with that! i even like asymmetrical designs a lot! but these ones have me tilting my head JHVSKJDHKF

artem is the lesser evil here. his shirt isnt bad, per se, it just takes me a second glance to understand whats going on cuz the pattern acts a bit like an optical illusion at first

but vyn....

okay, the one half of the shirt being untucked is something i maybe couldve gotten used to. eventually

but having just a Single Suspender is making me go nuts omfg. additionally, there seems to be a second strap coming out of the longer portion of his shirt? is that the other unused suspender?? or is it something else altogether? i have No idea what it does but unlike the chain in belt loops for marius and luke, my confusion trumps the an aesthetic merit i'd end up seeing JHKJSDHFKSD

i must say tho that i like the gold detailing on vyn's shirt, thats pretty :DDD

-

full verdict: luke finally gets his moment to shine with an R card outfit that makes sense. vyn has had too many wins in the past with awesome outfits, so for the sake of equality, it is Him who gets the confounding piece of apparel this time

[yesterdanereviews]

Lobster Man from Mars (1989)

Film review #532

Director: Stanley Sheff

SYNOPSIS: A movie studio executive is plagued by money problems, and requires a tax-write off to keep the IRS away. He decides to produce a film brought in by a young film writer that is utterly absurd: “Lobster Man from Mars...”

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Lobster Man from Mars is a 1989 sci-fi film within a film. Opening up, we see Movie mogul J.P. Sheldrake, who is facing monetary pressure from the usual suspects: his ex-wife, the I.R.S., and so on. He decides he needs to release a movie that flops so badly he can make it a tax write-off and keep those he owes money to at bay. Fortunately, young movie writer/producer Stevie Horowitz walks in with the perfect potential film: Lobster Man from Mars, a film in the style of the old b-movie sci-fi films. The film (as a whole) becomes a film-within-a-film: The movie mogul sits in a theatre to watch the “Lobster Man from Mars” film, and we watch it as well, with a few occasional cutaways to Sheldrake to offer his thoughts. It’s an interesting setup, but was done prior in the 1968 film The Producers to much better effect. We’re also only taken out of the film a few times to see Sheldrake’s thoughts, meaning for the most part the “film in a film” element is irrelevant. With regards to the “Lobster Man from Mars” film itself, it follows a very typical b-movie sci-fi plot which it is aiming to parody: Mars is “leaking air” from it’s atmosphere, and so the ruler of Mars sends the dreaded lobster man and his assistant Mombo, who resembles a gorilla in a space helmet, to go to Earth and steal all it’s air...? Honestly, I’m not sure how they’re going to steal Earth’s air, and how it’s going to help if Mars is “leaking” any air it gets anyway, but regardless, when they arrive on Earth, the killing starts, and anyone who gets in their way gets turned into a pile of bones.

The film mostly plays it straight, with the film-in-a-film just being played without any commentary or over-the-top parody: it could easily pass for an actual b-movie. This is both a core strength and a weakness in the film: the best comedic moments come from the film playing it completely straight without any overt humourous moments, and it is the unexpected moments that provide the best comedy. The drawback to this is that it sometimes plays it too straight, and you forget you’re watching something that is supposed to be funny for fairly long stretches. The humour also feels fairly niche, in the sense that you would have to have actually watched these films originally to really get what it is parodying. Some of the really niche references, such as Colonel Ankrum being a reference to Morris Ankrum, who played similar characters in 1950′s films, is only going to be understood by a fraction of viewers. It definitely gets the b-movie feel right, but in 1989, there was plenty of other parodies of the genre that offered something new and entertaining from an entertainment perspective. This film just feels like it goes through the motions while reminding you it is a parody from time to time. There were a few of these b-movie parodies in the 80′s, but they typically went for a more upfront comedy and absurd premise, such as Killer Klowns from Outer Space. While a plot about Mars leaking air sounds quite silly, it definitely fits the b-movie mold, and would probably have fit right in. Although released in 1989, the film was actually written about ten years earlier, and it definitely feels that way. Lobster Man from Mars does something a little different, but it altogether feels a bit too niche and relies too much on in-jokes to appeal to a more general audience. 

[lyrabythelake]

When you lose your sword... panic?

This idea was concocted from a conversation with @gintrinsic-writing and Just_Bonesy :)  

CW: blood, gore, violence

Twilight is not the best fighter of the group by any means, that title goes to Sky or Warriors, or possibly Wild when he isn’t setting the battlefield on fire. It’s clear which of them have had professional training and who hasn’t; where Sky moves with precise elegance, Hyrule fights with almost desperate brawl. Where Warriors parrys and jabs with meticulously calculated technique, Legend’s style is rather a brutish scuffle. But while the professional soldiers of the group have the upper hand while fighting with swords, there are certain situations where those who have learned exclusively from their own wits and experience come out on top.

Take now, for example, as Twilight faces three lizalfos head on. His sword is in the ditch somewhere having flown out of his hand a few moments ago courtesy of an unsuspecting swipe from his blind spot, and he has no other weapons on him. The others aren’t in any position to be helping him, they have their own battles to fight; the waves of enemies are approaching fast.

The lizalfos on the right comes at him first, swinging sword glinting maliciously, and Twilight jumps into action, light and sturdy on his feet. He lets his adrenaline run wild and his most animalistic instincts kick in, and he lets out a snarl, baring his teeth in battle-fuelled rage. He doesn’t dodge backwards away from the first swipe, he lunges towards it seemingly heedlessly so that instead of being hit by the blade, he’s struck with the inside of the beast’s elbow. It stumbles slightly in surprise and Twilight uses the opening to grab its wrist and turn it forcefully clockwise, hearing a couple of bones in its hand crack. In his mid-battle high, they might as well be twigs snapping beneath his palms. It lets out a pig-like squeal but doesn’t drop its sword – Twilight is forcing its hand to keep its grip underneath his own.

