#jp can go f herself

[dankusner]

212

CHAPTER 16

suspicion, and even, in extreme cases, contempt. There are large-county us who think small-county IPs don't have nearly enough to do; they're hay seed olyaggers who, should they ever finow whaelves sitting on a bay sity justice court bench, they wouldn't knew what hit them. Then again, the more populous the county, the more likely a judge is to specialize in one or two functions: "She's the truancy judge." "He handles most f the occupational driver's license hearings. Big city IPs will hand over to their municipal court counterparts the job of jail magistration.

Big metropolitan IPs also don't have to look at dead bodies ... lots of dead bodies. These differences can fester into deep animosities between

JPs.

I'm not really a slick-talking politician. I'm just kind of an ol' country boy. When you go to the IP conferences, you can tell the big city people: slick dressers, some of them obviously attorney IPs.

They're pretty easy to spot, even if they're dressed in their shorts.

—Hon. Russell Johnson, Coke County

Judge Margaret O'Brien estimates that there are half a million people living in her precinct in Dallas County. As large urban counties like Dallas and Harris and Travis mushroom in population, other counties, all of them in rural parts of the state, are, conversely, losing residents, a phenomenon that is not unique to Texas. The ratio of cow-to-human in some Texas Panhandle counties like Hartley, Castro, and Deaf Smith (its county seat, Hereford, is heralded as the "Beef Capital of the World") can be as high as eighty-to-one.

The ways in which a judge like O'Brien and her JP counterparts in the sparsely populated counties in the Panhandle and on the high, arid plains of the Llano Estacado interact with members of their communities can be radically different from one other. For example, JPs in urban precincts with limited free parking frequently hold tow hearings, which might sound completely alien to rural county JPs. Judge Kelly Crow points out that in very urban/suburban Fort Bend County, she has to deal with a lot of health and safety code violations. Smaller counties

In the Opinion of the Court

213

either don't have the officers to file these cases, or, if they do, they simply don't file them. In a rural county, a septic tank improperly installed by someone who isn't licensed might prompt a P to haul the guilty party into court and demand that he get out there and repair the septic tank the law is the law, and violations carry penalties and have prescribed te a is the law, aud violat hereas in large county heroic ten . legal remedies.

Being a small-county IP presents its own challenges. Trisher Ford (Tyler County) once had to recuse herself from hearing a small daims case because she'd had a bad personal experience with one of the wit-nesses. When herefting at the jail, a small-county IP like Ford will frequently find herself reading rights and setting bond for people she knows, and, just as important: people who know her.

Several of the classmates I went to school with have had to come before me. A couple of them have said, "You know me, Trish!"

I'm like, "I'm Judge Ford and I'm here to magistrate you. I don't know you. I'm the judge, and we're gonna go about this the way we're supposed to." It's hard. Especially when you go to Walmart to buy ice cream, and there they are.

Yet there are sometimes advantages to knowing a defendant and the family when you're trying to decide how much bail to set or whether they pose a flight risk. Judge Ford cites this hypothetical:

Here's a guy from Louisiana who got caught with marijuana. He's got a criminal history a page long. I don't know if he's gonna show up for court. But ol' Suzy Q over here, caught with the same amount, she's been here all her life and she's always showed up for court. On a conviction for marijuana, she's gonna show up. I'm not gonna set her a high bond.

Bobby McIntosh (Uvalde County) doesn't think large-county JPs understand the difficulties that their small-county counterparts face when they're called to deal with things that come up on the civil side of the court, things they might see only once in a blue moon. Maybe they learned how to do something in the past, but now they're having to learn it all over again.

I have to go back and start from scratch on things we don't do very often. Recently, within a ten-day span, I had two individuals come in and file for a writ of restoration. That restores the power to the tenant after the

[alln64games]

Wonder Project J2

JP release: 22nd November 1996

PAL release: N/A

NA release: NA

Developer: Givro

Publisher: Enix

N64 Magazine Score: 55%

A Japanese-only point and click adventure for the N64, and sequel to a SNES game called Wonder Project J. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this, but N64 magazine gave it a 55% and said that the main character was “Pinnochio-esqe”. Thankfully, there is a fan-made English translation patch available for this, so I don’t need to resort to other methods to try and read it.

You play as…yourself, a being from another world that the main character, Josette, can’t see. You communicate to Josette though a robot called “bird” and can point at things as well as say “yes” or “no”. Josette herself is also a robot, trying to learn how things work in the world. When trying new things, she will try something (often eating something) and you will need to let her know if this is right or wrong.

In order to solve puzzles, you will have to mess around with Josette’s teachings and moods. For example, in one objective, you need to teach her to be nasty to a cat so she gets scalded and learn that harming things is wrong. Movies can be uses to put her in a certain mood to help with certain activities. When out and about, Josette heads off on her own, giving you no direct input. It sounds boring, but it works really well, like trusting your kid to go out for the first time.

Wonder Project J2 also has a few 3D sequences. You can pilot a submarine and aircraft, with controls getting better the longer you stick with them. Underwater, you have to search for treasures and catch a lot of fish, while in the air, you shoot down unmanned aircraft of the oppressive army controlling the island. These segments are nice to begin with, but fulfilling everything is a bit tiresome.

Another 3D segment is a mine you can explore, trying to find some lost treasure, as well as mining for a special kind of stone – getting jobs and making money is a requirements to buy everything needed to teach Josette. Luckily, this part is quite short.

Through the wonderful animation, you can see Josette change throughout the game. She struggles at walking to begin with, falling over a lot, but slowly gets better and learns to run, dance and much more. It’s subtle and works really well, and Josette herself is incredibly charming (although you can be mean and force her to be more serious if you really want to).

There are 25 tasks to do, most are lovely little stories. One in particular is quite annoying: you have to improve Josette’s strength to fight a member of the army, but you can’t see Josette’s stats to fighting and losing is the only way to check if you’ve done enough. Everything else in the 2D style, however, is just incredibly charming.

You don’t need to complete all 25 achievements, but I did it anyway. A friend of Josette’s will get ill and helping her will trigger the events leading to the end of chapter 1. Chapter 2 is unfortunately not great. You get a long cutscene followed by a maze segment as Josette loses her memories. You walk around in circles answering questions about what you’ve on in the game.

After another long cutscene, you get captures and need to escape in another 3D maze, this time with guards chasing you. There are handy markers on the ceiling that gives you clues to the right direction. After this is done…well, sit back because the last 45 minutes or so of the game has no player input.

The story gets a bit odd towards the end, but still interesting. It definitely needs some playable moments, though.

For not expecting much from Wonder Project J2, I ended up loving it, particularly chapter 1, which is the majority of the game. The translation is great (apart from a few uses of negatives in questions where I responded wrong) and has made the game playable for people that don’t understand Japanese. This is a very unique game and I’m very glad that I’ve played it.

If your tastes run to the slightly esoteric and you’ve got far too much money it’s an intriguing little title that’ll probably never see the light of day over here

- Wil Overton, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

Considering they have new sprite work for the iPhone version, a remake with an official translation would be lovely – especially if they can do a bit more with chapter 2.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Wonder Project J2.

Other versions

Wonder Project J2 got a mobile port at some point, but other than some screenshots, I don’t know when. The game was also released on iPhone in 2010 with redrawn graphics, but I can’t find any details other than the initial announcement.

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

Yeah there is just a lot that makes Agartha pretty bad, but I do recommend at least reading it because it will honestly help crystallize why people dislike it so much. It's one thing to see people complain about it and it's another to see "oh that's why people dislike it so much." If I were to have to level complaints at Agartha specifically, these would be my big ones:

The one of Agartha is wildly different from the rest of the game. Agartha is, for a lack of a better word, very horny. This isn't inherently a bad thing, but F/GO is a lot less horny than Agartha is. While it was toned down the NA release (there are scenes in the JP release where Penthesilea talks about kidnapping you and using you as a stud), its still present. Pretty early on, there's a scene where Dahut has sex with a man and then kills him. It's very weird for F/GO to just, have snuff in it.

Characters are wildly mischaracterized, both in the normal way and in the specific way the plot uses. Mash and Guda behave a lot differently in Agartha, and while there are some similarities, there's an entire scene where Guda and Mash borderline sexually harass Chevalier d'Eon for the sake of a transmisogynistic joke. Characters like Drake, Fergus Lily, and Heracles are altered as a plot point in the story, but they're done so in ways that either completely destroys their previous ties to the character or in the case of Fergus Lily, is the set-up for a lot of really uncomfortable humor and a tragically badly written monologue.

The base setting for the world, the world of Agartha, is very, very sexist. It's a world where not only are the roles flips, where women are the oppressors and men are the oppressed, but it's done in a really comically exaggerated way, where men are routinely tortured or killed, or held in sexual/non-sexual slavery. It's not only something that the writing fails to interrogate at all, but it also specifically places the blame for this setting on Scheherazade's trauma. The world doesn't just exist, it was created by Scheherazade as a world where men could no longer hurt her. It's fucked up actually.

Scheherazade herself is probably one of the worst written villains in the entire franchise, to the point where her plan makes remarkably little sense and kind of ignores a lot of the real world plot building of Nasu lore. It sounds clever enough until you remember there are two entire organizations who are extremely powerful and extremely adept at covering up evidence of magic. People are sending wasps on planes in this universe that turn you into zombies, Scheherazade's plan would not work.

There's only really one thing I give Agartha at all, and that is that its portrayal of Columbus is pretty good. He's a manipulative assholes who fakes having amnesia in order to get you onto his plan, which is to essentially have a never ending supply of asexually reproducing women slaves (?????????? as a side note. what.) He's a complete scumbag who regularly lies and withholds information even from the people he's trying to "save". It's great. He's the only good part.

5. WHICH LEADS INTO POINT NUMBER 5, WHICH IS THIS FUCKING STORY CHAPTER WAS WRITTEN AS IF YOU'VE READ SHINJUKU, WHICH IS REALLY ANNOYING ACTUALLY. This is petty but part of the gimmick of 1.5 is that you can play any of the 1.5 chapters in any order, and that works for three of them, but Agartha in particular is deliberately subverting something that happens in Shinjuku and holy christ I cannot fucking imagine how one reads Shinjuku AFTER Agartha without knowing the plot of either. Honestly I imagine it has to ruin the fucking experience. Fuck off Minase.

Overall, its a mess. Even if you want to stick it to people like me who don't like the themes of the Lostbelt, it's really poorly written for the most part, and what good moments even exist after often overshadowed by extremely bad writing (there's even a Deus Ex Machina moment at the very end just as a cherry on top).

What's wrong with agartha? I'm still in the London singularity. I aways hear everyone saying agartha is bad but im curious to know why.

So numerous people can and have gone more into depth of the nitty gritty on Agartha's issues, and have done so far better than I could, but I can give the abridged description as to what's wrong with Agartha.

Namely, Agartha is primarily misogynist, with moments that are also homophobic and/or transphobic. And even disregarding the offensive aspects of Agartha, it's also just poorly written, with shoddy plot twists and call backs that don't quite understand the themes or actual significance of what they're calling back to. Characters are mischaracterized (often wildly so), and even from a gameplay stand point it has an odd overreliance on single class nodes and other questionable enemy mechanics.

It's just bad all around.

[kindredsoulsoftimesofold]

It's been two years since the finale, and I gotta comment.

I'm sure everyone hoped it would end like this, even thought it would from the foreshadowing:

Caroline tells Elijah, he goes to say goodbye to Nik and dies. We next see Caroline and Klaus standing over his grave and comment how at last he is with his love- pan to Haylijah reuniting in death. Klaus then has a moment with Hope and tells her he will always be there for her, she is not a bloody orphan and alone.

He then turns to Caroline and asks, "Paris or Tokyo?" She smiles and they leave to travel the world together, hand in hand. It's the last shot of the show. She was finally ready to accept his offer and he finally became the person worthy of her doing so.

I heard JP was a petty turd because the actors quit on her and this was in fact how it would have ended.

But as someone who invested so much time into these characters, knowing they all deserved better, I am renouncing the last few minutes of the shitshow. This is my canon and it is happily inside my head so I can have this world to rest in peace.

ps. It is even more of a disgrace after tvd where the only person that really got the short end of the stick was the best person in that damn show, Stefan my darling I'm sorry.