It’s a struggle, but he manages to turn it enough that the wrist too snaps beneath its scaly skin and the sword plunges into its own stomach with a little added force. Twilight shoves it away with excessive strength and it falls to the ground, unmoving, dark red pooling beneath its body, congealing with the grit and mud in a viscous concoction of its own defeat. Twilight staggers slightly from the momentum of the push, his knuckle scraping painfully along the floor, and the next lizalfos takes the small opportunity to grab him in a steel headlock.

He doesn’t hesitate as he turns his head to the side with sudden force and uses his entire weight to pull on the arm that holds him. It gives way immediately, almost too easily, and he twists his body, the lizalfos hand with it, until he’s in a position to shove it to the ground alongside its companion. He finishes it off with five kicks to the head, the tiny, fragile bones of its face shattering beneath his worn, blood-splattered boot.

There’s one left now, weaponless, and Twilight can feel it’s hesitance, it’s eyes flickering to it’s fallen comrades with what Twilight would like to think of as nervousness. Good. A hesitant opponent means it’s more likely to make mistakes, more chance of openings for a kill. Still, there’s strange determination in its cold, reptilian eyes when it runs at full speed towards him, and it’s almost a shame that it lasts as little time as it does.

Twilight squats in preparation, and as it reaches him, claws outstretched in front of it, muscular tail poised for attack, he manages to grip it around the underside of its arm with one hand and the scraps of its tunic in the other, and then pulls with all his might. It goes flying over his shoulder with more momentum than Twilight had expected, and he feels its neck crack as it tumbles to the ground behind him.

He straightens up, eyes roving over each of his three enemies to confirm that they are indeed still motionless, and rubs the dust off his hands contentedly before turning around, coming face to face with Wind, a fierce look in his sea-blue eyes.

“Show me how to do that,” the sailor demands, the pointy end of his sword pointing straight at him. Twilight takes a step back, startled.

“What?” he asks. The others are coming to the end of their respective fights and seem not to have noticed the gruesome brawl that went down only seconds ago.

“That.” Wind waves the sword to the place the third dead Lizalfos lies, “The thing you did with the twirly arm where you threw that guy over your shoulder.”

“The one arm shoulder throw?” Twilight questions, parroting the name Rusl had taught him all those years ago when his mentor used to beat him every time they sparred.

“I don’t care what it’s called! Just show me!”

So he does, later, when they’ve set up camp and the others are doing their own thing elsewhere, either practicing their own fighting or foraging resources for their journey. Twilight has had experience teaching hand-to-hand combat to the children of Ordon – it’s strongly believed in the village that children should learn to fight as soon as they are able, and not everyone can afford swords – and he is pleased, but unsurprised, that Wind has the enthusiasm of all of the village children put together. He is also considerably more competent at listening and picking up the moves (again, not altogether surprising considering he defeated Ganon at the tender age of twelve) and he manages to learn a good few techniques in just a couple of hours.

“This is fun,” Wind grins, looking down at him as Twilight picks himself off the floor having just been taken down for the umpteenth time, on this occasion with a solid kick to the back of his left knee. Hylia help them all if Wind grows any bigger, who knew his skinny legs held such brute strength.

“Hey Captain!” Wind shouts to Warriors who is walking into the clearing carrying a stack of logs, an axe on his back, “you wanna spar? Twi taught me some new moves.”

“Sure, Sailor,” he replies, dropping the logs into a neat pile by their camp and swapping the axe for his sword, “don’t go too hard on me,” he grins good-naturedly, clearly not noticing the mischievous glint in Wind’s eyes. Wind picks up his own sword and they get into their respective stances, eyeing each other from across the small clearing. Wind waits for Warriors to swing first, at which point he tosses his sword to the ground beside him.

“Wait, wha-“ Warriors manages to get out mid-swing before Wind is careening towards him and grabbing his wrist in the way Twilight taught him. Twilight is proud to see he executes the move perfectly, twisting Warriors’ wrist towards him and immediately sending him to the ground, sword and all.

“Holy mother of FUCK!” Warriors shouts, clutching his wrist in obvious pain, his sword lying some few metres away. Twilight hopes Wind didn’t break anything.

“What next, Twi?” Wind asks cheerily as the captain rolls around at his feet.

“Now you kick him in the balls,” Twilight informs him.

“WAIT, NO! STOP, I SURRENDER!” Warriors pleads, and Twilight gives Wind a wink before going over to help Warriors up, grasping his good hand and pulling him to his feet.

“Where in Hylia’s name did you learn to fight like that?” Warriors asks him, clutching his wrist to his chest.

“Rusl taught me some of it,” he replies, “some I learned from just being on the road, and some of it’s stuff I learned from goat wrangling.”

The Captain considers him for a moment, clearly impressed.

“You think you could teach that to everyone?”

So that’s how Twilight finds himself standing in front of a scene that might be even more chaotic than when he was teaching Colin and his friends hand-to-hand. In his defence, he’s almost certain it’s not his teaching skills that are to blame; goat wrangling is nothing compared to herding these supposedly ‘respectable’ holders of the triforce of courage.

Wind successfully managed to take down Time before the lesson even started, and he now sits next to him, sheepishly holding some ice from Legend’s ice rod over the old man’s nose while the latter glares stonily into the distance. Behind them, Warriors has Legend in a headlock and Twilight almost chuckles at the distinctly rodent-like way Legend is trying to squirm out of it, punching every square inch of torso he can reach.

Four’s eyes flash blue-green as he gleefully pulls Sky down to his own height by the clump of hair he mercilessly has clenched in one fist, and Hyrule and Wild are hanging upside-down from a tree (though Twilight is pretty sure that has nothing to do with the lesson at hand).

All learned technique has gone out the window. Scratch that, it’s left the Goddessdamned kingdom. Though, Twilight supposes, that was kind of the point in the first place. Besides, Wind has fully mastered the one arm shoulder throw considering the way Time landed face first in the mud like a sack of potatoes not so long ago and Warriors has lost his usual stringency that so often prevents him from improvising in tight spots. All in all, they’re not doing too badly, and he fancies next time they find themselves up against an enemy without a weapon, they’ll be considerably more prepared. Rusl would be proud.

[musings-from-mars]

The Chess Motif and Salem’s Forces

So I got to thinking about the chess imagery we often see associated with Salem and her faction, and I came upon this theory that her underlings each represent a different chess piece, each with their own uses, advantages and limitations.

With my middling knowledge about chess and chess tactics and my analysis of each of Salem’s current faction members, here’s who I think each of them represent.

The King: Salem

This one’s pretty easy to pick out. The King is the most important piece in chess; the whole object of the game is to capture your opponent’s King to win. The King itself isn’t a very agile piece at all, as it only moves one space at a time in any unobstructed direction. Therefore, the King surrounds itself with several other more capable pieces which are used to defend it and attack the opposing side.

Salem fits this role to a T. She never once has gotten directly involved in engaging the enemy, but her defenses are so well executed, the opposing side is nowhere close to “capturing” her.

But of course, if the King is captured, it’s all over. Hence why the heroes’ ultimate goal is to stop her.

The Pawns: Emerald, and to a lesser extent, Neo

The Pawn is the least valuable piece in chess. It only moves forward one space at a time (with exceptions), and are generally expendable. Pawns will often be sacrificed if it means gaining an advantage. However, the fewer Pawns one has left, the less likely they are to sacrifice them.

In the same way, Salem does not view Emerald or Neo as highly valuable, but still useful. In the right time and place, a pawn can be used offensively, or as effective defense.

However, the main reason I see them both as pawns is because they’re both young women, possible candidates for maiden powers. The biggest strength associated with Pawns is if they’re moved far enough across the board, they can be promoted to a higher piece, usually a Queen. More about that in a bit...

The Bishop: Watts

Bishops are crafty pieces, able to move in any diagonal unobstructed direction. However, they aren’t very powerful on their own.

Watts is a perfect fit for this role. He’s a capable fighter and can hold his own, but he’s not the strongest when alone. He does his best work in conjunction with others, which is why he often is accompanied by Tyrian.

However, since the Bishop can’t do much on its own, its more likely to be sacrificed to opposing capture for an advantage (captured quite literally at the moment, in fact).

Lastly, in an endgame situation, if the only pieces a side has remaining is their King and a Bishop, (unless the opponent bungles so badly that they box themself in among their own pieces somehow?), it is impossible for these two pieces to achieve a checkmate. A King with a Rook or Queen can, but a King and Bishop on their own is not a winning combination.

The Knights: Tyrian, and to a lesser extent, Mercury

Knights are very agile and useful pieces. They’re the only pieces which can jump over others, and therefore don’t need an unobstructed path to move. They also move in an odd two-by-one L-shaped path that is difficult to predict or defend against.

Tyrian seems like a Knight because of a Knight’s ability to move past other pieces to get behind the opponent’s defenses. A few well strung-together moves with a Knight can decimate an opponent because there’s no way to block their path. Tyrian is unusually agile, unpredictable, and difficult to defend against, and his specialty is infiltrating and causing chaos, as we’ve seen in Mantle. Knights are also very useful for defending the King from attack for these reasons, hence Tyrian’s loyalty to Salem.

I struggled with which piece Mercury fit the best, but I settled on Knight for him as well for of much of the same reasons as Tyrian. His fighting style often throws his opponents off because it’s so different, and his role in orchestrating the Fall of Beacon by subtly learning Pyrrha’s semblance and goading Yang into attacking him out of turn at the tournament show how useful he is in assisting an attack.

But much like the Bishop, a lone King and Knight cannot win on their own.

The Rook: Hazel

Since he’s built like a stone tower, this one wasn’t very difficult to choose. The Rook is the most powerful non-Queen piece on the board. It can move forward, backward, and sideways along any unobstructed path. Unless a proper defense is in place, the Rook can steamroll anything in its path, and is among the most useful pieces in an endgame situation.

A lone Rook and the King can win on their own. Rooks are very rarely sacrificed for an advantage, so losing a Rook is an especially hard hit to take...

The Queen: Cinder

And now the most powerful piece on the board. The Queen can move in any unobstructed diagonal, forward, backward, or sideways direction. It essentially has the combined abilities of the Rook and Bishop.

The Queen is almost never sacrificed under any circumstances, unless immediate victory is otherwise conceivable.

It’s no wonder Cinder identifies with the Queen piece. She is the most powerful member of Salem’s faction and is the most capable of effectively attacking the enemy. Losing the Queen is perhaps the worst thing that could happen short of losing the game altogether.

At the start of every game of chess, the Queen is always right by the King’s side, symbolizing the Queen’s role of being the King’s most important piece of offense and defense. Moreover, I do think Cinder represents the Queen, but more specifically, she represents a former Pawn who has been promoted to a Queen because the King pushed her so far across the board in the pursuit of further power.

One more thing about Queens. In most chess sets (at least the one I have and the competition sets we used on the school chess team), two Queens per color are included in the set, just in case a Pawn is promoted while another Queen is still present on the board. This makes a total of four possible Queens, much like how there are four Maidens. At the moment, there is one Queen to Salem’s side, and one Queen to Ozpin’s (Penny, also a former Pawn), while Raven and the Summer Maiden are essentially off the board for now.

(It is possible to have more Queens than that if more Pawns are promoted, but that’s a pretty rare occurrence).

I might consider doing an analysis like this for Ozpin’s side, but I feel assigning roles in that case would be more difficult. But I might, maybe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

So there you have it! I honestly had lots of fun nerding out about chess despite not seriously playing it in years. I enjoy the aesthetic and I appreciate the fact that CRWBY does too.

[sakurawarfare]

I'm all yours (Childe/ Tartaglia x Lumine oneshot)

Olah! TBH I never intended to post this at all until a dear friend of me "convinced" me to do so (JK I love you) .

This story probably takes place after the huge fight in the Golden House, but there aren't any spoilers at all (or angst). Also, the characters may be a little OOC so yeah.

Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful day!

-Sakura

"I'm not letting you get away a second time, pretty boy." Her amber eyes shined like sunlight, reflecting the stars above. "You will be mine."

She takes a step back to enjoy his flustered expression before turning to leave. "Goodbye, my dear Tartaglia."