[dear-mrs-otome]

Silvio Ricci - Main Story - Chp 10 Avatar Challenge (Premium)

Standard Disclaimer: I do this for fun. I don’t, and never would, claim to be proficient at JP. There will be mistakes herein. There will be dialogue I choose to smooth out or change, because it feels choppy just straight translating. There will be the occasional snarky aside and irreverence and just plain summarizing. If you’re looking for 100% pure accuracy, without commentary or localizing, this is not for you. If you don’t mind that…then proceed, and I hope you enjoy! And please, support your local localizer (they make this stuff look easy) and Cybird by playing the games and routes when they come to English.

~~~~~~~~

She can only vaguely remember her wonderfully soft dreams. But the reality that awaited for her, when she woke from her slumber, was anything but gentle.

“Finally awake?”

What the…

Right before her eyes is Silvio’s ridiculously beautiful face, only the barest breath away. And when she tries to jerk back, his arms wrap around her waist to hold her in place, leaving her scrambling desperately to make sense of things. 

What are they doing here, like this, on the bed? She’s certain she’d fallen asleep on the sofa, and certain that Silvio seemed to have changed his clothes at some point between then and now, and certain that it wasn’t dark outside when she’d passed out like it is now. 

She’s left baffled by how she’s gotten into this weird situation of being held in Silvio’s arms on his bed.

“You’re making it seem like you’ve got no idea what’s going on here, but…” With a grin and a wicked look on his face, Silvio shifts his body atop hers. “Someone was disrespectful to me while they were drunk.” At her confusion, he lays it out plainer. “Which is why I figured I’d make you pay for it. With your body.”

Just what the heck had she done?? She can’t remember at all, but it seems obvious she’d upset Silvio a great deal. “I’m really very sorry.”

His grin flattens as he tells her it’s not a matter of apologizing, and she retorts that that doesn’t mean he gets to take it out on her body. Thinking to herself that it all seems weird in the first place - Silvio might be a tyrant, but he never seems the type to condone trampling all over her self-respect. He knows there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

Not to mention, he doesn’t even seem to like women much.

Maybe…he’s drunk?? And it’s just hard to tell?? He could have kept on drinking that strong booze while she was asleep. She clings to that possibility as a means to keep her cool.  

Silvio, brows furrowed irritably, buries his face in the crook of her neck. And for the second time, she feels his breath hot on the skin of her throat. Alarmed, she asks him what he’s doing, flailing back against him but he easily holds her still…and his mouth draws hard on her skin.

No matter how drunk he might be, this should NOT fly….but for some reason, the slight pain melts into something sweeter, and a wave of heat engulfs her body. Far hotter than when she’d slammed back that entire drink. The roar of her own heart pounding drowning out all other sounds.

“Sleazy…beyond sleazy!” she loudly accuses.

“What, not enough for you yet?” Silvio smirks. 

Her protest breaks off in a low moan at the feeling of his tongue tracing a line up her neck, and the novel sensation only stokes the heat burning her body. Appalled by the sound that just came from her, in disbelief that she’d done that  - just the wanton tone of it enflaming her even more. 

A very pleased Silvio points out on a grin that she can react pretty cutely, nipping lightly at her skin as if to render her even more senseless. 

This is nothing like being a guest and hostess at all. It feels instead as if she’s become Silvio’s  rumored ‘beloved flower’ in truth. “...Stop, please.”

He tells her that if she doesn’t want him to continue, she should just shove him off, kick him away and put an end to this.

“You’re holding me down!” she exclaims, indignant. 

“Not with any real effort. You could get out if you felt like it,” he counters. 

Furiously, she tries doing just that, struggling against him…but she doesn’t seem to be getting free. 

Or maybe…is it that…she’s not really trying that hard?

Is it…maybe…that she doesn’t really want to escape at all? Frantically, she denies that line of thinking - what’s happening here is an AFFRONT. She should be horrified!

So then, why is her heart racing so fast and loud?

As she’s thinking this, at a complete loss, Silvio’s shoulders shake with amusement and he tells her actually, he is holding her down with all his strength so she can’t escape.

This man!! Furiously, she hurls an accusation at him. “You said, quote, you’d ‘never attack a shabby-looking woman’, didn’t you?? You liar!!”

His grin falls. “Shut up. This is your punishment for making me feel bad -” Lifting his head from her neck, he abruptly stops mid-sentence. Eyes going wide as he falls silent and his body freezes, as if taken by surprise. 

“Wh-what is it now?!” she demands. 

“You…” That’s all he manages as he studies her, stunned, and she’s baffled by what the heck is going on.

His large calloused hand comes up to cradle her cheek, her body tensing at such a strangely gentle touch coming from such a tyrant. Left only able to ask herself why her face keeps growing hotter and hotter, simply from just that small contact. 

No no NO heckin way, it doesn’t mean anything. It’d be embarrassing to have anyone do this, she reminds herself fiercely. It’s absolutely, 100%, definitely NOT because there’s anything special about Silvio!

When his ocean blue eyes seek out hers, she pointedly turns away. 

“That look on your face…” he says.

“Look?” she echoes, confused.

He closes his eyes. “And you’re utterly oblivious about it.”

What expression is she wearing? she wonders, baffled.

Heaving a deep breath, Silvio gets up and takes a seat beside her on the bed, his back turned to her. Leaving her reeling at yet another mercurial shift in his attitude. 

“I…don’t get it,” she finally says. 

“Took the words right outta my mouth,” he answers.

One second it seems like she was going to be taken advantage of, the next he’s done an about face. She has no idea what’s going through his head, and she sits up, trying to peer around and look at his face from behind. Figuring if she can just see his expression it might shed a bit of light on things, but he keeps turning away before she can get a good look at him. 

But… “Your face…it’s red, isn’t it?” She’d seen that much. He flinches, and she suddenly understands why he’s not making any sense. “I knew it. Silvio, you…”  He scowls in silence, and she finishes in triumph. “You must be drunk!”

“....Huh?” is his only reply.

It seems perfectly reasonable that he would be, that was some incredibly strong liquor even for him. It’s bound to have some effect. Aloud, she tells him it’s alright - they’ll just chalk all this up to some drunken shenanigans and leave it at that. 

Silvio lets out a long breath. “Alright, enough already.”

She wonders why he’d heaved such a heavy sigh. Her feelings still a mystery to her about this whole thing, but she is relieved that the worst-case scenario seems to have been headed off here.

Just as she’s musing on this, she hears a flurry of activity coming from the hallway outside - and the door is kicked open before Rio tumbles into the room, calling her name to her surprise.

“Figured you’d be here about now,” Silvio says to him.

She’s assuming one of the servants must have told Rio what had happened, as he rushes over and starts peppering her with questions, asking if she’s alright, unhurt, if Silvio had done anything to her. 

She assures him she’s fine, and there’s nothing to worry about - only to have Rio freeze as he walks over towards her, as if noticing something. She notices where he’s looking, and has an ‘oh shit’ moment. Tries to clap her hand over her neck, but it’s too late. 

“What did you to do Emma, Prince Silvio?” Rio accuses. 

Silvio scoffs. “That’s none of your business.” She’s taken aback when he turns around and hugs her about the waist, as if trying to piss off Rio. 

The harassment just never ends, does it?! 

She tries to explain to Rio that this is all just a big misunderstanding…but for some reason, her mouth is clapped shut before she can.

“You…” Rio says, furiously.

But Silvio only warns him off with an abrupt subject change. “Jade and Obsidian made a play today.” Rio startles, and Silvio goes on to say they clearly had been waiting for the moment Rio took his eyes off her. “If I hadn’t found her, she wouldn't be sitting here safe and sound right now, would she?”

Rio flinches, and Emma tries fruitlessly to protest - not liking how Silvio’s words seem to be blaming Rio for all this. Not when she was being careless.

“You should be thanking me, damned dog,” Silvio says. “The eyepatch bastard is already on the move. If you make one wrong step, she won’t get away unhurt.” Rio’s only reply is silence, and Silvio goads him. “You’re in over your head now, aren’t you? Why don’t you just let go, you coward?”

She’s aghast at Rio’s wounded expression…and unable to take it any more, she bites down on Silvio’s hand. 

He lets out half an exclamation of pain, and she takes advantage of the loosening of his grip to dash over to Rio.

“...You did it again, damned woman,” Silvio accuses.

“So sorry, but I couldn’t just sit there and say nothing,” she tosses back. “I’m the one who was careless. The one who needs to be more cautious here is me, not Rio. For starters, he’s not a coward.”

“Emma…” Rio manages.

She turns her back on the dumbfounded Silvio, and apologizes to Rio for having assured him that Prince Keith wasn’t anything to be concerned about…but he tells her not to. Insisting that he was in the wrong here, just like Silvio said he was, and he asks her to tell her all about it later.

“I couldn’t protect you...” Rio says. “I can’t let that happen again. I’ll never mess up like that again.”

She has to wonder at the way he grabs her hand, his usual bright cheer dampened…but when she looks up again, he has his same sunny smile back again as he reassures her he’ll never make the same mistake again - and he’ll never let her be scared anymore.

He still looks like the same old Rio, but something seems different about him. And as he pulls her by the hand from the room without pause, his words are left behind.

“I won’t let anyone take you away from me.”

~~~~~~~~

<< Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 >>

[randomnameless]

Something you’ll find interesting: if permadeath is enabled and a recruited jeralt dies, byleth says they’re sad they lost him, but at the same time say that now that he’s gone, they’re going to seek out rhea themselves because they want to know why jeralt was avoiding her, they want to find out the truth. So azure gleam does have that even if it’s a crumb at least, and sothis was still fucked writing wise. But it does give weight to the fact that byleth has a stronger family with the church than they did with jeralt. Who knows? Rhea obviously recognised them as Sitri’s (in golden piss but still) so she’ll likely take them in and tell them the truth they want to hear.

This also made me like Byleth more (i didn’t hate them in houses, but i was more indifferent) and it makes me mad that they have a genuinely interesting character aside from backstory that houses shafted for whatever reason. Because we get information like them being curious about the world, getting along with rhea and liking her (she’s the only character to have a pre time skip a support), and even being quite soft spoken and gentle instead of the energetic protagonist types. I’m just disappointed that was only shown in three holes and feh instead of their actual debut game. Is Koei to blame to try to force us as players to want to woo edelgard or why did they make them mute? I would’ve loved to hear them voiced talking to rhea about sitri and the nabateans and having tea and fishing with Seteth and flayn.

Oh really???

AG can possibly still end with Billy at the monastery, becoming a teacher, and maybe Worst Mom having to interact with her children (lel) - it really is the best route lol

Pretty sure Rhea knows who they are, and if Billy's already green, she might even think they're Sothis and come to the realisation that they're 2 different persons earlier than in FE16 too!

I think @renisfan pointed it out earlier, but JP!F!Billy is also more soft-spoken and gentle than what is the "western depiction" that tried to maker her appear more "Badass".

But yeah, as I suspect, the reason why Billy couldn't be more "themselves" or "interesting" in FE16 was because Billy must be able to woo Supreme Leader - thus they cannot really get to know their lizard fam - and also because both games are allergic to Nabatean content - bcs Hresvelg Tea - so Billy being a half-nabatean like being cannot be under the spotlight.

I know I joke a lot about poor Jerry, but the fact that FE16 really tried to hammer the "best dad uwu feel sad for him uwu look we made two mouthpieces to tell you how awesome he was" angle when it also didn't erase the dramatic implications that Jerry effectively ran away with his kid because the kid was "abnormal" - as a result of the heart transplant Sitri asked Rhea to perform/or because Billy is biracial - but never developed about it, bar some half-assed reheated ravioli can "maybe it was a mistake to leave the monastery" before his death...

Only for Nopes to add more on the "deadbeat dad" angle and highly suggesting Jerry, as much as the crest stone, is the reason why Billy was so emotionally stunted...

But we couldn't have a resolution with Rhea and Jerry and Billy, where it would be more or less revealed that Jerry loves Billy and ran away to protect them from Rhea, even if what Jerry feared was only a result of Billy, just like Sitri and Rhea herself, not being human.

And we of course couldn't have Jerry, after learning the truth, feeling like a watermelon because even if Sitri wasn't a human, he still loved/s her, ultimately apologising to Billy and to Sitri to have shat on her last choice - with Billy telling him that he doesn't need to apologise, but maybe from now on they can all live together and be a real family, regardless of their race because they love each other, and sit on warm rocks together -

Why?

Because the game dgaf about nabateans, and coexistence between humans and nabateans directly contradicts Supreme Leader's motto, and Supreme Leader can never look bad or be contradicted, because everyone has to learn to love her, so even if she says Nabateans are incapable of human feelings, shouldn't rule over the people because they are nabateans, have no regard for human life or are cruel beasts - we can't have anyone's arc go frontally against her mindset and say that despite the shape of their ears, Nabateans and Humans aren't so different, they have the same feelings and can ultimately live together, hell, through Billy, love each other.

Now, I'm going to drink a cup of Earl Grey.

[hasgudagudadoneanythingwrong]

Can't stop thinking about how Kagetora was taught to think of the taste of alcohol as something that brings happiness to other people by a buddhist monk at her temple, so during valentines day she tries to share drinks together with Guda while eating chocolate because she wants to give them some of the happiness she feels from spending time with them.

[Gudaguda Ace RE link (Ch. 5) | Kagetora JP Valentines link]

YEAH, I just watched the Kagetora Valentines scene just now since I hadn’t seen it yet, and- It’s so very clearly done in the “Hey, I learned that this is a day of giving chocolate and expressing how you feel, and while I don’t really get that kind of thing, it sounds important to humans and I’m going to do my best nonetheless!”

It comes across as such a clear an earnest effort to bridge that gap in understanding, and... ah fuck the more I think about it that way it really hits doesn’t it??

Like, Kagetora doesn’t understand human emotions at all, but with how Guda treats her and keeps fighting no matter their own weaknesses, Guda reaches her on a level no one else has, and in return, Kagetora takes what she knows about what humans enjoy to communicate her appreciation in a language she might not understand herself, but Guda will nonetheless.

At the end of all this, she states that, if this is what a human is, and if she can have this kind of relation to one despite those gaps in understanding, then she’s quite content with the arrangement and doesn’t mind at all.

I don’t know, but it’s such a meaningful gesture, and I don’t blame you for thinking about it nonstop. It’s like learning how to offer appreciation and gratitude towards someone in a language you don’t speak but they do; it’s about the effort to learn and do something you don’t personally understand but know it’s important and meaningful to the other and- You’re gonna make me get emotional at this rate

Point is, F/GO Kagetora is good.

[incorrect-hololive]

Calli, drunk again: She fuckin- she fuckin- she- they groundpounded my wife! The KFP employees groundpounded my wife! Then everybody f-wording left because the stream was gonna be shadowbanned. She was able to escape because I designed a Deadbeat that would be able to satisfy her in such a way that I would be able to finally groundpound her! But it didn't happen! Because then she decided to become a simp fucker and did the yabai with the whole Hololive EN and Hololive JP, which didn't even fuckin' matter because then she went into a new platform AND THEN SHE BECAME AME AND GROUNDPOUNDED THE WORLD.

Calli: THE WORLD WAS HER NEXT TARGET, BECAUSE HER BOTTOM LEFT WAS NOT PLEASED ENOUGH. SO SHE HAD TO HO HERSELF OUT AND BE THE BIGGEST KUSOTTOOORI THAT YOU'VE EVER SEEN. THE WORLD. IS GOING TO BE DESTROYED. RIGHT NOW. I'M ENDING THE STREAM.

Amelia: You shouldn't talk to your wife that way!

Calli: I don't give a FLYING FUCK, that bird can f-word off, I've divorced her ass three hours ago! I'm SO SICK, my body is doing THINGS - THAT THING! And you over there, SHUT UP. And you, take off my skirt! YOU WANNA SEE SOME - WEIRD SHIT?!

Gura: Calli, you need to calm down!

Calli: I'M-I'MMMMM TIRED OF BEIN' CALM ALL THE GODDAMN TIME! I WANNA LIVE MY LIFE! AND YOU! YOU, YOU, YOU. I'M SO SICK OF YOU.

Amelia: It looks like we won, everybody. We... broke her, finally.