~

Ever since their last interaction, Tartaglia's mind was filled with thoughts full of the alluring Miss Honorary Knight. Her beautiful eyes that shined like Cor Lapis, how she danced and delivered swift judgement on her enemies and those lips...

Damn it, he was supposed to be the one seducing her, not the other way around. He leaned against his palm, trying to supress the warmth threatening to spill on his cheeks.

But then again, the thought of joining her on her adventures didn't seem like a terrible offer. Seeing new places, foraging for treasures and especially dominating anything that stood in their way, all the while with her by his side. Yeah, seemed like a good idea.

He sighed wistfully. Acting so lovesick really didn't suit him.

~

They stood next to each other in silence. The air was filled with the sound of rustling leaves and the water flowing below them as they witnessed the moon's peak on the open balcony of Wangshu Inn.

It had been a few week since they last saw each other, but the moments that had transpired during their last meeting were fresh. Her gaze, his loving touch and the words left unspoken between them still lingered.

~

Tartaglia turned to face her, determined to ask the one question that had been on his mind.

"What did you mean last time?"

She gave him a blank look that he found both annoying and endearing. Curse his weak heart.

"What do you mean?" She stared at him, her eyes had a tint of mischief in them. She was doing this on purpose.

" 'You will be mine, is what you said' ", he said, deciding to lower his face to hold her hair to his nose. Gods, she smelled like the sweet perfumes that Ying'er sold in her shop.

He continued. "Truthfully, I don't intend to be anyone's property, ojou-chan." He tried for a smirk.

She raised her brow. "You work for the Fatui, for the Tsaritsa."

"Ah, but you forget, this free spirit of mine is tied to no one." He lets go of her hair (albeit a bit reluctantly) and places a hand on his hip. "I may follow the Tsaritsa's orders, but the way I execute them is for me to decide."

She steps a little closer to him, looking up with those darn amber orbs that left him breathless. "But if you joined my side," she lifts her hand to take hold of his face "You can be free to do whatever you want. Well, except commiting homicide for no good reason."

He slips an arm around her, deciding to play along. Despite how fast his heart seemed to beat faster as she neared, he pulled her even closer, lips merely inches away.

"Do you want me that badly, ojou-chan?"

"Yes." Okay, her bluntness caught him off guard but what really surprised him was the sudden feeling of warmth on his lips.

His eyes widened as she pressed further against him, arms circling around his neck to trap him. A few seconds passed and she pulled back a little bit, probably disheartned at his non-reaction. But he then chases after her, not allowing the gap between them to grow any further.

His arm around her wrapped even tighter as he guided her face closer to him, not wanting to miss any inch of her sweet entrance.

They part for a short while, catching their breath. His face is burning like a Pyro slime yet he can't help but chuckle at how flushed she also looked, her hair messy as a beautiful shade of pink blooming on her cheeks. Why did she have to be so irresistable?

Their eyes meet once more and he swears if he could, his eyes would form hearts at the sight of her. Much like magnets, they're once again within each other's arms, the passion built up from their first session quickly burned even brighter.

He moves his hands down her ass and lifts her up. She immediately wraps her legs around his waist and starts to move her hands to grip his hair.

Kiss after kiss, he pulls her even closer, their bodies fitting perfectly. He never thought that he would feel this kind of excitement outside of battle, but it was a welcome feeling altogether.

"I could get use to this." He whispered softly before pressing another fervent kiss on Lumine's lips.

An idea struck him as he let go and moved his face towards the crook of her neck. She doesn't move, curious as to what he will do when she lets out a delicious moan as he bit into the nape of her neck. He lets his tongue wander until he hears her moan even louder. Jackpot.

"Won't you sing for me," his ears revel from the beautiful sounds she's making, "Ojou-chan?"

Tartaglia continues with his attack, making sure to leave multiple marks that will surely bloom against her supple skin in the morning.

"You're not putting up much of a fight, ojou-Ngh!" He almost felt his knees buckle as Lumine nibbled on his ear. "Ah, aahh...," he couldn't hold back his moan. Damn her and her dirty tricks.

He pushes away a little bit, putting some distance between them, even though she still had her arms wrapped around his neck. The blonde warrior was sporting a proud grin, a huge contrast to her even more dishelved state.

"You were saying?" Even under the dim moonlight, her smile seemed to radiate so much warmth, so much love. Love that she felt for him. Only him, he hoped.

He presses a chaste kiss before letting her down. She tilts her head in such a cute way, he didn't know that it was possible for him to love her even more. Not that he would admit that out loud. At least, not yet.

"You know, we could take this somewhere a little more private." He presses a kiss to her fingers.

"Oh? But I thought the mighty Tartaglia didn't belong to anyone," Lumine jested.

He smiled. "Well for you ojou-chan, I'm willing to make an exception."

She twisted her hand to hold his, her grip firm and strong. They walk together in silence, simply relishing each other's company.

Truthfully, he wished that this moment could last forever. He enjoyed staying like this with her, not as the Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui and the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt and possibly Liyue, but just two people slowly falling in love.

They barely made it to her room before his hands were all over her body again.

[itsclydebitches]

Holy cow I recommend not listening to the RWBY commentaries. I did it as I was starting a large-scale fanfic project to see if there was any worldbuilding details they would mention and there's not a lot, but it did make it transparently obvious how little planning for payoff is done: in Volume 1 they say "keep an eye on cardin winchester in the future" as if his only appearances after that aren't getting beaten up by Pyrrha, showing up in a crowd in v3, and then just VANISHING FOREVER

Side comment: whenever I hear people talking nonsense about how no one would do anything ever if given the opportunity (like, for example, in conversations about universal basic income), I think of casual statements like yours. I just started watching large amounts of supplementary material for an idea or two in an equally large project that I will then gift to the world for free! Absolutely awesome, you funky little writer. 