[gdsplay]

I'm a VIP since 2008. Have been there through every s**t this group have gone through, and I think your blind defending of the other members is gross.

The truth is we simply DON'T KNOW whatever other members knew or not about SR's crimes. I really don't think they have done anything wrong physically, but I absolutely think they at least were fully aware of what SR was doing.

BB have been at least once to his club (this is what we know of, and this is when SR got the nickname of SK gatsby by GD). SR offered prostitutes to his business partners, and I absolutely believe he offered some to BB. He really didn't think it was wrong, this was his way of saying "look, I'm successful now", and I doubt he wouldn't show that to BB. And even if he didn't, they're all smart men (yes, even SR), they have been inside his club, I doubt it they didn't notice what was going on.

Over the years they have warned him of his friends group. Why? How did they know they were shady people? Was it a thing well known in the industry?

They have literally warned him of going to jail, being banned from entering SK, being a criminal (literally saying all of it like that, not going around it) - so they knew he is doing things that even the f**ked up justice system of SK wouldn't be able to look over.

They have teased him that his favorite place in JP was a "motel" or "someone's house" - give me a break, who are you going to motels with?

I don't have double standards. I will not defend any of these men. I think they knew exactly what was going on, and they chose to not speak about it - therefore allowing him to continue his wrongdoings. The truth is I DON'T KNOW for sure, there is only my assumption of whatever they knew or not, but you don't know either. If you're all in for this "moral VIP" image you created, at least be honest enough to say you don't know when being asked about whatever the others knew or not, because no one besides them can know for sure.

PS - holding against SR the fact that he is watching p0rn is not a good argument. Almost every man is watching it nowadays, a lot of women too, are they all perverts?

I have no idea how much he used to watch it, I don't think you know either, the fact that he has been caught few times doesn't mean much. I will not spread false rumors or assumptions of him being p0rn addict. I hope you will stop too, since it really doesn't fit the idea of being this "sticks to the facts" kind of person.

You seem to be twisting my words and not comprehending.

I don’t think you’re aware of how immature and childish Seungri was his whole career. Them warning him all these years was a way of ‘scaring him’ and warning him that if he did consider going down the wrong path he would end up behind bars.

‘How do we know the others weren’t aware of his wrong doings’

Do you really think they’d be okay with what he was doing secretly? Nobody knew. They’ve questioned his whereabouts for the longest as I mentioned in another ask.

Do you know how many people went to burning sun? Hyoyeon from snsd went to this club multiple times herself and even hung out with Seungri, I didn’t see anyone point fingers at her or assuming she was up to no good. They both were DJ’s.

Seungri started off DJing at this club when he would go to different clubs to DJ.

BigBang probably know of Seungri’s personality a lot more than us, knowing what he is like, they probably knew that his personality could get him into trouble at some point but its hard to suspect that someones doing illegal stuff even if they are close to you. Also, I don’t think bigbang would go to Seungri’s businesses as they are extremely busy people or are interested in clubs or ramen, and wouldn’t look through his phone for suspicious text messages (since thats kind of invasion of privacy and friends won’t do that). If he sent text messages that were illegal to them. He had other phones. Just because Seungri was stupid enough to get within the wrong crowd, dare more about business and wondered off away from BigBang doesn’t equal to the members knowing. They’ve stated themselves way before this came to light that Seungri became more distant, he wouldn’t be with the others anymore. He constantly was ‘away’ and they wondered where he would go. So they must’ve of figured he was up to know good which is why they really got onto him even worse from 2016- enlistment. They tried to warn him and scare him straight in case he was up to something shady himself but instead Seungri didn’t care.

Have you never watched out or warned a friend when you’ve felt uncomfortable or someone toxic could be stepping into your life?

You’ve never gotten shady vibes from people? So many have came forward in my inbox mentioning they’ve had a bad gut feeling about Seungri way before this came to light and these people don’t even know him personally, so that says a lot. Imagine meeting these shady people for the first time. Why would they try to keep him away from his money hungry business friends but also take part in it? None of them have went to this club or were interested. They did not want to hangout with him and his business pals. Just like you feel you wouldn’t want to hangout with certain people you don’t know especially after getting shady vibes from these guys? Yeah I wouldn’t either. I’ve had my own fair share of coming a cross people who’ve given me a bad feeling without knowing. I stayed away and my gut feeling is always right.

You can continue and make up your own logic of the blame game but there’s too much evidence agaisnt what you’re trying to argue about. You’re also spreading misinformation yourself. It’s odd your defending Seungri at the same time as bashing him and the others. For someone who’s known of them for over a decade it sure doesn’t seem like it.

[theresthesnitch]

20 Questions: Writer's Edition

I waited far too long to do this because I was focusing on writing, but I'm so excited to dive in. Thanks for the tags, @jilyesplz, @oyprongs, @missgryffin, @mppmaraudergirl, and @cesays. It made me smile each tag I got, and I loved reading all of your responses!

Answers below the cut to avoid a LONG response.

How many works do you have on AO3?

28

What’s your total AO3 word count?

120,326

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Only HP.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Three Strikes til you're out Jily, Rated: E

Lily Evans knows nothing about baseball. Or baseball players. She knows even less about James Potter. However, when some bad press risks James's endorsement deals, Lily finds herself thrown into a fake relationship with him. Can they convince the world they are together and save James from the tabloids? Can Lily keep her heart as she learns about James? Or will they both strike out?

2. Bathed in the Moonlight Wolfstar, Rated: E

In the light of the moon, they came together and became something new. (PWP)

3. Shirts v. Skins Jily, Rated M

A pick up quidditch match, a contest, and a very thirsty Lily Evans. (Shirtless JP May)

4. All the Little Pieces Hinny, Rated: Gen

This is an entry in @clarensjoy's Hinny Ficfest 2021. It's a series of vignettes over the course of Harry and Ginny's lives. Prompt 60: "I heard that." "You were supposed to."

Five is technically my bingo entries for the Harry and Ginuary Bingo, which is titled There was a contest called B-I-N-G-O, but that feels like cheating. So my 5th fic is:

5. Courage is a little like love Jily Rated: T

A fluffy Jily first kiss one-shot, with some bonus Remus/Lily friendship to go with it.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! Some times it takes me a few days to get back to them, but I love comments and seeing what people think. I also love talking about my writing!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Ha! I had to think for a minute, but there's really no question. To Go On Without Him is a Lily Lives AU one-shot-that-could-get-more-chapters. It's the least happy ending fic I have.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Okay, I started responding that most everything I write has a happy ending, but then I looked through my fic list and, uh... that's not even almost true. I have way more angst than I realized. Three Strikes is my only multi-chap, but it will have a happy ending. As far as happy one-shots, I think I'd either go with Just a Little Kiss, which is a Jily first kiss/get together one-shot for @efkgirldetective's Summer of Jily prompt 5, or Let's have a baby, where James and Lily choose to have a baby.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Okay, first, I think there's a difference between a crossover - i.e. Tony Stark falls in love with Dr. Who - and an adaption - where the characters from the fandom follow a plot like another story. I won't say never, but I can't see myself doing a crossover. An adaption, however...

No, you can't make me write the Cars AU via the Marauders. I won't. I definitely haven't started it.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I haven't, thankfully! The fandom has been good to me so far.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes. lol. I've written both M/M and F/M, but I wouldn't rule out others in the future. Depends on where the inspiration strikes.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, and as amazing as that would be, I can't imagine anyone wanting to.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope! I would consider it, but I'm worried I don't have the time to dedicate to it.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh no. Don't make me pick.

It definitely changes periodically, depending on what I'm in the mood for. I started reading only Hinny, then moved on to Jily, then Wolfstar. I've been writing and reading a lot of Jily lately, but I've also been reading a lot of Wolfstar. So all of them, periodically.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Ugh, I refuse to doom any of them like this.

What are your writing strengths?

I think my best bits are the shocking one lines - whether dialogue or no. I love building up tension to that one line that just makes your jaw drop.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle so much with the flowery descriptive language. I sometimes end up writing dialogue and going back later to add the little bits that make it feel real.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

As a reader, I love it, but only with convenient translations so that I don't get lost in the story. If I have to stop reading to translate and figure out what's going on, then it's a bit of a pain.

I know a tiny bit of French and a tiny bit of Spanish, and I've considered writing some lines in other languages, but it would definitely be a line or two and not a conversation. And honestly, it would probably be purely for the purpose of turning on the other person who can't translate it in the fic.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, specifically Hinny.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Three Strikes, for sure. I never really thought I'd enjoy writing a multichapter because I was worried that the pressure of writing it and delivering the next chapter in a reasonable time frame would be too much. I actually have a few that are as written or more as Three Strikes was when I started posting, but I thought I wanted to finish it before posting. I thought that, given my time issues, having it completed or mostly completed would make it easier to finish.

But posting Three Strikes while I was still writing made the fic develop into something I never expected. There are things in there that would never have existed without input, and I love where it's ended up.

Tagging:

I'm skipping tags because I think just about everyone has done this already, but if you haven't, please do! And tag me! I want to know more about you.

[theheavenlymoon]

I totally did this out of order, so let’s try this again!

I would like you to meet Uzuki Hanako! (うづき- Uzuki はなこ- Hanako)

(My first introduction was a hot mess, so I wanted re edit that one and put up this one instead!)

(I can’t draw for crap so I’m using picrew.)

This will basically be me talking about her rather than all the fandoms she’s in. I’m gonna be making post about her and the fandoms later, but for now it’s all about her!

First Name: Hanako

Last Name: Uzuki

Gender: Female

Race: Demigod

Age: ??? (Depending on the fandom, her age changes)

Birthday: December 27

Zodiac: Capricorn

Height: 6’3.3

Sexuality: Bisexual

JP CV: Ami Koshimizu

ENG CV: Amanda Céline Miller

FRENCH CV: Indila

(Couldn’t find a Greek CV 😔)

Nicknames: Shachi-chan (Floyd), Child of Hearth (Malleus), Ms.Herbivore (Leona), Princess, Wifey (Gojo)

Favorite food: Cheesecake, literally anything sweet

Least favorite food: Hummus, mushrooms, candy, and beans

Likes: family/friends, cooking, singing really loud to her music, working out, making clothes, nail polish, memes/vines, rain/cloudy weather, animals, purple, doing anything around the house, video games, anime, fictional books, roughhousing, and day dreaming about her crush/significant other

Dislikes: Fights between friends and family, Candy, crying in front of people, and bookshelves

Since I can’t draw I have to use picrew, but sadly some of the makers that I find have limited options so allow me to go into detail about her looks. (I’ll probably make another post about her abilities later)

Hanako has bright gold eyes and long lavender hair that goes all the way down to her mid thigh. She has two beauty marks, one under her right eye and one on the left side of her lip. Her signature hair style is space buns with the rest of her hair down in the back. Like I’ve said before, I can’t draw so I’m using characters I know as reference! This is what her body looks like.

(^ This is Flare, a character from fairy tail! I recommend watching it if you have time. Fairy tail is a very long series, but it’s really good!)

(I’m pretty sure you can look at almost all the women in Fairy tail and get the idea.)

Obviously I know that Hestia doesn’t have any demigod kids but demigods don’t have to be born the normal way. Hanako was born from fire and was given to her father. With that being said, when Hana was first claimed she was given a fire place poker but traded it in for a sword so she it could help control her pyrokinesis. (Her sword is disguised as a charm bracelet!)

As for her sword...

Hana’s sword helps her control her pyrokinesis a little better and it’s fun to try and see who can pick it up. Her sword can reach up to about 2000°F (1093°C). She has a few special moves but those are for another time.

Although Hana acts like her mom in some moments, she met Apollo and Hermes when she was quite young and those two have had a big impression on her personality. One moment she giving motherly advice, and the next moment she screaming vines across the room.

Random facts about Hanako 🌸✨

Since Hana means flower I use cherry blossoms and lavender to represent her.

Has a huge soft spot for children!

Hanako is super understanding and open. Wanna try something new? She’ll come with you, so you aren’t lonely and scared. Skydiving? What time are we leaving? Want to be left alone? Call her if you need something! Wanna try working out? She’ll be your personal trainer! Feeling down? She’s coming over with movies and snacks! Can’t make it to game night? It’s alright just be safe with whatever your doing!

Once Hanako falls, she falls hard.(Romantically speaking) She is a SIMP. She’ll wear the most giddiest smile after talking with them. Probably screamed in her pillows at least a few times. “They make my heart beat so fast, and they make me feel like the happiest girl in the world!!” - Hanako.

Attempts her best not to be obvious about her crush, and for the most part it works. Until anything other than platonic stuff comes up. Her face is gonna turn crimson if ANYONE mentions her crush in not so platonic ways, gods forbid anything even more intimate. Children of Hestia are so shy when the idea of sexual things is even bought up that they blush deeply and cannot articulate any coherent words, and any fire nearby also turns crimson as if it were blushing like the child of Hestia. This shyness is amplified if they are around their crush.

Gets kind of anxious when she’s beside a bookshelf.

She’s a smart ass. It’s gotten to the point where she does it automatically. It doesn’t even have time to process, it just comes out.

Hana is actually really good at acting and singing. She was in a few commercials and videos when she was younger but only as background characters.

Hana is amazing with kids. She grew up with 3 little brothers before she was moved into the orphanage, which meant even more kids to watch over. (she takes her big sister role very seriously)

Since she was born from fire, she can raise her body temperature up if she wanted too, and she rarely gets hot or cold. Heat based attack have no effect on her. Hana’s hugs feel like a warm blanket wrapped around you while sitting next to a fireplace, all in all just really comforting

Hana grew up around a lot of guys and so she calls everyone ‘bro’ and ‘dude’ a lot. She has a few friends who are girls but most of them are guys. That being said, she grew up rough housing and yelling.

Hana also comes from a very affectionate family. (Hugs, kisses, feeding food to each other, smashing food into someone’s face, etc.) So it’s not uncommon to see Hana tackle all of her friends into hugs and kisses.(platonically)

Hana also likes to tease a lot (curtsy of Hermes) so don’t be surprised when she tease about you burning food.

Is super flexible. I’m talking like, Mitsuri flexible. Her friends have at least saw her in the scorpion pose a few times. The more flexible she is, the easier it is to move in battle.