Anyway, back to the actual topic lol. Sometimes (not always, but sometimes) I’m frustrated less with the problems in RWBY and more with how those problems are presented by both the writers and the fandom. Lots of stories drop ideas or characters depending on what the story needs moving forward. Sometimes the reason is fairly obvious to the audience (such as in Glynda’s case), other times not, but if the writers were to simply acknowledge that their focus changed... that’s okay. Audiences, on the whole, are more forgiving than certain corners of the internet might make one assume! But RT, from what I’ve personally observed, works very hard to present their story as this nearly flawless, carefully thought out piece. Rarely do we hear, “Oh yeah, we just forgot that detail, sorry” or “We’re not sure yet if Cardin will stick around, but we’re looking forward to finding out.” Everything has an explanation  — even if it doesn’t make sense. Everything is intentional and neatly planned  — even when it’s not. When problems in the story are acknowledged it’s because the animators did something, or the social media team did something. It’s definitely not because those creators are working off information the writers have provided about the characters and their world. The construction of the story itself is never at fault, only others’ interpretation of it. 

Similarly, many in the fandom push this idealized image of the writers as perfect masters of their craft who are incapable of messing up. If something seems badly written now, it’s only because we’re still waiting for payoff (and that wait is always extended up until RWBY ends. Even then, I suspect that many will begin insisting that RT deliberately saved material for the next book, next comic, an upcoming podcast, etc. The fact that they may have dropped an important plot thread is not a possibility). If something still doesn’t make sense, it’s because you’re too stupid to understand it. The narrative of the genius RT combined with RT’s own confidence makes for a series that’s much harder to enjoy. I was more forgiving of RWBY back in the early Volumes partly because the story and the company were presented as just having a fun, silly time. Which isn’t to say we can’t/shouldn’t still criticize that approach when the story is trying to tackle something like racism, but it’s still a far cry from what we’re dealing with now. Now, RT is no longer a tiny, independent company doing their best with few resources. Now, they make big claims about their planning and the expected quality of their work. Now, we’ve got a fandom pushing the idea that there’s deep, intricate meaning behind every choice. So when on both sides people are encouraging the audience to treat this show seriously... people will treat the show seriously. And the show comes out wanting. The writers and fandom cannot tell us that there are plans for these characters, that there’s meaning behind every detail... and then not weather the pushback when those things turn out to be false. On the flipside, you can’t continue to make those claims and then when someone criticizes the show’s execution, argue that we’re taking it too seriously. RWBY is a well thought out, deeply moving, innovative, progressive, intensely complex show... provided you ignore the endless inconsistencies, offensive content, and unclear messages. RWBY, in reality, is an incredibly flawed show, to the point where it would benefit massively by the writers not taking it too seriously, thus encouraging the fandom to do the same. It’s just wild fantasy kids fighting monsters! But they introduced incredibly sensitive subject matter, constantly talk up their work, and the community has spent years building this narrative of the epic, stunningly crafted story, to the point where people are outright attacked for saying, “Hey, I think they messed up here.” You can’t have all that and push back with, “It’s just a fantasy show, get a life and stop taking it so seriously!” 

I mean, Oscar and Cardin are the examples we’ve been discussing... but post-Volume 8 my mind keeps coming back to Penny. They gave us a character who functioned as a queer/neurodivergent/trans allegory, building off of a long history of that work in science fiction, only to erase her difference and then kill her off for a second time. She had an incredibly close relationship with the main protagonist in a show that is still in desperate need of queer rep. She was murdered the first time and died via an assisted suicide the second time around. Throughout all this, her themes were personal agency, others controlling her, criticism of military personnel, and the general concept of what it means to “really” be human. That’s a lot... and it’s a lot to mess up too. Forgetting about the generic, archetypal bully is fine. Messing up a main character to the extent that it hurts the title character too is a problem. But situations like Penny’s are on another level altogether. RWBY is far past the point of being a tiny indie show doing simple, silly things for the cool visuals. They had a contentious character slit the throat of a minority allegory begging to die so she can, supposedly, control one thing in her life. That’s not “rule of cool” content you just shrug and laugh off. RT wants us to take their content seriously. The fandom, when it suits them, wants us to take the content seriously. The flipside to this desire is that when people take your work seriously... they may come to the conclusion that it was poorly done. 

[leslie057]

25!

#25: Wet kisses after finding refuge from the rain

Thank you anon for this prompt it’s sooo cute

Obviously I meant for these to be drabble prompts because I outright said that, and with this one I TRIED to do that but this is like 2000 words so oh well. I do like it. It’s fluffy and nice (at the end).

And happy reading! This is set in the winter after season 2. You can prompt me in my ask box for more not-drabbles like this one.

______

He could have picked any day to do this, because he’s already waited ages. But his impulses are eating him alive now, turned from little sparks into turbulent flames. And—most people don’t actually pick a day to do this. Three words fizz in their mouth then fall as the unmissable feeling is suddenly recognized, but when that first happened to him, he couldn’t do anything. Neither could she. They had a plan to execute. An animal to lure with their warm blood. A boyfriend between them like a chasm between them.

It’s not like that anymore. Those memories recently became vignetted in the presence of new torment. A second fall in hell except. Being with Nancy was not hell. Not even close.

Being with Nancy is incredible. Her company is escapist, almost. It allows him deeper breaths and a sense of comfort that he honestly didn’t know was possible for him to have. He’s just better. Doesn’t think about the things that worry him.

His guess is that she feels better with him, too. That’s what she always says, at least, head slanted on his shoulder before they drift off to sleep, going on about how lonely she would be without him. About how difficult it is to get up in the morning because you’re so comfortable, come here. But he isn’t naive. Sweet nothings are called nothings for a reason.

So maybe she does make him worried. He has no way of knowing when it’s okay to tell her the three words. Or if she wants to hear them, ever.

“Woah, careful,” she advises and tugs him away before he can trip over a broken branch on the ground. “You just clumsy, or am I letting someone who’s lost their mind lead me into the woods?”

Well, when she says it like that, he can’t help but be embarrassed.

He hasn’t lost his mind. He doesn’t think he has. As he tries in vain to brush aside the anxiety coursing through him, his gaze lowers to their locked arms. This doesn’t have to end badly. By some miracle, she may return his feelings. She may.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, “was thinking about something else.”

“I would hope not. Do you know where you’re taking me exactly?”

“Yes, I know,” he insists. And he does.

“Okay. My fault. Just feels a little aimless. Are you sure you’re alright—” The sound of thunder in the distance catches their attention. It rolls and it grumbles. “Ugh, the rain’s coming already?”

Rain? No, that’s not right. That’s not fair. If he doesn’t do this here, he’ll lose his nerve altogether. Was he really so focused on himself and asking her to come here that he didn’t notice the condition of the sky? It doesn’t look promising. The clouds look like they’re about to burst, sepia balls of cotton with unbelievably dark undersides. And he smells it now, that burning wire scent. The ozone.

He stops in his tracks, startling his girlfriend. He needs to think, and more than that, he needs to not act like an idiot. She’s confused enough as it is because, as far as she knows, he’s not supposed to be dying inside.

“Hey, what is it? We gotta hurry. Whatever you wanna show me, it won’t take long, right?”

While he doesn’t have the true answer to that, he can feel himself nodding anyway. “Yeah, um, come on,” he says. He picks up the pace, and on his arm, she does the same. All the while making light jokes and natural comments and being a normal person, but he can barely pay attention, the anticipation killing him. He wants this to go well. He needs it to.

After a few more minutes, they come to the overgrown area. He thinks she has probably figured out where they are by now. Maybe.

“Okay, here,” he says as an aside, and she snaps into focus. He separates from her momentarily and interlaces their hands, leading in front of her. “Watch out,” he adds as they walk through, “the poison ivy stems.”

On the other side they find the glade. Finally. It’s dark and yellow-toned in front of them, looking untouched, as it always has.

“Oh.” She brushes her thumb across his. He almost shudders. “You miss target practice, huh?”

“So you do remember.”

“Duh. It wasn’t that long ago.”

“Over a year,” he shrugs, “that’s kinda long.” A lot can happen in a year, and a lot did.

Amused, she watches him while he shakes off his jacket and lays it out on the ground. He stands on his knees, flattens out the worn garment, and carefully pulls her down with him.

“What? Don’t have any revolvers with you under that shirt?” she asks.

His eyes go from the clearing back to her. “No. No cans, either, I’m sorry.”

Next to him, she leans back on her wrists, expression uncertain but in a way encouraging. He can tell she is biting her cheek a little bit, foundation powder slightly creased near her mouth. Wow, he loves—

“You’d miss them anyway. What are we here for then?” she laughs.

What are they here for. What are they here for. A dumb wave of panic comes over him out of nowhere. The rough script he’s been coming up with in his head every night is pretty much gone.

He decides honesty is the best policy. “I just wanted to tell you something out here.”

She quirks her brow. “You wanted to tell me something?”

Fuck, his fingers are shaking. She really can be hard to talk to sometimes.

“Yeah, it’s not...not bad or anything. But. I don’t know. Okay, last year, when we...”

“When we were doing target practice,” she offers.

“Yes. When we were doing that, I was, and I should’ve said this then—well I shouldn’t have said what I’m going to say but I should have said what I’m about to say.”

“What?”

“Um, nevermind. Nevermind. It’s just like...I was grateful. For you, for talking to you. Everything was messed up and I was really close to falling apart and it would have been worse alone. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything by myself. I would’ve gone crazy, without you. I’m sorry for the argument we had that day, too. And I’m sorry that I ignored you after everything was over, it frustrates me that I did. Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to say. Um, I should probably preface this by saying that I really really—Nance, actually—I really don’t want it to upset you and it’s kind of. Based on a. Suspicion. Or, not a suspicion, it’s just that in the time we’ve been going out for—”

“This is about Steve isn’t it?”

More thunder.

“About what?”

“It’s okay,” she says, proud, and promptly stands up, “I think I know what you’re gonna say. I know you’re scared that what happened to me and him is gonna happen with us. But I can promise you, it won’t. I won’t turn on you, if that’s what you think. I won’t find some third guy and take down a different lab with him. You said you’re grateful for me, but you’re scared. I’m telling you now that you shouldn't be because I’m confident in what...in what we have. In what we’ve been doing for the past couple months, if that makes sense. Make sense?”

He stares at her, bewildered. “No.”

A water droplet hits his nose. And his forehead. And her shoulder.

Her eyes flit up, around, and then down at him. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

On cue, the wind has picked up and it’s sprinkling. His t-shirt quickly becomes speckled. “It’s raining,” she states the obvious. He just huffs and scrubs a hand across his flushed face.

“Jonathan. What do you mean ‘no’? You’re not confident in this?”

“No! No, I mean yes,” he insists and gets up off the ground, “I am.”

Already, there’s a steady shower. As the cold drops grow fatter, she scrunches up her nose and holds her arm above her head. He tries to blink away the water in his eyes, squinting.

“Then what the hell are you ‘suspicious’ of? You’re just confusing me,” she accuses at a volume louder than her usual. Speaking over the sound of the storm.

“I’m confusing?”

“Yes! You’ve been a nervous wreck recently for no reason! If you’re not having doubts about us, and you’re not breaking up with me, then what is wrong with you and how do I fix it and what were you going to tell me out here?!”

“I love you was what I wanted to tell you here,” he holds his jacket over their heads, “and I haven’t been waiting on you to turn on me and I was not about to compare myself to Steve.”

She coughs, discomposed, swallowing the rain that came into her mouth when it was hung open. “Seriously?”

“I know I shouldn’t say it this soon. But it was bothering me and...”

“No. You should—I do, I mean. Love you. I love you.”

Her next motion should be a bit of a predictable one, yet it manages to catch him off guard; she ducks her head and then, lifting up on her heels, presses against him. Her fingers curl on either side of his jaw, and she kisses his lips. The raindrops on them. It’s gracefully desperate.

His eyelashes stutter at that, since he’s too cold to shiver, and her words echo in his head. He can’t stop thinking it: we’re in love we’re in love we’re in love. He tries his best to return her gentle bites and licks, unsure if he should be happy or embarrassed and happy.

She yanks his arms down and drops away the currently heavy jacket, his makeshift umbrella. They’re both soaked, and to get back to his car, they’ll have to walk a mile again. They’ll catch their respective colds from this no matter what. Might as well kiss in the rain.