The woman is a tree. I’m pretty sure all of her lovers (with the exception of Gojo) are shorter than her.

She can not, for the life of her, wear heels. Anything above a 3 inch that isn’t thick, would make her snap an ankle. Besides she’s already tall enough

In terms of anger, Hana has the patience of a saint. She still gets annoyed here and there, but very rarely does she get genuinely angry. On the rare occasion that she is angry, she gets pretty violent. Veins showing from her forehead, her body temperature spikes, and she wears one of the most nastiest glare ever. (from what she’s been told) Only a select few have seen her mad.

When thrown into a new situation (or a new world-) that isn’t familiar, Hana will come off a bit sarcastic (more than usual) and aloof. She wants to get a feel for her surroundings before she can actually be herself. Give her some time to come around and she’ll be back to hyper and happy.

Hana has a bunch of hobbies. She plays volleyball and is known as the queen of the court. She loves to paint her fingernails and her toes as well. Her cooking is top tier! As a Hestia child obviously she would excel at anything that has to do with domestic and home type things.

She 100% would/will make her own dress. Once made a huge ball gown dress because none of the place had what she was looking for.

When she isn’t doing any of her hobbies she’s working out and practicing her pyrokinesis. Hana trained a lot back where she was from, so she could master her pyrokinesis and her sword. She’s gotten to the point where she can lift a car. Just because she’s in a different place doesn’t give her the excuse to slack off!!

Ironically her mother is a virginal goddess and isn’t married to anyone. Hana on the other hand, wants to get married and have kids. She shooting for 4 but it all depends on what her partner wants. (2,6,8 it just depends)

Hestia children can induce serenity and make tense situations a lot more calmer. Hanako has defeated a lot of enemies and monsters this way.

Hanako knows 4 different languages. English, Japanese, Greek, and French. She was taught Japanese by her father and Greek by her mother. She learned French and English herself

Even though Hana loves to do girly things, makeup is not one of them. She always thought it was pretty cool but she never had the time to sit down and practice it.

Thank you for reading✨ I had a lot of fun making this and I can’t wait to write more stuff about her! I’ll probably have to learn how to make a master post so her stuff is easier to access. If you have any questions about Hana my inbox is open, or you can message me in private, either way works!

I hope you stick around for more content with Hanako! 🌸🔥✨

[badwolf-in-the-impala]

~I Let You Down~

Gif found on google and it wouldn’t let me see who the original poster was. So credit to the original poster if this is your gif!

JP ‘Rook’ Cappelletty x Female!Reader

Word Count: 4,660

Prompt (also found on google): “I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending they’re you!” 

3rd person POV x Lyric oneshot

Song: Clumsy by All Time Low

‘Some say it’s true, that true love never dies...Even when it’s five years later and you’re still dead set on trying to hate the person who broke your heart and left you behind to pick up the pieces.’

Authors note: It’s been ages since I’ve done a lyric inspired oneshot, or a oneshot, or any writing really for that fact lol But I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, so I hope you guys enjoy it! This is also my first time writing for and actually posting something for Rook. So I hope I did it justice. Let me know if you guys would be interested in reading more, or even possibly reading a part 2 if this one does well enough! 

Y/N (Your name) Y/F/N (Your full name)

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

‘I flew too close to the sun Fell back to Earth like a stone I got too high on myself Too young and stupid to tellI was bound to make a mess of things Mixin' fireworks and gasoline Never meant to make you fall with me’

The words blasted from the speakers of her old ‘68 Chevelle as she whipped into a parking spot beside her favorite Cafe. Taking a moment to extinguish what was left of her cigarette before cutting the engine and climbing out into the sweltering LA summer heat. Taking a moment to adjust her aviators and check that she had everything she needed before making her way inside, the door chimed softly as she stepped into the building's relaxing atmosphere, the air condition a welcome feeling as she made her way up to order a much needed coffee.  

The line was relatively long, congested by the usual late morning rush, but Y/N was happy to wait as long as it took. It was Friday, and she finally had a day off too herself for the first time in ages, and she would be damned if she let anything as trivial as waiting a few extra minutes in line ruin her good mood. So there she stood, patiently scrolling through some messages on her phone while she waited. Moving slowly with the flow of the line of customers, as she listened to the song that played from the shops speakers overhead; The same radio station she'd been listening to in her car.

‘I let you down I've been clumsy with your heart again I guess you figured me out Now here's a taste of my own medicine (I let you down)’ 

The door chiming softly behind her was nothing of significance. It had chimed at least four times prior to her arrival as more customers filtered in from the heat. Y/N unfazed by the sound at this point as she closed out an email from one of her clients managers. Making a mental note to herself to write a reply later when she arrived home before she stuffed her phone into her back pocket and looked up. A startled squeak escaping her lungs as she was suddenly rushed by a blur of curly hair. 

“Aunt Y/N!” 

A smile taking over Y/N’s face as she recognized the girl's voice. It was a voice that she’d recognize anywhere, even if Y/N hadn’t seen in her almost five years. “Hey, Casie.” Y/N smiled brightly as she hugged the girl a little tighter, happy to see such a familiar face.

“Dad! Look who I found!” Casie exclaimed excitedly, both her and Y/N turning at the same time to watch as Colson approached them through the small crowd that had formed inside the small Cafe. 

“Hoooooly shit!” Colson chuckled as he approached the pair who were still locked in a tight embrace. One that Colson was quick to join in on. “Now there’s a face I never thought I’d see again. How the hell have you been, Cash?” 

Y/N rolled her eyes at the silly nickname she had been given ages ago by the man before her himself. A nickname that she hadn’t heard in ages, something that tugged at her heart, sadly, as it brought forth a rush of memories she had long since kept buried...And for good reason.

“I’ve been doin’ alright.” Y/N chuckled softly as they finally broke away from the embrace to move up with the line. “How about you guys? It’s been ages -- When did she get so big?!” The words all came rushing out at once in a wave of excitement that overtook her, making Colson chuckle as he wrapped a long tattooed arm around his daughters shoulders, and pulled in for a tight side hug that had her squirming to escape before she punched his arm playful with a glare.

“I keep askin’ myself the same question.” He answered with a soft rumble of a laugh. Flinching a little as Casie punched his arm a little harder. “Ow.” Colson chuckled as he rubbed his arm lightly, moving to pull his wallet out of his back pocket before handing it to her as the line shortened once more. “Why don’t you grab us all somethin’, Princess, and we’ll grab a table--” 

“Already on it!” Casie said excitedly as she rushed off to take Y/N’s spot in line as Colson motioned towards an empty table near the windows. 

“I can’t believe how grown up she is...” Y/N admired as they took a seat, a hint of sadness in her eyes as she turned to watch Casie, who had finally reached the counter, place an order. “God, what was she, five, the last time I saw her?”

“Sounds about right.” Colson nodded. “Was right before you left Ohio for LA...”

“Yeah...” Y/N’s brows knit together tightly as she frowned, a wave of guilt crashing into her like a freight train. “Sorry I’ve been so shit at keeping in touch.” She apologized softly.

“Hey--” Colson reached out a hand to give her own a brief, reassuring squeeze. “Don’t do that to yourself. What happened, that wasn’t your fault and you know it. We were all young and stupid. Shit, even Rook knows that and how bad he fucked things up...You made your choice, and clearly it was the right one. I mean look at you--” Colson paused to lean back in his seat as he gestured at her proudly. “Ms. big time music producer over here.” 

“Oh stop it.” Y/N waved off the comment playfully with a roll of her eyes. “But really, I mean it Colson. I always meant to come back and see you guys, especially Casie...But I just...I don’t know. I guess I just feel guilty that I disappeared from her life like that with nothing more than a few short video chats here and there, ya’know?” 

“I get it.” Colson nodded. “Still not your fault. And if it’s any consolation, Rook still beats himself up for what happened.”

“Good!” Y/N replied harshly, her frown returning at the second mention of that name. “I hope it haunts the bastard for the rest of his life.” She muttered under her breath, though it was still loud enough that Colson heard it and gave a chuckle. About to say something in reply when Casie approached the table, drinks in hand, and took a seat beside Y/N, passing over her favorite drink --an iced chai latte-- before giving Colson his own coffee and returning his wallet. 

“I ordered some breakfast sandwiches too.” Casie smiled.

“God I’ve missed you!” Y/N beamed as she hugged her tightly for a moment before letting go. Having to stave off the tears that built in her eyes when Casie refused to let go from the embrace. Torn away only by a sudden idea as she shot up and looked at Colson excitedly.

“Can she come over for the party tonight?!” Casie rushed out, bouncing in her seat a little as she waited for Colson’s reply as he turned to look at Y/N, giving a small shrug. 

“I think I’ll leave that one up to Cash, Princess.” Colson chuckled softly as he took a sip of his coffee, thanking the waitress as their food was delivered.

“Please Aunt Y/N?! Please, please, please?!” Casie all but begged, hands clasped together as she gave Y/N that all to familiar puppy face. The same one she used to use on her all those years away when she wanted something. Eyes sparking with a level of adorableness that she knew Y/N would never be able to say no to; No matter how badly she wanted to.

Y/N groaned softly, knowing what this would entail, and exactly who she would be faced with having to avoid. But knowing that it was almost Casie’s birthday, Y/N didn’t have it in her heart to refuse. “I suppose I can’t really say ‘no’ to that face, now can I?” 

“Yes! Oh my god, you’re the best Aunt Cash!” Casie exclaimed as she hugged Y/N tightly, melting what was left of her cold, icy heart a little as she hugged the girl back.

“Only cause it’s you.” Y/N chuckled softly with a smile. Even though she was a raging ball of anxiety on the inside now as every single worst case scenario suddenly played through her head as she thought about what the evening would hold in store.

~

‘Caught at the end of the lifeline The catch of a lifetime (I should've known, should've known, should've known) Oh we were destined for danger Familiar strangers (I should've known, should've known)’ 

The party had been well under way for more than an hour when the sound of a vehicle nobody recognized was heard pulling into the driveway at Colson’s. A black Chevelle that found it’s parking spot beside the row of motorcycles nearest the front door. Everyone exchanging a few confused glances as Casie made a beeline straight for the door, flinging it open before whoever it was even had the chance to knock...Rook’s heart dropping somewhere into the vicinity of his stomach as she stepped into view, just as Casie flew in for a hug. Almost knocking Y/N over in the process.

“You made it!” 

“Of course I made it.” Y/N chuckled softly, that all too familiar smile that haunted every single one of Rooks dreams, curving those beautiful lips of her upwards into a smile. A smile he never thought he could miss more than he did right at this very second. 

“Holy shit, is that Cash?” Slim exclaimed as he came around the corner and out of the kitchen, wrapping Y/N in a tight embrace. “I thought Casie was pulling my damn leg when she told us who was comin’.” 

“Surprise!” Y/N exclaimed with a nervous laugh as they broke away from the hug to extend the gift bag in her hand out towards Casie. “Happy Birthday, kiddo.” 

Casie all but squealed as she moved back in for another hug, barely giving Y/N an chance to wave a hello to everyone as she thanked her for the gift before dragging her through the house for a tour and to catch up. Rook frozen to the same spot, just staring after the two, completely oblivious to Colson’s presence as he leaned up against the counter beside him. 

“You alright?” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Rook’s head snapped around like it was on a swivel as he faced Colson. His tone sharp, but not one of anger. In fact, it was filled more with hurt than anything. His eyes drifting back towards the stairs where Casie and Y/N had disappeared just moments before. Colson held up his hands in defense as he shook his head lightly.

“We ran into her this morning while we were getting coffee. Case was so stoked to see her, man -- She didn’t wanna risk ruining anything. So she made me swear not to say anything. But I mean look, if you’re not cool with it and wanna take off, I understand--” 

“No...It’s alright.” Rook cut Colson off as he shook his head. “It’s Casie’s day and I’m not gonna ruin that. We’re both adults.” He swallowed harshly as his mouth suddenly went dry. “It’ll be fine.” At least he hoped. Colson nodding, remaining silent as he watched Rook’s gaze wander once more as he sipped stiffly at the amber liquid in the glass he held. His grip on the glass was so tight that Colson thought it might shatter.

‘We were bound to make a mess of things Mixin' fireworks and gasoline Never meant to make you fall with me’ 

Time seemed to slow as the night drug on for what felt like an eternity. An eternity that was filled with awkward avoidance and sour glances that were periodically thrown in Rook’s direction whenever he was caught staring for just a fraction of a second too long. Midnight came and went. The whiskey was going down like water, and there wasn’t a joint strong enough to make this night any easier. The only thing keeping him from disappearing completely, was the constant reminder that this was for Casie, and he’d be damned if he was going to ruin that for her...Not that it made it any easier.

Left to watch from the side lines as Y/N joked and messed around with the rest of the guys, just like old times...Only this time around, Rook wasn’t a part of it. And knowing it was by his own wrong doings was like a dagger straight to the heart. A dagger that was slowly being twisted a little deeper into his chest with each passing hour that he was subject to someone dredging up a memory here and a memory there. 

A soft sigh fell from his lips as he rubbed a tired hand  over his face before standing, passing the joint he’d forgotten he’d been holding, back to Baze who had been eyeing him with a concerned look. “You alright, man?” 

“Fine.” Rook waved a dismissive hand as he headed for the backyard. “I just need some air.” He added quietly. But the change in his demeanor didn’t go unnoticed as Baze gave a sigh of his own as he stood. Watching as Rook pushed through the small crowd of people and disappeared out the back door. 

“Hey, Cash.” Baze waved her down as she came out of the kitchen with another beer, offering the joint he held out to her, which she gladly accepted. Taking a hit and holding it for a few seconds before she let the sweet trail from between her lips. “So now that you’ve had a decent hit, I’m gonna go ahead and say something, so don’t fuckin’ hit me, ok?” 

Y/N’s gaze narrowed as she stared up at Baze, already knowing where this conversation was about to head. “I don’t wanna hear it, Basil.” She held up a hand. “He made his bed a long time ago, he can fuckin’ lay in it.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Baze held up his hands as he shook his head, not wanting to start an argument. “I agree with you a hundred and ten percent. We all do, Y/N, but you have to understand something--”

“I don’t have to understand shit!” Y/N snapped before she took another puff from the joint she now held. She wanted nothing more than to walk away, yet for some reason, she felt compelled to hear what else Baze had to say.

“You’re right, you don’t.” Baze shrugged. “But Rook’s not the same person he was back then...None of us are; Not even you, Y/N. We were a bunch of stupid kids, despite the fact we were all fucking adults. And I can assure you, that not a day has gone by since then, where that kid hasn’t beat himself up over what happened. I’m not saying you have to forgive him, Cash...But at least let the guy have peace of mind enough to forgive himself.”

“Unlikely.” Y/N scoffed through the exhale of smoke she had been holding in, having finally heard enough as she moved to step around Baze. Pausing only to pass the joint she held back to him before she headed for the back door. “Thanks for the hit though.” 

‘I let you down I've been clumsy with your heart again I guess you figured me out Now here's a taste of my own medicine And for all this pain, that I can't explain There's a black flag wavin' tonight You know I let you down I've been clumsy with your heart again’ 

Y/N all but stumbled through the backdoor as that last hit from Baze’s joint hit her a lot sooner than she had anticipated it would --her tolerance wasn’t shit anymore-- and she suddenly felt like she should probably sit her ass down somewhere before she tipped the fuck over. Making sure that she paid extra close attention to where her feet were going as she made her way over to the edge of the pool and took a seat. Dipping her feet into the water immediately, having ditched her converse hours ago while dancing with Casie; Blissfully unaware of Rook’s presence as she kicked her feet back and forth gently, watching the ripples the movement created on the surface of the water. Rook watching her quietly, remembering how they used to sit and do that together at the hotels on tour. The memory caused the ache inside of his chest to worsen as he tried washing the feelings away with a sip from his drink as he hung his head in his free hand. 

The distinct ‘clink’ of ice against glass alerted Y/N that she wasn’t alone, as she tensed up. Turning slowly to glance over her shoulder, only to find Rook sitting no more than a few feet away. A frustrated sigh left her lips as she turned back to stare at the water. Her first instinct to get up and leave, and she wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the weed in her system, but she didn’t have it in her to move. She had been running away all night, whenever he would enter a room, Y/N was gone the second he’d notice her. It was tiresome. And truth be told, no matter how much she still wanted to hate him right now, her heart simply wouldn’t let her...And she hated that even more.

She hated the fact that she had never stopped loving him, no matter how hard she tried to deny it and move on with her life, or how many times she had swore up and down to herself that she could never even possibly think about forgiving him...It just simply wasn’t possible. Not too say that it didn’t still hurt after all these years, or that it didn’t mean she wasn’t still angry. Because she was angry, and with every passing second that she thought about it, that anger rose to the surface, bit by bit, until it was too much for her to handle anymore. Y/N pushing herself up to her feet, trying her hardest to maintain her composure as she swayed slightly from the head rush of being inebriated. Her conscious all but screaming at her to keep her mouth shut and not start shit, but it was already too late as the words came pouring out of her mouth like word vomit.

“So that’s it then?” She hiccuped slightly as she stalked over to stand in front of Rook, her arms crossed tightly across her chest in an attempt to make herself appear angrier than really was. “Five fucking years, and all I get is a bunch of stolen glances and some forlorn fucking pouting? You’re not even gonna try--” 

“Cash, please don’t...” Rook spoke softly as he tried to defuse the situation. 

“Don’t you fucking DARE ‘Cash’ me, JP Cappelletty!” Y/N snapped. “Five fucking years! Five.Fucking.Years, JP, and you never even once tried to reach out, never tried to apologize! You just -- You just let me fucking leave with no more than a shitty ass excuse as to why I caught you sucking face with some random fucking half naked slut--”

“What the hell do you want me to say, Y/N?!” Rook’s head snapped up as he made eye contact and stood. His gaze boring straight into her own as he continued, his voice steadily growing heated, but he never raised it to the point of yelling. Not even once. “You want me to fucking apologize? When you and I both know that sorry doesn’t even begin to fucking fix what I let happen?! I’m sorry! I’m fucking sorry, Y/N! I’m sorry I fucked up so bad! I’m sorry I was a stupid fucking kid who got so wrapped up in all of this,” He paused to gesture around them. “That I didn’t stop to think it would even fucking matter. That there wouldn’t be any fucking consequences to my actions? I fucked up, Y/N, I know that, and I have to live with it every goddamn day! Sorry doesn’t even begin to fucking cut it, but if that’s what you want to hear, then I’m fucking sorry!”

Y/N remained quiet, her arms falling away to her sides as she watched Rook turn away from her. His hands scrubbed over his face and into his hair out of frustration as he tried to reign in every last shred of emotion that was threatening to pour out. “I’m sorry that I lost you...I’m sorry for that everyday that I wake up and remember that you’re not a part of my life anymore.”

“JP, don’t--” Y/N’s voice was barely above a whisper now, Rook’s  back still to her as she spoke, but her words went unnoticed as he continued. Tipping his head back as he looked up at the night sky as the words continued to pour forth from whatever depths of his soul they had long been hidden away in.  

“I wish that I could take it back, Y/N, I really do, but I fucking can’t. I’m sorry, and I’m sorry that ‘I’m sorry’ is never gonna be good enough to fix it...But I can’t do this anymore, Y/N. I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending they’re you!” Rook sighed as he bowed his head in defeat. The silence between them was heavy, even if only for a moment before it was interrupted by the broken sob that fell from Y/N’s lips, the sound catching Rook’s attention immediately as he turned, watching as her hands flew up to her mouth as she tried to muffle the sound of her own body betraying her, as another sob followed close behind; Tears streaming down her face as her body shook. 

“Y/N--” Rook was hesitant as he took a step forward and reached out, almost afraid that if he moved too quickly she might run; Or at the very least try and take a swing at him. Not that he didn’t deserve it. But as his outstretched fingers made contact with Y/N’s skin, it was all he could do to stay standing as she all but collapsed into his arms. Her face buried against his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. “Hey, shh. It’s ok...I-I got you.” Rook murmured against her hair softly as he held her. Doing everything he could to blink back the tears that formed in his own eyes as every last ounce of pain and regret that flowed through her flowed through him as she cried.

“I-I’m s-sorry...” Y/N sobbed against Rook’s chest, causing him to glance down at her with a confused expression, as he was unsure why she felt the need to apologize, least of all to him. But before he could think to speak up and ask, Y/N continued. “I’m s-sorry that I’ve been a c-cold hearted, i-insufferable bitch! I’m sorry f-for how I’ve treated you. And not j-just in the past, b-but tonight to. I-I’m sorry for trying t-to force myself to h-hate you for the past f-five years--” Y/N paused, pulling away slightly as she tried to wipe away the tears that blurred her vision as she looked up at Rook. “I’m s-sorry that I never stopped loving you...But I’m not sorry for that as much as I try and hate you, that I’m still hopelessly in love with your dumbass!” 

Rook was left looking like a slack jawed fish as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, searching for the right words while simultaneously questioning if he had even heard her correctly to begin with. That she was in fact still in love with him. Reassurance came in the form of her lips crashing into his before he could say anything at all that might possibly ruin the moment, and for that, among other things, he was incredibly grateful for, as he moved his hands to gently caress her face. Her own hands drifted up his chest to find their way around his neck, one settling in his hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer, as he deepened the kiss. 

That familiar spark of electricity igniting between them once more, just as it had with the very kiss they had shared all those years ago. Neither one of them wanted to be the first to break away, but eventually, they had to come up for air, Rook pressing his lips against Y/N forehead gently as he pulled her closer, and made a promise. Afraid that if he let her go now, if he didn’t speak his truth, that he’d wake up from some sick dream and none of this will have been real.

“I swear to you, Y/F/N, I swear to you on my own goddamn life, that if you ever give you me another chance, even though I know I’ve done nothing to deserve it, I promise you that I will spend everyday making it up to you; Even if it’s the last thing I ever fucking do.” Rook’s voice trembled with emotion as he tilted Y/N’s chin so that she was looking up at him. “I love you, Cash. I loved you then, I love you now and I will love you for the rest of eternity; Even if you won’t have me. You will always be my girl, and I will do everything in my power to never let you down like that again. Not ever.”

Y/N pressed her lips back to Rook’s, not knowing how else to reply at that exact moment. Knowing this wasn’t something that could be as easily fixed as they both wanted it to be...But at least for tonight, they could pretend. Knowing that come morning, when they were both sober, this conversation would be a lot harder as they worked on figuring out how to try and make this work again. Rook’s lips were eager against her own in response as his hands drifted down her waist, stopping only when they reached the back of her thighs and he lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. 

“Get a room!” Colson hollarded with a chuckle from the back door as the rest of the guys joined in with cheers and whistles, the pair now fully away that they had an audience. Both reaching a hand out to flip them all the bird. Too wrapped up in the moment to be bothered to care. “I love you.” Rook panted out when they finally did manage to break apart sometime later. The love and adoration in his eyes as he gazed up at Y/N, was almost too much for her to handle as she placed her hands against his cheeks and pressed her forehead against his own.

“I love you too, JP.” She whispered, keeping the last part to herself. ‘More than you could ever know.’

~

‘Turn the desert all to glass Droppin' bombs on future's past Nothing left for us, shadows dancin' in the ash Turn the desert all to glass Droppin' bombs on future's past Nothing left 

I let you down I've been clumsy with your heart again I guess you figured me out Now here's a taste of my own medicine And for all this pain, that I can't explain There's a black flag wavin' tonight You know I let you down (let you down) I've been clumsy with your heart again 

 Turn the desert all to glass Droppin' bombs on future's past Nothing left for us, shadows dancin' in the ash Turn the desert all to glass Droppin' bombs on future's past Nothing left for us, shadows dancin' in the ash’

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

Tagging: @jacksonroseroth

If you would like to be added to any of my future Rook fics, please feel free to let me know! ^-^

[lochnessies]

(inconsistent edelgard anon)

god yeah i forgot to mention the localization. the fact that a character can be completely different based on the language you play it in is so annoying and frustrating to me. part of me will /always/ see edelgard as more morally grey than she is in the original version because i never had access to it, which is unfortunate but i can't change the fact that ultimately... she is a different character depending on the version you play. i try to remedy this as much as possible by playing with jpn voices but since i don't actually understand japanese beyond some phrases and sentences, it's not the best solution.

i 100% agree about twsitd. i remember when first going through the game in am when i learned about the ~secret death cult~ i felt... annoyed, to say the least. there's so more potential imo for edelgard without twsitd existing, esp when you consider she'd have trauma from another party. i weep every time i think of the missed potential with edelgard.

just wondering--why do you believe edelgard is the most irredeemable in cf? not necessarily disagreeing, just curious about why you think that.

also! thank you for telling me you could read shit in the library. i didn't even know that and i've played the game five times. god i hate this game sometimes.

god yeah i forgot to mention the localization. the fact that a character can be completely different based on the language you play it in is so annoying and frustrating to me. part of me will /always/ see edelgard as more morally grey than she is in the original version because i never had access to it, which is unfortunate but i can't change the fact that ultimately... she is a different character depending on the version you play. i try to remedy this as much as possible by playing with jpn voices but since i don't actually understand japanese beyond some phrases and sentences, it's not the best solution.

yeah i know what you mean. if i were you i would go to a site that has the jp script and read through it to get a better idea. @garlandgerard knows a site like this (i’m so sorry for tagging you stan but i went through our convos on here and discord and couldn’t find the name of the site you said, it was pegasus something).

i 100% agree about twsitd. i remember when first going through the game in am when i learned about the ~secret death cult~ i felt... annoyed, to say the least. there's so more potential imo for edelgard without twsitd existing, esp when you consider she'd have trauma from another party. i weep every time i think of the missed potential with edelgard.

f in the chat boys for the the missed potential 😔

just wondering--why do you believe edelgard is the most irredeemable in cf? not necessarily disagreeing, just curious about why you think that.

i find her almost irredeemable in cf bc it’s the route where she wins. this is the route where all her delusions are fufilled and she gets her happy ending while the bodies of her victims lie in the cold earth for the sole crime of not bending a knee to her authority.

speaking of her victims, she blames them for her actions. she acts sooo sad that there’s blood at her feet but that it’s only there bc they wouldn’t roll over and let her take over and they put up a fight instead. which is just deplorable behavior.

like when she kills dimitri and cries about it bc she ‘had too’ and how it wasn’t her fault, it was his for being ‘obsessed w her’ and how it was her uncle who did this and not her, i have -8274738383% sympathy for her. i will never feel pity for the executioner over the innocent victim no matter how much she cries over it (and even then she’s only sad for like 2 seconds).

plus all her talk is so grating to listen too. everything she says is wrong and you can’t say anything about it to her. and when you can, if you disagree with her and choose an option that will make her accept responsibility for her actions, you loose support points.

she’s just a hot mess in cf bc the player is forced to see her for what she really is: a childish imperialist who would rather kill thousands than take any responsibility for her actions. one who plays herself up as some revolutionary who loves debate but all she does is regress the world to how it was over a thousand years ago and gets mad if you don’t dance to her fiddle.

send your hot takes

[imjustheretoseetheprivateblogs]

The Lost World Rewrite

So, I recently watched the Lost World: Jurassic Park for the first time and all I gotta say is...

Yeah. So, in spite of the fact I feel that it would be Superfluous and self-aggrandizing, and a maturely written well thought out review would be a better use of my time, I decided to do a rewrite of the Lost World to make it a half-decent movie. I apologize to any fans of the film in advance. This is a rough Idea based on what could be done without completely throwing out the script. Here we go...

The film starts the same; little girl gets mauled by Compies on Isla Sorna

Cut to not Ian Malcolm; there is no Ian Malcolm in this film. There will never be Ian Malcolm in this film. Instead, we cut to Dr. Sarah Harding (played by Julianne Moore) who’s photographing a crocodile nesting. We learn a little bit about her from her assistant, Nick Van Owen (played by Vince Vaughn), namely that while her theories on Dinosaur young rearing are as on point as Alan Grant’s raptor research, she’s not so hot at rearing young herself. Case in point, she’s late for her daughter’s gymnastics performance.