He feels both of her hands make fists in his wet hair, playing with it, and smiles into her mouth. Wraps a casual arm around her, low on her waist. He didn’t think her lips could ever be any softer than he knows them to be, but in the strong spray, they come across as practically malleable. Conveying attachment with their countless slow compressions, an unreserved extension of what she just confessed. Nothing else feels good like this. There is this odd and rare provision of comfort in the way her tongue grazes his teeth. The way her scarred palm is smoothing down damp locks at the nape of his neck.

A minute passes and she pulls only her face away to take some breaths, visibly pleased by the mild disorientation of being hit over and over by the drops. Like being tickled or something. He kisses the corner of her mouth, her cheek, the side of her nose and then the bottom of it.

“How long you been torturing yourself about telling me?” she asks him.

“I don’t even know.”

“Guess I’ve tortured myself, too. I just thought you might be having doubts about me, or something.”

“No,” he rests his wet forehead against hers, nervousness gone completely, “can I ask you this?”

“What?”

“The next time I try to tell you I love you, can you not bring up your ex-boyfriend?”

[silma-words]

39 for Adrian x mc. Thank you

N/A: Apologies for taking so long to answer this ask, Anon! I had started it ages ago but wanted to dwell on A&MC's relationship 'pre-break-up' in more detail before getting back to the angsty stuff. I really did love that prompt, so thank you again for the ask, Anon, and I hope you will enjoy this! :)

~~~~~

Choices: Bloodbound

Pairing: Adrian Raines x MC (Ellie)

Rating: General / Warning: None

Genre: Angst

AU Chronology: Bloodbound AU (after book 1 – the events of book 2 never happened) – ‘Inevitable - Arc II: About time’ (Masterlist) - Sequel to "The right thing to do" (Arc II)

Summary: Ellie is gone, and she might be gone for good very soon. And that thought is harder on Adrian than he had ever anticipated.

Inspired by prompt #39 from Prompt List #1 : “Please come home, I miss you”

Words: 2300

**Disclaimer: Characters and background plot are the property of Pixelberry.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seventy-two

It had been 72 days since he last saw her. 72 nights since he had had the chance to hear her voice or smell her perfume hanging around his office. 72 too many days and nights. Not enough to have made peace with it. Not enough to have forgiven himself. Not enough to have shred the lingering doubt that he had made a mistake. And the reaction – as chocked, cold, and angry as Ellie’s – of Lily, Kamilah and Jax when they had found out did not help with that at all.

But at least during those 72 nights and days, he had found reassurance in knowing that she was around somewhere in New York, secretly clinging to the hope that he might run into her at some point, or catch a glimpse of her auburn hair at a corner of a street. She had avoided him thoroughly though, and him likewise, to be honest, knowing that it would likely make everything worse.

She had never returned to the office, simply going through HR to submit her resignation officially. She had not requested any recommendation letter from Raines corp., nor contacted the business partner he had referred her to. She had kept under his radar as best as she could, although he always managed to get fragments of information about how she was doing from Lily, albeit involuntarily. And that was through her that he had found out: Ellie was planning to leave. Not only New York, but leaving the country altogether. She had applied for several junior executive assistant positions and internships in Europe, asking Kamilah for references to avoid having to ask anything of him.

Until that point he had managed to put a brave face on and bury himself into work to avoid rehashing the past. But somehow, knowing that Ellie was about to go, and that she did not want him to know about it, widened that painful hole in his chest that did not seemed to want to stitch itself up, despite his efforts over the past 72 nights and days.

Knowing that she could board a plane and leave NY behind at any minute was slowly threatening to drive him mad.

He could not sleep. Nor concentrate at work. Attempting to feed somehow made everything worse, as if any blood that was not hers would only act as a poison to his system. He was not sure anymore whether it was hurt, longing or guilt that was making every breath burn in his lungs, although the hatred he could see so clearly in his own eyes when he stared at himself in the mirror was a constant reminder that he had brought this onto himself. And onto her. As well as onto their friends.

His rash decision and obsession for ‘doing the right thing’ had forced Ellie’s hand and had deprived her of the freedom of choosing her path for herself. Her freedom to keep on building over the foundations of the life that she had started when she had left her hometown to conquer New York. Her freedom to continue nurturing the friendships she had gained when she had stormed into his life and had effortlessly earned her place within his world. He had failed to realise that his decision would force her to slowly walk away from all of this. He could see it clearly now, and he knew he should have realised this sooner.

He knew her well enough to know that she would not want to stand by while he had pushed her out the door. He had known when making his decision that she would be hurt and would likely stay away. And he would be lying to himself if he did not admit that he had hoped she would, to make it easier for him to stay away from her. He realised now how wrong he had been. And how badly he needed her to know this.

He needed to apologise. He needed her to see the guilt in his eyes and the longing in his bones. He needed to make it right. And he could not let these 72 nights and days without seeing her extend to 73.

Fidgeting around his penthouse while waiting for the sun to set, Adrian could not bring himself to do more than ruminate over everything he had ever said to her, and everything he should have said but never did, trying to carefully choose the words he would finally voice out loud when he would get to her. But his mind was restless, and the guilt and doubts were gnawing at his guts.

This torment had to stop. It was too much. And it was pointless. He would always be drawn back to her as long as there would still be hope to make it right. It was inevitable.

He would just lay it all out – his regrets, his doubts, his fears, and his heart -, and would let her crush it all under her heel if she wanted to. He owed her that much.

The minute the skyline was clear of any sunray, he barged out and headed straight towards Lily’s and Ellie’s. By the time he has reached their building, he knew even before knocking on the door that no one was home, the deafening silence of the apartment, devoid of any heartbeat, hitting him as soon as he had stepped onto their floor.

He pondered for a moment going to the Shadow Den where he knew Lily was now staying more often than not, thinking that Ellie might have gone along with her. But he could not bring himself to leave the building. Her scent was all around, seeping through the door like smoke from a fire creeping through his nostrils to invade his lungs. His hand laid flat against the wood, he leaned in so that his forehead could rest beside it, closing his eyes to focus on the comforting smell, hoping that he could somehow be able to also taste it in the air. The familiarity of this place and of her lingering fragrance were both soothing and maddening, the absence of her comforting heartbeat pushing onto his shoulders as if the ceiling of the empty corridor was slowly descending onto him to push him to his knees.

Letting his legs give in under the imaginary pressure, he let his body slide slowly against the door until his body had reached the ground, resting his back against the wood and bending his knees so that he could brace his arms around them, ready to wait for her as long as necessary. He had wasted 72 days and 72 nights when he could have made things right and perhaps avoid most all of this suffering. He could wait 72 more on this floor if he had to.

After a couple of hours that seemed to have lasted an eternity, Adrian was not sure anymore whether the familiar heartbeat that was chiming in his head was real or was the product of his anxious brain. He had been convinced he had heard it a dozen times earlier, but had quickly realised that his anticipation had been playing tricks on his mind. This time, he was not ready to gaze around and realise he had been wrong once more. He even ignored the sound of footsteps echoing around the corridor, convinced it was another one of her neighbours that would freak out at the sight of him crouched on the floor like the desperate fool that he was.

But when the footsteps suddenly stopped on the floor, he instantly recognised the muffled sound of her voice as she gasped in surprise, making him jump as his senses immediately tuned in to capture her presence.

The sight of her made his stomach clench, relief rushing through him in a wave, followed almost instantly by doubt and worry as he could read the shock in her eyes and in the way her body had stopped dead in her tracks, stiff and unwilling to move any further. Her heartbeat was racketing in his ears, and he could see her throat tighten as she seemed to gulp with difficulty.

“Adrian? What...”, she finally managed to mutter, her voice rasped as if she had not had a drop of water in days.

“Ellie, I...” he quickly started, doing his best to collect himself and raise himself back onto his feet, but unsure anymore what he should say now that she was finally standing in front of him.

They stared at each other across the corridor for a minute that seemed to stretch beyond days, the air nearly electric between them, threatening to catch ablaze if one of them dared to breach the stillness that seemed to have trapped both of them in an invisible net.

He heard her breath catch in her throat before her sweet voice finally broke the silence, somehow both cold and gentle: “What are you doing here, Adrian? Did anything happen?”.

He shook his head, struck by the genuine concern in her voice.

“No, I just...” the words were caught in his throat, in his chest and in his head, all bumping against each other before he could brace himself and find the strength to concentrate and voice the words that had been fogging his brain for days: “I heard that you were leaving New York... leaving the country... and I… I couldn’t let you go like this”.

Adrian felt his stomach sink with a thud at her reaction. Not that he had expected any reaction in particular, but he surely was not ready to see her shake her head with a chuckle, with something that could nearly pass as contempt flashing briefly in her eyes.

Her voice was strangely flat and composed when she simply retorted: “I though that was what you wanted?”.

Adrian shook his head, taking a few stumbling steps towards her. “Yes but… Ellie I… I never meant…”

“Adrian, don’t!”, she briskly interrupted, sighing loudly and suddenly starting to rummage rapidly through her bag to search for her keys. She was avoiding his eyes, and was making it clear that she did not want to hear anything else from him.

“I don’t have time for this right now”, she added, walking quickly passed him to reach for her door, her keys slightly shaking in her hands.

Adrian had barely had the time to step aside to let her through, torn between the will to let her be - as she was making clear she wanted him to -, and the aching need in the pit of his stomach to tell her everything he had come there to say. Once she unlocked the door, she quickly rushed inside without glancing back to him, obviously eager to get away from a conversation that she did not want to have with him. And how could he blame her?

It took all of his might not to stop her from closing the door on him, and not to reach out to touch her, cup her face in his hands, and press his words of apologies onto the soft silk of her skin. He would have dropped to his knees and buried his face against her womb in the hope that, somehow, his words might reach her more deeply that way. But that was not what she wanted. And for once, he had to respect that. Even if that meant staring blindly at the door, his nose pressed so hard against the wood that it hurt, listening to her erratic heartbeat pressed inches away on the other side as she was leaning against the door, as if to prevent him from trying to force it open.

Adrian did not know what else to do. He could simply tell her everything right now through the door, knowing that she was still there and would certainly hear it all. Even if he could not see her face, he would be able to grasp her reactions using his other senses, for her body had always been an open book for him to read as soon as she had trusted him with her heart. But he felt that all of his words would just sound hollow to both of them, and would nearly bounce back against the door frame before they could reach her.

His palms pressed flat against the door, his eyes closed, and his lips inches away from the wood, he took in a long shaky breath, steadying himself for the only plea he knew could ring true in this moment despite the thick, wobbly whisper that he managed to push through his lungs:

“Ellie… please… Please come home… I miss you”.

She was still there, on the other side, and she had heard him. He knew it from the way she had stopped breathing for a second, and from the distinct salty fragrance of the tears that were probably now smearing her features, reaching his sensitive nose and making his chest tighten with the realisation that he was powerless to stop them on their course as he had done in the past.

He had thought that nothing could ever be worse than those past 72 days and 72 nights staying away from her, guilt and doubts nagging at his heart. But he had been so wrong. The uncertainty, in this moment, of whether that dreadful count would end now, or would continue over months – even years -, was unbearable. He had laid his cards at her feet, and was ready to bare his heart before her if she wanted him to.

But for now, all he could do was to feel her warmth through the door, and wait. Wait.

Wait 72 seconds.

72 minutes.

72 nights, days, months, or years.

He would wait 72 centuries if that was what it took for her to come home to him.

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For the follow-up of this story, head here.

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N/A: Sorry for the angst and drama, and sorry for letting it hang like that in the air! What happens next should come shortly, now that I will be alternating between the fluff/smut from Arc I (i.e. ‘pre-break-up’) and the more angsty pieces from Arc II (i.e. post-break-up’). I will try to make it clear every time which Arc I am using and where we stand in the AU chronology, but I hope it won’t be too confusing!

Thank you for reading! 😊

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Tagging @adriansbiss , @itsjustwinter , @shanzay44 , @purvishraick, @thefrenchiemama