Her daughter is of course Kelly Curtis played by Vanessa Lee Chester, who in this version will have a larger role and more developed personality. Kelly is Sarah’s adopted daughter and the two have been at a loss at what to do with one another since meeting. Kelly is the daughter of one of Sarah’s oldest friends who died while traveling and Sarah took her in. While their relationship isn’t horrible, it’s definitely awkward. Like when Sarah bursts through the gymnasium doors to see Kelly has completely finished her routine and the seat reserved for her has been given to someone else (maybe Michael Crichton or Steven Spielberg in a cameo?)

Later that night, Sarah is called by a mysterious voice on the phone, telling her to pack a suitcase and go outside. She does so and a black SUV pulls up. “Get in.” a man’s voice tells her.

“OK,” Sarah says, annoyed, “who are you people and what’s with the G-man routine?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a G-man routine.” says a familiar voice.

We pan over to reveal John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) sitting across from Sarah.

“Can I offer you a drink?” he asks.

The conversation is much the same as the movie with Ian Malcolm (Hammond explains Site B, tells Sarah about the JP incident, etc.). Only this time, there’s a big difference: InGen wants to cut ties with the Jurassic Park debacle and intends to let the Costa Rican Government fire bomb it. Hammond wants to get people onto the island and document the animals to drum up environmentalist support for turning it into a preserve and at least stave off the destruction until a humane solution can be found.

“How can I say no!?” Sarah says. A chance to photograph real Dinosaurs. Never in 65 million years did she think she’d get this chance.

The team she’ll be going to the island with includes herself, Hammond, Van Owen (“Nick’s the best person for the job” Sarah insists), equipment manager Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff), Dr. Robert Burke (Thomas F. Duffy) (“are we sure he’s not a country singer?” Sarah asked, eyeing the supposed paleontologist’s ten gallon hat and beard), celebrity big game hunter Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite), and InGen executive Peter Ludlow, Hammond’s own nephew (“I made the mistake of trusting too many people last time,” Hammond said, “this time, I’m playing it close to the vest.”)

The team arrives on the Island, where Peter suggests setting up camp in a low clearing, much to Tembo’s chagrin (“that,” Tembo said, rolling his eyes, “is a game trail, Mr. Ludlow. Carnivores hunt on game trails. do you want to find dinosaurs or serve them lunch?”)

The group wanders through deep Jungle, Hammond and Ludlow being the slowest, one due to their age the other due to being a little on the wimpy side. As the journey goes on, it becomes apparent that there’s some friction between Peter and John, with Peter second guessing John every chance he gets and trying to act like the leader of the group.

They finally come across a family of stegosaur and we get that adorable pet the baby scene from the movie. Eddie is flabbergasted, Nick is taking pictures like crazy, Burke’s having a conniption, Hammond swells with pride, and we don’t really know what’s going through Peter and Tembo’s heads.

Something startles the Stegs (Tembo reached for his gun. “No!” Nick grabbed the barrel of Tembo’s gun.)

Nick fumed “An animal that hasn’t been seen in over a million years turns up and the only way you can express yourself is to kill it?” Tembo smiled. “Remember that chap about twenty years ago? I forget his name. Climbed Everest without any oxygen, came down nearly dead. When they asked him, they said why did you go up there to die? He said I didn't, I went up there to live.” (cryptic, no?)

“What could have set them off like that?” Wondered Burke. Roland, however, scented the air. “Smoke,” he said simply, pointing “coming from that way. They must have thought it was from a forest fire.”

The group rushes back to their camp, discovering the campfire burning. Eddie and Burke make to smother it. However, the camper door opens to reveal—

“I was gonna have dinner ready when you got back.” Kelly said.

Sarah and Kelly have an argument inside the camper, about how Sarah’s never there for her and how she just washed out of her gymnastics team (“I got bronze,” she said, “not that you’d know. You didn’t even stick around long enough for that part.”)

Kelly convinces Sarah she can stay. We cut to a scene of the group in jeeps, riding through grasslands in a heard of various Dinosaurs. Nick’s in the jeep with Tembo, Peter, and Hammond, while Sarah is with Kelly, Eddie, and Burke. (Tembo turned to Nick. “get in the outrigger. You're closing in on a parasaur.” “Parasaurolophus,” Nick corrected smugly.” “Whatever,” said Tembo, “The one with the big red horn! The pompadour! *Elvis!*”)

Nick climbs into the outrigger and begins to film the dinosaurs. In the other jeep, the group is trying to coax Eddie into their own outrigger.

“No way I’m getting into that thing,” Eddie said “not surrounded by dinosaurs.” “We’re gonna need better shots if we want to save these dinosaurs,” Sarah said, “and you’re the only one who knows how to work the equipment.” “So do you,” Eddie said, “Why not pull over and let me drive? I used to drive cabs for a living.” “I know how the use the camera.” Kelly said. Sarah stared at her. “You do?” “I was in AV club before gymnastics.”

The group snaps Kelly in and they begin their own filming process. For the first time in a long time, Kelly and Sarah seem to be having fun together.

After that moment of chipperness, we cut back to camp. (Roland nodded to Nick. “Tree hugger got a great shot of a Pachy... a pachy... oh, hell. One of those fatheads with the bald spot, Friar Tuck!”) Peter and Hammond are looking over a map. Peter insists that they should go to the abandoned worker village on the other side of the island, where they can find easy shelter and supplies (“IT runs on geothermal power, so it’ll still have power”). Hammond disagrees. (“Absolutely not,” Hammond said, “that part of the island has been overrun by Velociraptors.” Peter frowned “What’s that, veloc-o-?” “Velociraptor,” Burke said, “Carnivore, pack hunter. About two meters tall, long snout, binocular vision, strong, dextrous forearms, and killing claws on both feet.” “That doesn’t sound promising.” said Peter. “You should read Alan Grant’s latest paper on them,” said Burke, “It’s like he met one in real life!”)

Meanwhile, Roland Tembo is now kneeling, looking at a track.

“Come take a look at this.” he says. Everyone gathers around. “do you know what this is?” he asks. Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “We have to leave.” she said. “Why?” asked Kelly. “That’s a T-Rex track!” Burke said. “A T-Rex!” Eddie looked as if he was about to break for the beach and try to swim home. “That’s impossible!” said Hammond “the satellite photos showed that the Rex territory is nowhere near here.”

The group decides to risk staying in the area. Later that night, Kelly hears a noise. Curious, she goes outside to investigate. In the moonlight, she sees a team of unknown men in night vision goggles capturing the dinosaurs that they had been filming earlier that day. As the drive off, Kelly grabs onto the back of one of the trailers to follow them.

We cut back to Sarah’s tent. She’s asleep, not having been roused by her daughter’s departure. But she is roused by what sounds like deep breathing outside. She surreptitiously looks around and sees a massive snout sticking into her tent. It’s the Tyrannosaur!

Just then, Peter Ludlow comes out of his tent with a roll of toilet paper, but upon seeing the dinosaur lets out a scream that wakes the whole camp. The rex turns and bellows at him, trashing their camp all the while in a show of dominance. Soon, the whole group is running through the forest. Hammond is almost eaten by the thing if not for Tembo’s intervention.

Soon, however, the groups are separated from one another. Hammond slips down a river bank into a ravine, Peter just up and vanishes, and Sarah, Van Owen, Tembo, Burk, and Eddie run behind a waterfall with the rex in pursuit. The dinosaur, unable to follow, gives one last roar of anger and leaves. Out of all the people, however, Tembo looks the least scared. He looks…thrilled, actually.

Meanwhile, we cut away to Hammond. He rises (roughly) shaking away the delirium. He looks around, wondering where his party got off to. The T-Rex’s roar is heard in the distance. Better find the others, he thinks. He begins to follow the river; if the group has any sense, they’ll make a new camp on the water. But then he hears a noise and looks down. It’s a Compy.

We get a very similar scene to Dieter Stark’s (Peter Stormare’s) death in the movie (which was based off of John Hammond’s in the first book) with one or two caveats. First, we don’t cut away in the middle. We maintain the scene and the suspense as long as possible (with Compys popping out of the woodwork the more Hammond tries to get away from them). The second…

There was a sound of rifle fire. The Compys scattered and Hammond felt himself pulled up from the shallow water, finally able to breathe. “Tembo,” he coughed.

“If you have any more suicidal ideas,” said Tembo, “keep em to yourself.”

Cut back to Sarah’s group as Hammond and Tembo rejoin them.

“Has anyone seen Kelly?” Sarah asked, worried.

“I think I saw her run in the same direction as Ludlow,” said Tembo.

“Hopefully, they’ll be safe once they leave the Rex’s territory.” said Burke.

“Don’t bet on it,” said Sarah, “Tyrannosaurs have the second largest proportional olfactory cavity of any creature in the fossil record.” “What’s the first?” asked Eddie. “Turkey vulture,” said Burke, as casually as someone would talk about the weather.

“Any idea where we are?” asked Eddie, desperately trying the change the subject. “Somewhere west of the worker village, I think,” said Nick, examining a map of the island (one of the few they managed to salvage from the camp) “It’d be an easy hike there.” “Maybe that’s where Kelly and Peter are,” said Sarah, turning to Hammond. “Yes, but if they did go there, they’re in grave danger.”  said Hammond. “Velociraptors,” said Burke, trying to be helpful.

“Danger or not, we need a radio,” said Tembo, “that buck tore the hell out of our camp and I don’t think we can contact the mainland with smoke signals.” “How do you know the T-Rex was male?” asked Sarah.

Before Tembo can answer, a different roar is heard. A helicopter passed overhead.

“I thought you said we had a few weeks before they started razing the island?” Sarah said. “We do,” Hammond replied, “I don’t know what that helicopter’s doing her.” “It was headed towards the worker village,” said Tembo, “so, if we want to see what’s what, I think that’s where we’re headed.”

Cut to a scene of the group walking through the forest at night. Finally, they reach a vantage point overlooking the worker village…and it’s anything but abandoned.

More than three dozen people, some of them armed, are walking over the compound. Chain link fence ran the perimeter of the camp, newer than the rest of the camp. Tents, vehicles, mobile generators, the works.

Dozens of dinosaurs sit in cages, all bearing the same logo

“It says InGen on the side of that truck!” Eddie said. Everyone turned to look at Hammond. “I had no idea about this,” said Hammond, “why would I ask anyone to come here?” “I think I know who we should ask,” said Nick, pointing down at the camp.

It’s Peter, down in the camp, talking with the armed guards.

“What’s he doing down there?” asked Sarah. “I think,” Hammond said, sadness in his voice, “I’ve made the same mistake twice.” “Anybody seen Tembo?” asked Eddie.

Indeed, Tembo has disappeared.

Cut to Kelly, hiding in one of the trailers. She’d managed to evade her captors, but for how long she can continue to do so is up to debate. Stealthily, she creeps out of the trailer and around the camp over to one of the cages. She undoes the latch. She moves on to the next cage. Rinse and repeat.

Cut to inside one of the tents, Peter and several other people, all InGen personnel, stand around a card table where plans labeled ‘Jurassic Park San Diego’ are lain out.

“San Diego?” One man (a high ranking InGen worker) asked. “it’s already famous for its animal attractions,” said Peter, gesturing to plans on the table, “San Diego zoo... Sea World... The San Diego Chargers.”

“I don’t think John Hammond would have approved of having these animals on the mainland.” An InGen executive said.

Peter frowned. “Well, Hammond’s not in charge anymore. I am.” He turned to another man, this one a hunter by the look of him. “How’s the hunting going?”

“We’ve got plenty of plant eaters,” the hunter said, “some eggs. no raptors though. And our man hasn’t brought in the T-Rex like he said he would.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “What makes you think people want to see a bunch of veggiesaurs and eggs! They’re gonna want a T-Rex!”

“We’re trying, sir!” the hunter says, “but we haven’t seen any raptors since we got here!”

Suddenly, a worker bursts into the tent “The baby’s gone!” he said.

Almost as suddenly, a Triceratops bursts into the tent, smashing into the table and scattering the group. The camp is in chaos! Dinosaurs are running amuck. Vehicles overturned, people tossed into the air. But this is the chance Hammond’s group has been waiting for. They make their way down to the village in the bedlam, and make it into the main building of the worker’s village. Eddie manages to contact the mainland, and things are looking up. But then, we hear an ungodly moan from behind a nearby door. Slowly, Burke heads towards the door, picking up a nearby screwdriver to use as a weapon. He jerks the door open to reveal…

“Kelly!” Sarah cried. Kelly sat inside a broom closet, in her arms a baby T-Rex.

“They just left him tied to a stick out there,” said Kelly, “and I think his leg is broken.”

Despite the limited materials, the group sets to work splinting the baby’s leg. It’s pretty much the same as in the movie. Until the sound of a rifle cocking is heard behind them.

“I’ll be taking that rex now, Dr. Harding,” Roland Tembo said. Tembo has been on Ludlow’s payroll since the beginning. He was never here to protect the group. He’s here to hunt the T-Rex. He was the one who staked the baby out, to attract it’s parents.

Outside, the cacophony has died down. The Dinosaurs have mainly been recaptured. Hammond’s group has been brought before Ludlow, who looks at them condescendingly. “You really thought you were still CEO when you got here, Uncle John? I bought you out the day you asked for my help. We’ll still use the footage you took for our attractions, don’t worry.” “So, you’re going to reopen Jurassic Park then, is that it? Despite my warnings?” “No, not reopen. We’re moving these animals to the mainland so we don’t have to fly out here every time there’s a problem. You put us six million dollars in debt every day since you started making dinosaurs. It’s time to see good on that investment you promised. And the board agrees with me.”

InGen Exec: it’s nothing personal John. Why have a dinosaur and not use it?

“These are animals,” Sarah said, “they deserve respect”

“They’ll have the best of care.”

“And what if they break out! What then?”

Cut to part of Hammond’s team (Hammond, Sarah, and Kelly) being shoved into a trailer with the door locked behind them. Sarah tries to force the door open, to no avail. Kelly runs around, trying to open the windows. Hammond just sits down, despondent at the betrayal of his own family.

Sarah (trying to yank the door open): come on! You stupid…

A familiar roar is heard. A car flips past the window.

“What is it?” Hammond asked, “What’s going on?”

Sarah: I think things just got complicated.

The buck T-Rex from earlier has tracked the them to the Worker village and crashes through the fence. Suddenly, another roar is heard from the other side of the camp. It’s the female Rex, and she’s even more pissed than the male.

“There’s two of them!?” Sarah asked, incredulous. “We spared no expense,” Hammond said.

The rexes wreck the trailer the rest of Hammond’s team is in. Nick, Eddie, and Burke make a break for it. The female Rex sees them and gives chase. She and her mate bare down on them and soon capture Eddie, each taking one end in their jaws and pulling him apart for a snack.

Afterward we get a faceoff between Roland Tembo and the male rex (one that would have been really cool in the movie but we didn’t get it).

Tembo wastes two shot gun blasts on the rex. Out of ammo, he switches to tranquilizers, which finally manage to bring the beast down. The other rex is soon felled after. Subdued in special harnasses, the rexes are air lifted by helicopters to a boat waiting of the coast of Isla Sorna. All in all, the bad guys’ mission is a success. Well, Tembo wouldn’t say so. If you’d told him a year ago he’d get to hunt not one but two T-Rexes he would have kissed whoever told him that square on the mouth. But in the end, it had been so stupidly simple to catch them he just feels crapped on. Didn’t even get a trophy.

“You know, I remember the people who've helped me, Roland. There's a job for you at the park in San Diego if you want it.” Roland turns him down.

Cut to a group of hunters patrolling the tall grass outside the worker village. Suddenly, one of them is pulled under. A hunter a few feet away looks in his direction. “Manolo?” he asks. Another nearby hunter is pulled out of view. The hunters are starting to get scared. “Look alive, people.” one of them says. We hear a familiar coughing sound.

A velociraptor jumps out of the grass and mangles one of the hunters. Soon, pandemonium ensues. The crafty raptors had been evading the InGen hunters, watching them, waiting for the right moment. And with two dinosaur attacks in a row and both rexes out of the picture, now was the time to strike! (And there are no tails sticking up out of the grass cartoonishly! Raptors are supposed to be dangerous, not goofy).

Back at the camp, Roland runs towards the danger while Peter climbs aboard one of the waiting helicopters. “Get me out of here!” he cries.

The raptors swarm the camp. Roland manages to kill a few, but not before they massacre most of the InGen workers there. Tembo even has to watch Burke die in front of him. We get a scene where Hammond’s group escapes their trailer, Kelly defeats a velociraptor with gymnastics and the group plus Tembo manages to get onboard a helicopter.

The rest of the movie follows the actual TLW movie pretty closely with a few differences. Namely, there’s more than one dinosaur rampaging through San Diego, Tembo is helping the remaining team route the dinos back to the ship, we acknowledge the fact that the car they picked in the movie was due to reasons of masculinity, and Peter suffers a nervous breakdown when the dinosaurs break out of the ship’s hold and allows himself to be eaten by the baby rex out of guilt.

Roland fires a tranquilizer shot at the buck rex before it can clear the door. When that’s done, Sarah asks him what he’s going to hunt next.

“I believe I've spent enough time in the company of death.” he said.

We cut to Kelly and Sarah asleep on the couch while a TV plays news coverage of the boat being returned to Isla Sorna with a statement from John Hammond (once again CEO of InGen).

His speech is pretty much the same, ending with “as someone once told me, life finds a way.”

The final shot of the film is the rex family, the stegosaurs, all the dinosaurs back on Isla Sorna. Content as the Jurassic Park credits theme plays in the background.

So, what did you think? Like it, hate it? As always, I welcome feedback and comments!

[a-for-alternative]

Wammy’s Lore

The house appears in several forms both in the manga, anime, movies, novels, and games. Obviously, these aren’t intended to function together. However, they do have characters and events in common that form Wammy’s Lore.

The Beginning: L comes to Wammy’s at a time when the world is on the brink of WWIII (DNAN, 164-jp; 170-en), when he is around 8.

Note: the English edition will say this event is after the war but the original says L prevented the war.

L was already present in Wammy’s House before L became a famous detective -  in “File. 15″ - Chapter 0, Wammy’s House/Day One:

During this time, L solves a case that involves a bomb making facility within Winchester. (DNAN)

I s  W a m m y ’s  U n i q u e?

Probably the greatest source of Wammy’s Lore is the novel, L: Change the World [013]; 

“The Wammy's Foundation established many orphanages around the world through funding of the renowned inventor, Quillish Wammy.

  Only one serving a purpose above all others, gathering particularly intelligent children regardless of nationality, race, or gender... The Wammy's House. 

  Not serving as a formal academic institution, Wammy's House invites professors, researchers, and specialists from around the world to give the children instruction befitting their abilities and potential. 

  The ultimate purpose of these children is to serve as safeguards for the world.”

This tells us:

Many orphanages but only 1 Wammy’s

The children are safegaurds 

They are selected for their intelligence

The purpose is to hone their particular abilities

Later, it establishes:

Only 26 letters max per generation [176]

Teachers are selected by L or Watari 

The only mentioned former professor is Dr. Nikaido (Immunologist)

Q is the creator of the “delete all data” button that Watari presses in main story.

N o   N a m e s  /  ‘L e t t e r s’ ?

How to you go from an orphanage for smart kids to one where they have no identities?

Keep in mind that they didn’t know B’s name, “… Wammy’s House only knew him as B - they did not know his real name…” [117] 

In the manga, Aizawa and Matsuda describe that among the children, few were selected to be L’s successors and no one knew their true names. 

We know that A and B are the first children of this successorship experiment. (DNAN) If a few are selected from the group but no one knows their true names, this probably means they were brought in under the alisas from the beginning (otherwise people would easily recall their identities).

This may be why the kids have 2 - their letter and a name (e.g. N, Near). This probably means B was known as Backup before becoming B. 

L i f e   b e f o r e   L e t t e r s:

 One child we know of before becoming a letter is K.

  K was working with terrorist cases when she was 16 years old. At this time, she had not earned her letter. She remotely headed a rescue mission that ended in tragedy, a bomb strapped to the rescue victim detonated once in the rescuer’s camp...

K was so mortified by her failure, she ran away. 

   She becomes a part of a criminal organization and is later confronted by L in person.  K must have been using an alias while in the house because he does not recognize her name (which she has begun using while outside Wammy’s). It is only in her lack of faith in people that he identifies her as the rogue successor ‘K’. 

Earning a letter means you are changing the world and that is how you earn your letter, through Wammy. It is also a mark of Graduation. [LCtW:176]

K is arrested but still holds the letter as long as she is alive, a promise made to her by L -- This may mean you retain that letter for life

J is the only letter to have been held by 2; However, “L: Change the World” is credited to M which may mean that someone succeeded Mello.

P h o t o s   o f   L e t t e r s:

--- K’s case is before the Kira case, which is probably why K has in her possession, 1 photo of her parents and herself.

  This would matter because it brings into question if the children were allowed to keep photos of themselves prior to the emergence of Kira. If they were allowed photographs, this might explain why there is picture of Mello and on Roger’s desk there are pictures of Wammy, what looks to be an event involving robed individuals. Mello is of the 4th generation, so any authorized process of photographing the children would have been established.

  -- Is Mello’s photo a school picture? 

   Mello appears to be looking straight in the camera, wearing his signature outfit and isn’t that much younger than we see him in the house. Is it safe to assume this was taken at Wammy’s, even if the addition of Dear Mello at the back is added later. 

  The light source is emanating from above him, which makes this being professional photo unlikely. Most photographers will have the light source in front to prevent the sinister shadows that will appear under the eyes.  It does appear to be outdoors and it is possible that someone took this picture without the house authorizing it. It is worth noting that there are no other photos of successors similar to this that ever come up. If it is not a school photo but one someone took when they weren’t allowed to, this may explain why Near and Matt do not have this problem. The Dear Mello written on the back is strange.. whoever took this must have been fond of him.  Was this a photo taken by a friend and was it a prohibited? It’s unknowable.

  But, this does bring up the question.. Why didn’t they know B’s face?  

 This might be excused by B applying makeup

With or without a photo of him, -- Roger and other residents would have surely seen him in person. 

It doesn’t give an exact year that B disappears in May but we can assume not that many have passed, not enough for B to have aged that much.

   If we assume that Wammy’s doesn’t take school photos, this would explain why Roger only has 1 group photo, while there have been 3 previous gens. 

The group photo may be of his old classmates. But, if that is the case... Would those two photos be in black and white? 

The photos do not appear in the anime, only the center one of Watari, which is in color

The photos do appear in the colored manga

The pair on the left seem to have grey hair

The group on the right is colored

It is possible that in the DN universe, they had color photos before our own but these could also be of a reunion event.

 ...  It is interesting that a person of Roger’s age has no photos of his past, if we assume they would be in black and white.   It is also possible that after the deaths/arrests of A, B, F, K, J, A, X, Y, Z, R, T, & V ... Roger thought it was inappropriate to have their photos up. Since, Mello seems ignorant of B up until L tells him the story of his case, they probably do not have photos of previous gens.

 Additionally, Mello doesn’t even have a notion of A’s gender, he probably has never seen A. (the original does not designate a gender for A)

A f t e r   G r a d u a t i o n :

F is the true wild card. F as a character appears in at least 2 places, (1) the film (LCtW) and (2) the game “L: Prologue to Death Note”. Which in both, he specializes in the infiltration of dangerous places.

 His letter is followed by numbers much like the FBI agent in the “L: Change the World” (novel) and he doesn’t appear in the Wammy’s contact index (the film) :

But, F at the time of this email is not within Wammy’s and is deceased.

 K is also not in Wammy’s. K does not run away from the house in the film -- instead begins working under Dr. Nikaido (Immunologist), the only known former professor at the house (he is also mentioned in the novel).

Due to L being suspicious of K, it is safe to assume she had been involved in some incident before she went to work under a former processor -- in another country.

This does appear to be the full list because when L sends this email, he only clicks 6 times (the 7th in the list being L, himself), for 6 recipients. 

H communicates with Watari and is not on this list either, but is probably Roger, it may stand for HeadQuarters (Wammy’s House). H tells Watari that F has died during the investigation.

Other things of note:

B has passed away at the time of K’s story (L: Change the World).

K is stated to be the first K, so she is possibly a part of the first gen.  

Q is alive and had created both the “delete-all” system for Wammy and the security of K’s lab.

X, Y, and Z should be on this list (if they are alive), they were part of L obtaining the detective codes of Eraldo Coil and Danuve.. (before 2002)

J would have been arrested at this point (L: Prologue to DN)

It may be that as letter’s graduate, they become agents to assist Wammy’s and the world. 

This may mean that they they stay within Wammy’s system, unless they branch out as F, K, J, and Q have.

F has Wammy’s phone number, which is unique. There is no other letter I’m aware of that has it.

C o n c l u s i o n:

Ultimately, the successorship experiment to create a backup-L was inspired because L prevented the 3rd World War. This is why the letters are safeguards. 

... However, with J nearly creating a civil war, B becoming a serial killer, and K nearly bringing an apocalyptic epidemic, their purpose is more complicated than simply safeguards for the planet.

The existence of Wammy’s children, necessitizes the existence of Wammy’s children…

But, why is A missing? 

Why are X, Y, and Z missing, when they played an important role in L becoming who he is?

Can we make the Lore make sense?

A modest hypothesis:

B is a part of the list because it started after the incidences of A, X, Y, Z, & J.

This explains why, at the end of J’s case, J is so honored that L has communicated with him that J concludes the crime was worth it in the end. (螺旋の罠 コミュニケーター)

X, Y & Z died in the detective wars, which is why Mello heard this story from L himself and none of these old residents of the 1st gen. (DNAN 170)

Why L would choose to create a list at this point in time is worth pondering...

Perhaps, after the deaths, L comes to see that communicating with successors remotely is important - even if he doesn’t meet them face to face.

[phoenix-downer]

The Keyblade Graveyard Part 1: Japanese and English Comparison

This is the fifth in a series of translation and analysis posts I’ve done about KH3. I’ll be talking about KH3 in the context of Westerns, briefly touch on a possible connection to jidaigeki, go into detail on camera angles and camera shots, and, of course, discuss translation and the social aspects of language.

I’ve broken up this analysis into multiple parts because it was getting so long. This part will cover Aqua and Ven’s interactions with Terranort, the next will cover when he attacks Lea and Kairi, and so on and so forth up through when the Demon Tide sweeps Sora away. 

Here’s a general key for the kind of analysis I like to do:

JP: Official Japanese Dialogue

EN: Official English Dialogue

TR: My Translation (usually more literal and thus more stilted than the official English version. I’m not using natural-sounding English in order to stick as close to the Japanese versions of the lines as possible for the purpose of analysis)

Notes: things I found interesting, grammatical points, extra thoughts, etc.

One last note: media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Every work of art must be viewed through the cultural lens of the people who made it. Kingdom Hearts, for all its ties to Disney, is still very much a Japanese game, so it should be analyzed in light of that.

With that in mind, let’s continue.

Terra’s introduction is like a cowboy in a Western with the dramatic smoke:

The cinematography of this whole scene strikes me as inspired by Westerns and/or Samurai cinema (chanbara, a subcategory of jidaigeki, or period films). The two genres of film have had a large influence on each other (Akira Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai was remade as The Magnificent Seven in the US, for example, and Akira Kurosawa was a fan of the American director John Ford), so this speculation might not be that far off.

This screenshot from the trailer for Seven Samurai, for example, shows a similar “dramatic smoke/dust” moment, which makes me think that this may be a trope in Samurai cinema as well:

The setting of the Keyblade Graveyard itself calls to mind the setting of a lot of Westerns, with its smoke and dust and craggy hills and desert. The conflict even takes place in a graveyard, much like the final standoff in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, one of the most famous Westerns of all time (technically a Spaghetti Western, or a Western made in Italy - in this case directed by Italian director Sergio Leone):

Anyway, continuing on. Terra is here, but he’s looking at the ground and not making eye contact with anyone:

Ven is the first to notice him, and he calls his name...

JP テラ！

EN Terra!

TR Terra!

...before taking off after to him, which stresses Aqua out (and rightfully so - can you blame her for being on edge about everyone’s safety here, especially Ven’s?):

JP ヴェン！

EN Ven!

TR Ven!

We get this wide shot of Ven running to Terra while he just sort of stands there:

There are a number of shots like this in the scene that really emphasize the scale of the conflict by showing how small the human players are compared to the setting.

This ties in well to the theme that the characters cannot change their fate - they’re just playthings of it. The Keyblade Graveyard will still be there long after they’re dead, much like how it is still here after all the people who fought in the Keyblade War died. And while Sora does later change fate, he has to face the consequences. Death claims its prize in the end.

Ven latches onto Terra’s wrist, and the camera focuses on their hands:

And then we get this over the shoulder shot that is also at a bit of a high angle to emphasize Ven’s vulnerability:

JP テラやっと会えた！

EN Terra! We found you!

TR Terra! We could meet at last!

Notes: The Japanese phrasing is a little different than the English version, but the same general meaning gets across. Ven is excited to see Terra again. His use of yatto implies it’s been a while, and he uses the potential form for meet, hence why I translated this as “could meet” despite how awkward it sounds in English.

We get this reverse over the shoulder shot from a lower angle to emphasize Terra’s greater size and strength compared to Ven:

Now, Aqua has Seen Things™ in the Realm of Darkness, and she is quick to ask if this is really the Terra they know and love. No doubt she has in mind the time they met in the Realm of Darkness and Xehanort took control of him:

JP テラ　本当にテラなの？

EN Terra, please say you’re in there.

TR Terra, is that really you? (Literally: Is [that] really Terra?)

Notes: Japanese tends to use names more than English does, whereas English favors the use of pronouns, hence why Aqua repeats Terra’s name twice in her question in the Japanese version.

She uses the ~nano construction to check for confirmation - she wants to believe this is Terra, but she has her doubts.

We get this extreme close up shot of Terra’s eyes to emphasize that while yes, they are blue, they seem a little empty and soulless:

Something I noticed about Kingdom Hearts 3 is that there are a lot of extreme close up shots like this, especially of the characters’ eyes.

Well, as I was doing some research for this analysis, it turns out this type of shot is also sometimes called an Italian shot, named for... you guessed it, Sergio Leone, who popularized it in his Spaghetti Western films.

Here’s an example of this type of shot from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:

The emphasis of this type of shot is on the character’s emotions, and it serves to heighten the dramatic tension of the scene. Multiple times throughout the Keyblade Graveyard, we’ll get extreme close up shots like this that have just such an effect.

On a side note, I never noticed this many extreme close up shots in a Kingdom Hearts game before. I wonder if they hired new cutscene director(s) to work on the game who left their unique mark on it, or if the graphics capabilities of UE4 allowed them to experiment around with the cinematography more than they could in the past.

Continuing on, we see Aqua’s reaction to Terra’s soulless gaze:

She immediately moves to put herself between Ven and Terra, selfless to the end:

Ven sounds downright annoyed in the Japanese version and confused/questioning in the English version, but Aqua doesn’t care, she’s keeping him safe. Note how tense Sora is in the background:

JP 何だよアクア！

EN What gives, Aqua?

TR What(’s going on), Aqua?

Notes: Ven uses the emphatic particle yo in the Japanese version to show his annoyance with Aqua here - they’re finally all together again and yet she’s pushing him away from Terra? What gives?

The camera changes to this wide shot, once again emphasizing the epic scale of this very human conflict:

JP あなたの中にテラはいない

EN I know that you’re not him.

TR Terra isn’t inside of you.

Notes: Aqua knows the problem. Terra, or perhaps more specifically, Terra’s heart, is not inside of the body before them now. Aqua sounds angry and frustrated in her delivery in the Japanese version. She’s sick of this happening, sick of Terra still being lost to them.

Ven gasps in this next shot to indicate his surprise:

And Aqua sounds very angry/upset in the Japanese version as she commands Xehanort to release Terra. The camera angle is low again to show how Terra is towering over them, to hint at the power imbalance that we will soon see play out:

JP テラの体を返しなさい！

EN Now, let our friend go!

TR Return Terra’s body (to him)!

Notes: When Aqua was addressing Terra earlier, she used casual/intimate grammar forms. Japanese has an entire system of conjugation based on social dynamics - there are polite and casual forms of verbs, there are honorifics, humble expressions, rude expressions... all to express the relationship between the speaker and the addressee.

Aqua switches to a more polite form here. This could be because she wants to indicate social distance from Xehanort. It certainly isn’t used to be polite. This isn’t her friend; this is the man who ruined her friends’ lives as well as her own. She commands him to return Terra’s body using the honorific form nasai in a way that sounds like she’s scolding him. It’s possible she also chooses to use this particular command form as a mark of feminine speech, instead of using one of the coarser/more direct command forms at her disposal.

The camera tilts up, still at that low angle to emphasize Terra’s relative size and height advantage, and he (well, more like the heart inside of him) smirks:

We see his hair change color in a close up shot:

And then Ven’s horrified reaction. After all, he never knew what happened to Terra (as far as I can remember). The shot here really emphasizes his emotions by centering him in the frame head-on:

Fate of the Unknown has begun to play, very fitting for this scene, as Terra’s fate smacks Ven in the face (and the audience as well, for that matter). Note how everyone is ready for a fight, even if their Keyblades aren’t out yet. Knees bent, arms outstretched, or, in Goofy’s case, balled into fists:

Then we get this close up shot of Terranort’s face. His hair is fully silver and his eyes are yellow, and Mickey proclaims what has become of Terra:

JP これで１３人目ー

EN He is their thirteenth.

TR Here is (the) thirteenthー

Notes: Basically saying the same thing in both languages, just worded sligthly differently to sound more natural in English.

Dark smoke wafts off of Terranort as he finally speaks, and it’s not with Terra’s voice:

JP おまえたちはここで敗北する

EN Today is the day you all lose.

TR Here you all (will) lose.

Notes: Terranort uses the derogatory second person plural pronoun omaetachi to refer to them here. He also uses a casual form of the verb suru, indicating familiarity or, in this case, contempt. The word for “lose,” haiboku, can also mean “be defeated.”

Aqua sounds downright angry here in the Japanese version as she responds, and Ven just looks sad. The camera angle is a little off-kilter here (note how Aqua and Ven seem the same height even though they are not, and the characters in the background form a diagonal line): to indicate how “off” this whole situation is (I think this would be an example of a Dutch angle, but in case it’s not, I’ll call this kind of angle a tilted angle throughout this analysis):

JP 何を！

EN What?!

TR What!

Notes: I noticed the dialogue uses a lot of exclamation marks throughout this scene, both in the English version and the Japanese version. Emotions are running high, and all those exclamation marks really serve to show that.

Here we get a shot of Ven’s feet and Aqua’s legs...

...which is reminiscent of images and posters of famous show-downs in movies, like this one for the 1952 Western High Noon:

We even see this same sort of shot earlier in this scene, this time with Sora’s legs and Xehanort as the approaching opponent:

Once again, the framing of the shots calls to mind Westerns.

Moving on to the dialogue:

JP １３の闇にたどりつくこともなく　この場で心は肉体を離れ我が身を散らす

EN Before you even face the thirteen, every last one of you will be torn heart from body.

TR Without even reaching the thirteen darknesses, at this place (your) hearts will be separated from (your) bodies (and) I (will) scatter them (literally the bodies).

Notes: Terranort uses a different pronoun than Terra does. He uses ware, which Xehanort sometimes uses (and also sounds kind of old-fashioned), instead of the masculine pronoun ore, which is Terra’s pronoun of choice.

In the Japanese version, two different words are used for “body” here as well, nikutai in the first instance and mi in the second instance, perhaps for poetic effect and/or to avoid redundancy.

Next, he summons his weapon, which is accompanied by more darkness, and delivers this line:

JP だが安心しろ

EN But fear not.

TR But be at peace.

Notes: “Fear not” sounds a little archaic in English, as in modern English we would say “don’t be scared” or “don’t be afraid.” Over time main verbs lost the ability to move in front of negatives in English, and we insert “do” instead, which attaches to “not” to form “don’t,” while leaving the main verb in its spot.  

Terranort’s use of an older construction in English like this is very effective at making him sound pompous. In modern English saying “fear not” brings up religious connotations, as a lot of well-known quotes from the Bible are based on older translations (hello, King James version) and thus older forms of the language. Terranort sounds like he’s playing at God, here, in other words. It also makes him sound older, which is fitting for an old man who stole the body of a young one.

In the Japanese version, he uses the command form of the verb suru, shiro, to command them to be at peace. This is a very direct way to command someone to do something, kind of coarse and not at all polite.

The camera cuts to this close up shot of his face:

JP χブレードはここで完成する

EN The χ-blade will still be forged.

TR The χ-blade will be completed here.

Notes: Basically saying the same thing in both languages. I like how the English version went with “forged,” though. Fitting for the whole “creating a weapon” thing.

We see, not Aqua and Ven’s reaction to Terranort’s proclamation, but everyone else’s, Sora’s in particular. He is centered in the frame here:

And then we get a closer shot of him to better showcase his reaction. His voice sounds lower here to indicate his determination:

JP おまえたちに負けることはない

EN We’re not gonna lose to you.

TR We’ll never lose to you.

Notes: Sora uses the derogatory second person plural pronoun here, omaetachi. He’s referring to their enemies as a whole as a whole, not just Terranort. Unfortunately this nuance is somewhat lost in English because we use “you” for both singular and plural second person, though regional varieties have popped up, such as y’all, you lot, you guys, youse guys, yinz, etc. to refer to plural “you.”

(For anyone wondering, yes, English did used to make this distinction in the past, much like many modern European languages still do. It was a sad day the English language lost its second person plural pronoun for various reasons that I won’t get into here, but those regional varieties I mentioned have popped up for a reason - it is really useful to be able to make that distinction between singular and plural!)

Sora uses the ~kotowanai construction here to indicate that they’ll never lose to Xehanort and his cronies. He’s absolutely sure of it. And the English version captures his casual style of speech with “gonna.”

The shot ends with him glaring at Terranort:

And the camera cuts to Terranort, making what I will call “the Xehanort look” from here on out:

We can see the Xehanort look exemplified by Xehanort himself here:

An eyebrow raised, head tilting forward, eyes looking up - a Kubrick stare to indicate he’s a little deranged.

An example of the Kubrick Stare for reference, from the film A Clockwork Orange. The Kubrick Stare was popularized by the director Stanley Kubrick for it showing up in a lot of his films:

That is a dramatic contrast from the types of faces Terra makes:

Using Xehanort’s expressions with Terra’s body makes it very clear Terra is not the one in control here, as to my knowledge Terra never makes the Xehanort look. It’s also very unsettling to see Terra acting like Xehanort. It just feels wrong, and that really comes through in how Terranort moves and reacts.

One moment, he’s there...

...and the next, he’s gone, indicated by a whooshing noise:

He can move lightning-fast, a fact the slow motion here in the next part obscures a little for dramatic effect. This has also lead to the impression that Aqua and Ven just stood there and did nothing. That’s not entirely true. It’s more like they didn’t have time to do much of anything.

Aqua does, in fact, react to his disappearance; you can hear her make a surprised noise here:

And then he suddenly reappears between her and Ven, indicated by another whooshing noise. Note Terranort’s posture, how he is bending his knee to gather as much momentum to hit Ven with as possible. The scene also goes into slow motion for dramatic effect:

And the camera cuts to him swinging his blade and speeds up a little:

Again, Aqua barely has time to register that Terranort has moved because he’s moving so quickly. Ven is in shock because he would never imagine Terra hurting him. They didn’t have much time to launch any sort of a defense, and while I think Aqua expected Terranort to attack her, perhaps, neither she nor Ven expected Terranort to attack Ven.

Because Ven is like their younger brother, or even their son. In the Japanese version of BBS he downright said he was supposed to bring his parents to Disney Town when he gave Terra and Aqua the passes, not just grownups like the English version went with. And while Aqua and Terranort have fought before, Terra has never laid a hand on Ven. Not as Terra, not as Terranort. Ven trusts him to keep him safe, to protect him. So for Terranort to attack him, well...

It’s kind of like watching a father attack his own son as his wife watches on in horror at what’s unfolding.

The scene goes back into slow-mo as Terranort’s Keyblade connects with Ven, and Ven is folded over from the impact, Terranort hit him so hard. He makes a choked sound of pain, too, like he’s had the wind knocked out of him and can hardly breathe. Note how Aqua isn’t looking in their direction yet because she hasn’t had time to look yet:

We cut to a closer shot of Ven that puts the focus on him as he reacts, and you can see the pain written all over his face:

The scene is still in slow motion as he hurtles backwards:

And then the camera cuts to Aqua to show her reaction. She slowly turns her head (still in slow-mo, remember?), and the look of shock and horror on her face is heartbreaking to see:

The camera speeds up to normal speeds as it shows Ven being flung backwards, as if this is from Terranort’s POV:

Note how Ven’s eyes are still open, he still seems to be conscious:

And then the camera cuts to a different perspective behind the characters, as if the camera is on the ground. Note how once again the ground is at an angle instead of forming a straight line in this shot to indicate how wrong this whole situation is. We can also see Ven landing on his back with his legs in the air...

...which provides enough momentum for him to tumble backwards:

His body settles on the ground in a cloud of dust, and he no longer seems to be conscious. Note his limp head:

My guess is that landing on his back like that/hitting his head is what made him lose consciousness, as he was conscious before when he was still in the air. Terranort wasn’t necessarily trying to kill him (though I’d argue hitting your head like that would probably be enough to kill you in real life if not in video games), he was just trying to incapacitate him so it would make it easier to take his heart out of his body later on.

Riku provides credence to this theory later on when he tells Sora that the hearts of their friends are still in their bodies. If Ven had died here, that probably wouldn’t be the case.

The camera cuts to Terranort, and he has a downright smug expression on his face over what he just did. The Xehanort look is back in full force:

And it makes for quite the contrast with Aqua’s look of shock and disbelief as she gasps:

We get a shot from her POV, showing Ven crumpled on the ground:

And then a close up shot of her reaction to what has happened to Ven that showcases her emotions, her feelings. This moment is framed in terms of her pain and loss and shock, showing that we as the audience are supposed to empathize with her:

We get a closer shot of Ven that fills the frame, and Ven isn’t conscious:

And Aqua has processed everything enough to finally be able to speak:

She calls Ven’s name in a downright panicked manner and leans forward as she does:

JP ヴェン！

EN Ven!

TR Ven!

To be continued...